News: Southern Baptist Convention cancelled

Finally, some good news ...

 

The limit was not 50 people for every meeting, but conventions that included more than 50 people from outside the immediate area. The First Baptist Church could continue to hold meetings of far more than 50, for example, and football games and other local events were likewise exempt.

On Jan. 5, James Byrnes, director of War Mobilization and Reconversion, asked that conventions of 50 people after Feb. 1, 1945 be canceled and that hotels refuse reservations for such events.

To enforce the "voluntary" order, the Office of Defense Transportation required permits for conventions that would attract more than 50 people from beyond the urban/suburban area. A convention whose attendees were from the local area could have conventions of any size.

The rationale of the government was to free up railroad seats and hotel rooms for military transportation and lodging.

Only 53 permits were granted from among 1,331 applications by March 1.

Religious conventions were among the most favored to receive permits; although I cannot find a source to determine whether the SBC applied for a permit. The report in the 1945 Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention seems to indicate that the convention agreed to the government's request and did not seek a permit. (http://media2.sbhla.org.s3.amazonaws.com/annuals/SBC_Annual_1945.pdf, page 21)

Source: Civilian War Transport, 1941-1946, Office of Defense Transportation, Civilian War Transport