The long experience of colored people in the South, in the work of cultivating cotton has led to many enterprises looking to manufacturing the raw article into goods. Several movements have made good headway for a time, but most of them have failed to score a permanent success. The last enterprise of this character is located at Concord, N. C. It appears to have a substantial foundation and its success seems almost assured. Speaking of the enterprise and its supporters the "Baltimore Ledger" says:--"The Coleman Cotton Mill, at Concord, will soon be ready for operation. It is a worthy enterprise and should be substantially supported by the race in North Carolina especially; and those outside of the state should feel much interested as it is a purely negro enterprise. The white people of the state feel much interested in the factory and many of them are giving substantial aid. This is in evidence of the fact that many white people throughout the entire South are willing to extend a helping hand to the race, and thus help us rise to a higher plain of Christian manhood, if we will but help ourselves. Self-help is one of the most essential qualities in racial development. Without it no race can ever hope to achieve any great victories or become strong or powerful. Let us then help ourselves first, and before we seek outside help from our white friends." * * * * * From a former Principal of Ballard Normal School, Macon, Ga.: "DEIR EL KOME, LEBANON, SYRIA. "For a long time I have been wishing to hear from the American Missionary Association both as to its work and its prosperity. For that reason please find herewith an order for $40. I would like to have the magazine sent to me here.... "The work here in Asia among the poor and ignorant is much the same that it is elsewhere, except that the habits and superstitions of centuries seem more unyielding than I ever saw them before. The opportunities for Christian work yielding immediate results seem to be tenfold greater at home than here. The need both here and there is unlimited. Our hearts have anxiously turned towards our country in this time of war." * * * * * SAMUEL S. MARPLES. Once more the American Missionary Association is called to mourn the loss of one of its most useful and highly esteemed officers. Mr. S. S. Marples, who died at his home in Brooklyn, June 23, 1898, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, was a most judicious business man, a devoted Christian, and useful in many walks in life. He was one of the most prominent members of the Produce Exchange, New York City; at various times a member of the Board of Managers, and holding important positions on its Committees.