Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-07-17
DELICIOUS
Tn. Year. Bible Output.


The American Bible society reports
the distribution of 1,895,941 Bibles
during 1907. of which 491. 2SO were for
China alone. The society spent $780,
TOO, while the receipts from sales at
cost brought $230O0O. The deficit was
made up from contributions.
A Church Full Of oaysty.
The latest novelty in religious evan
gelism is the proposal made by Cap,
tain Theodore Valiant to establish at
Washington church in which oil
forms Of gayety and gladness will
find favor. In explaining his creed
Valiant said: Music, merriment and
smiling faces will be important ele-
ments Of the religion Of the future.
As In the olden times, the Bible days,
the men and women will be won to
God from depravity and crime. There
Will be the dancing women, the cymbal
players. the singers and the games,
just as there were in the days of
Moses and Solomon. The old hell of
the old religion, with It's faring fires,
Its dancing imps in leather hides, its
catacombs Of dead hopes and its
fumes Of sulphur, is thing of the
past. It was adroitly employed to
brighten people into the church. The
church Of the future that will make
the most converts for Gods cause and
the betterment Of humanity is the
church that offers its members music
and light and harmless games and the
laughter Of joyousness. Blue laws and
fanaticism will find no place in the
religion Of the future"
Rome Ranks America Higher.
The Roman Catholic church In the
United States now ranks with that Of
France, Spain and Austria and other
first class countries and is no longer a
mission. By recent decree of the
pope not only this country, but also
Canada, Newfoundland, Great Brit
ain, Gibraltar, Luxembourg and Hol-
land were removed from the jurisdic-
ton Of the congregation Of the propa-
ganda. Hereafter all questions of law
viii be referred to congregation in
each case. A new congregation to reg
u3ate the discipline and the sacrament
was created at the same time. Here
after the congregation of the consis-
tory will have the appointment Of
bishops and the general supervision of
the various congregations.
lourde Miracles Defended.
The committee appointed by the hta
archbishop Of Paris to Investigate ii
reported cures due to the intercession
Of "our Lady Of Lourdes' has report
ed on five cases. finding that the suf-
ferer In each case was cured insten-
taneously and permanently. All tho
cases were those of women.
The Appeal For Socialism.
Later reports of the recent pan.
Anglican church congress show that
in all that vast gathering only one
voice was raised against the cry for
socialism contained in the paper pro
scented by Bishop Gore Of Birmingham.
Its keynote was the injustice Of the
existing division of the profits of In
dustry. He demanded from the church
"a tremendous act of penitence for
having failed so long and SO greatly to
champion the oppressed and weak,
penitence to be followed by repara-
ton ere the we'll merited Judgment OF
God take all weapons of social influ-
ence out of our hands," The abolition
of wage earning and the public main.
tenance Of child bearing mothers were
among the reforms advocated.