186 / World War I and Reconstruction Work

tian's duty in a shattered world and persons attending remember the occasion with deep feeling. Among those planning the conference and participating prominently in it were a number of the Ohio men: J. C. Meyer, J. R. Allgyer, O. R. Liechty, O. B. Gerig, R. M. Stemen, Chauncey Kauffman, Eli Stoltzfus, Bishop S. E. Allgyer, and Vernon Smucker.

The importance of the conference lay in its vision of a new role for nonresistant Christians to play in the peace that had at last come. The conference had as one of its objectives that of rallying youth to bring a Christian witness and reconciliation to the world. The conference theme was that relief and reconstruction after war is not the extent of the Christian's duty; he must be an instrument through which God reconciles men to each other and so "maketh wars to cease." It was the conviction of those attending the conference that Mennonite bodies should cooperate in relief and reconstruction work, forgetting petty differences in a world suffering from war. This cooperation, it was certain, should be on a worldwide basis. The time had come, this froup felt, when the Anabaptist Mennonite heritage should be rediscovered, studied, and made known.

Looking to the future, it was asserted that the several Mennonite groups should develop more Christian schools and expand missions and relief work on a long-range basis. A broadening awareness of social and economic problems both inside and outside Mennonite circles was hoped for. The conference went on record as opposing universal military training and also expressed sympathy for conscientious objectors in prison."

The conference had important results in that it was the forerunner to the Young People's Conferences held in the Middle West, the first convening at West Liberty, Ohio, in August of 1920.11

Resolution of Appreciation

The experiences of World War I taught much to both the Mennonite Church, the young men who were conscripted, and the government. By and large, it brought a sense of appreciation of government to the Mennonites whose centuries-old stand on war had undergone a new test. The experiences in European countries, with the exception of England, had not always been marked with the degree of tolerance that obtained in the United States. Lessons were learned in World War I which laid a foundation for a differ-