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70 THE PRESBYTERIAN
THE
((( H. C Ostrom. Secretary Lay
One of the greatest gatherings of students in recent
years met in Rochester. X. Y frnm Wpdnpcrin
noon, December 29, through Sunday night, January 2.
The occasion was the Sixth Quadrennial Convention of
the Students' Volunteer Movement. It brought together
3,624 students, professors, leaders and speakers
from 722 institutions of learning in 49 States and
provinces. Twenty-nine countries were represented.
A gathering of such numbers, representing so vast an
area and so large a constituency, demands more than
a cursory glance. It ought to startle the Church into
questioning as to the meaning and intent of so great
a crusade among the students of America and of the
world.
"What is this Student Volunteer Movement?" some
may ask. It is a movement which was organized in
1S.86 for the sole purpose of arousing the students of
America to a recognition of an adoption of the world
program of the church. Its prime business is to secure
volunteers for foreign missionary service.
The Convention was invited to Rochester by joint
artion of the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministers'
Union, an example of the correlation of commerce
and religion. Rochester was an ideal city for the convention
despite the blizzard which took some of our
Southern delegates somewhat unawares. The hospitality
manifested toward the visitors was splendid.
The Convention Hall was large and convenient, though
one twice as large would scarcely have held all who
wanted to atend.
Let lis take a look at the interior of the Convention
Hall. Over the platform was the, now well-known
watchword of the Movement: "The Evengalization
of the World in this Generation." Facing
the platform and around the gallery hung the
verse, "Not by an army, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts." Flags of various nations
dropped from the ceiling, while a huge American
flag hung to the right and a huge British flag to the
left of the platform. All of this made the place look
like an international council. Perhaps as a reminder
of the holiday season, the space back of the speakers
was a network of green foliage amongst which were
distributed small white electric lights, like candles. Directly
to the rear were interspersed small red and green
lights, withal giving the hall a very festive appearance.
Wednesday, the First Day's Session.
The Convention was called to order promptly at 3
o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, the 29th of Decem1i*>r
Mr TrU,., X> *1 ^ <"
jumi xv. mult, me musier 01 asseniDiies, was
in the chair. The singing of "Come, Thou Almighty
King" by the vast audience of nearly 4,000 was impressive
and gave promise of the coming power of the
gathering. Mr. Mott then said: "The object of this
Convention is the making of Jesus Christ known to the
whole world, giving all men an opportunity to know
li^ririnr TL. C ? x I?
mw ">n.& uuu oiuiiviviii v^iiiisi. i iic lust speaKer
was Geo. Sherwood Eddy, of India. He urged that
each one present should examine himself, at the out
OF THE SOUTH January ig, igio.
k coWENTIO^I
>men's Missionary Movement - |j|
set of the Convention, to see just what relation he bore
to Christ, to see whether there was power for victory
over sm 111 the lite, and whether his salvation was
worth passing on. lie put five questions for each toanswer:
"What am 1 before God? Am 1 a construe- I
tive Bible student? Am 1 a man of prayer? Am I a
winner of men? Have I victory over sin. ',' A period
of silent prayer followed for the contemplation of these
questions, during which a great hush swept over the
hall.
The other speaker of the afternoon was Robert E.
Speer, of New York City, whose subject was, "The
abounding sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet the needs
of the world." lie said in part, that it does not matter
what needs men have, whether physical, mental, moral
or spiritual, Jesus Christ can meet them all. And he
is able to meet them now. lie gave four great helps
in the building of moral character, a sense of duty to
achieve the highest, an ideal of what is highest, a sense
oi sname ai not reaching tlie highest, and that in Christ
alone is found power to strive to achieve the best. The
burden of his address was that the abounding needs
of the world can only be met through Christ and as
men and women offer themselves to Hint for the work.
Progress in Oriental Lands.
Recent developments in the Far East were discussed
by the two speakers at the first night's session. Hundreds
were turned away and an overflow meeting held
in the Central Presbyterian Church. Dr. Arthur J.
Brown, of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions,
New York City, spoke first on "Changing Conditions in
the Far East," being largely a testimony as to what he
VlOrl conn ? J 1 1
,.?v. wn a lt-Lciu woriu tour. lie pointed out significant
changes along political, commercial, intellectual,
moral and spiritual lines. With graphic touches
he depicted how all Asia was and is seething. The
spiritual force is the mightiest factor in the arousing
of the Orient. After an interval of prayer and song,
Geo. Sherwood Eddy made a plea for the evangelization
of India." The most encouraging thing he had
seen in that land was the present unrest. The cause is
found in the conflict between the incoming new civilization
and the old. There is a growing dissatisfaction
with life under present conditions. The awakening of
India is two fold in its effect. On the one hand, there
is a mighty ingathering into the Christian Church. On
the other, the influence of Western education and religion
is felt outside the church in the rising national
consciousness.
Thursday, the Second Day.
Long before 9:30 o'clock on Thursday, the hall was
filled to overflowing. After a season of prayer, Mr.
Mott read the report of the work of the Student Volunteer
Movement for f -
msi iour years. In part, lie
said the movement is a recruiting agency. The best
evidence of success is ihc number of sailed Volunteers.
During the last four years, since the Nashville Convention,
1,275 Volunteers have sailed, making a total
of 4,346 who have gone out since the beginning of the