Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-04

These tbirty-four societies maintain 1903
stations s.0.2 out-stations, LTD male
missionaries, 2,5S3 female missionaries,
22,9e2 native laborers and 1856 churches,
whose communicates number 523es2. of
whom 81, rs were added last year. Under
! instruction in the various Sunday, indus
| trial and graded schools. seminaries col
leges and hospitals are 276,34 persons
| The total income in dollars last year was
$1,000, 701. and of this amount the native
| contributions In dollars, and exclusive of
foods, goods etc, totaled the tidy sum of
s., 20S, 9o7. This gives fairly good idea of
| what the converted native thinks the new
| religion is worth to him.
Protestant Europe and Canada COM
| bined contributed in 1908 just a few thou
| sand dollars more than the sum total of
| our evangelical societies contributions.
-Four thousand, three hundred and sixty of
| the n,157 missionaries sent out by all
| Protestant societies are Americans; OBS
| OF the 20,641 stations and out-stations are
maintained by American money, while con-
| sderably over a third of the 1926. SS5 ma
| tive communicates are attached to Amer
| can missions and churches Great Britain
| however. had nearly half of the 901 112 I'M
| der instruction in her mission schools and
| colleges, and her native laborers constitute
| nearly half of the total, 81, 2S6.
Tie first foreign missionary board to be
| formed tn this country was the American
| board of commissioners for foreign mis-
| sions, representing the Congregational
Church. This occurred in September Of
| 1910, and, therefore, In less than five years,
| 1t will be incumbent the various foreign
missionary societies to celebrate the CEN
| tenary of the works actvel beginning.
| The centenary of the meeting that ulti-
| mately led to the formation of the Ameri-
| can board occurs this year. 1t was in 1906
| that Samuel j. Mills entered Williams Col
| ege. His mother had consecrated him from
his infancy to missionary work. Shortly
| after he began his collegiate career he held
| a missionary prayer meeting of students
under the shelter of a haystack, where the
| rain had driven them. This spot has been
| called the birthplace of American mis-
sions. since the interest there awakened
| caused several of the participants to organ
| iZe In the college two years later a mission
! to the heather. The existence of this or
| ganization was kept secret, lest should
| be thought rashly imprudent and should so
| iniure the cause we wish to promote" The
same young men who constituted the
| cety formed the American board in the
open after another two years This board
| was the first American evangelical society
| to send out missionary, the first mission
! being established among the Marathas of
western India, after many trials, in 1913.
The receipts of the pioneer board during
| the first year of its existence were just 4S
| cents less than an even thousand dollars.
Its income last year was 1852, 149, and it
| had 515 American missionaries in the field.
The Methodist board had the largest in
| come last years. 400, 55S. The Presby
| terrain boards income was also over mil
| ion, the exact figures being S1,161,9lS.
The Roman Catholic Church maintains no
| organization that can be compared to the
| Protestant missionary societies. But in
| considering foreign missionary work the
| Society for the Propagation of the Faith
must be taken into account. The American
branch was founded in 1893. The ssciety's
aims have been set forth by the director
| general, the Rev. Joseph Frer:
Widely differing from the numerous
Protestant societies, the Society for the
Propagation of the Faith takes no part in
| selecting missionaries in appointing
| their field Of work, nor In training them
for 1t, and 1T does not concern itself with
| the interior administration of missions. The
aim OF our society. therefore, is to support
| missionaries who are chosen, trained and
sent forth on their missions by the usual
authorities of the church."
In other words the money that the So
ciety raises goes to the support of mission
aries sent out by such long and
Famous orders as the Jesuits, the Augustin-
ians, the Franctscans and the Dominicans.
About $4,000 Is raised yearly by the So
ciety In this country. Each OF eleven evan"
gei1cal societies raises a larger sum- OF
any means the sum total of money raised
for foreign mission work by American
Catholics, since thousands of dollars are
contributed directly for this purpose by the
various orders that send out missiona rias
The society throughout the world now
raises about million and half dollars an
nually. From Its inception in France. in
1922 II has collected approximately seventy
million dollars for missionary advance. TnIs
gives an average annual collection of about
Ss4S,ooo. stretching over period OF eighty
three years
Each year brings marked increase in
the moneys contributed Indeed the won-
derful growth of this and evangelical for
| eign missionary societies, indicated by
these few figures has undoubtedly been
| made possible largely by recognition of the
| fact that winning the heather is business
pure and simple, requiring business or
gantZation OF the most approved type, that
the work may be pushed forward TO the
best advantage
To Use New Organ.