Temporary change in size and appearance of this magazine is aue to shortage of print paper in New York City. See note below.

The Marvel of Sight

By Frederic Lardent, London

THE beneficent Creator has bestowed upon us many valuable and essential gifts, the preciousness of which is not fully realized by the majority of mankind. It is only when a particular gift is taken from some one, that its true value is discerned, reminding us of the familiar adage—^<rWe never miss the water till the well runs dry”.

Take the gift of sight Once remove this inestimable boon and the sun with all its manifold glories reflected from earth and sky disappears beneath the horizon of human existence. Pathetically did Handel, the musician who became blind, express it: "Total eclipse: no sun, no moon, All dark amidst the blaze of noon I ”

Again, the poet Milton wrote, . after meeting with the same affliction:

“O loss of sight, Of thee, I most complain I ”

We recall Samson and his tragic loss of strength and vision, and we seem to hear those pleading, burning words again before that mighty fall—“O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, only this once, that I may be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes”.—Judges 16:28.

Seeing the importance of this faculty let us ponder for a little while over some of its noteworthy features. In the first place, with what ’ telling force the scenery of sight declares the state of the mind. Supreme happiness may be i written there, as well as keen sorrow, and love, ’ pity, determination, anger—whatever the emo-tion—we instinctively look * at the eyes to index the • mental condition.

Moreover, as though the eyes would tell at a glance the story of the inner work- • . ⁷ ings of the soul, invariably, when confronted by a stranger we fix our attention upon the region of sight, which seems to form a good ^; mirror reflecting the general - > disposition of a person. In 41 a very little we may tell if ‘ v a person is trustworthy or otherwise, strong in purpose , * * or weak, generous and large-hearted, or narrow and severe. So remarkable is   '

the law that though words . • < and manners may overcome much of this first > impression, yet the former guide has eventually ' * been found the most trustworthy. Looks, how- , ever, may deceive, but there is One who knows k* the hearts of all. “A prond look” is an abomi- ■ nation to Him, but the day of humbling is at hand!—Proverbs 6:16, 17; Isaiah 2:11, 12.      ..

Through the Psalmist we have the -words:

“He that formed the eye shall He not see!” The formation of the eye is so wonderful that some few thoughts thereon should be both interesting and instructive. The delicate organ is enclosed in a strong socket of bone and there it may be said to safely reside “mid walls of strength surrounded". Were it otherwise, we can easily see " '         how so important an organ would be placed at

great disadvantage and be continually liable to suffer injury, especially during the reign of evil. How wise therefore is this provision of nature, reminding us of the loving care and protection of God for His chosen, who, as they sojourn amid the strife and discord of this preset' world, cry to Him continually: “Keep me as t nle of thine eye”. (Psalm 17: 8) To these ord is pleased to answer: “Thy walls are continually before me”.—Isaiah 49:16.

The eye-ball is embedded in a soft cushion of oily fat and by the aid of its six muscles it may <           move in any direction as freely as if it floated

c          on water. While the various parts that make up

the eye are many and complicated, yet all its vessels, ligaments, nerves and fluid tubes work in perfect accord without jar or friction.

That bright jewel-like polish of the front region termed the cornea is preserved by those oilsecreting folds—the eyelids. The unconscious habit of winking serves the useful purpose of keeping the cornea clean and moist: so essential is even this little service that were it to suddenly cease the eye would lose its luster, become hazy and dim, and blindness soon result. The eyelashes form a pleasing decoration, and being supplied with delicate nerves they act as .           feelers to warn in case of danger against the

1          intrusion of small objects.

The eyes have been aptly termed “the win-*          dows of the soul”, for without them it would be

like dwelling in a dark place without light of any kind. Now ordinary windows are usually supplied with curtains for regulating the amount of light; so with the eye, its curtain is that colored circular portion surrounding the pupil and termed the iris. The word iris means a rainbow, arising from the fact that its color varies in different individuals, though it is interesting to note that the eyes of new-born babes are always blue. Bible students declare that the color blue symbolizes faithfulness. In the Golden Age all those regenerated will have blue eyes; or in other words the eyes of their under

1:7) Moreover, it will depend on their clearness of mental vision, rather than on their organs of natural sight, if the people living in the New Era would be filled with that essential overflowing love and appreciation of the great things arranged in the divine plan—the issue being either eternal life or destruction.—Heb. 9:27,28.

