The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-12-03
METHODISTS OF
NORTH ALABAMA
IN CONFERENCE
Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting
AT Roanoke Promises to Be
Most Important
WILL NAME DELEGATES
TO GENERAL CONFERENCE
Matter of Establishment of String of
Hospitals Through South Dis
cussed Mondays Election
Source of Much Talk.
By WALTER HARPER.

Roanoke, December Especial 1.-THE
thirty-ninth annual conference of the
North Alabama Methodist Episcopal
church. south, got down to actual bus
mess today after a day and a half of
preliminary work. This promises to be
one of the busiest and most important
conferences in the history Of the or
ganization.
One of the most important matters of
business to come before the conference
will be the election of ten delegates to
the general conference which meets at
Asheville, N. c., next May. These dele
gates will be elected tomorrow morning
at 10 o'clock as a special order. These
delegates are elected every four years
and the election is considered one of the
most important matters OF the confer
ence. Five clerical and five lay dele
gates are to be named.
Prof. E. A. Clement of Nashville adj
dressed the conference yesterday after
noon on the proposed string of hospitals
to be established by the Methodist church
through the south. The matter was dis
cussed at length and will be further
considered during the session. Birming-
ham and Nashville are among the places
suggested for the establishment of hos
pitfalls. This is a new proposition and
will receive the careful attention of the
conference.
DR.. W. F. Tillett, dean of the theologi-
cal department of Vanderbilt university,
addressed the conference on educational
matters again. This afternoon he adj
dressed the young preachers. DR.. H M.
Hamill of Nashville addressed the confer
encs yesterday and today on Sunday
school matters.
DR.. J. H Mccoy of Birmingham col
lege preached tonight.
The sessions which began yesterday are
being held in the First Methodist church
of this place. of which DR.. S. L Dobbs Is
pastor. This church was recently COM
pleted at a cost of $4,000 1t is of brick
and stone and is one of the handsomest
church buildings in east Alabama
Bishop H. C. Morrison is presiding over
the conference. The Rev. ]. w. New
man is secretary. Only routine sessions
have been held SO far.
Conference Largely Attended.
The ministers and delegates to the con-
ference have been arriving in large daily
detachments since Monday night and ev-
cry home and lodging house in Roanoke
is crowded to the limit. The people of
the town have exerted themselves In
making preparations for the entertain
ment Of visitors. An active local COM
mittee under the direction of the Rev.
s. l. Dobbs, has been busy for several
weeks preparing for the occasion and
the entertainment of the crowds. Their
work was well done and the visitors
are being well cared for. Every home
IN Roanoke has been thrown wide open
to the Methodist ministers, their friends
and families.
DR.. Dobbs was called away at the last
moment, Sunday, to the bedside Of his
mother at Portersville. Mrs. Dobbs is
not expected to live. She was, how
ever, well enough for DR.. Dobbs to re-
turn to the conference last night.
The train out from Birmingham last
night over the Atlanta, Birmingham and
Atlantic railway, with almost 100 preach
ers and other delegates to the conference,
broke down at Clearmont Springs and
was laid out for more than two hours. 1t
was after midnight when the train with
It's weary load of passengers was dragged
into Roanoke by an engine rushed out
from Talladega. majority of the dele
gates were met at the train by their des-
ignated hosts in the town, but number
of the new arrivals were unable to Sc
cure beds for the night, and were forced
to hold ''watchnight" service in the
office Of one of the hotels
Athens Fever Epidemic.
In this company was Col. w. 4. Saund-
ers and r. II. Richardson of Athens.
They are here to make a final report on
the recent epidemic of typhoid fever at
the Athens Female college and make ar
fragments for the reopening of the in
stitution. They will report tomorrow that
the definite cause of the trouble has been
ascertained, and that there is no further
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