St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-23
A RIPE FIELD.
So Bishop Fowler Designates ia
nan in Regard to Mission Work

pan in Regard to Mission Work
Bishop Charles II. Fowler, of the NJ.
E. church, who has just completed an
official tour about the world in the in
terest of Methodist missionary work.
spoke for over two hours yesterday aft
ernoon at Hennepin Avenue NJ. E.
church, of three different mission fields
which he has visited and had expert
ence in. His discourse related exclu-
Sively to Japan, Corea and China.
seating capacity, and number were
enough interested in what the divine
had to say to stand i'll the aisleS.
In speaking of Japan he told OF their
diminutive gardens, with dwarf trees
and shrubs and walks, of their dainty
feasts, and stated that these were but
good example of all the manners OF the
nation. The men,he described as strong,
vigorous and energetic, always on the
alert for the good of Japan. While
they are in a sense imitatOrs Of Western
customs, everything had to be put
through the Japanese mill and be con-
formed to their ideas. Their army, he
said, was modelled after the German
type, their navy after the English type
and all else was after the American
IND6. III SCHOOL anu ISlISlOH diiu man
ners and dress they drew ideas from us.
In referring to their courage, he said:
They are good fighters, too, and l
wish to state that with emphasis, for l
don't think man amounts to anything
that hasn't got fight in him, but he
wants to have it subdued by grace. A
single command could raise an army of
10000 or 100000 men, and they are not
afraid of anything. They went over in
Corea about four centuries ago and
picked up everything they wanted"
After dilating Oh their bravery and
courage. the speaker came to tell of the
church work. 1t was thriving fairly
well, he said, quite as much as 1t de-
served. One could not go into the in
terror as missionary, but must go as
teacher, but would be allowed to use
the Bible as a text book of morals. The
speaker gave many interesting illustra-
tons of the school and missionary work,
and spoke in earnest words OF the ripe
ness of the field:
II present to you Japan" said he,
''the field of all fields that is open to
Christian work. l had the authority
over all missionary work. l should
keep all the other branches Just where
they are, for it is not right to go back
ward, and scour this Methodist church
from Maine to California for every man
and every dollar for the ChriStianiZa-
ton of Japan, and it could be accom-
pliShed in ten years. 1t is the ripeSt and
readiest field in the world"
He then spoke in the most compll-
mentary terms of the work the Congre-
gationalists had accomplished in the
last few years by establishing schools
for the young men of the high families
of the nation at the capital. By this
means they had done more than all other
denominations put together, as these
men they had educated were now lnf1u-
encing the mikado. After several illus
tratiOns of schools that had been eStab-
lished, he spoke of Corea, but with far
less enthusiasm. He described it as
land where the government absolutely
denied missionaries the privilege of
working, and yet much was being &C
compliShed. In speaking of China he
said little was yet known of it, and that
from the coolies who emigrated to this
country we could form no conception of
China. Several times in the course of
his address he referred to them with SUI
preme contempt. he gave a lengthy
discourse on the antiquity of the race,
the enormity of the nation, the supreme
power of the emperor, the intensity OF
their students, all of which he used to
show the difficulty of the task of gain
ing their consent to be taught anything
by strangers, whom they looked upon
with the utmost contempt.