Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-12-19
LAY MISSIONARY
| MEETINGS CLOSE
Movement Conducting the
Conference in Ottumwa
Completes Work
lFINAL SERVICE IN
/ WILLARD CHURCH
Gatherings on South Side
Side Are Addressed BY
Richards and Clapp

The final addresses Of DR.. Erwin III,
Richards and Wilbur l.. Clapp at the
Willard street M. Il. church. were lis.
tened to by an appreciative audience
Thursday evening The missionary
conference begun Tuesday was brought
to close. Owing to the illness OF
Professor Brooks. who has been presid.
ing at the meetings, Charles Il. DUN.
widdie was called upon to preside as
chairman. After short song service,
Rev. e. M. Jeffers OF the South Side
Baptist church offered prayer. Max
ing a few Introductory remarks, Mr..
Dunwiddie said that the speakers need.
ed no introduction and DR.. Richards
addressed the audience on the people
and customs of Africa. He told Of the
children in the "land without bible.
and Of the differences in country
where Christianity Is present. He laid
the blame for the backwardness OF
China, India, Africa and other coun.
tries to the fact that they did not have
the bible, and asked the audience to
show a country without the book, that
could cope with Christianized nation.
He said that the Chinese had first In
vented gun powder, the compass, the
printing press and other machinery
hundreds of years before other peoples
and showed that while China has one
fourth Of the population Of the globe.
it does not rank high with other ma
tioIs, and he gave as reason, that
John Chinaman does not believe the
bible
He next described the savage Gus.
toms ~of the natives OF the dark con.
firnrf NJ al Int NIT fO1eu tnPf A. n
their treatment OF supposed witches.
In that land. according to DR.. Rich,
ards, women are regarded as slaves ia
be bought and sold by their savage
masters. They are not allowed to eat
at the meals with the men and are used
merely as beasts Of burden. DR.. Rich.
ards said that the natives Of Africa
would eat anything and never worried
as to how their next meal was to come.
If they found game one day, they spit.
ted 1T upon stick and roasting 1t
slightly, ate it all at one sitting and did
without the next day IL they found no
more game. He closed his address
and Wilbur Clapp spoke.
Mr.. Clapp addressed the people on
Efficiency, a real need in local and
world kingdom work, and how to meet
it." To bring out his points he said
that only one-third of the church mem.
bers we're interested in any way in
missions. That the cure for this was
I information and sympathy with Christ.
; He said that the churches did not keep
/ their members fully informed ind the
members did not realize the need OF
world missions. In the second place,
he said that only one-third of this
church were giving anything to support
missions AS remedy for this he sug-
gesied weekly offerings and an annual
every member canvass. He said that
according to the population the native
members Of the African missions gave
more per capita than did church mem
bers in the state of Iowa, and did that
when six or seven cents a day was
considered a very good wage by the
natives. Mr. Clapp said that the same
methods should be used In the every
member canvass that a business man
used in getting his line Of goods on the
market, that Is to advertise them and
send personal representatives to the
people.
In ending his talk he begged the
members of tho church to get behind
their pastor and help him to bring
about these changes, and not wait for
H the minister to start everything. Hd
closed with a short prayer.