The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-05-26

1t become tainted by the avenues through
gessed by the conscientious scruples of a
missionary against receiving money from
joan d. Rockefeller. or any other man.
except he first consecrate himself to
God. Make your gift Clean" he would
say. land We will accept IL; otherwise
we should not touch it, This statement,
the newspaper reports say. caused = pro-
found sensation. but some Of the delegates
excused him. saying. When our brother
(who comes from China. by the way) has
been longer In this country and becomes
better acquainted he will modify hts
views
Indeed, he VIII. If he is going to apply
that kind OF test to ali money received for
church and missionary work. he Will have
to set up a very extensive laboratory. and
meantime the contributors would be ma
teriaIly diminished. We do not mean to In
sinuate that those who have eonsecrated
themselves to God would not contribute
literally, but the minister would, OF
course. be scrupulously just. and he would
not accept an anonymous quarter any
more than he would receive $4,000 from
John d. Rockefeller until he had satisfied
himself that the conditions had been fui-
filed. 1t Is to be presumed that it Is the
possible faint, and not the amount, he
objects to-
1t would not be just, either. to stop at
l. nenfxy xA
the money honestly. Yet II might have
passed through dishonorable hands; and
after the reverend missionary had made all
the necessary investigation, might it not
be that he has entirely mistaken the true
test? Is 1t not the mission on which the
money is sent. and not the place whence 1t
came. that gives 1t virtue?
II Mr. Rockefeller should ever have OBJ
tanned money by means he does not APP
prove In his later life. and concludes to
give 100000 for the promotion Of Chris
tianity among the Chinese. shall they
not have the benefit OK 1t? Or are their
souls OF less value than the maintenance
OF the principle laid down by Rev. w.
II. Cossum?
Mr.. Cossum cannot continue to act as
the employe Of the American Baptist
Missionary Union until this matter is set
tied, and he receives the assurance that
no money, not one dollar, is accepted UNI
til II has been tried In the crucible he has
set up. All the money goes into one pool:
he cannot select what he will receive for
his own salary, and the whole fund must
be tainted with doubt When Sunday
school children put their nickels into the
missionary box they often receive them
from parents who do not come up to the
standard set by Mr.. Cossum. They ought
to h, scrutinized as carefully as the dona-
ton OF the millionaire. Moral bacili are
as likely to be found on a small coin as
on large check. and their effect Is the
same.
The underlying motive Of Rev. Mr.. Cos
sum Is a very good one. but he does not
seem to have gone the right way about
applying it, He seems TO have beer angry
because the executive committee found
itself compelled TO retrench on account OF
the smallness in funds. That retrench-
ment appears TO have reduced the amount
appropriated for his particular mission.
and he says his work will be crippled. II
his work is so important and the funds
inadequate he had better not set UP fresh
barriers 10 subscriptions. SO good mo-
tive should be enforced by self sacrifice.
and the decrease in FUNDS met by an Of
fer to make the most Of what can be al
lotted To him. II & man who has not
consecrated himself to missionary work
Is willing to further a good cause by con-
tributing money. 1t would seem that one
who has consecrated himself to that SER
vice might be willing TO pursue IL even
II he do not receive as much money as he
would like.