Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-06-17
VANDERBILT BOARD
FEELS IT IS FREE
Interprets Church Confer
ence Action as Renuncia-
ton of Rights.
UNFRIENDLY ACTIONS
Board Justifies Course by Courts De-
cree and Attitude of Methodist
Conference at Oklahoma
City. -'

INdSHNlIlcs GILL;, Ju.lc nat lAO
general conference of the Southern
Methodist Church meeting recently at
Oklahoma City has voluntarily termi-
mated it's relations with Vanderbilt
university and voluntarily renou1ced
all rights it had or may have, direct
IL or through any agencies, to con-
firm the election of members of the
Loard OF trust of the university, and
that it is now the right and duty
Of the board of trust to fill vacancies
in its body without requesting or re-
ceiving the confirmation of the gen
eral conference or any of it's agencies
is the sense of a resolution adopted
by today's meeting of the board.
Conference Unfriendly.
The resolution recites the litigation
between the college of bishops andi
the board Of trust recently decided
By the Tennessee supreme court, set
ting out that the court held that the
board Of trust elected it own mem
bers. but that selections should be
confirmed by the general conference,
acting through the general board of
education. but that such right of con-
firmation would cease in the event!
that the general conference should att
any time surrender or renounce that
right or the relations decreed to be
existing, or if it should at any tim
cease to cooperate with the uni
versity, or if it should at any time
contumaciously refuse to confirm
members elected by the board.
The resolution makes various ref
erences to alleged unfrieadly actions
taken by the general conference at
Oklahoma City as justification for the
boards course. declaring that the
general conference "has eased and
refused to cooperate with the uni
versity or with this board as the
said decree of court contemplated
and provided should be done if the
relation was to be continued, and has
thereby terminated any and all right
o: confirmation Il it had under said
decree or otherwise"
Board AbsOIves Self.
The resolution further states:
THAT this board, is not RESPONSE
BILE for the present situation, for that
nrior to the institution of said suit
It never refused to submit for con-
firmation the names of new men,
bers elected by it: it never submitted
name that was not worthy of con-
firmation or that was rejected; it
Gid not begin the litigation. but con.
tended only when compelled to do
sc as defendant. and for that it's
contentious in the regrettable litiga-
ton which the general conference
directed against the university and
this board were sustained and a.
proved by the unanimous opinion of
the state supreme court and by the
direction given by the general con-
| terence to the general board of edu-
| cation to exercise the right of con-
| flrmatlon until the transfer and con-
| veNance ordered to be made to GER
tain annual conference shall have
been perfected and executed does not
prevent the action of the general con-
| ference hereinbefore recite from
onerating to determine and put an
end to the relations between the gen.
eral conference and tn university
existing prior to such action; and
university and the general confer
ence were voluntarily terminated by
the action of the general conference.
and because of such action have
ceased and ended. as the said decree
| OF court declared should result from
| such voluntary action or from failure
| OF cooperation on the report of the
| general conference"