The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-05-16

| there will be chance for the confer
 ence to elect still another official, whose l appropriate title might be General | Comforter Appropos of this, the Ep- I worth Herald had recently a squib 1 headed Go to Cleveland, sister,"
 which says-"A woman in Philadelphia | advertises; Sympathy offered to those | who are in trouble or have met with
 severe disappointment Let the sister | go to Cleveland about May 20. Many
 brethren will need her help about that time and she would be sure to do a
 rushing business" To this the writer
 need only to say, to speak scripturally,
 that it is as true as the gospel.
 l The only thing of consequence really
 done so far as to provide a way by which the Wesleyan Methodism of Ger
 many-2S00 members, about thirty 1 ministers and property valued at two | hundred thousand dollars-may be
 taken over bodily by the Methodist | Episcopal church in Germany. The | Methodist church is great for taking people in. It has wide door and plen- | ty of aggressiveness. Naturally such | a proposal went through with a whirl. | The conditions are very easy, consider | ing what is gained. The British Wes- l leyans give up their hold upon these German Wesleyans because the Ger mans desire it in the interests of larger progress. It is a mission work, 1 of course, but the property has an in- 1 debtedness of only about $15, ,000,an the demand for support is SIP, 300 the first year, with an annual reduction looking | t1 colf Taf it hp noted by those who are raving about the dis 1 position of the British Lion to keep all | it can get it's paw on, and to get its paw on everything in sight, that while the President and Secretary Olney have vainly tried thus far to get concessions l in Venezuela, these irrepressible Amer ican Methodists have obtained valua- ble grant from their British brethren without even asking for it. The Eng | fish Wesleyans virtually, by this act, make over the whole of Germany as special mission field for the Methodism of the United States, and the Ameri- cans are magnanimous enough not to object.
 In saying that this is all the confer ence has done, I have fully in mind the disposition it made of the woman ques- tion That, however, was not done; only half done Women will be eligible for undisputed seats in this body only when the annual conferences, by three-fourths majority, declare them to be so. As to the status of the four Wo- men who answered to their names at roll call, this dignifed body is balan- cling itself on the fence, with considera- ble doubt in the mind of the writer as to the side on which 1t would drop were it to let go. But it will not let go; 1t has deliberately decided not to let go. This decision has withstood already tremendous strain. A few were deter mined by a sort of flank movement 10 bring the point to an issue, ana the bishop presiding seemed, by his unfor- tunate rulings to favor this movement. But the motion was blocked, as also was the honored bishop, though he broke or disabled two gavels in the ef- fort to keep an open track. And by the way, that storm of Friday last was the most violent and exciting that has dis turbed the general conference in six teen years. This much I say from per sonal knowledge.
 None the less, the general public is mistaken in supposing that this confer ence ever degenerates into mob, or that the delegates ever use unparlia- mentary language. Given an exciting subject. to be considered and deter mined by five hundred men, all of whom have views on it, and nearly all of whom are aching to make speech, what can be expected but intense rival " and occasional friction? Inevitably there will be an appeal now and then from the rulings of the chair, and if the chair shall aggravate an obvious mis- take by sticking to it, as the best of men may, if they think they are right, it might then be a religious duty for member to threaten resignation as means of vindicating himself. In the way of questionable feeling, this is all that has occurred, It involves nothing disgraceful and nothing which, in the circumstances, need occasion either surprise or uneasiness.
 The woman debate itself was con ducted, as a matter of fact, in a spirit which reflects credit upon those taking part Each side was after votes; hence each side was respectful and conciliato~ ry. Otherwise the brethren could not have come together as they did in that happy compromise which leaves them now so beautifully balancing them selves on the fence. Neither side yield ed the main point; yet woman will soon be in, and both sides are felicitating themselves upon substantial triumph. Dr. Buckley says that if he is in the wrong in opposing woman's admission, he will not acknowledge it ''till the day of judgment" and as for the honest Germans, whose national predelictions have kept them solid on the same side, they, it is said will not acknowledge their error until very late on that day" Evidently, though, the great bulk of the opposition has already been overcome. They have seen the tide steadily creeping up and have conclu- ded that instead of longer resisting it by buckets and brooms, they would better build skiffs and canoes and al- low it to carry them upon it's progress sive bosom toward the still greater re- forms of the twentieth century.
 H. T.