New-York tribune., 1908-04-19
CHTRCH FINANCE.

Mr. William H. Allen secretary of the bureau
of municipal research. in telling the Chicago
WomanS Club about the ways of 'gT1fters
and grating" the other day, disclosed scant
respect for the men and methods of church
finance. He said;
The amount Of corruption in the handling Of
church funds and charitable funds among people
that you and | know would be astounding II 1t
could all be brought to light. If the percentage
of malfeaSanCe in offiCe-Of borrowing and
the like-in the churches, in the religious mis-
sionary societies, in the hospitals and similar
institutions could be compared with the per-
Centage in the city government of Chicago It
would be Venturesome man indeed who would
say that the city needs attention than the
private enterprises. Perhaps a mans wife is
i'll: he asks an official to let him use a little of
a little for himself Then he takes it again,
and so it goes. The $500 on the receipt blank
and the $5 entered on the stub is far more COM
mon than the public realizes.
That the business methods of many religious
bodies are lax is doubtless true. Only a few
months ago a prominent New York City minis
ter threatened to resign unless his congregation
forsoOk certain traditional financial practices
inconsistent with the highest morality Similar
complaints are probably often lodged in private,
and their recognized validity is one of the most
potent factors in diverting large philanthrOpic
endowments from individual churches 10 great
central boards Of laymen or to secular charity
experts. Lax methods attract or create men
who will take advantage OF them and 50 long
as churchmen tolerate free and easy finance
the conditions which Mr.. Allen points out
will persist
But cannot accept without qualification
Mr. Aliens of the word corruption" in
describing the situation. Nor do we find agree
able his insnuatiOn that churches and religious
charities need as much attention municipal
loans a needy member of the congregation so
without formal authorization may know per
fectly we'll that he is carrying out the wish
Of the whole church. and the attitude of fellow
members may have led him to suppose that he
need not adhere to hard and fast business
rules Now, this view may be unsOund
as many are free to say that it is; but
member of a society IN which it prevails
can be charged with corruption" if he uses
his own honest private Judgment in distribut
ing the socetyS funds. The evil results OF
this practice simply Indictment either
of the societys ethical theory or else of its
business sense. When a treasurer takes $500
for his private use and enters only 81 on the
stub then we have corruption and nothing else:
but how often does such thing occur More
over. when il does occur the burden Of the
fault still falls in part upon the system per
mitting such crude dishonesty. In contrasting
municipal and church finance Mr.. Allen might
have done better TO match off the percentages
of actual loss through Irregularities instead OF
the mere numbers of acts deScribable as NAL
feasance in office" Church finance would then
have appeared less unfavorably alongside munl-
cpal money spending Many church officers
who have mishandled funds do their best TO rec
ompense the church as they clearly see
the error Of their ways. But how many city
officials have ever struggled TO atone for their
blunders and wickedness in spending public
money!