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BOSTON METHODISTS.
THE Methodist ministers in the vicinity of Boston have a meeting every Monday morning. Usually an essay is read by one of the ministers. Last Monday one of the leading Methodists of the city read a paper upon Genesis. He spent his whole half hour or more in tearing that book to pieces until there was not a shred of it left. Genesis, we are told, is not history; it does not give a narrative of facts; indeed,15there may not be a single fact narrated in the book. It is a "collection of ancient, oriental myths which the Holy Spirit inspired men to use in order to reveal spiritual truths."
That is, the Spirit of truth used these lies to reveal eternal truth! And all this blasphemy, in face of the fact that the greatest historians in the world have declared that the most ancient and most reliable historic document that has come down from all the ages of the past is the tenth chapter of this Book of Genesis! If the facts of this book had been found in the writing of some pagan philosopher, they would have been lauded to the skies, but, being in the Bible, the ministerial infidels of the day must kick them about as athletes at a game of football!
It does seem as if men were going mad—losing their mental balance—taking leave of their power to reason and reach sane conclusions! Is it a strange delusion that has come, and are men believing a lie? And the worst of it all is, the whole assembly of ministers cheered this crazy paper of blasphemous utterances to the echo, and then, to crown all, an aged and venerable brother moved a "vote of thanks for this able and instructive paper," which vote was carried without a dissenting or protesting voice! Methodism is not going—it is gone, in and around Boston.—Watchword and Truth.
SENTIMENTAL EVIDENCE.
COMMENTING on the response to the call for relief of sufferers by the earthquake, the Commoner says:
Confronted by such generosity as this the pessimist must stand silent, and he who constantly insists that the world is growing worse is answered by a million generous acts. Our common humanity is more than a sentiment—it is a fact.
We would not detract one scintilla from the credit due to those who nobly and bravely helped in the great emergency. But to give a universal credit to the world, or even to the United States, for innate generosity because of what a comparatively few have done in this case, is "sentiment" pure and simple. Perhaps not one in a hundred even in California so much as raised a finger in the way of genuine help. If the circumstance of the earthquake and the fire are to be taken as in any way adducing evidence that the world is not growing worse, what meant the necessity for the great aggregation of federal and state troops, and municipal and volunteer police, to keep the poor sufferers from being robbed and murdered? Why was it necessary for those who had food and other necessaries for sale to be officially enjoined, and otherwise compelled, not to charge exorbitant prices? It was evident that extortion would have been the order of the day, on the part of merchants and house owners, and those who had their services for hire, but for the appeals and orders of influential men. Armed protection and enforced generosity are not necessary under any conditions when men are growing better, especially when the calls of hunger and nakedness and exposure are filling the air.
What about the great lack of generosity, the absolute oppression of the poor, the general inclination to take advantage wherever opportunity opened, of which dire complaint has long been made from pulpit, press, and rostrum? And certain political journals have been the loudest in the pessimistic cry, if it is to be called by that name. So far as the money response is concerned, the bulk of it has come from sources that have been most bitterly denounced. Surely the generosity that has to be stimulated by disaster, that is not moved until a general sentiment is forced by the disrupted elements, is not the kind to boast of as evidence that the world is better at heart.
A generosity that would equalize the condition of mortals in the matter of earth's common resources, and labor to that end from voluntary impulse in ordinary times, in ordinary business and social life, would better prove that the world is growing better. The spirit that feeds the poor and clothes the naked and ministers to the afflicted, and deals honestly and liberally at all times with all classes, is the true test of generosity. A general spirit of this character would better prove a generally enhanced moral condition.
Such evidences as are being presented to show that the world is growing better are not at all complimentary. They rather indicate that men's consciences must be frightened and their nerves racked by some over-awing phenomena of nature in order to call out any sentiment of sympathy and generosity at all. They emphasize, rather than rebut, the sure testimony of Scripture, that "in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."
Such is God's prophetic picture of the general conditions of our time, and we know that it is a true one, however much men may try to cover it. It does not say that there is no generosity in the world at all, or that all men are hardened against real sympathy for the suffering and the needy. But it does say and mean just what it says, and it is due to the world that it be kept before the people. Be not deceived; the whole world, or even the whole nation, will not be accredited with generosity because a few thousand of them are moved to help the sufferers in a great disaster. Do not forget that where dollars are going to San Francisco for charity, thousands are going for profit. Do not forget that men of business are far more concerned as to what they can make out of the situation—even to profit by the disaster—than they are to assist somebody that is in need.
Let us give due credit to every one who so much as expressed a word of sympathy for the unfortunate, but let us not carry it to the extreme of concealing from the world God's faithful testimony as to its true condition. There can be no worse robbery of the poor than this.
"SABBATH DESECRATION."
[From the Indianapolis Star.]
