I
rHb ) C1AL GROAN Ur Hlb AFRICAN MBTHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH.
Voi XXVi
Caiarlotte, N. C., Thursday, January 8, 1903.
No. 2
TWO OEPARTA1BNTS.
Other Interests of Zion Subsidi
ary to these
BY BRUCE GRIT
I do not know exactly how
manv A. M E Zionites theie are
browsing around in various part- of
the Lord’s vineyard, but 1 assume
that there must be something hko
several hundred thousands when
they are all counted ami labih d;
and that’s enough to set the « ot id
i n tire or to do any thing else the\
want to do, if they wan to do.
Emerson savs: 4 l'he creation of
a thousand forests i- in one acorn.”
Here is a thought for the thought
iid. If the creation of a thousand
forests is one acorn. v\haf a mightv
work the earnest men and w- nu n
i f Zion could do for God at d mi
mat-itv, with a little sy-t tn, a iti
tle push, and a 2:1 eat deal of perse
verance and pertinacity.
1 here are two veto, .v-ry im
portant branches of Zion .that
1 u ht to la* made the most p< wer
:ul and influtntiai agencies in the
spread and development of toe.
•■ ( rk which Zion is ail? mptiny to
do in the world—viz : The Church
KxUnsion Society, and Living
i lone.College Ad other interests
are subsiduary. These are of par
amount importance, as any man
with half an eye can see.
Livingstone CYliege ought to be»|
made the leading Negro co'iege in I
the South; and it ought always to !
remain in charge of a Negro direc
torate, and have a full complement
of capable and efficient Negro in
structors. There are Zioniies
enough in America to make this
possible for all time to come, and
if they are wise, they will start
about it now. I would suggest that
the A. M. E. Zion churches of
America, through their pastors,
pledge themselves to raise in one
or two years $200,000 Endowment
Fund for Livingsone ( ollege If
there are 200,000 members of the
A. M E. Zion Church, this money
could be raised inside of a year
with a little active work on the
part of pastors and others interest
ed. The sum looks big, it is big,
so is ihe crowd from which it is
asked. Once this amount is raised,
the educational possibilities of Liv
ingsloue would be almost beyond
human calculation. Now it is
cramped for necessary funds to
carry to completion the splendid
work so well begun by that un
selfish and noble hearted Negro
gentleman Joseph C. Price, and
carried on by the great Dr. W.H.
Goler.
Zion could build no more en
during monument to the memory
of one of the greatest, ablest, most
unselfish and most eloquent of her
worthy sons than by concentrating
*11 her energies and all activity in
one mighty effort to found upon
a sure basis a great Negro college
in the South where all her sons in
search of light and learning might
journey to sit at the feet of her
black pbilosopers, and savants, to
drink in wisdom. With such a
fun<i she could draw upon the Ne
gro scholars of the world to till im
portant positions in the various de
departments and would doubtless
establish a chair of Negro history,
Ihave figured out bow this $200,000
can be raised Assuming that there
are 200.000 members, let each one
he asked on a ghen day to sub
scribe 50c and solicit u like amount
from st me friend of Negro educa
tion Let ever\ graduate of Liv -
ine- < in be asked to do, the same,
li 1 mi gstc 11 was a Catholic In
stition with such a constituency
behind it, the raising of this fund
would be easy as rolling off a log.
Wdl Zion do this? Cm it do it?
* * *
Dr W. H. Coffey of the Church
Extension Department, is doing a j
magniHcent work in building up'
and ex-ending the scope and influ
ence of the Church and is lending
a haD<i to the needs and helphssj
churches v* ho ate sometime- the j
victims of legal or illegal tin. ks. i
who would rob the Lord on thej
slightest provocatio n 1 In- < 'hun-h .
Extension Society is a boon and ;i j
blessit g not only to \\<ak ehuretie
but. to those that cotisidt r them-!
selves strong spiritually and ii. an - j
daily, in that it ere m agts thej
community of inteie-t feeling
among churches whi h is proper |
and help! uI. Dr v oliVv is doing j
much to ioster and encourage tin-;
feeling among the bo ti»r*. a and to j
make them see bow imjco mere su-j
perior a e the advantu . s off tvd i
by the Cimrch Extension to neeoy
chili ches than are those that iS-U*4 :
from the gilded offices of t Ik- lo.o.d
25 [ er out mom y btoker who
washes his hands is* mvisdii- water ;
after tying up a bunch of A. M E.
