The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-20
Heroes OF The
l. Cross Greeted
At Conference
BY THE REV. JOHN LAAepoN
WEBER

AANtAAffAAAE AZ 10 NAGA III AAlEEE
grand old men. DR.. r. IL. Mahon for
years was the acknowledged leader Of
the conference and his deliverances
carry a weight that is attached to the
u~tteranees Of few men. He grows old
gracefully and has no sour element in
ms makeup He makes the younger
men to know that he is their friend.
DR., A. B. Jones Is about the ms
Old man among us. He KEEPS in full
sympathy with the advanced movements
OF MS church n Is always ready to
Flend a hand. He breaches often and
the people love to hear him. His mes
sage is one OF. sunshine and of good
win, 1t Is doubtful If any man has
more friends than has DIR. Jones.
DIT, George B, Baskerville is a vet
7 preacher n gentleman farmer.
There was q time when his pulpit serv-
Ice was in great demand and he was
recognized as one OF the best admin
lstratprs Of the church. He is now
taxing IT easy, but his opinion on all
church matters is still held in high
respect.
], S, Renshaw Is seen moving around
among his brethren, a pathetic figure.
but one much loved. He was for years
the mode circuit preacher of the con-
ference and was regarded as one OF the
pest and safest men among us. Moth
ing but good will goes toward this vet
Gran, as he is nov resting with his
race toward the sunset OF life.
Dr. David Leith Is a rosy faced Scot
and though the calendar may count up
some years against him, one can hardly
think of him as an old man. His mind
y clear and his heart Is full of the fine
things of life. That his evening may
be long and full of peace and JOY is the
wish of all.
There are others-I can't begin to
mention them all, Then, too, there aro
certain elect ladies who in this con-
neetion are entitled to consideration.
Some stil1 are companions to their
preacher husbands, and some linger
here, but In reality their life Is more
on the other side than on this. These
good people are not forgotten, but the
provision made for them Is fearfully In,
adequate. Capt. Fitzhugh spoke elo-
qlent and true words yesterday as he
made appeal for a better support OF
these good people, As IT now stands
$500 Is about al much as a superan.
nuate or his widow can expect to re.
ceive from the church. II will not be
so much longer, for the church Is being
informed and that is all that is needed,
The Memphis conference has a
preacher Of vision, who sees things and
then does them. That man is H. b.
Johnston, now pastor OF the church at
Paris, The ~superanuate has always ap-
neafed to him and he has worked out
q plan to secure a home for these
worthy men in zach Of the conference
counties. That plan is to get d mum
Der OF preachers and laymen to agree
to pay ~ to each county that will at
tempt to build such a home. Over 500
names have been secured and the work
has already begun, At Paris an ex-
cellent2 lot has been secured and soon
after conference work viii begin on a
house. 1t is proposed to erect four of
these houses each year. At that rate
there will soon be a comfortable home
in each county of the conference and
70 veteran will have to lay his work
down with no roof to shelter his
head. a..
The Memphis conference is rich In
laymen, men who love their church
and whose lives and good works are
evidence of what the church means to
men. Here in Memphis there are John
R. Pepper, Leslie NJ, Stratton, John 7.
T. X. Riddick, Jeff B. Marmon, r. w.
Bailey, T. M, Salter, Boiling Sibiey and
man others, From other districts there
have come to conference as delegates
or as interested visitors, j. l.. Richard
son, H, r, Rose, Allen Barbee, JOIN
+, O,Neill, Harry J. Wright, u. Rice,
Jos. D. johnson, J. Q, Bomar. ard a
tian gentlemen. They are not only the
financial support of the church but
they are the very life Of the church.
The correctional men are arriving IN
flocks. Each one has 2 message Of
great importance to deliver and his
work Is one Of the most important
features of church undertaking. II
you have any doubt about that just
listen to his speech and he vii tell
you all about it to his general confu-
sion. There are SO many OF these men
coming to annual conference that no3e
~ fhAD, n n rat tina hnurinR that his
work really demands, They all are
good men, fine speakers and their
causes are of value, but time is time
and there is simply not enough to go
around
There is complaint that there Is not
preaching at conference. The com
plant is we'll founded, but how can you
DO any better? There are so many
things that simply have to be done and
so many speakers who have q chance
to speak that just preaching hasn't
much chance. Still, 1t would be q
good thing to have a plain sermon on
some such theme as repentance and
perhaps a call to the altar. II might
STARTER some In st. Johns church hut
good would come out Of It, When Sun
day comes then all Memphis VIII nave
Methodist preaching to supply, all &c;
mands; but It won't De up 70 the usnuiat
AtdnudTu, IL =
preacher doesn't want to preach at con-
terence and when he does ne usually
falls below his average.
The old! time Methodist sons OF thun-
der dreaded conference in a city for
they felt so cramped that they couio
not preach with their accustomed ND
ertv. II Is much the Same way today.
It is not fair to Judge any preacher by
his conference d~eliverances.
Bishop Atkins made a most sensible
deliverance on the subject OF Meth
odist union yesterday. He said he was
opposed to 1t so long as God allowed
obstacles to remain that would make
real union impossible; but that When
God removed those obstacles he was
In favor OF 1t.
There Is the usual talk about union
and some may want some conference
action taken on the matter. However,
In view OF the approaching general con-
>~ference of the M. T.. church the wise
heads Of the conference hope that moth
ing will be done and that we wait 70
see what they will do. Many think
we nave done and said enough. Now II
is up to them. We can afford to sit
still and see what move they make,
It Is their time to move.
The bishop called for reports from
the examining committees This Is al
ways an interesting feature Of the con-
ference. Methodism rs paying more at
tention to the intellectual standards OF
admission into the ranks of travelling
preachers. Now 1t is required that for
admission into conference on trial the
applicant must meet the requirements
for admission into a standard college.
Then after admission the young preach
ers are required to pursue a prescribed
course of study for four years. Upon
this they are examined and must meet
the required standard before they can
be advanced to full elders orders.
The Memphis conference has never
had a standard college and the con-
ference has suffered on that account.
The Memphis Conference Female insti-
tute has for years been IN efficient
factor In the education OF Southern
women. 1t is now the property of the
conference and plans are now under
honored institution at Jackson. The
eOnference also haa a promising fnsti-