The Africo - American
Presbyterian.
Established in 1879.
CONSOLIDATED WITH
THE SOUTHERN EVANGELIST.
Rev. H. L. McCROREY, D. D., LL. D.,
Editor.
W. E. HILL, Associate Editor.
Rev. C. P. PITCHFORD,
Business Manage;-.
Devoted to the Educational, Mate
rial, Moral and Religious interests
of our people in the South, and pub
lished at Charlotte, N. C., every
Thursday.
All questions arising under the va
rious subjects above indicated are
discussed from a Christian point of
view. Each number contains the
freshest and best news from the
Southern field and from the Church
at large. There is carefully select
ed reading matter suited to all class
es of our people—the farmer, the
mechanic, the artisan and the pro
fessional man.
The .Sabbath School and Mission
ary causes will receive special at
tention.
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Six months—.---i- .75
Three months- .60
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and prayers of our brethren and
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efforts in this enterprise may be
crowned with success;
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Entered at the Postoffiee at Char
lotte, N.. C., as second class matter.
THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 1926.
EDITORIAL NOTES
His friends throughout the
Church will rejoice in the fact
that Dr. I. H. Russell has been
restored to health and is able to
take lip his work again.
Rey. T. G. Williamson, who,
for a number of years had been
the minister of our church at
Elizabethtown, died Wednesday
of last week. He was an earnest
and faithful preacher of the
gospel and was active not only
in the churches on his special
field, but gave largely of his
time and energy to the promo
tion of the work in the Presby
tery.
A letter from Dr. C. Dillard,
of Goldsboro, in regard to the
benevolences, with particular
reference to the Cape Fear
Presbytery, either went astray
or has been mislaid. As the
time for raising this fund is
short, we take this occasion to
call attention to Dr. Dillard’s
letter and urge all of our church
es to take action in the matter
at once and do everything pos
sible to raise their quotas. Dr.
Baker’s article elsewhere shows
that so fa,r only a small number
of churches have paid in full.
Years ago colored men had
a monopoly of the best trade in
the barber business in the
South, but, , seeing the pos
sibilities of the business,
white men have entered the
field and colored men are being
pushed out of the hotel shops
and off the main streets. Just
now Atlanta is making a fight
on the Negro barbers who
serve white patrons. If an or
dinance already passed by the
city council should be endorsed
by the Mayor and become a law,
Negro barbers will not be al
lowed to serve white people.
This would have the effect of
putting many of the /best col
ored barbers out of business.
DR. RUSSELL’S HEALTH RE
STORED.
Will Resume Evangelistic Work
Durham, N. C.,
Feb. 10, 1926.
Editor of The Africo-Ameri
can Presbyterian,
Dear Brother:
Kindly announce in your pa
per that my health has been re
stored and I am again on the job.
We hope to have great success
in the ingathering of souls dur
ing the year.
We regret very much that
Rev. W. W. Mayle is not with
us in the East Tennessee Syn
od. Rev. J. E. Tice is pastoring
in Petersburg, hence, we have
no evangelists in said Synod. It
is not likely that the Division of
Missions for Colored People will
be in position to appoint other
persons this year.
Rev. J. E. Jackson, the evan
gelist for the Atlantic Synod,
will do some work in the Cana
dian Synod. We hope that
when the brethren invite him
they will take into consideration
the distance and expense, and
arrange to have three or four
meetings at places where the
greatest good may be accom
plished. The brethren of the
Canadian Synod may address
Rev. Jackson as follows:
1305 Heidt St.,
■ Columbia, S. C.
Many of the Canadian breth
ren know that Rev. Jackson is a
strong preacher, a splendid evan
gelist. Our Board will give a
special man for this Synod as
early as possible.
As for the Tennessee Synod,
I shall arrange, as best I can, to
take care of the evangelistic side
of the work there. I trust the
brethren will take into consid
eration the distance I will be
compelled to travel, and arrange
for as many as three or four
meetings where the greatest
good may be accomplished.
My address is Box 815, Dur
ham, N. C. (Office, N. C. Mutual
Annex.)
HONOR ROLL OF CHURCHES
WHICH HAVE PAID THEIR
1925-26 BENEVOLENCE
< QUOTAS.
On the suggestion of Dr. G.
