Clje Centenary l^ome IBoarO ISoofelet JBumter ©ne Three Outposts of Liberty Porto Rico Hawaii Alaska Some of the United States troops stationed at our new frontier. They are increas- ing in number all the time and bring with them the usual camp problems. Unless Christian ideals go with them, soldiers are apt to prove a menace to the islanders PLANTING THE AMERICAN SPIRIT T T OW shall we classify Porto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska? ^ The General Conference has authorized their classification as frontiers so far as the work of the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension is concerned. The name has no descriptive value. Fron- tiers, then, they are, far flung though they be. They are all isolated. Slender cables under the seas are not suflacient to carry the thousand daily currents of thought which bind the forty-eight states together and give them the unity of a great nation. The necessities of mere distance compel the peoples who would be Americans in these almost foreign lands, to create for them- selves miniature American republics which can be in large measure self-sustaining and self -propagating. Again, these territories lack the rich American tradition, except as those traditions be lifted up bodily from the soil in which they have Cftree !i)utpo0t0 of Liftertp grown and planted in lands where once grew institutions quite at variance with those in the United States. It is a much more difl&cult problem to be a true American on one of these far removed frontiers than in Kansas, New York or Ohio. In the third place, Porto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska have the com- mon characteristic of newness. Their future relation to the United States, whether they are to be assets or liabilities, is largely yet to be determined. No one doubts their wealth, their loyalty, or their mili- tary value, if such a point is to be important fifty years from now, but what they actually will be lies folded in policies which have only recently been initiated or are as yet unframed . These common characteristics, isolation, lack of substantial tradi- tion, and newness, make their social and spiritual destinies matters of grave concern. Protestant Christianity expressed in the organized and efficient!}^ administered church, must strike down its roots in every city and village. Everything has to be built anew from the ground up. There is great danger that in the hurry and rush for wealth and organization, the moral and religious concerns of the respective communities may be neglected, or may be crowded out for lack of adequate financial sup- port. Wdien the Centenary Program of the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension included these territories in its survey, it undertook a national and patriotic service of the highest value. We must not forget or neglect our own, even in the days when our attention is drawn so intensively to the battle fields of Europe. The United States must prove equal to caring for even the remotest of her own peoples if she is to command and hold the respect of the other nations in her role of world leadership. The needs of the Kingdom of God are transcendant, inclusive and always immanent. As we meet them effectively, we serve our country best. 3 Porto Rico of the Present Something Old and Something New ^VERY motorist in our United States’is familiar with the warning sign — “Go slow. School crossing.” But to be confronted with the same warning far out in a country district of Porto Rico is somewhat of a shock to the tourist who thinks he is “see- ing” a foreign land. “Precaucion, Escuela Publica,” runs the Spanish version. There is nothing preten- tious or startling about the small wooden sign by the side of the road; yet it signifies very clearly the great changes which have taken place in Porto Rico since that island passed from the control of Spain to the pro- tection of the United States, in 1898. It means that frequent automobiles are speeding over the wonderful roads which are the Spaniards’ best legacy to Porto Rico; that children who, under the Spanish rule, were allowed to grow up in ignorance, are now being gathered into public schools; that these island people, once sub- jected to the absolute despotism of a foreign race, are now governing them- selves and making their own laws for the good of the commonwealth. Every village has its schoolhouse, with the Stars and Stripes flying above it. Since the civil government was established in 1900, illiteracy has been reduced from 80% to 60%. But there is something besides “book lamin’ ” that the dark skinned, curly headed youngsters find in the little schoolhouse. That is a realization of the dignity of labor . They are taught to work with their hands, — an occupa- tion long regarded with scorn. Any traveler who has seen his suit-case pass through six different pairs of hands in its journey from the steamer to the street, knows how the Porto Rican hates to lower himself by physical labor. If the