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B,
CHRISTIAN WORK IN
LATIN AMERICA
LITERATURE
WOMEN'S WORK
THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
THE HOME BASE
Being the Reports of Commissions IV,
V, VI and VII presented to the Congress
on Christian Work in Latin America,
Panama, February, 1916, with full
records of the presentation and discussion
of each report.
Published for the Committee on Cooperation in Latin America
by
THE MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVEMENT
New York City
Copyright, 1916
Missionary Education Movement of the
United States and Canada
1o^7o
9-
GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION FOUR ON LIT-
ERATURE 1
The List of Members of the Commission 7
The Report of the Commission 9
Chapter I — The Necessity and Importance of
Christian Literature 9
Chapter II — The Translation and Distribution of
the Scriptures 11
Chapter III— Other Types of Christian Literature. 20
Chapter IV — Tracts and Leaflets 31
Chapter V — Periodical Literature 37
Chapter VI — Literature in Portuguese 47
Chapter VII — Cooperation in the Production of
Christian Literature 54
Appendix A: The List of Correspondents 60
Other Appendices 61
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report... 81
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION FIVE ON
WOMEN'S WORK 103
The List of Members of the Commission 109
The Report of the Commission Ill
Chapter I — The Sources of the Report Ill
/ Chapter II — The Woman's Missionary Movement
^ and its Early Pioneers in Latin America 113
Chapter HI — The Position and Influence of Women
in Latin America 122
Chapter IV — The Education of Women in Latin
America 138
Chapter V — The Social Consciousness Among
Women 161
Chapter VI — The Work of Women's Mission
Boards in Latin America 175
Chapter VII — The Conclusions of the Commission
Appendix A: The List of Correspondents 188
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report... 197
iii
iv CONTENTS
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION SIX ON THE
CHURCH IN THE FIELD 217
The List of Members of the Commission 223
The Report of the Commission 225
Chapter I — The Organized, Indigenous Church 225
Chapter II — Its Membership and Organization 229
Chapter III— The Spiritual Life of the Church.... 240
Chapter IV— Practice and Development 248
Chapter V— The Problem of Self-Support 261
Chapter VI — The Securing of Leadership 274
Chapter VII — Relations With Governments 288
Chapter VIII — General Conclusions 303
Appendix A: The Correspondents of the Commission 312
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report... 315
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION SEVEN ON THE
HOME BASE ZZ7
The List of Members of the Commission 343
The Report of the Commission 347
Chapter I — The Scope and Importance of the Re-
port 347
Chapter II — The Present Attitude of the Home
Base Toward Christian Work in Latin America.. 350
Chapter III — Present Activities in Latin-American
Countries 360
Chapter IV — Methods and Means Now Employed
in Developing an Interest in Latin America 277
Chapter V — Measures Required to Secure Ade-
quate Support of Christian Work in Latin
America 401
Appendix A : The List of Correspondents 423
Other Appendices 427
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report. . . 433
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION IV
ON
LITERATURE
Presented to the Congress on
Tuesday, February 15,1916
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THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT OF
COMAilSSION IV
The List of Members of the Commission 7
The Report of the Commission 9
Chapter I — The Necessity and Importance of Chris-
tian Literature 9
Chapter II — The Translation and Distribution of the
Scriptures 11
1. The Task of the Great Bible Societies 11
2. The History of Bible Translation for Latin America 12
a. The Four Versions in Spanish 12
b. The Three Portuguese Versions 13
c. The Roman Catholic Versions from the Vul-
gate 14
d. Portions of the Bible in the Native Vernacu-
lars 15
3. The Distribution of the Scriptures 15
a. The Remarkable Success of the Early Efforts
of Dr. James Thomson 15
b. The Bitter and Successful Opposition of the
Hierarchy 16
c. The Importance of the Work of Distribution to
Missions 17
d. The Official Roman Catholic Policy To-day... 18
4. The Two Societies Cooperative 19
Chapter III — Other Types of Christian Literature 20
1. The Need of a Better Literary Approach to the
Latin-American Mind 20
2. The Content of That Mind 21
a. It is Non-Biblical 21
b. It is Not Literate 22
3. The Varied Literature Needed 23
a. A Good Modern Commentary 23
b. Books for the Training of Christian Leaders.. 23
c. School Text-Books ^. . 24
d. Books ^^'hich Present and Explain Christianity 25
e. Books for the Cultivation of the Spiritual Life 26
f . General Literature 27
g. Hymnals 28
3
4 CONTENTS
Chapter IV — Tracts and Leaflets 31
1. The Popularity of the Leaflet in Latin America 31
2. The Work of the Tract Societies 31
3. The Leaflet Literature Needed 32
a. Simple, Uncontroversial Presentations of Re-
ligious Truth 32
b. Arguments Against Atheism, Indifference or
Pseudo Faiths , 33
c. Prepared by Experts 33
d. Salable at Small Cost 34
4. The Task to be Accomplished 34
Chapter V — Periodical Literature 37
1. The Place of the Church Paper 37
2. Purposes of the Church Paper 38
a. As an Organ of the Church 38
b. As a Source of Inspiration 38
c. As a Source of Information 38
d. As a Source of Scientific and Religious In-
struction 39
e. As an Agency of Propaganda 39
(1) In the Work of Pioneering 39
(2) In Conducting Debates Upon Religion . . 40
(3) In the Clear Representation of Evan-
gelical Christianity 40
3. The Production of a Church Paper 41
4. Types of Periodicals Needed 42
a. A Theological Review 42
b. Monthly Magazines 43
c. Weekly Papers 43
d. A Philosophical and Literary Review 44
e. Periodicals for the Sunday School 44
f. An Evangelical Daily Paper Impracticable at
Present 46
Chapter VI — Literature in Portuguese 47
1. Meagre Results of the First Half Century 47
2. Various Hindrances to Growth 48
a. The Lack of Literary Attractiveness 48
b. The Changing Interests of the Reading Public 48
c. The Lack of Effective Cooperation 49
d. The Publication of Books of Temporary Value 49
e. The Lack of Funds 49
3. The Outstanding Needs 50
a. The Proper Organization and Coordination of
the Work SO
b. The Work of Printing 51
c. The Work of Distribution 51
(1) Evangelical Book Stores 52
(2) A Colportage Association 52
(3) The Use of Trade Channels 52
4. Periodical Literature in Portuguese 52
CONTENTS 5
Chapter VII — Cooperation in the Production of Chris-
tian Literature 54
1. In Periodical Publications 54
2. In General Literary Production 55
3. In the Conduct of a Press Bureau 57
4. In the Maintenance of Bookstores 57
5. The Montevideo Plan 57
6. Conditions of Effective Cooperation 58
Appendix A — The Correspondents of the Commission 60
Appendix B — A Selected List of Houses Which Publish
or Sell Spanish and Portuguese Publica-
tions 61
Appendix C — A Selected List of Books in Spanish for
Christian Workers 63
Appendix D — Questions Sent to Correspondents 68
Appendix E — A Summary of the Replies 69
Appendix F — A Proposed Plan for Cooperation 75
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report 79
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
CHAIRMAN
Professor Andres Osuna^ Commissioner of Education,
Federal District, Mexico City.
VICE-CHAIRMEN
The Rev. John H. Ritson, M.A., D.D., Secretary Brit-
ish and Foreign Bible Society, London.
Mr. James Wood, President American Bible Society,
New York City.
executive committee
The Rev. John M. Kyle, D.D., former Missionary in
Brazil, Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., Lowell,
Mass.
The Rev. Judson Swift, D.D., Secretary American
Tract Society, New York City.
The Rev. G. B. Winton, D.D., Board of Missions,
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Nashville, Tenn.
The Rev. W. I. Haven, D.D., Secretary American Bible
Society, New York City.
The Rev. A. G. Baker, Canadian Baptist Foreign Mis-
sion Board, La Paz, Bolivia.
The Rev. Ernesto Barocio, Templo Bautista, Monterey,
Mexico.
The Rt. Rev. Charles B. Colmore, D.D., Protestant
Episcopal Bishop of Porto Rico, San Juan, Porto Rico.
7
8 LITERATURE
Mr. P. A. CoNARD, Associate Continental Secretary for
South America, Young Men's Christian Association,
Montevideo.
Mr. John Davidson, Director Evangelical Union of
South America, London.
The Rev. J. E. Davis, Manager Publishing House,
Southern Baptist Convention, Leon, Mexico.
The Rev. Charles W. Drees, D.D., Methodist Episcopal
Church, Bible Revision Committee, Madrid, Spain.
The Rev. Roberto Elphick, Methodist Episcopal
Church, Valparaiso, Chile.
Dr. W. E. Entzminger, Southern Baptist Convention,
Rio de Janeiro.
The Rev. Juan Orts Gonzalez, Presbyterian Church in
Cuba, Sagua la Grande, Cuba.
The Rev. Daniel Hall, Methodist Episcopal Church,
Buenos Aires.
The Rev. J. P. Hauser, Methodist Episcopal Church,
Mexico City.
The Rev. Eric Lund, Editor Revista Homiletica, Los
Angeles, Calif.
Dr. Alberto Nin-Frias, Author and Diplomat, Monte-
video.
The Rev. Cornelius H. Patton, D.D., Secretary Amer-
ican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
Boston, Mass.
The Rev. J. A. Phillips, Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, San Antonio, Texas.
The Rev. W. A. Ross, Presbyterian Church in the U. S.,
Brownsville, Texas.
Mr. R. D. Smith, Secretary Bible House of Los An-
geles, Los Angeles, Calif.
The Rev. William Wallace, D.D., Presbyterian
Church in the U. S. A., Vera Cruz, Mexico.
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION IV ON
LITERATURE
CHAPTER I
THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF
CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
The printed word competes with the spoken word for
the attention of mankind. It is less moving but more
permanent. It reaches the mind by way of the eye, per-
haps the most acquisitive of all the senses. The me-
chanical appliances of our day multiply it indefinitely. It
will have a still wider field of influence in the future
than it now has or ever has had. A nation's consumption
of printed matter is a norm of its civilization. Many
among the Latin-American peoples cannot now read.
Their children will not rest content in that state. In most
of the countries, and notably so in some of them, public
opinion is aroused and popular desire is keen with re-
spect to education. Governments are devoting increased
attention to it. And when these nations shall be able to
read, there will be a throng of non-Christian interests
ready to crowd reading matter upon their attention. It
will be their misfortune and our irretrievable fault if the
evangelical Churches are not in the very forefront of that
advance with a Christian literature that will at once
charm the taste and bless the life of these coming lit-
erate generations. Since the time of Paul, Christianity
has not ceased to make its literature as it advances, and
9
10 LITERATURE
to advance by means of the literature which it makes.
In the days of the early Roman Catholic missionaries to
Latin America, before the printing press had become
common, sermons, catechisms, doctrines, rules of con-
duct, etc., were reduced to writing, in both Spanish and
Portuguese and in the native dialects, and were multi-
plied by the slow process of copying by hand. The body
of that Hterature was not indeed large and the hard lines
drawn by the Inquisition soon tended to limit its range
and to discourage its production; but its history is an
instructive one.
Let it be set down as fixed that when people can read,
they will read. Demands will be supplied. It is the law
of nature. What then will the awakening generations of
Latin America find to read? Corrupt men will be
prompt to supply them with matter that will lower their
morals and vitiate their taste, for thus a market may be
created leading to a productive traffic. Apostles of
agnosticism and of atheism will not be slow to furnish
books and papers for the making of unbelievers. There
are many already in these lands, men and women,
equipped to be intellectual leaders, who are only too
ready to help forward that propaganda. They are people
who have concluded that all religion is but superstition
and that their compatriots should be freed from it. Chris-
tian literature will be especially needed in those countries
as an antidote. Against the impact of these two evils,
of salacious and vice-breeding literature on the one hand,
and of skeptical and materialistic philosophy on the
other, we must safeguard the coming generations of
Latin America. It is no light undertaking. We must be
alert and wise and persistent. It is unhappily too true
that in the past much of the religious literature available
for the Latin-American peoples has been inadequate and
petty. One of the most essential undertakings of the
missionai-y enterprise is the creation of a permanent,
strong and choice Christian literature.
CHAPTER II
THE TRANSLATION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF THE SCRIPTURES
I. THE TASK OF THE GREAT BIBLE SOCIETIES
In all mission fields and in all mission work the first
book in both time and importance is the Bible. Here the
Churches at work in Latin America find their needs an-
ticipated and their work largely done by two great Bible
Societies, the American, and the British and Foreign.
These Societies have provided several versions of
Scripture in both Spanish and Portuguese, and are of
late seeking to modernize and perfect the translations in
both languages. A committee representing the two So-
cieties, and made up of members from both Latin Amer-
ica and Spain, as well as of English-speaking scholars, is
now at work on a new Spanish translation. It is sitting
in Spain. In Brazil a committee has undertaken to pre-
pare a modern Portuguese version. The British and
Foreign Bible Society has published portions of the Bible
in several of the Indian languages.
The work of the two leadlnc: Bible Societies is supple-
mented by grants of the Scriptures by the National Bible
Society of Scotland in Brazil, the Trinitarian Bible So-
ciety in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador and
the West Indies, the Scripture Gift Mission in British
Guiana, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Central America and
11
12 LITERATURE
Mexico, and the West Indies, and doubtless some work
is done by other agencies also.
The various mission Boards are deeply indebted to the
Bible Societies not only for the work of translation and
distribution of these volumes of Scripture, so funda-
mental in the work of missions, but also because these
Societies furnish a concrete example of the efficiency of
cooperation. By uniting their forces in these Societies
the several Churches have accomplished a work in the
publication and distribution of the sacred Scriptures
which it is safe to say would have been impossible for
any one of them alone, or even for all of them working
separately.
The history of Bible translation in Latin America is
intimately connected with that of the evangelical mission-
ary enterprise in these republics. The facts given below
have been taken for the most part from an address read
in New York City in 1913, by Dr. John Fox, of the
American Bible Society.
2. THE HISTORY OF BIBLE TRANSLATION FOR
LATIN AMERICA
a. The Four Versions in Spanish.
Casiodoro de Reina, one of the Spanish reformers,
escaping from the Spanish Inquisition to England in 1557
and afterward to the Continent, began a translation ap-
parently from the original tongues (though this is a moot
point), using other translations as aids, and issued in
1569 the earliest edition of the complete Spanish Bible.
Cipriano de Valera, at first a Roman Catholic monk, then
a Reformed Christian, who also escaped to England, took
his degree in Cambridge, married an English lady, and
spent the last twenty years of his life in revising the **De
Reina" version. He is often credited wuth having made
this version, which appeared in 1596, considerably in ad-
vance of our English "King James," and has since been
constantly circulated in very many subsequent editions,
especially in Latin America by the Bible Societies. The
later editions have included many changes from the orig-
inal text of Valera. Early in the nineteenth century an-
other scholar sought to provide a suitable version for
THE SCRIPTURES 13
Spanish-speaking peoples. Henry Barrington Pratt, a
Southern Presbyterian by birth and training, was the sec-
ond missionary of the Northern Presbyterian Board to
South America. He spent nearly sixty years of his life
over the Spanish Bible, and finally in 1886-93 completed
a new translation, which he named the "Moderna," in-
tended not primarily as a classic, but as a missionary
weapon in Latin America. The whole expense both of
translation and of publishing was borne by the Amer-
ican Society, which has circulated nearly a million copies
of it.
For several years a company of American, English,
Mexican and Spanish scholars under the auspices and at
the expense of the British and Foreign and American
Bible Societies have been at work in Spain, aiming to
provide a version which should blend the best in all pre-
vious versions. The translators have to find the via
media between a literal interpretation of the accepted
texts which by its very ruggedness will tend to grip the
conscience and to stimulate spiritual meditation, and so
will become an effective missionary weapon, and a ren-
dition into pure literary Spanish, equipped by its inherent
graces to win an affectionate reading by lovers of the
Castilian. In view of the variations in language already
showing themselves in the various republics quite prob-
ably no one version will permanently meet the needs of
both Spain and Latin America.
b. The Three Portuguese Versions.
The foundations for the Portuguese version were laid
long ago. There were some fragmentary beginnings
under Roman Catholic auspices, but the first complete
New Testament made from the originals was that of
Joao Ferreira d'Almeida. Born of Roman Catholic par-
ents in Lisbon, he became a Protestant in Batavia, and
labored as a minister in European communities in the
East. He began his work of translation as a boy of fif-
teen, making a version in the Portuguese from the Span-
ish. Later he based his translation work on the older
texts, completing the New Testament, as stated above.
and working on the Old Testament also. This latter he
14 LITERATURE
never brought to completion, the working being inter-
rupted by his death in 1691. His version was finished by
other scholars later and pubHshed in 1748-53, and has
since been published in many editions and widely used by
both the British and the American Societies in Brazil.
It was followed, however, by a Portuguese version of
the entire Scriptures in twenty-three volumes, issued at
Lisbon in 1781-83 by Don Antonio Pereira de Figueiredo,
a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, who based his work pri-
marily on the Vulgate, but sometimes dared to follow the
Greek.
The Protestant missionaries in Brazil have been active
for more than a decade in making a version under the
general patronage of the American and the British and
Foreign Bible Societies. The purpose has been to pro-
vide a translation suitable for the work of evangehzation.
The New Testament has now been published by both So-
cieties, and the Old Testament is nearing completion.
c. The Roman Catholic Versions from the Vulgate.
A full account of the Spanish translations made from
the Vulgate by Roman Catholics, as well as the one just
described in the Portuguese, cannot here be given. The
most familiar are those of Fr. Felipe Scio de San ^Miguel,
made later Bishop of Segovia. This was published in
Spain in nineteen volumes, about the close of the eight-
eenth century, accompanied by a Latin text and commen-
tary, but it was so large and expensive as to be inacces-
sible to any but the wealthy ; even the priests could not
usually purchase it. Another translation of the Vulgate
was made by Fr. Felix Torres Amat, later Bishop of
Astorga, published also in Spain at Madrid, in 1823-24, in
two volumes. Of the two versions, Scio is said to be more
literal, but occasionally unintelli?:ible. That of Amat is
always readable. IMexican priests in 1831-33 issued a
new version of the entire Bible, the first ever printed in
Mexico, in twenty-five volumes, with maps and plates.
It is made from a French version and printed with the
Vulgate. The Brazilian ecclesiastics have formed an or-
ganization known as the Jerome Society which has re-
cently issued the gospel in Portuguese.
THE SCRIPTURES 15
d. Portions of the Bible in the Xatire Veniacidars.
According to the best available statistics, there are
in Mexico about 8,000,000, in South America about
6,000,000, and in Central .America some 1,700,000 people,
of native tribes, still employing their own languages and
dialects. The policy of the various governments is to
teach them the use of the Spanish — in Brazil, of the Por-
tuguese. In the course of time these dialects will grad-
ually die out. The process will be slow, however, and
in the meantime it should be possible for them to receive
the gospel in their own tongues wherein they were bom.
While they are for the most part iUiterate, Christian work
among them is immensely facilitated by the translation of
the Scriptures. For a century the British and Foreign
Bible Society has engaged in work of this kind. Very
soon after its organization the .American Bible Society
also made a beginning. Portions of Scripture have
been issued by the first of these great agencies for na-
tives of Latin America in as many as thirteen different
languages : Aztec and }^Iaya in Mexico ; Carib and Cae-
chiquel, ^^losquito and Quiche in Central America ; and
in South America, A}-mara, Bribri, Guarani, Lengua,
Quechua and Yahgan, and in addition, the Xegro. To
these versions the American Bible Society has added two,
Arawak in Central America and Zapotec in Mexico. In
not a single instance has one of these versions embraced
the entire Bible, and in few, if any, the entire Xew Tes-
tament. They are single gospels, usually the w^ork of
some devoted missionarv% put into permanent form by the
zeal and liberality of the great cooperative Societies.
3. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES
a. The Remarkable Success of the Early Efforts of Dr.
James Thomson.
The beginnings of Bible work in Latin America are
distinguished by some extraordinary features. One of
the most interesting facts in the whole story is the bril-
liant success that attended the first efforts. The British
Society had a magnetic and energetic representative in
James Thomson, D.D., whose stor}- is almost as wonder-
i6 LITERATURE
ful as that of George Borrow in Spain, and perhaps with
more striking results in Bible circulation. Thomson ar-
rived in Buenos Aires in October, 1818, labored in Mon-
tevideo in 1820, went to Chile in 1821 and arrived in
Lima in June, 1822. Starting from Lima in 1824, he made
his way along the coast to Guayaquil and, crossing under
the shadow of Chimborazo, pushed on to Quito.
Mr. Canton, in his history of the British and
Foreign Bible Society, tells how governors and eccle-
siastics were his aids, friars not only were hospitable,
but also aided him in the sale of the Scriptures
within monastery walls, and engaged to take Scriptures
on consignment, and governors of provinces supported
them in it. Arriving at Bogota, there was held on March
24, 1825, a public meeting of clergy and laity, who voted
that it was compatible with their obHgations as Colom-
bians and Roman Catholics to establish a National Co-
lombian Bible Society, to print and circulate the Holy
Scriptures in approved versions. At the meeting, held at
the principal Dominican convent, distinguished foreign-
ers were present ; dignitaries in church and state accept-
ed office in the society. This was the most striking
aspect of what seemed then a general movement, espe-
cially in the more enlightened countries, where many
were cordially willing and ready to welcome the Scrip-
tures. The managers of the American Society at once
shipped 800 Spanish Bibles to Bogota. The British and
Foreign Bible Society was also quick, of course, to re-
spond to the appeal of its own agents.
Mr. Thomson went to Mexico in 1827, where, with a
retinue of twenty- four mules loaded with Bibles and
Testaments, he made his way through the mountains
and forests from Vera Cruz to the Mexican capital. Here
he was received by the highest Roman Catholic digni-
taries and his progress at first seemed like a triumph.
b. The Bitter and) Successful Opposition of the Hi-
erarchy.
After a journey through the country, when Dr. Thom-
son returned to the capital, the Dean and Chapter is-
THE SCRIPTURES 17
sued an edict forbidding the sale, purchase, reading, or
even possession of the Bibles published by the Society,
and in spite of Mr. Thomson's appeals, the remonstrance
of the civil government and the evident desire of the
people to have the Bible, the clergy successfully enforced
the edict among their own parishes. Then revolution
broke out, and Mr. Thomson reluctantly retired from the
country.
When the next Bible agent visited Colombia he found
that the National Colombian Bible Society had vanished
into thin air and that the brilliant signs of promise had
faded away.
The Roman Catholic Church has ever since been fairly
consistent in resisting the introduction of the Scriptures
into Latin America on the two well-known grounds that
the "Protestant" versions are defective and that igno-
rant people ought not to be trusted with the Scriptures
in the vernacular.
c. The Importance to Missions of the Work of Distri-
bution,
Most missionaries are of the opinion that the Churches
in general do not set enough store by the work of the
Bible Societies. Perhaps not many of them would go
the length of using such language as was employed by
Bishop Mitchinson. After returning from Barbados
he deplored in a public address "the absolute ingratitude
of the Church of England as a body" to the great organ-
ization which was serving them at every turn in the mis-
sion field. But it is certainly true that if Christians at
home appreciated as keenly as do their representatives
abroad the generous and absolutely fundamental work of
these Societies, they would support them far more en-
thusiastically than most of them now do. That that work
is both generous and fundamental demands no proof.
While it is the policy of both Societies to insist on the sale
of the Scriptures rather than on their free distribution
— since the latter cheapens the books in the eyes of those
who receive them — it is still true that the returns from
sales is rarely equal to fifty percent, of the total cost of
i8 LITERATURE
distribution. Even when missionaries give their service
without charge as local managers of depositories and col-
portage, with free rental and other facilities, the Societies
always have deficits to cover, and their work, however
successful, is yet a constant drain upon their treasuries.
Happily the cooperation between these great agencies
and the missionaries is almost invariably hearty. Most
of the versions are the work of missionaries. Generous
aid is always ready for any individual who finc^s it in his
heart to make the sacred writings available to is people
in their own tongue.
The unflagging zeal of the Bible Societies and the per-
sistence of their agents and colporteurs have fertilized
every field for the later coming of the missionaries. Had
the Churches been under the necessity of themselves sup-
plying their missionaries with Scriptures, their work
would have gone forward far more slowly. In numerous
cases not only has the way been prepared for active evan-
gelization, but the Bible has itself brought the good news
home to the hearts of the people. Long after he has
passed, the colporteur may often be traced by the groups
of devout believers who are found gathered about some
neighbor fortunately able to read, listening joyously to
the story of the gospel.
d. The Official Roman Catholic Policy To-day.
The persistence of the two great Societies in circulat-
ing vernacular Scriptures, ''without note or comment,"
has, however, caused the ecclesiastical leaders of Roman
Catholicism to deal afresh with the whole subject of the
Bible and its use. As already stated, they have them-
selves issued new versions in both Spanish and Portu-
guese, and have authorized their circulation, once they
are duly annotated. These editions have been usually
expensive and cumbersome, and have therefore not ob-
tained a wide distribution. Their chief value has been
in that they furnish an unanswerable reply to the claim
that the Bible Society versions are "defective," since a
word-by-word comparison makes it clear that there are
no essential differences.
THE SCRIPTURES 19
4. THE TWO GREAT SOCIETIES COOPERATIVE
The British and Foreign Bible Society and the Ameri-
can Bible Society, after some measure of competition and
overlapping, have begun the task of distributing the ter-
ritory of Latin America so as to avoid further waste. It
is important that these plans be carried to a full consum-
mation. These Societies are also working together in the
effort to produce satisfactory versions in both Spanish
and Portuguese, and are exchanging facilities in the pro-
duction of minor versions. In all this, as need not be
pointed out, they are setting the example and blazing the
way for the Churches and are promoting one of the great
ends for which this Congress was brought together.
CHAPTER III
OTHER TYPES OF CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
I. THE NEED OF A BETTER LITERARY APPROACH TO THE
LATIN-AMERICAN MIND
With reference to the whole spirit and method of
approach to the Latin-American mind through Chris-
tian literature, a correspondent writes: *'Few races
of mankind have a more distinct social inheri-
tance with all that this implies of temperament and
of prejudices than have the people of Latin lineage who
speak Spanish, whether they live in Spain, Mexico,
South or Central America, or in the former Spanish is-
land possessions. Looking at the missionary task from
the modern viewpoint, one of our first problems is the
adaptation of our literature to meet, so far as may be
possible, these native peculiarities and predispositions.
This brings up many questions that were scarcely
thought of when our older missionary literature was pro-
duced, and that have only begun to enter in the editing
of some of the material that has been published in recent
years. The forging of an opening wedge for the evan-
gelical message that will not depend so patently on an
appeal to the authority of the Bible and on its private in-
terpretation, is a task we might well consider. To what-
ever school of evangelical thought we may belong with
respect to the degree and kind of inspiration of the
Bible, however firmly we may adhere to the conviction
20
OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE 21
that only by bringing our hearts ultimately to a pro-
found reverence for the place of the Bible in the scheme
of salvation can v^e really help them, the fact must be
faced that much of our literature is of little value for
initial propaganda, as it depends for its appeal so wholly
on an acceptance of biblical authority. Our v^hole evan-
gelical scheme, as we have been presenting it, is too
much a logical argument from premises which are unac-
ceptable to those who hear or read. One is never so
forcibly reminded of this fact as when looking over a
large body of evangelical literature for propaganda.
Some of the longest and profoundest of our argumenta-
tive works have been circulated for many decades with
little apparent result. The whole approach needs to be
reconsidered. Suffice it to say our labors should be con-
fined to constructive channels.
2. THE CONTENT OF THAT MIND
a. It is Non-Biblical.
To catalogue advisedly the best available evangelical
literature for use in the Latin-American republics, as
well as to counsel wisely as to what should be prepared,
we have to bear in mind not only the intrinsic value of
that literature, but also and principally its point of con-
tact with and its acceptability to those who are to read it.
For lack of this important qualification some excellent
books, tracts and pamphlets, which have accomplished a
great deal of good among English-speaking peoples, have
failed to produce any impression upon the Latin-Ameri-
can mind, when translated into Spanish.
"With our Bible-saturated social inheritance, it is al-
most impossible for us to realize the absolute contrast
to this in Spanish-speaking lands. Where our literature
is rich in allusions to the Scriptures, and our great ora-
tors and writers gladly acknowledge their debt to the
English Bible for inspiration, for figurative allusions and
for style, Spanish literature, in this regard, is almost a
blank. Take the great classic, 'Don Quixote,' for ex-
ample. In the prologue the only Scripture quotations are
in Latin and are used in Cervantes' railings at the affec-
22 LITERATURE
tations of his great rival, Lope de Vega. The inference
is that only a pedant or a poseur would quote from such
a scholastic source. To this may be added the well-
known fact that for centuries the mass of the Latin peo-
ples has been taught that the Bible is a dangerous book,
not to be owned or read except under priestly guidance."
h. It Is Not Literate.
To begin with, it is necessary to create a demand for
such literature on the part of those who are not accus-
tomed to it. Even where by reason of the liberal policy
of the government in public education, illiteracy is fast
disappearing, few people have developed the reading
taste or habit. The Roman Catholic Church of to-day
does not greatly stimulate reading and indeed produces
little good literature. It has been declared that this has
been the case for more than a century. In France mod-
ernism has somewhat stimulated religious thought, but
even modernism has left Spanish thought and feeling
largely untouched. The tracts and books most used are
manuals of prayer, many of them composed of special
orders for the observance of the nine-day festivals of
Saint Joseph and of the Virgin Mary, or of the months
of spiritual services, known as Month of Mary, or Month
of Saint Joseph. An astounding fact about the matter is
that in the fifteenth, sixteenth and in a part of the seven-
teenth centuries the religious literature of the Roman
Catholic Church in Spanish-speaking countries was very
rich, and even to-day we would find in it much that is
commendable. Few writers reveal deeper religious ex-
periences and fuller devotion and consecration than many
of those belonging to what is known as the Spanish
school of mystics. Friar Luis de Leon, Friar Luis de
Granada, Friar Juan de la Cruz and Teresa de Jesus
published books which were read and are full of genu-
ine, individual religious experience.
In the opinion of many, one of the most deplorable re-
sults of the influence of the Roman CathoHc Church has
been the suppression among its followers of any individ-
ual desire to think about religious problems. Its follow-
OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE 23
ers tend early to become either automatic in their obedi-
ence to the Church or unreasonable in their enmity to
it. In the very schools and colleges in which they have
received their education many young people have learned
to regard religion as being suitable only for women.
Illiteracy among the older people in these republics
ranges from forty to eighty percent. To many literates
reading seems to bring no pleasure or profit. Some seem
incapable of getting spiritual nourishment through read-
ing, and others seem to lack incentive to use the power
of reading they have acquired. Moreover, the minds of
many of the youth have been filled with sensational, emo-
tional and degrading romances. Nothing that fails to
appeal powerfully to the emotions and the imagination
touches them at all.
3. THE VARIED LITERATURE NEEDED
a. A Good Modern Commentary.
It is greatly to be desired that there should be accessible
to Spanish-speaking readers a sound, modern commen-
tary on the whole Bible. It may be that some work al-
ready existing in English can be found to meet this de-
mand if in the process of translation it be adapted to fit
the Latin modes of thought. The need is voiced by cor-
respondents from all parts of the field. A few satisfac-
tory volumes on separate sections of the Scriptures have
already appeared. There are large portions, however,
that have not yet any representative commentary existing
in either of the languages of Latin America.
b. Books for the Training of Christian Leaders.
It is to be taken for granted that one of the funda-
mental activities of the churches in Latin America will
be the establishment and maintenance of schools. Books
for the use of students then will be of prime neces-
sity. The one department of such literature that must
be supplied by the churches is that of theological text-
books. There is a great shortage of such books in the
Spanish and Portuguese languages. The several denom-
inations have at least begun the work of supplying their
24 LITERATURE
own students for the ministry with treatises on theology.
There are various summaries to be had, in both Spanish
and Portuguese. It is greatly to be desired, however,
that a standard work of a somewhat general character,
suitable for use by all the churches, should be prepared.
With such a standard work available for all, the several
denominations could issue supplementary material as
might seem to them desirable.
In addition to the treatises on theology mentioned
above, there will be an equally keen demand for works
on homiletics, on the whole field of Sunday-school in-
struction, and on other departments of pastoral activity,
besides some sound treatises on history, sociology and
philosophy. If the literature is properly used for the
creation of ideals among those who are in a position to
mold the thought of a nation, it should become a very
powerful factor in building up life as well as thought.
A leading Brazilian says that every book of real value
published in French or Latin immediately affects the
Brazilian mind. The higher strata know quite well the
philosophical literature in German. William James is
widely read in Brazil in a French translation. A Por-
tuguese translation of any good philosophical work would
reach the public mind if it were well written and were
sold through the leading book distributing agencies in
the large towns. A similar affirmation can doubtless be
made of most Spanish-speaking countries.
c. School Text-books,
To what extent the Christian agencies should attempt
to prepare miscellaneous text-books may be an open
question. Suffice it to say that the future development
of educational work in the countries using the Spanish
and Portuguese languages is sure to make a profit-
able market for acceptable text-books. Moreover, it is
manifestly important that in all the schools, state or pri-
vate, text-books should be employed that meet two requi-
sites: first, they should be strictly modern and in line
with the best pedagogical and scientific developments of
our day, and secondly, their attitude toward the Christian
view of man and the universe should not be unfriendly.
OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE 25
To aid in providing a supply of such text-books would
be a real service to the countries which we are seeking to
benefit.
d. Books Which Present and Explain Christianity.
Here is the field in which the Churches are primarily
interested. Books are munitions for their campaign.
They are ''fixed ammunition." To convince the opposers,
to persuade the vacillating, to defend positions taken and
to vindicate claims, is the work possible to the printed
page. Much has been done to supply such books,
chiefly through translations. But the field is one that de-
mands original work. The questions at issue, though
old questions, vary constantly with the setting in which
they are presented. The manner of treating them must
be modern or it will not appeal to the modern mind.
The Roman system of to-day is the carefully thought
out product of many of the greatest intellects of the
past. By this product of the centuries we are confronted.
Nevertheless, after sixty or seventy years of work in
Spanish-speaking countries it is claimed by some that we
have not produced a satisfactory comprehensive exposi-
tion in Spanish of the Christian religion from the evan-
gelical standpoint. What is more, some of our mission-
aries, and even members of the native ministry, are far
too ignorant of the viewpoint and teachings of Roman
Catholic divines, and of the best ways of meeting these.
It is especially to be desired that in the realm of con-
troversy our efforts shall be primarily to establish the
truth, and only secondarily to combat error. On the
whole subject of ecclesiastical controversy let it be said
that it is always important to preserve a Christian spirit.
It may be assumed, as a general rule, that the truth
once clearly stated will ultimately vindicate itself as
against error. Our prime purpose is not proselytism,
but so to present Christian truth as to persuade those
not now Christians at all, or only nominally so, to become
Christians.
A frank recognition of so much of the Roman Catholic
teaching as in good conscience we can recognize as truth
2^ LITERATURE
will be an advantage to our cause rather than otherwise.
Indeed a failure on our part to recognize such truth,
however fragmentary it may be, which may be validating
itself in the Christian consciousness of sincere souls, will
react upon us in the end.
It has been suggested that a book pointing out the
striking resemblances in the thought, life and writings
of the greatest men of the various sections of the Church
universal, would appeal powerfully to the best class of
devout Roman Catholics. Here the materials are abun-
dant and illuminating. These will go far in helping such
individuals to understand the true spirituality of evan-
gelical Christianity.
Simple treatises for making clear the meaning of Scrip-
ture and for helping forward the work of inadequately
equipped pastors and teachers will be of great service in
spreading Christianity. It is important that these books,
as well as books of propaganda, should not be merely
translations. There is no likelihood of finding already
prepared treatises of this type so helpful as those written
for the purpose and on the ground.
e. Books for the Cultivation of the Spiritual Life.
Devotional books from the beginning have exercised a
wide influence among Christian people. The writings
of men and women who have the gift of spiritual insight,
to whom the unseen world is real and who know how
to make it real for others, are greatly needed and will
be exceedingly useful among the people of Latin Amer-
ica. The spiritual life of these countries is suffering
in two different ways. On the one hand, the in-
telligent and educated thinkers are being drawn into
a barren and lifeless materialism. In their thinking the
spiritual world scarcely seems to exist at all. They need
not merely a reasoned philosophy which will enable them
to see the fallacy of their conclusions, but even more,
perhaps, they need vivid and profound spiritual medita-
tions, exhibiting an insight that is in a sense superior to
philosophy and that will appeal to their own profound re-
ligious instincts. At the other extreme is the marked
tendency toward crass superstition. It is not merely the
OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE 27
ignorant and untrained who yield to this tendency. Spir-
itism and kindred delusions have made inroads even
among the educated classes, marking apparently a re-
action from the unsatisfying philosophy of materialism.
Of the superstitions of the uneducated, it is unnecessary
to speak. Their one redeeming aspect is the revelation
they offer of a real reaching out towards a spiritual ex-
pression of life on the part of the masses. Unfortunately
there is little in the way of literature which offers for
these prevailing superstitions a substitute which will lead
the people to a nobler spiritual life.
Among books yet to be written, but for which a felt
need exists, are the following: "The Message of Evan-
gelical Christianity" ; "The Essentials of Religion as
Found in the Bible" ; "Helps for the Devotional Reading
of the Bible" ; "The Nature of Church Authority," and
"Helps to Character Building." Concerning this last
mentioned book the following remark is made : "We need
a work which shall set forth the main things to be pon-
dered by children as they grow up. There should be
some systematic instruction of our children, either in
catechetical form or in some other desirable way. I feel
sure that, though it would be difficult to write, a .text-
book might be prepared which might meet the approval
of all the different Churches."
Much remains to be done toward bringing within reach
of the growing youth of the evangelical Churches in
these lands the stimulating helpfulness that comes
through Christian biography.
A valuable work might be written especially with the
object of impressing on the minds of intelligent profes-
sional men the humanizing influences resulting from the
Christian religion — its effects in general in developing
the spirit of kindness and of human brotherhood. Such
books in English are "Gesta Christi" by Brace, and "Re-
ligion in History and in Modern Life" bv Fairbairn.
/. General Literature.
Several correspondents urge that the evangelical
Churches recommend to the reading public of Latin
America a list of clean and high-class novels and other
28 LITERATURE
popular literature. The reason for this is the fact that
there exists a mass of objectionable fiction which has
been translated into Spanish and Portuguese. It is
thought that the evils done by these books ought to be
counteracted by the wider distribution of works of a
better character. A number of wholesome short stories
already translated into the Spanish have been acceptably
received. It is probable also that books of the popular
type, not necessarily fiction, could be prepared in the sev-
eral countries themselves that would find a large sale and
be of distinct service to public morals. The preparation
of books for boys, and of others of a similar type for
girls, offers a large field of opportunity. This reading
constituency has developed immensely in the countries
making use of the English language. Book depositories
that are established by the Churches will do well to con-
sider the advisability of securing the production of such
works and sets of works as these, and should also make
a point of handling cheap editions of those works of
wider merit which have already appeared in the Spanish
and Portuguese languages.*
g. Hymnals.
Wherever the gospel goes it sets the people to sing-
ing. Nowhere has this been shown more clearly than
among the music-loving nations of Latin America. The
effort to supply hymns to express the newly- found emo-
tions and experiences of the converts in these lands, to
voice their aspirations and their worship, has resulted
in the compilation of numerous hymnals. Without hyper-
criticism it may be said that these collections leave much
to be desired. The root of the difficulty doubtless is
to be found in the fact that the poetry of the
hymns is not indigenous. Translated verse and im-
ported tunes can never properly express the spiritual
life of a people. Indeed, in the effort to adjust lines to
tunes, it must be confessed that the canons of Spanish
^ A list of books in Spanish and Portuguese will be found in
an appendix to this Report. This list, while not complete, yet
will indicate a few of the very best available books.
OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE 29
and Portuguese versification have often been rudely vio-
lated. The genius of Latin poetry is not, at least in form,
the same as that of a language so strongly Saxon in
structure as the English. But the tunes were ready to
hand, and by rather violent paraphrasing it was possible
to frame lines based on the English but made up of
Spanish words at least, that could be sung to them. To
make these verses all the less "Latin" in their type, the
translation or paraphrasing has often been done by Anglo-
Saxon missionaries. A sense of the poetical genius of a
language is one of the last and most difficult of a for-
eigner's achievements, and when one's attainment of it is
still an open question and he is seeking, besides, to render
verse from his own language, his mind charged with the
time and rhythm of it, his success is most problematical.
It must be admitted, therefore, that while the people in
Latin America sing well and lustily, many of the hymns
are in shockingly bad verse — so bad indeed that the taste
of those who sing is in danger of becoming permanently
vitiated.
It is this fundamental difficulty which more than any-
thing else accounts for the ephemeral quality of the nu-
merous hymnals and collections of songs, especially in the
Spanish language. Few of them have lasted. In Portu-
guese these collections have not been so numerous. Nev-
ertheless, despite all difficulties and defects, a consider-
able body of available hymns and sacred songs has come
into use. To what extent it will be possible to secure a
common hymnal in Spanish that will meet the demands
of all the Churches and of all the several nationalities, it
is impossible to say. Apparently the new hymnal pub-
lished by the American Tract Society is the most satis-
factory thus far produced. In Portuguese the task
should be simpler, since only one nationality is involved.
A prime object in the compiling of such a hymnal will be
to incorporate as large a percentage as possible of selec-
tions that both in verse and in music shall reflect the
genius and the taste of the peoples in Latin America.
Doubtless the emergence of hymns which are both up-
lifting to the Latin people and express the best in their
30 LITERATURE
spiritual experience must wait somewhat on the devel-
opment of a rich Christian life on the part of considerable
numbers of people. The coincidence of a deeply spiritual
experience and a poetic genius is too rare an occurrence
in Christian history for a quick development of a rich
hymnology to be expected.
CHAPTER IV
TRACTS AND LEAFLETS
I, THE POPULARITY OF THE LEAFLET IN LATIN
AMERICA
In all countries the leaflet has been used, ever since
the invention of printing, as a means of winning ac-
cess to the public mind. In the more highly organized
nations it is now to some extent giving way to the daily
paper, but among those peoples which have not yet accus-
tomed themselves to this latter agency of advanced civi-
lization, the tract has yet a wide field. In most of Latin
America, reading matter is still exceedingly scarce. A
Mexican historian complains mournfully because owing
to the scarcity of paper many old books that would now
be invaluable for throwing light on past times, have been
torn up to be used as wrappers on the counters of grocers
and chandlers. In nearly all the countries under consid-
eration in this Congress, outside the important cities,
something to read is at a premium. Well edited leaflets
can, therefore, be widely and advantageously used.
2. THE WORK OF THE TRACT SOCIETIES
The production of such tracts has hitherto been rather
desultory. The Religious Tract Society of London and
the American Tract Society of New York have done
excellent work in the printing of tracts in Spanish and
other modern languages. Indeed, the workers in all of
31
32 LITERATURE
Latin America will recall with gratitude the contribution
of both of these Societies not only in the way of supply-
ing excellently edited and printed leaflets, but in provid-
ing other kinds of literature. A Sunday-school paper
for children has long been issued by the American So-
ciety in Spanish, and the list of bound volumes in both
Spanish and Portuguese brought out by it is a long and
important one/ Two principles should direct the fu-
ture production of tracts and leaflets. The work should
be coordinated and made cooperative. There are many
advantages in this, such as on the one hand, the avoid-
ance of duplication, and, on the other, the achieving of
economies in production, due to the increased size of edi-
tions. This will make possible a greater typographical
attractiveness without increasing the cost above that in-
volved in issues published apart from cooperative action.
Cooperative editing may naturally be expected also to
improve the quality of the tracts. The second principle
should be the encouragement of the production of tracts
on the field. When the inspiration to writing comes from
actual experience of a vital sort, the tract is far more
likely to be vigorous, pertinent, well-timed and well-
aimed, in a word, eflPective, than if the leaflet grows out
of a matter-of-fact recognition of a general need.
3. THE LEAFLET LITERATURE NEEDED
a. Simple, Uncontroversial Presentations of Religious
Truth.
What kind of tracts are needed to meet the present
conditions of the peoples of Latin America? The great
majority of the people are Roman Catholics — nominally
so at least. They are in unfortunate ignorance of the
^The American Tract Society has published and circulated in
the Spanish and Portuguese language 536,983 volumes and 4,051,-
205 copies of tracts and leaflets, making a total of 4,588,188 copies
of volumes, tracts and leaflets in the above languages. The
Manzanas De Oro, a Spanish paper for the children in Latin
America, has reached a total circulation of 10,160,400 copies,
making a grand total of all publications in the Spanish and Portu-
guese languages of 14,748,588 copies, including 126,000 Spanish
hymnals, at a total value of $663,546.
TRACTS AND LEAFLETS 33
simplest gospel truths. Tracts should be prepared to
meet this need sympathetically and fairly. Those that
violently attack the Roman Catholic Church will not reach
the most positive results ; those written in the spirit of
love and fairness do more good. When Romanists re-
ceive tracts of the nature of controversial attack on their
inherited religious system, resentment rather than re-
spect is likely to be engendered, and not only is an oppor-
tunity for real helpfulness lost, but also a hearing for
the evangelical message is less easily won by the next
personal or printed messenger of the truth.
b. Arguments against Atheism, Indifference or Pseiido
Faiths.
Throughout Latin America there are many atheistic
and rationalistic thinkers who have their followers. Sane
and carefully written tracts which expose the unsound-
ness of these types of thought prove of great value in
evangelical work. There is also in Latin America a
wide-spread indifference to all religion. ]\Iultitudes have
broken away from the Roman Catholic Church and are
practically irreligious. Tracts are needed which will
arouse the conscience, teach Christlike conceptions of
God and point to the Way, the Truth and the Life.
It should be said, also, that not a few of the *'isms"
that are undermining the faith of many in Protestant
countries are getting a hold among Latin-American peo-
ple, also. Tracts should be produced to meet the ap-
proaches of Christian Science, Spiritism, Mormonism, and
like cults.
c. Prepared by Experts.
The production of a vernacular literature of the above
kind, definite in its Christian message, varied to meet
the needs of race and class and adequate to the demands
of the times, must needs be a work of much detail. To
carry the same message suitably to the educated Latin-
American, the Mexican peon, and the Indian of the
Andes, calls for varied knowledge, for experience, for
aptitude and for insight. Such tasks confront mission-
aries within the limits of each geographical division. The
34 LITERATURE
West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South Amer-
ica each present a complexus of varied problems.
For the most part the tracts published in our Latin-
American work have been produced by missionaries al-
ready overworked by other and more direct duties perti-
nent to their office. Many of these tracts have been
translations from the English. It is natural that this
should be so. The pioneer missionary in a new land must
be his own author and perhaps his own compositor and
printer, at least until the earlier stages of the work are
past. It is impossible that the best work should be pro-
duced under such conditions. More men must be set
apart for the work of authorship alone. Excellent results
are often gained by men released for short periods from
an active missionary life. The demands for emphasis on
service through authorship are especially compelling
when Christian leaders are face to face as they are in
the whole of Latin America at present, with intellectual,
social and political difficulties. Writers should be given
ample opportunity to acquaint themselves with the trends
of thought and with the latest literature.
d. Salable at Small Cost.
The question whether tracts should be sold or given
away elicits a variety of replies. The prevailing convic-
tion seems to be that leaflets issued at small cost should
be used widely in the work of propaganda, and often
money returns should not be expected, but that as soon
as a demand arises for a more formal or elaborate lit-
erature the cost should be covered at least in part
through sales. It is the opinion of some that tracts dis-
tributed without charge should have the cost price
marked thereon.
4. THE TASK TO BE ACCOMPLISHED
With respect to the whole background of the writers
who are to prepare the new Christian literature for Latin
America a correspondent writes :
"Our new apologetic must not only have a scholarly
attitude toward the great literary monument of God's
TRACTS AND LEAFLETS 35
dealings with men ; it must also preserve that balanced
relation of religion toward all the interests of life which
so distinguishes Jesus from the rest of earth's teachers.
Our intellectual presentation of the evangelical message
as a group of doctrines to be believed, must be rein-
forced by the ethical and social content of Christ's teach-
ing concerning the kingdom of God which he came to
establish.
"In probably no class of men in the civilized world to-
day is infidelity so rampant as among the professional
and student classes of Latin America. As suggestive of
their attitude toward religion, Dr. Robert E. Speer quoted
a Brazilian professor of law : 'The Catholic faith is
dead. There is no longer confidence in the Christian
dogma. The supernatural has been banished from the
domain of science. . . . God is a myth. . . . Man in-
vented gods and God that the world might be ruled. The
simple spirit refrains from all criticism and accepts the
idea of God without resistance. The cultured spirit re-
pels the idea in virtue of its inherent contradictions.'*
"Another aspect of the attitude of the educated Latin
American to religion was expressed in a recent address
by a Mexican litterateur before the Hispano-American
Society of Chicago. The speaker divided the field of
cultural interests into three great realms. The first was
scientific or material, where all was exactness and pre-
cision ; the second was the abode of beauty, poetry, art ;
and the third was the gloomy limbo of mysticism, where
ghostly shades from the past reign supreme, and where
religion is the dominant interest as represented by St.
Francis of Assisi. Kipling's Tomlinson,* who said :
'And I have patted my God on the head
That men might call me brave.'
has many imitators in Latin America. The attitude of
amused and patient tolerance, of regarding religion as a
legitimate and harrnless amusement for women and chil-
dren, is, perhaps, even harder to deal with than down-
right opposition and attack.
* "South American Problems," p. 93.
36 LITERATURE
"The practical wisdom of our missionary pioneers led
them to see the necessity of education as the surest hope
for establishing evangelical Christianity in the Spanish-
speaking world, and this contribution of theirs has been
a most worthy one, so far as it has gone. Splendid
workers have been trained in evangelical schools and in
the Christian environment which these created, and have
toiled nobly as preachers of truth and righteousness. But
they have not been given an equipment that would en-
able them to meet the scientific skepticism of the edu-
cated body of their fellow countrymen. The Churches
seem to have given this up as a hopeless task, and have
consoled themselves with quoting, *Not many wise and
not many great are called.' The time is ripe for the in-
troduction of scholarly Scripture study, as it is carried
on in our best schools, and for a more complete provision
for broad, Christian culture.
CHAPTER V
PERIODICAL LITERATURE
If we are to plan wisely for cooperation and for high
est efficiency in the realm of Christian newspapers and
magazines on the mission fields of Latin America, we
must consider these as a whole, and so give to each one
its proper place.
I. THE PLACE OF THE CHURCH PAPER
By the church paper is meant the whole group of evan-
gelical periodicals edited and published under the super-
vision of evangelical agencies. Their importance will
not be doubted by those who have been engaged in mis-
sionary work for any length of time. In Mexico, the
Presbyterian, Methodist and other missions have from
the very beginning of their work founded fortnightlies
(quincenales) and weeklies of a fair standard of excel-
lence. These have, unfortunately, shown little improve-
ment, nor have they been able very considerably to in-
crease their circulation. Four of the denominations at
work in Cuba have each its own church paper. It is to
be hoped that the Commission will be able to secure a
complete list of all the evangelical papers published not
only in Latin America but in Spain and the Philippines
as well. The investment of missionary time and talent
and money tied up in this form of Christian activity
shows that it is considered to be of great importance by
37
38 LITERATURE
those on the field. Much literature of this kind has been
produced in Latin America. While a church paper of a
really high order has not yet appeared, yet much talent
has been developed and much experience acquired which
should serve us in good stead in the future.
2. PURPOSES OF THE CHURCH PAPER
The evangelical Churches everywhere have tended to
express their religious-social consciousness and to foster
this consciousness through church papers. The pri-
mary stimulus towards the production of such a paper
may arise from various felt needs, and in the course of
its history, there may be variant emphases from time to
time, but the scope and purpose of such a paper, consid-
ering the various objects it may have in view, may be
treated under the following topics :
a. As an Organ of the Church.
Numerous religious papers of Latin America are of
this character. Each mission, each Church desires to.
have some means of communicating its actions and poli-
cies to its own constituency. Conferences, associations
and presbyteries wish to develop a group consciousness
among their congregations, and to guide their common
activities.
b. As a Source of Inspiration.
The church paper should keep in mind the culture of
Christian manhood and womanhood on the part of its
readers. Biographical materials pertaining to the great
Christian leaders in life, thought and action, including
the missionaries, will be of value, for like begets like.
Devotional articles which direct thought to the great
Source of all life may likewise be of the highest signifi-
cance to the end sought. The editorial columns may be
equally constructive if the keynote of uplifting optimism
be set.
c. As a Source of Information.
Few of its readers will have access to sources of gen-
eral information, hence the church paper should furnish
PERIODICAL LITERATURE 39
a reliable survey of current events, correlating and inter-
preting the social, political, commercial and scientific
news of the day. The news will be threefold in charac-
ter, news of the larger world, news of the Church uni-
versal and news of that particular group of churches
which the paper serves.
d. As a Source of Scientific and Religious Instruction.
In this department should appear many popular, inter-
esting articles on commerce, industry, invention, art, hy-
giene, sanitation, etc. Judicious use may be made of a
type of periodicals appearing on both sides of the Atlantic
which mediate between the experts in political and social
science and in the pure and applied sciences on the one
hand and the classes of people who are deeply interested
in the modern developments in these varied fields,
but who are non-technical in their knowledge of them.
One such periodical, e.g., is Popular Mechanics. The
temptation to devote large space to these interesting topics
of human enterprise and thought is to be resisted, as the
secular press, including the great dailies, employ able
writers who treat of these subjects and it must not be
forgotten that the chief emphasis must be upon the re-
ligious aspects of the paper. Nevertheless, there are
many people living in out-of-the-way places, including
our own members, who never read any paper except the
religious one, and they must not be sent away empty.
To this department belong also sermons, homiletical ar-
ticles and Bible studies. As the Sunday-school literature,
young people's periodicals and homiletical monthlies in-
clude these, it is not necessary for the weekly paper to
give them as large space as formerly.
e. As an Agency of Propaganda.
(i) In the Work of Pioneering. — One value of a
religious paper as a mission pioneering agency is very
great. Many cases might be cited of persons who
were led to the reading of the Bible, to attendance on
stated services, or to conversion by the reading of an
evangelical paper. The handing of a church paper to a
40 LITERATURE
neighbor by a church member is frequently the first step
in getting him interested. People are wakened out of re-
ligious lethargy, prejudices are dispelled, errors are suc-
cessfully combated in this way, when other means are in-
effective.
(2) In Conducting Debates Upon Religion. — The
articles which give permanent and wide-spread value to
such a paper will need to be thoroughly prepared. Con-
troversial material, it is needless to say, should be free
from bitterness and bigotry and should be verified as to
statements and quotations with the utmost care. No one
should be permitted to appraise the practices of the Ro-
man Catholic Church who is not well informed with re-
gard to its history, teachings and spirit.
Controversy with infidelity is just as real, certainly as
necessary, and often more difficult to conduct than that
with Romanists. Rome has always spoken clearly, and
her position is unmistakable. In combating skepticism,
evangelical artillery often fires into a fog-bank, which
collects as densely as ever after the shot has been dis-
charged. Dialogues "con el Sr. Cura" or "con un libra
pensador," such as have appeared in El Evangelista
Cristiano of Colombia, win their way where more serious
articles are passed by.
(3) In the Clear Presentation of Evangelical Christi-
anity.— The positive presentation of evangelical Christi-
anity in an attractive garb is a third and very important
aspect of our propaganda. Controversy is likely to open
deep wounds. Evangelical truth is the balm poured in
to heal those wounds. Let the whole emphasis be placed
on those doctrines on which evangelicals are in substan-
tial agreement. The place for denominational instruc-
tion is in the school and in the home. Some denomina-
tional organs, feeling the deficiencies in these circles, or
impelled by sectarian zeal, have tried to make up for it in
the church paper. It is easily possible to put such a dis-
proportionate emphasis on these matters as to destroy
perspective for non-evangelical readers. The safest pro-
cedure is to make the paper unmistakably and unavoid-
ably constructive on those aspects of truth and conduct
PERIODICAL LITERATURE 41
with respect to which there is common agreement among
evangehcals.
3. THE PRODUCTION OF A CHURCH PAPER
The first thing in the production of a church paper is
to find an editor. The second is to give him a chance
to develop. Once discovered and developed he must be
kept free from other heavy responsibilities. Editorial
talent and instinct are not qualities often found among
missionary workers, as may be seen from the character
of a large number of periodicals. The editor is the soul
of the paper. There doubtless exists more editorial talent
than we suspect ; but what there is needs to be cultivated.
The Madras (India) Sectional Conference of 1912^ made
the following recommendation : "Since effective literary
work can as a rule be best done by those who have al-
ready had considerable missionary experience and who in
their daily work are in close contact with the people, the
Conference urges that the right policy is, not to bring
out fresh men from home for the purpose, but to make
arrangements whereby those best fitted should be set free
for a limited period to prepare literature." This same
thought runs insistently through the recommendations
of the large majority of the twenty-one conferences, held
in Asia, during 1912-1913, under the supervision of the
Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Con-
ference.
In order to utilize available editorial ability, coopera-
tion among the different missions is necessary. No one
Society can set aside an editorial staff, and most Socie-
ties have been unable to release even one man for this
work. The editors of these papers are almost always
pastors of local churches, or superintendents of districts.
This matter of cooperation is the crucial question. As
will have been seen, all our studies of the subject of
Christian literature for Latin America lead back to it.
This is generally the one department of missionary en-
deavor in which cooperation is most easily attained. The
demand for it is so general and so insistent that no rea-
* "Continuation Committee Conferences in Asia," 1912-1913, 36.
42 LITERATURE
sonable plan is likely to meet with serious opposition. It
is believed that in each of the Spanish-speaking countries
and in Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken, it will be pos-
sible to combine on a single general church paper, to be
edited and published by a national joint committee on
literature and issued from a common publishing house.
The general editorial work would be under the super-
vision of the cooperative committee for that particular
country. In this way all the subscribers to the paper can
secure the benefit of the higher class of periodical
which will be made possible by the enlarged constituency
and increased financial resources, but can also get with
each issue the denominational news and announcements
with which the denominational paper has hitherto sup-
plied them.
An exhibit of all the church papers now or recently
issued in Latin America will disclose two striking facts:
the real excellence of many of these publications, in view
of the slender resources out of which they have been
produced and of the numerous other cares that have
weighed upon their editors and contributors, and the
inevitable waste which duplication involves, since in many
a country there are several struggling little sheets, where
one of real strength would serve every purpose better
and would be far more economical to produce.
4. TYPES OF PERIODICALS
a. A Theological Review.
Any of the great denominational quarterlies furnishes
a suitable pattern for a periodical of this sort. In
Argentina a review of this character, though on a more
modest scale, has been published for some years called
La Reforma, a monthly review in its fifteenth year,
edited by an Anglican clergyman, the Rev. \V. C.
Morris, director of the Escuelas Philantropicas Argen-
tinas, of Buenos Aires. It has attained a remarkably
high standard. Such a magazine might eventually be
published as an interdenominational enterprise. Its edi-
tor should be a man who could give his first attention
PERIODICAL LITERATURE 43
to the magazine, and have his other work so subordi-
nated as not to distract his energies.
b. Monthly Magazines.
The monthly is in many ways pecuHarly adapted to
the promotion of special lines of Church activity. At
present we have Esfuerzo Cristiano, published in Spain
and dedicated to the interests of Christian Endeavor so-
cieties in that country. It has had a long and successful
career. El Esforzador Cristiano, in Mexico, tried to fill
a similar need, had a rather checkered career, did a good
deal of good, but finally ceased publication.
In a number of instances denominational periodicals
have been issued as monthlies. This has been due to the
pressure of time upon the part of their editors or to the
economic difficulty of bringing them out oftener to serve
a small and widely scattered constituency. Such month-
lies as the vehicles of Christian doctrine and meditations,
of the explanation of Scripture passages, of sermons and
at times even of extended works published in instalments,
have done a noble service and have carried the truth to
many remote sections of Latin America.
c. Weekly Papers.
This classification includes the great majority of de-
nominational papers. Some of these like El Faro and
El Ahogado Cristiano, and La L^iz (now succeeded by
El Faro Cristiano), published in Mexico City, were
founded and continued for many years as fortnightlies
(quincenales). The Forto Rico Evangelico, a semi-
monthly published in Ponce, as the organ of the United
Brethren, Presbyterians, Baptists, Christians, and Con-
gregationalists, is a well-established paper. El Heraldo
Evangelico has been the organ of the Presbyterian mis-
sion in Chile for over forty years. In 1914 it was com-
bined with the Methodist Episcopal organ. El Cristiano.
The two now appear as one publication under the name
of El Heraldo Cristiano. These papers have reached a
wide circulation and have done an immense amount of
good. A few of them have had editors of marked abil-
ity, but they failed to attain a really high excellence be-
44 LITERATURE
cause their editors, like Martha, have been cumbered in
serving about many things. Moreover, too much respon-
sibility has generally fallen on the shoulders of one man
in preparing articles, as the work of unpaid collaborators
is a very uncertain quantity.
d. A Philosophical and Literary Review.
A number of correspondents have expressed a very
great interest in the suggestion that a general and philo-
sophical review be published in the Spanish language.
We can say in reference to these suggestions only
that such a publication could undoubtedly be made of
very large value. The numerous practical difficulties in-
volved in its production, editorial and fiscal alike, are of
such a character as to preclude any satisfactory discus-
sion of them at this time.
e. Periodicals for the Sunday School.
Sunday-school helps are published in most of the
Latin-American countries. In the case of Mexico, the
Presbyterians, the Methodists and the Disciples have
been cooperating for the last three years in publishing
graded lessons for children under thirteen, a common
quarterly for adults, following the Uniform Lessons, and
a magazine for teachers. We believe that similar ar-
rangements could be made in every country or in given
sections comprising several small countries. The ideal
for this kind of publication as well as that for church
papers is to have a set of publications for each country,
or group of countries, well adapted to local conditions
and needs.
The Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, has been publishing in Nashville, Tenn.,
the Primary and Junior Courses of the International
Sunday-school Graded Lessons. Both Methodist Churches
have furnished originals and also the Church of the Dis-
ciples working in Mexico. Th- lYesbyterians undertook
the publication of the Courses ior Beginners, and though
they have been obliged to suspend their work because of
the war in Mexico, it is believed that they will continue
PERIODICAL LITERATURE 45
as soon as conditions will allow the missionaries to return
to their field of labor. According to the plan adopted by
the Churches working in Mexico, which are cooperating
to publish the Graded Lessons, the Manuals for Teach-
ers are to be published together, forming an attractive
volume bound in cloth which will be a real contribution
to the permanent literature of the Sunday School. The
Methodist Publishing House has already on sale the three
years comprising the Primary Course and two
years of the Course for Juniors. This house has
made arrangements to publish the other two years
of the Course for Juniors. The field secretaries
for South America of the International Sunday-school
Association have welcomed these graded courses in
Spanish, and most of the missionaries and other workers
in Latin America who have had a chance to examine the
courses have heartily approved them. There is already
a movement on foot to undertake similar publications in
Portuguese, and the anticipated sub-committee on Liter-
ature will doubtless see that the work is continued in the
future. The historical interpretation of the Scriptures,
the adaptability of the lessons selected to the development
of the child, the pedagogical principles employed in this
kind of teaching, also the excellent devices utilized,
such as collections of beautiful and artistic pictures, are
among the things that commend this graded literature
to Christian workers through the Latin countries. A
really satisfactory children's paper for Sunday-school use
would be very valuable.
The Commission recognizes that the Christian
Churches working in Latin America have paid much
attention to the important w^ork of the Sunday School,
and have endeavored to furnish the best kind of
Sunday-school helps. But it is the common opinion of
the correspondents of this Commission that there is still
room for improvement and tharintelligent cooperation is
the best way to supply this demand. At the same time
such cooperation will result in economies in the produc-
tion of Sunday-school helps, which will release funds for
other greatly needed departments of the work.
46 LITERATURE
/. An Evangelical Daily Paper Impracticable at
Present.
At interdenominational conventions in Mexico, and
doubtless in other Latin-American republics, the idea of
founding a great evangelical daily has been repeatedly-
proposed, and committees have gone so far as to draw
up plans and solicit funds. But these plans have always
remained ''in the inkstand," to use a Spanish phrase, and
have failed of accomplishment for lack of a solid finan-
cial basis. The impracticability of founding such a daily
for Latin America in the immediate future seems to be
confirmed by the lack of a constituency.
Any daily paper to be effective must reach its readers
the day of its publication, or at most with no more than
twenty-four hours of delay. This limits its range to
soiiie two or three hundred miles from the place of pub-
lication. There is probably no place in Latin America
where within that range could be found a constituency
friendly to the evangelical position sufficient to sustain
a daily paper, no matter how effective and attractive it
may be made.
CHAPTER VI
LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE
Most of what has been said in the earlier chapters of
this Report pertained primarily to the Spanish-speaking
countries. Very little literature is available in any of the
other languages except the Portuguese. Conditions in
Brazil are not dissimilar to those obtaining in the Span-
ish-speaking countries ; but Brazil is so vast a field that
the following special study of the needs of Brazil,
prepared by a member of the Executive Committee of
this Commission seems worthy of separate publication.
I. MEAGRE RESULTS OF THE FIRST HALF CENTURY
Leaving out of account the Methodist mission which
was begun about 1837, and was discontinued some five
years later, it is just sixty years since the present evan-
gelical movement in Brazil was begun. Only about fifty
years ago, however, the first effort was made to provide
evangelical literature in the Portuguese language. Be-
fore that time there had been published the Book of
Common Prayer, various tracts and a small collection of
hymns. There were also a few books, certain great
classics, such as "The Imitation of Christ," by Thomas
a Kempis; the "Confessions of St. Augustine," and a
poetical paraphrase of the Psalms, which were available
to evangeHcals, but were never widely read by them.
During these fifty years there has never been a sys-
tematic and united effort to prepare evangelical books
47
48 LITERATURE
in Portuguese. With the exception of the work done by
the Religious Tract Society of London through its agency
in Lisbon, and the books and tracts issued by the Amer-
ican Tract Society, this work has largely been left to
private initiative, working to meet local and temporary
demands. The evangelical constituency has not been
large enough to enable any publishing agency to cover
the expense of publication and distribution save in rare
instances. For this reason there has been little incentive
to embark upon the publication of a book in the hope of
reaping financial profit.
During the early years when more funds were avail-
able, colporteurs were employed to canvass for the sale
of books and tracts, and where this work of colportage
was given careful oversight, much seed sowing was done.
Stringency of funds gradually compelled the giving up
of this form of work, so that the sale of evangelical
books and tracts is left to private enterprise, to the initi-
ative of missionaries and of Brazilian pastors who are
interested in this form of effort, and to the bookstores
maintained by one or two of the missions.
There have been several hindrances to the growth and
spread of evangelical literature in Portuguese in a way
fruly commensurate with the progress of evangelical re-
ligion.
2. VARIOUS HINDRANCES TO GROWTH
a. The Lack of Literary Attractiveness.
Too many of the earlier books and tracts were lack-
ing in literary grace and were unattractive to those who
had a knowledge of Portuguese literature. This was
blameworthy only so far as it was due to carelessness.
Some of the translations were either too slavishly literal
or were prepared in a careless manner. Since the evan-
gelical constituency has grown in size and intelligence
many of these older books and tracts have lost much of
their value.
b. The Changing Interests of the Reading Public.
The ever-changing attitude and interests of the read-
ing public and the requirements of the growing Church
LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE 49
are not met by the earlier publications. At first, works
of a controversial character were in demand. Questions
of local and ephemeral interest had to be met and too
often claimed attention to the exclusion of subjects of
wider and more permanent interest. Little was done, for
instance, in the preparation of manuals for theological
students and workers, to say nothing of histories, com-
mentaries and other works which are essential for the
building up of an intelligent Church.
c. The Lack of Effecth'e Cooperation.
There has been an almost continuous lack of co-
operation among those of the same Board, to say nothing
of different Boards, in forming definite plans for pro-
viding the needed publications. What was everybody's
business was nobody's business. If, in spite of these dif-
ficulties, and after much effort, a book was prepared,
the funds for its publication were often so grudgingly
given that the individuals interested became discouraged.
d. The Publication of Books of Temporary Value.
Much too often a desire to prepare books of a popular
character which would meet with a large sale, led to the
publication of books which, however useful in their way,
consumed funds which should have been used in part in
providing other books of a more lasting value.
e. The Lack of Funds.
The two reasons of supreme importance in determin-
ing the slow growth of a suitable Christian literature
have been the lack of cooperation and the lack of money.
Because of the small amount of money available several
valuable books have been allowed to remain out of print
when the first editions were exhausted. If literary work
is to be taken up in an adequate way by the mission
Boards working in Brazil, plans must be laid for the
preparation of new books, for the republication of books
now out of print, for the proper distribution of literature
now available, and for the preparation, publication and
distribution of new books in far larger numbers and cov-
ering every department of religious interest.
50 LITERATURE
3. THE OUTSTANDING NEEDS
a. Proper Orgcmization and Coordination of the Work.
What has been done so far, largely by individual ini-
tiative and without any broad plan, should be placed in
the hands of a competent committee representing all of
the Boards, with power to select men qualified
for original work and also others to be translators
of standard works from the French, English and other
languages. Funds should be provided for compensation
for this work and possibly the entire salaries of some
men should be given to enable them to devote themselves
exclusively to this task. This committee should also be
charged with the duty of providing for the publication
of all approved works and should make arrangements for
their sale and distribution.
When it is remembered that no small part of our re-
ligious literature in English consists of lectures given
under various foundations, it would be well to provide
for a lectureship in Portuguese, with the condition that
the lectures should afterwards be published. A variety
of subjects could be treated in this way and the results
given to the public. Such a lectureship would act as a
stimulus to Brazilian Christians and would lead them to
give their best efforts to literary work. Prizes might
also be offered for the best original treatises presented on
certain designated subjects. Some such stimulus is nec-
essary in order to overcome inertia. The impression has
been general that it was useless to prepare a book of
any kind, for the reason that the means for its publica-
tion could not be obtained. The assurance from the
committee in charge that a book of merit would be pub-
lished and widely circulated would encourage some pas-
tors to spend their spare hours in preparing the neces-
sary manuscripts.
In the religious press there are many articles of per-
manent value which should be gathered up and issued in
book form, under a proper editorship. From the files
of the older periodicals can be collected material to make
several volumes of real value.
LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE 51
h. The Work of Printing.
The committee in charge of publication work should
be ready to cooperate in every way possible with the ex-
isting interdenominational tract Societies of New York
and London. We are indebted to the American Tract
Society and to the Religious Tract Society of London
for many of our best books and tracts. These Societies
have an undoubted interest in this work and we should
avail ourselves of the many facilities which they offer.
All books and tracts of permanent value should be
printed in sufficiently large editions, or plates should be
made from which new imprints can be had at small ex-
pense. This has the advantage of providing for the pur-
chaser freshly printed books instead of those which are
shelf-worn and time-stained.
An effort should be made to keep down the price of
books to the purchaser, in view of the fact that so large a
part of our constituency is in moderate or in poor
circumstances.
c. The Work of Distribution.
No less essential than the preparation of new books is
the work of placing them, when ready, in the hands of
those who most need them. This will require, not only
the cooperation of the mission Boards and tract So-
cieties, but also the active interest and cooperation of
every evangelical missionary, pastor and worker. Pres-
sure must be brought to bear upon those who are indif-
ferent, or who neglect this kind of work. If books and
tracts are not put into circulation, all previous labor and
expense are rendered futile. It is most important that
the duty, as well as the privilege, of having a part in this
work, be impressed upon the minds of all Christian lead-
ers. It is vain to establish bookstores and depositories,
if the new books and tracts are to lie year after year on
their shelves. A persistent, tireless, tactful effort must
be made by all to place religious literature in every evan-
gelical home and to spread it among the multitudes who
can be reached in no other way. Missionaries and pastors
should be convinced that their usefulness will be greatly
52 LITERATURE
widened by the spread of Christian books and tracts.
Spoken words fly, but the printed page remains, a silent
witness to the truth.
(i) Evangelical Bookstores. — These can be estab-
Hshed in the larger centers under the direction of the
proposed interdenominational committee. The manage-
ment of these stores should not be given to already
overworked missionaries, but to laymen who can devote
to it all their energies and can promote in every way
the circulation of the books.
(2) A Colportage Association. — Colporteurs should
be employed to sell books from house to house. Stu-
dents should be encouraged to sell books during vaca-
tions. Most missionaries lack time to distribute tracts or
books outside the areas of their own activities. Nor can
Latin America be evangelized by mail. Colporteurs of
general literature who are also evangelists must be
trained and set to work. A Latin-American Colportage
Association is an indispensable corollary to the whole
scheme of literary production and distribution. The ex-
isting missions will aid these colporteurs, but cannot han-
dle their task. A colporteur of general literature would
probably find the Bible Societies ready to utilize his ser-
vices. Experience in other lands has shown that the most
satisfactory service can be secured by paying all such col-
porteurs a minimum wage plus a percentage on all sales.
The colporteur is thus protected against the financial dis-
tress that may accompany persecution or work in barren
fields, yet he has the advantage also of a financial motive
leading him to do his best at selling his literary wares.
(3) The Use of Trade Channels. — Liberal discounts
should be given to private firms which are willing to
carry a few books in connection with their business.
Other methods, such as mail-orders, the encouragement
of ministers and laymen to serve as unsalaried agents,
etc., should be tried out.
4. PERIODICAL LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE
A bi-monthly religious review or magazine should be
issued in charge of an interdenominational committee, for
LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE 53
the publication of articles, Biblical, theological, historical,
which would be of interest to all ministers and educated
laymen.
The various denominational publications which provide
lesson helps for the Sunday Schools should be united into
one interdenominational monthly, in charge of a co-
operative committee.
A union religious weekly should be issued under the
auspices of the cooperating missions, giving the more im-
portant items of church news of general interest, but
having for its main province the promulgation and de-
fense of the principles of our common evangehcal faith.
Subscriptions for this union paper should be solicited
from the public in general. Provision could be made,
however, for denominational editions in which the
articles and news items would be provided by a repre-
sentative of each of the cooperating missions.
In the secular papers space may be purchased and
articles of evangelical propaganda given to the public.
This should be done persistently and systematically, and
money so used would bear much fruit. Thousands of
people would be reached who are largely inaccessible by
any other means. Cliches or electrotyped plates of state-
ments of evangelical belief and similar selections should
be prepared. These plates can be inserted at a minimum
cost in the secular papers both of the large cities and of
the provincial towns. We need to learn wisdom from
the children of this world. Certain proprietary medi-
cines, for instance, have been advertised from one end
of Brazil to the other in this way, and at a compara-
tively small cost to the proprietors. Many able journals
may be induced to print contributions regarding Chris-
tianity in the form of information respecting the growth
of the Churches, the progress of ideas and reviews of
important new books, if these are in a style attractive to
the general reader.
CHAPTER VII
COOPERATION IN THE PRODUCTION OF
CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
The need and the possibiHty of effective cooperation in
the production of evangelical literature are voiced on
every hand. A British correspondent, for example, re-
marics in regard to certain suggestions as to specific kinds
of literature needed: "I cannot help thinking that these
come second. The matter of first importance is to get a
strong interdenominational and international organization
that is well financed, then we can deal with the problems
of authorship and distribution and the character of the
publications to be issued."
I. IN PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS
Considerable space was given to this matter above
(Chapter V. 3). It seems to be generally agreed that it
should be possible for the several missions in each Latin-
American republic to unite for the publication of a single
periodical of dignity and worth that would take the place
of the special "organs" hitherto issued. Certainly if it
is possible for a union paper to be made to serve this
need, such a paper would be serviceable in a larger way
than has been possible to the separate publications. By
virtue of united endeavor it could be made of a type to
appeal to many intelligent persons outside the member-
ship of the Churches. Liberal postal facilities in sev-
eral of the republics encourage all periodical publica-
tions, in some instances free carriage being provided. It
54
COOPERATION IN PRODUCTION 55
will not be easy to smooth out all of the difficulties in the
way of a union church paper. Many will think it im-
possible for such a publication to serve denominational
ends as well and as satisfactorily as a special organ
would.
There will be, moreover, obstacles as to the budget, the
editorial staff, etc. No doubt all these will prove rather
serious, but as the object sought is so well worth while,
there is all the more urgency that the difficulties be at-
tacked as promptly and as vigorously as possible.
Another line of cooperative endeavor in periodical lit-
erature has been suggested, and that is the publication of
a high class magazine in the languages of Latin Amer-
ica. It is believed that such a publication would meet
a warm welcome in those republics, not only among the
evangelicals but also among intelligent and progressive
persons generally. It seems to be felt that it might be
brought out in New York, since that city offers better
communication with all Latin America than any other.
It might well be the care of a commission on literature,
should such a commission be organized in accordance
with suggestions of this report. (See also below, para-
graph 5.)
2. IN GENERAL LITERARY PRODUCTION
Some books on apologetics are good, and some of
them are useless. It is evident that the translators of
some of these books were not conversant with present-
day conditions and underestimated the hold which skep-
ticism has upon these countries. This is a field which
should be continually under the survey and supervision of
a commission on literature, which should seek to furnish
the missionary forces with suitable, modern books on
apologetics. If it is left entirely to the enterprise of the
individual missionary, much precious time and energy
will be spent on the translation of books which are of but
little value.
The lack of an adequate missionary literature is forci-
bly brought to one's attention by a survey of the cata-
logues of the various depositos in connection with the
56 LITERATURE
missions. Here we find at our disposal only about 130
books, big and little and on all subjects. In some depart-
ments there is a greater deficiency than in others; but it
must be apparent, even to the blindest, that one of the
very first duties of the various missions is to unite their
efforts in some way so as to secure an ample and satis-
fying literature. The individual effort of the past, while
it has done much, has utterly failed to cope with the
situation.
It is of the utmost importance that the most cordial
cooperation should exist between missionaries and the
Latin-American leadership in productive authorship.
Some go so far as to feel that so long as
the literature is primarily the output of foreign
authors it will be inadequate for the end sought.
A correspondent writes : *'It is impossible for Chris-
tian literature to meet the needs of the people, if it
is to be the work of foreigners. Everywhere there is need
of Christian literature written by Latin-American Chris-
tians presenting Christian verities and Christian ideals
according to their modes of thought and feeling as well
as in their own languages. It is to the Latin- American
writers that we must look, not only for the interpretation
of Christian doctrine to the Latin-American mind, but
also for the exposition of Christian ethics and ideals by
means of fiction.
"The Christian Church should have its own authors
capable of producing tracts which show the marks of the
native mind. Translations are of secondary value, espe-
cially translations from the English. If translations are
used, let them be from one Latin language to another.
But originals are the best and these should be written by
Latin-Americans themselves, or by foreigners who have
lived, eaten and suffered with the Latin-American peo-
ples, and who have so far become Latin Americans.
There are multitudes of translations which have perhaps
given the translators practice in a foreign language, but
which are of little value to the people.
"There should certainly be in our schools special train-
ing for vernacular authorship. Manifestly authorship
COOPERATION IN PRODUCTION 57
will need encouragement and training. The convert who
in his pre-Christian days was a man of learning may
readily turn in his Christian days to authorship, but other
men of capacity and aptitude may need to be helped both
in the furnishing of the mind and in the technique of
authorship before satisfactory work can be expected.
"Our very strongest men should be encouraged to write
tracts and suitable literature for the popular mind, and
not to spend all their energy in preparing the more solid
literature for leaders and teachers. Men equipped for
this work should be urged to write on subjects which
have been for them favorite subjects of study and medita-
tion. Prize essays by able men should be valuable. But
prize essays, although strong and scholarly, are some-
times lacking in that vitality which comes with the ex-
pression of life purposes and convictions."
3. IN THE CONDUCT OF A PRESS BUREAU
Another correspondent suggests that a press bureau
be organized in each field. There should be an editor in
charge who would make assignments to missionaries and
ministers and other workers with the idea of covering
different kinds of news. The bureau should be in touch
with the several sources that supply material for the
press so as to distribute news according to its nature.
Such a bureau, ably conducted, would no doubt result in
getting much more church news before the public.
4. IN THE MAINTENANCE OF BOOKSTORES
The evangelical work in any of the larger cities needs
a well located bookstore. It should present a display
effect on a par with that of the better stores of other
types. Such an establishment would give an added in-
fluence and standing to the evangelical work. Conve-
nience and economy would be promoted. In certain cities
the present agencies could be combined.
5. THE MONTEVIDEO PLAN
In May, 1914, in Montevideo there met some sixty
workers representing fifteen denominational and inter-
denominational missionary bodies, in a conference of
58 LITERATURE
secretaries of the South American Young Men's Chris-
tian Associations. One of the problems up for discussion
was that of literature needed for work among young men
in these countries. Because of the crisis growing out of
the war, and the reduced force of workers since that
meeting, the plans there laid have not been carried for-
ward, but those plans show the results of the careful de-
liberation of a very representative group of evangelical
leaders. The decision was to establish but one publica-
tion headquarters, and that in Montevideo, bringing from
Brazil workers needed for the publication of material in
Portuguese. The periodical it was proposed to publish
was to have had identical editions in both Spanish and
Portuguese, since the fields and conditions and problems
of the different countries are similar. If such an arrange-
ment could be made for this international and inter-
denominational publishing house of which we are writing,
there would be, of course, a great saving in administra-
tion, rent and other expenses, besides the advantage of
having the combined experience on all publication prob-
lems of the leaders in the whole of the Latin-American
field.
6. CONDITIONS OF EFFECTIVE COOPERATION
Any adequate plan for cooperation must begin with
the naming of a board of control or literature commis-
sion, made up of representatives of the various missions,
a sufficient proportion of them to form the executive
committee being resident in or near the city chosen for
headquarters or central office and depository and pub-
lishing house. Such an organization would require from
the first the services of an editor-in-chief, a business
manager, and of others whom the experience of those
given to this kind of work would recommend. Author-
ship would not be limited, but the cooperation of many
outside the circle who have thus far made contributions
could be secured. Many strong men of different coun-
tries would welcome the opportunity to cooperate, es-
pecially on the lines of civic, social and national righteous-
ness, and with reference to many of the gravest problems
COOPERATION IN PRODUCTION 59
that confront any student of the vital needs of these
peoples.
This plan presupposes, of course, a disposition to back
financially and adequately such an enterprise, by initial
and annual subvention. Estimates of such needed sub-
sidies can be given only by those of some experience in
this line, and would depend, too, on the results of the
enterprise, but these subsidies should be sufficient to place
both books and periodicals within the reach even of those
whom ignorance or station or misfortune or the high cost
of living keep in the ranks of the poor. But however
small or large the subvention may be, we shall have
made a great advance when there is a joint committee
and some authoritative information and when that which
is done can be made to serve all. (See below, Appendix
F.)
APPENDIX A
THE CORRESPONDENTS OF THE COMMISSION
ARGENTINA
The Rev. Robert F. Elder (Evangelical Union of South Amer-
ica), Tres Arroyos.
CHILE
The Rev. W. E. Browning, Ph.D. (Principal Institute Ingles),
Santiago.
The Rev. James F. Garvin (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Concepcion.
MEXICO
Prof. Jasper T. Moses (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
formerly President Institute Christiano, Monterey, Mexico.
The Rev. Charles C. Petran (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Mexico City.
PERU
Dr. Robert M. Fenn (Evangelical Union of South America),
Cuzco.
The Rev. W. T. T. Millham (Evangelical Union of South
America), Lima.
The Rev. W. H. Rainey (British and Foreign Bible Society),
Callao.
60
APPENDIX B
A SELECTED LIST OF HOUSES WHICH PUBLISH OR
SELL SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE PUBLICATIONS
American Bible Society, Bible House, Astor Place, New York
City.
American Tract Society, 101 Park Avenue, New York City.
D. Appleton & Co., 35 West 32nd St., New York City.
Bible House of Los Angeles, 702 Knickerbocker Building, Los
Angeles, California.
Biblioteca de "La Nacion," Calle San Martin, 344-360, Buenos
Aires.
Biblioteca "Renacimiento," Calle San Marcos, 42, Madrid; Calle
Libertad, 172, Buenos Aires.
Vda. de Ch. Bouret, 23 Rue Visconti, Paris; Avenida Cinco de
Mayo, 45, Mexico City.
British and Foreign Bible Society, 146 Queen Victoria St., Lon-
don, E. C.
Casa Metodista de Publicaciones, la de Gante, 5, Mexico City.
Casa Publicadora Baptista do Brazil, Rua Conselheiro Magalhaes
Castro, 99, Estacao do Riachuelo, Rio de Janeiro.
Deposito de Publicaciones Evangelicas, Apartado 423, Ponce,
Porto Rico.
"El Faro," 5a de los Heroes 83, Mexico City.
Garnier Hermanos, 6 Rue des Saints-Peres, Paris.
Grant Publishing House, 2827 Hyans St., Los Angeles, California.
Henrich y Cia., Corcega, 348, Barcelona, Spain.
Imprenta Bautista, Leon, Mexico.
Imprenta Metodista, Calle Junin, 976, Buenos Aires.
Imprenta Moderna, Calle Moneda, 131, Santiago, Chile.
Libreria "El Inca," San Cristobal del Tren, 165, Lima, Peru.
Libreria Nacional y Extranjera, Caballero de Gracia, 60, Madrid.
Libreria Rivadavia, Calle Florida, 359, Buenos Aires.
Livraria Evangelica, Rua Sete de Setembro, 71, Rio de Janeiro.
61
62 LITERATURE
Livraria Evangelica, Rua das Janellas Verdes, 32, Lisbon,
Portugal.
Mardin, O. S., 29 E. 22d St., New York City.
Maucci Hermanos, Sarmiento 1057-1065, Buenos Aires; Mayorca
166-168, Barcelona, Spain,
Publishing House M. E. Church, South, Smith and Lamar,
Agents, 810 Broadway, Nashville, Tennessee.
Religious Tract Society, 65 St. Paul's Churchyard, London, E. C.
Scripture Gift Mission, 15 Strand, London.
Sempere, Llorca y Cia., Apartado 130, Valencia, Spain.
Sociedad de Publicaciones Religiosas, Flor Alta 2 y 4, 1°, Madrid.
Sociedad Interdenominacional de Tratados, 730 San Pedro St.,
Los Angeles, California; Apartado 492, Barcelona, Spain.
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Northumberland
Avenue, Charing Cross, London, W. C.
APPENDIX C
A SELECTED LIST OF BOOKS IN SPANISH FOR
CHRISTIAN WORKERS
I. Theology and Criticism
BANKS, J. S. Manual de Doctrina Cristiana. American Tract
Society. $1.00.
BEAUDRY, L. N. Conflictos Espirituales. El Faro. 65 cents.
BETTEX, F. La Religion y las Ciencias Naturales. Libreria
Nacional y Extranjera. 60 cents.
BUSH NELL, HORx\CE. Quien es el Cristo? American Tract
Society. 25 cents.
CANDLER, W. A. Christus Auctor. Smith & Lamar. 75 cents.
