Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1913-10-02
Union of Effort Would Result
in Revival of Religion, Says
President Thomas.
KINGS DAUGHTERS IN SESSION
Sixty Circles in the State with
Approximately 1.500 Mem
bers-Mrs. Davis Urges
Better Education.

feature of Yesterdays session of the
vermont branch of the International or.
ior of Kings Daughters now I'm 20tr
annual convention in this city, was the
address at the First Church last even.
ing by President John NJ. Thomas Of
Mddlcburv College on "The Country
Church"
There was good attendance and the
audience apparently thoroughly enjoyed
thc mastorful manner in which the SUBJ
)"ct was handled. The speaking was
preceded by a musical program consist
ins of an organ prelude with Harry
'orey rs organist. male ouartetto
selection, solo, Crossing the Bar" by
Harry Gallup and closed with another
selection by the male quartotte. Pr,si-
1"ut Thomas was introduced by state
President Emma II. X. Tobin of Swan
ION, and said in part:
FACTS AS TO PRESENT CONDITIONS.
Up to recently there have been only
estimates ana opinions as to th. state
and welfare of the country church. some
have assured us that all was well and
nave cited observations in supnort of
their Judgment. Others have raised voices
NJ alarm proclaiming decrease in mem
hership, lcsScning of attendance and de-
radence in the ministry of the churches
attended by farming people. For the
most part home missionary societies have
sounded a hopeful note on the other
hand, the Young Mems Christian asso-
cation has been more discouraging Pro-
i"Ssors of sociology, such as Thomas \
carver of Harvard, now with the DEPART
ment Of agriculture, and Prof. Edward
A. Ross Of the University of Wisconsin.
nave declared that the country church
has been losing its hold on its constit-
uencN and losing its own power and
vitality These Judgments have been
mostly mere differences of opinion based
on observation of particular fields or
perhaps merely upon temperament OF
reliable and trustworthy facts, founded
on painstaking investigation and research,
there has been a lamentahlc lack.
Some 20 years ago there came to a
town in Franklin county. Vermont a
young theologue from school of divin
fly in New York city to try his powers
on a country parish during the summer
vacation He found himself in a COM
munity in which there had been no reg
ular church estal, l,ishment for over 20
years. The theoloEuc had been captain
Of his football team at Yale and had row
I'd on the winning crew. His father was
a wealthy manufacturers his brother a
Wall Street broker. one might have ex-
pected that he would have packed his
trunk the second day, but instead he
q i
to get ont timber for a church. He built
the church and after an interval OF
year or two returned to it with his wife
10 become It's settled minister. The church
nourshcd morals changed. real estate
value rose, graft of sclectmcn ceased,
ana tAe town is now summer resort,
on the map in Nermonts publicity cam
paiGn,
Inc same man found himself some wears
later In town in Windsor county. paStor
OF declining church in community
that had been losing in population for
half century. He was stirred bv a
volume on religious conditions in rural
New England which seemed to him to
deny the facts, to start some investiga-
tions In his own town and other COM
munities in Windsor county. The work
grew upon him and he was at length
enabled to resign his charge and give his
entire time to investigations as to church
attendance and the general religious con-
dition of the towns in that county. His
work is one Of the most thorough and
painstaking pieces of investigation as to
American social and religious conditions
which has ever been performed The in
VeStiEator was the Rev Charles O. Gill
recently of Hartland, Windsor county
and his work was performed with the
cooperation of Clifford Pinchot, late for
ester of the United States.
Mr.. Gill set for his problem a compari-
son of the Protestant Church of Windsor
county in the years 1855 and 1905 A
period OF 20 years was selected as suffi-
clehtY expansive to Illustrate tendencies
or some permanencc and sufficiently re-
cent TO make the results important in the
discussion of present problems In each
town Mr. Gill secured the tax lists of
the two years, thus forming a complete
list or the towns families. Bv careful
inquiry OF several families and indivd-
uals as the church-going habits of the
people checking and confirming his find
ings with all possible pains. he divided
the Protestant inhabitants in those two
years into three classes occasional at
tendants, who We're present from one
sixth to one-third of the time frequent
attendants, present from one-third to two
thirds OF the time, regular attendants
present from two-thirds to all tha time.
With infinite labor he placed every fam
lily and every individual in one of these
three classes, or among those who never
attended church, and checking his re-
suits by the records of nearly one-third
of the churches, whore the attendance
had been actually counted, he found that
they were surprisingly accurate and that
II in either direction he had erred on the
side of estimating attendance at too high
a figure at the earliest period.
The results attained by Mr.. Gill are
worthy Of the most serious attention by
all who are interested in the welfare of
Vermont. First let us observe the facts
as to church attendance in several towns, |
reckoning as attendants all who 30 one