Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Sept. 22, 1898, edition 1 / Page 6
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OUR LIBERIAN LETTER. BY REV. OWEN L. W. SMITH, D. D., MINISTER RESIDENT AND CONSUL GENERAL, MONROVIA, LIBERIA. Dear Brother Smith: While thinking of old home, it struck me that possibly a few lines from me, relative to the distant Republic, might be of interest to somebody in America. If so, permit me to say it is indeed a very fine, fertile and productive little country, producing such serials as rice, corn, etc., besides, potatoes, oats and cane, as tine as I ever saw al most in America, for the clearing of the land and the planting of the seed. Rice, coflee, potatoes and cosada, the latter a kind of native potato, are the principal produc tions; corn and cotton not being very extensively cultivated for the want of the mill and gin. As it is vei*y warm here, even in winter, vegetation is never killed by frost nor snow, and is there fore very thick and heavy. The forest has a very dense under growth. In many places it is almost impenetrable. And yet, while the earth amply repays the toiler, producing usually abundant crops, still the necessities of life are very costly. As an instance, I will name the following: ham, without cutting, 35 cents per pound; if cut, 40 cents; bacon 25 cents; lard 25 cents; beef 16 cents; butter 75 cents apd flour 10 cents per pound; eggs, bought of huck sters, 2 cents, from store, 3 cents each. Wearing materials are pro portionately high. As we have no saw-mills, exchpt the old fash ion saw-pits and whip-saws, build ing material is equally as high Undressed lumber sells for 5 cents pci aijuaic For these reasons I cannot, con • scientiously, recommend the coun try as a most propitious one for n man without at least sufficient cash on reaching here to build him some kind of a house, fell his trees and supply himself and family for 0113 year, or until he can make and lay in his first crop. As in America, so here, pauper immigration is n 3 help to the country, but rather a burden; and they are the first to find fault and give hard names to the country and government. He should also haves made up his mind not to look for nor expect the con veniences that he now sees in America, for fear that he might long for the flesh-pots of Egypt, or have a desire to return to the conveniences and pleasures of America. We hav£ no railroads and tel 3 • graphs. Travel is by boat or ca noe while on the river and water coasts, and by foot or hammock after you leave the water. The almost vertical rays of the sun ( render it very warm, and almost intolerable to one accustomed to a cooler clime, but the effects of the almost constantjsea-breeze so mod ify the effects of the sun’s rays that the thermometer seldom reaches 90° F. There is a change of seasons and in the natural position of the heav enly bodies herje. I reached here -early in May, jijistatthe beginning of warm weather in America, but at the beginning of the rainy sea son or cold weather here. Tie months of June, July, August and ;September are the cool months here, while October, November, December, January, February and March are the hbt or warm months! 1 It is now what i the Liberians call r cold weather; but to me it is very comfortable. It is, however, much cooler at this season of the year than it is in America. Excepting my overcoat and gloves, I am now clad in my full American winter apparel. I have not, however, found it cold enough for fire neith er in my house nor office. At night I sleep very comfortably under a sheet, quilt and blanket. To me the sun rises in the south west and sets in the northeast, or as it seems to go down in the west with you, it seems to rise almost in the same direction to me. Tak ing an astronomical observation of the heavenly bodies, we can ob serve many stars in the firmament, that we read of in the study of as tronomy in the western hemis phere, ihat you fail to find in the eastern. Again, we find many in the eastern that are not visible in the western. For instance, the “Southern Cross,” visible in the northern horizon, consisting of five stars, three in a line each way are very valuable to seamen here. Aug. 2, 1898. Monrovia, Liberia. (to be continued.) A FEW SNAP SHOTS. BY REV. W. A. BLACKWELL. The Star is becoming a mam moth power in the Christian world; so far as Negro Church journals are concerned it leads. It teaches on every phase of church work, doctrine and government. Invite discussion on “Pastoral Theology,” subject mentioned by Rev. Brotherf C. D. Hazel in a re cent issue. Those are things we want to know. With all due respect to our woman elder, we do not need any more for all time. Mr. Editor, I see you do not fear to impress your individuality upon every body. That’s right. Speak out and be yourself, Astwood and Henderson to the contrary not withstanding. As a writer and