The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1922-11-23
WORLD CANNOT EXIST
HALF CHRISTIAN AND
HALF PAGAN, PEARCE

"The world is ready for a sustained |
Christian program. Civilization viii
20 down unless this need Is fulfilled.
The world can no longer, exsist half
Christian and half pagan. 1t is ready
and waiting for us to give it the word
and we face the responsibility of pro-
pairing all peoples, by education, for
the responsibility of citizenship" said
w. G. Pearce, general secretary of
the Worlds Sunday school association,
addressing Wayne county Sunday
school workers at the East Main street
Friends church, Wednesday evening
Speaking in a powerful tone, his
impressive figure holding the undi
vided attention of his audience, Mr.
Pearce for three quarters of an hour,
gave rapid view of world conditions
and of Christian organization as he
had found it in the many countries he
had visited. With expressive ges-
lures. he almost acted out some Of the
incidents he recounted, his only touch
of self-consciousness coming when he
mentioned his son, giving an intimate
and charming touch of intimacy with
the audience.
Duty of Churches.
'In the United States we have based
a democracy on the principle of
moral, intelligent citizenship" the.
speaker continued "We have estab-
lished a school system which will in
sure intelligence. But because We
also guarantee religious liberty, we
can never take Jewish money, or Cath
olic money and with it provide for
common religious training in state
supervised schools. Therefore 1t is
the duty of the churches to provide
the moral training which must go with
the education.
1--WE have failed in this SO far Mr..
Albertson tells me that three out OF
four Indiana boys attend no Sunday
school, and with no moral education,
we now face the danger OF an intel
lectual materialism. That is far more
dangerous than an ignorant material
ism. An ignorant thief will steal
ride on a train, an intelligent one
will steal the railroad and do 1t 50
that the law cannot touch him
World Looks to Us.
"As we have supplied the whole
world with conveniences of our inven-
ton and manufacture, SO also are we
supplying 1t in the realm of morals.
lie .WHOlc WOIlu lS hCPCll0Ah6 hPOA 40.
In Japan found the strongest approx
al of the limitation of ornaments con-
ference.
"The whole world will have been
covered with a system of organized
Sunday schools by the end of 1925, the
speaker predicted. In that year, he
said, he intends to supervise the or
ganiZation of schools in every country
of Africa the last territory which re-
mains to be organized. Ten European
countries are holding national conven-
tions in 1924, which Mr.. Pearce will be
called upon to attend. In the spring OF
1923 he expects to start on tour OF
South American countries organizing
their Sunday school systems"
Reviews Work.
Mr. Pearce reviewed the organiza-
ton work in far eastern and Austral-
ian countries, pointing out that in the
last few years Christian organizations
in these countries have taken over the
vo.k themselves, so that it is progress
ing in ever increasing ratio, while a
larger and larger number of native
mission schools are becoming self
supporting and in turn establishing
other missions.
Following the speech, collection
was taken for the extension of Sunday
school work Mr.. Pearce spoke CRATE
fully of the contributions that had
been made at the Y. M. c.. A. meet
ing in the day. This quiet signing of
subscriptions with no excitement or
undue pleading, as duty quietly done
in the presence of God" he said "is
to me an evidence of the deepening
spiritualism of the people. We used
to have many claptrap ways of secur-
ing money and l am glad we have got
ten away from them.
Harrison Scott acted as chairman of
the meeting, which was opened with
an invocation by Rev. A. L. Stamper
and closed with a benediction by Rev.