Earlier text: RESTORATION from BABYLON“THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES.”
Not this paper, but the signs or omens of some portentous change. Some of these signs are being felt by the most optimistic journals and men. One such, prominent among periodicals, is the Independent of New York. It summarizes some of the more prominent of these omens in its issue of May 22. It thus speaks:— Chief among signs of the times is a general feeling of apprehension. When the world is at peace, when industry is rewarded with abundance, when no great iniquity shocks the moral sense, when skies are serene and the heart of man is glad, all signs become a contradiction in terms, they cease to signify. If men linger and dream at the crater’s edge, we know that the volcano slumbers. Its steam and sulphurous fumes do not alarm. If while yet the years are fat none remember that once upon a time the seven lean years did come, we know that the works of drought and the unseasonable frosts are not portentous. If the name of war awakens only smiles of incredulity, we know that the growing pains of nations are as yet but twinges. It is when men look anxiously in one another’s faces and talk about strange rumblings which have been heard that signs have meaning. We know that the dreamers would not have awakened, and that the light-hearted would not have grown serious, unless a thousand trifling reminders of some possible change in the aspect of nature or in the affairs of man had all at once become the mutterings of a change impending. There is no denying that such apprehension, a general and deepening feeling of disquiet, a shivering and mysterious dread, is at this moment creeping over mankind. Outwardly all is peace in international affairs. The convulsions in China have ceased. The troops have retired. Russia does not press her more radical demands. The German emperor is making himself persona grata to those who not long since regarded him with detestation. Domestic insurrections and civil wars have nearly subsided. The Filipinos are surrendering. The Boers talk of terms. In business such prosperity was never known as that which overwhelms the power of conception to-day. Is this peace a portentous stillness before the dread rush of the hurricane? Is this prosperity the storing up of titanic and demoniac forces which will presently explode, like steam in the bowels of Pelée. Who knows? Who knows? But why do we ask the question? It is the question itself that reveals a fear. Everywhere, in one or another form, men are asking it, and the asking is the sign that mutterings are heard, that the world is unquiet, that ambitious nations are restive, that oppressions are felt, that injustice is creating resentment, that business methods are creating distrust. When this chief sign of impending change appears, it is well for the wise and the cool man to study other signs of the times, and to ask how far apprehension is justified. Should we allay fear, or should we warn men to flee? Apprehension is feeling. It must be interpreted by signs that are disclosed in human conduct. Are governments by their behavior indicating a policy of outreaching, of aggression? That behavior is a sign of war, and the only further question is, When? Had Wilhelmina died, would the world by this time have been asking, “When will the first blow be struck?” Do great masses of human beings rise in insurrection or revolt? That behavior is a sign of an oppression or of an injustice that will have to cease, and the only further question is, When? Did the bread riots in Russia and the suffrage riots in Belgium help the social prognosticator to answer when? Do thousands of wage-earners refuse to work? That behavior is a sign that sooner or later the public will insist upon knowing the exact truth about the relations of employers to employed and upon disabusing the employers’ mind of his anti-social notion that he may conduct his business exactly as he pleases. The only further question is, When? Does the great strike of the coal-miners help us to say when? Do great operators in the stock market increase their liabilities in a geometrical progression, and do the banks progressively convert reserves into book credits and call loans? That behavior is a sign that the financial balloon will burst, and the only further question is, When? Do the Louisville and Nashville episode, the Northern Securities merger, and the proposition of the Steel Company syndicate to convert preferred stock into a $200,000,000 junior mortgage help us to say when? Signs like these have been multiplying of late, multiplying rapidly. Can we wonder that the general sign of apprehension is day by day growing more ominous? It is not yet so ominous as to presage panic; but it warns the wise man to be conservative in his transactions, to scrutinize the quality of his securities, to deal justly by his employees and honorably by all men, to study great civic problems, and as a good citizen to help to remedy all wrong. He who heeds this warning will know where to find safety and will be able to help others to safety when the storm breaks—when the knaves and the fools suddenly awaken to “a certain fearful looking for of judgment.” But these very signs are foretold by Jesus as signs of His second coming. Listen to what He says: “And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:25–27. All these occurrences are tokens of warning mercy from God. The wise man is he who fears God. Well does the prophet say of these days: “None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Dan. 12:10. God warned St. Pierre, but the people would not heed. He is warning the world; how many will heed the warning? WELL-NIGH 100,000 souls have been swept into eternity since the beginning of the present year by a remarkable series of disasters, according to the Chicago Tribune, which