New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-28
CLERICAL FINANCJERING.

sudden panic among the Roman Catholics OF
Cincinnati. The residence of the Archbishop
was crowded with poor laborlng men ana
women pathetically imploriLR the return OF
their scanty savings. But they could obtain
nothing then save explanations. Father Ed
ward Purcell, brother OF the Archbishop. had
received the deposits. The Archbishop himself
had ipdorsed his paper and the depositors had
felt that their money was safer than it could be
in any bank. There had been acknowledgement,
poor investments and what not, with the In
eyitable miserable results. Thousands of poor
people lost their ali, Archbishop Purcell, al
though he has met his n.isfortunes in manly
spirit, has been driven into broken hearted re-
tirement, and the church which he represented
has ueen n sufferer.
On Friday last the scenes which followed the
failure of Archbishop Purcell were duplicated
at Lawrence, Mass. The story is strange his
tory of incompetence, reckless mismanagement
and speculative trust IN the future on one side
and of blind confidence on the other. We are
told that the Rev. Father 0'Donnell, one OF the
first priests in the city, began thirty years ago
the practice of receiving the savings OF his pa
rishioners, on which be paid from to 6per cent
interest. He died in 1861, and debt OF
$780, is said to have existed then. But bis
succe SCOTS zealously pushed ahead the various
enterprises in which he had engaged. In 1870
the Augustinan Society was formally iDcoipo-
rated to hold property for religions and edIca-
tional purposes-a direct coDtir uance OF the
work begun 10y Father ODOnnell in his saw
ings bank which has all the time steadily re-
ceived deposits. An extravaganza expenditure
of none, in churches, schools parsonages and
the Improvement OF church property was en-
tered npou. With previous debt of $4,000
the society incurred liabilities to the amount of
5000 600 in the construction of st. Mays
chuych. and debt of $4,000 was added by
the uniting of two more parishes to that of St
Mary's. And it is stated that since 1853 st.
Nary's savings bark has paid in interest upon
its Indebtedness the sum of $26O,OOO, while
the pnrochial schools Of the society have cost
$4,000 year for the last ten years. Finally
the depositors in the bank, many of whom with
imnlicit trust bad not even drawn their inter
est, felt their confidence shaken and began to
demand an accounting. There were practically
no accounts. There were no signs OF system
attic bookkeeping, entries were undated,
vouchers were lacking, and the papers of the
suciety were in utter confusion. BY auction
sales and mortgages the society raised little
money, but it was too late. The attachments
placed upon the property of the society on Fri
day were RAPIDLY followed by others on Satnr
day and Yesterday until the sOciety's insolvency
appears more hopeless than was at first sup
posed. It's Indebtedness is stated to amount to
$40 900, n larger sum than the liabilities of
Archbishop Purcell. And the 700 depusitors in
the closed savings bank connected with the
society are chiefly mill operatives, and in many
cases women whose lifelong savings have been
swept away.
After the experiences of Archbishop Purcell,
this last great failure of clerical financiering
was hardly needed to point the folly of at
tempts to blend the priest and the Speculation
10 serve both God and Mammon. No one al
leges any dishonesty, or any directly criminal
act. But the managers of the Augnstinan So
ciety sustain heavy burden at least of moral
responsibility. They Incurred debts without
having the means to meet them, they launched
out INTO new enterprises i'll the spirit OF the
most reckless specuator, and they received the
money Of depositors when they must have
known that their financial standing was exceed
ingly precarous. LOoseness and Incompetence
have characterized the conduct OF the whole
affair, because it WAS conducted by men who
were out of their own sphere. All the suffering
and misery caused by these Augustinian priests
would have been avoided, had they only con-
fined themselves to their duties as spiritual
teachers, and refrained from following GUS
tom too prevalent in their church in taking
control of the pecunlary affairs of their parish
toner's. Banking and real-esta business are
matters in which priest should have no active
concern, nor, as recent developments nave
shown, are mining stocks to be commended to
Methodist clergymen.
T1PJEF RHE TORIE.