The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-02-07

community. But a sunday ScnOOl IOr the
chiidren?s Yes, funds are nearly always
obtained from the residents until the
school building is ereeted.s. ss-esss-1-s.
The germ thus sown grows nightly.
The Sunday school fuorishes and has its
effect upon the people. Young and old
attend it. Some of the latter teach, 9TH
ers listen. refusing 10 relinquish their
rights as scholor until they totter TO
! their grave at threescore and ten The
church organization follows as naturally
: as the fruit follows the bud and flower.
Then comes a regular or itinerant pastor.
and the Sunday school becomes feeder
to the church rather than a leader
In the great growing west and south
this miracle OF growth and development
is being repeated every six months From
those regions come at each triennial cell
ebration gains in membership that are
astounding. With crude implements for
work the organizers hammer from their
apparently unpromising material results
that have never before been achieved in
the world since the days of Paul.
The great gains in this army of children
come from the west and newer portions
of the country, even including Canada and
the British provinces. but in the east the
reports have not always ben so encour-
aging. Several of the eastern states at
the last triennial convention showed no
gains whatever, while several OF the
western states lined up each with over
10000 new pupils and teachers to their
credit. Inc problems are dinerent-very
diqerent In the great eastern cities the
problem is how to retain the ranks IN
broken. From Europe we are receiving
the dregs of population, adults and chill
dren, who have scarcely any religious
education They cwarm in our congested
tenement district by the hundreds of
thousands.
AGGRESSIVE WORK.
The church does not get hold Of them,
the mission too frequently fails. but the
Sunday school has entered the field with
its accustomed aggressiveness. 1t is seek
ing to break through the solid rangs of
an unthinkng careless, ignorant foreign
population The hope of the church in the
large cities is in the Sunday school That
i invading rather than abandoning the
tenement regions That is the forward
movement in Sunday school work in the
great Eastern cities.
The methods differ from those followed
in any other quarter of the globs. Many
cannot speak the language of the country
they have come to live in. and they know
nothing Of our institutions and customs.
But the Sunday school workers know no
language, no national idiosyncrasies. no
clannsh hibotry. Schools are organized
with only three, scholars in some back
room of a tenement-some conducted in
German. some in French. other in Italian.
Russian. Chinese, and all imaginable
languages of the globs. Not even the
tower of Babel could present more diver
sity of human tongues than these collec-
tive Sunday schools.
From them come the churches-nOt the
mission-of the future. The tenement
dwelIers own and organize the schools,
and they come to two and support the
churches which grow from them. There
is no charity in this, no dependence upon
uptown wealthy church organizations.
The spirit OF freedom and independence
stimulates true growth of Christian char
ity and ambition. No other method of
organizing religious movements in the
fenements and slums has ever been so
successful. Give the children a chance,
is the watchword And what parent
would deny them?
But the forward movement of the Sun
day schools is more inclusive than the
westward development of the isolated re-
gions or the recreation of the densely
racked tenement districts. 1t has adopted
methods for stimulating growth and in
terest among all classes, and means are
employed to retain within the rang those
who have been trained youthful sol
diers The Sunday school must be inter
esting and attractive in its work. There
is the ignorant and unlettered scholar, the
pampered educated child of'fortune, the
primary and the advanced student. All
these must be reached and their interest
retained.
TEN MILLION LEAVES.
Ten million lesson leaves are quarterly
distributed among the scholars twenty
million colored and instructive text cards
and nearly twenty-five million weekly and
monthly papers of choice reading matter
which pertains more or less directly TO the
lessons The Sunday schools annually alb
sorb a good percentage Of the Bibles
printed, probably five million year going
to the scholars directly or as presents
from teachers.
Sunday school libraries are established
everywhere The total number of volumes
in the hundred and fifty odd thousand
schools probably approximate close TO fiji
teen million, allowing one hundred to a
school The library books represent a
hugs educational institution and their
publication supports enormous plants The
special form of literature called into eX-
istence by these Sunday school libraries
is steadily improving and the children are
being provided each year with superior
advantages in reading.
Institutes and conventions for teachers
are held annually and sometimes quarter
Iy.
In Europe moro Sunday school teachers
are paid for their services than I'm this
country. but the tendency is growing here
TO secure better teachers by paying sal
aries Movements are on foot now To cs-
Ia blish teachers Institutes. where expert
enced and we'll trained Sunday shcool
teachers can he drilled so they will be
ready TO accept responsible positions ID
Sunday schools for nominal wages. Al
ready the different denominations have
their paid Sunday school organizers in the
field establishing new schools and Te-
creating old ones that have been neglect
ed Better results have been secured
from these workers than from colunteers
and il is reasonable 10 suppose that the
paid teacher and superintendent viii like
wise prove more efficient
Musical festivals. lectures and special
drills in various kinds Of entertainments
will CONS. in for important emphasis in
the future plans Of the present forward
noevment OF the sunday schools For IN