[Brother Conradi spoke of having sent a picture of this new building. We have delayed the article for some time, hoping to receive the picture, but it has not come.]
Our publishing work in Hamburg developed so steadily that the Seventh-day Adventist Association had to buy three additional properties within twenty years. But the new factory at Grindelberg was scarcely finished when we found the room crowded to the utmost, and it was apparent that we should have to look for new quarters for stock rooms and for the installment of a proper bindery. With the growth of our mission work in Africa, larger shipments for our missionaries were demanded, and large storage and packing rooms needed.
In the course of time the sale of our health foods in Hamburg also showed a wonderful development. At first we had only small stores, with scarcely a thousand dollars' output annually. The work began with no capital whatever, but from year to year the sales increased, and the capital grew, until our yearly sales reached the sum of $60,000. The excellent situation of Hamburg contributed much to this result. Hamburg being the main shipping center on the Continent and in touch with all parts of the world, nuts, fruits, and grains could be bought here at the best rates and in the greatest variety.
As we did not like to have all our institutions in one city, we moved our food factory to Friedensau, where it could be operated in connection with our sanitarium and school. The sales of the factory finally reached about $25,000 a year. But we found that we were working under great disadvantages, as we had to secure all our raw materials at heavy freight rates from Hamburg, and then market the finished products at a heavy freight again. Our plant in Friedensau became too small, and to enlarge it would necessitate enlarging our power station, which would probably cost us over $25,000, altogether. As we found that we could use the buildings and considerable of the machinery to good advantage for our other institutions there, we thought it would better serve the purpose, both of the food factory and of the publishing house, to find a sufficiently large lot in Hamburg for the erection of proper buildings.
During 1912, considerable time was spent looking for suitable land not far from the general markets and the express and freight offices. We finally found, at Kampestrasse 18, a suitable lot of over 4,000 square meters, alongside the high railway embankment of the main line from Hamburg to Berlin, in the factory quarter of the city. The street front was only sufficiently wide to allow the erection of two houses, while the back lot would allow the erection of two factory buildings. We secured this property July 1, 1912, at the reasonable rate of $23,000.
It took considerable time to develop the plans for the large factory, so that we could not begin with the excavation and with the piling of the place until late in the autumn. About one thousand piles had to be driven before we could lay the cement foundation for the concrete building. The building consists of five stories and a large cellar, built in the shape of an L. In the lower stories of the main wing will be the bakery, the food factory, and the shipping office; in the upper stories, the bindery and stock rooms for the publishing house. In the other wing we have a fine, commodious meeting hall, and above that, dwellings and offices. The present building occupies only about one fourth of the lot, and cost us about $90,000. On the street front a food store has been put up.
The building was to have been finished in July, 1914; but the grant to build was secured so late that the beginning of the work was delayed; and then in August, the war having broke out, a number of workmen had to enlist; and so the building could not be occupied until New Year's.
Elders H. F. Schuberth, J. G. Oblaender, G. W. Schubert, and Guy Dail and the writer were present at the dedication. An appropriate program had been prepared. The new meeting hall was crowded with our brethren and friends, and the leading builders were also present. Brother Hartkop gave the building report, Elder Schuberth stated the object for which the building was erected, Elder Oblaender offered the dedicatory prayer, and the writer preached the sermon. The choir sang three appropriate songs. The best feature of the program, however, was a poem especially written by Sister Hartkop, which touched upon the momentous times in which we live, and the great object which the building serves.
A good heating plant has been installed, also a large elevator, and the building is equipped with modern machinery. We expect during the month of January to have it in full running order. The finishing of this new hall called for the organization of a fourth church in Hamburg-Altona. Thus while buildings of concrete and brick are going up to be used for the general furtherance of the third angel's message, we rejoice that there are now in Hamburg-Altona four churches, with about five hundred members, who testify to the power of the truth, who constantly grow in grace, and who will stand as an enduring monument in the kingdom of God.
Six Added to Riceville Church
Elder W. H. Edwards reports that six members have been added to the Riceville (Iowa) church.
Tennessee
By Geo. E. Crawford.
LAWRENCEBURG.—It has now been four years since two families of us were providentially guided to this county to settle in a portion of the State where there were no representatives of the truth, and in which no labor had been done.
