Newspapers / The Star of Zion … / Feb. 2, 1922, edition 1 / Page 4
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/ STAR or ZION. Official organ of the Afrioan Methodist EpisoopalZion Church Pounded in 1876. Published eve ry Thursday at-the A. M.E. Zion Publishing House. Brevard and Second Streets. Chariotie, North Carolina. Entered at the Post Office at l&arlotte, North Carolina as sec ond class matter. Subscription nates: Oue year, $1.50; six months il.ee. Slagle copy 5 eonts. All article for publieatio Itbeuld be sent to the editor, boy 117, Charlotte, North Carolina All communication- of a business nature should be sent to the Gen eral Manager of the A. M. E. SHo& . Publishing House, Char lotte, North Carolina. W. J. WALLS, Editor. B. D. WATKHTO, Omni BUaiftc. THE KING’S OWN ADVERTIS ■- ERS. “The skeptical and indifferent may be attracted by the double column display advertisement, setting forth attractions of the house of God-. They are con vinced and converted only by the sight of the transformed person ality, by the demonstration of the" power of the gospel to take the worst of men and make them saints - ” This sentence is the conclusion of a remarkable discussion in the leading editorial of the New York Christian Advocate of January 19, upon* the subject, “Advertising Christianity.”'It is fundamental and the doctrine grows out of both reason and4 experience. The story of the Bi ble is the story of consecrated character in contrast to erring victims of sin. Dr. Joy quotes in this same article the forceful lan guage of a minister who recently said to his people: “A great j many people** have stopped read ing the Bible, but they have not stopped reading you.” People have always and always shall read the Christian evangel as it is translated by its professors. Herein lies a‘fearful responsibil ity- . . . * It was this truth m the mma of the writer tof the 107th Psalm who exclaims, “Let the redeemed of the^Lord say so ” The pre vious verse of this Psalm is the theme and object of this exhor tation. Listen to him: “0 give thanks unto the Lord—for His mercy forever.” The translators supplied the word, “enduieth;” it rather limits than extends the ;faith of the worshipping poet- It is the redeemed whom lie calls upon to give testimony of the limitless mercy of the Divine Father; for it is only those who can present the facts- It is the redeemed who come with a story. Nothing else is worth while to a world of distress in a time of great darkness, storm and won derings . This Psalm writer puts the story of experience into the mouths of the worshippers; the experience of travel, of captives, of sick men, of seamen, and .of the various hardships of life over whi«5h Providence leads thous-i ands of Israelites. He gives the story of Israel’s redemption and, in a word, commands the church to speak and the world to listen* Jesus makes this the slogan in His final direction to the little band of Galileans whom He sent forth to evangelize the world. # “Ye shall be witnesses of Me,” He said, “unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” Dr. J. H. Jowett, the British imperial preacher, with a childlike faith, declares 11 Even the cloud of witnesees’ ” in the ral lying words of the Apostle Paul to the heroes of faith whoin he spurs on - to Out-run and out-wit the hostile world, are fr company of story tellers from experience, rather than a bunch of shouters in the grand stand- Dr- Jdwett also says, and we agree with him, “I think they are witnesses with a story- The witnesses have run on that very track and they 'have won the garland and the" palm These witnesses are f)ld racers who have left a record which is full of inspiration and evidence/’ By these verses of scripture, we are plainly taught that there are two classes equipped with the word of evidence and tried in the* exploits of holy dare and roman tic faith wrho await ready to furnish us with the ripe word to push us on past every new trial of our present world- They are the witnesses who have crossed the mystic way and look ing back to the surging, anxious line of their mortal successors, and there are also the witnesses vho have already climbed up end fought through in the line of march who abide with us still Both have a story to tell- Let us listen awhile to each- Listen when you may to the open lids end Jiving pages of the Holy Book, to Adam whose end is veiled in mystery, to Enoch and Abraham and Jacob and Moses, to David and to Paul, to Isaiah and Peter whose heart -strings sing always to us the music of hope in a black and dark night. From the catacombs ancT beastly arenas and flaming squares of Rome, from John Huss, Savona rola, from- Wyclif and Latimer whose faith speaks nobly while their bodies pain and parch; from -Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jlohn Knox, John Wesley and John Robinson, James Yarick and Richard Allen, sires who were not afraid to try the world beyond the bounds of cruel state and hostile church, who speak from history’s fiery pages and command us- to hear facts. Such days as these when hearts bleed and feet tremble in the mad rush for gold, in the selfish ways where cruel passions ^age and' races still threaten to butcher each other, there are other voices to hear.' They come to us 'from men and women who have long since passed through practical experience from the doubts of life. Our fathers and mothers who be , lieve in God, the mission worker, men and \Vomen in the wilds of Africa, among the hordes of India, in the strange life of sea islanders, among lepers, in fam ine stricken Siberia and Arme nia, in Japan and China, speak ' to us in the story which only the redeemed of the Lord can tellf These are mighty witnesses and there are thousands of voices in pulpit and choir and in the altar and about the hearthstone who are witnesses for Jesus day by ’ day and week by week. Why ' should we ever faint with these so near to us and so dear, their Father’s children, to always tes : tify. Reader, if thou art redeem- 1 ed in thine own-»personal expe