"CViina. 
 
 ^be l^ale ^foreign fIDission. 
 
 fltS ©Cigin. Some years ago a few recent graduates 
 of Yale, members of the Student Volunteer Movement, 
 devoted a year to preaching the cause of foreign mis- 
 sions to young people all over the country. The suc- 
 cess of this propaganda was so great as to suggest to 
 their minds the plan of a missionary society to be 
 banned and supported entirel)^ by the students and 
 graduates of their own university to supplement and 
 extend the wholesome activities of a flourishing domes- 
 tic mission conducted by students in New Haven. 
 From this idea was developed, with the advice and co- 
 operation of a number of the college faculty, the scheme 
 of a Yale Foreign Mission, involving a society that 
 without officially depending upon the university for 
 authority or financial support should turn to practical 
 account some portion of that unified mass of vital 
 energy that goes by the name of the “ Yale Spirit.” No 
 one who knows what this spirit means in the life of 
 Yale undergraduates, or who is aware of what it has 
 accomplished in athletics, in politics, in concerted 
 movements for strengthening the college or improving 
 its moral tone, will doubt its effectiveness when di- 
 rected toward the support of a missionary society that 
 bears the name of Yale. The number of student vol- 
 unteers here testifies moreover to so general and endur- 
 
2 
 
 r- 
 
 ing an interest among undergraduates in the work of 
 foreign missions as to insure for the project both candi- 
 dates and support. The Mission purposes in time to 
 make large demands upon Yale, but in return (in the 
 words of President Hadley’s Report for 1902) “it gives 
 to her Christian workers the inspiration which comes * 
 from the opening of a new and wide field of successful 
 effort. ” 
 
 Zbc 3ncl&. Several reasons prompted the selection 
 of China as a field of operations. A people of high 
 civilization and ancient culture would naturally enlist 
 the sympathetic attention of a bod}' of educated menlt 
 but while India appears to be the special subject of 
 similar efiforts by university men from England, and 
 Japan is rapidly learning to take care of her own needs, 
 China, the only remaining people of learning in the 
 East, has peculiar claims upon the Christian conscience 
 of America. From the standpoint of the evangelist all 
 non-Christian countries may appear to be on the same 
 plane, but at the present moment China’s need is in- 
 comparably greater than that of the others, to be saved 
 not only from Paganism but from the European powers 
 and from herself. The process of regeneration involves 
 obviously the education of the brain of the nation as 
 well as the elevation of its moral life to Christian stand- 
 ards, and to this congenial task the abounding enthu- 
 siasm of young Yale may be honorably devoted. A 
 few of the best intellects of China already appreciate 
 her greatest need and call for educators from the West ; 
 to establish a college there and train the natives to 
 
3 
 
 teach their own people promises the largest results 
 with the least risk of antagonizing their governing 
 class. 
 
 IHffiUatfOtlS. The Society proposes to stand by it- 
 self without responsibility to any other body. It has 
 no desire, however, to introduce an element of rivalry 
 with older societies into the work of missions. Its 
 non-sectarian character enables it, moreover, to work in 
 harmony with an)" Protestant body, as it has no design 
 of establishing churches in the land of its operations. 
 But in this connection it is proper to mention the rela- 
 •i.ionship of the Mission to the American Board, as set 
 forth in the constitution. As there agreed, the Yale 
 Mission “ affirms its earnest desire to labor in harmony 
 with the Board,” elects the President and two members 
 of the Board as members of its council, and sends it a 
 copy of its yearly report. On its part the American 
 Board : 
 
 “ I. Gives its hearty support to the Yale Mission, 
 recognizing it as an undenominational missionary 
 movement, independent of any existing board, but 
 acknowledging a connection with the American Board, 
 as provided above. 
 
 “ 2. Places at the disposal of the Yale Mission its 
 agencies for the purchase and distribution of missionary 
 supplies and the forwarding of funds. 
 
 “ 3. Will give to the Yale Mission, in case of any 
 important difficulty arising with native governments or 
 people, the same moral support and good offices with 
 
4 
 
 the home government, if necessary, as would be 
 brought to bear in the case of one of its own missions 
 under similar circumstances.” 
 
 When it is remembered how largely the American 
 Board is represented among Yale families and how 
 little these would like any encroachment upon the terri- 
 tories of that old and supremely efficient organization, 
 it will be seen that the Yale Mission secures by this 
 endorsement and association a perfectly invaluable 
 guarantee without losing a particle of its own inde- 
 pendence. It has, moreover, the valuable service of a 
 great business and charitable concern, its counsel and 
 friendly help in time of trouble, and its machinery for 
 remitting funds and transporting supplies. While this., 
 is the only formal bond uniting the Society with any 
 other, its educational work in Hunan province will 
 necessarily maintain it in co-operation with all the 
 missions there which send pupils to its college. 
 
