The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-04-13
A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR.


sonville Saturday afternoon to visit
relatives and preached in one of the
churches in that city Sunday.
DR.. Allen is delegate to the gen.
eral conference of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, South from China and as
he expects this to be his last visit to
the country of his nativity he came
here several weeks in advance of the
meeting of the general conference in
order to visit as many Of his relatives
as possible before the meeting of that
body. He spent several days at Weirs-
dale, the guest of his brother-in-law,
Mr.. F. f. Haskell, who by the way, is
| the uncle of President Roosevelts
first wife and when the President
heard that DIR. Allen was coming to
America, he gave him a pressing invi-
| tation to visit him at Washington for
the purpose of talking over Chinese
affairs
Perhaps more than any other man,
not native, DR.. Allen is conversant
with the conditions OF things in China.
He went there with his young wife in
| 1858 and has been active in the affairs
of that country ever since. He show
ed so much efficiency in mastering the
language and was so influential in the
paper that he edited and the books
that he wrote that ne was invited by
the officials to translate certain works
for the government and became one of
the editors of the Gazette, one of the
official papers of the government.
DR.. Allen translated 80 volumes into
the Chinese language, covering null
tiplicity of subjects. and these books
had a wonderful influence in the new
thought, which is now dominating the
present generation of China.
Besides these works of translation
DR.. Allen is the author of 35 books,
which are printed in the Chinese Ian
guage and they have also been re-
printed in japanese and other Ian
guages.
One of these works is entitled, ''Wo-
man in all Lands" and shows the Chi
nese women in contrast with the wo-
men of the balance OF the world and
has produced a wonderful influence on
the new thought movement that has
taken possession of thai people with
but little less force than the people
of Japan.
DR.. Allen presented a copy of this
work which is in u volumes with pro-
fuse illustrations, to the Dowager En-
press Of China, the Emperor of Japan
and the Emperor Of Corea and in
acknowledgment of the same received
very fattering and conspicuous marks
of esteem.
In illustration of how rapidly the
twentieth century ideas are being
adopted by the Chinese, DR.. Allen says
that a Chinese girl who was educated in
the school that he established. was re-
| quired to write two graduating essays.
one in Chinese and one in English
The subject she selected for her Chi
nese essay was the following: 'Liber-
ty, Equality and Fraternity are the
the one in English was sim
liar to it, DR.. Allen has type writ
ten copies of these essays and has
submitted them to a number of educa-
tors in this country and the opinion
is general that they would do credit to
graduate of Yale or Harvard.
To show how ingenious the Chinese
people are he says he purchased a Meh-
lie press from this country and the man
The press manufacturers sent out
there to set it up turned up in an in
toxicated condition and finally disap-
peared altogether. The native Chin
csc, who are remarkable for their pa
thence and perseverance, determined
not to be outdone, studied the pictures
and blue prints of the press very thor
oughly and though never before hav-
ing seen such a piece of machinery, in
two or three days had the press in
operation.
The greatest stumbling block in the
way of the Chinese, taking hold of
modern ideas is their ancestral wor-
ship. There the government Of the
household is patriarchal and it mat
ters not how many children are mar
ried they live in the one home and
neither the wives nor husbands have
a say-so in it's domestic affairs. This
is a deep rooted institution and OF
course conflicts with the Christian
idea that "the husband must cleave
unto the wife and the wife unto the
husband" and offers the greatest i'm
pediment to the efforts of Christian
missionaries.
DR.. Allen is a most interesting and
persuasive talker and were it not for