Semi-weekly herald., 1908-04-20
TELEGRAPH NEWS

sermon, Rev. Dr. Madison c. Peters
bitterly attacked Trinity Church Cor
poration. describing it as New York's
worst Citizen" and -the wealthies,
and most mysterious monopoly in the
world.
The value OF its real estate In New
York Is estimated" he said. "at any
where from S4O.OOo.00O to si00, ,0o0, 90
and its revenue in rents is second
only to that of the Astors."
After telling how through legislat-
i've jugglery the title of lands. decided
originally to "the rector and inhab-
itants of New York City in commun-
ion with the Protestant Episcopal
Church of England" were transferred
TO 'the rector, church wardens and
vestrymen OF Trinity corporation in
the City of New York." DIR. Peters
said:
To-day there is no more mysterious
order in the world, for no one but the
rector, the vestry, the wardens and
The controller know where the money
goes. and for more than 100 years NO
officer has ever made to the commun
icants of Trinity. to whom the prop
erty ostensibly belongs, any account
of his stewardship.
The corporation has been absolute
ly impervious 10 all attacks OF the
newspapers and magazines and efforts
OF the legislature to find the reason
of the whole mystery. The 1000 COM
nunicants of Trinity parish have no
more voice in the management of its
affairs than they have In st. Patrick's
cathedral. 1t is the closest corpora
tion in the world.
Trinity paid in taxes alone in 1906
s9l.41203, indicating an assessed
value of $1S.000,000; but Trinity's fay-
orite lease provides that the tenan'
shall pay all taxes and assessments
and make all repairs. Behind this
useful clause much wealth is in hid.
ing.
The Trinity Year Book for 1897
states that the annual income of the
corporation for the past year was
about ST15,000, not including collec
tlons and contributions in the differ
ent churches. amounting to $80,2969S.
What becomes of this 1856, 900? The
total expense of the parish, including
the charities. has been yariously cs-
timated. but it is not supposed to ex-
ceed 100000.
What becomes of the net balance :?
Nobody knows. We know that tho
rector gets $25,O0O per annum, free
house and perquisites; which makes
his income about $4,000 to preach
only occasionally the gospel of Him
who when on earth had no place to
lay His head
"A large part OF the vast estates of
Trinity are the worst tenements In
New York, located in the Eighth ward
While the tenement houses In all sec.
lions of the town have improved, Trim
ity's have grown worse. The rocker
les are overcrowded and only such
repairs are made as are needed to
keep them from falling down.
ASK the board of health and tho
tenement house commission and they
VIII tell you that Trinity is the worst
landlord im New York. A few years
ago the corporation actually fought
the constitutionality of an act requir-
ing water on each floor so that the
miserable tenants might wash.
DO you wonder that the chapels of
Trinity In the downtown streets are
seldom attended by the poor living
around their sanctuaries? They have
come to look upon the men who run
those churches as lot of contempt
ible hypocrites who wrap their COM
Portable robes about them and care
nothing about the sufferings of the
people"
SEATTLE. Wash, April 1s.-A
special today from Fairbanks to the
Post-Intelligencer says word was re-
ceived there that the two men who
made recent strike on Nolan creek
In the Keyokuk. have panned out 3d.
900 already and that they only took
the pans from bedrock, the gravel
going to build up big dump which
WI be washed up in the spring. On
Wiseman creek a similar wash has
been found and II the men now at
work strike as rich pay as is found
on Nolan creek another big camp
viii spring up In Alaska.
BUTTE. Mont. April 16.--A late es,
innate of the loss occurring by the
bursting OF the Hauser Lake dam,
north of Helena, based upon reports
received from various points In the
flood district. place the amount at
about half million dollars, though
this may be exceeded by about $780,
600 when more detailed reports are
had from the more remote sections.
This morning the Missouri river at
Great Falls was between three and
four feet high. and rising at the rate
of AN inch an hour. The slow rise of
the river would indicate that the
Hood had practically spent its force,
and the copper smelters of the Anal.