Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1916-09-07
THRESH OUTF|CHT
over NEGRO BISHOPS
Protestant Episcopal Church
to Face Vexed Question
at General Convention
Joint COMMISSION
FAILS TO AGREE

Dissension has appeared in the
Protestant Episcopal Church over the
proposal TO have negro bishops at
large to supervise the negro churches
The whole issue will be discussed on
the floor of the Triennial General
Convention, beginning in st. Louis,
October 8.
A joint commission appointed three
years ago, when the Convention was
held in this city, has disagreed, and it
will present a minority report as well
as a majority report TO the St. Louis
assembly. Five members have signed
the minority report This severely
criticised the attitude expressed to-
ward the negro in the majority report
and recommended that it be rejected
The majority report recommends
that a separate racial district for ne
groes in the South be established, re-
lieving bishops Of Southern dioceses
OF any further jurisdiction over the
thousands of negro members of the
Protestant Episcopal Church, and in
stead that a negro bishop or negro
bishops at large be elected and conse-
Grated.
The minority report strongly urges
that no such action be taken and
recommends instead that some South
ern diocese shall soon take advantage
Of its present right, according to the
canons of the Episcopal Church to
elect a negro suffragan bishop to
serve under the white bishop Of the
diocese.
Calls Report NUn-C hristian.T
Two bishops, two rectors and one
layman signed the minority report.
One of the rectors is the Rev. DR.. Ern-
est NJ. Stires, of st. Thomas Church,
Fifth avenue and Fifty-third street,
New York.
The bishops. who are both from the
South. are the Right Rev. William A.
Query, Of South Carolina, and the
Right Rev. Frederick F. Reese, Of
Georgia. The second rector is the
Rev. G. Braxton Bryan of Petersburg
Va. The layman is Joseph Packard.
The prediction has been made that
the issue will cause one Of the liveli-
est discussions in the convention. The
minority report characterizes the ma
iority report as both un-Christan
and un-Catholic.'
The minority report suggests that
the system proposed by the majority
will inevitably tend to weaken IN the
white man his sense of responsibility
for the negro, and says
"The Southern white man could not
and would not serve the Church under
a negro bishop"
The minority report states that a
separate racial district "eontravenes
a fundamental principle of Christian
itv and destroys the unity of the
church under one bisnop, which has
been the rule and practice from the
beginning"
WHY Not Japanese BishOp9
The dissenters say that, while the
majority report declares that although
81. Peter was the Apostle TO the Jews
and st. Paul was the Apostle TO the
Gentiles. these facts ARE in no way a
parallel to the proposed racial episco-
nate" II goes on TO say that the prece-
dent, if established for Negroes, might
be invoked to demand separate bish-
OPS for the Japanese in California and
the Indians in the West, and adds;
There is a reminder OF the prece-
dent on the west coast of Africa,
where there are at this time two
Negro suffrage bishops working under
white diocesans. We are told by Arch
deacon Melville Jones and others who
have labored in that field that the ar
rangement has worked successfully
for more than fifteen years.
THE fact of the great difference OF
opinion in the South. both among
whites and among Negroes, is cited
as reason for great caution in adopt
ing the proposed new system.
In the absence Of any historical
precedent to guide us, we are Of the
opinion that Il would be far wiser for
us TO take no further action at this
time, but to discourage continued agi-
tation of the question in the hope
that some Southern diocese may yet
find it possible TO apply to this vexed
question the remedy which the Church
itself has proposed in her canon on
suffragan bishops"
TO IMPROVE ArOUSTICs