While tending our farms, we began work in a quiet way in connection with the union Sunday school held at a schoolhouse in a convenient center. We organized a small Sabbath school at once, and found several neighbors who gladly joined us in our Sabbath services, and ever since there have been some in regular attendance. We held public services as opportunity afforded, always with good attendance and attention. Public work was begun in the form of a young people's society, which has been productive of much good, and receives the hearty commendation of the Methodist pastor, a man liberal in his feelings toward other denominations. The two adult classes in the Sunday school have been supplied with teachers from our members ever since we came here. The past three winters we have conducted a church school, which is being gradually augmented by the children of the neighborhood.
In the building which was improvised to meet the immediate demands of the school, we have been conducting bi-monthly, a farmers' club, which has proved of considerable interest and benefit to the neighborhood.
Feeling the need of a more suitable place for worship and for our school, we have undertaken to erect a building eighteen by forty feet. All the logs for the lumber have been given by the neighbors. In this way we have provided for everything but flooring, windows, and doors. For these we must depend upon cash donations. The pastor of a neighboring church and others voluntarily offered to help. This pastor seems to be growing more friendly all the time. He has read the books "Daniel and the Revelation" and "The Great Controversy," and much other literature. He spent the night with me a short time since, and we had a profitable visit. We feel that the Lord is working upon his heart. Lately another minister living near by is inquiring after the truth.
By means of the county paper our work is becoming widely known throughout the county. Our church membership now numbers twelve, and we have a live missionary society of ten active, reporting members. Considerable work has been done at the county seat, where we hope to open public meetings in the near future. The Lord is going before us, and we are of good courage.
Geo. E. Crawford.
An Answer to Prayer
By K. M. Adams
ALL Seventh-day Adventists believe that God will answer prayers which are directed to him, and we are sure that they are always glad to hear of instances where his aid has come immediately.
When the time for opening the training school at Singapore, Straits Settlements, drew near, it was easy to see that the present quarters were not large enough to hold all connected with our work in this place—the mission office, the school, the families of the workers, and the boarding students. Various arrangements were thought of, but none seemed satisfactory. It was suggested that some of the workers move to another place, but that change would increase the expense as well as divide the mission family. A house near at hand was to be vacated the first of February, but the lease on the building now occupied continues till the first of July, and to pay rent in both places for five months was not to be thought of. No other suitable building in the vicinity could be procured, so after looking this place over carefully, it was decided that no better location for our work in Singapore could be found.
We knew that if the Lord approved our decision he could help in the matter of our lease, so we laid it all before him. Our landlord is noted for being a very close man in money matters, and a man hard to deal with. We knew that from no human standpoint could we expect to be released, as the war has made money scarce and tenants are few; but after praying earnestly for God's help, all was left to him.
When the landlord was told what we wished, he reminded us that times were hard, but said that he would accept three months' notice. In other words, we must pay rent through March. On seeing the holder of the lease on the new place, he said that he would stay till the first of March and pay half the rent of March. As things stand now, we must pay rent in both places only fifteen days instead of five months.
Our new premises are large enough to give plenty of room at present, and allow for considerable growth in the future. We feel greatly encouraged by this experience. Although we know by faith that God is working for us, it is good to see at times his power extended in our behalf. K. M. ADAMS.
Petition Work in New Mexico
By Orno Follett
SANTA FE is a city of about six thousand inhabitants, more than eighty per cent of whom are Mexican and Spanish. Nearly all these are Roman Catholics. There is a Catholic college, convent, hospital, sanatorium, and one or two schools here, besides the archbishop's headquarters, etc. There are three Protestant churches in the city, with resident pastors.
Through the kindness of Brother W. L. Burgan and our State tract society, I received two copies of the petition form against the recent steps being taken to curtail the freedom of the press. I first called on the editor of our local daily, who expressed himself heartily in favor of our position, but for certain reasons would not sign the petition. Next I called on a business man who expressed himself in much the same way.
I then called on the three Protestant pastors, who gave me an altogether different reception. Each of these expressed himself heartily in sympathy with our position. Two of them had read of the dangers threatening our country, one of whom had already preached a sermon on the subject; the other pastor had been so pressed with duties that he had not noticed the subject, and thanked me for bringing it to his attention. They were so anxious to obtain our petition forms that I felt obliged to have extra copies typewritten, not having time to order more in time for their Sunday meetings. These men are using the petitions to good advantage, and each will write a good letter to the proper persons in Washington, to whom the petition will also be sent.
