The morning journal-courier., 1908-06-06

conferences meet and elect a cores bonding number of lay delegates These delegates are assigned as soon as possible to the various great com mttees ln which most of tho hard work of tho conference is douc pro paratCw 10 tho action of tho body as e whole,
 One of tho most important of all committees is the "ludic,ary," whose membership is very limited and Is determined at the seat of conference partly by election and partly by Epis- copal appointment Before this cons mitteo all legal questions involved in the administration of tho preceding qadrennlum como for adjudication,
 Among its significant findings In Baltimore was that concerning Prof, H. c. Mitchell of Boston university, who was condemned by the Central New York conference of which he is a member as not being in harmony with the doctrines of the Methodist Episc0- | pal church. This highest court decid- ed, and was 30 sustained by vote cf tho ccnference, that as Prof Mitchell had not been given formal trial, the action of his conference was null and void Dean Henry ale l Rogers of tho Yale Law school has glyen invaluable service as chairman of this judiciary committee.
 Three or four especially significant advance steps were taken by this con | ference,
 Under the leadership of such lay del- | egates as Governor Hnuly of Indiana Governor Iioch of Kansas and Senator Deliver of Iowa, the committee on temperance reported and the confer ence overwhelmingly adopted, an un- qualified endorsement of the Anti-Sa- loon League. This places tho entire Methodist Episcopal church officially as It has already been practically In many states, side by side with all op- ponents Of the liquor traffic without regard to creed or party. Without ahatlng in the least the ultimate pro. hlbitory program of the church this en- dorsement puts the church in the way or realizing that program through the | principle of a political balance of pow CT thrown for local option: by this practical principle rather than by an idealistio third party movement the II, quor traffic has been excluded from th, territory of 3S millions of the popula ton of tho United States that is tC say 70 per cent of our country terri torially has already outlawed the sa, loon. When tho Littlefeld lnterstat, shipment bill shall be passed, which { committee from the conference headed by Governuc Hanly urged upol Speaker Cannon. the contrast hetweei wet" and dry" territory will affort tho anti-saloon It's highest testlmonla and a pledge of It's complete an, speedy victory Governor Hoch's test mony as to Kansas City. in spite of th, failure of federal protection In th particular, is prophetic He said in th, conference debate: "Two years az, Kansas City received sS5.00O; a year II license money from the saloons. lt wa feared by many that prohibition woult spell bankruptcy. After 22 monthi without the saloons the Commercial club Issues he statement that taxe arc less than befora, that tho popua tion has increased hy 51.000 and tn, bank deposits have grown S6 per cent.
 "A minority report representing tn strict party prohibtlonists and oppos ing this endorsement of the Antl-sa oon League was tabled Like the Pres lyterian general assembly. tie Meth odist Episcopal general conference f now back of an effective lntpr-church inter-party organization which Is cir ming victories far and near like that il llllnoie, for example: there it has SC cured the enactment of a law unde which in nne year more than 4000 square miles of territory have heel voted dry and l.50O saloons closed thei doors on a single day.
 Another significant advance wa marked in the separation of tho sun day school interests from consoidat cd board in which through a mistake policy of economy they had been sub
 
 establishment In Chicago of ne' board of Sunday schools This board to be directed by group of Sunda school experts notable among whom Mir Frank L. Rrown. superintendent ( the famous Bushwick avenue Sunda school. Brooklyn. and international ar ganizer of Sunday schools In one ( the most significant addresses of in conference MT. Brown said of tho Sur day school We have been playing to long with ths most precious asset q the church We are amazed and asham cd that our denomination. holding fir' place as to Sunday school memhershil should have been content thus to suboi dinate It's Sunday school opportunit and enter upon a policy of rotrogres sion. Our basement idea for the Sur day school represents the church general attitude too largely and is debasemen of this interest. Let us gi, to t the first story. a dome, light an air, and first place in our plannlnj We have considered it wrongly {, the nursery of the church It shoul he tho very home of the church fc : Bible study"
 Dr, ! T Mcfarland ia henceforth give his whole time to the editors work of our Sunday school llteratur while Dr, Downev takes the field Z , secretary; a distinctly modern policy ( religious education through the Bib , school Is thus guaranteed for ol church and results will he increasnt ly noted from such leadership as w. represented in the recent Boston ar Philadelphia interdenominationa cor ferences of Sunday school workers
 which agreement was reached as to 2 optional course of graded lessons ar standard courses of teacher training