•M
ft
VOLUME FORTY-NINE.
.
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 192^.
MESSAGE TO COUN
TRY BY BISHOPS OF
A. M. E. Z. CURCH.
ISSUED FROM THEIR MEET
ING AT CHARLOTTE, N. C.,
JANUARY 13-17.
The Bishops of the A. M. E- Zion
Church herein, with affectionate
greetings, issue a statement of obser
vations on the State of the Church
and our public interests.
Having faith in God, confidence in
our machinery and confident alli
ance upon the loyalty and zeal of
our ministry, we entertain high hopes
for the future usefulness of our re
ligious organization in making con
tributions of value to the redemptive
Influences now at work to save man
kind. Long experience presents high
signs of the fulfillment of divine
promises concerning the flourishing
destiny of the Church and assures us
that the services we are rendering
in applying our solutions to the
problems of a torn and aggrieved
world will meet *ith a great meas^
nre of success. We believe in Jesus
Christ as the final souree from which
all ills of nations, individuals and so
cial institutions will receive relief.
We are thankful to Almighty God
for the strength and stability of our
institutions and the loyalty add de
votion of our growing membership.
These have never and vill never fail
to answer the required needs of the
Cause.
Our Home Missionary Endeavor.
Conferences that were lfosing
ground and influence have been re
habilitated by strong, energetic pas
tors who can now be assured under
our revised financial plan, of sup
port from our Home Mission Depart
ment; and churches that were strain
ed heavily because of large obliga
tions are now looking with much
brighter prospects into the future be
cause of the readiness of the Church
Extension Board to give to their
cause. Never before in the history
of the Church has such a serious'ef
fort been made to give systematic
help to the struggling pastors
and churches. It has created a hew
spirit of enthusiasm and earnestness
that will carry the Church on through
more difficult tasks to tangible
achievements.
We are pleased to report that in
our general survey of the Church, re
vivals are being attended with re
markable success 'and the spirit of
evangelism, is .not only adding to our
numbers daily, but is awakening
within us renewed efforts to reach
the very highest possible Christian
life. With us, Christianity is a life
and as we approach in practice to the
excellencies of that life, we draw
nearer to God- Your Chief Pastors
hope that every charge whether in
city, town or hamlet, will conduct
evangelistic services and lay special
emphasis upon the saving of souls.
Child Labor Law and Compulsory
Education.
We are pleased over t]je glowing
reports broughjt to us of the superior
work our secondary schools are do
ing, and that thpy are registering
the largest body of students in the
history of our department of Educa
tion. Our standards are higher, our
equipment much improved, our teach
ing force more competent, so that our
schools of this class meet with the'
requirements of the general Educa-.
tional Board. We lay this special
stress upon our schools of v this
grade because Of the splendid re
sults they are having in preparing
our young men and women for high
er education and professional train
ing. We request our ministers to
take advantage of Institutes and
Schools of Theology that they might
be the better prepared to meet,
the requirements levied upon our pu - i
<
k,
for society and the tasks of civiliza
tion, we should favor a Federal law
on child labor and compulsory educav
tion.
Negro Business Co-operation
Urged.
We further urge our membership
everywhere to encourage and sup
port Negro business enterprises, com
mercial, insurance and ctf-operative
organzations and to repose confidence
in the ability of niembers of' the
race to manage and control big
business. While we learn our most
profitable lessons through our fail
ures the A. M. E. Zipn Church has
gathered complimentary Statistics of
Negro businesses which records but
few failures and many successes.
We urge therefore, that wherever
substantial effort is being made to
• conduct legitimate and honest business
(Contnued to page 5)
TOO MUCH JAZZ IN,
THE CHURCH.
Bj Bishop James E. Freeman,
President of National Cathedral
Foundation.
The age is calling* for a crusade
and the crush der’s spirit. It is gall
ing for a church for religion only.
