The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-02-24
RELIGIOUS GATHERING.
TO OPEN THE WAT TO FEDERA-
 TED ACTION
That win Conserve the Interests of
 All ths Churches.


 All the Churches.
 Plans, are being made for the great inter-church conference on federation to be held next falI and to which off cial delegates have already been named by religious bodies with an ag- gregate membership of nearly twenty millian. The federation conference will have its sessions in Carnegie hall, where the Ecumenical mission confer ence met five years ago, extending over five days, from November 15 to the 20th. The conference is looked forward to by leaders in all bodies as the most important, religious gathering this country has ever seen, since it will rep resent co5opeEation of religious bod ies which would have been impossible a few years ago. Details of the plan of arrangements, of which the Rev. Dr. William H. Roberts, secretary of the Alliance of Reformed Churches holding the Presbyterian system, is chairman; and the Rev Dr. B. B. Sanford. secre- tary of the National Federation of Churches, is secretary. At a meeting of this committee just held, it was re- ported that official delegates are al- ready assured from nearly all the larger religious bodies of the United States, and from most of the smaller ones. The denominations that have already voted to send delegates include the Methodist, Methodist South, Pres byterian, United and Cumberland Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Disciples of Christ, Lutherans, Re formed, Evangelical and Moravian. Other bodies will act at their national meetings in the spring. The Episcopal church, it is expected, will be repre- scented by its commission on Christian unity.
 The purpose of the federation confer ence, as stated in the letter sent to the religious bodies asking the appoint ment Of delegates, is as follows: We believe that the great Christian bodies in our country should stand together and lead in the discussion of, and give an impulse to, all great movements that make for righteousness. We be- leve that questions like that of the sa- loon, marriage and divorce, Sabbath dissertation. the social evil, child labor, relation of labor to capital, the better ing of the condition of the laboring classes, the moral and religious train ing of the young, the problem created by foreign immigration, and interna- tional abbitration indeed all great questions i'll which the voice of the churches should be heard-concern Christians of every name and demand their united and concerted action if the church is to lead effectively in the con- quest of the world for Christi The result of the conference cannot be fore- told, but many cherish the hope that there will grow out of 1t some form of permanent council, which may official- ly represent the religious bodies, and, without interference with denomina- tional autonomy or affairs, will open the way to federated action that will advance and conserve the activities and interests of all the churches.
 The Inter-Church Conference on Fed eration is the result, in large part, of work which has been done by the Ma tional Federation of Churches. The latter body has been workink to secure cooperation among the churches, and has brought about the organization of state federations in New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Michigan organization in Maine Rhode Island, and New Jersey and aided Ire work of Pennsylvania and California But the National Federation is not an official banding together of the religious bod tes, although it's membership includes representatives of nearly all ofthen1. The convention to be held in New York next fall will, for the first time in the history of the Protestant Evangelical churches in these United States off, oially bring together delegates named by the supreme judicatories of the great denominations, for the discussion of matters of common interest. Fi- nance, hospitality, reception, press, publication, meetings and programme committees have just been named and the last is now working on the pro- gramme, which will include as speak CTS the leading men of all the religious bodies.