rience, thou owest it to some ’weak one, to some gasping life to speak by thy truth felling and ’by thy truth living that he may not die, if thou wouldst reach the heights thy soul longeth to gain. There are indeed many lesser and more worldly ways to advertise 'the Kingdom of God, but none %will ever approach the advertise ment of personal faith from a character mode like Christ’s, saturated with spiritual knowl edge and consecrated by obedk ence and sacrifice. MR. HARDING SLIPS AGAIN WITH THE NEGRO. It is finally announced that President Harding has appointed Harley V. Speelman, of Mariet ta, Ohio, a white man, Registrar of the Treasury. This, of course, is the first Republican white man to hold that position in a gener ation. It has been regarded by McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft a .chief place of regard to the Ne gro in the party, and has been aspired# to by the ablest men of the raee in politics. The change of policies, of course, is due to the spirit imparted to the country from tlje % ilson administration which expressed itself in a peti* tion signed by the employees of the department, chiefly females, against a Negro being appointed.' It has been very closely watched, for it has been all along regard ed as a sort of touch-stone to the Harding administration poli cy on the Negro/s office holding, 1 especially when it was made a test_case by insistence from both the Negro and the white employ ees^ who were in conflict. It looks very dark for the Negro in this administration in so far as President Harding’s executive initiative goes. There never has been and never „wiil be a time when the majority of the party would be willing to endure the Negro official. But when there have been a strong executive and a wise, representative legislative group, strong Negroes have been given high and important posi tions from Frederick Douglass to John C. Dancy and W. T. Ver^~ non, and it has been tolerated when it was learned that oppo sition was of no avail. The- only hope he had when he supported the party was that he was aiding ; in the election of strong men to its head who would give a square deal without regard to sectional and conceited race clamors. If Mr. Harding, as he has done in the case of the Registrar of the Treasury, continues to fall down on the black man’s rights and re wards, he and the party may ex pect a revolt of the Negroes all along the line that they will not fail to feel when the votes are counted. SFHOND CONVOCATION at CHARLOTTE. The second annual missionary meeting of the Second Convoca tional District meets February 14th to 16th at Charlotte at the Little Rock church. There is be ing no little preparation made by the pastor, Dr. Lankford, and the associate pastors of the city and their congregations for the comfort and pleasure of til' dele gation which will attend. The Board of Bishops and the General Officers will |?e present, in addi tion to the delegates from the conferences represented. Last year the meeting at Chester prov* ed a very inspirational one and the handsome amount of $2,000 ’ and more was collected for for eign missions. Mrs. Annie W. Blackwell, who has worked with tireless hands and anxious heart to place the Convocation in the heart of the church, and Dr. W. W. Matthews, the able chief of the missionary depart ment, who is directly and effec tively with the women in every movement, prophesy like results 1 this year. This, they think, means getting ahead of* the record last year when it is remembered the local societies and pastors are working to overcome the rav ages of the boll weevil and the crop shortage to roll up a fine ’ showing for our sacrificing broth ers and sisters at the foreign mis sion posts and for the dark land from whence our fathers came. (Millions and millions Sre crying today for a light they know not and they are waiting .for the j prayers and the tithes of us^vho by a wonderful providence are placed in a position to help res cue them. We are sure that the loyal churches and pastors and the self-sacrificing women who appeal, to a sympathizing public will come \o Charlotte ready for such a - memorable meeting and telling reports as shall cause the ears of the entire church to tin gle with joy. THE NEGRO AND CRIMINAL SHIELDING.— LUTHER BODDY A TEST. Once in a while we hear on the platform Or in private talk of white people or see in the pub lic press the bold assertion that the black man shields his crim inal class. It is as often denied and when exceptions are pointed out they usually turn out to be cases in which the Negro people felt sure that the" accused would stand no [ chance for justice from the psy chology of the community and the temper of the ccAirt, the Case usually being judged , and the verdict announced by some hot and indiscriminating newspa per. Happily we are not encum ■bered with such newspapers in Charlotte, for whatever the ea*se the Charlotte newspapers stand out against irregularity before the law when dealing with races, as in all other matters. j We,have a case in point which we would have our fellow citizens in the South note as an object lesson on this point of the Ne gro’s" attitude to his criminals. About two weeks ago a colored v boy, Luther Boddy, made desperate in New York crime and prison history, killed two detectives while under ar rest on the way to detention. A murder of another Negro had,/ been committed and Boddy was a suspect. Boddy, by ingenious stealth, took the revolver from ' one detective and shot the other who had yet his weapon on him and then shot the terrified de tective whom he had relieved of his. This aroused both white and colored people in Harlem. Boddy escaped in a thrilling auto drive in which he forced a taxi driver to carry him to Philadelphia. He was dressed in woman’s clothes and had gotteh to an abode with relatives in the Quaker city. A member of thte church of Rev. C. A. Tindley,- the'famous colored preacher of that city, was stopping in the house and report ed it to his pastor who sent hiA to Mr- Amos Scott, the