ABMU AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY

[s. 41] : Headquarters, Bible House, Astor Place, New York City, U.S.A. Undenominational, representing all the evanComgelical communities of the United States. bines both home and foreign work. History: Prior to the Declaration of Independence, the American colonies of Great Britain had been dependent on the mother country for all their English Bibles. The hostilities which ensued cut off the supply of books printed in London, and a memorial was addre ed to the Continental Congre urging that body to undertake the publication of an edition of the Scriptures. The committee to which the matter was referred, after consultation with printers in Philadelphia, reported that the cost of an edition of the Bible would exceed £10,000, and that neither the type nor the paper could be procured in this country, but recommended the purchase, at the expense of Congre , of 20,000 copies in Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere. During the next thirty years private enterprise did much to meet the immediate wants of the nation, but failed of course to reach the homes of indifference and poverty. The British and Foreign Bible Society was or ganized in 1804 at London, and its first foreign edition of the Scriptures was The Gospel of John This (2,000 copies), in Mohawk and English. was followed by efforts to secure an organization in America which resulted in the formation of Similar the Philadelphia Bible Society in 1809. societies were also formed in Connecticut, Ma achusetts, New Jersey and New York, all with the well-defined object of putting the Scriptures into every destitute family within the immediate circle of their direct influence, and through the thinly settled regions on the frontier. Samuel J. Mills, one of the four who, at the haystack prayer-meeting at Williams College, gave the impulse that resulted in the formation of the ABCFM, after his graduation from And over Seminary in 1812 made two tours of investigation, and his report that the number of famUies found without the Bible far exceeded all expectations raised a deep conviction that some more efficient means must be found for meeting the want. Early in 1816 Elias Boudinot, President of the New Jersey Bible Society made a public communication in favor of a national Bible movement. The New York Bible Society followed this with formal action, resulting in the calling of a convention, which met May 8, 1816, in the consistory of the Reformed Dutch Church in Garden Street, and organized the American Bible Society. Thirty-five local organizations united in this action, and eighty-four became auxiliary to it during the first year of its existence. American Bible 2€ languages and dialects, In the earlier years the offices of the Society were in the lower part of New York, but the great increase of work nece itated better accommodations, and in 1S53 it took po e ion of its more than eighty Srises [any of these have been printed on the Society’s own pre es, or immediately at its own expense, The outlay involved in this present quarters. building was provided for by individual subscriptions made for the purpose and by rentals received after its completion, no funds raised for publication and distribution being invested in it. means of grants to mi ionary societies. The American Constitution and Organization: Bible Society is incorporated under the laws of the State of New York for the sole purpose of publishing and circulating the Holy Scriptures without note or comment. It is required oy its by-laws to put the prices of all its publications as low as po ible, and practically sells them at lower prices than would be charged if all the ordinary elements of cost were taken into account. The busine of the Society is conducted by a Board of Managers consisting of thirty-six laymen, residents of New York or its vicinity, one fourth of whom go out of office every year, but may be re-elected. Any minister of the Gospel who has been made a life-member by the contribution of thirty dollars is entitled to be present and vote at the monthly meetings of the Board, with all the power of an elected manager. The executive officers are three corresponding sec redistrict secretaries are taries and a treasurer; employed in the United States, while the foreign work is chiefly under the care of specially appointed agents. A large number of Auxiliary societies are in close relation with the National These are expected to see that their Society. own districts are well supplied through depositories, colporteurs, or voluntary agents, and to donate any surplus to the National Society for the general work. Until 1874 the Society had only two special agencies, in the Levant and La Plata. That number has been increased, until now it has its own representatives in Brazil, Central America, China, Cuba, Japan and Korea, La Plata, The Levant, Mexico, Philippines, Porto Rico, Siam and Venezuela. These agencies are, some of them, quite large, and have the charge of the translation and manufacture of Bibles, as well as of their distribution, chiefly through colporteurs. It also acts through the various mi ionary societies that naturally look to it as an American organization for a istance in their Bible work, or through other local Bible societies e.g., the Bible Society of France. This action takes the form of grants of Scriptures when the versions