Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-07-12

SHOT Jay BIRD
DeacOna OF Georgia Baptist
Church Issue Official State
nent OF Pastors Act
THIS OR STOP s.ERvIc =

II
server carried unique news item sent
Through tie Associated Press from
SandersvtlIe Ca-. III which was told
circumstance through which jas bird
came % violent death as penalty for
his lnsisfence iii disturbing religious
Wor1hip The incident occurred al the
Baptist Chureh Of which Rev w A..
Wray Is pastor, and II was alleged in
the press report that The preacher hay-
ing stood the dlscordance Of the fay
To the exhaustion Of patient endur-
j ance suspended services until he could
1 go TO his home, secure shotgun and
return to quies the nuisance II went
On to narrate that after the powder
and smoke had cleared awa9 the ser
vices were resumed. Reading be-
tween the lines some people had In
ferred that the incident was connected
with d colored congregation. but peo-
pie who know negro folklore we're not
10 deceived
a eolored congregation would have
RIM the pastor OF 10 the protection Of
the Jay and Iii avoidance 81 the pen
atty that might have been Incurred
through murder of the bird For the
Jay is III some way regarded as mes
sengers OF satan. ANY darkey of the
old regime will tell you that the Jay
makes regular pilgrimages to tile dark
regions every Friday and returns
equipped with some new agency OF
deViIment II was the Jay bird, who in
fit og anger at woman who had
shooed II out or her garden, angirly
pluCked up an innocent pepper plant
and went to hell with Ii, returning
with the pepper plant Iii the red.hot
condition 1t has ever since maintain
ed. And ii It had been on Friday,
instead OF on d Sunday the Jay was
slain IN church, the preacher would
have had eleven Of them to kin the
following Sunday, because the ESiday-
slain jay ii known to return with the
coming Of the ensuing Friday accom-
Ipanled BY ten other lays. Pastor Wray
and his congregation we're manifestly
ignorant of popular jay.bird traditions
or they would never have got them
selves into the Associated Press re-
o0rts. But It develops that Ii was not
for fear they might have been CLASH
fed Us among the colored churches
| t&at they were concerned
The statement sent out about them
proved faulty tn some material re
spects, - the chairman of the board of
deacons and the clerk of the board
have prepared an oficial narrative Of
the affair. Evidently the Associated
Press did NOT care 70 bother with it,
Tor the correction comes by way Of b
circular letter. It Is graveIy related
| by the church officers that before and
after the Sabbath school hour every
conceivable effort was made to put the.
bird out 81 the building, bnt the cell,
ing being SO high. above the tops Of
the windows. ii was impossible. As
! the s0uawking of the bird SO interrupt
"a the work of the Sabbath school, 1t
was thought best to remove 1t before
/ the preaching hour During the In
Permission small gun was sent for,
which shoots a cartridge about the.
size OF ones little finger, loaded with
mustard shot. This gun was placed in
an ante-rOon that II might be used as.
last resort.
The bird continued 10 squawk as the
pastor endeavored To read the Scrip
lEure 1t was then fully realized that
the service must either be dismissed
or be bird shot. The pastor then
stated, Ii the bird continued to shrek
he would have to shoot him though he.
hated I'd do So This was before the.
sermon. The minister did not go to.
his home after the gun. but opened the
door on the ante-roona. secured the gun,
shot the bird, which was In the dome
sof the church. The bird was then re-
moved BY 3 deacon. There was no.
smoke from the gun. and very little
noise. compared 10 a shotgun.
The jayDlrd having been thus dis
posed of by i preacher whose aim Ms
true and who probably had some ex-
perience in ringing the buII's eye from
THE shooting gallery counter SIS well as
1 from the pulpit, then made the regular.
announcements. preached his prepared
sermon and lifted d large collection. Z
The congregation heard some criticism
Of the action Of the pastor during the
ensuing week. because. on the first
Sunday after the incident the congre
cation was called into conference on
the matter, and BY & unanimous ris-
ing vote, signified that the killing Qf
4 the jay was an entirely correct proceed
/ ing on the part Of the pastor, and
essential Tor the good 81 the cause
And this Ii '.the olacial truth about
1 why and the way in which the Jay
bird was killed at the Baptist Church.
at Sandersyiaie, Ca, on the sth of june,
1913 Maybe after all, the Jay may
have done i good turn for the church.
He appears to have whoOped II up ter
the collection basket aad We have no
doubt that ihere have aimee been rec
ord breaking congregations at Mr.
Rray's Sunday expoundings, ~ Char
l0tte Observer.