The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-09
Various Congregations Assisted
in the Matter of Paying
Their Debts.
BISHOP CooDsELLs APPEAL
Temporary Relief for Stockton Edifice
Laboring Under Loan With
Interest.

IeTreu 10 q COMHlltlec ytStCIudJ "ClO AAo
brought up and considered. and the re-
mainder of the day was occupied in set
ting the conference appropriations. The
action of the board yesterday III so largely
increasing the amounts provided Tor the
contingency and emergency funds neces-
STATED a scaling down in sums appro-
priated TO each conference. The commit
tee appointed to make these reductions
submitted an amended list, which was
gone through serlatlm, and so well had
they discharged their duties that the
united wisdom of the whole board made
but one change in their recommendations.
Many delegates sought to have their APP
preparations restored to last years figures,
and proposed reductions from other con-
ferences in order to maintain the balance.
These districts in turn strenuously OBJ
jected to any further cutting down and
their objections prevailed.
Bishop Merrill presided over the morn
Ing session and called upon Rev. Or. w. j.
Paxson of Philadelphia to lead in the
opening exercises.
DR.. Paxson, as chairman of the commit
tee OF special cases, appointed the previous
day, presented his report, which was read
~ IiO 1CSOlo4iS LII. hCSOuHGIl.
These special cases are applications for aid
in the form of donations and loans toward
building churches that have cost or will
cost over $4,000. The rules of the Board
of Church Extension forbid granting aid
to churches costing over that sum. Per-
mission from the general committee is
necessary to the granting of aid in such
cases, but the general committee seemed
ready TO make the rule one more honored
in the breach than in the observance. In
nearly all cases referred to the committee it
recommended wiping out the limitation.
The special committee recommended in
the cases of the Chelton-avenue Church,
Germantown, Pa; of the Union-avenue
Church, Alliance, Ohio; of the Medford,
Mass, Church; of the church at Cherokee,
Iowa; of Broadway Church, Council Bluffs,
and of the German Church, Spokane,
WASH, that they be excepted from the
Limitation and that they be referred to the
board for such donation as may be practi-
cable from funds to the credit of each con-
ference.
A particularly exceptional case was that
of the Methodist church at Stockton, Cal,
structure costing sol, 900, of which $685.
600 has been paid. Bishop Goodsell made
an earnest appeal for temporary relief for
this church, which was laboring under
loan bearing 10 per cent interest. 1--WE
had better do something" he said,
against our rules than to lose this church,
the finest in California, by reason of dis.
couraged congregation"
The church was excepted from the rule
and referred to the board for action. In
the case of the Norwegian and Danish
church at Omaha special committee re-
ported that there was not enough infor-
nation before them for recommends
ton. Bishop Newman, while not having
figures at hand, was sure the society could
not build the sort of church it intends
for less than $4,000, and that it deserved
help.
Bishop Foss moved that if the church
should be found to cost $4,000 it should
be exempted from the Limitation and re-
ferred to the board, which was agreed to.
DIR. Mcconnell then read the list of the
conferences, with the amount which each
was authorized to receive from the board
of extension and the amount asked from
it for the work of the board. Before anv
action was taken on this report Lively
discussion took place regarding the $50, 600
which was yesterday set aside for a con-
tingent fund to pay interest on loans and
On bonds on which churches receiving ad-
vances had defaulted payment. AS the
! money to make the loans had been Dor
rowed in the first place, the committee
thought it necessary to take money from
the conference collections to pay this in
terest.
n
rived in Chicago to-day, took the floor to
enter a vigorous protest against such use
of the general fund, declaring it would be
illegal The loan fund, he insisted, would
take care of itself. The general committee
had no right to set apart $50, 900 from
! money to which the conferences were en-
| titled for church extension to pay old
debts.
J. w. Boughton, lay member of the
board, replied rather sharply that a num-
| Der of the loans, on which no interest
had been paid. had been made on the
urgent appeal of DR.. Nicely. To this Dr.
Nicely replied that he had only urged as
sistance for churches that needed it, and
that it was not his business to look after
| the security. The board should have done
that.
DR.. Kynett, who had been in the service
| of the board as its corresponding secretary
for thirty years, made an impassioned
and eloquent speech in defense of the
board and the action of the committee He
pointed out emphatically that the board
must pay its debts to preserve it's credit
The necessity of taking the money needed
for frontier churches to pay interest on
loans made to save pretentious churches
was much to be regretted. but he reiter-
ated Mr.. Boughton's charges that no
| one had been more jealous than Dr. Neelv
in committing the board to this policy.
After an hours debate DR.. Neely's propo-
sition to reconsider the vote of the previ-
Gus day was overwhelmingly defeated.
| Bishop Andrews Of New York presided
over the afternoon session. The consider
alton of the conference appropriations
was then taken up and occupied the
whole session. The list was read and the
amounts approved unless some objection
was raised. The apportionment for Okla
homa was reduced from $1,000 to $4,000 In