Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-09-25
Churches KurGened With DGbt-sghaj
DIR. ggulinnd yhinhs OF ,lI.c,m


Tho way IN which church edifces arc balf
i.ow-a-days really necessitates new formula q
dedication. How would this read? "We deli
este this ediilce II Thee, our Lord and Master
We give it to Thee and Thy Gauge and kingdom
subject 70 mortgage Of enc hundred and lift,
thousand dollars (5l50.O01D We De,}ueath /
to our children and our chiltrcna children. a,
tae greatest boon We can confer GU them cub
lect to the mortgage aforesaid. and We trts
t!iaJ they VII! have the grace aud tie money tx
ray NE Interest and lift tile mortgage Pre-
serve 1t from ire and foreclosure, we pray Iiiee
hnd make it abnndantly useful to ThyAelf,-
subject OF c0pf4e, 10 the Aforesaid mortgage =
me pilefln6 OF d structure 10 the Amgl4ty.aa
tie gltt OF all organization Of deyotees whC
lave not paid f1rlt, ana % net own H. strike,
ti4e ordinary mind us q very strange t4.lig vel
:. - s&io TO say that not one church in twenty
T. DuAt IN America without incu.ling debt,
larger or smaller. A more commudlGus aud a
2aore elegant building ls wanted 4 -nbacrip.
lion il made that will not more than half cover
1T cost, and money enough Is borrowed to COM
pete it. The whole property Is morteared for
All that it VIII carry the financial authorities arr
saddled with il9ating debt which they can only
handle Oh their personal reEponaibilfv. and then
comes taxation tOTntcIcst, sufficient to keen tile
nenFc!l IN distress, ILla sort Of church enter
prlse IL 80 common that it has become common
place. The children Of this world do not build
railroads with capital stock paid III, hut thev
build them with bonds, Tie children OF light real
" DO not seem to be le.s wise il their generation
~ the way in which they build Their churches.
lndeed, We think the latter can give the former
revora points and beat them Tor tic puyine,
NccesE Of u church depends upon more c1utiii-
Teaces than the success u O. railroad, and its
hona- really ought not 70 stl! for more than
fifty cents on the dollar '.ldtn
II We seem to make light of ths subject il is
only i"r the purpose Of showing low absurd q
pasttpn thc ehllrcAea huYo an umed in rtlatjon
10 1t. II is not light -nbjeet IL is very grave
oile, and one which dalnAldz tue Immediate and
persistent attention Of ali tho enlrcLrs nitu II
stiall be properly lfsposed vi. In the iir-t place
1t u not exactly Christian act for body If
men to contract debt which they arc rot abl.
tapay. u Is hardly more Christian to refuse To
PAY ltut which they know they arc able 10 III A.
large. II can lardiY be regarded az d gener-
"tis deed u beQneath Il debt 10 suceeel.is scr-
Lts42na. l,c very foundations OF Tie UIdfch.
debl arc losLen. TAey sle rotten with poor
morally, poor financial policy, and personal and
sectailah vanity Docs a'ly one suppose t!iut
these expensive and deb- laden chjltcLos wera
erected SIMPLY for The honorof the Master, xnd
gwen to Him, sGl icet to mortgage?
ilie results OF building churches upon such an
gilsound basis aIa bad enough. The iir+t result
perhaps, is tho eXtiugu-AnGut Of all church le-
ltthcence. The churchdebt il tile apology for
denying all appeals for AID, from all the greater
and smaller cAarltica. 4 church sitting in tic
callers. They do not pay the DEBT bnt they owe
tLg money and they are afraid hey shall be
oyIlgatt tppay i. HE huatilsn must take care
Of t1emselEpl the starving rnnat 20 without
bread. the WltiGw and the fGtherlgss must look
- the God of the widow and tho fatherlegs. the
s'ek must pine aud tho poor children grow up
"a Fag"p9haase. because u this awful c.urch-