Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-07-21
OHIO CONIMsRIED :sss. .OOO LAsI EAR.

VhlU JUalhlbhiED sSOeY VUu LhSl KAN
a :lcorrespondenee Of the Cleveland Leaderl
As many of your readers take lively
interest in the Bible cause, the following
exhibition of its results in Eastern Ohio
during the past year will be read by them
with pleasure,
There are, in the twenty-five counties
which compose this district Of the agency,
thirty-five auxiliary and three hundred
branch or township Bible societies, max
ing, in all, an aggregate Of three hundred
and thirty-fve organizations, nearly all of
which are supplied each with depository
of Bibles and Testaments. Connected
with these societies there are, in all two
thousand one hundred and twenty-three
local or unpaid agents whose fields of op-
Grafton usually comprise a school district
each, and whose duty it is to supply the
destitute with the Word of God from year
to.year. and assist the travelling agents in
securing funds for the cause. These
branch societies have each a board Of off
GERS similar to those Of county societies,
hold annual meetings, appoint collectors,
and prepare and transmit their report an
nualiv. The number Of families visited in
this district of agency for the past year IS
about %. 600, Of whom, owing to the pre-
vious and systematic distributions that have
beep made, only about 600 were found
I - bo Tho
number of volumes distributed during the
year is about 20, 600. The receipts for the
vear from this field were t'peHty-ole tholts-
and sir hundred and fifty eight dollars and
ninety-siz cents being an excess of about
four thousand dollars over the preceding
wear. and the largest sum ever contributed
iron the same field IN single year. Of
the above amount eighteen thousand one
hundred dollars have been RENTED to the
parent society, and the remaining three
thonsand five hundred dollars have been
iudiciously expended by the varioRs auxil-
iary societies in canYassing their fields,
supplying the destitute, and conducting
the ordinary work ofthe year. 1t will be
gratifying to the friends Of the cause to
know that so small portion of their con-
tributions has been needed IN this dOInes-
tic department of the society's work. q
This view presents a pleasing contrast
to the condition of this field prior to the
introduction of the present excellent sys-
TEN, and when not as many hundred dol
lars were annually contributed from the
entire twenty-five counties as some single
counties are now giving. During the past
year nearly every county Society has been
enabled, from its surplus funds, to make
some donation to the American Bible So
cietv. Several have in this way contrib
uted as large sum as five hundred dol
lars. while none, with perhaps single ex-
ception or two, have donated less than one
hundred dollars. Besides the donations
thus made through the ordinary channels
of auxiliary Societies, two thousand four
hundred and forty-six dollars have been
transmitted in the form Of personal dona-
tions for constituting life memberships OF
the parent Society 1t is an encouraging
fact that Ohio has contributed more the
past wear than any other State in the Re
public, (the wealthy and populous State OF
New York, of course, exceptedb and that
her receipts largely exceed those OF any
previous year, amounting to upwards ol
sfxty-eight thousand dollars, and being
| lust twice the amount received from her
sister State, Pennsylvania, on the east, and
four times that Of her neighbor, Indiana
on the west. ..l l-sJ
| With regard 10 the parent Society, the
mast wear has been in every respect tn
| greatest in its whole history. Its total re
ceipts during the year we're tive hundred
and sixty thousand five hundred and sew
| entv-eight dollars, Of which amount two
hundred and ninety thousand were from
| sales of books, one hundred and thirty
three thousand from7 donations, and one
hundred and twenty-one thousand dollar'
from legacies. The number of volume:
printed during the year by the Society j.
| 1882. 1876, of which ,473,lO9 have been IS
sued from the Bible House. and 1Ie,4el
have been printed in foreign lands. Ih'
aggregate issues of the Society since the
| breaking out Of the war are 3,77S, LOS vol
umes. exclusive of foreign distributions
| and costing Ss9S,3 81. The total mum,
Der Of volumes issued by the Society since
its organization in 1876 exclusive Of for
elm distribution, is 50,327; ;99l.
During the year the Society has granted
to the Z nited States Christian Commission
for gratuitous distribution in the army
1862, ,s02 volumes. The total number dis
tributed through this channel during the
past two years is 766.075, and since the
breaking out of the rebellion, about 2,eoQ'
600. To the freedmen Of the South alone
IS494 volumes have been granted by the
Society, and the demand in this direction
! is constantly increasing. In addition tC
these grants, $60,O63 90 have been ex'
pended in foreign lands during the year
| through which and the Societys domestic
distributions, the Scriptures have beer
printed and distributed in forty-six differ.
ent languages and dialects.
We are thankful to recognize the hand
Of gracious Providence in the prosecu
ton Of this noble enterprise, and especial
ly to witness so encouraging a progress o
the good work in eastern Ohio.