JroAvjf] i ill I A XT ATIN AMFRIC Class Book._ Gopyriglit};?- C0FXRIGHT DEPOSm RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA AN OUTLINE AND INTERPRE- TATION OF THE CONGRESS ON CHRISTIAN WORK IN LATIN AMERICA, HELD AT PANAMA, FEBRUARY 10-19, 1916 By HARLAN P. BEACH, D.D., F.R.G.S. Professor of the Theory and Practice of Missions, Yale University NEW YORK MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 1916 tft *° y^> K Copyright, 1916, by the Missionary Education Movement of thi United States and Canada 4 1? OCT 25 1916 ©CI.A445346 "Vv-b / FOREWORD In preparing this condensed account of an epoch- marking conference, the author has been embarrassed by space limitations which have necessitated the omis- sion of much material quite as important as some that has been included. His aim has been to select that which is most typical of the Panama Congress and to omit duplications, so far as the completeness of separate chapters would allow. Repetitions still remain for the reason that a number of the Commissions needed to include material which had been used in a different relation in other reports; and to omit these duplicated portions would mar the completeness of a given Com- mission's work. The author wishes it to be distinctly understood that this volume has been written with a constant desire to reproduce truly the ideas given expression at the Con- gress and not to emphasize his own judgments on many of the problems discussed. To that end, and with the concurrence of its editorial committee, he has used freely, and without acknowledging his obligations formally, the exact words of the reports and of the platform addresses. He has not inserted quotation marks always when the ordinary usage would require them. This is due to the exigencies of his desire to give the precise thought of a writer or speaker, and Iv FOREWORD at the same time to economize space ; so that quotation, paraphrase and condensation may occur in a single sen- tence, making the marks of quotation, if used, an enigma and a blemish. This editorial license will be criticised most by those speakers whose more formal addresses are summarized and extracted from in Chap- ter X. The author hopes that he has not sinned in the manner described by Dr. McCosh in his "Divine Government," where he remarks, "A garbled quota- tion may be the most effective perversion of an author's meaning." If he has transgressed seriously in this matter, forgiveness is asked publicly for scores of offenses that may be noted not only in that chap- ter, but more especially in the extremely concise re- productions of ideas expressed in platform discus- sions. Despite the brevity and omissions of this volume, it will have failed utterly of its purpose, if it has not brought to the reader some impression of the profound importance of a congress which should mean more for the higher life of Latin America and for the awakening of Christian responsibility for aiding its leaders in national uplift than any other single factor in its social, mental and spiritual regeneration. Hap- pily, the full significance of the Congress may be more fully appreciated from the three-volume report, con- taining the investigations of its eight Commissions, as well as a careful report of its platform discussions and addresses. July 15, 1916. H. P. B. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Foreword iii I The Story of the Congress. i II Rediscovering Latin America 25 III Interpretation, Message, Method 55 IV Latin Americans and Education. 81 V Leaves for the Healing of Nations 109 VI The Upbuilding of Womanhood 123 VII The Latin Evangelical Churches 139 VIII The Home Fulcrum 165 IX Unity's Fraternal Program 187 X Congressional Addresses 207 XI Aftermath and Estimates 229 Index 251 / ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Panama Congress in Session Frontispiece The Business Committee 26 Delegates at Pedro Miguel Locks 26 Street Preaching 58 ^ Industrial Mission 58 v Woman Colporteur, Chile 90 \ Yucatan-Indian Evangelist, Mexico 90 Sunday School, Brazil 122 Children Who Need a Sunday School, Mexico 122 - Continuation Committee 154 Sea Wall Church, Panama 154 Some Latin-American Delegates at Panama , 186 Girls' Dormitory, Christo School, Cuba 218 Arrival of the Physician at the Dispensary, Porto Rico 218 THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS In the oldest city founded upon the American main- land by Europeans, at the southern terminus of the Panama Canal, was held from February tenth to the nineteenth, 191 6, a congress unparalleled in the New World's history of missions. Some of the reasons mak- ing it so noteworthy were mentioned in Dr. Mott's response to the address of welcome extended to the Congress by Sefior E. Lefevre, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Panama. "We have dele- gates," said he, "from virtually every one of the re- publics of North and South America. We likewise have representatives from Europe and the distant parts of the world. I fancy that not in the history of the Western Hemisphere has there been assembled a gathering so representative of the leaders and the forces of righteousness of this great sphere of the world's activity. There have been notable gatherings rep- resenting the political ideals and ambitions and hopes of the Western Hemisphere. There have been most successful gatherings to promote commercial relations between these nations. There have been scientific con- gresses — notably the one recently held in Washington — that have done much to cement the bonds between 2 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA these peoples and to prepare for a better day. But not before this time have we had such a representative company of Christian workers, men and women of wide vision, who have met together for this altruistic pur- pose in the realization of great hopes." Dr. Mott might have added that it was to Panama, also, that in June, 1826, representatives of Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and the United States had been invited "to consult together and, if deemed practicable, to form a league to resist Spain, or any other power that might attempt to interfere in America, and to consider the expediency of freeing Cuba and Porto Rico from Spanish rule." It was thus a city of early importance in the mediating history of the New World, and it was now once more to become so. In deciding upon the meeting place for this Con- gress four possibilities were seriously considered. A central city in the United States was ruled out, since this was a gathering for Latin America and not for its northern neighbor, for missionaries from all the sending countries and not for those from the United States solely. Rio de Janeiro had its strong claims, — the capital of Latin America's United States and allur- ing in its tropical loveliness as it skirts an almost peer- less harbor under the shadow of Sugar Loaf and the Sleeping Giant. But its hot, humid, debilitating cli- mate and the fact that Brazil is Portuguese while the remainder of Latin America is Spanish were objec- tions against that city. Even more attractive was Buenos Aires, South America's metropolis, surpassed THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 3 in population by only three cities of the Western Hemisphere, the Greater New York, Chicago and Phil- adelphia, and vastly more than "a plaster imitation of Paris," as is proved by its substantial public buildings, great business houses, spacious docks serving the ves- sels of a thousand ports and a record for cleanliness and sanitation making it one of the healthiest capitals in the world. Yet its remoteness from the majority who would naturally attend such a gathering was sufficient to disqualify it for a Christian Congress. Panama remained and was finally chosen as the meeting place of the first important evangelical con- ference to be held in Latin America. And it was highly appropriate that it should be thus honored. As the Panama News Letter reminded the delegates, one can- not forget that the records and ruins of old Panama show that it was the seat of a Roman Catholic arch- bishop before St. Augustine — the oldest permanent town in the United States — w r as founded; and that it was here that money was raised to equip the expedi- tion which first carried the cross of Christ to South America and brought back for wondering Europe the news of the great Inca Empire and its unique people. Its famous Gold Road over which slaves and mules carried the treasure of the Incas was the precursor of other trails and of the railway of Forty-Niner fame. But the crowning sanitary and civil engineering achievement of the world, the Panama Canal and its sheltering healthful Zone, were both an attraction and a strong argument. That silver band of water uniting 4 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA two great oceans, fed by never failing streams and flushed by tropical rains, receives into its hospitable embrace the merchantmen and navies of the world. Just as the Canal binds together and enriches the nations, so this Congress had in it the possibilities of uniting and blessing the Latin-American republics. Meeting near its waters was to take courage and to plan seemingly impossible things, to shrink from no expenditure of money and life and to make use of the wisdom and inexhaustible resources of the Heavenly Kingdom. It was above the city, on the slopes of beautiful Ancon, that the Congress convened. The government's Hotel Tivoli was the trysting place where lovers of God and of men daily and nightly met and lived to- gether. A majority of the leaders were lodged at the hotel; so that some of the finest fruits of this Latin- American paradise were the firm friendships and com- mon points of sympathy and view resulting from such close intimacy. Tennis before breakfast, when the dewdrops sparkled on every blade of grass and on each glossy banana frond and when the sun was rising out of the Pacific to rule the tropical day, or early tramps to the dense jungle, impenetrable by anything larger than a rat except an elephant, and again the walks to- gether just before dinner, were restful preparatives and interludes in a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Nor was there anything insular or exclusive about these intimacies. Bishops from North America locked arms with Latin laymen, as they strolled about or sat THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 5 together in the breeze-swept ballroom, where the ses- sions of the Congress were held. While it was only the more demonstrative Latins who embraced each other, they and the staid, cold New Englanders were as one in their familiar intercourse between sessions. In other words, had there never been anything more than these ten days of Christian fellowship, with no suggestion of formal conference, the gathering would have justified fully its assembling. Dubious or ag- gressive Romanist onlookers must have felt inwardly impelled to testify of this group of leaders, "Behold how they love one another!" And so said the rank and file of the Panamanians. As the place chosen for the Congress was strategic, so there was a providential timeliness in its convening just at this juncture in history. As was shown so effectively by Dr. Mott, the completion of the Canal has turned the thought of serious people to the changed relationships involved. It has created a new water map of the world, with the Canal Zone as its center, whence radiate new ocean routes with their necessitated racial adjustments, due to international rivalries. It has compelled the United States in par- ticular to review its Monroe Doctrine, both in its polit- ical and in its religious aspects and obligations. The long drawn out political disturbances in Mexico have linked the Northern Republic by close ties with the "A. B. C. countries" of South America, as they strive together to bring to Mexicans the elements of a stable peace. Those present at a special session of members 6 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of the Christian Congress called to consider mission- ary problems arising from the revolution in that re- public could hardly fail to note the parallel between the political helpfulness of "A. B. C." diplomacy as re- lated to Mexico and the hoped-for religious advance- ment arising from that evening spent in common in- terdenominational planning for a more brotherly and cooperative program for that perturbed and divided country. Such a deputation as was sent to Latin America in 19 14 by the Carnegie Endowment for In- ternational Peace, resulting in the discovery of strong feelings of friendship and of ways in which the north- ern and southern continents could be helpful, both in- tellectually and culturally, to each other, suggests the opportuneness of a similar religious rapprochement through this conference. The Pan American Scien- tific Congress, held only a few weeks before, was another suggestion of the immediate desirability of bringing the Christian forces together for a scientific discussion of missionary efficiency and dynamics. It was also deemed to be the psychological moment in which to bring to bear upon the Latin- American missionary propaganda certain results, in- digenous and imported, arising from such movements and object-lessons as the educational work of the Piedras Negras Institute, the broad social and re- ligious program of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation and the remarkable achievements of Sefior Alvaro Reis' self-supporting church in Rio de Janeiro, perhaps the strongest evangelical congregation in Latin THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 7 America. Indeed, the Congress was permeated with the Zeitgeist and tingled with the Geistesdrang of this epochal period in the evolution of the missionary- enterprise; it was the rich heir of recent advances in the science of missions and burned with the ardor which the impelling spirit of unity and cooperation is imparting in these latter days. And finally the shadow and the reality of the awful European war entered as a factor into this timeliness. Thus a series of important conferences in the Levant, to be held under the leadership of Dr. John R. Mott, representing the Edinburgh Conference Continuation Committee, had to be given up, making it possible at this critical period to render the Panama Congress more effective than it otherwise might have been. Post-bellum op- portunities will doubtless be unique, and now is the time in which the Church and individual Christians should consider and prepare for them. If Europe's burdens, because of the costly and exhausting warfare, will then be too heavy to admit of aiding Latin Amer- ica, Latins and North Americans should unite their forces and increase their efforts to make good the loss. How did this Latin-American Congress on Christian Work, thus strategically convened and timed, come to be? Dr. Robert E. Speer, who later was made its Chairman, told the story in an address at the Foreign Missions Conference of the United States and Canada at Garden City, L. L, in January, 1916. A few rep- resentatives of the evangelical Churches of Latin 8 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA America and missionaries from its republics met to- gether in Princes Street, Edinburgh, during the ses- sions of the World Missionary Conference of June, 19 10. It had seemed best to limit the deliberations and representation of that Conference to missions in non-Christian lands; hence a depth and earnestness of feeling characterized that group of men, who felt that the service commanding their supreme allegiance was in danger of being passed by. Four matters were most upon their mind. They were much concerned over the apparent indifference of great masses of their fel- lows to what they themselves deemed to be the funda- mental spiritual rights of the Latin- American nations and were anxious that these claims should be laid upon the hearts of the home constituency in a more effec- tive way. Secondly, they were deeply impressed with [the need of an adequate, popular and helpful litera- ture for the Portuguese and Spanish evangelical churches. Again, they were convinced that now was the time when those parts of those great lands, sparsely inhabited but some day to be densely settled, now comparatively unoccupied by the Church, should be arranged for by such distribution of responsibility among the Churches as would ensure adequate provis- ion and care. And, lastly, they were convinced that these great needs could be met only as some gather- ing might be held which would do for Latin-American peoples what the Edinburgh Conference was seeking to do for all the mission work among non-Christian nations. THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 9 The first step toward the realization of their desires was taken in March, 19 13, when a conference was held in New York, attended by representatives of mission- ary organizations of Canada and the United States having work in Latin America. At the expiration of two days spent in discussing the needs of those fields with missionaries who chanced to be home on fur- lough, a committee was appointed to promote the in- terests of missions in Latin-American lands. A year later the small committee of five called a meeting at Garden City, for additional consultation, especially with reference to the situation in Mexico, due to the prolonged insurrection there. The meeting instructed the committee to increase its number and to add repre- sentatives of each agency doing work in Latin America, resulting in a committee of eighteen. When this action became known in the Latin-American countries, cor- respondence and personal interviews of missionaries recalled the hopes entertained at Edinburgh. The result was the initiation of the plan for the Panama Congress. A report was made at the Foreign Missions Conference at Garden City in January, 191 5, when each Society having work in Latin-American lands was separately approached. As these organizations responded favor- ably and in different ways expressed their desire to send delegates, the Congress was definitely decided upon. While this decision was reached with practical una- nimity by the organizations most concerned, different opinions as to its advisability were expressed by a io RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA few. Opposition arose in three main sections of the Church. A few hyper-evangelicals objected to the Congress on the ground that it was a step toward compromise with Rome, since any such gathering would probably echo the prevalent demand for sym- pathy and possible cooperation with the Roman Church in measures upon which all could agree, being wholly apart from doctrine and objectionable practice. This, they feared, would set in motion a Rome-ward movement. At the opposite pole of Protestant Chris- tianity were a few advocates of union among all branches of the Christian Church, who felt that such a gathering would irritate the Romanists so greatly that later union with them of any sort would be im- possible, or at least would be made more difficult. As their sacramentarian views were more nearly those of Rome than of most Churches having missionaries in Latin America, they conscientiously opposed the Con- gress, especially if held in the capital of a republic dominantly Roman Catholic. Naturally the strongest opposition came from the Roman Bishop of Panama, whose views were set forth in official pronounce- ments to his constituency, in which he bade them be- ware of false prophets that were coming among them "clad in sheep furs," but who were really "wolves in their interior," and in which he prohibited their attend- ing the meetings under penalty of mortal sin. While a few local opponents of Protestantism were similarly stirred and issued more or less bitter fulminations against the Congress, it was interesting to see what local THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS u Catholic papers had to say against this form of attack. And Protestant opposition likewise proved to be no obstacle to the effectiveness of the Congress. Thus five bishops of the Church which had questioned the advisability of its assembling were present and were most helpful participants in its deliberations. With the exception of the Edinburgh World Mis- sionary Conference, it is probable that no similar gathering had been so laboriously prepared for as was the Congress at Panama. Carefully chosen commis- sions had been giving months to the painstaking in- vestigation of eight vital phases of missions in Latin America. A goodly proportion of the leading men and women working in these special departments of missionary effort freely imparted the best from their experience to the commissions. Each of these separately discussed the material thus gathered, and later the eight commissions came together for a joint review of the results reached. The revised reports were then printed in proof and sent to the fields for final criticism there. After they had been thus al- tered, each commission prepared for the private use of delegates to the Congress its final report. As most of them were journeying in groups to Panama, they met day by day to discuss still further certain outstanding issues of the various reports. It may be said that when the commissions reported on the Congress platform, the material presented was as nearly final in its form as could be hoped for. In this respect, Panama out- ranked Edinburgh, and consequently there was less 12 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA left to be criticised than at any similar gathering in any country. The secretary of the Congress, the Rev. S. G. Inman, is well within the facts when he asserts that these "reports constitute probably the most ex- haustive study of the social, educational and spiritual conditions of Latin America ever made." The personnel of the Latin-American Congress on Christian Work was both notable and in some respects unique. The World Conference of 19 10 had attracted to the Scotch Athens experts on missions and mission workers from all parts of the world, though lands under the dominating influence of forms of Chris- tianity other than Protestant could not be represented officially from their missionary ranks. All gradations of racial development, all forms of religious belief, all stages of missionary experimentation and achieve- ment, all varieties of missions theory, had a hearing on the Edinburgh platform. The problems discussed differed so greatly in the environments represented, that both in the printed reports and on the plat- form variations in the common task rather than likenesses were noticeable. Cosmopolitanism was manifest everywhere, and so Conference members came together in groups and by racial affiliations rather than through a bond of identical tasks and similar ex- periences. At Edinburgh, moreover, Occidentals, almost all of whom were missionaries, were in the overwhelming majority. It is true that a few able natives were present from the great mission fields, but with rare exceptions these delegates were silent specta- THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 13 tors of a movement in which they seemed to have little part. The joint result of so ecumenical a gather- ing was inevitably somewhat confusing; and its con- tribution to the science of Missions was that of a vast preliminary collection and coordination of data rather than a specific study of distinct problems, isolated from related facts. Panama's assembly was in marked contrast to Edin- burgh's. Missionary experts were fewer, but ex- perienced missionaries were more numerous, counted by percentages, and more prominent as speakers. In- stead of being representatives of a score of races, at Panama the Latins were the only ones present besides the men and women who had identified themselves with the Latin- American world, if two Indian boy participants, not delegates, are excepted. The twenty republics whence the delegates came are singularly homogeneous, and their problems are naturally similar. While portions of Latin America are primitive or backward, Panama as a whole dealt with peoples hav- ing a civilization akin to that of southwestern Europe. Missionary methods are almost identical throughout the Latin republics, and hence there was a common ground to be traversed with the hope of improvement all along the line, rather than with the necessity of reconciling opposed methods and theories. Instead of the ten days' monotony of addresses in English by missionaries almost solely, at Panama three languages were used at will. Here one from North America learned for the first time what oratorical possibilities 14 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA lay in the Iberian tongues and in the Latin mind. If the missionaries supplied the Anglo-Saxon poise and richer spiritual experience, their Latin brothers and sisters furnished the high enthusiasm and the cheering warmth that made the auditor listen with rapt atten- tion, even when the address was in a tongue which he did not understand. Here was a simple, single set of problems and a homogeneous company of workers to discuss them. Even on the religious side, they had not to deal with faiths as divergent as Buddhism, Moham- medanism and Confucianism, but mainly with phases of the same germinal Christianity, varying with its different environment and racial development. Here was the possibility of a scientific determination of cer- tain forms of missionary theory and method, which within three months began to find their formulation in the regional conferences following upon the Con- gress at Panama. In a word, if the two largest missionary conferences in recent years are compared, Edinburgh was general, cosmopolitan, unusually varied in viewpoint and exten- sive in scope, while Panama was specialized, homogene- ous, united and uniform in its objectives and intensive in its investigations and discussions, as was natural when all the delegates represented a single great divi- sion of the world. While the attendance was much smaller at Panama, the total number being 481, of whom 304 were delegates and official visitors from twenty-one different nations, this very fact enabled those present to become more closely acquainted and THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 15 to feel more exhilaratingly the pulsations of real unity than was possible in the greater gathering at Edin- burgh. The statistics of the Congress may suggest the preponderance of outside elements, since Latin- American representatives number 145 as against 159 delegates and official visitors from Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Spain and Italy; yet that slight disparity in numbers does not indicate that there was a corresponding difference in viewpoint, as delegates from outside Latin America were all deeply sympa- thetic with the objectives and desires of the Latin- American group. A nearer view of the Congress as it convened at Panama will supply the needed setting for the fuller appreciation of its important deliberations. The United States Government's Hotel Tivoli, which is ap- proached through a stately avenue of graceful palm trees, lies on the verdant slopes of Ancon open to the cooling breezes from the Pacific, — an item of great importance in the tropics, where clothes reduce them- selves to the lowest terms of Palm Beach suits and Panama hats or pith helmets for the men and the filmiest, coolest fabrics for the women delegates. The spacious lower floor is devoted mainly to the great dining-room and the equally generous ballroom. The mountain and seaward sides of each of these were open to all the winds of heaven, unless a chilly morning or evening called for the closing of glass doors. At all times the beauty-loving eye could turn eastward to the placid Pacific, or upward in the opposite direction to 16 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA the green hillside, covered with tropical growths, ex- cept where punctuated with beautiful residences or government buildings. From the high ceilings of the place of meeting pend- ent flags of all the American republics lazily responded to the intermittent breezes, as did the great palm fronds that adorned the pillars. Three sides of the hall were devoted to exhibits of books, periodicals and maps of the various regions of Latin America, the last having been prepared under the direction of Mr. S. W. Boggs for the inspection and criticism of the delegates. Another missionary map of South Amer- ica, measuring nine by thirteen feet, also prepared by him, was the background of the platform. A separate alcove of the room was devoted to the striking collec- tion of the American Bible Society's Spanish and Portuguese publications. It was eminently fitting that a Latin American, Pro- fessor Eduardo Monteverde of the University of Uruguay, who is also working in connection with the Young Men's Christian Association of Montevideo, should have been elected president of the Congress. His unfailing courtesy, kindly smile, forceful speech, scholarly achievements and devoted Christian life made him a typical representative of the best in the Latin- American Evangelical Church. Dr. Robert E. Speer, senior secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, was chairman of the day sessions devoted to the hearing and discussion of THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 17 the eight commission reports, a man too well known to need any word of introduction to the reader of missionary literature. Under his firm yet kindly con- duct of these sessions the Congress moved on calmly and almost without friction even when the topics dis- cussed were such as to awaken deep feeling on opposite sides of important questions. The chairman of the Business Committee, which was the real heart of the organism, was the best known figure in the mission world to-day, John R. Mott, LL.D. These old-time friends and fellow workers were pillars upon which the strong superstructure of the Congress securely rested, standing, as they did, for the highest mission- ary ideals and themselves dwelling in the manifest presence of God. To the members of the Business Committee who so unstintingly gave their time be- tween sessions to many vital matters affecting the con- duct and efficiency of the conference, the success of the gathering was largely due. The Congress so happily domiciled and officered was conducted no less ideally. Preceding the morn- ing session, devoted to the report of one of the eight commissions and lasting from half past eight until eleven, came a period of silent prayer and meditation followed by the opening devotional exercises. Each commission was allowed half an hour in which to open and close its presentation, of which twenty minutes were ordinarily given to its introduction and ten min- utes to closing at the afternoon session. At eleven o'clock the delegates turned from interesting discus- 18 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA sions to an uplifting half hour of devotion, their thought being led by men of devout mind and deep religious experience and accentuated by accessory praise and intercession. The interval between eleven thirty and half past three, when the Congress recon- vened, was variously spent, though most of the dele- gates made it a time for social intercourse, seeing quaint Panama City, only five minutes walk from the hotel, or for siestas, suggested not so much by the tropical environment as by the strenuous nature of the full days. The afternoon session of two hours was set apart for a further discussion of the theme of the day. No speaker at either of the sessions could become prolix or somnolent, for the twofold reason that the time limit of seven minutes, when a speaker was cut short by an inexorable bell, did not permit him to com- plete his unwelcome task, and because he was so anxious to make his point that he spoke directly — sometimes tumultuously — to his subject without exor- dium or peroration. As cards were signed by those desiring to speak upon any subject, the Chairman knew how many were to be heard; and in some cases the number was so great that the limit was cut down to five minutes or even less. The languages of the Congress were three. Most spoke in English, and it was noticeable that of those to whom it was not the natal tongue but who used it on the platform, the Latin- American women usually surpassed the men. When Spanish or Portuguese was used, official interpreters — summarizers rather — were THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 19 provided who followed the speaker with an English digest of what had been said, usually half as full as the original address. The Rev. Webster E. Browning, Ph.D., of Santiago, was the one who thus aided the Spanish speakers; and his summaries were notably clear and pointed. The Rev. H. C. Tucker, D.D., of Rio de Janeiro, similarly served the Portuguese dele- gates, and his interpretations were unusually felicitous in point of following closely the spirit and oratorical forms of his originals. In some cases a speaker would give what he had to say in his native tongue and then immediately follow it with his own English rendering, a conspicuous example being Sefior E. Lefevre, Minis- ter of Foreign Affairs of the Panama Republic, whose cordial address of welcome on the opening evening was thus repeated in faultless English. In addition to the regular morning and afternoon sessions devoted to the discussion of commission re- ports, a more popular gathering was held in the even- ings, when themes not connected with the commissions were presented by distinguished Latin-American and English-speaking ladies and gentlemen. While the Congress did not convene on Sunday, on the evening of February thirteenth most of the delegates attended a session held in the Instituto Nacional where Dr. Mott had been invited to address them and the citizens of Panama upon his observations and impressions of the unparalleled European conflict, — an address that throbbed with Christian passion, sympathy and tender- ness. On that occasion, which was made a semi-formal 20 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA reception to members of the Congress, Dr. E. G. Dex- ter, rector of the Institute, and Senor G. Andreve, Sec- retary of Public Instruction, voiced Panama's welcome to the speaker and to the Congress also. Both Sun- days were filled with services from one end of the Canal Zone to the other at which delegates spoke with power and great acceptance. While the United States Government and its Canal officials did not formally greet the Congress, they graciously invited its members to inspect the Canal through its most typical and important sections. On Tuesday afternoon, the delegates entered into picnic mood and boarding the train comported themselves as students on holiday. Arriving at Pedro Miguel, they detrained and inspected with keen interest the con- struction and mechanism of the gigantic locks as the vessel which was to carry the party to Gatun Lake passed through. The sail thither impressed the dele- gates with the unappreciated magnitude of this colossal undertaking, especially at Culebra Cut, where busy dredges were finishing the work caused by the great slide. One of these the following Saturday established a world's record for a day's dredging, which was at the rate of nearly twenty-five tons of mud and rock per minute. To the few who knew Panama in the old days, no less wonderful than the engineering triumphs of General Goethals was the marvelous transformation due to General Gorgas, whereby this miasmatic, mos- quito-infested region, where yellow fever conquered the French Canal builders, has become a health resort. THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 21 Though the screened porches of most of the buildings suggest winged enemies of man, so relentless is the warfare against them that the present writer saw only one fly and not a solitary mosquito during the entire ten days of his sojourn there, while many delegates did not see any. Panama, lying below Ancon and only a short dis- tance away, was the laboratory to which those members of the Congress frequently resorted who had never seen a Latin- American town. This somewhat typical Spanish city still has its Sunday bull fights, its Sunday lottery drawings held in a section of the Bishop's resi- dence diagonally opposite the Cathedral, the Cathedral itself and the cosmopolitan population which consti- tutes its charm and its problem, as in so many Latin- American centers. It was less helpful from the labora- tory viewpoint in that little work is done by missions for any except the negroes, who are of an unusually fine type, coming mostly from Jamaica. At the Sea Wall Methodist church, however, those labored for are Spanish-speaking people, except on Sunday morn- ing, when the audience is mixed. The presence at this particular center of a large number of young soldiers has complicated the task, as is so often the case when moral restraints are relaxed in a city where tempta- tions to lust and debauchery are present. What Panama and the Congress there assembled were to be to the delegates and to the Latin-American world was foreshadowed by Bishop Oldham at the very opening of its sessions. In his uplifting prayer 22 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA were these petitions : "Many, many hearts have longed and hoped and prayed for this hour. They have watched and they have waited, and they have scarcely known sometimes whether their eyes would see this hour. And now the hour has come when, gathered from many parts of the world, we are assembled to put together our plans, our visions, our hopes, our fears, and to ask that out of them all there may come one great plan, one great purpose, one great throbbing de- sire, beyond anything that we have yet known, to bring good to all here assembled. . . . Grant that in the midst of everything, placed as we are at such a time in the world's history as this, — that here may be one beautiful, glorious, luminous spot from which all Christendom shall take larger courage and firmer hope. . . . May this be a mount of vision, and may the Lord God Himself reveal unto us the things we are to do and what we are to be." And the support and inspiration of those memor- able days of counsel and deliberation were found in a simple incident, reported from an experience of Dr. Speer in the Philippine Islands in 191 5. A Filipino school teacher, in an address of welcome, said to the Board delegation that he hoped those friends had come "to bring some sweet word from our dear Lord." In his recital of the incident Dr. Speer added : "I thought of all the Christian experience that lay back of that phrasing of the desire of this Filipino youth, of all that it signified to us, . . . the abiding longing of our hearts always and in every place, to hear again, to THE STORY OF THE CONGRESS 23 hear anew, 'some sweet word from our dear Lord/ " Once and again, and every hour oftentimes, "some sweet word" would fall from lips touched by their Lord that whispered peace and comfort and wisdom and strength and the assurance of success in that bright future of Latin- American missions, when what was so prayerfully and devoutly sought out on the green slopes of Ancon looking toward the sunrising should be believed by the Church and wrought into the spiritual and common life of all Latin- American lands. II REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA As it is proposed to present in this volume each of the reports of the eight commissions in a single chap- ter, including the discussions connected with its presen- tation, — material twenty-fold more extended than the chapter itself, — it is obviously impossible to do more than select what seems of greatest importance in con- nection with each theme and condense even that modicum. The reader is referred for details and ad- ditional phases of each topic to the three-volume re- port of the Congress, containing the full statements of the eight commissions as finally edited, with the correctives due to the discussions of the Congress in- corporated in the text. To Commission I on "Survey and Occupation," whose Chairman was Mr. E. T. Colton, was entrusted the important task of laying before the delegates the results of its careful investigation of the varied condi- tions bearing directly or indirectly upon the mission- ary occupation of Latin-American lands. It was thus a preview for the other Commissions. As delimited by the Commission, Latin America in- cludes all the areas south of the Rio Grande, consist- ing of ten republics north and ten south of the Panama 25 26 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Canal Zone, and of colonies of France, Great Britain, Holland, Denmark and the Zone itself, administered like Porto Rico by the United States. Inhabiting this generous territory of 8,459,081 square miles is a population of 80,203,902, — largely estimated rather than counted. These figures need to be compared with more familiar units to be fully appreciated. Thus the United States of North America, excluding Alaska, could be superimposed upon the United States of Brazil with room enough left to accommodate two additional New Englands and New Jerseys, plus New York and Pennsylvania. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland would not quite fill Ecua- dor, that tiny triangle on South America's map. Nearly thirteen New Englands could be packed into our next-door neighbor, Mexico; while Argentina is almost one-third as large as all British territory in North America. Compared with populations of other mission fields, Latin America's inhabitants equal in number the negroes in all of Africa, according to recent conservative estimates, or the combined popula- tion of the great mission fields of the Japanese Empire, — including Korea and Formosa, — the Turkish Empire and the Union of South Africa. Anglo-Saxon Amer- ica outnumbers by little more than a third Latin Amer- ica's populations. It was prospective areas and populations, however, rather than present figures, that quickened the imagina- tion of the Congress. While the boundaries cannot be enlarged, areas now useless were spread before the REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 27 delegates as inviting fields of bright promise. Thus the forest-covered regions of Central America, Colom- bia, Venezuela, the Guianas, parts of Ecuador and Peru and equatorial Brazil — at present least desirable for immigration — are nevertheless well adapted to negroes, Hindus, Indians, and other races acclimated to the tropics; so that instead of sixteen millions occupying the fringes of these regions, the area and habitableness of much more of these sections can be extended to accommodate more than sixty millions. In regions more adapted to white men, Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil, there are a million square miles available for settlement, where it is pre- dieted that a population of one hundred millions of people will be found at the end of the century, with, an ultimate capacity of twice as many. Sefior Calderon predicts that in the year 2000, Latin America will domicile 250,000,000 people. While few would agree with the famous French geographer Reclus in his state- ment that it will finally support two billions of peo- ple, the estimate that it will one day maintain half a billion, or almost one-third the world's present population, is quite believable. To this land of desire, the last great unoccupied area of the habitable world except sections of Africa, a stream of immigration is already setting, so that in 191 3 about a million immigrants landed on Latin- American shores while nearly half that number re- turned home, — forty-five percent, as against forty per- cent, returning home from the United States the year 28 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA before. Most are from European lands, but the num- ber of Japanese immigrants is increasing and many come from China and India. French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese arrivals do not need to change their type of civilization and are speedily absorbed; while North Americans, Englishmen and Germans require one or two generations of life in Latin America before assimilation does its work. During this period of absorption and assimilation, it is vastly important that a religious atmosphere more helpful than is found there at present should be provided. The Commission could not omit from its purview the vast resources of Latin America, which are the bait alluring immigrants, commerce, and capital to the Latin hook, and at the same time the substantial foundation for the belief that this part of the world is one of great prospective importance from the Chris- tian viewpoint. Despite the fact that much of its area is an im- penetrable jungle of coarse grass, rainless regions of sandy soil, swamps, miasmatic forests and lofty moun- tain tracts, there is incalculable wealth in products of forest, ranch, farm and mine. Half the rubber of the world comes from tropical America. Argentina alone in 1914 possessed 123,612,000 cattle, horses, sheep — eighty millions of these, — goats, mules, pigs, etc. Four- fifths of the world's coffee supply comes from Brazil, and its diamond fields supply more brilliants than any part of the world except South Africa. Virgin forests of Latin America abound in rosewood and REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 29 other valuable timber, Chile's sterile land supplied in 19 1 3 nitrates valued at $120,000,000. Cuba, the greatest sugar-cane raiser of the world, in 19 14 pro- duced 2,575,000 tons of sugar, and its capital city supplied other countries with 183,234,330 cigars. Four years ago Argentina milled 1,345,568 tons of wheat. The supposedly barren wastes of Peru the same year yielded 1,740,024 tons of sugar-cane, while from its mines were shipped nearly ten million dollars worth of copper, — and so on endlessly. Resulting from this wealth of productions, international trade has grown from two billion dollars to three billions dur- ing the last ten years; and the Hon. John Barrett predicts that in the five years following the war this trade will increase to five billions. To transport this costly product twenty-five steamship lines from North America and over fifty from Europe ply back and forth, with Japan's commercial fleets coming thither from the Far East. Here, surely, are the guarantees of future increasing populations ; here, also is the cer- tainty of increasing, selfish greed which needs the altruistic touch of the living Christ, in order to heal the inevitable leprous growth of a materialistic civiliza- tion. A study of Latin Americans already domiciled in these republics and the heirs of four centuries of Ibero- American environment and influence is the discovery of peoples of mingled strength and weakness. That early inheritance must always be remembered. "When the Spaniards came to the New World," writes Lord 30 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Bryce, "they came mainly for the sake of gold. . . . Few settlers came from Spain to till the land. The first object was to seize all that could be found of the precious metals, much to the astonishment of the natives, who thought that gold must be to them a sort of fetich. The next was to discover mines of those metals and make the Indians work them. The third was to divide up the more fertile districts into large estates, allotting to each adventurer his share of labor-natives along with his share of the lands. No settlers came out to clear the ground from wood and build homes upon it, as did the colonists of New Eng- land and those who sought to create a New France on the St. Lawrence. No Spaniard thought of tilling the land himself. Why should he when he could make others till it for him? . . . Accordingly, the in- vaders became a ruling caste, living on the labor of their Indian serfs, and for a long time they confined themselves to the lands upon which the latter were al- ready established." And these conquistador es, "brave, hardy, romantic and warlike," as Francisco Yanes rightly describes them, were equalled by the Paulistas of Southern Brazil who as a racial blend of Portuguese and Indian marched as bandeirantes, or banner-men, on similar errands of Indian conquest and golden achievement. Red men proving insufficient in num- ber and unequal to the blacks as laborers, Africa was robbed to supply the eastern half of the continent with slaves. From that early period onward, the white man has been dependent largely upon these two racial ele- REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 31 ments, to the detriment of his blood and of his own best development. And yet we of the Anglo-American race do not fairly estimate the Latin American. Quoting again from the Assistant Director of the Pan American Union, Mr. Yanes: "I may say that a charge fre- quently made against us Latin Americans, and in a sense true, is that we are a race of dreamers. Perhaps it is so. We inherited from our forefathers the love of the beautiful and grand, the facility for expression and the vivid imagination of our race. From them we inherited the sonorous, majestic Spanish, the flexible, musical Portuguese, and the French — language of art, and a responsive chord to all that thrills, be it color, harmony, or mental imagery. We inherited their varying moods, their noble traits and their short- comings, both of which we have preserved and in cer- tain cases improved under the influence of our environ- ment,— our majestic mountains, our primeval forests, the ever blooming tropical flowers, the birds of sweet- est wild songs and wonderful plumage, — under magnif- icent skies and the inspiration taken from other poets and writers, be they foreign or native, who have gone through life like the minstrels of old with a song on their lips and an unsatisfied yearning in their hearts." This is typical of the best Latin Americans. Those early adventurers may have been dominated by forces that Professor Shepherd compresses within his quotation, "gospel, glory and gold;" yet be it said that the first of these was never wanting, no matter 32 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA how we may evaluate it. And thus it happens that the bright lining of that dark cloud was the devotion — flaming forth again and again — in such heroic souls as animated Jesuit, Franciscan and Dominican curas, doctrineros and misioneros — priests, catechists and missionary monks — who braved danger of every de- scription to aid their degraded charges. How the work of the Jesuits impressed itself upon Indians of the Paraguayan reductions is a miracle of missions, albeit wrought to the destruction of all native initiative and of true manliness. The author last quoted holds that the Spanish clergy had three motives in dealing with the Indians, "destruction, construction and instruc- tion.'' Of these destruction was sometimes mere icono- clastic zeal which did not seem to conflict with the retention of much that was heathenish, kept "because of their ignorance and weak minds.'' Too often in the early years conversions, forbidden to be through force, were the result of entradas and conquistas de almas, which entries and conquests of souls were made by missionaries accompanied by soldiers who raided villages and carried off children and youths to be taught Spanish and instructed in the Catholic faith. Yet over against multitudes of these shepherds may be placed one such saint as Las Casas, the "Apostle to the Indies" — as "seamy" a saint as some of St. Paul's Corinthian charges, some historians think, yet one whose influence contributed in large measure to the enactment of humane legislation that became a feature of later Spanish policy. These are sample leaves from REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 33 the history of the early centuries, turned that the reader may see the origin of many things in Latin- American life to-day that he may fail to understand otherwise. Recalling such historical incidents, many Anglo- Americans are surprised to find what unusual men and women their Latin neighbors are. They have among them universities in Lima, Mexico City, Cor- doba in Argentina and Sucre which began their work from thirteen to eighty-five years before Harvard was established, while Peru's second University at Cuzco antedates Yale by nine years. The printing press came to the New World in 1536, when its first book was printed in Mexico, Father Las Casas' plea for a bet- ter life, while South America's first book was published in Peru about 1584. Patriots of undying fame laid the foundations of Latin- American liberty: — Bolivar, called the Washington of South America, though San Martin was more like him than Bolivar; O'Higgins, the Chilean hero; Tiradentes, the forerunner of Brazil- ian independence; Morelos and Hidalgo, Catholic priests and martyrs in the cause of Mexican liberty. Latin-American literature ranks fairly well with Anglo-American, though ignorance of Spanish and Portuguese prevents North Americans from enjoying its treasures. Science is honored by such names as Ernesto Quesada, the sociologist, whose library con- tains 25,000 volumes in which his own writings fill a five-foot shelf. Estanislao Zeballos, the jurist, has a collection of 28,000 volumes, and his published works 34 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA require nine feet of shelf-room. International law has been enriched by such authorities as Drago and Calvo of Argentina and Ruy Barbosa of Brazil. It was a young physician, Dr. Oswaldo Cruz, who transformed Rio de Janeiro from a "City of Death" into the healthy tropical metropolis of two years later. A Cuban, Dr. Carlos A. Finley, discovered and an- nounced the communication of yellow fever by mos- quitoes, freely acknowledged by General Gorgas and Dr. Reed as the foundation for their later elaboration and application in the Panama Canal Zone. Poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, bear Latin-American names of high distinction. And those present at the Panama Congress listened to Latins whose ability as representatives of diplomacy, law, education and re- ligion was abundantly evident. As the Commission was seeking for all the truth, it did not hide from view the other side of this shin- ing shield. A brief table will show its racial basis, as roughly divided into seven classes : Whites 18,000,000 Indians 17,000,000 Negroes 6,000,000 Mixed White and Indian 30,000,000 Mixed White and Negro 8,000,000 Mixed Negro and Indian 700,000 East Indian, Japanese and Chinese .300,000 Of Latin America's eighty millions, it is mainly the eighteen millions of whites who are measurably what one finds in Europe or North America. The REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 35 remaining seventy-seven percent, are not so cultured, and most of them are in manifold need. Of the mixed populations it may be said that they are favored in one particular above those in North America, namely, in the absence of any distinct color line, whether red or black. One's position in society need not be affected by any degree of miscegenation, as some of Latin America's most famous men have been of mixed ancestry. Social status depends, rather, upon innate ability, financial standing, mentality and social gifts. Though more than a score of terms are in use to denote varying degrees of race admixture, Senor Calderon rightly says: "A single half-caste race, with here the negro and there the Indian pre- dominant over the conquering Spaniard, obtains from the Atlantic to the Pacific. There is a greater resemblance between Peruvians and Argentines, Colombians and Chilians, than between inhabitants of two distant provinces of France, ... or be- tween the North American of the far West and the native of New England. The slight provincial dif- ferences enable us the better to understand the unity of the continent." Yet he necessarily adds: "There is a spontaneous hierarchy in the Latin New World; there are superior and inferior democracies, maritime nations and inland states. Paraguay will always be inferior to the Argentine Republic, Uruguay to Brazil, Bolivia to Chile, Ecuador to Peru, Guatemala to Mexico; as much from the point of wealth as in population and influence." 