Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-02
SALVATION IS FREE,
At Least il is Very Cheap in All the
Churches of Pittsburg.
TIE PEWS OPEN TO POOR PEOPLE.
And the Exclusiveness Of Eastern Chris
tians Not Mimicked.
THE WORKING MASSES AT WORSHIP
Pm glad salvation's free
'Tis free for you and me.

Pm glad salvation's free
| Ills free for you and me.
| That is a hymn frequently sung In
churches And for Pittsb1rg churches II 10
very appropriate. But in New York and
Philadelphia churches they hum diherent
sentiment, in the following we'll known
hymn:
| Must be carried to the sky
On howery beds Of ease7
Ease costs something, and New York and
Philadelphia church members do not hesitate
to pay for it. The sensational disclosures
recently published about the efforts Of .
poorly-clad woman to secure seat in the
fashionable ssnctuaries of those two cities
were rather diseouraging for the poor
! classes.
"Does the same condition Of affairs exist
in Pittsburg? is the query gilmore than one
| correspondent of The DISPATCH. Re
portorial inquiry yesterday among promi-
nent clergymen developed the fact that il
| does not. On the other hand this city has
reputation for its free churches.
''It,is to the glory of Pittsburg churches,
said one Of these pastors, shat we are city
| of mechanics mad hand laborers. That fact
keeps our gospel both cheap and free. The
wealth and exclusiveness which belong to
commercial centers like New York and
Philadelphia block up church pews against
| the DOOR Caste is created, extravagance In
| church management is aimed ut, and the
true purpose Of religious societies are lost
sight OF.
THE DIFFERENCE.
"One little instance will illustrate what
mean. No minister in PitIsburg or Allie
gheny is paid the high salaries which are
| common in Eastern cities. People here
cannot afford to pay such salaries. There
| fore that is one item of expense kept down,
and one necessity for exorbitant pew rents
avoided. Here the church-going masses
are of that great middle class. They are
toilers not capitalists. They cannot pay
| rents for pews. And for that reason ma
jority of the churches in these two cities arc
| free-and remarkably we'll attended"
The majority of the churches" referred
to by the preacher as being free are in the
outer wards. Nearly all the sanctuariss in
the hearts of the two cities have the pew
rental system. Generally, however, the
yearly rentals are reasonable and within
the reach Of the average chureh-goer. All
are uniformly careful to make
no distinction between pew-holder
and strangers, or poor people who
attend services regularly. 1t has come to
be proverb that there is less of exclusive
ness or selfshness in the use OF pews at the
| churches in Pittsburg where seats are rented
than actually exists in some churches where
they are free, yet held by persons in imagi-
nary ownership. The writer Of this, who
has had an experience OF many years in re-
| porting sermons at all the churches of Pitt
burg and Allegheny, has found this to be
| true.
ALL ARE COURTEOUS.
/ T. L. &C.
from clergymen it appeared that at the East
Liberty Presbyterian Church, First Presby-
terian Church on Wood street and at many
| other prominent stations of that denomina-
ton, rule is in operation that pew holders,
| members ofetheir families or neighbors,
| quietly report to the ushers upon entering
the edi6ce, Sundays. how many of their
people will be, absent, so that strangers can
be provided for in their pews. Unusual
courtesy is observed in the U. P. churches
of Drs. Reid and McCrory to seat
non-pewholders. The same statement
really applies to all the q. P. churches.
The Episcopal churches while long identi-
fed with the rental plan, do not permit il
to interfere with the Hospitality due visit
ors and poor people. Among the Metho-
dist churches, Christ and North Avenue
frequently seat outsiders in the rented pevs,
and relegate the owners to the rear. Butler
Street Church, with one Of the largest con-
gregations in that denomination, always has
had, and still has, free seats, the congrega-
ton not long since rejecting by decided
| vote proposition to rent their pews. The
well-known democracy among the pews Of
Catholic Churches here bring rich and poor
together on their knees.
| SOME POOR CHURCHES,
| Then if so many churches exist in ALLIE
gheny county without the rental system
how do they get the money necessary for
current expenses? 1t is confessed-by cler-
| gymen themselves that there are some very
poor churches in Pittsburg. Many of them
are always deep in debt And not few
have sometime or another sueeumbed to the
Sheriffs hammer. As stated above, the
bulk of churchgoers here are the working
classes, and they are not always able to give
much. But there are few free churches
where the revenues are said to be fully az
] large, and in some cases even larger, than
| they were under the pew rent system. The
free churches are supported entirely by vol
untary contributions. In many Of them the
envelope system is employed, each attendant
contributing stipulated sum weekly, 40
cording to his or her ability.