island is to develop into a truly democratic, vigorous, self-supporting portion of our nation, manual training is an essential part of the education of her children. A Story of Change Down in the valley where acre upon acre of land is rich with sugar-cane, the steam cable plow with an eighty horse-power engine is taking the place of the primitive Porto Rican plow fashioned of two beams of wood and dragged by oxen. The ripened crop, once carried on slow, creaking ox-carts to a quaint little cane-crushing mill run by ox-power, is now, in many cases, delivered to big refineries called centrals, by means of queer little rail- roads. There are said to be ten thousand miles of these diminutive tracks in Porto Rico. Inside the central, the plodding oxen of the old mill are replaced by an eighty horse- power grinding machine. Before the United States appeared on the scene, Porto Rico was producing 68,000 tons of sugar a year; in 1917, the total pro- duction was 488,000 tons. Roads built many, many years ago by Spanish engineers are now re- paired by means of the modern steam roller, and down in the shipping re- gions of city water fronts, big motor 3 Cijree SDutpost0 of ILifiertp In many parts of the island the big modern central is taking the place of the ox- power mill. This one at Guanica is the second largest in the world trucks vie with the ancient mule team in transporting cargoes. Streets that once were full of filth and reeking with disease are now clean and sanitary. Epidemics are rare, and when one does occur the stricken are well cared for in modern hospitals. The American Trade-Mark All these changes indicate the im- pact of American ideas upon Porto Rican education, citizenship, business, hygiene and sanitation. But our responsibility does not end here. In America it has been very largely the free church which has made possible the free democracy. In order that the Porto Ricans may develop into the best possible United States citizens, they need the influ- ence of such a church. For four hundred years the Roman Catholic Church held unquestioned dominion over the island. No doubt she has had her place in the life of the people — ■ touching them at least at birth, marriage and death. No doubt there are good things in the list of her accomplishments. But that she does not adequately meet the needs of the present pop- ulation is plainly to be seen. Dr. W. L. McDowell, who recently made a survey of the Porto Rican field, says that he drove twenty-five miles out into the country districts, without seeing a single Roman Catholic church or chapel. They build only in the great centers. As eighty-eight per cent of the Porto Ricans live in rural communities, it is easy to see that this church does not begin to touch the population vitally. Realizing this , the Methodist Church has made a great effort to reach the whole body of the people. So far they have established forty-seven churches and chapels. Poor little shacks some of them are, built, like the native huts, of the bark of the royal palm and thatched with grass or palm leaves. Yet within their flimsy walls the people of the countryside are finding a firm founda- tion on which to build their faith. One can fairly feel the weariness in the letter written to the Centenary Committee by a Porto Rican preacher. “The house of the pastor is about one-half league from the church 4 potto Bico of ti)e prcoent Even in the most remote country districts, the Porto Ricans are finding a free church. This is the type of building which the Centenary aims to replace by substantial concrete chapels building,” he says. “I think this condition must not continue for- ever.” Courage, and faith in the power to conquer circumstance are dominant notes in a letter from an- other preacher in a tiny village. “Here there is some many stones and the river very near, and u'e can do a fine church of concrete. ^ That man has the right idea. Concrete chapels are among the Centenary askings for Porto Rico, because no wooden building can long withstand the attaeks of hurricanes, the ravages of a tropical climate, and of the various wood-eating in- seets that go with it. From another village comes a plea for a chureh bell, because “many of our people have no clocks.” Those native preachers are strug- gling under a serious handicap — lack of education. Most of them eome from the peasant class. Their educa- tion, if any, has been that of the graded school. Meantime, many of the ehildren of the present generation are forging ahead through the graded school, on into high school, and some- times even to the university. Method- ism, to meet the needs of the coming generation, must have a well educated ministry . Higher education for the leaders of the Church is one of the aims of the Centenary for Porto Rico. Other plans are the building of more churches and chapels in country dis- tricts; the appointment of more native church workers; special attention to citizenship training in both schools and churches; and cooperation with other