Albuquerque evening citizen., 1906-10-17
"My Fifty Years in the Ministry y
sY rHomAs HOWARD

very Impressive. Goldsmith in his
Animated Nature" speaks of the mon
keys warming themselves by the fires
the travellers made, but the lazy
things could never build their own
fires So when we came TO New Mex
leo we found no spiritual fires burn
ing and we have been ldndling fires
in New Mexico ever since, by the help
of the Lord. Your speaker had trav-
eled thirty thousand miles in New
Mexico before the railroads came.
About three hundred and sixty thou
sand by rail | found but few Bibles
of any kind In 1870 the Illlteracy
stood at about So degrees; there were
but very few Americans in the country
and the outlook was exceedingly dis
couraging. In my first trip of four
hundred miles, four weeks travel. /
preached eleven times to sixty eight
people. You may see at a glance how
discouraging IL was at that time with
the Spanish language yet to be learn
de. Our missionary work in New
Mexico has not gone forward with
leaps and bounds as some say theirs
has, but has moved gradually. In 1870
We had 20 members; in 1880 we had
five hundred. more or less; in 1884
the work was divided into English and
Spanish, and We gave off about two
hundred American members to the
English work, and several church
buildings, and in 1890 we had about
| fifteen hundred Spanish-speaking
members; in 1900 we had about twen-
ty-two hundred and at our last confer
ence just closing the statistics show
that We have thirty-one hundred. We
have thirty-four church buildings,
twenty-nine parsonages valued at $7S-
900. Sunday school scholars 1882, and
in all this you will see we have had to
build our own fires and have had to
dig this all out of Romanism. and
when compared with any other like
mission in the world, considering the
limited missionary funds We have had
we are not ashamed to compare II
with any other mission.
Dear old Grand Army men i am
glad to see you here tonight. | have
already spoken little on army life
but | wish now to speak few words
to you about my eventful trip to Min
Aeapolis to attend the National En-
campment of the Grand Army of the
Republic. 1t was a great privilege to
march with over sixteen thunsand of
the old soldlersy Notwithstanding the
excessive heat 1t was a wonderful
privilege to see between four and five
thousand civilians in Minneapolis, fill
ing the sidewalks, front yards. doors
and windows, sometimes up to the
tenth and twelrth stories of private
and public buildings with waving
handkerchiefs, shouts and cheers over
the old soldier on his march that day
There were only three of us from New
Mexico, but as the speaker had the
honor of carrying the New Mexico
banner he felt as proud as a king.
The most interesting of it, however,
was the reunion of his old regiment,
the Twenty fifth Wisconsin Volun-
teers. where he met with about fifty
of the old soldiers of the Twenty-fifth.
Many of them had their wives
and daughters and sisters and rela-
tives and the reunion was simply won
derful. At that reunion the major of
| the Twenty-fifth was there. and we
made him chairman of the meeting.
In my address to the old comrades |
said Here sits in that chair. the Ma
jor of our noble Twenty fifth. | rode
with him in the army, hundreds and
might say, thousands of miles and
am glad to say today that he never
spoke to me an unkind word. | would
like to saythe same of Col. Rusk If he
were yet living. | wish | could say
the same of all my brethren in the
ministry. stand tonight on the sew
entyseyenth round of a long ladder.
The steps of the ladder have been on
ward and upward and from this top
most step | shall soon step upward
and like Lazarus 'h9 angels will come
and bear me away TO the better home
Then was sunS lv ne choir:
MY latest sun Is sinking fast.
My journeys almost run;
My strongest trials now are past.
My triumph is begun.
D, come angel band
Come and around me stand!
o, bear me away on your snowy
wings,
To my immortal home