Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-04-30
SHANK DENIES
MAKING LIGHT
OF EVANGELIST
Claims Jewett Regime Used
RevivaliSt to Further
MIR. Howe.
DENOUNCES HYPOCRITES

oratorical heights in meeting at
East Washington and Rural streets
last night as he denounced the state
ment made by the Indianapolis News
and speakers for Mr.. Thomas c. Howe,
former president Of Butler College and
News-Jewett candidate for mayor, that
he had ridiculed Gypsy Smith, the evan
gelist, in speeches.
The candidates big face glowed as
he delivered himself of a ringing rebuke
to "hypocrites in politics" Once he
quoted from the gospel of st. Matthew
to show that Jesus Christ held hypocrites
to be the most iniquitous among sim
ners.
81 am no scoffer," he cried. 81 ON
Christian, living in a Christian country
and seeking guidance by the golden rule.
l have tried never to be guilty Of mean
ness or falsehood. believe in practical
Christianity, charity and human helpful
ness-not intolerance and snobbishness.
Perhaps 1 make less show Of my re-
ligion than some. For that I may be
blamew orthy. I am ready to assume that
blame, but I don't believe that 1 deserve
false classification as a scoffer at men
of God. l have no words OF censure for
any man whose life is filed by religion.
I honor and revere him.
"Gipsy Smith is a gifted man and he
is using his great gifts in toll to carry
the light Of Christianity into the dark
corners of the world. / have only love
and admiration for such a man. When
his meetings were on here ! urged all
nv hearers to visit the tabernacle and
hear him.
"One night Gypsy Smith urged his
hearers to uphold the hands Of our mayor
because, he said, he thought the mayor
was trying to run a good clean city.
Is 1t any wonder that he thought that?
Mayor Jewett and his snobbish associ-
ates had taken good care that Gypsy
Smith was always surrounded with err
sons who would impose upon him with
that kind Of propaganda. Good man
that he was Gypsy Smith believed his
fair-spoken admirers.
GAVE EVIDENCE
TO EVANGELIST.
and 1 sent to Gypsy Smith evidence
that this good. clean mayor was per-
hitting open gambling in the negro dis
trict He never again touched upon local
political matters He was too honest and
sincere to use his great power to ad-
vance the political interests Of hypo-
critic.
THAT must have been a keen disap-
pointment to the Howe propagandists.
They were still determined to profit from
the labors Of this great man. So they
hit upon the scheme Of lying-outright
lying-about Lew Shank ridiculing Gypsy
Smith Thousands upon thousands have
heard my speeches in this campaign and
any Of them will tell you that they never
heard Lew Shank ridicule Gypsy Smith.
- to- xhA n
terms because that was the way I felt.
I did say that some one had lied to him.
That was not ridicule.
"Of all the sinners and weaklings /
have ever met there is only one variety
which 1 cannot find 1t in my heart to
forgive-the hypocrites. The Indianap-
oils News is operated on a purely hypo-
critical basis. Nothing sincere appears
in its columns except by error. 1t is
guilty of the most damnable practice l
can conceive; cloaking It's sinister aims
and purposes in Christianity. using the
hope that Christ gave the world to i'm
pose its dishonest purposes upon a peo-
pie
Recall the words Christ used to re-
buke the Pharisees: Woe unto We,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for We
are like unto whited sepulchres, beauti
full indeed to behold outward, but In
side filed with the bones of dead men
and uncleanness. Yours be the greater
damnation.'"
DENOUNCES NEWS
BETTER CLASS"
This newspaper and its puppets and
its benefciaries love to appeal to the
better element What do they mean
by better element? Are We to believe
that this city is broadly diviyed into
two kinds of people-one upright, God
fearing and perfect, and the other horri-
bic, croaking sinners whose souls con-
tain no good? Shame upon such a
thought. 1 have always found some
good and some bad in all folks-more
good than bad. 1 make no appeal to
the better element Men and women
who are assinine enough to believe they
are better than their fellows may go
hang, for all of me.
BETTER element This country con-
tains many kinds Of people. 1t is the
rankest kind of treason to try to set
one kind upon another. Cath
Olics, Protestants, Jews, Quakers and a
thousand other sects dwell here in har-
mony, practicing the golden rule.
Does the indianapolis News mean
persons who possess social advantag es
when it speaks of the better element?'
That must be the case for certainly good
| Christians cannot follow such assinine
advice. such palpable falsity.
Men came to me early in this cam
paign and said Lew, this man Gypsy
Smith is being brought here as part of
scheme to uphold the Indianapolis
News and the Jewett machine in their
| fight on you. You know that Dick Smith
and Charlie Jewett are pretty close to
some officers Of the church federation.
l laughed at the thought. l knew that
| hypocrites sometimes scheme their way
! into the counsels Of good men, but I
believed then and still believe that that
happens very seldom. Who was | 20
question the motives of churches?
| Joined the boosters for a religious awak-
ening. I believe the awakening occurred
and l am devoutly thankful therefor.
The mayoralty Of indianapolis Is a small
matter compared with the saving of
souls
SAYS NEWS HAD
ULTERIOR MOTIVES.
There is no doubt In my mind now.
though, that the Indianapolis News, al
ways boasting virtues 1t does not pos
sess, has tried to use the religious fer
vor aroused by Gypsy Smith to advance
the political interests OF Professor Howe.
Having failed in an effort to paint Lew
Shank as the friend of open gambling
and to excite church members against
him, they resorted to a plain, unquali-
fed falsehood, and said that l had ridi-
ouled Gypsy Smith. Could a sin be
blacker than this cowardly attack on a
mans character, on the very foundation
OF a mans character, his reverence for