The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-18
American Missionaries Have Been at Work.
LAND OF CONCERN TO CHURCH
Methodists and Congregationaists
 Are Interested.
With Bible and Tract Societies They Have Been at Work Among the Native Bulgarians-Church
 Property of Great Value.

New York, Oct. 1.-The ,extraordt- nary development of Bulgaria in the last twenty years is due largely to the work of the American missionary. In fact this may be said of nearly the whole Balkan region which is now threatened with war, prospect so dark that the church leaders in. this country are fearful of the great inter esfs that they have in that section.
 The church itself has not made, such a great growth in Bulgaria but its in- fluence has been felt in a hundred ways that must count sooner or later unless a war shall now intervene to destroy that for which the missioners have labored for nearly fifty years
 The Methodists and Congregational ists and the American Bible and Tract Societies are the organizations most concerned in the future of the Bal kans. Of these the Methodists are the pioneers. It was in 1S62 that the general committee appropriated $5.000 for work in Bulgaria but 1t was not until five years later that Rev. Wesley Prettyman and Rev. Albert L.. Long actually appeared in the field. The work was slow and not until April, 1878. was there sufficient encourage ment given to organize an annual meeting but from that time the work
 
 ference was inaugurated.
 The field now, so far as the Metho- dists are concerned, Is divided into the Yofteha and Rustchuk districts in which there are about twenty stations that are looked after by nearly as many American or native workers and almost as many ordained native preachers. The total church member ship is about 500, but there are nearly | akE a6k the church of various kinds is prob ably worth $4o.000. about equally d. vided between churches and homes or halls.
 Loftcha and Rustchuk are the central points for Methodist work, the girls school being located at the former place Viddin is the latest town to be covered by the missioners and there has been little encouraging result of a great deal of hard effort for the Greek priests do all they can to 'frighten the people who might otherwise become Christians. A good example6 of this has been found at Yiddin where the church sign board was take en down and trampled in the mud by direction of the priests who paid the perpetrators of the outrage. The chief of police even called one of the would-be Chris tians before him and declared the @"~ASA ON6N 0o"h UT HIS opposers would kill him. It finally reached the point where the confer ence was forced to buy a house in which to carry on it's work because owners were afraid to let the church use their property. There are vfliaRe1. however. where there is peac for the workers and where the villagers them selves are appreciative of the mission. voyvodavo is one of them and the peo- pie there are building a parsonage of their own In such spare time as they can find.
 The American Board Is not organ ized in Bulgaria directly but carries on its work there through a border station at Samokov. This Is one of four missions in European Turkey and the largest as well. The town has some 10000 inhabitants and being about ten miles north of the frontier