W. Long, strongly endorsed by
Dr. J. M. Gaston, the Workers’
Conference at Chester, S. C.,
voted to request the Africo to
publish an Honor Roll of the
churches in various Presbyte
ries that have paid their full
benevolence quotas for the year
1925-26. This Roll will appear
weekly in the Africo as soon as
the quota is raised and sent in
to the Central Receiving Agen
cy or to any of the Boards for
proper distribution.
(Signed)
C. J. BAKER.
Fairfield Presbytery
Sumter, Second - Sumter, S. C.
Shiloh, Second_Wedgefield, S. C.
York, Second _ York, S. C.
Cheraw, Second_Cheraw, S. C.
Knox Presbytery
St. Paul ...:. Cordele, Ga.
Laura Street__Jacksonville, Fla.
McClelland Presbytery
Allendale, Second_Allendale, S. C.
Bethesda_ Gaffney, S. C.
Kiamichi Presbytery
New Hope_Fort Towson, Okla.
Beaver Dam _ Grant, Okla.
White River Presbytery
Westminster _ Cotton Plant, Ark.
Hot Springs, 2nd, Hot Springs, Ark.
Holmes Chapel _ Monticello, Ark.
Hopewell ___ Morrilton, Ark.
Smith Memorial_Crockett, Texas
Cape Fear Presbytery
Mt. Pleasant_ Franklinton, N. C.
Bethany _ Lumberton, N. C.
Red Springs, 2nd, Red Springs, N. C.
Mt. Pisgah ...._ Rocky Mount, N. C.
St. Paul, 2nd.. Timberland, N. C.
Catawba Presbytery
Trinity__ Marion, N. C.
Southern Virginia Presbytery
Holbrook Street - Danville, Va.
Yadkin Presbytery
John Hall Chapel_ Carthage, N. C.
Pine Street _ Durham, N. C.
Birmingham Presbytery . .
Clark’s Chapel_ Ackerman, Miss.
Rogersville Presbytery
Bethesda _ Johnson City, Tenn.
SUMTER SECOND PRESBY
TERIAN CHURCH, SUM
TER, S. C.
On Sabbath morning, Jan.
16th, the Rev. E. W. Williams,
D. D., of Washington, D. C., de
livered to us an excellent ser
mon from Isa. 58:12. This ser
mon was a masterpiece of elo
quence, full of instruction and
spiritual fervor.
The Sunday school, one of the
great assets of the church, un
der the supervision of the most
efficient Superintendent, Miss
H. N. Usher, is growing in num
bers each Sabbath. It has con
tributed $21 to the different
Boards since November, and is
now working on the rally for the
Boards in February. Miss Ush
er has been Superintendent of
this Department of the church
for 20 years.
The Christian Endeavor is in
deed wide awake. The Presi
dent, Mrs. A. R. Donnelly, takes
great interest in this work.
The Missionary Society is do
ing a splendid work in the
church. The ladies seem very
much interested and are putting
forth every effort.
THE ANNUAL WORKERS’ CONFERENCE
HELD AT BRAINERD INSTITUTE, CHESTER, S. C—A
LARGE ATTENDANCE FROM ALL PARTS
OF THE SOUTHERN FIELD.
By Rev. L. B. West
Dr.- John M. Gaston an
nounced: “We will sing hymn
No. 348, ‘My Days Are Gliding
Swiftly By,’ and Dr. C. M.
Young will make the closing
prayer.” Thus ended the 1926
meeting of the Workers’ Con
ference. The Conference is held
annually under the direction of
the Division of Missions for
Colored People, of the Board
of National Missions of the
Presbyterian Church, U. S. A.
The Conference was in session
four days—February 2 to 5—at
Brainerd Institute, Prof. John
S. Marquis, Principal, Chester,
S. C., and was chock full of in
terest from start to finish.
The presiding officers were
the Rev. John M. Gaston, D. D.,
LL. D., Secretary of the Divis
ion of Missions for Colored Peo
ple, and Mr. John M. Somern
dike, Superintendent of the Mis
sionary Department of Sabbath
School Work.
The attendance was large. The
entertainment was fine. Prof,
and Mrs. Marquis, aided by their
faculty and student body, gave
the Conference a good taste of
Brainerd hospitality. And the
citizens of Chester, led by Prof,
and Mrs. A. A. Adair, helped to
take care of the Conference to
the best of their ability.
Greetings.
The Conference received a
hearty welcome from the Hon.
