Evening star., 1926-05-27

PLAN NEW FIGHT
IN BAPTIST SESSION
Were Defeated in Vote on
Immersion, But Point
to Margin.
THIRD OF DELEGATES
ALIGNED WITH GROUP
Leader of Middle Delegates May
Be Backed by Modernists
for Presidency.

mistaken by their failure yester-
day to force the general conference of
the Northern Baptist Church to com
NIT itself to a policy of requiring i'm
mersion as a prerequisite to church
membership, the fundamentalist wing
today marshaled it's forces for a re-
newed campaign against the modern
list element which they declare never
will cease until the twin monsters
OF modernism and mammonism are
driven from the church.
Far from settling the strife within
the ranks of the conference, the vote
yesterday on the question of i'm
mersion. behind which lay the queA
ton of open membership" churches.
has given great cheer to the funda-
mentalist wing. They point to the
vote of one-third of the delegates
which was recorded for their strictly
fundamental resolution yesterday. A
determined fight to the finish with
the modernists has been declared, but
there is no thought, even among the
extreme fundamentalist leaders, of
separation.
mass meeting has been called for
tonight Immediately following the
close of the evening service at the
Washington Auditorium of all dele
gates and visitors favoring adherence
to fundamental Baptist principles
The meeting will be held in the Fifth
Baptist Church, Six-and-a-half and E
streets southwest, which was loaned
for the occasion by Rev. John E.
Briggs. Plans of action will be for.
mulated at that time, 1t was an
Tranquility Rules Session.
Tranquility prevailed, however.
throughout the morning session.
which was devoted to a study of mis-
sion fields and devotional services.
Leaders held conferences today with
a view to ironing out dissensions. and
some predicted that harmony would
continue to the end of this present
convention. The majority of the as.
sembly seemed to have accepted the
decision Of yesterday as final for this
convention. at least.
Whether the fundamentalist bloc
causes further ferment now is to
be determined at the protest meeting
tonight. A number of far-reaching
proposals were made last night by
fundamentalist leaders at a war
council" at the Raleigh Hotel. which
was attended by more than 800, in
cluding all the outstanding orthodox
chieftains. The session lasted until
after midnight.
Baptism Referendum Urged.
DIR. John Roach Straton of New
York proposed that a petition be pre-
sented to the convention tomorrow
u %i~% ,I,,V, on
the question of immersion be sub
mitted to the membership of the local
churches. Such a referendum would
settle once for all the question, he
declared The matter Will be COIL
sidered at the mass meeting tonight.
Other proposals were: Submission
of a new proposed amendment to the
bylaws of the church, thus forcing
on the next general conference a re-
newal of the strife between modernism
and fundamentalism; a series of reso-
lutions asking that the educational
and missionary fields of the church
be "purged" of modernists; an appeal
to the convention to turn over to the
fundamentalists certain colleges of the
denomination which would be wholly
under their control, and an attempt to
oust from the convention delegates
from the Fosdick church.
Should the fundamentals wing de-
eide tonight to accept for the present
convention the situation regarding
modernism, they are then planning to
carry on a determined crusade among
the folks back home during the
next year.
Brougher May Be Named.
Meanwhile, the victorious middle
readers" and modernist factions of
the convention prepared today to urge
the election to the presidency of the
Of Rev. James Whitcomb
Brougher of California. who cham
pioned the so.called Cancellation reso-
lution," which passed yesterday over
the opposition of the fundamentalists.
DIR. Brougher now holds no official
position in the church, but is known
throughout the Northern Church by
his recent campaigns in connection
with the controversy between the mod
ernists and fundamentalists. 1t was
he who called the Chicago conference
this Spring which reported out the
resolution concerning immersion which
yesterday was adopted.
DIR. Brougher conducted the debate
Yesterday for his resolution and as a
result is prominently before the con-
ference. His election. should he be
nominated, which is likely. is taken
by the fundamentalists as a foregons
conciIk9nH.
The conference halted Its delibera-
tions this morning to make a trip to
the White House, where they were
received by President and Mrs. Cool
idge. About 1900 visitors were in the
party and the President was photo
graphed with them.
Question Left to Churches.
The Brougher or Chicago rssolu-
ton" finally adopted yesterday. reads:
THE Northern Baptist convention
recognizes its constituency as consist.
ing solely of those Baptist churches
in which the immersion Of believers is
recognized and practiced as the only
Scriptural baptism, and the conven-
ton hereby declares that only i'm
mersed members will be recognized as
delegates to the convention"
This means, leaders explain, that
the question of what shall constitute
the membership Of the local Baptist
churches shall be left to them as au-
tonomous bodies under the church Or
ganization. To that extent, 1t is ex-
planned, it is a victory for the modern
lists, as 1t permits the Park Avenue
Baptist Church, which has called the
noted modernist, DR.. Harry Emerson
Fosdick, to be its pastor. and the near
500 liberal" churches Of the confer
fr.rt;.,,.a - Do~A rcI,,v.,, %