Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-05-23
OUR HOME HEATHEM.

Thine own friend, and thy fathers friend,
forsake not; neither 60 into thy brothers house
in the day of thy calamity; for better is a
neighbor that is near than brother far off,
PROVERBS XVII: TO-
Solomon possessed a good deal of worldly
wisdom, or insight into human character.
Perhaps he had brothers to whom he had
occasion to apply for assistance in time of
need. If SO, he probably acquired the infor-
nation by experience that the last person in
the world to render favor to another is q
blood relation. Relatives are generally good
enough friends as long as nothing is wanted
of them, but when one becomes dependent
and the other is called upon for assistance,
cordiality ceases between them, and they be-
come hopelessly estranged. This is the rule
as much to-day as it was in the time of
Solomon. Fortunately for humanity and
the family relation there are few honorable
exceptions.
The church is family on large scale,
and the same impulses that seem to govern
the home circle have their counterparts in
the church. A body of processing Christians
get along beautifully as long as they are all
on a par socially and financially, but once
introduce person who has claims upon the
charity of the community and discord takes
the place of harmony. Foreign missions
call out the liveliest sympathies of the
churches. The ladies of any congregation
will spend days in making petticoats and
v,ina1chiopc ho Horfo,ototo of Afrino
while there are native born Americans about
their doors in want of clothing to cover their
nakedness, and food to keep them alive.
Each church has it's committees to look after
the heather abroad, but none to look
after The brethren at home. Dis
lance lends enchantment to the view of
the church philanthropists, and the further
off the claimant Of their bounty is, the more
liberal will the contributions be. man
may be sick and infirm under the very
shadow of the sanctuary, but no thought is
given to his wants. The Mrs. JelIabYs of
the church devote all their energies to re-
lieving the spiritual condition of the be-
nighted regions of some supposititious Boora
Boolah Cha, while in their immediate vicini-
ty are hundreds of semi Christian people far
greater in need of their aid.
The tendency of the churches to bestow
their charity abroad and to withhold it at
home is decidedly reprehensible, and lends
color to the charge that their protested
benevolence and desire to spread the benefits
of the gospel is sham. The SUNDAY GLOBE
should not be understood as condemning the
practice of contributing to the support of
foreign missions. These are very we'll
in their way. They contribute
very materially to the advancement
of civilization. But the SUNDAY GLOBE is
decidedly of the opinion that charity begins
at home. Every large city in the country
contains hundreds or thousan Dis of heather
as benighted as those to be found in the
wilds of Africa, to whom the truths of the
gospel would come as q welcome message.
The fact that their skin is not tanned, and
that they do not go about naked is no good
reason why they should be neglected, either
as to their temporal or spiritual wants.
They are men and women. They have per-
haps heard of the glad message of salvation,
but their social position bars the doors of
the church against them, and no matter how
they may hunger and thirst for knowledge
of the glad tldings of great Joy, they are
deprived of it. The people thousands of
miles away receive all the religious lnstruc-
ton the most favored in this country can
ask. but the heather here at home are re-
ligiously excluded from all the benefits of
the gospel.
1t is argued that the churches are not to
blame for the exclusion of the home heather
that the invitation is free for all, who are
urged to come and partake of the waters of
life without money and without price.
Technically this is true, but really it is not.
There are obstacles to participation in wor-
ship that all do not understand. Even the
humblest individual does not care to place
himself in position in which he is liable to
be subjected to insult or slight. The labor
ing man, no matter how highly he may re-
gard his calling, is more averse to intruding
himself among those whom society has
placed above him than his superiors in So
cial station are to associate with him. Caste
is as powerful in the United States as any
where else, and as long as caste governs the
chnrch members there will be certain class
as vigorously excluded from them as if they
were barred out by iron bolts. These will
either be heathenish in their instincts or
will ultimately become so unless efforts for
their evangelization are soon inaugurated.
The SUNDAY GLOBE suggests that the church
es devote some attention to the conversion
of the heather that crowd all our large cities
before entering the army of the Jellabys and
sacrificing and praying for the naked hea-
then in Boora Boohla Cha.
University Commencement.
The commencement exercises of the State