The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1905-04-14
Tainted Money

/ lll discussing the question: raised
10y the congregational American
Board OF Commissioners for For
elgn Missions over the acceptance
of Mr. R0ckctrIIer's $lOUOOU gift
the Christian Evangelist has this
to Sny.
The question raised by thu, rW
sodr of Rockefeller and th" Amer
lean Board is too important To- be-
waived aside or answered with easy
| pirusautrrs II Is too intricate,
also, to be- solved by sweeping de.
nunrIutIous aud ott hand roudrm
nations. We do not propose to
discus, either the morality or the
legality Of Standard Oh methods
For those who approve lhr meth
DDS. no problem is presented by the
present caSc, but II Is conceivable
that problem might br raised IN
some future ease where n git comes
IRON II man or company WhO>r
methods they do not approve W.
are not going to tell the American
Board exactly what It ought to- iu
III this caSc, but there urr ~omr
considerations which ought to hr
brought forward rs elements IN the
solution of the problem
! There Is a certain type Of
Ilnanclal operation IN vogue IN tins
country which, whether legal or
not, is distinctly immoral anti
social and destructive of the best
interests of a democratic communi-
ty. Against such methods, and
those who employ them, every
righteous institution. whether
church or college or any other,
must protest Only the blind are
unconscious of the real dangers to
industrial prosperity, free govern
ment and sound character which
are involved in these pervcrslone q;
industry It is not enough to dis
tlnguish between the legal and the
Illegal III business; the courts can
do that for us We must distin
gulsh between the moral and the
immoral, the wholesome and the
demoraIizlnE.
> We must also class the little
sinners with the big sinners. If
we are against greed, we must con.
demu 1t in the poor as we'll aS in
the rich, in the unsuccessful ms well
as the successful No church ought
to make spectacular dcnunciatiOu
of billionairc who proposes to
give large sum for missions un-
less it is quite willing to 60 care.
fully over It's own membership lists
and brand the tricky deaconS and
the over sharp elders and the GOV.
etous Iaity and see what sort Of
dollars they are that 90 to pay the
preachers salary 1t would be
wholesome process in some plucrS.
but very intricate one.
), 1t is notable that good
many OF the hackers of DR.. GLADDEN.
in his protest against the arrrpt.
ance Of MIR. Rockefcllcr's money
are men who do not ScrupIct to have
profitable financial relations with
the oil trust and with other cor
pOrations which pursue the same
tactics to the limit of their oppor.
tunitles. In other words they think
that the task of testifying against
the inlqultles of trusts, rebates and
the rest should devolve upon the
churches and colleges, while the
business world attends strictly to
business and makes what profit it
can by cooperating with the evil.
doers. They will urge church or
college to refuse Il gift of trust
made money, but will themselves
accept that same money AS salary
or fees for services rendered This
false distinction involves the funda.
mental heresy Of the whole matter
If the brand must be put upon GER
tain men and methods us anti. so
cial, il must he done most of all by
the men who are engaged in bus
iuess by legitimate methods. There
are always two parties to rebate
transaction; there is the shipper
who receives and the road which
gives. If it is desirable that
churches aud colleges refuse to
countenance one party to the trans
action by accepting his gifts, is it
not equally desirable and necessary