Zion ti ustees with a, loan of a few •
hundred to stive ineu* ruurcn
The Church Extension is an A. !
M. E Zion venture that is worthy j
of all encouragement Dr Coffey j
is the man (and 1 sav this without j
any disparagement of others) to'
make it the success it ought to be;
and will be if the rank and file of j
the Church desire it. Our breth
ren in the far South, where Dr j
Coffey has been laboring with sig j
nal success, have a much greater
appreciation of the scope and mag
nitude of the work of the Church
Extension Society and of the ne
cessity and utility than have those
of the North, and I reach this con
clusion from reading in the Star
the results of Dr. Coffey’s effort in
this section. 1 hope I will live to see
a Negro Church supported by Ne
groes alone; a Negro clergy of
of whom it may not be said "’they
depend on white people to support
them;” a Negro college sustained
and kept up by Negro dollars and
whose output will be original Ne
gro men, not automations. Ihe
trouble with us in this country is
that we ape white people too much
both in our religion and social life,
and we are running out of real
original Negroes. Don’t let the crop
go to seed.
Yonkers, A. Y.
Prof. W. F. Fonvielle and
The Star Candidates,
The candidates for the editor
ship of the Star of Zion, and
others as well will read with con
siderable interest and no little
amusement Prof. FonvielleV ar
ticle in last week’s Star. As a
live correspondent there is none
better than the writer of “Majors
and Minors”, and whether the key
be a high or low one, he -usually
makes tbe note. Agree with him
or not, we must admit that he is
honest and has endeavored to be
fair with each aspirant for the to
ga now so well worn by Dr.
Smith. We venture to prophesy
that whoever secures the required
votes sufficient to elect, will be
anxious to retain the tuneful harp
er of Goldsboro in his band.—
Zion Methodist.
The Gospel Ship will soon come out
i in a new dress. The Alabama Head
! iight, edited by Rev. J. T. McMillan, of
nskegee, Ala., will soon be merged in
'<■ 1lie Gospel Ship. Rook out lor the
Dt cember issue.—Gospel Ship.
THE DEDICATION.
Of John Wesley Church—Bishop
G. W. Clinton Present.
BY Z. T.
The last Sabbath in December
Bishop G W. Clinton, D,D., came
up Irum North Carolina and tiedi
cated the John Wesley A,. M. E.
L\i n on 18;h street between L and
As stiects, N V\ Rev. B J, Bo d
is i). L) , pastor.
it is as p:etty and well-ai ranged
church as ibe National Capita! can
tu ad of amor g the Ati o-American
po^niaiion. The front and beautiful
windows make a most imposing
-pi c:aide and arrest the attention
wt evet y one passing. The liiini
tui e, including the elegant hut
u d. si i ;t i pet on the aisles and the
j Tit u })iid the large andbeawti
fu: m w pipe oruau embellish the
inti r of the gland brick edifice
that wilt ever stand as a monument
Co the energetic pastor, officers and
ii embers as wed as an honor to
0-..r Zion and the Negro raee^ '1 lie
n iek iront. is white, a. d a found
or ei»cu at* ore am- ntu! glass} v. in
d wyin the center hears the fol
io worn name:
J<:fm v\ esley A. ai. iii. Zion
Ch.m-b i
Sunday of the dedication, was a
bngbt and pleasant day. /llje peo
pnerUrmed nnt in a mannel^t&aL
e< aid not fail to inspire the hearts
of pastor and officers. Owing1 to
it beinar Christmas Sabbath, and
several pastors having special ser
vices, only a few pastors were
present; but members from several
different churches and numerous
strangers attended.
At 11 a.m. Bishop G W Clinton,
D. D., thoroughly orthodox and
spiritual, preached a glorious ser
mon from Col. 1:18 and M itt. 16:
18 which electrified the interested
audience. Theme, “Christ the
head, foundation and security of
the church.” Collection $50.06.
