The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1894-03-15
TAKING CHURCH PROPERTY.

The Rev. Madison G. Peters preached
a sermon in the Bloomingdale Re-
formed church last Sunday in favor OF
the taxation of church property which
created an immense sensation, and it is
echoing down the archives and will so
echo until the suggestion will take
form and substance in future laws to
produce this very effect, Upon one oc-
casion Gen. Grant sent IN a message
something like Rev. Peters sermon
and be took occasion to allude to
the enormous riches piled up by some
of the churches of the metropolis, and
to say that were that property taxed
it would be felt as sensible relief by
the states and lower the general rate
Of taxation very materially, The
church property valuation today
amounts to more than three billions of
money, two per cent. on that sum
would be, in and of itself, huge sum
of money, say six hundred millions,
Add to this sum the value of all church
property, lands, schools, colleges, con-
Yents, parsonages, and it would equal
the former sum, if it would not sur
pass it.
The question is if by taxing all this
enormous sum of non-producing pro-
perty sadly needed reform would not
be inaugurated. These costly edifces
would be succeeded by more modest
and inexpensive building; pride might
be cut little, but piety would be vastly
benefited. Phariseeism would be re-
pressed but such religion as was taught
by the Lowly Nazarine would be in
creased. Think of Christ preaching in
such a building as St.Patrick's cath ed
raj which cost, all told, nearly twenty
millions of dollars, when He seemed to
prefer the naked hill tops or
the shaded brook sides for
his sacred ministrstions. His was
a lowly religion, while his follow
ers today but feed the naughty pride Of
men by rearing structures at enormous
cost, while the poor and the lowlY are
left to the tender mercies Of the cor
porations to starve and die without
Tity, Sell the church property of the
United States as it stands today: re-
place the present costly structures by
plain cheap buildings of equal capacity
and there would be enough left in the
residue to clothe and insure bread for
the poor of the land forever. We are
sure that this sort of sacrifice would
prove far sweeter incense in the nos
trils of the Father in heaven than the
gorgeous houses the pride of man has
impiously built under mistaken con-
ception of his nature to His glory The
taxation Of this property would in a
short time cause this very substitution
as matter of course.
The Roman Catholic church is per-
haps the wealthiest church in the way
Of real property in the land. The next
is the Methodist, The next the Bap-
tist, and next to them the Presbyter-
ian. OF course they would all rebel
against the measure. But according
to our way of thinking the more relig-
ion a man has the more patriotism
he ought to have, and surely it would
be only the part Of the christians upon
Christ's plan to be willing to cut their
pride two per cent. per annum TO serve
the great government which shelters
and protects all alike. Since the
churches have gone into money-mak-
ing to feed this enormous pride, they
ought to be willing to divide either
with the poor or the government to the
extent named. We are aware that
this would prove a very severe test,
but then if the christian church is
what we believe it to be, or
what it ought to be, to meet the
ideas of the fishermen who followed
the SAVIOR when He was on earth the
sacrifice will be made without muir
mur. "Leave all and follow me" is
what is written. Here is an incipient
reformation which has great promise
in it.