The Thinker from McPherson, Kansas • 1

il' 1 pvJ 71 1 1 i 11 'vs rl li xY' rIn v.t,,.--, VOLUME 1. McPHERSOX, KANSAS, SATURDAY, ULY1 81 283. NUMBER 8. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. JEMS OF THOUGHT.

CRIMES OF PREACHERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. to abuse you all they could, and if you died unconverted, it ino fault of mine." And he might say to my wife:" "Your husband is in hell, but and was deposed, and finally fled.s 1881, Rev. Isaac Davenpert, Presbyterian, Newark, New Jersy, charge, lying. The charge was, made by Hawkins, a brother of the ,1881, Rev. Henry E.

Duer, Baptist, Newburg, York charge larceny. He was arrested. 882, Rev. J- B. Dunn, Presbyterian Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; charge, adultery and seduction of a sister of the church, and immoral assault on women.

He fled. 1 1882, Rev. F. Dupont, Farring-ton, Kentucky; charge, drunkenness, attempted suicide twice. He was arrested.

1882, Rev, John During, Toledo at OK I'UKACIIEIW" coiniMisiifsuil iu No. buck uuiubi iscan bo obtuiucil.) i Notk. It lail toglvotlic corri'ot! namo or denomination, will the rovciiinJn pK'iise (correct. .1 t'-'" part Continued. 1878, Rev.

Deardoff, Evangelist, Yates Center, Illinois; adub tery with some of the sisters'. He ought to be whaled. He went out of his family and consequently made 'no mistake. 1878, Rev. John Dalley, Catholic, Montgomery, Missouri; charge, seduction of Miss lizzie McDonald.

He had an abortion performed on 'her. Rev. J. Davidson, Pennsylvania; charge, drunkenness and disorderly conduct. '1878, Rev.

Richard Dunlap, Baptist, Midland City, Michigan; charge, adultery. i 1878, Rev. Davis, Baptist, Michi gan:" charee. adultery With sister's 1878, Rev. D.

Doolittle, Methodist, Hoosic Falls, New York; charge, adultery with a deacon's' wife; sailed under the name of Le Clair. 1878, Rev. Doolittle, Baptist, Jun-can county, Wisconsin; charge, incest and rape on an idiotic niece, adultery with others. The old cuss 'was sixty-three years old. He was arrested, had his trial and went to prison for six years.

Hanging would have been too good for him. Any how that is what they should have with him, "and playcarded him between heaven and earth with "Long may he wave." i BY KLMINA D. SLENKCR. (( Industry and. temperance are twin virtues that always lead to happiness.

True temperance gives us a hearty appetite that enjoys healthy pod with a keen relish imkrrown to the glutton or the intemperate. 7 All history points us to the fact' that the story of Chmf is as old. as antiquity. Go back ai far as Ayou may and you find traces of the virgin and the child, of god-fathers and virgin mothers. We should never nurse our sor-rows.

Life is too short to waste in useless grievings over the inevitable. "Thy will be done'! is only another form for saying "The ills we cajhnot cure we should patiently endure." Or better still, let us look for the light. Joy always comes to those who earnestly desire her presence, and seek with a determination' to find her, 1 It is more pleasant to think', as those around us do, than it is to combat their views and deny their statements. Love, harmony, peace and purity are very desirable blessings, but they must be won and not compulsory. Law, force, discord, and war are slowly dying out.

Civilization has killed the devil, put out the fires of hell, humanized all the gods, and now, it is fast eliminating strife anil combat from the world. I think it shows "inconsistency" to believe one set of thiricles Sim ply because they are in a big book that priests succeeded in palming off on a lot of credulous, ignorant, superstitious people? as God's word, and doubting all others though thousands of them are, ten times better attested to, and are less incredible as well. Cease to worship the gods, and be come thyself a god. Cultivate in thy own nature all the perfections, the virtues, and the gracious' attri butes with which thou would invest thy God; and then "thou wilt realize that in man himself is found the sum of all good and the acme of happi- Because we cannot explain the whys and wherefores of all we see around us, t'is no reason thaV we should adopt the theofies of other men or bodies of men who think they know all about 'it. If I cannot tell the origin and end, this is no proof that I am wrong in disbeleiv ing the opinions of those who pro fess to make these things "clear as mud." None of us can tell what we might do or might not do under a strong presure ot favorable or unfavorable circumstances.

We move as we are movedand it is well that the besetting impulse of all humanity tends in general toward the highest, noblest and best. It is well that goodness, love, humanity, industry, sobriety and all the virtues predominate over their opposites, so that the great preponderance of circumstantial influence is towitrd elevation progress, happiness and true, Beware of those who promise too freely. The earnest doer is chary of professions and promises, but labors to perform and accomplish. Promise rarefy and perform punctu- ally. One broken promise clings to a man's character as a blot and a stain forever.

the pages of thy life sacred to truth, honesty and virtue, and the tongue, of slander will have no dread for thee, while thy own consciousness of an unsullied name will render An. Open Letter to 'tho' Congreja- tional Chujrca. 15Y M. I will give one thousand dollars I cannot prove by the Bible, that j-E. Richar.ds will be damned, unless he changes his, ways and hjs theology.

