Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-11-17
SVs-Es-s'Es "S'ssSTvTT
For Sunday Reading.
Women to Fin the Clerical Ranks.
All Sorts Of Opinions.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

Women to Fill the Clerical Ranks.
Shall we have ministry recruited
by ordained women? is a question put
by writer of the Methodist Episco-
pal denomination, in viewing with dis
may the present waning supply of
men. The writer. Rev. Daniel Steele.
D. d., contempates the statement
made by DIR. w. N Rice, In The
Alumni Record, of Wesleyan Univer-
sity. that among the alumni between
1872 and 1905 the gain In the number
of physicians was 81 per cent, in the
number of lawyers "A per cent. of bus
mess men 154 per cent, while the gain
in the number of ministers was only
per cent" In addition he quotes the
report of the secretary of the Metho-
dist Educational Fund to the effect
that, while In 1899 there We're Lib
students assisted from the fund in
paying their expenses for education.
the number in 1904 was decreased to
S26. Seventy-five years ago. remarks
Dr. Steele, in The Christian Advocate
(New York;, "Methodisrn. having no
colleges nor universities nor theologi-
cal semnaries and only few acad-
emies, drew her ministerial supply al
most entirely from the pillow and the
shop. But since the wide diffusion of
education among the laity she can not
continue to do thisN No hope Of re-
cruits from the Salvation Army. the
offspring of Methodisn," can be enter
tanned, says the writer, since "as a
whole the Army lacks that literary ard
theological training requisite for sue
to-, NsctNN yaV 4
seems at present to be affected by the
same chill that has struck us. with
this difference: they are slipping down
from evangelism to philanthropy, from
salvation of the souls of the poor to
the betterment of their physical con-
dition, while we are sinking down into
satisfied worldliness.'
One Tray Of light" declares DR..
Steels, "illumlnes the gloomy pros
pect." 1t is this:
Our bishops may be authorized by
the general conference to do at nome,
as they do in our Asiatic missions, ap-
point women as we'll as men TO their
various fields of Christian labor. Null
tiply the number Of deaconesses ana
enlarge their sphere to include preach
ing and pastoral care and the admins
tration Of the sacraments In the alb
sence of an elder and you instantly
more than double the ministerial sup
ply For there are in our church two
women to one man, Mary and a
Martha to every Lazarus. If our stasis-
tics correspond with those Of the Con-
gregationalists, who report the sex OF
their members, as we fail to do. Per-
haps divine Providence is making |
for the incoming of these
auxiliary forces into the battle field just
in time to gain the victory. For never
in the history Of the world were the
doors of universities opened to women
as they are today, when throngs of
them, eagerly culturing their brain
while their brothers are Strengthening
their Drawn, are capturing most of the
scholastic prizes. DR.. Harris, the for
,ner United States commissioner Of ed
ucation. predicts that in less than
the lead in litera ture, science, art, and
1t was womans pen that prepared
the boys In blue to fight bravely
against slavery. Said President Lin
coin when Mrs. Stowe was introduced
to him. taking her hand in both of his,
is this the little woman who made
this big warp The national demand
for the investigation of the stupendous
of the Standard Oil Com
pany, as voiced my President Roose-
welt, was inspired by a woman maya
zine writer. Within a year or two
there has been placed in the rotunda
Of our national capitol the marble
statue Of Methodist woman, the most
widely known and best beloved re-
former in the world. These are indi-
cations of the glorious possibilities oe
Christian women in the future of
Christs kingdom. They may have
come to the intellectual Kingdom for
such time as this or rather for that
time which will soon come, If our wan
ing ministerial supply continues few
longer"