The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-06-04
Ten Thousand Attend The Worlds
Sunday School Convention.

| Unprecedented for it's cosmopol
itanism, unequaled in the magni
tude of its constituency, and un'
surpassed as spectacle, the
Worlds Sixth Sunday Schoo
Convention in Washington, DC.
May 1924, marks an event in reli'
gious history.
President TAFT was not alone il
expressing amazement over the
size and character OF the Conven-
ton. He looked out over sea Of
six thousand faces on the opening
night, while outside the ConveE-
ton Hall a still larger number OF
persons congregated, unable to
enter. Nearly twenty-five hum
dred of the official delegates wore
blue badges with the legend
"North America. Some five hum
dred others wore blue badges bear
ing the names of more than fifty
different nations, as China and
South America, Turkey and Aus
tralia. In addition to these three
thousand official and representa-
tive delegates from every State
and province in the United States
and Canada and from foreign
lands, there were about seven
thousand unofficial delegates or
visitors. Sometimes three and
four simultaneous Convention
sessions were inadequate to hold
the throngs.
was spectacular Convention.
The great Mems Bible Class
Parade on the afternoon of May
20 opened the eyes of Washington
virility and masculinity of modern
religion. In order that some mem
bers of Congress might march in
the parade, as they did, and that
others might witness it, Congress
adjourned early on the day Of de-
Torrential rains i'm
preceded and followed
the parade, largely reducing the
ranks: nevertheless five thousand
men in a bannered procession a
mile long marched down Pennsyl-
vania Avenue, and were reviewed
at the Capitol by throng of ten
thousand persons.
All these marching men belong
to the Sunday School, and the
thought uppermost in the minds
of many OF the spectators who
lined the sidewalks was expressed
on one banner, "Where the men
lead the boys will follow" A
huge mass-meeting for men, with
speeches by Rev. DR..
Homer G. Stuntz and Rev. Dr.. S.
Parkes Cadman, followed the pa
rade. At the same time two big
of women delegates were
n session.
Another spectacular feature of |
he Convention was great open
air gathering on the east steps of |
he Capitol, when a multitude of |
people joined in the singing OF |
Christian hymns.
The demonstration accorded |
President and Mrs. Taft-whom
he former introduced to the cheer
ng throng as ''the real Presidentv
the nations Chief Execu.
i've greatly. He declared his be.
ief in the fundamental Importance
# religious training of the youth
# the nation through the Sunday
school.
The Convention sat with a mon
ter map of the world before it's
yes. The official button showed
he globe with red cross SUPER
thereupon. Part of each
lay was given to a "Roll Call of
Nations" The ends of the earth
anne together at Washington.
Strikingly, the note of inter-
ational peace resounded from
ession to session; the depth of
onviction upon this subject which
ossessed the delegates made the
worthy to rank among
he great peace conferences.
On the closing plight of the Con-
ention there was a tableau of
twenty-five children reproducing
ne picture which this Convention
as made famous: "The Twentieth
CENTURY Crusaders. The children
f many nations gathered under
ne Sunday-School flag. AT the
anne time delegates from many
China, India, Ja-
an, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, etc.
gathered on Thea front of the ,,
latform and all sang together to
le one tune, but each in his own
,ngue, one of the familiar Chris
an hymns that is sung the world
round.
The statistics of the Convention +