Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-05-08
FRIENDS CELEBRATE s50TH
ANNIVERSARY.


ono OF the FIRST provinces OF the New |
World In which religious services
the doctrines and discipline OF George |
Fox, the founder OF the sect and noted |
English leader In spiritual thought. |
Maryland had it's meotinghouse and |
It's Yearly Meeting we'll organized and
Jealous. Cody congregation of wor-
shippers almost ten years before Will
! liam Penn came 10 America. She was
moro than ton years In advance of
/ Philadelphia in the establishment of
a congregation of its own. and equally
I'm advance of Delaware.
burlington. n. j.. had preceded both
/ Delaware and Pennsylvania, estab-
fishing meeting in 1877. which had
a large population OF Friends who
came from England and had sat under
the preaching OF George Fox. But
Maryland was among the very first
States wherein the seed " the Quak-
ers took firm root. As far back as
l64s Elizabeth Hall, leader and
teacher, was holding meetings at Sew
oTn and Kent.
Rhode Island. as every one knows,
was the first State to organize an
American Yearly Meeting. This was
In 1861. almost at the very beginning
of things In this country.
Delaware Friends first met in re-
Hgious worship on Shellpot creek, at
New worlSe. In 1855 or 1856. In 1855
n meeting was established at New
castle. which was discontinued In 1888
The FIRST Westinghouse IN Wilmington
was erected In 1888, but the lack of
public place OF worship had not pre-
regularly. Sundays and mIdweeks.
When George Fox came to America
he found the Friends we'll established
In Maryland. and must have been sur
prised at the large number Of worthy
persons who attended the first Ave
days meeting on West river, Mary
land. where he "providentially ar.
rived" In sine for the gathering
which was so big there WIS no house
large enough TO contain the worship
= pers The Eastern Sections OF Mary
p land seems 10 have been popular will
n the Friends. as were other parts o
u the State. which may be regarded al
q somewhat strange as the State wa
even that early The head and centre o
the Catholic Church in America. Blu
Lord Baltimore was liberal in hi
views and favorable to religious
tolerance.
The Friends-or Quakers, as the.
are often enormously called-hav
had an interesting history, and hav
exerted marked and wholesome infiu
ence In the development of this coun
try. They have had the remarkabl
experience Of seeing all the reform
they advocated adopted and set i
practical operation. Theirs were tn
first voices raised against the inhu
manity OF slavery. and they were tn
FIRST people TO give up their ow
slaves. and IN less than 10 years late
they witnessed the final overthro'
Of the slave power under their ir
~ sistent forceful attacks. They hay
lived 10 see the equality of the sexe
-. enacted into law, for which they Ion
con;ended. and other religious d,
49, nominations are following their e,
ia. ample in giving women a place I
=. eauality--for activity in church wor
40 Almost always strenuously Oppose
~, TO intoxicating liquors, the Frten'
sa have been witnesses TO its legal bal
a., ishment from the land-a measu
m they had unintermittently advocat'
al for more than a century. They O
In ways opposed war. systematically.
ne season and out Of season, and 'ha'
nd lived to see the whole world suppo
To- their views: to have witnessed Co
l ference for Peace. which also adv
or Gated disarmament, as they h
the preached and taught "unprepare
.lt- ness" as a means OF keeping out
IN. war. for more than a hundred yea
os- In fact. they have seen every Gre
on- principle for which they stood--ev
in the face OF bitter persecution--a
mo proved. adopted and in operati'
OF They always were ready 10 suffer L
0ae complsininS1y for the cstablishmt