The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-08
ADDRESS OF
 THE BISHOPS
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 erai Conference should order that the Sunday School collections during the coming quadrennium should be evenly divided between the board of home missions and church exension and the board of foreign missions. The com mission ordered that the property should be divided equally, that be- quests and ieRacies be divided equally, and why should the Sunday School collections have been divided unequal- ly during thu sixt months just clos ing. May 6, 1908?
 has been made on recommendation of the general committee to consolidate the principal publications of the two boards and quotes resolution adopted byi a. joint meeting of representatives of the two boards at Philadelphia last March. It was the sense of those who took part in this meeting that the the present time. is undesirable and impracticabfe. Continuing the report says: ss
 "Our Methodist city problems no one has yet ,compreh epsively grasped. We have been forced out as pioneers not only in the method of our literature, but in its matter. What we have printed represents conditions almost al new to literature as if from another world. Gladly would we have avaiIed ourselves of any publications. but none covering our field were in print.
 we expect our book publications to be at least self supporting, and we are glad to state that while we have largely increased the amount and va riety of our literary output and have reduced the. expenses. at the rate of fr1n ar CnndY1Pf- ing the same at saving of $20.0o0 over last years budget. Our ideal is publication department reaching a mill lion Methodist homes at no cost to the church. We are certainly travelling in that direction.
 The recent financial furry has brought to the office large number of applications for loans Some com parativefy large applications for loans were received. when we were borrow ing money from the bank to enable our treasurer to send drafts to the presiding elders that the preachers on new and needy fields might receive their regular quarterly appropriations
 We very much need a great in- crease in the loan fund. There are places where the rates of interest are If we had an increase of even a quarter of a million in our loan fund 1t would be a great blessing to many struggling churches.
 "A total of $11S,660 has been col- lected thus far for the relief of the churches in California which suffered from the earthquake and fire on April IS, 1906 It was originally planned to rase $250.000 and the board has placed on record a statement declaring that the efforts to secure sufficient amount of money to rehabilitate our cause on the Pacific coast must not cease.'
 The report of the Sunday School De- ,artment sets forth that there are now within the Methodist Episcopal Church ;4.176 Sunday Schools. 35S,729 Sunday chool officers, and 2,sS7.677 scholars, to the report of the Sunday 'ch ool Department.
 The liquor question again came be- ore the body. this time in the folsn ,f a resolution offered by Governor 4anley of Indiana. Chairman of the Committee. demanding that Congress enact the Littlefield inter- tate liquor shipping bill. now pending II the Judiciary Committee for the pro- ection of those States in which the rafic in intoxicants is wholly or in ,art, inhibited. The resolution was passed and committee appointed to walt on Speaker Cannon and present he resolution to him.. 1