The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-04-10

progress that missionary work has made.
In corea, we have had many obstacles
| to contend with. The conspiracy case in
which we have all been SO interested.
which had to do with Japans troubles
With the Coreans when a hundred or
more Presbyterian and many Methodist
natives were arrested and jailed, has
been world famous. Baron Yum, who was
| at the head of the Anglo Corean school,
and who by the way was educated al
Vanderbilt university in Nashville and
| oxford, Ga, was one of the most PROM
| inent of those who were arrested This
particular case. while 1t may retard our
work temporarily will not interfere ser-
ously with us. We have had to conform
in every way to the Japanese customs in
Corea, so far as school buildings equip
ment and efficiency of teachers is CON
cerned. / can recall the time in Corea
that our churches were so filled that the
| congregations had to worship in sections.
In the kindergarten, the children are
compelled TO learn the Japanese language,
and are not allowed to speak their own
language"
(which is very characteristic of the
autocratic nature of the Japs," | sug-
gested
THE Japanese as a nation are not as
clever or as interesting as the Chinese
said Mrs. Cobb. "The Chinese are so
intelligent and so honest. or course there
are exceptions to this rule, but as a ma
tion they are noted for their honesty our
missionaries. however. never Fail in their
work, it matters not what the conditions.
Out in Mexico. for instance, during all
the stormy times that have been lately
experienced there. our schools remained
open with the exception of two, which
were in operation until the American con-
sui advised a discontinuance. Some OF
our missionaries did not take off their
clothes for eight or 10 days at a time,
and the only sleep they had was on a
mattress thrown down on the floor and
with their clothes on they slept that way
And your activities in Afrca-tell me,
when you expect to begin9'' asked
I'VE hope In December said Mrs. Cobb.
Already we have arranged for a doctor.
a teacher and a constructor to go into
the Congo region, and begin. They, with
their wives. will study in England and
Belgium, before they go actively to work.
They must acquire the French language
to begin With as that is the court lam
guage, as itJwere. among the government
officials there. We are starting on si5,-
GOO with this work, the women giving
5000 of that amount
do you find that women of the church
have progressed very much in the cause
of missions?" / asked.
"Only one-tenth of the women in the
church are interested in missions at ALL"
said Mrs. Cobb. "The half million dol
lars that we contribuIe is made up by
these women. l will say this: that the
women are more intelligently interested
than they have ever been before In mis-
sions. because they know more about the
work. We always take more interest In
things we know most about and informa-
ton is inspiration. Just as we have had
recently a beautiful endowment made in
Cuba by native Cuban. Signor rosca.
The man was teacher in the public
schools of Matanzas and while he had
always been interested in our missionary
work. we never knew until his death. how
much interested he really was. He made
bequest of his 'quinta'-his residence and
his grounds-and asked that it be used
In the. cause of missionsFt