I am a lay member, residing on a ranch six miles from the city, and write this with the thought that it may be an encouragement to others of our isolated lay members. ORNO FOLLETT.
Field Notes
A NEW church building in Powell Valley, Oregon, was recently dedicated to the service of God.
A NEW church has been organized in Havana, Nebr., and five Lincoln young people received baptism not long ago.
TEN persons were baptized not long ago in Mount Pleasant, Mich., and four new members have been added to the Lansing church.
NINE students of the South Lancaster Academy followed their Lord in baptism on a recent Sabbath. Elder O. F. Butcher officiated.
ELDER B. J. CADY reports the baptism of forty-six persons in the North Yakima valley since the beginning of the tent work there last July.
ELDER U. S. WILLIS writes of the work among the colored people of Missouri, and reports the baptism of five new believers in Kansas City, and three in St. Louis.
EIGHT new believers have recently united with the little company at El Paso, Tex. The workers there hope soon to organize a Mexican church of fifteen or more members.
ELDER M. B. BUTTERFIELD writes of the baptism of twenty-three believers recently in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Four persons have also received baptism in Mont Grace, Tobago.
THE last dollar of the debt on the Portland (Maine) church was paid January 2. Twelve persons were baptized at that time, and $1,500 was raised in cash and pledges for foreign missions.
ELDER M. E. ANDERSON, who is holding meetings in Clear Lake, S. Dak., reports that three have recently begun the observance of the Sabbath, and a Sabbath school of eleven members has been organized.
THERE are six new Sabbath keepers in Gypsum, western Colorado. Twenty-three were baptized at Loveland by Elder E. E. Farnsworth, six have just received baptism in Colorado Springs, and others are nearly ready to take the step.
DURING the last few months twenty-seven members have been added to the Rochester (N. Y.) church. None of these had heard present truth until last summer. A new church building has been erected there, and will soon be ready for dedication. In the last six months sixty new members have been received into the Brooklyn church, and about twenty-five are at present on the waiting list.
Missionary Volunteer Department
By M. E. Kern
M. E. KERN General and N. Am. Div. Secretary
C. L. BENSON - - - Assistant Secretary
MEADE MACGUIRE N. Am. Div. Field Secretary
An Important Occasion
WHAT would it profit a denomination if it should carry its message to the whole world and lose its own children? Is there anything more important to the church than the salvation and training of its youth? Are we not first of all responsible for the members of our own household? Will the Lord hold us guiltless if we neglect our young people?
Yet we have neglected them. "Much has been lost to the cause of God," we are told, "by a lack of attention to the young." Then this question is asked: "Why should not this labor for the youth in our borders be regarded as the highest kind of missionary work?" Can any one say why it should not be so regarded? Can you tell why such labor should be considered missionary work of the highest order? The answer follows: "It will require the most delicate tact, the most thoughtful consideration, the most earnest prayer that heavenly wisdom may be imparted."—"Christian Education," page 222. And again: "It is the nicest work ever assumed by men and women to deal with youthful minds."—Id., page 5.
How fitting, then, that the General Conference should set apart one Sabbath of each year for the whole church to consider this important problem. Is there any special day which we observe so important as this one? Those who are aware of the fact that in some places we are losing as high as sixty-six per cent of the young people who come up through the Sabbath school, will welcome such a day, for they sense their own weakness in the presence of the problem, and feel the need of special study and prayer. Those who do not see the necessity of a special effort for the young surely need such a day to quicken their comprehension, for "God requires the church to arouse from its lethargy, and see what manner of service is demanded in this time of peril."—"Testimonies for the Church," Vol. VI, page 196.
How appropriate the time—the first Sabbath in May. At this time of year our thoughts turn to the opening buds, the germinating seeds, the springing flowers. How important that the seeds be planted at the proper time, and the tender plants properly cared for! But O, how much more important that our children should be properly nourished and nurtured in the springtime of their lives! How important that the blossoms of beautiful character should be seen in their lives in order that they may bear the fruits of righteousness!