In conclusion, as we look upon the eye and see in it a wonderful illustration of divine handiwork, combining skilful packing, firmness, elasticity, mobility, safety and efficiency to a degree of perfection unequalled by human in' ventive art, we can truly voice our appreciation in the. words of the Psalmist (139:14): “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully ^e; marvelous are thy works, and that my so: knpweth right well”.

M k. Editok: In No. 14 of The Golden Age, page 436, is an article favoring the adoption of the decimal system in the division of our time and advising that the day, at present of twenty-four hours, be divided into ten spaces only. If this backing of the decimal system be favored it would likely mean its adoption for all other divisions of money, weights, measures of capacity, etc. This is all very well as long as we have and retain the decimal system. But there' is a much better one pointed out to us by our Creator, when the tribes of Israel were divided into twelve, after the number of the sons of Jacob, a typical forerunner of the twelve apostles. The Bible also quotes the multiple 144,000 in the Revelation.

As a means of computing quantities, twelve is twice as good as ten, as it can be divided evenly by two, three, four and six, while ten can only be divided evenly by two and five, or four divisions against two. If the pound weight were fixed at ten ounces, it would not be so easily divided into portions as one of twelve ounces, or even our present one of sixteen ounces, which can be divided by two, four and eight.

Another phase of twelve is shown in the number of notes in the musical scale: seven full and five half notes, or twelve in all. They could be better charted by perpendicular instead of horizontal ruled spaces—starting from the central C—with groupings of six spaces, marked off by thicker or colored lines to right or left for treble or bass and eliminating the confusing marks for flats and sharps, giving each separate note a permanent place of its own. The music could then be played on piano or organ as written, moving the hands to right or left to follow the notes in their distance from the central C.

The duodecimal system is not new; but the decimal system has been allowed to take possession of the field, and possession it has been said is nine-tenths of the law.

Crooked Patent Attorneys

EVEN with the American patent laws what they are, there are here and there inventors that obtain valuable patents and make some money from them. But the number is legion who ascertain in the hard school of experience that while their inventions may be valuable, the patents supposed to cover them are worthless.

This is owing in no small measure to the unscrupulousness and incompetence of many of the advertising patent attorneys. The manner of operation of these thieves is well illustrated in an experience, related in the American Machinist, of a machinist who had spent eighteen months in developing what he believed was a marketable device. He wrote to patent attorneys who advertise in the magazines, and received the usual booklets telling about the many years’ successful experience and the thousands of satisfied clients of each attorney. All the lawyers agreed on one proposition—that they would make an examination as to patentability for $5; and some said they would not require the last part of the fee earned by the attorney until the patent was issued.

The machinist sent the $5, then $25 with some papers, among them the application for patent, which by the attorney’s direction he signed in blank. Three months passed, during which the remainder ($35) was paid, but nothing whatever was heard from the lawyer, who had promised to keep him informed. The machinist dropped in on an attorney doing a local business in his city to inquire whether his friends were right in telling him he was now protected and might safely manufacture and sell the device.

“The first thing I did,” says the local patent attorney, “was to call the attention of the inventor to the fact that his invention was not protected; at least not legally; for his monopoly on the right of manufacture and sale would not begin until his patent had been issued to him. I asked him whether he had a copy of the patent drawing and his application. He said that he had not seen

■ anything besides the papers he had signed. He had not seen, let alone read, the specification and claims as set forth by his attorney. The application of my client was void at the time it was being filed.

“I told him to ask his attorney to furnish him with a copy of the drawings, specifications and claims. He followed my advice and, after corresponding back and forth, received copies and brought them to me. Together we started to examine the application. Everything was all right until we came to the claims. There we found that the attorney had not grasped the idea or the spirit of the invention at all. The claims set forth everything but the essential part of the invention. They covered nothing but incidental parts; and if the patent had been granted as applied for, it would have been absolutely worthless; for anybody could evade what was covered by those claims.

