Review and Herald, Vol. 82, No. 24. (6/15/1905)

Review and Herald

Jun 15, 1905

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jun 15, 1905

MESSAGE-BEARING BOOKS

The COMING KING

REVISED EDITION

Treating upon the political, social, and religious life of the present day and other kindred topics which reveal a response to history and the unerring voice of prophecy that these events point to the great culminating event of this world's history—the coming of the King of kings, and the restoration of this earth as the final abode of man.

The work contains 290 pages, illustrated with over 150 engravings, consisting of full-page illustrations and half-tones made especially for the book.

Prices, $1 and $1.50, post-paid.

HERE and HEREAFTER

A treatise on the immortality of the soul, answering the question, Is man immortal? It reveals the teaching of the Scripture so clearly that purgatory, saint worship, Universalism, Spiritualism, and a host of other errors, which are based on the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, are shown to have no divine authority and no Scriptural right to exist. It is a thorough treatise on the nature of man, or man in this life and the life to come.

Containing 357 pages; neatly bound in cloth; price, $1, post-paid.

The STORY of DANIEL

the PROPHET

A thrilling biography of the prophet Daniel, interwoven with a portrayal of the prophecies and the history of the nations mentioned in the book of Daniel. A pleasing combination of intense interest, prophetic and historical information, and spiritual teaching.

Substantially and tastefully bound, appropriately illustrated; price, $1, post-paid.

HERALDS

of the MORNING

REVISED EDITION

A concise treatise on the meaning of the social and political problems of the present time and the significance of the great phenomena in nature, setting forth the various prophetic signs with their present partial fulfilment. Profusely illustrated. Bound in durable cloth, marbled edges; price, $1.50, post-paid.

The MARVEL of NATIONS

Treating upon the story of American progress since the nation's birth, emphasizing the developments of the present day, and citing the Scripture future of this nation, and through it the final termination of all earthly governments and the setting up of the kingdom of God.

Contains 320 pages, 150 photo-engraved illustrations. Bound in neat and durable cloth. Prices, $1.25 and $1.50, post-paid.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS

Presenting Christ in type and antitype. An exhaustive treatise on the subject of the sanctuary and its services. Christ revealed in prophecy from the beginning as the Father's representative among men, the author and finisher of their faith, and their Saviour and Redeemer.

Beautifully bound in cloth; contains over 300 pages, nicely illustrated; price, $1, post-paid.

Review & Herald Publishing Association

Battle Creek, Mich.

Washington, D. C.

Editorial

By Editor

Losing the Message

THE message of God for this generation is not merely a set of words and phrases, and this message is not given by merely expounding certain texts of Scripture, even though those texts constitute the setting for some very essential phases of this truth. The very essence of this message is such a revealing of righteousness both in the teaching and in the life as will be an effective rebuke to the sins of the time, wherever they appear, and will place the messenger at open enmity with all unrighteousness. Just as soon as one persists in compromising with unrighteousness, either in himself or in any one else, he will begin to lose his message, and it may be but a short time before the loss will be total. Sometimes it is sufficient to state principles, but there come times when it is necessary to make a personal application of the principles. John the Baptist not only taught the principles governing the family relation, but he also fearlessly declared to Herod concerning his brother’s wife, “It is not lawful for thee to have her.” Nathan not only related to David the parable of the ewe lamb, but he also said, “Thou art the man.” In either of these special cases the messenger would have been unfaithful if he had failed to make the specific application of his principles. In these last days iniquity abounds, and many nominal preachers of righteousness hesitate to bring their lessons home to the consciences of the people because so many of the offenders sit in the pews. Even under these circumstances it is easy enough to mouth the phrases of truth, but there is no message in them. It is possible for the professed teachers of the third angel’s message to do the very thing to which they themselves have called attention in other preachers, and thus lose their message. The times demand a sturdy and uncompromising righteousness, and this message must have substance as well as form. Only so can the right standard be maintained.