But such results do not come by chance. Somebody works, somebody studies, somebody prays, somebody sacrifices and suffers when souls are rescued from the grasp of the enemy and trained in the ways of righteousness and God's service. "There ought to be many whose hearts are touched by the pitiable situation in which our youth are placed, who realize that Satan is working by every conceivable device to draw them into his net."—Ib.
Not only should church elders make definite plans for the observance of Missionary Volunteer Day, but the whole church should plan and pray for the services on that day. I believe it would be pleasing to God if many would make it a day of fasting and prayer.
M. E. KERN.
News and Miscellany
Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press
— Up to the present time 1,105,000 acres of forest lands have been purchased under the direction of the National Forest Reservation Commission, which was created in 1911 to promote the watersheds of navigable streams. These purchases are mainly in the White Mountains and the southern Appalachians. The Department of Agriculture estimates that the country must ultimately own 5,000,000 acres in the South and 600,000 in New England in order to afford full protection.
— Over $18,000,000 is annually wasted in the United States by the traveling public on tips.
— The Lackawanna railroad successfully has sent for a distance of twenty-six miles a wireless telephone message from a moving train.
— A mine explosion, wrecking the Layland mines near Hinton, W. Va., occurred on March 2. The lives lost will number about 180. The origin of the explosion is unknown.
— The deposits in the postal savings bank are increasing at the rate of nearly $3,000,000 a month. More than 100,000 persons have been added to the list since the European war began. The total deposits on the last day of the year were $59,200,000, to the credit of 497,000 persons.
— An anarchistic plot, said to have involved the assassination of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and other wealthy men, and the destruction of banks and other public buildings, was discovered by the New York police on March 2. The discovery followed the arrest of a man who had just placed two bombs in St. Patrick's Cathedral, where several hundred persons were assembled at a religious service.
— The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company is making strenuous efforts to extinguish the fire which has been burning for sixty-two years in the mines of the Panther Creek Valley. The owners of the mines have spent millions of dollars in efforts to extinguish the blaze. Powerful pumps were for many years kept constantly working at enormous cost, pumping water into the mines in the hope of getting control of the fire. Recently the owners of the burning mine thought they had it under control, but the flames have begun to belch forth again, and it seems impossible to conquer the blaze which has raged for more than half a century. Millions of dollars' worth of coal has been reduced to ashes during that time.
— The people of Nicaragua are preparing a reception for the return to his home in Managua this month of Ruben Dario, the leading poet of the world in the Spanish language. Not without honor in his own country, for he wrote his greatest poem, "Azul," while a youth and before he had been out of Nicaragua, except for a visit to Chile, Dario has come into the world prominence during his recent trip to the United States, where he has been feted in every city he visited. He developed his literary talent when sent to Madrid as minister to Spain, but he rose to fame throughout Spanish-speaking America while stationed at Buenos Aires, where the Argentine capital expects to erect a monument in his honor. The poet is now in Buenos Aires, gathering a company of literary men for the purpose of visiting the United States and forming an acquaintance with the writers of this country.
"The Lord's Nursery Garden"
By Ernest Lloyd
WHEN in Long Beach a few weeks ago, I visited Brother Hofgaarden's nursery garden—a large plot of ground set apart for the propagation of all kinds of plants, shrubs, and young trees. This nursery needs constant care, incessant watchfulness, and careful gardening. It contains the reserve stock of young plants for supplying failure by disease, accident, and death in the surrounding gardens and private as well as public parks. They are all indebted to this nursery garden for their supply.
The junior department of our work is the nursery garden, to which our mission fields are indebted. Neglect this department, and when our missionaries and colporteurs fall in the far-off fields of battle, who shall fill up the gaps? We are glad that the leaders of our young people are providing fascinating and stirring missionary reading for our boys and girls in the splendid Reading Courses. Why should our youth know more about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln than about John Williams, George Whitefield, and Robert Moffat? Nothing will stir our youth to greater purposes than the heroic names and deeds of all the missionaries of Jesus. Let us educate them in this noble and historic literature, and they will know, and they will feel, and they will sympathize, and they will help, and we shall not have failure.
