years he contributed a total of more than $25,000 to the local work. He later felt compelled to withdraw his support because he believed it ceased to be loyal to the gospel and to its original purpose. His interest shifted to the men and boys on Main Street. He was instrumental in organizing what at that time was the Gospel Union Mission, now called the Union Rescue Mission. The burden of the expense of this mission work be came too heavy for Stewart finan cially and he eventually had to withdraw from the work. The con tributions to the YMCA and the Union Rescue Mission amounted to far more than a tithe of his in come but he said, "I was endeav oring to make good my default on my former tithes, with interest." At the close of the Spanish- American War, many who were engaged in Christian work be lieved that the Roman Catholics were exercising a strong hold on President McKinley and were dic tating policy to him in reference to the Treaty of Paris, which dealt with the Philippine Islands. Stewart said: "I became very anxious lest the Catholics should again get control of the entire Philippines; and there were only two Bibles in the entire Philippines, so far as is known, at the time of the Spanish- American War." Because of his concern over the conditions that prevailed, he took the question up with A. B. Prichard, a Presbyterian minister who prepared and underscored Testaments which Stewart had published in Spanish and then dis tributed extensively in 22 Spanish speaking countries. It was in con
nection with this work that the Rev. Mr. Prichard became presi dent of The Los Angeles Bible Institute, a project founded by Stewart. Classes were held from 1901 through 1903. However, when Prichard accepted the pas torate of the Central Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, the Bible classes were discontinued. After the Bible institute work disbanded, the publishing part of the ministry continued under its secretary, Ralph D. Smith, and its name was changed to the Bible House of Los Angeles. Stewart continued to be the main supporter of the Bible House for several years and he stated that he "probably contrib uted about $175,000. This I regard as a very satisfactory investment." One of Stewart's greatest con cerns was the matter of apostasy in the Christian church. As a result of this concern, he became keenly interested in the publication of literature on the fundamental teachings of the Scriptures. This intense interest was aroused when he attended a Bible conference at Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1894. At this conference he heard some of the finest Bible teachers of both the United States and Canada, among whom was James H. Brookes, editor of a little maga zine entitled The Truth. A copy of The Truth had providentially fallen into the hands of Stewart and he found it exceedingly instructive and helpful, particularly because of its sounding a note of warning in reference to the problem of apostasy by calling attention to. the teachings of men who had previously been strong in the pul pit but who were then teaching error.
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