CALDERA.— We left Valparaiso, June 13, on the “Peru,” for Caldera, about four hundred miles up the coast. About two o’clock the second day we came in sight of a small town among the sand hills. Here we were glad to disembark after a journey which had not been the most pleasant. As we were going to Copiapo, fifty miles inland, we were compelled to remain at the hotel overnight. We went to the post office for mail, where we met the captain of an English sailing vessel, and made his acquaintance. He had been detained at this port for some time, and, being unable to speak Spanish, had very little to say to the people. On invitation, Mr. Ketring visited him on his vessel the next morning; and as their conversation turned to the condition of the religious world to-day, he sold him a copy of “Great Controversy.” He appeared to be a very thoughtful man, and we left him, trusting that the Lord would use the book in bringing him to a knowledge of the truth.
On reaching Copiapo we began immediately to search for a room. We have since been made to realize that the Lord led us in our selection. We found several rooms, but were undecided as to which one to choose. But the promise, “And thine ears shall hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it,” was verified to us. Later, Copiapo was visited by a flood. In the other houses which we had looked at, the water came up to the tops of the tables, and houses close by us were thrown down. The furniture of the rich was destroyed, and the poor were driven into the streets. Many lay in the streets and on church steps all night. Several were drowned in the river. News has come that there is but one house left standing in the village above us. The houses are all built of mud, as there is no timber near. Generally speaking, there is very little rain, and the people are poorly prepared for it. The house which we chose is in as high a spot as there is in the city. We thank the Lord for his care.
As soon as the bridges are rebuilt, we shall return to Caldera, the seaport, as there are about twenty English-speaking families there. They have no minister, and seem desirous to hear the gospel. I know of no other place which offers so good an opening for a teacher as does Caldera. They have no school to which they can send their children except the native school, and they are all anxious to have their children educated in English. They are almost all railroad people, and are able to pay a reasonable amount for each child. One would also have many native students, as there is a great demand for English. They desire that a young lady should come as a teacher, and stay in their homes with them. They would all heartily unite in making the school a success. But it matters not who comes, if he is competent to conduct a good school on the church-school basis. This is a great missionary field. Such a person could reach the children, and afterward the parents through them; and as there is no minister here, he would also be the religious leader of the people.
Some years ago an American gentleman and his wife who were here conducted a school. They had fifty students. They rented a hall, and the people furnished it with seats, pulpit, and a good organ. All the furniture is here yet. Brother Davis has sold many of our large books in this place, and I have put several copies into the hands of the people. There being no doctor here, they are glad to get our health books.
Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send forth reapers.
MRS. ELYA KETRING
British Honduras
By H. C. Goodrich
BELIZE.— Another month has come to a close, and the Lord has been with us. One more has begun to keep the Sabbath, making six in all. Never since the opening of the mission have there been so many encouraging indications. Our regular congregation is about fifty. We have three meetings each week. The interest is spreading outside of Belize, along the coast of British Honduras and Guatemala there are thousands of people who have never heard God’s message for to-day.
H. C. GOODRICH.
West Coast (South America)
By A. R. Ogden
The statement, “The silent messengers of truth should be scattered like the autumn leaves,” was forcibly impressed on my mind by a letter recently received from a stranger living in a Southern city. He says, “While walking in the street, I found a piece of paper. Picking it up and reading it, I became interested, and desire to read more. Inclosed find one dollar [Chilian] for a year’s subscription.” This piece of paper was part of a copy of our Spanish paper Señales. Thus we see that a fragment of one leaf, though possibly trampled upon by many others, was seen and appreciated by one who was seeking truth. The Lord sometimes works in mysterious ways.
A Spanish missionary in Peru, who has recently accepted the truth, had his attention first called to the light by reading a tract which fell into his hands.
Since moving the office and publishing interests from Valparaiso to Iquique, we have abundant evidence that this move is for the better interests and advancement17of the work throughout our field of the four west-coast republics.
Since we came here, which was less than three months ago, several hundred new subscriptions have been received for our Spanish paper, Señales, and several thousand copies have been sold. Our subscription list is now more than enough to pay the entire cost of printing five thousand copies each month. Thus we are enabled to send out a goodly number each month free.
