Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-01-05

So Says Guy c. Lamson-No Professional
Man Spends So Economically, He Tells
NeWspaperman

NeWspaperman.
A recent issue of the Boston Ameri-
can contained the result of an interview
with Rev. Guy c. Lamson, son of Mr..
and Mrs. C. B. Lamson of this town, in
which he commented upon the finances
of ministers. The article, which was &C
companied by a picture of Rev. Mr..
Lamson, was as follows:
mo professional man spends a ten
dollar bill so economically as the aver
age minister" says the Rev. DR.. Guy C.
Lamson, state secretary of the Baptist
Publication society, who has a large and
varied experience in visiting the homes
of the clergy in the country districts of
this state. He is also one of the select
men of the town of Hyde Park and was
formerly pastor of the Baptist church
there.
He resents the criticism recently
heaped upon the average minister that If
he had more money, he would not spend
it to advantage.
mo man makes a better use of his
money and can show so much for 1t, as
the average minister" says DR.. Lamson
II do not think that any one will
doubt this who has any acquaintance
with the homes of the ministers in the
country towns of New England.
They say that the average salary for
a Baptist minister in Vermont Is $736
and a house. That amount of money is
so we'll used that many ministers have
sent their som and daughters to col
lege.
"Other men wonder how it is done?
1t is done because the average minister
has trained himself how to spend mon
ey. To be sure he does not get much
In the way of salary. but what he does
get, he makes an impression with 1t and
is able to show much more than the av-
erage lawyer.
You give a lawyer ten dollars, and he
will have it spent within an hour, but
you give 1t to a minister and he will
talk the expanding of 1t over with his
wife, and they will finally make that
none go far towards paying for many
things.
1.-The average minister has few lux
uries. He has no expensive habits and
there is no man so valuable to any COM
munity as he Is.
81 have seen a ~clergyman's wife take
the fee of a marriage and make 1t go
very far. She used to tell me what she
bought with ii, and I wish that the av-
erage lawyer or physician would emu
late the good judgment shown in that
expenditure.
"This talk about ministers not being
good business men is not true. Why, they
are the very best business men. They
are doing a large business on a small
capital.
mo men in any community live so
simply and so economically as they do,
In every particular.
THE sons and daughters of ministers
who come from little country ~parsonages
are the people who have taken a promi-
nent stand In many of the affairs OF hui
man life. Look through the names of
noted men and women in America and
you will see that many of them got
their best lessons In the parsonage.
II tell you that no one spends money
so well as this profession. Many of
them make a suit of clothes go two to
three years or more and the ingenuity
of a minister's wife Is something pass
ing human understanding.
You can't help admiring the wives
of the parsons In New England. They
can make n remake a dress with more
skill than other women. They always
look neat.
Take the subject of bonnets. How
little is spent by the average wife OF a
clergyman. yet she always looks well
n sets an economical pace to others.
Talk as you may about the salaries
of ministers being small. They should