 ®rgani3atlon. The Society, which has been incor- 
 porated under the State law of Connecticut, is governed 
 by a council of forty Yale graduates, half of them a 
 permanent class and half elected by its members. The 
 former Include the^President and Secretary, three Fel- 
 lows, and eleven from the faculties of the University, 
 the General Secretary of the University Y. M. C. A. 
 and three representatives of the American Board ; the 
 latter are elected in groups of five annually for four 
 years. The object of having so large a council is to 
 secure representation and advice from alumni from all 
 
5 
 
 parts of the country and from different college genera- 
 tions ; of the smaller and permanent portion, to obtain 
 the assistance of a corps of men devoted to the univer- 
 sity and living in New Haven. The real work of con- 
 trol is in the hands of an executive committee of seven, 
 who select candidates for the work and devise the 
 policy as well as ways and means. At its annual 
 meeting in June the council passes upon the plans and 
 operations of this committee. All graduates who sub- 
 scribe are accounted members of the Society, other 
 benefactors are made honorary members. 
 
 The administrative machinery, thus briefl}’’ described, 
 is effective in many ways. It is fully representative of 
 universit)', while it does not commit the corpora- 
 tion by its action or hamper itself by requiring assent 
 or advice ; it has to deal with a highly intelligent body 
 of supporters, amongst whom differences of sect count 
 for little, who are generally capable of distinguishing 
 in matters of transient and of supreme importance, and 
 who can therefore be trusted to sustain the Mission in 
 patience and confidence of the ultimate issue ; it can 
 count upon the intimate personal friendships of its 
 missionaries and subscriber^ and the consequent re- 
 liance of all concerned in statements coming from the 
 scene of its operations, thus rendering the literature of 
 accounts and apologies unnecessary in its reports ; 
 and finally it wastes no money in paying for the offices 
 and running expenses of a board at home equipped 
 solel3'to raise funds to maintain its missionaries abroad. 
 Such simple and inexpensive mechanism enables the 
 Mission to devote every dollar raised directly to its 
 real object. 
 
6 
 
 Xocation an5 plans for “Mori?. At a conference 
 of the missionaries of the province of Hunan, held 
 June 19, 20, 21, 1903, at Changsha, the provincial capi- 
 tal, and at which representatives of ten different socie- 
 ties and denominations were present, the following 
 resolutions were unanimously and enthusiastically 
 passed : 
 
 ^ Resolved, That the conference extend a cordial invi- 
 tation to the Yale University Mission to establish an 
 educational center in Changsha. It recommends the 
 societies working in Hunan to entrust the higher edu- 
 cation in the province in science, arts and medicine to 
 this Mission, and also to work as far as possible in 
 primary education on lines that conform to the plan of 
 higher education that might be adopted by the YaHv 
 University Mission. The conference would also' 
 recommend the Mission to consider the question of 
 entrusting theological education to Yale University 
 Mission, but does not feel able to give any indication 
 of what the result of such consideration will be. The 
 conference heartily welcomes the prospect of having 
 Universit}' Extension and special work for the Literati 
 carried on in Hunan.” 
 
 This invitation gave the Yale Foreign Missionary 
 Society an opportunity to work in a province of 
 21,000,000 inhabitants, in a city located almost exactly 
 in the center of China proper, distant by two days from 
 the Yangtse by boat, and through which the Peking- 
 Canton railroad will run, and in a district of China far I 
 removed from the fear of Russian influence and 
 aggression. After carefully considering the matter the [ 
 Executive Committee voted to accept the invitation, 
 and on October 6, 1903, sent the following reply to the ! 
 missionaries of Hunan ; | 
 
r 
 
 7 
 
 To The Hunan Missionary Conference, 
 
 Changsha, China : 
 
 Gentlemen : We acknowledge with profound grati- 
 tude the invitation extended to our Society by your 
 body through Mr. Thurston to unite in the work of 
 missions in China with the Protestant organizations 
 now in Hunan, and, in accepting the offer made to us 
 in so generous a spirit of Christian comity, we realize 
 with the honor conferred upon the Yale Foreign Mis- 
 sionary Society the grave responsibilities involved in 
 the high calling thus set before us. The invitation has, 
 moreover, to our minds a special significance as mark- 
 ing not only the ungrudging welcome of your own 
 members to a new society, but an evident desire to 
 introduce in the newly begun work in your province 
 the element of co-operation with which we cordially 
 sympathize and agree. 
 
