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Show Hccllcfcllcr Ilsthcdj Adopted Adopt-ed .by r.clic'ic-5 PahUca- r Usn Cccicties; Xlhtecus Are Squeezed, It Is Said. i. . - NEW YORK; March 27An , international inter-national trust, covering the 'price and distribution oft Bibles, and marked by many of the methods already familiar to the public through the Standard Oil and sugar trust exposures, has its American- headquarters in the Bible, house opposite Cooper Union. ' " "The American Bible society," founded ninety-one years ago, is the American branch of the combination. Though it disclaims, . with the other members of the pooling agreement the British and Foreign Bible society and the National Bible society of Scotland any intent of commercialism,' the combination since its formation has resulted re-sulted in the extinction of hundreds of local Bible societies, the absorption of hundreds of others as auxiliaries of the American Bible society, and an increase in the price of Bibles to American purchasers, pur-chasers, whether booksellers or those wishing to give a wide circulation to the scriptures through religious motives. Throughout New England, within' the last month ' attacks on this pooling agreement have been frequent, both in the church and secular press. Included in these attaeks have been many charges that the American Bible society has not been managed so as to produce the most good for the money expended. But the Uuon Bible society, with headquarters at Worcester,- Mass., has gone further. Its officers, who include som of the richest and most prominent business men of New England, have decided de-cided to nse every means to bring about an investigation of the affairs of the American Bible society. They propose to appeal to Congress to remove the 25 per cent duty on imported Bibles, and they have been in eommunictaion with officials of this State with a view to compelling an examination of the American Bible society's affairs and management. They have accumulated a mass of data which they say will be made -public from time to time until the American Bible society is "reformed.' |