denominations in non-sectarian educational work. To support these projects, the Centenary Committee is asking for $213,880. If this program is carried out, that Porto Rico which is now partly old and partly new, will become wholly new in spirit and ideals. Cfttcc 2Dutpo0t0 of Libertp This is the old, slow process by which the Porto Ricans used to crush all their sugar cane Points on Porto Rico OPULATION has reached nearly a million and a half. Sixty per cent are illiterate. Before the United States came in, eighty- eight per cent. Eighty per cent of the people live in rural communities. There is very real patriotism in Porto Rico. Even the poorest people carefully follow food conservation rules. There are many Red Cross centers where women and little girls roll bandages and prepare comfort kits for shipment to France. Porto Rico, fertile land though it is, imports most of its vegetables from New York, simply because the people have not learned to raise them. Gardening is now being taught in public schools. Since the civil government was estab- lished in 1900, fourteen million dollars have been spent for educa- tional purposes. There are now 1,180 public schools; 1,972 teachers; and 161,785 pupils enrolled. The Porto Ricans make excellent stu- dents. Col. J. H. Townsend, U.S.A., says of the four hundred young men who recently completed the officers’ training course, “It is my unbiased opinion that they will stand up with any officers in the army.” Every student in the University of Porto Rico is now receiving mili- tary training. H awaii — Our New Frontier Once Seen, Never Forgotten “"^0 other land could so longingly -*■ ^ and beseechingly haunt me , sleep- ing and waking, through half a life- time, as that one has done. . . .For me its balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surf beat is in my ear; I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore; its remote sum- mits floating like islands above the cloudracks; I can feel the spirit of its woodland solitude; I can hear the splash of its brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished twenty years ago.” That is the way Mark Twain felt about the Hawaiian islands. Like enchanted figures in a fairy tale, the mountain peaks of the eight islands rise from the brilliant sea. The coral reefs are just as snowy white, and the surf as thunderous and dazzling as on that fatal day some hundred years ago, when Captain Cook, the famous English explorer, effected a landing on Hawaii and met death at the hands of the natives. But since that day, what changes have taken place in the life of the human beings who dwell in the shadow of the beautiful mountains! Canni- bals are but dream figures of a by- gone day. The string of beads and the wisp of grass have been exchanged for western clothing. Merchants, mechanics, planters, tradesmen, law- yers, physicians, judges and artisans of foreign lands all have a hand in the complex civilization which has taken the place of the old simple life of fishing, warring, loving and dying. What has brought about the change? The Rev. A. 0. Forbes, in 1863, said: “It is the wondrous influences ac- companying the story of the cross which have here dispelled the dark- ness of heathenism and transformed a pagan nation into a Christian com- munity. The Lord of the vineyard planted a goodly vine in these isles of the sea.” Chief Justice A. F. Judd, in the year 1860, said that Hawaii furnished to the world the most com- plete illustration of successful mis- sionary enterprise. A Good Investment Annexed, on their own request, by the United States in 1898, the Hawaiian Islands are now the out- post of our western civilization and the frontier of our Pacific coast de- fense. They have become the coaling station for steamships plying between North and South America on one side of the Pacific and all points in Asia and Australia on the other side. They lie in the direct line between Panama and Japan, Vancouver and Sidney, San Francisco and Hongkong. Sena- tor Miles Poindexter of Washington recently said: “There is no spot under our flag today of such strategic im- portance to our government as Hawaii. It will be the center of great military and naval development in the near future.” Surely then it is of the utmost im- portance that the population of the islands should be truly American in its ideals and practices. The ele- ments of that population are drawn from the ends of the earth — from Japan, China, Porto Rico, Korea, the Philippines, America and various countries of Europe. Of the 217,660 7 Cftrce 2E)utpo0t0 of Libertp Hawaii would make an excellent home for all who want something for nothing. Palm trees drop cocoanuts faster than you can eat them. The fertile soil produces sugar cane and pineapples as if by magic. But he who toileth not shall vanish, and the native Hawaiians who do not know how to work are rapidly losing ground to the more industrious invaders from the Orient inhabitants, only 26,941 belong to the original Hawaiian race. How to