The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-11-11
DR.. eUTTERsoN AT wlLLlsToN.
Three Reasons Why the Home Missionary
.,, Association should Be Supported.

Three Reasons Why the Home Missionary
Association should Be Supported.
AL Wllllston church yesterday monrlng
Rev. George H. Gutterson of Boston,
Held secretary Of the American Home
Missionary ssociation, spoke of the work
OF the organization he represented. He is
graceful and easy speaker, and is tho
roughly familiar with his subject
He began by quoting the remark of a
distinguished writer that the greatest
progress made by the world come through
some apparent disaster, that in reality, but
projects the world forward, and this is
true of the spiritual as we'll as the scien-
tif1ic truth. The world is fast coming
to the time whom it will take great step
forward, and will come up to the idea of
the brotherhood of man. The world is
drawing closer together This is seen in
politics and is seen everywhere We I'M
derstand but little of the forces at work,
but in some way we feel that our life is
bound up in all other lives. This has
come to be felt everywhere. The fortunes
of the man on the Nile, and the man on
the Kennebec are bound together. The
unifcation of the world is moving on.
and the grand truth of the brotherhood
of men is being more and more believed.
On this truth "God is my father and the
father of every other man" rests the mis-
sions of the world. A lawyer said at
recent meeting in Boston, II feel that for
my sake and for thessake of my children,
[ must do all [ can to send the Gospel
of Christ to the heather, that my home
in Maiden rests TO some degree for Its
safety on our sending the Gospel With
its civilizing influences to all the world.
We have got to come as citizens up to
this high standard of Jesus Christ.
l do not want to talk of the association
or of its debt; properly speaking we have
no debt; but only financial embarrass
ment, nor is there much, that is new, that
can be said on this subject. In reality
there are but two things in this world,
God and man, but there are ways OF
presenting things.
There are three reasons why this asso-
citation should be sustained First there
is the financial reason. The Congregations
alists are reaching 11,000, 600 people
through this organization. Down in the
southland there are 800, 900 colored peo-
pie, mostly ignorant, and 1900, COO of
mountain whites to whom we are send
ing the GOSPEL and civilization. AS
business matter we ought. to lift up the
world to higher plan of living.
This morning one thousand million of
people got up and were content for 5helr
morning meal little rice, eaten not
from plate, but from green leaf. They
wear few clothes, have no books, no fur
sents all their outlook. Lift them up
morally and they will want something
better. Their wants increased, they will
become more productive. The first
thing a converted Zulu asked was cloth
for shirt. One supplied want creates a
necessity for something higher, and the
savage becomes the industrious and pro-
ductive citizen. AS business matter
we ought to take God at His word, and
seek first of all the advancement OF the
kingdom of God in this world, and all
other things will be added The poor
mountain white in the south has a Win
chester rifle on his cabin wall, we want
to make him feel the necessity of some
thing higher and better than drink of
moonshine whiskey, and then pictures
will take the place Of the rifle, and books
and papers will be seen in his house. We
must arouse his soul and help him TO
come I'D to the full measure of man.
For every dollar we give to the mission
work we get hack ten dollars in trade
The Christian church serves TO help for
ward the business world.
Then there is political reason why you
should support this association. What
is the bed rock on which this republic
rests? The intelligent individual voter,
living in a Christian home and with
something to hope for. Ii the voter is
educated, intelligent, civilized, with an
am bition to serve the state then the sys-
TEN is a good one but in the exact reverse
there is danger. In the southland there
are practically 100000 of Ignorant
people Not all ignorant, but SO speaking
of classes. There are 8, 500, OO0 colored
people made citizens and voters by north.
ern soldiers, made citizens and voters
by Abraham Lincoln, and made citizens
and voters by the XIV. amendment and
you cannot go back of that amendment,
although Gov. Tillman and some others
who have not yet quite emerged from
before the war atmosphere, tried to,
short time ago. But it takes more than
the sword to make q voter, and the
armies of the union had to be followed
by the church and the school, Gen. GRAFT
and his generals by the school teacher,
with womanly tack, with womaBly devo-
ton and with Nearer my God to thee"
in her heart Christian civilization alone
can fit the ignorant negro for citizen
ship, and yet the most Ignorant man OF
them all stands side by side with Presi-
dent Hyde and deposits bis vote.
There is hope for the southland. 60 to
Uno Slle Vi Oue VI Ulo ST0db SOubHSIu I'LL
itary prisons Walk If you can with
out tingling of New England blood in
your veins by those marble lines telling
of the soldier dead below. Go up there
on that bank of red earth where the
guards paced ready to shoot down their
own brothers if they passed by so much
as an inch that ''dead line" if it were
only for drink of water. But the hero
ism of the soldier did not do all the the
work, while it did all that God had ap-
pointed for it to do The greatest of all
the prisons and go beyond and you will
see the hope of the south, the school
house built by New England people, but
where Mrs. Wilcox, an Ohio woman teach
es. There she lives in that 81 black belt"
with no society, with no church, with
nothing but a conviction of duty to cheer
her, and there she is doing noble work
in moulding future citizens out Of blocks
of ignorance the system of slavery left
us. The work of the soldier is over. The
battle flags are furled in the parliaments
of men, and the federation Of the world,
but the work of the teacher is not done.
/ believe there was a logical connection
between the work of that far off and for
gotten Christians teacher who trained