Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-25
RESULTS ATTAINED
IN DOVER DISTRICT
District Supt. VIM. r. Mowbray,
in Report, Tells Of Faithful
Work of Pastors.

The report of District Superintendent
William r. Mowhray, of the Dover dis
trict Of the Wilmington Conference OF the
Methodist Episcopal Church, now in ses-
sion at Grace Church in this city, was sub
mitted to the Conference this morning.
The report shows. conditions good in the
district, and that many obstacles have
been overcome during the year, through
the faithful work of the clergy and laity,
notwithstanding the handicap under which
many of them were working with m
adequate salaries. The report in full fol-
lows:
We come from the most wcrk-hlled
year OF our lives to tell of some things
done within the bounds of the Dover
district, in the name o, our Lord and lbs
Church. We have had no need for the urge
uf Mrs. Browning, when she says,
Get leave to work
In this world, tbs the best you can get
at all,
Get work, get work,
Be sure It's better than what you work
10 get.
And by this standard we have been
suprer,ely fortunate, for we have had
work. abundant work and still no mean
ioy in what we have worked to get: The
results have not been all VIC could wish,
but they have been something worth
while. and the greatest satisfaction of the
hour lies In the fact that we have sincerely
tried. While some of us have been soreiy
perplexed, at times, In the effort, we thtnh
the Lord that we have been permitted 10
labor, to spend and be spent, ana rs
result there are some sheaves.
We are profoundly grateful for the TACT
tnat none of our working force on the
district has fallen permanently out during
;he wear. There have been no centenary
fataIities. There have been a few VINO
haye passed through severe illness ana
been eompelled to stand aside for while,
Int none has died and those Temporarily
,Iisou.Lified have been restored 70 health
and today we present an unbroken 'front.'
line. -,
Tn, weather again and this time IN
,.ead earnest, No man under 5u years OF
20, has ever seen, all In all, such q winter
a. he one just passing INTO nistory'
p.,.., h.. to rs memory: we have had none
hilc il lived. The weather man has put
IN !. program which IN execution has OUT
.!istanced anything for general unrelent-
an. 2,nvielding severity ever known TO us.
Consequently. all work which depended
mn, go;ng-going anywhere, any DIS
tanrf has been practically at stanustili
fo- more than two months. Many country
..b,,r,.be, within this district have had no
orvices or at least. only one or two,
during the months of Januarv and fenru-
arv. and at this writing near the middle
of March the embargo is suii on
Roads, Roads, We are by no means
p-old Of it. but Delaware can boast III one
~, ,jSe 10 boast of such thIngs) the worst
ads IN any so-called modern and pro-
s.essiye commonwealth But there are
Lc1fc, day-s ahead, thanks to an awaken
INC nli,2l;. sentiment and the llberality OF
r,raia nublic-spirited citizens to the
Ia ii oi ls. ~
y iai~te Isl Supply-We are still con-
r-nuting the problem of finding sufficient
u,rn to supply our pulpIts, and the situa-
ian i more aggravated than It was
yca ..ro. This condition Is likely 70
t,cov worse so long as the cost OF nvlne
scars aioft and the churches refuse 70 put
the Spirit Of Christ IN the payroll
The list OF appointments stands as IL
vS. when read at the last session OF our
C.cnference. with one exception. Brother
II Prettynan. at his own request, was
reInased from Millsboro to take work
,,ndcr DIR. Collins at Hebron. The Mills
,,o-n charge has been very acceptabiy sup
nlied hv Brother J. ". Hudson, local
.ldcr. residing at that place.
SALARIES INADEoUAr1.
S.,ar;es-Not 8 few of the charges have
t4llen in line and advanced the saisries OF
,heir nastorS though none perhaps have
cached a position in keeping with the de-
n,:,nds which have arisen out OF the ever
.-.-eusing- .ver-soaTing cost OF living. The
r..Sf distressing feature of the situation Is
80. he advances have been for the most
,.a~4 confined to the larger charges. The
larger salaries have becorn larger, 8
liftle surely not enough, while the smaller
and middle class 0f appointments nave
onIv advanced little-not enough TO re-
lir,-a the stress-or have been at stand
still. There arc AZ charges on this district
in more or less active operation. VI these,
u Law less than 81 900 salary, and OF the
2I there are IL which pay less than $oOo,
and ranging all the way from 500 TO S75O.
In most cases there is family to feed and
. clothe and a conveyance to MAINTAIN.
How the pastors on some of these charges
can stay-I do not say live-is more than
| can see. They could not even stay n
they did not turn aside to some secular
ernrioyInent TO supplement their meager
salaries. There are men among them teach
ing school, working on farms at odd times,
their wives working IN canning factories
in season. and this-sll this-sO that they
NAV stav in the places TO preach the gospel
OF the Christ, who said, The laborer Is
worthy of ms hire.
I do not plead for myself but these
conditions are my burden, because they
are the burdens Of the men with whom
am associated in the Lords work. These
conditions are ali unspeakabie reproach
10 our Methodism, for the people are not
poor. There arc men on this district
rood men. faithful and capable some OF
hem college bred men, who have spent
years and much money in preparing them
seIves for the ministry. who, this year, are
under the necessity of borrowing money
on which 10 1--we or else enter the unssvory
debtor brigade.
Our ministry is becoming less even than
a board and clothes" organization There
is nothing dishonorable III secular en-
ploynent or manual labor, truly not but
no man can do good work in the ministry
if he must be harassed constantly by the
ghost Of debt, burdened with the problem
of how to buy gas to reach hls work on
Sunday, and In doubt as to what ne snail
have for breakfast on Monday. Ii the