Evening journal., 1916-03-04
Peoples Column
DR.. MORGAN WRITES OF
some conference affairs
To the Editor OF THE EVENING
JOURNAL:

JOURNAL:
Sir The news item in one Of the
Wilmington papers of Wednesdays
Issue. under the caption "The Confer
snce Heads to be Chosen This Year."
contains some errors of statement.
made inadvertently presumably. that
!, as member of the Conference, de-
sire, in the interest OF accuracy. with
your kind permission Of space in
your valuable paper. to correct.
One of these errors is to be found
in the statement that "the term Of
the Rev. George p. Jones. of the Sails
bury District, does not expire at this
session OF the Conference" DR..
George p. Jones completed his term
of six years on the Salisbury District
at the session Of the Conference held
last spring at Laurel. The Rev. DR.
I. A. H. O'Brien was appointed as
his successor and will therefore. COM
plete his frs year of the district
term at the coming session Of the
Conference.
The final paragraph of this Con-
ference news article contains in its
brief compass two errors.
It declares that "in accordance
with the precedent established sew
eral years ago. it is considered more
than likely that the Rev. w. F. Cork
ran, being the host of the Conference.
will be el~~- as a delegate OF the
body TO the General Conference"
Dr. W. f. Corkran is not the host
of the Conference in the sense al
ways existing when the church of one
OF the towns down the Peninsula en-
tertains the Conference.
The difference is marked. In that
case the sessions of the Conference
are held in the town church, and the
pastor and the people Of that church
entertain all the members of the
Conference in their homes, or else
where as boarders, except as some
hospitable families of other denomi-
nations Of the town lend a helping
hand.
In the case under consideration.
however, the sessions OF the Confer
ence will he held in Dr. Corkran's
church edifice. but DR.. COrkran and
his people will not entertain all the
members Of the Conference as guests,
in their homes. or as boarders else
where; nor even the larger number
Of them. This was never cOntem-
plated; nor could IL be thought Of as
fair by the rest OF the hosptable
Methodists Of the city. II has never
been so done when the Conference
has held its sessions in Wilmington.
II is true to say in this case. there
,ore. that Dr. Corkran is the host of
the conference in the sense only that
he is the pastor i'm charge of the
church in which the conference ses-
sions are to be held. and that he and
ais good people share with the other
pastors and their good people of Will
mington Methodism I'm entertaining
the ministers of the conference and
the members of the lay electoral con-
ference as home guests during the
period OF the conference session in our
midst. All or churches have cheer
fully accepted assignments of these
guests: and.Dr COrkran'5 church does
not even have the largest assignment
of such guests of any one church OF
the number entertaining. Nor ought
Il to have. Such an arrangement
would be more than their proportion
relatively. All the pastors and their
churches, are graciously participating
as they always do in this city on like
occasions in taking their full share
respectively in this worthy enterprise.
II is only Just to the other pastors
and TO their loyal people. to say this
and to say it thus publicly. So that it
is but fair to say that all our pastors
and their responding people are the
hosts of the conference.
Nor is it accurate to say that lin ac-
cordance with the precedent estab-
lished several years ago. 1t is consid-
cred more than likely that the Rev.
W. f. Corkran will be elected a dele
gate of the conference body to the
general conference"
This is a somewhat dOgmatic asser-
ton. Il may be said here, since such a
statement to have warrant ought to
be fortified by information that no
man has or can have. The members
Of the Wilmington Conference do the
voting and a.e men of competency to
make their own selection and possess
the right of choice of their representa-.
uves to the General Conference; and
Il is certain that they have not given
information sufficient and in sufficient
numbers to justify such an open pre-
fiction.
The only instance il a generation