edge.
The sciences are cherished internationally, interparliamentary unions
and other agencies for the preservation of peace hold their
conferences, working men meet to air their grievances or plan
programmes, religious denominations consult for pushing their
campaigns. The organizations that grow out of these relations and
conferences develop into institutions that have standing. The
international associations of scholars are as much a part of the
world's institutional assets as the educational system is a recognized
asset of any country. They are clearing-houses of information, as
necessary as an international clearing-house of finance. The World's
Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the International Young Men's
Christian Association are moral agencies that bring together those who
have at heart the same interests, and when they have once made good
they must be reckoned among the established organizations that help to
move the world forward. Not least among such institutions are the
religious organizations. The closely knit Roman Catholic Church, that
has held together millions of faithful adherents in many lands for
centuries, and whose canon law receives an unquestioning obedience as
the law of a nation, is an illustration of what an international
religious institution may be. Protestant Churches, naturally more
independent, have moved more slowly, but their world alliances and
federations are increasing to the point where they, too, are likely to
become true institutions.

356. =Missions as a Social Institution.=--Those institutions and
movements are most useful that aim definitely to stimulate the highest
interests of all mankind. It is comparatively simple to provide local
stimulus for a better community life, but to help move the world on to
higher levels requires clear vision, patient hope, and a definite plan
on a large scale. Christian missionaries are conspicuous for their
lofty ideals, their personal devotion to an unselfish task, their
persistent optimism, and their unswerving adherence to the programme
marked out by the pioneers of the movement. It is no argument against
them that they have not accomplished all that a few enthusiasts
expected of them in a few years. To socialize and Christianize half
the people of the world is the task of centuries. With broad
statesmanship missionary leaders have undertaken to do both of these.
Mistakes in method or detail of operation do not invalidate the whole
e