The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-05-17
One Faction Wants FiYe-Tht
Other Seven.
CASTLE WOULD QUIT.
Retiring Bishop Wants to Be
Retired in Earnest.
New Officers Being Elected This
Afternoon.

The general conference Of the United
Brethren church failed to settle this
| morning the question of the constitution
of the board of bishops The two re-
ports of the committee on superintend-
ency; the majority and minority were
presented to the conference. The ma
jority report calls for five districts over
which bishops shall preside while the
minority calls for four. This makes.
counting the bishops emeritus, seven
bishops for the majority report and six
for the minority. In the other matters
there is no variance in opinion between
the two committees. The larger part of
the forenoon was consumed in a wran-
gle over the two reports. There was a
perfect rain Of substitute motions and
amendments. Members induIged in
prolonged attacks on oratory and most
of the chaf was not threshed out until
the time for adjournment. Finally just
before noon the amendments and sub
st1tute motions were gotten rid of and
! the conference stood ready to act upon
the two original reports submitted by
the committee but it was then time for
adjournment. At 2 o'clock this after
noon the conference convened. Some
little time was consumed in speeches
favOring and supporting the passage of
the respective reports. The south and
the west are asking for the adoption
Of the majority report in the anticipa-
ton that each will secure a biShopric.
VIII Adopt Majority Report.
Indications are that the majority re-
port will be adopted and that there will
! be five biShopric districts, one each for
the south and the Pacific coast in ad-
dition to taking care of those portions
of the country which are now provided
for. This would make seven composing
the board of bishops with the two bish-
| ops emeritus.
Lay Delegate Keister of Allegheny
| conference opened UP the excitement
| this morning, following the reading of
/ the two reports by asking that the mi
\ nority report be substituted by the ma
! jority report Rev. Mr.. Mackin of the
/ Miami conference offered a, substitute
motion creating six districts for the
1 bishops, four districts to be east of the
/ Rocky mountains, one district on the
! Pacific coast which should include the
mission fields of China. and Japan, one
district in the south: the eastern dis
tricts were to have supervision over
the missions in Germany, Porto Rico
/ and Africa.
Then Ministerial Delegate White of
the Erie conference swung the pendu-
[ lum back to the other extreme and pro
posed that there should be but three
bishopric districts. On a call for the
| substitute motion to create six bishop
ric districts the vote was taken. The
motion was showed under, receiving
! but seven votes out of over 200. Then
! Ministerial Delegate D. J. Carlton of
/ the Iowa conference offered a written
/ amendment suggested by Delegate
| White calling for the creation of but
4 three districts; an eastern district, a
/ central district and a western district,
( the missions to be looked after by the
( board of bishops together with the
! board of missions.
There was considerable support
/ granted to this latter amendment.
/ especially so by the conferences from
CT 11a CT
some from the central west. The
great plea which was offered in sup
/ port of this measure was that of
/ economy. number of the confer
ences stated they were hard taxed now
to support the number of bishops
| which the church had created and
| that with the addition of any others
it would mean the working of a
bishops emeritus could take care of
some of the work which would ordi-
narily fall to the lot of the board of
| bishops and that in this manner it
| would be possible to get along with
a smaller list of active bishops than
the church had had formerly before
the position of bishops emeritus had
existed.
Castle Wants to Retire in Earnest.
Following this line of argument
came a personal request from Bishop
! Castle who just recently retired and
who is one of the two bishops emer-
titus, asking that a favor might be
! granted him. He requested that he be
allowed to assume the title of bishop
emeritus but without pay. He stated
that it would be impossible for him
to retire and still remain under Off
ciaI orders He stated that he FELT
| Cnat his condition of health would
necessitate him to act on orders only
voluntarily as his condition of health
permitted. He asked that he might
be retired without pay as he felt that
it might embarrass the action of the
conference. The request was per-
mitted to remain on file without for
rial action being taken
Then the amendment calling for
but three districts was put to a. vote,
but failed to carry.
The support which was given to the
three district idea is of course now
backing the idea submitted by the
minority report in the afternoons ses-
sion.
Aside from the constitution of the
board, two other very important rec
lon.nen dations are contained. First,
that in case of vacancy in the Office of
bishop in any district, it shall be the
d'lty of the remaining bishops to hold
an election by letter ballot, all mem
bers of the preceding general con-
ference voting; and second, that the
/ foreign mission field shall be under
the supervision of the board of bish-
ops, the board of foreign missions and
the Woman's missionary association.
In the first instance, the board of
bishops themselves has always voted
on the filing of the vacancy, and in
the second matter the woman's mis-
slonary association has had no voice
in the supervision
Both of these recommendations will
be doubtless adopted by the conference.
The committee on government of
church have made their report but it
has not yet been acted upon. It pro-
vides for some very essential changes.
lit creates the office of deacon; it speci-