p. 10 | EDITORIAL by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 24, 1916

FromSigns of the Times, October 24, 1916

EDITORIAL

By Editor

THROUGHOUT this great nation men are breathing easier because, a few weeks ago, the word passed along the line that "the great railroad strike is declared off." Yet every one knows that it is but a temporary arrangement. It is, so to speak, an armistice, while both sides to the controversy will prepare for the struggle that sooner or later must be renewed. Men representing the capitalist element are affirming loudly that the action of Congress in enacting the eight-hour law shows that our government is passing under the control of popular clamors, and that if this is allowed to continue, it will soon end in ruin. On the other hand, the laboring men are no less insistent that while the capitalists are piling up their millions with such unprecedented rapidity, there is no reason why labor should not have a larger share of the prosperity of the time.

THE CONFLICT

INTENSIFYING YEAR BY YEAR The merits or demerits of these arguments we do not care to discuss. The question for us to consider is the far broader one brought to view by the prophecies which picture the strifes, the riotings, and the contentions of this time, and tell us what they all portend. Regardless of either the right or the wrong of the arguments put forward by the men engaged in this controversy, it is a well-known fact that the various factions of society are becoming more angry and more determined. The "American Association for Labor Legislation" informs us that during the last legislative year, "ninety-two labor laws, exclusive of the eight-hour railroad measure, have been passed by Congress and state legislatures." In addition to these that were passed, "several hundred labor bills were introduced," upon which no action was taken. These facts show the intense character of the labor agitation. Every little while, a strike is called in some section of the country; and we have such scenes enacted as were manifested in El Paso, Texas, on Labor Day, when a clash came between the "strike breakers" and the men who were out on strike, and "it is estimated that at least fifty persons were injured in the street fighting." The men who are at the head of these labor wars in all sincerity urgently call upon their followers not to engage in any kind of rioting or destruction of property; on the other hand, they are exhorted to be orderly and law-abiding. But as soon as the strikers plunge into a heated contest, they throw away their programs, and act upon impulse, and with a determination to win regardless of what they had previously planned.

[[FIGURE]] # CALMS BEFORE THE BURSTING STORM Not only do the present turbulent industrial conflicts confront us, but we shall soon stand face to face with experiences and problems for which there is no precedent. When the war in Europe comes to a close—and its close may be almost as sudden as was its outbreak—the laboring people of the world will be thrown into perplexities that words cannot be found to describe. There is a tremendous prosperity sweeping over this nation at the present time, but it is indeed the prosperity of a tidal wave. A man may ride high and fast on the top of this wave; but soon he will find that it has subsided, only to leave destruction and ruin everywhere. Be not deceived by the theories and voices of men. Seek earnestly the Bible truth that has been given for these days, and seek a personal acquaintance with the great Author of the sacred volume. He alone holds the key to the situation, and He alone can provide a shelter from the storm that is breaking. Do not allow the little calms that come between the bursts of fury to lull us into the idea that the storm is past. The stormy conditions of earth's history will continue to grow more and more intense until the great climax is reached, when Christ will come in person to bring an everlasting end to all this distress and ruin, and to crown with immortality those who, through seeking and learning to obey Him, are ready for the great event.

[[FIGURE]] # RELIEVING OREGON'S DROUGHT One of the latest devices of those who would engage in the illegal traffic in whisky was to try to smuggle "wet" drink into "dry" Oregon in milk cans. The cans were specially constructed with a copper lining, so that the alcohol in the whisky would not corrode them. They had a false bottom, so that the whisky could be kept in the lower part of the can while there was a small quantity of milk on top. A wide-awake detective in Portland discovered the illegal scheme, and the perpetrators were promptly arrested. The principal argument advanced by the liquor dealers' association as to why prohibition should not be allowed is that whisky will be sold anyway. Laws against murder or theft do not stop these crimes; but nevertheless, we feel safer in a community where there are laws against such evil deeds. "Prohibition doesn't prohibit!" The assertion has been worn threadbare by frequent repetition. Neither does regulation regulate. Bootlegging is not confined to prohibition territory. Prohibition does help. It is a mighty step toward the abolition of this cursed traffic. It makes illegal and punishable by law the sale of liquor. It dissolves the partnership between the liquor forces and the federal government. It removes the temptation of the open saloon from unwary feet. Prohibition does go far toward prohibiting. Facts and authoritative statistics offer indisputable proof. It is as effectual as any other law against crime. Let every lover of humanity throw the full weight of his influence on the side of prohibition. Let us proclaim our convictions to the world by voice and pen and vote.

