The Panola Watchman. (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 12, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 29, 1909 Page: 2 of 8

                                
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BAPTIST TROUBLES IN TEXAS
THEIR *AUSE.
>    IT REV I. W. JARRELL.
Beginning with the outbreak
of the disturbance, we note that
in Feb. 1894, it was officially pub-
lished by the superintendent of
missions, Kev. J. M. Carroll, that
the missionaries were living on
bread and water. The statement
was repeated over Texas.
This urjred the pastors to greater
effi rts in mission collections.
The Hoard was in debt $6,000.
Unknown to the Baptists out-
side of the Board J. M. Carroll
w as getting a « lary of $2,500.00
a year, and employing three as-
sistants at $900 for one, $600 for
another, and the third at? one
dollar a day. The traveling ex-
^penseaof-4. M. Carroll w ere also
paid, and he was also renting a
room in his own house and paying
himself $20.00 a month for it, to
use as an office. All of this was
paid but of the mission fund be-
fore the rriissionanes received
anything on the field.
This extravagance was made
known to Dr. S. A. Hayden, who
soon after notified the meml era
of the Board that at the April
meeting, he would introduce a
reform paper asking for a re-
duction of office expenses, also
that the secretary's salary be re-
reduced from $2,500,00 to $2,-
100.00. That there might be
more money for the missionaries
in the field.
April 10th, 1894, the Board
met in Waco. Dr. B. H Carroll
and his Brother J. M , were mad
and refused to speak to Dr.
Hayden, and w'hile Dr. Hayden
sought, through mutual friends,
to have an interview with them,
it was denied him.
Dr. Hayden introduced his re-
form xwper which was violently
atiapaed by the Carrolls, and
caused a storr y session of the
Board. Dr. B H. Carroll con-
tended that the Board could
make no change until the end of
the year because the contract
had been made with the secre-
tary for the year.
■ ed that-the dtan
greeahle episode in the Board
meeting should not. be given to
the public until the session of
the convention at Marshall, six
months later. But this agree-
ment was violated the next day.
by the affair being given, in a
perveted form, to the public, in a
paper published on Dr. Cranfill’s
press in Waco, and copied into
the Fort Worth Gazette, and
given state wide publication.
This derr.andfd a correct ver-
sion of the whole affair by Dr.
Hayden in the Texas Baptist
Herald, which was the first
know l* dge the Baptists of Texas
had of the extravagant use of
the mission fund by the Secre-
tary, J. M. Carroll.
Frr*m the foregoir g statement,
it is easy to see that the cause of
the trouble existed in the office
of the secretary in Waco. Had
it not been for the waste of
mission funds in Waco, by the
secretary, there would have been
no call foMreform by Dr. Hay-
den. The efforts to have the
mission funds economically uied,
exasperated the two Carrolls,
and from this date they gave
themselves to the task of elimi-
nating Dr. Hayden from the
State Convention, which they
assiduosly pursued until it was
accomplished in 1899 at Dallas.
The shameful episode which
occured at the various sessions
of the convention, notably at
San Antonio, in 1897. and at Wa-
co 1898,and Dallas 1899, in which
things were done by the leaders
that would put a political con-
vention to the blush, are t6o
numerous and lengthy to be
given in full in this paper. •
It was at San Antonio in 1897
that the slanderous charges were
perpetrated, for which the lead-
ers of the convention were pros-
ecuted by Dr. Hayden for libel,
which was ultimately settled by
a confession of judgment and
payment of all costs by the de-
fendants.
It was at Waco in 1898 that
the convention departed from
Baptist principles hy declaring
itself ‘‘com|H>sed of individuals”
and not of churches, and then
proceeded to put an individual
messenger on trial apart from
his church which ha 1 sent him
aw a messenger:——---
should send as messengers to! to perpetuate the work of mis
the convention.    j sions on the old Baptist platform.