36 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA As to the effects of the almost universal mis- cegenation, Lord Bryce's studies and South American observations find brief expression in these con- clusions: (i) The fusion of two parent stocks, one more advanced, the other more backward, does not necessarily result in producing a race inferior to the stronger parent or superior to the weaker. (2) Con- quest and control by a race of greater strength have upon some races a depressing and almost ruinous effect, as in the case of the Peruvians after the com- ing of the conquistadores. (3) The ease with which the Spaniards intermingled by marriage with the In- dians, and the Portuguese with the negroes, shows that race repugnance is no such constant factor in human affairs as Teutonic peoples are apt to assume. (4) As touching the future, it seems certain that the races now inhabiting South America will all ulti- mately be fused. The Spanish republics — except the purely white Argentina and Uruguay — will be Ibero- American, Brazil will be Ibero-American-African, the process requiring in the Spanish republics two centuries or more. (5) Of the quality of the emerging mixed race, he writes : "One cannot but fear that the Portuguese of tropical Brazil may suffer from the further infusion of an element the moral fiber of which is conspicuously weak, though there are those who argue that the blood of the superior race must ultimately transmute the whole. It is not to be assumed that the peoples of the Spanish republics will necessarily decline, for the present degradation of the REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 37 Indians may be due as much to their melancholy history as to inherent defects. It is still too soon to be despondent. There may be in the Indian stock a reserve of strength, dormant, but not extinct, ready to respond to a new stimulus and to shoot upwards under more inspiriting conditions." Speaking elsewhere of the probable influence of the negro strain, he says: "What ultimate effect the intermixture of blood will have on the European element in Brazil I will not venture to predict. If one may judge from a few remarkable cases, it will not necessarily reduce the intellectual standard. One of the ablest and most re- fined Brazilians I have known had some color, and other cases have been mentioned to me." Stated in a single paragraph, the three outstanding social groupings as they face the missionary are the Indians, the lower peon class, and the aristocratic land-owning class. Generally speaking, there is no mid- dle class such as exists in Europe and North America, although in commercial centers one is beginning to form. Most of the Indians are still primitive, though members of the race have risen to prominence, Benito Juarez of Mexico and a number of Peru's Indian presidents, for example. To-day most of the Indians are pitifully ignorant and are practically neglected by social and religious agencies. They are prolific, but unsanitary conditions and ignorance of hygiene cause a high death-rate. The peon class, next above the Indians, is of mixed blood, the union having produced a hardy race. They are capable of enduring hard 38 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA work on a meager diet and live in squalor. They are oppressed by the landed class, and neglected by the Church and by most of the states. Between the third — or aristocratic — class and the other two a gulf is fixed that can be most easily bridged by gold. Its members dominate most things, live in luxury and provide their families with every desirable means for enjoying life — like wealthy persons in most lands. Yet, as already suggested, they do not strive to keep down the lower classes, nor is intermarriage with promising women of color tabooed. Following its detailed survey of Latin-American races, here only cursorily touched upon, Commission I presented the claims of these peoples upon the evangelical Churches of more favored lands. Immi- gration and commerce, the world over, tend to be destructive to morals and religion through the removal of home restraints, the absence of helps to higher liv- ing in the new and usually low environment of the fresh immigrant on foreign shores, or the convivial habits of men engaged in foreign firms, where one's associates have often little respect for morals and religion. The Commission bore testimony to the godly lives and helpful influence of many business men of Latin America, but regretted to report that in so many cases moral tragedies of colonization and commerce were the result of New World contact. Too often one derelict, hailing from Europe or North America, means the destruction or crippling of many lesser Latin craft with which there has been in- REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 39 jurious collision. The manifest duty of Anglo-Saxon Christians is to abate the evils engendered by coloniza- tion and commerce. Where one's countrymen exploit, one must serve. The character-building forces of nations that export the products of breweries, dis- tilleries and other instruments of debauchery should outreach and circumvent those destructive agencies. The imminent peril to faith seen among all classes of Latin Americans is an even stronger appeal to evangelical Churches. Very few among the intel- lectuals have any vital interest in Christianity. The Latin-American Church, untouched by the modern learning of the nineteenth century, did not concern itself with the new rationalism, materialism, pessi- mism and naturalism whose full force engulfed the Latin scholar who studied in home or foreign uni- versities where such movements were dominant. Un- aided in their hour of need, the faith of educated men suffered shipwreck, or found itself in gravest peril. Four groups are noted among the intellectuals, though of varying numbers and importance : ( i ) A violent anti-clerical party, many of whom extend their opposi- tion to religion of every form; (2) the more or less well-reasoned atheists and skeptics who look in- dulgently upon religion as harmless for women and for the lower classes, but who themselves are indif- ferent to its personal claims; (3) the dissatisfied groups who are groping their way in the darkness with the usual result of ending in cynicism and hard- ness of heart; and (4) those whose period of doubt 40 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA and of faith's collapse is before them as they enter upon their free higher education. As one listens to the roll-call of Latin republics, one is appalled by the prevalence of all degrees of unbelief and of opposition to Christianity. Surely doubt and denial of all faiths, spreading apace and unchecked among eighty millions of people, concern the entire Christian world. Churches with modern religious scholarship and strong faith are bound to offer intellectual Latins the torch with which to relight the failing or darkened lamps of Christian belief and life. Whatever doubt there may be about the justifiable- ness of sending representatives of evangelical missions to Roman Catholic Latin America, there can be no valid objection to heeding the claims of its unevangel- ized millions, especially the neglected Indians. That section of the Commission's report might be reprinted with profit as a clarion call, voicing the deepest of Latin-American spiritual needs. Neglect, if you will, the thirty millions of mestizos, whose nominal Christianity is little better than a "baptized heathen- ism," as a Romanist once described it, seventeen mil- lions of approximately pure-blooded Indians remain for whom very little has been done. These and the six millions of pure-blooded negroes, also practically neglected, are peoples whose physical, social and spiritual condition is a mute yet moving Macedonian appeal to the evangelical Church. The study of the Latin-American situation con- vinced the Commission that missions had a still higher REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 41 and more subtle contribution to make to the Latin republics. The influence of spiritual and intellectual freedom upon the character of individuals and nations is a patent teaching of history. Just as the Roman Catholic Church, obedient to its sense of mission, has planted its institutions and exerted its influence in the midst of Protestant communities and states, so the evangelical Churches feel it incumbent upon them to supply to Latin America, in so far as its republics do not possess them, the foundations of intellectual free- dom, the open Bible to be possessed, studied and practiced by all, and the recognition of the right and value of democracy in ecclesiastical government. As the Panama Congress faced these responsibili- ties and opportunities, it was heartening to be re- minded that the far-flung line of fraternity and co- operation was in the main wisely located. The major bases for present and more extended operations are so chosen as to make them, like St. Paul's strategic entrepots, natural and effective centers of out-reach- ing lines of diffusion to unoccupied hinterlands. Al- most unequaled waterways and sixty-five thousand miles of railway, connecting most of the mission stations with each other and the ports, are available for the gospel messengers. While nearly four-fifths of Latin America lies within the tropics, elevated areas supply a temperate climate, and cities of the lowlands are becoming increasingly sanitary. Excepting the In- dian tongues, the two Iberian languages, so nearly akin that Spaniard can readily understand Portuguese and 42 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA vice versa, are the linguae Francae of Latin mission fields, — a fact, with their relatively easy acquisition, that is at once a help to the faithful student of these languages and a peril to the indolent missionary who forgets how the evangelical message is crippled and disparaged because of his slipshod use of the beautiful mother tongues of the Latin peoples. Over against these favoring factors were certain opposing elements, chief among them racial relations. German assurance, English bluffness, American angu- larity and other barbarisms, are little calculated to win the polite and sensitive Latin — an argument for the repression of characteristics that wound or offend. The easy weapon of ridicule and the keen edge of criticism need to be sheathed, or used with the utmost tact and care. The inbred prejudice of Latins toward races whose ancestors were known only as the enemies of true religion, an inheritance from history, is present in many minds. The Latin-American fear lest their civilization should be overwhelmed through political and commercial aggression is a middle wall of parti- tion between them and the rest of the Occidental world. Their writers linger over the North American peril, the threat of Germany, the menace of Japan; while the Monroe Doctrine is a shield whose dark side faces southward, the fear of which is hardly banished by the northern Christian's assurance, "Our call is to evangelize, not to Americanize. ,, If that assertion is made with any suggestion of race supe- riority, their special abomination, the words are re- REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 43 sented. And then what if all this show of friendliness were merely the preparative for northern aggression, another case of Porto Rican occupation, of Cuban overlordship, of Canal Zone acquisition? Religious liberty, constitutionally granted but often found only on the statute books, is a help where dominant, a hollow mockery in too many instances. Religious prejudices, almost universally present and ranging from indifferent tolerance to virulent opposi- tion, are slowly yielding before increasing knowledge and the power of the evangelical program, so that re- ligious openness is reported from most republics. Now is the pragmatic moment for the evangelical Churches to objectify themselves in evangelistic en- deavor, in literary production, in educational work of intellectual and religious strength, in the extension of that welcome hand which has thus far been so grudgingly stretched forth in healing, and in a host of philanthropic activities so acceptable that it was hoped that the Congress might find some point of cooperation with the Roman Church in their prosecu- tion. Such a prospect was obscured somewhat by the lack of national leadership adequately prepared for leading on to a bloodless victory the evangelical forces, — a defect to be emphasized later in this volume. The last section of the report preceding its findings was devoted to the statistics gathered by the Com- mission. Without presenting lifeless figures, which will be found in an appendix of the three-volume re- 44 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA port, a few statements may be made, mainly by way of comment. The magnitude of the unfinished task was vividly impressed by the data presented. The Indian-speak- ing aborigines, numbering some six millions, were a challenge to Christian heroism and faith, — a part of the work almost wholly neglected. Bolivia in its province of La Paz alone has more Indians than all of the United States, with nothing but the Gospel of St. Luke in print to guide them. The missionary there must first learn Spanish and through that medium the Aymara in order to communicate with his needy charges. With the exception of those in the Para- guayan Chaco, no prominent work is being done for the red man from Allen Gardiner's burial place in the remotest south to the Indians of the Texas border- lands, though isolated stations exist and heroic work is being done. Statistics of literature suitable for Latin- American missions do not appear, and even in the Commission's report dealing with that subject, they are meager; so that it is probably true that this is the greatest weakness of the evangelical propaganda. Happily the Bible Societies are active and on that side the defect is not so noticeable. A task unbegun rather than unfinished, one might almost say, is that for the higher government student class, where figures are also lacking, though this is a most stra- tegic section of the Latin community. Zero is the numeral representing the number of church edifices in Colombia, the fifth republic in size of South Amer- REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 45 ica, though school buildings are so used. Ecuador has one church building and Venezuela two. In Jamaica and Porto Rico, which are really home mis- sion fields, the number of evangelical church mem- bers is gratifying. The former island has sent eleven workers to its mission in Africa. The average con- tribution of the 1,325 Canadian Presbyterian com- municants for church purposes in Trinidad was $4.86 in 191 3. But let the totals, rather than isolated facts, convince the reader that Latin America is still in the large a neglected part of the world-field, — with one evangelical missionary to forty thousand and one communicant of its evangelical churches to three hun- dred and eleven Romanists or totally unreached Latin Americans. Such statements, however, are feeble in- deed compared with the impressions made that Friday morning as missionary after missionary told of spirit- ual destitution everywhere, and of the millions wholly unreached thus far by Christianity in any form. If one were to use any figure to suggest the dearth of missionaries, perhaps a truer impression would be given, if it were stated that in the South America of greatest destitution, there is one missionary to half a million people. When the material of the Commission was placed before the Congress, the reactions were varied and insistent. North American, British, German and Latin speakers sounded out imperative calls from a score of New World Macedonias north and south of the equator. Mexico's fourfold need, as voiced by 46 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Senor Garza Mora, was re-echoed once and again throughout the day by nationals and missionaries alike. Fundamentally an open Bible, faithfully preached and holily illustrated, and then this quartette of needs in the evangelical propaganda: The raising up of a well educated national ministry out of the poorly taught and meagerly financed evangelical churches; many more schools and higher institutions for the training of children and youth under the beneficent influences of a glad and brotherly gospel; the driving out of some of the feeble or fiercely mili- tant literature of the churches by better leaflets and books and by a vastly larger volume of them; and a more manifest, more efficient cooperation and unity among the evangelical agencies. In sections where Missions have accomplished more than in others, the undertone of deeper want was heard — in this utter- ance of Senor Elphick of Chile, for example: "The great need, not only of Chile, but of all the countries nowadays, is a tremendous revival. . . . There- fore I would urge this Congress to send people equally to all Latin America, so that all the churches may fall upon their knees and pray God to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts. We have splendid ma- chinery, but we have no power for that machinery." Bishop Stuntz closed his seven-minute burst of im- passioned oratory with the same refrain: "We need [in the Plate region] just what we need in all of these countries, — we need the power of God resting upon those at work there." REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA AT The absence of diatribes against a Church which is not only opposed to evangelical workers, but which history has shown to be inadequate to enlighten the Latin world, was noticeable; though it was not sur- prising that an occasional outcry was heard. Thus Sefior Alvaro Reis, a distinguished leader of Brazil, where not less than eighty persecutions directed against the modern spiritual movement are on record, appealed to the Congress to define its attitude and purpose in facing the existing Roman Church throughout South America. Another sort of semi-discordant, yet wholly human, note was the discouraged plea of a canny Scot, John Ritchie, for Peru, — as large as France, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and Italy combined. As he looked to Porto Rico, smaller than little Connecticut, where there are more than three hundred preaching places, and then thought of Peru with only thirty-three for- eign workers all told, so that twelve departments averaging the size of Holland are without a single evangelical witness, native or foreign, the question of investigating the disparity in distribution of mis- sionaries seemed a proper one. Yet his plaint was prefaced by a note of thanksgiving that after twenty- five years of suffering and patient toil, in November, 191 5, the day of the open door to preach the Gospel throughout Peru had dawned. With the afternoon session came a presentation of special sections and classes in Latin lands of the New World. The Rev. James H. McLean was the spokes- man of 45,000 students in higher institutions of learn- 48 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ing, less than one percent, of Latin Americans proper, who nevertheless exercise ninety-nine percent, of the intellectual and moral influence. If nothing effective is done for these men and women by missionaries, forty-five percent, will be sworn enemies of vital re- ligion in a decade, while the remainder will be utterly negative in religious matters. How hopeless the best of them may become was evidenced by a student who told the speaker of his praying to a being, supposed to be God, in these words, "Speak to me, if Thou exist, for the silence is crushing my soul." The Con- gress president, Professor Monteverde, followed the presentation with a statement as to work already being done for this strategic class. Dr. Tucker gave a genuine "big Injun" address, as he pleaded for making the red man large in our re- spect and aims for future work. In the southern half of the Western Hemisphere is the place in which to accomplish this desired result. What Mr. Grubb and others are already doing is prophetic of still larger successes. The Brazilian hinterland was especially spoken of as the field for future expansion of the In- dian work, the hopefulness of which Dr. Conto de Magalhaes had set forth. New York's missionary layman, Mr. Eben E. Olcott, told us chapters out of his Peruvian experience and of what practical Chris- tianity can do for a race that is maltreated and neg- lected. One valley which he traveled through was populated by only seventy thousand, the remnant of a million Indians who succumbed before the hardships REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 49 imposed upon them by the ruthless Spaniards of cen- turies ago. Dr. S. D. Daugherty spoke of the invasion of Latin America by men from Protestant lands, and especially those who go from the United States to establish banks and to engage in other business. The duty of the evangelical Church to these men is obvious. Chris- tian firms should send out only Christian gentlemen who will elevate the tone of society and help for- ward all forms of true religion. Certain questions raised by Commission I were next discussed. Secretary Earl Taylor began with the vital alternative as to whether the Church should address itself to the unoccupied fields, or enlarge the work already in progress. While he believed that a group of Christian business men would vote in favor of concentration rather than for a dispersion of forces, he inclined to answer both "Yes" and "No." While we ought not to concentrate to the exclusion of outlying areas, on the other hand diffusion ought not to be at the expense of strong centers. To solve the problem he pleaded for a "hemispherical" policy that by its synergism might lift up the entire Latin- American world toward the face of Jesus Christ. A conti- nental program will enable the evangelical Church to meet both phases of the problem. A lack of coordination and cooperation among missions seemed to the Rev. Eduardo Pereira of Brazil to make them appear as so many army corps in dis- order, having no connection nor direction, each going 30 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA its own way. So inefficient a plan can no longer con- tinue; missionaries and nationals alike desire coopera- tion and a definite program. Secretary J. E. McAfee dwelt especially upon the divided ranks of Protes- tantism due to its denominationalism which he felt should not be propagated in Latin America; and he suggested a number of correctives, chief among them the training in union institutions of the Church's future leaders. The Rev. George H. Brewer answered the question, "What is meant by an adequate occupation of the field ?" by affirming that it implied efficient leadership, first-class equipment, adequate and sympathetic home support and the concentration of force at strategic cen- ters. An effective unit of occupation for a given area lie described as the establishment of an organized church with its building, its church home, and an ordained ministry devoting full time to church work. Professor Beach presented, in reply to the question, "Is it desirable to make a scientific or thorough sur- vey of the field at the present time? If so, what is the most practical plan to accomplish this?" a series of propositions showing that now was the time of times to undertake this survey and suggesting a prac- ticable scheme for such an undertaking — a plan which was later placed in charge of delegates to the various regional conferences to be acted upon so far as pos- sible. The Rev. E. M. Sein broke the monotony, of answers by a citation of conditions favorable to the evangelical REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 51 missions in Latin America, and to immediate forward movements. Religious liberty is finally universally proclaimed; barriers are being broken down and men are passing out from the domination of a state Church; more books and helpful literature — albeit so inade- quate — and more readers favor progress; improved intercommunication aids the cause of Missions; in- creasing harmony and mutual helpfulness inspirit and enable the movement to do more with the same forces than formerly; the sympathy of governments and of men of influence with evangelical education is a valu- able asset; and there is a very considerable Christian force consecrated and willing for the work of an ag- gressive evangelistic movement. Three great assets with which we go forth to the task of the evangelical Churches laboring in Latin America were discussed as the closing word upon this Commission's report. Dr. Speer was the speaker and these were his points in briefest outline : We are deal- ing first of all with hopeful nations, with peoples of great national aspirations. Yet this advantage brings with it grave problems demanding commensurate wis- dom. Even more helpful is the second asset of in- tellectual assumption and of religious conceptions wholly wanting or held in weakest solution in Asiatic and African mission fields, but present in all these republics, except among the most primitive tribes. One of the greatest hindrances to Latin- American mis- sionaries was mentioned as the third asset, the skep- ticism of these lands. This attitude of doubt and re- 52 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ligious questioning is so prevalent in all Occidental institutions of higher learning that the missionaries are already familiar with the philosophical and re- ligious problems which must be met on the Latin- American fields. Closely akin to these assets are three needs which are especially pressing. The vast Indian problem calls for many things, but especially for heroic and undiscourageable devotion to a sparsely scattered remnant whose degradation and seeming hopelessness are repelling. The important student class and the great numbers of foreigners suggest other needs. A million Italians in Argentina, "who constitute one of the greatest blocks of masked atheism that can be found anywhere in the world," and neg- lected thousands of other nationalities throughout these lands, who are a leaven of evil rather than of good, make manifest the clamant need of character- producing power in these countries — the need which the crucified Christ alone, the Christ who rose again, can supply. The third need is that our international relationships in this Western Hemisphere should be increasingly penetrated with the spirit of Christ. Mr. Colton's question of the morning, as to whether free commerce in rationalism was reasonable, while there was no gift of the Bible and its spiritual treasures for these nations, was a most important reminder of international duty. Nationalism and racial ambitions should be subjected to the common fellowship and the community of interest of all mankind. REDISCOVERING LATIN AMERICA 53 Four personal duties with which the discussions of the day were impressing the Congress were mentioned in Dr. Speer's final paragraph. Prayer that the Lord of the Harvest may send forth enough of the right sort of reapers into these ripe fields was a manifest duty; the obligation to draw near to one another and Church to Church for a united effort, that the spirit of Christ may come down to make Latin evangelical churches great torches for the illumination of the darkness, is equally obvious; a third duty is to pene- trate with the very mind and spirit of Christ all our thinking about what we do, about our own individual relationships, about the great body of those outside the Church — a duty the importance of which is inten- sified when one recalls the dissensions, want of unity and divisive problems present in all the nations rep- resented in the Congress ; and beyond the assets, needs and duties of this Latin-American field, is the over- whelming sense of the stupendousness of our task, of the all-sufficiency of God, of the power of faith when men open themselves to Him; so that He is our great, our personal, our present duty. It was most fitting that at the midday devotions Bishop Lloyd should have focussed the thought of the delegates upon St. John's reassuring words, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men:" — light so much needed the world over, and Latin America more needy in many primitive sections and races than many other lands; life that is illumined by the Star of Bethlehem and by the Sun of Righteousness brighten- 54 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ing millions of groping, darkened lives. Yet both light and life are obscured by clouds of brotherly mis- understanding and divided counsels. Hence, perhaps, these words in the Bishop's prayer: "Make it im- possible for us to be separated. Compel all Thy peo- ple to be one, that men may see the light that lightens men, that liberty may come through the knowledge of truth, that men may have their life in abundance, that our Master may have His will." As a backward look over the day's deliberations, Professor Braga's closing prayer was also very ap- propriate. "Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the word of the Spirit and for the love of Jesus Christ. We confess that we have not done our duty in the measure of the opportunity opened to us by Thy loving providence. We beseech Thee, O divine fountain of grace and power, to give us renewed strength and uncompromising devotion to our Lord's service. In the name of our Redeemer, the Son of the Living God, Christ Jesus. Amen." Ill INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD Commission II, on "Message and Method," whose members had been entrusted with the delicate and im- portant task of drawing up a brief statement of those aspects of the Christian message which would seem to require special emphasis at the present time in Latin America, and to suggest methods of presenting and interpreting the message and of most helpfully apply- ing its truths in practical ways to actual conditions in the countries concerned, was perhaps the one that awakened the most solicitude and that elicited the greatest volume of prayer, both before the Congress and during its presentation. Yet as the delegates met that Saturday morning and looked out eastward to- ward the peaceful Pacific, its shimmering surface seemed to reflect God's calm, while its high-rising tide was a symbol of the heights to be reached on that day which many had anticipated with trepidation. The very palm fronds with which the place of meeting was decorated, as they swayed and rustled in the breeze, were assuringly prophetic of the victory of that memorable afternoon. More, even, than the report of Commission VIII on "Cooperation and the Promotion of Unity' ' did this 55 56 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA one arouse pre-Congress discussion among those who doubted the wisdom of carrying missionary activity into Roman Catholic lands. Among evangelical mis- sionaries themselves were varying degrees of tolerance or bitterness toward that Church which dominates Latin-American Christianity. Men and women, who as Latins had grown up under its shadow and who had found it a vine of hunger and thirst, or who had felt the wounding force of its scourging branches, — one delegate bore on his body the marks of the evan- gelical confessor, — were apprehensive lest the irenicon of the Commission should conceal facts which to them seemed the sole reason for their present faith, ac- cepted because of the character and fruitage of the Church which they had felt compelled to flee in order to save themselves and reach the gospel norm. Polemics seemed to a few ardent Latins to be justified by Jesus' attitude seen in the twenty- third chapter of St. Mat- thew, and as demanded rather than irenics. The Commission prefaced its report with an illu- minating interpretation of Latin- American history, especially on its religious side, and of present-day conditions, — an amplification of certain facts presented by Commission I. Iberian blood, mingled as it was with Indian and negro strains, never succeeded in changing the primitive element into either Spanish or Portuguese; so that Sefior Calderon goes so far as to class Mexico, Peru, Paraguay and Bolivia as In- dian nations, while he speaks of the general popula- tion as a "babel of races, so mixed that it is im- INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 57 possible to discover the definite outlines of the future type." Of course in Brazil it is the negro rather than the Indian who is similarly in evidence. Unfor- tunately in this racial admixture, the Iberians who first gave direction to this blood fusion were, for the most part, adventurers, freebooters, soldiers, — unprin- cipled, lawless, contemptuous of moral restraint, de- sirous of gold only, — who largely composed the colonial armies of Spain and Portugal. It was only when the Conquest was well advanced and the founda- tions laid that the stream of higher Castilian culture came in sufficient volume to offset incipient moral chaos, though too late to prevent an inheritance that hung like a deadweight upon the New World of the Latins. The Commission truly pointed out that "the national complexity of the Latin Americans, explained by their historic origins and heritage, is reflected in moral standards and ideals which are quite different from those of Europe, as well as of most of North America. Account must be taken of this in all at- tempts at religious approach. We have here a num- ber of racial constituents, each bearing its own tradi- tion and all combining to produce a highly composite and subtle character, whose mental quality must be carefully analyzed and whose motives must be thoroughly grasped, if the Gospel is to be brought in- telligently to bear upon their peculiar needs." Special attention was called to the potent influence exercised upon the new democracies by France, of whose contri- butions South-American writers make the most glow- 58 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ing acknowledgment. No greater problem confronts the missionary enterprise in these lands, in so far as its agents are Anglo-Saxons, than that of sympathetic penetration into the Latin- American spirit. The inheritance of this composite race from prim- itive Indian faiths is not what the promise of elaborate polytheisms of the Incas of Peru and of the Aztecs of Central America and Mexico would suggest. The policy of the Spanish conquerors of crushing out the civilization of a conquered foe, rather than of absorb- ing its useful features, caused to fall into ruins even the ethicized and spiritualized sun-worship of the Incas and the pure monotheism centered in Pachacamac, the Peruvian creator of the universe. While these higher aspects of native religion were crushed out, the more vulgar superstitions and practices of heathenism sur- vived and are perpetuated to-day among a large pro- portion of the seventeen millions of Indians scattered from Mexico to Cape Horn. Thus at Guadalupe, Mexico's holy shrine, and at Copacabana on Lake Titi- caca, Indians still dance before the church and perform other rites of their pre-Christian ancestors. And so it happens that the blind gropings, superstitious fears and crude ritual of primitive cults have become mixed with the prevailing religion of to-day and leave five millions of Indians almost as pagan as if the New World had never been discovered. To understand the Roman Catholic Church of Latin America, four facts must be borne in mind; and first the manner of its introduction. Catholicism entered INDUSTRIAL MISSION STREET PREACHING INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 59 the New World under the aegis and control of the Spanish Crown rather than with the initiative and under the direction of the Pope. It was thus bound up with the romance of discovery, the lust of wealth and the carnage and subjugation of resisting peoples. The Roman pontiff, according to Bernard Moses, "could do nothing by himself in this immense territory; he had not the means of establishing in it the institutions necessary for the propagation of religion." The au- thority given by Pope Alexander VI to the sover- eigns of Castile and Leon over the Latin section of America was enlarged by the bull of Julius II, so that the establishment of churches, monasteries, or other religious institutions, as well as all ecclesiastical ap- pointments, present or future, should be subject to the consent of the king. The Spanish government was thus a missionary society; the king was its invested head with veto power ; and the various Orders and the secular clergy were under civil regulations greatly hampering them. Yet it cannot be doubted that a genuine missionary interest lay behind these ambitious — often selfish — schemes of conquest. Columbus named his landfall Holy Savior — San Salvador; the Portuguese first called Brazil Santa Cruz — Holy Cross; Cortes was commanded to Christianize the Mexicans, and on his standard was emblazoned a red cross with the legend, "Friends, let us follow the cross, and under this sign, if we have faith, we shall conquer f from the time of his and Pizarro's first expedition monks or priests 60 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA were required to sail in every Spanish ship bound for discovery or for war. Nevertheless recent Latin- American scholarship reflects the revulsion against Christianity and the Roman Church because of the unworthy methods of the early propaganda. A second fact to be considered in Latin America's Church is its missionary leadership as seen in history and to-day. Three orders, the Dominicans, the Fran- ciscans and the Jesuits, led among the others in this propaganda. The exactions of their primitive and barbaric environment bred in them the power of initi- ative, an aggressive resourcefulness, which, inspired by religious fervor, not only rose to great heroisms of service, but did not shrink from conflict with secular interests. In the sacrificial ardor and versatile labor with which they set themselves to win pagan peoples to civilization and the Church, the first two generations of these missionaries have never been surpassed. "There was no tropical wilderness too intricate or far- stretching for them to traverse, no water too wide for them to cross, no rock or cave too dangerous for them to climb or enter, no Indian tribe too dull or refractory for them to teach." Preeminent among the three orders were the Jesuits. They were powerful in Mexico, but were famous for their labors in Brazil and Paraguay. Their achievements in the latter coun- try, alluded to in the previous chapter, brought one hundred thousand Indians into their reductions where they were taught the rudimentary arts of civilization and the tenets of Catholicism. What manner of men INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 61 these orders sent to Latin America may be under- stood from the biographies of missionaries like No- brega of Brazil, Catadina of Paraguay, Baraze of Peru, Pedro Claver of Venezuela and Las Casas, "pro- tector of the Indians" everywhere. Thirdly, Roman Catholicism's spirit and method are likewise to be considered. From Ferdinand to Philip III, a militant, ecclesiastical autocracy prevailed wherein the defence and extension of the established Church were inseparably related. Ardent evangelism, patient instruction, self-denying labor, humanitarian ministry and martyrdom alternated with and often accompanied wholesale slaughter and cruel subjection of the natives, spoliation of their lands and a criminal use of their toil and wealth. The type of Christianity transplanted to the New World was necessarily Spain's mediaeval orthodoxy. The early missionary fervor was soon lost in the tasks of organization and of con- trolling religious opinion. Monasteries were built, universities were founded, wealth was accumulated. The Dominicans set up the Inquisition in Mexico, Cartagena and Lima in the attempt to reduce a conti- nent to intellectual and spiritual conformity. The apostolic fires had burned low and decadence set in. Missionary methods followed the ideals of that age. Like Charlemagne and Vladimir, the conquerors often gave the Indians the option of war or submission to the Roman faith. When the former was the alter- native chosen, they were reduced and baptized. In Mexico there were wholesale conversions. Gomara 62 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA estimates the number baptized during Cortes' conquest as between six and ten millions, and adds: "In short, they [the Spaniards] converted as many as they con- quered." Coercive conversion was against the protest of Pope Paul III who declared that the people were to be "called to the faith of Jesus Christ by preaching and by the example of a good and holy life." Las Casas even more loftily pleaded : "The means for es- tablishing the Faith in the Indies should be the same as those by which Christ introduced his religion into the world — mild, peaceable and charitable." Jesuit methods were catechetical, disciplinary and industrial, but ultra-paternal. In the Paraguayan reductions, their peaceful villages provided the Indians with pro- tection, instruction, cooperative labor and the bless- ings of a Christian leadership. Unhappily the system did not secure self-supporting communities, nor did it produce a native agency for further evangelization. With the withdrawal of the missionaries, they fell away, and there was no permanent Christian contri- bution made to the moral uplift of the continent. The fourth item to be considered in connection with the Latin-American Church is its present status. The establishment of republics introduced ideas of freedom and progress incompatible with a ruling ecclesiasticism. The ultimate result is that at last all Latin-American republics recognize the right of religious liberty and of toleration, even if they do not actually secure them. Roman Catholicism in varying degrees preserves the aspect of a state religion and professes to occupy ade- INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 63 quately all of Latin America, for which it desires to assume sole religious responsibility, resenting and op- posing the proffered help of evangelical Churches. Scientific candor based on the best testimony of Roman Catholic and Protestant sources compels the belief that the Latin Church is unable to do for these republics what their inhabitants need to see accom- plished. Its priests, with a few notable exceptions, are discredited with the thinking classes. Its moral life is weak and its spiritual witness faint. It is weighted with mediaevalism and other non-Christian accretions. It labors under "the grave misfortune" — to use Lord Bryce's words — of the "absence of a religious founda- tion for thought and conduct." The Commission summed up the net results of the Roman Catholic prop- aganda in the words of Canon Robinson, an Anglican historian of missions who would probably disapprove of evangelical work in Latin America except for the wholly unevangelized. "We realize and we thank God for the good work which the Roman Catholic missions have done and are doing in many parts of the world ; but our appreciation of this cannot blind our eyes to the fact that in Central and South America the mis- sions of the Roman Catholic Church have proved an almost complete failure." Of South America, he adds : "After three centuries of nominal Christianity, any conversion of its peoples which will involve the prac- tice of the elementary teaching of Christianity lies still in the seemingly distant future." Evangelical missions were barely alluded to in the 64 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA report. Beginning with the French Calvinistic mission to Brazil of 1555-6, which failed because of the per- fidy of Villegagnon, continued in the Dutch attempt under Johann Moritz of 1637-44, permanently estab- lished by the Moravians in St. Thomas, W. I., in 1732 and in what is now British Guiana in 1735, starved out with the tragic death of Captain Allen Gardiner and his six brave companions in 1851 on Tierra del Fuego, the later period of enduring evangelical work in the Latin states began with Dr. Kalley's mission, estab- lished in Brazil in 1855. Many Societies have entered since then and to-day are doing an excellent work, though amid great difficulties. They are thus a help- ful part of Latin America's inheritance from the recent past. Upon such an historical background the Latin repub- lics of our day must be viewed. Their citizens have gradually elaborated an exalted theory of the state, of society, of government and a democratic idealism rich in visions of liberty, brotherhood, justice and peace. Yet this idealism has only incipiently realized itself. It has ambitious dreams for the future, embodied in the political ideology of the statesman, the enthusiasm of sociologists, the fervid eloquence of orators and in the poetry and prose of the indigenous literature. Surely this strong, developing, eclectic congeries of important republics has the right to the best that the world's experience has to give, particularly in the realm of education and religion. As for the bearer of the evangelistic message, it is INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 65 obvious at the outset that the preacher of Christ in Latin America must cherish in his own heart and mind and must convey to his hearers the masterful con- sciousness that he is declaring the true revelation of God which is older than Romanism and which from apostolic days has constituted the true substance of the saving gospel of divine grace. Controversy, when necessary because of attacks which are likely to occa- sion misunderstanding if unmet, or because it is some- times essential to clear the ground for the constructive presentation of a positive message, should never go beyond the point of "speaking the truth in love." The evangelical messenger in carrying out this pro- gram not only takes his text, but expounds his whole message, from and by the authority of the Bible. He should so present it that it will appear to be the most catholic of books, and not merely an evangelical docu- ment. Hearers may be reminded that the Roman Church accepts and appeals to the authority of this Book as the Word of God. Upon this point the de- crees of the Council of Trent, the teachings of great Roman Catholic theologians, and even the encyclical of the late Pope against modernism, are unanimous. The distinctive position of the evangelical Church is embodied in its twofold affirmation: First, that as the teaching of Christ and of His apostles