El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-05-05
HELP NEEDED IN
SOUTHWEST FIELD
The American Bible Society
Finds Influx of Foreign
ers a Great Problem.

New York. May 5.-American Bible
society agencies Of the southwest and
Pacific coast made loud home mission
pleas on account Of the vast inflOws
OF foreigners. Many races are repre-
scented in Texas, Louisiana. oklahoma
California, Oregon and Washington,
and vastly more peoples Of races now
represented VIII come. Through their
missionary societies churches are do
ing much. but Bible society agents tell
of heavy burdens falling on them The
making OF Americans out OF these
foreigners is absolutely essential 10
the well being of these vast sections
of a common country in the Bible
agents appeal
The southwestern agency OF the
American Bible society reports 56.S5S
volumes of the Scriptures carefully
placed last year. q gain of 1922.
There were 6S.47S homes visited by So
Bible cOlporters. and Of these 24.9J3
homes were found without Bibles IN
them. To supply these homes and the
other demands for Bibles there had to
be provided scriptures in no fewer than
% different languages This number
shows both the difficulty Of Bible dis
tributiOn and the remsrka bic mixture
Of Tongues and peoples The society's
agent says
Unusual Demands Made.
The thousands Of MeXicans cross
ing the border into Texas. driven from
their native land by revolution; the re-
suits Of a three year drOuth in Okla
bona; the floods from the overflow
OF the Mississippi in Arkansas and
Louisiana. the cerebrO spinal menin-
gifts scourge in Texas, all resulted in
unusual demands for large donations
Of the Scriptures. Our appropriations
for this cause were stretched to the
limit IN many worthy claims"
Texas Has 100000 Mexfcnns.
The Bible society's agent gives the
number Of foreigners in the southwest
as follows In Texas, 100000 BOhem-
ians, 500 600 Germans. 100000 Mexicans,
$4,000 Scandinavians; in louisiana
240. 900 French. $4,000 Italians.
Speaking Of the needy conditions the
society's southwestern agent SAYS:
I'VE must save the foreigner in
America in order to save America. and
we must save America that we may
through il save the world. Such must
be the cry Of the churches. This cry
must be sounded out like a bugle blast
by all missionary leaders We would
not reca-- one foreign missionary nor
retrench one step in the foreign field
But We would so earnestly lay this
home mission call on the hearts and
minds Of the Christian people that men
evangeliZatiOn within our own bOr-
ders'
Has "a WORKER on Coast.
The American Bible society employs,
in its Pacific coast agency. "a workers,
chiefly colpOrters who last year visited
2SS25 families. Only 1859 were found
with Bibles The Bibles supplied
numbering 1888 were in 81 different
languages and dialects Koreans and
Filipinos have reached the coast in
considera bic numbers. there being ut
least 1000 OF the latter. Presbyterian
and Methodist church. South. are car
ing for them, but need the help Of the
Bible society. There is little prejU-
dice against reading the Bible. One
agent employs an automobile in his
work There are 5000 Hindus on the
coast. together with Buddhists, Mohan-
medans and Orthodox Greeks and
among the Japanese there was formed
a missionary. society. The whole coast /
will be deIuged with immigrants seek +
Ing home sites. presenting vast for
eign missionary. and yet also horne I
problem.