Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-17
SIX HUNDRED DELEGATES
Presbyterian General Assembly Will
Represent Every State.
MEETS AT EAGLE LAKE, IND, THIS WEEK
Church Contains Nearly n Million
Members Scattered over the
whole Country-Nnmcs sug-
gcstcd for Moderator.

PHILADELPHIA, May 16.-The 109th gem
eral assembly of the Presbyterian church in
the United States will meet at Winona as
sembly grounds, Eagle Lake, Kosciusko
county Ind, on May 30 1897, and will prob
ably continue in session until May 81. The
assembly will be composed OF about 600 dele
gates, one half of them ministers and the
other half ruling elders. The delegates are
elected by ecclesiastical bodies called pres
byteries, and come from every portion of the
country.
The Presbyterian church. represented by
this general assembly. is the only one which
has ministers and churches in every state
in the union and by the statistics of 1896
consisted Of 1883 congregations, 6,942 minis
ters and 943,7 members. The contributions
for congregational expenses for the year 1896
were S10,413,7S5 and the contributions for
missionary and other benevolent purposes
SO, ,643, $50. The foreign mission work for the
Presbyterian church is conducted in fifteen
different countries. Its missionary and be-
nevoent work in the United States is carried
on by agents called boards. These boards
are eight in number three of them located
in New York City. viz: The Boards Of Home
Missions. Foreign Missions and Church
Erections; three located in the city of Phila-
delphia, viz: Publication and Sabbath school
work, education and ministerial relief; one,
the Board of Missions for Freedmen at Pitts
burg, Pa. and one, the Board of Aid for
Colleges and Academies, at Chicago.
Tho boards located in New York occupy
what is known as the Presbyterian building,
hhhat the corner of Twentieth street and Fifth
avenue, and those located in Philadelphia
will soon remove from their present quarters
at 1884 Chestnut street to the Wtherspoon
building corner of Walnut and Juniper
streets
The 109th general assembly will be opened
at II a. m., May 20, with sermon by the
| retiring moderator, Rev. John l.. Withrow,
D.. D., pastor of the Third Presbyterian
church. Chicago Among the delegates are
found eX-President Harrison John Wana-
| maker and other able and influential lay
men Among the ministers are Rev. Sheldon
Jackson, ID. d., Rev. Henry C. Minton, ID,
president of the Presbyterian Theological
seminary, San Francisco; Rev. Robert
| Sample, d. D., of the Twenty-third Street
church, New York; from Philadelphia Rev.
Drs. McIntock,, Mack, Eckols, and Bottom
| and others.
WORK TO BE DONE.
The business of the assembly will consist
| Of two main lines of work:
l. The consideration of the annual re-
ports of the eight boards above referred to
| This section of the business will take up the
| sessions of five days.
2. The consideration of reports of special
| committees, most important of which are
| the following: Committee on the Powers
| assembly and presbytery in the care ant
| licensure of candidates; committee on voters
on the election of pastors and other church
| officials; committee on conference with Boart
| of Home missions; committee on the pres
bytery building, New York City, committee
| on methods of management of church tenn
| poralities.
| The reports of these several committee
have not as yet been made public and it IL
not tho usage to give them to the press prio
| to the meeting Of the assembly
| With regard to the moderatorship of thi!
new assembly it is stated that the candi
dates for the offices thus far announced art
| Rev C. G. Minton, ID. D., San Francisco
| Rev. Robert Sample, d. D., New York; Rev
| Sheldon Jackson, and Mr.. John Wanamakel
of Philadelphia. A number Of the gentlemen
have thought of nominating exPresiden
| Harrison, but he has declined the honor or
| tho ground that he could not give enough
| time to the duties Of the Office. In connection
| with the moderatorship it is interesting tC
| know that a layman has not yet filled the
| position and there are persons who doub
| il the constitution will permit any Other
than minister to occupy the highest office
| in the church.