The San Francisco call. [volume], October 15, 1901, Image 3

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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Continued on Page Four.
It comes from them with a seriousness which
does not always belong to matters which are
brought before us by some individual or some
diocese. The amendments which have been
offered to the canon as reported by the com
mitt*<- and the House of Bishops are amend
ments which seek to put the thing back where
It was, or rather leave It Just exactly where
it Ftood before. The smendment means the. old
canon, with which you were dissatisfied. I
quite apree with the criticism which has been
made upon the statement of the delegate from
the foreign churches. I am no apologist for
the Roman church, but I appeal to the ex-
I I |f rlence and knowledge of every man, dcr
j cyman or layman in this house, whether, as a
f t<xiy. the Roman Catholics of the United States
\ do not stand out notably distinguished by their
i freedom from divorce and remarriage.
Rev. Dr. Kevin interrupted to say that
The Rev. Dr. Cameron Mann of West
Missouri favored the canon in the follow
ing speech:
One thing that has been only faintly recog
nized eo far in this discussion is that this
matter comes up to this convention, not at the
volition of some individual, not as a memorial
from some diocese or group of dioceses, but
because this whole church, as represented at
her last General Convention, felt that the pres
ent condition of affairs was not satisfactory,
that the present canons of the church with
r«-£ard to marriage are not meeting the Issue.
and that something more ought to be done, and
a committee was- appointed by this house to
take the matter in hand.
priesthood, when he stool here and declared
that &0 per cent of Italian marriages were
adulterous, and that the clergy of the Roman
<-hurch were accustomed to treat adultery as
& venial fcin. to be condoned. I reject and 1
resent that testimony. The figures do not
agree with him; they show that Italy is not
fven among the most immoral countries of
Europe, but that her standard of morality.,
as shown by statistics, is comparatively high.
If you are to be swayed by arguments of
this kin< I would adduce the instance of Ire
land, her enemies themselves being Judges,
the chastest nation on the face of the earth,
and at the name time the most unconquerably,
the most obstinately Roman Catholic. It is to
the honor of Ireland that her percentage of il
legitimate births as shown by statistics refer
ring to national, and racfa.1 morality. Is lower
than that of any other nation that compiles
such statistics. I do not believe that the peo
pU- of Italy are a race of moral Hottentots or
that the priests of the Roman church are
priests in the temple of Aphrodite.
DEFEOT53 THE BOMAIN' CHUBCH.
Continued From Page One.
of christianizing the Philippines is pro
gressing favorably.
In Porto Rico, according to reports, It
seems a little bit more difficult to impress
the natives. Brazil and West Virginia
were also reported as fields where the
work \u25a0was extremely difficult.
A resume of the work done was consid
ered entirely satisfying, for in many of
these districts the people are so closely
wedded to the traditions of their fore
fathers that the introduction of new
forms of worship are extremely difficult.
The Bishops are convinced that with am
ple funds at their disposal they can carry
out the text "Go ye therefore and teach
all nations."
It was with extreme regTet that the
announcement that the Bishop of Alaska
was unavoidably absent was Tecelved.
This new "land of gold" is considered one
of the most promising fields. The natives,
it was said, are ready to receive the Gos
pel, but while the efforts so far made have
met with a small modicum of success, it
is hoped that with better means of
communication the missionaries will be
able to -work more assiduously and be en
abled to overcome nature's obstacles.
A- further session of the Board of Mis
sions will be held to-night, at which other
distinguished workers in the missionary
field will speak.
he was being misrepresented. He did not
state that immorality In Italy was the re
sult of the Roman church's teachings,
but it was rather the result of the fact
that divorce was prohibited on any
ground whatever, and that the clergy
themselves had been influenced thereby
to look upon it in a venial way, as the
people had. He certainly did not mean
for a moment to attribute this state of
Immorality to the teaching of the Roman
Catholic priests.
Rev. Dr. Mann resumed, saying:
A great share of the discussion on this ques
tion has been at random. We have been dis
cussing whether people should be allowed to be
divorced and remarried. That Is not the ques
tion. Personally I believe in certain cases
in the right of people to a divorce and to a
remarriage. Personally I believe that there are
other causes besides adultery for which a di
vorce might be granted and one of the parties
be free to remarry. •
Those- things are the exceptions for •which It
was sought to find some remedy In 'the canon
which will be submitted to you immediately
after this one. the canon on the discipline of
persons once divorced in marrying again. The
question now is simply as to whether the clergy
of this church shall solemnize the marriage
of any divorced person.
