THe C^IpIr OFTHE HOMG h^MND jiiim!fflgmffl)i;em«!atfg;!:})i!iii!!!;i^iiw;}ii[ja;!;!ii{ii!iJiiit;iiii'i!;i;;ii;;;;'!<^;r:j-iH!ni jJ|j!j« of Cheistiawity or North Ameeica, At the beginning of the Sixteenth Century the i cond'r religious life of Europe was marked by ignorance Europe and corruption — ignorance as to the fundamental teachings of the Bible and corruption in public and private morals. Here and there one might see signs of awakening. Columbus' bold venture upon the untried ocean had been rewarded by the dis- covery of a new world, and soon Cortez in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru laid the foundations of the Spanish Empire this side of the Atlantic. To the North, John and Sebastian Cabot for the English and Cortereal for the Spanish had explored the coast from Labrador to Elorida. Before the first quarter of the century had passed Magellan had rounded Cape Horn. The mind of Europe was filled with visions of new lands to conquer, and its horizon grew rapidly wider. New people with strange languages, customs, and religions came into view on every hand. Here and there men dared to think, and the rapid progress in the art of print- ing gave them a new vehicle for their thoughts. Copernicus gave the world his new theory of the nniverse in 1543. Sculpture and painting through Miehael-angelo and Raphael reached a rare de- 15 16 The Call of the Home Land gree of excellence, while great cathedrals and monasteries showed marvellous skill in architec- ture. Martin Luther (1483-1546) broke the chains which had held the church in ignorance and corruption, and laid the foundation of German literature, freedom, and evangelical faith by trans- lating the Bible into the language of the people. John Calvin (1509-1564) reduced the theology of the reformers to a system, and organized the forces tending to freedom. Henry VIII (1491-1547) broke away from the tyranny of Rome and opened the way for the establishment of the reformed faith in England. In the ISTetherlands the fierce struggle for reformed faith and free government resulted in the expulsion of the cruel Spaniard. In France the reformed faith had reached such formidable power that to suppress it Catharine de Medici devised the Massacre of St. Bartholomew (1572). In Spain the power of the papacy was absolute, and the Eeformed were persecuted to death. 2. Begrinniner At the time of the Jamestown, Va., settlement (SntiSy (1607) learning had revived in Europe, literature flourished, science had made great progress, the power of the papacy had been broken in England and Holland, while in France the Reformed faith numbered its adherents by tens of thousands. Spain was still in the power of the papacy. Men had here and there tasted the joy of civil liberty. So when men's faces turned toward America they Entrance and Spread, &c. 17 carried with them an advanced civilization, a knowledge of good government, and a thirst for liberty. Those coming from England and Hol- land, as well as multitudes from France, brought the reformed faith and an open Bible. Many from France and all from Spain brought the Ro- man Catholic faith unchanged. Wars, religious interests, and political oppression combined with the love of adventure and the hope of gain to drive and to draw them forth to a new continent. On the Island of Hayti at Isabella, in the year 3. Entrance 1494, the Roman Catholic Church consecrated its j^y Througii first chapel in the ^ew World. On his second t^e south voyage, Columbus, who was himself a deeply relig- ious man, brought twelve priests and a vicar apos- tolic. Luther was then a lad of ten years, and Calvin was not born. Many of the early Spanish, Portuguese, and French explorers carried with them zealous missionaries. They took possession of new countries in the name of "the Church — the Queen and Sovereign of the World," to quote a favorite phrase. The Spanish first entered the continent of ISTorth America by way of Mexico, which w^as conquered by Cortez in 1518. Here the papal church established itself firmly; and ¥rom this as a center, missionaries were sent north, and a line of missions was established from Florida to California before the beginning of the lYth century. The oldest church building in the United States is San Miguel in Sante Fe, New 18 The Call of the Home Land Mexico. These missionary movements present many scenes of unexcelled devotion, invincible pur- pose, patient toil, and sublime martyrdom. Un- appalled by the New World barbarians, the emis- saries of the papacy hastened to bring them to her embrace. Her religious orders, with organiza- tions well adapted to missionary work, were already extended through many countries, and in the same epoch with the American discoveries the new order of the Jesuits, expressly intended for missionary labors, arose and hastened to achieve its earliest triumphs on the new continent "Habituated to self-denial, a solitary man, with no earthly tie to make life dearer than the call of duty ; a man who had renounced not only the luxu- ries, but most of the comforts of life, the Catholic missionary, crufix in hand, bearing a few arti- cles of church service, hastened to rear the cross amid the scenes of idolatrous worship." * SSS E^^ly i^ t^6 16th century France eagerly en- CathoUca tered the contest for the exploration and posses- **^^^ sion of this country. In 1608 Champlain founded Quebec, and pushed his way to Lake Huron. The Roman Catholics, under French encouragement and protection, established a line of missions, rather thin at certain points, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Mississippi. They undoubtedly hoped to control the whole east^ em half of the continent Bancroft says in Shears Catholic Missions in the TJ. S. : "It wa« Entrance and Spread, &c. 19 neither commercial enterprise nor royal ambition which carried the power of France into the heart of our continent; the motive was religion. Re- ligious enthusiasm colonized New England, and religious enthusiasm founded Montreal, made a conquest of the wilderness on the upper lakes, and explored the Mississippi." "Not a cape was turned nor a river entered but a Jesuit led the way." The Protestant faith did not get a permanent 5. Protest- hold in America until the English colony settled ^J^^" at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. Says Dorchester: leo? "This Virginia colony was a Christian colony in intention and in fact. The charter required the maintenance of religious worship; boroughs were erected into parishes, with glebes and other provis- ions for the clergy. The Assembly and the Gov- ernor were urged to civilize the natives and bring them under the influence of the Gospel, and Indian children were educated." In Virginia the Church of England was established by law. Here the Cavalier founded a miniature English court with its elegant manners, its royal prerogatives, its gayety, and religion of ease. Driven from their homes in England by relig- ^\ ^h® lous persecution, the Puritans and Pilgrims sought Arrive in peace and liberty in the new world. Landing at ^®^^ Plymouth Rock in 1620, they gradually took pos- session of all New England. A close and reverent student of the Bible, a lover of religious and civil 20 The Call of the Home Land freedom, a patron of learning, with moral stan- dards the most rigid, the Puritan made an indeli- ble stamp upon his section and upon the new conti- nent 7. The jj^ ^jjg Carolinas and Georgia there came for set' Caxolinas ° i o i and Georgria tlement men of many creeds. Scotch and Scotch- Irish Presbyterians from Scotland and Ireland, Huguenots from Prance, Moravians from Ger- many, brought their creed, their institutions, and culture. 8. The In 1609 the Dutch entered New York, and then states passed into JSTew Jersey and Pennsylvania. They did not come because of persecution at home, but simply for wealth. They brought with them their Calvinistic creed and their established (Dutch) Peformed Church. Bold, enterprising, free, eco- nomical, they gave America an excellent type of federal union. Pennsylvania's population was originally Quaker, afterwards reinforced by the Scotch-Irish and Dutch. In Delaware there was an early settlement of Lutherans from Sweden. 9. The Driven by papal persecution from France, the Huguenots Huguenots came to America in great numbers. They scattered over the territory of the original colonies. French in temperament and Calvinistic in creed, they made a most valuable addition to the religious life of the New World. 10. Boman- In the heart of the Protestant colonies of the Maryland -^.tlantic Coast the English Romanists in 1633 made a settlement in Maryland. "Landing on Entrance and Spread, &c. 21 Blackstone Island, they offered the sacrifice of the mass, raised the cross as a trophy to Christ, and chanted on bended knees the litany of the Cross." To the enlightened policy of Lord Baltimore was due the fact that large religious liberty was here guaranteed to the settlers. Whether the European Christian entered the ^^' .^f/^' r can Heathen N^ew World by north or by south or between the two, he came at once face to face with the heathen Indian. At his door lay the problem of home and foreign missions united. The work of evan- gelizing these savages began at once. Romanist and Protestant alike preached to them, meeting with varying success. A narrow, bigoted, medieval Romanism in the 12. o igi- extreme N^orth and South and West, somewhat porcses °"^ relieved by the more liberal sort in Maryland, stood side by side vdth the Puritan and Cavalier types of Protestantism, pledged to the conquest of the new continent. Both had the double task of win- ning the savages in the forest and caring for the ever increasing numbers coming from Europe. They are still engaged in the same work, while new problems incident to the progress of civiliza- tion have added greatly to the burden of evangeli- zation. We shall henceforth consider the spread of Protestantism alone, and because of the limita- tions of space shall confine the inquiry to the seven largest denominations, Baptist, Christian or Disciples, Congregational, Episcopal, Lutfieran, 22 The Call of the Home Land Methodist, and Preshyterian, overlooking the di- visions of each of these. The principal factor* in this first religious struggle were the Baptists, the Congregationalists, the Episcopalians and the Pres- hyterians^ the Christians, Lutherans and Metho- dists coming into prominence later. 13. The j'or fully a hundred years after the settlement Ptnrt Prob- _ i ,. i • • lem at J amestown these four denominations were main- ly concerned with the problem of self-support. Churches were built in the seaports of the Atlantic at the very first, and, as the population extended westward into the wilderness, the Church went with it The state of religion was low, although it was now and then quickened by a revival. As one of the results of the revival led by Jonathan Ed- wards in !N"ew England in 1Y34-1740, the mission- ary spirit grew strong, and David Brainerd was sent in 1742i to the Indians. Perhaps the most re- liable estimate that can be found^ shows that in 1775 eleven denominations — including Romanists — in the United States had 1,461 ministers and 1,- 970 churches. At this time, the total population was 2,640,000. Denominational Expansion. 'sk "^t ^^ ^ denomination, the Baptists became promi- Churc5h nent first in Rhode Island in 1629, under the lead- ership of Roger Williams. In spite of fines, im- prisonment, and other bitter persecutions, they con- tinued to spread. In 1775 they had 350' minister* ^See Dorchester's Christianity in the n. S.. p. 256. Entrance and Spread, &c 23 and 380 elm relies. They have been characterized by zeal for New Testament doctrine, for religious liberty and for missionary zeal. They take their place among the most aggressive of all Christian bodies. Early in the 19th century, by a sort of impulse is The from three different sections of the country, a num- oigc.pies ber of Christians came gradually together because Ohorcu of a common belief in certain doctrines, and united into a denomination called "Christian," saying in their platform, "The name of Christian is the only name of distinction which we take, and by which we as a denomination desire to be known, and the Bible is our only rule of faith and practice." They have grown with astonishing rapidity. The Congregationalists began their life in con^^- America with the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620, tionai being an extension of the English Independents, cn^^^^hea In government, like the Baptists, they are purely democratic, each church being independent of all others, though associated for purposes of discussion, inspiration, and extension. For nearly a hundred years they were confined mainly to New England. Later they spread rapidly through the Middle and Western States, being honored of God as one of the chief agencies for the evangelization of the West. This is an extension to America of the Estab- i^- ^ ^ lished Church of England and entered America Episcopal through Virginia in 1607. In Virginia it was the church only Church that had a legal existence and was 24 The Call of the Home Land supported bj taxation until 1YT6, although a ma- jority of the people were then "dissenters." The basis of its theology is the Thirty-nine Articles. It is governed by canon law, administrated chiefly through diocesan bishops. With the Romanists, Methodists and Lutherans, they represent the mon- archical form of church government. Its princi- pal strength has been in the cities and large towns. It has become very active in missionary work at home and abroad. 18. The This historic Church, founded by Martin Luther, Lutheran . ' '' I Church was represented m the Dutch colony of 1621, and its first building was erected in 1671. The first organization of ministers and churches was made in 1748. It is composed largely of immigrants from Germany, ISTorway, and Sweden, with their immediate descendants. Its creed was mainly formed from the teachings of the great reformer, while its government is episcopal. 19. The Under the leadership of John Wesley this Methodist r-^^ ^ p 1 • H^r./-v 1 <• Church CJhurch was formed m 1739' as a result of a split in the Church of England. Its theology is Armi- nian. It is governed under a code of laws called "The Discipline," whose administration is lodged mainly in the hands of bishops unconfined to a definite territory. Their first services were held in ISTew York City in 1766, and their first church building was erected in 1768. Their rapid spread over the whole land has been one of the most re- markable events in all church history. Entrance and Spread, &c. 25 The Presbyterian and Eeformed Churches 20. Tbe trace their origin chiefly to Scotland and Holland, ^erian and Their doctrine and government are much the same, gj^^^' Together they represent the purest Calvinism, and stand for republicanism in government. The Eeformed (Dutch) Church was first planted in New York in 1628. The first Presbyterian Church was organized on the Eastern Shore of Maryland about 1685. They represent the most conserva- tive type in American Church life. It is thus seen that among the Protestant 21. Reiig- churches in America there are represented the great °^ ^"^^^ historic types of church-life. The Arminian doc- trine, represented chiefly by the Methodists, goes arm in arm with the Calvinistic represented chief- ly by the Baptists and Presbyterians, to the con- quest of our land. The three great forms of church government, the monarchical represented chiefly by the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches, the republican, represented chiefly by the Presbyterians, and the democratic, represented chiefly by the Baptists and Congregationalists, are striving to bring the whole land into subjection to the Lord Jesus. Each has made a distinct contri- bution to our American Christianity. In our country, in the unfolding of God's plans |2.^^^ these various religious ideas, incorporated in living p^^j.^^ organizations, have been brought to play upon its evangelization and up-building. The ideas, lib- erty of conscience, freedom in worship, a free 26 The Call of the Home Land Church, in a free State, organized spiritual demoo racy, the most unlimited freedom in the formation of opinion and its expression, came to us in various degrees of perfection from Europe. Thej have been modified and brought toward perfection by discussion and have been made unconscious ele- ments of our present day and every day religion. We have added almost nothing to the essential the- ology, government, and -worship of the Church. With wonderful unanimity as to the essential teachings of the Bible, with forms of denomina- tional government varied enough to suit all temper- aments and shades of opinion and well adjusted to our ideas of freedom, with forms of worship at once free and reverent, American Christianity has made them all sweet with abundant toleration. Forced by the necessity of adapting an old and set- tled faith to ever-changing conditions of life, "Vfe have brought our Church organization to a rare degree of economy and efficiency. To-day the trend of thought is toward greater unity in essen- tials in order to economy and strength. The five ideas — ^freedom, toleration, organization , unity, and expansion — ^make American Christianity to- day. This type by virtue of its beauty and strength must be perfected by discussion and through the struggle incident to its life. Its power to produce an ample manhood entitles it to perpetuation. Loy- alty to Jesus Christ absolutely requires us to make It universal. Every man and woman is called to Entrance and Spread, &c. 27 this fruitful work hj the Lord Jesus himself, who after planning the work will energize the worker by the power of the Holy Spirit. The following table of Religious Denomina- tions in the United States, with 50,000 communi- cants and over, is compiled from statistics pre- pared by Dr. H. K. Carroll, for the "Christian Advocate," 1909. Dbnominations MlOTSTBES Churches COMMTTNICANTS AdventistB 1.122 2,469 89,081 Baptists 40,354 55,226 6,435,074 Catholics 16,123 12,962 12,117,406 Christian Connection 1,011 1,879 85,717 Christian Scientists 1,386 668 86,096 Congregatlonalists 6,026 6,012 721,553 Disciples of Christ 8,634 13,672 1,431,383 Dunkards 1906 3,166 1,138 116,311 Evangellca Bodies 1,496 2,658 177,416 Friends 1,395 1,097 118,627 German Evangelical Synod 985 1,269 238,805 Jews 1,084 1,769 143,000 Latter Day Saints, (Mormons) 1,774 1,184 266,296 Lutherans 8,199 13,256 2,080,766 Mennonites 1,006 604 54,798 Methodists 42.791 61,940 6,825,971 Presbyterians 12,800 16,147 1,807,564 Protestant Episcopal 6,287 7,728 895,822 Reformed 2,047 2,626 437,501 United Brethren 2,240 4,697 300,699 Unitarians 641 461 70,542 Unvlsersallsts 724 486 68,012 Oiand Total of 43 Denominations 160,041 204,466 88,561,340 Questions and Hints. 1. A map of Europe at the beginning oi the I7th ■•entury with separate colors to show the countries 28 The Call of the Home Land where the Reformed and Roman Church predomi- nated. It would be best to have a member of the class make this map. A map showing the distribution of the Protest- ant and Roman churches in the American colonies at the beginning of the ITth century. , Get pictures of Columbus, De Soto, Pere Mar- quette, Champlain, Martin Luther, John Calvin, of the remains at Jamestown, Va., of the landing of the Pilgi'ims at Plymouth, Mass., of the San Miguel Church in Santa Pe, ISTew Mexico, and of other persons and places connected with the intro- duction of Christianity into America. Let some one of the class tell the story of each picture. Give a brief account of the state of learning in Europe at the beginning of the 16th century; of government ; of religion. 2. What changes can be noted at the beginning of the 17th century ? What effects had the discov- ery of new lands upon religious thought ? 3. Where did Christianity enter the United States ? Wlien ? By what Church ? What con- nection between discovery and religion ? Trace briefly the spread of Romanism in the South. 4. Sketch briefly the introduction of Romanism into Canada. Wliat was its probable purpose in extending West and Southwest ? 5. When did Protestantism enter America ? Where ? Under what form ? How far did religion enter into the plans of the Jamestown colony ? Entrance and Spread, &c. 29 6. Give some account of the origin and settle- ment of the Pilgrim colony in Massachusetts. 7. What religious types first entered the Caro- linas and Georgia ? 8. Where did the Dutch first settle ? The Scotch- Irish? The Quakers? The Lutherans? 9. "^^Tiere did the Huguenots come from ? What brought them to America ? Where did they set' tie? 10. How did the Romanists who settled Mary- land differ from those who settled further South ? 11. Discuss the religion of the American In- dians. 12. What religious types first appeared in America ? What was their common task ? 13. What was the first problem given Protestant' ism ? What was the state of religion early in the 18th century ? Who was the leader of the revival ? What missionary went to the Indians as a result ? 14. Sketch the origin and growth of the Baptist Church in America. Discuss its distinctive mes- sage. 15. Do this for the Christian Church. 16. Do this for the Congregational Church. 17. Do this for the Protestant Episcopal Church. 18. Do this for the Lutheran Church. 19. Do this for the Methodist Church. 20. Do this for the Presbyterian Church. 