keeps a record of such things. The list covered by the Tribune in the paragraphs quoted below includes only those disasters occurring before May 20. Before its issue of that day was twelve hours old, a waterspout devastated the suburbs of Covington, Ky., claiming six victims. Since then two mining disasters have claimed 200 more. To quote:— “One woe doth tread upon another’s heels, so fast they follow.” Public interest in the recent disasters among the West Indian Islands has hardly begun to abate before reports come of others which, but for the exceptional magnitude of the former, would be regarded as unusual in their fatality. The cyclone which struck the little town of Goliad, Texas, on Sunday not only nearly destroyed the place, but left in its wake ninety dead and over one hundred injured—an unusual cyclone record for a single locality. The mine explosion at Coal Creek, Tenn., is the worst of the year, not one of the 150 men employed in the mine escaping. [Later reports give 227 dead. Ed. S. of T.] Simultaneously with these events comes the news of a terrible hurricane which swept over the province of Scinde, in British India, carrying away houses, bridges, and embankments, and washing away miles of railroad tracks. The few words, “many lives were lost,” are significant. The prophets who predicted that 1902 would be a year of disasters were correct. They have been in the habit of uttering these prophecies year after year without result; but this year they have been verified,9tho but few months have passed. Nature has not been so busy with her forces of devastation for many years past as she has been during the first five months of the present year. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes have destroyed 48,450 lives, storms 704, tornadoes 416, cyclones 220, floods 333, avalanches 228, tidal waves 103, snow-slides 39, and waterspouts 12, a total of 50,505 lives destroyed by nature’s elemental disturbances. If to this were added the lives lost by agencies over which man has more or less control, such as fires, mine disasters, explosions, railroad accidents, and vessel wrecks, it would be increased to over 60,000, and this takes no account of individual lives lost in this country, which would bring the grand total up to about 100,000 lives lost in the short period of five months. In the presence of these great natural convulsions man is powerless and probably always will be. As to the disasters occasioned by human ignorance or carelessness or neglect, the despair of the situation is that the catastrophe of to-day is a sensation for the day, and to-morrow is generally forgotten. It has its lesson, but it is not often read. Even if read, it is rarely heeded.—Literary Digest, May 31. PROTESTANT PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD.
The editor of the Catholic Mirror takes Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, of Brooklyn, to task on account of a recent prayer which the latter offered in his church for the victims of the volcanic disaster in Martinique. The question was not over his praying for the surviving victims, but for those who had died in the catastrophe. The Mirror says, “Protestants, of course, believe in prayer, but prayer only for the living. What means this praying for the dead? It is not for their material welfare, not for their bodies. Then it must be for their souls, and implies a belief in purgatory.” In introducing his article the editor says:— Catholic writers have often noticed the tendency of Protestant minds to a belief in such a future state as Catholic faith holds purgatory to be. The most advanced thinkers in the Anglican Church now regard purgatory as an article of belief in the ritualistic communion, and prayers for the souls of the departed are one of the features of the high-church development in England, which has most deeply stirred the resentment of the Kensitites. This phase of Anglican thought development has not made as marked strides in this country as in England; but the doctrine, founded on the Bible and taught by an infallible church, has something in it which appeals to the hearts of men. We also have noticed the tendency on the part of Protestant clergymen to revert to the dogmas of that church against which the fathers of the Reformation protested. In fact, there is a very strong drift in the fashionable church circles to minimize the differences between Romanism and professed Protestantism. The chief cause of this reverting to the beliefs of the Roman Church lies in the fact that the denominations that came out from Rome did not come out from Romanism. They came out from the body, but brought with them those essential dogmas of darkness and unbelief, the immortality of the soul and the sacredness of a day God had not blessed. Believing in the immortality of the soul, the doctrine of purgatory is the logical sequence. Only they who believe in the immortality of the soul and conscious existence in death, can pray for the dead. It is no exaggeration to say that the teaching of the soul’s immortality from Protestant pulpits is filling the pews of Catholic churches with those who once were Protestant in name. If the soul is immortal and conscious in death, purgatory is logical and reasonable. But the Bible abounds with proof to the contrary; and they who know God’s truth on this question will not be heard praying for the dead, will not believe in purgatory, will not be found going over to the Church of Rome. More than that, they will not be found at Spiritistic seances, or supporting that subtle delusion. The foundation for purgatory and Spiritism is the belief in the immortality of the soul. Without that belief, neither of those unscriptural doctrines is possible. The editor of the Mirror asks, “What means this praying for the dead?” It means that those who do it are swerving from the