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The PresbyterifeS the South
Vol. 96. No. 34. RICHMOND, VA. August 23, 1922
REV. THERON H. RICE, D. D., died on
last Thursday in a hospital in Balti
more, where he had been operated on several
times. His death will be a great loss to Union
Seminary in which he was a professor and to
the Church at large. Dr. Rice was the son
of Theron Hall and Airs. Lydia Ann Rice. He
was born in Wetumpka, Ala., July 8, 1807.
He was educated at Ogden College, Howling
Green, Ky., Southwestern Presbyterian Uni
versity at Claiksville, Tenn., the University of
Virginia and Union Theological Seminary. He
graduated from the Seminary in 1892. In
1899 Davidson College conferred upon him
the degree of Doctor of Divinity, lie was pas
tor of the church in Alexandria, Va., and then
of the Central Church in Atlanta. Eroui this
latter pastorate lie was caiied to the chair of
the English Bible and Pastoral Theology in
Union Seminary. In 1913 he married .Miss
Elizabeth Matthews Sherrard, the daughter of
Rev. J. L. Sherrard of Crozet, Va. She and
three children survive him. Dr. Rice yvas a
most successful pastor, binding his people to
him by ties that were not broken when he left
them. As a preacher he had few equals in
presenting the great spiritual truths of the Gos
pel, so that they went straight to the hearts of
his hearers. As a professor he won the love
and confidence of his students in a marked de
gree "and was always faithful and successful in
teaching the subjects pertaining to his depart
ment. As a man he was strong and gentle,
lovable and deeply spiritual. The outstand
ing characteristic of lii3 life was its deep spir
ituality which clearly manifested itself in all
that he did or said. Few men have exerted
such an influence upon the religious lives of
young men with whom they have been asso
ciated as did Dr. Rice upon the men of his
congregations and the students of Union Semi
nary. His influence is effecting the lives and
work of many of these men, and it will long be
felt in the Church to which he gave his life and
his labors.
LITERARY DIGEST readers have had a
good deal given them in regard to a bal
lot that is being taken by that magazine in
regard to prohibition and the soldiers' bonus.
As the votes come in the results are being dis
cussed very largely. Some people have been
disturbed at the results o?! this voting. This U
specially true in regard to the prohibition vote.
Some alarm, has been exprePSNwl, because of the
large proportion of the voters who favor the
repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment or the
modification of the Volstead Act. Before any
one goes into hysterics over this vote there are
some facts that need to be considered. The
ballots have been sent out by the Literary V
gent, it claims to 10,000,000, and it claims
that it expects 10,000 000 votes will be ea-i
It claims that its list of names has l:c?;*n made
up from the telephone books of the large cities.
Tf this is true two facts should be borne in
mind. Telephone lists are made up of a much
larger proportioh of men that of women ; in
fact, there are comparatively few names of
women found in such lists, and yet the women
are legalized voters, who will be heard from, if
prohibition ever becomes again a political issue
in this country. The other fact worthy of no
tice in regard to this list is that it does not
include any great number of country people.
They had more to do with the adoptic ?
hibition than did the dwellers in tlie cities.'
There is one more very important fact to be
remembered. Jii such a movement as this,
those who favor a change in the law are very
active in every form of propaganda, and they
are far more apt to send in their votes than
are those who do not want any change, but are
satistied to let matters stand as they are. They
do not believe that there is going to be any
change, and so they see no reason for voting
when it means nothing.
INTERESTING it would be to know how
the Literary Digest'# "straw vote" is being
financed. Jt claims to b'j sending ballots to
10,000,000 people scattered all over this coun
try. This can only be done at a tremendous
cost. Let us make a conservative estimate. A
one-cent stamp put on each of these ballots
as they are sent out will amount to $100,000.
The cost of the envelopes, the cards, the print
ing, the clerical work in addresing and send
ing out the ballots, and in receiving and count
ing them, and overhead charges, cannot be less
than two cents each, or $200,000. This makes
a total of $300,000. The only legitimate rea
son that we can think of for the Digest to
spend this enormous sum out of its treasury is
for advertising purposes. This would be of
con if5e with the idea of securing new subscrib
ers and increasing its mailing lint The sub
scription price of the Digest is $4 a year. To
get back this amount spent, therefore, it would
be necessary to secure as the result of this adver
tising, without any other expense, 75,000 new
subscribers. Every newspaper man knows that
no such results will occur from such advertis
ing as this alone. Two questions suggest them
selves. What object has the Digest in going
to such an enormous expense to take this vote
And, who pays the freight?
