Springfield Camp-meeting.
It is proper here to make a statement of the treatment which Eld. White and his wife received from Eld. Grant and others at the Springfield Camp-meeting in 1869. We would first state that the first time that Eld. White and Eld. Grant met was on a western train, at which time Eld. Grant stated that his greatest objection to Seventh-day Adventists was their exclusiveness. Eld. Grant there stated to Eld. White, “I can worship with you, but your views will not let you worship with me.” Eld. White cherishing views of Eld. Grant’s honesty, which he has since been forced to abandon, took Eld. Grant at his word and in a few weeks addressed a note to him relative to pitching a family tent upon the Springfield camp-ground, to be occupied by himself and some half dozen others. Eld. White stated that neither himself nor any one of his company would say anything publicly that was out of harmony with the general sentiments of the meeting, neither would they sell any of their books. This note receiving a favorable response from Eld. Grant, Eld. White, sister White, Mrs. Dr. Chamberlain, and Elds. Waggoner and Cornell came upon the ground and took up tent life. Several other S. D. A. brethren were occasionally with them. Eld. White always has a quantity of our publications with him. And when his friends called upon him at his tent or when he met them upon the grounds he usually gave them some of his publications. He did not scatter them upon the seats, neither did he distribute in the tents, he simply in the most quiet manner handed them to personal friends and those who came to his tent and asked for them. It was not long, however, before Eld. White was summoned to meet the camp-meeting committee in the rear of the speakers’ stand. So accompanied by Elds. Waggoner and Cornell he appeared before that committee to answer to the charge of a violation of promise in giving away, in the manner afore stated, some of his publications. Eld. White very soon made it appear that he had made no promise relative to giving away his publications, and that he had strictly kept his word. And as opposition publications from the office of the World’s Crisis had only a few weeks before been scattered broadcast in the Seventh-day Adventist tent in Chelsea, Mass., where Eld. Cornell was preaching, Eld. White did not expect that any one would object to his handing out some of his publications in the manner afore stated. Eld. White and his friends received permission to retire, with the promise that in a few minutes, at a given place, the decision of the committee would be made known to them, which proved to be that Eld. White must hand out no more of his publications, to which he consented. But before he got back to his tent, a keen, shrewd appearing lady, doubtless selected for the purpose, came to his tent and in the most urgent manner wished to purchase a couple of pamphlets. Dr. Chamberlain not knowing the decision of the committee, and Eld. White’s consent to it, gave the lady the two pamphlets, but refused to take her money, stating that Eld. White had promised to sell no publications on the ground. And in less than five minutes, Eld. Matthewson, accompanied by Eld. Himes, came to Eld. White’s tent in a rage with the two pamphlets in his hands, which he had received of the afore-mentioned lady, demanding him to take down his tent and leave the grounds immediately. Eld. White attempted an explanation, which was at first denied by Eld. Matthewson, but in consequence of the pacific words of Eld. Himes, was permitted. Eld. White asked his wife and Dr. Chamberlain to explain the matter, which was done by Dr. Chamberlain, in a clear and calm manner, stating, at the same time, that she was acquainted with both Eld. Matthewson and Eld. Himes, and that they had frequently been guests at her house in Middletown, Conn., before the death of her husband. And yet Eld. Matthewson persisted that Eld. White should immediately take down his tent and leave the grounds. Eld. White then stated that he should not be driven off from the grounds in any such way, that he had done nothing worthy of such treatment, that he demanded the right to make a full explanation, and that if Eld. Matthewson pressed the matter he would find that in this case he had been making history that would afterward prove unpleasant to him. Said Eld. Matthewson, “Do you mean that you will publish it in your paper?” “I do,” replied Eld. White, and continued, “my appointment in Lancaster makes it necessary that I should leave to-morrow, which I shall do.” This ended the matter, and the next day Eld. White quietly left the grounds. One other circumstance in which Eld. Grant acted a part should here be mentioned. Bro. and sister W. were walking around the grounds near the stand about eight o’clock in the morning. The time for social service was at nine. Before the stand, where the prayer-meetings were held, were two of Eld. Grant’s brethren. The