Earlier text: Dangers of Meddling with ItPRINCIPLE OR EXPEDIENCY IN SATURDAY-KEEPING.
The following from the Christian Guardian of Toronto will be of interest to the reader:— A British Columbia Sunday.
We have received a communication from the West stating the following facts, and asking the Guardian to offer advice on the questions involved:— In this Province the mines are generally operated on Sunday. In this section every mine runs on Sunday just the same as on any other day, and people generally pay little regard to the observance of the Sabbath. Many of those who thus work are Methodist officials and members of our church, local preachers, stewards, trustees, etc. The plea is, “If we do not work, we must quit.” Do you think the plea justifiable? Is there any difference between the man who says he is compelled to work, and the one who works of his own accord? Is Sunday observance largely a matter of conscience? What constitutes a member of the Methodist Church? We understand that in British Columbia there is no provincial statute on the matter of Sabbath work. There they have what is known as the “Municipal Clauses Act,” which gives power to the municipality to enact a by-law to regulate the work of the Sabbath, but, as far as we know, the companies have it all their own way, and no doubt the law, or the lack of a Sunday law, is the outcome of the influence of the companies in the Legislative Assembly of that Province. On this account the civil court can not help those who are righteously indignant at the flagrant and unnecessary desecration of the Lord’s day. But when it comes to a question of the obligation of a member of the Methodist Church, the case takes on a very different aspect, for there we have the law on the side of righteousness. There is but one question in such a case, and into it there may come the element of personal conscience. Is it a work of mercy, or a work of necessity? The answer to this question must decide the case; for if working in the mines is neither, then there is but one course to pursue in the case of those who violate the commandment. But it can not be a work either of mercy or necessity to remain in the employ of a company who demands that the commands of God be violated. The answer will be that it is necessary in order to support the family; but this argument would apply in a hundred cases where the law is prohibitory. The butcher and the baker might say the same thing, and the people who gave up their lives in the early days of the Christian era could have advanced such an argument with a hundred-fold more force than in the case of those who hold a job and don’t wish to look for another. There is, of course, the tremendous influence of circumstances to be taken into account, and those who are placed in the positions cited in the above communication should have the sympathy of all. Work at good wages is not picked up every day, and the father who has the responsibility of providing for a large family of young children is asked to make a tremendous effort to turn his back on the only way in sight to meet the claims upon him. But when it comes to the question of what a Christian should do, and “What would Jesus do?” were He in the same place, the path is as clear as the light of God can make anything. The days of the heroes are not yet past, and the hero of the future is to be, not the man of physical prowess, but the one who exercises moral courage in the common ways of life, where the battle is as bitter, and the manhood needed of as noble a quality, as that which won on the fields of blood, or even in the fires of martyrdom. A man can be neither a member of the Methodist Church, nor a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, who considers the law of expediency, when it stands directly opposed to the distinct commands of the Word of God and His church. We have not attempted to answer the above questions in a categorical way, as we deem it necessary only to look at the matter from a point of view which will touch it on every side. As to what constitutes a member of the Methodist Church, we think the Discipline gives a most conclusive answer, but no self-respecting person will remain in the church while he is living in violation of the commandments of God. The above questions, with one possible exception, are nobly answered. That exception is found in the first words which we have italicised. Does the editor mean that the civil court should help this class, or that the people are right in demanding such help? In the second expression italicised he seems to draw a contrast between a civil law and the law of the church, calling the latter “the law on the side of ‘righteousness.’” Does he mean to imply that in the case a civil Sunday law existed, it would not be on “the side of righteousness”? If so, he is on the side of truth. No civil law for upholding religious dogmas, however sacredly regarded, but is used on the side of unrighteousness,—an oppressor of conscience, a maker of hypocrites, an instrument of persecution, a curse to the church and true religion. And those people “righteously indignant” at Sabbath desecration, who would use such a law to compel people to act as tho they believed in it, need no such help. Perhaps the editor believed that the law, in recognizing no Sunday, is on the unrighteous side. If so, he has never learned the rightful province of civil law. He has stated the living truth of all ages in the third expression we have italicised. It is only so that character is made. It is only such characters that can mold the world for good. Why demand civil law to compel men to do duty to God? Is not God as able now to develop men as in the past? The grandest, sublimest eras of the church were when she was true to principle in the midst of the fiercest temptation, with no human law to aid her; and the worst days through which she ever passed—from the time of Constantine to the Dark Ages—were when she was hedged in by human law on every side, and became a harlot. Those days are being rapidly repeated. May we not ask our brother a few questions: (1) What is the command of God concerning the Sabbath? (2) Would those who had His law established in the heart by faith ever ask for a human law? (3) Is it not because divine law and moral fiber are wanting that human law is demanded? (4) What hope is there in the arm of flesh? 1171. The Great Round World.