Affirming and Repudiating

It is always necessary to affirm the truth. It is sometimes necessary to repudiate specific errors. Under certain circumstances it is just as necessary to repudiate specific errors as it is to affirm the truth. We are in a time when subtle sophistries are assuming the garb and the vocabulary of truth, and some minds are confused by mere forms and sounds. It thus becomes necessary to go beneath the surface, and to call things by their right names, in order that the people may not be deceived. In such a situation as this, when we are facing the deceptive working of the enemy, and when the direct issue between the truth and a perversion of the truth has been plainly joined, it is not possible for a faithful representative of this advent message to do his whole duty without repudiating in the most unmistakable manner all that body of teaching which rests upon scientific reasoning rather than upon the revelation made in the Word of God. Satan is just the same Satan even after he has transformed himself into an angel of light. A falsehood is just the same falsehood even after it has been woven in with some truth. We are to be governed by principles, rather than by names. It is useless to inveigh against the beast and his image, and to wink at the same evil principles masquerading under the profession of Protestantism. It is foolish to cry out against the scientific infidelity of Huxley and Spencer, and at the same time utter no word of condemnation against the teachings of the disciples of these men. It sometimes seems to be easier to detect and to denounce departures from the truth in some persons than to repudiate the same errors in other persons. We ought, however, to be governed by principles rather than by circumstances. Our teaching ought not to be merely negative,—simply denying certain things,—but our affirmative teaching ought now to include the repudiation of all that system of doctrine which is seeking the overthrow of the true gospel. The distinct issue is now becoming very clear.

The Reward of Service

THERE is nothing more sure than that service brings its reward. There is nothing more certain than that God will reward every man, whether his work be good, or whether it be evil. It is a reward just as much when the service, the work, is evil as when it is good. “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be,” whether the work be good or evil. The judgment is with reference to giving a reward, and in the judgment hour, in which we now stand, we stand as it were facing the day of reward, whatever our work may be. We are in a day of reward.

The nature of the service determines the nature of the reward, and the reward is not something arbitrarily given simply because of the fact of service, but the reward is itself the inevitable result of the experience of the service. As the blossom is bound up in the seed, and the kind of blossom is simply the result of the kind of seed, so of the service; the reward is, as it were, simply the blossoming of the seed of service, and the kind of service rendered determines the character and the measure of the reward.

Let us read a scripture which bears directly upon this: “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good

and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

The lord of those servants said the same thing to both servants, which sets forth the truth that the reward for each faithful servant is of the same kind. The reward for the faithful servant is of the same kind, whether he had two talents or five talents, whether he gained two or gained five. Each one gained one hundred per cent. Each one received the same kind of reward.

“Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

Or, as it says in Luke’s Gospel, “From him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance. When that man went and hid his talent in the earth, where it did not belong, he refused to take that talent. When his lord came, that man did not have the talent that he gave him in the first place. He had not used it. He simply seemed to have it. He lost it when the time of reckoning came.

All faithful servants have the same word said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” but the actual reward itself to each one is measured by his ability to do more of the same kind of thing that he has been doing to the measure of his ability, as shown by his experience in service. Every one’s cup is running over, but each one builds his own cup, and the one who by faithful service develops the largest degree of ability to serve, and who uses that ability in actual service, that man’s reward as compared with another man’s is the greater ability to continue to serve the same Master. That is his reward. Those to whom service is irksome here, can not receive the reward. They destroy their ability to receive any such reward. Their very attitude toward the Lord, the Master, and his work, prevents the Master from giving them any such reward as he would like to give them. He who refuses service, who refuses work to the measure of his ability, has chosen death. It is simply a question of degree; and when the final reward comes, the man who refuses service is refused the privilege to serve in any degree whatsoever. Therefore the reward of the faithful servant is life eternal, his time and power in full measure for service. The reward of the unfaithful servant who refuses to work is death, neither time nor power for service. That ought to take hold upon our hearts and lives in a new sense. It comes as a sort of a new message. It is not simply a call upon us to serve the Lord in order that his work may be done. He could do his work much easier without us. He could call upon the angels and send them forth to do his work, but in the doing of his work is the salvation which he desires to give, and the salvation which he gives is the reward for which each one prepares himself.