DRAWBRIDGE, C. L. Esta Minada la Religion? La Re-
forma, Buenos Aires.
G. H. G. Innovaciones del Romanismo. Libreria Nacional y
Extranjera. 40 cents.
GLADSTONE, W. E. El Papa y el Poder Civil. American
Tract Society. $1.00.
GORE, C. Porque Creemos en Cristo. Juan Kidd y Cia., Re-
conquista 274, Buenos Aires.
HARNACK, A. Esencia del Cristianismo. 2 volumes. Hen-
rich y Cia., Barcelona. 40 cents.
LITTLEDALE, R. F. Razones Sencillas. American Tract So-
ciety. $1.00.
MAIR, A. Evidencias Cristianas. American Tract Society.
$1.00.
NIN FRIAS, A. El Cristianismo. Pedralbes, Montevideo.
ORTS GONZALEZ, JUAN. El Mejor Camino. American
Tract Society. $1.00.
PATTON, F. L. Sumario de la Doctrina^ Cristiana. Presby-
terian Board of Publication, Philadelphia. 45 cents.
RICCI, C. Documentaci6n de los Origenes del Cristianismo. La
Reforma, Buenos Aires.
63
64 LITERATURE
SIMPSON, P. C. Jesucristo, su Realidad y su Significado. Kidd
y Cia.
TILLETT, W. F. La Salvacion Personal. American Tract So-
ciety. $1.45.
II. Commentaries and Biblical Studies
BALDWIN, J. L., and THOMAS M. Lecciones Graduadas. 4
Courses. 20 cents each.
EL NUEVO TESTAMENT9 CON NOTAS. American Tract
Society. Leather, $1.25; imitation, 60 cents,
MILES, A. R. Introduccion al Estudio de las Santas Escrituras.
American Tract Society. 75 cents.
PRATT, H. B. Estudios Biblicos (Genesis, Exodo, Levitico).
American Tract Society. 50 cents each.
RAND, W. W. Diccionario de la Biblia. American Tract So-
ciety. $2.00.
RYLE, J. C. Los Evangelios Explicados. American Tract So-
ciety. Mateo, 75 cents; Marcos, 75 cents; Lucas $1.50; Juan,
$1.50.
SELL, H. T. Estudio de la Biblia por sus Libros. El Faro. 65
cents.
SLOAN, W. H. Concordancia. American Tract Society. $6.00.
THOMSON, H. C. Historia del Antiguo Testamento.
in. Philosophy, Sociology and Education.
ANGELL, NORMAN. La Grande Ilusion. Thomas Nelson &
Sons. 30 cents.
BERGSON, HENRI. La Evolucion Creadora. 2 volumes. El
Renacimiento. $1.40,
COLMO, A. Los Raises de la America Latina. Hijos de Reno,
Madrid. $3.00.
DAVIS, E. Manual Cientifico de Temperancia. W. C. T. U.,
Evanston, 111. 50 cents.
DRUMMOND, HENRY. La Ley Natural en el Mundo Espiri-
tual. El Faro. $2.00.
EUCKEN, RUDOLF. Grandes Corrientes del Pensamiento
Contemporaneo. Daniel Jorro, Madrid. $1.60.
MARX, CARL. El Capital. Sempere, Llorca y Cia. 55 cents.
MUIRHEAD, J. H. Elementos de fitica. Smith & Lamar. 75
cents.
NELSON, ERNESTO. Hacia la Universidad del Futuro.
Sempere, Llorca y Cia. 20 cents.
OSUNA, ANDRfiS. Psicologia Pedagogica. Smith & Lamar.
$1.25.
SPENCER, HERBERT. La Educacion. Libreria Nacional y
Extranjera. 20 cents.
STALL, SYLVANUS, y WOOD, ALLEN M. Pureza y
Verdad ; Lo Que Debe Saber el Nifio ; el Joven ; la Nina;
la Joven, etc. Bailey-Bailliere, Madrid. $1.00 each.
APPENDIX C 65
IV. History and Biography.
FISHER, G. P. Historia de la Reformacion. American Tract
Society. $1.50.
FITZMAURICE-KELLEY, JAMES. Historia de la Litera-
tura Espanola. El Renacimiento. $2.00.
HAYGOOD, A. G. El Hombre de Galilea. Smith & Lamar. 50
cents.
HURST, J. F. Historia Compendiada de la Iglesia. Smith &
Lamar. $1.50.
KELLER, HELEN. Historia de mi Vida. Maucci Hermanos.
40 cents.
LELIEVRE, M. Juan Wesley. Smith & Lamar. $1.25.
STALKER, JAMES. Vida de Cristo. American Tract So-
ciety. 60 cents.
STALKER, JAMES. Vida de San Pablo. American Tract So-
ciety. 60 cents.
VARETTO, JUAN C. Heroes y Martires de la Obra Misionera.
Imprenta Metodista, Buenos Aires. $2.00.
WASHINGTON, BOOKER T. De Esclavo a Catedratico. D.
Appleton & Co. 25 cents.
ZULOAGA, J. U. Martin Lutero. Sociedad de Publicaciones
Religiosas. 20 cents.
V. Organization and Methods
ATKINS, JAMES. El Reino de Dios en Mantillas. Smith &
Lamar. 75 cents.
HENDRIX, E. R. Trabajo Habil para el Maestro. Smith &
Lamar. 75 cents.
JOHNSON, HERRICK. El Ministerio Ideal. El Faro. $2.50.
NEELY, T. B. La Predicacion. Imprenta Metodista, Buenos
Aires. $1.25.
SLATTERY, MARGARET. Platicas con los Maestros de la
Escuela Dominical. Methodist Book Concern, New York.
25 cents.
TRUMBULL, H. C. Trabajo Personal con Individuos. El
Faro. 25 cents.
WILSON, NEBLETT & STORY. Manual Normal. American
Tract Society. $1.00.
VI. Books for Spiritual Culture
AINSLIE, P. Dios y Yo. Imprenta Metodista. Buenos Aires.
55 cents.
A KEMPIS, THOMAS. Imitaci6n de Cristo. Gamier Her-
manos. 20 cents.
BUNYAN, JOHN. El Peregrine y la Peregrina. Sociedad de
Publicaciones Religiosas. 75 cents.
DRUMMOND, HENRY. La Cosa mas Grande en el Mundo.
Libreria Nacional y Extranjera. 20 cents.
66 LITERATURE
JAMES, WILLIAM. Fases del Sentimiento Religioso. Men-
desky, Buenos Aires. 30 cents.
JAMES, WILLIAM. Los Ideales de la Vida. Henrich y Cia.
40 cents.
MURRAY, A. Con Cristo en la Escuela de la Oracion. La
Reforma, Buenos Aires. 60 cents.
SPURGEON, CHARLES H. Sermones. El Faro. 50 cents.
TORREY, R. A. Como Obtener la Plenitud de Poder. Smith
& Lamar. 40 cents.
WESLEY, JOHN. Sermones. Smith & Lamar, $1.50.
VII. Fiction and General Literature.
ALCOCK, D. Los Hermanos Espaiioles. Sociedad de Publi-
caciones Religiosas. $1.00.
CLARK, FELICIA BUTTZ. El Jorobado de Nuremburgo. So-
ciedad de Publicaciones Religiosas. 35 cents.
CLARK, HATTIE A. El Padre Jeronimo. American Tract So-
ciety. $1.00.
DARIO, RUBfiN. Prosas Profanas. Bouret. 60 cents.
EBERS, GEORGE. La Hija del Rey de Egipto. Maucci. $1.20.
EMERSON, R. W. Siete Ensayos. Henrich y Cia. 40 cents.
FLAMMARION, CAMILLE. Dios en la Naturaleza. Bouret.
94 cents.
GORDIANO, S. F. Transformacion y Redencion. Deposito de
Libros Evangelicos, Ponce, Porto Rico. $1.00.
HUGO, VICTOR. Los Miserables. 2 volumes. El Faro. $2.25.
LESLIE, EMMA. Glaucia. Sociedad de Publicaciones Religi-
osas. 40 cents.
MAETERLINCK, MAURICE. La Vida de las Abejas. "La
Nacion." 30 cents.
MANZONI, ALESSANDRO. Los Novios. 2 volumes. "La
Nacion." 50 cents.
MARDEN, O. S. Abrirse Paso. Author's address : 29 E. 22nd
St., New York City. $1.25.
MARTINEZ, E. Julian y la Biblia. Sociedad de Publicaciones
Religiosas. 12 cents.
MARTINEZ, E. Julian y la Biblia. Sociedad de Publicaciones
Religiosas. 20 cents.
PEZA, JUAN DE DIOS. Cantos del Hogar. Bouret. 60 cents.
RUSKIN, JOHN. Las Siete Lamparas de la Arquitectura.
Sempere, Llorca & Co., Valencia. 20 cents.
SIENKIfiWICZ, H. Quo Vadis? 4 volumes. "La Nacion."
$1.00.
SMILES,^ SAMUEL. El Caracter. Sociedad de Publicaciones
Religiosas. 30 cents.
TOLSTOY, LEO. Resurreccion. 2 volumes. "La Nacion."
50 cents.
VAN DYKE, HENRY. La Historia del Otro Mago. Sociedad
de Publicaciones Religiosas. 40 cents.
APPENDIX C 67
WAGNER, CHARLES. La Vida Sencilla. Imprenta Metodista,
Buenos Aires. 75 cents.
WALLACE, LEW. Ben Hur. 2 volumes. "La Nacion." 50
cents.
WISEMAN, CARDINAL. Fabiola. 2 volumes. Bouret, Paris.
80 cents.
YOUNG, EGERTON R. Ovikapun. El Faro. 50 cents.
ZOLA. EMILE. Roma.
VIII. Juvenile.
AMICIS, E. DE. Corazon. El Renacimiento. 25 cents.
ANDERSEN, HANS CHRISTL\N. Cuentos. "Lz Nacion."
25 cents.
KINGSLEY, FLORENCE. Esteban, un Soldado de la Cruz.
El Faro. $1.00.
NEWBERRY, L. B. El Atleta de Filipos. 65 cents.
ROY, CHRISTINE. En el Pais del Sol. Sociedad de Publica-
ciones Religiosas.
SEWELL, ANA. Azabache. D. Appleton & Co. 25 cents.
TORRES, EMILIO. Dialogos y Recitaciones. El Faro. $1.00.
APPENDIX D
QUESTIONS SENT TO CORRESPONDENTS
1. What books has your Church published in Spanish (give
complete list) :
(1) From original manuscripts?
(2) Translated?
2. What has been your method :
(1) In preparing manuscripts?
(2) In making the publication?
3. What books has your Church published in Spanish during
the last ten years?
4. What is your method for publishing tracts?
5. What tracts has your Church published during the last ten
years ?
6. What periodicals do you publish?
(1) Church papers.
(2) Sunday-school helps.
(3) Any other kind.
7. What is your method for circulating Christian literature?
8. What are the amounts spent every year in Christian publi-
cations ?
(1) From your Board of Missions.
(2) From other sources.
9. What has your Church done to select, classify and recom-
mend secular literature?
10. What is the amount spent annually by your Board of Mis-
sions in Latin America?
(1) For general missionary work.^
(2) For Christian literature especially.
68
APPENDIX E
A SUMMARY OF THE REPLIES
Books published: Original Translated
By the Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
Report sent from Brownsville, Tex 1
By the American Missionary Associa-
tion. Report sent from New York
By the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Report from Porto Rico 2
By the United Brethren. Report sent
from Porto Rico 1
By the Methodist Episcopal Church :
In Argentina 16 8
In Mexico 35 30
In Chile 1 3
By the Disciples of Christ in Mexico 2 ^
In Argentina 1
By the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. Report sent from Nashville,
Tenn 6 34
By the Presbyterian Church in U. S. A. :
In Mexico 7 2^
In Chile 2 ?>
In Guatemala 1
By the American Friends in Cuba 23
By the Southern Baptist Convention :
In Brazil 2 10
Unclassified Reports :
W. C. Morris from Buenos Aires 39 9
C. N. Mitchell from Bolivia 1
In Argentina 1 1
Tli "l64
Note : In several of these report pamphlets were included.
69
70 LITERATURE
2. Methods.
(1) Preparing manuscripts. Two reports state that the man-
uscripts were prepared by "voluntary and individual initiative";
six state that the trans^lations were made by missionaries and
the manuscripts corrected by a native or by a committee; the
Methodist Episcopal Church at the beginning of its work in
Mexico had an official paid translator; the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, has been using in connection with the Methodist
Publishing House in Nashville, Tenn., an official translator for
twenty-six years.
(2) Publication, (a) Five have their own printing presses,
and two have used secular presses, (b) Three published the
original in a periodical, and then used the same type for the
book form, (c) Three reports speak about how the expenses
are paid. The Method/St Episcopal Church in Mexico: expenses
paid by th^ mission Board with assistance from the American
Tract Society. The Presbyterian Church in Mexico : expenses
paid by the mission Board. Methodist Episcopal Church, South :
one-half of translator's salary, composition and plates paid by
the mission Board, and the other half of the translator's salary
and the rest of the expenses paid by the publishing house, (d)
One report states that fox^ the work of publication the authoriza-
tion of a Press Committee is required.
3. Books Published During the Last Ten Years:
By the Protestant Episcopal Church in Porto Rico 2
By Lutherans in Porto Rico 1
By the Methodist Episcopal Church in Argentina 24
By the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico 41
By the Disciples of Christ in Mexico 5
By the Disciples of Christ in Argentina 1
By the Methodist Episcopal Church, South 19
By the Presbyterians in Mexico 16
By the Presbyterians in Chile 2
By the Baptists :
In Brazil 6
In Argentina 2
In Bolivia, according to report from C. N. Mitchell... 1
120
4. Methods of Publishing Tracts.
(1) Preparation of the original. Two reports state that most
of the tracts published are translations ; the Disciples have pub-
lished some original tracts in Mexico. As to this, the Rev.
J. W. Butler, from Mexico City, says : "Our method for publish-
ing tracts has been as follows : Many of these have been original
manuscripts, but especially in 'the earlier days of the mission a
good part of them have been translations. Now, however, we
have more originals than translations." An interesting item is
given by the Rev. A. G. Baker, from Bolivia: "As a general
APPENDIX E 71
rule we publish short tracts and leaflets for special occasions,
feasts, etc." It seems that most of the work has been done by
individual initiative; but five correspondents refer to some kind
of press committees. In the report from the Evangelical Union
of South America, sent from Peru, mention is made of the
Andean Tract Society, which comprises the foreign and Chris-
tian workers of Lima and Callao, and is supported by many in
the provinces. We quote the following paragraph: "Each tract
deals with some outstanding aspect of evangelical truth in its
relation to the religions of the country, and is published in the
form of a monthly periodical entitled El Alba (The Dawn),
20,000 of one tract being printed each month. Previous to the
formation of the above society, tracts were written or trans-
lated from time to time by members of the staff and printed by
the mission press 'El Inca.' For a number of years a system
of postal propaganda has been established, whereby packets of
assorted tracts have been supplied at a merely nominal figure."
In Porto Rico, as the Churches have formed a federation, there
is a Committee on Literature appointed by the Federation. In
regard to this, the Rev. P. W. Drury of the United Brethren
Church says : "A new plan has been formed whereby all of the
denominations in Porto Rico have available tracts. The Com-
mittee on Literature of the evangelical Churches of Porto Rico
has begun the pubHcation of tracts in editions of 25,000 and up.
These are sold to the different workers, who use their own
method for distribution."
(2) Method of publication. Besides the methods mentioned
above, three correspondents state that certain tracts were pub-
lished first in periodicals and then were republished in tract
form.
(3) Expenses. One correspondent says : "Work has been
done locally, and paid for by special gifts." Another says :
"Writers themselves pay expenses." The Rev. G. E. Schilling
of Chile refers to one man who is financing the publication of
tracts. Dr. J. W. Butler says : "In the early days of Protestant
missions in Mexico, for several years we had a grant from the
Religious Tract Society of London, which was made to all the
missions in the country, and was distributed according to rules
adopted by a local committee in this city. Our own Methodist
Tract Society aided us for many years with an annual subsidy
varying in amount from $300 to $1,000. We have also had pri-
vate gifts and collections here on the field for the publication of
tracts, and by all such means we have now for a long time
endeavored to circulate millions of pages annually."
5. Tracts Published During the Last Ten Years:
By the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. Report sent
from Brownsville, Tex 1
By the American Missionary Association. Report sent
from New York: "Organization leaflets."
By the Protestant Episcopal Church in Porto Rico.... 4
72 LITERATURE
By the United Brethren in Porto Rico... 1
By the Methodist Episcopal Church in Porto Rico 8
By the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mexico 24
By the Canadian Baptist Church in Bolivia 2
By the Disciples of Christ in Argentina 2
By Lutherans in Porto Rico 1
By the Disciples of Christ in Porto Rico 2
By the Disciples of Christ in Mexico 33
By the Disciples of Christ in Mexico for Christian En-
deavor 21
By the Evangelical Union of South America in Peru
through the Andean Tract Society 17
By the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A 7
By the Canadian Baptists in Bolivia 2
125
6. Periodicals Published.
United Brethren: In Porto Rico, Puerto Rico Evangelico, in
connection with the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches.
El Sendero, Rayos de Luz, El Amiga and Joyas independently.
Methodist Episcopal Church: In Porto Rico, El Defensor
Cristiano; in Argentina, El Estandarte Evangelico, also La
Aurora; in Mexico, El Abogado Cristiano, Hojas Bereanas, Mex-
ico, and a medical paper in Guanajuato; also cooperating with
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and with the Presby-
terians to supply Graded Lessons. In Chile, El Heraldo Cris-
tiano, in cooperation with the Presbyterian Church; a monthly
for the Peru Mission and a small paper printed in Boliva.
Disciples of Christ: In Porto Rico, cooperate in the publica-
tion of Puerto Rico Evangelico; in Mexico, La Via de Paz, also
El Discipulo.
Evangelical Union of South America: In Argentina, El Tes-
tigo, also Lus y Verdad (printed by the Victoria Gospel Press) ;
in Peru, El Heraldo, also a complete series of International Les-
sons, La Temperancia (official organ of the National Temperance
Society), and La Educacion Nacional (organ of the Normal
Training College for Teachers).
Methodist Episcopal Church, South: In Mexico, El Evangel-
ista Mexicano; also Graded Lessons, in combination with other
Churches; in Cuba, El Evangelista Cubano; in Brazil, O Testu-
minto.
Presbyterians: In Mexico, El Faro, El Fanal, and El Eco de
Coyoacan; in Chile, El Heraldo Cristiano, in cooperation with
the Methodist Episcopal mission.
American Friends: In Cuba, El Ramo de Olivo, Manf::anas de
Oro, and Graded Lessons in Spanish, also for a time. El Faro
Cristiano.
Southern Baptist Convention: In Brazil, 0 Jornal Baptista,
Quarterly Review 0 Infantil, Monthly Bulletin and Quarterly
APPENDIX E 73
for the Ladies' Society. In Argentina, El Expositor BauHsta,
also La Escuela Bihlica.
In Guatemala, El Mensajero, for all Central America.
In Argentina, La Reforma.
In Bolivia, El Amigo de la Verdad.
7. Method for Circulating Literature.
Out of the thirty reports received, twenty state that the dis-
tribution is made through missionaries, preachers and other
workers. Four refer to libraries or reading rooms. Four book
depositories or agencies are mentioned; three in Mexico (M. E.,
Pres., Bapt.), two in Chile (M. E., Pres.), two in Argentina
(M. E., Ev. Union S. A.), one in Peru (Ev. U. S. A.), and one
in Porto Rico, under the Federation of Churches, one in Vene-
zuela (Scand. All. Miss. N. A.), one in Nashville (M. E. So.),
the American Tract Society of New York and The Religious
Tract Society of London.
8 Amounts Spent Yearly for Christian Publications.
Original Translated
Presbyterian Church in the U. S.... $240 $
World's Sunday School Association. 300
Bible House 308
Southern Baptist Convention 13,947
United Brethren in Porto Rico 125 425
Methodist Episcopal Church :
In Porto Rico 900 400
In Mexico 1,000*
In Uruguay from 200 to 1,000 500
In Chile 800 1,000
Disciples of Christ :
In Porto Rico 200 100
In Mexico 930 50
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 4,000 ....
Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.:
In Mexico from 2,800 to 3,800 1,200 to 2,000
In Chile from 600 to 800
American Friends in Cuba 500 250
In Guatemala, report of W. B. Alli-
son 850 to 1,000 400
In Bolivia, report of C. W. Mitchell 400
In Bolivia, report of A. G. Baker 150
• Board of Missions paid one-half of agent's salary.
9. What Has Been Done to Select, Classify and Recommend
Secular Material.
Four reports show that something has been done individually
and through Christian Endeavor Societies. The report of the
Young Men's Christian Association in Mexico says: "We have
given a considerable amount of time to this. Many of the best
74 LITERATURE
books available we have in our library for circulation among
our members. Lists have also from time to time been prepared
and posted. In a really practical way, however, we have made
no beginning, because of lack of funds and lack of really usable
literature. The Presbyterian Church and the Methodist Episco-
pal Church through their book agencies in Mexico, and in mu-
tual cooperation, have arranged a catalogue containing useful
secular Hterature. There is a permanent catalogue of books in
stock on the covers of El Testigo (E. U. S. A.).
APPENDIX F
A PROPOSED PLAN FOR COOPERATION IN THE PRO-
DUCTION, PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF EVANGELICAL LITERATURE FOR
LATIN AMERICA
Growing out of the researches of the Commission and the sug-
gestions of its correspondents, is the following plan, presented to
the Congress for its consideration :
1. A Latin-American Committee similar to the present Edin-
burgh Continuation Committee, except that it should be officially
representative of the several Societies.
2. A subcommittee of this body appointed by it (consisting
of five or more) for the supervision of literature.
3. A corps of editors.
4. A joint committee in each one of the Latin-American
countries.
5. The manufacture and publication of books in the United
States.
6. A single joint publishing house and periodical in each re-
public, and the issue of tracts and periodicals by these houses.
7. The use of these houses as depositories and agencies of the
general committee.
8. An interdenominational expense account.
DETAILS OF PLAN
The plan given above is dealt with in detail below, the para-
graph numbers in each case referring to the like numbered item
in the plan:
1. The permanent committee on Latin America should be of
the same general type as the present Continuation Committee of
the World Missionary Conference, excr-pt that distinct advan-
tage would arise from making it officially representative of the
several Societies.
75
76 LITERATURE
2. The subcommittee on literature should be appointed by
this general committee. It should then :
a. Select the editors which for the general office in the United
States should consist of one editor-in-chief, one editor for Span-
ish and one for Portuguese. It is thought that the general editor
should be a scholar in English, and that the assistants should
be one whose native tongue is Spanish, and one whose native
tongue is Portuguese.
b. Pass upon all manuscripts submitted, whether translated or
original.
c. Have supervision of the work of the editors and be re-
sponsible for their compensation.
d. Have general charge of the work of the separate agencies
and committees in the several countries of Latin America.
e. Receive and dispense all funds contributed for Christian
literature in Latin America.
3. The editors, consisting of one general and two special ed-
itors, should:
a. Have charge of preparing and editing manuscripts, both
originals and translations.
b. Employ translators, under the direction of the committee,
and purchase material for books.
c. Travel through the various countries and preside over the
meetings of local committees on literature, representing before
them the general committee.
d. Promote the work of literature by calling meetings of the
local committees, by giving advice and stimulation to the local
publishing houses in the matter of selling books and distribut-
ing tracts and leaflets, and by preparing and sending out a gen-
eral catalogue, circulars and other advertising matter.
e. Edit the reports of the general committee on literature.
4. An interdenominational committee should be formed in
every country where the cooperating Societies have missions.
Its members shall be representatives of these missions duly
elected for the purpose. Its duties shall be :
o. To take charge of the local union publishing house.
b. To select the staff for editing the church papers, the Sun-
day-school papers, tracts, etc.
c. To have general supervision of all local publications.
d. To select the business managers of the publishing houses
and to assist in the organization of their staffs.
e. To take charge of the depository of books and the agency
of publications and to promote activity in the sale and distri-
bution of literature.
/. To pass upon the expense accounts of the publishing
houses, papers, Sunday-school li^rrature, etc., and to assign to
each Society the part of this expense for which it should be
responsible.
g. To see that a vigorous campaign is inaugurated for the
circulation of the periodicals and the sale of books.
APPENDIX F 'jy
5. The organization provided for in paragraphs "2" and "4"
is for the purpose of issuing books only. Whether a single pub-
lishing house should be designated for the manufacture of these
books, or whether such manufacture should be let by contract to
outside presses, would have to be determined by the general sub-
committee on literature. It is expected that this committee and
the editors would have headquarters in the United States.
6. This item is sufficiently provided for in the details under
paragraph 4.
7. Explained under paragraph 4.
8. The expense of the general committee and editors should
be taken care of by means of an appropriation by the several
Boards as well as by such gifts and contributions as may come
to this committee. It has been estimated that an assessment of
one percent, of all monies expended in Latin America by the
several missions would be a sufficient fund for inaugurating the
work of this committee with its editors. The expenses of the
publishing houses and periodicals in the various countries will
be estimated by the local committees and such provision made
for meeting them as may be agreed upon by those committees
and by the representatives of the general committee in the United
States.
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUS-
SION OF THE REPORT
At the Meeting of the Congress on
Tuesday, February, 15, 1916
AGENDA FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT
I. In each principal area of Latin America what literature is
most urgently needed: (1) for the educated classes who do not
accept the Christian position; (2) for less educated non-evan-
gelicals; (3) for the building up of evangelical church members;
(4) for the training of ministers and other Christian workers?
II. What can be done to raise up able writers, both among
Latin Americans and missionaries? To what extent would
setting apart workers for specified pieces of writing for a
limited time meet the case?
III. Is there need in any area represented in the Congress for
consolidation or federation of existing agencies in order to pre-
vent overlapping and to promote the preparation of the litera-
ture most needed?
IV. What are the most serious obstacles In the way of some
such plan as that outlined in Appendix C? Is it desirable to
ask the "Committee on Cooperation in Latin America" to take
necessary steps to put into operation some such plan?
V. What causes you most solicitude regarding the existing
translations of the Bible, and also concerning Bible circulation?
VI. Suggestions in the light of experience as to how to insure
the better distribution and use of Christian literature.
VII. How far are the existing church papers meeting the
needs of the situation, and how may they be improved?
VIII. How may the Christian forces make larger and more
effective use of the secular press?
Considerations of space have made it necessary to abbreviate
the addresses and remarks made in the course of the presenta-
tion and discussion of this Report. In doing this the attempt
has been made to preserve everything that throws light upon
the subjects considered in the Report. It has not been found
possible in many cases to submit the Report of the addresses to
those who delivered them for their revision.
80
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE
REPORT ON LITERATURE
Dr. R. E. Speer: It was the expectation until just before the
Congress assembled that Prof. Osuna would be able to present
the report of Commission IV on Literature. But he has been
assigned by the Government of Mexico to what is perhaps the
most responsible position in connection with education in that
country and is unable to be present. Through Dr. Butler, he has
sent his greetings to this Congress with many regrets that he
cannot be with us. The report on Literature will be presented
by Dr. Winton.
Rev. George B. Winton, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, Nashville, Tenn.) : I desire first to bring to your atten-
tion several aspects of the work of the Commission not em-
bodied in the printed Report. One of these is before your eyes
in the literature exhibit. Another is the completion of a full
bibliography of works already translated into Spanish and Portu-
guese, of such a character as we may appropriately recommend.
That work is in process and will be published later in a separate
pamphlet. The third element of activity is the correspondence.
A questionnaire was sent out by Dr. Patton of Boston on the
subject of cooperation in publishing plants, and an extensive
body of information has been accumulated in reply to it._
I would not seem to apologize for the Report, to which a
good deal of attention has been given. I think it only right,
however, to say that the chairman of this committee has been
obliged to depend much on those who were corresponding with
him. There was a lack of coordination which we all feel. There
was a failure of the mails, so that the Report is less complete
than it should be and will be in its final form. I might say also of
Mr. Osuna that while he makes a very free use of English, he is
rather timid about writing the language. So he secured con-
81
82 LITERATURE
tributions from many other persons who would write for him,
and there is a slight lack of unity due to that fact.
This Commission prides itself on having a topic of which
there is only one view to be taken. Our whole outlook is roseate.
We have no difficulties that are real obstacles. They are such
that we do not worry about them. We present to you a sub-
ject, which, more than any other, is practically the same in the
minds of us all. That this is the line of missionary activity in
which cooperation is easiest may be seen in the fact that it has
already largely begun. Take, for example, our group of Sun-
day-school publications, the beginning of the system of graded
lessons as arranged by the denominational houses for the use of
all. Plans were made for the distribution of the whole of the
graded course of lessons among the several presses, so that there
would be no duplications, denomination preferences or politics.
Again, our outlook is roseate for the simple reason that we feel
that we know our ground. We know the literary achievements
which will be of the most benefit to Latin America. We have
already tested nearly all of these problems in our own and other
countries. We begin on the great foundation stone of the
Bible, and on that we can build a literature for Christian nur-
ture. I am glad to believe that it is the purpose of God that
the minds of men shall be aroused. I read some years ago a
magazine article by that strange genius, Lafcadio Hearne, who
had spent some time in the West Indies, and had absorbed the
atmosphere of the life there. He told how his Negro nurse,
during the time he was convalescing from malarial fever, would
slip into the room with her bare feet, making almost no noise,
and speaking to him in her soft, gentle patois would say, "Ne
pense pas" ("Don't think"), and I have felt that that was often
the word of the religious teachers of Latin America. "No se
Calient e la caheza" ("Don't get your head hot") they say in
Spanish. But men must think. The movement arousing the
minds of these peoples is a movement that cannot be stopped.
It grows out of modern commerce and modern life. The present
situation demands that men shall be aroused intellectually, and
I am glad that the religion of Jesus Christ also does arouse
the mind of man. In fact, it is presented to us as the religion
of light. The light of the Sun of Righteousness burst on the
world when Jesus came. ^ The great apostle Paul, when he
looked over the nations with whom he had to deal, and saw
how they had been submerged in deadly slumber, called out,
"Awake thou that sleepest and Christ shall give thee light." We
are to be the bearers of that light, which is not spread abroad
without full assurance that God's providence will take care of it.
We trust that this literature that we are beginning to prepare
will send rays of light abroad into Latin America. I have been
riding about the city in my host's automobile. He told me
yesterday how the gasoline cylinders can be made to serve as a
brake, if the chauffeur does not send a spark through them. I
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 83
suspect that the human mind is like that car. We do not get
any satisfactory results without the spark. I am looking for-
ward to the time when the life of all nations shall he more
and more stimulated because of the spark that we proposed to
send among them, a shock which we shall send abroad in the
world through the influence on men of Jesus Christ and His
religion.
Literature for the Uneducated.
Rev. Roberto Elphick (Methodist Episcopal Church, Valpa-
raiso, Chile) : The uneducated does not necessarily mean the ig-
norant. There are many uneducated people in South America who
are thinking and are striving to understand things. These men
belong to the artisan class, and in spite of the bad conditions of
their occupation, they are thinking a little more than about the
way of getting their daily bread. They are thinking about
economic problems and social problems, and they want to know
how best to bring their ideas into real use. They devour the
literature circulated by the anarchist and the socialist classes.
They are not very much attached to the Roman Catholic Church,
nor wholly under the influence of the priest. They think with
independence. They are not depending on the upper classes,
since they live by the work of their own hands. We can go
among them with our literature with great hopes of success.
The books we put in the hands of these uneducated people
should, no doubt, be very simple. There are three kinds to
recommend. First, of course, the New Testament. It should be
put in the hands of these people rather than the Bible, because
they need the simple story of Jesus. We should make it attrac-
tive by good printing and binding and pictures. Then there is
another kind of literature which is of religious value, but pub-
lished in cheap form, like "Que Debemos Creer," "Razones Sen-
cillas," "Estudios Religiosos," "El Peregrino" and "El Pais del
Sol." Thirdly, in the way of controversial books I should like
to recommend "Pepa y la Virgen," which has made more con-
versions than any other book I know.
Rev. Alejandro Trevino (Baptist Church in Mexico, Mon-
terey) : Much good v.^ork has been done in Mexico, but
there are still some deficiencies. My first recommendation is
that simple tracts should be published that will reach the homes
that are in Mexico close to the mission. Many families have
been converted by such tracts, which are simple statements of
the gospel truth. In the second place, I would recommend for
the middle class periodicals well edited, not translations in bad
Spanish like some that have been made. Whoever tries to write
in Spanish should not make their document half English. And
thirdly, I would recommend for the upper class good evangelical
books. The country is flooded with pernicious translations which
are poorly translated and poorly written and with French novels
and such literature, but we need good evangelical books.
84 LITERATURE
Senorita Juana Palacios (Methodist Episcopal Church in
Mexico, Mexico City) : I desire to say a few words about
the way in which the Bible should be presented in Mexico to the
educated classes. We want everybody in Mexico to read the
Bible, but the Roman Catholic Church has accustomed the people
to think that not everybody can understand the Bible and that it
is a very queer book. We must realize that there is some truth
in what they say. Unless there has been special preparation
for the reading of the Bible, very many persons might be
shocked in reading it the first time. I was talking with the
president of the University of Puebla, speaking with him about
the Word of God, and he said, "Don't you know the Bible is
a book that I would never put in the hands of my daughters?"
I thought he would go on to speak about the historical diffi-
culties, but it was not that. When I asked him why, he said,
"It is a very immoral book." Now he is a man of great culture.
I said to him, "Why do you say that?" He said, "You know
that many of the psalms are immoral ; they teach vengeance and
I do not care to put them into the hands of my daughters."
The Old Testament can not be understood as we understand it,
unless there has been some preparation for the use of it. I
think therefore that we should not put the Old Testament stories
into the hands of persons who have not had that preparation.
The gospels are very different. I shall always remember with
pleasure the experience that I had not very long ago in the
State Normal School of Mexico City. I was trying to explain
to some students certain details and referred to the words of
Christ. Among the students was a girl who asked, "Who wrote
those words?" and I said, "Those are the words of Christ," and
she said, "How beautiful." It was her first impression but ex-
actly the right one.
What Literature is Most Urgently Needed for the Training
OF Ministers and Other Christian Workers?
Rev. John Howland, D.D. (American Board of Commission-
ers for Foreign Missions, Chihuahua) : My theme does not
mean literature for theological seminaries, because we have no
institutions that are really worthy of that name. One of the
sorest and yet the most urgent needs in all this Latin American
world is the preparation of workers and ministers. We are
getting some strong men, but it is very hard to get enough of
them. It is hard to keep them when we have got them, there
is such a tremendous current drawing them away. Men have to
educate their families. They can get double, yes treble the
missionary salary in other work. We must raise up more Chris-
tian workers, not more ministers necessarily, but leaders of some
sort. One trouble with the native ministry is that Latin Ameri-
cans consider it to be a profession to which its members are
destined from their earliest youth. They need to feel acutely that
they are in the pulpit for no other purpose than to convert souls.
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 85
I would therefore emphasize, first of all, books on the spiritual
life which will touch the heart and develop the longing for souls
that gives one no rest when he sees his countrymen drifting, —
and some of them are very rapidly drifting down towards de-
struction. Another important need is for commentaries. It is a
fearful condemnation of the work of the missionary in Latin
America that we have not any good commentary for use. The
four Gospels and the first three books of the Bible are the only
ones on which comments are available. The Tract Society has
put out a valuable little commentary on the New Testament, but
it is very meagre. And then we need something in the line of
exposition. Some men are trying to furnish help by way of the
suggestions of the Homiletical Review. It is a very convenient
publication. It is very nice to be able on Sunday morning to
take up a book, take out a little outline and go into the pulpit
and preach. But the habit of doing this is dangerous, particular-
ly for young men in the ministry.
Rev. W. H. Teeter (Methodist Episcopal Church, Santiago) :
We need whatever literature is required for the development of
a Christian ministry. I wish there might be some good books
translated. One of the first I would like to see is Dr. King's
"Ethics of Jesus." We should eliminate the denominational in
all books that are translated, so that they may be of interest to all.
I have occasion once in a while to teach a certain book. It is by
a Methodist author and in the class I have some Presbyterians.
There is one chapter about the middle of the book given up
entirely to pointing out the errors of Presbyterianism. That
book takes up problems that were placed on the shelf almost a
century ago and should be eliminated entirely. What we want
is to get together. We have enough points of contact now, so
that we can develop a literature of the Christian church. The
literature needed for the training of preachers ought to be tried
out in the classroom, not merely once or twice, but for a term
of years before being printed in final form. Then we will have
a result which is worth while. We ought to do our work and
our thinking in twentieth century terms. The nineteenth cen-
tury was all right, but its literature is not that for the present
day. If we are going to lag behind a century in our theological
books, then we are going to have theological teachers who are a
century behind.
Mrs. Lemuel C. Barnes (Woman's American Baptist Home
Mission Society, New York (lity) : In Chapter II of the Report
of Commission IV, on page 15, we read : "According to the
best available statistics, there are in Mexico about 5,000,000, in
South America about 6,000,000, and in Central America some 1,-
700,000 people, of native tribes, still employing their own lan-
guages and dialects. The policy of the various governments is
to teach them the use of Spanish — in Brazil of the Portuguese.
In the course of time these dialects will gradually die out." The
figures here quoted total 12,700,000 Indians, unacquainted with
86 LITERATURE
the language of the country in which they live, and consequently
unreached and unreachable through literature or oral teaching
in those languages. Likewise, in the third section of Chapter III
of the Report of Commission I, page 86, it states: "Dr. Leon,
the most recent student of the linguistic families of Mexico,
has divided them into seventeen families and one hundred and
eighty dialects," and that "at least two millions of them do not
speak any other language than their tribal dialects." We note
that these statements are made concerning a single one of the
Latin-American republics, Mexico. Had it been practicable to
secure equally reliable statistics of all Latin American countries
the number of individuals and tribes so conditioned would have
been found to be vastly greater. For the most part these people
are entirely illiterate. Needless to say, the process of putting
literature into their languages and dialects is almost prohibitive-
ly slow, since many of the dialects have never been reduced to
writing. Even the British and Foreign Bible Society and the
American Bible Society together, with all their facilities, with
all their devoted courage, report translating and publishing mere-
ly "portions of the Scriptures," and in only fifteen of these hun-
dreds of dialects, during the last one hundred years. In view
of the time, vitality and money required for such work and the
relative meagreness of the results, shall we not cooperate with
the various governments in teaching the Indians the dominant
language in the countries in which they live, — the only countries
which they can claim as in any sense of their own? Were this
done, not only the Scriptures in their entirety, but all other
Christian literature which may be published in the two dominant
languages, Spanish and Portuguese, would be available for Indi-
ans, as well as for all other dements in the populations of those
countries. Would not this be better from every point of view
than to wait for the hundreds of dialects to be reduced to written
language form, then to teach them the art of reading, unknown
to them in any form, then to translate Scripture and other
literary material into that form, and finally to teach that form
to those who are to be teachers of the Indians? Were it possi-
ble to accomplish all this within the lifetime of any who now
are living, would it be the most desirable method of approach to
the Indian "problem" in any country? Would it not foster in
the Indians a habit of separateness, of segregation from the
common life and common interests of the republics to which
they belong?
We have abundant testimony to the possession by the Indian,
however illiterate, of native qualities which under instruction
would make them valuable citizens. They need education and
moral idealism, and the shortest way of attaining both is by
teaching them Spanish or Portuguese, as the case may be, giv-
ing them, from the first day, literature and life together. I
should not dare to raise these questions if there was nothing
more substantial than theories with which to answer them. For
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 87
six years I have been watching the solution of similar problems
in the United States of North America. In New York City more
than sixty languages and dialects are spoken. Many of the
people speaking them are illiterate when they reach our shores.
Most of the ilHterates come from countries in which the Bible
is not an open book. I have seen half a dozen different nation-
alities represented in one class, no member of the class knowing
one word of English. I have seen them all making excellent
progress under the instruction of a teacher knowing only Eng-
lish. The text-book used in those classes is composed entirely of
Biblical material rendered in the simple terms of everyday life
and common need. The work has been carried on very quietly
and experimentally but the stage of experiment has been passed.
The Baptist City Mission Societies in New York City and else-
where have established the teaching of English through Biblical
material as a regular part of their program. They use the "Di-
rect Method," basing their work on such passages as the stories
of the trees (Luke 6:44, 45), of the seeds (Luke 8:5-8), of the
builders (Luke 6:48, 49), of the lost money (Luke 15:8-10), or
of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-20). These stories arouse no
controversy and have proved to be efficient media for use in
giving first lessons in language and for awakening dormant
spiritual life in various parts of the country. Why may not
similar service be rendered in Spanish and Portuguese to the
people in Latin America who need Biblical ideals of life?
Rev. Merrit B. Wood (Christian Woman's Board of Missions,
Bayamon, Porto Rico) : I came this morning to make an ap-
peal for a type of lay worker that I have not distinguished
clearly as yet, the one whose mental and material education
and experience might correspond to the last year of our boys'
high schools. On their behalf I ask for the type of book which
corresponds to Dr. Gordon's book on "Prayer and Power," the
type of book which comes into use when the world is shut out
and the heart seeks to find something which will touch it most
seriously. Another type of book which we need is a good mis-
sionary text-book or something which will develop a missionary
spirit in our people. Then we need books for the devotional
life. We need aids that will help us to interpret the will of
God. In the Scriptures the eunuch said to Philip, "How can
I understand except some one shall guide me?" From this plat-
form we have heard of some of the difficulties of certain people
with the Word of God. These difficulties are but natural when
we understand how the Bible is viewed in Catholic lands. Un-
derstanding that, we will wish to produce some helps for its
interpretation, something which will help us appreciate the
efforts which men have made to reach out in faith after God.
Miss Clementina Butler (Methodist Episcopal Church,
Providence, R. I.) : At Cincinnati a resolution was passed con-
cerning the publication of books for young people. Since then
the idea has become increasingly attractive. We need something
88 LITERATURE
available for our students, and something to go into their homes.
This would call for much expense, if attempted at four different
centers. May we not, however, use the syndicate idea with one
general editor who might be located in New York, where all
of the best reviews of the Latin world are available? This edi-
tor could secure articles from the best Latin as well as from the
best English writers and make translations into Spanish and Por-
tuguese, furnishing this material to four editors, one in Brazil,
one down on the West coast, one in the West Indies, and one in
Mexico, who can determine the questions of publication. These
articles might fill three fourths of the customary space, leaving
one fourth to be provided locally. Bright clean fiction would
displace the miserable fiction that is now in circulation. Strong,
scientific, historical and philosophical articles commanding the
respect of all readers will set them to thinking. Such journals
should not be obviously Protestant, but rather human and of
universal interest. How could we start a publication of this
sort? Somebody would have to give a very large subvention of
money for the first few years. A large subscription list could
be gradually obtained. The journals would be self sustaining
in five years, and in ten years they should make money. Mean-
while we should be publishing serials, which would be available
in book form later on. Since President Butler says the_ world
needs something of an international mind, would not this syn-
dicating method help the young people of Latin America to
discover and accept it?
Mr. R. E. Magill (Presbyterian Church in U. S., Richmond,
Va.) : We have found in the Sunday School Council of the
Evangelical Churches of North America representing thirty-four
different churches that we have much more in common than we
have apart. Consequently one new series of lessons is now go-
ing to six different denominations, all edited by the staff of one
periodical. Each denomination gets them under its own name.
Every one thinks he has his own church publication, but they are
actually prepared by one group. Another series is being used
by four different denominations. In our own church I am fur-
nishing our editorial matter to six denominations. In the foreign
field this is the only possible solution. Syndication produces
just what is needed in a very effective way. It will solve the
problems of reaching the children and of educating the ministry.
There has never yet been any obstacle in the way of appealing
to children. The one problem of the Sunday-School is to send
the living word through the voice of the living teacher. Let
this power be multiplied by the printed page and you have all
the machinery for efficiency.
The Training of Competent Writers
The Rt. Rev. Charles B. Colmore, D.D. (Bishop of the Prot-
estant Episcopal Church in Porto Rico, San Juan) : Without
question there is a great need of able writers among us and
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 89
of better literature. This last year I had occasion to study the
rapid growth of the Spiritualist movement in Porto Rico. I
found that while there was not so much written on the subject
of Spiritualism, there were numerous novels of the kind inter-
esting to the people, which brought that question in. The people
can be reached readily if one takes the right course. The able
writers we are looking for must, first of all, be Latin Americans.
The more Spanish one knows, the more he realizes how poorly
he knows it. In order to bring these books to the view-point of
the people whom they are expected to reach, it becomes abso-
lutely necessary that the real book shall be written by Latin
Americans. There are two sorts of literature, original and
translations. The statement has been made here this morning
that we do not desire translations. We certainly do not want
any translations that are perfunctory, literal renderings from
English into Spanish, but we do need real translations, made by
one who can take a book, can make it a part of himself, can
put it into real idiomatic living Spanish, and give it to the
people who need it, in a form which he knows they will appre-
ciate. But how are we going to raise up these able writers?
We will get them some day through Christian colleges estab-
lished throughout these countries. People will then know what
our work is and will understand the evangelical view-point.
Among our students will be from time to time a man who will
begin to write in the way that people need. For the present we
must depend on Latin Americans who going to the institutions in
the United States or in England, there to imbibe the culture and
spirit which they will be able to transfer to their people in their
own way.
Spanish Translations.
Sr. Guillermo Delgado de Vargas (Barcelona, Spain) : There
is an enormous amount of valuable time, money and personal
effort lost in the work of evangelizing Latin America through
lack of linguistic efficiency on the part of those men and women
through whom Christ's message is delivered to the people. Latin
Americans are as proud of their mother tongues as any other
race of people in the world. When, therefore, this message is
given to them in clumsy speech we should not wonder if they
feel contempt for the speakers and indifference for the message
itself. They see only the form, they miss the real substance.
What do you think would happen, if any Latin American went
over to England or to the United States to convert people to
some new political or religious creed, who had no mastery of
English? Would he find people ready to accept his message?
It has been my privilege to visit many of the foreign Christian
missions in Latin America and with few exceptions I have found
that the men at the head of such missions were handicapped in
their work through their inability to speak and write fluently the
language of the people among whom they were working. Much
90 LITERATURE
of the Spanish Christian literature which is circulated in Latin
America never serves the purpose for which it is written, be-
cause it cannot be called Spanish in the proper sense of the
word; it contains thoughts and ideas conceived by a foreign
mind and, therefore, although put into Spanish words, it fails
to find a response in the minds of those who read it To a^
large extent such publications are meaningless for a vast ma-
jority of the people. Even when they do convey the exact
meaning of the authors, they are lacking in that beauty of form
which alone can make them attractive. The Christ and the
religion thus presented are a foreign Christ and a foreign re-
ligion ; and people wanting to understand and appropriate them
will have to come out of their normal and natural sphere of
thought, and struggle in their attempt to seize the essence of the
message before them. When original literature cannot be ob-
tained, translations are to be made, of course, but this part of
the work must, of necessity, be entrusted to natives who alone
can translate both the letter and the spirit of the books in
question.
Attempts have been made to translate books into the respec-
tive vernacular of every Latin-American country, overlooking the
fact that all classes in Latin America strive to attain the high-
est possible standard in the use of their national tongue, and
that they look even with indifference upon any book in which
no effort is shown to attain that literary standard. There are
no such languages as Peruvian, Chilean, Venezulean or Mexican.
Portuguese and Spanish are the languages of the Central and
South American countries ; therefore, any literature meant to
nourish the minds of the inhabitants of these countries must be
written in the purest possible Spanish and Portuguese. The
version of the Bible published by the American Bible Society,
the Moderna, cannot be and will never be the cherished Bible
of the people in Latin America because it is not what the
Bible ought to be in every country, not only a sacred book,
but also a literary monument. The version referred to may
be closer to the orignals than that of Cipriano de Valera,
but it is full of anglicisms, and often descends to the common
if not the vulgar, as is the case in Galatians V; where the word
"jaranas" is given for "contendas." Valera's version of the Bible
is to Spanish speaking people what the King James version is
to English speaking people. The highest possible compliment
was paid to it by Father Scio in the introduction to his trans-
lation of the Latin Vulgate, where he calls it one of the purest
and best examples of Spanish literature. In fact, Valera's Bible
is considered (at least in Spain) as the best model of classic
Spanish after Cervantes' Don Quixote.
The Spanish hymn books used in the churches throughout
Latin America exemplify even better the inferior linguistic equip-
ment of many of the missionaries at work in these countries.
Most of them are translations in which the most elementary
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 91
laws of poetry and even of rhyme have been outrageously tres-
passed. When singing such hymns the mind is invariably driven
to criticise both their shapelessness and the boldness of the
translators, but no spirit of praise or prayer is inspired by them.
The only remedy to this state of things is a better preparation.
Thoroughness and efficiency alone will produce the fruits which
Christ has a right to expect in His Latin-American field. More
than half the members of this Congress speak neither Spanish nor
Portuguese, have never lived in the countries which we are
studying and therefore have never had an opportunity to become
acquainted with the moral, social and racial conditions and
peculiarities of the people they want to Christianize. But every
one can realize that only those can evangelize Latin America
who sympathize with the inhabitants of its countries, who are
able to reach their hearts through their language, their idiosyn-
crasies, their thoughts and ways of expressing them. What
Latin America needs are those who will show nothing at all
foreign in their work. Such men and women are not plentiful,
but some can be found, and the rest can be made.
Cooperation in the Production of Literature
Rev. a. G. Baker (Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board,
La Paz, Bolivia) : One of the departments of Christian endeavor
which seems to offer least resistance to cooperation and also
the most alluring prospect of success is that of Christian litera-
ture. It is for this reason that the Commission has been pleased
to submit for our consideration a certain plan of cooperation
which it hopes may serve as a solution of the situation. I need
not explain it in detail. You will find it fully outlined in
Appendix F. Some of its details, however, seem to demand
slight notice. First of all, note the recommendations for
the cooperation of all the laboring forces at present under
the direction of one properly appointed executive or central
committee on Hterature. It has been felt by all who have given
any consideration to this matter that certain departments of
literary activity would best be served by unifying them, for ex-
ample, those of the publication of books and of Sunday-school
literature. Our report reveals the astonishing fact that for all
the labor of half a century we evangelicals have only at most
one hundred and thirty or one hundred and fifty books to show.
Now how can this great lack be remedied ? I have no doubt that
a much larger proportion of our best Christian talent will devote
itself to literary work if assured of the backing and cooperation
of some such committee. Furthermore, in order to meet the
local and national conditions of various countries, it is recom-
mended that the mission forces of each country organize a na-
tional committee. The report recognizes the fact that there are
so many divergent conditions in the several countries, Argentina,
Venezuela, Brazil, Panama, etc., that the particular form of
organization for these national bodies must be left to the dis-
92 LITERATURE
cretion of the mission forces laboring in each district reported
in this Congress. I am convinced that there are no insuperable
difficulties in the way. Let me enumerate briefly some of these
advantages which would follow such united action. In the first
place, I see here the only immediate solution for this very per-
plexing problem of editorship and authorship of which we have
heard so much. We all know that an editor is the life of his
paper, and that an author is the very soul of his book. But
when the life and soul are ground under a crushing burden of
varied responsibility too great for one man to bear, how can we
expect a literary output to be other than slightly insipid ? When
one man must preach the gospel on Sunday, on Monday visit his
flock, on Tuesday serve as a business administrator, on Wednes-
day write editorials, and possibly be obliged to set up type on
Thursday, can we expect, when the last Friday of the month
rolls around and the paper makes its appearance, that it w^ill
measure up to our highest ideals? Let us arrange for a proper
division of labor and it will be possible for talented and clear-
headed men to render the sort of brilliant service to which they
have been especially called. And in performing such service
they will find a supreme personal satisfaction which will give
them the stimulus which will quicken, broaden and deepen their
lives. In the next place this cooperation in literature will have
a definite unifying influence among our Christian forces. Where
we are already unified, such cooperation will increase efficiency.
In a city where two or three Christian bodies are employing the
same Bible, the same hymn-book and the same Sunday-school
literature, there will be no necessity for any one to preach on
unity. Common Christian literature will speak louder than any
human words.
And there is another matter that should not be overlooked.
Why should two printing establishments, for instance, be main-
tained, half-manned and under-equipped, when the amalgamation
of the two would supply the deficiencies of both? Surely
ordinary business judgment demands not only the poohng of
our common interests to-day, but also the avoidance of similar
duplications in the future. What the world is demanding of
missionaries to-day is ordinary business judgment in their ad-
ministration of affairs. Shortly we will be going before our
various home constituencies, pleading for the money essential
to the carrying out of our larger undertakings. Believe me,
it will not be sufficient for us to plead the unspeakable needs of
which we have just heard and which we so well know. If we
are to open up the pocketbooks of the men who have gained
their thousands and their millions by applying strictly business
principles, then we as missionaries, when we go to them, must
give abundant evidence that we are able to administer these
funds wisely and well. No capitalist, if he knows what he is
doing, will give a hundred thousand dollars over into the hands
of a five hundred dollar man. And the best way to convince
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 93
him is to show him that we are willing to submit our mission-
ary endeavors to the keenest business scrutiny. If we are to
be able to do that, there must be an elimination of this needless
duplication in our work. The Christian church speaks its mes-
sage in the first place tjirough Christian literature and in the
second place from the Christian pulpit. As a general rule our
publications have been speaking in altogether too feeble tones,
some of them almost in a whisper. This should not go on.
There must be such a concentration of time and money and of
thought upon our publications that they shall be dignified, repre-
sentative, and able to commend themselves to the attention of
thinking men. In this world we find that every man receives
the attention and respect which is his due, no more, no less.
If we as mission workers expect to receive the attention of
these peoples we must obtain it by the intrinsic merit of our
publications, and we have no other way of attaining this more
speedily than by cooperation.
Mr. Harry Wade Hicks (Missionary Education Movement,
New York City) : The need of cooperation in literature work
is more apparent to workers in Latin-American fields than to
the home churches, and therefore there is a greater prepared-
ness in the fields to cooperate. It must be remembered that at
the home base the work of Christian literature, as an integral
and necessary part of the missionary enterprise, is less known
and appreciated by the rank and file of the churches than any
other chief phases of missionary endeavor. It has never come
into prominence. The scope of cooperative literature work now
possible in Latin America is sufficiently extensive to warrant
immediate steps to organize for advance.
The present time is opportune to propose practical measures at
the home base. The Committee on Christian Literature of the
Continuation Committee of the World Missionary Conference
through the activity of the American section has stirred many
into real interest. The longer cooperation is carried on, the
more extensive will the field of cooperation become. What now
may seem impossible will soon become practicable and neces-
sary. By working together, many difficulties that once may
have seemed formidable will disappear without comment or
debate. There is no Hne of cooperative work that can be more
easily undertaken, provided the plan in the beginning is limited
to those lines of work upon which enough denominations agree
to warrant common action, and provided the cooperation includes
opportunity for editorial approval by representatives of the de-
nominations desiring to use the material to be published. Fur-
thermore cooperation here leads directly, rapidly and naturally
into other important lines of cooperation. No lines of coopera-
tion in the field will command more instant and hearty approval
of men and women supporters at the home base than economies
in editorial production, in publication and in distribution, in
greater efficiency in use, in higher standards from literary and
94 LITERATURE
educational points of view, allowing the corrective of many
minds and view-points, and in the wider circulation because of
responsibility assumed in the process of preparation. If these
advantages lead on the fields to the adoption of a comprehensive
businesslike and bold program, a basis of appeal for larger
financial support will at once be provided.
There will be obstacles : Such as the coordination of coopera-
tive work with that of the existing literature agencies, both de-
nominational and interdenominational or independent, and the
publication of a distinctive denominational literature for which
provision must be made. The separate publication of denomina-
tional literature should not be considered as a breach of co-
operative etiquette, but perfectly proper, and in the case of sonie
lines of literature, a necessary course. By making this plain
from the start the cooperation of some bodies can be secured
that otherwise would be reluctant to enter upon the federative
work. It will be necessary to secure interdenominational edi-
torial approval in advance. This strengthens the matter printed,
and greatly multiplies circulation. The process is trying, causing
delay and raising some critical issues. A fourth difficulty is
that of financing the enterprise on an adequate basis. It calls for
appropriations by Boards and for independent gifts. There is
little hope of securing largely increased approval from Boards
without cooperation and practically no hope of securing larger
independent support without cooperation in preparation, publica-
tion and distribution. With such cooperation understood, there
will be a sound basis for the hope that funds can be secured for
a large advance.
Mr. William E. Sweet (American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions, Denver, Col.) : There is a very important
department of Christian literature which has not been meri-
tioned from this platform this morning. A brief reference is
made to it on page 27, "Much remains to be done toward bring-
ing within the reach of the growing youth of the evangelical
churches in these lands the stimulating helpfulness that comes
through Christian biography." Next to meeting a man of power-
ful personality is reading his biography written by a competent
writer. I know whereof I speak, because I am identified with
the Student Department of the International Committee of NortH
America, and we find that the publication of stimulating bio-
graphical works, such as the life of Horace Tracy Pitkin, has
been very helpful in our student work. When I find that cer-
tain intelligent young men in Latin America are inquiring about
the Christian life, I long to see just such books put into their
hands. They can get apparently, a "Summary of Christian Doc-
trine" and "The History of the Reformation," but I would like
to put before them "A Young Man's Questions," "The Marks of
a Man," "Christian Service and the Modern World," the books
written by Dr. King on character building and the two books
written by Dr. Fosdick, which have had such a tremendous sale
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 95
in North America, "The Meaning of Prayer," and "The Manhood
of the Master." Here is a splendid opportunity for the mis-
sionaries of Latin America to consult with the Missionary Edu-
cation Movement to see if it cannot cooperate in a movement to
raise the standard of available Christian literature along the line
of biography.
Rev. John Ritchie (Evangelical Union of South America,
Lima, Peru) : I am so keen regarding cooperation that I v^ish
this morning to criticize. I would be exceedingly sorry to see
the cooperative scheme suggested in the appendix of the report
go through just as it is, and to justify my criticism let me say
that I started a little book store several years ago on thirty-five
pounds that I borrowed. That book store to-day has a shop in
the main street of Lima ; its business has grown considerably.
The proposed scheme does not seem to me sufficiently economical.
Economy and efficiency should, I believe, be the tests of it or of
any other scheme. First, as to the committee in North America,
even the committee which planned this present Congress has
aroused much suspicion among the very men who are running
the book stores and periodicals in South America. They under-
stand that it will be necessary for those of us down here to
consult this proposed Committee on Literature about all matters
relating to book distribution and sale. It will have control of
all the books we handle. In that case we may as well shut our
shops. Then there is the suggestion of a general editor who
should be a scholar. I think he ought to be a skilled administra-
tor. Where would the book stores in North America be, if they
were managed by scholars? Then the scheme proposes that the
committee "take charge of the several separate agencies." But
why should the committee manage my business? The average
foreign administrator arrives at eight o'clock on Monday night,
and immediately announces that he will sail at ten o'clock Tues-
day morning. I have labored on Sunday-school books for three
years. As they have been given to us from North America they
are utterly beyond the reach of our people in Peru. It is a mis-
take to print books in New York. I can not sell them down
here. Spanish books can be printed more cheaply in Spain than
in New York. And the very fact that they have been printed in
Spain helps to get a Spanish-speaking community interested in
them.
Dr. John R. Mott (The Advisory Committee, New York
City) : In determining a policy we need to combine both the
experience of the various foreign fields and the experience at
the home base. During the last three or four years some thirty
churches and mission organizations at work in Japan have
united in one Christian Literature Society. Just now they are
serving that community of fifty millions of people. Then in the
last three or four 3^ears the workers on behalf of the Moslems
in all parts of the world, on behalf of that great population of
two hundred million, have united to found and manage the Nile
Mission Press with its headquarters in Egypt in the very hear^
96 LITERATURE
of the Moslem world. Just at this moment earnest and con-
structive efforts are being made to pool the experience, to unite
the activities, both denominational and interdenominational, that
have to do with Christian literature. Only the week before I
left New York I received the detailed minutes of the National
Missionary Council of India, Ceylon and Burma, showing that
they are now dealing in a most constructive way with what
should have been handled long ago in some adequate manner,
the bringing together of almost countless little agencies that
have been producing literature for about three hundred millions
there in many languages and dialects. The discussion we have
heard this morning is right in line, not only with these tendencies
but with the constructive judgment of the leaders everywhere.
To produce the kind of literature we need, three or four things
are required. One is what I might call first-hand, intimate, rich
personal experience; secondly, a style which appeals to those
who are to read the books ; thirdly, sufficient time for the pro-
duction of good books ; fourthly, in many cases money for setting
apart men who have the experience, who have the style, and who,
if they had the time, could produce these works. Obviously we
need the cooperation of all the agencies at the home base and
we need properly constituted committees on the principal fields, if
we are going to set apart men and women to give their entire
attention to this work. We will require some people as direc-
tors, some for boards of editors. Some of the best writing will
be done by people who are so busy and so successful in the work
they are now doing that it would be nothing less than a calamity
to set them permanently aside from their work to make them
secretaries or editors. How are we going to get them? We
must have committees whose business it is to discover such men
and women and then to negotiate with their Societies or
churches so as to secure their temporary assignment to the
task and the money that will make this possible. When I was
in Japan one of the keenest, clearest minds in that country
was that of Dr. Uemura. He was set apart to prepare a life
of Jesus Christ, a Japanese interpretation of the Master. He
is now at Oxford studying under the greatest living authority
in that line, Dr. Sanday, and being in occasional contact with
leaders in Scotland. This man has left Japan and isolated him-
self in the British Isles, in order to write a book which will
make Christ loom larger to his own people. We ought to have
coming from every language and every nation a similar inter-
pretation of Jesus Christ. I wonder where the man or woman
is to give us this adequate interpretation of Christ in the
Portuguese language? And of course we need it also in
Spanish. When I think over all that is required, there seems tc
be no subject upon which we should bestow more prayer than
that He should thrust forth laborers for this highly specialized
work. We have in existence in Latin America both Latin-Ameri-
can writers and missionary writers who have had wonderful
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 97
experiences. But they are so busy and so useful in what they
are doing that only some large cooperative plan will detach them
and break away from their present work and send them to som.e
other land where they can utilize the best of their experience
and place it at the disposal of all the various churches.
The Bible Societies and Their Work.
Rev. a. R. Stark (British and Foreign Bible Society, Val-
paraiso, Chile) : For nearly one hundred years, the British and
Foreign Bible Society has been making attempts to perfect
the Spanish version of the Scriptures, known as the Valera.
There has been criticism of the results, and to a certain extent
I am in hearty accord with what has been said. These versions
are not always judged on their strict merits. If a book bears
the imprint of Madrid the Latin-American people are eager to
get it. At present we are busily at work at all these revisions.
Certain missionary workers in Latin America, and their fellow-
workers in Spain are to-day engaged in making a new version
at Madrid. They have completed the four Gospels and the Acts
of the Apostles. A revision is also going on of the Portuguese
version. Furthermore translations are being made into the vari-
ous dialects of the Quichuas of Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. The
Bolivian Indian missionaries are at work over the New Testa-
ment and have already translated the four Gospels and the Acts
of the Apostles. In a rough draft the whole New Testament
is ready in the Quichua. The circulation work of the Bible
Society can be illustrated by the following incident. A little
girl in Bolivia heard the message of Jesus made very real by a
colporteur. Early the next morning he was about to leave, when
the child knocked at his door, walked into the room and said,
"O, sir, will you give me an introduction to Jesus Christ? I am
so often hungry and cold and my mother is cruel and I have
no one to love." Our colporteurs are going around this great
continent of Latin America giving introductions to Jesus Christ.
Rev. H. C. Tucker (American Bible Society, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil) : The history of Bible circulation in Brazil is one
of the most illuminating chapters of missionary history in
South America. Many native churches have been founded upon
the reading of the single volume of Scripture that may have
gone out far ahead of the missionary or the native preacher.
^^'e have fully completed the new translation of the Bible into
Portuguese from the original Hebrew and Greek. In this work
we have been greatly indebted to members of the Congress, to
Bishop Brown, Dr. Eduardo Pereira, and others. The New
Testament has been in circulation for several years, growing
in favor and popularity with the missionaries, native preachers
and Bible students. The Old Testament is now being printe^^
in New York by the American Bible Society, and is eagerly
looked forward to by all. This work of Bible translation and
circulation helps all classes of the people, not only in building
98 LITERATURE
up a strong evangelical community, but in widening the influence
of that community in Roman Catholic circles. Not a great while
ago, the first Roman Catholic Congress held in Brazil discussed
this question: "What shall we do in the face of the Protestant
propaganda of the Bible?" It was decided that the only thing
to do was to translate their own Scriptures, sending them out
with notes and comments. In his preface to one of the resulting
books (Sarmiento's translation of Carrier's French paraphrase of
the Acts of the Apostles) the Cardinal Archbishop of Rio de
Janeiro said, "At the moment in which we write these words of
approval of the work of popularizing the reading of the Holy
Gospels, we judge it convenient to make very clear, that this
our attitude can never be confounded with the propaganda that
our separated brethren, the Protestants, are actively making.
They, faithful to their principles, wish to substitute the Gospels
for the Church. They claim to find directly and exclusively in
the Gospels the dogmas of faith and the rules of living." Then
he goes on to state the Roman Catholic position in this matter.
Not only has this work of Bible circulation and translation
stimulated interest in Roman Catholic circles, but it is reaching
out to the educated classes, among whom are many Bible stu-
dents to-day that have not come within the organized circles of
Protestantism. A remarkable example is that of one who is
now engaged in writing an introduction to the OM Testament
and to the New Testament, giving a good deal of attention to
the manuscripts and the sources, a short introduction to every
book of the Bible and chapters on the doctrine revealed in the
Old Testament and in the New. The editor in chief of the
Jornal do Commercio of Rio de Janeiro, when recently asked
for an appreciation of the work of the Society responded with
a learned and effective recognition of the place of Bible read-
ing in the growth of the Christian Church and in the Christian
growth of Latin America. He declared that his own life radical-
ly changed after reading a little book sold to him half a century
ago, by a colporteur. The millions of the Scriptures spread
abroad in Brazil have been really heavenly showers, making
certain abundant crops in Latin hearts.
Rev. William H. Rainey (British and Foreign Bible Society,
Callao, Peru) : The Bible Society employs an army of colpor-
teurs to scatter the Word of God throughout Latin America.
The colporteur is not simply a book-hawker nor a commercial
agent. To be that would not be dishonorable but he goes as a
pioneer evangelist, a pathfinder, a scout of the great militant
Church of Jesus Christ. He goes where the pastor does not go.
He goes to open the door for the pastor. Again he cooperates
with the missionary. He goes to a town and visits every house.
He finds those who are interested and gives a list of their names
to the nearest pastor. Sometimes he calls the people together
and preaches to them, so that when the pastor comes he finds a
church all ready for him to organize.
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 99
The pastor in turn cooperates with the colporteur. We have
lost some very good men because missionaries and pastors, in
place of encouraging and stimulating them, have discouraged
them, treating their work as purely secular. They tell the poOr
man that he is just a book-hawker. He returns to the central
station and gives up his pack. But the colporteur is really an
evangelist. He must work alone a great deal of the time; he
must travel the dusty roads in the broiling sun ; he must climb
the mountains ; he must go down the rivers in open boats, tor-
mented by mosquitoes; he bears the heat and the burden of the
day in order that the way of the missionary and the pastor may
be made more easy. Let us recognize his work as true evangelism
and the colporteur himself as a real missionary, and thus digrfify
his task.
Dr. John Fox (American Bible Society, New York City) :
I would like to say a word about the modern version, recalling
what was said by our distinguished friend from Spain. Of
course Mr. Pratt, its translator, is an Anglo-Saxon. He did his
very best. His version has been exceedingly useful, but no
doubt the new version will be an improvement. J\Ir. Speer has
told us about some of the great books he brought down with
him. I brought down some with me, Augustine's Letters and
Confessions, Martin Luther's commentary on the Epistle to the
Galatians, and a part of the Apologia by John Henry Newman.
I wish I had time to read some passages from them. They
would justify us in standing up boldly to say that we are both
Protestant and evangelical; each will be equally meaningless,
however, if we keep on. Only God can make a great book, such
as He has made for the Church in the Bible. There are other
books well worth while, like those of St. Augustine and Luther.
It means much to be able to reproduce and circulate them. It
is needless to say that I disagree with Dr. King when he de-
clares that modern historical criticism will prevail in the Chris-
tian Church. That means in my opinion that the Bible is true
in spots or false in spots. Those who hold such a belief soon
find that the true spots are becoming fewer and fewer and the
false spots more numerous. I hope that Latin-American stu-
dents in the universities and seminaries are not to be placed
under the influence of men who teach, however sincerely, that
the Gospels are only half true.
The Distribution of Evangelical Literature.
Rev. J. P. Hauser (Methodist Episcopal Church, Mexico City^ :
There are only twelve different angencies or depositories iti
Latin America where evangelical books are being sold. There
should be more and better ones. I^ have in mind four or five
suggestions for the getting of books into the hands of the people.
First, we should have attractive book stores in every large
central place with attractive show windows, and books in at-
tractive bindings which appeal to the eye. We should also use
100 LITERATURE
the secular book stores. A number of good books which every-
one should own, have been referred to. These book stores would
keep them, if we really tried to have them do so. In the third
place, we can use colporteurs for the sale of books. I have heard
in Mexico of sales amounting to over 100 pesos just by taking
attractive literature from house to house and personally pre-
senting it. Again, we should advertise our literature through
our church papers and through a general catalogue, which ought
soon to appear. Then there should be special circulation for our
new books as they come out. In every possible way we should
bring them before the people. Finally, by far the best method
for securing the reading of our books is that we read them our-
selves ; and then when we come to know what they are and
realize their value, we will lead the people to buy them and give
them to others.
Mr. Fleming H. Revell (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
New York City) : There are three matters to which I would
like to call your attention. The first of these is translation, the
next is interest, and the third is production. As regards trans-
lation I have had experience in connection with the arrange-
ments for translations from several different languages through
men who had the reputation among us of being very capable
translators. I discovered that though they had not been for any
long period away from their home land, not over five or six
years, these men had unconsciously lost their native idiom to a
considerable extent and could not properly translate into their
own language. If it is true that a large proportion of the
translations now current in Latin America are unsatisfactory, it
would certainly suggest the wisdom of having an editorial com-
mittee use unusual care to see that the books are translated by
men who are thoroughly conversant with the languages in which
these books are to be printed. In the second place, there is no
question that, whether North or South or East or West, there
must be a vitally attractive interest, if you are going to get people
to read. I question whether a volume of sermons has ever been
found, even in North America, among the best sellers, and yet
most of the literature you wish to scatter through the Latin
countries is of that distinctively religious nature. I was in Boston
at the time of the "The World in Boston," that great missionary
exhibit. I was being shown through that exhibit by one of the
secretaries. I was trying to learn from him what was likely to
be its probable effect upon the country and upon the city. I asked
whether it would interest the members of the church as well as
the people of the town. Just at that moment one man behind
me, evidently a laborer, said to another, "I never knew that re-
ligion could be so interesting." Many are like him. They
never know that there is anything interesting in religion. Again,
as to production, both men and money are too valuable to waste.
Unless there is an actual positive need, a need that cannot be
met otherwise, I venture to say that the presses that are now
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT loi
established in South America are sufficient, and there is no
necessity for placing a large sum of money in a great printing
plant. Editorial work may be done anywhere and plates of the
books can be made. Both processes should be under the con-
trol of the committee, so that the work may be done economically
and the results sent everywhere.
Rev. Judson Swift, D.D. (American Tract Society, New
York City) : I am associated with a publishing house which
has issued three hundred distinct publications in Spanish and
Portuguese. Let me discuss briefly one or two underlying ob-
scure facts. I feel that this is a serious stage of the Congress
because it is the munition stage. Without munition an army is
utterly helpless. We have heard that during all these years the
Christian Church has been playing at missions in Latin America.
The reason is that we have neglected to furnish munitions or
Christian literature. The purpose and the mission of the Church
is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to unsaved people. What
saves them, if not the word of the living God? We do not go
to the mission field primarily to build colleges or universities
or to carry on social work. All these are the outcome of the
converting of men and women, boys and girls. The Christian
university has primarily the purpose to build Christian character,
to make Christian men and Christian women. But what can it
accomplish, if there are no converted hearts to start with? So
I repeat that we must become more alive to the primary need
of promoting Christian literature and utilize to the full all
agencies, old and new.
In Closing.
Rev. George B. Winton, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, Nashville, Tenn.) : It seems to me that this Commission
has had one of the most attractive and satisfactory sessions of
the whole Congress. One of the paragraphs in the report that
has called forth not a little criticism is that on hymnology. T
wrote that paragraph originally, and after I had read all the
criticisms I did not change it. My friend from Spain has sub-
stantiated what I said in even stronger words. The poetry in
Spanish and Portuguese employs a different metrical scheme
from that in English. Our hymns are written in iambic measure.
The trochee and the anapest are the measures of the Romance
languages. You may take up any book of Latin-American poetry
and you will read page after page without finding a solitary
iambic foot. Music written to fit iambs will never fit trochees.
Some member of the committee in New York remarked that we
would have to wait a long while to get a good Spanish hym-
nology. I do not believe that to be true. Translations are a
makeshift. I do not believe that a man can quite dispossess
himself of his own idiom. He will always be better as a com-
poser than as a translator. Even some of those translating into
their own language are so affected by the idiom of what they
102 LITERATURE
are rendering that their Spanish or Portuguese is not of the
first quality. We must continue to use translations for some
time to come, but I am convinced that they should be made
by a "national," not by a missionary. My Church adopted this
principle nearly thirty years ago. I was then given general
charge of such work, and am more than ever convinced through
experience of the wisdom of the principle. It was a little de-
nominational literary enterprise and in comparison with the pres-
ent far-reaching plans, like Ezekiel's little trickling stream that
scarcely made a murmur as it came out from under the altar.
But the waters began to flow until they reached up to the ankles.
Soon we found them about the knees and they continued to rise,
and now a little way ahead I hear the murmur of a mighty
river, "waters to swim in."
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION V
ON
WOMEN'S WORK
Presented to the Congress on
Wednesday, February 16, 1916
THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT OF
COMMISSION V
The List of Members of the Commission 109
The Report of the Commission Ill
Chapter I — The Sources of the Report lU
Chapter II — The Woman's Missionary ]Movement and
Its Early Pioneers in Latin America 113
1. Its Organized Beginnings 113
2. Its Rapid Development 114
3. Some Heroic Pioneers 115
a. Melinda Rankin of Mexico 115
b. Mary Hartman of Surinam 117
c. Martha Watts of Brazil 118
d. Mrs. Frances S. Hamilton of Mexico 119
e. British Pioneer Women 120
Chapter HI — The Position and Influence of Women in
Latin America 122
1. The Scanty Sources of Information 122
2. The Share of Women in the Struggles for Freedom 122
3. Their Influence Toward Nation-Wide Peace 124
4. Their Collective Traits 126
5. The Women of the Leisure Class 12/
6. The Women of the Self-Supporting Class 129
7. The Women of Humbler Class 133
8. Indian Women 136
Chapter IV— The Education of Women in Latin Amer-
ica 138
1. The Influence of Latin- American Women 139
2. Considerations Prehminary to Any Organized Edu-
cational Advance 140
a. The Type of School Needed 140
b. The Special Object of the School 140
c. Shall it be National or North American? = 141
105
io6 CONTENTS
3. The Question of Coeducation 141
a. In Primary Schools 141
b. In Secondary Schools 142
c. In Institutions for Higher Training 142
d. In Normal Schools 143
e. In Schools of Commerce 143
f . In Industrial Schools 144
g. In Schools Not Controlled by the State 145
4. The Inadequate Provision for the Education of
Women 145
a. What Is Being Done Today By Each Govern-
ment 146
5. The Evangelical Schools 147
a. The Schools of the Methodist Episcopal
Church 147
b. Those of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South 148
c. Congregational Schools 149
d. The Presbyterian Contribution to Education . . 149
e. The Southern Presbyterian Schools 150
f. Those of the Baptists 150
g. Anglican Schools 151
h. Other Evangelical Schools 151
i. The Problems of Teacher Training 151
j. The Secondary Schools 152
6. Different Types of Latin-American Schools 152
a. Three Influential Schools 152
(1) Liceo Numero Dos de Ninas in San-
tiago 152
(2) The Convent of the Immaculate Concep-
tion, Santiago 153
(3) The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Lima 153
b. Their Complete and Beautiful Equipment 155
c. Types of Curricula 156
(1) That of the Liceo Nacional de Serior-
itas, Buenos Aires 156
(2) That of the Woman's University, Mon-
tevideo 156
7. Conclusions to be Drawn 157
a. Latin America is Developing Her Own Educa-
tional System 157
b. Few Women Take Advantage of Collegiate or
University Education 158
c. The Liceo Type Appeals to Upper Class
Women 158
d. The Normal Schools Are Attracting and De-
veloping Able Women 159
e. The Elementary Schools Must be Maintained. 159
f. The Great Religious Problem of Today 159
CONTENTS 107
Chapter V — The Social Conscience Among the Women
IN Latin America 161
1. The \Vorld-\Mde Range of the Woman Movement 161
2. What it Means in Latin America 163
a. Women in the Professions 163
b. Women's Clubs and Societies 165
c. The International Woman's Congress 169
d. The Young ^^'omen's Christian Association... 170
e. Their Common Social Interests 172
Chapter VI — The W^ork of Women's Mission Boards in
Latin America 175
1. Their Special Interest in Educational Service 175
2. Types of This Service 177
a. The Kindergarten 177
b. The Day Nurseries 177
c. Provision for the Needs of Children 178
d. Secondary Schools 179
3. The Similar Need for Evangelism 180
a. Following Up the Elementary School 180
b. Home Visitation 181
c. The Use of National Workers 183
d. Visiting Nurses 184
e. Evangelism Through Literature 185
Chapter VII — The Conclusions of the Commission 188
1. Three General Convictions 188
2. Specific Findings 189
a. The Women Commissioned for Service in
Latin America Should be Gifted, Cultured
and Specifically Prepared 189
b. Their Number Should be Increased 189
c. Provision Should be I\Tade for Varied Types
of Educational Service 190
d. Inter-Board Cooperation Is Desirable 190
e. The \^'^ork of Evangelization Should be
Pressed 190
f. Literature Should be Freely Utilized 191
g. Latin-American ^Vorkers Should be Used in a
Greater Degree 191
h. Organized Christian Social Service Should be
Promoted 192
i. Cooperation Is Essential 193
Appendix A: Correspondents of the Commission 194
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report 197
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
CHAIRMAN
Miss Belle H. Bennett, President Woman's Mission-
ary Council, Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
Richmond, Ky.
VICE-CHAIRMAN
Mrs. Ida W. Harrison, LL.D., Vice-President Christian
Woman's Board of Missions, Lexington, Ky.
SECRETARY
Miss Maria L. Gibson, Woman's Missionary Council,
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Kansas City, Mo.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Miss Irene T. Myers, Ph.D., Dean of Women, Transyl-
vania University, Lexington, Ky.
Mrs. R. W. MacDonnell, Home Secretary, Woman's
Missionary Council, Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, Nashville, Tenn. (Advisory Member of Com-
mittee).
Mrs. W. C. WiNSBOROUGH, Superintendent Woman's
Auxiliary of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S.,
Atlanta, Ga.
Mrs. Wm. D. Barbour, Secretary Women's Board of
Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church, New York
City.
109
no WOMEN'S WORK
Miss Elizabeth R. Bender, Secretary Women's Foreign
Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
New York City.
Mrs. Fred Smith Bennett, Vice-President Council of
Women for Home Missions, New York City.
Miss Laura Clay^ Protestant Episcopal Church, Lex-
ington, Ky. : ' ; \-k\^\
Mrs. C. E. CoNWELL, American Baptist Home Mission
Society, Mexico City.
Srta. Elisa Cortes, Secretary Young Women's Chris-
tian Association, Buenos Aires.
Miss Ida W. Hayes, Madero Institute, Saltillo, Mexico.
Miss Mabel Head, Secretary Women's Missionary
Council, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Nash-
ville, Tenn,
Mrs. John Howland, American Board of Commis-
sioners for Foreign Missions, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Miss Miller, Evangelical Union of South America,
London.
Mrs. Frank J. Miller, Chairman Editorial Commit-
tee, Woman's American Baptist Home Missionary
Society, Chicago, 111.
Miss Mary Irene Orvis, Christian Woman's Board of
Missions, San Antonio, Texas.
Srta. JuANA Palacios, Mexico City.
Miss Mary Pickett, American Friends' Board of
Foreign Missions, Brownsville, Texas.
Miss Janet Nasmith Scott, Secretary Woman's For-
eign Missionary Society, Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A., Philadelphia, Pa.
Mrs. K. B. Shaffer, Ph.D., Editor Lutheran Woman's
Work, Delaware, Ohio.
Miss Florence E. Smith, Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A., Valparaiso, Chile.
Miss Harriet Taylor, Secretary National Board,
Young Women's Christian Associations, New York.
Miss Elisa G. Walter, Secretary South American
Missionary Society, London.
Miss Elsie Wood, Methodist Episcopal Church, Peru.
Mrs. Arthur Yeager, San Juan, Porto Rico,
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION V ON
WOMEN'S WORK
CHAPTER I
THE SOURCES OF THE REPORT
The task undertaken by the Commission on Woman's
Work in Latin America has never before been attempted
by any body of women. The Commission has felt keenly
the lack of precedent to guide it. Its members are fully
conscious of the shortcomings and limitations of the Re-
port, and can only hope that it may help to point the way
to a more scientific and satisfactory study of the great
subjects entrusted to it.
The Commission sent out its lists of questions to many
missionaries in Latin America and to a number of spe-
cialists in the United States. It regrets deeply that war
conditions in Europe have prevented conference and co-
operation with the British and Continental Societies work-
ing in these lands. Eighty correspondents have re-
sponded with papers of great length and value; ten of
these were from the West Indies, eight from Brazil,
eight from Argentina and Uruguay, twenty-seven from
Chile, three from Peru, fifteen from Mexico, and nine
from the United States. Twelve of the missionaries who
have cooperated through correspondence have labored in
Latin America twenty years, and two have served for
more than thirty years each.
It is regretted that no reports have been received from
Central America, and from several of the South American
111
112 WOMEN'S WORK
republics. However, the responses that have come con-
stitute an invaluable mass of material from expert sources
on the little known subject of the women of Latin
America.
The Commission desires to express its deep apprecia-
tion of the work of these correspondents who have laid
the treasures of their experience before it, and its feeling
that the report would have been impossible without their
aid.
In addition to these contributions from the field, the
Commission has found it necessary to read much of the
large amount of literature on Latin America that is being
issued by the press, in order to obtain the sympathetic
and intelligent point of view that the Pan-Americanism
of to-day demands. Very many volumes have been care-
fully consulted, the great majority of them written within
the last decade. The Latin point of view has been sought
in recent books by Sefior F. Garcia Calderon, M. Georges
Clemenceau, ex-Premier of France, and in publications
of the Pan-American Union ; the historic perspective in
books by Professor Bernard Moses, Reginald Knock, and
Thomas C. Dawson; the modern social, educational, and
political problems in books by James Bryce, Albert Hale,
Professor Hiram Bingham, Professor E. A. Ross, Edgar
Ewing Brandon, and others ; and surveys of its religious
needs in books by Francis E. Clark, Robert E. Speer,
Harlan P. Beach, Melinda Rankin, and in the reports
for the year 191 5 of Boards, both general and of women,
working in Latin America. Besides these, articles in
many magazines and in the new Catholic Encyclopedia
have been freely consulted. In much of this literature,
however, the Commission has found but a minimum of
information in regard to the women of Latin America,
and has secured from it only a background for this
Report. The Commission feels, therefore, a sense of diffi-
dence in presenting this Report, and claims for it only a
sincere purpose to seek a sympathetic angle of approach
to the women of Latin America, and a desire to make
them better known to the women of other continents
so that all the womanhood of the world may love and
understand each other better.
CHAPTER II
THE WOMAN'S MISSIONARY MOVEMENT
AND ITS EARLY PIONEERS IN LATIN
AMERICA
I. ITS ORGANIZED BEGINNINGS
The century for missions and the century of woman's
uplift were coincident periods, so when the call came to
women to bear an independent part in missions, the
psychological hour had come for them to launch out into
the deep of world evangelization. It came from the lips
of missionaries, both men and women, but these only
voiced the exceeding great and bitter cry of the women
of the Orient. Social conditions in Eastern lands made
it impossible for any but a woman's hands to minister to
the healing of the diseased bodies of women, or any but
a woman's lips to carry the gospel to their sin-sick souls.
This clear call was answered by the organization of
the Woman's Union Missionary Society in New York
City in 1861. Its timeliness and vitality were shown by
the fact that even the throes of Civil War could not
arrest it ; auxiliary societies sprang up in many different
churches in other places ; and this new legion in the army
of the Prince of Peace kept on multiplying throughout
the four dark years of wasting war.
This movement was especially significant in two ways
— it enlisted a new and almost unused element in the
spiritual forces of the Church for the advancement of
113
114 WOMEN'S WORK
the kingdom of Heaven, and it was an earnest of the
closer union among Churches that the missionary enter-
prise was to bring. It is an increasing joy to every wo-
man to know that the first step in woman's distinctive
work for missions was thus promotive of larger in-
terests.
2. ITS RAPID DEVELOPMENT
At the close of the war between the States, there came
a fresh impetus to woman's work for missions, resulting
in the formation of the great denominational woman's
Boards. This was not due to any divisive or sectarian
spirit among women, but was owing to a widening ap-
preciation of the greatness of the task, and was an effort
toward more adequate organization, in order to attain to
greater efficiency. In the period from 1868 to 1874,
practically all of the large evangelical Churches in the
United States organized Woman's Boards of Missions,
and the work entered upon a new and splendid era of
service and achievement.
The call of Eastern women to their sisters in Western
lands has grown in depth and volume with the passing
years. We know now the futility of attempting social
and religious uplift in any land with the home and the
family untouched, for any efifort to help the men of a
race must begin with the mothers of men. While the
great field of the woman's Boards is the home, the woman,
and the child, yet that work links it with all society,
and with all missionary enterprises, and while their work
began with the prisoners of the harem and zenana, it now
embraces in its ample reach all women and children, and
all that afifects them, throughout the world.
The directory of Societies, in Volume III, gives a total
of thirty-two Woman's Boards of Missions, either inde-
pendent or auxiliary, having headquarters in the United
States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany and main-
taining work in Latin America. The summary of sta-
tistics as given by Commission I indicates that there
are 418 unmarried women and widows (not including
physicians) who are at work under all Boards and So-
cieties in Latin America. The number of women mis-
THE PIONEERS 115
sionary physicians is not stated. At least two of the
woman's Societies support men and their wives as well
as single women.