(1) In circumnavigating the globe one way, a day is lost, and the other way a day is gained; what is the cause of this? (2) What is the custom on board a ship with the day lost or gained, when circumnavigating the globe? (3) Has the day lost or gained any effect on the days in the week, or on the date only, like the changing from the Old Style to the New Style of reckoning time? O. J. S. Apparently the sun revolves around the earth from east to west once in twenty-four hours. It passes over fifteen degrees of the 360 into which the earth is divided in one hour of time. If one travels around the world with the sun, he apparently gains time in proportion to the space passed over. For instance, if he traveled over fifteen degrees of space, in round numbers a thousand miles, he apparently gains one hour of time. In other words, he has lengthened the day one hour by keeping one hour longer with the sun. If he should keep that up for twenty-four days, he would have extended each day an hour. Tho losing nothing in actual time, he would be a day ahead of where he was when he started, as the days are named in the week. If he were traveling eastward at the same rate, he would lose an hour, or be with the sun an hour less each day; and in twenty-four days would lose twenty-four hours, or a whole day. In the first case he would set his time back one day, in the second he would drop a day. 2. A traveler on board ship and otherwise in journeying westward, if he came to the usual place of the change on Tuesday, would call the next day Tuesday. In traveling eastward, if he came to the place of change on Tuesday, he would call the next day Thursday. Or he could add or drop a part of each of two days. Both Providence and custom have fixed this place of change in the Pacific Ocean. From the east coast of Asia to the west coast of America the traveler east or west finds himself in harmony with all the people in the count of the days of the week. But crossing the Pacific Ocean westward, ships add a day; in crossing eastward, they drop a day. 3. But the day of the week and the date are affected thereby. If the traveler should obstinately stick to his own time, it would put him out with all the rest of the world. But if he keeps himself in harmony with providential and everyday facts, he has no trouble whatever about losing or gaining days, or observing any day he wishes. NOT FEDERATION, BUT UNITY.
THE Southern Review says: “The national ‘congress of the Disciples of Christ, lately held ‘at Lexington, Ky., appointed a committee of ‘seven to take charge of a movement in behalf of an ‘international confederation of religious denominations. According to this scheme, the different religious bodies are to retain their own creeds, but will ‘be auxiliary to an international congress, and will ‘affiliate with all other churches on a common platform. The ultimate aim is to create an international ‘church.” The Christian Work says that “this ‘movement is the first of its kind in America, and is ‘in line with the wide-spread tendency toward church federation and church unity, and with the rapidly ‘growing spirit of internationalism in literature, social ‘reform, and art.” A church, or a federation of churches, that is “in ‘line’ with anything but the “commandments of ‘God and the faith of Jesus” is not the church of Christ. His church is world-wide, but it is not a federation of widely-differing bodies. It is “one ‘body,” of which Christ is the head. True, there are “many members” in the one body, but they are individuals, and not varying organizations. “We, being ‘many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” See Rom. 12: 4, 5. In this body there is an entire mutuality of interest on the part of the members. No one has any separate or selfish interest to be built up without reference to the welfare of all the others. There is no jealousy or envy between them. See 1 Cor. 12. “There is one ‘body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one ‘hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” etc. Eph. 4: 5. This is not a confederation of diverse faiths and baptisms. It is one, even as the Father and Son are one. Christian Work says that “a confederated church ‘. . . involves a return to the early apostolic ‘church.” But a “confederated church” never can be anything but a number of churches joined together. Confederation implies a union of separate interests to gain some special advantage. But the church of Christ is a body of members having one interest9in which all self-interest is absorbed. The member has no interest aside from the interest of the body. The Word of God is designed to bring all the members to the unity of the faith. It does not teach diverse doctrines to be confederated. Some of these diverse beliefs are erroneous. Whatever is not according to the Word is false, and not until that which is false is segregated from the various bodies can they become a truly united church—united in the faith of Christ. Christ is not divided (1 Cor. 1:13), and His kingdom is not a federation. His work is one of atonement, reconciling men to God, that they may be at one with Him. To this end the members must be at one with each other. There can be no covert dissension in His body. “He gave some, apostles; ‘and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and ‘some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the ‘saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying ‘of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity ‘of the faith”—not in the federation of varying organizations holding and teaching antagonistic theories of faith. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers never would bring the members of the one body into the unity of the one faith by propagating diverse theories and striving to build up opposing interests. “A house divided against itself can ‘not stand.’” THE Outlook of September 7, in referring to the large number of recent lynchings, in many of which the victims have been burned at the stake, declares that we are in the midst of an “epidemic of savagery.” We have hitherto read with horror the accounts of Indian savagery, in which burning at the stake was the portion of the white captive; and we have fondly contrasted our own civilization with such atrocious deeds to show how the race was forging ahead, how we had outgrown the instincts of the barbarous races. “To-day,” says the Outlook, “the communities where these ‘horrors occur preserve as mementoes the evidences ‘of their savagery, and newspapers all over the ‘country treat the details as a sensation, and not as ‘a disgrace.’” This epidemic of lynching in its most terrible form is not restricted to the South. It is a disease that is spreading persistently and with rapid strides into localities where formerly it had been looked upon with distress and shame. The journal above quoted finds what it considers a hopeful feature of the present distressing situation in the fact that clear-sighted men in the localities where lynchings are most frequent have come to realize that the terrible vengeance of the lynchers does not tend to reduce the number of the shameful crimes committed; but where lynchings have been most numerous, such crimes have increased. Newspapers in those sections have begun to work against the lynching sentiment. While newspapers and clear-sighted men recognize that lynchings increase crime by brutalizing the participants and spectators, we are not in a position to predict, on this account, the staying of that rising tide. This is not because we refuse to see hope where there is hope; but because the whole tendency of the times is against it. More and more frequently we hear the expression, “The one ‘who did that act deserves lynching;” or, “Lynching ‘is too good for him.” Recently a minister of the Gospel declared from the pulpit, while speaking of the assassination of President McKinley, that this affair had almost converted him into an advocate of lynch law. When the discourse was finished, the pastor stepped down from the pulpit, and stated to members of his congregation that if he had been there with a pistol, he would have “blown the ‘scoundrel to atoms.” These remarks only show how the people are imbibing the lynching spirit, how insistent is that spirit in gaining control over the feelings of the populace. The feeling of horror for the crime turns into revengeful wrath for the perpetrator of the crime; and with vengeance in the saddle, passion is spurred on to a red crime against the criminal and the law; respect for the law is flung to the winds—the law is too tame to satisfy the fiery appetite—and the savage dominates and gloats in the lurid expiation. Community after community has denounced lynching, only to resort to it itself when some heinous crime has been committed against one of its members. It is the crime that “touches us” that stirs up the lynching fever, and puts into the heart of the members of any locality the spirit to “take the law into ‘their own hands,’ or rather to take the breaking of it into their own hands. The great number of such acts that have occurred within the last year, shows a general disintegration of respect for law among the masses. They show also the fearful fact that the people in general do not now look upon such deeds with the measure of horror they did a few years ago. The Nashville American says, “The thoughtful must ‘shudder as they contemplate this downward drift;’” and then asks, “Where will it end?” The San Francisco Chronicle (usually conservative) of September 9, in an editorial dealing with the exultations of anarchists over the shooting of the president, declares that such anarchists should be “rounded up ‘by the police;” but that “if there is no law to ‘accomplish this, then some amateur reformers ‘should see to it that such foul utterances are ‘checked’”—a plain intimation that a mob should take the matter into its hands without regard to law. Thus is instilled into the populace the spirit of the mob and the lynching bee, and the tide is setting strongly toward the shore. As has been pointed out in these columns again and again, this is one of the indications of the approaching end—a time when the spirits of devils were to work their wonders in the earth, stirring up strife, contention of every kind, wickedness of every kind, jealousy, hatred, and war. We can not fail to recognize the time; for on the great clock of history the hands are pointing to the hour of strife. In such a time as this the Christian must be sober, vigilant, and watch unto prayer. He must be “swift to hear, ‘slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man ‘worketh not the righteousness of God.’” James 1: 19, 20. S. “THE EARTH WAS FILLED WITH VIOLENCE.”
