It is not wise to approach the' task of reconstruction blindly; it is not wise to rebuild just as we were before the fire; we cannot do so without repeating mistakes which have not made for the greatest efficiency and success of our common work. The members of the Executive therefore appeal for a comprehensive, study of tire whole present situation from the standpoint of our common Christian aims and purposes in Japan, with a view to the most effective and efficient adjustments of our various interests to one another.
Divine compulsion is upon us to~ unitedly study all the interests concerned before we begin the permanent work of reconstruction and if possible make a more effect; ive federation of a greater union of Christian forces a possibility.
The need for such an investigation becomes clear when we consider the present state of our evangelistic work. It would be very unwise to simply rebuild upon our old sites without due consideration for Christian work as a whole or for the future of these two cities which up to the present have been the centre of the empire. Even though they may continue to hold the important place they have held, many of the older churches in Tokio had already become down-town church: but because of a lack of ready money on the part of the Missions, or the financial weakness or lack of vision on the part of the existing self-supporting churches, the people were not being followed to the suburbs, thus creating a weakness in the work of evangelizing families which threatened the future of the work already established. Now, however, the earthquake and the are have wiped out many of these down-town churches, making a new survey of Tokio and Yokohama a necessity, if our Christian responsibility for suburban districts is to be wisely and intelligently met.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.