used are published by the Society, and of sums of money for expense of colportage or printing or purchase of Scriptures not published by the Society. In the foreign field the aim is always to work in complete harmony with other organizations of whatever kind that have the same end in view. Whether at home or abroad, it is the conviction of the Society that the best results are reached by sale, tho without profit, rather than by free This does not preclude special distribution. grants, but such are discouraged rather than encouraged. Versions and Translations of the Bible Circulated: As early as 1818 plates of the New Testament in Spanish were procured for the Spanish speaking nations of America, and at the same time provision was made for giving the printed Gospel to some tribes of North American Indians. Others followed, until the whole number com while others have been printed or purchased by A large portion of these versions have been prepared by mi ionaries, the expense of publication having been a umed by the Bible Society. Within the first seven years $37,000 was thus expended. The establishment of distinct foreign agencies has le ened the amounts paid directly to the Mi ionary Boards, but the Society aways looks to the mi ionaries of every name for the hearty cooperation which it has received in the past, and tho “the Board will favor versions in any language which in point of fidelity and catholicity shall be conformed to the principles upon which the American Bible Society was originally founded,” ordinarily no translation is printed and published until a. committee of mi ionaries or other persons skilled in the language have given it their approbation. Among the more important versions are the Chinese (Mandarin, cla ical, and a number of colloquials) Japanese; Siamese; Korean;: Armenian; Bulgarian; Mongolian; Turkish; several of the dialects of the Pacific Arabic; islands, and a number in Africa. Conspicuous among them all stands the Arabic version, prepared at the sole expense of the American Society, and which is recognized by scholars everywhere as one of the finest versions of the Bible in exist; ence. Development of Foreign Work: It was natural that the attention of the Society should be directed to the Spanish colonies of America. In 1818 plates of the New Testament in Spanish were procured, and a few years later a special report in regard to Mexico led to the sending of supplies of Scriptures to that country. South America also was visited about the same time by an exploring expedition sent out by the American Board, and in 1833 the Bible Society sent a special representative to report on the conditions along the west coast. No continuous work was done, however, beyond the making of grants to the mi ionary societies, until 1864, when a regular agent, Mr. Andrew W. Milne, was. placed in charge of the La Plata field. The development of mi ionary work in other parts of the world was not overlooked, and grants, aid of versions and for the distribution of Scriptures were made in many countries. In 1836 the Rev. Simeon H. Calhoun was appointed to represent the Society in Syria, but he served only a few years, and it was not until 1854, whea the Rev. C. N. Righter was sent to Constantinople, that the Levant Agency was fairly inaugurated. In 1876 there was a new impulse given to the work by the sending of the Rev. Luther Halsey Gulick, M.D., to China and Japan, and of the Rev. A. L. Black ford to Brazil. It was. not long before Dr, Gulick realized that the field entrusted to him was too large for any one man, and he devoted himself to China, leaving Japan,, with the subsequent addition of Korea, to form a separate agency. From that time the advance was rapid. Special agents were appointed in 1878 for Mexico; 1882 for Cuba; 1888 for Venezm uela; to which Colombia has been added, 1890for Siam and Laos; 1892 for Central America. The opportunities opened up by the war with Spain were promptly met; both as regards th& 25 needs of the army and of the newly acquired provinces; and special agents were commi ioned to Porto Rico and the Philippines. In this general development, as was inevitable, the Society’s work has frequently come into close relations with that of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In some cases there has been arranged a division of territory; in others, a combination of forces; while in others the two great societies have worked side by side, each realizing that there was work enough for both. Statement of Foreign Work: South America: The American Bible Society has three agencies in South America: the La Plata, Brazil, and Venezuela and Colombia. The La Plata agency covers all of South America not included in the other two, especially Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia. The Rev. Andrew W. Milne is still in charge (1903) after nearly forty years of service, with his headquarters at Buenos Aires, Argentina. The language used is chiefly Spanish, though there are versions of portions of the Bible in some of the Indian dialects, notably the Quichua and Aimara. This Agency has had from its inception to contend not only with the bitter hostility of the Roman Catholic priesthood, but with the opposition of the new governments to every form of evangelical work, which, however, is changing to a more favorable attitude. The following summary by decades shows how vigorously the