THE following we clip from a daily paper, the Enquirer of this city, which bears at the head of its editorial page the union label. It will not therefore be said that it is against organized labor. We believe, from what we have heard from various sources, that the reports are true. This is from the Enquirer of September 17; we give headlines and all:— Five Hundred Brutal Street Assaults.
Black Side of San Francisco Strike is Revealed in Statistics Collected by the Police.
San Francisco, September 17.—Some statistics compiled by Captain Seymour, chief of the detective service, do not bear out the statement that the present strike has been a peaceful one. On the contrary, probably not less than five hundred people have been brutally beaten, bruised, and maimed, probably some of them for life, by the strikers and their sympathizers. This report is considered very conservative; for it is acknowledged that for every single case coming to the notice of the police and the hospital people, there are at least half a dozen which are never heard of. Last night was almost a record-breaker at both jail and hospital. Cases came in quick succession, and the hospital attendants were kept busy until late this morning. One man named Murray, who was beaten at Third and Mission Streets, is seriously injured, and will, without doubt, die. During the month, from the middle of August until the middle of September, there were fifty-four cases taken to the receiving hospital, in which men had received broken limbs, bruises, and cuts, due to riots among the strikers. The police department is somewhat discouraged by the attitude taken by the police judges, who have made a practice of giving all the strikers the benefits of every possible doubt. It is the opinion of the police authorities,—that is to say, of those confident enough to speak,—that the strike would have ended several weeks ago if the strikers had been permitted to have their own way; but certain influences have asserted that they will maintain the strike just as long as there is a possibility of their winning, in order that they may be able to carry out their program. Many times teamsters have told the police that they were willing to go to work if they were permitted to do so, but the matter seems to be in the hands of manipulators, instead of individuals, and therefore the men are helpless. A great many men have declared their willingness and desire to go back to work if they could be given adequate protection, but the long list of victims of the strikers’ brutality has caused them to decide to remain on strike, thus placing in the hands of the strikers the strongest weapon they could have—fear of its members. The work of the police department during the past two months has been fully four times greater than it is normally at this time of year. This is all due to the prevalence of the strike. There is some doubt in certain cases regarding the miscreants who perpetrate the crimes that are reported nightly, and the strikers maintain that they are thugs who have come here, encouraged by the thought that the police are so busy protecting property and the non-union men, that they have no time to watch the other things, and that this will give a good chance for burglaries, hold-ups, and crimes of that nature. On the other hand, the police deny that this is the case, and say that there are no more of this class in the city at the present time than is usual, and that it is only a subterfuge of the strikers to divert attention from the real cause of disturbance—the strike. To sum the matter up, it was said at the Central Police Station this morning, that when the politicians call the strike off, it will be ended. San Francisco, September 17.—William T. Sullivan, a teamster, died at St. Luke’s Hospital this morning, from the effects of gunshot wounds received on September 5. On this day there was a riot on the water-front, between strikers and non-union men, and Sullivan received one of the shots. It is a sad day in America when a man can not enter any legal employment on an agreement between himself and employer without risk to life and limb from attacks by fellow-workmen. This very spirit has been fostered by intolerance of nomenclature. No one objects to a man joining a union if he wishes. He may be no worse for it; it is doubtful if he is any better. There were just as good men as ever lived before the “union” existed. Why should an honest, intelligent working man be called a “scab” because he does not wish to join? If he prefers to stand alone, has he not the right? Otherwise there is involuntary slavery. If one will not be convinced or persuaded by a thousand, they have no right to coerce or compel. We may pity him; but Christianity and manhood will gladly recognize his right to dissent. Violence, such as San Francisco has known the last few weeks, is but a form of lawlessness or anarchy. In an address September 19, at Palo Alto, Stanford University, President David Star Jordan truly said:— Under democracy all violence is treason. Whosoever throws a stone at a “scab” teamster, whosoever fires a shot at the president of the United States, is an enemy of the republic. He is guilty of high treason in his heart, and treason in thought works itself out in lawlessness of action.