The greatest reward that comes to one in this life is the ability, the power, to serve others. That invisible thing which can not be measured by dollars and cents, and can not be weighed on the scales, but is of great price, is this sharing in God’s character. What is it that gave us a gospel at all? What is it that has given to us a Saviour at all? What is it that has brought within our reach the hope of salvation? It was not because the character of God changed when sin entered the world. It was not because he adopted some new principles. It was because God is God, and Jesus Christ is his Son, and because of the very nature of their character that we have any gospel at all. Now if we are to share in the benefit of that gospel, we must share in the work of the gospel. There is no other way. And he who expects to share in the reward of this gospel must share in the service of this gospel.

It is the law of the kingdom that what we wish to keep we must give. It is what we give that we hold. It is what we give that we have. Every true Christian, who has given a thousand dollars to the cause of God, and has ten thousand dollars still remaining, really has only the one thousand dollars that he has given. That is a live truth that what a man gives in this life is that which he has. He has laid hold of that now in a way actually to possess it. It is just so with talent. If any one has a talent conferred upon him, and he shuts himself up to himself, and does not give forth that talent, that ability in service for God, he loses that talent, he loses that ability. But he who gives forth freely, who gives himself freely in a life of service, is the one that is building his large cup of reward for the future. He may not know how many souls are reached by his service. He may never know how wide the waves are that he has set in motion, those waves that have an influence upon other people’s lives. He may never live to see the fruit of what he has given out, but the man that has freely given is the man who holds the things that God has given to him. We should have more to give if we gave more, more of time, of talent, and of means.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you.” Just as soon as God finds a man who is willing to be a channel for him, he will pour something through that channel, because God is waiting to bless the world. Yet he wants human instrumentalities, that divinity through humanity may reach and touch and bless humanity, and the one who is used in this way for the service of God is the one who will receive a special blessing in that service; and the very nature of the reward will save us from selfishness. The way of seeking the reward is in itself the cure of selfishness. It is the divine way.

The Next Step in Missions

By W. A. S.

It was a missionary General Conference. The gathering of delegates from the far-away fields, with their stirring words of progress, helped to make it so. But one of the chief features of our missionary conference was the response of the entire body of delegates, representing the churches in the home land of the message, as with one voice they bade the workers in the mission fields go forward in the name of the Lord.

We well know this represents the spirit of the churches everywhere. Anxious hearts were waiting in the distant fields to know if the General Conference would call for retrenchment and delay, or sound the note of advance. Advance is the word, and the trumpet-call of the conference gives the order with no uncertain sound. Heads will be lifted up and hands strengthened in all our missions as the word comes to them.

But now, in our coming midsummer offering, it is for us to actually set things forward. Our funds must follow with our message to advance. All hearts have been touched afresh by the reports from our missionaries at this conference. The memorial which they presented to the believers in America will appear for the first time in the program of readings for Sabbath, July 1. It is

a thrilling roll-call of the nations. We must prepare to answer it by such a midsummer offering for missions as we have never made before.

The conference recommended workers to India, China, Japan, Africa, Europe, South America, and Australia. These must be hastened forward. Dr. Law Keem and his wife are already on the way to China. Elder D. C. Babcock is soon to be off to lift the standard on the almost deserted African Gold Coast. Others must be started on, and all the time the regular work in the fields must be kept going. Even where conferences supply salaries for new workers, there is the expense of transportation, and of getting started in the fields. And the Mission Board was already hard pressed. This offering comes most opportunely after such a conference. Our missions need just now a strong, united lift to help them through the year, and until the next annual offering comes in. We are each to set our hand and seal to the program of missionary advance by the offering on Sabbath, July 1. Sister White told us at the conference that we were to “belt the world” with our missionary effort. Let us make this next step in missions—the midsummer offering—a long step and a strong step, that shall set a quickening pace in our work the whole world round.

