Earlier text: THE EVERLASTING GOSPELThe Present Situation and Our Opportunity
NEVER in our history as a people has there existed a time possessing such grand opportunities for advancing the kingdom of God as may be found today. This particular time is unique in the history of our work, and for that matter, in the history of the world. Old-time controversies have been revived. The forces of good and evil stand face to face for the final conflict. On the one hand, the principles represented by the "beast" of Revelation 13 are rapidly gaining the ascendancy. Opposing these principles in the providence of God is a world-wide agitation which is appealing to many people. Never, since the days of papal domination, have the times appeared so propitious for the papal power of Rome as in the days in which we live. Particularly is this true in Protestant lands. Stealthily and determinedly, openly and covertly, with pomp and pageantry, and at the same time silently and insidiously, has the papal system been promoting and advancing its own interests and designs among the nations of men. Before Protestants were awake to her purposes, Rome had intrenched herself in the strongholds of the nations. Her emissaries and agents occupy many leading positions in the educational and political life of the people. Sanguine of the ultimate success of her plans and purposes, she has become bold and outspoken. She is boasting of her power and of her progress. At these bold assumptions the Protestant world has taken alarm. Particularly is this true in the United States. An almost spontaneous protest has arisen from every quarter of the country against the designs of the Roman Church. Patriotic societies have been organized to safeguard the Constitutional liberties of the people against Rome's maneuvering. Lecturers have taken the field. Publications voicing this protest are being widely circulated. The Protestant ministry has been aroused; mass meetings of protest have been held; and the Protestant church has joined in the chorus of earnest protestation against the efforts of Rome to secure for herself official recognition, and privileges which are accorded to no other denomination. This feeling is deep-seated. It is not a passing sentiment. The wave of agitation is still rising. Everywhere the Protestant world is awakening to the dangers which threaten it. Much of this agitation, of course, arises from partisan feeling, but comparatively few recognize the relation of this question to the closing work of the gospel. This situation affords us as a denomination such an opportunity as we have never had before. We recognize that this very condition of things is a fulfillment of the prophetic word. Upon us rests the duty, and to us is accorded the privilege, of making the people acquainted with the true bearing of these questions. The willingness of men everywhere to read literature relating to the subject should serve to arouse us as never before to give the warning message which God has committed to us. Nor are we wholly unprepared to meet this demand. In the good providence of the Lord this movement is provided with a wealth of literature bearing upon this very condition of affairs. Our missionary journals, the Signs of the Times (weekly and monthly) and the Watchman, can be used with excellent effect. No one can read these journals for several issues without understanding something of what these things mean. But particularly should liberal use be made of the Protestant Magazine and of Liberty, also of the Protestant and the Religious Liberty Leaflets. These publications will acquaint the people with the meaning of these vital questions. These excellent journals, dealing with these specific features of the truth for today, should be scattered by the thousands of copies. The Protestant Magazine at the present time should have a circulation of one hundred thousand copies in this country. Already men and women are identifying themselves with this movement as the result of reading this magazine. Liberty should be circulated as generously. It is to be regretted that some of our people, in place of using the excellent literature which deals with these questions in their proper setting, have turned to outside publications, to sensational journals, largely religio-political in their character, and unfairly partisan as well as personal in their zeal. We do not question but that these journals may accomplish good; and if we had nothing better to circulate, it might be well for us to aid in their circulation rather than to remain indifferent in view of the crisis upon us. But when there has been prepared to our hand literature which deals with these great issues in a proper spirit, and in a dignified and Christian manner discusses these questions in their true setting and in their relation to the prophecies of the Word of God, it surely is to these journals that we should turn. This controversy involves great and far-reaching principles. We are to deal with the principles rather than indulge in personalities. We cannot afford to array ourselves against Romanists as such. We have no fight to make against the members of the Roman Catholic Church. Their souls should be as precious in our sight as the souls of any of our fellows, and we should relate ourselves to this controversy in that dignified, Christian manner which will win to the truth our Catholic neighbors, instead of embittering them against the denomination we represent and the principles we hold. Let us be careful to avoid the partisan spirit which is actuating many of the opponents of Romanism today. Nor can we afford to be classified with this partisan opposition. The wild, emotional, and partisan spirit which manifests itself in impassioned address, in the use of strong language and invectives against Romanism; which applauds the utterance of personal charge and thrust against some of the advocates of that church,—this spirit is foreign to the quiet, dignified spirit of the Master, and to the spirit in which this gospel should be given to the world. Seventh-day Adventists should not pose as anti-Romanists. They should stand before the world as the ambassadors of God, as the messengers of the gospel of peace and good will and salvation to all mankind. We earnestly urge our people to recognize this wonderful opportunity which in the providence of God has opened before them. Let our church officers now rally their members; let our ministers everywhere sound the call to action. Our danger as a people is in missing our opportunity. God has given to us a knowledge of the truth for this very time, for this very situation, for this very issue before us. Shall we meet his purpose? The curse of God anciently rested upon Meroz because its people failed to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Judges 5:23. May heaven grant that the curse of Meroz shall not rest upon this people, but that it shall be said of us, They have done what they could. Who will recognize the opportunity which heaven has opened before us, and who will step into the opening to do the work that God wants done in sounding abroad his warning message for this day and generation? Power From the Wrong Source
By C. M. S.