A little woman in one of our small schools sent me a sweet letter some months ago, and it contained the following beautiful paragraph: "I made up my mind to give $2.50 toward this year's goal. I expect to give half of it at our next Junior meeting in the church school. The rest of it I intend to earn by taking care of two little children on the evenings their mother goes to the lodge. She pays me twenty-five cents every time I stay with them. I am going to take the Junior Reading Course. I am eleven and a half years old, and I do want to be a missionary." Another earnest little girl, the secretary of a society, writes to know "where we might get permission to put up racks for our papers in the stations." These little endeavorers are taking as much interest in the general missionary movement of the church as are many of the older members.
From Redlands comes this good message: "Our society is lending packages of tracts in the vicinity of the school. Some of the pupils are quite successful in placing these in the homes of the people. The pupils have recently sold a dollar's worth of the Scripture cards. They spend a part of the noon hour in this work, and enjoy it very much."19So the missionary movement is "going and growing" among the Junior societies at an encouraging rate. The Lord is using the children again. Let us be careful that we do not hinder him.
How may we best aid and encourage this vital department of our work? It is to home influence and home prayers and home example that we must look. Brethren and sisters, let your prayers in your household be genuine prayers; transfuse them with earnestness for those dear boys and girls who are kneeling with you. Let them not be mere utterances of words, but a tender yearning for the souls of the children, and we shall find that "along with the fathers there shall come up the children, a seed to serve the Lord, and a generation to call him blessed." ERNEST LLOYD.
Religious Liberty Department
By Claude E. Holmes
C. S. LONGACRE - N. Am. Div. Secretary
Relation of the United States Government to the Vatican
ENGLAND recently appointed a representative to the Vatican. It seems to be the general belief that this move was made in order to gain a prestige that would be of advantage when the present war has terminated. But it is not kindly viewed by many Protestants of the United Kingdom. Protests by the thousand are rolling in upon the officials of that nation. The London Council of Protestant Societies, representing sixteen different organizations and other bodies in sympathy with it, sent the following resolution to Sir Edward Grey, prime minister:—
"We strongly condemn the action of the government in advising His Majesty the king to appoint and dispatch a special envoy to Pope Benedict XV. We condemn and reject the specious and unsatisfactory excuse set forth in the White Paper as reasons for the dispatch of the envoy, and we hereby declare our intention publicly to oppose to the utmost of our power, in such manner as time and circumstances may require, the continuance of this mission."
In sending this ambassador to Rome a precedent of four hundred years' freedom from papal affiliation was broken. The history recorded for many years during that time has persuaded the non-Catholics of England that the empire is better off in every way when Catholicism is unable to use its power. The binding up of the broken relationship between England and the Roman hierarchy is a precursor of future trouble for that Protestant country.
The United States and France are the only nations of importance that do not have representatives at the Vatican. This country had one at the Pope's court from 1848-70. From the debates held in our national Congress at the time the first ambassador was sent, it is evident that it was intended that he should merely look after the commercial affairs in our business with the Papal States, while the Pope had his temporal sovereignty.
No Recognition of the Head of the Catholic Church
Mr. Jacob L. Martin was the first chargé d'affaires of the United States to the Papal States. Before entering upon his mission he was given definite instruction by the State Department regarding America's relation to the Catholic Church and its head, the Pope. The Secretary, Mr. Buchanan, wrote:—
"There is one consideration which you ought always to keep in view in your intercourse with the papal authorities. Most, if not all, of the governments which have diplomatic representatives at Rome are connected with the Pope as the head of the Catholic Church. In this respect the government of the United States occupies an entirely different position. It possesses no power whatever over the question of religion. All denominations of Christians stand on the same footing in this country; and every man enjoys the inestimable rights of worshiping his God according to the dictates of his own conscience. Your efforts therefore will be devoted exclusively to the cultivation of the most friendly civil relations with the papal government, and to the extension of the commerce between the two countries. You will carefully avoid even the appearance of interfering in ecclesiastical questions, whether these relate to the United States or to any other portion of the world. It might be proper, should you deem it advisable, to make these views known, on some suitable occasion, to the papal government, so that there may be no mistake or misunderstanding on this subject."
A similar statement was made by the State Department in 1871:—
"In the United States, Christianity is not prescribed by statute, and the government, as such, is not and cannot be interested in any form of religion. . . .
