The Penn's Grove record., 1920-05-21
MINISTERS COST
LESS THAN AUTOS
World Survey Figures Revea
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 U%nderpaid 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 chance? What of the minister
or the manufacturer?
The lawyer has exactly one chance
in FIVE. The doctors chances are ont
in seven. 1t is ten to n against the
manufacturer. The modern minister
however, who formerly ranked with the
doctor and lawyer as a member of the
Learned professions" has fallen hope
Iessly behind. He is a 100 to 1 shot.
These figures are part of a mass OF
astonishing facts brought to light by
the world survey being made by the
Interchurch World Movement and
who's sources of information are such
that many economists and statisticians
gre availing themselves of the results
This survey puts Americas minister
at the bottom of the ladder of the ma.
tons income receivers-and with re
sponsibilities which equal those of my
captain of industry.
A worker in a silk mill, a laborer il
a rubber plant, a paper maker, a work
er in a shoe factory-all 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 a thousand, according to
the. survey, receive $1,000 a year. In
no instance, whatever the denomina-
ton, does a majority receive $1,000.
Cotton Pickers Better Off.
Are you a Congregationalist? In
2,7S3 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 $50 a
week that you pay them. Episcopalians
do a little better, yet half of their rec
tors receive less than the 81, 800 a year
which government economists regard
as the minimum on which a family can
be decently maintained.
The initial cost of the cheapest "ffiv-
YER on the market is less than 5000,
but a very good, conscientious pastor,
it is shown, a be hired for a year for
that sum.
Ministers in the South are preaching
t o 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 % only fer adequate
pay for its workers, but to r,Sovide pen
sions for those no longer able to work.
1t is to move the public to prevent
unfavorable comparison of pastors and
puddlers. Until then, as for a puddler
swapping jobs with a pastor drawing
an Ordinary" salary-never! The
lowest salary paid 10 pastors is lower
than any wages paid III the entire steel
industry.