Current Mention by L. L. C.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 28, 1916

Current Mention

By L. L. C.

Current History in the Light of the Bible

To the careful Bible student the daily newspaper often speaks very eloquently concerning the times in which we live. We shall here mention only a few of the items which have caught our attention in the past few days. ### Destruction in War The Lord, speaking through the prophet Joel, tells of the preparation for the final great battle:— "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. . . . Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." The present great European conflict, with its multiplied engines of war dealing death to millions, is but a prelude to what we may expect to see in the near future. With figures as to losses in the present war variously given, the most careful calculation which we have seen is that given in the Current History magazine of the New York Times for December. The following is the general summary there given:— ### DIRECT LOSSES OF HUMAN LIFE DURING TWO YEARS OF WAR

	Dead	Wounded	Invalids
Austria-Hungary	718,000	1,777,000	533,000
Belgium	50,000	110,000	33,000
Bulgaria	25,000	60,000	18,000
England	205,000	512,000	154,300
France	885,000	2,115,000	634,000
Germany	885,500	2,116,300	634,900
Italy	105,000	245,000	73,500
Russia	1,498,000	3,820,000	1,146,000
Serbia	110,000	140,000	42,000
Turkey	150,000	350,000	105,000
Totals	4,631,500	11,245,300	3,378,700

Universal military training, which is the system in most European nations, may also be adopted in the United States. Maj.-Gen. Hugh L. Scott, chief of staff of the army, in his report says that the volunteer military system has proved itself a failure. He advocates universal training, in words which we quote from the Washington Post of Dec. 8, 1916:— "In my judgment, the country will never be prepared for defense until we do as other great nations do that have large interests to guard, like Germany, Japan, and France, where everybody is ready and does perform military service in time of peace, as he would pay every other tax, and is willing to make sacrifices for the protection he gets and the country gets in return. There is no reason why one woman's son should go out and defend or be trained to defend another woman and her son who refuses to take training or give service. The only democratic method is for every man in his youth to become trained in order that he may render efficient service if called upon in war." Senator Chamberlain, chairman of the Senate Military Committee, introduced a universal training bill into Congress during its last session, and according to the public press has announced his intention to press vigorously for action on his bill at the present session. ### More Strikes The struggle between capital and labor still breaks out in general strikes. Fifty thousand garment workers have unanimously voted for a general strike. Everywhere throughout the United States and Canada, and even in other parts of the world, industrial workers are organizing for concerted drives for an eight-hour day and wage increases. In addition to this, we still have with us the threatened railroad strike, which may become an actuality unless some solution is found before the first of January. ### Increase of Wealth Bible students have long considered the heaping together of riches a sign of the last days. The apostle James warns the rich of the miseries which are to come upon them. He tells them, "Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." The returns of the federal income tax just made up by the Commissioner of Internal Revenues are very interesting, showing as they do the great increase in wealth in the United States. Especially interesting is the point made in the following words of comment by the Independent of Dec. 11, 1916:— "The most significant aspect of the income tax statistics is not the great national wealth they indicate, but its rapid increase over last year, especially among the highest incomes. Those in the highest class, with annual incomes of more than half a million dollars a year, increased in a twelvemonth from 174 to 329." ### Social and Industrial Conditions At the convention of the Women's Christian Temperance Union at Indianapolis, Ind., Mrs. C. P. Lindsay referred to the alarming increase of cigarette smoking among the women, urging that some method he used to counteract it. She thought this could be done by advertising the harmfulness of it. She said: "The disgusting, demoralizing habit of smoking, the almost universal catarrh among men as a result, the violation of health laws which cause the innocent to suffer, the selfishness and the awful waste of the habit, the immoral influence of the cigarette, and its first cousins, dope in many guises, the growing habit of cigarette smoking among women,—all this and more can be told on the poster boards." According to a recent newspaper item, the declaration was made by the district attorney's office that there are two hundred thousand slaves to drugs in New York City alone. Dr. Charles F. Stokes, medical director of the Board of Inebriety, says that in the United States as a whole there are one million drug users, eighty per cent of whom are heroin addicts. Another rather striking recent occurrence is the promotion of a prize fight by prominent wealthy women, as is seen from the following note in the Herald of December 6:— "Miss Anne Morgan and numerous other prominent and wealthy women of America are said to be actively interested in the project to bring Georges Carpentier, ring champion of France, to this country. He will fight Jess Willard for the heavy-weight championship." The newspaper clipping goes on, however, to say that the proceeds from this fight are to be applied to French charities. This is a logical outcome of the usual methods of the popular churches to raise church funds. American women must promote prize fighting in order to raise money for charities! A local Washington paper reported that in the month previous to December 8, there were more than a score of house breakings, a half-dozen store robberies, and numerous hold-ups and assaults in the city of Washington. This outbreak of crime in the capital is not an isolated case, but is a part of a country-wide wave of crime which is sweeping through the land in these days. ### Statue of Liberty Lighted Up A few days ago the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor suddenly blazed with light, at a wireless signal from President Wilson. New York City has raised a fund which insures that hereafter this Statue of Liberty will be lighted every night. Not only will the torch be illuminated, but from concealed reflectors all about the great effigy beams of light will be cast over the whole figure. The Times of December 3 remarks editorially: "Liberty will hereafter typify all that she should. No more will arrivals, by land or sea, receive with disappointment the explanation that it is not possible to point out and identify the great symbol by night." As the President said in a speech that night:— "There is a great responsibility in our having adopted liberty as our ideal, because we must illustrate it in what we do. . . . All the world over, the life of the individual means the same thing to him—it means opportunity not only, but it also means his relationship to others, and he comes to his full dignity when he stands upon the same level with others, and, looking in his neighbor's eye, knows that he belongs with him to a common free community of purpose and thought and action." ### New Aviation Records Daniel was told to shut up the words of his prophecy and to seal the book "to the time of the end." "Many shall run to and fro," the angel said, "and knowledge shall be increased." One of the most recent ways of running to and fro is through the air. November 19 Miss Ruth Law established a new long-distance record, when she flew, without a stop, from Chicago to Hornell, N. Y., a distance of six hundred and sixty miles by railroad. Had it not been for a delayed start and a wind which cut down her speed and forced her to descend to replenish her gasoline, she might have reached New York City without a stop, as she had planned. Her average speed was over one hundred miles an hour. As the Washington Post of November 21 says, in its editorial comment:— "Not only is this the longest flight ever made by a woman, but Miss Law has demonstrated that to fly to New York from Chicago without stopping is wholly practicable. Her obsolete machine had equipment for only fifty-three gallons of gasoline, and it is generally agreed that if she had been able to carry one hundred gallons, as is the case with the modern machines, she would have been able to complete the trip from Chicago to New York in the light of one day." Another spectacular achievement in aviation has been performed by Representative-elect O. D. Bleakley, who has the distinction of being the first Congressman to make his entrance to the national capital by aeroplane. L. L. C.