The church does not say to any person under
this canon: 'You shall not be remarried after
divorce." It simply says to our clergy: "You
shall not marry any person who Is divorced
where the former partner Is still living.
DE. McKIM ATTACKS CANON".
The Rev. Dr. McKim of "Washington
delivered a stirring 1 speech, as follows:
I would like to say a word or two to clear
up my own position in regard to a question of
the interpretation of Holy Scripture. In an
nouncing my own conviction that this canon
would be in violation of the teaching: of our
Lord Jesus Christ and in contradiction to the
Holy Gospels, I, of course, did not intend to
imply for a single moment that other gen
tlemen upon this floor, who took a different
view of the meaning of the Holy Scripture,
were not absolutely entitled to their own opin
ion, nor did I wish to cast any imputation upon
them; but the question- is simply this: j
Something has been said this morning about
the gratitude which dwells In the heart be-
Between two interpretations of Holy
Scripture which shall control and direct • the
legislation of this church, that which has
controlled among us for a hundred years, that
which has behind it the opinion and the testi
mony of all Protestant Christendom, of the
whole Eastern church and of the united voice
of the episcopate, or shall it . be an \u25a0interpre-'
tatlon which Is defended. chiefly on Roman in
terpretation and by a few Anglican divines,
and in America by Bishop Hall and some others
and the Rev. Dr. Brlggs?
I would like to say that the interpretation
which I believe to be the true one is supported
by a larsre number of the greatest divines In
the old and in modern times.
FURTHER consideration of the '
work of the Board of Missions
was held last night at Trinity
Church. There was a large at
tendance of lay and clerical
delegates and the most Impor
tant topics of interest to the
church were considered. "Go ye therefore
end teach all nations" was the text from
v.hich was preached the sermons of the
visiting missionary Bishops.
An enthusiastic congregation, composed
of workers in the missionary field, asseni
bied to meet the Bishops. As each one
told of the difficulties encountered In pro
pagating the Gospel in his chosen or as
signed Held the auditors listened with
rapt attention. The newly acquired ter
ritories of the United States, gathered In
during the war with Spain, and the in
congruous religious combinations that
were developed since that time came in
for lengthy explanations.
The Bishop of New York, who has
charge of the work in the Philippines; the
Bishoris of Peru and Brazil, who are also
in his province, as is also the Bishop of
"West Virginia, gave interesting details of
the work of their assistants. The work
DEPUTIES VOTE
ON DIVORCE LAW
Bishops With Extra Territorial
Jurisdiction Speak of
Their Labors.
MISSION FIELDS
IS THEIR STUDY
Delegate" Buxton- of North Carolina at
this point \u25a0 offered a resolution that the
committee take a vote oh the question at
12, o'clock. . , .:.'\u25a0 . r- ;.;
SPEAKS ON PRACTICAL SIDE..
The Rev. Dr. Roller . of We3t Virginia
secured the floor, however, and said :
I •' desire to Vad'dVess ! myself more : particularly
to the practical r side of : this question. Per
sonally my sentiments are very much like those
of the pessimist described on this floor the other
day. • I cm opposed to the several • clauses of
this fourth, section. because it seems. to me that
whenever . this -church fails to , encourage, \u25a0. to
guard, - to defend and ,£o protect innocence . she
is I departing : from an,, important - part j of ' her
high and holy mission on earth.* '. r,
' If • this canon ' is passed as it. stands it seems
to me that It will' be necessary to begin at
once the, revision' of 'the -prayer book,, which
Issupposed to have been' closed. .The 'tables
of : consanguinity and \u25a0; affinity have ' been left
out \u25a0 and .it is * now proposed to ' leave out - tlw
only "possible exception- which ;, has -•' been ; ex
pressed I by J our | blessed j Lord | and master, ; and
when that is done we must make the marriage
service; so that .instead .of readme.' in the
chare© to' those about ,: to • be : married,'
"be; well assured' ''.that if any are joined to
gether otherwise - than , as \u25a0. God's r. word doth
allow: their marriage is not lawful," we must
insert, "this | church," »: and assure them V that
If • any ' Joined ' together otherwise than * as '\u25a0 this
At the present time, when a clergyman of
this church refuses to marry a I divorced per
son, the whole world knows that he refused be
cause the divorce Is not for cause of adultery:
but if we adopt this canon, j on the refusal of
the . clergyman they „ will- know why, and the
church . will: cease to make Its protest against
the immorality of adultery.. .. ;;
I Just ' a single word , in regard to a question
that I trust will touch the hearts and the minds
of all here. I ask the members of this 'house:'
' "Will • you ,. put a ycke.upon the, consciences
of a great majority of the clergy of this church,
a majority of the clergy. of this body,. and a ma
jority of perhaps three-fourths of the clergy
of- the whole '.United States by Imposing this
burden?" .. ; \u25a0. ' . ' ;\u25a0 . '\u25a0' •'\u25a0 . • "•''
uary no divorce will be legal in the District of
Columbia except for the cause of adultery.. .
