[*The Upward Way - What God hath wrought for the Negro Race in America in Fifty Years*] [*D327 Pamphlet by the Freedman's Aid Society-*] Specimen Song from Pentecostal Hymns Nos. 5 and 6 Combined 152 No Room. D327 C. H. G., arr. Chas. H. Gabriel. 1. No room for him in whose strong hand The troubled sea and mighty land 2. In vain thy tender pleading cry Strikes our deaf souls--we pass thee by 3. How strange that shelter there could be In these cold hearts we offer thee-- Lie cradled like... a grain... of sand!.. No room was Unsheltered 'neath.. the wintry sky!... No room for Yet standest thou... and makest plea!... I shrink from Lie cradled like a grain of sand! Lie cradled like a grain of sand! there for thee That Christmas night, and we E'en now will dare to close our God? Shall we Close bar our doors, nor see Our Savior waiting just outside thy pure eye! To offer naught have I,.. Yet, in thy mercy, Lord, I CHORUS. hearts and turn the key. Fling wide ... the door,.. And bid the Lord come side so patiently? cry, "O pass not by!" Fling wide, fling wide the door, in, come in! Fling wide... the door,.. And bid the Lord come in!.. . Fling wide, fling wide the door, come in! Copyright, 1904, by Chas. H. Gabriel. Henry Date, owner. Pentecostal Hymns Five and Six Orchestration for 10 Instruments Available THERE is always a rush of business when a new number in the everywhere popular Pentecostal Hymns series puts in an appearance. The new collection is a winnowed one, containing an abundance of matter, new and old, for use in all meetings of a religious nature, including those held by the Young People's Society and the Sunday School. There are 344 pieces, not including the 29 responsive scripture readings. The number and range of the themes treated require a topical index of nearly one thousand references. The needs of all ages and all occasions have been cared for. The volume is brimful from cover to cover with musical material that will commend itself to the critical user. Its 320 pages are extra large and its type easily read. Typographically the volume is above the average. The list price of the new book, in the best style of binding, full cloth, thread sewed, edges red, title stamp in untarnishable aluminum is $30-the-100. The special introductory price is $3-the-dozen or $25-the-100 with carriage not prepaid. In response to many calls, we have issued a word edition which contains all of the hymns, including one line of music, also the 29 responsive scripture readings. These are numbered to correspond with the larger book. It contains 96 pages and is strongly and tastily bound in cardboard. Price: 10 cents the copy or $1.15 the dozen, postpaid. $8-the-100 not prepaid. $4.80 will secure 12 music, cloth, and 36 words only, in all 48 books. $10.00 will secure 25 music, cloth, and 75 words only, in all 100 books. Returnable sample copies for examination mailed free to pastors, Sunday-school superintendents and music committees. An orchestration for 10 instruments, in 8 volumes, is obtainable at $1.50-the-volume, $10.00-the-set of 8 books. Postage 10 cents. HOPE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Chicago 1866-SEMI-CENTENNIAL PROGRAM-1916 LUKE HITCHCOCK, D. D. ADAM POE, D. D. J.M. REID, D. D. B. F. CRARY, D. D. J. M. WALDEN, D. D., SEC'Y. BISHOP CLARK, PRES'T. R. S. RUST, D. D. ROB'T ALLYN, D. D. JUDGE GOODRICH. T. M. EDDY, D. D. J. F. LARKIN, ESQ THE UPWARD WAY The Freedmen's Aid Society, Methodist Episcopal Church, 220-222 W. 4th St., Cincinnati, O. What God Hath Wrought for the Negro Race in America in Fifty Years Half a century ago the Negro was a chattel without education, property or opportunity of any sort. Four millions of him then, ten millions now, but what a wonderful contrast between the condition of the ten millions of to-day and the four millions of fifty years ago. Read both sides of this parallel and see what has been accomplished through fifty years of Christian training. Population, census 1860: Slaves, 3,953,760; Free, 487,970; total. 4,441,730 Illiteracy .................... 90% Value of property, estimated at. $1,200,000 Number of colleges and universities .................... 1 Number of college graduates, estimated at .................... 30 Number of practicing physicians and pharmacists ............... 0 Number of lawyers ................. 0 Number of banks operated by Negroes .................... 0 Number of Negro towns ....... 0 Number of newspapers .......... 1 Number of churches owned, estimated at ..................... 400 Value of church property ........ $500,000 Membership of Negro churches, estimated at .................... 40,000 Number of children in schools, estimated at .................... 25,000 Total Negro population (United States) ..................... 9,828,294 Homes owned by Negroes ..... 500,000 Churches owned by Negroes .... 31,393 Church membership ............... 3,207,305 Sunday schools .................... 24,380 Sunday school scholars .......... 