IN spite of the fact that the American government stands upon the principle of the separation of the church from the state, the federated churches have deliberately adopted a plan which contemplates nothing else than the use of the power and influence of the state in the furtherance of the church's aims. In the very making of that plan, the Federal Council of the Churches acknowledged its own lack of power; and the laying of the plan was in reality a declaration of purpose to secure from a material source the power denied them by the Holy Author of their religion. Their purpose is more than simply to compel lawmakers to heed and respect their wishes. It is to compel lawmakers to yield to their demands, and, in yielding, to put the power of the state at their command. In other words, the spiritual power they lack will be made up for by having the state under their control and using its power to accomplish their aims. For years this combination of churches has worked and prayed for a Sunday law for the District of Columbia. From thousands of pulpits fervent prayers have been addressed to heaven year after year, and yet the law has not been passed. Either Jehovah has not heard, or, hearing, he has not been pleased with the request, and it has been denied. But now the Federal Council is determined to have what they want whether God wants them to have it or not. They have not been able to get it from God, and now they will get it without him—they will compel the state to give it to them, and give it whether it wants to or not. It is a most dangerous thing to insist upon having something that God has denied us. The records of God's dealings with his people show that more than once he has permitted his people to have what they demanded because they persisted in their demand, and would have it even against his will; but in every case it has spelled disaster. And so will it prove in this case if finally the federated churches succeed in getting the state to answer the prayers which Jehovah refused to answer. In the January issue of the Christian Union Quarterly, Rev. Chas. S. Macfarland has an article on "The Federal Unity of the Churches," in which occurs this striking paragraph:— Over against these divided and oftentimes conflicting forces we witnessed the problems of the new social order. The foes of that order were all united, and the divided churches were facing federated vice, federated saloons, united political corruption, cooperative human exploitation, and these all bound together in one great federation of commercialized iniquity. Labor was federated. Capital was federated. They were girded for the conflict, and were awaiting the voice of the church. Problems of social justice were piteously beseeching, and we stood with shame on our faces, bewildered and confused because our divided spiritual authority was not equal to our human sympathy. We saw that, because of the divided moral forces of the church, we were losing our civic virtue, our sabbath, our temperate ways, as well as our temperance laws, our sons, our daughters. The rich were leaving us for their degrading revelries, and the poor were leaving us because we had not moral power enough to restrain an industry that devoured widows' houses and bound heavy burdens upon the people grievous to be borne. What is this but a plain abandonment of the ways of the gospel, and a shaping of the course of the church after the ways adopted by the world for the accomplishing of worldly aims? Labor was federated, capital was federated, vice was federated—and the church must follow their example and federate also. And why must it do this?—Because the church was lacking in "moral power." But the church's source of moral power is not in federated labor nor in federated capital nor in federated vice. God has given the church a higher and purer source of power than that. "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." This acknowledgment of a lack of power is an acknowledgment of a lack of the indwelling presence and direction of the Holy Spirit; and that lack can never be supplied by following the tactics of federated labor, federated capital, or federated vice. When Christians go onto the devil's own ground to fight him with his own weapons, they are sure to lose. The need of God's people is not now, nor has it ever been, an aping of the ways of the world, nor power and force in worldly affairs. God has never promised his church power to compel men or nations to do what they do not choose to do. He has never commissioned his church to force the state or the individual to accept his law and make it the rule of government or of life. The subjects of God's kingdom must be subjects by choice, never by compulsion. Dr. Macfarland speaks of the shamefacedness and confusion and bewilderment of the churches because of their divided spiritual authority. Then the plan of the federated churches is that, through the securing of greater material power, there shall be a united spiritual authority. Woe worth the day when that condition comes into the professed church of Christ. The world groaned under that awful burden all through the Dark Ages. Spiritual authority