was addressed to the poor and unlearned, as well as to the rich and learned, and as it was preserved in the Bible, this Book can be used by all classes and races to know what is essential for salvation concerning the Triune God. 66 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Second, nothing which has been declared by Christ and His apostles to be necessary for salvation can be added to, or subtracted from, by any other authority, with- out serious injury to the soul and resulting eternal loss. An essential part of this gospel is the possibility of awakening a soul deadened by sin, and the reality of its communion with God. It is supremely impor- tant that, as the individual at the last must answer to God personally, so he should at all times have direct dealings with Him, without any priestly mediation. In lands where the crucifix is so prominent a symbol, the message of a living Christ needs to be emphasized. His atoning sacrifice was made once for all. By it He became the only Saviour of mankind, making the intervention of His mother and of the saints unneces- sary. As the risen Christ, He is the exclusive Head of the Church, seeing that He "liveth evermore." No more inspiring message can be given the men of Latin America than that of the personal leadership of Jesus Christ. The greatest and the humblest are impressed by the idea of a privilege so unexpected in the light of their former training, so surpassing in its essential wonder and power, so evidently based upon New Tes- tament teachings. Experience shows that direct and controversial public attack upon the worship of the Virgin, when thrust into the foreground of the work, awakens only fanatical hatred and detestation of Prot- estantism. But when the message of fellowship with God through the Redeemer, and of the promised lead- ership of Christ, is steadily proclaimed, Mariolatry INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 67 and saint- worship fall away. The teachings of Jesus are the supreme guide of human life. They are to be applied to our social conditions, to our industrial, political and ecclesiastical problems. The spiritual life, so helpfully ministered unto by Roman Catholic writers, is in peril in many of the Latin-American churches, as may be seen if one cares to attend their formal, often unintelligibly mumbled services. Penance should be replaced by repentance; images need to be exchanged for Christlikeness and a sainthood imprinted on the heart; the confessional is to be made unnecessary by a consistent, daily confes- sion of Christ in the holy life; the sacrifice of the mass must be subordinated to and symbolical of the daily cross-bearing of all who joyously follow the footsteps of the world's Burden-bearer. The Church and its fellowship should be made allur- ingly attractive to those who must suffer much in leaving the Church of their childhood, followed by its virulent anathemas. The evangelical messenger should explain fully the underlying unity of the various Prot- estant denominations, if he would win Latins who love uniformity and dislike ecclesiastical variety. He should make it equally clear that he does not come to bring an exotic organization, but rather desires to aid in establishing a truly indigenous, apostolic Church, whose atmosphere shall be socially and spiritually helpful. Even the church building should be suffi- ciently ecclesiastical to satisfy the tastes of those who shrink from the plain, Puritan boxes, unadorned in 68 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA any satisfying way, of some missions. Some plan should be devised to supply forms of worship accepta- ble to persons accustomed to the order and beauty of Roman churches, where mystery and symbolism is dominant. Unprepared services, informal pulpit man- ners, familiar or irreverent tones in prayer, should be as studiously avoided as offhand sermons delivered in half -intelligible Spanish or Portuguese. The Commission emphasized the social gospel in its bearings upon the evangelical program. This is de- manded by the industrial revolution resulting from Latin America's development of its virgin resources and from the incoming of the factory system. Scores of vital problems arising therefrom clamor for solution already. These changes coming en masse, and not gradually as with us, are liable to wreck the existing social organization of Latin America and to alienate workingmen from the Church. Manifestly a preven- tive social endeavor is demanded here, rather than remedial services. Community life and social reforms should first be studied, then discussed in a lecture room apart from the church or chapel, so as to attract men who avoid evangelical meeting places. With a gospel basis, these addresses will make public sentiment. Two actual examples of a wisely coordinated social work under evangelical direction were instanced by the Commission. One was the People's Central Insti- tute of the Southern Methodist Mission in Rio de Ja- neiro, which is a downtown, institutional forward movement to reach the masses in the commercial and INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 69 business centers, as well as slum-dwellers and sea- faring classes. It is organized in seven departments — that of evangelization and religious instruction, the departments of elementary and practical education, of varied physical training, of charity and help, of recre- ation and amusement, of employment, and one for seamen. A second simpler and yet more effective piece of work was that of the Christian Woman's Board of Missions at Piedras Negras, Mexico. This People's Institute was the outgrowth of a small reading-room, where the discussion of public issues called forth a series of public conferences on civics and morals at the municipal theater. These aroused so much interest that there was an imperative demand for an expansion of the work and for a permanent home for the enter- prise. A popular subscription provided the funds for the present well-equipped building, intended for seek- ing points of contact with the higher classes who could not be persuaded to attend religious meetings. Its dedication was an official act of the government, which often holds patriotic meetings in its auditorium. Night classes in fifteen different subjects are conducted for young men and women, with as many as one hundred and fifty enrolled at one time. One of the Institute's most interesting features is a Sunday morning meet- ing, generally attended by people who would never appear at an ordinary evangelical preaching service. A government official, or some prominent citizen known for his high moral character, is asked to open 70 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA the discussion of the topic chosen, which afterward is thrown open to all present. The director presides and closes with his own presentation, showing the bearing of Christian teaching on the problem. These meetings and others of a debating club have often awakened interest and initiated movements for com- munity betterment, which have been taken over subsequently by the government or other organ- izations. These two Institutes illustrate disinterested love, which is in direct contrast with the dominant selfishness of trade and diplomacy and which con- sequently attracts and often wins Latin Americans. In other words, missionaries are doing what Dr. Grenf ell thus describes : "When you set out to com- mend your gospel to men who don't want it, there is only one way to go about it — to do something for them that they will understand." Social service is pre- eminently such a magnet. Carrying the Christian message to the educated classes is both strategic and highly important. For two generations Comte, Herbert Spencer and Jeremy Bentham have ruled the minds of educated Latin Americans with their doctrines of positivism, mechan- istic evolution and utilitarianism. Leaders of the Roman Church have been unable to stem the harmful tide. To these intellectuals the evangelical worker carries the same message of fellowship with God through Jesus Christ, and after their entrance upon it, seeks to bring them to an open confession of their faith and into Christian service. But just here a INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 71 serious obstacle is confronted in the fact that they shrink from open connection with evangelical com- munities composed almost wholly of the poor and uncultured, with no strong intellectual leadership. Such leadership should be provided through special education of both national and foreign workers, hints for which training are wisely set forth in the Commission's report. The subjects of evolution, re- ligion, historical Christianity, the Bible, the Church > and social ethics, are those demanding emphasis. The final chapter of the report enters into the preparation for Christian work in Latin America with great par- ticularity. With this body of important facts before them, the delegates were given full freedom to speak, regardless of whether they had sent in cards or not, and without any limitations except those imposed by the spirit of Christ. The two tendencies among them were well illustrated by Sefiorita Cortes of the Young Women's Christian Association and the Rev. F. A. Barroetavena of Argentina. The latter held that the Roman Catholi- cism of North and of Latin America were so differ- ent that the liberal attitude toward the system would be quickly changed, if its southern type were under- stood. Here the Church has so tyrannized over the inferior peoples that many hate religion. He held that as a general rule an attitude of warfare should be adopted toward the Roman Church. Sefiorita Cortes, speaking from her own experience, said that at first she was approached in ways that antagonized her, 12 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA which only increased her loyalty to Rome. Later she began to examine evangelical views by herself, saw contradictions in Romanism, came in touch with mis- sionaries who loved and prayed for her and thus ar- rived at a glad acceptance of Protestanism. Since then she has adopted in her work the "loving method" spoken of by Dr. Oldham, and it has been most successful. A few points made in the floor discussions may be taken as typical of all that was said. Mr. Hurrey, speaking concerning work for the educated classes, ad- vocated friendly helpfulness, particularly toward those who go to the United States for education and who find themselves friendless and in need in our colleges and universities. Meet them on shipboard before land- ing to advise with them. In New Orleans, Baltimore and New York have places where they can be received and saved from disreputable resorts. Such friendli- ness will result in the success that was related in the case of a brother of one of the Central-American presidents who went to the Northfield student confer- ence with prejudice and determined to leave. The Christian spirit displayed there entirely changed his attitude, and he is now most approachable. Mr. Ewald, who as an Association secretary has had much to do with Latin students, urged the importance of setting apart men to reach the student and cultured classes, thus providing them a leadership that would command their respect. Particularly important is it to raise up an educated Latin ministry to supplement the inade- INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 73 quacies of missionaries, especially in the free use of the Latin tongues, though some of these missionaries seem to have been born with Latin hearts and Iberian tact. In twenty or thirty places establish a center pre- sided over by a strong man who will give himself to this class, so strategic in the community. Secretary Ewing of the Christian Association told of methods used among university students, beginning with activities for promoting good fellowship, sociability and physi- cal upbuilding which, since student work was estab- lished, affect the lives of nearly five hundred who attend the Uruguayan student conferences. Social service has been organized and a group of thirty are making a preliminary social survey. In the National University of Buenos Aires an inner circle of fifteen believers use every opportunity to present vital Chris- tianity, so that during the six years points of contact with about two thousand students, professors and gov- ernment officials have been established. Mr. Lenington of Brazil told typical stories of the effect produced upon auditors by preaching the father- hood of God. A person said to him once: "I will always thank God that I came into this first evangelical service, because I never knew before that God was my Father/ ' A federal judge was overheard saying to some fellow lawyers whom he was urging to attend a service at which the Lord's Prayer was to be ex- pounded: "I want all of you men to go to-night, be- cause you have never realized what it is to know God as your Father, as I have heard that man tell of the 74 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Father's kingdom, the Father's will, the Father's name. He is the Father who cares for all the needs of life." Mr. Allison of Guatemala gave as the chief hin- drance in the Romanist's way, preventing his accept- ance of evangelical teaching, the wide circulation by Catholics of commendations of their Church by Prot- estants, and warned North Americans against "the Protestant defense of Romanism." The Rev. Eduardo C. Pereira reminded the Congress of the twenty-third chapter of St. Matthew, of the attitude of the apostles toward the Scribes and Pharisees and of St. Paul's denunciation of error and said that he desired to imitate these great exemplars not only in proclaiming the love of the Gospels, but also in calling attention to religious errors taught in Latin lands without war- rant from Scripture. Evangelistic campaigns as a method of extending the message were discussed by two specialists, Dr. John R. Mott and Miss Rouse. Cooperation even of two persons was, according to Dr. Mott, an essential prerequisite for success. With united plans campaigns are possible in most unpromising sections, as in Rus- sia, for example. When they are well organized and manned, immense fruitage follows as in Sherwood Eddy's Asiatic work, seconded by men like Ding Li-mei in China. Conclusions that he had reached were these : ( i ) If we want great results, we must con- centrate. (2) We must sink our differences and fall in humility at the feet of Christ, all of us united. (3) Men must be set apart for special work — men like Dr. INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 75 William E. Taylor of China and Baron Nicolai of Russia, though sometimes important aid is given by men from without, like Mr. Eddy. From her successful student work in European coun- tries, Miss Rouse had learned that one must speak out frankly, even though it is a great adventure. National psychology will greatly aid in evangelistic work, when it is understood and used. Students are to be met on grounds familiar to them — if religion is a matter of rewards and punishments, or of auto-suggestion, begin from that point. Do not attack the customs and re- ligions of a country, and avoid the appearance of trying to win converts to any given Christian church. Follow up the campaign with apologetic literature, not American or English, but material prepared by nation- als of a given country. What this sketch of a wonderful day has utterly failed to reproduce is the growing spirit of unity in the delegates* attitude toward all phases of opposition to Roman Catholicism. Antagonism and bitterness grad- ually melted into a sense of brotherly longing to aid Romanists toward a fulness of Christian love and life which they sadly lack and for which many inwardly hunger. Single sentences, petitions in prayer, and espe- cially the remarks of Dr. Oldham and Bishop Brown, the latter the chairman of the Commission, were the means used by God to bring the Congress to this frame of mind. At the morning session, Dr. Oldham was the lock-operator in the control house — to employ Canal terminology — who opened the flood-gates that begaa 76 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA to lift the Congress to the higher level. After a touch- ing reference to his early training in a Roman Catholic home and the turning to evangelical views, he said with the utmost tenderness and yet with profoundest feeling that if it were his privilege to minister to those of a different faith, his Saviour would surely teach him what should be the trend of his teaching and the tone of his appeal. Bishop Brown, who had been a mis- sionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Brazil for twenty-four years, concluded the work of the day's conference sessions with a story which so well illus- trates the spirit of the man and of the majority of the delegates that it is reproduced at length. It will sug- gest how much is lost by a condensed report like the present one, and will exhibit the interpreter, the mes- sage, the interpretation and the method as nothing else could do. The incident is this, in part : "I remember there was a woman of about sixty years who began to attend the services of my church. It was my custom to go down immediately at the close of the service to the door to shake hands and to say some word to everyone present, but that good woman invariably escaped be- fore I could get there. After attending every service — Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday eve- ning — for perhaps three or four months, she remained and I had an opportunity of speaking with her. I told her how great had been my pleasure in seeing her in constant attendance upon the church services, and I asked if I might have the pleasure of visiting her at INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 77 her home. With the courtesy which never fails, she said, using that phrase which is so familiar, 'My house is at your orders/ I went to see her, and in the course of the conversation I asked her what it was that first attracted her to the church. She replied that the first thing was that in passing the doors, she heard a large number of persons singing. That was a strange thing to her. She made some inquiry and learned that we were Protestants. That frightened her somewhat, be- cause there are so many of the plainer people who think that a Protestant is one who denies the existence of God. Then she said: 'After I had overcome my fear, I ventured to attend your church, but I was afraid to speak to you. One thing that attracted my attention was the singing of the hymns in the Portu- guese language. I could understand it; and then you read something from a book/ she had never known anything about the Bible, 'and I understood that. Then you spoke to us all. I understood every word you said. I would like to be a member of your church, but there is one difficulty. When I was a child ten years of age, my mother on her deathbed called me to her and gave me a little image of St. Anthony and asked me as her dying request that on given days I would kneel before that image and make my devotions. From that day to this, I have complied with that dying request. You have never said one word in any sermon that I have heard directly touching this particular point; but I know perfectly well that if I were a member of your church, I ought not to continue that practice. If I 78 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA were to discontinue it, it would seem to me as if I were dishonoring the memory of my mother/ "I know not how others might deal with that case. But I confess that as I looked into her face, I said: 'You mistake me greatly, if you think I do not under- stand fully and sympathize deeply with you, but I want to say just two things. The first is that if your mother had had the light that you now have, she would never have made that request. The second thing is that I want to make a very simple request of you. Go and light your candle; kneel and make your devotions before the image of St. Anthony. In addition to that, I am going to give you a copy of the New Testament. I am going to mark certain passages, and I want you to go apart at least once every day to get all by your- self and read one or two of those marked passages and then kneel down and lift up your heart to God in prayer. Believe that He is your Father and that He loves you and takes care of you. Tell Him all your cares and griefs ; keep nothing back from Him. You can tell Him what you would not dare to tell another. Speak to Him with the utmost freedom, for He loves you. And then after a time, I want you to come back to me and let us talk again/ "I never shall forget as long as I live the day she returned. Perhaps two months had passed and one day after the service she came toward me and said: 'Now I am ready. In all the years that have passed, God my Father has dealt with infinite tenderness to- ward me. He knew that I was acting in ignorance. INTERPRETATION, MESSAGE, METHOD 79 I thought that it was because of the candle and the prayers that I said before that particular image. Now I find that God did not see the candle nor the image. But He saw my heart; and yet I find a sweeter com- fort in going direct to Him without anything interven- ing. If you will have me, I am ready to enter your Church/ I dare say that men of different temper- ament might deal with a situation of that kind in dif- ferent ways; yet, dear friends, it does seem so im- portant to show a loving and kind spirit in all our public utterances. There will be occasions, of course, in private when men come to you and ask their ques- tions. Then you speak on these controversial points, but I would not bring them up in the midst of a great congregation. ... I want to leave this thought in your minds. 'The love of Christ constraineth us' in all our poor, weak, fluctuating love for Him. By the ad- mission of that love, we shall learn in time what has been so well called, 'the insuperable power of pure af- fection/ " Under the magic spell of that love, the dele- gates left the hall. IV LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION The questions of Plato's "Republic," "What then is education ? Or is there a better than the old-fashioned sort?" were masterfully investigated and lucidly dis- cussed for Latin America in the report of Commission III on "Education." Its chairman was Professor Donald C. MacLaren, former President of Mackenzie College, Brazil, easily the foremost missionary insti- tution in South America. Upon the Commission were notable American educators, like President King of Oberlin College, Professor E. D. Burton of the Uni- versity of Chicago, Dean Russell of Teachers College and his encyclopedic colleague, Professor Paul Monroe, besides fifteen missionary and national represen- tatives of Latin-American institutions and ten other notable authorities. Their printed report was not only the most extended one presented to the Congress, but it also ranks as the best exposition of education, viewed from a missionary standpoint, thus far produced for any single great section of the mission field. In the absence of the chairman, a vice-chairman, President King, presented the report and made the closing address. In clarity, justness of perspective, 81 82 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA wise selection of points of emphasis, manifestation of pedagogical acumen and loyalty to the intellectual processes as swayed by God, it was surpassed by no other presentation of Commission chairmen. As the first two objectives of the report were technical and intended to be useful and stimulating to the educational workers on the field and to missionary secretaries and Board officials, mission study class leaders and others in the home lands already interested in Latin America, this chapter will address itself to the Christian public in general whose intelligent interest is desired. The delegates would probably agree that President King's resume, given at the close of the day, included the outstanding impressions made by the report and the five hours' discussion of the subject. He named six particularly significant facts : ( i ) The enormous illit- eracy of Latin America, ranging from forty to eighty percent., with great regions wholly unreached by edu- cation. (2) Yet in many sections there is a well or- ganized system of instruction, from the kindergarten to the university. (3) All the missionaries bear wit- ness to the strongly marked leadership of the highly educated men of Latin America. (4) But according to the same testimony, almost unanimously given, these men are generally abjuring religion as out-of- date. (5) Almost everywhere there is a very inade- quate training of the Christian community, especially of its leaders, both teachers and preachers. (6) There is dire need of industrial and agricultural training at certain points for the economic uplift of the people. LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 83 This demand will be all the more urgent, as we extend our ministrations to the Indians whose problems have been touched only in a desultory way thus far. With- out attempting to enlarge upon these facts seriatim, most of them and others not mentioned will be consid- ered, omitting the education of women and girls and the problems of the national church leadership, which are discussed in Chapters VI and VII respectively. Details as to illiteracy are quoted by the Commis- sion in this paragraph: "In few nations is. illiteracy more pronounced. In some countries, such as Ecua- dor, it is impossible to arrive at any accurate estimate. In such advanced countries as Brazil, some estimates reach as high as eighty percent. The best estimates are given herewith: Argentina, fifty and five-tenths percent, of persons six years of age and older; Bolivia, 'a large proportion can read'; Brazil, seventy per- cent. ; Chile, sixty-three percent. ; Colombia, eighty percent. ; Uruguay, forty percent, of persons six years of age and older ; Costa Rica, 'large proportion' ; Hon- duras, 'high'; Mexico, sixty-three percent, of persons over twelve years of age." These figures should not be understood as necessa- rily indicative of a general apathy as to education. Re- member that Latin America's average density of popu- lation is less than ten persons per square mile, with perhaps three children of school-going age. If town and urban populations are subtracted the average per square mile would be greatly reduced, so that in many rural districts thirty square miles would not provide 84 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA enough pupils for a single school. In certain sections of Argentina, a hundred square miles would not sup- ply a sufficient number. Just as in Africa's Protestant sub-continent it is practically impossible for British and Boers to provide education for their children, so it is impracticable for many sections of Latin America to support schools, even if the financial obstacle were not also prohibitive. Yet it must be confessed that Latin Americans are not so eager for education among the lower classes as in most civilized countries, even outside the Indian and negro half-breeds. What are the various governments doing to remedy this stigma of illiteracy? As they do not regard it as such in any great degree, they are doing very little, except in the higher branches of education, and also for the upper classes. Their elementary schools are the least developed part of the educational system. The backward races form so large a percentage of the population — in Mexico, for example, three-fourths of the total is Indian and one-sixth is mixed Indian blood — that little is done for them. The attention given to the education of girls in elementary schools is rela- tively satisfactory, as the number provided for them is about seven-twelfths as great as for boys. Coedu- cation, it should be said, is rare after pupils are ten years of age. The curriculum as legally set forth leaves little to be desired, though what is actually taught falls far short of the requirements. As a large part of this work in a number of countries is done in Roman Catholic schools, subsidized by the state, Chris- LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 85 tian doctrine and sacred history form part of the ele- mentary school curriculum. Unhappily the memoriter method is in vogue, and in many schools the catechet- ical plan of questions and answers prevails. In too many schools it is true, as in Bolivia, that the end and aim of teachers and scholars is to prepare for the two yearly examinations. In the republic just named, a list of questions, containing twice as many as there are pupils in the class, is prepared, answers to which may be found in the texts used. Secondary schools — liceos and colegios — form the most important and flourishing part of the Latin- American educational system. They are more nearly connected with the higher steps in education than with the elementary, so that in some states pupils can enter them only through private preparatory schools. Being under the same government control as the universities, they are viewed with favor. Instructors are employed to lecture three hours a week, while an administrative staff permanently engaged gives some oversight to student life and also supervises the instruction. The classics are often absent from these state schools, but modern languages are studied — English following French in popularity and German standing third. The six-year course covers part of the work done by col- leges in the United States, and in most cases its com- pletion is crowned by the degree of B. A., or of Bach- elor of Humanities, thus affording direct entrance to the national universities. The graduate differs from the secondary school alumnus in the United States in 86 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA his having little or no acquaintance with the classics, in his greater knowledge of his national literature, in his fuller mastery of modern languages, in his ac- quaintance with philosophy, logic, psychology, ethics and sociology, and in the amount of time given to his- tory, civics, the natural sciences, drawing, geography and military exercises. E. E. Brandon, in his mono- graph on the Latin- American universities, says : "The age of the liceo graduate is about the same as that of the American boy when he finishes high school. The Latin American is perhaps superior in breadth of vision, cosmopolitan sympathy, power of expression and argumentative ability, but, on the other hand, per- haps inferior in the power of analysis and initiative and in the spirit of self-reliance. ,, The universities of Latin America, of which there were twelve before the year 1800, were in a peculiar sense the organs of the Roman Church during the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries ; and hence they were often the medium for the expression of its views and the instruments for the exercise of its power. Their principal object was to promote the cause of religion and to provide an educated clergy. The university thus became an effective instrument for controlling in the interests of the Church, not only the social life of the people, but also the education given by the state. It was a great conservative force and served as one of the chief bulwarks of the divine right of government through a monarchy. With the establishment of independent nationalities LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 87 early in the last century, the universities were secular- ized and passed under the control of the state. This was in part a result of French critical thought and the skepticism of the period, in part a movement toward freedom in religion, and in part a rejection of the control of the mother country exercised through Church and State. Hence it is that the government universities to-day are non-religious; and because of the liberal views of the professors, most of the students are either opposed to the Church and its mediaeval obscurantism, or are apathetic as regards all religion. As Latin America has nothing corresponding to the American college, it naturally follows that its univer- sities should consist of professional schools, prepared for in part by students from the six-year course liceos or colegios, and in part supplementing this deficiency by courses ordinarily given in our colleges. While the central place of the arts department is thus usurped by the specialty of a given university faculty, its cur- riculum is broadened by the inclusion of whatever is deemed essential to complete the student's knowledge. Thus in both medicine and engineering, there is much more comprehensive training in science than with us ; yet it is to be noted that this science is taught with the concrete social problems of medicine or of engineering in view. Law courses especially are very broad and require as many years as the combined college and law curricula in North America. The breadth of such instruction will account for the fact that in some coun- tries fully eighty percent, of the graduates of these 88 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA schools do not enter the legal profession but take the studies for their general educative value. University student bodies lack the solidarity of American students, partly because dormitory life exists in only a very few, and also because the different facul- ties often occupy buildings remote from each other, instead of sharing a common campus. The influence of professors upon the students is less marked than in America, since most of them simply give lectures as additional to their regular professions pursued wholly apart from the university. Consequently they have little interest in the institution and its student body. As there is no permanent teaching staff, except those professors imported from Europe, the character-form- ing values of American universities are largely absent ; and the students lack the restraints of their teachers and their fellows in moral and religious matters. These institutions are wholly under state control exer- cised by the Minister of Education, without any over- sight of boards of overseers, or trustees. Any dissat- isfaction with the administration can be manifested only through student demonstration and agitation. This unites them and the graduate body very closely and gives university trained men extraordinary influ- ence in society, politics and religion. In other words, the university spirit or soul is not localized in an insti- tution, but in a national group, or a social class. Government technical and special schools are mainly normal, commercial, agricultural and industrial. Of these, normal institutions are most in favor. They LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 89 may be entered from the elementary schools at the min- imum age of fourteen, and are thus of secondary grade. In recent years no phase of technical training has shown a more marked development than commer- cial education. Governments favor it because of in- creasing industrial and trade requirements and even more in order to lessen the number of educated men who as graduates of the universities are active in polit- ical agitation. Agricultural schools range from little more than experiment stations to the dignity of a de- partment of a university, as in Argentina. The in- creasing values of food products for export and home consumption make them very important to the state. Students in the high grade agricultural college are usu- ally sons of the landed gentry, while the patronage of the secondary schools is mainly drawn from the less favored social strata, — the sons of farmers and over- seers who are not landholders. Industrial education is just now being especially emphasized, due in large part to the publication in 19 12 of F. Encinas's book on "Our Economic Inferiority. ,, The excellent tech- nical school systems of the United States and Germany are being closely studied with the expectation of incor- porating their methods in the schools now being estab- lished. Previously departments of engineering were part of the university scheme, and now secondary schools of arts and trade are being established with a broader and more practical objective, even including such trades as tailoring, cobbling and blacksmithing. Turning from state education, one finds in the 90 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Roman Church's present educational activities very little work of high scholastic grade. Historically it was almost the sole teacher, from the simple school where Indians were taught to read, to Latin America's ancient and more recent universities. As the latter in- stitutions are now under state control, the Church has little interest in them. Besides some participation in other universities, it has two of its own, less than thirty years old — at Santiago, Chile, and at Buenos Aires. The former has faculties of law, mathematics, agricul- ture and industry, and engineering. The latter, still in its formative period, has schools of law and social science. So for the most part, aside from theological education, the Church's efforts are directed toward the support and supervision of secondary schools. In these are to be found most of the boys of the upper classes. From them come all the members of the learned pro- fessions. Here are trained the men who later domi- nate society and direct the state. Consequently the control of these schools is the strategic educational leverage. As for elementary education, it apparently is not greatly desired for the common people by the hier- archy. Professor Ross writes : "For the children of the peons the Church desires no education other than that drill in the rudiments of her faith which she her- self provides. Secular education will not promote their eternal welfare and it may endanger it. That educa- tion should give them a chance to rise in life does not appeal to her. What is 'rising in life' compared with YUCATAN-INDIAN EVANGELIST, MEXICO WOMAN COLPORTEUR, CHILE LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 91 saving the soul ? . . . The priest wants the peons ignorant in order that he may preserve his authority over them, keep their feet from straying from the path of eternal salvation and be relieved of the necessity of defending his doctrines, combating heresies and meet- ing the competition of the Protestant missionary. If, however, education must come, the Church wants to provide it herself in her own parish school, where, as a clerical editor put it to me, 'religion saturates the entire course of study/ " The part played by evangelical missions in Latin- American education has been an important one, though, the Societies have not done a tithe as much as the opportunities and needs demand. At the beginning, at the close of the first quarter of the last century, the Rev. James Thomson, of the British and Foreign Bible Society, landed at Buenos Aires and established Lancasterian schools. The man and the system were very interestingly described at a special session of the Congress delegates by Dr. Browning of Chile. It will be recalled that these schools adopted the plan of small classes under student monitors. The master outlined the work of the day to them in a preliminary session, and they in turn taught it to the classes. The book used for reading was the Bible without notes as pub- lished by his Society. Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colom- bia, Venezuela and Mexico welcomed and aided his schools financially, as did the Church at first through its more liberal clergy. The result was that not a few leading Latin Americans became liberalized and gladly 92 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA welcomed the introduction of the gospel. Many states- men secured copies of the Bible, studied it and pro- fessed to be guided by its teachings. In Mexico, the government dispossessed the beautiful convent of Beth- lehem, which accommodated a thousand students. The schools soon disappeared, probably because of a lack of proper teachers, as also because of the persecution awakened among the obscurantists by the introduction of the Bible. Had these schools of Thomson contin- ued, it is probable that the ecclesiastical history of South America would have been different, giving, as they did, the pure Word of God to the ruling classes. Little more was attempted until forty years ago, when the Societies did their pioneer work, largely op- portunist in character. Thus, if local prejudice was against woman's education, secondary schools for young men were started; if there was a demand for women teachers, as in Mexico, normal schools for girls were established. Southern Brazil, Argentina, Chile and British Guiana have been the countries where evangelical schools have been most successfully developed by missionaries. In the country last named, the parochial schools of the Wesleyans and Church of England enroll more than 17,000 pupils. Bolivia supplies the most notable recent example of state subsidization of North American mission schools, though limitations as to religious instruction will prob- ably lead to giving up the aid as soon as sufficient missionary funds can be secured. A few references to specific work, suggestive of a LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 93 great mass of similar data, will be given, beginning with elementary education. Kindergartens, the pioneer of which class may have been Miss Phoebe Thomas', established in Sao Paulo in 1882, are usually a department of boarding or normal schools. They are most successful when conducted by Chris- tian Latin-American women trained in the United States. Free government kindergartens are leading to their discontinuance, a step greatly deprecated by one of the delegates. The Argentine evangelical schools, established in 1898 in Buenos Aires by the Rev. C. Morris of the South American Missionary Society, are notable in- stances of philanthropic schools for poorer children. An inspiration has thus been given to the movement, so that these schools in that capital enroll five thousand six hundred pupils, receive an annual subsidy from the government of nearly $93,000 and own buildings valued at $192,000, largely secured by popular sub- scription. Dr. Speer writes of the schools: "No one can see these great throngs of children, orderly, well taught, reading the New Testament as one of their text-books, inspired with the sense of duty to God and to their country, prepared practically for life by industrial training, without being uplifted by the sight." Evangelical parochial schools, developed to some extent in Mexico and Chile, but reaching their com- pletest form in those under the fostering care of the Rev. William A. Waddell, now President of Mackenzie 94 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA College, are for Protestants and others who desire to patronize them. Foreign standards are abandoned; their courses in the vernacular are much like those of primary grades in the United States, offering the irreducible minimum of instruction necessary for every citizen and church member. They are carried on under the control of ministers or members of churches and are supported by the pupils' parents, with the exception of the expense of superintendence and teacher training. One dollar thus spent calls out from five to ten times that amount from local sources. A recent development makes them the public schools of their villages supported at government expense, but with full permission for the teachers to have classes in the Sunday school and to visit the families of the children. The salaries are thus increased, and the influence of evangelical teachers on the community at large is multiplied greatly. Among elementary schools for Indians, those of the South American Missionary Society in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay were instanced as unusual. Started in 1897, the first text-books were in manuscript form, and various difficulties were encountered. Mr. W. B. Grubb in his "Church in the Wilds," pages 187-193, gives an interesting account of the work, from the learning of nicknamed letters to the instruction of industrial classes. The results he thus summarizes : "Year by year the children pass out of the school, educated for their life's work, instructed in the way of righteousness, and prepared to take up some trade LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 95 and to learn some of the hard lessons of life. These are ignorant of the dark past of their parents and are surrounded from infancy with the light of truth. We look to them, therefore, as the heralds of the gospel to the regions beyond." As among Romanists, evangelical missionaries re- gard the secondary school — liceo, gymnasio, institute, or colegio, as it may be called — as the most important feature of their educational program. All their board- ing schools of any importance are of this type, usually with an elementary school in connection with them. Coeducational schools of this grade are seldom favored. The Methodist Normal School for Girls at Saltillo, Mexico, with a total matriculation of two hundred and twenty-five, is a useful institution which is partly subsidized by the state. It not only trains evangelical teachers for church schools, but the graduates are also in great demand for public school positions. The Methodist institution at Uru- guayana, Brazil, with an enrolment of one hundred and sixty, carries boys through high school and pre- pares them for entering Mackenzie College. Religious instruction is not compulsory, but most of the students attend the local evangelical church and the Christian Endeavor meetings. Commercial and industrial schools are too few, but those reported show the value of bringing young people, fitting themselves prac- tically for life, under strong religious influences and instruction. Farming and gardening, iron and wood working, weaving and general manual training are 96 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA taught. The efficient biblical and practical instruction imparted will do much toward solving vexed problems of the church. The religious life of secondary schools is aided through curriculum Bible study, except in state subsidized institutions, and through voluntary groups and societies, like Christian Endeavor and the Student Christian Association. Opinions are divided as to the advisability of making Bible study compul- sory, though all agree that it should be competent. As religious instruction is compulsory in Catholic schools, required study is usually the policy. Some societies stipulate that the majority of secondary school students must be from evangelical families in order to secure the right atmosphere. There is no regular college of North American grade and character in Latin lands. Yet there are a number of institutions above high school grade. Among them the most prominent are the Baptist Col- lege at Rio de Janeiro, the Instituto Evangelico at Lavras, Brazil, Granberry College of the Southern Methodists in the same republic, and the outstanding institution for higher learning among Protestants of South America, Mackenzie College at Sao Paulo. Originally Presbyterian, it is now non-sectarian, but with all the leading denominations represented in its large international faculty. Technological instruction is far more prominent than are the courses usual to arts departments in North America. Of its 366 students, twenty-seven are young women. In its affiliated Eschola Americana, located a mile away, LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 97 there is an enrolment of 506 pupils of whom 124 are girls. The race composition of its student body ap- pears in these figures: Brazilians, 514; Italians, 150; Portuguese, 47; Germans, 45; North Americans, 34; English, 28; French, 15; other nationalities, 39 — the two institutions being united in these figures. As a whole, the college is practically self-supporting from tuitions. The state and national educational officials are deeply interested in Mackenzie. Through their influence, free excursions have been run from other institutions to bring the students together for various intercollegiate events. It is setting the pace for higher education of the modern type in Brazil. The large influence of the college and of its lamented head, President H. M. Lane, LL.D., was publicly acknowl- edged, both in the Legislature and Senate at the time of his death in 19 12. Another type of work of uni- versity rank is that done by Dr. Lester and the Rev. J. H. McLean at the University of Chile, where they have lectured during the last four years. Texts selected include poetry, essays and works of fiction permeated with Christian doctrine. Confidence and friendship are thus established in a republic where respect for a good instructor amounts almost to veneration. The Commission reported that the best theological institutions were in Brazil, though the Presbyterian Seminary at Coyoacan, Mexico, was drawing its students before the revolution from Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. Many so-called theo- logical schools are groups of from three to twelve 98 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA students taught by missionaries in connection with other heavy duties, the students often being immature, or engaged in work as evangelists or colporteurs. The union institution of the Northern and Southern Pres- byterians at Campinas, Brazil, whose faculty was so admirably represented in the Panama Congress by Professor Braga, is probably the best developed of its kind in South America. The newly founded Union Seminary of Santiago, Chile, is shared by the Presby- terian and Methodist Missions who unite on the creedal basis of the Evangelical Alliance. That capi- tal is fortunate in having six men who are well fitted for such teaching. Another earlier union effort is the seminary at Mayaguez, Porto Rico, where Presby- terians and United Brethren combine for theological instruction, with a faculty of five professors and in- structors. Yet, as will be seen in a later chapter, the theological education of Latin America is lamentably deficient as a whole, partly because strong Christian men of university training do not offer themselves, and partly for the reason that the theological schools are weak financially and are ineffectively manned. Of popular educational movements, evangelical in character, the varied work of the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations, the latter still in its early stages, is the most acceptable and efficient. Here also belongs the fine program of the People's Central Institute in Rio and of the People's Institute at Piedras Negras, already mentioned. A wide range of testimony emphasizes the importance LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 99 and attractiveness of athletics and physical instruction in this popular form of educational activity. The religious education imparted through Sunday- schools is peculiarly important in lands where the Bible is not popularly known. Yet the investigations of the Commission showed that the prerequisites of successful work were largely wanting. In all Latin America only three Sunday schools meet in buildings especially designed for them, two in Buenos Aires and the third at Bello Horizonto, Brazil. Of the fourteen theological schools reported, seven teach something of pedagogy, psychology and Sunday-school manage- ment. One has a course on