The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-06-22
wof,K o. oLo-rlMn clrReYMAN.

-" Ft'ie oescrites His Position In
Town end His Duties.
L tas my fortune IN early life TO en-
Joy uie Personal friendship OF some O.,
our olker ministers. who preserved tho
profess lonal traditions. writes Edward
Everet8 Hale in the Ch,. .....-.. ,.-rister.
Times have changed SO that many 81
the cid lsawa and customs cannot be
adopted now as rules OF conduct even
II men wanted rules from another gen.
Grafton, but all OF them give some indi-
cation Of what those days we're. am
speaking to-day especially Of she lives
Of Massachusetts men.
Let 1t be remembered that TN 1881 a
settled clergyman In Massachusetts be-
longed to what the late Joseph Alea
called, with great precision. a peerare
into which noblemen were received fyr
life Precisely similar is the position
Of French Senator under the French
Constitution Of to-day; that is to say.
Il a man was settled as the minister
cf New England church ara no spec
ial provision was made to the contrary,
be was settled for life This meant hat
what was considered a competent sail
ary was assigned TO him. The town
bad a contract with him for the aanul
pavmcnt Of that salary and no oae but
council Of the churches could tut9
him out. The council could net tun,
him out except for visible immortality
20 be proved on trial
OF such men who were ordaincd be-
fore the year 1900 l Lave seen two oa
three, and have heard their stories.
Of their early life. My own grand
father. Enoch Hale, who died in the
year 1897. was one Of them. He was
settled as minister of Northampton in
Massachusetts,. think in the year 177S.
He was a minister of the same parish
when he died, having been in the min
istry Of that parish ffty-nine years.
do not think that a census of the
town ever recorded more than leo in
habitants
The earliest census. that Of 1880, gave
nothing like that population. For those
years practically the Congregational
Church was the only Church. Practi-
cally. therefore, he was the religious
and moral supervisor of every person
who resided in that town. II was his
duty every day to bear in mind more
OF less the condition of every house
hold in the town. His parish visits
from house TO house we're. strictly
speaking, not simply a friendly call of
one neighbor upon another. I do not
suppose he thought Of it. but in point
Of fact II was his personal duty to know
how each household was getting on
For every man who paid a tax In the
town OF Westhampton contributed
something toward the salary Of the
minister. and It would have been the
minister's duty, II Il we're not his pleas
ure, 70 acquaint himself with every
household as the year went by.
This made of what professional men
call parish visiting quite a different
affair from what it is today In the
country towns possibly in Boston, the
parish visits we're arranged in advance,
20 that notice OF them could be given
from the pulpit Il shall visit in the
south part of the fifth school district
lext Thursday. Friday | shall visit in
the north part Of that district, God per-
Uniting" Something like this was
said in advance from the pulpit and
the people we're expected TO be reaGy To
receive the minister. Unless something
adverse happened or transpired he met
that appointment as a merchant to-day
meets a note that comes due at the
bank.
What followed was that he probably
knew by sight, certainly by name, every
man, woman and child in the parish.
And as l am fond OF saying, II Jenny
Lind were born in the attic the minis
ter knew IL and could see that she was
rightly trained II Tom showed a fond
ness for ynathematics, the minister
knew Il and could see that he was
rightly trained. II Nahum seemed to
be throwing himself away with drink
the minister knew it and could give
Nahum the counsel or other help he
needed
There was another bit Of social order
which has rusted OF worn away as the
century wore on. which is, all the same,
worth recollectlng. IL is the noonmg
institution Of the primitive churches,
which brought people together on Sun
days. Here was large township.
There was perhaps twenty-five square
miles IN It. Scattered over the surface
Of such a town there might be 100, 600
or 500 homes. There was not much 10
bring the different families together,
unless they lived quite near each other.
There was not much, but there was one
institution nearly infalible-that WIS
the institution OF Sunday, or the Lord 3
day, or the sabbath. and wnat depended
upon IL. On Sunday every household
In the town sent one or more repre-
sentatiyes 70 what was properly called
the meeting house.
The meeting was not simply for wor-
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