 In view of the fact that the purpose of the Yale For- 
 eign Missionary Society appears to have been some- 
 what misunderstood, through press reports in China, 
 it is proper here to advise you of the policy which with 
 God’s blessing we hope to pursue. While the Societ}" 
 cannot place in the field so large a number of men as 
 has been rumored, it intends eventually to send out a 
 sufficient body of well-equipped instructors to man any 
 educational institution it may establish. It must also 
 be definitely understood that the Society, though 
 including officers of the university and of its several 
 faculties among its most active and devoted members, 
 is not formed or operated by Yale University as such, 
 but is a voluntar}" association of its graduates. 
 
 The aim of the Society is twofold : — To establish in 
 our university an organization capable of enlisting in 
 behalf of a Christian and philanthropic enterprise the 
 loyal interest of its members and alumni ; and 
 
 To direct this interest especially to the welfare of 
 China. 
 
 From this it follows that the Society must be without 
 denominational bias, as our students here belong to all 
 
8 
 
 communions ; it is also our supreme desire to only add 
 a new force to those already laboring for the promotion 
 of Christianity in China, not to conflict with agencies 
 now at work nor interfere with plans contemplated by 
 others. It is a constructive not a destructive purpose 
 that actuates us. 
 
 With these ideas in mind it has seemed reasonable 
 from the outset of our undertaking to expect some 
 success in devoting our endeavors chiefly to teaching. 
 A college community naturally understands and sym- 
 pathizes with the needs of another college and can sup- 
 ply its intellectual requirements. 
 
 In establishing its institution of learning in China 
 the intentions of this Societ}" are : (i) To furnish a com- 
 pany of missionaries who are strongl}' and sincerely 
 Christian as well as men technicall)' fitted for educa- 
 tional work. (2) To assist China in her great need by’ 
 raising up through such an institution a body of native 
 students acquainted with the truths and accepting the 
 spirit of Christianity ; by training these men as effect- 
 ivel}’’ as possible in scientific and advanced studies to 
 become leaders in their own country ; and by reproduc- 
 ing in the Far East the wholesome moral and social 
 influences of an American college community. (3) To 
 co-operate with the missionaries of other societies in 
 unifying and making effective the Christian schools of 
 the province so that they ma}'' be of the highest service 
 to the church and ma}' become an object lesson to the 
 government schools in the country. 
 
 To outline such a scheme for higher education, al- 
 though our ultimate “university” purpose is clear, 
 does not imply the expectation of immediately accom- 
 plishing great things. We realize perfectly that it 
 requires years to equip an educational establishment of 
 this sort and to prepare its teachers, but for our own 
 sakes — for the reflex influence of the work undertaken 
 as a broadening and deepening factor in the university 
 at home — and for the cause of Christ and civilization, 
 we are determined to persevere. 
 
9 
 
 It is our earnest hope that the missionary groups in 
 Hunan, and others so far as possible, will concur in 
 this conception of the work we are asked to take up. 
 We need their counsels and prayers, and we entreat 
 also their patience in our inexperience and during the 
 inoperative years when language-study and the slow 
 work of foundation-building must be our main task. 
 
 There is every reason why Yale can adequately sup- 
 port this proposed institution. The Executive Com- 
 mittee of the Society are all engaged in the work of 
 education and are, therefore, peculiarly fitted to direct 
 the affairs of a college. The Society has an excep- 
 tional opportunity to select competent men for the 
 field. It can watch them develop during their under- 
 graduate years at Yale, and in the professional schools, 
 and can thus be certain that only men of the highest 
 ability and character are sent out. Moreover, these 
 men having been trained at Yale will form a congenial 
 band of workers. They will enjoy their life in com- 
 mon, and thus will be prepared for the most efficient 
 service. 
 
 Looking at the matter from the Chinese point of 
 view, no American university is respected in China as 
 is Yale. The first Chinese to graduate from an Amer- 
 ican college took his degree here. The first Chinese 
 geography of America, a book used throughout the 
 empire, mentioned but one American institution of 
 learning, namely, Yale. No other American univer- 
 sity has so large a number of influential Chinese gradu- 
 ates, and consequently educated China regards Yale 
 with especial favor. When the college at Changsha is 
 established it will not be difficult to secure scholar- 
 ships at Yale for the most promising pupils and thus 
 
10 
 
 maintain the closest affiliations between the two institu- 
 tions. We know from the highest Chinese authority 
 that China will welcome this plan. 
 