work has been prosecuted Bibles. Testaments. Portions. Decades. From 1864 to 1870… From 1871 to 1880.. From 1881 to 1890.. From 1891 to 1900…...... S,S79 15,347 37,671 69,699 7,631 18,347 41,193 60,765 10,417 45,415 117,644 145,866 Totals 23,627 79,467 196,508 266,220 118,196 127,936 319,332 565,822 The Brazil Agency is distinct from the rest of South America on account of the use of the Portuguese language. The work of Bible distribution from the headquarters at Rio de Janeiro is rendered easier than in the La Plata agency by the railways recently built and by the river navigation but the general conditions are much the same hostility on the part of most of the ruling cla (with a few notable exceptions), as well as of the ecclesiastics; and absolute indifference on the part of the people. Each year, however, shows advance, and the total (1902) of 330,772 volumes distributed since 1876 shows the;: seed sown. The Agency for Venezuela and Colombia, which has its headquarters at Bucaramanga, Colombia, is probably the most difficult field occupied by the Society. The continued revolutions, with the consequent disturbance of economic and social conditions; the rigid censorship, making it impo ible for the agent to report fully and freely, have (1902) hampered severely. Yet, even under such conditions, more than 90,000 Scriptures were circulated in thirteen years; and with the establishment of peace and the opening of the Panama canal, great advance is looked for. Central America: This agency covers all the States of Central America and has its headquarters at Guatemala City, Guatemala. The present agent (Rev. F. G. Penzotti) had a long and most trying experience in Bible work in South America, and the circulation of over 94,000 volumes in nine years, mostly in Spanish, is witne to his activity and succe . Mexico: From his headquarters at Mexico City, the agent of the Bible Society superintends the American Bll>le work both in Mexico and along the frontier in Texas. In no agency has there been more of individual labor, and special reference should be made to the work of Mi Melinda Rankin on the Texan border in 1852 and later. The circulation is chiefly in Spanish, and during the twenty-three years from the founding of the agency, numbered over 408,000 volumes. Cuba and Porto Rico: The headquarters of these two agencies are at Havana and San Juan. The circulation in both is chiefly in Spanish and amounted in Cuba in nineteen years to 98,000 volumes, and in Porto Rico in three years to about 10,000, while in 1902, as many more were circulated. The Levant: The prominent part taken by American mi ionary societies in the Levant ha’s marked it from the first as a special field of the American Bible Society. The agency was at first somewhat undefined in extent, but included in general the entire Turkish Empire, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, with Greece and Persia, while a general superintendence of southern Ru ia and the Caucasus was conducted from the headquarters at Constantinople. Northern Africa, west of Egypt, was dropped; Greece was handed over to the British and Foreign Bible Society; Persia was for a few years made a separate agency, and the share of the American Society in Ru ia was confined to a istance rendered to the Ru ian Bible Society. At present the agency includes Bulgaria, European Turkey, Asia Minor, Me so pot am i a, Syria, Egypt, and the Sudan. The agent’s office is at the Bible House, Constantinople, and there are subagents at Beirut and Alexandria. Few agencies reach so great a number of races and languages. The Scriptures are sold in Arabic, Turkish (printed in three characters Arabic, Armenian, and Greek), Armenian (Ancient, Ararat, and Modern), Greek (Ancient and Modern), Kurdish, Persian, Syriac (Ancient and Modern), Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Bulgarian, Slavic, Rumanian, Croatian, Ru ian, besides all the languages of Europe. One characteristic feature of this agency is that the great majority of the Scriptures distributed in it are manufactured at the Bible House, Constantinople, and the Presbyterian Mi ion Pre at Beirut. The work done at both places compares very favorably with the best work in the United States. Special versions have been prepared, some of them of the whole Bible, as the Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Bulgarian; others of These have been portions in special dialects. printed in numerous editions to suit the taste of every cla of men, from the Turkish or Christian ecclesiastic to the poorest day laborer. The total circulation of nearly 2,000,000 copies has been almost entirely by sale, the prices, however, being placed within the reach of the people, with comparatively little regard to the cost of the book. Thus a Bible in plain binding, which costs the Society $2 for printing and binding alone, is sold for 60 cents. In Persia the British and Foreign Bible Society occupies the southern portion of the field, and the American Society’s work in Northern Persia is conducted through the Presbyterian Mi ion. China: The first regular agent of the American Bible Society to China was Rev. Luther H. A Gulick, M.D., who was appointed in 1876. son of a veteran mi ionary to the Hawaiian Islands, and himself connected with mi ion American Bible American Board work in Mic rones i a, and afterward in Italy and Spain, lie proved admirably