That was brought about by Christian unity.
Adopt this amendment and you take away
from the 'church this leadership in that re
spect; you make it impossible for us to stand
with our brethern and work with them for the
purification of the family. I regard this meas
ure as absolutely fatal, and I regard it as abso
lutely: fatuous if it is supposed for a single
moment that its adoption is to have any such
effect as that. And ; then I want to say that
it will weaken the moral protest that this
church is now \u25a0 making against unlawful di
vorces. -.'..-.
Consider that at the, present time thlschurch
is leading the opinion of the Protestant
churches upon this matter. Some time ago in
the diocese of "Washington there was a com
bination formed under the leadership of the
Bishop of Washington, different, clergymen
of different congregations came - together - and
agreed to petition. Congress: to -abolish all
causes of .divorce, except, adultery, and that
has been successful; and after the 1st of Jan-
Now, 6lr, I ask these questions: Has this rig
orous theory which some of the committees
confess lies behind the legislation ever been
efficacious ? Has it been efficacious in Porto
Rico for the last four hundred years, or In
Spain. ' cr the Philippines for- the last four
hundred years? In regard to this whole sub
ject I appeal to •the intelligence of those who
hear me not to vote to engraft a principle upon
our canon law, which, wherever it has been
tried. : has not conduced to the purity : of the
home,' and if It has reduced the number of
divorces has done so at the . cost of an in
crease of concubinage and adultery.
But it is said that this canon does not touch
the right of the innocent party to marry again.
It is defended upon contradictory . grounds.
Some tell us it means, the indlssolublllty of
marriage. Then other members \u25a0 of : the • com
mittee get; up and tell us no, it does not
touch the question of the right of the inno
cent "party to marry, .it only Is a question re
lating to the use of the marriage service. Then,
gentlemen.^of the convention, .this canon has
lost In moral significance if that Is true. Then
it means only Just, this:
A canon/ to protect the marriage service, ' not
to protect the home;' it is a canon not for the
purpose of conserving.' morality, but . a canon
for the purpose of fencing around . the mar
riage service of our prayer 'book. •. \u25a0
Now. sir, here is a confession ., of the impo
tence of this canon. . . -
I hope this convention will not be' stampeded
into legislation of this kind j upon the ground
that we must do something. It Is remarkable,
but it is a fact, that not one speaker upon
this floor has even attempted to show In what
way this canon would help to restrain di
vorce. We have had a great deal of beautiful
eloquence about the purity of the family and
the sanctity of the home, but no one has
given us a single reason . for believing that
either the sanctity of the home or the purity
of the family would be conserved or protected
by such legislation as this. Wny, sir, they came
to us like a quack doctor, saying: "Take this
nostrum of mine, it will cure." We want to
known what is in the prescription; we want to
know how it will have the effect of curing us
before we swallow it. ,.-,.. - \u25a0 . .
cause the House of Bishops has taken this ac
tion. I would like to call attention to the racl
that, although our own House of Bishops, by
a narrow majority, has passed this canon,
nevertheless this is in conflict with the voice
of the universal episcopate of the Anglican
Communion.
yfT jo a. m. to-day the House of Bishops zvill again meet in the Sunday-school room of Trin
j/x ity Church for the transaction of business, resuming its session at 3 p. m. after the midday
recess.
. The House of Deputies will assemble in Trinity Church at 10 a. m. and will probably take,
the final vote on the canon on marriage and divorce, which passed the committee of the whole yester
day. The House, sitting as ike committee of the zvholc, has yet to passjipon the canon on -discipline
for divorced persons who remarry. • »
This evening at 8 o'clock the two houses will meet .jointly as the Board of Missions and hear
reports on the missions of Africa, Hay ti and the Southern States of America.
