SPRING has come in good earnest, and the London parks are fairly aglow with tulips and daffodils and all the other gay messengers of summer, while the greensward is sprinkled with crimson-tipped daisies, and in the outlying woods there are violets, primroses, and anemones without number. The gay society season will soon be here. The operas open next week, also the Royal Academy, and entertaining on an enormous scale will shortly be under way. There is an impression that the State balls and other entertainments will be unusually brilliant, and this will naturally have its effect upon other social functions, royalty always taking the lead. After a couple of months of fashionable dissipation of the most taxing kind, we shall see society people dragging themselves off to the various watering places where they will drink bad-tasting mineral waters, take daily baths, keep reasonably early hours, and thus in some measure try to atone for the season's follies.
So much for the world of fashion, which, however, only represents a small portion of London's teeming millions. We have only to turn into one of the poorer districts to see want and wretchedness everywhere manifest. Poor, ragged children come in thousands to the large public schools so hungry that it has become necessary to give them some bread and milk to satisfy their empty stomachs before proceeding with the lessons for the day. And the public houses (saloons) are still nightly thronged with poor unfortunates, including hundreds of mothers with infants and children, with whom they share the fiery drink which is ruining their lives.
Efforts to Blot Out a Great Evil.
The drink evil, as referring to infants and small children, was mentioned in my previous letter, and I slightly delayed sending this letter in order to attend a meeting of the committee appointed to consider measures for making an end of this monstrous wrong. The committee met in one of the committee rooms of the House of Commons, and the chair was taken by Mr. Thomasson, M.P., editor of the "Tribune," London's leading Liberal daily. Among the other prominent members of Parliament in attendance were Sir Walter Foster, Mr. Hardy, Mr. S. Collins, Mr. Shackleton, and Mr. C. Roberts. There were also several clergymen, and officers of some of the large temperance organizations, including quite a number of women. The chairman, in a brief resume of the movement, which had its origin in a series of articles entitled "The Cry of the Children," which appeared in the "Tribune," stated that some five hundred public meetings had been held in the last few weeks in support of the movement, and that 180 members of Parliament had expressed their sympathy and promised their hearty cooperation. The meeting had been called to consider two matters especially: First, the wording of a clause to be added to the Government's Licensing Bill which would exclude the children from the public houses. Secondly, the question whether it would be well to organize a great public demonstration in London in behalf of the movement. The clause finally agreed upon fixed the age limit at fourteen, and the penalty for the first offense at forty shillings. It was decided that the public demonstration should be held, and a subcommittee was appointed to make the arrangements. While the meeting was in session a message was received from one of the members who could not come, stating that he had received assurances from a member of the government that favorable consideration would be given to any practical measure that the committee might recommend.
British Museum.
Straws show the way the wind is blowing. Meetings of this character held in the historic House of Commons itself, pleasantly remind us that the country has entered upon a new regime, and that some of the most pressing social evils will have genuine consideration at the hands of the government. Of course legislation can not do very much at the best, and one of the marked features of the committee meeting referred to was the general recognition given to this fact. Personal effort, it was repeatedly pointed out, must at every point supplement the hand of the law; otherwise but little could be accomplished.
The Colonies.
The Colonial Conference has created quite a stir of late. England is proud of her colonies beyond the sea, and is lavishing her hospitality upon their representatives. There have been any number of brilliant banquets, and on Wednesday they were entertained to luncheon in the historic Westminster Hall, the Prime Minister presiding. General Botha is the most popular man among them,—he who only a very few years ago was commander-in-chief of the Boer army. Now he is premier of a British colony! Truly the English are a magnanimous people.
ALBERT MEMORIAL, LONDON, erected to the memory of Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, as a tribute of their "gratitude for a life devoted to the public good." Cost 120,000 pounds. The height of the whole, 175 feet.
Government Matters.
In the House of Commons the Opposition has used to the utmost its powers of obstruction, so that the government has made but slow progress. The Army Bill and the Budget have been occupying most of the time lately. Mr. Haldane's scheme for the reorganization of the army is too complicated to go into here; but its main purpose is to do away with unnecessary red tape and with over-lapping, and get something that will be efficient in time of war and not unnecessarily expensive in time of peace. The bill has received commendation from some of the leading Conservative organs, and is generally approved by Liberals; so it is likely to go thru, perhaps with some alterations.