21. What religious ideas first entered America ? How have these ideas been affected by American 30 The Call of the Home Land discussion? What five ideas make iAmerican Christianity to-day ? Discuss these ideas more fully. What is our duty towards this religious type? Is the task possible? Why? \Vhat part are you taking in your church work in order to in- crease its efficiency ? What can you do to help the church life about you ? If all church workers were like you what would be the condition of your church to-day ? Are you prepared to take the place you are entitled to by reason of your birth and education ? Are you helping or hindering the growth of the church? Bibliography. Outline of Universal History, Fisher. History of the Christian Church. Fisher. Any standard history of the United States, such as Bancroft, McMaster, or Wilson. Christianity in the United States. Dorchester. History of Christianity in the United States. Bacon. The Story of the Churches, a series of volumes published by The Baker Taylor Company, each written by some recognized authority within his denomination. u. Original Inhabitants. Our forefathers as soon as they landed in the New World were brought face to face with the American Indians who have ever been a source of anxiety. As the far Southwest was settled our ancestors touched the Mexicans, who are still with us in increasing numbers. These original inhabitants constitute to-day an important element of our Home Mission problem and may be studied here separately with profit. A. The Indians. The origin of the American Indian is still i. Origin, uncertain. From their languages and certain physical characteristics it seems probable that they came from Eastern Asia. When the Europeans first came to America 2 Location, they found the Indians along the whole of the eastern coast. They seem to have roamed over the whole of the territory now included in the United States, and extended North into Canada •and South into Mexico. The boundaries sepa- rating the tribes were not fixed, though some of the tribes were in a general way to be found in certain localities. They moved about freely as the supply of game and the exigencies of war demanded. As civilization advanced westward 31 32 The Call of the Home Land. thev withdrew into the interior. A few tribes still live on lands reserved for them in the older States, as New York and North Carolina, and some are mixed with the general population, as in Maine, Virginia and Florida. By far the great majority live west of the Mississippi, and Oklahoma contains more than any other State. 3 Racial The typical Indian, male and female, was of Traits. ^ high type, physically and mentally. The men were tall and robnst T^ith coal-black hair and eyes, high cheek-bones and of a reddish-brovni complexion. With the exception of a few tribes in the far Southwest they did not live in towns. They lived in tents or wigwams, made of poles covered with skins or bark. They had dogs for hunting and horses for hauling and riding. They cultivated Indian corn, or maize, and tobacco. They dressed mainly in skins, which gave place to blankets after white men came in. Their weapons before firearms were introduced by the whites consisted of wooden clubs, stone axes with wooden handles, and bows and arrows. In the making and use of the latter they were very expert. It has been estimated that about two hundred languages may be found among them, alike in structure, but diverse because of the lack of written form and tribal wanderings. Their strong mental powers are exhibited in speeches , ' delivered by their chiefs and now and then re- corded by white men. Like tiiie children of nature, their minds were poetic and their speech highly figurative. Original Inhabitants. 33 They handed down by story the history of the tribes and stirred the imagination of their young by thrilling narratives of the courage and deeds of their forefathers. They communicated with each other on the march by signs cut in the bark of trees or made on the gi'ound by sticks. The Indian character was a mixture of good and evil. They at times were generous, kind and loyal to friends. At other times they were cruel and treacherous in the extreme. They had a natural passion for war, which was the root of much that was worst in them. They at first treated the white man kindly, but feeling that the land was theirs they resisted with great courage the . white man's control and ownership. One of the most distinctive features of Indian 4 Tribal life is the tribal organization. Each tribe had ^^'^• its own laws and customs. They had their rulers, called "sachems." The men, or "braves," hunted and fought, while the women, or "squaws," kept camp and tended the crops. The treatment of women was no worse than in other countries unaffected by Christianity. The origin of this tribal division is unknown. The report of the Indian Commissioner for 1908 summarizes the population thus: Population of five Civilized Tribes, including freed men and inter-married whites, 101,228 Population exclusive of five Civilized Tribes, 199,184 Total Indian Population, exclusive of Alaska, 300,412 34 The Call of the Home Land. 5 Religion The Indians believed in a "Great Spirit" whom they worshipped. They saw indwelling spirits in nearly everything. They believed in prayer and practiced fasting. They had days of thanks- giving and special sacrifice. In illustration of this the following story is told of Tecaughre- tanego, a Delaware chief, who lived in Ohio: "Having recovered from a serious sickness of many weeks, he went outside his tent, built a fire before the door of his wigwam, and laid thereon his single leaf of tobacco. Then he bowed his head and offered this prayer: 'O Great Spirit, this is my last leaf of tobacco, and I know not where I shall get another. Thou knowest how fond I am of tobacco, but I freely give this leaf to Thee and I thank Thee for restoring me to health once more.' " Their forms of worship were "fanciful and crude." Connected with their religion were dances, the chief of which were the Fire Dance, Snake Dance, Sun Dance, and Ghost Dance. The Fire Dance was practiced by the Apaches and Navajoes in honor of the god of fire. The Moquis of Arizona worshipped snake« in the Snake Dance. The Sioux worshipped the sun in connection with the Sun Dance. Many tribes practiced the Ghost Dance before entering on the warpath. The medicine man was both prophet and priest of the Indian religion, and as such he was all- powerful. Says Doyle: "Any young brave who had the 'gift' could aspire to this 'influential position.' The presence of the 'gift' was proven Original Inhabitants. 35 by the endurance of severe physical tests, fasts, rigils, surviving poisonous snake bites and the dreadful sweat bath. The medicine man when in official regalia ceased to be a mere man and became the embodiment and personification of all the powers which he represented. This regalia consisted of a medicine shirt, a medicine hat, a sacred belt, and a mask which inspired great dread. The medicine shirt was made of buckskin covered with symbolical figures. No one was allowed to see the medicine belt or cord because of its sacredness. It is sometimes found •n the braves after death. The medicine hat was likewise very sacredly esteemed. When a white man among the Apaches had the presumption to touch one or to take a picture of it, the Indians were greatly excited and purified both it and themselves with sacred powder. Of an artist who said that the belt would be improved if cleansed of the grease and dirt upon it, they de- manded damages to the extent of thirty dollars. In this pontifical outfit, the medicine man prac- ticed his necromancy and niagical rites with great noise and grotesque action. He alone could perform the incantations and furnish the anointed amulets that were supposed to protect the warrior when on the warpath." Mingled with their ignorance, superstition and immorality there were some elements of true re- ligion. But they are ignorant of the Bible and so know nothing of Him who is "The Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world." 36 The Call of the Home Land. 6 Relation In general, when Europeans first came to to White America they were kindly received by the In- ^^^ dians. Dr. S. H. Doyle thus describes the white man's dealings with the Indians: "Columbus and his men were looked upon as a superior class of beings and treated accordingly. Their fidelity to Penn's treaty is historic. In the old Indian cemetery at Stockbridge, Mass., is a shaft bearing this inscription, 'The Friends of Our Fathers.' But in other cases, and sometimes when it was least deserved, they were treacherous, cruel and bloodthirsty. But it can scarcely be said that they were worse than the white men. With the coming of the white man it was inevitable that Indian civilization should perish, but it need not have gone down in shame and disgrace to its de- stroyer. Yet every student of history knows that it has. The Indian's land was taken from him by force, or purchased for a paltry sum, insignificant in comparison to its real value. Treaties were recklessly broken. Sacred promises were never kept. Cruel wars of extermination were waged upon the slightest pretext, or with- out any, if necessary for looting the Indians of their lands. The Indians began by meeting kind- ness with kindness, and good faith with good faith ; but the after records ! THEIR story can be written in two words — 'Driven out!' and OURS in three — 'Fair promises broken,' The pathway of the downfall of Indian civilization is marked by perfidy, by injustice, and by cruelty. What a debt we owe to the American Indian ! Original Inhabitants. 37 For hunting grounds taken, what less can we do than show him, the way to true hunting grounds jof the future ? For covenants broken and promises unkept, what less can we do than point him to the covenant-keeping God whose promises are 'yea and amen in Christ Jesus.' " The history of the white man's relation to the Indian has been divided into three periods : (1) The Colonial Period, extending from the discovery of America to the close of the Revolu- tionary War. It was marked by almost incessant wars, bloodshed and rapine. Driven from his hunting grounds and robbed of his lands, the In- dian had to fight or die. He fought, but against ever increasing numbers. This period left the Indians hostile and often implacable. (2) The National Period, extending from American Independence to about 1870, has been called "a century of dishonor." Our government made treaty after treaty with the Indians, pro- tecting their lands and their persons by the most solemn national obligations. White men coveted their lands and disregarded the treaties. Again and again the Indians rose in arms only to be subdued. They were driven ever westward, large bodies of them being finally removed by the government. The Cherokees, who had made con- siderable advance in civilization and Christianity, were, through the greed of some citizens of Georgia, transferred in a body from Georgia to Indian Territory, losing half their number on the march through the wilderness. This period 38 The Call of the Home Laud. left them subdued, but restive under the sense of gross injustice. (3) The Modern Period began in 1870 under' General U. S. Grant who introduced what has been called "The Peace Policy." " He" proposed to deal with the Indians on the basis of justice and kindness. In furtherance of this policy the ''Indian Rights Association" was formed, con- sisting of nine members. Excellent results have followed in that Indian outbreaks have become fewer, many military outposts have been aban- doned, or turned into schools, while savage cus- toms are giving way to civilized ways of living. At present Indian affairs are entrusted to the Department of the Interior of our National Government. The chief officer of the Indian bureau is the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Most of the Indians have been removed to "reser- vations" which are tracts of land reserved for their exclusive uses. In charge of the affairs of each reservation the Government has an Indian agent and assistants with him, a physician, clerk, farmers, policemen, and other employees. The whole establishment is called an "Indian Agency." One of the worst features of this agency system is the distribution of free rations. It encourages the Indians in laziness and makes them incapable of self-directed work. It also puts dangerous power in the hands of the agents. The present policy of the Government is to treat the Indians as individuals, seeking to de- Telop the desire of self-support and skill in labor. Original Inhabitants. 39 "The Indian office feels," said the Commissioner in 1901, "that a great stride has been taken to- ward the advancement, civilization and indepen- dence of the race; a step that, if follov^ed up, will lead to the discontinuance of the ration system as far as it applies to able-bodied Indians, the abolition of the reservation, and ultimately to the absorption of the Indian in our body politic." Both the United States Government and the ^ Churches have been educating the Indians. Boarding and day schools have been established for teaching academic branches and industrial subjects. The whole number of schools of every kind in 1908 was 343 with a total enrollment of 30,639. This represents an increase in ten years of 46 schools and an increase in average attend- ance of 5,442 pupils. In 190.0 the Indian school population from 5 to 20 years of age was 89,632. During that year there were Indians of all age« enrolled in school 37,532. In 1900 there wer» 9,347 illiterate Indians at least 10 years of age, or 56 per cent, of the whole number. The Indian Commissioner reports that in 1908 "the number of mission schools under each denomination ig as follows : Roman Catholic, 38 ; Presbyterian, 3 ; Protestant Episcopal, 6 ; Congregational, 2 ; Lutheran, 2 ; Evangelical Lutheran, Christian Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, Reformed Presby- terian, and Seventh Day Adventist each 1 ; an- denominational 2 — in all 61 schools with a total enrollment of 976." Edacatioo. 40 The Call of the Home Land. The policy of the Indian Commission has been for several years to give special emphasis to such forms of industrial education as will help the Indian to maintain himself in -the strugij,le of life. In 1905 he said that the Indian "is bette? equipped for his life struggle on a frontier ranch when he can read the simple English of the local newspaper, write a letter which is intelligible, though may be ill spelled, and knows enough of figures to discover whether the storekeeper is cheating him," than to spend years of time in purely cultural studies. In pursuance of this policy the Government is strongly encouraging the teaching of domestic science so as to produce "wholesome rivalry among Indian girls in feeling justifiable pride in knowing how to make and mend their clothing, cook palatable and economi- cal meals, keep their surroundings in a sanitary condition, and not to spend all their income." After the same manner modern scientific agricul- ture is being taught. Native industries are being encouraged, such as blanket weaving among the Navajo, pottery among the P'ueblos, bead and leather work among the Cheyenne and Sioux. They are being* encouraged to cultivate native music and to keep alive the best traditions of their tribes through ''stories of the hunt, of prowess and of the ideals and fancies of the tribe." The results of this kind of instruction and training are decidedly encouraging, although it may be Ntruly said that this work is at its beginning. The influence of the schools at Carlisle, Pa., Original Inhabitants. 41 and Hampton, Va., in producing trained leaders is simply incalculable. Of 1,107 Indian students who had been at Hampton up to 1907, a careful record of 618 has been kept, revealing the fact that they have been honorably employed in schools, in government agencies, and in various avocations and professions. It was not long after the white man's settle- f Evan- ment in America that efforts began to be made to ^^**°" evangelize the Indian tribes near the settlements. ^ Pamphilus de I^arvaes, a Spanish explorer, landed in Pensacola Bay, April 6, 1528. From that date to the present the Roman Catholic Church has continued its work. The first suc- cessful mission to the Indians in the United States was established by Spanish Franciscans at St. Augustine, Fla., in 1573, 31: years before the settlement at Jamestown, Va. Spanish mis- sionaries came North from Mexico and estab- lished missions in the far Southwest and on the Pacific Coast. French Roman Catholic mis- sionaries ascended the St. Lawrence River and attempted to plant missions on the Great Lakes with but little permanent result. In 1904 they reported 178 organized churches with 152 priests, 71 boarding schools, 26 day schools, and 109 teaching priests. The first determined and successful efforts on Protestants the part of Protestants to reach the Indians were made in Massachusetts by Thomas Mayhew, Jr., who established the first Indian school in 1651^ and organized the first Indian church in 1652 42 The Call of the Home Land. with 282 memhers. In 1670 the first Indian church with a native pastor was organized on Martha's Vineyard Island. In 1646 John Eliot, "the Apostle to the Indians," while pastor of the church at Roxbury, Mass., began his work for them. With rare wisdom and singular devotion he pursued this work during his long life. He translated the Bible into the Indian tongue and it was published in 1663, the first printed in America. He gave to the Indians other litera- ture in their own language. At the end of his Indian Grammar he wrote this immortal senti- ment, "Prayers and pains through faith in Jesus Christ will accomplish anything." Following Eliot came Rev. John Sargent (1734), who pene- trated into Western Massachusetts and founded a school and a church. Then came David Brainerd (1718-1744), who pushed further west into New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Such hardships as he endured have rarely been surpassed in the history of the Christian Church. His devotion, zeal and industry, joined to an insatiable spiritual hunger, have been the inspira- tion of multitudes. Then came David Zeisberger (1721-1808), who brought to the Indian missions ripe scholarship, shrewdness, singleness of pur- pose and loyalty. Under the Moravian Church he labored with varying success in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Michigan. Limitations of space forbid an extended account of the growth of the Indian missions under the leading evangeli- cal denominations. Original Inhabitants. 43 The Handbook of the American Indian, 1907, says: "It may be said that at present practicallj every tribe officially recognized within the United States is under the missionary influence of some religions denomination, workers from several de- nominations frequently laboring in the same tribe. In the four centuries of American history there is no more inspiring chapter of heroism, self- sacrifice and devotion to high ideals than that afforded by the Indian missions. Some of th« missionaries were of noble blood and had re- nounced titles and estates to engage in the work; most of them were of finished scholarship and refined habit, and nearly all were of such excep- tional ability as to have commanded attention in any community and to have possessed themselves of wealth and reputation, had they so chosen. Yet they deliberately faced poverty and suffering, exile and oblivion, ingratitude, torture and death itself in the hope that some portion of a darkened world might be made better by their effort. To the student who knows what infinite forms of cruelty, brutishness, and filthiness belong to savagery from Florida to Alaska, it is beyond question that, in spite of sectarian limitations and the shortcomings of individuals, the mis- sionaries fought a good fight. Where they failed to accomplish large results the reason is in the irrepressible selfishness of the white man or in the innate incompetence and un worthiness of the people for whom they labored." 44 The Call of the Home Land. The following table exhibits the results of Protestant missions among the Indians: Statistics incom sties -r-k T •» jr Blank Spaces in- piete Protestant Indian Missions, dicate no report tS a T3 a CD n a 5.2 j= ^ "o o a 3 (A Day Schools Denominations i2 V £■■£ o V a 3 u XI S u 3 J3 J3 B 3 J3 a V ■p. 3 Baptist, 1909 Christian, 1909 Congregational, '09. Episcopal, 1908 Friends , 1907 Mennonites, 1907... Methodists, 1909.... Moravians, 1907. . . . Presbyterians, 1909. 26 42 179 15 6 49 3 118 1 ch 21 ch 136 M 10 ch 5ch 35 M 3 ch 118 ch 20 1538 5514 1750 6832 44 1187 1342 5600 1 1 23 18 80 267 846 Totals, 438 324 15654 44 8129 25 98 1113 9 The dificulties in the way of the evangelization Difficulties of the Indians are neither small nor few. The habit of shiftlessness has grown upon them gene- ration after generation. Their persons and wig- wams are usually filthy. Pride of race makes it hard for new ideas to enter and remain. Original Inhabitants. 45 Disease is doing a deadly work. The report of the Indian Commissioner for 1908 says : "Although the prevalence of tuberculosis may vary greatly in different neighborhoods and groups, it is the greatest single menace to the future of the red race." When young Indians, long absent from their tribal life, return to it from distant schools, the old customs and life make loud call to them to return to the old ways. Wherever the Indian and the white man come into close and free con- tact the white man's greed and power taught him to cheat and oppress his red brother. There is in the minds of many sincere Christians a strong belief that the Indian is not worth saving. On the other hand there are many substantial and over-mastering encouragements. Says Boyle: "The argument of history conclusively answers the charge of the uninformed that the Indian cannot be civilized and Christianized. Entire tribes have been lifted from degradation, super- stition and heathenism, to manhood, citizenship and Christian faith. And the Indian, once con- verted and civilized, becomes interested in his unconverted and uncivilized brother and is anxious that he also should have the advantages of Christianity and civilization. These two facts prove the practicability of Indian mission work and should stimulate "Prayer and pains (which) through faith in Jesus Christ will do anything" — even to the making of a live Indian a good' Indian." 46 The Call of the Home Land. B. The Mexicans. 10 Origin It seems that there were originally Indians ia the Southwestern States who differed widely from the usual type of North American Indian. They lived chiefly among the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. The name Pueblo is often applied to them. There are evidences in the forms of I'uins of dwellings, of palaces and tem- ples which prove that they were far advanced in some elements of civilization. These Indians were sedentary and divided into different clans. Just across the Rio Grande in Mexico Cortez (148*5-1547), the famous Spanish explorer and fighter, landed in 1519 with a Spanish army. As he invaded the country he came into contact with a race of Aztec Indians, whom he conquered. The Spanish settled in the country and governed it until 1821, when the Mexicans won their in- dependence. The Spanish intermarried with the aboriginal Indians, and from this mixed blood sprang the race whom we know as Mexicans. The Spanish moved North, and to some extent intermarried with the Pueblos. The Mexican proper is the result of the mixture of Spanish and aboriginal Indians. The Mexicans are not immi- grants into the United States. They have always been here. True, many thousands have come here from Mexico, but they were not "foreigners." Texas rebelled against Mexico and won inde- pendence. It was admitted to the Union in 1844. One of the results of Texas independence was the Mexican war (1845), which ended in the ac- 11 Loea- tioD and Original Inhabitants. 