The New York Times announced that “England is building six battle cruisers of thirty-two knots speed which will be mounted with a new sixteen-inch gun. Such is the assumed perfection of the building arrangements under the special speeding plans prepared by the admiralty, that the ships, it is expected, will all be launched within five or six months from the date of laying down, and they will therefore be in commission well within the present year.”
It almost takes one’s breath away when he thinks of the terrific speed with which engines of destruction have been increased in power during very recent years, and the increase in power and destructiveness of these modern munitions of war is not any more marvelous than the increased speed with which they are prepared. It took several years to build the first of the modern battleships, but now vessels that would easily destroy an entire fleet of the ships of fifteen years ago are built inside of a year. A cruiser that can attain a speed of thirty-two knots, and that is armed with sixteen-inch high-power guns, is really more formidable than the much talked-of super-Dreadnought battleship.
When the Bible prophecies speak to us of the spirits of demons maddening the world with war in the last days, they foretell the spirit that has taken possession of men everywhere.
Belgium Sends a Minister to the Vatican
THE Belgian government has appointed Baron Van den Heuvel to represent that nation at the Vatican. On March 17 he presented his credentials to Pope Benedict, “who received him in the throne room, surrounded by the papal court.” It has been but a few months since Protestant England sent a minister to the Vatican. Other nations have been considering doing the same thing, and Belgium has followed England’s example.
Belgium has no state religion, and that very fact shows that there has been an agitation within her borders in favor of religious freedom. But the world is rapidly swinging back to the idea that we must have a religious hierarchy in order to hold the turbulent forces of men in check. And the most significant thing in connection with it is that the Protestant portion of the world is joining the papacy in this movement.
We should keep our minds on the prophecies of the Bible that so clearly present the fact that nominal Protestantism and Catholicism will combine in a world-wide religious federation that will demand absolute obedience to its decrees. We may expect to see things move in that direction with awe-inspiring rapidity. The formation of this hierarchy is the very last link in the great chain of prophecy, and then Christ comes.
Pressure in the War Storm
If this nation succeeds in keeping at peace during the present war tornado that is devastating the world, it will be one of the miracles of divine power. Warships have been sent to Mexican waters; and notwithstanding the war that the nations of Europe already have on their hands, they will watch this movement closely. The blockade that has been declared to shut off supplies from Germany is causing discussions that are ominous. All Christian people should earnestly pray that the infinite God may hold these furies of war from involving this nation, which is making such heroic efforts to remain at peace.
Many merchant vessels are being captured or sunk on the high seas. These things create an intensity of feeling among the people; but if there was ever a time when we should remain calm, and not try to force the hands of the president and his advisers, that time is now.
But not alone is there danger of drawing the United States into this war, but it would seem that it is bound to spread to still greater proportions in the Old World. Italy is on the verge of plunging into the conflict, for Austria is feverishly fortifying her frontiers for fear of such a crisis. The allies are not satisfied with the course that Japan is pursuing in the Orient, and have sent her a warning in regard to her Chinese policy.
The whole world has become a smoking volcano of war. A part of it is in violent action; the rest of it seems ready to burst forth. If the conditions of this time are not fulfilling the prophecy that the spirits of demons would go forth to stir the world to the war of Armageddon, what greater and more terrible thing could be expected to fulfill the divine prediction? And yet we do know that this war tornado now in action is not Armageddon; its still greater strifes lie on before.
Bankruptcy for a Hundred Years
EDGAR CRAMMOND estimates the cost of a year's warfare to Europe at $62,735,000,000. The London Times thinks the figures are excessive, but other competent authorities think they are not so far out of the way.
The San Francisco Chronicle says this will leave Europe in bankruptcy for at least a hundred years, and suggests that “it is money that will end this European barbarism, and it will be money that can prevent a repetition.” University presidents and other leading men were convinced, before the European war broke out, that no such conflict could be entered upon without the consent of the money power. But there were conditions that caused the war to come as an explosion; and while the money power may have assisted in creating these conditions, yet it was powerless to prevent what has happened.
The Wall Street Journal states that “the magnitude of the present war borrowings is appreciated when it is known that the five leading nations involved have increased their government debts by over twenty-five per cent.”
The way in which this war is eating up money is strikingly shown through an interview by a representative of Collier's with Lloyd-George, chancellor of the British exchequer. The chancellor gave the interviewer the information that the largest amount spent by Great Britain on war in a single year before the present war was $355,000,000. The Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, which covered a period of twenty years, cost but $4,155,000,000. The Crimean War, the cost of which was spread over three financial years, expended only $37,500,000; while the Boer War, which was spread over four financial years, cost $1,055,000,000. But according to the chancellor, a full year of this present war will cost Great Britain $2,250,000,000. This will be more than six times as much in one year as the Crimean War cost in three years, or equivalent to an eighteen-year war of the Crimean class, and a single year of the present war, as shown by these figures, will cost more than half as much as the whole of the twenty years of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period, which recorded some of the greatest wars known in history up to that time.
These figures, of course, represent merely what the governments themselves are expending, and do not take into account the losses of private individuals who suffer from the war but are not in a position to be indemnified. With this tremendous expenditure of property, to say nothing of the cost in precious lives, animosities will be created that will be far more dangerous to the world than its bankrupt financial condition.
It should be as plain as daylight to every thinking man, that humanity has created world conditions that it is powerless to grapple with. Nothing short of the mighty power of the infinite Christ displayed at His second coming can ever cope with this situation. That is the great event that the conditions of the world demand, and the prophecies abundantly warrant the statement that the great day is almost here.
Utah Governor Vetoes Prohibition Bill
The Utah legislature passed a state-wide prohibition bill by a majority of forty to five in the House and sixteen to two in the Senate. The legislature adjourned without the governor's signature to the bill, and he has vetoed the measure, notwithstanding the well-nigh unanimous vote of the legislature. Under the circumstances, the veto is final; but where prohibition sentiment is so strong as to produce such a vote, there could not be much question in regard to what the people will do concerning the settlement of the question as soon as they get an opportunity.
Correspondence Course on Olive Propagation
The University of California gives an extended course by correspondence, on the propagation of the olive. The olive tree is said to be one of the oldest in cultivation. Trees planted in Greece in the times of Plato and Pericles are still bearing fruit, so says the university bulletin. California is peculiarly adapted to this fruit, and it is one of the most wholesome and nutritious when properly prepared.