track of the true Gospel, and are “turned unto fables.” It means that Rome’s doctrines are gaining adherents and advocates in the churches of professed Protestantism. It means that the gulf between these two great bodies is growing narrower, and gradually fading into an almost imperceptible line—not that Romanism is coming over to Protestantism, but that professed Protestantism is gradually but surely swinging around to the doctrines of the Papacy. Had the early reform church thrown aside the spurious sabbath of the apostate church, and uplifted the Sabbath of the Lord, upon which that church had trodden with sacrilegious feet; had the early reformers thrown aside the unscriptural doctrine of the immortality of the soul, upon which purgatory is founded, and the eternal torment of the wicked is based—then the issue would have been sharp and distinct for all time. But coming out from her, and bringing some of her essential doctrines with them, there was bound to be a swinging back to the fountain-head of those beliefs, even as we see it to-day. This retrogression toward Catholicism is not imaginary—it is real and rapid. The great trend now is toward those beliefs which are fundamental in that system; and this is preparing the way for the triumph of that system over all who are not rooted and grounded in the truth of God; preparing the way for the fulfilment of that prophecy which declares that all the world shall wonder after the beast, and worship the beast, except only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev. 13:4-8); and those whose names are there written are they who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. There is indeed a deep significance in prayers for the dead by Protestant pastors, as in all the other backward tendencies of professed Protestantism. It shows the beginning of the fulfilment of those scriptures above referred to. In such a time as this the only safety lies in implicit obedience to God’s commands, casting off all the doctrines of superstition and the commandments of men, and standing squarely on the Rock of His Word, which no power of earth can shake. There is shelter and safety in that. Outside of that there is no such thing as safety. It is the ark of God that will save the remnant when the destruction of that ever-hastening day of God shall burst upon the world. In all the earth there is a general expectation of a crisis soon to occur, of a change about to be inaugurated. As to what it is the majority are profoundly ignorant. And yet one may know; all may know. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7. As truly as He warned Noah, and Lot, and Nineveh, and Jerusalem of old, as truly as the first coming of Jesus was heralded, so truly has God revealed this age, and what its calamities, its perils, its perplexities and groanings mean. One thing it surely means, Christ is coming again. Coal Strike Deepens Amid Shortages
The coal-miners’ strike is becoming more serious as the supplies of coal are being rapidly reduced. Every industry in which this fuel plays a part is feeling the shortage and the increase in price. The great army of anthracite coal-miners has been increased by the addition of thousands of miners in the West Virginia mines. This new strike is affecting every coal railroad in that State as well as navigation on the rivers. The engineers, firemen, and pumpmen in the anthracite region have now been called out, and the mines are filling up with water. If the strike should be declared off now, it would be some time before the mines could be operated on account of their flooded condition. A number of large factories will have to shut down soon if the strike continues. The president is interesting himself in the strike, but so far nothing definite has been accomplished in the matter of reaching an agreement. The great strike of stock-yard employees in Chicago has come to an end, the company having granted the demands of the men. This action was brought about after several days of rioting and bloodshed. The company was unable to move its meat-wagons, with but few exceptions, even with the protection of large numbers of policemen. The threatened strike of all the employees of the packing companies in Chicago brought the strike to a close. In one day alone 150 persons were more or less seriously injured in the rioting incident to the company’s attempt to move its meat-wagons. The large hotels as well as the individual consumers were unable to secure supplies of meat, and a large number of butcher shops were compelled to close. Remarkable Volcanic Activity
A WEST INDIAN banker estimates that the property loss by the volcanic eruption in the island of Martinique amounts to $40,000,000. Scientists have visited the craters on Mount Pelee, and looked down into their glowing depths. They predict that the craters may be active for a year, and that other explosions may occur. An outbreak occurred on June 6, in which a number of persons in fishing boats off the coast are believed to have lost their lives. The volcano on St. Vincent is reported quiet again, tho the inhabitants are apprehensive of further disasters, and some are predicting that this island will sink. There has been a remarkable activity during the past two weeks in all volcanic centers. Three volcanoes in Alaska continue their activity; Mount Rainier (Tacoma) is reported to be sending up clouds of steam from its craters; a volcano three miles from the town of Grant, N. M., is sending out clouds of smoke; the Hawaiian volcano, Mauna Loa, is again in eruption; Mount Trabochette, Italy, is trembling and sending out sulphuric exhalations; at Pedroso, Portugal, fissures have opened in the earth, and are sending out fire and smoke; and submarine eruptions are taking place between the islands of Martinique and St. Lucia. The old earth is terribly agitated. Drought Devastates Australia