It has its other needs met by the
multiform and ever-increasing agen
cies. It seeks its spiritual house of
worship for spiritual refreshment and
renewal and that alone. The multi
tude is at o’Ur gates saying, “Sirs,
we would see Jesus!”
When a'mao comes to me in trouble
over his own missteps or sorrow over
the loss of a loved one, When the crisis
is at hand he wants reassurance, not
an entertainment or a dissertation on
doctrinal beliefs. Then the unimpor
tant takes its proper place and true
values assert themselves.
There is today as great, -if not a
greater, yearning for the principles
of life given to the world by Jesus
Christ more than ever before. Noth
ing is more evident than the sovereign
and supreme-place He occupies in the
actions of men.
That the world has turned its vision
to Him who ‘spake as never man
spake’ is demonstrably true. In spite
of all discussions and controversies
the regnancy of Christ stands un
challenged. We are not called upon
to consider His place as the “holiest
among the holy,” nor the incomparable
character of His teaching. He needs
no apologist today. What we are
called upon to seriously /consider is
' oUr own relation to Him asJSis teach
era and exemplars, and the adapt
ability of our methods to make Him
sovereign in the hearts of men.
. In fine we are compelled to ap
praise anew the methods and mech
1 anism we have called into being- and
i tlieir fitness to serve the high pur
; pose of His kingdom. >
The most cursory study discloses a
condition within the Church’s lifejhat
should give us pause- Our boasted
statistics which disclose growth along
certain lines, lines that do not accu
rately measure spiritual development,
furnish no adequate or fair indication
as to the vitality arid efficiency of
the Church as an institution. Neith
er growth in material things, nor
ever proportionate increase in num
bers may be taken as an evidence of.
the Church’s spiritual vitality.
A- reappraisal of values, a thor
ough inventory eft assets and liabil
ities, this alone will serve the purpose
of a situation as critical as the pres
ent. With unbiased frankness then,
cost what it may let us, even though
we may do it hastily, survey our sit
uation. -
I think it will be readily admitted
that during the period of the last 40
years sweeping changes have come
over the life of the Church, and while
its forms of worship and sacramental
system have remained intact, newer
and \ater agencies have attached
themselves to the Church as an insti
their avowed purpose being^ to
and promote a declining
on the part
CRUSADING FOR AF
RICAN REDEMPTION.
By Bishop C. C. Alleyne.
Embarkation New York and a
lleart-warming send-off. The Walk
to Emmaus produced no more pro
found heart-burning than the kind
ness and hospitality of the saints
provoked in us as we turned our
faces toward the sO-called dark conti
nent. If "ever our assignments seem
ed ominous we now have ample com
pensation. The heart of the Church
pulsates with interest in our mission.
Africa is in Zion as well as Zion is
in Africa.
Hand-shakes, embraces and tears,
that Will one day sparkle as pearls
in the gates of the New Jerusalem,
and we are off to take the West
Coast for Jesus, and as much of it
as possible ftfr Zion.
Six days of life on the “Paris/*
one day in Paris, then Bordeaux,
where we embark on the S. S. Europe
for Africa.
Paul knew something of European
traveling, when be exhorted us to
lay aside all impediments in order to
“so run that ye may obtain/’ If we
could have laid aside the weights we
had in the form of luggage while
travelling through Trance, we would
have saved many fokncs. They cer
tainly penalize ofte for carrying lug
gage: You -seem to, be carried cheap
er than your'-effects. Now we can
the more appreciate Borcham’s “Lug
gage of Life/’
And we certainly had to “move on,”
and keep our baggage moving with
us, in order to travel from Havre to
Bordeaux in a little oyer twenty-four
hcpirs* to catch our steamer. But at
last we arrive on^Thursday, Decem
ber 18, 1924. On taking stock we
are “all here,” minus a suit case and
a perfectly good^Wnited States bill
of three figures.
In America we heard much of Eng
lish fogs, and we had mapped out a
fogless 'route. But shadows avaunt!
We are surrounded by a French fog
which delays the sailing Of our boat
for twelve hours; all around us foggy
French and French fogginess.
