The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-13
SPOKE FOR IMMIGRANTS
ARE CHARGE OF PEOPLE OF
 AMERICA.
President Declares in Address Before Tract Society that Weal of COun-
 try Depends On Treatment
 of NaNcNmarn. -

Washington, March 12-The Wash ington meeting of the American Tract Society was held today in the presi- dents church, the Grace Reformed church.
 Judge Brewer, honorary vice bishop made a brief address setting forth the important work carried forward by the society. President Roosevelt delivered the address and the Rev. Judson Swift, field secretary at New York made a reply.
 The reply stated that the society will celebrate its S0th anniversary in May next, that immigrants are coming to the United States in increasing num- bers and if the average for the past four months continue the million mark will be reached for the year The tract socfety's coiporteurs among the immi- grants are ncnHf-tez foreigners. They meet them on arrival and follow them to their homes and places of employ ment, distributing Christian literature in the language or dialect which they speak. Experience proves this to be the most successful way of evangeliz- ing them. The fore runner of the or ganized church, the colporteur at Ellis Island distributes Christian literature in twentyfour languages or dialects,
 The last annual report shows that the society has published the gospel message in one hundred and sixty lam guages or dialects and that ninety new publications have been added. These were In eight different Ian. guages.
 The call for the societys special and unique work. the report says, Is great CT than ever before in its history and its resources are greatly overtaxed The society Is wholly dependent upon donations and legacies and. says the report. some of its most important work of necessity will be curtailed un- less there Is more generous response on the part of the evangelical interests and individual donants.
 Speech of President.
 The President spoke as follows:
 Mir. Justice and Mir. Shick, and you, my fellow members of this congrega- tion and our guests. who are with us today I am glad on behalf of this church to say amen to the appeal that has been made Dr. Swift on behalf of the great society. to the account of whose work you have been listening. MT Justice, you quoted the advice of a poet, to be doers rather than dream ers,' in the Book of All Books there Is a sentence to the effect be ye doers of word and not hearers only Let us show ourselves today doers of the word, upholders in faith of what has been preached to us by Dr. Swift.
 "JIe has set forth the needs of the society and he has set forth the great field over which it works. I wish to touch only on a small portion of that field, but after all the portion that most concerns us-the need here at home, here in this country of further ing in every way the work of the so- ciety, the work of all kindred socie- ties both among the native born and among the thousands who come to these shores from abroad.
 The United States Government does not endeavor to do its duty by the i'm migrants who come to these shores. and I was glad, pr. Swift, to listen to what you said as to the work that is being done on Ellis Island for 1t is a inst tribute to that work. But unless people have had some experience with the dangers and difficulties surround ing the newly arrived migrant they can hardly realize how great they are. The immigrant comes almost unpro- tected. he does not even know our lam guage. he Is wholly unfamiliar with our institutions, our customs, our hab- it's of life and ways of thought; and there are, am sorry to say. great num- bers of evil and wicked people who hope to make their livelihood by preying
 
 He is exposed to innumerable temp tatiops, innumerable petty expressions on almost every hand. and unless some one is on hand to help him he literally has no idea where to turn. No greater work can be done by religious society than to stretch out the helping hand to the man and woman who comes here to this country to become citizens and therefore do their part In making up for veal or for woe the future of our land.
 "If we do not try to take care of them. if we do not try to uplift them, then as sure as fate our own children will pay the penalty. If we do not see that the immigrant and children of the immigrant are raised up, most surely will 1t be that our own children and children's children are pulled down Either they will rise or we will sink Therefore 1t means much not merely to the immigrant but to every good Amer ican that there should be at Ellis Is- land the colpoteurs of this society and inc repres entatives of other religious ana philay.throphic societies to try to care for the immigrants body as we'll as to try to care for the immigrants aA~A1-s