“The inventor grew angry, and was for taking the case out of the hands of this attorney, if it could be done. ‘This can be done’, I told him, ‘by the simple act of revoking the power of attorney filed in the Patent Office. However, it is better to try another way first. Let us write to your attorney, call his attention to the things he overlooked and suggest some claims which will cover the invention thoroughly.’ This we did, and as answer received a letter from the attorney saying that he was taking care of the case as well as anybody could do it, that tjiere was one claim allowed, and that he was ready to accept this and have the patent issued.

“If we had let him do this, the resulting patent would have been simply a scrap of paper limited to one narrow claim. Therefore, the inventor revoked the power of attorney given the patent attorney, and turned the case over to our local patent attorney. After going over all the papers, the local attorney started the case all over again. He told the inventor that the search he would make would be an exhaustive one, that it would include all patents issued in the United States along the lines of his invention, but would not include foreign patents and patents pending in the United States Patent Office.

“After the search was made the local attorney worked out a new application, gave the inventor a chance to examine and approve the specification and claims, and then asked him to sign the papers.

“This case shows exactly what the source of most of the trouble is, and why there are so many worthless patents which cost the patentee a lot of money and do not bring any returns.

“If you are living in Iowa and your attorney is located in New York or Washington, you do not know what he is doing. His practice comes to him mostly through advertising in magazines and Sunday papers; and if you are not satisfied with his services, you cannot hurt him. But if you employ your local patent attorney, or one that you can reach by making short trips, you have the opportunity to talk to him personally, and he has to satisfy you; for you can depend on it that there is no business man, be he patent attorney or shoemaker, who does not want to be helped along?’

High Cost of Duing By Thomas Gimblett, Wales Mr. Editor: I appreciate your magazine because it is one of the few publications one can rely on for valuable and genuine information. Living in a place where the “flu” epidemic is in much effect, claiming its victims with but little notice, funerals are very often observed. Our observation in this respect renders us conscious of some sad tales, of how tender ties axe broken when families lose their loved one. Very often father and mother are taken as its victims, leaving in some instances families of from five to ten children to weather the storms of life.

Notwithstanding the trying experiences encountered by the bereaved ones, it seems that the dominating spirit of our day does not permit of painstaking to minimize the expenses incurred on such occasions as these. For instance, without mentioning everything, for burying plot about £10; for the undertaker’s job, about £15; for admitting a headstone into the graveyard, about £3; a suit of mourning for an adult, about £10, and various other little expenses. On the top of all this many relatives, neighbors and friends gather together and form a regular tea party. These expenses are ill afforded by the majority.

Hail the day “wherein dwelleth righteousness” when such distressing conditions will not obtain—The Golden Age!

The spirit of that age will be different. “Love thy neighbor as thyself” will be the earnest endeavor of all who will submit themselves to the rules and regulations of that kingdom. People will not be permitted to exercise oppression in various ways over one another, but all will be taught of God and of Christ to appreciate their common interests. Hasten the day when groan-ings and travailings will cease!

Removing Mountains

AT Jerome, Arizona, the entire top of a mine 400 by 800 feet in area and 400 feet deep is to be removed to uncover and subdue fires which have been burning in the sulphur in which the ores abound. Giant steam shovels will be us$d in this work, which will require several years. The cost will be enormous, but an offset will be

the complete discovery of the ore body, and the engineers have figured that it will pay.

In Utah, for some years, one of the world’s most profitable mines has been operated in a somewhat similar manner. An engineer figured that the best way to get at the ore body would be to remove the whole mountain top. This was done, and the results have fully demonstrated the wisdom of his advice.

The Lord speaks of this matter of removing mountains, saying, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed [which grows very vigorously in Palestine], ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove”. (Matthew 17: 20) The word “mountain” abused in prophetic Scripture always means “kingdom”, and it is evident that our Lord was here calling-attention to the fact that it would be the prayers of His followers that would overthrow Satan’s empire or kingdom, and inaugurate His own in its place. It is for this that we pray when we voice the prayer He taught us, “Thy kingdom come”. (Matthew 6:10) He was not advising His followers to try to uproot literal mountains, as is being done in Arizona and aS was done in Utah.

