Memorial Stadium, Chattanooga, Tenn., July 4—The proposal for organic union of the Methodist Episcopal church and the Methodist Episcopal church, South, was approved late today by the general conference of the southern church in special session here. It now goes to the annual conference for ratification.
The two-thirds majority for adoption had been polled when 277 votes had been cast and the clerk had nearly 100 more delegates to poll.
The Methodist Episcopal general conference at Springfield, Mass., recently accepted the proposal and ordered it submitted to its annual conference in 1925, if the southern general conference should act favorably.
The official vote was 207 to 75.
Should two-thirds of the members of the southern conference ratify the proposal, the next step would be a meeting of the bishops of the two churches as one body to notify their respective general conferences of ratification of the union.
They also would call upon the two conferences to meet in joint session in the same session.
The regular general conference of the regular conference of the north church not meeting again until 1928, special conference probably would be called in May, 1926, when the regular general conference of the southern church will be in session.
The conference adopted a resolution requesting the annual conference that when they vote on ratification be done by secret ballot was adopted.
The conference adjourned at 6:33 p.m. after approving the minutes of the session.
Should the merger become effective it would unite into one body approximately 7,000,000,000 Methodists in the country and heal a breach that has existed since separation in 1844.
It was 80 years ago this month, 16 years before the outbreak of the war between the sttes, that the church divided upon the question of the powers of general conference and the rights of the episcopacy, according to Bishop Horace M. Dubose, of the southern church. Bishop James O. Andrews, of Georgia, had married a Georgian who became a slave owner. Under the laws of Georgia the slaves of his wife became legally his own, although he was an opponent of slavery. the majority of the general conference, as a result, demanded he cease exercising the functions of a bishop of the church so long as he remained a slave owner.
Bishop Andrews declared he had done nothing contrary to the moral regulations or rules of the denomination and that no charge of immorality, mal-administration or anything in violation of the constitution of the church had been filed. Nothing he had done, he maintained, could be regarded as criminal or immoral. The tension arising from the situation resulted in a mutual agreement by the northern and southern members to separate. Contrary to a widespread impression that the southerners “withdrew” from the conference, the supreme court of the United States later held that the rupture was a mutual proposition.
One of the most dramatic of the many stirring incidents since the conference convened Tuesday morning, occurred today shortly before the delegations began balloting. Dr. Robert T. Schuler, a product of the Houston conference but now of Los Angeles, and pastor of the largest southern Methodist church on the continent, was recognized to speak against unification under the plan proposed.
He explained that he had been working for organic union of the two churches for 10 years and that while he still favored unification, the plan under discussion did not offer what was needed.
Dr. Shuler, 41 years of age, but in appearance a man in his early thirties and regarded by church men as one of the most magnetic speakers of any denomination on the entire Pacific coast, was filled with his subject and soon had the conference cheering, even though it proved later that the majority did not agree with him. His collar became unfastened—the delegates shouted to him to take it off. He continued his address minus the collar but with his cravat still about his neck. Perspiration appeared and the delegates literally forced him to remove his coat. When he left the platform with his collar in hand and coat under arm, he was given a rousing ovation.
The conference began the day by resuming debate on the entire unification subject and shortly before the noon recess, realizing the discussion would continue for days if permitted, for no limit had been fixed, it adopted a resolution to begin balloting at 5 p.m. At the resumption of the afternoon session the time was moved up half an hour because of the time to be consumed in the roll call, on a minority report of the southern members of this joint unification commission, and on the majority report recommending acceptance. the minority had been offered as a substitute for the majority report.
Shortly before balloting was due the conference, to save time, agreed upon a standing vote on the minority report, and a roll call on acceptance of the plan. The minority report was defeated 275 to 66.
From the front page of the Concord Daily Tribune, Saturday, July 5, 1924
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