The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1925, Page 82

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82 THE LUTHERAN PIONEER.

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‘‘What Doth Hinder?’”’

“What doth hinder,” asked the eunuch
Of his counselor and guide,

“Me to be baptized, O Philip?

Here is water at our side.”

“Tf thou b’lievest, sir, thou mayest,”
Philip joyfully replied;

And the Water of Salvation

To the eunuch was applied.

“What doth hinder?” comes the query —
Ethiopia’s sad cry —

From unnumbered souls benighted.
“Bring salvation eré we die.”

“What doth hinder? Here is water,”
Jesus’ blood for all was shed;

For the white man and the colored
He the heavenly feast has spread.

“What doth hinder, what doth hinder?”
O the cry our Southlands raise;

While their schools are but rude cabins
And from shacks ascends their praise.

“What doth hinder,’ O my fellows
Of the faith we love so well?
We in temple and in palace,
They in hut and hovel dwell.

“What doth hinder?” Like the rich man
Sumptuously in all we fare;

Lazarus, our dark-hued brother, °
Craves our crumbs —his table’s bare.

“What doth hinder, here is water,”
Flowing freely at our door.
What doth hinder that so sparing
We dispense it to the poor?

“What doth hinder?” Christian, answer!
Christ has satisfied thee first;
“Were-is water, what doth hinder”
That thou quench thy brother’s thirst?
* H. A. SCHROEDER.

Reclaiming Christ’s Heritage.

VI.
Korea, or Chosen.

The story of Christianity in Korea is so wonder-
ful that every one interested in missions cannot but
be especially interested in the remarkable experience
which the Gospel has had in that country, up to
forty years ago the most isolated nation under the
sun and fully deserving of the name “The Hermit
Nation.” On her 1,700 miles of coast no cities or
villages were allowed to rise, and amid all the tur-
moil and noise of the world at large it remained
“The Land of the Morning Calm.” But all that is

now changed. The former apathy has given place
to an attitude of interest, and the former desire to
leave things as they had been for hundreds of years
has been succeeded by a healthy spirit of progres-
siveness.

Position and Extent.

Korea, or Chosen, the original name again given
it by its Japanese conquerors, is a peninsula pro-
jecting from the northeastern coast of Asia. It is
located between China and Japan and separates the
Japan and Yellow Seas. It has a length of about
650 miles and an average breadth of 150 miles. Its
area is 84,738 square miles. It is therefore about
twice the size of the State of Ohio. It has a popu-
lation of over 18,000,000, or about 216 persons to
a square mile, while Ohio’s population is 140 per-
sons to the square mile. ‘Korea is on the great
Trans-Siberian Railroad across Asia, by which the
East is joined to the West. Seoul, the capital of
Korea, is only forty-eight hours from Tokyo, the
capital of Japan, and forty-six hours from Peking,
the capital of China. Ordinarily Seoul is only
twelve days’ travel from London, and from New
York one can reach it in seventeen days.

Physical Features.

There is a marked difference between the eastern
and western coasts, the latter being bordered by
a long and unbroken mountain chain, while the
former is low and is shielded by a chain of small
islands. The most prominent physical feature of
the country is a long mountain range extending
throughout the whole length of the peninsula from
north to south like a huge backbone. Another high
mountain chain extends from east to west along the
northern border, thus cutting off Korea from the
rest of continental Asia. Korea has many rivers,
but none is of much importance from a commercial
point of view.

The climate of Korea is said to be invigorating
and healthful. In many respects it is like that of
our North Atlantic coast, though it is said that the
extremes are even greater than in our New England
States. Spring sets in already in January and lasts
till June, followed by the rainy summer months
with heavy fogs.

The peninsula abounds in minerals, such as
gold, silver, copper, lead, and coal; but compara-
tively little has been done to date to exploit these
natural resources. There was a remarkable scarcity
of trees in Korea, but under Japanese rule sys-
tematic afforestation has been introduced. The val-
leys are fertile, but not as yet fully cultivated. Rice