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Show oo Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, Minister and Author, Stricken Strick-en Down by Paralysis. COLUMBUS, O., July 2. Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, nationally known Congregational minister and author of this city, died this morning, following a second stroke of paralysis suffered last Sunday. Dr. Gladden was 82 years of age. The Rev. Dr. Washington Gladden, pastor of the First Congregational church of Columbus, 0 for tho 32 years from 1882 to 1914, and since then "pastor emeritus, was one of the most widely known preachers and writers of his denomination in the United States. He strove "both in the pulpit and in his books for great social reforms, re-forms, and his success In influencing the spirit of the church was widely acknowledged. Although but an incident of his career, ca-reer, he will be remembered particularly particu-larly through the fact that in 1905 he was the fearless leader of an attack on "tainted money." The question arose when John D. Rockefeller offored the American board of commissioners for foreign missions of the Congregational church a hundred thousand dollars for its work in the conversion of the heathen. Dr. Gladden opposed acceptance accept-ance of the gift, declaring that Mr. Rockefeller's money was ill-gotten wealth and unfit for Christian use. "If the church unfits itself for work by taking bribes of tainted money," he said, "she ought to perish with the money, and she will." Dr. Gladden's uncompromising stand gave rise to a widespread controversy, and though he was overruled by the board of missions, mis-sions, he continued his fight against allowing the church to form close relations rela-tions with "predatory wealth." Dr. Gladden a Reformer. Dr. Gladden's courage as a reformer led him also into a slight venture in politics. He placed himself as a candidate can-didate for member of the city council in a municipal election at Columbus, and although running as an independent independ-ent in the richest residence ward of. the city 'Miere thcr6 wusnoYmaTlyav" large Rcpublicanimajorlty, he won by 76 votes over the regular nominee. After Aft-er his election he led in the successful success-ful fight, which attracted nationwide interest, for the reduction of street car fares in Columbus. One of Dr. Gladden's notable utterances utter-ances was his reiterated plea that every ev-ery community should have a "municipal "mu-nicipal church." The slackeninggpower of the church was due largely, ho held, to its neglect of social and municipal functions. It was highly probable, he believed, that the first Christian churches were municipal churches; that in every town or city was one church with several local congre tions, each with its elder or leader, und all co-operating in the work of tho city. He believed that the need of the hour was the restoration to every town or city of the municipal church. Its claim to the philanthropic leadership of the community would not be disputed, disput-ed, ho said. Born at Pottsgrove. Dr. Gladden was born February 11, 1836, nt Pottsgrove, Pa. In his "Recollections," "Re-collections," published In 1910, he tells that both his grandfathers wore shoemakers shoe-makers and his father a country school teacher. He could read at family prayers pray-ers before ho was three years old, and he memorized portions of an English Eng-lish grammar before he was four years old. His father died when he was very young, and his mother took him to her country homo in New York state, where ho worked on a farm, was printer's print-er's boy, went to school, and finally entered Williams college, taught, preached, and at last, with no attendance attend-ance at a theological school, was ordained or-dained and became pastor of ti little country church. He was later pastor of small churches in Brooklyn, New York City and North Adams and Springfield, Mass., and for four yars was connected with tho editorial staff of the Independent. The First Congregational Congre-gational church in Columbus, of which ho was pastor for the greater part of his llfo, was one of the most famous churches- of tho city. His writings include not only a long list of books on Christian living and al Hed subjects, but many poems, and several hymns, such as "The Dls-ciplo" Dls-ciplo" which have taken their placo among the permanent hymns of tho church. |
