Earlier text: A SPECTACLE UNTO THE WORLDAn ancient seer records this interesting vision:— “The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye; turn ye, come.” Isa. 21:11, 12. The word “Dumah” means silence. It may refer to desolate Edom, or Idumea, as the Septuagint indicates. Here is the picture: A watchman set upon some prominent eminence, there to keep watch thru all the night, and apprise the people in the plain of the approach of danger. The night is long and dark. Wild tempests sweep the sky. Lurid fires throw their baleful light against the black face of the tempest, intensifying the fearful darkness. Pestilence and strife may be raging in the city. Souls are dying; homes are desolate. Revelry is at its height. Mourning is in many homes. In the war of the elements, in the bedlam of strife and pleasure, one thoughtful, anxiously-longing soul goes out and cries to the silent sentinel, pacing his lonely beat with ceaseless vigil, “Watchman, what of the night?” The watchman replies: “I can see the breaking light of the east. The deep gloom is glinting with the gray of dawn. The morning cometh.” But to those who care not for the morning, the breaking of the day will bring no hope; there comes another night. But are you anxious to know?—Inquire, faithfully inquire. Turn from the revel, the strife, and the madness, and come. This is a faint picture of the present great world, with its strife and pleasure, its madness and revels, its calamity and pestilence, its disease and death, its sorrow and sighing, its storms and darkness,—the long night of sin. Whole nations are bowed under their burdens of war. Rulers are in perplexity. They know not which way to turn. Evils great and tremendous threaten from every side. Modern invention has made all the great nations neighbors, and the ramifications of means of travel and communication, reveal skeleton closets and weakened gates and national prejudices, but unfortunately do not regenerate human hearts. There is much talk of the Christ, but little is known of His power. Theology, in its criticism, has to many minds proved the Bible to be baseless as an infallible guide, and millions are drifting on and on in the great uncertain sea of growing unbelief and darkness. Christ, to them, is a political expedient, a national reformer, an ecclesiastical fetish, a sectarian, a great non-essential, a general meaningless expression of love and good will,—almost anything and everything except “the wisdom of God and the power of God,” “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” “God-with-us,” the personal Friend and Saviour of all who believe. Men use Him to further their plans and schemes and theories, instead of coming to Him as a blank ear, to listen to what He may say; their heart as a blank page, upon which He may write His own law; their will as a blank order-book, in which He may give His directions; He the Lord, His Word the guide, and man the willing, honest servant, doing His will from the heart. God saw all this condition of things in this world centuries ago. He declared it all in His Word centuries ago. He is, in His providence, writing it again in the events of nations and times, that men may be confirmed in its truth, and so by His Spirit He is stirring every heart to ask: “What do these things mean? Watchman, what of the night?” God has his watchmen. He has set them to warn the world of its wickedness, to point out the way. God’s watchmen speak with authority. They speak not from the traditions of men, not from the deductions and conclusions of an hypothetical, imperfect, and halting science; not from the expediency of politicians; not from the inferences and decisions of theologians or church councils, howsoever great and learned they may be; but the watchmen of God speak from their own warm, living experience, in the light of a living, present Word of God. Their seeings are the “visions of God.” His message is from on high. They answer from the watch-tower of divine assurance. “The morning cometh, and also the night.” They invite honest inquiry and hearty turning to God. “If ye will inquire, inquire ye; turn ye, come.” And thru all these elements of strife and blood and war and pestilence, God is calling to the great, weary, wicked, heart-sick world, “Come, come, come, come.” He would have them see in all these happenings, the heralds of Christ’s coming. Over the dense gloom of sin’s dark night, are the gleams of the golden dawn. As in the Red Sea period of Israel’s journey to the promised land, the pillar of fire and cloud, tho seemingly reeking with wrath to the oppressor, was light to the pilgrims of faith, so are these multiplying omens of to-day to the child of God. “The night is far spent.” The day is about to dawn. The gloom is giving place to gray. The night of dreary darkness is about to suddenly fade in the light of the glory of the dawning day. Christ the King is coming, a Saviour to all in whose hearts He reigns now. Is He your King now?