In Southern California; Plowing machine; In the oil country; San
Francisco; The Union Ferry Depot; Fort Alkatras; Sausalito; Seal
rocks; The Golden Gate; Sutro baths and museum; China Town; The
United States Mint; James Lick; The Stanford University; The
climate.
AFTER days of travel over the dreary desert waste, it was refreshing
to look out in the early morning on the orchards of oranges, lemons,
limes, and I know not how many other kinds of fruit. We are now
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
There are yet miles on miles of desert country, but it is frequently
broken by the orchards of tropical fruits. Some one said as we
traversed New Mexico and Arizona deserts: "This country was made
only to tie the lands which are fit for something together."
I fell in with the balance in that opinion; but I am far from
believing that now. Wherever water can be had for irrigation, these
sandy plains and knobs can be made to blossom as the rose. It is
demonstrated beyond all question here and in some of the parks about
San Francisco. We passed in the night old Fort Yuma and the Colorado
river, which separates Arizona from California and empties into the
Gulf of California. From Riverside, Pomona and Los Angeles to San
Francisco, over the Coast Line, the country is as the garden of the
Lord, except when the great cattle ranches and wheat farms occupy
the territory. Farming is made profitable only by irrigation. This
is usually the rainy season when the irrigating ditches are not much
in use, but no rain has fallen and the farmers are busy preparing
the ground and planting wheat. In many places they were flooding the
ground in order to bring up the wheat, already sown. I saw only a
few places where the crop was showing. What would Alabama farmers
think of running a plow with six and eight horses attached? It was
not one plow, but a
PLOWING MACHINE
having several large breakers. I saw from six to ten horses pulling
harrows. Horse flesh seems to be abundant. In size, the horses are
simply immense. The Eucalyptus tree is a disappointment: where it
stands alone it grows to a great height, having a few scattering
branches; but in groves and clusters along avenues and on the
mountain sides, it is charming. Its growth is rapid, and as an
absorbent of malaria it is noted above all plants. I am surprised
that it is not grown around Mobile and New Orleans. The Coast Line
from Los Angeles has been open only a few weeks, and now trains run
into San Francisco for the first time. Many roads centre here, but
the Southern Pacific is the first to take its train into the city.
All others have their terminals over the Bay at different points,
or trains are brought over by steamers. From San Buena Ventura
for many miles, our train runs by the side of the Ocean. It is a
glorious sight to one unused to the Sea. There are numerous large
towns and the lands in many places seem to be fertile almost to the
beach. California is becoming
NOTED FOR ITS OIL.
At one point on the coast there must have been three hundred
derricks, many of them on wharves extending far out into the ocean,
the wells being only a few feet apart. Back in the mountains and
foot-hills there must be many more, as I can see hundreds of great
tanks along the beach. Owing to the high price for coal, it will not
be a great while before oil will run most of the machinery on the
Pacific Coast. The most of the coal used comes from Australia and is
very high. The wildest, grandest scenery of the whole trip is where
the road pierces the Coast Range at San Louis Obispo. I would not
dare undertake its description. And now I am in
SAN FRANCISCO
after an absence of forty years. Of course I recognize nothing--all
is changed; hills have been leveled and their sands emptied into the
Bay. Front Street is now separated from the Bay front by blocks of
magnificent buildings. My brother and his wife met me. How they have
changed! I never would have known them. They were impolite enough to
accuse me of growing old, too.
THE UNION FERRY DEPOT,
from which our boat started on its six mile trip across the Bay,
is a wonderful structure, and is built on a mud foundation where
the Bay has been filled in. It is 659 feet long with a clock tower
rising 245 feet. The second story contains a hall the whole length
of the building, 48 feet wide and 42 feet high. The building belongs
to the State and is used for waiting rooms for some of the great
railroads and for the many large ferry boats which cross the Bay to
Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Sausalito and many other points. The Bay
is filled with shipping of every description and from all parts of
the world.
