Grand Rapids herald., 1893-10-08
FROM FAR OFF SIAM
MISSIONARY FOR IS YEARS


Dr. and Mrs. Dsnlsl NcGilvary q
Chl>nz Azi. Siam. are Waiting the kss.
aad Mss. Dan =. nrsdiey u No III
North Prospect sfreeI Mr2 Aet2isary
- Mr. Bra.i.syis oiliest sistsr. Dr. Mo
Giisary has .psnt fhirty i've ysars 70
The Sism@ss mission schools He sent
east 10 lsas. zad las eontlnaed u ths
work ever siase. Daring thai tlNa he
has been in An<ricz Only three tines
oncs IN 1913. again in lssS the pfe~ent
visit helng the third This nms -
came a. delegate % the worlds pariit
meat q religions. which met IN CnicaEA
The doctor Is q Ehits- haired. senerab<
man. whose face befrsys 4 warm. syn'
pathetic nature. and whose blue eye
beam kindly over tho ever present spse
taelez Mrs. McGil1ry. too. has spent
most % her life In the East. antt =
Drowned b. the burning rays of troP'e
sun
Hadn't Heard of the War.
We left Chieng Mai in june. saidthe
doctor ~ a reporter Tor IaE HER&fp
yesterday, and came down the NaanHp
river 10 Bangkok Just a. the fransh
we're preparing 10 lombard the elty-
We had beard nothing about The troa
bic between the Preach and the Sial1+
ese. although Just a. we started there
we're few ruuloEs of trouble aiIoat
There VAS great excitement IA the city
when wo arrived. although the authort
ties wers doing ali ttsy could to keep
the people quiet There Was little external
esidcncs of excitement but the pro
speetiye bombardmenf vas the 0niy
topic % conversation A blockade was
imminent and the king had just de-
clared that il the river was "a DO block
AIDED he would do IL himself J1nks
we're sunk In the channel near the
mouth OF the river and room was left
FOE only ono steamboat TO pass through
at a time. 4
Bstter Feeling Toward France
-Another Junk vas kept in readiness
tc be sunk in the gap. but believe II
never was. We left the city before hos
tilities erased. The effort of the king 10
blockade the river would have been of
little use. for the French could have
blown up the sunken Junks without any
trouble and cleared the channel The
feeling in Siam toward foreigners has
been very friendly. but l don't know
how il Is since this French episode.
There was u great deal OF bitterness
manifested toward French when 10
we're in Bangkok The republic was re-
gar,ied a. a guerilla. an outlaw, ruth
lessly seizing by force OF arms that 20
which il had no right But Siam viii
be very diplomatic about expressing
this feeling. as France Is feared IL not
respected
islam has made rapid strides toward
civilization in the last three decadies.'
said DIR. McGilvary. IN discuss
ing the little eastern empire" The
second king preceding the present, was
despot who secluded himself from the
people. aud hated Europeans intensely.
The missionaries could not build schools
or churches within the kingdom, and
could not rent house for any length of
time. The next king was man Of far
more liberal ideas. He had been edu-
Gated FOR Buddhist priest. lie became
acquainted with Mr.. Bradley. the father
% Mr. Bradley OF this city. and also Mr..
Casweli. They exercised great infiu-
cnce over him.
The Printing Press Introduced
Mr. Bradley introduced the tirst print
ing press in Ssamshnd did grand work
f0f the civilization Of the little empire.
The present king is educated and cnl
turod. lie has a ministry with whom
be shares the responsibility OF govern
meat, and tries To Do beneiicient ruler
over hia 2eople Europeans and Ameri-
cans are held IN high favor and their
IDEAS freely adopted The condition OF
the common people Is fair. The men
can nearly all read and write. The wo-
men. however. ars not 80 fortunate. The
%ystsm of polygamy - still ia existence.
aud that il a curse % every nation where
II has secured a foothold. One OF the
wives of the pres n king is his sister
There 10 Cnly one railroad in the country
aud that -uus from Bangkok 10 the fort,
txenty-eixht miles down the river.
English capitalists are building another
/ IL miles into the interior
Dr. Mesiilyary is well pleased with the
work % the religious congress and be.
lieves thit christianity has been the
gamer by being compared with the other
fafferfnua ~ fho world