ON THE TRAIL OF THE
AMERICAN MISSIONARY
By WILLIAM T. ELLIS
This Distinguished American .Journalist is T-aveling Around the World for
the Purpose of Investigating the American Foreign Missionary from
a Purely Disinterested. Secuiat and Nor.-Sectarian Standpoint.
Illustrated with Drawings and from Photographs.
Foreign Missions
Useful But Inadequate
Rome. Italy.—Here in the center of
the world's religious interest, home
ward bound. I look hack over nearly
a year's investigation of Christian
missions in the orient for a final re
view and summary. What is the con
clusion of the whole matter? Are for
eign missions worth while?
The answer must be in the affirma
tive. Considered only from the stand
point of humanitarian and philan
thropic service, the entire missionary
enterprise justifies its existence Add
to these great works of healing, edu
cation and care for the orphaned and
the needy, the beneficial influence
which has been exerted upon the
characters of thousands of native con
verts, as well as the more general,
though none the less unmistakable
influence wielded in behalf of civiliza
tion. and it will be seen that the mis
sionary agencies which the churches
of Christendom maintain at an annual
expenditure of many millions of dol
lars is one of the tremendous twen
tieth century forces making for the
world’s progress.
Without amplifying this point,
which has surely been made plain in
the preceding articles, let me suggest
some general considerations and criti
cisms which appear to be important
enough to deserve the attention of the
general public, as well as of that
large constituency especially interest
ed in missions.
wnere Bnurcnes snoula Bet Together.
1 know of no other undertaking any
where at all approaching this one in
magnitude which is managed in such
a helter-skelter, disorganized fashion,
or on such an unbusinesslike basis. I
do not here allude to the administra
tion of the individual boards, but to
the propaganda as a whole. Senti
ment. mood and emotion, rather than
tested principle and careful judgment,
seem to be the foundation of most
missionary activity; if a man or a
body can display especial efficiency in
stirring the feelings of the home con
stituency he or it can be sure of
plenty of funds and a free field to go
where it will and do what it pleases
in the mission world. There is at pres
ent no sufficient method of checking
up the work of foreign missions.
This sort of thing, and worse mis
takes. are in good part due to the
help-vourself fashion in which the de
nominations work. Only in the more
recent fields has there been an ap]*or
tionment of territory among the
churches, although everywhere the
need for this is so urgent that the de
nominations are now recogniziug and
yielding to it. Plainly, there is no suf
ficient reason why the mission work
of the Protestant churches in heathen
lands should not be done as one close
ly-cooperating body. The avowed aim
is the conversion of the people, and
not the perpetuation and extension of
denominational names, creeds and au
thority upon the mission field. The ]
present arrangement is expensive, di- j
visive and a hindrance to the end j
sought. What sense or reason is there,
for instance, in establishing northern !
and southern Presbyterian churches
in China, where the very existence of
America is a nebulous matter to most
of the people and the fact of the civil
war is unknown to persons out of
every thousand ? Left to themselves
the native Christians in the field I
have visited would not be long in
forming one Christian church.
Businesslike Methods Needed.
Pending the time of actual union,
ever}' possible form of cooperation
should be adopted. The commercial
sagacity of the method which keeps
half a dozen expensive theologically
trained "business agents" in the same
port city to do the purely secular
work for separate boards which could
all be done by one unordained busi
ness man does not appeal to the way
farer. Neither does the zeal for
planting new work in these outposts
(often in competition with native
churches) where expenses are high
est. difficulties greatest and results
fewest, when there are unlimited fa
vorable openings in the untouched in
terior. Most port cities, be it re
marked. need a subtraction rather
than an addition of missionaries.
A closer and more vigorous super
vision of missions on the part of sen
sible, courageous men of authority,
will result ;n the weeding out of the
occasional unfit missionary and in
remedying tactical blunders in the lo
cation of stations and in the character
of the work.
Two other important services this
businesslike supervision would accom
plish: It would insure the sending of
sane, well-balanced and accurate re
ports to the homeland, and it would
deal vigorously with the criticisms
which are so common on the other
side of the globe that they constitute
a serious barrier to missionary suc
cess. Criticisms which are even part
ly true should be frankly admitted,
and the evils remedied; those which
are not true should be boldly chal
lenged and silenced.