The Budget is interesting chiefly as making provisions to the extent of some two and a half millions for old-age pensions. In other words, Mr. Asquith is setting this sum aside for that purpose. Next year a measure will probably be brought before the House authorizing the payment of such pensions. Old-age pensions have been talked about for years; this is the first time that any tangible move has been made by the government in behalf of such a scheme. We see here the influence of the Labor party, which suddenly came to the front as a shaping and controlling force at the elections something over a year ago.
The New Theology.
Mr. R. J. Campbell is still preaching the New Theology, and multitudes go to hear him. He went down to Bristol a couple of weeks ago at the invitation of some of the leading clergymen. Bristol is next to London the largest city in the south of England, and is generally considered a very conservative place.11But the crowds that turned out to hear the famous preacher could not be accommodated. I happened to be in Bristol on business at the time, and was invited to attend a meeting of pastors, at which Mr. Campbell was to state his belief in an informal way, and then submit to be "heckled." Admission was by ticket only and yet a large church was well filled. Some pretty good questions were put, but the speaker carried the audience with him for the most part in his answers.
Rotten Row, Society Drive, London.
This meeting fully convinced me that the New Theology in its essence is a human philosophy very closely resembling if not wholly identical with what used to be termed infidelity or atheism. It has something in common with Deism, and is certainly not far off from modern Unitarianism. Perhaps it is best not to classify it too closely. One thing is certain, it is not founded on the word of God. But it is to be feared that the popular Christianity of to-day is not founded on the Infallible Word, nor are the great creeds of Christendom built upon that firm foundation; hence the disadvantage under which other clergymen labor in dealing with this heresy. They can appeal to the creed, but Mr. Campbell says it is man-made, and that his own creed fits the present age better than theirs. Neither acknowledges the word of God as final arbiter; hence there can be no real settlement of the questions at issue.
What the final outcome will be it is not possible to indicate definitely at the present moment. When the novelty wears away, Mr. Campbell's audiences will probably dwindle, tho while he continues to preach on present lines he is always sure to have quite a large following of those who have lost their hold on vital Christianity, and are looking for something to take its place.
Rather significant are Mr. Campbell's expressions of sympathy with Socialism. A few weeks ago he spoke from a Socialist platform for the first time in his life. In the course of his address he said: "I am a Socialist because I am a Christian as I understand the word." He went on to say that the church of tomorrow belonged to the Socialists. "In point of fact, the New Theology was the theology of their movement, and that was the theology of the kingdom of God. The Labor movement, which was international, was the true Catholic Church, although it did not know itself by that name." Socialism has shown itself bitterly antagonistic to the churches, and its leading organ, the "Clarion," is an avowedly agnostic in its teachings. Mr. Campbell's remarks are the more significant under these circumstances.
M. ELLSWORTH OLSEN.
London, April 26, 1907.
Old Curiosity Shop, London.
Not the Vaudeville, but Christ.
By T.
THE question of how to draw the crowds to the churches is one that is discussed a great deal. Many suggestions in regard to it have been offered, and many plans have been tried.
One of the latest suggestions is from a pastor of one of the large cities of the East. He suggested to his congregation recently that their church building be surmounted with a "roof garden" on which could be held vaudeville theatrical shows during the warm weather of the summer. The suggestion, it is reported, was received with enthusiasm, and $12,000 was immediately subscribed for the purpose. The minister stated:
"What I want this church to provide is an entertainment similar to that afforded by the playhouse so we may furnish a substitute for the theater. Too many of our people find the church unattractive. We must offer something to draw the people from the playhouse, the poolroom, and the saloon. We must afford them healthy recreation. If necessary we must supply free lunch, which attracts so many men to the saloon."
"We must offer something to draw people from the playhouse," says the preacher. And so he proposes to turn the church roof into a "playhouse" in order to draw the people away from the "playhouse." That is to say, the "playhouse" if it be maintained as an out-and-out theater is a thing to be shunned; but if it can be built and maintained on the top of a meeting-house it is all right.
