Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1895-12-19
5000, 900 BIBLES.

York Herald, represents the world g
output of the Christian Scriptures dur
ing the last year. The number of
Bibles distributed Since the organiza-
ton of the British and Foreign Bible
Society of London, in 1904, is 260, 0,000,-
900, or enough volumes, if laid end to
end, to reach distance of more than
fifty thousand miles. The British So
ciety and the American Bible Society
of New York, since its establishment,
in 1916, have been the two great or
ganizations of the world for the trans
lation, publication and circulation of
the books of the Bible. Their work
has been tremendous and growing
one, yearly exhausting their increasing
resources, and reaching magnitude
that is surprising.
From a rare, and the most expen-
sive, book the Bible has become the
most common and the cheapest publ
cation in the world. Dr. Plumer, in
his tract "How to Use the Bible, says:
an the thirteenth century, in Eng
land, two arches of the London Bridge
cost .G25. At the same time copy
of the Bible with a few explanatory
notes cost $50. Then the wages of a
laborer amounted to but ninepence a
week.
In other words, the cost of such a
Bible was equal to the entire wages,
in money, of laboring man for over
fifteen years. At so late period as
that of the American Revolution the
very cheapest editions of the Bible
were valued at not less than 81 vol
ume. Now an entire English Bible Is
sold for twenty cents, and the New
Testament can be bought for five cents.
The increase in the supply has been
as wonderful as the decrease in the
cost. Before the age of printing
copvist would work for months to pro-
duce single copy of the Bible, that
was almost priceless, to be secured to
its place with chain, and handled by
a fortunate few, only with the great
est OF care. Then, though the intro
duction of printing increased the sup
ply most marvellously, the high price
yet held them beyond the reach of the
average reader. 1t was only after or
ganized societies took charge Of the
printing and distribution that no one
who wished a Bible need go without
it. And the people have wished them
with desire that has increased with
the advancement Of general learning
the cultivation of thought, and the
growth of the spirit Of criticism. This
growing demand for the Christian
Scriptures has, on the most part, been
met, whether it has come from Green
lands icy mountains or India's coral
strand, and whether in the language
of a Chinese, Zulu, or any other
tongue more nearly approaching the
English.
Last year the British and Foreign
Bible Society distributed 2,l85,610
Bibles in foreign countries, and the
American Bible Society exported 634,-
025 copies. These books were print
ed in forty-one different languages.
Many complete Bibles and portions of
Scripture were also printed by the
American Society at Beirut, Constanti-
nople, Shanghai. Bangkok, Yokohama,
Paris and Bremen.
An idea of the vast territory reached
by the New York society and the va
riety of languages employed may be
gained from the fact that last year the
Chinese received from the New York
society 1905 Testaments in their Ian
guage, the Zulus zoos, Portuguese
2,463, Italians 4,717, Poles 3,406, Bo-
hemians Its, Dakota Indians 324,
Marshall Islanders $50. The list also
includes Irish, Dutch, Danish, Hebrew,
Syriac, Arabic, Turkish, Russian and
Ojibwa.
The distribution of these books and
the teaching of their contents means
the employment of an army OF mis-
sionaries and colporteurs, who have
to encounter many and great obstacles
in the way of poverty, illiteracy and
prejudice. They suffer from accusa-
tions. arrest, Imprisonment, antago-
nism of other religions, uprisings
against them, and war itself. Yet
they work on, and will continue to
work.
While the heathen of foreign lands
are supplied with copies of the Scrip
lures, those at home are not neglect
ed, and increasing work in the direc-
ton of . systematic distribution OF