Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-13
CHAIRS IN THE PLACE OF pEws
A Modern Idea for Making sinners Com
Portable When They Come to Church.

n RAOuefn Aue8 Tor MAKING SINNERS Com
Portable When They Come to Church.
SIS the trade in pews for churches in
ereasing" said a young man to dealer
in those and kindred articles, to a New
York Sun reporter.
''No, it is going to fall off more and
more.''
''Sad proof Of the wickedness Of the
people and of the inability of modern
preachers to reach the masses. isn't it?''
'sAO. There is nothing sad about il.
It's a cheerful indication Of the apprecia-
ton OF modern Improvements by cOnsery-
alive ehurchmen. Pews are going 10 be
replaced by chairs, such as are now used
in theatres. It's all right morally and
physically. A man will not 90 20 sleep
in a comfortable seat as soon as he will
in an uncomfortable one, because when
uncomfortable he loses the thread Of the
discourse, fails to catch it again, because
his attention is devoted to making himself
comfortable, and meantime he strikes a
tolerably easy position, and away he goes.
ny should man ind a straigat-backed
bench when at church and a comfortably
covered and upholstered chair at the the
atre!'
''Are the modern pews straight-backed
benches?"
s'NOt exactly, but they are not chairs.
Pews are made of various sizes. running
from capacity for four to eight people.
They are Of wood, and in most of the
churches the backs are straight. Cushions
make them more comfortable, but the only
occupants having arm-rests are those at
the ends. Hassocks or something similar
serve as foot rests. Compare them with
the chairs. Chair backs are more agree
able to the eve than the straight line of a
pew back; they prevent crowding; each
chair has a book rack, a hat rack, and
foot rest, and some have places for canes.
umbrellas and parasOls; they give better
cash returns than pews."
Il should think that men would hire a
chair or two instead Of a pew, and at
less price,"
''That is just what happens, but many
who do not want whole pews hesitate
about hiring parts of pews. When a
church is seated with chairs each member
OF family hires seat. Single men and
women hire seats. AS a matter of actual
experience churches that have substitu-
ted chairs for pews have obtained perma-
nent increases of income from the slttings
OF from 90 to so per cent. That means, OF
course, greatly increased attendance.
People who desire to be very exclusive
sometimes hire an entire row of seats,
''Chairs are also desirable because they
can be made in greater variety than pews.
We have them made of cast iron, or with
wooden frames, using iron only in the de-
vices that enable the chair to be tilted
back and the seat to be thrown up. There.
by the way, is a good point. People can
reach inside seats much more cOmforta-
bly, past tilted chairs than they can
through solid pews. The most popular
chair is the one made of perforated We
neering, which is at once light and strong.
When chairs are upholstered in silk, plush
or embossed leather they are very beauti-
ful.o
'sAnd very expensive, tOo?'
mot as expensive as pews of equal ele-
gance. The cheapest pew made with solid
ends costs 81 a foot, and the cushion 81 a
foot more. High-priced pews cost $40 a
foot. A sitting requires eighteen inches
OF space. Now we can furnish an
elegant chair for 81 30. The cheapest
folding chair costs 50. We can get up
chairs worth 500, hut $40 is about the limit
for even wealthy churches"
'Why don't church committees put in
the chairs, then?"
''They do in the new churches and in
many old ones. The only objection is the
conservative spirit that opposes a change |
because it is change. Changes would |
be more frequent, however, only a church |
seating say 1000 or 5000 people will re- /
quire an expenditure Of perhaps $40, 900 |
or $4,000. They would soon get it back, |
but they don't know it."