Why should a minister of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ make such mistakes? Why should he not see that the theater is altogether out of harmony with the principles of Christianity? The theater all thru the centuries has been the world's great place of amusement. And while there may be some plays that are of a SEEMINGLY moral nature, yet even these make the theater all the more to be shunned. For these apparently "moral plays" only serve to give a certain sort of respectability to the stage which is wholly and all the time a thing of the world.
Ministers who study their Bibles closely enough to become acquainted with the life and character of the Man of Nazareth will see that the theater is not the instrumentality to be used in drawing men to the Lord. They will learn to have confidence in the words of the Master which say, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself." John 12: 32. When Christ was here in person the multitudes thronged Him all the time. He had no difficulty in drawing the masses to hear Him.
The Master gave Himself to the one work of seeking to uplift and help men. When He found the lone woman at the well, He stopped to give her some of the best gems of eternal truth. When Nicodemus came to Him by night, He took pains to unfold to him the profoundest depths and beauties of the Christian life. And when the multitude pressed upon Him, He spake as never man spake.
The secret in His life was that He gave to the people something that their souls were hungering for. He gave them something that was far more desirable to them than temporal food and drink. He gave them the words of eternal life. He gave them personal sympathy. He gave Himself to them in personal helpfulness. In this way He won all of the masses that could be reached in His time. And the example that He set is the only one that Christians can afford to follow. Indeed, if we be Christians in fact rather than in name merely, we will refuse to follow any other path than the one in which our Master has gone before us. T.
"Playing Down" the News.
By Editor
The editor of a San Francisco paper, in speaking of strikes and riots that are occurring in the East, says "journalists on this side of the continent 'play down' the news because occurrences of that kind are so common that they seem not unusual." In making this statement the San Francisco editor tells the truth in regard to the custom of this coast; and the custom here is not materially different from the rest of the country. You will see an obscure paragraph in an inconspicuous place now and then in regard to the strikes that are in progress in several of the Eastern cities. So little is being made of some of those occurrences that it is only by chance if you see anything in the papers about them. These disturbances have become so commonly numerous that the papers do not have space in which to give them all a "write-up." Only some great outbreak that amounts to a local civil war can get the attention of the populace thru the press. This fact should open the eyes of those who think that "conditions are no worse than they always were, the only difference being that we have so much better facilities for gathering and spreading the news that we hear of more of it." When disturbances have reached the point that the editors of the big papers admit that they can not give space to it all, it is time for people to think what it means. There is a deep meaning to it. Do you know what it is?
A Sad Addition to the List.
IMMEDIATELY after The Christian Advocate published the editorial entitled "The Damaging Minority of Ministers," a "fair young curate" in this city increased the number, under cover of studying sociology, by conduct that we can not describe, and is now under investigation by his bishop. A voluntary, an individual on his own option, going into vile places alone, under cover of studying sociology, is hardly fit to be admitted to the society of respectable women or self-respecting men. Ministers, Young Men's Christian Association Secretaries, and every one else (except the police, city missionaries, detectives, and ministers or priests avowed open workers among the abandoned) who go into the viler parts of the city under pretense of studying sociology are usually either neurotic or erotic. At a hotel a professor of sociology and twenty young men under his care were quartered. Their conversation, loud if not boisterous, revealed to those near that their moral sensibilities were already blunted and that the ludicrous, the licentious, and the unblushingly wicked had fascinated them. So says the Christian Advocate, and remarks that a man can learn more of human nature by studying his own heart and the Bible than he can by filling his mind with images which can not but pollute it.
"Education Does Not Insure Virtue."
It is well for many sincere and would-be-reformers to take to heart the above expression by Mr. Chesterton in the Illustrated London News, in an article on Cæsar Borgia, the great Italian criminal. He goes on to remark that a great deal of the scientific talk considers ignorance a vice, and seems to think that the vicious are always from the ignorant classes; but the history of the world demonstrates very frequently that the opposite is the case. He declares "the study of the great Italian will perhaps turn the eyes of all the modern people toward this simple historical fact, that education does not insure virtue, and perhaps it will get rid of that most snobbish and most silly phrase, 'the criminal classes.' If an Italian in Borgia's time had spoken of the criminal classes he would probably have meant the upper classes." There is but one kind of knowledge which will suppress vice and crime and sin, and that is knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Demand for "Dope."