F. C. Carter, Mayor of Chester.
He was glad to have the Con
ference in Chester because he
believed that the Conference
would do good. He said that
Brainerd was a credit to Chester,
He was proud of the progress
of the Negro race. He believed
in the education of the Negro.
He paid a glowing tribute to
Prof, and Mrs. Marquis. He said
that in their long years of ser
vice none had done more for the
education of the Negro in South
Carolina than they. He wished
the Conference a very pleasant
stay.
Mrs. Agnes B. Snively, in a
very happy vein, brought the
greetings of the Board. She
had been looking forward to the
Conference for two years. She
said that Mrs. W. T. Larimer
sent the following message: “I
am tired in the work, but not
tired of the work.”
After speaking of the magni
tude of the Board of National
Missions, Mrs. Snively declared
that she was very proud of the
Division of Missions for Colored
People. In her vision for the
young people she wanted them
to be pure and good, tak
ing Jesus as their leader. She
wanted them to be thorough.
There was too much careless
ness. She. wanted them to be
orderly. There was too much
lawlessness. She wanted them
to have the proper recreation.
There was woeful lack of this
among colored people. She
wanted them to render service
for Christ and His kingdom.
She wanted them to sacrifice,
and to realize that they were
a part of God’s plan, and that
they must live well that part.
Music.
Music always has a big place
in the program of the Confer
ence. It was so this year. The
Chapel Hymnal was used. Miss
Vera List was the pianist. The
singing was directed by Drs. I.
H. Russell, A. B. McCoy and T.
A. Long.
The Brainerd Chorus and
Quartette rendered special selec
tions.
me Missionary yuartette,
composed of Revs. J. B. Barber,
H. C. Miller, Messrs. I. M. lifer
tin and A. A. Adair, sang sever
al spirituals. ;
The Conference Quartette,
made up of Drs. A. S. Clark, M,
J. Jackson, E. J. Gregg and J.
P, Foster sang a special selec
tion.
Evangelistic Services.
During the day subjects were
discussed that were vital to the
development of church and
school work. At night evange
listic services were conducted.
This is a big feature of the Con
ference. Evangelist's I. H. Rus
sell, Catawba Synod, and J. E.
Jackson, Atlantic Synod, had
charge of these services. The
evangelistic messages were de
livered by Revs. W. Scott Miller,
Norfolk, Va., J. E. Jackson, and
H. C. Miller, Greensboro. Rev.
W. S. Miller showed clearly that
the new birth was the gateway
into the kingdom of God. Rev.
Jackson showed what can be ac
complished in our lives when we
consecrate our possesions to
God. Rev. EE. G. Miller magnified
the thought that the Church is
a spiritual and not a material
organization, and that the se
cret of her power is to be found
in her confession that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of the Liv
ing God. At the close of each
sermon earnest appeals were
made and fervent prayers of
fered. Two persons came for
ward on the first two nights,
and on the last night one young
man of the school was happily
converted.
The devqtional hour was very
helpful. Each session was be
gun with a season of devotion.
The following were the leaders:
Rev. A. H. George read the 6th
chapter of Isaiah and prayed.
Rev. S. T. Redd read the 51st
Psalm and prayed.
Rev S. D. Thom, D. D.,
wanted the workers to follow
Christ in sacrifice, in prayer and
service. Mr. J. M. Somerndike
said we should be very careful
in our Christian conduct be
cause of the perilous times in
which we live. Rev. H. C. Cous
ins made a plea for the ac
knowledgment of God in all of
our ways. Prof. C. N. Shrop
shire said we were workers with
God and told what God expects
of us.
Historical Items.
One of the outstanding items
of the Conference was the read
ing by Dr. W. L. Metz, of Edis
to Island, S. C., of a historical
paper on some of the outstand
ing workers of the past among
colored people. Dr. Metz gave a
graphic description of the lives
and labors of those sainted
workers, many of whom have
crossed over. Tears came to
many eyes as Dr. Metz men
tioned such names as Mrs.
S. J. Neil, Drs. Billingsley,
Murkland, West, Mattoon, John
son, Beatty, Dorland, Satter
field, Lawrence, Hutchinson, etc.
The Conference sang: “Praise
God From Whom All Blessings
Flow,” and gave Dr. Metz a ris
ing vote of thanks.