was what Rome claimed and exercised during that fearful period, the most dismal and bloody in the history of the world. What can the church want of spiritual authority, except to exercise it? And when we find the federated churches of the world exercising spiritual authority in the world again, we shall find again the conditions that made the Papacy what it was; and when we have that, what have we but the Papacy over again? And the Papacy over again is the "image of the beast." Is it not significant that this movement to unite the churches and reinstate spiritual authority had its inception in the United States, and is laying its plans to create here that image of other days? Such declarations as the above show us that we have not been wrong in the interpretation of prophecy, and they show us also the gradual development of the conditions we have so long predicted. There can be no question that we are in the days of the closing of the controversy. And this should cause each Seventh-day Adventist to ask himself whether or not he is just where God wants him to be, and is doing the work God wants him to do. C. M. S. Colonial Possessions of Europe in Africa
By W. A. S.
Review of Our Unentered Countries—No. 2
Colonial Possessions of Europe in Africa
A large list of unentered countries is provided by the colonial possessions and protectorates of European powers. The planting of our work in all the countries of Europe (save little Montenegro), and the development there of the strong and vigorously growing European Division Conference, together with the building up of the union conferences in South Africa and Australasia, have provided natural bases from which to push the work into these still unentered colonial countries. Reviewing these countries by continents, we begin with Africa. The partition of Africa within the last twenty-five years, and the development of settled government and means of communication over so large a portion of its area, have made highways for the missionary advance in every part. The countries under British administration in which we know of no representative of the advent message, with estimated population, are as follows:— Uganda .................... 2,843,000
Zanzibar .................... 115,000
Somaliland .................... 300,000
Bechuanaland .................... 125,000
Swaziland .................... 99,000
Northern Nigeria .................... 9,269,000
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ... 2,600,000 Total population ...... 15,351,000 Southern Nigeria, with its seven millions, would have been on this list a few weeks ago; but during the recent visit of Elder L. R. Conradi to West Africa, it was arranged for Elder D. C. Babcock105to pioneer the way in this colony. Our work is under way in regions close to all the countries named here, except Somaliland, on the Gulf of Aden, east of Abyssinia. Of German possessions unentered, there are but a few, all on the west coast:— Togo .................... 1,000,000
Kamerun .................... 2,720,000
Southwest Africa .................... 82,000 Total population ...... 3,802,000 The largest portion of Africa has fallen to the French republic, though it is the Sahara Desert that bulks largest in the area. France is developing its possessions, however, and even the Sahara is not altogether the barren region once pictured. The French colonies unentered are:— French Kongo .................... 10,000,000
West Africa and Sahara .................... 11,000,000
Tunis .................... 1,923,000
Madagascar .................... 3,104,000
Somali Coast .................... 208,000 Total population ...... 26,235,000 Other countries altogether beyond us in Africa are:— Belgian Kongo .................... 15,000,000
Portuguese Angola .................... 4,119,000
Portuguese East Africa .................... 3,120,000
Portuguese Guinea .................... 820,000
Cape Verde Islands .................... 147,000
Tripoli (Italian) .................... 1,000,000
Italian Somaliland .................... 300,000 Total population ...... 24,506,000 We do have, however, a Portuguese brother and his family in Angola, West Africa, doing what they can while engaged in business, and earnestly calling for a mission to be opened in that region. Though usually counted with Continental Europe, we must keep in mind the Madeira Islands, belonging to Portugal, and Malta, a British naval base, islands off the African coast as yet unvisited by our work. Interested as we are in every point of light that stands for this third angel's message, we were glad some months ago to hear that a representative of the message, a French sister, is on the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar; and we know that the European Division is endeavoring even now to shape plans for placing its first worker in Madagascar. These unentered countries of Africa represent a total of about seventy million souls, toward whose lands we must press in our prayers and our efforts, with our trust in the Lord, who is able to do things beyond all that we can ask or think. The opening of Africa is one of the marvels of our own time. Our own work began there in 1885, in the call of some who had found the Sabbath truth, in South Africa, and in 1887 our first workers landed at Cape Town. A few years later the first steps were taken toward entering the vast field of native Africa. From those very times, we have seen the hand of Providence opening the doors and laying the highways of access. In the first paragraph of a work entitled "The Opening Up of Africa," published in 1911, Sir H. H. Johnston said:— Why does special interest attach to what is styled in colloquial speech "the opening up of Africa"?