Batavia, Jan. 12, 1903.

To the Editor of Svenska Nyheter:

This is to notify you not to send me your paper any more. I am discontinuing my subscription to the paper because you are critizing the church and its ministers unjustly. I know that not all of the latter are what they ought to be, but it is not fair to give all of one's children a beating just because one of them may have been disobedient. You ought to be aware of this.

Respectfully yours,

Albert Gustafson

2

The above letter was received by us one day last week. As we came to the words: "....you criticize the church and its ministers unjustly," the question came to our mind...."When did we do it?" We dug down into the recesses of our memory and into the files of the Svenska Nyheter for the past few years, and we found that Friend Gustafson did not keep strictly within the confines of the Commandment concerning truthfulness.

Cheerfully do we admit that we have criticized the ministers, criticized them because they do not live in accordance with their teachings; criticized them because they proved far speedier on their feet in running the errands of Mammon than the errands of the God they profess to serve; criticized them for not taking a manly and courageous stand for what in their innermost hearts they knew to be right; criticized them for using their influence over the people for selfish ends--and we shall continue to criticize faults like those mentioned, even though Friend Gustafson may not like it.

We also freely acknowledge that we have criticized the church; we have 3criticized her in order to awaken her from the lazy slumber into which she has been lulled through years of good fortune and ease; criticized her for her lack of interest in matters of vital importance to the welfare of the working class;criticized her for her slackness where Christ-like life and activity are concerned.

Is such criticism unjust? Is it not needed? Take a look around and judge for yourselves. It is probable that we have lauded as many ministers for their fine, unselfish work in behalf of education and enlightenment as we have criticized[other ministers] for lacking courage and resourcefulness in fighting for what is right and proper. But this fact has not been noticed by our friend in Batavia. Of course we might have kept silent, like many of our contemporaries; we might have refrained from clearly and openly expressing our opinions regarding some cowardly minister or some church gone astray. But in such cases, we would have committed sins of omission which, in our opinion, are as bad as sins of commission; and 4whatever encouragement we might then give to the man who loves what is right and is ready to take steps to reform conditions in our religious and social life would be of no value whatever.

We have lost a subscriber and are sorry for it--not for our own sake, but for the sake of the subscriber who loses touch with a newspaper which dares to express its opinion. We are generous and always were so, and this time we prove our generosity by recommending to Friend Gustafson as his next newspaper, that worthy sheet, the Fosterlandet.