Americanize the Hawaiian-born Asia- tics is the chief problem which here confronts the United States govern- ment and the Methodist Church. The rapidly developing educational system is doing good work for this cause. Last year the school enrol- ment increased seven per cent. There are now one hundred and sixty-eight public schools. Dr. W. H. Fry, Superintendent of the Hawaiian Mis- sion, says it is an impressive sight to see the Oriental children in these schools line up and salute our flag. The English language also helps to mould many nationalities into one. While Hawaiian, Japanese, Punti Chinese, Hakka Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Filipino and Porto Rican are spoken in the islands, English is the conquering tongue. It is taught in all the schools and is the medium of communication among all the chil- dren and young people, both in the street and on the playground. Mid-Pacific Methodism The Church must not do less than the school in the work of Americaniza- tion. It is of the greatest importance that all church services should be con- ducted in English. The work of the Methodist Church reaches, for the most part, the Japanese, Koreans and Filipinos. Many of our native pastors at present speak only their own tongue. One of the purposes of the Centenary is to appoint more native pastors, but to have them first trained in America and thoroughly acquainted with the English language. In no country in the world is the Sunday school of greater importance than in Hawaii. On these islands children are as plentiful as weeds in a New England pasture. Among the Japanese especially the birth rate is l^atoaii— ©ur j]3eto jTrontier A few of Hawaii’s hordes of Japanese, preparing the ground for the planting of sugar eane. Most of the oriental population of the islands is employed on sugar and pineapple plantations extremely high. At present our Sunday schools are not large enough to care for the little people of Japanese parentage who are open to Christian influence. But if we neglect them, the Buddhists do not. They have re- cently built a temple costing $100,000 and have established twenty-five schools which the Japanese children are compelled to attend for two hours each day. It is an open ques- tion whether Hawaii will be won for Buddha or for Christ. The Cente- nary is planning greatly to increase our Sunday school facilities, in order to keep pace with the ever increasing Oriental birth rate. At present the Methodist work is scattered over the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. There are twenty-two Methodist churches with 1,711 full members, 267 probationers, 1,916 Sunday school scholars and 423 Epworth Leaguers. Besides caring for 240 Japanese and 169 Korean students in special schools, Methodism maintains an interest in one of the most important educa- tional enterprises in the islands. This is the Mid-Pacific Institute at Hono- lulu, a successful training school for Christian workers. It has a plant valued at $1,000,000, a teaching force of 26 and a student body of 321 . Its annual output of trained workers is an important leavening influence in the life of the islands. For the continuance and enlarge- ment of the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Hawaii, the Centenary is asking for $641,425. You have an opportunity to render a patriotic service by helping to Christianize our new frontier. 9 Cijree €>utpo0t0 of ili&ertp A sample lot of the new race in Hawaii. Japanese, Chinese, Hawaiian and Filipino strains are mixed in varying proportions in these small boys of the Method- ist Mission School in Honolulu Points on the Hawaiian Islands 'T'HERE are 8 inhabited, and several ^ uninhabited islands. Total population in 1910 was 191,909. Total area of inhabited islands is 6,651 sq. miles. The largest, Hawaii, is 4,210 sq. miles. Kahoolawe is only 69. The largest volcano in the world is on Hawaii. The climate is healthy, and cooler than that of other regions in the same latitude. The average yield per acre of cane- sugar is the greatest in the world. At the Cross Roads of the North Pacific, the islands have a mon- opoly of coaling, watering and vic- tualling. Most of the people are of moderate stature, but the chiefs and the women of their families have been remarkable for their height, and 400 lbs. was not an unusual weight for one of this class. The people are considered physically amongst the finest races in the Pacific. They are hardy and industrious, light hearted and pleasure loving. ’ The language was not reduced to^a written form until the arrival of missionaries. Captain Cook discovered the islands in 1778. The year 1919 will mark the one hun- dredth anniversary of the arrival of the first Methodist missionary. At the present time there are nearly as many Japanese Buddist schools as there are public schools of gram- mar grade. 