colored magistrate’ of Philadelphia, who called an officer and immediately captured Boddy. Extradition pa pers were soon prepared and Boddy was carried by five officers > to New York where the law is dealing with him. The underworld, we learn, is creatlv wrought up over it, and the lives of Dr. Tindley, the o-reat Methodist preacher and Mr. Scott, the magistrate, ardj seriously threatened. The story proves two things in particular: (1) That law abiding Negroes , are as anxious to weed out the criminal as all other law-abiding citizens are, and, (2) When members of the col ored race are made officers of the law and have a voice in the cmirts, and there is a. guarantee of justice, there is perfect co operation of the race in appre hending the criminal. . In this case it was done at the risk of the lives of some of the best-Negroes in the country. v THE WOMB’S CHRISTIAN ALLIANCE. Constant reports from parents of the South of girls becoming lost after they went to the city j of Philadelphia and inquiries made to Bishop L- J. Coppin, touched the sympathy of his dis tinguished wife, Mrs- Coppin, who interested the women of that city in a movement which has re sulted in an organization known as the Woman’s Christian' Alli ance. Its object is to furnish a, home for girls who come to Phil adelphia to work without1 ac quaintance and. friends. They aid them in securing employmujr#. They have .purchased a building at 610 S. 16th Street and rent the rooms to the girls at low. pric es, which if they are not able to pay upon arrival, they pay after" having found employment. They haye an extension department also, through which, they secure other homes that are suitable for girls. They plan the purchase of other buildings and the widening of 'the work to meet more largely the needs- Other-cities hearing of this movement in Philadelphia have solicited this organization to come into their field and very soon the Women’s Christian Alli ance promises to be a national organization- 'The officers are Mrs., L. J. Coppin, president; Mrs. Nellie Turner Short, secre tary; (Mrs. Minnie S. Johnson, wife of Bishop J. Albert John son, treasurer, and Mrs. Mabel Buncomb, vice president. If such an organization as this could have operated in every city fifty years ago, many thousands Of ! girls who went from, the South ! ern homes unacquainted with j city vicbs and unafraid of expos ures incident to pleasure, who went down in the shock, would have been saved to the race, to the country and to the Kingdom of God. The work of Mrs. Goppin and these ladies has been greatly aided by her benevolent and race loving husband who is a true leader of mankind. The move ment deserves the study and sup port of women throughout the country. It has a name and a 'use large enough to include all humanitarian workers and phil anthropist. The S^ar of 3ion wishes and predicts for the Wo man’s Christian Alliance the larger destiny which it deserves. PRICE DAY. As we approach the Price birthday, February 10th,'we see more general interest in its ob servance than heretofore • 4. special rally is being conducted by the alumni who hope that the result in the raising will be not less than two thousand dollars to meet some painful emergencies for the relief and comfort of the . boys • The general church has been asked to hbld' rallies in all churches as agreed* upon by the Board of Bishops last year, to promote the Livingstone College endowment fund- We were inter ested to note while in Philadel phia recently that the alumni di rected by Bishops Blackwell and Caldwell in and around Philadel phia, plans to raise two hundred dollars and in a little meeting one evening nearly the. whole amount was subscribed- The Charlotte alumni will have one hundred dollars forthcoming, and its leaders, Miss Fannie Beaty, Mrs. Moreland, Mrs. Lee, Dr. Lee and others have left nothing unturned to bring about this sue- r cess. We have good news from Dr. J. W. Walker, who feels sure that the alumni in the various centres where he has had com munication are also working in order to aggregate two thousand dollars when the rally is heard from. We take this occasion to urge again as the last word be fore the day dawns, that the loy al sons of Price and the faithful sons of Zion, make this the uni versal day for oar large educa tional program beginning at Liv ingstone, the logical spot on this day. Send in a collection at once, men and womeii of Zion, and let this be but the beginning of an extended caJmpaign in which the trustees of Livingstone and of-the other institutions will call upon the church in the extended eam ■paign for future Zion. It is not hard to celebrate Price; his life’s story when told is a celebration. We are publishing this week in another column, an excerpt of the program which was issued by the Price committee too late tp be .used last year. EDITOR'TO BE IN NEW YORK TO SCHOOL. The Editor wishes to announce that beginning with the 14th of February he will be in New York City at Columbia University to study during the spring session. He will be open for service with the brethren certain Sundays for . cities, round about New York. First to come, first to serve. Let ters addressed to 200 W. 145th St., care of (Mr. and Mrs. Saun ders, will reach him. W.J. Walls. PARAGRAPHIC PERSON ALfe. Mr. Emmett J. Scqtt who carried the influence and experience of the secretaryship of the Booker T. Wash ington cabinet, and subsequent secre taryship in the War Department dur ing the war, into the present office of secretary and treasurer of the Ne groes’ National University at Wash ington, was seen the other day by the editor of this paper at his desk. We wer© accompanied by Dr. E. D. W. Jones our versatile and popular pas tor in Washington. Mr. Scott Is at home on big jobs. A big position to him is like the great occasion which meets its great men. He has already made a name in history. What he is
The Star of Zion (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Feb. 2, 1922, edition 1
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