"If, therefore, the United States, as such, exerts no influence upon the religion of its citizens concerning questions of faith and of individual opinion, in the formation of which the government neither has nor can have any voice, it would seem to follow that the United States, as such, should take no greater interest in the propagation of the Christian faith in foreign lands than it does in the development and growth of religious denominations within its own territory; that is to say, the United States cannot well be a party to missionary enterprise in the sense that the missionaries are in any way clothed with an official character, or that they may be granted greater rights and privileges by virtue of their sacred calling than other American citizens engaged in lawful pursuits. . . .
"It is a fundamental principle in the United States that all persons, of every sect, faith, or race, are equal before the law. They make no distinction in favor of any ecclesiastical organization. Prelates, priests, and ministers can claim equal protection here, and enjoy equal rank in the eye of the civil law."
Catholics claim that the Pope is preeminently a spiritual ruler. The government of the United States is absolutely a civil commonwealth. There is nothing in common between the two powers. The United States recognizes and protects the liberties of all—religious and nonreligious. The Vatican concedes freedom to none but those of her own communion; and that freedom is merely the privilege to bow implicitly to the dictates of the Pope.
The preceding quotations from the State Department are in harmony with our fundamental law,—the Constitution,—and the principles involved have been correctly interpreted by our officials, who have thus established a precedent that ought not to be broken by sending an envoy to the Vatican, as was done by England. To educate the people away from the idea of a separation of church and state, which is contrary to the dogmas of the Catholic Church, feelers are occasionally thrown out to the American people. As one illustration of this, we find the following in the Washington Post of April 13, 1910:—
"It is pointed out here [in Rome] that in the near future the United States will, peaceably or otherwise, find itself face to face with the whole of Latin America, where the influence of the Roman Catholic Church is unquestionable. Is it therefore possible, it is asked, that what may be very important interests for the republic should be left to the mercy of possible incidents due to misunderstandings such as that which marred Mr. Roosevelt's visit to the Eternal City?
"What is the remedy? is again asked. And the answer comes that the only way to avoid such friction is to see that between the United States and the Vatican there is an exchange of diplomatic representatives."
Since England has filled the chamber reserved for her in the palace of the Pope, it is being suggested that this country should follow England's example. Perhaps this un-American suggestion was the cause for the introduction of the following joint resolution (H. J. Res. 420) into the last session of the Sixty-third Congress of the United States:—
A Bill Against Recognizing an Ecclesiastical Delegate
"Whereas, The government of the United States, as well as the State government of every member of the Union contemplates a complete separation between the affairs of the state and those of the church, it is in violation of the fundamental principles of this government to make the slightest departure from these original constitutions; and—
"Whereas, Any encroachment, however slight, upon the basic idea of our government is insidious and dangerous, for the history of the world proves that these departures from principles which are tolerated create precedents which are used to excuse further encroachments, and these in turn become precedents for greater aggressiveness, until the evil primarily avoided comes back again to cause trouble, which has invariably grown out of the union of church and state; and,—
"Whereas, Our government, being strictly secular, has no right to recognize and deal with a public functionary, envoy, delegate, or ambassador, if his business concerns religion; and,—
"Whereas, No such ambassador, envoy, functionary, or delegate from any church shall ever be received by our government; therefore be it—
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it20is the sense of this Congress that it is no part of the duty of this government to send or receive ambassadors to and from any church whatsoever."
Manufacturing a Precedent
A Roman Catholic writer in this country has recently suggested the propriety of establishing diplomatic relations with the Pope. He referred to the trip of Mr. Taft, governor of the Philippines, to the Vatican to arrange for the purchase of the friar lands as a precedent. Mr. Taft's errand to the Vatican was purely a business one. It carried no more weight in favor of a diplomatic representative than if a government official should make arrangement with Cardinal Gibbons to buy a lot of the church in Baltimore. In fact, the position taken by the Catholic writer is squarely denied by the government. In a communication to Hon. William H. Taft, May 9, 1902, Mr. Elihu Root, Secretary of War, states this clearly:—
'Your errand will not be in any sense or degree diplomatic in its nature, but will be purely a business matter of negotiation by you as governor of the Philippines for the purchase of property from the owners thereof.'—Annual Report of the Secretary of War, 1902, page 235.