It must not be forgotten how this elect body of la-
borers is still further swelled by the 580 wives of mis-
sionaries in Latin lands; many of these mothers and
home-makers have been bright and shining lights in
mission history, and this Commission is proud to claim
them as important factors in women's work in Latin
America. This Report is especially indebted to the wives
of our missionaries for invaluable contributions to its
pages. The various mission Boards have, in addition
to these women sent to Latin America, 1,055 Latin women
in their employ. Surely the women that carry the tidings
in that magnificent domain have become a great host.
3. SOME HEROIC PIONEERS
In order to show the spirit and the quality of the noble
army of workers who have devoted their lives to Latin
America, a few of the pioneers will be mentioned who
have been called to their reward, and whose lives of
heroic self-sacrifice lend lustre to the annals of mission-
ary achievements.
(i) Melinda Rankin of Mexico. — One woman's name is
written large in the history of Latin- American missions ;
to her must be given the place of pioneer in Mexican
missions. She was among the early Protestant mission-
aries in Latin America. While missionary work among
women was still in the stage of the little local society, she
determined to leave her New England home and to de-
vote herself to the extension of the Kingdom of God.
While but a girl, in the thirties of the last century, she
wrote of herself : "Had public sentiment been my guide,
I should probably have settled down in my New England
home with the belief that it was highly improper for me
to undertake any signal enterprise for the advancement
of Christ's kingdom. But when the light of the glorious
gospel of the Son of God shone into my heart, the desire
for its extension throughout the whole world took entire
possession of me."
ii6 WOMEN'S WORK
She tells this in her book/ and says that her reason
for writing it was, "to prove by actual facts which have
occurred in one woman's life, that our divine Master has
still work for woman to do in His kingdom on earth.'"
In those early days, women went to the foreign field
only as wives of missionaries, and it was not until later
that the way was opened for single women to go out
alone. In 1840 she went South to teach, and was in
Mississippi while the Mexican War was going on. She
wrote at the close of the war, in 1847: "1 learned
through returned soldiers and officers much about the
moral destitution prevailing among the people in Mexico.
Here . . . was a country right upon our border from
which the light of the Bible had been excluded for cen-
turies. . . . My sympathies became enlisted in be-
half of these long-suffering and neglected people. . .
I wrote several articles for publication, hoping to enlist
an interest among the churches and missionary Boards ;
but my appeals met with no response, and I resolved, God
helping me, to go myself to Mexico, and do what I could
for the enlightenment of her long neglected people." '
And so this quiet, timid young woman made the hard
and perilous journey to Texas alone, without help or en-
couragement from any one. In 1850, she started a school
in Brownsville, on the Rio Grande, just opposite Mata-
moras, Mexico, for the children of the large number
of Mexicans who lived there. She could not go into
Mexico, because at that time the law forbade teaching
the Bible there. In addition to her school work, she be-
gan visiting the Mexicans in Brownsville, giving Bibles
to those who could read, and many copies of the Word
of God found their way over the river to Matamoras,
where the people received them gladly.
Her method of dealing with the Mexicans was full of
love and wisdom. 'T believe it wise," she wrote, *'as far
as possible, to avoid exciting prejudices in our labors
* Melinda Rankin, "Twenty Years Among the Mexicans," 17.
'/Hrf., 16.
"^ Ibid., 22, 23.
THE PIONEERS 117
among Roman Catholics. ... It has been a fixed
principle with me not to attack their religion, but to pre-
sent the truth, and let that do its work. ... If you
wish to enlighten a room, you carry a light and set it
down in it, and the darkness will disperse of itself." '
In two other respects, she anticipated the view-point of
our day; she said: "Mexico should become evangelized
mainly through the instrumentality of Mexicans them-
selves, yet they need to be guided into the best manner
of working." ' She also aimed to make her work un-
denominational, so as not to perpetuate the divisions of
the Church at home in this new territory, and to avoid
confusing the people with doctrinal distinctions about
which they neither knew nor cared anything.
In 1857, when religious liberty was declared in
Mexico, she went over first to Matamoras, and later to
Monterey, and from then until 1 871, when broken health
forced her to give up the work, she labored with single-
hearted devotion in this difficult field. She found no
Board which would support her work, or would send
others to help her, so several times she had to make the
long journey back to the States to solicit funds herself.
Her work was mainly that of teaching and distributing
the Word of God, but in this way she undoubtedly laid
the foundation of missionary work in Mexico. Under
her supervision, her pupils established and ministered to
fourteen little congregations ; after her retirement, these
were taken over by the Presbyterians. In this brief out-
line, no fuller statement can be made of her abundant
and heroic labors, but she opened the way into that
near and needy field, and deserves to rank as the pioneer
woman missionary of Mexico.
(2) Mary Hartman of Surinam. — Another courageous
woman should stand out preeminently in the earlier
annals of Latin-American missions. In 1826, Mary
Hartman went to Surinam in South America, with her
husband, and labored in Paramaribo and other stations
* Melinda Rankin, "Twenty Years Among the Mexicans," 197.
'Ibid., 196.
ii8 WOMEN'S WORK
with him until his death in 1844. In 1848, she volun-
teered to go alone to Bergendal on the upper Surinam,
where there had once been a small mission which had
been abandoned, and here she ministered like a proph-
etess. From there she would go now and then into the
land of the ''bush negroes," and finally made her home
among them, thus voluntarily cutting herself off from
those of her own race and color. Once in the ensuing
four years she left her heroic work to visit friends in the
city, but she soon returned to her self-appointed task in
the bush. With the patience of a saint, she kept alive
the spark of religious life in these humble negroes, and
maintained a Christian station amid a wilderness of
heathenism. Industries were promoted, especially the
manufacture of earthenware and the weaving of cotton
cloth, and a quiet, peaceable life was led in this lonely and
remote spot. She fell a victim to elephantiasis, and had
to be taken to Paramaribo, where she soon died in
December, 1853.
(3) Martha Watts of Brazil. — Another example of de-
voted work under different surroundings may be cited as
an indication of the spirit and temper of the women
missionaries to Latin America. The first missionary
sent to South America by the Woman's Board of
Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, was Miss Martha Watts, who went to Brazil in
1 88 1. She opened a school in Piracicaba in a rented
room, and for months taught with only one pupil, then
for months more with only three. Her patience of love
and her steadfastness of purpose laid the foundation, not
only for the splendid college for girls that now stands
on ground formerly devoted to bull fighting, but for the
great work that the Board is now doing in Brazil, with its
thirty-two missionaries and forty-five Brazilian workers,
and with its ten schools, representing a value of more
than $300,000. Her works do follow her in the lives of
her spiritual children, who rise and call her blessed ; the
methods and spirit of her school have been an example
and a model for the public school system of Brazil. The
first elected President of Brazil, Prudente de Moraes, was
THE PIONEERS 119
a citizen of Piracicaba, and a great friend of the school
there, and when he began to advocate a public school
system for Brazil, he conferred with Miss Watts, because
he had found in her institution the methods and ideals
that he desired for education throughout his own land.
(4) Mrs. Frances S. Hamilton of Mexico. — And the
race of heroic pioneers continues to this day ! On June 5,
191 5, Mrs. Frances S. Hamilton died at the Bible House
in New York City — a woman belonging with that elect
company. She went to Mexico in her young woman-
hood, as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church, and
married the Rev. Hiram P. Hamilton, the representative
of the American Bible Society for that country. Her
fine command of the Spanish language, her business abil-
ity, as well as her rare tact and grace, made her an in-
valuable assistant to her husband. At his death, in 1905,
though it was an unprecedented thing for the Society to
consider a woman as an agent, yet her unusual fitness for
the place, and her familiarity with the details of the
work, made them appoint her as successor to her hus-
band, with full authority and salary.
Her ten years' administration of the duties of her office
fully justified the confidence reposed in her. The Bible
Society Record for August, 191 5, bears this tribute to
her work and efficiency : 'The duties of the agent re-
quired the oversight of a large staff of Mexican col-
porteurs journeying amid discouragements and perils all
over the republic. It required the careful handling of
considerable sums of money, from twenty to twenty-five
thousand dollars annually sent from New York alone, as
well as all the sums collected from sales, and the gifts
of the people all over Mexico. It required the selection
and appointment of a Bible House or headquarters in
Mexico City, and all the dealing with the authorities both
of the city and of the nation in matters of business, ex-
changes, the law of the land, etc. It required an intimate
and sympathetic fellowship with all the various mission-
ary bodies in the land. And above all, it required a true
Christlike love for the people of Mexico and sympathy
with them and their best and highest aspirations.
120 WOMEN^S WORK
"Nobly, in the storm and stress that came on this land
of her love, she was true to this trust. Again and again
as the storm gathered fury, the Board advised her to
retire to the United States ; but she would not, and only
at the command of the Board did she come away at last
in May, 1914. In the interests of the Society she trav-
elled all over the Republic of Mexico. She was known
and honored in all the Mexican churches. In our own
country she spoke with great acceptability, when she was
on furlough, before delighted congregations. Her colpor-
teurs she knew by name, and over her desk in her office
in Mexico was a map of the country on which the move-
ments of each man were noted. Daily she remembered
these workers in prayer. To Mrs. Hamilton belonged
the unique distinction, so far as is known to us, of
being the only woman in the world entrusted with the
full and responsible care of a Bible Society agency, and
the American Bible Society was proud of this fact."
(5) British Pioneer VVome^i. — The Commission regrets
that it cannot give the details of the noble pioneering
work of Mrs. Burleigh, who with her devoted husband
spent eleven years in charge of an industrial school for
boys at Keppel in the Falkland Islands. They then vol-
unteered to open a work at Wollaston Island near Cape
Horn among the Yaghan Indians. They already knew
the language spoken by the degraded inhabitants, but
faced physical difficulties of great magnitude. The soli-
tude is hardest to bear. In a recent report of the South
American Missionary Society it is stated that the single
missionary family now located in that distant mission has
had only one visitor in five years. Matching the loneli-
ness is the privation and the close contact with degraded
life. After some four years at Wollaston station, Mr.
and Mrs. Burleigh moved with their people to Tekenika
Sound, where the conditions of success seemed more
realizable. Here the work of the mission began with
much promise, but within a short time Mr. Burleigh lost
his life by drowning and Mrs. Burleigh with her chil-
dren was obliged to return to England, there to become
a continual spur to interest in missions to pagan Indians.
THE PIONEERS 121
The missionary wives and mothers in the Paraguayan
Chaco and in Araucania endure hardships in similar fash-
ion for the Lord's sake and for the gospel. They are
heroines and martyrs indeed.
CHAPTER III
THE POSITION AND INFLUENCE OF WOMEN
IN LATIN AMERICA
I. THE SCANTY SOURCES OF INFORMATION
One of the baffling things that confronted this Com-
mission in the preparation for its report was the almost
complete omission of any mention of the women of
Latin-American lands in the large number of books that
are now being written about those countries. One mem-
ber, having procured bibliographies of recent Latin-
American literature, both from the Pan-American Union
at Washington, and from the National Bureau of Edu-
cation, the latter having prepared a comprehensive list
for the use of high schools and colleges, found that not
a single one of these books was written about the women
of those lands, and in the large number of books read,
scarcely a chapter was devoted to them. Both volumes
and chapters were written about the wonderful products
of those countries and efforts made to establish trade re-
lations with them, with accounts of their heroes and
patriots, and their struggles for liberty ; about their men
in all relations of life — but hardly a word about the
mothers of men.
2. THE SHARE OF WOMEN IN THE STRUGGLES FOR
FREEDOM
But while sources of information are scanty, yet there
is enough to show that we may say of them, as the Jews
said of the Centurion, ''they are worthy for whom thou
shouldst do this." One of our correspondents. Miss
122
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 123
Clementina Butler, Methodist missionary to Mexico,
writes : "The women of Mexico, while deprived to a
great extent of broad educational opportunity, have con-
siderable influence through their social charm and un-
daunted courage. In the history of the revolutions of
Mexico, the names of various heroines are found and to
their valor general recognition is given by the nation. In
fact, the Mexican Republic has shown its respect for the
prowess of woman in many ways, such as by placing
upon its two-cent postage stamp the image of one of the
heroines in the struggle for liberation from Spain. In
the present revolution there are tales of many women
who have shown their courage and their devotion equally
with their brothers. This characteristic will prove of
inestimable value to the Christian Church when young
women of such temper are won for active service.
"In the Plaza de Santo Domingo in Mexico City is a
monument to the memory of Senora Josefa Dominguez,
the heroine of Mexican independence, at whose home in
Queretaro the first meetings of the patriots were held.
When the viceroy learned of these meetings he sent her
and the patriots to prison, but with woman's wit Sefiora
Dominguez contrived to communicate with a trusted ser-
vant to whom she gave orders through the keyhole of her
dungeon door to go with speed to Aldama, and tell him
to convey to Hidalgo the news that their plot had been
discovered by the viceroy.
"When the venerable patriot priest, Hidalgo, received
the tidings near the hour of midnight on September 15,
1810, he went into his church, called his parishioners
together by the ringing of the bells, took from the altar
the banner of Guadalupe, and became the standard bear-
er of independence. Making known to his ardent fol-
lowers his plans, he ended with the shout, Tong live
Mexico,' which was taken up by the crowd, and carried
with ever-increasing enthusiasm to other towns and
states. Senora Dominguez was carried a prisoner in a
cart from Queretaro to Mexico City where she was con-
fined in prison for several months. Posterity has re-
warded her patriotism with a monument, thus extending
124 WOMEN'S WORK
her influence, as an incentive to this generation to emu-
late her fidehty to the cause of freedom."
Dr. John W. Butler of Mexico says: "In the early
stages of the present revolution in Mexico, women en-
tered enthusiastically into the work of political clubs,
and even into army service. There have been several
cases where women have risen to the grade of captain
and even colonel, and have won laurels on the battle-
field."
Examples of this high courage and patriotism are be-
ginning to emerge from this same unhonored and un-
sung part of South American life. Elizabeth Fitzhugh
tells of the Brazilian women of Sao Paulo, who in early
colonial days, when their husbands on one occasion re-
turned to them after a crushing defeat at the hands of the
Indians of Minas Geraes, scornfully rebuked the van-
quished warriors with the imperious command, "Go back
and conquer, and as victors we will receive you."
One of the first victims of Colombia's early struggle
for liberty was the beautiful Policarpa Salabarrieta. She
was executed with seven men, and died exhorting them
to meet their fate with courage. Dawson, who tells the
incident in his "South American Republics," says that
under the name of La Pola, her memory is preserved in
the songs of the people. Sixty years after her death,
the Colombian Congress voted a pension to her surviving
relatives.
3. THEIR INFLUENCE TOWARD PEACE
Not only have women been constant and courageous
in war, but an Argentine woman has been a distin-
guished advocate for peace. The colossal statue of
Christ on the summit of the Andes, at the border line
between Chile and Argentina, commemorates the conclu-
sion of the most remarkable treaty of peace and arbitra-
tion ever made between two spirited nations. The
statue is cast from bronze of old cannon which the Span-
iards left at the time of the achievement of Argentine
independence. On the monument is the inscription,
"Sooner shall these mountains crumble into dust than
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 125
the people of Argentina and Chile break the peace to
which they have pledged themselves at the feet of Christ,
the Redeemer.'' G. F. Scott-Elliot says that King Ed-
ward VII. of England was arbiter in the dispute about
the boundary lines when Chileans and Argentines, rising-
above the vain-glory of national self-love, renounced the
solution by force, and instead of asking the decision of
the dispute from the unconscious and brutal mouths of
cannon, agreed to receive it from the line of an inter-
national tribunal.
The conception of such a monument came from the
hearts of Bishop Benavente and a noble woman, Sefiora
de Costa ; and it was she, who, as president of the Chris-
tian Mothers' Association of Buenos Aires, undertook
the work of securing funds and of having the statue
erected. This was accomplished and the colossal statue
on a great column, in a pass about thirteen thousand feet
above the level of the sea, was dedicated March 13, 1904,
in the presence of more than three thousand persons. The
Bishop of Ancud on that occasion said: ''Not only to
Argentina and Chile do we dedicate this monument, but
to the world, that from this day it may learn the lesson of
universal peace."
In the Independent, Sefiora de Costa tells the story of
the monument, and the following quotation is given from
this account, because it brings a lesson and a rebuke at
this time of universal war, and shows the spirit of the
woman in whose heart and mind it was conceived : ''The
penetrating idea of the commemorative monument was
in the national atmosphere, and I had but to condense it
in my spirit to give it tangible form. If the idea is mine,
it is in the same way as to the sculptor belongs the statue
which he brings forth from the block of marble where it
was sleeping invisible, and I even dare to think that the
idea had to issue from the brain of a woman, because
it is an idea of sentiment, and in all time men have re-
proached us for thinking with the heart.
"Moreover, everything which tends to perpetual peace
by its prestige and glorification especially interests and
affects us women, that is to say the mothers, wives,
126 WOMEN'S WORK
daughters, the betrothed of those who must fall, sacri-
ficed on the battle fields. War may dazzle men with its
lightning flashes of military glory. For us women, it
represents only tears and pain ; that is why the Latin
poet called it 'accursed by mothers.'
"It may be said that I had to contend with obstacles
which seemed insurmountable for a woman. But I have
a moral quality which I may call Saxon. I am persistent
and tenacious in all that I believe true, good or just. I
have always thought that there is no force more powerful
than an energetic will, which knows how to desire with
faith.*'
This article closed with an appeal for money to build
a monastery near the statue, to serve as a refuge for lost
travelers, thus showing the devotion of Senora de Costa
to deeds of love and mercy. She fitly represents in her
lofty spirit and natural powers the ideal in position and
influence which might be placed as the goal for the young
women of Latin America.
4. THEIR COLLECTIVE TRAITS
It seems hardly fair, in writing of the women of Latin
America, to speak of them collectively. In that vast ter-
ritory we should aim to become so familiar with the his-
tory, the traditions, and the peculiar institutions of those
twenty republics, that we may be able to recognize the
identity and individuality of each one of them. But the
limits of this report require that they be treated col-
lectively, and in a certain sense, the word Latin-Ameri-
can does convey a true and broad generalization — a peo-
ple of Latin origin and traditions, of Latin speech, of a
common religion, an inherited understanding and appre-
ciation of art and beauty, and an inborn and charming
courtesy. Albert Hale says : ''You cannot travel through
South America without finding an appreciation of art,
education and good manners ; boorishness is practically
unknown ; kindliness, courtesy and breeding characterize
the people, from the village shop-keeper and the cowboy
to the cabinet oflicer."*
Albert Hale, "The South Americans," 297.
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 127
5. THE WOMEN OF THE LEISURE CLASS
For the purpose of this report, then, we might divide
the women of Latin America into three classes, the high-
er, the middle and the lower. Of the higher class, it
may be said that in them the exquisite courtesy of which
Dr. Hale speaks has reached its full, consummate flower.
M. Georges Clemenceau, ex-Premier of France, says of
the higher class women of Argentina in a recent book :
'The family tie appears to be stronger in the Argentine
than, perhaps, in any other land. The rich . . . take
pleasure in having large families. . . . The greatest
affection prevails and the greatest devotion to the parent
roof-tree. . . . The women . . . enjoy a repu-
tation, that seems well justified, of being extremely vir-
tuous. I heard too much good about them to think any
evil. ... In their role of faithful guardians of the
hearth they have been able to silence calumny and inspire
universal respect by the purity and dignity of their life." '
Professor E. A. Ross says that "in the higher classes
of tropical South America the women are distinctly
brighter than the men," and that on the West Coast they
"have more character." "" He attributes this to the early
immorality of the men, which affects unfavorably both
body and mind.
Another writer, Nevin O. Winter, has this to say of
the high-born Mexican women : "They are sympathetic
to an extreme. They are almost invariably watchful for
the needs of their poor relations, and are everywhere sup-
porting numerous charities. Even when their means are
limited, it is common to see in a household several chil-
dren outside the immediate family, taken in from time
to time, and cared for by the tender-hearted lady of the
house."
It should not be forgotten with respect to a class v/here
women are dependent, because the custom of their peo-
ple as well as their own lack of training forbid their
^ Georges Clemenceau, "South America of To-day," 150 ft.
^ E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 183.
128 WOMEN'S WORK
earning their own livelihood, that fidelity to the ties of
relationship often lays a heavy burden on the heads of
families.
One of our correspondents, who has been for twenty
years a missionary in Brazil, relates the following : ''One
man often supports his own family and a number of rela-
tives. I have never known or read of any people so
kind and generous as the Brazilians. A few years ago,
a prominent physician died, and to the surprise of many,
left his family in very modest circumstances, for it was
understood that he had made a great deal of money dur-
ing his lifetime. One day, a friend of his was at our
college, and in speaking of him said, *He was a true
saint — one of the great souls of our country.' During
our conversation, I asked her how he spent all of his
money, and she answered quite simply, that he could not
possibly accumulate wealth, because he had to support
forty relatives." Surely such loyalty to a sense of duty
to the ties of blood is worthy of all praise!
Remnants of the old Spanish and Moorish seclusion
of women linger in this class, though great changes have
taken place in the more advanced republics, Argentina,
Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, in the last twenty-five years.
Young girls remain on the edge of society until their mar-
riage, when they enter into their heritage of social free-
dom and leadership. They are trained sometimes in the
convents of their own land, sometimes in Europe, but
their education is generally superficial. Like most other
women, they are generally loyal to the religion in which
they have been reared, and are the stronghold of the Ro-
man Catholic Church. This is only to be expected in a
sex notable for loyalty to ideals, and in which long ago
devotion was expressed in being last at the cross and
first at the sepulchre. The educational and other influ-
ences which have alienated the men from the Church of
Rome have not yet largely affected the higher class wo-
men. Before such estrangement comes, it should be our
sacred task to give them something better than they
have, so that they may not have to repeat the pathetic
cry of the woman of old at the sepulchre, ''They have
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 129
taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him."
The correspondents from the field are practically unan-
imous in recommending that greater efforts be made to
reach the women of the higher class through both re-
ligious and social agencies, though in the past women of
other classes have been more largely reached by mis-
sionary work. For one thing, it is the right of these
women — it is their Christ who stands knocking at the
door, as well as the Christ of the burden-bearers among
the poor. Again they are the natural leaders of their
people, both by the position that is accorded them every-
where, and by the better opportunities their station has
given them. It is a method that was used by the first and
greatest of Christian missionaries. We read that at
Thessalonica, of the chief women "not a few became
followers of the Apostle," and at Berea "the Greek
women of honorable estate" became obedient to the gos-
pel ; and when the enemies of Paul in Galatia wished to
stir up persecution against him, we are told that they
followed the same eminently practical plan — they urged
on "the devout women of honorable estate," as well as
the chief men — with the result that we all know.
The tribute of Dr., Albert Hale to the women of this
class of people seems so fair that it is here given: "I
have had an intimate acquaintance in Latin-American
homes for years, and nowhere in the world have I seen a
purer domesticity ... a sincerer love of children or an
honester attempt to lead the life which according to their
interpretation God intended them to lead. . . Our
ways may not be their ways . . . but it is a shock-
ing error to withhold just praise from a pure-minded
sex at the other side of the equator."^
6. THE W^OMEN OF TKE SELF-SUPPORTING CLASS
There seems to be a conflict of opinion among writers
of to-day about the middle class. One author says :
"The greatest obstacle to improvement of political life
of South America is want of a middle class." The truth
' Albert Hale, "The South Americans," 301.
130 WOMEN'S WORK
seems to be in regard to women, that in the more for-
ward republics, where new opportunities are opening be-
fore women and a better education is given them, this
class is just emerging. In the annual report of the
Young Women's Christian Association of Buenos Aires,
is this statement: "To the women of the Old World,
with its social restrictions and its crowded employments,
the New World offers a temptinis: home for freedom,
for adventure, for earning a livelihood. Thousands of
women come yearly to the cities of South America, seek-
ing posts as teachers, governesses, professional nurses,
artists, private secretaries, dressmakers, heads of depart-
ment stores, hair dressers, milliners, office help and shop
girls." Another correspondent, also from Buenos Aires,
says : "There is a large and ever-growing number of
business women in our city and province at least. An
immense army of school teachers leads, and stenography
is becoming very popular. Teachers of languages, spe-
cial branches, dressmaking, etc., abound. I should say
that for the most part, instead of introducing new ele-
ments into the problem of womanhood, they help to solve
it. When even intellectual labor among women is re-
spected, to say nothing of that which blends the intellect-
ual with the manual, it is a very encouraging sign." The
correspondents from Brazil show that practically the same
conditions prevail there as in the Argentine.
In Chile our correspondents write that the business
world is just beginning to open its doors to the women.
While they have not entered into as large a number of
wage-earning occupations as in some of the countries of
Latin America, yet they have introduced an element of
greater independence into Chilean womanhood, as, for-
merly, they were barred from such work, and were
entirely dependent upon their families for support. Their
entrance into the industrial world has put a new emphasis
on the dignity of labor, and has made them more open
to foreign ideals. In the large cities they are mainly in
factories and stores, but they are earning an entrance
into government and business offices. In Santiago, prac-
tically all the street car conductors are women. Sten-
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 131
ography and typewriting are now being taught in the
girls' professional schools, and an increasing number are
being employed as telegraph and telephone operators.
The main profession open to them is that of teaching,
and one correspondent says there are a few women doc-
tors and dentists.
The movement to give woman more opportunities to
develop her abilities, to express her personality, to receive
higher education, and to exercise equal rights with men
in public affairs which affect the home and the life of
the child, has gradually spread until it has reached Peru.
It came late and will have a hard struggle before it pre-
vails. The great gulf between the laboring and well-to-
do classes makes it especially hard for women to enter
into business. A correspondent from Lima writes :
"The young woman who has to work for her living has
to suffer much disdain, and this makes her lot far from
easy. Many prefer to sew at home for big commercial
houses, which pay fifteen cents gold for the making of
a man's shirt, or twelve and a half cents gold for working
buttonholes in a dozen shirts, thus barely eking out a mis-
erable existence. Even women teachers have very little
social standing. It has only been in the last ten years that
any number of women have taken positions in the stores
as clerks, cashiers, or stenographers, and a very few are
telegraph operators. One Peruvian woman is at the head
of a company, composed mostly of women, which is trying
to bring moral moving picture films into the country,
and to run a cinema that shall make for the uplift of the
public, and serve the educational interests of the schools.
Of the handful of women graduated from the university,
one is practising medicine, two dentistry, a few pharmacy,
and a few others are running private schools. There are
many more midwives here than in the United States, be-
cause, as a rule, doctors do not take obstetric cases, unless
called in on account of serious complications. These
women, trained in the local hospitals, lack thorough
training for this profession. Recently an American
trained nurse has been given charge of the training classes
for nurses in one of the hospitals, and the plan is to
132 WOMEN'S WORK
place the classes in the women's hospital also in charge
of a foreigner — so there is hope for improvement. As
yet the problems of Peru are not much complicated by
the entrance of women into business. The hope of Peru
lies not with the idle well-to-do, but with the women
who are gradually forming a middle class, women who
are intelligent, and who, because they are not afraid to
work, are developing intellectually and morally."
The idea of women in business does not seem to have
arrived in Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. Professor
Ross says of the women of the tropics on the West Coast :
"As yet there has occurred no such emergence of unin-
cumbered women from the confines of the home, no such
entrance into the industries and professions, no such par-
ticipation of gifted women in public discussions and public
life as has taken place in the United States since the mid-
dle of the past century. There is scarcely any paid work
for women outside the home.'"^
In Mexico, the middle class, which is the business
class, is not only emerging, but has already arrived. For
a number of years, women have acted as clerks in the
stores, and as teachers in public and private schools, but
of late years, schools have been founded for giving a
business education to women, and now there are many
stenographers, bookkeepers, telephone girls and private
secretaries, employed in government and other offices.
All of our correspondents speak most highly of this class,
as one of the hopeful signs of the times. A Mexican
leader says : "The highest moral development is to come
from the middle class/' and others speak in the same
strain.
One of the strange things about progress is, that
every step upward and onward brings us new dangers
to face and new problems to solve, and so it is in the
case of the Latin-American business woman. Two ex-
perienced missionaries speak of the problem of safeguard-
ing these new conditions as one of the urgent duties of
Christian women.
E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 200.
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 133
One of the findings of the Continuation Committee
Conferences in Asia in 1912-1913, in regard to the wo-
men of the Orient, might as truly be said of the women
of Latin America who have entered the industrial life
of to-day: ''The walls which guarded the young girl
are being demolished rapidly, and the spiritual walls
which can protect her purity and peace are rising only
slowly. The girls who leave Christian homes and schools
to enter these new conditions must know more of the
world than their mothers did, must have more poise and
self-control, and above all they must have the spiritual
power of the indwelling Christ and the sense of a divine
call to service." ^ IMay we be able to help these young
and heedless spirits, who are venturing into untried and
unknown paths, in the complex and difficult times in
which we live !
7. THE WOMEN OF HUMBLE CLASS
When we come to the lower class, then we need the
heart of the Master, who had compassion when he looked
on the multitude ; for here we have the great mass of
humanity who bear the heaviest burdens of the race.
Professor Ross in his recent book wTites of the women
of tropical South America on the West Coast : "One
woman, bent under a burden, carries a child at her
breast, and is soon to become again a mother. Another
laden woman plies distaff and spindle as she creeps along.
Here is a file of barefoot women bent under loads of
earth or bricks, escorted by a man with a whip." ^ On
the West Coast, the birth rate is large, but the death
rate among infants is also great. From forty to ninety
percent, die under two years of age. "The causes are an
unguarded milk supply, an appalling diflfusion of venereal
diseases and a state of morals which leaves half of the
children to be reared by an unmarried mother without
aid from the father." ' Miss Florence E. Smith, a
^"Continuation Committee Conferences in xA.sia : 1912-1913,'
359.
E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 27.
E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 194.
134 WOMEN'S WORK
missionary to Chile, in her striking article on "Woman's
Work in Missions in Latin America," speaks of the wo-
men of Colombia, as they work with pickaxe and shovel
on the highway, or stagger under burdens too heavy to
be borne — of the sixty out of every hundred women in
the whole continent who have lost honor, self-respect and
hope — of the mothers of the 40,767 babies who died in
Chile alone in 1909, less than one year old, because of
alcoholism and unhygienic conditions.
These women bear not only the physical loads of life,
but the crudest burden of all — that of sin ; the bur-
den of illegitimacy, brought about by the lack of any high
standard of male chastity, falls most heavily on them.
The official records of these countries, especially of the
more backward republics, give an appalling rate of
illegitimacy. Dr. Robert E. Speer says : 'Tt is safe to
say that from one-fourth to one-half of the population
is illegitimate." "" Miss Smith, in the article quoted above,
gives the lullaby that one of these sad young mothers
sings to her newborn babe:
"In a night of torment was I conceived.
Therefore, I am like a cloud which, dark with bitterness and
grief, dissolves in tears at the slightest breath of the wind
of adversity.
Thou, little one, hast come to a sad refuge.
The rain and torrent have been thy cradle.
Abandoned and alone, I erred, seeking a loving heart.
No one pities my misery.
Cursed be my birth ! Cursed my conception !
Cursed the world ! Cursed all things ! Cursed myself !"
Miss Smith pleads thus for these poor fallen girls:
"Immoral? Perhaps, as we count immorality. But who
of us dares to say that, given their heritage, their ig-
norance, their temptations, we should not have sunk so
low ? Listen : T was only fourteen. I knew nothing ;
my mother sold me.' 'The times were hard ; I had no
work, and a sick sister to feed.' T was an orphan; my
aunt tired of me and connived with an evil woman, who
caused me to be drugged.' 'My own father seduced
^Robert E. Speer, "Missions in South America," 151.
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 135
me.' 'I did not know how to work; to beg I was
ashamed.' 'He promised to marry me, if I proved good
and obedient after six months.' Or as the Indian
mother's lullaby says, 'Abandoned, and alone, I erred,
seeking a loving heart.' These are not suppositious ex-
cuses. They are actual statements, written in letters of
blood in God's book of remembrance. Who will deny
that there is a work to be done for the women of Latin
America ?"
The people of the lower class, as well as those more
fortunately placed, have many noble traits ; they have
strong natural affections, both to their families and to
their friends. Filial love is universal, and brings about
a gentle attitude to old age that we do not always find
in our land. A correspondent says, "Elderly and
married women obey their mothers like little children."
Another, for twenty years a missionary in Mexico, writes :
"Obedience and deference to parents, or to the head of
the family is universal. Grown sons and daughters, who
are working out, take all their earnings home, and are
satisfied with the part that is allowed them by their
parents. Children upon meeting or leaving father or
mother, invariably kiss them either upon the hand or the
forehead."
A new era has dawned in Latin America, and one ex-
pression describes most accurately the present and the
possible future of those fair lands, "the Continent of
Opportunity," a title given to South America by the
founder of the Christian Endeavor Society during his
visit some years ago. Statistics show that the percentage
of illiteracy has always been high in Latin America, but
the hopeful feature is that it is constantly growing
smaller. In former years women were little more than
prisoners in the home, and in many parts of South Amer-
ica it was customary for the careful husband and father to
lock them in the home when he went to business that
they might not come to harm or enter into any entang-
ling alliances during his absence. Women have now a
larger amount of social freedom and greater opportun-
ity for intellectual and moral development. With the
136 WOMEN'S WORK
new freedom have come new problems and new dangers,
but light is breaking everywhere and there is ground for
hope and even certainty of wise solution of these prob-
lems.
8. INDIAN WOMEN
In addition to the women already mentioned in this
chapter, there is another group, belonging to a distinct
class by themselves; these are the native Indian women,
descendants of the early races of Latin America. Few
Christians have any idea of the vast numbers of these
unevangelized multitudes. No one can say accurately
how many Indians there are in Latin America to-day —
recent statements range all the way from eight to seven-
teen millions. The Rev. Gerhard J. Schilling of Argen-
tina, in an article in the Missionary Review of the World
for November, 1915, pleads for the "ten million neglected
Indians in South America." He says that in Ecuador,
Peru and Bolivia the last census reveals the fact that
more than one-half of the population is Indian, and no
man living can tell how many of the aboriginal tribes
still roam the unexplored regions of Brazil. In North
America there are less than three hundred thousand
Indians, and many mission Boards carry on work among
them. In Latin America there has been no general and
concerted work for them — the majority of missions to
them are of a sporadic character, and are distressingly
few in number. The call of these millions of fellow
Americans, many of them in pagan darkness, is one of
the most compelling of our day.
It must be remembered that many of these Latin-
American Indians, notably the Aztecs of Mexico, the
Mayas of Central America, and the Incas of Peru had
reached a stage of civilization and social development
far in advance of the North American Indian, when
the white man landed on the continent. They dwelt in
cities of imposing architecture, some of them had ac-
quired a written language and excelled in various arts and
handicrafts. Their descendants show that they are not
unworthy of their ancestry. Many of the Indian women
show an inherited dexterity in various crafts and indus-
INFLUENCE OF WOMEN 137
tries. A Mexican correspondent says the Indian women
in that country live in villages by themselves, and culti-
vate their little plots of ground ; they carry their flov^ers
and fruit and vegetables to the city, and sell them on the
etreets, or from stalls in the; markets. These daughters
of the Aztecs weave blankets, mold pottery, and make
beautiful lace and drawn work, and still offer for sale
feather work like that for -thich their forefathers were
famous.
Charles M. Pepper says of the Indian women of Bo-
livia, descendants of the Incas : "The Indian woman in
Bolivia occupies a plane on an equality with man. She
has no lord and master like the North American Indian.
She works, but he also must work. She accompanies him
with the pack trains, all the while as she trudges along,
twirling her spools, and winding the wool into yarn; it
is rare to see her without her spools, unless she is weaving
at the loom." He speaks also of the fact that marriage
bonds are not loose among them, and that, on the whole,
the women seem superior to the men.^
A missionary from Lima writes : "Children from the
mountains of Peru, who are of almost pure Indian type,
often show exceptional artistic ability, and frequently
surpass the coast children in ability to draw, to appreciate
good designs, and to develop original decorative motives
from nature forms." The Rev. Alan Ewbank writes that
among the Mapuche Indians of Chile, there is a woman
priesthood, and the machi, or witch doctor, is a woman.
She has some knowledge of herbal remedies, and prac-
tices healing, but is a priestess, as well as a physician.
If a man aspires to become a witch doctor, he must
assume the dress of a woman.
These probably represent the highest type among In-
dian women in Latin America, and promise a hopeful
field for missionary effort. But the great multitude of
Indian women are still in heathen darkness and in primi-
tive savagery. The missionary world has no greater need
than for messengers to carry the gospel to these wait-
ing millions, who are born in paganism and who die
without any knowledge of the Christ who died for them.
^ Charles M. Pepper, "Panama to Patagonia."
CHAPTER IV
THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN IN LATIN
AMERICA
It is difficult to make general statements concerning
the education of women in Latin America, that will have
distinctive value. The work done by Commission III,
on Education, must necessarily include the general lines
upon which the southern republics are developing their
institutions and systems, and in so far as women have
been included in these, they have also been considered
in the report of that Commission.
But there are details wherein the education of women
diverges from that of men, and the state and private
provision for women differs from that for men, and
where, in consequence, the needs of women and men
vary. It is in these details that this chapter, it is hoped,
will supplement the report of the Commission on Edu-
cation.
There has been no body of information accumulated
on this subject. A little here and there may be extracted
from volumes written upon other subjects ; additions may
be made from the reports of missionaries and teachers ;
further additions are possible from the state reports ;
yet, when brought together, these total small, and one
is forced to conclude that if the subject is worth study-
ing at all, it is worthy of the attention of an educational
expert who can speak after first-hand investigation.
138
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 139
And even then, so fast are these southern republics mov-
ing that specific conditions described may have been
changed before the printed report reaches its public.
Bearing this rapid progress in mind, as well as the ne-
cessity of keen statesmanlike supervision which it im-
plies, the subject still seems to be an important one to
consider, for on all sides we are told of the great influ-
ence exercised by Latin-American women.
I. THE INFLUENCE OF LATIN-AMERICAN WOMEN
In the report of the United States Commissioner of
Education for 1909, Professor Rowe, of the University
of Pennsylvania, assures us that in no other portion of
the world is woman's influence as far-reaching; he tells
us that the training of the children is almost exclusively
in the mother's hands, and that the father's authority
becomes prominent only when his son would choose a
calling.
Professor Ross (191 5) states that nearly a third of
the elementary school teachers of Colombia are women,
that further south the relative number rises, until in
Chile it is seventy-five percent., and in Argentina it is
eighty percent.^ He quotes a young Chilean matron as
saying that the mother controls the education of the
children and disposes of the hand of her daughter. He
repeats also the remark frequently heard from observers
of conditions in tropical South America, that the women
there are distinctly brighter than the men, higher in in-
tellectual grasp, quicker of comprehension, but less
schooled. Like testimonials to these might be multiplied
many, times.
It is the character of the Latin-American woman,
whether it be disciplined or undisciplined, it is her stand-
ards, whether they be high or low, that leave the in-
delible imprint upon the children's most impressionable
years. In other v/ords, it is she who largely fashions
the national ideals. It is obvious that her education is
a matter of suprem.e importance. It would seem to be
E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 200.
140 WOMEN'S WORK
obvious also that any projected evangelical effort in
Latin America should take into account both her achieve-
ment and her failure, her opportunity and her need. But
before any expenditures on the education of women in
Latin America can be most helpfully undertaken, there
are certain fundamental questions to be considered.
2. CONSIDERATIONS PRELIMINARY TO ANY ORGANIZED
EDUCATIONAL ADVANCE
a. The Type of School Needed.
The locality in which a school is placed can best be
served by some particular type of institution ; it may be
primary, or it may be secondary in rank, or it may be a
combination of the two ; it may be a liceo or a normal, or
an industrial school. To illustrate : In the Argentine
and in Chile there is a rapid extension and standardiza-
tion of normal schools by the government, accompanied
by strict supervision and even discouragement of private
normal schools. This does not seem to be the case in
Peru or Ecuador. The difference in the national policy
would suggest a difference in the policy of Boards or
individuals wishing to invest their funds most advan-
tageously. Again, the government provision for ele-
mentary schools has in some places been less adequate
than its provision for secondary schools. It is to be ex-
pected that a warmer welcome will be accorded to work
which adapts itself to the recognized need of the locality,
than to that which does not. And this welcome is ac-
corded in the Escuelas Populares of Valparaiso and Con-
cepcion, under the conduct of the Presbyterian board,
and in the Morris Schools of Buenos Aires, which are
largely supported by private contributions, and in the
Instituto Central do Povo of Rio de Janiero, under
Southern Methodist control, all of which admit both
girls and boys. They have found a comparatively un-
occupied field.
b. The Special Object of the School.
Is the object of the projected school to train deacon-
esses, Bible women, and other social workers? Is it to
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 141
furnish teachers adequately prepared for elementary or
secondary schools ? Is it to give wage-earning efficiency ?
Is it to fit wives or mothers for more intelligent super-
vision of homes? Such questions as these must be con-
sidered in the light of the locality and of the social
classes concerned. There must be definite, clear thinking
on the part of the promoters of a school, and absolute
sincerity in the quality of the work done. It should be
kept in mind that the training of a deaconess may not
fit her for a teacher, or the training for the home meet
the requirements of the wage-earner; further, that it is
extremely difficult to combine these different kinds of
work in one institution and retain standards that will
command the respect of the community in which it is
located, or the support of the different classes to which
it would appeal.
c. Shall it be National or North American?
Is the school to be founded as closely as possible upon
North American lines, or in conformity with the national
type of the country in which it is located? This ques-
tion is, of course, in a large measure ansv/ered by the
government itself in the Argentine, through its minute
specifications of curricula and schedules, but elsewhere
the type is less definitely prescribed and must in some
way be determined, either by the people in charge on
the field, by the proper authorities at home, or by both
in conjunction. In any case, a continuity of policy is
to be safeguarded.
3. THE QUESTION OF COEDUCATION
In regard to coeducation, there are widely divergent
expressions of opinion, but the attitude of the Latin-
American peoples themselves seems to be one of tolera-
tion rather than of sanction.
a. In Primary Schools.
Vice-President Edgar Ewing Brandon, of Miami Uni-
versity, shows that the prevailing sentiment is against it
in the large cities of the states, even in the primary
142 WOMEN'S WORK
schools, although in the country, for financial reasons,
or convenience, it is permitted ; some states, however,
forbid the enrolment of boys beyond a designated age
in mixed classes/
b. In Secondary Schools.
The colegios and liceos (secondary schools) are rarely
coeducational.
c. In Institutions for Higher Training.
The higher education offered by the state is coeduca-
tional. For instance, the Escuela de Educacion Fisica
of Santiago, which is almost of university grade, enrols
both, although there are many more women than men.
It especially prepares teachers of household arts, physical
culture and manual training.
In the Instituto Pedagogico also, which is a coeduca-
tional normal college for the state university at Santi-
ago, the women very largely outnumber the men ; but
when it was opened in 1890, no women were expected,
and the few who at first asked to enter were admitted
on sufferance. The graduates from this institution are
nearly what we in the United States of North America
call "college women," and are prepared to teach in the
secondary schools for girls.
In the Argentine a similar institution was provided
by the founding of the Instituto Nacional del Profes-
sorado Secundario in 1904.
The State Universities are everywhere open to wo-
men. In the University of Buenos Aires, the Depart-
ment of Education in the Faculty of Philosophy and
Letters, and in the University of La Plata the Faculty
of Pedagogy, attract them in large numbers. In Lima
Vvomen are v/elcome in San Marcos, and are expected
to enter in increasing numbers as the new Faculty of
Pedagogy' develops its courses. In Montevideo, while
the ''Woman's LTniversity" is really a liceo, it is an in-
tegral part of the University of L^ruguay, just as the
^ "Latin-American Universities and Special Schools," p. 126.
U. S. Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 30, 1912.
EDUCATION OF WO^^IEN 143
liceo for boys is an integral part. But the boys' liceo
is also open to girls, as are the various faculties of the
University. It is significant, however, that there are ap-
proximately two hundred and fifty girls enroled in the
"Woman's University," and very few in the coeduca-
tional liceo.
d. In Xormal Schools.
In the normal schools coeducation is frequently found,
and usually the women outnumber the men. For ex-
ample, at Rio de Janeiro, in the Xormal School, in which
one thousand and seventy-one pupils were enroled, all
but forty were women and girls. A similar report comes
from Bolivia. In the Argentine, approximately half of
the more than seventy state normal schools are coeduca-
tional. The Xorth American influence upon the begin-
nings of these schools may, in part, account for this sit-
uation, for we are told that coeducation is not here gain-
ing ground.
On the other hand, in Peru, the state law provides
for three normal schools for men and three for women,
one of each in Lima, in Northern, and in Southern Peru.
The fact that women, more than men. are crowding
into the coeducational normal schools does not indicate a
growing sentiment in favor of coeducation. It means that
men of Latin America, like the men of North America,
are leaving the education of the children to women.
e. In Schools of Commerce.
In some of the Latin- American countries there is lit-
tle demand as yet for the commercial education of girls,
but it is increasingly being oflfered in connection with
the alreadv established cole,s:ios and liceos. Sometimes
also there are separate commercial schools. There are
several of these in the provincial towns of the Argentine
in which girls are admitted, and of the three schools in
Buenos Aires, one is for the girls alone. In La Paz,
Bolivia, a special two-year course is offered girls, where
the regular course offered to boys covers five years. In
Brazil there are no national commercial schools, but they
144 WOMEN'S WORK
are provided by the provinces, or the municipaUties, and
in some cases the state subsidizes private schools. One
in Sao Paulo and another in Rio de Janeiro are coeduca-
tional, and the latter enrols a relatively large number
of women. In Mexico City the government maintains a
commercial school for women, with a two-year course.
/. In Industrial Schools.
Commercial training is also provided in connection
with industrial, or professional, or technical schools, and
in these cases is usually not coeducational. For example,
the Escuela Profesional Superior of Santiago, estab-
lished in 1888, gives commercial training in addition to
its courses in cooking, sewing, designing, millinery,
painting, modelling, embroidery, woodwork, etc., and in-
structs about seven hundred girls and women annually,
besides giving a three-year normal course to women
wishing to teach in the provincial professional schools,
of which it is the head.
In general, industrial schools are not coeducational, al-
though some industrial training may be found offered in
coeducational schools of other types. To illustrate: In
Brazil, the Escuela Industrial de Meninas, which was es-
tablished by the government at Rio de Janeiro in 19 13,
offers courses to large numbers of girls and women in
sewing, embroidery, designing, dressmaking, millinery,
corset-making, flower-making, bookkeeping and type-
writing. In Magdalena, Peru, the government has just
established a domestic training school for three hundred
girls, which is to teach them to manage their own homes,
or to take ''adequately rewarded service" "in respectable
families." In Lima, the Convent of the Sacred Heart,
which has charge of the women's State Normal School,
located at the capital, offers industrial courses to the
teachers being prepared for work in the elementary
schools. The Liceo Nacional de Sehoritas in Buenos
Aires, while not to be classed as an industrial school,
offers a scientific and inclusive program in domestic
arts.
Costa Rica has established a school of domestic arts
for girls at San Jose.
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 145
San Salvador aids a colegio for girls at Sansonate,
which in addition to the regular curriculum, gives courses
in dressmaking, embroidery and cooking. Panama has
recently established a school for women, where, in ad-
dition to instruction in the Spanish language, arithmetic,
bookkeeping, national history, geography, hygiene, and
home sanitation, they are given training in cooking,
darning, laundry, cutting, designing and costume-mak-
ing, plain and artistic embroidery, hand and machine
sewing, hat-making, etc.
Latin America is clearly recognizing her duty to pro-
vide education of different types for her women as well
as for her men, but does not choose to do so in coedu-
cational schools unless pushed towards it, usually by eco-
nomic considerations.
g. In Schools Not Controlled by the State.
In the non-state schools there is practically the same
tendency noticeable, although coeducation may be said
to be the rule rather than the exception in evangelical
primary schools. For instance, the Escuelas Populares
of Chile are coeducational, as is the Instituto Central do
Povo of Rio de Janeiro, while, of the Morris Schools,
some are coeducational and some are not. Evangelical
and other non-state schools of secondary rank are for
the most part not coeducational. Of the evangelical
schools which attempt work beyond that of secondary
rank, Mackenzie College, Sao Paulo, Brazil, is coeduca-
tional, although of its three hundred and sixty-six stu-
dents, but twenty-seven are women. Granbery College,
at Juiz de Fora, under the Southern Methodist Board,
also enrols women in all of its departments.
4. THE INADEQUATE PROVISION FOR THE EDUCATION OF
WOMEN
Two facts — the rapid growth in population of some
of the Latin-American republics, and the large propor-
tion of Indians in others — of themselves create an educa-
tional problem which would tax the utmost resources
of rich nations to solve. It is not remarkable that the
146 WOMEN'S WORK
provision made by the governments, notable as it has
been, and vigorously as it is being extended in the ad-
vanced states, is inadequate to meet the needs both of
men and of women.
fli What Is Being Done To-day by Each Government.
Professor Ross tells us that ''according to the Colom-
bian census about one person in twenty-two is attend-
ing a public school;" that Ecuador enrols one in six-
teen; and Bolivia one in about forty; and Peru about
eighteen percent, of her nine hundred thousand chil-
dren of school age/ Of the seven hundred thousand
children of school age in Chile, three hundred thousand
are in the elementary schools, perhaps fifty thousand
of these in the church parish schools. The public schools
are full, and children being turned away from them. The
sixty-one government colegios of Chile are also full —
only one-third of them are for girls — and it subsidizes
sixty-seven private secondary schools. In the Argen-
tine, according to the figures given in 191 5 by Dr. A.
Colmo, Professor of Law in the University, Buenos
Aires, the school population was 1,194,000, of whom 865,-
161 were enroled in school, and 670,643, the average at-
tendance, leaving forty-three percent, without education.
In Uruguay the government provision for education is
more nearly adequate But not yet equal to the situation.
The great progress in this republic is shown by the fact
that from 1890 to 191 4 the public schools increased one
hundred and twelve percent. The private schools de-
creased forty-six and nineteen hundredths percent., and
a comparison of the statistics shows that this decrease is
in the lay schools ; in fact, the private religious schools
show an increase. In the University of Montevideo,
there were enroled 1,185 ii^ the faculties, and 1,230 in the
boys' and girls' liceos connected with the university. The
condition in Paraguay is not so encouraging. Statistics
are difficult to obtain, but in 191 3 its university enroled
120, and in its chief cities were five colegios.
' E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 259.
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 147
Most of these statistics indicate at least that there are
unoccupied fields for those who wish to enter Latin
America with educational institutions. It must also be
remembered that the lack of provision for the girls is
greater than for the boys. According to a table recently
prepared, which shows the relative number of schools
for boys and for girls in Ecuador, Salvador, Guatemala,
Costa Rica, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, the
proportion is six thousand nine hundred and eight to
four thousand two hundred and seventeen.
5. THE EVANGELIC.\L SCHOOLS
The evangelical mission Boards that have schools in
Latin America were reported by Dr. W. E. Browning,
at the Conference on Missions in Latin America, 1913,
to have one hundred and ninety-three Escuelas Popu-
lares, and forty-two schools of secondary grade. In the
former they had 15.300 boys and girls of primary age,
and usually of the laboring class, and in the latter 3,610.
He said also that these secondary mission schools gener-
ally have primary departments, and that the larger part
of the pupils are there enroled.
a. The Schools of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
When we examine more specifically the education of
Latin-American girls, the Methodist Espiscopal Church
is seen to have done pioneer work. Its Wom.an's Board
was reported to the above-mentioned Conference on
Missions as carrying four boarding and a number of
day-schools in Mexico. The strongest of these is
at Puebla ; it includes all grades from kindergarten to
normal, and in 1916 its matriculation reached almost
six hundred. Another school is in an excellent residen-
tial section of Mexico City, and has established its con-
nection with the well-to-do classes, in 1916 enroling
fifty boarders and two hundred day pupils. Of the
other two, one is at Pachuca, with an enrolment of 513,
and the other at Guanajuato, with an enrolment of 284.
This Board maintains also an industrial school for poor
148 WOMEN'S WORK
girls in Mexico City, which, under normal conditions, is
filled to its utmost capacity.
In South America this Woman's Board has a school
at Montevideo, Uruguay, of about one hundred day pu-
pils ; another in a well-equipped new building at Rosario
in the Argentine, with' about one hundred and twenty-
five boarding and day pupils ; another at Flores, a suburb
of Buenos Aires, with about twenty pupils; another at
Lima, Peru, which is now in process of moving and re-
organization.
Other schools for girls are maintained by the Metho-
dist Church at Iquique, Santiago, and Concepcion, Chile.
The best known of these is at Santiago ; Dr. Browning
calls it ''the best known school for girls in South Amer-
ica." It begins with kindergarten, and carries the work
through primary and secondary grades, with some addi-
tional courses. It ofiPers also an eight-years' course in
music and a four-years' course in fine arts.
b. Those of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
The Southern Methodist Church limits its work in
South America to Brazil. Granbery College, as has
been already mentioned, is open to women. The Wo-
man's Council of this church has a school at Petropolis,
the Colegio Americano, with about twenty-eight board-
ing and sixty day pupils ; another at Bello Horizonte,
the Colegio de Isabella Hendrix, with ten boarding and
about one hundred and twenty day pupils ; another at
Ribeira Preto, the Collegio Methodista, with about twen-
ty-five boarding and one hundred and twenty-five day
pupils ; another at Piracicabo, the Piracicabano Colegio,
with about thirty boarding and one hundred and twenty-
five day pupils ; another at Porto Alegre, the Colegio
Americano, with about ten boarders and ninety-five day
pupils ; another at Rio de Janeiro, where they are about
to buy a valuable new site. These schools include from
the primary to the seventh grades, except the one at
Piracicabo, which gives work through the tenth grade,
and offers also some normal training.
This Board maintains in Brazil four coeducational
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 149
day schools, with an enrolment of about five hundred
and fifty pupils. It maintains also several schools for
girls in Cuba. Its work for girls in Mexico is notable
at Chihuahua, Durango, Mexico City, San Luis Potosi,
Laredo, Guadalajara, Saltillo, Monterey, and also in the
border schools established on the United States side, and
filled with Mexican children.
c. Congregational Schools.
The Congregationalists have established schools for
girls in Mexico at Chihuahua, at Parral, and Guadala-
jara. The Colegio Chihuahuense, a boarding school, be-
gins with the kindergarten, runs through nine grades,
and offers an additional three years' normal course. The
Escuela El Progresso at Parral is coeducational, and of-
fers kindergarten and work through six grades. The
Institute Corona at Guadalajara, a boarding and day-
school, begins with the kindergarten and offers work
through nine grades.
d. The Presbyterian Contribution to Education.
The Presbyterian contribution to the education of
Latin-American girls is, in Chile, through the coeduca-
tional Escuelas Populares of Valparaiso and Concep-
cion. There is but one in Concepcion, but there are
seven branches in Valparaiso, with an enrolment of
three hundred and twenty-five. There is also a board-
ing department for twenty girls maintained in the cen-
tral building. These schools reach the classes from
which evangelical Christians are drawn.
In Brazil their oldest work for girls is in Sao Paulo,
where the Eschola Americana was organized in 1870.
Out of it developed Mackenzie College, of which it is
now a coeducational preparatory school. It gives an
eight-years' course, which is followed by four in the
college. Few, however, go to college. For a number
of years neither boys nor girls have finished there the
course in liberal arts. They choose, rather, the profes-
sional, or technical work. Altogether there are about
150 WOMEN'S WORK
three hundred girls enroled, but only some thirty boarders
in the Eschola Americana.
In the school at Curityba, in the province of Parana,
there is a small boarding department, but a large day-
school to which small boys are also admitted.
The Presbyterians have a boarding school at Guate-
mala, which with the school also maintained there by the
Friends, is apparently the extent of evangelical provision
for the education of girls in Central America.
In Colombia they have boarding schools at Bogota and
Barranquilla ; and in Mexico, at Aguas Calientes is the
Colegio Morelos, and at Saltillo is a Girls' Normal
School.
e. The Southern Presbyterian Schools.
The Southern Presbyterian Board maintains a school
for girls in Pernambuco, Brazil, where small boys at-
tend as day pupils ; it has a boarding school at Lavras,
which enrols about forty boarders and thirty-one day
pupils. It gives a six-years' primary training, and a
four-years' normal course, of which only the last two
years are of a professional character.
Another school for girls is being opened by the South-
ern Presbyterians at Bom Successo, and there is another
at Garanhuns. In Cuba, at Placetas, Caibarien, Cama-
mani, Segua, and Cardenas; in Mexico, at Matamoras,
Montemorelos, Victoria, Linares, and Tula, are schools
which are attended by girls.
/. Those of the Baptists.
The American Baptist Missionary Societies have
maintained some educational work in Mexico, but their
outstanding work for Latin-American girls is at El
Cristo, Cuba. It is of secondary and normal grade, is
fed by a primary school, and is overflowing with pupils.
The Southern Baptists maintain schools in Brazil, at
Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Sao Paulo, in which girls are
educated, and they plan to cooperate with the Northern
Baptists in a girls' high school at Saltillo, Mexico.
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 151
g. Anglican Schools.
The Anglican Church works chiefly among the abori-
gines, but it has also a boarding school for girls in Te-
muco, Chile, with some sixty boarders. This church
carries education to Indian girls at Cholchol, and Ma-
quehue, and other points in Chile, and into the Gran
Chaco of Paraguay.
h. Other Evangelical Schools.
It has not been possible to give a complete account of
evangelical schools for girls in Latin America, because
up-to-date information from all sections and from all
bodies concerned, has not been obtainable. In Mexico,
the unsettled revolutionary conditions have disorganized
evangelical schools, and in some instances closed them.
However, this period of apparent inactivity promises to
be one of the most fruitful in their existence, because
of the careful re-survey of the territory by the mission-
aries and the Boards working there, and the determina-
tion of most of them to cooperate in their educational
efforts. This will bring, in the near future, a merging
of schools in some places, and an opening of new edu-
cational centers — a great strengthening of the work
through intelligent concentration and expansion.
There are also many small day schools over Latin
America, usually coeducational, under the fostering care
of some individual congregation. While they are fre-
quently shifting in location and only temporary experi-
ments, their influence is not of a negligible character.
i. The Problems of Teacher Training,
It is the desire to provide teachers for these schools,
as well as to provide evangelical teachers for the gov-
ernment schools, that is largely responsible for the ten-
dency to emphasize normal training in the evangelical
educational plans. It should be realized, however, that
in the most progressive of the Latin-American repub-
lics, the greatest advance the state has made in woman's
education has also been in the direction of normal train-
ing. The equipment and standards of the state normal
152 WOMEN'S WORK
schools are setting a pace for the evangelical efforts
which must be recognized.
The evangelical school graduates prefer to teach in
the state schools where larger salaries are usually paid
than in the evangelical schools. They are, however, find-
ing it increasingly difficult in the Argentine and in Chile
to obtain government employment. It is for them a
much simpler matter to enter the state normal school
in the beginning, and thus be ready upon graduation,
without further examination, for appointment to a po-
sition in a state elementary school.
It seems obvious that whenever the evangelical normal
training is given, it must be brought to the point of rec-
ognition by the state, or the most alert and capable
Latin-American students will refuse to take it. Further,
if the teachers employed in the elementary evangelical
schools are not recognized by the state, we must expect
it to close the schools out as fast as it can itself cope
with the educational needs. In fact, this seems to be the
policy already of the Argentine government.
y. The Secondary Schools.
The problem of the evangelical secondary school —
colegio or liceo — is not exactly that of the elementary
school, but it is similar. It has on one hand, a standard
set for it by the government — state, provincial, or muni-
cipal— and on the other, by the convent, or other private
school of like rank. In general, liceo students are drawn
from a higher social class than those of the elementary
schools, although the free government liceos tend to
blur the social lines somewhat, as does also the policy of
entering scholarship-pupils in the evangelical schools.
6. DIFFERENT TYPES OF LATIN-AMERICAN SCHOOLS
a. Three Influential Schools.
(i) Liceo Numero dos de Ninas in Santiago. —
This is a government school distinctly for upper class
girls. One has but to visit the attractive building and
note the refinement of environment, the conformity to
modern hygienic and pedagogical ideas, the emphasis in
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 153
the training upon domestic economy and the understand-
ing of children, and upon a strong physical development,
to see that he is facing a consistently growing ideal for
women's education. It may not conform to the North
American ideal, but it is certainly well for educators in
Chile to become acquainted with it.
There are two courses offered here, one for general
culture, and one for those intending to enter the Uni-
versity of Chile. It is the first of these that appeals
to the pupils.
(2) The Convent of the hmnaculate Conception, San-
tiago.— For the setting in which the Roman Church
places the education of girls of the upper class in San-
tiago, the Convent of the Immaculate Conception fur-
nishes a good example. It occupies a large tract on the
edge of the city, in which are orchards of varied fruits,
great vegetable and flower gardens, vineyards, shaded
walks and ample playgrounds. It raises its own
chickens, and keeps them and its pigs, cows, and other
farm animals under scientific conditions. It furnishes
from its own place an abundance of milk, butter, fruit,
vegetables, eggs, etc., for its handsome, strong looking
girl boarders. Its buildings, although twenty years old,
are in modern, sanitary condition, its classrooms well
equipped, its dormitories spotless and airy, its baths
abundant, its kitchens of the most modern type.
(3) The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Lima. — In
Lima, Peru, there is another type of institution, the Co-
legio de San Pedro, in charge of the Sisters of the Sa-
cred Heart, which has perhaps suggestions for evan-
gelical educators. It is, in reality, three institutions in
one. It definitely recognizes the social distinctions
which divide its patrons, and develops its work accord-
ingly. It may be well for us to consider whether the
democratic North American teacher who feels impelled
to disregard caste, can do so except at the expense of
her work.
In order to keep its three schools separate, the con-
vent is located in spacious quarters. It is built about a
series of quadrangles, made beautiful with flowering
154 WOMEN'S WORK
plants and shrubs and climbing vines. Although these
quadrangles open into one another, the classrooms,
play-grounds, assembly and reception rooms, are entirely
distinct, and the children of the most aristocratic citi-
zens of Lima are on one side, and the children of those
unable to pay tuition are on the other. Both of these
are day-schools, and to the poor a substantial mid-day
breakfast is served free.
In the school for the upper classes the children are
taken from an excellently equipped kindergarten,
through an equally well equipped primary grade to the
ninth. All are obliged to study English. The work
seems to be somewhat akin to that of schools which cater
to the same social class in North America, although the
training in languages is better than in most of these.
The school for the poor children conforms exactly to
the government requirements, and offers five years of
primary instruction. It is the "School of Application,"
or practice school for the normal students, who constitute
the third part of this big institution.
The normal students must have had five years' pri-
mary instruction, and be at least seventeen years old
in order to enter. They come from all over Peru, one
hundred and thirty-five of them in 191 5, and form the
boarding department of the institution. Their dormi-
tory arrangements are as nearly perfect as sanitation,
ventilation, abundant bathing facilities in tub, shower,
and pool, can make them. The kitchen is up to the last
date, and all plumbing, water filtration, etc., of the most
approved type ; in short, the furnishing and equipment
for health and comfort are an example of modern com-
pleteness.
The course of study is that laid down by the govern-
ment. The first year is an extension of their prepara-
tory courses, and in the third year they begin teaching
in the practice school. They are given two examina-
tions a year by government inspectors, and their final
examination consists in conducting classes in the pres-
ence of the inspectors.
The work of this school is much stronger in some di-
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 155
rections than in others. Naturally, it emphasizes those
phases of education which to Peruvians seem most im-
portant, and these may not coincide with what North
American judgment would emphasize. For example, it
is strong in its social training — in a knowledge of the
forms and courtesies which give to the Latin-American
woman that admirably unconscious graciousness which
characterizes her. Perhaps this type of instruction
should play a more important part in first-class evan-
gelical schools than at first thought might be given to
it, and if so, the selection of teachers who can give it
becomes also a consideration.
The Sacred Heart is strong in languages, m composi-
tion and style, and in handwork. This handwork is
not to be dismissed from our minds as a superficial ac-
complishment. It continues throughout the entire
course, and advances from the simplest forms, progres-
sively, through the years, and the results show a re-
markably artistic aptitude and development in the pupils.
Both in variety of work and in the progressive arrange-
ment of subjects it would seem to offer many sugges-
tions to those interested in evangelical schools, especial-
ly in Peru.
It is also suggestive that this institution keeps up its
line of communication with its graduates, and that their
requests for advice, and for kindergarten and primary
and industrial school supplies for use in out-of-the-way
places are responded to generously.
h. Their Complete and Beautiful Equipment.
It may seem that undue emphasis is being laid in this
chapter upon the physical side — upon the material
equipment and environment of the school — but these
things are being purposely emphasized. For it has not
been possible for the evangelical schools, with the means
at their command, to stress them as they should, in •:on-
formity with the ideas of the beauty-loving Latin-Amer-
ican people. And in addition to the artistic require-
ments, it should be understood that there Is now to be
met the requirement of proper dormitories, laboratories,
156 WOMEN'S WORK
domestic science equipment, and the dawning require-
ment of libraries.
It is unquestionably true that the early evangelical
schools stimulated the activities of other educational
forces ; but it is equally unquestionable that at the pres-
ent time, no large returns can justly be expected from
unstandardized, poorly equipped and housed evangelical
schools.
c. Types of Curricula.
As illustrating more specifically different types of cur-
ricula, the programs of science, domestic arts and music
of the Liceo Nacional de Sefioritas, in Buenos Aires,
and of the Liceo for Women in connection with the Uni-
versity at Montevideo, furnish good examples.
(i) That of the Liceo Nacional de Senoritas,
Buenos Aires. — In the liceo at Buenos Aires, the first
year is given to a scientific study of housing problems —
air, water, light, plumbing, furnishing, etc. ; the second
year to foods — their values, conservation, their chemis-
try and the chemistry of digestion, alcoholism, etc. —
and to infections and personal hygiene; the third >ear
to the physical care of children — nursing, artificial foods,
cooking for them, teeth, clothing, bath, etc. ; to their in-
tellectual and moral education — an elementary study of
kindergarten, of the pedagogical ideas of Rousseau,
Pestalozzi and Spencer, and of the ideals and tenden-
cies of modern schools ; to a study of fatigue and of de-
generacy. Parallel to these courses runs a five-years'
training in sewing, from the simplest forms to designing
of the highest type. One year is given to sewing, cut-
ting, and designing everything that a child wears. The
parallel course in music runs through four years.
It is evident that in this school the government makes
clear a conviction that at least some women need 1:0
learn scientifically the technique of home-making.
(2) That of the Woman's University, Montevideo.
— In the liceo in Montevideo the course is that laid
down for secondary schools, and covers four years.
Throughout each year physical exercises are required,
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 157
and the gymnasium is well equipped and directed by a
man from the United States of North America. In-
struction in drawing also runs through the four years.
In addition, in the first year the course includes: Span-
ish grammar, French, arithmetic, descriptive geography,
zoology, and botany ; in the second year — Spanish
grammar and readings from Spanish and American
authors, French, English, algebra, physical geography,
physiology, chemistry; in the third year — Spanish lan-
guage and literature and Spanish-American literature,
French, English, German, geometry, mineralogy, geol-
ogy, physics, chemistry, general history; in the fourth
year — French, English, German, general history, philos-
ophy, literature (including the Bible and illustrating
types of epic, drama, lyric, etc.) cosmography, civics.
In the third year stenography and typewriting also
are offered, and in the fourth, in addition to these, com-
mercial bookkeeping.
The laboratories are adequately fitted out for individ-
ual experimentation, and the library is well started and
organized.
The practical tendency in Latin-American education
shows itself clearly here in the method of teaching lan-
guages. The study of French, for example, has funda-
mentally in view the conversational use of the language.
It begins with easy oral translations into the Spanish,
and simple conversations concerning the body, clothing,
food, houses, cities, domestic animals, means of trans-
portation, divisions of time, the family relationships,
and enlarges its scope, while pursuing the same plan
throughout the four years, teaching not only the special
vocabulary surrounding different subjects, but inciden-
tally giving a good deal of commercial, scientific, liter-
ary, or historical instruction at the same time.
7. CONCLUSIONS TO BE DRAWN
a. Latm America Is Developing Her Own Educational
System.
It should be apparent, even from these very limited
observations, that Latin America is developing her own
158 WOMEN'S WORK
educational plans. She is to offer additional examples,
experimenting with the Montessori method, and estab-
lishing public playgrounds, and open-air schools and the-
atres for children ; she is, in fact, trying out for herself
most of the modern ideas of education, and is adapting
them to her uses where she finds them adaptable. Vv^hat-
ever efforts towards education may be made for her
from outside, must offer an actual, recognizable con-
tribution, if they are to be welcome and respected.
b. Few Women Take Advantage of Collegiate or Uni-
versity Education.
As has been indicated, the tendency of her training
of women is not towards the woman's college of the
North American type. In the universities, the Faculties
are open to her, and she receives recognition for excel-
lent attainment, as in the case of Doctora Leopoldina
Gavifio, who took her degree at San Marcos in Natural
History, 191 1, and lectured on her subject in the Uni-
versity almost to her untimely death in 1913.
There are few, however, who have entered the uni-
versities except for pedagogical, or other professional
training. This means that, in general they are prepar-
ing to earn a livelihood.
c. The Liceo Type Appeals to Upper Class Women.
On the other hand, the upper class woman has so far
been placed chiefly in a convent school, had tutors at
home, or has been sent abroad, and her education has
not gone beyond the liceo grade. But neither has it
done so in any large measure in North America.
It would seem to be the liceo type of school through
which evangelical churches could best appeal to this
class, but they must be liceos on which much more money
has been expended than hitherto, and will probably de-
mand a larger expenditure than any one denomination
is prepared to make. Yet it is important to reach the
upper class woman, for hers is the ruling class, and she
is one of the most influential factors in creating senti-
EDUCATION OF WOMEN 159
ment against wrong conditions, and in bringing about
measures of reform.
d. The Nonnal Schools Are Attracting and Developing
Able Women.
It is especially in the normal schools that one notices
the development of a distinct middle class. This is to
be a very influential class, and certainly evangelical
Christianity should exercise an influence upon it. The
question is, what is the best way? The emphasis which
the state is laying upon normal training, its great re-
sources in funds, equipment, and command of positions
for teachers, impels one to devise some plan by which
these resources can be utilized, and at the same time stu-
dents can be brought into contact with Christianity. The
women in these schools have no dormitories, and
whether the providing of hostels nearby, or the devel-
opment of lodging houses under the control of the
Young Women's Christian Association, in both of which
the women might live under Christian influence, would
be a solution of the problem, deserves to be considered.
e. The Elementary Schools Must Be Maintained.
The evangelical primary schools are still unquestion-
ably filling an educational need, and are receiving rec-
ognition and encouragement wherever they have been
peculiarly successful in contributing to the public better-
ment. They should, under no circumstances, fall below
the government standard for such schools.
f. The Great Religious Problem of To-day.
The foundations of religious faith are being shaken
among Latin-American women as well as men. This
is particularly true of those in the university and higher
normal classes. If evangelical churches would help
them, they must approach along the paths of modern
thought. The problem is not to bring back to their old
beliefs those who have advanced to the so-called ''free
thinking" stage, of which one hears so much ; it is to
lead them further, and to bring them to see that new
i6o WOMEN'S WORK
facts and new points of view are to arise with the ris-
ing generations ; that disbelief, as well as belief, may
become crystallized and static; that evangelical Christian
beliefs are not of this character, but are, instead, living
and growing organisms.
In order to do this we must realize it ourselves, and
the men and women who go out to influence the stu-
dents in these schools must realize it. Otherwise their
labor will count for little.
CHAPTER V
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG THE
WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICA
I. THE WORLD-WIDE RANGE OF THE WOMAN MOVEMENT
That the woman movement has reached world propor-
tions was shown in the biennial convention of the Gen-
eral Federation of Women's Clubs, which met in Chicago
in 19 14. This assembly represented one million women.
Delegates from India, Australia, China, the Philippines,
Germany, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Great
Britain, Canada and Cuba expressed their cordial co-
operation in the aims and ideals of the organization.
Possibly, the most thrilling message was that sent by
Countess Okuma, wife of the Prime Minister of Japan.
After expressing her sympathy and interest in the work
the Federation was doing, not only in the United States,
but for the women of all lands, she said : 'Tt is therefore
a great pleasure for me to send to you, O women of
America, a heartfelt greeting at this time. May East
and West join more and more in the great work for the
advance of all women, and of society the world over!"
While this movement has reached world proportions,
its routes of travel have not always been along wa5^s that
we should have anticipated. It does not seem strange that
women have secured full suffrage, for instance, in eleven
states and one territory in the LTnited States, and in Aus-
tralia and New Zealand, Iceland, Norway, Finland and
Denmark, but we were hardly prepared to see the
161
i62 WOMEN'S WORK
woman's movement make such advances in Oriental
lands.
A striking article by Agnes de Selincourt on "The
Place of Woman in the Modern National Movements in
the East," says: "In India . . . the woman's ques-
tion grows steadily in importance. In a district in East-
ern Bengal . . . where, six years ago, there were
four girls' schools, to-day there are 300. . . . Not
only in the quickly increasing percentage of girls attend-
ing school do we find traces of the new spirit, but in every
department of social life. Clubs are being started,
women's periodicals launched, philanthropic activi-
ties undertaken, all carried on by Indian women.
. . . Times of transition are always difficult,
and the changes which we see taking place in the
thoughts and ideals and opportunities of Eastern
women are such as cannot but give food for serious re-
flection. And yet the dangers of advance can only be
met by still further advance, and surely there are none
who care for the progress of humanity, whose hearts do
not throb in sympathy with these women, struggling,
sometimes crudely, often mistakenly and yet passionately
and sincerely, for light and knowledge and liberty. Who
would not respond to the appeal lately voiced by a Hindu
lady before a Western audience : Tt is clear that our ad-
vance as Indian women must be based on our national
literature, our national history, our national ideals.' "^
The women of India have been fortunate in having
such leaders as Pandita Ramabai, in her community work
for women and children, the lamented Lilavati Singh,
president of the Woman's College at Lucknow, who
made such a profound impression at the New York
Ecumenical Missionary Conference in 1900, and others
who cannot be mentioned here.
In no eastern country is the new woman more in evi-
dence than in China ; one of the unexpected results of the
revolution there was the rising of Chinese women to de-
mand greater liberty and wider opportunities. To the
^International Review of Missions, Jan., 1912.
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 163
first provincial parliament of the Kwangtung Province,
held in its capital, Canton, ten Chinese women were elect-
ed as members. The first three things considered by this
assembly were foot-binding, the opium traffic, and the
sale of young girls for immoral purposes.
2. WHAT IT MEANS IN LATIN AMERICA
A gentleman of South American birth wrote the Com-
mission : *'The new woman's movement has in many
ways, happily enough, not touched the women of South
America." The woman movement, howeter, is deeply
touching Latin America, a fact which is evidenced by the
invariable accompaniments of the changing status of wo-
men— their entrance into industrial life, and the new
education that is being accorded to them. And there are
not wanting the leaders and forerunners in the good
work, who are necessary to guide and guard these new
conditions, though, as yet, our information concerning
them is far from adequate. Elizabeth Fitzhugh, in her
article, "South American Women," mentions several of
these pioneers who are opening a path in which others
can follow : ''The Seiiorita Enriquita Compte was sent to
Germany to study kindergartening in its home, and was
installed at the head of a school of practice for kinder-
gartners in Montevideo; that was the beginning of the
greatest of all reforms in South American education.
Seiiora de Pando, an earnest South American, is known
for her advanced ideas on the uplift of women. The
movement for equal rights, and an open door to all pro-
fessions and callings is not so strong In South America
as in the United States of North America, but it is com-
ing, and the dignified and courageous Sefiora de Pando
is the leader in the movement.
a. Women in the Professions.
"In the professions, there are three Argentine women
who were pioneers in the medical profession, two having
added to their preparation by study in Europe. Doctora
Cecilia Grierson, who established a large practice In
Buenos Aires, took up the work of training male and
i64 WOMEN'S WORK
female nurses and aided the propaganda for organizing a
'Society for First Aid.' Her efforts were strengthened
by the cooperation of the Seiiorita Gracia Lagas, and
Senora Delores L. de Lavalle, the latter a member of an
old historic family. She was for a long time president
of the woman's branch of the Red Cross Society, and
was prominent in other works of beneficence. Senorita
Adela Zamedo is one of the most distinguished female
poets in South America and also a fine artist."
A missionary, who has served for years in Mexico,
writes of the changing outlook for women there : "The
influence of Mexican women has always been great,
whenever they have been interested enough to exert it.
Until recently their interest centered in the home, and
their religious influence there has kept Mexico a Roman
Catholic country, in spite of the fact that a large part of
the thinking men no longer accept the teachings of the
Church of Rome. The influence of these women now
extends beyond the home, and is continually broadening.
They are interested in public sanitation, and serve as
committees to inspect conditions in public schools, and to
do service of like nature. Outside the regular church
activities, women now attend meetings of missionary
societies, temperance unions, working women's clubs, and
mothers' clubs — all of which are helpful and tend to de-
velopment of character." Another worker in Mexico tells
of a number of successful women doctors in that country.
An experienced missionary in Brazil writes of condi-
tions there: "In Brazil, the traditions that surround her
unfit woman for leadership in the destinies of her country.
Few of the professions are open to her; but her position
to-day is not the position she will occupy to-morrow.
She is reading, studying, thinking — and with her new-
found knowledge she will aid her country in securing
more perfect freedom; and with redemption from sin in
her individual life, she will seek to leaven the whole lump
by her influence and work. But even here the new move-
ment is gaining headway. There are several women in
the professions, who without any ostentatious display of
advanced views are quietly making their way to the front
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 165
rank. Sao Paulo has a successful woman physician, and
there are two who have good practices in Rio de Janeiro.
In the law, there are women attorneys who enjoy an as-
sured standing among the best. There are also women
students of pharmacy and architecture."
Other correspondents tell us that the organization of
women is also developing in many parts of Latin
America. A correspondent from Mexico says : "I believe
that there is a great field, not only in Mexico, but also
all through Latin America, for some new organizations
properly conducted which may do more effective work.
As necessary steps to develop such organizations, I rec-
ommend a careful study of social conditions in each field,
so as to find out the greatest needs and the special con-
ditions and preferences of the people. Then must come
the framing of good plans to organize the required so-
cieties, and the furnishing of good literature for definite
and practical programs to secure the required ends."
b. Women's Clubs and Societies.
A missionary writes : "The field of the club seems
to be as large in Latin-American countries as in any
others, and there is no reason why it may not be de-
veloped to an indefinite extent, bringing about the same
results as those to be obtained in any other part of the
world. It may be regarded as a legitimate part of mission
activity, to be developed in connection with church and
school work, with the expectation that the results will be
so telling that the 'club idea' will grow more and more
among all classes of society. There have recently
been organized women's clubs in the interests of
woman suffrage. There has been for some time in our
field a native Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
This has done splendid work in bringing forth leaders
among our Christian women of various denominations in
the much needed temperance work. This society, besides
carrying on its meetings, visits the different native hos-
pitals, especially the one for prostitute women and girls,
giving talks on morality, purity, honesty, temperance,
and on all related lines of social uplift. There can be no
i66 WOMEN'S WORK
doubt that such organizations as the ones just mentioned
have a vast field before them. Other organizations look-
ing toward the benefit of the people, the encouragement
of unselfishness, and the raising up of leaders among the
Christian women, should be encouraged.'*
A correspondent from Lima writes : ''The organi-
zations of women in Peru seem to be mainly for the pur-
pose of promoting better education. Recently, outside of
the church, a number of organizations have sprung into
being which have for their purpose social betterment and
broader educational facilities for women. The oldest of
these was formed many years ago by a group of ladies
of the upper class, with religious, educational and indus-
trial purposes. Gradually the original founders have
dropped out, the religious purpose has been lost sight of,
and all that remains of 'El Centro Social' is a commercial
school. This school has an appropriation from the gov-
ernment which helps to support it, and for a nominal
sum teaches stenography, telegraphy, typewriting and
bookkeeping. One cannot say that these girls go out
very well prepared, but the school helps to prepare the
public mind to receive them, and they get their most valu-
able training in the offices they enter, where the most apt
and intelligent often rise to positions of considerable
responsibility. Occasionally married women take one
or two of the courses, in order to be able to help their hus-
bands in business.
"A society called 'Evolucion Femenina' was founded in
March, 19 14, to encourage the formation of public high
schools (colegios) for women, the dissemination of prac-
tical knowledge about the care of children, domestic sci-
ence and industrial work suitable for women, the develop-
ment of the idea that all honest labor is dignified and
honorable, and to secure civil equality before the law for
women, and the right to manage their personal fortunes
and property, even though married. This society has
established a school for the little girls who work all week
in commercial establishments, or who sell papers or lot-
tery tickets on the streets, to be held on Sundays. At
the inauguration exercises, held July 18, 191 5, sixty girls
presented themselves as pupils.
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 167
"On May 10, 191 5, the women's section of the 'Liga
Agraria' opened a woman's exchange, which receives
articles made by women of any nationality, from any
part of Peru. Its aim is to help the woman who has to
work in her home, and to do away with the exploitation
of woman's work. Hints are sent out, explaining how to
make the articles sent in more artistic and salable. As
soon as it is well established, classes will be formed to
teach new trades and arts for women.
'There is no work in Peru such as is carried on by the
Young Women's Christian Association in the United
States, but in time it should be established. The women
respond to attempts to help them, but while the great
hold the Roman Catholic Church has over them exists
the most successful general work done among them must
be done through schools and agencies, absolutely non-
sectarian in character. There is room for all the or-
ganizations of the individual evangelical missions, but
the work which will effect a general uplift among the
women of Peru must be such that any Roman Catholic,
as well as any evangelical, would feel free to avail herself
of the opportunities offered."
"The Senora Juana Alarco de Dammert has organized
in Lima a 'Society for the Protection of Children,'
which is composed entirely of Peruvians. They have
founded a Children's Hospital, and are recognized as
an authority on child problems in Peru."
Women's organizations seem to be more numerous
and advanced in Argentina than in the other South
American republics, and the following are a few ex-
amples of them.
The National Council of Women, with sixty-four affili-
ated societies, have headquarters in Buenos Aires. Their
building is a center of hospitality, of instruction and of
practical assistance. Their library is open to girls and
women for reading and research. It has a department
of traveling libraries, sending out books to each of
the sixteen night schools in Buenos Aires, and to many
needy places in the provinces. They have an employ-
ment bureau, an information bureau, and conduct a wo-
man's exchange. The scope of the Council's work is
i68 WOMEN'S WORK
shown by its departments of Education, Emigration and
Employment, Legislation, Civil Rights for Women,
Public Hygiene, Peace and Arbitration and Public Mo-
rality.
As an illustration of the philanthropic work of Argen-
tine women, the ''Society of Beneficence," founded in
1823, might be cited. It has in its charge some of the
largest charitable institutions in Buenos Aires, and dis-
penses state appropriations for orphan children, hospi-
tals, an insane asylum, and the great Rivadavia Hospi-
tal. In 1913, there were 18,560 persons assisted, and
one thousand children were born in the maternity ward
of the hospital. Its budget for that year, in Argentine
currency, was $4,936,856.22 — of that, $3,872,416.23 was
given by the government, and all of this great sum was
dispensed by these women.
There is also in Buenos Aires a ''Society for Child
Welfare," in which men and women work together, and
this too is handsomely subsidized by the government.
Its object is to help the needy classes of children, and
it has schools, industrial work, kindergartens, day nur-
series and asylums for them.
This year of 1916 is the Centenary of Argentine in-
dependence, and one of the celebrations of that event
will be a Congress on Child Welfare, held at Tucuman
in July. The President of the Society is a woman, Doc-
tora Julieta Lanteri de Renshaw, and the program will
be conducted under the following departments, all con-
sidered in their relation to the child : — laws, industrial
legislation, hygiene, education, psychology and sociology.
Some of the topics for discussion are : —
Domestic and Social Causes for Infant Mortality.
Child Play.
Types of Education Before Adolescence.
Tuberculosis.
Insufficiency of Legislation.
In both Argentina and Uruguay, there are organiza-
tions of women for various lines of social uplift. Ef-
fective work is being done for the censorship of moving
picture shows. The antituberculosis leagues are con-
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 169
ducting campaigns of education, and taking practical
steps for helping those who have contracted the disease.
The growing appreciation of the evils of alcoholism is
finding expression in temperance organizations in both
countries. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union
in Uruguay, founded in 1892, conducts a vigorous prop-
aganda by both the written and the spoken word, and
reaches clubs, schools and Sunday Schools. In 19 15
a National League Against Alcoholism was formed, in
w^hich men and women work together. Its constitution
was approved by the Minister of the Interior, and by
the Minister of Public Instruction before being adopted
by the League. It numbers among its members cabinet
ministers, national deputies, directors of the public
schools, physicians, and ladies prominent in social life.
The women members have largely assumed the practical
administration of the society.
c. The International Woman's Congress.
The International Congress of Women held a notable
meeting in Buenos Aires in 1910, at which representa-
tives from most of the South American countries were
present. The program was divided into sections on so-
ciology, law, education, science, letters, arts and indus-
tries. Some of the topics discussed were: —
Character as the Supreme End of Education.
Professional and Industrial Schools for Women.
Physical Education of Women.
Schools of Horticulture and Gardening for Women.
Esthetic Culture in Education.
The Education of Immigrant Children.
Teaching Sub-normal Children.
Compulsory Education.
Woman as an Economic Factor.
Union Labor as Affecting Women.
Delinquent Women.
The Political Rights of Women.
Universal Suffrage for Men and Women.
The Legal Status of Women.
Legal Position of Women in Countries Represented in the
Congress.
A missionary to Argentina says of Buenos Aires:
"There are women's clubs in the city, but I am not fa-
170 WOMEN'S WORK
miliar with them. I know there is one especially, counting
among its members many families of high rank. Philan-
thropic work is the strong point. I do not know whether
this question excludes the Young Women's Christian
Association or not. I believe we have the only one on
the continent not connected with a church or school. This
Dne has a large Argentine department, and holds a regu-
lar religious service once a month. It also gives classes
and social opportunities.
"I should say there was a larger field for women's
clubs here than at home. If they could be led, not to les-
sen their charitable work, but to take up regular study,
and to interest themselves in civic reform, it would be an
inestimable gain. I believe some such work has been at-
tempted, but not enough to count."
d. The Young Women's Christian Association.
Buenos Aires, says in its annual report upon its very
interesting work for 1914: '*The first and only city in
South America in Vv^hich work was undertaken by secre-
taries from the United States is Buenos Aires. It now
has two secretaries on its staff from the United States,
also one Mexican and one Uruguayan, besides other
members. Since the arrival of the first secretary, the
Association has become a powerful influence in the social
life of the community. Physicians, clergymen, ship cap-
tains, consuls, merchants and officials are constantly re-
ferring young women to the care of the Association.
Every day women of several nationalities find their way
to our rooms for advice, for companionship, and for
home influence. The board of management is interna-
tional in its personnel, and the membership includes
women of twenty-three nations." It will be seen from
this, that one of the main lines of activity of this Asso-
ciation is to deal with the large number of young women
who are going to the New World in search of oppor-
tunities denied them in the crowded conditions and con-
ventional surroundings of Europe. When request is made,
steamships and trains are met, and travelers are assisted.
