No. 358 THE Business Side of Missions IN China BY SAMUEL E. SMALLEY THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAE CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 281 Fourth Avenue, New York THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING OF THE CHINA MISSION IN SHANGHAI Mt, and Mrs. Smalley live in the building. Beside tlieiv apavtments and the offices it contains rooms where missio’naries passing through Shanghai^ on their way to or from their stations, can be accommodated THE BUSINESS SIDE OF MISSIONS IN CHINA BY SAMUEL E. SMALLEY I F the average business man were asked, “What is the business of a missionary?” he would most prob- ably reply, “Preaching to the heathen.” The reply so far as it goes is correct, entirely correct of the mission- ary of a quarter of a century ago. Nowadays, it would be impossible for one man to perform the many duties mission work calls for. This is the age of the specialist and the up-to-date mis- sionary must be a specialist — a special- ist in preaching or teaching or healing. The missionary before he can become a preacher on the street or in the chapel must spend years in studying the lan- guage, so that he may be understood by the people. The missionary clergyman must also be a specialist in training the native candidates for ordination — this is one of the most important branches of his work. Indeed, in the opinion of the writer, this is the most important branch of the missionary’s work, for if Chris- tianity is to be spread throughout this huge empire it wdll have to be done by the native clergy and catechists. The medical missionary has also to be a specialist. The days have passed wdien the general practitioner, half medico, half cleric, sufficed. Our mission hos- pitals now require lot only the best physicians and surgeons, but oculists, aurists and other specialists. The prin- cipal mission hospital has now to be an institution simihr to a home hospital with its staff Oi resident and visiting doctors, .its nurses, its students and its medical school. The missionary teacher, too, must be a specialist. For now we have our mis- sionary universities and colleges, in ad- dition to the boarding-schools and day- schools of former times. He has not now merely to teach the three “K’s.” He has to lecture on all kinds of subjects. He must know his subject well, for no one is more keen than the Chinese stu- dent in detecting the teacher who is only half qualified or who is endeavoring to pose as a master of an art in which he is not thoroughly proficient. Where the Business Manager Gomes In These, then, are some of the duties required of the missionary of to-day. In order to enable the missionary to attend to these duties, to give his undivided at- tention to them, the bookkeeper, the business manager becomes a necessary factor in the Church’s mission work in the field. The Board of Missions recog- nized this some years ago and appointed a layman to be treasurer of the missions in China. So far, one man with two Chinese assistants has proved a sufficient staff for the work, but the time has now come when a stenographer wdth a knowl- edge of bookkeeping would be a welcome addition in the treasurer’s office. Now, what are the duties of the treasurer and his assistants? Before enumerating some of these, it will be necessary to state that the China mis- sion is divided into two districts, each under the immediate charge of its own bishop. These districts are known as Shanghai and Hankow, the names of two large cities, but as districts covering an area of over 1,000 miles in length. The Distriet of Shanghai comprises the Provinee of Kiangsu. The popu- lation of the southern part of it, some 20,000,000 in number, speak the Shang- hai dialect. It contains the city of Shanghai, in which there are three churches — Jessfield, a suburb of Shang- hai, where St. John’s University, St. Mary’s Hall, the St. Mary’s Orphanage, the Gate School and a dispensary for MR. SMALLEY AND HIS CHINESE ASSISTANTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CHINA MISSION the surrounding villages have been lo- cated. It is an admirable site, vrell chosen for the important -work of these institutions. Soochow, the capital of the province, Wusih, the centre of the silk trade of this neighborhood, Zang- zok and Tsingpoo and many smaller places surrounding them are the centres of work. The District of Hankow comprises the Provinces of Anhui and Hupeh and the northern portions of Kiangsi and Hunan. The work in these provinces has Hankow, Wuchang, Wuhu, Anking, Kiukiang, Shasi, Ichang and Changsha as its centres. Paying Accounts The centres of both districts, with their outlying groups of stations, have their own accounts, which are sent to the treasurer every month, duly vouched for by the clergyman in charge. These accounts, after being closely scrutinized, are paid by the treasurer. Salaries are paid at the end of each month by checks on the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The foreign staff in the Shanghai District at this date numbers forty-one and in the Hankow District thirty-seven, a total of seventy-eight paid workers. A complete set of books is kept for each district en- titled “Appropriation Account.” Each district has also a “Specials Account,” which comprises the building funds of each station and all “specials” sent out from the Church Missions House. These “specials” come from New A^ork by draft for a certain number of gold dol- lars, which are converted into the local currency at the bank rate for the day and then duly credited to the work they are intended for. In the case of “spe- cials” designated for particular objects, the treasurer is required to credit them to the fund for which they are intended. Such “specials” are disbursed only on the order of the bishop, and must be ac- counted for in the same manner as sums received under the appropriations. In the case of “specials” given for use at the discretion of individuals, the treas- urer is empowered to pay them without an order from the bishop. The Statements to Indwiduals All drafts made on the Board in New York are drawn by the treasurer in ac- cordance with the Board’s letters of credit. It is the duty of the treasurer in Feb- ruary and August of each year to sub- mit to each of the persons named in the Appropriation Schedule a statement of his or her account in Mexican dollars, with the averaged rate showing the ex- change from United States currency to local currency for the half year or year as the case may be. The treasurer is also required to submit to each station treasurer and the head of each depart- ment a semi-annual statement of his sta- tion or department account. All missionaries and heads of depart- ments desiring payments in the United States to be made from their salaries or appropriations must fill in a form, to be obtained from any station treasurer. This form is filled out in duplicate and sent to the mission treasurer in China. He endorses both copies, keeping one on file and returning the other to the sender, who may then forward the endorsed or- der to the treasurer at the Church Mis- sions House in New York, who pays as directed. It is the duty of the mission treasurer on receipt of United States charges from the Board, which is done at least once a month, to notify the persons concerned immediately of such charge. All these charges are debited to the i)ersons at the averaged rate from the previous Septem- ber to date of entry, and the Board of Missions receives credit accordingly. Insurance Policies^ Leases and Title Deeds The treasurer has charge of all fire in- surance policies, which are kept in the mission safe, and all premiums are paid by him. From time to time the treas- urer submits to the bishop a list of ail properties covered by insurance. It is the duty of a missionary who erects a new building to furnish the treasurer with a description of the building, stat- ing its actual cost, its location and other particulars. The treasurer then submits this description to the bishop, who de- cides whether the building is to be in- sured. As a rule, all buildings are in- sured. All land deeds, leases and like docu- ments are kept in the treasurer’s safe, but deeds belonging to the Hankow District are kept by the bishop of that district. The bishops decide in what bank or banks mission funds shall be deposited. All payments are made as far as is pos- sible by check. No mission funds are allowed to be kept by the treasurer, sta- tion treasurers or any person holding moneys belonging to the mission in a private bank account. No deed or valuable document that may be required by any person in the mission is allowed to be removed from the treasurer’s office unless a written re- ceipt is handed to the treasurer. T he Treasurer ami the Station T reasnrers The bishop appoints the station treas- urers. Each station treasurer is empow- ered to draw upon the treasurer monthly for such sums as he has expended under the headings provided for in the annual Appropriation Schedule. As far as pos- sible, the monthly expenditures of each station are not to exceed one-twelfth of the annual appropriation. No station treasurer is allowed to overdraw his sta- tion’s appropriation without the written consent of the bishop. A sufficient sum is placed in the hands of each station treasurer to cover his monthly expendi- tures, such sum being kept as a pei'ma- nent balance. A copy of the appropriation for each station is sent to the station treasurer in September of each year. The treas- urer pays one-twelfth of an appropria- tion for a hospital or boarding-school to the head of such institution at the end of each month. Auditing the Boohs The treasurer’s books are audited twice a year. The bishops appoint the auditor, an experienced accountant, not a member of the mission. Statements of accounts are forwarded to the Board of Missions, bearing the auditor’s and treasurer’s signatures. The statements for the “Appropriation Account” show under current account the sources of all revenue, and the total payments. The “Appropriation Balance Sheet” shows the appropriation of each item in gold dollars and in Mexicans, with the rate of exchange, sundry receipts, total re- ceipts, payments made for the first half year and the second half year itemized, the debit and credit balances; and such other detailed statements as may be necessary. In the statements for “specials,” all sums are shown that have been received from the Board, all rents, interests, and so forth, and how the moneys have been expended, and such other detailed state- ments as may be necessary. Anditing the Station Accounts After the audit in the month of Sep- tember is finished and the accounts have been forwarded in duplicate to the Board in New York, the treasurer pro- ceeds to visit each station and institu- tion and audits the books of each station treasurer and institution. Preparing the Estimates In January of each year the bishop receives from each station an estimate of what money is required for the ex- penditure of that station during the year beginning with the next September. When the estimates are received, the bishop, assisted by the treasurer, pre- pares an estimate of appropriations for the whole