But all these acts of violence are but rapidly coming to be the fulfilment of Christ’s words: “As the ‘days of Noah were, so also shall the coming of the ‘Son of man be.’” Matt. 24: 37. In the days of Noah, “the earth also was corrupt before God, and ‘the earth was filled with violence.’” Gen. 6: 11. Christ Jesus the Lord is coming, not in spirit, not in proxy; but in the overpowering glory of His burning presence. Are you ready to receive Him? An Appeal for Protection.
ARCHIBALD, O., is a town that boasts that “No ‘nigger can live there.’” The place is eighteen miles west of Toledo. George Morgan, a young colored man, went to the city and appealed to the United States marshal for protection. He was turned over to the attorney-general, who advised him to appeal to the sheriff. But he had already done so, and had been advised to move out of the town. He could secure no promise of protection from any authority. He has done nothing wrong, and proposes to remain in spite of the objection to his race. The existence of such towns and people almost makes one long for the short, sharp, and decisive work of a despotism. That, however, would be like leaping out of scattered frying pans into Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. A man who unconsciously acts, under the influence of prejudice, to the detriment of a fellow-man is a fanatic. One who does it consciously is a sinner, and, if he invades vested rights, a criminal. Renewed Fighting in South Africa
THERE has been a spirited renewal of the fighting in South Africa. The proclamations of General Kitchener seem to have had practically no effect in reducing the opposition of the Boers. In fact, it is claimed that matters in Cape Colony are in a precarious condition; that many of the colonists are aiding the Boers in a material way. Several small engagements have occurred during the week. At Sheeper’s Nek, on September 17, the Boers surrounded a British detachment, killed 16, wounded 30, and captured 150 men and 3 guns. At Elands River Port the British lost 23 killed and 31 wounded. The Boer loss in this encounter is said to have been large, but is not given. The forces of General Botha are again invading Natal. It is asserted that in case General Kitchener carries out his threat of banishment, the Boers will make reprisals upon the English who fall into their hands. At Vlakfontein the Boers have captured a company of mounted infantry with two guns. On September 20, an engagement took place on the Orange River, near Herschel, in which the British lost heavily. Their loss included the colonel in command, a captain, and an adjutant. The British have captured two Boer commandos and 94 men. The losses of the men in the field and the activity of the Boers is causing the British Government much anxiety. The press of England is urging the government to greater exertions for the suppression of the Boers. PRACTICAL war has been declared between two of the greatest railroad interests in the country. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, backed by the Vanderbilt interests, has demanded of the Gould railroads the surrender of the Wabash Railway system and the Wheeling and Lake Erie system at a price which will net a profit to the Goulds; but under threat that if the demand is refused, the Western Union Telegraph Company will be cut off from the entire Pennsylvania Railroad system as well as from the Vanderbilt lines. In case the penalty for refusal is imposed, it will mean the greatest blow the Western Union Telegraph Company has ever received. It will lose many of its most profitable lines, which will be turned over to its great rival, the Postal Telegraph Company. The whole purpose of this railway war is to cut off competition, and make more secure upon the masses the hold of the money power. THE immigration records show that during the first seven months of 1901 there came to this country from Europe 314,043 persons, and that three out of every four of them came from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, where Nihilism, or anarchy, is most active. The immigration from Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland, which formerly was much larger than from these countries, has now fallen to a very low figure, they having sent only 38,000 all told during the months above mentioned. Congress, at its next session, is expected to pass laws rigidly restricting immigration from those countries where anarchy flourishes. THE real spirit of the times was well illustrated at Spring Valley, Illinois, on September 22, when twenty anarchists armed with double-barreled shotguns stood guard over the office of an anarchist paper, and citizens of adjoining towns were volunteering their services to come to Spring Valley and assist in exterminating the “reds.” The paper referred to had expressed joy at the murder of President McKinley, and satisfaction over the announcement that Czolgosz was an anarchist. Thus goes on the work of preparing strife and increasing the perplexity of the nations. THE alliance between France and Russia was renewed at Bethang, France, on September 21, when the czar and the French president pledged the friendship and alliance of the two powers. Germany and England look upon the matter not as an offensive alliance, but one of friendship only, and profess not to look for any marked results of the incident. While in France, the czar witnessed a review of 140,000 French troops. The spectacle was an imposing one, designed to impress the Russian with the power of the French army. THE Lehigh Valley Coal Company, on account of the recent strike, has demanded that all its firemen, engineers, fire bosses, blacksmiths, carpenters, and driver bosses, pay up in full their dues to the labor organizations to which they belong, and resign at once. The order also states that their withdrawal cards