The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1907-05-10
printed upon his appearance

N'o" VIC AAAooAOldi1cS are taking
of a possible visit from President
Roosevelt at the close of his term; he
will be formally invited, and an emin,
ent missionary now en- route to
America is charged with the mission
OF representing to the President the
attitude of the Japanese towards him.
For there is no man, outside of the
emperor and few war heroes, who
is so popular in this country TO-DAY.
with all classes of people, as Theo-
dore Roosevelt. Taking advantage of
this, the missionaries have circulated
widely, in Japanese, the address on
the Bible delivered at Oyster Bay, and
other religious utterances of the Presi-
dent. His letter to the interchurch
Conference on Federation in New
York was Immediately printed
by most of the Japanese dailies.
IN these ways it may fairly be said
that President Roosevelt and Mr..
Bryan are more potent influences in
the religious evolution of Japan than
many professional missionaries com.
bined.
The Japanese Press and Religion.
The use the latter make of these
men I cite as evidence of their alert
ness and observation-disclosures. Anoth-
er progressive plan which waits only
a special donation from America to
put it into immediate execution is the
use of the advertising columns of the
daily Japanese newspapers for pur-
poses of religious propaganda. Pub
fishers of leading journals have
agreed to place from one to two COL
umns a day at the disposal of the
missionaries for the insertion of
Christian teaching in popular FORM
The expense of publication for a year
in a newspaper of 10000 daily circu-
lation, including the preparation of
the material, would be less than the
salary of an ordinary preacher in
America. Only by this method, a
leading missionary assured me to-day,
can the churches hope to reach great
masses of people who will not attend
Christian churches.
Missionaries Not Grafters.
Novel ideas in church work found
to be common in Japan. l heard con-
siderable here about the "P. and r.
Building association" which inquiry
showed is not a thrifty scheme for
laying up money for rainy day, as
it is on the other side of the Pacific,
but missionary enterprise by mis-
sionaries. Subscribers, chiefly men,
bers of the missions, pay five dollars
year for each share; then, whenever
a native congregation needs help in
putting up church building, it ap-
plies to the building association,
which advances sum equal to not
more than one-third of the total cost
of the structure. For each grant so
made every shareholder is assessed
one dollar, the aggregate assessment
for a year being limited to five dol
lars. In return the shareholder gets
the privilege of paying another ten
dollars the next year!
Considering the charge that the
missionaries are "grafters," l am in
terested to find many evidences like
this of the gifts by missionaries to
their own work. I have met at least
one wealthy man who supports him.
self and contributes to his mission
besides. Another prominent mission
airy is maintained, and the expenses
of his work are paid by his brother,
a well-known American manufacturer.
Facing the Facts.
Most of the missionaries here are
Americans and Canadians, and it is
gratifying to find that they seem still
to retain their level-headedness. They
are not fanatics. Their attitude is
one of sober confronting of "the
things as they are" They suffer no
delusions concerning their work or
concerning the Japanese. To cite an
Illustration: The day Of my arrival,
a young Ohioan (the persistence of
American provincialisms and dialects
over here, even among men who
speak Japanese like natives, is inter-
esting to an observer), a total strang-
er, helped me out of a linguistic snarl
at the post Office. Then he crossed
the street with me and smilingly,
since you must always bargain with
smile in this polite land, helped
me make purchase Is per cent.
cheaper than the natives asking
price. The duplicity and guilefulness
of the Japanese tradesman are an
T. ~
while intensely loyal to the Japanese,
are not blind to certain graver ma
tional shortcomings. The varied diff
flculties which beset their own work
are frankly recognized; not all mis-
sionary meetings hear reports as tenn
perate and discriminating as arc
made by the workers here.