1,448,570 Illiteracy, census 1910 ........... 30.5% Value of property, estimated at . $1,000,000,000 Number of farms owned ........ 250,000 Value of church property ....... $65,000,000 Number of college and university graduates .................... 8,000 Professional men ..................... 75,000 Number of practicing physicians, estimated at ...................... 3,500 Number of practicing lawyers .. 1,500 Number of business men, estimated at ...................... 50,000 Number of children in schools ... 2,000,000 Number of Negro towns ....... 50 Number of Negro teachers ...... 30,000 Land owned by Negroes ..... 20,000,000 acres, or 31,000 square miles. Drug stores .................... 300 General stores and other industrial enterprises ............... 20,000 Newspapers and periodicals .... 398 Hospital and nurse training schools .................... 61 Banks owned by Negroes ..... 72 Insurance companies ................ 100 66.2 per cent of all Negroes in the United States, ten years of age or over, are engaged in gainful occupations. Property owned by Negro secret societies ..................... $8,000,000 Capital stock Negro banks .... $2,000,000 Annual business done by Negro banks ..................... $20,000,000 The Freedmen's Aid Society has contributed a large share of this magnificent result through its twenty-two schools. During that time it has sent out more than 200,000 young people, who received the broader and higher outlook from its Christian teachers. Notwithstanding the above magnificent results, the present need of the Negro is still great. In order that the results already achieved may not be lost and that ultimate success may crown the efforts of the schools and churches, the work must be carried on with greater enthusiasm and energy and at larger cost than ever before. Thousands of young people are knocking at the doors of our institutions pleading for that preparation of mind and heart that will fit them to help the race still onward and upward into the larger life of Christian manhood and womanhood, which is the heritage of every child of God. Educated ministers, teachers and Christian leaders are sorely needed among the colored people in all sections of the South. The public schools are languishing for lack of properly trained teachers, and the village and country churches cry aloud for young men and women sufficiently educated to teach in the Sunday Schools and lead the better example of Christian helpfulness before the masses that are still ignorant and backward and in need of training in the simpler elements of moral manhood and womanhood. The work already accomplished in fifty years warrants the assurance that if continued, the progress in the next half century will give to this race a further advance on the road which they have been so rapidly traveling for the last half century. 2 THE UPWARD WAY Prepared by ERNEST C. WAREING, D.D., Associate Editor, Western Christian Advocate RACE SECURITY BY RACE INTEGRITY THE WAY UPWARD--Versus--THE WAY DOWNWARD ORGAN VOLUNTARY OPENING HYMN--THE CHURCH'S ONE FOUNDATION. S. J. STONE. DR. S. S. WESLEY. 1. The church's one foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; 2. Elect from ev'ry nation, Yet on o'er all the earth; 3. Tho' with a scornful wonder Men see her sore opprest, 4. 'Mid toil and tribulation And tumults of her war, 5. Yet she on earth hath union With God the Three in One, She is His new creation By water and the Word; Her charter of salvation,--One Lord, one faith, one birth; By schisms rent asunder, By heresies distrest; She waits the consummation Of peace for evermore; And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won; From heav'n He came and sought her, To be His holy bride; One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food; Yet saints their watch are keeping, Their cry goes up, "How long?" Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest, Oh, happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we, With His own blood He bought her, And for her life He died. And to one hope she presses, With ev'ry grace endued. And soon the night of weeping Shall be the morn of song. And the great church victorious Shall be the church at rest. Like them, the meek and lowly, On high may dwell with Thee! 3 PRAYER--Closing with Lord's Prayer by Pastor. Responsive Scripture Reading-- IN THE DEPTHS LEADER--Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. CONGREGATION--Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. LEADER--If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? CONGREGATION--But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. LEADER--I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. CONGREGATION--My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. LEADER--Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. CONGREGATION--And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. LEADER--We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. CONGREGATION--Our