The Tupelo journal., 1904-06-03
METHOD|STS WILL
MAKE NO CHANGES
Prohibited Amusement Clause Was
Voted Down.
THE OLD LAWS WILL STAND
A Petition Of Protest Against
Change, Containfng Two Thou.
sand Names, Came From
BinEhantOn, n. 4.

Los Angeles, Cal, May 28.-By the
decisive yea and nay vote OF AL to
1873, the Methodist general conference
decided not to make any change in the
church discipline in the matter of pro-
hibited amusements. The question Ia
one which agitated the minds of the
delegates to the present general con-
ference more than any other single
problem that has been before it. The
church at large took a. wide interest
in the subject of proposed striking out
of the specified prohibited amuse-
ments from the discipline, and many
memorials and petitions from all parts
Of the country reflected popular opin-
ion in the church on the matter. In
all IS have been received, SIS OF which
opposed any change in the discipline
on this point, and ten favored various
changes.
Petition of Protest
A single petition from Binghamton,
N. Y. bearing 1000 signatures, was
one Of the protests against any change
being made.
The question came before the con-
ference Friday in the report OF the
committee on the state of the church
on this subject. -Aere were two re-
ports. The majority report recon-
mends as follows:
Your committee declines to recon-
mend the striking out of the specified
amusement from paragraph 24S OF
the discipline. 1t recommends that the
following paragraph be inserted in the
discipline, under the chapter of special
advices:
"Amusements, improper amusement
and excessive Indulgence in innocent
amusements are serious barriers to
the beginning of the religious life and
fruitful causes Of spiritual declines.
Some Amusem ents DemornlizinE.
Some amusements in common use
are also p~Ositivenly demoralizing and
furnish the first easy steps to the total
loss of character. We therefore look
with deep oncern on the great in
crease of amusements and on the gen.
eral prevalence of harmful amuse-
ments, and lift up a solemn note
of warning and %entreaty, particularly
against theater going, dancing and
games of chance as are frequently as
ISOLATED with gambling; all of which
have been found to be antagonistic to
vital piety, promotive OF worldiness,
especially pernicious to youth. We af-
affectionately admonish all our people
to make their amusements the subjects
of careful thought and frequent pray
err, to study the subject of amuse-
ments in the light of their tendencies,
and to be scrupulously careful in this
matter, to set no injurious example.
We adjure them to remember that the
question for a Christian must often be,
not whether a certain course OF action
is positively immoral, but whether it
will dull the spiritual life and be an
unwise example. We deem it u
bounded duty to summon the whole
church to apply a thoughtful and in
structive conscience to amusements,
and not to leave them to accident or
passion, and we affectionately advise
and beseech every member of the
church absolutely to avoid the TAX
ing of such diversion as can not be
used in the name of the Lord"
Speeches Were Limited.
The conference limited the
speeches upon this proposition to five
minutes. Nearly q score of speeches
were made on both sides.
Upon the order of previous question.
a nay and yea vote was demanded for
the first time during the present con-
ference. This same subject was the
only question precipitateing a yea and
nay vote in the general conference OF
four years ago at Chicago. The call
ing of the roll occupied the remainder
of the afternoon session.