The Association often furnishes in its building a home
for girls from a distance who may be unprotected or un-
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 171
provided with a lodging. It has an employment bureau,
which carefully places as many young women as it can
assist. It has a savings' bank, to promote thrift among
them. In many instances young working girls have no
home worthy of the name, and face a dangerous existence
in a single room, or in a cheap boarding house, with no
one to w^hom they are responsible, and no healthful outlet
to their craving for a happy social life. The Association
attempts to meet this natural want; their building is a
place where girls can go with their friends to spend their
evenings, under the inspiration of the secretaries, who
are experienced women of the world, in the true and good
sense of the word.
As their work under modern industrial conditions
throws these girls constantly with men, evenings are ar-
ranged to which they can bring their men friends ; with
the ideals of gracious and self-respecting womanhood
held up by the Association, a new basis of congenial
companionship between the sexes is created — that they
may work and play together as human beings, with
equal standards of purity for men and women, which
will result in a fuller and more perfect life for both.
Not only in Latin countries, but in all lands, the great-
est liberty that has come to woman, industrially, socially,
educationally, has brought a brood of new enemies, espe-
cially to young womanhood, that cannot be ignored.
Those who have reached their fifth or sixth decade have
never been exposed to the dangers that assail younger
women, especially in city life. Their daily work in
public places, the new social liberty that has come to
them, brings them into contact with all sorts and condi-
tions of people, and often hideous wrongs are perpetrated
on them, because they are not safeguarded from without,
as well as forewarned and forearmed from within.
Such organizations as the Young Women's Christian
Association, whose scope embraces "the young woman-
hood of the world," and others of like noble aims, are
indispensable agencies for social service in the times of
transition in which we live. The object of the Associa-
tion is: "To bring young women to such a knowledge
of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as shall make for
172 WOMEN'S WORK
fulness of life and development of character, and to
make the organization an effective agency for the exten-
sion of the kingdom of God among the yomig woman-
hood of the world." To accomplish these ideals, the
spiritual life of the Association is full and rich. At its
Sunday afternoon meetings and daily Bible readings,
clear and constant witness is borne to Jesus Christ and
His salvation as the only foundation on which character
can be built and service can be rendered.
The radical changes in social life that modern eco-
nomic conditions have brought about have forced women,
in a greater degree than ever before, to leave the sheltered
home life, and to work as a member of the community;
this altered position, with its new social relationships, has
been followed by new duties, and by higher claims on the
intelligence than ever before.
To meet these thronging needs, the Commission not
only recommends cooperation with the Young Women's
Christian Association with its broad Christian social pro-
gram, but believes that the missionary enterprise would
lose none of its depth and spiritual power by working
for definite purposes with women's organizations, whether
these be religious in name or not, which are striving for
the growth of righteousness.
e. Their Common Social Interests.
While these organizations are so numerous, yet a study
of them shows that they all have the altruistic note in
common, and though they may seem to be following
widely different lines of endeavor, yet in the deep, un-
derlying motive of every one of them is the desire and
purpose for social service. Sometimes the watchword is
temperance, yet we all know how the Woman's Chris-
tian Temperance Union has widened its lines of effort,
until it embraces every kind of beneficent work for the
betterment of society.
The Women's Club movement, while it began with
culture for its dominant note, now ranges in its national
committees along all the main lines of social service —
education, civics, industrial and child labor, social hygiene,
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS 173
pure tood, household economics, libraries, forestry, good
roads, civil service reform, art and literature.
The persuasive note in the woman suffrage organ'za-
tions to-day is not so much the right of woman as a hu-
man being, with a mind and soul, to have her share in the
state with which her interests are so closely interwoven,
but, by the use of the ballot, to help not only the weak,
but also the erring and criminal among women and chil-
dren, who have fallen by the wayside in these days of
change and transition.
One of the needs of to-day is a vision which looks be-
yond the superficial and extraneous, and sees the secret
springs that are moving the women in their united ef-
forts to do their part in the betterment of the land and
of all mankind. What we need most is a mutual recog-
nition of the nobility and similarity of our aims, and a
resulting cooperation for the removal of the age-long
evils that have afflicted our whole social structure.
With the great tasks before us — tasks which need the
united voice and influence of the womanhood of all the
world for their accomplishment — should we not culti-
vate a fuller appreciation of our common aims, and seek
a closer cooperation and fellowship than ever before in
the history of women's organizations?
The Commission believes that one of the main func-
tions of the movement is to give expression to the collect-
ive voice of the womanhood of the world. What you
think or what I think may be of small importance, but
when your thought or mine is lined with that of hun-
dreds of women in our community, when our club's
thought is shared by thousands of organizations all over
the land — then our thinking becomes a collective in-
fluence, and a tremendous factor in shaping that subtle
thing we call public opinion.
Through this organized influence a new point of view
is being brought to bear on age-long evils, like that of
the differing moral standard for men and for women,
the atrocities of war from the viewpoint of the mothers
of the whole of the human race, a demand for the per-
sistent repression and ultimate abolition of the social evil
174 WOMEN'S WORK
and its inevitable social diseases, and other things that
closely affect the welfare of society.
Believing that these multiplied organizations of women
are the modern expression of their efforts for the better-
ment and uplift of society, the Commission can, in all
good conscience, recommend them to the women of
Latin America as an effective agency for Christian social
service.
CHAPTER VI
THE WORK OF WOMEN'S MISSION BOARDS
IN LATIN AMERICA
In the splendid growth and development of mission
work, women's Boards are no longer limited to the one
line of ministries to women and children. In the closely
correlated life of to-day, the interests of the woman and
the child are inevitably and inextricably linked with those
of the state, and of society at large. How can we sep-
arate the interests of men from those of the mothers of
men? So, in the general movements toward cooperation
to-day, the trend seems to be that on the mission field
women should be associated with men in the administra-
tion of the general problems of men's work, and that
men should be associated with women in the administra-
tion of the general problems of women's work. For
the purposes of this report, however, which is limited to
the work of women's Boards for the women of Latin
America, we limit ourselves to the question of the women
and children of Latin America.
I. THEIR SPECIAL INTEREST IN EDUCATIONAL SERVICE
Education has always been a key word in the work of
women's missionary organizations in all lands. In the
marching orders of missions, the command was to teach
as well as to preach ; the two are inseparable — what
Christ hath joined together, let not man, or woman
175
176 WOMEN'S WORK
either, put asunder. Nothing shows more plamly the
blessing of the Heavenly P'ather on the work of women
in missions and His guidance than the fact that they have
been granted this vision of the mind of the Master.
One reason that makes them know so well the value of
educational work is that childhood is the sacred charge
of womanhood; during the child's school life, and
through it, the mother knows intimately, and prizes high-
ly, the functions of the school. Again, woman does not
despise the day of small things ; the greater part of her
life is devoted to patient, quiet ministries, and the mis-
sion school in its beginnings is almost always a small
thing; it deals with children, and results with them are
things of the future. She is content to toil without large
returns for the present, that she may reap a harvest of
transfigured lives in the future.
It is especially gratifying that the missionaries have
been so sympathetic with the efforts of the republics in
South America to establish public school systems for the
training of their future citizens, and a number of these
missionaries have made valuable contributions to this end.
"When General Sarmiento was elected president of Ar-
gentina, one of his first official acts was to give Dr.
William Goodfellow, an American missionary returning
to the United States, a commission to send out a num-
ber of educated women to establish normal schools in
Argentina. In Ecuador, the Rev. Thomas Wood, also an
American missionary, gave the president of that republic
a plan of public instruction, which was adopted by the
president and his cabinet. Congress also passed a bill
adopting it, and giving one hundred thousand dollars to
carry it into active operation."
That these systems have not yet attained efficiency is
not surprising; this leaves a large field of educational
effort, especially for schools for women and children, to
the mission Boards. The very heart of the study of
Latin-American womanhood in this report is the need
for distinctive Christian education, from kindergarten
upward, that shall not only make for culture, but for
character and for service for Christ.
MISSION BOARDS i77
2. TYPES OF THIS SERVICE
a. The Kindergarten.
Miss Phoebe Thomas, a self-supporting missionary,
opened in 1882 the first kindergarten in Brazil, if not in
all South America. This was in successful operation for
a number of years, and several Brazilian girls were here
trained to be kindergartners. Its far-reaching value
is shown by the fact that a family of high social posi-
tion was converted to Protestantism through their chil-
dren, who attended the school. Miss Marcia Brown,
after several years of fine work in teacher training in the
Eschola Americana, was appointed to a position in the
state normal school, and began the work of training kin-
dergartners there. It is to be regretted that of late the
mission schools have all but discontinued the use of kin-
dergartens ; the competition of free government kinder-
gartens, the lack of funds and of space have all doubt-
less contributed to this unfortunate policy. The kinder-
garten should stand at the threshold of the elementary
school; by simple plays and songs it teaches the value
of work, the ideals of purity, unselfishness, morality and
truth — in a w^ord, the very elements of Christian char-
acter.
An experienced missionary strongly urges the need of
the kindergarten in Mexico: 'Tor the improvement of
the education of the children, American kindergarten
methods are greatly in demand. As a people the Mexi-
cans are musical, and the children respond readily to the
songs and games; the admirable devotion of the people
to their children makes them appreciate such opportuni-
ties when aflforded by the missions. Possibly there is no^
better way of breaking down prejudice than through the
kindergarten under mission auspices." What is true of
Mexico, seems to be true of Latin America generally.
b. The Day Nurseries.
In localities where the pupils, whether of kindergartens
or of graded schools, are largely the children of working
people, day nurseries for the little ones would be a valu-
able annex. The little children of the poor, almost as
178 WOMEN'S WORK
soon as they can walk, care for the baby brothers and
sisters that follow so fast after them. One missionary
writes : "I have seen children so small carrying babies
on their backs that the little ones had to be tied across
them diagonally, so that their feet would not trail on
the ground." Day nurseries would relieve these little
burden bearers of their charges, so that they would be
free to go to school; such nurseries would take a load
from the minds of the mothers as they toil for their daily
bread ; they would be blessings to the health, the happi-
ness and the character of the babies themselves — for
who can tell how soon the seeds of truth, of purity, and
of love of God can be sown in the little minds and
hearts !
c. Provision for the Needs of Children.
The high rate of illegitimacy, which robs so many of
these little "children of shame" of the normal ties of
orderly family life, and the deplorable rate of infant
mortality, should make an incomparable appeal to the
mother heart of other lands, as it is increasingly making
it to the hearts of the womanhood of Latin America.
When Jesus set that little child in the midst as an ideal
of character for His selfish, ambitious disciples. He an-
nounced the Bill of Rights of childhood: "It is not the
will of your Father in heaven that one of these little
ones should perish!' And now that we are following
His example and setting the child of our day in the
midst, we are realizing that it has its inalienable rights
in the social structure, as well as the man and woman
— ^the right to be happy, the right to its wonder world
of play, that world wherein lies the beginning of knowl-
edge ; the right to grow unburdened, unhindered ; the
right to an education, which shall equip it adequately
for the coming duties of citizenship; the right to be
shielded from the soiling touch of sin, which will rob it
of its divine inheritance of innocence. May it be our
happy task in these days of child study to minister to
the children of Latin America, in the spirit of Him who
MISSION BOARDS 179
lifted the childhood of all the race when He took the
little ones of long ago up in His arms and blessed them I
d. Secondary Schools.
But not only must mission Boards minister to the child
in the day nursery, in the kindergarten, and in the prim-
ary grades, they must have adequate secondary schools
for the formative and critical period of adolescence.
And these should be planned to reach the young women
of the high-born and influential class, as well as the
daughters of the poor and of the middle class. The
woman's Boards have established a few such schools in
the past, and have thus reached families that would not
enter an evangelical church. The graduates of these
institutions are carrying into their homes the high ideals
and Christian principles gained from the instruction and
example of consecrated teachers. As the Bible is taught
in every grade in most of these mission schools, the
Word has been hid in the heart of the student, and has
often in later life fulfilled the promise of God, by bring-
ing forth the fruits of Christian character and service.
While the public school systems of Latin America
have not attained full efficiency, yet they have set new
and high standards for education. Christian missions, in
order to keep abreast of these growing demands, must
greatly expand their educational work, especially in the
development of liceos. These should be established on
a scale and with an equipment that has not been reached
hitherto, involving large expenditures of money, both for
an adequate plant and for a faculty, that will be beyond
the capacity of any single Board to accomplish alone.
The higher the grade of education, the more need is
there for union ; equipment is m.ore costly, and an efficient
faculty more difficult to secure ; and moreover, the insti-
tutions must stand comparison with others which are
backed by the unlimited resources of the government.
Wom.en's union Christian colleges should be planted in
large centers of population, where there are already
primary and secondary schools of sufficient size to fur-
nish a constituency for them. The Ginling College for
i8o WOMEN'S WORK
Women at Nanking, China, which is owned, controlled
and maintained by the woman's missionary Boards of five
different Churches, is an illustration of what can be done
by Christian cooperation. Such colleges would not only
furnish higher education for women on a scale hitherto
impossible on the mission field, but would be an object
lesson in Christian union.
2. THE SIMILAR NEED FOR EVANGELISM
a. Following up the Elementary School.
While the great preponderance of educational work-
done by woman's Boards in Latin America, and indeed
in all lands, is such as to fill our hearts with gratitude,
yet we feel that these splendid achievements should be
supplemented by equally vigorous evangelistic efforts.
A missionary in Valparaiso, Chile, makes this effective
plea for women evangelists, to follow up the work of the
schools: "Every school opened in Latin America means
an entrance at once into scores of homes. The teachers
cannot do this work — it is not fair to expect that they
should. All mission schools are undermanned, in both
educational and domestic departments. Most teachers
have extra classes or social work for evenings and Sat-
urdays. It is physically impossible for them to follow
up the avenues of influence opened to them through the
school. Take, for example, the Escuela Popular in Val-
paraiso, with 300 children in the central school, and 200
more in the five neighborhood schools, scattered over a
radius of ten miles. The principal of that school teaches
half of the day, and visits and teaches English in each
of the neighborhood schools every week; she is without
help in the oversight and management of the boarding
department, and she holds a weekly normal class for her
teachers, a mid-week evangelistic service, and a Sunday
school of 100 children on Sabbath morning. Can she
work also among the families of the school children?
And yet at least one-half of the effectiveness of the
Escuela Popular, as a missionary agency, is entirely lost,
simply because there has never been a young woman
who could give her entire time to following it up.
MISSION BOARDS i8i
The Escuela Popular draws children from the upper
middle class who can be reached by the gospel in no
other way. Many of them are socially superior to our
humble chapel services. Some, having become dis-
illusioned in regard to the professions of the dominant
Church, have drifted to the extreme of open indifference
and godlessness. In the school, each child has his
Testament and hymn-book. He takes them home. Who
shall open them up, and explain their message to the
mothers? The child has advantages which his mother
has not, superstition loses its hold upon his opening
mind; too often this reacts upon his home and parental
authority — he . . . rebels against parental restraint
and discipline. The fault is not with the child — it is the
misfortune of the mother.
**How often one hears it said, *0 let us work for the
children — the old folks are hopeless !' My heart goes out
to those hundreds of thousands of women, ignorant and
superstitious if you will, but many of them toiling on day
after day, faithful to the light they have, uncomplaining,
never dreaming of overturning existing social conditions
by revolt, sacrificing themselves, that their boys and girls
may have advantages they never dreamed of. Shall
nothing be done for them?"
b. Home Visitation.
But while the work of following up the students of the
mission schools is so urgent and important, yet the task
of the woman evangelist is greater than that. One of the
Continuation Committee Conferences, held in Asia, 1912-
19 1 3, recommended to woman's Boards working there
the organization of groups of women to do evangelistic
work under the direction of the missionary Boards, giv-
ing especial attention to former students of Christian
schools, to the visitation of their homes, and to the ex-
tension of work into unoccupied fields.
Home visitation is but another form of evangelistic
work, and the Commission's correspondents from the
mission field are unanimous in recommending that more
i82 WOMEN'S WORK
of it should be done. In this way, many women
can be reached who would never enter an evangelical
church. One of the most experienced missionaries says :
''Visiting in the home is one of the very best methods of
Christian work. The sick and afflicted in our congrega-
tions need to be visited, and the parents of all children in
the day schools and in the Sunday school. New families
should be followed up and wider relations sought. In
many cases the way is open for instruction in the care
of children, home hygiene, temperance, in placing good
books, and in unnumbered lines of influence. The great
aim should be, as in every phase of missionary work, to
bring all into personal relation with Jesus Christ as their
Savior and friend, and to help to give true ideals of life
and work, showing how to make the most of what is in
the possession of each family. No kind of work gives
better results in bringing people into the church and in
stimulating the Christian life of those who are already
members. It brings the missionary or Bible woman into
closer relations with the people, helping her to enter into
their joys and sorrows, and thus to gain a helpful in-
fluence over their hearts and lives."
A correspondent writes : *T firmly believe that
home visitation is almost the only way to get at the older
and aged Mexican women. We reach them in their
homes to a certain extent through their daughters when
we have their daughters in our schools, but that is only
indirectly, and not as forceful as getting at them first
hand. The daughter is at home only in vacations, or she
teaches or marries and sets up her own home. I should
think a visitor's aim would be to make clean, orderly.
Christian homes and I believe the results would be aston-
ishing if we could have more than one visitor for every
sixteen thousand homes, which is about the proportion of
ordained missionaries we have to every sixteen thou-
sand Mexicans. If we might have one visitor at every
mission station, one who knew how to show Mexican
women how to be visitors, it might be worth while to ex-
periment. Have one trained woman who could give all
her time to the work and then with missionary wives and
MISSION BOARDS 183
native women as assistants, we could create quite a little
revolution in the land."
Our large number of Chilean correspondents give this
form of work strong emphasis, and speak of the warm
welcome they receive in the home. A missionary
says : "In all the years I have visited in Chile, I have
never been rudely received in a single home, though I
have gone to many where the gospel is bitterly opposed."
c. The Use of National Workers.
The use of Latin-American women for this delicate
and important work of home visitation is undoubtedly
desirable. They know their own people as an Anglo-
Saxon can not, and they can often reach them and meet
their needs in a way impossible to one of a different race.
An example of efficiency among Latin-American
women workers was given by Mrs. F. S. Hamilton, until
her recent death, agent of the American Bible Society for
Mexico : "Another energetic Bible worker in the capital
city is the blind colporteur, Guadalupe Rosillo, who goes
fearlessly about offering her Testaments on the streets, in
the stores, and houses. When she enters one of the typical
tenement houses, consisting of rooms built around a
large open court, the children, of whom there are always
many, gather around and escort her from door to door,
listening to her explanations of the little books she of-
fers, and calling others to come and listen to the story.
Her great anxiety is that whoever purchases her book
should recognize it as a very precious treasure to be
studied and heeded and used as a guide to a better life;
so when she offers a Testament she at once begins, in
her wonderfully musical voice, to describe its contents,
telling some of the stories and getting her hearers deeply
interested. She has sold 511 books during the year, and
that means hard, exhausting work, where money has been
so scarce, and poverty so bitter."^
A missionary correspondent in Mexico writes : "There
have been some really talented native Bible women, vis-
itors and workers. A few have received their training in
* American Bible Society, "Annual Report for 1914," 241.
i84 WOMEN'S WORK
the United States, but the majority of them have learned
all they know in the mission school. A number who have
proved excellent, Spirit-filled workers, have gained much
from association with, and from being tutored by, the
American missionaries."
That Latin-American women should be trained for
this intimate, personal work seems a most reasonable ser-
vice. A Bible woman's training school, opened in some
of the great cities, seems a desirable and needed branch
of church activity.
In fact, it should be our policy to give these women
workers positions of increasing responsibility, and an ef-
fort should be made to give those of marked mental and
spiritual qualifications an equal rank with that of the
foreign missionary ; for it is true of Latin America, as of
all the great mission fields of the world, that its ultimate
redemption must be wrought out by its own people. The
missionaries must feel that they have no right on any
mission field, except the right to help in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ; their aim should be to make them-
selves unnecessary as soon as possible, and their atti-
tude toward the work they have toiled so hard to estab-
lish should be that of John the Baptist to Jesus of Naza-
reth, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
d. Visiting Nurses.
The use of visiting nurses in mission work in Latin
America is a new branch of service, but seems to meet
with general favor. Mrs. Arthur Yeager, wife of the
governor of Porto Rico, writes of the successful begin-
ning of this work in that island : "Visiting nurses from
the Presbyterian Hospital are doing a peculiar, effectual
work here, in and around San Juan. One young woman
has made during three months of 191 5 (January, Febru-
ary and March), 1131 visits in the homes, treating 130
different patients. She works in the diet kitchen of the
hospital in the mornings, and spends three hours every
afternoon in outside nursing. A visiting nurse in San
Juan has made during these three months 1,118 visits
to the sick. She is a graduate nurse, and the Porto Ri-
MISSION BOARDS 185
can doctors find her work very acceptable. She has given
out 1,138 quarts of milk and five dozen eggs to the poor
children and sick adults. After the terrible fire she dis-
tributed clothing to sixty children, and aided the mothers
in finding employment. There is a wide field in the island
for many visiting nurses."
One woman, for twenty years in missionary work in
Peru and Chile, writes : "In Chile, there are no visit-
ing nurses. In Peru there are a few in Arequipa and
Cuzco, and they have done excellent work in winning
the trust and confidence of the people. This line of work
is invaluable as a missionary adjunct, and further de-
velopment would meet a great need in both countries."
A number of Mexican correspondents strongly endorse
this branch of service, and urge that district nurses be
added to the mission forces there.
In addition to ministries to the sick, especially in the
homes of the poor, the visiting nurses could teach moth-
ers how to care for infants and children, and give instruc-
tion in sanitation and the general laws of health. The
visiting nurse is now considered an essential part of an
up-to-date municipal equipment; she is surely as neces-
sary in the mission station as in the modern city. When
day nurseries are established in connection with a kinder-
garten or school, the visiting nurse could have them un-
der her supervision.
e. Evangelism Through Literature.
Possibly the lack of good literature is one of the
greatest weaknesses in missionary work for Latin-Ameri-
can women; the whole range of wholesome fiction for
young people and stories for children are wanting.
There comes from Peru a plea for a woman's maga-
zine, voiced by a correspondent : "A Roman Cath-
olic priest has said that his Church has full control of
Peru because it has the women entirely in its power.
If we wish to Vv^in Peru for Christ we must reach the
women. The same is true even in a stronger sense of
Bolivia, and no doubt applies to all Latin America. While
many women here cannot read, those who have been
i86 WOMEN'S WORK
educated enough for that eagerly read all the books and
papers they can find. Their intellectual life is starved,
and their whole life is very narrow. To relieve this,
not only should more books be translated into Spanish
and Portuguese, but a real woman's magazine is needed,
published for Latin-American women. It should do the
work for these women which the great magazines in
the United States do for the women of that country,
dealing with the problems of the home life especially,
and having departments of fiction, hygiene, sanitation,
cooking, home decoration, clothing the family, care and
training of children, religion, woman's duty toward the
public, etc. It should provide wholesome fiction to re-
place the bad variety of Spanish novels and stories now
extant. While not a church paper, its tone should be
decidedly religious, even evangelistic, and it should
eventually serve to propagate our religion.
"Hygiene and sanitation as we understand them, are
almost unknown among the poorer classes, especially in
the interior. Children are very poorly cared for, so that
the death rate among them is very high ; this is due to the
ignorance of their mothers. They are also poorly
trained. Houses here are decorated with furniture and
other articles which are neither useful, comfortable,
sanitary nor ornamental. These women need to be in-
fluenced toward independent thinking; their religion dic-
tates to them just what they shall believe and much of
what they shall do ; the laws of the country give them
very little recognition, and among themselves they have
little to talk of except gossip, which makes them afraid
to do anything not strictly conventional. They also
need good common sense articles treating of many sub-
jects to broaden their view and do away with their su-
perstitions.
*'The magazine should be a good one, printed on good
paper, well illustrated, such as would command the re-
spect of all ; if not, it would be likely to fall into dis-
favor at the start with the higher class of women, and
then it would have difficulty in winning its way. It
should be of such a high class and so very practical that
MISSION BOARDS 187
it will be read in spite of its religious department. If
well conducted it would soon become very popular, judg-
ing from the experience of other publications, so that
with subscriptions and advertising it would soon pay for
itself. At first all articles would have to be submitted
free of charge, but if missionaries and friends at home
would take enough interest in the enterprise to send
enough for the first numbers, and permission could be
secured to make translations from other periodicals,
there would be little diiificulty in starting it.
"A competent woman editor, one who is a real mis-
sionary with the interest of the work at heart, and who
knows the Spanish language and people, a secretary, a
business manager, and a board of managers would be
necessary. Lima would be a good place for the publishing
of the magazine on account of its central location ; also
the work of publication should be done right here to
arouse the women and draw their attention to our work.
Evangelical work has no distinctive enterprise in Peru.
"There is no magazine especially for women in Latin
America, so far as I know. All the secular magazines
of any kind in Peru and Bolivia are sensational, sensu-
ous and often vicious, but they never lack readers."
How helpful would be a series of well written bi-
ographies of women, who have been pioneers and leaders
in new lines of social service in our day. Who can
tell what inspiration to higher thinking and fuller liv-
ing might come from well-written biographies of
Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth Fry, Frances Willard,
Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, and o^
other noble women of our times?
CHAPTER VII
THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE COMMISSION
I. THREE GENERAL CONVICTIONS
The Commission, after studying the conditions of wo-
men and children in Latin America as given in the lit-
erature and in the correspondence from many mission-
aries and other v^^orkers, have come to the conviction:
(i) that the Christian forces now at work in these fields
are wholly inadequate, for as yet large areas are un-
touched; (2) that a closer relationship of the two Amer-
icas should be the earnest desire of all Christians ; (3)
that now is the opportune time for advance, for the
woman's movement, Christian at the core, of which our
missionary work is an integral part, has begun its leav-
ening power in Latin fields.
This is a testing time for the womanhood of the
Church. Will their work keep pace with the new com-
mercial life, with the growth of educational opportuni-
ties, with the advance of civic movements opening up to
the women of Latin America? If so, the forces must
be increased in number and efficiency, and must be
backed by greater loyalty, more real sacrifice, and more
intelligent prayer on the part of the women in the home
church. The responsibility, the privilege, the ability are
ours, the victory also may be ours in His name.
188
CONCLUSIONS 189
2. SPECIFIC FINDINGS
a. The Women Commissioned for Service in Latin
America should he Gifted, Cultured and Specifi-
cally Prepared.
In view of the position and influence of Latin-Ameri-
can women, and the new opportunities and responsibil-
ities opening out before them, we think it imperative that
the missionaries sent to those countries should be women
of courage, faith, adaptability, special gifts, thorough
training and marked spirituality, who will help to de-
velop the wealth of material in the women of Latin lands.
They should be women of tact, with the ability to be all
things to all women, whether the burden bearers of the
poorer class, or the women of finished social graces of
the upper classes. In a word, we crave the finest and
highest type of North American womanhood to go to
this great and promising field. They should be women
of culture and refinement with the ability to enter into
the life of the beauty-loving artistic, impressible Latin
women. They should be broad-minded, and should seek
a sympathetic approach to those whom they would help.
Their methods should be to present the truth as it is in
Christ Jesus, and let it do its work, rather than to
attack the Roman Catholic faith.
The Commission thinks, in addition to a broad and
thorough college course, that a study of the history of
the Roman Catholic Church, of the Latin-American coun-
tries, of the Romance languages, especially the Spanish
or the Portuguese language, before going to the field,
would also increase efficiency. Some should have train-
ing in journalism, because there are many opportunities
for the presentation of the work in the .press, and be-
cause there is a growing need for the development of
Christian literature.
h. Their Number Should Be Increased.
The work must be developed with reference to all
phases of social service, education and evangelization.
To that end, the number of missionaries and teachers
190 WOMEN'S WORK
must be increased, and the plants now in operation must
be enlarged and more fully equipped.
c. Provision Should Be Made for Varied Types of
Educational Service.
The Commission finds the educational work of the
woman's Boards so splendid in its results that it would
emphasize the need of enlargement, and of better equip-
ment, that adequate provision may be made for all ages,
from the child of tender years to the woman in the uni-
versity. Provision should be made for kindergarten,
primary, secondary, vocational, and college training, not
forgetting that many must be trained as teachers and
many more as social and evangelistic workers.
The opinions of our correspondents vary a good deal
in regard to coeducation. Some of the missionaries who
believe in it theoretically, doubt the wisdom of using it
in Latin America at present ; we have, therefore, no
definite recommendation to make, but would trust our
teachers on the field to adopt it or not, as the condi-
tions surrounding the schools may warrant.
d. Inter-Board Cooperation Is Desirable.
The women of Latin America, in the great tasks be-
fore them, should have the best preparation that the
Christian nations can give. Since no one Board is able
to furnish the facilities and equipment for higher edu-
cation that conditions to-day demand, it is recommended
that in large centers of population, where there are suf-
ficient primary and secondary schools to provide a con-
stituency, that the various woman's missionary Boards
cooperate to establish woman's union institutions to af-
ford the desired higher education.
There should be not only cooperation between women's
missionary Societies working in Latin America, but the
fullest coordination of the work of men and women in
Christian education, with an equitable representation of
women in counsel and administration.
e. The Work of Evangelisation Shoidd Be Pressed.
Conditions that have been found in the homes of the
children who attend our schools make it evident that
CONCLUSIONS 191
some steps should be taken to increase the evangelistic
work done by the women. It should include not only
the old lines of Bible-women's work, but also visitation
in homes, and following up the students of our mission
schools on a scale never before attempted. Every church,
chapel and school represents an increasing number of
open doors, and every one of them should be entered, and
the claims of Him who stands at the door and knocks
should be presented.
Not only should there be the personal approach through
home visitation and district nursing, but wherever the
way is opened, women evangelists should seek to save
the women and children, both by teaching and preach-
ing. Latin-American women should be trained in larger
numbers than ever before to carry Christ's message of
love, not only to those in our missions, but to the great
unoccupied fields of Latin America.
/. Literature Should Be Freely Utilised.
The ministry of the printed word should be used on
a scale never before attempted. This should embrace
the issuing of translations of the best books available,
and the establishment, as soon as possible, of well edited
magazines for women and children.
g. Latin-American Workers Should Be Used in a
Greater Degree,
Because of the temperamental differences of the races,
and the difficulty in acquiring a ready use of the lan-
guages, as far as possible Latin-American women should
be employed in the social, evangelistic, and educational
work of the missions. Lack of training has partly ac-
counted for the few that have been used. At many more
stations, training schools and conferences should be con-
ducted for the native workers and for the wives of the
native pastors. It is universally conceded that if the
women of Latin America are to be reached and helped in
any large way, it must be mainly done by their own
countrywomen.
192 WOMEN'S WORK
h. Organized Christian Social Service Should Be Pro-
moted.
As an effective means of helping the women of Latin
America to a larger outlook and greater efficiency, we
recommend active cooperation and participation in the
following lines of organized Christian social service :
(i) A cordial cooperation of all woman's missionary
agencies with the formation and activities of Young
Women's Christian Associations, and of the woman's
temperance societies.
(2) The formation of parent-teachers' associations in
the Christian schools, where the mothers and teachers
can meet at regular times for the study and discussion
of problems relating to the child, the family and the
home. If possible, in connection with such associations
visitors should be employed who are well equipped to
enter the homes and there teach the high ideals for
which we are striving.
(3) The formation of alumnae associations in the
schools that are sufficiently advanced to grant diplomas
or degrees. This should be done that the educational
and cultural advantages of these more fortunate women
may be put into active use for the broadening of the edu-
cational ideals, for community betterment and for na-
tional advancement.
(4) Since few of the higher class women who are
the logical leaders in their communities have been
reached by evangelical forces, there should be more
definite cooperation in the employment of women of suf-
ficient social graces to reach the leading class and to
engage their increasing interest in the world move-
ments amono- women. Whatever form these societies
may take, they should stimulate in the women a social
conscience that will impel them to study the new perils
to young women, brought about by the education and
industrialism of to-day. This study should bring a
sense of responsibilitv for the safeguarding of the wo-
manhood of the nation. In every instance Latin women
should be made the leaders in these movements for they
must come to realize that the liberty they enjoy as cit-
CONCLUSIONS 193
izens of republics places heavy responsibilities on them
for the solution of the difficult problems in the life of
the women of the nation. No greater achievement can
be hoped for than that the growing womanhood of Latin
America shall find the expression of its larger life in
service to her sisters.
i. Cooperation Is Essential.
The great note of unity in service should run through
all our work — social, educational and evangelistic, for
this is a day of conservation. The urgency of the task
should permit of no waste. The Latin people are already
familiar with the outward and visible unity of the Ro-
man Communion, and no less with the weakness result-
ing from the division in that Church in the past. Over-
stressing denominationalism will bring a similar weak-
ness in our work.
The great task of bringing evangelical Christianity to
Latin America cannot be accomplished with divided
ranks. It demands the combined forces of Christianity
to develop a statesmanlike policy for the accomplishment
of the task.
As we push forward to make Jesus Christ King and
Saviour of our western hemisphere, we should remember
that it can be done only in answer to His prayer — "That
they may all be one . . . that the world may believe
that Thou hast sent me."
APPENDIX A
CORRESPONDENTS OF THE COMMISSION
ARGENTINA
Mrs. Harry E. Ewing, Buenos Aires.
Miss Carrie A. Hilts (Methodist Episcopal Church), Buenos
Aires.
Mrs. B. A, Shuman, Buenos Aires.
Mrs. S. H. Strachan (Evangelical Union of South America),
Tandil.
BRAZIL
Mrs. D. G. Armstrong, Bom Successo.
Miss Layona Glenn (Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Rio
de Janeiro.
Miss Eliza Perkinson (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
Petropolis.
Dr. Marie Rennotte, Sao Paulo.
Mrs. A. C. Salley (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.), Flori-
anapolis.
Miss Ida Schaffer (Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Pira-
cicaba.
Miss Sophia Schalch (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
Piracicaba.
Miss L. A. Stradley (Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Pira-
cicaba.
Notes by a Brazilian Man, also Notes by a Brazilian Woman —
Translated by Miss Glenn.
CHILE
Miss Elizabeth Cronin (Methodist Episcopal Church), Santiago.
Mrs. W. A. Shelley (Methodist Episcopal College for Girls),
Santiago.
Mrs. C. M. Spining (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Valparaiso.
m
APPENDIX A 195
Mrs. A. R. Stark (British and Foreign Bible Society), Valpa-
raiso.
Mrs. A. E. Turner (Paper on Mexico), Valparaiso.
(Twenty-one names listed on paper, sent by Miss Smith. Three
contributors not listed.)
COLOMBIA
Miss Martha Bell Hunter (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Barranquilla.
CUBA
Miss Anna M, Barkley (Woman's American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society), Santiago.
Miss Beulah B. Hume (Woman's American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society), Victoria de las Tunas.
Miss Belle Markey, Matanzas.
Miss Frances B. Moling (Directora, Colegio Eliza Bowman),
Cienfuegos.
Miss Mabel V. Young (Woman's American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society), El Cristo.
MEXICO
Miss Ellen After (Woman's Missionary Council, Methodist Epis-
copal Church, South), San Luis Potosi.
Miss Blanche B. Bonine (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Mexico City.
Miss Jessie L. P. Brown (Christian Woman's Board of Mis-
sions), Piedras Negras.
Miss Esther Case (Woman's Missionary Council, Methodist Epis-
copal Church, South), Mexico City.
Mrs. C. E. Conwell (American Baptist Home Mission Society),
Mexico City.
Miss Effa M. Dunmore (Methodist Episcopal Church), Guana-
juato.
Mrs. William Wallace (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Coyoacan.
Miss Jennie Wheeler (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Saltillo.
Miss Victoria Wikman (Woman's American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society), Puebla.
One unknown contributor.
PERU
Mrs. J. A. MacKnight, Lima.
The Rev. W. T. T. Millham (Evangelical Union of South
America), Lima.
Mrs. H. A. Nordahl (Methodist Episcopal Church), Callao.
PORTO RICO
Mr. Marshall C. AUaben (Woman's Board of Home Missions,
Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.), New York City.
196 WOMEN'S WORK
Miss Bertha Lacock (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
Bayamon.
Miss Mary O. Lake (Woman's American Baptist Home Mission
Society), Ponce.
Miss Adell N. Martin (Woman's American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society), Caguas.
Miss Nora E. Siler (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
Bayamon.
URUGUAY
One unknown contributor.
OTHERS
Miss E. Jean Batty (formerly of Buenos Aires Young Women's
Christian Association), Providence, R. I.
Miss Clementina Butler (formerly missionary in Mexico), Prov-
idence, R. I,
Miss Florence Nichols, Lynn, Mass.
Miss Martha Nutt, New Orleans, La.
Miss Mary L. Thomas, Ft. Smith, Ark.
Miss Lois Joy Hartung (Methodist Episcopal Church), Puebla.
Miss Elma Irelan (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
Piedras Negras.
Miss Fannie Malone (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
Piedras Negras.
Dr. Andres Osuna (Director of Public Instruction, Federal Dis-
trict), Mexico City.
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUS-
SION OF THE REPORT
At the Meeting of the Congress on
Wednesday, February 16, 1916
AGENDA FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT
I. In view of the changing social customs and industrial
conditions as they affect the life of women, what should the
Christian agencies do to safeguard the welfare of the com-
munity? Chap. V, page 29.
II. How may Christian ideals and the Christian spirit most
profoundly and extensively influence home life? Chap. Ill,
page 12.
III. What can be done to correlate the work so that men
and women may together face the task of reaching all classes
of people and bring all the work to the highest state of effi-
ciency? Chap. VI, paragraph 1, page 35.
IV. In what ways can the present methods of education of
women in Latin America, as conducted under the auspices of
missionary agencies, be improved so as to make them contribute
more effectively (1) to the home and community life, (2) to the
national aspirations and ideals, (3) to the new industrial condi-
tions and requirements, (4) to the developing church. Chap. IV,
page 35.
Considerations of space have made it necessary to abbreviate
the addresses and remarks made in the course of the presenta-
tion and discussion of this Report. In doing this the attempt
has been made to preserve everything that throws light upon
the subjects considered in the Report. It has not been found
possible in many cases to submit the report of the addresses to
those who delivered them for their revision.
198
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE
REPORT ON WOMEN'S WORK.
Miss Belle H. Bennett of Richmond, Kentucky, Secretary for
Women's Work of the Methodist Church, South, introduced the
report as follows : I shall take but a brief time to outline the
report which is in your hands. Let me express the obligation of
the Commission to Dr. Ida Harrison and to Dr. Irene Meyers
for their important shares in producing it, as well as to many
others.
The introduction declares that it is the first report of the kind
which has been attempted at any great missionary conference.
The Commission had no precedents and little literature on which
to rely. During the past year there have probably been pub-
lished more and abler books on South America than in any
previous five, or perhaps ten years. But most of these books
had nothing to say with regard to woman. She has been prac-
tically a negligible quantity and quality in the scientific litera-
ture of the world until this Congress was held.
The Report begins with the pioneers of Latin-American Mis-
sions, considering only a few out of the many. I was in Brazil
three years ago and heard men, now acknowledged leaders
of South America in politics, education and literature, who
spoke with the greatest reverence of Miss Watts, who was
their honored teacher. We next dwell upon the education of
womanhood in Latin America, despite all that has been so well
stated in the report on education. Dr. Meyers brings out many
details we need to know better with regard to educational work
in Latin America. No educational system, however well it looks
on paper, makes an educational spirit nor does it guarantee an
educated nation or community. While in South America re-
cently, I passed magnificent school plants, with a student body
that was scarcely worth while. I also went into many institu-
tions where the faculty was unworthy of the fine plant which
199
200 WOMEN'S WORK
had been entrusted to them. In too many institutions through-
out Latin America reports are made for the reader. They are
truly "scraps of paper." The chapter discusses coeducation in
the government schools. In Latin America, as in t"he United
States of North America, the school room has been the first
professional opportunity open to women. All over that land, as
in our own land, women are entering the school room, but many
of them are not prepared for their work. One of Latin
America's greatest needs is an abundance of thoroughly cultured
and well trained teachers. Notice what the report has to say
about normal schools in Argentina and in the other republics.
A great effort is being made for education. Now these normal
schools are often crowded with women. In one, in the very
heart of Rio de Janeiro, I spent a quiet day, and of the more
than a thousand students only forty were young men. The others
were all young women. In the graduating class there were five
young women and three of them were from one of the mission
schools. In that land, as in our own, women are making an
effort to become teachers that they may be able to support them-
selves and their families. Others, especially in Argentina, Chile
and Uruguay, are establishing commercial and industrial schools.
I found a very fine school of this type in the city of Rio de
Janeiro. At its head was a woman of refinement and culture,
belonging to one of the best Portuguese families of Rio. Her
social standing brought into the school some young women who
otherwise would not have gone. Economic independence is a live
issue all over the world. Some have said here that woman is
the real key to the evangelization of Latin America. If we can
utilize as leaders in education and in social service these high-
bred, cultured women of Latin America we can solve the prob-
lem of reaching the people effectually.
The girl in Latin America is in the hands of her mother
almost exclusively until she is ten or twelve years of age. The
mother has the right to control her education, invariably con-
trols her religious and social life and according to many wit-
nesses has the right to determine her marriage. The girl in North
A.merica has much more independence, perhaps too much, but
in Latin America the clinging together of the child and mother
makes it absolutely imperative that, if we would win South
America to the Lord Jesus Christ, we must win the motherhood
of that great land. Of the education of the upper classes let me
say just a word. What we need in South America, if we would
reach the leading people, are splendid school plants that will
attract attention. They are accustomed to beautiful homes and
to magnificent buildings. Our insignificant little school plants
do not seem to them well equipped. Greater attention to ex-
ternals will be a really profitable investment. Some have said
that many women, especially in Chile, are to be found in the
state universities. I do not believe that there is any great num-
ber of them that enter the universities except for professional
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 201
courses. At least I could not find them. I pass now to social
service. It was the desire of this Commission from the very
beginning to indicate a way whereby the North American wor
men might enable their Southern sisters to join in this great
movement for uplift. This must be done by reaching their
natural leaders. A class system controls Latin America as per-
haps no other region, unless it be in the Orient. Along with
many high-bred, cultured ladies there are great masses of wo-
men who have had no education but appeal to us by their great
needs, which demand womanly hearts and consciences. But
their appeal is not alone to the women of more favored lands.
As the great apostle Paul acknowledged that he was indebted to
Greek, Hebrew and barbarian, is it not true that we all, men
and women ahke, are debtors to motherhood and womanhood
and bound to make them reach fullest fruition?
Rev. Juan Orts Gonzalez (Presbyterian Church in Cuba,
Sagua la Grande) : I would like to mention two good reasons
for the work of women for women. The first is the power of
the confessional in Spanish-speaking homes. Through it the
priest rules quietly and secretly and gets at every section of
society. No Protestant clergyman can possibly duplicate this
sort of influence. Again, Latin Americans have a very exalted
idea of personal honor. They will put up with almost anything
else, but they cannot forgive anything that implies a lack of
honor. In family life in the best society this means an unwill-
ingness to allow outsiders to have any private conversation with
the women. It would be considered something that could not
be done. Thus it is that men cannot do the work that must be
done for women. Women must do it. I know well the mass of
women, high and low, in Spanish-speaking countries. There is
much sweetness and fineness about them, and yet a firmness in
maintaining standards that cannot be matched in any way. What-
ever we plan on this behalf must be done by women if it is
to succeed.
Srta. Elisa Cortes (The Y. W, C. A., Buenos Aires, Argen-
tina) : Probably every one has read of the white slave traffic we
must constantly fight in Buenos Aires. It is a never-ending
menace to those who come to Argentina as strangers. Our main
resource in meeting this danger is the travelers' aid department
in our Young Women's Christian Association. Through it we
keep the girls from Europe who for economic reasons or because
they wish to see the world or are attracted by tales about Argen-
tina come to Buenos Aires. They start without a knowledge of
Spanish or of the country. Many a girl has reached the city
with perhaps a single pound in her purse. We have a secretary
who gives part of her time to meeting such travelers. She wel-
comes this girl, makes her feel that she has a friend in the city,
and brings her to the Young Women's Christian Association
Building, where we try to make her feel at home. We never
talk about our boarders there, but say "transients" and "our
202 WOMEN'S WORK
family." She becomes really a part of our family. Our employ-
ment secretary studies her abilities and helps her to find a posi-
tion which will give her economic freedom, A similar service
is being rendered to the young women of Argentina. When one
writes to us that she thinks of coming to Buenos Aires, whether
she is looking for work cv is a teacher who comes to take final
examinations, we make her a part of our family. So in case of
students who are taking professional courses at the University,
they too may become a part of our family. When these '^irls
come they are taken around, so that they may know both the
attractions and the dangers of the city. They are made to feel
entirely at home, and yet are quickly given their share of re-
sponsibility, as in a real family, for the good fellowship and
benefit of all. Our lunch room likewise meets a great need. We
make it possible for young women to come to our lunch room
at the building instead of going to a milk shop. We have a
comfortable rest room and serve an attractive lunch for 45 cents,
Argentine. There is a piano and a reading room as well as a
safe guardianship from the dangers to which any unprotected
young woman is exposed. These advantages few can realize
who do not live in Latin America.
Mrs. Theodore S. Pond (Presbyterian Church in U. S, A,,
Caracas, Venezuela) : It was said here, a day or two ago, that
mission work in Colombia and Venezuela has had meagre results,
considering the long occupancy of these fields. Knowing the
hardness and difficulties and the inadequate way in which they
have been occupied, I do not consider the results gained meagre.
Much has been accomplished ; and far from being disheartened
and discouraged, I see a bright and hopeful outlook. In visiting
Barranquilla, on the way to this Congress, I was impressed by
what had been accomplished there in twenty-one years, particu-
larly in the work of the schools. It only needs following up
in the homes. The Presbyterian mission in Venezuela had, up
to three years ago, only one missionary family and now has
but two. No great sweeping success can be chronicled, but much
prejudice has been broken down, and the doors are wide open.
The opportunities for woman's work in Caracas are very great.
We need a boarding school there badly. In our two day schools
the Bible is taught. They are really Sunday schools, open every
morning every day of the week. The children from both Roman
Catholic and Protestant families are taught the Bible. They are
taught to pray to God in the name of Jesus. Some of them
come to our home, where they are taught Old Testament his-
tory, the life of Christ and the way of salvation. No child leaves
our school without a saving knowledge of the truth, and many
of them are effective, though unappointed missionaries. House
to house visiting is systematically carried on, not only by the
missionaries but by the native Christian women, who go by
twos. Wherever possible they read a passage from the Bible,
interpret it and offer prayer. Then they distribute tracts or
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 203
Christian literature, both in the homes and on the streets. We
have developed some industrial work among the poor women,
hoping to keep them through economic independence from lives
of sin and shame. If we could dispose of the finished work
satisfactorily, we could help to-day a hundred women instead of
twenty or thirty. While they are thus working, the opportunity
is seized for presenting the Bible and many other important
lessons to them. There is great need for visiting nurses, for
hospitals, for dispensaries, and work of this kind. We have
good doctors in Caracas, but no nurses, and the sick are always
with us. The physicians tell us that one-half of the children
born in Caracas die before they are five years old. A quarter
of that number die not because of the climate, but because of
the ignorance of the mothers. \^'e need greatly a teacher who
could train these ignorant young women.
Miss Clarissa H. Spencer (World's Committee, Young Wo-
men's Christian Association. New York City) : If any one at
any time knows of Latin American young women or girls who
are coming to the United States to live or to study, who would
like to have the Young ^Yomen's Christian Association take an
interest in helping them, send their names and the date of their
arrival or their addresses at home or in North America to the
National Board, 600 Lexington Ave., New York City. It is our
business and very great pleasure to be of any service to them.
I have unfortunately never visited Latin America, but wish to
say a word of our experience as an Association movement in
Latin Europe, where we have studied the problems involved in
the care of young women. The section of the Report relating to
Christian social service (pages 163 to 174) in Latin America sug-
gests one remark. In many of the problems which agitate our
Anglo-Saxon world of women, the strong Christian women of
Latin Europe take little interest at present, but just as soon as
we placed emphasis upon social service, these, ladies were aflame
with interest. Some of the finest contributions at our World
Conference were made by leaders from Latin Europe whose
hearts were very tender toward the social problem, social injustice
against women, and the special wrongs of the working girl. In
France they recognize that a girl should be prepared not only
for her life as a business woman or as a working woman, but
also for her life in a home as wife and mother. They also have
a wonderful plan for training them in saving and in keeping
money. In many ways these French ladies set a fine standard.
The Association found just a few years ago, that it had to
face this woman's movement, for it was really a movement of
women who were trying to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit,
and had been brought about in many countries by Christian teach-
ing, prayer and service, so that as Christian women, v/e could not
stand apart from it, if we were really to be true to our re-
sponsibilities to women. We find that our members in Latin
Europe are very alive to the responsibilities of Christian women.
204 WOMEN'S WORK
If the Christian social gospel set forth in this report is put
before the union of Latin America, I for one feel sure that
there will be a response. It will uncover leadership ; it will
make new friends for all Christian enterprises and will help to
promote a new order of things.
Miss Annie Coope (Missionary to the San Bias Indians, Re-
public of Panama) : The San Bias Indians are located on a
small island off the coast of the Republic of Panama about one
hundred miles from Colon. Six years ago I went there at the
request of an Indian chief, who was willing that I should teach
the Bible and English. The priest in control there heard about
my presence and sent two Indians with rifles to order me to
get off the island. He said to me that he was there to reach
the people and to help them, and that I had no right to be
there at all. I replied I had a perfect right there, because I was
sent of God to preach the everlasting Gospel of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ which had saved me and would save the
Indians. He forced me to leave the island, but as I went away,
I told him : "You have done your best to put me off the island,
but by the grace of God I will be back here again and you will
be out of it." All that has come true. He is now out and I
am in. I have a little church with a wooden frame which was
built by the priest who was there, but I occupy it and he is
elsewhere. The island is very small with a population of about
six hundred. I do a great deal of work with the children, hav-
ing two schools on the main island, and a small one on another
island a little way off, where there are about fifty scholars. In
all I have about one hundred and seventy boys and seventy girls.
There is one Christian man there now who has given his heart
to Jesus. He can speak and read and write English. He was
taken by the captain of a vessel when a boy and given a little
education. There are many Indians in the mountains who are
coming down occasionally to visit the island. I do not know
how many Indians there are in that region, because no white
man is allowed to go among them. President Poras of Panama
told me when I was going out there that I would better not
go because the Indians would kill me. T said: "Well, sir, I am
Roing in the name of Jesus with the sword of the Spirit which
is the Word of God." When about a year ago. His Excellency
risked his neck among the Indians and knocked at my door, he
found me all right. Some day I hope to get up amons: the Indians
in the mountains to preach the Gospel to them. Perhaps one
of the boys with me will become their messenger. I am so glad
that I have had the privilege of living with those dear people.
They are eager to learn. They come to my school in the morn-
ing as soon as the sun rises and r^ay sometimes until eleven or
twelve o'clock at night. For the first two months I was there
I taught school three times a day, and had some private scholars
besides. As soon as one group of children went out, another
group came in. They seemed to think that I could live without
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 205
eating. I almost live by teaching, for I have never been sick.
Let me tell you something of the results of this work. Therfe
are results in sanitation and morals just as well as other results.
When I went to that village the houses were so close together
that you could hardly walk in a straight line, but now we have
broad streets and fences. There were ten saloons on the island,
but now there is not one, I teach the Bible a great deal to
these people, and they like it more than anything else. We call
our school a Bible School. If I ask the people "Which book
will you have?" They say, "I like the Bible. I like to read
about Jesus." The women at first did not want the girls to
come, but after talking to the chief, he said to the people, "You
want your boys to be educated. Then you want your boys to
be married. They will want wives that can read and write just
like themselves." Now I have twelve married women that come
sometimes and they are doing very well. My experience shows-
what plain straight- forward teaching and preaching can accom-
plish.
Rev. a. B. Howell (American Baptist Home IMission Society,
Oriente, Cuba) : I feel especially qualified to speak on the work
of women for women, because in the first place the two per-
sons who have had the largest influence on my life were wo-
men, a Roman Catholic mother, and a Sunday-school teacher.
The opportunities which are oflFered the teacher and missionary
in making known the truth of the Gospel in Latin America are
magnified in importance, if we believe that Romanism con-
siders the women its true champion and defender. As long as
Romanism can keep its hold on the women it has no fear of
losing its power upon the men. The thing to do is to get the
Gospel into the home. The way to the heart of any parent is
through the child. The teacher in the school wins the love and
confidence of the child and the child brings the teacher into its
home under conditions of honor, esteem and confidence, which
she could never control as a missionary alone. There is another
approach to every woman by the way of sisterly comfort in
sorrow and affliction. What comfort has a Roman Catholic
mother in the sad hour of bereavement? Her only hope for
that dead one is the hopeless and distressing thought of purga-
tory! Is it any wonder that a broken-hearted mother will give
all that she has. even pawn her clothes, in order to have the
means of mitigating the punishment of her loved ones in purga-
tory? There is no better opportunity than the hours of bereave-
ment to show the real teaching of Jesus Christ about the future
life and that of the Church of Rome.
The Extension of Christian Ideals
Mrs. Wm. B. Allison (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
Guatemala City) : When I went to Guatemala City I had no
way of knowing how to go and buy things and had to depend
upon servants. I soon found out there was a servant prjDblem
2o6 WOMEN'S WORK
even in Guatemala. But I also made up my mind that through
it there was a point of contact for me with these people; while
these people were in my home as servants I tried to get Christ
into their lives so that they would live Christ before the women
who employed them. Well, these servants went out from our
home into prominent homes in Guatemala. It was not very long
before I began to hear of their influence. One would have
thought, as the applications came in, that I was running an
employment bureau. I was often asked if I knew where more
servants could be found like those. It proved to be a very good
way of making the lower and upper classes get together. You
can tell a home in Guatemala, where one of our faithful Chris-
tian servants has gone, because they preach Christ through their
service just as well as a pastor. We have a prayer meeting
in connection with my Bible Class. A Christian servant went
into the home of a sister of the ambassador of Guatemala to
the United States. He at one time was very much opposed to
the priesthood. This servant went into her home and was set
to work. At first she made the beds very well, and then be-
came careless. One day the ambassador became very angry
about his poorly made bed. He called up the servant to scold
her. She denied making it that morning. As she went on with
her work she felt very badly because she had told that lie. She
confessed it to me and finally went to the ambassador himself
and told him that she had told him a lie. He was surprised
at her coming to tell him, and asked her why she did it, and
she said : "Because I am not going to our Bible meeting with a
sin-scarred conscience and a bad heart, so I felt I ought to come
and tell you." Is it strange that that man afterwards respected
Christianity? The mother of that home came and wanted to
have prayer, and brought the girl with her, kneeling down and
praying together with the servant girl.
We can do a very important work by getting at the children
through the nurses. In Guatemala the nurses have a great deal
to do with the children, so that there is a peculiar opportunity
to spread the gospel in that way. Women of this class do not
work as common servants in a home, so we have organized a
nurses' training school with a small hospital in connection. There
we have five girls ; three will soon form our first graduating
class. In our girl's school we have also many girls who are
being trained to go out and live as Christians in their own
homes.
Miss Mary Irene Orvis (Christian Woman's Board of Mis-
sions, San Antonio, Texas) : It is undeniable that it is harder
to reach the Latin-American women than the Latin-American
men. While the man goes abroad with his mind open for things
that are new, she stays at the entrance of her home guarding
its traditions and its religion from foreign encroachment. The
key that will open that door to the gospel message is what we
must find. One approach which has been scarcely mentioned in
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 207
this Congress, is the free clinic with its station for the free
distribution of milk and ice for children. We have tried this
in El Instituto Mexicano. In that country only eighteen out of
every hundred children born live to reach the age of six years.
There are many causes for this. One of the principal causes
is the ignorance of the mother and her lack of proper food
for the child. In our free clinics we open our door to all. We
have doctors who come in from the outside to examine these
people and prescribe for them. We have a resident nurse to
prepare the modified milk as each child needs it. While the
people are at the station, waiting their turn to see the doctor
and the resident nurse, the other young woman of the institu-
tion walks about among them, speaking to this one and that,
inquiring after their homes or their children or about the parents,
telling them what they should do, and pointing out what they
ought not to do. We have received at our doors women bearing
in their arms their very sick children and saying, "Sehorita, I
am a Catholic, but my neighbor said that did not make any
difference here. My child is very sick and I do not know wh^t
to do. May I come in?" Later, we have seen that same woman
leave our doors with joy in her heart, bearing medicine and food
needed for her child, and calling down upon us the blessings of
all her saints. In all my experience in this work I have never
known a home of any of the people who came to the clinic to
be closed to our workers. We have been trusted and honored
guests in their homes, whenever we had time to go there. An-
other effective approach to the hearts and homes of the people
is their growing interest in societies and clubs. One of the most
effective has been the Charity Club. Charity is no new thing
in Latin America and the grace with which the Latin-American
woman dispenses charity is one of her most lovely characteristics.
So we have brought together women of different creeds and
nationalities to join in preparing clothing and food for the poor.
In these societies we have been able to discuss at first all the
problems that affect the home. The wise leader has a mosr
marvelous opportunity. I appeal to the mission Boards repre-
sented here to send us first-rate leaders for Latin America.
We do not want the women who cannot be used anywhere else,
but only those who can give their sisters some idea of their
heritage as daughters of the great king.
Miss Elm a Irelan (Christian Woman's Board of Missions,
Piedras Negras, Mexico) : Much has been said about finding a
contact with people we wish to reach. There is another method
which is quite readily utilized in Latin America. I refer to the
care of orphaned and deserted children. All Latins deeply ap-
preciate Christian charity. Rich Mexicans give bazaars and balls
for the sake of charity. Even little children often go without
some sweetmeat in order to spend the equivalent for some
worthy cause. Not only is there the sweetest kind of hospitality
in the homes of Latin women, but often their doors are open
2o8 WOMEN'S WORK
to whole families of relatives or other poor people who may
need them. This sheltering hospitality is given sometimes, when
Anglo-Saxons can see only useless indulgence. But sometimes
this hospitality seems to disappear and the children, especially
girls, become the servitors of their supposed benefactors; girls
who should have no greater responsibilities than those of the
class-room are made to serve in hot kitchens or to act as
nurses for those who have learned to treat them as inferiors.
One contribution to the solution of the problem of the care of
such waifs is the establishment of Christian orphanages. It is
my honor to be the superintendent of one such home, now only
two years old. From the beginning of our work it has found
favor with all classes of people in the community in which we
live. One woman said she did not know that Protestants did
this charity work. We have been helped by government officials,
and by each of the three political parties which have controlled
Piedras Negras since the beginning of this work. Only one has
imposed duties on the articles of food and clothing brought
across the Rio Grande, and then some concession was made
because of the character of our work. We have been asked to
look after individual girls from time to time. We have saved
some of them from immoral conditions and others from filth,
all of them from some form of suffering. Six lost their fathers
because of the war; seven were taken from immoral surround-
ings ; four were being raised as little servants in homes that
were not their own ; one was saved out of the streets ; two others
were children of very poor widows; three out of the twenty-
two have been taken away because official objection was made
to our keeping them. Three beautiful little girls were saved only
by the fact that we had signed a contract that they should be
left with us until they had completed their education. We found
it was not best to send our girls to public schools or to private
schools, so we started our own school last year, with but one
teacher. Now we have five teachers and over a hundred chil-
dren are in attendance at this school. Ten out of the twenty-two
girls have, at their own request, given themselves to the Savior,
no persuasion having been used on them. It shows the oppor-
tunity.
Miss Mabel Head (The Committee on Cooperation in Latin
America, Nashville, Tenn.) : All who honestly face the situation
on the foreign field must admit that there is much wastage, that
our work has not been planned to secure the highest efficiency.
This is in part due to the lack of a definite policy, in part a lack
of support or of sufficient well-trained workers, but there is also
too much overlapping of the Christian forces in the face of
great unreached areas. I do not speak of the results that come
from a lack of correlation and unity of effort among denomina-
tions, but of a sadder waste that comes from the failure of
different agencies in a single denomination to work together.
Dr. Cook spoke the other day of the unbalanced situation with
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 209
reference to boys' and girls' schools. Let me illustrate from an-
other phase of work. In a certain town the Board I represent
has a large and flourishing girls' school. In the same town there
is, in its poorest part, a small church served by a good man who
has had few advantages. That church cannot properly serve the
religious interests of the school. Not far distant is a smaller
town where there has recently been built a good church, served
by a strong, vigorous, earnest young man, who has a small,
struggling congregation of rather illiterate people. The last men-
tioned church and pastor could cultivate the interests of the girls'
school successfully, and the church and pastor first mentioned
would do well the work in the smaller town. The results
at present are not attained as they should be. The woman's
Board that planted the school and the general Board responsible
for the church did not have any united policy. They never sat
down together to study the whole field and plan the work, so
that it would fit together each part strengthening every other
part. I would to God that our Board was the only one open
to this criticism, but we have plenty of company. The Boards
at home are really responsible, not the missionaries. Too many
decisions are made and policies fixed in sheer ignorance of the
real situations. Men are needed on women's Boards to give
the man's viewpoint, just as women are needed on men's Boards
to give the woman's view-point. There is often in women's
Boards a lack of due consideration of those things that men
would see and bring to the fore, and there is just as surely in
Boards made up of men a lack of attention to those things that
women would see and bring to the fore, call it good house-
keeping or what you will. Just here let me say that there is
evidently some misunderstanding abroad about women's Boards,
for I have heard it said that there are no such Boards. But
there are several independent Boards wholly responsible for the
conduct of the work. Some send out both men and women.
Others only nominally supervise the missionaries at work and
still are merely auxiliary to the Board made up of men. If
women need to take up the education of boys in a larger way,
and some are ready to do it, then they must send out men for
such work. Our own woman's Board, when it was an indepen-
dent Board had boys in the schools up to the age of twelve, but
there was an understanding that we should not do any work for
older boys. The time has surely passed when women and their
Societies are only collecting agencies for Boards made up of
men. One woman now at this Congress, the officer of a large
Woman's organization in a church where the mission Board is
made up of men, said to me that she has been asked to repre-
sent her Board in one of the regional conferences. She said,
"How can I represent the Board? I am not a part of it. I only
know the meagre published reports and a little that some of the
good men think to tell me." Strangely enough a man who is a
member of that same mission Board said in speaking of one of
210 WOMEN'S WORK
those unbalanced parts of the work in a certain field, "This
school has been overdeveloped. This would not have been done
had some women been consulted." I suggested that they appoint
women on that Mission Board, but he replied that it would be a
very radical step. Many a splendid advance movement on the
part of general Boards, and on the part of women's Boards,
has failed of its largest fruition because not planned coopera-
tively. Many strong women seek fields of labor, such as clubs
and charities, where they have a chance for administration.
Their power should be used, especially in planning the location
and development of girls' schools. A Board of men and women
has been constituted to control and conduct the union educational
enterprises in Nanking, China, consisting of a university, a
woman's full-grade college, a medical school and a theological
school. This seems wise and right in the face of our great
enterprises which demand the best in all of us. I renew a plea
for a laying aside of all prejudice and for a reorganization that
will enable all of us of both sexes to do all of which we are
capable in the full administration of foreign missions.
Miss Margaret E. Hodge (Board of Foreign Missions, Pres-
byterian Church, U. S. A., Philadelphia) : I am in much sym-
pathy with the remark of the Report about the need of whole-
some reading for women, girls and children. Some one re-
marked that the mission presses have only printed books of a
religious character for girls. It is wrong for us to suppose that
they do not want or need anything else. Farther along in the
report a plea is made for a magazine for women. I was trying
to picture what that would mean to the young people of Latin
America. I know how my early reading influenced me. I read
almost everything that came my way, except the purely religious
reading of the preposterous sort that was current in those days.
Now many Latin-American girls go through the schools with-
out having anything but religious literature. Their minds are
awakening, but we have no real, varied mental food for them,
A fine example of cooperation in the United States is found in
the federation of women's Boards. A committee has been ap-
pointed by it to study this whole matter of literature for chil-
dren. They are planning to cooperate on a magazine in China.
They have announced that it has been financed for the first year
and that already there is a subscription list of over two thousand.
They are also successfully meeting the problem of translation
and now are already on the way to getting original work. Miss
Laura White of China has solved that problem to a degree. When
she was asked to edit the magazine for girls, she discovered that
it would be more than she could do by herself. So she said, "I
cannot do it but I will make my girls help me." She, therefore,
introduced a course in which the girls were to study carefully
some of the good stories in English, then to translate them, and
finally to reproduce them idiomatically in Chinese. And in this
same magazine she is planning to get the girls to put their
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 211
literary acquisitions into form suitable for Chinese children.
Think of the value of this work. When we mention the Youth's
Companion, what a picture it raises ! Grandfather, grandmother,
father, mother, the sons and the daughters all seated together
around the table reading! This is the ideal Christian home, and
we need literature that will fit into it.
The Nationalizing Value of Mission Schools.
Dean Irene T. Myers, Ph.D. (Christian Woman's Board of
Missions, Transylvania University, Lexington. Ky.) : In what
has come to us here from those who speak out of their experi-
ence with regard to Latin America. I have been most impressed
by the revelation of the likeness of the men of Latin America
to the men of North America. Whether we are fundamentally
Latin,^ or Teuton, or Indian in race, we are all American ; the
consciousness of our likeness must strengthen the consciousness
of our brotherhood. This continent is ours, and the responsi-
bility for it is ours. May it be that we see it in the large ! That
we lose not the vision of the whole under the heavy pressure of
the parts ! On this continent we have wrought into our govern-
ments ideals that are akin. We all aspire to freedom in the
expression of ourselves, whether politically, or intellectually, or
religiously; and although we of the North may work towards it
in one way, and you of the Latin race in another, and in yet
another, the ideal is the same. We are republics. Our political
tendency is democratic. Our religious tendency is, or will be
democratic, for the spirit of a nation will harmonize the char-
acter of its institutions. We are not only alike in these large
ideals, but in many of our experiences. The great Latin-Ameri-
can problem of illiterate Indians calls up the lesser but similar
problem among the blacks of the southern portion of North
America and among the neglected whites of the Appalachian
Mountains. These likenesses bring us together to discuss the
ways of mutual helpfulness. As regards the schools in Latin
lands, we should remember that our great ideals are the same,
and that poor or inadequate results may be due to methods
which are out of harmony with the spirit of the country. High
national ideals and aspirations must germinate and grow in
strong men and women. Only such can mature them. Nature
has decreed that the early development of the body, the first
pointing of the mind, the first molding of the spirit, shall lie ih
the woman's hand. How can she form and fashion these in
finest fashion unless she is taught? Unless she has the most
enlightened aspiration, how can she kindle it in her son? Un-
less she be brought to the level of the best, how can the nation
go forward? I covet for woman the power to lead the child
up through his youth, by these various ways, into the presence
of God. That our mission schools in Latin America shall fit
the future mothers there to discharge, ifi a measure, this obliga-
tion is our ideal. To teach people to think, to demand that they
212 WOMEN'S WORK
think, is to start them on the way. When women are stirred to
thought, there should stand before them intelligent leaders to
show them God. Perhaps this seems afar from the subject, but
if our mission schools can energize their teaching with such
aspirations, and can develop women who have those ideals, the
nation will be the beneficiary. Only through women may these
ideals be estabhshed.
Miss Laura Temple (Methodist Episcopal Church, Mexico
City) : About ten years ago our work in Mexico City moved
from quarters it had outgrown and we were able to have a
large modern building for our work. Attracted by these con-
ditions, children were brought to us from many higher families,
from people whom we had not before been able to reach. We
were glad for this wider opportunity that came to us. At the
recommendation of the District Superintendent, we enlarged
our course of study which before had included primary, superior
and five-year normal ;-ourses. We included a four-year college
course, and we launched out upon this broader way. But we
realized that our work was incomplete, that there was a great
mass of young women and girls in Mexico we were not reach-
ing, the children of the laboring classes. Many of these people
were not prepared to send their children to school, and those
who could send them for a time could not permit them to re-
main there more than two or three years. These girls left school
unprepared to meet the demands of life. You who have lived
in Mexico know something of the homes of the laboring classes,
and realize how few the opportunities of the children are. We
felt, therefore, that we must meet their needs. We were fortu-
nate in securing about seven acres of land in the suburbs of
Mexico City, where we began an industrial work for children
of the poorer classes in Mexico. We erected a building with a
capacity for sixty boarding pupils and brought down from Phila-
delphia a director trained at Drexel Institute. Before long our
capacity was crowded to the limit. Children came to us who
had never slept upon a bed or sat at a table or known anything
of modern labor devices. They were delighted to receive the
instruction that we were able to give them. We knew that when
they went back, they would revolutionize their homes. We also
started a training class to prepare teachers to go out Into other
schools and give this training. We have some young women
from the best social circles in Mexico, who walk out two miles
to take this training. In the afternoon students from the gov-
ernment normal school of Mexico come to take this work.
The school meets a great and obvious need ; training these young
women and young men of an abundant but neglected class, so
that they will be prepared to take their real place in life.
Organization and Cooperation in Woman's Work.
Mrs. Charles L. Thompson (Woman's Board of Home Mis-
sions. Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., Orange, N. J.) : We,
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 213
assembled here, are trying to think for and with one another
and to think constructively. Whenever women have Deen organ-
ized, they have aimed to do. I do not forget that band of mili-
tants of which we have heard. However, I have heard no objec-
tion raised to the part that the women have had in manufactur-
ing bombs for use in this destructive war, organized and carried
on by the men. The fact of the organization of women in other
lands for constructive work has made me wonder v/hether it
might not be possible in the Latin lands of which we are think-
ing, to get hold of the women. Several speakers have said that
the women of the upper classes in South x^merica are very will-
ing to do organized work for general social welfare. Would it
not be possible to induce some of them to organize for higher
ends, as the women in North America organize? In North
America women have by their organizations learned to do things
in a way that would not have been possible had they not been
organized. It might be a good plan if the women's Boards could
take more account than they do of such women. The Society
I represent, in its work among the Spanish-speaking people of
the southwestern part of the United States has worked out cer-
tain ideas in Porto Rico, and some Spanish women are helping
in our work. Their help is indirect, and still they are organized
and are taking considerable interest in the work in Porto Rico.
Possibly we should make the women of Latin America feel a
certain share of interest and responsibility in the work done for
their countries, thereby bringing unto our counsels some of the
natural leaders.
The Closing Words.
Mrs Ida W. Harrison, LL.D. (Lexington, Ky.) : My closing
words are necessarily a supplement to what has gone before and
are therefore necessarily impromptu. The one time when we
are told that Jesus was deeply moved in his spirit was when
His critics came to Him and asked of Him a sign from heaven.
They were already familiar with the signs from heaven that
were daily unrolled before them. What they lacked was
the open heart and diligent mind to read the meaning of the
wonderful times in which they lived, and his comment was "Ye
hypocrites, you can already read these signs from Heaven, but
you cannot discern the signs of the times." This reproach of
Jesus to these people of old might be uttered afresh to every
generation since. It is always easier to accept the lore of the
fathers and the traditions of the past than to understand and
interpret the signs of our ovv^n times. Our God is a God of
things as they are, and there is no place in His work for easy
acceptance of things of the past and for blindness to the condi-
tions of the days in which we live. No generation since the
days when Our Lord was on the earth has witnessed swifter
changes and greater needs for adjustment to new conditions
than the difficult and complex times in which we live. The
214 WOMEN'S WORK
Commission on Women's Work has attempted to pitch its report
in the key of our own days, to do its work and thinking in
twentieth-century terms. The meeting last night emphasized the
home as the citadel of Latin life. We must not forget that
women and children are thrust out of the home under modern
conditions. The public schools and state universities are taking
the place of education in the home and of the select private
school. From six years of age to twenty or more, the child
passes from kindergarten to university, from one highly special-
ized teacher to another. The old question, "What manner of
child shall this be?" must be answered by the State, as well as
by the parents of the child to-day. How important, then, that
women should be in touch with those who control education !
Women are thrust out of the home by modern industrial con-
ditions. Oliver Schreiner says, "Fully three-fourths of the an-
cient and honorable occupations of women have shrunk away
forever and the remaining one-fourth still tends to shrink."
These modern changes have brought perils especially to young
women. The Commission advises cooperation with the many
large women's organizations in order to develop a social con-
science that will impel women to study conditions brought about
by the education and industrialism of to-day, and to create in
them a sense of responsibility for safeguarding the womanhood
and childhood of the nation. Allusion has been made to the
necessity of literature for women and children. Biographies of
women who have been the incarnation of the types of modern
endeavor are recommended, such as Florence Nightingale, the
patron saint of the noble army of nurses ; Elizabeth Fry, a
pioneer in prison reform ; Frances Willard, in temperance ; Clara
Barton, pioneer and founder of Red Cross work; Susan B. An-
thony, advocate of women's suffrage; Jane Addams, in settle-
ment work; and many other noble women of our day.
Emphasis has been laid upon the qualification and preparation
of missionaries. We need women of faith, courage, adaptabil-
ity, social gifts, thorough training and marked spirituality. We
crave the finest and highest type of American womanhood to go
to this great and promising field. Their method should be to
teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, and let it do its work,
rather than to attack the Roman Catholic Church. The words
of Melinda Rankin should be an example to us. She said: "It
has been a fixed principle with me not to attack the Roman
Catholic Church, but to present the truth and let that do its
work. If you wish to enlighten a room, you carry a light and
set it down in it, and the darkness will disperse of itself." A
definite educational policy is recommended, which will make
adequate provision for all ages, from the girl of tender years to
the woman in the university — for kindergarten, primary, sec-
ondary, vocational and college training — not forgetting special
training for Latin women as teachers, social and evangelistic
workers. The necessity for higher Christian education for Latin
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 215
women has been emphasized by much that has been said at this
Congress. No one Board is able to furnish the facilities and
equipment for such education. It is recommended, then, that in
large centers of population, where there are sufficient primary
and secondary schools to provide a constituency the various
mission boards cooperate to establish women's union colleges.
Evangelistic work should include the old lines of Bible women's
work, district nursing, visitation in the homes, the following up
of students of mission schools, and other methods of personal
approach. In addition to this, wherever the way is open, women
evangelists should seek to reach the women and children by
teaching and preaching, and to carry the gospel message, not
only to our missions but to the great unevangelized fields of
Latin America. What Miss Coope has said this morning in re-
gard to her work among the Indians on the Isthmus is an ex-
ample of what women can do in this line. As far as possible,
Latin-American women should be employed in the social, evan-
gelistic, and educational work of the mission. If the women of
this great domain are to be reached and helped in any large way,
it must be mainly done by their own country women. In view
of all that has been said and many things yet unsaid, we feel
that there must be large increase in all the lines of social service,
education, and evangelization. The numbers of missionaries and
teachers must be increased. The plants now in operation must
be enlarged and more fully equipped and the great unoccupied
fields in this continent of opportunity must be entered and
evangelized.
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION VI
ON
THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
Presented to the Congress on
Friday, February 18, 1916
THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT OF
COMMISSION VI
The List of Members of the Commission 223
The Report of the Commission 225
Chapter I — The Organized, Indigenous Church 225
1. Its Definition and Significance 225
2. Its Genuine Strength and Influence 226
3. Its Aggressive Possibilities 227
Chapter II — Its jMembership and Organization 229
1. The Racial Composition of the Church 229
2. Its Moral and Spiritual Ancestry 230
a. Unfamiliarity With the Scriptures 230
b. Inadequate Conceptions of Sin 231
c. Laxity as Regards Marriage 232
3. Its Present Organization 233
a. Still Denominational 233
b. The National Share in the xA.dministration of
Funds 233
c. Experiments in Independence 236
d. Conditions of Membership 237
e. The Need of Enlisting the Educated Classes . . 238
Chapter III — The Spiritual Life of the Church 240
1. The Standards of Judgment 240
2. The Tests of Genuineness 241
a. An Ethical Sensitiveness 241
b. Conformity to Christian Standards 242
c. The Endurance of Persecution 242
d. Attendance on Public Worship 243
e. The Habitual Use of Prayer 243
f. Activity in the Study of the Bible 244
g. An Increased Evangelistic Activity _ 244
3. Hndrances and Helps to Growth in Spirituality 246
219
220 CONTENTS
Chapter IV — Practice and Development 248
1. The Latin Churches No Mere Imitators 248
2. Their Use of Agencies for Evangelism 249
a. Bible Study 249
b. "Protracted Meetings" 249
c. Evangelistic Campaigns 250
d. The Support of Aggressive Evangelization 250
e. Personal Work 251
3. Their Attitude Toward Sunday Observance and
Temperance 252
4. The Development of Sunday Schools 253
5. The Growth of Societies for Young People 255
6. The Standards of Church Discipline 256
a. The Danger of Laxity 256
b. The Three Great Problems 257
7. The Enrichment of Public Worship 259
Chapter V — The Problem of Self-Support 261
1. The Importance of Self-Support 261
2. Its Problems Not Merely Financial 262
3. Home Base Standards Inapplicable 262
4. Contributions of Service the True Key to Self-
Support 263
5. Lessons from World Experience 264
a. In Africa 264
b. In the Philippines 265
c. In China 266
6. The Attitude of the National Churches Favorable.. 268
7. Methods and Obligations of Stewardship 272
Chapter VI — The Securing of Leadership 274
1. Indispensable Qualifications for Leadership 274
2. National Leadership Essential 276
3. The Element of Time Involved 278
4. The Two Great Sources of Leaders 280
5. Three Methods of Securing Them 280
a. Reaching the Students in the National Schools 280
b. Sending Students to North America and
Europe ^ 282
c. Training on the Field 283
(1) Conditions Involved in Selecting Capable
Men 283
(2) Plans for Developing Them 285
6. The Importance of Lay Leadership 286
Chapter VII— Relations With Governments 288
1. Early Struggles for Religious Freedom 288
2 Some Achievements 290
3. Laws Which Still Need Betterment 292
a. The Laws Relating to Civil Marriage 293
b. Those Relating to Divorce 293
CONTENTS 221
c. Those Regulating Religions Instruction 293
d. Those Regulating the Alanagement of Public
Benevolent Institutions 294
e. Laws Regarding Burial 294
4. The Attitude of Public Officials 294
5. The Separation of Church and State 297
a. Liberty of Worship General 297
b. The Legal Rights of Evangelical Bodies In-
creasingly Recognized 297
c. Entire Equality of Evangelical and Catholic
Churches Unsecured 298
d. The Missionary's Attitude With Respect to
Reforms 299
6. The Identification of Missionary and Governmental
Interests 300
Cpiapter VIII — General Conclusions 303
1. The Difficulties Faced by the Aggressive Church... 303
2. The Conclusions Reached Concerning Its Proper
Policy 304
(1) The Evangelical Movement Has Received
Divine Sanction 304
(2) The Task is Complex 304
(3) It Calls for Home Base Support 305
(4) Its Field is Relatively Homogeneous 305
(5) It Suffers from Denominationalism 305
(6) It is Rapidly Assuming Responsibility 305
(7) It Maintains Acceptable Standards of Church
Life 306
(8) It Produces Faithful Disciples 306
(9) It Needs to Emphasize Means for Deepening
Spiritual Life 306
(10) It Should More Definitely Aim to Reach the
Cultured Classes 306
(11) Its Public Worship is Simple 307
(12) Evangelistic Campaigns Are Needed 307
(13) It Stands for Sunday Observance 308
(14) Its Auxiliary Organizations Are Well De-
veloped 308
(15) It is Advancing Toward Self-Support 308
(16) Its Two-Fold Leadership 309
(17) It Needs Four Sorts of Legislative Recog-
nition 310
Appendix A: The List of the Correspondents of the
Commission 312
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report... 315
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
CHAIRMAN
The Rev. Homer C. Stuntz^ D.D., Methodist Episcopal
Bishop in South America, Buenos Aires.
VICE-CHAIRMEN
The Rev. Arthur J. Brown, D.D., Secretary Board of
Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.,
New York City.
The Rt. Rev. E. R. Hasse, Bishop of the Moravian
Church, London.
The Rev. Walter R. Lambuth, D.D., M.D., Bishop of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Oakdale,
Cal.
secretary
The Rev. Gerhard J. Schilling, D.D., Methodist
Episcopal Church, Buenos Aires.
executive committee
The Rev. George H. Brewer, Superintendent Ameri-
can Baptist Home Mission Society, Mexico.
Mr. J. H. Warner, Secretary Young Men's Christian
Association, Recife, Brazil.
The Rev. W. B. Allison, Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A., Guatemala City.
The Rev. P. Arillano, Presbyterian Church in the U.
S. A., Mexico City.
223
224 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
Sr. J. Luiz Fernandes Braga, Jr., Chairman National
Committee, Young Men's Christian Association of
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.
The Rev. C. S. Detweiler, Superintendent American
Baptist Home Mission Society, Ponce, Port Rico.
The Rev. Robert F. Elder, Argentine Secretary,
Evangelical Union of South America, Tres Arroyos,
Argentina.
The Rev. J. Fanstone, Director Evangelical Union of
South America, London.
The Rev. J. Milton -Greene, D.D., Superintendent
Cuban Mission, Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.,
Havana, Cuba.
The Rev. Raymond S. Holding, American Friends'
Board of Foreign Missions, Banes, Cuba.
The Rev. N. E. Joyner, Director Instituto Laurens,
Monterey, Mexico.
The Rev. W. H. Lester, D.D., Pastor Union Church,
Santiago, Chile.
The Rev. M. N. McCall, Superintendent Cuban Mission,
Southern Baptist Convention, Havana, Cuba.
The Rev. John G. Meem, Protestant Episcopal Church
in the U. S. A., Rio de Janeiro.
The Rev. Arthur H. Mellen^ Protestant Episcopal
' Archdeacon of Mexico, Tampico, Mexico.
Professor Eduardo Monteverde, Secretary Young
Men's Christian Association, Montevideo.
The Rev. Tolbert F. Reavis, Christian Woman's Board
of Missions, Buenos Aires.
The Rev. Alvaro Reis, Pastor Presbyterian Evangelical
Church, Rio de Janeiro.
The Rev. Eucario M. Sein, Board of Home Missions,
Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, Cal.
The Rev. C. L. Smith, Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The Rev. S. M. Sowell, Southern Baptist Convention.
Buenos Aires,
The Rev. Thomas B. Wood, D.D., retired Missionary.
Methodist Episcopal Church, Tacoma, Wash.
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION VI ON
THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
CHAPTER I
THE ORGANIZED INDIGENOUS CHURCH
I. ITS DEFINITION AND SIGNIFICANCE
By "Church" as used in this Commission Report we
mean the indigenous bodies of Christian believers of the
evangelical faith and practice growing up in the field
under consideration.
We rejoice that there is such a Church in this great
field. The fact of its existence has made this gather-
ing of Christian workers possible and necessary. The
welfare of this Church and plans for its better establish-
ment, for its more rapid growth, and for the deepening
of the springs of its spiritual life, must form the basis
of the larger part of our discussions. So far as it is
possible for statistics to give an adequate impression of
the strength of this Church, such impression will be
gained by the study of the summary showing member-
ship, property, native preachers, Sunday schools, insti-
tutions, and much other information prepared with great
labor by Commission I, on "Survey and Occupation."
The entire exhibit is fully set forth in the third volume of
the Congress Report.
225
226 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
2. ITS GENUINE STRENGTH AND INFLUENCE
Readers of such statements regarding the growth of
the Church in the field should remember that those who
are reported as members are far from representing the
entire strength of the churches. Back of these tens of
thousands stand double or triple their total of friends,
sympathizers and adherents. These are convinced of
the truth of our message. Many of them have been
convinced for years. They worship with us, their chil-
dren are in our Sabbath schools, and many of these will
come into the Church in the future. The reasons that
hinder the consummation of membership are such as
usually operate in new fields. Many of the members
are from the poorer and less cultured classes of society,
where steady ecclesiastical, political and social pressure
is brought to bear against them. In such circumstances
it is natural that our membership should be less in num-
bers than the actual body of those who not only be-
lieve our doctrines and accept our principles of life,
but also support them and assist in a greater or less
degree in propagating them. From this large body of
more or less loosely attached adherents a part of our
increase naturally comes, and each year witnesses the
addition of new friends and sympathizers from whom,
in turn, recruits are gained as the years go on.
It must be kept in mind in any fair appraisal of the
strength of the Church in Latin America that, as a so-
cial force, it is influential out of all proportion to the
number of its membership. This is true because "the
kingdom of God is as leaven," and it is of the nature
of leaven — though small in bulk in comparison to the
meal in which it is hidden away — to permeate steadily
the remainder of the whole mass and to bring it into
conformity with its own nature. Ideas are powerful,
and the evangelical Churches in Latin America possess
these germinal ideas of truth regarding sin and its cure,
the ethics of the daily life, and the life to come, which
have won their way in every country against all obstacles
confronting them. This minority will yet leaven the
whole lump.
THE ORGANIZED CHURCH 227
The Commission presenting this report wishes to call
attention to the great difference which exists between it
and the report presented by the parallel Commission at
the World Missionary Conference. There the religious
divisions called for treatises which, although still incom-
plete, filled hundreds of printed pages. In this report
we are dealing with three great divisions of beliefs :
the first is represented by the pagan tribes of the abori-
gines; the second is represented by those whose his-
torical development is the result of a special t_ype_ of
Christianity; the third is the evangelical, the institu-
tional growth of which in the midst of the other two
types is the occasion for our study. Our problem is
a very great one, yet much more simple than the one pre-
sented at Edinburgh in 1910.
3. ITS AGGRESSIVE POSSIBILITIES
The evangelical Church in the field is practically a new
force. It did not exist when the first missionaries landed
and began their work. The visible agency was then
the foreign missionary and such aids in the way of
literature and helpers as he could bring with him. But
now, early in the twentieth century, we find ourselves
in possession of a new agency, the organized Church.
This force is so new that it is not yet fully understood,
and not being understood it falls far short of being
efiiciently utilized. The planting and development of this
Church is the true object of wise foreign missionary
endeavor. We cannot hope to render the service that
we owe to Latin America exclusively by means of foreign
agencies. The task is beyond us. The aim has been,
and must continue to be, to raise up an indigenous
Church, all the time saying in our hearts : "This must
increase, but we must decrease." The leaders must make
a fresh estimate of this new agency, must understand
its difficulties, see its opportunities, and aid as best they
may in marking out the different ways along which it
may go forward toward the accomplishment of the larger
purposes of God. Grateful as we are for the evident
blessing of God upon the efforts put forth in Latin
America up to the present time, there may be some stand-
228 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
ing here in this Congress who shall not taste of death
until this infant evangelical Church of 257,000 members
has grown to at least a million, and until strong, self-sup-
porting churches in all parts of these lands are not only
raising up their own sons and daughters for the ministry
and lay membership for their local societies, but are in
turn furnishing workers for the campaigns of Christ
amonp- the pagan Indian populations about them.
