A Visit to the President
By W. A. Colcord
Deputation From the Conference at the White House
MONDAY, May 22, at noon, a deputation of about forty delegates from the General Conference called on President Roosevelt at the White House, and presented to him an address, extending to him the greetings of our people, and setting forth our views respecting civil government. On our part the call was official, the General Conference at its eleventh meeting having authorized the deputation to wait upon the President for the purpose stated. See last week's REVIEW, page 20. The address was beautifully engrossed on parchment paper, eleven by sixteen inches in size. A reduced copy of the address appears on the first page of this number of the REVIEW. The names of the forty members composing the deputation were also all neatly written upon another sheet of the same kind of paper. These sheets were placed on a sheet of heavy grayish-blue paper, and all tastily tied together with red, white, and blue silk ribbon. The document was then rolled up, and tied with the same kinds of ribbon. Elder A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference, headed the deputation, and presented the address to the President. After reading the document over carefully, the President received the deputation very cordially, expressing his appreciation of the call, and of the courteous language in which the address was couched. He then shook hands with each one, and the deputation passed out. The meeting took place in the cabinet office. The names of those constituting the delegation will be found on page 7 in the conference proceedings. One object in making this call on the President, besides wishing him well, was that we might place ourselves on record before the nation and the whole world, as believers in civil government and in its divine origin and institution. Our enemies have charged us, and doubtless will charge us again, with not believing in civil government. This official pronouncement of our views on this subject from the General Conference to the President of the United States, will forever be a denial to this false charge. For this and other reasons many of our people will doubtless desire to preserve a copy of this important and historical document, and it would be well if they would do so.21 The address also shows that we are Protestants, and that we therefore believe in the American idea of civil government; in other words, in religious liberty and in the total separation of church and state. Reports of the visit appeared in the Washington daily papers, the Evening Star, and Washington Times of May 22, and the Washington Post of May 23. Let all our people remember what took place in Washington, May 22, 1905. When charged with being anarchists, and enemies of law and order, and opposed to civil government, this event will be a convenient and ready refutation to the false accusation. Although adjourned for a considerable portion of the day, the conference, we feel, did important business, and made good progress on this day.