■ 9
pwlw
w I'M
■ I fl
i W- B
m\.MM
THE CONFERENCE ON AFRICAN MISSIONS,
AH# IMPRESSIONS OF EUROPE
By Rev. A. B, McCoy, D; D. *
Dear .Mr. Editor:—I am back,
and, accordingto promise, I was
to give you some' impressions of
my European trip. We spent one
week at the Conference on Afri
ca, held'at Le Zoute, Belgium.
Our latest geographies will not
show Le Zoute, because it is ndt
over four years old. It is a
beautiful resort on, the lovely
beach of the North Sea—a young
Atlantic City. Hotels made a
special charge for our delega
tion-^ francs (about 90 cents)
a day for room and three meals
The Conference was attended by
240 delegates representing six
teen countries and sixty-three
mission societies. The meetings
were held practically behind
closed doors—no one could en
ter without a permit, not even
our wives, and no press agents
at all. : '■ •- . -
Tire uonrerence naa rnree
main objectives: . i
. 1. To create a better under
standing between thfe Foreign
Governments and the. Mission
Societies in Africa. t
2. To formulate new meth
ods of religious and educational
approach to the new African, j
3. To study the possibility
of encouraging the American
Negro to go to Africa as a mis
sionary,
It took seven whole days and
" nights, holding three sessions a
day with several committees in
daily sdSsiony to arrive at some
definite findings on these sub
jects. All addresses were deliv
ered in English, while every one
was allowed to use his own lan
guage in congregational singing.
Sixteen countries sang, in their
gimfwhat took place at the tow
er in the midst of the “confusion
of tongues.” * :
A spirit of sincerity and seri
ousness permeated every ses
sion. It was evident that men
prayed before they spoke and
women approached their task in
humility.: the Conference never
lost sight of the great task that
confronted it.
You will be interested to know
that the. Conference put its
stamp of approval on sending
American Negroes to Africa;
that is, it requested the opposing
governments to withdraw their
barriers* and advised the mis
sion societies to encourage the
American Negro to go to Afri
ca. This puts the matter of
sending - Negroes to Africa
squarely up to the Foreign Mis
sion Boarda . of the various
Churches. v
Of course, I know what every
Negro Presbyterian of our
Church is ' thinking. You want
to know what about our Foreign
Board? ^ust hold your peace a
little longer. The pot is boiling.
I am not allowed to speak out as
yet. God is not dead- The pray
ers of the righteous still prevail.
While I write this a telegram
calls me to New York for a
conference, I shall say no more
on the subject just now. Wait!
wait! And then we will say a
plenty. ; ' . .
x want w umuA wc iucuiucxb
of our conventions who kept
their pledge,—who promised to
pray for us. From the first day
I sailed from New York I saw
the effect of-your prayers. I
came within one minute of miss
ing that boat; On that steamer
* was the very man that by all
means I should have been with
-—the Superintendent of the
African Missions under the
Board of Foreign Missions of our
Church. Tp have missed him
would have been a calamity. It
is this man—no, I dare not say
more just now. So much for the
Conference.- t r - - . j
After the Conference Mrs.
McCoy and I spent a whole
month on a tour through the
continent, nndr r in - a nutshell,
this is what happened: We visit
ed six countries—‘Holland, Bel
gium, Switzerland, Germany, It
aly and France. We were ,i»
thirty different cities and
towns, lived in eighteen differ
ent hotels, traveled through
one hundred and fifty-eight
railroad tunnels, sailed on four
seas' and five of Italy's most
beautiful lakes; washed our
hands in the River Rhine, stood
on the banks of the Tiber,
viewed with pride and emotion
the easy moving streams of the
Seine and saw where the Rhone
and the Aver meet at the foot
of the famous Mt. Jura.
We crossed, went upon, under
and over and around the historic
Alps more than once- Sat on Mt.
Jaunfrau, picked huckleberries
on Mt. Grindawald and went in
to the famous Grindawald
Grotto (ice cave) Glacier
where the temperature was sb
far below the freezing point un
til the thermometer ceased to
register. We went to one movie
but could not read the captions,
so never attempted that stunt
again. Visited the famous four-,
teen cathedrals of the world,
saw the tjolden Plaza of Brus
sels, fed pigeons on St. Marie’s
square m Venice, sat on the Ro
man Coliseum, stood with un
covered head fa the Forum, rode
over the Appian Way built be
fore Christ, trod through the
dark tunnels of the catacombs
with lighted candles, viewed the
spot where Savonarola was
burned, saw the house fa which
Peter had his vision, which in
spired the book, "Quo Vadis;”
stood by the tombs of Dante,
Caesar, Napoleon, Calvin, Knox,
St. Sebastian, Wagner, Milton
m
and Beethoven and lir&eMed long
by Michael Angelo’s “Madonna,”
and the original paintiftg, Be
Vinci’s ‘%asr Supper,”
We saw the Eiffel Tower of
Paris, the Leaning Tower of Pi
sa, the dining ear in which the
Armistice was signed fa 1018,
the home of the League of Na
tions, the room and table
where the Versailles Treaty was
signed, the "Bridge of Sighs” fa
Venice and rode in the beautiful
gondolas of the watery streets
of lovely Venice, and here is
where we saw our first brother
of color. Had it not been for
my persistent entreaty my wife
would have tried the stunt of
Peter and walked on the water,
so glau was she to see one that
looked like us. Thrills! Well, we
had those too, but space will for
bid my enumeration of them.