 TimaBS anS /Ifteans. The Society will pay its mar- 
 ried missionaries $i,ooo a year with subsequent increase . 
 for children ; its unmarried missionaries $700 a year. : 
 It is expected that the classes will support their own 
 representatives. The salary of Mr. Thurston, ’g8, our 
 first missionary in the field, is paid by five members of 
 his class. There is, however, immediate need of large 
 sums for the purchase of land and the erection of 
 buildings, and for this work some $17,000 has been 
 subscribed. l\Ir. Harlan P. Beach, ’78, already wel!*- | 
 known as the author of The Geography and Atlas of I 
 Protestant Missions, who through his long residence in 1 
 China is perfectly fitted for the task, goes to Hunan in 
 1904, to take charge of the negotiations for land, and 
 to consult with the missionaries of the province in 
 regard to the work of the college. A little money 
 accomplishes much in China. A college with as many 
 as ten specially trained men would be the greatest 
 educational institution in the empire. A recent gradu- 
 ate, a physician, visited China at the request of the 
 Executive Committee, inspected the best hospitals 
 there, and presented a report on the subject of medical 
 work. A thoroughly equipped hospital with some 
 forty beds, he says, can be erected for only $10,000. 
 
 The Society has under commission a Yale graduate, 
 now studying at Johns Hopkins Medical School, who 
 will start the Society’s medical work. 
 
 New Haven, Conn., December, 1903. 
 
©tKccrs 
 
 iPresiSeiit. 
 
 Rev. Timothy Dwight, D.D., ’49. 
 I 3 iccs®resi 6 cnt. 
 
 Rt. Rev. Edwin S. Lines, D.D., ’72. 
 treasurer. 
 
 Pierce N. Welch, ’62. 
 
 Bssietant ITreasurcv. 
 
 Arthur C. Williams, ’98. 
 
 Cbairman of Executive Committee. 
 Prof. F. Wells Williams, ’79. 
 
 1 Recot 6 lng Secfetavs. 
 
 William Sloane, ’95. 
 
 Executive Secretary. 
 
 Prof. Edward B. Reed, ’94, 
 
 351 White Hall. 
 
 HuOitor. 
 
 Eli Whitney, ’69. 
 
Eiecutivc Committee, 
 
 Dean H. P. Wright, ’68, 
 
 Dean F, K. Sanders, ’8g, 
 
 Rev. H. P. Beach, ’78, 
 
 Prof. F. Wells Williams, ’79, 
 Lewis S. Welch, ’89, 
 
 Rev. A. P. Stokes, Jr., ’96, 
 
 A. C. Williams, ’98. 
 
 Council. 
 
 Ipcrmanent fiDembers, 
 President Arthur T. Hadley, ’76, 
 Dean H. P. Wright, ’68, 
 
 Rev. C. R. Palmer, D.D., ’55, 
 Rev. J. W. Cooper, D.D., ’65, 
 
 Eli Whitney, ’69, 
 
 Prof. Theodore S. WooLSfev, J72, 
 Prof. F. Wells Williams, ’79, 
 
 Prof. G. T. Ladd, ’81, 
 
 Prof. B. W. Bacon, ’81, 
 
 Prof. R. N. Corwin, ’87, 
 
 Prof. H. B. Ferris, ’87, 
 
 Prof. W. L. Phelps, ’87, 
 
 Dean F. K. Sanders, ’89, 
 
 Edward B. Reed, ’94, 
 
 Rev. A. P. Stokes, Jr., ’96, 
 
 Prof. C. C. Torrey, ’00, 
 
 R. H. Edwards, ’01. 
 
13 
 
 jfrom tbe Hmerfcan 38oaf6. 
 
 President S. B. Capen, 
 Rev. JuDSON Smith, D.D., 
 Prof. Edward C. Moore. 
 
 Elective fflem&ecs. 
 
 "tEerm eipires June, 1904. 
 
 Rev. R. C. Morse, D.D., ’62, 
 Rev. W. R. Richards, D.D., ’75, 
 Rev. H. P. Beach, ’78, 
 
 Lewis S. Welch, ’89, 
 
 Vance McCormick, ’93 S. 
 
 Uerm expires June, 1905. 
 
 Rev. G. E. Day, D.D., ’37, 
 
 Rt. Rev. C. B. Brewster, D.D., '68, 
 C. H. Kelsey, ’78, 
 
 J. M. Whitehead, ’77, 
 
 E. S. Harkness, ’97. 
 
 Uevm eipires June, t906. 
 
 Rev. Timothy Dwight, D.D., ’49, 
 Pierce N. Welch, ’62, 
 
 J. S. Houghteling, ’76 S., 
 Gifford Pinchot, ’89, 
 
 J. F. Ferry, ’01 S. 
 
Ucvm expires 3une, 1907. 
 
 Rt. Rev. E. S. Lines, D.D., ’72, 
 J. B. Reynolds, ’84, 
 
 William Sloane, ’95, 
 
 R. S. Brewster, ’97, 
 
 A. C. Williams, ’98. 
 
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