Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-03-12

Excuse mop said ], "if I seem un.
reasonable, but | am not satisfied /; dnd
should have certainly been 80 with Mr..
Wheaton's assurance. never doubted
that he was good for 81 500 year. But,
in dealing with church board, to be
frank, | want 10 know where the money
is coming from. Pray, Mr.. Treasurer,
what was our incohie last year from tw.
rents -
The Treasurer murmured something
about not having his actohnE.
"In round numbers" said !.
"Between twelve and thirteen hundred
dollars"
"And our expenses %
"Not far from sixteen hundred lollara.'
And, pray, how" continued ], "was
the deficit made up 2"
A party it appears, was made mp by a
special subscription, aid a baft Is still
due as floating debt, and part went in to
increase the mortgage. Perhaps would
remember the meeting in the iall at Mr.
Wheaton's house.
did remember it very we'll But
was anxious that other gentlemen should
not forget it.
"And now, gentlemen" said ! yot pro
pose TO add three hundred dollars to that
annual deficit. Where is the money to
come from z"
There was a ihOmentary silence. The
question was evidently Il new one. APP
parently not member of the Board had
considered it. At length one gentleman
suggested that we must raise the pew
rents. This brought an indignant pro-
test from Deatoh s., who is Strong al
vocate OF the free-pew system. "Never,"
said he, "with my consent. Aht pen.
rent is bad enough. Trafficking in the
Gospel is abO.1iIlable at best. 1t shuts
out the poor. Worse than that, it shuts
out the goddess, the irreligiods, the pro
tane-lhe very men we want to ca ch.
The pew-rents are too high now. We
must not raise them"
The Treasurer also added mild pro-
test. The pew-bolders would not stand
it.
"What do you say, Dir. Wheaton" )"
said |.
"Say ?" said he; "why, say you can
not carry OH church on the same prin-
ciples on which you carry on 4 railroad
or a bank. 1t is a different affair alto
gether. \ ou mug, trust the Lord for
something. think that we can safely
trust Him TO the amount of three hun
dred dollars al least. Where's yoar
faith %
Making false promises and trusting
the ECrd 10 fulfil them isn't faith" said
Deacon S.
81 say, Jim," said Squire H., you
trust him for our interest moihey-that
will set us all right"
There was little laugh at the sugges-
ton. Mr.. Whe atom holds mort gage OH
the church. He did not take kindly to
this Practical application Of the doctrine
OF faith.
"Oh; WE'LL" said he eve can raise it
somehow. Never fear A good minis
ter will draw in and fill up our empty
pews. Then in the summer we must
manage TO bleed the boarders a little
more freely. 1t won't hurt them. What
with concert, or fair, or a subscrip-
ton, or little extra effort on our plate
collections, we can manage it, have no
doubt"
"For my part" said I, n agree with
one of the gentlemen, who told us early
in this discussion that we must carry on
church affairs on business principles in
agreeing TO pay money which we have
not got and don't know where to get. |
will not be party to getting minister
here on excuse the term-talse preten-
ces ON TIE assurance that we can pay
him $1,000 year when it is hard mat
ter to pay him $1,000. There are ten of
us here. | will put my name down now
tor $50, if the rest will do the same. If
the Lord sends us the 5000, or if the Ia
dies raise it 10y fair, or if Mr.. Wheaton
gets up concert, or the SKINNER Board
ers came to our rescue, we shall have
nolhing TO pay. if none of these things
happen, the minister will not have it all
to lose" u.. ...f..
The matter was eventually settled in
that way. We raised contingent fund,
of $3.50 then and there, which we have
since made up to S400. SO that now we
can offer 81 800 year with o clear con-
science.
7 resolved to write you an account of
our meeting and to beg you to call the
attention OF Christian laymen to this spe-
cies of church dishonesty. To promise
without means of performance is sure
road not only to bankruptcy but, to
dishonorable ope. II is road, however,
which churches travelto an extent that
covers the cause of Protestant Christian
ity with shame.
My friend Mr.. Jewett, the broker, as
sures me that it is very hard--almoss-
impossible-to get loan on church pro-
perty. Capitalists are loath TO toreclose
a church. 1t is always an unpopular act
And churches take advantage of this fact
and are VIGOROUSLY slack in paying their
interest,
8 Contractors tell me that they would
rather build Roman Catholic than Pro-
testant churches. In the former ease
they deal with one man 1.-The priest. He
makes the contracts, approx the work,
and pays the bills. In the other case
they deal with cohi1nitrees, and never
know whom to held responsible for the
funds. My friend, MIR. Hardeap, is case
in point. He did The carpenterwork IN
some repairs on the Baptist church here
last summer. When he got through he
carried in his bill to the President of the
Board of Trustees. The President re-
terred him 10 tile Treasurer, The Trea-
4 a.. 4. -. L.