A bishops business

A Bishop's Business

The turmoil which preceded the Civil War gave birth to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Born of politics it has remained aware of politics today when its most conspicuous spokesman, Bishop James Cannon Jr., is known throughout the land less as a man of God than as the bitter friend of Prohibition, the sweet foe of Alfred Emanuel Smith.

Last week Churchman Cannon was revealed in a new secular role. Investigators into the. affairs of Kable & Co., a bankrupt Manhattan bucketshop,* discovered that, like so many of his fellow countrymen but unlike most churchmen, the Bishop had been playing the stock market.

Bishop Cannon's first Kable & Co. venture was an investment of $2,500 in August 1927. His judgment in general was proved sound although at one time he owed the firm $91,000. His best day was April 10, 1928, when he sold $75,078 worth of stock, purchased $58,353. In more than 30 transactions, he was a loser only six times.

Bishop Cannon was quick to answer "the statements which have appeared in today's secular newspapers." He wanted it understood, in the first place, that he had been buying securities "on the instalment plan," not gambling. Then he explained that during the last presidential campaign Senator Carter Glass (Va.) telegraphed to him: "For some unexplained reason affidavits have today been placed in my hands relating to alleged stock gambling on margin by you with the late bucketshop firm of Kable & Co. . . . Would you have me promptly deny for you participation in any such transaction? . . ." The Bishop, who said that he first properly "digested and appraised" this ''suggestive skilfully-worded telegram," answered: "Affidavits evidently sent you for purely political purposes to destroy or weaken effect of my opposition to Wet Tammany Candidate Smith, parties selecting you as mouthpiece. I have bought and sold stocks and bonds and other kinds of property for many years, making full or partial payments on same just as other men do, but in such transactions so far as I knew dealt only with reputable brokers. . . ." Among the kinds of property he had sold Bishop Cannon listed "houses and lots, timber stumpage, coal, cotton and bank stocks and stocks and bonds listed on the New York Stock Exchange." He said other brokers of his were his personal acquaintances, Col. John P. Branch and Langbourne M. Williams of Richmond, "both Christian gentlemen."

After the Glass telegram, Bishop Cannon said he received a similar one from the Smith-Democratic New York Evening World which he answered similarly. Thereafter, he said, nobody ever troubled him with reference to his speculations. Last week he continued to explain his speculating in the light of his political rather than his church activities. He talked about (John Jacob) "Raskobism" and declared: "They resort to mud slinging. The effort to besmirch my character and to weaken my influence by publishing to the world that I have purchased and sold stock in dicates the desperation of the enemy and deserves the contempt of all decent men and women." Bishop Cannon's insistent protrusion into politics has stimulated a countermovement, an "anti-politics" wing in the church; to "curb the activity of ministers of the gospel in politics." They intend making a formal protest against the church in politics at the next Methodist Conference in October. The leaders are Bishops Collins Denny (Virginia) and Warren A. Chandler (Georgia) who have observed lately that the political activity of Methodist leaders "threatens to lower the influence of the church."

*A trading organization which receives money from stock-buying customers, holds or uses the money for its own purposes, hoping that the supposedly bought stock will go down, the customer accept his published loss. Should a customer make money, ask for his profits, the accounts of other customers can generally supply it.