fathers understood not the Lord's wonders in Egypt, they remembered not the multitude of his mercies. LEADER--Nevertheless he saved them for his own name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known. CONGREGATION--And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of their enemy. LEADER--Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you. CONGREGATION--Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. LEADER--Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out and streams in the desert. CONGREGATION--And the parched ground shall become a pool, and thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each day shall be grass with reeds and rushes. LEADER--And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein. CONGREGATION--No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there. 4 LEADER--And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. CONGREGATION--What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? LEADER--He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? CONGREGATION--Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? LEADER--Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. IN UNISON--For we are persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heights, nor depths, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. HIGHER GROUND REV. JOHNSON OATMAN, JR. CHAS. H. GABRIEL. 1. I'm pressing on the upward way, New heights I'm gaining ev-'ry day; 2. My heart has no de-sire to stay Where doubts arise and fears dis-may; 3. I want to live a-bove the world, Tho' Satan's darts at me are hurled; 4. I want to scale the utmost height, And catch a gleam of glo-ry bright; FINE. Still pray-ing as I onward bound, "Lord, plant my feet on higher ground." Tho' some may dwell where these abound, My pray'r, my aim is high-er ground. For faith has caught the joy-ful sound, The song of saints on high-er ground. But still I'll pray till heav'n I've found, "Lord, lead me on to high-er ground." D. S.--than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on high-er ground. CHORUS. D. S. Lord, lift me up, and I shall stand By faith, on heaven's table-land; A higher plane Copyright, 1898, by J. Howard Entwisle. John J. Hood, owner. Used by per. 5 ANNOUNCEMENTS-- A LINCOLN DAY MESSAGE. The celebration of Lincoln anniversary is largely devoted by the Methodist Episcopal Church to the interest of Negro education, under the leadership of our Freedmen's Aid Society, which has twenty-one educational institutions in the Southland, where instruction is given in theology, medicine, dentistry, nursing, and various forms of vocational training, while collegiate work of the highest character is brought within the reach of the youth of the most limited means. These educational institutions were founded by broadminded, philanthropic men, who shortly after the Civil War discovered the educational need of the Negro. The new freedman was in need of friends and they were not found near him. Those who had fought for his freedom, believing slavery was an institution averse to the teaching of God's Word and a shame on the face of a free people, felt that emancipation from slavery was only the beginning of the upward climb of a race from bondage. They felt that one race cannot afford to subject another to servitude lest that mastery lead, at the last, to a pitiful dependence degenerating into the most despicable bondage. It is one thing to be emancipated from slavery; it is another to be saved from industrial servitude. The world will always have need of "hewers of wood and drawers of water," but it must not force any class of men, regardless of their ambitions and talents, to that specific work. In the struggle for survival men must be given the opportunity to render the highest as well as the humblest service. Opportunity for growth and development must be afforded all men. The parable of the talents applies as well to the black man as the white man. God will require at the Negro's hand a report on the investment of his talent. If he is denied the privilege of placing his God-given gifts out to usury, and the white man is found standing in his way, then the man who forces another to hide his talent in a napkin will be held responsible in the judgment. That feeling of responsibility drew Christian men of the North to undertake the education of the Negro in the South. The Methodist Episcopal Church has entered this work in all seriousness, and has pursued it with eminent success. The founding and continuance of the work has depended upon the gifts of the people. On Lincoln's birthday each year they have been called upon to consider the work of the great Emancipator, and have been appealed to for gifts to support the institutions founded in the name of the Church to train the freedmen and make them worthy of their citizenship. YOU'LL REAP WHATSOEVER YOU SOW. ELLA LAUDER. D. B. TOWNER. 