Eight Months of War

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 8, 1915

Eight Months of War

EIGHT months of war and bloodshed, and what has been accomplished? It is estimated that four million men, the flower of the nations of Europe, have been killed or crippled or made victims of disease and lifelong suffering. Thousands of square miles of territory have been desolated. Thousands of wives have been widowed, and thousands of children orphaned. Hardly a home in the warring nations that has not felt directly or indirectly the pangs of personal sorrow and grief over the loss of some loved one. Millions upon millions of dollars' worth of property has been destroyed. Huge national debts have been created, entailing grievous burdens for years to come upon already overtaxed populations. It is estimated by the London Economist that ten thousand million dollars had been added to the debts of the five chief belligerent powers up to the end of February. It is estimated that the war is costing the nations at the present time fifty million dollars a day.

According to the statements of prominent statesmen the terrible carnage and destruction have just begun. It is expected that with the opening of the spring months aggressive warfare will be carried on on a much larger scale. The numbers of men on the fighting line will be greatly augmented by the arrival of fresh recruits. Where will it all end? What will be the outcome of the strife? What will be accomplished in the way of national prestige and glory? Wherein will any of the warring nations be benefitted? Surely every sympathetic heart must cry out to God to bring a speedy end to this terrible situation. The believers in this movement should cry mightily to God that the winds of war may be held in check, and that God will still grant opportunity in days of peace for the carrying of this message to those who know it not.

THE Free Press Extra of the Protestant Magazine, which has attained a circulation of over 250,000 copies, has been received with much favor, and several workers have testified to the good it has accomplished in their territory. The president of the Southwestern Union Conference, in a letter dated March 10, refers to this matter and says: “The Protestant Extra has done wonders in our union. I meet people on the trains who are alive to the situation, and some way I look for the greatest lining up of Protestants against the work of iniquity that this world has ever known. I believe that we as Seventh-day Adventists should stand close to one another, so that we can feel the warmth that should be felt by members in this great cause of God.”