ASSOCIATION NEWS

A SPECIAL CONFERENCE OF OUR LOCAL COMMITTEEMEN OF THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT

From February 26th to 27th, 1921, at the Presbyterian Church of Mt. Vernon, N. Y., a special conference of the local committeemen of the Eastern Department of the Association was held. It was attended by twenty delegates from the following institutions and places-Lehigh, Cornell, Boston University, Boston Chinese Y. M. C. A., Harvard Medical, University of Pennsylvania, Rochester, Mt. Hermon, Hartford, Troy, Yale, Syracuse, Union Theological Seminary and Columbia.

Mr. T. F. Tsiang, President of the C. S. C. A. was the presiding officer and Mr. P. C. Hsu, the recording secretary.

In the morning of the 26th, Mr. E. Yelton, Secretary of the Friendly Relations Committee, delivered a welcome speech to the delegates. And then Dr. Y. Y. Tsu of St. John's University, Shanghai, now studying at Union Theological Seminary, spoke on "The Present Conditions in China." Dr. Tsu painted most vividly both the dark and bright sides of the conditions at home and ended by saying: "National Morale is our sole standard to judge things by. If a thing will contribute to the National Morale, it should be encouraged; otherwise, it should be fought against."

In the afternoon, reports on work in different centres were made by delegates from these centres. And the following subjects were thoroughly discussed:—

a.

How to Christianize Christians.

b. How to make Bible Classes and discussion groups successful.

C.

How to make use of private Christian homes as a force in evangelizing the present student generation.

The evening session was given over to the discussion on our personal religious problems. The discussion was preceded by a brief report by Mr. P. C. Hsu, on the present conditions of the Renaissance Movement in China, and on "Life," a monthly published by the Peking Truth-Witness group (Dr. T. T. Lew, Editor-in-Chief, Business headquarters-Y. M. C. A. Peking.

Subscription rate $1.50 Mex. a year) and was ended by a talk on the same subject by Dr. D. W. Lyon of the International Committee.

There was no session on Sunday morning, and instead ten of the delegates went to different churches in the town to speak. Without any exception, these delegates received the most hearty welcome from the congregations they addressed.

In the afternoon session of February 27th, Sunday, four important business items were transacted:

a.

"Christian China"-Mr. C. K. Chen, editor of the paper made a short report and urged the delegates to send in materials.

b. Silver Bay Conference-Date June 24-July 3, 1921.

C.

Bible Study-A few Bible study leaders were suggested. It was also suggested to have separate classes for Chinese students during the Conference. The delegates were strongly urged to "pick their men" from now on and not to wait until the last moment.

Work in local centres-It was decided that centres where Christian students are not yet organized into a group should do so as soon as possible.

d. Financial Campaign of C. S. C. A. for the current Budget:

Out of the $10,000.00 of the current budget, $7,000.00 are to be raised ($3,000.00 from Committee on Friendly Relations). The share of the Eastern section is $1,200.00. Literature for the Campaign was distributed by Mr. Daniel C. Fu, the General Secretary, and the delegates were expected to do their best in securing the necessary

amount.

Before adjournment, two other resolutions were passed :(a) That the C. S. C. A. send an official letter to Rev.

J. H. Hollister and his Church to express thanks for their hospitality.

(b) That the leaders in different centres write periodical letters to the central office, which is to publish them and send them to leaders in different centres. The first letter is to reach the central office not later than April 1st, 1921.

THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

A trophy of sterling silver, of unusual design and workmanship, the gift of the College of Wooster men and women in China, of whom there are more than sixty, has just been received at Wooster and is on display in the College library.

The base of this unique trophy, which is called a "pailou" or a "shih-pei" is in the form of a life-sized turtle. Upon its back rests an upright receptacle for documents, with a removable top. The upright case is beautifully decorated with an elaborate border of dragon design in relief. Engraved on the panel are the words "The China Alumni Trophy-Wooster College." Below is space for the engraving of names of the winners each year of the China contest.

The trophy was carried to this country personally by R. J. Corbett, former Wooster College student, and son of the late Dr. Hunter Corbett, missionary in China.

In a letter to President Wishart, G. A. Fitch, Associate General Secretary of the Chinese Y. M. C. A., and Wooster alumnus, says, "China has at the present over sixty College of Wooster graduates and former students. A number of us have conceived the idea of stimulating interest on the part of Wooster students in this country by means of a trophy to be awarded annually to the winners in debate, oratorical, or thesis contest on some subject related to China."

"The College of Wooster is an institution of learning," says Mr. Fitch, "equalled by few in America in point of world-wide influence. There is no other educational institution, I believe, that has sent abroad so many of its graduates as has Wooster."

In speaking of the object of the trophy, a letter from the Wooster alumni committee of China, composed of L. N. Hayes, C. A. Neff, and Mr. Fitch, says: "The Wooster missionaries in China have a splendid record. But we wish still a larger number of men and women from our Alma Mater to turn their attention to the Far East. We all believe that China is bound to play a large part in the world life of tomorrow and can crave no greater glory for Wooster than that she should have a still larger part in serving this country."