1. Sow flowers, and flowers will blossom Around you wherever 2. Sow blessings, and blessings will ripen, Sow hatred, and 3. Sow love, and its sweetness uprising Shall fill all your 4. In faith sow the word of the Master, A blessing He'll 5. Preach Christ in His wonderful fullness, That all His salvation 6 you go; Sow weeds, and of weeds reap the harvest, You'll hatred will grow; Sow mercy, and reap sweet compassion, You'll heart with its glow; Sow hope, and receive its fruition, You'll surely bestow; And souls shine like starts for your crowning, You'll may know; Reap life thro' the ages eternal, You'll CHORUS. reap whatsoever you sow. You'll reap whatsoever you You'll reap, surely reap, whatsoever sow,.......... You'll reap whatsoever you sow,.......... The you sow; You'll reap, surely reap, whatsoever you sow, harvest is certainly coming, You'll reap whatsoever you sow. Copyright, 1901, by D. B. Towner; Charles M. Alexander, owner. From Alexander's Hymns No. 3, by permission. ADDRESS--(To be read.) LINCOLN THE TYPICAL AMERICAN It is altogether appropriate that we observe the anniversary of Lincoln's birth in a consideration of the Negro problem. His voice rose loud and clear in condemnation of slavery, when many of his countrymen had not the courage to speak their convictions. His first introduction into a slave marked caused him to register a vow that if he ever had an opportunity to strike that institution he would strike it hard. Little did he know then as a flatboatman, that a wise Providence was guiding him, and that in God's good time he would have the opportunity to strike the blow that would give the Negro his freedom. The day came when Lincoln, rising from the depths, found the Upward Way from the 7 log cabin in the wilds of the forest, to education, self mastery, leadership, and finally to the seat of the chief executive of the nation. He became the Ideal American, opening and broadening the Upward Way from the lowliest depths to the most exalted positions. Henry W. Grady, the preeminent prince among the sons of the Southland in the days when his people were beginning to find themselves again, called Abraham Lincoln, "the typical American." "My friends," he said, speaking on "The New South," before the New England Society in 1886, "we are told that the typical American is yet to come. Let me tell you that he has already come. Great types, like valuable plants, are slow to flower and fruit. But from the union of the colonists, Puritan and Cavalier, from the straightening of their purposes and the crossing of their blood, slow perfecting through a century came he who stands as the first typical American, the first who comprehended within himself all the strength and gentleness, all the majesty and grace of this Republic-Abraham Lincoln. He was the sum of Puritan and Cavalier, for in his ardent nature were fused the virtues of both, and in the depths of his great soul the faults of both were lost. He was greater than Puritan, greater than Cavalier, in that he was American, and that in his honest form was first gathered the vast and thrilling forces of his ideal government-charging it with such tremendous meaning and so elevating it above human suffering that martyrdom, though infamously aimed, came as a fitting crown to a life consecrated from the cradle to human liberty. Let us each cherish the traditions and honor his fathers, build with reverent hands to the type of that simple but sublime life, in which all types are honored, and in our common glory as Americans there will be plenty to spare." Yes, he was the typical American because his life represented the triumph of opportunity. The great lives of the New England fathers and the Carolina founders were in his veins. Nature had given him a rich heritage, but circumstance had placed him where opportunity seldom crossed his path. The Upward Way for him was lost in the forests and prairies of a great continental plain. One day the voice of right and justice spoke within his soul. It was like a speech from the unknown to that youth in homespun, with a backwoodman's view of life. He listened to the voice and grew to love it. Toward the Upward Way it led him, winning the service of his calloused hands and the devotion of his sincere heart. He came to stand among his fellows with insight, keen for the interests of liberty, while the demands of freedom burned hot upon the altar of his soul. He saw with prophetic vision and spoke the words of eternal truth that have brightened the pages of our country's history. At the height of his fame and in the midst of universal confidence he proclaimed throughout the land, "This government can not endure permanently half-slave and half-free." This was the proclamation that brought him as the sacrifice for the nation's wrongdoing. For in his efforts to heal the breech that threatened his country's life his own was required, that a people once held in bondage might feel their liberty was bought by the sacrifice of one in whom the genius of the nation had found its most resplendent fruitage. It is therefore wise to associate the typical American with the uplift work of a backward and struggling race. No greater tribute can be paid a people than that which eloquently declares that its greatest son came from the depths and gave himself that others might follow him to the heights, there to enjoy liberty, cultivate freedom, and worship God after the dictates of their own conscience. 