district. This is sent to the Board of Missions in New York. There it is printed and circulated among the members of the Committee on China, and in the month of May so much of the amount asked for is granted as the Board feels it can guarantee. A sigh of relief is frequently given by the bish- ops and heads of stations when news ar- rives from the Board that the appropria- tions have been voted. As a rule, the missionary residing in the comparative quiet of his one station, removed from all the bustle and worry of the mission centres, can hardly ap- preciate the thought, care and responsi- bility his bishop undergoes before the appropriations are granted. From his point of view, his own particular station is the all-important work, his station the one that should be developed, his needs the greatest. The wise bishop has to preserve the equilibrium. He sees the needs of the work not from a station point of view, but from the standpoint of head of the mission. The poet who wrote “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” might with truth have had a missionary bishop in mind. The demands made upon the bishop for funds are seldom refused : he does his best by writing or telling the Church at home of the needs of each station; and to the glory of the home churches be it said the answer is oftener in the affirmative than in the negative. A Few Other Duties The mission treasurer also acts as .treasurer for St. John’s University, St. Mary’s Hall and St. Luke’s Hospital. These institutions, besides their appro- priations from the Board, have incomes from various sources. These all have to be collected and. accounted for, and all pass through the office of the treasurer. Separate hooks are kept for each of these institutions, and a system has been de- vised which meets with the full approval of the auditor. All receipts are entered and vouched for by the head of each in- stitution and no account is paid until the same authority gives a written order for the disbursement. Another duty that falls to the lot of the treasurer is to receive all freight from home for the out-stations. Often he has to bear the brunt of damaged goods, insufficiently packed, and of de- lays caused by overdue steamers. It is his duty to meet old and newcomers, to arrange for their baggage, for their comfort in Shanghai, for their passages to their stations, to receive their “Road Accounts,” and, in the case of new- comers, to help them in buying such furniture as they may require. B usiness Management and Success From years’ experience it has been found that the more business-like the management of a mission becomes the greater its successes are. Good manage- ment means economy; economy brings confidence, and confidence, success. Good business methods inspire the Chi- nese and help them to feel that the Church has come to stay, that this new religion is stable, not like a mushroom, here to-day and away to-morrow. Well- planned, honestly-managed missions, aided by the prayers of those at home and abroad, under God’s providence have become successful and a blessing to many thousands in this populous empire. It may he fairly said that the average business man, if he were to visit China, would, after examining the work of mis- sionaries carefully and intelligently, re- port and proclaim that missions in China are undoubtedly successful. If, on the other hand, the business man visits China, and, without examining for himself, rests content with listening to the talk which has been called “steam- boat theology,” he will return to his homeland with hut a poor opinion of missions. T he work of the American Church on behalf of the Chinese was begun in 1837 in South China. In 1844 the headquarters of the mission were transferred to Shanghai. The work is now en- tirely in the \ angtse Valley extending from the sea coast about a thousand miles west and about a hundred and fifty miles on each side of the river. This section has a population of about 120,000,000. The original Missionary District of Shanghai was divided in 1901 by the setting off of the District of Hankow. The Bishop of Shanghai is the Right Rev. F. R. Graves, D.D., conse- crated in 1893. The Bishop of Hankow is the Right Rev. Logan H. Roots, D.D., consecrated in 1904. The former American Bishops in China were : The Right Rev. William Jones Boone, D.D., consecrated 1844, died 1864. The Right Rev. Channing Moore Williams, D.D., consecrated 1866. In 1874 he became Bishop of Vedo, Japan. He resigned in 1889, but still works in Kyoto. The Right Rev. Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, D.D., conse- crated 1877, resigned 1883, died 1906. The Right Rev. William Jones Boone, D.D., consecrated 1884, died 1891. The Right Rev. James Addison Ingle, first Bishop of Hankow, consecrated 1902, died 1903. The Church’s staff in the two districts includes in addition to the bishops, 25 foreign clergymen, 11 foreign physicians, 54 foreign teachers and other helpers, 28 Chinese clergyanen and 274 Chinese catechists, teachers and other helpers. There are 8 hospitals which oared last year for 100,127 patients, 17 boarding schools with 1,201 pupils, 73 day schools with 1,992 pupils. Work is maintained in 89 different stations. The Church of England has six dioceses in northern, western and southern China. ^ Copies of this Leaflet may be obtained from the Corresponding Secretary, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York, by asking for Leaflet No. 258. ^ All offerings for Missions in China should be sent to George C. Thomas, Treasurer, 281 Fourth Avenue, New York City. III. Edition, February, 1909. S.P. (2M.)