p. 873 | What Germany Is Doing by W. A. S.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 11, 1913

What Germany Is Doing

By W. A. S.

A FINE missionary turn has been given to the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the German emperor’s accession to the throne. A national call has been made for a great fund for mission enterprises in the colonial possessions of the empire. The call says:—

Our kaiser’s jubilee is at hand. The German people look upon him with reverence and gratitude, and seek a way to bring these feelings to expression. The twenty-five years of his rule have been a period of great national expansion in economic and intellectual directions. The German Empire has not only asserted its position as a great power among the peoples, but has built up flourishing colonies abroad. To the most active pioneers of Germany in these dependencies belong the Christian missions. The whole German people are in duty bound to recognize and further the national and humanitarian culture work of these missions. Other colonial states have long recognized this and have, without regard to the political and religious opinions of individuals, made great sacrifices for the cause from purely patriotic reasons. In this respect we lag behind.

The jubilee of the emperor’s rule demands that we close this gap in the fulfilment of our national duties and go to work in earnest to help the financially hard-pressed missions in our colonies. Representatives of both evangelical and Catholic communions have agreed to celebrate the anniversary day of the emperor’s coronation by a gift to missions.

The kaiser is to distribute the funds among all the German societies, a representative committee giving counsel. Our own people in Germany have taken part in the enterprise, having given about seven thousand dollars, according to the last word. There is a distinct awakening among Protestants in Germany on the subject of missionary endeavor, and this, we know, will result in greater effort to spread a knowledge of the Scriptures throughout the vast German colonial possessions. Everywhere one can see the way preparing for a rapid work of evangelizing the world.

W. A. S.