Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-06-06
THE WEALTH OF TRINITY.
NOT EASY TO MEASURE THE PARISH
PROPERTY IN DOLLARS.

l.
PROPERTY IN DOLLARS.
Fair Estimate, However, Would
5,OOO,0OO-Tnco,ne from the Tax
Portion, $500, ooo-The Heirs of Anne
Jams Still Retain Hopes.
TWAS well known lawyer who not 10
tgo declared publicly that the property
Manhattan Island owned by the parish
Trinity church was worth not less tn
slo0, 900, whereupon thu heirs of the IL
lamented Annelke Jams began to wond
how long it would be before the esta
would be divided, SO that each might ha
hls or her share. Strange to say, the W
: frymen CT the parish, who are the office
OF the Trinity corporation, regarded t
commotion thereby created among t
heirs with great complacency, and one
them recently told Tribune reporter tn
if heirs of the long since departed Annel
continued to materialize in future as ra
idly as they have in the past there wou
not be enough money to go around, eyerI
the estate were as valuable as the v
known lawyer referred to had allegdt |
to be-
Shortly after he made this declalon
letters from alleged heirs of the fous
ancestres' began to pour in upon ERev.
DR.. Morgan Dix, Trinity's rector. Il the
weA knowp citizens comprising tYestry,
modestly asking to be informed ohe date |
when the Nroperty would Bdivided |
among themthe impression ming to
have obtalned:urrency that tt had but
to ask to receh their proner rportion of
the estate
LocAT1o OF THE PnSERTY.
1t may disapint the akged heirs to
know that the Trinity foperty is not
worth nearly anuch as $4,000, 900, and,
indeed, there is, evidete that it would
bring even halhat a,6unt. There are
already more II 1000 Alleged heirs, and
the number islstants increasing.
DR.. Dix matn off4al statement few
years ago in ly to numerous questions
as to what 1ity ehurch did with its
enormous inc, ig which he declared
that the cntinnual income of the prop
erty from alurces would not exceed
S50O,CO0, Whlould be equal to nearly
per cent. inteon $1,000, 900, or allowing
2 per cent. Maintenance and repairs, 4
per cent. net. lring the last seven years
this income hat varied to any great ex-
tent. The fig given, however, do not
fairly represere market values of even
the understandable property, which
is only Il small)ortion of the whole, for
the reason, am,others, that the income
is largely from md rents, which do not
return ;inythinse SO great q percentage
upon the princis per cent gross.
1t would be fl to assume that the in
come given replted a principal of from
S16,000,000 to $4,000 this calculation
being based upoe fact that much of the
land is so locate not to command the
highest rates found rents. The greater
part of the tax; property lies between
Canal and Cipher streets, west OF
Varick and Hud streets, in which area
there are thirtytblocks of it, all built
upon. Nearly althis tract is leased on
ground rents forg terms of years.
The property ally used for church
purposes is, of co, of greater value than
the remainder. re are no less than
seven churches in parish, all but one of
which, with the upon which they are
built, are owned he parish
INCOME EXPENDITURES
When asked rely if he could give the
exact value of thlurch property in the
parish, one of thstrymen said: 'T,aare
is 10 way of leasg it that know of
You or any one ecan make as good an
estimate as l caDf course, if Trinity
church should b,rn down and its site
and the graveya;ut up into building
lots, the propertyIld bring an immense
price, but as thislikely never to occur,
any estimate of itmmercial value would
be extremely far he'd Still, suppose
an estimate coule formed based upon
even SO unlikely atingency. The same
might be said of property surrounding
St. Paul's Thes6o churches occupy an
entire block each the very heart of the
business part of tity, and the land, for
commercial purs, would be of great
value"
"Would you Boiling to say that all of
the church propein the parish, includ
trinity and Paul's and the non
sectarian lands, commercially worth
$100, 900, 000?" wasled
''Oh, no." vase reply; 81 would not
be willing to maEny estimate at all, but
I can, l think, sistently express the
opinion that if t. is your estimate it is
too high
"Would it be S to say that SIS, 900, 900
is not too high aBtimate?"
"Well, really | not like to indorse any
conjectures as toe value, but your judg-
ment is better nothan it was probably"
Nearer than IS he astute vestryman
would not COMMIT fmself. In forming
an estimate of th,totl value of the parish
property, commeciay speaking, the ex-
tremely valuable tr& now used as the
parish cemetery in Eleventh avenue,
above One Hundred and Seventy-ffth
street, should not Ioverlooked. There
are fifteen acres in til tract, which is in a
neighborhood in viii the land IS likely
to increase in enthusiastically, especially
if the city's dream orapid transit is real
lied.
1t would seem thathe income of $500, GOO
is sufficient to meg the demands of the
parish. All of Uneven churches named
are maintained fro this income. The re-
ceipts from pew nts do not reach one
twentieth of the mount devoted to the
support of the chrches, the design being
to make them all free churches. The par
ish supports is eergymen organlsts, lO0
.horisters and Dsextons ind assistant sex
tons, and the cooperation pays the salaries
Of a comptrolhr, clerl, counsel and s
There are maintained also
a system of daily parish schools, EN-
oloying IS teachers andhaving capacity
If nearly LOCO pupils; system of indus
rial schools and an urinary. The parish
beds in StLuke's hospital and
contributes to the sport of IS churches
outside the parish.
The church buildings are not taxed, but
n annual tax of bout 1000 is paid on
he sectarian Ians.-New York Tribune.
Hu,,.nity's Averages.
The averageweight of the male adult is
30 pounds; 1 women about ITO pounds.