New-York tribune., 1908-05-23
EVANGELISM URGED
Keynote of addresses at Pres6y
terian General assembly.

Kansas City Mo. May 22-"Evangeiism Is the
spirit of the church-evangelism that the world
may won for Christ" was the keynote OF the
speeches delivered by the ministers at the Generaf
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church In the United
States of America to-day.
The speeches followed the report Of the committee
on evangelistic work. After the report sub
mitted by the Rev. ]. Wilbur Chapman, of Phila-
delphia the Rev. DIR. j. c. Calhoun, of Phila-
delphia. who is in charge of the evangeliste work
of the Cumberland branch of the Church. made an
eloquent plea for evangelism He said the first
business of the Christian was to be an evangelist.
and that this was also the hrst duty of every
minister. He urged upon the assembly the work
which could be accomplished by the organization
eff salvation bands among the Church members
Let each member of the Church. he said. make
one conversion during the ensuing year.
DR.. William Fl. Roberts. Of Philadelphia. said
that the Presbyterian Church was evangelistc
church, and that the work must start with the
pastors and in the homes of the Church people
He said he wanted to see the Church get clear away
from the ''isms' of the present day. and back to
the fundamentals of real evangelism In eoneiu-
sion DIR. Roberts limited that the Rev j. Wilbur
Chapman would some day lead world movement
in evangelistic work
Dr. B. P Fullerton, of st. Louis. the moderator.
delivered a strong address. urging the I3o0'
members of the Church to take up the work OF ia
dividuaI evangelism.
Dr. Chapman then gave address on the Practi-
cal work of the committee explaining what had been
accomplished. He called attention to the reforms
which have swept the country, asserting that these
results largely due to the evangestic WORK
of the churches. He said that the temperance
movement had spread rapidly over the south
that there are saloons in New YORK city
than in all the states south of the Mason and
Dixon line He said that the spirit OF evansellsfn
should not only be the work of pastors ana chufeh
members. but that it should also be instied INTO
the senninaries He said that while he was ever
ready to honor the scholar. there was danger
that scholarship would take the place Of spiritual
power.
All of the speakers paid a tribute to John H.
Converse, of Philadelphia, chairman or the COM
rittee for his great practical aid in the evanseh
cal work Mr. Converse telegraphed his regrets
because of his inability to be present and the as
sernbIy sent Its greeting in reply
The spirit of the assembly toward denefnlnationai
unity and harmony was well expressed oy LII
Mark A. Matthews OF Seattle, who said:
ct believe in denonainational organized union
believe day is not far distant when all oranehes
of the Presbyterian family will be reunited not as
national church. perhaps, but church true 10
Christ to dominate in the spiritual affairs In the
nation"
The desire to annagan1ate all Presbyterians into
one church is manifest during all the proceedlnsS
and it is believed that this general assembly VIII
represent long step forward toward the reaI@a-
ton of that idea.
In connection with the report OF the committee
on Sabbath observance. which was submitted oy
DR. Arthur j. Brown, of New York. secretary Oh
the Board of Foreign Missions. the Rev. Frederick
J. Stanley, of New York. secretary of the Amer1-
can Sabbath Union delivered an address. In wHieh
he commended the law enforcement tendencies OF
President Roosevelt. Governor Joseph W. Eolk OF
Missouri and Judge William H Wallace. or Kan
sas City and criticised the Attorney General OF the
United States Secretary Taft and Secretary Met
calf because they refused to grant petition re-
uuesting that the soldiers and sailors OF the army
and navy be forbidden to play baseball or engage
other sports Sunday
Dr. Stanley said that the law enforcement cru
SADIE which Governor Folk began in Missouri three
wears ago was directly responsible for the wave
of reform which had since spread over the entire
country. He said that President Roosevelt was
the first President since Lincoln. except General
Grant, who reiterated one of Lincolns orders, 10
issue a special order government employees TO
abstain from labor Sunday, excepting work OF
necessity or mercy
Judge William II. Wallace, Of this city was IN
trodueed as Presbyterian elder and a criminal
Judge who is the leading exponent of the enforce
nlent of Sunday laws in the United States The
audience rose as man and cheered Judge wal
lace for several minutes. He electrified the as
senabIy with ten-minute speech, IN Whlcn ne
discussed Sabbath observance. not from rehsious
point of view, but as a lawyer
The assembly adopted a resolution. which VIII
he sent to Congress. asking that law be enacted
to cononeI sIl persons engaged in interstate COM
merce to grant their employees every year hfty-two
days of rest
Thomas H CIeIand, of Chicago. submitted the
ranort of the American Tract Society DR.. Horace
G. Underwood, of Corea, in discussing the report
said that the printed word was absolutely neees-
sary as means of teaching and training the
Coreans and the people OF other lands He SAID
that America and England were the two countries
to which the Coreans must look for printed mat
ter and that the demands upon America were
now greater than upon any other country
The report of the committe on Christian work
among seamen and soldiers was presented by the
Rev Wallace Radcliffe, of Washington, who called
special attention to the apportionment Of chaplans
in the army of the United States, which, he said.
showed sixteen Roman Catholics and only seven
PreSbyterians-
Darwin r. James. of Brooklyn chosen vice
moderator of the assembly to-day.
Tonight at Convention Hall there a popu-
lar meeting in the interest of Sunday school and
young peoples work. at which chorus of five
hundred children furnished the music