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the presiding officer read the follow
ing, which he had hurriedly composed,
and which, printed on cardboard, was
given each guest as a souvenir:
C. E.
This evening take on new meaning for
Certainly Everything,
Charmingly Emphasizes the
Conspicuous Excellence of
Christian Endeavor.
In our Field Secretary we find the
Capable Executive, who is the
Complete Embodiment of
Concentrated Energy and
Contagious Enthusiasm.
In our State President we recognize
Consecrated Effort
Combined with Efficiency,
which makes us propose
as the head of our State Union
Corcoran Evermore!
In our State Treasurer we have a
Conscientious Exchequer,
into whose keeping
Coins Entrusted will be
Carefully Expended.
In our other guests we see
Clearly Exemplified the spirit of
Cordiality and Earnestness.
Concluding, we Express, Collectively
and to Each one separately, our pleas
ure at the honor of your presence
with us this Charming Evening, and
Cordially Extend the invitation
Come Everybody to our
Christian Endeavor meeting on
Thursday evenings at 8 o'clock, where
your Co-operation, Enrolment and
Consequent Encouragement will Con
tribute Extensively to the success of
our work
"For Christ and the Church."
? Progress.
WHAT IF SHE HAI) NOT SPOKEN?
Sixty years ago a young woman, an
academy student in iamestown, N. Y.,
felt that she ought to invite 0110 of her
companions, a young man, to accept
Christ. To do this duty was not easy,
but she did it. Straight from h*;r
closet she went to him, and said: "Be
a Christian." "He tried to laugh at
me," she wrote years later, "but I
'screwed up my courage* and resisted
his ridicule." The young man soon
after this gave his heart to Christ,
and he always delighted to tell of his
debt to his young companion who had
faced ridicule to do her duty. A few
year<4 * later he determined to study
for the ministry. In 1913 he died,
after more than fifty years of such
splendid service as few men are able
to render ? as pastor, professor in two
theological seminaries, author, Mod
erator of the Presbyterian General
Assembly, and founder and first presi
dent of the Board of Aid for Colleges
and Academies. For the young man's
came was Herrick Johnson. But what
if the young woman had not "screwed
up her courage"? ? Dr. John T. Faris.
"EMIGRATION ? WE CALli IT IN
JAPAN."
Ruth Emerson.
It Is well usually to tell only of the
things that are accomplished facts ?
with statistics attached; but you
surely want to hear of a great inter
national piece of work which the As-'
sociation is undertaking. It is not
yet fully launched here in Japan, but
it is already christened. It will soon
be steaming on its way to join the
work now being done in San Fran
cisco, and soon to be done in Hono
lulu and Seattle, it is hoped. This is
the work for the Japanese girls going
to America ? emigration work, we call
it here; immigration work, you call it
there ? -but It is the very same thing
as far as the girls see and know It.
Every year the number of girls
who go to San Francisco, Seattle and
Honolulu is increasing. In 1915
about 2,000 entered at each" of these
cities. The vast majority of th?se
girls go to be married and are known
as "picture brides." Through a mis
understanding, this name and the
girls to whom it was given, are held
in opprobrium in America. It is in
deed hard for an American to under
stand sympathetically the Japanese
idea of marriage. Practically never is
ft arranged by the participants, but
by "go-betweens" a married cou
ple, friends of both families. These
go-betweens manage the whole affair,
consulting first one family and then
the other, till everything is satisfac
tory. Even if living in Japan the
two to be married may not see each
other before the ceremony, or per
haps they may be allowed to see each
other once, with the go-betweens and
members of the family present. The
real marriage consists in changing the
birth registration of the girl from her
own family over to that of the man's.
