The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-09-29

seen if that paper ceases to give evil
dence of interest in anything. except the
collection OF money 10 support an enter
prise from which no definite and no direct
benefit results to the church has yet been
made apparent.
| Fourth.-Proof that kinShip must have
an influence is furnished when paper neg
| lcctS home mission churches while devOt-
ing great space an unceasiug energy to
Mexico.
! Fifth-Exccpt for ulteriOr reasons it
wOuld seem that Il real church paper-a
paper that is not the organ OF faction
would have at heart the interests of the
whole church are far greater than the in
tcrcsts of any individual, no matter how
! good he may bc or how nearly related he
| he may be to any OF us
Siyth.-TO devote a large per cent. of the
| space of the church paper for the material
| benefit of people over whose spirituality
! it can not possibly hope to exercise the
least influence, is not only 4 crime against
the church at home, but it is an inexpress-
| ible wrong against the people.
Seventh.-EXcept for some unheralded
reason, every man must know that the un-
natural and unreasonabiy declared interest
in strangers must have an ulterior motive.
If this were not so, why should the church
paper and the board be so anxious about
the church In Tampico and so Indifferent
as to the mission church at Abbeville? Are
the people of Abbeville not as good as the
people of Tampico? If so, why the ex-
tremC anxiety about one and so careless
about the other?
Eighth.-If the church paper and the
board were not influenced, why are the
Mexican churches not taxed? If the church
paper and the board meant to he fair and
were working in the interests OF the
church, why should those churches in
Mexico not be assessed while every home
mission church is heavily taxed in the
name Of religion for the benefit of a partic-
ular coterie of people beyond the Rio
Grande?
THE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE THE COURAGE
OF THEIR CONVICTION.
If pastor and people in other churches
would come together and report frankly
as did the Abbeville congregation on last
Sunday the Synod would be well informed
and could act intelligently. The Synod
knowing the weak points could apply the
remedies, or SO act as not to create or to
add friction and not to widen any possible
division of sentiment among our own peo-
pie. In union there is strength. In dis
sension there is weakness. The majority
may temporarily set their feet on the
necks of the minority, but to create dissat-
isfaction with even the minority is to plant
the seeds of discomfort, and to weaken the
whole.
4 church, like any other corporation,
should present a solid or united front to
the outside world.
But with reports which may be shaded
to suit the sentiment of even the pastor, at
the loss of followers, is to injure not only
his usefulness, but such course must
weaken the church itself. With reports
which indicate strength where there is
weakness, and with statements which Sig
nifty that there is zeal where there may be
a lack OF interest is to mislead the Synod,
which Synod may be governed by the
board of foreign missions and which board
of foreign missions may be controlled
more by the wants Of individuals than by
the demands of eXpediency.
THE POISON WHICH IS SWEET MAY RUIN.
The distribution Of gifts is often neces-
sary for the success OF struggling congre-
cations, but such action is always attended
the people with that poison which may
bring Incidence and which poison too often
destroys the pride and the self-respect OF
individuals while weakening the congre-
cation itself.
And nothing-will more certainly ruin the
spirit of a congregation than to teach it to
continuously rely upon the charity Of 9TH
ers for the support Of their preacher: ,
Aud, on the other hand, the giving of
gifts. which is followed by an iron hand de-
manding crushing tribute from those
who love the church, is perhaps the most
demoralizing act that could be exercised
by the worst form Of tyranny that was
ever invented By what method OF rea-
soning can the missionaries order the
board to require the Synod to take from
Abbeville SIS Of the money which the home
board had given to us and which had been
used to pay our preacher
If the Synod is acting in its own legal or
moral right, and not at the behest or 9TH
ers, wherein lies the justice of taxing.
home congregation in Abbeville that mis-
sion church in Tampico may exist, and
whose preachers or missionaries are
paid double the price of their services at
home Why should the money that ought
to 20 to pay the Abbeville preacher be
forcibly taken from us or from him to pay
the expense Of continuating or perpetual
ing a useless or a worthless aggregation
in Tampico?
A DEFENSE THAT PROVES MY CONTENTION
Archibald Mclean, President Of the For
eign Christian Missionary Society, in try
ing to dlsprOve the facts as published by
Thos. E. Watson in the Jeflersonian, says,
in part:
No man goes to the field thinking that
he can better his condition in any sense or
that he may have cOrking time generally.
There are men who could be earning from
five to fifty thousand dollars a year who
receive thousand dollars a year as mis-
Senaries."
| know of no A. r. P. Missionary who
does not certainly receive more than a
Thousand dollars year, OF about double
| the amount he received at home, and until
| Mr. Mclean tells us the names of mission
aries who could earn at home from live to
| fifty thousand dollars year shall not be-
| lieve any such statement. This unbelief
on my part is based upon the fact that
| know that our missionaries are making
more money in Mexico than ever knew
them to make at home. A majority, if not
all of them, are making about double any
amount they ever. received at home. For
instance: From the Minutes of Synod,
1903, under the head of Salaries of Mis-
sionaries," l find that one is paid S1,1OO;
another $1,07375; another, SSS2.5O; and
still another 81 ,225.
Under the head of " Expense OF Field and
Salaries of Native Workers" l find that
one Of the missionaries above referred to
is paid S64G10; another missionary is paid
S5493S; another is paid $500; another is
paid $37