To bless a man with a hig la)y-suit, is not the kind of blessing that was taught by Christ And Richards is the only minister of the nineteenth century, who has ever under-taken to bestow. much of thati particular kind of blessing upon any one man on account of a difference of opinion. 1 It is true that he said that I had damaged him ten thousand but it is not true that he told the' truth. But it will not do to call liimL a liar, for he may have been; honest and estimated his character too Inch and the damage greater than did his neighbors. Ninety-nine cents' on the dollar was the only difference in his and the H6wev-er, five of the jury thought that 'six cents was about the right thing as; a tqtal damage.

And he collected of me 'inoney to pay his' witnesses. But wheref Oh where is that money? "And soihe of the witnesses cry "Where! where" Some who are thoughtless' might think that there was 'a design to cheat the1 witnesses. 'But they should remember that Richards is, a worker in the Lord' possibly owing to the great1 jpre'ss of business on hand hemay have' for gotten to see that the money was paid over. But when I published a list of the names who had not been paid, in the Independent, as ail honest man Richards should have "paid them. The church hasn't so much power as it once had, but so far as 1 was able, during my persecution at the court house, there was manifested the same spirit of hatred aswas'niati-ifested by those mUrdere'rl Christ." For one Of Richards' law yers pointed at me and said1 to the juryj "If this was my case," and 1 couldn't -shut this man's mouth without, I would take a shotgun," And the court reprimanded him for using such language.

'''J And this cropping out of the spir it of is 'proof that if the church had the power, I would be loaded' with chains, throwa' into prison, and burned at the stake or murdered by having my brains blown into eternal froth with a shot gun as a "means of shutting my Had I lived at the titrie wlien Ghris: was being would have been his friend and would have denounced his persecutors''And had he lived when I was" being persecu ted, I believe he would have been my friend; and if he was not afraid of being sued for libel by some Coi-gregationalist who would have be backed by his church, he would hv denounced my persecutors and called their religion a fraud. And would have said that the Congregational church was made up of more hypocrites than honest men. Richards tried to prove by the supervisor that I was rich and able' to have'paid him a very large sum 'of money, and et it is said that he did not want my money; Of ctiorse he didn't. Nor doeif he want the1 witnesses Then It hi didn't want my money it may be that hi sued me as sort' of missionary work, So that when he look down and see me in hell he will be able to exclaim: "Well, you Can't U)meme. For I got four' lawyers to help me go for your money and in th of to ita you have the' consolation of 'know- Ag wh'at'l did' for him' dry your' tears, why should you weep for one whom God Arid to my children' he might say: "Rather than love the memory of your dear pa, ii is uciier to love mc one wno damned him, but don't blame me But if Richards is so good and i im so" bad, why arc there so intelligent men and women who will come farther to hear me tell what little I know about the things in this world, than they would to listen 'Jo his solemn voice as he tells them what he knows about the jn thencxt world? Can it be that the consolations of his belief in tiell hav no charms only for the victims of Csuerstition? that the goou man is.

mistaxcn ana uoa is not sofbad as he takes him to be, Ancj inasmuch, as l(paid my witnesses and sometimes gave adollar to the poor, it may be, that he will let me slip in and give me a back seat if ill agree hot to touch the harps or insist on pitching the tune. Or if I must go to hell, it may be that I will be given a cool coiner so that I will be able to get a little sleep of nights, and that I won't diavei very much to dol, perhaps only just to punch up the firer a little around some lame member of the Congregational Church, WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN RE- LI0I01T OP TODAY? We It is' a fraud upon humanity a'siahder iipon deity. We snail suou tujmiitiicc me puunca hon of a series of articles on the above subjectj unless some champion of orthodoxy comes to the front to defenis faith in a public discussion of the above proposition. We here and now throw down the gauntlet to any orthodox layman or cler gyman to discuss it' publicly Aion an equal devisjon of time. We assert that the doctrines of the orthodox cliurch of to-day are not the doc trines taught by flie lowly Nazarene the Judean Now, is there no.

ortnoaox christian who dare stand forth as the champion of this faith We are here ready to sus- taip, our, statement at the head of this article; ready, in the name of the God of the universe and in the spirit pf Jesus, the medium of Nazareth, who, by his great powers, as a medium, was able to present to the eyes of the astonished Peter, James and John the materialized forms, of Moses, and Lhas, who had. in spirit land for many years. Ortho doxy has slandered pod. Its wolves insheeps', clothing have disgraced name of Jesus. We stand here incased in no armor but reason, no coat tuf mail but justice, with no weapons but truth and common sense; and we say to the (ioliathii of these Philistines of orthodoxy: cpme out with swords, with spears and shields, as did loliath of (Jath, and we will meet you with the weapons 'argument on a fair field and ejuar terms.

have intimated that the Thinkkr will be an' orphan if we don't look out. The most' ignorant are the most religious, as will be seen by th? southern African. We don't know whether we will go heaven or not. We will just step over and ask brother Gates about it. Wonder if the editor of the Witch- limes knows by experience! He says, "the "editorial work of the Thikkek would make a dog sick if the poor animal could read.

