At Ligonier, Ind., Brother J. C. Harris recently baptized three candidates.
THE brethren at Logansport, Ind., have secured a lot on which to erect a house of worship, and have raised part of the money for the building.
DURING the week of prayer, four members were added to the church at Spring Valley, S. D., and others began the observance of the Sabbath.
THE new Sabbath-keepers at Mansfield, Ohio, who came out during the camp-meeting and tent-meetings last fall, are contemplating a church organization.
A NEW school building erected by the brethren at Robinson, Wis., was dedicated December 31. A new school building has also been erected at Champion, and a school is now in progress.
A CHURCH of thirteen members was organized at Powell, Ohio, November 11, by Brother H. H. Burkholder, president of the conference, and since that time eight more have accepted the faith.
THROUGH a short series of meetings at La Farge, Wis., by Brethren F. F. Petersen and M. H. Stearns, six persons have taken their stand on "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
THE Welcome Visitor notes a marked increase in the attendance at church-schools in Ohio the past year, with a very encouraging outlook. The value of the church-school as a means of giving our children a Christian education can not be overestimated, nor can the work be too widely encouraged.
ON THE evening of the 9th inst., Brethren A. O. Tait and H. H. Hall, of this office, started for Kansas City, Mo., to attend a meeting of the Central Union Conference. After that meeting Brother Tait expects to attend the meeting of the Southwestern Union Conference at Keene, Texas. From thence he will return to this coast for the Pacific Union meeting at Portland, Oregon. From the Kansas City meeting, Brother Hall will itinerate to points north in the interest of the book work. The Iowa people have him booked for attendance at their canvassers' school, to be held at Stuart in February.
IN November last, Brother B. E. Connerly baptized eight candidates at Arecibo, Porto Rico. Reporting to the New York Indicator, he says: "I am now out with the paper almost all the time, and the Lord has given us a good interest. There has never been so good a spirit in favor of our paper as we find now, and we must work while it lasts as everything seems to be governed by impulses and emotions here. To-morrow, a different spirit may arise and we be unable to do anything. So we work, doing the best we can, feeling that our best is a very little toward spreading the great message that we have to give."
FROM Dr. H. W. Miller we have received a copy of the Fuh in Hsuen Pao (The Gospel Herald) a monthly publication issued by the Seventh-day Adventist China Mission at Shang Tsai Hsien, Honan, China. The price is 25 cents a year; ten copies, $1.50. With this sample copy there came also a Chinese Sabbath Calendar for 1906. Price, 30 cents per 100, postage added, amount not stated. However it would be merely nominal, as the calendar is on light paper, 12½ by 18 inches in size. In addition to these, there was enclosed a Chinese tract on the "Immortality of the Soul." Price, 50 cents per 100. For any of these publications, address Dr. Miller as above.
IN the New York Indicator, Brother J. S. Wightman, secretary of religious liberty work, reports that "the great hue and cry in Rochester over better Sunday observance has somewhat subsided. The department [of religious liberty] has been busy in this field in a quiet and private way, to the extent that certain justices have changed their minds as to the propriety of a stricter enforcement of laws essentially religious in character." It must not be understood, however, that the "hue and cry" is down permanently; our work is one of vigilance—not to save ourselves trouble, but to warn the world of what such agitations mean. Brother Wightman further notes that "in the neighboring State of Pennsylvania there are strong signs that the conflict may be in the immediate future. The enemy is alert and active. Federal comity, National Reform, stricter Sunday laws, and kindred ideas and demands are sweeping the state like a hurricane." We are glad to note, however, that our religious liberty department in that state is also active in the matter of circulating the warning message.
OUR EXPERIENCE MEETING
"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord harkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name." Mal. 3:16.
DEAR BRETHREN: I praise the dear Lord this morning for a full and free salvation from sin, sinning, and the curse of sin, which is sickness. I praise Him for healing my body and making a new woman out of me, and for keeping me healed. I maintain this victory only through keeping low at the feet of Jesus, claiming His promises, and trusting in Him alone. And this continual holding on to the promises keeps me in such close touch with Christ the great Lifegiver. I praise Him more for this than for the healing. Praise His holy name forever. I am going on to full victory through the blood and in the name of Christ my Saviour, sanctified Healer, glorious Lord, and coming King.
