St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-15
EDUCATION or YOUTH.
The Subject Warmly Debated
by Eeumenieal Council
Delegates.
Religious and Secular Teach
ing and Their Relation to
the Church.
Sunday Schools and Family
Circles as Aids to the Best
Results.
The Prison Congress Elects
Officers, Discusses Papers
and AdjournS.

WASHINGTON, Oct 14.--Rev. d. J.
Murray, of the Meth odist Episcopal
church, Baltimore. presided over the
ecumenical council at the beginning of
the seventh days session. Through
Rev. Dr.. Curtis, of Chicago, the commit
tee on the Sunday closing of the Chicago
Columbian exposition made lengthy
report favoring the closing of the expo
sition on the Sabbath, which he prefaced
by saying that the local directory of the
fair was under control of the large
stockholders. These stockholders were
the railroads, the street car companies
and the brewers. All these corpora
tons were clamoring to have the expo
sition open OH Sunday everybody knew
why. The only hope of success of the
conference lay in the United States
commission. who were in some sense
responsible to the people. The report
was unanimously adopted.
The business committee next reported
back resolution on the subject of
Methodist federation. 1t recites that the
conference recognizes the desire for
Christian cooperation among eyangeli-
cal churches. and especially among the
various Methodist churches; thai while
the time for organic union might not
have arrived, yet concerted action was
now possible. Therefore it was recon-
mended that the churches represented
in the conference consider whether
such action be possible, and if so, by
4 LII
delegates spoke in terms of praise 5
| the resolution, but before the debate
| closed the further consideration Of the
| subject was postponed until tomorrow.
The topic of the morning session was
Education" and the first paper was
one prepared by Rev. w. NJ. Fitchett,
| Australasian Methodist church, on RE
ligious Training and Culture of the
| Young"
The writer urged strongly the duty of
| the church in the education of the
| young. He held that 1t had failed so
far in that Even the Sunday school
failed, and failed where it was most
needed, and that was in the older
scholars. The pulpit had too often for
gotten mission in the
Training of the Young.
Facts must be recognized and the
tendency of the time was toward state
education = toward free compulsory
tered the field of primary education
no competition was possible-it was a
great monopoly. And therein lay the
danger of the church. In ten years the
primary education of the young would
be secular. The peril was that it might
be not only non-ChriStian, but anti
Christian.
Rev. Thomas B. Appleget, president
of the New Jersey conference, made an
address on 1.-THE Family" In the
course of his address he said: "All
sacred responsibility of maturity for the
training of youth finds its ordained ex-
preston in the parental relation. In
the quiet and retirement of Christian
homes; in the sweet communion of fire
side affections; in the sacred breathings
around the FAMILY altar-here are the
springs of the great river which is to
bear our children into the church and
unto God"
Rev. l.. j. Coppin, A. NJ. E., Church
of Philadelphia, said it would not do to
carp at the Roman Catholics for bring
ing their children into the churches
when the MethodiSts did not bring
their own children to the Sunday
school. If child less than twelve
years OF age was bound to go to heaven,
why was he not good enough for men,
bership in the church?
Rev. DR.. Waller. of England, said the
salvation of a country depended on the
salvation of the children. By strange
irony the Bible was taken from the
hands of the school child, only to be
thrust into the hands of the criminal
when he entered the jail.
Political Football.
Rev. John Smith, of the Primitive
Methodist Church of England, said that
the United States was the only country
in the world that spent more money in
education than in war or warlike prep
arations, and had given in aid of the
cause more territory than was comprised
in England, Scotland and Ireland to-
gether. 1t was strange that education
should have been made the football of
political parties and rival churches, yet
the fierce battle was still being waged
in England. Elementary public schools
should be freed from all religious dOmi-
nation, and as they were sustained by
the people they should be kept in the
peoples hands.
Aid. }. H. Crosfield. of Manchester,
Eng., condemned the existing school
system of England, saying it turned out
so many little bigots instead of scholars.
Hon. j. C. Dancy, Of the A. NJ f.
church, Wilmington. n. c., said MethO-
diSm in America was indebted to early
education for its marvellous growth. As
the result of education in the case of his
own race, the auction block had been
turned into the school house.
Rev. l.. r. Fiske. NJ. E. church. AL
bion, o., called attention to a conflict
of understanding between the Eastern
and Western delegates respecting the
sectarian school. Rev. DR.. Waller, of
England, favored a non-sectarian school
within reasonable distance of every
home. The conference at this point
took recess until 80 O'clock.
During the evening session, Bishop
Andrews, of the Nj. E. church, pre-
sided. Rev. DR.. n. Burwash thought
the narrowness which shuts each spe-
cial science up within itself is one of the
dangers of our modern university spirit
1t must be admitted that this narrow
spirit attaches to theological science
quite as much as to any other. DR.. Glib
son, of Paris, held that the Methodists
should try to capture the old English
universities, the endowments of which
did not belong to the Church of Eng
land.