Show rjTVfc rg TT iffW TW Tr1 ntS jTn TO TEACH THE POOR I Convention Planned by Field Workers Work-ers at Winona Lake for Purpose of Spreading the Gospel In Rural Districts Wlnona LaKe IndOno of tho most peculiar and interesting conventions conven-tions of tho year will bo hold hero In August when the Indiana field workers work-ers of the American Sunday School union and perhaps a number from other states will hold the first conference con-ference the Indiana workers have over held It will bring together nine men from this state who aro seldom seen and hoard by tho people of cities and larger towns but they aro men who In the sparsely settled regions of the state arc hotter known than tho carriers on the rural mall routes It Is the business of these fluid workers I work-ers to go among a class ot people that i would not otherwise hear of the Blblo and quicken their Interest In tho book Tho chief purpose of tho Sunday School union Is to get copies ot the Bible In these homes and with this purpose Is closely linked that of organizing or-ganizing Sunday schools at points convenient for the poor of tho rural districts The American Sunday School union with headquarters In Philadelphia was organized in 1824 and It has spent 10000000 for Bibles and other religious literature all ot which has been distributed free In the remote I regions of American civilization It pays no salaries to Its field men who live as best they can from freewill free-will offerings of tho people among whom they work and their lot is harder than that of tho oldtime circuit cir-cuit rider who rodo his horse from settlement to settlement when Indiana In-diana was young The field men seek the crossroads points and thorn oon the Sunday schools using blacksmith shops granaries or any kind of building build-ing that will offer shelter from tho weather and In those Sunday schools are gathered tho mon women and children of the neighborhood regardless regard-less of religious beliefs Of tho mon at work In this state J M Caress of New Albany goes through tho hill country of southern Indiana J A Carter has Drown county In his district and ho has organized or-ganized a number ot Sunday schools for the neglected poor In the hills of that and Morgan county W H Hess who Is organizing tho August conference makes his home at Winona Lake throughout tho year and the ten northern Indiana counties over which ho travels are ono of the largest districts that tho Sunday School union has In tho middle west Tho methods followed by Mr Hess are typical of those of all the mis sionaries Ho has a wagon similar to that of the rural mall carrier only It is not brilliant with rod paint and It Is covered with religious Inscrlp tines Mr Hess went Into this Sunday school work six years ago with his pockets empty but ho was fired with tho hope that seems to fill every kind of mission worker E A K Hackett of Fort Wayne started a movement which resulted In a good outfit for Mr lIessa strung horso a good set of harness and a substantial comfortable comfort-able wagon which can be driven In all kinds of weather and over all kinds of country roads Mr Hackett also keeps this gospel wagon supplied sup-plied with song books which tho missionary mis-sionary uses In his Sunday schools A variety of literature Is stacked up In shelves In the Hess wagon but the chief stock is Bibles The Bibles are substantially bound In cloth printed In minion typo and the covers aro of dark red that the book may be more attractive to children In six years Mr Hess has found 600 families In the ton counties of his district who had no Bible He had found boys 15 years old who had never beon Inside of a Sunday school It Is surprising to see ho said what destitution there Is in the way of knowledge of tho Bible In this old settled region of tho state But there has been mission work dono among the poor and Ignorant In this part oi Indiana for in Wabash county I have found tracts which were distributed to tho humble homes 50 years ago Mr Hess has started a Sunday school In an abandoned country I church which during Its palmy days sent out eight ministers of the gospel gos-pel FIve years ago ho opened a school In ono neighborhood and a girl of 11 years old immediately became be-came its mainstay She Is now the efficient superintendent of the school In ono little town of his territory Mr Hess found a church that had been abandoned He obtained permission per-mission to use the structure spent two days In driving to the homes of 41 families and on the next Sabbath opened a school When the missionary mission-ary first entered this town tho word spread among tho people that ho was a state fish warden One woman burled her husbands fish nets In the ground Mr Hess a few months ago held a series of meetings In this place and converted 49 The conference of the missionaries will be held at Winona lake during the Bible conference when some 01 the best religions orators who speak the English tonguo will be here |