The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-04-26
METHODIST CHURCHES.
Tho Qundronnial Methodist Eplsco.
pal Conference
Which WILL MEET At OMAHA
Next Understanding About tho
Work oftho scsslon:..Thc Most I'm.
pprtant Meeting for Ycars...Tho
Tho Question OF Lny Representa-.
tlons and tho Admission of Women
Delegates to DO Decided.
Written for he ~1a,d,tgmccr.

1t SO happens that presidential year
i, always n great Methodist year, and
that just before the meeting OF tho pc.
lltical conventions there Is held in ono
Of tho large cities what Ia known rs tho
General Conference OF the Methodist
Episcopal Church. The last assembly
Of this kind was hold in Now York in
1888, and now, tho requisite four years
having elapsed, We arc upon tho eve OF
another such conclavc, tho favored To-
cality this time being Omaha. 1t will
convene on the Cd OF May, and SO great
will BIO the amount OF work before it,
that a final adjournment will DO reach
cd only when Alay itself ndjourns, and
V Q then, judging from the past, it
will not be ready to adjourn. Ont OF
the thousand or moro propositions sub.
initted to the last conference, deliberate
action was taken upon about l. hun.
dred: the remainder, when the final
doxolo2y was sung, were either on the
table or under 1t, and in TINT unsettled
situation have they been compelled TO
rcmaIn--for tho good OF the church
probaDly-whi!e another Quadrennium
has gone by.
This conference, which meets only in
presidential years, Is, in some respects,
the most important gathering in which
Methodists ever convene. From the
standpoint OF sentiment it must per-
hnps yield the palm to the Ecnmenical
Conference which met In Washington
in October last, and in London ten
years before. But judging by the power
lnlierins in the two bodies. and by what
they can do along practical lines, the
first plnce must unquestionably be given
to the body which convcncs next week
in Omaha. The last named body, it is
true. does not represent the Mcthodism
OF tho world, but it does represent the
most extensive branch OF N~Ietliodism.
Besides, it has many great Offices TO fill,
while tho Ecumrnical had in its gift
beyond tho few honors bestowed during
its brief session-neitller dignity nor
emolument. In one respect the Ecu
menical was only q big Methodist.
class meeting. The brethren were
called together merely Tor tho exchange
Of views and the cultivation OF good
feelings. They could talk diiibtum and
they did this, it must be admitted, in
excellent spirit. with signal ability and
with uniiring perseverance. We NAV
reasonably expect, too, that there will
be no end OF spcecli-making at Omaha.
In former sessions Of the same confer
ence it has been nothing unusual for
thirty or forty to clamor for the privi-
lese OF the floor at the slme time, while
the spectacle OF any measure appealing
in vain for someone to throw light upon
1t is a wholly unheard.of occurancc in
that body. lkut the general differs from
the Ecumenical Conference in the fact
that besides being endowed with the
gift of utterance. it likewise possesses
an enormous power OF legislation.
AN IMPORTANT MEETING.
From this point OF view the approach
ing q%uadrennial conclavc is not only
superior to the Ecunenical Conference
but it far outranks tho annual confer.
ences. 4helatter are merely executive
and administrative bodies. They nave
no power TO enact laws; the whole OF
this inherca in the conference which
meets every fourth year. From this
body must emana,o all changes in
poli,y and nj! notifications OF the dis.
cipline. In fact, with a few reser.
vatlons instances in which tho acts OF
the general conference are rendered
legal only by the concurrent action OF
%thennnual conferences -the body which
holds its approaching session at Omaha
has entire control enthusiastically, not
only OF all the ministers OF this branch
OF Melhodism, but OF all the member,
OF even those exceedingly privileged
characters, the bishops. and, what is
perhaps still moro important to prac.
tical minds, OF all the vast property in
teresta and all the inerting Offices.
To appreciate fully what this means
We must dig into figures a little. The
Methodists OF this continent number a
little less than five and a hall millions.
The enrolled communicates number
that many, or nearly SO, md il for each
member We allow the addition OF two
adliercnts who arc not, members, We
sec ut once that this prospective gath
ering at Omahaw will etectin some meas
uro q Methodist constituency Aggregate
ing about sixteen millions OF people.
VI course tho influenced OF the%conierence
upon the great bulk OF these will be
slight and wholly indirect. But over
more than two-iifths OF this grea. con-
stituency its control will be at once
direct and supreme.
TIE SOUTHERN BRANCH.
That enterprising and prosperous
branch OF Mcthodism known as the NJ.
Z. Church South-the second largest Of
NIL the denominations into which
Mcthodism is dividcd-will DO repre-.
sentod in this conference only in a
fratcrnal sense. 1t will send greetings
by honorcd delegates, and will no doubt
be deeply interested in whatever the
conference mny do. Possibly, too, its
policy and feelings may be modified to
some extent by the spirit OF brother
hood tho gathering maytexhibit. This
will surely be the case should favorable
action be taken upon tho, memorials to
BIO submitted looking toward organic
union OF the two bodies. Still, this is
not tho conference OF the Church
South, but tho general conference of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
its decisions, therefore, can only affect
in any binding sense the members OF
that church.. When it is remembered,
however, that there arc nearly two mil.
lion and a half OF these-not counting
adhercnts-and that this church, in tho
aggregate both OF its benevolenccs and
membership, is far In the lead OF all
other Methodist churches, it will be
readily seen that in speaking OF its