will be collected not later than October 17, and any employe not having one will be discharged. THE trial of Leon F. Czolgosz, the assassin of President McKinley, was concluded at Buffalo on September 24, eighteen days from the day on which he fired the fatal shots. The trial consumed eight hours and twenty-six minutes, covering only portions of two days. The verdict declared him guilty of murder in the first degree. Sentence will be pronounced on September 26. THE last of the allies have now marched out of Peking, and the city is again entirely under Chinese control. The Chinese in Shantung are demanding the withdrawal of all German troops outside the colony of Kiaochau. The Germans are unwilling to comply with this demand, and the Chinese officials have referred the matter to the German minister at Peking. IN a railway collision which occurred at Palota, Hungary, on September 22, thirty-two persons lost their lives. A passenger train collided with a petroleum train. The petroleum cars were demolished, and the petroleum, catching fire, burned alive those of the victims who were not killed outright. It was described by those who witnessed it as a most terrible affair. MANY thousands of dollars are being staked upon the two yachts, Columbia and Shamrock II., the date for whose first sailing contest is September 26. The money that will be won and lost on this contest is but another indication of the prevalence of the gambling spirit, the prevalence of the spirit of the world, or the spirit of him who now rules in the children of disobedience. A WELL-DRESSED Russian anarchist was forbidden permission to land from the steamer at Philadelphia on September 23. He had sailed from Liverpool, and information concerning him had been telegraphed the immigration authorities at Philadelphia. It is expected that from now on the government will prohibit the immigration of all anarchists known to be such. THE large majority of the steel strikers have now returned to work, but President Shaffer refuses to issue a statement of the terms of the settlement of the strike. The strike was one of endurance, and the employers could endure longer than the strikers. It is conceded that the strike was a failure, so far as the demands of the strikers are concerned. REPORTS from Central America indicate that a battle of considerable importance was recently fought between the Colombian troops and the rebels, assisted by Venezuelans. The advices are not definite in regard to the number killed and injured in the engagement. The rebels were led into a trap by the government troops. THE Commercial Pacific Cable Company was incorporated at Albany, N. Y., on September 23. The company intends to begin work at once on a cable from San Francisco to Manila, Japan, and China, by way of the Hawaiian Islands. It is proposed by the officers of the company to have the cable to Hawaii working within nine months. A DESPATCH from Cuba states that Thomas Estrada Palma will be a candidate for the presidency of the Cuban Republic, receiving the indorsement of all the political factions of the island. It is believed that he will be elected with an overwhelming majority. His platform has been accepted by the Cuban leaders by a vote of 23 to 2. A REPORT from Brussels states that an international anti-anarchist conference is soon to convene at Berne. Provisions are now being made at Washington to have the secret-service men in the employ of the government begin an active crusade against the anarchists, just as they are now employed to run down counterfeiters. OFFICERS and men of Aguinaldo’s bodyguard have at last surrendered to the Americans. Aguinaldo confines himself closely to the dwelling allotted to him, fearing assassination at the hands of the adherents of the late General Luna, for whose death Aguinaldo is held responsible. ENGLAND’S swift torpedo-boat destroyer, the Cobra, which has made phenomenal speed on all her trials, broke in two and sank off the English coast near Great Grimsby, on September 18. The major part of the crew went down with the vessel, 67, all told, losing their lives. TWO tugs arrived in San Francisco Bay September 17 from the mouth of the Columbia River, towing a huge log raft 625 feet in length, 60 feet broad, and 32 feet deep. The raft contains 520,000 lineal feet of piling, or about 7,200,000 feet board measure. THE body of President McKinley was laid to rest in the cemetery at Canton, Ohio, on September 19. In every city, and in nearly every town, memorial ceremonies were held on that day, which had been set apart as a national day of mourning. BY A decision recently rendered by Judge M. M. Estee, in the Federal Court of Hawaii, the Constitution followed the flag to those islands at least. The judge, in this decision, overrules the decision of the Supreme Court of Hawaii. THE cable survey for the submarine cable between Australia and Vancouver has now been completed from Adelaide, Australia, to the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands, the cable passing within 200 miles of those islands. LATEST advices from Canton, Ohio, indicate that the health of Mrs. McKinley is slowly improving, so that she is able to take frequent drives in the open air. THE great sugar trust recently increased its capital from $75,000,000 to $90,000,000. The purpose of this increase of capital is not stated by the trust. A CHEMICAL analysis of the bullets in the revolver used by the assassin Czolgosz shows that they were not poisoned, as at first supposed. THE entire cabinet of President McKinley has accepted the invitation of President Roosevelt to retain their portfolios of office. THE transport Grant arrived at San Francisco from Manila on September 18, bringing 977 passengers,—civilians and soldiers. RUSSIA is said to have recently concluded a loan of one billion francs. PROTESTANT FEDERATION IN ITALY.
