NUMBER TEN
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1924.
VOLUME' FORTY-EIGHT
OBSERVATIONS.
AT LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE
AND PUBLISHING HOUSE.
By Dr. R. A. Morrisey,
The memorable day of February
*£he 11th found us at Salisbury, N.
C. Here we were honored by Pres.
D. C. Suggs and Faculty of Living
stone College by an invitation to de
liver the ‘Price Memorial Address ”
Livingstone College had an unusual
attraction and fascination for us on
such an auspicious occasion, because
it was where we had sat at the feet
of the illustrious Price, as the Apos
tle Paul sat at the feet of Gamaliel
to acquire knowledge for prepared
ness and usefulness in life activities.
This historic occasion gave us op
portunity for observations which were
especially interesting and illuminat
ing. They afforded us correct visu
alization for adequate appraisal of
the real work and worth of Living
stone College to the Church and to
the race at a time when the birthday
celebration, in esteem and honor of
the immortal founder, was being ap
propriately observed in the Church
in different parts of the country.
Livingstone College.
At 10 o’clock A. M., February
11th the entire student body with
the Faculty marched from the au
ditorium to the grave in solemn song
and tread, encircling the- tomb of the
immortal Price, executed an interest
ing program consisting of music and
addresses by the representatives of
the various classes. On this occasion
the principal address was delivered
by Prof. J. S. N. Tross.
In the afternoon another program
of- celebration exercises by the stu
dents was rendered by the joint so
cities under Mr. C. F- Spurgeon
vtith short 'addresses known as “3 (
minutes guns from representatives <
of the. students from 28 states in
cuding the special address by Mr. |
Clifford P. Saunders, a student of |
the Senior Class. . ,
In the evening at 7:30 another j
program was given in honor of the •
great educator, J. C. Price, under
the auspices of the College Faculty.
President D. C. Suggs made appro
priate opening remarks complimenta
ry of the spirit of the day and the
excellencies of the exercises thus far
given.
The program consisted of appro
priate music by the choral union, «
poems on the life of Dr. Price and
extracts from some of his speeches
with the Price memorial address by
the writer on the subject, “Dr. Price j
as a great man.” in which was’ por- ]
trayed the excellent qualities of his •
life.
First, AS a
Second, As a great Leader.
Third, As a great Educator.
Fourth, As a great Orator. j
‘President Suggs then made com
plimentary references to the exercis-1
es and the memorial address, also to
Dr. Moore and Miss Victoria Richard- /
son, members of the faculty who had j
given so many years of devoted ser-t
vice to Livingstone College as co
workers of Dr. Price. He then in
troduced Mrs. Jennie Price, wife of
Dr. Price, his daughter, M,’ss Josie
Price and Mrs. Mamie Walker Da
venport to the audience who received
a warm ovation by the students. ‘
The celebration exercises -of the
day were declared by many who have,
witnessed many shch occasions to be
the best in the history of the school .
The Price birthday program by the
students, for excellency in rendition
and unusual intellectuality*, clearly
demonstrated the thorough and effi
cient training afforded at Livingstone
.today.. It also showed'the fine spirit ,
of cooperation between the facuitv |
and students for the maintenance of
the £Jeheat standard of discipline and
deportment to/ the best results In the
©aeration of the school under the
wise and successful administration of
Resident Suggs and his efficient
Faculty. y .
The enrollment for the present
session has eclipsed all previous
records of fhe school. The enroll
ment of the facility has climbed up to
26 strong with all salaries paid
up promptly when due.
There are five hundred thirty
eight (.538)*. students enrolled, one
hundred five (105) of these pursuing
courses of study in the College de
partment, and there will be a much
larger class in numbers to graduate
from the college department this
year than ever before.
(Continued to page 5)
A MESSAGE FROM
THE GULF SHORES.
By Rev. G. H. Miles, Presiding
Elder, Pensacola District.
