Your Committee are convinced that not less than a THOUSAND DOLLARS a day are imperatively demanded to perfect the admirably organized plans of the Association, even for the present, to say nothing of the pressing needs of the early future.—
[Finance Committee's Report Adopted by Annual Meeting at Salem.]
THE FIGURES.
| Donations. | Legacies. | Total. | |
| Oct. 1, 1884, to June 30, 1885 - | $153,072.30 | $23,884.35 | $176,956.65 |
| Oct. 1, 1883, to June 30, 1884 - | 145,821.49 | 31,169.90 | 176,991.39 |
| ————— | ————— | ————— | |
| Inc. $7,250.81 | Dec. $7,285.55 | Dec. $34.74 |
These figures on their face are encouraging rather than discouraging. They show that our receipts from living donors are better by a few thousand dollars than last year, an evidence of the hold that we still have upon the churches, made all the more conspicuous in these hard times. But these figures do not tell the whole story. The $40,000 debt to which we have made frequent reference hitherto is still pending. To this must be added the $13,000 debt that came over from last year.
Only two working months are left. Our fiscal year ends with September. From month to month we have published the figures. Our friends have been able to trace for themselves just how the financial struggle has been maintained. Donations from churches and individuals have been kept distinct from legacies, and comparison made with receipts of the corresponding months in the preceding year. A varying story the figures have had to tell.
There is a slave hymn:
"I'm sometimes up and I'm sometimes down,
But still my soul is heavenly bound."