47- o ■9" ^5 5 c ^g aS- 0) M IS o 9 •a a si o a K 03 O m5 H & oa oa P^S 929,976 138,344 5,829 337,573 873,923 36 The tide of immigration ran highest in 1907, when it reached a total of 1,285,349. In 1908 it fell off to 782,870, and in 1909 to 751,786. This decrease was in large measure due to the business depression following the panic of 1907. The Immigrant. 77 During the year ending June 30, 1909, 400,392 persons emigrated from the United States, of whom 225,802 were, emigrant aliens. (1) Several causes have combined to move these 3 what immigrants from their birthplace to new and Brought strange conditions. In various ways they have These Peo- learned to think that America is only another name pie Here ? for opportunity. At home they have lived on small farms with little or no hope for enlargement. As cost of living increases, they have scant oppor- tunity to enlarge their incomes, and so added pov- erty comes. The need for laborers and the high price paid for work make a strong call to them. They have heard of the tens of thousands of acres of good farming lands free to the actual settler, or for sale at a trifling cost. They have been told something of the great cities calling for men in every line of work; of the railroads' hungry de- mand for laborers ; of the vast fields laden with rich harvests waiting for reapers ; of good houses and unheard of comforts that are the rewards of frugality and industry. To this land of what seems to them universal prosperity, they turn their hearts and faces. America is a great magnet to them. I (2) Forces at work in their native places have tended strongly to drive them forth. In nearly all the European nations there is more or less political disturbance and unrest. The old order and the new era are in conflict, and no one knows what the morrow may bring forth. The strife in Russia between the aristocratic class and the peasants, the irreconcilable enmity and strife between the Turk and the Greek, the spread of socialism in Ger- many, the unsettled questions between Church and T8 The Call of the Home Land. State in France, the universal cry of the poor and the oppressed against the rich and ruling, are sam- ples of the political questions which keep men un- easy. Everywhere in Continental Europe there are signs of war. Vast armies maneuver annually, and the soldier is seen in every community. Each family is linked by law to the army, while vast sums are being spent in naval rivalry. The total army establishment in times of peace in six countries is seen in the following table: Men Army Budget Germany 620,000 224,500,000 France 650,000 184 450,710 Italy 240,000.... 65,000,000 Austria 404.000 76,254,140 Russia 1,200,000 253,750,000 Great Britain 255,000 137,296,000 The necessary expenses of government, the sup- port of an idle aristocracy, and the maintenance of huge armies and navies combine to increase the burden of taxation nearly to the limit of endurance. In Central Europe the population is so dense that the struggle for existence is most intense. The population per square mile in Great Britain is 346 ; in Belgium, 589 ; in France, 188 ; in Ger- many, 269; in Austria, 226; in the United States, 21. In the countries whence our immigrants came poverty is widespread and grinding. The follow- ing statement from Strong's "Social Progress," p. 89, illustrates the difference between the Ameri- can and European workingman in the matter of food: "Dr. E. R. Gould finds that the American workingman, the best paid workingman in the world, is also the best fed; and although it costs more to employ him in money, he produces so much more work because of the high standard of living, The Immigrant. 79 that he is also really the cheapest workingman of the world. From Dr. Gould's data, taking 100 as the quantity of each article consumed by the aver- age workingman in the United States, the follow- ing figures would represent the quantity consumed by the average European workingman, according to the average consumption of the British, Belgian, German, and French workmen taken together: Meat, 33; lean or fat, 50; eggs, 85; butter, 100; flour, 100; potatoes, 175; sugar, 25; coffee, 85." In several European countries, notably in Rus- sia, religious persecution is practiced to such an extent that a man cannot worship God according to the demands of his conscience without permis- sion from the civil authorities, and in some cases not at all. (7) It appears that there are forces at work now to drive men from home to America. During the last half of the 19th century there was a wonder- ful development of facilities for travel by sea and by land. Great railroads penetrate Europe in all directions, making it comparatively easy, safe, and cheap for a family to get to a seaport. At the wharves in every European seaport immense steam- ships wait to take the emigrant across sea. One ship has been known to carry more than three thousand emigrants at one time in comparative comfort and perfect safety. Landing at one of our seaports they find (statistics of 1904) some 690 operating companies with 209,002 miles of railroad, whose agents vie with one another for the privilege of carrying the immigrant to any part of our land. Says a prominent periodical, ^'In this country there are nearly thirty thousand more miles of railway than in all the seventeen coun- tries of Europe." 80 The Call of the Home Land. 4. Recep- When an emigrant ship nears our shores, she toon in the ^^^•^■^^^ f^j.g^ g^^p ^^ ^-^e quarantine station for a close United . ... ^ /^, ^ J- . • g^^^g inspection to prevent the entrance of contagious disease. He is then carefully examined in view of the following law: "Act of Congress, Feb- ruary 20, 1907. Section 2. That the following classes of aliens shall be excluded from admission into the United States. All idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons and persons who have been insane within five years previous ; persons who have had two or more attacks of insanity previous; paupers; persona likely to become a public charge; professional beggars ; persons afflicted with tuberculosis or ■with a lothsome or dangerous, contagious disease; persons not comprehended within any of the fore- going excluded classes who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective, such mental or physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living; persons who have been convicted of, admit, be- ing convicted of felony or other crime or misde- meanor involving turpitude ; poligamists, or per- sons who admit their belief in the practice of poligamy ; anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the govemment of the United States, or of all gov- ernment, or of all forms of law, or of the assassi- nation of public oflicials ; prostitues, or women or girlsj coming into the United States for the pur- pose of prostitution, or for any other immoral purposes ; persons who procure or attempt to bring in prostitutes or women or girls for the purpose of prostitution, or for any other immoral purpose. The Immigrant. 81 Persons hereinafter called contract laborers who have been induced to migrate to this country by offers or promises of employment or in consequence of agreements, oral, printed or written, expressed or implied, to perform labor in this country of any kind, skilled or unskilled; those who have been within one year from the date of the appli- cation for admission to the United States deported as having been induced or solicited to migrate as above described; also any person whose ticket or passage is paid for with the money of another, or who is assisted by others to come, unless it is affirmatively and satisfactorily shown that such person does not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes, and that said ticket or passage was not paid for by any corporation, association, society, municipality, or foreign government, either directly or indirectly ; or children under sixteen years of age, unaccompanied by one or both of their parents, at the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor, or under such regulations as he may from time to time pre- scribe. "Provided, That nothing in this act shall exclude, if otherwise admissible, persons convicted of a offence purely political, not involving moral turpitude. Provided, further. That the pro- visions of this section relating to the payment of tickets or passage by any corporation, association, society, municipality, or foreign government, shall not apply to the ticket or passage of aliens in immediate or continuous transit through the United States to foreign contiguous territory. "Provided, further. That the provisions of this 82 The Call of the Home Land. section relating to payment of tickets or passage by any corporation, association, society, munici- pality, or foreign government shall not apply to the tickets or passage of aliens in immediate or con- tinnons transit through the United States to for- eign contiguous territory. And proivded, further. That skilled labor may be imported, if labor of like kind unemployed cannot be found in this country. And provided, further. That the. provisions of this law applicable to contract labor shall not be held to exclude professional actors, artists, lecturers, singers, ministers of any religious denomination, professors for colleges or seminaries, persons be- longing to any recognized learned profession, or persons employed strictly as personal or domestic servants." Landing at Castle Garden, New York, for ex- ample, with his wife and children and all his sim- ple world possessions, he faces conditions very different from what he ever knew. Being from the continent of Europe he cannot speak our lan- guage, and the words which he hears about him convey to his sluggish mind no ideas. When he comes upon the streets he is met by solicitors of bar-rooms and other evil establishments, and a thousand pitfalls are in his path. Perhaps he is met by some kinsman or friend who shows him where to get lodging and helps him to find work. Now and then he is met by the same employment agent, ready to send him inland to farm or factory. His condition is pitiful indeed. He stands be- tween the old life and the new. The wide ocean separates him from friends and from the only life he has known. After awhile the immigrant de- cides that he will become a citizen of our Republic. The Immigrant 83 He must then go before a United States court and make oath that it is his "intention to become a citizen of the United States, and renounce forever, all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state and sovereignty whatever, and par- ticularly all allegiance and fidelity to the" country from which he comes. At the end of five years from his landing he may get his naturalization papers on the following conditions : That he make oath to a United States court that he came to this country before he was eighteen years old, and has lived here ever since ; that he is — ■ years old and for more than three years has intended to become a citizen ; that he prove by three witnesses that he has lived in the United States five years at least, and in a certain State for one year; that he ha3 been a man of "good moral character, attached to the Constitution of the United States, and well dis- posed to the good order and happiness thereof" ; that he is not an anarchist ; that he has not violated the law concerning the admission of aliens ; that he will support our Constitution; and that he re- nounces all allegiance to every foreign sovereignty. The influence of this embryonic citizen will be 5 The determined chiefly by his history and character. J^'^^*'^ With scant political education and training in the privileges and duties of citizenship, he is likely to become an easy prey of the political manager, who finds an effective way of controlling his vote. Be- fore he can add strength to the State, he must be- 84 The Call of the Home Land ' come assimilated. Many old ideas and prejudices must be surrendered. By a process more or less rapid and thorough, he becomes like the men around him. The habits of thought and action bred into him during generations in the Eastern world must be broken and the habits of the West- ern world must dominate him. He becomes Occiden- talized. As he enters more into the new life, he is captured by its freedom and its optimism. He thinks as he pleases, he expresses his opinions with perfect independence, and he goes where he likes without challenge or passport Asked as to his condition and prospects, he promptly replies, "All right !" He has been Americanized. This man with others like him has a moral in- fluence also that needs to be noted. Though he may be able to read and write, he probably does neither to a large extent — certainly not at first. If he has come from a land where the Greek or Roman Church is dominant, it is certain that his moral education is defective. Distinctions between right and wrong are dull, for he has not read the Bible carefully and has trusted the priest to make moral decisions for him. Finding himself free here he is apt to give rein to passions long re- strained or to find new channels for their exces- sive indulgence. Tempted by the promise and glitter of new things, he easily falls into sin. Long used to the light wines and beer of his native land, he is easly tempted to drink heavily of our stronger The Immigrant 85 liquors. He has brought with him th© Continental view of Sabbath-keeping and uses the Lord's Day for physical recreation and amusement. Long ac- customed to regard woman as his inferior, he with difficulty learns the American idea of purity and equality in his treatment of her. His own charac- ter is not the sole sufferer from his moral weakness. As a member of a community of men much like himself, he helps to perpetuate and propagate his moral defects until his immorality becomes a con- tagion in his vicinity. It is well enough to assimi- late him to our thought and life, to strip from him his Continental and Oriental garments and customs and clothe him in Occidental freshness, to teach him the genius of American life, but there is a higher step yet to which he must be led. We must Christianize him. Perhaps the last element of the old life to disappear will be the religious. Amer- ica prescribes to him no creed. The church here simply offers him the Christ "and says, "Follow Him." We easily discover three processes through 6. Method which we must take our brother. He must be taught — information must be imparted. He must be induced to lay his life out along new lines — ■ his reformation must be effected. His character must be remodeled — 'his transformation must be secured. Some wise plan must be devised for distribut- d-) T^istxi- , bution. mg immifirrants more widely over tne country. S6 The Call of the Home Land The present tendency is for them to settle near I^ew York. The following table shows their con- centration. During the year ending June 30, 1907, the following five States received: Immigrants New York 386,244 Pennsylvania 230,906 Massachusetts 85,583 New Jersey 70.665 Connecticut 84.641 These five state received 808,039 Sixty-four out of every one hundred immigrants in that year stopped within three hundred and fifty miles of New York City. That means that the mining and manufacturing section is receiving the lion's share. The following table is equally interesting. Dur- ing this same year Immlgtants South Carolina received 2,913 North Carolina received 390 Oklahoma received 438 Indian Territory received , 829 Georgia received 779 These five States received 5,349 This means that tiie South, which has vast areas of unimproved farming lands and immeasurable The Immigrant 87 undeveloped resources, is receiving the fewest num- ber of immigrants. There can be no doubt that wider distribution would hasten the new citizen's development and would be helpful to the whole country. Undoubtedly the ;first service to perform for (2) Work our new brother is to help him to get hon- orable, wholesome, instructive work. Hitherto his labor has been drudgery and all work, toil. With his fnitiation into the life of an Amer- ican workman, he needs to b© taught its freedom, its self-respect, its masterfulness, and its gladness. We need to make it diflScult, if not impossible, for him to be long idle. The American free public school is the supreme (3) Sctioois opportunity for the immigrant child to become quickly and thoroughly Americanized. During the year ending June 30, 1907, a total of 138,344 children of foreign birth under four- teen years of age entered the United States and Canada. In a very short time they enter our schools by the thousand. Here they quickly learn to read, write and speak our language, and by contact with our native bom children they learn our customs. They in time become the teachers of their parents at home. The Christian church has striven to do her duty (4) The to these one-time strangers. At the principal ports of entry there is a gracious opportunity for various persons and societies appointed by 88 The Call of the Home Land the different denominations to receive and wel- come them. When they remain permanentlj in the cities, they naturally settle in the quar- ter where their fellow-countrymen reside. Hero the churches endeavor to follow them. In many cases visitors call at their homes to become acquainted and to invite them to their churches. They seek to he of real service, often bringing sweet relief in cases of hunger, nakedness and sickness, and often saving the unsuspecting from the snares laid for them by the wicked. In many cases where a particular colony is large enough, a native pastor is employed to visit the homes and to preach in the church and chapels especially huilt for them. In this work the Sunday-school is especially useful. Here the children are regu- larly taught the Bible itself vsdth its blessed heal- ing and up-building truths, to sing the sweet songs of Zion, to reverence the Lord's Day, to pray, and to rejoice together in its brightness. From these schools they take good literature in their native tongues and in English back to their homes, where its silent work goes on daily. The circulation of especially written tracts and leaflets is carried on extensively. (5) In all forms of work certain considerations must be kept steadily in view. It is always and everywhere desirable to break up the solidarity which results from the establishment of "quar- ters," where old habits of thought and old preJM- The Immigrant 89 dices are kept alive. Many of these opinions and customs are inconsistent with American citizen- ship, to say nothing of Christianity. (6) In order to do the most effective service, it is best for the worker to understand, not only the American point of view, but that of the for- eigner also. Next to a competent knowledge of the Word of God, skill in its use, and a pure Christian character, the establishment of this point of contact is of the highest value. What a straight road to an Italian's heart is some bit of accurate knowledge as to his condition and prospects at home. (V) In all this work there is an enormous demand for genuine sympathy. With what long- ings do these strangers turn hearts back across the sea to the home-land ! Loneliness seizes upon them. Poverty hinders progress. Temptations eome thick and sharp. Curiosity about their hab- its is natural and to a certain degree is proper. We cannot refuse to pity them. But Jesus Christ loves them with infinite yearning. Into this love ^ we must enter and in their joys and sorrows we must sympathize. We must shake ourselves free from national prejudices, must strangle our pride of birth or station, and humble ourselves that we may lift them up. Information truly he must have. The only "^ ^is freedom denied to any man in our beloved country nSd^™^ ifs freedom to be ignorant and to do wrong. Intel- 90 The Call of the Home Land ligence is not only the safeguard of liberty, it* is the very fountain from which it flows. Knowl- edge must be so abundant and so insistent that no man can remain ignorant, even if he wishes to. Such must be the supremacy of law in our land, that a man must at least maintain the sem- blance of right conduct The law can indeed re- strain the wicked man and force him to reforma- tion. But neither information nor reformation can give him a new heart and cause him to think right, to feel right, and to do right Reformation to American ideals and habits is indeed desire- able; but his supreme need is to be transformed by the renewing of his mind, that he may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. a A Great Perhaps in the history of the world, there has Elxperiment i, i • i • never been sucn an experiment made m state- building as we in America have been making for a hundred years. Stop and think. For all these long years racial types have been coming to us freely, bringing in their fundamental natures all the racial differences implanted by God and in- tensified by suffering and isolation. Here Cau- casian, Indian, Malay, Mongolian, and Negro meet and become brothers. To our welcoming shores have come national types from every land on earth, developed by the influence of peace and war and fixed for ages. To these have been added types of individuals, with all the differences resulting The Immigrant 91 from temperament and education. And still they come, joining types which are distinctly American. What is to he the resultant ultimate type ? Here they are — ^German, French, Russian, Italian, Irish, Hollander, English, Turk, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, l^egro, Hindu and Esquimo, New Eng- lander, Virginian, New Yorker, frontiersman, heathen, Romanist, Protestant. Some of the best and wisest men in the land look upon this experiment in assimilation with anxiety. Will our institutions stand the shock? Surely there is enough here to make us thoughtful and to arouse us to utmost exertion. Up to the present the results surely have clearly Jesuits justified the experiment. A swift glance over the brief life of our nation, recalls type after type of noble manhood and womanhood, quickened, strengthened, and beautified by America's trans- forming touch. No section, scarcely any consid- erable community in the land, has failed to feel the impetus to industry and the improvement in educational science and art, given by some son adopted from an alien house-hold. There is a growing opinion that further legislation is needed in order to protect our institutions against the lowest types of immigrants, while we invite the en- trance of the highest No doubt this will be done in due time. On the whole the outlook is hopeful. 