The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-01-02
GOT THE S20,OOO.OO
. Magnificent Fund Contributed by
the Members of the Method st
Church.

Chicago Tribune: On the evening
of december 81 there will be an i'm
pressive scene in Trinity Methodist
Episcopal church in Springfield,
Mass. Bishop Fowler will be present.
W. D. Mcdowell, secretary Of the
Methodist board Of education, also
be present. Neither of these two
men however, will get the interest
and attention which will be given a
third man who, three years ago was
a presiding elder Of excellent reputa-
tiOn but Of no great renown. That
mar is Edmund NJ. Mills. On the
evening Of December 81, in Trinity
church, at midnight, DR.. Mills will
make the announcement that he has
raised the last dollar of the 800, 600
90 Methodist thank Offering fund.
For three years DR.. Mills has been
giving the thank Offering fund his
whole time. His headquarters are
said to look like a bank and a mail
order house put together. The
amount Of speaking, writing and con-
ferring which DR.. Mills methods re-
quired has been tremendous. The
executive officers of the Methodist
church all have a push and dash
which the promoters of Texas oil
we'll companies look at with envy.
Seldom, however has any Methodist
officer been able to look back at three
years of greater accomplishment
than those which DR.. Mills is now
rounding out.
The ends to which the Methodists
will apply their 500, 900, 900 are in
teresting. There will be about S.
000, 900 applied to education. SYRIA
cuse university and Ohio WESLEYAN
university will get over 81, 900. 900
apiece. Education being thus aided
there will be a large sum for retired
ministers. Such. at any rate, are
the statements that have been give
to the press.
The most significant fact with re-
gard to the people who have con-
tributed to the thank Offering fund
is that they are of he rank and file.
DR.. Mills has reported a few gifts of
stupendous size. This is where the
giving power of the Methodist church
is explaind. The members Of that
church are neither the sediments nor
the froth OF the modern world. They
are mainly people who work hard,
have steady, regular incomes, live
temporarily and spend little ostenta-
tlosly or super6uOusly. 1t is from
such people the money can be raised.
1t is from such people that the
Methodist 500, 900, 900 has been
raised. OF course money is more
plentiful now than it used to be for
people in the social position of most
members of the Methodist church.
and $40, 900, 00G in 1902 is a smaller
sum than $4,000. 900 would ha We been
IN 1872. This has to 0e remembered.
Even so, however, the present 500
OOO, OOO is a great achievement. The
Methodists should have congratulate
lions from their neighbors.
The Dr.. Mills mentioned in the
above article is the same gentleman
who came to Mitchell a year ago last
May and held the handles to the plow
that turned the first ..furrow toward
making the excavation for the New
Century Memorial Hall. DR.. Mills
was greatly impressed with the Dos
slbilities of college building in the
west and in his address delivered in
MS city he made some prophecies
that were going to be fulfilled in
Mitchell, at least, by the erection of
the building that he started. DR..
Mills spent a week 10 the state in
travelling in the interests of the
University and his work stimulated
the church in this state to come to
the 5 of the new building pro-
ject.