—If not, seek Him ere it be too late. He graciously waits for you. It is His message, “If ye will inquire, inquire ye; turn ye, come.” “IMMORTALITY,” in the Scriptures, comes from two Greek words, athanasia, the literal meaning of which is deathlessness, and aphtharsia, signifying incorruption. The former occurs three times, the latter, eight times: twice rendered “immortality,” four times “incorruption,” and twice “sincerity.” We also have the word “immortal,” occurring once (Greek aphthartō), meaning incorruptible. 1 Tim. 1:17. All these terms indicate a condition of being the very reverse of what we see here. On every side are decay, corruption, death. But the passages in which these words occur, refer to a state of growth, incorruption, incorruptibleness, deathlessness. Those who inhabit that state can not die. They know not the evils of pain, disease, decay, death, and sorrow. Men long for immortality. Satan endeavors to make man believe that he now possesses it. A theology based on pagan tradition teaches the same thing. Science has attempted in vain to demonstrate the dream to be true. All that it has accomplished is to manifest the fact, so abundantly clear in the Word of God, that there are unseen spirit intelligences which communicate in some degree with mortals. Who and what these intelligences are, the Bible plainly shows. But what does the Bible teach in the passages above referred to, concerning man’s condition? Here are all the passages in which the words occur, both in English and the original. Study them carefully. “Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality [aphtharsian, God will render], eternal life.” Rom. 2:6, 7. “Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity [aphtharsia]. Amen.” Eph. 6:24. So also in Titus 2:7. “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption [aphtharsia].” 1 Cor. 15:42. “Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality [aphtharsian] to light through the Gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10. “Flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption [aphtharsian]. Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible [aphthartoi], and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption [aphtharsian], and this mortal must put on immortality [athanasian]. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption [aphtharsian], and this mortal shall have put on immortality [athanasian], then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:50–54. “The blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality [athanasian].” 1 Tim. 6:15, 16. In the consideration of all these, we can come to only these conclusions:— 1. They refer to that character, incorruptible character, which only faith in Christ can give. This is the case with Rom. 2:7. To those who by continuance in well-doing, seek for that glory, honor, and incorruption which God alone can give, He will render absolutely eternal life. Eph. 6:24 is of the same character: “All them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptness.” (R.V.) It is a love that is pure, with no element of alloy. 2. Upon those who attain the incorruptible character, Christ will bestow physical incorruption and absolute deathlessness. Immortality is, therefore, God’s stamp of a tested character, a deathless character, worthy of endless existence. It can therefore be possessed by those only who have been regenerated and perfected in Jesus Christ. God gives them faith, His own life, now, His actual, eternal life, that they may attain that character; and when attained, He bestows that life and immortality absolutely forever. 3. God alone is immortal. He only is inherently immortal, because inherently perfect. To claim inherent immortality is to make ourselves equal with God, and to trust in the serpent’s lying assurance7“Ye shall not surely die,” instead of in the glorious promises of our Lord Jesus Christ, which make immortality possible to all thru the Gospel. Those who accept Him will know the glorious change and the eternal existence. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHURCH FEDERATION.
