Our Educational Work in Europe
By H. R. Salisbury
As we have in Europe 8,375 Sabbath-keepers scattered among a population of 472,596,044, speaking about forty different languages, one can at once see that our educational work must be placed upon a somewhat different basis, and is much more complicated than the same work in America, where there is but one government, and practically one language. But as a great part of our success lies in employing native laborers, trained on the field, every one of our union conferences is now putting forth an effort to maintain a training-school within its own borders, even if the numbers are few, and the equipment is severely simple. Also in some of the larger conferences something is being done to establish industrial-intermediate schools and church-schools; but our beginning is small because of poverty in some parts of the field, and prohibitive laws or severe restrictions in others. The German Union Conference
The training-school at Friedensau has this year an attendance of fifty,—twenty-two in the missionary course, and twenty-eight in the nurses' course. Seven students are from Russia, three from Switzerland, two from Holland, one from Austria, and the remainder from Germany. The school has two regular teachers, Brother Lupke, the principal, and an assistant; also Dr. Hoenes, who gives the nurses their instruction. Last year from this school alone twenty-one were sent out into the work, six of the number being medical missionaries. The work in the German Union Conference has been wonderfully blessed of late, and one cause of this success undoubtedly lies in the fact that they are able to send into new fields young people who have been instructed in our own21schools, and are firm in the message, and give the trumpet a certain sound. The British Union Conference
The British Union Conference has its training-school in London. The present attendance is forty-five, mostly from the home field; however, America, Denmark, India, and Africa are represented. We have as yet no buildings of our own, but rent rooms in Holloway Hall, only two doors from our International Tract Society. There are four teachers, but only two give their full time to teaching. More than half of the students pay their entire way by canvassing afternoons, and several are given work in the printing-office. The past school year four of our churches in London have been entirely in charge of young men in the ministerial course, who have conducted Sabbath and Sunday services, and in each of these places souls have been added to the church. At the close of the session, May 18, the entire school, with the possible exception of half a dozen of the younger students, and those who will continue in the office, will be distributed by the union conference committee over Great Britain and Ireland as canvassers, Bible workers, and ministers. Our first church-school has recently been started, with an attendance of twenty-three. The Scandinavian Union Conference
The Scandinavian Union Conference is making greater efforts this year than ever before in its educational work. Brother L. H. Christian is holding a mission training-school in connection with a course of lectures he is giving in Copenhagen. He has one teacher assisting him, and twenty-four students in attendance. Their ages range from eighteen to thirty-three. He is preparing many for the canvassing work. In Christiania Elder O. A. Johnson, with one assistant teacher, is conducting a successful mission school. There are eleven in attendance. The subjects offered are Bible, history, grammar, arithmetic, and canvassing. These students canvass two hours a day, but owing to the unusual hard times there, they are able to meet but a small part of their expenses, the remainder being advanced to them by the conference as a loan. In Sweden the school is an industrial school, and the students are of a younger class. This school is at Nyhyttan, and has an attendance of twenty students, a large per cent of whom are from those not of our faith. They have as instructors, the principal, Brother B. J. Karlsson, and two assistants. The Scandinavian Conference has made considerable progress in the church-school work, and now has six church-schools, with a total attendance of seventy children. The French-Latin Union Conference
The French-Latin Union Conference is fully alive to the needs of education. Last year a training-school was held for twenty weeks in connection with the public meetings which Professor Wilkinson and Brother Curdy were holding in Paris. This year lack of suitable help has delayed the continuance of the work, but some time this summer is to be devoted to the training of those who are desirous of entering the work. We have a most interesting school in Spain, which was opened almost as soon as the workers entered the field, as it was found to be one of the best means of starting the work. Brethren Frank and Walter Bond, the first workers to enter the Spanish field, have charge of the school, and report an attendance of twenty-one boys, with ages ranging from five to fifteen. Not only have they been able to help the boys who come to them to be taught day by day, but they write: 'We can assure you that the school has already helped us in reaching some of the parents with the message, who otherwise would not have heard it. They have attended our meetings, and we have left papers and tracts with them in their homes. We believe some of them will accept the truth. The school seems to be giving the people more confidence in our work.' From Rome Brother Everson writes that he is conducting studies with a class of five. The forenoon is spent in canvassing, the afternoon principally in Bible study, and in the evening the students themselves conduct the meeting, putting before the people the lessons learned during the day. This is surely a most practical idea. Thus, altogether, we have fourteen training- and church-schools in Europe, with a total attendance of nearly three hundred. We are able to report educational progress in every conference and mission field, and one of the chief reasons for this progress is the close relationship existing between the schools and conferences, in sympathy and organization.