Yours in the faith,
VIOLETTA CRUMP.
DEAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES: Death has taken your old friend and subscriber, John Freeman, who died Nov. 12, 1905, aged 67 years, 5 months, 24 days. He accepted the truth in 1899, and has since lived a firm and faithful believer in the Word of God. He fell asleep peacefully in full faith of a glorious resurrection. Funeral services were conducted by Elder Hardesty, a Seventh-day Adventist minister of Spiney, Kansas. A wife and five sons are left to mourn their loss.
S. E. F.
Cunningham, Kan.
DEAR BRETHREN: I came into the belief of the truth late in life, at the age of about seventy years. I have since taken the SIGNS OF THE TIMES and the Review and Herald. I look for them each week. I am now in my eighty-fifth year. I am holding to this life wonderfully, considering my condition for many years. I am trying to observe the rules of health as far as I can, by careful living and diet. My friends say I am wonderfully preserved for my age. I am a "shut-in," not being able to get out to where the brethren have gatherings, and am not able to canvass or distribute to any extent.
I am trying to observe the commandments, and my greatest anxiety is, Do I observe them in a manner that will convince the people around me that I have learned something valuable which they will desire to possess? I have no other hope than in the mercy and righteousness of Him who has called me, and I trust I have answered to that call. I rest in hope of a part with the righteous as an overcomer through the atonement, and that, with them, I will be permitted to pass through the gates into the city where there will be no more defilement.
Your brother in Christ,
CHARLES KINNEY.
East Otto, N. Y.
DEAR BRETHREN: About eight years ago, when visiting my niece in Pennsylvania, and while on our way to Sunday-school, a little boy of seven years said to me, "Do you see that white house over there, where the man is splitting wood? Well, he is not a Jew or a Christian, and never goes to Sunday-school." I said, "I'll tell you what we will do; next week we will drive over and invite them to go to Sunday-school." The little boy replied, "That will be the way to get them."
The next day I had occasion to go to the post-office, when I heard of a sick lady who needed help. I called, offered my services, and they invited me in. I assisted with the dishes, then got a little baby to sleep. The lady asked me to read to her. I saw some papers laying on the table called the SIGNS OF THE TIMES. I read some and was very much interested. It all appeared new and true to me. As I was leaving, a gentleman came in and said, "Take some of those papers with you." I said, "They are so good, I will, thank you."
As I neared home my niece came to meet me, and said, "Do not bring those papers to our house; my husband will destroy them." I said, "I'll lock them in my trunk, and we will read them on Sunday afternoons in the apple orchard." The boy inquired if I told the people we would call for them on Sunday. I said, "I forgot to tell them."
The next week I went home to New York. The following Sunday our lesson was on the subject of immortality. A lady who had visited the Adventist Church said, "If you will visit that church with me on Saturday, you will hear it explained in the right way, I think." I did so, and, after hearing the truth two Sabbaths, I could only wonder at my own ignorance. I visited our M. E. Church a few Sundays, distributed SIGNS OF THE TIMES, and taught a class of young ladies. They told their parents what I said. The minister called, and wanted me to call on all absentees belonging to his class.
I applied for my church letter, which I never got, and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church on profession of faith. In the meantime my niece wrote me that she was expecting to unite with the Adventist Church in Pennsylvania. I recently received word that her oldest son had gone to attend our church-school in Washington, D. C.; and the boy who pointed out the man to me is preparing to go to Washington to attend our training college. The dear father must be remembered in our prayers, that he may be led into righteousness.
Santa Monica, Cal.
H. M. BARNES.
DEAR EDITOR: Since coming here, over nine months ago, I have found out what it means to stand alone with God, and I greatly rejoice in knowing that in every trouble I have a true Friend in Jesus, One who never fails. I am isolated from all who love the truth and keep the commandments of God, and when trouble came upon me there was no earthly friend to turn to for help and advice. So I went to the Saviour with my trouble, and He led me beside the still waters and filled my soul with hope and joy. Praise His holy name. God grant that all may have the same blessed hope and joy and peace that has been given to me.
Your sister in the blessed hope,
Peach, Wash.
NELLIE BRAHS.