W. A. S.

A Religious Trust

By L. A. S.

RELIGIOUS journals are showing increasing concern over the growing menace of Mormonism, which is now entrenched behind the bulwark of State government. The effect of the admission of Utah into the union of States, was, it seems, to provide for the establishment of a Mormon religious trust in that State, and all the evils of the trust principle as applied in the field of religion are now to be seen and felt, so it is said, in the western stronghold of the Mormon Church. On this subject the New York Observer recently spoke as follows:—

The bald fact is that Mormonism is coming to assert itself more and more (if it be possible to exceed the pretensions of the past) in the line of a great “trust.” It manifests all the intolerance of competition by other organizations, all the confident assertion of its own strength, all the selfishness of policy, and all the merciless resolution to rule or ruin, that are characteristic of the worst of the so-called “trusts” or “mergers.” Moreover, through its immense collection of tithes and its large investments in commercial and financial enterprises, it has come to dominate every line of business in Utah except mines and railroads, and even these latter it materially influences by means of its control over Mormon labor, and by its misuse of legislation and franchises. It is an old saying, which has many striking modern applications, that money is power; and when huge sums of money are heaped up in the hands of a Mormon merger, the influence for evil, in a community or State of such a financial colossus, is immeasurable.

A very striking and ominous illustration of the practical power which overgrown Mormonism possesses at the present day to stifle inquiry into its secret processes and devious ways has been afforded in connection with a recent meeting of twelve men in Salt Lake City. The meeting and the results are described in an editorial in the Salt Lake Tribune. The men had been invited separately, by one of the most prominent men in the community, and no one among them knew whom he was to meet. With one exception they were representative Gentiles. They were asked to consider this problem: What can the Gentiles of Utah do to protect themselves against the power of the hierarchy of the Mormon Church? And what shall the Gentiles of Utah do to advise the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections of the actual situation in Utah, so that the country may know their needs, and may protect them from the dangers which environ them?

Moreover, all the men present agreed, as a state of facts in Utah, that, as now utilized, statehood is but a protection to the Mormon hierarchy, in its establishment of a theocratic kingdom under the flag of the republic, that the hierarchy holds itself superior to constitution and to law, that it is spreading plural marriage practise throughout the ranks of the church, that through its agents it dominates the politics of the State, that it exerts a strong sway over many public officers, including the majority of members of the State legislature, and that it holds nearly every Gentile merchant and nearly every Gentile professional man at its vengeance, by its influences over the patronage which he must have in order to be successful.

After the men summoned to the meeting had agreed to the foregoing statement, the remarkable fact appeared that not one man present dared to stand out in public and become sponsor for it. Every man acknowledged that if the evil of Mormonism were not conquered now, it would grow too strong for resistance, yet dared not throw down the gauntlet to the Mormon hierarchy. Yet those men were not cowards, for they were men above the average in courage, loyalty, and ability. The professional men and merchants present knew that if any one of them—lawyer, doctor, teacher, or merchant—lifted up his voice against the evils of Mormonism, his patronage, social standing, and financial opportunities would be gone.

This incident shows that an actual reign of terror obtains in Utah. “Liberty” is there an idle sound, and “Americanism” an empty name.

All the evils of which the Observer speaks are the direct result of the union of religion with politics, yet just such a union is advocated by many who represent much larger religious bodies than the Mormon Church. Combines in religion to control legislation and stifle opposition to popular religious dogmas and institutions are advocated frequently by spokesmen of the popular churches, and of this the enactment and enforcement of Sunday laws is a conspicuous example. The evil which is flourishing on a comparatively small scale in Utah should warn the people of the disaster which would surely attend the union of religion with politics throughout the country in general. Then would “liberty” be “an idle sound,” and “Americanism” an empty name,” in all parts of the union. L. A. S.

