St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-13
METHODIST MINISTER'S WILL
CONFER TO-DAY AT HAM,
LINE UNIVERSITY.
A WARM SESSION POSSIBLE.
ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH ON
LIQUOR SELLING SAID TO
BE INVOLVED.
A COUNTY LOCAL OPTION LAW
Is Favored by Some, and They
Will Strive Earnestly for an
Endorsement.

An important meeting of Metho-
dist ministers will convene at 2 p. m.
today at Hamline university. The
specific subject that will engage the
attention of the churchmen will be
the liquor traffic, and how to deal
with 1t most effectually. In todays
meeting the two conferences at Min
nesota will be represented, and the
hope is that a harmonious plan of
action may be agreed upon. Strange
as 1t may sound to some, there have
been differences among the minis
tiers on this question-not differences
as to the main point of pronounced
opposition, but as to methods of
work to make that opposition most
telling and effective.
Before Minnesota MethodistS were
divided into two conferences at ev-
cry annual meeting of conference
there would be an earnest debate on
the subject of the saloon. Absolute
prohibitionists often endeavored to
commit the conference to the third
party, and advocated such a course
with power and eloquence. But the
high license or conservative men
always managed to defeat such a
proposition, mainly on the ground
that it would be taking the church
into politics. Now that there are
two conferences, both of which will
meet very Soon-the Minnesota con-
ference at Faribault in the last week
of this month, and the North confer
ence in Minneapolis the first week
in September-there is an earnest
desire that they shall pronounce in
harmony on this vital question.
Hence the meeting that has been
arranged for today. This meeting
has not been advertised to any great
extent, but it will be no less inter-
esting on that account. The dis
cuSSion will be free and full, and
every man who has any views will
be given full opportunity to express
them.
1t is understood that strong eff
fort will be made to have the con-
ferences pass resolutions in favor of
county local option" and this will
be done if the advocates of that plan
can prevail upon their brethren to
pass a resolution Of that kind today.
County local option, it will be re-
membered, was the object of one
Of the bills that the Lac qui Parle
cyclone" J. F. jacobson, tried most
strenuously to push through the last
legislature, but failed. 1t means that
when a county, as a whole, votes
against license, then no town in that
county can issue a license, even
though a majority of the people of
that town favor the issuance there
of. The argument. for such a law
advanced by its advocates is that,
though all the towns in a county
except one or two may vote to eX-
clude the saloon, if liquor is allowed
to be legally sold at any place in
the county, then the efforts of the
citizens of all the other towns are
practically nullified. Opponents of the
law. contend that it would be against
the spirit of home rule, and antagon-
istic to true local option.
Under these circumstances it will
readily be seen that today's meeting
of ministers will be of decided i'm
portance, not only to church peo-
pie generally, but to the liquor in
terests as well. The Methodists are
a powerful and numerous body
in Minnesota, and if the church con-
ferenceS can once be united in their
official announcements and in their
work-if, for instance, they should
conclude to take an active part in
politics, so far as the fight against
saloons is concerned - something
would be likely to happen that would
enliven the election in many a coun-
ty, town and village. The county
local option men are determined and
aggressive, but the high license adj
vocates are thought to be the more
numerous, as they have been hereto
fore
Besides what may be called bust
ness meeting Of the ministers at 2
o'clock, there will be a platform
meeting at the university chapel in
the evening for a general discussion.
The possibility of discovering the
darksome haunts of the ami
NAL known as blind pig
may possibly come up at this
meeting. If there is one thing
the good people of Hamline would
delight to hunt down and kill it
would be a pig if this peculiar vari-
ETY., for they detest and despise his
whole tribe to the furthest genera
ton.