Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-09-28
EpiScOpdliQns to Chance Plans

The General Convention of the Prtestant Episcopal
Church, which meets in New York October s, will
be the occasion of Determined effort the part
OF the larger doceses in the country to change the
plan of representation in the house of deputies The
change will be advocated on the ground that the
present plan of representation is unjust inequtable
undemocratic and unAmerican
One of the leaders in this movement is the Rev.
DR.. Randolph f. McKim Of Washington now the
president of the house Of deputies "a i
At the annual convention Of the didocese of Wash
Kim introduced resolutions which adopted and
which haze served to start the agitation that may
come before the convention.
In the preamble to his resolutions DR.. Mckim set
forth that. under the system of representation
existing in the church. doceses that have less than
5000 communicates have many representatives
and as many votes in the house of deputies those
dioces which contain AZ 900 10000 commune
cants.
"Legislation adopted under these conditions said
Dr. McKim recently, may utterly fail to reflect the
mind of, the church, and may therefore, fail to
mand the loyal support OF the several dioceses. More
over should any vital issue of Christian doctrine or
ritual or ecclesiastical polity upon which the mind
of the church was sharply divided be decided by
technical majority of votes which really represented
a small minority of communicates, the peace and
unity of the church is seriously imperied.
"There is a widespread demand that present
undemocratic and un-Amercan system, which is
travesty upon representative government, shall be
changed.
by agreeing upon a certain number of clergymel
in a diocese as the unit in vote by dioceses and
ORDERS and by adopting the fractional system OF
voting in the smaller doceses it is possible to APP
proxinate equality of representation without reduc.
ing or increasing the present number of deputies from
the dioceses The representation in the house of
bishops, it stands at present, approximaes suft1-
GENTLY the principles of the equality of the dloceses
after the analogy of the United States senate. Ihe
case has been cited time and time again of the do
cese of Lexington which has % clergy and 1887
communicates and has the same voting power as the
diocese of New York, for ample, with Az clergy
and SG25O COMMITMENTS.
Under our present system of representation the
two dioceses of Virginia and Southern Virginia, with
1913 clergy 81 POS communicates have in the gen.
eral convention, 16 votes while the six dioceses- OF
Kansas City, indianapolis, Springfield, Dallas Della
ware and Duluth, with 1876 clergy and "a 29S commune
cants have AS votes. | do not think it is necessary
for me to refer to any other examples to show the
injustice and un-Americansm of the present system
of representation"
The diocesan convention at Washington, by reso
luon authorized a committee OF three clergy ana
two laymen to prepare memorial to the general
convention asking that body to take immediate steps
to remedy defects. A few weeks later the diocese
of Maryland passed similar resolutions and these
we're quickly followed by resolutions of the diocese
of Southern Virginia.
The convention meets for three weeks, in the
grounds Of the Cathedral of st. John the Divine, and
during those weeks the men who want the plan OF
representation changed will work constantly to carry
out their wishes.