The Butte daily bulletin., 1919-06-25
Today We Celebrate
First Methodist Conference.

First Methodist Conference.
The first Methodist conference was
held us years ago today, June 25,
1774. This. pioneer conference of
what is now one of the greatest of
the worlds denominations was called
by John Wesley, who felt that a more
definite and extensive organization
than he had first given his followers
was imperatively needed. The con-
ference was composed of six clergy
men, who proceeded to the consdera
ton of three topics: What to teach;
how to teach, and what to do. The
first two days were occupied with the
discussion of several doctrines, evan
gelical and otherwise. On the three
following days they discussed the re-
lation of the Methodist societies to
the Established church, and seces-
sion from it, was discountenanced. In
second conference, five years later,
Methodism took an organic and def
mite form, as Wesley's opinions on
Church order" had undergone
great change. An annual conference
was then instituted, class meetings
and love feaStS sanctioned, and Meth
odism had thenceforth it's preachers,
lay preachers, leaders, trustees and
stewards. From that time on Meth
odism began it's gradual divergence
from the Church of England, which
ended in complete separation.
Barbed Wire. -.s
Before the great war barbed wire
was chiefly, used to surround pas
lures, and the principal result of its
use was that your clothes were torn
when you tried to get through wire
fence. When the conflict broke out
this commodity became SO important
in warfare that people began to in
quire into it's origin. Statements have
been made that it's inventor was
Colonel Elbridge. an American army
officer, and that he used his wife's
hairpins in experimental work. This,
however, seems to be erroneous. The
first attempt to perfect type of
barbed wire was made by w. d. Hunt,
of Scott, N. Y, who used spur wheels
strung on wire fence He patented
The idea on July 23, 1867. Lucien B.
Smith, of Kent, o., secured patent
on June 25, of the same year, for
wire carrying projecting wire spurs,
and this is the first suggestion of
barbed wire as it is known today
While this patent antedates the Hunt
patent by month, it was brought out
IN subsequent suit that Hunt had
priority On May l3, 1878, the patent
office granted II. NJ. Rose, of Water
man Station, ILL.,, patent on an
armored wire. This was the founda-
tion of the present great wire indus
try in the United States.
II Il
Dogs and Sausage.
One of the earliest known jokes,
in all probability, had to do with the
alleged custom of sausage martfac-
turers in their selection of the in
gradients. No burlesque mill is quite
complete without sausage mill into
: which live dogs are placed, to emerge
-apparently-in the shape of strings
of sausages. Comic cartoonists find
the dog-and- -thesausage combination
, constant recourse in times of men
tai paucity. Despite the prevalence of
he idea and the frequency of the ac-
: cusation, however, it may be stated
on the best of authority that, i'll
; Cana1a at least, dogs are not now
! used as food. There was time,
, however, when dogs were used as
! food, and roast dog was served as
} the principal feature at banquets at
tended by representatives of some
of the first families of Canada. Such
! n banquet--the last of its kind in
the Manitoba metropolis, was COM
menced in Winnipeg forty-six years
! ago today. June 20, 1878. The
first families of Manitoba were
represented in the gaudily bedecked
' persons of some two hundred Indian
braves, squaws, and papooses. The
feast was held in the open air at
I Point Douglas. Scores Of fatted
r dogs were secured for the banquet,
? and, after being slaughtered and
c skinned. were roasted to a delicate
! brown over open fires. The fore
. most redskin chefs of Manitoba were
e in charge of the culinary department
I and it is said fairly surpassed them
. selves. For three days the assem-
: bled company gorged themselves,
h but the point of repetition and safety
e had not been reached when the sup
: ply of dogs was exhausted. Several
L white citizens of the village of Win
nipeg were invited to the banquet,
i but they were content to play the
II role of onlookcrs, and declined the
e hospitality of their hosts. Such
G feasts were thereafter prohibited
o but for many years they continued
: to be held in other parts of the west