The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-05-07
BISHOP MERRILL
ASKS RETIREMENT
Methodist Conference May
Grant Request of Senior
Member of Board.

Los ANGELES, Cal, May 6.-Bish-
op Stephen M. Merrill, of Chicago,
senior member of the board of bishops,
today presented a petition to the con-
ference asking that he be retired from
active service. The hearing of Bishop
Merrilrs petition, which detailed at
some length his long service in the in
terests of the Methodist church. was
the chief incident of the morning ses-
sion. Bishop Merrill's petition opened
with the statement that he was in his
seVenty-ninth year of his life and the
fifty-ninth year of his ministry.
If the general conference could be
IN session year hence, it would give
me chance to round out sixty years
of service, but as it will not be in ses-
sion then, 1 must ask the conference
to consider the matter of my retire
ment now"
Bishop Merrill said he had conclud-
ed to request that superannuated re-
lations be granted him, to begin at
the end of the session of the present
general conference. When the aged
bishop finished reading his document.
which described at length his early
struggle in the ministry and his work
of thirty-two years in the general su-
perlntendency, he was greeted with
enthusiasm. The entire audience arose
and gave the Chautauqua salute.
Upon motion Of DR.. Buckley, Of New
York, Bishop Merrills request for re-
tirement was referred to the committee
on episcopacy.
The provision to redistriet the boun-
daries of the various annual confer
ences was debated and referred to the
committee on boundaries.
DR.. J.>N. Buckley ridiculed the ex-
traordinary combinations of confer
ences in a brief speech, which aroused
considerable merriment. Dwelling
upon the list of conferences, he said:
Maine. Italy, quite a little distance
from Maine to Italy and no analogy
between them except there are some
Christians in both places. This is only
one of the extraordinary combinations
of conferences. 1t seems if some of
them were grouped by the points of
the compass only"
The conference adjourned until to-
morrow. Committee meetings occu-
pied the afternoon:
Matters are being so shaped and
centralized that with few more meet
ings to arrange details the work will
proceed regularly. Pentecostal meet
ings are being held daily at the Tenn
pie church. The meetings are of q re-
vival kind addressed by well-known
Methodists, including bishops, and at
tended by great crowds Of church peo-
pie.
Bishop C. G. McCabe is one of the
leaders in these meetings A series of
lectures by visiting church dignitaries
are feature of the evening entertain-
ments at the pavilion and at Simpson
auditorium. The speakers include a
half dozen OF the bishops, ]. M. Buck
ley, T. B. Niedland and others.
The committee on episcopacy will
meet Monday afternoon, when it is ex-
pected the question of new and addi-
tional bishops will be taken up.
The committee on memorials held its
first business session this afternoon
and listened to the memorials from the
different conferences in regard to re-
storing the memorial time limit. Ten
memorials We're read and referred to a
subcommittee of fifteen which will
hear all memorials on that subject and
report to the main committee Friday
with their recommendations.