lics as well as Hindus, Buddhists, Brahmins and Mohammedans.

Several years ago the General Council of our Church, under Divine guidance, authorized the sending out of two missionaries, Two Christian ministers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, offered themselves for the work. Therefore the duty of the Lutheran Church with regard to Porto Rico was clearly evident. Christ sent out the disciples two by two into the heathen world, establishing a precedent which the Church has found it wise to follow. Lack of funds made it necessary for one of our missionaries to return home; the other remained in the field with his hands more than full. At a disadvantage, because not familiar with the Spanish language he had much to contend with. Determined not to allow this to be a source of failure, he engaged the services of others when possible, but in the building up of our Church here there are many unwritten chapters in the history of their personal experiences and sacrifices.

In writing of Porto Rico as a mission field, Rev. Herbert F. Richards, the missionary, has directed attention to some of the difficulties. Among the obstacles in our work was first the opposition of the Catholics. Within the last several years they have been recuperating and strengthening themselves in order to more effectively hinder the Protestants. They are preaching against the Bible as an excommunicated Book, and they have women to go around and visit those who come to the Protestant meetings and try to win them back, and even social persecution is resorted to in order to effect this end. Another great obstacle is spiritualism. This existed under the Spanish domination, but it was more or less secret, without open meetings, but nourished by an abundant supply of literature from Spain, France and even the United States. Their religion seems to consist in external morality, while they are skeptical on nearly all the cardinal scriptural doctrines.

Among those uninfluenced by Romanism or spiritualism, the chief difficulty is indifference. They have been so long neglected by the priests, or seen such bad examples from these as to have caused them to lose faith in the power of Christianity, and to think there is nothing in it but ceremonies. If you ask them to send their children to Sunday school they promise this, but when Sunday comes the children have not clean clothes or they have headache or some other trivial reason as their excuse for absence.

Besides these difficulties encountered by every Protestant missionary, the Lutheran Church has had some which are peculiarly

her own. But there is no reason why the Lutheran Church should not pursue an active part in the great work which is before the American nation.

Property was purchased in Catano, and August 16 was a red-letter day in the history of the Lutheran mission in Porto Rico. It was the occasion of the dedication of the first Lutheran Church in the island. This Church had been erected during the preceding winter by the Rev. C. H. Hemsath of Washington, Pa. The delicatory service began at ten o'clock. Rev. Richards preached the sermon, taking his text from the One Hundred and Twenty-second Psalm. One hundred and twenty-five persons were seated and many stood inside and outside the church. A children's choir sang beautifully. In the evening Rev. Dr. Drees, superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Church, preached a most excellent sermon.

The dimensions of the church are 43 x 26 feet, and is built of native brick covered with mortar, according to the invariable custom prevailing in the island. It is the first brick building in the town, and one of the neatest and finest to be found anywhere in the island. It contains two stained glass windows, a circular one in front and a large one immediately back of the altar, the first windows of their kind in the island. The chancel furniture was given by the Danville Conference of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, and is the finest in the island without any doubt. The church is tastily and well built. The people here are the roughest on the island. Many are boatmen plying between Catano and San Juan. One-half cannot read or write, nor do they wish to learn, but I hope they will soon learn to wish to know both. The upper classes are either hardened Catholics or spiritualists. It is, therefore, quite a pleasure to see such modern things where everything is so decrepit and ancient. The church occupies a central site on the principal street, and behind it is the beach, with the breezes from the bay serving to mitigate the tropical heat, as the building is well supplied with windows.

The dedication services were conducted by the pastor, and continued for more than a week, and although a priest was sent there after the church was built for the purpose of hindering our work, and although he preached against us, and American nuns were sent there to warn the people not to come near, the services were always well attended, and on three different occasions the church was crowded and the people filled up the windows and doors.

Among those present in the evening on the (Continued on page 16.)

women to take the places of those who retire from active League work.

The treasurer's report showed a balance of $109.98.

The statistical secretary regretted his inability to present a complete report because of the remissness of many Leagues to send in their reports.

The Executive Committee, to whom was referred the question of redistricting of the State, submitted an outline map, which

makes the districts as follows:

Brooklyn District-Long Island.

New York District-Boroughs of Manhattan and Richmond and Counties of Westchester and Rockland.

Rhinebeck District-Counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Ulster, Sullivan, Orange and Putnam.

D. and H. District-Counties of Schoharie, Otsego, Chenango, Delaware, Broome, Tioga and Chemung.

Albany District-Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Montgomery, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Hamilton, Clinton, Essex, Warren, Fulton, Saratoga, Washington and Schenectady.

Syracuse District-Counties of Oneida, Madison, Cortland. Tompkins, Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson and Onondaga.

.

Rochester District-Counties of Allegany, Steuben, Schuyler. Yates, Seneca, Wayne, Monroe, Livingston and Ontario.

Buffalo District--Counties of Niagara, Orleans, Genesee, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Wyoming.

The Credential Committee reported that 75 delegates, 24 alternates and 2 visitors had registered.

The Literature Committee reported that a leaflet had been published under the title "Five Good Books and What They Contain," whose object was to acquaint people with the contents of the books of the First Reading Course, and thus aid to increase their circulation. The committee also urged upon the various Leagues the necessity of supporting the REVIEW by increasing the subscription list.

