Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1883-12-25
RESULTS OF THE FIRST YEAR OF
COLPORTAGE WORK IN THE
FOURTH GENERAL RE-SUpPLY
OF THE UNITED STATES AND
TERRITORIES

the work, colpoSteurs were TO be sen. a
the expense of the Parent Society, AM
the work pushed as rapidly as possible
1t was reasonably expected that the aux
iliaries in the New England States, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mary
land. Delaware, Ohio. Kentucky, ant
Illinois, would for the most part atten'
TO the canvass Of their respective fields ST
that colportage conducted by the SOciet!
has chiefly been confined 70 the followin.
States and Territories Alabama, Arkan
sas. California, Colorado, Dakota, Flori
da, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas
Michigan, Mississippi. Missouri, Mon'a.
ma, Nebraska. Nevada, New Mexico
North and South Carolina, Tennessee
Texas, Utah, Wisconsin. and Wyoming
One comfy in New Jersey where the
auxiliary had disbanded some years ago
three counties in the state OF New York.
and the large county of Aroostook in
Maine, have been canvaSscd, and col por-
teurs of this Society are now At work ii
two counties Of New York, and one in
Maine. SJma counties in Illinois, Ohio,
and Kentucky had also 10 b. cared for by
III. Parent Society. With these excep-
tons the work now presented has been
carried o. in the more dis,an, parts Of
the country, where the churches general
| l. are feeble and supported in par; by
the Home Missionary Societies of the de.
nominations which they represent; while
considerable proportion Of the work has
been in advance OF church work among
the frontier settlers, the isolated ranch
men, and in the camps Of miners beyond
the pale of civilization.
In the prosecution Of this work ove'
500 different men have been employed
for longer or shorter period. They nave
rendered 46.G74 days of srvice, have
travelled $50, 1861 miles, visited 6j0,9iO
families, and found S7,0S0 families
which had no Bible in their homes, and
supplied &C, jl9 of these families, besides
1856 individuals. They have put in
circulation $40, 9l9 copies of the Script,
ures. OF these 277,jS5 Of the value OF
SlO5, 7l0.Si, were sold, and l,425, OF
the value Of Sl7,6sS.O9, were donated.
The colporteurs' wages and travelling
expenses in the prosecution of this work
amounted to SS7,6lO.50, which makes
an average of sl.S7 for every day OF ser
vice rendered. thirteen cents for every
family visited by them, and about TWEEN
tyfve cents for every copy of Scripture
distributed by sale or gift.
To the wages and travelling expenses
ofthe colporteurs must be added Sc, 443,-
90 for freight upon books sent to them,
making total Of So4,O53 so for the dis
tribu,ion, by sale and gift, of $4,000
copies of Scriptures, Of the value Of
sl23,39S.9S.
Adding the cost OF the books
10 the cost OF distribution,
we have an expenditure Of s2l7 4j2 AZ
The colporteurs however re-
ceived from sales SlO5, 40 81
And from individuals
and church collections 9,72l.3
total OF ll5, 432 As
Making the net expenditure,
including the cost OF the
books donated lo2,oI9'et
These are general results which show
the aggregate of the work. More partic-
ulsrly it may be stated that the Terrific
RES Of Utah, Montana, and Idaho, with
the exception of four counties, have been
thoroughly canvassed. The canvass Of
Colorado has been almos, completed, and
work has commenced in Wyoming Terri
tory. In Nebraska, fifteen counties have
been thoroughly canvassed and twenty
one counties partly. In Kansas, sixteen
counties have already been supplied, and
the work is now progressing in twenty
eight counties. In Kentucky, the work
has been finished in nineteen counties,
and in Tennessee the same number ;
while in the latter more or less work has
been done in twenty-seyen, and in the
former in twelve other counties. In Tex
as, twenty-six counties have been wholly
canvassed, and the work is approaching
completion in thirty other counties
some of them the largest in the State.
But. without further detail. it may
he sufficient to state that there are up
ward of 1900 organized counties in all
which must be supplied through colpor
teurs of this Society. OF these, SO;
counties have been canvassed during thu
year, and 425 partly canvassed: making
a total of 75S, or more than one-third o
the whole. Very rapidly will the worl
be completed in those where it has beer