8 ADDRESS- BUILDING THE UPWARD WAY RESPONSIVE READING- LEADER-Why do we celebrate Lincoln Anniversary by considering the needs of the Negro? CONGREGATION: It was he who gave them their citizenship and the protection of the American flag. It was he who felt so keenly the stain of slavery on our country's fair name. It was he whom God called to leadership, that he might declare their freedom. It was he who, willing to follow his conviction, in the hour when this country was rent in twain gave his life that the nation might live. LEADER-Why do the Negroes need our philanthropy? Are they considered the wards of the white man? CONGREGATION- When they were given their citizenship and sent free into the world they were without money, property, and a place to lay their heads. Slavery had reduced them to servitude, bred them in ignorance, and eliminated the strong, ambitious, and independent spirits. They had been provided for and had small need of exercising their sense of thrift. They were constitutionally improvident, have been so long under the protection of the intellect of others. Few of them from the day of their emancipation can say "I am self-raised and from the depths." They are wards of the white man until they gain back the God-given power of personal independence and self-reliance. The white man must give this opportunity and in it he will find the enlargement of his own intellect and heart life. LEADER- Through what organization do the members of the Methodist Episcopal Church work in assisting in the uplift of the Negro? CONGREGATION- The Freedman's Aid Society, one of the most unique organizations for home missionary work in the Methodist Episcopal Church. LEADER-What are the chief activities of this organization? CONGREGATION- The founding and supporting of schools for Negro Education in the South. LEADER-What is the character of these schools? CONGREGATION-They are collegiate, academic, professional, and industrial. LEADER- Do the Negro people appreciate the opportunity these schools afford them? CONGREGATION- Our secretaries report that our success at many of the schools is our embarrassment. We have all the students we can provide for, and many are waiting for an opportunity to enroll themselves among our students. Last year we had 6,961 students taught by 372 teachers at an annual expense of $460,107.89. This total amount represents the annual investment of Methodism in the education of the Negro. 9 LEADER-To what extent is religious instruction given in these schools? CONGREGATION- The entire system of education is based upon religion. The Christian product of upright manhood is sought first. The Bible is the text-book about which the entire curriculum is builded. Through this great light the youth is taught to see the world and interpret it in terms of Christian brotherhood. LEADER-Do these schools assist in producing the professional leaders of the race? CONGREGATION- Many young men out of these schools enter the Christian ministry. Other become teachers, physicians, lawyers, and business men. Last year twenty-five native African boys and girls took the regular courses of study to prepare themselves to return to their native land as missionary teachers, ministers, and physicians. LEADER- How long has the Freedman's Aid Society been doing work among Negroes? CONGREGATION- It was organized in Trinity Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1866. This is its semi-centennial year. LEADER-What has been the total income of the Society during these fifty years? CONGREGATION-At the close of the first year after the organization $37,139.89 were reported as the total receipts. From that day the Church has manifested a gradual increase of interest in the work. At the end of the forty-eighth year of the Society's history the disbursements totaled $9,261,267.47. LEADER-Is the Society preparing to celebrate its semi-centennial? CONGREGATION-The General Conference of 1912 authorized the Board of Managers to plan for a Semi-Centennial Jubilee in 1916. An amount of $500,000 for endowment funds was planned as a gift to celebrate the occasion. Of this amount the colored Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church were asked to assume responsibility for $100,00. Before the third year of the quadrennium had passed the Negroes themselves had more than met their obligation and reported $133,000, almost half of which has been received in cash by the Secretaries of the Society. LEADER- Does this response on their part reveal any degree of willingness to carry the burden on their own uplift? CONGREGATION-The Negro has always been a burden bearer. He does not hesitate to seize an opportunity for self-help. For any aid given and interest shown he is profoundly grateful and rises with enthusiasm for every appeal made in a movement for his betterment. LEADER-Will the semi-centennial jubilee be received with favor among our people? CONGREGATION- The Methodist Episcopal Church has always been a friend to the black man. She sent more soldiers into the war that wrought his freedom than any other Church. She was first denomination to systematically plan for his education and uplift as a citizen of the Republic. She will not fail him in a crisis of his history. 