Buddhism and Christianity

THERE is an undoubted tendency to eliminate from Christianity those essential features which distinguish it from false religions, and to substitute for a revealed gospel of salvation from sin a speculative human philosophy. There is evidence of this fact in many quarters.

In the June number of The Missionary Review of the World we find some editorial comments upon this subject which are well worth reproducing. After referring to the “loyalty to the inspired Word and the old-fashioned gospel” which has been shown by Dr. Griffith John, a venerable missionary to China, the Review says:—

In contrast to Dr. John’s steadfast adherence to the old truths and the faith once delivered to the saints, we regret to see, on the part of some, a weakening of adherence to the apostolic and primitive standards. In the March number of the Foreign Field of the Wesleyan Methodist Church is an article (page 247) in which we find such a sentence as this:— “When the light of modern criticism shall have blown away the chaff, then the best Buddhists and the best Christians will clasp hands over these buried truths, and instead of attacking each other as enemies, will co-operate to take up the cross as the children of God for the salvation of their fellow men,” etc. How “light” of any sort can “blow away chaff” is a problem; but it is not with the rhetoric, but with the sentiment, that we feel disposed to take issue.

There is an increasing disposition to eliminate radical differences between heathen systems and the Christian, and to claim for all religious systems alike a community of essential truth.

To our minds, the divergence between the gospel and all other fields is absolute. The resemblances are incidental and unimportant in comparison with the differences which are central and irreconcilable.

It is not that Buddhism and other heathen systems embody no ethical truths, but that the vital doctrine of sin, salvation by atonement, justification by faith, regeneration by the Spirit, are not found outside God’s own Book.

All attempts to blend these religions with Christianity in one eclectic system means the dropping out of what is most distinctive in Christianity and most offensive to the carnal heart.

All heathen systems of religion have one point in common—they make no provision for any barrier against sin.

They provide no saviour, no atonement, no real salvation from sin. They minister to human pride by declaring or implying that there is that in man of himself which is able to lift him up to a higher and still higher plane of existence, and to bring him finally to unalloyed bliss. This is the principle of evolution in religion—the principle of development from within rather than of creation from without. And with all the rest, it is simply a variation of the teaching that a divine inspiration, or a divine presence, or a divine power which is defined to be God dwells in every man, and only waits for the proper environment in order that it may be revealed in glory and beauty. This principle of the divine immanence, whether it is taught by a professed Buddhist or a professed Christian, minimizes sin, belittles the one only Saviour, and sets aside the atonement. It is the very essence of heathenism.

The gospel of God manifest in the flesh in the person of his Son, and of “Christ in you the hope of glory,” not by the natural birth or by development, but by being born from above, needs to be proclaimed “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,” as against all compromises with heathenism in any form whatsoever. Apostate Protestantism, Spiritualism, and Romanism may form a triple alliance, but pure Christianity will remain distinct and wholly separate from all false gospels of human devising. We must maintain the apostolic standard of “the truth as it is in Jesus.”

Great Blessings and Great Responsibilities

By Arthur G. Daniells

THE most important and the most precious thing in the world to-day is God’s message for to-day. That is the third angel’s message of Revelation 14.

The greatest gift, the greatest fortune, that can come to any one to-day is a saving knowledge of the third angel’s message. Those who receive it are brought under great obligations to God and humanity.

This is the view that was taken by the pioneers of the cause set on foot by this threefold message. They reckoned themselves debtors to all men. They abandoned the pleasures and riches of the world, and addressed themselves to the one great task of making the message known to all the world.

Their view was right, and it must still dominate this people. The supreme question of the hour is the proclamation of the third angel’s message to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. This will require the devotion of our talents, means, and lives to the work. Nothing less will answer the call to arise and finish the work.

