Show BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY A Lively Time at the Methodist Conference WOMEN MAY YET WIN MAJORITY AND MINORITY REPORTS SEAT IN Both Were Warmly Debated and Will Be Farther Coanidered Today To-day When the Battle So Fiercely Waged Will Probably Come to an End Sonic Intcreniins Developments I Develop-ments CLEVELAND 0 May 4The anticipation an-ticipation of the disposition of the wo man question called out a large attendance at-tendance at the general Methodist Episcopal conference this morning Bishop Merrill of Chicago presided Dr Mueller of Cleveland presented a resolution reso-lution favoring arbitration for all English Eng-lish speaking countries which was adopted and a copy ordered sent to I the president of the United States THE EXCITING FEATURE of the day was when Dr Monroe presented pre-sented the conference with a written statement from the four women delegates dele-gates part of which follows While we regard ourselves as laymen lay-men in the full sense of that term and hold that the electoral conferences are entitled under the amendment of 1868 72 to choose their delegates subject only to the restrictions therein specified speci-fied we are unwilling to insist upon our personal rights which are in dispute dis-pute I seems to us that were the conference confer-ence relieved from the tension which our presence occasions i might speedily speed-ily deviSe a plan of admission upon which the great majority of members could agree While we sincerely regret to disappoint the chivalrous champions of womans eligibility we will not consent I con-sent to a protracted debate over our personal eligibility to this conference with the alienations we fear such struggle might cause We therefore cheerfully relinquish our seats in this honorable body and await such settlement settle-ment of the vexed question as your wisdom may devise confident that your action will embody the spirit of the golden rule The statement was presented by Jane F Bashford Loise S Parker and Ada C Butcher No sooner had the communication of the women delegates been offered than Dr Kynett chairman of the committee com-mittee on eligibility submitted a majority ma-jority report I briefly announced that the committee had decided that the WOMEN WERE ENTITLED TO SEATS in the convention Several delegates arose to defend the report but > there tere was a universal demand for the minority mi-nority report I was a lengthy document docu-ment read by Dr Neeley of Philadelphia Phila-delphia I found that the challenge of the eligibility of the women whose names appear on the roll of the general gen-eral conference is sustained that the election of women by the law electoral conferences is illegal and that to seat the claimants would tend to destroy all respect for the constitution of the church and for the decisions and interpretations inter-pretations of the general conference Thirteen standing committee and a special committee on Bpworth league organized or-ganized permanently this afternoon and will begin work tomorrow Among them are the committee which will consider the advisability of having more bishops and that which will make a recommendation on the proposition to mitigate the SEVERITY OF THE RULE governing the itineracy of ministers Bishop ross said to the Associated Press agent today I believe that more of the bishops than not think our number should be increased by three or four The minority min-ority however is very strong My idea i more bishops are chosen is not to make bishops of India Chin Africa etc but to have them bishops in a general sense so that we can devote what time is necessary neces-sary to this country and certain of us go to foreign lands for what time Is needed to be devoted there The supporters of the woman delegates cause claim tonight that they have certainly cer-tainly won the victory and that the final vote wilt seat the women Their opponents op-ponents while they concede that the other side ha had a large majority of the delegates dele-gates from the start declare their belief to be that the tide was turned by the speeches in the conference today morning The debate Will be resumed tomorrow |