The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1912-09-05

3
river and On the Pacific coast,
wherein the Christian faith is not
preached to anybody, nor the Bible
taught. In Utah there are eleven
counties, in Colorado five, wherein
there are no churches of any name
save Mormon. Surveys have just
been ordered made in ali this region.
including also Arizona and New
Mexico, following which there will
be undertaken as great a home mis-
sion campaign as all of the home mis-
sion societies in America together
can make.
For years there have been charges
In the churches, practically in all of
them that mission funds are en-
plcyed to start churches in towns
wherein there are already four to
six. The evils of overlapping have
been the most comprehensive study
of home mission conditions ever
made. presbyterian, Congregational,
Lutheran, Episcopal, Baptist, Chris
tian, Methodist-everybody joined
who has any considerable interests
involved. In all principal cities from
Minneapolis West to Seattle, South to
Los Angeles, and East to Salt Lake
City and Colorado Springs conferen-
ces have been held, concluding only
last week. The experts holding them
were the missionary leaders of the
East, who handle the millions of
home mission funds. Those attend
ing them were the missionary leaders
on the felos.
The States studied were Minneso-
ia, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana,
Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Califor-
MIA, Utah and Colorado, and a sup
Elemental campaign is to be prose
cuted in February covering Nevada;
New Mexico and Arizona. Every
worker of every name in these States
was conferred with In may States
maps were furnished, official popula-
tons were given, men on the spot
were examined, and educational,
hospital and every form of work
looked into. The campaign in the
eleven principal States completed,
the Eastern men who control the
work admit themselves astounded at
the showing as a whole. They de-
clare that in scarcely more than a.
dozen centers did they discover the
overlapping so freely charged. Even
in the dozen Or so places where there
are too many churches unusual con-
ditions were reported. The overlap
ping is declared to be SO meager that
the correction of it is a mere incident
of administration.
That which appalled, the secreta
ries of the large societies was the
magnitude of the home mission tasks
presented by the towns of these
States. Populations pouring into
into rich regions, and schools and
churches utterly inadequate in num-
Der and remote in distance to care
for the people is the report. In fully
a third of the State of Colorado half
the people have no religious privi-
leges whatever. An earlier report of
n one or two of these same States,
, made by the federal council, prepared.
the secretaries in part, but they say
the situation is at least ten times as
needy as they expected to find. The
supplementary campaign in Nevada,
New Mexico and Arizona was ordered
for February and in all of the four
teen States careful surveys were or
dered made, to be completed by July
l, 1912. These studies are to be
. prosecuted by school districts and
superintendent by official representa-
tives of the societies. Every Chris
tian body, Protestant and Catholic,
will be shown in me survey.
1t being already apparent what the