Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Sept. 13, 1900, edition 1 / Page 2
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THE AFAICO-AfltfellCAN TEftlilt OOKtOUDATXD WITH tie Youthen Ev&agslltt, it Africa-Amerleaa Prasbyterlaa Pab. Ca .Devoted to the Educational, Materia Moral, and Religion* interest of our peo plain the South, and published at Char otte, N. C,,«very Thursday. All questions arising under the various subjects above indicated are discussed from a Christian point of view. Each num ber contains the freshest and beet news from our Southern geld and from the Obaroh at large, lucre is carefully selected reading matter snited to all olasses of our people-the farmer, the mechanic, the partisan, and the professional man. The Sabbath-school and Temperance cause will receive special attention. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. Single copy one year, .tl.00 RATES OP ADVERTISING. Ordinary advertisemente, per brevier line 1 time, t .fft l U times, (one mouth)... .18 p uff (three months).L 80 Tk« •* j(sIx * “ t. f8* •• (one year) .... The rate per line mnltipllrd by 10 will give the tide per inch. 0TDisplajwd advertisement! and reading notices special rates. THIS OFFICE Of ‘Tbb Asbico-Ambbioai. Pbbsby TjkBiUf" It tt Charlotte N. 0. All oom msnlostions for publication thonld be addrsssed to this office. We earnestly ask the sympathy a*>d sap port of our brethren and friends at larjre, la order that oar efforts in this enterprise may be crowned with success. Assists Wahtbp—to whom a liberal commission wlllbepald. , ISTBend money by P. O Money Order Resristered Letter or Bank Check. Other wise It might get lost and the sender alone trill be responsible. Address Tvs Afbico-Ambbicah Pbbsbytsbiam Charlotte. N. C. , THURSDAY, SEPT. 13, 1900. to Catawba Synod to of informing Mr. A F. lwvXs, of Roanoke, Va., that enter rinment may be provided. Negotiations are still in progress be tween the Powers as relates to the Chi neee question, with the prospect of an early and peaoeful solution. The mat ter .of indemnity will prove the most BRIEFS. he increased price of cotton is en couraging somewhat, although the crops by the drought. ere should be no mistake as to the and niace of the meeting of Cataw 10th „ JIM. Howard is now » meeting at Car lisle,d&iiVwitk Rev. D. D. Davis, and will ft^ftbmthere for another meeting at Forif Miff, with Rev. S. J. Grier, in ten days or two weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Richie and their excellent family of young people, of Ab beville, S. C., placed os under special , obligations by their generous hospitality and kindly attentions during our stay at the meeting of McClelland Presby tery. Theirs is a besutiffel-and attrac tive home. ’Us true that the outlook is not en couraging financially, yet the indica tions point Jk) large numbers in our in ’ stitutions jfer t!fc! advanced training of pie youth 9*4$ race. This is right Come what ssiy, let everything pos sible be. done for the education of our sons and daughters. It was given out in an interview a few days since that it is all a mistake about Bishop Turner's taking the stump for candidate Bryan. The Bub op says he is not in sympathy with McKinley and the Republicans in this campaign, and will tote for Bryan as a protest. j. The Second church, of Abbeville, S. C., where McClelland Presbytery held Hs meeting last week, under the able and efficient care of Rev. T. H. Amos; D. D., is in fine shape, and last Sabbath was one of its field days. Rev. J. P. Foster preached an able and elo quent sermon. Three young men were baptized and received into the church. Rev. G. T. Dillard, D. D, dor ubi quitous and efficient Sabbath School Missionary Superintendent, isprosecut log hil important work- with ' &/ and ractieMi. Rev. W. L. Met£, the missionary in Sooth Carolina, is also poshing his work vigorously. The] im portance of onr Sabbath school work cannot be undoly emphasized. - .... President McKinley’s letter oi accept ance has been given to the press. It is an able and comprehensive document, and is said to contain about 13,000 words. It is written in the President’s osoal lucid and forceful style. The present administration Unsuccessfully defended and the Kansas City platform antagonized in unanswerable terms. The letter is a strong campaign docu ment. It would seem that Negro labor in the South is becoming somewhat scarce where it is greatly needed, namely/ on the farm—in the rural sections where the hemp and shot gun method of deal ing with crime has been most vigorous ly applied. It will be found a little la ter on that as a guarantee of reliable and steady labor it is better ^o punish all persons acousecl of crime according to the process of law. The laborir g class will go away by degrees from a terrorized community. The creedal debate is now on in earn est. The anti revisionists are evident ly lining up for a stiff fight against any change. We are quite satisfied with the Westminster Standards, and we be lieve the Presbyterian Church