By Editor
Members of the State Board of Pharmacy are making an investigation into the doings of the druggists of Los Angeles, Cal. The president of the board, according to a press despatch, says: "It is possible to obtain deadly poisons, and what is commonly known as 'dope' in at least one-third of the drug-stores in this city [Los Angeles], with no questions asked. So great is the demand that most of the drug-stores have 'dope' all put up in 10, 15 and 25-cent packages, ready to be handed out like so much candy, to any one who may call for it." It is a known fact that the use of intoxicating liquors is very greatly on the increase. But liquors, with all their stimulating effects, are not sufficient for the slaves of the destructive habit, and so strong drugs are called for in addition. Los Angeles is not alone in the evils of this "dope" habit. It is general throuout the world. There is no secret in regard to the course that society is taking. These conditions, and what will be the outcome of them, is material for mental exercise.
Coal Lands Suit in Colorado
Nine thousand acres of coal lands, worth over a million dollars, located in Routt County, Colorado, is claimed by the Federal Government, tho held now by the Wisconsin Coal Mining Company, which, it is alleged, secured the land thru dummy entrymen and entrywomen who conveyed the lands to the corporation as soon as they had secured patents. The government is bringing suit to recover the land.
Telephone Statistics of the World
Of the 7,398,000 telephones in use in the world, the United States had at the beginning of the present year 5,068,000, or 68.5 per cent. of all in existence. New York City has in the neighborhood of 275,000 telephones, more than twice the number of any other city in the world.
The India Mountain Mission Home
By Editor
A RECENT letter from Prof. J. L. Shaw, the superintendent of our India Mission, comes to hand. That letter we publish, as it speaks for itself; for it is sent to the readers of the Signs of the Times thru its editor. But in connection with this, Brother Shaw seems to think he is asking too much of the Signs, and he writes: "Now I shall not take it amiss if you do not feel clear about printing this letter."
But we are going to print it, and we wish it were in our power to make the appeal a thousand times stronger. There may be those who could give the $1,000 without feeling it. If God bids them give, let them give. The great, dark, starving field of India needs it. Two valuable laborers sleep in that field. Others have had to return home to recruit, and have returned. Professor Shaw when he came to America to recruit seemed to be doubly mortgaged to death; but after staying a few months the burden of India's need upon his heart drew him back. Thank God he is there. Thank God for the Mountain Home, a laboring recruiting station. Let it be dedicated free from debt. Let our readers invest a little in the India Mountain Home, for India's needs, for the sake of those who are giving their lives to that mission, in the love of Christ who died for each blinded soul in India as He did for us. Send donations, and send quickly:
Annfield House, Mussoorie,
April 19, 1907.
Elder M. C. Wilcox,
Mountain View, Cal., U. S. A.
Dear Brother:
I know that you and the readers of the Signs of the Times will be glad to know what progress has been made in finding a location for the Mountain Mission. Sometime ago a letter was sent telling you of a place at Mussoorie known as "Glenbrook" which our committee were thinking of purchasing, provided, as I wrote you, a right of way to the estate could be obtained. We tried to purchase a right of way or obtain a long lease from the parties owning it, but were unable to do so.
While negotiations were pending and we knew not what to do, the Lord directed us to another property which in every way is much better. It is known as the Annfield Estate. When we first looked at the place in company with Elders Thompson and Miller and Brother and Sister Burgess, we all felt that the buildings, ground, and location were ideal for the work, but the price, Rs. 30,000, which is about $10,000, was $3,000 more than the money raised, and we did not feel clear in going in debt, so let the matter drop. Afterward when Brother and Sister Hansen came to Mussoorie they saw the owner and laid before him our plans regarding a mountain mission, and asked if he would not reduce his price. They told him how the money had been raised by people in America who were anxious to see the Gospel carried in India, and that $7,000 had been collected, a good share of which came from poor people. As a result of their interview and further correspondence, the owner lowered his price to $8,000, and a purchase was agreed upon.
