The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-17
WORK OF MISSIONS.
The American Board Continues It's
TesSiODS.
THE DOINGa OF THE BROOKLYN
CONVENTION
0aaep Moses en- the Nominating Comnit-
tee--A Large Atteadance--Bries ABB
straets Of Interesting Addresses.

straets Of Interesting Addresses.
Brooklyn, October a6-At the American
Board of Foreign, Missions meeting to-
day, Rev DR. A. J. Behrends of Central
church, offered the lac of committees
and after being read. they were Endorsed
by the meeting Among She members OF
the committee to nonrnstes officers is
Galen G. Moses of Bath, Maine.
The report of the corporation commit
tee was read by W. n. Cobb OF Newton,
Mass. Tie report was to the. effect that
good wo1k is being done by members OF
the Board in all the New England States.
Rev. A. Z. Cunning, D. D., of Boston,
editor of the Congregationallst, gave
"Some Impressions from Mission Fields"
gained during his recent tour in Oriental
lands. Mission work, he said, is less,
often, to the superficial glanco, in that it
has not oonspiouously changed the out
ward appearance # the people 1t is
greater TO the student who seeks to know
what the Christ spirit has done in up
lifting motives, planting new ambitions,
Transforming minds and breaking down
barriers of race and nation.
Missions seek to save souls, but they
have the larger aim to christian1ze ma
tions The gospel is hardly translatable
till it can be spoken by men fitted to trans
nit Christian sounds. Education is essen
tial to missionary success. The character
and attachments of some heather nations
have been generally underestimate by
Americans. One may meet among Egyp-
tians, Arabs Turks as attractive and cul
tiyated gentlemen as are to be found Ill
this audience. Their customs, ideas OF
prop rlety, in some respects their moral
code, are widely different from ours. But
these are as truly as ours the fruit OF ages
of experience. of thoughtful discussion,
of national life. 70 estimate national
character by reports which missionariss
ha;lf sometimes made of their work with
the lower Glasses, would be much as
though American life were to be judged
by descriptions of the slums of New York.
We don't want to Americanize the Arab.
We don't want him to wear pantaloons
nor his wife to put on corsets. We only
want them to put on Christ
We need missionaries who are not only
cen :ecl. ted but able. The missionary
III uSt know the people to whom he takes
the gospel; not only their language, but
have wrought for good and who are their
heroes He must be in sympathy with
their national spirit 1T is hard TO unner-
stand how man can be willing 70 50
anywhere for Christ who does not Ffeet
convinced by the bent of his mind and
the nature of his equipment that he is
called of God to go somewhere, because
he can do Gods work in that particular
land better than others. $40
/ have seen men this year sent out by
missionary boards who are more potent
than many an ancient king. They are
rejuvenating old nations, creating Chris
tian knowledge, Christian motives, Chris
tian love in place of heathenish seifish-
ness. To send godly but Ignorant people
into foreign nations to enter unconscious
ly into collision with ancient customs aid
preSu dices, is like sending regiment of
blind men into battle.
We explore old lands, literatures, Gus
toms and governments, to find treasures
not to be destroyed, but gloritied forSour
Lord. We brush away the dust and wipe
away the stains. We bury the corpses of
old crimes and rear the cross above their
graves.
ga Problem in Spiritual Irrigation"
was the theme. of the Rev. Francis f..
Clark, D. D., President of the United
Society of Christian Endeavor. He spoke,
in part, as follows:
Wesbelieye in the American Board: we
rejoice in its glorious history. Its Pru
Dental Committee and other officials aru
picked men from all the churches. 1t
carries our money along its ways to
Japan, to China, TO India, to Turkey, to
the islands of the sea, to every quarter OF
the globe. Whatever may be said of this
or that agency, as a channel through
which to give wisely, the regularly estab-
lished missionary boards Of the church are
the safest banks in which to make our
benevolent deposits. The money which
we thus intrust, when it reaches the for
eign field, will there accomplish larger
things than we at home dreamed of.
The missionary work OF all the various
Protestant denominations in all parts of
the world is the most promising and
hopeful feature of modern civilization.
We are the people to turn on the water,
God has put the key to the gate which
keeps back the water of life into our
hands. We may unlock and hoist the
gate il we will and let the water run.
There are at a low estimate in the United
States among the more than two million
Endeayorers, four hundred thousand of
them who are earning their own living.
If their average income is $400, then
these young men and women earn at
least $3.50, 600, 600 of dollars every year.
One tenth of this sum, if we gave only
600 of dollars. One tenth of these En-
deavorers are probably Congregationalists
and their portion would be at least
81, 800, 600. Put half of this sum or one
third of it into the treasury of the Ameri-
can Board, and there would be no more
pleas from distracted missionaries. no
more heart-rending calls concerning work
that must be stopped only half accom-.
plished.
Ten years ago the call was for men,
now the imperative call is for money
Let me ask if the Young Peoples socie-
ties of Christian Endeavor in the Congre-
gational churches may not be grouped to-
gether to the support of some mission
station, placing the burden and RESPONSE
bility of this station together upon groups
of societies, making it a permanent thing
for the American Board and the Woman's
Board to look to these particular societies
for regular and increasing sum for the
support of these stations. Cannot the
American Board enter into a compact
with the Endeavor Societies of the Con-
gregational churches to support certain
stations and be responsible for their sup
port year in and year out? a.
FOR PURITY. 9