Vertical Mine Boundaries

IN Mexico mineral rights are limited by the

Vertical boundaries of the claims, and this is the way it ought to be But in the United States, as a left-over from the old customs of the California “Forty-niners”, we have what are called “Apex” laws, which under certain conditions enable miners to proceed beyond their vertical boundaries. This causes endless legal ■ confusion and is sometimes taken advantage of by tricky men, to defeat the ends of justice.

An Underground Mill

IT IS a well-known fact that many of the most interesting features of New York City are underground; subways, sewers, steam mains, gas mains, water mains, telegraph conduits, telephone conduits and underground stories running sometimes to the fourth story underground —all attest the fact

. But an underground mill away up on the side of a mountain is a novelty. However, in Ouray county, Colorado, such a mill is being erected. The object in thus placing the mill is to avoid the immense avalanches of snow which hitherto have been burying or sweeping into ravines the strongest buildings that could be erected. The new location of the mill enables the mine and its mill to operate every day in the year, instead of shutting down for the winter as heretofore.

England and King Coal

WITH 30,000 more workers in the mines in 1919 than before the war, the production of coal in 1919 was 200,000,000 tons as against 287,000,000 tons. This has made coal quite scarce; and it is said that in the time of greatest scarcity the economically impossible happened, and coals were really “carried to Newcastle” on one occasion. At many places in the early winter the arrival of a carload of. coal brought a rush of the inhabitants for miles around, aiid queues of people desiring fuel formed, as during the fuel-shortage days of the war. A ton of,coal which used to cost ten shillings now costs twenty-six shillings.                             ,

The seams of English coal belong t’o 4000 owners, who draw a royalty on every ton, in addition to the operator’s profits. There are 1500 mining operators. The condition of the miners in England has been very hard. The majority of their families live in houses of three rooms, and the miner has to wash and change in the living-room of his house. The miners ate bent on doing something to end such a state of affairs, and seem in a fair way to do it through the pressure they are now exerting upon the government to nationalize the mines.

Mr. Editor: We are profoundly disappointed in your comment on “England and Ireland” in your issue of April 14. The writer of this is English born and of English blood that goes back to the Norman conquest. Not only am I familiar with English history from my boyhood, but in 19111 made a personal tour through Ireland and a very particular study of Irish conditions in both the north and the south of Ireland. Your statement that “those who ought to know say that there are more people in Ireland who do not want an Irish Republic" merely indicates that “those who ought to know”’are often lacking in knowledge or in the fair-mindedness to face facts. Even Lloyd George admitted in Parliament recently: “If the people of Ireland were asked what plan they would accept,'

they would say by an emphatic majority, ^fWe want independence and an Irish Republic’ ”.

Moreover, even if this thing were true, which it is not, that there are more people in Ireland who do not want independence and an Irish Republic than there are of those who do want it, the implication would not justify your paragraph. Undoubtedly this was true of the situation in America when George Washington was fighting for independence here, as I remember to have seen the statement that more Americans fought under General Howe against American independence than ever fought under Washington for it

Nor is it true that conditions in the north of Ireland are as you intimate. I myself saw conditions of poverty there among the striking factory workers on the streets of Belfast which would be a disgrace to Turkey or Japan. To say that Ireland has not been and is not oppressed under English rule is to deny or obscure one of the most shameful tyrannies under the sun, and is wholly unworthy of such a magazine as The Golden Age. I love England and the English people, as I love all countries and all peoples; but I am sick and ashamed of the cruel, cowardly, lying, tyrannous rule of England in Ireland, and of the unworthy apologies of all England’s defenders in her most indefensible treatment of the unhappy island. There is only one way out for Ireland, and that is the way of independence and self-government; and if the British Empire stands in the way much longer the British Empire will go the way of the German Empire, and its Roman and Babylonian predecessors. Kindly give this letter publicity, as you did your editorial.

Now 7s the Judgment         By Robert Ranson

Mr. Editor: In the year 1856 Dr. Joseph

Augustus Seiss, of Philadelphia, looking forward to the times in which we now live, wrote as follows:

“Thoughtful people will be startled at the amazing upheavings in society; they will tremble at the mighty , agitations that confuse and trouble everything in church and state; they will grow pale at the gigantic moves of revolutionists and military despots and their hearts shall fail them as they look forward as to what the end of all shall be.

