The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-12

male stenographers out of the business
because they can work so cheap, leaving
the men nothing TO do for living in any
thing they dhe women) set about doing.
confess this portrayal of what women
have already done greatly moved me, and
/ would have shed tears If / could have
kept from laughing at his description of
the mischief already wrought by woman's
invading the sacred domain of man in
these things.
But his climax was much more terrible.
1t ran about thus: "And If admitted TO the
annual conference what on earth can keep
her from becoming a bishop? Yes. 1 have
heard the friends of this unscriptural nom
sense claim that she should be eligible to
the episcopacy. How would it look TO see
a woman presiding in an annual conference
composed, at first at least, mostly of men.
and, sir" addressing the chair. "over the
General Conference also?''
To the credit of the General Conference
it must be said there was more laughter
than tears over the fearful picture he
drew of the dire consequences of admitting
women to the General Conference. The ef-
feet of his harangue was much more NOV
ing than that of DR.. Buckley's and quite
as convincing.
BUCKLEY AND GRAw SCORED.
DIR. Potts. the editor of the Michigan
Christian Advocate, who is so deaf that he
cannot hear the loudest clap of thunder.
but who read from stenographic notes
taken by his private secretary, sitting by
his side. every word of what those two
orators had said. followed. His first words
were: Nothing is ever settled in this
world until 1t is settled right" and then
followed a most scathing review of the two
eminent speakers. His plea for the right
of laymen to be judges of the proper per-
son to represent them was overwhelming.
"It is not the rights OF women we are de-
Tending any more than the rights OF the
men," he said. His picture of DIR. Buck
ley attaching importance to 'the storm of
noes" that came from the house thirty-two
years ago was terrific, and no less was his
answer to the fears of DR.. Graw that
woman might some time or other preside In
General Conference. They will hardly
do it unless elected bishop he said, and
he was not prepared to say to the men,
bers of coming general conferences whom
they might or might not vote for. II they
want a woman to preside woman it
should be, as well as a negro If they want
one.
The order of the day, the quadrennial re-
port of the missionary bishops, cut short
the debate before any laymen got in
word 1t is said some of them have views
they will express before the vote Is taken
It is noticeable that meeting of laymen
is called for Saturday night. More than
one question will probably be discussed at
Ii.
The report of Bishop Thoburn, bishop of
India and Malaysia, gave a hopeful ac-
count of the work in India and the ada
cent islands Much of this appeared in
last Mondays Journal i'm this correspond
ence. His reference to the church already
formed in Manila was interesting. He not
only organized church, but ordained a
pastor, who, by telegraph, had become
member of the Kansas Conference, and
by that conference elected to the orders
of deacon and elder. The bishop seems
not the least alarmed at the expansion
OF Methodism. At all events one part OF
the report at first struck the conference
with surprise. He said they cold baptize
into the Christian faith ten times as many
as they are doing. There is perhaps no
limit to the readiness of the natives to
be baptized. and to profess Christ. but
after years of experience in the field he
thinks it more important to teach the
morals and doctrines of the church than
to have the thosuands merely nominal
Christians. Their schools and their or
phanages are doing great good.
BISHOP HARTZELLs FIELD.
The report of Bishop Hartzell of his
work in Africa was surprise to many.
1t may be remembered that four years
ago, when reporting the General Confer
ence at Cleveland. said in substance that
Bishop Taylors so-called self-supporting
mission in Africa was failure. as his
schemes to found such missions in India
and South America had been. and that
for this was severely censured by Bishop
Taylor and his close friends. I could af-
ford to wait the investigation of such a
man as Bishop Hartzell. He has spent
four years in the wake of Bishop Taylor,
looking after his work In the dark conti-
rent, and now he reports almost word
for word, in substance, what I wrote four
years ago. There is no disparaging the
heroism and iabors of Bishop Taylor, nor
denying that some good has come from
some parts of his work, but after spending
100000 on n "self-supporting mission"
chiefly in commercial schemes on the
Congo, so little was accomplished and
the field has proved so unproductive that
Bishop Hartzell has abandoned the whole
Congo country. establishing a mission with
some promise farther south. Bishop Tay-
lor conveyed to the church what property
had any value. all of which was in his
possession, and most of the so-called mis-
sionaries under him have returned. His
conclusion is that a mission to be a sue
cess must be organized and some BODY
OF Christians must have charge of It. He
regards Africa as an open door. The mis-
sion established in Liberia sixty odd years
ago, by the heroic Melville Cox. has not
met early expectations, but Il is substan-
fial and will prove a nucleus for future
movements. He has large hopes for
Africa and believes with Cox that il must
rot be given up.
Ever since the death of Bishop Newman
the talk has been that at least three of the
present bishops would be retired TO the
noneffective list. making four to six new
bishops necessary. Never before has the
work of the bishops received such rebukes
at this General Conference in the mat
ter Of lecturing, book writing and like out
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