NOTES OF ALARM FOR BAPTISTS.
By Editor
IN the Bibliotheca for October, Dr. H. C. Vedder has a striking article on "Fifty Years of Baptist History." According to his figures, in 1880 the Baptists of the United States numbered 1 to 53 of the population. In 1850 the ratio was 1 to 32, and in 1900 it is 1 to 16. But with this remarkable growth there are discouraging features. Doctor Vedder says:— "It is not putting it too strongly to say that Baptists from the beginning of their separate history have been fully conscious that they had no justification for a separate existence except this loyalty to what they believed the Scriptures to teach, their conviction that the teaching of the Scriptures must be followed at all cost. But the last decades of the closing century have seen a very considerable weakening among them of this conviction, some important modifications of their understanding of what the Scriptures are and what they teach. If this weakening should become general, there can not fail to be a great denominational disintegration." Still another note of alarm is found in lax discipline. On this point Doctor Vedder says:— "Little serious attempt is made to exercise oversight of the lives of members and to hold them to accountability for departure from even a moderate standard of Christian ethics. . . . Nothing can explain such disuse of discipline but a general awakening of moral fiber. This is an alarming phenomenon, and goes far to offset all that has been recorded of material and spiritual progress." These are not our words; they are from the testimony of a prominent Baptist. We call attention to them because this "weakening" in regard to their former creed—"Thus saith the Lord"—no doubt has a bearing on the readiness and zeal with which some leading Baptists lent their aid in support of the Catholic amendment to the California constitution at the late election. We say Catholic amendment, because the exemption of houses of worship from taxation, which is so much in the line of State support of the church, is fundamental Catholic doctrine, and the archbishop of San Francisco led the delegation of ministers in the personal appeal to the Legislature for the submission of such an amendment to a vote of the people. THE typhoon which devastated the coast of Formosa and a part of the southern Chinese coast, as reported last week, struck the coast of Japan on the following day, doing much damage, and causing considerable loss of life. Hundreds of houses were destroyed or flooded, and a number of vessels were lost or wrecked on the coast. At one fishing station 200 fishermen were blown out to sea, and it is reported that all were drowned. AT the Pension Bureau there have been filed 34,000 pension claims on account of the Spanish-American War. ON October 16 the price of Standard Oil stock went up from $566 a share to $583 dollars a share, an increase of $17 on each share of stock in the company. This means that the wealth of Mr. Rockefeller was increased on that day by the sum of $5,678,000. Are we living in ordinary times, when such an accumulation of wealth is possible in a single day? It was but a few days ago that Sir Thomas Lipton "cornered" the American pork market at $12 a barrel, to "unload" again at an advance of $16 to $18 a barrel, thereby making a profit of about $500,000. And so the work of "heaping" together treasure, of adding fortune to fortune—that certain sign of the end—goes on with increasing rapidity. THE Surgeon-General reports a serious lack of physicians in the army, and recommends that more be secured for that service. His report also shows that 347 men have become insane during service in the Philippine Islands; that there are now on the sick list in the Philippines 5,129 men; and that the number of deaths among those on the sick roll is large, owing to the fatigue, exposure, and excitement of the long campaign. THE Russian general at Wilna, in addressing some troops that had been brought back to Wilna on the very eve of sailing for China, said in explanation, "The czar decided it was necessary to bring you back to Wilna, so you might be ready here to join us against a foe we shall be ordered to meet." The Moscow correspondent of the London Standard asserts that the foe hinted at can be no other than Germany. THE town of Guadaloupe, Mexico, was completely swept out of existence on October 17 by a flood following a waterspout in the mountains. The citizens heard the roaring of the flood before it reached the village, and nearly all escaped from its path. The crops of the villagers were also completely destroyed, and they left destitute and shelterless many miles from any other village. BY an ingenious and simple device invented by Prof. G. W. Ritchie, of the Yerkes Observatory, the great telescopes of the world can be made to serve the double purpose of stellar research and photography. Ordinary telescopes are not designed for photographic use, but this device makes all the power of these great telescopes available in photographing the heavens. CAPTAIN CUSHING, of the revenue cutter Rush, reports that at the present rate of decrease, the natives on the Aleutian Islands will soon become extinct. On one island only 110 remain of a once numerous tribe. On another island, once well peopled, only 73 persons remain in all. The captain reports the natives in a wretched condition from hunger and disease. "The archbishop of Canterbury has received a letter from a Kongo native who has learned to write. It runs: 'Great and good chief of the tribe of Jesus Christ, greeting: The humblest of your servants kisses the hem of your garments, and begs you to send his fellow-servants more Gospel and less rum.'" "The wide-reaching curse of the liquor traffic is strongly illustrated by the facts lately brought out, that the milk from cows fed with distillery hops contains nearly six per cent. alcohol, and so is as intoxicating as some beers. Thus we may be making drunkards of our children before they can walk." JOHN SHERMAN, former Secretary of State, and for many years a prominent congressman, died at