10 LEADER-What then is the Methodist Episcopal Church doing for the development of the Negro race? CONGREGATION-She is opening a way upward for him from the life of servitude. She reckons that the noblest work of God is he who can render service, by his own choice, to his fellow-men. Moreover, she is assisting those for whom Christ died to enjoy that liberty which his redemption has wrought. She has taught him the nobility of work, the blessings of labor, and the beauty of fellowship with all men. PRAYER for the Work of the Freedman's Aid Society-(By and informed person). MAP LOCATION OF FREEDMEN'S AID SCHOOLS. WHERE THE BUILDERS LABOR. ADDRESS-(To be read.) History tells the story of a South of slavery and secession; of chivalry and war; of ruin and surrender. That record thrills with heroism, and any youth reading to-day the story of how the sons of patriots marched away in defense of home and native land will rise to feel that he too was born to be a solider. However 11 war brings its day of settlement, when the reconstruction period arrives, on the return home of the soldier. Those were sad days in '65, when the foot-sore Confederate patriot with faded gray jacket, half starved, heavy-hearted, surrendered his gun, faced southward from Appomattox, and started on his slow and painful journey home. For he found his house in ruins, his farm devastated, his laborers gone, his stock killed, his barns empty, his trade destroyed, his money valueless, his social grades reduced to plebeian levels, his comrades slain, and the burdens of others heavy upon his shoulders. Those were the dark days of the fair Southland. History records them as the beginning of the Reconstruction Period. The extent of the ravage and ruin can not be easily grasped by human intelligence. The people of the South who had survived the greatest battles the world had known were almost prostrate. Leaders were gone, cities and villages desolate, while the horror of war had been burned in upon the souls of men and women so deeply that time could not remove its bitter sting. The white man had the greater task—the building up of his own fortunes. The black man was free to shift for himself. Moreover, he had not been trained to self-reliance and independence. He knew not how to assume his new duties, neither to enjoy his new privileges without abusing them. He had lost his old life of slavery, in which he had been provided with a house to cover his head, bread to feed his body, and the luxuries of fellowship with his kind. A new life of self-initiative and responsibility had been thrust upon him. He had not been trained from it, neither born to it. He was adrift, with little power to propel his boat, and limited knowledge of the sea which bore him forth from the old life. His white brothers were consumed in the task of solving their own social, economic, and industrial problems. He remained on the level of slavery with the heritage of freedom, while the awakening of an abounding sense of liberty stirred his soul. The white man's civilization was rebuilding itself on the old social foundations that flourished in the days of slavery. No place in the social scale was being made for him, better than that he had always occupied. The people of the land had not discovered that two races cannot live together without the weaker becoming a menace to the stronger, unless there is mutual interest in the other's welfare. At the first in the reconstruction period the Negro did not count. His interests were never important. The progress of the work of restoration was pursued as though his problems came last. He quickly sank in the scale and became a dead weight. The burden grew heavier until the rising forms of symmetry and beauty of a new day were threatened with darkness and decay. Then came the free and refreshing life from the North as a relief column in a hard-pressed battle. The problems of the Negro in the South became the interest and the philanthropy of those who in the name of Christ sought to help him out of the depths and teach him how to follow the path of the Upward Way. Then came into existence the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as a great benevolent organization to help solve the Negro problem. It quickly outlined an educational program and established schools in every southern State. Their positions are providentially strategic. All the great centers of colored population were within easy access, while the opportunities they offered for training covered the broadest field of learning, even from the plowing of a field to that of teaching theology in a seminary. Through the efforts of this society the Negro is finding his way out of the darkness of ignorance and servitude. He is rapidly becoming, where opportunity is given, a dependable help for the highest interests of the community. The old shadow which lay across the Southland because of his neglect is lifting, and a day of promise appears to gladden many hearts. 