The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1921-02-18

unnecessary drain upon the helper
and naturally makes the helped less
self-reliant. But what we started
/ out to say was. that during the past
| few years we have been begged, have
been beggars and givers, all in one,
/ often the beggar has been as much
the giver as those who have had no
part in soliciting. This habit was
contracted during the late war and
II seems that we cant get away from
! 1t. There is a continual drive on for
some purpose. You meet It every
where, the churches are made We
hicles for lot of them, in fact en-
tirely too many. One never knows
for how much he may be called upon,
nor for what purpose. 1t is not in
frequently embarrassing to the church
attendant. Most all people have some
pride and often but little money in
their pockets while attending church,
and frequently none at home or else
where, and the man possessing a bit
of self-pride, but without money to
drop heavily into the box as 1t is
passed his way for some one, or all
OF three or four different purposes
will more than likely be noted absent
on the Sunday following, as he is not
anxious to have 1t advertised to the
world, through the church, that he
is either dead broke or a tight
wad." A few Sundays out and the
habit, If he had one, is changed from
a church goer to stay at home~or
on the street one. 1t is not always
that donations are made for adver-
Using purposes, We do not in any
sense mean to imply that they are,
but usually, the party who has five,
ten or twenty spot to give on call
for this purpose or that, does not
mind sticking his hand a foot or two
above his head that he may be count
ed with the larger donors but the lit
tie fellow, or rather it may be a big
fellow but unfortunate along financial
lines, will never hold his hand aloft
with a quarter or even fifty cents ex-
hibited to the congregation. No, men
are not built that way, and for lot
of them the building era has passed.
We believe in church organizations
handling these questions, but it
should be done in a business, man
ner, just as other matters of fl
nancial character are handled. Peo-
pie expect the contribution box to be
passed, as a general rule, for the
small donations made at Sunday
School and perhaps other services, !
but they do not go to church TO be
bored with everything from the near
and far East, far and near North,
South and West. Asking from one
who can't, or from one whom it hurts
too much to give, is just about the
surest and quickest method we know
of for taking ones mind off of God
and Cody things. We strongly be-
lieve in giving, and we favor organic
ed efforts for soliciting for worthy
objects in need, but we as strongly
hold to the opinion that the Church
following the custom of working it's
publically, when the
has gathered for anoth-
er and entirely different purpose not
only does itself an irreparable injury
but it's congregation an injustice.
There may >be, doubtless there are,
exceptions, but the rule mind you,
ought never to be broken when pos
sible to avoid it. 1t is no uncommon
,ccurance to hear people remark after
having attended Church, that che
never goes that he isn't begged out of
all he had with him''-grumbling as
ne leaves the house of Christian wor-
good has been done this
nan, who, in a sense feels that he has
been held up? In our judgment his
attendance on that occasion was a ,
positive detriment to him, spiritually, /
Ind what he calls the beggars in ,
,hurch are responsible for his draw |
ng further away from those who in =
ruth go to church gatherings to stu 8
iy the word of and worship the I
christ. The views we express herein !
nay, to some, appear heathenish, ,
keptical and ungodly. We do not ]
mean that they be taken in that man I
Ter, but on the other hand we would r
much rather do bit of good if pos \
ible, and no harm at all, but be that Z
S 1t may, being what we are, how a
We are, as we are, seeing as we see, d
hese are our honest views and we 7
ust can't help the matter and don't
are very much about trying.