In Scotland the various Bible societies have been united into the National Bible Society of Scotland since 1861; while in the United States the principal work of the Association is carried on by the American Bible Society. In Germany, though there are a number of Bible societies, that of chief importance is the Prus sian Central Bible Society of Berlin founded in 1814. It has branches in many parts of Prussia and distributes over 100,000 Bibles a year. All the other divisions of the German empire have also Bible societies. Some of the German Bible societies do not print their own Bibles but get them from London, from the British and Foreign Bible or from ,Berlin Society. However the German societies have of late been extending their sphere of influence and broadening their efforts until now the Lutheran version of the Bible is to be met with everywhere.
The one great country where the Bible Society has had but little effect upon the masses of the people is Russia. There the work of its 300 or more agencies is confined almost exclusively to the foreign population. This condition is due to the attitude of the government and that of the Greek Church. both of which took the position in 1826 that the task of supplying the Scriptures to the people could properly be performed only by the Holy Synod. This resolution automatically stopped all secular work in the distribution of Bibles to the members of the Greek Church throughout Russia and confined the efforts of the Bible Society to looking after the great mass of non-Greek-Church foreigners within the bounds of the empire. So the Bible still remains to be translated into most of the languages and dialects spoken by the vast tui homogeneous population of the Russias. In Austria the influence of the Bible Society has been even less than in Russia; for, since 1817 its operation throughout the Austrian empire has been rendered illegal by restrictions on the part of the government. The issue of Bibles by the American Bible Society shows a steady and rapid increase, as the following table derstmstrates: Testaments or Yak Bibks pertsthereof 1816-1825 .. 251,642 187,938 1825-1850 2,673,826 4,459,561 1850-.1875 6,786,260 18,766,539 1875-1900 9,126,515 26,701,153 1900-1913 6,793,603 25,476,673 1916 7,761,377 In 1661 .John Elliot translated the New Testament into the Algonquian Indian lan guage and had it printed at Cambridge. This was the beginning of activity in this work which was destined to asstune vast proportions. Two years later he finished the translation of the complete Bible into Algonquian and pub lished it. It was not until 80 years later that a German edition of the Bible was published at Germantown, Pa. The first English Bible
published in America appeared in Philadelphia in 1782. Thus it will be seen that the progress of the work of printing Biblical literature in America was very slow in the years of colonial life. The estabhshment of the first American Bible society in Philadelphia in 1808 was fol lowed by considerable activity in the same work in other places. In 1809 New York, Boston, Princeton and Hartford all established Bible societies. The next seven years saw 54 new Bible societies started in the United States, making in. all a total of 59. In this latter year (1816) 35 of these societies meeting in New York, organized the American Bible Society with the subscribing Bible societies as local org:anizations. This Society was incor porated in 1841; and 11 years later the Bible House was opened at Astor Place, 3d and 4th avenues, where the work of printing, -publish ing and carrying on the distribution of Bibles, Testaments and parls thereof was proceeded with much as in ,England. The Society now has one, of the most complete printing plants in the United States. The Association is managed by.a board of 36 laymen, one-fourth of whom are elected every year. All the publications of the American Bible Society are sold at cost, ,uader cost, or given away and vast quantities of these have been scattered broadcast over the United States in 84 lan guages. The energy of the American Bible Society also aims to reach out to all peoples, races and countries of the world. See AMER-. ICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, THE.
With the growth of American foreign mis sions the work of the Society in foreign lands has increased enorrnously until in 1916 it issued almost 5,053,406 copies for foreign distribution. Since its establishment it has issued 71,536,305 copies at hotne and 46,151,286 abroad. This is an average well over 1,000,000 a year, for every year of its existence. The publications of the Society are issued in over 150 distinct languages; and this number is being yearly added to. Not all the, printing and publishing of the Bible Society is done in New York, considerable of it being issued from branch establishments in various foreign countries, where the facilities for accurate lirorlt are greater than in America.
The American anti Foreitrn Bible Society and the American Bible Union are two Baptist Bible societies which are very active in the printing and distribution of Bibles and the carrying on of Biblical propaganda and mis sionary work. The publication and other work of these two societies is now united and carried on by the American Baptist Publication Society.