The high fees charged for the services of the Church have been much criticized, and deservedly so. In most places not a single service will be performed without the payment of the fee in advance. This is specially to be condemned in the case of the fees that are charged for marriages. Although a marriage to be legal in Chile must have a civil ceremony, for which only a small charge is made, yet those who are devoted to the Church consider the religious ceremony the essential one. As the priests will not perform this ceremony without the regular fee being paid, which amounts to several dollars, and the contracting parties do not consider the civil ceremony as of any value, because they are so instructed by the priesthood, the result is that neither ceremony is performed, and an injustice is done to all parties concerned. Even in the higher circles great confusion sometimes arises where the man, for instance, considers the civil ceremony necessary, and the woman, under the advice of her counsellor, is not willing to have it performed. The result has been considerable confusion, and also has made the Church and civil authorities unnecessarily opposed to each other in many instances. Many claim that South America is not a legitimate field for Protestant missionary work. Their theory is that the country was at one time evangelized by missionaries, and therefore should not be touched by other missionary effort. The fact is that religious conditions in South America savour much of the darkness of the Middle Ages. There is to-day an unbelief and utter indifference to spiritual things among the men, which is hard to realize until one has had actual contact with it. Whatever effort can better these conditions, and thereby improve the morals of the people, should be encouraged. The Roman Catholics pursue their efforts among the strongest Protestant countries, and they should not be criticized for so doing. If they can reach a class or element that has not been touched by Protestant effort, they are thereby doing good for that nation and the world in general. True religion and true Christianity should be recognized and encouraged under whatever name it may be found. It would be far better if the Catholic Church in Chile, and other South American countries, would welcome the Protestant ministers, and join hands with them in their efforts to raise the standards of living among the people.