will not yield to the pressure, chiefly from with, out, of those whose real opposition is to the Calyinistic System, which is most assuredly set forth in the word of God. There should be no hurried action. The proposed business is serious and is fraught with paramount interests. RIOTOUS DEMONSTRATIONS. These as between the races are be coming more and more numerous. One furnishes encouragement for anoth er to the lawless element. Sometimes the lawless colored man is responsible for starting trouble; at other times the lawless white man is responsible. The incipient riot in Columbia, S. C., on Labor Day, was persistently provoked by several lawless white men who where bent on making trouble by driv the soldiers and the crowd of colored spectators. Evidently the coolness of the more influential colored men and that of some white men averted a great race1 riot. The civil authorities and the Governor were very unjust and par tial when the offenders were brought in to court, and their decisions are calcu lated to deepen the bad feeling already aroused. Notwithstanding these things, our people should not despair. The State, a leading Democratic daily, and per haps the most influential journal in South Carolina, makes the following editorial comment in part on the sub ject: “The Negro soldiers guilty of the riotous demonstration on Labor Day have been punished by the mayor with fine and imprisonment, and the Negro soldiers innocent of complicity in it have been punished by the governor with the disbandment of their com pany; but what has been done to the five white men who provoked that af Bair by aggressions upon the troops? Not a thine. “We are informed that the three line men who dashed in their buggy through the ranks of the company, knocking down several of them and in censing them, were summoned before the mayor on a charge of disorderly con dud, and by him dismissed without penalty. We are also informed that no charge was brought by the. police against the Daly brothers, who a little later repeated this action with the ini mediate result of precipitating the riot. Their excuse was that their horse had become unmanageable. However this may be, one of them testified before the mayor that after the trouble began he drew his revolver and tried to fire it at the Negroes pursuing him, but found that the cartridges had .been ex tracted. Here was an admission be fore the mayor of a violation of city or (finances in carrying concealed weap ons; but Mayor Earle took no cogniz ance of it. “We are not going to condemn Gov. McSweeney for his course in this afihir without also condemning Mayor Earle for his course. Gov. McSweeney pun ished innocent Negroes. Mayor Earle failed to punish white men who were not innocent. There was injustice and discrimination by the chief magistrate of the State and the chief magistrate of the city. , “These manifestations cannot be passed in silence. They are symptoms of a tendency which, unless checked by public censure, will bring shame Mi In fh*s city tod the1 Sutft *nd u*»&u tr., l-i uio of the races here a maelstrom Jl u*vb and crime. “The Negro cannot and will not rhle in South Carolina or the South, and it is right that he shall not. Bat we, tha serperior race, claiming government and exercising government by virtue of our greater fitness, nevertheless owe the Negro- and in an even gstater " gree owe ourselves—the most scru ous impartiality in the administrate of the laws, f We impeach our own periority, our own fitness for mac ship, when we do the Negro injustic for justice is the foundation of government and the lack of it we selves proclaim, in respect of oi lands, is barbarism. “We owe the Negro even more thi justice. We owe him the leniency, tl forbearance, which the strong shou ever display toward the weak, the p< erful toward the helpless. To discr inate against the Negro in the admji tration of the law, and in priva1*1" to maltreat him without provoca to be plain, cowardly. It knocking down a child. W that he cannot defend himself not retaliate in kind. We are strained by fear; therefore we all the more be restrained by of equity, our pride, our “There was an occ bia yesterday which been directly inspired by the Monday. On a baseless hy the coroner of this county sh an old and inoffensive Negro, he have treated a white mar sons no greater than he alleg question hardly needs the answ Yet if we are to justify our and prove our ciyiliza have one code of eqi Negro and another who can retaliate Under the conditions tl fying statement. For as well as that of the the better element of the white will yet find it necessary to nounced stand for impartial The State does in this case. Revision or What? BY REV. D. J. SATTERFIELD, Dr D. As the time for the fall our Presbyteries draws near, I minded that we will be expected aider the action of the last the subject of Revision. As thrust Church will be practically loyalty to the system of truth which we profess to find in the word of God. As sent down by the General Assembly, the question