"Oct. 21. My Dear Friend, Mr. Brown—I wish you would if you please if you please send me three dollars and a half now if you please send it I want to buy a good little shot gun please send it."
These facts present the double responsibility which the A.M.A. sustains to its constituency in this vast and complex missionary work. None of these facts are exceptional in character. The Association must so present its work to the churches as to "constrain" them to give; drag them by the chains of Christian duty to give; those who can of their abundance abundantly; those who must of their penury, with this tremendous self-sacrifice.
An old colored preacher in Georgia, in my hearing, preached on "Pasteboard Christians." He said: "Brethren, did you neber see a pasteboard box? It's mighty nice; maybe all covered with gilt paper; looks right stiff and stout, but you just set it out in the rain and see it when it goes 'pooh,' and am all omnatiously busted. It am jest so with some Christians. They comes to meetin' with good clothes on; they looks drefful fine! But you just pass the contribution box 'round, da goes 'pooh!' and dar ain't nothin' left of 'em." It has not been my experience that there are many pasteboard Christians in the district of New England. Systematic giving, giving constantly, giving because the safety of our country requires it, and the kingdom of Christ demands it; this is the sort of giving which I have found to be the rule.
But there must be systematic spending as truly as systematic giving. The gifts of the churches must be husbanded, and the churches must be warned from time to time against wasteful and unwise efforts, by which others are seeking to do the work, which is being done systematically through your agent, the American Missionary Association.
My personal experience as Field Superintendent, has pressed upon me the imperative importance of this side of the responsibility which this Association holds to the churches. One must pass back and forth often, and become personally familiar with this great field, before he can understand the importance of the systematic spending of this Association. Wrecks of schools and churches are not few in the Southland. Godly men and women and godless adventurers have experimented in many places. Money has been and is being wasted, that might be used to great and permanent advantage if contributed through the A.M.A. and disbursed according to the principles which long experience has proved to be sound.
It is the purpose of this paper to emphasize some of the facts concerning this great missionary field, and to point out the advantages of systematic spending, which you secure when you commit your funds to this society rather than to the hap-hazard efforts which you have no power to supervise and no control over.
An organized society controlled and directed by those who contribute is the surest possible way of securing this systematic spending. This method has both negative and positive advantages:
I. It prevents waste.
(a.) Waste in administration of funds. Its accounts are open to and audited by those whose money is being spent. Reports of the financial standing, receipts and expenditures to the half-penny are presented every year. Look them over and note how minutely your accounts are kept. Officers and missionaries are held by you to strictest responsibility. This is sound business sense applied to missionary work. But one naturally asks why, when such absolute safeguards are thrown around the administration of the funds committed to the A.M.A., some of those who established those safeguards give a considerable portion of their money to individuals over whose expenditure they have absolutely no control, and where funds may be, and often are, wasted? And in this way the percentage of the cost of administering the funds committed to the A.M.A. is also increased. This can scarcely be called sound business wisdom.
(b.) Waste in field work. It requires wide experience and knowledge of the whole field in order to adjust and direct, without waste of laborers, the force of missionaries. Those who know only one locality cannot do this. It is often remarked that each missionary thinks his particular field the most important, and the one especially needing help and enlargement. This is a grand tribute to their faithfulness and Christian enthusiasm. But the systematic investigation of the whole field, constantly and patiently carried on as it is by the A.M.A., determines with larger wisdom whether work should be strengthened and developed in Tennessee, or Georgia, or Texas. Gen. Grant was familiar with the whole field, and placed his men according to the varying exigencies of the campaign. Just so the systematic methods of this Association place these noble missionaries where there will be least waste of labor.