Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-10-22
Many of the Small Charges
Need New Life Declares
Rev. Thackrey.

ne needed In the Tulsa district this
year to pr er'y carry on the work Of
the churc
Following Is his report in full:
I'm reporting to you the work OF
the Tulsa district for the past year I
shnll have very little to say about de
tall work either on the district or the
individual charges. / think can
truthfully say for myself and most OF
the brethren that we have done what
we could and have had some measure
OF success. But the situation In this
anything that has as yet been done
that ! feel 1t should be given che,
consideration.
THE churches in the larger cities
have nearly all made decided advance
ment this year. There has been
general decreasing or paying off OF
old debts and some, like First church,
Okmulgee, are now entirely free from
old debts that have for a long time
turdened them. There, has been
general increase in these churches in
membership. Sunday school attend
ence. benevolent collections, etc. Some,
hose existence has been somewhat
uncertain heretofore. we feel are now
becoming securely established The
growth in these churches has been
solid, general and gratifying.
Small Charges RetrOgrading.
But we are sorry TO have to say,
tho truth and accuracy compel us to
do so, that this cannot be said OF most
OF the smaller charges. Many Of these
are going backward and are not now
nearly as strong as they were some
years ago. / want to emphatically
say. too. that this Is not generally due
to UNCONVENTIONAL competition. but
rather to our inability, to meet the
needs of the place The fact IL we
have been trying to cope with situa-
tions that were utterly beyond the
power Of the men and means we have
had at our disposal. The chief result
seems to be that in many, II not most
OF these places the Methodist Episco-
pal church Is in serious disrepute
Weak men, who had no real apprecit-
tion of the forces with which they
we're trying to deal, have given Inucn
occasion for the scurrilous attacks that
extremists are almost everywhere
making against The church. God
knows that love my brethren in the
ministry as 7 love no other class of
men on earth, but he also knows that
7 cannot love him and his cause and
the souls of men, as | believe I do,
and not he greatly concerned that his
gospel shall have a fair chance
And so. while I can report sub
stantial and real progress. yet the out
standing fact of the situation is the
great field and tremendous need that
as yet are not being in any sense ade-
quately dealt with. The situation
here Is az different from that of an
imagined.
Tulsa District Large.
The Tulsa district. considered as
that territory in which We are active
ly operating, is about one hundred
miles wide and 15O long. 1t embraces
approximately one-fourth of the state
or Oklahoma, and is by far the veal
thiest and most thickly populated part
of the state. If we should include
the unoccupied territory to the south
II would be two hundred miles long
and embrace about one-third of the
state. Next to Oklahoma City il has
the two largest cities In the state and
several others of good size.
1T not only has people from every
where. like the rest of the state, but
the industrial interests are almost as
cosmopolitan as the people. II has
immense tracts Of Indian lands farm
ed by tenant farmers or not farmed
at ALL great cattle ranches, n great
general farming interest a great coal
mining field. what are claimed to be
world, and the heart and major por
tion of the great mid-continent oil
field. IL has hundreds OF gasoline
plants, a host OF oil refineries. glass
factories and smelters, The value of
all these interests runs up into the
hundreds OF millions OF dollars.
"All OF this brings in population
with interests as varied and often an
tagonistic, as can well be imagined,
nSy1 ha f.nh h,,Ip
wealth that is being produced and how
everyone is feverishly striving to get
his share of IL, we may get some con-
ception of the conditions that prevail.
Extremes Meet Here.
"Tho extremes of life meet here |
Hundreds of people live in tents and
thousands In two-room houses, with
sometimes three families in the two
rooms. Others live in mansions and
have tennis courts made OF clay im-
ported from England. Many are as
ignorant as can well be imagined, |
while hundreds of others are from
the gi eat universities of America and |
Europe. Many Of the best of most
patriotic people of the country are
here. But, on the other hand, we have |
had In this district one of the worst |
bandit gangs OF our history that had |
to be hunted down and shot like wild /
animals, revolution in which 250 |
men were arrested and bootlegging |
industry in which hundreds OF men
and autos are engaged, and that is
now said TO be maintaining a regular |
aeroplane service between Missouri
and oklahoma,
I'm religious matters the situation |
is the same. We have a host OF as
intelligent and consecrated Christian |
people as could we'll be found any
where But on the other hand we
have n great number OF the worst of
extremists.
"A considerable number OF people. |
mostly children. have died this year |
IN this district In meetings where
their recovery from sickness was being |
prayed for without any medical assis-
tance. Five weeks ago, saturday. a
lady at Okmulgee. in order TO show
how we'll the Lord took care of her.
picked up copperhead snake, was
bitten three times on the arm and the |
natural results followed. l was told |
at the same time. OF the wife OF an
elder OF the same faith. who testifies
that she has not taken bath in thirty