92 The Call of the Home Land lo. The In Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost God ^^ture gathered "Jews, devout men from every nation un- der heaven." This new Jew, this new pentecostal type of manhood, hegan at once to perfect and perpetuate itself through the proclamation of the truth. Is it too much for us to believe that the Lord Jesus may be gathering in our good land "men from every nation under heaven," that through the renewing and unifying power of his Spirit a new type of manhood may go forth to bring the nations to His feet? Questions and Hints. 1. What races are represented in American pop- ulation ? What religions ? What part of Europe do the Roman Catholics chiefly come from ? The Prostestants ? 2. What racial type is most numerous in Amer- ica ? Compare in numbers Roman Catholics and Protestants ? Why so many Jews ? So few Chinese ? What country supplies the largest num- ber of immigrants ? Why is this ? What per cent of the whole number of immigrants in 1907 were under fourteen years of age ? What impression does the per cent of illiteracy make upon you? What was the per cent, of decrease in 1909 ae compared with 1907 ? 3. (1) What new opportunities draw immi- grants here? (2) What forces drive them from home ? Can you add others ? 4r. Discuss the causes for excluding aliens. The Immigrant 93 Describe the immigrants' landing? Here clip- pings and pictures from papers and magazines will be especially helpful. Upon what conditions may a foreigTier become a citizen of the United States ? 5. ^Vhen does he become ^assimilated ? What is meant by "occidentalized" ? When is he Amer- icanized ? "Why must he be Christianized also ? 6. (1) Discuss the problem of distribution. (2) What is the American idea of work? Why is it necessary to give an immigrant work? (3) What effects has tibe public school upon his chil- dren, on him? (4) What agencies does- the church employ in reaching after him? (5) Why is it helpful to break up the foreign "quarters" in the large cities? (6) Give an estimate of the im- portance of understanding his point of view. (7) Wherein lies his claim to sympathy? 7. What is his supreme need ? Why ? 8. What three main types are represented among the immigrants ? Is this mixture a proper cause for serious thought ? Why ? 9. What has been the result of the mixture in. the main? ISTame several foreign bom citizens, dead or alive, who have done our country distin- guished service ? Can you name any who have done harm ? 10. What do you think of the idea that God is making here a new type of manhood to evange- lize the nations ? 94 The Call of the Home Land 11. Name some duties which this chapter makes plain to your church ? To your college ? To your society ? What privileges ? To you ? Why not establish a Chinese Sunday-school, or teach a class ? Italian ? Greek ? Cuban ? Mexican ? Does Christ Jesus want you to invest your life here ? Write out three good reasons why he does not Write three good reasons why he does ? Which are the stronger? What are you going to do about it? Books of Reference. Eeports of the United States Commissioner of Immigration. Emigration and Immigration, by R. M. Smith. Report of the United States Industrial Com- mission. Vol. 15. Social Progress 1905, by Josiah Strong. Literature from your Denominational Board of Home Missions. Aliens or Americans ? Grose. A Race Problem : The !N^egeo in the South. The origin of the Negro race is uncertain. For i. origin ages its home has been the continent of Africa, with its 11,403,000^ square miles, and its popu- lation of 148,669,000, giviuj^' an average of thirteen persons to the square mile. It would not he accurate to say that all these people belong to the ISTegro race, but certainly a great ma- jority are of this family. Most of the colored people in the United States are descended from ancestors who lived on or near the west coast of Africa, Previous to their transportation to America, 2. Their they were sunk in very low forms of sav- agery. They lived in tribes with little or- ganization, and inhabited rude huts to shel- ter them from the heat and rain. Their food consisted mainly of wild fruit and such game as their cunning and skill with rude weapons enabled them to take. Their idea of a god was that he was always angry and must be placated with sac- rifice. They were enslaved by superstition and lived in abject fear of evil spirits. Their moral standards were low in the extreme. For ages they had been one of the chief sources of supply for the slave markets of the world. 'Statistics are taken from Strong's "Social Progress," 1905. 95 96 The Call of the Home Land 3. Brought g^ £jjj. gg ^g records show, they have never Out by . . . Force been an exploring, or emigrating, or colonizing race. They have been content, on the whoie, to remain undisturbed by the movements of the world outside. The slave trader has fol- lowed his unholy calling until the present time and has personally or through his paid or impressed agents captured the natives in their for- est homes and brought them, often with unspeak- able cruelty, to the sea-coast, where other slave traders waited to carry them by force in earlier days amid the horrors of the slave-ships to distant lands for sale. 4. Appeal- jj^ ^]^^ middle of the fifteenth century Ne- ance ua , "^ America gro slaves were annually brought in thousands to Europe. In 1553 they were freed in England. The Spaniards brought them freely to their American colonies, and in the year 1619 a Dutch ship landed nineteen ISTegroes at Jamestown in Virginia. Throughout the whole colonial period this trade was regularly kept up, until in 1YY5 it is estimated that there were 500,000 black slaves here, a number equal to 19 per cent of the entire population. The New England colonies, as well as those in the South, bought and sold and kept slaves. "Thousands of negro slaves were sold into "New England,^ Boston merchants engaged in the Guinea trade, but ISTew- port, E. I., was the great center of this traflSc." "The following advertisement taken from the Con- »See Dorchester's "Christianity in the United States," p. 223. A Race Problem 97 nedicut Gazette (ISTew Haven), October 1, 1757, will tell the story of the African slave trade in Connecticut at that time: To he sold: Several likely Negro boys and girls: arrived from the coast of Africa. Samuel Willis, at Middlctown." Many reasons combined to increase their numbers in the South, of which two were the growth of cot- ton raising and the suitableness of the climate. In slave days the Negro as a rule had a com- ^- condition ^ . p Under fortable house to live in and was well clothed, slavery His food was plain but plentiful and whole- some. When he was sick, he was attended by his owner's physician. He was taught the use of tools and was forced tO' work when he showed unwillingness. Marriage was recog- nized, but at times the family tie w^as broken and its members sold apart. He was taught the difference between right and wrong, and wrong doing was promptly punished. A Christian mas- ter usually provided religious instruction for his slaves, who often sat in his church and listened to his 'pastor. Occasionally they were taught the elements of learning, but generally they were illit- erate. 'No apology is here offered for human slavery. Our nation is absolutely united in re- joicing that the institution is dead, without possi- bility of resurrection. The total results of slavery were the civilization, q ^otai in thousands of cases the Christianization, of the Results of Negro. He did not rise to the civilized life by ^"^®^^ 98 The Call of the Home Land ages of struggle and suffering. He was introduced suddenly against his will into a Christian civiliza- tion. He became civilized by two processes. First he was forced to clothe himself, to obey the law, to work, to adjust himself to a state of society of which he had been utterly ignorant. This was civilization by compulsion. Then he imitated the institutions and customs, good and bad, of his master. In this he has always been expert. Hero was civilization by imitation. 7. What American citizenship brings with it both the Emancipa- ^'ioht and privilege of freedom. It generally brings tion Meant the right to vote. Duties and privileges are both involved in it. The right to vote implies intelli- gence. The privileges of citizenship imply grave responsibility and every citizen is obliged morally to maintain it unhurt and to improve the society of which he is a member. When suddenly freed by military decree the lN"egro entered at once into privileges which he could not appreciate, and which in numerous cases he abused. His chief addition to the high civilization which he received by imi- tation and compulsion was his power to do physi- cal work, which was no small contribution. But he had no power to improve society by any con- ■' tribution of thought or of moral energy. He was made responsible for doing what he could not do, and his very situation was filled with cruelty. 8. Recon- At the close of the Civil War in 1865 tlia social life of the South was shattered. For A Race Problem 99 ten years Congress tried to reconstruct Southern institutions without paying much attention to Southern opinion or social conscience. So far as the relation of the Negro citizen to his old master ^vas concerned, there sprang up antagonisms, sharp and threatening, and covering every human inter- 3st, political, social, industrial, educational, and religious. Most of these antagonisms have soft- Bned Avith time and experience, especially those having to do with education and religion and to a considerable degree with politics. The discussions and experiences of the past forty 9. some years have strongly united Southern opinion and, ^^j^^ increasingly, public opinion at large as to the fol- lowing points : (1) The ISTegTo will continue to live in the South. (2) The average ISTegro is inferior to the aver- age white man in initiation, in construction, and in administration. (3) The price of peace is separation, with spe- cial reference to all educational, social, and relig- ious affairs. (4) There is an increasing class of 'Negroes who are intelligent, independent, resourceful, and genuinely and ethically religious. (5) There is a large criminal class of ISTegroes, who are the chief source of the race troubles in the country. 100 The Call of the Home Land (6) The great mass of the Negro population, still living in the rural districts, are quiet, con- tent, and surely improving in all material mat- ters. (Y) The religious life is more intelligent, but it is still far too emotional and unethical. lo. Present As a rule, the pure-blooded Negro is a fine speci- men of physical strength. He is capable of great (1^ Physical ^j^^ prolonged labor. Many think him lazy by nature, having little conception of the real mean- ing and dignity of labor. This anecdote illustrates his love of ease. A Negro farm hand was found by his landlord, asleep in the field under a shady tree in the middle of the afternoon. Going up to him, the man said: "Wake up, Jim. \\Tiat is the matter with you ?" " 'Tain't nothing the matter with me, boss." "Is your mule sick ?" "No, sir, boss. Da she is out da eat'n' grass." "Well, what are you doing here then ?" "Boss, I'se just awaiting here for de sun to go down, so's I kin quit work." Until subjected to great poverty and bad conditions as to food, clothing, shelter and personal purity, he is remarkably exempt from disease. Some investigators claim that there has been a notable increase of consumption, insanity and ven- ereal diseases. In the cities the condition is accu- rately described by President R. R. Wright: "Any one who will give the least observation to A Race Problem 101' this matter will see that the cities are the hot-beds of crime, misery, and death among the colored peo- pie. Here they are huddled together, often with two or three families in one room. Without em- ployment for more than half the time, they are consequently insufficiently fed and poorly clothed. When sick they are unable either to employ a phy- sician or to buy medicine. At least twenty-five City of Savannah, during the year 1894, 251 col- ored persons died without medical attention. This being thirty-three and one-third per cent of the total number of deaths among these people for that year. About sixty per cent of this number of deaths were children under the age of ten. Twen- ty-four thousand of the 52,000' of the population of Savannah are Negroes. Hence it will be seen that whatever affects these people affects at least nearly half the population of our chief seaport. What is true of Savannah, I judge to be approxi- mately true of all of the cities of Georgia and of most of the cities of the South." The neglect as to medical help is perhaps overstated as to general conditions. In spite of poverty and disease the Negro population has steadily increased. In 1800 it was 1,001,463 ; in 1900, 8,833,994. The per cent of increase was 13.5 between 1880^ and 1890, and eighteen per cent between 1890 and 1900. The negro population grew thirty-four per cent, in twenty years. 'See an article on "The Possibilities of the Negro," In Book- lover's Magazine, July 1903, 102 The Call of the Home Lam (2) Mental Here conditions differ widely. That many Kegroes have high mentality there is no sort of doubt. In the pulpit, at the bar, behind the teacher's desk, with the artist's pencil, and with the poet's pen, and in technical engineering there are many instances of great ability. ^Doubt as the accuracy of this increase is felt by some be- cause of alleged defects in the census of 1890. It is believed by some observers that the IN'egro child's mental growth is normal and satisfactory, as a general thing, up to the beginning of adolescence, and that subsequently it is not normal. Scientific study of Negro psychology is lacking. As a rule, he shows good powers of memory, poor analysis, strong emotions, and weak will. In most matters his judgment is poor, and there is a lack of inventive- ness. The colored man is a great lover of music, which expresses itself in song and in certain rhythmic movements when at work. As a rule they are light-hearted and happy. Their wit is genuine, as may be seen in the matchless stories told by Mr. Joel Chandler Harris. Their humor is irresistible, and, after all, the more attractive because of its unconsciousness. Here is an anec- dote of an old colored woman whom a showman wished to secure for his show. Said his agent: "Aunty, do you remember George Washington?" "Does I recomember George Washington? W'y, laws-a-massy, mistuh, I reckon I does. I orter, ifiee foot note, p. 77. A Race Problem 103 ortent I? Fer I done nussed him. We played together evy day when he was a li'F chile." "Well, do you remember anything about the Revo- lutionary War ?" "G'way, chile ! Yes, indeed I does, honey. I stood dar lots of times, an' seen de bullets flyin' aroun' thicker'n rain-drops." "Yes, well how about the fall of the Roman Empire ? Do you recollect any- thing about that?" The old woman took a long breath. In fact, it mounted to a sigh. She re- flected for a few moments and said: "De fact is, honey, I was purty young den, an' I doesn't have a very extinct recomembrance 'bout dat; but I does 'member, now dat you speaks of hit, dat I did hear the white folks tell about hearing somep'n drap." The nation's progress in thought has been little affected by the JSTegro's contribu- tion. The progress that he has made in education is truly remarkable and full of hope for the future. The per cent, of ]^egro illiteracy in 1880' was seV' enty, in 1890, fifty-seven; in 1900, forty-four, a decrease of twenty-six per cent, in twenty years. It is true that in every Southern State through public or private provision any capable and ambi- tious colored man or woman can get a fair college education, and some technical training beside. To produce these remarkable results Southern and Korthern statesmanship and benevolence have C5ombined. Tens of millions have been given by 104 The Call of the Home Land individuals and churches of the Korth, and, ac- cording to Dr. Booker Washington^ "Since 1880 $105,807,930, have been spent for the negro schools in the former slave States. In the school year 1870-80, $2,120,485 were spent for colored schools and in 1900-01, $6,035,550, an increase of $3,- 915,065, or almost eighty-five per cent." (3) Moral Their moral condition is varied. There are clearly discernable three classes. At the bot- tom is the colored criminal. The most re- cent available statistics" show that in the United States there are about 83,329 convicted criminals, of whom 24,277, or twenty-nine per cent., are col- ored. It is from this class that crimes against women most largely originate. There is need for a more careful study of the ISTegro criminal and his treatment. As we rise in the scale, we see the great middle class of people, laborers in town and country. The moral advantage is with the countryman. With this class the chief moral delinquencies are pettit larceny, impurity, intemperance, and un- truthfulness. It is not meant that these immoral- ities are universal, but that they exist to a notice- able degree. Its moral excellencies are especially cheerfulness, industry, patience, and hopefulness. There is still another class composed largely, though not exclusively, of educated people, who 'Strong's Social Progress, 1905, p. 146. =" Strong's Social Progress, 1905, p. 98. A Race Problem 105 are truthful, honest, just, pure, and good. This class is steadily increasing. It is true that the low moral condition of the rising generation is cause for serious thought. Ever since his emancipation and enfranchise- C4) PouticaJ ment, the Negro has voted almost solidly with the ETepublican party. His ignorance and ven- ality made him the prey of designing poli- ticians. Entrusted with the ballot, he has too often voted without intelligence or conscience. In the States and counties where he has made the majority of voters, he has misused the ballot to such an extent that ruin stared the people in their faces. In consequence some of the States have disfranchised hundreds of thousands of Ne- gro voters. The laws do not make it impossible for any Negro ever to vote, but they put a pre- mium on intelligence in the voter and so offer a new incentive to education. These laws are of too recent adoption to form a fair judgment as to their effects. Throughout the whole Soufn with absolute <^ 5) social unanimity, the white people have a law writ- ten and unwritten, that in all social matters there must be no mixing of the races. Severe penalties are provided for intermarriage, and swift ostracism, if nothing more serious, is visited upon any person practicing it. Every Southern man be- lieves that this separation is necessary for the pro-- tection and perpetuation of white blood and civi- 106 The Call of the Home Land lization. Everywhere in the South the posses- sion of education and property is separating the colored people into classes, just as it does else- where. Educated colored people can now find satisfaction for their social desires among their own people. (6) indTis- From Virginia to Texas for generatioife the *^"^ colored people have made up the laboring class. The ISTegro is at liberty to enter any calling he pleases upon fulfilling the ordinary require- ments. "Prior to the Civil War," says Ex- Governor Lowry of Mississippi, "there was a large number of ISTegro mechanics in the Southern States; many of them were expert blacksmiths, wheelwrights, wagon-makers, brick masons, carpen- ters, plasterers, painters, and shoe-makers. They became masters of their respective trades by reason of sufficiently long service under the control and direction of expert white mechanics." But dur- ing this period he was mainly engaged in agri- culture and still is so employed. Up to quite re- cent years he has not been identified with labor unions, but now the tendency is toward the organi- zation of colored unions. In every State in the South remarkable progress in industrial educa- tion has been made, and thousands of Negroes have been carefully trained in them for skilled service. Dr. Booker Washington has estimated that fifty-two per cent, of Negro laborers are en- gaged in agriculture, and that "Mn forty years 'strong's Social Progress, 1905, p. 147. A Race Problem 107 287,933 Negroes have acquired control of farm land in the South Atlantic States, of whom, 202, 578 or Y0.4 per cent, are tenants, and 85,355, or 29.6 per cent, are owners or managers; and that the total value of the Negro farm property is con- servatively estimated at $230,000,000." The Negro shows naturally strong relig- (ViReii^ous ious tendencies. Perhaps his chief enjoyment is in the exercise of his religion. There is a marked tendency among them to separate re- ligion from morals. It is mixed with suj)ersti- tion^. Always and everywhere it is emotional rather than intellectual in type. Here is a pict- ure of a religious service in a colored country church in 1896 in an Alabama swamp. A white minister with friends was camping on a lake near- by for fishing and hunting. He sent word far and wide that he would preach for the colored people in their church. Long before the hour for the service the roads and paths leading to the church were here and there filled with people, men, women and children, in wagons, in buggies, in road carts, on horse-back, mule-back and afoot. When the preacher arrived, the grove about the church was a scene long to be remembered. The people gathered in groups here and there. All were clothed in their Sunday best. The women were gay in bright colored calico. Entering the church the minister went into the small pulpit with the colored pastor. The service began with 108 The Call of the Home Land singing, which soon attracted the people indoors until they filled all of the rude benches. To right and left and in front of the pulpit sat the older men and women. As the wor- ship proceeded the emotions rose and found expression in low murmurs of satisfaction, or loud, "Amens !" of approval. The congrega- tion was strongly responsive when the minister arose and gave out his text. He was himself a warm-hearted man and was keenly susceptible to his surroundings. The situation called out the best that was in his mind and heart and conscience. As he got well into his subject, the older men and women began to indioate their approval by swaying their bodies and nodding their heads. As the preacher warmed to his work the congrfgaiion responded eagerly. Soon a low moan could be heard, — a sort of obligato of satisfaction — broken now and then by the rhythmic patting of the feet and clapping of the hands. To the right one said "Amen !" which was answered here and there by exclamations like "Say dat agin" "Dats de truth !" "Hear dat white man !" "Amen !" "Amen !" And the low m-m-m-m-o-a-n went on. The preach- er's head and heart were now afire. Suddenly to his left a loud cry was heard above all the rest. It came from a large woman, who rent the air with shout after shout, throwing her arms about her. She was promptly seized by three sisters who held her until she fell exhausted and moau' A Race Problem 109 ing. On went the preacher, while the men kept up their fervent amens. Soon two other women in different parts of the house broke loose in wild shouts and were quieted only by exhaustion. The colored pastor in the pulpit behind the preacher was in a high degree of joyful excitement, clapp- ing his hands, patting his feet, and shouting "Amen! A-A-men" The climax of the sermon was now reached. The people were simply in ecstacies. The pastor could no longer contain himself and shouted above the preacher's excited tones, above the groans of the men and the shouts of the women, "Amen ! Amen ! ! Go it, doctor ! Go it." The doctor did his best and soon ceased from exhaustion. He will never forget the eager hand- shakes and cordial thanks from the people. Five months afterward he met one of the leading men of that church in the town making Christmas pui^ chases. "How are you. Uncle Reuben," said he. "I'm well, Doctor. When is you comin' back to see us ? That 'ere sermont you preached is a-gwine up and down the swamp yet!" In most of the cities throughout the South at present, one can easily find colored church build- ings well constructed, comfortably, sometimes hand- somely furnished, well warmed, ventilated, and lighted. Their congregations are well dressed and intelligent. Their ministers are men of classical education, who preach with dignity and quietness. Their services are quiet and reverent. Their busi- 110 The Call of the Home Land ness affairs are well managed and their work is well organized. The great l!