HE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE AFRICAN MET H OI HODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH. Vol XXVI Charlotte, N* C.f Thursday, January 22y 1903. No. 4 facts versus fiction Of the Hissionary Secretary. BY BISHOP J. W. HOOD, D. D., LL. D, LETTER NO. 2. In this letter, X want to give a little of our experience with Mis sionary Secretaries. First, however, I wish to state., that for twelve years preceding the year 1892, the Women's Soci ety did well in raising missi n funds. Several thousands dollars were raised and sent to the general missionary treasury for disburse - meet As much as four bundled dollars ($400.00) a year had been appropriated to the African work, and many home missions had been assisted. The exact amount cannot be given, because what publica tion was made of the disburse merits, was mainly through the columns of the ctar; and a com plete record has not been kept by the secretaries who have served. Peoplerush in to office, but when it comes to informing the duties iif office, +here is a lack of zeal. There was a gradual increase in the annual amount of funds raised. In the New England conference, the amount bad reached $250 00 a year. But about that time, the election of a Missionary Secretaiy was strongly advocated by several writers, each of whom was a can didate for the offiee. That is the mre way to get an orifice created. Each candidate and his friends swell the numlier of votes in favor )f the office, and when it is all rrer, the ninety nine who get left, realize how.little they have gotten 3Ut of it. I he secretary was elected and began his work in New England. At his meeting in Boston, he real ized $*200. There were some things connected with hi* entertainments which the New England people ikought were not suitable to be performed in church, and they wanted me to interfere I said, “No; he is a general officer, put into the held without instruction ar restriction, (tor in their haste to make a secretary, they maide aim without any law to govern aim) and that, 1 said, is his idea of the way to raise money. If he sue -eeds, the end may justify the means.” There were murmuring elsewhere; but the performance went on. At the end of four years, not one penny had gone into the missionary treasury; not even the inaount advanced to start with. In justice to the Secretary, I may say, that he claims to have helped several' churches. That is, I he churches at which the enter lainments were given, received a portion of the proceeds; but as hece churches were not missions, t seems evident, that the Mission 'iiuse was not helped in any way, Whatever discredit, the seeming lesecration effected, goes down on '■he losing side of the account. The effect upon the Women’s itforts, was most damaging. In New England, the amount raised iropped from $250 to less than The Missionary Secretary 1 ■ >k the held, and all that they ' >uld do was to glean after the maper. The general falling off in :he.amount of money sent to the .rea>ury indicates that the effect *"as general. At the end of four years, this '.'•cretary was succeeded by an ther; and two years later, a third nan was given an opportunity to -te what ne could do;* but not a penny ever reached the Mission* ary treasury from the efforts of these officers. Su purpose to depart from the old traditions born at Jamestown, Va , in 1620, as far as they could be applied under the new regime. When opportunity, offered the white political adventures and in terlopers of the North rushed in to the South, took advantage of the humiliating, confused- situa tion of affairs, and placed Negroes in positions, some of which were filled with incompotency, and some not, and in some cases they at tempted to actually set up Negro government. This was out of har mony with all precedents in bu man history of government. Any ( one knows that a people emanci 1 pated from human degradations as J the American Negro slave, was < not and is yet a long way from 1 being fitted for civil office in an < advanced form of goverment like 1 this, except in a very few instan- I ces. When the South recovered 1 from its chagrin and humiliation at defeat in arms, and fouud white men (many degraded characters,) from the North, Negro ex-slaves, < and the lower classes of their [ own section, in possession of State j government, municipality, judi- , cial aud'other departments -of the public service, they determined b/ every-Aneans fair or otherwise, to reverse this state of affairs, and continued the application of rem edies, gome of them terribly vio lent andnruel,—some of them far from b«ng just and honest, till finally reduced to legislation of dis franchisement of the Negro. They were not long in ridding them selves of the Northern political in I terlopers, and the local under el ement, but to limit the terms <*i i the TJnited States constitution — iWth and 15tii amendments—re quired more time. ; Some strongly advocated the" ihstdudus extermination ot tin j Negro, hut a humane seutiEm-to > ot ihe S-rnth prevailed on the on*-] h*nd, and recent federal sup-rnn acy at arms on the othe • proven i - j ed this The Negro’s deep sen-* of gratimde to President Lincoln ■ind the Kepublman party for t.i emanCipatUMi naturally induce-1 him toa iv his political fortunMs With that party, and the designii g -not *11 of them—minority«polili cinn-» of the South thought to climb to power on the shoulders of the tre mendous united Negro vote. Fail ing, aiiter long yearsof struggle and patiem waiting, they have decided that their case is hopeles, and the graceful way to retire from their emharassing situation is to help the dominant party, who they see determined to do so, disfranehis-e the Negro and then read the residue of them out of the party, and thereby prove to the world thai they were never identified with the Negro in politics for the Negro’» sake, nor or they t » be considered a “nigger” party, hut are in per feet harmony with Southern polit ical tradition. (To be continued.) Allegheny, P*. ' Bishop Harris’s Appointments. JANUARY. 23-28 Key Wes. Fla. (d. M. Gain>.) 27 Miami FI i. FEBRUARY. 218 Nassau, N. P. 22 8evi Je, Fla. 24 Putman Hall, Fla. 26 Jacksonville, Fla. MAHCn. 1 Knoxvil e, Tenn. 2 Asheville, N. C. 4-9 Green b ro, N. 0. BISHOPS MEETING. 11-17 Key West, Fia. 19 Plant Cii v. Fla. 20 S finer, Fla. 22 Tampa, Fla. 24 L keland, Fla. 25 Gar siana and Texas Railroad and Steamship Company, died Sunday, the 7th inst , and left to his house servant, Mr. Jane Gaines, colored, $LO.000. .. Mr Charles Yo i g, the colored officer of the Nint • C valry, who will in the future e -tationed at Presido, was a gr^at favorite on' the Sheridan coming from M ini la to San Francisco and was in great; demand. His skin is of the dark-’ est. hue Of the race, but he is ex - ceedingly clever, a West Point graduate, and a pianist of rare iDility. ‘ •' Toree colored men, Kaltsh W Fay lor , Wilbur Jones and George A.. Weaver, have acquired a tract )f land in Ohio, embracing seven y five acres, pronounced by ex perts to be the finest oil producing erritory in the state. The deal promises to be the most gigantic wer swung by a set of colored nen in this country, and while the lurchase price was quite a hand some sum the investors are sure to •ealize thousands of dollars wheu he tract is capitalized and devol ved. A. w. Hamilton, a rising; young lolored artist of New York has von the first prize from a Cor espondence School situated at cranton. Pa His sketch study /as “For want of work.” The acuity in awardingthe prize offered im a full scholarship, the tui lon being a reward lor his repeat d successes and perseverance de pite many obstacles. In making be offer ihe faculty said in iheir. ndorsement: “We have ma< e a pecial study of your work and do ot hesitate in recommending you or tho opportunity because of our great natural ability and amstaking habits drawing and rediet that as a cartoonist, cum lercial designer, new paper or aagazine artist you wilt win fame or yourself and honor the race rith which you are identified.”