UNITED STATES Census Bureau lias re
cently published reports on church sta
tistics. It. seems that it takes a long time to
got these reports out, so the figures cover the
deepde 1000-1 91 G. This census shows that in
1910 the?*e were 203 religious denominations
in this country, with 227,487 organized
churches or congregations. The membership
of these churches was 41,926,854, while the
population of the country was 101,4G4,014.
For the ten years the increase of population
was 17.1 per cent; that of the church member
ship was 19.5 per cent. The various divisions
of the churches show varying rates of growth.
According to this cen.-iim ir. 1 9 1 (i there were
25,025,990 members of Protestant church, an
increase for the ten years of 23.4 per cent.
Roman Catholics had 15,721,815 members and
10.6 per cent increase. The .Tews had 357,135,
but these figures are evidently incomplete.
The Eastern Catholic, or Greek Church, had
313,626 members and an increase of 90.1 per
cent. The Mormons had 469,329 members, a
gain of 80.1 per cent. Other religions 45,959
members, an increase of 3.9 per cent It is
really very difficult to compare the different
denominations. Protestants report as members
only those who bv profession of faith have
united with the church. The Roman Cath
olics report, all who have been baptized, and it
is a very rare thing that the infant of a Cath
olic is not baptized. The Mormons report all
..unioo.,
"is *in[ij|A. to Mormon families. The Greek
gjtew because of large immigration
from Russia and the Eastern European coun
tries. The Romish church received many
members by immigration from Catholic coun
tries, and yet the net gain was only 1 per
cent a year. The Morrncus growth of 80.1
per cent was due to their very effective missiou
work both in this country and abroad. We are
told that they keep 2,000 missionaries at work
in this country, or one fcr about every Ss-JO of
their population. The Protestant churches,
with their growth of 23.4 per cent, kept well
ahead of the 17.1 per cent increase in the pop
ulation, but that does not make a very good
showing when there were 60,000,000 people
in this country who were nci connected with
any church or denomination. Making allow
ance for children and deficients, there must
still have been at least 40,000,000 people in
this country who were out of the churches.
It is interesting to notice that during those
ten years the Southern Presbyterian church in
creased 37.7 per cent, in membership. During
the five years ending December 31, 1921. the
increase of population was 5.58 per cent. That
of all the churches was 9.85 per cent and of the
Southern Presb\'terian for the five years was
14.02 per cent. And yet there are some people
who say this church is dead.
Advances in knowledge and tbe appli
cations of science have come so fast that
we can scarcely realize the changes that have
taken place during the lifetime of the present
generation. Probably no invention of modern
times is more generally used or U mora neces
sary to the comfort of life and the success of
business than the telephone. -It is used in mil
lions of homes and business places all over this
land and over the civilized world. Yet this is
a comparatively now invention. It was at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876
that its inventor, Dr. Alexander Graham, who
has just died, first put in on public exhibit ion.
During his lifetime, or at least during the last
forty-six years of his life, he saw his invention
take a place in the economy of life and busi
ness that wo suppose even he could not have
dreamed of in the beginning. In the same
period has come practically the whole develop
ment. of the use of electricty in lighting, in
power, in radio. The airplane is another new
invention. There are innumerable others of
lessor importance in the physical world- Dis
coveries in medicine and surgery are numerous,
wonderful and life saving. This knowledge is
the gift of God to man. Why has lie given
so much to this generation? Is it net a chal
lenge to us to use it all for His glory?
T7*PISCOPALIANS are engaged in revising
XL their Prayer Book. The United Presby
terian says: - "For nine years a commission of
the Episcopal Church has been revising the
Book of Common Prayer. It is now completed
and will be submitted to the general conven
tion which meets in Portland, Oregon, this fall.
Several tendencies are evident. The ascend
ency of the sacerdotal party appears in the
frequent changes of the word minister to
priest. Prayers are introduced for the dead
and also prayers for special and memorial
days. There are also memorial days appointed
for saints and worthies, many of these being
from other than English-gpeatfing peoples."