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Show : GOSPEL CARRIED F ; BY AUTOMOBILE j The family doctor has told In de- m k tail the benefits he has derived fro m the automobile by keeping In closer m touch with his practice; the mer. jfl i chant has reported -wonderful lm- K provement In ihe efficiency of hlg i j delivery system since the motor car 1 k -came Into voruc, and countless mem- : bcrs of other professions and trades have paid slowing tributes to the l efficiency of this method of trans ; ! portation, of labor saved and money : ) made. Now come representatives of ; I the clergy who tell of a work for ' good, in the interest of the church, accomplished by the automobile. I The old circuit rider, so familiar in thrilling stories of fiction and fact, has given way to the modern coun-i coun-i try preacher who drives his own car. Whereas tho circuit rider formerly I spent most of his nights and a great-i great-i er part of his days in tedious driving from one church to another, the up V to date rural minister covers twice i the territory and accomplishes much f greater results without the gruelling p hardships which were a part of the ? life of his predecessor. No longer ft does the average priest or preacher i shudder at the thought of an eigh-r eigh-r teen-mile drive through the country S to the home of a sick parishioner. In. i stead of devoting four or five hours, at least, to a dreary and too often ) perilous ride across the -country, he i climbs into his automobile and half an hour later he is at" the home of ) his friend. i At a recent church gathering It was stated that the automobile had been f one of the church's most paying In- vestments, especially in the rural dis-L dis-L trLcts. It is customary for the f clergyman or priest in charge of the v small country church to accept other small churches in nearby territory. ? A single church in a community so 9 small could not support him financial- ly, while three or four churches could f furnish him a most comfortable liv-H liv-H ing. The advent of the automobile i has made It possible to increase that r territory on a remarkable scale. In 9 one village, where the pastor had i struggled along to support a family ; of four on $550 a year, a wealthv j d farmer made him a present of a ma-A ma-A j chine and arranged to have placed f under his charge three more churches 9 j in neighboring villages. Each church I pays its share of the automobile up-f up-f ' keep, and the result is that the pas- '' 9 j tor now has a salary income of ap-i ap-i I proximately $1G00 a year, an automo-f automo-f bile for pleasure, as well as business, v and his family is receiving a com-S com-S fortable living. It is certain that the automobile is j no more popular with any class of people than it is with the church f i going circles. Its economy in upkeep I I and efficiency for country driving in k , all kinds of weather and over every ? class of road appear to be the chief S factors in making it desirable for that work. Denver Post. |