We hope soon to send at least two workers to Bolivia, to introduce our literature, our Spanish paper, Señales, especially.
By means of our publications we feel confident that the truth may be carried more successfully in these countries than by any other one means. When people read themselves into the truth, they usually stand firm.
In Bolivia there is now a man of some influence, a lawyer, keeping the Sabbath. He has never seen a Seventh-day Adventist minister. Others in Bolivia and Peru, as well as in different parts of Chile, are keeping the Sabbath, and awaiting baptism at the first opportunity.
Brother Balada, our only worker in Peru, reports some now observing the Sabbath. He asks for one thousand copies of our paper to use in Lima and Callao, two cities of two hundred thousand people.
Elder Ketring is now at Copiapo and Caldera, instructing and more fully establishing in the truth the ten or fifteen in those places who accepted the message through the work of Brother Davis, who canvassed in this field for several years.
There are several young men whom we hope to enlist in the work. One of them has already begun canvassing for the paper, and is doing well.
A. R. OGDEN.
Casilla 240 Iquique.
Central America
By H. A. Owen
Spanish Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA.—Our small boarding school is progressing nicely, and is receiving favorable comment from all who visit us. The outdoor relief maps on a large scale, are a source of much surprise to the people of this country. Our students are rapidly becoming familiar with the geography of the world. The “Gospel Primer” and “Christ Our Saviour” are valuable helps. One of our students who lives at home is persuading her father to read in the Bible the passages of Scripture referred to in her lesson texts. All the children join in “morning and evening devotions, both in the songs and in prayers.”
We could distribute all the papers that might be contributed to us, to the visitors who come. I have tried to persuade some to buy the papers or order them, but so far without success. But when I shall be able to get away and canvass or visit the people in their homes, I hope for results. At present we need all our energies to put our school on a more extensive basis. The Lord is with us in all our work, and we trust him.
H. A. OWEN.
Texas
By H. B. French
SANGER.—Soon after our camp meeting at Handley, Tex., I came to Sanger, a village of seven or eight hundred inhabitants. After a few days’ work, the tent was pitched in a central part of the village, and meetings were begun. The attendance was about one hundred and fifty the first night, and in a few nights it increased to about four hundred. During the four weeks’ service the average attendance was about two hundred.
As usual, when the test came, there was a falling away of numbers, but the interest has deepened with the truly interested ones. It was when these began to take their stand for truth that opposition came. Before this, bankers, doctors, preachers, merchants, and farmers seemed equally interested. The opposition, as usual, came from the ministers. Seeing their flocks torn and scattered, they went to work in earnest. We asked the Lord to bring to naught the work of these pastors if they would not yield to the message; and we did not wait long to see our prayers answered. Their argument seemed only to confirm what we had already presented. As the result of the work, we hope to see a good, strong church built up.
Calls from other points have been made for service. The whole country seems to be agitated over the work done at this place.
A few days ago, at a place ten miles away, which is the county seat of this county, a Catholic priest secured the courthouse, in which to hold a series of meetings. During his discourses he presented the infallibility of the Catholic Church, and laid claim to the Sunday as the offspring of the church he represented, saying, at the same time, that there is no authority in the Bible for Sunday keeping.
Will not the honest in the different denominations, in view of the situation and their inability to meet it, be glad to welcome those who teach the true gospel? I am convinced that the way is opening up for the message to go very soon with a loud cry. H. B. FRENCH.
Organization of the Brazil Conference
By F. W. Spies
MAY 10-20, 1902, an assembly convened at Gaspar Alto, in the State of Santa Catharina, for the purpose of organizing the Brazil mission field into a conference. Gaspar Alto is a pleasant little valley, lying about twelve miles west of Brusque, which, in turn, is twenty-five miles distant from the port, Itajahy.
The Gaspar church has the distinction of having among its membership the first who accepted the message in this great field. These were brought to a knowledge of the truth by reading the Hausfreund and other literature sent to Brazil several years before a minister came here. This shows what effect the distribution of our reading matter has, and should encourage our people everywhere to scatter the seeds of truth contained in the printed page.