Nineteen twenty-four is upon us
with all of its responsibilities. Three
General Conferences of Methodism
are to meet and enact laws for the
better government of the church. A
M. E. Zion, A. M. E. and the great
C. M. E. Churches. All of these
bodies are to be looked up to, to give
us the things that will tend toward
the betterment of the Methodist fam
ily . o Then this year brings us face
to face with another presidential
campaign. To great political conven
tions are to gather in battle array,
to put up men as standard bearers
of their respective parties. So it is a
busy year.
Zion has much to do in this Gen
eral Conference, besides the election
of bishops and general officers. This -
part of the business should be the
least concern. To my mind the en
actment of laws that are sane and
possible to enforce should be the
order of the cRfy. Some of the laws
that are on the statue book should
be changed or repealed. Among them
is the one voting for the return of
the pastor. This law never was en
acted by the General Conference, but
crept into our church when our Zion
was surrounded by Congregational
ism in New England and New York.
These churches saw the Congrega
tional churches doing this thing and
followed in their wake- It was allow
ed and is now a part of our law by
general consent. This law of custom
causes more harm than good. It
gives the people the right to ask for
a change or the return of the pastor,
and many of them think that their
vote settles the matter when to their
surprise they learn that the bishop
is not bound by any action of theirs.
This law ought to be modified, or
made clear enough so that the church
would know what to evpect when
they vote; but I say take this law
out, if we are Episcopal. We certain
Iv cannot be Episcopal and Congre
gational at the same time.
There should be some way where
by presiding elders on missionary
districts could be paid back salary.
As it is there is no way for a presid
ing elder to collect any of his salary
should the church fail,, to pay him.
He has no authority to press bis
claim further than the Sunday's jcol
lection, and many t'mes this does
not amount to one half of the bal
ance due. Should he take this, it
ofttimes causes hard feelings on the
part of the. pastor who is, as a rule,
as hard pressed as the presiding el
der.
Every presiding elder who has the
love of hig men will feel like sharing
their burdens. The reason that pro
vision is made for the bishop’s back
salary is, there is no way for him
to get a living unless thy General
Conference provides for him. Presid
ing elders are sub-bishops and many
of them do more real rugged work ■
than we would want our bishops to
do. They are on th« gov fyom one
conference to another, preaching,
teaching, looking out for the better
ment of the church, ofttimes without
(Continued to pare 6)
MATTERS IN GEN
ERAL.
APPROACH AND FRIEND
SHIP WITH B. M. E.
CHURCH.
By Dr. R. R. Ball.
;fn.»
W. J. Walls, *D.
Editor “Star of Zl{
Dear Dr. Walls: f
A number of outstanding men ill
our Zion who know me intimately,
and are acquainted with my twenty
three years’ service in Zion Connec
tion have insisted that I offer myself
and service to the Church in the ca
pacity of general officer. They base
their insistence upon my thirty-two
yeari .in the_ ministry, three years as
editor of the *
Church paper of
lessen ger, offi^d
Colored Methodism
in Canada, eight yfars as conference
secretary in Mew Jersey annual con
ference, one of thfe assistant secre
taries for two General Conferences,
three years as presiding elder of the
New England conference, and-'nine
years as conference secretary or as
sistant; four year® as conference
treasurer. f|
The question of lust being a gen
eral officer does n|t appeal to me.
The quest.on thp,t toy brethren feel
that I can better serve the Church
in the'general fieli does appeal t»
me. The demands |f my friends are
such that I cannotfignore them. If,
outside of the pulpit; I am considered
oi worth to the Cffiureh in general
service, then I am convinced that my
training- and experifjjj^jf would fit me
to serve the Churcnbest as General
Secretary. It is generally under
stood that Dr. Jacobs, the present
efficient' secretary, is a very prom
inent candidate for the bishopric,
and is considered to occupy a leading
positipn among those most promi
nently mentioned. In view of the
above I formally announce that I am
a candidate ior tne omce or uenerai
Secretary of the A. M. B. Zion
Church. Certainly I will appreciate
the support of all delegates at the
forthcoming General Conference who
feel that I am qualified to perform
the ithportant duties of the office.