“Some will call it progress; some will say it is the wrong education of the masses; some will attribute it to mistaken or ambitious legislation; some will think it is liberty arising from her sleep of ages to take dominion of the world; and a thousand theologians, philosophers, and jurists will have as many different solutions of the problem of what is coming upon the world, without ones striking upon the real truth: that the day of judgment has begun.”

Some years later he writes:

“Signs of the coming judgment are being manifested on every side; all fingers point to the crisis as near at hand; the times we live in are freighted With intense and limitless issues; wc stand upon a point where the last fading rays of a dying world mingle, with the dawn of an opening eternity.

“'Nations and churches., superstitions and error! 6X6 seen crumbling and tottering to their final fall.

“The long stored up fires are beating against theft prison walls and clamor for the promise of a Speedy., release. The time has come when judgment must JsSgim May a beneficent heaven prepare us to meetQur0OcL^w

Practical Horse Sense           By s. E. (Joft&ti

OST of us are admirers of good practical sense. Among farmers and those that

train or break horses for their own use or for others this is an admirable trait of which they all boast. But. comparatively few apply it in this phase of their work. Few have learned that the secret of successfully training an animal to be absolutely reliable lies in permanently fixing the proper impressions upon his mind. Habits are neither good nor bad to the horse. Bad habits are the result of improper training or accidents. Good habits are the logical result of proper training.

The false idea that a horse can reason is not a benefit to the animal, but has resulted in much harm being done. The harm is often caused by people punishing the horse for not obeying a signal or command which he hgd never been taught, and which because of his inability to reason he cannot understand. The horse is much larger and stronger than man, but is far his inferior in brain development and capacity. The several parts of the horse’s brain are not connected, but separate. This fact is borne out both by an examination of the animal’s brain and by experience in horse training. This explains why a horse will shy at an object from one side and not from the other side; or why a horse may have a particular foot which he does not want shod (that portion of his brain has not had the proper impression made on it).

America’s “Edith Cavell”

Judge Rutherford, President International Bible Students Association, in Return Address in San Francisco in Scottish Rite Auditorium on the Topic “Millions Now Living Will Never Die"           .

was Greeted by an Immense and Attentive Audience.

SPEAKER positively declared that those living in 1925 would not need to die if they obeyed the plain Scriptural injunctions respecting righteous living, etc. His arguments were based primarily upon prophecies that have been fulfilled during the past five years, supplemented by other prophecies whjch have been In the\coijrs£ of fulfillment since 1878, and which will have their culmination in 1925, the official beginning of the new era during which everlasting life will be possible to whosoever will have it.

Judge Rutherford, in closing his address this afternoon, asked the question, “Are events transpiring in this country that parallel the religious persecution of the times of inquisition of the dark ages?” He answered his own question by emphatically declaring, “Yes, and I want to tell you of a case almost within the limits of your own city”.

Judge Rutherford then described the case of Mrs. Emma Martin, a gentle Christian woman of Southern California, grey-haired and saintly, a physician’s widow, who about a month ago was incarcerated in San Quentin prison in a ward with vile-mouthed negro women. He told how this case was framed up by the Attorney General’s representatives in Southern California, who came to Mrs. Martin’s Bible class, posed as interested in Bible study, and begged her to let them have a copy of “The Finished Mystery”, a Bible commentary exclusively devoted to explaining the mysteries of the book of Ezekiel, of the Old Testament, and the book of Revelation. They then arrested her for this; and now, more than eighteen months after the armistice, she has been incarcerated to serve several years in San Quentin penitentiary for selling this Bible commentary.

During the recital of this most astonishing case, Colonel J. Arthur Petersen, who with many others was seated on the platform, framed the following resolution, which he requested the privilege of putting to the entire audience assembled. The chairman, after assuring himself respecting the nature of the motion, granted the Colonel the privilege of presenting his resolution, which was done in high-sounding patriotic language, intermixed with effective strains evidencing great emotion and sincere indignation.