We believe the hand of God is in the transaction. There has been much prayer and earnest pleading with God on the part of those looking for a location for the Mountain Mission that the right place be found. The owner claims that more than human power has been at work. I quote from his letter:
"It is a wrench to us to part with this property, as we have taken great pleasure in doing up this place and spent much time, trouble, and money in making ourselves comfortable in it regardless of expenses. I am inclined to your belief that some other than human agency is at work for us to part with our 'Home' for the purposes of your mission, since we are not aware of any definite reasons why we should sell the property now, since we have refused other applications for its purchase."
The house, which contains nineteen rooms including the bath-rooms, is fully furnished for this country and has about $1,000 worth of furniture, and the building is in excellent repair. It has been used as a convalescent home by the previous owner. The whole place has the air of quietness and rest, yet is only ten13minutes' walk from the crowded bazaar with its large numbers of Indian people. I enclose the following statement which will give you some idea of the place:
Upon the place are two large lime kilns for burning lime, and a stone building in which the lime can be stored. There are large quantities of limestone upon the place, and a profitable industry has in the past been carried on in making lime. There is abundance of stone and a large number of trees, including peach, cherry, apricot, rhododendron, pine, and walnut. In case other buildings are needed in the future there are a number of beautiful sites upon which to build and quantities of rock for building, stone for lime, and facilities with which to make it; so the cost of building will not be great when the time comes to enlarge.
Mussoorie, the hill station, in which the Annfield Estate is located, has a population of between twenty and thirty thousand, I am told, made up mostly of Europeans and Indians, with their servants, who flee from the plains in the hot season to escape the awful heat. The climate is cool and pleasant and never gets uncomfortably hot. We believe Annfield, located as it is with the beauty that surrounds it, will bring new life to our worn and jaded workers whose strength gives way in the hot, low, malarial plains below.
The Annfield property called for $1,000 more than the amount raised for the Mountain Home. We hesitated, not wanting to incur debt, but finally decided to make the venture, and lay the matter before you and the readers of the "Signs of the Times." This is the first bit of land owned by our people in India, and we wish to dedicate it to the Lord free of debt. We are appointing the last Sabbath in October as the time of dedication. You, with the managing board of the "Signs of the Times," with its large number of readers, have taken so keen and tangible an interest in raising the Mountain Mission fund that we thought you would be glad to assist us in making the work complete. The "Signs of the Times" launched this project amidst earthquake and fire, when its own work seemed ruined, but God has blessed the effort. It was done for India's good, that the faithful sentinels of truth in a heathen, diseased, and tropical land might have a Bethel of rest to renew their exhausted energies.
And more than that the Mountain Mission is to be a lighthouse in the mountains. From the veranda of Annfield we look down upon the plains twelve miles below, fruitful in the extreme, and densely populated with souls without the knowledge of God,—a great field for work. Brother and Sister Burgess and Sister Kurtz have begun work at the foot of the hills, fourteen miles below us, in a large town of native people called Dehra Dun, having a population of twenty thousand, and surrounded by numerous villages. They are already finding those who are anxious to learn about the truth.
Shall we not dedicate the Mountain Mission free of debt next October? It will require a thousand dollars. Will not the readers make favorable response to this question and request? It can easily be done.
Let 5 give $50 ... $250
" 5 " 25 ... 125
" 20 " 10 ... 200
" 40 " 5 ... 200
" 225 " 1 ... 225
$1,000
In this way the amount will be easily raised and the Mountain Mission, our first property in India, will be dedicated free of debt. We earnestly request your immediate help. Remember date of dedication, the last Sabbath in October. Kindly send all funds to the "Signs of the Times," Mountain View, Cal.
Yours in His service,
J. L. SHAW.
Missions
Our Work and Workers.
Brother A. O. Burrill baptized two young people at Lorne Park, Ontario, May 12.
Brother J. P. Gaede reports the baptism of four members of one family at Defiance, Ohio, early in May.
A neat little church was dedicated at Mineral, Kan., May 19. Brother A. R. Ogden preached the dedicatory sermon.
The brethren in Farmington, Ill., dedicated a new church May 25 and 26, Brother W. D. Parkhurst conducting the service.
Following a stirring revival in Battle Creek, Mich., thirty-six were baptized, Sabbath, May 18, by Brother M. N. Campbell.
The South African Missionary reports a good interest among the natives of Orange River Colony. Brother J. M. Freeman recently baptized ten there.