DEAR BROTHER: "We're homeward bound, homeward bound." I thank you so much for remembering me with the circular letters. Yes, we are in the conflict, and God is really leading us by the way He has shown us in His Word. We may praise Him every day, and more and more as we see the day dawning. Praise Him for strength to work.
San Francisco, Cal.
A. C. BAINBRIDGE.
WANTED FOR MISSIONARY WORK.
By Editor
(Always prepay postage.)
ANY of our publications suitable for rack work. Address, A. E. Dickeson, Temple, Texas.
SIGNS, Review, Little Friend, Instructor, and any of our tracts. Address, Mrs. S. A. Williams, 48 156th Street, Harvey, Ill.
J. J. JOBE, of Portland, Ore., desires to inform those who have been sending him papers, that he has all he can use for the present.
INFORMATION WANTED.—A party is very anxious to learn the address of L. B. WHITNEY and son, the reason being very important. Mr. Whitney was last heard from in Sacramento, Cal., where he was conducting a shoemaker's shop. Information sent to this office will be given to the inquiring party.
HUNTING IS HORRIBLE.
SPORT is horrible. I say it advisedly. I speak with the matured knowledge of one who has seen and taken part in numberless forms thereof in many and varied parts of the world. I can handle a gun and rifle as well and as efficiently as most sporting folk, and few women and not many men have had experience of a tithe of the shooting and hunting in which I have been engaged both at home and during travels and expeditions in far-away lands.
Many a keen sportsman, searching his heart, will acknowledge that at times a feeling of self-reproach has shot through him as he stood by the dying victim of his skill. I know that it has ever confronted me as I have bent over my fallen game, the result of, alas! too good a shot. I have seen the terror-stricken orb of the red deer, dark, full of tears, glaring at me with mute reproach as it sobbed its life away, and that same look I have seen in the eyes of the glorious-orbed guanaco of Patagonia, the timid, gentle gazelle, the graceful and beautiful koodoo, springbok, etc., of South Africa, seemingly, as it were, reproaching me for thus lightly taking the life I could never bring back. So, too, I have witnessed the angry, defiant glare of the wild beast’s fading sight, as death, fast coming, deprived him of the power to wreak vengeance on the human aggressor before him. The memory of those scenes brings no pleasure to my mind. On the contrary, it haunts me with a huge reproach, and I fain I had never done those deeds of skill—and cruelty.
It is a remnant of barbarism in man’s nature that he should take pleasure in displaying his skill on living animals. Deer-stalking is no doubt a healthful and exhilarating exercise, requiring endurance, stamina, a clear sight, and a steady hand. Yet the last act in a successful stalk is, if we come to think about it, disgusting and horrible. In close proximity to us we see a lordly animal, happy, peaceful, and enjoying fully the gifts of life. We draw a trigger, and if we do not miss, we wound or kill. Happy, indeed, if it be the latter. More often than not it is the former, and then, if limbs are not broken, a fierce tracking ensues, resulting sometimes in its loss, and, as a consequence, many an hour of torture ere death closes its sufferings.
I wonder how many sportsmen who tramp turnips after partridges and heather after grouse have studied the happy ways and manners of these quiet, unpretentious, gray and brown birds? Both manifest the same characteristic affection for their young. It is a touching sight, when coming unexpectedly upon a young covey, to watch the frantic efforts of the cock and hen to simulate being badly wounded, so as to draw attention from their brood. It is a piteous sight to see a wounded grouse or partridge striving to escape some beater, who, with uplifted stick, pursues the poor, helpless, stricken bird, striking it amidst the laughter and evident amusement of his fellow beaters. It is a mere trivial incident, no doubt, and yet those who know and have studied the habits of these birds, their instinctive eagerness to be together, their sharp cry and outstretched necks when separated and calling for a reunion, can guess and feel what the agony of terror must be to a wounded bird situated as I have described, which, when caught, is often killed by having its brain beaten in or its breast pinched tightly till it dies of suffocation.