Dr- B. H. Carroll stated that and to furnish all true Baptists a
the “convention is as sovreign in channel of co-operation through
its sphere as the churches. ” Dr. which to do genuine mission
Hayden was put on trial as an work.
individual,apart from his church,! The basis of representation in
and charges were preferred the B. M. A. places each church
against him that took two men j on an equality with every other
an hour apd a half to read, to church in the body. Each church
which he was allowed just thirty being allowed only two niessen-
minutes to answer.    gers, without regard to either
Then hy political scheming, an numerical or financial strength,
election in which scores of illegal ^ State Convention has a
votes were counted in the affirm- church society and money basis
ative, on the proposition to un- of representation. Each church
seat Dr. Hayden, and the promise being allowed eight messengers,
to his friends waB violated by the societies, several of which
denying them the privilege of may be in a church, are allowed
voting, as no time was allowed messengers, and then for every
them to return to the building twenty-five dollars, the church
and vote. They had been or- or membership has contributed
dered by the president, Dr. R. C.; for church or mission work dur-
Buckner, to retire until theaffirm- ing the year, they are allowed
ative vote was counted. The one messenger. So fn occasions
negative vote was called for of great interest, as in the re-
am! counted before they could cent trouble, the churches in the
return. It was by this character cities could easily send thirty or
of scheming and chicanery that forty messengers each, and con-
the leaders gained their victory, trol the body by a few large
Then at Dallas in 1899, after
taking possession of the house
and refusing to organize the first
day, according to theconstitution,
and sending telegrams over the
state for recruits, and locking
Dr. Hayden’s friends out, and
using violence at the doors until
threatened with an officer by Dr.
Anderson, they delayed the or-
ganization of the body until the
second day. when their recruits
had arrived, and their numbers
were swelled by several hundred.
Then, and not until then did they
organize the body. It was here
that Dr. Buckner put the drunken
Dr. Robinson in the moderators
chair, and no friend of Dr. Hay-
den could have a hearing before
the body.
It was here that the celebrated
ninth article was added to the
constitution of the convention,
which cuts off, and denies any
one a seat in the body who would
criticise the work of the Board.
Thus the convention built a wall
around itself, shut and locked the
doors, and denies admission to all
comers who are not in full accord
This was the first time in Bap-
tist history such a thing had
evei been done by a Baptist
body. This episode placed the
convention in an attitude inde-
pendent of the churches, with
authority to dictate to the
churches as to whom they
with the work of the Board. „
This condition gave rise to the|_oldLtime Baptist method
organization of the Baptist Miss-1
ionary Association of Texas.
There were a large number of
churches in Texas, that could not
endorse the methods of the Board
of the convention, and refused to
to work any longer under her
banner.
The B. M. A. was organized
churches. This method was used
at Waco iq 1896 and at Dallas in
1899. To this we owe, in part,
their victory over the churches
of the state.
1. Its sovereignty as an inde-
pendent body, composed of indi-
viduals it assumes a dictatorial
attitude towards the churches.
Instead of being a creature of the
churches, and subject to the
churches as it once was, it has
grown to be an independent body
and declares that it is not com-
posed of chu'ches, but of indi-
viduals. As such, it assumes to
work, by its Board, independent
of the churches.
In Baptist polity, churches are
independent bodies, and are the
highest ecclesiastical authority
on earth. The State convention
has departed from this, and
assumes superiority over the
churches. Thus she has created
a new hierarchy, and still calls
herself a Baptist body. This is
a very serious objection to the
State convention. She should
change her name, or return to I
Securely shielded from all com- j
era, by the ninth article, there is,
no one now to object to the con-i
vention policy, or the acts of the
leaders. There is nothing now.1
to hinder the most reprehensible
practice in carrying out her poli-
cy, which she has surely done.
Sustained by the Board. Dr.
| Gambrel set quite a number of
high salaried agents to work in
I various parts of the state whose
mission was to ”li e the church-
es” with the convention.
Carrying out their mission,
they have divided hundreds of
churches iimhc state. Going to
churches that were in peace, the
agent would pitch his tent, or
otherwise set to work, and con-1
tinueuntil the church was either;
lined up with the convention or
split.
