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December 17, 1913.
A FAMILY PAPER.
E D I T O R I A L
John W. Pritchard, Editor.
ORGANIC CHURCH UNITY.
Practically all denominations of Christians aro
ready for organic church unity. The difficulty
seems to be to arrive at an acceptable basis of
unity, that is a basis acceptable to all. Each denomination
is quite able to propose a basis acceptable
to itself, and though the proposed basis
is different in each instance, there is a striking
similarity between them all. A wily Roman
CathoUc said; "Sure, it's an easy task, this of
uniting the churches. Just let them all acknowledge
his holiness, the Pope, and the thing's
done." The latest basis is that proposed by the
Rev. J. M. Foster.' The basis he proposes has
the family likeness of many such proposals in
that it is but a restatement of the principles
for which our own Church stands. Mr. Poster
builds a platform of eight planks; 1. An acceptance
of the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments as the word of God and the only
rule of faith and practice. 2. An acceptance of the
Confession of Faith and Catechisms, larger and
shorter, of the Westminster Assembly, as agreeable
unto and founded upon the Scriptures. 3.
An acceptance of one unalterable form of Presbyterian
church government. 4. An acceptance
ot the manner of worship prescribed in the holy
scriptures. 5. An acceptance of public social
covenanting as an ordinance of God lor churches
and nations. 6. An acceptance of the offlce of
witness for Christ. 7. An acceptance of the
separated life. 8. An acceptance of the obedient
lite." This is the latest, and we must confess,
in our judgment, the most satisfactory basis of
union yet proposed. Its great excellence will appear
to any thoughtful student of the Westminster
Standards and Covenanter literature.
DR. MARIA MONTESSORI.
Mme. Maria Montessori, ol Rome, is in America
for thirty days, to tell of her method of training
the child mind that has interested every part of
the world where children are taught. Her system
is one of self-development. She creates an
atmosphere, introduces the child ol three to eight
into it, and leads them- to see things with their
fingers. She teaches the diiference between hot
and cold hy having the children wash their hands
in cold water and suddenly dip them in warm.
Then she has them pass their fingers over the
rough and smooth surface of letters or other
material until they know the difference between
Rough and Smooth. Thus she uses the inductive
method with children by giving them experienca
with concrete things. The children become so
interested in getting acquainted with things and
doing things, that they are filled with pleasure.
There is no need of punishment because the
children are happily employed in things that
eac'a one can do and loves to do. Sometimes
they may need restraining from things that encroach
on their neighbors. "Certainly," she says,
"they must never be beaten." She believes in
•Christ's method of love. The teacher, she insists,
must not use force, but must quietly study
the child, and merely help It to find itself. It
is a passive, not an active guidance which the
teacher is to exercise. If all this is so applicable
to the primary, how truly essential it becomes
tor every home and every father and mother.
High and low, thick and thin, round and ovalare
taught in the way described. All abstract
ideas are gained directly from concrete experiences
in games with blocks, cylinders, discs,
stones, and the familiar furniture of the home.
They are taught to sweep the floor,set the table.
wash the dishes, black their boots and shoes, and
keep things clean and orderly. Games of identifying
words with their objects lead to reading,
and the knowledge that may be gained from
books. Counting games lead to arithmetic.
Children of three and four years of age thus
learn to read and write in different languages
and are not conscious of weariness. By means
of the moving pictures which Mme. iMontessori
uses to illustrate her lecture, we saw little
children at the blackboard writing, and doing so
letter than the vast majority of grown ups can.
Those are the most ideal homes and schools
where the parents are using the iMontessori system
unconsciously.
If we were permitted an opinion on this method,
after hearing the lectures of Mme. Montessori
and seeing the actual work and results of the
system, we would say it is not a lad or a mystery,
but love getting a chance with the children
and leading them up to the noblest things. Mme.
Montessori says that children are naturally religious,
and that it is amazing what they can be
taught, by her system, ol religion, morality,
beauty, order, individuality and freedom.
Great things are expected ol this system, as it
carries its truths into the homes, quickening
them, regenerating them, and transforming
whole neighborhoods as it has done in Rome.
The future men and women trained in this way
promise purer, stronger, healthier and more efflcient
lives. Why shall we not hope that love
shall have its place in the uplift of the world'?
The place to begin is with the children and the
home.
What a change would come over society if this
method were introduced into schools and homes
generally.
NO NATIONAL MASS.
