The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-17
Point to Savior Very
Soon Coming.
SEVENTH DAY FOLK
From the World Over Meet
in South Lancaster.

ventists, which assemblies delegates
from all the world, got to work in
earnest, in the Seventh Day Adventist
Church in this place, which has been
greatly enlarged and improved for this
occasion, most important in the caIen-
dar of this peculiar people. The town
IS overfiowing with strangers. More
than 200 delegates have arrived and
others are arriving, They are for the
most part grave, elderly men and
clergymen of the faith-elders, in fact
The serious work of the conference was
TO have begun Tuesday, but the storm
came and made it necessary for the
delegates already present to meet and
adjourn.
For 80 hours two carloads of dele
gates were stalled in Chicago.
Tonight the Lancaster Hotel has not
e vacant bed. The South home has
been turned into hotel and some 70
delegates are stopping there. Thirty or
40 find shelter in the dormitories of the
academy and the balance are scattered
in the homes of the Seventh Day peo-
PiV VI Lie tONiI, WilO nave luT1eu lu6lII
parlors into bed rooms.
Some of the delegates have their
wives with Them There are delegates
from Great Britain, Germany, Aus
tria, Denmark and most of the Eu-
ropean countries, as well as from near
ly every state in the Union. Among
the delegates from abroad are Elder
A. A. Olsen of Copenhagen, president
of the European union conference;
r .n1Tto Tol, ~,
resenting Norway and Sweden; Elder
r. l.. Conrad of Hamburg, represent
ing the German conference; Elder w
l.. II. Baker of Melbourne, president of
the Australasian union conference; Ell
der M. M. Olsen of Copenhagen and
DR.. e. J. Waggoner of London.
In his speech Of welcome Elder II. w
Cottrell of South Lancaster, president
OF the New England conference, said:
ON account Of two distinct features
of Christian faith, we as Seventh day
Adventists exist as a separate and dis
stinct people; namely, a fixed belief in
the soon coming of our Savior and in
the reformation of the Sabbath in the
church.
Il am pleased to say to this delega-
ton this morning that the New Eng
land conference, in which we are now
assembled for this session of the gen
eral conference, has the honor, under
God, of having had organized in it the
first two churches Of the denomination
the Washington, New Hampshire,
- church. and the Dartmouth, Massachu-
sets. church"
In startling language that thrilled
the delegates assembled in the church,
Elder George A, Irwin of Battle Creek
Mich, president of the conference, and
its presiding officer, and it's presiding
officer, touched upon the doctrine of the
soon-coming of the Savior, referred to
by Elder Cottrell. President Irwin
said:
THE two years that have passed
since our last session, especially the
year just closed, have been big with
events that have a bearing upon the
closing work the Lord is carrying on in
the earth. The threatening attitude
of the nations of earth toward one an
other; the almost constant alarm of
war from some quarter; the constantly
increasing armament of the nations,
While planning for peace conferences;
the Spanish-American war, which as
tonished the world with its result in so
brlet time, and brought America
into prominence, and hopelessly entan-
gled her with the powers of the
earth; the ever-increasing encroach
mentS upon, and the gradual surrender
Of the principles of religious liberty in
our nation: the widespread and rapid
ly increasing apostasy; the moral pol
luton that is sweeping like a great IT,
dai wave over the earth-all these. con-
ditions tally with the prophecies of the
near approach of our Lord, and the
1nal contamination of all things per-
tanning to this earth in it's present
In two years the denomination has
gained 10 ordained ministers, 90 licen-
i
$91, 179.71 in tithes.
Al the session yesterday afternoon,
two new conferences We're admitted ia
the general conference. The first is
the British conference. w. w. Pres
colt of London, Eng, is its delegate.
The conference has 800 members and
five licensed ministers.
The German conference, which in
cludes Germany Holland Austro-Hu
gary, and the Balkan states, is rSpre- |
sented by L. r. Conrad of Hamburg. |
1t has eight ordained churches.
This afternoon the delegates wrestled |
with the question of the debts on the |
schools of the denomination, and espe-
clally with the debt of $4,000 on Walla |
Walla College.
The solution to the problem was re-
ferred to the committee on plans and
resolutions.
The conference will last until Feb.
II. 1t will devote the time principally
to the consideration of these things-a
plan to raise more money to prosecute
the work among the colored people in
the south; a translation of the writings
of Sister White into Scandinavian and
German; how to create a greater in
terest in, the education of young men
Tor the ministry; a plan for weekly
Contributors to support foreign mis-
slonS; some provision to meet the in
debtedness of the general conference;
the advisability of changing the con-
st1tution to provide for a quadrennial
instead of biennial session.
A discussion of this latter matter
brought out from President Irwin
the interesting statement, to the con-
ference that it will cost SIT, 7O5 to hold
thls general conference. For each day,
counting twenty days to the session, 1t
VIII cost $780, For each hour, counting
ten hours to the day, s75. For each
hour of actual business, counting five
hours to the day, $780, For each min
ute of business time, $3.50.
He suggested that as speeches would
cost $3.50 minute, it would be well for
delegates to be as brief as possible.
II. Edwards, treasurer of the foreign
mission board, presented a report CIV
ing the aggregate amount received for
IA years, as $13S, S1204
The report of the general conference
treasurer, A. q. Adams, gives the re-
celpts of the, general conference fol-
ia years as $161, 947g1; receipts from
uthes in the same time We're sec, 467. 80
All the delegates are expected to b.
III town tomorrow, including the fla.
nous DR.. w. FL, kellogg Of Battle
Creek.
There was no lack Of newspaper mer
at the conference this afternoon, be.