Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-05-09
N. E. GENERAL CONFERENCE
Opening of the 28th Quadrennial
Session.
Ten Thousand Churches and Four
and u Half Millions of Com
municauts Represented
al Cleveland Today.

Cleveland. o., May If the immortal
John Wesley, from his place under the
shadow of the Great White Throne, Is
enabled today to look down on this
earthly sphere, who shall say that he
may not, harp in hand, lead the angelic
host in a sons of praise and thanksgiy-
ing? For, from his leading city of one
of the greatest states of the new world,
there go up today paeans of glory and
words of suplication from the chosen
! representatives Of a mighty host of
Christians, developed from the seed
planted in a little country hamlet OF
England more than n century and a
half ago, by John Wesley and his broth
er Charles, and watered by the visit of
the two brothers to the United states
100 years ago thism month,
1t was a notable assemblage that the
venerable Bishop Thomas Bowman of
St. Louis confronted, when he appeared
upon the platform Of the magnificent
new armory at 9 o'clock this morning,
and. with a touch of his gavel. declared
that the twenty-eighth qu%adrennial ses-
sion of the general conference of the
Methodist Episcopal church was for
mally opened. Before him in the body
] OF the nall sat between SIX anu EeNtn
suitufeu ut tne most distinguished an.
vines and laymen of the denomination
gathered from every state and territory
of the union, as well as from India and
China, Japan and South America, Mexi-
CO, Europe and Great Britain. There
were millionaire business men and
bankers, lawyers of fame, teachers Of
renown. merchants and manufacturers,
farmers and physicians, revivalists and
staid philosophers, theological writers
of worldwide repute, and representa-
tives of nearly every profession and
branch of industry.
In the Illinois delegation sat william
Derlng Of harvester fame; in that Of
Ohio. j. n. Gamble, the greatest soap
maker of the world. and Louis Miller,
the founder of Chautauqua; amongst
the Pennsylvanians, John Field, the
merchant prince OF Philadelphia Rev.
w. l.. Watkinson, the fraternal dele
gate from The British conference. sat
side by side with Rev. Or. II. Crawford
Johnson. representing the Methodlsts Of
Erin's Isle.
From Italy were William Burt and
Luigi Mando; from Japan the Hon.
Taro Ando; from Liberia, J. ". Deputie;
from Norway, A. Olsen. Governor j. T..
Richards headed the Montana contin-
gent. and Lieutenant Governor II. y.
Mansur that of Vermont. John w.
Butler and Cristobal Ludlow sat under
the banner of Mexico; Charles w.
Drees and Justus Cubic beneath that Of
South America. f. Gutokunst and 4. G.
Bruins represented South Germany: a.
| H.. Baker and J. II. Stevens South India:
j. y. Erickson and j.. a. Anderson,
Sweden; j. L. Wuhrmann and DR.. G..
Giesler, Switzerland, and NJ. c. Wilcox
and Lydia a. Trimble the Foo Chow
conference OF China. The caustlc Dr.
j. NJ. Buckley of the New York Chris
tan Advocate. whose pen Is ~eternally
dipped in gall, and whose writings are
In the nature Of continuous firebrands
10 the faith, doomed up in a front seat.
50 also did DR.. Arthur Edwards, DR..
Buckeyes chief rival as the journals
tie free lance of the denomination. Or.
John w. Hamilton of Boston was at the
head of the New England delegation;
DR.. G. G. McCabe, the famous debt
raiser, sat with the New Workers: Drs.
Frank NJ. Bristol and Louis Curtis, with
the contingent from Illinois: DIR. T. Il.
/ Renerai conference q pisnop. neaueu tne,
Philadelphians; Samuel Dickie, the ma
tional leader Of the prohibitionists,
doomed up in the Michigan section, and
i. w. Warne was a solitary representa-
tive from Bengal-ISurmah.