St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-20

condemned outright, and ministers who
winked at them failed i'll their duty.
The regular programme ended at this
point, and Secretary King announced
that the subcommittee which had been
charged with the preparation Of the ad
dress from the ecumenical conference
to the Methodist churches and Meth
OiistS throughout the world had COM
pleted its work. The report was pre-
scented by DR.. Chapman, of England,
and runs thus:
Growth of the Church.
The ecumenical Methodist conference to
the Methodist people throughout the world:
We. the members of the second ecumenical
Methodist conference, assembled in Wash
lngton, greet you. brethren, in every land 10
which our common faith has spread--"grace
unto you and peace from God. our Father.
and the Lord Jesus Christ" We glorify God
for the prosperity which He has given TO our
churches. BY His blessing they have grown
until they number some 25,000000 of adj
herents. BY the most memorable test Meth
odiSm is proved 10 be singularIy adapted to
the needs OF men. Although many adjust
mentS and DEVELOPMENT must undoubtedly
be made to accomplish fully our mission let
us beware of thinking that any vital changes
are necessary.
We rejoice to recognize the substantial
unity which exists among the various Meth
odist bodies; its firm basis is common creed.
We are all faithful to the Scriptural ana
generous theology which God, through the
clear Intellect and loving heart of John
Wesley, restored to his church The intel
lectual movement and the social changes of
our time may have led to some change in the
form of expression. or some shifting of the
emphasis of our teaching; but they have
not led us even to reconsider that living the
oiogy which has abundautiy proved itself
upon our pulses. Our ecclesiaStic- principles
are not so various us the forms in which they
oGniEEflfullT rnthndinA DninifiYtu in,
these things we think that the time has come
for
A Closer Cooperation
of the methodist churches at home and
abroad which shall prevent wuste of power
ana unhullowed rivalry. We need to COM
blre our energies. for the work we have 10
do is vast and urgent
The skepticism aud Indifference which are
so natural to the human heart has been re
enforced by an abuse of science and philos-
ophy. The hard lots of millions makes it
very difficult for them To believe in God.
There is So much that the churches have not
done to redress the wrongs and heal the suf-
ferings Of mankind that Is hard for many TO
believe in their divine mission. The standing
evils of society are aggravated by the close
pressure III our great cities and are discOv-
cred 10 the eyes of all in our dnily news
papers. Let us trace the moral evil of men
TO its true sources i'll their Surroundings their
physical natures, their ignorance, their pas
sions and their will. and set ourselves TO
deal prenensiYely with them. To these
specific ailments of mankind let us apply
specific remedies To do this it will be
necessary for the members of our churches
to make q full use of their political rights.
10 allow the great powers of law and govern
ment and their still greater influence to fall
into the hands of ungodly men would be in
credible folly and sin.
God forbid that any of our churches should
become the instrument of political parties.
II Is doubtless necessary that individuals
should have party attachments. and Method
lists are found in all the great historic parties
But when member of our church has taken
his place i'll that political connection which
Is most in harmony with his ideas and con
Vlctlons, let him never forget That there are
great moral interests superior to all party ex-
lgencies in which he must seek first the
Kingdom of God and His righteousness
Every proposal that imperils the Sanctity of
the home, the purity of women. the inno-
cence of children, that violates the Christian
Sabbath that sanctions an increasing wrong,
should be mpartially aud earnestly resisted
On few of The great evils which admit in
some degree of public treatment we cannot
be silent Intemperance, the fruitful mother
of the brood OF evils, is largely created by
legallZed temptation.
Shares Are Planted
in almost every street for the unwary and I'M
steady. Is it too much TO ask that our people
will combine TO use all legal Instruments to
abate this wanton solicitation of men to vice
and crime? Let us discourage In every way
gambling and betting which spring from the
love of excitement and the lust of gain-two
OF the besetting evils of the modern world;
and let us abstain from all reckless specula-
ton in business which cannot be dlstin-
guished from gambling.
Excessive and unfair competition. which
is secreting so much bitterness in the breasts
OF men and depositng so many of the ma
terials of CONFUSION i'll society. should be
steadily avoided and discountenanced And
shall we not do all we can in quiet time to
mould public opinion and establish courts or
arbitration so that the complicated crime of
aggressive war may be averted?
We need TO employ with the utmost econ
omy all our resources. One secret of the
strength of methodism has been the free
play which it allows to the gifts and ener-
gies of its laity. The pastoral work of our
class leaders has been of the highest value
1t Is to be hoped that the MULTIPLICATION of
ministers may not tempt us to think that lay
preaching is unnecessary.
Among the wasted treasures of the church
are the delicate sensibilities the TACT the
tenderness and the persuasive power of holy
women. We are all agreed that the needs of
the world require, and that the con-
women should lake more prominent
place in the work of the church. We dis
tinctly approve of associations i'll which I'M
fettered by any VOW, goodly women may be
organized for ministry 10 human needs and
sorrows. But we hope that with their EN-
tightening opportunities women may not be
tempted TO undervalue the sphere in which
they are not only supreme but alone; us the
sun in his path through the heavens, the
sphere of the mother is home.
Young Peoples Societies.
In the formation and wonderful p1ogress
of the great societies on the American con
tinent, such as the Epworth league we
greatly rejoice. We should be glad if similar
societies. adapted to other conditions, would
be established i'll other parts of the Methodist
world.
We feel that our Sunday schools have not
as yet realized their vast possibilities; but
the home is the great nursery of religious
faith and life. They are one-sided theories
OF concession which prevent Our looking for
signs OF the religious faith and life with the
dawn of intelligence and the first develop
ment of viii. False tests in which the nature
of a child is quite forgotten prevent Us from
finding them.
At the conclusion of the reading the
address was unanimously adopted with
out amendment by the conference 1t
will be signed by all of the officers
who have presided over the con-
ference. and will then be distrib-
uted by tine senior bishops and
presidents of Methodist conferences
throughout the world as an embodiment
of the views of the ecumenical Meth
odiSt conference respecting the present
state and future of Methodsm. The
evening session was devoted to hearing