New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-06-17
GOOD WORK Of MISSIONS.
Roosevelt Says World CoE...,,r-
ence Will Be Productive.
LETTER READ TO COUNCIL
Report Shows Great Progress in
Christian Work in Many
Darkened Lands.

Edinburgh. Scotland. June IA letter
from Theodore Roosevelt. expressing sym
pathy with the movement and regret at his
inability to be present. was read at to-day's
session of the World Missionary Confer
ence The communication, which was adj
dressed To Silas McBee. an American dele
gate and editor of The Churchman."
aroused much enthusiasm. The former
President wrote:
London, May Is, 1910.
II Is a matter of real and profound regret
to me that l am imperatively called away
10 America. so that am unable to be pres
ference. I regret 1t the more as II had
been able to De present It would have been
s as a delegate from the Dutch Reformed
Nothing like your proposed conference
has ever hitherto taken place. From many
nations and from many churches your dele
gates gather on this great occasion TO mi
tate a movement which l not only nope
but believe will be fraught with farreach-
ries Christians OF every name come to;
gether without renouncing their several
convictions or sacrificing their several prln-
ciples. TO confer as TO what common acton
may be taken in order TO make their com
mon Christianity not only known 20 put
vital force among the two-thirds OF ine
human race TO whom as yet 1t is hardiy
even name. Surely every man impued,
as every man should be. with the ethical
teachings or GnrtStiaQity must FeJoltS IA
such an effort to combine the strength OF
all the churches in the endeavor to Chr1s-
tianize humanity and to Christianize II not
merely In name but in very fact
Your conference represents the practical
effort to apply the teachings of the Gospei
to what the Epistle OF Jude calls the COM
mon salvation" An infinite amount OF
work remains TO be done before we can re-
gard ourselves as being even within meas
ns a, Of nome 1ne IN m dark
which too often closely surround the prisht
est centres Of light, and an Infinite aInouiC
abroad in those dark places OF the sartn
where biackness is as yet unreneNed oS
When such is the high purpose TO which
nently fitting that your invitation shoul6
have gone to all Christian churches in all
sra and am ns spee tha
In missionary work, above all other KINDS
of Christian work. it is imperative 70 re-
member that q divided Christendom can
only inperfeetly bear witness TO the essen
tial unity of Christianity: l beneve ma ma
without compromise OF oelief, wlthouu loss
of the positive good contained in the reeoe-
milton of Universities Of gifts and dInefences
of administration, the Christian churcnes
may yet find way TO cordlal co-operaasioii
and friendship as regards the great undsr-
lying essentials upon which. as a founda-
ton all Christian churches are built. ms
is one of the lessons which has been par
ticularIy impressed upon me by what L
have seen OF Christian work in Africa, Doth
In heather and Mahometan lands
tan brotherhood for such broad CHRISTIAN
work will tend not to do away with dlf-
fsrsnces Of doctTneb s ens 70 on tbose d
ferences OF doctrine. 1t is written IN InS
Scriptures that He that doeth my VIII
shall know OF the doctrine, but the reverse
of this proposition cannot be found in Holy
Writ Emphasis is TO be put upon ooIns
the will; If only we can make up oGi
minds TO work together with earnest Sin-
ceritv for the common good, we shall md
that doctrinal differences in no way inter
fere with our doing this work. sin.
Wishing you all success. L am very SIN
oefei' '''i THE 0DORE ROOSEVELT.
Progress of Christian missionary work
in many countries from small beginnings
to its present state of wide Development
was described to the conference to-day py
the commission on THE Church III the
Mission Field" The report. which was pre-
scented by the Rev. DR.. j. Campbell Gibson
of tho foraipn mission committee of the
English Presbyterian Church. who is cnalr-
man of the commission, says In part;
II is easy to recall the time when the
work of foreign missions was c0mihoh,S
regarded by Christian people as .he SER
of great masses of darkness and supersu-
ton. from which very little could pe
oS Nv, l bapni,v. the Church at home sees
further into the true state Of the matter
W., have now to think OF the Church III
the mission field not as a py-pT1uuC -,,o "
efficient element in the CHRISTIAN propa-
gands The words of Christian people;
snoken to their own countrymen IN all
lands are the most efficient. as Wen as
the most extensive. preaching OF tue
GospeI. and their lives are eVeryw mere
the most conspicuous and conclusive eNi-
dence of its truth - ALA
In many of the greater mission heids
tht. Christian people are now recognizes sa
as a definite community whose soclai lils
ana ideals, as well as their personal IAN
ami character are already becoming
POWERFUL element in the reshapins OF ma
tional life. -.,,,.,, x,,. ,a-
port presents itself no longer as an IN
spirinc but distant ideal We see II now
an actual Church in being, strongly rooted
and fruitful in many lands.
One by one the report taxes up the
countries of the world and describes the
nrogress which has been made in each
It tells of the Fiji Islanders, who. not
MANY wears ago ignorant of Christianity,
are strongly under the influence of the
Church; of the thousands of Christians
among the aborigtnes OF Australia. the
converts from the wild and savage inhabi-
tants of New Guinea. the hundreds of thou
sands in Iapan who are Christian worship
ners of the Church in Manchuria, still
nersistins in its work despite the persecu-
ton TO which it has been subjected repeat
edly and of the converts in various coun-
tries on the continent of Asia and in the
regions of Africa which are in the sphere
of Christendom. The countries yet almost
untouched by mission workers are also
alluded to- such as Mongolia, Tibet, Tur-
kestan, Afghanistan, Arabia and large por-
tons OF Africa