^egro denominations conduct their affairs with intelligence and power. Their benevolences are fairly well supported. Their organic work is carried on through well established and effective boards and societies. 11. Some As a result of the religious teaching of the !N"e- ^ groes before the Civil War, "In 1859 there were 468,000 Negro church members reported in the South, of whom 215,000 were Methodists, and 175,000 were Baptists."' Amongst the N^egroes there are to-daj,^ Denominations 27 Organizations 24,572 Church edifices 21,146 Seating capacity 6,810,965 Valuation $28,863,168 Members 3,589,780 Members and adherents 6,325,880 Statistics show most clearly that the overwhelming majority of the colored people belong to denomina- tions entirely independent of white control. 12 The Two words sum up our duty to our brother in Need black. Christian training. Reformation is good as far as it goes, but the Church of God cannot hope for the best results until the mass is lifted up through the regeneration of the individuals com- posing it. A race is ordinarily regenerated by its own agents. The chief agent in this work is un- doubtedly the colored pastor. At emancipation the i"The Negro Church," Atlanta University Press, p. 29. ''Stron 's "Social Progress," 190'), p 149. A Race Problem m Kegro's church was the center of his whole life. Here he worshipped God; here his children went to school. It was the meeting place of his political club, and his social recreation was found here. The very center of his church life was the preacher. His influence is not so great as it was once, because of the growth of general intelligence. This man has generally natural powers of leadership which have been cultivated by long practice. His rule has been autocratic indeed. Possessed of a rude eloquence he has swayed the people through pas- sionate appeals to their prejudices and emotions. He must be trained. Out of ninety answers re- ceived by an investigator from colored men to the question, "What is the greatest need of our churches ?" fifty-four replied, "An educated, con- secrated ministry." Progress has been made, but there is need for more work. There are now some thirteen theological schools for JSTegroes in our country with 368 students, of whom sixty are col- lege graduates. Some plan capable of wide appli- cation is needed for reaching the colored pastors in the villages and rural districts. The John C. Martin Education Fund was founded for this purpose and has done incalculable good. Close by the preacher stands the colored teacher, sharing his opportunity and his influence. His ac- cess to the children gives him an unequalled oppor- tunity to shape life at its beginning. His concep- tion of his calling must be much higher. Too 112 The Call of the Home Land often he teaches because it gives him influence and money. He must be shown the real nature of his calling and be induced to make every effort to form character while he imparts knowledge. We must go beyond teacher aijd preacher. Upon the people themselves direct and pow- erful influences must be brought to bear. There are many colored parents w^ho seek earnestly to do their duty to their children ; but nevertheless there are multitudes of col- ored homes without any conception of order, cleanliness or obedience. The children are turned into the street to grow up without the fear of God. There -is urgent need for pure and wholesome home instruction and training. Fathers need to be taught their responsibility for the purity of the home circle. Mothers must learn the simplest lessons of order and cleanliness. Children require sound instruction as to their relations to parents and other members of the household. The mass of colored people need to be given the education of the head, including, besides the simp- lest elements ofjearning, grammar, history, hygiene and civil government. They need to be taught as far as human skill can teach them to hate evil and love good, to restrain evil passion and to give pure love an open way for growth. Their consciences must be awakened to the demands of righteousness and be taught to condemn all unholiness. Their wills must be taught to act according to the d©- A Race Problem 113 mands of an enlightened conscience. Their hands must be trained to useful labor and made skillful servants to an enlightened understanding, an awakened conscience, and a renewed will. Attain- ment without character is no fit ideal for this life even. The subjection of their lives to the Bible is at once their supreme need and our highest aim for them. ISTo new methods of work are here suggested. 14. Methods The free public school, normal and trade schools, the Church of God with its preaching and teach- ings— these are the mighty agencies which under the blessing of God are equal to the redemption of the American Negro from ignorance and sin. With these actively at work the future is hopeful. Without them or any one of them confusion will come upon us and our children. The people who make the opinion and control 15. ACom- the life of our country must in some way occupy p^j^^^'^^' the same view-point. That view-point must be the cross of Jesus Christ. Looking upon the vast en- terprise with Christ's eyes, with Christ's love, and with Christ's patience, we shall go forth with con- fident hope for the redemption of the American colored man. Questions and Hints. 1. Wliat is the home of the jSTegro race? Its population ? Whence did most of the colored peo- ple now in America come ? 114 The Call of the Home Land 2. Describe their condition before tliey were brought out of Afraca. What can you say of their religion ? Why do you suppose Africa has alwaya furnished so many slaves? 3. How did the colored people come to America ? 4. Who first brought them ? When did they ar- rive in Virginia ? Who brought them there ? What share had ISTew England in ISTegro slavery ? Why did the South get most of them ? 6, Discuss carefully their condition during slav- ery. 5. Wliat were the total results of slavery ? How was the !NegTO civilized ? Y. Discuss the Negro's fitness for citizenship at emancipation. 8. How did the Civil War affect the social life of the South ? How did Congress try to recon- struct it? What antagonisms sprang up between his old master and the freed Negro? 9. \^^iat seven matters are said to be settled now ? Discuss these matters in detail. 10. (1) Describe the Negro's physical condi- tion. What two causes woric against his health ? Describe the effect of city life on his mortality? Why is he healthier in the country ? What is the present Negro population in the United States ? How rapidly has it grown ? (2) Name some of his chief mental traits? Give a good typical illustration of your own of Negro humor or wit. Describe his progress in A Race Problem 115 intelligence. What is his present per cent, of illiteracy ? (3) What three classes as to morals are there? Describe each class. (4) Describe his political state. Why have so many been disfranchised ? (5) Describe his social condition. Why do Southern people practice social separation ? (6) Who make the laborers of the South ? What is his chief occupation? Has he progressed in- dustrially ? (7) What are some of the chief characteristics of the ISTegro's religion? Describe the service held in the swamp. What other type may be seen ? How is the church work of the colored de^ nominations conducted ? 11. Give some account of the ITegro's religious life as shown by statistics. Explain wh;^ most "Negro churches are independent of white con- trol. 12. What is our duty to them? What is the key to betterment ? Give an estimate of the preach- er's power ? What influences are at work for his improvement? Why is the teacher's work so im- portant ? "What is his relation to the character of the people ? Why must work be done among the people directly? 13. What can schools do ? What can the church do? Tell something of the work of your church for the IsTearoes. 116 The Call of the Home Land 14. What is the common view-point ? Is public opinion uniting at it? What can you do for the Kegro's betterment? Are you doing it ? Can you help to unify public opinion ? Did you ever teach in a colored Sunday- School ? Did you ever speak to a Negro about his personal salvation ? Books of Refebence. Up From Slavery. Booker T. Washington. The Future of the American ISTegro. Thomas I^elson Page. The Problems of the Present South. Murphy. Reports of U. S. Commissioner of Education. Pamphlets on Various Phases of the Subject — ' Published by the Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga. Souls of the Black Folk. Dli Bois. The Evangelization of the Colored Race in the United States; A Concensus View. Presbyterian Committee of Publication. The Publications of Various Denominations. An Era of Progress and Promise. W, N. Hartshorn, 85 Broad Street, Boston, Mass. This is the most valuable recent book on work for the Nejrroes. VI Redeeming a City : City !Mjssions. There was a time in the history of the worlJ i. no cities when there were no cities. Man first lived alone in ^^^^ the country. Then several families lived close to- gether because they were akin. After awhile other- individuals, for personal defense or various social reasons, settled near them, and soon a village grew up. From natural increase and from the increase due to accessions from outside the village grew to he a town. From the same causes the town grew to he a small city, and the small city grew to he a large city. As civilization advanced, commerce and manufacture and the needs of government drew men together at certain strategic centers over the face of the earth. "A hundred years ago three per cent, of the population of the United States was urban ; now about thirty-three per cent. Then we had only six cities of 8,000 inhabitants; in 1900, we had 515." (Strong's "Social Progress," 1905.) One of the most striking facts about the move- 2. increase ment of the world's population in the last century ^ ^^ ^^ was the increase in the number of cities. In 1890 there were in the United States twenty-seven cities of 100,000 inhabitants and over. In 1900 this number had increased to thirty-eight. In the same 117 118 The Call of the Home Land period the cities of 25,000 and over increased from 124 to 161. 3. Increase \Yhile the number has been increasing rapidly the growth in size has been even more remarkable. "This is not peculiar to our new civilizations. London is probably 2,000 years old, and yet four- fifths of its growth has been added during the cen- tury just past. For sixty years Berlin has grown far more rapidly than ISTew York. Paris is more than four times as large as it was in 1800. Rome has doubled since 1870. St. Petersburg has in- creased nearly threefold in seventy-five years. Odessa is a thousand years old, but nineteen-twen- tieths of its population has been added since 1800. Calcutta has increased 460 per cent in seventy years. In Europe, Asia, and Africa we find this movement of population from country to city. It is a world-phenomenon and is due to a redistribu- tion of population." (Strong's "Social Progress," 1905.) 4. Business Since the dawn of civilization money has played ' a most important part in the affairs of individuals and of states. It must remain so to the end. It measures values and is a universal medium of ex- change. Its possession marks the presence of prop- erty and ordinarily proclaims the superior shrewd- ness of its owner. One of the dangers of our times is that we are disposed to measure a man's worth by the size of his bank account. For weal or for woe the world's money is being concentrated in the Redeeming a City 119 large cities. Perhaps it is not too much to say that the world's accounts are finally paid in Lombard street, London, or Wall street, New York. The following table shows something of the enormous wealth represented in ten cities, September, 1902.^ Total Real Personal Income Estate Property New York $249,184,086 13,237,778,261 $550,192,612 Chicago- 43,315,277 259,254,698 115,825,842 Boston 49,074,577 925.037,500 227,468,834 Philadelphia 48,887,684 919,706,697 1,649,799 St. Louis 17,043,707 342,825,544 52,470,160 Cleveland 13,809,910 143,823,490 53,130,155 San Francisco 10,398,;72 25^9,682,092 123,417,901 Baltimore - 10 227,940 258,804,425 175,039,397 New Orleans 9,544,183 108,079,794 87.594,075 Louisville 4,605,824 90,200,000 83,900.000 Grand Total $455,591,110 $6,573,692,401 $1,370,188,275 "Of the aggregate of loans made by the national banks on September 15, 1902, amounting to $3,280,127,480, the amounts outstanding in the banks of N'ew York, Chicago, and St. Louis, the three central reserve cities, was $877,934, 942," ^or about 27 per cent. The possession of these vast sums of money gives the cities the undisputed con- trol of the business of the land. Chiefly because the cities are the gathering 5, concen- places where business is centered, thither go men Executive who have executive skill. The young man on the Power farm, who has the intelligence to plan his work thoroughly and the will-power to put his plans to working, soon tires of the daily routine and hard 'Strong's "Social Progress," 1905. 120 The Call of the Home Land manual labor of the farm. Going to his nearest town he becomes superintendent or manager of some company. As he gains skill from experience he discovers that his powers will bring him more influence and money in the city. Thus it is seen that it is an inevitable tendency for the city to absorb the executive power of the country. All the great corporations whose busi- ness supplies the needs of a nation or reaches to the ends of the earth, calling for brains and adminis- trative skill of the highest order, are located in or ■ near the great cities. 6. Manxifac- Money and executive skill do not lie idle. When Centers iTioney is invested under the direction of brains and skill and controlled by character the sure result is transformation of raw material into finished pro- ducts. Because a market is close at hand and trans- portation is easy these manufactories are built in or very near the great cities. In 1900 thirty-six per cent, of the manufacturing establishments in the United States was located in one hundred cities. They had fifty-one per cent, of all capital invested and fifty-two per cent, of the value of products. What a serious interference with trade would occur if the factories of Boston, ISTew York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Chicago, and St. Louis were to shut down for a few months ? Millions of people would be throwTi out of employment and the trade of the country would be paralyzed. Redeeming a City 121 Where products are to be moved transportation v. Distrib- lines will be found. Cotton pours into ISTew Or- centers leans and from there by rail and ship is trans- ported to the great manufacturing centers. It is woven into cloth and distributed again throughout the country. At certain seasons oranges are col- lected in Jacksonville or Los Angeles, vegetables at ISTorfolk, fruit at Baltimore, grain at Chicago, only to be distributed to consumers every where. And so the cities become the purveyors of the na- tion. It is to our cities that we turn to see the amplest 8- Educa- provision for the education of all the children, and centers the best results of public school work. Here great crowds of children throng the fine buildings to be taught by trained teachers, working with the best equipment the times afford. Here millions of dol- lars are annually spent in the war on ignorance. The following sums were spent in our five largest cities for schools at last returns : New York $36 899,189 Chicago ] 1,517,870 Philadelphia 4,330,661 St. Louis 3,318,900 Boston 4,453,054 In recent years the tendency to build colleges and universities in large cities has been marked. Here magnificent buildings invite thousands of eager youths to enter fields of higher learning under conditions favorable to research. In and near the great cities are to be found the best equipped tech- Life 122 The Call of the Home Land nical schools of all kinds. Here scientific theory may be illustrated to students by observation in laboratory and shop. Cities are becoming more and more powerful centers of learning, affecting the thought and life of the whole people. Social In the cities one finds every phase of social life intensified and enlarged. In the crowded streets and houses of the "Eastside" and in the quiet free- dom and elegance of "West End," or "Up Town," may be studied the life of people who work with their hands, or who spend their days in retirement and ease. People of the same nationality settle in the same section, and we have the "Italian Quar- ter" of 'New York, or the "French Quarter," of ISTew Orleans, or the "Chinese Quarter," of San Erancisco. The "Foreign Quarters" of the cities of the East and ISTorth and West are matched by the "!N"egro Quarter" of the Southern city. The foreign born population of our five largest cities was as follows by the census of 1900: New York 1,270,080 Chicago 587,112 Philadelphia ^ • 295,340 Boston 197,129 St Louis 111,356 The ^N'egro population of our five largest South- ern cities is as follows : Baltimore ll'l^^l Memphis l'n\A New Orleans ll'llt Atlanta tl'.ll Louisville 39,ld9 Redeeming a City 123 In a modern city one may study the idle rich or the toiling masses of workers ; here dwell side by side the employer and employee. Here indeed "the rich and poor meet together," and side by side work out their destiny for good or evil. Here we are brought face to face with the problems of civil government in their acutest and most per' plexing forms. Here sanitation, taxation, the suf- frage, public utilities and education require the closest thought and the largest action. Here is the modern "slum" with its ignorance, ic The poverty, sin, lawlessness, degradation and wretch- edness. Its population is composed partly of native Americans, who for one reason or another find it difficult to live. Into its life come thous- ands of foreigners, drawn together by common language and customs and held in the merciless grip of poverty. The condition of the people is most pitiful. They are crowded together in houses and rooms, too small, badly ventilated, exposed to violent extremes of weather, making rather a place to sleep and eat in than a home. Here food is scarce and often of a very poor quality. The clothing worn scarcely covers naked- ness in summer and in winter is poor protection against the cold. The social life is peculiar to itself. Families are frequently large and so crow- ded that privacy is often unknown and personal purity is constantly endangered. This poverty eclipses hope, while intemperance and prodigality 124 The Call of the Home Land tend to make poverty perpetual. In numberless cases neglect, depression and wickedness have strangled whatever religion existed, and have driven the people into opposition to the Church. The social group of men meets in the corner saloon where the work of the day and politics are discussed, emphasized by profanity and illustrated by obscenity. The recreation of the grown people is provided by the low theater, where men and women* witness lude dancing and laugh at the joughest of jokes. The children play in the streets without responsible supervision, absorbing its vul- garity, its obscenity and its profanity. 11. The Re- The religious life of a great modem city is so Ugrionofthe varied that no general word will characterize it Each city must be studied by itself and in detail ia order to grasp the facts securely. There are some qualities which they possess in common. 12. Division There is a marked division in classes. The of Classes "down-town" church is composed of the working people, while the wealthy and educated live and worship to themselves in the "up town" or "west end" district Sometimes this division is along racial or national lines. When the Gospel is unhin- dered by prejudices it tends powerfully to make men alike in their opinions and tastes and charao- ter. When the church is composed exclusively or chiefly of one class or race, there is a powerful tendency to produce and perpetuate certain types, not always the highest The ideal church is com- Redeeming a City 125 posed of all sorts of people, made one by love and obedience to Jesus Christ. In the city more than elsewhere religion con- is. Formal- forms to certain recognized rules, and expresses itself in fixed forms of worship. These forms, while agreeable to those who are accustomed to them, tend to make the uninitiated uncomfortable, and often make it difficult for the Church to lay hold firmly upon the poor and ignorant. The religion of city people is in spite of for- i4. Genu? mality often most genuine. It is constantly sub- ^°® jected to the severest tests, which purify it. It is ever exposed to the sharpest criticism, and is thus purged from what is unessential or sinful. It is exercised upon objects the most varied, and so be- comes resourceful, l^ew demands are made upon it by the changing conditions of the modem city and so it becomes enterprising. ITo more genuine Christians are to be found in all the world than can be met any day in the heart of any great mod- em city. Because of the religious problems presented by preachers the city and because of the unlimited field for the most fruitful investment of all the powers of brain and heart and conscience, the greatest preachers of the world are found in the large cities. Here the great masters of pulpit eloquence as well as of executive skill sway vast multitudes and organize them for effective service. 