At 3 p. m., the spacious and
beautiful auditorium was complete
ly filled. Besides the pastor and
Bishop Clinton, Drs. R. 8. Rives,
W. II. Snowden and Rev. W. H.
Marshall, of Harrisburg, Pa., of
“Random Shot” fame, and candi
date for the editorship of the Star,
were present. Rev. Dr. Cleaves
who was to have preached was pre
vented from being present, there
fore the lot fell on Rev. Marshall.
He selected Psalms 31:15 as his
fext and preached an instructive
but impressive sermon. Collection
$20.44.
Drs. Kives, fenowden, Bolding
and the pastor assisted the Bishop
in dedicating the church. It is
said that no dedication witnessed
in Washington by some of the
oldest members was ever conduct
ed in a more dignified and im
pressive manner.
At 8 p. m. the popular young
Bishop from the bouth in burning
words of eloquence that seemed to
reach the heart of every one
preached again, his theme being
“Abrahams Call or a Change from
an Unfavorable Environment and
Its Benefits. ” As a preacher, the
Bishop knows what it is to wait
upon God for the enduement of di
vine power, and then out of his
mouth, as on this dedication occa
sion, he pours forth the treasures
of wisdom, even the wisdom of
God. In oratorisal power, those
who heard him both morning and
night, admit that he has but few
equals among Afro-Americans.
The evening collection swelled the
amount dining the day to $107.
When it is remembered that no
plans for a rally or emit av or for a
large collection bud.been arranged, j
this must be considered a splendid ;
free-will offering.
| Many were the words of praise j
! for the progressive and wide-awake j
pastor, D: B. ,J. Voiding, andj
i President \\ iiliam Jobfison and bis i
! co-workers of the tr.ifiSlee hoard,!
| Mr. Langfoid the architect, Super- j
lintendent Joy, the members of
John \\ e.-h v church and the first
class choir v> hich carried, the audi
| ence away on the waves of song.
Mi- Johnson, ibe chgfrman, has'
! tor \ ears been a staunch and loyal1
.member of ihe church,, and will |
| give his life for Zion. The same is
| line ot Mr Joy and many others j
j of said church.
; T< o much cannot be said of Dr. i
B. J Bold.ng. He has simply mt-i
monadzeu himself. He took charge 1
! of the chinch when it was in a
I ci iticai condition, heavily in debt
i and creditors pressing for pay-:
! meets He and his officiary were
lucky in selling the old church on '
1 onm ctii'iu A venue at a handsome
price ami i u\mg and remodeling!
ihe pu-sent one. The members are :
Ovcij yed at this streak of luck,;
and me prospects now for a large
amt permanent congregation are
i bright as the morning star, Dr..|
: Holding will always have a warm
place m the esteem of his congre I
I gation, and the Connection will not
jloiget him in lb(J4 when honors;
i are being handed around for meri-j
torious services. He is a scholar,
llieologian and editor.
Despite a week of illness that
confined him to his bed, Hon, Jno.
C. Dancy was present at the morn
ing and evening services, aLd his
cultured family at tne afternoon
and evening services. Thus has
passed info history a notable dedi
cation. God be praised.
Washington, D. 6.
Never Would Take Much.
We were sorry indeed to note through
our esteemed contemporary) the Stak
of Zion, that Dr J. R. A Crossland,
the colored miuisipr resident and consul
general from the United States to the
Negro republic, Liberia, Africa, was so
unfortunate as to get into such a diffi
culty as he did. Russell, from boy
hood, never would take very mi ch. He i
must have been mistreated in some
way. He is very plucky. For the past
eighteen or iwenty years we have
known Mr C'ossland. We have even
attended sch< ol with him. He was, ( f
course, a young man, while we were on
ly a boy. He has been in Missouri for
about eight or ten years, no doubt, but
he is an honored son of South Carolina.
Bennettville, Marlboro county.—Miama
(Fla.) Reporter.
Judge Him Leniently.