methods of teaching and two require study of a first-standard teacher-training course. Two correspondents report the training of superintendents by correspondence, seven by reading courses and five by summer schools or other schools of methods. The only countries showing any system- atic effort to train teachers are Cuba, Mexico and Brazil. The 191 5 tour of workers from North Amer- ica, headed by Mr. Frank L. Brown, General Secre- tary of the World's Sunday School Association, has greatly stimulated the interest in forward movements in these schools. Mr. Brown writes : "The line of easiest and largest advance in South America will be through the Sunday school and Christian educational institutions. There is practically free opportunity for Sunday schools in all parts of South America. That so much progress has been made when the literature helps have been so meager, when teachers have been ioo RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA untrained, when there has been so little to attract scholars in the line of special expedients, speaks hope- fully for the future when these conditions shall be corrected." Extremely valuable sections of the report upon the aims, methods and problems of evangelical education and upon the judgments and conclusions arrived at by the Commission are too technical and extended even to summarize. The discussion by the delegates brought out many facts bearing upon those problems and ideals. A few of these follow — extracts from fuller statements. President King: "I suppose that what the Chris- tian school is attempting is ... to gather in as teachers those who have what I call the char- acter-begetting power. Now all good men and women do not have it — certainly not in the same de- gree. It is above all desirable that in your educa- tional centers there should be those who have this contagion, who have this character-begetting power; and the success of the school as a Christian agency will be measured largely by the degree in which you get your spirit into the pupils who are sent out from it, who have in their turn this character-begetting power." The Rev. John Howland, D.D., Mexico : "The Latin American, with his quickness of perception, his acute- ness of analysis, his high flights of imagination, has many qualities that make us humble and anxious to sit at his feet and learn of him, rather than to attempt LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 101 to teach him; but there are some other qualities that need to be awakened in him. In the whole Latin lan- guage we can find no word that will translate that word that means so much for the Anglo-Saxon races and for the history of the world." Then followed a plea for imparting a stronger conception of the will, with the habitual use of it in its higher practical and ethical relations. Dr. Edwin G. Dexter, rector of the Instituto Nacional, Panama, in illustrating the need of common- sense and the superiority of Latin-American teachers in the lower grades, told this story of an American college graduate whose school in Porto Rico lost most of its scholars. On examining into the matter, it was discovered that one of the scholars was absenting him- self from school with the excuse that he had no shoes to wear. The teacher, with an eye for powerful object-lessons, appeared in the schoolroom the next morning barefoot. The children, though much sur- prised, remained through the morning session, but only about one-half were present in the afternoon. The next day only a quarter of the children were at school. Their reason for staying away was that the teacher must be a peon to go barefoot, and they re- fused to be taught by a peon. The Rev. Alvaro Reis, the eminent Presbyterian leader of Brazil, testified to the high value of the in- struction imparted by evangelical institutions in which he received his education. He spoke of the emphasis placed by Jesuit teachers upon religious education, 102 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA often harmful because of its insistence upon image worship, and urged that the open Bible should be the book on the student's desk, not only to be studied, but also to be incarnated in his daily life. The Rev. J. O. Gonzales of Cuba, in discussing the question as to how Christian influence may be most effective in government institutions, advocated the Christian Association plan of supplying hostels, to which he would send missionaries competent to reach students of the modern type. He would pursue the opposite course from the Jesuit's system of ignoring modernity, or of opposing it, saying: "Let the students hear what an unbeliever has to say ; but at the same time put by his side some good, learned man prepared to answer questions that may arise in their minds. In that way you may hold them. Otherwise, they will laugh at you, because they will see that you do not know what men of science have said." He spoke out of seventeen years' experience in educational work among Roman Catholics. Apropos to this subject, which was frequently alluded to in connection with what the Commission had said of intellectual freedom in its report, another statement of President King, made in his closing ad- dress for the Commission, may be quoted. "If ever we are to reach these intellectual leaders, we must use the modern approach ; and will you bear a very faith- ful word on that subject. I came back sick at heart from the Orient, partly because I found in India and Japan many excellent and godly missionaries who LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 103 were standing square across the path of educated Hindus, Japanese and Chinese. They were saying virtually, 'You cannot have anything to do with evolu- tion and historical criticism and be a Christian/ Well, a great German said years ago, 'The wounds of knowledge can be healed only by knowledge/ and we must make the approach to these men with a little different conception of the relation of religion to the modern and intellectual world. I do not know any- thing in the intellectual realm that forbids a man's being in the deepest and most real sense of the word an honest and consistent follower of Jesus Christ/' His full statement, of which this is but a part, was later referred to in vehement criticism by Dr. John Fox of New York, and variously by others. One Latin-American woman delegate warmly approved Dr. King's position and testified to its personal value in her own experience. Apparently he would be gladly welcomed by Latin intellectuals as an apologetic and constructive speaker, if he could be induced to make a tour of Latin America, as some of the delegates hope he may be induced to do. This would be in fulfilment of the purpose of one of the findings of the report. "The Commission is of the opinion that great good might be accomplished by the establish- ment, in Europe or the United States, of endowed lectureships, the lecturers to deal with the great ques- tions of religion and philosophy from a scholarly point of view, and the lectures to be delivered in the prin- cipal cities of Latin America/' 104 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA The Rev. C. E. Bixler of Brazil urged the importance of agricultural education in mission schools. In that republic most of the cultivation is done with the hoe, without a knowledge oftentimes even of plows. Self- supporting churches in rural communities would be possible, if such education were available and effec- tive. "We must not only introduce farm machinery, but we must also teach how to use it. We should plan to have a course in agriculture in the central schools that now exist and those to be established in the future. We can do much to prepare people for self- support in this way, because one man with a machine can do the work of five or ten working with the hoe; and if we can increase their production with little cost, they can have something to give." He had previously stated that the success of the gospel had been greatest among a middle class who had land enough, but who could not ordinarily cultivate more than four acres because of the prevalent hoe culture. This was insufficient to provide anything more than the food and clothing of a large family, leaving noth- ing for supporting the church. The Rev. W. E. Browning, Ph.D., of Chile regarded the following as the greatest weaknesses of educa- tional work from the point of view of religious results. The missionary is too timid in dealing with his students, especially in teaching the Bible. In Chile there is too little permanency in the faculty, with many short term and contract teachers, who remain so brief a time that they do not learn the language well LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION 105 enough to be a religious help to their students and to make the cumulative influence of Christian friendship tell. Incompetence due to sending the best candidates to the Far East and supplying Latin America with the dubious remnants is another cause — men like this one recommended to him by a distinguished educator to whom he had applied for a teacher : "Our men go to China. There is only one man who might go to you. He is rather uncouth and awkward. He re- minds me of a great, awkward Newfoundland pup, but I think he would just fit into your work." Dr. Browning well addsj "Of what help would that man be in meeting the atheism and Catholicism and all the problems we have on our field?" Equipment is an- other handicap in every way. One of the Chilean universities is spending $19,200,000 in its upbuilding, while mission schools are without proper staff for doing effective religious teaching. Cooperation among the churches would aid in follow-up work after graduation, when students go home away from their own church and soon revert to their old religious status because of lack of Christian nurture. Professor Erasmo Braga of the Campinas Theologi- cal Seminary, Brazil, regarded the following as cor- rectives of the weaknesses of theological training in South America. A proper point of view in their estab- lishment; correlation between the seminaries and the national system of education in order to secure well- prepared candidates; a correction of the present method of recruiting for these institutions, so that 106 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA men whose qualifications are merely early piety and education in mission schools are not necessarily to be received into the seminaries; discouraging induction into the ministry of short-cut students without a thorough secondary and college training; reduction of the number of so-called seminaries and their combina- tion into single union institutions; and higher stand- ards for the training of theological students, before and after entering the seminaries. The Rev. J. F. Goucher, D.D., of Baltimore, argued for interdenominational cooperation in order to secure efficiency and the financial support for great union in- stitutions. When Latin-American governments are providing budgets of over $300,000 annually for single universities, it is futile for any one denomina- tion to insist on establishing or supporting feeble in- stitutions of no great influence when by combination several societies could have one strong college or uni- versity, which might call for a capital of twenty mil- lions. The Rev. W. H. Rainey of Peru seconded Dr. Goucher's suggestion, though he would have one great Christian university for all Latin America. It would need to be interdenominational for a higher than a financial reason, the exemplification of unity as superior to denominationalism. Dr. King pleaded for three strong Christian universities, when speaking for the Commission. In general the great educational lack of Latin America is that of higher education for Christian leadership, so that medical men, for instance, shall not far surpass in technical fitness those who LATIN AMERICANS AND EDUCATION io;r have the higher task of the cure of souls and the up- building of the living Church of God. Two facts that particularly impressed Lord Bryce during his travels in South America generalize the real problems of Missions in Latin America. "If one re- gards these various nations as a whole," he writes, "one is struck by the want of such an 'atmosphere of ideas/ if the phrase is permissible, as that which men breathe in western Europe and in North America. Educated men are few, books are few, there is little stir of thought, little play of cultivated intelligence upon the problems of modern society. Most of these countries seem to lie far away from the stream of intellectual life, hearing only its distant murmur. The presence of a great inert mass of ignorance in the native population partly accounts for this; and one must remember the difficulty of providing schools and the thinness of the population scattered through moun- tainous or forest-covered regions. . . . Another fact strikes the traveler with surprise. Both the in- tellectual life and the ethical standards of conduct of these countries seem to be entirely divorced from re- ligion. The women are almost universally 'practicing' Catholics, and so are the peasantry, though the Chris- tianity of the Indians bears only a distant resemblance to that of Europe. But men of the upper or educated* class appear wholly indifferent to theology and Chris- tian worship. It has no interest for them . . . and may be left to women and peasants. The Catholic revival or reaction of the first half of the nineteenth io8 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA century did not touch Spanish America, which is still under the influence of the anti-Catholic current of the later eighteenth." To bring to these republics the intelligence without which democratic institutions cannot reach their ideals, to impart to the nascent evangelical communities the Christian knowledge and training indispensable for their development and proper leadership, to win the intellectuals to allegiance to Him who is not only the Truth but also the Life, is a task which will prove also to be Kingdom-making and will exalt its King. LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS Literature, which is the subject investigated and discussed by Commission IV, may be regarded as the corollary of education, — "a proposition following so obviously from another that it requires little or no demonstration," as a mathematician would say. For how can they read who have no books? Or how can the evangelical Church be built up without the aid of a varied and plenteous supply of printed material adapted to its multitudinous needs? If one may be pardoned for a further metaphor, how can an aggres- sive campaign against ignorance and misinformation be carried on without ammunition? a figure used effectively by Secretary Swift of the American Tract Society, who reminded the Congress that missions in Latin America had reached the munitions stage. As its value may be questioned in lands of Iberian culture, a quotation from Dr. Ritson, Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society and a vice-chairman of the Commission, will supply the argument for em- phasizing it in Latin America, as well as in other coun- tries similarly conditioned concerning which he primarily wrote: "Whatever be the means adopted for the evangelization and Christianization of the 109 no RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA human race, Christian literature is a factor to be reckoned with. One of the most urgent requirements of the Church in the mission field is a native ministry with spiritual fitness and intellectual equipment for leadership. In many lands we have done little more than place the Bible in the hands of evangelists and teachers and pastors in their mother tongue. That is the first and supreme gift, but it is our duty to give more. The men upon whom devolves leadership in the indigenous Church are dealing with spiritual truths that are new to them and have not been trained to think. Is it right to leave them to begin de novo? In the historic Church there has been a progressive interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, and it is our duty to give the missionary Church the benefit of that Christian scholarship which has been ripening, and of that wealth of Christian experience which has been accumulating through the centuries. By providing a Christian literature ... we may share with it those blessings which we ourselves have secured only through blood and tears. "But the training for the ministry is only one aspect of the case. Almost every missionary Society has its educational policy, and is spending tens of thousands of pounds on schools and colleges, and is devoting the lives of many of its best and ablest servants to the task of teaching. . . . Our students must read. They find ready at hand a vast amount of materialis- tic and poisonous literature turned out from publishing houses, . . . and unless we provide something LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS in better they will read that which will undermine their spiritual and moral life and ruin them body and soul. Has a missionary Society which takes no responsibility in providing healthy Christian literature any right to educate ? "Again, the power of the printed page as an evan- gelist . . . has not yet been realized. It is obvious that it is not a substitute for the missionary. The personal factor, the living voice, can never be re- placed and has an influence all its own. But the printed page has some advantages : it can be read and re-read and pondered over ; it can reach a vastly larger congregation than is to be found within the walls of the sanctuary ; it can accompany the hospital patient to his home ... ; it can travel forth as a pioneer where the climate is deadly and the population is sparse and conditions are unfriendly and hostile. The printed page alone is the ubiquitous missionary. In evangelizing by means of literature we are following- the Great Exemplar, who chose as the medium of revelation a Book as well as a Church. " It was most fitting that this particular Commission should have had as its Chairman Professor Andres Osuna, a Latin American of such distinguished ability, not only as a literary man but also as an educator, that the Mexicans had just chosen him as Commis- sioner of Education of the Federal District. While this prevented his being present at Panama, he was happily substituted for by Dr. Winton, whose work in literary lines, both as a Mexican missionary and as ii2 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA an editor of his own Church, the Methodist Episcopal, South, made his presentations authoritative. Only one session was devoted to the theme. Evangelical missions center their work about the Bible, which has been a closed volume to the masses of the Roman Church; hence it was made prominent in the Commission's report. Of the Protestant ver- sions that of Cipriano de Valera, a converted Roman Catholic monk who escaped to England where he mar- ried an English lady and gained his degree at Cam- bridge, is in Spanish literature what King James's is to the English versions. It is a revision of the Bible translated by Cassiodoro de Reina, a Spanish reformer of the sixteenth century. Valera spent the last twenty years of his life upon the work, publishing it in 1596, fifteen years before our Authorized Version appeared. Delgado de Vargas, a special delegate to the Congress from Spain, cited Father Scio's estimate, found in the introduction to his Vulgate version, who asserted that it was one of the purest and best productions of Spanish literature. Sefior de Vargas added that Valera's translation in Spain is regarded as the best example of classical Spanish after Cervantes' "Don Quixote." For some years a company of English, American, Mexican and Spanish scholars have been at work in Madrid preparing a version that will be a via media between the literal interpretation of the accepted texts, which by their ruggedness grip the conscience and stimulate spiritual meditation, and a rendition into pure literary Spanish, enabled by its inherent charms LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS 113 to win an affectionate reading by lovers of Castilian. The revisers have just completed the New Testament. Joao Ferreira d' Almeida, who began as a boy of fifteen to translate the Scriptures and who was con- verted from Catholicism, was the first person to com- plete the entire translation of the Portuguese New Testament from the originals. His death in 1691 prevented his completing the Old Testament, but other scholars finished it in 1753. It was followed in 1781-83 by a Roman Catholic Portuguese version of the Vulgate, with occasional use of the Greek text, which was published in twenty-three volumes. Prot- estant missionaries in Brazil have been working for more than a decade upon a new version, of which the New Testament has already been published and the Old Testament is nearing completion. The Romanists have published versions of the Vul- gate in Spain and also in Mexico. The best ones ap- pear in from nineteen to twenty-five volumes, and the cost is prohibitive even to some priests. Brazilian ecclesiastics have formed an organization known as the Jerome Society which has recently issued the Gospel in Portuguese. This has been a by-product, apparently, of evangelical missions. Dr. Tucker of Rio de Janeiro told the delegates of a Roman Catholic Congress in Brazil some time ago which discussed the question, "What shall we do in the face of the Protestant propaganda of the Bible ?" and answered it by the decision to go into the work of translating. In Sarmiento's translation of Carriere's French para- ii4 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA phrase of the Book of Acts, the Cardinal Archbishop of Rio explains by way of preface : "At the moment in which we write these words of approval and apology of the work of popularizing the reading of the Holy Gospels, we judge it convenient to make it very clear that this our attitude can never be confounded with the propaganda that our separated brethren, the Protes- tants, are actively making." Later he says : "We trust the future clergy may be trained in this school, that our seminary students may know this treasure and may familiarize themselves with this divine Book, that every one of them may possess a copy of the Holy Gospels." It is a privilege to have awakened in part this interest in the Scriptures, thus aiding the Romanists toward the accomplishment of a main pur- pose of Latin-American missionary enterprise. Other literature required for promoting the evan- gelical cause is varied, but one primary necessity is for commentaries and other works making the purpose, meaning and contents of the Bible clear. One of the two grounds of objection by Romanists to the intro- duction of the Bible into Latin America is that ignorant people ought not to be trusted with the Scriptures in the vernacular. Hence the new versions of their own are accompanied with annotations to prevent erroneous beliefs from being derived from them. Surely commentaries are now all the more desirable that readers may know how devout scholars and divines of evangelical Churches understand the sacred texts. Such explanatory books will be to read- LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS 115 ers what the Gospels and the colporteurs are to the common people, "introductions to Jesus Christ," which others than the little Bolivian girl so long for. Mr. Stark of the British and Foreign Bible Society told how this child came early one morning to a colpor- teur's room pleading with him in these words: "O, sir, will you give me an introduction to Jesus Christ? I am so often hungry and cold, and my mother is cruel, and I have none to love me." Such introductory literature will serve another pur- pose also. Sefiorita Palacios of Mexico City indicated to the Congress its value through this illustration: "I was talking with the president of the University of Puebla about the Word of God, and he said: 'Don't you know the Bible is a book that I would never put in the hands of my daughters ?' I thought he would go on to speak about the historical difficulties; but when I asked, 'Why do you say that ?' he said : 'You know the Psalms are very immoral; they teach vengeance, and I do not put them in the hands of my daughters.' Now you see that the Old Testament cannot be under- stood as we understand it, unless there has been some preparation for the use of it. Therefore we should not put Old Testament stories into the hands of per- sons who have not had that preparation." Sefior Elphick of Chile also warned workers against using the Old Testament without a New Testament prep- aration, as it proves too often a stumbling-block. The story of Jesus should be the beginning of instruction, and it should be made attractive by beautiful pictures. n6 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA For thoughtful readers, especially students, Dr. Teeter, of Chile, advised such books as President King's "Ethics of Jesus," which should be translated among the first of this class. The Commission reported that the present list of usable literature was limited, though its second Ap- pendix gave figures which showed that some hundreds of books and tracts have been published in the last ten years. Biographies were almost wholly lacking, according to Mr. Ewing of Buenos Aires. Periodicals are too numerous and too weak to command respect, with rare exceptions. If Societies would combine and publish union periodicals, with denominational supple- ments when desirable, much more would be accom- plished for the cause. Miss Clementina Butler out- lined a scheme of such cooperation, which, supple- mented by subventions for a few years, would prob- ably provide a syndicated periodical that would be both popular and helpful, though without a denomina- tional or even a Protestant name. The Commission, and delegates also, described the sort of literature that was especially desirable in Latin America. Negatively, Mr. Revell suggested that books of sermons were not listed among "the six best sellers" in North America, but that they seemed to be char- acteristic of Latin-American evangelical literature. Dr. Howland deprecated as a "pernicious thing," "homi- letical-review-ready-made sermons or outlines," which tend to laziness and dishonesty. Dr. Teeter objected to books that were denominational when intended for LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS 117 general use, instancing a volume which he, a Meth- odist, was using for an interdenominational group and which contained a chapter pointing out the errors of Presbyterians, several of whom were members of the class. He also deprecated the translation and pub- lication of books discussing problems of a century ago. A number disapproved of certain publications which were controversial to the point of bitterness. Literature written in faulty Spanish or Portuguese was especially criticised, the Rev. A. Trevifio advising mis- sionaries not to write Spanish half in English. Even more harmful than defects in language and style is pettiness in thought, which the Commission asserted helped to breed skepticism. Looking at the question from a positive viewpoint, literature of Latin- American rather than of European and 'North American authorship was required. Iberian peoples dislike the plain and unpretentious use of their native tongues. But more subtle than the charm of their own mellifluous utterance is the ministry to the temperament and spirit of races of Latin lineage in a manner that will satisfy their peculiarities and pre- dispositions, a service that none can perform so well as members of those races. As a correspondent of the Commission truly says : "Much of our literature is of little value for initial propaganda, as it depends for its appeal so wholly on acceptance of biblical authority. Our whole evangelical scheme, as we have been presenting it, is too much a logical argument from premises which are unacceptable to those who n8 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA hear or read." A Spanish or Portuguese writer would not be likely to err in such particulars. He would avoid the unadorned and homely style of missionary authors which is an acknowledged cause of empty evangelical churches and of ineffective tracts and books, and which prevents those of real merit from gaining a reading. If Latin- American authorship is to be the policy in producing evangelical literature in the future, we must face the problem of securing competent national writers within the evangelical Churches of Latin America. Many leading Christians are not qualified for such work, and the few who are possessed of the requisite literary gifts are so heavily burdened already that they cannot take on additional tasks. It is mani- festly desirable to train some of the younger Latins for such writing. It was proposed that promising young men be given the requisite opportunity for perfecting their gifts and thus be enabled to prepare literature. Dr. Mott suggested the desirability of fol- lowing some such plan as Japan has recently adopted. One of the finest minds of that Empire has been set apart to prepare a life of Jesus Christ which shall be a Japanese interpretation of the Master. He is now in Oxford University, studying under Dr. Sanday. With a Japanese heart and superb abilities as a writer in his own language, he will emerge from his British isola- tion and profound studies to produce an interpreta- tion that will do much to win Japan to Jesus. But where this is impossible, Bishop Colmore's advice was LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS 119 to give men of literary promise a broad education, preferably in England or the United States, and after thus filling them with great ideas upon important sub- jects, ask them to write out of their very selves, with all the powers of a Spanish or Portuguese literary man, some vital message to their own people. There was a general feeling that if translations for a time must be depended upon, they should be something more than "transliterations from English into Spanish," to quote the Bishop's words. For men thus prepared either for translating or for original work, a variety of books and leaflets is waiting to be written. While controversy is to be avoided when possible, it must not be left unprovided for. Writers in this department should be wholly conversant with the viewpoint and teachings of Roman Catholic authorities, as too many missionary authors are not. The Roman system of today is the carefully thought out product of many of the greatest intellects of the past, and hence cannot be met with- out full preparation. In this realm the primary aim should be to establish the truth and only secondarily to combat error. Books for Christian nurture are needed. The two antipodal types of men to be ministered unto are the intelligent, educated thinkers who are being drawn into a barren and lifeless materialism, and those who tend toward crass superstition. The latter class is not wholly made up of ignorant people of little learn- ing. Many educated men are the prey of Spiritism 120 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA and kindred delusions, a reaction against the unsatis- fying materialistic philosophy so prevalent in Latin America. Books on the following subjects clamor to be written: "The Message of Evangelical Chris- tianity," "The Essentials of Religion as Found in the Bible," "Helps to the Devotional Reading of the Bible," "The Nature of Church Authority" and "Helps to Character Building." General literature is lacking in clean, high-class novels and other popular books, greatly needed to counteract the baneful influence of objectionable and even pornographic literature. A number of whole- some short stories have been translated already into Spanish and are favorably received. Books for boys and still others for girls are a desideratum also. The Commission's report emphasizes the need for a far better hymnology than the evangelical Church now possesses. It is deplorably weak in this realm which so appeals to music-loving Latin America. Dr. Win- ton, in his closing address, explained the technical weakness of our present hymnology and pleaded for indigenous hymns and for a music that can be wedded happily to the words. When the union hymn-book so much desired is thus prepared, the Church will advance on the wings of song. Tracts and leaflets which are so discounted in the United States have their use and are appreciated in Latin America. In most of its republics reading mat- ter is still scarce, and well edited leaflets and bright tracts are at a premium, especially when well illus- LEAVES FOR THE HEALING OF NATIONS 121 trated. As a great majority of the people are ignorant of the simplest gospel truths, these tracts should meet that need sympathetically and fairly. When the in- spiration for writing it springs from actual experiences of a vital sort, the tract is far more likely to be vigorous, well-timed and effective than when it is writ- ten in cold blood in recognition of a general need. Atheism, Mormonism and Spiritism call for special tracts and leaflets. Sunday-school literature was wisely emphasized. The chairman of the Commission, realizing the need of his countrymen, has been instrumental in preparing graded lessons that promise to meet the demands of the new religious education. The Presbyterians, Methodists and Disciples of Mexico have cooperated in publishing graded lessons for children under thir- teen. Manuals for teachers will also be published cooperatively. There is already on foot a plan for similar publications in Portuguese. In the Congress session the agents so indispensable for bringing evangelical literature into the homes and lives of the people were eulogized. The Rev. W. H. Rainey, the Peruvian representative of the British and Foreign Bible Society, is one such eulogist. "The colporteur," he said, "is not simply a book-hawker, not simply a commercial agent. If he were, it would not be dishonorable. But he goes as a pioneer evangelist, a scout of the great militant Church of Jesus Christ. . . . Colporteurs cooperate with the missionary. They go to a town and visit every house. They find 122 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA those who are interested and give a list of the names to the nearest pastor. Sometimes they call the people together and preach to them, so that when the pastor comes, he finds the church waiting for him to organ- ize. . . . He must work alone a great deal of the time ; he must travel the dusty roads in the broiling sun; he must climb the mountains; he must go down the river in boats, tormented by mosquitoes; he bears the burden and the heat of the day that your way may be made more easy. Therefore we appeal to you, especially you native pastors, to recognize the col- porteur's work as true evangelical work and the col- porteur himself as a true and sincere evangelist and missionary.'* This Commission's report, even more than those pre- ceding it, reiterated again and again the vast oppor- tunities and the urgent need for cooperation, if the evangelical cause is to avail itself of the best talent and is to receive the financial support demanded in order to make literature the powerful, saving factor that God intends it to become. At least nine Boards or Societies are now preparing and publishing litera- ture for Latin America, with much waste of money and force. When the plan outlined by Commission IV in its Appendix C materializes, or something even better, efficiency and unity will be the gainers and the leaves of healing will bless still more the life of Latin- American nations. CHILDREN WHO NEED A SUNDAY SCHOOL SUNDAY SCHOOL, BRAZIL VI THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD A new thing under the missionary sun was the ap^ pointment of Commission V on * 'Women's Work," with the same powers and standing as the other seven commissions. This differentiates the Panama Con 7 gress from all other formal international conferences of note, although in smaller gatherings of missionaries the women had been represented and had borne an honored and helpful part. Being without precedents, Miss Belle H. Bennett and Mrs. Ida W. Harrison, LL.D., the Commission's chairman and vice-chairman, led on their company of twenty-five other women and their corps of eighty correspondents in a successful advance-guard movement. Up to this point, the re^ ports had been excellent specimens of expert investiga- tion, with only a minimum suggestion of any real human life behind the subjects discussed. This one was in refreshing contrast, in that it was full of con- crete material dealing with a theme which always makes its strong appeal. Latin-American literature is almost entirely lacking- in any full account of its womanhood ; hence the Com- mission presented an appraisal of the girls and women whose cause it championed, mainly in the words of competent writers upon those republics. Only broad 123 J24 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA generalizations were possible, and they were grouped under four headings, the higher, the middle and the lower class women and the Indians. Of the higher classes, Albert Hale writes, — though he includes others than these women: "You cannot travel through South America without finding an ap- preciation of art, education and good manners; boorishness is practically unknown; kindliness, cour- tesy and breeding characterize the people." M. Georges Clemenceau, ex-Premier of France, says of these women : "The family tie appears to be stronger than, perhaps, in any other land. . . . The rich . . . take pleasure in having large families. . . . The greatest affection prevails and the greatest devotion to the parent roof- tree. . . . The women . . . enjoy a reputation, that seems well justified, of being extremely virtuous. ... In their role of faithful guardians of the hearth, they have been able to silence calumny and inspire universal respect by the purity and dignity of their life." Professor E. A. Ross asserts that in "the higher classes of tropical South America, the women are distinctly brighter than the men," and that on the West Coast they have "more character." He attributes this to the early immorality of the men, which affects unfavorably both body and mind. Of the high-born Mexican women, Nevin O. Winter writes : "They are sympathetic to an extreme. They are almost invariably watchful for the needs of their poor relations and are everywhere supporting numerous charities." THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 125 While it is difficult to describe women of the middle class when it is only now emerging, the report in- cludes in it all grades of women employed in the busi- ness world, trades and teachers of every sort. In Brazil and Argentina that class for the most part helps to solve the new problems of womanhood. In Chile they have placed emphasis upon the dignity of labor and have aided in introducing foreign ideals. Peruvian women of the middle class are looked upon with dis- dain, and even women teachers have little social stand- ing. Though woman's day has not yet dawned in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, in Mexico it has al- ready shone upon many women, which is regarded as one of the most hopeful signs of the times, a Mexican leader saying, "The highest moral develop- ment is to come from the middle class." The Com- mission quotes as equally applicable to these women what was said of Orientals in the Continuation Com- mittee Conference findings : "The walls which guarded the young girl are being demolished rapidly, and the spiritual walls which can protect her purity and peace are rising only slowly. The girls who leave Christian schools and homes to enter these new condi- tions must know more than their mothers did, must have more poise and self-control, and above all they must have the spiritual power of the indwelling Christ and the sense of a divine call to service." Women of the lower class make the strongest ap- peal. These are picturesque sketches of them by Pro- fessor Ross and Miss Florence Smith of Chile. "One 126 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA woman, bent under a burden, carries a child at the breast, and is soon to become again a mother. An- other laden woman plies distaff and spindle as she creeps along. Here is a file of barefoot women bent under loads of earth or brick, escorted by a man with a whip." Miss Smith writes of Colombian women as they work with pickax or shovel on the highway, or stagger under burdens too heavy to be borne, — of the mothers of the 40,767 babies who died in Chile alone in 1909, less than a year old, because of alcoholism and unhygienic conditions. She pleads for the poor fallen girls, so numerous in all the republics. "Im- moral? Perhaps, as we count immorality. But who of us dares to say that, given their heritage, their ignorance, their temptations, we should not have sunk so low? Listen: 'I was only fourteen. I knew nothing ; my mother sold me/ The times were hard ; I had no work and a sick sister to feed.' 'I was an orphan; my aunt tired of me and connived with an evil woman who caused me to be drugged/ 'My own father seduced me.' " So runs on and on the heart- moving dirge. The dark cloud has its silver lining, however. These lower class women have strong natural affections, both for their families and for their friends. Filial love is universal so that elderly and married women obey their mothers as in childhood. Children upon meeting or leaving father or mother kiss them upon either the hand or the forehead. So far as the Commission's report goes, Indian women of this lower stratum do not fare any worse THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 127 than those just described; indeed, they are more free and less degraded among the higher tribes, descendants of the Incas and Aztecs. A Mexican correspondent says that Indian women there live in villages by them- selves and cultivate their little plots of ground; they carry their flowers, fruit and vegetables to the city and sell them on the streets or in the markets. These daughters of the Aztecs weave blankets, make pottery and still offer for sale feather work like that for which their ancestors were famous. In Bolivia the Indian women are on the plane of their husbands, not hav- ing a lord and master as in North America and not suffering from loose marriage bonds. Indian girls from the mountains of Peru often show exceptional artistic ability and develop original decorative motives from nature forms. Among the Mapuche Indians of Chile there is a woman priesthood, according to Rev. Alan Ewbank, and the witch-doctor is a woman. If a man aspires to become a witch-doctor, he must assume the dress of a woman. But the woe of it is that probably five millions of these Indian women are without anything except the faintest idea of their Heavenly Father and Savior, if they have heard even their names. Forty millions of women and girls such as have been described constitute the Latin-American parish of Commission V. While the challenge of their needs reached the ears of Mrs. Mary Hartmann in 1848, when her husband died, and she began that heroic and saintly ministry to the bush negroes of 128 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Dutch Guiana, where she maintained a Christian sta- tion immured in a wilderness of heathenism, to Miss Melinda Rankin falls the honor of pioneering woman's work in Mexico. Having been moved by the stories of conditions there from returned Mexican War soldiers, she created sentiment and in 1850 started a school for Mexican children at Brownsville on the Rio Grande. In addition to teaching, she visited the Mexicans among whom she distributed Bibles, which soon crossed the river to Matamoras where they were gladly received. In 1857, when religious liberty was declared in Mexico, she went over to that city and later worked in Monterey. In this difficult field she labored on with singular devotion, until broken health forced her to relinquish her work in 1871. Her task was that of a teacher and a distributor of Bibles; yet under her supervision, her pupils established and ministered to fourteen congregations which were taken over later by the Presbyterians. Miss Rankin laid down three principles at that early stage of Latin- American work which are worthy of remembrance. She wrote : "I believe it wise, as far as possible, to avoid exciting prejudices in our labors among Roman Catholics. ... It has been a fixed principle with me not to attack their religion, but to present the truth and let that do its work. . . . If you wish to enlighten a room, you carry a light and set it down in it, and the darkness will disperse of itself." Another of her dicta was this: "Mexico should become evangelized mainly through the instru- THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 129 mentality of Mexicans themselves ; yet they need to be guided into the best manner of working," She fur- ther aimed to make her work undenominational, so as not to perpetuate the divisions of the Church at home in this new territory and to avoid confusing the people with doctrinal distinctions about which they knew nothing. Other women pioneers in the Com- mission's Hall of Fame are Miss Martha Watts of Brazil and Mrs. Frances Hamilton of Mexico, two rare workers. Education of various sorts is a strategic method very commonly employed by the women missionaries. Here a strong argument for kindergartens was entered in opposition to the report of the Commission on Education, and despite government competition. They are invaluable because by simple plays and songs they teach the value of work, the ideals of purity, un- selfishness, morality and truth — the very elements of Christian character. An experienced Mexican mis- sionary argues for them thus: "For the improve- ment of the education of the children, American kindergarten methods are greatly in demand. As a people the Mexicans are musical, and the children re- spond readily to the songs and games. The admirable devotion of the people to their children makes them appreciate such opportunities when afforded by the missions. Possibly there is no better way of break- ing down prejudice than through the kindergarten under missionary auspices." Day nurseries for little children are also greatly appreciated, especially when i3o RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA One recalls how many of them are illegitimate with no father to relieve the mother's burden of daily earning her child's support. The mission normal institution is most valuable, both because caste is less evident there and because teachers in evangelical schools should be either earnest Christians or trained in an evangelical atmosphere. In 19 1 3 Dr. Browning reported forty-two schools and three thousand six hundred and ten students of this grade. Among the notable secondary institutions for girls, he regarded the Santiago College of Chile "the best known North American school for girls in all South America." It begins with kindergarten and car- ries the work through primary, secondary and higher grades, under the direction of a superior corps of teachers. In addition to the curriculum in liberal arts, it has a conservatory of music with an eight years' course and a department of fine arts. Securing students from the higher classes has not proceeded far in Latin America. Their young women are secluded from general society and are loyal to Roman Catholicism. In Church institutions they are taught accomplishments, such as * embroidery and music, and in the conventual schools religion is very central. What is demanded is an education suitable "for a wife and mother," that is, a non-vocational training. As large families are desired and as in- fant mortality is two or three times as great as in North America, this should be considered by the upper class students, for such women might inspire reform THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 131 measures for the public benefit, as well as know how to care for their own children. The Commission is of the opinion that if girls from the higher ranks in society are to be reached, a large sum of money is requisite to provide adequate buildings, faculties of good breeding and high culture, libraries and labora- tories. This in turn calls for cooperation between the missionary Boards. As a specimen of an entirely different sort of teach- ing the Congress was deeply interested in the unique- ness of Miss Cooped work among the San Bias In- dians on an island a hundred miles from Colon. Twice at extra sessions she had delighted her audience with the racy, gloriously-believing account of that mission and had illustrated her addresses with two trophies of her work, bright Indian boys who spoke and aided her variously. Certain that she was sent of God and utterly fearless of what man could do against one so sent, she had braved many dangers and had triumphed. In her school she has about 100 boys and 70 girls. Here is a sample of her as she addressed the Congress. "They come to my school in the morning as soon as the sun rises. They are very eager to learn. They will stay as late as eleven o'clock at night. For the first two months I was there, I taught school three times a day, and I had some private scholars besides. As soon as one group of children went out, another came in. They seemed to think that I could live with- out eating. Well, I could almost live by teaching. I have never been sick. . . . Let me tell you some- 132 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA thing of the results. I have them in sanitation and morals, just as well as other results. When I went out there to that town, the houses were so close together that you could not walk hardly, but now we have broad streets and fences. There were ten saloons on the island ; there is not one now." Social programs were discussed by the Congress. It had been hoped that here might be found a common bond between the Roman Church and evangelical mis- sions ; but as a Church there is apparently no present probability of any united action with evangelicals. The woman's movement has scarcely begun to touch Latin America, though developments affecting the in- dustrial life and the entry of women in teaching and the professions are requiring some such organiza- tions as are found in North America and Europe. The evening before the presentation of the Commission's report was a woman's session, and at that time the wife of the President of the Congress, Senora Monte- verde, told of the beginnings of concerted action among women. The league for righting tuberculosis and the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union against intemperance she had mentioned as typ- ical of the good that might be accomplished by women either with or without the use of the Protestant name. Mexico seems farthest along in these organizations. The women there attend meetings in the interests of temperance, missions, working women and clubs of all sorts. Elsewhere it seemed desirable to adopt and enlarge the club idea, one missionary writing: 'The THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 133 field of the club seems to be as large in Latin- American countries as in any others ; and there is no reason why it may not be developed to an indefinite extent, bring- ing about the same results as those to be obtained in any other part of the world. It may be regarded as a