Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-05-27

The average annual salary of a
minister of the gospel is but $66S, in
all the denominations represented in
the compilations on this subject in
Part / of a special report on the
Census of Religious Bodies for 1906,
which is now in press preparatory to
its submission by United States
Census Director Durand to Secretary
Nagel of the Department of Com
merce and Labor The report was
compiled under the supervision of
Mr. William c. Hunt, chief statisti-
clan of population in the Census
Bureau, and the statistics were col
lected partly by correspondence and
partly by special agents.
First Official Statistics Concerning
Pay of Ministers.
1t is pointed out in the introduce
tioni that this is the first time an
attempt has been made in a United
States census to secure official sta
tistics concerning salaries paid to
ministers. 1t is stated that the re-
suits of the census are not entirely
satisfactory on account of the failure
of some ministers to report their
salary and of others to report with
sufficient clearness, OF the grand
total of 1856 denominations in con-
tinental United States, the report
states that 10 have no regular min
istry and 50 either pay no stated
salaries or made returns which were
not sufficiently complete to warrant
tabulation.
OF the 2O1,351 organizations COM
posing the 1O2 remaining denominq-
tions, there were 164,229, or SIG
per cent, which made returns to the
census inquiry, and the report states
there is reason to believe that these
are substantially complete and ac-
curate, and it is thought that they
embrace a sufficient number CT
organizations of the respective de-
nominations to be fairly representa-
tive of conditions as to the average
salaries paid to ministers. The fig
ures in the tables are for conti-
mental United States, for each of the
four principal classes of cities-that
is, those having a population in 1900
of $4,000 to $4,000, of $4,000 to
100000, of 100000 to 100000,
and of 100000 and over, and for the
area outside of them
Unitarians Show Highest Average
Salary.
The denomination showing the
highest average is the Unitarian,
with S1,653, while the denomina-
tions next in order are the Protestant
Episcopal Church, $1,242; the
Universalists, $1,23S; the General
Convention of the New Jerusalem in
the United States of America,
$1,233; the Jewish congregations,
$1,222; the Presbyterian Church in
the United States of America,
$1,177; the Reformed Church in
America, $1,17O; the United Presby-
terian Church of North America,
$1,096; the Congregationalists
$1,O42; the Christian Catholic
Church in Zion, 81, 81; and the
Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian
Church of North America, $1,OOS.
Among the denominations show
ing an average salary considerably
lower than the general average for
the United States are the Advent
Christian Church. all the Baptist
bodies except the Northern Baptist
Convention; the Christian Union;
the Christian (Christian Connec-
tion) the Church Of Christ, Scien-
tist; the General Eldership of the
Churches of God in North America;
the Society of Friends (Orthodox)
the colOred Methodist bodies; the
Methodist Protestant, Wesleyan
Methodist and Free Methodist
churcheSi the salvation Army; and
the Volunteers of America. In the
case of most of these last-named
bodies as shown by the report, many
of the organizations reporting are
outside of the principal cities, and
many Of them are doubtless in rural
regions, and the fact accounts large
ly for the comparatively low average
salary. The low average shown for
the Church of Christ, Scientist, is
said to be due to the fact that most
of those who serve as ministers, 5r
readers, are persons having other
vocations a not dependent on the
salaries paid by the churches. IN
the case of the Salvation Army and
the Volunteers of America the al
lowance made for the officers serv-