May 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
280
Serious Conditions at Changsha, Hunan
L atest W ord F rom B iola W ork I n C h in a
as comfortably as possible. Thè reason for this is that the ordinary coaches are almost wholly occupied by military forces, and it is utterly impossible to secure accommodations sufficient for so large a party. Among those leaving today are our Mr. and Mrs;' Foucar, who will be' going direct to Shanghai ; also, Mr. Elden. Whipple, who is escorting his mother, sister and younger brother to Nanking. We expect that our Mr. Charles Roberts will be leaving with a party of British men later in the week. Mr. Elden Whipple expects to return in the- course of a couple of weeks, if possible. “Missionaries are pouring into Changsha from different parts of the province with tales of very serious conditions. Another large party expects to leave by launch on Thursday. “Last week I received a letter from the Rev. William Taylor, Superiiitendent of the China Inland Mission, in Kiangsi, telling me that about one-half of their mission stations in Kiangsi had been occupied by soldiers. “Ì trust that this letter will not unduly alarm you. Good order is being maintained here in Changsha, and we have strong assurances from the Foreign Office of protection both for our property and for ourselves. But while these promises are appar ently sincere, it is sometimes utterly impossible for the officials to control an excited mob until after much damage has been done.” D rives A gainst C hristian S chools Regarding the drives against Christian Schools, recorded in the daily press, Dr. Keller informed us in an earlier letter that there is still a question whether or not Bible Schools and the ological seminaries will come under new rules' of the National Educational Board or whether special concessions will be granted to these two classes of educational institutions. Dr. Tung, the present Commissioner of Education in Hunan, is also Commis sioner of Foreign Affairs in this province. He is a bright young man who spent seven years in the United States, most of the time being divided between Berkeley in California and Columbia in New York City. “I had a pleasant talk with him yesterday and he at once instituted prompt measures for the protection of our chapel in Hengshan and the young man who is in charge of it. We expect him and his secretary to dine with us on Thursday evening. I asked him what would be the status of Bible Schools and he said that he was not prepared to make a positive state- merit but that he would take the matter up at once with the Board of Education and would let me know about it. “By stringent orders of the British Government all British women and children are expecting to leave Changsha for Shang hai at daybreak tomorrow morning and it is feared that British men will be compelled to follow within a few days. “But since the invasion of this province by the Nationalist armies we have been confronted with a set of articles governing registration and are informed that this registration must be accomplished before April, 1927. A study of the terms shows that the new government proposes to exert a very rigid control over the schools. They require Chinese boards and a Chinese principal ; the personnel must be acceptable to government ; the schools may be closed at any time the government becomes con vinced they are not well run, or when they disobey the govern ment mandates; they must in the case of closure for any reason have government participation in liquidation, and if there is no one to take over the property it may be donated to some other
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret' places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel” (Isa. 45:2, 3). F OR many weeks the Bible Institute of Los Angeles has awaited definite word from Dr. Frank A. Keller, Super intendent of its school and evangelistic;' enterprise at Chatigsha, Hunan, China, as to the state of the work, in view of newspaper reports, of violent opposition of the Chinese in that section. On Feb. 28th the following letter was received from;Dr. Keller, and we print it as a call to special prayer on behalf of the work and Dr. Keller and his, devoted wife, who, at the time of writing, were left alone among the Chinese at Changsha. Posters vilifying the workers and branding the work as the tool of imperialistic America have been put up throughout the city by hostile forces,-an
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