FORT ALKATRAS
is on an island. If the prison there could talk, it could tell
many a tale of suffering during the civil war, the only offense
being, the occupant sympathized with the Confederacy. Yonder is
Goat Island, in whose shadow a number of boys and I, years ago, in
our own beautiful sail boat, on a Saturday morning, made a fine
beginning for a day's fishing, but the wretched fellows soon took a
notion to return to Oakland--meantime the wind had sprung up and the
Bay was lashed into great billows. I was hopelessly in the minority,
and reluctantly took my place and steered the little craft over the
mad waves. In a few minutes every fellow except myself was deathly
sick, and I was left to manage sails and helm alone. It was my first
lesson in navigation. Time and again I was sure we were lost, but
the Lord must have interposed, though none of us were much given to
a religious life. When we got safely ashore my interest in the boat
was quickly disposed of to my fool-hardy companions. Through all
these years I have fondly hoped I might some day finish that fish,
so unceremoniously broken into.
SAUSALITO
is the end of my journey. My brother lives here in a lovely home
built in a niche of the mountain and fronting the Bay, which is
not twenty steps from his gate. San Francisco is plainly in view
directly in front, and Oakland and other cities by the Bay, are to
the left. This is the terminus of a railroad which runs back in
Marin county through a beautiful country. People who live here and
on back for miles to San Rafael, mostly have business in the city.
They are conveyed to and from their homes by cars and boats which
run every half hour. It is said there are two thousand people in
this burg; but I can't see where they are. In nooks and corners
of the mountains they are stuck away so that it looks more like
a thickly settled country community than a town. The streets run
around the mountains on easy grades so that before one is aware of
it he is on a high elevation. Exercise! You can get all you want
here. The back entrance to my brother's home is some four hundred
feet above his house and is reached by a flight of steps almost
as steep as a ladder. I have always counted myself a good walker,
but I am not in it with these Californians. Both men and women are
great walkers. Remarking on the great number of ruddy-faced girls
and women I saw, the quick explanation was: "We have so much open
weather and the air is so bracing, our people are so much out of
doors; hence the ruddy cheeks." I am a
POOR HAND AT SIGHT-SEEING.
Probably it comes from a sort of tired feeling which I have had
since my birth; anyway, I don't like to start out in the business
of seeing things, but I just had to. These people believe they have
something worth seeing and they leave their affairs behind and
give themselves to showing the tourists the sights. And they are
worth seeing, too. You can write almost anything extravagant about
California and it will not be far from the truth. I was glad I was
not left to myself, but how helpless I am when it comes to writing
about the sights. I can command only a few adjectives and they soon
become commonplace. "Immense" is one of my favorites. "Wonderful" is
another. Then comes "great" and a lot of little ones until I grow
tired and only grunt as my guide raves over what we are looking
at. If I could only rave over things! I will never have a better
opportunity than now, but the thing is impossible for me.
"The City of Atlanta" is the name of the Observation Car which makes
several trips daily to the Cliff House and return. The conductor is
a good talker and knows his business thoroughly. While the car moves
along at a good speed, he announces to the travelers the places of
interest.
We pass the great power house where is generated the electricity
which runs the many miles of electric car line; the Mission Dolores,
an old adobe building erected in 1776; Golden Gate Park, covering
more than one thousand acres; the Affiliate Colleges, three great
buildings situated on a mountain side overlooking the city and bay,
and finally the Cliff House on the point on the Pacific. Out there
two hundred yards away are the
SEAL ROCKS.
A great herd of seals live there, protected by the authorities for
the pleasure of the travelers who flock here by the thousands. In
the afternoon they look like a flock of sheep resting in the shadows
of the rock; but in the morning they are playing in the waters. At
one time they sound like a pack of hounds far in the distance; at
another, like a herd of hungry cattle. This, with the roar of the
ocean against the rocks, makes a sound one never can forget.
It is said that here, on the broad piazzas of the Cliff House, is
the only spot in all the world where such a sight can be enjoyed. I
was told that some years ago after a storm, a large sea-lion, killed
by the storm, was washed ashore, and its weight was twenty-seven
hundred pounds. I do not doubt it, judging by the appearance of one
immense old fellow, which they have named "Ben Butler," after "Beast
Butler," I suppose, of New Orleans fame.
The quickest way out of my troubles at this point is to allow other
writers to tell of the things that I saw there.