Advices from Australia to the London Daily Mail state that a terrible drought has been devastating the agricultural portions of that country. Streams are dry, and domestic animals are dying. The correspondent states that the losses in Australia in stock alone since the beginning of this period of drought amounts to $60,000,000. Atlantic Steamship Trust Capitalization
The Atlantic steamship trust represents a gross tonnage of 915,000 tons; but the trust has been capitalized at the enormous figure of $177,000,000, or about $185 per gross ton, whereas the market value of the ships is only $47 per ton. Japan is planning so to increase the size and efficiency of her navy as to make it superior to the combined fleets of Russia and France in eastern waters. To do this she has laid out an urgency naval program which provides for the building of 25 new warships. Five of these will be first-class battleships, 2 first-class cruisers, 8 second-class cruisers, and 10 torpedo-boat destroyers. This will give her a navy whose total tonnage will amount to 393,102 tons. As Japan's credit is not of the best, a great portion of the necessary means for this increase must be raised by direct taxation of the people, who are already overburdened with taxes. Thus we see how the burdens of the world are being increased in preparation for the battles that are to be. Each nation has its plans mapped out, and they are contrary the one to the other, are bound to clash sooner or later; and when they do, so intricate are the interweavings of international complications that the world is bound to be involved. Peace Agreement in South Africa
On May 31 the peace agreement between the Britons and the Boers in South Africa was signed at Pretoria. The Boer officers returned to their commandos, and since that time several thousand have surrendered, and others are doing so as fast as they can be reached. There is great rejoicing on both sides that peace is now assured. The many thousands of Boer prisoners in British prison camps are jubilant over the prospect of soon returning to their families. Boer officers are urging their men to make the best of the situation, and become good and loyal British subjects. On June 7 thanksgiving services for the return of peace were held both in England and South Africa. During this war England has lost 28,434 men who have been killed, died of disease, or been permanently incapacitated. Thus has closed one of the most expensive wars ever conducted, a war which has been in progress since October 9, 1899. GREATER NEW YORK is having a remarkable growth as measured by its congested street-car traffic. The total increase of passengers on the elevated railway alone during the nine months ending March 31 was at the average rate of 2,000,000 a month. For the quarter ending the same date compared with the corresponding quarter of the year previous, it averaged more than 2,500,000 a month. During the last quarter the increase was over 85,000 a day. The problem is a puzzling one. At this rate of increase, the new tunnel will afford no relief. The great high buildings, the immense business sky-scrapers, mean two or three large cities on the top of the old. Country dwellers ought to praise God for room. Philippine Friar Holdings
GOVERNOR TAFT of the Philippine Islands is now in Rome, and has had several conferences with the officials of the Vatican in reference to the disposition of the holdings of the friars in the islands. The instructions given him by the Secretary of War would indicate that the only solution of the troublesome problem is in the purchase of those holdings by the United States. Provision is to be made for the payment of rentals to the Catholic Church for the use of such buildings of the church as have been occupied by the military forces there in the various provinces. The Secretary of War has instructed the governor that his mission is purely a business one and in no way diplomatic. Siamese Abduct the Ruler of Patani
The ruler of the Malay State of Patani has been captured and abducted by the Siamese. He had appealed to the British for protection from the abuses of the Siamese governor, and his abduction is his punishment for so doing. England, it is said, will demand his release, and appoint a mediator between Siam and Patani, which is quite likely to result in Patani and the other Siamese Malay States coming under the control of Britain. In this case France would take over the Cambodian States as an equivalent, thus reducing the area of Siam by over one-half. Liverpool Shipping Syndicate Forms
ANOTHER great shipping trust is now being formed for the purpose of offsetting the work of the steamship trust now under the direction of Mr. J. P. Morgan. This new trust will be known as the Liverpool Syndicate, and will be under English control. It is being encouraged and favored by the British and Canadian governments. It is a combination effected between the Cunard Line and other British shipping lines, which proposes to use not only the vessels now in service but to build others of large size and great speed both for passenger and freight service. The Cost of the South African War
Altho the war in South Africa is ended, the burden of taxation which it has caused goes steadily on. The chancellor has stated that the whole £40,000,000 provided for in this year’s budget will be required for the mobilization and return of the soldiers not needed in South Africa, to move the Boer families from the concentration camps, and to furnish garrisons for the South African colonies. GREAT BRITAIN's opium-traffic in China and India has been more of a curse than a blessing. She has lost by it much more than she has gained. How much better it would be to let the paltry $13,000,000 revenue, or thereabouts, of India go, and be rid of the abominable thing. She would gain by it at home and abroad. Senate Committee Rejects Warship Construction Provision