This they call mission work.
In this mission they have ear-
nestly worked for about twelve
years. It is a consoling truth j
that no church party preacher in;
Texas has ever split a church.
This reprehensible "mission
work,” has spread confusion and
disaster in all part.- o; the state
among the churches, until today
there are Board splinters that
have been split off from our
churches by these agents in
nearly every section of Texas.
TN« Rwny Rnlt.
This evil allows an indefinite
number of messengers, limited
only by the amount of money
contributed, which can be swell-
ed by the rich to an extreme de-
gree, for the accomplishment of
any scheme desired.
The Elilily Rails.
Allows the multiplication of
societies in the church congrega-
tion, and each society is allowed
one or more messengers. All
these added to the churches eight,
will enable wealthy city churches
to send up a controlling number
from a very few churches, which
annul# the power of the poorer
and weaker churches. This also
is a great evil.
Tha Oaavaatlaa Palloy.
“Line up or tear up.” This
course has been pursued, as we
have already seen, to an alarm-
ing degree. This policy can nev-
er be corrected .from the inside
of the convention, because no
one is allowed on the inside who
objects to the prevailing meth-
ods. If corrected at all. it mustj
be from without.
Asstharjl rowing Evil.
Union meetings with other <lc-
nomi nations. This Fas Ee^
come quite frequent with Board
preachers; while Dr. Gambrel
and other convention leaders
have inveighed quite conspicu-
ously against debates with
preachers of other denomina-
tions. 'Phis of course, encoura-
ges the lesser gentry to engage
in union meetings, which always
lowers the Baptist Standard and
compromises Baptist principles.
No old land mark Baptist church
will tolerate this compromise.
The Evil* o« tha Nlath «rtlal«
When reduced to its last anal*
ysis, the adoption of the ninth
article by the Baptist State ‘ on-
vention of Texas, removed the
convention from Baptist ranks,
and placed it upon episcopal
ground. The cnurches sustain-
ing a similar relation to the con-
vention, as that of Methodist
societies to their annual confer-
ence. All rights of instructin to
her messengers and the privilege
to object to methods, or criti-
cism of the work done hy the
board, has been taken away from
every church that is in iine with
the convention. There is only
one privilege left to them, viz:
Foot, the hills made hy the hoard,
and be quiet about it.
The B. M. A. churches object
to such tyrany and refuse to
submit.
■. N. A. Baals sf Representation.
Each church is allowed two
messengers, without regard to
numerical °r financial strength.
Placing all the churches upon
an equality with each other.
The Baptist Missionary Asso-
ciation does not assume to dictate
to any church. Takes no author-
ity over the churches, but recog-
nizes her relationship to the chur-
ches as their creature, and acts
accordingly. The B. M. A. was
organized to afford the churches
ofTexas a channel through which
to do genuine mission work in
destitute fields as economically as
is consistent with efficiency.
This has been the policy of Bap-
tist churches in all their past
history All true Baptist must
espouse this cause, or be counted
heretical.
Birthplace of Chimneys.
Chimney* are modern—that la. chim-
neys with U replaces amd flues. Nona
of the ltonian ruin* shows chimneys
like ours. There Is none In the re-
stored building* i" llereuianetim and
l’oin|>eil. Homan architects complain-
ed that their decorations were smok-
ed up. A kitchen in Home was al-
ways sooty. Braziers wCre used In the
nsims.- Tin* chimney of iiNTT<|hf-
ty consisted of a hole In the roof. The
wealthy Itomaus used carefully dried
win si which would burn in the nsitn
without soot. The modern ebiuiney
was Hrsi used In Kurcpe In the four-
teenth century. The oldest certain ac-
count of a chimney places It la Venice
In 1347.    _'
Take the WatchAmn.
you Can Afford
Trip to Carthage
To J«# Our yVrbtr Line of
gies, Surries <SL Runabouts
We show more Styles than any other store in
East Texes and make Closer Prices, Quality Cone-
sided than you will find else Where
HE BEST WACON MADE
LLOYD THOMPSON
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