The New York herald., 1922-03-13
Thickness in Handling
Property of Calvary Bap-
tist Church Is Alleged.
CALLS AIM RULE OR RUIN
Poor Women Ordered Out of
Pews by Snobs Whom He
Curbed, Is Contention.

/ Thickness in the handling of the
property interests of the Calvary
Baptist Church. snobbery which led to
tie ousting of poor women from pews,
worldly mindedness, and "a foolish
, effort to cover sin" We're charged last
night against some members of a
group opposing him by DR.. John
Roach Straton in the pulpit of his
church.
Setting aside the regular Sunday
evening sermon, DR.. Straton turned
all his eloquence to tie task of ami
hilating "a clique Of chronic trouble
makers" who, he charged. were using
DR.. Robert Stuart Macarthur, who
was pastor emeritus Of the church un-
til he resigned TIE honor, "as a re-
| spectacle false front" in a bitter war
| upon his pastorate.
There was not an empty seat In the
big church in West Fifty-seventh street
when DR.. Straton rose to speak his mind
concerning the dear friends" who. he
said. We're conspiring treacherousIy to
! wreck his administration. Rule or ruin
was their aim, he asserted, and since
they had found they could not rule him
/ even through the third degree their aim
was to ruin him.
In his effort to prove that the group
opposing him was a small one. which
had for years been most active in max
ing trouble. DR.. Straton took his audi
ence back to the time of DR.. Macarthur.
who. he said. might have continued in
the pulpit longer after his forty years
/ of service had not the conditions led
him to resign. He reviewed the affairs
\ of the church under DIR. Joseph w.
Kemp, who had a stormy career in the
pastorate, which finally led 10 his resig-
nation.
| Watchful waiting Policy.
In charging conspiracy against the
group attacking him. group which, he
/ said, had been defeated again and again
and ousted from every office in the
church. DR.. Straton read newspaper re-
ports. in which those opposed told of
how they intended to retain membership
In the church and walt for the time to
come when DR.. Straton's course was
run.
"As to their publicly announced pro-
gram OF watcfful waiting in the hope
that I will fall" he said, land that the
work l was doing will collapse. l have
to say only that the situation reminds
me of a picture which once saw, where
bunch of buzzards were sitting with
melancholy mien upon a rail fence
hungrily watching a poor, old, lean
horse over in the pasture and waiting
/ in the hope that he might soon fall
| dead in his tracks.
] But IL these friends think that they
are going to be able to worry me out
and then hold a wake over my attenu-
ated remains I will give them here a
piece of free and friendly advice. They
had better come prepared for a long
/ siege. There is way to handle treason
even in Baptist church."
DR.. Kemp Sends Condolences.
One of the big points made by DR..
| Straton was when he read letter from
| DR.. Kemp. whose retirement split the
church. In which DIR. Kemp, now pastor
\ Of a church I'm Auckland, New Zealand.
| offered his sympathy and assured him
| that the same clique had induced DR..
| Macarthur to request that his name be
stricken from the calendar as pastor
emeritus. In this letter DIR. Kemp spoke
Of having had such n gruelling myself
In the same mill'' in offering DR.. Straton
/ his sympathy.
The only alternative to the theory
that Or. MacArthurs resignation from
the church was inspired by jealousy or
indelicacy, DR.. Strston said. "is that
he has been grossly deceived and ma
nipulated by the people who succeeded
In wrecking DR.. Kemp's pastorate and
who have tried so hard to wreck mine.
DR.. Macarthur has either violated all
the accepted canons of right relation
ship between pastors. by interfering in a
I harmful manner with the work of two
/ OF his SUCCESSORS upon this difficult
field, or he has been deceived and used
as a catspaw by designing people, Any
one may take either horn OF that di-
lemma that he may choose. For myself
am charitable enough 10 believe that
he has been simply misled"
Threatens to Tell Names.
DR.. Straton said he could tell the city
Just who the people he referred to were.
"r could tell you about the evidences
OF thickness In handling the property
interests OF the church. which character
lied some OF them" he declared. "and
which caused the people utterly to lose
confidence In them. / could tell you
about their connection with the spirit OF
snobbery in this church, which led TO the
ordering of poor women out OF pews, and
TO other painful occurrences in the house
of God. which were stopped only when !
made my fight for free pews and equal.
ity OF privilege and opportunity.
1T could tell you about the worldly
mindedness and wrong spirit OF those
who put me through the third degree r
the effort to cajole or to browbeat me
into submission to their will. I coult
tell you. too. how they made a foolish
effort In connection with the old trouble,
of the church under Or. Kemp to cover
SIM
Or Straton declared that the recent
publication of the fact that DR.. Mac
Arthur had applied for his letters tp
join another church was a cleverly
timed attack to Interfere with the re-
vival meetings beginning March 26.
I'm the name Of fair play and even
OF elemental human decency I denouncc
this latest assault as tho result OF q
cold blooded and calculated conspiracy
conceived IN vanity and venom. and
eliminating In a contemplate and cow
ardly attack from the rear upon peace
full, happy and successful church." he
said.
DR.. Stratons address was Interrupted
a number of times by murmurs or laugh
Ger and bursts OF handclapping.