The Senate Committee on Naval Affairs has refused to sanction the provision of the House bill for the construction of a number of war-ships in the government navy-yards. House Passes Shattuc Immigration Bill
On May 27 the House passed the Shattuc immigration bill, which brings into one act all the scattered legislation heretofore enacted in regard to immigrants, eliminates what has become obsolete, amends some of the administrative features of existing legislation, and adds some provisions made necessary by the expansion of territorial limits. One amendment to the bill prohibits the sale of intoxicating liquors at immigrant stations, and another prohibits the sale of intoxicants in the Capitol building. The British Secretary of the Admiralty reports that during the past two years there have been no less than 110 accidents to British torpedo-boats and torpedo-boat destroyers. There have been 55 collisions between vessels of this class, and a number of them have run aground and been disabled. With this showing, this style of craft seems to be about as dangerous to life in its own fleet as in that of an enemy. Protecting the Behring Sea Seal Herd
An attempt is now being made by members of the Ways and Means Committee to re-open the question of the Behring Sea seal-fisheries with Great Britain, with a view to securing the permanent preservation of the seal herd. The indiscriminate killing of the female seals leaves thousands of young on the islands to starve. Exploration of Ancient Rhodes Ruins
AFTER long and persistent negotiations, the sultan has given his consent to the exploration of the ancient ruins on the northeastern shore of the island of Rhodes. A Danish expedition, equipped by the Carlsberger fund, will conduct the explorations. Important archaeological discoveries are expected to be made. General Brooke Promoted to Lieutenant-General
On June 4 the Senate passed a bill providing for the promotion of Gen. John R. Brooke to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and authorizing his retirement with that rank. General Brooke is now 64 years old. For a short time immediately following Spain’s evacuation of Cuba, he was military governor of that island. British Steamer Camorta Wrecked
The wreck of the British steamer Camorta, which is supposed to have foundered about May 6 in a cyclone, has been found sunk in the Irrawaddy delta on the way from Madras, India, to Rangoon. She carried 650 passengers, nearly all of whom are known to have been lost. The passengers were natives. Missionary Work Among Immigrants
Up to the first of May nearly 150,000 immigrants from Europe had landed in this country, 6,300 coming ashore at the Battery, New York, in a single day. One ship alone brought 2,708 packed in her storage compartments. Here is opportunity for missionary work. Roosevelt Reports on Mule-Shipment Station
On June 5 President Roosevelt sent to the House of Representatives a message stating that the investigation of the conduct of the British mule-shipping station in Louisiana showed that it was not conducted in violation of the neutrality laws of this country. Chicago Department Store Drivers Strike
A STRIKE of 1,300 department store delivery-wagon drivers was inaugurated in Chicago on June 3. The delivery work of all the great department stores was practically stopped for two days. Concessions were made on both sides to end the strike. France Forms a New Cabinet
The French cabinet has resigned, and a new cabinet was formed on June 7. The new ministry proposes to straighten out the finances of the country, to institute a more just distribution of the taxation, and to reduce the term of military service. Italy’s Debt Refinancing Plan
A PLAN for the refunding of the debt of Italy is to be carried out with the assistance of J. Pierpont Morgan, according to a report from London. It will be a gigantic financial operation, involving 24 hundred million dollars, or $2,400,000,000. Philippine Government Bill Passes Senate
On June 3 the Senate passed the Lodge Philippine Government bill by a vote of 48 to 30. Three Republicans voted against it, and one Democrat voted for it. Debate on the bill had been in progress for seven weeks and two days. A Method for Gathering Atmospheric Electricity
A Spanish scientist in the Canary Islands claims to have discovered a method of accumulating electricity directly from the atmosphere with simple apparatus, and thus furnishing this powerful force at greatly reduced expense. Customs Fraud in New York
INVESTIGATIONS into the customs service at New York indicate that a gigantic conspiracy has existed there for a number of years, by which the government has been defrauded of about $600,000 per year in customs receipts. New York Enjoins Packing Companies
On June 4 the Supreme Court at Albany, N. Y., issued an injunction restraining six of the largest packing companies of the country from doing business in the State of New York in violation of the anti-trust law. Boxer Violence Renewed in Southwest China
Advices from China indicate that the Boxers are active again in Southwest China, where they have killed missionaries, converts, and officials, and have repulsed the soldiers sent to subdue them. South African Troops Sail for Home
THE first contingent of home-bound troops from South Africa sailed from Cape Town on June 7. It is expected that they will arrive in time to take part in the coronation ceremonies. Earthquake Fears in Guatemala
ADVICES from Guatemala state that the rumblings and earth shocks continue, and for fear of further disastrous earthquakes a great portion of the inhabitants are still living in tents. Senators Oppose Tariff Reduction for Cuba
A CANVASS of the members of the Senate shows a majority opposed to any tariff reduction in favor of Cuba.