Tt was the custom in mission cir-clea in America a quarter of a century ago to depict the Chinese Ipenighted heathen whom it was the duty of Christian to enlighten. The horrors that exist in China,—still exist, for there has been little or no improvement since the Republic was established—were described by missionaries when on leave at home and told in letters a tides Published in the religious period cals,—the destruction of girl child. en among the lower classes, the foot-binding torture, the executions without trial, the slavery, the illiteracy, the corruption of officials, the famines, the floods and the awful superstitions.
But for two or more decades the mission boards have been influencing the missionaries to tell a ferent tale, to "save face" for China, and' they have been doing. so at the cost of veracily—not all missionaries, by any nteans, thank God! but the active, vociferous elements mong them. The mission-their boards as a group lost their balance particularly over the Nationalist movement, supported when its faults should' have been condemned, and finally helped to. bring about what will prove to be, to a large extent, the destruction of their own inealewlably valuable institutions. The miss.ons and philanthropic work, in my opinion, was the greatest hope that existed, up to a year ago, in China, and now the bulk of it is gone, destroyed by looters and taken over by "Nationa-tee
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.