Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-10-11
THE SIMPLE LIFE OF A COMMONfR
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY

and also of all moneys received and
expended. He shall also give his re-
ceipt to each pastor before the ses
sion of the Annual Conference fol
the amount received from the charge
BY signing this Agreement and
| paying one dollar per year, you be.
- a. one of us.
lSN. vwarded a copy of this Agree
meA d. Or. Arthur Edwards, editor
OF the hwestern Christian Advo-
cate at -. 20, who strongly COM
mended it. a ,%Northwestern" had
this to say Of itSx
The Forum fol- ysruary has a
suggestive article ab.. The Farm
ers Changed Condition." The author
who happens to be our personal
friend, Mr.. Rodney C. Welch of this
city, says that New England farmers
desert their farms because the latter
are no longer remunerative, whereas
farmers in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois
and other states move into town be-
cause the rent of their farms is
enough to support them in towns in
which they can the better educate
their children. He says that in these
states the actual occupants of farms
are coming to be, as in parts of
Europe, distinct peasant class, that
the English languare is seldom heard
outside the large towns, and that In
the country church services and in
struction in schools are in foreign
tongues. 1t Is certain that this testi-
mony concerning the thrush of for
eigners is confirmed in some of our
Methodist Conferences in the north
west. Rev. H. III. Green, who is in
charge of the Decorah District, Upper
Iowa Conference, thus alludes to the
change now in process:
The inclOSed paper contains, as
trust, a partial solution of a perplex-
ing problem with which we are con-
fronted. Methodism in many places
is very weak, especially in the river
counties. Our people have sold out,
and German Lutherans and Roman
Catholics have bought in. In several
places our churches have been aban-
doned, while in others our members
are few in numbers and widely scat
tered. These weak places must be
strengthened Immediately or given
up. Then, too, some places almost
wholly German are asking for the
gospel in the English language, and
are willing to help support Metho-
dist preaching. This demand comes
chiefly from the children of foreign
born citizens, who are not in SYM
pathy with the religious views and
methods of their parents. These
young people must be cared for soon,
or they will go to the bad and carry
our American young people with
them.
Mr.. Green incloses a copy of an
agreement to which he seeks to at
tach the names of sec women In his
district who will pledge a definite
sum each, for work to reoccupy waste
places of Iowa Methodism. The
money will be used TO support
preaching at points where there are
no services in the English tongue,
and to purchase large tent for sum-
mer use in neglected places in which
worship may be conducted by earn
est men. A tent has already been
bought, and there now is search for
just the right man to preach in it.
We shall hope for much from this
effort in that aggressive district. If
we expect to push our mission work
in foreign countries in which we
sometimes are scarcely welcome,
how much more ought we to urge
our message among peoples right at
our doors. We must not hesitate to
occupy the beautiful hills of Iowa
when we are forming lines of assault
on the mountain tops OF China
and India. We believe in this brave
attempt on the banks of the Missis-
sippi, and are sure that the whole
church will hail the dutiful cam
paign.
One of the first fruits of this effort
was the re-purchase of a church at
Fort Atkinson, which had been built
by the Methodists of that place, and
afterwards sold to the Baptists, who
were able to maintain services in it
for few years, but had finally been
so weakened by the same cause which
had operated against the Methodists,
that the church had been closed.
There remained few of our people
at the Fort, who had escaped the
exodus, among them being physi-
clan named Fallows, a brother of
Bishop Fallows of the Reformed
Episcopal church, also Mr.. Sum
mers, who owned and operated a
hotel there. These gentlemen with
their families were about all that
were left to us. 1t was not long
after we had obtained possession of
the church and had established reg
ular religious services there that DR..
Fallows, much to our regret, moved
from the town with his family,
which was a great loss to us. The
Fort was attached to Calmar circuit,
and has remained as one of its APP
pointments to the present time.
AS soon as practical | secured the
appointment of the Rev. f. III. Linn,
and instituted services at Gutenberg,
among a people almost wholly Ger
man. l was told that no sermon had
ever been preached in that town In