The position can never be main
tained that missionaries are impecca
ble: and to answer careful, definite
criticisms, as some which have ap
peared in this correspondence have
been answered, by the sweeping state- !
r
ment tliat it is "morally impossible"
for a missionary to do wrong, is sim
ply to put missionary defense beyond
the pale of consideration by thinking
men. in the one particular instance
where my criticism had been definite
ly disputed I had said that a certain
northern Methodist missionary had
lent his ability and influence to a cor
poration seeking concessions from the
Chinese government. The board sec
retary and certain denominational pa
pers attacked me virulently for this,
declaring that I did not know what I
was talking about. Then, to their ut
ter confusion, along came the presid
ing Methodist Episcopal bishop of
China, fully substantiating the charge,
but exonerating the missionary from
wrong intention and assuming respon
sibility himself.
Similarly, more effective adminis
tration of the missionary propaganda
will furnish the traveling public with
the easily ascertained facts of the mis
sion fields, and will put forth effort to
introduce them to missions in actual
operation. It will also grapple with
the problem of the moral and spiritual
condition of the port cities; for so
long as the European portion of these
ports remain as they are the work of
missions is bouud to be seriously
hampered.
Missionary Mistakes.
Before leaving this subject I must
make a rather sweeping criticism
which the board should have dealt
with long ago. It is that an astonish
ing proportion of missionaries display
bad manners and bad taste on ship
board. To deny this charge, which,
in one form or another, has been made
times without number, is to turn one's
back on the facts. The conduct of
some missionaries aboard ship is one
of the most prolific sources of the
ancimissionary spirit which pervades
passenger ships the world over, and
practically all of the port cities of the
orient. Some of the criticisms mad?
in this connection are simply unan
swerable.
What is to be said, for example, in
defense of the woman missionary
whose place at the table had to be
changed three times on the voyage
across the Pacific last month? In the
first place, her astounding meddle
someness had brought upon her a re
buke at which she felt offended and
changed her seat: later, the passen
gers with whom she was seated found
her so uncomfortable a companion
that they complained to the steward
and insisted on having either her seat
or theirs changed. The answer com
monly made to stories like this is that
the missionary's godliness no doubt
rebuked the sinfulness of the other
passengers, which is neither a modest
nor a charitable rejoinder. In this
case, the story was told me by a prom
inent American business man. a
church member, who himself had been
attending a series of missionary meet
ings in Omaha just before leaving
home, and so could hardly be called
a hostile critic.
I could write literally columns of
incidents concerning the conduct of
missionaries on shipboard, whereby
they have earned the disfavor of offi
cers and fellow passengers. Summed
up. though, they amount to this: Some
missionaries seem inclined to flaunt
their moral and spiritual superiority
in the face of others; they insist on
having an identity as missionaries,
rather than as quiet, modest, well
bred ladies and gentlemen: they pro
test, often in unseemly fashion,
against the indulgence in tobacco or
liquor or cards on the part of other
passengers. All this may be compre
hended in the word "provincialism. "
They forget that, as Kipling says:
"There's a world outside the one you
and that the people of this world have
all the personal rights and liberties
which are to be accorded to the mem
bers of the missionary circle. Some
times this provincialism goes to the
length of stupidity, as when a Pacific
liner crossed the meridian on Sunday,
and so dropped that day from the cal
endar, whereupon the missionaries
appealed in a body to the captain to
drop some other day, and save Sun
day, as if the matter were optional
with him!
Not all missionaries are guilty of
these things; far from it. The ablest
missionaries deprecate them serious
ly. for they realize their far-reaching
effects upon the cause they represent.
In explanation, if not in extenuation,
they point out that missionaries leav
ing the homeland are still in the spirit
of exaltation created by their farewell
meetings, by the glorification of their
friends and by the role of saint, hero
and martyr with which they have
been invested. For the time they are
in a crusader mood, and they have not
yet learned to view all things in pro
portion. Their feet have not yet
found the hard ground of actuality.
One of these unwise missionaries can
do more harm than a hundred sensi
ble ones can undo.
I must confess, moreover, that 1 do
not see why a Pacific mail captain
should forbid missionaries to sing
hymns at tne piano on the boat deck,
except on Sunday, and yet allow other
passengers to make the night vocal,
on tlie same spot, with the latest
"popular" songs, or why the mission
aries should not be permitted to hold
a prayer meeting in the saloon, while
a noisy, drinking coterie is uproarious
ly gambling in the smoking room. I
freely criticise much in the conduct
of many missionaries aboard ship, hut
I believe in "a square deal.” The
man who drinks whisky on shipboard
should be given no advantage over
the man who drinks water, other
things being equal, nor the man who
gambles over the man who prays, nor
the woman who sings “risque" songs
over the one who prefers "Old Hun
dred.” Plain words need to be spoken
to the missionaries, and other plain
words to the officers of the "amship
companies, especially the tin- Pacific
lines.