—Because only twenty-five years ago Europe and civilized America were very slightly acquainted with the greater part of the geography, peoples, and products of Africa; . . . yet nevertheless since 1885 African discovery has proceeded at a rate so astonishing that there is nothing quite comparable to it in the history of human civilization. Surely we should be blind indeed did we not see that the Lord has been preparing the way for the light of his Word and the sound of the closing message to penetrate Africa in these very last days. He who has so wondrously wrought in the beginning of the good work in Africa can finish and cut short his work for that dark continent in his own good time and way. Of further unentered fields in Asia and other parts, we must speak in another article.
W. A. S. THE attendance of President Wilson at the Thanksgiving mass held at St. Patrick's Church in Washington, in November, has called forth numerous comments from the religious press. The Watchman-Examiner (Baptist) of Dec. 11, 1913, says:— For several years the President of the United States and members of his Cabinet have attended services in a Roman Catholic church on Thanksgiving Day. After inveigling the President into attending these services by making the day an occasion for rejoicing over the pleasant relations existing between the United States and the South American republics, our Catholic friends are making capital of the presence of the President, going so far as to declare that this proves ours to be a Roman Catholic country. The Protestant ministers of Washington have made a ringing protest against the trickery of the whole procedure, and we gladly publish their protest elsewhere in this issue. The leading Methodist paper of the United States, the Christian Advocate, feels that the faintest approach of political Romanism should be resisted:— We shall doubtless be accused of bigotry by all who are partisans of Rome, and by many who refuse to peer beneath the surface of events and are incorrigibly optimistic in the face of any alarm. It will be said that we have exaggerated a mere trifle into a thing of portentous magnitude. Nevertheless, a slight piercing of the dike may let in the whole flood. It is the part of wisdom106to resist the faintest approach of political Romanism to the strongholds of our national life. It will save trouble to begin now. The secular press for obvious reasons will not sound this warning. The religious press, in the interest of political liberty, must bear the obloquy of performing this unpleasant duty. The Northwestern Christian Advocate of December 24 declares:— It is a matter of deep regret that the President permitted himself to be blinded to the real principle at stake. Having yielded once, he will find it increasingly difficult to decline the invitation which will be made next year—and pressed if occasion demands; but it should be the duty of every citizen who appreciates the situation to so impress him that he will refuse to further entangle himself in the toils of Romanism. The New York Weekly Witness of December 3 believes that in its endeavors to secure recognition by government officials the Roman Church is overreaching itself, and while it feels that there is "not the slightest danger that this country will ever submit knowingly to priestly dominion," "it may be a good thing for the country that the Roman Church is showing its hand in political intrigue." Of the attendance of President Wilson and Mr. Bryan at the Thanksgiving services, the editor declares:— But from a religious point of view, we were very sorry to see that President Wilson and Mr. Bryan attended high mass. Mr. Taft had done the same thing, but he is a Unitarian, and could scarcely be expected to know better. Wilson and Bryan are both Presbyterians, and they disgraced their religion by taking part in an idolatrous service—the worship of a wafer as the body of Christ. Their act was very blameworthy also from a political point of view, because it was an attempt to give official recognition to a service which they had no authority to recognize officially. Nor are the papers of the President's own church silent with reference to the evil which may grow out of his attendance at this mass. The Christian Observer (Presbyterian), in its issue of December 3, gives the protest presented by the Protestant ministers of Washington against the efforts of the Roman Church to secure for this service official recognition, and in its comments thereon says:— This is one of the spectacular, shrewd methods that the Roman Catholic Church uses to keep its own organization prominently before