12 BOYLSTON. S. M. CHARLES WESLEY. LOWELL MASON. 3/4 1. A charge to keep I have, A God to glor - i - fy, A nev - er - dy - ing soul to save, and fit it for the sky. 2. To serve the pres - ent age, My call - ing to ful - fill; O may it all my pow'rs engage, To do my Mas-ter's will! 3. Arm me with jeal - ous care, As in Thy sight to live, And O, Thy serv-ant, Lord, prepare, A strict account to give! 4. Help me to watch and pray, and on Thy - self re - ly, As-sured, if I my trust be-tray, I shall for - ev - er die. A - men. THE TRAVELER ON THE WAY. ADDRESS--(To be read.) The attitude of the world toward the man on the upward climb is that of opposition. She seeks to discredit and embarrass him to the limit of discouragement. The Christian attitude is one of helpfulness. When a man is discovered looking up from the depths, it is the habit of the Christian to urge him to courage and assist him in taking the step forward and upward. Indeed, the Christ spirit in men leads them forth to find their fellows who persist in looking down and plead with them to look up and yearn for the heights. A man cannot receive the Christ spirit without becoming dissatisfied with the world in which he lives. He must improve it or get out of it. When a real and devoted Christian moves, it is never downward, nor on the level, but upward. When a man or a race of men becomes habituated to a level of living from which they seldom lift their faces, it is the duty of those who have the upward look to call them by precept, example, and the power of personal touch to the practice of lifting their eyes to the skyline of another world, lest unhappily they miss a glimpse of him who said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." For the man with the downward look fails to see the uplifted Christ. When social and industrial conditions forbid him that opportunity, then Christians must stand together in defense of his interests. Especially is this true of the Negro. He has been confined to his own world. Emancipated from slavery, he has been held in servitude. He has played a prodigious part in the wonderful, economic, industrial, and agricultural development of this country, but has received little for his own enrichment. He commonly eats his bread before he earns it, lives in a shack, finds himself in debt when his crop is harvested and sold. And yet through the years he has been associated with the most romantic product of American soil. The cotton crop 13 of this country and the Negro are inextricably joined together. Cotton, perhaps, is our greatest agricultural product, and it is to a considerable extent in his hands. His relation to this American staple is indispensable. Especially is this true when the story of the by-products of cotton is related. This one line of the industry now aggregates one hundred millions of dollars annually. The list of the by-products has grown rapidly and to an amazing degree; following in quick succession have come stock foods, fertilizer, soap, fiber for high-grade paper, miners' oil, nitroglycerin, and gun cotton, and augmented our list of edible delicacies by many score. Cotton-seed, once a waste-product, was discovered to contain an oil which now, being extracted, produces a substitute for lard, marketing at $25,000,000 annually, while the worthless hulls of the cotton- seed have been turned into a by-product utilized in making fiber boards which go into trunks, sample cases, washers, and a multitude of other articles of incalculable value. And yet the Negro, realizing little from his toil, lives on, struggling for his bread, feeling the impulse to push towards the call of the upward way, with only faint hope that he will find a welcome from those who have preceded him in the long journey from the depths to the sun-kissed heights. WORK, FOR THE NIGHT IS COMING. ANNIE L. WALKER. LOWELL MASON. 4/4 1. Work, for the night is com - ing, Work thro' the morn - ing hours; Work while the dew is spark - ling, Work 'mid spring - ing flow'rs; Work then the day grow bright - er, Work in the glow - ing sun; D.S. - Work for the night is com - ing, When man's work is done. 2. Work, for the night is com - ing, Work thro' the sun - ny noon; Fill bright - est hours with la - bor, Rest comes sure and soon. Give ev - 'ry fly - ing min - ute Something to keep in store; D.S. - Work, while for the night is com - ing, When man works no more. 3. Work, for the night is com - ing, Un - der the sun - set skies; While their bright tints are glow - ing, Work, for the day - light flies. Work till the last beam fad - eth, Fad - eth to shine no more; D.S. - Work while the night is dark - 'ning, when man's work is o'er. By per. O. Diston & Co., owners of copyright. 