The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-19
YEARLY MEETING CLOSED.


Special to the Indianap polls Journal.
PLAINFIELD, Ind, Sept. 1S.-Willam P.
Pinkham appointed a meeting in the west
room at o'clock this morning for the
elders, overseers, ministers and workers of
Western Yearly Meeting. Mr.. Pinkham is
one of the best informed and ablest teacher
Of the Bible and doctrine in the Friends
Church. He sounded warning, especially
to the young people, whom, he said, are
not Jealous after intellectual research, and
have acquired the habit of studying insid-
icus writers. He assailed the notions alike
o. higher criticism and the new theology.
which are gradually making inroads INTO
the church.
The entire forenoon was given up to pub
lie devotional meetings which were held in
both rooms of the building. The Rev. Will
lis r. Hotchkiss was the principal speaker.
Mr.. Hotchkss has spent four years in
Africa. enduring untold sufferings and pri-
vations. After spending two years in his
native land he expects, with three other
men, to return to Africa about the LIST OF
January. Mr.. Hotchkiss has conceived the
idea OF an industrial mission as the best
means by which the natives in that CONT
nent can be reached, and TO this end he has
been working, with the cooperation of this
and other Yearly Meetings, and on his re-
turn the work OF establishing such a mis-
sion will be begun.
At the afternoon session the rest of the
business was transacted. A NEST pleasant
suggestion came from the representa- tive
meeting and was heartily Endorsed by the
Yearly Meeting, That of reSeating the large
auditorium The present seats are those
which have been in since the building
was erected and are very uncomfortable
and unsightly. Sylvester Newlin and Ruby
Nj. Nestal were reappointed a committee on
reports to the press
Memorials were read for Jesse G.. Turner
and John r.. Sellars, ministers who have
died during the past year. Returning min
listers were given all the visiting ministers
were issued TO all the Yearly Meetings in
the United States. and to Dublin and Lon
don as well. A praise service was held to-
night as fitting close to the forty-fourth
annual assembly Of Western Yearly Meet
ing.
Yesterday morning the Yearly Meeting
appointed Rev. Albert j. Brown. pastor of
the Friends Church in indianapolis, to be
superintendent of the work in the Yearly
Meeting on THE Suppression OF the Liquor
Traffic. Before he would accept il he
asked if the meeting intended for him TO
simply be a figurehead, or if they really
expected him to work along the line of the
resolutions passed the evening before. BY
an emphatic vote, without one dissenting
voice, the Yearly Meeting instructed him to
carry the work vigorously along the line
indicated in the resolutions Following
were the resolutions passed by a standing
vote of the entire Yearly Meeting and with
but one negative vote:
Believing with the Supreme Court, that
the statistics of every State show a greater
amount of crime and misery attributable
20 the of ardent spirits obtained in
these retail liquor saloons than to any other
source and that an orderly saloon in an
orderly neighborhood is per Sc a nuisance;
and that no citizen has an inherent right
to sell intoxicating liquor and that as
the only purpose of a penal act is to SUD-
press, so the only purpose a license act can
have Is to PROMOTE; and that no Legisla-
ture can bargain away the public morals
or the public health, or the public peace; =
and recognizing the undisputed fact that
the legaliZeG liquor traffic is the greatest
enemy and hindrance to the advancement
of the work of the church, we believe one
of the first and greatest concerns of the
church should be the suppression of this
| traffic.
1--WE believe the legalizing OF the liquor
| traffic. or anything else which the people
| and the courts recognize an evil. i'm
moral, and against the best interests of the
| public, is not consistent with a republican
| form of government, and is unrighteous
and sinful.
while in no sense wishing to dictate tC
| our membership as to what position they
| shall take in government affairs and pol
| icies in regard to which there may be hon.
| est difference of opinion, and which admit
] of experiment and compromise, we believe
| that the Christian people are unanimously
| agreed as TO the unrighteousness of the lie.
| galized liquor traffic, and that il is sinful
| to longer experiment OF compromise witt
/ ii: and that our membership should refrain
! from affliatlng with any political organiZa-
! ton that refuses TO place itself i'm open Op-
! position TO legalizng this any other rec
/ ogniLed evil: for in a republican form OF
| government the people are the rulers and
| become directly responsible for the acts e
l which they have consented. or which theN
have delegated to their servants. the Of
| ficials. This being true, the Western Year
| " Meeting of Friends cannot afford TO fai
! TO make il known 10 all men that her mem
| bership refuses to longer stand responsible
even by silence or consent. for the legaliz
1 ing of any recognized evil and that any
| organization that does not stand for thi:
| sentiment must not expect or receive the
| support OF our membership.