The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1864-08-10
Correspondence of the Spirit of Democ
raey. -.
II HI f II L BILE CAU 8 FG n
EASTERN OHIO.

! pleasure. mere are In Inc zz counues
which compose. this district of agency
thirty five auxiliary and three hundred
branch, or Township Bible Societies
making in all an aggregate of three hun.
dred and thirty7fve organizations, nearly
all of which are supplied, each, with a
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 operation 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 board of officers similar to those
of County Societies, hold annual meet
ings, appoint collectors and prepare and
transmit their reports annually. lrLas
The number of families visited in this
district of agency the past year is about
$4,000 of whom, owing to the previous
and systematic distributions that have
been made, only about 500 were found
wholly destitute of the Scriptures. M
The number of volumes distributed
during the year)is about 10000. The re-
ceipts for the year from this field were
ticenty one thousand si1 hundred and ffty
eight dollors qud ninety sir cents, being an
excess of about four thousand dollars
over those of the proceeding year, and
the largest sum ever. contributed from
the same field in single year. Of the
above amount eighteen thousand one hun
dred dollars have been remitted to the
parent. society, and the remaining three
thousand FIVE hundred dollars have been
judiciously expended by the various aux
iliary societies in eanvassing their fields,
supplying the destitute, and conducting
the ordinary work of the year.
1t will be gratifying to the friends Of
thecause to know that SO small a portion
of their contributions has been expended
in this domestic department of the soci-
sty's work and in the expense of agency
This view presents pleasing contract 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 aLnua | !, contributed in the entire
% counties as some single counties are
now giving. 5s4
During the pastyear nearly every coun-
ty society has been sna bled trem its sur
plus funastte make some donation to the
American Bible Society. Several have
in this way donated as large sum as five
hundred dollars, while. none, with perhaps
single exception or two, have donated
less than one hundred dollars. Besides
the donations thus made through the Or
dinary channels of auxiliary societies,
twosthousand four hundred and forty six
dt5llars have been trans mitted in the form
of personal donations for constituting life
memberships of the parent society, Il
is an encouraging fact that Ohio has con
tributed morethe pastyear than than any
other State in the Republic, (the wealthy
and populous State Of New York of course
excepted,) and that her receipts largely
exceed these Of any previous year, amount
ing to upwards of sixty-eight thousand
dollars, and being just twice the amount
received from her sister State Pennsylva
MIA on the east, and, four times that o
her neighbor Inaiana on the west. With
regard to the parent society the past yea
has been in every respect the greatest il
its whole history, It's total receipts dur
ing the year were Eve hundred and sixt,
thousand FIVE hundred and seventy -sigh
dollars, of which amount two hundre,
and ninety thousand were from sales o
books, one hundred and thirty -thre
thousand donations, and one hundred an,
twenty-ens thousand dollars from lega
oiss sssE falssd
The number Of volumes printed durin
the year .py the society Is l,39Z, l9e
which !, 1,473,7Os have been issued frol
a the Bible House and 11S,4 ,487 have bee
printed in foreign lands. The aggregat
issue Of the society since the breakin
out of the war are 3,778,105 volume
exclusive of foreign distributions an
r stcosting Ss4s, ,369,6l. The total numb,
d of. volumes issued by the society since i
Organization in 1916 exclusive of foreie
8 distributions is &c, 1927 ,991 During IL
year the society has granted to Il
United States Christian Commissie
IS for gratuitous distribution in the arm
ID 362, 1902 volumes.
- ~ The total number distributed threus
o this channel during the past two years
's 766, ,076 and since the breaking out of Il