The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-05-06
Why Congress is Anxious to Get Home

stopping the bars are gloomy and de
serted
Tomorrow will be largely occupied
with the registration of the delegates
and the transaction of the preliml-
nary business OF the conference. 1t
will likely be several days before the
wheels of the conference, which Is
the supreme body of the Methodist
Episcopal church, will be working
smoothly. All Of the sessions will be
held at the Lyric, the largest of Bal
timore's theatres. The selection OF a
playhouse as the place of meeting is
looked upon as significant, in view of
the fight that Will be made in the
| conference to remove the ban on the
atre-going, as we'll as card-playing,
dancing and other amusements now
prohibited by the Methodist discipline.
Bryan to Lecture.
The present conference gains in
significance because il marks the cen
tennial anniversary of the OrganiZa-
ton of the general conference. Spe-
Icial services to commemorate this
event will be held. There will also
be a series of public lectures during
! the conference the first of which will
| be held Friday night. when Bishop
! Charles B. Galloway. of the Southern
Methodist church, will be the speaker
His subject viii be 81. Q. {. Lamar.
! the Great Pacihcator." and ne will be
introduced by the Rev. Dr.. James NJ.
| Buckley, of New York On May Il
William Jennings. Bryan Will deliver
| the well known lecture. The Prince
of Peace" He Will be introduced by
Governor Frank HanIey, of Indiana.
who is prominent in the councils OF
the Methodist church and leader of
the prob ibtiOn and local option agi-
| tation. Other lectures will include
the Rev. William Alfred QuayIe, and
the Rev. DR. Robert Mcintyre, of Los
Angeles. The musical feature of the
conference viii be the rendition. on
May %, of the oratoria. The Mes
siah," by the Baltimore Oratorio So
ciety.
The questions that viii come before
the notable body will be the most i'm
portant it has ever had TO consider.
Discussions at the annual conferences.
at special gatherings and in denOmi-
national papers have not had the eff
fect of bringing into crystaIl:Zed form
the opinions of the leaders on these
questions. Tons of publications have
been devoted to them. and the opin-
ions of the leading men of the denom-
ination have been expressed but there
have been others who have been
thinking hard and saying little, who
Will have their say here. Great de-
bates are promised.
The Organization.
There are fourteen standing com
mitteeS. in whose hands most of the
great problems have been placed
Comprising a member from each Of
the annual conferences, of which
there are 134, these committees have
been holding annual meetings since
the last conference. These meetings.
almost approaching the importance of
the general conference, have not
smoothed out the kinks or reduced to
a cut-and-dried form the action for
the general body to take. There are
seven commissions, each engaged in
some particular work, as well as six
boards, which form permanent execu-
tive bodies
Besides the business that will come
before the body from its regular agen-
cies, there is a clause which permits
any member of the denomination to
present a subject of business by me-
mortal. There will probably be hun
dreds of these memorials
Eight bishops will be elected
Among those who, it is understood.
will be elevated to the episcopacv Is
the Rev. DR.. William Alfred OuayIe. OF
Chicago. Dr. Quayle is one of the
most prominent ministers of the
church and he will likely receive the
support of a large majority of the
delegates on the first ballot. He is now
pastor of St. James's church. Chicago.
and is regarded as one OF the most
eloquent and most forceful preachers
in the denomination
Constitutional Amendments
There are four constitutional
amendments 10 come before the gen
eraa conference, to be decided accord