After the singing of a hymn, Rev. John J. Dominic of Gloversville spoke on the general topic, "Economy of Effort," his subject being "Waste of Words." He said:

I reside in a manufacturing town where there are a great many whistles, telling us every morning that it is seven o'clock. These whistles are all of different sounds. One has a very shrill tone, another is asthmatic, while still another shrieks forth with a most disagreeable noise. As we listen we can hear some speaking right out plain, leading us to infer that the steam behind them is not wasted. God has given us powers; these powers not to be wasted but to be used for certain ends. God has placed

us just where He would have us, and it is of the greatest importance that we see that we are using these God-given powers.

Observe the training of the athlete. How he subjects himself to discipline. He does not train one set of muscles at the expense of others, but he develops all the muscles. As Luther Leaguers we must train our several faculties.

Words that do not express some instruction; words that do not convey some thought; words that do not bear to another some comfort are wasted, and as Luther Leaguers we must be careful in our employment of words.

There is often a great waste of words over trifling matters. Small matters are exalted and allowed to interfere with the more important work. It will hardly do to quibble over small things and thus hinder the great work of the League.

Here

Then there is the matter of grievance. is one who has a grievance, and he wishes to state it. Many persons will nurse a grievance and peddle it around, and thus not only hinder themselves but everyone else. What a waste of words there is here! If you have a grievance

can you not rise above it? There must be a gathering together, a unity of effort and a pushing forward toward one end and aim.

The next speaker, the Rev. Charles W. Leitzell, spoke upon "Waste of Organization."

Every age has some distinguishing characteristic. This age is an age of organization. With such an organization and such an array of forces as we have to-day we ought to do greater work than we have done in the past. If every hand and every foot could be brought into use how much work could be done for Christ! There is too much of looseness. Thoroughness in organizaton is the great need in our societies. How much waste there is when the wrong men are placed in positions of prominence.

There is likewise a danger of overdoing. Nothing is left for the individual when everything is left to the society or committee. It is the individual, after all, that we must use and train for service.

We look too much to our organizations to do our work instead of looking above them to God. Unless the spirit of God is working through the machinery of our organization great things cannot be accomplished. There never has been a more opportune time for service for the Master than the present.

Dr. George H. Gomph of Pittsford, who was to have spoken on "Waste of Adminis tration," was unavoidably absent, and the whole topic was now opened for discussion. Many practical points were brought forward by the various persons who took part in the discussion.

Upon the conclusion of this part of the programme the reports of the various District Leagues were called for. The following responded:

Mr. A. A. Coney, for the Albany District. Mr. Wm. J. Dilthey, for the Brooklyn District.

Rev. J. L. Sibole, for the Buffalo District. Mr. I. S. Runyon, for the New York District.

Mr. Jas. M. Reynolds, for the Rhinebeck District.

Rev. W. E. Murray, for the Rochester District.

Mr. W. L. Bradt, for the D. and H. District.

After the president had announced the various committees the session closed with devotional exercises, conducted by the Rev. Christian Krahmer of Saugerties.

Third Session

The third session opened at 2 o'clock with the hymn "The Lord My Shepherd Is," after which the Rev. F. B. Clausen of New York read a portion of Scripture and the Rev. A. Steimle led in prayer.

This session took the form of a model devotional meeting, led by Mr. Chas. A. Schnepel of Holy Trinity League, New York City. After the object of the meeting had been stated by the leader, the Rev. M. J. Bieber of Binghamton read a paper on the "Model Devotional Meeting." He said, in part:

What is the chief aim of the Luther League? Is it financial? Is it educational? Is it missionary? The mission of the Luther League includes all of these activities. But these are simply the fruits of a higher, a broader, a deeper aim. That supreme aim is spirituality. What should be the attitude of the Luther League toward the use of the Bible? Should it be read and studied and discussed in her sessions? If it is not, she might as well disband, for her usefulness will be crippled. The League must seek first the kingdom of the Word and its blessings, then all other things will be added unto her.

His

How should the devotional meeting be conducted? It should be made intensely interesting. There should not be a dull minute connected with it, and there need not be. The pastor must keep his hand on the throttle. practical eye and trained hand, his general experience and thorough knowledge of human nature, must give strength and life and direction to the meetings. The meetings should not be too long. They should never exceed one hour. The topic for the meeting must be kept the center and inspiration of the programme. Everything must lead up to it and appropriately follow it. Only those willing and able should be selected to discuss it, and ample time should be given them for preparation.

The Luther League Hymnal should be used, or hymns from our own Church or SundaySchool Book.

The leader then announced that the topic selected for the meeting was the one for the twenty-first week after Trinity of the Luther League Topics, entitled " God's Loving Care." He further stated that he had requested three persons to prepare papers bearing on the topic. The first was entitled "God's Care of Flowers, Birds and Animals," and read by Mr. William Gaskell. The second, entitled "God's Providence for Christian Men," was presented by Mr. I. S. Runyon; and the last paper, "Why We Should Trust Him," was

JAS. M. REYNOLDS, PRESIDENT

lives is the personal, loving care of our Father. Hold fast to the faithfulness of God. The simple soul that clings to the text Faithful Is He That Promised,' has learned the secret of peace."

The topic was now opened for discussion, and the manner in which many availed themselves of the privilege to speak showed how deeply all were interested in the subject. A number of questions were asked in relation to the manner of conducting devotional meetings, and many helpful suggestions were brought out. Such a meeting as this one connot but bear much fruit, and the Executive Committee is to be commended for giving it place on the programme. It afforded the delegates and visitors an excellent opportunity of looking upon a model devotional meeting and listening to the experiences of those who were conducting such meetings with success in their home Leagues.

After the singing of the hymn, "My Times Are in Thy Hand," the meeting adjourned with prayer and benediction by the Rev. James Berg of Mt. Vernon.