legitimate part of mission activity to be developed in connection with church and school work." Women's organizations for the purpose of promoting a better education seem most common among Peruvians. So- cial betterment is also appealing to many women. The program of the Young Women's Christian As- sociation on its social side was commended by Sefiora Mont ever de and also by the report and by one of the speakers. The Association at Buenos Aires, repre- sented in the Congress by Senorita Cortes, is the fore- most organization in its social work for women. Mul- titudes of girls from abroad and from distant parts of the Plate countries come to that capital with little money and are subjected to the moral perils of the city. The Association aids them in various ways, not as a boarding house merely, but as a home and a "family" of young women with strong Christian lead- ership. Its employment bureau, savings-bank, and especially its religious meetings, are all helpful and are greatly appreciated. Mrs. John Howland of Mexico at the women's session of Tuesday night had spoken of "the womanly approach to the citadel of the home," and this was a phase of woman's work that was presented very effec- tively. Miss Florence Smith's address that same eve- 134 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ning upon "Womanhood in the Home" was most in- teresting. As already intimated, the home is more populous than with North Americans and Europeans. Besides the large family of children, — the wife of the President of the Congress is the mother of eleven, — there are usually others living there. In the family which Miss Smith described there were present "hus- band and wife, married son, wife and baby, invalid daughter, three other children, two mothers-in-law and numerous relatives and friends, gathered daily about their hospitable board. . . ■ . In rural communities three and even four generations, where girls marry at thirteen, are often found under the common roof- tree; and stalwart sons of thirty-five and forty are referred to as 'los ninos/ and if unruly even at that age are reduced to obedience by the rod." Yet man is also dominant over woman. "From the cradle to the grave, the life of the average Latin- American woman is under male influence: in childhood under paternal authority, or, failing that, under elder brother, or nearest male relative ; as a wife, wholly subservient to her husband; in old age, if widowed, to her sons. If she belongs to a conservative family, all these in- fluences are secondary to that of the priest." Mental apathy or inertia is likewise present, which even in evangelical families is hard to dispel among the women. Into such homes the woman missionary goes with her broader vision and her winsome Christian mes- sage. A little school girl may have led her thither; the entire family may follow her thence to the church. THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 135 Besides all the children of day and Sunday-schools, the sick and afflicted must be visited in their homes; new families must be followed up; opportunities for instilling important information bearing upon hygiene and temperance must be utilized; a visiting nurse is needed; and so in various ways the home citadel capitulates to the power of Christian adaptability and friendliness. In the Commission's opinion, the lack of good lit- erature is, possibly, one of the greatest weaknesses in missionary work for Latin-American women, as the whole range of wholesome books for young people and stories for children are wanting. Miss Blaney, teach- ing in the Escuela Popular of Valparaiso, writes : "The missions have printed and sold books only of a reli- gious character for girls. I believe that if the money could be obtained to print translations of good English books and fiction, it would help to prepare the way for open-mindedness and eventually for hearing the gospel. Lately I have had the pleasure of knowing some young society girls who know English. They have liked the English books I have loaned them so much that they will read no others, and they are always asking for more. One of them said she 'found French and Spanish novels so silly after having read about such nice people in English fiction.' " From Peru comes a plea for a woman's magazine, voiced in these words : "A Roman Catholic priest has said that his Church has full control of Peru, because it has the women entirely in its power. If we wish 136 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA to win Peru for Christ, we must reach the women. The same is true even in a stronger sense of Bolivia and no doubt applies to all Latin America. While many women here cannot read, those who have been educated enough for that eagerly read all the books and papers they can find. Their intellectual life is starved, and their whole life is very narrow." If peri- odical articles cannot be written or translated because of the many demanding tasks of the women mission- aries, Miss Hodge's suggestion that Miss Laura White's plan be tried seems worthy of consideration. In her girls' school she introduced a course in which the girls were to study carefully some good stories in English and then translate and revivify them in their own tongue, thus enabling her to edit most creditably a vernacular magazine as a by-product of the class- room. The upbuilding of Latin-American womanhood will be accomplished through the uplifting of the living, loving Christ. On a crest of the dividing chain be- tween Argentina and Chile, thirteen thousand feet above the sea, is one of the most remarkable statues of the world, the heroic figure of the Christ of the Andes, standing with a cross in one hand and with the other uplifted. It was erected to commemorate the settlement by arbitration rather than by arms of the boundary dispute between the two adjacent republics, and on its pedestal the traveler reads, "He is our peace who hath made both one." At its dedication on March 13, 1904, the Bishop of Ancud said: "Not only to THE UPBUILDING OF WOMANHOOD 137 Argentina and Chile do we dedicate this monument, but to the world, that from this day it may learn the lesson of universal peace/ * That parable in stone sprang from the hearts of Bishop Benevente and Senora de Costa who, as president of the Christian Mothers' Association of Buenos Aires, undertook the work of securing funds and having the statue erected. "I even dare to think," she writes, "that the idea had to issue from the brain of a woman, because it is an idea of sentiment, and in all time men have reproached *us for thinking with the heart. ... It may be said that I had to contend with obstacles which seemed insurmountable for a woman. But I have a moral quality which I may call Saxon. I am persistent and tenacious in all that I believe true, good, or just. I have always thought that there is no force more power- ful than an energetic will which knows how to desire with faith." Her article closes with an appeal for money to build a monastery near the statue to serve as a refuge for lost travelers. Such an one is a type of the highest womanhood of Latin America, — a life abounding in alms deeds, supported by faith, accom- plishing the seemingly impossible through her indom- itable will. Until the parable is a materialized fact, the evangel- ical women of Latin America must live the exalted, transfigured life, patiently enduring opposition and misunderstanding, overcoming suspicion and fanatical hatred with friendliness and love, surmounting all obstacles through the constant exercise of Senora de 138 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Costa's "energetic will which knows how to desire with faith." In the future some glad, blissful day will dawn when the boundary line will be obliterated and evangelical and Romanist will be united through a return to the simplicity of the early apostolic faith in a crucified, risen, omnipresent, loving Christ, — "our peace who hath made both one." vn THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES The vitally important theme, "The Church in the Field/' was in good hands, as Commission VI was composed of a Latin-American Methodist bishop as chairman, Dr. Homer C. Stuntz, previously a mis- sionary in the Philippines, and twenty-six others. Of these, eighteen were experienced workers in Latin fields, five were strong Latin Americans and three were missionary secretaries. The spirit in which they approached their task is seen in the opening paragraph of the Commission's findings: "With reference to the general purpose of evangelical work as carried on by foreign missionaries in Latin America, it cannot too often be remembered that the missionary comes in the spirit of brotherly sympathy, not to impose, but to help; not to dogmatize, but to demonstrate; not pri- marily even to teach, but to facilitate access to the Spirit of God who 'shall guide into all the truth.' " The Church whose interests they represented was defined as made up of "the indigenous bodies of Chris- tian believers of the evangelical faith and practice growing up in the field under consideration;" and its spirit accords with the general purpose of evangelical missions just stated. Its strength cannot be measured 139 140 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA alone by the quarter of a million communicants of to-day. Back of them are double or triple their total of friends, sympathizers and adherents. They are convinced of the truth of the evangelical message; they worship in evangelical churches; their children are in the Sunday-schools; many of them will come into the Church some day. Moreover, it must be kept in mind in any fair appraisal of the strength of the Church in Latin America that as a social force it is influential out of all proportion to the number of its members. It is a true gospel leaven; and it is the nature of leaven — though small in bulk compared to the meal in which it is hidden away — to permeate steadily the remainder of the whole mass and to bring it into conformity with itself. One cannot estimate fully the problems and char- acter of the evangelical community without bearing clearly in mind the Roman Catholic Church under whose overshadowing influences most of its member- ship have lived. Those who know Romanism through acquaintance with it in North America or Great Britain should realize that Catholicism in those countries is centuries removed from the supersti- tious, persistently living yet ever moribund Church of Latin America. To be convinced of this, the traveler needs only to attend services in the beautiful, progressive city of Havana, where not five minutes' walk away from the ceiba tree in whose shade Columbus preached to the Indians, he will see and hear a ritual not less magical nor more religiously THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 141 helpful than that of the pagan red man of four cen- turies ago. In so enlightened a city as Panama, the Congress delegates, on their way to hear Dr. Speer preach, saw diagonally opposite the famous old Ca- thedral, on the first floor of the Bishop's residence, a greater throng assembled for the Sunday morning lot- tery-drawing than is attracted to the cathedral services, while far greater numbers are to be seen at the bull- fight Sunday afternoons than at all the churches. Though the same thing might be said of Roman Catholics in attendance at Coney Island as compared with the attendance at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, yet the services and the spirit in the two cathedrals differ greatly. To be more specific, the Church from which the Latin American comes out is venerable, with a history which, it claims, goes back to St. Peter and Jesus. Its churches and cathedrals appeal to the imagination through their symbolical architecture and ritual, their cool spaciousness and their "dim religious light," so helpful to those who would go apart for private devo- tion or meditation. Most of them having state or private foundations, their support makes little demand upon the people, many of whom are poor. Latin- American religion is largely sacramentarian. Auricu- lar confession, which is part of penance, is exalted and by the women is highly regarded; Church worship is priestly rather than congregational, the audience being passive and often apathetic listeners with no real inter- est in what many do not at all understand. With the 142 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA exception of a very small minority, the priesthood is not broadly read and trained ; and even when there is unusual intelligence, ecclesiastical prescriptions and prohibitions restrict the eager seminarist to little more than a mediaeval obscurantism. All this light and shadow is held so indispensable to the soul's salvation that the layman finds it difficult to leave the Church of his childhood and of his fathers; while the faithful priest deems it part of his bounden duty to prevent by every means the renunciation of Catholicism by any of his flock. When this cannot be prevented, the heretic departs followed by anathemas and ostracism, if not persecution. Coming from such a heritage and training, what does this religious outcast find in the evangelical com- munity for which he has sacrificed many things ? He unites with a church which is stigmatized as a foreign importation, a taunt that means much. The church building which shelters him is anything but ecclesias- tical in architecture and furnishings, as little calculated to foster devotion as a pewed loft oftentimes. Yet for its upkeep he is expected to contribute weekly. If the convert — pervert, his world calls him — chances to belong to the upper or middle classes, he finds that his fellow Christians are from a stratum of society which he shrinks from associating with: — "not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble" surely; and perhaps he substitutes "any" for "many" in the quota- tion. Though the Commission states that with the exception of a recent immigrational addition Latin THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 143 and Indian are the two main elements in mission churches, it adds that the one from which the mission- ary wins converts is more Indian than Spanish in many fields. Such a person will find among his hum- bler fellow members no outstanding leadership of men of his own class. If the church has a national pastor, he usually has no more than a secondary school educa- tion. If a missionary is the only leader, his other ex- cellencies may be obscured by a halting or narrow use of the mellifluous tongue, an offence to a Latin ear. If the missionary happens to be enamored of his native country and correspondingly unappreciative of his adopted land, the convert's resentment rises. Yet if the new comer is from the lower classes, as most of them are, these new associations are not as trying as to the student, or merchant, or professional man de- scribed above. He finds himself among others of his class and there is a fellowship and nearness to one another that he has never known before. Yet of whatever class the Latin- American convert may be, he has left behind him the narrow, formal, lifeless religion of his fathers and, like the pearly nautilus, has raised against it a firm wall of separation, while he builds for his emancipated soul larger and more stately mansions, varying in their spaciousness and beauty with his own capacity and faithfulness and that of his teacher. The Bible, especially the New Testament and its incomparable Gospels, is the guide and inspiration of his newly acquired freedom. The lifeless crucifix is cast aside while he lays hold of a 144 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA sympathizing Jesus, a living Christ. Yet the cross is not abandoned. It has revealed to him what he never realized before, the heinousness of sin and the certainty of its full atonement and of his own salvation through Christ alone, without the intervention of priest, or saint, or the Mother of Christ. Instead of wearing a crucifix, he is sometimes called upon to bear about on his body the marks of the Lord Jesus, and always follows Him with the necessity of taking up his cross daily, if he is fully faithful. Just in propor- tion to the measure of his acceptance of salvation does he endeavor to save others, with a sympathy begotten from his own experience and a tactful love imparted by the human Jesus, now ascended and giving gifts to men. As time passes, he finds that his life must be real and Christocentric, if it is to outvalue his old experience. Here he is at the critical point of his spiritual history, — the parting of the ways where many relapse into the formality and laxity of former days and many others stir themselves up to a new and daily experience of the power of the keeping Christ. In discussing the organization and membership of Latin evangelical churches, the Commission empha- sized the Moorish influence evident in all parts of Latin America except Brazil. This influence upon the evangelical membership should be regarded by evan- gelists and administrators of Christian work. It de- mands both comprehension and great patience. When understood, it furnishes a ready explanation for some temperamental, domestic, social and even religious THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 14S phenomena otherwise most baffling to the missionary of a widely different race. The Indian element has been Christianized only imperfectly; hence that strain in the Church has no true ideas of sin, little hatred for it and no idea that it is ever possible to live free from its contamination. The Latin element is not acquainted with the Scriptures and so differs little from the Indian in its attitude to- ward sin. Dissimulation is common; everything is excused on the plea of temperament, precedent, or custom. Add to these tendencies the Latin emotion- alism, desire to please and the consequent responsive- ness and demonstrativeness of congregations hearing the gospel, and one can understand why some are admitted to the church who are not truly Christian, Well may the caution of Senor Rodriguez Cepero be observed in receiving members: "The workers in Porto Rico must not look for statistics only. The work in some churches is like artificially ripened fruit Fruit dealers sometimes resort to such methods, but members must not be brought into the church in the same way. They must ripen slowly, so that they are truly converted before they are admitted to its member- ship." Yet that extreme of caution which chills and repels the timid but earnest seeker after truth is also to be avoided. A catechumenate of some sort is very desirable for most applicants for membership, that they may know the certainty concerning those things wherein they are instructed. It is needed to avoid an evil resulting in the Apostolic Church, when the step 146 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA from Judaism to Christianity was apparently so short that many entered the infant Church only to bring with them Judaizing tendencies. The incoming of Latins who count themselves Protestants merely be- cause of an antagonism for Romanism, without having broken away from their sins and without having en- tered into any sort of evangelical experience, is an extreme form of this danger which suitable instruc- tion would expose and correct. The program of evangelical churches thus consti- tuted has been stated in part in Chapter III. How im- portant personal work is, the quotation of a Central- American missionary's testimony will evidence. "Peo- ple are afraid of being 'queered* by attending evan- gelical meetings. The greater part of these people will never be reached, if we wait to get them into formal service. Those who have no heart interest in evan- gelical teachings and practices are afraid of being ostracised. ... By personal tact, by grace of manner and by an unshrinking persistence, the very persons who are thus made the victims of such treat- ment may be won from their prejudice and error. To neglect the God-given opportunities of doing personal work with the many whom we meet day by day is to run the risk of showing ourselves unprofitable and unworthy servants." Young people's societies were strongly commended by the Commission. In Brazil they are a most fruitful field for developing workers. People converted late in life do not give up their habits and conceptions read- THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 147 ily. Young people are much more teachable and can be trained into the highest form and expression of the Christian life. They are more ready to take part in public worship and church work than are the youth of the United States, partly because of greater facility in speaking in public. Another correspondent of the Commission urged that these societies should add to their religious meetings activities of a social and phys- ical sort, the latter to meet the counter-attractions of the dance, cock-pit, bull-fight and race-track. "Base- ball, basketball and kindred games are good for the boys. Similar recreation could be planned for the girls. Literary clubs and entertainments of every legitimate kind should be provided. Any general provision for the growth of the evangelical churches in Latin America must include these social forces. This is vital to the life of the Church and of the young people. If the Church does not offer safe and sane recreation for its youth, the world will offer some other kind." Yet a missionary in Cuba emphasizes the obvi- ous caution that these societies should be subordinate to the Church in order that the religious life may be strongly maintained. To what has already been written concerning Sun- day schools, one needs to do little more than add the endorsement of this Commission. Thus Mr. Jones of the Friends Mission in Cuba stated that about half of those received into the church during the past three years have come directly through the Sunday school, while ninety-five percent, of their best trained full i 4 8 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA members came from the same source. While Profes- sor Monteverde believed fully in the Sunday-school work, with which he has been identified for thirty years, he is convinced that its program and teaching methods should be changed radically, if they are to be most effective. The appointment of the Rev. G. P. Howard, of Montevideo, as South America's Sunday- school secretary, noted by the Commission, doubtless will help on these improvements. Special evangelistic efforts of the churches, like the "protracted meetings" reported as being so helpful in Yucatan, were commended. In Chihuahua and Mex- ico City and in seven South American centers evan- gelistic and special meetings for united prayer have resulted in conversions and in the spiritual quickening of very many. It was queried whether the time has not arrived to unite in holding concerted interdenomi- national evangelistic services extending over some weeks, or at least several days. These would be held in the stronger centers under the leadership of men having a fine sense of local situations and able to speak to the people in their own tongue. Social work of the churches has been discussed previously, and only one item needs to be added here concerning its relation to reforms. Experience shows that it should be "an attitude of extreme wariness. The worker ought to remember that any action of his may involve for years the reputation of the evangelical churches." Concerning abuses which attempt to de- stroy the liberties or which threaten the existence of THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 149 defenceless tribes or races, the Commission says : "If the demands of Christianity require the action of the missionary, he should obtain the adhesion of the bulk of the Christian forces in the country before taking action, then appeal to the national authorities to right the wrong, and only after exhausting in vain the na- tional resources of justice should he assume the respon- sibility of publishing the particulars in foreign lands. Pride of race is nowhere keener than in Latin America ; and to hold one of its republics up as a gazing-stock to the nations of the earth is an unpardonable sin, no matter how just the cause." The problems of missions in these republics are such that they received considerable attention in the report, little in the discussion. The external relations of churches to the state are less troublesome than before religious liberty had been declared. The Rev. Fran- cisco Penzotti, with nearly forty years experience in Central and South America, has been imprisoned many times for the offense of distributing the Bible or preaching, the most noted instance being an eight- months' incarceration in a common jail at Callao, Peru. The Rev. L. G. Mora of Mexico told the Congress of that republic's sixty- four evangelical martyrs. Such extreme cases and many less important ones have com- pelled missionaries to face the government and have hindered evangelical growth. Though religious equal- ity is the law of every Latin-American state, the Roman Catholic Church is actually the established or dominant religion except in Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, 150 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Cuba and Panama. Outside Brazil, where there is a true liberty of worship, the priest, generally through the petty authorities, can at times harass the Christian worker and interfere with his work. The laws relating to civil marriage, divorce, religious instruction, public beneficence and burial are other hindrances to the mis- sionary propaganda. On the other hand, officials are increasingly friendly to the missionaries and are favor- ing certain elements in the evangelical community, where it can be done rightly. The Congress favored a policy of identity of interests between missions and the state. Both groups are working for the same great fundamental objects, the spread of education, the sup- pression of disease and crime, the eradication of the causes of moral corruption and the safeguarding of the rights of the people to the peaceful pursuit of industry and happiness. All conflict should be avoided. As for internal problems. Those connected with discipline are varied. Temptations to impurity and the public attitude toward that sin in the case of men make a pure evangelical Church difficult to maintain. The almost prohibitive cost of marriage for the poor and the tendency to Corinthianize among the wealthy, with the large proportion of illegitimacy prevalent, add to the problem. Mr. Ritchie felt that unfaithfulness in marriage and related questions were so serious as to require a special conference to discuss them. Sunday observance in the countries under review is most difficult. The most attractive excursions, and business meetings of clubs, commercial houses and THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 151 political parties are held on Sundays. When men join evangelical churches, they are apt to be so interrelated socially, industrially and by ties of kinship to those about them who care little for the sacredness of the day that to expect any immediate sensitiveness to the question of Sunday observance is as unreasonable as it is desirable. The probationary period required by many denominations as a test of willingness to follow Christ in all things strengthens the Sabbath-keeping spirit of candidates. Evangelical churches have thrown their influence on the side of a more scriptural use of Sunday and have uttered their testimony against its flagrant abuses. These and other influences have actually crystallized into statutes, Argentina, for exam- ple, having passed a Sunday law that has been in force for a decade. Other countries have initiated legislation having the same object in view, so that the problem is lightening. Yet it still remains. As a missionary in Brazil puts it: "The real 'Sunday problem' before the mission churches to-day is to find out reverently and prayerfully what is essential with respect to Sun- day in the light of God's Word, and what is traditional only. . . . The evangelical forces must come to some conviction as to the ideals of Sunday observance which they will seek to bring to bear on the life habits of their converts. There must be an attempt by con- structive processes to bring about a more wholesome use of the Sunday holiday by the social groups which live apart from the disciplinary and cultural processes of the evangelical churches. The very best experience i 5 2 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of Christian leaders in all parts of the world should be drawn upon to this end." Intemperance is an evil which prevails all over Latin America. Native wines, imported liquors, alcohol made in the great sugar areas of Peru, Argentina and Brazil, are sold in almost every kind of commercial house, and are accessible in every restaurant, dining- car and hotel. The voice of the evangelical Church in this wide field is practically unanimous in condemning this evil. Temperance societies are now being formed by Latin Americans in the different countries, and scientific temperance instruction has been introduced into the public schools of Peru and to some extent in Uruguay and other countries. Whatever there is of teaching throughout these lands as to total abstinence from alcoholic liquors is due in its inception to the evangelical movement. A fourth besetting sin of Latin Americans, though not deemed sinful by many, as it is frequently under Church oversight, is gambling, especially in the form of lotteries. All church members are brought face to face with it and its variations in the guise of raffles and other schemes of chance. For the majority of them it appears to be perfectly legitimate to purchase lottery tickets, for this is sanctioned by the government. More- over, those who fail to draw premiums consent to this on purchasing tickets and are prepared for it. Indeed, the selling of these tickets gives employment to very many needy persons, especially to the maimed and crippled. It is not easy to convince impulsive Latins THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 153 of the evil of the lottery; years of courageous exposi- tion of ethical principles and of patient dealing with departures from these standards are required before it ceases. The churches under consideration are very much like the one in Corinth whose problems, as revealed in his first Corinthian epistle, caused St. Paul so much anxiety and called for such sternness. It is for that reason that the Commission thus writes: "The evan- gelical churches should always and everywhere guard against falling into lax ways in the matter of disci- pline. Church membership should ever be held incom- patible with lying, stealing, adultery, dishonest prac- tices and in fact with any expression of a low standard of morals." It would be wholly unjust to infer that evangelical church members of Latin America are typ- ically described in the warning quoted; they are the exceptions while every church has its saints, just as did those of apostolic days. In turning from the grosser weaknesses of the evan- gelical communities to consider the spiritual life of their churches, one takes heart despite the lacks still evident there. It is obviously a more openly tested life than is found in Protestant lands. Volumes could be written telling of persecutions ranging all the way from malicious libel and the petty social slights and business boycotts, which are the commonplace expe- riences of new members, up to imprisonment. These things are met in the spirit of good soldiership, and those who have once identified themselves openly with 154 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA the Church are rarely known to have permitted perse- cution to swerve them from their loyalty to Christ. Other evidences of spiritual faithfulness when under test are seen when men give up a lucrative business because they will not work on Sunday, or because the giving or receiving of bribes was demanded. Some have restored money unlawfully taken ; others have banished liquor from their stores, thereby losing many of their most profitable customers; still others have ended unlawful family relations by a marriage which was a public confession of former wrong-doing, not easy for those who made it. In the more specifically religious duties of Chris- tians, it is gratifying to find that in many churches a considerable proportion of the membership is found at every preaching service and at prayer-meetings and other public functions of the church, attending in all five or six services a week. If the prayer-meeting is a spiritual thermometer of the Church, then it must be admitted that the spirituality of Latin church mem- bers is perhaps deeper than in the home lands ; for the attendance is greater and the prayers more spontaneous in the former than in the latter. However, other factors besides spirituality determine one's presence at prayer-meetings. The greatest difficulty in these meetings is not in getting people to attend and to pray, but in making them realize the true significance of prayer and in preventing merely perfunctory praying. An additional proof of the genuine spiritual life of the converts is seen in their custom of reading and SEA WALL CHURCH, PANAMA CONTINUATION COMMITTEE THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 155 studying the Bible. Many young Christians put older ones to shame by the assiduous way in which they drink at the living springs of revelation. In the Church at large, however, there is the same lack of Bible study as is found elsewhere. It is not so easy to arrive at just conclusions as to the spiritual status of members of these churches by the evangelistic activities in which they are willing to participate. The larger number o£ those who are ready to undertake such work are far more ready to denounce evil ways than to instill right- eous purposes. Yet a steady increase of true evangelis- tic zeal is noted. A member of the Commission writes from Brazil as follows: "A deeply spiritual pastor tends to make a deeply spiritual church; and a spiritual church, if prop- erly led, inevitably becomes an intensely aggressive church. . . . Our greatest need in Latin America is for competent, aggressive, Spirit-filled leadership. Our people are ready to follow where such leadership is found, taking part in personal evangelism, in tract distribution, in the holding of cottage prayer-meetings and in the manifold activities of church upbuilding." Over against this help to spirituality the Commission noted as hindrances the lack of devotional literature in Spanish and Portuguese and the absence of a sense of personal responsibility for the performance of their ordinary church duties noted among many of the members. They have been brought up to think that the Church will go on, whether those composing it actively cooperate or not. Not a few Sunday-school i 5 6 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA teachers and church officials accept their duties and then perform them when they are inclined to do so. Their children attend Sunday-school no oftener than they please, and their absence receives no rebuke from the parents. The task of self-propagation of the evangelical Church was urged by the Commission as a corrective of imperfectly developed or waning spirituality. "The principal aim of every intelligent pastor," it declares, "should be to set every member to work. Every mem- ber who is not interested in some branch of Christian work will very likely soon be lost to the Church. By the employment of various methods, the problem of self -propagation will have been solved ; and the spirit- ual life and missionary spirit of the Church will have been aroused to its highest pitch through the spiritual life and activity of each member coming to realize what is his duty to God and to the dying world around him. ,, Many churches contribute to the Board under whose care they are, while some have taken the initi- ative in work in behalf of other races. Five years ago a group of Christians of one denomination organ- ized a Board of Missions, raised among the churches a fund of $1,000 a year, appointed two of their number and sent them to three of the Indian tribes of central Mexico. This organization has also made an annual contribution for some years to help sustain an inde- pendent work in Chile. Several missionaries urge the organization of active members of the church into small bands for aggressive evangelism, planning their THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 157 work and keeping them inspired for its performance. A woman's missionary society for work at their own doors was another proposal looking toward self-prop- agation. Problems of self-support were discussed, with more frequent references to successful methods in Korea and Africa than in Latin America. If beginnings had been in that direction, as was the case in Korea, possi- bly results would have been like the church growing out of the voluntary Bible reading of a Negro me- chanic which won his master's family, led to the estab- lishment of an evangelical community and the erection of the only building in Ecuador dedicated exclusively to gospel service. More applicable than the Korean, Chinese and African illustrations of self-support was that of the Philippine Islands — apparently drawn from the experience of the Commission's chairman — as conditions there more nearly parallel those obtaining in Latin America. An itinerancy for preaching the simple gospel led to the conversion of a few. From these the most fit were chosen to conduct Sunday serv- ices and one on mid-week. The missionary visited them once in two or three months, the members in the meanwhile maintaining their own meetings and gather- ing in others. As a result, within seven years that denomination had gathered into its church fellowship over 20,000 believers, and more than a hundred se- lected exhorters and local preachers were preaching from one to three times weekly without so much as thinking of receiving salary. Three or four of the 158 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA stronger churches had undertaken the entire support of their Filipino pastors who gave all their time to the work. In Latin America an error may have been made of the sort described by a Buenos Aires missionary : "I am beginning to feel that it is a mistake to go into a city and put up a building of a given sort and say to the people in effect: 'Come and be our members; that is all that you have to do, as we pay all expenses for building and for running the church. All you have to do is to be good Christians and just members.' I think it is a mistake to let the people feel that it is the Board's house, organ and seats, that this is the Board's man that we have for pastor and that nothing is ours." Another writes from Mexico : "If we continue the present plan, we shall not establish self-sustaining churches in Mexico in one hundred years. If the peo- ple realize the pastor's financial dependence upon them, they will rally to his support, not only financially, but otherwise; they will attend his meetings more regu- larly and aid him in the work which is one between him and them, and not between him and some Board." An inspiring example of what Latin America actually has done in this direction is supplied by the independent Brazilian Presbyterian Churches where self-support was urged from the first. They maintain public wor- ship, are developing a strong national ministry and pay for everything which is done by Brazilians. To secure self-support evangelical Christians must be in- sistently taught the obligations of stewardship of life THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 159 and property and the privilege of making sacrifices for the Church and its Lord. Of three marks of a well developed national Church, self -propagation, self-support and self-government, the last is in Latin America a peculiarly delicate one to debate. The Congress faced these facts. First, a large percentage of church expenses is paid by the sending Societies, making it seem desirable for them to retain control of funds, and hence with little inde- pendence of the churches so supported. Yet the Pres- byterian Church of Brazil is independent of the sup- porting Board in New York, except for a certain amount of money granted each year to aid the weaker churches, the grant being diminished ten percent, each year. Missionaries cooperate with it by developing new fields which are later turned over to the national Church. While some would object to placing so much power in the hands of the national evangelical Church, nothing was made more evident to the Commission than that the Church in the field should be given a larger share in the initiation and prosecution of the common task than has been accorded it hitherto. Again, as the evangelical communities enlist the mid- dle and higher classes in their membership, there is a growing restlessness because missionaries are slow to admit members of the national Churches to member- ship upon administrative and disciplinary committees and boards. Upon this point the Commission thus expressed itself : "We note a growing tendency to put responsibility upon the native Church and to rely upon 160 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA the guidance of native leaders in local affairs. We believe that this is in accord with the best principles and especially the general principle that the work of evangelization of the field belongs, and should even- tually be left, to the members of the native Church." Finally, premonitions were noted of a movement, similar to that underlying the two Presbyterian Churches in Brazil, which would establish organiza- tions made up wholly of national members and minis- ters and entirely independent of support, guidance, or direction in any form from non-Latin Boards and Churches. The action of the Conference at Cincinnati with regard to united work and exchange of properties and constituencies between two Boards showed, at a special meeting of some of the delegates concerned, that Mexican leaders did not approve of being thus disposed of, as would not have been possible for an independent Church. When the time comes for na- tional leadership of sufficient strength, as in parts of Brazil, this may be wise ; but the Latin leaders do not advise any further action at present. The great need of a numerous and fully qualified national leadership as a vital prerequisite of Latin evangelical Church development, which other Commis- sions had insisted upon, was even more prominent in the report and discussion of this theme. Here the for- eign, as well as the national leader, was considered. As the missionary is so often the foremost man of an evangelical community, he should have had, first of all, a personal experience of the living God, with its THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 161 resultant soundness of character. And yet it must be more than intuitive faith and an axiomatic morality that he brings to men. Latins will question the moral standards of Christianity and also the authority of Christ in the realm of morals and ethics; and unless he is able to meet them on their own ground, his work will be unfruitful. A second characteristic of foreign leadership is a keen sense of the brotherhood of the human race. There is no place in Latin America for the missionary who believes in the special election and high calling of the Anglo-Saxon or any other race to a predestined supremacy of the world. A third essen- tial for one who is to lead is tactful sympathy. The social evil, illiteracy, mendicancy, intemperance, poli- tical corruption, hatred and a host of other evils can no more be eradicated by cynical criticism in Latin America than in any other land. These are not Latin evils but are common to humanity. He who would serve any people must be as considerate, as friendly and as loving as his Master. A fourth characteristic required for leadership in this work is broad culture. There is no danger of putting too much emphasis upon the intellectual training of those who are to work among the western representatives of one of the most brilliantly intellectual races that the world has known. Nowhere is the obstacle which bars the access of the gospel to the hearts of men so preeminently an in- tellectual one. But evangelical missionaries are bound to be rela- tively ephemeral in Latin America. The future great- ite RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ness or failure of these republics is in the hands of their educated leaders. The Latin evangelical who would win men of culture and influence cannot do so if he is dogmatic and savors of hollow ecclesiasticism. No insincerity will be permitted ; obscurantism is even more objectionable in Protestants than in the Roman Church. Among the intellectuals he will need to meet such a challenge as Argymiro Galvao, formerly pro- fessor of philosophy in the law school at Sao Paulo, publishes in his lecture on "The Conception of God." "We are in the realm of realism; the reason medi- tates not on theological principles, but on facts fur- nished by experience. God is a myth; He has no reality; He is not an object of science." The national leader must recognize likewise the self-consciousness of the dominant classes in these virile republics. They are proud of their history and of their heritage and are slow to submit to foreign influence. The quest for such men as can lead worthily the Latin evangelical Churches is one demanding time and patience. One of the weaknesses of foreign mis- sionary effort has been the expectation of results with- out allowing the necessary time for their production. This too often leads to "hot-house" methods, with premature ripeness and quick decay. But time alone will not secure leaders. Prolonged Christian nurture and superlative mental training are essential. The state and national institutions must be looked to for some of these men; and if their allegiance and enlist- ment can be secured, the campaign is half won. How THE LATIN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES 163 •can an effective appeal be made to these students? The Commission replies thus : "We shall win them to faith in Jesus Christ and a dedication to His service only as we treat human problems, both intellectual and moral, with unflinching honesty; as we put ourselves in sympathetic touch with the best in their national aspirations; as we believe that the Latin American will have his own contribution to make to the great composite which will one day be the religion of the race." Where shall such leaders receive the special prep- aration for their momentous task? In Europe or North America, some insist. Yet the student going to those lands lives an exotic life; he is in danger of losing sympathy and touch with his own people; his foreign training, whether theoretically or practically considered, is valuable for conditions and theories widely different from those obtaining in Latin Amer- ica. These drawbacks are not offset by the advantages of superior teaching methods and better educational equipment. But even if a few choice men are educated abroad, it is impracticable for many leaders to be sent to those lands for final education. And here this Commission faced the same impasse that confronted the one on * 'Education/ ' The preparation of men and women for work among the lower classes is relatively well provided for ; there is nothing wholly suitable for pre- paring university graduates for the new positions of Christian leadership. The report and a hypothetical z64 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA statement of Dr. Chester on the floor hinted at the possibility of special churches in a few great cultural centers where this class could be ministered unto separately. Already the Young Men's Christian Association is doing something for those who will be leaders in the professions and in business, but the Church has yet to be built in which Christian leaders can meet intellectuals week by week and face to face. The preparation of these preachers and religious guides waits for that great Christian university, with its broad and devout theological department, where a select few may be prepared inwardly and intellectually for the most rewarding duty of the evangelical Church. When that day dawns these Latin republics will have their Martin Luther and John Knox, their John Wesley and Charles Finney, their Sherwood Eddy and John R. Mott. Meanwhile the Commission was not unmindful of lay leadership in every walk in life and of that greater company of humble Christian workers and pastors in whose faith- ful hands is the shepherd's crook and whose loving counsels and helpful ministry to body and soul will build up the evangelical churches and hasten the com- ing of a spiritual Kingdom whose Head is Jesus Christ Himself. VIII THE HOME FULCRUM The report of Commission VII on "The Home Base," with Mr. Harry Wade Hicks as its experienced chairman, dealt only with the home operations of North American Societies having work in Latin America. Time limitations and other serious difficul- ties prevented the extensive correspondence involved in an international presentation of the subject. Yet it should be recalled that the twenty-one denominations in the United States and Canada having missions in Latin America include 137,789 churches or parishes out of approximately 150,000, or a little more than nine-tenths of the Protestant churches in these coun- tries. It is vitally important that these millions of Christians should be thoroughly aroused for the sup- port of missions among their southern neighbors. The program for the development of interest in their life and religious problems is less advanced than in the case of Asiatic and African fields, yet the Panama Congress cannot fail to increase greatly intelligence and the sense of obligation toward Latin America. The Commission was impressed with the special need of intercession for that part of the world where the delicacy and greatness of the task is little ap- preciated and whose claims Christians of North 165 166 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA America so little heed. In Europe, the great war, and certain theories of interchurch relationships al- ways, are responsible for the still greater lukewarm- ness in furthering work among the Latin republics. Hence an opening statement of the report : "The con- viction that through intercessory prayer the difficul- ties surrounding the work are to be overcome has been deepened week by week as the investigations have progressed. Whatever other measures may be ad- vanced for developing cooperation at the home base, the duty of praying for the missions and workers in Latin-American lands, for their adequate support and for the peoples for whom they are laboring, is upheld by the Commission as the one indispensable condition of success." In general such an emphasis is more common in Great Britain than in North America. The Commission diagnosed the abnormal attitude of Christians toward evangelical work in Latin lands as the first step in its treatment of the case. Ignorance is a root reason for indifference. With a little knowl- edge of their revolutions, politics, trade and possibly geography, their moral and spiritual conditions and problems have been slighted or overlooked altogether. Hesitation to speak