G. [[FIGURE]]
Gobbi Building, Healdsburg. This is a typical scene which might be met in every town where the earthquake did any considerable damage, the front wall fallen away, leaving open bedrooms which appear like little doll houses seen on exhibition.
CHINA BECOMING AROUSED.
THERE are various ways of describing the situation. Some call it civilizing, and some are optimistic enough to imagine that it is Christianizing; but, at any rate, there is a change taking place in the Orient, and China is apparently getting ready to fight according to modern methods. Somehow or other, the "reforms" in the Far East develop that way, and the people haven't much use for any Western ideas that do not promise increased ability to become dominating powers. They will accept our education, our politics, our commercial and manufacturing methods, and even our formal Christianity, if convinced that thereby they may become richer, and especially if they can become stronger in a military and naval sense. Japan gained prestige by applying her acquired advantages to these lines, and China is inclined to materially strengthen herself in the same lines by the same means.
A returned Baptist missionary who has been six years in Huchau, gives the following statement to the Kansas City Star:
There were in all China when I went just six newspapers. Now there are hundreds of them. They are active in getting news, and all of them are creditably conducted. The telegraph is everywhere, away even in the See-keen province, right on the Tibetan borders. In 1898 the empress revoked every reform promulgated by the young emperor. The public opinion created by the newspapers has forced her since then to grant every one of them. Even the ancient system of education has been abolished, and in its stead there are thousands of public schools teaching modern subjects. Six years ago there were only 150 miles of railroad in China; now there are fully 2,500 built or building. And Yien Shi Kai, viceroy of Chi Li province, has an army of 200,000 men, trained by Japanese and German officers, and both uniformed and equipped on modern lines. There are 10,000 Chinese students in Japan. China is awakening more rapidly than the people anywhere dream, and it will not be long before she becomes a world power and a great one. Of that I am firmly convinced.
Supplemental to the foregoing, we give the following press despatch from Shanghai, July 8:
An unprecedented and interesting spectacle was witnessed here to-day, when 4,000 Chinese volunteers, who have been drilling assiduously for the past few months, paraded through the flag-decked streets of the settlement. The men were dressed in khaki and presented a smart appearance. Only the officers wore swords. After the parade the soldiers were entertained at the yamen of the Tao Tai.
The waking up of the heathen was foreseen by a prophet of the Lord many centuries ago, and the record was made as follows: "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats ["vats," R. V.] overflow; for their wickedness is great." Joel 3:9-13.
Saloon Licenses After the San Francisco Fire
About two thousand saloon licenses had been granted in San Francisco prior to July 5, the date fixed by the mayor for permitting the saloons to open for business. Before the fire there were about thirty-three hundred. The price of license is now $500, a year, as against $84 before the great disaster. It was expected, of course, that much drunkenness would be the result; and as jail space was limited, it was planned by the chief of police to put offenders to work clearing away débris from the sidewalks.
In proportion to the inhabitants there are nearly as many saloons now as before the fire. When prohibition was such a blessing, why, O why, was it not continued?
Injurious Organization
Injurious Organization.—Every man should avoid organizations which are injurious to men. Now what is the general principle of labor unions respecting apprenticeship? It is that the right to learn a trade does not belong to boys and young men as human beings, but is in control of the union; may be given to certain people, and denied to others. Here is a man who owns a linotype machine, and he would like to have his brother or his son learn to operate it. But before he can arrange this he must get permission from some union, or imperil his business as publisher. Typographical unions say that if too many men learn, the wages will go down, and therefore they try to prevent men from learning. The owners of machines which they operate can not teach their own children without the consent of the union. This is a denial of one of the fundamental rights of man, which is to fairly earn his living as he may be able. It puts the typographical union in the place of God to all those young men who would like to learn to operate these machines.—President Blanchard, in Cynosure.
Unequal Enforcement of Human Laws
That man's ways are unequal, as testified by the Scriptures, has many illustrations in the execution of human laws. It is proverbial that men of wealth or political influence are often permitted to transgress the laws with impunity, while the poor are punished for very trivial digressions. For years the managers of great corporations have practically defied certain laws and all efforts to bring the offenders to justice, and now we have a marked case of the other side of the contrast. During the holiday rush in December last, in Minneapolis, a letter-carrier found himself near the end of his route, with several packages undelivered, when the hour arrived for him to stop work for the day. But he thought of the pleasure it would give the people to have their mail, and decided to finish his delivery. His case was reported to Washington, and it was adjudged that he pay a fine of one day's salary for violation of the eight-hour law. That seems a good deal like straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel.
