Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-04
BIG CHURCH COUNCIL
Quadrennial Conference of
Methodists at Baltimore.
OPENS WEDNESDAY MORN
Many Questions of Great Import to
Be Settled.
WILL ELECT NEW BISHOPS
Fully 10000 Visitors Expected in
the Monumental City-Notables
to Attend-Week's Program.
ILL ELECT NEW BISHOPS

to Attend-Week's Program.
| BALTIMORE. May 4.-On of the
worlds greatest and most powerful re-
! ligious Organizations-the general confer
ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church
will open its twenty-ffth quadrennial
delegated session at 10 O'Clock Wednes-
day morning at the Lyric. The confer
enCe will continue i'm session, with daily
meetings, until the completion .Of the
vast amount of business scheduled for it's
considerat on, which will be about the end
| of May
| Great questions. involving things vital
| to the life OF the church. are to be con-
sidered: debatef and discussion will take
| place; conclusions will be reached of i'm
| pOrtance. and legislation will be enacted
| that will make for veal or woe not only
in this country, but wherever the banner
of Methodism has been or may be UNI
| furled.
| 1t is estimated cOnservatively that the
general conference session will bring to
| Baltimore more than 20ND visitors aside
| from the regularly accredited delegates
numbering 500 and about 100 officers in
Guiding bishops and secretaries. The dele
gates. gathered from all parts of the
| earth. will represent total church men,
bership of 3303.221 In compiling its
| statistics of membership. the Methodist
| Episcopal Church does not take account
of children and others associated with
but not classed as. active or communicate
members of the churches. Including all
those affiliated in different ways with the
denomination, the general conference can
be considered as representing more than
| 1O,OOO,OOO souls
| Worldwide Interest.
| In Asia, Africa. Europe and the islands
of the sea and in all parts of the CONT
nents of North and South America the
eyes of Methodists are turning toward
| Baltimore. Great general interest at
taches to the many important questions
| the general conference will consider The
results of the work of important commits
sions. involving radical changes. are to
| be under review.
| Among these will be the propositions to
consolidate the benevOlences OF the church
| and the unificatiOn of the book concern
| Commissions will report on the unifca-
ton of Methodists in Japan. on confer
ence claimants funds and on the revi-
sion of the ritual. Some radical changes
| in the government of the Methodist dea-
| conesseS will be recommended to the con-
| ference by the deaconesses' commission
| including plan to have the deaconesses'
| affairs turned over to special board of
| nineteen members. five of whom are to be
| bishops selected by the board of bishops.
| 1t Is proposed. also. to have on the board
four pastors, four laymen and six women,
three of the latter to be deaconesses.
Election of Bishops.
An important matter which will come
up for final settlement is proposed
amendment to the constitution of the
church providing for the election of bish-
ops for races and languages and foreign
missions A decision i'm favor of this
plan would mean that the present mis-
| GiOnarV hiShOnS N foreign ri
| be replaced by native bishops. and that
| a negro bishop would be elected for work
among negroes in this country.
| Under any circumstances. however,
| there will be at least from six TO eight
new bishops to be elected by the confer
ence. Within the past few years six
bishops have died They We're Isaac W.
Fitzgerald. Stephen NJ. Merrill. F.. q.
Andrews and c. II. Fowler. There are
at least two other bishops whose health
| is such that they are unable to perform
| their duties and the result of this situa-
! ton has been to force upon few bish-
ops the work of their colleagues who are
| dead or i'll. The church has at present
| twenty-four bishops. of whom seventeen
are general superintendents and seven are
| missionary bishops. All of the twenty
| four are expected to attend the coming
session of the general conference except
| ing Bishop G. d. FOss. who is ill., and
Bishop Thomas Bowman. whose advanced
years from active participation in the
| business affairs of the church. The bish-
ops and their residences are as follows:
Amendments Proposed.
Including the matter of bishops for
races and languages and foreign mis-
| sions, there are altogether four proposed
amendments to the constitution of the
| church to be acted upon by the general
| conference. The other three are Dreny
| as follows: Proposed by the Iowa con-
| ference. change of ratio OF representa-
| ton in the general conference. % to M.
| Proposed by the West Wisconsin confer
| ence change of ratio Of representation
| in the general conference, II to 6o. Pro-
posed by the Illinois conference. change
| of ratio of representation In the general
| conference. - to 10
| 1t is not considered likely that any OF
| the four amendments will be acted upon
| favoraby by the general conference as
| they have all been Overwhelmingly lost
| when submitted to the vote of the annual
and lay electoral conferences. To carry
| them required a twO-thirds vote, and none
| of the annual conferences has given them
| even a One-third vote.
| The following resolution. adopted by
the European congress of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. held in st. Marks
| Methodist Episcopal Church. Copen-
hagen. Denmark. in September, 1907. will
| also be considered by the general confer
ence: That We request the general con-
| ference to be held in baltimore May
| 1905 to grant permission for the organi-
| alton of a central conference in Europe
| according to the provisions of the dis
cipline. paragraph 81. including laymen as
! well as ministers
An Important Report.
| An important report to be made to the
general conference is that of the commits
sion on federation. This commission
whose powers Were so enlarged at the
last session of the general conference that
| it could meet like commissions from other
churches and receive overtures. held a
meeting in Baltimore in 1900 and con-
sidered the feasibility of suggesting d
council of federation and took a few
other steps i'm the matter of Methodist
| fraternity. The commission comprises
| Bishops j. NJ. Walden and c. D. Foss. and
Rev. Drs John F. Goucher. J. T. Jackson
and r. j. Cooke and Messrs r. L. Miller.
! W. II. Murray and 7. b. Sweet,
Amusement Question.
The amusement question. it is expected,
will come in for generous share of the
conference deliberations. There is stat
ute of the Methodist Episcopal Church
enacted by the general conference of 1872
prohibiting its members from attending
the theater. dancing. playing cards. going
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