Various - The American Missionary. Volume 52, No. 02, June, 1898

The outlook for the American Missionary Association while hopeful, yet appeals most earnestly for increased contributions. The debt has been steadily reduced. At the Annual Meeting in 1895, it was reported to be $96,147. At the Annual Meeting in 1896 it was $66,572. At the last Annual Meeting it was $54,945, and now at the close of eight months of this fiscal year, May 31st, it is $39,527—a reduction from the highest figure above of $56,620. This reduction is largely due to the cutting down of expenditures, which has now reached a limit beyond which no friends of these needy races would wish it to pass. For these last eight months the total receipts show an increase of $25,800 in legacies, and at the same time a decrease of $22,800 in collections.

In view of these facts the duty is plain. Further reductions should not be made. The income from legacies is an uncertain quantity, and an increase of contributions is the only hope that can be given. Better times are coming, the responsibility to the poor of our land is urgent, and the generous response of philanthropic and Christian givers alone can meet the emergency.

When the early Abolitionists entered upon their contest against slavery, they found that they had no holiday business on hand. Some faltered, but others grew stronger as they realized the greatness of the conflict before them. They saw that their warfare would cost much in reputation, money, and even life itself. They succeeded, but only because they were willing to pay the cost.

When the next form of the conflict came—the terrible Civil War—the cost was so great as to be without a parallel in human history. That great cost was paid and success was won—a crowning success that could only come because the full cost was paid. And now the third part of the struggle confronts us—the redemption of the millions of blacks still in the bondage of poverty, ignorance and vice. This is the culmination of these past conflicts. If this be not successful, the rest has been in part in vain. Four millions of slaves were freed, and now four millions of their descendants are as helpless and hopeless as they—as great a curse to themselves and as dangerous an element to the nation. Now this great and crowning struggle is upon us. Other interests may for a time hide it from view, but it must be met, and here again, only that which costs will win. It is to be hoped that prosperity will return and make it easier to raise the needed funds. But continued depression will not hinder, for, as in the past, so here, self-denial and self-sacrifice will bear the burden which God has imposed, and the result will be success. Our appeal, therefore, for aid in this great conflict is not based on a mere hope of a better financial outlook in the nation, but on the consecration and benevolence of those who are ready to win a success that costs.

If war is simply to kill people and destroy property, it is an unmixed calamity. But often there are great and valuable results. Our War of Independence gave birth to this nation and to its amazing possibilities. The civil war confirmed the unity of the nation and wiped away the blot and curse of slavery. The present war with Spain is waged for the humane purpose of delivering Cuba, our near neighbor, from manifold forms of oppression, crippling its life, hindering its industries and impoverishing its people. It is earnestly to be hoped that the results of the struggle will secure deliverance from these evils.

Other blessings are already beginning to be realized. The war unites the North and the South as they have not been for thirty years. Our diverse peoples are united in enthusiasm under a common flag. The colored people of the country invited to join the armies are yet in some portions of the country received coldly or even with taunts and abuse. But they bear it all cheerfully, devoting themselves to the interests of our common country. Two brief extracts from papers edited and published by colored men give evidence of their patriotism and forbearance under these trials.

From the Fisk Herald , Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.:

"The duty of the colored citizens of America in the impending conflict between our country and Spain is clear, and we are exceedingly glad to note that they are eager to go to the front to uphold the United States in its just demands upon Spain for the freedom of Cuba. No people ought to sympathize more with the oppressed than the negroes of America."

From the Christian Recorder of the A. M. E. Church:

"At all times the colored citizens of this country have proven loyal to the Government, and while they smart under the unjust treatment accorded them here, at no time and under no circumstances have they shown a lack of patriotism when the conditions demand it.

"In the present crisis the colored citizens are maintaining their past record for loyalty and devotion, and though our soldiers of color have been insulted and subjected to great indignities while on their way to defend their country, still their patriotism is not lessened nor their ardor cooled."

We understand that about a half a million of the people of Cuba are Negro or mulatto, making nearly one-third of the population, and we learn that there is no such race antagonism between these Negroes and the Creoles as there is with us. The Maceos, who are among the finest specimens of patriotic manhood on the island, are mulattoes. If now, Cuba should be made free and become a part of these United States, these colored people would claim the sympathies and services of the American Missionary Association in giving to them those educational and religious advantages so promptly and freely given to the emancipated blacks of our own land. Such a service would bind these two peoples together and aid in uplifting both to the intelligence and privileges of free Christian citizens.

It is with heartfelt sorrow that we chronicle the murder of six missionaries in West Africa. They were sent by the Society of United Brethren in Christ, whose central office is in Dayton, O., and which has for many years carried forward very successful work in the Sherbro country, Sierra Leone, West Africa. This mission was contiguous to the Mendi Mission, founded by the A. M. A., and worked with it in Christian harmony and fellowship. When the Association retired from foreign mission work, the Mendi Mission was turned over to the Sherbro Mission, and aid was furnished for a time with funds from our board.

The slaughter of these devoted missionaries was brought about in consequence of a tax on houses or huts imposed by the Sierra Leone government. The savage people in the remoter districts pushed forward a resistance to this tax, and, confounding all white men and women together as responsible, committed these murders and destroyed mission property. Redress may come for property destroyed and other missionaries may take the place of those who have fallen, but we mourn for those who have been martyrs in the cause of the Master.

To print a newspaper, though it be a small one, requires dexterous hand work. To publish such a paper demands business gifts to secure means and to plan the work. To edit such a paper calls for readable and racy writing. Few forms of business require a greater variety of manual, skilful and facile ability. For these reasons we are glad to find that in nearly all our larger schools in the South, monthly papers are printed and published—with little or no expense to the Association. The printing office teaches a useful and profitable trade to the student, the editing is usually done by the professors and students, and the publishing is managed so that by the aid of advertising and paid subscriptions, the expense is mainly met. These periodicals contain much valuable information. The professors contribute well-written papers, the students furnish articles or copies of orations or essays delivered on public occasions, and the graduates write sketches of their life struggles and successes since leaving the institutions. Well selected items from the world outside enrich these pages, and brief, personal paragraphs give varied and useful local information. We present below a partial list of these publications, giving their name, place of publication, size, etc.