The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-08
sEyENrr-sEooND ANNIvEnsARY.

A good deal of interest will be taken
in the anniversary meeting of this emil
nently worthy and important institu-
ton. The following article will show
the field in which it is doing it's great
work.
The Field of the American Sunday
School Union.
The Rural Districts.
The American Sunday-School Union
is at work in the rural districts. City
evangelization is work that needs to
be done, but this may safely be left to
the churches already located there and
to the missions, college settlements, Y.
NJ, c. associations, the Salvation army
and other agencies busy there.
1t is estimated that sixty-five per
cent.of the population of this country
live in rural districts, away from VII
lagos, and ordinarily some miles as
tant from railroad. They are COM
paratively inaccessible, hard to pc
reached by ordinary church methoos'
awaking no enthusiasm in denomlna-
tional zeal, out of the line OF Ordinary
observation. This is the field OIL the
American Sunday-School uhloh'
vast, comparatively unknown anu
amazingly needy field.
The missionaries of the American
Sunday School Union are contlhualiy
making special effort to reach these
neonle. They are itinerants, moving
from point to point, calling at the
homes along the road, opening school-
houses for services, and constantly ap-
bearing in ut-of- the-way places with
the bread of life for famished SOUS.
One missionary walks over his Wloe
nrairie district carrying little porta-
HE organ in his hand, with when 70
attract the people where he holds ms
meetings. Others use bicycles In Ia
yorabIe seasons, thus being able to go
1ong distances quickly and without IA
tigue. Yet others have horse ana car
riage and carry with them books and
napers for distribution. One m1ss1ona-
nv has a pair of gentle little MeAio o.
mules, which have borne MN over l.se
hundred mile trips across the praiiies
Of Kansas. But everywhere II Is rufal
work. The people in the back olstrlc's
have souls as well as those Ivlns on
the railroad, and for them the Ailieli-
can Sunday-School Union works.
children Not In Sunday-School.
And then the children! The Ameri-
ran Sunday-School Union works par
tici1larly for them. This Is by prefer
ence and by necessity. BY preference
because the children are more easliy
reached than any other class, ana Wheh
reached they bring their PARENTS; py
necessity. because the American sun
day-School Union must reach the out
wing rural districts by Sunday-sc
If At all (churches being out OF the
question there); and if a Sunday school
e to succeed it can do 1t only as it lays
hold on the children. And how many
children are there to be reacneu
There are not less than eleven mlllioil
/ children of school age In this country
I who are not In Sunday-schooi Inese
children are in special need, for tney
are growing up without the influences
Of the gospel, and most OF them kno"
little of the authority of GOD, the SIC
nificance of the Sabbath, the teachings
4 Of the Bible or the claims OF Cnrist
Eleven million children! Is not TINS
number over-stated? Not at al
There are twenty-five and one-hah
million children Of school age In TINS
country. according to the last United
States census The International sun
day- school association. at its meeting
IN st. Louis, stated there were eigh'
and one-half million children in Protes'
tant Sunday schools. If Roman Cath-
o1ic children attend in the same proper
zion. and certainly their number IS no.
larger. there are million and a half o.
children in Roman Catholic Sunday
schools. This gives ten million chli
dren in the country in Sunday-schools
and leaves twelve and one-half mililor
NOT In Sunday school We call 1T eley
en- to be on the safe side. what aoe'
th;s mean? Who can comprehend TN
number? Every year there IS process
sion of Sunday-school children In Jel.
sew City, twenty thousand OF them Il
ire let us say it takes them one hou
"a sfile by a given point. Now suppos'
tb,a eleven million children not IN sun
dav school fall into line and march II
nrocession. How long will they pc Il
nassing us? We will stand and Watcl
them as they file by, ten hours a "a.
and six days in the week That mean
two hundred thousand OF them IN
day. 1000, 900 of them In week. Mn
weeks or two full months, will then b
nce,1pied before the procession OF emil
dran ont of Sunday-school have passe'
bu # is for this vast multitude. NOR
than half Of the voters in our countr
in the years to come, that the Amer
.,,, sunday School Union is laboring.
4 Church Neglected Population.
If is to be noticed that the field OF tn
a ner,can Sunday-School Union lie
NOT among church neglecters, ou
among the church neglected. Who ar
the church neglected? Not those wh
dwell in our cities and villages. TIL
last United States census abundant
shows us that there is no lack Q
churches in cities of ten thousand In
habitants or upward, that there Is
lack in villages of one thousand inhab
itants and upward, that there is ord
narily no lack in villages of even
few inhabitants as five hundred. gu
eager denominational rivalry ha
seized on every strategic point, an
filed it to overlooking with churches c
various faiths. Towns can be men
toned all over the land where there
q church to every two or three hundre
of the population. In new souther
citv in Tennessee, for example, al