1914] BOARD OF HOME MISSIONS 27

proach the question from the standpoint of efficient church

service. Many communities have too many organizations and
too many buildings, but efficient church service is lacking in
most of the smaller ones visited. There is an insistent de
mand — especially in Oklahoma —for a high type of home mis
sionary; and every field visited responded that, if a man with
vision and spirit should be furnished, the church would speed
ily come to self-support. This is peculiar perhaps to the
Synod of Oklahoma, as the people in that state have come from
almost every point of the compass, and for the most part have
been accustomed to a high type of ministry in the Presbyter
ian Church in the older and more settled communities, so are
not satisfied with less. It is a problem in the beginning of a
church in a new community to know just what equipment is
necessary, because no one can forecast whether it will be per
manently settled or whether it will be depopulated by the dis
covery of oil, or by better conditions in a neighboring county.
But at the present only one sentiment is discovered in the
fields visited, that a good man with a vision and a message is
required in the Presbyterian ministry.
This fact has forced upon our churches and ministers in this
district, and especially in the Synod of Oklahoma, the question
of organic union or federation, and it ought to be said that
our people in this territory are in the front rank in their
advocacy of such measure. They deplore the multiplication
of churches and that duplication may be avoided are willing
to surrender anything except a vital question. In some parts
of the district, notably in Texas, there has been a mutual ex
change of churches between our own Church and the Presby
terian Church, U. S., which has resulted in strengthening both
Churches. In four years the number of communities where
there was overlapping with that Church has been reduced from
seventy-one to forty-one. Our people are ready to do anything
that conscientious Christian people can to reduce to the mini
mum the friction between overlapping Churches, and to effect
federation or union wherever it is possible.

ALABAMA

The Rev. W. B. Witherspoon, D.D., who was synodical super

intendent for Alabama, gave up his work the first of July. As
yet no one has been selected to take his place, and because of
this lack of a field representative Alabama has suffered. The
committees have done the best they could under the circum
stances, but the members of the committee are busy pastors
and are not able to do much in the general work -of the
Church.