or write concerning their moral and spiritual shortcomings on account of a moving sense of sins and frailties nearer home has contributed still further to apathy. An impression of the strength of the Roman Church in Latin America combined with an ignorance of its inadequacy to minister to the soul's needs in those countries is additional reason for lack THE HOME FULCRUM 167 of interest. Few realize the slight hold that the Catholic Church has on the multitudes, the grow- ing infidelity among educated men, and the hundreds of thousands of unevangelized Indians and the vast extent of territory in a land like Brazil, as a single example, entirely untouched by either Protestant or Romanist. These and eight minor reasons for lack of interest in Latin missions were symptomatic of the fundamental failure to appreciate spiritual needs and values and of a lack of personal experience of the impelling power of the gospel of Christ. Yet over against this apathy is placed the growing interest in Latin-American lands. Political develop- ments and even wars and revolutions have forced certain problems upon the public attention. Confer- ences between Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States concerning Mexican problems have brought these powerful nations of South America to the favor- able attention of diplomats and citizens alike. Com- merce and trade, affecting the tables and the pocket- books of most North Americans to a slight degree at least, link North and South. A better mutual under- standing is due to visits of eminent statesmen, like Ex-President Roosevelt, Lord Bryce and Secretaries Bryan and Root, of scientific expeditions and their influential heads, and especially of such religious leaders as Drs. Mott, Speer and Clark. Then force- ful missionaries and secretaries, like Bishops Kin- solving and Stuntz and Dr. Harry Guinness, have done much within recent years to enlighten and in- i68 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA spire their readers and hearers, as they have discussed this last land of desire. The northward flowing stream of Latin- American students has supplied at many centers a group of interpreters of their own countrymen, as they have mingled with the great mass of their fellows in educational institutions and at col- lege Christian conferences. Literature, too, is largely responsible for the increasing respect for and interest in the peoples and problems of our Latin neighbors. Almost universal ignorance as to things Latin- American and the consequent apathy concerning them, with the slowly awakening interest on the part of a few, call for a constructive program of education. Arguments for a campaign of instruction as the basis of any intelligent scheme of Christian work are not far to seek. Commissions I and II had revealed vast areas unoccupied and great multitudes unreached by the evangelical message. This is what Bishop Oldham referred to in the discussion as "the size of the job," concerning which he said: "Our people like big things, and they are profoundly moved when you put before them even the physical meaning of the prob- lem. I do not know any congregation in North America that does not love to hear that Brazil alone is as big as the United States, that there is room in its vast territories for new rivers to be discovered, even if there continue to be ' rivers of doubt/ They are interested to hear of a land so big that you can lose everybody in it except a certain ex-President." Self-interest also requires this knowledge, since in a THE HOME FULCRUM 169 reflex way Latin-American politics, education, and social and religious conditions affect other nations, particularly the United States, Helping to solve the educational, social and religious problems of those countries will augment their peace and prosperity and hence increase the stability and wealth of the world. As students of Christian efficiency, valuable sugges- tions are derivable from an unprejudiced study of the failures and successes of the Roman Church in Latin America. Do we lack the heroic and self-sacrificing in our lives as Christian workers? The life-stories of evangelical missionaries, national and foreign, supply this inspiration to well-doing. Dr. Grenfell in his perilous Labrador ministry is no more stimulating than many unsung heroes and heroines of Moravian missions in Guiana, than Grubb in his early ex- periences in the Paraguayan Chaco, or than the starv- ing missionary company headed by Captain Gardiner in Tierra del Fuego. As the Great Commission does not read, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature except the Latin Americans," and as they sorely need that gospel, we should have in our minds and hearts a bill of particulars that will supply the sufficient motive. The Commission's report cautions us to bear in mind the misleading character of comparative statis- tics of numerical need. Thus South America has as high a ratio of missionaries to the population as some Asiatic countries. Its greater claims are realized only when one recalls the sparsity of population and the i;o RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA inadequate means of communication there in com- parison with those of Japan and India. Nor should South America be considered as a unit in such mat- ters. Even the one country of Brazil varies greatly in its different states. Thus while the republic as a whole is said to have one missionary to 90,000 in- habitants, in North Brazil there is one to 200,000 in- habitants, and these populations are thinly scattered over almost interminable stretches of plain, mountain and jungle — much of it being almost unequalled in its deadly climate. We were also asked to remember that Latin-American prices are so much higher in most republics that a given sum of money will not buy as much as in most mission countries; and, fur- ther, that the aesthetic sense of Latins and in some sections the climate demand unusually substantial and well-built plants. In view of these financial dif- ferences, the statement of expenditures by eleven of the leading Societies, having work in Latin America and also in other parts of the mission field, is some- what disappointing. In the year 19 13-14, these Societies expended on Latin- American work $1,655,- 010 while in their other missions the expenditure was $10,326,194. That is, they invested in Latin fields a little less than one-sixth of the amount sent to other lands, though the purchasing power of money was far less there than in the other countries. A survey, largely statistical, of what was being done in the field under consideration, for which the home base is responsible, occupied about a fourth of THE HOME FULCRUM 171 the report. There are sixty-five sending Societies working for the evangelization of Latin America, divided among the sending lands as follows : Canada, three; the United States, forty-six; Great Britain, twelve; New Zealand, one; international Societies, three. These numbers are somewhat misleading to the average layman, because they include Societies some of which send out missionaries and leave them to shift largely for themselves, and others of which have resources so small as to be totally unable to do any educational or institutional work worthy the name. With these sixty-five sending Societies there are thirty-seven auxiliary or cooperating, non-sending Societies. The seven Latin-American countries in which the largest number of sending Societies are at work are the following : Argentina, nineteen ; Mexico, seventeen; Brazil and Porto Rico, thirteen each; and British Guiana and Cuba twelve each ; Central America and Porto Rico, sixteen each; Brazil, fifteen; British Guiana and Jamaica, thirteen each. Some of the financial items are these. The appro- priations for Latin America by the largest Boards were tabulated for five five-year periods, from 1889 to 19 1 4 inclusive. The totals of 1889- 1894 and 1909- 1914 respectively were $3,659,858.23 and $10,565,- 000.05, an increase in twenty-five years of nearly threefold the appropriations of the first five years. An analysis of the expenditures in Latin America of twenty- four North American Societies shows how every dollar contributed is used when subdivided for 172 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA these purposes: For salaries, 31.8 cts. ; for support of native work, 28.5 cts. ; evangelistic work, 14.6 cts. ; work among unevangelized Indians, 9.3 cts.; new property and school buildings, 7.2 cts.; special work, 3.7 cts.; medical work, 3.1 cts.; literary work, 1.2 cts.; and for industrial work, six mills only. An attempt to discover what causes had led to large gifts to missions in Latin America was only partially successful; yet it seemed to indicate that in a majority of cases the impulse came from a visit to some of those republics. Dr. Chester, in the discussion, stated that in the Southern Presbyterian Church three men gave about one-twelfth of their Board's entire mis- sionary income, and that not one of them had visited the fields. Preliminary prayer and then sitting down beside them and telling them the facts fully had been the means used. A layman of another Church after visiting Cuba began a work there which he thus describes: "What led me to become interested was that I had often heard of this cut-off district east of the mountain range, with a population of 25,000 and no Protestant force to help them. I promised to finance the whole undertaking for a year. I have never had a place to stop and have invested to date about $39,000 in the work in eastern Cuba." He began the first year by providing funds for five chapels and five Cuban workers. The administration of the mission was left to his Society, of course. The home base cares for other than strictly Latin- American constituencies in those lands. A very im- THE HOME FULCRUM 173 portant enterprise of this sort is securing ministers for churches for English-speaking peoples in port cities. Thus the Congress held one of its evening sessions in the Union Church of Panama, and was also in- debted greatly to its pastor for the manifold services rendered to its delegates. In Mexico City also is a Union Church aided by the North American Com- mittee on Anglo-American Communities Abroad. An- other exceedingly important work of the same Com- mittee is a "Tourist Guide, Missions and English Ser- vices, Latin America,' ' prepared by a committee of which Dr. Speer is chairman and which has been dis- tributed to the number of about ten thousand copies for the use of travelers and immigrants to those republics. Latin-American students in the sending countries constitute a most important opportunity for dwellers at the home base. In 191 5 it was estimated that two thousand of them were studying in sixty- four institu- tions of the United States and Canada. They seek an education for the sake of service to their home lands ; and when returning thither, they interpret in daily life and conversation those experiences that have im- pressed them most deeply. They come from wealthy and influential families, for the most part, and return to become leaders in commerce, in the professions and as captains of industry. These ambitious and gifted men appreciate to the full the genuine friendship of Christian people and the fellowship found in Christian institutions and homes. The early days and months 174 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of their stay in a new land are the critical ones, and Christian help should not be lacking then especially. Sympathy and friendship will react favorably as they return home, while neglect, ridicule and harshness will be a distinct hindrance to the evangelical cause in Latin America. Though societies like Corda Fratres and Cosmopolitan Clubs are very helpful here, the Young Men's Christian Association, particularly its Student Department, can impart a more warmly Chris- tian touch than those excellent secular organizations. Happily, it has been continually aggressive in its con- tact and helpfulness to those in colleges of the United States, through its Committee to Promote Friendly Relations among Foreign Students. Home base plans for the promotion of prayer for Latin lands are various, though not as generally em- ployed as could be desired. Prayer calendars are the most commonly used among these helps, and when supplemented by special leaflets for specific Latin fields, they have aided the cause. Three Societies report the existence of leagues of prayer for missions. These organizations communicate by letter or printed page calls for prayer in which special needs and workers are mentioned. What has proved helpful to the Con- gregationalists and the Northern Baptists and Meth- odists should be more widely used in this cause. The Commission found many suggestions in the experience of North American workers as it investi- gated the methods and means employed at present in developing an interest in Latin-American missions. In THE HOME FULCRUM 175 local congregations sermons and special addresses may be effectively used to bring the field before large audiences. It could not recommend strongly the use of general and church periodicals for the purpose of promotion, since they have little that is to the point. Even The Missionary Review of the World had diffi- culty in securing suitable articles on these lands. Prayer-meetings seldom include that part of the world in the program of subjects. Even mission study classes have done relatively little for Latin America. Sunday schools and young people's societies report scant attention paid to this subject. Women's mis- sionary societies are more alive to the importance of Latin countries than the Church at large. Through special programs, appropriate leaflets and attractive articles they acquaint their constituencies concerning conditions and the work being done. In our day of great missionary conferences one would think that through such channels at least much might be done to promote the cause. Yet with the exception of the Presbyterians, Methodists and South- ern Baptists, who place it on the same level as other fields, as does the Laymen's Missionary Movement, even South America is still the "Neglected Continent." The greatest exception to this general rule is the Mis- sionary Education Movement which provides for its adequate presentation on its influential platforms. This last named organization is foremost also in providing a literature of promotion for Latin America. Hitherto it had provided study text-books for South 176 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA America, which have been used extensively and profitably by the Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist young people. Its program for 19 16-17 surpasses all previous efforts, as the list includes nearly half a dozen books for study use, besides the full report of the Panama Congress and the present volume, to be used for reference. The women's Central Committee on the United Study of Missions has sold about sixty thousand copies of Dr. and Mrs. Clark's "The Gospel in Latin Lands," and the Council of Women for Home Missions report between one hundred and fifty and two hundred thousand books on Latin-American and Home Missions as used for promotion purposes. The Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions makes the cause prominent not only on its quadrennial Convention platform, but also in its sectional meetings and in the presentation of fields in colleges and uni- versities. Through six of its own volumes and six published by the Missionary Education Movement its study classes have gotten an intimate knowledge of Latin fields. Class enrolment showed for nine years an attendance ranging from forty-four to over three thousand annually. That such studies are not in vain is suggested by the fact that of over five thousand student volunteers sailing between 1907-14 inclusive, eight hundred and sixty-two went to Latin America. Other organizations furthering missions in Latin America are the great Bible Societies through their periodicals and platform presentation of Bible work; the general Young Men's Christian Association THE HOME FULCRUM 177 through public addresses, publications, photographs and reports; the indirectly helpful propaganda of the Pan-American Union with its palatial headquarters in Washington; and the conference at Lake Mohonk, which includes Latin lands in its program, as also Clark University's lectures and conferences. Methods for attracting attention and imparting the desired information and inspiration, in addition to those already mentioned, are both varied and ingen- ious. Maps, pictures, stereopticon talks, dramatic pre- sentations and even pageants have been employed for such purposes. Ten Boards have made special pro- vision for interesting children. Once more the Commission went through the cate- gories in reply to the question, What measures are re- quired to secure adequate support of Christian work in Latin America? In brief the answer is, Do all that you have done heretofore, with greater energy, with enlarging conceptions and with fuller cooperation. Prayer again led the van, and ten suggestions for making intercession more effective were noted. The ninth was new and worthy of reproducing : "The pub- lication in a magazine, or a circular letter to members of prayer groups, of answers to prayer in the fields of Christian work in Latin America should be ar- ranged as an assurance to faith and an aid to prayers of thanksgiving." The first one was also important, urging missionaries to send to the home base lists of specific objects of prayer to be printed for general and for private use. 178 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Anent the portrayal of the spiritual needs of Latin countries, the importance of humility and a recogni- tion of similar weaknesses in the sending countries was put very happily. That section concludes with a state- ment made on the subject by a friend of the cause, who writes : "I do not believe in anti-Catholic prop- aganda here or in South America, except it be full of love. Place emphasis first on the fact that fifty per cent, of the thinking men of South America are not in full sympathy with the Roman Catholic Church and its teaching. If their own Church does not at- tract them, we should endeavor to do so. Emphasize, secondly, that many of their altruistic men are enemies of religion, because they want to help their people to better things, and they believe religion is hindering. If they feel thus, their own Church cannot help them. We must do so. A patient process of education, such as we have used to overcome general missionary in- difference at the home base, ought to be undertaken, but on the lines indicated just above/' Brotherly relations with Latin Americans can be strengthened through church leadership in communities where they are temporarily residing, particularly in large university centers; through a free interchange of thought and of directed observation in lands where Latins or Anglo-Saxons are strangers ; through intro- ductions given by missionaries to merchants or students going abroad, thus securing them friends and helpers in need; through a union of Societies for pro- moting friendly relations; through personal calls by THE HOME FULCRUM 179 missionaries on furlough upon persons from Latin America; through inviting students and other com- petent speakers to address various classes upon their country and its present outlook — a suggestion help- ful enough, if the speaker has a facile use of English, but harmful to the cause with a halting, indistinct speaker; through a study with Latins of problems facing them at home which find partial solution in the experience of other countries; and through the pro- motion of personal religious work with those ready for it. All this should be done in the spirit suggested by Dr. Mott : "That race will be most blessed which gives its best with generous hand, not in fear and not with ulterior motives, but with sincere recognition of all that is good in others and with unselfish motives ; and which in all its intercourse tries to see with the other's eyes and to sympathize with the other's hopes." Though statements concerning literature had be- come repetitious, the emphasis on providing material that has a human interest and written in a style which is attractive is most important. "The Com- mission believes that every Christian worker entering Latin America for life service should give considera- tion to literary style and force in writing, and that the faculties of observation should be exercised in- telligently and persistently, based on a progressive study of conditions at the home base and the best methods of appealing to the imagination and will through the printed page." Some exceedingly good 180 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA hints relating to photography as helpful to the literary and platform propaganda, and as requiring previous mastery of the art, might have been taken from the chairman's own experiences in successful field photog- raphy. The plea for more frequent and better coached dep- utations from the home base to Latin fields was most timely and helpful. It might have been more closely linked with what is said of publicity, as one main function of deputations is to use information and inspiration derived from missionary visitation to stir the churches and the general public. Yet the Commission had a wider objective in that section of its report, as too little systematic work has been done looking toward the most effective publication of dynamic material. A development of the Southern News Bureau, or a broader scheme in the special in- terests of Latin America, would do much for the cause of evangelical missions. A last word was said as to education in matters Latin- American, especially those affecting spiritual and moral issues. In twelve concise propositions — though two are long — th» best that can be done through that medium was set forth most practically. If facts are the fuel of missionary fires, and if reading and study are the brush-hooks and axes for making them usable, this section alone is worth much. As only one session was devoted to the "Home Base," and as even that period was shortened by other business, the discussion was less full than usual. Dr. THE HOME FULCRUM 181 Browning reminded defenders of missions that the objection against work in South America could be met by Roman Catholicism's best representatives who would probably reiterate what a bishop of that Church said to an evangelical missionary when he came to Chile : "I am glad to welcome you to this land. We cannot manage it. Moreover, we have lost our hold on the population. If you can bring any inspiration to our people, I for one shall be glad to welcome you to a part in our work." In that republic there are about seven hundred priests of whom three hundred are in teaching or other positions, leaving four hundred for the regular church work of almost four millions, or nearly ten thousand people to a single priest. As Chile is better provided than many other sections, one Catholic preaching priest for ten thousand of the population is perhaps a safe estimate for all Latin America. He certainly needs the help welcomed by this enlightened bishop. Bishop Lambuth urged the home base to embrace in its policy the possibility of every person's hearing the gospel, and that mainly through the national Churches, working out from all centers of twenty thousand people where a strong missionary should be resident. He pleaded also for a vertical as well as a horizontal occupation of the field, — for a plan that would reach various classes, high and low alike. Bishop McConnell desired to emphasize for the con- sideration of friends at home the words of Phillips Brooks, said of Japan, — that it is the business of the i82 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Christian Church to take the Lord Jesus to these lands and leave Him there, that there may be worked out any form of Christianity that may prove to be fitted best for the people of that country. The Rev. Stuart McNairn spoke of the viewpoint of the British public which criticises missions in Latin lands. Again and again the clergy had said to him : "The Roman Catholic Church, our sister Church, is already in possession of the field. It is mere im- pertinence to attempt to work in that field." His re- sponse to them was this : "Whatever the Church of Rome feels about it, the people of South America want us and need us. Every republic in that continent has altered its constitution in order that Protestant evangelical work may be carried on within its borders." English laymen objectors were reminded that British bondholders were getting millions a week in South American dividends, and that it was time that they should do something for that continent. Bishop Brown told two personal incidents to illus- trate the importance of prayer in Latin missions — the power upon his own life in Brazil of old Bishop White's daily intercession for him, and the picture of a layman's home in which he found all the members of a family, even the three-year old boy, praying for definite persons on the mission field, each choosing his or her own missionary. The home base is where the army of gospel con- quest is to be recruited for Latin America. Once more the challenge rang out for many and well-prepared THE HOME FULCRUM 183 volunteers. The ministry has the key to many young lives in its hands. The minister can open doors of vision through which lands of the Southern Cross will burst upon expectant eyes in a way to allure young men and women to those countries. High stand- ards are required for such fields, and a better prep- aration is requisite than for some other mission coun- tries. The demand is likewise a many-sided one, calling for varied talents and gifts. It was not at all surprising that the last paragaph of the printed report presented the Commission's chal- lenge of enlargement and reenforcement, — stronger work in old stations, extension to new centers, the entry of Societies not represented hitherto in this part of the world field. This program of enlargement and the materialization of plans looking toward greater cooperation and hence less waste, the proposed establishment of evangelical churches in unoccupied regions and among aboriginal races as the citadels of spiritual conquistadores, can but hearten the home base and supply the field forces with the needed sinews of war and the hearts of brave men and women de- manded for Latin America's uplift. Though not included in the report of this Commis- sion, a discussion of the important theme, "Training and Efficiency of Missionaries," is summarized here, since it is a matter entrusted by the missionary Societies of the United States and Canada to the Board of Missionary Preparation. Wednesday after- noon was devoted to its presentation by Director Frank 184 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA K. Sanders, Ph.D., of that Board. He recapitulated the history of the organization from its establishment by the Foreign Missions Conference of North America in 19 12, with an account of five objectives already accomplished or in prospect : ( 1 ) The production of varied literature for missionary candidates, beginning with the investigation of certain types of service and ascertaining the most effective preparation for such tasks; (2) a similar investigation of the six great fields, — including Latin America whose report was prepared by Dr. Speer and his committee, — with definite suggestions as to how to prepare for each ; (3) the study of missionary administration quite largely from the candidate's point of view; (4) the general service of a candidate secretary at large, so well fulfilled by Dr. Sanders; and (5) the standardiza- tion of institutions in respect to missionary teaching and the preparation of candidates. What he sought of members of the Congress was their practical sug- gestions as to preparation for Latin America, which the commissions had only occasionally and briefly touched upon. From Cuba came the quick response, through Senor Gonzalez : "We expect all the foreign missionaries to know our history, to know our society, to know our- selves. The more a missionary studies all the factors that have produced the Latin civilization and the Latin way of thinking and the way the Latins have of ex- pressing themselves, and how they came to have their particular institutions, the better will it be for him. THE HOME FULCRUM 185 . . . It is true that every missionary has to preach Christ and Him crucified. But the more points of con- tact you have, the more open ways there are by which you can preach that Christ and that Christ crucified, the better. And then we expect you will sympathize with us in all our trials, tribulations and troubles. We expect the missionary will preach the gospel but that he will never preach American Christianity. ... I mean the work must be done as Paul did his, as I understand history. . . . Let him bring Christ and let Christ and the gospel bring the national type; and that type will grow, and will grow more easily and strongly and will have deeper root in the public con- science." In part of a paragraph from Professor Monteverde's address are suggestions as to two classes to be reached, who must be prepared for. "In order to speak to those who are skeptical, one must be familiar with all that which we call materialism. He must know who the great writers are in this field, and he must know their works. And when it comes to speaking to Roman Catholics, he must know their doctrines and how they came to be. He must also know how to defend himself from their attacks. He must know the character of the Latin American. He must realize the necessity of being very careful with the words he uses. He must remember how sensitive these people are. And with all such high ideals, he must have a social nature and be able to meet them on their own ground." Thirty others, nine being i86 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Latin Americans and five of the thirty being women delegates, spoke upon the studies, linguistic and other- wise, to be pursued, upon the varied forms of work to be done and upon the conservation of time and health that the newly arrived missionary may most efficiently carry out his mission. It is possible to add only one other paragraph from a delegate who represented the more conservative element in the Congress. This man, the Rev. Eduardo C. Pereira, Dr. Speer characterizes as the "writer of the best Portuguese grammar used in Brazil, a scholar and a Christian statesman." He said in part: "There are several requisites for a successful missionary in Latin America. First, he must not forget his literary and theological courses. The Brazilian people will not respect the man who does not know ; they respect only the man who does know. The second requisite is that he shall not be too much of a modernist; he must not be full of modern things. The churches want the pure, full gospel. A third requisite is that he must never be proud or arrogant. He is to live among a very susceptible people." It was evident from all of these speakers that the man or woman going as a missionary to Latin America must be inwardly strongly spiritual, outwardly social and tactful, in- tellectually fully furnished for every demand, and with an upward look and grip that will enable God's ambassador to be sure of knowing His will and of feeling His strength coursing through the life. IX UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM Commission VIII on "Cooperation and the Promo- tion of Unity/' with the Rev. Charles L. Thompson, D.D., of the Home Missions Council, New York as chairman, had a subject which had been trenched upon by every other commission to the extent not only of having "stolen its thunder," but of having depleted its clouds of most of their rain. It was thus the parallel of Commission I. As that discussion of sur- vey and occupation had necessitated a broad preview of most of the ground to be covered later by the other commissions, so this one gave the backward look and served as a review of certain points in each of the seven preceding it. Yet its more or less repetitious character constituted its strength. Each chairman had shown during the preceding days how fundamental united hearts and cooperating heads and hands were for the ideal carrying out of the operations which his commission had in charge. Now came the massing of hitherto isolated facts whose joint impression was more convincing and convicting, more inspiring and impelling, than had been single units presented one by one. Cooperation and unity as presented at Panama were like the pillars Jachin and 187 188 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Boaz which Solomon set up before his temple. Their names may have been those of the two donors. Yet their probable significance in Hebrew correctly de- scribes the functions of united cooperation, as God seems to be declaring to His Church to-day, "He shall establish ,, — unity, and "In it is strength" — cooperation. Occupancy of the field and delimitation of territory as helpful thereto were considered at the outset. Com- mission I had displayed its maps on three sides of the Congress hall — great stretches of territory with only here and there a center of evangelical light and power. In only one of these, that of Porto Rico, could one see how the thirteen Societies were located geographi- cally; even in that case the wall map did not contain denominational dividing lines such as appear in "The Latin American Tourist Guide," page 32. If this map suggests the political gerrymander, it should be re- membered that when American Societies entered that island, the four pioneer Boards sent each a represen- tative to Dr. Thompson's office, where they knelt around the map and prayed themselves into positions that would not permit of friction and duplication of effort. The present map, as altered by the later entry of nine other Societies has received its apparent gerry- mandering intricacies through agreement among brethren, after the example of Abraham and Lot. The same could not be said of certain other sec- tions of Latin America; though thus far occupation has been on so limited a scale, that duplication and UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 189 friction are not very noticeable, Brazil being the most open to this weakness. Indeed, Porto Rico raised this query, in spite of the argument that as part of the United States it might claim a larger number of mis- sionaries than other portions of Latin America : "The question emerges whether the wants of the field could not now be met by a smaller number; and if so, the difficult following question will be as to how to secure this adjustment. To effect the withdrawal of forces now on the field implies advanced federation ; and yet it is doubtless one of the present demands of coopera- tion that there be such a statesmanlike view of the entire field, that a redistribution of forces may be effected without jeopardizing the fraternal relations of the denominations to each other. . . . Thus if too many Societies are operating in Porto Rico, there are certainly too few in Central America. Denomina- tions withdrawing from Porto Rico and extending their work in Mexico and Central America could not be regarded as having lost prestige or opportunity. They will only be using both more strategically and, by combining with other Societies in the general ar- rangement, be giving a final view of the solidarity of Protestant missions." Turning from questionable sections, the Commis- sion suggests that the very fact that a territory is sparsely occupied makes this the time when delimita- tion of it can be decided upon most easily. In that case, the entrance of later Societies would be by ar- rangement with the original Boards. About the un- ipo RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA reached Indians there could be no question, especially those dwelling in barbarism in mountains and forests, wholly without God and without hope. Though living in wretchedness, they are not without capacity for use- ful lives and worthy citizenship. There is little pros- pect that any possible extension of Roman Catholic missions will prove adequate to meet their needs. As separate evangelical missions, touching here and there a wandering tribe, cannot overtake the task, some con- certed plan seems to be the only solution of this problem. A common understanding and usage, rather than cooperation, is what is called for under Commission II on the Message. If to people accustomed to a united Church, we can show a faith which through all its diversity has attained a higher unity of love, yet still maintaining liberty of thought, evangelicals will speak to sympathetic ears and will find the way to open minds and hearts. The chairman's closing presentation of the Commission's view was devoted largely to this message. It must be distinctly evan- gelical; it must be spoken positively, constructively, tenderly; the message must not stand alone, but find its incarnation in missionaries' lives that truly enter into Latin- American experiences; it must go into lowly homes, weeping with the tearful and healing as it goes. Does anyone inquire as to emphasis, — whether the message to the individual or its applica- tion to life, to social or moral conditions, — Dr. Thomp- son's reply is the inquiry made of the birds flying UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 191 above Ancon Hill : "Which wing do you emphasize in your flight? The finest chance for cooperation is in the social ministries of the gospel. Only common endeavors can lift communities. Union movements in matters eleemosynary, education and for moral re- form, are absolutely essential. ,, Cooperation in education was too obviously desir- able to warrant anything more than a roll-call of republics to see how far it had advanced. Argentina thought it too early for union movements except in a theological school. Brazil's three mission colleges agreed that standardized courses, examinations and discipline are desirable. The union of Presbyterians and Methodists in the theological seminary at Campi- nas was an inspiration, present and prospective. Two seminaries were suggested as being better than one, however, both to be union but to be located so as to meet better the needs of the vast area. One union uni- versity in Brazil was desired for all Portuguese-speak- ing students. Chile is beginning a union Bible train- ing school and might work toward a union university. Cuba pleaded sectional and racial feeling as a reason for little interest in cooperative educational plans. Mexico, in revolutions oft, is nevertheless forward in this matter and has in Coyoacan College a joint institu- tion for Presbyterians North and South, while North- ern and Southern Baptists have a plan arranged for joint academic and theological institutions. In Peru little is achieved, but there is an acknowledged need of common courses and methods in their schools. Porto 192 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Rico finds help in United States schools of lower grades, and in theological education it has the Presby- terians and United Brethren linked up in a union Seminary to which other denominations also send students. As previously recorded, there is a general desire for cooperation in higher and highest educa- tional work, with the apex in one or more Christian universities for Latin republics. Even more unanimous is the dissatisfaction with the present dearth of dynamic evangelical literature, and with the plethora of feeble denominational period- icals in place of a very few of the highest class. The Commission quotes an illustration from Dr. Arthur Brown's "Unity and Missions" as suggestive of a reason for union publications. An Anglican bishop conceived the idea of a union catechism. He there- fore called a meeting of all the missionaries in that region and proposed an interdenominational committee to prepare such a booklet, suggesting that everything upon which they agreed should be put in the body of the catechism, while subjects upon which there was disagreement should be relegated to an appendix. When the work was completed, all were impressed with the strength of the catechism and with the weak- ness of the appendix. Eight of the Latin republics report some progress in union publication and a com- mon longing for improvement through cooperation. From Colombia comes a cry for union in producing apologetic works. "The supply of such literature is inadequate, and its character is a disgrace to Protest- UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 193 ant civilization. French free thought is twenty times better presented to the readers of Colombia than is evangelical faith. Books on free thought are more numerous, are cheaper and are written in good Spanish. A catalogue of such antichristian literature should be obtained and the efficient answers from an evangelical point of view should be sought out. We have a limited amount of really excellent controversial literature, but where shall we go for a first-class modern apologetic against the ravages of free thought and atheism ?" Less was said of the need of cooperation in work for women than upon its relation to other subjects on the Congress program. Mrs. Westfall went farther than others had done in arguing for non-duplication of women's schools and of other forms of endeavor. The Societies should make a study of all that is done in a given field before deciding upon plans. If there was one kindergarten already in operation in a center, no other should be started by a second Society, and so of nurses' training schools, etc. By correlation, after a careful study of the situation, waste of inadequate funds, of workers and of energy would be obviated, and at the same time a well-rounded provision for meeting the varied needs of womanhood would be made. From many angles the desirability of having a common understanding of certain items ecclesiastical was seen. The evangelical Church in Latin fields seems to be behind that of other mission lands in this particular. Discipline varies, and with it spring up 194 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA abuses where members migrate from one denomination or local church to another. This is especially noted in Central America, where the number of independent missions with lax rules is greater than that of regular Boards. In Porto Rico the interchange of members is so arranged that little difficulty arises from migra- tion. The Baptists, Episcopalians and Lutherans are not included in this arrangement, for obvious yet regrettable reasons. In not a few countries differences in salaries paid Latin workers causes trouble. As Sec- retary Cook puts it: "When we realize that in one of these great Latin fields we have been so subsidizing the Church as to hinder the development of the spirit of independence and self-support and we begin to tighten up the screws a little, there are always pastors who immediately move over to another Communion, perhaps of the same faith and order, where the grass is a little longer, the pasturage a little better ; and when that Communion puts on the screws, they simply move on to another where the subsidy is more ample." Dr. Cook's opinion of such men was revealed in a case narrated where a pastor had gone from his own denomination through two others until he found him- self with the Baptists. "I ask the question, 'Where will he go when the leaves the Baptists V Nobody seemed to know, but one brother very sweetly sug- gested that he would go to Heaven. Well, if he goes to Heaven after that process, he gets there by the skin of his teeth." Little was said about cooperation at the home base, UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 195 and little was needed after Commission VII's full dis- cussion. Insistence upon the principle that coopera- tion must be carried out both at the home base and abroad, if it is to be effective, was necessary in the Commission's view. Its possibility on a large and profitable scale was proved by the Missionary Educa- tion Movement which for years has been eminently suc- cessful through the cooperation of many Boards rep- resented in its Committee of Twenty-eight. The Con- tinuation Committee of the Edinburgh Conference of 1910 is a wider proof of the helpfulness of inter- national cooperation in Missions; while the Panama Congress itself met because of mutual agreements and cooperative participation. Such examples should be multiplied. Two relatively new points were mentioned at which cooperation was desirable. The first had to do with the co working of evangelical Churches and govern- ment officials and institutions. Argentina already aids Mr. Morris's schools, while Bolivia and Brazil give subsidies to missionary institutions to a limited extent. Mr. Grubb's work in the Paraguayan Chaco is mapped officially as being under government patronage, and he is regarded as the commissioner of those Indian ter- ritories. As has been seen, the success of the Piedras Negras Institute in Mexico is in large part due to official recognition and help, as is that of the People's Institute in Rio de Janeiro. Chile subsidizes mission- ary schools for Indians. Porto Rican workers co- operate with the United States in sanitary and anti- 196 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA tuberculosis measures and in the suppression of nui- sances and immoralities. Cordial cooperation between the Young Men's Christian Association and the government in Uruguay and Mexico suggests the desirability of further missionary participation in enterprises looking toward the physical, social and intellectual and moral betterment of the Latin- Amer- ican citizen. A second more intangible but quite as important point of desirable contact between evangelical missions and the Latins is in the appreciation of national ideals and conformity thereto, when possible. Thus in no other mission field, with the possible exception of Japan, is nationalistic feeling so intense as in some of the southern countries, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Porto Rico in particular. This manifests itself among evangelicals chiefly in their desire for self- direction in church life and government. This aspira- tion by many is considered to have been the funda- mental reason for the lamentable division which oc- curred in the Presbyterian Church in Brazil several years ago. Neither of the two bodies resulting from the schism is under the control of extra-national organizations. That this self-direction inspires the Church to new endeavor and greater sacrifice is proved by the fact that the larger of these bodies received last year more new members by confession of faith than ever before, amounting to over ten percent, of its membership. One of these self-supporting congre- gations, inspired by the spirit of nationalism as well as UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 197 by deep religious conviction, gave $15,000 in 19 15 for its local and missionary work. The eventual goal of a national evangelical Church, in place of the present denominational divisions, is al- ready dimly discernible in some of the republics, and also in Porto Rico where the desire is most pro- nounced. With the example of one great Roman Catholic Church always before them, Latins are prone to feel as described in a sentence written by Professor Giovanni Luzzi: "Accustomed as they are to the great idea of the unity of the Church, they have no sympathy with our accentuated denominationalism." Another motive for nationalistic independence has manifested itself in Mexico and seems to actuate cer- tain pastors who will have nothing to do with Boards from the United States, identifying them with hated foreign invasion. They have appealed to the patriot- kin of the people, and also to their prejudices, with some success. Naturally this nationalistic spirit among Latin Americans is found more frequently among the better educated, who also happen to be most influential. It is plainly desirable that this spirit should not be allowed to separate the missionaries from national Churches; instead, without trying to force denomina- tionalism upon them, this element of national pride may be used as an incentive toward a united, self- supporting and self -propagating Church, with liberty of thought, yet united in Christ. Multiplied evidences convinced the Commission that if the appeal were made to loyalty to the Word of God and to the 198 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA nation, rather than to the denomination, many strong leaders would accept the challenge. Not a few share the conviction of an energetic young worker for the evangelical cause who declined to enter the Church, saying: "I feel that it would narrow my influence, if I joined any of the denominations. But just organize a national Church, and I will be the first to join." The suggestion of cooperation with Roman Catho- lics, as set forth in the report presented tentatively to the Congress at Panama, met with serious objection on the field. It was modified to read as follows : "When the inevitable question is raised, whether at any point or in any form we may expect cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church, the usual reply is that such an expectation is hopeless. Moreover, in view of the position of the Roman Catholic Church toward the evangelical work, the Commission feels that any sug- gestion on our part of cooperation with that Church as an organization is likely to be misunderstood and to provoke responses that would tend to defeat the irenic purposes we have in our approach to all in- dividual members of that Communion who may be willing to cooperate with us in any branch of our mis- sionary activities." With respect to this change of statement, Dr. Thompson said in his closing address for the Commission: "In response to a general de- mand from the field, we have modified our report so that it declares that there is not now any hope of cooperation of any kind, or in any degree, with the UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 199 Roman Catholic Church as an organization. . . . We accept it as a present fact ; we do not accept it as an ultimate fact. It is not even now a fact every- where. When Cardinal Farley occupies the platform with Bishop Greer and other evangelicals in New York to promote some civic or social reform, it is a declaration that some time such a scene may be wit- nessed in Buenos Aires, or Rio de Janeiro. We even dare to cherish the hope of an ultimate union of Christendom. We do not believe in a perpetual post- ponement of an answer to Christ's prayer." When evidences of unity and the desire for its fur- ther promotion had been hurtling in from all the Com- missions and they had been overshot by Commission VIII's combination columbiad, the logical demand was for some provision whereby the campaign for cooperation and unity might be made effective. Two plans were urged by the Commission, and the best one of all was supplied by a later action of the Con- gress. The convening of interdenominational con- ferences could not be questioned as a most valuable aid; for was not the Panama gathering on Ancon Hill daily and hourly demonstrating its fusing power ? Reports from a number of Latin republics testified to the existence and great value of union meetings, special