is : What is the mind of the Church? Should cfiangfes be made in the Confession ? If so, what and in what way ? That any change is needed to bring the creed into harmony with the Bible, I think no thoughtful, intelligent Pres byterian will maintain. But many claiming to be good Presbyterians do insist that changes are needed for Other reasons; and, since Presbyterianism stands for liberty we can at least afford to see if peace in the Church can le se cured without any sacrifice of the truth. The advocates of change seem io be divided into three parties. A few* are asking for an “ explanatory statenfent” of the hard things in the Confesth The same difficulties are sup] have been satisfactorily met churches in this way. That t has been made is well known! results are satisfactory and wi so, time alone will show. Another small class asks for short creed. They are not 'to the use to be made of it. want it for the people: somethi will read and will be able to stand. For this purpose it doubtful whether anything can duced better than the Shorter chism. Others would make it t ula to which officers of the churcl scribe in ordination. They deny they are going to cast aside t creed. But their logic seems fau ty. One objects to something in the Id creed. If the -nfew satisfies him, tl en for him certainly the old is laid as de and the new is a substitute. The e* suit will be, not a new creed, or / vo Creeds, but no creed with author! y, since each may chose for himself. The third way out of the trouble is popularly called Revision. So few ha re thus far favored the other two that this seems to be the only one likely to be ti k en seriously by the Church at large. T e history of the movement is so well known, and it has been so folly discus ed in former years, that I-shall not af - ter into the merits of the question. I want to call attention to a single \ point. Historical hud practical ftevU* ion seem to me to be radically different, things. Heretofore the word has been is ociated with a movement essentially revolutionary at least in appearance. Some years ago a committee was ap pointed by the General Assembly to re vise the Confession, the whole of it. Last May another committee was ap pointed to see about doing something; and, as before, the something to be con sidered is the whole Confession. The ef fect of such action has been to place our entire doctrinal standards on trial. It has disturbed the faith of many of our own members and has certainly im pressed the other denominations and the outside world with the suspicion that our Church has outgrown its creed. But what is the real occasion of such action. Not dissatisfaction of the whole Church with the creed. Not dissatis action of any considerable part of the Church with the whole of the creed. Serious criticism has been limited to lome three or four sections. The ob ectors themselves, with rare exception, heist that even in these three or four sections the fault is one of expression rather than of principle. All they ask is for the language to be changed so that it may be readily understood. Why then should Revision be propos ed which calls in question and sets up las a mark for everybody to shoot at our entire system, and virtually makes the whole Church, by the action of the General Assembly, a party in the at tack. The constitution itself provides a "way for making such changes. Its way is, not Revision, but Amendment. By amendment some changes have been made in the Confession already. They have been proposed by those Who be lieved they saw the need of them and have been carried through in regular or der. They have not disturbed the faith of the Church in any principle of the Confession except the specific mat ter involved. They have not forced those who did not want change to help to bring it about. Must we revise the Confession? Why will not amend ment answer every purpose ? Catawba Synodical S. S. Convention. [Continued, from, 1st page.~\ Sabbath school the membership is the Svtyal thing. It ought to erjrfront. Should wo loa©» ren with light hearts ? I n a man’s Christianity who would not feel for them. Second, we want to know where are, and the sizes of the leaks. What are some of the causes of these i leaks? The first cause is the want of love in the schools. The second is want of inter est and love on the part of teacher, Su perintendem and pastor. You must know these children in your schools and make them see that you are interested in and love them. A third cause is poor teach ing. There is very much poor preach ing in the pulpit. Too often in the Sabbath school the teaching is poor. These boys and girls know what good teaching is. They have it elsewhere and along other lines. Failing to get it. here, they leave your school and your classes. The older scholars, and espe cially the boys are stopping out because they .feel that they are regarded as ‘dids’ if they stay. The nursery idea ought to be exploded. The excursion train and the bicycle on the Sabbath unmake Sabbath school scholars. Let young ministers