Page:Famous Living Americans, with Portraits.djvu/356

 JOHN B. MOTT 333 ences were held in six Indian cities, besides in Rangoon, Bur- ma, and Colombo in Ceylon. In each center great meetings were also held for stndents, the daylight hours, as a rule, be- ing devoted to the meetings of the conferences, and the even- ings to the student meetings. In Madras, for instance, five such meetings were conducted, and each night the hall where the meetings were held, which seated over two thousand, was filled to its capacity, while many were unable to enter. At these meetings in Madras over three hundred students signed cards expressing a desire to know more about the claims of Christ. These inquirers are to be placed in Bible classes, and the work followed up. In the conferences from fifty to sev- enty delegates, including Indians and foreigners, and repre- senting all the denominations, met together and discussed frankly the problems of their work, including such topics as cooperation, the Indian Church and India leadership. Chris- tian education and literature. We are told that one of the most notable consequences of these meetings was the closer fellowship among the Christian leaders of all denominations. About a year ago the newspapers informed us that Presi- dent-elect Woodrow Wilson was trying to persuade this great Christian statesman, John B. Mott, to be the next United States Minister to China. The people of the United States applauded the choice. In a few days, however, the papers re- ported that **Mott refuses the Chinese ambassadorship." We do not, of course, know the thoughts that went through the mind of Mr. Mott when this great and responsible post was offered him, but we can imagine that he said to himself, ** Al- ready I have been given the post of ambassador of the Great King of Kings to the non-Christian peoples of the world, and I must be true to that mission. '* John B. Mott could not accept the post of Minister to China, for that would require him to give up a far larger and more important post. In 1911, Princeton University conferred the degree of Doc- tor of Laws upon Mr. Mott, following the example set by the University of Edinburgh the year previous. In conferring the degree the president of Princeton said : * * John B. Mott, honored by academic and religious bodies for his services in