Our last was on Monday before
landing in New York on Tues
day. You have read of a storm
at sea. We have seen it and felt
it, and we hope never again like
that.
The happiest moment of our
trip? When we saw the Statue
of Liberty, Tuesday morning,
October 26, 1926,
Atlanta, Ga.
OUJTUBin ouvunv rnaoui"
TERIAN CHURCH NOTES
Sunday, November 7, Rev. J.
P. Foster, our pastor, preached
a wonderful sermon from Sti
Matthew 5:15, subject, “The
Man With One Talent.” The ser
mon was a spiritual feast and
our hearts burned within us as!
the words so truthful, so prac
tical, so fitting and touching1
were spoken during our mora-i
ing worship.
The Suhday school is one of
the best to be found anywhere.
And we cannot say enough
about our Superintendent, Miss
Helen Usher, who has labored!
untiringly to make it what it is.
On October 17th the pictur
esque religious pageant, “Thej
Gall of the Nations,” was pre
sented by the Christian Endeav
or Society, whidi is quite dive
and active, runder the supervis
ion of Prof. Geo. L. Allen, who
(Continued on page 2)
AT flOME-CDUST
By Rev. G.
The writer has just made
one of the most pleasant vis
its of a lifetime, as is indi
cated in the above beading. We
could make a long, and, perhaps,
interesting story of a recent trip
to these three points of interest,
but for the present, will be cop
tent to make a long story short.
Jetersville, Va., my home, is
the place where the sainted and
lamented Mrs. Samantha Janie
Neil spent nearly forty-threje
shears of her life in setf-sacrifki
ing labors in the work of uplift
tor our people in parochial, Suh
iay school and church work, fur
nishing the inspiration for the
founding of Ingleside Seminary,
Burkeville, Va., and where she
now deeps in the little cemetery
beside black folks.
On,Sunday morning, Novem
ber 14, we surprised our dear
parents at their home at Jeters
ville, Va. We found them still
vigorous in mind and body,
and quick of step. We had
hoped to attend services at our
home church, Allen Memorial,
Rev. W. H- Shepperson, pastor,
but this was not preaching Sunk
Jay. However, as the day grew
ilder, we observed that the hu
man tide was flowing gradually
towards Christ church, Burke
ville, just ten miles’ distant
where a rally was being staged
for an indebtedness oh the
pews. Father and I got swept
away in this tide and soon
found ourselves on the rostrum
where Rev. Shepperson was
steering “things grandly, with;
the faculty of Ingleside Semina*
nary, and a quiet, cultured and
lovely group of young women
students occupying the right
sews, and members and visiting
friends oh the left, The plan
of the rally was to have the
members of neighboring church*
as, Alien Memorial, Mt. Zion and
Russell Grove to come in a body
to assist the local membership,
and the girls above mentioned
were asked to help in the effort,
the assurance being given that
an amount so small as $3,00 from
them would be appreciated.
But the rally did not turn out
as planned; no, not by any
means. We state the case With
mathematical accuracy and with
lot an inkling of exaggeration
when we say that this whole af
fair turned out to be a rally by
the consecrated and sacrificing
roung ladies of Ingleside, under
the leadership of their precep
tress, Mrs. R. L. Alter.
, After the delivery of a
thoughtful sermon by the min
ister in charge, three tables
were placed before the capacity
audience. Elder Tony Wilkerson,
if Allen Memorial, took the col
lection from the men; Mrs. Sal
lie Jeter Crawley, one of Ingle
side’s noble daughters, waited
in the ladies of the audience,
while Rev. C. P. Pitchford was
the recipient of the choicest of
the honors of the occasion, being
sailed out by Mrs. Alter from
among others who would gladly
lave performed this pleasant
duty, to receive the collection
from the girls. Their manner of
presentation was unique and
attractive. The young ladies
reported by classes, a mem
ber of each class being chosen
to make a short but wonderfully
appropriate presentation speech,
and they altogether placed the
sum of $124 on the table while
the members of the several
participating churches brought
tfce sum up to a total of $203.40.