"The entrance through
THE GOLDEN GATE
cannot be surpassed. On the right can be seen the Cliff House and
Sutro Heights; on the left, Point Bonita Lighthouse. Passing these,
you enter what might be called the vestibule of the Golden Gate,
which narrows to the distance of one and one-eighth miles between
Fort Point and Lime Point, with a depth of water of three hundred
and ninety feet.
The bay is so land-locked that the early voyagers kept sailing
right by its narrow opening, and it was not until November 7, 1769,
that it was discovered; but it was not entered and made known to
the world until 1775. The Bay covers 450 square miles. It can
accommodate the navies of the entire world without crowding them.
SUTRO BATHS AND MUSEUM
is where an immense rock basin catches the water from the ocean
twice a day at high tide. The baths, with a capacity of nearly two
millions of gallons, can be filled within an hour. The length of the
building is 500 feet. It has seating capacity for 3,700 and swimming
accommodations for 2,000 bathers. Tons of iron and thousands of feet
of glass, 3,000,000 feet of lumber and over 300,000 feet of concrete
were used in its construction. The bathers are here all times of the
year.
I can't tell of Golden Gate Park, with its beautiful drives, its
statuary, museum, its herds of buffaloes and deer; of the Presidio,
the Government reservation of over 1,500 acres, which has been
beautified until it may be included among the parks of San Francisco.
CHINATOWN,
covering twelve squares of the city, where nobody lives but Chinese,
is a place of great interest. Many visitors employ guides and take
in the town at night, which, I am told, is the best time to see it
at its worst. Horrid tales are told of underground opium dens, where
victims of the drug, of all colors, congregate; of the gambling
hells, and the Chinese lotteries. Two Chinese landed in 1848; in
1850 there were 450; in 1852 10,000 landed in one month. They were
welcomed at first. They are the best of laborers, but they soon
began to supplant white labor. It was discovered also that they did
not come with their families, to make this country their home. They
keep what they make and return with it to China--they even send
the bones of their dead back to the Celestial Empire. By law, they
have been prohibited from coming to this country for some years.
The years of the first Exclusion Act are now about out, and one of
the biggest questions, in the minds of Californians is, the new
Exclusion Law. The Labor party is very strong in the State, and the
politicians dare not antagonize it. It is a serious problem. If the
Chinese would come like the people of other nations and bring their
families and settle in the country, their enemies would be robbed of
their strongest argument. No exclusion laws are thought of against
the people of other nations, even though they supplant, in many
lines, the American laboring man.
THE UNITED STATES MINT.
"The biggest mint in the world," the fellow said, is a place where
one can feel mighty rich for a little while. Visitors are received
at regular hours, bunched and put in charge of a guide who shows
them through. One can see the money in every process of manufacture.
I was impressed with the fact that two dies stamp $40,000 in $20
gold pieces in ten minutes and that the coinage is about $30,000,000
a year. I saw only one greenback and one copper while I was in San
Francisco. Only gold and silver are used.
JAMES LICK
was an old pioneer--a machinist and a bachelor. He used his immense
wealth in beautifying the city and benefiting his fellow men. The
Pioneers' Building he gave, leaving it richly endowed. Here are
gathered all the curios of the early times and from the fund is
supported old and disabled pioneers. He gave to the city a great
bath house, where any one can bathe without cost; $400,000 of his
money went into the California Academy of Science.
The Lick Observatory, near San Jose, crowning the summit of Mount
Hamilton, 4,250 feet above sea level, his greatest benefaction, I
could only read about. The bequest amounted to $7,000,000, and the
telescope alone cost $55,000. This is indeed the biggest telescope
in the world.
THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY
at Palo Alto, only a few miles away from San Francisco on the Coast
Line, I could easily have seen in passing, but it escaped me. It
is named for Leland Stanford, Jr., for whom it will be a perpetual
monument. He was the only child, and the parents devoted the whole
of their princely fortune to the erection and endowment of this
great school. I saw the palatial home of the widow in San Francisco.
This school and the State University at Berkeley, certainly offer
great advantages to the young men and women of California--they are
both co-educational.
The great wealth of this country is simply marvelous. The taxable
property of San Francisco amounts to nearly $400,000,000, with
$120,000,000 hoarded in savings banks, or $343 per capita, but
notwithstanding all this there is a great army of very poor people.
