The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-27
Report Of the Cor :pittee ON Temper
ance Presented to the Methodist
Conference and Adopted.
DIsGRACEFJJ PROCEEDINGS
MONDAYS TU.IULrUOUs SCENES RE-
VIEWED By DIR. GOODWIN.
Causes That Led to the Disorders I'm
the Conference~-Expressions of
Some of the Delegates.
snecia1 To the INDIANAPOLIS Journal.

copal General Conference were the installa-
| ton Of Bishops McCabe. Cranston and Hartz-
| ell. and the report of the committee on tenn
| perance. all of which is probably fully COW
cred in the regular press dispatches.
1 would be untrue to myself and unfaith-
full TO the readers of the Journal if i did not
| characterize the scene in the conference yes
terday as disgraceful. but the scene itself
was less dlsgraceful than the steps which led
to 1t. / have already referred to the attempt
10 fasten upon the church an unalterable
constitution. retaining all that is objection
able in the form of government which was
instituted a hundred years ago by segre-
eating the various provisions which have
been enacted from time to time by the adop-
ton of the report Of the commission APP
pointed eight years ago. The work pro-
gressed fairly well until it came to the sec
| ton which relates to lay representation.
The poorly concealed purpose OF the commits
| sion to incorporate that purely statutory pro-
| vision which relates to the plan Of lay rep
resentation, as distinguished from that part
which had passed the ordeal OF the
restrictive-rule process, and had thus
become constitutional, was the occa-
| sion Of the most stormy scene
| that has yet occurred. 1t had a very inno-
| cent appearance and came near passing I'M
| der the s~pecious plea that nothing new was
being incorporated into this protested codi-
fcation of what is already constitution, al
though the General Conference of 1892 had
| distinctly declared that the plan of lay
representation was not a part Of the con-
stitution, requiring the consent of three
fourths of the travelling preachers TO change
1t, but that ii IS competent for the General
Conference TO reduce or increase the ratio
by a majority vote at any time. When,
therefore, it was proposed to incorporate
this statutory provision, which fixed the
ratio at only TWO to the largest conferences.
thus making, in the aggregate. the laymen
constitute only one-third of the member
ship, into the constitution, so that a change
to equality could never be made except by
consent of three-fourths of the travelling
preachers, a layman, Mr.. Ashley, of WASH
ington, surprised the ministers and some
of his lay brethren by proposing then and
there to amend the section by providing
that the number Of laymen should equal the
number of ministers.
LIKE A CLAP OF THUNDER.
Mr.. Ashley's motion came like an unexpect-
ed clap of thunder. and every possible plea
was made to defeat ii. Men who professed
to be in favor Of equal representation begged
the laymen not to incorporate it in the con-
stitution, because that might defeat the
whole constitution in the annual conferences.
Several laymen and several ministers made
| able speeches in behalf OF the amendments,
while equally able speeches were made on
the other side, TO one but DR.. Graw, of New
Jersey. assuming that equal representation
was not intrinsically the proper thing to Go.
He, with emphasis, insisted that 1t was in
no sense a right OF the laity, using such
emphatic language as. Il will die hgnting
before l will give up our power in the Gen
eral Conference"
heard, no one being allowed 10 occupy more
than five minutes, one minister moved 10
be assuming that the friends OF equal rep
| resentation were unusually spiritually
minded to say that there Was not some mad
men among them. To add to the fury. the
demand for the ayes and noes was ignored
by the Chair, and the motion was declared
passed. This called to his feet a layman of
French, of California, who demanded the
right to file his protest against such methods.
he he T rasea ma l.s Sure. ana maa no 0u' wonder s4.
their feet yelling NO. nor quite as loud
quell the tumult. 1t would have taken a
dozen policemen to have done it, and the
honest outsider could not have laid The
as respectfully as possible to record his
protest, but TO the mob that tried to down
MS voice Dy their cries or mo, no. The
storm exhausted itself by and by, Mr..
French gesticulat.ng like fury and calling
at the top Of his sonorous voice: II protest,
protest" while a hundred preachers were
the sober second thought of those who had
tried TO cut off debate by the motion to lay
on the table asserted itself. and a motion
to reconsider the matter which had caused
the trouble was carried unanimously. The
motion to amend was disposed OF N a re-
spectful manner and satisfactorily, though
| NOT carried But the scene was diSgra cpf1l
because of the disgraceful scheme to take
advantage OF the minority by a motion
| that is never in good taste; but the motion
to reconsider made partial atonement for
the discourtesy.
ANOTHER DISGRACEFUL AFFAIR.
Little less disgraceful, as far as 1t went,
was the attempt TO defeat the election Of
a colored man to succeed DIR. Hartzell in
the secretaryship of the Freedman's Aid
Society. DIR. Mason, an educated and tai
| ented colored man, had been for years an
assistant IN the secretary's office.
| and his qualifications were beyond
question, so that when DR.. Hart
zell was elected missionary bishop for
Africa every one almost instinctively turned
to DR.. Mason as his successor: but just then
it struck some one of the members that this
was the time TO retrench by leaving the
| place vacant. This called out some vigorous
| speeches on both sides. but when DR.. Bowen,
leading them all in that ballot, had closed a
most elegant and appropriate speech, follow
ing DR.. Bristol, who had said that IL was
in bad taste TO never think of retrenchrneat
until the shadow of a negro feN upon the
offer, there was no further objection and
DIR. Mason was elected almost by acclama-
ton.
1t is by no means certain that the scene
of yesterday may not be repeated at any
hour. The question of equal representation
was only the occasion, not the cause OF the
outbreak. On the part of clearly a majority
OF the ministerial members there seems a
fixed purpose to obstruct every measure
that even by Implication means a curtailing
of their prerogatiyes and an enlargement of
ports yet TO come in which touch this ques-
ton. They Will be watched with interest.
The leader of the clerical force Is DR.. Nicely,
OF Philadelphia. with Bishop Merrill
10 put in a word whenever a
good chance offers, but there are
many able champions of the side of the
laymen among the better educated minis
tiers. 1t was a real surprise 10 his friends
yesterday 10 find DIR. Sargent. of Iniianap-
Quently than all other Indiana men put to-
gether. taking sides in a speech against the
| laymen in that close contest which proposed
only TO transfer the election of lay dee
gates from the quarterly conference TO the
people. There Is evidently a magazine OF ex-
piosives which needs only a spark to cause
a hrst-ciass artificial thunderstorm. But
his is not unusual, Magma chartas are
never just accepted as a boon bestowed.
They are always wrested as a prize won.
Not many know how the partial concession
made In 1872 was obtained. But for the per-
sonai influence Of two OF the best men In
the church, Bishops Simpson and Jones. who