Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-12-29
To THE LADIES AIDS.
jefferson Bee.

bee.
The writer does not feel like con-
demnlng any kind of a church supper
that makes for soc;ability and GOOD
Cheer among the people. Never was
lere finer supper IDEA worked out
than one like the Brotherhood banquet
last Friday night \ few of the Meth
oCiisI men. contributing as high as SO
apiece. furnished the fun DIS that bought
the banquet Of the Industrial ladies.
The ladies p-ofited for their. fund. but
the dear people were not admitted TO
the table al 81 cents per. in order that
money be accumulated for the church.
Il was for social and get together
purposes this banquet was given. But
the church supper given for the sole
purpose Of raising funds. is percentage
charity Of the worst form.
You have been to II" dear reader,
and so have we. We are asked TO fur
nLsh chicken pie" for supper. We
travel to the meat market and pay
dollar for chicken. furnish other in
gradients, provide the dish, and then
90 to the supper and dig up % 20 50
cents per head. If the latter figure
wife and l. give 20 cents 20 the
church. Thus. n concrete and diaboli
cal mathematics We reason out as fol-
,ows:
For the privilege OF giving 20 cents
to the church We paid the meat market
81. other ingredients 10 cents Total
s1.lO expense for the pleasure of get
ting 10 cents to the church Golfers
All. but you say. We got the $40
back from outsiders who did not con-
. . he
whole dollar ten gets back In any such
fashion. Il i does It only gets hack
thru forty-eleven lame backs who
work all day and far into the night to
clean up the muss and get the dishes
home. Query. would it not have been
better. easier and more sensible for us
| TO have given the church ladies S1.80
right TO start with and not had all the
fuss and fume. serving, chopping, dish
| ing. coffee pouring. and last but not
| least. heaps and gobs Of dirty dishes 10
wash
Where the erroneous idea ever got
out that a church supper was a good
money making plan we do not know.
| The proposition is a mistake from ev-
cry point Of view. We have "harped
on it" before in this column. We still
| harp" because We would like to see
folks change their church giving" to
something besides a percentage" form
We are not knocking on the business
Of the meat man for minute but we
can not for the life Of us, see the
point in giving the meat man one dol
lar Just for the privilege Of giving the
church 20 cents. The party who raises
his own chickens does not stand in any
different light than we do when we
have to buy the poultry. In this day
and age the owner Of chickens is Civ
| ing real value in bringing the chick
en- pie over to the church supper.
| And that Is not alone the only
scheme used to raise money for church
benefit In past years churches in
! Jefferson have put on shows concerts
and the like. A party comes on from
| Indianola or Chicago and gets up an
entertainment or concert. The church
folks flock out and spend 81 for adr1is-
sion Of. the household. The party from
Indianola or Chicago gets half the net
profit, the opera house gets anothe.
slice Of the gate receipts, and the
church finally gets small part OF the
dollar which the good brother spends
to help his church" II he had given
the church the whole dollar. right .tc
begin with, the church would be better
off financially. and he would be filled
with the spirit Of giving" one OF The
most blessed feelings that the rea
} Ichristian ever has come over his soul
But when he INDUCES in "parcentag
J giving" half or .two-thirds Of his mon
v going to the pocket of some pToinot-
n and the opera house, he does no
) lew it in the light of real giving. w
re not tknocking on the business o
promoters Of shows. nor opera hous'
iowners, but We are Knocking on thu