Evening star., 1897-03-05
wAYLAND SEMINARY REMOVAL.
A Protest Against Taking the Institu-
ton to Rich hmOnd.

A Protest Against Taking the Institu-
9 ton to Richmond.
The proposed removal of Wayland Theo-
logical Seminary from this city to Rich
mond. Va. has caused a spirited discus
sion among Afro-American Baptists and
provoked severe criticism of the American
Baptist home mission board. by whose
decision the change is to be made. The
seminary has been in Washington thirty
one years and has done noble work. Its
friends, graduates, teachers and supporters
resent a plan which will practically abol-
ish the institution.
Rev. R. s. Laws said today to Star re-
porter:
THE American Baptist home mission
board at New York decided, against our
local and national interests as a race, to
take the Wayland Theological Seminary
out of Washington and to Richmond. This
school. with an unequaled standing of
ttirty-one years in Washington, with con-
ceded high purposes and acknowledged
usefulness, can never be prescribed and re-
moved under false cover of it's inability to
equal the Washington High Schools, when
there IS no comparison between theo-
logical seminary and an academic school,
without my solemn protest and expression
of righteous indignation of helplessly
wronged people. The ill-governed arrange
ments by the managers, which overburden-
ed the institution with academic adjuncts
and too many poorly paid teachers must
never be permitted to make US responsible
for their mismanagement. They now tell
us through representatives of that famous
Nayland conference what they will do for
us, what they cannot do for themselves
make us in Richmond what they would
not make US in Washington. members on
the board. They tell us Virginia, West
Virginia. Maryland and the District of
Columbia are to constitute an interstate
parish or district for the great university
scheme. If SO. then let the corporation
of Virginia and their financial adjuncts
at New York invite us into the new corpo-
ration, which must be done in order to
make the arrangement permanently legal
The property will be in Virginia under
the Jurisdiction of her courts. and the
corporate members from these others
states need greater and better protection
than the board at New York possesses
me money contributed by these state
needs the legal and protective suffrage of
tnelr chosen representatives, and no mere
private caucus of a conference need apply
as this fight is to promote our denomina-
tionai ntness and not personal popularity.
The university at Richmond has moth
ing in common with the Theological Semi
nary at Washington. The university
teaches the composition Of men and meas
uIes and the Theological Seminary teaches
OF God and His purpose of grace That
board at New York represents the Baptists
tnroughout the country, and so does the
Wayland Seminary the Afro-American
Baptists. That is our board of the de-
nomination. and so is the Wayland for the
Afro-American portion. Then let its the
ology be profound, comprehensive and far
reaching. Give us men who will help us
to think in our interest, and not men who
think for us against our will and interests.
1T Is not the purpose of the board to
create an impression that they only wish
to perpeuate places for white men and
women among us through misrepresenta-
tlons that we have not men and women
OF ability and educational attainments
WITHIN the race. but their present position
seems to bespeak as much for them. They
must remember that they are only restor-
ing under God to the race what they took
under man from us, and this that Cod
mlsnt restore to them the joys of His
saiaatlon, SAVE which are yet to entitle that
race to the right of eternal Hfe'
steamer C. Manchester for Mt Vernon
leaves 1th st. wharf 10 a N, cd q - -.