THE CLIMATE
about San Francisco is peculiar. The average maximum temperature for
twenty-two years has been 62 and the minimum 51 degrees, a variation
of only eleven degrees. The January temperature, for those years,
has been 50 and for June 59 degrees. The last and the first three
months of each year are the rainiest--only about 67 rainy days in
the year. The people wear the same outer garments the year round.
Ice and snow are seldom seen. The fogs make it an undesirable place
for people with pulmonary troubles.
I have missed many things of great interest. Back of my brother's
house, upon Mount Tamalpais, is the "crookedest railroad in the
world." It doubles back on itself five times, forming a double bow
knot. But for the fogs, I should have enjoyed the trip where the
finest view in all the country may be had.
Chapter Three
Los Angeles; "Seeing Los Angeles"; The return; The pit;
The Mirage; Old Fort Yuma; Religious matters; Baptists; An
interesting occurrence; The pastors' conference; California
College; One serious question.
ONE who travels and observes could write letters indefinitely about
what he sees and hears, but the question is: "How long will the
readers stand it?" Just what to write about and when to stop, are
perplexing questions, but I must close with this letter. Besides a
day in Oakland and Berkeley, where the State University is located,
and a short run on a railroad to San Quinten, all my sight-seeing
was done in San Francisco. There are over half a million people
in and around that city. Probably 350,000 in San Francisco;
Oakland Alameda, Berkeley and several other towns across the bay,
practically one city, have over one hundred thousand more. Just two
weeks was the length of my stay thereabouts. Everybody was very kind
to give advice to the traveler, some of which he took--if he had
taken it all, he would have been gone a year or more. Before I left,
on the way, and about San Francisco, I was told I must not return
without seeing
LOS ANGELES.
I gave two days returning, one of them Sunday, to this surpassingly
beautiful city. "You must see Pasadena, Long Beach, Riverside and
Mount Lowe," a friend said and another suggested a trip to San Diego
and I know not how many other places, but the line had to be drawn
somewhere and this is the last place for me on this trip. "There is
nothing in a name," but here is one I found, there is something in:
"Pueblo de la Reina de los Angelise." That was the original Spanish
name: the meaning was: "Town of the Queen of the Angels." It must
have been a beautiful place in those far off days, 1781. It was
rather damp, raw weather while I was there and I saw but little.
The display of fruits and farm products and natural resources of
Southern California, at the Chamber of Commerce is simply marvelous.
The immense hotels of the city are full all through the winters.
I was told there were 60,000 tourists in the city the day I was
there. These great hotels are not run for fun either, as I happen to
know from what I paid for one night's lodging. At all the suburban
cities, I learned, the hotels flourish as they do here. In Florida
it is said: "the people live on gophers in the summer and on Yankees
in the winter." These people certainly have a fine chance at the
Yankees in winter. Southern people, too, find their way here and
many have made it their home. Mrs. Scarboro, a Judson girl, into
whose home I was received with an old fashioned southern welcome,
told me there were four Judson girls and several Howard College
boys there. The Daughters of the Confederacy have two chapters, and
I think the old Confederates have an organization, too. Her old
friends in Alabama will be glad to know that Miss Sue Daniel makes
this her home and that she is well and happy. How many people she
knows in Alabama and how they do love her! She loves the Lord and
His work here as she did in Marion.
"SEEING LOS ANGELES."
is the name of the observation car which will give you a two or
three hours ride through the city for a small sum. I can't begin to
tell of all we saw. There are hundreds of palatial homes here in
the midst of grounds surrounded by the rarest of plants. I can't
understand why they do not have the orange as an ornamental tree,
for it grows beautifully all around. It is a lovely tree and when
loaded with fruit, it surpasses anything I have seen. I was never
tired of eating oranges until now. I shall never forget the acres
on acres I saw, covered with trees laden with the luscious fruit.
The growth of the population in this Southern California city is
something marvelous.
In 1860 there were 4,500; in 1870, 11,000; in 1880, 50,000; in
1897, more than 100,000, and at this time, probably 150,000. What
is the attraction? the reader asks. The climate is the first thing,
of course. It is only 293 feet above the level of the sea, the air
is dry and entirely free from malarial influences. There is not
much need of fire in the homes, so spring-like is the weather most
of the time. The ocean is only a short distance away on one side,
and the mountains, on the other side, are only a few minutes ride.
