Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-08-02
WORLD CENSUS
BIGGEST TASK
EVER STARTED
Interchurch Organization Be-
gins Survey of Peoples
and Conditions


world censure, or survey, of peoples,
e C on ON C conditions. schools,
churches. hospitals, orphanages, and
the whole moral, social, religious
and sanitary situation of mankind
has begun.
This announcement was made to-
day by the Interchurch World
Movement of North America, the
new cooperative organization of
Protestant evangelical churches.
The denominations of the United
States and Canada involved number
seventy-SiN.
With such support, the movement
is carrying out the largest program
or investigation ever undertaken IN
this country outside the United
States census. Educators, social
workers, economists and other
scientists are watching it closely.
Study United States
The United States will be studied
intensively and from many points of
view never touched on in a CEN
sus. The object of the American,
or home, survey, is the tabulation
of every kind of information about
every community and institution in
the country which will be of value
in united human betterment pro
gram of all Christian forces. me
foreign survey will determine how
Christian forces abroad can be
marshalled to the best advantage.
The country is the unit of study
in the home survey. Maps VIII De
drawn of every American rural
county, showing the location or
every church, school, railroad, road
grange, club, farm house and social
3 Of nj
of eacn church carefully charted
so it will be possible to see at Il
glance where there is overlapping of
effort or entire lack of attention.
The city surveys will be even more
detailed.
A work of such magnitude could
not be undertaken by any single
denomination and the Interchurch
World Movement is the first agency
adequate for the task.
Lend Experts For Work
The benevolent and mission
boards have lent their leading eX-
perts for the undertaking. In ad-
dition experienced census directors,
others active in non-religious enter
prises have been enrolled. The op-
portunity to make original re-
searches in many matters not
touched by any governmental
studies has proved especially at
tractive to such men.
The practica bility of cooperative
work has already been demonstrated
in many foreign mission fields.
Practically the whole of China, as
an Illustration, has been divided up
into spheres of influence apportion-
ed to the various denominations.
The principal purpose of the In
terchurch census is to ascertain
the exact facts about the present
religious situation of every part of
the world so that an intelligent CO.
operative program can be made.
The foreign survey is in charge of
Ralph a. Ward, authority on China;
the home survey is under r. +.
Diffendorfer; while Fred p. Hag-
gard, Baptist leader, exercises gen.
eral supervision of all the work.
The United States has been di-
vided into ten districts with regional
headquarters for each. Each State
is assigned to one of these districts.
The State has its own survey coun-
ell consisting of a clergyman and
a layman from each denomination,
representatives from the State agri-
cultural and educational depart
chive keeper and similar forces.
The basic unit of the survey is
the county council, consisting of
from two to four members, which
oversees collection of data in the
field. Wherever possible local men
will be used in Investigations.
The urban surveys together with
those of special problems, such as
those of the immigrant, the foreign
language colony work among iso-
lated people such as those in the
Southern mountains, work among
negroes, etc, will be handled by
special investigating bodies.
The rural surveys are under the
general direction of Edmund de S.
Drummer. of the Moravian Church,
writer on rural matters, and Her
mann n. Morse, of the Presbyterian
Board of Home Missions.
AS each survey reveals to each
county the actual facts about reli-
gious conditions within it's own con-
fines. it is believed that the coun-
ties themselves will work out pro-
grams of INSTRUMENTATION CO.
operation in the local field.
Out of such local programs, State
programs will be formulated. Regi
onal plans will grow from these and
national enterprises from the regi-
onal plans Finally it is expected
that from a national viewpoint it
will be possible to answer such
questions as the responsibility of the
whole church in industrial matters,
and towards such social problems
as Bolshevism and other causes of
world unrest. Once this RESPONSE
bility is determined, it will take its
fixed place in the general program
FOR the Christianization of the entire
world.
GENERAL OFFICE WINNER