University Missourian., 1909-05-18
THE MUCK-RAKEl AND HIS WOpK

vestrymen. only the clerk and CON.
troller receive a salary. the rest irwin,
their services free. He says that tho
Rector is the general manager of this
$Jo.O00.O0O corporation. Yet calls his
salary of $4,000 a year high. Whom
men with much less responsibility in
nearly every other occupation rcce;vs
as much or more
Mr.. Baker says that the poor peo-
pie who occupy the tcncmcnts owned
by the Trinity corporation pay the ex.
pcnses of the rich churches of Trinity
uptown. He might just as We'll main
tain that the boys who play pool in
the building leased from Stephen, Col.
lege are paying the expenses of that
school. Those who live i'm the teno.
mcnt> of the Trinity corporation nav
for place to live in. and at such q
rate that the corporation only makes
two per cent. In one sentence. he con.
demns the corporation. because. as a
spiritual body. it gets 80 much ont Of
the poor people for the support of its
churches; and in the next. because. rs
4 business organization. it could only
show earnings of two per cent. And
while he is jumping on the corporation
for not making more profits as a bus.
mess proposition. he also Jumps on if
for not givin" better tcuement houscs
though he admits that they are not
50 bad as | expected to find. no worse
than those owned by other landlords in
the same nci"hborhood. In general
they are better
Perhaps. Mr.. Bakers greatest arr1,-
mcnt against Trinity. in his own eyes.
Is that it is giving too much free re-
li"ion. 1t gets its money from its real
estate. instead of from its members.
and because it does not take more than
1t gives to the poor. it "dcspiscs the
pennies of the poor" To Mr.. Baker.
religion seems to be the givin" of
the making of sacrifices. He
lauds the church that required some of
ITS members to 30 without eg"s and
butter all year. that it mig ght have a
new church building
Such is Mr. Bakers ease AGAINST
Trinity. Only his own conclusions
make case against Trinity The facts
he gives make ore for Trinity. And
what are these facts. Back in the
'arly history of New York. the Trim
ty parish was given some land to aid
t in its religious work. In time. that
property has come to be very valuable
Until now the Trinity parish in the
orm OF 4 corporation is worth about
'5O.OOO.OOO. At one time. much of its
wealth was in good residence property.
mt as the city grew. its fashionable
property gradually became a tenement
district. From Il very small per cent
II income from this and other property.
rihlty parish pays the expenses of
en- churches, some of them in the
fashionable part of New York. where
eiI"Ion is needed as much as any,
Where, and some of them in the poor
r parts of the city. There are mis-
lonary and philanthropic societies.
lnbs. schools and kindcr.artcns. The
Npeh>eS OF these are paid by the re-
lIrns from Trinity's proprrty. eyccpt
Of SlS,2lo annual pew rent and s94
nnual charities contribution. which is
objected from the members. No doubt
as been raised as to the honesty of
nose who handle the money. Even
lr- Baker acknowledges the great
.ork that the church is doing. Where
The CRIME of Trinity: What is the
Use against it: Mr.. Baker has riven
no clear proof that there is one.
h"t there Is one. And that is the
Use not against Trinity but against
a! Stannard Baker himself. for writ
J" such nonsense and against the
ih'rican Magazine for printing it. 1t
time that writers and publishers
louid wake up to the fact that the
hherican people cannot always be
'oled INTO taking everything: that
'ev are getting tired of "muckrak.
2; and that fancies cannot substi-
tie figures. ROHIV cOJuD