The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-02-03

rage, ana ne even thinks person
who would voice such a sentiment
"has no thought of humanity, "a
rather puritanical idea, for thou
sands of good men in this country
who give much to charity at home
draw the line on supporting several
million heather in the Orient, who,
it seems, will make any profession
or pretension, or join any church or
mission so long as they can loaf
around them and eat free grub, wear
free clothes, get free medicine and
have their every want satisfied. But
if Brother McClaren thinks it is trea-
son to humanity to "let the hea-
then rage" we will not quarrel with
him. Many people in this country,
however, have lately had their eyes
opened to the extent of this Foreign
Mission craze, or fad, and the riotous
extravagances being practised by
"our missionaries" abroad. Of course
they do some good-a great deal
of good. It does not take Colonel
DENLY, or Colonel Seward, or Colo
mel John Barrett, or Colonel Con-
ger, or all the ministers testi-
mony cited by Brother McClaren to
sent yearly across the water is not
absolutely wasted. Certainly it helps
civiliZe, educate and take care of
the helpless thousands" The mis-
sionaries surely would not misappro-
pirate the money. But while ignor-
ance, misery and distress, nakedness
and hunger stalk abroad throughout
our own land SO alarmingly, would
it not be much more patriotic, and
more charitable, to take care of our
own "helpless thousands" first and
help the heather afterward, than to
shut our eyes to the pitiable need of
our own people while we rush mon
ey, free clothes and free grub to the
Slant Eyes of Asia,-who would turn
upon the hand that feeds them at
the first opportunity? It has scarce
ly been fifty years since we sent our
first missionary to Japan, and we
have poured millions of mission
money into that country since, yet it
was all the little yellow devils"
could do year or so ago to keep
from raising big racket with us and
forcing us to battle. We had to send
a great fleet thousands Of feet across
the trackless Pacific, at cost of
$1,0O0,000 or more, to let our little
Converted" heather see the size of
our gun! It is a notorious fact that
SO per cent. of the "converts' made
by our foreign missionaries are the
low-class, lazy, ignorant, wretched
poor, who know nothing of the Bible
and can understand less, until they
hear the pans a-frying in the mission
kitchens.
Brother McC1aren quotes Sir
Bartte Frere as saying the teaching
of Christianity among the millions
of Mohammedans in India is effect
ing extraordinary changes" About
sir months ago a native Chaldean
came through Carthage soliciting
funds to bring the children of his
four brothers-Who had been massa-
cred by the Turks, he said,-to this
country to educate them. This man
in conversation with the editor of
the News, said that all the natives
who were converted by the mission
schools were the illiterate, poor
classes, and that it was impossible
to convert any intelligent, educated
Mohammedan from his religion; that
he had never heard of one being con-
verified We, therefore, believe with
Mr.. Watson, that it is the free
clothes, free medicine, free food,
ETC., that appeals to these poor peo-
pie, more than it is the religion they