Famine and Pestilence as the Result of War
By Editor
ONE of the common expressions in the war news of the day is, “the sledge-hammer blows” being inflicted by the various armies. Men are driven into the jaws of death by the multiplied thousands. While these millions of fighting men are slaughtering one another, a large part of the crops that were in process of being harvested, are destroyed instead. The great slaughter of men and horses can hardly fail to bring on pestilence in many localities, although the energetic efforts of the sanitary corps may be able to avert much of this. One thing, however, is certain: This great destruction of crops and provisions must result in suffering and famine. And our newspapers that are using their columns to point to the great demand the war is creating for our crops, may be called upon a little later to use those same columns to make earnest, plaintive appeals for food supplies to be sent to war-stricken Europe to relieve starvation. Some may be very hopeful in regard to the outcome of this awful war, but we must not allow them to close our eyes to the fact that conditions of famine and distress can not fail to follow. Again we wish to emphasize the importance of studying God's own sacred word, to know what these terrible things that are coming in this time actually mean. Some people complain that the facts bring such terrors into their souls that they wish to refrain from contemplating them. They desire that their attention even shall not be called to them. But shutting our eyes to these conditions will not prevent the calamities that are spreading out everywhere. We may not be able to prevent these distresses, but we may know what they portend, and we may experience the brighter joys of being relieved from the sorrows and sufferings of this time through the second coming of Christ, which can not long be delayed.