What more revolting sights does one anywhere see than at a covert shoot, where, driven before beaters into the jaws of death, thousands of tame, hand-reared pheasants are literally mown down by the rows of guns awaiting their advent? Let us watch some “warm corner” in one of these “shoots.” Falling pheasants, hardly risen from the ground, meet our view. Some fall dead, others dying, others legged, some winged. On one side we see disheveled heaps of struggling feathers—pheasants striving to wriggle back to the woods where hitherto they have been peaceful and happy. Now arises the piteous squeal of the wounded rabbit or the more human, childlike cry of terrified agony from the maimed and timid hare, striving, alas! in vain, to escape from the army of noisy beaters advancing their way, whose shouts must add to the pandemonium of horror which surrounds their last dying moments.
What more aggravated form of torture is to be found than, coursing with greyhounds, the awful terror of the hare depicting itself in the laid-back ears, convulsive doubles, and wild, starting eyes, which seem almost to burst from their sockets in the agony of tension which that piteous struggle for life entails? And what sadder sight is there to be found in the records of the hunted than that of a dead-beat fox, worn out, with lolling tongue, heaving sides, bedraggled brush, with the bay of the nearing pack every moment growing more distinct, struggling on in search of safety for his doomed life, dodging now here, now there, surrounded by a hostile field, the fiendish tallyho sounding in his ears, the cracking of whips which warn him against any further attempt to escape? Then the hounds rush in. For one brief moment he turns at bay—cui bono? The next all is worry, worry, worry, as the poor, weary, but gallant Tod is torn limb from limb, disemboweled, and reduced to a shapeless mass of bloody fur. A fitting death it is, indeed, following as a sequel on the hunted torture which the poor creature has suffered from find to finish.
None but those who have indulged largely in sport in its many and varied branches can realize the holocaust of animal suffering that is day after day offered up on its altar. Sometimes, as in my case, and in the cases of several men whom I have known as “mighty sportsmen,” reproach knocks at the heart’s door and finds inside a responsive echo.
Savagery still dominates us in a great degree. A higher education and civilization will teach us to despise amusements which are purchased at the expense of suffering to animals. Let youth find relaxation and pleasure in feats of skill and endurance and physical adroitness without the aid of blood and torture to make us skilled sons and daughters of the chase and the field. In our national schools, both high and low, kindness and our duty to animals should form part of the curriculum, while every effort that science and investigation can command should be put forth to secure for such as must be killed a speedy, painless death. The custom is a barbarous one; the pleasure derived therefrom is only such as a heart rendered callous by suffering often witnessed and little realized can indulge in. The day must dawn when that savage instinct will become eradicated and men will cease to find pleasure in destroying animal life.—Our Dumb Animals.
FEEDING ON THE BIBLE.
By D. L. Moody
“A MAN stood up in one of our meetings and said he hoped for enough out of the series of meetings to last him all his life. I told him he might as well try to eat enough breakfast at one time to last him his lifetime. That is a mistake people are making—they think the meetings are going to do the work.
But if these don’t bring you into closer contact with the Word of God, the whole impression will be gone in three months. The more you love the Scriptures, the firmer will be your faith. There is little backsliding when people love the Scriptures.
“We have a great many prayer meetings, but there is something just as important as prayer, and that is that we read our Bibles; that we have Bible study, Bible lectures, and Bible classes, so that we may get hold of the Word of God. When I pray, I talk to God, but when I read the Bible, God is talking to me; and it is really more important that15God should speak to me than that I should speak to Him. I believe we should know better how to pray if we knew our Bibles better.
“Some Christians read the Bible as a duty if they read it at all; but as soon as a man or woman sees Christ as the Chiefest among ten thousand, the Bible becomes a revelation of the Father's love, and a never-ending charm.
“A young man said to a young convert, 'How can you prove that the Bible is inspired?' He replied, 'Because it inspires me.' I think that is pretty good proof. Let the Word of God into your soul, and it will inspire you, it can not help it.
“I want to show how absurd it is for any one to say he believes the New Testament, and not the Old. Of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament, it is recorded that our Lord made quotations from no less than twenty-two. If Jesus Christ could use the Old Testament, let us use it. May God deliver us from the one-sided Christian who reads only the New Testament, and talks against the Old.
“Read the Bible itself; do not spend all your time on commentaries and helps. If a man spend all his time reading up the chemical constituents of bread and milk, he would soon starve.
“I took up that word 'Love,' and I do not know how many weeks I spent in studying the passages in which it occurs, till at last I could not help loving people. I had been feeding so long on love that I was anxious to do everybody good I came in contact with.