Just before Dr. Metz read his
paper, Prof. Adair presented
Mr. Jerry Alexander, an old cit
zen of Chester, to the Confer
ence. Mr. Alexander gave an
account of the early days of
Brainerd School. The school
was started in the County in
1866. It moved to Chester in
1867. The first teacher was
Miss E. E. Richmond, o f Vine
land, N. J. Then came Miss Car
rie Kent. He said where Brain
erd now stands was once the
garden spot of South Carolina
so far as slaves were concerned.
It was a great slave center. He
exhibited a coat which was made
for him when he was eight years
old by his teacher, Miss Kent.
He also exhibited the bill of sale
dated 1853, for his mother. He
presented Dr. Gaston and Prof.
Marquis with an enlarged pic
ture of the first building ol
Brainerd. A picture of Miss
Richmond was also shown.
Prof. Marquis mentioned the
fact that' the request for the
school came from Mr. G. L. Har
ris, a former slave-holder.
' Dr. Gaston and Prof. Marquis
expressed their thanks for the
oictures.
Church Work
Dr. C. J. Baker, of Atlanta,
ja., spoke on benevolent offer
ings. He gave illustrations of
the fact that a treasurer for be
levolence only, in the church,
brought better results than hav
ing one treasurer for every
thing. He called attention to
the needs of the Boards of the
Church, and showed how neces
sary it was for churches to make
pledges, and raise the money to
meet those needs. He urged that
pledges should be paid weekly.
He said the Boards had to bor
row large sums of money dur
ing; the year, and asked that be
nevolences be forwarded quar
terly.
One of the questions that' pro
voked a great deal of discussion
was what standards shall be re
quired of a church in order to
be qualified to receive aid. This
discussion was led off by Dr.
John A. Savage, Principal of
Albion Academy, Franklinton.
Among other things* he said
that churches should have de
cent church buildings, carry out
the every-member canvass and
pay their benevolent quotas.
Growing out of the discussion
a committee was appointed to
draft resolutions to be sent to
the different Presbyteries for
consideration. The committee
consisted of Dr. Z. A. Dockery,
Dr. S. D. Thom, Dr. C. E. Tuck
er and Rev. H. C. Cousins. The
resolutions will be published lat
er.
Dr. I. D. Davis, of Columbia,
S. C., thought that for a minis
ter to exert the proper influence
he should preach Christ. He
should not be self-seeking. He
should be the very embodiment
of good character. He should
teach punctuality by precept
and example. He should be hon
est and truthful, and should at
all times be neat in appearance
Dr. S. D. Thom showed how
the spiritual life of our church
es may be quickened. Among
other things he said ministers
should be Spirit-filled men. They
are to inspire their members,
[t should be their aim to get as
many members as possible to
engage in the work of the
church. He pictured the pro
gram of the Church, and said
it was highly important that as
believers we prepare ourselves,
and then carry out' that pro
gram. The Church is to give
the gospel to the whole world.
, School Work.
The Conference gave serious
thought to the proper training
of the youth in schools and col
leges. Nothing short' of a
Christian education will produce
the best results. This discus
sion was handled by the follow
ing educators: Dr. C. M. Young,
President Harbison Agricultural
College, Irmo, S. C.; Miss Maud
Kinniburgh, Dean of Barber
College, Anniston, Ala.; Dr. G.
C. Shaw, Principal Mary Potter
School, Oxford; Dr. T. R. Lewis,
President Scotia Women’s Col
lege, Concord; Dr. C. H. Shute,
Librarian, Johnson C. Smith
University, Charlotte; and
Mrs. J. G. Porter, Principal Pa
rochial School, Irmo, S. C.
Mrs: Porter said that the ele
mentary Church sch6olJ was
loaded with the great respon
sibility of giving the children
the right start.
ur. u. jyl. loung was oi tne
opinion that the young boys and
men of this country will never
be trained in the way they
should go for life’s work until
those whom God has placed at
the head shall lead them into
right thinking and right living.
Miss Kinniburgh said that at
Barber they were trying to de
velop capable, ambitious wo
manhood. They were training
girls to do their best, and to
make the Christian life a prac
tical reality.
Dr. Shaw declared that in the
training of boys and girls for
their life’s work, the contact
which is gotten in a co-educa
tional school is indispensable
:or the bringing out of the finer
qualities in the individual.
Dr. Lewis said that in the
raining of young women Scotia
bad a glorious record and the
present , administration was
building on that foundation.
Dr. Shute thought that the
Bible should have a place of
prime importance in our educa
tional system. Without the Bi
ble life is incomplete. He was
if the opinion that secular edu
cation without the Bible would
produce hands and heads, but
iot hearts of the right kind.