It will be remembered, Mr. Editor,
that at the Knoxville General Con
j ference we had a fraternal visit of
I Rev. S. R •* Drake, the general sup
erintendent of the B. M. B. Church
i in Canada. It was my privilege to
make the response to his address. I
understand that the B. M. E.
Church will again be represented at
the Indianapolis General Conference.
Representatives from the B. M. E.
Church are1'worth a cordial welcome,
not only of what they represent in
, the religious world, but because of
their fine attitude towards our Zion. I
have every reason to believe that
the B. M. E. Church would welcome
a closer relation with the A. M. E.
Zion Church. If not by organic un
| ion, at least in some cooperative
movement that would mutually ad
vance the interest of both churches
in the Dominion of Canada.'
At the lasr General Conference of
the B. M. E. Church in Canada in
London, Ont-, it was my good for
tune to represent our Zion. I will
not burden your columns with the
fraternal address delivered on a;
Friday evening. The following brief
excerpts from the ‘‘London Adver
tise,” give, some notice of the recep
tion Accorded the representative of
our Church.
| Rev. 8. R. Drake Re-Eleated Sup
erintendent of B. M. E. Church
in Canada —-Dr. Ball Speaker ,at
Quadrepnial Gathering.
The unanimous re-election of Rev.
S. H. Drake of this city as genial
superintendent of the British Meth
odist Episcopal Church in Canada,
for a third four-year, term wag the
outstanding event at the first day’s
session of the 16th general quadren
nial conference which opened at the
B. M. Ei Church on Gay Street, yes
terday.
An important feature in connect .ion
with the opening of the conference
was the presence of Rev. Dr. Rich
ard R. Ball, of Hartford, Conn., who
presented greetings from his Church,
the Zion African Methodist Church
of the U. S. A. Dr. Ball, who will
address the conference at the Friday
evening meeting, referred in a brief
adlress yesterday morning to bis
happy reunion with his boyhood
chum, Rev. Mr. Drake, and his grat
ification in seeing him in a place of
high honor in the B? M. E. com
munion .
< Continued on page 5)
A VOICE FROM THE
SOUTHWEST.
By L. O. Grady.
At this time the eyes of the A.
M. E. Zion Church are being turned
to Indianapolis, Ind., where prepara
tions are being made for the enter
tainment of the forthcoming General
Conference of the African Method
ist Episcopal Ziqn Church that meets
in its 27th quadrennial session,
sion.
The various annual conferences
that sends delegates to this great
meeting have held their sessions, and
the roll of members has been made
up. We take it for granted that in
the selections by the various confer
ences over .the Church, then best
men and women have been selected
that could lfave been forgotten. If
ithis is true, there will be gathered
at Indianapolis nex£ May^Trhe bbst
material in this great Church.
The work of selection of delegates
having been finished, the great prob
lem that confronts that selected
body is one of legislaion on measures
for the future welfare of the Church.
If you note I make the problem of
legislation' the great one. If. we are
not going to do any legislating, and
are going to leave the work of run
ning the Church in the hands of
those elected, as it is largely at the
present, then the great problem is
that of the selecting of men in
whose hands the affairs of the Church
will be safe.
in tms meeting we are to select
men to the highest office in the
Church—four or five as the General
Conferene may see fit. Then too, the
departmental heads must be electd
and also the heads of the various in
stitutions. Those who are aspiring
for office are busy getting in touch
with the delegates and some of the
delegates are getting in touc^ with
them, one asking for suffrage, the
other asking for donations for one
thing and another.
For a while the papers are full of
articles on the quaifications of bish
ops^ Some men demand a type of
man, such that Hod would have to j
provide some special mould to have I
him cast in. More has been said
along the line of mor&l fitness per- ;
haps than along any'other line. We
all must agree that one who aspires
to the highest office in a Methodist
Episcopal Church should he a man
above reproach. He should be able j
to present to the church a clean
record.
