The Washington herald., 1915-12-05
nv THE REALM OF RELIGION
May the God Of all grace abund-
antiy bless and prosper you"

Country Life of the Federal Council
Of the Churches Of Christ in America
has been making rural survey in
Ohio of a most exhaustive character.
The commission will meet at Colum-
bus. December s-10 at which time the
executive committee of the Federal
Council will also be present. The Com
mission on Church and Country Lifo
is headed by the Honorable Clifford
Pinchot as chairman. and the secre-
tary of the commission is Rev. Charles
o. Gill. Among the speakers at the
conference will be Fred B. Smith ana
Rev. Harry F. Ward. President Will
son has promised conditionally to be
present and sit as one of the Pres
byterian delegates.
For the first time in the history of
Bible printing American publishers
are this year making Bibles and
Testaments to sell in the British. the
Continental. South African. and Aus
trian markets. This is caused by the
war, and is resulting In Bible busi-
ness unprecedented in number of VOL
umes issued and in value of sales.
OF the nations at war England IL
affected hardly at all in ability to
purchase Bibles. but in ability to
manufacture them is handicapped. ana
has to call on America. Scotland is
buying Bibles and so is Russia. Even
the Belgians and Serbians are keeping
up their purchases.
The largest single customer in the
Bible trade in America are the Gid
cons. These are now buying 10000
Bibles a year. Since they began buy
ing six years ago one New York firm
has sold them 100000 Bibles. Gideons
are commercial travellers who place
Bibles in hotel rooms. They get their
money TO buy Bibles from churches in
which they speak on their Sunday
stops.
Bibles for the Christmas trade this
year are sold in $50 different styles, the
prices ranging from 90 cents to $50
II is estimated that the Bible trade
in the United States amounts to S.
100000 a year.
Some of the ATmenIans who have
been prosecuted by the diabolical fury
of Mohammedan hordes took refuge
in the mission premises of the Amer
ican Presbyterians recently. Some
fifty thousand people were herded to-
gether for four months and four thou
sand people died from infectious dis
eases. chiefly typhus and measles. OF
the eighteen missionaries. thirteen
were i'll sometime during the period
and some of them died. Bishop Stile-
man of the Anglican church of Persia
has made a report of some very stir
ring facts:
other refugees were cared for by
the French Roman Catholic Mission,
but sixty men were taken from their
premises and carried off to be mug
dered. One prominent man escaped by
!iight; his two little sons were put to
death in his stead. Some Christians
at Salinas took refuge in Moslem
houses. In order to obtain their names
testimonial was circulated from
house TO house. TO be signed by the
Christians, stating that they had been
protected by the Moslems. All who
signed were assured of their safety.
But the Ben were then seized and led
out to a place about two miles distant.
where arrangements had been made
for their massacre. Two fields were
covered with the corpses of the men.
whose arms had been tied together be-
fore they were shot down. In other
places ladders were brought and the
men were tied with their heads stick
ing through the rounds of the ladders.
Then their Rads were hacked OF, and
their bodies flung into the wells and
sewer pits. More than seven hundrea
men were killed in Salinas, and over
eight hundred in neighboring villages.
II IL known that forty-nine Christian
villages were entirely destroyed. No
doubt this diabolical work was carried
out chiefly by the Kurds, but they
were assisted by Turkish troops In
one place 200 Turkish soldiers were
expected TO behave decently and TO
keep the tribesmen in check. But In
stead OF doing so. they went TO two
found fifty-on men there. all of whom
they led out to the graveyard at night
and massacred. They then took away
the women and children. who were
absolutely in their power"
The congress of the republic of Peru
in South America has recently amend
ed the constitution OF the republic
by removing the disabilities under
which Protestants have worked. The
old constitution read. The nation
processes the Roman Catholic Apos-
tolic Religion. and the state protects
IL. and does not permit the exercise OF
any other" The last nine words OF
this clause were stricken out. There
has been Protestant work in Peru for
the past ten years, but it has oper-
ated under handicaps which are now
removed. President Partio did not
sign the amendment. as he is a broth
er OF priest but allowed il TO be
come a law without his signature.
There were violent scenes in the Con-
gress during the debate on the matter
and n priest rushed into the building
and tore up the copy of the amend
nlent a speaker was reading. In spite
of this and other disorderly incidents.
the Congress passed the measure by a
very large majority. II is thought that
this happening will further the movement
to secure larger religious liberty in
Chile.
Porto Rico-Our Opportunity is the
subject OF a lecture to be given tolnor-
row evening at the Church of the Cove
nant by Or. John y. Mills, who has Just
returned from a three weeks tour 81
the island. The lecture will be fllustrat-
ed by 10 lantern slides made from photo
graphs taken by DR.. Mills himself
TOMORROW'S MENU.