Protestants had expected that the President's
attendance at Mass on Thanksgiving would
cease with Mr. Taft the Unitarian. So when it
was given out that President Woodrow Wilson
had accepted the Papal invitation lor 1913, the
Lutheran, the Episcopalian, and the Disciples' pastors
ol Washington protested, but without avail;
and as we published, the President and also the
Secretary ol State, both Presbyterian Elders,
attended the Mass. We take the lollowing trom
'The Presbyterian," ol December 3;
Anti-Roman Protest of the Clergy of Washington,
D. C.
The Pastors' Federation ol Washington, D. C,
and other organizations, on November 24, passed
the lollowing resolutions:
"For the last three or lour years, there has
been celebrated in St. Patrick's church, Washington
on Thanksgiving Day, a solemn high mass,
at which the President of the United States and
some members of his Cabinet, the Chief Justice
and several other Justices of the Supreme Court,
with a number of senators and members of Congress
have attended as the guests of honor.
"This service is now called in the public press
'the official celebration of Thanksgiving Day,'
and is described ini the bulletin of the Pan-
American Republics as having an 'official' character
and every effort is made .by the Roman
hierarchy to give this Roman mass the coIor.,ol
an offlcial function-as il it were generally recognized
as a national service, and as If the President
and his Cabinet by their presence wished it
to be so recognized (which we are sure is not
the case). ^ 4.,, ,-
"One ol the organs ol the Roman Catholm
press (the 'Catholic Citizen' of Milwaukee) states
that 'the Pan-American Thanksgiving Day high
mass is now a permanent institution at the National
Capital'; and says further; 'One day in the
year in which the Bountiful Giver of all good
things is acknowledged by the nation, as a nation—this
expression of gratitude is made in a
Catholic church, around a Catholic altar, by
means ol the one Catholic worship that is worthy
of God, the sacrifice ol the mass.'
"The attendance ol our Chief Magistrate and
members of his Cabinet not once, but year after
year, lor three or lour years, has been made
use of to give color to the Roman claim that
this service is now the ofiicial celebration ol
Thanksgiving Day in our National Capital.
"This fact has been understood, both in the
United -States and in foreign countries, to give
the Roman Catholic Church a prestige and a
prominence over all other Churches, and has
even been believed by people in Brazil and Italy
to show that America is not a Protestant but a
Roman Catholic country."
"It was resolved;
"That we protest against the presumption of
the Roman Catholic press in putting forward the
claim that the Roman mass is the ofiicial celebration
of Thanksgiving Day in the capital of
the republic.
"That we protest against the attempt to convert
our national Thanksgiving Day into a
Roman Catholic lestival, in a service entirely
out ol harmony with the history ol the genius
of our country, and the spirit and purpose ol
the day.
"That we desire to give voice to the widespread
leeling ol indignation among the millions
ol Protestants in America against the efforts of
the Roman press and the Roman hierarchy to
exploit the attendance ol our Chiel Magistrate
and some ol his Cabinet (which we are convinced
has only been intended as an act of courtesy
and good will) for the purpose of glorifying the
Roman Catholic Church and giving this service
an official charcater, which it does not and cannot
possess."
The Roman priests at Washington have criticized
the action of the Protestant ministers, but
without reason, lor some ol the Roman Catholic
papers in our own country have interpreted the
Washinston Thanksgiving Day mass as an official
celebration, an example ol which is the
citat;on_ given above from "The Catholic Citizen"
of Milwaukee. It is just such things as
this that have aroused new antagonism to
Romaniem among American people, and have called
forth the publication of the organ known as
"The Menace," and caused the revival of the A.
P. A. The President and Secretary of State might
have guarded against endorsing this growing
custom, which thus flaunts the red flag in the
face of many citizens, and contributes inflammable
material to this already kindled flre.
These men are perfectly free to go to a Catholic
service anywhere and at any time; but when
this becomes a concertive act, and the circumstances
are likely to produce misunderstanding,
wisdom alone would suggest that in such case
they repair for the service ol God in their respectice
places ol worship.
THE NATIONAL REFORM CONVENTION.
The annual meeting ol the National Reform Association
was held at Pittsburgh, Pa., on Tuesday
morning, December 2, 1913. In connection with
it, a Christian Citizenship Conference was held
on the day belore and on the same day. This
was patterned alter the Portland Conierence ol
last Summer, and was well attended, even with
unlavorable weather. The Sectional Conlerences
of Monday and Tuesday afternoons were held in
the First and the Second Presbyterian churches.
The annual Association meeting ol Tuesday morning
was held in the Eighth Street Reformed