Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-09-29
Fluctuations of Money
Halt Missionary Work

I offices In the mission fields were told to
! spend whatever money was needd.
In South China. German missionaries
were starving and We're relieved. In
Persia, where German missionaries were,
they We're in a terrible plight. In one
Persian city alone, to Germans and to
natives. 5000 tons of food a day We're
given out, and this went on for weeks.
"A few French missionaries were succOred.
but for the most part all European socie-
Ties nave Kept up support of their workers
In Asia. save Germany and Belgium. The
Germans We're cut off absolutely from
sending support. and the Belgians had
none to send. Just now, according to re-
ports reaching American societies., con-
ditions are desperate in all regions
reached by the Turks.
Exchange Diverted.
An effect of the war is permanently to
divert missionary fund exchange from
London to New York. For many years
almost all mission funds sent abroad by
the United States and Canada were con-
verified into pounds sterling and handled
through London. Now the sum SO pass
ing is less than a half of the total, or
about $1,000, 600 a year out of a total of
sl2,0oO,0OO If the war lasts another year
exchange will be reduced to London to
that actually spent in countries depend
ent on England. Some say it may fall to
81. 100000 a year. New York is gaining
and. it is said. will hold the gain.
Conditions with Catholic foreign mis-
sions are said not to improve. The
great Catholic foreign society has head
quarters in Lyons. and France has long
been the chief source of money supply.
Now it is almost wholly cut off. while
Germany and Austria, liberal givers here
tofore. will not contribute through a
French society. ever if physically able
to get remittances through. The society
collects money nn0 vaor and novc A. ont
the next. SO the stringency will not come
till next January. Meanwhile, Catholics
of the United States and Canada are be-
ing called upon so save work and work.
erS.
Situation Desperate in East.
So desperate are money exchange ia
cilities in the near east that the Standard
Oil company and missionary societies
have been cooperating to get money into
Persia and Syria, and also to transmit
money that G%alicians. Hungarians.
Armenians and others want to send back
to their relatives. No money is really
sent, for it can not be, but missionary
societies pay money into the Standard
Oil here. and it orders it's money to be
paid out in ConStantinOple and Beirut.
Armenian and even Galician Jews go to
the missionary societies and money for
their friends is getting into var zones
in this manner Even Egyptians are get
ting money in this way.
Money exchange with South America
is as difficult as with Europe. only in a
different way. Rates fl%uctuate to such
extent that it is increasingly impractical
BILE to transmit money at all. Missionary
societies are hoping that the new VEN
lures of American bankers in South
America will remedy matters. In China
also silver is way down, and the present
rate of exchange between China and the
missionary societies in America and Can
ada is only ~ cents, a discount of more
than half.
Societies on Beam Ends.
Christian societies n Jewish relief
agencies are almost on their beams ends,
SO to speak, not in ability to get hold of
money for their work and to keep people
from starving, but in distractions over
handling and transmitting funds Ameri-
cans are cheerfully giving money to
ave the lives and families of German
missionaries In distant fields. But the
fluctuations of exchange and impossible
ity of getting money through at all are
making missionary administration more
difficult than the world ever knew it to
be before. Every society having work
abroad is in trouble.