The present membership of the Gaspar church is about one hundred and sixty, and one half of this number are considerably scattered. Yet those living at Gaspar entertained the scattered brethren who attended, and about sixty from abroad. The mission school for this great field is also located at Gaspar, and has done a good work. At the conference it was voted to open in the State of Rio Grande do Sul another mission school as soon as the way may open.
The difficulty of conducting a general meeting in this field may easily be conceived when we remember that the territory of Brazil is about equal to that of the United States, and that the Sabbath keepers are already scattered over about one half of its inhabited area, with very poor facilities for travel. Notwithstanding these drawbacks the different states were fairly well represented. We had expected to have with us Brother J. W. Westphal, the superintendent of the South American field, to assist us with his counsel, but on account of quarantine he was delayed until about eight days after the meeting had closed. Still when Elder Westphal arrived, nearly all the members of the conference committee were present, and some time was spent in counsel, after which he left us, to visit, in company with Brother Graf, some of the northern states of Brazil.
The conference was characterized by the presence of the Spirit of God, which united all the workers, as we believe, on right principles; and we expect the Lord to do great things for us in the future, as we go forth trusting in him. An effort was made to enable the believers in this field to understand that the organization of the conference meant self-government, and such self-government as must begin with each individual Christian. Then, as each one realizes his responsibility to the Lord and to perishing souls, he will do his utmost to support the cause and bear the message to the ends of the earth.
Among the recommendations adopted at the conference were the following:—
1. An expression of thanks to the Giver of all good, for the measure of his blessing that has attended the efforts put forth to advance the truth during the time work has been done in Brazil, and pledge a renewed consecration to the work to which the Lord has called us.
2. An expression of our appreciation and thankfulness for the assistance rendered by our brethren at home, enabling us, under God's blessing, to accomplish so much in this field in the work of the third angel's message.
3. We recommend to all laborers faithfulness, on their part, in giving to God his due in tithes and offerings, and in instructing the believers in these things.
4. Inasmuch as we believe that the light regarding healthful living is an important part of the message, we resolve not to employ any laborer who is not in harmony with this important truth. And we further recommend all laborers and believers faithfully to study this subject.
5. Resolved, Not to send any laborers into the field in the future who have not first had a preparation for their work by attending one of our schools, unless the conference committee upon examination should find the person capable.
6. We recommend that our local tract societies settle up their accounts as soon as possible, and in the future do only a cash business when ordering books, etc., from headquarters. Canvassers and other workers are likewise requested to deal only on a cash basis in the future.
7. We recommend greater diligence in the circulation of our different periodicals, especially the Arauto da Verdade, our Portuguese journal, and we further recommend that two canvassers go to Rio de Janeiro, devoting their time to the sale of the Arauto and other periodicals.
At the time of organization the Brazil Conference had three ordained ministers, one licentiate, nine church schools, eight canvassers, and fifteen organized churches, with a membership of about eight hundred and sixty. Twelve hundred and fifty dollars tithe was paid in 1901.
The following-named officers were elected for the new conference: President, H. F. Graf; Secretary and Treasurer, A. B. Stauffer; Secretary of the Sabbath-school Department, Johanne Rebling.
F. W. SPIES.
South Lancaster Academy
By Frederick Griggs
On Wednesday, September 17, South Lancaster Academy opened its doors for its twenty-first year's work. We were pleased to have with us that morning Elder S. N. Haskell and Sister E. D. Robinson, the widow of Elder D. A. Robinson. Brethren Haskell and Robinson may almost be called the founders of South Lancaster Academy, such an active part did they take in the establishment of the school. Brother Haskell and Sister Robinson spoke to the students concerning the early experiences in this work. It seemed peculiarly fitting that these tried servants of the Lord should be with us at the opening of the twenty-first year's work of the school.
