The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-05-07
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
ASpicy Letter About the Great
Methodist Gathering
AS 1T APPEARS TO A VISITOR
Incidents of the organiration-A
Representative Mceting-Thc
Woman Question Decided
Against the Fair Sex.


Special Correspondence OF he IateliOeneer.
New YORK, May 4.-The organization
Of General Conference OF the Methodist
Episcopal Church is always matter oi
great comment in the religious world,
owing to the vast constituency and the
sacred and far.reaching interests in
volved. But the opening scenes Of the
Conference now in session were antici.
pated with unusual concern for three
reasons-frst, because it was to meet in
an opera house; secondly, because it was
to be held in this city; and, thirdly, be-
cause it was known everywhere that,
for the first time in the history of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, women
would apply for admission as delegates.
As to the building in which the body
convenes, no church has been more de-
termined than this in It's opposition to
theatre-going, and naturally some were
surprised to find the leading men OF the
church, with their wives, aunts, cousins
and sweethearts, consenting to go to
such place en- mdSSe. Nor was this sur
prise lessened by the fact that 1t was the
second, il not third, ohense, for that
only showed that the course was pur-
sued with deliberation, and with full
knowledge of all that It implied. And
what aggravated the situation was that,
coincident with the assembling of its
General Conference in place OF this
Kind, there should come demand from
some of the leading pastors OF the
church to have the rule annulled which
interdicts certain popular amusements.
To what extent this matter may have
weighed upon the minds Of the Bishops
it is impossible TO tell.
From the fact, however, that they did
not deem the body ready for business
until two prayers had been offered, and
that the opening invocation OF one OF the
ministers should have been supplement-
ed by a fervent petition from one OF
their own number, there is at least room
for a suspicion that these dignitaries
thought it well to be on the safe side.
HUMOROUS INCIDENTS.
That the delegates were little per-
picked by their strange surroundings
was shown ut once. DR.. Neeley, OF Penn
sylvania, wanted to know the technical
name OF the part Of the house occupied
by the delegates. DR.. Buckley referred
him to General Fisk, "who evidently"
he remarked, twas the only one present
who knew all about theatres"
This, OF course, provoked q great tit
ter, but General Fisk is not the man TO
rest under joke OF that kind, and his
prompt reply was that DR.. Buckley, in
his work on the theatre, had called the
part in question the parquette. This, in
allusion to book written by the doctor
in opposition TO the theatre, and while
the Conference roared with laughter, rs
religious bodies always do when they
get good chance, DR.. Buckley closed
the incident and again brought down
the house by thanking the General "for
his gratuitous advertisement OF most
excellent book"
Really, though, jesting aside, and casu-
istry ruled out, this magnificent Opera
House is an admirable place for such n
gathering, and the committee who secur-
ed it deserve all praise.
STRIKING CONTRAST.
The special significance arising from
the fact OF the Conference assembling in
New York has been alluded to repeated
" in the speeches. The last meeting
here was in 1914, the ever-memorable
occasion when the church divided on
the question whether a Bishop should
be allowed to own slaves. The vote on
that point being in the negative, the
Southern delegates withdrew, the result
being the formation OF the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, which has
now nearly million members, besides
the two million in the Methodist Epis-
copal Church. The contrast between
then and now was stated in striking
manner in the address OF welcome by
DR.. Hare, OF New York. The two
churches, he said, which then separated,
were now almost ready to come together
again, while, in the body before him,
were men OF dark skin, who were born
in slavery, the position of the church
being, in this day, not merely that a
Bishop may not own slaves, but that no
man can own his fellow-man.
New York, when the Conference last
assembled here, had about 100000 in
population against its present 1900, 900; ;
the nation but 10000, 600; the Methodist
Episcopal Church 100000; whereas
now the two branches number over
5000, 600, the General Conference at that
time but $50 delegates, only one OF that
number being in the present body, the
venerable DR.. J. NJ. Trimble, OF Ohio,
who has been delegate to every Con-
ference since. The point was also made
that the General Conference OF 1874 was
clean shaven throughout, and the
genial Bishop Bowman observed pleas
antly that his memory carried him back
to the time when the brethren before
him, who now prided themselves upon
their patriarchal heads, would not have
been admitted to any church in the De-
nomination-at which some old veteran
near the platform showed such an at
tachment for the former over the latter
times MS to calculate with true Metho-
distic unCtion, "Thank the Lord"
A REPRESENTATIVE GATHERING.
Speaking OF boards leads one naturally
to think OF BARRIERS, which reminds me
that the tonsorial profession has at least
one representative in the present Con-
ference, fact which is not at all surpris.
ing when it is remembered that there
are colored delegates to the number Of
80, and that some Of these are not in the
ministry. The full list OF delegates
shows 2S1 ministers and l75 laymen,
who represent Ill Annual Conferences;
l2g OF the ministers are presiding elders,
l02 pastors in active service, II editors
OF organs Of the Church, 10 presidents,
deans, officers and agents Of educational
institutions, 8 missionaries, 3 persons
connected with the publishing interests
Of the Church aud Is officers Of Church
societies. Among the laymen there are
27 lawyers, "a merchants, ~ bankers, lS
teachers, 10 manufacturers, 0 dealers in
real estate, insurance men, 0 farmers,
4 Judges. 9 presidents OF universities, /
railroad president, 8 physicians, 9 capi-
talists, governor Governor Lounsbury
OF ConneCticut), National Bank ex.
aminer, / publisher, l"author," ! Coun.
| 10 auditor | Congressman, | civil en-.