Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1920-02-20
MINISTER'S COST
LESS THAN AUTOS
NorId Survey Figures Reveal
How Badly United States Is
Paying Its Pastors.
MANY LIVING ON $500 A YEAR
One of the Aims of Present Protestant
Cooperation Is to End Disgrace
of Underpad Preacher-Pen-
sions Also to BE Provided.

! What are the chances of a young
man who intends to be a lawyer of
making $1,000 a year? What are the
DOCTORS chances? What of the minis
ter or the manufacturer?
The lawyer has exactly one chance
in FIVE. The doctors chances are one
In seven. It is ten to one against the
manufacturer. The modern minister,
however, who formerly ranked with the
doctor and lawyer as member of the
learned professions" has fallen hope
lessly behind. He is a 100 to shot.
These figures are part Of mass of
astonishing facts brought to light by
the world survey being made by the
[nterchurch World Movement and
whose sources of information are such
that many economists and statisticfans
are awaiting themselves of the results.
This survey puts Americas minister
at the bottom Of the ladder Of the ma
TONS income receivers-an with re-
sponsibilities which equal those of any
captain of industry.
A worker in silk mill, laborer in
rubber plant, a paper maker,S a work.
err in a shoe factOry-a1l are getting
higher average wages, the survey
shows, than does Americas minister,
city or country. Nor does the city
man receive the luxurious salary that
many persons, including many country
parsons, believe he does. Not four
ministers in thousand, according to
the survey, receive $1,000 year. In
no instance, whatever the denomina-
ton, does majority receive $1,000.
Cotton Pickers Better of.
Are you a CongregatiOnalist? In
2,783 churches the yearly pay to your
ministers has been less than $1,000.
Are you a Presbyterian You are then
on the less than $1,000 list with GALS
ministers. In the event that you are a
Methodist the charge is that 4,719 pas
tors are trying to exist on the $40 a
week that you pay them. Episcopalians
do little better, yet half of their rec
tors receive less than the 81, 800 year
which government economists regard
as the minimum on which a family can
be decently maintained.
The initial cost of the cheapest ''hiv-
ver' on the market is less than $500,
but very good, conscientious pastor,
it is shown, can be hired for year for
that sum.
Ministers In the South are preaching
to fifty or more cotton pickers who In
dividually are paid more for picking
cotton than their entire neighborhood
pays to the preacher in a year.
One of the aims of the present CO.
operation of the worlds Protestant de-
nominations is to end this disgrace of
the underpaid minister. With univer-
stiles, business houses and municipali-
ties daily taking action to provide for
the comfort of their workers, the
church is to keep pace with the times,
and to arrange not only for adequate
pay for its workers, but to provide PEN
sions for those nc longer able to work.
1t is to move the public to prevent
unfavorable comparison of pastors and
puddlers. Until then, as for puddler
swapping jobs with pastor drawing
an Ordinary salary The.
lowest salary paid to pastors is lower
than any wages paid in the entire steel
Industry.