The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-16

General Wanamaker, ex-Gov-
ernor Beaver of Pennsylvania. Thomas
Ewing, Cyrus H. Mccormick. Samuel b.
Huey. Thomas McDougall. Horace b. SILL
ran, Alexander Mcdonald and Robert s..
Williams. This committee was appointed
70 confer with the boards OF home and for
eign missions and advise as to the most
prudent course to be pursued in connection
with the fine building at Fifth avenue and
Twentieth street, New York. Objection
has been made by many friends of the mis-
sion boards. which have been in debt for
years. that they should not engage in real
estate speculation. Other friends say that
the money is well invested. 1t is expected
that the committee, containing so many
men of national reputation. will commend
the boards for erecting the magnificent
structure and appeal.to the philanthropic
Presbyterians throughout the country to
second their efforts by increased gifts,
which will prevent the necessity of sacrifice
ing the building. UNCONVENTIONAL pride, it
is urged. should prevent such a backward
step. IL the boards were out of debt it is
probable that their borrowing 81, 240,00 0 and
taking nearly half a million from their leg
acies would not have been questioned, or at
least not criticised so severely as it has
been. The cost of the lots and building was
81, 75z,590. This expense was met by a mort
gage of 5000, 900 from a savings bank, a loan
of 100000 on the Lenox property, at Fifth
evenue and Twelfth street, special gifts of
$4,000, and a balance of 1851, 800 provided
out of the legacies of Mrs. Robert L. Stu
art.
The other committee dealing with a vexed
question has been considering the manage
ment Of the Board of Home Missions. In
view of the financial %stringency and the diff
ficulty of raising sufficient money for the
work of the board, a committee of three
ministers and six laymen was appointed
last year with full authority: /. To confer
with the Home Missions Board regarding
its methods of general administration and
suggest what changes, if any, are advisable
therein. 2. To carefully examine the ex-
penditures for offices. salaries and clerk
lire, and to indicate what reductions, if
any, may be made consistently with econ
omy and efficiency of service. 8. To ex-
anime the BOOKS and accounts of the board,
with the aid of an expert accountant. if
such aid be deemed desirable, and to rec
ommend any changes that they may regard
as essential. 4. To ascertain the cause of
the present indebtedness, and to recon-
mend such measures as in their Judgment
will most efficiently remove the indebted
ness and prevent the recurrence of deficits.
5. To publish in the church papers at the
earliest possible moment such information
as in their judgment will be of value to
the church at large. and make full report
of their work, with recommendations, to
the next General Assembly.
Several other special committees, thirteen
in all. have been holding protracted meet
ings during the year for the purpose of
bringing about better work in the several
boards or TO lessen the friction in the ma
cbineTy of the church. One of them is con-
cerned with the methods of managing the
temporal affairs: there are those in the
church who believe that Christian money
should be handled by Christian men, in
other words. that if the present system of
trustees is continued they should be com
municants of the church, or that the tenn
poral affairs should be transferred from
the trustees to the deacons, who are now
charged mainly with the care of the poor
and sick.
SOME OF THE SECRETARIES.
Among the secretaries of the eight boards
of the church who are heard each year at
the assembly with great acceptance. one
will be missed this month. For many years
the Rev. DR.. W.. c. Cattell, the former
president of Lafayette College, and later
the venerable secretary of the board of
ministerial relief, pleaded for the aged SER
wants of the church who are no longer able
to preach. His genial countenance and his
loving words were a benediction to the
commissioners. Last year he made his
farewell address and the new secretary.
DR.. b. l.. Agnew, who resigned his Phila-
delpf1ia pastorate to take DIR. CattelTs
place, will make his maiden speech. DIR.
Cattell considered the aged minister a vet
n-o, I'll 80
upon that high platform.
The Rev. d. Edward c.. Ray. of Chicago
the secretary for the Board of Aid for Col
leges and Academies, is also heard with
great pleasure. His addresses are not long,
but they have other virtues beside that of
brevity. DR.. Ray has held important pas
torates in Topeka, Chicago and the East.
lie is d fluent speaker and has shown I'M
usual executive ability in the work of the
board. He does not believe in planting a
college in a Western town before the sur
veyor begins to lay out the city lots nor
does he advise a high school to change its
charter and become a university because
the institution of a sister church has Just
decided to do so 'in the interest of higher
education" AT the same time he is the
recognized friend of the high school. acad-
envy, college and university as each is able
to show that it has a field in which to
operate and methods of management which
the public can approve.
The Rev. DIR. Edward B. Hodge, corre-
spending secretary of the Board of Educa-
ton, succeeded recently the Rev. DIR. d.
w. Poor. DIR. Hodge was graduated from
the University of Pennsylvania in the class
of 1853. lie took an extra year in medicine,
music and German and then went to the
Princeton Theological Seminary, gradual
ing in the class of 1868. Another extra year
was spent in various branches of study and
then he became pastor of the Presbyterian
Church at Burlington, n. j., of which he
had charge for more than thirty years. His
father-in-law, DR.. Cortland Van Rensselaer,,
was founder of the church in Burlington
and lived there until his death /. 1860. DIR.
Hodge now fills the same Office in the
Board of Education to which DR.. Van
Rensselaer, gave so many years of devoted
service. Besides being secretary of the
Board of Education, DR.. Hodges is a trustee
of Princeton Seminary and a trustee of the
General Assembly.
The secretaries of the other boards are:
Home Missions, the Rev. Drs. William C.
Roberts and Duncan j. Mcmillan; Foreign
Missions, the Rev. Drs. Frank f.. ELM
wood. John Gillespie and Arthur ]. Brown
and Robert L. Speer; Publication and Sab
bath-school Work, the Rev. DIR. Elijah r..
Craven; Church Education, the Rev. DR..
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