The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-10-05
A HOST OF DIvINES.
The Keys of the City Given owe,

The homes Of Ottawas Hospitality dispos
. posed citizens are filed with Methodist min
listers this week, over three hundred o
whom, members of the Rock River Confer
ence, are 0ttawa's guests until next Wednes
day.
The members Of the committees in chsrg,
, Of preliminary work arrived on Saturday
and early Monday morning, and on Tuesda!
: evening when Bishop Newman of Omaha
arrived, there were above one hundred anc
eighty in the city. At eight o'clock arecep
ton was rendered the clergymen, and ,
large congregation gathered to welcom,
them. DR.. r. f. Dyer presided, introduce
ing the speakers. Prayer was offered by
Rev. Sspher r. Beggs, venerable gentle.
men Of seventy years. Mr.. B. B. Rowland
made the opening address. followed by Rev
Warren F. Day, Of the Congregational
church, who spoke in his happiest vein. A
portion of the highly entertaining address is
as follows:
ave welcome you to our city. one of the
oldest in the west, and in whose vicinity
coal was first discovered in America; once
also the largest retail grain market on the
globe. You see her now after various Auc-
tuations of fortune. Harvesting her chariots
to the lightning multiplying her industries
and entering new era. We welcome you
to our homes. We shall enjoy your COM
panionship while you are with us, and cher
ish the recollection Of these days as one of
the aowerspOts of our lives. l hope that
you may not repeat the experience of some
of your brethren during meeting in Bay
City, Michigan. A gathering of sporting
men was to take place at about the same
time. What fine looking set Of men, said
a lady to her husband as those whom she had
mistaken as the other company, passed on
their way to dinner, but what pity that
they will drink 80 much
GAS citizens we have public pride in
your presence. With other cities in this
wonderful western world, we too, have had
our eye on the Worlds Fair. But while
such town as Chicago and New York have
been rolling up their subscriptions into the
millions in their eagerness to secure that
prize, we, wiser than they, have been look
ing over the entire field of possibilities. In
this survey, finding that we could only
have one of the two-for so the law of equity
runs-the Worlds Fair in 92, or the meet
ing of this body In 'S9, we promptly said
Give us Rock River Conference In the
future, shall it not be sufficient for the honor
and dignity of Ottawa for her citizens to be
able say, She had the Rock River Confer
enoe and the Inauguration Of her electric
street railway all the same year
Several divines replied to the remarks of
Mr.. Day, Rev. Robert H. Pooley, Of the
Wabash avenue church, Chicago, making
the principal address Of the evening.
BUSINESS SESSIONS.
The conference began its semi-centennial
session in the auditorium of the First NJ.
E. church at nine o'clock on Wednesday
morning, Bishop Newman, presiding. Rev.
L. Curtis, presiding elder of the Dixon dis
trict, read portion of Matthew iv. Prayer
was offered by Rev. L. Hitchcock, and the
Bishop, assisted by the elders, administered
the sacrament to nearly three hundred peo-
pie, including the ministers present. After
roll call, Rev. W. H. Haight was elected
secretary, with Revs. Richards, Denning and
Lea, as assistants; Rev. Geo. Chase was
elected statistical secretary, with Revs.
Hardness, Fleming, Cepns, Thomas, Farme-
lor, Whipple and Minslow as assistants, and
Rev. j. Bell was chosen treasurer. The
hour for opening the conference was then
fixed at $3.50 o'clock a. m, with noon as the
closing hour. Standing committees were
appointed on education, Sunday schools,
church extension, freedmen's aid. etc., etc.
The election Of delegates to the ecumenicsl
conference was made q special order for
Thursday, as was also the fixing Of the place
for the next conference. The secretary
read communication from the managers Of
the Methodist Book Concern, stating that
out of the $4,000 dividend last January,
$2,046 belonged to this conference, awaited
its pleasure. The secretary Was instructed
to draw. Elder W. G. Dandy, of the Aurora
district presented Aattering report and
his character, as we'll as those Of his pastors
were severally passed.
Thursdays session opened with prayer by
Rev. W. A. Cray. Several gentlemen, rep
resenting Methodist benefcenoss. were In.
troduced and addressed the conference. The
order Of the day was taken up and Miss
Francis willard, the eminent temperance
lecturer, rejected by the last conference,
and ex.prohibition candidate for governor,
John B. Hobbs, were elected lay delegates
to the ecumenicsl conference. Ecclesiastical
delegates elected were DR.. L. Curtis and DR..
Jos. Cummings, IL. D., with Revs. Bristol
and Deering. alternstes. Elder Truesdsll,
Of the Chicago district, reported great pro-
gress in the spiritual and material welfare
Of the district. Many thousands Of dollars