and general in their objectives, which are being held regularly. Their success without a carefully wrought out program indicated that after the holding of the post-Congress regional conferences, permanent and better coordinated gatherings would become a regular 200 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA feature of Latin America's evangelical program, one of whose most useful results would inevitably be a better acquaintance and more effective team-work. The deepening of the spiritual life would doubtless follow, no matter what the special object of any con- ference might be. The unifying force of prayer was equally em- phasized. History and personal experience have shown its ability to meet just such needs as con- front missionaries to Latin lands. The delicacy and magnitude of the task are altogether baffling without that wisdom which is promised where there is faith and no wavering. It creates a helpful atmosphere within which men can plan and work better than when it is absent and the air is heavy and lifeless. Prayer offered for others is "like a gun that kicks," to borrow Beecher's simile; "part of the force of the powder carries the bullet straight to its mark, while the remainder reacts upon yourself." But if the two or three gathered together in Christ's name, with Him in the midst, can effect miracles, how much more powerful would be a general prayer move- ment in Latin America's behoof? And so the Com- mission suggested a permanent annual day of united thanksgiving and intercession for those great re- publics, both on the fields and in the sending coun- tries. It further recommended the preparation of a prayer or series of prayers for unity, one of which may be used in the regular worship of Sunday morning throughout the Latin-American evangelical Churches. UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 201 Like the Commission on "Home Base," it called for the publication of a prayer calendar, to be used daily in homes and at private devotions. Prayer circles in large cities where the interest warrants could be held as occasion demanded. Differences between variant families of Christians and the urgency of pressing needs alike call for united supplication. "Rival sects," writes Professor Toy, "lose sight of their differences in the presence of needs that drive them to God for help. Prayer is a religious unifier — communion with the Deity is an individual experience in which all men stand on common ground, where ritual and dogmatic accessories tend to fade or to disappear." The Congress itself proved the efficacy of united prayer. But the third and best means of promoting unity and cooperation in Latin-American missions was the decision arrived at on Friday afternoon when the Congress voted to recommend that the Committee on Cooperation in Latin America be enlarged and re- constituted as a consultative and advisory body, with North American and European sections acting separately at present. The amended Section VI of the resolution reads as follows : "That the American and Canadian sections should, as may be desired by the cooperating Boards, take steps promptly to give effect to the findings of the various Commissions in the light of the discussions of the Congress, so far as the cooperation of the missionary agencies of the United States and Canada are concerned." As more than 202 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA three-fifths of the missionary force are sent by Societies in Canada and the United States which already are practically one in matters pertaining to the lands concerned, this means prompt action looking toward efficiency and cooperation. To make that the more speedily effective, the various sectional con- ferences mentioned in Chapter XI scattered immedi- ately on the adjournment of the Congress to consult and decide in regional groups what was desirable to do and to send their findings to the Committee just constituted for its action and to the Boards concerned for their endorsement. Though everything looks favorable for the future of Latin- American cooperation, the reader should remember that to change long-standing policies and to readjust existing relations, to exchange plants and constituencies, and above all to reconcile the home sup- porters to interdenominational plans, will call for patience and forbearance. A tiny rift in the lute, in- terrupting the harmony of the Congress, was dis- covered at a special meeting of those interested in Mexico and the progress of plans decided upon by the Cincinnati Conference of 19 14 for that republic. It there appeared that the decisions made by the Boards in the United States had in a few cases been misunderstood and had given rise to bitterness on the ground of denominations having been "sold out" to others in whose polity those thus disposed of had no interest. Probably political animosity toward the United States was partly responsible for this feeling. UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 203 More than at any other session of the Congress did the delegates lose their dead-earnest solemnity, when half a dozen of the speakers for this Commission argued their points by humorous illustrations, or as apt parallels were quoted. Thus Dr. Vance showed the element in human nature that must be met in any cooperative reduction of forces by the story of a negro minister of Orange, N. J., who replied to the question as to whether there were not too many colored churches there already: "Yes, entirely too many, as we have nine. We really need only two, mine and one more." Of another sort was his ac- count of the Matt H. Shay, a most powerful engine that could pull unbelievably long trains of loaded cars. As Dr. Vance's hearers had been skeptical about his story, he interviewed the makers and learned that with some subtraction it was true, and that the secret of its wonderful power was the fact that there were really three engines, — three packed into one. Our weakness is rebuked by his subsequent appeal : "Why should we be afraid of each other? Why should we shy off from each other? Why should we suspect each other?" Dr. Chester showed the Congress how cooperation and division of the field could be accomplished. In the Congo Mission of the Southern Presbyterian Board they could not overtake the work, so Bishop Lambuth of the Southern Methodist Board came to establish a mission beside them. The Presbyterians not only gladly welcomed him, but they also gave him his 204 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA first church by turning over a quantity of their own strong members, "who knew the Shorter Catechism backwards and forwards," for the Bishop to turn into Arminians, regardless of predestination and fall- ing from grace. Mr. Revell, the New York publisher, told of an iron workers' convention held in Washington, where representatives of the business from various European nations met with Americans to consult as to their mutual interests. They resolved to adopt two emblems, one to suggest the ruinous past and the other the better future. The former represented a melting- pot in which were rifles with crossed bayonets and the legend above it, "Might is Right" with the word "Competition" below; the second emblem was an- other melting-pot in which were rifles with reversed bayonets and the legends, "Right is Might" and "Co- operation." "Are the men of this world wiser in their generation than the children of light?" Mr. Revell asked. Bishop McConnell dwelt upon the conquering power of a brotherly and spiritual atmosphere. "Some things have to be corrected by creating an atmosphere in which these things perish of themselves. When I was a boy and got my first glimpses into geological history, I used to wonder who killed those great beasts of tremendous size that splashed about in the swamps. After awhile I made this discovery — that nobody killed them; the climate changed and they died. So with many evils in the world; they are to be over- UNITY'S FRATERNAL PROGRAM 205 come by a change of climate only. The only way we can have spiritual climate is by the cooperative move- ment coming in to dominate the lives of the Churches." Let this chapter close with the final paragraph of a powerful address upon the possibility of cooperation with governments in Latin America, delivered by the Rev. James McLean of Chile. "The missionary ought never to be less than a spiritual plenipotentiary. He ought ever to hold himself free from political intrigue, and the stream of his life ought to touch and refresh the society which surrounds him. His attitude toward life ought to be that of whole-souled friendship wherever possible. Certainly he makes no gain by isolation and antagonism; much less by competition. In many of these republics the chief obstacle to progress comes from the opposition of individuals. Whether we are invited to cooperate in education, in temperance, in social reform, in a Christian sense where we can do it without lowering our allegiance, we ought gladly to do it, we ought gladly to offer our help. Thank God, in spite of racial and political barriers there is no barrier to brotherly love. Here is a wide ministry indeed into which we can enter as God gives opportunity." CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES Chapters II to IX of this volume have dealt seriatim with the reports of the eight commissions of the Congress and with the discussions following their presentation. They were in the nature of the case more or less technical. Yet Panama will stand for much more than a scientific conference of friends and workers for Latin America. Those were days of inward inspiration coming in the midst of problems which seemed insoluble, and nights with the tropical stars looking down upon men and women gathered to hear the prophets and prophetesses of a coming day when Christianity's triumphs will circle the world and crown again the later Latin conquistador es, leading in their jubilant train, not enslaved aborigines, but souls of black, red and white alike — all rejoicing in Christ Jesus who has set them free and given them the life which is life indeed. As it is impracticable to give the reader even an outline of the nearly forty addresses of a general character not intimately related to the Congress, a selection has been made, and the reader may gather therefrom what the thought of these leaders was as they faced the spiritual life and the needs of men. Rather than to give full synopses 207 208 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of the addresses, they are presented in extracts or in a summary of portions of them. The reader is re- ferred to the Report for fuller statements. Those of a devotional character are not reproduced, as they are much like what one would have heard in Northfield or at Keswick, with little reference to the Congress. The topics and speakers at the eleven o'clock hour were in chronological order as follows : 'The Preeminence of Christ," the Rt. Rev. Arthur S. Lloyd, D.D. ; "The Ministry of Intercession," the Rev. Archibald McLean, LL.D. ; "Lessons from the Early Christians," Professor William Adams Brown, Ph.D., D.D. ; "Reality in Religion," President Henry Churchill King, LL.D. ; "Christ's Vision of the Unity of All Believers," the Rev. Paul de Schweinitz, D.D. ; "The Recovery of the Apostolic Conception of God," the Rev. Lemuel C. Barnes, D.D. ; and "The Secret of a Mighty Work of God," Bishop Walter R. Lambuth, D.D. Logically, though not chronologically, should be placed first, the address of welcome, delivered on the opening evening by Sefior Ernesto Lefevre, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Panama. In musical Spanish His Excellency extended a cordial greeting, after which he repeated it in equally happy English. Here are a few extracts from his address. "Impelled by a deep feeling of cordiality and good- will, I come to welcome you in the name of the Panamanian government at this opening session of the Congress on Christian Work in Latin America. CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 209 "The constitution of the Republic of Panama gives ample guarantees of liberty of conscience. As a proof of this and because our government fervently desires to create a feeling of tolerance in the Republic, I have not hesitated to accept your kind invitation and to proffer a genuine welcome, although I am a sincere and devout Catholic. Let me impress upon you that although the Panamanians have but recently gained their independence, it does not follow that they do not recognize the benefits brought about by respecting the liberties and rights of others. "You have chosen the most propitious moment for your noble task. While I am speaking, violence and fury are unchained in the Old World, destroying everything which they meet in their pathway. . . . We, the peoples of America, should do all in our power, not only to keep away from strife, but to bring about a lasting peace among those who are at war. . . . Your purpose is to unify the moral and re- ligious forces of America. For this reason and with great foresight you have selected for this Congress the soil of Panama as a central point from which its influences will widely radiate. We appreciate the im- portance of our location here; and since we desire to meet the demands of every human interest, we hold our country open to all men and to all generous ideas. Our motto, 'Pro Mundi Beneficio/ [For the benefit of the world], is not an empty phrase, but a true sentiment of our people. With all the respect and consideration which is due to such a gathering as this, 210 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA I take great pleasure in saluting you in the name of the government of Panama and wish for you all suc- cess in your mission. ,, Dr. Mott's response was like- wise most felicitous. It was but natural that the European war should have some place in the program of the Congress. The time chosen was on Sunday evening, when the dele- gates were invited to assemble at the great hall of the beautiful Instituto Nacional, the Republics highest educational institution, and to enjoy with citizens of Panama a thrilling address by Dr. Mott. The rector of the Institute, Dr. E. G. Dexter, graciously welcomed the Congress, after which he introduced Senor G. Andreve, Secretary of Public Instruction, who in turn presented the speaker of the evening. "In these spacious days, in these solemn days," said Dr. Mott, "in these days of God's own visitation, it is fitting that a great company like this, made up of so many men and women of wide outlook and of respon- siveness to the highest purposes that move men, gathered from so many nations, should focus our at- tention upon the greatest concentration of human strain, the greatest concentration of human oppor- tunity that this world has ever known." And then through his personal experiences, he allowed his audience to share with him "that sacred and solemn privilege of looking into the very soul of the Euro- pean peoples. " For more than an hour he held his audience spellbound, as he threw the searchlight of Christian sympathy into hospitals, trenches, camps, CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 211 military prisons, and the sobbing yet courageous homes of the nations mourning for their dead. But the Christ of Calvary, Man of Sorrows, was also in home and battlefield; and with that finger with which He once wrote on the dust of the temple floor, He is now writ- ing on the clouds beside Constantine's "In hoc signo vinces" the one word "Opportunity." In particular, He is calling the Latin and Anglo-Saxon of the western hemisphere to unite in a great union move- ment America's Christian forces for the help of Europe in these days of cataclysm and Armageddon woe. Dr. Mott's closing words were these: "It is the time of times for the Christians, especially of the neutral lands of the Americas, to afford a wise and unselfish leadership of the forces of righteousness. If they serve the war-swept and suffering nations in their deep suffering, these nations will follow their leader- ship in the years before us. In the darkest hour of this terrible night, it is the most distinctive mission of many like ourselves who bear Christ's name to tell of the coming dawn. Let us all strike the note of hope. Christ came that the good might conquer the ill, that love might vanquish hate, that where sin did abound, grace may yet more abound. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us as individuals and as nations cast off the works of darkness; let us put on the armor of light." A feeble echo this of a world prophet's awakening summons. The keynote of the Congress was sounded when it really began its sessions on the first Thursday after- 212 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA noon. Doctor Oldham's reading of Isaiah 2:1-4 and Ephesians 3:1-4 and his devout prayer were followed by Dr. Robert E. Speer's opening address upon "Our Attitude and Spirit." The delegates had met as Chris- tian brothers and sisters, a real spiritual family. Yet there is another presence felt, for we are here in the fellowship of Christ; nay, in Christ Himself. As one of the delegates, Mr. Howell, told him that he lived in a town in Cuba named Christ, Cristo, he spoke of all that that suggested to the Christian and of the longing imparted to live really in Christ. In such an atmosphere, we face life with new standards as to our relationship to each other. How near we are to one another in Him. As for himself, Dr. Speer said : "I never have gone to any gathering any- where with the same experience of heart, with the same feeling of brotherly love, with the same con- fidence of unity of mind, of result, which God has given in connection with this gathering here in Panama. The more varying our experience, the more diverse our temperaments, the more supplementary our points of view, the richer our fellowship here, the larger the contribution which it will be possible for us to make to the body of Christ and its work in the world." Our attitude toward the enterprise entrusted to us must be that of Jesus Himself, and that was fourfold. He had an absolute discernment of it all and saw men and His tasks for them with unerring truth. Love as a factor in His work was absolutely undying, limit- less, sacrificial. Self-will was eclipsed by the Father's CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 213 will; utter unselfishness characterized His service. "And there was, lastly, a patience that could never be worn away, a patience that never was fretful, never irritated, that never gave over, that held fast to one whom He ever knew to be murderer through all the years in the hope that still His love might break His friend's heart." Most of the address was an applica- tion of these characteristics to the missionary's life. The heart's center was Love ; and he quoted the words of David Livingstone who had touched at Bahia, Brazil, on his way to Africa, in whose birthday prayer of the year before he died they are found : "O Divine Love, I have not loved Thee deeply, richly, tenderly enough." How such a passion would posses a man and what it would cause him to do Dr. Speer quietly but with dramatic power told in this paragraph. "There is a wonderful passage in James Thomson's 'City of Dreadful Night,' where the soul in its dismal way gropes in the darkness across the desert, rough talons and arms grasping at it from the scraggly bushes on either side, as it passes along in the darkness. Presently the soul comes to a high precipice and looks over a great stretch of white sandy beach on which the surf of the incoming tide is breaking. There, to its horror and consternation, on the beach nearer to which every instant come the lapping waves, lies the soul's own self to which it cannot go. The soul looks down in horror upon itself, waiting there for the slow engulfing of the approaching tide. Presently far down 214 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA the white sands a white figure is seen drawing near as of a woman carrying a red lamp in her hand; and the soul watches with intense eagerness the woman who appears to be seeking something. The woman draws near. She comes closer and closer, until the soul sees that it is not a lamp that she carries in her hand, but her own bleeding heart ; and the blood-drops trickle step by step as she makes her way to where the soul's own self is left; and stooping over it with her own bleeding heart, she gathers up that which she would save." From Calvary with its inscription, "He saved others, himself he cannot save," the audience was led to the transfiguring door of expectation. "If He be true, — and we know that He is truer than our knowledge of His being true, — He stands now as He has always stood over against the hearts of His people. We may be sure He is standing in front of us now. Oh, if we but be still, we shall hear Him now as then : 'I stand at the door and knock. If your Congress will open the door, I will come in — I will.' Shall He not? Shall I not say to Him now as one of all of us — I hear Him knocking — 'Lord, I came here to have Thee come into my life in a new and more commanding way than ever. Come in ! Come in !' " In the hushed stillness Christ came in. Quite different from this address, but equally es- sential for Latin America's intellectuals, were the de- liverances of the following evening, when modern science was considered in its relation to the evangelical CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 215 propaganda — in one aspect a stumbling-block and rock of offense, in another a foundation-stone upon which the intellectual superstructure of the Church must rest. Though presiding, President King had been asked to speak generally upon the contributions of science to human progress. Despite its disturbing character, we should look upon it as an ally and not as an enemy. "If we really believe in the providence of God, we shall believe He has been in these movements, as well as in others, and has not left Himself without wit- ness, — that the veracity of modern science has proved to be really a great new note of challenge not only, but a great encouragement to faith." And then he indicated five particulars in which modern science has aided religion. It has enormously increased the re- sources of wealth and power and knowledge. It has voiced emphatically the insistent challenge to ideal in- terests to produce men and women who shall be worthy of these vast resources. It has brought to us a view of the world far larger and more significant than we have had heretofore and has forced us thereby to a more adequate and a larger conception of God. It has brought to us the scientific method, a method util- ized so notably in this Congress. "And, finally, modern science has given us the great new vision of what we call the scientific spirit, — what is after all nothing but Jesus' own first condition of entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, the spirit of the humble, open- minded man." Professor Braga, of Brazil, spoke upon "The Claims 216 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of Christ on Thinking Men." Naturally he had mainly in mind the intellectuals of Latin America. They are living in an intensely practical age and are seeking to resolve the problems of life and to grasp the great truths concerning men from the viewpoint of the practical. In reaching out for help, they are turning more and more to North America for aid. In secur- ing, analyzing and classifying practical information, it is done partly for themselves, but also with an al- truistic intent. The tendency hitherto has been to sound only the shallower depths. Now it looks toward the more profound truths of life and for such views it is turning northward. This is not the true source of help. As Professor Braga said in conclusion : "J esus gives the keynote of all these problems when He says, T am the way, the truth, and the life/ Jesus must be the way, the truth and the life for all the awakening intellectuals of South America. His teaching and His doctrines are for man's profit, for his own personal advantage; and then they fit him for that large con- tribution, that noblest service to humanity through Christ. It is this that has the largest claims upon the thoughtful minds of South America, upon the awaken- ing hearts and lives of that great continent." Bishop McConnell, who has episcopal oversight of the Methodist Board's work in Mexico, said the con- cluding word upon this subject, his topic being, "The Christian Faith in an Age of Science." The scientific spirit in the last half century has passed through three distinct stages. At first evolution/ which especially CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 217 concerns us now, was interpreted almost wholly in materialistic terms. Later, evolutionists speak of themselves as agnostics. Then came the latest step at w T hich there is some return to the spirit of faith that is represented in men like Sir Oliver Lodge — whose views, however, are not wholly respected by scientists. Scientific thought has passed through these stages be- cause of the pressure put upon it by forces of Chris- tian living. On the other hand religion has been favorably influenced by science. The smoke of the battle between the Old and the New Testaments has begun to clear away, and we find that we have a better perspective than ever before, a new grip upon cer- tain spiritual elements at the heart of our faith. In- stead of explaining Christ away, He comes back with a force stronger than ever. Prayer stands on a firmer foundation now, so that the scientific spirit itself has been modified and has in it more of the spirit of faith than it formerly had. Latin Americans are in the last analytic stage, scientifically regarded; and the only thing that will help them out is the effect of a living religion in the community. Our study of science has had a reflex influence upon our own spirits. Because we have been wrestling with material things, our treatment of theology is couched now in the terms of life, and not upon abstractions as in former days when one read such discussions as this upon the Trinity, the subdivisions being three — pleromatic humanity, pleromatic divinity, and hypo- static union. There has been also a correction of our 218 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA feeling. The old pessimism and despair are passing away, and the most hopeful men are those having the hardest problems to solve. Like the hospital novice who feels nauseated when he first goes on the field of battle, but who forgets his stomach when he cares for the sorely wounded, so we are finding new strength and hope as we enter into an age of service. Three great challenges face the Christian in this age of science. He and the scientist alike stand be- fore the conquests of nature, of disease and of poverty. With the forces underlying this threefold conquest we must have something to do. The second challenge con- fronting us is that we shall reorganize human society upon such a basis as to place human values in the fore- most place, giving man the preference over theories or mere things. And finally, it is "the heart of Scrip- ture that the scientific spirit, working together with the religious spirit, dares accept this challenge to change human nature, if you care to put it so; at least to change the conditions of human life, the home life, the conditions of childhood, the conditions of youth, and to transform all these conditions under which human beings live. It is just the message of redemp- tion. . . . All men working together from what- ever angle can do something toward bringing about this consummation, that there shall be, even in these material things, in a very real sense such a revela- tion of God that we can say that we stand in His presence, — so that each common bush shall glow with God." ARRIVAL OF PHYSICIAN AT THE DISPENSARY, PORTO RICO GIRLS' DORMITORY, CHRISTO SCHOOL, CUBA CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 219 A score of times at least during the nine days' con- gressional sessions Latin leadership had been urged as a primal necessity of the evangelical Churches. Two addresses on Monday evening dealt with this pivotal theme. The Rev. E. C. Pereira of Brazil spoke upon "True Leaders the Fundamental Need." "The true leader, like the poet, is born and not made. He gains and holds his place by the spontaneous consent, rather than by the formal vote, of men. Legitimate child of his environment, he absorbs the noble but as yet uncertain ideas, the confused sentiments, the ill- defined hopes, the vague aspirations that are com- mon to his fellows, and then interprets, defines and illustrates them. Stirred by his environment, he in turn reacts upon it. Moral currents are formed and then swell. The struggle begins; men's spirits are aflame. A banner is unfurled to the strong winds of an ideal, and around it are gathered soldiers ready for any sacrifice. In the rude struggle of conflict, the leader becomes a hero or martyr. Like the good shepherd of the parable, he never leaves his flock to the cruel teeth of their vulpine foes. The leader, how- ever, is not only the commander in the hour of con- flict. He should also be the interpreter, the authori- tative exponent and organ of those he leads. Such is in general outline the function of the leader, especially in the new Ibero-American societies. ,, The speaker then mentioned three causes making true leadership difficult at present in Latin America. The first and most important one is ethnic, the moral and social in- 220 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA stability of these southern democracies. A second is psychological, the lack of great ideals. The third is the absence in any large measure of a system of education adequate for the formation of character. What manner of men were needed for these posi- tions of influence Sefior Pereira partly described in these words : "It is necessary in the present condition in Latin America that the leader should be a man of God, without ambition and without personal vanities and follies, — a man not only diligent, active and prac- tical in meeting and solving the difficulties of the moment, but also a man of foresight and of broad vision of the future and able to keep before the minds of his fellow Christians, not the narrow view of a combat, but the larger conception of a campaign. "It is necessary that missionaries, filled with the spirit of John the Baptist, watch and labor anxiously for the time when they may occupy a place in the background and consider themselves the friends, coun- sellors and foster-fathers of the nascent Church. . . . The voice of God, speaking through the ex- perience of fifty years, proclaims to the apostles of all the denominations at work in Latin America that their task will be like that of the daughters of Danaus, unless they succeed in raising up men of true leader- ship, men able — while checking the turbulent spirit of revolt — to gather about themselves the good, the noble and the true, pointing them to the way of the Cross and of service, and leading them to the fulfilment of the noble and divine program of Missions." The en- CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 221 tire address, as these extracts may suggest, was most searching and convincing. And Bishop Stuntz, who followed with one upon the correlative theme, "The Price of Leadership," aptly completed a fine piece of argumentation and of effective appeal which gave the missionary administrator's point of view. Perhaps the most striking address of the entire Con- gress, all things considered, was that of one of the Supreme Court judges of Porto Rico, the Honorable Emilio del Toro. As an enlightened Roman Catholic, he could discuss his theme, "The Principles and Spirit of Jesus Essential to Meet the Social Needs of Our Time," with an appreciation of the best work of his own Church and also with absolute fairness to the evangelical movement. Although the Judge spoke in Spanish, he was listened to with the profoundest in- terest, and at the close his address received most hearty applause. He said in part : "I have been asked to state this evening what are the principles and the spirit of Christianity essential to meet the needs of Latin America in our time; and I reply, the divine teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, conveyed in the same spirit of love and truth in which they fell from the lips of the Master. . . . "The success of the United States of America has been due in large measure, in my opinion, to the deeply religious training of the Puritans. 'When they landed on these shores, their moral revolution/ as a Porto Rican thinker, Roman Balderioty Castro, has said, 'had been finished, and on being transplanted to the 222 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA wider field of a new world, it was to bear all its fruits : full personal guarantees; deep roots for individual religious feeling and ample field for all its forms, that is, for all forms of worship; absolute respect of property, and in consequence elective governments; taxes foreseen and discussed, and expenditures known and efficient for the welfare of the governed; the right of assembly, of thought, of speech and of the press, and absolute liberty of labor in all its forms;' privileges which leave deep in the soul of the peoples which exercise them 'an ardent desire and an active hope of unlimited improvement.' . . . "Latin America is coming out into the life of civilization with a different lot. The seeds of Chris- tianity sown since the times of the colonizers have produced their fruits; and wherever there has been the most liberty, there its mission has become the noblest in practice. . . . Besides, the religious life of the Spanish- American countries has been character- ized by the most absolute predominance of the Catholic Church ; and in my judgment the same benefi- cent influence which Catholicism has exercised in the development of its civilization would have been greater had it been obliged to contend face to face from the earliest times with a vigorous Protestant movement. "Until a few years ago the Catholic Church was, in my native Island, Porto Rico, the state religion. Among the public expenditures those for worship were conspicuous. The influence of the clergy extended everywhere. And what was the result after four cen- CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 223 turies of abundant opportunity? A people for the most part indifferent or unbelieving. "There took place a change of regime. The Church was separated from the state. A struggle began. Under the protection of the free institutions of North America established in the Island, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Episcopalians, began their work. Faint-hearted Catholic priests, accustomed to the en- joyment of special privileges, decried the ruin of their Church. But it was not so. The spirit of the North entered into her, and men accustomed to a life of freedom gave her a new impetus. . . . "Those who love the progress of the nations, those who study history dispassionately, those who have faith in the improvement of mankind, cannot but see with deep sympathy that the Reformation is spreading, that free investigation opens broader horizons to the human spirit, that Christianity preached and inter- preted by all disseminates its beneficent influence and raises the level of society. . . . "It is not enough in every case to enlighten the mind; it is necessary constantly to blow the fire. It is not enough to preach Christianity ; Christianity must be lived. It is not enough to say to the poor descendant of the Incas of Peru, 'Love and respect all men as your brothers/ and then treat him as a slave. If we put in his hand the Bible, we must put with it our love and our sympathy. If we invite him to live the Christian life, we must show him by our example what that life is. . . . 224 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA "The labor is complex. ... To carry it out in its widest sweep requires enormous effort, inexhaust- ible material resources, a far-sightedness almost super- human on the part of the leaders, and a devotion and complete consecration to their duty on the part of the laborers. And before all and above all, it requires that the spirit of love — which in my judgment is the essence of Christianity — should inspire both the labor- ers and the leaders. Only love, without which charity, faith and religion are as bodies unsouled, will be able to impress Latin America. And when it is so im- pressed by love, when it is profoundly convinced of the spirit of sympathy of the missionaries, then, and only then, will be the propitious moment to sow and cultivate in it all the Christian virtues. May God illumine your hearts and minds." To follow such an address by such a man seemed presumptuous. Yet President Charles T. Paul, of the College of Missions, Indianapolis, not only succeeded in maintaining its high standard, but Dr. Morrison of The Christian Century, a fellow Disciple, does not hesitate to place his effort at the very apex of all the great utterances of the Congress. His theme was the same as that of Judge Del Toro, and it appealed to Latin Americans more than any other address of an Anglo-Saxon. The reasons were not far to seek. President Paul is a polyglot and is steeped not only in Iberian literatures, but also in the writings of Latin- American authors, of which he made a most effective use. It was a philosophical interpretation of social CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 225, conditions in Latin America from the evangelical viewpoint. When he turned to the spiritual needs of those republics, he quoted from their own poets and philosophers, and then added the panacea of all these ills from the finest thoughts of Jesus and His modern followers. Occasionally and most tactfully he would appeal to those whom Latin intellectuals would hear when no evangelical voice would be tolerated, as in this paragraph : "We may recall the words of Lecky, the rationalist historian, who declared that in the record of three short years Jesus has done more to soften and regener- ate mankind than all the disquisitions of the philoso- phers and all the exhortations of the moralists. The cry that escaped Him on the cross has been sometimes regarded chiefly as an exclamation of agony. It was vastly more than that. It was a cry of victory wrung from the consciousness that He had set in motion forces that would save the world." Protestant and Romanist were as one that evening as they magnified Jesus and His Cross. Space limitations prevent further suggestions of the riches of these congressional addresses, though one thinks longingly of other deeply moving and helpful utterances, particularly the two of the second Friday evening upon "The Vital Power of Christianity — How Realized and Maintained." The speakers were the Rev. Alvaro Reis of Rio de Janeiro and the Rev. James I. Vance, D.D., of Nashville. If North Amer- ica as well as its Latin neighbor could hear and heed 226 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA those two addresses, the end of the campaign would be nearer. Many others were almost equally note- worthy, especially Dr. Goucher's rhapsody upon "The Triumphs of Christianity." A few paragraphs must be given, however, to the sermon of the Congress, which came on the closing afternoon, a most fitting message for the final one of a wonderful conference. The speaker was the Rev. George Alexander, D.D., president of the Presbyterian Board, North. Dr. Speer had read part of the seventh chapter of St. John, beginning at the fourteenth verse, the delegates sang in adoration "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," and President Monteverde led in prayer. Dr. Alexander's text was Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, yea and for- ever," and his theme, "The Immutable Christ." Not in His earthly manifestation was He unchangeable, nor in His message and ministry, which were richly varied. He is immutable as the revealer of God to all times. As healer of the grievous hurt of humanity, He changes not. Though education, ethical culture, civilization, may prove inadequate in this, Jesus Christ is the same to-day as in Palestine two millenniums ago. So, too, He is changeless in His leadership of redeemed humanity; for He is King of the Ages. It is ours to carry the comfort of this message to all not pos- sessing it, especially in this time of war tragedy. Ours is the responsibility to complete His unfinished task; for when He left the world, Christians were con- stituted His continuators as its salt, its light. Dr. CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESSES 227 Alexander very touchingly enlarged upon this idea in closing. "It was not Simon Peter who awakened three thousand souls on the Day of Pentecost, but Christ in Peter. It was not Paul who carried salvation to all the great centers of the Roman Empire, but Christ in Paul. ... It was Christ, not St. Augustine, that brought salvation to Great Britain ; it was Christ, and not Wesley, that brought Jesus to the vision of the Cornish miners; it was Christ that sent David Livingstone into the heart of the dark continent of Africa. And the mighty force for the redemption of Latin America is to be Christ carried in your hearts and in your lives ; Christ speaking through your lives, and Christ's love revealed in your love; Christ's patience in your patience; Christ's life in your life; and He is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. And He is saying to each of us, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' 'O Thou who changest not, abide in me.' " After singing "Blest be the tie that binds," only the closing words remained to be spoken, in praise and in intercession. The last voice of many was that of Dr. Mott whose final prayer preceded the benediction, pronounced by Sefior Pereira. "Our Lord Jesus Christ, in these solemn closing moments of this never-to-be-forgotten Congress, we would again bow down in humility before Thee. We 228 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA would fall upon our faces; we would acknowledge Thee to be the Lord, the Father Everlasting. We would have Thy hand of love and power to be ex- tended in blessing upon each one of us. Now help us as we go forth that we may watch, that we may stand fast in the faith, that we may be strong. Help us that we may be steadfast, unmovable, always pointing to and abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord. God grant that we may meet again, whether it be in one of these Latin lands, or in some other part of the world, or in that land of wide dimensions whose builder and maker is God. May it be in the fuller presence. All this we ask in faith believing, through Jesus Christ who has bound us together and who will stay with us even unto the end of the ages. Amen." XI AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES So important a conference could not fail to produce marked effects. Even while the Congress was in ses- sion the fruitage began to appear. Thus on Monday evening a meeting was called at St. Luke's Church where sixty-eight delegates especially interested in the work in Mexico met to reconsider plans made at the Cincinnati Conference of 1914. Reports of progress from the home base and from the field gave grounds for encouragement, as well as suggestions for tact and caution. A number of Societies had gone forward to materialize the Cincinnati plans, greatly to the delight of the laymen. Dr. Mott spoke on this point : "They have said, Tf this is the policy that is now likely to obtain, we are becoming interested/ I honestly believe that the attitude and expressions of the workers right here in this room, from Mexico and from the Boards interested in Mexico, will have more to do with point- ing the way to the solution of the most obstinate prob- lems in this and other parts of Latin America than any other single thing done on these grounds. In other words, we have had resolutions long enough. They have seen the path indicated at Cincinnati, but Cincinnati went one step farther than resolutions. 229 230 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA They have said, 'We will take this matter right into the Board rooms, and we will apply our principles/ And it would seem, therefore, that if in a concerted, statesmanlike, courageous and sacrificial manner we would go forward on the lines that we cannot believe we were led into by selfish considerations, even though we might have been mistaken here and there in detail, such action would prove contagious." Dr. Speer and Secretary Earl Taylor of the Methodist Board spoke strongly in favor of an immediate forward movement, so soon as war conditions will permit. Yet testimony, both Mexican and missionary, mani- fested the presence of a natural resentment against the Cincinnati and Board decisions, on the ground that the Mexicans themselves had not been sufficiently con- sidered and consulted. One Church went so far as to pass a resolution in open meeting to the effect that they would not endorse the Cincinnati plan and that they would continue their separate existence. An illuminating discussion followed, and as a result this motion was carried : "Voted : First, that we heartily support the Cincinnati resolutions in principle ; second, that, leaving the question of reorganization and re- alignment of the Mexican Churches in abeyance for the time being, we would urge the missionary Boards engaged in work in Mexico in the administration of their work to move as rapidly as possible in harmony with the suggestions of the Cincinnati Conference; and, third, that we endorse the proposal to have a national convention held in Mexico at the earliest AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 231 possible moment.' ' The date of such a conference was then fixed for October, but later political changes may make that impracticable. From the meeting that even- ing came a clearer appreciation of the Mexican situa- tion than would have been possible without Panama, where some of the strongest friends of the work there could talk matters through face to face, Mexicans, Board secretaries and missionaries alike. As previously intimated, the greatest step in ad- vance was the establishment of a permanent "Com- mittee on Cooperation in Latin America," the Amer- ican and Canadian Section of which met an hour after the dissolution of the Congress. It not only organized with Dr. Speer as Chairman and Mr. In- man as Executive Secretary, but it also planned for meetings to carry the message of Panama to the great centers of population in North America. It considered measures for securing the cooperation of Societies not now working in South America such as the American Board, the Northern Baptist, the various Lutheran bodies and British Societies in South Amer- ica, as well as extension of activities by the Boards already supporting work there. Three other votes of the Committee are prophetic of the character of its coming activities. One referred to the Executive Com- mittee the appeal of the Rev. V. Ravi inviting the Waldensians in Uruguay to cooperate in missionary work in Latin America. It was likewise voted to re- quest the Committee on Education to consider the desirability and feasibility of sending a deputation of 232 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA educators to South America to study and report con- cerning the location of educational institutions and to refer the matter with power to the Executive Com- mittee. As its budget of $12,000 for its first year was practically provided for, the initial meeting of the committee was most inspiring. The first official session of this Executive Committee met in New York on April 25, 19 16. As suggestive of what it has already achieved, a few items may be noted. Mr. Colton reported for the subcommittee on Survey and Occupation that the Lima Regional Con- ference had invited the American Board to undertake work in Peru and that there is large hope that that Board will enlarge its program for Latin America; that the Disciples of Christ are considering the ex- tension of their work in Argentina; that the Amer- ican Baptist Home Mission Society is giving considera- tion to the enlargement of its activities in Nicaragua; that the Methodists are considering entering Costa Rica; and that the Northern Presbyterians and Meth- odists have undertaken certain adjustments of terri- tory which will be developed later. Mr. Inman re- ported that Mr. John A. Mackay of Scotland had been visiting South America to investigate a field for the United Free Church, and that Mr. Reed of Ecuador had written concerning the opening up of work in that republic by some strong Board. Dr. Speer read a letter from Dr. Wallace concerning a union evan- gelical seminary in Mexico; and it was voted to ex- press satisfaction in the negotiations and a hope that AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 233 the plan outlined may be consummated, even if it were necessary for deputations to visit that republic to insure its realization. The Committee on Literature stated that it already has taken steps to provide some of the literature decided upon by the Latin- American regional conferences. It was also voted to ask mission Boards to assign some of their strongest men on fur- lough to prepare a detailed and annotated bibliography. Secretary Inman stated that the imperfect informa- tion now possessed showed that one hundred and seventeen religious papers had printed accounts of the Congress, and that three hundred and three daily papers had contained one or more notices of its work. From Latin America also had come statements from two editors who had criticised the Congress strongly before it was held, but after they had been at its sessions, they frankly acknowledged their mistake and gave enthusiastic reports of the good that is resulting from it. Returning again to Panama, two days after the ad- journment of the Congress the first delegations were departing for the regional conferences, one group going southward to those held at Lima, Peru; San- tiago, Chile; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and another sailing northward for the Cuba conference at Havana. Later, other delegates went their ways to the conferences at Barranquilla, Colombia, and San Juan, Porto Rico. The conferences of the South American republics, except Barranquil- la's, were under the chairmanship of Secretary A. W. 234 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA Halsey, D.D., of the Presbyterian Board, North, and their dates were as follows : Lima, February 29-March 4; Santiago, March 16-21; Buenos Aires, March 28- 31; Rio de Janeiro, April 21-25; Barranquilla, under the chairmanship of the Rev. Charles C. Millar, D.D., February 29-March 4; Havana, February 26-29, with the Rev. C. L. Thompson, D.D., as chairman; and San Juan, March 16-20, the Rev. L. C. Barnes, D.D., presiding. In general these regional conferences were made up of delegates who had been present at Panama and who brought with them its inspiring and illuminating mes- sage, and of local members representing practically all of the Societies working in those immediate sections. The topics discussed were identical with those con- sidered at the Congress; and so each region was able to apply the best collective and local wisdom to the promotion of its own progress and to the solution of local problems. The discussions were based upon carefully prepared and fully detailed commission re- ports, the group of reports for the Santiago Conference making the equivalent of a book of two hundred pages. A volume is being printed which will give a full account of the regional conferences. These regional presentations of Panama's work were apparently of great local interest. At Lima, the city founded by the conquering Pizzarro himself seventy-two years before Jamestown was settled and until a century ago Rome's ecclesiastical headquarters in South America, the conference was the occasion AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 23$ for holding the first public Protestant meeting ever held in Peru outside the little mission halls. A theater had been rented, and the meeting was advertised. With some trepidation the evangelical believers faced this anticipated ordeal. To quote from Dr. Morrison : "We were all more or less vibrant with the feeling of novelty and uncertainty. What hostile elements might be present in the vast assembly, no one knew. The theater faces the plaza, and during the early part of our program a band was playing in this plaza. A great crowd stood outside the theater door as we entered. It was evident that the whole affair was felt to be a radical innovation — a Protestant meeting held publicly in a theater and with police protection! . . . From our point of view on the stage we were made to feel the heterogeneous character of the audience. There were a very few Anglo-Saxon faces — some missionaries, ten or twelve Americans or Englishmen engaged in business in Lima, and about two-thirds back someone pointed out to me the in- terested face of the Hon. Benton McMillan, United States Minister to Peru. . . . Then there were the humble and intelligently devout faces of the mis- sion members. These seemed to constitute more than two-thirds of the audience. Scattered through the house were many men whose cheers seemed to me to indicate not so much a positive attitude of favor and support for the evangelical ideals as a negative jeer- ing of the Roman Catholic Church, concerning which they had evidently experienced a bitter disillusionment. 