The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-18
No RESULT Is REACHED.
CONTEST FOR BISHOPS IN THE NJ. e.
GENERAL CONFERENCE YET
UNSETTLED
COABIIATI0l is TALKED OF
WITHDRAWAL OF REV. KELLY
ALARMS THE FIELD OF CAN
DIDATEs FOR BISHOP
MAY UNITE THEIR FORCES
Excitement Over the Contest Is
Growing Greater, and sensa-
tiOnaI Results Are Looked
For Today.

CHICAGO, May -17.-Whether the Meth
odist Episcopal board of bishops shall
have the final decision in the appoint
ment Of the members of the faculty in the
| theological schools is a question which
received various answers at the meeting
of the committee on education today. The
matter was brought before the commit
tee by the report of the subcommittee Of
eight, of which President Raymond was
chairman This report proposed that
professors should be elected to the facul-
ty Of the schools by vote of the bishops
and reelected by similar vote. 1t pro-
vides that in the event the board of bish-
ops refused to elect and preferred charges
that the professors teachings were not IN
conformity with the doctrines of the
church, he had the right of appeal to and
of trial by his annual conference, and the
decision of the annual conference shall
be final
After discussion in which opposition
to allowing the board of bishops to In
any way pass upon the doctrinal fidelity
OF any minister of the church the report
was recommitted.
The committee on Sunday school Union
and Tract society decided today to re-
quest the general conference to establish
book and periodical editorship, to be
filled by an official selected by the book
committee, who shall be paid from the
funds of the book concern.
The memorial of the New York board
of managers recommended that the editor
be elected by the general conference, but
this proposition was defeated because 1t
was believed that it would have no chance
Of receiving favorable action in the larger
body.
The committee will also ask that the
conference elect a corresponding secre.
tary as the chief executive officer of the
union. The reports will be presented to
the conference on the memorial of the
board of managers. One of these, adopted
by the minority, declares that the pro-
posed establishment of two new officers
is ineXpedfent and unnecessary, and rec
ommends that the memorial be not adopt
ed as the law of the church.
MISSION WORK.
The time of the committee on missions
was taken up in discussion of differ
ences between Secretary Palmer of the
Missionary society, and the North China
mission. Rev. H. H. Lowry represented
the mission in the claim that 81 LOCO had
been withheld from it by Secretary
Palmer annually, under the name of inter
est and annual payment on the debt Of
the church of Pekin. The society dis
claimed all liability for the assessments
made
Secretary Palmer supported his action In
Withholding the money on the grounds
that the society was liable for the obliga-
tions 1t was trying to repudiate
The matter was referred to the board
of missions for final adjudication
A report favoring the admission of lay
men into the Japanese annual conference
as law associate members was adopted
by the committee. An amendment to the
charter, necessitated by the action of the
conference in reducing the number of
secretaries of the societies TO one, was
adopted.
Education, under the direction of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and partic-
uiarly under the auspices of the Freed
mems Aid and Southern Educational So
ciety, will be extended to Porto Rico as
soon as the finances of the society will
admit. A resolution providing for the ex-
tension of the educational work in this
direction was adopted by the committee
today, in answer to a memorial asking
that the society set aside $500 a year
for the prosecution of educational work in
Porto--Rico The committee did not set
aside any particular sum for the work
FOR A COMBINATION.
DR.. w. V. Kelly, of the East New
York conference, leading candidate for
bishop, withdrew from the race today
He sent word to his friends that he had
decided to retire from the field. His
withdrawal gave rise to a report of a
combination between DR. Spellmeyer and
DR.. Berry. According to the story told
the plan is to elect the former as the
Eastern representative and the latter
from the West. Tonight 1t is said the
Kelly vote will go to Spellmeyer, together
with a sufficient number of DR. Berry's
friends to elect the minister from New
Jersey. After this is accomplished the
Spellmeyer, Kelly and Berry forces will
unite to elect the latter The remainder
of this powerful combination caused
alarm among the other candidates who
talked of uniting the field against them
in an effort to break the slate. If the
Kelly vote goes to Spellmeyer, the latter
may secure the necessary two-thirds vote
required to elect on the first ballot taken
tomorrow.