At the conclusion of Colonel Petersen’s remarks many persons throughout the audience arose to second his motion, and shouts of "I second the motion” were heard from all parts of the auditorium. Mr. J. E. Brookes, recently a non-commissioned officer in Uncle Sam’s army, repeatedly requested the privilege of seconding this resolution, stating that surely the proper officials will take immediate action to undo such a wrong—a remark which well expresses the general sentiment of all seconding the motion. The question being put, the resolution was passed unanimously, followed by an unusual outburst of applause and approval.

Following this demonstration, Colonel Petersen again arose to his feet and requested the privilege of offering the same motion with the names of Messrs. Hamm, Sonnenberg and Stevens, now imprisoned at McNeill’s Island federal penitentiary, who were convicted on similarly framed up cases, and that the President should be requested to take favorable action in their cases also.

The seconding and passing of this second motion was fully as spontaneous and dramatic as the first, and many were the sober-minded and sober-faced who emerged from this memorable meeting.

In presenting this resolution Colonel Petersen read a very dramatic article from the Seattle Record, in which the writer stated that the manner of conviction and imprisonment of these

men strongly indicated that we had already entered into another period of darkness and inquisition.

The article from the Seattle Record follows:

WHO WOULD HAVE SUPPOSED?

By Anise

Out on the wharves of Los Angeles as the steamer “President” left for Seattle came hundreds of Bible students bearing flowers and singing songs in farewell to four of their number who were going away to prison I They were simple folk, deeply religious, not over-much Interested in politics, but concerned with the coming of the Lord as explained by Pastor Russell. And three years back, In wartime, they circulated a book, “The Finished Mystery,” containing chiefly discussions of Ezekiel and Revelation, and Incidentally denouncing. war 1 They were a quiet people, and unobtrusive, desiring no quarrel with any governments, and when they heard their book “ad been accmnted seditious, they ceased at once to use it! But some of them had sold it already, not knowing it was unlawful, and these were at once arrested and brought to trial!

Honest, industrious citizens, men of family, men with sons in our army, men who had never before been haled to court, yet they were sentenced to prison for selling “The Finished Mystery” ! Month after month their case dragged its way through the courts, till now, nearly two years after armistice, their last appeal is denied, and they are shipped from Los Angeles up to McNeill Island to spend three years in jail for their religion 1 Down on the dock as they left, laden with many flowers, arose the song of the church:

“God be with you until we meet again!” And the prisoners spoke, saying how glad they were to bear witness of their faith before the world !. It was like a scene in the days of the early church when heathen emperors Imprisoned the new believers.

Who would have supposed it could happen today in America?

As provided for in the resolution the chairman of the mass meeting, W. L. Dimock, prepared and forwarded to President Wilson the following telegram:

President Woodrow Wilson, Washington:

In response to your recent declaration that no one had been, and to your invitation to the Republican party to produce a single instance in which any person had been, unjustly convicted or punished for violation of the Espionage Act, a very large number of patriotic American citizens this afternoon in mass meeting assembled . in the Scottish Rite auditorium in this city unanimously and enthusiastically passed the following resolution:

WHEREAS a Christian lady home missionary, Mrs. Emma Martin, is held in prison at San Quentin under the Espionage law for selling one copy of “The Finished , Mystery”, a Bible commentary, to Federal officers at their solicitation;                                             >

AND WHEREAS this Christian home missionary is now daily compelled to associate with vile and immoral negro women, being held in prison almost two years after the war is over;                                    '

AND WHEREAS she could not possibly have intended to impede the draft law by selling to Federal officers at their solicitation this book;

Now, therefore, RESOLVED by this mass meeting of American citizens at San Francisco assembled, who are and always have been loyal to the American Government:                              '         Xi--’’

That we regard the conviction and impflsomkent Mrs. Martin, the said Christian home missionary, under the Espionage law as unjust, un-Christian and unAmerican;

That the action of Federal officers in using the power of their office to inveigle, entrap and induce said Christian home missionary, Mrs. Martin, to sell them the copy of “The Finished Mystery” and then to frame up against her a case to have her sent to prison we denounce as infamous, outrageous, dishonest, unjust, as '■ in flagrant violation of American principles, as a disgrace to American institutions, and as destructive of the ^v time-honored religious and civil freedom which are the very foundation principles of the American Government;

AND RESOLVED, that the facts in this case be brought to the attention of President Wilson, and that he be requested immediately to release said Mrs. Martin from prison and to restore her to full citizenship.