the people. What right has a church of the Lord Jesus Christ to make use of the officials of the government, in their official capacity, to further its own ends? The rector of St. Patrick's Church in Washington attempts to obscure the issue by pleading that this is a celebration which has for its object peace and good will to men, and states that it is intended to bring together prominent men of the American republics for the purpose of fostering friendly sentiments among them. Here is the ever-present Jesuitical argument, "The end justifies the means," upon which the hierarchy of Rome has established itself. . . . No Protestant church would have the temerity to attempt to gain such recognition of itself from official sources. And if, perchance, one of the Protestant churches should make the attempt, Rome would be the first to "howl" against it. By this act the Church of Rome overreaches all the bounds of propriety and Christian humility. It seeks to use the strong arm of the national government for its own aggrandizement. The Continent (Presbyterian), published in New York, is quite sanguine in its belief that since President Wilson has by this act of courtesy shown his friendliness to the Roman Church, next year will find him attending either the Thanksgiving service of his own or that of some other Protestant church. Regarding the principle involved, the editor states:— But the President has, we trust, observed in the protests reaching him, a note deeper and more sober than this, and much more worthy of his attention. The jealousy which the Protestant ministers of Washington expressed was, as the Continent understands it, not jealousy of the Catholic rector in Catholic St. Patrick's, but jealousy for the American principle of government impartiality among churches. . . . Having already proved by his presence at this one Thanksgiving service that he realizes himself the President quite as much of Catholic as of Protestant Americans, and having shown perfect respect to Catholic worship, Mr. Wilson will no doubt next year quietly choose for himself some Thanksgiving service which represents his own personal preference in religious custom. That will end all this talk of the "official Thanksgiving," and everybody will be as happy as before. In a later number, January 1, the Continent declares, with reference to the Protestant mass meeting held in the city of Washington:— The Protestants of Washington City have done recently what Protestants of other cities ought to do—held a theater mass meeting under the joint auspices of all locally represented Protestant denominations, where in a forcible address the crowds attending were told just why Protestantism exists in the Christian world, and what it stands for. The United States of late has heard a great deal too much of fierce and even slanderous denunciation of Roman Catholics, and far too little of the reasons why the majority of Christians in this country are not Roman Catholics. The roar and noise of maledictions hailing down on the head of the Pope persuade the public of nothing except that the all too familiar spirit of religious intolerance has been stirred up again. And the reaction is more likely to incline popular opinion toward Catholicism than away from it. But the calm and candid statement of why the Reformers reformed—and why Protestant churches still refuse to admit the Pope's authority—will command public attention and public sympathy, for the Protestant idea of liberty, fairly stated, is an idea inbred in the American bone, and never more potent in American sensibilities than right now. This is the kind of speech that Dr. McKim made in Washington on the occasion alluded to, and a multitude heard him with lively appreciation. Moreover, the daily press gave prominent space to reprinting the gist of his reasons on "Why Are We Protestants?" as it never would have given to reasons why other folks should not be Catholics. This is, besides, the kind of religious argumentation that loyalty most sanctions. It is really a shame to men and women who have entered into the heritage of Calvin and Luther and Knox that they so seldom exhibit appreciation of the mighty idea for which these men lived and so many martyrs died—the faith that every man for himself, peasant layman as well as lordly prelate, may come to God direct and receive the Holy Spirit without a priest's intervention. Strangely enough, men who boast in liberty from political lordships do not seem to realize what they have been delivered from in the way of ancient religious tyranny. The feeling of alarm over the aggressiveness of the Roman Church is by no means confined to the Protestant ministers of Washington, nor to the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. There is going on at the present time a country-wide agitation over the question, and there is hardly a religious journal of any Protestant church but that in some degree voices this uneasiness, and sounds to its readers a note of alarm. This agitation is in God's order. This controversy involves mighty principles. God has committed to Seventh-day Adventists great light with reference to the meaning of these things. Let us be faithful in taking advantage of this widespread interest to place in the hands of the people the literature which will give them a knowledge of the prophecies of the Scriptures, and of the times we have now reached in the history of the world. Our Real Objective