10 Alaska — the Prize Package She May Help Us Win the War have heard of a woman who ’ ^ paid a quarter for a pocketbook at a rummage sale and when she got home found a hundred dollar bill sewed into the lining. That is just the kind of luck the United States government had when it purchased Alaska in 1867. At that time the average person thought of that part of North America as a great wilder- ness of ice and snow. Secretary of State Seward, who made the purchase for seven million odd dollars, was treated with the greatest derision and scorn, and our new acquisition was dubbed “Seward’s Folly.” But Alaska proved to have a whole lot of things sewed up inside her boundaries. Once the white men began ripping the stitches, they found an amazing wealth of gold, copper, coal and tin; millions of acres of land waiting to be cultivated; and waters teeming with salmon. In these days of coal shortage and reduced food supply we have good reason to be thankful for “Seward’s Folly.” Since the year of her purchase Alaska’s mineral production alone has amount- ed to nearly forty times her purchase price. Her sixty -four million acres of arable land, it is estimated, ought to support a rural population of ten million. With up-to-date farming methods and machinery, certain portions of Alaska could easily be converted into one huge war garden. Vegetables of all kinds flourish in her fertile soil. One man recently raised seventeen tons of potatoes per acre. At Fair- banks nine hundred tons of potatoes were produced during the summer of 1915. And if the price of beefsteak soars too high, we have only to send up to “Seward’s Folly” for a consign- ment of reindeer steak. There are now seven hundred thousand of these deer in Alaska, and the raising of them bids fair to be a big factor in solving the meat question for the United States. “Great Country” the name Alaska means, and very fitting it is. Her boundaries enclose an area of 586,400 square miles. In this vast stretch of country, railroads are few and far between. One has been built from Cordova north to Copper Center and then to Kinnecott, a distance of two hundred and twelve miles in the in- terior, and another road has been built, by the United States govern- ment, from Seward northward. It already extends forty-five miles and will reach the town of Susitna some- time this year. Still another way of penetrating the interior is by the English road from Skagway to White Horse and connecting thence by barge with the headwaters of the Yukon river. Once branch away from these three roads, and you must “mush” it on foot or travel by dog- sled over trails which are passable only during the severe winter months . When the cold abates, melting snow and ice make travel impossible. Difiiculty of transportation is the greatest block to missionary progress in Alaska. Settlements are widely scattered and there are not enough missionaries to go around. With travel conditions as they are, it is practically impossible for one man adequately to serve more than one station . Not only must the missionary cover IJ Cftree ©utpo0t0 of Liljertp vast distances under the greatest handicaps, but he must also play- hide-and-seek with an elusive popula- tion. Half of it is transient and the other half has suffered so severely at the hands of white men as to be de- cidedly skeptical of any help offered by them. There are few churches of any kind in Alaska. One can travel for hundreds of miles without seeing a chapel or a meeting house. The congregations of the churches that do exist decrease fully half during the winter months when the white people “come out” to Seattle, San Francisco or southern California. Where the White Man Wanders There are two types of people whom the missionary hopes to find at the end of the trail; the native inhabitants of the land, Indians and Eskimos, and the white people who have come there in search of wealth. If he tried to choose the class which he thought stood in greatest need of his atten- tion, he would have a hard time of it. Wisely, he wastes no time or energy deciding that question, but goes after both of them. An investigation of Eskimo living conditions was recently made by Cap- tain H. Clay Michie, of the Aledical Corps of the United States Army. That his report might be quite un- biased, he selected what was reputed to be one of the cleanest Eskimo vil- lages in Alaska. Here he explored a series of windowless huts, guaranteed to admit no fresh air, crowded with people dressed in skins, poorly tanned and partly decayed. Refuse of all kinds was piled high about the huts, ready, when a thaw should come, to melt into a mass of liquid filth. Tuberculosis is one result of such conditions. Of Alaska’s school chil- dren, 61.5 per cent are tubercular. Unless their entire system of living is changed the percentage will be greatly increased. Captain Michie believes that Alaska is one of the greatest fields for medical missionary work. It is easier for the missionary to catch the Eskimos and Indians in their igloos and shacks, than it is for him to overtake the white men in their restless wanderings in search of wealth. Sometimes he finds them in mining