Our work among them was begun none too soon.  The eye of the speculator is being turned to our mineral and timber resources, and with unscrupulous money-makers for a centre and a demoralized people to gather round them, and no Christ in their midst, what strongholds of Satan would be formed.  When we commenced our work seven years ago the field was open to the Congregationalists.  If we could have had means to have secured helpers we could have planted ourselves largely, for we had continuous calls to come and organize churches.  The people of better minds are sick and tired of the church life around them; they cannot indorse it and so are called infidels.  But we have found no infidels there; still it takes no prophet to see that the reaction from this demoralized church life all through the mountains is going to create a great wave of infidelity unless real Christians come to the rescue very soon.

How these things nerve us to increased efforts to save the children and youth from these ways of death.  Our hope for the land is in saving them, and our work is largely for them.  We have many Sunday-schools connected with our churches and many others where we furnish some helps and where our students teach.  Our Bands of Hope are encouraging.  Our Christian Endeavor Society has a large membership, and is a power for good.  But while we rejoice over these places that have these helps we think of the hundreds of counties along this mountain range that have no such helps.  Senator Plumb has stated that the assessment in Alabama for pistols, guns and dirks is four times that on farming implements, and Kentucky’s record of crime is far worse than Alabama’s.  Who of us can say that he is innocent of this shed blood, unless he is doing something toward sending the only cure—­a Christian civilization?  Because the work has many discouragements, are we excused?  Because the people are prejudiced against us and our principles, shall we withdraw, and let them sink lower and lower?

But the question is asked:  “Have you no public schools or churches in this large section of the country?” Yes, schools for a few months in the year, taught in little log school houses, some with floors and some with none; some with a tiny window and some without; some have doors and some haven’t.  Very few have desks; in most there are but slab benches.  But worse than the school house and its surroundings is the illiterate, immoral teacher who attempts to teach the children.  As for church organizations they are numerous, and a large majority are church members; but alas for the Christianity taught and practiced.  Religion and morality are divorced.  With most of them, religion is the thing of a moment and not of a life.  Meetings once a month during the summer, and that is all the Christian institution the people have, and we call it instruction.  We are inclined to smile at the thought of a preacher prefacing his sermon with the boast that he has no