CHAPTER II
ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION
I. THE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF THE CHURCH
The membership of the Church in the field falls into
several racial groups. In Mexico, Central America and
South America, the population has been gathered from
two principal sources : first, there are the inhabitants of
Indian origin who are native to the several republics,
and secondly, the immigrants, these being chiefly Spanish
and Portuguese, who form the largest part of the popu-
lation, having immigrated several centuries ago, with
the more recent addition of the Italians, Dutch, British
and Germans, who have come during the last hundred
years and form about five percent, of the population.
In Brazil, the West Indies, Central America and other
parts, a negro element is prominent. Throughout the
entire field little impression has been made upon the
Indian population, principally because little has been
been done to master their languages and to utilize
siege methods through schools, printing-presses and hos-
pitals, as well as through churches. From a social view-
point, church membership comes largely from what
would be called the lower classes and former Romanists.
There is a far greater degree of homogeneity in this
membership than might be expected on first considera-
tion. First, with the exception of some immigrational
additions of later years, it is racially Latin and Indian,
229
230 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
the West Indies, Central America and Brazil adding a
variant of African blood but little encountered in other
countries. In Mexico, Central America and the Spanish
republics of South America, members come into the
evangelical churches vv^ith either Spanish or Indian blood
predominating. In some communities the one predomi-
nates, and in communities often not far removed, the
other. It comes as a matter of surprise to many v^orkers
in those fields to learn that the element from which
they draw their members is more Indian than Spanish.
The extent to which the Indians of the Andean plateau,
of the Brazilian coast and uplands, and of Central and
Southern Chile, as well as of Colombia, Ecuador, Para-
guay and Mexico have contributed of their blood to the
composite peoples among whom this work is carried for-
ward, would form a fascinating subject for the ethnolo-
gist and for the student of social phenomena in general.
In lands outside Brazil, and, to some extent, even in
that country, m^uch that is commonly understood to be
Latin is Moorish. The strong bent given to the Span-
ish mind during the centuries of Moorish rule registers
itself in many ways in the daily life of those who are
accounted Castilians. Their architecture takes on
Moorish types. Politeness and courtesy, in the extreme
forms sometimes met vv^ith, strongly suggest the same
origin. This influence over the membership of the evan-
gelical churches is one that should not be disregarded by
educators or evangelists and particularly by administra-
tors of Christian work. It demands both comprehen-
sion and great patience. When understood, it furnishes
a ready explanation for some temperamental, domestic,
social and even religious phenomena otherwise most baf-
fling to our minds.
2. ITS MORAL AND SPIRITUAL ANCESTRY
a. Un familiarity with the Scriptures.
The membership of the Latin-American evangelical
Churches is not characterized by those religious ideals
which are the common property of the majority of con-
verts who unite with evangelical Churches in Anglo-
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION 231
Saxon lands. The Latin Americans are not acquainted
with the Scriptures. The pagan ancestry of this mem-
bership had no sacred or other book of any kind, and
their Roman Cathohc teachers have laid little stress upon
Biblical instruction. The preacher constantly finds him-
self unable to use familiar Scriptural illustrations. These
are not understood. The Sunday-school teacher cannot
safely take it for granted that one child out of twenty
knows about Samson, David or Daniel or about the
leaders of the New Testament.
b. Inadequate Conceptions of Sin.
With the current of Indian blood in the membership
have come no just ideas of sin, no deep hatred of its de-
filement, and no idea that it is ever possible to live free
from its contamination. It would seem that little has
been done by their later spiritual guides to remedy the
defect. One's heart overflows with a great pity as he
thinks of the blight which has come to the intellect, to
the conscience, to the domestic relationships, and to life
as a whole through the idolatries and fetishism of the
millions of Indians with whom we are trying to deal.
It should curb our impatience and teach us to hold a
loving and Christlike attitude toward those in whose
mental and spiritual lives there is no helpful contribution
from the past, whose tendencies are against the high
objects which we seek.
When we turn to those who have received their early
training chiefly from the Roman Catholic Church, one
correspondent declares that the prime obstacle in mis-
sionary work among that section of Latin America is a
wholly inadequate conception of sin and a lack of any
horror of it. There is little popular support in
dealing with moral issues and reforms. Dissimulation
is the law of life. Everything is excused on the plea of
temperament, precedent, or custom. The masses know-
nothing of an independent and inflexible moral stand-
ard. With such an environment it goes without saying
that many church members will retain certain linea-
ments of their former selves and will need instruction
^Z^ THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
and correction along many lines. The same corres-
pondent later speaks of "the emotionalism, responsive-
ness and demonstrativeness of the Latin temperament,"
and every experienced worker will be ready to confirm
these views.
c. Laxity as Regards Marriage.
Another condition affecting the work of the evangeli-
cal Churches is the practice with respect to marriage
which prevails among large elements of the population
in many of the lands. The systems of contract marriage
and of open concubinage have become appallingly prev-
alent. In one city in the Argentine Republic, sixty-two
percent, of the births in a five-year period under report
were illegitimate, although the rate in Buenos Aires is
not much more than thirteen percent. In Santiago,
Chile, the percentage in 191 1 was fifty-five; in Con-
cepcion, fifty-seven. It is said of a certain town in Co-
lombia that ''half the children are returned as illegiti-
mate, and the editor of the leading paper insisted the
proportion is near three-fifths." ' The same authority goes
on to say, "At Lima, through a series of years, the pro-
portion of 'natural' children has been fifty-one percent.
The Peruvian statistician, Fuentes, writes of the 'sad pic-
ture' Lima presents and adds, 'a shocking proportion of
the people avoid marriage and live in a complete liber-
tinage, which increases as one descends the social scale.' "
One missionary says : "In Peru marriage is considered a
luxury for the rich. Even civil marriage is costly. The
poor regard each as unobtainable." In speaking of Bo-
livia, Professor Ross quotes an American long resident
there as saying, "Among the cholas here there is very
little marriage. ... In the relation between man
and woman there is very little steadfastness or loyalty,
while in the community there is no crystallized moral
sentiment regulating the conduct of the individual. So-
cial standards do not exist, so each does about as he
likes." He further says, "In Colombia and Ecuador
it is frequently declared that many loyal couples live
* E. A. Ross, "South of Panama," 225, ff.
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION 233
unmarried owing to the high cost of the church mar-
riage. Eight dollars, the minimum fee, is a serious
charge for a peon earning a few cents a day. . . Yet,
after such allowances are made, the marriage institution
appears to be weaker on the west coast of South Amer-
ica than in any other Christian land, in the Mussulman
countries or in the societies of India, China and Japan."
3. ITS PRESENT ORGANIZATION
a. Still Denominational.
In organization, this membership falls somewhat nat-
urally into the denominational groups whose leaders
brought them their first knowledge of evangelical truth.
Thus we have the same types of church organization
which prevail in North America and Great Britain —
Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, Epis-
copal and others — with which all students are already
familiar.
b. The National Share in the Administration of Funds.
Until within the last decade there has been little rec-
ognition of the duty of missionary leaders and adminis-
trators to admit members of the native churches to the
various boards and committees through which the admin-
istration of foreign missionary money and church dis-
cipline is carried on, and it is needless to say that even
among the missionary body may be found those who
are rather conservative with respect to devolving such
large responsibilities on an immature Church, yet noth-
ing has been made more clear by the scores of communi-
cations which have reached the Commission than that the
Church in the field should be given a larger share in
the initiation and prosecution of the common task than
has been accorded it hitherto.
A valued correspondent who has had large experience
on the mission field in China urges this important step,
as follows:
"No more marked indication of the new day in mis-
sionary organization has manifested itself than through
the new methods of missionary administration on the for-
234 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
eign field. In a not very distant past the control of the
field was vested in the foreign missionary. It is with
a great deal of gratitude that the leaders of the modern
movement see that old day passing. The Episcopal and
Congregational forms of government continue to find
their varied expressions on the mission field. Until most
recent times, it was really an unheard-of thing, except
in very rare instances, to have other than the foreign
missionary or the foreign bishop in control. If the wis-
dom of the present generation had been put into prac-
tice at an earlier time, many of the independent move-
ments of the foreign field would have been avoided. It
is still maintained by some administrators that the mis-
sions on the foreign field are to be controlled by the
missionaries rather than mutually guided. But an im-
possible condition arises when any foreign missionary
takes the position that he must control the native Church.
From that moment divisioji or utter dependence is en-
gendered or cultivated. The new method of control is
welcomed by every sane leader of the native Church.
The native leader knows instinctively that the missionary
has back of him superiority of training and of experi-
ence. It should never come into the mind of the
missionary leader that he is more than a counselor
and a friend. The native people are essentially reason-
able, if they feel that there is a real friendship on the
part of the leader, but if they think that he is trying to
exercise authority, they follow the usual inclination of
human nature and go to any length in resenting it. The
changes that native leadership has wrought are mar-
velous. Some years ago a small mission in China was
having a serious struggle over the question of whether
the native Church should have a representative on the
committee on administration. One of the chief objec-
tions made had reference to the control of the finances.
It was felt that any native leader would become a spe-
cial pleader for larger salaries for his own people, and
would be unreasonable when it came to the question of
financial regulations for those of his own nationality. It
was a genuine surprise to the advocates of the plan when,
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION 235
after election, he became the most conservative member
of the committee regarding the advancement of salaries,
and the severest man on discipline on the committee. He
brought an interpretation of his own people to the inti-
mate meetings of the committee that no other individual
could bring. It was indeed a revelation even to the old-
est and most experienced. This isolated incident is typi-
cal of the condition that exists to-day in the foreign field.
Autocratic management of the native Church has passed
forever. The lack of independence in many missionary
fields can be traced almost entirely to this cause. The
most important problem that faces a missionary execu-
tive, be he foreign or native, is to develop the native
Church. Some one has well stated that the world has
become a neighborhood and it remains for the Church
to make it a brotherhood.
"There are three things that we must do with the
native Church : Trust it ; put responsibility upon it, and
enlarge its sphere of activity.
*'i. The native Church has been greatly hindered be-
cause it has not always been trusted in the past. We have
looked with suspicion upon it because its members were
weak and because their abilities were limited. I trust
that the day has passed forever when there will be other
than the greatest confidence in the native Church, even
though the members are not as strong as we feel they
should be.
"2. Responsibility should be put upon it. The church
members should not be treated as children, but as men.
They may fail in many respects, but growth can come
only by actual service. By the doing of the task they
will become strong.
"3. We must enlarge its sphere of activity. The na-
tive Church in many cases is in real danger of losing
all missionary fervor, because of the fact that its local
task is emphasized. Broad vision must be given it, and
though its own work is tremendous and trying, it must
be taken out of itself by giving it other tasks."
What has been so well said out of the experience of
the missionary in China would be echoed by many a
236 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
missionary in Latin America. It must not be forgotten
that a young Church or group of Churches must first
develop educated, clear-thinking, responsible, considerate
leaders before the assumption of entire freedom can be
safe and salutary.
c. Experiments in Independence.
Several Communions find that it has proved advantage-
ous to advance Latin-American leaders to the same min-
isterial standing as that enjoyed by the ministers v^^ho
come from foreign countries, when these Latin Ameri-
cans meet the prescribed tests. In a number of instances
the Latin-American clergy have been appointed on
committees charged with the making of appointments
to pastorates and with the distribution of funds granted
by the Boards, a policy which has worked remarkably
well. This is in accord with the policy long ago adopted
on many other foreign fields.
The question of the establishment of Churches made
up wholly of national members and ministers and entirely
cut off from support, direction or guidance in any form
by the Boards and Churches which brought them into be-
ing has not, in any serious fashion become a mooted
topic throughout Latin America. There are two Presby-
terian groups of Churches in Brazil, each of which offers
an interesting example of progress. One of them, while
maintaining ecclesiastical fellowship with the mother
Assembly in the United States, is now practically inde-
pendent of the supporting Board in New York, which
largely limits its responsibility to the supplying of a cer-
tain amount of money each year to be appropriated for
the weaker churches on the usual home missionary plan,
ten percent, of the grant being cut off each year. Mis-
sionaries cooperate with the Brazilian Presbyterian
Church by developing new fields which are turned over
to the Church. In every otlier respect the Church has
full control of its own activilies, the missionaries, in the
main, having no official connection with it. The other
Church in Brazil is Independent both financially and ad-
ministratively.
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION 237
d. Conditions of Membership.
The conditions of membership are more nearly uni-
form than might at first be supposed. Evangelical work-
ers from every part of the field report that some form
of testing is indispensable before the enrolment of con-
verts as full communicants. It is wise to enrol them
as catachumens for a preliminary period of instruction.
Of course, the demand is everywhere made for faith in
Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, and for evi-
dences of conversion. There are two dangers to guard
against with reference to the conditions demanded before
members are received. The one is an extreme of cau-
tion which chills and repels the timid but earnest seeker
after truth, and the other is an overeagerness for numer-
ical results which prevents that careful scrutiny of mo-
tive and life which alone can protect the infant Church
from being filled up with men and women who at the
best are "stony ground" hearers, and at the worst are
designing enemies. A zealous evangelist once baptized
within one month two hundred people who had never
previously heard the gospel message. Six months later
not one of these remained and all would seem to have
been worse off than before. In Latin America practi-
cally all applicants for membership in evangelical
Churches except those from Indian tribes have been
reared under the same general religious, social and politi-
cal conditions, and require for their sound religious train-
ing similar methods.
Conditions of membership are embarrassed by some
special circumstances. Ideas regarding Sunday observ-
ance, gambling, the marriage relation and temperance
have led to standards that are quite different from those
which are current in other Christian lands. Many offer
to connect themselves with the Church, counting them-
selves already Protestants merely because of an antag-
onism which they have conceived against Roman Catholi-
cism. They do not even pretend to have broken away
from their sins, or to have entered into any kind of
Christian experience. Such, however, are not given rec-
ognition by most evangelical Churches. The meeting of
238 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
all these varying needs requires the loving spirit of Jesus
Christ rather than a rigid set of rules, and the fixed
determination to take every means to keep the Church
free from the evils against which it must continually
bear its witness.
e. The Need of Enlisting the Educated Classes,
There is a growing conviction that the Church in not
giving more attention to the needs of the cultured class
generally and of students in particular is neglecting those
whose need is unquestionable, whose desire for the truth
has been demonstrated and whose influence for good or
evil is out of all proportion to their numbers. The feel-
ing is increasing also that whatever may be the risk
of producing class distinctions in the churches through
specialized effort, the hazard is still greater if men of
high social standing and influence are not won to the
open confession of Christ. They need the gospel quite
as much as do the humble and poor. Apparently past
experience has shown conclusively that the cultured class
is not readily reached through the general methods of
approach hitherto used. On the other hand, the httle
specialized work conducted for this class, scattering and
utterly inadequate as it has been, is so encouraging in
its early aspects that it has had the endorsement of all
who have been acquainted with it. The educated classes
make quick response to appeals and considerations
in which they are naturally interested. These and
other considerations are leading thoughtful laborers, both
Latin-American and foreign, to seek the way to some
form or forms of specialized effort in the interest of
the cultured class. Exactly what form this specialized
work should take is not at present apparent. That such
work should be thoroughly in harmony with the general
spirit of the work of the evangelical Church goes without
saying; that it must be, in its incipience at least, un-
conventional in its type seems demanded by the vary-
ing legal and social conditions which it would have to
meet to be successful. That it should be under the guid-
ance of the wisest and most sympathetic leadership at
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION 239
the command of the Church is conceded. One of the
greatest hindrances, hitherto, has been the lack of amply
educated native Christian teachers and leaders, able to
meet cultured men on their own ground.
CHAPTER in
THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH
I. THE STANDARDS OF JUDGMENT
Much variation of opinion regarding the present status
of spiritual life in the Churches throughout Latin Amer-
ica is manifest in the contributions received by the Com-
mission. It is difficult to make clear the total impres-
sion received from these. Some correspondents write
in a pessimistic vein. Others speak with almost glow-
ing hopefulness of the present spiritual attainments of
the membership of the Churches and express the con-
fident belief that they are but the beginning of what will
be a great spiritual forward movement. Any estimate
must take into account two distinguishing facts which
must affect the judgment of those who attempt to inter-
pret the spiritual conditions throughout this field. First
and foremost is the possibility of raising expectations too
high. It is easy to underestimate the discouraging con-
ditions from which members come into the evangelical
Churches, and the low moral standards and lack of spir-
itual ideals prevailing about them. It is easy to contrast
the meagre spiritual attainments of converts who have
no background of Scriptural knowledge and no advan-
tage derived from generations of evolution in spiritual
and ethical affairs, with the attainments in grace and
the elevation of moral standards which obtain in the best
church life in older evangelical communities. It has been
240
SPIRITUAL LIFE 241
well said that the true test of spiritual attainment is not
made by measuring the distance of the individual from
the goal toward which he is being urged, but rather the
distance which he has travelled. We should compare
the spiritual state of members throughout Latin America
with their former state rather than with the condition
of those who have been more fortunate in regard to
spiritual opportunity. The second danger lies in an easy
optimism which overemphasizes all signs of grace in the
newly recruited member. All who have read the mis-
sionary literature produced in the form of reports, ac-
counts of individual conversions, etc., in the earlier days
of missionary effort, will understand what is here meant.
The impression was made upon the minds of those who
heard or read these reports that the new converts had
attained a high state of Christian experience at a bound,
quite shaming the slower progress of older Christian
communities. Later it often became necessary to bear
testimony to the ephemeral character of this experience.
The only fair and final test of Christian progress is that
which our Lord imposed, "By their fruits ye shall know
them." All other tests fail to appraise or recognize and
distinguish spiritual growth.
2. THE TESTS OF GENUINENESS
a. An Ethical Sensitiveness.
A great battle must be waged before the membership
of the Christian Church at large is likely to gain what
Dr. Speer calls "a certain hard veracity" in the contacts
of daily life or a sensitive conscience in matters affecting
personal purity and the sacredness of the family relation-
ship. These Christians in the forming are surrounded by
an atmosphere of moral indifference. Converts to whom
the Apostle Paul addressed his letters were hindered by
the habits and tendencies of the life from which they had
come into the primitive Church and by the example of
those still living in sin all about them. So true was this
that Paul found it necessary to write to the church in
Ephesus, exhorting them "to put away lying, and speak
every man truthfully to his neighbor," while the darker
242 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
sins which had stained their past were plainly and lov-
ingly rebuked. It must be admitted with shame that these
sins are still prevalent and in other places than Ephesus.
There is much to be said for the helpfulness of an ethical
environment in the processes of character building, and
converts whose lot is cast where a vigorous ethical tone
characterizes the churches of their choice have a decided
advantage, whatever be their nation or name.
b. Conformity to Christian Standards.
It is encouraging and inspiring to record the achieve-
ments which have been attained in spite of obstacles,
either inevitable in all character building or interposed
by a hostile ecclesiasticism. Scores of men have given
up lucrative businesses of various kinds because they
would not work on the Lord's Day, or because the giving
or receiving of bribes was demanded by those who em-
ployed them or by inescapable conditions in the business
itself. Others have restored money unlawfully taken.
Some have banished liquor from their stores, thereby
losing many of their most profitable customers, while
every worker of experience could give particular in-
stances where unlawful family relations have been end-
ed by a marriage which was in itself a public confession
of former wrong-doing, not easy for those who made it.
c. The Endurance of Persecution.
To those whose experience in actual work is meas-
ured in decades rather than years, one of the most satis-
factory evidences of inner spiritual transformations is
furnished by the readiness of disciples to endure perse-
cution and to suffer loss for Christ's sake. While
this is not to be regarded as in any sense an ultimate
test, it would take much hardihood to deny that those
who a year or two ago could not be induced even to
attend a service or to be seen visiting the home of a
missionary, much less to take any public stand or to
participate in any way in a public service, have under-
gone a true spiritual change affecting fundamentally
their whole life, when they now do all these things freely.
SPIRITUAL LIFE 243
eagerly, and with evident joy that they are counted
worthy to bear the cross. Entire volumes could be writ-
ten showing persecutions ranging all the way from
malicious Hbel and the petty social slights and business
boycotts which are the commonplace experiences of new
members, up to imprisonment in public jails for months
at a time. This kind of warfare is met by the member-
ship of the Church in the field in the spirit of good
soldiership. Those who have once identified themselves
openly with the Church are rarely known to have per-
mitted persecution to swerve them from their loyalty to
Christ.
d. Attendance on Public Worship.
If attendance upon the stated public worship of the
several churches can be taken as a barometer of spir-
itual life, even here the members of the Church in the
field do not suifer by contrast with the membership
in other lands. When one considers that this matter
of regular attendance upon public services consisting
usually of extemporaneous prayer and preaching has
not been expected of the membership in the past, it is
truly gratifying to have so many evidences reach us
from widely separated points that the attendance upon
these services is for the most part encouraqinp- to the
workers. In many of the churches a considerable pro-
portion of the membership is found at every preach-
ing service and at prayer-meeting and other public func-
tions of the church, attending in all five or six services
a w^eek.
e. The Habitual Use of Prayer.
The prayer life of the growing Church should reveal
to us more clearly the advancement in spiritual things
than any test thus far mentioned. If the prayer-meet-
ing is a spiritual barometer of the Church, then it must
be admitted that the spirituality of the Church in the
field is perhaps deeper than at home, for the attendance
is greater and the praying more spontaneous in the
former than in the latter. If one should judge by this
244 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
alone, he would be forced to concede the deeper spiritu-
ality to the mission field. However, many factors be-
sides spirituality or the lack of it determine one's pres-
ence in the prayer-meeting. The greatest difficulty is not
in getting people to pray, but in getting them to realize
the true significance of prayer, as the attitude that brings
the soul into the presence of its Creator, where it is
filled and strengthened by His power. One of the first
impressions gained by an acquaintance with evangelical
Christianity in Latin lands is the large number of church
members who lead in public prayer, but on closer ac-
quaintance the observer may begin to feel that prayer
with many of them is rather perfunctory. Some per-
sons converted late in life find it hard to free themselves
entirely from earlier influences. They no longer cling
to the idea that there is merit in mere repetition, but
their spiritual vision is clouded to such an extent that
they are unable to realize the close union that exists
between the Father and His child or to enter into that
sweet fellowship which makes the union complete.
f. Activity in the Study of the Bible.
An additional proof of the genuine spiritual life among
many Latin-American Christians is seen from their cus-
toms of reading and studying the Bible. Many new con-
verts put older Christians to shame by the assiduous way
in which they drink at the living springs of revelation.
Many of them who are relatively unlettered experience
a freshness and novelty in the Scriptures seldom en-
countered in members of older Christian congregations.
In the Church at large, however, there is the same
lack of personal Bible study which is encountered every-
where.
g. An Increased Evangelistic Activity.
It is not so easy to arrive at just conclusions as to
the spiritual status of the membership by the evangelis-
tic activities in which they appear willing to participate.
The larger number of those who are ready to take an
active part in aggressive evangelization are far more
SPIRITUAL LIFE 245
ready to denounce evil ways than to instil righteous
purposes. There is, however, a steady increase of true
evangelistic zeal. It is taking the place of what in an
earlier day, and in some parts of the field until the pres-
ent time, has been the more negative method of oppos-
ing the religious beliefs of those among whom the work
is carried on. Here, as in every department of such life,
leadership decides the outcome. A member of the Com-
mission writes from Brazil: "A deeply spiritual pastor
tends to make a deeply spiritual church, and a spiritual
church, if properly led, inevitably becomes an intensely
aggressive church. The ability of an army to win vic-
tories on the field is determined more perhaps by the
ability of its officers than by the men in the ranks.
There are churches composed of promising material
which have become effective in the work of evangeliza-
tton through sheer force of leadership. On the other
hand, here as elsewhere in the world, there are churches
composed of promising material but which are most in-
efficient for lack of leadership. Our greatest need in
Latin America is for competent, aggressive, Spirit-filled
leadership. Our people are willing to follow where such
leadership is found taking part in personal evangelism,
in tract distribution, in the holding of cottage prayer-
meetings, and in the manifold activities of church up-
building. The discovery and training of such leaders
brings us to the very heart of the problem of the truly
spiritual Church, through which alone the evangelization
of this field will become possible. In every age and in
every nation, since the day of Pentecost, true spirituality
in the churches has been secured when those who were
called of God to be spiritual leaders were filled with the
Holy Spirit, and whose word came to the people not
"in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance." A ministry commended from
on high, with lips touched with a burning coal from off
the altar of God, is the divinely chosen means for bring-
ing about a spiritual Church.
246 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
3. HINDRANCES AND HELPS TO GROWTH IN SPIRITUALITY
There is a serious lack of suitable devotional literature
in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. One corre-
spondent writes : "Notwithstanding an extremely limited
number of special books, we have been able to accom-
plish much by placing in the hands of our people such
as existed. The avidity with which our people devoured
what literature we were able to supply shows what a
vast influence good reading would exert not only in the
intellectual and moral development of the people, but in
deepening their spiritual life as well." Another writer
urges the preparation of brief spiritual booklets on de-
votion and recommends their publication in a form which
can be easily carried in the hand or pocket.
Many of the members of the Churches have little or
no sense of personal responsibility in the performance
of their ordinary church duties. They have been brought
up to feel that the Church will go on, whether those
that compose it actively cooperate or not. Many evan-
gelical converts accept official positions in their church,
as deacons, Sunday-school teachers or officers, and yet
attend to their duties only when they have an inclina-
tion to do so. Their children attend the Sunday school
as often as they please and no oftener, and they do this
without being rebuked by their equally negligent parents.
This unfortunate lack of personal responsibility is a
serious hindrance in true spiritual growth.
Leaders should have a deepening confidence in the
power of the Holy Spirit to produce a perfect New Testa-
ment Church whose members live in the Spirit, walk in
the Spirit and show in their lives the necessary fruits
of the Spirit. No pastor or leader can hope to raise
his people to a higher spiritual level than that on which
he himself walks. Lack of faith here is fatal. It is
even more necessary that the entire membership should
be definitely enlisted in some form of aggressive work
for Christ. The principal aim of every intelligent pastor
should be to set every member to work. Every member
who is not interested in some branch of Christian work
will very likely soon be lost to the Church. By the em-
SPIRITUAL LIFE 247
ployment of these varied methods, the problem of self-
propagation will have been solved, and the spiritual life
and missionary spirit of the Church will have been
aroused to its highest pitch through the spiritual life and
activity of each member coming fully to realize what is
his duty to God and to the dying world round about him.
CHAPTER IV
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT
I. THE LATIN CHURCHES NO MERE IMITATORS
So vast is the area over which the Church in the
field is developing and so fundamentally do the social
and political conditions surrounding the several groups
of evangelical communities differ that a helpful summary
of the activities of the churches is very difficult. Many
of the usages of public worship which have been found
wise and beneficial in the United States and Europe are
not practical in Latin America. Many of the converts
are not sufficiently well trained to participate in any
form of elaborate ritual, however desirable. In some
places the opposition of outsiders has been so intense and
unyielding that song could not be largely used in stated
worship. Again and again, those who have visited
humble churches in the interior of South America have
heard the statement made, with what it may be hoped was
pardonable pride, that the church was prospering and
gaining a large influence among those who were formerly
its enemies. Not infrequently the statement would be
made, "We now sing hymns in the services and nobody
molests us." A majority of the churches seem to have
a marked preference for simple yet dignified services of
public worship.
248
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 249
2. THEIR USE OF AGENCIES FOR EVANGELISM
a. Bible Study.
In several republics of Central and South America
groups of believers were formed long before the coming
of missionaries, simply through the distribution of the
Scriptures. Wherever the Bible has gone it has pro-
duced results in the hearts of men and women. All
missionaries recognize that the printed word of God is
the most efifective means of gaining an entrance to any
field. All through Latin America copies of the Bible
have been found, and in many homes the early mission-
aries found this book was cherished as a precious heir-
loom for generations before the coming of evangelical
workers. How these Bibles found their way to these
lands would make interesting reading were all the facts
made known. Scores of evangelical churches can point
to this silent agency as the beginning of their existence.
b. ''Protracted Meetings/'
The use of "protracted meetings" as a means for pro-
moting evangelism is not unknown in Latin America.
Such meetings are reported from Yucatan with grati-
fying results. They involve house to house visitation,
public services and daily conferences with the native
preachers. In May, 191 5, in the midst of Mexican revo-
lutionary activities, Mr. John Murray, representing the
International Committee of Young Men's Christian As-
sociations, held a series of meetings in Chihuahua in
which the three denominations represented there united.
There was a large attendance and many conversions. He
held similar meetings in other cities. In Mexico City
it has been the custom for years past that the workers
come together for several days each year for united
prayer, sometimes led by an evangelist and more often
by the pastors of the several churches in the city. This
plan has given excellent results. Meetings of this char-
acter have also been held in Callao, La Paz, Santiago,
Concepcion, Buenos Aires, Rosario, Montevideo and else-
where during 1914 and in the early part of 191 5.
The attendance at these interdenominational gather-
250 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
ings was most gratifying at all of the places named, and
the results in conversions, in the awakening of Chris-
tians, and in new additions to the churches was suffi-
cient proof that this form of evangelism is worthy of
careful study and where practicable the plan should be
tried throughout the field.
c. Evangelistic Campaigns.
When such campaigns as those of Mr. Sherwood
Eddy in China are called to mind, it would be well to
consider whether or not the time has arrived for trying
out the evangelical possibilities of concerted interdenomi-
national evangelistic services extended over weeks, or at
least, over several days, in the stronger centers, under
the leadership of men having a fine sense of local situa-
tions and able to speak to the people in their own tongue.
It might be well to have in every region an evangelist
at the service of the churches, trained also to organize
the converts he has made.
d. The Support of Aggressive Evangelization.
One of the surest signs that the Church in the field
is moved by the Apostolic spirit is the way it is seeking
to contribute its fair share to the great cause of world
missions. Not only do many churches send an annual
contribution to the Board which has assisted them, but
in several instances they have taken the initiative in work
on behalf of other peoples. Five years ago a group
of Christians of one communion organized a Board of
Missions, raised among the churches a fund of $i,ooo a
year, appointed two of their number and sent them in
true apostolic fashion to three of the Indian tribes of
central Mexico. They have administered their own
funds, and have supervised their own work with credit-
able skill. This organization has also sent an annual
contribution for the last seven years to help sustain an
independent work in the republic of Chile. In Brazil a
group of churches commissioned one of their best-trained
native pastors to carry the message of salvation back to
the mother country.
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 251
e. Personal Work.
The winning of new converts is effected in many in-
stances not by public preaching or by ordained minis-
ters, but by the fervent testimony of souls who have be-
come conscious of their own salvation by faith in Jesus
Christ. A missionary in Central America, in emphasiz-
ing the importance of personal work, writes: "We are
not permitted to hold open air meetings. In nearly all
the other mission lands of the world this privilege is en-
joyed. Even where, as in Guatemala, the govern-
ment is willing to approve a local desire for
such meetings, permission is not often given.
There is wide-spread prejudice against attending our
meetings. The threat of excommunication is over the
heads of people in case they should come to our services.
This keeps away a large number of those who are inter-
ested in the discovery of the truth. Such false state-
ments are made about us that many do not want to come.
Great tact must be used in talking with these people, but
also plainness and courage are needed to show many
that the ideas in their minds are without foundation, and
also to win their friendship and good opinion. People are
afraid of becoming 'queered' by attending evangelical
meetings. The greater part of these people will never
be reached if we wait to get them into formal services.
The people who have not heart interest in evangelical
teachings and practices are afraid of being ostracized.
Even Protestant business men are afraid of business boy-
cott. They know that it means financial ruin, so a great
many men who were formerly honest lose their strength
of character and play into the hands of our opponents.
The greater part of evangelical business men, and even
diplomats, are wary about allying themselves with Prot-
estantism for fear criticism will come upon them.
By personal tact, by grace of manner and by an un-
shrinking persistence, the very persons who are thus
made the unwilling victims of such treatment may be
won from their prejudice and error. To neglect the God-
given opportunity of doing personal work with the thou-
sands with whom we meet day by day, is to run the
252 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
risk of showing ourselves unprofitable and unworthy
servants."
3. THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD SUNDAY OBSERVANCE AND
TEMPERANCE
The practice of the Church in the field regarding
matters of moral reform has been in harmony with the
position taken by the supporting constituencies, and can
be said already to have exerted a great influence upon
conditions as these were at first encountered. The
Church has thrown its influence solidly in favor of a
more Scriptural use of Sunday than that which prevails
all too widely throughout Latin America. It has borne
its testimony against Sunday sports, Sunday buying,
Sunday excursions for pleasure only, and against elec-
tions and other public functions upon this day, and un-
doubtedly is wielding an influence to help swing the cur-
rent of public opinion in the direction of a cleaner and
more devout day of rest. Some of these influences have
already crystallized into statutes. Argentina, for ex-
ample, has passed a Sunday-closing law which has been
in force nearly ten years. It is a boon to the working-
men who formerly had no statutory claim to any fixed
day of rest in the week. In many cities it is as well
enforced as in North America. One member of the Com-
mission about two years ago visited a city of 95,000
people and on Sunday could find but one small place
of business open in a walk of several blocks up and
down the business streets of the city. Other countries
have initiated legislation having the same object in view.
When it is considered how openly the day is profaned
in the United States and Great Britain it should be a
matter of gratitude that the republics in Latin America
are beginning to practice the same loyalty to the com->
mand to rest one day out of seven, which has given us
all that is good in Sunday observance elsewhere.
A missionary in Rio de Janeiro pleads for the essen-
tial in Sunday observance : "Even in North America the
church members, as a whole, to-day observe Sunday in
a way very different from that of the same class of
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 253
people fifty years ago. The real 'Sunday problem' be-
fore the mission churches to-day is to find out reverently
and prayerfully what is essential with respect to Sunday
in the light of God's word, and what is only traditional.
The Saturday or Wednesday half-holiday is almost un-
known in Latin America. Sunday is the only available
day for healthy games or for out-door exercise. The
evangelical forces must come to some conviction as to
the ideals of Sunday observance which they will seek
to bring to bear on the life habits of their converts.
There must also be an attempt by constructive processes
to bring about a more wholesome use of the Sunday
holiday by the social groups which live apart from the
disciplinary and cultural processes of the evangelical
Churches. The very best experience of Christian leaders
in all parts of the world should be drawn upon to this
end.''
Throughout Latin America the European view-
point as to the use of intoxicants is held rather than
that which growingly prevails north of the Rio Grande.
Native wines, imported liquors, alcohol made in the great
sugar areas in Peru, i\gentina and Brazil — these are
sold in almost every kind of commercial house, and are
accessible in every restaurant, dining car and hotel. The
practice of the evangelical Church in this wide field is
practically unanimous in its condemnation of this evil.
Temperance societies are now being formed by Latin
Americans in the different countries. Scientific temper-
ance instruction has been introduced into the public
schools of Peru, and with less completeness into those
of Uruguay. Whatever there is of teaching through-
out these lands as to total abstinence from alcoholic
liquors is due in its inception to evangelical sentiment.
4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS
The Sunday school deserves a large place in the plans
for a vigorous church life. The impression exists that
it is futile to expect the conversion of adults and that
the hope for the development of a true church life centers
^54 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
in the Sunday school which deals with those who are
still in the formative period of life. While the power
of the gospel to reach and to save the most hardened
adult must never be doubted, nevertheless, it remains true
in Latin America, as elsewhere, that the Sunday school
is one of the chief fields of Christian activity. It is a mat-
ter of interest that the m.an who gathered together the
first Sunday school for Spanish-speaking people in the
River Plate area, the Rev. John F. Thomson, D.D., and
the leader in whose house the first Sunday school met,
Senora Fermina de Aldeber, are both living, the latter
now being 102 years of age. They have seen the work
grow from the small beginning in the Boca of Buenos
Aires until in all eastern South America children and
youth are enroled in Sunday schools. In many congre-
gations those who are now leaders are the fruitage of
early and thorough teaching of the Word of God in the
Sunday school. How greatly this work is esteemed both
in the field and at home base, and how much is hoped for
from its future development, is shown by the recent visit
of Mr. Frank L. Brown, general secretary of the World's
Sunday School Association, who with a selected com-
pany of Simday-school workers, visited various parts of
South America to lay plans for the development and ex-
tension of this work. In Valparaiso, Santiago, Buenos
Aires, Rosario, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, and in other
centers, influential groups listened with deepest interest
to the plan as outlined by Mr. Brown and others ; every-
where expectation is rife regarding the good likely to
accrue from the appointment of the Rev. George P.
Howard of Montevideo as Sunday-school secretary for
South America. A suitable literature in the way of helps
for teachers, teacher training manuals, lesson commen-
taries, etc., is to be jointly prepared, and the workers are
to be visited and stimulated to more earnest and effective
service in winning the children and in bringing to them a
knowledge of the Word of God. The great problem of
the Sunday school is the discovery and training of worthy
teachers intellectually and spiritually prepared for their
tasks.
PR.\CTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 255
5. THE GROWTH OF SOCIETIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Young people's societies, such as the Christian En-
deavor, the Epworth League, the Baptist Young People's
Union and others, have been transplanted into this field
by the representatives of the several Churches. Methods
of organization, weakness of programs, and meagreness
of visible results have been the subjects of critical com-
ment in our correspondence, but nearly always there has
been also frank and hearty recognition of the large place
held in the church life by the activities of these organ-
izations. A missionary writing from Brazil, says : '*In
my own work I have found the young people's society
a most fruitful field for developing workers. Older peo-
ple converted late in life cannot free themselves entirely
from their earlier conceptions and habits. This is not the
case with young people. They can be trained into
the highest form and expression of the Christian life. It
has been my experience that, on the whole, young people
in Latin lands are more inclined to take an active part in
public worship and in church work generally than are
young people in the United States. This, however, I do
not attribute to a deeper spirituality but to the fact that
people in Latin lands have a greater facility for speaking
in public. The wise pastor w^ill make every possible use
of this willingness on the part of the young people by
filling them with exalted ideas of Christian service and
by leading them to the deepest consecration of their lives
to the great work of saving others."
Where the work of the young people's societies is
lovingly watched over and guided by the pastor, they
become agencies of first-rate importance in training and
developing leaders. A correspondent writes regarding
them : "The societies should not only hold weekly re-
Hgious services. They must provide many other methods
of expressing their inner selves. All young people re-
quire an outlet for their physical and social energies
which will rival the dance, the cock-pit, the bull-fight or
the race-track. The evangelical Church of Latin America
is doomed to inevitable defeat unless there can be devised
and carried out for the youth a plan of social exhaust
256 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
that is lively, harmless and entertaining. Baseball, bas-
ketball and kindred games are good for the boys. Simi-
lar recreation could be planned for the girls. Literary
clubs and entertainments of every legitimate kind should
be provided. Any general provision for the growth of
the evangelical Churches in Latin America must include
these social forces. This is vital to the life of the Church
and of the young people. If the Church does not offer
safe and sane recreation to its youth, the world will offer
some other kind."
Referring to the organization of these societies, a
missionary in Cuba states an important principle: 'Tn an
organization of young people of this kind, it is desirable
that it be subordinate to the church in order that the re-
ligious life may be strongly maintained. It is difficult
to maintain a healthy religious life when any other end
than genuine Christianity is aimed at. So it should be
the aim to cultivate the spiritual rather than the athletic,
musical, social or literary life of its members. The basis
of any sort of an organization for young people should
be profoundly religious. An adequate plan will recog-
nize, however, that related to this basic religious inter-
est there must always be something in the way of whole-
some recreation. V\^e must avoid the extreme to which
the Church of earlier days went, that gave no place what-
soever to the culture of the social nature. Even the
Bible school was not universally welcomed until a com-
paratively recent date. What would the Church do to-
day without its auxiliaries? We should be willing to
welcome any sort of an organization that will draw the
young people away from the evil associations and lead
them into a life of service for Christ and the Church."
6. THE STANDARDS OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE
a. The Danger of Laxity.
The practice of the Churches in matters of church
discipline is introduced in a communication from Cuba
which says : "Bearing in mind the emotionalism, respon-
siveness, and demonstrativeness of the Latin tempera-
ment, we should expect just what we find in experience.
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 257
The stony ground hearers are largely represented in our
churches. Great care is needed in the reception of mem-
bers. From instinctive politeness they love to please, and
an appeal for decision after a soul-stirring sermon is
seldom made in vain. It is thus indispensable to fix a cer-
tain period of probation for all who seek admission as
members to our churches. Some of the problems which
confront us here in the matter of church discipline are
truly perplexing to consciences educated under the full,
clear light of the gospel. These problems can be solved
only by taking intelligently into account the antecedent
lives and estabhshed customs of our candidates. We
must distinguish carefully between the essentially and
unchangeably right, the essentially and unchangeably
wrong, and the indifferent, becoming right or wrong ac-
cording to circumstances.
The evangelical Churches should always and every-
where guard against falling into lax ways in the matter
of discipline. Church membership should ever be held
to be incompatible with lying, stealing, adultery, dishon-
est practices, and in fact with any expression of a low
standard of morals.
b. The Three Great Problems.
Three classes of problems emerge into prominence.
First comes the observance of Sunday. For centuries
it has been the custom of Latin Americans to employ
God's day for purposes of travel, for amusement, for in-
dustrial, social or political gatherings and for all forms
of gambling. Faithful Roman Catholics confine their re-
ligious observance of the day to attendance upon the
mass. The most attractive excursions, the best theatrical
functions, business meetings of clubs, commercial houses
and political parties, are all held on Sunday. No other
day of the week compares with it for balls, cock-fights
and general dissipation. When, therefore, members join
the evangelical churches, many of them are so interrelated
socially, industrially, and by ties of kinship with those
about them who are lacking in a sense of the sacredness
of the Lord's day, and so handicapped by long established
258 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
custom, that to expect an immediate sensitiveness to the
question of Sunday observance is unreasonable. Many
churches keep members on probation until satisfied of
their spirit of obedience and the supreme desire to follow
Christ in all things. Then the Sabbath-keeping spirit
finds expression more and more in their actual life and
procedure.
The second question is the attitude to be taken in re-
gard to unfaithfulness in marriage. This is forced upon
the evangelical Churches by the absence in many coun-
tries of a law of divorce. Growing out of wide-spread
concubinage and of Latin ideas of courtship, matrimonial
unfaithfulness is met with on every hand. It happens
that a husband whose piety sometimes cannot be doubted
presents himself, desiring to confess Christ. His wife
has proved unfaithful to him, and associates with an-
other, bearing him children. The husband, unable to
secure a divorce, has chosen another companion, with
whom he lives faithfully. He would be married were it
possible. Such cases, in the judgment of the missionaries,
must be dealt with without compromise of the highest
standards, even though the action taken seems to bring
real hardship on the persons involved.
The third problem is that of gambling. All church
members are brought face to face with the lottery
and its accompaniments in the form of raffles and
other schemes of chance. To persons of trained and sen-
sitive conscience it seems a sin to buy a lottery ticket
and we think it strange that any one should differ
from us. But when we speak of it to our converts, we
find that for the great majority of them it appears to be
perfectly legitimate to purchase lottery tickets, for this
is sanctioned by the government ; further, those v^^ho fail
to draw premiums consent to this on purchasing tickets
and are prepared for it ; and, indeed, the selling of lottery
tickets gives employment to very many needy persons,
especially to the maimed and crippled. We thus find that
it is no easy thing to convince these impulsive people of
the evil of the lottery. To do so may require many years
of courageous exposition of ethical principles and of pa-
PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT 259
tient dealing with numerous departures from the stand-
ards which may be set by the developing Church.
These three features of life as found among this peo-
ple suggest the difficulty of maintaining high ethical
standards and yet dealing wisely and patiently with prac-
tical considerations and with difficult situations whose be-
ginnings antedated the evangelical approach to the per-
sons concerned.
7. THE ENRICHMENT OF PUBLIC WORSHIP
No discussion of the practice and development of the
Church in Latin America is approximately complete
which does not recognize the large place accorded to
music in the church life. The leaders of evangelical
church life throughout Latin America have made large
use of song as an expression of gratitude, as a vehicle
for the loftiest aspirations, and as a means of convincing
and winning unbelievers. One phase of church life
throughout all this area which is new, popular and ef-
fective, is the introduction of congregational singing in
the language of all the people. For centuries they have
been accustomed to music. Bands play in all their parks.
Music is a part of their daily life. Dignified music united
to noble, spiritual hymns makes a great appeal to the
mind and heart of the Latin American. In the Church
with which they have been familiar, singing is done by the
clergy and accompanying choirs, and in an unknown
tongue. Congregations, as such, do not sing. But when-
ever the truth makes men free, they feel impelled to give
thanks to God by the use of psalms and hymns and spir-
itual songs. Nearly all the evangelical churches have
organs and choirs ; some of them have orchestras. Many
church members carry copies of the word edition of the
hymn-book with them daily. Some of the humbler mem-
bers take a small Testament and hymn-book with their
midday luncheons to their daily toil, and they are found
sitting on the curbstone or on heaps of lumber or brick
or hay, where they are employed, getting a glance at
their Testament, or committing a verse from the hymn-
book while they are eating. A laborer in one of the
26o THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
great saltpeter fields in Chile discovered other evan-
gelical Christians from the hymns they sang v^hile at
their daily tasks. Many of these hymns are translations
from English. The translation is often rather clumsy,
and rhyme and rhythm do not always please the ear,
but their value as a means of propagation and of impress-
ing the mind with evangelical doctrine is very great.
Doctrinal truth which would be rejected when stated in
tract or sermon, takes possession of many minds when
borne to them on tides of holy song, and many w^ho
would hesitate to rely entirely upon a personal Savior
through living faith, because urged to do so by preacher
or teacher, will come into this experience as they sing:
Other refuge have I none,
Hangs my helpless soul on Thee.
It is a matter for great rejoicing that a new evan-
gelical hymn-book in the Spanish tongue, in both music
and word editions, has recently been published by the
American Tract Society, the demand for which has al-
ready exhausted several editions. A similar hymnal is
needed for Portuguese-speaking congregations.
CHAPTER V
THE PROBLEM OF SELF-SUPPORT
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-SUPPORT
At no point in the discussion committed to Commission
VI are we more nearly at the heart of the problem of
evangelical advance in Latin America than when we con-
front the question of self-support. Many missionaries
have recently declared that if they were to begin their
work again, they would have as one principal aim the
establishment of the native Church on a self-supporting
basis. Self-support, self-government and self-propaga-
tion are inseparably joined, and upon the proper solu-
tion of the one first named depends, to a large degree,
any right solution of the other two.
Of necessity much will be said with regard to self-
support measured in terms of money or its equivalent.
This is inevitable and wholly proper. Money does play
and should play a large part in any discussion of the
means by which churches can support and carry on the
spiritual tasks entrusted to them. They have financial
needs. These needs are large. They constantly recur,
even as the appetite for food and drink in the human
organism. Land m.ust be boug-ht for churches, schools
and other institutions. Buildings must be erected for
worship, for education, for works of charity. Men and
women must give their entire time to ministry, prayer
and pastoral service, and such laborers are worthy of their
261
262 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
hire. To discuss methods of the effective raising and
administration of funds is pertinent.
2. ITS PROBLEMS NOT MERELY FINANCIAL
Having- made this admission, it seems appropriate to
call attention to the fact that matters of money have been
overemphasized in past discussions of self-support,
whether at home or abroad. Self-support, in its most
important aspects, should not be considered as primarily
a matter of financial contributions either great or small.
The problem is much deeper than that of money. A
careful study of the Acts of the Apostles, and of the rec-
ords of the primitive Church immediately at th% close of
the Apostolic era is very illuminating when this subject
is under consideration. One rises from a fresh reading
of the Acts of the Apostles with a feeling that at no time
and in no way was the question of raising money an
administrative problem of a serious sort in connection
with the founding and spread of the Church throughout
Asia Minor and Europe. Doubtless some funds were
needed. Some one must have paid Paul's passage on his
missionary journeys. Some contributor or contributors
must have provided the means for Timothy and Luke
and others to pass from city to city; but the marked
absence of any money-raising^ effort in one of the most
creative periods of Christian history should give us pause
in the midst of our debates which take for granted at
every step that this, that, or the other plan cannot be
carried through because we have not the money.
3. HOME BASE STANDARDS INAPPLICABLE
It is a deepening conviction in the minds of hundreds
of missionary leaders that we are at fault in the attempt
to transplant our peculiar ideas of church life when we
go to distant lands to set up new Christian Churches. In
North America and Europe the evangelical Church has
Gfrown for centuries. Its constituency is prosperous, and
in many places wealthy. It provides for itself spacious
and ornate houses of worship, decorated banqueting
rooms and parlors, and ample quarters for all the com-
SELF-SUPPORT 263
plex activities of modern church life in long established
Christian communities. For such an equipment official
Boards must devise ways to raise large sums of money.
Too many go to foreign fields having this ideal of the
material equipment needed for normal church life so fixed
in their minds that they cannot conceive of a church
without it, and, consequently, when they begin to con-
sider the cost of a house of worship and its maintenance,
including the support of its pastor and other paid agents,
they find the expense quite out of proportion to the
meagre resources of members, often gathered out of great
poverty and seldom possessed of a considerable amount
of this world's goods. Further, they cannot conceive of
an organized church without a pastor who gives his en-
tire time to the pulpit and pastoral demands of the con-
gregation and again they are at their wits' end to devise
ways and means to meet the expenses involved in sup-
porting such an official.
4. CONTRtBIPTIONS OF SERVICE THE TRUE KEY TO SELF-
SUPPORT
It is all the more strange that we should fall into this
error when we find in the Scriptures twenty-eight chap-
ters of inspired church history covering the first period
of missionary effort, a record, specially inspired of the
Holy Spirit "for our learning," which shows strong
churches founded without the help of outside funds, and
supporting themselves and pushing out into unevangel-
ized regions without a single contribution by anyone out-
side of their own circle. When John Wesley sent Fran-
cis Asbury to take charge of the ''societies in North
America," Asbury found churches which were almost
entirely self-sustaining, Methodism practically was self-
supporting and was propagating itself with a rapidity
which has never been excelled. If Mr. Wesley had sent
a large sum of money, and had paid all these foreign
and colonial preachers and lay helpers, Methodism would
probably have spent its force before it reached the Ohio
River. Because it had to find its own support, and had
to carry on its own work of self-propagation or die, it
264 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
kept its organization simply and democratic, and appealed
to a very large constituency as a worthy object of Chris-
tian giving, because of the multitudes whom it was turn-
ing from sin unto righteousness. A large subsidy from
Mr. Wesley might have been a distinct injury to the
growing Church. Asbury and others went far afield and
attained self-support for the church organizations which
sprang up whither they went hy voluntary contributions
of consecrated service rather thorn, hy gifts of money.
Here is the key to true Scriptural self-support. By con-
tributions of unremunerated service the Apostolic Church
spread from home to home and from city to city as
quicksilver runs over a floor. Had the Apostles waited
to open work in Antioch, Thessalonica and Rome until
they had raised from the poor churches already estab-
hshed sufficient funds to send and maintain qualified
workers who should be provided with roomy and ornate
buildings for work and worship, there never would have
been any Christian Church.
It is only fair to say that the independent Brazilian
Presbyterian Churches furnish a clear illustration of the
good results of the policy of urging self-support from the
first. They maintain public worship, are developing a
strong native ministry and pay for everything which is
done by Brazilians.
5. LESSONS FROM WORLD EXPERIENCE
a. In Africa.
Certain large lessons can be learned from experiments
in self-support in different parts of the foreign field. The
great self-supporting work under Bishop Tucker, in East
Central Africa, where more than 100,000 Africans have
been gathered into corporate church life, churches built,
schools estabHshed, and all the machinery of a well or-
ganized mission brought into smooth and effective oper-
ation without the use of a penny of foreign money for
the support of an African pastor or teacher, or the ex-
penditure of such money for the erection or equipment
of churches or other buildings needed for the work, is
one of the most notable examples. Apparently God's
SELF-SUPPORT 265
peculiar favor has rested upon this work from its incep-
tion. There has been a degree of spontaneous cooper-
ation on the part of converts and a spirit of sacrifice at
times reaching the heroic, which have reacted blessedly
upon the spiritual life and growth of the immature be-
lievers who thus denied themselves for Christ's sake.
b. In the Philippines.
In a lesser way the same experiment was tried out by
one of the Churches which began work in the Philippine
Islands, after the close of the Spanish-American War.
Those who were charged with the direction of the work
on the field, finding their number limited and their funds
circumscribed, and believing fully in the method of self-
support which has just been emphasized, passed rapidly
from city to city, presented the gospel plainly and lov-
ingly, and organized into churches such believers as ac-
cepted the message. At first the organization was one
of great simplicity. They took out from among the con-
verts men of good report and of the best training to be
found and charged these wuth the duty of maintaining at
least one public service each Sunday, the reading of Scrip-
ture, prayer and Christian testimony, under the leadership
of some one who seemed to the missionary to possess
the most natural gifts and graces. One evening service
each week was also to be held, and such literature was
to be distributed from hand to hand among these new
believers as could be sent from time to time by the super-
intendent of the mission. The believers were fully in-
structed that when they came together they were to fol-
low the apostolic injunction and "despise not prophesy-
ing." If anyone had a psalm or a teaching or an interpre-
tation he was to speak briefly. The missionary made the
rounds of these centers once in two or three months, stay-
ing from two to five days at each place, and ''putting
things in order," as Timothy was instructed to do in Crete.
Then for another two to three months the little group
was left to itself and to such ministrations as its mem-
bers were able to give at these two weekly gatherings.
Such blessings attended the work that within seven years
266 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
over 20,000 had been gathered into the church fellow-
ship of this Communion alone, more than one hundred
selected exhorters and local preachers were preaching
from one to three times each week without salary and
without so much as the thought of receiving salary.
Three or four of the stronger churches had undertaken
the entire support of national pastors, who gave their en-
tire time to one or another group or circuit. During this
time practically no foreign money was paid for the salary
or travelling expenses of the Filipino preachers. Local
churches were taught to subsist and grow when they had
only the voluntary labor of the more gifted members of
their own body. When they were able to give a pastor a
few rooms in one of their houses, and find him enough
rice and fish to eat, and when some of the faithful women
were willing to make up a few garments for himself and
family, then they had their desire for a pastor gratified.
Here again the peculiar blessing of God rested upon the
plan. The sacrificial spirit was manifest among the mem-
bership. The sum total of voluntary activity in telling
neighbors and friends of the saving power of the gospel
was impressively great, and many converts were gathered
by the converts of that Church in the Philippine Islands
at an annual expenditure at no time exceeding $25,000.
c. In China.
Dr. William Ashmore, of China, published a most il-
luminating contribution on this subject in the Chinese
Recorder for January, 1899. Speaking of the founding
of churches on the foreign field, he said: "All these
young churches need to be fed with the word of truth,
and that means a demand for pastors and teachers, or
for some equivalent therefor in the interim, until more
elaborately qualified pastors and teachers can be had.
But support is needed; we might say money is needed,
but we prefer the word support, as conveying a more
dignified, a more just, and a more scriptural conception,
free from tlie suggestion of mercenariness.
"But who is to furnish that support, or its equivalent
in money, as others will call it? Hitherto the home
SELF-SUPPORT 2(^']
churches have done it — at least mainly. A little band of
disciples would be gathered, and perhaps the missionary
himself would be willing to be elected their pastor. It
was a mistake, a profound mistake. Support a missionary
as pastor they could not. They would never dream of
such a thing. And so they started off with the idea
that the support of a pastor was no concern of theirs.
But the more common method was for the missionary to
send a native preacher to reside among and to preach to
them from Sunday to Sunday. Of course he paid the
native pastor, for such he was, with mission money.
There again a mistake was made. Responsibility of
their own the mem.bers had not. We know of places
where this system of supporting their pastor for them
has been kept up for fifteen or twenty years. A miser-
able, enervating and pauperizing system it has been.
. . . A trouble with us is this. In all our movements
on this question we are following home conceptions,
and insist on introducing home methods. We are not
constructing after the pattern shown in the mount;
but after certain Anglo-American designs. . . .
As against all this we appeal to the Word of God.
Great and essential truths are there taught which we
have lost sight of, or, if we have not lost sight of
them entirely, we have lost sight of the full signifi-
cance of them."
Dr. Ashmore closed his paper urging that the 14th
chapter of First Corinthians be recalled to our atten-
tion, where the primitive mode of carrying on church
services is set forth with great fullness of detail, and
says : "We are old-fashioned enough to believe that this
was a model intended for all time in such kind of work
as we missionaries are engaged in. Indeed, we are con-
strained to think that our old matured churches at
home, even if they have pastors, would have their
efficiency increased immensely, if they would but take
a leaf out of Paul's book and utilize vastly more than
they do the undeveloped gifts and graces of their tal-
ented membership. . . . But when it comes to lit-
tle rising and struggling interests, whether at home
268 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
or abroad, which have no money, but do have among
them men and women who know how to do some
things, and could easily be taujs^ht how to do many
more, we have no shadow of doubt on this subject.
To us, daylight is in this direction. . . . Are there
lost arts in the propagation of Christianity, in the
planting of churches, and in the evangelization of
nations?''
6. THE ATTITUDE OF THE NATIONAL CHURCHES
FAVORABLE
Turning now to the question of self-support in
Latin America, as that term is generally understood
in the discussions of missionary Boards and mission-
ary leaders, let us first note that the correspondence
reaching us sounds a hopeful note. Progress is being
made, an increasing number of local congregations
have become entirely self-sustaining, and not only that,
but in turn have become contributors to the funds
needed for pushing the campaigns beyond their bor-
ders, and for the relief of the worthy poor and for
other benevolent purposes.
A missionary correspondent writes from Buenos
Aires: "I am beginning to feel that it is a mistake to
go into a city and put up a building of a given sort
and say to the people, in effect, 'Come and be our
members, that is all you have to do, as we pay all
expenses for building and for running the church. All
you have to do is to be good Christians and just mem-
bers.' I think it is a mistake to let the people feel
that it is the Board's house, organ and seats, that this
is the Board's man that we have for pastor, and that
nothing is ours. Would it not be better for a m.an to
take the Board's money, and with the Board behind him
as far as he personally is concerned, go into a community,
beginning a group life in the best way practicable, and
then with each one feeling as if the enterprise were de-
pendent on himself for victory, to appoint a building
committee and say to them, T will give from the Board
so much for all you will raise'? Thus the people would
SELF-SUPPORT 269
become a real factor of the enterprise, while maintaining
their personal church liberty and autonomy."
A man whose field is in Mexico, writes : "If we
continue the present plan, we shall not establish self-
sustaining churches in Mexico in one hundred years.
If the people recognize the pastor's financial depend-
ence upon them they will rally to his support, not only
financially, but otherwise ; they will attend his meet-
ings more regularly and aid him in the work which is
one betw^een him and them, and not between him and
some Board. If the pastor receives from his Board
all the money needed to make missionary trips, and to
do his pastoral work, the danger is that his members
may ask pay for doing such personal work even
among their own kindred and acquaintances." Mr.
Chastain urges the importance of applying this prin-
ciple to schools established in the field, and declares
that industrial departments should be introduced, even
in the theological schools. He says : "Some of our
own Mexican preachers have been taken up in pov-
erty, sent to school with all their bills paid without
thought or eflFort on their part, and as a result they have
lost the training which comes from personal effort,
and have been put out of touch with the com-
mon people. Povertv may be a hard master for
young people, but it is a most valuable one, teaching
economy and thrift." He agrees strongh^ with the
statement quoted just above, with regard to con-
gregations, and points out that the only greater mis-
take is for the Board of Missions to go on paying
nearly or quite all the running expenses, such as those
for lights, janitor service, Simday-school supplies, etc.,
and ndds: "It is an actual injury to people to give them
everything. If what they use comes as the result of
their own toil they will get along with less, but it
will be more appreciated, and will do them more srood.
Except in very rare cases, I never give away Bibles
and Testaments. This same principle is observed also
in our medical work. A small fee is collected from every
patient, enough, it may be, to pay for the medicines.
270 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
Because of a too free use of mission money, we have
had a hard time to collect the subscription price of our
religious weeklies, but even here there is improvement."
He goes on to point out that whereas the converts have
long been accustomed to the idea of paying for the
support of a church, it should be easy to induce them
to support evangelical activities, and says that where
they do not do so it seems to him the result of lack
of training for which the missionary is ultimately re-
sponsible. He has further pointed out that uo instance
has come within his knowledge of a gradual lessening
of grants from a Board. He goes on to argue that some
plan of this kind must be adopted, if self-sustaining and
self -propagating churches are to be established.
A missionary from Manzanillo, Cuba, says : "It
seems to be a great error to try to Americanize our
w^ork in these foreign countries. Many missionaries
appear to think that if the Christian work in these
Latin lands is not modelled exactly after the work in
North America, then the work can result in no lasting
good. I differ altogether from this view, l^elieving it
to be erroneous. Many missionaries seem to see noth-
ing good in the country where they are laboring, and
do nothing but deprecate and underrate everything
that is Cuban, Argentinian, Chilean, or Brazilian. They
find virtues only in America and in everything Amer-
ican. I am fully persuaded that so long as we proceed
in this manner, we can never hope to win our way
into the hearts of the Latin races." This correspondent
was discussing primarily the best methods of so relat-
ing the missionary to the national membership as most
speedily to attain self-support and self-pro]:)agation.
Both he and several other missionaries urge the
organization of active members of the church into small
bands under leaders for aggressive evangelism, ]Vlan-
ning" their work and keeping them inspired for its per-
formance. Utilize the latent love, enthusiasm and
energy of the membership in each place as the i)rime
evangelistic force for that town and for commimities
nearby. This missionary also urges the organization of
a woman's missionary society in every local church,
SELF-SUPPORT 271
urging members to find their first field at their own
doors, and to throw themselves heartily into the work
of evangelization.
One correspondent feels that some native workers do
not wish the churches under their charge to become self-
supporting for the reason that their pride does not take
kindly to being paid by a local congregation and thus be-
coming its servant ; also they are afraid of being accused
of making a bid for independence, and of a desire to
form a national independent Church. According to this
correspondent, the first reason is very common in his
field, the second less so.
A correspondent from Ecuador writes in a some-
what pessimistic vein. He says : ''1 believe in the de-
velopment of a self -propagating native Church. To
accomplish this there should not be much foreign sup-
port. The members should first be taught to labor
while supporting themselves in their customary occu-
pations. It should be one of our first tasks to teach
the native Church to give of its means, and in time to
assume the support of the m.ost valuable workers in
order that these may give their whole time to the work
of the gospel. Unless we can make progress by some
such plan as this our labor is in vain. Success de-
pends largely upon the character and example of the
missionary."
Writing as to the difference between the temporal
conditions of the missionaries and those of the con-
verts, the same man says: "Missionaries have generally
been an example to the poor people in the economic
use of money. If we are modest in our expenses,
dress, and house-furnishings, I do not think that the
difference between us and our brethren will cause com-
ment. Coming down to their level has not increased
a brotherly feeling, as I hoped it would." Mr. Reed
cites an instance similar to many which have been
brought to our attention : "There is a village near at
hand where a Jamaican (negro) mechanic took a Bible
and night after night read it to the family where he was
employed. A work of grace began, and the members of
2^2 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
this and several other families became believers and
propagators of the gospel. Missionaries have visited
them from time to time and bring back reports of a true
work of God. There had been erected in this place the
only building that exists in Ecuador dedicated exclusive-
ly to gospel service." It has been remarked by some of
the missionaries that such results have come to pass
where they themselves had not gone. This may be sug-
gestive of a method of spreading the gospel through men
taught by missionaries, the men so taught afterwards
preaching in connection with their ordinary activities.
7. METHODS AND OBLIGATIONS OF STEWARDSHIP
A correspondent in Cuba writes: "There can be no
real church independence till the churches are self-
sustaining, and it is necessary that both pastors and
people be constantly reminded of these facts. The
method employed by our own mission is the 'Every
Member Canvass.' This gives some result, though
we find that the people are often quick to promise rela-
tively large sums which they afterward cannot pay. We
have as a special objective a gradual lessening of the
grant from the Board for each individual church,
but seek to have this self-imposed and not required by
the Board." He points out that there is need of a
more uniform basis of fixing the salaries of Cuban
ministers, and says : ''These salaries range from $40
to $75 per month, according to conditions of living and
size of family, taking into account also the merits of
the worker and his standard of living. We should
seek to supply the shortage of preachers by training
lay personal workers who will render service without
salary, working in their spare time. Since more has
not been done for self-support, it is more due perhaps
to the poverty of the churches than to a lack of will-
ingness to give."
There is a great unanimity among our correspond-
ents regarding the necessity of more definite Scrip-
tural teaching regarding the obligations of Christian
stewardship. It is pointed out that this subject should
SELF-SUPPORT 273
be carefully studied by all pastors, editors, writers of
tracts and booklets, Sunday-school workers and teach-
ers in our schools, and that by example as well as
precept, with line upon line, our young converts should
be shown the duty which God has laid upon them,
giving of their substance unto Him as a part of sym-
metrical worship acceptable to His sight. Members
of the Commission desire to emphasize this detail of
the Report and to urge that all workers throughout
the field study this subject anew, and bring its lessons
to bear far and wide in all our borders. Where this
has not been done, it should precede and accompany
the introduction of "methods" of raising money, no
matter how wise. A recognition of the obligations of
stewardship of life and property lies back of all truly
consecrated giving of money toward Christian causes.
CHAPTER VI
THE SECURING OF LEADERSHIP
I. INDISPENSABLE QUALIFICATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP
Those who are to be the leaders of the church life of
Latin America need to be richly qualified. In the first
place, they need a soundness of character based upon a
definite personal experience of the living God and a clear
vision of their relation to God's plan for humanity. Of
all the mission fields of the world, the Latin field is pre-
eminently the one into which the untried should not ven-
ture. The Latin world presents to-day, as does no other
part of the world, the spectacle of a cultured class de-
liberately rejecting Christianity, either because they feel
it has failed, or because they themselves fail to distinguish
between a spiritual religion and an ecclesiastical system.
At any rate, they turn to atheism. Others, to whom God
is still conceivable, grope in a world where he has never
been revealed or turn to the crudities of Spiritism.
The attitude is more than the expression of a mere
philosophy. The moral standards of Christianity are be-
ing put to the test. Those who question them also ques-
tion the authority of Christ in the realm of morals and
ethics. The cultured Latin who may have a sense of high
moral obligation sometimes brings the charge of immor-
ality against Christianity as he has known it. The worker
among Latins finds that much of the appeal to intuitive
274
SECURING LEADERS 275
faith and axiomatic morality is ineffective. Unless he is
able to adapt his methods to the conditions which con-
front him, his work will be unfruitful and will react upon
his own religious life, quenching the vigor of his faith.
A second indispensable characteristic of the worker
among Latin peoples is a keen sense of the brotherhood
of the human race. There is no place in Latin America
for one who believes in the special election and calling
of the Anglo-Saxon or any other race and its predestined
supremacy in the world. The Anglo-Saxon or Teutonic
missionary to the Latins needs to bear in mind that Giris-
tianity was Latin before it was either Anglo-Saxon or
Teuton, and that the very missionary zeal of which he
is so proud, was Latin v/hen Christianity was brought to
the lands of his forefathers.
A third essential for the one who is to lead is sure and
tactful sympathy. The social evil, illiteracy, mendicancy,
intemperance, political corruption, hatred and a host of
other evils can no more be eradicated by cynical criticism
in Latin America than they can in any other land. The
evils which Christianity has to eradicate in Latin America
are not Latin evils, but the common evils of humanity.
The gospel is catholic. He who would serve any people
must be willing to be as considerate, as friendly and as
loving as his Master.
A fourth characteristic essential to leadership in this
work is broad culture. There is no danger of putting
too much emphasis upon the intellectual preparation of
those who are to work among the western representatives
of as brilliantly intellectual a race as the world has known.
Nowhere is the obstacle which bars the access of the gos-
pel to the hearts of men so preeminently an intellectual
one. When all this has been said, however, it remains
true that sin is doing its deadening and destructive work
on life and character just as truly in Latin America as
elsewhere, and, as elsewhere doubtless, the intellectual
difficulties, the atrophied spiritual sense, the dulled appe-
tite for anything partaking of ethical idealism, on the
part of many grow out of the corrosive effect of known
sin on the life.
276 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
2. NATIONAL LEADERSHIP ESSENTIAL
The future greatness or failure of the Latin republics
lies in the hands of their educated leaders. If that
which constitutes the heart and soul of civilization ever
becomes the ruling factor in the lives of these peoples,
it will be through these molders of the national thought
and these controllers of national policies. The man of
culture in Latin America is not opposed to altruistic
idealism or morality ; but he is set and firm against dog-
matism and hollow ecclesiasticism. The one who suc-
ceeds in winning his attention and directing his mind
toward the predominant issues of individual and national
life will be the one who is able to approach him on an in-
tellectual and moral basis. On this basis no insincerity
will be permitted. Christianity has no need to conceal
anything; but it is easy to make men feel that there is
truth which Christianity seeks to conceal. Some such
consciousness as this has done much to alienate the cul-
tured Latin from the Christian Church. The first step
toward winning his attention again to the things of the
Spirit w^ill be the destruction of the barrier which exists
between the so-called secular and the so-called sacred in
education. It is impossible to think of philosophical or
scientific preparation which is too thorough for those to
whom this important task is entrusted. Christianity will
fail in Latin America, as she ought to fail anywhere, if
she does not deal fearlessly and fairly with the philo-
sophical and scientific problems v^hich vex men's minds
and undermine their faith. While an occasion for the
charge of obscurantism already brought by the intellect-
uals against the Roman Catholic leaders must not be per-
mitted to arise by the evangelicals as against our schools
or churches, yet the convincing apologetic for these peo-
ple will be transformed lives and self-denying social ser-
vice adapted to the felt needs of particular communities.
Moral and spiritual uplift incarnated in regenerated lives
constitutes an argument which will grip consciences
where the free discussion of philosophic and scientific
questions w^ould be futile.
The leaders w^ho are primarily in mind in this chapter
SECURING LEADERS 277
are those who have been born and bred in Latin America.
The important problem before the evangelical church is
their discovery and development. This problem is moral
as well as cultural. The acceptance of double standards
of personal purity, the low ideals of political and business
life, the failure to emphasize character building as a chief
element in education, are indications of this.
This matter of raising up a national leadership is like-
wise affected by intellectual conditions. Dr. Speer in
"South American Problems" has treated this subject with
great candor. With an illiteracy ranging from sixty to
eighty percent, in the different countries, it is easy to see
that the task is one of great difficulty. We get additional
light on the problem as we reahze how the cultured class
has reacted against religion. Argymiro Galvao, formerly
professor of philosophy in the Law School of Sao Paulo,
Brazil, in a lecture on "The Conception of God," states
quite clearly the attitude of this class : "We are in the
realm of realism : the reason meditates not on theological
principles, but on facts furnished by experience. God is
a myth; He has no reality; He is not an object of
science."
Another element to take into consideration in the search
for strong, wise leadership is the self-consciousness of the
dominant classes in these virile young republics. They
are proud of their history and of their heritage and are
slow to follow foreign influence. Nevertheless, it must
be borne in mind that throughout Christian history many
of the ablest leaders have come from very humble homes.
Our hope lies largely in the guiding and training of the
children of our church membership.
The fact must never be lost sight of that this search
for leadership is as old as humanity. Israel rose in pow-
er or waned in influence according to the emergence of
leadership ; under the guidance of a Moses or a
Joshua victories were achieved, order established, and
the purpose of God for His chosen people approximated.
Christ gave the best strength of His three short years
of earthly ministry to the selection and training of twelve
men, all but one of whom rendered notable service in
278 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
founding and extending the Kingdom. In Christian his-
tory, the discovery of leadership has been the solution
of most troubles in church and state. The younger
Pitt, the Wesleys and Whitfield, Bushnell and Finney,
Washington and Lincoln, are names which bring this
lesson home.
3. THE ELEMENT OF TIME INVOLVED
If the Church is to succeed in Latin America, strong
leaders must be developed for the varied forms of activity
required and they must come from the rank and file of
the membership. Ultimately the leaders of the evangeli-
cal forces in Latin America must be Latin Americans.
This problem pertains not only to the Church but also
lies at the very heart of the national life. The discovery
of strong leadership has been the solution throughout all
history of most of humanity's troubles.
The past should instruct the present as to the time
within which it may reasonably be expected that na-
tional leadership can be discovered, developed and se-
cured. Someone has well said that one of the weaknesses
of foreign missionary efifort has been the expectation of
results without allowing for the lapse of time necessary
to produce them. This too often leads to "hot-house"
methods, with the premature ripeness and quick decay
which attend their use whether in nature or grace. Look-
ing particularly at the great epochs of Church history, it
may be clearly seen that the leaders in any given genera-
tion were not generally the product of the generation in
which they served. They were the children of a former
generation, nurtured from infancy, trained through ado-
lescence, and matured for their tasks in early manhood
and womanhood under the influences of the Church to
which their services were devoted. Here and there it may
reasonably be expected that a convert will be largely used
to reach the generation to which he belongs at the time
of his conversion, but if the lessons of the past are duly
pondered, little encouragement will be found there for
the expectation that this class of leaders will be numerous.
Some of those who have sent communications to the
SECURING LEADERS 279
Commission seem to rest under the impression that the
leadership for the Church in the decades immediately
ahead of us we are to find already grown to manhood
and enroled, it may be, as students in this or that uni-
versity, or practising a profession already acquired, in
this or that city. Not so was it in the Apostolic Church.
Timothy, who from a child had known the Holy Scrip-
tures, was taken into private tutelage by the great apostle
himself. But the early Church made its broad appeal to
the great uncultivated mass which formed what the Ro-
mans considered as their lower, if not the lowest social
stratum. Among the adults so led to Christ, relatively
few developed as prominent reliable or trusted leaders. It
was their children and their children's children, reared in
Christian homes, sung to sleep by Christian mothers us-
ing the hymns of the new faith, and breathing from
their infancy a spiritual atmosphere unknown to the peo-
ple Hving about them, who led the way to a larger life.
Thus it was in planting the great aggressive Churches
in North America, as the pioneers pushed westward.
Their rugged frontier preachers gained their first hear-
ing among the common people, and the leaders in those
Churches to-day are the sons, grandsons and great-grand-
sons of relatively humble ancestors, developed in Chris-
tian homes, graduated from Christian colleges and sem-
inaries, and called to positions of leadership in the great
matters of the Kingdom. This process will doubtless be
repeated in the evangelization of Latin America. The
securing of leaders for a great Christian enterprise is
analogous to the securing of a crop of grain from the
spring sowings. Each kind of corn has a law written
in its heart, and according to that law ripeness will come
in two, three, or four months, and not sooner.
No process known to scientific agriculture can shorten
the time necessary to the ripening of a field of wheat or
corn. By long and careful study of seed-breeding, a
variety may be discovered which ripens a few days ear-
lier than older varieties, but even so, the law remains the
same. The human mind and heart demand the element
of time in coming to that rich maturity demanded of
28o THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
leaders in so holy an enterprise, and no wise master-
builder in Christ's employ should complain that the oaken
fibre of the character which can bear a great strain is
not such as matures in a day or a year, or even a decade.
It is needful that we cleanse our minds of impatience,
and stagger not at the promises of God because they
seem delayed in their fulfillment.
4. THE TWO GREAT SOURCES OF LEADERS
Time alone will not give us leadership. Time alone will
not bring harvests. Constant labor between planting and
approaching maturity is demanded. Our fathers in all
the past have unweariedly striven to provide for the
youth of each generation those facilities for worthy men-
tal discipline which have been the chief human elements
in securing leadership in all the past. Those who are
responsible for the on-goings of evangelical activity in
Latin America will secure their leaders in no other way.
To those leaders in the next generation or the one next
following that, will be entrusted the holy enterprise
which we are now discussing. How fundamentally im-
portant, then, that vigilance, broad planning and sacri-
ficial service should be given to the Christian nurture and
mental training of those who have already cast in their
lot with us, and to that of all their children. Qualifica-
tions of the foreign worker as set forth above must meet
in the national leader. But if such training is provided,
it must be on a scale hitherto not contemplated by any or
all of the agencies at present engaged. Two sources are
available: first, the young men who are being trained
in the excellent state and national colleges and univer-
sities throughout Latin America ; second, young men and
women who get their training wholly or in part from
missionary and church institutions.
5. THREE METHODS OF SECURING THEM
a. Reaching the Students in the National Schools.
The young men in state and national institutions are
important. No plan for the moral uplift of the Latin peo-
ples should fail to take these into account. As go these
SECURING LEADERS 28 1
students, so are likely to go the nations which they repre-
sent. These students will constitute a formidable barrier
to the success of any plan which does not win their al-
legiance. If this allegiance is won, however, it will be
the greatest single conceivable victory of the campaign.
No one who has witnessed the transformation in student
life in North America within a quarter of a century and
has seen the effect of the impact of this transformed
life upon social and religious conditions can doubt for a
moment that the key to the storehouse of power is in the
hands of him who shall arouse the student class to an
enthusiasm for unselfish service, heroic leadership and
sound character. The difficulty is not one of inaccessibil-
ity. If the students of Latin America are arrayed
against Christian ideals to-day, it is because they have had
but little opportunity as a class to place themselves in
any other position. The educational systems of Latin
America had their origin in the European systems at a
time when science and philosophy occupied a very doubt-
ful place in the pious mind. Viewed from the standpoint
of the Church of that day, such subjects were the work of
the devil, and he who engaged in them endangered great-
ly his standing in the Church, if not his life. From the
standpoint of the world, science and philosophy were
man's nearest approaches to the truth. To engage in
them was to cast aside the irrational Christian position
for a rational though atheistical attitude. As time went
on and education became more and more secularized, the
gulf between the ''sacred" and the "secular" has widened.
The Church, as the Latin knows it, has given herself with
increasing exclusiveness to theological training, while the
secular schools increasingly felt that their field is dis-
tinct from all that is Christian ; so that to-day in Latin
America to be scientific is to be atheistical, skeptical, or
indififerent to religious truth. This intellectual attitude
is buttressed and augmented by moral and personal con-
sideration, so that the great mass of young men who
might be leaders are indififerent to religious appeals.
How then can an efifective appeal be made to the stu-
dent class? There must be in this class the same respect
282 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
for truth that characterizes the student class in other
countries. We shall win them to faith in Jesus Christ
and a dedication of themselves to His service, only as
we treat human problems, both intellectual and moral,
with unflinching honesty; as we put ourselves in sym-
pathetic touch with the best in their national aspirations ;
as we believe that the Latin American will have his own
contribution to make the great composite which will one
day be the religion of the race.
b. Sending Students to North America and Europe.
When men and women have been led to dedicate their
lives to Christ, there is still remaining to be considered
the problem of special preparation. Shall the future
leader be sent out of his country for adequate training
or shall the Church provide the means of preparation on
the field ? There is still on the part of many a conviction
that the ideal preparation is that which is obtained by
those who leave their home land and go for their prepara-
tion to the colleges and training schools of the United
States and Europe. Unquestionably this is advantageous
in some cases, but the teaching of experience is that the
advantage is in the exceptional case. There are real
reasons for this. One who is trained outside of his na-
tive land is in some danger of losing his sympathy with his
own people and finds it almost as difficult to adapt him-
self to his people and their ways as does a foreigner. In
fact he often desires to be rated as a missionary. Again,
those who are prepared away from home are prepared
in an alien atmosphere. However the school in Great
Britain and North America may attempt to adapt itself
to the needs of its students from other lands, it is always
conditioned by the peculiar influences of its own environ-
ment. The study of social and economic problems and
situations is becoming increasingly important to the pros-
pective Christian worker as the Church grows in the
realization of its responsibility in all the relations of life.
This preparation, if acquired abroad, must be either
theoretical in nature, or, if practical, must be in relation
to conditions and problems quite at variance from those
SECURING LEADERS 283
to be met with in the actual application of this prepara-
tion in the home environment. The outstanding advan-
tages of a foreign training are the superiority in teaching
methods and educational equipment, the opportunity to
acquire an outlook and an insight which in after years
may be brought to bear on Latin-American problems, and
the promotion of international and interracial brother-
hood. Admitting the force of arguments in favor of the
foreign school, admitting also that in all probability there
will always be a need for such schools, and that some of
the future leaders in Latin America, as in all other fields,
should be prepared abroad, there still remains the fact
that no satisfactory system has yet been devised for the
education abroad of very many of the necessary workers.
The Church must still provide for the training of the
large majority of her leaders in their home environment.
c. Training on the Field.
( I ) Conditions Involved in Selecting Capable Men. —
The question that really concerns the Church in the field
is how to provide adequately for the training of the
men and women who must be trained at home. Here
again we must keep in mind the nature of the task before
the Church, which is to win the nation, not a single class,
to Christ. The Church can hope to succeed in such a task
only as are won the earnest cooperation of the best minds
of the nation. This cooperation cannot be limited to the
relatively small number of men who are enlisted as pas-
tors, teachers, and other official leaders ; the Church must
win also the cooperation of the best minds among the
laymen of each nation. While the winning of this lay
cooperation depends upon many conditions which do not
belong to this discussion, the question most vitally in-
volved in it is that of leadership. The Christian enter-
prise requires as its leaders, the leaders of the people.
How can the Church attract such leaders to her standard?
The first condition is that of excellence. The Church
will win the best when a standard is set and lived up to
— a standard which is high enough spiritually, morally
and intellectually to attract the best. This is in no sense
284 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
a criticism of the present standards. But the Church in
Latin America is called to face a new situation. Hands
are beckoning into new fields. She is beholding to-day
vast territories which were formerly hidden from her
gaze. Important classes appear accessible to-day which
yesterday were viewed largely as hindrances to the spread
of the gospel. Nothing less than the consecrated in-
fluence, character and intelligence of the best that each
nation affords is worthy to be the instrument in God's
hands for accomplishing the task which confronts the
obedient Church. She has no pecuniary advantages to
offer men, and makes little appeal to their ambition. On
the contrary, persecution, privation, opposition and humil-
iation are among the rewards of her ministry. It can be
counted as certain, therefore, that the Church will not at-
tract to her leadership any class which, in accepting the
same, regards itself as dwarfed in character, stultified in
intelligence and limited in opportunity. She will win to
her ministry the best of the race, when she can show that
the accomplishment of her task gives opportunity for the
fullest expression of the personality of those who serve
her.
This means that the Church will require as a funda-
mental prerequisite of the ministry broad and careful in-
tellectual preparation. Certainly the minister must be
able to think as deeply and as accurately as the lawyer,
the scientist, and the technical man. What human inter-
est can be foreign to him? What faculty of the mind
dare he leave untrained? What depth and breadth of
sympathy does he not need ? What intellectual resources
can he not employ? The least requirement that the
Church in Latin America can make of her future minis-
ters is the fullest possible development of their intellec-
tual powers. To those who will interpret Christianity to
this highly intellectual race, theological and technical
training must come as the capstone of a liberal education.
This is no plea that the Church shall limit itself to service
of the cultured class. It does not require argument to
show that each need of any class is better met by a min-
istry which is prepared to meet the needs of every class.
SECURING LEADERS 285
There is probably no evangelical body in Latin America
which would dissent from this. The difficulty is simply
that such an ideal calls for educational facilities which
are inaccessible to the great majority of the people. If
the Church is to meet this need, the best college training
together with the best theological and technical training
must be made accessible to the people.
(2) Plans for Developing Them. — What can be done
in practical ways immediately to meet the insistent de-
mands of the present and of the pressing future? First,
let each foreign worker and each national leader of gifts
and experience associate with himself one or two of the
most promising young men of his circuit or station. Let
him direct their reading, stimulate them in their religious
life, keep them in his society as much as possible, deepen
and instruct them in the fundamentals of Christian
teaching. Let him fill their minds and hearts with the
struggles by which Christ's kingdom has gone forward
from age to age, giving them background against which
to set the self-denials needed in their own day. Let them
go out to hold cottage meetings, to preach in new and
unevangelized towns, and if they prove to be promising
candidates for special Christian service, let them be sent
where they will receive an adequate training.
Second, let summer schools or summer institutes be
organized to last two or three weeks at the most favor-
able period of each year. Let each young minister be
encouraged to attend each entire session and to take a
prescribed course of study year after year, followed up
by supplemental reading. This plan will greatly benefit
those who have not had the advantages of a seminary
course. It has been found very helpful wherever it has
been faithfully put into operation.
Third, let interdenominational Bible training schools be
established at three or four central points, staffing them
with the best minds which have developed in actual field
conditions. Money thus spent is likely to bring large results.
Fourth, provide the means for foreign study to a very
limited number of specially gifted men. This number
should be kept at a minimum for reasons set forth above.
286 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
The concrete solution of this problem belongs to the
Commission on Education. But we do well to remind
ourselves here that the ideal which we have set before us
is utterly unattainable except through the united prayer
and effort of all of God's people in Latin America. It
may be too early to think of organic unity of the Church,
but surely close cooperation is possible in education, even
in that of the ministry. If the evangelical Church is so
confused and divided about the fundamentals of the Chris-
tian religion that it is impossible to educate all of the
ministers of a given district in the same institution, she
can be sure that the Latin peoples will accept neither her
interpretation of Christianity nor any leadership which
attempts to fasten upon them a divided Church.
6. THE IMPORTANCE OF LAY LEADERSHIP
The leaders we have been considering are those which
the ministry furnishes, but are leaders of this kind the
only ones needed ? May not the agriculturalist, the busi-
ness man, and the government official be as certainly in
line with the will of God, serving the state, and pushing
forward the wholesome activities of the world as the
men of the ordained ministry? Certainly the tendency
of the development of conviction on the part of many
earnest Christians of to-day is in this direction.
Protestantism should be the last to support the idea that
the work of evangelism is solely the work of the clergy.
God must raise up in Latin America laymen like the late
William E. Dodge or Lord Kinnaird who are capable of
successfully directing great enterprises, and who will lend
their trained business judgment and energy to help carry
out far-reaching plans for the salvation of their fellow-
men. Leaders must be found who do not limit their
horizon by the range of their own denominational and
local obligations and activities, but who can recognize the
good there is in any individual or organization that is
working for the good of men and for the glory of Jesus
Christ, while remaining loyal to the particular tasks com-
mitted to their care.
Why have so few men of this desirable type been found
SECURING LEADERS 287
or produced in the countries where the evangelical
Church has been laboring more than half a century? It
may be well to confess at once that one chief reason is that
there have been so few foreign representatives who
have had the gifts, the training, and the sound judgment
which commended them to the directing minds of the
Latin society amidst which they have carried on their
work. Some of these representatives of foreign Boards
have approached national leaders in government, society,
or education in a spirit of superiority, or have held the
whole people of the land up to ridicule because of their
adherence to the only faith they ever knew. Such an at-
titude has wrought far-reaching harm in more cases than
one.