adapted to the work Japan of organization that devolved upon him. was also at first included with China under Dr. Gulick’s care, but was, in 1881, made a distinct agency, and Siam was added, but was itself also made independent in 1889. The flexibility that has marked the conduct of the Society’s work is illustrated in China, where the entire agency is divided into six colporteur districts, each under the care of a foreign superintendent to whom the native colporteurs report, while the general agent has his headquarters at Shanghai. As was natural, the first efforts of the agency were put forth in the line of Bible translation, and as fast as portions could be prepared they were offered for sale. The number of copies sent out from two of the three pre es dunng the first year was 39,371, of which over 33,000 were por- This number was nearly doubled the next in 1901 the total circulation was 428,927, including 12,341 Bibles, 32,334 Testaments and 384,252 portions; and this was a considerable falling off from the previous year owing to the Boxer outbreak. The work of translation still continues, the different mi ionary societies uniting with the British and Foreign, Scotch National, and American Bible Societies to secure as great uniformity and accuracy as po ible. The manufacture is carried on chiefly at Shanghai, but also at Fuchau and at Yokohama, in Japan. A conception of the work will be gained from the following table of publications in 1901 tions. and year, Place of Publication. Dial C;. Shanghai. Mandarin Book. New Test.. Genesis Matthew… Mark Luke John Acts Cla ical New Test.. Matthew… Shanghai Colloq…Gen.-Ruth Soochow ” Gen.-Ruth Tuchau, Cla ical Bible Fuchau Colloquial New Test.. Mark Yokohama,Mandarin Bible New Test.. Psalms…. Canton Colloquial. New Test.. Cla ical. Total New Test. Volumes. Pag . ..5,000 2,750,000 2,160,000 2,764,000 1,760,000 3,008,000 2,320,000 2,880,000 580,000 25,000 211,600 211,500 3,576,000 5,118,000 228,000 6,410,000 6,600,000 756,000 1,136,000 4,608,000 20,000 40,600 40,000 40,600 40,000 40,000 2,000 500.500 500 3,000 6,000 3,000 6,000 12,000 6,000 2,000 7,000 26 and acting under a general Bible Society’s Committee consisting of six mi ionaries appointed by the American Bible Society, four by the British and Foreign Bible Society and two by the National Bible Society of Scotland. The American Society is represented by an agent residing at Yokohama. The work done is indicated by the figures of circulation in 1901: 5,505 Bibles; 27,615 Tests.; 148,372 portions; total, 181,492. It is notable that nearly one-third of the Bibles and Testaments were in English. Of the total, about one-half was a igned to the American Society. The work in Korea, under the general care of the agent at Yokohama, is as yet not fully organized. The work of translation is still going on and the distribution is for the most part under the care of the mi ionaries. Siam and Laos: Bible work in Siam was for many years carried on by the mi ionaries of the PN under the general direction of Dr. Guliek; but as the work enlarged both in China and Siam, a division became nece ary, especially as the advance included the Laos people on the north. The headquarters of the agent are at Bangkok, where also most of the printing is done. From the organization in 1890 to 1902 the circulation was 282,954, the last year showing 37,216, an advance of 5,484 over the previous year. Of these, the great majority, 32,521, were Siamese, 3,615 Chinese, 942 Laos, the remainder Tamil, Cambodian, Malay and English. Philip-pine Islands: This latest agency of the Society was established in 1899, and covers the entire archipelago. The agent’s office is in Manila. The circulation for the first year was, naturally, small, but the second year rose to 52,793, and in 1902 to 91,260. The New Testament in Tagalog has been completed by the BFBS, which had commenced the translation before the outbreak of the Spanish War. As yet only the Gospels have been translated into Pampanga and Ilocano, but the work is going on as rapidly as po ible. The printing is done in Japan. The total i ues of the Society for the year 1902 were 1,993,558, of which 734,649 were distributed in the United States (including Porto Rico and Hawaii), and 1,258,909 copies in foreign lands. The total i ues of the Society in 87 years amounted to 72,670,783 copies. The Bible Society Record, an illustrated monthly, is the 273,700 48,102,000 An interesting and significant fact in Bible work in China was the interest taken in it by the young Emperor and the preparation and presentation to the Empre Dowager of a magnificent copy of the Scriptures in 1899. Japan and Korea: On receiving information in 1872 that a Japanese version of some of the Gospels was nearly complete, the Society promptly made a grant to promote its publication. It subsequently a umed the support of Drs. S. R. Brown and D. C. Greene, and bore a considerable part of the expense of translating the New Testament, which appeared in parts and was completed in 1880. The next year Japan was made a separate agency, and was so conducted until 1890, when the narrowne of the field and the peculiar intermingling of interests led to an arrangement between the American Bible Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the National Bible Society of Scotland to act in unison, apportioning the territory between them, Society’s official organ. 44