The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-12-16
DR.. JOHN W. GILBERT TELLS
WHITE MINISTER'S TO
SPEAK OUT.

st. Louis. NO.. Dec. IL, 19t6.-Dr.
John w. Gilbert, Dean of Theology
at Paine College, Augusta. Ca, one of
the leading Negroes of the country,
provoked much favorable discussion
here when he addressed The Federal
Council of the Churches of Christ in
America which has been in session
here since Tuesday. The eloquent ed.
ucator was speaking to the report of
the Commission in the interest of Col
ored Churches. He was frequently
and loudly applauded by the five hun.
dred delegates, majority of them
white, while he made his plea for
larger cooperation of the white pull
pits of the South in the interest of
justice for the Negro. Among other
things he said:
Sentiment is higher than law. Sen
timent overrides the law when the law
is not the offspring of sentiment.
Therefore 1t is the duty of the minis
try to change the sentiment antagon-
istic to the colored man. Most preach
ers are towards in the face of senti-
ment and therefore for fear of losing
their personal popularity they fail to
teach the ethics of Christianity. fail
to talk and act upon the principle of
the equality of man and man, the prin-
ciple of the F%atherhood of God and the
brotherhood of man" He spoke hope
fully of the brotherly relationship ex-
listing between the NJ. E. Church,
South, and the c. NJ. E. Church. He
believes that most so-called Chris
tians need a vision of Peters sheet
in order to be taught that God is
no r%espector of persons"
The Negro" said he, lis more sim
ned against than SHINING in the mat
ter of residence in ~unsanitary, un-
drained and dirty sections of our cities
and towns; also in the matter of alco-
holic liquors; for no Negroes own dis
t%illeries; almost none operate bar
rooms. Whit men manufacture liquor
and sell it to our race, who are de-
bauched and ruined thereby DR..
Gilbert also contends that our Negro
womanhood is sinned against and de-
fenseless in many places because the
community sentiment is against her.
AS to education, the race is sinned
against because he does not get his
just share of the public educational
money and, therefore, our rural
schools are overcrowded and teachers
incompetent and underpaid at that.
Competent teachers cannot work for
the pittance offered them as salaries
He further contends that the argu'
ment so often resorted to, viz: that
the white people pay the larger part
Of the taxes, is false in it's political
economy, for in the last analysis, the
consumer, the renter, the tiller, the
miner-these ptople pay the taxes. II
is their purchases in the marts, theil
labor in the fields and mnes that
give taxable value to material things
The preacher must teach the people
the truth along these lines.
He suggests that Ministers ALI
ances composed of white and black
preachers be formed in every commun
ity to take into considerations all mat
ters pertaining to the community
without regard to ace or color.
He also suggests that at least two
and the same Sundays per year be
set for preaching to both races or
their duties to each other. He pledged
the hearty cooperation of the Negro
ministry of all churches with theil