The scheme to ship the bulk of the
Negro population of the United States
to the Philippines, by ‘easy stages,” as
Xenophon might have said, originates
in the fertile brain of Senator Morgan
of Alabama. It is revealed, indeed, that
the senator’s reason for desiring the ac
quisition of the Philippines was simply
this—to piovide a permanent home for
the colored brother What a wise old
statesman Mr. Morgan was when he
voted for the Paris treaty with that co
lossal conception Stirling in his brain/
Shall anyone ridicule the idea? No, its
fantastic airness simply excite3 your
wonder. Besides, Mr. Morgan is not so
dead in earnest as to favor shipping the
whole 10,000 000 at once. And that con
cession to the stern realities of the sit
uation induces one to judge him leni
ently.—Springfield (Ma-s.) Republican.
He that fancies himself very enlight
ened, because he sees the deficiencies
of others, may be very ignorant, be
cause he has not studied his own.—But
“I wish.” sail t'tnator Sorgum,pen
sively, “that you would refiain from
circulating these reports that I am will
ing to pay fur votes-.” “Do you deny
the cnarge?” 1 That has nothing to cio
with the case. 1 don’t want everybody
who alight be willing to vote my way
free to feel that he is wasting mon
A COLORED WOMAN.
Forced to Resign Office By a
Lawless Eminent
THE PRESIDENT ACTS.
SA lawless) element, because.of her
color last, week forced a competent,
intelligent and well-to-do colored
woman resign her position as post
master at inaianoia, Miss., and
President Roosevelt refused to ac
cept her resignation, but ordered
the postoffice c used until the peo
ple aie willing: to aeeept her as
I ostmaster. Secretary Cortelycu,
for the President, made public the
following:
“The postmaster at Tndianola,
Miss., is Mrs.{Minnie Mox, a col*
ore'd woman. She served three years
as postmaster under President
Harrison. When President McKin
ley came in she was again appoint
ed, in 1897, nearly 6 years ago.
Her character and standing in the
community are endorsed by the
best and most reputable people in
the town. Among those on her bond
if the present Democratic State
Senator from the district, together
with the leading banker of lndian
ola, and an ex-State Senator from
the district, also a Democrat. The
postmaster and her husband own
from $10,000 to $15,000 worth of
property. The reports of postoffice
inspectors |who § have investiga
te d the office from, time to time
show that she has given the utmost
satisfaction to all the patrons of
the office, that she is at all times
courteous, faithful, competent and
honest in the discharge of her du
ties. Her moral standing in the
community is of the highest. Her
reputation is of the best. Few of
fices of this grade in any State are
conducted better. The postmaster
recently forwarded her resignation
to take effect on January 1, but the
report of inspectors and informa
tion received from various reputa
ble white citizens of the town and
neighborhood show that the resig
nation was forced by a brutal and
lawless element, purely upon the
gtound of her color and was ob
tained under terror of threats of
physical violence The mayor of
the town and the sheriff of the
county both told the postoffice in
s| ectoi that if she refused to resign
they could not be answerable for
h»-r safety, although at the same
time not one word was said against
h* i management of the office. On
January 1, the bondsmen of the
pwM master telegraphed that the
post office was closed, that the post
master claimed that her resigna
tion was in the hands of the Presi
dent to take effect January 1, and
that-there bad been no advice of
the appointment of her successor.
The telegram closed with this
statement : ‘Promptaction necessa
ry for relief of business interests.’
in the view of the President, the
relief of the business interests,
which are being injured solely by
the action of the lawless »lenient of
the town, is wholly secondary to
the preservation of law and order.,
and the assertion of the fundamen
tal principle that this government
will not connive at or tolerate
wrong and outrage of such flagrant
character.
“By direction of the President
the following telegram was sent by
the Postmaster General to the
bondsmen: ‘The postmaster’s re
signation has been received, but
not accepted. In view of the fact
that the office at Indiunola is
closed, all mail addressed to that
office will be forwarded to Green
ville.”
Brother i J Iiobbs, a very efficient
ioeal preacher in the A. M. E. Zion
church, letc Friday 1 last week for
From Bea h, o 1 iv he wi 1 spend the
ff'.nifl' reasot lie will return here
about the fir-1 f A o e promises
to r< member Zi J >•» • un-Fing'-hurchat
'hi p act w :• ; hf Beach.—-Florida
Industrial Reporter.