The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-05-02

tutional. the women lack now only a two
thirds majority of the conference about to
convene 10 make them eligible to seats IN
that body, for OF course that amendment.
in so far as IL has been voted upon. has
failed to carry-enormously so; and hen -.
as "laymen" doesn't mean men only, IL
means men and women. But upon thi
there will be a desperate fight. the pros
pect being that while the general confer
ence will be favorable to women. II will
not uphold this Hamilton amendment.
Still, however, the question recurs,
what will be done with the four women
already elected. 1t will be impossible for
the bishops to interfere, as they did eight
years ago, for the last conference voted
that the roll should be made up of those
presenting certificates Of election. This
makes IL certain that these women will at
least have the pleasure of answering to
their names. There is talk. TO be sure, Of
an injunction from the courts; but this
would be resorted to by the conservatives
only in the event of extreme measures on
the part of the radicals 1t has been the
boast of the latter that when woman
is once in by the action of Secretary Nun
roe in calling her name, they Will take
precious good care she shall stay in. But
it is by no means certain they will have
votes enough for this, and a reasonable
forecast makes 1t seem probable that after
roll call the question of her eligibility will
be referred to a committee and that this
new woman" of Methodism will have 10
wait for her full general conference crown
ing until 1900.
EDITORS AND BISHOPS.
To very many of the delegates this wo-
man question is far less interesting than
the great question, who will be elected to
the various offices. A Methodist general
conference is unique among ecclesiastical
conc,avcs from the fact that. exclusive
of the bishops 1t may elect, 1t has within
its gift twenty-five influential positions,
all of them paying good salaries, and most
of them being commonly regarded as
stepping stones to something higher. Of
the thirteen editors, it is probable that all
will be reelected, though some of them
will by no means have a walk-over, for
when a man has been twenty years or SO
in an editorial chair he is sure to have
enemies If he has grit; ana besides. it is
so very easy to edit paper that natur-
ally there is a desire to have so soft snap
passed around among the boys.
Still another thing which complexities the
editorial situation is that some who are
editors would not object to be bishops
This creates a quasi-opening, and it
sometimes happens that when the editor
returns from his chase after the Episco-
pal butterfly he finds his seat pre-emptec
by another. But this doesn't apply at al
I
York Advocate, who probably could be q
bishop if he would, for those who are in
innate with him are saying with an air oi
authority that he wouldn't be a bishop
though he could. In very truth the grac,
of resignation is spreading in this church
| A presiding elder in New Hampshire be
rates his brethren for voting for him as
| delegate to general conference. With
| good chance of going, ne declines. Less
! than four years ago DR. w. n. BrOdbecl
, declined to become general secretary o
the Epworth league, preferring the pastor
ate. About the same time DR.. II. A. Butt;
let the edtorship of the Methodist Review
pass lightly from his grasp and here nov
| is DR.. Buckley emulating such distin
! guished men as Wilbur Fiske and A. G
IIaygood in virtually declining bsh
| opric.