NOTES BY THE WAY by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Sep 5, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 36.

NOTES BY THE WAY.

By Editor

IT was a fresh, sweet morning when the Santa Fe Overland steamed out of Point Richmond for Chicago, July 27, 1900. We were to journey over its new route, opened July 1, from Point Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco, through the green hills and valleys of the bay slope, joining the Valley Road at Stockton, the Southern Pacific over the Tehachepi Range to Mohave. All these lines, the new Point Richmond branch to Stockton, the Valley Road down the San Joaquin Valley, the Southern Pacific line through the Tehachepi range to Mohave, are all now a part of the Santa Fe, Atlantic, and Pacific system. By this great artery of commerce and travel, through vestibule trains, with tourist and standard sleepers, run from the great city of the Pacific, San Francisco, to the great city by the lake, Chicago. It is an excellent road, its equipment is good and constantly being improved, and its employees are courteous and accommodating. Such ought to be the case in every avenue of travel, and we have noted but few exceptions to it on the Santa Fe system.

The journey across was quite trying, the heat while crossing the desert being intense; yet, apart from the dry, dusty outside, it was not much greater than during the days following in the great Middle West, when the sun constantly ranged among the nineties, well up to the century mark, in the shade. But the contrast was great between the arid deserts of Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and the great, green fields of irrigated Colorado, and the heaven-watered prairies of fertile Kansas and States farther east.

It was a grand, glorious picture of Heaven's benefits to humanity. All through Kansas, from west to east, there stretched north and south as far as the eye could reach, great fields of wheat, now in numerous stacks or in process of threshing, hundreds of acres of potatoes, and great expanses of beautiful, fragrant, waving maize. One Kansas gentleman told the writer that Barton County alone would yield more than five million bushels of wheat, and one other county, somewhat larger, would probably exceed that. The maize crop is hardly up to the average. The potato crop is abundant, running from 225 to 300 bushels to the acre.

Other Middle Western States, as Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan, we passed through largely in the night. But in a general way, while some of the crops are failures, others are abundant. For instance, we do not know when we ever saw such fields of maize (Indian corn) as are growing in Ohio.

One man jocularly remarked that some people would credit the good crops to the "administration," but we felt that many more would give the credit to "Nature," with a capital initial, apart from God. Others will take all God's blessings as a matter of course, thinking not of the Giver. But all are from God. "The sea is His, and He made it; His hand formed the dry land." It is His sun that shines upon the earth; it is His rain, even from the "river of God," that refreshes all. There are blessed spiritual lessons and life in all God's gifts and bounties. There are also instructive and solemn lessons in their withholding.

ON our way East we stopped off one day at Denver, and ran up to Boulder, about thirty miles distant. Here we met a dear brother. Here, also, in this beautiful city, is located Colorado Sanitarium, under the charge of W. H. Riley, M.D., and able assistants. The sanitarium is full of patients and guests, and cottages are also generally filled. It was in marked contrast to our visit of several years ago. Then but a few patients were present, and these mostly tuberculous. These patients are not now the most numerous, and are generally isolated from the others: This is a good change, because it means, to our mind, better success for the institution, and not the less help for those suffering from the great white scourge—tuberculosis. Colorado Sanitarium should have the earnest, hearty, enthusiastic support of all true health reformers in the whole Rocky Mountain region. It certainly will be appreciated by those from abroad who seek its benefits.

IN Chicago we had the pleasure of meeting President Allen Moon, of the International Religious Liberty Association, and C. P. Bollman, one of the editors of the Sentinel of Liberty. This paper, which has stood for the equal rights of all men, of its enemies even as its friends, is now located at 324 Dearborn Street, Chicago. It has been a faithful sentinel under its name American Sentinel, and it will not be less so, we believe, under its new name. It should have a greatly increased circulation. The people, one and all, need the warnings it is faithfully giving, the great principles of truth and liberty it is enunciating. It is published weekly, at only $1.00 per year.