Subsequent to the adoption of the foregoing resolution, information was called for respecting the imprisonment of Messrs. Hamm, Sonnenberg, and Stevens . at McNeill’s Island federal penitentiary for violating ¹ the Espionage Act. The information comprising the testimony of the government’s agents so clearly indicated that these cases also had been framed up by the Department of Justice of Southern California, that a resolution calling for immediate action in their favor. . on your part was unanimously adopted, and you are hereby apprised in accordance therewith.”

W. L. Dimock, Chairman Mass Meeting.

Ecce Venit

He comes to make the long injustice right— Comes to push back the shadow of the night,

The gray tradition full of flint and flaw. . . .

Yea, He will bear the safety of the state, For in His still and rhythmic steps will be The power and music of Alcyone^

[Behold He Comes]                 . • ‘

Who holds the swift heavens in their starry fate.

Yea, He will lay on hearts the power of peace, And send on kingdoms torn the sense of home—

More than the fire of joy that burned on Greece, More than the light of law-that rose on Rome.

—-Edwin Marlham

giveus, please, the results of your labors and U' studies, the conclusions of your ablest thinkers and theologians, in respect to the revelation \ which you claim to have from God on this sub. ject, Where are the dead? We will hear you thoughtfully, patiently, unbiasedly.

, Our Catholic friends respond: ‘Our teachings ■ are very explicit along the lines of your ques; tion. "We have canvassed the subject from every standpoint in the light of divine revelation. Our ■- conclusion and teaching are that when any one dies, he goes to one of three places. First, the • saintly, of whom we claim there are but a few, go immediately to the presence of God, to hfeaven. Those who faithfully bear the cross are the “little flock”, the “elect”. Respecting these Jesus says, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the Way, that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it”. (Matthew 7:14) These saintly do not include our clergy, not even our bishops, , cardinals and popes; for you will find that when • any.of these die, it is a custom of the church that ■ masses be said for the repose of their souls.

We would not say masses for any we believe to be in heaven, because there surely is repose for every soul; neither would we say masses for them if we believed them to be in eternal hell, for masses could not avail them there. We might remark, however, that we do not teach that many go to the eternal hell. It is our teaching that only incorrigible heretics—persons who have had a full knowledge of Catholic doctrines and who have wilfully and deliberately opposed them—-these alone meet the awful, hopeless fate.

‘The dead in general, according to our teaching, pass immediately to purgatory, which is, as the name indicates, a place of purgation from sin, a place of penances, sorrows, woes, anguish indeed, but not hopeless. The period of confinement here may be centuries or thousands of years, according to the deserts of the individual and the alleviations granted. If you would know more particularly the Catholic teaching on this subject, we refer you to the writings of one of our great Catholics, the noted poet Dante, a loyal Catholic, at one time an abbot, who died in a monastery with the full rites of the church. Dante’s poem, “Inferno,” graphically describes the tortures of hell, as we understand the matter. You can procure at almost any library an illustrated copy of this great Catholic poem.

Dore, the artist, was also a prominent Catholic and he portrayed Dante's' poem vividly and truthfully. The illustrations show the torments of hell vividly—how the demons chase some until they leap over precipices into boiling water. They ply others with fiery darts. Others are burned with heads downward; others with feet downward in pits. Some are bitten by serpents. Still others are frozen, etc. We advise that you see Dante’s work, “Inferno”; for .it gives our Catholic view of the proper answer to your question, Where are the dead! The vast majority are in purgatory. The billions of the heathen are there; for ignorance does not save, does not qualify for the heavenly condition. All who enter heaven must previously have been fitted and prepared in a manner impossibleJo^y the heathen. Millions of Protestants are there.' They could not enter heaven, except through the portals of the Catholic church; neither would God deem them worthy of eternal hell, because . their rejection of Catholicism was due to the confession of faith under which they were born and environed. Nearly all Catholics go to purgatory also, because, notwithstanding the good offices of our church, our holy water, confessions, masses, holy candles, consecrated burying ground, etc., nevertheless, not having attained to saintship of character, they would be excluded from heaven until the distressing experiences . of purgatory would prepare their hearts for heaven. We hold, however, that for the reason stated, Catholics will not need to remain as long in purgatory as will Protestants and heathen?