Owe It to the Rich
“Owe It to the Rich.”—Gertrude Atherton, the talented American writer, tells us in the April Cosmopolitan that “if we have a revolution in the United States, we shall owe it entirely to the stupidity of the rich.” The great new fortunes, she tells us, “develop abnormally three qualities that are latent, at least, in every nature,—frivolity, selfishness, and pride; and the constant exercise of these qualities hardens what, for convenience, we call the heart, and breeds indifference for the feelings and rights of others.” But God’s prophets and apostle told us these things thousands of years ago. See Isa. 5:8-17; Hab. 1:13 to 2:11; James 5:1-8; Rev. 18:1, 7-20.
Earthquake in Socorro, N. M
Earthquake in Socorro, N. M., on the 2d inst. A press report says of this one day: "There were two or three premonitory rumblings and then came a rocking and swaying that caused the people to scurry into the yards and streets. But no damage was done further than throwing down loose plastering and brick, and the cracking of a few buildings. There were no less than twenty distinct shocks."
A New Island
A New Island.—A Tacoma, Wash., despatch of the 8th inst., gives this interesting bit of news:
Amid waves which are still boiling from the heat of a violent submarine eruption, a new island lifts its rocky head above the sea near Boroslov island, Alaska, which was thrown up by a similar eruption about 100 years ago. The infant island presents a superficial area of several acres, and with Boroslov, and other small islands which rose from submarine depths in 1882, forms points of the small triangle about seventy miles west of Unalaska. News was brought to Unalaska by fishermen, who were unable to approach the island because the water surrounding it was still seething from heat, indicating that its upheaval was of recent occurrence. When observers attempted to approach closely, they found the water so hot that they were compelled to keep away. Several little volcanoes exist in the broken chain of land and geological formation of the later ages, largely cetaceous and miocene. The region contains numerous dikes of plutonic rock and many boiling springs.
Liberality in the False and True.—It has been pointed out recently, by eminent college professors, that the real reason there are no lectures in the leading schools by representatives of orthodox Gospel religion is, that there are no endowments or special funds for that purpose. It is claimed that this lack is not because of faculty or board opposition to lectures presenting salvation from a Biblical standpoint, but that the friends, or professed friends, of purely Biblical religion, do not back their faith with funds to endow such lectures or "chairs." It is asserted by men whose position enables them to speak advisedly, that the alleged heterodox lectures of scientific men, compromising various phases of "learning" or "research," gain prominence in the universities through the financial endowments of men who desire to have these theories inculcated in the minds of the future scholars of the world. It is a question for serious consideration. Are the admirers of "science falsely so called" more willing to contribute liberally to the dissemination of error than the advocates of truth are to give to the proclamation of the Gospel as revealed in the Word of God? Of course the principle involved in this question is not confined to the endowment of colleges and universities, but it applies with equal force to the dispensing of smaller sums in the ordinary walks of life. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Jiu-Jitsu and Labor Unionism
Jiu-jitsu is a Japanese athletic art which combines various phases of physical contest. A Chicago despatch says that "unionists of the Allied Printing Trades Council are studying the art from a Japanese demonstrator. Many pressmen, bindery employees, and others of the twenty unions composing the council have been taking lessons. The demonstrator teaches how to break a man's knee-cap with a blow, or to snap a strong man's bones with a twist and a jerk." Inasmuch as these feats are in no way calculated to increase one's efficiency in any of the trades, it is probable that the purpose is to acquire greater skill in demonstrating the principles of labor unionism. Jiu-jitsu is certainly a logical adjunct to a movement designed to force a large majority of artisans out of employment.
Earthquakes and Human Nature
Altho earthquakes frighten people, and sometimes lead them to look more seriously on the problem of life, both present and future, they can not change the human nature. This has been demonstrated in many ways in San Francisco. The latest item is from General Greely, who says the relief committee have on hand several hundred Tam O' Shanters which they can not give away. None of the refugees want them, because they are out of style.
The Awful Social Condition of Russia
The awful social condition of Russia is indicated in a press despatch from Warsaw, Russian Poland. On the 23d ult. a police officer was shot dead, being the one hundred twentieth officer murdered by the vengeful citizens, in retaliation for the oppressions of the government, during the past year and a half. And this is only one city of the vast empire of smoldering rebellion.
OUR SOUVENIR EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE SPECIAL.
THE date of this issue is June 27. But there are few things in it which will get old for months.
Certainly the story of San Francisco's and Santa Rosa's calamity will never grow old till those who know these towns have passed away.
Do you want to know the particulars? Do you wish to see some of the best pictures made of the great calamity? Do you wish to have a list of the great earthquakes of history? Read some of the following which this splendid issue contains:
In Illustrations.
A fire picture of the burning of the city, in colors.
Two two-page panoramic views—one of the great fire and the other of the ruins, in colors.
A portrait of the governor of California, Hon. Geo. C. Pardee.
A whole page (seven views) of Stanford University buildings before and after the great temblor.
A whole page (six views) of refugee scenes, camps, etc.
A page on areas covered by earthquake and fire, including a relief map of San Francisco, with burned district in red.
