The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-09-11
BY Leased Wire to The Tribune.

BY Leased Wire to The Tribune.
NEW YORK, Sept, 10-Rehgious &C.
tivities have now been turned from the
tents, the factories and the street cor
ners and the regular places of worship
have been opened for the winter, with
pastors refreshed by their long vaca-
tions and ready for work Really last
Sunday marked the formal opening of
the seasons work in the city churches
and in very many of them the evening
of the labor question. The ministerial
associations in 80 cities, and rep
resenting over 125,000 Protestant min.
listers, were requested by the Social
Service commission Of the Federal
Council of the Churches of Christ in
America to preach on some phase of
the labor question on Labor Sunday,
September 4. The Social Service com.
mission officially represents thirty three
Protestant denominations in this coun.
try, having u membership of 1S,000000
and constituency of about 40,000000.
The Rev. Charles Stelzle, secretary of
the commission, wrote to the secretaries
of these associations, recommending
that wherever possible union service
be held in one of the churches on Sun
day night to which organized labor and
all other workmen should be invited and
that the various ministers preach SER
mons appropriate for the occasion in
their own churches on the morning of
September 4.
Co operating in this movement, Sam
uel Gompers, president of the American
Federation of Labor, sent letters to the
600 central labor bodies Of America, re.
questing them to appoint committees
to wait upon the clergymen of all de-
DnYog, g,,pfa IL, II
ooperate with organized labor in OBJ
serving Labor day. He also wrote per-
sonal letters to $4,000 Protestant min
listers and to many Catholic priests
with regard to this matter
AT tho last convention of the Ameri-
can Federation Of Labor, a resolution
was adopted designating the Sunday
preceding the first Monday in Septem-
Der as Labor Sunday, and it was re-
solved that the churches of America
be requested to devote some part of this
day to the discussion of the labor ques.
tlon, The various central and local la
Dor bodies were also requested in this
resolution "to cooperate in everv Ie.
gitimate way with the ministers who
thus observe Labor Sunday, seeking
with them TO secure as large an audi,
ence OF wording men and others as
possible. - In many Of the leading cities
OF the country the members of fhe la
Dor unions identified with the central
labor bodies marched to the church in
procession. In many eases the central
labor unions provided speakers who
occupied the pulplts Of the various de,
nominations,
Church Statistics.
All churchmen have been interested in
the census bulletin recently issued civ.
ing church. statistics. There were lj4-
S6O Christian ministers in the United
states, besides 1854 Jewish rabbis. and
they increase at the rate of nearly 1000
year; Ihelr average salary is not
30 small as many suppose, for the sum
IS 5000, and there was paid TO them in
1906 total Of 500 ,667 ,5S7. Baptists and
Methodists have more than half tho
whole number of ministers in the coun
try. due to their very large number of
small churches, especially In rural dis
tricts.
There are in Manhattan and BROOKLYN
several scores of ministers whose sal,
aries exceed $4,000 year, The highest
salary ever offered a minister to preach
In New York, and given out in public
call, was 900 year and house, of
fered last year by the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian church. and declined. Sey-
eral ministers receive $4,000 81 wear
and there are a dozen or more who get
$4,000. These salaries are the highest
IN the world, A minister in London
who gets $4,000 is near the top. In New
York he is near the bottom.
The government shows the averag ge
salaries Of ministers in cities having
100000 population and over for the
principal religious bodies to be: Bap.
tist,, $1793; Congregational, $l0ss;
Methodist, $1672; Presbyterian, $245o;
Protestant Episcopal, $1s73; Reformed,
$l93S; Roman Catholic, 1854, and jew
ish rabbis. $l401.
Curiopsly in Baptist. Methodist and
Presbyterian. all bodies that are divid.
ed north and south. ministers in cities
in the south having populations exceed
ing 100000 receive higher average sal
aries than do ministers of the same de-
nomination in the, nnrth- The figures