On Sabbath, May 18, three persons were baptized in Los Angeles, twenty at Long Beach, and three at Fernando, Cal. Those at Long Beach were largely from the church school at that place.
That it is possible to earn a scholarship in our schools by selling books was demonstrated by a student of Pacific Union College, Healdsburg, Cal., who sold enough books in Healdsburg before school closed to pay for a year in school.
The Christians' Idols.
By Ella M. Robinson
FROM yonder Hindu temple there comes a suppliant's moan;
I see a dark form lying before a god of stone.
"O Shiva, Shiva, help us!" the man doth vainly cry;
"Keep back the famine devil; send rain, or else we die."
And still he lies imploring with wild and haunting fears,
In agony beseeching,—his god sees not nor hears.
I see a Christian temple, and hear the church-bell ring,
And listen to glad praises that little children sing.
Hark! now they are repeating those verses, sad and low,
That tell of all the suffering in India's land of wo.
O, hear the dimes and nickles, with hollow, rattling sound,
That fall from jeweled fingers, as the plate is passed around.
I see a dark-skinned maiden with thickly matted hair,
And garments coarse and ragged, in the dark hut crouching there;
And now a red-hot iron is pressed against her skin—
She ate upon a fast day, tho this her only sin.
Her life is dark with sorrows and misery untold,—
She is a Hindu widow, tho only twelve years old.
Again I see the home church; and one who knows the wo
In India's land is pleading, "O, will not some one go
To bear the Gospel tidings afar across the sea?"
I hear a sweet voice saying, "Lord, here am I, send me."
"No, no," a mother whispers, "O, do not go, I pray;
For life were lone and dreary with you so far away."
Another scene is coming! O Christians, do you hear
The rumbling of His chariot wheels! for God's great day is near.
And then how will you answer that awful wail of wo:
"O, why did you not tell us, nor ever let us know?" What bitter disappointment when Christ to you shall say,
"Go, call upon your gods of gold, of silver, and of clay."
ELLA M. ROBINSON.
Wanted for Missionary Work.
By Editor
SIGNS, Watchman, Life and Health, Liberty, and tracts will be carefully used by George X. Bell, Louray, S. C., care Dr. W. B. Monsen.
CLEAN copies of SIGNS and other denominational literature, English, Scandinavian, or German. Address Al Lovgren, Dawson, Yukon Ty.
DENOMINATIONAL literature of any kind, papers or tracts, is desired by Elder Milo D. Warfle, Box 195, Roswell, N. M., to be used in connection with tent meetings.
JAMES HARVEY, 763 Jackson St., Oakland, Cal., still desires SIGNS, Watchman, and Bible Training School, for city work.
CLEAN copies of the SIGNS for free distribution in the gold-mining camps of Nevada. Address Miss Ruth Wightman, General Delivery, Reno, Nevada.
Helps to Bible Study
Helps to Bible Study. A series of Bible-readings, simple and easy, designed as an aid to the personal study of the Scriptures, and adapted to the use of individuals or families: also a valuable assistant for Bible workers. 125 pages. Paper covers, 25 cents; cloth, net, 50 cents.
Christ's Object Lessons.—By Mrs. E. G. White.
This volume of 436 pages from the pen of Mrs. White is an attractive grouping of the parable-teaching of Christ. The linking of divine truth with common things and incidents is a prominent characteristic of Him who "taught as never man taught;" and in this book the author has developed and illustrated in a beautiful way these teachings, making a volume full of gems of truth, and which will give to many readers a new meaning to the surroundings of every-day life. The publishers have taken great pains to make the setting worthy of the gem as to both mechanical work and illustrations. The latter are by talented New York artists and have been expressly designed for this book. Handsomely ornamented cloth cover, $1.25. By mail, 15c additional. Also in German, Danish, and Swedish, at same price.
Beautiful Bible Mottoes
No home complete without them
There is no better time than the present to sell them. They sell readily everywhere and agents are making from $4.00 to $8.00 per day. An inspiration to higher living in every home. Heavy cardboard with silver letters and cord for hanging, or heavy paper with colored letters. Samples and full particulars 25c. Address, Home Art Co., Box 114, College View, Neb.
