The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-04-08
CENTENARY CAMPAIGN
OF METHODIST CHURCH
Plan To Raise S140, 600, 900 for Mis-
sionarv Work at Home and
Abroad.

New York. April 6.-Probably the
greatest educational campaign ever
undertaken by Il church is hat now
being launched by the centenary
movement of the Methodist Episcopal
church and the Methodist Episcopal
Church South, which together plan to
raise $14e, 600, 900 for missionary
work at home and abroad. More than
si4. 900 900 will be spent on schools
and teachers for the untaught chill
cren of the world. and Instruction Ior
grown people who had little or no
schooling in their youth. OF this sum
a consid cradle moun will be spent
In educational work in our own
United States.
or the foreign-born white people in
this country more than twelve per
cent are iiliterate. of the negroes. over
thirty per cent; of the Chinese, over
fifteen per cent; of the Japanese, Yer
nine per cent: and OF the North
American Indians. over forty-five per
cent. : In many cases.. especially In
that of. the Older foreign~born, the
church can each these people to
speak English, to read n write, ard
to understand American customs and
laws. when the public school does not
reach them.
To preserve family life, often so
quickly disrupted when foreign-born
parents have born children,
and to make American citizenship n
tangible and desirable thing. are two
great tasks confronting both the
church and the state. where the i'm
migrant population is concerned.
Through institutional churches. indus
trial missions, community centers.
pastors and lay-woIkers who speak
both English and the foreign tongue,
through classes in English and citi-
zenship, through day nurseries and
clinics. through teaching of American
history ideals and laws. and through
the preaching and practice of Chris
tian principles. the Centenary pre-
pareS to tackle these two problems.
Such work will be carried or
100000 Italians. the 2.O0o.-
00p Latin-Americans, the 5000, 000
Slavic peoples, the so, 900 Chinese, the
1000, 600 Japanese, and the nun
dreds of thousands of miscellaneous.
foreign-speaking peoples who have
come to make the United States their
For the negroes In the South the
committee is planning
typical community centers in agricul-
tural districts. where modern farming
will each the people how to
raise better cropS, while model par
sonages Will serve as demonstrations
OF ideal home life. To insure the sue
cess OF these undertakings, organized
are being inaugurated for
education of pastors and church
and workers.
In the North, where some 2,0O0,-
900 negroes are crowded INTO large
cities, community centers will furn-
ish an opportunity for instruction
through lectures. and domestic science
courses Will be instituted, where
"mammies" who worked In the cotton
helds OF the South may learn a new
means OF livelihood.
In tho southern mountains where
3,ooo,ooo native Americans Of Eng
fish, Scotch. and Irish descent are
practically cut off fsoFh. the rest OF
the national and are suffering from
li~iiteracy, superstition. and primitive
living and moral conditions. the
Methodist Episcopal Board OF Educa-
ITO a n dozen schools at work, In
ADDITION to the University of Chatta-
nooga- The Centenary Committee
plans to send out many more trained
workers, and TO establish community
centers OF. education and Christian
principles.
OF the 100000 North American
ndian in this country, only one
tnird speak English, while there are
zeo,lsS who can neither read nor
wrie. There are 1879 Indian chill
dren OF school age who attend 10
schooi. The Centenary program for
lne Red Man includes higher educn-
ton for the native Indian preachers.
which they in turn may pasy on TO
the members Of their congregation
who are unable TO attend government
schools. Native Indian women are
also to be trained in dom estic science,
sanitation n hygiene, and then sent
back to the Indian reservations TO
bring to the homes there a higher
standard OF civilized life, SO that
young Indians. returning from govern
ment schools, will not he 30 discour-
aged BY their surroundings that they
~1Il return 40 the ways of their fathers.
The necessity for trained leaders to
carry out This centenary program had
Led TO the creation of q department.
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