CHAPTER VII
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS
I. THE EARLY STRUGGLES FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The relation with governments experienced by those
who were founding evangelical Churches in Latin Amer-
ica was almost necessarily unsympathetic. Many gov-
ernments had imbedded religious intolerance in their con-
stitutions. When members began to be secured, services
were forbidden, police were vigila.nt to suppress evangel-
istic efforts, and to scatter, if not to imprison the mem-
bers of the congregations. Bibles were publicly burned,
and both foreign and national pastors were thrown into
jail. The Rev. Francisco Penzotti, with nearly forty
years' experience in South and Central America, has been
in jail many times for the crime of preaching or distrib-
uting the Bible, the most noted instance being his im-
prisonment during eight months in the filthy, common
jail of Callao in Peru. Very naturally, one of the first
and strongest efforts of pioneer workers was directed
toward securing the repeal of laws enforcing intolerance
in all religious matters. Volumes would be required to
make an adequate showing of the long drawn-out strug-
gle in nearly all parts of this field to obtain from the sev-
eral governments constitutional or statutory liberty of
conscience and of worship. Such leaders as Dr. David
Trumbull of the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Thomas B.
Wood of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Rev. Paul
288
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 289
Besson of the Baptist Church, and others who might be
mentioned, have been greatly used of God in influencing
the law-making and administrative departments of these
various republics toward a more modern and reasonable
official attitude toward the Bible and the evangelical
Churches.
The laws relating to religious freedom enacted by the
nascent South American republics a hundred years ago
could scarcely have been other than intolerant of all
religion but the papal. The release from the yoke of Spain
and from the terrors of the Inquisition was undoubtedly
marked by a strong reaction in favor of liberty. The
Rev. James Thomson sold his entire stock of 1,000 copies
of the Scriptures in two days, in 1822, within a stone's
throw of the Inquisition building in Lima, and while the
Spanish army was still in Peru. This reaction was
pronounced and universal among the leaders of the Rev-
olution. San Martin decreed religious toleration in Peru
soon after he entered Lima, the decree being pubHshed
in the Gaceta, October 17, 1821. Bolivar had already
in 1819 spoken against governmental religious intol-
erance before the Venezuelan Congress. Even the clergy
were affected at first by this reaction. Mr. Thomson was
ably supported by priests in each of the republics, as well
as by the governments which sustained him in his work on
behalf of popular instruction and of the diffusion of the
Scriptures. In the constituent assembly which drafted
the first constitution of Peru, a priest, Protestant Bible
in hand, is said to have proposed that the pertinent article
read : "The religion of the state is the religion of Jesus
Christ."
But the incubus of centuries of superstition lay upon
the Latin-American mind. Heresy still remained the first
and greatest crime. Offences against the established reli-
gion were the first to be dealt with in the penal code of
Peru. Moreover, it never occurred to anyone at that time
that a native would ever desire to follow any religion
than that of Rome. If religious freedom was asked for or
proposed, it was only to throw the doors more widely open
to European immigration. The universality of this mental
290 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
attitude made it appear a discreet concession which mat-
tered little when the liberal leaders of the Revolution al-
lowed the most extreme religious intolerance to be placed
upon the statute book. Moreover, these leaders had been
persistently accused by the Spaniards of designing to de-
stroy religion and to enthrone irreligion and immorality.
In one of the early copies of the Gaceta, in Lima, a
forged correspondence circulated by the Spaniards is
published and denounced by San Martin and his supposed
correspondent, the whole purpose of which was to create
and feed distrust of the great liberal leader in this mat-
ter of religion. This same accusation had also been
made against the leaders in Argentina and other repub-
lics. Their prudent course, therefore, was not to hinder
the legislation which disproved the accusation, confident
as they were that the rapid spread of education which
they then hoped for and the influence of industrious and
well-to-do immigrants would, in due course of time,
efface the blot.
Thus every South American state not only legislated
against religious freedom but against the toleration of
public worship. The decree of San Martin was over-
turned by the republican constitution. The reactionary
group was allowed to dictate the laws relating to religion
in worship and education, birth, burial and marriage.
Every high official was obliged on oath to maintain the
papal system. The liberal elements among the clergy
were dealt with by their superiors, and either brought
into line with the policy of the Vatican or excommuni-
cated.
2. SOME ACHIEVEMENTS
The Revolution was followed by a long period of civil
strife in which the statesmen of Latin America, with few
exceptions, were too fully occupied with grasping after
and retaining power and with learning the principles of
civil government, to give much serious attention to cul-
ture, morals and religions. The fond hopes of the great
leaders for the rapid and wide spread of education among
classes and masses were blighted. The European immi-
gration to most of the republics has been scant and
RELAITONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 291
meagre, and where most numerous it has been very
largely from the lands of southern Europe. During
all this period the vast power of the Roman Catholic
Church has deterred weak governments from touching
its privileges, lest the priestly influence should be thrown
on the side of a revolution. Those republics in most
immediate touch with Europe and the United States
emerged first from their civil chaos, faced their cultural
problems, and among these dealt with the question of
religious toleration. Colombia, then under a liberal and
progressive administration, and known as Nezv Granada,
decreed religious toleration. Argentina, Chile, Uruguay,
Paraguay, Brazil, and much more recently (1906) Bo-
livia, conceded in one way or another religious toleration.
In Ecuador the change came almost suddenly (in 1896)
with one of the popular uprisings in the course of the
alternations of party domination.
To-day religious toleration is the law of every Latin-
American State, although in all except Brazil, Mexico,
Guatemala, Cuba and Panama, the Roman Catholic
Church is actually the established state religion. It
has been repeatedly affirmed that in Peru full practical
liberty was attained by the decision of the Supreme Court
in the case of Senor Penzotti. This is not exact. The
decision in Penzotti's case was obtained under diplo-
matic pressure, and did not recognize his right to con-
duct public worship. The truth was that the meetings
were so far from being public that on one occasion a
padlock had been placed on the outside of the door. In
Lima and certain other large cities, meetings have been
held constantly, and an open-air meeting has been some-
times conducted in Callao with singing, but without
prayer. These meetings were practically free from moles-
tation. But this has not been so in the provinces, and
these constitute, of course, the great bulk of the country.
A reactionary government could close down all work in
the provinces, if it did not expel every evangelical worker
from the country. The Constitution (Art. iv.) has stated
that the nation professed the Roman Catholic Apostolic
religion; the state protected it, and did not permit the
292 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
public exercise of any other. The penal code states
(Art. 99) that the attempt to abolish or vary the Roman
Catholic religion in Peru shall be punished with expul-
sion from the country for three years; (Art. 100) that
whoever celebrates any public act of worship other than
Roman Catholic shall be punished with one year's im-
prisonment and with expulsion from the country for three
years for any repetition of the offence. Fortunately,
these laws have not been put in practice, and a project to
reform Art. iv. of the Constitution by deleting the final
prohibitory clause was voted through both Chambers of
Congress by sweeping majorities in 191 3; but such a
reform, to take effect, had to be ratified in both Chambers
in the succeeding legislature, and while this was accom-
plished in the Senate in 1914, the Chamber of Deputies,
under the immense social pressure brought to bear by the
Roman Catholic Church, despite the known large ma-
jority in favor, allowed the measure to be side-tracked.
Leading politicians affirmed that they could and would
ratify the reform in the legislature of 191 5, and this ac-
tually came to pass in November, 191 5, and by an over-
whelming majority.
Yet while this primary right of toleration has been at-
tained in some form, in but few of the republics, except
Brazil, is there a true and honest liberty of worship.
The priest, generally through the petty authorities, can
at times harass the Christian worker and interfere with
his work. An appeal to the central authority usually
suffices to put down the trouble for the time, but such
annoyance is common, hard to stop, and impossible to
get punished no matter how serious it is, when practised
against native workers. It has to be met by tact and
patience. The better the worker is known, the more
friendliness he experiences and the more support he
receives.
3. LAWS WHICH STILL NEED BETTERMENT
The further ramifications of the law as touching re-
ligion are no more satisfactory.
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 293
a. The Laws Relating to Civil Marriage.
Civil marriage has been obtained in all the republics,
always in spite of strenuous opposition. It is constantly
denounced by the priests as in no respect better than
concubinage, and in the process of a few years it must
generate some serious conflicts because of the decree
Ne Temere of the late Pope. The precarious situation
of converts married under the provisions of the civil mar-
riage lav/s, in the event of the state permitting the ap-
plication of this papal decree, deserves the most serious
attention of those interested in public morality and the
progress of Christianity. Even apart from the decree,
under the provisions of the Concordat with Rome, a civil
marriage in Colombia simply ceases to be legal, if one
of the parties chooses to contract canonical marriage with
another partner. In Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina
and Guatemala, civil marriage is the only marriage
recognized by the law, and must take precedence
of any religious ceremony. In Peru, the civil mar-
riage law was obtained only after some years of heated
debate, in spite of ecclesiastical intrigue and executive
opposition. The resultant law satisfied none of the in-
terested parties. Roman Catholics cannot be married un-
der its provisions, and the contracting parties must estab-
lish before the judge their condition as non-Roman Cath-
olics. The procedure at present requires the intervention
of a lawyer, and as a result it is far too costly.
h. Those Relating to Divorce.
In the midst of wide-spread moral laxity a divorce
law is most urgently required. Such legislation has been
projected and debated in several republics, but only in
a few of them has it become a law. The ecclesiastical
tribunal may give a separation order, and in the Peru-
vian civil marriage law this same power is bestowed upon
the civil judge, but no such order can give liberty for
another valid marriage.
c. Those Regulating Religious Instruction.
Religious instruction in all of the national schools is
generally tolerant or neutral, but in Colombia national
294 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
education is entirely controlled by the Roman Catholic
Church, and in Peru an executive decree of April, 1913,
made papal religious instruction obligatory in all the
national schools. No provision, as in Argentina, was
made or conceded for those whose parents wish for ex-.
emption or for evangelical instruction. In this case, more-
over, the letter of the law is very commonly exceeded.
The children are obliged to go to church, to the confes-
sional and to mass and communion. A child who is
not allowed by his parents to accompany his class in these
exercises is liable to expulsion from the school. As the
Normal School for Women in Lima is largely under
ecclesiastical control, and is managed by nuns, the great
bulk of the school-mistresses who get good schools are
entirely under the control of the priests.
d. Those Regulating the Management of Public Benev-
olent Institutions.
These institutions are generally conducted by nuns
throughout Latin America, and discrimination against the
non-Roman Catholic is common. The first clause in
the regulation posted up in the public hospitals of
Lima is a prohibition of anything contrary to the reli-
gion of the institution. In practice, this includes pro-
hibition of the reading of the New Testament.
e. Lazvs Regarding Burial.
Burial regulations is another matter in which legis-
lation is defective in spite of solemn treaties. In Argen-
tina, Brazil and Chile the cemeteries have all been secu-
larized. In Peru and Bolivia there are lay cemeteries
for only the larger cities, and these, away from the
capital, all too often resemble a rubbish yard rather than
the last sacred resting place of the remains of fellow-
citizens. The beautiful cemetery of the foreign colony
between Lima and Callao in Peru was enclosed by the
British government in 1830.
4. THE ATTITUDE OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS
The attitude of government officials and other public
men and movements toward the evangelical cause is
anything but uniform. Generally speaking, though with
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 295
many outstanding exceptions both for and against, their
attitude is non-committal. In the more progressive re-
pubHcs there are many prominent public men who have
sympathetically helped the evangelical Churches. The
well-deserved support accorded to the work of the Rev.
W. C. Morris of the South American Missionary So-
ciety and also to the social work of the Salvation Army
in Buenos Aires, is well known. The present President
of Bolivia and his Minister of Public Instruction have
recently expressed themselves most heartily, the latter
committing himself to writing, in support of the work
of the Bolivian Indian Mission, and they have accorded
very valuable help to the evangelical schools in the re-
public. Again, the help and support granted by public
men in Uruguay to the work of the Young Men's
Christian Association has been notable, as was also the
reception accorded its travelling secretary by the govern-
ment and University of Chile in April, 191 3. It should,
however, be noted that even in these cases the support is
accorded rather to some beneficent social activity of the
evangelical body than to the movement itself. From
Peru northward, however, public men, when not hostile,
are mostly concerned not to commit themselves; among
the men who serve in the cabinets of Peru there are some
who are notoriously opposed to the evangelical Churches.
On the other hand, there are many prominent public men
who really wish well to the evangelical cause, but gen-
erally accomplish little for the cause they sympathize with
because they will not commit themselves to any action.
The situation is best understood in the light of the broad
fact that many public and intellectual men are wholly
indifferent to Christian worship. It is to them but a
relic of bygone days, in which the women are to be
humored, but which does not really matter, and hence is
not worth getting into trouble for. Officials, generally
speaking, are not unsympathetic, but may allow them-
selves to be too easily led into measures of opposition..
It is not reasonable to expect the same degree of
spontaneous interest by public men in a program of
evangelical activity which we naturally look for in
296 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
North America or in Great Britain. Government officials
in the United States and in the British Empire have cen-
turies of hberalizing influence behind them. Thousands
of them have come up through Sunday schools and
churches and are regular attendants upon the stated ser-
vices in evangelical churches. Throughout Latin Amer-
ica a large number of government officers, journalists
and other leaders have not only never enjoyed any such
opportunities, but are either frankly atheistic or agnostic,
or are more or less closely linked up with the Roman
Catholic Church. A growing friendliness, however, is
distinctly noticeable. One member of this Commission,
whose duties call him to travel throughout South Amer-
ica, passing from one to another of several republics each
year, finds his reception by the officials, by editors of
their larger papers and by other men in public life in-
creasingly cordial. Some governments have manifested
a decided preference for graduates of missionary normal
schools as teachers in institutions under state or munici-
pal control. In Bolivia the government has granted
funds for free scholarships in two schools for boys and
young men, and the president and chief educational offi-
cial visit the school in La Paz from time to time, passing
from class to class, and usually attending an athletic
exhibition of some kind at the close of the period spent
in investigating the work of the several teachers. The
relation between those charged with the direction of these
institutions and all government officials is intimate and
is characterized by an increasing degree of mutual re-
spect. Several of the leading evangelical workers in
Chile are in close touch with government officials, and
in every honorable way are influential in securing the
passage of laws having social values for those whose
economic opportunity and educational outlook have been
circumscribed by existing conditions. In a general way,
many of the responsible leaders of the Argentine Gov-
ernment, like the responsible leaders of Mexico before
the revolution of 1910, are glad to receive the cooperation
of missionary workers. At this writing leaders in the
constitutional movement of Mexico are soliciting this
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 297
cooperation, especially in educational work. It is to
be hoped that the Boards are always mindful of
the large possibilities of usefulness to the whole popula-
tion of the countries whither their representatives are
sent. These should always be men with the natural gifts
and the acquired training which will enable them easily
to approach and favorably to impress the men who shape
the destinies of the millions among whom they must
labor.
5. THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
a. Liberty of Worship General.
Since the reform laws, separating church and state,
were adopted in Mexico in 1856, evangelical Christians
have enjoyed theoretical, and for the most part practical,
liberty in carrying on their work. Only in out-of-the-
way places have serious attacks been made on those en-
gaged in public worship. After one such attack by a
mob infuriated by the parish priest, when the Mexican
preacher was killed. President Diaz addressed the mis-
sionaries as follows : "You are greatly depressed and dis-
couraged over what has happened, and I do not wonder ;
but if you knew this country as I know it, with every-
thing in the line of freedom and toleration to learn,
you would feel differently. We are not yet all we ought
to be. But we are rising, and hope to rise still higher. My
advice is to keep on preaching your gospel in its own
spirit, and, believe me, in twenty years religious murders
will bave ceased, and our people will rejoice in the peace
and toleration which our constitution guarantees to all."
b. The Legal Rights of Evangelical Bodies Increasingly
Recognized.
The question of the personeria juridica of the evan-
gelical bodies and their right to hold property has been
favorably resolved in several republics. In Argentina
the missions can be incorporated by Act of Congress, and
in Chile a charter was granted to the Presbyterian Mis-
sion in 1888, so formulated as to give the evangelical
Churches a legal standing in the republic. This property
question has been much debated with legal authorities in
298 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
Peru, but no satisfactory conclusion reached. Property
in Peru owned by mission Boards is at present held by
direct title and indirect title in the name of the mission,
but the principal properties are in the name of limited
companies constituted for the purpose. The weight of
legal opinion is to the effect that property can be registered
but cannot be defended before the courts by evangelical
bodies. Something remains to be done in nearly all of
the governments where we are at work, but in many
places wise men differ as to the best steps to be taken,
and it is perhaps enough to say that the work is not suf-
fering to any notable extent because of difficulties at this
point which seriously hampered pioneer workers.
c. Entire Equality of Evangelical and Catholic
Churches Unsecured.
It is generally recognized that reform legislation is
urgently needed in several of the Latin-American repub-
lics. Strong efforts are now being directed toward that
end by powerful groups and organizations. The ques-
tion of the absolute separation of church and state tran-
scends all others. Just how or when this is to take
place cannot at this time be stated, but if the present
trend of events continues, it will not be long before there
is not only liberty of worship, but also all religious Com-
munions will be placed on an equal footing so far as
the governments are concerned. At the present time,
however, in a number of the republics liberty of wor-
ship exists more in name than in fact. Children attend-
ing the national schools are taught the catechism, are
compelled to go to confession and to attend mass on cer-
tain days of the year. This is not only distasteful, but
it is also a direct contravention of the religious principles
of many intelligent Latin Americans. The older and
more advanced countries of the world have long since
thrown off church domination in the affairs of state and
the progressive Latin-American republics of the west-
ern hemisphere will not tarry long in following their ex-
ample.
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 299
d. The Missionary's Attitude with Respect to Reforms.
The attitude which missionaries and national workers
should adopt toward government abuses and reform
movements is important. It should surely be an atti-
tude of extreme wariness. The worker ought to remem-
ber that any action of his may involve for years the
reputation of the evangelical Churches. ''Government
abuses" unfortunately cover a wide range of interests
in Latin America. With the great mass of them the
missionary has nothing to do, while the church mem-
ber must uphold his responsibilities as a Christian citi-
zen, just as good men do everywhere. Two classes of
abuses, however, may demand some sort of interven-
tion, those which cripple the evangelical activities and
those which attempt to destroy the liberties or which
threaten the existence of defenceless tribes or races.
Concerning these latter, if the demands of Christianity
require the action of the missionary, he should obtain the
adhesion of the bulk of the Christian forces in the coun-
try before taking action, then appeal to the national
authorities to right the wrong, and only after exhaust-
ing in vain the national resources of justice should he
assume the responsibility of publishing the particulars
in foreign lands. Pride of race is nowhere keener than
in Latin America, and to hold one of its peoples up as
a gazing-stock to the nations of the earth is an unpar-
donable sin, no matter how just the cause. In the case
of abuses against evangelical work, workers or inter-
ests, private appeal to the higher authority ought to be
the first step, if redress must be sought. But only in
extreme cases should diplomatic intervention ever be
resorted to. It pleases the national official that you
recognize his authority; it offends the whole government
when outside pressure is brought to bear upon it in do-
mestic affairs. Of course, this does not refer to the
personal, private interests of the foreign missionary as a
citizen of another power. In these things he should be
guided by the instructions of the diplomatic representa-
tive of his nation. There are times, however, when
abuses go far beyond mere hindrance and annoyance to
300 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
the worker, when, for instance, mission property has
been injured. The question of indemnity arises, and
great tact is necessary in order to avoid offence.
Again, there are two classes of reform movements
which appeal to the interests of the missionary — those
which make for the social uplift of the masses and those
which remove disabilities from evangelical Christianity.
Yet even here the missionary must be discreetly wise.
His intervention may prejudice the very cause he desires
to advance ; his being a foreigner may make his inter-
vention odious, and the statesmen of any nation resent
foreign interference with domestic affairs, and those of
Latin America are no exception to the rule. On the
other hand, many needed reforms will not be conceded so
long as they are not demanded, and the opposition to
every religious reform movement is highly organized and
vigorously conducted, hence the necessity for the mis-
sionary throwing himself into the direction of move-
ments for religious reform.
In those countries where the laws are intolerant, the
missionary should be very cautious and not expose him-
self to the charge of being a violator of the law. He
should respect the powers in control and bear in mind
that he is a foreigner and sojourner in the land. In
every such country there is an atmosphere of legitimate
opposition to such laws among the thinking classes, and
the missionary will do well to aHgn himself on the side
of healthy propaganda against intolerant laws, never go-
ing to the extreme of openly defying them by flagrant
violations.
6. THE IDENTIFICATION OF MISSIONARY AND
GOVERNMENTAL INTERESTS
There should be identification of interests between
missionary representatives and the governments. Both
groups are working for the same great fundamental ob-
jectives, the spread of education, the suppression of dis-
ease and crime, the er*adication of the causes of moral
corruption and of the breakdown of character; also the
safeguarding of the rights of the people to the peaceful
pursuit of industry and happiness.
RELATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS 301
No effort should be spared to explain clearly and thor-
oughly to responsible government leaders that the evan-
gelical Churches are not invading Latin America on a
mission of destruction and proselytism, but rather are
they offering sympathetic cooperation in disseminating
the knowledge of the program of Jesus Christ and in
bringing about universal obedience to His will. To this
end, advantage should be taken of the open columns of
the press; friendly calls should be made and unhurried
conversations held with the most alert and influential
government representatives. These should be invited to
inspect schools, hospitals and Christian Association build-
ings and should be given full opportunity to become
familiar with the methods employed. Cordial invitations
should be extended to them to attend social and religious
exercises in the churches. In short, everything possible
should be done to demonstrate the desire of missionary
representatives to cooperate heartily with governments
in bettering the condition of the people. Grateful recog-
nition is here made to several of the Latin-American gov-
ernments for the cordial expression of interest and the
substantial support given to the educational, medical and
philanthropic efforts of the various Churches.
It is a matter for profound thanksgiving that God has
used scoree of evangelical leaders, in the different coun-
tries covered by this survey, to modify and alter legisla-
tion so that the lot of the downtrodden has been ame-
liorated, and the bonds of religious intolerance have been
loosened, and penal systems have been made in some de-
gree to approximate New Testament standards of mercy
as well as of justice. They have also secured improved
legislation regulating sanitary matters, and, as in the
Argentine Republic, Ecuador and Brazil, have aided in
putting into effect modern systems of public education
through which millions are now being slowly lifted out
of illiteracy and are coming to be regarded as intel-
ligent, self-respecting citizens. It may be confidently ex-
pected that, in the decades which lie before us. men of
similar consecration and power of achievement will so
relate themselves to movements for the betterment of
the lot of those among whom they toil that in their rela-
302 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
tionship with the governments they may be used of God
to help bring in that Kingdom which is first righteous-
ness and then peace, and only then joy in the Holy Spirit.
And their reward and ours will be found in the reflection
that in just so far as righteousness has come to any na-
tion or any people, to that degree the Kingdom of God
has come.
CHAPTER VIII
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
I. THE DIFFICULTIES FOUND BY THE AGGRESSIVE CHURCH
With reference to the general purpose of evangelical
work as carried on by foreign missionaries in Latin
America, it can not too often be remembered that the
missionary comes in the spirit of brotherly sympathy,
not to impose but to help; not to destroy but to con-
struct; not to dogmatize but to demonstrate; not pri-
marily even to teach but to facilitate access to the
Spirit of God who "shall guide into all the truth."
We need to keep in mind also the peculiar difficulty
which besets this attempt to minister to the urgent and
recognized need in these countries. The evangelical
Churches have not a definitely marked territory to which
they can go, assuming that their work is that of in-
discriminate Christianization ; but scattered over vast
areas, sometimes in dense, sometimes in sparse popula-
tions, are millions of God's needy children, some of whom
have hardly heard His name, multitudes of whom have
never seen or heard of His Book, while others who have
once professed His name have rejected Him. These mil-
lions, with the exception of a relatively small number of
untouched pagan Indians, are interspersed with a popula-
tion of professing Christians, and all are found in coun-
tries which are traditionally Christian. To reach these
needy ones scattered among multitudes of professing
303
304 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
Christians who, while unable for various reasons to
meet the need, do not recognize the right of the evan-
gelical Churches to undertake their ministry, calls for
the exercise of every Christian grace, and of godly
wisdom. We can well rejoice also that the means of
their ministration have been established. Churches exist
in most sections of this territory and have demonstrated
an ability to serve the needy and to care for the un-
shepherded. We meet because of that fact and because
of our hope that these churches may be strengthened
and increased in effectiveness for accomplishing a task
which is so evidently God-given.
2. THE CONCLUSIONS REACHED CONCERNING ITS PROPER
POLICY
It is with these limitations in mind and in the face of
this hope that we attempt to present a summary of
judgments based not on our opinions but on the united
testimony of the best minds accessible to us, both on the
field and at the home base.
(i) The Evangelical Movement Has Received Di-
vine Sanction. — We recognize the leading of the Spirit
in this work in the same manner as Peter did in the home
of Cornelius, for we have unquestionable evidence of His
sanction upon the work in hundreds of transformed
lives, in organizations made effective for the service of
humanity and for wide doors of opportunity constantly
open before the steady advance of God's ministers.
(2) The Task is Complex. — We recognize that the
task before us is not only far from simple, but indeed
is beset with problems. The local church on the field
must often work with a constituency which is neither
homogeneous nor centralized. The evangelical Churches
have worked for years in cooperation with sympathetic
adherents whom they could scarcely hope to win as com-
municants. They must find the way to minister to many
who are prevented from entering their church buildings
with the movement. They win their communicants
constantly at the risk of being under the charge of pros-
elytism.
CONCLUSIONS 305
(3) It Calls for Home Base Support. — We recognize
the large and increasing influence of the evangelical
Churches and believe that this influence constitutes a call
to the missionary forces of Europe and America to mul-
tiply points of contact with this important force for good
in the young republics of the Latin world, and to in-
crease means for lending it aid and encouragement.
(4) Its Field Is Relatively Homogeneous. — In com-
parison with other parts of the world we find a remark-
able homogeneity. Throughout the territory covered by
this work, the background of almost every national
group is a more or less numerous pagan population
which is gradually being assimilated into the larger mass
whose most important constituent is a Latin people,
either Spanish or Portuguese. The most important ra-
cial variant is the African, found in numbers, however,
only in certain areas. As to ecclesiastical, intellectual
and moral problems each national group presents much
the same combination of elements. In each there is the
same struggle toward a better civilization hampered by
ignorance among the people, by distorted ideas of piety
and religion and by the demoralizing effect of pagan
practices and beliefs.
(5) It Suffers From Denominationalism. — The
Church in the field follows the practices of the Churches
with which the individual missionaries are familiar in
their home lands, with the result that there is the same
loss through avoidable friction, through duplication of
organization, through the impression upon people whom
it is desired to help that there is no unity in the Chris-
tian faith and that brotherhood is an unattainable ideal.
(6) It Is Rapidly Assuming Responsibility. — We
note a growing tendency to put responsibility upon the
members of the native Church and to rely upon the
guidance of native leaders in local affairs. We believe
that this is in accord with the best principles and espe-
cially with the general principle that the work of evan-
gelization of the field belongs, and should eventually be
left, to the members of the native Church.
3o6 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
(7) It Maintains Acceptable Standards of Church
Life. — We find a fair uniformity in the desire to main-
tain high standards of purity of the Church and the in-
tegrity and holiness of life of its members. Workers
from all parts of the field report that some form of test-
ing is necessary for those who are to come into the
Church. Emphasis is placed upon patient, sympathetic
instruction for the catechumens.
(8) It Produces Faithful Disciples. — The Christians
in Latin America are truly producing the fruits of the
Spirit. This is revealed in the faithfulness of the mem-
bers to public worship, in the prayer life, in zeal for
the spread of the gospel, in the endurance of persecu-
tion and in the support of God's house.
(9) It Needs to Emphasize Means for Deepening
Spiritual Life. — It is generally agreed that if a Latin-
American lives a true Christian life, he must run counter
to deeply ingrained low ideals of personal purity, of the
married relation and of honesty. He frequently has to
readjust his thinking as to intemperance, Sabbath ob-
servance and the whole purpose of religion. We believe
that the Church should recognize these conditions, not
to condone sin in any form, but to put itself in the way
more effectively to provide for the deepening of the spir-
itual life of its membership and of the people in general.
For this there is lamentable lack of suitable devo-
tional and instructive literature and of facilities for pe-
riods of special training, such as conferences, retreats,
etc.
(10) It Should More Definitely Aim to Reach the
Cultured Classes. — There is a growing conviction among
workers that the Church, in not giving more attention to
the needs of the cultured class generally, and of students
in particular, is neglecting those whose need is unques-
tioned, whose desire for the truth has been demonstrated
and whose influence for good or evil is much out of pro-
portion to its members. The feeling is increasing also
that whatever may be the risk of producing a class dis-
tinction in the Church through specialized eflfort, the
hazard is still greater if these talented and influential
CONCLUSIONS 307
men be left to harden into open opposition to all that
bears the name of Christian, to become spiritually
atrophied, or to fritter away their talents and their lives
by habits of vice. Even half a century of missionary
effort in Latin America has shown how ineffective, so
far as the cultured class is concerned, is a work con-
ducted without a definitely directed approach. Again,
the little specialized w^ork conducted for this class,
though scattering and utterly inadequate, has been so en-
couraging in its early aspects that it has had the en-
dorsement of all who have been acquainted with it.
Finally, there is as little excuse for treating in a meet-
ing for the uneducated, questions and topics of burn-
ing importance to the student class, as there is reason to
expect this class to be interested in and edified by
Christian topics as these are set forth to illiterates. Such
considerations lead thoughtful workers, both native and
foreign, to seek the way of some form or forms of spe-
cialized effort in the interest of the cultured class. Ex-
actly what form this specialized work should take is not
at present apparent. That such a work should be thor-
oughly in harmony with the general spirit of the work
of the evangelical Churches goes without saying. That
it must be adapted to particular conditions is evident.
That it should be under the guidance of the wisest and
most sympathetic leadership at the command of the
Church is conceded. In view of the need and of the
sympathetic attitude of this class toward any liberal
movement that promises a solution of their moral prob-
lems, the evangelical Churches are undoubtedly justified
in taking definite steps in the only direction in which the
goal seems to be attainable.
(11) Its Public Worship Is Simple. — As might be
expected, among these still young and struggling
Churches public worship is maintained on simple lines.
Music plays an important part in the expression of the
spiritual feeling of the people, both in the public w^or-
ship and in the home, the w^ork shop or the street.
(12) Evangelistic Campaigns Are Needed. — No-
where is sufficient emphasis placed upon the use of
3o8 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
evangelistic campaigns. We raise the question whether
the time has not arrived in the life of the Church v^hen
this means of introducing the gospel and of leading the
thoughtful to decision may be profitably employed.
(13) It Stands for Sunday Observance and for
Temperance. — The voice of the Church has been heard
and heeded, especially when united with the voices of
other organizations, on the question of Sunday obser-
vance. The sentiment in favor of one day of rest in seven
is growing in most of the countries. It is to be regretted
that no way has yet been found to a settlement of the
Sunday problem for the Christian. The Church has also
done effective work, at least among its membership, with
respect to the use of alcoholic drinks.
(14) Its Auxiliary Organizations Are Well Devel-
oped.— Effective use has been made by the Church of
auxiliary organizations. The Sunday school is rapidly
developing and has proved a most fruitful method of
evangelization. Young people's societies, such as the
Christian Endeavor, the Ep worth League and the Baptist
Young People's Union have already found their place
and are playing a praiseworthy part in developing the
young for responsible participation in the work of the
Church. The emphasis of these organizations upon per-
sonal work makes them important agencies for work
among the classes which are for various reasons not
permitted to attend church or to identify themselves in
a public way with evangelical work. These societies can
also render a great service by promoting playground ac-
tivities and by carrying on other forms of social service.
(15) It Is Advancing Tozvard Self -Support. — Real
progress seems to have been made with regard to self-
support. For many missions the report is hopeful, and
enough instances of self-sustaining churches are known
to give reasonable assurance that eventually the goal of
a self-sustaining, self-promoting Church will be attained.
We believe this process will be hastened by the obser-
vance of the following principles:
CONCLUSIONS 309
(a) Indigenous leadership should be given the best
training available which will encourage a true spirit of
service.
(b) Such leaders should, as rapidly as possible, be
given real responsibility.
(c) As far as possible, the responsibiUty for the
maintenance of local organizations should be placed upon
the organizations themselves.
(d) Outside funds should be devoted to the erection
of buildings and to other purposes in such manner as to
stimulate giving on the field and not to strangle the
true spirit of independence. Mission funds should go
towards the support of missionaries and for such other
expenditures as will tend to stimulate the benevolent im-
pulses of the local churches.
(16) Its Two-Fold Leadership. — We recognize in
this work two groups of leaders, foreign and indigenous.
(a) As to the missionaries, we believe that the very
highest qualifications required of workers in any part of
the mission field are not too much to expect of those who
shall have the ministry in Latin America. Certainly
the foreign missionary to the Latin peoples must be of
unquestioned soundness of character, fervency of faith
and zeal for the gospel, he must have a keen sense of
the brotherhood of the race and must be deep in his
sympathy and broad in his culture and intellectual at-
tainments.
(b) As to the indigenous leadership, the difficulty
of their selection and the importance of their careful
training will be realized, as we contemplate the intricate
moral, educational, intellectual, political and adminis-
trative problems which will confront them. The success
of the Church depends upon them in a very large way.
Unless an indigenous leadership can be developed, there
is little hope that the enterprise started by the missionary
can accomplish its end. We recognize that the leader-
ship that is required is of two kinds, the official, con-
stituted by pastors and other officers of the church and
the unofficial, embracing the various classes of men and
women in lay capacities who are ready to use their in-
fluence on behalf of movements of moral and spiritual
3IO THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
uplift. There are two legitimate sources of this leader-
ship, if it is to be of the high order required by circum-
stances : first, the students of the secular colleges and
universities; second, young men and women trained in
missionary schools. Both of these are accessible, but as
yet no adequate approach has been made to them. We
believe that the Church does right to place large and
immediate emphasis upon this important problem. Three
steps commend themselves: first, the putting in practice
of special plans for reaching students in secular schools
and confronting them with their opportunity and re-
sponsibility; second, the giving of more attention to the
preparation of special courses for Latin students in Eu-
rope and America and to means for reaching those who
are attending universities outside their own countries ;
third, the development of a system of education for the
Church in Latin America which shall be adequate to the
needs here contemplated.
(17) It Needs Four Sorts of Legislative Recogni-
tion.— (a) Proper divorce laws. There is wide recogni-
tion of the need for the enacting of divorce laws which
shall free the innocent party, where the marriage relation
has been grossly violated. This will tend to relieve many
an intolerable situation and will also be a step towards
establishing a single standard of morality for both men
and women.
(b) Entire freedom of religious function. With the
recent action of the Government of Peru, religious free-
dom at least nominally is recognized throughout Latin
America. It remains to insist with tactfulness but with
definite persistence on the free exercise everywhere of
all purely religious functions.
(c) The complete separation of Church and State.
The Latin-American republics to a considerable extent
have separated the sphere of the Churches and that of
the State. We recognize the many evils which flow
from a violation of this cardinal principle of true free-
dom, but would emphasize the desirability of a cordial
relationship of great sympathy between the active gov-
ernments and the evangelical Churches. These Churches
CONCLUSIONS 311
should be foremost in real loyalty, in the promotion of
social welfare and in establishing that contentment and
happiness which give strength to the state. The ideals
which should characterize the Churches are the very
ideals on which good government rests. It is to be hoped
that the process of complete separation of Church and
State, already so favorably entered upon in some coun-
tries, may speedily become effective everywhere.
(d) A free citizenship. It is inexpedient for mission-
aries, who are citizens of foreign countries for the most
part, to become political propagandists in reference to
the legal disabilities of evangelical converts in such mat-
ters, e. g., as religious instruction in the national schools.
Yet the missionaries may in friendly ways help to create
public sentiment on even the most delicate of such ques-
tions through an appeal to fair play. The evangelical
nationals, however, should not be discouraged in any
worthy attempt to secure for themselves as citizens full
privileges of all kinds which belong to them by legal or
moral right. Nor should they be compelled to place their
children under Roman Catholic religious tutelage in or-
der that those children may enjoy the types of instruc-
tion other than religious which are essential to intellectual
growth and progress. The same principle of a per-
sistent effort towards a citizenship free and unharassed
in all respects of its expression pertains in respect to
other similar questions which may arise.
APPENDIX A
THE CORRESPONDENTS OF THE COMMISSION
ARGENTINA
The Rev. Robert M. Logan (Southern Baptist Convention),
Buenos Aires.
BRAZIL
The Rev. R. E. Pettigrew (Southern Baptist Convention), Curi-
tyba.
The Rev. Lorin M. Reno (Southern Baptist Convention), Vic-
toria.
CHILE
The Rev. W. E. Browning, Ph.D., D.D. (Principal Institute
Ingles; Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.), Santiago.
The Rev. Jesse S. Smith (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Copiapo.
The Rev. C. M. Spining (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Valparaiso.
CUBA
The Rev. Juan McCarthy (American Baptist Home Mission So-
ciety), Manzanillo.
The Rev. Andres Or j ales Rodriques, Havana.
ECUADOR
The Rev. W. E. Reed (Ecuador Coast Mission), Guayaquil.
GUATEMALA
The Rev. E. M. Haymaker (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Guatemala City.
Mr. Caspar Wistar (Independent Missionary), Guatemala City.
PARAGUAY
Mr. Andrew Pride (South American Missionary Society), Villa
Concepcion.
312
APPENDIX A 313
PERU
The Rev. John Ritchie (Evangelical Union of South America),
Lima.
PORTO RICO
The Rev. Manuel Andujar (Methodist Episcopal Church), San
Juan.
The Rev. J. W. Harris (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
San German.
OTHERS
The Rev. A. E. Cory, D.D. (Foreign Christian Missionary So-
ciety), Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Rev. Robert McLean, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in the
U. S. A., Los Angeles, Cal.
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUS
SIGN OF THE REPORT
At the Meeting of the Congress on
Friday, February 18, 1916
AGENDA FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT
1. The importance of the establishment of living churches
seeking to secure the open acceptance of Christ as personal
Lord and Savior as the primary objective of our work,
2. How to develop evangelistic initiative and activity.
3.^ What is meant by a self-supporting church? How may
an increase of self-support be secured, Should there be a cam-
paign in favor of Christian stewardship?
4. To what extent should Boards supply funds for the erec-
tion of church buildings on the field?
5. How early and to what extent should the churches in the
field aid the various auxiliary organizations which have grown
up in long established churches?
6. The spiritual life of the churches in the Field, and what
can be done to deepen it.
7. How can the Sunday-schools and Young People's Societies
be made more effective as evangelizing agencies?
8. How to secure a sufficient number of competent leaders
on the field.
Considerations of space have made it necessary to abbreviate
the addresses and remarks made in the course of the presenta-
tion and discussion of this Report. In doing this the attempt
has been made to preserve everything that throws light upon the
subjects considered in the Report. It has not been found pos-
sible in many cases to submit the Report of the addresses to
those who delivered them for their revision.
316
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE
REPORT ON THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD.
The Chairman, Dr. Robert E. Speer, reminded the Congress that
it was the three hundred and seventieth anniversary of the birth-
day of Martin Luther, "one who sought faithfully to know God
and the truth and fearlessly to do his will, through whom came
to us a recovery of obscured aspects of the Apostolic gospel,
the reaffirmation of the great principles of human responsibility
and human freedom, the release of mighty tides of influence
which in their expansion have reformed human history and
made the modern world and, finally, a shining example of yield-
ing without withholding to the love and the supreme service of
our divine Lord." After the singing of "Ein' Feste Burg," the
Congress was led in special prayer by the Rev. James I. Vance,
D.D., and by the Rt. Rev. Lucien L. Kinsolving, D.D., Bishop
of Brazil. After some discussion relating to the reconstruction
of the Committee on Cooperation, the Report of Commission Six
on The Church in the Field was presented by the Chairman of
the Commission, Rev. Bishop Homer C. Stuntz, D.D., of Buenos
Aires, Argentina:
Let me express the very deep sense of obligation of the Com-
mission to all correspondents and to those who have assisted us
with advice. Without their aid this report could not now be
in your hands in the shape which it has taken. Perhaps I should
particularly mention Dr. Arthur J. Brown; Mr. J. H. Warner of
Brazil; Mr. John Ritchie of Peru; Rev. G. H. Brewer of
Mexico; Mr. Schilling of Argentine and Dr. Milton Greene of
Cuba.
You will notice that the report begins with a brief definition
of the use of the word "Church" as something indigenous to
the field. When we begin to consider the establishment of liv-
ing churches in these fields, here we are on holy ground. Such
churches of believers in Jesus Christ as the immediate personal
Savior and mediator holding up the torch of truth and lighten-
317
3i8 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
ing the darkness, is the ultimate objective of all our work, in
our schools, in the training of leaders or in the solution of
questions of cooperation. With this theme we are reaching the
very heart of the matter. To these little companies of believers,
as they take upon therriselves increasingly the responsibilities of
evangelizing the people among whom they are planted, to these
companies which are increasing with a rapidity which we have
not begun to appreciate, we missionaries m.ust look to take up
the task of bringing Christ to the people of these lands, putting
into the very fabric of society, into the very foundations of each
republic the principles of pure living and of righteous adminis-
tration which come legitimately from the teaching of Scripture
as we understand it. For we must remember that the Church is
the Kingdom; it is instrumental to the Kingdom. It is one of
the greatest agencies that God is using to bring in the Kingdom.
God has given us three divine agencies, the family, the church
and the state. Each has its place, the Church of God standing
midway between the other two to hallow and guide them both.
When once a company of believers is multiplied in membership
and becomes self-propagating and self-directing, it becomes_ a
mighty agency preparing for the Kingdom through the restraint
of the liquor traffic, through the overthrow of oppression and
tyranny, through the saving of family life, through everything
promotive of righteousness. When we study the moral and
spiritual ancestry of these churches, we discover a deplorable re-
ligious situation. Its members have had no scriptural training.
The Bible has been a forbidden book. No valuable knowledge
of the Scriptures can be safely postulated on the part of those
whom we teach in the Sunday schools or to whom we preach
on Sunday. They have no just idea of prayer. Prayer to them
is the repetition of words, often in a language not understood.
They have no real faith but rather credulity, faith in relics,
faith in signs, faith in many things which offer no justification.
Most lamentable of all is their lack of a true idea of sin or of
a proper horror and loathing of it. When men and women
come into our membership who are spiritually lame and blind
we should not criticise them, but in a tender and helpful spirit
lead them into light and freedom.
On page 233 attention is called to the fact that vvhen these
churches in Latin America were organized, denominational lines
were followed almost exclusively. We have not thought it wise
to initiate a discussion of the best method of organization for
the Christian Church of Latin America, whether under the Con-
gregational polity or the Episcopalian or some other. I do not
believe that the time has come for any radical change. We must
wait for God's method of evolution, not only in other matters,
but in ecclesiatistical organization as well. Our familiar ecclesi-
astical forms are the results of thought and prayer for cen-
turies. I think that in perfect appreciation of our brethren in
the Lord we should organize our own people according to the
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 319
method which we understand. When the right time comes, the
Church on the field will adopt the best features of more than
one polity, and honor Christ in its own way. Meanwhile, no
one will regret that these churches began in the likeness of the
great bodies that brought them into being. The matter of estab-
lishing organized and supervised churches is a present-day neces-
sity, whatever may come tomorrow. In fact, when Bishop
Lambuth organized some Presbyterian people in China into a
Methodist church, it was because it was the only church he
knew how to organize. He showed perfectly good sense, be-
cause had he tried to do anything else he would surely have
daubed with untempered mortar. I hope to see the day when
there will be no more Methodists, just as Dr. Speer once de-
clared that he hoped the day would come when there would be
no more Presbyterians. I hope to see the time when we will
all get big enough to take down all fences.
As regards the conditions of membership in the evangelical
churches, the universal opinion seems 'to be that some test is
necessary. In receiving members there are three dangers, the
danger of being overcautious and the danger of pessimism, as
well as the danger that some may desire to pad the rolls with
names for statistical effects. Bishop McDowell says : "As be-
tween learning and piety, I will choose both." So I would
say, be both cautious and straightforward. When the apostles
came back to Jerusalem and asked about the conditions of mem-
bership in the rising Gentile churches, the four conditions im-
posed were to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from forni-
cation, from things strangled, and from blood. They laid down
what they regarded as essentials. I do not beheve that we
should lower any of the conditions of membership which we
regard as essential in the home lands.
Passing now to the measure of the spiritual life in the church.
We do not care to measure this by the distance between the
churches and their perfect goal of spirituality, but by the dis-
tance they have travelled away from their old state. It is the
progress they have made from this beginning and the direction
they are taking nqw that is significant, as well as the attain-
ments registered. Many a pastor who deplores with a sort of
sinking at his heart that his membership is not more spiritual,
would be justly encouraged, if he would reflect upon the real
advance that it has made.
On page 256, the importance of insisting that auxiliary societies
shall be subordinated to the church is discussed. There are
cases where an auxiliary society actually outgrows the church.
This is particularly true of a Woman's Christian Temperance
Union or other organization which performs community service
but has been grafted on to a little church before the infant has
begun to walk. Care must be exercised with reference to such
matters.
In the matter of self-support we are deplorably weak. I firm-
320 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
ly believe that this question should be taken seriously and
prayerfully to heart by this entire Congress, and that we ought
to set aside any preconceived ideas with reference to the matter
and go forth ready to make any sacrifice and to suffer any in-
convenience to get our churches on a better self-supporting
basis. The Commission calls attention to the fact that money
is over-emphasized in this question. Unless our older churches
can come rapidly to self-support, our converts become increas-
ingly like prisoners of war who must be housed and fed, rather
than fresh recruits who will go forth and fight. The more
converts we take into our churches, the greater becomes our
handicap for the ultimate conquest of the Kingdom. ' Every
organized church requires a pastor supported from the home
base, and that eats into the available sum-total so that it be-
comes out of the question to open work in the interest of the
next town or the next state. Unless we lay the axe at the root
of the tree in many of our preconceptions on this matter, we
are going to be indefinitely delayed in development. Nothing
has been ground into me more in twenty-seven y^ars with for-
eign missions than that we are unduly emphasizing money.
We think that a church consists of some pews with nice
cushions, a pipe organ, a preacher, his assistant, a janitor and
all the rest of it, that we cannot have a church without all that
machinery. I oDpose that Idea absolutely. There can be a liv-
ing church of Jesus Christ without even a house or a pastor.
We must learn to use the services of holy laymen whose hearts
are aflame with the love of Christ and to extend the church
through the evangelistic activities of believers as they are gath-
ered In, or we shall never take this Latin-American field. It
can be done. Think of the Scriptural method. Remember the
disclple.s sitting In Jerusalem at Pentacost. Suppose they had
waited for a church building; or for this, that, or the other
features of our church life which we think so important. Well,
there would have been no Christian Church so far as we can
foresee. Take the case of John Wesley, or the Lutheran move-
ment. All along In past centuries, converted men and women
have carried the gospel forward. I would to God that we might
.go from this gathering determined to return to our field to re-
consecrate the activities and abilities of our membership In a de-
gree that we have never dreamed of heretofore. Better than
money for the evangelization of our field would be a wonder-
ful organization of the volunteer agencies in our converted
membership.
Aid for Church Development
Rev. G. W. Muckley (Disciples of Christ, Kansas City, Mo.) :
Coming out of one of ^e most beautiful cantons of Switzer-
land, and just before you get to the border of France, the driver
of the diligence will ask you to look at a church building In a
village. When you examine the doorway closely, you will notice
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 321
an inscription there composed by Voltaire. Voltaire did not
believe in the divinity of Jesus. He had gone to that quiet spot
to write a book against Christ's claims to lordship. But on the
Lord's Day morning he saw a vast concourse of people passing
along the village street and followed them. He soon found that
they were going to worship and entered the church. The
preacher took his text from the first chapter of the Gospel of
John and urged upon them the thought that every man and
woman who acknowledges the name of Christ must be a word
of God made flesh dwelling in his own community, and that
thus he would answer every argument against Christ or the
church. Voltaire, wondering to what extent these people would
really live as the preacher told them to live, went out to study
them, not only in the village, but on the farms and in the tiny
villages, and wherever he went he found that they were trying
to live as the preacher told them to live. After spending three
months there, he was convinced that both preacher and people
were deeply in earnest and sincere in their belief in the living
Christ, their Savior and Lord. Finally he asked the com-
munity to let him build the church for them and to put that
inscription upon the marble slab by the doorway. Now, what-
ever else we need in Latin America we certainly need a trained
ministry who can give their people such stirring spiritual leader-
ship as this. To develop them we must furnish proper equip-
ment and helpful support. The steady and prosperous develop-
ment of the evangelical churches in each republic is a task which
demands a far more thorough-going, business-like attention than
it has received. But the real essential of a good church is its
membership. When one of our medical missionaries came home
from Africa for his first furlough, a friend asked him "How is
it possible to build up a church of Jesus Christ out there?"
"With poor loving disciples among the blacks of Africa," was
his quick and apt reply. If loving disciples are at hand, the
church organization is least important. They will make Christ
the center of their interests and plans, and will see that his
gospel is preached far and wide.
Rev. William Wallace, D.D (Presbyterian Church in U. S.
A., Coyoacan, Mexico) : The establishment of living churches
which have for their supreme aim the preaching of the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ to the hearts of the native people and
the reproduction of His spirit in their lives, is the supreme
object of mission work. We are told that history is philosophy
teaching by examples. Concrete cases will best illustrate our
theories concerning methods and systems in the mission field.
Take the Republic of Mexico. At the Cincinnati Conference a
geographical redistribution of the different missions to pro-
mote a better administration of interests was proposed and
adopted by a majority of the denominations at work there. Some
of our nationals have felt that this geographical redistribution
would accentuate rather than lessen denominational distinctions
322 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
and differences, but with that opinion I cannot agree. When
several denominations are working in the same community, there
is a natural rivalry among them which cannot be avoided. But
when the great Presbyterian Church, for example, begins its
work with the four million inhabitants of the eight southern
states of Mexico, it will have an unbroken opportunity to estab-
lish a truly evangelical Church which, although Presbyterian in
its origin and traditions and spirit, shall be thoroughly adapted
to the needs of that country. Presbyterian work in Mexico
began in the early seventies. By the dawn of the new century
we had four presbyteries, four normal schools for girls and
one college and seminary. The year 1900 seemed a fitting time
for the founding of a national Presbvterian church. The Gen-
eral Assembly in that year approved this plan. Out of all the
brands of Presbyterianism down there, a fev/ have not been
willing to unite in this movement, because the constituency at
home is unwilling to give up its definite work on the field. In
that work for the future we ought to try to get away from our
old traditions and while holding to the inherited spirit and some
of the distinctive principles of Presbyterianism, develop a church
so broad that any evangelical Christian can be a member and
office-holder of that church without violating his own con-
science. The congregations should have large local responsi-
bility while fitting in.o a real Presbyterian administrative system.
How TO Found Churches
Rev. Juan Rodriguez Cepero (Amer. Baptist Church of Porto
Rico, Ponce) : In the short time that the Protestant work has
been established in Porto Rico, already one hundred and fifty
churches are organized with more than twelve thousand mem-
bers. There has been some trouble on account of the Roman
Catholic Church, but the rapid growth of the evangelical
churches has given a new lease of life to Catholicism because
of the competition. In order to have progress in any church
there must be real life there, hence there must have been real
conversions among the people before they were admitted as full
members to the church.
Rev. C. S. Detweiller (Amer., Baptist Home Mission Society,
Santurce, Porto Rico) : No lesson is written larger in the Old
Testament than this, that no matter how great its pretensions,
nor how glorious its past history, God will not recognize a re-
ligious system that has become morally corrupt. It is an in-
veterate tendency of the human heart to take a false position
morally and then to try to cover it with Divine protection.
Rightly or wrongly the world will judge Christianity by the
character of the organized body of believers who bear its name.
When as a result of our labors in a given town, a church is
formed, that body, in a sense in which it can be said of no in-
dividual believer, represents the cause of Christ before men. It
stands not only for certain beliefs, but for a certain course of
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 323
conduct and for a certain type of life. As long as we are do-
ing the work of pioneers in a new field, and ministering only
to scattered believers, we escape a certain responsibility before
the world, and our work is subject to less criticism. As soonas
we found churches, we institutionalize our religion and provide
for its perpetuation, inviting honest criticism.
In Porto Rico, were we beginning our work afresh, we would
avoid the mistake of organizing churches too soon. Many_ of
the early converts came to us with mdstaken ideas of evangelical
Christianity, and we did not often discover this in time. There
are a few places where it would be better for_ the gospel had we
no evangelical church and were able to begin over again. In
the public mind the cause of Christ has become identified with
a few families who do not worthily represent Him. As long
as they give tone and character to that church, the people hold
aloof. In Porto Rico aside from the two or three large cen-
ters, the territory has been so partitioned among the different
denominations that there is but one Protestant Church in each
town. This makes it all the more necessary that that one church
should stand out as a clear beacon of truth in the life. An-
other reason for founding live churches is that through these
churches God will spread the gospel and extend the influence
of his truth. But this will call for the influence of strong
personalities. The report speaks of the lack of an adequate
conception of sin or of an independent and inflexible moral
standard. We need in our churches men and women of strict
principles and of strong, unyielding convictions. Only churches
that have members of this character will have any power in the
community for the redemption of society. Ten resolute men
who will suffer loss of property or position rather than com-
promise their conscience will eventually give the law to two
hundred men who oppose them but without personal sacrifice.
Truly the first, second and third requisite of a good missionary
is patience in awaiting the development of these "new creations
in Christ." One must set one's self firmly against the tempta-
tion to produce great reports for the delectation of our sup-
porters. We have heard the protest against sham, shoddy work
in mission schools. Let us also sound the note of reality in
the organization and development of our churches.
Rev. Robert F. Lenington (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
Curityba, Brazil) : One result of this Congress both in Latin
America and North America will be a change of view-point.
The statistics for the churches in Brazil reported in Com-
mission I are correct from the home standpoint, but inadequate
from the standpoint of the field. W^hy do we continue to study
Latin America from New York instead of from Latin America?
We have heard a great deal of criticism not unmixed with
pessimism about the work in Latin America. Missionaries haye
narrow vision, are untrained, uneducated, lacking in judicial
324 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
mind, not masters of their adopted language, ignorant of the
history of the countries where they are at work, out of touch
with the people. We have also heard that the native ministry
is untrained and uneducated; and that the literature consists
of translations like the hymns, and that our equipment is on
the whole rather poor. In spite of all that, let me ciU your
attention to one of the greatest evangelical churches that there
is in the world today resulting from missionary effort. It is in
the United States of Brazil. Seven different denominations or
churches at work in Brazil have the following membership:
the South American Evangelical Union, 500; the Congregational
Union, over 2,000; the Protestant Episcopal Churches, 1,350; the
Methodists, 6,975; the Baptists^ 12,516; the Presbyterian North
Churches, 22,000; and the Seventh Day Adventists, l,838~in all
about 150,000 church members in about five hundred organized
evangelical churches. There are two hundred and eighty-four
church edifices, a very small proportion built with money from
abroad. In these church buildings are two hundred and six
national ministers who may safely be compared with those of
any country. The annual unaided gifts of these Brazilian
churches amounts to $226,906 in gold. Three of these Churches,
the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist groups, admitted on
confession of faith 3723 members this last year. The Presby-
terian Church in Brazil is alone doing more to-day in the way
of gifts of money and of the direct salvation of souls than
any organization from the United States or Europe at work
in South America has been doing. It is one of the real tri-
umphs of our evangelical work. These churches are hopeful
and determined. The Presbyterian General Assembly three or
four years ago passed a unanimous resolution that they would
carry the gospel of Jesus Christ as rapidly as possible into the
last township of the great Republic of Brazil.
Rev. C. J. Ryder, D.D. (The American Missionary Associa-
tion, New York City) : My work for Latin America has been
largely its presentation to the churches in the North. As I
have been in attendance at this Congress I have been wonder-
ing what to take back to those churches which are not pre-
pared as we are, to understand the great movement in which
we are engaged. We must take to them our conception of its
management. First of all we should take with us a platform,
upon which debate shall be welcomed, which does not rest
simply on an attack upon the Church which has so long been
in possession. When I went down to Porto Rico I went there
to study conditions. You recall Dr. Thompson's reference yes-
terday to that remarkable prayer-meeting at his office in New
York where nine different organizations were represented. We
knelt around the map which he had laid upon ':he table and
prayed that God might help us to enter Porto Rico in such a
way that there might never be any missionary hostility of any
kind in that island. I went down there to find what oblig-llons
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 325
the Congregationalists had in carrying on work in the part
assigned to them. We laid out our work in the eastern part
of the Island taking our share in full recognition of the other
denominations. Such a method ensures success.
The Development of Initiative and Activity
Mr. Joseph Ernest McAfee (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
New York City): Christianity is in the world to save com-
munities and nations as well as individuals. It anticipates the
day when the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdom
of our Lord and his Christ. It is idle to say that the saving
of the individuals of a nation will save the nation. That is not
true. The Christian propaganda should aim consciously and
conscientiously to redeem the community and national soul. No
formal program of Christian propaganda can, in consistency
with this principle, be universally applied. Certain elemental
Christian principles are vital for every community. These are
capable of universal application, but the program by which they
are applied must not rudely violate the community genius_ nor
do aught but purify and make more distinct worthy national
ideals. Christianity is essentially a democratizing force. Its
ultimate effect must be to antagonize and destroy despotism in
human governments. All of our American governments, north
and south, are already in theory democratic, and all need in
full measure the liberalizing work of the Christian religion
among their people, so that the democratic throng may be made
effectual. But each nation which has a right to exist at all has
a right to its distinct ideals and to the preservation and finest
development of its national genius. No propaganda from with-
out, whether it go under the Christian name or under any other
name, may properly invade the sovereignty of the several na-
tional ideals. Any nation would be justified in resenting such
intrusion, if any were attempted. By the same token the Chris-
tian pronaganda is in justice estopped from seeking arbitrarily
to fasten upon the life of any nation alien forms of religious in-
stitutions. Any people, when they comprehend the motive, will
welcome sincere attempts to propagate the Christian spirit, but
the institutions in which that spirit is embodied can properly
be produced only by people conscious of their national genius
and mission.
All this contains a two-fold lesson for Christian propagan-
dists from outside of Latin America. In the first place, the
attempt to import bodily any alien institution is hazardous be-
cause only by chance will it prove suited to express the clarified
Christian consciousness of the people of the nation to which
the mission is carried ; and, in the second place, even when the
imported institution proves acceptable the very fact of its im-
portation is likely to rob the awakened Christian consciousness
of the vitality to be gained only by constructing its own institu-
tions. Here is a commerce where the importation of the finished
326 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
article must surely weaken initiative and resourcefulness and
thus prove a qualified blessing; people can attain the full rich-
ness of the spiritual life only by fabricating institutions for
themselves. How essential is it therefore, from this point of
view as from every other, that the Christian prcoaganda from
without should dissolve its own differences and confusions ! To
impose ready-made religious institutions upon these Latin
American peoples is to rob them of their fundamental spiritual
right to form their own. The benevolent intentions by which
the effort is prompted cannot wholly excuse the offence. The
diffusion of the Christian spirit and the dissemination of es-
sential Christian truth is the universal duty of Christians, but
to exalt the form to an essential place is to vitiate the Chris-
tian spirit and to commit the very offense which the evangelical
faith repudiates in current and historic Romanism, To substi-
tute one dogmatic system for another in Latin America will
certainly not work that work of grace which evangelical Chris-
tianity aims to achieve. Some of us may be pleased to believe
that North American or North European formalism is better
than Roman formalism, but it is not certain that the fully en-
lightened Latin American will agree with us. At any rate he
has a right to an enlightened choice of the forms in which his
Christian life shall be cast. True religion respects the souls of
men. A proper respect for the national and community souls
of the Latin-American republics requires that the universal
Christian spirit shall work its beneficent work hampered in no
unnecessary measure by imported forms.
Rev. Jose Coffin (The Presbyterian Church in Mexico,
Paraiso, Mexico) : I speak in the name of the workers of
Mexico who have stayed with their congregations as long as
there were souls to minister to, in the midst of poverty and
hunger and epidemics of disease, who have gone to the battle-
fields under the banner of the Red Cross to bring back precious
lives, not only of soldiers but also of innocent women and
children, who have converted their churches into hospitals and
their colleges into orphan asjdums. They are Christian heroes
with a great work before them. There are in Mexico two
sets of people, who, in virtue of the new conditions and ten-
dencies of life, are being differentiated more and more — the
urban population and the rural population. The first I need not
enlarge upon, because on them attention has been concentrated
for many years. The hour, it seems to me, has arrived for
the redemption of the country people. These mystic sons of
the mountains who cultivate the soil have furnished the great
governors and educators who have carried forward our great
revolutions, political, social, industrial and scientific, so critical
just now for civilization and humanity. They need most
urgently preachers, educators and travelling physicians, men and
women who are earnest, patient and honorable, who understand
the educated and the illiterate alike, who can feed souls with
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 327
helpful teaching, illuminate minds, and, in the spirit of the
good Samaritan, minister to disease. Thus will their tears be
stopped and their power released. We have a tri-colored ban-
ner; on each color should be written for the country people these
words : "The gospel, education, sanitation."
Rev. Antonio Mazzorana (The Presbyterian Church in
Havana, Cuba) : We ought to go b .ck to the upper room in
Jerusalem where the disciples were gathered together with their
Lord one day, when they received the great commission to go
into all the world and preach the Gospel. At first they were
dismayed. It seemed an impossible task. They could do noth-
ing until Pentecost came, when they were filled with the power
of the Holy Ghost. We must keep in close touch with divine
power, if we are to do anything. Otherwise our life will be
entirely useless. If we fail in this work, we will feel as Peter
felt when his Lord looked at him after his denials. But God is
with us, and we can be of good cheer.
Rev. C. G. Hardwick (Wesleyan Methodist Missionary So-
ciety, Ancon) : A residence of nearly thirty years in this part
of the world entitles me to say something on at least one phase
of this imnortant subject of the church in the field. It takes all
that time to acquire a real knowledge of conditions. I hope
soon to visit New York City. I have never been there before.
What would be thought of me if, after having been there a
few days, I spent my time while crossing the Atlantic in writ-
ing an interpretation of the genius and needs of that great city?
We all must be careful lest we find amongst the membership of
our churches those whose strength is all expended in singing
hymns or praying in prayer meeting. We must enter into their
lives, go into their homes and find out whether they are really
living the Christian life.
Rev. William H. Rainey (British and Foreign Bible Society,
Callao, Peru) : I have lived in intimate contact with the Latin
Americans, so that today my most intimate friends in Latin
America are Latin Americans and not Anglo-Saxons. I have
tried to look at this great problem of self-support from the
point of view of a Latin American, I think now of three
churches which are typical. I asked the pastor of the first one if
he had reached self-support. He said he had not and did not
wish to do so, adding : "H my congregation supports me en-
tirely, each member will feel he is a sort of owner. My position
supported by the foreign Board is more dignified than it would
be in that case." I said to the pastor of the second church, which
had a very good congregation : "I think if I were here I could
make this church self-supporting." He promptly replied : "Yes,
so could I." "Well, why don't you do it?" "Because if I make
an active propaganda for self-support, my superintendents will
think that I am trying to make this church independent and they
will remove me elsewhere." The suspicion of that superintend-
ent was hindering the cause which he had at heart. A third
328 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
congregation was collecting about a hundred and fifty paper
dollars a month toward self-support. Unfortunately they had
a disagreement with the Board supporting them and separated
from it. Within one month their contributions rose from one
hundred and fifty paper dollars a month to four hundred and
fifty, while their evangelical zeal increased one hundredfold. I
have never seen anything else like that in South America, but
when Latin Americans feel that their church is their own, and
that responsibility rests upon them, they will be far more liberal.
I think that we should place the native pastor more to the
front. He should head his congregation. I have seen mis-
sionaries who treated their native pastors much like office boys.
If any congregation sees that the missionary does not respect
the native pastor, they will also fail in their respect. I agree
with Bishop Stuntz that we should make more use of our
laity. ^ I know many churches where there ere just as good
men in the pews as in the pulpit, but they have no opportunity
of self-expression except, perhaps, through a class in the Sun-
day-school. Yet the surrounding r'istrict is unevangelized. The
pastor should take some of these men with him when he
itinerates and use them freely.
Auxiliary Organizations
Miss Hardynia K. Norville (World's W.C.T.U. in South
America, Buenos Aires, Argentina) : Two years ago I went to
South America representing the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, feeling that it was a new field and that I must make
a careful approach. Having studied in institutional churches in
New York City for three years, and having found that many
of them use clubs and organizations in order to reach the for-
eigners who are fast flocking thither, I wondered whether such
methods would not apply to the people of South America.
In South America we wish to make the Union useful. The
people and the government welcome me because I am trying
to render them an acceptable service. When I approached the
Minister of the Interior of Uruguay, as well as the Minister of
Foreign Relations and the Minister of Public Inptruction and
told them of my mission, they expressed a ready welcome. The
inspector of public schools put himself at my disposal. He gave
me letters which opened for me the doors of the public schools
and of the prisons. I began visiting the teachers who proved
to be willing to cooperate with me. Our first organization
started in the Methodist Church, where the young people had
never given themselves to any service of this sort. We formed
a club to study scientifically certain things and soon had two
hundred, including a number of teachers from outside the
church. They went with me to the jails and prisons and began
to appreciate the joys of service. Through the daughters who
talked about the work that was done, I met some very dis-
tinguished women. Today our organization has in it the daugh-
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 329
ters of the ex-President of the Republic, and one of the most
distinguished women of the Republic as its president. We are
to have a national organization. The Minister of the Interior
has given us the use of an educational building, and the
Minister of Instruction has written a letter urging the teachersto
help. In some schools they have adopted a scientific manual which
we publish. In addition to this, the President of the Republic
has consented to become an honorary member. So it is clear
that organizations that help will be welcomed.
Rev. Ira Landrith, LL.D. (United Society of Christian En-
deavor, Boston, Mass.) : Missionaries should know best when
a Young People's movement ought to be organized in foreign
mission fields. When separate denominational Young People's
Societies are not to be organized, the Christian Endeavor So-
ciety probably best meets the conditions and the needs of the
field. The United Society of Christian Endeavor, the world
organization, stands ready to do all in its power to cooperate.
It would gladly send organizers to aid the work in accordance
with the judgment of the missionaries on the field. The United
Society, as everybody knows, is international and inte 'denomina-
tional and interracial. It does not represent any particular na-
tional idea and certainly no particular denominational idea.
Christian Endeavor stands always for interdenominational fel-
lowship and good-will.
Miss Mabel Head (The Methodist Church, South, Nashville,
Tenn.) : There is a splendid gospel society in Korea made up
of a faithful group of women who have given themselves to
Bible study and Bible work. They have sent out during this
past year and a half seven missionaries whom they support.
They are every one of them pledged to tithe, to study the Bible,
to do personal work. They go out two by two into the cities and
the country and have brought many into a knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ; organizing many into Bible classes. In
Japan too there is a strong lay movement. Recall the^ splendid
work done by the women of China. The church in South
America and China and Korea, as well as in North America,
must be a missionary church if it is to fulfill its proper pur-
pose in the world. When little groups of women can come to-
gether once in while for Bible study and prayer, to find oppor-
tunities for personal service and to practice systematic giving,
recognizing their stewardship and doing what they can to send
the gospel to other women and children of neglected areas, thfs
seems a very vital share of the program of building up the
native church in the field. If it meant anything when, years
ago, a little group of women met up there in the northeastern
part of the United States in 1861 in a blinding snow-storm to
unite for hours and days in prayer that they might know God's
way of making them more efficient for spreading the gospel of
Jesus Christ, if that experience has meant anything to the
spiritual development of the church or to the development of
330 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
the missionary spirit, then surely some such organization will
help our women on the field. The great need of the church
is to give the laity a chance to serve.
Rev. Frederick A. Barroetavena (The Methodist Episcopal
Church in Argentina, Rosario) : I am not going to speak of
something occurring in a foreign country, but only of what I
have seen and felt at home. There are two great plagues,
Romanism and illiteracy. In Argentina at least fifty percent, of
the population cannot read or write. In the larger cities the
percentage may be smaller, but in any of the great country
districts not less than eighty percent, are illiterate. The great
needs of the Argentine, and of other countries of Latin America,
are the school and the Bible. Latin America needs Christian mis-
sionary school teachers by the thousand, men and women who
will establish schools and lift our people out of this darkness
of illiteracy into the light of Christian education.
A Magazine for Women
Miss Clementina Butler (Methodist Episcopal Church,
Providence, R. I.) : The Commission on Women's Work re-
quested me to speak on the need of a magazine for women in
Latin America, which shall be genuinely Christian. Since then
I have received copies of a magazine already founded by wo-
men. It is called "The White Page," and is devoted to the
interests of temperance, of work for prisoners and of similar
charities. It is well edited and well printed, but the difficulty
is that it is local and limited in its range and lacking in a Chris-
tian foundation. But it indicates what the women of our Chris-
tian churches may do in the way of Christian literature if we
put ourselves back of them in some such way as to assist in
securing the right kind of material.
Self- Support
Bishop A. T. Howard, D.D. (United Brethren in Christ, Day-
ton, Ohio) : I wonder whether we are sufficiently grateful to
God for the strong native Christian churches He is fostering.
The Chinese Church of Christ met for the first time in General
Assembly last year. The Congregational Church of Japan has
been for years a strong organization. The Japanese Church of
Christ representing the Reformed Presbyterian Churches is a
strong and very self-sufficient organization. During the past
three years three Methodist Churches have united their adher-
ents into one strong national Church. I was pleased by the
tribute paid this morning to the Church of Brazil. God is call-
ing men in these lands who are going to have a great part in
evangelizing their own people. I wish especially to speak of
the importance of the Every-Member Canvass, as it affects self-
support. Just as Japan or Latin America desires the best litera-
ture and the best music, so they should crave the best methods.
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 331
The^ United Brethren Board has had work on the west coast of
Africa for sixtj'-one years. It did not come to self-support
very rapidly. Two years ago the "Every-Member Canvass" was
used there and within one year the principal church came very
near being self-supporting; and the next year although financial
conditions were very hard the church was more than self-sup-
porting. I might take another illustration from the other side
of the globe, down in South China. It has not been easy to
develop self-support in the churches down in South China, but
in Canton, where we had a struggling organization for a num-
ber of years the Every-Member Canvass was tried out and the
church became self-supporting. The largest single gift any one
made was forty cents gold a week, and there were many gifts
of a half cent a week. It not only paid the pastor's salary and
rent, but they were able to open two missions. The plan works
well, the world over.
Funds for Church Buildings
Rev. S. H. Chester, D.D. (Presbyterian Church In U. S. A.,
Nashville, Tenn.) : It has been suggested that in any work for
the educated classes it would be well to build for them, to be-
gin with, such a Church as they would like to worship in, and
to send down to preach to them missionaries who could meet
them on their own ground and discuss their agnosticism and
skepticism with them. I believe that building up the Church of
God is like building a house. The proper place to begin to build
is at the bottom. That is what our Savior meant when He
said as a mark of His Messiahship, "The poor have the gospel
preached unto them." He also preached the gospel to the well-
to-do and educated, but His emphasis was on preaching the
gospel to the poor. It, perhaps, will always be impossible to
prevent some class distinctions from arising in the Christian
Church, but I deprecate our doing anything to emphasize or
encourage class distinctions, and I hope, for my part, that the
day will be long distant when there will be churches built in
Latin America, in which only the man with the gold ring and
the woman with the Parisian gown will feel at home. The argu-
ment that is going to convert them from their agnosticism and
skepticism will not be delivered by learned scholars from pulpits
in well-appointed churches, but it will be the argument of trans-
formed lives, homes and communities, which they will behold as
a result of a free gospel and an open Bible.
Sunday Schools as Evangelizing Agencies
Mr. Sylvester Jones (American Friends' Board of Foreign
Missions, Gibria, Cuba) : I quite agree with Bishop Stuntz as
regards the danger of multiplying organizations to the detri-
ment of the organized Church itself, but feel that the Sunday-
332 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
school and the Young People's Societies meet, in a simple way,
what is a fundamental need of the Church, and that we can
ill afford to do without them. It is possible that we may com-
bine the two agencies into one, by organizing the Sunday school
and adult Bible classes along lines similar to those of the
Young People's Societies. About fifty percent, of the candi-
dates received during the past three years into the Church have
come directly through the work of the Sunday school. Of all
those who have had the religious experience and knowledge
necessary to enter into full relationship with the church, ninety-
five percent, are from the Sunday school. In other words,
using the terms of the parable, ninety-five percent, of the seed
sown on good ground has been sown through the Sunday
school. To accomplish this work the Sunday school must be
made a distinct evangelical agency. Every teacher in the Sun-
day school should be urged to make it the fundamental aim and
purpose of the Sunday school to lead the scholar into a per-
sonal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Prof. Eduardo Monteverde (Y. M. C. A. in Uruguay, Monte-
video, Uruguay) : I have been in constant attendance on the
Sunday school for thirty years, and I have formed some ideas
of my own as to the usefulness of this form of Christian work.
The Sunday school ought to be the most usual way of propa-
gating the gospel in Latin America, but some of the methods
now in use ought to be changed, so as to broaden the present
scope of the Sunday school, and include the children of the
entire community, whether they be Christians or unbelievers.
Other suggestions which I would offer are: (1) The adop-
tion of some better form of lessons than those in the Interna-
tional lesson scheme. (2) Scholarships ought to be offered from
North America to stimulate attendance on the Sunday school.
(3) The teachers ought to have some degree or certificate that
shows they are capable of teaching, conferred by the local theo-
logical seminary or some such institution. (4) Due recogni-
tion in prizes should be given for attendance on the Sunday
school and for the study of the lessons assigned. The Sunday
school ought to attract children, not only from the church but
from the entire community. The Minister of Foreign Affairs
in Uruguay, an unbeliever himself, sent his boys to an evangel-
ical Sunday school because he valued the moral influence of the
teacher and he wanted his sons to have the best.
Mr. Genaro G. Ruiz (American Friends Board of Foreign
Missions,_ Matamoras, Mexico) : The real issue before us is
how to increase our spiritual life. Unless we solve this, our
time at this Congress will be lost. The school is a great fac-
tor, but_ we must have Christian teachers. Our pastors must
work with them more. Many teachers are teaching Csesar or
Napoleon, not Christ. They have been well taught in state
schools, but they have not had an experience which enables them
to be witnesses.
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 333
Training Schools for Women
Mrs. R. W. MacDonell (Woman's Missionary Council,
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Nashville, Tenn.) : Some-
thing like thirty years ago, it was my privilege to go to Durango,
Alexico, where I met an old lady who said, "For twenty years I
have been praying for you to come. For twenty years I have
studied the Bible, going up and down this community trying to
teach it, but I have not known it well myself." Then I asked
her, "How much do ycu understand?" and she said, "Only that
which I can memorize. I understand that." Well, that saint
of God had been going through that town repeating and ex-
plaining the portions of Scripture that she had committed
to memory. I recall another, a brighter j^oung wom.an, who
told me of the struggles she had with the Bible. It had been
put into her hands, but she had had no instruction. She hap-
pened to open it at some passage of the Old Testament which
seemed inferior to our own twentieth century standard of
morality, so she promptly closed the book and said, "Of a truth
it is a vile book." It is not sufficient for a woman just to be
a good woman in order to understand God's truth. She must
be instructed. If our women are going out to tell of God's
truth, they have got to know the historical setting of the
Bible, because they are met by questions that only can be
answered in that way. So I am here this afternoon to plead
for a training school for women workers, the lay women who
must do this work in Latin America. By way of contrast I
recall the remarkable work which a student at the Scarritt
Training School has done near her home in Mexico. Sunday-
school teachers must be prepared. They cannot go to the United
States, all of them. The solution is to train them in Mexico
itself. For the institutional work that we have been talking
about, there must be scientifically trained women, women who
know how to handle people and charitable organizations. I
plead therefore for a joint Bible Training School for women in
every land of Latin America.
Church Discipline and Standards
Rev. John Ritchie (The Evangelical Union of South America,
Lima, Peru) : I wish to consider the question of dealing with
unfaithfulness in marriage discussed in the report on page 258.
We who are face to face with this difficult problem ought to
get together on some uniform plan for dealing with it. I would
also like to emphasize the whole section headed "Church Dis-
cipline." It seems to me we must not admit men and women to
communion who are living in adultery. This is a big problem
lying at the very foundation of our work, but it is a problem
with which we should be dealing together.
Rev. Leandro Garza Mora (The Presbyterian Church in
Mexico, Monterey, Mexico) : I desire to express myself in
English in order to economize time. I am reminded of an
334 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
old German farmer in Texas, who thought he could speak good
Spanish. He was out on the prairie looking for a horse, and
he met a poor, ignorant Mexican and asked him, in what he
thought was Spanish, "Have you seen a horse in the road?"
and the poor man said, "I no understand American," and the
farmer said, "Poor people, they don't understand their own
language." Well, I hope that won't be the case with you this
afternoon.
We have endured great persecution in Mexico. There have
been sixty-four martyrs in our Church. They show the material
of which our Church is mxade.
The Spiritual Life of the Churches
Rev. John Howland, D.D. (American Board of Commission-
ers for Foreign Missions, Chihuahua, Mexico) : At the close
of this Congress, we are beginning to look backward with the
greatest of satisfaction as well as forward. We have surveyed
the far-flung battle line, unfurled again our banner, and sounded
our war-cry. We have made a new alignment of our forces
in the field, have jVanned for ammunition and reinforcements,
and have tried to get together so thoroughly that there can be
no sects in the Church we have been anticipating on the field.
I am sure we find much for encouragement. Such a wealth
of suggestion we have received in these days ! There has been
an absence of complaint and of harsh criticism ; there has been,
throughout it all, a note of real earnestness. In these devo-
tional hours, we gain a fresh glimpse of all that leads us to
forget the sacrifices of life. How that beautiful word has been
abused ! We call a thing "sacrifice" when it calls us to take
cur very heart and lay it, still palpitating and bleeding, on the
altar as an offering to God. Yet, the word means just the re-
verse. It means "making sacred/' taking the heart and making
it in its every vibration responsible to the touch of the Divine
love and Divine companionship. That is the sacrifice to which
the missionary is called, not one of tears, but of rejoicing.
This great opportunity of coming together where so clearly the
Spirit of God is being manifested should thrill us, not with the
joy of the passing moment but with a confidence that there has
entered into the very fibre of our being new life, new vision,
and new purposes. If we can carry these into our work there
will surely open before the Church new prospects and new
triumphs.
Rev. Toberto Elphick (Methodist Episcopal Church, Val-
paraiso, Chile) : I know you all agree on this great question
of the spiritualizing of our Churches everywhere in the mission
field. There is much danger of lowering their spiritual level,
surrounded as they are by so many opposing influences. A
slow or dead or lifeless Church will have no influence at all
on the people around them, and to raise its moral standard we
need in the first place, to call the preachers, the workers, the
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 335
missionaries, to unite with others in seeking to be filled with
power from God. Could not the different missions agree to
come together for the annual meetings, presbyteries or con-
ferences, at the same place and time, in order to have a great
meeting after the order of Northfield or Keswick, at which all
the pastors and missionaries and workers may receive inspiration
from men of God, who can be brought there to give us new
enthusiasm and energy? We ought to discuss in every meeting,
conference or presbytery how to receive more power and more
of the spirit of love, so that we may go forward, not only with
the truth but with the true life. And then I would suggest
that the preachers, who have attended such a meeting as I have
described, go to their churches and call their boards and mem-
bers to prayer and consecration. We need revivals everywhere
in our native chur-hes. Many of the churches are not pro-
gressing. We could do a great deal toward arousing them, if
we would. No great advance is at hand in our churches to-day
because they are not prepared to receive the people who might
come in. We must try to put our churches on such a spiritual
level that the power and the love of God will be manifest in
them. Religious literature will help this process. It should be
sent broadcast among the churches and pastors. Behind all this
effort there should be on behalf of the churches in each republic
a great volume of intercessory prayer from our friends in North
America.
Rev. Robert F. Lenington (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
Curityba, Brazil) : Some one this morning called this spot a
mount of vision. Who can go out from this place without feel-
ing that indeed God has given us a very wonderful privilege,
and wishing to live a nobler life, after having had this new
vision of the conditions and the needs of these Latin-American
lands, and of the triumphs of the gospel?^ There is not one
who can go back to his work without feeling the need of the
mighty power of God and saying, just as we sang here this
afternoon,
"My only shame, my sinful self,
My glory all the Cross."
Let us go back to work for the children in our churches, so
that it may not be said that only one in four of the children
is being brought into the church. I plead too for the young
people that they may be ready to make a life investment of their
abilities and energies in this glorious task. I plead also for
the women of Latin America. I do not believe anyone here can
be insensible to this call from their homes. I have asked many
women, "How did you become interested in the gospel? Why
did you come to the church?" "Because I have a home today;
because of the change in my husband, because he, today, is
true to me." How glorious is the true love that prevails in a
Christian home, particularly to those who never before knew a
ZZ6 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELD
real home. We plead for the women who go through bitter
ways alone, and walk in the dark without any knowledge of
Christ.
In Conclusion
Bishop Homer C. Stuntz, D.D. (Chairman, Commission VI) :
It must have been apparent to all, as this discussion has gone
forward, that we are agreed upon two things, and that every-
thing else more or less is incidental. We are agreed in the first
place, that the founding of Christian churches, which have the
true spirit of Jesus Christ, is our main business in these Latin-
American lands. Secondly we are convinced that this can be
done only by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. We have
discussed self-support, have sounded the note of the necessity
of Church discipline. No man who has worked In Latin America
can doubt for a moment that a standardization of discipline is
needed. We should keep our churches, so far as we may, free
from those who would disgrace the name of Christ. We would
all agree that, in promoting self-support, the "Every-Member
canvass" is valuable. Along with that we would agree about
the Importance of teaching Christian stewardship from the first
day our converts come into membership, until they are fully
grown_ to the stature of men and women In Christ. We have
erred in not pushing this. We have to deal with a membership
that comes from a church which has the fee system. For what-
ever they get, they have been accustomed to pay. If they get
out of purgatory they pay for it. If they get service of any sort,
they pay for It. The Idea of Christian stewardship will seem
natural to them and Is fundamental to self-support. We have
not heard much about the raising up of Christian leaders. Per-
haps that was sufficiently discussed In connection with the other
reports. I would like to say about that just a word In closing.
When our Lord considered this problem, what did he tell us
to do? Pray! We may found colleges; we may found theo-
logical seminaries ; we may do all this and more, but Jesus
Christ told us the thing, without the doing of which all this
effort will fail to bring us laborers. Let us never forget that
prayer lies across the doorway and prayer should accompany us
every step of the way in raising up leadership for the churches
In Latin America. We have been hearing a great deal of talk
about reaching the cultured class. I do not know that we have
overdone that, but I have not quite liked it. I do not hear Jesus
Christ, In all my listening to his ministry in the New Testament,
speaking about that. I am afraid there Is something of the
wisdom of the world liable to creep into our philosophy of
Christian service. Let us preach our message, and let Him
bring our leaders, whether from the university or from the
coal pit. Let us pray God to raise uo our leaders, and let Him
choose whom He will, and send all whom He will send. Then
we shall have men who have heard the Master's voice, and who
will go out to do the things that need to be done.
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION VII
ON
THE HOME BASE
Presented to the Congress on
Saturday, February 19, 1916
THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT OF
COMMISSION VII
The List of Members of the Commission 343
The Report of the Commission 347
Chapter I — The Scope and Importance of the Report.. 347
1. Limitations in the Treatment 347
2. Its Timeliness 348
3. Factors \\'hich Facilitate Cooperation Between the
Field and the Home Base 348
Chapter II — The Present Attitude of the Home Base
Toward Christian Work in Latin America 350
1. The Present Attitude One of Indifference v. 350
2. The Causes of This Indifference 351
3. Factors Making for a Better Understanding 352
a. Political Movements in Latin America 353
b. The Commercial Advance 353
c. The Visits of Diplomats and Church Leaders. 354
d. Latin-American Student Emigration 354
e. The Growth of Literature in Latin America... 354
4. The Need for a Constructive Program of Educa-
tion 355
a. There is a Real Need 356
b. These Conditions Cannot be Isolated 356
c. The Educative Value of Latin-American Facts 357
d. The Inspirational Value of the Evangelical
Movement 357
e. The Refluent Influences of Missionary En-
deavor 357
f. The World-Wide Inclusiveness of the Mis-
sionary Imperative ; • • : • ^^^
5. The Comparative Investment of Religious Bodies in
Latin America 358
Chapter III — Present Activities in Latin-American
Countries 360
339
340 CONTENTS
1. The Missionary Agencies at Work in Latin America
a. The Countries Represented 361
b. The Countries Occupied 362
2. Their Expenditures for a Quarter Century 363
3. Support by Individuals 365
4. The Great Interdenominational Agencies 367
a. The Bible Societies 367
b. The World's Sunday School Association 367
c. The Committee on the Religious Needs of
Anglo-American Communities 369
d. The American Seaman's Friend Society 370
5. Agencies Promoting the Welfare of Latin-American
Students in the United States 370
6. Methods Employed to Promote Prayer for Latin-
American Missions 373
Chapter IV — Methods and Means Now Employed in
Developing an Interest in Latin America 377
1. In the Regular Activities of Local Congregations.. 377
a. Sermons and Addresses on Latin America 377
b. The Use of Literature and Church Papers 378
c. In Meetings for Conference and Prayer 379
d. In Mission Study Classes 380
e. In Sunday Schools and Young People's So-
cieties 380
f. In the Women'o Missionary Societies 381
2. In Denominational Conferences and Conventions... 382
3. The Laymen's Missionary Movem^ent 384
4. The Missionary Education Movement 384
a. Its Seven Missionary Summer Conferences... 384
b. Its Publications 385
c. Its Ideal of a Systematic Missionary Propa-
ganda 385
d. A United Program of Missionary Education
for 1916-17 on "The Two Americas" 386
(1) Forces Uniting 386
(2) Purpose of the Program 386
(3) The Text-books Available 387
(4) Special Denominational Literature 387
(5) Publicity Methods 388
5. The Central Committee on United Study of Foreign
Missions 388
6. The Council of Women for Home Mission3 388
7. The Student Volunteer Movement and the Student
Young Men's and Young W^omen's Christian
Association s 389
a. The Quadrennial International Conventions... 389
b. The Promotion of Mission Study Among
Students 389
c. The Summer Conferences 390
CONTENTS 341
d. Articles in the Student Religious Press 391
e. The Volunteers Who Went to Latin America.. 391
f. The Conferences of Volunteer Unions 391
g. College Student Missionary Meetings 392
h. The Work of Travelling Secretaries 392
8. The Bible Societies 392
9. The General Young Men's Christian Association... 393
a. Presentations in Conventions and Conferences 393
b. Presentation in Local Associations 394
c. Presentation Through Publications and Photo-
graphs 394
10. The Influence of Travellers and Publicists 396
11. The Woman's Missionary Societies 398
a. Their Use of Literature 398
b. The Mission Study Class Movement 398
c. Special Programs on Latin America 399
d. Presentation at Conferences and Conventions. 399
e. An Organized Schc- .e of Addresses and Lec-
tures 399
f . Stereopticon Lectures 400
g. Pageants and Dramatic Presentations of Latin-
American Subjects 400
h. Miscellaneous Methods 400
Chapter V — Measures Required to Secure Adequate
Support of Christian Work in Latin America 401
1. Unceasing Intercessory Prayer for Latin America. . 402
a. Dedicated to Specific Needs 403
b. At Regular and Special Gatherings 403
c. In Response to Calls to Prayer 403
d. In Response to Training in Prayer 403
e. The Use of a Prayer Calendar for Latin
America 404
f . Special Days for Prayer 404
2. The Portrayal of the Spiritual Needs of Latin-
American Peoples 404
3. The Development of Fraternal Relations With Latin
Americans 406
a. Through the Definite Attitude of Individual
Churches 406
b. Through the Free Interchange of Thought 407
c. Through Mutual Introductions and Information 407
d. The Organized Promotion of Friendly Rela-
tions 408
e. Personal Calls on Latin Americans Away from
Home ^ _ 408
f. Addresses by Latin- American Students 408
g. Encouragement of the Study of National Prob-
lems 409
342 CONTENTS
h. The Promotion of Personal Work 409
i. Giving of Our Best 409
4. The Multiplication of Literature for General Use.. 410
5. The Larger Use of Missionary Magazines and Re-
ligious Periodicals 411
6. The Use of Photography 412
7. The Use of Speakers and Lecturers 413
8. Deputations to Latin America 415
9. The Enlightening of Tourists 416
10. Organized Publicity 416
11. Systematic Missionary Education 417
a. Its Proper Range 417
b. A Comprehensive Plan of Procedure 418
12. The Enlistment of Volunteers 420
13. The Extension of Work in Latin America 421
Appendix A — The Correspondents of the Commission 423
Appendix B — Appropriations by Five-Year Periods of
Eighteen North American Societies 427
Appendix C — Table Showing Appropriations of Thirty-
seven North American Societies to Work
in Latin America and Among Latin
Americans Within Continental United
States 428
Appendix D — An Adequate Program for Promoting True
Friendship Among Latin-American Students Tempo-
rarily Residents in Europe, Great Britain and North
America 431
The Presentation and Discussion of the Report 433
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION
CHAIRMAN
Mr. Harry Wade Hicks, General Secretary Missionary
Education Movement of the United States and Canada,
New York City.
