Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1896-05-29
Ar THE GENERAL M. E. CONFERENCE.
"A breezy Letter About. the Trip Hithe,
and Scenes at Cleveland.-Heard
MCl2ulOv

Mckinley.
CLEVELAND, ONO, May 10, 1S96.-Ar-
rived at the seat of the general confer
ence of the Methodist Episcopal church,
Saturday morning the 10th. The re-
cent rains along the entire route had
refreshed and aroused nature from her
winter sleep. The air was cool and re-
dolent with the perfume of blossoms
and fragrant with the breath of spring.
The superb service of the Lake Shore
and Michigan Southern (Nickle Plate)
following the we'll known excellence of
the Northwestern" completed the en-
joyment of one of the pleasantest jour-
neys your correspondent ever en-
perienced. On every hand is evidence
of abundant harvests, new paving, new
buildings, many improvements in
towns and cities, all prophesy of ''bet-
ter times" Cleveland, the lake-set
gem of the Buckeye state, has the dirt
lest streets, in the main part of the
city, 1 have ever seen outside of Naples,
Italy. There, now I have written it, 1
feel relieved. They do say, however,
that it is unusual and due to a "base
corporation"
The daily press dispatches have al
ready informed your readers on gen.
eral points, therefore 1 will deal more
especially with personals" But if all
our impressions were recorded, it would
take more than the eight pages and
power press of the STAR to reproduce
them.
Saturday night, in the immense arm
DRY building, five thousand people well
coined with enthusiasm him who was
introduced as "too great to need a
title; William Mckinley" Such an
ovation! Clapping of hands! Waving
of handkerchiefs! Cheering! Then
followed his mastery lecture on
George Washington" in which he
showed his great power of analysis and
judgment, coupled with fine rhetori-
cal discrimination. William Mckinley
is most surely one of Americas great
est sons and we of South Dakota, who
are republicans, may take some fresh
courage in the fact evident here that a
large majority of "hitherto doubtful"
are now openly in favor of following
"the Napoleon of Ohio" 1t was not a
political speech; but the general sub
ject of state-craft, citizenship, patriot
ism, afforded opportunities too valu-
able to be neglected of expressing his
position on various phases of ".Amer-
icanism."
In the general conference one sees a
most important phase of Methodist
Episcopal ecclesiasticism. This, the
supreme Legislative and judicial body
of this church, is replete with interest
to all students of religious history. 1t
also enables IL to realize that there
is an infinite distance between the real
and the ideal. Yet how nearly n
they may be in a mystic union where a
pure desire for the highest good to hu-
mainly eve serves to check and direct
personal p%rejudices.
Here are assembled the church no
tables, the bishops. general conference
officials, the secretaries of our various
benevolent societies, editors of church
and reporters for secular papers. mis-
%sionaries from foreign lands and home
fields; noble women, if not as delegates.
yet here to ''see afterthe men," capable
Of managing such great enterprises as
their home and foreign mission socie-
ties most successfully.
have looked, but in vain, for any
exhibition of "bad temper such as the
secular press has so often recorded. l
think probably one explanation is, that
many things read SO very differently
through different glasses. Then, again,
q man may say a thing that sounds
harsh but if you see his face, you know
that he is not angry.
There will be many verbal changes
i'll the book of discipline, church law,
but nc very radical variations either
in doctrine or policy.
The Corporation swept some of the
streets today. Selah! How about GER
tain alleys i'll Hot Springs?
N. A.. S.
- Ia