The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-06-27
Methodists Will Boycott.

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says the MethOdists of the world will
boycott the Worlds fair because of is
Sunday opening. He says the gen.
eral commission of the denomination
will issue a manifesto Thursday next
Withdrawing the Methodist exhibits
from the fair within the week, and
asking the 5000, 900 members of the
church to keep away from the White
City, week days as well as Sundays.
The order to be issued, he declares, is
nothing short of complete boycott
of the Exposition, and the Bishop
predicts that other Christian denomi-
nations will follow the example set by
the followers of Wesley, and that the
enterprise vii suffer financially from
the OBJECTIONS. Bishop Merrill is
chairman of the committee under
whose authority the Methodist church
exhibits were placed within the fair.
He was seen by a reporter at his home,
No. $40 West Monroe street.
81 do not want to be quoted on
Sunday opening" he said, ''but for
the sake Of keeping the matter from
misinterpretation, l will say that with
out doubt the exhibits will be with
drawn shortly. At l p. m. next
Thursday there will be meeting Of
the general commission of the Metho-
dist Church of the world in the rooms
of the Methodist book concern, No.
81 Washington street. The business
of the commission will be to act on
the Worlds fair matter and draw up
a manifesto stating our position. This
commission was appointed by the gen.
eral conference of the church and rep
resents 100000 church members.
The members of the commission conf
prise the leading spirits of the church
throughout the United States. 1t will
give forth an utterance that will stir
the world
care you certain, Bishop, that the
commission will decide to withdraw ?"
Certainly. The Methodist church
will never allow itself to be party to
an exposition that breaks the law of
God. Of course l am not prophet,
and cannot tell in advance what will
happen, but know the opinions of
the ministers of the commission well
enough to say with the equivalent Of
certainty that the Methodist church
will have nothing to do with the fair
while it is opened Sundays"
"What do you expect the fair to
lose by your withdrawal"
1.-The book concern exhibits, the
Freedmen's bureau werk, the educa-
tional displays, the entire Biblical and
religious works will be taken from the
buildings. In short, all we have
there will be moved out. However,
that is but small amount of what
the fair will lose. In our manifesto
it will be laid on the consciences of
our people to stay away from an ex-
position that defies the laws of God.
Millions of Methodists the world over.
in response to that manifesto will
cease to patronize the fair. The
Methodist church will not be alone in
the movement. l have it on good
authority that other denominations
will adopt measures equally radical,
If not more so. That means that the
Worlds fair will be a financial fail
ure Opening the gates was the most
disastrous financial step the authori-
ties could have taken. The Metho-
dists is grief stricken beyond measure,
not alone because the fair is opened
on the Lords day, but because the
world has learned that the business
men of Chicago, who have been sup
posed to be the soul of honor, have
broken all that is held sacred and
honorable in business methods"