The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1914-05-22
WOULD CONSOLIDATE
BAPTIST bOiRD IN
CITY OF NASHVILLE
MOVEMENT, MADE BY EFFlclEN
cY COMMISSION TO ACCOM-.
PLlSH THIS END.
PROVOKED SPIRITED ARGUMENT
Home and Foreign Mission Boards
May Como to Capital-Propostion
viii Be Voted on This Afternoon.
Some Feeling Introduced in Matter.

NASHVILLE, Tenn, May 16.-The
most spirited discussion that has TAX
en- place in the Southern Baptist con
vention was precipitated Friday aft
ernoon when objection was made tc
the recommendation of the efficiency
commission that the home mission
foreign mission and Sunday schoo
boards be maintained in their present
locations at Richmond, Atlanta and
Nashville, respectively.
Delegates urged that the three
boards be brought together in one
city for the purpose of establishing
greater unity. The discussion went
over until this afternoon, when it will
be made special order of business
If the three boards should be
brought together, it is practically
conceded that Nashville will be the
headquarters Of the merger, because
this is the only city where the demon
ination owns a handsome building
the Nashville structure costing 5000,
00o.
The establishment of a great mis-
sionary journal was also recommend
ed, but no action was taken on this
proposition.
The debate on the Capitalization OF
the mission boards was a spirited one
and hand-clapping and shouting of
Amen" by the delegates was fire.
quent, despite the rule adopted pro.
hibiting either applause or dissent
on the floor.
In opening the debate when DIR.
White had finished reading the pro.
logue, Mr.. Mcconnell declared that
the present arrangement of having
three boards was not conducive to
the best interests of the convention.
1--WE want to enlist the profoundest
sympathy and greatest liberality OF
our constituency" said Mr.. McCon-
nell. "a crowd of appeals from two
or three boards Injuries all. You can
not make givers You can only OBJ
tain gifts by making people want to
give"
he speaker declared that there was
great need of cultivating literature,
and pronounced the present mission
journals inadequate.
The speaker said that he had been
told that the Capitalization plan was
opposed for two reasons, because not
enough good men could be- obtained
to compose the boards in one city,
and because the banks of no Southern
city could finance such a bard. He
characterized both arguments as RI
diculous, saying that he could find
enough board men in any city, and
that the larger the board the easier
it wuold be to obtain money from the
banks.
DR.. White answered. Mr. ,McCon-
nell. He expressed the belief that
confusion would result from an at
tempt to centralize the boards. The
charters would have to be changed,
he stated, and by moving the board
to another state many Of the requests
made to the board would be lost. He
also stated that the board not obtain
enough money from the banks in any
one city. He also advanced the argu-
ment that not enough men could be
found in any one city to make good
board members, and that this would
result in too much power to the Sec
retaries.
Mr.. Mcconnell and DR.. White were
the principal speakers on the ques-
tion, but number of delegates made
short talks.