“I suppose that if all the time I have prayed for faith were put together, it would be months. I used to say when I was president of the Y. M. C. A. in Chicago, 'What we want is faith; if only we have faith we can turn Chicago upside down, or rather right side up.' I thought that some day faith was going to come down and strike me like lightning. But faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.' I had closed my Bible, and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible, and faith has been growing ever since.
“Let a man feed on the promises of God for a month, and he will not talk about his poverty, and how downcast he is, and what trouble he has day by day. People tell me they have nothing to say. 'Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.' Get full of Scripture, and then you can't help but say it. It says itself. Keep the world out of your heart by getting full of something else.”
—D. L. Moody.
WINGS OF A DOVE.
By Henry Van Dyke
[By Henry Van Dyke, in Christian Work.]
At sunset, when the rosy light is dying
Far down the pathway of the west,
I saw a lonely dove in silence flying
To be at rest.
“Pilgrim of air,” I cried, “could I but borrow
Thy wandering wings, thy freedom blest,
I’d fly away from every careful sorrow,
And find my rest.
But when the dusk a filmy veil was weaving,
Back came the dove to seek her nest,
Deep in the forest, where her mate was grieving—
There was true rest.
Peace, heart of mine, no longer sigh to wander,
Lose not thy life in fruitless quest.
There are no happy islands over yonder—
Come home and rest.
HOW TO MAKE CHILDREN LOVELY.
THERE is just one way; that is, to surround them by day and night with an atmosphere of love. Restraint and reproof may be mingled with the love, but love must be a constant element.
"I found my little girl was growing unamiable and plain," said a mother to us the other day, "and, reflecting on it sadly, I could only accuse myself as the cause thereof. So I changed my management, and improved every opportunity to praise and encourage her; to assure her of my unbounded affection for her, and my earnest desire that she should grow up to lovely and harmonious womanhood. As a rose opens to the sunshine, so the child heart opened in the warmth of the constant affection and caresses I showered upon her; her peevishness passed away, her face grew beautiful; and now one look from me brings her to my side, obedient to my will, and happiest when she is nearest me."
Is there not in this a lesson for all parents? Not all the plowing or weeding or cultivation of every sort we can give our growing crops will do for them what the steady shining of the sun can effect. Love is the sunshine of the family; without it, not character, nor morality, nor virtue, can be brought to perfection.—Presbyterian Banner.
RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF WHITTIER.
An over-zealous lecturer, in the effort to give weight to his opinions, publicly claimed Whittier as holding views in agreement with his own. Some comments having appeared in The Friend, the poet sent a letter to the editor, in which he says:
"My ground of hope, for myself and for humanity, is in that divine fulness of love which was manifested in the life, teachings, and self-sacrifice of Christ—the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In the infinite mercy of God so revealed, and not in any work or merit of our nature, I reverently, humbly, yet very hopefully, trust. I regard Christianity as a life rather than a creed; and in judging of my fellow men, I can use no other standard than that which our Lord and Master has given us, 'By their fruits we shall know them.' On the awful and solemn theme of human destiny, I dare not dogmatize; but wait the unfolding of the great mystery, in the firm faith that, whatever may be our particular allotment, God will do the best that is possible for all."
A TREE OF BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE.
THE
Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 810,697 words, 31,175 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books; longest chapter is the 119th Psalm; the shortest and the middle chapter is the 117th Psalm; the middle verse is the 8th of the 118th Psalm. The longest name is in the 8th chapter of Isaiah. The word "and" occurs 46,627 times. The 37th chapter of Isaiah and the 19th chapter of the 2nd book of Kings are alike. The longest verse is the 9th of the 8th chapter of Esther; the shortest, the 35th of the 11th chapter of John. The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra is the only one of the entire collection which contains every letter in the alphabet, except "j," formerly counted as one with "i." The word "Lord," or its equivalent, "Jehovah," occurs 7,698 times in the Old Testament; or, to be more exact, the word
"Lord"
occurs 1,853 times,
and the
word
"Jehovah"
5,845 times.
The word
"God"
does not occur in
the book of Esther,
—BUT THERE IS WIS-
DOM, KNOWLEDGE, HO-
LINESS, AND LOVE IN EVERY
CHAPTER OF THE ENTIRE WORK.
