Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-04-09
BIG MEETING HELD
Wapello County Bible Society
Holds Annual Session.
ADDRESS Is MADE BY REV. DICKINSON
Officers Elected and Treasurer's Re-
port Heard-Society Contemplates
Canvass of the City to Supply Bibles
in Homes too Poor to Buy Them.

port r1edro-Society SohtemPidtSs
Canvass of the City to Supply Bibles
in Homes too Poor to Buy Them.
From Mondays Daily.
The thirty-seconds annual meeting of
the Wapello county branch of the
American Bible society, was held last
night at the First Methodist church.
The meeting was made the occasion OF
union meeting of all the churches
in the city, the various pastors taking
part in the service. The report of the
treasurer for the year past and the
election of officers for the ensuing year
was the chief business of the meeting.
The Rev. Dickinson, field agent and
state superintendent for the American
Bible society was present and deliver
ed the address of the evening. There
was large audience and close inter-
est was manchester in the reports. the
election of officers and in the address.
May Make Canvass of City.
While there is small balance in
the treasury, the report shows that the
society is not in flourishing condi-
ton financially. The local society is
considering the matter of making a
canvass Of the city for the purpose of
supplying bibles and testaments in ev-
lery home where none are found and
where the people are too poor to pur-
chase. There has been no such can
vass of the city made for nearly TWEEN
ty years The parent society strongly
urges that such canvasses be made
a least pupry four, yparS
Report of Treasurer.
| The report of the treasurer was read by
| George Haw and was as follows:
Books sold since last report ......$ 34.19
| Books on hand ....... ............. 100.56
| Books donated .............. 300
| Books fought OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. 24.S4
Due parent society ............... 1884
Cash in treasury .......l......... 21.19
Election of Officers.
The election of officers resulted in the
| following persons being chosen for the en-
suing year:
| President-Ge George Brown.
| Vice president-William McNett
/ Secretary---George Haw.
| RECONSIDERATION Johnson.
Directors-Presbyteria church, S. II.
Harper; Congregational church, Charles
Connolly; First Methodist church, S. G.
Vest Main street Methodist church. S. G.
] Gushing: Baptist church, DR.. L. 4. Edger-
1 ly; Christian church, L. B. Criley: Willard
Street Methodist church, John L. Smith;
/ East End Presbyterian, T. ID. Foster;
| Epicopal, Samuel Mahon.
Prof. Dickinson's Address.
Rev Dickinson chose for his text
the phrase found in st. John, chapter
-l19, verses 10 and 20; land PLATE wrote
a title and put it upon the cross 1t
was written in3Hebrew and Greek and
Latin" The Roman represented law,
the Hebrew religion and the Greek lit
erature. The message was for ali
classes and these three languages
reached them ALL The Bible story
wassfull of humanity 1t is the aim of
the American Bible society to put the
Bible into every dialect and tongue in
the world.
Religious Awakening.
After the American revolution there
was great religious awakening.
Many different religious societies were
organized and among them the Am eri-
can Bible society. Its object and aim
lis to put the Bible into every home in
the world. Where the home is
too poverty stricken to buy the Bible
is presented as gift, in other cases
it is distributed at actual cost.
The American Bible society must
not be considered merely great pub
fishing organization. 1t is a great mis-.
sionary society. 1t is doing work that
none of the other missionary societies
can possibly do. Human speech is the
one greatest obstacle to missionary
, work. If the Bible story cannot be told
to people intheir own language and
left with them in permanent form all
efforts looking toward evangelization
are but transient and temporary in
i character. There can be no permanent
results. The American Bible society
! is RAPIDLY overcoming this obstacle OF
human speech. List year 1900 00(
copies of the Bible were distributed
These were published in 100 different
tongues and in 442 distinct dialects
u truly most wonderful pentecost.
Work of the Society.
The great work in the Congo, IRA
r quay, and Paraguay, conducted by the
g Roman Catholic church was largely {
l. failure so far as permanent result!
g were concerned, simply because The
e Bible story was not translated and pu
5. into the hands of the people in thei
}, own language and dialects. This is il
e great contrast with the work of JOIN
]. G. Bacon, who went to the New Heb
d rides and put the Bible into twenty
ell two different dialects The Bible il
n still there and nowhere else has mis-
4 sionary work given such permanen
p and lasting results Where the print
j ed Bible is left among the people Their,
If the root of Christianity is firmly estat
r. lished. In Africa, India and the Philip
% pines, the American Bible society i
rapidly putting the Bible into the dia
!. lects of the various tribes.
: Last year the American Bible societ.
= = put into the hands of the 100000 immi
2 grants who landed in this country a
Ellis island 10000 copies of the Bibl
in twenty-seven different languages
For the sake of patriotism. if for NJ
. other reason, the American Bible soc