Evening star., 1953-07-09
Here's the Story of B. Matthew'S Cortys American
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exceued in tennis, baseball anc
basketball. But there were other
and less frivolous tugs at his in
terest too. There were frequent
revival meetings, days of repent
ance for the staggering man.
about -Wilmore. And 1t was in
college that he embraced what
he came to refer to later as his
first panacea."
As a college student, / '1D1s
impressed by John r. Mott and
his slogan to eUGngelize the
Uorld in our generation. That
became my youthful idealiSm
too. But, I'm sorry to sag, I
hGUen't seen much progress
along those lines.
After graduation from college,
Mr.. Matthews set out to do his
bit toward evangelizing the
world. He went to Java and
taught in a Chinese school,
quickly mastering the language.
Before leaving Java, in 1921, he
had completed the job of editing
a Methodist hymnal. including
102 of his own translationS.
Lead Kindly Light"
IT can recall few moments of
greater satisfaction in my life, :"
he wrote a few years later, than
that of the night I passed
through a Malay village and
paused outside a little bamboo
church to listen to the singing
of one of my translations, Car
dinal Newman'S Lead Kindly
Light"
Married in the Far East to a
Kentucky girl, and with children,
Mr.. Matthews came back to the
United States. Despite his fam
lily responsibilities, he continued
his studies. He intended to de-
vote his time to teaching the re-
ligious antiquities.
From Columbia University he
received a master of arts de-
gree. At Drew University Meth
odist) he took a degree as a
bachelor Of divinity and from
the famed Union Theological
Seminary degree of master of
sacred theology.
Second Panacea."
Thus scholastically armed, Mr..
Matthews was appointed an in
structor in Hebrew and the Old
Testament at Scarritt College,
another Methodist institution in
Nashville, Tenn. In effect, at
this point, he was embarked on
his second "panacea." The goal
was no longer one of evangeliz-
ing the world. 1t had become
one of ''interracialism" and
"pacif1sm." He spent three years
at Scarritt and another at Fisk
University, Negro institution
In Nashville.
resigned after some criti-
CtSm OF my attitude on racial
matters. / took t0hdt WaS an
advanced position at that time.
! had proposed and supported
q little program for 1Uhite and
Negro students to get better
acquainted. Some Nashville
people objected to that. So /
decided to quit.
He taught and lectured at
numerous schools and spent one
year at Howard University here
teaching Greek. The year 1929
was an important one in his life.
He received two offers-one the
job Of executive secretary of the
Fellowship Of Reconciliation, q
pacif1st organization that grew
up after World War I: the
other, an invitation to become
professor of Hebrew at Drew
University. The fellowship Of
fer came first. Mr.. Matthews
accepted.
Eventful Step.
It was, in a sense, an eventful
step for the whole country. For
the course on which Mr.. Mat
thews embarked with the Fell
lowship of Reconciliation led
eventually to his position at the
center Of raging controversy
today.
In 1898, he published an auto
biographical book. odyssey Of a
Fellow Traveller" In it he re-
ported that his decision to join
the Fellowship of Reconciliation
led him into numerous radical
activities of socialist and
pacif1st complexion. AS I look
back upon that work. it seems
that I had a finger in almost
everything radical"
"Pre- -Rightist" Period.
The four and a half years Mr..
Matthews spent with the Fellow
ship marked the "leftist" period
of his career-or. as some have
said, "the pre-rightist." He joined
the Socialist Party. He was
active with Communists, Social
lists and others in % different
front organizations. In Is of them
he held an official position.
He became the national chair
man of the American League
Against War and Facism. He
also was a member of the
Friends of the Soviet Union. He
recalls. rather regretfully now,
that he spoke in behalf of the
latter organization in Detroit
and Chicago and perhaps in
other places.
1t WaS different in those
days. These Uere united front
organizations Among the mem
berS Uere Comm uniStS, that is
true, but they pere open
and knoDn Communists. The
"tront" organizations of today
are something else. They are
rJooonfj1,O Thou cn11fnj71 hid