Rev. Franklin Gregg, of New
aan, Ga., pictured the advantag
3s of an industrial education. He
was of the opinion that our
youth should know how to use
head and hand. He said this
was a mechanical age. Machines
were replacing hand labor and
our boys should be trained to
operate these machines. He also
3poke of the moral value of an
industrial education.
Dr. A. S. Clark, of Cordele,
Ca., told of the splendid achieve
ments 01 some of the graduates
of u^espie Normal School. He
3aid that several of them were
"iow preachers, teachers, mis
sionaries, trained nurses and
pharmacists.
Sabbath School Work
Every phase of Sabbath
school work was discussed. The
Conference enthusiastically con
sidered how to develop and im
prove the schools already in ex
istence, and how to
and do more
Mr. Somerndike
relation of the
Missionaijr to^lk*-!
was one of vital importance. He
said there were great needs in
each Presbytery, and the Mis
sionary should keep the Pres
bytery informed. He thought
that Presbyterial Committees
should be thoroughly acquaint
ed with the missionaries.
Dr. A. B. McCoy, Atlanta, Ga.,
made it plain that the rural
districts of the South was the
place for the greatest activity
on the part of the Sabbath school
missionary.
Rev. H. M. Scott, of Ocala,
Fla., was of the opinion that
churches and pastors can co-op
erata in extending the work of
the Sabbath School by giving it
a larger place in their programs
and contributing of their time
and money and service.
Mr. A. A. Adair, of Chester,
S. C., thought that one of the
ways in which a mission Sab
bath school could be developed
and strengthened was for the
missionary to visit the school as
often as posible and give the
needed information. Another
way was for the school to send
delegates to the Presbyterial
Conventions and* Schools of
Methods.
Mr. R. W. Kornegay, of Kin
ston, graphically described the
work of a missionary for every
day in the week. He left it
clear in the minds of the Con
ference that the work of the
missionary was not a week-end
job.
Rev, L. R. Taylor, of Alabama,
discussed how leaders can be se
cured and trained to conduct
mission Sabbath Schools. He
said great tact had to be used in
securing leaders, and after they
had been found, great interest
should be manifested in them
until they were trained to do
the work.
Mr. J. d. Shepperson, of Ten
nessee, said that with the prop
er facilities, the modern methods
of Sabbath school work can be
adapted to Negro schools. He
mentioneu several schools that
had modern methods.
Mr. A. A. Adair was of the
opinion that departmental grad
ed lessons were best for our Sab
bath schools.
Dr. E. C. Haines, of Arkan
sas, in a short address, told how
Teacher Training Classes can be
maintained in our schools.
Mr. I. M. Martin, of Charlotte,
showed the value of the Work
ers’ Conference. He said the
Conference should be planned
for, a suitable program ar
ranged, should begin and close
on time; and should discuss
only the work of the school.
Mr. H. N. Sullivan, of South
Carolina, thought that parents
might be gotten to Sabbath
school by writing them personal
letters and inviting them to at
tend school. He said that com
petition can be carried on in
classes by asking children to
bring parents. He said that sur
veys of homes should be made,
and where the parents did not
attend school, their homes
should be tagged, the tag to be
removed when parents came to
school. He said, give the par
ents something to do, after get
ting them in school.
Rev. W. D. Woods said that
the ministers should be interest
ed in the work of the Sabbath
School in its entirety, and co-op
erate with the Superintendent
in putting over the school pro
gram. He should be active in
the work of the school.
Rev. Italy Le Conte, of Un
ion Point, Ga., said that a good
Sabbath school teacher should
be pious, punctual, patient, stu
dious, watchful and prayerful.
Daily Vacation Bible School
The Daily Vacation Bible
school was very ably intro
duced by Mr. S. L. Young, of
Virginia. He said by experience
he had learned that a D. V. B. S.
was practicable for every Sab
bath school.
Rev. F. C. Shirley, of Char
lotte, said that leaders for D. V.
B. S. can be trained at the Syn
odical Convention and School of
Methods, and also by the spe
cial workers appointed by the
S. S. Department for that pur
pose.
Rev. J. B, Barber, of Chatta
nooga, Tenn., outlined the daily
schedule of a D. V. B. S. Among
other things he mentioned, he
said prayer should have a prom
inent place. The teachers should