Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-16
BAL T|MORE PASTOR
CONTINUES TALKS
Federation Fails to Act on
Offer to Cancel Engagement
After Controversy.

| highly controversial exchange of letters
with the Rev. Jason Noble Pierce, pastor
of First Congregational Church, anent
the merits of Army and Navy chaplains.
In letter received by DR.. Pierce to-
day the nationally known Monumental
City minister stuck by his guns and of
fered his personal views on the subject
of war and the laws of the United
States as justification for his statement
from DR.. Pierce's pulpit Monday that
there Is no more Justification for being
a chaplain in the Army or Navy than
there Is for being a chaplain in a
Speakeasy'
And there the matter stood today.
DIR. Pierce Undecided.
DR.. Pierce was undecided this morn
ing as to whether he would reply to
Dr. Ainslie's letter, made public last
night at the same time 1t was mailed
to DR.. Pierce.
DR.. Pierce said, however. that in
| view of the stand DR.. AinsIie has taken
in his letter, retracting nothing, in
fact, reiterating his views on war and
| the activities of chaplains, his belief
| Is that DR.. Ainslie Should be allowed
| the freedom of the pulpit here"
DR.. Pierce pointed out, however, that
the matter of DIR. Ainslies continuing
his sermons here rests entirely with
the Federation Of Churches, and in
| view of the fact that the federation
has not acted upon the offer Of DR..
| will continue through Friday, DR.. Ain
kslte will continue to preach daily.
DR.. Pierce yesterday publicly rebuked
DR.. AinSlie for the remark about chap
lainS from the First CONGREGATIONAL
Church pulpit. The Washington min
lister accused DR. Ainslie of insulting the
Government of the United States, the
churches Of the country and the chap
lains of the Army and Navy. DY. Pierce
pointed out that he is a Reserve chap
lain, served as a chaplain during the
war and that Col Julian e. Yates, chief
of chaplains of the United States Army,
was in the church in uniform at the
time the now famous remark about
service and speakeasy chaplains was
made,
Offered to FOrego Sermons.
| DR.. Ainslie, in his letter, offered to
forego further sermons in the Washing
ton MONDAY Lenten series If the state
ment of his position on service chap
lains is Irritating to Washington
churches"
But, he added, particularly do con-
denim the churches furnishing chap
lains for an institution (war) that my
| Government has outlawed."
To the rebuke of DR.. Pierce Col
Yates yesterday added his Endorsement.
| Another rebuke was given the Baltimore
minister by the Rev. j. Monroe Stick,
national chaplain of the American Lee
gion and acting chaplain at Camp Hola-
| bird, Md.
DR.. stick last night referred to DR..
Ainslie as utterly impossible, and a
fit subject for psychiatric treatment. I"
"Dr. Ainslie'S wild statements" he
| said, do not come as surprise to me,
I'VE once had a chaplains' organiza-
ton here in Maryland, and our organi-
zation once took occasion to tell DR..
Ainslie what we thought Of his crank
ideas on this subject"
Text of DIR. AinsIie's Letter.
DR.. Ainslie's letter to DR.. Pierce
| follows:
This Is to acknowledge your letter
| of the 14th and, inasmuch as you have
given your letter to the press before
| it was received by me, I suppose 1t Is
| proper that should likewise give my
reply to the press at the same time
that I am mailing this to you.
II assure you that had known you
had served as a chaplain in the Army
at all In your pulpit, although it would
have been difficult to discuss my sub
| iect, which was Has Christianity
Accepted Christi, without discussing
war among the So-called Christian
| nations. My high esteem for you led
| me to think of you as one who not
| only opposed war, but would oppose the
church giving blessing to that method
of adjusting international disputes, and
| therefore approve Of what said.
"You know, as said In my address,
| that war was unknown among the early
Christians. Practicing the good will of
Jesus and numbering people could not
| be harmonized. But gradually the
church yielded until in 416 the Roman
Senate passed q bill requiring all soldiers
to become Christians. After that the
church rarely or never questioned the
moral issues Of war. but supported the
government it was under, right or
wrong, with unquestioned loyalty.
Praises Peace Pact.
But a new day is here. My Gov
| eminent made one of the greatest days
| in history when on January is, 1929, 1t
passed an act that made war an outlaw.
| I believe Mr.. Coolidge, Mr.. Kellogg and
the Senate meant exactly what they
said The governments Of the world
have concurred in it and we must hence
forth look for gradual disarmament.
Now the next move is for churches to
| withdraw their chaplatns from an tl1sti-
| tuition that Is outlawed and I would be
delighted to see you, as a former chap
| lain, lead in a cause that at least would
| help our Government to create con-
science to make the outlawry Of war a
| reality.
at have no hard words for those who
took part in past wars, other than to
express my general condemnation of
war. My father was a Negro slave
holder in Virginia, but I do not have
to uphold Negro slavery in order to re-
we're his memory. I condemn Negro
slavery and condemn war, and par
| ticularly do I condemn the churches
for furnishing chaplains for an insti-
tuition that my Government has out
lawed
I'm the event Of Misunderstanding
between nations, which are as. inevitable
as misunderstanding between individ-
uals, we have World Court today with
as eminent .jurists on 1t as on the SUI
preme Court of the United States. Our
civil courts adjust the differences that
arise in our Nation; our World Court
adjusts differences that arise between
nations. My Government Is leading In
world peace movement and nothing
| Will nelp so mucn as the creating OF
conscience on this subject as for the
churches to outlaw war, as the National
Government has done.
1.-THE day made my address from
your pulpit Mr.. Hoover addressed the
D. A. r. and said in better style than
what was trying to say. According to
the papers, he said:
Through the Kellogg BRAND pact,
this Nation solemnly pledged ourselves
not only to renounce war, but to seek
means for pacific settlement of all in
ternational differences. do not put
this duty to you upon the basis of self