Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-08-20
Psctors of the Ancient London
Churches Draw Enormous
lJnearned Salaries
PREACH TO MANY EMPTY PEWS
Astonishing Facts That Have Come to
LIGHT in Recent Savage Onslaught
BY Marie Ccrelli.

oNDON. Aug. lO.-In her recent
savage onslaught on the Church
Of England clergy Marie Corelli
- omitted all mention Of what really
,o,.,ltutes the greatest scandal In the
v.ablIshed church, That IL the neglect
~ clerical duties, the spiritual letharsy
and the extravagant waste of money
,h,ch characterize the administration
NJ what arc known AS the city churches
AZ London. In many Of them the aver
age congregation is outnumbered by the
choir and other paid officials. Yet they
All maintain the costly paraphernalia OF
Worship supposed to be necessary to
minister TO well filled pews.
Their Incumbents are paid big sala-
rlss ont OF all proportion to the work
tKacted Of them. Many of them double
ana In some cases treble, their incomes
by leasing their rectories for business
purposes while they reside with thelr
ismiues ln comfortable suburban homes
remote from their flocks. or engaging
IN parish work they make hardly any
uretenNtt NDIs " INV VI llt'hi hhA ~
their resources by filling professorships
during weekdays or undertaking other
secular labor with the large majority
n them TO parephrase a famous Amer
loan saving, a religious Office Is prl-
yate snap
The conditions which have made this
state of affairs possible are peculiar,
Roughly speaking, thai portion OF Lon
-. L., 1nplnnataA nc tho NHltN'
and has its own separate municipal
government occupies square mile,
with the Bank Of England as It's CEN
Ter. Within this area are now standing
no less than 50 beautiful old churches
Very picturesque they look amid the
swarmng hives Of commerce and trade.
Th,% presence onggests an interest I'm
things spiritual among the hurrying
throngs OF money seekers who fll the
streets which. unfortunately. is not YER
lied by closer investlga ton. Indeed,
their business environment has trl-
umphed over tho churches themselves,
and their incumbents appear to be Just
AZ much infected by the spirit of Mann
mon as the thousands who daily pass
the church doors. but never enter
them.
WEALTH INCREASES. CoNGREGA-
TONS DECREASE.
In the old days, when these churches
we're bullt-most Of them by Sir Chris
topher Wren after the great fire-mer-
chants tradesmcn and apprentices liv-
ed where they worked and the churches
well filled their purpose of houses OF
worship, But with the expansion OF
london came an increasing separation
between the business and residential
districts; and while the numbers OF
those working In the little "city" has
constantly increased, amounting now to
considerably more than a million, the
dwellings within It's boundaries have
steadily diminished until they now
number only about $4,000. Most Of these
are caretakers and people In humber
walks Of life whose natural religious
aflliatlons are with the nonconformist
bodies.
In consequence Of these changes the
churches are now far In excess Of the
religious needs Of the populace, and on
sundays for the most part they pre-
sent melancholy array Of empty pews,
AZ the same time the increased value
OF real estate and other ancient bene-
factions from which much Of their In
rome Ia derived, has largely increased
ther revenues and correspondlngly the
salaries Of their incumbents.
AZ forty-seven Of these churches, cap
eple OF accommodating 10000 Worship
bers, the average attendance at the two
sunday services, including clergy, choir
ana oflicials, amounts to seventy-five
lgI eaen service. In maintaining these
sGurches, i3l3i25 a year Is expended
winch works out S4i u head for each
aVendant Including those who are paid
W ue present. The income OF the forty
sNen ihcumbents aggregates s2li,260,
n neh averages A,622 for each of them,
put the Significance OF these figures Is
sply revealed only when considered IN
.gnnectlon with those that apply TO the
,Wnole church, OF the $4,000 benefices In
e Nnurch OF England 1000 are grimly
l.oMn as starvation llvings," being of
W. annual value than $3.50. while / 500
Il" .ss IMAM $500 year and 300 less
nan $3.50 No wonder SOME OF these
wetWorked and undergrad ones look
IN longing eyes on the possessors
these fat city lvings and occasion
suy raise their voices in protest
AGAINST such glarlngly unequal divi-
'Y"s OF salary and labor.
N'H OFFICIAL TO TWO WORSHIP.
PERS
within $50 yards OF the Church Of St
clpnen' Walbrook which Is situated
lb NY no 20 me Lord Mayors residence and
rb nank OF England, fourteen other
lhea are clustered. Between them
ren,e ntleen persons receive I'm salaries,
sssn OF rectories for business purpos-
nes,i,ui ploklngs OF one kind and another,
moe NpOVO annually, an average OF
,Ois lhan $500 each. A count taken
ros nelr congregations mt Sunday
ioo,aIs service, children included,
naeIeu wv while the clergy, choir and
Norss,s numbered 213-.less than two
Jumpers TO each official.
N ~ ali Christendom there ls nothing
,lsrvaIdalous to be found" is the I'M.
Epslan, comment Of one Church OF
rS'and clergyman.
ns.ss, Union Of Benences act was
ny s,eu IN 1860 with the object of unit.
ns ,hany OF the city parishes and sell
ys,s we sites OF some OF the most OH
roneng superiluous churches that the
b Won, realized might be applied where
,ei Sa,u 40 far more good. But the
he TO-, proved a virtual failure. In
unes ~ -FOUR years that have elapsed
'' 1t became operative only eish.