The proceedings of the first Conference in 1851 contain references to the need of a German religious paper, as well as suitable tracts, books, etc. The following year a small paper was started. In 1866, however, the work was destined to take a great forward movement, and in that year the German Baptist Publication Society was organized in Cleveland, Ohio. Although of small beginning, it has had a wonderful growth. Its business has grown to such an extent that increased quarters have repeatedly been necessary.

The Society conducts a general printing and publishing business, and issues regularly five weekly and monthly papers, besides books, tracts and other publications. The total value of the property of the Society amounts to nearly $66,000, and a large and increasing business is being carried on. It is under the able management of H. Schulte, business manager, and of Dr. J. C. Haselhuhn as general editor. The health of Dr. Haselhuhn has not been good, and the prayers of many are constantly ascend ing to the throne of Grace that he may be spared to continue in his important work.

The German churches, through their general organization, co-operate with the Home Mission Society in the prosecution of the prosecution of mission work. During the past year the sum of nearly $14,000 was expended for missions among the Germans in this country, about one half of it being raised by the German churches. Sixty-nine German missionaries have been at work during the year, who have labored in eighteen States and in Canada. They are a consecrated band of workers, who, amid many discouragements, are working faithfully to bring their countrymen to Christ.

And in view of the great work that has been accomplished, and the thousands who have been saved by our missionaries proclaiming to them the Gospel in their own language, should not this branch of our work be greatly strengthened? God's hand has been in the work, and as we have followed providential leadings hitherto, so ought we now to follow on. There is a

great work yet before us. Will we make use of the opportunity? We ought to greatly increase our work among the Germans. What better time to do it than in this jubilee year of the German Baptists ?

Sketch of the First German Baptist Church, of Chicago, Ill.

REV. J. MEIER, PASTOR, CHICAGO, ILL.

Up to 1864 nothing was done by the Baptists for the German population of Chicago. The little German Church numbered only twenty members when the American Baptist Home Mission Society appointed the first German Missionary to this field. In the fall of 1866 this little church of thirty members built a frame chapel, costing $2,500, on the corner of Beckerdik and Huron Streets.

Here they were richly blessed by the Lord, and in twelve years their membership increased to 225, under the leadership of the brethern, J. F. Hoefflin, C. Bodenbender, and J. C. Haselhuhn.

Since October 1878, it has been my privilege to labor with this church. The members were then scattered over the entire city, on the north, south and west side, which gave us opportunities to start missions in South Chicago and Colehour, on the north side, and in the southwest portions of Chicago, as well as in Oak Park. The Lord gave strength so that we could preach at all these different places in connection with other brethren, and soon we were able to organize churches. In the year 1882 the German church of South Chicago and Colehour was organized and a chapel built. The next year we built a brick house for the mission on the north side at a cost of $14,000, and owing to this undertaking we were compelled to mortgage our own church property. In 1886 the Second German Church was organized in the city with 90 members.

The year 1887 is remarkable in the history of this church. Early in the year the German Waubausia Avenue Mission Chapel was built at a cost of $3,500. In the summer of the same year our Hasting Street German Mission was commenced with a small brick chapel, costing us $1,400 for repairs. A mission in Coal City and Joliet, with 35 members, was organized as a German Church. In the winter of the same year a Bohemian Baptist Mission was also started by the First German Church, as there are 40,000 of this nationality in our city.

After all this the meeting-house of the First German Church was getting too small for their meetings. So early in the spring of 1888, we began to build a new house of worship which was dedicated in Novem

FIRST GERMAN BAPTIST CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILL.

ber 1888. The cost was $42,000. The same year the members of the Oak Park German Mission were in need of a house of worship, which was built at a cost of $3,300. In 1890 this mission was organized as a self-sustaining church, with Brother J. F. Hoefflin as pastor.

We have gathered on the whole field in these twelve years four German churches, three of which are self-supporting, and three German and one Bohemian Mission. We have seven houses of worship, three of these being good brick buildings, standing on corners in the city from three to six miles apart from each other. Where we had 225 members twelve years ago, we now have over 1000 on this field. The First German Baptist Church of this city has received by baptism, 648 persons, and has dismissed by letters 544 many of whom are now members of Englishspeaking Baptist churches.

To some of our brethren this report may sound boastful. I can only say you have compelled me to boast.

The honor and glory we give to the Lord who has blessed our work on this mission

field.

Who Shall Rule?

We have noticed with some interest the developments in the controversy that has been carried on between the followers of Herr Cahensly and his associates of the St.

Gibbons and the members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.

The Roman Catholic bishops in this country are almost all foreigners, as is largely true of the priesthood. The majority of the bishopricks are in the hands of the Irish, and there seems to be a growing determination on the part of some of the other nationalities to test their relative strength in a strife for the mastery, and to see which has the greater influence with the Pope.