If a person has maintained a reason
able familiarity with missionary re
ports he goes to the foreign mission
field expecting to see evidences of
tremendous successes. Has he not
been told that Japan. China, India are
on the verge of admittance into the
Christian church? There is a sudden
jolt to this expectancy when he finds
the blank wall of heathendom rising
up before the missionaries as cold, as
strong and. at first sight, as scathless
as ever. He learns later of tile suc
cesses in the line of milling and sap
ping this wall, which, up to date, have
been the principal missionary meth
ods: but his general impression is one
of disappointment. He cannot but feel
that the triumphs of missions have
been overstated. At this point enters
the need for better supervision, as 1
have already intimated.
tor example, the observer recalls
the statement, printed times without
number in American publications,
that China has made Sunday a legal
holiday. This he finds to be utterly
untrue. Where China touches the
west the first day of the week has
gradually become, in some measure, a
holiday. But it is nowhere a Sabbath,
except among the few Christians. At
another time it was widely reported
that a certain city had thrown away
its idols, but investigation shows the
city as anti-Christian as ever, and the
only basis for the tale is the fact that
one temple discarded its old idols for
new. Here a great revival is reported
to have swept over the community;
the westerner naturally thinks of this
in terms of a Moody and Sankey cam
paign. Superficially, however, there
are no signs of the revival, although
closer search reveals an unusual*
earnestness on the part of the handful
of Christians.
How may these missionary exagger
ations be accounted for? I hate talked
with many missionaries upon this
point. The expectation of the boards
that the workers shall send in favor
able reports, the necessity for show
ing successes to stimulate gifts, the
natural human tendency to enlarge
upon the favorable side, all have been
given as reasons. "The fact ffe,” re
marked one missionary, '‘when a matt
gets home and begins to make
speeches he finds himself saying wffiat
the people want to hear, and losing
sight of the facts of the field. I know
1 have caught myself doing this. I
have no hardships in my missionary
work, yet the people at homo were so
determined to make me out it martyr
that 1 almost came to believe myself
one before 1 left Amriea."
All the stronger men on the field re
gret the distorted and misleading
statements that are so frequently
made by interested enthusiasts c m
cerning missions and missionaries;
they are far-sighted enough to know
the consequences when these reports
come back to the field. 1 have known
more than one missionary to be seri
ously embarrassed by being presented
to the community in which he lives in
the light in which he is seen by his
admirers at home.
There is another side to the ques
tion: dread of this sort of thing has
kept more than one worker from send
ing home reports of well-authenticated
successes and endorsements. An
American woman at the head of one
of the Presbyterian mission schools
for girls in China has been asked by
the officials of the important province
in which she works to take charge of
the female education in the province,
but never a word of this has she writ
ten home to her board. "It will be
time enough when I have actually
been given the work," says this cau
tious woman, who knows China;
" there's many a slip twixt the cup
and the lip.' ”
a Keconnaissance. Not a War.
The most serious of all the unin
tentional misrepresentations made by
missionaries is that the whole heathen
world is on the verge of becoming
Christian. Faith, not facts, is the
basts of the common asservaticn,
"The world is -being won for Christ."
Making due allowance for rhetorical
fervor, it still remains true that a
seriousiy erroneous impression is left
upon the Christian public's mind by
the day's missionary representations.
For a first-hand study of the field
reveals that, with an occasional nota
ble exception like Korea, heathendom
has scarcely been budged by the mis
sionaries' work. The great mass of
the pagan world is as yet practically
untouched by the gospel. 'If Chris
tens are determined to bear their re
ligion to the whole earth, as is appar
ently their purpose, they must do
things on a vastly larger scale than
heretofore. Thus far only a mere be
ginning has been made. Instead of a
war. it is only a reconnaissance in
force—a brave, brilliant and success
ful reconnaissance, it is true. but.
nevertheless, only a reconnaissance.
The real fighting can hardly be said to
have begun.
(Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
A Lottery At Best.
.‘.nd those who marry for love are
just as apt to bump up against dis
appointment as those who marry tor
money.