14 CLOSING ADDRESS--By Pastor. ON THE HEIGHTS The up-hill climb from poverty and industrial servitude on the part of the Negro presents a long and pathetic story. We are to-day, as sympathetic listeners, ready to offer our assistance. That many of this down-trodden race have reached the heights, encourages us to do our best for them. They are developing leaders whose intellectual ability gives them a rating with the best in the land. In these outstanding men rests the hope of the future of the race, for the day of self-help approaches slowly. Only when an individual here and there breaks away from the dominating characteristics of his people are there indications that the solidity of the type is giving way. The Negroes in America now number over ten million. They form a dense body of population which must be reckoned with in the progress of morals and religion. Only forty-seven per cent of them are enrolled in our schools, while the percentage of illiteracy among those ten years of age and over is thirty and four-tenths per cent. Their death rate is twenty-five per cent on every thousand, and all the contagious diseases flourish among them. Every man having a serious love for his country will feel drawn to assist the black man forward on the upward way. Every follower of Jesus Christ when he comes to realize the need of this race, held in poverty and bound by a grinding servitude among a free people, will offer himself willingly to assist in the work of uplift. Let us not forget our brothers in black. In the hour of their sore distress, let us rise to attend the call for aid! For wherever a man lies languishing by the wayside unable to rise and strike the Upward Way, there Christ stands, calling, "Who will be a neighbor to this man?" OFFERING. CLOSING HYMN. JESUS CALLS US CECIL F. ALEXANDER. WILLIAM H. JUDE. 3/2 1. Je - sus calls us o'er the tu - mult Of our life's wild, rest - less sea; Day by day His sweet voice soundeth, Say - ing, Christian, fol - low me! 2. Je - sus calls us from the wor - ship Of the vain world's gold - en store; From each i - dol that would keep us, Say - ing, Christian, love me more! 3. In our joys andin our sor - rows, Days of toil and hours of ease, Still he calls, in cares and pleas - ures, Christian, love me more than these! 4. Je -sus calls us! by They mer - cies, Sav - ior, may we hear Thy call; Give our hearts to Thy o - be - dience, Serve and love Thee best of all! DOXOLOGY. BENEDICTION. 15 The Lincoln Program Free We are going to the added expense of sending each pastor in Methodism a sample of our Lincoln Day Program, "The Way Upward." We desire that each one may note the interesting facts concerning the Society's work among the freedmen. The program is intended to be educative upon Methodism's contribution in the past, and her responsibility in the future for the uplift of one tenth of our population. The program will be sent to Pastors, Epworth League Presidents, Sunday School Superintendents, and the Presidents of our Colleges and Academies in as large numbers as desired, free of cost. Only to let us know how many can be used, and that you will take an offering for the Society. Helps for Pastors and Others "The Way Upward" contains facts brought down to date concerning our work. There are, however, additional helps published. The February number of the Christian Educator will be prepared with special information concerning the progress of the freedmen in the last fifty years. This will be mailed to all pastors, and may be sent to others on application. We also have leaflets which will be sent to any one desiring them. The Society is anxious to give information, and the Secretaries are at work collating and publishing the latest facts for use, that the Lincoln Sunday of 1916 may be one of the most memorable of all, and most largely celebrated. Form of Bequest While this work is upon your mind, make a clause in your will in the interest of this Society. FORM OF BEQUEST.-- I give and bequeath to the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio, the sum of $ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The receipt of the Treasurer thereof shall be a sufficient discharge to my executors for the same. Annuity Bond Persons having funds which they plan to have go to the Lord's cause, and yet need the income while they live, may give any sum now, and this Society will pay interest upon it during the person's life. These Annuity Certificates are as good as a Government bond, with double the interest, paid semi-annually. Write the Secretaries about this plan. 16 Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.