THERE has been a deal of talk of late years over federation of the Protestant churches in various lines, and the last year or so considerable has been accomplished in this direction. Often it is demanded economically. In many localities from two to a half-dozen of small denominational branches, differing in creed, tho not in essentials, occupy a field that could as well or better be worked by one. It has been a “pious desire” for years in Italy to federate, and recently a conference of representatives of the Waldensian Baptists, Methodists, and other churches was held in Rome, at which an international committee was appointed, with headquarters in Rome. According to the Independent, while many details have not been decided, the following in general have been mapped out: (1) Division of work among the different denominations, consisting in the establishment of new stations, but also restriction and concentration where different churches have been interfering with each other; (2) publication of handbooks in the interests of missions, such as catechisms, hymn books, etc.; (3) maintaining a publishing concern for the publication of religious journals and of a general daily; (4) direction of the individuals engaged in the mission work; (5) management of the social work, such as aid and charitable societies. The worst feature of this is that the good there is in it will become evil, because it hides the better—Christian union in Christ Jesus, that union which will break all middle walls of partition, and make Christ Jesus and His life the bond of union, and His Word, uninterpreted by the human, the only creed. With this federation there will ever be a strong temptation to use the organization for political influence and power, and so lead the church along Roman lines. And when the Protestant church uses Rome’s weapons to fight error, she will ever find herself defeated by Rome; and in doing this she departs from the very principles which gave her existence and life, and dies. In other words, she by thus doing announces herself a daughter of Babylon. Would to God we could see more unity, and less federation. THAT’S WHAT I’M HERE FOR.
It was the uniformed young porter who said it, as he smiled pleasantly on the woman whose bundles he had started to carry for her. The station was full of travelers, hurrying to and from their trains, but the porter was not in the least hurried. He was quiet, ready, helpful; and he found a seat for the woman in the right car, and repeated, as she thanked him for his trouble, “That’s what I’m here for, madam, all ‘day long; just to see that people get aboard all ‘right.’” Then he went back to the gate, and promptly helped somebody else to another train. Cheery and pleasant, he carried babies, lifted heavy bags, reassured nervous people who were afraid the train would start without them, and made himself generally helpful, hour after hour. “That’s what I’m here for.” The cheerful words carried an unconscious message. The porter’s lot was not a very pleasant one. Perhaps he, too, longed to travel away from the hot city to the sea or the woods; yet all the year round he was shut within the crowded station, with its tracks and platforms. Few thanked him for helping them, and he could hardly have been blamed if he had been a trifle cross over his work. But he had no such thought; he was there to be helpful, and his heart was in his work. The woman who had been helped to her seat by11him thought it over as the train rolled away. She was one who carried many burdens for other people, and had had few thanks. She seemed to herself to have spent her life in starting other people off where they wanted to go, and staying behind herself; and, lately, she had felt rebellious about it. But the young porter’s words started a new line of thought. “That’s ‘what I’m here for,’” she said to herself, “and it isn’t ‘my business to complain or to question. If he can ‘do his day’s work in that hearty spirit, I think I can, ‘too,” and she felt her heart lighter than for many a day. The porter did not know it, but he had preached a whole sermon in five words that afternoon.—Wellspring.