ONLY THREE DAYS NOW REMAIN FOR EPISCOPAL
CHURCH TO TRANSACT WORK OF THE CONVENTION.
DISTINGUISHED PRELATES OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL, CHURCH WHO ARE IN ATTENDANCE AT
THE NINTH TRIENNIAL CONVENTION, WHICH IS NOW IN ITS THIRD WEEK'S SESSION IN THIS CITY.
THE DELEGATES WILL CONCLUDE THEIR WORK THURSDAY NIGHT.
..*\u25a0 The saddest paragraph in the awful chapter
moreover, is the manner in which the churches
and the ministers stand -charged with doing
much,. both by sins of inanition. and by sins of
commission, to the actual bringing about of
that \ terrible woe. - ' There are hundreds ' on the
Lord's day" who preach Christ and say it may
be : : that- the family. Is -the nursery of the vir
tues,*'but on Monday they stand up, : without, it
may , be, a single question, and say I pronounce
you man and. wife. \u25a0 . •..-....
. A. member of our own , communion : went to
my own Bishop some time since and asked his
permission for. what the canon,'; even as It novv
stands, v does not" allow. : To-day she Is a mem
ber of the great Roman community; presum
ably she, "cither for this or for that consldera-
I most' heartily favor the canon as it conies
to - us from : the \ House of Bishops, because I
believe,, first, in the indestructibility of mar
riage itself, and second, that the conditions in
the family and society at large are such as
to, imperatively demand an utterance that will
challenge an honest .public sentiment. -: While
many, look : upon this age as the very greatest
and best of the ages, others take a more sober
view and say there is room for the very gravest
apprehension.
The chief menace to our civilization. In their
estimation, . moreover, is not what it Is com
monly supposed to be; they, for instance do not
view it by. any means in the materialism with
which the; spirit of commercialism is permeat
ing society; neither do we see what is most to
be feared either in strong drink, the spreading
discontent " of ! the masses, the i prevalent cor
ruption In politics,' or the maladministration of
public affairs as seen in cities like New York,
Philadelphia, Chicago," and perhaps even San
Francisco. -•\u25a0 : ' . : \u25a0'. . . • • . . .:\u25a0\u25a0.>•.-
• Strike out the i whole of the last part of
section 4 beginning* with the word ."unless."
"Unless the former marriage was. annulled by
a decree of some civil court of competent Juris
diction-, for cause existing before such former
marrlace.V : • " \u25a0 \u25a0 -
FAVORS TOTAL PROHIBITION.
The. Rev. j Dr. Hah of Delaware cham
pioned the canon in the following speech:
I submit that this is in the nature of hurried
legislation,- and hurried legislation does not
accord with the conservatism qt this church.
I. know you may smile and consider It pre
sumptuous, in me to say that after this com
mission has had this matter in charge for so
long that ; now we are in danger of hurried
legislation, but I believe it, and because I
believe it I want to offer the following amend
ment: \u25a0. - • ' . . . . .
A delegate— I would like to ask if it
would not practically amend the mar
riage ' service to read: "Until death or
adultery doth us part"?
Dr.'Roller resumed, saying: ',
church doth allow their marriage is not lawf u:
tlon, commanded what the church of her
fathers did not allow. What do these things
indicate if they do not indicate that the church
of the living God: is helping to open the gates
through which is rushing the tide which event
ually will engulf our civilization and make our
land the greatest desolation of the ages?
Our Anglo-Saxon civilization Is doomed un
less they who represent it at its strongest and
its best resolve that the sanctity and the integ
lity of the family must and shall.be preserved.
Thousands upon thousands are at this very
hour looking • to this convention in the strong
hope that we, with confidence and courageous
convictions, will give this church" of ours the
prestige of masterly leadership in the great
movement for social regeneration.
.CLAIMS CANON IS "UNFAIR.
The Rev. Dr. Grammer of Southern Vir
ginia said in part:
I am prepared to support five propositions. I
am prepared to support the proposition that the
term translated in the Bible "unchas
tlty" means adultery. I claim that
the general, phrase here acquires a
particular significance, and I assert that it it
does not. then Christ is not a safe moral guide;
first because he will either allow a double
standard of morality, saying that a man can
put away a woman' In case she has been un
chaste before marriage, which if it does not ap
ply to" ' her i makes him uphold a
double standard; If it does not ap
ply to the man. makes Christ have a double
standard, and if does apply to the man makes
Christ open the largest door for divorce that
was ever opened: saying of every man who Is not
perfectly chaste that his wife upon discovering
prematrimonlal Infidelity can become divorced.
