San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-10-09
EIGHTY FIFTH SESSION.
AMERICAN BOARD OF FOREIGN
MISSIONS.
Large Number of Distinguished Di-
vines to be Present.


American Board of Commissioners
OF Foreign Missions will be held
here from today to Oct. Is. The
meetings will occur in the Con-
gressional church.
The American Board is the great
centre of the missionary work Of
the Congregational church, and the
annual sessions are full OF interest
to all church and missionary work
ers. Formerly the Dutch Reformed
| and Presbyterian denominations
were interested in the work of the
Board, but about twenty years ago
those societies withdrew and orga-
niZed missionary boards of their
own. The Board held one of its
meetings in Milwaukee fifteen
years ago, but usually the sessions
have been had in Eastern cities.
OF recent years these sessions
have been marked by numerous
heated discussions growing out Of
the refusal of its officers to commits
sion graduates of AndOver Theo-
logical Seminary as missionaries.
The differences between the con-
tending factions have at times been
so wide that the civil courts have
been called upon to decide them,
| and for thirteen years the proceed
ings have been largely made up of
the discussions on this subject.
Last year, however, peace was re-
| stored by the resignation of DIR. E.
X. Alden, one of the secretaries,
who has been the leader of the OPP
position to the teachings Of And
over Seminary. DR.. Newton
Smythe, who was elected professor
of theology at Andover, was among
the first opponents Of the Andover
doctrine which was offensive to the
| followers of DIR. Alden (who Is a
lineal descendant of the famous
John Alden OF colonial history.)
DR.. Smythe was regarded by the
conservative Congregationalists as
| unsound on the doctrine of eternal
punishment, holding a belief in
/ probation after death. His brother
| Egbert Smythe, who is also men,
| Der of the Andover faculty, was al
so made mark for the opposition
of those who disputed the sound
ness Of the theology taught at And
over, and the courts were unsuc-
cessfuliy invoked to oust him from
his position. Now that DR.. Alden's
resignation has been accepted, it is
expected that the meetings Of the
| American Board will be more har-
monious than they have been in
the past. There will be a great
deal, however, to occupy the at
| tention of the session, which sup
ports hundreds OF missionaries in
| all parts of the world, and has nu-
merous schools and colleges for
the education of native missionar-
les whose work in saving the
heather has been found to be very
efficient.
The American Board was orga.
niZed at Bradford, Mass, June 80,
1910, and this was the first attempt
to send a missionary from America
to any foreign land, although local
societies had been formed in New
England with special reference to
the needs of neglected portions Of
this country, including a few In
dian tribes.
The work of the board has pro-
crossed very rapidly. At the close
of its seventy. seventh year the
| board had twenty-five missions,
eighty-nine stations, S9l out sta
tiOns, 1913 ordained missionaries,
eleven of them physicians, twelve
physicians not ordained Gncluding
four females) ten other male mis-
sionaries, FL female assistant
missionaries, Of whom l64 are
wives, making total OF 46l
American laborers. OF native help
ers there were 1855 pastors, 1893
preachers, / ,l64 teachers. 325 other
helpers, a total Of 2,O37. There
were 1926 churches with 2S,O42
members, 90 high schools and COL
leges with 5,941 pupils, SIS schools
with 34,4l7, the total number I'M
der instruction being Al, Isl.
The first organ of the board was
the Panoplist, of which the pres
ent organ, the Missionary Herald,
is the successor. Other periodi-
calls have been published at differ.
ent times in its interest. In 1886
the annual publication of the
American Board Almanac Of Mis-
sions was commenced.
The present officers Of the board
are: DR.. Richard S. Storrs, of
Brooklyn, president e. w. Batch