The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1926, Page 13

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THE LUTHERAN PIONEER. ; 13

sick and wounded men who have been in some mine
accident. The European doctors, all of whom come
from Iingland, are very competent men. On sev-
eral occasions I have had to call them in and at all
times found them ready and willing to serve. Under
the direction of the authorities a Sanitary Depart-
ment is maintained, which scouts the entire field
daily to see that things -are cleaned up in order to
keep sickness down to a minimum. It is a great
blessing to have this supervision, and it is hoped
that: the natives will carry some ideas regarding
sanitary living back to their own villages.

There is a telephone system over the entire field.
An electric plant supplies electricity for lights in
all the European bungalows, and here also ice is
manufactured. Although there is a government
police department, the mining company has a watch
system of its own to guard its interests against
theft. These modern improvements would seem to
be details which to an American are of little im-
portance, but when you consider that India is far
behind in these things, you realize how completely
the Kolar Gold Fields are equipped for the comfort
of the Europeans.

It takes large sums of money to mine gold, but
the capital is never lacking because the returns are
still greater. Correctly understood, it takes much
money to “mine” souls. To get gold is to create joy
in many, joy which is measured in dollars and, cents.
But to win a soul for Christ is to obtain a joy which
cannot be measured-in rupees and annas.

With the fervent prayer that there will be a large
output of souls from the Kolar Gold Fields for the
kingdom of God, I remain, :

Sincerely,

Marikuppam, India. Mitton G. Kuort.

America and Christianity.

We often speak of our country as a Christian
land; but have we a right to do so, even in the
most liberal acceptation of the term? Is it. not
true that millions upon millions of our people are

.as ignorant of the Christian religion as are the
natives of Central Africa or the Indians along the
headwaters of the Amazon? We once were in a
certain sense a Christian nation, but as things are
to-day, the religious teachers of our country are
facing the stupendous task of winning back a nation
that still claims the right to be called a Christian
nation to an understanding of Christianity.

There are at the present time more than
27,000,000 children and adolescents in the United
States who claim to be Protestants, but are receiv-
ing no religious instruction whatever and are in no
connection with any church or Sunday-school. An
authority in the matter of religious statistics sets
up the claim that there are 8,000,000 American
children under the age of ten years who wish to be
classed as Protestants, but who are members of
families that are in no connection with any Church.

Is it a surprise, then, that our country is more
and more gétting the unenviable record of being
the scene of more crimes than any other country
in the world?

Even those church-bodies which give their chil-
dren a religious training and instruction prior to
confirmation must admit that formal religious in-
struction is not being given to their youth just
during those years when temptation to crime is
strongest. While 1,870,000 Catholic children are
in religious schools of some kind, figures show that
there are 6,806,000 Catholics in the years of middle
and later adolescence who are getting no organized
religious instruction. And shall not we Lutherans

have to plead guilty to the same conditions:

among us? Referring to the Synodical Conference
in particular, how many of our confirmed youth
continue to take religious instruction after’ confir-
mation? Is it not true that, while in some congre-
gations a small percentage continues to attend
Sunday-schools and Bible classes through the years
of adolescence, in most churches most of the youth
forsake instruction a few years after they have been
confirmed? And yet, should not our confirmed
youth be the special object of our care, also in view
of the fact that the far greater bulk of the crimes
committed in our country is committed by youths
under twenty-five years? Have we done our duty
when we give our children the benefits of a Chris-
tian day-school or, at least, the benefits of Chris-
tian instruction, previous to their confirmation, but
fail to continue this instruction during the most
dangerous periods of middle and later youth? Are
we Christian parents not extremely short-sighted
if we do not insist upon our boys and girls con-
tinuing their organized religious instruction till
manhood and womanhood? Thank God that our
Lutheran parents see the necessity of a religious
training for their offspring in their childhood days;
but in view of the impressiveness of the figures that
show that the years of middle and later youth are
the periods of greatest moral danger, is it not
simply inexcusable that so many of our parents