Besides all this, the rich lands abound. Oil wells are abundant in
the southern part of the city. Many persons mortgaged delightful
homes to develop wells in their front and back yards and afterwards
lost all. Some of the wisest feel that the discovery of oil was
a calamity to the city. The conductor on our observation car,
in his excellent description of things, as we went along, would
occasionally venture to perpetrate a piece of wit at which there was
the faintest sort of a smile on the faces of some of his passengers,
on others, it was entirely lost, but he made one happy hit,
which brought down the house. "On the left you see many hundreds
of derricks, showing that Los Angeles has among her many other
resources, oil to burn. You will observe that the oil wells come to
an abrupt termination at the fence of the old cemetery. Many people
insisted that so much valuable territory should not be given up to
the dead since the occupants had either gone to where they did not
need oil, or to where fuel was furnished them free."
THE RETURN
Was by the same route I went. If I had to make the trip again, I
should go one way and return another. I am not at all displeased
with the Southern Pacific. It was as good as I wanted and I guess
the equal of any others. I counted myself fortunate to get a place
on the Limited returning! Beyond the saving of a day, I discovered
but little advantage over a place on the sleeper on the regular
train. Everything was nice and convenient of course, and, if I had
plenty of money and loved to smoke and drink, I think I would put
great store on the Limited; but a lower berth on a sleeper on the
regular train, is good enough for me. I saw many points of interest,
returning, which I passed in the night, going.
"THE PIT"
Is a depression in Southern California through which the road runs
which reaches at Salton, _two hundred and sixty-three feet below the
level of the sea_. Only a few miles away, across the mountain range,
is the Pacific ocean and here at Salton they have great salt works,
where the waters of the Salt Springs, found in the neighborhood, are
evaporated. All this region was once covered by the ocean, no doubt,
and the probabilities are that it will be again some day. Here, they
say, in this atmosphere, is the place for consumptives and there are
very many to be seen. At Indio, twenty feet below sea level, there
is a good hotel and neat little cottages, fitted up especially for
the accommodation of invalids.
THE MIRAGE.
I thought I saw it going out, but was mistaken. I am not prepared
yet to say it was not a lake of water or mud, for they say the Salt
Springs and the Volcanic Springs of mud are hereabouts. One dares
not approach too near the latter. It spreads itself out over many
acres and maybe many miles. If it is dangerous to explore, who knows
but the so-called mirage is a real lake of mud and water! But there
it is out a few miles from the railroad, and for miles you can see
it. You see distinctly the shadows from the other bank and little
knolls and islands, all through it, cast their shadows distinctly on
the face of the water. Yet they say it is all a delusion, there is
no water there! Maybe so, but I am a skeptic.
In a former letter I spoke of the four wire fences on either side of
the road and suggested that it was more than 3,000 miles long; but
I discovered in the Colorado desert, which I passed at night while
going, there is no fence for hundreds of miles, nothing but bare
sand, and of course, there are no cattle to get on the track.
OLD FORT YUMA
Is a historic spot on the Colorado river. This was the crossing
place in the early days of all the thousands of gold hunters from
the East. If its history could be written what stories of adventure
and suffering would it contain! It was here my brother, in 1849,
caught the first glimpse of California after a long and perilous
trip across the plains from Ft. Smith in Arkansas. If he would
write the story of his ups and downs before and after getting to
California it would make mighty interesting reading.
The town of Yuma is not far from the Gulf of California--I saw
two little steamboats tied up there. If anyone has been trying
to do anything in the way of teaching and evangelizing the Yuma
Indians, a company of whom we saw, they certainly have reason to
be discouraged. I have seen nowhere more wretched specimens of
humanity. The government policy of continuing the Indians as "Wards
of the Nation," supplying them with a living without any effort on
their part, and the efforts of the Catholics to Christianize them,
have been, alike failures.
