The American Missionary — Volume 41, No. 4, April, 1887Various
Religion
The American Missionary — Volume 41, No. 4, April, 1887
Various
Congregational churches -- Missions -- Periodicals; Home missions -- Periodicals
“We understand the purpose of the laboring classes in their
organizations and publications is to promote the best interests of our
suffering fellow men. And this we do wherever we find a man who has
fallen among thieves on the Jericho road. The fact that he has on the
wooden shoes of Holland, or the queue of China, or the corduroy pants
of Ireland, does not prevent our performing our duty to him as a
fellow man. And any one who abuses any man because of the land of his
birth deserves severe censure from every right-minded man who labors
with hand or head.
“Your inconsistency, Mr. Editor, appears when in one place you say
of the Chinese, ‘This town is afflicted with but few of them, thank
God, and the sooner they disappear the better.’ And in another column
you say, ‘We are willing to do anything possible to aid in promoting
charity, but if creed or nationality is to be considered in bestowing
it, just count us out.’ What is your creed? The one in which you thank
God this town is afflicted with only a few of one nationality, or the
one in which you propose to be counted out unless charity shall be
bestowed regardless of creed or nationality? The man who tries to ride
two horses is apt to fall. Inconsistency always appears ridiculous.
We hope the prayer in your ‘Thank God’ does not put you under the
condemnation of Proverbs 28:9.
“In behalf of every nation in America, we protest against the abuse of
any people, whether they come from the banks of the Shannon, or of the
Rhine or the Po, the Danube or the Hoang Ho.
“It is urged against the Chinese in one of your columns that their
great sin is in the fact ‘that California has been drained of over
$200,000,000 during the last twenty-five years.’ This is an average
of $800,000 per year. But surely this is not a great offence, for Mr.
Michael Davitt, at Madison Square Garden, New York city, recently
urged ‘that millions of dollars had been sent from this country to
gladden the poor Irish peasants.’ Every true man will rejoice that the
peasantry of Ireland and China and Germany can be gladdened with money
honestly earned by their friends in America. The heart of one peasant
is as precious in the sight of the Lord as the heart of any other
peasant so far as we know.
“We have always held that it was mean for a great strong man to strike
a small one. When we see this done we feel like saying, ‘Take a man
of your size.’ On this principle we shall never admire the 17,000,000
laboring men attacking the 125,000 now in our country. We do not
believe any one has correctly sensed the heart of true workmen when
he tries to win their favor by abusing the few harmless industrious
celestials.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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