Tw® IPiretttty Hafts
Every reason finds the matron a little more particular, a little more ex
acting, because she is a little better informed, when the time comes to se
lect her miilinery. She has, discovered that the lines and colors in a hat may
either add to, or decrease the attractions she possesses to an extent that was
undreamed of. not so long ago: and she has generally possessed herself with
the very wise conviction that her purchase must fulfill one requirement, that
is, “I must look better in my hat than without it.’’ Of course, this doesn't
apply to the great beauty whose looks need no embellishing. She need only
look to hat to add variety to her charms.
The woman approaching middle life should wear a youthful looking hat
ns long as she can do so without sacrificing harmony. When the time comes
:o forego the picturesque and the girlish in millinery, she will find innumer
able hats, usually small or medium in size, that will suit her style and have a
terrain poise and spirit, not to be found in other millinery. A pretty little
round hat is shown in Fig. 1. which is made from a fiat, prettily draped. It
is soft, comfortable and charming, and will be found becoming to mosp faces,
'this bat is an excellent example of the sort which the matron may choose.
The very young girl is somewhat limited in ter choice also, although
each season finds greater attention paid to her needs. Her hats should be
large, rather simple in construction, and not too heavily trimmed. Flowers
and ribbons, wings and quills, are the wisest choice for decorations when one
is to make up a hat for a young miss. Little girls are allowed greater elab
oration. and are sometimes indulged in ostrich feathers, to produce quaint,
"old fashioned” effects. A very pretty and simple hat for a voung miss is
shown in Fig. 2. It is of felt with silk and velvet Cowers'and ribbon used in
the trimming.
I Well-Dressed Hair
Is First Requisite
of the Debutante
To be real smart the debutante ;
must start on her career with hair \
well dressed. The all-over net is an i
absolute necessity. Flying locks and
stray curls are fetching]}- pretty, but |
I fashion has set its stamp of approval
! on the neatly dressed hair with prim
| puffs and prim curls. The all-over net.
! matching the hair exactly, is not dis
I coverabie and keeps stray hairs in or-1
i der from breakfast till midnight. They
are real time-savers.
Veils were never in greater demand.
The counters are piled with the most
charming fancies in ruffled, frilled and
bordered veils. The best for face wear
is the genuine thread with a tiny
ring. It is not so trying to the eyes.
The big dot nets and extravagant
styles are used for hat draperies, set
ting off any kind of a chapeau grace
fully.
Stripes which make their how for !
the first time in the summer gone re
appear in linens and silks for service
blouses. Just a bit striking, they are
still to be liked as a novelty. One !
combination is brown, blue and white
in quarter-inch stripes: another fa
vorite blue, green and while: another
] red, black and white, the stripes clear
and stunning when made up with
some vertical, others horizontal and
others bias.
Elastic belts, steel studded, take
precedence In the belt world. Hand
some* leather belts toned to suit cloths
are brought in by French importers.
I
BARRETTE TO HOLD CURLS.
Jeweled Tassels
j Jeweled tassels are ajl the rage.
They are made of pearl fringe with
diamond tops, which gene-ally have
small stones surrounding them. They
are used to finish the ends of long
platinum and pearl chains that are
worn twisted once around the neck,
or may be seen hanging from brooches
or pendants. The empire necklaces
or diamond clasps threaded with black
velvet ribbon three-eighths of an inch
wide are shown among th? novelties.
For a while women wore only the
clusters of diamonds, though the very
large ones are much sought and some
of the largest ones ar'’ surrounded
with smaller stones.
Finest Laces Used
by Those Who Fancy
the Dainty Jabot
The jabot of fine real lace so much
affected by the Parisienne is nothing
like so much worn here, even by
women of fashion.
There is no end to the richness of
the lace employed, and the rarest of
old point laces, as well as the point
laces of the day, are used. In such
cases, of course, great care is taken
in the arrangment of the jabot so as
not to tear or cut the lace in any way.
In many cases the jabots are nar
row and come to the top of the girdle;
others are shorter, and many are
wider as well.
They arc worn not only with lace
collars attached to blousses but with
the high, stiff linen collars attached
to satin blouses, elaborately embroid
ered or cut with lace bands.
Of course, the stiff linen collar is
death-dealing to the natural beauty
of the neck, but so long as they are
fashionable many will wear them.
Fortunately, the society girl or woman
changes her costume so many times a
day that the linen collar is worn for
a few hours only at a time.
Onp ol lip jabots in rare old rose
point dull hued with age was gathered
to a straight strip of satin ribbon.
