Financial Embarrassment — Perhaps Disaster
LORD Lansdowne told the British House of Peers recently that “the nations will emerge from this war with an immense burden of financial embarrassment, perhaps of financial disaster.” We have no precedent by which to judge what will follow this war. Some of the strongest minds of the world are beginning to affirm this quite clearly. We have never had such world conditions as at the present time, for the simple reason that the world has never been bound together before by railroad, steamboat, and telegraph as during the present generation. These means of rapid intercommunication not only make it possible for good things to travel very quickly, but the discontent that breeds strife and violence can also spread quite as rapidly. There are being engendered, during this war, hatreds and bitterness that will breed, no one can tell what, after the war is over. And this spirit of hatred is not confined to the nations that are at war, for the commercial conditions are making the conflict between the capitalist and the laborer more intense and bitter every day. Following this war, these elements that now to quite an extent are occupied or kept busy by the war conditions, will break loose. It is more than likely that the capitalist will become more and more fearful. He will hoard his money; and this, added to the general bankruptcy produced by this awful war, will create conditions such as this world has never seen. The Master forewarned us that the nations of earth would be not only in distress, but in perplexity, and that men’s hearts would be failing them for fear. Luke 21: 25, 26. Some people do not like to be told of these things. They would rather believe that, regardless of all the evidence to the contrary, the world is hastening on to the brightest Utopian days. But it is far better to face the facts and be prepared for any eventuality. If we are truly wise, we will study the divine Book until we know the meaning of the conditions of this time, so that our hearts may turn with joy from the distressing and perplexing picture that this world presents, to the bright and glorious realities of the blessed hope — even the hope of the Master’s soon coming.