New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-09-03
SIND REFLEC TONS.

some interesting reflections are suggested b,
the statistics of Sunday school work lid be-
fore the Seventh Intcrnati-n nal sunday chcol
Convention which has just ended It's sessions
at 1t. Louis With new force the common
place thought of the extent to winch AL KINDS
of religions work have been SyStematizcd ana
made 10 operate As 4 vast machine strikes one
IN reading of this ASSOCIATION. Then man.
ideas that are APT to he held concerning the
lgh; and dark spots on map repro 'entlng 'Ae
state of religious instruction have to be re-
vsed. and many places that we have Thought
10 he fist are found to be among the last
in the matter OF Sunday schools. The table
of percentages of population i'll Sunday schools
shows Delaware at the head Of the lit with
oS.4 per cent to its credit. Massachusetts has
the surprisingly low percentage OF 3D., and
ranks only twenty eighth among forty nine
States and Territories Vermont ranks twen-
tieth. Connecticut twenty first Maine twenty
fourth. Rhode Island twenty fifth and New
JIampshire twenty-s vcnth. If Sunda, sch )ol>
mean religion and morality aud their extern
sion coos side by side with an advancing civil
zaton. then New England has lost the pres
,ige of Puritan days and mhSi acknowledge
that the South and West lead her Even New
York. with its large cities and Cosmopolitan
population. stands ninth on the list with a
percentage of 2OG. Florida comes second
Meth Carolina third. with Maryland, New
Jersey. PENNSYLVANIA. District Of Columbia and
Kansas following i'll order.
The statistics concerning work in cities con-
lain quite "a much food for Thought l'altl-
more where the Calvert> sought freedom from
p, test mt citcchisms is at the head with per
centage of 30 while Bnston's figure. notwith-
standing the sober training of her early days
is only 90: and that Of Brooklyn, the City
Of Churches" j. only II. The much-aSserted
demora:Zing influence of political life does not
seem to operate when II comes to Sunday
schools for Washington comes next 10 Baltl-
more. Allegheny, Minneapolis. Providence
Eoche.ier and Albany follow Philadelphia
where Bishop White founded and presided over
the first Sunday school society in the United
States ranks first in the total membership Of
her schools. having 195.S02 persons in at
tendance on them. and her percentage is 80
The percentage of st. Louis * Il Of Chicago
IL. and New-York 10. In total membership
however. New-lOrk stands next - Phila-
deIpha, while Chicago is third. Brooklyn
fourth and Baltimore fifth. OFT of the Thirty
one cities in the United States with a popula-
ton of 100, 900 or over San Francisco ranks
owest. with less than $4,000, OF only about
SO per cent of her population in sunday
schools.
The total membership OF the association in
the United States is reported as 1891 $50
and in Canada as 624,370-a gain of 1.l99.-
os9 in the United States and OF 94,15O in
Canada since the last convention held at Pitts
burg in 1890. The percentage for the whole
United states i liza gain OF tw0-tenth>
of per cent since 1881. The association has
an organization near, complete IN every part
Of the country. II has State or Territorial
ORGANIZATIONS everywhere except IN Alaska
Ncw-Mexico. Oklahoma and ldaho III Con
netcut. Delaware Illinois. Iowa Kansas
Kentucky. Maine. Maryland Massachusetts,
Missouri. Hampshire, New-Jelse,, New
York and Ohio every count! has It's society,
while in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Mar,
land every town in every county has its asso-
citation Though New England may have fallen