OCR Text |
Show METHODISTS ABOUT EOUW DMDEDj Conference Wrestling Willi Recommendation to Abol-. Abol-. ish Amusement Rule. LONG DEBATE CERTAIN Committee Appointed to Consider Con-sider Demands of Negroes for a Bishop. MINNEAPOLIS.. May 8. Ministers of the Methodist Episcopal church :ip. pea reel to he equally divi.letl tonight on the question -whether the church law prohibiting dancing, card playing, gambling ami going to theatora, eir-cuses eir-cuses and horse races should be abolished, abol-ished, as recommended by the board of bishops. On the ground that their investigations investiga-tions showed that two-thirds of tho 2,250,000 members of the church either dajiced or went to circuses and theaters, the-aters, without regarding it as being sinful, the bishops declared that tho church law against these diversions, in force for forty years, has become obsolete. They said that while the ehurrh would continue to protest against these forms of amusement, still it was better bet-ter not to have auy specific law on the sub.iect thau to have a law that was ineffective. The demonstration which greeted Bishop Earl Cranston's reading of the recommendation was taken, as indicating a lively debate on the question. Motion Voted Down, A motion declaring that the rule "always had been a source of coustant irritation and unrest in the church," and asking that it. be referred to a committee com-mittee was promptly voted down, arguments argu-ments being presented that the full conference was "going to settle that question and no one else- No sooner was the motion made than James I. Bartholomew of Bedford, Mass., had, the floor. "I knew of a high school bo', who in studying English, En-glish, weut to see 'Macbeth.' It was tho duty of the pastor, without option, to expel the boy from the church on the ground that he had violated thi3 supposed law. A jury acting under the rule would have to expel, but a jury uetiug under Wesley's rule would certainly cer-tainly not expel." Arguments on Rule. Arguments against coutiuuing the auti-nmuseinent rule as presented were: "That the majority of churchgoors (Continued on Page Fourteen.) METHODISTS ABOUT EQUALLY 0I1EO (Continued from Page One.) never have refrained from dancing and attending theaters because of tho church, and the violation of this rule has tended to bring all church discipline into contempt. "That mauy people regard Shakespeare Shake-speare on the stage as good ns Shakespeare Shake-speare in a book. "That ninny people refuse to condemn con-demn all pla's because of sonic of them, just as much as they would refuse to condemn all novels because Eome novels wore not proper. "That gambling is fundainently wrong and does not need a rule to prohibit pro-hibit it." Against abolishing the rule arguments were: "It would give the impression that the church was tending toward laxity lax-ity and that the church was indorsing the things which it formally opposed. It would remove the restrictions which held people from these forms of amuse-mcnt." amuse-mcnt." Resolution Adopted. In adopting a resolution offered by James W. Ajadcrson of Keokuk, Iowa, denouncing Secretary of Agriculture James Wilsou for accepting an honorary hon-orary chairmanship of a brewers 3 congress con-gress in Chicago last October, the conference con-ference dcclarod that E'residenl, Taft, oecretary vujsou auu secretary ol State Knox "bavo forfeited all claims on the future franchiso of tho Christian and sober manhood of the nation because be-cause thoy had ignored appeals thai no government official attend the congress.' con-gress.' ' Secretary Wilson 's explanation explana-tion that he attended the congress because be-cause he was iuterosted in the growth of hops nud barloy was described as an "insult and frivolous.'1 The conference today uppointcd a commission of thirty delegates to cou-iiider cou-iiider the demand of some of the negro delegates that they be given a negro bishop to supervise tho affairs of 325,-000 325,-000 negro members of the church in the southern 6tates. |