Now my trip is ended. I have traveled 205 miles in Alabama, 63 in
Mississippi, 300 in Louisiana, 947 in Texas, 249 in New Mexico,
414 in Arizona, 728 in California, making in all 2,906 miles. It
has been a great pleasure for me to write these letters. I doubt
not they seemed very commonplace to many who are used to travel. I
haven't had that class in mind at all. I have thought of the many
hundreds who were "Shut-Ins" by reason of circumstances, and will in
all probability never make this trip or anything like it. I will be
glad if the letters have proven helpful to any.
It is proper that these letters of travel should close with
something about
RELIGIOUS MATTERS.
The earliest religion to be planted in all this western country
was Roman Catholic. In Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California,
you will hear of "The Missions," by which they mean some ancient
cathedral or monastery, built more than a century ago, but now
in ruins. The tumble-down walls are of great interest to the
traveler, and are regarded with superstitious reverence by many
persons. Enthusiastic orators and writers often rave over the noble
self-sacrifice of the Spanish priests who founded these Missions.
Doubtless there were some pure, good men among them, inflamed with a
zeal for soul saving. But if we study the history of the Missions,
there is little to admire. There was a deliberate trade between the
Spanish Government and these Spanish Fathers. They received every
encouragement from the government and carried on their building
and trading under government protection. The Indians, whom they
came to Christianize, became practically their slaves. The labor
required to quarry and dress the stones, burn the brick and prepare
and transport the timbers for the buildings, was immense, and it
was all done by the Indians under the direction of the Fathers.
The income from the Missions, established by one of the Societies,
became $2,000,000 annually. They were in possession of their
properties for more than half a century. After the Missions were
secularized by the Mexican government, to replete its exhausted
treasures, the Fathers gave up their places, the Missions crumbled
into ruins and their converts went back into their savage state.
There is now no trace of anything permanent about their work, except
where the Indians intermarried with the Spanish soldiers; their
decendants are still Catholics. But the Catholics are strong on
the Pacific Coast, as they are everywhere in Coast cities. Probably
the Episcopalians come next, though of this I am not certain.
From all that I could see, most of the people are working at most
anything else than religion. I was constantly reminded of the
couplet in the old hymn:
"Where every prospect pleases
And only man is vile."
If a lovely country, delightful climate, bountiful harvests and
general prosperity, make people religious, the Californians
certainly ought to be devout; but I fear they take these things as
matters of course, and forget the Giver of all good.
I was told at Sausalito that men did not go to preaching in
California. From what I saw in the Episcopal church in that little
city, at a night service, it looked as if it were true; but I
worshipped with the First Baptist Church in San Francisco on two
Sunday mornings and was much pleased to find fully one-half the
worshippers males.
BAPTISTS
in San Francisco are few in numbers. I had the privilege of
preaching for the First Church people one morning. Dr. Wood, the
pastor, is a strong preacher, and seems to have an aggressive
church. My membership was here when I was a boy. But I was not a
very loyal member, as the reader later will find how I attended the
services of Dr. Scott on account of my Southern proclivities. A
Southern preacher in California is a rarity, I judge, but he meets
with a hearty welcome. Old Southerners, of course, greet him with a
style he is used to, and the Yankees crowd about him as if he were
a curiosity. "I knew you were from the South," said one: "Why?"
I asked. "Are you a Southern man?" "No, but I was down in that
country on the other side from you in the war." From the handshake
he gave me, one would not have guessed that we had at one time been
enemies. "Reckon" is a good word peculiar to the South and so is
"Tote." These are the two words, the use of which anywhere in the
North, will betray the speaker as a Southern man. The words they
use to express the same ideas are "Guess" and "Pack." I submit
these are no improvement on ours. In my sermon I had occasion to
say, "You reckon"--instantly the face of every Northerner was lit
up with a smile. I was greatly pleased with the heartiness with
which most everyone in the congregation entered into the singing.
An instrument was used, but a leader stood on the platform and led
the congregation. The pastor explained to me, rather apologetically,
that since their building was destroyed a few years ago, with their
fine organ, a choir had not been organized. I thought: "The Lord be
praised for a fire if it gives us such singing as that in place of
the music of the average city choir."
AN INTERESTING OCCURRENCE.