THE American Catholic Federation was organized by Bishop McFaul, of Trenton, New Jersey, in December, 1901. It was founded with the avowed purpose of advancing Catholic interests, to mold public sentiment, and influence legislation. Among other features, it seeks to suppress anti-Catholic literature, and to debar the same, whenever and wherever possible, from schools and libraries, and from circulation through the mails. With this federation are associated more than a score of national Catholic organizations. Its membership has now reached the three million mark.

[[FIGURE]] # CATHOLICISM'S RELATION TO AMERICANISM Nestling securely in the heart of the Congressional Record for September 6, where it can easily be cited and triumphantly brought forth when occasion requires, is found the address of the cardinal archbishop of Boston to the assembled delegates of the American Federation of Catholic Societies in New York City on August 20. The most noteworthy speech of the convention, it was a studied effort to give to the public the ostensible attitude of Catholicism toward Americanism. Although the pronouncement was made some two hundred miles from the scene of the National Congress in Washington, D. C., yet through the custom of the "extension of remarks," it was inserted in the Congressional Record by request of the Hon. Peter F. Tague, of Massachusetts. We shall hear more of Cardinal O'Connell's speech in the future. Its resting place will not be forgotten. When, in the days to come, the activities of Romanist propagandists bring forth a challenge as to their intentions, that speech will be insistently pressed into service.

NOT ANTI-CATHOLIC BUT ANTI-SIN

Referring to the violent anti-Catholic agitators and their literature, the speaker said: "If you stand by inactive while, under your very eyes — yes, through your very mails, which we pay for — we are insulted, scurrilously maligned, and openly vilified in filthy journals and nasty, indecent literature, unfit to be printed or read, spread broadcast that dupes and bigots may be poisoned against us, so that we may be robbed even of our public rights, then you are not keeping your contract; this is not liberty." While we are steadfastly opposed to certain doctrines and religio-political activities of the Catholic Church, we deeply deplore the harsh and unkind language sometimes used by those who see in Roman aggression a grave peril. We register our protest against the unchristian methods used by some publications professing to be the expounders of true Protestantism and loyal patriotism. We are not in sympathy with such utterances. "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His," be he Protestant or Catholic. Rom. 8:9. This journal is not anti-Catholic, but it is anti-sin. It fearlessly and frankly exposes false doctrines and wrong principles wherever found, but has naught but kindliest feelings toward any individual, lay or official.

[[FIGURE]] # EVIDENCES OF PAPAL LOVE AND DEVOTION Another memorable statement was this: "I have known intimately, personally and officially, three sovereign pontiffs, three popes of the Catholic Church. I am a priest now thirty-two years, I am a bishop fifteen years, and a cardinal five years. I have had the closest relations with not only the pope, but the whole Roman curia; I know well every priest in my diocese and every bishop in this country. Yet never, never, in all that experience, have I ever heard spoken, lisped, or whispered, or even hinted, by any or all of these, anything concerning America and American institutions but words of affection, of tender and kindliest solicitude for her welfare; never a syllable that could not be printed in the boldest type and distributed throughout the land; neither plot nor scheme nor plan, but only sentiments of admiration and love. If there is plotting, I ought to know it. Yet absolutely and honestly, of such things I have never heard even a whisper." Possibly the cardinal is a bit hard of hearing. Yet doubtless words that cause alarm to Protestant ears seem but right and proper to the papal listeners. Cardinal O'Connell, without question, considers the outspoken program to "make America dominantly Catholic" to be the strongest evidence of Catholic love and devotion to the nation. Referring to the startling growth of the Catholic Church in this country, he said, "And it is well for the present and future of America that this is so."

