Awaiting your reply, and hoping for your co-operation, I remain
Yours very truly,
To my great surprise only ten accepted this offer, leaving 93 institutions devoted to training preachers either indifferent or unwilling to permit their students to accept and read, without expense, the same literature on the subject of Tithing that active Pastors have ordered in quantities aggregating many millions during the last 27 years for circulation among their people.
In contrast with so much apathy and indifference or opposition, many of the replies received were of the most encouraging character, the writers expressing deep interest in the subject and promising hearty co-operation.
Another obstacle, and second only in importance, is found in the attitude of a large proportion of the editors of our Religious Newspapers. It should be remembered in their behalf that nearly all of them are Ministers, and as a result are themselves the victims of false teaching or no teaching on this subject, which to at least nine-tenths of their constituency, is of the most vital importance. The few lay-editors of Religious Newspapers that I have the honor of knowing all believe in and practice the Tithe System.
As in the case of Theological Teachers, I have very recent confirmation of this opinion.
A year or two ago a fellow worker in this field, the Rev. Henry Lansdell, D. D. of Morton College, Black Heath, England, an extensive traveler in Oriental countries, and noted author realizing that Religious books are read by so few people as compared with Religious newspapers, conceived and put into execution the unique idea of publishing serially in slip form suitable for printers’ proof, some of the results of the latest archaeological researches and discoveries bearing on the subject of Tithing, supplementing and enriching them with his own researches and interviews with eminent archaeologists. I copy from a letter received from him dated July 8th, 1903:
My Dear Sir—Your letter of the 23d June, quite cheered me. I have circularized and sent slips to upwards of 1,250 editors in 114 countries, Kingdoms and States, sending also with my offer in 167 cases an autograph or dictated letter. Thus far the result is approximately as follows: No answer received from 976, and the number who have declined is 248, whilst about 26 have accepted the series in whole or in part. The number of copies printed of four of these publications amounts to over 400,000 weekly; of the rest I do not know the circulation, but supposing that each paper has four readers, it does not seem at all an extravagant estimate that the articles will be brought before two million readers weekly. This surely is something to thank God for!
Out of the 1,250, more than half were sent to America and Canada. Not one Canadian paper thus far has accepted, but in the United States the papers accepting are California, 1; Arkansas, 1; Texas, 1; Ohio, 2; New York, 1; New Jersey, 1; Pennsylvania, 1; Illinois, 1.
It is my belief—certainly my hope—that Dr. Lansdell has in preparation a volume in which he will exhaustively treat of the early history of the Tithe.