The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11
WITH THOSE WHOLABOR
IN THE LORDS VINEYARD
By ID. v. f RANCIS

ship of 100000, and constituency of
about 100000.
| The Rev. Charles Stelzle, secretary of
the commission, wrote to the secretaries
| or these associations, recommending that
Wherever possible a union service be
| held in one of the churches on Sunday
night to which organized labor and all
Iother workingmen to be invited and that
the various ministers preach sermons ap-
pIopriaee Tor the occasion in their own
churches on the morning of September A.
Cooperating in this movement. Samuel
Gompers, president of the American Fed
GRAFTON of Labor, sent letters to the 6OO
central labor bodies of America, request
ing them to appoint committees to wait
upon the clergymen of all denominations
making request that they cooperate with
organized labor in observing Labor Dav
he also wrote personal letters to, II. 900
protestant ministers and to many Cath
Ole priests with regard to this matter.
At the last convention of the American
Federation of Labor resolution was
adopted designating the Sunday preced-
ing the first Monday in September as
Labor Sunday, and 1t was resolved that
the churches of America be requested
to devote some part of this day to the
discussion of the labor question The va
rious central and local labor bodies were
also requested in this resolution ito CO.
operate In every legitimate way with the
ministers who thus observe Labor Sun
day. seking with them to secure as
large an audience of working men and
others as possible"
IN many of the leading cities of the
country the members of the labor unions
Identified with the central labor bodies
marched to the church in procession.
IN many cases the central labor unions
PROVIDED speakers who occupied the pull
pits of the various denominations.
All churchmen have been interested in
the census bulletin recently issued giving
church statistics
There were 164SaO Christian ministers in
the United States, besides 1854 Jewish
rabbis and they increase at the rate of
nearly 4eO0 year. Their average salaries
are not so small as many suppose. for the
sum is 1868, and there was paid to them
IN 1906 total of $69, 667,5S7. Baptists and
Methodists have more than half the whole
number of ministers in the country. due
to their very large number of minister's
In the country and their large number of
small churches, especially in rural dis
tricts.
There are. In Manhattan and Brooklvn
several scores of ministers whose sal
aries exceed $1,000 year The highest
salary ever offered minister to preach
In New York, and given out In a public
call, was $4,000 a year and a house. Of
fered last year by the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian church, and declined Sew
eral ministers receive $4,000 year, and
there are dozen or more who get S12 OOO
These salaries are the highest in the
world. A minister in London who gets
$1,000 is near the top. In New York he
is near the bottom
The government shows the average sal
aries of ministers in cities having SO0.-
OOt population and over for the principal
religious bodies to be: Baptist, 1878; Con-
gregational, 1888; Methodist, $1672; Pres
byterian, s2450; Protestant Episcopal,
$1S73; Reformed. $193S; Roman Catholic,
1854, and Jewish rabbis. $1491.
Curiously, in Baptist, Methodist and
Presbyterian, all bodies that are divided
north and south. ministers in cities in
the south having populations exceeding
100000 receive higher average salaries than
do ministers of the same denomination
in the north. The figures just given for
the bodies named are for the south.
Those for the same bodies north are 5000
year lower, the Presbyterians being
$500 lower.
In the same bodies in the smaller cities
and in the rural districts minister's sal
aries run away down, the Baptist aver
age in the south being 1894 a year Col
ored Baptists in the south average 1927
a. year. -
Tn actual money received Methodist
ministers get most of all their salaries.
amounting annually to s16,150.0O0 The
Baptists receive the next largest sum,
$40, 1923, 900: the Presbyterians get $780,
000 The Roman Catholics get $6,779,O0O
the Episcopalians $4.sS7.0O0. the Congre-
gationalists $4.164,00o, The Reformed ST.
$4,000 and the Jews only $S01 900.
1t Is estimated on the basis of those
reports that in 1910 the sum of $780,
100000 is being paid to ministers of
the United States in personal salaries
and that congregational expenses. mis-
sions and extensions involve an outlay
this year of $20O,000,000 more. These
outlays are higher than ever tefore.