This is all that is done in many cases,
though there is an age-old wine-drink
ing ceremony, and today there is a
fad for going to the shrines for this
ceremony, in imitation of the Chris
tians, who always have a church wed
ding. With this idea of marriage,
then, it is as easy for arrangements
to be made for a girl to marry a man
in Honolulu, San Francisco or Chi
cago as in Tokyo or Osaka. In the
eyes of all concerned, the two are
lawfully married before the girl
leaves Japan, upon the official chang
ing of her registration from her
father's name to that of her husband's
family. Thus, what seems to us in
America a most questionable proceed
ing, Is to the Japanese nothing at all
unusual.
- However, there is a distressing side
to it all, and it is in an effort to re
lieve the situation that the Young
Women's Christian Associations of
America and Japan are co-operating
in this work for Japanese girls. The
majority of these so-called "picture
brides" come from the small villages
and towns in the interior of Japan,
where not even Tokyo ways of living
are known, and most certainly not
American ways. In their utter igno
rance of any manners and customs
other than those observed in their na
.tive towns, after a few days in Yoko
hama, spent in unwinding the neces
sary red tape to permit their de
parture, they are ^shipped to some
American city, where they are ex
pected immediately to adopt and
gracefully use American conventions
and etiquette. Of course they cannot
do it, and they fall completely In the
eyes of the community, and, doubt
less, their husband's as well. Except
where they go on fruit ranches, or
something similar, the husband is
away at work all day, and the poor
wife is left at home alone, unable to
speak English or to understand much
that is going on about her. She does
not know how to dress herself prop
erly In foreign clothes, she knows
nothing about the care of a foreign
house, not even the correct way to
make a bed, and she cannot cook the
foreign food. It Is small wonder she
grows unhappy, becomes dissatisfied
or discouraged, or that her neighbor
accuses her of being a careless, slov
enly housekeeper.
Now, through the co-operation of
the Association in America and Ja
pan, a system is being introduced
whereby these girls are to be offered
a course of training in Yokohama be
fore they sail, and then are to be met,
befriended and aided in any way pos
sible upon reaching Honolulu or San
Francisco.
In order to do |ts share In this
work, the Association In Yokohama Is
fitting up a building where, in addi
tlon to general city Association work,
there will be rooms where a few girls
can live, and many others come for
study ? learning how to cook, to make
and select suitable foreign clothes, to
arrange and care for a foreign house.
There will also be lessons in English,
and in foreign manners, customs and
ideals. The girls will be taught about
everything connected with the coming
journey to America, which should do
much to relieve their anxiety as they
start to the foreign land. It is hoped
also that the entire course of training
will go far toward obviating the mis
understandings between these Japa
nese and the Americans with wliom
they should be friends. Wherevev pos
siblo, introductions will be given to
the people in the places to which they
are going.
To start them out, however, with
eyes open to the topsy-turvy condi*
t ion s to be expected is to meet their
necessity only half way. The Asso
ciations on the American side are also
making ready. LaBt summer the Pa
cific Coast Field Committee took the
lead by calling Miss Chickering to
the position of field secretary for im
migrant and foreign and community
work. As her title suggests, her work
will cover many nationalities of for
eign people, and she will be planning
how we can help foreign girls and
women In the dlfllcult process of get
ting into this county both from the
east and from the west, and also how
American and foreign people can be
come better acquainted In the com
munities where foreign people make
tlieir homes. A few weeks later Miss
Sarah Ellis (Iowa State College), who
has lived and taught for many years
in Japan, was called to be the secre
tary to work on Angel Island, where
she can greet the girls as they come
cff the ships and can be the first evi
dence of Christian America which
Japanese girls see. The service which
Miss Ellis in her quiet way is day
by day rendering at this difficult place
Is Indeed proof of the love for people
which dwells in the hearts of those
who are trying to pattern their lives
after that of Jesus Christ.
^ The first line was thrown from the
far shores of Japan and caught by
the workers on the coast of America
when the first girl gave to Miss Ellis
at Angel Island the letter put Into her
hands by the secretary of Yokohama
before she left. It is expected that
very soon the same kind of work
which Miss Ellis is doing w}ll be
started at Honolulu. While Miss
Ellis is working away at Angel Island,
Miss Chickering is busy finding the
right people who will go a-calling in
a friendly way on the new brides In
the places where their homes are
started. We call this follow-up work.
