The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-09-24
EYANGELlZATiON@OF CUBA.
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prospects of Success as Judged by
Past Experience.

=: '--. = $50, .--i - > - j.;
Prospects of Success as Judged by
Past Experience.
The following on the evangelization
OF Cuba appeared in recent issue of
the Chicago New World: '-e'
In view of the eager expectations ex-
pressed by the Protestant religious
press for the evangelization of Cuba and
the other Spanish possessions, it may he
interesting to note the success of Prot
estant missionary work among other Ro-
man Catholic populations.
The Methodist missionary board last
year reported the missions in Italy as
steadily and gratifyingly progressing.
And Bishop Newman gives an idyllic
picture of Italy redeemed, rejuvenated,
the disenthralled" by the Gospel and
Garibaldi The Rev. E. F. Merriam, in
the Chicago Standard, last April allowed
that the Protestant mission in Catholic
Europe cannot claim great success, and
had made almost no progress in Bull
garia, Roumania, Austria, Spain and
Portugal" On the other hand" he
says, 1.-The Southern Baptists of the Unit
ed States and others have excellent and
prosperous missions in Italy, and the
progress OF the Waldensian and other
Protestant churches in that country is
most encouraging St s. Several in
stances are known in which whole vii
lagos have revolted against the domina-
ton OF the priests, driven them from
their territory and turned the churches
over to Protestants. The activity and
freedom of the Protestant press is an
exceedingly favorable indication of the
progress OF the Protestant work." That
depends OH the use made of the press
products. The Church Times gives the
Protestant missionaries in Spain LILO
communicates, in Portugal, 1886 and the
Methodists in Italy about 1000, but it
says that in view of the time they are
at work and the money spent on them
these movements will hardly. bear in
spection How true this is will appear
presently
At Lewiston, Me-, in 1894, the return
ed Methodist missionary, the Rev. Ever
EFT S. Stackpole, D. D., published his
book, -Four and a Half Years in the
Italy Mission" in which he makes it
clear that the whole mission is a sham
and fraud, its preachers, pastors con-
verts. theological students, editors,
biblereaders, Sunday school children, all
only after what there is in it, in a world
ly way. He shows that the reports to
America are systematically doctored and
falsified, and says that the facts if
made known, would be disgraceful to
all concerned" Thus of the NJ. E.
church in Florence he writes: ITO
tighten the labors of these two pastors
they had bible-woman, paid $24O by
the Woman's Foreign Missionary Soci-
ETY.. One of these pastors received $500
per year and house rent, and the other,
a single man, 5000. The organist was
paid $50 and the sexton $50. If we add
the expense of gas, fuel, repairs, hymn
that to hold an average congregation of
Is persons in Florence the Missionary
Society paid out $4,000 annually. To be
sure the minutes report an average con-
gregation of $50, but we can testify by
repeated countings that the average was
was not more than Is. 81 We
once asked one of the preachers why he
did not cut down the statistical report
for the minutes to actual facts, and he
replied: That would not please the
presiding elder.' Every preacher on the
Italian mission knows that all the au-
thorities on both sides of the ocean want
to see every year in the reports an in
crease in probationers, conversions, etc.
and they are accommodating enough to
make the desired increase"
Of the Bologna mission he says:
"They had a Sunday school, and to at
tract the children prize was offered