Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-04-02
Meeting of the Wood Co. Bible

union service. At an early nour the
house was crowded, every available
seat being occupied. The services
were opened by the choir rendering
the stirring anthem Praise ye the
Lord" followed by Reading and Pray
er by Rev. R. NJ. Webster. After the
singing of a hymn the meeting pro-
ceeded to business, receiving the re-
ports of the Secretary and Treasurer
of the Society, which were approved.
The next order of business was the
election of officers for the ensuing year
The Chairman appointed committee
of three, consisting of Messrs. Seth
Reeves. T. B. Scott and J. D. Witter,
to report suitable officers to fill the re-
spective positions. The committee re-
turned the names of the outgoing off,
GERS for reelection, Uiz., Il. B. Philleo,
Pres't, A. B. Sampson, Vice Pres't,
Z. r. Ostrander, Sec'y, and n. E.
Emmons, Treasurer in place of Bro.
Daugherty, deceased. The officers
were duly elected after which the choir
sang an anthem entitled, eve are thy
People. The Chairman introduced
Rev. Jesse Cole who addressed the
| meeting at length, stating that his re-
marks must necessarily be fragmentary
owing to lack of preparation The ad-
dress, however, proved to be anything
but fragmentary, but was an earnest
and eloquent appeal to the people in
behalf of the Bible as the word Of
God for the building up of character
and the establishment of justice
throughout the world. The speaker
said that throughout all the ages the
mighty efforts made to blot out the BIZ
BILE had failed. 1t taught him the ex-
act relation he sustained to mankind
and it taught him immortality. The
Bible is Coos conversation to us, it is
a book that talks to us as loving faith
er talks to his children. The Bible
gives US homes, it has made us vir-
tuous people. 1t has done everything
for US as a nation, is moulding Hharac-
ter and enlightening the mind. He
did not thank congress half SO much
as he did God and the Bible for our
good laws. Every blow aimed at the
destruction of the Bible is blow AIM
ed at eur liberties. The Bible is not a
denominational book it belongs to no
enc sect to the exclusion of all others,
but was common property for the edit
cation of humanity He wished to
God that it was in every school. Il
mighty war was to be fought, not with
carnal weapons, but a war Of thought
against thought, a war Of righteous
ness against unrigbteousness. The
speaker spoke nearly an hour most elo-
quentiy, advancing many excellent
ideas frequently speaking with earnest
and fervid esoquence.
Rev James Lawson, the Asst Agent
for the Am. Bible Society next adj
dressed the meeting, saving that il
what he had listened to from the
speaker who had just finished was
fragments, he could net conceive what
the whole piece could be, and then pro-
ceeded with much valuable statistical
information concerning the work Of the
Society. Mr.. Lawson spoke earnestly
and cited the act Of the first Congress
ordering 10000 copies of the Bible
for distribution, and a vote of thanks
of that body few years later to
certain publisher in Philadelphia who
had devoted has presses, time and all
his means to the publication of the BIZ
bic unselfshly and for the good of an
unenlightened world. He paid high
| compliment TO the Welsh people for
their reverence for the Bible, attribut-
ing their excellent character as peo-
pie to their love for the word of God
The work of the society at present is
enormous, turning out 5000 copies
day, employing twenty-four power
presses besides a number of smaller
ones in the work of publication. Rev.
Mr.. lIead the Presiding Elder of the
NJ. E. Church was next called upon,
but the lateness of the hour told him
he must he brief. He related an apt
anecdote which brought before the
audience the reality of collection af-
ter which the meeting closed. Rev.
r. NJ. Webster, before taking up of
the same, stated that one-half of the
collection would be credited to the
Methodist Society. The collection
amounted to S2715, which with the
amount of former collection some
| L 1 II. L