man, D.D. In January, 1889, the Board revised somewhat the plans of the League, adapting them more completely to the work of a young people's society, and by the 1st of May in the same year the Oxford League had enrolled over five hundred chapters, with a membership of probably more than twenty thousand.

In the meantime a number of societies had arisen (see Appendix), some of them flourishing to a marked degree. Since Rise of other the aim of these societies was the

same

societies.

it would be a manifest economy of power if they could in some way be merged into one, with one staff of officers and one literature. A growing desire for unity culminated in a conference of all the general young people's societies of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which assembled in Cleveland, O., May 14, 1889, at the invitation of the Methodist Alliance. Delegates were The Cleveland present from the Young People's Conference. Methodist Alliance, the Oxford League, the Young People's Christian League, the Young People's Methodist Union, and the Young People's Methodist Episcopal Alliance of the North Ohio Conference.

Each society and its features were duly presented, a spirit of mutual concession was shown, and, after thorough discussion and earnest prayer, it was unanimously resolved that all existing societies be merged into one new society for the entire Church, to be called the Epworth League.

The

"The object of the Epworth League is to promote an earnest, intelligent, practical, and Epworth loyal spiritual life in the young people of our Church, to aid them in constant growth in grace and in the attainment of purity of heart."

League.

Any young people's society in the Methodist Episcopal Church may become an affiliated chapter of the Epworth League upon certain easy conditions. The departments, uniquely represented in the famous wheel devised by B. E. Helman, Esq., and afterward

*This statement was adopted by the delegates of the societies at Cleveland, May 15, 1889. At the first meeting of the Board of Control, in Chicago, February 6, 1890, it was revised as follows:

"The object of the League is to promote intelligent and loyal piety in the young members and friends of the Church, to aid them in the attainment of purity of heart and in constant growth in grace, and to train them in works of mercy and help.”

slightly modified by the Board of Control, are as follows:

Mr. B. E. Helman, from whom came the

principal features of the Epworth League Constitution, has written and published a leaflet upon "The Theory and Practice of the New Departure." This is an explanation of the peculiar system of organization which is laid down in the model constitution. We copy a portion of the leaflet for our readers:

"Our church societies for young people are schools for the development of the highest type of Christian character. We are to take man as he is, cultivate in him the Christian graces, harmonize discordant elements in his nature, teach him how to live, and keep him ever in the way that leads to life eternal. This means that his growth and development must be harmonious, that we must touch him. upon all sides, and yet that all of these currents of life and activity must blend in character as pure as the distilled dew of heaven, as stable as the everlasting hills-character that can triumph over the most adverse circumstances, turning them into means of its own advancement; character that can transfigure and glorify the humblest lot.' It may be that in the past too much attention has been given to development along one line. It is a very easy matter to give too much prominence to, and to make too much of, the social feature in young people's societies. There are those who believe that in some organizations too much attention has been given to intellectual culture, and there are those who believe that in still other societies social and literary de

velopment have received too little attention. The idea of the new departure'-the Epworth League-is to take man as he is, to recognize the qualities—moral, mental, and social-which make him what he is, and to use all of these for the glory of God and to make man what he ought to be.

"To do this and to attend to the usual business of an organization we have divided the work of the League among six divisions, each of which is called a department, just as is done in a store or factory or in national affairs. Certain kinds of work are detailed in the diagram to be planned for and looked after by each department. This is done in this way: As soon as possible after the election of officers the cabinet (that is, the officers) take the list of names of the members and assign them to the various departments, aiming to place each member in that department for which he is best fitted and where he can and will do the best work. A is a person of influence and peculiarly fitted for service in the department of Christian work, and he is assigned to that. B is a lover of books, and he is placed in the department of literary work.