The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-29
A Church,s NIistake.

The Northern Methodist church has de-
cided to go into the insurance business
that is. it has voted to organize within
itself a company to insure against fire.
lightning and tornadoes. We don't know
whether or not this decision was has
tened by the great storms that have pre-
vailed in the west during the last two
weeks, but we feel reasonably safe in pre-
dieting that the proposed insurance feat
ure of the church will do more harm than
good to the church's interests
What excuse is there for a religious or
ganization to undertake business en-
terprise of this sort? If it is a part Of
its mission to insure property, why ISN'T
it also its mission to engage in other kinds
of business? Why limit its efforts to fire
and tornado insurance?
It requires sound business sense and
strict attention to duty to conduct the
affairs Of an insurance company success
fully. Insurance carried on by a great
church organization would hardly have
the benefit of these qualities. Managers
and agents would be chosen because OF
their popularity rather than because of
their ability. The consequence will be
that the church in little while will find
that it costs more to insure in the church
company than in other companies, ow-
ing to the extraordinary losses due to
carelessness in taking risk and managing
the company's affairs.
The Methodist church has enough to 90
in bringing the cause of religion to The
attention of people. When it undertakes
other matters of a purely business char
acter it practically announces that it does
not intend to give as much attention to
that cause in the future as it has in the
past. Such an announcement is likely to
make people think that the Methodist
church has reached the full measure of
its greatness, and that from this time on
it will steadily decline.
No doubt the general conference means
WELL but it will be forced to admit before
many years that in going into the insur-
ance business it made a great mistake
AS long as congress works along on DO
litical measures, it can manage to make
people think that it is an erudite and
patriotic body. But when it strikes a
plain. business matter, which the ma,
jority Of business men would settle out OF
hand and have out of mind in a few
days, then it is that congress exposes its
weakness. The French spoliation claims
are case in point. The claims amount
to nothing more or less than a debt which
the government owes m carto;, ,,a,.-..-
The government has had the money IN
hand with which to pay them for years
and years. A few of the claims were
paid by the Fifty-irst congress, but with
their exception the demands of the credi-
tors have been answered only with red
| tape, dilly-dallying and posi- ponements. It
would probably not be far out of the way
to say that thousands of claims with NOT
one-hftieth part of the merit of these
claims have been paid, from the general
funds in the treasury. In The case of the
French spoliation claims, the money was
paid to this government by France to be
distributed among the claimants.
According to the dispatches some Of the
people of Kansas are taking the floods in
that state in philosophical manner. In
deed 1t would appear that they are enjoy
ing the novelty of having their towns
transformed into more or less poor copies
Of Venice. At La Cigne, Kan, the other
evening two young society leaders were
rowing down the street in their gondola
when their craft was run into by the pon-
dola of mandolin club out for sere-
made. Both crafts were upset. and their
occupants were obliged to climb into the
branches Of a friendly tree and remain
there until friends could bring a boat TO