The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-08-16
DENNY ON MISSION WORK.
Its Results in China Highly Com
mended by Him.

Empire Proved by a Letter Which
He Sent to the State Department Last
Spring-Their Hospitals and schools q
Civilizing Influence.
While great many persons are crltlcl
sing United States Minister DENLY tor his
course regarding the massacre OF the mis-
sionaries in China, and many, who do
not know anything about it, are assert
ing that the Minister is not friendly to
the missionaries letter written by the
Minister to the Secretary of State in
March last is interesting reading. 1t is
as follows;
f'The main broad and crucial question
to be answered touching missionary work
in China, is; Does it do good? The ques-
ton may properly be divided into two.
Let US look at them separately.
First. Does missionary work benefit
the Chinese? 1 think that no one can
controyert the patent fact that the Chi
nese are enormously benefited by the la
Dor of the missionaries. Foreign hos
pitfalls are a great boon to the sick. Chi
ma, before the advent of the foreigner,
did not know what surgery was There
are more than twenty hospitals in China
which are presided over by men of as
great ability as can be found elsewhere
in the world. DIR. Kerr's hospital is one
of the great institutions of its kind in the
world. The Viceroy, Ii Hung Chang,
has for years maintained at T1en-TSln at
his own aYOpOSa a, FOREIGN hOSOltal.
=" In the matter of education the move
ment is immense. There are schools and
colleges all over China taught by the mis-
sionaries | have been present often at
the exhibitions given by these schools.
They show progress in a great degree.
The educated Chinaman who speaks Eng
liSh becomes a new man. He commences
to think. A long time before the war
the Emperor was studying English, and
it is said was fast acquiring the Ian
guage.
nowhere is education more. sought
than in China The government is to
some extent founded ON it. The systems
OF examination prevailing in the district,
the province and Pekin is too well
known to require comment. The grad
yates become eXpectant officials. There is
Chinese imperial college at Picking, the
Tung Wen, presided over by our distin-
guished fellow citizen DIR. W. A. P. Mar
tin; also a university conducted by the
Methodist mission.
There are also many foreign orphan
asylums in many cities which take care
of thousands of waits. The missionaries
translate into Chinese many scientific
and philosophical works. A former mis-
sionary, Dr. Edkins, translated whole
series of school readers.
Reflect that all these benefactions
come to the Chinese without much, if
any, cost. When charges are made they
are exceedingly small, and are made only
when they are necessary to- prevent a
rush, which in this vast population
would overwhelm any institution. There
are various anti-opium hospitals where
the victims of this vice are cured. There
are industrial schools and workshops.
This is a very brief and incomplete
summary of what missionaries are doing
for the Chinese Protestants and Cath
olics from nearly every country under the
sun are engaged in this work, and in my
opinion they do nothing but good I
leave out of this discussion the religious
benefits conferred by converting Chinese
to Christianity This of course is the
one supreme object and purpose of the
missionaries to which all else is sub
sidiary, but the subject is not to be dis
cussed by a Minister of the United States.
There is nc established religion in the
OAlUtQ OUrtUGo, tAt UI0 Au6IlCdu
dhist, Mohammedan Jew infidel or any
other religionist would receive at the
hands of his country's representatives
abroad exactly the same consideration
and protection that a Christian would.
can only say that converts to Christianity
are numerous There are supposed to be
40, 900 Protestant converts now in China,
and at least so, 600 Catholic converts
There are many native Christian
a IJrn hos Tho v7nptC To ho oc
devont as people of any other race
9As far as my knowledge extends ]
can and do say that the missionaries in
China are sacrificing; that their lives
are pure, that they are devoted to their
work, that their influence is beneficial to
the natives that the arts and sciences and
civilization are greatly spread by their
efforts, that many useful Western books
are translated by them into Chinese, that
they are the leaders in all charitable
work giving largely themseleys and per-
sonally discussing the funds with which
they are entrusted that they do make
converts, and such converts are mentally
benefited by conversion.
In answer to these statements, which
are usually acknowledged to be true, it
does not do to say, as if the answer were
conclusive, that the literati and gentry
are usually opposed to missionaries. This
antagOniSm was to have been expected.
Tho missionaries aDtagonize the worship
of ancestors, which is one of the funda.
mental principles of the Chinese polity
They compel their converts to keep Sun
day holy. The Chinese have no Sabbath.
They work every day except New Year S
Day and other holidays. No now religion
ever won its way without meeting with
serious opposition.
"Under the treaties the missionary has
the right to go to China. This being ad-
mitted, no amount of antagonism can pre-
vent it's exercise
In the second place. let us see wheth-
er and how foreign countries are benefit
ed by missionary work done in China
Missionaries are the pioneers of trade
and commerce. Civilization, learning,
instruction breed new wants which com
merce supplies Look at the electric tele-
graph now in every province in China
but one; look at the steamships which
ply along the coast from Hong Kong to
Newchwang and on the Yang-tze up to
Ichang. Look at the cities which have
sprung up like Shanghai, Tientsin, Han
koW-handsome foreign cities, object les
sons to the Chinese Look at the railroad
being now built from the Yellow Sea to
the AMOR, of which about 200 miles are
completed. Will anyone say that the l.
500 missionaries in China of Professionals,
and perhaps more Of Catholics, have not
contributed to these results?
ffTix1r0 nd L.