cleaner-up of Henderson and his crowd, Dr. J. H. Anderson is a “daisy,” isn’t he ? Lancaster’, S. €. j • ■. . FINE PASTOR AND WIFE. BY MISS MAGGIE THOMPSON. In the two years in which Rev. M. R. Franklin has been with us at Mother Zion we have found him to be a Christian in every re spect, willing and ready to give good advice to all. * He is a good financier. Bishop Hood knows that when Mother Zion has a good pastor she wants to keep him. He under stands what kind of a man to send us. We have never had a pastor’s wife to take such interest in our church and the young people as Mrs. Franklin has taken. She works with a will and has won the love and admiration of many. May God bless the pastor and his beloved companion, and may we members do our whole duty by them and the church, remember ing that if a pastor would be suc cessful it must be by the help of the people. .jy&v York City, JV, Y, BETHANIA NEWS. v BY J. L. LASH. ! It gives me very great pleasure to chronicle that August 2nd wit nessed the closing of one of those old time camp-meetings, conduct ed by Rev. J. G. Williams, oui pastor, who has proved hitnseli worthy and successful since as signed to Bethania circuit. There were 26 souls converted, 20 o! which joined our Zion. There were present that eloquent, out spoken “Black Sam Jones,”: Rev. A. McLees, of Winston, £ . C., and that sound gospel preachei and revivalist, Rev. P. A. McCor kld, our worthy and much beloved presiding elder. Both are preach ers of known ability. Their force ful and logical sermons seasoned wiih the Holy Ghost, will be long remembered. Bethania circuit is composed oi Bethania church and Sides Towe mission. Sides Town has paid up pastor’s salary in full, and fletha nia lacks something less th£,n six dollars. The circuit has paid the presiding elder up in full to third quarter, and the Sabbath-sphools are. prosperous. Some general fund has also been collected. We are very thankful to the proper authorities for having giv en us Brother Williams this year. While he is not one of those whc has “rubbed his head against the college wall,” yet he has ChristiaE piety, and enough common sense to preach to and lead our people on and up out of the low huts oi sin and destruction to the heights of Christian civilization. I voice the sentiments of Bethania circuil when I say give us Rfev. P. A. McCorkle for our presiding elder, and Rev.1 J. G. Williams for oui pastor during the.. ensuing confer ence year. \ One of the drawbacks or short comings of Bethania previously, has been the premature change oi pastors. Brother Williams is sc far the right man for our people as he is a young and rising ipreach er of no mean ability, unassuming, gentlemanly and sociable, anc hence the people’s man. Besides a great many accessions to the church at Sides Town. Brother Williams has received intc the church at Bethania 29 mem bers. God bless our Zion and hei many institutions, bishops and of ficers, our presiding elder and oui pastor. Bethania, N. C. A GREAT PASTOR. BY E. U. A. BROOKS, ESQ. The Douglass Memorial A. M. E. Zion church, of Elmira, N. Y., under the able. Christian leader ship of Rev. Sylvester L. Corroth ers, A. B., during the last three and one-half years, has become “a thing of beauty and a joy forever.” Since his advent into our midst December 1, 1894, the number of members has risen from 70 to 260; the general fund of the church has been increased from $36 to $132. The Sunday-school membership has grown from about 80 io near ly twice that number. Instead of the dilapidated, weather-worn, time-stained frame building, which was used by the local society when the present pastor came, the same premises now contain a la::ge, ele gant and commodious brick struc ture in which over half a thousand persons can comfortably sit and listen to the preaching of the di vine word. Never before in the history of Elmira, the beautiful queen city, has Zion maintained such a high standard numerically, financially and religiously. The citizens of Elmira, regardless of creed or col or, assemble in one haadsome edi fice to work the omnij)otent Fath er and to hear the evangelistic pas tor deliver enthusiastic and inspir ing sermons which are replete with plain, forceful, practical and scriptural logic. Rev. ’ Mr. Corrothers believes that the work of the Church is to save souls, and a church that does not save •» souls is unworthy of the name. Consequently he is an un remitting and tireless worker in the Master’s vineyard. His church is lighted six evenings out of each seven for some good purpose. He is radically opposed to compromis ing with sin for the financial benefit of his church and has educated his membership along that line.. The wisdom of his opinions is proven by the fact that the average month ly income of the Douglass Memori al church is $200 which is a cor roboration of the truth of the in spired word which says “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things shall be added unto you.” He is very popular among both Afro-Americans and Anglo-Sax ons, and his successful evangelistic labors in his church and in the streets have elicited the approval and admiration of rll classes of the community. He is an honored member of the clerical club and is the intimate friend of nearly every Christian man of vrealth in our city. Over $10,000.00 has been raised during his pastorate here and the present value of Zion’s real and personal estate is about $20,000. Elmira, N. Y. BATTLEFIELD NOTES. BY REV. LLOYD F. A. WATTS. Gettysburg is the place made famous in history by the great battle fought in and around it on 1 July 1, 2, 3, 1863. We have a very neat little church here, 60x30, with a ceiling 23 feet high, which makes it very pleasant for the speaker. Mem bership is about fifty. Rev. P. A. Wallace is our pastor. He is a re cent graduate of Lincoln Univer sity, a young man of fine talent, an earnest and forcible preacher, truly devoted to Gcd and an able .defender of the doctrines and Dis cipline of the Church of his choice. He is held in very high esteem by all classes in this community. Sunday, August 28, was our grand rally. The pastor had giv en out cards to all the members and friends, offering as a prize a lady’s gold watch ard chain to the one collecting the most money. The rally netted $65.02. Mrs. El len Harrigan oollected of that amount $17.68, winning, the prize, a handsome gold watch and chain. The watch was pres anted by Prof. J^v^as in a few well chosen words. The services throughout the day were very enjoyable. At 10:30 a. m., Rev. Acquilla, of Asbury, M. E. church, preached; at 2 :30 p. m., Rev. Dr. Woods, pastor of the Presbyterian church, delivered an able and instructive discourse; and at 7 :30 p. m., the pastor con ducted the services. Tne day was very pleasantly passed and all felt wonderfully benefit ted. Gettysburg, Pa. DOWN IN DIXIE. BY REV. I. F. ALDRIDGE. Mr. Editor : Permit me to tell through our brilliant Star, what I saw and heard in traveling 1,358 miles enroute to Tuscaloosa, Ala,, The scenes by the way were beau tiful. Traveling from New York Southward, I passed through New Jersey by the way of Trenton. Iri Philadelphia I stopped a few hours and made a visit to the Publishing House of the A. M. E. Church. Rev. T. W. Henderson, D. D., kindly conducted me through the building, and introduced me to his corps of helpers. Manager Hen derson seems to be proud of the success of the department under him. More and larger rooms are needed. The Rev. Dr. Johnson, Editor of the Christian Recorder, was out of the city. At Greensboro. N. C., I spent a night with Rev. P. J. Jordan, pas tor of the A. M. E. church. It is the finest “colored” church in the city. Rev. Jordan is a subscriber I to the Star. We also met the Rev. F. J. Lee, pastor of the A.. M. E. Zion church. He and his good people are engaged in build ing a fine two-story brick church which will be the best looking church iB the city when it is fin ished. I had the pleasure of be ing in company with the^Rev. P. A. McCorkle, P. E., of the A. M. E. Zion Church, from Greensboro, N. C., to Salisbury, N. C. At Charlotte, N.> C., I spent a night at the comfortable home of Rev. Dr. Smith, the faithful and able Editor of the Star. His faithful wife knows how to ke€sp house. Dr. Blackwell, the Busi ness Manager of the A. M. E. Zion Publication House, was out of the city, but the good 'Editor showed me the different rooms and departments and introduced me to the large corps of printers in the building. They have large rooras and a plenty of them. I found ’everything in order. The estab lishment of this Department in Zion is a great achievement. The Editor and Manager ought to be encouraged and supported. Tuscaloosa, Ala. WORTHY OF PRAISE. Mr. E. J. Young, Sec’yand Mgr. P. B. andR. A. Dear Sir: Allow me to say to you and the public, that the said Association is the greatest/ Negro enterprise in North Carolina, and every colored person should join. It does just what it says. It did for me and my neighbors. I did not care much to join at first, but my husband had me to join, and now I am very proud of it. When I was sick it paid me my sick dues without any trouble, and I do highly recommend it to the public. Yours truly, (Mrs.) Nannie Stewart. One of the grandest meetings that have been witnessed for years has been going on in Zion here. It was difficult to tell Who were Zion members. Rev. J. H. Sliger is the right man here. He holds his own. He will have his church ready, for the annual Conference and the people will have their hearts and homes open to receive it. The people say they will cry if the Bishop fails to send Rev. Sliger back.—Rev. S. M. Charles, Abingdon, Ya.
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 22, 1898, edition 1
6
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