VICE-CHAIRMAN
The Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, D.D., Westminster
Chapel, London.
SECRETARY
The Rev. William P. Schell, Assistant Secretary
Board of Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church in
the U. S. A., New York City.
executive committee
The Rev. T. B. Ray, D.D., Secretary Foreign Mission
Board, Southern Baptist Convention, Richmond, Va.
Mr. F. P. Turner, General Secretary Student Volunteer
Movement for Foreign Missions, New York City.
The Rev. Charles L. White, D.D., Corresponding Sec-
retary American Baptist Home Mission Society, New
York City.
The Rev. Charles M. Boswell, D.D., Corresponding
Secretary Board of Home Missions and Church Ex-
tension of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Philadel-
phia, Pa.
343
344 THE HOME BASE
Mr. Frank L. Brown, General Secretary World's Sun-
day School Association, New York City.
Miss Carrie J. Carnahan, Woman's Foreign Mission-
ary Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, Pitts-
burgh, Pa.
The Rev. A. E. Cory, D.D., Men and Millions Move-
ment of the Cooperating Societies and Colleges of the
Disciples of Christ, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr. B. A. Glanvill, Treasurer Evangelical Union of
South America, London.
Miss Mabel Head, Foreign Departm.ent of the Board of
Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Nash-
ville, Tenn.
The Rev. Hubert C. Herring, D.D., General Secretary
National Council of Congregational Churches, Boston,
Mass.
The Rev. C. J. Klesel, Moravian Missionary Society,
London.
Bishop W. R. Lambuth, D.D., Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, Oakdale, Cal.
Mr. Marion Lawrance, General Secretary International
Sunday School Association, Chicago, 111.
Mr. J. E. McAfee, Secretary Board of Home Missions
of the Presb)^erian Church in the U. S. A., New York
City.
Miss Kathleen Mallory, Corresponding Secretary
Woman's Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist
Convention, Baltimore, Md.
Mr. Delavan L. Pierson, Editor Missionary Reviezv of
the World, New York City.
The Rev. C. J. Ryder, D.D., Secretary American Mis-
sionary Association, New York City.
The Rev. Egbert W. Smith, D.D., Executive Secretary
Executive Committee of Foreign Missions, Pres-
byterian Church in the U. S., Nashville, Tenn.
Mrs. Josephine M. Stearns, Secretary Christian Wo-
man's Board of Missions, Indianapolis, Ind.
S. Earl Taylor, LL.D., Secretary of the Board of For-
eign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
New York City.
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION 345
J. Campbell White, L.L.D., President Wooster Uni-
versity, Wooster, Ohio.
Mr. John W. Wood, Secretary Domestic and Foreign
Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
New York City.
THE REPORT OF COMMISSION VII ON
THE HOME BASE
CHAPTER I
THE SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE
REPORT
I. LIMITATIONS IN THE TREATMENT
The Commission has attempted to treat the subject of
the home base only as related to Latin America. It
has therefore avoided the attempt to cover the entire
ground of home base conditions, problems and methods.
For a more complete treatment of home base questions,
readers are referred to Volume VI of the report of the
World Missionary Conference, held at Edinburgh in
1910. Much of the material presented there applies
directly or indirectly to the relation of the home churches
to the problems of Christian work in Latin America.
A fresh reading of that volume is commended in order
to supplement the more limited scope of this Report.
The Commission would also state that the material
gathered and incorporated in this Report came almost ex-
clusively from correspondents in the United States and
Canada, or from workers connected with missions sup-
ported by North American Societies. The conclusions
reached represent therefore the conditions prevailing in
the churches of North America. The Commission re-
grets that the limitations of time and other serious diffi-
culties prevented a thorough discussion of the Report
347
348 THE HOME BASE
with representatives of British and Continental Societies,
and that for the same reasons extensive international
correspondence concerning the home base aspects of
Christian v^ork in Latin America has been impracticable.
2. ITS TIMELINESS
Several general considerations illustrate the serious at-
titude of the Commission members toward their work,
and their belief that the home base problems of Christian
work in Latin America require more thoughtful atten-
tion than has hitherto been given. In North America
twenty-one denominations supporting missions in Latin
America include 137,789 churches or parishes. These
Churches include a very large majority of the communi-
cants of the evangelical Communions in the United States
and Canada. It is of vital importance that the sympathy
of these millions of Christians should be more profoundly
aroused, and their active support of Christian work in
Latin America more aggressively enlisted. The out-
lining of a program with reference to the development of
active interest in Latin-American countries, first by the
evangelical forces within each of the home base lands,
and second, by international understanding between the
groups of evangelical Communions, Societies and Boards,
is less advanced than is the case with reference to mis-
sion activities in other great areas in which the missionary
propaganda is in progress. The Commission believes
that the Panama Congress and regional conferences fol-
lowing will accomplish much in unifying and strength-
ening the forces at work both in Latin America and at
the home base.
3. FACTORS WHICH FACILITATE COOPERATION BETWEEN
THE FIELD AND THE HOME BASE
Such representative conferences to facilitate inter-
change of experience and to develop cooperative activity
between workers in Latin America and at the home base
are considered by the Commission as essential to rapid
progress.
SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE 349
The Commission also believes that the enlistment of the
churches in prayer for Latin America and for evangelical
work throughout Latin-American countries is of first im-
portance. The conviction that through intercessory
prayer the difficulties surrounding the work are to be
overcome has been deepened week by week as the investi-
gations have progressed. Whatever other measures may
be advanced for developing cooperation at the home
base, the duty of praying for the missions and workers
in Latin- American lands, for their adequate support, and
for the peoples for whom they are laboring, is upheld by
the Commission as the one indispensable condition of
success.
CHAPTER II
THE PRESENT ATTITUDE OF THE HOME
BASE TOWARD CHRISTIAN WORK IN
LATIN AMERICA
What is the prevailing attitude of Christians in North
America and Europe toward the spiritual conditions
and problems of Latin America? Does an address
or an appeal on this subject awaken instant interest and
response or are they received with comparative coldness ?
The answers to these questions must determine the char-
acter of the program proposed by the Commission on the
Home Base.
I. THE PRESENT ATTITUDE ONE OF INDIFFERENCE
Extensive correspondence and interviews with many
leaders in close touch with the conditions in the home
churches in North America have revealed the fact that,
until recently at least, the prevailing attitude toward
evangelical work in Latin America has been one of in-
difference or of languid interest, if not of actual opposi-
tion. Some report that not more than ten or fifteen per
cent, of church members are even moderately interested
and that some openly express disapproval of the work.
This positive or comparative lack of interest is revealed
(i) in the infrequency of requests from churches and
local church societies for addresses on the subject; (2)
in the difficulty experienced in raising money for evan-
gelical missionary effort in these lands ; (3) in the limited
amount of travel southward compared with that to the
east and west ; (4) in the small demand for mission study
books on Central and South America; and (5) in the too
350
ATTITUDE TOWARD LATIN AMERICA 351
frequent omissions of these countries from their proper
place in pra3xrs and on prayer calendars.
It is well to face these facts squarely in order that
the causes and the remedy may be discovered.
2. THE CAUSES OF THIS INDIFFERENCE
Our correspondents emphasize two chief causes for the
prevailing indifference in North America. The first is
ignorance of the lands and people. The assertion has
frequently been made that "the average Christian knows
more about Africa or China than he does about the re-
publics of Latin America." Mexico, being nearer to the
North American churches, has received more attention
than has the southern continent, but the chief references
in the newspapers to the other Latin-American lands have
related to poHtical revolutions, international complica-
tions, and occasionally to growing commercial importance.
Now and then a lecturer or returning traveller has spoken
on South America or Mexico, but such addresses have re-
lated chiefly to the great rivers, the lofty mountains, the
immense forests, the rich material resources, the political
history and the wonderful commercial prosperity. Too
often much of the information given has been superficial
and incomplete. The moral and spiritual conditions and
problems have been slighted or overlooked altogether.
Another cause of the prevailing indifiference on the
part of no small number of Christians has been that
missions to these republics have been considered as
possibly an impertinence. Many find it difficult to con-
ceive of great material wealth and prosperity, such as are
evident in the capitals of Brazil, Argentina and Chile, as
coincident with real spiritual poverty. Some have thought
also that since the Roman CathoHc Church, which has
been dominant in Latin America for four hundred years,
has so much of Christian truth and has accomplished so
many good things, therefore this Church meets the total
need and there is no call for outside religious interference
or help.
There has been a hesitation on the part of some speak-
ers and editors to make frank reference to moral and
352 THE HOME BASE
spiritual shortcomings in Latin America both for fear of
offending by too plain a statement of facts and because
Europe and North America also are not faultless in these
respects. Correspondents complain that certain religious
and secular papers and magazines, when they have ac-
cepted an article on one of these lands, will so alter or
suppress some of the statements as to give a wholly in-
adequate idea of the moral and spiritual needs of the
people. Few realize the slight hold that the Roman
Catholic Church has on the multitudes, the growing in-
fidelity among the educated classes, the hundreds of
thousands of unevangelized Indians and the vast ex-
tent of territory, in a land like Brazil, entirely untouched
by any Christian effort — Roman Catholic or Protestant.
Among other causes suggested for the general indiffer-
ence are: (i) the opposition of the Roman Catholic
Church in Europe and America to any evangelical enter-
prise in the southern republics on the ground that by
reason of the long established efforts and teaching of
the Roman Catholic Church, Christian truth has been
adequately given to the people; (2) the comparative lack
of novelty, romance and picturesqueness as compared
with the surroundings of similar work in India, China or
Africa ; (3) the tendency of some to undervalue the char-
acter, achievements and possibilities of Latin Americans ;
(4) the opposition and difficulties connected with evan-
gehcal effort in those lands; (5) the comparatively small
and slow returns from missionary investment; (6) in-
tolerant and narrow advocates; (7) the lack of sufficient
number of strong speakers on Latin America for depu-
tation work ; (8) the scarcity of interesting literature
revealing the spiritual problems. No doubt the chief
underlying causes of all such indifference to Christian ef-
fort are a failure to appreciate spiritual needs and values
and a lack of personal experience of the regenerating
power of the gospel of Christ.
3. FACTORS MAKING FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING
In the last two decades there has been a constantly
increasing flow of reliable information concerning Latin-
ATTITUDE TOWARD LATIN AMERICA 353
American lands and a consequent increase in interest.
Mew avenues of communication have been opened; old
channels have been enlarged, and bonds of sympathy
have been strengthened. The political and commercial
leaders were first aroused, and now the churches are
awakening. Among the causes of this growing interest
are the following:
a. Political Movements in Latin America.
The political developments in Mexico, in Central and
South America, and in some of the islands of the West
Indies, have brought them more clearly into notice. God
has used even the wars and revolutions in some of these
countries to force upon the attention of the churches the
Latin-American peoples and problems, with their ele-
ments of weakness and of strength. The conference be-
tween Argentina, Brazil, Chile and the United States
over the Mexican problem has revealed the importance
of these nations and their influence in the western
hemisphere.
b. The Commercial Advance.
In commercial ways, also, Latin America has been com-
ing to the front. The markets furnished by these lands,
many of which are developing rapidly, and the large and
valuable exports of beef and raw materials, have brought
about closer relations with North America and Europe.
The building and opening of the Panama Canal have also
had a wide influence and will naturally draw attention
and trade more and more to the southern peoples of the
western hemisphere. The great war in Europe has
compelled a closer intercourse between North and South
America. New trade relations have developed, branches
have been opened in several South American cities by
prominent banks and other business houses of the United
States, and trade has taken a new life. The Pan Ameri-
can Union, of which the Hon. John Barrett is director-
general, and in which all the republics are represented
and participate, has also accomplished much in the de-
velopment of friendly intercourse between all North and
South American peoples.
354 THE HOME BASE
c. The Visits of Diplomats and Church Leaders.
Perhaps the most potent of the influences developing
mutual understanding between Latin Americans and
Anglo-Saxons have been those set free by the visits of
such well-known men as Viscount Bryce of England,
the Hon. Elihu Root, the Hon. Wm. Jennings Bryan and
Ex-President Roosevelt of the United States. There have
been several important scientific expeditions led by men
of world-wide influence, such as Professor Agassiz, whose
work has profoundly strengthened international good-
will. The spiritual bonds have been drawn closer by the
missionary visits of such international religious leaders
as Dr. John R. Mott, Dr. Robert E. Speer, Mr. Frank L.
Brown of the World's Sunday School Association, Dr.
Francis E. Clark of the World's Christian Endeavor
Union and the late Dr. Henry Grattan Guinness of the
Regions Beyond Missionary Union of Great Britain. The
writings and addresses of these men and of returning
leaders like Bishop Kinsolving and Bishop Stuntz have
thrown a flood of light on the great resources, problems,
needs and possibilities of these lands. These men have
also given to Latin Americans a new understanding of
the friendship and ideals of Christians in Great Britain
and the United States.
d. Latin-American Student Emigration.
At the same time a similar stream, even far greater in
volume, has been flowing northward. Hundreds of Latin-
American students have left Cuba, Porto Rico, Mexico
and South America to study in the European and North
American universities. They have gone as delegates to
student summer conferences, have been welcomed into
fraternal associations in cities, and in other ways have
come into a closer Christian fellowship, thereby increas-
ing interest in Latin America at the home base.
e. The Growth of Literature on Latin America.
Another very potent influence in the development of
this new interest is the growth of literature on Latin
America. A few years ago a relatively small book-shelf
would have held the available volumes. To-day the peri-
ATTITUDE TOWARD LATIN AMERICA 355
odicals are rich in articles dealing with Latin-American
commerce, politics, travel, education, sociology and re-
ligion. Volume after volume has appeared dealing with
all the lands and phases of the situation. For a time in
Great Britain, The Times of London carried monthly
a large South American supplement. Such books as
Viscount Bryce's "Observations and Impressions in South
America," Robert E. Speer's "South American Prob-
lems," Francis E. Clark's "The Continent of Oppor-
tunity" and Edward A. Ross's "South of Panama," have
commanded wide attention and have formed the basis of
more intelligent discussion of the spiritual forces and
needs of these countries. Mission study classes have
also taken up the subject and special text-books have been
published which have enlisted the interest of thousands of
student volunteers, women and young people.
Thus it is that the home base constituencies have come
into a larger knowledge of Latin America, a more
sympathetic appreciation of her peoples, and a better
understanding of their spiritual problems.
While knowledge of these republics is still very frag-
mentary, interest is still too vacillating and active service
in their behalf is often too desultory and unintelligent,
it will be seen that there are many encouraging signs
of earnest study and growing sympathy which augur
well for the success of a constructive program of Chris-
tian work in Latin America.
4. THE NEED FOR A CONSTRUCTIVE PROGRAM OF EDUCATION
Thus far the interest in Latin America has been so
spasmodic and scattered in the home churches that there
is needed a campaign of education to enlist more thor-
ough cooperation. The churches of Europe and of
North America need to know the actual facts — among
other things — concerning what the Roman Catholic
Church has done and is doing for Latin America and
what the Evangelical Churches have done and are doing.
There are many reasons for this campaign of instruc-
tion which must precede any intelligent program of Chris-
tian work:
356 THE HOME BASE
a. There is a Real Need.
There is a real, present need for the gospel of Christ in
Latin America. There are vast territories unoccupied
and great multitudes unreached by the evangelical mes-
sage and forces. A detailed account of these needs of
the Latin-American fields and the type of Christian
message most needed is presented in the reports of the
Commission on ''Survey and Occupation" and of that on
"Message and Method," to which readers are referred
for exact, complete and convincing proofs.
b. These Conditions Cannot be Isolated.
These acute conditions in Latin America have a reflex
influence on other lands. The time has long since passed
when any nation, race, or church can live an isolated life,
for "no man liveth unto himself and no man dieth unto
himself." The political and religious unrest in Latin-
American lands affects not only the people of those re-
publics but is certain to be felt in the United States,
Great Britain and in other parts of the world. Social
evils in Brazil will spread their plague in Paris and
Berlin, and vice versa. Political turmoil in Mexico will
not only bring financial loss in London and New York,
but might also involve the United States in a world war-
fare. Spiritual blindness and corruption among nominal
Christians in Venezuela or in Central America produce
infidelity and death that are spread also to other lands,
just as ungodly North Americans and other foreigners
react destructively upon the cause of religion in Latin
America.
Far-sighted Christians will see that time and money
spent in helping to solve the political, educational, social
and religious problems of our neighbors will bring bless-
ing at home. National peace and prosperity with intel-
lectual and spiritual progress in Latin America cannot
fail to bring blessing to the world. Even from the stand
point of self-interest there are immense advantages to
the Christians of North America and Europe in cultivat-
ing among other peoples a spirit of international sym-
pathy and good-will.
ATTITUDE TOWARD LATIN AMERICA 357
c. The Educative Value of Latin- American Facts.
Moreover, any conscientious study of the history,
the achievements and the causes of failure and also of
success of the Roman Catholic Church in Latin Amer-
ica will teach some valuable lessons and will point out
wholesome warnings against laxity of faith and conduct
and excessive formalism.
d. The Inspirational Value of the Evangelical Move-
ment.
There is much inspiration in the story of the really
great work that has been done by the representatives of
evangelical Churches in many of the Latin-American
lands — the schools and churches established and the work
among students. Much has been said concerning the
needs and difficulties ; the Christians at home should
also hear of the inspiring success and of the heroic lives
of missionaries and of many Latin-American Christians.
It must not be forgotten also that missions among In-
dians and other unevangelized peoples make the same
appeal that unoccupied fields in other lands have always
made to the churches.
e. The Refluent Influences of Missionary Endeavor.
The very effort to share freely with others the bless-
ings we have received from Christ and the expression of
love in real sacrifice and prayer for others will bring re-
flex benefits at the home base. The church and the
Christian most sensitive to the call of Christ in regions
beyond are most alive to the calls near at hand.
/. The World-zvide Inchisiveness of the Missionary
Imperative.
Finally, it is well for everyone to remember — what
some Christians seem to forget — that the last great com-
mission of our Lord does not read : ''Go ye into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature — except
those in Latin America." That commission has never
been either fully carried out nor has it been withdrawn.
It behooves the churches at home therefore to inquire
faithfully if the peoples of Latin America have to any
358 THE HOME BASE
large degree a saving knowledge of the gospel of Christ.
If they have not, and no adequate means of gaining that
knowledge are within their reach, then Christians must,
without self-conceit and without apology, make every
effort to give them the gospel by word and by life. The
great commission includes Latin America, as it includes
North America, Europe, and every land and individual
in the wide world who knows not the regenerating power
of Christ for the life which now is and for that which
is to come.
5. THE COMPARATIVE INVESTMENT OF RELIGIOUS BODIES
IN LATIN AMERICA
In appraising the investment of men and money in
Latin America in comparison with other fields, great care
is necessary. A mere statement making a comparison of
the proportion of missionaries to the population on the
different fields may not be very enlightening. To be of
real value, such a comparison must be made with the pe-
culiar difficulties of the Latin-American work clearly in
view. It may be pointed out, for instance, that in South
America the proportion of missionaries to the popula-
tion is the same as in some of the fields of the Orient.
But in South America the population is scattered over
vast stretches of territory, with inadequate means of com-
munication, in striking contrast to the density and com-
pactness of population in other parts of the world. A
correspondent mentions the following pertinent facts:
North Brazil, or the ten divisions lying north and west
of the river Sao Francisco, is equal in territory to three-
fourths of the United States. While Brazil as a whole
shows a proportion of one missionary to 90,000 inhabit-
ants. North Brazil shows a proportion of i to 200,000.
North Brazil has a sparse population scattered over
almost interminable stretches of plain, mountain and
jungle. Much of the climate of this territory is un-
equalled in its deadly character even by that of India.
In this section of Brazil seven of the states, ranging in
size from that of New Jersey to four times that of
Texas, have not a single evangelical worker.
ATTITUDE TOWARD LATIN AMERICA 359
The same care in appraisal of Latin-American work is
necessary when considering the amount of money in-
vested for buildings or property. In a land where lum-
ber, metals, w^indow-panes and all other materials for
building, excepting stone and brick, are imported from
North America or Europe, and where the very fuel for
the making of the bricks is imported, the cost of building
is extremely high. It should also be remembered that
except in northern Brazil, both the climate and the
aesthetic sense of the people demand substantial build-
ings.
In order to compare investments of money in Latin-
American fields on the part of various missionary agen-
cies with the investments made in other fields in which
mission work is maintained by these same agencies,
statistics were tabulated of appropriations by nine of the
foremost denominations together wth those of the Amer-
ican Bible Society and the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciations. The figures are for the year 1913-14. The
resulting table' follows :
Home Income of
Foreign Mission Appropriated
Denomination Boards for all to Latin
countries' America^
Baptist (Northern Convention) $1,114,420 $143,869
Baptist (Southern Convention) 587.458 188,746
Congregational 1,082,218 52,280
Disciples of Christ 513,919 41,168
Methodist Episcopal 2,319,752 229,710
Methodist Episcopal, South 874.787 234,161
Presbyterian in the U. S. A 2,113,977 362,944
Presbyterian in the U. S 560,908 89,074
Protestant Episcopal 823,370 135,207
American Bible Society 403,450 104,700
Young Men's Christian Association . . 445,000 73,151
^ The most desirable comparison would be between the ex-
penditures on all foreign mission work exclusive of Latin
America and the expenditures in Latin America. The figures
are not available, however, and their compilation would be very
complicated.
' From "Report of the Foreign Missions Conference, 1915."
Includes administrative expenses as well as actual expenditures
on the mission field.
• Obtained by correspondence.
CHAPTER III
PRESENT ACTIVITIES IN LATIN-AMERICAN
COUNTRIES'
The report of Commission I on "Survey and Occupa-
tion," and sections of the reports of other commissions,
have indicated both directly and indirectly the character
and scope of missionary endeavor conducted by Churches
of other countries in Latin America. The purpose of
Commission VII in this connection is simply to list the
missionary agencies from all countries at work in Latin
America ; to present in simple form a record of expendi-
tures covering a period of twenty-five years, beginning
with 1889 and ending with the latest figures available,
that is, for 1913-14; to analyze the distribution of ex-
penditures among tfie main missionary agencies or types
of work; to record the services of interdenominational
and undenominational agencies ; to call attention to the
significance of Christian effort among Latin Americans
in the countries from which support for missions is se-
cured ; to indicate the extent to which young men and
women have offered themselves for service in Latin
America, and lastly, to inquire concerning the extent to
which Christians are praying for the progress of the
Kingdom in Latin-American countries.
^The investigations on which this section of the report
are based relate to the work undertaken by the missionary
Societies, Churches and other agencies of the United States
and Canada. The directory, and the summaries based on it,
include all countries.
360
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 361
I. THE MISSIONARY AGENCIES AT WORK IN LATIN AMERICA
a. The Countries Represented.
In order to furnish information as to the number of
evangelical agencies at work in Latin America and the
responsible constituencies they represent, a directory of
Societies has been prepared by Commission VII, and
printed as a general appendix in Volume III. The di-
rectory is arranged by countries, showing Communions,
their Societies, the fields occupied, and similar informa-
tion concerning interdenominational and independent or
non-denominational agencies.
Summarized briefly, the directory presents the follow-
ing facts:
Countries whose Churches support Christian work in
Latin America: Canada, the United States, New Zea-
land, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Nether-
lands.
In Canada six Societies support work in Latin
America, of which three are general church Boards, two
are auxiliary woman's Societies, and one is a denomina-
tional collecting and cooperating society.
In the United States are seventy-one Societies, of which
thirty-two are general church Boards, one is an indepen-
dent women's Board, twenty-two are auxiliary women's
Societies, twelve are sending Societies not denominational
and four are cooperating Societies not denominational.
In New Zealand is one sending Society not denomina-
tional.
In England are seventeen Societies, of which five are
general denominational, five sending Societies not de-
nominational, three denominational cooperating and col-
lecting Societies, and four cooperating Societies not
denominational.
In Ireland is one denominational cooperating Society.
In Scotland are three Societies, of which one is gen-
eral denominational, one auxiliary woman's, one sending
Society not denominational.
In Wales is one sending Society, not denominational.
In the Netherlands is one cooperating and collecting
Society.
362 THE HOME BASE
Three international sending Societies.
In addition, nine Latin-American sending societies are
listed, which, of course, do not fall within the scope of
this report.
h. The Countries Occupied.
The number of supporting Societies of all kinds, ex-
cluding auxiliary women's Societies, but including co-
operating and collecting Societies, as well as those send-
ing missionaries, in relation to the countries where the
work is carried on, is stated below. This list should be
clearly differentiated from that given in the report of
Commission VHI, which includes only Societies appoint-
ing and sending missionaries.
North America
Mexico 19
Central America
British Honduras 4
Canal Zone 3
Costa Rica 4
Guatemala 7
Honduras 7
Nicaragua 4
Panama 6
Salvador 3
South America
Argentina 21
Bolivia 7
Brazil 17
British Guiana 14
Chile II
Colombia 3
Dutch Guiana 3
Equador 6
Paraguay 9
Peru 8
Uruguay 8
Venezuela 7
South America (countries not designated) . . 11
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 363
West Indies
Bahama Islands 6
Cuba 12
Haiti and Santo Domingo 8
Jamaica 13
Lesser Antilles 11
Porto Rico 17
West Indies (islands not designated) 6
Latin America (countries not designated) . . 4
2. THEIR EXPENDITURES FOR A QUARTER CENTURY
Fifty- four denominational and interdenominational
agencies were addressed for information regarding ap-
propriations made and other facts relating to missionary
work among Latin-American peoples. Of this number
forty-seven responded.
The statistics below include all of the larger organiza-
tions and show the increasing interest in missionary work
among Latin Americans in five-year periods.
1889-1894 $ 3,659,858.23
1894-1899 3,290,116.39
1899-1904 4,029,533.19
1904-1909 6,976,856.71
1909-1914 10,565,000.05
Only five Societies increased their appropriations each
five-year period since 1889. All the other Societies have
fluctuated in their gifts. The appropriations were larger
in the period 1 889-1 894 than during the following period.
The third period shows an advance over either of the two
previous periods, which is due to the inauguration of
work in Cuba and Porto Rico about 1900. During the
last two periods there has been a striking advance, due
to natural expansion and increasing interest.
Here follow some of the replies expressing the general
tendency in making appropriations : "Appropriations in-
crease with expansion of work." "Appropriations in-
creased or decreased according to the amount of income;
would double the appropriation if we had the money to
364 THE HOME BASE
do so." "The tendency is to recognize more adequately
the obligation to evangelize these neighboring lands." In
nearly all cases appropriations are based upon the reports
of the needs of the field.
Evangelistic work is emphasized by nearly every So-
ciety. Forty-seven organizations are also pressing edu-
cational work vigorously. Literary, medical, and indus-
trial work are receiving little attention.
In 1914 the expenditures of twenty-four of the North
American Societies as having furnished satisfactorily
analyzed reports, were as follows :
Salaries $ 541,277.68
Support of native work 475,586.26
Evangelistic work 247,996.34
Work among unevangelized Indians. . . 168,904.00
New property and school buildings. . . . 121,970.78
Special work 63,312.14
Medical work 53,175.00
Literary work 19,857.00
Industrial work 9,730.00
$1,701,809.20
Because of the manner in which funds are distributed
in the fields, it is difficult for treasurers to provide reliable
statistics on the more detailed expenditures on the field.
While these statistics are far from accurate because
they account for only a portion of the expenditures of
North American Societies, yet they show the general ten-
dency in distribution of funds among the major forms of
missionary endeavor.
The Commission presents in Appendix B a table show-
ing appropriations of thirty-seven North American Socie-
ties for work in Latin America (including those of the
nine foremost denominations, the American Bible So-
ciety, and the Young Men's Christian Association) whose
appropriations for 1913-14 are given in the preceding
table in the last full year for which statistics were avail-
able, this table including a relatively small amount for
work among Latin Americans within continental United
States. The total thus tabulated is $2,090,563.
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 365
3. SUPPORT BY INDIVIDUALS
Any study of supporting agencies in relation to any
mission field with extensive missionary institutions would
be incomplete without reference to the interest and prac-
tical cooperation of individual men and women. Inquiry
was made by the Commission to learn the initial causes
of such individual participation, the relationships sus-
tained by donors and friends of this character to estab-
lished work of denominational or other missionary
Societies, and the results of their devotion. The inquiry
was made among a number of individuals who are well
known for their interest in the support of Christian work
in Latin-American lands. Some were reluctant to re-
spond ; others answered in a general way as to their
interest. A number of facts have been brought to light,
however, touching upon the beginnings or causes of the
interest of individuals in Latin-American lands. These
facts seem to indicate that in a majority of cases the
determining factor may be traced to a visit to some Latin-
American field. The three cases used as illustrations
harmonize fully in emphasizing the importance of enlist-
ing the personal interest and the financial cooperation of
individuals through established and responsible Societies
in support of lines of missionary effort directly super-
vised by regularly appointed missionaries, or by author-
ized native Christian leaders of the people in association
with the missionaries. Under such conditions, the Com-
mission commends the wise plan followed by these donors
and Societies, as worthy of general adoption as an
agency supplementary to the giving by Christians in gen-
eral through church offerings.
One donor who is devoting much timic and money to
work in Central America dates the beginning of his in-
terest in that particular field to a visit made by him, in
company with one of the secretaries of the Board of his
denomination, to Guatemala. The secretary had pre-
viously outlined for him the possibilities of missionary
effort in that country, and with him later made a journey
for personal investigation. The result has been that this
friend has himself become an authority upon all phases
366 THE HOME BASE
of Christian work in Guatemala, and because of this ac-
tual knowledge of conditions has been able to arouse in
the minds of others a hearty response in behalf of the
mission and its activities.
Another who is contributing very largely to work in
Colombia, writes that his interest in South America dates
from fifteen years ago when, on a visit to Jamaica, he
met a gentleman living there who was interested in busi-
ness in Colombia. He writes : "As a result of this friend-
ship I became associated with him in the business enter-
prise. It was mutually agreed, however, that we did
not wish to take upon ourselves the cares and responsi-
bilities involved in entering into business in a country like
Colombia, ignorant of the gospel, without carrying on
missionary work in the locality where the business was
located." He writes further that this experience has con-
vinced him of the wisdom of the plan he has followed, for
the people have responded and a most encouraging work
is now being done.
A visit to Cuba on the part of a leading layman of one
of the larger denominations in the year 1903, has led to
a marked development of mission work there, as a result
of his interest. He began by providing funds for five
chapels and for the support of five Cuban workers. His
aid has been applied through the home mission
Society of his denomination. He has kept in touch with
the work so supported through that Board, having him-
self visited the field but once. He gives this personal
testimony: "What led me to become interested was that
I had often heard of this cut-off district east of the moun-
tain range, with a population of about 25,000 and no
Protestant force to help them. I promised to finance the
whole undertaking for a year. I have never had a place
to stop and have invested to date about $39,000 in the
work in eastern Cuba." This friend of Latin America is
also largely interested in missions in the Orient. It
should be noted particularly that this donor adopted the
only wise course in applying his gifts. That is, he en-
trusted the administration of the work to the Society
without limitation.
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 3^7
4. THE GREAT INTERDENOMINATIONAL AGENCIES
a. The Bible Societies.
The British and Foreign Bible Society took advan-
tage very early in the nineteenth century of vessels sail-
ing across the Atlantic to the South American countries
and sent therein shipments of Scriptures to these lands.
Mr. James Thomson later travelled extensively in Latin
America, interesting the people in the circulation of the
Scriptures. At Bogota, in 1825, a Colombian Bible So-
ciety was formed at a meeting attended by the Roman
Catholic clergy and laity. From that day to the present
the British and Foreign Bible Society has had extensive
interests throughout South America and in the West In-
dies. Very early in its history, the American Bible
Society utilized in a similar way the services of Chris-
tian travellers and merchants in the introduction of the
Scriptures into Latin America. But these sporadic at-
tempts proved unsatisfactory, and both Societies during
the nineteenth century established regular agencies with
depots and staffs of workers to minister systematically
to the needs of these countries. The British and Foreign
Bible Society has at present four agencies in South
America and the West Indies, and the American Bible
Society has six agencies covering all the Latin-Amer-
ican world.
h. The World's Sunday School Association.
The interdenominational promotion of Sunday-school
work in Latin America has been undertaken by the
American section of the World's Sunday School Asso-
ciation. Its policies are adopted after conference with
representatives of the mission Boards at the home base,
and are put into effect in the fields occupied by its agents
under the supervision of an interdenominational commit-
tee representing the missions doing work within the
field.
Beginning with February i, 1915, the World's Sunday
School Association undertook the support of a secretary
for South America, the Rev. George P. Howard of
368 THE HOME BASE
Montevideo, who is to devote one-half his time to this
special form of service.
The countries of Mexico, Central America and the
West Indies were similarly served by the International
Sunday School Association, with headquarters in Chi-
cago.
Historically, the development of Sunday-school work
in Latin America on an interdenominational basis began
with the appointment of a special committee of the In-
ternational Sunday School Association for the West
Indies and South America, in 1905. A commission vis-
ited the West Indies and British Guiana in 1906. Later
a secretary for these fields was appointed. In 191 1, a
special representative of the World's Association inves-
tigated Sunday-school conditions in Peru, Chile, Argen-
tina and Brazil. In 1913, at the Zurich Convention a spe-
cial Sunday-school commission on Latin America pre-
sented a report covering the entire territory represented
in the Panama Congress. In 1914, a Sunday-school sec-
retary for Latin America was appointed to begin service
in the field in 1916. In January, 1915, a deputation vis-
ited eleven countries of South America to plan for future
development of Sunday-school literature, organization
and training.
The recorded Sunday-school membership for South
America for the year 191 3, is as follows:
Argentina 6,685
Bolivia 455
Brazil 21,448
British Guiana 21,938
Chile 8,838
Colombia 413
Dutch Guiana 1,802
Ecuador 158
Paraguay 314
Peru 911
Uruguay 1,757
Venezuela 167
Total .64,886
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 3^9
c. The Committee on the Religious Needs of Anglo-
American Communities.
In 1904, the twelfth Foreign Missions Conference
of North America appointed a committee on the
religious needs of Anglo-American communities in
the mission fields. After submitting a report in 1905, a
standing committee of the conference was organized,
through which cooperation has been given to mission
churches serving Anglo-Saxon residents in port cities.
This cooperation has consisted of aid given in the selec-
tion of ministers, appropriations made toward salaries
and travelling expenses of pastors, and grants or loans
for the provision of suitable places of worship. In 191 1
the committee recommended a pastor to the union church
in Mexico City, and cooperated further by making grants
toward travelling expenses, and to the church budget for
a short period in 1914. The committee has assisted the
Canal Zone Union Church in Panama by recommending
an assistant pastor in 191 5. A directory called "Tourist
Guide to Latin A_merica" was issued in the year 191 5, an
edition of 10,000 copies having been distributed without
charge to travellers in the lands of Latin America. It
was placed on the principal passenger-carrying steam-
ships and in leading religious centers in the cities of
Latin America that are most commonly visited by tour-
ists. The directory has been warmly welcomed and has
proved very useful to hundreds of travellers. In addi-
tion to listing the services in English and the principal
missionary institutions in operation, it contains brief
chapters on "Criticizing Missions," "Financing Mis-
sions," "The Land," "The People," "The Need." The
half-tone illustrations in the booklet were loaned by eight
different missionary agencies, while the material was
supplied by missionaries of all denominations through-
out the territory covered.
The expenditures for Latin America of this committee
to date have been as follows: Mexico City, 191 1, $500;
1914, $100; 191 5 (estimated), $600. Rio de Janeiro,
19 14, travelling expenses of pastor and wife, $513 ; sal-
ary, $800; cable messages, $11.
370 TITE HOME BASE
In many of the port cities on both the east and the
west coast of South America, as well as in Central
America and the West Indies, the Church of England
maintains chaplaincies to minister to the spiritual needs
of English-speaking residents.
d. The American Seamen's Friend Society.
The grants of this Society to seamen's missions in
Latin America, all for chaplains' salaries, from April i,
1890 to April I, 191 5, in five-year periods, have been as
follows: 1890-1895, $9,550; 1895-1900, $10,000; 1900-
1905. $7,500; 1905-1910, $5,637; 1910-1915, $2,475.
No appropriations were made in the years 1913-1914
and 1914-15. The Society is now considering a proposal
to reopen connection with the seamen's work at Rio de
Janeiro. It is also considering an application for new
work in the Panama Canal zone.
5. AGENCIES PROMOTING THE WELFARE OF LATIN-AMERI-
CAN STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
In 1915, well-informed friends of Latin America esti-
mated that there were 2,000 students in the universities,
colleges, professional schools and other educational in-
stitutions of the United States and Canada from twenty
Latin-American countries, including Mexico, the West
Indies, Central and South America. These students
were resident in at least sixty-four institutions.
In common with students in the United States
and Canada from other foreign lands, these ambi-
tious and gifted men appreciate to the full genuine
friendship of Christian people, and the fellowship of
Christian homes and institutions. They seek an educa-
tion for the sake of service in their respective lands, and
when returning to their respective countries, interpret in
daily conversation and life those experiences that have
made deepest impression upon them. They come from
the wealthy and influential families and return to become
leaders in commerce and the professions, and captains of
industry. The value of their establishing friendly rela-
tions with those who represent the noblest standards
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 37i
in the educational, social and moral life of the countries
in which they have temporary residences cannot be over-
estimated. The opening days of their student careers are
a period of special opportunity for true friends to give
them thoughtful attention. To bring them into i;:ontact
with vital Christianity when they first come will help
them to form such habits as will enable them to stand
firm against the special temptations to which they are
exposed, when they return to their own countries. At
present they must meet these without the help of a free
Church and a living Christ. An efiicient Christian lead-
ership, men of reality of vision and of large faitU:, needs
to be recruited and prepared for Latin Amerfca. An
unfavorable impression made upon the students will make
it the more difficult to win them after they return home.
Unsympathetic treatment is not forgotten. On the other
hand, if they are treated with sympathy, they will return
favorable to Christian work.
The coming of Latin-American students to the uni-
versities of North America and Europe offers an oppor-
tunity to the Christian leaders to help these students to
realize that effective and practical work for the moral life
of a people can be done only by m.en who live and pro-
claim Christ. The students of North America and Eu-
rope can never hope to become as effixient propagators
of the gospel in Latin America as will the Latin Ameri-
cans themselves.
Among the helpful agencies contributing to the wants
and needs of Latin-American students in the United
States are the Corda Fratres and Cosmopolitan Clubs;
Chambers of Commerce and commercial clubs ; the Pan
American Union ; the Pan-A.merican division of the
American Association for International Conciliation;
''Uniones" ; ''Fraternidades" ; the World's Student Chris-
tian Federation; the Student and Foreign Departments
of the Young Men's Christian Association ; and the Com-
mittee to Promote Friendly Relations among Foreign
Students.
The Corda Fratres, an international society of students,
and the Cosmopolitan Clubs, organizations of foreign stu-
372 THE HOME BASE
dents in North American universities and colleges, have
probably done more than any other institutions to make
Latin-American students better acquainted not only v^ith
the North American students, but with students of all
nations studying in the United States. These clubs send
out catalogues and information about schools, provide
students with facts about boarding-houses, establish con-
tacts between the students and the faculty, keep lists of
all foreign students, cultivate friendly relations among
them and in other ways meet the needs and wants of the
Latin Americans. The Pan-American division of the
American Association for International Conciliation, with
the cooperation of the Carnegie Peace Foundation, is
working along lines of cultivating friendly relations
among the students who come to the United States. The
Pan American Union at Washington, D. C, under the
directorship of the Hon. John Barrett and Sefior Fran-
cisco J. Yanes, publishes and disseminates a great deal
of information for the benefit of the Latin-American stu-
dents and also does much' to educate the North Ameri-
can students regarding these countries. Much of this
literature is distributed free both in the United States and
in Latin America. The Chambers of Commerce and
commercial clubs in the United States have begun to
facilitate investigations by Latin-American students.
The North American Student, the Cosmopolitan Stu-
dent, the Student World, the Bidletin of the Pan Ameri-
can Union, Las Americas, the South American, The
Americas, the World Outlook, Foreign Mail, El Cardc-
ter, Amiga da Mocidade do Brasil, and other general
and denominational periodicals, publish from time to time
helpful articles relating to Latin-American students. Such
literature as "South American Problems," by Dr. Robert
E. Speer, "Report of Committee on Preparation of Mis-
sionaries to Latin America," "Christian Pan-American-
ism," by P. A. Conard, "A Demonstration of World
Brotherhood," by E. T. Colton, "Report of the World's
Student Christian Federation Conference at Lake Mo-
honk, 1913," Dr. Browning's pamphlet on Latin America,
"Revista Homiletica," by Dr. Eric Lund; and "Impre-
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 373
siones de los Estados Unidos," by Dr. Abeledo, call for
special attention.
The Student Department of the Young Men's Chris-
tian Association and the Committee to Promote Friendly
Relations among Foreign Students have been the most
aggressive of all movements in Christian activities among
Latin-American students in the United States. The
friends of these and other agencies have sought by many
lines of service and comradeship to help Latin-American
students in hours of need, to introduce them to Christian
homes and influence, to bring them together from many
Latin-American lands for mutual acquaintance, and to
guide them to the best in the national life. Wherever
Latin-American students are found, Christian leaders are
able, by similar activities, to show kindness and to win
friends for the cause of future Christian work through-
out Latin Am.erica.
6. METHODS EMPLOYED TO PROMOTE PRAYER FOR
LATIN-AMERICAN MISSIONS
Investigations of the various methods employed to
promote prayer for mnssions in Latin-American coun-
tries revealed conditions not far different from those per-
taining to other fields of missionary activity. The re-
ports indicate that while general emphasis is laid on the
need of prayer in missionary periodicals and regular mis-
sionary publications, many Societies have not in the past
provided specifically or adequately for the guidance of
the churches in intercession for Latin-American peoples
and for missions among them. Correspondence to this
end has led, however, to a deeper interest in the matter,
and in some cases to a declaration of purpose to make
special effort to enlist Christian people in prayer for the
Congress and more frequently and regularly thereafter
for missionaries, for their Latin- American associates, and
for their work in the Latin-American countries of North,
Central and South America and the West Indies. The
Commission believes that the example of the few So-
cieties that have hitherto made special effort to enlist
374 THE HOME BASE
prayer for these fields should be followed by every So-
ciety at work in any one of them.
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions publishes annually a prayer calendar with ob-
jects of prayer for each day of the year. Nine days are
given to Mexico. Missionaries are mentioned by name,
and attention is called to the general needs of missions
in Mexico.
The Congregational Woman's Missionary Federation
issues a prayer calendar in which two weeks are devoted
to Porto Rico, and three and one-half weeks to Chris-
tian schools for Latin Americans in New Mexico and
Florida. Individual schools with their problems and
needs are mentioned. Both of these Congregational calen-
dars have fairly wide use. In addition, special appeals
for prayer for Mexico, and less frequently for coun-
tries in South America, have been made in the Missionary
Herald and the Congregationalist. Both of these periodi-
cals have a wide circulation among Congregationalists.
The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the
Protestant Episcopal Church issues leaflets on missions
in Haiti, the Canal Zone, Cuba, Porto Rico, Brazil, Mex-
ico and New Mexico, in which prayers appear. A book
of general prayers for missions has wide use as also a
litany for missions. The Church Prayer League issues
a quarterly leaflet of intercessions and thanksgivings for
missions, each containing sixteen pages. In each quar-
terly leaflet there is material for each day of the week
(seven sections in all), the arrangement for each day be-
ing under the heads ''Consideration," 'Thanksgiving,"
"Prayer." The material for each day of the week bears
upon one of the missionary districts of the Protestant
Episcopal Church. The text is annotated with quotations
from letters, addresses, periodicals and books. Each of
the seven fields of work among Latin Americans has
been assigned space in the quarterly leaflets of one day
a week for three months. This Society plans soon to
publish a small leaflet of prayers for each country.
The Central Committee of Presbyterian Women for
Foreign Missions (U. S. A.), representing six woman's
PRESENT ACTIVITIES 375
Boards, issues annually a Year Book of Prayer for For-
eign Missions in which the entire month of November is
devoted to prayer for Latin America. The names of mis-
sionaries of the Board of Foreign Missions and of the
Women's Boards are mentioned. At the heading of both
the South American and Mexican sections a map is given
showing mission stations with strategic facts regarding
work in the respective countries. This Year Book has
an annual circulation of 17,000.
In like manner the Woman's Board of Home Missions
of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.) issues a prayer
calendar annually. For 191 6 the month of May is de-
voted to prayer for the work and workers in Cuba and
Porto Rico, and the month of November to the Alexican
work and workers in the United States. Maps of Cuba
and Porto Rico illustrate the text.
The Presbyterian Department of Missionary Education
connected with the same group of mission Boards has
published a weekly prayer cycle on Mexico and another
on South America. Copies of these are sent out for dis-
tribution among mission study classes studying the re-
spective countries, and an effort is made to promote united
prayer through the members of these classes. On the
back of the cycle for Mexico appears the map of that
country with the mission stations indicated. A similar
map for Mexico and Guatemala appears on the back of
the cycle for these fields.
The Mission Board of the Christian Church has issued
and distributed among thousands two leaflets for the pro-
motion of prayer for missions, in which the work of that
Communion in Latin fields is noted, with the names of
missionaries and their native associates.
The Woman's Missionary Union of the Southern Bap-
tist Convention has recently issued a calendar of monthly
missionary topics for prayer and study, in which three
topics weekly are on Latin America. The same agency
has published a special prayer calendar in which the
month of February of 1916 is reserved for prayer for
Latin America in all the churches. Other Societies con-
template similar publications.
376 THE HOME BASE
Three Societies report the existence of leagues of
prayer for missions. These Societies communicate by
letter or printed page from time to time calls to prayer in
which specific needs and workers are mentioned. Such
leagues are known to exist among Congregationalists
under the auspices of the American Board of Commis-
sioners for Foreign Missions, the Northern Baptist Con-
vention under the leadership of the Department of Mis-
sionary Education, and the Board of Foreign Missions
of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
CHAPTER IV
METHODS AND MEANS NOW EMPLOYED IN
DEVELOPING AN INTEREST IN
LATIN AMERICA
Since a correct estimate of measures required to ex-
tend Christian work in Latin America must rest upon
knowledge of methods now in use, the Commission has
made extensive investigations of present home base ac-
tivities, the results of which are here presented.
I. IN THE REGULAR ACTIVITIES OF LOCAL CONGREGATIONS
a. Sermons and Addresses on Latin America.
Little information has been available regarding the ex-
tent to which the claims of Latin America are being pre-
sented in sermons and addresses to the home constituency
of any denomination. Correspondence with secretaries
of Boards and with pastors, however, indicates that there
has been a growing tendency to emphasize Latin Amer-
ica from the pulpits, in platform addresses before large
gatherings and conventions, and in conferences of various
kinds through addresses of board secretaries and mission-
aries. One secretary devoted a good part of a recent
tour to addresses upon "The Claims of South American
Work." Another secretary writes that this method is also
being followed as a regular part of the work of the
Board which he represents. Some pastors have given
brief courses or sermons upon various phases of work in
Z77
378 THE HOME BASE
Latin America, devoting several Sundays to this presen-
tation, and numerous addresses have been given in many
parts of the country 1his year by missionaries who were
compelled to return home from Mexico.
The general situation may be summed up correctly, if
one may judge from the meagre reports received, in the
following quotation from a man who has himself made a
special study of Latin America and who is doing all in
bis power to bring its claim to the attention of the North
American churches : "There have been very few ad-
dresses on Latin America by ministers and officers of
Boards and by missionaries at home on furlough, in our
Communion. A number of our missionaries in Mexico
have done quite a little in starting up interest, but as to
the continent of South America, not much work has been
done. There is an expectant interest among some of our
leaders regarding work in South America, but it has not
become vital and active."
h. The Use of Literature and Church Papers.
The record of the use of literature dealing with the
Latin- American situation is more hopeful. A secretary in
charge of literature in one of the Boards writes : ''We
send out news items each month to all of the religious
papers of the country, including Sunday-school and mis-
sionary papers. We also make a limited use of printed
matter, in order to keep contributors advised of the prog-
ress of the work in various fields."
A correspondent of the Foreign Mission Board of the
Southern Baptist Convention writes : "In our literature
we try to emphasize Latin America just as we do other
fields. Literature on this subject is not adequate. We
use our Foreign Mission Journal, our weekly church
papers, speciah tracts, and the mission study text-books
on Latin America. The special book on our work in
Brazil has created quite a lively interest in our work
in that country. I think, taking it as a whole, interest
in Latin America is increasing very decidedly."
Several of the Boards report that although they have
prepared a large amount of literature during the last few
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 379
years on the work in Latin America, very few requests
have been received for this Hterature except during the
last year. One Board has issued a new ''Envelope
Series" pamphlet on Mexico that has had a good circu-
lation. Another Board reports that some of its leaflets
on Latin America have had the widest possible circu-
lation.
Latin America has by no means received the presenta-
tion it has deserved in church papers and in other re-
ligious journals. One secretary writes: "There have
been only occasional articles in our church papers," and
an editor of one of the most widely read religious papers
in North America makes this confession : 'T cannot re-
call that we have printed recently a contributed article
on South America. That is, however, not because we do
not want to print anything on South America ; we have
not had the chance to refuse a South American article."
The editor of the Missionary Reviezv of the World re-
ports that for some months he has been endeavoring to
secure articles on missions in Latin America. He adds
that he has written numerous letters to travellers, to
missionaries and to South American Christians but has
found it difficult to obtain the articles desired. A most
effective presentation of mission needs and achievements
in South America, contained in a recent issue of World
Outlook, illustrated one type of treatment of Christian
work in Latin America calculated to influence a reading
constituency not familiar with the regular missionary
magazines.
Many of the women's missionary magazines are devot-
ing special articles to the different countries in Latin
America, recommending their use as a basis for discus-
sions in women's societies during the particular months
when Latin-American lands are given special considera-
tion.
c. In Meetings for Conference and Prayer.
Few churches reported. Some have had a course
of study in prayer-meetings on "The Claims and Needs
of Latin America." Others have taken up in successive
38o THE HOME BASE
weeks different parts of the Latin-American world, treat-
ing the subject through special papers, brief addresses,
discussions, etc. Many leading pastors have neglected
the subject entirely in their prayer-meetings. Some pas-
tors have spent much time and thought on the subject
and have invited visitors and returned missionaries from
Latin-American fields to give addresses at their prayer-
meetings and to hold conferences with their members.
This method, however, has not been widely used.
d. In Mission Study Classes.
Reports are variable. A secretary of one of the
leading mission Boards writes : "We have never had a
text-book on Mexico or on the Latin-American field as
a whole. Probably general interest would not be great
enough to make such a book a success. However, it is
not at all unlikely that after the Panama Congress, mis-
sion study classes on Mexico will be suggested and even
pushed in some quarters."
Another denomination makes wide use of the text-
books issued by the Missionary Education Movement,
entitled "Advance in the Antilles," dealing with the work
in the islands of Porto Rico and Cuba, and "Mexico To-
day."
One of the leading Boards reports that although it has
spent much time and thought in emphasizing the claims
of Latin America through addresses, literature and con-
ferences, Latin America has not been emphasized in any
special way from the standpoint of Christian education.
The most hopeful report that can be made is that the
Missionary Education Movement and the various mis-
sion Boards are planning a united missionary educa-
tional program for 1916-17 designed to bring to the
North American churches a realization of their responsi-
bility toward the whole problem of mission work in
Latin America.
e. In Sunday Schools and Young People's Societies.
It has been quite difficult to arouse the Sunday
schools to their responsibility toward Latin America.
Here and there individuals who have had the matter on
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 381
their hearts have devoted themselves unceasingly and
tirelessly to work among the Sunday schools of different
denominations, to remedy the existing conditions. One
woman has succeeded in enlisting the Sunday schools of
an entire district in the support of work at Santiago,
Chile, and through her own efforts has issued leaflets
from time to time for distribution among the Sunday
schools. Such schools have been slow to respond to ap-
peals from Latin America, largely because it has been
felt that Latin America was not a mission field in the
same sense as is the Orient. During the past year, how-
ever, many Sunday schools heretofore unmindful of the
claims of Latin America have taken a new interest in
this work.
The United Society of- Christian Endeavor has pro-
vided in its list of topics special programs on Latin
America, and many young peoples' societies have recently
welcomed missionaries from South America and Mexico
to their regular meetings.
In some of the denominations young peoples' societies
in a given district are supporting missionaries at work
in South America or in Mexico. Many of them are also
contributing to various forms of work in which special
interest has been aroused.
/. In the Women's Missionary Societies.
The women's Boards seem to have been more fully
alive to the needs of Latin America, in many instances,
than are many of the other agencies now at work among
the Churches. This statement is borne out by the fol-
lowing quotation from a letter received from one of the
most active of the church Boards : "Two of our women's
Boards have made a good deal of Mexico's work, far
more than the general Board has. Consequently, the
women of our local churches, apart from those branches
that are called upon to support the women's educational
work in Mexico, have for many years been cultivated by
the women's Boards and have listened to missionary ad-
dresses, on behalf of work in Latin America. In fact,
I suppose that most of the interest in Mexico among our
382 THE HOME BASE
constituency up to the present time, has been generated
by the women's Boards among the women's missionary
societies within the local churches." This tribute to the
work of the women can doubtless be corroborated in the
experiences of many other denominations. The women's
Boards, by means of specially prepared programs, dis-
cussions, articles and leaflets, have kept the members of
their societies relatively well informed as to Latin
America.
2. IN DENOMINATIONAL CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS
The methods employed in denominational conferences
and conventions for the development of interest in Latin
America vary greatly, and interest in these countries
varies considerably in degree.
One Board secretary says: "These interests have re-
ceived some measure of consideration, although over-
shadowed by work of a larger bulk." Another says,
"The only method for the development of interest is an
occasional address. The addresses are of a general
nature and are not as thorough as they should be. In
spite of this, however, I have found a growing interest
in Latin America among our churches, and some of our
laymen have recently made trips to that country. I be-
lieve that if the Commission could suggest to the
churches any worthy method it would be quite readily
accepted."
Among the Boards having the most extensive work in
Latin America (notably, the Southern Baptist, Metho-
dist Episcopal and Presbyterian), the claims of Latin
America receive more extensive consideration. In the
general gatherings of these bodies, the missionaries from
Latin-American lands are given the same opportunity
to represent their fields as are the missionaries from other
lands. Any apparent discrepancy in the presentation of
the Latin- American fields is due to the fact that the num-
ber of missionaries to these countries is smaller than to
the pagan mission fields.
In the meetings of these Boards due and pro-
portionate consideration is given to the budget, to the
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 383
reports from these fields and to representation on the
part of returned missionaries. Many of the Boards have
provision on the order of business ''for the presentation
of missionaries/' and whenever one of the missionaries
from Latin America is in this country on furlough, these
Boards see to it that he has an opportunity of speaking
at one of the sessions of the Board.
Nearly all the women's Boards report that they feel
their work of public presentation in conventions and con-
ferences of the interests of Latin-American countries is
inadequate. Several of them say that they have not pre-
sented the real problem of the Latin fields, nor have they
given complete pictures of life in these lands as they
have done for that in other fields. Curios and pictures
and general literature have been harder to obtain. They
all express eagerness for other literature, especially
books for mission study and general reference dealing
with Latin America.
The Commission has not discovered that general de-
nominational conventions, aside from purely missionary
gatherings under mission Board auspices, have been ex-
tensively used for the presentation of Christian work in
Latin America or of that in other mission fields. On the
contrary, it seems true that the programs of ecclesiastical
conventions and conferences, whether national, state or
district, as a rule are taken up largely with discussions
not contributing directly to the spread of missionary in-
telligence, the promotion of intercession for missions, and
other forms of devotion through gifts and personal ser-
vice. There are many lines of Christian effort to be con-
sidered in ecclesiastical gatherings, and many demands
for recognition of speakers and causes. The Commis-
sion holds, however, that the churches properly live not
unto themselves, and that inasmuch as the Christian
work in the countries of Latin America and other lands is
not the possession of "Boards," but rather of the
churches and their individual members, the repre-
sentative meetings of the churches should more largely
be used to develop and direct missionary intelligence,
384 THE HOME BASE
prayer, sacrificial giving and personal service among
their members.
3. THE laymen's missionary MOVEMENT
It is the plan of this Movement in its conventions and
conferences, to include one speaker on the subject of
Christian work in Latin America. One of the well-
known wall charts published for use by laymen in the
churches, illustrating great unoccupied fields of the
world, presents the needs of Latin America. Articles on
Latin America also appear from time to time in Men and
Missions, the interdenominational monthly missionary
magazine published for use by Christian laymen.
4. THE MISSIONARY EDUCATION MOVEMENT
In the effort to promote the missionary education of
old and young alike, in the Churches of the United
States and Canada, this Movement works in close co-
operation with and through the denominational Societies.
a. Its Sei^en Missionary Summer Conferences.
These are held annually in the United States, and
three in Canada, for the training of workers for mission-
ary leadership in all departments of local church work.
Mission study classes, addresses, exhibits of literature
and personal conversation with missionaries, all dealing
w4th Christian work in Latin America, are agencies that
have been employed in these conferences to provide in-
terest in Latin-American countries. Except in years
when text-books have been issued on Christian work in
Latin America, the programs of summer conferences
have not included as many addresses and classes for
training on Latin- American subjects, in proportion to
the scope of the work in these fields, as on other coun-
tries. This has been due in part to lack of demand by
the Boards for treatment of this subject, and in part to
the smaller number of speakers and teachers available
who have been familiar with Christian work in these
fields. In the years when text-books and other litera-
ture dealing directly v/ith one or more Latin-American
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 385
countries have been made the chief books of study, the
needs of these fields have been given chief prominence in
classes and addresses. In each summer conference the
needs of Latin America for missionary service are di-
rectly presented to delegates in a position to dedicate
their lives to missionary work, along with the presenta-
tion of the needs of other fields.
b. Its Publications.
Text-books have been issued with great care for use
by all mission Boards and Churches supporting Christian
work in Latin America. The figures showing circula-
tion include distribution up to November 15, 1915: In
1909, "South America" by Neely ; circulation, 32,700. In
1910, "Advance in the Antilles," by Grose; circulation,
48,302. In 1913, "Mexico To-day," by Winton ; circu-
lation, 24,611. Reference libraries on South America of
eight volumes, and on Cuba and Porto Rico of seven
volumes have been issued, and 5,404 volumes circulated
in this way. Wall maps of South America, of Mexico
and of Cuba and Porto Rico have been published for
use in churches and homes, for missionary meetings of
all types, and for mission study classes.
c. Its Ideal of a Systematic Missionary Propaganda.
The Missionary Education Movement expresses each
year in its educational program the desires of the home
and foreign mission Boards for methods, subject mat-
ter, and types of educational material. The denomina-
tional groups that have m.ade chief use of these text-
books on Latin America, and of all collateral material,
were the following: the Methodist Episcopal, the Pres-
byterian Church in the U. S. A., the Methodist Epis-
copal, South, and the Northern Baptist Convention, in
the order named.
The ideal of the Missionary Education Movement and
of the educational departments of the mission Boards is
to induce the churches generally to undertake a program
of missionary instruction and training each year that will
include study, prayer, giving and service on an ever-in-
creasing scale. The ultimate goal of a graded curricu-
386 THE HOME BASE
lum for all ages and agencies, from youngest to adult
life, and also a comprehensive subject matter is in view.
The fact that as yet the average church, undertaking in
any serious way the study of Christian missions, is con-
tent to study but one subject explains in large measure
the fluctuation from year to year in the use of literature
on a specific country. While it is natural that in the year
when a new book is introduced there should be a large
demand for it relatively, the best interest of all the fields
seems to justify holding to the ideal of presenting a
variety of subjects each year in every parish where two
or more groups can be associated in study. By the gen-
eral observance of this principle, the subject of Latin
America would be kept more constantly before the sup-
porters of missions on whose gifts and prayers alike
success depends.
d. A United Program of Missionary Education for
1916-17 on ''The Two Americas."
While the cooperation between the general and wo-
men's Boards in educational plans is not as complete as
in other recent years, the majority of the general Boards,
and many of the Woman's Home Missionary Societies
have already agreed to use the subject of "The Two
Americas" in the year following the summer of 1916.
The coming text-book of the Council of Women for
Home Missions is entitled "Old Spain in New Amer-
ica." The author is the Rev. Robert McLean, D.D.
(i) Forces Uniting. — The Missionary Education
Movement has undertaken the executive leadership of
the program in whose promotion it is hoped all mission
Boards having work in Latin America will participate.
The Council of Women for Home Missions federating
the Woman's Home Missionary Societies of the United
States is heartily engaged in a similar effort to promote
the use of the program among the women of the
churches.
(2) Purpose of the Program. — The primary object
5s the intelligent enlistment of the church members, old
and young, throughout the United States, and to a con-
siderable extent in Canada, in sympathetic and systematic
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 387
study of Christian work in Latin America and of the
peoples and spiritual needs of these lands, in order to in-
crease the volume of prayer and gifts for the mainte-
nance of the work, to multiply the number of the volun-
teers for service in Latin America, and to strengthen all
the bonds of fellowship and good-will that should exist
between the peoples of ''The Two Americas."
(3) The Text-hooks Available. — For the use of
mission study classes, in addition to the three books for
adults and young people already in print, two new books
will be published in the spring of 191 6 by the Missionary
Education Movement; one on South America by Bishop
H. C. Stuntz, and the other on the home missionary as-
pects of "The Two Americas" program, by the Rev. John
M. Moore of the Board of Home Missions of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church, South. These books will be for
interdenominational use. There will be continued use of
reference libraries covering the fields of Cuba, Porto
Rico and South America. Missionary programs for
evening church services and mid-week prayer-meetings
based on the new text-books will be issued. Separate
programs for Sunday schools will contain complete ma-
terial for use in stimulating the intelligent devotion of
children and young people of all ages. A new inter-
denominational stereopticon lecture will be prepared for
use in the autumn and winter of 1916-17 on Christian
work in Latin America. Sets of these lectures will be
placed in about ten depository cities so located throughout
the United States as to be easily available. Emphasis
will be laid in all literature upon prayer for Latin America
and for the Christian forces at work in Latin-American
countries as the most important method of work.
(4) Special Denominational Literature. — In order to
present the facts about their own missions in Latin
America with fullness, the Episcopal Board of Missions
will issue for use in 1916-17 a text-book for adults to be
entitled The New World^ by the Rev. Arthur R. Gray,
and the Presbyterian Board a similar book to be entitled
The Living Christ for Latin America^ by the Rev. J. H.
McLean.
Now available.
388 THE HOME BASE
(5) Publicity Methods, — Printed announcements will,
as usual, be distributed by the mission Boards to all
the churches. Denominational and interdenominational
summer conference programs will introduce the literature
to the chosen leaders and will secure wide publicity in
many communities and through many religious agencies.
The program will be announced generally in conven-
tions and institutes, in missionary magazines, and in the
daily and weekly general and religious papers and maga-
zines. The plan also calls for the preparation and publi-
cation of articles on important subjects connected with
the countries of Latin America, and with Christian work
in them, in selected general magazines, as well as in the
denominational monthly missionary periodicals.
5. THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE ON UNITED STUDY OF
FOREIGN MISSIONS
Acting for the women's Boards of foreign missions in
promotion of the study of Christian missions since the
year 1900, this committee in 1909 published ''The Gospel
in Latin Lands," by Dr. and Mrs. Francis E. Clark. The
number of copies circulated is 60,000. Speakers from
South America and Mexico have given addresses in sum-
mer schools for women of the churches conducted by
the Central Committee.
6. THE COUNCIL OF WOMEN FOR HOME MISSIONS
This interdenominational committee federates the
woman's home missionary Societies of the United States
for united study and action. It has given Latin-Ameri-
can subjects a prominent place in its summer school ])ro-
grams, its community institutes and its extensive litera-
ture for study in classes and meetings of local woman's
home missionary societies. Books published by this Com-
mittee dealing exclusively or in part with Latin- Ameri-
can subjects are as follows : "Under our Flag," "The
Call of the Waters," "Indian and Spanish Neighbors"
and "Home Missions in Action." The book for use in
1916-17 in connection with the united program on "The
Two Americas" will deal with Latin Americans in the
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 389
United States and will be entitled "Old Spain in New
America." ' The author is the Rev. Robt. McLean, D.D.
The total circulation of the books issued has been be-
tween 150,000 and 200,000.
7. THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT AND THE STU-
DENT YOUNG men's and YOUNG WOMEN'S
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS
From its origin in 1886, the Student Volunteer Move-
ment has included Latin-American fields in its active
propaganda of mission study and in the enrolment of
Student Volunteers. The records of the Movement on
December 31, 1915, showed that 6,475 Student Volun-
teers had been accepted by the missionary agencies of
Canada and the United States and sent to the mission
fields. Of this number, 758 went to Latin America, as
follows : 169 to Mexico, 187 to the West Indies, and
402 to South America.
a. The Quadrennial International Conventions.
Seven international conventions have been held by the
Volunteer Movement, the first being held in 1891. In
each of these conventions, except the second, which was
held in Detroit in 1894, the needs and claims of Latin-
American countries have been presented along with the
needs and claims of other countries to which the mis-
sionary agencies of North America were sending mis-
sionaries. In addition to the general addresses on Latin
America given at these conventions, sectional con-
ferences, to consider more in detail the situation in Latin-
American countries, were held in connection with all
these conventions except the one held in Detroit in 1894.
At all these conventions the exhibits and the missionary
bibliographies published included sections on Latin Amer-
ica.
h. The Promotion of Mission Study Among Students.
Its systematic promotion among students began
early in the '90s. Emphasis has been laid on the study
of Latin America each year. One of the first books
which was actively promoted as a mission study text-
Now available.
390 THE HOME BASE
book was "South America, the Neglected Continent," by
Miss Guinness, which was used in 1894. In 1901, a
text-book on "Protestant Missions in South America,"
edited by H. P. Beach, was published and used as the
text-book for mission study classes. In 1907, a
general book on "The Continent of Opportunity," by
F. E. Clark, was recommended to mission study classes.
The book by Robert E. Speer on "South American Prob-
lems" has been widely used as a mission study text-
book since it was published in 1912. In addition to
these books, courses of study based on the "Geography
and Atlas of Protestant Missions," issued by H. P.
Beach in 1901, included studies on Latin America, and
"The Religions of the Mission Field," edited by H. P.
Beach and published in 1903, contained a chapter which
resulted in a study of the religious conditions in Latin
America. The Student Volunteer Movement has ac-
tively promoted among students six text-books issued by
the Missionary Education Movement, the Council of
Women for Home Missions and the Central Committee
on United Study of Foreign Missions.
During the last ten years a prospectus of mission study
courses recommended for students has been published
yearly. This prospectus has recommended each year
text-books on Latin America suitable for students. Sta-
tistics of mission study are available since 1904. The
records of the Movement for that year show that 12,629
students were registered in mission study classes ; of
these, 1,431 were enroled in classes studying Latin Amer-
ica, The num.ber of students enroled in Latin- American
subjects during the next nine years has varied from 441
in the year 1908-9 to 3,154 in the year 1913-14. In the
year 1914-15, 1,938 students studied Latin- American sub-
jects out of a total of 43,000. It should be remembered
that the total figures given above include the enrolment
in classes studying both home and foreign missions.
c. The Summer Conferences.
In the widely distributed summer conf*^rences for
college men conducted by the Student Department of
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 391
the International Committee of Young Men's Christian
Associations, Latin- American subjects have been included
in the curriculum of instruction. In 1912, out of fifty-five
classes in eight conferences, eight were on Latin-Ameri-
can subjects; in 1913, in nine conferences, seven out of
fifty classes ; and in 191 4, in nine conferences, six out of
sixty-one classes. Among summer conferences for col-
lege women in 1912, 1913 and 1914 the number of classes
on Latin- American subjects were respectively four out of
fifty-one ; three out of forty-five and one out of fifty-one.
d. Articles in the Student Religious Press.
In The Student Volunteer from 1894 to 1897 only a
few studies, book reviews and programs for meetings re-
lating to Latin America appeared. In The Intercollegian
from 1899 to 1 9 12, and in The North American Stu-
dent for 1913 and 1914 fourteen articles, eight reviews,
four programs for meetings, three editorials and two
miscellaneous notices on Latin- American subjects ap-
peared, which is as much space as was given to any
other great field.
e. The Volunteers Who Went to Latin America.
The following table of all missionaries sent to Latin-
American countries by missionary Societies of the United
States and Canada has been compiled from the records
of the Student Volunteer Movement :
Total Sent Sent to
Year to all Countries Latin America
1907 554 98
1908 663 159
1909 611 91
1910 642 90
1911 880 153
1912 814 133
1913 485 76
1914 516 62
/. The Conferences of Volunteer Unions.
At the district and state conferences held under the
auspices of the Student Volunteer Movement conducted
392 THE HOME BASE
in different parts of the United States and Canada, ad-
dresses have been given on Latin America whenever mis-
sionaries at hom^ on furlough from these countries have
been available. No data are available to show how much
attention has been given to Latin America at these gather-
ings. It is probable that fewer addresses have been given
on Latin-American than on other mission fields, this being
due primarily to the fact that missionaries from Latin
America were not available.
g. College Student Missionary Meetings.
The Student Volunteer and The Intercollegian published
suggestions as to monthly missionary meetings. These
suggestions occasionally recommended Latin-American
countries as the topics for these monthly meetings. The
pamphlet entitled ''The Missionary Department of the
Student Association" also recommends that Latin-
American countries be studied in these monthly mission-
ary meetings. Latin-American countries are included in
the prayer cycles issued by the Student Volunteer Move-
ment.
h. The Work of Travelling Secretaries.
The travelling secretaries have done as much as any
other one agency in developing missionary thought and
life among students. There is no way of finding out how
much attention these secretaries have given to Latin
America in their addresses and conferences when visit-
ing the colleges. While these workers have called atten-
tion to Latin America in their addresses, and have pro-
moted mission study in Latin-American books, a candid
judgment indicates that they have drawn most of their
illustrations from and made most of their addresses on
the mission fields in Asia and Africa.
8. THE BIBLE SOCIETIES
The American Bible Society and the British and For-
eign Bible Society in the administration of their Home
Departments are constantly attempting to interest the
people of Great Britain and the United States in their
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 393
extensive work in Latin America. The British and For-
eign Bible Society holds auxiliary and other meetings
throughout Great Britain. Its district secretaries present
the story of the work of the Society in Latin America
in their various visitations. The Bible in the World
frequently publishes notes or fully illustrated articles on
the work of the colporteurs in Latin America. Many
leaflets describing certain phases of this work are also
prepared for gratuitous distribution. The American
Bible Society has nine home secretaries in addition to
the staff at the Bible House in New York covering the
entire United States, and these secretaries in their pres-
entations at anniversaries, public conventions and meet-
ings always set forth the work of their fellow agents
and colporteurs in the Latin-American field. The Bible
Society Record, published monthly, rarely sends out a
number that has not in it fresh information from some
of these workers in these lands and many booklets and
leaflets are issued giving historic information and cur-
rent news concerning the demand for the Bible in Latin
America.
9. THE GENERAL YOUNG MEN's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
a. Presentation in Conventions and Conferences.
At the great International Conventions the work of
Latin America is presented equally with the other fields.
At state conventions and conferences there usually is
present at least one representative of the Foreign Depart-
ment. The presentation as a rule takes the form of a gen-
eral address concerning the whole foreign work, supple-
mented in many cases with special addresses on the work
in the speaker's field as typical. During the last year, in
many cases this representative has been a Latin-Ameri-
can secretary. In the summer schools for the training of
the secretaries, in addition to a platform presentation of
the whole foreign work program there are held special
conferences or class sessions, under the leadership of a
home secretary, when the technique of the promotion of
interest in and support of the foreign work is discussed.
Secretaries on furlough present at these conferences for
394 THE HOME BASE
their personal benefit or by the direction of the Foreign
Department aid in the presentation and meet men per-
sonally. This personal touch is one of the most valuable
features of the work in promoting interest in Latin
America.
b. Presentation in Local Associations.
Their methods include : (a) Men's meetings, the least
productive of all, for they fail to reach the constituency
which can be most vitally and helpfully related to the
work, (b) Dinner events, such as annual business meet-
ings and specially invited groups, (c) Parlor confer-
ences, where the message can be given to selected groups
with an opportunity for questions and discussion, (d)
Usually the Association arranges for the foreign secre-
tary to speak in one or two churches, bringing this inter-
denominational emphasis to bear on the foreign mission-
ary interest of the congregation, (e) Brief presentation
of some outstanding single fact suited to different groups,
as to men on the gymnasium floor, in an educational class,
or in the dormitory, (f) Calling on individuals.
c. Presentation through Publications and Photographs.
A detailed annual report is required from each secre-
tary. While this is primarily an administrative document,
sections of it are furnished to the constituency of the re-
porting secretary for their information, inspiration and
education. Three other reports fill out the quarters of
the year. In most cases these are sent directly to their
constituencies by the men on the field, with copies to the
New York office. Monthly news letters are sent by many
secretaries to their constituencies instead of quarterly re-
ports, which in other cases supplement the quarterly
reports.
Printed matter issued by the Foreign Department
with reference to its work in Latin America, includes the
following: The Foreign Mail Annual, an annual survey
of the yearns work, always contains a section on the work
in Latin America. The Year's Review covers the im-
portant events of the year, including those in Latin
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 395
America. The materials under the different countries
consist of a general statement followed by details of the
work in each station. Foreign Mail is a thirty-two-page,
illustrated, bi-monthly publication with a subscription list
of 4,500 names made up of those of individual contribu-
tors and friends and of local Association lists of subscrib-
ers, and contains letters from the different fields. Each
issue has at least one letter from Latin America. It also
contains a geographical list of all foreign secretaries,
with their addresses. The policy covering printed mat-
ter is to have available one good general pamphlet on
each country or general division, like Latin America. At
present the Foreign Department has only one Latin-
American pamphlet, "Christian Pan-Americanism," by
P. A. Conard, associate secretary of the South Ameri-
can Federation of Young Men's Christian Associations.
It has been largely used by Associations interested in
Latin America. "A Student Demonstration in World
Brotherhood," designed primarily for a special campaign
among state universities in the interest of student work in
Asia, contains references to student work in Latin
America. The West Indies Bulletin, presenting in brief
compass important events in the work in the West Indies,
mainly in Cuba and Porto Rico, is circulated among indi-
vidual contributors and Associations having a part in the
support of that work.
Publications of the Latin- American Associations and
newspapers and other documents from the field are sent
directly by secretaries to their supporting constituencies.
By correspondence and suggestion of travelling secre-
taries, the attention of individuals and of North Ameri-
can Association secretaries is directed to timely articles
in current magazines and newspapers, and to new books
on Latin America.
In addition to reports, each secretary sends photo-
graphs of his work directly to his constituency and to
the New York office. Those sent to New York are uni-
formly mounted and labeled, filed topically, and loaned
to local Associations for use in exhibits. Good photo-
graphs with explanatory statements are in some respects
396 THE HOME BASE
better than reports. Photographs are increasingly recog-
nized as having a distinct value as cultivation material.
Curios are sent by secretaries to their constituencies.
The personal tie is emphasized in all cultivation work,
although in many instances contributions go to the work
of a station rather than that of an individual.
lO. THE INFLUENCE OF TRAVELLERS AND PUBLICISTS
Attention is called to the important service to be ren-
dered by travellers in Latin America. If those who visit
the Latin-American countries from Europe or North
America would first secure the "Tourist Guide" to mis-
sion work in Latin America and would then call on
missionaries and visit mission stations, they would gain
first-hand knowledge of such work and would often
bring inspiration to the missionary. By this means the
tourist can best discover the needs and opportunities for
the varied forms of Christian work.
Upon returning home many travellers have aroused
their mission Board and its constituency to the need of a
larger investment in Latin America. By interviews, ad-
dresses and articles for publication, the tourist has en-
listed gifts and prayer for mission colleges, hospitals and
churches. His enthusiasm has sometimes influenced
young people to offer themselves as candidates for the
missionary service.
In many instances representative Christian travellers
have profoundly influenced their fellow countrymen in
Latin-American cities by their example in church attend-
ance, and also by their addresses and personal visits.
Such cooperation has often resulted in dignifying the
work of the missionary and in the discovery of new
friends for his cause.
Since the traveller may either help or hinder the cause
of Christ in the land which he visits, it is of the utmost
importance that he shall not reach hasty conclusions
based upon superficial observation, but that he shall take
sufficient time to discover the truth, and thus avoid re-
turning to his own country with prejudice regarding the
missionary propaganda. The problems of the home base
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 397
will be nearer solution when more travellers avail them-
selves of the privilege of visiting the missionaries, and
of becoming familiar with their needs and aspirations.
The cause of missions in Latin America is deeply in-
debted to several prominent educators, statesmen and
merchants from Europe and North America who, while
visiting the South and Central American Republics, have
most generously given sympathy, time and money to
strengthening and extending the efforts of individuals
and of mission Boards in Latin America.
It v/ould be difficult to overstate the importance of the
service rendered by the Pan American Union in Wash-
ington, D. C, in promoting knowledge of Latin America,
and in stimulating better understanding and international
good-will between the Americas. The beautiful home of
the Union in Washington is a center much visited by
travellers from abroad and from North America. Fre-
quent meetings and conferences are held in this palatial
building attended by all of the official representatives of
Latin America, as well as by other distinguished Latin
leaders. By means of the monthly magazine of the
Union and through addresses of the director-general and
his associates a vast amount of valuable information has
been disseminated, and wide-spread interest has been
aroused in the future of Latin America.
Among the means by which thousands of people have
become deeply interested in Latin-A.merican affairs are
conferences such as those conducted at Clark University
at Worcester, Massachusetts, at Lake Mohonk, New
York, and the recent Pan-American Scientific Congress
in Washington, D. C. Able addresses and papers are
there presented, followed by a thorough discussion of
the most urgent social, civic and educational questions of
Latin America. Printed reports of these conferences are
given wide-spread circulation.
Public opinion among people of North America is
formed largely by what they see and read regarding the
South and Central American Republics. It is of the
utmost importance, therefore, that educators, publicists,
government officials and business men, who have oppor-
398 THE HOME BASE
tunity to gain first-hand knowledge of these countries,
should write and speak without prejudice concerning
their observations. An accurate statement of facts with-
out unfair comparisons is greatly needed and desired.
II. THE WOMAN^S MISSIONARY SOCIETIES
Under the auspices of woman's missionary Boards, the
following methods of awakening interest and disseminat-
ing information are reported :
a. Their Use of Literature.
Many recent books on Latin America are reported
as used in auxiliary missionary Societies under seven
woman's Boards, in addition to the use of text-books in
mission study classes. Books on Latin America are be-
ing introduced into local missionary libraries and are
increasingly read. The libraries on Latin lands, pub-
lished by the Missionary Education Movement, have sup-
plied a real need among women. Leaflets presenting in
interesting form various short articles and stories are
prepared by ten woman's Boards for the use of their
constituencies. These leaflets are distributed at a nominal
cost and have a wide circulation and use. Maps, pictures
and charts are made use of in auxiliaries under five
Boards. These are supplementary helps in mission study
classes and to some extent in the programs of regular
missionary meetings. Periodicals, both missionary and
secular, have supplied helpful material on Latin America
that has been read extensively and gleaned for use on
programs of missionary societies. Ten woman's Boards
publish missionary periodicals in which such material is
given a regular place. Children's periodicals published
by these Boards also present suitable material on Latin-
American fields.
b. The Mission Study Class Movement.
Mission study classes in auxiliaries of eight woman's
Boards used to very great advantage the new text, "The
Gospel in Latin Lands," published by the Central Com-
mittee. This systematic study of the work of evangelical
METHODS OF ACTIVITY 399
missions, of the history of Latin countries and of their
peculiar needs and problems marks the beginning of a
new erai of interest in missions to Latin- American
countries.
c. Special Programs on Latin America.
Carefully arranged programs on Latin America each
year at one regular meeting of local missionary societies,
are provided for auxiliaries, under seven Boards, while
two Boards provide for two such programs annually, and
one board plans for the study of Latin-American fields in
three meetings of local auxiliaries each year. Presenta-
tion of special programs on Latin America for general
audiences, in young people's meetings, before Sunday-
school classes, and at other gatherings are given under
eight Boards.
d. Presentation at Conferences and Conventions.
Nine woman's Boards discussed the Latin-American
work in conferences and conventions held under their aus-
pices. In these, Latin-American work is receiving an in-
creasingly large share of attention. Within the last five
years, there is a marked increase of interest in the work
being done in these countries upon the part of the con-
stituency of certain woman's Boards, and they are seek-
ing to supply the need of information.
e. An Organized Scheme of Addresses and Lectures.
Addresses given by missionaries, travelling secretaries
and others, are used by nine Boards, four of which have
speakers regularly employed for such work. In this way,
the woman's Boards are instrumental in bringing the
subject of Latin- American missions before churches,
Sunday schools, prayer-meetings, parlor meetings, also
conferences and conventions. This is one of the most
successful and effective methods employed for reaching
the general membership of the churches and for creating
an interest among those who have not the time or the
inclination to take up the study of a text-book. This
method is limited, however, by the small number of
workers in Latin Lands.
40O THE HOME BASE
/. Stereopticon Lectures.
Such lectures are being provided by ten woman's
Boards and the value of such definite methods of in-
struction cannot be over-emphasized.
g. Pageants and Dramatic Presentations of Latin-
American Subjects.
Pageants and dramatic presentations of Latin-Amer-
ican subjects are reported by two Boards as being oc-
casionally used.
h. Miscellaneous Methods.
Regular and systematic instruction on Latin-American
missions is provided for children's missionary organiza-
tions by ten Boards. Prayer periods for Latin America in
missionary meetings, and presentations on prayer calen-
dars are given under seven Boards. Many suggestive
remarks accompanied the reports of various woman's
Boards on the agencies being employed for awakening
interest. The periodicals of three Boards are reported as
giving regular space to Latin America in each issue.
Travelling speakers under four Boards are reported as
emphasizing the Latin-American fields. Two Boards re-
port plans for presenting special programs on Latin
America throughout their auxiliaries, due to influence of
the Panama Congress. Several Boards report Latin-
American missions as not entirely neglected, but on the
other hand, as not receiving attention commensurate with
the importance of the field, and with the interest only
beginning to be awakened.
CHAPTER V
MEASURES REQUIRED TO SECURE ADE-
QUATE SUPPORT OF CHRISTIAN
WORK IN LATIN AMERICA
In all countries from which Christian workers have
been sent to Latin America, the attention of the churches
has been directed anew toward these countries be-
cause of the preparations for this Congress. The
concern of the supporting Churches for the progress of
Christian work in Latin America, while not as positive
and sustained as in relation to some other sections of the
world, has nevertheless been one of expanding interest
in recent years. Whatever measures may be taken to
enrich the knowledge of Christian people everywhere in
the progress, problems and needs of Christian work in
other countries will contribute toward the awakening of
a more profoundly sacrificial interest in such work in
Latin America. The unity of the missionary task, the
growing spirit of unity and cooperation among the lead-
ers and members of all Christian communions, the rapid-
ly developing world consciousness among Christian peo-
ple, and the rising standards of Christian stewardship as
related to the use of time, money and talents by Chris-
tians, together will effect beneficially Christian work in
all lands, Latin America included.
The Commission, however, is conscious of the fact that
Christian work in Latin America calls for special con-
401
402 THE HOME BASE
sideration by Christian people and Churches in those
countries from which workers and financial support must
come. In a real sense Latin-American countries have
yet to be adopted by the members of Christian Churches
at large as fields calling for discriminating and continu-
ous study, constant intercessory prayer, growing support
by gifts of money and workers of highest talents and
qualifications. In order to bring about this conscious
and devoted recognition of Latin America's claims, the
Commission urges missionary Societies and Churches to
continue the use of all methods of establishing interest
hitherto employed. The Commission specially recom-
mends the following methods in the hope that a new
sense of responsibility among Churches obligated to sup-
port Christian work in Latin America may be the re-
sult of their adoption.
I. UNCEASING INTERCESSORY PRAYER FOR LATIN
AMERICA
In a peculiar manner the conditions surrounding
Christian work in Latin America demand the practice
among the Churches and individual Christians every-
where of intercession. The problems of occupation, the
social and spiritual needs of the people, the attitude
of the Roman Catholic Church, the opportunity and
urgent need for evangelistic work, the training of Latin-
American leaders, the enlistment of larger gifts for cur-
rent support and for more workers, the training in self-
support, self-direction and self -propagation of the
churches now in existence, the prevalence of rationalism
and materialism, the rejection by many among the edu-
cated classes of spiritual religion as an essential factor
in the welfare of the individual, of society and of the
state, the personal difficulties surrounding the mission-
aries in their labors and their domestic life — these and
other reasons impose upon Christians a deep obligation
to pray unceasingly for Latin America. The fact that
Christianity has been so inadequately taught in Latin-
American countries should add intensity to the prayer
of all Christians that the time may soon come when all
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 403
men in Latin America may have "an adequate oppor-
tunity to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and to be-
come His real disciples."
a. Directed to Specific Needs.
