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Page 22
* * * * *
Rev. George W. Moore, of the Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church, at
Washington, to whom we are indebted for a full account of the sessions
of the Congress, comments upon it as follows:
"Mr. D.A. Rudd, of Cincinnati, editor of the _American Catholic
Tribune_, a colored Catholic paper, was chosen permanent Chairman. Upon
assuming the office he spoke favorably of the attitude of the Catholic
Church towards the Negro, saying especially: 'The Fatherhood of God and
the brotherhood of man is taught and practised by the Catholic Church in
no doubtful terms.' He advocated the starting of Catholic schools and
the aiding of those already started. The following facts were presented
by the Committee on Resolutions: There are twenty colored Roman Catholic
churches in the country, each of which has a school annexed. There are
sixty-five other colored Roman Catholic schools; eight colored Roman
Catholic orphan asylums; and three reformatories. Five thousand colored
children are taught in these schools, and three hundred children in the
asylums. Seven colored students are preparing to become priests. The
Pope from Rome cabled his greetings in response to a cable from the
Congress, saying: 'The Sovereign Pontiff gladly and proudly blesses you
with all his heart.' The influence, patronage and wealth of the Roman
Catholic Church are all at the service of this movement, and if
Protestants build up caste-churches in the South, the Romanists will
not."
* * * * *
AMONG THE TENNESSEE MOUNTAINS.
BY EVANGELIST JAMES WHARTON.
My visit to the people among the mountains was rather a departure from
my usual work--that of preaching to the colored people. I have preached
here about two weeks, the attendance being good, and the interest
deepening as the meetings went on, until now we have more than a score
who have professed to find Jesus precious to their souls.
The condition of the natives in this vicinity is very sad. Their
ignorance and pride coupled make it almost impossible to do anything for
them. The rough roads over the rocks and mountains make it a dangerous
undertaking for them to attend church in the evenings. Several of us
started for a meeting among them on a recent Saturday afternoon, with
rubbers, umbrellas and waterproofs, prepared for mud and rain. We
crossed a rickety old wooden bridge that had been nearly washed away by
the floods, and commenced to climb the mountain side by a road that was
nearly as steep as a steeple and which wended around to nearly every
point of the compass, ever going up, over ruts and rocks, roots and
trunks of trees, now jumping across a ravine, and next climbing a fence.
At last among the thickets and brush there were some signs of life, and
we came to an opening among the trees where we saw a miserable-looking
old shanty. The first thought was, can it be possible that human beings
live in a shed like this? We drew near and saw two women sitting with
their knees up to the open fire on the hearth. They looked much
surprised to see us. We told them that we were going to hold a meeting
at a house a little farther on; will they go? No, they don't care to go,
expectorating the tobacco juice from their mouths into the fire at the
same time. We replied, "You would better go; it may be you will never
have a chance to hear an Englishman again;" to which we got a reply,
"Hear a w-h-a-a-t?" Whether they knew what an Englishman was, or not, or
even if they ever heard there was such a country as England I cannot
say; but I understand there are thousands of these people who know
nothing of the outside world, and many who were never five miles away
from their own door-step in their life. With a patch of ground for corn,
another for tobacco, with wood for the fire, they are as contented as
the President; alas, too contented!
We entered the cabin to which we were going by a door-way in which we
must needs bend our heads very low to get inside. The first thing that
struck us was the gloom and darkness. In each corner of the room was a
bed, with a smaller one pushed underneath, and two sick people suffering
from slow fever. It is no wonder, for eleven people occupied this one
room, about twelve feet square. Need we wonder that misery and squalor
are seen all around? An old soap box from the grocery formed a corner
cupboard. Two old chairs which perhaps belonged to their
great-grandmother, all frame and no seat, an empty box, and a bucket of
water with a tin scoop, formed the whole furniture of the mountain cabin.
Poor souls! I was told that I had done wonders when one day, during an
address, I got them to smile! It was quite a treat to see a smile upon
their faces. Joy seems to be outside their domain altogether, and the
worst feature appears to be that they have no desire for anything
different. If they get the idea that you think them low down and want to
lift them up, they at once commence to stretch themselves up to their
full height and stand upon their dignity. They will not fail to tell you
plainly that you must not think they belong to the "know-nothing" class.
They "know what is right and what is wrong, without you coming here."
This is often said, even by those who live immoral lives. Pride of race
is often affected towards the colored people. A colored man
unfortunately had been drinking and was left at the depot. Some one
stumbled against him, saying, "I did not know it was a man; I thought it
was baggage." His companion spoke up and said, "It isn't a man; it's a
nigger." Often their children are bright, cheery-looking children,
well-behaved, unassuming and quiet. These poor mountain people might do
well to take a few lessons from many of their despised, dusky neighbors.
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