By T
THE federation of all the churches of the land, including all classes of Protestants, the Catholics, the Unitarians, the Universalists, and the Jews, is significant. Many of the reasons that are urged for this union, or federation, rather, are good. Union and harmony are of divine origin, and should be encouraged wherever and whenever it is possible. In that wonderful prayer of the Saviour recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John, He most earnestly prays that His disciples “all may be one.” This is indeed a prayer for unity, but is it prayer for federation? Let the following words from the same prayer answer: “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself; that they also might be sanctified thru the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me thru their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me; and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” John 17:19-21. The foregoing words from the Saviour’s prayer are not the plans of a confederation, but the breathing of the divine desire for the most perfect harmony, which is the most perfect oneness. The Lord prayed that His followers might be sanctified “thru the truth.” He who seeks to join the Master in the answer to His prayer will be earnestly striving to know the truth. He will not be satisfied with anything else. And every gem of truth that he finds he will treasure up as something to be prized and lived. He will not hold truth as a cold theory, but will have it as a living, vital, acting principle in his everyday life. It will guide him in his thinking, and in his talking, and in all his doing. It will be the divine motive power within him that is building him over day by day into a strong new man in Christ Jesus. A mere federation can not do anything of this kind for us. Any combination or federation, no matter how good it may seem in its exterior, nor how much it may promise in glowing generalities, should be decidedly avoided if it asks us to stifle any of our convictions and smother up the truth that God is seeking to kindle into a flame in our souls. Men who form a federation without holding the fundamental principles of truth above everything else, are heaping together material that will sooner or later be set aflame, and there is no reckoning the disaster that will follow. This may not seem to be always true when applied to the people of the State or nation, but it is decidedly true when applied to the truth and work of God. The Lord gives men plain, clear, eternal truth to stand upon, and this truth, if allowed to bear its sway, will produce harmony and union. It will produce the gentlest kindness and the tenderest and the most all-pervading love. God’s real truth lifts men above the necessity of federation, and completely unifies them in the strong ties of heaven’s harmonies and divine union. Upon the question of the importance of a union of Christian believers there should be no doubt. It is indeed deplorable that there are so many sects. But human prejudice is such that men get set in their ideas, and they refuse to candidly seek for truth. The investigations that they make are not for truth, but for plausible arguments by which they hope to bolster up the creed or dogma that they have already accepted as right. God’s Word is not a jumble of ideas that men can not understand. But to understand the Word of God we must study that Word, and not the creeds or other ideas that men have formulated in regard to that Word. And as we study the Word itself, the matter is made plain in regard to the necessity for oneness and harmony. The scripture already quoted is very clear upon this point, and the following is equally as plain:— “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all; and thru all, and in you all.” Eph. 4:1-6. These words from the apostle Paul make it clear beyond a doubt that God does not recognize anything but oneness in His work. Now what will we do? Will we seek to join in a federation, and make it one of the strongest points in that confederacy to pass over everything upon which we differ, regardless of how important these things may be to the minds of numerous individuals? Such a confederacy might seem wise from the standpoint of human expediency, but it must be plain to the faithful student of God’s Word that the Father in heaven will not recognize it. God wants union and harmony, and not a confederacy. A confederacy may cover up the real confusion and want of harmony that actually exist, but at the same time it is smothering the truth. Then, too, a confederacy that is formed on such a basis as is proposed for the federation of the churches, is placed upon wrong principles. And anything of that kind may seem all right at the beginning, and may promise glorious results, but it will end in oppression. For the glitter and the tinsel glory of such a movement will finally lead men to be intolerant of everything and everybody that will not swing into line with the confederacy. The men who are forming this federation would spurn such an idea now as an absurd impossibility. But when once started on a wrong course, it is difficult to predict what will be the end. NOT A COMPLIMENT TO CHRISTIANITY.
By G.