—Detroit Free Press.
SUNSET MAGAZINE
By Editor
DESCRIBES
California
Not only California, but all the great West, is truthfully described in the beautifully illustrated pages of this virile Western monthly. Its fine half-tones make you SEE the country, while its descriptive and industrial articles TELL YOU EXACTLY what is to be found there. It is
"Opportunity"
in visible form, for it shows the wonderful chances for success now open in the new West for wide-awake people.
If your news dealer doesn't carry SUNSET, send us his name and address and write for sample copy.
HOME OFFICE: 431 California St. San Francisco, California.
IMPORTANT TO TRAVELERS
The SUNSET-PIEDMONT AIR LINE announce the opening of their through line via New Orleans. Personally conducted cars, San Francisco to Washington, D. C., via Coast Line and Los Angeles, tri-weekly. Tickets at lowest rates to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New England, and all Eastern points. Through the Old South. Quick time. Best service. Write Phil K. Gordon, 633 Market St., San Francisco, for full information.
FOR SALE.—Four years lease on twenty acres of land. Two acres in strawberries, a few logan berries, and about two acres in garden; the rest in pasture.
With the place are eighty stands of bees, sixteen head of cattle, horses, wagons, etc. Well adapted to fruit and vegetable business. Income from the start.
Wish to sell at once that I may enter the canvassing work. For further particulars address,
F. H. Davis,
Angel's Camp, Cal.
See IT's WORTH Seeing Using
# Northfield Hymnal
BY GEO. C. STEBBINS
ITS SALE DOES GOOD
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Address PUBLISHERS OF THIS PAPER
FOR SALE.—A Modern, two-story House of Nine Rooms, large Bathroom, Lavatory, large Closets, and large Pantry; Cement Foundation, good size Basement, Hot and Cold Water, Wired for Electricity. Built less than a year, within 5-minutes' walk of Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. Lot one acre, with two fine live-oak shade trees in right places. Income Property. Inquire of X. Y. Z., care M. C. Wilcox, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.
Millennial Text-Book
MILLENNIAL TEXT-BOOK.—Every known reference, over 500 arranged according to events, adapted for instant reference or profound Bible study; result of 12 years search. Mailed for 10 one-cent stamps or a dime. Eugene A. Brown, Phoenix, Ariz.
TO OUR READERS.
By Editor
Especially to Our New Readers.
THERE will be many thousands of professional men who will receive copies of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES containing reports and articles on the Federation of the Churches.
We do not ask you to read these articles as Seventh-day Adventists.
You may not agree with us regarding the doctrines of the Coming of Christ, seventh-day Sabbath, and Life only through Christ. Let these rest.
The Federation of the Churches is another matter. This will affect the religion of the whole country and the world. This Federation will affect the government of this country and the world. We appeal to you to study this Federation question with us.
The doctrines which have differentiated the American government from the governments of the world are involved in this question. Freedom of church and of state are involved. Religious liberty is involved. These are questions of paramount interest.
The SIGNS OF THE TIMES, according to the best of its ability, has stood for the religious liberty of the other man, who may be its bitterest opponent. He has the same rights as ourselves, and his rights should be conserved by law equally with ours.
Many of you have large influence in public life. You are patriotic Americans. You have rejoiced in the liberty and freedom your country gave you. You wish to preserve all these blessings and hand them down to your successors. But the very safety of these very blessings are involved in what this great Inter-Church Federation proposes to do.
What are the lessons which the working out of principles in history should teach us?
We therefore appeal to you as Christians (which some of you are), as Americans, as men, to study the question, learn what is in it, and act accordingly.
THE RESTLESS NATIONS.
By Editor
THIS is an uneasy world—physically, morally, and politically. When there is not actual war somewhere, there is always the rumor of war. Friction between France and Germany over the commercial control of Morocco—to which neither of them have any right other than might—came so close to active hostilities as to agitate all Europe. Then Great Britain threw her influence on the side of France. A conference is to be held at Algeciras, Spain, in which matters of grave importance to several nations will be considered. Even the United States is to send delegates. The preamble to a resolution introduced in the Senate sets forth the present situation as follows:
The questions at issue and the relations of European governments thereto, are reputed to be of such gravity, and the antagonism of European governments to be so acute, as to endanger the peace of Europe, as is evidenced by the publicly-announced preparations for war in the dispositions of troops and fleets and in the gathering of war materials, and is also evidenced by press despatches from the capitals of said powers.
