The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-27
CHURCHES PROSPER
METHoDIsTs WILL MAKE FINE
SHOWING AT CONFERENCE.
MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCES.
OF SAVANNAH CHURCHES BETTER
THAN IN MANY YEARS PAST.

Before Conference Proposition
Will BE Made to Redistrict the
State, Making nm Additional Con-
ference District-The Barbee and
Smith Matter Also to he Consid-
ered-DcIeGates to BE Elected to
the General Conference Which
Meets Mt Dallas In May.
e All of the Methodist ministers of Sa-
vannah, Rev. Ed f. Cook Of wesley
Monumental Church, Rev. Bascom An
thony OF Trinity. Rev. Osgood f. Cook
of Grace Methodist, and Rev. ]. A.
Smith of Epworth Methodist Church,
have concluded their work for the
church year. and have finished their
reports to be presented to the annual
meeting of the South Georgia Confer
ence to be held in Macon beginning
Dec. 4.
A brief form of these reports will be
submitted to the congregation OF each
church at one of the services Sunday
They make most creditable showing,
for each church this year will submit
report that shows the past year to
best, in its history, both as to the num-
Der of members acquired ana also as to
its financial condition.
The ministers will leave for Macon
Dec. 2, two days before the opening
of the conference, their presence be-
ing required at a number of committee
meetings which will be held before the
conference begins. The lay delegates
Will not. 1t is expected, leave for Ma
con before the opening day of the
meeting. These delegates from the Sa-
vannah district are Messrs. S. B.
Adams. ]. NJ. Rogers, o. G.. AIingle-
dorff and J. M. Fulcher, the last named
of Waynesboro. 1t Is probable that
there will be other prominent Metho-
dists in attendance from Savanna,
among them Mr.. w. b. Stubs and Mr..
r. B. Reppard.
Besides the interest that this confer
ence will have for Savannahians Incl
dent to the changes that will be made
among the ministers of this district,
the reassignment of Rev. Osgood F.
Cook of Grace Church and Rev. J. A.
Thompson, presiding elder of the dis
trict, it has a state wide interest in
that at this meeting will be elected
delegates to the general conference of
the church, the legislative body which
meets once year, and which will meet
next year, May, in Dallas, Tex.
another question Of even greater i'm
portance that will be brought before
the conference is that of a redivision
of the state into three conference dis
tricts, instead of two, as at present.
This measure will have many cham
pions. for under existing conditions,
because of their recent great growth,
both the South Georgia Conference and
the North Georgia conference are not
only becoming unwieldly on account OF
their size, but for the same reason, IL
becomes each year more difficult mat.
ter to select a place of meeting, as
only large cities are capable of enter
tanning the many delegates of which
each body is composed.
The most favored plan of redistrihu-
ton is that which proposes for the
North Georgia Conference all that
part of the state north of a line drawn
straight across the state about thirty
miles south of Atlanta, and the re-
maindcr of the state to be divide into
a Southeast and a Southwest Confer
ence, the line of demarkation following
the Ocmulgee river in its course south
until IL DIVORCES to the east, and then
following Il straight line to the Florida
boundary.
II is not improbable that this plan
of division, or, even, a plan of any
kind will meet with a certain amount
of opposition. bat it is pretty sure 20
be carried out. If not at this confer
ence, then at one in the near future.
The one o.tIined is considere to I've
the best possible one, in that 1t gives 10
each proposed conference about the
same population.
Still another important question to
come before the conference, and the
one which probably will cause more
discussion than any other, is the prop
osition that has been made in some
quarters that the money recently re-
ceived from the national government
for the destruction of the printing
house of the Methodist Episcopal
Church. South, at Nashville, during the
Civil War, be returned.
This question, it will be remembered,
provoked a great deal of discussion and
comment at the time the money was
appropriated, and some rather severe
criticism on the methods that 1t Is
claimed were resorted to by Messrs.
Barbee and Smith. the agents of the
publishing house, In their efforts to Sc.
cure the money. 1t is because of these
criticisms that the matter will be
brought before the conference.
The last quarterly conference of
Trinity Church was held last night;
the last quarterly conference of Grace
Will he al 70 oh.