Not only did they excell in
this part of the service, but
they sang choruses and quar
tettes galore. They really did
Bing. Their voices blended in
such beauty and harmony that
tve were reminded of the time
we were reminded of the time,
as told in sacred story, when the
After the service we Were in
cited to come to Ingleside Mon
day morning by Dr. Alter, Pres
ident We were asked to be there
at 8:20* We were there at 8:19.
the
ere in the impressive moni
tions which consisted m
two familiar hymns, re
the 1st, 4th, 23rd and
Psalms, and closing with
s Prayer.
were extended the eourte
visiting several class rooms
tened to the enthusiastic
ns knd recitations.
“This is the finest place I have
seen. The teachers are
ul, and the scholars
same way,” said Little
ud Dunlap, in a recent
ieation to her minister,
our visit there we
t say—the half has not yet
told. Ingleside is great.
Lord is in this place ”
stay in Burkevihe was
by visiting in the home
v. Mr. Robinson, Mr- Co
us Miller, Mrs. SaUie Jeter
ley, and the public school
' in charge of Mrs. Sallie
assisted by two most
educators, Miss Jen
of South Boston, and Miss
of Roanoke.
meeting of many other
friends and acquaintances made
this; trip a happy one indeed.
WUN LEAGUE REPORTS
INDUSTRY FOR OCTO
BER.
etin No. 8 of the Industri
atxons of the National
League summarizes em
ent conditions throughout
Country as follows:
conditions remain
cally unchanged through
he country. This report
from such widely scats
districts as Michigan,
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsyl
' "TTTiT"! r!-TMgr—' -
ansas, Kentucky,
Illinois mid New York.
Migration.
There is still a movement of
labor in the cotton area of Mis
souri, Texas and Arkansas. An
advisor from Texas estimates
that there is a demand for 80,
00d cotton pickers in that State.
St. Louis reports an influx of
workers during the last few
months—most of them from the
North. Colored families are
leaving St. Paul because of lack
of industrial opportunities. Two
factories there which had prom
ised to try a few colored work
now say that they cannot
ers
take them on at this time.
Discrimination
Colored waiters in Pershing
Palace, Chicago, were replaced
by white when a change was
made in the management- A
call received at the Brooklyn Y.
M- C. A. from Philadelphia for
a designer was withdrawn when
a colored man was sent to apply
for the position.
organized Labor
The "fifty colored members of
the Paper Box Makers’ Union in
New York have been taking an
active part in the strike of 2500
paper box workers. On the oth
er hand there is an attempt be
ing made to organize unskilled
labor in Harrisburg, Pa. Col
ored girls in one factory in Chi
cago nave started a movement
to organize since the date work
ers haye gone on strike there.
Favorable Conditions Reported
Chicago: There are openings
in the lam shade industry,
date factories, and an increasing
demand for power machine oper
atives. Calls are coming from
parts of Illinois and Indiana for
railway section hands
New York: A coal company
has employed a Negro salesman
There is a demand for track
workers at 42c an hour.
Hot Springs, Ark-: There has
been a gain for colored workers
in the building trades, farm la
bor, and in the saw mills. Several
office buildings have engaged
girls as elevator operators.
Winston-Salem: Fifteen'thou
sand Negroes, are employed in
the tobacco factories of Win
ston-Salem, 12,000 being hired
by one company. There is a gain
in street repair work.
So loirf as this grea
lltoathwart the path <
ramerican, most of the
rice and uplift work
ineffectual. Next in ii
among the many prob
which we must tope :
housing.
urban
appro-;
m
In nearly every
senter where there is
nable> Negro population,
groes suffer from
adequate housing, to
ing of exorbitant
Rents, indeed, often
Income of the tenant,
most Negroes so sti
forced to augment th
yuate incomes by
roomers and by
that break up family
[oWer moral standards. .
The Negroes in New York are
better housed as'a group than,
Negroes elsewhere in the coun
try. Most of the dwelling* iij,
the Harlem district aren$t over
25 years old, while numbers o|
apartment dwellings ‘ are jess
than ten years old- Streets are
dean and well lighted, trash ;re
moval is regular, and firfe protec
tion is excellent. To the casual
observer it appears to be an ideal
urban center. But the Negrbes
here, as elsewhere, are subject
ed to housing segregation, and
consequently, rents are exorbi
tant. Where white people once
paid sixty dollors a month rent,
Negroes are now paying twicb
that much. Negroes are forced
to pay fifty and sixty dollars a
month rent for apartments
Which, in a white section, would
only cost them twenty-five or
thirty dollars.
Consequently the building Of
model apartments especially
for the,Negroes of Harlem by
Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., de
serves commendation. Last May
he purchased an entire block of
vacant land for that purpose
upon which new dwellings are
now in course of erection. See
ing the social necessity for ad
ditional investment in this field,
Mr. Rockefeller has recently
purchased five additional blocks
in the same distrct upon which
more apartment dwellings are
shortly to be erected. His en
tire purchases now aggregate
200 city lots. The cost of the
land will doubtless total about
five millions.
it is to be nopea tnat otner
wealthy philanthropists wll fol
low Mr. Rockefeller’s example.