But after all that may be said or
| done, we will find that, if we elect
any bishops at all, they will be taken
from the rank and file of our minis
try, men of like passion, who are as
good -and as bad as we are- God
can only give back to us- the mate
rial that we have furnished him
with. But out of this unfit and un
holy mass God has been always able
to get a man to do His work; and we
have reasons for believing that He
will do the same thing in. ibis ap
proaching General Conference, fo
this end let us pray.
In our swing around to the con
ferences during the spring, summer
(Continued to page 8)
GLOWING TRIBUTE J
TO MEMORY OF LEADER OP
COLORED RACE IS PAID
BY NEGRO PHYSICIAN.
(Article in Asheville Citizen.);
Glowing tribute to the m’emory ot
Dr. Joseph Charles Price, prominent.
Negro leader, was paid by Dr. X
W. Walker,‘former Negro physician
'here, in an address delivered Sunday
night at Hopkins chapel ’ A. M . B.
Zion church. Dr.^Walker is now in*
charge of the colored section of thd
State Sanatorium at Sanatorium, N.
C. The occasion was in honor of the
Price Anniversary, February !•
, Price was the founder of Livingstone
College.
la part Dr. Walker spoke as fol
lows :
Dr. Joseph Charges Price was
born in Elizabeth Cityy February
10th, 1854, and be, too, like the illus
trious and immortal Lincoln and
Douglas who were born in the same
month, was destined to play an im
portant part upon the stage of human
activity.
“The master men and women to
whom we owe so much, thanks to
the Divine, have not been confined to
any particular age; they do not al
ways come from royal blood nor are
they bound by racial lines. In one
epoch, they are called from among
the despised and debased portions
of humanity. At another, they rise
up rugged souls and at the loom of
of life weave the garment *we
seest them wear.’ And still another
from the classic walls of some insti
tution of learning. •;:.••• *7' ^
“When this good man and1 good
woman would make their appearance,
they are known and felt; for stocks ‘
and dungeons, guillotines and edicts
from, the thrones of monarchs are as
nothing to thwart their aims and
purposes. For God Himself has called
them, and who has the brazen tem
erity to defy the Omnipotent iu
arms ?
On the natal day of young ‘ Price*,,
there was no star to point or guide
the wise men, or prompt the announc
ing of his advent; his coming was
unnoticed, ^ a mere incident. Unher
alded, he was born in a log cabin, his
mother and father were slaves, mere
chattel, poor and unlearned, strug6*
gling for existence. Under such cir
cumstances, who dares to prophesy
greatness? Can any good thing come
but of Nazareth-? Could a gloriously
flaming soul be tabernacled among
such unpromising environments?
Such humbleness, such meekness?
Yea, veritably we remember we are
told that God raiseth up the poorest
from the dung-hill to set them among
princes and to make *- them inherit
a throne of glory; for the pillars of
the earth are the Lord’s and he hath
set the world upon thfem. He shall
keep the feet of his saints and the
wicked shall be silenced in darkness;
for by strength shall no man prevail.
“Black as ebony, of a despised
race, born and •'largely reared in
poverty, with no light of fair sur
roundings, this child of destiny
comes forth to win the plaudits and
-admiration of the world.
“Milton wisely said that childhood
shows the man as the morning shewn
the day.” As a rare child, his child
hood days were exceptional and his
footprints can be easily traced from
the lowly earth to the vaulted skies.
Whatever the changes in fortune we
are told, he went from the Sunday
School and church to the schoolhouse,
from the schoolhouse to college, and
wherever found he was struggling
upward ever in quest of light, stomp
ing his great personality indelibly
upon those with whom he came in
contact. Indeed^ we are told that he
associated ' with his, fellows, he
was ever found moving with high
erected thoughts seated in ft heart
of courtesy .* In college lie was the
(Continued to p*ge *>