Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-07


sects.
The transAtors of the society are con-
| tinually at work revising and improving
the versions in the strange dialects OF
peoples who have no literature or gram
| mars or even alphabets, as they acquire
| a better knowledge of the speech of the
common people. Other translationS are
being continually revised. The Spanish
version, which has been in use for CEN
tu.ies and is very imperfect, has been
under revision for seven years and was
completed last summer, SO that it will
soon be printed; the revision of the orig
inal translation of the New Testament
in Brazil has been completed and is
ready for printing, and the committee
has now taken up the Old Testament.
The Rev. DR.. Hoskins of the Presby-
terrain mission at Beirut has just COM
pleted a new edition of the Arabic Scrip
lures; the Siamese version is being re-
vised by competent scholars of that race.
The Chinese mandarin version and the
colloquial version of Shanghai, two of a
dozen different translations published in
China. have been carefully gone over
again to correct errors in the original
TRANSACTIONS; a similar work in Korea is
| making good progress, and committee
Of Japanese Christian scholars has been
appointed to take UP the work Of re-
vising the original translation in their
language.
Revising Philippine Version.
The Philippine translation also is being
revised, and revisions of the Scriptures
in Zulu and Bulu are in progress. New
| translations during the last year were
made into the language of the Shulla
| tribe in the valley of the Nile, in the
Sheetswa in southeast Africa, in the lam
guage of the Quechua Indians in South
America and in the language of the
Navajo Indians of the United States.
These new versions will be finished
during the present year.
English Bibles compete, in agate type,
four by five and three-quarter inches IN
size. bound in cloth, with red edges, can
De bought for II cents. and hundreds of
thousands of them are sold every year.
The Bible Society has various other edi-
tons running up as high as $1S a copy,
and private publishers have issued edi-
lions which are still more expensive
copies Of the New Testament can be had
from cents each all the way up to IS,
and editions Of the separate gospels are
sold for cents a copy. Several private
publishing firms in New York, Philadel-
phia and London print and sell large
numbers OF copies in competition with
the Bible societies, which Indicates the
demand for the book.
The history of the American Bible
Society is quite romantic. In January,
1913. when Gen. Andrew Jackson sailed
for New Orleans with an army of 1,5OO
men to defend the Mississippi valley
against an invasion from the British
he invited Samuel J. Mills and a Mr..
Schemmerhorn, theological students, VINO
had been organizing local Bible societies
in the state of Tennessee, to go with
him on his steamer. So 1t came to pass
that two home missionaries were the
guests of ''Old Hickory" on that CAM
pa1sn, but you must remember that, not
wlthstanding his reputation for profan-
ity. Gen. Jackson was an active member
of the Presbyterian Church, and Alto
gether the most stalwart pillar of that
denomination at the capital of Ten
neSSee.
AS this queer combination foated slow
ly down the father of waters" Gen.
Jackson gave Mr.. Mills every opportunity
possible to circulate the Scriptures in
the towns along it's banks and to preach
to the scattered settlers. At every place
or Importance Mr.. Mills organized To-
cal society to increase the circulation of
the Bible, and the Roman Catholic bish-
op gave his consent to the organization
of society at New Orleans. with the
understanding that the version must be
one that he could approve.
Starts Many Societies.
Mills won the respect Of the people
wherever he went. and the next year re-
turned north to st. Louis and made an
extended tour of Ohio, Indiana and Illi-
nois, leaving in his trail chain Of To-
cal societies supplied with copies of the
Scriptures, to be sold to those who could
afford to pay for them, and to be given
away to the destitute.
Then he worked his way back to New
Orleans and joined Gen. jackson shortly
after the defeat Of Sir John Pakenham.
when he returned to New York with
the Endorsement of Gen. Jackson and
| other prominent men in the west. Mr..
Mills published an account Of his OBJ
servations. urging the organization Of a
general Bible society, (which could
| watch the needs of the whole country
and send the Holy Scriptures to the
places of greatest restitution His book
caused an agitation which resulted in
the formation Of the American Bible So
ciety at New York May ., 1916, and the
first donations of that society were made
to the people of Tennessee. Six hundred
French Bibles were sent to the society
Mr.. Mills had organized at New Orleans,
where cheap copies Of the New Testament
were selling for $500 each, and no
French Bibles could be had at any price.
The first publications were made in
English, then in French, Spanish and
Hawaiian, and in 1922 TRANSACTIONS were
made in the principal languages of India
and Ceylon. In 1924 the good book was
published in the aboriginal languages of
South America; in 1927 in Burmese and
other languages of Asia; in 1884 in Arabic,
| Persian. Syriac and Chinese, and so 1t
came to pass that when the society cele-
brated it's twenty-fifth anniversary it was
printing and circulating complete copies
of the Scriptures in twenty-seven foreign
about twenty other languages.