The Anarchist and His Plots
By Editor
FOLLOWING the murder of Archduke Ferdinand, of Austria, and his wife, on July 28, there seems to have been a regular epidemic of similar plots. Among the cases mentioned in the despatches is the attempt, on July 2, to wreck the home of and kill E. M. Herr, president of the Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company. This is supposed to be an outgrowth of the strike at the three Westinghouse plants in East Pittsburg. The plot was frustrated by a passer-by. He chanced to find the bomb, and it was removed before it had an opportunity to do its deadly work. On July 3, women with revolvers secreted on their persons were arrested in the palace of King George, of England. On July 4, a large quantity of dynamite was exploded in a tenement-house in New York City, wrecking the building, and killing several persons. Investigations by the police indicate that this bomb was intended to destroy John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and had exploded in the process of its preparation. On July 8, the police in Berlin arrested a number of persons who were in a plot to assassinate the emperor of Germany. On the same date, two Russians were arrested in France who had designs on the life of President Poincaré. Also on July 8, an attempt was made in Scotland, by the "arson squad" of the militant suffragettes, to destroy the cottage of Robert Burns, the celebrated Scottish poet. SUCH ANARCHY IS PREVALENT
These are nothing more than illustrations of the anarchy that is prevailing in the minds of men. There are many people who like to dream that there are only a few who would engage in such desperate deeds of lawlessness; but if we will stop to think, we must recognize that the intemperate descriptions of conditions of this time, which are now common, are calculated so to work upon nervous or unstable characters that they are ready to organize themselves not only into "arson squads" but into every form of violent and destructive alliances. Such facts as those mentioned herein, and similar facts that are presented by Elder Bartlett on another page of this issue, show that the very foundations of law and order have been undermined, and the whole social structure is going to pieces. We are confronted with the wildest portents of rioting and revolution. In saying such things as this, we are not raising an alarm over nothing, but are stating sober facts regarding the existing conditions. It is time for us to be aroused when a great nation like England, one of the oldest and one of the most stable that has ever existed, finds herself confronted with opposing revolutionary armies that have actually been organized and armed within her borders; and when she is threatened with still more portentous armies of laboring men that suggest arming themselves to enforce their demands. SOME PROPHETIC UTTERANCES
One of the prophetic utterances of the Master was, that the times immediately preceding His coming would be as were the days of Noah. And of the days of Noah the record specifically says, "The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." Gen. 6:11. Men who are harping on the idea that this world is getting better, and that we are standing in the presence of a glorious and golden age, are under the influence of some kind of mental intoxication that beclouds their senses so that they do not know what they are talking about. God's word has specifically told us that evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, and in numerous passages of Scripture prophecy are we forewarned that the "last days" will be a time of extreme peril. The last days are reached. A chorus of voices from the pages of God's inspired word announces it. The conditions of the time are in perfect harmony with the divine predictions. There should be no mistake made in reaching the correct conclusion. The second coming of Christ is right at our doors. Everything shows it, and we should get ready for it. If we are prepared for that great day, our hearts are thrilled with the supremest joy; and the tokens of His coming, instead of causing us any dread, will fill our souls with indescribable delights.