camps, where might still rules over right, in spite of occasional sheriffs and government officials. One who has never visited Alaska can have no conception of the limits to which drinking and gambling are carried. These camps, in many cases, are entirely churchless. The fisheries are other temporary centers of population, and present one of the most difficult problems with which the Church has to deal. Attracted by the high wages offered, droves of men of the lowest type come to the fisheries during the season. Many of them enter into temporary marriages with half-breed Indian women. The result is a very large population drifting through southeastern Alaska, living from hand to mouth, burdened with a terrible inheritanee of vicious and lawless characteristics. Naturally they have no great interest in Christian teach- ings and are one of the toughest nuts a missionary has ever been called upon to craek. Yet many of the children of these illegal marriages are bright and impressionable. In them lies the one hope of stabilizing and Chris- tianizing this shifting population. In the camps and in the various towns there is a surprising number of college men. A preacher rarely has a congregation which does not contain at least one graduate of some college in the States. Let him look well to his arguments and his rhetoric, for pioneer life has by no means dulled the wits of these soldiers of fortune 13 3Iaska--ti)e Pri^e package This looks more like a field in sunny Georgia than a garden in the land of ice bergs. Yet these healthy potatoes were raised north of Nome, not very many miles from the Arctic Circle who roam through the remote sec- tions of our United States. Giving the Great Silence a Voice So far the Methodist Church has staked its claim in four settlements — Fairbanks, Seward, Juneau and Ket- chikan. From each of these points the missionary carries the good tidings out over a circuit more toilsome and dangerous than that of the old circuit rider in the West. It is difficult to get much information from the “land of the great white silence.” The mis- sionary who penetrates into the interior of that country must rough it with the rest. He is so busy traveling from one station to an- other, fighting for existence, and try- ing to help those whom he finds along the trail, that he has little time for letter writing. In a land of such shifting scenes, statistics are out of the question. The Centenary plan for Alaska is to employ more pastors, so that one man will not have to serve several points on a circuit; and to appoint a general missionary to cover the entire field. For this purpose $76,500 is needed. Under such an arrangement the great white silence will find a voice, and we shall be in closer touch with our parish in Uncle Sam’s prize package . 13 C 5 ree SOutpo0t0 of JLifiettp Alaska isn’t all potato fields as yet, and here you see the aspect of the land that generally figures largely in First Grade geographies. No warm, cushioned limousines for the school children here; but they seem to enjoy their ride behind the dogs in spite of the cold Points on Alaska ^HE area of Alaska is equal to one- ^ fifth of the whole United States. The price paid was less than the cost of one battleship. In 1917 Alaskan mines yielded twenty- six and a half million dollars’ worth of copper. The fisheries yield $20,000,000 yearly. There are 64 million acres of farm land. A rural population of at least 10,000,- 000 could be supported. Alaska has the richest coal fields in the world. When railways shall have been com- pleted, coal can be mined for $4.00 a ton and ought to sell for $6.00. There are 4 church buildings and 98 members of the M. E. Church in all Alaska. If a missionary has to finance his own gasoline launch, it costs him $1,000. 14 aDt3erti0ement d)e Centenarp ^ome Boarii Booklets Prepared by the Joint Centenary Committee for the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension of the Methodist Episcopal Church jaumher Three Outposts of Liberty Porto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska Jl^um&er Ctoo Save the City A discussion of the problems confronting the Church in reaching the industrial and foreign-speaking groups of the cities jOumber CIjree The Stranger Within Our Gates A Study of the Americanization problem Ji^umber Jfour Broken Trails on The Frontier A view of the work in remote border settlements j^umber jTibe Off The Highroad An inquiry into the rural situation in connection with the work of the Church j^umber John Stewart’s Kinsmen A survey of the needs of the Negro Price five cents each Joint Centenary Committee fHrtljoJitat lEptaropal Olljurrh, UrtlfoJitat Epiaropal Qlljurrlj. S’outlj 111 Jffiftlj Aarnur. Nrm ^ork 15 Wherever the Stars and Stripes are planted the little red schoolhouse crops up also. Even on the mountain tops of Porto Rico, Uncle Sam is teaching the young idea to shoot Prepared by the Joint Centenary Committee for the Board of Home Missions and Church Extension of the Methodist Episcopal Church