The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-08-30

Sa-- -
III Nsse
EXPOSITION ENTERTAINMENT HALL.
day and Wednesday, Sept. 4, 5 and 6. On
Sunday, Sept. 3, the delegates will be in
vited to attend the Sunday schools of the
city. and addresses will be made in the va
rious churches by the more prominent OF
the guests.
The delegates will come from every state
and territory of the Union, from the Ca
madam provinces and from almost every civ
ilized and uncivilized country in the world.
1t is stated by Mr.. B. f. Jacobs, chairman
of the executive committee of the interna-
tional Sunday school convention, that 2,O36
delegates are accredited from the United
States and Canadas, while the local commit
tees place the additional attendance OF dele
gates to the worlds convention at 400 at
least. 1t is expected despite the hard times
that there will be very large attendance Of
un~accredited persons-so large, according to
present estimates, as to swell the total mum
Der of strangers likely to be here during the
week to 5000 or 5000. The Field Workers
conference will be held in Exposition En-
tertainment hall. The international Sun
day school convention and the worlds
convention will occupy Music hall. The
programme Of each has been prepared with
great care, and it is expected that Sunday
school workers who are fortunate enough
to be present will derive great pleasure and
profit from the proceedings.
Saturday, Sept. 2, will be given over
largely to the celebration of st. Louis an
nual Sunday school festival, which was
postponed this year from May, the usual
time of holding it, until September in or
der that the delegates to the convention
should see what ST. Louis can do in the
way of a big turnout of Sunday school
scholars. The festival will be held as usual
on the fair grounds, and the new Sports
mans park has been engaged as overflow
grounds. The most interesting features of
this years festival will be the parade and
the song service. The children will begin
to form for the former at $50 a. m. and will
march from Grand avenue near Pine me
Olive streets to the fair grounds, where they
will be reviewed by delegates from the con-
ventions. The song service will consist of
a chorus of 10000 fresh young voices. 1t
will be rendered in Sportsman's park and
will be in charge of l.. F. Lindsay, who will
also have charge of all the musical services
of the conventions.
This annual festival is feature of Sunday
school work peculiar to St. Louis as the
AAts w 10 RSStlitI w 1'looNl IL hDltlitiN
schools. Besides the procession, which issim-
liar to the main feature of the May walk,
and the out of door feast that is so popular at
rural Sunday school picnics, there are athlet-
ic sports for the older boys of the Sunday
schools and the young men of the Bible
classes. These sports include baseball, run
ming races, bicycle races, potato races, sack
races, competitive club swinging, etc. The
attendance is sometimes as large as q, 600,
and the interest in the various eventssof the
day is intense. There is no doubt that it's
annual recurrer . and the preparations for
its competitions, which necessarily begin
some weeks ahead each year, add materially
to the interest felt in Sunday schools by
the children Of st. Louis. A local rhyme
ster has described the number and variety
of youngsters annually participating in the
parade in the following lines:
Fair children, dark children,
Children past reason;
Tall children, small children,
Children in season;
Rich children, poor children,
Children In chaises;
Girl children, boy children,
A whole city's babies;
Black children, white children,
Children galore;
Good children, rude children,
ENOlt ullll SCBlt-
Some idea of the significance of the con-
vention may be obtained from a brief refer
ence to previous gatherings of the same
nature. The Field Workers convention is
the first Of its kind. The international COZ
veution is the evolution OF the national
convention aud is the twelfth gathering of
that body, as well as the seventh Of the in
ternational. It's sessions are held once IN
thrap yaars and II ~ "a nrHnIiy,l al ~,
sixth national convention in MAJ 1873 at
Baltimore. The sixth internationaI CON
veution was held at P~ittsburg in 1890, and
Hon, John o.. Harris of Alabama, who was
then chosen president, will preside over the
coming convention. The board of vice prcSi-
dents Includes one from each state in the
Union aud each of the Canadian provinces.
Among the more prominent workers be
longing to the international convention are
Bishop j, II. Vincent, best known because
OF his connection with the thautauuru
summer school, and b. i. Jacobs, who is
entitled to the thanks of all Sunday schoul
workers for tn" international Lesson Leaf,
and DR.. Meredith of Brooklyn, long identi-
fed in Sunday school work. The plan for
uniform study by the worlds Sunday
schools was devised by him, and he had the
active assistance of Or. Edward Egglcstou
ana l)r. Vincent in perfecting it. 1t was
adopted by the convention Of 1872, which
was held in indianapolis.
The first worlds Sunday school couvcu-
ton WAS held III London i'll 1853 and WAS
the outgrowth of the international conycu-
ton, as the latter was of the national. 1t
was projected during the fifth intcr1!atiuu-
al convention held in Chicago in 1881. The
details of the organization were given into
tine hands of an able committee, OF which Mr..
jacobs was one. The Sunday school work
ers OF the other lands entered cordially into
the work, and the delegates were welcomed
to the worlds metropolis on July . of the
year named by the lord mayor, and the
Earl and Countess of Aberdeen and other
titled and untitled English men and wom-
ell united to make it pleasant for them.
Tie American delegates numbered over
$50, and they went to England on board
the Cunard steamrI Bothnia, which the,
chartered for the voyage.
Many conflicting claims as to who oripi
mated the sunday school idea have beer