The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-10
MAY YRE|NCORPORATE ALL EX|ST|NCbOARDS OF THE M. E. CHURCH
Initial Step Looking Toward Such Action By Confer ence Yesterday-Begin
 Work At Once

Oklahoma City. Okla. May s.-The in itiaf step looking toward the possible re- incorporating of all existing boards of the Methodist Episcopal church. south. was taken -here today just previous to the adjournment until Monday of the general conference of the church, when Bishop H. C. Morrison named Isaac Carr, James kilgore. NJ. l.. Lawson. ]. D. Simpson and R. F. Rodddy. members of spe- cial committee to investigate and deter mine the present charter rights of the church, its correctional boards, hospitals and institutions in general, and to report on their legal right to hold property under the laws of the states in which they are incorporated.
 The appointment of the committee was made after a resolution. calling for such a committee. was introduced by the Rev. E. B. Chappell and T. D. Ellis and was adopted by the delegates. The resou- tion is broad in scope and provides that 1T the charters the church now operates under are found to be insufficient, or that the right of the church to hold property under present charters can be ques- tioned, the committee shall be authorized to go into any state in the union and re- incorporate, if in the opinion of the com mittee the laws of the states they select guarantee the charter rights to the church. The committee will begin work at once and is expected sto render re- port to the conference before the end of the present session.
 The Vanderbilt Case The appointment of the committee is directly due to the adverse decision of the supreme court of Tennessee, in what is known as the Vanderbilt university case. by which the court held that the church could not rightfully control the university. The Vanderbilt decision and what action, if any, the conference shall take is now up to a committed of 15 mem bers which is meeting every night. Upon the recommendation Of this committee probably depends what action the church will take
 While no dennite report from the committee in regard to the Vanderbilt is expected until after public hearings oh thV hidAtci nave Dstfl ntiu idttT III the present conference, rumors are many regarding probable action. Thom- as B. Sanford of Opelilla, Ala, mem Der of the conference, declared today he favored the appointment of a com mittee with full power to act for the entire conference, and that this prob ably will be done. The committee men tioned, he said would be authorized to receive overtures from the board of trust of Vanderbilt university, if that board cared to make any to receive propositions for the establishment of another university if the commission found it was unable to re-establish the church in it's rights with Vanderbilt university; and that the commission would be empowered to do everything possible to bring about a settlement of the question,
 It Is also generally understood that a number of tentative propositions for the establishment of a new university fuses to discuss this phase of the case
 The Sunday school committee, at its session this afternoon, planned for large amount of constructive work during the next quadrennium. The com mittee will ask for a Sunday school board. a general secretary and appro- priation of $20,000 to carry on it's work.
 The report of the committee on the creation of an advisory commission to assist the colored Methodist Episcopal church in work among the negroes, set for special order of business for to- day. was recommitted to the committee for further consideration.