| Show BOOK OF FREEDOM US U.S. Society Has Distributed Million Bibles in Years This year the American Bible Society will celebrate years of service in promoting wider circulation circulation circulation lation of the Bible It was in May 1816 t h hat a t a group of at Christian leaders gathered in New York and founded the national society forthe forthe for lor the distribution of the Bible America was embarking on a great period of expansion when the Bible Society was founded New NewYork NewYork York was a small city of some OO people clustered around the Battery Batter but the country was spreading westward Already settlements settlements set set- of hundreds then thousands thousands thousands thou thou- sands of homes were dotting the wilderness It was the era of the American pioneer and along with the need for roads and schools came another the another the need for Bibles Although there were local societies socie- socie tics ties for this purpose in their own communities n none Q o n e was able to fulfill the needs to the west It was Samuel J. J Mills the father of the foreign missions who was most instrumental in calling together together to to- gether ether the historic meeting which brought about the formation of a an n national Bible society Many notables notables notables nota nota- bles of the day were in attendance Among them were Dr Lyman all t the h Beecher the father of c Beechers James Fenimore Cooper Coop Coop- er and Elias Boudinot who as president of the Continental Congress Congress Congress Con Con- gress had signed the peace treaty with Great Britain in 1789 Boudinot was elected the first president of the society His vice- vice president was John Jay the first chief justice of the United States supreme court In later years still another great supreme court chief justice was to serve as vice dent of the society Charles Evans Dr Frederick W. W V. V Cropp general gen gen- eral cral secretary of the American Bible Society holds In his right hand a copy of the Scriptures which the society distributed to soldiers during the Civil War Var In his left hand is the edition being distributed to servicemen today Hughes The first treasurer was Richard Varick the second mayor of New York City S SAS AS AMERICA expanded so did the society From their first small headquarters In the offices of a printer they moved into their own establishment After repeated enlargements enlargements enlargements en en- the society moved to their own building on Astor Place which was then so far uptown as to tobe tobe tobe be considered almost a suburb atthe of at the city The Bible House which was the only building of ot its day to occupy an entire block in New York was the show place of the city Today To To- day although the Astor Place Bible BibleHouse BibleHouse BibleHouse House is still being used main headquarters for t the h e society is housed in a modern building on Park Avenue and Street in New York The number of Bibles whole and andIn andin andin In portions printed by the American Ameri Amen can Bible Society since their first edition of Bibles in 1816 is staggering During the Civil War period alone it issued in the United States Scriptures most of which were New Testaments for soldiers fighting on both sides In its first 50 years the American Bible Society had distributed 21 1 volumes in one hundred years c cop copies a p i e s of the Scriptures had been distributed At Atthe Atthe Atthe the end of years volumes of the Scriptures w were v e ere r e distributed in 1000 languages And yet the distribution increases each year Never before has the Bible been so wanted said Dr Robert T. T Taylor general secretary of the society at the annual meeting held in New York recently The 1950 reports show a record distribution in almost every part of the world In my ten years inthe in inthe inthe the Bible Society I have been nurtured nurtured nurtured nur nur- on emergencies but I have never seen anything like the present opportunities Today the American Bible Society is a prime factor in making the Bible the least expensive and most widely distributed b boo book o o k in the world In many languages a Gospel Gospel Gos Gos- pd pel may be had for as little as one cent and i if the penny isn't available available avail avail- able it may be had for nothing It is Americas America's most purchased i book It is the worlds world's best seller I But it is more than that Horace Greeley once said It It is impossible in any wise to enslave a Bible- Bible reading people The Bible is a book of freedom |
