# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1905_S147
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

11th Delegate Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States, 1905. 147

2. Resolved, that Mr. John C. Koch of Milwaukee, together with Messrs. Aug. Lüdtke and Friedrich Pritzlaff, be charged with carrying out the sale of the property named.

"When the General Relief Commission submits this proposal to the Honorable Delegate Synod, it declares from the outset that the occasion for it is not to be found in itself, but that it was called upon to do so by larger conferences and was itself encouraged to do so by the Honorable General President.

"Complaints have, in fact, been widely raised about the all-too-inadequate provision for those needing support; and these complaints are not unjustified, for the times have noticeably changed. — In the regulation by which the matter of support was to be ordered (see the "Synodical Handbook" of 1899, pp. 111–115), the standard rate is set at $100.00 for a widow and $20.00 for a child under fourteen years. Even earlier this support was in many cases insufficient. Today, however, matters stand quite differently still. The price of food has risen considerably, house rent is much higher than before, and the result is that many a widow suffers want if she is still provided for today according to the old standard rate. Examples bear witness that widows with families have had to spend everything they received from the Synod just to provide for shelter.

"Some districts have already improved the situation of those among them needing support, and from these comes the suggestion that the same be done in all districts. The purpose and goal of this proposal shall therefore be to establish an arrangement to be followed uniformly in all districts, by which the widows and orphans of deceased pastors and teachers, as well as infirm and sick emeritus pastors and teachers, can be fully supported.

"That such an arrangement be made is required by justice and fairness alone, for it makes a poor impression on those receiving support in one district when they hear that those supported in another district are better provided for than they are, and one cannot blame them for asking: why can this not also happen among us? — In what follows, an arrangement will now be pointed out that is recommendable because it has already proven successful in a number of places.

"It is obvious, of course, that if we want to give stronger support, more pecuniary means must be procured. For all complaining about inadequate support, and all wishing and