Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 November 1908 — Our Criticism of Bishop Quayle. [ARTICLE]

Our Criticism of Bishop Quayle.

In reporting tee lecture of Bishop William A. Quayle, we said that parts of his lecture were unfair, dishonest, and what was much less excusable in a lecturer, showed his ignorance of what he talked about.

We have not changed our mind. Bishop Quayle said . something about having visited afc.army post where the officers all wore corsets and "Bis extreme foppishness made fools pf themselves. He told of their conduct in the ball room and of their affected language and of how the women ran after them, and made fools of themselves, and said he often thought that if a soldier’s uniform was hung up in every public place where the women and girls could see it, they would learn not to care so much for what was Inside of It. The lecturer’s description was comical, being accompanied by a number of fancied attitudes of the soldier, and the writer indulged in a hearty laugh because of the ridiculiusness of the thing. Imagine the Rensselaer Republican or any other newspaper parading the follies and foibles and sometimes the sinfulness of some ministers of the gospel and then asserting that all preachers were to lie judged by the conduct of there few. We have no idea where Bishop Quayle met the soldier that he took as a basis for bis opinion of the United States Army, and we shall not deny that he met somewhere with just such an idiot, but we do claim teat tjiere is no fairness in judging ti; e entire body of officers of an army by an occasional dunce, there is among them. And we know that the officers who are doing their dpty are mighty busy men even in a time of peace, and are, if they meet up to tne requirements of thegovernment,men of g PJ habi.s, industry, tact, and ingenuity. There are occasional failures in the army officers, and they are as human as the preachers, and their weakness is properly defenseless. Rut each officer stands on his own footing as does each citizen, and failure is the certain outcome of viciousness or folly, as it is among the preachers, or business or professional people. To attack the officers or the army as a whole is to attack the military organization, and the congress of the United S ates has approved the present military establishment, and in efliciency, it is doubtless the most able military power in the world. If Bishop Quayle is opposed to the army that is a a different matter, and he should attack the organization and not the officers.

Many things would indicate that Bishop Quayle devotes more cf iis lectures to an effort to please than he does the expressions of ideas and to thoughts that are calculated to make his auditors better thinkers and we have our extreme doubt if he meant what he said. We are kind enough to believe that he is not so profoundly ignorant as his criticism of soldier officers w»uld indicate, and we trust tit at his heare s shall not employ the same rule to him and his knowledge of other tnings as he does to the army by judging it as an entirety by the weakne.s it has in some of its foppish parts. Bishop Quayle is presumed to be a broad minded man, and yet there is no reason for any one to believe him perfect in his line of thought, and he is as open to criticism as was Bob Ingersol, when he went about the country and with his polished oiatory and smooth logic sought to disprove the teacnings of the Bible. Both were men, each with his good traits and each with his faulty, and we have no hesitation whatever in saying that in reference to his soldier argument Bishop Quayle was unfair, dishonest, and what is worse, ignorant of his subject.

The Jasper County Democrat, the paper that “knocks - ’ everything and everybody, being careful never to attack a democrat in good standing, or any other person or organization that helps pay the freight at the Democrat office, thinks it a terrible thing that the Republican should criticise this reverend gentleman, and yet, only a few weeks ago, the Democrat said, “A number of Indiana preachers made asses out of themselves down at the state capitol this week. Of couise we occasionally run across one of these reverend gentlemen who doesn't have to do this —nature having saved him the trouble. People of other towns as well as Rentßeluer can hear testimony to such fact’’

It might be noiced that this "expose" editor does not orient himself by saying what preachers he meant. The Republican criticised Bishop Quayle, with no thought of the other ministers, but . this dlsgru&t ed vulture at the helm of the Democrat, simply called all ministers asses, because he lacked the honor to come out and say in the open which one of

the minister? he aimed to insult Consistency U usually rare in the Democrat, but in jhis case it is consistent for It follows the Bishop Quayle plan ,of insulting alf for the qake of roasting ja tew, and then jumps on to the, Republican for defending the majority because of the <>f h few. We really believe that Bishop

Quayle Is ,a better entertainer than he is a lecturer, and we refer to his entire Monday night performance. It witg clever, amusing, somewhat witty, his facial girations were expressive of his thoughts,* but there was very little ia it that would stick to the mind, and it could not btr compared to many of the lecture numbers that Rensselaer has been honored with, in eluding the Bishop’s own .former visit here.