A fine page-view of fire and ruins, looking up California Street, and twenty-four other illustrations of graphic earthquake scenes, including six seismographic records taken in California, New York, and Austria. These are worth the price of the paper, as are several of the other illustrations.
In Articles, Note These:
"California: Her Condition and Resources," contributed to this paper by Governor Geo. C. Pardee.
"The Earthquake."
"The Queen City of the West in Sackcloth and Ashes."
"Stanford University." By President David Starr Jordan.
"What Do These Things Mean?" By J. O. Corliss.
"Santa Rosa's Sad Story." Mostly from the pen of Mr. Geo. E. Peery.
"The Eruption in Alexander Valley." By Prof. L. A. Reed.
An Official List of Contributions to the Relief Funds up to June 16.
Some Disasters of the Present Year.
Increase of Earthquakes, a list of the most destructive.
Destructive Fires in the United States.
Fire Losses in the United States from 1875 to 1905.
And eight to ten more striking and important articles.
This paper is an issue which you will wish to keep. Twenty-four pages; price 10 cents; in lots of 5 to 500, SIX cents each; 500 and upward, FIVE cents each. Mailed direct from this office to lists of names furnished in lots of five or more, six cents each. Orders are coming in splendidly. News agents are doing well in selling it. It will be a good seller till autumn. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, Cal.
Using Authority Without Abuse
not only a certain grasp of the situation, but a degree of training, to know how to use authority without abusing it.
Vindicated at Last
Vindicated at Last.—About twelve years ago the world was stirred by the sensational trial of Captain Dreyfus, of the French army, on a charge of selling army secrets to the German Government. He was condemned, dismissed from the army, and sentenced to imprisonment for life on Devil's Island, in the Caribbean Sea. After suffering for about two years the awful ordeal, his friends succeeded in getting him a new trial, and showing that he was not guilty. Dreyfus is a Jew, and when it was found that such an offense had been committed, high officials conspired to screen the man who did it and lay the blame on the Jew. The second trial exonerated Captain Dreyfus, but he was not restored to his rank in the army, because of the prejudice in that branch of the government. But the matter has been agitated in political and racial circles until, at last, the vindication has been made complete, and the persecuted officer has been restored to the rank he would have acquired had he been continually in the service. His rank would now be that of major.
Jewish Exodus from Poland
A Warsaw, Poland, despatch of the 12th inst. says: " It is estimated that no less than 40,000 Jews, old men, women, and children, fled from Warsaw yesterday. Most of the able-bodied male Jews remained to protect their property. Many of the Jewish shops are closed to-day and the houses of the Jews are empty. Intense depression prevails in the Jewish quarter, where the inhabitants have organized a settlement of self-defense." A despatch from Bialystok, of the same date, says: " The proprietors of eight Jewish factories here are winding up their affairs, with the intention of removing to Palestine and setting up in business there." Also from Poltava, of the same date, comes this word: " Hundreds of Jews left this city last night, fearing an anti-Jewish outbreak to-day, but the spirits shops were closed, and the authorities have promised to prevent any disturbances."
Responsibility of Ministers
Responsibility of Ministers.—In a paper on the above subject in the Homiletic Review for May, Dr. Newman Smith reminds preachers that they have "obligations in sounding moral alarms. There is no question of this prophetic office of the ministry. We can not read the Old Testament without being reminded of it. The Bible rings with alarms against approaching evils." And it is true. It rings with alarms against the moral perversity of this time. Who are giving them?
Cloudburst Destroys Ocampo
A cloudburst and landslide occurred at Ocampo, Chihuahua, Mexico, on the 10th inst., and almost completely destroyed the city. Seven are known to have been killed, and large numbers were injured. The American residents, none of whom were seriously injured, are said to be doing all they can to alleviate the suffering.
Flooding in California’s River Delta
By Relief
In the great delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, California, thousands of acres of the rich reclaimed lands are overflowed, and the grain and produce crops destroyed. The levees have been broken by the great volume of water in the rivers, caused by melting snow in the mountains.
San Francisco Cement Workers Strike
A strike of cement workers in San Francisco, last week, tied up operations on $2,000,000 worth of building contracts. The strike is said to affect three thousand workmen. Next to the insurance companies, the labor unions are doing more than any other influence to retard the restoration of the city.
Fire Destroys Booneville
Fire on July 12 destroyed nearly all the town of Booneville, Ind. The loss is estimated at $200,000.
Right Is Everlasting Might
Right is everlasting might. He who is right need never fear. He may be opposed, misunderstood, reviled, persecuted, crucified, burned at the stake; "let him hold on his way," tho all these lie before.
"For right is right since God is God,
And right the day must win,
To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin."
Eternal right survives every storm and tempest of earth; it rises from the ashes of martyrdom, tunnels the dark grave, and blooms forth in the immortality of God in eternity beyond. Right only survives. Be right; do right.
