The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-09

owns and work in the central Baptist
missions and college at Rangoon. Ran
COON is the modern capital or Burman,
to which the, head of the government
was transferred from Mandalay, the an
cient capital. when the British became
masters of Burmah in 1888. 1t lies at the
mouth of the lrrawaddy river Pynmana
lies between RangOon and Mandalay up
on the Sittang river, the second river
of the country. 1t is well located to
those who remember Kipling's lines in
The Road to Mandalay.'
AT the latter location and upon other
trips I came in contact with the
hill tribes, who have been easier
to convert than the Buddhist Bur-
man. on account of the peculiarites of
the religion The hill tribes from whom
Mr.. Kipling drew his Burmese charac-
tiers. are animists' spirit worshippers
Their religion is as simple as and some
what similar to that of the average
American Indian tribe. They have a
great spirit a god. and a tradition, not
greatly different from the Hebrew, of
the fall of man. He has sinned against
great spirit. OF the sixty thousand
Baptist Christians, fOur-fifths have come
from the hill tribes. whom we have not
only converted to our religion, but whose
ways of living we have been able great
~ to improve as we also advanced them
along spiritual lines
Many Burmese Baptisms.
The Burmese field has been more sue
cessfuily worked by the Baptists of the
United States than by any other religious
organization There are more Burmese
Baptists than of all other Christian re-
ligiOns combined. including the Catholics.
Of late years the American MethOdists
have been going into BuTmah. They have
done a wonderful work. The spirit OF CO.
operation between them and we Baptists
is perfect and highly gratifying. Wher-
ever possible the two sects work in COM
mon, or at least in cooperation. Nowhere
has there been such wonderful results
The Baptists have in Burmah 625
churches.
There are 100000 people in Burmah.
and from its location it is one of the most
important territories strategically in the
far east. 1t is rapidly waking up under
efficient British administration. Manda-
lay. the old capital, has 10000 people.
While not modernized to any great ex
tent, it is a beautiful old city. An Ameri-
can street railway is being put in. In
Rangoon The concession is to a British
company. but they are using American
rails Rangoon has go. 600 people
The policy OF the present British ad-
ministratiOn toward the American mis-
sionaries is somewhat difficult to define
Sir Thirkle White has just come to Ran
COON to succeed Sir Hugh Barnes, who
has gone to London to become under sec
rotary for the colonies. Sir Frederick
fryer, who was governor during most Of
my stay in Burmah. was great friend of
the American missionaries.
Purpose of the British.
THE British government acquired Bur-
nah TO put itself next to that portion OF
South China which it regards as its
sphere of influence To that end it has
thoroughly garrisoned the country and
built railroads across il to connect event
ually, with the Han Kow-Shanghai rail-
road which will lead from India and
Burmah into the heart of South-central
China and effectually shut off the French
commercial exploitation beyond Tonkng.
One OF these roads has acquired promf-
nence in America because of the Gortek
viaduct, American built, which is one of
the great engineering feats of its kind in
the world. In order to conceal their prof.
ects for connection of the Burmese road
with the Chinese private English venture
from Hainan south. the Burmese rail-
road has been transferred officially to the
but behind them is of course
the English government. They use Amer
lean locomotives upon some portions of
this road, although the English are trying
to get their own make to replace them.
American rails are used exclusively The
road is meter gauge, although those of
British India are standard"
OF the Morrison conference at Shanghai
last spring Mr.. Sharpe said:
The Morrison centenary marks an
epOch>in the Chinese situation and if ever
there comes to be a national Chinese
church it will be to that conference at
Shanghai that it must turn to find its