Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Jan. 7, 1937, edition 1 / Page 1
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“AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii:32. CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY, - JANUARY 7, 1937 VOL. LVIII NO. 1 WEST OF THE FATHER OF WATERS By Rev. T. B. Hargrave This article is being writteh on Christmas day. All the world seems to rejoice and. to enjoy a sacred prosperity. All classes seem to have one thing in common, and that is, the spirit of giving. The atheist and agnostic along with all classes seem to unconsciously proclaim that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Who can doubt the Deity of. Christ. I am in clined tq believe in the poem of Elizabeth York Chase who said: “There is no unbelief: Whosoever plants a seed beneath the sod And waits to see it push away the clod—• He trusts in God. “There is no unbelief; Whosoever says beneath the sky, ‘Be patient,* heart; light breaketh by and by,V Trusts the Most High. . “There is. no unbelief; Whosoever sees 'neath winter’s field of snow The silent harvest of the future grow— God’s power must know. “There is no unbelief; Whosoever says ‘tomorrow’ the un known, ‘The future,’ trusts that power alone He dares disown. “There is no unbelief; The heart that looks on when eye lids close, And dares to live when life has only woeB, - God’s comfort knows. “There is no unbelief; For thus by day and "night uncon sciously '< The heart lives by the faith the lips deny, . ! God knoweth why.” near the North Pole, the night lasts for months and months. When the people expect the day to dawn, some messengers go up to watch at a very high point and when they see the first streak of day they put on their brightest possible apparel and embrace each other and cry, “Behold the Sun,” and the cry goes all around the land, “Be hold the Sun!” Long centuries the people had lain in igno rance and sin. The cry of Zach arias was the joyful one, “Be hold the Son of righteousness is rising with healing in His wings. The day-spring from on high hath visited us.” “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, The light of the world is Jesus.” The Preaching Mission The Preaching Mission spon sored by the Board of National Missions among our group was a great success. Drs. Gaston and Klein and the team have every right to be proud of their efforts. God worked with them in a very large way and already results are coming. I believe that our Church is on the eve of the greatest spiritual awak ening in its history. This was evidenced by the enthusiasm • and deep spiritual interest man ifested by the ministers and workers in the one-day Preach ing Missions that followed in the various Presbyteries. I had the privilege of attending three of these Preaching Mis sions, namely, the Mission con ducted by the Presbytery of Birmingham at Memphis; the White River Mission at Hot Springs; and the Rendall Preaching Mission at Oklahoma City. This carried us to Christ mas week and then we didn’t want to stop. Birmingham Presbytery had two divisions and both were a great success. White River Presbytery broke all records. Nearly every min ister in the Presbytery was present and nearly every church sent from three to four dele gates to Hot Springs. They en tered into all the meetings with great spirit and all left on fire with the Spirit. It was truly the "Upper Room” in our Pres byteries, and after our tarrying we were all of one accord. The eight-day Preaching Services have been held in many parts of the Blue Ridge and Canadian Synods. The Week of Prayer will be a great harvest time, for all churches are called upon to rally to the cause during that season. We are calling to thp men everywhere to preach Christ. Notice A report blank will be sent from this office to all the churches in Blue Ridge and Car nadian Synods. If you have had your eight days of service please fill out the blank and majl it as soon as possible to Box 714, Hot Sprnigs, Ark., as they will have to be sent on to Di*. West and then to Dr. Gaston’s office. Please don’t overlook this important matter. The Young Man of the Mountains While traveling through New England years ago as a student I would often visit a spot in the White Mountains where I could see a famous rock called “The Old Man of the Moun tains^~4piose were the days of my ^drfeaming. A few weeks agcf I was traveling through the Cumberland Mountains of Southern Kentucky to see* a “Young Man of the Mountains.” This was not a dream but a reality and the young man was not a rock but a rocklike minis ter. There I was met by that young man in the person of Rev. W. V. Joyner, known as the evangelist of the hills. For a few minutes this young man lost himself in the story of his experiences during his various campaigns. The spirit of this poung man is what it takes to blast a way into the hearts of those mountain people and I ;o go amOTg tne tnTnjrafctrTticTf^ for lost souls he will win. Springfield, Mo. . Give us men with the spirit of the pioneers. This is what it takes in Canadian. Word comes from Springfield that the Rev. J. A. McDaniel, former j pastor of