Washington, on October 22, at the age of 77 years. Mr. Sherman was born at Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823, and for forty-four years held prominent positions in the national government. THE steamship Orizaba, which was engaged in laying a cable between St. Michael and Nome, Alaska, was driven upon an uncharted rock near the former place and wrecked. The cable was saved, but no further attempt will be made to lay it until next summer. AN agent of the Mexican Government is now in the Middle States laying up large numbers of saddle-horses suitable for the use of cavalry. The agent intimates that his government is preparing for war, but does not give the name of the hostile country. IT is thought that the fuel problem at Cape Nome has been solved by the discovery, on the Russian side of the strait, of large ledges of bituminous coal, 200 tons of which have already been landed at Nome, and sold at $60 a ton. THE steamer Alameda, which arrived at San Francisco from Australia on October 19, brought $4,000,000 worth of sovereigns. The gold was at once sent to the San Francisco mint to be recoined into American double eagles. ON President Kruger's departure from Lourenzo Marquez for Holland, his baggage was carefully inspected by Portuguese authorities to see that he carried away no gold. This action was taken upon the demand of England. CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER, the well-known American author, of Hartford, Conn., died in that city on October 20. FOR several days reports have appeared in the daily press of the successful working of Count Zeppelin's air ship. The count conducts his experiments over a lake at Friedrichshafen, Germany, the air ship being moored to a protected float in the lake. He is reported to have made several successful ascensions, being able to steer the ship in any desired direction. It is conceded by many that the problem of aerial navigation has been solved. In speaking of Zeppelin's successful experiments, the San Francisco Chronicle says:— "Of course, the success of Zeppelin's ship does not bring aerial navigation within the range of the practical uses of other media of transportation; but the idea is far enough advanced to warrant the belief that it may become an important and destructive agent in actual war, and, for the present, this seems to be the chief purpose of its construction." A SEVERE earthquake shock occurred at Kadiak, Alaska, on October 9. The first shock was felt at 2:25 A.M., and lasted three minutes. In all twenty-seven distinct shocks were recorded, and the earth was in a continual tremor for six hours. FIGHTING continues in the interior of Africa, between the British and the Ashantis. The British column met one repulse, but afterward captured three native villages and burned them, killing seventy of the natives. GERMANY has secured from the sultan of Turkey a thirty-year lease on the island of Uroan in the Red Sea, to be used as a coaling station for her war vessels on their way to and from the Orient by the Suez Canal route. PRINCE HOHENLOHE, imperial German chancellor, has resigned his position, on account of his disapproval of the German emperor's foreign policy. Count Von Buelow has been chosen by the emperor to fill the position. THE longest balloon voyage ever recorded was completed October 12, the distance covered being 1,304 miles. The balloon with its occupants left Paris on October 11, and in thirty-six hours landed at Kiew, Russia. A MACHINE to take the place of firemen on board steamers has been successfully tested at Tacoma, Wash. It is known as the automatic stoker, and by forced draft drives a stream of powdered coal into the furnace. YELLOW fever is still epidemic at Havana, Cuba. Eighty-nine cases were reported on October 22. Many of the stricken ones were indigent people, who contracted the disease through sleeping in the streets. THERE is a serious strike of London lightermen now in progress, and barges loaded with merchandise and provisions remain unloaded, causing much confusion at the docks and interfering with trade. AT a conference of the Chicago post-office authorities it was decided that in the future no boys should be employed who smoked cigarettes, or who were known to have once been addicted to the habit. THE Norwegian steamer Calanda was sunk by colliding with the Japanese steamer Ise Maru near Iowashima, Japan, and thirty-three of the passengers and crew of the Norwegian vessel were drowned. THE local legislature of Prince Edward Island has voted unanimously for the prohibition of the liquor traffic in the island—an example worthy of imitation by every organized community in the world. A REPORT from the City of Mexico states that a young Italian scientist has discovered a remedy for yellow fever. The Mexican Government had offered a prize of $100,000 for such a discovery. MORE fighting is reported between the rebels and government troops in Colombia. The rebels have attacked Corazal, and the government is sending 4,000 troops to aid the garrison there. OFFICIAL French reports show that the amount of wine produced in that country this year will be the largest recorded for thirty years, and will amount to 1,590,000,000 gallons. FIFTY persons were killed by a boiler explosion on board a steamer plying between Tomsk and Barnaul, Russia, on October 23. Many others were terribly scalded. GOVERNOR-GENERAL WOOD, of Cuba, has recommended to the Secretary of the Navy that the wreck of the battle-ship Maine be removed from Havana harbor. ITALY and Austria have expressed their formal adherence to the Anglo-German agreement respecting China. THE note-teller of the First National Bank of New York City is a fugitive and a defaulter to the extent of $700,000. THE guerrilla operations of the Boers in the Transvaal continue to give much trouble to the British troops. PERU's former minister of marine has sailed for Europe to purchase a war ship and war material. SIX persons were killed at Lodi, Texas, on October 21, by a tornado which visited that place. THE strike of anthracite coal miners is not yet ended.