Missionaries are requested to furnish frequently to
missionary Societies and to their friends at the home base
lists of specific objects of prayer to be printed for gen-
eral use or to be placed privately in the hands of work-
ers and friends for use in meetings for prayer or in
homes for family prayer.
The example of those Societies that now publish prayer
calendars and other helps to prayer definitely dealing
with Christian work in Latin America should be fol-
lowed by all Societies maintaining work in these coun-
tries. The plan of circulating special prayer helps each
year among mission study classes and for use in meet-
ings on Latin-American topics should be generally
adopted.
b. At Regular and Special Gatherings.
The regular meetings of woman's societies, young
people's societies, and mid-week services of prayer, when
devoted to Latin-American subjects, should be utilized
largely for prayer. The practice of a few Boards in as-
sociating voluntarily a group of believers as a prayer
league or league of intercession for missions is v.^orthy
a general adoption. At least once each year a special re-
quest for prayer sent to persons enroled in these circles
of intercession, listing particular objects for prayer,
would do great good.
c. In Response to Calls to Prayer.
The occasional publication from time to time in mis-
sionary magazines and in general relieious periodicals of
calls to prayer for Latin America, along with needs of
other fields, will serve to enlist many in prayer.
d. In Response to Training in Prayer.
Ministers, all Sunday-school officers and teachers,
leaders of woman's societies and mission study classes
404 THE HOME BASE
should make it a practice to include Christian work in
Latin America regularly in the list of objects for which
they pray, privately and publicly, and in connection with
which they train others to pray.
e. The Use of a Prayer Calendar for Latin America.
The preparation and the wide circulation of a gen-
eral Latin- American prayer calendar suitable for com-
mon use by all bodies of Christians, with space provided
to enter lists of objects and persons of a given Com-
munion for intercession, would meet a genuine need and
would extend greatly the number of those who at the
close of this Congress will purpose to pray for Latin
America. The publication in a magazine, or a circular
letter to members of prayer groups, of answers to prayer
in the fields of Christian work in Latin America should
be arranged as an assurance to faith and an aid to
prayers of thanksgiving.
/. Special Days of Prayer.
The regular appointment by each Communion of a spe-
cial day of prayer for Latin America would assist many
congregations in undertaking to pray ^^egularly for mis-
sions. A prayer service or meeting on Latin America in
the course of senaces customarily devoted to prayer and
study of missions, would meet the purpose, especially if
preceded by an address on Latin America from the
pulpit.
2. THE PORTRAYAL OF THE SPIRITUAL NEEDS OF LATIN-
AMERICAN PEOPLES
The Commission recognizes that information about the
outward evidence of civiHzation is more easily obtainable,
and when given is more readily sought by casual students
of Latin America, than is that body of information about
spiritual needs. Such evidence must be forthcoming,
and must be presented universally among the churches
before an adequate response to the claims of Christian
work in Latin America will be made. Some Christian
workers in Latin America claim that the truth regarding
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 405
social needs does not readily find treatment in the re-
ligious press — that editors revise and strike out much
that is said in correspondence and in articles, until the
actual conditions which demonstrate the need of the
evangelical Christianity are not revealed with compelling
force. It is essential that the spiritual longings and needs
of those among whom Christian work is being promoted
be interpreted in terms of sympathy. When laying em-
phasis on the spiritual needs of any people, it should not
be done in the spirit of superiority but in humble recog-
nition of the tremendous spiritual needs of the home base
lands themselves and of their failure adequately to ex-
emplify the teachings of Christ in moral, social and
business life. In what so-called Christian country have
the teachings of Christ as yet had full expression?
Care should be taken in the preparation and publica-
tion of statements revealing spiritual needs to write in
temperate yet convincing terms. The facts of such
writings should be based on good authority. All un-
necessary cause of offense should be avoided. With
these ordinary precautions, it should be the policy of
speakers, writers and publishers to reveal spiritual needs
in order that intelligent support through prayer, gifts and
workers may be enlisted in proportion to the need. A
faithful friend of Latin America writes : "I do not be-
lieve in anti-Catholic propaganda here or in South Amer-
ica except it be full of love. Place emphasis first on the
fact that fifty percent, of the thinking men of South
America are not in sym.pathy with the Roman Catholic
Church and its teaching. If their own Church does not
attract them, we should endeavor to do so. Emphasize
secondly, that many of their most altruistic men are
enemies of religion because they want to help their people
to better things and they believe religion is hindering.
If they feel thus, their own Church cannot help them.
We must do so. A patient process of education such
as we have used to overcome general missionary indif-
ference at the home base ought to be undertaken, but
on the lines indicated just above."
4o6 THE HOME BASE
The Commission therefore believes that ministers in
the presentation of Christian work in Latin America by
sermons and addresses, and that leaders and teachers in
Sunday schools, young people's organizations and
woman's societies, should set forth the actual spiritual
needs of Latin-American peoples in their meetings and
classes. The Commission urges that editors, pubhshers
and committees planning the educational literature on
Christian work in Latin America should incorporate ma-
terial in their publications dealing with these spiritual
needs in the spirit of sympathy and love.
3. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRATERNAL RELATIONS WITH
LATIN AMERICANS
Attention has been called to the invaluable result
in the realm of international good-will and Christian fel-
lowship of establishing and maintaining friendly relations
with Latin-American students temporarily resident in
European and North American university centers.
a. Through the Deiinite Attitude of Individual Churches.
The Commission believes this ideal should be con-
verted into action wherever Latin Americans and repre-
sentatives of other nations are thrown together tempo-
rarily or permanently. The churches should be aggres-
sively in the lead in all efforts to combat race prejudice,
to enrich the social, intellectual and spiritual life of these
groups, and to serve them when they are in need, by be-
coming acquainted through friendly visits, by making
them welcome to Christian homes and churches, by help-
ing them secure employment in cases of need, iDy organ-
izing and maintaining special schools for teaching the
languages of the country to those who cannot enter the
common schools for this purpose, and by supporting,
through personal service and gifts, much needed social
service activities for the common good, such as sanitary
housing, playgrounds, district nursing, vacation Bible
schools, wholesome social and physical recreation and the
prevention of disease. In this way the gospel of good-
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 407
will becomes effective in establishing brotherly relations
of abiding moral and spiritual value.
b. Through the Free Interchange of Thought.
It is desirable that every opportunity for free inter-
change of thought between Latin Americans and resi-
dents of North America, Great Britain and Europe be
utilized in the interest of brotherly relations. Visitors
from other countries going to Latin America should seek
opportunities of meeting with representatives of the best
institutions and movements of Latin-American countries,
in order to acquire accurate and intimate knowledge of
their ideals, achievements and needs. In like manner,
visitors from Latin America representing business, pro-
fessional, educational, literary and social interests and
agencies should be sought out and hospitably entertained
with a view to interchange of knowledge and the repre-
sentation of what is best in the moral, social and religious
life, as well as the most notable in commercial and edu-
cational achievement of the country visited. Such cour-
tesy it should be the purpose of every Christian worker
or church or community to show in the interest of broth-
erly relations.
c. Through Mutual Introductions and Information.
Missionaries in Latin America may help Latin-Ameri-
can students into right influences and to friends in other
countries by means of letters of introduction, by advance
information to friends who may meet them at ports of
landing and by furnishmg them with literature answering
their natural inquiries about the country to which they
go, its educational institutions, and other opportunities
worth while. Bulletins of information regarding student
life and requirements of the universities in other lands
should be published and distributed in all the schools
in Latin America from which students come. In like
manner, the visit to Latin America of travellers from
other countries who are in sympathy with Christian ac-
tivities should be announced to Christian workers in Latin
America, in order that opportunity may be made to meet
4o8 THE HOME BASE
and form friendship with both Latin Americans and
Christian workers resident among them.
d. The Organized Promotion of Friendly Relations.
In addition, the mission Boards should unite in an
agency to represent them in establishing information
bureaus and in making proper arrangements to meet
every student who comes to a home base country when
practicable, accompany him to the university, help him
register, find suitable room and board, relate him to the
best; and above all else, place him under the most power-
ful Christian influence in the university. The mission
Boards might well work in a cooperative enterprise for
Latin-American students through the Committee to Pro-
mote Friendly Relations among Foreign Students.
e. Personal Calls on Latin Americans away from Home.
Missionaries while on furlough should make it a prac-
tice to call on students and other representatives of Latin-
American countries, wherever they can be found.
/. Addresses by Latin-American Students.
Students and church members at the home base are
woefully ignorant regarding Latin America. Such igno-
rance has often resulted in bad manners and in race pre-
judice. To remove and prevent this, mission study
groups, young people's societies, churches, literary so-
cieties, and student organizations are urged to give op-
portunity for the Latin-American students to make public
presentation of their countries from time to time, by means
of personal conversation, public addresses and illustrated
lectures. This will tend to develop the usefulness of the
Latin Americans themselves, will provide much need-
ed information and will promote a better understanding
of Latin America. Information concerning such speakers
can usually be secured from the president or dean of the
local college or university, the officers of the city or col-
lege Young Men's Christian Association or, in the United
States, from the Committee to Promote Friendly Re-
lations, whose address is 124 East 28th Street, New York
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 409
City. Stereopticon lectures^ have been given by the Latin-
American students before the entire student bodies of
several of the universities.
g. Encouragement of the Study of National Problems.
Much can be done to help the Latin- American students
develop into real thinkers on the problems pertaining to
municipal, state and national government, sanitation and
health ; public and private charity ; education and religion,
so that they can return to their homes prepared to solve
the social, moral and religious problems of their own
countries.
h. The Promotion of Personal Work.
Since the real solution to these problems is attained
through Christ, it is imperative that Latin-American stu-
dents become personal workers who will resolutely spread
the gospel of Christ. Personal workers can be multiplied
by utilizing the Bible classes more largely, by distributing
a larger number of books helpful in deepening their Chris-
tian life and in increasing their sense of responsibility.
Anglo-American students and professors with tact, sym-
pathy, and warm spiritual nature can greatly aid in this
by cooperating in the Bible classes. The emphasis
should be on the positive side of Christianity and its ap-
plication to the practical problems of personal and social
life and service. Christ, if held up in this true char-
acter and power, will attract them, will vitalize their
lives, and will send them back to be a Christian leaven in
their own communities.
i. Giving of Our Best.
If Christian countries would only aim to give the
Latin Americans their best, surely such blessings will
follow as are described by Dr. John R. Mott in his book,
''The Present World Situation" : "That race will be most
^ Slides can be rented from denominational mission boards,
the Missionary Education Movement, 156 Fifth Avenue, New
York City; the Pan American Union, Washington, D. C,
and Underwood and Underwood, Chicago and New York.
410 THE HOME BASE
blessed which gives its best with generous hand, not in
fear and not with ulterior motives, but with sincere recog-
nition of all that is good in others and with unselfish
motives ; and which in all its intercourse tries to see with
the other's eyes and to sympathize with the other's
hopes."
4. THE MULTIPLICATION OF LITERATURE FOR
GENERAL USE
The most emphatic testimony gathered by the Commis-
sion bears upon the universal need for a larger volume
and greater variety of literature suited to wide use among
the churches. The need seems to call for text-books,
books for general reading, articles in pamphlet form for
wide distribution, material for program meetings, and
biographical studies of foreign Christian workers and
Latin-American Christian leaders. The appeal is for
knowledge of the history and results of Roman Catholic
teaching and influence; of the social, moral, economic
and religious conditions ; of the customs, character,
achievements and potentialities of Latin-American peo-
ples ; of the present occupation by Christian forces and
the distinctive features of the Christian work now being
done; of political history and governmental attitude to-
ward religious toleration, and kindred questions. Many
feel that as compared with available literature bearing
directly upon Christian work in other countries, Latin
America is as yet insufficiently supplied with suitable ma-
terial. The attention of churches in North America is
called again to the existing text-books published by the
INIissionary Education Movement, the Student Volunteer
Movement, the Council of Women for Home Missions
and the Central Committee on United Study of Foreign
Missions, and to similar denominational publications, also
to the books and other literature now in course of prepa-
ration by the Missionary Education Movement and the
Council of Women for Home Missions for use in 1916-17.
All of these are worthy of much more extensive use in
the churches than they have yet received. The fact
remains, however, that the field of available literature
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 411
written from a religious point of view is limited. The
Commission urges missionary societies to increase the
number of pamphlet and leaflet publications for general
sale or for free distribution, aiming not only to supple-
ment the text-book literature by presenting more com-
pletely the work done by the different Communions, but
to encourage the preparation of biographies or autobiog-
raphies of Christian workers whose lives and service lend
themselves to such treatment.
There is in course of preparation a limited bibliography
of selected books on Latin America with annotations.
The number of general treatises on countries, political
and com.mercial relations, books of travel, scientific ex-
ploration and similar subjects is rapidly increasing. The
reading of selected works from this list is urged upon
the members of churches and students of international
affairs as essential to a clear appreciation of the countries
and peoples in the midst of which Christian work is be-
ing supported. City and town libraries should be encour-
aged to purchase books on Latin America. The establish-
ment of missionary reference libraries in church build-
ings, where current selected books are made available to
Christian leaders, teachers, classes, societies and general
readers, is recommended. The distribution of pamphlet
literature on Latin America in churches in connection
with some other educational presentation, such as an ad-
dress or sermon, a program meeting or a missionary re-
ception or entertainment, supported by a brief review
of the pamphlet by the minister from the pulpit, or by
some other leader on another public occasion, exerts a
leavening influence of high value.
5. THE LARGER USE OF MISSIONARY MAGAZINES AND
RELIGIOUS PERIODICALS
The importance of frequent treatment of Latin-Ameri-
can subjects in missionary and general religious periodi-
cals is generally recognized. Since space in which Chris-
tian work in any one country or section of the world can
be treated is necessarily limited, care should be taken to
use only those letters and articles dealing with matters
412 THE HOME BASE
of genuine human interest. The Commission believes
that every Christian worker entering Latin America for
Hfe service should give consideration to literary style and
force in writing, and that the faculties of observation
should be exercised intelligently and persistently, based
on a progressive study of conditions at the home base
and the best methods of appealing to the imagination and
will through the printed page. Editors are also encour-
aged to give practical suggestions from time to time, in
personal letters and in printed form, to Christian workers
in Latin America on the reporting of news and the sub-
jects of interest from the point of view of the home base.
By such cooperation before a worker sails, after he
reaches his field, or when on furlough, marked improve-
ment in the character of letters and articles in the reli-
gious press about Latin America will constantly be made,
and the power of the press as an auxiliary agency be
multiplied accordingly.
6. THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
As in the case of writing, so in connection with pho-
tography, the reading and seeing public at the home base
is in an observant mood. In years past most Christian
workers in mission fields have failed to recognize this
in time to acquire a practical amateur knowledge of
photography. The value of well-composed pictures can-
not be over-emphasized in presentrday religious educa-
tion. It has been estimated by experienced photographers
who see negatives and pictures forwarded by Christian
workers in foreign lands, that nine-tenths of the material
used and money spent in photography is wasted (except
for the value of having a hobby for recreational pur-
poses), as far as illustrative uses at the home base in
magazines, stereopticon lectures and exhibits are con-
cerned. These three last-mentioned methods of conveying
knowledge are in the ascendency. It is certain that they
will continue to be used with ever-changing variety of
form and on multiplying occasions. Every station should
if possible have one amateur photographer equipped with
a good camera. A few lessons in composition, exposure
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 413
and developing will yield not only genuine satisfaction to
the worker with the camera, but will guarantee a con-
stantly improving quality and increasing supply of story-
telling pictures, whose use will enlarge the value of letters
and articles for the religious press. If necessary and
practicable, the cost of acceptable pictures might well be
paid by the Society using them. In certain cases Societies
may be justified in providing both camera and films or
plates, where pictorial material will prove of special value.
By a combination of several Societies, motion pictures
of Christian work in Latin America might be taken,
whose use would prove of real value at the home base.
7. THE USE OF SPEAKERS AND LECTURES
No phase of the program of education of Christian
people at the home base in the subjects dealing with
Latin America is of greater importance than that of the
systematic use of well qualified speakers. Among the
many occasions in the local church where such addresses
can be given with profit, are the leading Sunday church
service, meetings of men's, women's and young people's
societies, and in the Sunday school. Community meetings
arranged by an interdenominational committee of the
churches, adult Bible classes or women's societies are mul-
tiplying in which Latin- American subjects can be pre-
sented with good results. In larger cities, business men's
luncheons and regular or special micetings arranged by
the Chamber of Commerce can occasionally be used for
the presentation of a speaker of authority and influence.
District, state and national or international religious con-
ventions of denominational or interdenominational char-
acter afford opportunity for reaching leaders widely rep-
resentative of the local churches at the home base. The
most important of these conventions are those that bring
together statedly ministers and lay delegates of the
churches, ofBcers and leaders of Sunday schools, young
people's societies, women's home and foreign missionary
societies, brotherhoods. Young Men's and Young
Women's Christian Associations, church workers in mis-
sionary summer schools and student summer conferences.
414 THE HOME BASE
Special reference is made to the value of a series of
lectures and addresses by one or more speakers, covering
a period of days or weeks in communities where coopera-
tion between the churches of all Communions is common
or practicable. Similar courses in theological seminaries,
colleges and universities not only reach an influential
constituency, but occasionally result in publication of the
lectures in book form.
The Commission believes that Christian workers enter-
ing Latin-American countries, or about to return on fur-
lough, should make special preparation of material for
use in public addresses. Mission Boards are giving wise
attention to the systematic use of speakers by arranging
schedules of engagements for those who are at liberty
and prepared to undertake a program of this character.
Not all workers or travellers returning from Latin
America feel qualified to enter upon a speaking tour, be-
cause of inexperience, need of recuperation of health or
other good cause. It is pointed out, however, that no
worker or friend of Latin America is confined to public
occasions in using his experience and knowledge for the
enlightenment of those whom he may influence. Much
can be done in private conversation, in personal work, in
receptions in homes and churches, in mission study
classes, and in private and public schools to acquaint
young and old with one or more Latin-American coun-
tries. It is considered wise that most workers available
for speaking should meet personally with the secretaries
of their respective Boards to receive counsel from them
concerning the existing attitude and needs of the con-
stituency at the home base and suggestions of large value
in reference to travelling arrangements, hospitality, fixing
engagements, the style of address most likely to meet the
needs, and the nature of the subject matter most likely to
make strong appeal. ''Talking points" of the kind here
mentioned should be made a matter of constant study.
It is particularly important that the spirit and language
of all addresses should be indicative of warm sympathy
with the people of the countries with which the addresses
deal, and that portrayal of social, moral and spiritual
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 415
needs should be made for constructive purposes only. The
Commission commends the growing practice of mission
Boards in meeting the travelling expenses of missionaries
while on furlough and engaged in speaking deputations,
out of the regular funds of the Boards, thus obviating
the necessity of special offerings as an accompaniment
of addresses.
Elsewhere in this report reference is made to the in-
creasing availability as speakers, of business men, educa-
tors, travellers, Latin-American students and men of in-
fluence in political, commercial, diplomatic and educa-
tional life in Latin xA.merica. Their wide observation and
their sympathy with Christian work in Latin America can
be utilized by addresses to bring about a fuller under-
standing and a conscious international fellowship between
the countries of Latin America and those of Great Brit-
ain, Europe and North America.
8. DEPUTATIONS TO LATIN AMERICA
The growing practice of some missionary Societies
periodically sending representatives to investigate their
work, and to report on the conditions, is commended,
particularly with reference to Latin America. Whenever
possible such deputations should include, beside an ad-
ministrative officer, one or more laymen or women. The
printed reports of these deputations receive marked con-
sideration. In these reports present conditions and future
policies are usually outlined. They should therefore be
given wide circulation, especially among the leaders of
the missionary forces at the home base and among
donors. Of equal or greater value to the general public
is the service rendered by the members of such a deputa-
tion through addresses and lectures. The awakening of
an entire Communion to an appreciation of the problems
and needs of a field of Christian work hitherto relatively
unknown to the churches, has not infrequently followed
upon the report by printed page and public address of a
deputation. Donors capable of large support of Chris-
tian work have of their own accord joined such deputa-
tions in order to have first-hand knowledge as an aid in
4i6 THE HOME BASE
the exercise of their stewardship. What a few Societies
have done in sending deputations to Latin America in the
last half decade is commended by this Commission as
desirable and essential for all Societies, if speedy expan-
sion of Christian work in Latin America along lines of
development involving true Christian statesmanship is
to be achieved. Consultation between such deputations
representing different Communions, before, during and
after their tours of inquiry and observation will do much
to develop true strategy in the occupation of the fields
and in prosecution of Christian work in Latin America,
and will not fail to meet with the endorsement of that
part of the constituency at the home base who are giving
intelligent consideration both to the support and to the
economical administration of the work. Moreover, such
deputations can do much to interest men of affairs at
the home base in the economic, moral and religious con-
ditions of these countries.
9. THE ENLIGHTENING OF TOURISTS
As far as practicable, missionary Societies should fur-
nish all travellers with concise information about Chris-
tian work and workers in Latin America, and should
encourage them to inspect the work done. In North
America, the ''Tourist Guide" to Latin America is avail-
able for such purposes, without charge, on application to
the Committee on Anglo-American Communities, Mr.
Robert E. Speer, Chairman, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York
City.
10. ORGANIZED PUBLICITY
In addition to articles in the missionary and general
religious press, there is to-day an unprecedented oppor-
tunity for using the newspapers and general weekly and
monthly periodicals in the dissemination of information
about Christian work. One or two Societies maintain
private press bureaus capably managed and supported,
whose journalistic work is widely recognized and com-
mended by newspapers, and whose news articles are
regularly used. In both Great Britain and the United
States missionary press bureaus have been organized,
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 417
serving a part of the Societies conducting Christian work
in Latin America. Chief among these in North America
is the Southern News Bureau, supported and conducted by
the foreign mission boards of the Southern Baptist, Meth-
odist and Presbyterian denominations. There has been
prolonged study of the problems involved in establishing
in North America a comprehensive and well organized
and supported interdenominational press bureau to gather
and distribute news of Christian work at home and in for-
eign countries on behalf of all religious agencies. At the
time of writing this report the realization of the hope of
many for the establishment of such an agency seems
nearer at hand than at any previous time. Whenever the
plan may take actual form. Societies at the home base and
Christian workers in Latin America are uro^ed to lend
full and constant cooperation as a regular phase of the
educational program involved in the awakening of the
Churches to a larger service in Latin America. The
choice and training of a worker in each mission or lead-
ing city or district to act as correspondent and reporter
are steps that may well be taken now, regardless of any
plans now being discussed. The reading of selected
books on journaHsm, the special study of news values
and the reporting of facts and experiences full of human
interest, should be undertaken seriously by every Christian
worker, but particularly by those who are willing to co-
operate intelligently with leaders in the field of religious
publicity at the home base.
II. SYSTEMATIC MISSIONARY EDUCATION
a. Its Proper Range.
While much can be accomplished in extensive instruc-
tion of the home base constituency by addresses, news-
paper and magazine articles and general reading, these
agencies alone will not be sufficient completely to dispel
ignorance, remove indifference and stimulate positive and
lasting interest and service in and for Latin America.
Extension lectures and the press do much in promotion
of general educational activities, but they do not and can-
4i8 THE HOME BASE
not take the place of common school and higher educa-
tional instruction and training. In the realm of religious
education and training, a system of missionary instruc-
tion is essential. The beginnings of such a system have
been made by missionary Societies, Sunday-school agen-
cies, and local church workers and organizations. It
remains for Christian leaders in the churches gradually
to introduce systematic missionary instruction into the
regular work of each department or organization of the
local church, as a permanent provision. Such instruction
should have as its aims the training of both young and
old in prayer, giving and service, so that by normal pro-
cesses of Christian nurture, supplemented by direct mis-
sionary teaching, benevolence and beneficence may in-
creasingly characterize the life of each local church. The
study of Christian work in Latin America will thus be
undertaken regularly in due relation to other fields at
the home base and in other foreign lands. Because many
Communions in North America will adopt the literature
on "The Two Americas" for study in 1916-17, there is
an unusually favorable opportunity now open to bring
Latin America to the fore in all plans for systematic mis-
sionary teaching, benevolence and beneficence. Only
by continuous and progressive instruction and training in
the knowledge of Christian missions can the entire mem-
bership of a local church or of a whole Communion be
enlisted effectively in prayer, giving and service.
b. A Comprehensive Plan of Procedure.
A comprehensive plan of systematic missionary educa-
tion in a local church as related to Latin America would
combine at least the following features :
(i) Instruction concerning the objects toward which
money is given.
(2) Sermons and addresses by the minister and in-
vited speakers.
(3) An occasional Sunday evening or mid-week illus-
trated lecture.
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 419
(4) Mid-week prayer-meetings on missions, usually
once a month, in which Latin America should have its
place.
(5) Emphasis on the needs of Latin- American fields
by canvassers in the Every-Member Canvass.
(6) One or more mission study classes for adults, one
or more for young people, and when practicable, supple-
mental study in organized Sunday-school classes for the
adult, senior, intermediate and junior ages.
(7) Monthly missionary meetings in the young peo-
ple's society.
(8) Regular program meetings of women's missionary
societies, or of mission study classes.
(9) The reading of missionary periodicals, both de-
nominational and interdenominational.
(10) The circulation of pamphlets and leaflet literature.
(11) Supplemental reading of selected books and
magazine articles, organized and promoted by the church
missionary committee, assisted by the minister, and the
officers, teachers and missionary committees of the Sun-
day school, the women's and young people's society and
men's organization, the mission band and similar agen-
cies. The promotion of reading can often be undertaken
successfully when related to preparation for mission
study classes, participation in program meetings, enlist-
ment for prayer and the subscription and collection of
funds for missionary objects. Church missionary refer-
ence libraries are recommended as a standard provision
for every congregation, and in particular for use by Sun-
day schools, young people's and women's societies and
mission study classes.
(12) Quiet but persistent attention given in each ac-
tive church to the training of leaders to carry for-
ward the missionary activities of the entire parish. The
mission study class is the best agency for the purpose,
especially when conducted by a leader familiar by experi-
ence or special instruction with normal or teacher-training
methods. Attendance at missionary summer conferences
420 THE HOME BASE
and community institutes for training leaders should be
encouraged as a working principle in the effort to train
local missionary workers. Such a system of training is
particularly effective in strengthening and extending mis-
sionary activities in Sunday schools, women's societies,
young women's and children's organizations and young
people's societies. Emphasis should be laid on the neces-
sity of organizing mission study classes in local churches
each year on Latin-American fields where more than one
subject can be studied at the same time, and giving Latin-
American subjects a reasonable place each year in the
program of other organizations in the local church, in
annual meetings of mission Boards, and in other stated
religious conventions and conferences.
12. THE ENLISTMENT OF VOLUNTEERS
The Student Volunteer Movement and the mission
Boards alike should be encouraged to give special atten-
tion to the enlistment of candidates for work in Latin
America. By continuing to promote the organization of
mission study classes, by the issuing of Latin-American
literature for use in higher educational institutions, by
personal presentation of the claims of these fields to
chosen students, by addresses before student bodies and
in student summer schools and other conventions, and by
addresses in churches, larger numbers of candidates for
appointment in Latin America may be enlisted. The
facilities for the study of Spanish in North America
and Great Britain should be an encouragement to pro-
spective candidates. The prominence given among the
favored classes in Latin America to higher education, the
open door before Christian workers qualified to enter
upon important educational activities and the incalcul-
able significance of this phase of effort for Latin Ameri-
can countries in the present state of educational, social,
moral and religious development, should have great in-
fluence with students of the highest intellectual, social,
spiritual and practical qualifications. In like manner
candidates whose talents and training fit them for preach-
ing, for the authorship of devotional, theological and
ADEQUATE SUPPORT 421
educational literature, for medical practice, for admin-
istration or for other of the chief lines of mis-
sionary effort, should be given a clear under-
standing of the peculiar as well as the ordinary
needs of Latin-American fields. Women candidates
should be given information in detail of the work they
alone can do for the womanhood of Latin America and
thus contribute toward the purifying and establishing of
the home. Special effort should be put forth by recruiting
agencies to enlist the intelligent cooperation of ministers
in presenting both privately and by public address the
needs of Latin America and its claims upon young men
and women of ability as Giristian leaders. The highest
standards of qualification for appointment should be ap-
plied in the selection of workers for Latin-American
fields.
13. THE EXTENSION OF WORK IN LATIN AMERICA
Attention has been called to the fact that a considerable
number of Societies support work in Latin America so
limited in scope, or confined to such a small geographical
area, that a forceful appeal is not made to the home base
constituency. Because of the enormous areas and the
large population not reached by Christian workers and
institutions, and the areas inadequately supplied with
workers, and in order that a larger interest and devotion
may exist in the supporting Churches, the Com-
mission raises the question as to whether some
Societies now doing a limited work may not in
the near future considerably enlarge their pres-
ent forces and fields, or establish new missions
in other fields. For the same reason. Communions or
Societies not supporting any work in Latin America, in
the judgment of the Commission should consider whether
the needs of these countries, the increasing belief in
evangelical Christianity as essential to the life of individ-
uals and nations alike in these lands, and the rising tide
of prayer, gifts of money and offering of life at the home
base, do not warrant the occupation by these Christian
bodies of one or more of the fields reported by the Com-
422 THE HOME BASE
mission on Survey and Occupation as requiring workers.
The Commission is under the conviction that by more
thorough cooperation of Christian forces now in Latin
America, and by similar consultation and cooperation at
the home base looking toward the extension and complete
occupation of present fields, and the establishment of
work in new territories, the entire cause would gain in
appreciation and support at the home base.
APPENDIX A
THE CORRESPONDENTS OF THE COMMISSION
The Rev. George Alexander, D.D. (Pastor Presbyterian Church
in the U. S. A.), New York City.
Mrs. John S. Allen (Council of Women for Home Missions),
New York City.
The Rev. Hays P. Archerd (Methodist Episcopal Church), Cal-
lao, Peru.
Miss Harriet L. Ayers (Methodist Episcopal Church), Mexico
City.
The Rev. Henry A. Bassett (Methodist Episcopal Church), for-
merly of Mexico; Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Mr. Gilbert A. Beaver (Committee on Friendly Relations Among
Foreign Students), New York City.
The Rev. J. H. Benson (Southern Baptist Convention), Guaymas,
Mexico.
Miss Blanche Bonine (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Mexico.
The Rev. George H. Brewer (American Baptist Home Mission
Society), Mexico City, Mexico.
The Rev. Edward A. Brinton (Methodist Episcopal Church),
formerly of Asuncion, Paraguay; Chicago, Illinois.
The Rev. Robert A. Brown (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Coyaocan, D. F., Mexico.
The Rev. D. W. Carter (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
Georgetown, Texas.
The Rev. J. S. Cheavens (Southern Baptist Convention), San
Marcos, Texas.
The Rev. Ed. F. Cook (Secretary Foreign Department, Board
of Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South) Nash-
ville, Tenn.
Mrs. B. M. Craig (Woman's Presbyterian Board of Missions of
the Northwest), Chicago, Illinois.
-. 423
424 THE HOME BASE
Mrs. Samuel P. Craver (Methodist Episcopal Church), Monte-
video, Uruguay.
Mrs. J. H. Cruickshank (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Barranquilla, Colombia.
The Rev. W. E. Doughty (Laymen's Missionary Movement),
New York City.
The Rev. F. M. Edwards (Southern Baptist Convention), Daw-
son, Texas.
The Rev. Morris W. Ehnes (Missionary Education Movement of
the United States and Canada), New York City.
The Rev. F. J. Fitzgerald (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
El Paso, Texas.
The Rev. Allen Fort (Southern Baptist Convention), Nashville,
Tenn.
The Rev. B. D. Gray (Corresponding Secretary Home Mission
Board of Southern Baptist Convention), Atlanta, Georgia.
The Rev. R. R. Gregory (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Zitacuaro, Mexico.
Miss Evelina Greeves (Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of
the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.), Philadelphia, Pa.
Miss Alice M. Guernsey (Woman's Home Missionary Society of
the Methodist Episcopal Church), New York City.
Bishop E. R. Hendrix (Methodist Episcopal Church), Kansas
City, Mo.
Miss Katherine L. Hill (Woman's Foreign Missionary Society
of the Methodist Episcopal Church), New York City.
The Rev. George P. Howard (Sunday-school Secretary for
South America, World's Sunday School Association), Monte-
video, Uruguay.
The Rev. John Howland (American Board of Commissioners for
Foreign Missions), Chihuahua, Mexico.
Mr. Charles D. Hurrey (Committee on Friendly Relations Among
Foreign Students), New York City.
The Rev. N. E. Joyner (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
Monterey, Mexico.
Mrs. Alva Kauffman (Woman's Missionary Association of the
United Brethren in Christ), Dayton, Ohio.
Miss Bertha Lacock (Christian Woman's Board of Missions),
Bayamon, Porto Rico.
The Rev. G. H. Lacy (Southern Baptist Convention), Torreon,
Mexico.
Miss Kate G. Lamson (Woman's Board of Missions, Congrega-
tional), Boston, Mass.
The Rev. F. P. Lawyer (Methodist Episcopal Church), Pueblo,
Mexico.
The Rev. D. H. LeSueur (Southern Baptist Convention), Tor-
reon, Mexico.
The Rev. R. P. Mahon (Southern Baptist Convention), Morelia,
Mexico.
APPDENDIX A 425
Bishop Francis J. McConnell (Methodist Episcopal Church),
Denver, Colo.
The Rev. E A. McDonald (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Des Moines, Iowa.
Mr. W. A. Wright (Laymen's Missionary Movement), Chicago,
Illinois.
The Rev. Robert McLean (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Los Angeles, Cal,
The Rev. John M. Moore, D.D. (Department of Missionary Ed-
ucation of the Cooperating Organizations of the Northern Bap-
tist Convention), New York City.
Mrs. Alice V. Morrill (Women's Board of Foreign Missions of
the Christian Church), Dayton, Ohio.
The Rev. M. T. Morrill (Mission Board of the Christian
Church), Dayton, Ohio.
Mr. F. J. Nichols (International Committee of the Young Men's
Christian Associations), New York City.
The Rev. F. S. Onderdonk (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Mrs. J. F. Parker (Southern Baptist Convention), formerly of
Sao Paulo, Brazil; Fort Worth, Texas.
Mrs. Henry W. Peabody (Central Committee on the United
Study of Missions), Beverly, Mass.
The Rev. Charles Petran (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Mexico City.
The Rev. J. A. Phillips (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
San Antonio, Texas.
The Rev. A. N. Porter (Southern Baptist Convention), Alamo-
gordo. New Mexico.
Miss Ethel W. Putney, Cairo, Egypt.
Mrs. C. A. Rasebrough (Presbyterian Woman's Board of For-
eign Missions of the Southwest), St. Louis, Missouri..
Mrs. John L. Reeder (Methodist Episcopal Church), Punta
Arenas, Chile.
Mrs. William T. Robinson (Methodist Episcopal Church),
Iquique, Chile.
The Rev. George T. Scott (Board of Foreign Missions of the
Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.), New York City.
Mr. B. A. Shuman (Young Men's Christian Association), Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
The Rev. John Roach Straton (Southern Baptist Convention),
Norfolk, Virginia.
Miss Harriet Taylor (National Board of Young Women's Chris-
tian Associations), New York City.
The Rev. J. J. Taylor (Southern Baptist Convention), Wake
Forest, N. C.
Mr. Charles E. Tebbets (American Friends' Board of Foreign
Missions), Richmond, Indiana.
Mr. A. E. Turner (Young Men's Christian Association), Valpa-
raiso, Chile.
426 THE HOME BASE
The Rev. E. E. Vann (Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Le-
land Stanford, Jr., University, California.
The Rev. W. E. Vanderbilt (Presbyterian Church in the U. S.
A.), Mexico.
Mrs. William Wallace (Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.),
Coyoacan, D. F., Mexico.
Mr. John H. Warner (Secretary, Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation), Recife, Brazil.
The Rev. George Sidney Webster (American Seamen's Friend
Society), New York City.
The Rev. S. H. Werlein (Methodist Episcopal Church, South),
New Orleans, La.
Mrs. Katherine S. W^estfall (Woman's American Baptist Home
Mission Society), Chicago, Illinois.
Mrs. F. W. Wilcox (Bureau of Woman's Work of the American
Missionary Association), New York City.
The Rev. Samuel Tyndale Wilson (Presbyterian Church in the
U. S.), Maryville, Tenn.
Mr. J. Scott Willmarth (Methodist Episcopal Church), formerly
of Peru; Greenwood, Wis.
The Rev. H. L. Winburn (Southern Baptist Convention), Louis-
ville, Ky.
APPENDIX B
APPROPRIATIONS BY FIVE-YEAR PERIODS OF
EIGHTEEN NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES
Name of Society 1889-1894 1894-1899 1899-1904 1904-1909 1909-1914
American Baptist Home Mis-
sion Society $39,314 $50,200 $94,780 $225,700 $542,000
Woman's American Baptist
Home Mission Society... 3,240 9,540 24,240 47,200 91,344
Canadian Baptist Foreign
Mission Board 1,000 15,386 19.379 31,129
Foreign Mission Board,
Southern Baptist Conven-
tion 230,166 216,936 300,206 695,690 1,187,415
American Missionary Asso-
ciation 33,900* 52,900 66,17s
Christian Woman's Board
of Missions 3,535 31,587 174.574 243,425
American Board of Commis-
sioners for Foreign Mis-
sions 129,796 91,265 103,005 119,340 116,200
American Friends* Board of
Foreign Missions 22,890 18,040 25,000 63,362 103,584
Foreign Christian Mission-
ary Society 15,825! 54,395 43,9"
Mission Board of the Chris-
tian Church 13,002 21,176 18,712
Board of Foreign Missions
of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church 551.001 559.155 488,748 731,206 785,458
Woman's Foreign Mission-
ary Society of the Metho-
dist Episcopal Church.... 226,012 200,233 186,419 233,035 276,531
Board of Missions of the
Methodist Episcopal
Church, South 783,877 690,338 769,889 1,148,299 1,675,928
Board of Foreign Missions
of Presbyterian Church in
the U. S. A 924,290 680,365 730,176 757,522 1,150,246
Board of Home Missions of
tne Presbyterian Church in
the U. S. A.+ 202,291 479,221 679,140
Executive Committee of For-
eign Missions of the
Presbyterian Church in
the U. S 274,002 176,278 193,511 302,395 503,502
Domestic and Foreign Mis-
sionary Society of the
Protestant Episcopal
Church 61,318 76,977 177.586 343.304 667,594
International Committee of
Young Men's Christian
Association 140.585 300,426
* 1 900- 1 904.
11902-1904.
JPeriods are 1900-1905, 1905-1910, 1910-1915.
427
APPENDIX C
TABLE SHOWING APPROPRIATIONS OF THIRTY-
SEVEN NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES TO WORK
IN LATIN AMERICA AND AMONG LATIN
AMERICANS WITHIN CONTINENTAL
UNITED STATES
CANADA
1914-1915
Baptist. Appropriations
Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission Board $ 7,930.11
Presbyterian.
Board of Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church in
Canada '60,779.09
UNITED STATES
Baptist.
American Baptist Home Mission Society 114,727.42
Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society. . 21,496.34
Foreign Mission Board, Southern Baptist Conven-
tion 188,746.26
Brethren.
Foreign Mission Society of the Brethren Church.. 5,707.95
Chi'istian.
Mission Board of the Christian Church 4,937.78
Congregational.
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions 30,166.28
Woman's Board of Missions 4,350.03
Woman's Board of Missions of the Interior 1.612.50
American Missionary Association 14,764.28
^Appropriations for 1913-1914.
428
APPENDIX C 429
Disciples.
Christian Woman's Board of Missions 36,024.58
Foreign Christian Missionary Society 5,143.53
Evangelistic Associations.
Peniel Missionary Society 900.00
Friends.
American Friends' Board of Foreign Missions 20,803.15
California Yearly Meeting of Friends 6,511.69
Lutheran (Evangelical).
Porto Rico Mission Board of the General Council
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in North
America 16,013.63
Methodist.
Board of Foreign Missions, Methodist Episcopal
Church ....: 182,718.84
Woman's Home Missionary Society, Methodist
Episcopal Church '38,199.00
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, Methodist
Episcopal Church ^ *46,992.00
Board of Hom.e Missions and Church Extension,
Methodist Episcopal Church *100,885.00
Board of Missions, Methodist Episcopal Church,
South *234,161.62
General Missionary Board of the Free Methodist
Church ^ ...^ 1,886.74
Home and Foreign Missionary Deoartment, Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal Church *14,035.09
Pentecostal Church of the Nazarene.
General Missionary Board of the Pentecostal
Church of the Nazarene 3,008.95
Presbyterian.
Board of Foreign Missions, Presbyterian Church
in the U. S. A 213,935.55
Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian Church
in the U. S. A 149,009.25
ExecutiA^e Committee of Foreign Missions, Presby-
terian Church in the U. S 89,074.82
Protestant Episcopal.
Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, Protes-
tant EDiscopal Church in the U. S. A 135,207.13
Reformed Episcopal.
Rev. D. M. Stearns' Church and Bible Classes ^15,954.94
Sending Societies Not Denominational.
American Bible Society 104,700.00
Central American Mission *13.030.84
430 THE HOME BASE
International Committee of Young Men's Christian
Associations, Foreign Department ^182,920.81
National Board of Young Women's Christian Asso-
ciations of the U. S. A 3,850.00
Cooperating Societies Not Denominational.
American Seamen's Friend Society ^775.00
World's Sunday School Association 4,000.00
Total $2,090,563.00
^Appropriations for 1913-14.
APPENDIX D
AN ADEQUATE PROGRAM FOR PROMOTING TRUE
FRIENDSHIP AMONG LATIN-AMERICAN STU-
DENTS TEMPORARILY RESIDENTS IN
EUROPE, GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTH
AMERICA
1. Christian people should do all in their power to get
well acquainted with Latin-American students, A sympathetic
attitude should characterize all relationship to them and should
lead to friendly calls on them during their residence for study.
2. Wherever feasible, a committee on work among Latin-
American students should be appointed; it is important that
two or more Latin-American students serve on this committee
and that other members should be free from a patronizing
spirit.
3. Care should be exercised to see that Latin-American
students have satisfactory living accommodations.
4. They should be given opportunities for employment and
self-help if needed.
5. Their acquaintance and fellowship with other students and
professors should be promoted.
6. Provision should be made for giving them assistance in
their studies, especially by tutoring them in the languages of
the country where they are studying.
7. Some of the best homes should be opened for receptions
for them from time to time.
8. They should be treated as all other students are treated;
one should not shout in conversing with them or hold up
Roman Catholicism to ridicule.
9. Upon hearing of offensive conduct on the part of stu-
dents or others native to the country where Latin-American
students are temporarily studying, go to the offender at once
and, if possible, see that satisfactory adjustments are made.
431
432 THE HOME BASE
10. Investigation by Latin-American students of industrial,
social, moral and religious problems should be greatly facilitated.
11. Special efforts should be tactfully made to secure attend-
ance of Latin-American students at churches and Christian as-
sociations.
12. Acquaint them with agencies and means employed to
regenerate society, e. g., church, Christian associations, play-
grounds, boys' clubs, welfare work, settlements. Charity Organi-
zation Societies, etc.,
13. Whenever possible, they should be given vocational guid-
ance and sympathetic advice regarding life work.
14. Without being impertinent or inquisitorial, question them
regarding their impressions of the people and civilization of
the country they are visiting; do all you can to correct any
wrong impressions.
15. Whenever special addresses are to be given before Latin-
American students, the speakers should be coached to avoid dis-
paraging remarks regarding the moral ideals, religion and cus-
toms of Latin-American people.
16. Advice should be given regarding the best devotional and
apologetic books and pamphlets.
17. An effort should be made to promote good fellowship
among all of the Latin-American students, especially in their
relation to students from North America, Europe, Great Britain
and the Orient.
18. Occasionally the way may be opened for Latin-Ameri-
can students to speak in churches, clubs, schools and before
mission and Bible study groups.
19. There should be no hesitation in presenting personally
the claims of Christ upon Latin-American students, and earnest
efforts should be made to enrol them in Bible and social study
groups.
20. Provision should be made for special evangelistic and
apologetic addresses designed to appeal most forcibly to Latin-
American students.
21. Be prompt in rendering every possible attention and
service to Latin-American students who are ill, discouraged or
in special need.
22. Serious complaints indicating discourtesy or neglect on
the part of any one in relation to Latin-American students
should be promptly reported to someone who is in a position to
correct such tendencies.
23. A valuable service can be rendered by making provision
for the profitable and pleasant use of leisure time of Latin-
American students during the Christmas and summer vacations.
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUS
SIGN OF THE REPORT
At the Meeting of the Congress on
Saturday, February 19, 1916
AGENDA FOR THE CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORT
I. What information is most likely to create among leaders
of churches at home and abroad a realizing sense of the unique-
ness and urgency of the present situation in Latin America so
as to meet the needs revealed in the Report of Commission I on
Survey and Occupation and in the other Reports?
II. The vital secret of an adequate offering of lives for for-
eign missionary service in Latin America.
III. The real crux of the problem of influencing the clergy
at the home base to devote themselves with conviction and self-
denial to promoting the missionary task of the churches in Latin
America.
IV. How increase the missionary gifts of individual Chris-
tians who are able to do much more financially than they are
now doing, in order that their gifts for Latin America may be
far more nearly commensurate with their increased financial
ability and with the present need? Is a nation-wide financial
campaign for Latin America advisable?
V. How can laymen of strength and influence be led to con-
secrate their time and effort to a systematic missionary propa-
ganda on behalf of Latin America?
VI. How can the foreign missionaries while in their respec-
tive fields, cooperate more effectively with the societies and
churches at home in enlisting the intelligent and sacrificial aid
of the churches in undertaking more complete occupation and
in increasing the efficiency of the work in the fields?
VII. What practical measures should be taken by the mission
Boards in the near future to interpret to the churches at home
with convincing and compelHng power the lessons and judg-
ments of the Congress and of the Regional Conferences with
reference to the development of intelligent interest and to the
enlistment of prayer, financial support and capable candidates
for the work in Latin America? What new publicity methods
are needed in the light of the discussions of this Congress?
VIII. Suggestions from the Latin-American delegates as to
how the churches in cooperating lands may be of most help.
Considerations of space have made it necessary to abbreviate
the addresses and remarks made in the course of the presenta-
tion and discussion of this Report. In doing this the attempt
has been made to preserve everything that throws light upon
the subjects considered in the Report. It has not been found
possible in many cases to submit the report of the addresses for
revision to those who delivered them.
434
THE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE
REPORT ON THE HOME BASE
Mr. Harry Wade Hicks of New York, the chairman of the
Commission on the Home Base and General Secretary of the
Missionary Education Movement : I wish at the outset to call
attention to the hopeful situation at the home base, as that situ-
ation pertains to Christian work in Latin America. In the first
place, a very large proportion of the evangelical congregations in
North America at least, have a responsibility of some sort for
Latin America. The report itself states that in North America
alone 137,789 congregations or parishes belong to those Com-
munions that are supporting missions in Latin America from
North America as the base. There are approximately 150,000
churches or congregations of all the Communions of North
America, so that, as far as North America is concerned, there
not only rests upon the great majority of the churches a real re-
sponsibility for this work, but there is a distinct opportunity open
to leaders at the home base to reach on behalf of Latin America
a vast majority of the Christian people in North America. In
the second place, indifference towards Latin America as a field
of Christian work is beginning to wane very positively. It
would be unwise for the Congress to ignore the fact that the
correspondence which came in, in the course of the preparation
of the report of the Commission, revealed considerable indiffer-
ence regarding Christian work in Latin America. This is not
true regarding denominations having extensive work in Latin-
American fields. It is more true in denominations which have
small missionary interests at stake in Latin America. In Canada,
there are six Societies supporting work in Latin America ; in the
United States, seventy-one ; in New Zealand, one ; in England,
seventeen ; in Ireland, one ; in Scotland, three ; in Wales, one ; in
the Netherlands, one ; and three international Societies, making
a total of one hundred and four different missionary agencies
maintaining missionary work in Latin America. Not all of them
are sending missionaries, but all send funds and are therefore
maintaining work. Among such a variety of nationalities, agen-
cies and types of organizations great care is needed in the corre-
435
436 THE HOME BASE
lation of their activities, that there may be adequate occupation
and thorough cooperation, and, as far as practicable, a united
program for all Latin America. The indifference at the home
base with reference to Latin America as a field may be partly
due to a lack of such correllation. We conclude that this indif-
ference is waning and that the interest of the churches at the
home base is on the upward trend with reference to work in
Latin America, because, first, this Congress is one good evidence
of a changed point of view at the home base ; again, there has
been a vast increase in the dissemination of literature dealing
with Latin America in the last ten years, particularly in the last
five years. If we include literature projected for use within the
next two or three years, we may well believe that the churches at
the home base are becoming more intelligent and consequently
more interested in Latin America than ever before. In the third
place, there has been a remarkable multiplication of wholesome
contacts between all our countries, political, social, scientific and
commercial in character. Again there have been the recent in-
terpretations of Latin America made by scholars, travellers and
literary men. All these factors have been valuable as means
toward a better understanding of Latin America and her spir-
itual needs. One other line of evidence is given on page 363.
It states there that in the five years from 1909 to 1914 the gifts
from North America to Latin-American missions were three
times as large as in the five years from 1889 to 1894. There
has been a marked increase of gifts. It is always true that
the opening of new missions and the occupation of new fields
result in a permanent advance in the amount of money available
for the missionary enterprise. Again there has been a change
of attitude in our evangelical churches at the home base re^
garding the necessity of missionary work in Latin countries.
As compared with fifteen and twenty years ago, the belief of
many Protestant churches that the prevailing Church in Latin
America has dealt inadequately and wrongly with the people
among whom it had free course has grown, until now there is
a sure foundation on which to rest a new departure in Latin-
American evangelization. And finally, during the last two or
three years, particularly since the return of the deputations of
the Presbyterian Church, of the Northern Methodists, of the
Southern Baptists and of other bodies, there has been a fi^ner
appreciation of the foundations so well laid by the missions
that now exist. These deputations were composed of Christian
statesmen, who placed the entire work in a new perspective and
opened the way to large policies.
The Commission now desires to mention some conditions
which seem essential to largest success In the enlistment of a
more generous support of the unknown of Latin America.
First of all, a real unity must be established between the mis-
sionaries in the field on the one hand, and the Boards, their ex-
ecutive officers and the governing committee on the other hand,
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 437
regarding all important policies. Wherever any disunion is al-
lowed to creep in regarding missionary policies, serious injury
is done to the cause of Christian missions, both on the field and
at the home base. With such a multiplication of contacts be-
tween missionaries on the field and the leaders at the home base
that these differences of judgment will be removed, the ap-
peal of the work to the churches will gain great power again.
Each denomination at work in Latin America and each ag-
gressive mission should present to its home base constituency
a clean-cut plan of campaign. Dr. Ray of the Southern Bap-
tist Missionary Board recently prepared such a statement of
what his Society had planned for its work in Latin America.
His statement was mad^' up in such a concrete, condensed form
that he could go into the office of any business man in North
America and make his case. He knew where every dollar he
was asking for would be spent. He had estimates for every-
thing. If he asked a man to help in erecting a building, he
had also the architect's plans for it, a diagram of the compound
and tabulated memoranda regarding all details on which ques-
tions were likely to be asked. Such a plan marks out what the
future calls for by way of forces and of additional gifts. It
should be in hand before any great enterprise is undertaken.
By its far-reaching scope, it will justify the recalling of able
missionary speakers and statesmen from the field to cooperate
with the home base authorities in its presentation to the
churches. In the third place, the development of interest at
the home base rests to a considerable degree upon the develop-
ment of the largest reasonable measure of interdenominational
cooperation in the field, thus preventing waste, avoiding compe-
tition, overlapping and the duplication of equipment and effort.
In my judgment, based upon a close study of the facts, in the
not distant future the men and women of the churches on whose
generous cooperation we rely will cease to support adequately
those fields in which there is a refusal to recognize interdenomi-
national cooperation. I know of no surer way to appeal to
the imagination of spiritually minded men and women of af-
fairs at the home base than to present plans which are not
only comprehensive and practicable but cooperative. Might it
not be practicable to set on foot a special simultaneous educa-
tional and financial campaign among a group of denominations
for Latin America, such as the Northern Presbyterians recently
planned and carried through for China? A fourth condition of
quickly enlisting the interest of the churches at the home base
is to attempt as rapidly as may be practicable the various lines
of work needed in a mission field. The more varied the lines
of work, the more agencies there are to make an anpeal to the
supporting constituency at the home base. If medical missions
are needed, or industrial missions, or Christian literature, or
any other form of work to reach the people, they help to mul-
tiply points of contact with the constituency at the home base.
438 THE HOME BASE
Let me dose this brief review by calling attention to the su-
preme need at this time, one which rises above all other needs
mentioned in the report of the Commission, namely, the promo-
tion of the spirit and the practice of prayer at the home base
for these Latin-American fields and missions. There is no
surer way of enlisting the kind of financial cooperation that is
desired than by promoting the spirit and practice of specific
intercession among all our churches.
The Relation of the Home Churches With the Field
Rev. Webster E. Browning, Ph.D. (Presbyterian Church in
U. S. A., Santiago, Chile) : The home churches need to rea-
lize more definitely two things : first, that the Roman Catho-
lic Church as found in South America is quite different from
the same Communion in North America or Great Britain. In
those countries it has been hedged about and kept within some
bounds by Protestant influences, but in Latin America, for four
hundred years, it has been absolutely supreme. Again, our home
churches should realize that the problem in Latin America is
exceedingly complex. Some speakers or writers would make us
believe that all the population of Latin America are painted
Indians and cruel pagans. We do have some pagans and some
ignorant people, but we have also the cultured classes of South
Americans. The most difficult problem to deal with is the
hierarchy of the Church of Rome. Very many people say that
the field is entirely occupied by that Church. But consider the
Republic of Chile, in which the Church is most thoroughly or-
ganized. We find there but one preaching place to every six
thousand people. There are seven hundred parish priests to a
population of almost four million. Of these about three hun-
dred are in the teaching profession or occupy high administra-
tive positions, so that only some four hundred men are giv-
ing their entire time to the churches under their charge. Sup-
pose that every priest was a paragon of virtue and ability, what
could he do with ten thousand parishioners? The great state of
Pennsylvania has a Christian minister for every six hundred.
Latin America would have surely more than ten thousand to
every priest, because Chile leads the other states in religious
organizations. This lack of effectiveness is sometimes recog-
nized by the Church itself. Some years ago a Roman priest
who afterwards became a bishop said to a missionary : "I am
glad to welcome you to this land. We cannot manage it. More-
over, we have lost our hold on the population. If you can bring
any inspiration to our people, I, for one, shall be glad to wel-
come you to a share of the work." Let us not say that the
Roman Catholic Church has exhausted the opportunities for
work in these lands. When Latin America is presented to the
home base, it should be considered as one great field. If there
could be a magazine devoted entirely to Latin America, setting
forth its needs and opportunities, giving exact and fresh infer-
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 439
mation, it would greatly assist the task of arousing the Interest
which will bring to us the men, the women, and the money
needed to promote these vast interests at stake.
Dr. L. G. Abrahamson^ D.D. (Augustana Synod of the Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church in North America, Rock Island, 111.) :
The home churches should be made to realize their responsi-
bility in regard to the mission field. It is the duty of the Church
to do missionary work, a duty which it cannot disregard if it
is true to its Lord. The church that does not work is a fossil.
Saving grace must be active. Our Christianity, our confessions
best express themselves in life and service. Again there is a
reflexive or reactive relation between the home Church and the
Church on the mission field which varies with the former's faith-
fulness to its trust. When rationalism, a century ago, swept
over Christian Europe like a consuming wave of fire, there re-
mained one field untouched, over which the fire had no power. It
was the home of the disciples of the beloved Count Zinzendorf.
They were so constantly in contact with the power of the gos-
pel to revolutionize the most degraded people on the globe that
no specious rationalism or skepticism could take away their be-
lief in the reality of the Christian life. In the third place, by
teaching more faithfully the children in our homes and in the
Sunday school the need and value of missions, we shall be lay-
ing a solid foundation for the financial support of missions in
the future as well as for getting the needed volunteers, l^ourth,
our missionaries on the field ought to be assured that they are
supported by the fervent prayers of the home churches. Who-
ever really believes in the promise of God to hear our prayers
should remember each day when he approaches the throne of
grace these noble men and women on the spiritual frontier.
Rev. William F. Oldham, D.D. (The Committee on Cooper-
ation in Latin America) : In order to help arouse the deeper
attention of the churches and to secure responses in money and
life, I would recall to all friends of Latin America, first, that
God has a strange and impressive way of bringing before the
Church from time to time different portions of its task. It
was the Indian mutiny that brought before the Christian world
the needs of India. It was the Boxer uprising that brought
China before the Christian world. In His gracious providence,
the digging of a great canal, the achievement of a world bless-
ing, is bringing Latin America before the Christian world to-
day, making this a golden day of opportunity. I would next
put before the churches of North America the size of our task.
The North American people like big enterprises, and they are
profoundly moved when you put the problem before them even
physically. They delight to hear that Brazil alone is as big
as the United States, that there is room in its vast territories
for new rivers to be discovered, even "rivers of doubt," that
it is so vast that you can lose everybody in it except an ex-
president. When, therefore, over against these wonderful natural
440 THE HOME BASE
resources we indicate the splendid human material found there
another great asset for promoting interest appears. When our
missionaries in Mexico were obliged to leave that land, our Mex-
ican pastors held on in the midst of wild disorder with unex-
ampled bravery and consecration. They have gloriously met the
crisis. Again, the churches need to realize the readiness of re-
sponse in Latin America. They have been led to think that
every aspect of the work in Latin- American lands is desperately
difficult. But if progress is measured, not by numbers but by
the leavening impact of New Testament ideals, then Latin Amer-
ica is a land of promise. I would emphasize to the churches
the deep spiritual needs of these people. We are not proselytiz-
ing, but are on an errand infinitely larger. The word of that
brother from Brazil who described Latin America as an en-
tombed soul waiting to hear the word of Christ for its resur-
rection seemed to me profoundly suggestive. Let that figure
get before the thinking of our church members, and we shall
have men and means in abundance.
Bishop Walter R. Lambuth, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, Oakdale, California) : Our home churches will
realize the urgency of the situation in Latin America when they
grasp five great facts: (1) That a large proportion of the
aboriginal population of Latin America has never been reached
in any fashion religiously; (2) That there is a strong movement
under way from the prevailing church to agnosticism, not alone
of men but now even of the women; (3) That, to save Latin
America's future, there should be a far greater number of young
men in its institutions of learning who are definitely committed
to a Christian life of service; (4) That there is a marked lack
of medical missionary work, doctors and nurses being greatly
needed, especially in Central Am^erica, and to minister to the
poor and needy common people everywhere; and (5) that greater
facilities and equipment for training Christian workers are sorely
needed. Our churches should also be helped to grasp these
seven factors in the adequate occupation of a field : First, a
policy at the home base which contemplates an investment of
missionary funds truly sufficient to insure the development of a
self-propagating native church which shall recognize as its great
task the presentation of the gospel to every man, woman, and
child in the land; second, the occupation of every natural cen-
ter of twenty thousand population or over by a properly manned
missionary station, developing self-supporting indigenous
churches with native leadership, both in these centers and in
the outlying country districts ; third, the vertical occupation of
the country, aiming to reach every class, high or low; fourth,
an agreement between the Boards and Societies in the country
as regards the distribution of forces, so that they may be no
reduplication or overlapping of effort; fifth, an ample provision
of institutes for training native pastors and workers Including
normal institutes for teachers; sixth, a working force large
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 441
enough and well organized enough to prevent a break in the
continuity of efforts in the field due to furloughs, national exi-
gencies and other contingencies which will arise. A good work
has often been practically ruined by reason of a break in con-
tinuity. It is as fatal as under-equipment ; seventh, a proper
comprehensiveness of program. Every large mission should do
evangelistic work, educational work, literary work, work in
Christian literature, women's work, medical work or any other
work that is needed.
Publicity Meetings
Rev. M. T. ^Iorrill, D.D. (The Christian Church, Dayton,
Ohio) : Volunteers for Latin America in my judgment must
be gotten individually. Had I seen the need in my student days,
as I see it now, I would surely have turned to the mission
field. I developed an interest in missions too late. If we wish
to get students we must interest them, get them to study Latin-
American conditions and to pray for the field. No doubt that
their minds and their hearts can be turned toward Latin Amer-
ica just as well as toward all the other mission fields. I do
not think that we can over-emphasize the importance of student
da3-s. If we are to get hold of students, it is very important
that pastors be interested. We should make special effort
to get theological students thoroughly interested with this enter-
prise of the church. If we can get the laymen of the future
and the religious leaders to believe that missions are the first
business of the church, then we will get the money we need.
Bishop Francis J. McConnell, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal
Church, Denver, Colorado) : If we are to influence the clergy
of the United States to take a livelier interest in the affairs of
Latin America, it will be wise for returned missionaries to ap-
peal to them along the line, simply and primarily, of human
social and religious needs. It is dangerous to emphasize com-
mercial possibilities because a great many people in the United
States are very rapidly coming to feel that our contact with
Latin America along commercial lines has been harmful rather
than of value. Moreover, it will be advisable to say little about
our going down to these countries to reform political conditions.
These reforms belong to the people themselves. When a mis-
sionary goes into INIexico with fhe gospel in one hand and a
scheme of political reform or intervention in the other, he is
immediately tmder suspicion. It is a great deal like sending mis-
sionaries to China to convert the Chinese and sending rifles
and bullets and opium along on the sam.e vessel. That same
missionary should be careful about discussing intervention pub-
licly at home. He will arouse m.ost genuine interest by present-
ing simply and primarily the crying needs of Mexico. As Phil-
lips Brooks said of Japan, it is the business of the Christian
church to take the Lord Jesus Christ to these lands and leave
Him there, that there may be worked out any form of Chris-
442 THE HOME BASE
tianlty that may prove fitted to the people of that country.
Rev. a. Stuart McNairn (The EvangeHcal Union of South
America, London, England) : What is wanted at the home base
is education, a fair knowledge of the facts of the case, so that
the tens of thousands of clergy and laity in the home lands,
whose hearts are full of the love of Christ, who have mis-
sionary zeal but are ignorant concerning South America, may
be informed. If they could have such stirring details as were
given us the other day brought to their consciousness there
would be no difficulty in getting ample support. Think of those
vast regions with millions of inhabitants and not one preacher
of the Gospel ! So, I would say, organize mission study cen-
ters in order to bring young men and young women to yield
their lives to missionary service, to influence the clergy, to
arouse lay interest and so to increase missionary gifts. In
Great Britain we need in particular to remove the misappre-
hension "that exists concerning South America. Many think
that we have no business to develop missions in South Amer-
ica. Again and again I hear the charge "Our sister Church is
already in possession of the field, it is mere impertinence to at-
tempt to work there." I once met at the University of Cam-
bridge a group of sixty volunteers for mission fields, twenty of
whom had their hearts set on South America, and not one of
whom will ever see that land because of the force of this feel-
ing. Now, however the Church of Rome feels about it, the
people of South America want us and need us. Every republic
in South America has altered its constitution so that evangeli-
cal work might be carried on within its borders. Again, we
must arouse the conscience of wealthy laymen to rise to their
responsibility. Great Britain is receiving millions in dividends
from South America and yet is doing next to nothing in re-
turn. I endorse also the suggestion made by Dr. Browning of
Chile that we should establish a magazine of first rank which
will afford a comprehensive insight into Latin-American af-
fairs. Such an agency would educate our home people and be
an important factor in arousing interest in the missions and
substantial support for them.
The Enlistment of Lay Support
Rev. S. H. Chester, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in U. S.,
Nashville, Tenn.) : There need be no pessimism regarding the
financing of our work. During the brief period that I have
been associated with foreign missionary work. I have seen the
income of the Board which I represent more than quadrupled.
We have three men in our Church now who are giving about
one-twelfth of our entire missionary income. Only one of these
is a millionaire; the other two would not be considered even
rich in New York City today. I am sure that we have at least
one hundred men in our communion who could, without serious
difficulty, do what these three men are doing; but it is not es-
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 443
sential that they should do so in order to be enlisted. There is
no mystery about the way in which these men were secured.
First of all they were just simply prayed into a condition that
made them responsive, whereupon these men, whose hearts were
on fire with missionary zeal, sat down by them, communicated
to them this divine fire, and secured their hearty and perma-
nent cooperation, and others can be enhsted in the same way.
One of these men suffered a great deal from insomnia. He said
to me recently, "I am beginning to enjoy my insomnia, I just
lie awake thinking about those men of ours working away over
there in Korea, and I had a good tim.e in spite of my sleep-
lessness." Let us not have any misgivings about our ability
to carry out this great program. Hard times are the best times
to raise missionary money according to my experience. We
made our first great advance during the panic of 1893. Indi-
viduals came to us then and gave us money in order that the
missionary program at least should continue unbroken.
Prof. William Adams Brown, Ph.D., D.D. (Presbyterian
Church in U. S. A., Union Theological Seminary, New York
City) : We can enlist the support of the strong men, clergy-
men and laymen, in the carrying forward of an effective mis-
sionary propaganda in Latin America by bringing them to re-
alize that the task which is set before us here is an integral part
of the very same task that we are facing at home. We have
had our hearts moved by the greatness of the need that faces
Latin America. But we at home face similar needs. We face
in our great cities and in our country districts illiteracy, immoral-
ity, intolerance, political corruption, infidelity and religious indif-
ference. In our universities we find just such difficulties as exist
at Buenos Aires or Santiago. We come down to Latin Amer-
ica because we know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has made
us conscious of the enormity of these evils in our own land,
and has determined us to share with these brothers and sisters
of ours in this and other lands its regenerating power.
Mission Study on the Field
Rev. Vernon M. McCombs (Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, Pasadena, Cal.) : My whole being has been challenged
by the thought of the unoccupied areas of South America. Its
occupancy turns on the question of native leaders. If we are
going to secure them, we must keep our people drinking from
the fountains of Christian inspiration. We should watch the
books they read. They can get hold of multitudes of books
which poison their lives and set them against Christianity. We
must provide them books that are better. Then in the second
place, we should train our people to give systematically. Thirdly,
we should send out mission study books in Spanish to be used
by groups. Missionary information profoundly impresses them.
What has stirred our hearts is sure to have a similar effect upon
them. I would advocate books on missionary heroes all over
444 THE HOME BASE
the world — not omitting one on Latin-American heroes of the
faith.
Mrs. Hallie Linn Hill (Interdenominational Committee of
the_ Central West for Missions) : The strongest link in the
chain that binds the foreign field to the home base is mission
study. Think of the great campaign of education along mis-
sionary lines that is being carried out by various organizations
today. There are seven great summer conferences, conducted
under the interdenominational committees of the Women's
Home and Foreign Boards held at strategic points in the United
States, attended last year by thousands of women from thirty-
five states and four foreign countries. During this year, in
various cities throughout the United States, extension confer-
ences conducted on the same plan as the summer conferences,
will be held for a week of intensive study of missions. There
are registered in these extension conferences anywhere from two
hundred and fifty to a thousand people, representing many de-
nominations. These women go back to their churches and homes
to lead mission interest. When the Committee on Cooperation
is appointed and has formulated a great constructive, farsighted,
continental program in which all the Boards will join, the
Boards should send it down through their state organizations
and local organizations, until every church in the home cities
and towns and villages comes under its stirring influence. Out
of these local communities come the sinews of war for carry-
ing out these great programs. Such a campaign of education
should come soon, because this is the psychological time for the
appeal to students and to people alike. Cooperation really
works as well at the home base as on the field. As an out-
growth of this great Congress there should be a wave of in-
terest turned towards Latin America of which we may wisely
take advantage. When the different Boards appeal to the local
churches, you will find the women already educated to respond.
Intercessory Prayer
Rt. Rev, William Cabell Brown, D.D. (Protestant Episcopal
Church in U. S. A., Richmond, Va.) : I feel quite satisfied in
my own mind that whatever of apathy or indifference toward
Latin America exists is largely due to the lack of information.
I desire, however, to speak about the urgent necessity of in-
telligent prayer at the home base. I want to tell you of two in-
cidents in my missionary life that have been most helpful to
me during my years in Brazil. Immediately after my ordina-
tion, the venerable Bishop White, whose heart was deeply stirred
over the needs of the world, placed his hand on my shoulder
and said to me: "My son, I want you to remember during the
years to come that I shall pray for you twice every day by
name." I wonder how many Christian people at home follow
that practice. Again, I was being entertained in the city of
^ew York in the home of a godly layman, a man of large
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 445
means and large affairs. I had been invited to speak in his
church on Sunday morning and he asked me to go to his house
on Saturday night, so as to spend at least twenty- four hours
under his roof. On Sunday morning he said to me: "Will you
come into the study for a moment?" There I found the whole
family gathered together. It was just before we were to leave
for church. When all were seated, a little fellow about three
years of age said: "I will take Brazil, father;" and another
member of the family said: "I will take the Philippines"; the
mother said : "I will take Japan." Since one of my dearest
friends was the first bishop of our church in Hankow, I said:
"Well, I will take China." Among the different members of the
family almost all of the mission fields of the world were chosen,
and then we knelt down and began to pray together. I never
will forget what the little boy said, "God bless Bishop Kin-
solving and all other missionaries in Brazil." The father men-
tioned by name not only the bishop of the Philippines, but
every member of our Church at work in that field. So it went
around the family. When I was leaving his home on Monday
morning, he said to me : "Now I will explain to you what per-
haps you did not fully understand. It is one of the deepest
desires of my heart that my children shall know missionaries
personally. I therefore make it a point, whenever possible, to
have a missionary spend at least one or two nights under my
roof, so that my children may know them well. From this
time forward some member of this family will offer up this
prayer : 'O God, bless Bishop Kinsolving and Dr. Brown and all
the other missionaries in Brazil' " Would that this custom was
cherished in every home!
Rev. Ed. F. Cook, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
Nashville, Tenn.) : As far as my knowledge of Latin fields
would indicate, there has so far been developed no adequate
policy for bringing to bear upon the home church the knowl-
edge and experience of our missionaries in order to quicken its
interests and enlarge its liberality. I would suggest that mis-
sionaries organize for the purpose of systematizing this work
and distributing the responsibility. At each annual mission meet-
ing on the field, they might appoint committees, to prepare
material for the church at home, stories with human interest,
and news items that appeal. Such a committee could render
very valuable service throughout the year. Another committee
might be appointed to furnish the right kind of material, stories,
data and pictures for the Southern News Bureau which provides
matter for the secular press, already having upon its list nearly
a thousand daily and weekly papers and a constituency already
running into the millions. Still another committee could be
charged with the responsibility of direct correspondence with
large givers or with any list of donors who may be selected by
the Board and furnished to the committee. Still another could
make a digest of the annual reports in English and . dis-
446 THE HOME BASE
tribute them to the church at home. Many friends at home
would be interested in just such information, especially the
average givers. Every missionary, too, when approaching his
furlough period, should be gathering materials so as to be able
to stir the whole church to a deeper interest in his field. A
careful selection of thoroughly good pictures for slides will be
very worth while.
Rev. Arthur H. Allen (The American Seamen's Friend So-
ciety, New York City) : I represent the American Seamen's
Friend Society, of which I have the honor to be a director. We
are considering new work in the Canal Zone, for which I ask
your interest and your prayers. A lot has been assigned to us,
next to that of the American Bible Society in Cristobal. We
hope to build there soon. Every one of the reports represents
most statesmanlike and far-reaching policies. But the one
before us today has been unusually appealing. Can we make
the churches see with our eyes this great vision? There are
many who have no use for this Congress, had no kind word
about it or us. How can they resist that appeal that the Chris-
tian religion shall not fail in a large part of South America?
Rev. James I. Vance, D.D. (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A.,
Nashville, Tenn.) : It seems to me that it is very important for
us to make unmistakably plain to our people just what we are
about in this foreign mission enterprise. About a half or three-
fourths of them have a total misconception of our objective.
Last summer I was in southwest Texas trying to promote an in-
terest in missions. One morning in San Antonio two gentle-
men took seats opposite me and began discussing foreign mis-
sions for my benefit. One remarked : "Those people in China
have as much right to their views as we have to ours." Many
suppose that changing the views of the people in these lands
is the business of missionaries. We are rather sharing with
them our blessings and our own Christian life. The views will
come as the result of experience. Nothing will resurrect a dead
church or Christian quicker than the arousing of an interest in
individual missionaries. Dr. Zwemer was once to speak in the
church of which I was pastor. I said to him : "Zwemer, a
man sits in the middle aisle who has abundant means, but
doesn't care to give to missions. I wish you could interest him."
He went into the pulpit and delivered one of his telling
addresses. He was to have taken dinner with me at the same
manse, but the millionaire's little boy, about ten years of age,
came up and took Zwemer's hand and said: "I want you to go
to dinner with us." His father had not thought of inviting him,
but validated the invitation. The result was that Zwemer got
that man interested in the support of a missionary, and from
the time of doing that his spiritual life was revolutionized.
Rev. L. B. Wolf, D.D. (General Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in U. S. A., Baltimore, Md.) : It is compara-
tively easy to pray other people's children into God's service
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 447
in India, China, Japan and Latin America. I wonder if we are
equally insistent at the family altar about our own sons and
daughters, those nearest and dearest to us, that they may go into
some of these fields of service? Again, how shall we persuade
Christians in North America to go into these great Latin-
American fields? We must show to our home constituency the
real position of our evangelical churches as over against the
church which prevails here, and we must make our plea on the
ground of advancing civil and reUgious liberty, of enriching a
heritage. With such a plea our people will be in close sympathy.
Rt. Rev. Lucien Lee Kinsolving, D.D. (Protestant Episcopal
Church in U. S. A., Rio Grande, Brazil) : I think we ought
to remember that, after all, the great work to be done in Latin
America must be done chiefly through the Latins themselves.
The best constructive work we have done in South Brazil has
been done through the national ministry. We do need a good
training school. When Bishop Brown was in Brazil, he organ-
ized for theological candidates a good preparatory school. After
six years of study, which included historic Christianity, theology
and Hebrew, they went out to work.
Rev. Judson Swift, D.D. (The American Tract Society, New
York City) : Since we began the Congress with the report on
Survey and Occupation until today, I have been thinking of the
white harvest field awaiting our reaping. We have come to
the place where the entire emphasis is to be laid upon the har-
vesting of these fields. I believe we can do it. I know that we
shall do it. We need not pay as much attention to a wide cam-
paign for funds in the states as we should pay to a nation-wide
prayer campaign. We have had it brought out. We need more
consecration in our home churches to stir to life our resources.
We may preach and talk and organize and hold committees, but
the only real and effective method is prayer backed up with
faith in God. We need to go to our knees in prayer and ask
God to help us do this thing.
Bishop Luther B. Wilson, D.D. (Methodist Episcopal
Church, New York City) : I have been asking myself what I
am to say concerning this Congress when I return, and there
comes to me the answer that came to the disciples of John the
Baptist. I am to tell the things that I have seen and heard,
magnifying the opportunity and the need and the great plans
which are in progress here in Latin America. As representative
of the home Board. I realize as never before the caution to be
exercised in the selection of workers. I realize that it is not
possible hastily to select men for so diflEicult a field as Latin
America. They must have the right temperament as well as a
fine intellectual equipment. I have come also to feel the im-
portance of the spirit. The world will never be won by easy
methods of self-sacrifice. Only as great leaders and the rank
and file of our churches are willing to lay themselves on God's
altar, can we hope for the evangelization of the world. Again
448 THE HOME BASE
I have been thinking of a great word spoken a long time ago^
"Paul may plant." Paul with his splendid culture and keen
intellect may plant, and Apollos with all his wealth of emotion
and sympathy may water; but after all that expression and en-
deavor, it is God himself who must give the increase. At the
close of this Congress, we seem to be upon, a mount of vision,
but we must abide before the Christ of us all and of our Latin
America, and of all the world, to make Him our leader, our
strength, our guide, so that we may go hence not only with a
vision of His will but also with the power of His spirit resting
on us.
Mr. Joseph E. McAfee (Presbyterian Church in U. S. A., New
York City) : It seems to me that the most complete value of
the Congress will be that the two great factors in the mission-
ary program, the missionaries and the home base, have been en-
abled to understand each other a little better and to gain each
other's point of view. The home base is changing its spiritual
perspective very rapidly. It has not known Latin America, nor
has Latin America as represented by its missionaries wholly
comprehended what is going forward in the spiritual develop-
ment of the home base. Let me repeat again that our home
churches are looking for, and are thrilled by, positives only.
They are much more interested in achievements than in failures.
It is now often said that that which thrills the giving and pray-
ing forces of the United States is evidence that the missionary
forces are working together, that there is no schism, no conflict
or divergence of purpose in the forces which are taking hold
of the great task of evangelization. When a missionary goes
into a church in the United States which stands on one street
corner, and has a church of another denomination on the oppo-
site corner, and churches of still other denominations on the
other two corners, his strongest appeal for Latin America will
be that the Protestant forces in the field are working together
for the one great end. Whatever the appearance of conflict and
duplication, our people believe down in their hearts in the unity
of the forces which are to take the world for Christ. They
like positive and comprehensive programs. A great thrill will
go out from this conference, in the second place, if it is shown
that we are aiming at vital and immediate human needs. In
the third place, we must give evidence of the ability of the life
in Latin America to take hold of this task. Given such a pro-
gram, making it as big and vital and gripping as we can, the
churches will be thrilled.
Rev. H. C. Tucker, D.D. (The American Bible Society, Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil) : May we missionaries take to heart this
very inspiring expression of desire from our brethren at the
home base for more intelligent information regarding the actual
conditions and actual needs on the field, remembering that if
the church at home is to have such adequate knowledge of
actual conditions upon the field, we must cooperate in the study
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 449
of problems, in the classifying of opinions and in their trans-
mission to our Boards at home. This will require time, effort
and freedom, but we ought to get at the task. In this investi-
gation of our fields we must not fail to combine our view of
the situation with the knowledge and experience of our native
Christian brethren in what we send to the home churches. Let
us try to present broad and comprehensive programs which
will command the sympathy and cooperation of our earnest and
wealthy laymen throughout the Church at home. We need to
educate the people at home in the breadth of the gospel mes-
sage which we are proclaiming in these countries. Our gospel
meets social conditions and saves life, not merely souls. Jesus
came to redeem the life of man and of society. With such a
program the church at home will have sympathy.
Mr. Harry S. Myers (The Missionary Education Movement,
New York City) : "During the summer of 1916, more than one
hundred and fifty conferences of leaders of Christian work will
be held in the United States and Canada that will be attended
by thirty thousand Christian workers. In many of these con-
ferences arrangements have already been made to present the
claims of Latin America through text-books, classes and
addresses. Three who are here at this Congress w^ill have a
large part in these conferences and are writing the text books.
A similar opportunity is offered in the Chautauquas. One
speaker at this Congress spent three weeks two years ago on
the Chautauqua platform speaking about the Philippines. Such
opportunities might easily be made for Latin America. Text-
books on Latin America are now being prepared for general
circulation. Adequate literature and special addresses at the
gatherings will bring Latin America clearly before vast numbers.
Dr. John R. Mott (The Advisory Committee, New York
City) : As I have been listening to the remarkable statements
of this morning and remember what each man or woman here
represents, I have been fairly overpowered by a sense of the
possibilities. If each one of us is true to the visions which he
has received here, what influence will be set in motion ! It may
not be amiss for us to remind ourselves now of the processes
which have been going forward in this room and about these
busy hallways and elsewhere in Panama during these days,
drawing us more and more closely and beautifully and surely
together. What are these processes? Because we can fix our
attention upon them and lend ourselves to the carrying of them
forward during the coming days, this unity which has been so
happily and thoroughly achieved will grow not only in volume
but in power, and if a deep heart unity is established among us,
the gigantic evils of superstition and shame and the many un-
solved problems which have been massed together here will
melt away as dew before the sun. Through an atmosphere of
unity the spirit of God has ever worked with irresistible power.
Am I not right in saying that one process has been that of
450 THE HOME BASE
reminding ourselves that we are one, that we of different races,
different nations, different Christian communions, are one, no
matter how we may have 'thought or felt before? We have
become one in our consuming desire to become a little more
lik Christ day by day. Being one in these deepest purposes,
nothing shall keep us from standing together in our sacrificial
work on behalf of His children. When a member of a family
has been away from his home so long that he scarcely remem-
bers his relatives, that does not at all invalidate his membership.
When a citizen lives abroad so long that he is inattentive to
his duties as a citizen, it does not invalidate the fact that he is
still a citizen of his country. So we Anglicans, Baptists, Pres-
byterians, Lutherans, Methodists are one family. Nothing can
ever make it otherwise.
Another process has been that of contrition. As we have sat
here during these days, we have repeatedly been stricken with
a sense of our own sinfulness, our lack of charity, our lack of
love, our lack of considerateness for the people from whom we
consciously or ignorantly or falsely differ. Contrition should
lead to confession. It should remind us of the sinfulness of
thinking or speaking unkindly. A man may be unready to re-
strain the sins of the tongue and the imagination, who would
rather forfeit his life than give up his belief in the deity of our
Lord, "I confess a sin," says a great writer, "the moment I
recognize it to be a sin, whether I am alone or with the people."
The moment the unkind or un-Christlike thought crosses our
way, how important it is that we see the sin of it and put it be-
hind us immediately. Another process has been the process of
transcendence. How many of us have had the blessed experi-
ence here of getting to where we have seen no man save Jesus
only? On this mount of vision we see the kingdoms of this
world changing into the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ.
Then there is the process also of comprehension. I mean the
process of reminding ourselves that we are all necessary to this
hufye task. The kind of unity we want is a unity which ex-
cludes no one of us. It is not a unity of compromise but of
comprehension ; it is not a unity in which each one expresses
himself in the same forms. We all value what is most distinc-
tive about us as Methodists or Baptists, or Anglicans, or
Lutherans. It is well to remind ourselves how much richer we
are as a result of coming together with people of varying com-
munions. It has brought some of our richest blessings. Then
there is the process of fellowship. I am glad that so many of
us could live right here in the hotel. I wish it could have taken
in every one, but we have had great opportunities between ses-
sions and we have come to know one another in a blessed fellow-
ship. Now let us keep together, even when thousands of miles
divide us. Let us keep the pathway well worn between ourselves
and our friends. Let us keep together by intercession, by let-
ters, by each other's reports, and by good words about each
DISCUSSION OF THE REPORT 451
other. How refreshing it has been that day after day we have
been called upon to rise in unity in intercession. Many have
deplored the fact that we have not been able to get together in
little groups for intercession. But this process of intercession
simply must be carried forward in everything we do. It is one
of our great needs. Christ's solution of the problem of union
was strikingly original, and he put it in the form of an object
lesson in His great high priestly prayer. By the example
which he gave us there, he left no ambiguity as to what he
looked upon as the only social process that would help his fol-
lowers— when he prayed that we and all of our successors
through all the ages might be one.
The other process upon which this Congress itself has been
based is the process of standing together before impossible tasks.
I thank God that they seem impossible. It has pleased me
greatly as people have piled up the difficulties. We have got
them up high enough now, so that we clearly see we cannot do
them individually. As we confront these great problems, how we
have been moved to say that we will go against them together !
The doing of things together is a process that has prevailed all
through this Congress. If you look over the reports of the
Commissions and review the reports of these debates, you will
be startled by the number of concrete suggestions for coopera-
tion that have been made, and many more have been made in
the conversations that have taken place. Upon one matter we
are unanimous, we realize that the more things we do together
the more we will find that we can do together. Let us keep
busy with that process.
As a last word, let me mention the great need that we all
become apostles of reconciliation. May we not dedicate our-
selves anew, each one of us, to become an apostle of reconcilia-
tion— that fs, an apostle trying to make Christ's children better
acquainted with one another, who shall try to make them love
one another better and serve one another better and work
better together. What we need are people of more catholic,
Christ-like minds, of a solidarity of spirit, persons who have
reverential regard for the past and therefore for Christ's deal-
ings with his people through all the ages. We want people
likewise of constructive ability and of vision, who have got
their eye upon the day of victory and not simply upon the
obstacles in other fields. We want people with a Christ-like
passion to serve others. The most difficult form of statesman-
ship is that which makes peace between nations that have not
been pulling together. The hardest piece of work which Christ
has given His Church to do is the task of promoting true unity
among his followers. He said. "Blessed are the peacemakers."
You and I have been in the habit of placing too much emphasis
upon the word peace, but the whole context of the language of
Jesus — yea, more, his life — shows that He would have us, as we
go out of this Congress, place the chiet emphasis upon makers.
452 THE HOME BASE
men who take the initiative, who take the burden of responsi-
bility, who recognize that the drawing together of Christians
will not come as a work of magic, will not come as a m.atter of
chance, and will not drive us into the great unity that we wish
without the guidance of the spirit of Christ. "Blessed are the
peacemakers."
Yes, I would emphasize another word in this phrase. Blessed
are the peacemakers. I do not know a more happy work than
that of bringing together two relatives or friends who have
been bitterly divided. Some of us have had to engage in works
like that, and I think of nothing that will bring a deeper joy, not
only into our own hearts, but, I fancy, into the heart of our
Savior, than that of having spread out all over Latin America
and the home base countries the commanding work of love and
true unity among His true followers and believers.
In Conclusion
Chairman Harry Wade Hicks: It is not necessary for the
Commission to make more than a few closing remarks, because
we do not desire that the impression already made should be
dissipated. I had intended to speak of the best methods of re-
porting the Congress to the home base, and, in fact, to all of
our constituencies. May I ask you to read particularly Chapter
V with care, as you go homeward? That chapter was intended
to suggest methods and means of making effective the influence
and the message of this Congress among our constituencies.
Let me also call your attention to the section in the last chap-
ter on the need of prayer, and then let me emphasize the united
missionary educational program for the ensuing year. All
energies will be united in focusing attention upon Latin America.
Note the sections on pages 378 and 411 relating to missionary
periodicals and magazines, and the sections referring to deputa-
tions to be sent to Latin America. An"d then particularly that
section, page 370, devoted to Latin-American students in North
America, Great Britain, and Europe, and Appendix D. One
suggestion not made in the Report, but upon which we have all
agreed, is the importance of establishing endowments in sup-
port of lectureships to be undertaken by men of outstanding
ability. We believe if this could be done now, it would do much
to continue the influence of this Congress. May we not pray
that something, like the Barrows Lectureship in relation to
India, may be established to stimulate still further the thought
and the conviction and the confidence of thinking men and
women in North America and Latin America? My last word is
one of profound confidence in the resources of the Christian
Church at the home base and in the resources of God, and of
belief that in the years to come many of these needs of Latin
America, and of the supporting bases, will be adequately met
through the blessing of God.
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