The removal of the New England Sanitarium from this place to Melrose would naturally have a depressing influence upon the work of the school, and yet the effects of this were not seen in the opening of the school; for we had a larger attendance the first day of the year than we had the first day of last year. Nearly every seat in our chapel is now taken, the enrollment being over one hundred and thirty-five, and others are still coming. On the whole, the students are of a considerably more advanced age than those of any former year since I have been here, and nearly all of them have a definite work in view.
Our new commercial department has started out very finely. We have already found it necessary to increase our seating capacity, and have been obliged to employ additional help in this work. The work of this department is very encouraging to us, because we continually have in mind the needs of the cause in our work of education, and there is certainly no other work in connection with the third angel's message in which there seems to be a greater dearth of competent workers than in the conducting of our business. We are looking for a still larger increase of students in this department. Our young people everywhere in the Atlantic Union Conference who have an inclination for this work should not connect with the business schools of the world at large, where the whole aim of the work is different, but should enter our school here, where the theoretical work is connected with the actual accounting of the various departments of our denominational work.
The board of management have also employed Mrs. E. M. Long, who for years was connected with Battle Creek College as teacher of sloyd, to open up and take charge of a manual department for our young ladies, so that they may be given an opportunity to work, similar to that given to the young men, who work on the farm and in our broom shop. In this department, baskets and small articles of furniture in wickerwork will be manufactured.
I must not omit to add that there seems to be, in the very beginning of our school, a deep spiritual sentiment. We have18strong expectations that the work of the school this year will result in placing laborers in the vineyard of the Lord in the near future.
FREDERICK GRIGGS.
Help Needed for a Worthy Cause
By John Harvey Kellogg
MORE than a year ago the friends of reform in Australasia, after advising with Mrs. E. G. White and others, began the erection of a large building to be used as a sanitarium in New South Wales. The site for the building was located, after several weeks of earnest search by Brother John Wessels and others, in a beautiful suburb of Sydney, in a place admirably adapted to the purpose; and the work was opened by a committee consisting chiefly of Australian brethren, assisted by others more or less familiar with the work in this country. The Drs. Kress, from Battle Creek, and Brother J. A. Burden, from California, later went from this country, and joined hands with those already at work in Australia, and all have been laboring most perseveringly amid great difficulties to bring their work to completion. The Australian brethren have shown remarkable interest in this new and important enterprise, and have manifested their faith by liberal contributions and by substantial loans. The American brethren who have joined the work have labored heroically to overcome the great difficulties which necessarily attend the launching of such an enterprise in a country where the principles which it represents are little known, and hence little appreciated.
THE SYDNEY SANITARIUM
By recent letters from Dr. Kress and Brother Burden, we learn that a few thousand dollars more would make it possible to complete the building to such a degree that work can be begun within a few weeks. The building itself is nearly completed, but money is needed for equipment, furnishing medical appliances, etc. Ten thousand dollars would give this young enterprise a wonderful lift just now. There is certainly no enterprise on earth more worthy of support than this. The present year is very prosperous in most parts of the great West, and there must be many farmers who could spare a few hundred dollars to help in this good work. The gift of a few thousand dollars to the institution just now would enable those who have toiled so long and faithfully to see their efforts crowned with success, and we might all have the satisfaction of knowing that another life-saving station had been established in a far-away corner of the earth, where multitudes might be rescued from the jaws of death, and restored to useful activity, and from which a life-saving and soul-saving influence might go out among millions who have not enjoyed the exceptional opportunities for becoming acquainted with the light and truth which we in this country enjoy.
Loans without interest or at a low rate of interest would also be greatly appreciated, as they would facilitate the completion of the building, and thus set in operation this much-needed enterprise. The accompanying cut was prepared from a recent photograph showing the sanitarium near completion. Those who would like to help in this enterprise may address the undersigned at Battle Creek, Mich., or Elder J. A. Burden, at Wahroonga, N. S. W., Australia.
J. H. KELLOGG.
Local Camp Meeting in Nebraska
By G. M. BROWN
A local camp meeting was held at Mc Cook, September 23–30. The camp was located about one block north of the city park, and was well situated in every way.
Two meeting tents and sixteen family tents were used. The German brethren occupied one side of the ground, and carried on their meetings in the German language, while the other side was occupied by English- and Swedish-speaking brethren.