By W. T. Knox
"As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." John 17:18. At the close of his earthly ministry, as Christ was about to leave the world, he thus indicated his purpose to leave as his representatives those who by his teaching had been gathered around him. These were, by the help of his Spirit, to continue and complete the work he had begun. The great purpose that brought the Saviour from his heavenly home to earth was "to seek and to save that which was lost;" to restore to the Father that of which his kingdom had been despoiled by sin. That work will not be completed until in the great gathering day the Saviour presents before the throne of God, gathered from this world of sin, "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Rev. 7:9. As an earnest of its final accomplishment, he at his ascension led with him a great multitude of captives, snatched from the prison house of Satan. While no longer here in his visible person, yet he still continues through his people to plead with sinners to turn from error to truth, from darkness to light. "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:20. In the fifteenth chapter of John, Christ likens himself to a fruitful vine, and his children to the branches. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. . . . Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." John 15:1-4. While, doubtless, the fruitfulness of the abiding branches is to be applied to the fruits of the Spirit, yet it is also evident that they must partake of the life-bearing and saving quality of the fruitful vine. It is said that among the great throng of the redeemed there will be found no starless crowns. Reconciling sinners to God is the exalted work to which God has called every redeemed soul, and the reward of such will be commensurate with the work performed. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Dan. 12:3. No one need feel that he is unequal to this work. Of ourselves we are, but every godly life devoted to faithful, active service for Christ will be used by him to exert an influence upon other lives. This denomination has by systematic effort along well-developed plans, accomplished satisfactory results in many features of its work. This is noticeable, especially in the distribution of our literature, our educational and young people's work, and the financing of our evangelical work in home and foreign lands. These lines of work all have as their objective the saving of souls. Are we, however, in our relationship to these enterprises, engaged in that personal effort for the saving of men that the Lord calls for? If we are in the world as Christ was in the world, "to seek and to save that which was lost," we surely must make our efforts less general and more definite. In other words, every Seventh-day Adventist, having a living connection with Christ, should always be107possessed with a definite burden for the soul of some one. While the growth of the denomination has been going steadily forward, yet the increase in membership in North America has not been what it should have been. The statistical report for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1913, which appears on page 12 of this paper, shows baptisms for the quarter numbering 1,807, giving a membership in America of 66,434, a gain that certainly is not in keeping with the outlay and effort of the denomination. For a number of years the heavy percentage of gain in membership of the denomination has been found in countries other than the United States. Would not God be pleased to honor the endeavor of his people in America, if now, without regard to the work and accomplishments of minister, Bible worker, or colporteur, we should begin to importune him to use us for the salvation of men, and our supplications have as a definite aim the securing for him during this year of at least one convert for every present member? To accomplish such an undertaking as this, would, under God's prospering hand, be no impossible task. If we would but "repent, and do the first works," if the same zeal, and labor, and patience were ours today that characterized the early service of this people, a wonderful transformation would take place. We have a literature rich in the truths of God, and all can have some part in distributing it. Many could, by planning, find time to devote to Bible study with their neighbors and friends. Such efforts, blessed by the Lord, will surely bring forth fruit. In view of the fact that the King's business requireth haste, we should all now, individually, give ourselves with the same earnestness that has attended our efforts in raising funds, and in other campaigns, to the one great, overshadowing work of securing converts for God, in order that the number may speedily be made up that are finally to stand before his throne, having the name of the Father written on their foreheads.