Ohio; charge, inhuman cruality to his daughter. She committed sui cide. He had a church trial and resigned. 1882, Rev. Dawe, Methodist, Dus field.

Michigan charge, arson. He went to Kurope and was arrested.i 1878, Rev. C. L. Decunie, Catholic, Flint, Michigan; charge adultery and bastardy with his housekeeper.

1882, Rev. S. D. Cincinnati; Ohio; charge, larceny, stole money from his host' iHe was if 1882, Rev. C.

Debester, Lutherian, Kalamazoo, Michigan; charge, lar ceny: He was caughtand expelled and fled the country. part E. 1878, Rev. W. T.

Ellis, Congrega tionalist, Woodstock, Connecticut; charge, vile, indecent and profane language: He was expelled. George O. Eddy, Gloversville, New York; charge, tjtf r'-'r 1878, Rev. Edgerton, Gloversville, New York; charge larceny. Gloversville, New York, must be a terrible place for bad preachers, for here is two of them that strayed from the straight and narrow path, that leads to that mansion not made with hands, eternal somewhere in the imaginary heavens.

1878, Rev. A. Eastman, West Gofmvall, adultery with some of the 'sisters" of the church'. 'He was expelled. 1878, Rev.

John Echenbery, Peru, Illinois; charge, incest with two dau-ters and daughters-in-laws, adultery and sodomy. He fled. Perhaps some of our readers will not understand what sodomy means, and the best way to find out is to look for it in Webster's Dictionary. If -we should give the definition of the word we would lay ourselves liable to ar rest for, mailing obscene literature So we would i( we Bible language as it is used in the Bible, 1878, Rev. W.

Evans, Baptist, Vincennes, Indiana; charge, swindl ing under false pretense. He fled. Rev. Thomas Ewing, Bap tist, Leavenworth, Kansas; charge, adultery seduction and bastardy with sister Leah Barnett. He was arrested.

1882, Rev. W. T. Ellis, Evangelist, Abingdon, Illinois; charge, fighting. 1882, Rev.

Kd. H. Ellis, Evangelist, Neponset, Massachusetts; charge adultery with a "sister," wife of a "brother." He was arrested in the pulpit while preaching. He jumped his" bail and fled. 1879, Rev.

Esmond, Congregationalism Worchester, Massachusetts; charge, embezzlement of $100,000, church funds. i 1881, Rev. Martindale, Methodist, McPherson charge, adultery with a prostitute. Jle gave her the funds given him by the church, to buy strawberries with. lie resigned.

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1878, Rev. Lorenzo Dowi presiding elder, 1 Methodist, "Kentucky; charge, adultery, ders'erting his wile( 'elopement with another preacher's daughter. They "went where the woodbine twineth." i ,1878, Rev. Simon Dixon," Metho- dfst, Brooklyn, New York; charge, adultery, seduction and bastardy fwith' Sarah Jane Williams. "He went ringing the bells for Sarah Sarah I Sarah 1878, Rev.

J. K. Methodist, Ohio; charge, unministerial He was 1878, Rev. Peter Dewire, Evangel-. ist, New York city; charge, adultery and elopement with sister Milville, and deserting his wile and' children.

1879, Rev. J. Davis, Baptist, Modelia, Minnesota; charge, assault with intent to murder J. F. Fisher.

He was arrested. 1879, Rev. Dr. 'Janies Dixon, New Albony, Indiania; charges, adultery and seduction of Miss Li2- zie Kipley, fraud, lying, attempted 4 suicide, and derserting wife and children. i 1879, Rev.

A. S. Dobbs, Methodist, Painesville, Ohio; charge, beating his wife. He was expelled. i 1 'I a 1079, ev.

tnaries uetnon, Mafe- sachusetts; embezzling the funds of the church. He; was' arrested. 1879, Rev. A. Dunbroski, Catholic, Detroit, Michigan; charge, feeduction and bastardy with his servant girl, compounding felony.

1880, Rev. Father Dannehoffer, Catholic, Moris, Indiana; charge, inhumanly beating a small child. He was fined. 14i Rev. Father Daly, Catholic, Morrison, Illinois; charge, murdered liis child which sister, O'Connell hlid by him.

He was indictcd.4 .1 Rev. William Dorscy, Methodit, with a married sister, Mrs. Richard-son, while his own wife was living. He lied to her; he told her his wife iras dead. He had church trial thee proud, anJ happy,.