Mr. Wu Ting Fang, Chinese minister to the United States, delivered a lecture recently in New York City, on “Confucius.” Some of his comparisons of Confucianism with Christianity were criticized in the press and by individuals. He makes a statement in the press that, owing to the incomplete reports of his address, he has been misunderstood. I have been reading portions of the Bible and have the greatest respect for it, and I appreciate the Bible and greatly-respect Christianity, and I never in my life made an attack on Christianity. I have said that some of the doctrines are too grand and too elevated for man to follow, but that, instead of adverse criticism, is in praise of the high standard of that creed. I hope that the clergymen and missionaries will not come to any conclusion by reading the incomplete reports published in the papers. There is no doubt that Minister Wu, as he is popularly called, is strictly honest in his assumption that his estimate of Christianity is a compliment. It certainly is all that could be expected from an adherent of a human religio-philosophical system. But from the believer’s standpoint it is anything but complimentary. Even from the standpoint of what may be termed common logic, it is not complimentary. For a superior to set a standard for an inferior which is “too elevated” for him to follow, is not only unreasonable, but it is unjust. We have read of an ancient monarch who posted all his decrees in public places, ostensibly for the information of the people; but he was careful to have them posted so high that it was impossible for them to read them. Then all violators had to suffer the penalty. That this was barbarous injustice, will not be disputed by any sane person. Now if Christianity were set before the world on this principle, it would be but a mockery of the doomed race. True, the Christian’s standard, “the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” is beyond the reach of sinful man in himself; but He who set the standard does not expect the sinner to attain thereto in his own strength. Therefore, with the standard there comes the proffer of the necessary assistance. To him who will accept the help in simple faith, the perfect life is no longer an impossibility. “Without Me, ye can do nothing,” says the Saviour; but, by the same Spirit, the apostle Paul is led to say, “I can do all things thru Christ which strengtheneth me.” To say of Christ that He has set before the sinner a crown of life suspended so high that he can not reach it, is not a compliment. Altho made unwittingly by Minister Wu, it is a charge of folly and deception. God is always the same. Men have changed; nations have changed; the earth has changed; mountains have changed. God has not changed. “His righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.” “His mercy endureth forever.” There have been “differences of administration, but the same Lord.” If He ministered summary punishment thru men under the theocracy, as recorded in Exodus 32, He was no less merciful then than now. If He seems to bear longer with men now than He did then, it is not because He is more merciful now than He was then. As truly as the sin of that age was punished, so surely will the sin of this age be. “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under [on the word of] two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” We may not see the death of Zimri this side of the crucifixion, but we witness the awful death of Herod. We may not see the burning of Nadab and Abihu, but we witness the awful judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. Sin is death. Righteousness is life. The changeless Creator and Redeemer has always longed to save men to righteousness. And, as ever of old, He is “mighty to save.” SOMETHING FOR SUNDAY PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT.
THERE has come to our table, through the kindness of a friend, a copy of the Catholic Press, of Sydney, New South Wales, “the leading Catholic paper of Australia.” In it is an article on “Rampant Sabbatarianism,” by which the writer refers to those zealous Sunday-keepers who are endeavouring to enforce a stricter observance of Sunday. After his contention that it would be counter to common sense and religion to prohibit amusements on Sunday, he continues as follows:— “But there is something still wanting to a full statement of the untenable position taken up by those sticklers for ‘sabbath’ [Sunday] observance. What right, anyhow, have these gentlemen as Protestants to lay down the law as to what is to be done or not done on Sunday? Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. If the ‘Bible and the Bible only is the religion of Protestants,’ if ‘whatever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby’ has no claim on their faith or observance, what scrap of title can they show for all their dogmatic insistence as to the requirements of the Lord’s day? From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first. Thus Sunday observance is an incongruous adjunct of the Protestant faith, utterly out of keeping with its fundamental principle, and strongly suggests a religion that suffered sadly from too much hurry in the making. If any Sabbatarian wants to know the proper method of spending the Sunday, the Catholic Church is the natural source to apply to for information. Under her direction the Sunday supplanted the Jewish Sabbath, and she is, therefore, the best fitted to settle any dispute as to its claims. She has no sympathy with a Puritan or Scotch sabbath, and still less with the ‘Continental Sunday’ of German Lutherans and French infidels. She forbids all servile work, and requires the day to be devoted to public prayer and worship and hearing the Word of God; but, these duties fulfilled, she has no objection to such hours as remain being employed in any form of innocent outdoor amusement. This is the true view of Sunday observance, and it is the view that is bound