breakfast hour had passed, and hundreds were moving in different directions on the grounds. One of the two brethren before the stand said to the other, “Let us start a prayer-meeting; there is nearly an hour before the regular appointment which will be lost unless we do. The people had better be here in prayer-meeting than to be strolling around the grounds.” They sung, which gathered a few. And while one of them prayed, more came; and when about fifty were gathered, sister White arose and began to speak. Her clear, full voice reached the ears of those who were walking about the grounds, and they flocked to the stand, and when more than one thousand were quietly seated, and were listening to sister White with the greatest attention as she was speaking upon practical godliness, and not one word out of harmony with the doctrines or spirit of the meeting, Eld. Grant arose and said:— “Sister, this is no place for preaching! This is no place for preaching”! As sister White had been speaking only five or six minutes she did not think it proper to sit down at, once, and continued her remarks for a moment, when Eld. Grant vehemently repeated again the same words. The reader will bear in mind that this did not occur at the time of any regular service. Moreover Eld. Grant had no occasion to interrupt sister White on the ground that she was advocating views contrary to those taught at that meeting. And even admitting that the hour had arrived for social service, no Christian gentleman would treat a woman, whose position demanded respect as a public speaker, as Eld. Grant treated sister White. By this time the reader may inquire, What did Eld. Grant mean when he said to Eld. White, on the occasion of their first meeting on the railroad train, that his greatest objection to Seventh-day Adventists was their exclusiveness, and that he could worship with them, but they could not worship with him? The matter can be explained only on the ground that the man will, when it serves his policy best, say one thing when he means another. And why fear to have Mrs. White speak upon the Springfield camp-ground? This was virtually answered by one of their ministers, who was in favor of driving them from the ground, who said, “We don’t want the influence of their presence on the ground, even if they should not say a word”. This course of conduct shows their lack of confidence in their own positions, and their inability to sustain them from the word of God. This was also manifested in a request from Eld. Grant that our list of publications should be left off from the cover of that portion of the Discussion between Eld. Cornell and himself which he proposed to keep for sale at the Crisis office. He feared even to have the list of our works on the Law and Sabbath fall into the hands of his patrons, lest they should know that such works were in existence, and should obtain them, read them, and believe what they teach. So we have the same Eld. Grant, both in relation to the Discussion and also Eld. Waggoner’s triumphant refutation of the doctrine of the non-resurrection of the unjust, and sent the books to the Crisis office with blank covers. Eld. Grant and his associates have done all in their power to hide from their people the evidence of the Sabbath truth. And the reader can now form an opinion of the unrighteous means they have been willing to resort to in accomplishing this. But the most powerful weapon in their hands has been prejudice, which they have labored to stir up in the hearts of their people. Are any of their people in danger of embracing the Sabbath, a few slanderous statements about sister White and her visions are immediately set forth to intimidate them. Their course in this respect reminds one of the mother who would frighten her child to obedience by threatening to shut him up with the “bugbears in the dark.” It is astonishing what an influence these men have over their followers. It is well illustrated by the influence of the priest over Roman Catholics. The confidence of their followers in their slanderous reports reminds us of the Roman Catholic school-master, who said in the honesty of his soul that Martin Luther was a drunkard and put forth his writings against Rome by the power of the devil in his fits of delirium tremens. Eld. Grant’s followers in San Francisco were so thoroughly scared into obedience by his outcry about sister White and her visions, that when Bro. and sister White visited San Francisco for the first time, in 1873, they would not consent to have them speak in their place of worship, though Eld. Fassett and wife, their regular speakers, were absent. Bro. Diggins, who attended their meetings on Sunday, and was one of their supporters, went to the leading men with the pledge that nothing should be said by Bro. and sister White contrary to the views of that people. But, notwithstanding this pledge, and the fact that their regular speakers were absent, Bro. Diggins was denied.