236 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA The number of men of this temper, if I am any judge, was very large. They are not evangelicals. They would probably call themselves liberals in religion, as well as in politics. The fact is that in religious faith they are quite at sea, if not confessed atheists." Bishop Kinsolving of Brazil presided, speaking in Portuguese as did Sefior Alvaro Reis of Rio, while the other two speakers, Professor Monteverde and Rev. F. Barroetavena, used Spanish. There was no real disturbance, though a Franciscan monk, who came in with a parcel of leaflets which were distributed at the close of the meeting, was the occasion of a com- motion. The circulars were not so much an attack upon Protestantism as on the Liberal party for grant- ing the right of public worship to others than Roman Catholics. How the less fanatical cities regarded these public meetings of the conferences, may be gathered from an account of the Santiago theater meeting as reported in La Union, the daily mouthpiece of the Catholic Church there. Again we are indebted to The Christian Century articles of Dr. Morrison. "We had heard mention of this Protestant sect which our people had christened with the picturesque name of 'Canutes' [so called be- cause Sefior Canut was one of the best known of the early preachers, so that all evangelicals in Chile are called after his name, a la Dowieites]. We had the impression that the Lutheran religion had gained some ground among us, thanks to the persevering labor of the Salvation Army which under pretense of fighting AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 237 alcoholism is carrying forward a formidable prop- aganda in favor of Protestantism. In a word, we were convinced beforehand that Protestantism, in spite of its exotic character as regards the mentality, the mode of life and the religious traditions of our people, had gained a few adepts [?] among the Chileans. But we never thought that the thing might assume greater proportions. In going to the Comedy Theater, we imagined that we would find it more or less filled with foreigners, numerous misses and ladies, a few Chileans more or less curious like ourselves, a few women of our land, and a very, very few specimens of the native land of O'Higgins and Arthur Prat, who, as is known, are ardent advocates of the Virgin of Carmen. Our surprise, therefore, was great, when we found the theater full from the pit to the highest gallery, all the seats occupied by a gathering that, it is true, was cosmopolitan, but in which the national element predominated.' , Then follows a most vivid description of the meet- ing itself, concluding with this characteristic Latin- American Catholic estimate: "For us, all this had been a revelation. Protestantism has advanced con- siderably among us. Its apostles, those who propa- gate it, its elements of action, are formidable. We pro- pose to study with all calmness and with a spirit free from passion that which the advance means for the country. We believe it involves grave perils for our social tranquillity, for the harmony of the Chilean family. Far be it from us to suppose that its agents 238 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA and propagandists deliberately pretend to create these disturbances. But their work is bound to have such an unfortunate result, because they aspire to the mak- ing of Protestantism the national religion; and this pretension, as history shows, has made seas of blood to run and has sunk in misery those peoples who have fallen into those abysses of misfortune known as re- ligious wars." From the Protestant point of view these regional conferences have already been most profitable. Thus the chairman of the Havana Conference, Dr. Thomp- son, said at its closing session: "There never before was an occasion in Cuba like this. We have had splendid fellowship, and hereafter we can cooperate. Panama was great, but this has been more concrete. We have never had such companionship. Before the Panama Congress some of us feared that some ques- tions would be hard to answer; but now we can separate, knowing that we have found the heart and mind of one another, and it will be a sweet memory. We can do much better together than any of us can do alone." Secretary McAfee says of Havana : "Those of us who attended the conference in Cuba are ac- customed to say that a miracle was wrought there and there are a good many evidences of it. It was seen in the change of sentiment on the part of leaders, and it was marked also in the whole atmosphere and temper of the conference." A "Committee of Conference in Cuba" appointed in consequence, held a profitable ses- sion at Santa Clara, April 25-26. AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 239 In a similar strain Dr. Halsey speaks of the con- ference held at Lima: "The Lima conference was a great success. . . . The newspapers treated us very fairly, giving us good space, and we received nothing but courteous treatment from all classes. . . . At the beginning the national workers were a little slow to take part in the discussions, but as the days wore on they realized that the conference was for them, and they freely indulged in the discussions. In general the Lima conference was characterized by a spirit of unity, of harmony and of the utmost freedom in stating difficulties with great stress laid on co- operation." These regional conferences did not cease to interest their promoters in North America as soon as they dis- solved. Thus the deputation appointed to hold the South American conferences met in Indianapolis June 14-16 to review their work there and to draw up find- ings for the continent as a whole. They prove the high value of such regional gatherings and also of after consultation in the interests of furthering what was so auspiciously begun at the field centers. Enough has been said to substantiate the contention of Chapter I that the Panama Congress has sur- passed not only the World Conference of 19 10, but all others in the speedy mobilization of varied forces called for by the discussions and papers heard there. Not a sign of flagging interest is discernible in the various committees entrusted with large cooperative responsibilities in Latin America and in North Amer- 240 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA ica. The almost unbelievable work that has already been accomplished — this is written less than five months after the dissolution of the Panama Congress — is beyond any missionary precedent. Study, as well as work, is likewise in progress. Thus at the date of penning this paragraph more than five hundred leaders of young people's study classes throughout the eastern half of the United States are being trained to lead groups, many of them to study Bishop Stuntz's "South American Neighbors," while Dr. Speer's two books on the subject of Latin America, written since the Congress, will be widely used by study classes within nine months of its adjournment, as will the present volume. Scientifically conducted investiga- tions, sane and frank discussions, wise conclusions prayerfully reached, followed by local application of the well-planned program to local needs, constitute an achievement not reached hitherto by any great con- ference of Christians. But the reader will be especially interested to know how the Congress impressed others than the North Americans who are here mainly spoken of. From an English paper comes this estimate, written by Secre- tary A. S. McNairn of Great Britain's Evangelical Union of South America : "To sum up one's impres- sions of the Congress: It was a time of deep and refreshing fellowship with men whose lives have been given for Latin America and who know intimately its deepest needs. It was a period of abiding inspiration, which must profoundly affect the future life and work AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 241 of all who were privileged to participate. The Con- gress was characterized by deep insight and broad outlook and by its frank and sincere facing of the situation and courageous handling of the problems." From the Canal Zone itself where His Lordship Rojas, Bishop of Panama, had issued his "Voz de Alerta a los Catolicos," warning his flock against the campaign to be started by the Congress, and where the Panama Pan-American Truth Society had pre- sented delegates with a copy of its pamphlet entitled, "The Guerilla Missionary Congress," a Catholic- owned daily, the Star and Herald, printed an edi- torial a week after the Congress had closed entitled "Christian Work," in which this paragraph occurs: "The attitude of the Roman Catholic Church was clearly antagonistic to the enterprise from the first; and that is a great pity, for anything that advances the cause of Christ and humanity must of necessity be ad- vantageous to that Church, if it proposes to keep abreast of the times and to keep its advanced position as the champion of progress, material and spiritual. No Church in all history has done nobler work for humanity; and Catholic missionaries are even to-day the pioneers of Christian endeavor in the dark spots of the world. It thus seems all the more difficult to understand why the Church in Panama opposed the holding of the Congress here, and why the authorities of the Church forbade its members from having any- thing to do with the enterprise. Surely the Roman Catholic Church is not willing to admit that it fears 242 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA to compete with other Churches in its own field. . . . Nor was the Congress a patronizing snub for the people of Panama and their Church. Its purpose was as stated, and there never was the slightest indi- cation at any of the sessions or in any of the speeches that the delegates had any motive other than the highly creditable one of assisting in the Christian uplift of the peoples of Latin-American origin. Surely it is not denied that there is ample field in those countries for such work. . . . The world has reached a stage in its progress wherein selfishness and dogma must give way to the altruistic ideals of the brother- hood of man, if any impression is to be made on the mass of sin and ignorance that infests it. The Church should include all creeds and its one essential should be belief in the divine mission of its great founder and a firm intent to follow in His footsteps. ,, From other Latins come these four estimates of the Congress at Panama, two from Portuguese-speaking and two from Spanish-speaking Latin Americans. The first is from the pen of the Rev. Efrain Martinez, a leader in the Presbyterian Church of Chile and a help- ful participant in the Panama discussions : "Allow me to say that I believe the Congress will be for a long time to come the supreme authority and the compass for all the missionary activity that shall be developed in Latin America. It is also the index of the power with which the last command and promise of Christ beat in the heart of the Church. I believe that we all ought to hope that the two greatest AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 243 needs of the work will be satisfied, — that union and cooperation of the missionary forces will result, and that a numerous and efficient national ministry will be raised up. "In Chile, apart from the need of continuing the mutual cooperation begun in the fusion of periodicals and in the establishment of a seminary for the Pres- byterians, Methodists and the Christian and Mission- ary Alliance, we hope to have, as a consequence of the Congress, a national ministry capable and numer- ous, a day school for each church, a great enlarge- ment of the evangelistic and educational forces in the plains of Chile and, above all, a normal school and more missionaries." The second Spanish estimate is from the pen of an honored Latin- American jurist who came at his own charges to the Congress and whose telling address is extracted in the preceding chapter. The Hon. Emilio del Toro, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Porto Rico, writes : "In my judgment, it will not be long before the beneficent influence of the Congress of Panama will be felt in the religious, social, moral and educational life of Latin America. As I said in my address delivered before the Congress, I firmly believe that to spread the Reformation intelligently and vigorously in the Latin-American world is to awaken struggles of conscience in which will be forged and tempered those great characters so necessary for the uplifting and salvation of the republics, so carrying into it the quickening breath of the liberties thus 244 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA conquered by the peoples of the North. Of course, the success of the proposed campaign will largely depend upon the moral stature and deeply Christian spirit of those in charge of that great duty." Dr. Jose Carlos Rodrigues, former editor and pro- prietor of the Jornal do Commercio, of Rio de Janeiro, is a Brazilian whose words have great weight. His opinion follows. "The ideal life of the Christian would be like that of Mary, sitting at the Master's feet and hearing from His sacred lips ri\v dyadfjv fiepida, 'the good part' of His word. Christ, indeed, addressed Himself solely to the individual man. He w r as not cumbered with serving public powers or nations, but He took up the unit of man whom He saved and in- structed. And it is exactly because He made men that He has become forever the greatest regenerating and revolutionary power in the world. "It is a hard task for His disciples, however, to collaborate in this work of making new men. To the unspiritual eye this beautiful world and its multi- fold temptations, both intellectual and sensual, are constantly working to frustrate the mightiest Chris- tian exertions to induce the soul to come to Jesus' feet. And, as if that were not enough, there is on our con- tinent a still stronger force that holds back the soul from the fountain of Truth — our great inertia, our carelessness regarding the knowledge of God. "The Panama Congress has, I think, both fully and adequately considered the various agencies that help in propagating the gospel, and on the other hand the AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 245 problems of counteracting the many devices for em- barrassing or stopping that glorious work. The result of its labors cannot fail to be fruitful. The spirit of liberty permeates the South American soil; and the few among us who experience the 'glorious liberty of the children of God* will certainly become radiating centers of the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the only foundation of our happiness and hope and of all true social progress, as well as of the realization some day of mankind's highest and holiest aspira- tions." It is probable that the most philosophical interpreta- tion of the Panama Congress will be found in Pro- fessor Erasmo Braga's Portuguese volume describing it, if one may judge by its preliminary outline. He has kindly supplied this statement: "The following observations express the historical and religious mean- ing of the Panama Congress as defined in my mind. The most interesting feature of evangelical Chris- tianity at present is its convergent tendency. If we recall how individualism developed and how the Prot- estant Churches diverged after the Reformation, this new tendency appears to be a very important his- torical phenomenon. The Panama Congress was one of these convergent movements, and as a result of it, the forces of evangelical Christianity are probably about to be consolidated as never in the past. "The social and religious elements of the Americas have gathered together on the Isthmus for the first time, to study one another and to agree on some plan 246 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA of cooperation for the spiritual uplift and salvation of this continent. Since the days when the Anglo-Saxon and the Norman came in contact, no other movement has placed the Saxon and the Latin types of civiliza- tion at close quarters in such favorable conditions to exchange their differing heritages. At Panama both Saxons and Latins met in spiritual communion, de- termined to understand and love one another. "The reports prepared for, and the papers produced by, the Panama Congress are a priceless contribution to the study of Latin America. Nowhere else is there to be found such a mass of information about Latin America from the point of view of our social and religious evolution, including as they do the opinions of Latin Americans themselves. Latin-American womanhood appears in these studies as the brightest element of our social and moral life, and the op- portunities and achievements of Latin civilization are listed as assets to be duly reckoned with. "The supreme contribution of the Panama Congress to the solution of Pan-American problems is the re- affirmation of the fact that the living, personal in- fluence of Jesus Christ is the great and the only power needed by the Latin-American peoples to regenerate the individual man and to build up free and Christian commonwealths. It is only Jesus Christ — His spirit, His love, His law — that can give spiritual meaning to Pan-Americanism. It was a loving act of Prov- idence that brought this Congress into being at such a time of bitter suffering for humanity." AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 247 The final word of appreciation should be uttered by the man who did far more than any other person to create, foster and bring to a successful issue this epoch-marking Congress. The Rev. S. G. Inman, its organizer and secretary, has this to say of Panama: "What was accomplished at Panama? Daring would be the attempt fully to catalogue the results of such a many-sided gathering. But at least the fol- lowing may be mentioned : "First, the most comprehensive survey of the social, educational, and religious conditions of Latin America ever attempted was presented through the commission reports and the ten days' discussions of the Congress. "Second, this survey unquestionably showed that the existing moral and spiritual life of these young nations demands help from the outside for its proper develop- ment, and that the Latin Americans, far from resent- ing such help, heartily welcome its coming through evangelical missionary agencies. "Third, the study of the Latin-American people has revealed to Anglo-Saxons a surprisingly large number of praiseworthy things in their civilization, and will result in the missionary Societies putting larger emphasis on the idea of cooperation with the Latin Americans, and avoiding in all possible ways the patronizing and critical spirit. The high quality of the Latin- American delegates to the Congress and their constructive contribution to every phase of the discussions demonstrated the power of Latin America to furnish the highest type of leadership for the world's 248 RENAISSANT LATIN AMERICA spiritual life, when given the proper opportunities for its development. "Fourth, it proved conclusively that the greatest inv pelling force to bring men of different nations and different creeds together is not uniformity of belief but the burden of great tasks. The remarkable unity of the Congress was due to its facing of human need, and this unity was threatened only when its attention was turned from the need by a suggestion that it define itself by dogmatic statement. "Fifth, it was demonstrated (a) that the spirit of Christ can so sway men that it is possible for those of such different inheritances and diverging prejudices as Anglo-Saxons and Latins to sit down together and discuss with perfect frankness the most intimate phases of their individual and national life in such a w T ay as to come to an ever-increasing regard for one another and an ever-increasing agreement as to the solution of their problems; (&) that Protestant Chris- tianity has developed to the point where it can meet in a Roman Catholic country and discuss frankly the religious problems of lands predominantly Roman Catholic in such a spirit of fairness and humility, and withal fearlessness, as to commend itself to fair- minded men of all creeds and to contribute in a note- worthy way to the binding together of the divergent and often warring elements of such a polyglot com- munity as Panama. "Sixth, the immediate practical result of the Con- gress was the organization of the Committee on AFTERMATH AND ESTIMATES 249 Cooperation in Latin America to continue the work of the Congress and carry out its recommendations concerning an enlarged, more efficient and more closely coordinated Christian work in Latin America. Thirty- four missionary Societies, practically all those in the United States and Canada supporting work in Latin America, have elected members of this Committee, making it officially representative of these Boards. The machinery for quick and united action has still further been perfected by the election, by each of the seven regional conferences held immediately following the Panama Congress, of a field committee which is to cooperate with the larger home base committee. "Thus the Congress has devised a complete chain whose various links provide for united, economical, pervasive, and effective processes for making Christ known, loved and obeyed in every part of Latin America. ,, INDEX "A. B. C. countries" linked to United States, 5, 6. Addresses of the Congress, special, see ch. X, pp. 207-28. Africa, cooperation in Belgian Congo, 203-4. Agricultural colleges, 89. Agricultural education, 82-3, 104. Aim of church work in Latin Amer- ica, 139. Alexander, G., Congress sermon, 226-7. Allison, W. B., warning against Catholic commendation, 74. Almeida, J. F. d', version of Portu- guese New Testament, 113. American Bible Society, exhibit at Congress, 1 6. Ancon, 4. Ancud, Bishop of, Christ of the Andes, 136-7. Andreve, G, welcome to the Con- gress, 20. Anti-Catholic propaganda deprecated, 178. Aristocratic class, 38. Assets of Latin-American Missions, Si- 2 - Attendance at evangelical services, 154-5. Boggs, S. W., maps, 16. Braga, E., prayer quoted, 53; im- proving theological education, 105- 6; "Claims of Christ on Thinking Men," 216; estimate of Congress, 245-6. Brandon, E. E., quoted, 86. Brazil, effects of miscegenation in, 36 (5). Brewer, G. H., adequacy in occupa- tion, 50. British Guiana's schools. 92. Brooks, Phillips, quoted, 181-2. Brotherly relations with Latin Amer- icans, 178-9. Brown, W. A., devotional address, 208. Brown, W. C, incident narrated, 76-9; two prayer incidents, 182. Browning, W. E., Spanish inter- preter of Congress, 19; weaknesses in education, 104-5; welcomed by Catholic bishop, 181. Bryce, Lord: estimate of early con- querors, 30; on miscegenation, 36; real missionary problems, 107-8. Buenos Aires, its claims for the Congress, 2-3. Business Committee of Congress, 17. Business men in Latin America, 38-9, 49. Butler, Miss C, syndicated period- ical, 116. Bandeirantes, 30. Barnes, L. C, devotional address, 208. Barroetavena, F. A., advocated op- position to Catholics, 71; at Lima conference, 236. Beach, H. P., reply to question, 50. Benevente, Bishop, Christ of the Andes, 137. Bennett, Miss B. H., chairman of Commission V, 123. Bible: how presented, 65; and Lan- casterian schools, 91-2; Protestant versions in Iberian tongues, 11 2-3; Catholic versions, 113-4; why translations are desirable, 114; guide of new convert, 143; study variable, 155. Bible Societies, good work, 44. Biography stimulates interest, 169. Bixler, C. E., on agricultural educa- tion, 104. Board of Missionary Preparation, 183-4. Calderon, F. G., quoted on popu- lations, 27; Latin-American races, 35; "babel of races," 56. Canadian Presbyterian giving, 45. Canal, see Panama Canal. Canal Zone: Sunday services, 20; healthfulness to-day, 20. Carnegie Endowment International Peace, 6. Castro, R. B., quoted, 221-2. Cepero, J. R., caution in receiving converts, 145. Chester, S. H., special churches for intellectuals, 164; motives of giv- ers, 172; cooperation in Africa, 203-4. Christ of the Andes, 135-6. Christian Century quoted, 235-8. Church, Evangelical: duty in Latin America, 39-40; two-fold affirma- tion, 65-6; emphasizes a living Christ, 66; fellowship, 67; worship, 251 252 INDEX 68; social gospel, 68; better build- ings, 67-8; fully discussed in ch. VII, pp. 139-164; general purpose of evangelical work, 139; Church defined, 139-40; relation to Roman- ism, 140-2; experiences of con- verts, 142-4; Moorish influence, 144; race elements, 14s; cate- chumenate desirable, 145-6; per- sonal work, 146; young people's societies, 146-7; Sunday schools, 147-8; special evangelistic efforts, 148; social work, 148-9; limitations because of Catholicism, 149-50; discipline, 150; Sunday observ- ance, 150-2; intemperance, 152; gambling, 152-3; spiritual life, 153- 4; church attendance, 154; leader- ship important, 155; devotional literature lacking, 155-6; self -prop- agation, 156-7; self-support, 157-9; self-government, 159; move toward independence, 160; indigenous leadership inadequate, 160-2; secur- ing and educating leaders, 162-4; trend toward national Church, 197-8. Church of Sr. Alvaro Reis, 6-7. Cincinnati plans for Mexico, 229-31. "City of Dreadful Night," 213-4. . Colton, E. T., chairman Commission I, 25; latest news as to survey, 232. Columbus preaching in Havana, 140. Clark University conferences, 177. Clemenceau, G., cited, 124. Colegios, 85-6. Colmore, C. B., securing strong na- tive writers, 118-9. Color line absent in Latin Amer- ica, 35- Colporteurs eulogized, 121-2. Commentaries desirable, 114-5. Commissions, 11-2. "Committee of Conference in Cuba," 238. Committee on Cooperation in Latin America, 201-2, 231-3; value in future, 248-9. Concentration in Missions, 49. Conferences on Latin America, mis- sionary, 175; promotive of coop- eration, 199-200; regional after Congress, 233-9. Congresses for Latin America: at Washington and elsewhere, 1; at Panama, 1826, 2. Congress, Panama, of 191 6: why notable, 1-2; place of, 3-5; timeli- ness, 5-7; genesis, 7-9; objections to, 9-1 1 ; carefully prepared for, 11; attendance, 14-5; its hall, 15-6; officers and Business Committee, 16-7; program, 17-9; its languages, 18-9; official interpreters, 18-9. Conquistador es, 30; religious objec- tives, 59-60. Controversy with Romanists dis- cussed, 65. Converts from Catholicism's experi- ence, 142-3. Cook, E. F., on unified salaries, 194. Coope, Miss A., work for San Bias Indians, 131-2. Cooperation and Unity: fully dis- cussed in ch. IX, pp. 187-205; ex- emplified in occupation, 188-90; uniformity in message, 190-1; co- operation in education, 191-2; in literature, 192-3; in woman's work, 193; in building up Church, 193-4; at the home base, 195; with the government, 195-6; conforming to national aspirations and ideals, 196; building up a national Church, 197-8; cooperation with Romanists impracticable now, 198-9; in con- ferences, 199-200; in prayer, 200-1; through enlarged Committee on Cooperation in Latin America, 201- 2; possible misunderstandings, 202; "three engines in one," 203; illus- trated in Belgian Congo, 203-4; rivalry vs. cooperation, 204; aided by "change of climate," 204-5; missionary plenipotentiaries, 205; how it works in Mexico, 229-31; permanent committee on, 231. Corda Fratres, 174. Cortes, Srta. E., how won to Christ, 71; social worker, Y. W. C. A., 133. Cosmopolitan clubs, 174. Costa, Sefiora de, Christ of the Andes, 137. Council of Women for Home Mis- sions, study text-books, 176. Coyoacan College, 191. Cross, how regarded by converts, 143-4. Cruz, Dr. Oswaldo, 34. Cuba, committee on conference in, 238. D Daugherty, S. D., business men go- ing to Latin America, 49. Day nurseries helpful, 129-30. Delegates of Congress, fellowship of, 4-5- Del Toro, E., "The Principles and Spirit of Jesus," 221-4; estimate of Congress, 243-4. De Schweinitz, P., devotional ad- dress, 208. Destitution in Latin America, spirit- ual, 45. Dexter, E. G., introduced Dr. Mott, 20; Latin-American teachers vs. missionary, 101. INDEX 253 Discipline in evangelical Church, 150, 153; common understanding desirable, 194. Dollar, how each is spent in Latin- American missions, 172. Dominicans establish Inquisition, 61. Fatherhood of God attractive, 73-4. Fellowship of the Congress, 4-5. Filipino teacher's greeting, 22-3. Finley, Dr. C. A., 34. Fox, J., 103. Edinburgh World Conference, 1910: its Levant conferences postponed, 7; did not include Latin America, 8; compared with Panama Con- gress, 1 1-3. Education in Latin America: full discussion, ch. IV; significant facts, 82; illiteracy, 83; sparse popula- tion hampers education, 83-4; gov- ernment institutions, 84-6; secular- ized, 87; solidarity lacking in gov- ernment universities, 88; technical schools, 88-9; Catholic educational work, 90-1; historical sketch of Protestant education, 91-2; forms of recent educational work, 93-100; character-begetting power, 100; common sense needed, 101; hostels desirable, 102; intellectual free- dom, 103; Brazil needs agricultural education, 104; weakness of mis- sionary education, 104-5; correc- tives for theological education, 105- 6; interdenominational cooperation demanded, 106; Bryce's criticism of Latin schools, 107-8; depend- ence on Christian literature, 110-1; kindergartens helpful, 129; mission normal schools, 130; Miss Coope's Indian work, 13 1-2; cooperation discussed, 19 1-2; deputation to S. America, 231-2. Elementary schools : government's, 84-5 ; Ross on, 90-1 ; missionary, 93-5; for Indians, 94-5. Elphick, R., on Chile's needs, 46; Old Testament after New Testa- ment, 115. Environmental influence of Latin America, 31. Estimates of the Congress, ch. XI, pp. 229-249. European War: and the Congress, 7; Dr. Mott on, 210-1. Evangelistic work: Mott and Miss Rouse on. 74-5; literature in, 111; meetings, 148. Evening sessions of Congress, 19. Evolution, Bishop McConnell upon, 216-7. Ewald, C. J., Association work for students, 72-3. Ewbank, A., quoted, 127. Ewing, H. £., work for students, 73. Expenditure on Latin-American mis- sions, 170-2. Galvao, A., "Conception of God," 162. Gambling through lotteries, in Panama, 141; difficult to give up, 152-3. Garden City, L. I., Conference and Congress, 7-9. Giving to missions in Latin Amer- ica, 45- God, conception of by Galvao, 162. Goethals, General, 20. Gomara quoted, 61-2. Gonzalez, J. O., on how to teach, 102; conception of a Latin-Amer- ican missionary, 184-5. Gorgas, General, 20. Goucher, J. F., cooperation in edu- cation, 106; "The Triumphs of Christianity," 226. Government aiding missions, 195-6; missionaries aiding, 205. Granberry College, 96. Great Commission misread, 169. Grenfell, Dr., quoted, 70. Grubb, W. B., quoted, 94-5; govern- ment commissioner, 195. "Guerilla Missionary Congress," 241. H Hale, A., quoted, 124. Halsey, A. W., Lima regional con- ference, 239. Hamilton, Mrs. F., a pioneer, 129. Hartmann, Mrs. M., Moravian pioneer, 127-8. Havana regional conference, 238. Health of Canal Zone to-day, 20-1. Hicks, H. W., chairman of Com- mission VII, 165. Higher educational institutions, 96-8. History of Latin America inter- preted, 56-8. Home Base: full discussion of in ch. VIII, pp. 165-83; discussion limited to N. America's societies, 165; prayer fundamental, 165-6; abnormal attitude toward work in Latin lands, 166-7; interest now growing, 167-8; constructive pro- gram of education needed, 168-9; statistics apt to mislead, 169-70; society survey, 170-1; financial items, 171-2; motives to giving. 254 INDEX 173; Home Base by-products, 172- 3; Latin- American students in sending countries, 173-4; promot- ing prayer, 174; developing inter- est, 174-5; conferences, 17s; study of Latin America, 176; Y. M. C. A. methods of promotion, 176-7; pic- tures and dramatics, 177; securing adequate support, 177; recognition of N.-Amencan weakness, 178; strengthening brotherly relations, 178-9; style in promoting litera- ture, 179-80; publicity work at home, 180; Bp. Lambuth's plan, 181; British criticism of Latin missions met, 182; prayer helpful, 182; the home ministry a key to getting candidates, 183; coopera- tion at, 195. Howland, J., on the Latin American, 100-1. Howland, Mrs. J., woman's work in homes, 133. Hurrey, C. D., work for educated classes, 72. Hymnology deficient, 120. I Illiteracy in Latin America, 83. Immigration to Latin America, 27-8. Immorality forced on women, 126. Independent Brazilian Presbyterian churches, 158-60. Indianapolis conference on regional conferences, 239. Indians of Latin America: present degradation, 36; described, 36; number neglected, 40, 44; Tucker's plea for, 48; Olcott's, 48; Speer on, 52; religions of, 58; elemen- tary schools for, 94-5; their women's condition, 126-7; Miss Coope's work for, 13 1-2; element in evangelical Church, 145; un- f>rovided for religiously, 190; need ove and sympathy, 223. Industrial schools, 95. Inman, S. G., estimate of Congress reports, 12; secretary Cooperation Committee, 231; reports concern- ing Scotch participation, 232; on reports of the Congress, 233; esti- mate of Congress, 247-9. Inquisition in Latin America, 61. Instituto Evangelico at Lavras, 96. Instituto Nacional meeting, 19. Intellectuals of Latin America: perils to their faith, 39; groups, 39; how reached, 70-3, 162; special churches for, 164; addresses of Congress for, 214-8. Intemperance, 152. Interest in Latin-American missions growing, 167-8. International law authorities, 34. Interpretation of Latin America's religious position, 56-64. Interpreters of Congress, official, 18-9. Italians in Argentina, 53. Jesuits: in Paraguayan Chaco, 32; foremost Order in Missions, 60. Jesus Christ, our attitude should be like His, 212-3; knocking at the door, 214, 227; central in life, 216; "The Immutable Christ," 226-7. Jones, S., importance of Sunday- school work, 147-8. K Kindergartens, 93; argument for, 129. King, H. C., presents Education report, 81-3; character-begetting power, 100: on modernism, 102-3; Christian leadership, 106; devo- tional address, 208; science aiding progress, 215. Kinsolving, L. L., presides at Lima conference, 236. Lake Mohonk Conference, 177. Lambuth, W. R., plan for occupa- tion, 181. Lancasterian schools,. 91-2. Lane, H. M., eulogized, 97. Languages of Congress, 18-9; kin- ship of Iberian tongues helpful, 41-2; missionary peril, 42. Las Casas: humane legislation due to him, 32; his book, 33. Latin America: defined, 25-26; area and population, 26; comparative areas, 26; possible future popula- tion, 27; immigration, 27-8; re- sources, 28-9. Latin Americans: Congress delegates characterized, 14; Bryce's estimate of conquerors, 30; Yanes' estimate of them, 31; famous patriots, 33; literary men, 33; physicians, 34; attitude toward N. America, 42-3; interpretation of its history, 56-8; theory of state and society, 64; two dislikes, 67; Howland's char- acterization, 100-1; Bryce on prob- lems, 107-8; womanhood, 124-7; women students, 130-1 j Latin ele- ment in evangelical Church, 145; pride of race, 149; gambling com- INDEX 255 mon, 152-3; in last analytic stag* of science, 217; value of Congress in interpreting them, 247. La Union quoted, 236-7. Leadership, evangelical: aided by evangelical literature, no; spirit- uality desirable, 155; addresses on, 210-21. Lecky, W. E. H., cited, 225. Lectureships for Latin America, 103. Lefevre, E., welcomes Panama Con- gress, 1; bilingual address, 19; address outline, 208-10. Lenington, R. F., Fatherhood of God, 73-4. Liceos, 85-6. Lima regional conference, 234-6. Literature, evangelical: full discus- sion of, ch. V, pp. 109-122; exhibit at Panama, 16; Dr. Ritson on, 109-11; Bible central, 1 1 2-4; other related literature, 1 1 4-6; desirable varieties, n 6-8; securing strong writers, n 8-9; character of books to be written, 119; books on Christian nurture, 119-20; general literature desirable, 120; hymnology deficient, 120; traqts and leaflets demanded, 120-1; for Sunday schools, 120; colpor- teurs, 121-2; cooperation especially needed, 122; lacking for women, 135; woman's magazine wanted, 135-6; devotional works lacking, 155; literary style aids, 179; union plans for, 192-3; antichristian, 193; work since Congress on literature, 233. Livingstone, D., his prayer, 213. Lloyd, A. S., devotional address, 53-4, 208. Lord's Prayer expounded, 73. Lotteries, see Gambling. M McAfee, J. E., Protestantism's divi- sions, 50; Havana conference, 238. McConnell, F. J., quotes Phillips Brooks, 18 1 -2; spiritual climate and cooperation, 204-5; "Chris- tian Faith in an Age of Science," 216-8. Mackenzie College, 96-7. MacLaren. D. C, chairman Commis- sion III, 81. McLean, A., devotional address, 208. McLean, J., Plea for Latin-American students, 48; missionaries and gov- ernments, 205. McNairn, A. S., English objectors to Latin missions, 182; estimate of the Congress, 240-1. Maps of occupation, 16, 188. Martinez, E., estimate of Congress, 242-3. Martyrs, in Mexico, 149. "Matt H. Shay" illustration, 203. Memoriter teaching, 85. Message and Method: fully discussed in ch. Ill, pp. 55-79; complicated questions, 56; historical interpre- tation, 56-8; inheritance from primitive faiths, 58; key to under- standing Roman Church, 58-63; evangelical history, 63-4; the mis- sionary, 65; his message biblical, 65-6; enlargement of Roman ideas, 66-7; spiritual life, 67; church fellowship, 67; worship, 68; social gospel, 68; object-lessons, 68-70; reaching the educated, 70-1, 72-3; God's fatherhood, 73-4; evangel- istic campaigns, 74-5; illustration of message and method, 76-9; char- acter of the common message, 190-1. Methods of mission work, Roman Catholic, 61-2. Mexico: special meeting on, 6; early missions in, 128-9; friction in co- operation in, 202; special meeting for, 229-31; conference in October, 231. Ministry can aid in getting candi- dates, 183. Miscegenation, effects of, 36-7. Mission study classes in S. America, 240. Missionaries, Evangelical : require- ments, 65; what they should be, 160-1, 184-5; Sr. Pereira on, 220. Missionaries, Roman Catholic: work of the Orders, 32; entries and conquests of souls, 32; estimate of, 59-61; methods, 61-2. Missionary Education Movement, 175-6. Missions, evangelical: justified in Catholic lands, 41 ; encourage- ments, 41-2; obstacles, 42-3; sum- mary statement, 44-5; extension and intension, 49; disunited ranks, 50; favorable facts, 50-1; three assets, 51-2; _ three needs, 52; duties, 53; historical outline, 64; why promote the work, 168-9. Monroe Doctrine: influenced by the Congress, 5; Latin suspicions, 42. Monteverde, E., Congress president, 16; characterizes ideal Latin mis- sionary. 185; speaker at Lima con- ference, 236. Monteverde, Sefiora A. de, com- mends Y. W. C. A. work, 133. Moorish influence in evangelical Churches, 144. Mora, L. G., on Mexico's needs, 46; on Mexican martyrs, 149. 256 INDEX Morris, C, his Argentine evangelical schools, 93; aided by government, 195- Morrison, C. C, regional confer- ences, 235-8. Moses, B., quoted on Pope's relation to Latin America, 59. Motives to supporting Latin-Amer- ican missions, 172. Mott, J. R., response to address of welcome, 1-2; on timeliness of Congress, 5-6; chairman Business Committee, 17; evangelistic cam- paigns, 74-5; Japan's method of securing writers, 118; brotherly spirit commended, 179; on the European war, 210-1; closing prayer of Congress, 227-8; on Cin- cinnati plan, 229-30. N National Church leadership, 160, 162-3. Nationalism strong in Porto Rico and Brazil, 196. Needs of Latin America : Mora s statement of. 46; Elphick's state- ment, 46; Stuntz's statement, 46; three, 52. Negroes of Latin America: brought as slaves, 30; six millions neg- lected by Church, 40. Normal schools for women, 130. North-American Committee on Anglo- American Communities Abroad, 173. North-American supporters of Latin- American missions, 165. Novels, high-class ones helpful, 120. Objections to convening Panama Congress, 10-1. Obstacles to Latin missions, 42-3. Occupation, see Survey and Occupa- tion. Olcott, E. E., on Indians, 48. Oldham, W. F., opening prayer, 22; his "loving method," 72; lock- operator of Congress, 75-6; size of the Latin-American job, 168; in opening services, 212. Orders, Roman Catholic, work in Latin America, 60-1. Osuna, A., chairman Commission IV, in. Palacios, Srta. J., Mexican view of Bible, 115. Panama Canal: importance, 3-4; made new world map, 5; visited, 20. Panama city: history, 1; why chosen for the Congress, 3-4; other con- gresses, 2; its Bishop and the Con- gress, 10; visited, 31; its missions, 21; on Sunday, 141. Panama News Letter quoted, 3. Panama Republic's constitution, 209. Pan-American Scientific Congress, 6. Paraguayan Chaco: Jesuit work there, 32; Protestants there, 44. Parochial schools, evangelical, 94. Patriots, Latin-American, 33. Paul, C. T "The Principles and Spirit of Jesus," 224-5. Paulistas, 30. Penzotti, F., imprisoned, 149. Peons, 36-7. People's Central Institute, 68-9; aided by government, 195. Pereira, E. C, ranks disunited, 49- 50; Catholic errors, 74; ideal Latin missionary, 186; "True Leaders the Fundamental Need," 219-20. Periodicals of churches help Latin- American missions little, 175. Personal work in evangelical Church, 146. Peru, plea for, 47. Photography aids. 180. Physicians, noted Latin-American, 34. Piedras Negras Institute: an object- lesson, 6; its program, 69-70; aided by government, 195. Pope and Latin America, 59. Populations of Latin America, 26-8. Porto Rico situation queried, 189: its workers aid government, 195-6; nationalistic feeling strong there, 196; benefits from missions, 222-3. Prayer: at daily sessions, 17-18; Bp. Oldham's, 22; Bp. Lloyd's, 54; Prof. Braga's, 54; for Commis- sion II, 55; too formal and easy, 154; especially needed for Home Base, 165-6; promotion through calendars, etc., 174; suggestions concerning, 177; essential for co- operation, 200-1; closing prayer of Congress, 227-8. Presbyterian Churches in Brazil, in- dependent, 158-60. Principles of mission work, Miss Rankin's, 128-9. Printing early in Latin America, 33. Program of Congress, 17-9. Publicity bureaus, 180. Puritans in the New World, 30, 221-2. R Races of Latin America: Numerical statement. 34; no color line, 35; miscegenation effects, 36-7; claims on evangelicals, 38-9; feeling against other races, 42. Rainey, W. H., one evangelical uni- versity, 106. INDEX 257 Rankin, Miss M., Mexican pioneer, 1 28-9. Ravi, v., Waldensians in Uruguay, 231. Reformation spreading, 223. Regional conferences, 233-9. Reina, C. de, Bible version, 112. Reis, Sr. Alvaro, his church, 6-7; on education, 10 1-2; "The Vital Power of Christianity," 225; at Lima conference, 236. Religions of indigenous inhabitants of Latin America, 58. Religious liberty not fully assured in Latin America, 43- Resources of Latin America, 28-9; Barrett's prediction, 29. Restlessness of better class of church members, 159-60. Revell, F. H., evangelical literature, 116; rivalry and cooperation, 204. Rio de Janeiro: its claims for the Congress, 2 ; health reclamation, 34; Archbishop of, value of ver- nacular translations, 114- Ritchie, J., plea for Peru, 47- Ritson, J. H., on Christian literature, 109-11. Robinson, Canon, on Catholic mis- sions, 63. Rodrigues, J. C, estimate of Con- gress, 244-5. „ . , Roman Catholic Church: attitude to- ward Congress, 10-1; not helpful to intellectuals, 39; its missions justified. 41; cooperation with, im- possible, 43; Protestant criticisms of, 47; delegates' relation to it, 56; four facts help understand it, 58-63; spirit and method, 61-2; present status, 62-3; defects, 63; spiritual life imperilled, 67; errors warned against, 74; its universi- ties, 86-7; helpfulness of Bible translations for, 114; object to vernaculars, 114; described, 140-2; harasses Protestant work, 150; anti- Catholic^ propaganda deprecated, 178; priests' ratio to population, 181; cooperation with, 198-9; atti- tude of Panama Republic, 209; Judge del Toro on, 222-3; estimate of Santiago regional conference, 236-9; Star and Herald's view of Congress, 241-2. Ross, E. A., quoted, 90-1; S. Amer- ican women, 124, 126. Rouse, Miss R., how to reach stu- dents, 75- St. Anthony devotee's conversion, 76-9. Saltillo Methodist Girls' Normal School, 95. Sanders, F. K., conference on effi- cient candidate training, 184-6. Santiago College. Chile, 130. Santiago conference, 236-8. Schools, see Elementary schools, and Secondary schools. Science and Christian faith, 215, 216-8. Scientific character of Congress, 14. Secondary Schools: Government's, 84-5; early missionary, 92; later missionary, 95-6. Sein, E. M., favorable aspects of missions, 50-1. Self-governing evangelical churches, 159-60. Self-propagation of churches, 156-7. Self-support of churches, 157-8; gifts of Brazilian church, 196-7. Shepherd, Prof., quoted, Spaniards' three desires, 31; motives in deal- ing with Indians, 32. Smith, Miss F., on Colombian women, 126; S. American homes and women, 134. Social work: social gospel needed in Latin America, 68; for women, 132-3; reforms, 148-9; social needs met by spirit of Jesus, 221-4. Societies in Latin America, mission- ary, 171. Solidarity lacking among Latin-Amer- ican students, 88. Southern News Bureau, 180. Speer, R. E., genesis of Congress, 7-9; chairman of day sessions, 16-7; Filipino teacher's story, 22-3; assets, needs, duties in Latin mis- sions, 51-3; "Tourist Guide," 173; opening address of the Congress, 212-4; approves Cincinnati plan, 230; chairman Cooperation Com- mittee, 231; union seminary in Mexico, 232-3. Spiritual life of Churches, 153-4. Star and Herald, on Congress, 241-2. Stark, A. R., Bolivian girl incident, 115. Statistics of Congress: alluded to, 43-4; apt to mislead, 169-70; so- ciety, 171; financial, 17 1-2. Strategy missions: Panama strategic for Congress, 4-5; stations well located, 41. Student Volunteer Movement and Latin America, 176. Students of Latin America: plea for, 47-8; work by Christian Associa- tion, 72-3', Miss Rouse on, 75; solidarity lacking, 88; Latin Amer- icans studying abroad, 173-4. Study of Latin-American missions, 176. Stuntz, H. C, on Plate country needs. 46; chairman Commission VII, 139; "The Price of Leader- 258 INDEX ship," 221; "South American Neighbors," 240. Sunday observance, 150-2. Sunday schools, 99-100; literature important, 121; importance and weakness, T 47-8; defects of, 156. Survey and Occupation: fully dis- cussed in ch. II, pp. 25-54; terri- tory defined, 25-6; prospective areas, 26-7; immigration, 27-8; re- sources, 28-9; peoples concerned, 29-36; social groupings, 36-8; claims on evangelical Churches, 38-41; aids to occupation, 41-2; obstacles, 42-3; statistical items, t3-5; Mexico's need, 45-6; Roman actor, 47; student class, 47-8; Indians, 48; Northern business men, 49; extension or intension, 49; divided Protestantism, 49-50; adequacy of occupation defined, ?o; favorable time for survey, 50; avoring conditions, 50-1; assets of the task, 51-2; needs, 52; per- sonal duties, 53; cooperation aids, 188; good opportunity for changes, 189-90; latest news concerning, 232. Swift, J., on evangelical literature, 109. Taylor, S. E., extension and inten- sion, 49; approves Cincinnatti plan, 230. Technical schools, 88-9. Teeter, W. H., quoted on literature, 116, 117. Theological institutions, 97-8; educa- tion should be cooperative, 191 -2. Thompson, C. L., chairman Commis- sion VIII, 187; mapping territory, 188; emphasis in message, 190-1; on Catholic cooperation, 198-9; Havana conference, 238. Thomson, J., "City of Dreadful Night," 213-4. Thomson, J., Lancasterian schools, 91-2. Timeliness of Panama Congress, 5-6. Toro, see Del Toro. "Tourist Guide, Missions and Eng- lish Services, Latin America," 173, 188. Tracts still useful in Latin America, 120-t. Training of National leaders. 163; "Training and Efficiency of Mis- sionaries, 183-6. Trevifio, A., on translation work, 117. Tucker, H. C, Portuguese inter- freter of Congress, 19; plea for ndians, 48; value of Bible trans- lation work, 113. U Union churches in Latin America, r 73« United Free Church may work in 8. America, 232. United States Government's cour- tesies, 20. United Study of Missions, Central Committee, 176. Universities in Latin America, 33; Government's, 86-8; union Chris- tian university demanded, 192. Uruguayana School, 95. Valera, C. de, version of Bible, 112. Vance, J. I., cooperation and human nature, 203; "The Vital Power of Christianity." 225. Vargas, D. de, quoted, 112. W Waldensians in Uruguay, 231. War, see European war. Watts, Miss M., a pioneer, 129. Winter, N. O., quoted, 124. Woman's work in Latin America: full discussion in ch. VI, pp. 123- 37; its constituency, described, 124-7; sketch of early work and workers, 127-9; educational work for them, 129-32; social work, 132-3; work in the home, 133-5; literature needed, 135-6; Christ needed, 136-7; cooperative educa- tion, 193. Yanes, F., quoted, Conquistadores, 30; characterizes Latin Americans, 3i. Young Men's Christian Association: object-lesson of, 6; work for stu- dents, 72-3; work for intellectuals, 164; and Latin -American students in N. America, 174. Young people's societies, 146-7- Young Women's Christian Associa- tion, social work, 133. Yucatan, protracted meetings in, 148. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Sept. 2005 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS nil inn nil 014 727 844 5 * UttMHUH ■ ,«mm m r RflfflnUfl mm