to prevail.” Of course, this only states what many students of Sabbath lore know, and what Catholics have stated again and again. The sum of the matter is that there are but two ultimate results in this Sabbath controversy,—the seventh-day Sabbath of the Bible, the Rest-day of Christ, or the Sunday of tradition and Roman Catholicism. Which, reader, do you prefer? This world is filling up with murderers. If you doubt it, look at any daily paper, and see how many it records each day. This world is full of suicides, and if you doubt this, go to the records and see for yourself. Suicides are the result of disappointments, and distresses, and evils, that drive men to the despair of committing self-destruction, rather than to face what is before them in life. Then who can estimate the woe and misery that exist, and that are constantly on the increase, in order to produce such a large array of suicides? And since these suicides are continually on the increase, who will venture to tell what will be the end of the evil that they foreshadow? There are multitudes of highwaymen and all sorts and classes of pilfering thieves committing their depredations day and night. These criminals are growing bolder and bolder. In business circles there is a constantly-increasing amount of embezzlements, defalcations, and trickeries. The insane craze for money is tearing men away from the standard of integrity. The political institutions, and particularly the government of our large cities, are under the control of political bosses, and it is generally known that these bosses control things in the interest of “boodle.” It is not the interest of the populace that is considered, but the interest is all in the direction of the money that can be extorted or embezzled thru the holding of official positions. The amassing of great wealth is creating a strong and bitter feeling between the laborer and the capitalist. This question must come up for settlement some day before long, and when that time is fully reached, it will be a day of terror. The amassing of wealth, and the improvements of the age, are bringing in a desire for the indulgence in luxuries that are debasing and enervating. The whole tendency of them is to weaken and destroy. This amassing of wealth, and the consequent weakening and debasing effects of luxury, are not a thing of this country alone, but the world over is in the same condition. This spirit of luxury and ease that comes with great wealth, is not confined to the worldly people either, but those who profess to be the followers of Him who had not where to lay His head, are taking the lead in the luxurious establishment of their places of worship, and in their manner of living. But little difference may be seen between the professed church and the world in this respect. This condition of things existing in the church, it is not at all surprising that the pulpits of the land are too silent altogether upon the evils of this time. There are some conspicuous exceptions to this rule, but the great majority of the ministers are saying that there is no danger, and that the world is growing better and climbing higher. But their senses, unless they are stupefied by their present luxurious surroundings, would tell them that the world is tottering along the ragged and crumbling edge of a chasm of revolution and distress that will end in destruction. The history of wealth, when it is given to the pleasures and gratifications of luxury, is that it always is a great breeder of vice. This vice may be veneered with what passes for polish and brilliancy, but it is a hideous monster, like an ugly, internal cancer, that is eating away the life. To all of the foregoing social evils must be added the international difficulties that are keeping the nations of the world on the verge of war continually. War is in the very air. All the countries on the face of the whole earth are working to their fullest tension in preparing every deadly engine of death that they can invent. And everybody can see that a world-wide war is inevitable. It is bound to come, and it can not be long delayed. The foregoing is an enumeration of a few of the facts in regard to the actual condition of things in the world to-day. As you read them over, you will think of many other things that are not mentioned, in regard to the appalling condition that actually and unmistakably exists in the world at the present time. Now let us seriously ask the question, When you see the condition of things as they really are in the world at the present time, can you honestly say to yourself, or to anybody else, that the world is getting better? Is it not unmistakably and palpably plain that it is getting worse and worse, and that, too, at an appallingly rapid rate? In this connection, hear what the Lord of heaven and earth has to say in regard to it Himself. He says, “Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:13. That statement from the Lord is plain. Any one can understand its meaning. It holds out no promise that the world will get better. And there is not another scripture in all the Bible that is out of harmony with this verse. The doctrine of a temporal millennium, in which the people of the world will all become good, is not a Bible doctrine. And those who honestly teach it should study the Word of God to find the real truth. The Lord has foretold the evil that is coming upon this world, because of the sins that men persist in committing, and the time is not far distant when it will have to be destroyed because of wickedness. The Lord foretells the destruction that is coming, in order that men may escape from it. But it is impossible for you to make the escape if you are deluded by the idea that the world is getting better, when, in fact, it is on the brink of destruction, because of its sins. Now is the time to get ready for the crash that is coming. Are you doing it? And are you doing all you can to give the warning to others? “REIGN OF VICE.”
