# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1899_S128
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

128 Proceedings of the 24th General, or

minority, and should therefore likewise abide by the provisions of
the Constitution.

"2. The meaning and purpose of this annual assessment is also stated
in the Constitution, namely that, according to point a. in the
paragraph cited, it is to serve for defraying the Synod's general
expenses (writing materials, etc.) — in short, for covering
administrative costs — while the voluntary collections from the
congregations are meant to be intended chiefly for the purposes named
under b., which require larger sums. Such administrative costs
commonly arise in all societies and associations, and are everywhere
commonly borne by the standing members, generally in such a way that
regular dues are paid, to which special assessments are sometimes
added here and there when the fixed dues do not suffice; and both
dues and special assessments are commonly paid as a matter of course,
without objection.

"3. Nor is it correct, properly considered, that it should be left to
the individual member of the Synod whether he wants the synodical
reports or not. In secular societies, scientific associations, etc.,
it goes without saying that every member wants the regular reports
that are published in print, and as a rule these are delivered to the
members free of charge, being covered by the regular dues. It should
be all the more self-evident among us that a standing member of the
Synod should not merely receive the Synod's reports but should also
read them, so as to stay informed through them about what is going on
in the Synod; and that, under the present arrangement, the reports
are sent to the standing members without further payment, in
consideration of the synodical assessment, agrees entirely with what
is customary in other bodies and societies.

"4. That the synodical assessment, even at its present level
(annually $2.00), is not a compulsorily imposed tax for the purposes
of the Kingdom of God — the support of which ought to be a matter of
free, loving activity — is evident from the fact that, given the
present number and extent of the synodical reports, their purchase
price reaches or exceeds the amount of the synodical assessment; and
so, once one reckons the administrative costs and the cost of the
synodical reports, certainly nothing is left over from the standing
members' synodical assessments for church purposes, institutions,
etc., that could count as a tax for those purposes.

"Quite apart from the value of the synodical reports, moreover, the
synodical assessment of $2.00 annually is certainly not high compared
with what other bodies commonly set as regular dues, and it would
have to be much higher to defray the administrative costs if by far
most of the work that would come into consideration here were not
performed without charge in our Synod.