[[FIGURE]] # ROME'S PROGRAM FOR AMERICA America is the hope of Rome, the church's land of promise. She determines to make this the first Catholic nation of the world. To this end, she watches and toils and waits. In an explanatory statement concerning missions to non-Catholics, found in "The Mission Movement in America," issued from the Catholic University of America, at Washington, D. C., June, 1909, the following statement is found: "If the non-Catholic people of America only knew the mother church of Christendom as well as we do, they would love her as ardently. Our motto is, We come not to conquer, but to win. Our purpose is to make America dominantly Catholic." Also the Missionary (Roman Catholic), October, 1911: "'To make America Catholic' is the watchword of this general apostolate, on the part of religious and secular priests combined." We doubt not that such utterances sound, to ardent Catholics, like the acme of patriotism and love of country. But our government is based upon the will of the people, and free from church control. Furthermore, it maintains that free public education should be uncontrolled by the church. That these principles have each been formally condemned by Rome cannot be denied. The ex cathedra utterances of Pius IX, Pius X, and Leo XIII prove this beyond successful contradiction. For example, see "Syllabus of Errors," promulgated by Pius IX in 1864, where he states it is an "error" "that the church ought to be separated from the state, and the state from the church." (LV.) Again, Leo XIII, in his encyclical "Diuturnum illud," on the "Constitution of Christian States," writes: "Many modern thinkers, following in the footsteps of those who in the last century called themselves philosophers, declare that all power comes from the people; that consequently those that exercise power in society do not exercise it of their own authority, but as an authority delegated to them by the people, and on the understanding that it may be revoked by the people. Catholics, however, hold that the right to rule comes from God as its natural and necessary principle." See further, "Syllabus" of Pius IX (XLVII, XLVIII, LXVII, LXVIII, LXXIII, LXXIV). These declarations, from the highest authority in the church, and which every loyal Catholic accepts, are utterly antagonistic to the fundamental principles of the American government.

[[FIGURE]] # DRIVEN TO ATHEISM BY HER APOSTASY During the course of his address, the cardinal said: "And even today, poor, blood-drenched Europe, though she strive to hide even from her own eyes the true cause of this suicidal war, is at last thoroughly convinced that the Voltaires and the Vivians, the Haeckels and the Nietzsches, the Tolstoys and the Huxleys, the Kants and all the rest of that monstrous brood, who for now many years have empoisoned the thought and embittered the heart of the student youth, are now reaping their terrible but abundant harvest." The cardinal states more than a half truth when he says Europe is reaping the results of her wild sowing of atheism. But, may we ask, what led or drove those men into agnosticism? — It was the iniquity and oppression that sat enthroned in the dominant church, the only representative of Christianity they knew. They said, If this be Christianity, then we want no more of it. Goaded to madness, they cast off all restraint. Enraged at the falsehoods by which they had been duped, they rejected both error and truth. Disgusted with apostasy, they sought to annihilate religion itself. The French Revolution, with its gruesome harvest of atheism and violence, was a revolt against the corruptions and perversions of the church bearing the name of Christian.

[[FIGURE]] # BRIEF WORLD-SWEEPING TRIUMPH "One of the startling phenomena of the age," said the cardinal, "is the tremendous growth of Catholicism in America — a growth so startling and so impressive and so urgent that each year, it taxes to the utmost capacity the ever increasing number and size of the churches, and the tireless labors of bishops and priests whose care it is to minister to them." Here is food for sober thought. The Catholic Church is growing both in numbers and in power and boldness of utterance. Boston, the home of the cardinal, once the center of Puritanism, is now practically under Catholic rule. There is an undeniable Romeward drift, while, according to the same speaker, "Protestantism has lost its hold upon the masses — that every year hundreds of their churches are closed, and those still left open are half empty." This also is true, as far as it goes. Protestantism is losing just to the extent that it has abandoned the principles underlying the mighty Reformation which led to the separation from Rome. The trouble is, many of the Protestant churches have ceased to protest against apostasy, are neglecting to advocate primitive Christianity, have become honeycombed with radical criticism. They still retain the form, but have surrendered the power of vital godliness. Yet it was all foretold in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation. An accurate, detailed, chronological depiction of the course of the power symbolized by the "beast"—which all Protestant commentators agree refers to the papacy—is given there. Her domination during the middle ages, together with her loss of power at the close of the eighteenth century, was clearly predicted. Also the resuscitation and restoration to power now witnessed throughout the world was foretold in the words, "His deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast." Then the prophecy adds, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." A brief, world-sweeping triumph, we may expect. Earth's last crisis is approaching with startling rapidity. The conflict will soon reach its climax.

[[FIGURE]] # DESTINED TO EVERLASTING OVERTHROW Fearful is the issue that will soon be brought before the world. Mighty will be the forces. Only diligent students of the Scriptures will be shielded from the powerful delusions that will hold the world captive. Christ said, "Search the Scriptures." Let Protestants take their stand upon this impregnable Rock. Brilliant and world-engulfing though Rome's brief triumph will be, it is destined to utter and everlasting overthrow. Of this almost resistless power under the mystical name of "Babylon" the prophet wrote: "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Such is the decree of the Eternal. L. E. F.