The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1895-11-09
CHURCH lsNrENsIoN.
second Days Session OF the Methodist
General Committee.

| General Committee.
CHICAGO, Nov. S.-The General
Committee on Church Extension of the
Methodist Episcopal Church held its
second session to-day. The special cases
referred TO a committee yesterday were
first brought up and considered, and
the remainder OF the day was occupied
in settHns the conference appropria-
tions. The action of the board yester-
cay in SO largely increasing the amounts
/ provided for the contingency and emer-
gency funds necessitated a scaling
down of the sums appropriated to each
| conference. The committee appointed
10 make these reductions submitted an
amended list, which was gone through
seratim, and so we'll had they dis
/ charged their duties that the united
| wisdom of the whole board made but
| one change in their recommendations.
! Many delegates sought TO have their
| pprOpriatiOns restored TO last years
! figures and proposed reductions from
other conferences in order to maintain
/ their balance. These districts III turn
st!enuously objected to any further cut
! ting down, and their objections pre-
| vailed.
Bishop Merrill presided over the
morning session, ana called upon Rev.
/ Or. W. j. PaXsOn of Philadelphia to
! lead in the opening exercises.
/ Dr. PaXson, as Chairman of the Com
mittee of Special Cases, appointed the
previous day, presented his report.
which was read by the Recording Sec
retary DR.. Nc COnneU. These special
cases are applications for aid in the
form Of donations and loans toward
! building churches that have cost or
viii cost over $4,000 The rules of the
Board of Church Extension forbid
granting aid to churches costing Ovcr
that sum. Permission from the Gc'I-
eraI 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 the com
mittee recommended Wipiug out the
limitation. The special committee
recommended in the cases of the CheI-
tOn-aVenUe Church, Germantown IA :,
OF the Medf0rd Mass, church; of tn"
church at Cherokee. Ia. of The BTOad-
way Church. Council Bluffs, Ia, and Of
the German Church, Spokane Wash
that they be excepted from limitation,
and that they be referred 10 the board
for such donation as may be practica-
bic from funds to the credit of each con-
ference.
a particularly exceptional case was
that of the Methodist Church at
Stockton, Cal, d structure costing sol.
coo, of which $4,000 has been paid
Bishop GoOdsell made an earnest ap-
peal for temporary relief of this church.
which was labOring under a loan bear
ing 10 per cent. interest. we bad
better do something" he said, against
our rules than lose this church. one of
the finest in California, by reason Of a
discouraged congregation. The church
was excepted from the rule and referred
to the board for action.
In the case Of the Norwegian ana
Danish Church at Omaha a special
committee reported that there was no.
enough information before them for Il
recommendation.
Bishop Newman, while not having fig
ures at hand, was sure the society could
not build the sort of a church it intends
for less than $4,000, and that it dc
served help.
Bishop Foss moved that if the church
should be found to cost $4,000 it
would be exempt from the limitation
and referred to the board: agreed
to. DR. 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 from the work Of the
board.
Before any action was taken on this
report lively discussion took place re-
garding the $4,000 which was yester-
day set aside for the contingent fund to
pay interest on loans and on bonds,
on which churches receiving advances
had defaulted payment. As the money
to make the loans had been borrowed
III the first place, the committee thought
it necessary to take money from the
conference collections to pay this inter
est
DR.. 7 d. Neeley of Philadelphia, who
arrived 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 General Com
mittee had no right to set apart 500, 600
from money to WHICH the conferences
We're entitled for church extension to
pay old debts
j. W. Boughton, a lay member of the
beard, replied rather sharply that a
EGmber of the loans paid. on which no
interest had been paid, had been made
on the urgent appeal of DR.. Medley. To
this DR.. Neeley replied that he had only
urged assistance for churches that
needed it, and that it was not his busi-
ness to look after the security. The
be ard should have done that.
III. N nett, no HAS bCti III the service
OF the board as its Corresponding Secre-
t&ry for thirty years, made an impaS-
stoned and eloquent speech in defense
of the board and of the action of the
committee. He pointed out emphatic
ally that the board must pay its debts
to preserve its 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 reiterated
Mr. BCughtOn's charges that no one had
been more jealous than DR.. Neeley in
the board to this policy.
After an hours debate Dr. Neeley's
to reconsider the vote of the
previous day was overwhelmingly de-
feated.
Bishop Andrews of New York presided
over the afternoon session. The consid-
GRAFTON of the conference appropria-
tions was then taken up, and occupied
the whole session. The list was read and
the amounts approved, unless objection
was raised. The appOrtiOnment for
Oklahoma was reduced from $4,000 to
1000. in spite of the earnest appeal of
Rev. j. j. Bentley for an additional
81 600.
BRUTAL ASSAULT.