The Daily Missoulian., 1912-08-25


liberal rules Of democracy. A similar
spirit prevails in Methodism and was
evident in the recent general confer
encc The board of bishops, as shown
In their quadrennial address,, natural
~ stands for a certain element of
conservatism. In the Judgment of
many, who do not In any sense depre-
cate the more liberal spirit, the
bshopric never more clearly justified
did exhibition Of It's fathcrly love and
wisdom than In this instance. The
church. In perhaps % greater degree
than the state. should make haste
slowly" The demands upon 1t are not
so immediate as those upon the civil
government. which Is ruled largely by
the spirit of commercialsm and has
to do with the material interests that
directly concern the problem of physi-
cal existence. There Is less danger.
by far, that ecclesiastical forms of
government-not gainsaying the i'm
portance of the eternal interests they
are designed to servc-will become
subject to unjust administration. with
In them we recognize the spirit more
than the form. while In civil govern
ment tho reverse Is true
Spirit Of Day Apparent.
But the spirit of the day In secular
affairs was time and again given
striking illustration at Minneapolis.
The delegates were impatient of conA
servative restraint. Any appeal made
In the name of democracy received
instant attention and hearty applause.
usually carrying Its concomitant legis-
latlon to victory. 1t was quite
humorously apparent, toward the end
Of the sessions. that skllful politicians
endeavored to take advantage of this
tendency of the conference In order
to secure favorable consideration for
proposals that could hardly ~ he g. res
lated to immediate interests of de-
mocracy. But 1t was both a fair-m minded
and a wise assemblage. The delegat tes,
as whole. were quick to resent ap-
parent or real injustice to individuals,
and at the same time were as ready
to punish any imposition upon the
Intelligence or good nature, of the
house.
Representation.
In view of the liberal spirit mani
tested throughout the sessions, and
with an equal representation of the
ministry pnd laity. the defeat of the
proposition to give laymen equal rep
resentation In the annual conferences.
as well as In the quadrennial general
conference, Is perhaps the great sur
prise OF the entire gathering, since
this Is prospective development
that has been widely discussed for
years. and especially during the past
quadrennium. and very probably meets
of the membership. Failure to enact
proposed laws along this line is
ascribed to the fact that they did not
come before the conference in the
proper form. II was contended that
this change, In effect, amounts to an
amendment of the church constitution.
and that to attempt its Incorporation
in the discipline through other means
Is a species of evasive legislation re-
pubndHt 10 the Ia1T-HllHued1eSS OF the
people generally; and the constitution
can only be amended by submission
OF the proposed change for ratifica-
tlon by two-thirds of the annual con-
ferences and two-thirds of the quad
rennial lay-elcctoral conferences.
This was undoubtedly the proper
view of the situation. but the ques-
ton arises Was the general confer
ence consistent when ii permitted an
equally revolutionary change In the
plan OF general superintendency. Jus
tifying the action taken in the latter
case, by the way, with the plea that
the board of bishops is simply re
quested" to make the change and not
commanded to do IL. II was well
known that such request" Is
mandatory In effect. and such legis-
lation must certainly be viewed In the
light of a shortcut, or an effort to
avoid the more cumbersome method
of constitutional amendment. It
may be all right, passed In this
manner, If II really represents the
consensus of the church, or again II
1t be designed simply to allow an
experimental trial of tho changed
method Of supervision. with an IN
tention to embody 1t in the CHURCH
constitution later by n thorolIphlv