Errata and Sunday-Law Propositions
By Editor
Errata.—A correspondent in Michigan kindly calls attention to a typographical mistake in our issue of December 11, in which the per capita wealth of the United States is given at $7.80 in 1875 and $12.36 in 1900. The figures should have been $780 and $1,236. Even so important is a little period. Sunday-Law Propositions Galore.—There are not less than five different Sunday-law bills before the national Congress at this time. Their numbers, dates, introducers, titles, etc., are as follows: S. 1519, Dec. 9, 1907, introduced by Senator Penrose, of Pennsylvania, "A bill to prevent Sunday banking in post-offices in the handling of money-orders and registered letters." S. 3940, Jan. 14, 1908, by Senator Johnston, of Alabama, "A bill requiring certain places of business in the District of Columbia to be closed on Sunday." H. R. 4897, Dec. 5, 1907, by Representative Allen, of Maine, "A bill to further protect the first day of the week as a day of rest in the District of Columbia." H. R. 4929, Dec. 5, 1907, by Representative Heflin, of Alabama, "A bill prohibiting labor on buildings, and so forth, in the District of Columbia on the Sabbath day." H. R. 13471, Jan. 15, 1908, by Representative Lamar, of Missouri, "A bill prohibiting work in the District of Columbia on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday." It will be seen that there are two in the Senate, and three in the House. Diverse, contradictory, un-American, un-Christian are they all. Protest against them ought to go up from all parts of the United States. If you wish to learn all about them send for Liberty, published at Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. The Signs will deal with these things also. Every citizen ought to be interested in them. Degeneracy.—The inspired word tells us that the last days are days of degeneracy. We get a better view of the fulfilment of this condition sometimes in old and settled communities than we do in newer localities where we are much more likely to excuse people in their extremes. For instance, an article, written by Rev. E. S. Tasker, in a recent number of Zion's Herald, a Methodist Episcopal paper of Boston, points out a very remarkable degeneracy in old New Hampshire. That state once occupied the proud place of third in the Union for literacy. She has now fallen to the twenty-eighth. Not only in this is there a degeneracy, but in moral aspects, as instanced by the divorce evil. In 1870 New Hampshire had 149 cases of divorce. In 1904, 525 cases. We are told that the public conscience has been deadened by familiarity with moral looseness. In 1902, 473 were committed to county houses of correction for drunkenness, but in 1906 they numbered 2,182. In a church census, out of a population of 32,000, 8,000 or one-fourth, claimed to have no church affiliations whatever. 18,000 had never made any kind of profession of religion. These estimates are not made on city life, always considered more corrupt than that of the country, but in country villages. The population is decreasing. One country town gives us this record: 29 marriages; 25 births; and 40 deaths. In a canvass of 37 towns it was found that the population is decreasing in 27 of them. 1,084 dwelling-houses out of 9,073 were deserted. These figures speak strongly. Matters in Morocco have assumed an altogether different form the last few weeks. The French nation had been dealing with Abdel-Aziz, but a new sultan has been proclaimed at Fez, named Mulai-Hafed, and a holy war has been declared. What the French are fearful of now is that all the Mohammedans in north Africa will arise, and it is quite a question with them whether they wish to undertake a war of subjection of these hordes of fanatics at this time or not. It may be necessary for all the European powers to unite. Of course in these days, with superior implements of warfare, it would be of short duration, but there is no question but what it would be a bloody war. The Sacred Fire.—An oil gusher has been located near Baku, in Asia, on the site of an ancient temple dedicated at one time to a kind of fire-worship. It has now been learned that the eternal flame at the altar by which the priests deceived the people, was made by natural gas.