The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-05-08
b|RM|NGHAMH HASA CHANCE ID SECURE GREAT UNIVERSITY Miller Calls Attention to Sit uatiOn Confronting Meth Odists of the South NUCLEUS ALREADY
 HERE FOR SCr~ ", If University Were Located Here It Would Ultimately Bring the Churches Great Publishing
 Houses

To the Editor of The Age-Herald
 An opportunity presents itself to Bir- mingham.
 Vanderbilt university, located at Nash vile, has long been regarded as the prop erty of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, but recent litigation resulted in a decree by the supreme court of Tennessee declaring that the church does not own the property.
 The general conference of this church is now in session in Oklahoma. Upon its meeting, the address of the College of Bishops was read to the conference, in which address the bishops declared that the courts decision left the church "a mere shadow of connection with the uni- versity, which, in our opinion, does not justify the church in any attempt to direct the affairs of the institution, assume any responsibility for it.' Re- garding the future, the bishops further declared: We do not presume to indi- cate what course you should pursue to repair the loss which has been inflicted upon the church. That Is for the wisdom of the general conference to determine, and we venture to express the opinion that our people will promptly supply whatever means may become necessary to make up for the institution which has been taken from the ownership and con- trol of the church.
 The Christian Advocate, now published at Nashville, which is the general organ of this church, has for several weeks contained discussions by church leaders of the university question. the general tendency being in line with the above quotation from the bishops address. This all means that the church is going to establish big university somewhere in the bounds of southern Methodism, to take the place in the church at large, and in regard to the schools, colleges and universities of the several annual conferences, which Vanderbilt university, prior to the recent court decision, was supposed to occupy.
 Locate that university here. The south ern Methodist church has, in round num- bers 100000 of members. about s5 per cent of whom are scattered throughout the southern states.
 The location of the university here in this central point would very probably be accompanied. or quickly followed, by the locating here of the headquarters for all connectional officers. the boards of church extension, missions, education, Sunday schools and other enterprises of the church; the publishing house, with its books Sunday school literature. Chris tan Advocate Methodist Review, and other publications.
 These things in and of themselves would be great additions to our city, but that is the smaller part.
 From a business point of view Birmng- ham could hardly hope to get a greater advertisement greater continuous as- set than that kindly feeling in the hearts of the 1000. 900 of mempers of this church, that they each have an actual financial interest in these properties located in Birmingham, and that Birmingham shall forever hereafter in the minds md hearts of these good people be so intimately and kindly associated with their church and it's enterprises. Already one of Bir- minghams greatest assets is the kindly feeling of the people throughout the coun- try towards us.
 How is this feeling engendered?
 Think of it, we are made up of people from everywhere; we sometimes say ''of the best people from everywhere. Every community in Alabama, and many com munlties in other states, upon the mem ton of Birmingham, glows with friend ly interest because of some one or more of it's former citizens. in whom it still feels a friendly interest, has come to Birmingham to live. A like feeling we
 
 of southern Methodists, to say nothing of the kindly feeling of the 100000 of other Methodist folk, if we can locate here the central university of this great church. with all the connectional of ficers; in other words. can make our city Methodist headquarters. Birmingham is already the most Methodist of all south ern cities. It is also nearest the center of Methodist population.
 We already have within ollr city tha Birmingham college, the location for this university. It has the grounds, some buildings, and some endowment Our Chamber of Commerce could not put over'' a bigger or better stunt for Bir- mingham than to raise a fund to sup plement the fund which will be raised throughout this church for buildings and endowment, and induce the great church to make Birmingham headquarters for southern Methodism. Yours very truly,
 NATHAN l.. MILLER.
 Birmingham, May [. 1914.