The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-11-03
Bishop H. M. Turner is the
Presiding Officer.
AN ADDRESS BY COUNCIL
Large Number of Delegates in Attend
ance, Including Many Prominent
Men of the Race Will Be in
Session Until Monday.


Methodist Episcopal church of North Ala
bama is in session at st. Johns church,
corner Third avenue and Twenty-fourth
street.
Bishop II. NJ. Turner, D. D., senior bishop
of the church and president of the Sixth
Episcopal district is holding his fourth and
last conference of the quadrennium. Rev.
Il. A. Williams, of Pratt City, is secretary.
A large number of delegates are in at
tendance, among whom are I. w. Hender-
son, manager of The publication depart
ment; DR.. c. T. Shaffer, secretary of the
church extension; Rev. NJ. M. Moore, finan-
cial secretary of the church; Drs. w. d.
Johnson, C. l.. Bradwell, ]. B. Lotion, r.
r. Downs, of Georgia.; Rev. ]. A. Davis,
of Nashville, Tenn; Professor w. III. Coun-
Gil, of Normal, and other prominent men
of the race
Inc conference is composed of more than
hundred neat-looking, well-dressed and
Intelligent ministers. The morning session
was taken up with the organization of the
conference for work and the appointment
OF commfttees. The bishops annual adj
oress was forceful and instructive. He set
form the object of sessions, stating than
1t was to better the spiritual and moral
condition of the people and to advance the
Kingdom of Christianity. lie Instructed the
ministers to be courteous and to stamp
their impress for good in every home
touching political issues he said he was
neither republican, democrat, nor populist
out was more than these. He was a states
man, whose fundamental principle is right
He spoke of the wars now waging in South
Africa and the Philippine Islands and ad-
monished the conference ITO wage war
against sin and crimes of all kinds. Espec-
tally against ideness, the sin from which
most all other crimes come
The conference was addressed at times by
the visiting pastors of the city. Rev. A. A.
Sensabaugh preached the annual sermon to
large congregation.
DR.. S. S. II. Washington, a practicing
physician of the city, delivered an excellent
address of welcome which was responded to
by Rev. C. Y. Shaffer, d. D., M. D., of
Philadelphia.
He spoke of the things along business
lines that the race in Birmingham seeming
ly was pursuing, and admonished the peo-
pie to be energetic, economic and indus
trious.
AT last nights session Professor w. H.
Council, president of the Agricultural and
Mechanical college for negroes at Normal,
made strong address on labor and friend
ly feeling in the south. He said among
other things:
Il ann glad that this great church recog-
nizes the friendly hand of the south in the
development of the negro. Your debates
show friendly feeling toward the white
south. At the bottom of all questions must
be deep concern in the laboring negro.
The negro must seek to continue good,
competent, faithful builders of the south,
in the partialtty of the south.
81 ann glad that this great church fills its
hundreds of members with the true spirit
of citizenship, the dignity of labor and a
friendly feeling toward all men. 1t teaches
obedience to law, a due regard for the
rights of persons and property and the pro-
found sacredness of human life. 1t inspires
self-confidence, and a pride in race which
frowns down social equality nonsense and
recognizes the fact that individual worth
will be rewarded, whether in white or black
skin.
'iBishop Turner, the able, wise, learned
and beloved presiding officer of this confer
ence, stands for the highest interests of the
negro race in the world and for the best
feelings between the races in the south.
1 am proud to know him and to count him
among those men whose hearts beat in
unison with all that is grand and noble in
the south. Whatever his ideas are, or how
much we may disagree with him on some
great questions, we know that beneath his
black skin he carries a godly heart, true
and loyal to the negro and to the white
south, and honors those grand, good men,
black and white, who have come down to
us from the olden time.
'He is the only man, at least in this GEN.
fury, who has crossed the ocean and added
in a single day to his church thousands OF
souls, who will increase to millions in
few decades. When he speaks 100000 ne
groes in the western hemisphere hear him.
Africa calls him blessed, and white men
and black men in Europe and America
love and honor him."
The conference will remain In session I'M
til Monday.
PROMINENT FINANCIERS