The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-30
BROWN EDENIED RIGHT TO QUERY
 FELLOW BISHOPS
Trial Board Holds Epis- copalian Church As
 Whole Sets Doctrine

CLEVELAND, O.. May D. By As sociated. Press 1.-The whole body of doctrine, of. the Protestant Episcopal church in America was called into evil dence today in the trial here of Bishop William NJ, Brown, accused of teachings outside that doctrine.
 The trial court of eight bishops ruled that the doctrine of the church is con- tained in the Book of Common Prayer and in accordance with that decision, the case against the accused bishop WAS presented iti half an hour, Hishop Joseph faganeis of Indianapolis was the sole witness and he was caIIed only to establish the office of the defendant and to identify the book upon which the accusation is based.
 Settle To Argument Then the defense moved to dismiss on the ground of insufficient evidence and the case settled back into the argu- mentatiye stage from which it had scafcely emerged.
 In defining the source of church doc. trine, the court also ruled against the effort of the defense to get dispositions from all bishops of the church. The court maintained that it would be use less to obtain such testimony unless it would be admissible as evidence.
 The decision went on to announce the courts determination to take ju- dicial notice of what it considered church doctrine said latitude would be allowed counsel in suggesting what such decision might be.
 Baked by this ruling in it's effort to get answers from 125 bishops to 40S questions, the defense then asked that commissioners be appointed to get these answers for the assistance and guid- ance of the court outside the evidence. This too, was overruled and the Church Advocate. Charles L.. Dibble of Kala- maxoo, Mich, was told to proceed with testimony.
 He began by asking Joseph Sharts, chief counsel for Bishop Brown, if the defense would admit that their client held office as bishop of Arkansas as charged in the presentment. The reply was a challenge to prove it and Bishop Francis was called. He testified by affirmat tion. the church law providing this method instead of an oath.
 Tells Of Meeting
 Bishop Francis told of meeting Bishop Brown at church conventions which the latter attended as a member of the House of Bishops, but was not allowed to say when the accused resigned, the defense contendihg successfully that of fieial records of the church formed the best evidence on that point.
 With Bishop Francis on the stand. Mir. Dibble obtained an admission of the authorship of 8 excerpts from Bishop Browns book: Communism and Christianism," but again met a successful objection from Mir. Sharts when he tried to introduce the entire book in evidence. He finally obtained c ruling admitting parts of the book and in addition to the excerpts put in evidence the covers of the book, its preface and frontispiece as showing the intention of the publication and a page listing 15 editions of the work as show ing the extent of it's circulation. .
 The front cover carried the inscrip- tion 'Banish Gods from skies and capitalists from earth" The book cover showed cartoon depicting the commit tee of five bishops appointed to investi- gate heresy charges against Bishop Brown, as dogs circling around a DOT cupine. The preface began;
 Flying supernaturalism is going {; Tobbing capitalism is falling; saving laborism is rising and leveling unionism is coming" +e
 The frOntispiece was photograph of the bishop in his robes of office, ac- companied by an inscription describing him as a member of the House of Bishops and Latinese phrase to the effect that he was Bishop of the bolsheviki and infidels."
 Mir. Dibble offered to put a copy of the prayer book in evidence but. ran into objection which the court settled by announcing it would consider any duly certified copy of the book as au- thentic.
 Then twenty-three excerpts from Bishop Browns book which were ad- mitted as evidence start with the au- thor's declaration that Within the social realm humanity is my new di- vinity and your divinity (my old one) is, symbol of it or else, as think, he is at best fiction and at worst su- perstition."
 sYeII0w Gold Is God"
 The second compared capitalism and Christianism" as parasitic sys- tems" the god of the former being ye- low gold and of the latter Ian unreal
 tContinNej on Page Two)