Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Oct. 9, 1919, edition 1 / Page 1
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t THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OFTHE AFRI THIRTY SIX THURSD. ‘OBER 9- 1919 VOLUME FORTY-THREB ECHOES FROKn OF THE SKY LAND Paragraphic Comments On Men And Measures By Rev. E. M. Argyle, B. D. We have been told that new ar. rangements with a new set of ma chinery have been set in motion for the Tercentenary financial drive and that new workers will he put in the field, etc., etc. This is alright .so far as it goes but it goes so slow; and if we are expected to raise a million dollars in this drive for the next five years we should really get; down to work and quit quibbling over tech nicalities and marking time. If there is a contention over the leadership in this drive we who are expected do the work should say “who’s and why,” and takeTiold of the work and push it to success. Confusion and dissatisfaction will get us nowhere, There are m n, and this fact is to be deplored, if they can not lead, will try to discourage everybody by ere aung confusion. This is no less the ease in the local church than in the General Church. Wihat of the new plans? What is the General Com mittee-doing? The Connection would like to know: and especially the vi detes on the watch towers and the trenchmen on the firing line. Let ul* know what is expected of ns and we will bring results. A Splendid Editorial, want to compliment the Editor ’he Star of 7ion for his splendid 4>*ial recently which touched so must be admitted that we have scores brethren who can be placed in our rural work and tney can' only stay a limited tenure on these charges. These 'brethren, too, do not seem to know their »*eakness. They ard us -ually self conceited and arrogant, and with each service rentier themselves unpopular with the people by con tinually nagging and whining and as I have 'Often said in these “Ech oes,” they are usually self centered. - -ien there is another truth in y<?ur Editorial that i:s incontrovertible; that is some of our best dresseu anu most popular pulpiteers do not own a shovelful of dirt that they can call their own. Some of them are prominent and live in well furnished parsonages, and look down with con tempt and loathing upon the poor country preachers that live in their •own three room cabin. But the people are asking in these days of modernism when the new pastor is assigned to them, what has he got? where has he been serving all of these years, etc. It is being urged that the people pay their preachers so poorly that it is utterly impossi ble for them to accumulate a suffici ent competency to buy a home and that it is about all the Negro preach er can do to get enough out of his pastorate to adequately care for his family and educate his children. This is true especially where our brethren have utterly failed to prepare them, selves for the work assigned them, and where they have tried to class themselves with that element of the ministry where they had to live be yond their means; but it must also be admitted that most of us have not practiced frugality and tried to live within our meagre incomes. We admit that we do not look hs far ahead as we advise our hearers to Ac. To -keep up with our modern civilization we must read, study and keep posted pn current events, teU live issues of the day and in doing this we should try to make provision tQT our loved ones by husbanding every interest that will make to their comfort. " . \ The League ■ Of Nations President Wilson in his swing around the circle with the avowed purpose of arousing interest in the ratification or adoption of his League of Nations without reservation or amendments is rendering himself mure unpopular each day of his life. The persistence of the man is amaz, ing. His methods of setting new precedents or violating the traditions of the founders of this Republic strikes terror to the hearts of the most ardent trenchmen. Autocracy seems to be his middle name. His failure to take- the United States Senate into his. confidence and appointing himself a member of the Peace Conference; his second trip to Paris oyer the vehement protests of political followers, all tend to show that the man considers himself the American dictator of the most radi cal sort, but our race variety has nothing to regret in his political death, for he" has shown himself the worst enemy the Negroes have ever had who has been inducted in the White House. His silence to all pleadings of our leaders, his indiffer ence and apparent tolerance of all the indignities heaped upon us, hie seeming acquiescences in the racial clashes, even ri£ht at his own door but tell us that the man who is President of this American Repub considers himself only the Pres his long string of meaningless plati tudes which will mean nothing to the little nations of the world, and at the same time put the United States at the mercy of one or two other de signing nations wilL meet with de feat. • Mr. Wilson has duped the leaders of the Democratic party with his “open covenant of Peace;” open ly arrived at and camouflages the peace covenant with his League of