126 The Call of the Home Land 16. Head- Throughout America there is no board of any Quarters for j^rffe denomination that is located outside of a Church ~ - , Boards large city. Boston, New York and Chicago are headquarters for the Congregationalists and Bap- tists; Boston and New York for the Episcopali- ans; New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburg for the Presbyterians; Baltimore for the Romanists; New York, Philadelphia and Chicago for the Methodists. Thus city brains and experience and love of progress control the workings of the great churches. 17. orgran- With the conditions before named it is easy to understand that in the cities religious life is most perfectly organized. Here Jesus through his dis- ciples has entered prisons and cleansed them and made them schools for teaching useful industry. Here huge hospitals have risen under Christian impulse and benevolence for the care of the un- fortunate and the cure of the sick. Here Chris- tian science is erecting better houses for working- men and is opening public playgrounds for liis children. Here through organized charity mil- lions of the poor are fed and clothed, nursed in sickness and comforted in distress. Here through united effort the powers of darkness and sin are re- strained in thousands of ways. Here from house to house in fraternal competition workers go in search of neglected children to bring them to the Sunday-school, and trained workers are ever seek- ing lost men and women to save them. Redeeming a City 127 Here side by side with organized virtue and is. The goodness stand the banded hosts of evil. The city and siwumo seems to be satan's supreme opportunity, and he is using it well. The city is the chief field of en- deavor for thieves and thugs. The saloon with its train of myriad evils is most unhindered and brings forth its deadliest fruit. Here lewd songs and dances tempt men and women to impurity, and licentiousness walks under the guise of decency. Here the gambler revels in risk and finally plunges to his ruin. Here hypocrisy, lying and dishonesty seek to hide themselves in the noise and crowd. Sabbath breaking is open and impudent. Here men are caught and held by the whirl of business and the seductions of pleasure until they forget God and duty. Here ignorant foreigners dwell in vast multitudes without God and without hope in the world. Recently there seems to have been a veritable tidal wave of all kinds of public disr honesty in our large cities. Men are false to high trusts and make use of public ofiice to enrich them- selves, while they pass for respectable citizens. Truly in the city sin abounds in every degree and opposes the progress of the truth and the rule of simple goodness. In America the city is growing in numbers and 19. The size and now controls the business of the con- ^^^ tinent. It is the center in which the executive forces of the day are collected. In it are the men who direct the affairs of the Church. Here all the Beal Prob- 128 The Call of the Home Land social problems of our times are acute. Here the powers of sin are entrenched. Here the battle rages most fiercely between organized religion and organized sin. What the result shall be depends upon the means used and the agents employed to do battle for God and right. 20. Scien- The demand for accurate information is not sat- ^g^tion isfied until each city has been thoroughly and sci- entifically investigated. The method for doing this work varies. Sometimes a few interested and trained investigators undertake it patiently. An- other method is for a committee representing the leading denominations to be appointed. The city is carefully districted and enough intelligent work- ers are secured to carry the plans through and to gather results. Here are some of the questions that should be asked. Total population? Population by districts (or wards) ? by races? by denomina- tions ? by occupations ? School population ? School enrollment ? School attendance ? Per cent of illiteracy ? Cause of illiteracy ? ISTumber of churches ? of missions ? of denominations ? Loca- tion of churches and missions on map? Seating capacity of churches ? Church attendance ? At- tendance of men ? Sunday-school enrollment ? Sunday-school attendance ? Comparison of day school and Sunday-school in enrollment and in attendance ? Number of paupers ? Arrangement for their care ? l^umber of saloons ? Their loca- tion on map ? ISTumber of houses of prostitution ? Redeeming a City 129 Their location on map ? Efforts to reach this class ? Religious work for prisoners ? Estimate and locate the greatest religious destitutions of the city ? Is an adequate effort being made to reach them ? Is the kind of effort proper? Wliat is the duty of your denomination in this case ? of your church ? What is your duty?^ To say that preaching the Gospel is the sovereign 21. The remedy for these evils is to speak the truth but in the most general terms. To name the Church of Christ as the agent for this high duty is to deal in generalities. The Gospel is to be preached by the Church. Is there nothing more to be said ? The Gospel is a system of truth and the Church is an organism specially designed by God to relate this truth to the life that now is as well as that which is to come. First amongst the constructive religious forces 22 Preacii- in the city is the regular, faithful preaching of ^jf^^ii the truth by trained preachers filled with the Holy Spirit. The open church with its strong sermon, ennobling praise, its up-lifting prayer, its cor- dial welcome for rich and poor alike is still blessed by God as the mightiest agency for saving men. Personal work, organized bands and boards and various societies are efficient helpers, but nothing should be allowed to diminish our respect for and confidence in scriptural preaching. 'This method was applied to Nashville, Tefln., and suburbs, with a population of 102,900 under the direction of Mr. J. E. McCuUoch. See his book "The 0-oen Church for the Unchurched.' 130 The Call of the Home Land 23. In Tents Experience is teaching us that there are multi- tudes that will not come into a church. It be- comes necessary to go out after them. In some of the cities, notably in Philadelphia, effective campaigns have been planned by holding preaching services in tents in vacant lots in the most crowded districts. This movement has extended to other cities, as ^N'ew York, Baltimore. It has won its right to be a permanent method of making the Gos- pel known, 24, Special Within the last two or three years special evan- ^^^^ gelistic services have been held in many cities with blessed results. For months before the advent of the evangelists the religious forces of the city art trained for work. The city is carefully districted, and a central church is selected for special services in each district. Strong preachers tell the story of salvation, re-enforced by effective singing and persistent personal work. To bring those who are interested to a decision for Christ and to gain ac- cess to them for further personal work, cards are distributed by the workers, to be signed by these interested, collected at the close of the meeting and given out to the pastors. In con- nection with these tent meetings and special evan- gelistic efforts, the active co-operation of Christian men and women is needed in advertising, in seek- ing the unconverted, in instructing inquirers, in singing, and in financing the work. Redeeming a City 131 One of the most powerful agencies in the hands 25. The of the Church for the salvation of a city is the school Sunday-school. The old idea of this school has proven inadequate to the task imposed upon it. It must now be under some responsible control, thor- ougly organized into departments, — Primary, in- cluding the Cradle Roll and Beginners' Class; Junior; Intermediate; Senior; ^Normal; Home; Missionary. Its instruction must be graded, pro- viding for progressive teaching in memorizing the Bible ; Bible History ; Bible Doctrine ; Bible Geo- graphy; Bible Literature. Its worship, which in- cludes its reading of the Bible, its prayer, its praise, and its offerings, must be interesting, ele- vating, and spiritual. Its methods must be digni- fied, practical, tested and adapted. Its great domin- ating two-fold object must be kept ever in view — to bring souls to Christ and build them up in Christ. The modern city school is equipped with a specially designed building, which is provided with suitable furniture, with maps, charts, litera- ture, and whatever else may help to promote its purpose in existence. In all the chief cities of America, and in scores 26. The of the smaller ones, the evangelical churches unite ^^^^^o^ in the support of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation and Young Women's Christian Associa- tion. This powerful and progressive work of but little more than a half century's growth has ad- mirably adapted itself to the physical, social, in-j 132 The Call of the Home Land tellectual and spiritual needs of the young men and young women. It affords an unhindered oppor- tunity for religious work of every kind. In its secretaryship is to be found a life-Avork worthy of the best of our young men and women. 27 Day A powerful ally of the Church in the uplift of School the city should be the public day-school. This institution of the State draws to itself by the mil- lion people of every class and nationality. In many places in addition to intellectual training it offers courses in manual training and in domestic eco- nomy. Into its very heart the Bible should be put as the foundation on which our civilization rests. 28. visita- J-q. many of our cities organization exists to ' promote friendly visiting. Thus persons volun- tarily band themselves together to visit in a purely friendly way the homes of the poor, of the unfor- tunate, of the sick, and of strangers. This agency can be used more extensively than in the past to extend the influence of Christianity. In many instances trained nurses are employed, who may become powerful witnesses to the healing grace of the Lord Jesus. 29. Settle- In most of our large cities there are companies ments ^^ persons who for philanthropic or Christian rea- sons live together in settlements to which the people • of the neighborhood may look for social enjoyment, for helpful counsel and for comfort. They are provided with reading rooms, games, baths, kitch- ens, gymnasia and other appliances designed for Redeeming a City 133 their purposes. They all no doubt do good, but tliose are most to be commended that are openly Christian and seek to make Christ known when- ever possible. To the shame of our civilization it becomes 30. Rescue necessary to establish homes for the rescue of women, who through temptation have lost their chastity. These institutions have been greatly blessed by God, especially in reaching women who have not been hardened in sin. Thousands have been thus reclaimed and given back to society to live usefully and happily. One of the most powerful and successful agen- 31. The cies now at work amongst the ignorant poor and ^^y*^°° sinful classes of the city is the Salvation Army. Originating in England not far from a quarter of a century ago it has spread widely throughout the cities of the world. It consists of a great army of Christian workers, most of whom, perhaps, are the fruits of its own labors, who under a certain form of strict discipline give themselves with wond- erful zeal and self-denial to testifying for God in halls and on the streets. They conduct rescue mis- sions, boarding houses, industrial establishments, and farms for the protection of those who come un- der their influence. As you have estimated the place and influence of 32. a City the city in our modern life, have seen something and You of the forces of good and evil contending for its subjection, and have measured the efforts that are 134 The Call of the Home Land being made for its redemption to God, have you asked yourself the question, "What claims hfiB Jesus upon me for the investment of my life in an effort to make his Gospel 'the power of God unto salvation' in my city ?" Questions and Hxnts. 1. How did cities originate ? Gives some ac-- count of the origin of the city near or in which you live. Do you know of a city that has perished ? Why? 2. Give some account of the increase in the number of cities in the United States? In your own State ? 3. Compare the growth of Charleston, S. C, and Atlanta, Ga. Why the difference ? 4. What influence have cities on business ? What is your trade centre ? WTiy ? 5. Why do men of executive power go to the cities ? Do you know of such cases ? What re- sults ? 6. Why are cities the centres of manufacturing ? WTiat is made in your city ? Y. Why do cities become distributing centers ? 8. Estimate the influence of cities on education ? Is this influence wholesome ? Why were or were not you educated in a city? How did it affect you? 9. Why do races, nationalities or classes settle Redeeming a City 135 together in cities ? What effect has this on its life ? Describe a visit which you have paid to a certain "quarter" of a city. 10. Describe the general conditions existing in a slum. Make your own definition of a slum. 11. Why is it difficult to describe the religious life of a city ? 12. Is it good for the life of the churches in a city to be divided into classes ? Why ? 13. What is apt to be the effect of a formaJ church life on those who are outside it? Would formality be an improvement on some conditions which you have seen or heard of ? 14. What tests help to make the city religious life truly genuine ? ]^ame one or more distin- guished Christian workers or thinkers, who were trained in a city. Can you trace the influence of the city on their lives ? 15. Why do the great preachers go to the cities ? Is your answer worthy of you and them ? Is their course justifiable ? 16. Why are the great denominational boards or societies located in the cities ? Where are those of your own church ? What would be the probable effect of their removal to the country ? lY. Why are religious activities better organized in the city than elsewhere ? 18. What forms of sin seem to thrive most in cities ? Why ? 136 The Call of the Home Land 19. Carefully estimate the real religious pro- blem of the city. 20. Give in outline an analysis of the religious condition of the city that you know best. 21. What is the general remedy? 22. Give an estimate of the influence of preach- ing. 23. "What are the general effects of tent work? 24. Lay out a plan for an evangelistic campaign in your city. 25. Give somewhat in detail the advantages of the Sunday School in city work. What is your school doing? Are you trying to help or to hin- der? 26. What is the peculiar sphere of the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Association ? 27. How may the public school become an ally of religion? Is it such in your town? 28. What is friendly visiting ? 29. If you have the opportunity, visit a settle- ment. Describe the chief lines of work there done. Is Jesus Christ directly made known through it ? 30. Do you know anything of the Crittenden Homes for fallen women ? 31. Make a visit to the nearest Salvation Army headquarters and thoroughly investigate the work. Make a detailed report on what you see. Estimate its value. 32. What definite thing can you do for the re- Redeeming a City 137 demption of tlio men and women of your city? Will you do it? Are you doing it now? vn A Problem of Isolation : The Mountaineers OF THE South. From northern ]^ew York to the foot hills of i- Their 1 • Home iNorth Georgia and Alabama, in the general di- rection of northeast and southwest, with scarcely a break in the mighty chain stretches the Appalach- ian System of mountains. At its heart is the primitive granite. Its sides are covered with grass, bushes, and trees. Its valleys are fertile and most beautiful to look upon. From these heights the waters flow into the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, or the Gulf of Mexico. In their depths are hidden immeasureable treasures of iron, coal, copper, zinc, lime-stone, marble, pyrites, slate,, salt, oil, with here and there a dash of gold. Across them a dozen or more gi'eat railroads have built their lines into the grain fields of the West, while shorter lines are helping to bring all parts of this favored region close to market and are opening their vast resources in raw material to the enterprise and science of man. On the tops and sides of these great mountains there are beau- tiful hotels and splendid sanatoriums for the pleas- ure and healing of the people. The region is one of the most beautiful in the world and will soon 139 140 The Call of the Home Land be the playground and sanatorium of the whole Atlantic seaboard. The system reaches its high- est point at Mt. Mitchell, which is 6,711 ft. high. a. Physical The section of tliis region north of Virginia has been developed further than that from Vir- ginia south. It is not proposed here to study this northern section. We wish here to look into the conditions existing in the mountain counties of Virginia, West Virginia, JSTorth Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Arkan- sas, and Missouri. The following table gives ap- proximately the number of counties in each State, their area, population, illiteracy and foreign bom citizens, according to the Census of 1900. . o O 6 D Ql. O IX, S5 K O pel Virginia 37 17,700 638,039 90,400 2,413 West Virginia 21 12,593 280,679 30,015 5,860 North Carolina 29 12.292 460,483 83,237 1,081 South Carolina 4 2,679 162,059 31,680 453 Georgia 27 8,710 349,910 53,433 648 Alabama 27 19,790 744,381 138,732 8,510 Tennessee 40 15,853 678,397 100,023 4,650 Kentucky 42 15,251 583,427 03,848 2,790 Arkansas 29 21,265 506.885 50,918 6,064 Missouri 10 7,814 166.556 13,145 2,665 Total 266 133,506 4.570,816 680,431 85,134 3. Soil. One of the peculiarities of these mountains is (Simate ^^^* ^'^^J ^^'^ wooded to their tops. On some of Mountaineers of the South 141 the highest peaks in ISTorth Carolina there are ''balds," considerable acres without trees but covered with rich grass. The Indians of the re- gion had a tradition that these balds marked the foot-prints of the Evil Spirit as he stepped from peak to peak. The sides of the mountains are composed often of fertile soil. The valleys and coves are famous for their productivity. The whole region is watered by abundant springs, brooks, creeks, and rivers, which sparkle in the sunlight and sing as they descend. The climate is most healthful. In the summer it is cool, and in the winter, cold, sometimes severe, but always bracing. Here are vast primeval forests of spruce, white 4. products pine, yellow pine, cedar, poplar, walnut, oak, hick- ory, birch, maple, hemlock, drawing thither lum- bermen, who are fast cutting away these riches. Crops of wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, oats, corn, and grass are easily raised. On the mountain sides the fields are small and often so precipitous that plowing becomes there a fine art indeed. In the valleys however there are farms of several hundred acres, level and most attractive. Huckle- berries and blackberries grow wild in great per- fection and abundance. Apples, peaches, plums, and cherries are plentiful and fine. Herbs used for medicine or for flavoring extracts are found in large quantities. Apples from this region are famous in the great markets of the world. The 142 The Call of the Home Land delicious Albemarle pippin goes from the moim- tains of Virginia to the royal tables of England. In the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkan- sas thousands of acres have been planted in apple trees with enormous profits to their owners. Gar- den vegetables of almost every kind flourish to great perfection. 5. Isolation This region, so charming and resourceful within itself, is by a provision of nature isolated. The huge mountains have proved strong barriers against the approach of good turnpike roads and railroads. The turnpike as a rule scarcely de- serves the name, although there are notable recent exceptions. The skill of the engineer Is taxed to build a railroad up their sides and through their tops. Telegraph lines have not yet left the rail- road line as a general thing. The telephone is rapidly bringing the people in close touch with the outside world and into internal fellowship. These physical conditions are largely responsible for the state of the people. A story is told in one of these mountain sections of a man who many years ago chose a location for a home, built a house, cleared away the forest, and prospered. Eeal- izing that he should have a wife, he sought in vain for one in his own settlement. He decided to go further, and some ten miles away in a neigh- borhood separated from his by bad roads and a high mountain he found a lady who suited him. He promised if she would become his wife to take her The Mountaineers of the South 143 to live in another State, a hundred miles away. At the appointed time for the marriage he ap- peared with his wagon, ready for the long journey. After they were made one, he took her by a very circuitous route to his own home. She lived there for two years in blissful ignorance of liie location. Happening one day to climb the mountain near by, she was attracted by the familiar sound of a cow- bell. Following it she came upon the cow that she used to milk and was thus led to her old home. The world of education, of enterprise, and of progress has been shut out; the people have been shut in. Isolation explains the facts to a very large degree. As we have seen, within the region lives a popu- ^[^^^^°' lation of 4,570,816. Of this total population only orig-in 35,134 or .0074 per cent are foreign born. Here then is a people of remarkable homogeneity and of exceptionally pure American birth. Their names and traditions indicate their English, Scotch, Irish, French, and German origin. There are more people of unmixed colonial ancestry in ISTorth Carolina, perhaps, than in any other State of the Union. In these mountains the names and cus- toms of colonial times exist to such an extent that the people may be called modern colonials. They went to the mountains originally for various reas- ons. Many went for pure love of adventure, led by the pioneer spirit. Others left the eastern sections of the States because they did not own Negro slaves and would not compete with slave 144 The Call of the Home Land labor. Slavery never existed in this region to any great extent. 