The laborers present were Elders G. H. Smith, J. J. Graf, P. P. Gaede, R. F. Andrews, and G. M. Brown. Brethren Wallencampf, Campbell, Surber, and Blackfan were also present to assist in the work.
About one hundred of our people were in attendance at the meeting. The English and Swedish Sabbath school was attended by forty-three members, and the German by forty-seven members.
Street meetings were held just before the evening service whenever the weather would permit, and were the means of increasing the interest of the citizens in our meetings.
The plain, distinctive truths held by the Seventh-day Adventists were presented, and were well received by all who heard. Sunday evening the English meeting was well attended, the tent being filled. The young people's meetings were interesting and profitable. A union service was held each day, in which representatives of the three languages participated.
Over forty dollars in cash and pledges was raised for the work in our conference, besides what was given to the work in other fields.
The brethren living at Mc Cook, Culbertson, and Ash Creek exerted themselves to the utmost to make the meeting a success, and to care for those who came. Hay for teams, straw for beds, and lumber for tents, were furnished free of cost, and the brethren of Mc Cook also entertained the ministers and other workers during the entire meeting.
Many were kept from the meeting because of unfavorable weather; but all who were there were greatly blessed, and went to their homes rejoicing in the19Lord, and determined to press forward in the work of the third angel's message.
Two were baptized Sunday by Elder Smith in the presence of a large congregation gathered on the banks of the Republican River.
The citizens of McCook gave the free use of the grounds, and granted special favors in other ways, which were much appreciated.
G. M. BROWN.
Virginia
By T. H. Painter
LYNCHBURG.—We are still holding meetings on Park Avenue, with good interest. We have purchased the Baptist church, which will be a source of strength to our work here. I am alone now, as Brother Purdham has gone to his home to look after the school work which we are starting there. He has been away nearly two weeks, but I expect him back next week. Four others have accepted the truth. This makes about twenty-five in all since we began tent work here. T. H. PAINTER.
Medical Work Among the Natives of India
By Olive P. Ingersoll
For the past four months we have been doing medical work among the natives of Calcutta. In April we opened treatment rooms, meagerly equipped, and started with one patient. Sister Fleming, with the assistance of a native Christian girl, has been giving all the treatments.
The work has gradually increased, so that now we are treating from six to ten patients daily.
We find that we have considerable to learn in dealing with these people. Their prejudices are very strong, and in some cases lead them to do very amusing things. One patient took her child off the treatment table, and ran hastily out of the house when she saw that Mrs. Fleming was going to give her some simple treatment; and in spite of all our explanations and persuasions, we could not get her to come inside the gate again, even to get her medicine, for which they are all extremely anxious. Those who come in are, of course, of the lowest castes of both Hindus and Mohammedans, as the higher class always have their physicians visit their homes. The baboos (educated Hindu men) will sometimes consult a physician at his office, but they will never take their wives out. They must always be seen in their homes.
But in spite of their prejudices and superstitions, quite a number are taking the treatments, and the Lord is blessing them. The patients feel very thankful when they find themselves getting well. Their expressions of gratitude are, if possible, more elaborate than their manifestations of fear; for when they are pleased with what has been done, or if they wish us to do something for them as a favor, they fall down on their knees before us, grasp our feet, and bow their heads in a most humble way. Frequently we have to work hard to get them to stand up, as we try to explain to them that it is the Lord, the God who created heaven and earth, whom they should praise, because it is he who heals them.
We have recently been called to some of the homes of the wealthy. In such places the health principles are much appreciated, and have proved to be an “entering wedge.” The Good Health (English) affords a means of gaining an entrance to many homes. Sisters Shaw and Hansen have obtained subscriptions from quite a number of these native men; and the paper is always appreciated.
Although the work is moving rather slowly, we can see that the Lord is impressing hearts, and opening up the homes by awakening a spirit of inquiry, and we are anxious that the Spirit of the Lord may be so manifested in our work that the darkness of their minds may be penetrated by light from God himself.
OLIVE P. INGERSOLL, M. D.