The signal to establish our headquarters at the capital of the American nation marked the beginning of a new era. Since this step was taken, events of great meaning have followed one another in quick succession. A profound impression has been made upon the minds of our people all over the world. Their hearts have been moved alike. A unifying work has been begun. The universal response to calls for the means required to establish the headquarters in the new location is a cheering omen. It expresses genuine confidence in the spirit of prophecy that has guided the movements of this cause from the earliest days. Possessing this confidence in this unspeakable gift to the cause to which we are giving our lives, we can not cease serving nor giving until all has been done that has been placed before us.

The delegates to the recent General Conference will never lose the wonderful impressions made upon their minds as the delegates placed before the conference the contributions they had brought from their brethren for the work at Washington. It greatly stirred our hearts. The scene and the impressions are of the kind that grow brighter and more sacred as time passes. The grand response of our people all over the United States to the call of Sister White and a few brethren on the Pacific Coast to close up the One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fund by the close of the conference, has filled the hearts of thousands of people with deep gratitude. The way looks brighter ahead. It now appears more possible than it did a year ago to compass the work outlined in the instruction from the spirit of prophecy.

In all the communications regarding the work to be done at Washington, it has been clearly stated that the publishing house should be placed on vantage-ground. In our original call for help, no provision was made for this. It was fondly hoped that the proceeds from the sale of the publishing house at Battle Creek would be sufficient, after paying all obligations, to provide all the publishing facilities that would be required in Washington. Whether this hope will be realized, remains to be seen. The property at Battle Creek has not been disposed of. The difficulties to be met are many, and the sales are tardy. The publishing interests at Washington are pressing, and they are enlarging.

Since our removal to this place nearly two years ago, our printing facilities have been confined to what machinery we could place in two rooms of the basement of a dwelling-house. Here we have set the type and done the folding and mailing of the REVIEW, Instructor, Sabbath School Worker, and Life and Health. We have no presses, hence we are obliged to send all our type forms out to a city printing house. We pay this printing house about four hundred dollars every month for doing the press work on our papers. In addition to this, we are paying nearly two thousand dollars a year in rent. The loss in money, the inconvenience in conducting our work, and the limitations placed upon our power to do what is called for, make it absolutely necessary to erect a building and install machinery. Should conflict arise between the printing houses and the unions in this city, we should be paralyzed. Our papers would be cut off.

These considerations led the General Conference at the session just closed to pass the following recommendations:—

Whereas, It has been arranged that the Review and Herald Publishing Association shall make a credit to the General Conference Corporation of fifteen thousand dollars on the account owing to the Review and Herald by the International Training-school Association; and,—

Whereas, Said Review and Herald Publishing Association was prepared to make this credit to the General Conference Corporation only with the understanding that said General Conference would endeavor to assist said Review and Herald Publishing Association if they came to need the same; and,—

Whereas, Said Review and Herald Publishing Association have now requested said General Conference to provide a plan whereby this fifteen thousand dollars can be returned to said association; therefore,—

We recommend, (1) That our people everywhere be requested to continue their contributions to the Washington fund so that there may be an overflow in excess of the one hundred thousand dollars for the Washington work.

(2) That the first fifteen thousand dollars received on the One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fund above one hundred thousand dollars be turned over to the Review and Herald Publishing Association.

When these resolutions were placed before the delegates,—

I. H. Evans explained that for many years the Review and Herald had carried large obligations for the old Battle Creek College, representing money advanced, on which the Review Office had paid interest. He explained the efforts the college had made at various times to reduce the amount owing the publishing house, which had given credits to reduce the account, and had entered into various arrangements to favor the college. All this simply amounted to the granting of favors and the making of transfers by the publishing house until there was a balance of fifteen thousand dollars coming to it. At the College View council last September propositions were brought forward as to handling the college property. There it was proposed that the Review and Herald of Washington, should forgive the balance of the debt. But they could not give away their assets unconditionally. It was agreed that if the taking over of the business by the new association could be handled so that they would be able to

