The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-16
Time Not Propitious for
 Movement. At Meeting Held at Court Street Meth odfst Church, it is Decided That Project Will Be Abandoned
 for the G'Present.

By action taken yesterday by joint
 commission from the Alabama and
 North Alabama Conferences of the
 Methodist Episcopal Church, South. the
 project of uniting the two girls col-
 leges, also the union of the two col
 leges for boys maintained by the two
 divisions of the church in this State,
 was checked for the present and prob
 alloy permanently defeated.
 At meeting in Montgomery of the
 members representing the two confer
 ences, the decision was reached that
 the present time is not propitious for
 the furtherance of the plan. and 1t was
 that the agitation in favor of the con-
 solidation be discouraged.
 As a result of the action taken,
 Montgomery will lose its chance Of
 having the Alabama Conference Fe-
 male College. founded and for fifty
 years located in Tuskegee. and the
 North Alabama Conference. Female
 College at Athens, consolidated and
 moved to this place. this idea being
 one of the most prominent features of
 the proposed change
 The decision of the joint commission
 was received with great surprise by
 the Methodist leaders in this city who
 have been urging the consolidation.
 For several years the union of the
 schools of the two conferences has
 been advocated by a number of the
 most influential members of the Meth
 odist Church in Alabama. Although discussion of the matter had been kept so far as possible within the seclusion of the church. 1t IS known that many MontEomerians had confidently expect ed the plan to carry through, and plans to aid in the transference of the Girls Colleges at Tuskegee and Athens had already been made by people here. Just what influences were consid- cred in the conference of the commits sion yesterday to have sufficient weight to defeat the project were not made public.
 The Meeting Yesterday. The session was held in the Court Street Methodist Church at noon. none but the members of the commission be- inr present, and the deliberations of the body were not made known The plan which was dropped yester- day included the combination of the four Methodist colleges in the State into two. These colleges include two for boys and two for girls, one or each being supported by the North Alabama Conference, and the others by the Ala hama Conference. The girls college of the Northern body Is located at | Athens and Is known as the North Ala hama conference Female College, while inc boy's institution of that division Is the College at Owenton, near Birming- ham. In the Alabama Conference the Southern University at Greensboro IS the bovs' institution, while the college for girls Is located at Tuskegee. and is Lnown as the Alabama Conference Female College.
 According to the plan as 1t has been advanced, the two boys colleges were 1 to ha united and made into one, this to he located at Owenton, the Greensboro Institution to be abandoned when the cor solidation should take place The girls colleges were to De consorluaeTu ,a into the Alabama Conference Female College. which, under the plans, was to he transferred from Tuskegee ana Athens to Montgomery. Not only have a number of prominent lchurchmen of Montgomery been urging this move. but it is known that one estate in the city has now deposited at one of the city banks the sum ot S5o'Oo0 which was 70 be given to the womans' college if it were brought to the Cap ital City. The only proviso attached to inc gift Is that the college should raise a sum of the same amount, the total. when secured, to be esta ablished as an endowment fund.
 For more than three years the fac ulty and dlumnae or tno 1ushesee COT Iera have been working to raise this
 sum. being aided in the work by num- her of Methodists in the southern part of the State.
 At the recent commencement of the | TuskeRce institution, President John Massey. in his report to the Board of | Trustees. made the statement that $14,- O00 of the required amount had been raised. and that a campaign for further I increasing this sum had been mapped out for vigorous prosecution. It is thought by some that the reason for checking the project so summarily at yesterdays meeting IS tound In the amount which the college fund still falls short of the S50,000 required before the donation will become the property of the college.
 |. Other efforts along the line of unit