IT will be seen from the above that Eld. Canright is so urgent to have us publish his article that he appeals to our sense of fairness to induce to do so. He calls to our attention the fact that the editor of the REVIEW demanded of the Advocate the correction of some grossly erroneous charges, which the latter never would correct. He evidently thinks we will be more fair than the Methodist editor, and we will justify his good opinion of us by publishing his statement. Those who are right can afford to be fair. The reader will see, then, that this publication is issued entirely because of the Elder’s demand.RCASDA 182.6

Eld. Canright claims that I have misrepresented him, and injured his reputation by statements which I made concerning his visiting the newspaper offices in Grand Rapids before our camp-meeting, and getting his articles into the papers, and having them scattered on the camp-ground. He says my statements concerning these things are untrue. He brings in a letter from Dr. Veenboer to substantiate his statements. The reader will carefully notice what the Elder and his ally have said. I will at this point also introduce a letter from Eld. H. W. Miller, who lived at Grand Rapids at the time, and acted as the agent of our Conference, securing space in the columns of the city newspapers for the publication of reports of our camp-meeting:—RCASDA 183.1

Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan.31, 1888
ELD. G. I. BUTLER, Battle Creek, Mich.
Dear Bro: In reply to your letter of the 26th, I will say that about the first of September, 1887, I visited the editors and business managers of three of the leading dailies of this city, and made arrangements to report, through their papers, the proceedings of our camp-meeting, which was to be held in this city the last of September. Four or five days before our meeting proper was to begin, and during our preparatory meeting, two of these papers began the publication of a series of articles from the pen of Eld. D. M. Canright, which consisted not only of an unjust attack upon certain points of faith held by Seventh-day Adventists, but of a personal reference to certain leading writers and speakers of that denomination. Now, as the principal consideration in the matter of reporting our meeting was, that we should circulate several hundred copies of each of these dailies, we felt it duty to call and ascertain something of the articles we were about to circulate. We were informed by the managers of two of these dailies that arrangements had been made by Eld. Canright or his allies to have a series of articles from the Elder’s pen appear in their columns during the week of our camp-meeting. And the business manager of the other paper told us that they had been urged to publish the same articles, but positively refused to have anything to do with it.

Whether Eld. C. personally visited these publishing firms is a very minor matter; but the evidence is abundant that they were visited by him or some of those who were intimately connected in the plot to secure the publication his articles in the papers of which we expected to circulate about 2500 throughout the State. As his articles were so full of a revengeful spirit, and consisted so largely of personal attacks upon those from whom he had so recently withdrawn, it took but little argument to convince those who had published a few of his articles, that justice to us, in accordance with or former contract, would demand that they be discontinued, at least during the time we reported our meetings through their columns. Eld. Canright, however, was not well satisfied with all this, as was seen by the article he wrote and the strong effort he and his friends made to have it published in Sunday’s issue of Oct.2. I was personally interviewed by the editor concerning the publication to this piece, and he being more honorable than the others, did not allow its publication in his paper of that date.RCASDA 184.1

But Eld. Canright and his associates were not of the submissive kind; so they had the said article struck off in sheet form, and all day Sunday, Oct.2, their agents surrounded the camp, when thousands were in attendance, freely scattering these sheets. It was a very noticeable fact, however, that many of those who were doing this menial work for them, were so far down in the intellectual scale that they could not even read what they were giving to others.RCASDA 184.2

H. W. MILLER.

This brings the whole question before us from parties intimately connected with the matter on both sides. Eld. Canright and Dr. Veenboer state that the Elder did not personally visit the newspaper offices, or engage in the circulation of these articles against us on the grounds, etc. Suppose we grant this to be true, as they state, — and we have no disposition to deny it, — what then is the result? And how far does it prove that we have treated him unjustly or misrepresented him? The facts admitted or proved are these:—RCASDA 184.3

1. Eld. Canright knew very well that we were about to have a large camp-meeting in Grand Rapids, and that it was always our custom on such occasions to have full reports of the same in the leading city papers.RCASDA 184.4

2. He knew this Dr. Veenboer was a very bitter opponent of our people and doctrines, and that he would do everything in his power to make us odious in the eyes of the public.RCASDA 185.1

3. Knowing this full well, as we have reason to believe there had been much correspondence between them, he came to this man’s office, made a bargain with him to write six articles against S. D. Adventists, and placed them in his hands; and this man “paid” him for them, according to the Elder’s own admission.RCASDA 185.2

4. Somebody acting for this partnership of Canright, Veenboer & Co., did visit the three leading newspapers in the city, and two of them published articles for them, and one refused.RCASDA 185.3

