The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-21
(continued from Pnge serenl

tContinued from Page Seven)
 page 197.) At Louisville it was agreed to
 submit for consideration and decision constitution giving to the negro region
 al conference membership in the. gen.
 eral conference "of not less than thirty
 nor more than forty-two," provided that such membership shall not exceed per
 cent of the total membership of the gen
 eral confe-ence." No more was yielded
 because there was no more to ask Thus
 by short though swift steps the desired
 goal of negro proportional representa-
 ton was reached, reached by the contin-
 ual yielding Of our commission. From
 'colored membership of the various
 Methodist bodies formed into an inde-
 pendent organization holding fraternal re-
 iations with the reorganized and united
 church. to an incorporated colored mem
 bership with proportional representation
 in the general conference is a long way
 to travel, as it is giving way of basic
 factors.
 REASONS FOR ACCEPTANCE 9 Many reasons Ger this yielding of our position have teen given. First, it is
 claimed that il is in the proper attitude of
 Christian to give this recognition to our
 negro brethren If this be true it should
 irmedateaiy and forever settle the oues-
 tion. Whatever the cost to historic posi-
 tion, to reverence for the wisdom of our
 
 and church relations. to desire for Tacia
 purity. to iatural inclin s.lsH for gov
 ernmental gG;Garce by thcte to whom Almighty God has given by age icng an6
 unbroken development the greater experl-
 ence and intelligence. those who propose
 to follow cur Lord must uneonditionally
 and immediately surrender to whatever
 Christianity demands.
 Such q suJrer5er must CT course. h.
 called fos on grounds of certainly dis
 cUverabe and discovered bs clear, con
 sistent, uncurfused though. which lays
 open and applies univers and neces-
 sary truth. We are not called upon to
 consider whether a color line drawn at
 any point through the sphere of humar
 relations be kind and just and Christian
 The sole question now before us is where
 an admittedly necessary color line shall
 be drawn. This constitution draws a
 broad and indelible color. line. It is dye
 alternately black aud white. On wha ' @yeasonable, moral. Christian ground car --it lJe ciaj,ned that our negro brethren are .$to be constitutonally' shut out of all
 other white conferences, quarterly, dis
 triet, annual, reg ;onal, and on that iden-
 tical ground are to be admitted to the
 general conference. and to be admissible
 On their option to the church conference?
 The regional conferences in the United
 States are by caption set off from our
 colored brethren and by specification are
 geographically divided. The eolored mem
 bershp without the slightest regard tc
 these geographical divisions, but embrac
 ing them all, spreads from sea to sea
 Our northern brethren, in providing for
 their negro membership, accustomed for k many years to this disregard of geog-
 raphy, to the clearly marked color line.
 did not so much as intimate desire that
 the negro annual conferences should be
 included in the regional jurisdiction in which geographically they fall. The log
 ical principle of division applied con- sistently to the white membership, that principle being combination of geog-
 raphy and numbers, or of geography de- termined by numbers, is discarded when it comes to the negro membership. Color, color alone, determines that seventh re- gional confer6nce, and geographical lines the simply swept aside. This writer aisclaims any power to read the thoughts of other men, but in common with his fellows he can look on their actions. In this particular constitutional pro- vision the action is that the negro is excluded from membership in every white conference in the United states Tor which provision is made with the soli- tary exception of the general conference, and if the negro should claim the right, yof the church conference. The joint com Emission of fifty members gave fifty votes for these exclusions In his action in the third article of the constitution, and as some claim in the two preceding articles, were these fifty men guilty of unlSind, ui just, un- n-Christian dealing with their colored brethren? How can it be made plain to one who is truly willing to be taught that it is manifestation of Chris tianity to exclude the negro from all |-other conferences. while Christianity de- 1nands that he shall be included m the general conference?
 Every student of constitutional history knows that surplusage in the written ln- strument is, hindrance, not help. Tn this proposed constitution Article Ill., Section (b) and Co are identical, with the exception Of the captions, the use Of .ssaid" in 6b) and of 'any of these Tn | Co, of comma in (b) and semicolon fn (c). Of the brother who had as much to do with drafting this instrument as any other member of the joitn comms- sion, perhaps he was the shaping hand, l asked the reason for this unusual if not unique feature. Without hesitating sec ond he answered that members in foreign countries would not,lize to be referred to in the section of the constitu ion that described the negro regional conference. The same reduplcation and for the same reason is found in Article ". Section !, (b) and (c) No state constitution in the south, no provision, legislative or munich pal, for separate accommodation of the races paints more deeply and draws more '. tightly the belt that marks the color line brother and l., in this constitution lar eve connected or simply conJolned or are we really disjoined?
 The color line in this constitution is broader, but we need not now follow il further.
 2. It is alleged that it was not legally possible for our northern brethren to agree to any other provision for their col ored membership than for proportional representaton-in the general conference, and that to decline to yield to the legal necessity was to prevent unifcation Aside from the fact that the commission was not appointed to effect unifcation al any price or to waive a statement that may be distasteful to some of my breth- ren (and it is my purpose not to use even one displeasng word), at such 3 price as this, it must not be formotter that the man on the commission occupy ing the highest judicial position proposed plan which he denominated: "A Metho- dist proclamation of emancipation, a veri- l table Magma Charta." In an extended ar | gument he concluded that mo right oi | property would be affected, that the church can by constitutional amend rnent withdraw from them Cthe negroes) | their right to sit and vote in the genera conference that the plan he proposed
 was consistent with the constitutions ol the states and with the constitution o1 the United States, and is proclamation | of absolute freedom for the colored race. (Savannah report, pages 3o4, 35o, 356) Ik{True, at least one other lawyer on thu commission denied the soundness of these " H.. l-