7. Classes Here as elsewhere differences of birth, educa- tion, wealth and character divide people into classes. Isolation explains the fact often notice- able that one neighborhood differs materially from one a few miles away. A family settled in a certain valley years ago. and its descendants have owned it for several generations. In this way family traits have been powerfully impressed upon the region. Upon another neighborhood, not far away, another family with different origin, train- ing, and traits impresses itself. Because of these local differences, it is very difficult to make ac- curate general statements. To think of all the people in this vast section as alike in all respects would be a great mistake. Here may be found peo- ple of education and wealth, who own large estates and live in beautiful houses and enjoy the pleas- ures and employments of the most refined society. It is not to be forgotten that in this region are included the rich and populous valleys of Virginia and East Tennessee, besides a great number of smaller ones, where the people are prosperous, cultured, and devout in an unusual degree. Then there is a large class of small farmers, who live in humbler homes but with considerable comfort and with the most perfect independence. A third class may be seen in almost every community, con- sisting of people who do not own their homes, but The Mountaineers of the South 145 who rent land, or work as day laborers. The mountains do not possess a monopoly of this class surely. The family that is specially worthy of our lov- 8- Their •^T 111 -1 J, Condition: mg ministry lives near the road on tne side oi Material the mountain or in a cove. Their house is built of hewn logs, fitted together. Since the advent of the steam saw-mill the houses are being made of sawn lumber and are much more roomy and comfortable. It is a mistaken idea, however, that a log house is always uncomfortable. If it is well built and plastered, it is both cool in the summer and warm in winter. It has two or three rooms with a "loft," or garret. It has a plain door and two or three windows, often without glass, which can be closed by heavy shutters. The cracks between the logs have been closed partially by mud or plaster. There is a chimney made of rough stones, and a large fireplace which often serves the triple purpose of cooking, heating, and lighting. One room is used exclusively for sleeping and com- pany. The other serves as dining room, kitchen, and pantry, besides holding a bed or two. The furniture is very simple indeed and scant. The cooking is done over the open fire in pot, or pan, or oven. In many cases cheap cook stoves are lending their aid to the burdened housewife. Their food consists of corn-bread, sometimes flour biscuits, bacon, sometimes fowls or game, with vegetables in season. The finest honey from home- 146 The Call of the Home Land made hives and preserves put up by the wife are at hand. Outside there are chickens and some- times geese. At the spring not far away there is a pot for boiling and a tub for washing the clothes. In the rude stable there is a horse, with a wagon outside. Farm tools are few and simple. In the yard are a few bright flowers, while apple and peach and cherry trees are near by. In this simple home lives a man with his wife and from three to ten children. He does not ask for pity and will promptly resent the least show of conde- scension. His isolation has cut him off from op- portunity, and his improvidence tends to seal his destiny. His poverty discourages effort, and sim- ple inertia helps to keep him where he is. The sec- ond class referred to in section seven has also been powerfully affected by isolation. They have been shut off from good teaching and intelligent "worship until they fail to appreciate the value of both. They can pay moderate sums for schools and are coming to estimate aright their responsi- bility and privilege. They respond at once to friendly efforts to help them help themselves, Educa- Some figures concerning illiteracy have already been given. But they do not tell the whole story. These counties are divided into school districts whose location and size are not always determined by intelligence and usefulness. Sometimes the board of education is composed of unintelligent though honest and earnest citizens; sometimes it tlonal. The Mountaineers of the South 147 is controlled by small designing politicians. The school houses are often rude and uncomfortaWe log houses, with little or no furniture. The teacher is likely to be poorly equipped and has sore need to be taught himself. A well informed and devoted friend of the mountaineers tells this anec- dote : "A friend related an incident that gives an insight into the situation in some of these com- munities. While making his way on horse-back from the railway station to a summer resort hotel, he was accosted with the following plea by a des- perate looking individual sitting on the road side : 'Mister, can't you help a fellow out of a mighty bad fix? Them chillun at the school has got more sense than I've got; and I am afeard they'll find out that I can't work this here sum, and I'll lose my place.' Upon asking him to state the problem, it proved to be the following: 'If one yard of calico cost 7I/2 cents, what would 8 yards cost V " The school term in most of these counties is pain- fully short. In seven typical mountain counties of ISTorth Carolina and Tennessee it averaged in 190i seventy-six days a year. In almost all these regions a public library is unheard of, and books are scarce everywhere. The public men are sel- dom well educated, though numbers of them are in- telligent and thoughtful. Truly these conditions call for serious thought and vigorous action. The situation is not hopeless, since decided progress has been made in the last few years. 148 The Call of the Home Land io Reiigioiis A very great mistake is often made in suppos- ing that the mountain people are morally much ■worse than others. Such is far from the case. That the wide-spread lack of education places them at a serious disadvantage is not denied. But the people are very religiously inclined. There are many church organizations among them and preachers in plenty. The church buildings are often rude log houses, and the preachers suffer for lack of broad education. Services are held not more than once a month in these churches. By far the greater portion of the people are Bap- tists and Methodists, the majority probably being Baptist. The sermons that they most enjoy and for the most part hear are in the main long dis- cussions on abstract doctrines, very frequently of a narrow, denominational character. An edu- cated minister once preached in this region, his sermon being about thirty minutes long. After worship the following conversation occurred. A native preacher asked him, "Are you educated?" "Yes," said the minister, "I have been educated." "How long did you go to school ?" "Well, I was four years in college and three years in the theo- logical seminary." "And after all that schooling you can't preach but half an hour ! Why any of our preachers can preach two hours without going to school at all." Sunday-schools are not main- tained in all the churches, and, where they do The Mountaineers of the South 1^0 exist, they are in great need of equipment and bet- ter teaching. Of course it is difficult to name characteristics ^VisSS""^' that will apply universally over so wide an area, and among people differing so in condition. It is believed that the following are general. To a marked degree the people are honest. Dwellings and barns are left without fastening and without fear of depredation. Almost without exception the people are hospitable. Poor they may be and unprepared to entertain guests, but a respectable and worthy person is sure to be welcomed to all that the people have. A widespread peculiarity is failure to appreciate aright the sacredness of a promise, especially as to matters which appear to be of small importance. They are rather un- demonstrative and at first non-committal, but this arises from their purpose to shield them- selves from, imposition and to maintain their independence. In some of the communities their is a sort of tribal feeling running through the large family connections, and violence, real or fancied, done to this feeling meets with prompt, vigorous, and often fatal treatment. Their independence is everywhere a most notable trait of character, and it asserts itself in all pos- sible ways. The position of inferiority given women among the second and third classes named above is a most lamentable fault. There is a story to the effect that in reply to some questions of a 150 The Call of the Home Land stranger a mountain woman once said, "Men and dogs has an easy time in these parts, but its awful hard on women and steers." The whole concep- tion of the relation of woman to her husband, to the children, and to the work of the family sadly needs radical change. They are intensely relig- ious in temperament. They believe in God and in the Bible and in the Church. Skepticism is rare. They love to go to church and delight in religious controversy, being often quite skilfull in debate. 12. Respon- -pj^g mountaineers are not worse than other siveness, people. They have not had what might be called a full American chance. They have been and are isolated. They are truly virgin soil. Their greatest need is opportunity. A new desire to know, to do, to be, is spreading abroad, and op- portunities for betterment are eagerly seized. From these mountains have come a number of leading men in all the States where they lived. In the Revolutionary War it was a band of mountain- eers of the better class from ISTorth Carolina and Tennessee who marched horseback through dense forests and in the face of great hardship under their brilliant leader John Sevier, to fall upon the British at King's Mountain, and, to quote Thomas Jefferson, "That glorious victory was the joyous annunciation of that turn in the tide of success whi^h terminated the Revolutionary War with the seal of independence." In every great crisis of the nation they have furnished their full share of The Mountaineers of the South 151 men who dared to die for their convictions. To- day in the Southern schools, colleges, and univer- sities the young men and women from those sim- ple mountain homes are making brilliant records in scholarship in the face of difficulties that would overcome people of less sturdy and resourceful stock. It must be distinctly understood that any is. Method method of work that may be adopted must be ° carried out in the spirit of pure brotherliness. The spirit of criticism, of condescension, of pity will be at once detected and resisted with the ut- most determination. To this grand work the Church and the School must go hand in hand. The fundamental conception of the church must 14. The be broadened. There is need ol better church buildings to cultivate the spirit of reverence. The preaching must be altered from narrow sectarian discussions to such a treatment of the Bible as . will show its relation to the life that now is. Care- fully trained ministers of the Gospel must go to them with large resources, with constructive power, and with a vast love for the people. To such leaders they will give a warm welcome and a large place in their lives. Sunday-schools are needed in every neighborhood where twenty or more per- sons can be brought together, to be organized, equipped, and conducted according to modern ideas. The people need pastoral care of the most instructive, encouraging and spiritual kind in every 152 The Call of the Home Land direction. The best religious literature is needed in the form of books, papers, and tracts. Evangelis- tic meetings are required, in which the people are moved to action by emotion fed upon careful in- struction and by consciences enlived by the pure Word of God. 15. The The whole educational equipment and process ^ °° need reform. The public school must be awakened to a sense of its opportunity to instruct, to unite, and to advance a whole generation. The people will gladly come together to hear addresses by com- petent men on the nature and value of education, and so mass meetings are needed. . Here the church is lending its aid with the most encourag- ing results. For scattered over most of this re- gion under the control of different denominations are excellent schools, conducted with modern ideals and methods. Besides secular learning these schools teach the Bible systematically and care- fully. In thousands of cases isolation, poverty and lack of intelligence make it impossible for the homes to provide the best condition for rearing children. In such cases boarding schools intro- duce the boys and girls into the best home condi- tions available. There is urgent need for schools that will teach domestic science, gardening, farm- ing, wood and iron working, and the care of ani- mals. 16. Self It is true that while the redemption of a peo- ® ^ pie from ignorance, poverty, and sin may be sue- The Mountaineers of the South 153 cessfully begun by outside persons, its completion can be accomplished only by the people them- selves. Whatever redemptive forces may be em- ployed by generous and devout friends, the dis- tinct purpose should everywhere reign to teach the people to raise themselves. ISTative mountaineers must be educated to be teachers and preachers among their own people. It is difficult to name the good results already 17. Results reached. The spirit of improvement is spreading abroad in the great mountains. The material con- ditions which have existed for generations are rap- idly changing with the advent of the railroad and the sawmill. Better trained ministers are even now at work. The school is answering to the de- mands made upon it with some traces of modern efficiency. But the most blessed results have been reached through the education and conversion of hundreds of resourceful young men and women, who have returned to their homes representing a new era, and humbly taking their places in the home life to redeem it and to raise it to God. What are these magnificent mountains saying is. The ^ „ ,, ..I Mountains to me? They call me to rest, to recreation and ^^j to pleasure. They welcome me to climb their rugged slopes and to stand on their high-lifted summits and gaze into the blue distance where the "far- flung line" of peaks disappears. At my feet there are thousands of natives, honest, hospitable, eager, responsive, and resourceful people, isolated, shut 154 The Call of the Home Land in upon themselves and shut out from God's large place. The restless, hungry city yonder calls me to enter its struggle, and it represents power, in- fluence, position. As I gaze, Jesus Christ comes up the path, and, standing at my side, looks into the great valley below with longing eyes. He goes down the path, beckoning to me, and together we go into the isolation, the hunger, the sin, into the infinite promise of human life made rich and beautiful by his touch. Questions aub Hints. 1. Get out a good map and study carefully the location of the Southern mountains. Bring to the class objects gotten in this region, or pictures of its scenery and life. 2. In what States do these brothers live ? Study the statistics until they speak to you. 3. Can you verify the description of the soil, rivers and climate ? 4. Are the products of the region suflScient to sustain its life ? 5. Estimate the influence of isolation. Its causes. Compare it with Chinese isolation. 6. Give some account of their origin. Trace some of their family names to their source, such as Sevier, Benfield, Buchanan, Vance, Burleson, Banner, McCoy. 7. Describe the classes of people. How did they originate ? The Mountaineers of the South 155 8. Give in your own words a picture of a moun- tain home ? 9. Report upon their educational condition. 10. How do their religious characteristics differ from those of your community ? 11. What of their responsiveness ? Make a list of leading men in American history who came from the mountains'. What did each one in your list do ? 13. What spirit must characterize remedial work ?• 14. Estimate' the work to be done by the church. 15. The value, of the school. 16'. Why should native workers be trained? Discuss the question of self-help as related to evan- gelization. 17. What results from work done? 18. May not Jesus Christ be calling you to give your life to these brothers in isolation? Books of Reference. Literature on this subject is chiefly in the form of leaflets, pamphlets and reports. Write to your denominational Homa Missionary Board or Society for information.. Reports of Southern Board of Education, Uni- versity of Tenn., Knoxville, Tenn. Reports of TJ. S. Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C. 156 The Call of the Home Land At Our Own Door, by S. L. Morris. Heroes of the Cross in America, by Don 0. Shelton. Southern Mountaineers. S. T. Wilson, D. D., Maryville, Tenn. ^^i r^^ 7 '^^-v'^'^^V^:.. ' Ljj .: i« 1 ^ IBE*.-^'^- wSBS IB _^^ — ,. .-,, Contact VIII A Problem of Reconstruction : The Countr-z Church. In a group of twenty-nine students in the Col- i- ^o]nt of lege Conference for the Southwest, there were sev- enteen men whose parents were from the country, and twelve of the men came thence themselves. It is undoubtedly true that most of the people who live in the Central, Western and Southern States are close to the country, and have pleasant recol- lections of their own, or of their gTandparents' rural home. Perhaps it was not far from this home to the * country church where the family went to worship. The building was plain in its white and green. It stood not far from the cross- roads in a small grove of beautiful trees. Just a little way from it was the burying ground where our kin for generations have found a resting place till the trumpet of God shall wake them. Just down the hill was the spring where the thirsty crowds went for sweet cool water. Here and there in the grove were hitching posts where the horses were tied. On preaching day it was filled with horses, mules, wagons, buggies and carriages. Inside the house the pews were plain, and the floor uncarpeted. At most two stoves furnished the heat for the winter. A small cabinet organ to one side near the front showed where the choir sat. 157 158 The Call of the Home Land The pulpit was unadorned, consisting of a plat- form on which were a desk for the Bible and hymn book and two chairs for the minister and an occas- ional visiting brother. "Sweetly simple," we say. Yes ! But here it was that the people learned of God and of one another, a*nd the fires of faith were kept aglow, and reverence was cultivated, and love grew strong. Some who study these pages will be going back there one of these days as pastors, and many to live and work and die. We need to study the conditions carefully. ^A. ^f'.^t"^ This church was once lare-e and flourishing, but Conditions . . ^ . (1) Small now it is weak and small. This state of affairs is and Weak ^^^ ^^ ^^^ changes in the population. Many of the old people have died and the younger generation , has moved away. Sometimes it happens tliat a village has grown up some miles away around a railroad station and the people have moved their membership there. What is to be done with' the remnant ? The old must be comforted and the young must be trained. In many cases the church differs from the one just described in that it is small because it is new. Its future depends upon its being nurtured now. and strong There are still left many large and strong rural churches, their membership numbering several hundred. Its supporters are prosperous farmers who take an honest pride in their church relations and give time and money and thought to their maintenance. A Problem of Reconstruction 159 As above indicated the rural church buildings (3) Plain are severely plain in architecture, as a general rule, BuUdingrs In this respect they are protestant indeed. They are uncomfortable in the winter and far too little care is bestowed on them. Of course there arc notable exceptions, where the buildings are large and handsome, giving evidence of the refined taste and wealth of the community. It is difficult to estimate the average size of the (4) Smaii country church. The majority of them belong to e^Membei" the Methodist and Baptist denominations. On the ship whole, perhaps, their average membership num- bers less than 150 communicants. By the very nature of the case they must be scattered, in not a few cases, families living seven and ten miles from the church. In some of the older and richer States of the (5) Bad East the rural districts are blessed with many miles of graded and macademized roads, a journey over which is a delight. But throughout the land at large the roads are bad indeed. In the summer time tliey are endurable, but in the winter and early spring their condition makes them often im- passable, ^ot long ago a progressive pastor preached a sermon to his country church on "Good Roads as a Means of Grace." The American climate is favorable to out-of- (6) inciem- door life for the greater part of the year, but in ®^ every section there are months of frost or rain. It is hard on man and beast to drive for miles over 160 The Call of the Home Land rough roads in a storm to find shelter in a cold building, or stand tied exposed to the cold and wet. (7.1 Unsiiit- The improvement in the quality of the vehicles cies used by country people has been great in recent years, and will continue to be greater with the in- crease of wealth and the betterment of the roads. But in multitudes of cases, especially amongst the poor, open buggies, wagons or carts are the only means of getting to church besides walking. 