The people of the Philippines, their religious progress and preparation for spiritual leadership in the Far East,

THE IGLESIA FILIPINA INDEPENDIENTE 145
ists it would be difficult to find one million loyal members
remaining. That same year Ambrose Coleman, a Dominican
friar from Ireland, after traveling through the Islands, wrote:
"Freedom, if given at present to the revolutionary party
would mean... the destruction of the Catholic religion in
the Philippine Archipelago." 8
The American Bible Society made Mr. Arthur W. Prautch
a colporteur to the members of the new church. He accompanied the bishops of the church on tours of organization,
gave them all the advice he could, and exerted a profound
influence in persuading them to declare in public "by word and
in print that the sacred Scriptures are the only rule of faith."
Mr. Prautch wrote in I904: "The magnitude of the idea
of a large number of people assisting and approving of the
word of God as their authority-and these, the people who
have been taught that the Bible and all that it stands for is
satanic-the greatness of the possibilities of this movement,
I say, just begins to peer above my horizon.... I am enthusiastic. I do expect to see things come to pass."
Two years later Mr. Prautch wrote an interesting description of one of his tours: "His eminence, Archbishop Aglipay,
had arranged matters so that I could accompany Bishop Ramon
Farolan and two priests of the Independent Catholic Church
on a trip to organize new churches in an untouched field, with
eighteen thousand Scriptures. I was treated as an honored
guest of the party. What visions of the future I saw, when
I saw this Bishop, in confirming hundreds of candidates, hand
each one a copy of our gospel instead of the usual candle,
thus putting his approval and endorsement on our Scriptures!
The people paid what they otherwise would have paid for
candles, and the bishop's secretary would settle with me for
the portions given out. Of course it was easy to sell in an
atmosphere like that. The importance of having an entrance
for the Scriptures, with no opposition, but positive approval
cannot be overestimated.
"We were together fifty-one days and nights. I frequently
heard the Bishop explain my presence by stating that we
8American Catholic Review, I905, p. 685.