The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-06
TlIE OMAHA coNrEnENcE.
An Intelligent AMI iutcrsstiug Survey of
tho Field.

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ON AN" W.. , ,,.,, '1'' " =
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70" v''"r.'"'"''" ~ w >"'".g'"'".
oNa"A, may Ohio rouliheooserVeo
in tho organization OF tho Methodist
General Conference does not scem 10
n,o,,;,o ,,,,,L l., a.. ,.,,I =, .,,..,,,,
foI''V 49, n''s'' :" ''o way ~ S"''' ,'''
mehI Ihcrc arc tho nsual dcrotlons,
then tho roll call, then tho seating OF
tho DELEGATES. and FINALLY business.
Those ,ro tho ;,oms ,;mn,r s.,,ol and,
i"'s' "'e ''v "en'S, s'n'p..y s''.Se' anu
ono hot iahiiiar Win such ealhetlhgs
%ouiq expect ury preiiininaries Of lhis
Geserinti9h 70 pass on III INC most mum
1Ium style imaginable. b"t tno Motno.
ulsts are Il very earnest neop'e. Whnt
ihoy pciieNe tney neIieVe in'chseiy. II
Is tnis charaelerlsllc %hieii mas mace
mem lhe great power 'ney arc IN AL
modern reforms, ann IN cvanSep1lng
.ne niasses. Nnturnily, 100, lio same
splr,t OF si;srcasiiV,ehess IS seen IN tnelr
great quautehhiai scohGiaVc' for feai
eNeileheht inc Melhouist gGheral con.
ference can hold us own Win INC most
livery OIL our po!itie.l conventions, ahu
III some Respects ~ eusiiy laSes 'he
pam from Ihese: IN poil'iea' ea'her'
inss inc interest IS soon over; ncccssn-
flly SO because inc meeting ltseii ohds
60 SOON: Dut III lhe general conference
.ne excl'emehl IS long drawn out ~
cohtihues ihueeJ win scarcely any
iluctnaiioh iot 2 inll Montn, anu what
Is equally surprising, we tiue OF lhter.
est Is rs iiigl usually NJ mo peglhhinS
rs wheh INC business mas proceeaca Tor
week or TWO anu 'iie elections arc IN
progress. -,
mo reason Tor TINS IS t'lat almost
Always before tho conference can get
itselt INTO proper shape, ihefe IS some
Enotty ana del!cale problem 10 solve
Four years ago the women were knock
ms LOT aaihissloh' ana the iorasol cfea'
uoh, IN conference aSsemoie9, were re.
qul,eu, ~ INC very lhresnop" ol their
ueioeratons, 10 answer TINS summons
ana GiVo decision 'liere ana tien MS
~hethef or not women siioMtu DO NJ
lowGa seat IN thnt pody. Inns time
Inc bone OIL contention was not INC lay
woman, Dnt inc iaymaii' inc confer
ehce consists OF QUO aeieSatcs: amongst
these the lay,nen cutaiisnre Of only about
loo. ilShce ttley are at aSreai aisalV4ht,
age. lhey nave ieiI TINS, una nave asked
III cohstltntlona! manner Ior equal
representation with the clergy. But the
clergy Tor the present have negatlved
ms request. Inc question, therefore,
when presented ltscls was, now make
INC most, LOT the Time oeiht, OF me rep
rescn'ation theyalreaay possessed. This,
~ was conciuuet, could pest oe done by
. dividing the house. heretofore laymen
ana ministers nave SAT together: Let
lis no" sit apart, they saiu, or ~ least
majority Of them uld, ana finally,
alter long anu exciting debate, the
conference gave lis SANCTION 10 this Pro-
Iect
some oil Inc most prominent oil the
iaymen wcra opposed TO !hls new dc.
parture. Amos Shinkle, VINO has been
adciegate to every general conference
since the laymen were lrst admitted IN
ISI2, was decidedly against It. 1t
looked TOO much, he SAID, like dividing
The sheep from the goats But Iost-
master fleid, OF ihlladelphia, SAID 1t
would mark new era In Methodist ley
lsiatlon, and he was probably right IN
TINS prediction The DIVISION makes 1t
certain that iaymen w!li haze larger
snare IN the debates, and equally GER
tam that they VIII avail! themselves
more frequently than before OF those
constitutional rights by which, in GER
tam contingencies, the lay minority can
pit itself with success, when vote is
taken, against the ministerial majority.
Most OF the laymen who were not favor
able TO the change still cit with their
lnlnlstcr!a! colleagues: This however,
Will hardly continue beyond the pres
ent session, ana 1t IS reasonably GER
IAN, not only that IRON THIS time the
two orders Will continue to sit apart,
but that before very long they will be
eqnallzed III number.
beyond the change Just noted. there
Is little IN the aspect OF the conference,
orln the conduct OF its business, to
distinguish II lromits three latest pre-
decessors. one misses, to be sure, few
honored forms anda few familiar voices.
The cruel reaper has gathered from us
some OF these, and some others-a good
many othcrs-arc not with us because
their cruel brethren failed to vote for
them. DR.. Buckley has estimated that
something like nine-tenths OF the mem:
bers OF this body are new men. But
who would suspect this If no were to
listen to the proceedings with his eyes
closed. The fact is that nearly all OF the
"muchee talkee-talkee" which is done
is sustained by the onc.tenth, which,
like the poor, are always with us. Not
that tho others are net able to talk.
Many OF them could keep the ball OF
oratory rolling, II they had the chance,
quite as well as the old timers do But