3. inteuec- In many rural districts the peoj)le are well edu- (1.1 improv^ cated, their homes are supplied with good reading ing- and they are interested in matters far beyond their immediate surroundings. ISTevertheless it is true that for various reasons country people are not generally as well educated as their friends who live in town or city. And so the country church faces the problem of ignorance as well as of sin. (2.) stim- In thousands of country districts the church is uius to ^YiQ strongest stimulus to education in existence. Education ^ Its very presence brings light, and its supreme struggle is with the darkness. In the early set- tlement of this country the church and school house stood by one another in more senses than one, and the prophet on Sunday was the preceptor on week days. 4. Social "Yhe church is tlie center of the social life of Life many a rural community, and should by all means be made more and more the supreme influence thereof. This is manifested in many ways. A Problem of Reconstruction 161 Tho teaching and preaching services on Sunday (i) The Siinday Meeting more Irequently and regularly bring the people "^ ^ together than any other occasion. The routine of the farm-life or the weather has kept the people close at home during the week. On Sunday neigh- bor meets neighbor on the friendliest terms at the church. Here they exchange news about their af- fairs and often lay wise and useful plans for the common good. Here strangers are introduced and cordially welcomed to the hospitality of the neigh- borhood. In their worship they are drawn together and made homogeneous. On these occasions the preacher is, humanly speaking, the most powerful constructive force in the life of the whole region. The burial of the dead brings the people to- punerai gether under circumstances peculiarly favorable to the cultivation of sympathy and kindly service. All weep together. In the marriage of the young the whole church (3) The is interested, and for weeks this happy event is the chief subject of conversation. All rejoice to make the young folks happy, and the community is united in rejoicing. More and more these days the church is bring- (4") The ing its people together to cultivate acquaintance, P^""^- and teach people to be interested in one another. This custom is more observed in town and city than in the country at present. But it is surely making its way to the most remote localities. At thesf occasions an excellent opportunity is afforded 162 The Call of the Home Land for the cultivation of social graces and manners, and the young are taught wholesome forms of recreation. One of the most serious defects in American rural life is the lack of social organiza- tion. The first duty of the church is to save men, not to entertain them. But one of the surest ways to keep them saved is to keep them interested in one another and wholesomely entertained. The country pastor may well study the science and art of entertaining people in groups. ^®' ■^°??*' One of the most marked graces of the country church is its hospitality. Everybody is cordially welcomed by everybody, and one is often embar- rassed by the very abundance and warmth of invi- tations to the houses of the people. Upon this grace the social life of the church rests, and it should b© carefully cultivated. 8. Spiritual Such is the material, intellectual and social life of the average country church. This is the sub- stantial environment in which its spiritual life must grow. What is that spiritual life ? ^ Pnre and Faith lives easily in the country ; in the city it Simple is kept alive with difiiculty. Here men see God in the works of his own hands, in the great silent for- ests, in cloud and sunshine, in the varied pro- cesses of nature, like the growing of grain and the instincts of animals. Here they hear his voice in the singing of the birds and in the roar of the storm. Here in the calm and silence they can hear him speak in the chambers of their souls. They A Problem of Reconstruction 163 believe in the Bible, in the Church of Christ, in the power of simple goodness here and in the real- ity of the hereafter. In the country men believe. Country people happily are the great conserva- t2) luema tives of our national life. New ideas spread slowly among them, and they unwillingly part with an old idea simply because it is old and they are ac- quainted with it This habit of mind is specially noticeable in spiritual matters, and tends to be- come pure inertia. They are too often prone to stay in their present state of mind and heart and conscience and activity. Powerful influences from without and from within must be brought to bear wisely and persistently to move them to new activ- ities and to sustain them. The final reliance of the rural church, as of all (S) Sup- churches, for the origin and maintenance of its spiritual life is the Holy Spirit sent from God in answer to believing prayer. But in its support he is pleased to use certain human agencies. The first of these in importance is the regular faithful preaching of the Gospel. Emphasis should be put upon the supreme value of the stated preaching of a regular pastor. Inferior preaching is not de- sired in the country more than elsewhere. The very best is needed, the whole message of God should be spoken, not merely the emotional and hortatory element There is pressing need of care- fully planned courses of earnest teaching, furnish- ing a broad and deep basis for the building of porta Preachlagr 164 The Call of the Home Land strong characters, a mighty setting forth of funda- mental truth in its relation to life. Experience has shown that lasting good comes to these churches from carefully planned evangelistic services held during the summer season or late fall when farm . work slacks somewhat These occasions have proved the spiritual birth-place of thousands of the best workers in the land. Sunday ^^® ^^ ^^® most notable facts of our day is the School truly wonderful growth of the Sunday School movement in extent and power. On the iNTorth American Continent there are no fewer than six- teen millions directly engaged as teachers, officers or pupils in this gracious work. The old idea of this institution as a place where pious persons with more or less fitness gather the children of the Church for more or less effective teaching and worship is giving place to a better. God's blessing has ever been on this work, however unskilled the workers and however imperfect their methods. The modem school comes with a sufficient course of in- struction, with dignified ideals of worship, with adequate material equipment and with an admira- bly adapted organization to bring all the people under its saving and uplifting power. In its sim- plest form it does not require elaborate buildings or expensive apparatus, but in an effective way gathers the children and grown people of a com- munity for the study of the Bible and for worship of the most high God. In its more elaborate forms A Problem of Reconstruction 165 it is fully equal to any reasonable task laid upon it One of its chief elements of usefulness in the country is that it does not require the presence of preachers or of professionally trained persons, however desirable they may be. It meets every Sunday and is always an invitation to study and an effort at redemption. Time and again rural churches have been kept from perishing by theii* Sunday Schools. The wise worker in the rural districts will give particular attention to the growth of the Sunday School. it needs no argument to prove that religious Books books and papers are powerful allies in the sup- port of the spiritual life. The Sunday School library is the fountain from which many a thirsty youth has drunk. It is a sad fact that from ignor- ance, poverty or carelessness, or from all three combined, the average country home is ill supplied with good literature. Libraries of good religious books can now be rented at a reasonable rate for a limited time. A little co-operation in any con- siderable neighborhood will result in raising funds enough with which to start a church library. A review of the facts above recited will impress generation one with the thought that the forces, material, so- cial and spiritual, now at work are not specially favorable to the rural church. Its regeneration is of the highest importance because the churches themselves considered are eminently worthy of it. It must be considered that the town and city 166 The Call of the Home Land churches are recruited largely from this source. If these members are well taught and well trained at home, then their entrance to the new and larger life of the city will not draw them from the church. To the country church we have learned through long years of experience to look for a fresh supply of ministers. How shall this regeneration- be effected ? First of all it should be repeated that this work must proceed from the Holy Spirit It must come from within. Hlumination, vision, de- sire, conviction, adequate action, result from his presence in the heart and life of the Church. Noth- ing should be allowed to obscure this momentous fact. All progress is the result of the union of divine and human energy. Some effective methods are here suggested. Betterment. Communities are not regenerated in a moment as a whole. Each individual must be changed. This fact does not in the least alter the necessity of dealing with the Church as a whole, each con- gregation being regarded as a social unit. Plans large enough to affect the whole must be devised, and adequate action must be initiated. One great dominating policy must be adopted, and all the ele- ments of the whole must be brought to contribute to its out-working. About fifteen years ago ui Toronto a young man just from the seminary took charge of a new field. At the first service in spit* of a good deal of advertising there was no on© present except the minister and some students wh» ( 1 ) Social A Problem of Reconstruction 167 had corrbB to aid him. But the young man had a vision, and towards it he worked patiently, rely- ing on God for guidance and results. By and by this work began to gather persons around it and a church was organized. From the first the young man sought to have them see his vision of a church committed as a whole to the firm belief that it ex- isted to make Jesus known in all the world. They caught the vision and to-day there are four hundred and fiity members with a pastor at home and one beyond the seas. The social unit was moved in the direction of the vision. ( 2 ) Sunday It is indeed a serious matter for a church to school im- neglect to use to its fullest capacity the modem provement idea of Sunday School work. 'No other argument is needed than that children and youth, hitherto the largest field of its endeavors, are worth saving for their own sakes. Our zeal should be quickened when we remember that this is one of the church's most effective agencies for salvation. Then, too, upon the salvation and training of the young de- pends the effectiveness of the Church of to-mor- row. Through the home department and special •lasses for adults the Sunday School is giving proof of its ability to deal with the mature life of the Church. The Church of to-morrow is present in the young life of to-day. No pains therefore should be spared to bring the Sunday School in the coun-- try to the highest degree of efficiency. 168 The Call of the Home Land <8) Youna: In addition to the Sunday School, whose chief People's • Societies ^^'^^^^ i^ to study the Word, nearly all denomina- tions to-day encourage the organization of Young People's Societies, whose principal care is to train for work. Millions of young folks scattered over the whole earth are now being trained to habits of definite daily Bible study and prayer; to conduct a prayer-meeting acceptably; to study, pray for, and give to, missions ; to take active part in hun- dreds of ways in the work of the local church. The leadership of the churches is involved in this mat ter of training the young to take the places left vacant by their parents, or to step out with high purpose to undertake some new line of work. This work undoubtedly has peculiar difficulties in the country, but none are insurmountable. 8. The In- Beyond all doubt the minister of the Gospel is ( 1 > Ministers ^^^ chief human agent in this reconstructive work. In numberless cases ministers, young and old, need a new vision of the condition and relations of the country charges. They are too often viewed as a practice ground on which to gain experience for town or city work. The author wishes to record here his conviction that, after a ministerial life of twenty-six years spent in country, town and city, as teacher, pastor and secretary, he has never done a piece of work that was more appreciated, or more immediately and permanently fruitful, than the three years spent in ministering to four widely scattered country churches. His heart turns to A Problem of Reconstruction 169 them yet with deep longing. Men of the highest ability, with the most genuine culture, aflame with zeal for their work, and drawn by a real love for the people, are the supreme human. need of the struggling country churches. l^ext in efficiency to the skilful minister is the '2) Trained , , 1 • 1 • 1 Leaders trained worker, man or woman, each m his or ner appointed sphere. ISTo man has ever yet seen what that man is capable of who has given himself en- tirely into God's hands to be used as He sees fit. One of the most pressing needs of our country churches is for their leaders to go to institutes, conferences and summer training schools to get their vision en- larged and to learn the best ways of working. The officers of these churches in particular need this experience, and should be urged to use every op- portunity in reach. The young people are pecu- liarly susceptible to such influences, and their leaders should be sent where they can see the best methods under the most wholesome influences. The college man in his country home and church has a special duty to perform. His education is not to be viewed as a special favor to be enjoyed alone, but as an opportunity for trained service to his fellowmen. He should step to the front and with God's help lead. For one reason or another our country churches ^^i orerani- suffer heavily for lack of thoroughly effective or- ganization. In this age of competition, the insti- tution that is not organized throughout to do a 170 The Call of the Home Land definite work is doomed to be left behind hope- lessly. The country church is no exception. The first principles of organization must be taught, and effective methods sought, found and adopted. The officers of a church should adopt a definite policy bearing on every phase of the church's life. Then every member must be brought into a defi- nite relation to it. The women must be sought out and committed to a definite responsibility. The men must bo enlisted, each having his own work in harmony with the whole. The instruction of the church on Sunday, in tho prayer-meeting, in the Sunday School, in the homes must be intelli- gently planned. The training of tho young, espe- cially in Bible and mission study and in prayer must be planned in tHe light of God's Word and of modern experience. The worship of the church in song and in gifts must be organized to be most effective. What detail was given to Moses by God for the organization of his Church ! How it em- braced all tho men und Avomen and children, and extended to every conceivable situation ! In apos- tolic days the organization was changed, but it wa« no whit less effective. In both cases the Churck was taught again and again that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." 9. Why Multitudes of our young people go from the col- gMand Idle? i^^^ campus back to the village or country church. For a few weeks they attend its worship, and touck A Problem of Reconstruction 171 its life. Why not lay hold with prudence and joy- fully to see what good may be done ? Some go back from college to live in the country. One such person may be called by God to undertake with his help the reconstruction of the religious life of a whole community. Is God calling you ? Will you do what he wants you to do ? Answer quickly, ''Here am I, Lord, send me, send me!" Questions and Hints. 1. Did you come from a country church? De- scribe its location and physical condition. Give the description in the text. 2. Why are country churches generally small ? What sort of buildings do they have? How does a scattered membership affect their life ? Bad roads ? the weather ? vehicles ? S. Estimate the intellectual life of a rural church ? How does it affect religion ? 4. Give an account of the social life. Estimate the social influence of Sunday meetings ; of funerals ; of weddings ; of parties. 5. Name two leading characteristics of the spir- itual life of the rural church. Other characteris- tics? !N"ame the chief supports of the spiritual life. Estimate their relative importance. 6. Why is the regeneration of the country churches important ? What three methods are sug- gested ? Criticize these methods. Give others. 172 The Call of the Home Land 7. What instruments of regeneration are named ? Whence comes the minister's authority ? Is he to be obeyed? What need of trained leaders? Are you training to be a leader, if God shall call you ? Why is organization necessary ? Try to sketch an effective organization for your country church. Criticize your plan. 8. Make a complete list of the things you can do for your home church in countrv or village. Will you do them all ? Book of Reference. The Country Church. U. S. Senate Document No. 705 of Sixtieth Congress, Second Session. May be had from Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, or from a United States Sen- ator from your State. IX The Making of a Boy : Boy's Club. Boys are everywhere, and not one should he lost. What can be done to save them for God and for society ? It will be well to study them with, the utmost care. Let us analyze one if we can. I. His Body. The greatest fact about a boy's body is its well- i. itsoon- nigh ceaseless activity. There is an intimate re- lation between health and morals. So it is of importance to keep his body well. Cleanliness likewise influences character, perhaps to a far greater extent than many of us think. Plenty of soap, water, and towels is the first condition to- ward his regeneration. A weak boy is apt to be cowardly and scheming ; a strong one, overbearing . and aggressive; a deformed one, distrustful of himself, suspicious of others. The great end is to get a boy to take care of 2. its Oare himself. To this end appeal should be made di- rectly to reason. If that fail then resort to pride. If that fail a friendly talk with parents may be tried. It should always be private, and great tact- fulness is required. Caution is needed to pre- vent hurting a boy's feelings, or offending his personality. When an honest effort is made to 173 174 The Call of the Home Land improve, wise commendation is good medicine, s. KsEne- Enemies, cruel and eager, lie in wait for him. °^®^ Laziness is one of the chief of these, leading to stagnation. Dirt comes easy, stays easy, and seems natural, but it is an enemy. Then tobacco, es- pecially the cigarette, strikes at nerves and heart Beer and whiskey beckon him under the guise of good feeling and good fellowship. At the age of puberty, lust or sexual desire, coming as a new ex- perience, is apt to lead to unchastity. Friends, too, abound for the boy. Play is his natural ele- ment and is designed by God for his good. Well adapted work develops his habits of concentra- tion and persistence, laying a foundation for fu- ture industry. Soap and water, liberally applied in frequent baths, keep the body fresh and clean. Well directed athletics secure orderly development of bodily powers and tend directly to manliness and skill. A boy needs to practice restraint upon certain tendencies to eat too much. A firm hand on a boy's shoulder has kept many a fellow straight. II. His Miinj. Mental powers differ greatly in boys, and so it is wrong to pour them all into the same mould, or fo require the same work from them all. One boy likes mathematics; another, geoerraphy; another. Making of a Boy 175 phjsicial science ; another, history. One boy is a natural musician, while his companion is in- fatuated with mechanics. The mental gift should be discovered early and be made the key to his education ultimately. The chief business of the average American boy 2. his Lee- is going to school, and studying is his occupation sons for nine months. Here is an easy avenue of ap- proach to his inner life. Well directed questions about his books and lessons draw him out soon and open the way for intelligent sympathy. The wise leader forms an acquaintance with teachers and makes an alliance with the school. Wise entrance to his school life gives an unhindered opportunity to inspire him to secure a liberal education, a thing that is within reach of every American boy. One faces at once the question of his reading. ^^^J^^ A list of the best five or ten books for boys is a school valuable possession. Keep them before the boys until they have mastered their contents. The habit of reading the best books can be most easily fixed in boyhood and will be a source of power and happiness to him always. His taste should be carefully watched. It is a good plan to teach boys to begin early to form their own libraries and to aid them in the selection and purchase of the books. A friendly visit with some boys to the public library will open a world of opportunity to them. 176 The Call of the Home Land 4. Absorp- A boy leams more perhaps out of school than Afieimiiation i^ it. He acts on the world around him like a sponge on water — absorbs it. He is one enormous interrogation point to all nature and persons. In- quisitiveness is his chief mental quality, and side by side with it is its correlative, acquisitiveness. Nearly every time he asks a question he gets a fact. Memory comes promptly to his aid and the newly gotten fact is laid away for future use. Visits to museums, zoological gardens, menageries, pic- ture galleries, long rambles in the woods — all may be made powerful allies in the education of a boy. The important thing for the leader of boys in their education is to become informed as to conditions and enter with real sympathy into their struggle with men, books, and things. III. His Soul. 1. Its Con- Observation and the Bible unite in teaching that a boy s soul is sinful. He does wrong natur- ally ; it is a struggle to do right. The fact is shown in many different ways in different boys, and some- times in the same boy. Down at the root of his thinking, of his feeling, and of his action some- thing is wrong. It must be made right before the only permanently satisfactory results can be got- ten. a. itsBefiren- This soul must be touched by the Holy Spirit orstloii* • • •