our church at Rome, Ga., has been greatly welcomed and that the people are pleased with his work. Rev. J. T. Douglas set a very high pace out in that city and we are pleased to know that Rev. Mc Daniel is carrying on so accept ably. Go to it, Rev. McDaniel; the boys of Canadian welcome you and when you need us just call! We hear of that beautiful brick manse that you are plan ning and we rejoice with you. Oklahoma City You have heard the slogan, “Building Canadian.” Well, that is just what the men are doing here in the West. Dr. Allen Bethel took me to see the new church building in this city. No longer will Dr. Hyder call the church at Oklahoma City a paper church, and run the risk of getting mobbed as he did many years ago. The Bethany Presbyterian church will soon be completed and we will all be proud to go to that city. Mrs. Butler, the wife of the late Dr. Butler, who began the work on the building, is donating the big tront window in honor of her beloved hus band. The people of Bethany are pushing and encouraging their young minister, the Rev. Mr. Lee. Dr. Martin Bethel, formerly of Tuskegee, is a great asset to our Synod. He is active in the building up of Ca nadian. The Preaching Misi sion team is grateful to him for the services he rendered while in Oklahoma. Okmulgee, Okla. Those Glenns just can’t be stopped. They are like ants, forever working, and as they work in a quiet way they get telling results. I was at the Mt. Olive church a few nights ago and saw people in action. I could not help but think back and note just how far they have come in building up such a live congregation and in such a short time. - Consecration and concentration will win. Cincinnati, Ohio I was with my old friend, Rev. J. T. Douglas, a few weeks ago. The friends on the field will rejoice to know of the good work that he is doing. I feel that he is. the right man in the right place. He has a commu nity center with three secre taries and! this center is a cen ter of interest. By the way, Rev. Douglas is the proud fath er of a baby boy. Congratula tions! May your troubles be little ones. Hot Springs, Ark. Hot Springs Second Presby terian church is attracting much attention in this city and all over the Presbytery. So often people stop here and say, “Is there really a church here and is all true that is said about It?” Well, they all go away convinced. Rev. Wm. Sample is making footprints out here and we expect great things in the future. Next Sunday is be nevolence day and watch for them to come up 100 per cent. The Christmas day address un der the auspices of the Inter denominational Alliance was delivered by our minister, and Rev. Sample created a real sen sation. He has identified him self with all the civic and re ligious organizations of the city and is making the Presby terian influence felt. Here a Little—There a Little Canadian Synod is building up with strong men. We want only strong men, and we do not wish the other Synods to call our good men, for it takes a particular type to build Cana dian. We rejoice at the success of our good friend and brother, Dr. Houston, in his new field as an evangelist. Rev. Houston, you were certainly ^missed in our fall Preaching Mission out here. Good luck and^God’s speed to you! at Little Rock. Rev. G. E. Caesar is planning to show us something in his new building and we should all get behind this cause. All churches are asked to pay their full benev olence quota by the end of Jan uary. Let’s Go, Blue Ridge and Canadian! NEGRO CHILD WELFARE GETTING U. S. ATTENTION New York, Dec. 24.—State governments, especially in the South, are cooperating with the Children’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor in pro grams to include Negro chil dren in .child and community welfare work, the N. A. A. C. P. was informed by Dr. Martha Eliot, assistant chief of the Bu reau. Dr. Eliot cited the work of Dr. Walter H. Maddux, colored specialist in children’s diseases, who is a member of the staff of the bureau. Dr. Maddux at pres ent is working in the State of Mississippi giving post gradu ate short courses in the care of mothers and children and as sisting in the development of better programs for school and pre-school children. Dr. Eliot also reports that the program submitted by the State programs provide for the employment of Negro social workers. These latter are fre quently used in county child welfare units in Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida and other Southern States. Penn sylvania has a Negro social worker on its State staff to ex plore the needs of Negro chil dren in rural areas. It is re ported to the N. A. A. C. P. that in some of the counties in North Carolina white social workers have at least 50 per cent Negro cases. The N. A. A. C. P. points out that colored people in the States can assist the Children’s Bureau by taking up with their State welfare boards the par ticular needs of Negro children with the suggestion that a program be devised by the State board for improving their $1 he scoitsboro case-leiter to GOVERNOR BIBB GRAVES Because they have been in close 6j£nfinement in individual cells sl|ce January, the nine Scottsbfro defendants “are suffering in a way they can no longer Wndure mentally or phy sically,^ it was charged today by th^cottsboro Defense Com mittee >jn a letter to Governer Bibb (paves of Alabama. Governor Graves was asked by the Committee through its Chairman, the Reverend Dr. Al lan Knight Chalmers, minister of the Broadway Tabernacle church, to take steps to change the present method of confining the yapths and also to use his infiuetfpe to secure a change of venue ^for the next trial which is scheduled for the January Term jbf Court. Dr.