When you realize that it means not
only following up today, but tomor
row and next week and next month
and through the years to come, you
will believe it is well named. And at
the same time some splendid Japanese
women working together with Ameri
can friends under the leadership of
Miss Topping, who represents both
America and Japan, and Miss Hashi
date, who also knows both countries,
are busy with Association work for
Japanese women in both San Fran
cisco and Los Angeles. All this is
but a beginning, but promises much
by and by.
And so by such close co-operation
with Honolulu, San Francisco and
Seattle, we hope and believe that
through the processes of friendliness
a great change can gradually, be
brought about In the understanding,
and therefore relations, of American
and Japanese women on the whole
coast. Let no one think It doesn't
matter what kind of a home this
young 'bride is going to make In
America! It matters tremendously,
for it Is in the homes of these girls
that the deepest foundations for in
ternational friendship will he laid or
lost. ? Association Monthly.
\
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR AND HOME
MISSIONS.
The worthy purpose of the Chris
tian Endeavor Societies to co-operate
in the fundamental work of Home
Missions and thus unify their effort
by becoming responsible for the sup
port of some definite part has been
presented to the Secretaries of Home
Missions through the kindness of Mr.
Karl Lehmann, Southern States Sec
retary for the Extension Movement.
Several of the most promising fields
were carefully considered, and the
Home Mission office has been notified
that Beechwood Seminary, Heidel
berg, Ky., for mountain people, has
been selected by the Southern Chris
tian Endeavorers.
This splendid Home Mission school
is in the care of Rev. A. L. McDuffle
and his consecrated wife, assisted by
an efficient corps of five teachers. It
has its own wide-awake Christian En
deavor Society among its pupilB,
which number from seventy to one
hundred, according to the season.
There are about forty boarders in the
new Carrie Reeves Dorimotry, erected
in honor of the South Carolina girl
who gave up her life in service at this
place, a victim of typhoid fever. It
was one of the last buildings erected
through the -agency of the lamented
Dr. E. O. Guerrant, father of Moun
tain Missions.
. The entire annual cost of maintain
ing this Christian institution, includ
ing the evangelistic work of Rev. A.
D. McDufiie, is only $2,400. Of this
amount $600 has been pledged. This
leaves $1,800 to be secured through
the co operation of the various Chris
tian Endeavor Societies.
January 28, with topic, "Fruits of
the Christian Endeavor Tree," has
been assigned by the leaders as the
time when all Christian Endeavor So
cieties will have the matter present
ed and their offerings for this pur
pose received. As the time is draw
ing very near, plans must be formed
at once and a vigorous effort made to
meet this great Home Mission oppor
tunity. If every society takes hold of
the proposition with the enthusiasm
characteristic of these choice young
people, we are confident that they will
be able to secure the support of their
Home Mission school, which will be a
conspicuous monument of Christian
service to their credit.
Programs and helps will be cheer
fully sent to all these societies, and
we are confidently counting on these
young people to meet this challenge
of Home Mission opportunity.
S. L. Morris,
Homer McMillan,
Secretaries.
Nothing is lost; the good you do
In ways by you not understood,
Though only simple acts and few,
Adds something to the world's
great good.
THE DAY OP THE COUNTRY
CHURCH.
A Helpful New llook.
Rev. J. D. Ashenhurst believes that
the day is here ? and that a still
greater day is at hand ? for effective
work in this field. Out of a long
experience In a rural pastorate, he
discusses actual conditions in rural
communities, and the means by which
they should now be met He ad
vances valuable methods for widening
the Church's Influence and making it
a center of wholesome attraction for
old and young.
Cloth, $1 net; postpaid, f 1.09.
Send check or money order to
THE PRESBYTERIAN OP THE
SOUTH,
Richmond, Va.