Omaha daily bee., 1889-12-08
THE METHODIST CONFERENCE
Shall Chicago Take it Away from
Omaha?
IMPORTANCE OF THE MOVE.
Commercial and Spiritual Benefits
TO be Derived from the Meet
ing and What Is Neces-
sary to Secure IL.
Work for the Conference.

The question of absorbing interest TO the
Methodist, of Omaha and neighboring W
is whether Chicago shall take away from
the Gate city or not the great general
conference of the Methodist Episcopal
church of 1892.
At the last general conference, Omaha
presented her claims through Presiding
Elder Clendenning, for the next meeting,
and among the arguments In the proposition
were the following;
Omaha is the metropolis of the region en-
bracing Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming,
Dakota, Colorado. Utah ana Idaho.
Omaha Is o beautiful city of 1000 popu-
lation.
Omaha has entertained successfully the
Presbyterian general assembly, the general
synod of. the evangelical Lutheran church,
aud the national conference of chariti es and
corrections-all held in 1887.
Omaha is we'll adapted by location and
well fitted with railroad facilities, hotels and
public halls, TO meet the wants Of q great
gathering.
Omaha has sixty-nine churches, of which
fourteen are Methodist.
Omaha Is 500 miles from Chicago. and the
great Rocky mountains can be reached in
twenty hours at a round trip expense of S25,
thus giving attendants on the conference q
splendid opportunity TO see this wonder
land in a pleasant summer journey.
Omaha ia only foruy-eight hours by rail
from New York; sixteen hours from Chi
cago; twelve hours from st. Louis and
seventy hours from San Francisco.
The conference ought to come west, be-
cause Methodism has prospered IN western
soil; and the location of the conference here
will be an unequaled incentive to increased
development.
We therefore urge your body to meet in
Omaha in 1892, and promises:
i. To provide free OF expense to the con-
ference Il suitable hall, properly lighted and
furnished, to seat4 600 or more, comfortably;
also committee rooms.
2 That all delegates and visitors shall be
afforded ample accommodations in our hotels
= and private homes.
3. That railroad fares shall be made as
favorable as lsewher
Resolutions passed by a mass meeting of
citizens IN Council Bluffs and a meeting of
the Methodists of Omaha were added, urg-
ing that Omaha be the place of the next gem
eral conference,
The committee on temporal economy, after
carefully considering the claims of the va
rious cities, unanimously recommended that
Omaha be selected as she place for holding
the session of 1899, and further recommend
% that a commission of seven should be an
pointed, who should be authorized to confer
with the brethren at Omaha concerning rail
road rates, and render such aid as may be
needed in perfecting the arrangements; also
recommended that in case Omaha should
H Aui w SotiS Jul tho IODUSB
that this commission should be authorized to
fix upon some one of the cities named as fol-
lows: Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco,
Charleston, $, c., Des Moines, Indianapolis.
Springfield, ILL.,, or Washington, in which
the conference should be held.
The bishops at their late meeting In To-
peka appointed the following commission {:
Maxield of Omaha, Hobbs of Chicago,
Shinkle Of C%ovington, Taylor of st. Louis
and Wilson of Minneapolis. This commits
sion consists of five laymen and two minis
tiers, and great pressure is being brought to
bear upon them by the people of Chicago and
St. LOUIS in favor of those cities. The only
argument they use is that Omaha IS unable
to care for the great gathering. Some of the
members of the commission have been in
duced to believe this and insist that Omaha
raise S3O,UO0 for expenses promised, or they
will vote for changing the seat OF the gen
eral conference to some other city.
This Is a short history Of the move by
which 1t was decided to hold the general con
ference Of the Methodist church in this CITY
and the effort which IS now being made to
transfer it tn some other town.
10 ascertain how parties most directly IN
terested feel on the subject, the following
interviews were obtained:
Bishop Newman-The last general confer
ence held in New York in 1888 accepted the
invitation from Omaha TO hold its next SEES
sion in May, 1892 IN this city. The invita-.
tion included the entertainment of delegates
b ohh u ditaoio paw L III W IN jig StS-
sions of the conference. The bishops were
authorized to appoint a commission of seven
to aid the brethren of Omaha in securing
railroad accommodations, and ii for any
cause Omaha should fail to fulfill Its promise
of entertainment, to select some other city
as the place of meeting.
The general conference Of 1899 will be a
great and notable gathering. All the
bishops VIII be present, including the mis-
sionary. bishops, one from India and one
from Africa. ALI the official book agents,
editors and secretaries will be present and
about five hundred delegates from all parts
Of the world. In addition to these there will
be fraternal delegates from England anG
other foreign countries, together with those
from sister churches in our owl
land. The conference will last thirty
days, through the month Of May
that not less than fifty thousand people from
the east and SOUTH, and especially from the
great west and northwest and the Pacific
slope will come as visitors to remain from
three to ten days, as the case may be. Elk
cursion trains from Kansas, Colorado, lows
and all parts of Nebraska will pour in their
quota. Some think that this estimate is toe
low, judging from the thousands that Wen
to New York in 1888 and from the multitude
that went to Kansas City to visit our late
missionary committee. at which it was esti.
mated that five hundred minister's were
present. 1t is a question whether Omahi
has the hotel accommodations for this tran
sient multitude.
OF course, the coming of so many people
at least one thousand of whom will live her,
continuously for q month, will largely swell
the volume OF business done In Omaha; ant
when all of these people shall have returned
to their homes Omaha will be one Of the bes
known cities in the country. Extended re
ports OF the proceedings will be published il
all the secular papers and all the journals o
our own denomination. The incoming Of q
many great men eminent for scholarship, TO
eloquence, for powerful personality, will
constitute an epoch In the history OF thi
growing inland city of the continent whicl
will berecalled with interest in the years I,
come.
The Methodist people Of Omaha stan,
pledged for the entertainment OF at least 81,
hundred Of these representatives. Whethe
this can be accomplished is a question o
serious import. How many private resi-
dences will be thrown open TO these rev
erend gentiemeni What share will our siste
churches take IN helping 10 bear this delight
some burden, and what part will be borne b.
the enterprising business men of Omahal
Rev. II. A. Crane, Pastor Of Seward Stree
nj. Il. Church-Where that conference shall
be held may seem to some Of your readers
matter for future discussion; but the fact /
the matter will DO decided in a very fey
months, and b Omaha has to say and d
about IL must be said and done quickly.
Al the last general conference, held Ii
NntE NAE Tn lA. 1000 "a a