At last the engines revolve and the
good ship but slow—glides down the
river. What hustle and bustle have
we seen on the dock! France gqing
to Africa, and Africa touching civi
lization with French civilization.
Frenchmen in 'ebo’ny living on terms
of fraternity and equality with
Frenchmen in ivory. For here “all
of God’s chillun” have rights which
all of the children of France are free
to resjpect.
Since we left New York we have
not met Mr. James Crow or Miss Dis
crimination, and all because .we for
sook the beaten path of vaunted
Anglcf-Saxon superiority. Bobbie
Bums’ philosophy “a mpn’s a map
for a that’ is tabooed everywhere,
save only in France. England has
capitulated to 4merican prejudice
until even a British'Negro who proud
ly sings, “Britons never, neVer shall
be slaves,” is a pariah in the British
Isles. Yankee snobbishness is camp
ing in Paris. O France! Fraiice!
black humanity is hanging on thy
love for justice and fair play. In the
4ay of thine extremity thy black sons
came, fought, bled and died fdr thee,
“land of the free and home of the
brave.”
France, France, God shed his grace
on thee,
And crown thy good with brother
hood
From sea to shining sea.
One day just as the splendor of the
setting sun whs lighting up the
waters of the Atlantic, we sighted a
three masted schooner. She had
been buffeted* about, by the angry
waves fdr many days. They asked
for food, their supplies having given
out, They asked for bread and were
not given a stone. I thought of the
“other little, ships” that were out on
the Lake at the time of the disciples’
adventure, v AJpo of the .command of
and visiting by night. They are like|
sheep without a shepherd. And the
Master commands/us “give ye them
to eat.' They ,are fitting in dark
ness and dwelling in the shadow of
death.
Shall we whose souls are lighted
with wisdom from on high,
Shall we to men benighted the lamp
of life deny? , •
0 Zion haste, for we must work
the wtirk of Him whor sent us while
it is day. ■ r
Give of thy sons to bear^the mes
. sage glorious
Give of thy wealth to speed them on
their way
Pour out ' thy sold for them in
prayer victorious
And all thou spendest Jesus will
repay.
The sea has been rough and the
wind boisterous. But since we have
gotten off the coasts df Morocco, we
are minded.. to sing “O what a
change!” Cairn seas, gentle breeezs
and a semi-tropical sun greeted ,us
today, December 23rd.
Thoughts of Christmas force their
way against the will and demand re
flection. For the first time in our
lives we are beyond the reach of
Santa Claus. The thrill of his
prancing reindeers aiid tingling bells
will be absent. But the Christ will
be with us. He said to us “gti;” and
He also said, “Lo I am with thee
alway, even unto the end of the
world.” ••
God grant that soon in every ham
let, back in the remotest corners of
the land of Ethiopia, men may know
that “unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given.” His name is Je
sus; His mission to save tti the ut
termost, all V£ho come unto God
through Him.
But how can they;‘believe on Him
of whom they have not heard; and
how can they hear withoui a preach
er? And so we are Africa bound to
preach glad tidings and open the
prison house to those that are bound.
We shall hold' the Fcfrt feeling that
to, our help “a troop cometh.” More
anon!
Mid ocean
S. S. Eurtipe
December, 23, 1924.
SCIENTISTS STUDY
ECLIPSE FROM
EARTH, SEA A N D
AIR. r
(By Associated Press,)
Sol and Luna held their long
anticipated rendezvous yesterday.
Their trystihg place was a heaven
curtained^ with dusk and fringed
with rosy vclouds. The occasion was
a total solar eclipse of such mag
nificence as humans /seldom have
seen.
Chaperons were Venus, Jupiter
and Mercury, and the time was 8
a. m., Eastern standard," as astro
nomical rumor had whispered it
would be.
