The Washington herald., 1911-08-26
THE TREND OF THINGS
DIR. VAN DYKE OF PRINCETON
ISSUES A CLARION CALL
TO THE, CHURCHES

The Rev. DR. Henry Van Dyke, Of
Princeton Seminary, former pastor OF
Brick Presbyterian Church. New York.
general assembly moderator and poet
and author, calls out to the churches Of
America to act upon the so-called peace
treaties. He appeals to organizations
everywhere, Protestant and Catholic
small as well as big, to adopt strong
resolutions, and to send them to Presi-
dent Taft and to the United States
Senate The well-known leader says:
The treaties pending in the Senate be-
tween the United States and Great Brit
ain and the United States and France
represent in concrete form, and on
vast scale. the idea for which all the
churches, Catholic and Protestant, claim
to stand-the idea of a world peace
founded on righteousness and equity; the
recognition of right as above might; the
appeal to the moral order as the clearest
expression of the will of God The in
terest of the churches in the confirmation
and success of these treaties ought to
be intense, practical. and efficient. The
Christian sentiment Of the United States
is really on trial in this matter. If the
churches are silent now, if they do not
make their influence felt in favor Of
arbitration, they will condemn them
SEW ), ana Il6 "OTlO Will TlSnlly Sdy
that modern Christianity is too 'indolent
or too impotent to count for much in
modern life
Giving voice to his own convictions the
Rev. DR.. Van Dyke says:
THE attitude of the Christian churches
of America in this question should not
be left open to any doubt. 1t should be
known 10 all men, and especially to our
legislators, that the church, however di-
gidaR nninfS united
for the peace of the world, and desires
10 see the disputes and differences Of
nations settled by appeal, not to war
with the bloody sword but to justice
with the even scales She sees in these
treaties the only practicable path to this
end, and therefore would regard their
rejection mutilation as a great
calamity.
If the church feels them, and I be-
leve she does, her opportunity has
come
Without exception, as is believed, legts-
Iative bodies of all churches meeting
since these treaties were before the pub
lie adopted strong resolutions m their
favor. Thousands of smaller meetings
have done the same. 1t is again an
nounced that Immediately the vacation
season has ended there will be common
action, putting on record expressions of
all, and the offcial transmission Of these
expressions to the political authorities.
Christian leaders are writing from their
vacation retreats that with eagerness
they will take up the propaganda, and
make il clear where Christian people
stand. The expressions come quite as
general from Catholics as from Prot
eStants
Forty New Summer Conferences.
Reports from usmmer conferences,
Bible. Missionary, Catholic, and Protest
ant. are to the effect that attendance has
just about equaled last year, with growths
in few directions. Indications are, il
is said. that people who have attended
have had rather more money to give
than in some years recently, and
have been much more willing to pledge
personal work than formerly. This latter
readiness is, however, almost wholly on
the part of women, there being relatively
little change reported from the men.
Social service has been given unus-
uai prominence in summer conference
programmes this year, and in few in
stances conferences wholly given up to
that subject have been held. Mortified,
the well-known conference established
by the elder Moody, and successfully
kept alive by mis- son and nephew, has
had the most successful year in its his
self was alive not excepted. Two new
buildings are under construction, one for
Mount Hermon and one for the semi !
nary-that is, one for boys and one for |
girls-and attendance at all conferences |
save one has broken all records.
At Silver Bay, on Lake George, num- |
bers in the missionary conferences have |
just held their own, some having fallen |
behind previous years. Reports are to |
the effect that delegations from religious
bodies have been larger, and the con-
ferences more generally representative.
At Chatauqua, the parent one in Western
New York, few of the famous speakers
have disappointed, and one of the most
successful seasons ever held is just clos
ing. The Catholic Summer School on
Lake Champlain mas enjoyed the largest
numbers at its classes and in its rec
reations of any year since its founding
A very great number of new small |
summer conferences have sprung up.
These have been arranged in behalf Of
missions, social service, and Sunday
school work, but some Of the new ones
have been started to foster and further
the interests Of organizations. Clergy,
laymen, women, even young girls, have
attempted small summer meetings, US
ually with success. Lake properties West
and East are advancing in values be-
cause of the new demand. Fully forty
new centers are the record for the year
1911.
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