The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-10
ORGANIZED WORK IN
MISSION FIELDS
AMERICAN RELIGIOUS ENTER
PRISE IN THE LEAD.
OF the Seven Great Organisations
Doing Foreign Missionary Work
Four Are American-EcumeMical
Conference, on This Subject to Be
Held in New York in April

There are $50 organizations, big and
little, doing some form of work in for
eign mission fields, but there are seven
great societies, four American and
three British, that do vastly more than
all the rest put together. BY great Is
meant the amount of funds which they
annually expend, and the number and
size of the missionary enterprises which
they maintain. These seven are, In Or
der:
The Church Missionary Society, Lon
don, the Missionary Society of the
Methodist Church in America; the
American Presbyterian Board, the Lon
don Missionary Society, the British So
ciety for the Propagation Of the Cos
pei, the American Board, Boston. and
the American Baptist Missionary Union
of Boston. But while four of these
seven are American, the three British
societies have larger annual resources
than have the four American ones. Not
only no, but two of the British socie-
ties are organizations in the Church of
England. while all of the four Ameri-
can represent different religious bodies.
LARGEST OF ALL.
The largest single missionary organi-
cation In the world, the Church Mis-
sionary Society Of London, was a fruit
OF the evangelical movement In the
Church of England. A part of its work
Is the maintenance of vast training
school for missionary workers. One of
it's largest fields is West Africa, where
Its missionaries gave the first impulse
to the exploration of that vast contin-
ent. 1t Is now following UP these eX-
plorations with Gospel stations, 50 that
whole pages of it's reports read like n
chapter out of Henry NJ. Stanley's book.
Its other great field is India. Here it
stands for British rule and prestige.
But it has gone to other fields, notably
to China, and it's s2,OOO,ooO year spent
in the cause of the Gospel, circle the
globe with their up-lift influence.
The second largest of the worlds
great missionary organizations is the
American Methodist, which spends
about $1,O00,0OO a year. Its fields are
China and India, although it has work
in many other lands. Methodists Of
Canada outstrip all other religious
bodies of the Dominion in missionary
contributions and activity, so that ii
there be added together the contribu-
tions of Methodist North America the
total reaches $1,450,000 year.
Presbyterians North stand third of
the seven organizations, and spend
$s75,OO year. It's largest field is India,
If number of missions be the test, but
in number Of communicates China sur
passes all. 1t has important work in
Korea, Japan and Persia, and in the far
east it has, in educational and political
ways. exerted marked influence. often
at critical times. 1t leads all other
boards in the number of it's medical
missionaries, both men and women.
INSTRUMENTATION
Two of the remaining four societies
are British and two American.
The London Missionary had in
| it's early days las did the Ameri-
| can board. it's counterpart on
| this side of the Atlantic, supporters
In many religious bodies, and had and
still has a constitution strictly unde-
nominational in it's wording. But 1t
has in practice come to represent the
British Congregationalists. While
China and India are it's great fields,
it's peculiar field is Madagascar, where
the work Of its missionaries was far
reaching and wonderful. The South
Seas and also South Africa have seen
| many Of it's workers. 1t spends $685.
| 900 year, or about the same sum as
the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel and the American board.
The IS. p. Co." as everybody calls
this famous society for short, is the
| oldest of Protestant bodies for strictly
missionary work. and grew out of the
needle for the planting OF missions in
North America. 1t planted. for exam
pie, famous Trinity parish, New York
! city, and through it's influence gave
that now vast corporation It's financial
start. For many years It's labors were
| confined to British territory.
The American board, now Congrega-
tional, grew out of the haystack con-
ference, as everybody knows, and
dates from 1910, the Oldest of American
missionary organizations. So early
did it get started and so wisely has it
administered it's trusts that 1t now
| makes the largest showing on its $685.
900 a year of any missionary body. Its
work in India and in China makes