In order that Mr. Taft should thoroughly understand the situation, Mr. Root warned him to 'bear in mind' certain propositions, 'which are deemed to be fundamental, and which should be fully and frankly stated to the other side in the negotiations.' The first one of these propositions reads:—
'One of the controlling principles of our government is the complete separation of church and state, with the entire freedom of each from any control or interference by the other. This principle is imperative wherever American jurisdiction extends, and no modification or shading thereof can be a subject of discussion.'—Id., page 234.
Because our government will not recognize the Pope as a religious leader, is perhaps one reason why the Pope is so anxious for the restoration of his temporal power. It would be much easier to secure a representative from this country to the Vatican if it could be secured first for commercial reasons.
The less business of any kind that this nation has with Rome, the better off our country will be. The avowed business of Catholics is to make America Catholic. Before this can be done, all our principles of freedom and liberty will have to be destroyed. The work of breaking down these pillars is the business of this great ecclesiastical organization. If our government can be persuaded to join hands with Rome in this work, the ruin will come the quicker.
Let this nation heed the wise counsel of John Adams. On Aug. 4, 1779, he wrote the president of Congress:—
'The court of Rome, attached to ancient customs, would be one of the last to acknowledge our independence if we were to solicit for it; but Congress will probably never send a minister to His Holiness, who can do them no service, upon condition of receiving a Catholic legate or nuncio in return, or, in other words, an ecclesiastical tyrant, which it is to be hoped the United States will be too wise ever to admit into their territories.'—MSS., Department of State.
The Drive on the Dardanelles
By Editor
PERHAPS to Seventh-day Adventists the most significant event connected with the conflict now waging in Europe is "the drive on the Dardanelles" by the English and French warships. From the very beginning of the present titanic struggle, we have insisted that the Eastern Question is at the bottom of the conflict. Time is certainly proving that this contention is absolutely correct. From the events now taking place none can doubt that we are in the "beginning of the end." A stirring editorial in the May Watchman, under this title, should be read by all our people. The editor shows clearly and plainly just how we know that we are living in "the beginning of the end."
THE BEGINNING OF THE END The Allied Fleets Forcing the Passage of the Dardanelles.
"The guns of the 'Queen Elizabeth' are drumming the retreat of the Turk out of Europe." This quotation has recently appeared in a number of publications, and shows what significance the press is attaching to the Allies' attack on the Dardanelles. Don't fail to read the article "The Drive on the Dardanelles," in the May Watchman. It tells the significance of this rival action.
Other articles are as follows:—
"Shadows of a Coming Event."
"Never Again."
"Will There Be Peace?"
"When Constantinople Falls."
"Why Turkey Wanted to Fight."
"Aftermath of the Hearing on the Anti-Free Press Bills."
"Two Great National Evils."
The May Watchman will have an attractive cover design illustrating "The Drive on the Dardanelles," and will also be well illustrated. Ready for mailing April 3. Send your order in early to your tract society.
West Virginia Book Society
NOTICE is hereby given that the fourth annual meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Book Society will be held in the Parkersburg church, located on Mark Street, Parkersburg, W. Va., at 10:30 A. M., Wednesday, April 14, 1915, for the purpose of electing a board of directors and officers of the board, and for transacting such other business as may properly come before the meeting.
W. J. TANNER, President;
J. S. BARROWS, Secretary.
Requests for Prayer
By Editor
An Ohio mother asks prayer for the healing of her daughter.
"Please pray for the restoration of my sister whose lungs are affected," writes a Michigan friend.
A sister in Texas desires prayer for a backsliding husband, and for the healing of her mother, who is very nervous.
This request comes from Iowa: "I desire your earnest prayers for the restoration to health of my sister, my son, and myself."
One of our brethren in Nebraska, an old soldier, requests us to pray that he may be healed of heart trouble and general debility.
A brother and sister in Kansas request prayer that they may be helped through financial difficulties and enabled to enter the canvassing field.
A sister asks that the readers of the REVIEW pray earnestly that her son may humble himself before God, and trust in him for healing from a grievous sickness.
"I greatly desire the prayers of God's people in behalf of my son who is not a Christian, and who is a slave to the liquor habit," writes a burdened Pennsylvania mother.