Before the service began, the pastor begged the indulgence of
the congregation while he stated the case of a gentleman who was
present. He came from El Dorado county, where there was no Baptist
church nearer than forty miles of him. He had been converted for
some time, and being in the city on business, he concluded to
remain over Sunday and state his case to the church here and ask
for baptism. It was the custom of the church to hear such cases
on Wednesday night, at the prayer meeting, but the brother was to
return to his home next day, so the matter came up at the morning
service on Sunday. The brother made his statement, some questions
were asked, and he was received for baptism, which was to take
place that night. There was present a gentleman who had been so
circumstanced he had not witnessed, for many years, the reception
of a member in a Baptist church. On leaving the church he said:
"I haven't seen that way of the whole congregation voting on the
reception of a member for a long time. It seems to me that is
the thing to do." As an object lesson it is worth everything to
the Baptists, and ought to be witnessed by as large a number as
possible. But the tendency, in our cities, is to thrust it aside
lest it weary the Sunday congregation.
The congregational form of church government is destined to sweep
America and every democracy-loving people on the globe. Everybody
ought to know we stand for it.
I met with the
PASTOR'S CONFERENCE,
composed of all the Baptist preachers in and around the city. It
alternates its meetings between San Francisco and Oakland.
All told, I suppose they have about twenty-five members. One morning
the hour was given me to tell about mission work in the South. They
were especially curious to know something about the negroes. They
fired many questions at me, which I answered satisfactorily, I
suppose, as they gave me a vote of thanks, with a round of applause
and sent greetings to the Baptists of Alabama.
I guess Oakland is the center of Baptist strength for Northern
California, as Los Angeles is for Southern California--there being
four or five churches in the city. It is the seat of
CALIFORNIA COLLEGE,
the Baptist college of the State. I did not visit it, but from
the statement I heard before the Conference from its President, I
judge, it is in a precarious condition. It does seem to me, if Mr.
Rockefeller wants to help the Baptists where they are most needy,
he has a great opportunity in California. From all I can learn, the
cause is suffering most, for the want of pastors who will stick to
the State. Those they have are from many different States and from
England. I judge they are good men and true; but unless the minds of
a considerable number of them are made up to remain in the State,
the cause of the Baptist must continue to be a great struggle. A
floating ministry, in any State, cannot give permanency to the work.
Every State needs and must have a good, large element of natives in
the ministry. This, California, is almost wholly deficient in, I
suppose.
It was my privilege to hear at Los Angeles, Dr. Frost, long a
resident of California, and said to be the strongest man on the
Coast. He is strong and rugged, a King Saul among his brethren in
stature, and his sermon was full of the strong meat of the Gospel.
Rev. Joseph Smale, pastor of the First Church, I heard at night.
It was a plain, gospel sermon, delivered in an earnest, impressive
manner. His church is probably the largest and richest on the
Coast. The pastor and his assistant are both Englishmen. I met with
the Pastors' Conference. The Baptists hereabouts seem to be numerous
and influential. They have a vigorous, aggressive ministry, who
speak hopefully of the prospects. I was assured that the religious
element was quite strong and pronounced in all Southern California.
ONE SERIOUS QUESTION
agitating the brethren on the Pacific Coast I found to be: The
multiplicity of agents to represent the various denominational
interests. This gave especial interest to my talk before the
Pastors' Conference at Oakland. It seemed to be a new thing with
them that one man should represent all the mission interests
in one State, as we do in Alabama. The Missionary Union (their
Foreign Mission Board), the Home Mission Society, The American
Baptist Publication Society, each have a man to represent their
interests, and besides these I think the two Woman's Societies
have special agents also. The Northern Anniversaries, with which
the churches on the Pacific Coast affiliate, have appointed
committees on co-operation, but the jealousies existing between the
societies stand in the way of their accomplishing anything toward
consolidation. There is no question in the minds of any, North or
South, but that our Convention plan is better to bring about concert
of action. I should have been delighted to have studied closer the
Baptist situation and cultivated the brethren in California, but my
time was too short. They are struggling with unsolved problems on
that side as we are on this side.
May Heaven help them and us with that wisdom that comes from above.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected
without note. Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have
been retained as printed.
Mismatched quotation marks were not corrected if it was not
sufficiently clear where the missing quotation mark should be
placed.