nations, which in the end means ab ject humiliation and a breakirfg down from the ancient traditions of the Monroe doctrine. All the high sounding phrases in article ten of the League of Nations holds out no hope to the Negroes of America. The squabble over Shan tung back to "China, the right of the Italians to control Fiume and other kindred complexed problems in which Mr. Wilson seems to he deeply inter ested means nothing to us .It is what light does the President Of the United States look upon 12 millions of Ne groes of this Republic in? What is our status with him as President of all the people we would like to know. Have Faith in God Amid racial disturbances, when the irresponsible and the response bfe seem to be in power and ride the winds of devastation, it may seem to the ungodly that our father is asleep or gone a journey, hut not so. God is ever mindful of those who put their trust in him. All he exacts of us is unfaltering faith in Him. A thousand mobs can not hurt you my brother, if God stands between you and their fury. Have faith in God. It will cause the sun to shine in darkness and make friends of ene mies. It will strengthen you in death. Have faith in God. The Round Up While the fall conferences will *oon be in full swing. It is a notable fact that the candidates for the (va rious offices in the Church will be more on the alert and will hustle (Continued to page 6T ^ National Ra<%W^ress--Brings Negro's Cafe Into Courts Plans Perfected Fty (mM Conference Of Col ored Americans wmashinaton inis f, ^ Week-WorkabipProgram For .jiace Pt&eScin To Be Adopted--kdcii.onal Washington, Q lc., Oct®ber 2._ The “advance guard”' 0f the* dele gates from all qyerlhe country to at tend the Fourth *||iiual (“Suffrage Session”) of tlife National Race Con gress of America ts already begin ning to put in its appearance. Final wires from active argents in the field a ring most encouraging messages and the success of The. great Confer ence of Negro ifacJ builders is fully assured. It is evident that every state in the Uninn-Inhere there is an appreciable colored population will be represented, and by men and wo men who stand for the best thought, and most responsible'activities of the race. v With sanity and a the practical, thefse eo es can be depended?’! strong and workable ! protection of 12,04 Americans for wfcia missioned to speak, a Sessions Of Cph^^J Itan Baptist' < President W. 1 1. J € announcement thq f tin three sessions da||§|li Metropolitan Baptist near 12-th openi^^pl October Ttn. the- 11th. He $ifS§j r vision foil raetive forc rto adopt a i pram for the : &0 Colored their conffll^B that time to heal i keynote^ and appeal /for Divine guid ance. Rev. M, W. D. Norman, pas-, tor of the Metropolitan Baptist| church has planned every conven-1 ience for the comfort of the dele gates, and arrivals should place themselves at once in touch with the national head-quarters of the Con gress, Third and Eye Streetsr North west, or with Dr. Norman and his reception committee at his church Washington, proverbially hospitable is extending its warmest welcome to all. Additional Features Of The Race Congress Program In addition to the splendid array of speakers and many outstanding features of the Race Congress already -announced, it is expected that ad dresses will be presented by United States Senator Medill iMcCormiek, of Illinois, United States Senator--'Wal ter E. :Edge, of New Jersey, Repre sentative L. C. Dyer, of Missouri, Attorney ’ William H. Harrison, of Chicago; and Judge Robert H. Ter rell, of Washington’s Municipal! Court. Addresses of welcome will be delivered by the Hon. Louis Brownlow, President of the Board of District Commissioners, and Rev.’ M. W. D. Norman, with responses 'by Ttev. W. H. Stokes, of Richmpnd, Va. and others. ■ Besides informing repol*ts from Dr. Jernigan on his journey to France and thei international aspect of the race 'problem, and from the various special commissions -on Education, Labor and Economics, Transports tion Reforms, Political Conditions,! Business Outlook and the Emergen cy Defense 'Fund, a statement will be made touching the conference ef the Industrial Committee of the Congress with Judge E. H. Gary, offi cial head of the United States Steel Corporation bearing upon the dis turbed labor situation and the fu (Continued to Page -8) ■ SHAKING THE PLUM TREE Bishops Reverse Themselves By Dr. E. I>, W. Jones I have some thoughts on the Tej Centenary that I am urged to ex press. It is indeed, unfortunate that the Board of Bishops decided in Jan uary 1919 at Washington, N. C., to raise a-Ter Centernary fund of ,$400. .000, (four hundred thousand dollars in the light of the fact that seven months later they would, also decide to raise for the same purpose one million. vWhich sum are we now to attempt to raise? Plans were made and literature! printed and circulated; and some conferences have already their first* year’s proportion of the four hun-j dred thousand. Now The Star in forms us that other plans are to come and another amount has been named for the Church’s objective. Is The Star correct or the Board of Bishops wrong in their decision of January 1919? Is this news