There is hardly a large Negro
urban center in the country that
could not be benefited by such
a project. Such is a real tangi
bi j social service. Most of the
other forms are palliative. This
is fundamental. The only pro
ject of greater importance to
our people is the opening up of
wider industrial opportunities
for our people. When the wealthy
men who control the nation’s in
dustries take that step our prob
lem will be well on its way to
solution- t
It is with regret that we note
that it was necessary for a
wealthy white man to do for the
New York Negroes what they
could have done for themselves,
The cost of the Rockefeller pro
ject was not prohibitive. The
land was there and unoccupied,
Negroes were passing it every
day. They knew the necessity
of more houses. They must have
known the effects of inadequate
housing, congested apartments
and high rentals on the Negrc
population. Yet in the last sis
years they have invested as
much in ehurches alone as Mr,
Rockefeller has invested in this
building . project. As muipli
again has been thrown, away by
them in fraternal activities o3
negligible value.
What can be churned againsl
the Negroes Of NS# York is alsc
true of the Negroes in othei
urban centers. Year in and yeai
out they sit overlooking alley!
and dumps swarming withfiltl
iura reeking irith disease; while .
they poop too- much of their
hard-earned money into church? t,
in and fraternal activities., Then, ;
those in the seats of the mighty ,
s ^i^.;1sk^esak'<«md%
! i r«te and fcahake'rttteis**:*,;
h«fcde over*theftwavfe pf sin.;and .
jpW: ^Muskiiwe* nlvrayfc waited*
br' ^hite^ipeople ^jtoi d^efo^.tus- iL't
Phat weshoulrido.and arembl^,.
;b do ^p-ouradvesifit* wvi»>fc ••*
^EWAR^,,r;
EY* , ,nti, 1
XHil i *4»P. ,
Sojourner rTituth-S&wa G. Aw
' ;;f Newark, N. J.
l"1 ;■ i, tm* nm
one of your coli
Aljisomforifli
0. CUariifri fo1
noon; aria c^ptafr; fjgjpf «ah
meets here and ai&^*tep/sij
jects rana makes plans'for t
tieiiiferm^ rif fhe work,; ^ f
On the 26th. of pctiobjfc *t
Branch presented, if/ jRbsaiho
JohnsonandTsylbrGpidbn ir
tricttiil wtf the
torium. >; Theproj^rii consist
The Prrisbyteiirin’church :is ip
tile next block from/ the “Yfr
building. Dr. L. B/EHerson, the
pastor,, xj^rings-v4fiehmessages
every Sunday and the choir:&n-,
ders excellent nrii8ic. r; i;> <; ;:r;
I have had the pleasure Of at
tending the Newark Presbyteri-.
al since I have been herie- They
spend, only one day in their
Presbyterial » meetings. - This
Presbyterisi -Consists of rthirty
two churches, i /with the
Avenue being the mUy cplpred.
church- There ia s one Colored;
secretary^—our: bid friend from
the Southland—Mrs. A/iP. ,!Alh-.
son. W s _ -c
May I asfc the prayer8? and. in
terest of aU.?,/;; . &v/i V.
MRS. HENRIETTA D. HALL.
CALDWELL CHURCH NOTfjS *
Sunday, October^, our?pas
tor, Rev. R. L. Modre,[pi-eached
from Psalm 84:10/ “F6i"a'day
thy courts is better than a
thousand. I had rkthOr, be :/.
doorkeeper in thO hoiiSte of my :;
God than to dwell in the terras'
of wickedness.”- We hid .to;; '
worship with’Vus. Mr- . and Mrs;: 1
Dt P. Pc
was rally .
of $37 was „ .... , - ,
j We are all’very epi^foiiear ‘
thatJjdrs. R: X*‘./Mo6reand chiJ*^
dren<haV"ebeep i^jaydjwu glad"
to hear that'thOyare dmetd bd
Out" again, .v. * fT
Mws Viola J MM
Geneva Wktte' arO atf nOrnO/oif’
the accohht/^Of>;ph^8s. ,
wifl soOn ^tt^^’^p^^hore]'
tween Caldwell and Cc^heliil|. at -V'
Caldwell School house. -.J^idky i1
night, Npyember aO. ;T^rewijl ^
be refreshments ltd sett/tor ‘tgev':*j<
benefit o* the schools ^ I . tv ■>/
Coipmupion will be^admuda
terdd at Our church on,;the: thirds
Sunday. > -JThere Will be^. r#,
then the i tHMlniilniV^nnfirr Wr
hope to-selMy members pres
ent on thatjiay^ *i ' * £$
Our teadiers. : >:We hope/' hm(-n
much success* ihvhan po%