The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-06
Great Question Before
 Conference.
BAD EFFECTS OF PROSPERITY
Thoughtful View of Conditions in
 Episcopal Address.
There Has Been a Hastening to the Cities of the People From the Country and the spirttualfs-
 tic Has Been the sa Ierer.
By w,li T. sheehan.

By wiIl T. sheehan.
 Birmin gham, May 5.--tSpecial Cor respondence. 1.-The most serious, the most difficult problems which confront the General Conference of the Meth odist Church now in session here. are problems created by the unexpected and unparalleled prosperity of the South
 The tide of prosperity has flowed so rapidly through the South that the leaders of the Methodist Church in conference assembled are called upon to solve questions, which had no ex- istence, four years ago. and the situa- ton of which is insistenty demanded by the future welfare of the. churches whose growth for the past century has more than kept pace with the won- derful developments of the United States. For the dark years which fol- lowed the disastrous war. North and West grew faster. The stricken South had her wounds to bind up, her last strength to recoup.
 In recent years a marvellous change has been wrought in her commercial and industrial conditions. In one way or in anotherfi this metamorphoses her every institution.
 The leaders of the Methodist Church like the watcher in the tour. have seen the changes from afar and they have sounded the aarm to wake those who may be asleep, to the few dang CTS and to the great opportunities which are before the church and may awake. In the Episcopal Address, in that able message of the Bishops, what lies before the watchers of Zion is portrayed and the call Is made for action and for help. Great things were said of and done by ..4e Methodist Church, that the same victories should be archieved in the future in the face of new conditions was the urgent re- quest of the Bishops in their foreward to the duadrennial General Confer ence
 The message was read by Bishop Galloway It has been called 4 the most statesmanlike paper ever. read before a General Conference.' There Is suspicion that the able leader who read tho measage to the conference penned the greater part of 1T. Al any rate this message, which like the naes- sage of the President to Congress- merely recommends and does not enact anything <
 The General Conference could. if 1t saw fit. disregard every reconhmenda- tfon contained within the message But this particular message made a deep and lasting impression upon the Conference. It's delivery and its inn- pression upon the conference is the biggest thing that has so far come before the Conference, and of 1t the delegates talk more thal of any other one thing. s
 This remarkable prosperity and ad- yancement of the South Is summed up suecintly ably and effectively. Figure are given to show how rapid has been the material growth of the Southern States. future continuance of this progress Is forecasted
 And in the meanwhile what is the grea. Methodist Church. going to do? The past is secure. but the future what does the future hold. with it's new con ditions?
 It is q problem with various phases. Most important, perhaps. is that phase of the problem which has to do with the feverish growth of the cities. How are the spiritual needs of those who come to dwell in the city to be met? How is the church which cared so we'll for its children In the country, care as well for them in the newer conditions of city life? -
 Nor does the Episcopal Message fail to give voice to the alarm felt at the steady trend of modern life from the country to the city. The regret of this condition is plainly read in the lines of the Episcopal Message. The city grows fast and feverishly and its growth comes in part from the restful, peaceful and more spiritual country. And what is the city's gain is distinct ly the country's loss.
 The Conference meets in a magnifi cent structure. This edifice of stouc marble and stained glass cost perhaps s2o000o and the Methodists of Birm- ingham are justly proud of It. But its source of strength has been those who came from the country to live In the city. The men who made that church are men who got their religious training, who first learned the word in a country church on some hilltop with the oak trees assembled about 1t. How many country churches died that the great organization of the First Methodist Church might live7
 It is this trend. this tendency Of modern civilization to which the Hish- ops call the prayerful consideration of the delegates. They call to mind that too many charges die of this move ment. The people of the country move away. there Is none to keep up the churches and the preachers have to go to other charges
 There is still another development in this rich and progressive age which does not harmonize with the life and character of the Methodist Church. The age has become too materialistic too commercial This. too, the Bishops note with alarm. They note 1t. when they draw attention to the small num- Der of young men who offer themselves for the ministry
 The number Is much smaller than in other years. The skilled and trained young men. 1t was intinlated- arc now inclined to enter those profes- slons which offer them larger and mora immediate rewards.
 Fewer Local Preachers.
 nthis connection too. the Bishops gave voice to their regret at the les scning numbers of local preachers" That they were growing fewer each year was a fact to be deplored. In the older days they were the right arm" Of the church, strong and helpful. and the hope was entertained that their numbers would be recruited moro in the future than they had been in the past.
 These were the drawbacks-these were the problems of the church, in this splendid era of Southern progress. Materially the church was strong and thriving. The problems before it were spiritual problems--the keeping of the