Ecstatic 'scientists on earth re
ported it the most, perfectly exe
cuted eclipse the heavens have por
trayed sincA man began studying
and recording such events, instead
xf hiding from them, in terror
stricken prayers;/ Gleefully they peer
ed through cavernous telescopes and
cranked huge cameras, while millions
of other earth-beings stared through
smoked^ glass, awed and silent. *
One Of the trysters—some said he
and some said she—was five seconds
late, reckoning by the astral calendar
of scientists. But the meeting lost
gone of' its. glamour thereby, for it
was the'first tryst of sun and moon
in this segment of the heavens for
119 years, and it will be more than
two centuries before they njeet there
again.
Weather conditions for observa
tion were described as almost gen
erally perfeot throughout the; East,
where most of the fixed observa
tories and laboratories were located.
Hundreds of telescopic J"
were
LEADING THE
NEGROES ASTRAY.
/ . ■■■■■■ ii'.i'
The Negro has made his 'greatest
progress in sobriety, in industry and
inhome-owningwithin the past eight
years. In other words, his general
advancement began when he was
divorced from politics and his mind
diverted to better things of life. The
truth. of all this is manifested no
where better than in Charlotte, where
the Negro population has developed
along all lines of welfare. The Negro
is no longer a political chattel. Find
ing freedom from political exploita
tion, he has found himself within the
space of a comparatively few years
safely classified in the better citizen
ship list. He has become a patron
of the building and loan, instead of
the saloon; he has become ciwner of
a home and is proud to happy do
mesticity. It was a decided mislick
on part of the visiting Negro bishops,
| the past week, to once more under
take planting the seed of politics in
the minds of the Negroes of the
South. It is to be said, in mitiga*
tidn, that the majority .of these bish
ops came from north of the Mason
and Dixon line and were unfamiliar
with the excellently-established state
of Negro society in this part of the;,
country and altogether unaware of',
the great advancement made by the
race in both' the spiritual and ma
terial direction, It was an entirely
wrong note they struck in their “mes
sage to the country,” in which they
insisted that one Of t$e, objectives to
be sought by the Negroes5 during
1925, is “more political power and
independence.” The best thing that
was ever done for the Negroes in this
part of the South was in rescuing
them from exploitation by the poli
ticians. The "Negro, himself* does
not want to be returned to his former
political thralldom. He wants, along
with the white people, to get as far
; away as possible from recollections,
of past political history, for the Ne
gro has a good memory,, and con
trasting his condition now with what
it was in times past—in the days of
Reconstruction and the days im
mediately following—he may prove
stubborn to the; advice of the North
ern bishops. He has learned that the
Industrial leader is his friend, as the
political boss had been his enemy.
A- little bit, of Southern history
might be recalled to emphasize to the
bishops how far they have departed
from this course of true leadership
for the Southern Negroes. On page
352 of Hill’s “Young People’s history '
of Nftth • Carolina,” One may read:
“During Reconstruction in this State
three ex-Go’vemors, a former Justice
of the Supreme Court, several ex
Congressmen and a number of other
distinguished men were at a dinner
together. The only person present
who could vote or hold office Was the _
Negro who waited on the table.”
Although the State, like the whole
South, was practically bankrupt at
the close of the war, the unholy
regime in * North Carolina in 1868 f
I voted bonds to the amount of. $20,— .
000,000!
The same condition prev»i«u ***
every other Southern $tate, The
Legislature in South Carolina in
1868, 1869 and the first h»lf of 1870
was composed of 78 Negroes and 46
white men. The total amount of
taxes paid by all legislators was the
magnificent sum $636,281 ******
the two and one-half years, the
Radical Legislature, in its riot
graft and debauchery, increased the
State’s public debt from $5,407,306^7
to $14,833,349.17. The total cost of
operating the State Government be
fore the war was approxitn«epy a
half million dollars a year. Many
of these high financiers, who _wwe
then shaping the destiny of the State,
were alleged to have been Unable to
read’ and write.
The bishops whre again wrong m
their explanation of the prevalerje
if bootlegging. Violation of
irohibition amendment, ?they contend,
Mi its inception in the failure to en
jrce the