Evening journal., 1900-11-20
SallieS Of Speakers Greeted
With Deaiening Applause
THEIR RELIGIOUS ONSLAUGHT
Encouraged by she Chair Which Made
No Effort to Check DemOnStra-
lions Of Approval

New York, Nov. 2O.-Two fierce on
Elaughts on the Church of Rome en-
livened the proceedings at yesterdays
session Of the general missionary com
mittee. On each occasion an audience
which filled every part Of the large
auditorium in St. 2auls M. Z. church,
where the committee is meeting, broke
into applause, and no effort was made
by the chair to check these demon
strations OF approval.
The general committee, which Is
composed of all the bishops and lead
ing divines in the Methodist church Of
America, has been in session daily since
last Wednesday. Upon several occa-
siOns during former sessions the same
spirit of defiance has been apparent.
The first person to advance to the
attack yesterday was Bishop Goodsell,
of Tennessee. In the course Of an
address On the work of the Methodist
Episcopal church in various parts OF
Europe he had occasion to speak of the
work done in Italy and conditions OBJ
tanning there. 1t was in the recital Of
the latter the bishop used such strong
language against the Church Of Rome.
"ln northern Europe, for instance
IN Germany and the Scandinavian
countries the bishop said, I'VE have
made satisfactory progress, though we
have had a great deal of indifference
and even opposition to contend with.
In southern Europe the conditions are
somewhat different There are many
who doubt whether we have done any
work at all in Italy, that land of
superstition and priestcraft. The work
is slow, but its value has been recently
testified to by the pontiff himself, who
has honored us by communicating
everyone, teachers and pupils alike,
connected with our institutions OF
learning. In the effort to preserve for
himself the triple crown Of papacy he
has issued a sweeping interdict against
the schools and everyone passing
through their gates. This, however,
has only made us more determined to
wipe out a system which has created
out of the former man of empire a
cringing beggar with a monkey and a
grind organf
The applause which greeted this sal
ly was deafening
The next speaker threw down the
gauntlet to the Church Of Rome in
terms as direct and condemnatory as
did Bishop GoodseI This was Rev.
DR.. c. W. Drees, who for a number Of
years has been identified with the
work OF the NJ. e. church in South
America. In beginning his address DR..
Drees made reference to the end of
Spanish rule in this hemisphere and
was roundly applauded. He said:
"a former speaker has said that q
condition where half of the world is
~ Ia n
cannot endure long. The same can be
said with as much truth of a state OF
affairs where Chistendom is divided
into two great camps, with Protestant
ism on one side ard Greek and Roman
Catholicism on the other The time is
upon us when anew tee questions
which appeared in the Protestant ref
ormation will begin TO agitate the
world and demand to be pushed to
their final issue. After slumbering for
four centuries these self same ques-
tions were awakened through the last
act of infamy of the pontiff, in declar-
ing himself infallible. Within "a hours
after that blasphemous declaration had
been written on the triple crown of
Rome the Prussian armies invaded
Catholic France. Forty-five days later
AAN bnAAAt VI DEQan was lUuhnAi WIN
Protestant Prussia the victor and 20
days had only elapsed when the united
armies entered the Holy City, where
the pope held sway, bringing with them
carloads of Bibles. The pope lost his
temporal power. and since that day
the creed has been weakening.
THE Roman church at one time held
sway everywhere, but now both that
church and the Spanish domination
have fallen off their high pedestals
When Spain is arraigned the Roman
Catholic church should be arraigned
with that S-s-7er as correspondent. Ever
since Isabella signed away the liberty
of Spain to the pore there has been an
illegitimate alliance between statecraft
and priestcraft against human liberty
and human progress"
The applause which followed this
sally was as tremendous as it was
spontaneous.
DR.. Drees said, in conclusion, that the
most promising field among the Span
fish populations in America was open
ing in Porto Rico. and advised the