The St. Louis Republic., 1904-05-30
PRESBYTERIAN ACTION FAVORING
UNION A VICTORY FOR LIBERALS S.
Dnctor Nicc"llS Advocates Scgrc-
CATION Of Negro Churches in
His Report on Boundcr-
les Of PrcShvtcrieS-
Review of Work.

ly the Joint committee aa basic uai0u viii
The Cumberland church. which met in :,
E-ou.s last Een~ugr-. ts declared 20 -
decided triumph tHr tine uae-a! element %
that branch of F-Gsny tyl-aGisGn-
Il was Lul laaa after rae 5.rut commit
tee had c0mr-s,ad .', work au-. announce,
that ;he concessions made by tgil
t=anca-s oc rEa church would make d
Iin!on possible that the Conservative force.
-beEan 10 make themselves felt.
F-oI various sources L Was given ont
that the CuEns-.HI-- were being taken
into tho church under peculiar conditions
That IS. II was asserted that tie action o:
the last Gorera. Assembly. zhisE had
placed = new Interpretation O.. the cal
v.rLstic doctrine ~-Ear1-- prs5est'u-tinn
nnd infant d4.uuarion. had been misr5pre-
Etutel 10 them.
This doctrine was one Of The principal
objections advanced = the C-=ber!lul5
against tho union. When. however Il was
represented to them that the Objectionable
features or the doctrine had been cl.miaat-
90 they were not long IN giving their as
sent TO e union which brrh SIDES conceded
not only meant well Tor The TWO branches
. individually. but would - the stepping
suOn0 10 the ultimate reunion rf the great
81 portion Of the F.esby terial family,
= TIE conservatives carried their fight -
: fhe General Assembly now IN session. and
1lo tatIe OF words wIle th5 tWn opposing
: 1acions wsGei ~ BufSalo last Wednesday
end Thursday vas one Of the ftsrCsst ever
. .H1tpesse1 at Eny national iT-esDy yteTian
!" Ths SING forces hat oTaDozed the -evl-
= sion of The creed At the former assembly
-s5were in the vanguard OF the ranks against
the union. Foremost among them WsS
Srre Of the most eminent Presbyterian the
otogiaps, tire Reverend Doctor Francis l.
Patton president Of the Princeton TIE
Z QlDg1cal Seminary, VINO IS Recognized a.
she strongest living exponent OF what IS
termed extreme conservatism ana a man
4. OF great ability II debate.
Il Doctor Patton stated that the question
-pf union is cf vaster Importance than even
that Of revision, stnce fC was only an in
direct way OF revising the Confession of
Faith on radical grounds
DOCTOR PATvTON'S ARGUMENT
How can we unite with the Cumbsr-
Hand Presbyterian Church, he asked.
-They are willing 10 come. they say. be
cause we have changed Have We
chunEesi2 Has tho church changed her
festi-Eouy? They say. Yes, you have
Seclaratious and touched the confession
Otherwise Now, IS matter OF mere
Intellectual integrity. We should let them
know that the sense Of mis- assembly -
1haJ in revising our confession we have
not changed the doctrines at al; We have
simply removed certain !nteliCitiss ct eN-
Supporting Doctor Patton was the Rev
ernnd Doctor Henry c Auntnn Of Trenton.
\. j, also an antirevIsiOEis--
LEADING the fight Tor union were the
Reverend Doctor Robert /. CoyIe OF Den
yer. moderator Of the last General As
sembly; the Reverend Doctor James ID
jefferson College Of Washington, Pa. and
the Reverend Doctor Charles A Dickey:
rhe acton o. the Cumberland General
Assembly meeting at Dallas, Tex. which
a-
union. Wednesday night, with their
Northern brethren. probably cliEched the
arguments in favor Of a similar action
BY the Buffalo Assembly. At any rate.
the press dispatches announced that the
step was taken by the latter by q vote Of
an overwhelming majority when a Dali
las telegram announced TINS fact
The question OF union VIII rpT be re
fe1red 10 The rr.sbyteries, and. II Il re
ceives p two-third .ote, it viii asain
come before the General Assembly, this
time for final action.
Local Presbyterian ministers. generally
speaking. are elctcd over the action Of
the two assemblies. They say il viii
result 81 n more comprehensive chUrc.
and that the matter of dropping one or
Two fice CoCt-iual points IL the back
ground for the sake Of uniting the two
when compared with the great amount OF
good which viii follow this close fellow
ship concentrated in the attack against
SIN and vice.
Another action OF the Buffalo Assembly
which meets with hearty appreciation -
Its accommodation that the clergy re
sorced fer other than the SO-csilel scrip
trfai reasons. provided they are mem
bers Of denominations IN the interChErch
conference
1.I DIVORCE QUESTION.
Practically all OF the Christian churches.
the Catholic church excepted. are mem
5ers OF this conference. The position OF
~
wei known. Its ministers are absolutely
forbidden 10 marry q divorced person
while the other party IS stin living.
This stand is strengthened by the action
of the General Assembly. and. according
TO & prominent ST Louis Presbyterian.
Ihe only thing nov necessary TO give IL
force is 10 require the various pUesbyteries
Within its jurisdiction to aaOpt plan Tor
the strict diScipliulnS Of a minister who
refuses TO observe the Injunction placed
upon him
ST. Louis was the father of a resolution
introduced Al the assembly providing for
the establishment OF separate pTesbyte-
Tiss in the South for white people and
Doctor NiecoIls is chairman OF the |
COMMITTEE on Territorial Limits Of pres |
byteries. and the resolution was suggest
Ills contention is that the Segregation Of !
the two races is for the best interest OF |
the negroes, and he had statistics 10 prove |
He showed that in tho Southern synods |
which had separate p-oSoytor!es the negro |
churches were in a fourishing condition I
and are fun OF encouraging hope. On the /
other hand. where negro churches are aS- |
eociated with white presbyterics and are |
in the minority, there has been little OF /
10 growth
He cited churches in Washington. Louis /
vile and ST. Louis which have been in /
existence for twenty years. hut have had 4
no growth during all this period
In view of these facts. the report I
stated it would he wise 20 allow the negro /
ministers TO organize themselves into sep !
arate Fnresbyterics, which past experience /
has proven dcepeus their sense of re |
sponsibiiity. stimulates activity and helps |
tn the development OF manly Independence. |
NEGRO SEGREGATION.
The foregoing are some OF the most i'm |
Tortant topics which have come before \
the General Assembly of the church for |
fits consideration and action. The last |
question At this date has RS Yet not been |
decided, but the probability is very great |
that the recommendations OF he Rever- |
end Doctor Niccolls and the other mem |
beTs of the committee viii he followed es- |
peCially in view OF the fact that they have /
more or less bearing upon the question OF |
the union OF the two churches.
EATf E-EyyFr