build in Washington, they might be able to forgive the fifteen thousand dollars against the college property. But this was doubtful, they felt. The brethren in council then said, Let us encourage all to make an overflow of contributions to this Washington fund, so as to help the publishing work if need be, and then have the Review and Herald carry out the suggestion of giving the credit of fifteen thousand dollars to the General Conference Corporation, which has taken over the title to the college property. The college obligations would have to be paid anyway, and by this means the overflow on the One Hundred Thousand Dollar Fund will not only help to establish the new publishing house in Washington, but by just that amount reduce the sum to be raised on the old college obligations.

We are sure that this provision to meet the serious situation we now face will appeal to our people, and that those who have not yet done what they can to establish the work here will now come forward with their gifts. This move and these investments are not the wild fancies of men. They are a most important part of a great plan arranged by a divine mind and revealed to this people. There is nothing in this world for which money can be spent that will bring such great and enduring returns. Brethren, we know that God has led us to this place, we know he has directed what shall be established here, and now let us learn what unspeakable blessings will come as a result of prompt obedience to his instructions.

A. G. DANIELLS.

Note and Comment

“PREPARE war,” is still the watchword of the nations. A recent report from Essen, Germany, tells of immense contracts made with the Krupps, the world's leading gun makers, for the rearmament of the German artillery, and to fill large orders from Russia, Japan, and Turkey. These contracts have required the Krupp Company to increase its force of workmen from twenty-four thousand to more than thirty thousand.

A New Alignment of World Powers

FOLLOWING the cessation of hostilities between Russia and Japan, it seems likely that there will be a new alignment of the world powers, and a new danger to the United States of becoming entangled in old-world alliances. A writer in the Washington Times says, discussing the prospects for peace:—

There is the intimation that the principal European powers are doing their utmost to entangle the United States of America in their own international problems, not for the present reasons alone, but for what they see developing in the future. In settling one war the powers will be looking ahead to the next one. They will want to be sure about the “balance of power.” They want to know where each nation will stand in the realignment arising out of the coming of peace, whether that be this month, this year, or some other year.

Catholicity and Political Office

THE Catholic Mirror of June 3 gives much prominence to an announcement of the proposed elevation of Charles J. Bonaparte to the office of secretary of the navy. Among other statements the Mirror says:—

Perhaps the strongest feature in Mr. Bonaparte is his Catholicity. He has been in the forefront of every endeavor of the Catholic Church in this country, and has been on all occasions its uncompromising champion. He is a warm personal friend of Cardinal Gibbons, and was recently elected to a position of trust and distinction in the management of the Catholic University at Washington.

The fact that Mr. Bonaparte is a Catholic has no significance at all in connection with his occupancy of political office in this republic, unless there is to be some degree of connection between the two, and the latter is to be turned in some way to the benefit of the Catholic Church. There is, of course, no intimation that Mr. Bonaparte will be a Catholic in his official capacity; but the fact that stress is laid in Catholic journals upon his religious affiliation in connection with the mention of his political standing, shows how the two positions are associated in the Catholic mind, and that in its view the accession of Mr. Bonaparte to high political office is of importance chiefly because he is a leader in the Catholic Church. The union of church and state constantly shows itself as an inbred principle of the Catholic system of belief.

Rumania’s Peremptory Note to Turkey

ONE of the latest incidents to call attention to the very unstable condition of peace in Europe is a preemptory note from the Rumanian government to the sultan, demanding the instant release of two Rumanian subjects who have been arrested, and held in prison in Turkey without trial. This peremptory note comes as the culmination of a long series of protests by the Rumanian minister of foreign affairs against high-handed proceedings on the part of Turkey, and the Rumanian populace are wrought up to a dangerous state of feeling. It is believed that several of the European powers support Rumania in its menacing attitude toward the Ottoman power.

Continue reading: Roman Idolatry in England