The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-10-11
AMONG THE FREEDMEN
REY. ALLIES rRLLs Apour WHEN
From His own Experience and Observation
asa Worker Among the Former Slaves
-CharacteFistics OF the Negro
liace-Thslr Needs.

Rev, DR., R, H. Allen, Secretary Of the
Presbyterian Board Of Missions for Freed,
men, addressed a large congregation at
the First Baptist church yesterday morn
ing, in behalf Of the Colered psople Of the
South, DR., Allen said he spoke not Of
what he had seen in the newspapers, nor
from what he had heard, but from what
he had seen and knew, A VireiniRn by
birth, the son and the grandson OF
Shareholders, having passed the years Of
the war in The South, he could speak freely
and with knowledge Rs q southern man
speaking 10 southern people. He had
come TO the consideration OF this question
with the prejldicea common to southern
people, though not confined to them. He
did not believe that the negro should
have been eufTspchised in his ignorant
and degraded state; he was not prepared
10 uss the ballot intelligently and for the
best interests Of the country, The speak
or was not in favor Of universal suffrage,
anyhow, But the ballot has been given
10 the freedman, There he stands holding
It in his hand. The people Of this
country cannot afford that he shall
use II ignoantly or viciously, We must
educate aud Christianize him, give him
the spelling book aud the Bible, The
speaker used to be Of those who thought
nothing could be done for the negro,
nothing made Of him, He had been
forced 10 change his opinion, for the negro
had responded well to every effort made
| to elevate him, Since he became free
man he had accomplished wonders. He
had shown the capacity to learn the duties
Of citizenship and TO be a deeply Religious
man, HeItakCs naturally to an emotional
religion, but he must be lifted TO level
OF real pIsty, He has Tor the most
pRrt lived q life which Ia well
Illustrated by the cid colored man who
said he broke all the commandments every
day, but he had kept his religion, So Il
happened that the Colored people would
sing and shout at their meetings and steal
on The way home, Weneed to teach them
real pisty, and they are ready to accept the
teaching. There are two strong traits In
the character Of the negro, He believes
Implicitly in the Bible as the word OF God
and he Is through and through an Ameri'
can, He does not bother himself TO rec
onCia science with religion, Gs some OIL
our preachers do. He believes that the
whale swallowed Jonah, and II the
Bible said 30 lie would believe
that Jonah swallowed the whale, 80 sweet
In simply ia his faith In the word OF God
and among the colored people Of the
South. There are no societies OF iniidels
Tho speaker mover Gnaw a negro inhdel
No more do you fiud among them Anarch
lists, dynsmiters, communists, Socialist
or NihIlists. They know only the Ameri
can form Of Government, and they believ'
in that,
We oil thought the negroes would de
crease In number alter they were freed
but they have increased RAPIDLY. The!
numbered lers than 100000 when the!
we're liberatedi nov there are 1000,
600 Of them, numerous enough t
control eight States. They double
themselves every twenty years, tn
whites every thirty.fve years. Five hun
dred colored Childlen GrO born every dS.
in this country. What are you going Il
do with them2 What are you going II
do for their poulsH Dc. Allen told SOM
very touching stories Of tho fidelity, tn,
aniability and the pisty Of the Southern
negro, aud made an earnest appeal to hi
hearers to help ths good cause with thei
means, He wanted money for tho mis-
Biouary work Of the BOARD Of Mlss!ons
and for the completion OF boarding
school building now being erected II
Texas for col0red girls He asked 70
sums OF i45 for scholarships 70
worthy girls. In these school
the girls arc taught, among othe
things, to sew, darn and mend, to cut ant
| ct dresses, aud to cook, and they go gu
from them to spread abroad q wholesome
Influence. The address was listened Il
with great interest At its close q collec
ton was taken for the benefit Of thu
cause.
At the evening service DR.. AlleI
preached from part Of Hosea XtV-6
VI will be 90 the dew unto Israel" {
highly spiritual sermon, beautiful In ii
simplicity and Of great power.