The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-05-18
WILL CONSIDER
HERESY CHARGES
Rev. Francis Brown and Rev. VIM,
Adams Brown Accused.
THE PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY
Believed Effort to Reduce Number Of
Members Will be Successful -
Body Has So Increased in Size
as to Become unwieldy.

Atlantic City, N. j., May 17.-Spe-
cial: Nearly all of the SOS delegates
to the annual meeting of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian church,
which opens here tomorrow, have al.
ready arrived in town, together with
large number of visitors.
With the calling to order of the
foreign missionary conference this af-
ternoon the assembly began to get
under way, though the formal opening
does not take place until tomorrow
morning. The annual report If the
Board of Foreign Missions shows the
largest gifts to missions ever made
by the Board, amounting to $1,69S,500.
The receipts of the Board were also
the largest, and were $1,632,000 from
regular sources.
The most important event of the
first regular session of the assembly
tomorrow will be the selection of a
moderator. Ordinarily the election
is preceded by more or less spirited
contest, though the candidates them.
selves have never taken an active
part. This year, however, there ap-
pears to be an unusual dearth of can
didates. Some of the Western COM
missioners have launched a good-sized
boom in behalf of DIR. Mark A.
Matthews of Seattle. The only candi-
date thus far offered by the Eastern
part of the country is Rev. John f.
Carson, d. D., pastor of the Central
Presbyterian church of Brooklyn.
Other candidates. for the moderator
ship will probably appear before the
election tomorrow afternoon.
The much discussed heresy charges
are likely to crop up Friday, when
the reports of the presbyteries are
read. The clergymen against whom
the charges of heresy have been
made are the Rev. DR.. Francis Brown,
president of the Union Theological
Seminary in New York City, and one
of the most eminent theologians in
America, and the Rev. Dr. William
Adams Brown, a professor in the I'm
ior Seminary.
The charges against these two cler.
gymen are brought by the Rev. DR..
w. l.. MCEwan, pastor of the Third
Presbyterian Church of PittSburg. DR..
MCEwan complains about certain
statements made by the two clergy
menin recent newspaper articles writ
ten by them, which he CONSTITUTES to
be in direct opposition to the most
cherished doctrines of the church, as
we'll as the essential and fundamental
beliefs of Christian people.
The executive commission OF the
assembly, a body recently created to
carry on the work of Presbyterianism
during the year. met today to put the
finishing touches to the reports and
recommendations to be presented to
the assembly. The leading recon-
mendations affect the various boards
of the church, grouping them in four
classes, and providing that the trus'
tees or directors of one board may
serve on any other in the same Classi-
fication. The plans, 1t is said, call
for some radical changes in the pres
Cnt system of management, and the
fear is openly expressed that the com.
missions recommendation will meet
with vigorous opposition in the as.
sembly.
1t is believed the effort to reduce
the number of members of the assem-.
bly, will be successful this year. OF
late years the body has increased in
size until il has become unwieldy.
The executive commission is expect
ed to recommend reduction to about
500 members.
Another important recommendation
of the commission. which is to be
considered and acted upon by the
assembly, Is that the budget commit
tee confer with the boards in New
York, Philadelphia and Pittsburg, In
a proposed financial campaign for the
benevolent fund of the church, to be
carried on under the direction of the
commission.