come out and air their Ger man ideas of higher criticism and the Sabbath school will suffer. An other fruitful source of leakage in the Sabbath school membership is the dead ;church. If the church is lifeless, you I not expect the Sabbath school to otherwise. Evil communications l kindred evils are death to the Sab h school. What is the remedy? ill give you the prescription: You jt have more life; and have it more ndantly in the whole church. I iw a little boy who preferred to at 1 a certain little Presbyterian Sab b school rather than one of the large ■town city schools because he receiv Hrespousive love there. Then there ■st be better teaching. Disabuse the minds of the older boys and girls that they outgrow the Sabbath school. Yout must get elders, professional men and the more prominent people to come to the Sabbath school. They give strength. You must have better opening and clos ing exercises. The scholars get tired and sick of the same old thing. Have good music, a good choir. Churches must have good music to be attractive. If we do not bring these children to Christ we will lose them. The-teach ers, by a little exertion and tenderness, will bring the little boy to Christ.” 1 Dr. Worden closed his very interest ing discourse by relating a German le gend in which a woman, in her eager ness to get the brightest gems from the mountain cave, forgot her little girl who was finally lost in the darkness. Ia oar eagerness to gather ifato the Sai) bath school do not lose the weaklings in the watte places. “ Do not lose, do not forget the best.’* At the close of this address the Con ventiou adjourned to meet Friday morn iog at half past nine o’clock. MORNING SESSION. " 'J he Convention reassembled at 9 o’clock A. M. The first half hour was devoted 10 religious services conducted by Rev. W. A. Yancey , Sunday school missionary of Southern .Virginia. At the conclusi n of this service, President Martin took the chair and announced the Convention open for the transaction of business. The enrollment of dele gates and members showed the largest attendance in the history of the Conven tion. As a result oi the election the fo lnwinor are t.ha efficera of the Conven tion for the ensuing year Col. L. P. Berry, Hillsboro, N. C., President; Prof. J. D. Martin, Char lotte, 1st Vice President; Mr. S. H. Vick, Wilson, 2nd Vice President; Mrs. W. J. Rankin, Aberdeen, 3rd Vice Pres ident; Prof. F. M. Martin, Richmond, Va., Treasurer; Prof. T. A. Long, Dan ville, Assistant Secretary; and Prof. S. B. Pride, Secretary. The Rev. Mr. Houston, of the A. M. E. Zion church of Greensboro, and the Rev. Mr. Dur ham , formerly chaplain of the 3rd N. C. Volunteer Regiment, were invited to sit as corresponding members of the Convention. It being the special order for the morning hour, Prot. S. H. Vick was introduced and read a very ably pre pared and instructive paper on the sub ject, “ The Twentieth Century Move ment in Presbyterian Sabbath Schools.” In this paper Prof. Vick, in his usual clear and forceful style, made clear the origin, purpose and success of this Movement. When he had closed, Dr. Worden, the father of the movement, was accorded the floor to open the dis cussion. Dr. Worden began by saying, “I am greatly encouraged from listening to this most excellent paper of Mr. Vick’s,' so full of that which is practical, and running over with enthusiasm. This movement was given us by God. We are to bring in the children. I don’t care what the methods of the Sabbath school are, what its appliances, so they are bringing in the children. Let them be black or white Sabbath schools, so they bring in the children. Let them be in rural districts or amid the most beautiful surroundings so the children are saved. ’ ’ The subject was further discussed by Drs. Dillard, Sav age and Sanders. Dr. Dillard dwelt on points discussed by Dr. Worden. Dr. Savage spoke to the point of doing more work in the rural districts of Eastern Carolina. Dr. Sanders said we must get down to the heme life of the people and reform that before the best results can be obtained. Rev. H. A. Gibson, of Greensboro, spoke to the point, saying we must go down into the slums and erect churches and thus lift up the masses. Just as the Conven tion was about to take recess for dinner Col. Berry, the President, entered the church and was given an ovation. The Convention then took recess until 3 o’clock. Second Day—Afternoon Session. The Convention reassembled at 3 o’clock, President L. P. Berry in the chair. After prayer, the President thanked the Convention for having hon ored him by reelecting him its chief ex ecutive. He said : “I have been anx ious about the Convention. Ten days ago I was stricken down prostrate, from overwork. I have prayed un ceasingly that I might recover sufficient strength to meet my brethren here. The doctor said, i yesterday, I might come to day, if I would promise not te make any speeches. That was hard for me to do, but I did it. I thank God that I am able to be here ; and I thank you for this additional