But the general tenor of the passage is that
Christ is limiting divorce. I therefore claim he
i is not opening the door; he is closing it. The
word must be considered as havins a special
significance, j It must mean adultery. I call
upon the rector of St. Bartholomew's to bring
out of the secrecy or his own breast, the rea
sons that make him depart from so intelligent
an lntei oretatlon. \u25a0 I call upon him and as*
him to say why it Is he departs from the judg
ment of such scholars as Lisrhtf oot and those
who have been specified. He can't keep it
quiet because we are bound to specify to the
world and It is not a matter of private Judg-
I charge" and claim that this action degrades
marriage, making It a spiritual union that can
only be "dissolved physically by death, instead
of a spiritual union. that can be dissolved by
a spiritual act. one specified by Jesus Christ.
HI claim that this action Is against the prayer
book . and the . language of the • service. | The
gentleman- asks, how is It that they do not
specify adultery? • Our church is a church of
good taste, and so it covers up the whole trans
action in .this "phrase, "I take .thee, John: I
take \u25a0 theey. Mary, according to God's holy ordi
nance." That qualifies It all — "according to
God's ordinance"; and it contains that.speci
fication. I . would . like to ask. how Is it that
you are going, to be so rigorous that the chair
man of .; the • committee on canons will stand
up \u25a0 and i say, • , "I favor- separation," when the
same service says, l "I • will cleave unto. her. I
will cherish her, I will love her." And yet he
says I am in . favor » of \u25a0 sesaratlon. I charge
him to answer that' question. \u25a0"» \u25a0\u25a0 .."
I claim that | this action Is contrary to . the
genius of - our church, : a church that would
not condemn \ the \u25a0 theater r in ages . when all
plays turned- on betrayal., -v : . . .
I claim that it is unfair to the poor man
whose - wife has been I unfaithful I and i who has
left him \u25a0 a .family of little children to brlnsr
up, that he must distribute his children around
and may \u25a0 not ; bring - a ; new and • faithful - wife
to comfort - him in his loneliness and to train
them • in' the , right way, though I Christ : has left
the door . open. . It • is : unfair : to the . poor, . un-
conducted the services and
with the Bishop of Dallas and
the Bishop of Georgia expounded the ben
efits to be derived from a course of tem
perance. . \u25a0 _ .
The Bishop of Kentucky was the first
to speak. He was followed by the Bishop
of Dallas,' the concluding address falling
to the lot of the Bishfap of'Oeorgia,
The Bishop of Georgia said in part:
There is a large . responsibility, dear sisters,
THE . Church Temperance So
ciety convened last night at
St. Luke's Church. Prayers
and addresses by noted Bish
ops made up the services.
Bishop Dudley of Kentucky
loyal to Christ, unfaithful to the prayer book.
I call upon this convention to turn down such
legislation. I call upon the gentlemen on the
other side to brine out of the privacy of their
breasts the reasons for turning against our
greatest scholars? "Will they offer it on the
ground that Dr. Fulton of Pennsylvania did
the other day. that the clergy of this church
are so cowardly that the sheep can't be al
lowed the full stretch of pasture that Christ
I ask you to bear in mind to use this safe
guard. Keep your bodies in soberness, tem
perance and chastity.
You must begin with the women 'who are
by nature the spiritual influence which should
be exercised for the redemption of men.
As to the heredity of drunkenness. The man
who is himself a drunkard may depend upon
It that, if he has sons and daughters, he will
leave a dangerous heritage, and the son or
daughter of such a man always fears alcohol
as an agent of awful harm. The reason why
stimulants seem to be necessary Is physical
depletion. This provokes a. desire of stimu
lant. Excess induces the habit.
which no one can take off your ahouldsrs. It
lies with the women whether son or brother
or sweetheart goes to the dogs. The respon
sibility is all the greater, that knowin* th*
weakness of men you will not strive the more.
Noted Bishops Urge Sobriety at a
Meeting of the Church Tem
perance Society.
SAFEGUARD LIES
WITH THE WOMEN
THE. SAN FRANCISCO CALE; .TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1901.
MISSIONARY PRELATES ARE ELECTED
TO SERVE IN FOUR VACANT DIOCESES
3
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