The undercurrent of socialism is getting so strong in the European governments, that they feel almost compelled to stir up trouble abroad, in order to attract the sympathies of their people and enlist their co-operation against foreign enemies. Never was there a time when the perplexity of nations was at a higher tension than just now. Every government seems to have a “peril” of its own, in addition to those by which all are menaced.
We call the attention of our readers to the first page of the SIGNS this week, and the eloquent paragraphs there quoted from the great historian and essayist Macaulay. We hope they may be applied to some of the principles set forth in the objects sought by the great Church Federation movement. Never were truer or more eloquent words written, but their chief value lies in their practical application.
OUR NEW YORK SPECIAL.
By Editor
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES of February 7 will be a New York Special, that is, it will give special consideration to that field. And yet its usual features will be maintained.
On the first page will appear a magnificent illustration of the great business heart of Greater New York, showing the immense sky-scrapers, the two great Brooklyn bridges, and other things of note. Special illustrations of some of the large buildings in New York will appear, and the paper will be particularly fitted to meet some of the needs of the great city. It will also have a striking cartoon, illustrative of conditions existing in New York.
Yet this will be a number of general interest to all our readers; it will be a number of special interest to New York; and Pastor C. H. Edwards, president of the Greater New York Conference, is putting forth tremendous efforts with his limited means in an almost unlimited field to give it a large circulation in the great metropolis of the country.
Twenty thousand will be taken in New York by the friends of the cause there. Once before we have referred to this, and once more we make the appeal to those who wish to help in New York City to do so by subscribing for from five to any number of copies of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES for that conference to use.
The price of the paper will be at the rate of two dollars a hundred. Let us hear from you and hear speedily. Greater New York Conference will use all that can be furnished. We certainly wish that their own subscription could be doubled or trebled. Are there not many who, from lack of opportunity or time, are doing no personal missionary work at all who would be only too glad to do some by proxy! We hope that there may be a general response to this, and we assure our friends that it will not be money or effort lost.
THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE PAPACY.
By Editor
FROM a contributor in Rome, Italy, who has placed special study upon the subject, we shall soon present several articles—illustrated—discussing in a calm, dispassionate manner the origin and development of the temporal power of the Papacy. These articles cover the range of years between Constantine the Great and Charlemagne, and the various steps which led to, and confirmed, both the spiritual dominancy of the Papacy and its temporal power. These are of interest, and ought to furnish us many new readers and subscribers.
Assassination of Frank Steunenberg
Ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg of Idaho was killed by a dynamite bomb exploded at his back gate, as he entered his yard at Boise, December 30. The bomb is supposed to have been placed there by a Coeur d’Alene miner, in revenge for their prosecution in 1898.
Death of William Rainey Harper
By Editor
Among the deaths of noted men the past week we record that of William Rainey Harper, president of Chicago University. He died January 10, of cancer, which the greatest experts had no power to cure. He has done much to stimulate Bible study, tho doubtless tinctured more or less with Higher Criticism. His power for work was marvellous, and he had the facility of tying his acquaintances and students to him with strong devotion. His power over John D. Rockefeller was wonderful. It is reported that the millionaire gave what he did almost solely because of the personal influence of President Harper. His last words were, “God always helps.”
Russia’s Opening for the Gospel
Whatever form of government may come to Russia out of the present embroglio, one thing is certain—the power of absolutism is much weakened for the time being. The power of autocracy both in state and church has been so modified that the people are no longer dominated by the superstition that the state is an invincible political power and the church an infallible influence. The former has been beaten at arms by a despised nation, and the church’s prayers and charms were powerless to prevent the inevitable. Consequently the doors to Russia’s millions that have sat in darkness so long are being opened by circumstances that neither the state nor the church have been able to control. The time is propitious for the entrance of the Gospel of Christ. Let there be no delay, for if the opening gap be not filled by the ambassadors of truth at once, the enemy will occupy the ground with some perversion or substitute. Opportunity does not long tarry for procrastination.