5. When our agent, Eld. H. W. Miller, visited these offices, and objected to being made a party to carry out this plot of forcing our people to circulate Eld. Canright’s virulent articles against our faith, and slanders against our leading workers, these papers agreed to withhold the publication of them till the camp-meeting was past.RCASDA 185.4

6. During the progress of the camp-meeting, just before the most important day of it (Sunday), the Elder wrote another article, not included in the six he was “paid” for. It was the most bitter of any of them. From expressions in it concerning the “camp-ground,” we know it was intended to be circulated on the ground; e.g., “All of Mrs. White’s books from which I quoted are at the camp.” “Examine them and see if I haven’t quoted them right.” The agents of the above firm, Canright, Veenboer & Co., brought a big pressure to bear, to get this into the papers. Failing in that, as Eld. Miller says, their “agents surrounded the camp, when thousands were in attendance, freely scattering these sheets.”RCASDA 185.5

These are the facts in the case. But now Eld. Canright feels he has been abused, treated unjustly, and misrepresented by Eld. Butler, because I said, “Eld. Canright came to the city and visited most of the newspaper offices,” and that his agents scattered handbills on the camp-ground, etc. And his right-hand man, Dr. Veenboer, steps up and generously exonerates the Elder, taking all the responsibility upon himself. We do not wonder the Elder desires to shift the responsibility of such work as this, on to somebody. We are glad he has some sense of propriety yet left; but he will find it difficult to get rid of the responsibility, after all.RCASDA 185.6

What is the difference in principle, whether a man does a mean act himself, or so associates, with other men that they do it for him, when the motive is transparent that he desires it done? The first course shows courage. The other looks more sneaking. But the responsibility inheres in either case. The principle is recognized everywhere, that responsibility rests as much upon a person when he acts through agents, as when he does a thing himself. The popes erected St. Peter’s cathedral; yet we do not suppose they ever struck a blow upon it, or laid a stone. Vanderbilt built one of the finest mansions in New York, yet never drove a nail in it. Satan is the murderer of our race, yet perhaps never killed a man directly. But it is his influence which has led men to their ruin. Eld. Canright, in constant communication with Dr. Veenboer, visits him, writes some articles for him, gets “paid” for them, and places them under his control; and he cannot escape the responsibility of what follows. Eld. C. is neither a child nor a fool. He well knew what prompted Dr. V. to pay for these articles, and that he would do his utmost to make them hurt S. D. Adventists. And on the very face of it, one was written by the Elder to be circulated on the camp-ground; for it was directed to those on the ground, and they were told to “examine” certain books there. It was written with malevolent intent — written to break down before the citizens of Grand Rapids the influence of “Mrs. E. G. White, the prophetess.” It speaks of her in a most scandalous way, implying that she was acting a double-faced, hypocritical part: “Her words will be smoother than oil.” But her statement about the popular churches is “shamefully false.”RCASDA 186.1

We claim emphatically, that Eld. Canright intended to have these statements of his circulated in some way upon that camp-ground; and the very words of his own article, and all the circumstances connected with it, abundantly substantiate the truthfulness of this statement. He must either stand in this position, or deny the authorship of this wretched sheet which was circulated by the thousand on the camp-ground, on his “Sunday Lord’s day.” How much he knew as to just what the agents of this “partnership” would do, and just how far they would go, has little to do with it. When a man puts liquor to his throat, and goes off under its influence and murders a man, the law holds him responsible for his acts. He knew what sort of stuff that was before he swallowed it. He knew what kind of work it sometimes made men do when under its influence. So Eld. Canright, when he wrote such words and placed them in the hands of a man actuated by the spirit Dr. V. had, knew, or should have known, the use to which he would likely put them. A little dodge that he himself did not go to any printing offices, or personally hire any agents to go to the camp-ground and scatter this trash, has very little importance. He placed it in the hands of those whom he had every reason to believe would do it and, as the result proved, actually did do it. And he himself was really a party to the whole transaction, and got “paid” for his part of it. How could his responsibility be made more manifest. Why, on the same ground the writer could claim no responsibility in the circulation of the EXTRA, though he wrote a large part of it. He has no remembrance of circulating even three copies. Yet Eld. C. will hardly be likely to release him from responsibility in the premises. The Elder will have to try again before he convicts Eld. Butler of any substantial misrepresentation.RCASDA 186.2

ELD. CANRIGHT’S REPLY

ELD. BUTLER’S WRONG STATEMENT. — NO.2