Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 September 1901 — Rensselaer Gets Next Conference. [ARTICLE]

Rensselaer Gets Next Conference.

Through the able efforts of Rev. C. D. Iloyce, the next annual meeting of the Northwest Indiana M. E. Conference will be held at Rensselaer. Following is Rev: Royce’s address to the conference, asking that it come to this citynext year: ‘‘Rensselaer invites the North West Indiana Conference to hold its next session there. The invitation is the unanimous and enthusiastic action of the quarterly conference and has beeq officially concurred in by other churches of our city. We are not asking the conference to come to us simply because we believe the time has come that it is our duty to entertain it. We count it our PRIVILEGE to entertain you and YOUR DUTY to accept the invitation. Of the many reasons why you ought to come to us I will mention only a few. The conference has never met in our city. In 1902 it will be seven years since it was held in our district. It has been in every other district once and in two of them twice since the last meeting in our district. And yet in this period the district hasexlended two cordial invitations, neither ol which was accepted. Six of the last seven sessions have been at points not farther north than Lafayette. We believe that the conference of 1902 ought to come north, it should come to Valparaiso District, and if you do this you must _ come to Rensselaer.—We—further, that a meeting of conference with us would be a great uplift to Methodism in our community and will advance the spiritual interests generally. And lam sure also that it will be a pleasure to you to come. So I not only think you ought to accept our invitation but I believe you will want to do so As to railroad facilities, we are on the main line of the Monon road north of Monon so that we have the trains of both divisions. This gives us six trains each way daily. I have looked up the route of every preacher to Rensselaer and I find that sixty-one members and fourteen supplies can reach there without change of cars. Only nine will have to travel on more than two lines and none will have more than two changes of cars. Compare this with the fact that only twenty-nine can reach Brazil without change of cars. While Rensselaer now has only one railroad yet we are booked for an important east and west line, part of which is already built, which we hope will be in operation within the year. But even with our present facilities more preachers can reach Rensselaer without change of cars than any other city in the conference that is not on the Monon railroad. In this regard we outrank Terre Haute. Brazil, Lebanon, Attica, Plymouth, Valparaiso, South Bend, LaPorte and Michigan City. And leaving now the question of how to get to Rensselaer, I will simply say that when you do go there you will be delighted. We have one of the prettiest places in the state. It abounds in handsome residences and these are increasing rapidly in number. The lots are large, the lawns magnificent and well kept. The streets are broad and well paved. We have many miles of cement side walks with broad grass plots between the walk and curb on the principal streets. Our school system is one of the best, well manned and equipped. We are progressive in public enterprise and ofler to our preachers a study in municipal ownership in our excellent plant by which we are furnished with light and water and by which also our school buildings are heated, all of which is the property of Jhe city. Jasper county has without question the finest court house in the state in proportion to population and one of the handsomest without regard to population. And last, but not least, the public spirit of the church and community is shown by the fact that they have just completed the finest parsonage in the conference. But that is the way the people bf Rensselaer have of doing things. Whatever they undertake they will do well. 1 can assurse you that the invitation we are now extending is given with open-handed and openhearted cordiality, and in this matter as in other things we will do well what w<f undertake. Come with us and we wiH do you tgood.” No changes of importance were made in the assignment of ministers in this section, all being returned, even to Rev. A. P. DeLong |o Goodland, where he has already been six years. Rev. A. H. his brother and a former pastor at Remington, goes to Monticello, succeeding Rev. Briggs, who goes to Attica.