The times., 1898-02-13
Foreign Missions.


4 We are officially informed that owing
! to recent adyices from Japan, it is con-
! sidered desirable for one Mrs. Mary
! Hunt to go 10 that country and extend
! her work for the prevention OF intem-
! perance in the public schools there. In
/ other words. the condition of the adult
male drunkards in this country is SUI
! ficientiy hopeful for Mrs. Hunt TO turn
! her attention To the school children OF
Japan. The present state of these chill
dren appears to be the saddest thing
known since the period of the original
Noachian spree. Up TO this time, owing
to the fact that the Japanese minister
of education did not see the necessity
of saving the children of his country
from the awful curse of drunkenness,
il has been impossible to get at these
infants: but there has been Il change
in the ministry. II is now said that
the door is open and from some pre-
rious experience with the methods OF
foreign missions We infer that With
proper monetary inducement somebody
can be found To walk in and instruct
japanese children that after they cease
Ia drink milk they must not drink anF-
thing else.
Aside from this particular case (which
is rendered sufficiently ludicrous by the
fact that the japanese are probably the
most absremious people in the world,
their only distinctly national drink be-
ing about as strong as diluted lager
beer it may as we'll be stated that
there is nothing much more absurd
than the general work of American for
eigh missions. As matter Of fact no
country on the face of the earth can
afford TO spare one single citizen to &C
and convert the inhabitants of any 9TH
er country on any subject. The enthu-
siasm of missionary spirits should be
confined to their own domains, and a
few OF them might advantageously be
confined in an asylum.
This is not to be taken as an attack
on the personal character Of people who
go 10 convert the heather. but simply
on the principle which leads them to
sacrifice their time and their energies
on material which gives such a re-
markably small return for their labor.
OF course ii is possible TO cut down
field of hay with pair of scissors. and
it is possible TO get some of the dust
out of a parlor carpet with a curry
comb. but wise peole keep each tool
where it belongs. When the condi-
tions which produce heathenism have
been somewhat abated in the United
States it will be time for conscientious
people to grapple with new languages.
new customs, new varieties Of human
nature. and new methods OF thought.
that they may teach our superior NOR
ality 10 people beyond seas.
1t may not be amiss TO remark in
connection with this question of send
ing missionaries to other countries TO
teach the natives what TO eat, drink
and believe that the common people
in India usually regard missionaries as
the apostles of drunkenness. and that
this is one reason why things have gone
so slowly there in the line of mission
ary work. The cause of this impress
sion on the part of the natives is that
the English colony invariably drinks
more or less. and finds it necessary to
set up one or more saloons in every
large town, and that Englishmen, af-
ter drinking literally on week days,
turn up at church on Sunday and en-
gage in a rite which appears to conse-
crate the weeks work Example is to
precept as chunk Of lead to hand
ful of goose feathers. and it will take
a great many precepts, awkwaTdly and
inadeauately translated into the dia-
lects of India, TO balance this lively
and potent object lesson. If there is
anybody in the English colony Of In
dia who is anxious to preach on the
subject of temperance, he does not need
to learn Hindustani. And if Mrs Mary
Hunt is determined finally to go to ia
pan to suppress drunkenness among
children, it is respectfully suggested
that she prepare for her labors among
the adult inhabitants of her own fair
land.