honor.” The program for the afternoon was sligntly cnanged to enable Dr. Wor den tq deliver his second address and catch the early evening train. Dr. Worden; before entering upon his lucid explanation of the ‘‘New Movement in Normal Work,” said: “The all-impor tant factor in the Sabbath school is the Sabbath school teacher. Two thirds— the best two thirds—of our Sabbath school work is done by our Presbyte rian women teachers. The great hin drance is, the Church does not appre ciate what the woman is doing. The minister often has his vacation. The school teacher works week in and week out without cessation. Parents fail to appreciate the teacher and thereby hin der the work. I want you, brother ministers here, to consider that Sabbath school teachers are pot paid for their work. . We ought to make a profound apology for our wanfi of appreciation. “I want to call your attention to anoth vision for the Sabbath scb education; provision is nidi think we have been ter. OurP school teachers deserv “Some attempt at training has been made by asking th up Normal work, in addition regular work, and devote extra it during the week. This is have been doing among all deno tions. After twenty six years of rience, I pronounce it a failure. I failure because it asks an impoasibil Diverging from hi* subject, Dr. den urged upon us as a race and as dividuals to be self-reliant. He t explained the proposed New Moveme in Normal Work to the edification an satisfaction of the Convention. • A vote was taken by which the Con-* vention expressed its approval of the Movement and readiness to co operate, should it bet adopted by the Church’s Board. The Convention* then sang,. “God be with you, etc.,” apd Dr. Worden, after offering a prayer for our continued success, took his departure. The Rev. Messrs. Shepard, rope, and Washington^ ministry, being present, were accorded seats as corresponding members. These gentlemen each expressed pleasure in being with us and spoke encouraging ly of the work of the Convention. Rev. H. A. Gibson, of Greensboro, by request, Mrs. C. C. Berry being ab sent, introduced the subject, “How to Train Boys.” Mr. Gibson said the training is necessary because it jpcreas es the boy’s value to the Church and to t'e community. ”1 shall touch but one of the many answers to the ques tion, how to train him. When we want to get at the true way, I say, be gin at the beginning. Begin with his mother. The well bred boy is half trained. Criminal tendencies are her editary. Why not moral traits ? ” Further discussion of this subject was suspended at this point, end the question of the next place qf meet ing was taken up. Biddleville and Ab erdeen were put in nomination. After some diicuasion, Biddleville was with drawn and the Convention voted unan imously to hold its next meeting at Ab erdeen. A recess was taken uutil 8:30 P. M. EVENING SESSION. f At half past 8 o’clock, a large aotP appreciative audience greeted Dr. D. J. Sanders,President of Biddle Upiver ity, who spoke on the subject,’-- ‘Six teen to One. ” The substance of his re marks will be given at another time. A solo by Mrs. H. A. Gibson, of Greensboro, and one by Miss Bass, of the Slater Normal and Industrial School, added much to the entertain ment and pleasure of all present. Third Day—Saturday, The third day’s session was begun at 0 o’clock A. M. The first b<df hour was spent in a devotional service led by Rev. W. H. Loag, 8. S. M., of the Presbytery of Cape Fear. . President Berry then took the chair and opened the business session with prayer. The regular order was then set aside and the discussion of the proposed: amend ments to the Constitution was! entered into. After prolonged discussion, Articles 4 and 5 were amended as pro posed. The Convention listened with eager interest to a well prepared, thoughtful, and instructive paper, read by Mrs. Ruth R. J. Carr, of Danville, Va., on the subject, “How to Keep the Older Scholars.” By motion, Mrs. £arr was requested to read this paper Sabbath afternoon at the S. S. session, and to furnish the secretary with a copy for publication. The afternoon hour Saturday was devoted to hearing report* from the Presbyterial, District and^Uniow Conventions. These reports were unusually full and encouraging. They showed a marked growth and an increase of interest in the work of the various Boards, representing ail depart meats of the Church’s work. The . speeches in connection with these re ports, by two clever lady-presidents from Southern Virginia, Misaie 8. C. Whittico and Roxie Brooks, full of earnest thought, cheerful and tic, and sparkling with wit, together with those of Mesdames Rankin add Carr, were convincing proof of Dr. Worden’s assertion that thehest twp* thirds of the work is being done by no ble Presbyterian women. Fourth Day -Sunday. At 11 o’clock,'A. M., the annual ser moo was preached in the Lloyd Presby [Continued on 3rd page]
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Sept. 13, 1900, edition 1
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