# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1905_S78
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

78 Proceedings of the 26th General or

...the mission has no agency, so that no agency business, and thus no
business profit, can be obtained here either. Viewed commercially, then,
this post is entirely untenable. If the emigrant mission here is not to be
simply what its name says, and if one is accordingly unwilling to let the
matter cost something, then it should be given up.

"'If, on the other hand, one views the work here from a mission
standpoint — as work done for God's honor and for the benefit and
profit of all sorts of traveling people, particularly as a service rendered,
spiritually as well as physically, to dear fellow believers, or to those
who will soon join our congregations in the New World — then the
matter takes on a substantially different appearance.

"'That such a service is thoroughly desirable and necessary here, let
just a few examples from the past few days show.

"'About a week ago a dear 84-year-old Lutheran arrived here from
over there. When he reached New York by rail on his way here, he
asked for the Lutheran Pilgrim House, No. 8 State Street, where he
wanted to buy his steamship ticket. Someone offered to accompany him
and did indeed lead the unsuspecting man to a No. 8 — where he was
swindled quite badly. This was all the easier to bring about since the
dear old man's eyes were already beginning to grow dim. Only in
Bremen did it become clear to him that he had been somewhere quite
different from the Pilgrim House, and that he had no reason to lose
confidence in his fellow believers. It was touching to see how glad he
was to find one of his own people in Bremen, and how grateful for the
small services we were able to render him, especially concerning his
luggage left behind in America.

"'A few days later, on April 15, a woman paralyzed by a stroke
sailed back to America on the *Barbarossa* with her two children, the
younger of whom is likewise paralyzed in both legs. The husband had
come over with the family a year before to seek a cure for his sick
family members in the old homeland. Their affliction had, however,
only grown worse. So now, back again! It then came out that, despite
17 years' residence in America, he lacked his second citizenship papers.
So passage was refused him, and the innkeepers, under all sorts of
pretexts, even denied the unfortunate man lodging. In his distress the
man turned to Consul Diederich, who, confined to bed by illness, sent
him to me, but at the same time used his influence to get the people
moved along. Already