The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-09-01
MINISTERS TO THIS
| COUNTRY PAID HIGH
Statistics Show that Ameri-
can clergymen Draw the
Best Salaries.
|ppEcpyrEpiAM pAMK Elp&T
PRESBYTERIAN RANK FIRST
TAE AVERAGE HERE, $66s -164.e $50
PREACHERS GOT $ss, ee7 ,ss7.
GOVERNMENT REPORTS Epls-
coPAL DEBTS LOWEST.

coPAL DEBTS LOWEST.
New York. Sept. Ia bulletin sust
issued by the government gives facts
never before coilated about Christian
ministers in American cities. their
number and salaries. and about tho
mortgage debts OF churches. The fig.
ures are for 1906. but have inst been
made public. and are more exhaustive
even than religious bodies ever have
attempted.
There were 164.s3o Christian minis
tiers and 1854 Jewish rabbits In the
United States In 1908 and they IN.
crease at the rate OF nearly 1000 .
year. Their average salary II 3663
and there was paid to them In 1905
total OF 36s.667.5S7. Baptists and
Methodists have more than half tho
whole number Of ministers In the
country. due to their large number
Of small churches. especially In rural
districts.
In Manhattan and Brooklyn are sev-
eral scores OF ministers whose salars
les exceed $4,000 year. The highest
salary ever offered minister 10
preach In New York was $4,000 =.
year and q house. offered last year
by the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian
church. Manhattan-and declined!
Several ministers receive $4,000 !
year. and there are = dozen or more
who set $4,000.
These salaries are the highest In
the world. London and Berlin aver.
ages are hardly more than $4,000 !
year. That II, . London minister Who
gets $4,000 is near the top. n New
York he ID near the bottom.
The government shows the average
salaries Of ministers In cities having
100000 population and over b b:
Baptist. $1.7s3; Congregational. ~
s3s; Methodist, $1,s42: Presbytesian.
$3.50; Protestant Episcopal el.873:
Reformed, $1,s3s: Roman Cathoaic.
1854 and Jewish, $1.49l.
In the smaller cities mad rural dir
tricts, ministers salaries run away
down. Baptists IN the South average
1894 and colored Baptists III the South
1927. On the other hand. bodies that
are strongest IN the cities. like the
Unitarian, the Protestant Episcopal
and the Roman Catholic. the averages
stay about the same.
For example, Unitarians receive the
highest average salaries Of all. their;
figure being 31.653. The Protestant
Episcopal ranges down from 31,873 ~
$1.517, the Roman Catholic docs not
fall off at all. the rural districts rang.
ing higher than the average. &C 471l.
Tho average salaries Of Christian
Science readers Ii only e134 TOR the
whole country, with 1060 . the aver.
age In cities having &c., 900 population
or more. The government explains
this curious fact % that readers are
practitioners ~ rule and are expect
ed to earn their own support.
In actual money. Methodist minis
tiers get most OF oil. their salaries nm
ounting annually to 916.150. 900. Esp
lists receive @10.3z3.00D, PresbytArians
$7,610,OOO Roman Catholics 96.979, Ooo,
Episcopalians 1887 900. Consregn-
49, vS s.os -. 1 vA'o.ss
WV aiu So" SoOA.vOo. 4No. - 8 49, q.
Teported' 70 THESE HsuIes, e pIacllcal-
" every instance. ouenf 20 De incrsaer
60 BY one-fifth tor 1900. and anoth-
er NTH Tor the present year. i y
estimated on the basis Of these 70
ports that In 1910. 500, O00. 900 win
be paid In salaries. and that cor8ro~
gationai expenses. missions. and *
tensions will Involve @300.000. GO
more
The value OF church property =
New York y S153,953,740. This Aoes
not include parsonages, hospft4is, o.
asylums. only buildings used for pub-
lie religious Worship. The debts np0n
all is $19.062.41S. about 11.3 percent-s
Boston has invested IN churches
$27. 900 900. with debts amounting g,
percent Of their value; Chicago has
the same sum invested. with 1SH per
cent; Baltimore $14.O0O. 900. with 103s
percent; Philadelphia $45yO00.0oo.
with percent; Newark @8.O00, 80.
with IN percent and Washington $10.-
100000. with 10h percent debts.
In New York city the properties
of debts to valuation Of properties -
much higher among Roman Catholics
ans Jews than among Protestants.
Roman Catholic church properties e