Current Mention
— An earthquake shock was felt in the vicinity of Austin, Tex., October 9.
— Forty-eight thousand and five hundred dollars in cash, and papers valued at $1,399,926, have been found in mail received at the Dead Letter office during the fiscal year recently ended.
— A strike on a railway running from Laredo, Mexico, to Mexico City, was settled by the Mexican government, which took control of the line, ordering out troops to preserve order and facilitate the movement of trains.
— In a recent address at Pittsburg, Attorney-General Knox said that it is in the power of Congress to pass laws to control the trusts without a Constitutional amendment; and that supervision of trusts and accurate reports of their operation should be made compulsory.
— News from Macedonia states that a final struggle for independence has begun in that country, twenty-two Macedonian villages being now in revolt against Turkish rule. A Turkish force sent against the revolutionists is reported to have been slaughtered.
— Accounts of another peasant uprising in Russia, in the province of Poltava, come by way of Berlin. A Socialist paper in that city receives news across the border that fierce conflicts have taken place between the peasants and the local military forces, many persons having been killed or wounded.
— A Washington telegram says, as regards the relations between Cuba and the United States, that “the best efforts of the State Department thus far have failed to secure the adhesion of the Cuban government to the treaty, which, by the terms of the Platt amendment, must be entered into between the two governments.”
— Attempted navigation of the air cost two more lives at Paris, France, October 13. The aeronauts were quite successful in propelling their air ship in various directions above the ground, but failed to maintain connection between the balloon and its car, the latter becoming detached and falling, with the aeronauts in it, to the ground.
— The “pious fund” controversy between Mexico and the United States, which is the first and only international dispute to come before The Hague tribunal, has been decided by that court in favor of the United States. By the terms of the decision Mexico must pay to this government $1,420,682 for California Jesuit missions, and in addition the yearly sum of $43,050 forever.
— Turkey having recently permitted two Russian war ships to pass through the Dardanelles, which passage is kept closed to the ships of other powers, apprehension is felt throughout the rest of Europe, and in England especially, that a secret understanding exists between Russia and Turkey, permitting the free passage of Russian war ships from the Black Sea into the Mediterranean. This would completely upset the naval equilibrium in the Mediterranean, and would constitute a grave menace to British interests.20
— A loan of £35,000,000 is to be made by England to the Transvaal.
— Political contests in Porto Rico have led to riots at several places, in which a number of people have been shot.
— The journey from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast of Siberia, can now be made by rail in twelve and one-half days.
— The business section of Klamathon, a town in the lumber region of northern California, was destroyed by fire, October 14, the loss being $500,000.
— The Mexican mining town of Marfil has been destroyed by a flood, says a dispatch from Mexico City, the buildings being washed away and twenty people drowned.
— A dispatch from Cape Town states that 3,437 Cape Colony rebels who surrendered under the peace proclamation have been punished by disfranchisement for life.
— It is reported that the war in Colombia has resulted in the capture of President Marroquín by General Fernandez, who has seized the reins of government and proclaimed himself dictator.
— Stormy scenes marked the opening of the British Parliament, the Irish question being the theme about which the disturbance centered. It was declared that Ireland was on the brink of open revolt.
— Santos-Dumont, the aëronaut, proposes to make a trip from Paris to San Francisco in an air ship which he is now building, the consideration being that in case he is successful, he is to be paid the sum of $200,000.
— The two Presbyterian synods of Kentucky, which originated from the split in the Presbyterian ranks caused by the Civil War, came together in communion at Lexington for the first time since the war, October 16.
— Seven sailors were drowned in Lake Erie, October 14, by the sinking of the steamship “C. B. Lockwood” in a storm off Ashtabula, Ohio. The men attempted to reach land in a boat, which was swamped by the waves.
— A number of prominent buildings in Venice, including St. Mark’s church and the doge’s palace, are declared to be in urgent need of repairs to avert further catastrophes similar to that which befell the Campanile tower.
— The verdict of a coroner’s jury touching the cause of the fatality in connection with the accident to President Roosevelt’s carriage at Pittsfield, Mass., a short time ago, lays the blame upon the motorman of the car which struck the president’s carriage.