W. T. KNOX. According to newspaper reports, political affairs in Europe are far from reassuring. The reports declare:— While it is, of course, too early to predict what the new year will bring, especially as practically all the parliaments of Europe are still enjoying their Christmas vacation, there are plenty of ominous clouds in all corners of the political sky. The hope that the end of the Balkan war would at least temporarily settle the Balkan question as far as the remainder of Europe is concerned, has utterly failed. It may even be said that peace has brought up a number of difficulties which could not be foreseen. The Balkan settlement has really satisfied nobody, least of all, Turkey. Austria is dissatisfied with the loss of her influence in Bulgaria and with the increased power of Servia. Russia, still furious because Germany has a new opportunity to organize the Turkish army, is doing everything to stir up anti-German feelings in France, though it is evident that on this point Germany must and will remain firm. The Turkish people gave the German Gen. Von Sanders a most cordial reception, and the Turkish government declares itself unable to understand why Russia and France should object to a German general reorganizing the Turkish army, as long as French officers have long been doing the same for the Greek army. There is a rapidly increasing fear and distrust of Russia in Turkey, and the tone of the press is exceedingly bitter. The situation in Albania is much more grave than is generally known or officially acknowledged by the European powers, according to authoritative information gathered in diplomatic circles last week. The various governments are directing all their efforts to prevent a fresh outbreak of war in the Balkans. Tension is said to have reached such a point that Germany has proposed joint Austrian and Italian military intervention in Albania. The suggested intervention is the reason why Italy and Austria have recently concentrated their warships along the Albanian coast. Both nations, however, hesitate to follow German advice. Quarterly Statistical Report
By H. E. Rogers
At the last session of the General Conference, consideration was given to the matter of statistical reports, and it was voted that in the future such reports be prepared quarterly. Certain changes in the report were authorized, and new blanks sent out in conformity therewith. The first returns secured under the new arrangement are those for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1913. These reports are for the North American Division Conference, and the figures, appearing on the next page, present a splendid showing. This being the first report secured on this basis, some items were not reported by the secretaries of local conferences, and others were incompletely given, as will be seen by reference to the table. In two cases (British Columbia and Newfoundland) no reports were received, making it necessary to estimate the figures. Many of the secretaries promise more complete returns when the plan of quarterly reporting is more fully in operation. The last report issued prior to this was for Dec. 31, 1912, nine months ago. The gain indicated, therefore, is for nine months. A study of the table shows a splendid increase in many of the items. Note, for instance, that the increase in the number of churches is forty-nine, the present number being 1,978. The gain in church members is 2,569, the number of church members now being 66,434. A very gratifying feature is the fact that the total number of persons baptized during the three months ended September 30, was 1,807. The increase in the number of ordained ministers is 35, and in ministers, licentiates, and missionary licentiates, 134. The total number of workers of these three classes in the North American Division Conference now stands at 1,486, as against 1,352 nine months ago. Splendid results are also shown in the matter of funds. Take one item as an illustration: The per capita contributions from the Sabbath schools in this division are one-third greater than they were for the preceding year. And for 1912 they were much higher than they ever were before. Thirty-five additional Sabbath schools have been organized, with 713 more in attendance. The total enrollment now stands at 68,314. The per capita of tithe is also higher than for 1912. Progress is certainly the one watchword in this cause. Wherever the banner of truth is planted, there it remains, drawing others to its folds. H. E. ROGERS,
Statistical Secretary. "A Moment in the Morning"
You haven't time? O, yes, but this is very important! The moment in question really holds the key to your success in the Christian life. "No prayer, no Bible study, means a life of no power; little prayer, little Bible study, means a life of little power; much prayer and much Bible study means a life of much power,"—a life which will bring wanderers into the fold of the Good Shepherd. Yes, surely you want this power, but if you would win others you must keep in close touch with heaven. Then resolve to observe the morning watch. Plan for a few quiet moments of meditation and prayer and Bible study before you begin the busy day. Work your plan regularly. Get the morning watch habit. It will be a strong link in your "character cable." It will give you courage and strength for present duties. It will help you to keep in constant communion with our great High Priest, who "ever liveth to make intercession" for us. February Protestant Number
THE February number of the Protestant contains a report of the Washington Protestant mass meeting, with the speech of Dr. McKim. This is an excellent number for circulation at this particular time. See that your neighbors have this number. It will open their eyes to the great peril now threatening their liberties. | CONFERENCE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |