The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-11-01

AAooAO III 0h>
Ing are imposing, but most impressive
is that of the Northern Methodist
Episcopal Mission, concededly the
finest In China. In addition to the
large buildings Of the boys school
or Picking University" as it il
called-and of the girls school, there
are the residences of the missionaries
and the large church. The entire
grounds are said to be larger than
any of the extensive legation grounds,
on which are housed not only minis.
tiers and attaches, but a detachment Of
legation guards al we'll. Their i'm.
pressiveness is heightened by the
park-like arrangement of the attrac
tive gray-stone homes of the mission
aries.
This is the most criticised mission
compound in China. l have heard
legationers business men, travelling
and other missionaries speak of it in
terms other than praise. Most Of
these critics, it is fair to add, do not
know that all except two of the mis-.
sionary families living In these attrac.
tive homes have incomes Independent
Of their salaries.
The compound was enlarged .ia.me.,
diately after the Boxer outbfvak,
when the Chinese were in a stats Of
terror and poverty. The ground vas
bought at what one of the Methodist
missionaries characterized as good
Chinese prices;" the charge fl4
quently made that the property was
looted" is unfounded. Nevertheless
the opinion seems to prevail among
many Chinese and foreigners that an
unwise advantage was taken of pc
culiar conditions and that the Methos~
list church will n day rue it's great
bargain" for the Chinese never for.
get. The buildings were erected with
indemnity money.
A Methodist Scandal.
In connection With the securing Of
the land for this compound occurs the
name o. the mai; whose personal
initiative put through the transaction,
the senior member of the Methodist
Mission. Concerning him I have heard
repeatedly the charge that he has
served as the representative of
corporations seeking mining and rail-
road concessions at Picking, using his
influence as an eminent and honored
missionary to secure privilege from
the government for the companies en-
ploying him.
Sizing Up the Denominations.
Reverting to the splendid equipment
of the Methodist mission at Pekine.
it has been noteworthy that every.
where l have gone I have found the
Methodist stations possessing the best
plants. Their work and their workers
are better cared for than those Of any
other mission, so far as 1 have Oh
served. Other missionaries have re-
peatedly spoken in admiration and
praise Of this; personally, l think that
II great personality stationed in a
city or a village is better than a fine
institution, but most missionaries
seem to think otherwise. It has also
been pointed out to me that, while the
Methodists have by no means fur.
nished the proportion of great men
to China that have come from the
ranks of the Congregationalists, the
Presbyterians and the British socie-
ties, they have yet maintained a high
average of general fitness and eff
cheney. AS one Presbyterian mission
airy said to me-: Have you noticed
that you almost never see a Method
list missionary of whom you would
say, because of Incompetence: He
should go homer I do not recall ono
such in all China" Nor do l.
In contrast with the Meth:.Sessa,
the P7esbyterians often under-u.sa
and under-equip their missions. They
seem to be spread out too thin. Good
management would seem to advise
fewer stations and stronger. For in
stance, the Presbyterian hospital at
Peking is closed, because it was made
dependent upon. one man, and when
he fell sick, the. work stopped. Sim
ilarly, the Presbyterian seminary
which went into the union Of North
China educational institutions must
have made the Presbyterian workers
blush for the ~inadequacy of their con
tribution to this great enterprise. One
man, D. Courtenay H. Fem, who still
wins praise for the display of the
same qualities which earned him fame
as "the miller of the Picking SIEGE" ia
bearing two mems load in trying to
make up for the shortcomings of his
denomination in the matter of the
seminary.
Copyright. 1907. by Joseph B. Bowles.)
The Art Of Happiness.