A FEW hours' trip to Grand Rapids, Mich., a great furniture center, to visit relatives near and dear, and then on to Battle Creek, Mich. Here we stopped over the Sabbath, speaking a short time in the Tabernacle Sabbath morning, from Rev. 14:6, 7, on the necessity of knowing the positive truths of the great, last, threefold message. A baptism of several followed, adding a few more units to this great church of 2,000 or more members. The present pastor is A. J. Breed, who has as assistants W. H. Saxby and I. D. Van Horn. The Sanitarium is full to overflowing, in main building and auxiliaries. It has recently met with loss in two fires, its nut-food plant and the old bakery. The latter was quite fully insured.

FROM Battle Creek, to save time and expense, we wheeled away Sunday morning on an excursion train to Toledo, $1.00 for the round trip, the latter part of which we did not take. Monday we reached Mt. Vernon, O., where, at the academy, were assembled the heads of our various colleges and academies, to confer over the exceedingly important educational work among us. These are Professors E. A. Sutherland (Battle Creek College, Michigan), W. T. Bland (Union College, Lincoln, Neb.), M. E. Cady (Healdsburg College, Cal.), E. L. Stewart (Walla Walla College, College Place, Wash.), J. W. Loughhead (Mt. Vernon Academy, O.), Frederick Griggs (South Lancaster Academy, Mass.), C. C. Lewis (Industrial Training Academy, Keene, Texas), C. W. Irwin (Graysville Industrial Academy, Tenn.), B. E. Nicola (Oakwood Industrial School, Ala.). The one who had charge was Pastor Geo. A. Irwin, president of the General Conference, and with him Pastor L. A. Hoopes, secretary, and Pastor S. N. Haskell, whose instruction in the Word has been greatly appreciated. There were also present Professors Clymer, Welch, Crisler, and others of Mt. Vernon.

THE principal topics of discussion have been Text-books for Schools, Courses of Study, Methods of Teaching, School Government and Discipline, Industrial Work, Relation to Public Schools, Home and Church Schools, and Financial Management. As these topics were freely discussed, as opinions were compared, as principles were made plain in reviewing the education of the past, hearts were brought together, differences were minimized or abolished, and men saw eye to eye as they had never seen in the past. In the matter of public schools there was no denunciation. They are what they are, ranging through all grades in both method and efficiency. But they are schools of the world. In the nature of the case they must be. It is not their province to teach religion, or to build character, save only as the intellect contributes to that end. But it was felt that Christians, those who are looking for the soon second coming of Christ, must have a higher aim in education—an aim not one whit short of the eternal salvation of the child. For that they must labor; for that they must build; for that they must educate. The important thing is character. To build character in God's way of righteousness, by God's means, in which the Bible and nature are pre-eminent factors, by the power of God's life, the Holy Spirit, must be the aim of truly Christian schools. To that they are consecrated, and we look for glorious results in the year to come. Let all labor to that end, and the year 1900-01 will mark the beginning of a short but glorious era in the preparation of a people for Christ's closing work and glorious appearing.

WHAT there was in the beginning of this conference we do not know; but at its close there was present no popish desire to make universal any one man's idea or method. No uniform course of study was adopted. It was generally agreed as natural and logical what subjects should be studied in the schools; but the particular arrangement was left to each school faculty, to adapt their own surroundings and material to their own field and fiber. Some of the younger schools at first desired that the conference should mark out a general course, but it was not thought wise to in any way restrict the working of the Holy Spirit upon each faculty. No one man or faculty can comprehend all of God, or all that God wishes to reveal. If they could, it would not

be divine wisdom; for God scatters abroad His gifts. He delights to distribute them among His followers, so that men may not take His glory to themselves. Our schools have been good in the past, but this meeting bodes a much more blessed future.

MT. VERNON ACADEMY is in a beautiful spot, two and one-half miles from the city. On the north and west is a strip of beautiful woods, within which well up three cool, clear, soft-water springs, the water of which is properly piped and sufficiently preserved. This wood in part is a portion of the campus. The remainder is composed of tilled lands, on which are growing corn, vegetables, and fruit, and a green, grassy hill, on which stand the academy buildings. It is an ideal place for a school, quiet and beautiful, and far from the "madding crowd." We were made welcome both by Professor Loughhead, the principal, and by Mrs. Maxson, the efficient matron. May God bless the Mt. Vernon Academy. M. C. W.