Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-21
ROOSEVELT AT THE ASSEMBLY
President Addresses Presbytsrisns on Gen.
tennial Of Home Missions.
GREETED WITH TREMENDOUS OVATION
Commends the work of the Men and
Women Engaged in Field of Enc
deavOr and Rebukes the
Idle Critics.

NEW YORK, May 2O.-Carnegie hall was |
crowded to the doors this evening with an |
audience eager to hear the address OF
President Roosevelt in the interests Of
Presbyterian home missions, the occasion |
marking the close OF the centennial cele- |
bration. Many of the audience remembered |
that Presidents Cleveland and Harrison |
had made addresses from the same plat
form on the same subject.
In the parquet sat the commissioners Of
the general assembly with as many OF
their friends as could be crowded in. The |
two tiers of boxes were filled with men |
and women who are leaders in metropoli- |
tan Presbyterianism and others interested |
in the meeting. There were about 400 men |
and women on the platform. There was not |
vacant seat, not a bit of standing room
left in the entire auditorium. Hundreds |
were turned away.
When President Roosevelt took his seat
on the platform he received a great ova-
tion. When the applause died away Mr..
Roosevelt took his seat between the Rev.
DR.. Van Dyke and the Rev. d. Stuart
Dodge, d. D. who was presiding
choir Of 125 voices from the different
Presbyterian churches sang the hymn "Ye
Servants of God Your Master Proclaims'
and the president sang with them.
Grateful for Christian Nation.
EVERY true American" said DR.. Dodge
In his opening remarks, "is grateful that
his country was founded by men and women
who feared God and today this nation is
| receiving its chief strength and support
| from God-fearing men and women. On this
occasion our centennial celebration Of our
home mission, IT is our chief reason to keep
on rejoicing that our church still supplies
such men and women to keep up the good
| work"
great wave of applause greeted the
| statement, as also DR.. Dodge's review OF
| the bright prospects Of the church, which
| he said SIS about to receive a creed that
plain people can understand and accept"
In introducing President Roosevelt DR..
| Dodge said no man knew better than the
president of the Importance to the nation
of the work OF home missions.
| When President Roosevelt stepped to
the front and began: "Mr chairman" he
was interrupted by the fashlight OF a pho
tographer. As the smoke blew across the
stage he laughed and said: There goes
| the mystery now," referring to the mys-
| terry of the creed.
President ROOseveIts Address.
The president said
| 1t is a pleasure on behalf of the people
/ of the United States to bid you welcome
| on this Tooth anniversary of the beginning
| of rganized home missionary work by the
dd
| work is a part Of home missionary work.
Every earnest and jealous believer, every
man or woman who is a doer of the word
sionary sion y' in his or her held Of labor mis-
thousand-fold more than precept, by prac-
| tice. Every such believer eXerts influence
but Infinitely more through the ceaseless,
yet well-nigh unseen pressures, all the
stronger when it's exercise is unconscious,
| neighborliness.
But tonight we celebrate 100 years of mis-
| sionary work done not incidentally, but
with set purposes, 100 years OF earnest ef-
| fort to spread abroad the gospel to lay
deep the moral foundation upon which our
| national greatness must rest. The century
| that has closed has seen the conquest OF
this continent by our people; To conquer
| work Is rough in the doing, though II may
seem smooth enough to those who look
afar. Thoroughness is unavoidably part
| of the doing of the deed. We need display
at ease in their own homes, delight to ex-
| ercise a quarrelsome and censorous part
of Judgment upon their brethren who.
| strong mems work as they bring the light
of civilization into the worlds dark places
The criticism of those who live softly,
remote from the strife, is of little value
| but IL would be difficult to oVeresttmate
the value OF the missionary work Of those
who go out to share the hardship and
myriad my1ri forms s of brntality. II is such
missionary work which prevents the pio-
neers from sinking perilously near the
level of the savagery against which they
continent would have had little but an
| animal side; without 1t the pioneers fierce
and rude virtues and someer faults would
and loving aspiration; without 1t the hte
of this country would have been life of
| inconceivably hard and barren material,
| ism Because of II, deep beneath and
through the national character, there runs
| that power of firm adherence to lofty
ideal upon which the safety of the ma
tion will ultimately depend.
Honor. thrice honor to those who. for
three generations. during the period of
this peoples great expansion, have seen
that force of the living truth expanded
burden and heat of the day; they toiled
| obscurely and died unknown, that we
might me into glorious nf Gr hSeTsse be L
faith and their work by the way we man
fully carry toward completion what under
them was so well begun
Second Day of the work.
This was the second Of the days devoted
by the assembly to the celebration of the
centennial Of home missions. Before the
subject of missions was taken up letter
was read from the general conference Of the
Methodist Episcopal church. now in ses-
sion, asking when its commissioners could
be received to bring greeting to the Pres
byterian governing body. The Methodist
commissioners are Rev. DR.. ]. NJ. Buckley,
editor of the Christian Advocate, and AL
bert ]. Beveridge. United States senator
from Indiana. II was agreed to receive the
Methodist delegates on Saturday morning.
The standing committee on home missions
recommended that each church, wherever
possible, undertake the support of at least
one missionary. A further recommended
tion was made to the effect that the Sabbath
schools be requested to take up a special
collection for the work OF the Woman's
Home Mission board, If possible on the
Sabbath nearest Thanksgiving day, 1902.
Board is Upheld.
The committee on bills and overtures
brought in a resolution. which was adopted
referring back to the Board OF Education
the appeal Of William T. Ellis. the former
editor Of a Sabbath school organ Of the
Presbyterian church. The Rev. Mr.. Ellis
some time ago against the wish of the
Board OF Education OF the Presbyterian
, church, with which he was connected read
l. hafora a 0afherinV Of Preshvfar-