Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-09-20
Continued from last week. }


Continued from last week.
1t was during our second year on
the district that our eldest daughter,
Anna, was married to Mr.. ]. d. May
nard of Janesville, Iowa. The cere-
mony took place at our home in Ep-
worth, September 9th, 1886. 1t was
witnessed by several of our preach
ers and their wives as we'll as a large
number of relatives and friends from
out of town.
In the fall of 1887 the Annual
Conference assembled at Clinton,
and as the General Conference was to
convene the following spring, an
election was held for the choice of
delegates to that body, which result
ed in the selection of A. J. Kynett,
w. f. King, II. H. Green, J. T. Grip
pen and G. w. Brindell from the
ministry, and j. P. Farley OF Du-
buque and E. A. Snyder of Cedar
Falls from the laity. The General
Conference which convened in New
York City, May 1, 1888, was COM
posed of representative men from all
parts of the world. Each Annual
Conference = allowed one delegate
for every forty-five members and one
for fraction of thirty or over
The General Conference meets
every four years. 1t is presided over
by the Bishops, who take the chair
in the order of seniority of election.
They are not members of the body,
and have no vote or voice on the
floor, except by courtesy of the men,
bers. This is the law making body
of the church, and the results of it's
actions are embodied in the Disci-
pline, which is the code of the
church,
1t is considered a great honor to
be elected delegate to the General
Conference. Charges have sometimes
been made by unfriendly persons,
that unworthy methods are employed
in the selection of delegates. While
these charges are not true In the
sense of being in any way criminal,
it is nevertheless to be regretted that
unseemly scrambles occasionally mar
these elections, which certainly give
tote u,h ;nh
frequently offered by persons on the
outside. There is nothing in any way
dishonorable in the desire to serve
the church in it's law making body.
The ambition is entirely commend
able, and no fair minded person will
be disposed to criticise the friendly
competition which characterizes an
election, either among the ministers
or the laymen.
When the time arrived for our de-
parture for New York, it was agreed
among some of the western delegates
to meet at the Book Rooms in Chi
cago, and proceed in a body by way
of Baltimore, Washington and Phila-
delphia. So at the time appointed
we gathered there and selected one
of our number, minister from Him
ois, to act as our chaperon, not for
considerations Of propriety so much
as for considerations of economy, a
move which proved to be wise one
long before we reached our destina-
tion. Our chaperon purchased the
tickets over the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad, and right glad was that he
had chosen that route, for the seem
cry was varied and beautiful
Among our party was an old pio-
Sneer preacher from Idaho, who be-
came very friendly to this tender
foot, and was not at all backward in
relating his experiences in the far
west, much to our delight. He was
a good conversationalist and seldom
failed to entertain u.s. One day as
we were passing over the Cumber-
land Mountains, l incautiously call
ed his attention to the fact and with
considerable enthusiasm spoke of the
!, great height Of the mountains. The
I'D man turned to me with what