|ltlhalmers’ letter to the Governor follows: There is grave danger that the record in the case of the Scotts^oro boys will soon con tain ^ further stain which will not fee easy to wash out in the years ahead. It is caused by the manner in which they have been Jield in jail for the last nine months. Whatever the rea sons for it, the fact remains that bine boys (eight of them still awaiting trial, and the other with his case still on ap peal) are kept in close confine ment with no opportunity for exercise so that they are suffer ing lit a way then can no longer endufbe mentally or physically. Dr. Henry M. Edmonds, Chair man pf the Alabama Commit tee, with whom I have just talked on the long distance phone, spoke in the gravest of tones about the marked effect upon one of the boys whom he had just seen. . For five and one half years i they, have been in jail, treated as i£ they were already sen tenc^L arid the last nine months nav^eefTlTTWhat amounfeto almost solitary confinement. The Sheriff presents as his reason for doing nothing about this that no other procedure is open to them than to keep them in this type of confinement. He says that if they allow them to mix with other prisoners there is difficulty. He points to in stances in the past when they have been recalcitrant. He feels that in any jail to which they were sent, the same treat ment would have to be given them. Yet this solitary con finement has been instituted al most five years after a differ ent type of imprisonment. We recognize, of course, the difficulties involved. But they will not excuse the fact, when the record is complete, that such treatment has probably driven several of them already into such mental decline and physical disintegration (some times called a prison psychosis) that they are virtually executed without fair trial and that a continuation of this method of confinement may result in this practical execution happening to them all. Intentionally 'or otherwise, the confinement to which the boys have been subjected for the last nine months, can have but one result: to break them down physically and mentally so that in desperation they may make a false confession. It is well known that such confine ment is often as effective as a “third degree.” I am willing to give the au thorities from yourself down credit for not intending this re sult to occur. The record shows clearly, however, that it is hap pening, and the record from now on will show whether any thing was done to prevent this development from continuing after it was brought officially to your attention. It is not reasonable for any one to argue, as some do, that the boys are proven guilty. Technically this is not so. Prac tically, when one looks at the history of the case, it is morally indefensible to assert it. There have been two reversals by the Supreme Court and in the oth er trial a new trial was grant ed by Judge Horton in a care fully worked out opinion in which he grants the motion that the conviction be set aside as against the weight of the evidence, in the following words: “The testimony of the prose cutrix in this case is not only uncorroborated, but it also bears on its face indications of improbability and is contra dicted by other evidence, and in' addition thereto the evidence greatly preponderates in favor of the defendant. It therefore becomes the duty of the Court under the law to grant the mo tion made in this case. “It is therefore ordered and adjudged by the Court that the motion be granted; that the verdict of the jury in this case and the judgment of the Court sentencing this defendant to death be, and the same is here by set aside, and that a new trial be and the same is here by ordered.” If it should be proven, as we who are defending the boys be lieve we can prove, that the boys are not guilty of the crime as alleged, and yet at the end it is a fact that the State has so acted toward these boys that they are virtually executed by a jail confinement humanly im possible to endure, the case will be a lasting reproach to all who are involved. The sickness of the judge in the case has postponed the trial again. The case is drag ging into six years. A reason able request, backed by the support of a representative and responsible group of Alabama citizens comprising the Alaba ma Scottsboro Committee, in cluding lawyers of high dis tinction, that a change of ve nue be granted for the next Mf Kas W? 