— The Swiss government will try by court-martial a number of men in the militia who refused to bear arms against rioters who were recently on a strike in Geneva. The men have the sympathy of their comrades in the militia, hundreds of whom are reported as declaring that if there is any court-martial, they will return their rifles and equipment to headquarters, and leave the militia service. The government, on the other hand, has issued an order directing that any member of the militia who willfully fails to report for duty when ordered shall be punished by being deprived of civil rights.
— It is estimated that Russian prisons contain no less than 12,000 aristocrats, while several thousand Italian noblemen are known to be confined in Italian penal establishments. In other European states the proportion of aristocratic criminals is also large.
— Reports of massacres of Christian missionaries and converts in the province of Hunan, China, are received by letter from one of the missionaries in that country, Rev. C. H. Dubs. The letter expressed the belief that the writer would soon share the fate of his dead co-laborers.
— Contrary to reports received last week, President Castro, of Venezuela, is still holding out against the revolutionary troops, but the latest advices state that his forces are cut off from the capital and surrounded on all sides, and the termination of the war seems only a question of a few days.
— The special commissioner appointed by the British government to inquire into the financial prospects of the Transvaal and Orange River colonies reports that the yearly output of gold from the Transvaal will largely exceed $100,000,000 when the mining industry has recovered from the effects of the late war.
— According to statements made by Mr. Edwin B. Mc Cowan, a mining expert who has spent several years in Alaska, worthless Klondike mining stock having a face value of $100,000,000, was foisted upon people in the United States last winter. “The people,” he says, “who have claims worth working in the Alaskan gold districts work them as individuals. When there is little or no more gold in sight, the claims are sold, and corporations organized, and the stock is floated and sold to gullible people. In all my experience I never heard of one of these companies paying dividends.”
— The British educational bill which has arrayed in opposition to each other the Church of England and the nonconformists, was denounced at a mass meeting convened by the London Progressive Council, and also by meetings at the Metropolitan Tabernacle and at St. James Hall, London, October 14. The same day Mr. Balfour, the premier, said in a speech at Manchester that the bill was a necessity, declaring that the existing educational system of England is chaotic, ineffectual, and utterly behind the age; and that it has made England the laughingstock of every advanced nation in Europe and America. Premier Balfour and Secretary Chamberlain say that the reason religion is to be taught in the public schools is because the majority of the people want religious teaching in those schools; and that while the people are not agreed on the question of what religion should be taught, the only alternative is a system permitting denominational teaching in schools wholly supported by taxation, as well as encouraging it in schools supported partly by taxes. People in the United States might do well to take warning from the position of the English nonconformists and not favor religious teaching in the public schools before they have settled the question as to what religion shall be taught.
— The sultan, says a Vienna dispatch, has been writing his autobiography, which is to be published after his death. The announcement says that the book “will fall like a bombshell on the civilized world,” because in it “he records without reserve the deceptions practiced by Christian statesmen in trying to gain the support of Mohammedan Turkey.”
— One of the darkest features of the outlook for temperance reform in this country is the hold which intemperance has secured in the ranks of “high society.” Drunkenness prevails to an alarming extent among even the women in this class. “No one who has any regard for truth can deny,” said the president of the Catholic Total Abstinence Union in a recent address, “that there is to-day gross intemperance in high society, and even among women of the highest grades of society. Intemperance among men,” he continued, “is bad, among women it is worse, and among women of high social position it is one of the worst evils that afflict humanity. Its influence reaches into all grades of society, blighting the good that domestic life should bring to the community and the nation, and sowing the seeds of moral deformity and manifold immorality. The woman, as queen of the domestic kingdom, should give character and virtue to the family at the home. If she is a slave to intoxicants, her realm is a hotbed of disorder, vice, and misery, and the state infallibly reaps disastrous results.” It is unquestionably the demands made upon the nervous system by “high society” life that lead to the first use of stimulants and the first step in a course that ends in confirmed habits of intemperance. “Temperance in all things” is the only safe rule.
