The Indianapolis journal., 1902-11-09
CROP OF BENEyOLENCE
1T Is VALUED AT SIXTY TO EIGHTY
MILLION DOLLARS.
increasing So Rapidly Each Year that
Trust Company May BE Formed
/; TO Administer IL.

Eoecal % the Indianapolis Journal.
I NEW YORK, Nov. S-Something new in
religious benevolence. soon to be an
bounced. is "A trust. 1t is not combine.
out financial institution, to have most of
the functions of a trust company. 1t will be
/ middle corporation, in that IL will act
with equal interest for the giver and the
receiver. People decline. it is said. to deal
directly with the mission and other benevo-
lent organizations of the churches because
such organizations represent themselves
bnly The proposed benevolent trust will
be one step removed from these missionary
societies 1t will give expert and accurate
Information concerning all benevolent
tauses. and perhaps advice concerning
Them. but will not be committed to any of
Them, and the inquirer will be shielded by
II from coming into contact with them un-
less the giver finally decides to disclose his
or her identity. The project is to empower
the benevolent trust to receive and admin
jster funds for all benevolent purposes,
Educational and charitable, as we'll as mis-
sionary, but to have it administer them
through existing missionary and other
benevolent agencies, and not to create new
fistributive machinery. Some men OF large
money interest are connected with the
bIan, which is wholly new in benevolent
administration.
The need for such institution is found in
;he fact that the number of persons having
steady incomes from investments has great
Iy increased during the past twenty years,
and il is held the number will increase even
Easter during the next twenty. 1t is from
shis independent class that systematic
henevolence comes. IL is more and more
difficult in this day to give away money
and not do damage in so doing. Mr.. Rookie
teller, Mr.. Morgan and many others Of
sery large means maintain experts who do
nothing else save investigate appeals that
come TO them. Mr.. Rockefeller is an origi-
nal man. and makes study of giving. He
does not investigate appeals merely, but he
searches out this and that benevolent plan
and many a scheme has been surprised by
MIN at receiving contributions unasked.
Not all givers can. however. afford special
Investigators of their own. Hence, the COM
bination, or benevolent trust. These CIV
ers do not, in the first place. want to dis
close their identity because of the flood of
appeals that Is sure TO follow, and in the
second place they do not want to deal di-
sectly with the administrative societies be-
cause OF the one-sided character of the
advice they must, Of necessity, give. The
lstratOrs of gifts-that is the new thing
and it is a development of the times.
Ihe benevolent crop is growing as rapidly
as is the wheat or the corn crop That is,
the total of all gifts to benevolence in
creases in this country by leaps and bounds.
America has not yet reached the level of
England, because not yet the financial cens
ter, but 1t IS fast overtaking ii. No records
or benevOlence that are at all adequate are
kept. Those that are kept are of gifts
above $500, and they are recorded by pri-
a - nVnln q FIa toto n
benevolence at $50. 90. 900. others at $50, ,OOO-
DO, for last returns. That most figures are
mere guesses is shown by their variance.
II is 10 be one of the tasks of the new
benevolent trust to keep an accurate record
OF all gifts made through il or otherwise,
and 10 publish the same. Missionary benev-
olence Is rapidly increasing, and is likely,
20 experts say, to supplant for time, the
wave OF educational benevOlence that has,
Tor the last ten years, been sweeping over
the country. The tendency Is now toward
missionary causes rather than educational
ones. Faith is larger in missionary sane
ness than 1t was ten years ago.
Another cause that has led to the forma-
uOn or the benevolent trust is the employ
ment by most benevolent causes of expert
10 ggars. prolific school for these experts
has been the Methodist twentieth century
fCnd OF $2O,OO,OO0. The leaders in this move
ment were bishops and ministers, but doing
the routine work of securing these millions
nave been large number of bright young
men, by no means all of them ministers.
They have had valuable training, and i'm
mediately they developed ability they have
been picked up by this ambitious promoter
or that, and set to combing city after city
In efforts TO brush out OF them all the be-
nevOlence that all the good people had to
Destow, willing the opposite. Presby-
terians in the United States and Canada,
MethOdists in Canada, the Young Mems
Christian Association and something more
tnan ten score educational projects have
given employment TO these people. The re-
suit Is that men and women of means are
beginning TO demand protection. Skill at
begging has been developed TO a wonderful
degree. Men can be named who expect each
year TO beg $4,000 to $50, 900. They engage TO
secure such minimum sums or lose their
Jobs. Nothing about the business escapes
tnem. The proverbial drummer is not
shrewder than they.
Tne general committee of church exten-
sion of the Methodist Episcopal Church
held its final session at Philadelphia yester-
day The total amount authorized for
church building purposes for the coming
year was sS4S.OOO. Appointments were
made yesterday as follows: South Caro-
ma, $500; south California, $500; South
iermans, $ll0; south Illinois, $500; south
kansas. 1850: southwest Kansas, s., 500;
tennessee. $720; Texas. $500; Troy, 81, OO0
upper Iowa, $l,l00; upper Mississippi. $1,000;
tan mission, 500: Vermont, 500; Virginia
NUO; Washington, $500; West Germania, 800;
west Nebraska, $3.50; West, North and Da-
kOta mission. 81 80: west Swedish $780,
600 N' w.