'I5m‘ iBiia; although there are procedures open to the authorities to grant this motion which, under the circumstances, is essential to a fair trial being held in the next appearance of the case. We feel that we could proper ly be considered derelict in our duty if we did not bring this matter strongly before you. We shall allow a reasonable time for a positive reply. We are, however, prepared to carry the matter much further. There are channels of influence on re sponsible public opinion open to members of the committee. These we shall use with all dil igence. We have become con scious through recent reports that we may already have de layed too long in making an em phatic public protest against a situation which, however any one may try to justify it, is in practice inhumane. I shall hope for a favorable reply to this letter which comes to you as the official ac tion of the Scottsboro Defense Committee and with the knowledge and consent of the Alabama Committee. Very sincerely, ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS THE EMERGENCY PEACE CAMPAIGN Philadelphia, December 23— “There seems to be in the pro cess of development a new at mosphere in some sections of the South in the attitude of whites toward Negroes,” stated John Dillingham, member of the executive staff of the Emer gency Peace Campaign, upon his return here to national headquarters after a tour of six Southern States during which he spoke in more than 28 towns and cities in the interest of peace. “White Southerners received me just as they did all other representatives of the Emer gency Peace Campaign,” he said. “They seemed more in terested in the problems of war and peace, than in the differ ences in color.” ^» i .. ’ ■ According to Mr. Dillingham, they were courteous, Congratu lated him after his speeches, and expected him to discuss just those issues which he did discuss. “In other words,” he said, “I saw no sign of their desiring me to ‘sing spirituals and dis cuss the race problem.’ The ‘race problem’ was discussed from a broader standpoint— the ‘human standpoint.’ ” In the 28 cities and towns in which he spoke during the past two months, seven of them had no previous Emergency Peace Campaign meetings for either racial group. In Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina, he spoke in both white and colored churches and col leges. He also came before such special groups as business men, ministerial alliances and forums. In addition to the Emergency Peace Campaign meetings, Mr. Dillingham gave a course of lectures in the Pastors’ Institute, Morristown College, for six days early in December. He also visited Sherwood Eddy’s cooperative farm at Hillhouse, Miss. “I now have a very keen ap preciation of the work of the Methodist women in the South,” Mr. Dillingham said. “In my opinion, these women represent the most advanced group in the South—struggling for social and economic justice for the underprivileged and disinherited minorities.” The success of the Emergency Peace Campaign in the South, according to him, depends largely on the efforts of South ern liberals, many of whom are sacrificing their jobs, for their ideals. He named Albert Bar nett, Alva W. Taylor, and C. H. Hamlin as a “few of the many people in the South upon whom we must rely if the South is to make- its contribution in the campaign to keep America out of war and war out of the world.” FIRST NEWS OF BISHOP WRIGHT IN SmmT AFRfeA Cape Town, South Africa.— (To Calvin Service in New York via Air Mail from Cape Town to London; Trans-Atlantic liner to New York)—Bishop and Mrs. R. R. Wright, Jr., have ar rived in Cape Town, where they were royally welcomed. The bishop’s fame as a scholar, au thor and preacher, and his so cial interpretations of religion preceded him, and South Afri cans had been weeks preparing for him. Never before in Cape Town’s history has such a wel come been given to a bishop or to any one of Negroid extrac tion as was given to Bishop and Mrs. Wright. Leading citizens of Cape Town, led by Dr. F. H. Gow, Rev. H. Fortrein, Rev. Johan nesen, and others together with representatives of all the lead ing cities of South Africa as far inland as 2,000 miles, greet ed them at the docking of the boat, and continued all day and far into the night their exer cises of welcome. Dr. Gow said: “We welcome you, Bishop. We have been praying for you. Now God has answered our prayer.” In response to Dr. Gow, Bishop Wright said: “I bring you the greetings of 12, 000,000 of your fellows in America. I hope not only to bring you the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, but to have you be come acquainted with the pro gress of our black people of America, and to have them know you better. Indeed, I hope a number of African lead ers may go to visit America and a number of our best Amer ican Negroes will visit you here. For yoqr benefit I plan to have in the leading cities of South Africa, an exhibit of a thousand photographs of the progress of my people in America, and it will amaze you.” Bishop Wright, whose Ph. D. in Sociology is from the Uni versity of Pennsylvania, plans/ to make studies of phases of South Africa's social life in comparison with that.of Amer (Continued on Page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Jan. 7, 1937, edition 1
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