Herr Cahensly has issued a manifesto, addressed nominally to the Pope's secretary, but really, of course, to the Holy Father himself. He makes some interesting statements and reflections. He says:

"MOST EMINENT LORD-We come to humbly submit to your Eminence some considerations upon the subject of emigration to the United States of North America. The current which is carrying away American populations of different nationalities is already formidable; in the future it is likely to become irresistible. As is proven by the table of statistics appended to this memorial, 439,400 Catholics left Europe for the American continent during the year 1889. Of the number, 178,900 went to the United States. The same country received, moreover, thousands of emigrants from Canada, Mexico, Brazil and other countries of LatinAmerica. Calculations based upon the most authoritative statistics go to show that Catholic immigrants and their children ought to constitute in the United States a population of 26,000,000. But the fact is that the number of Catholics in all that vast country scarcely exceeds 10,000,000. Catholicity, therefore, has, up to the present date, sustained a net loss of 16,000,000 in the great American republic. The following are the chief causes of this desertion on the part of

the Catholic forces :

"First-The lack of sufficient protection for the emigrants at the time of their departure from home, during their voyage, and on their arrival in America.

"Second-The insufficiency of priests and parishes of their own for the different nationalities of immigrants.

"Third-The pecuniary sacrifices, often exorbitant, that are exacted of the faithful. "Fourth-The public schools.

"Fifth-The insufficiency of societies,

Catholic and national associations of mutual aid, protection, etc., of the laboring classes. "Sixth-The want of different representatives of the different nationalities of immigrants in the episcopate."

He then proceeds to argue at great length. We have not space to give all his statements, but the main thing that he seems to desire is the following:

"If the episcopate be handed over almost exclusively to one single nationality, to the detriment of the others, a feeling of uneasiness, of general discontent, is created among these last, a feeling which assumes the proportion of jealous national rivalries -feelings wounded and shocked in every sacred right and interest belonging to these same nations. What is expected of the Holy See is that bishops of the different nations will be placed in the episcopal body, so that the different nations will be represented by some of their own episcopate in the ecclesiastical provinces and in the councils." This is a thrust at the Irish members of the hierarchy, who are seeking to defeat Cahensly's plan through jealousy of the threatened increase of German influence in managing the affairs of the church.

Cardinal Gibbons has also spoken. He objects to being sacrificed to German jealousy and ambition. In a recent interview he is reported as saying "that the hierarchy of no country in the world is paying more attention to the spiritual wants of foreign born Catholic people than are the prelates of the United States. We cannot view without astonishment and indignation a number of self-constituted and officious gentlemen in Europe complaining of the alleged inattention which is paid to the spiritual wants of the foreign population, and to the means of redress which they have thought proper to submit to the Holy See."

And it seems that the Irish element has carried the day, for the daily press prints a cablegram from Rome, saying:

We do not know whether the controversy will end here, but we can rest assured that no effort will be spared to win America for Rome. It therefore behooves us to redouble our efforts to take America for Christ. Our missionaries among these foreign populations are all working and praying to that end. There are none more patriotic than they. Let us give them our sympathy and encouragement, and pray that God will bless them to the salvation of many souls.

An Incident from our Work Among the Immigrants Arriving in New York City.

Missionary John Schiek relates that one morning a messenger came to him with the information that there were a number of immigrants at the landing, who were detained by the Commissioner, and who would be returned to Europe unless some one took it upon himself to provide for them. It was further stated that they were Baptists, so the missionary hastened to investigate. He found them in an enclosure set apart specially for such cases. The party consisted of three families, numbering twenty-one persons. It was a sight to melt a stony heart. Their faces gave some indication of what they had suffered. But in spite of the anxiety and care, there was still a sweet spirit of trust in the Lord. "So they gathered around me," says Brother Schiek, "the children pale and thin from hunger, while I learned their story." They were Russians and belonged to a sect known as the Stundists.

The history of this sect is one of the wonders of the religious world. In points of doctrine, church order, etc., they agree almost entirely with the Baptists, and in many parts of Russia they are called Baptists. "They told me how, about six years ago, while members of the Greek Catholic Church, they were, through the secret study of the Word of God, brought to repentance, and left the Greek Church. For a time they met secretly in prayer, until it became known to the priest, who used every known means to bring them back to the

Although the force of persecution in Russia is at present directed chiefly against the Jews, yet they are by no means alone. The Stundists are a body of quiet, inoffensive, blameless Christians, who derive their name from the German Stunde, meaning an hour, from the fact that they have stated hours of devotion. These Stundists (as the writer was informed by Gov. Jewell, formerly United States Minister at St. Petersburg) are essentially Baptists. They believe in the total separation of the Church from the State, in the spirituality of the Church,

Arriving here, friendless and in a strange country, they could give no destination for their journey. The only destination they had was America, the Land of the Free. It was therefore decided by the Commissioner to send them back to Russia. I asked them through an interpreter whether they were willing to return, and they lifted their hands towards heaven, with looks that said, 'Just God, can You let it be?' No, I said, it should not be, and trusting the Lord for help I became surety for these twenty-one people that they would not become charges to the country. Having thus secured their release, I brought them to a boarding house, and saw that they were supplied with the necessaries of life. The following day I sent them to a good brother who understood their language, and has a warm heart for the oppressed. He will take care of them until they can find some permanent place to settle. God will bless and reward him."