The latter did not show, of course,
and down the center were four little
cloth of silver covered button molds,
' ilh a three-quarters inch silver rib
bon laid in a series of five tiny plaits,
oue on to i of the other, each cluster
flaring out a bit like a fan.
The different shades of blue, espe
cially Nattier, now the really smart
blue worn in Paris, or in pink, are ef
fective. while pale shades carrying
out the color scheme of the gown or
the hat may be worn, and all set off
the beauty of the lace.
For the woman with little to spend
alenciennes lace makes charming
jabots, but this must be kept a pure
white or else dipped to make it a true
cream or pale yellow in order to be
effective. The yellowish, soiled tones
ol leal old lace have no beauty when
carried out in Valenciennes.
Black satin buttons and litile flat
loops of black satin are effective, and
Valenciennes collars of the shaped
sort higher behind the ears may be
made over a pattern and finished with
a hobo ribbon of black velvet at the
top r.nd a smart little bow of inch
wide ribbon in the front at the base
of the stock.
These stocks must, of course, be
properly boned. No stock of any sort
has even a shade of smartness unless
it is boned.
Brown Decorations Used.
Brown paper is very much used for
the dining-room, that part below the
chair rail being darker than that
above. The walls should be unadorned
except for the pieces of china and
rare pottery, perhaps. In such a
brown room yellow silk curtains, just
to the sill, are very prstty. White
woodwork adds much to the charm
of the room, but darker wood is pre
ferred by many,
Thousands of American women
in our homes are daily sacrificing
their lives to duty.
In order to keep the home neat
and pretty, the children well dressed
and tidy, Yeomen overdo. A female
weakness or displacement is often
brought on and they suffer in silence,
drifting along from bad to worse,
knowing well that they ought to
have help to overcome the pains and
aches which daily make life a burden.
It is to these faithful women that
LYE»SA ErPSMiCKAIVS’S
VEGETABLE GQMF0UH3
comes as a boon and a blessing,
as it did to Mrs. F. Ellsworth, of
Mayville. X. Y., and to Mrs. W. P.
Boyd, of Beaver Falls, Fa., who say:
“I vcas not able to do my own work,
owing to the female trouble from which
1 suffered. Lydia E. Pinkham's Yege
tableCompound helped me wonderfully,
and I am so weU that I can do as big a
day’s work as I ever did. I wish every
sick woman vouid try it.
FACTS F05? SSCK WOMEN.
For thirty years Lydia E. I‘ink
ham's Vegetable Compound, made
from roots and herbs, has been the
standard remedy for female ills,
and has t* csitively cured thousands of
women who have been troubled with
displacements, inflammation, ulcera
tion, fibroid tumors, irregularities,
periodic pains, backache, that bear
ing-down feeling, fiatuleney.indiges
tion,dizziness,or nervous prostration.
Why don't you try it ?
Mrs. Pinkham Invites all sick
women to write her for advice.
She has guided thousands to
health. Address, Lynn, Mass.
A LITTLE DOMESTIC JAR.
r
i
i
L
She—You (shriek) brute, before we
married (shriek), (shriek) you said
mamma could come and see us as
often (shriek) as she pleased.
He (meekly)—YTes, dear; but she
lias ceased to please.
Starch, like everything else, is be
ing constantly improved, the patent
Starches put on the market 25 years
ago are very- different and inferior to
those of the present day. In the lat
est discovery—Defiance Starch—all in
jurious chemicals are omitted, while
the addition of another ingredient, in
vented by us, gives to the Starch a
strength and smoothness never ap
proached by other brands.
Not for Murphy.
Mr. Murphy—Oi want to buy a pair
of gloves.
Clerk—Here's something I believe
will just suit you. It's a suede glove.
Mr. Murphy—Xiver. begorra! Oi
want Irish gloves. Swade gloves, in
dade!—Kansas City Times.
OVElt NINE MILLION C.UOO.OOOj
SOLD THIS YEAH.
Sales Lewis’ Single Linder cigars for
year 1907 more than.Si.aoo.ooo
Sales for 1906.8,300,000
Gain . 700,000
Quality brings the business.
Try It on the Piano.
There was a young chap in Des Moines
Who ordered a T bone sirloines.
Said the waiter: "Not so.
Sir. unless you can show
A sufficient amount of des coiaes.”
What you cannot avoid, learn to
bear. True happiness is cheap, did we
but apply to the right merchant for
it—Hytche.