authentic or is the judgment of the Board of Bishops in concurrent opinion changeable? Ecclesiastically, I hold, and am supported by the greatest churchmen that it is a dangerous precedent to( set and therefore it is never done foi ( a Board of Bishos to reverse itself or render void its own decrees. Del egate authority over a great and his. torteiSstitution - mustbe safeguard ed by caution, discretion and posi lliously reje’S unforeseen happen der ib impossible, ibr them to be op erated. Either of these would be ob jectionable. You can not change your decisions at will without at the same time vio lating confidence in your judgment ’A Board of Bishops should not re verse itself, because it weakens if it does not repudiate its own right to the exercise of authority. We have f case of record. Bishop A. J. Warner a man of powerful mentality, and -one of the best trained intellects in Zion Methodism; and some of us do not know that back in the eighties Bishop Warner held high place with the late Dr. Price and the ever re juvenating Dr. Goler in the realms of classic scholarship- and for real pulpit eloquence Jhe held first place among the very best in our Church Dr. George Wilkerson' told_me that in Mobile during his pastorate the Bishop was held in veneration by the Academics as a master of swaying oratory and linguistic polish. He with a keen sense of legal importance in the General Conference of 1884 at tempted to break the unanimity of the Board of Bishops, who had in a previous decision said -that a plain' tiff could appeal a case to the Gen eral Conference. The circumstances were that Bishop: Hood had lost a case against a defendant in the Ken. tucky Conference; but he'*'went to Salisbury, N. C., in September 1883 to the Board of Bishops meeting and they decided that the plaintiff had the right of appeal. It was only on this decision that the case came before the General Conference at all. Bish op ^Warner, dashing and fearless, sought; every honest method to have the-Board of Bishops reverse itself.' for he knew as an astute church law yer that if they would re decide his .client would go-free and a different chapter would have been written in our history on litigations. He was told that Bishops acting concurrent ly 'would not and could not revefse themselves because It would be an entering wedge to the limitation of their delegated authority and a re flection on the grave and prayerful consideration of subjects of their judgment. He and other bright minds with him saw that their cause did not warrant such disintegrating sac rifice on the part of their Bishops and they manfully gave up the at tempt and saved the action of the Bishops from ridicule and dishonor. My contention is not, can we or can we not raise a million dollars, just now, though it affords me the opportunity for seeking to protect my Church' against damaging innova tions; for as far as the million is concerned we all believe that it reached the high water mark at the Council at Paterson. I am seriously concerned about this reversions of the decisions of the Board of Bish ops. Something graver is involved than the mere changing of figures. We are in peril wMn our Bishops annul themselves. It at least gives rise to the suspicion that they may annul other vital issues, sent to them for final and righteous action. The fact that they have the exclusive right to interpret law which neces. sarilv involves the power to change its substance leads us to the serious thought of constitutional integrity and, the safety of our fundamentals. Imm body ©£ men hy.givmg them an the Board of basis upon which ercise the power of law can be defended. call it infallibility or what not, and you remove -the only argument for its existence. All exercise of the power of judgment is justified only by our confidence and faith in them. As long as the Episcopacy retains this confidence it will have powers that no General Conference will seek to control. If this confidence is lost and jeopardized iby uncertainties * and indecisiveness we will soon have such a limited Episcopacy that all of .its actions will be circumscribed by stated laws. Nothing so weakens authority as variableness and shad ow of turning. Now to tile million. Nothing would have succeeded better than this Tercentenary Drive if its sched uled amount of four hundred thous and dollars had not been changed. Be it far from me to venture such a presumptions prediction that Zion Church can not raise a million dob lars. i do say however that Church can not collect a million lars on the proposed two hi per cent basis on the a(J t General Claims at presenT raised. The static amount upon which we now predict a million in five years • is $114,810.00. If we calculate on two hundred per cent of that amount our calculation is untenable, because we have never raised that assessed amount and therefore any calcula tion upon any sum never realized is speculative financeering and water market stocking which is indeed too problematic for our great and ;fcnown -cause. ' an {Continued to page 8)
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 9, 1919, edition 1
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