This is but one instance out of many that could be given, but it will suffice to show the importance of our mission work among the immigrants. Brother Schiek has given a hearty welcome to many such poor, oppressed and persecuted pilgrims. And what a joy to these faithful ones, to meet here at the very gates of America, a Christian greeting, and the kindly help of our missionary. Remember the mission among the immigrants in your prayers and with your contributions.

More Concerning the Persecution of the Stundists.

Apropos to the foregoing incident, the following, taken from the National Baptist, will be of interest:

They are totally free from all union with Nihilists and Socialists. They do, indeed, in accordance with what they believe to be their duty, proclaim their doctrines, and have made many converts, especially in the Departments of Kieff. Hereafter the passports of Stundists will contain the name of the sect, and those whose passports are thus designated are excluded from employment on the railroads, in factories and mills, and other industrial establishments. The police are empowered to banish them from all cities and to force them to return to the province from which they came. Their children are taken from them to be instructed in the State religion. They are deprived of freedom of worship and of the privilege of erecting chapels. It is intended to withdraw from them the right to appeal to the Supreme Court, in order that there may be no delay in the execution of sentences imposed upon them.

"These facts, which we gather from a recent letter in the Tribune, written from St. Petersburg, indicate the spirit of the Russian Government, and call for prayer to Him who alone holds in His hands the hearts of men, who can overrule despotism and cruelty for the advance of His cause and the good of men."

These Stundists are coming to America in large numbers, seeking a free country, and it is our duty to give them a kindly Christian greeting.

A Year's Immigration.

The official bulletin of the Treasury Department, showing the number of immigrants arrived at our ports during the month, the six months and the year ending June

30th, presents some figures that are worthy of more than passing attention. In some respects the figures presented are really startling.

The total number of immigrants landed during the year ending June 30th was 555,496, the largest since 1883. For the preceding year the total was only 451,219. The gain is 104,277, or more than 23 per cent. If this increase should continue, we should receive during the year ending June 30 1892, the enormous number of more than six hundred and eighty thousand immigrants! In other words, there would be added to our population probably more foreign born than native born persons. This is a prospect that cannot be contemplated without alarm.

The details of the immigration are not such as to counteract the impression produced by the totals. They rather serve to deepen it. Thus, we find that while there has been an increase of 105,000 in the number of immigrants who speak other tongues, there has been an actual decrease in the number of those whose native tongue is English.

Still further, the increase is largely in the undesirable class. There is a decrease in the Swiss immigration, and only a very slight increase in that from France and the Netherlands. The great increase comes from the following countries:

These seven countries have contributed 64 per cent. of our whole immigration during the past year, and more than 90 per cent. of the increase over the previous year. Few of these people speak English at all, and the majority of them never learn to use it readily.

The most remarkable fact brought out by this table is the tremendous influx from Russia and Poland. Most of the Poles reported in the table come from Russian Poland, so that it is fair to put the two together. We find, then, that the increase from Russia is greater even than that from Italy. Last year the number was 74,892;

the year before it was only 46,677, a difference of 28,245, an increase of more than 60 per cent.

For the single month of June the arrivals from all countries were 68,317. If that rate were to be kept up during the year, the total would be over 800,000. The greatest increase for the month was in Russians. In June, 1890, there were 4.345 of these, and last June there were 9,842, and 4,409 Poles. In fact, there were more Russians even than Italians who came here in June.

The Russian and Polish increase is easily accounted for. The ferocious persecution of the Russian Jews has sent a wave of wretched humanity clear across the Atlantic.

We showed in these columns something of the great pecuniary burden that has been saddled upon this nation by European nations, as revealed in the census statistics of pauperism.

The flood of immigration, notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of the Government to require strict compliance with existing statutes forbidding the landing of paupers and criminals, still keeps rising. Do we want 700,000 foreigners to come here to live next year? Our Congressmen-elect should be thinking about these things.Mail and Express.

MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT.

Nothing Done for the Italians.

Much doubt is often expressed by some people as to whether the money spent for our work among the foreign populations is well spent. It is urged by many that the work should not be separated from our regular mission work, and that the preaching should not be in any foreign tongue, but all in the English language. It has been proven time and again that in order to reach these thousands of foreigners who are pouring into our country it is necessary to have missionaries of their own people and speaking their own tongue. They will not be reached unless this is done. Facts prove this.

If it were true that the foreigners can be