By C. Winfield Richmond
Thus reads the heading of a column article in the Boston Globe of November 19, and the subhead adds, “More Evident in Chicago Than Ever Before.” The mayor of Chicago, thru the chief of police, issued an order to the effect that all saloons in the Harrison-Street police district which are frequented by women, should be closed at midnight Saturday. This order was issued at 2 P.M. on that day. No sooner had the order been passed than “vigorous objections were raised by the keepers of the dives affected by the order.” “Politicians rushed to the mayor’s office,” and speedily brought the mayor to “their way of thinking;” for “these politicians have certain privileges with which even the mayor may not meddle.” At 4 P.M. went forth a second order countermanding the first decree—the mayor could not withstand the “howl of protest,” and the dive-keepers and politicians had gained the day. Such a state of municipal affairs is exceedingly deplorable, and could but result in the way it did. “After midnight the effect of this second order was plainly visible on the levee. The noise and shouting of drunken men and women was even louder than before. A conservative estimate placed the number of women on the levee Saturday night at 4,000. In Tuckhorn’s saloon at Van Buren and State Streets, there were 200 women sitting at the tables, drinking, at 1 A.M. Most of these women are well known to the police, as they have been arrested scores of times for robbery and other crimes.” “There are 300 saloons in the 22d precinct police district, and out of this number 200 are all-night places, which are frequented by thousands of women whose livelihood is gained by robbing the unwary. ‘This place is a thousand times worse than even Paris, with all its vice,’ said a policeman who had visited nearly every large city in the world. ‘Why, in Paris,’ he continued, ‘the authorities would not countenance such open debauchery right in the heart of the city’s main thoroughfares.’” This is the condition of one of the largest cities of a so-called Christian nation. Such a reign of terror far eclipses the outrageous deeds of the ancient Romans, and surely does not presage the long-looked-for, long-sought-for millennium. And yet how clearly and vividly God’s Word portrays the picture! “Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity can not enter.” Isa. 59: 14. “The good man is perished out of the earth; and there is none upright among men; they all lie in9wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.” They “do evil with both hands earnestly. . . . The day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.” Micah 7:2-4. To the student of prophecy these facts are very significant. They call upon people of God to awake to a realizing sense of the situation. The worst is yet to come. The dark midnight of sin is around us now; “but joy cometh in the morning.” THE SALOON IN MANILA.
By C. M. S.
THERE has been much discussion in the press of the country in regard to the status of the liquor traffic in the Philippines. There have been apologists for the course of the government in the matter, and there have been strong denunciations of the law-fostered curse as it exists there, and “facts and figures” have been made to do duty on both sides of the question. But in the official statement issued by the War Department, and based on the annual report of the Department of Licenses and Municipal Revenues of Manila, we have something definite from which to judge of the liquor traffic there. According to that report, the number of liquor licenses issued for Manila was 167, of which 12 have been canceled, leaving 155 still operative. This number does not include the places where the native drinks are sold. Neither is the sale of the native beverages prohibited; for, according to the report, “the natives have drunk this liquor for generations, and it has not been thought best to prohibit the use of it by them.” Thus the American saloon is not a substitute for the native drinking places, but is an addition to them. Instead of removing the curse which they already had, the army of civilization has fastened upon the Filipinos a worse one than they had previously known. According to this showing, the situation is fully as dark as it has been pictured, and this incubus on civilization is as ponderous there as any had ever charged. Referring to this matter, the Christian Work declares that the government “will stand condemned by the country for this establishment of the saloon as the offering of American civilization to the natives of Manila.” C. M. S.