We can thank our Catholic friends for so kind a statement of their case. We will not ask them where their purgatory is, nor how they obtain the details of information respecting it; for such questions might offend them, and we have no desire to offend.                   .

Having found all the other answers unsatisfactory, and having now come to the one-twelfth portion of our race which has had most advantage every way, we might reasonably expect to find in its answer the quintessence of wisdom and proof from every quarter and from every age. But what do we find?—an answer which is put to shame by the Catholics, the heathen and the agnostics.

Protestants got their name from the fact that our intelligent and well-meaning forefathers, who were Catholics, thought that they discovered

inconsistencies and unscripturalness in Catholic doctrines in which they had been reared. They protested against these, and hence came the name Protestants.

One of their points of protest was that our forefathers could find nothing of purgatory anywhere on earth, nor any declaration respecting it in the Bible. With a simplicity that is certainly marvelous to us, they concluded that they would merely pick up their views of purgatory and throw them away forever. This left them heaven and hell, into one of which, they said, every member of the race must go at death and there spend his eternity.

Theoretically, Protestant doctrines stand with the Bible and with Catholics and declare that 2"^H?<*¥en is a place of perfection; that there can •      fie no 'th&rfge to any who enter there; hence that

all trial, all refinement, all chiseling, all polishing of character must be accomplished in advance of an entrance into the abode of the saints. In a word, we agree that only the saints will ever enter there, the “pure in heart”, “the; overcomers”, the “little flock”, who now walk in the footsteps of Jesus. What about the remainder of mankind? Ah! there is the difficulty.

Our creeds perplex us; for, as our hearts will not permit us to think of these poor creatures going to an eternity of misery, neither will our heads permit us to say that they are fit for heaven. Indeed it would be at variance not only with the Scripture, but also with reason itself, to suppose heaven with three-fourths of its inhabitants unregenerate in every sense of the , word. Our forefathers merely spoiled things ' for us when they threw away purgatory and kept the remainder of the arrangement. If we must object to purgatory as being unscriptural, niust we not equally object to the eternal torment of all the families of the earth as being unscriptural, especially when the Bible declares that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” through Christ—blessed with a knowledge of the truth and opportunity to come into heart harmony with God and attain everlasting life through Christ?

.The clear, plain, reasonable, just, loving and wise program of our Heavenly Father has been sd long overlooked, so long buried under the rubbish of human tradition of the “dark ages” that today “Truth is stranger than fiction”. Well did our Lord through the prophet declare: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my plans higher than your plans”.—Isaiah 55:9.

All of the foregoing theories, be it noticed^ are -based upon the assumption that death does not mean death—that to die is to become more alive, than before death. In Eden it was God who declared to our first parents: “Ye shall surely die”. It was Satan who declared: “Ye shall not surely die”. Notice that the heathens, as Well as the Christians, have accepted Satan’s lie and correspondingly rejected God’s truth. We have followed the wrong teacher, the one of whom our Lord said, “He abode not in the truth”, and that he is the father of lies.—John 8:44.

If our forefathers had believed God’s testimony, “Thou shalt surely die”, there would have been no room for the introduction of prayers for the dead, masses for their sins, frightful thoughts respecting their torture. The Scriptures agree from first to last that “the dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9: 5) and that • “their sons come to honor and they know it not; they come to dishonor and they perceive it not of them”. (Job 14:21) It is the Scriptures that tell us where the dead are and their condition; that they are experiencing neither joy nor sorrow, pleasure nor suffering; that they will have no knowledge of anything done under the sun until their awakening in the resurrection. “Do with thy might what thy hand findeth to do, for there is neither wisdom nor knowledge nor device in [sheol] the grave, whither thou goest”. (Ecclesiastes 9:10) In the Old Testament and in the New Testament it is written of both the good and the bad that they fell asleep in death. The Apostle speaks of those who “sleep in Jesus”, and of those who have “fallen asleep in Christ” and who, he declares, are perished, if there be no resurrection of the dead. Could they perish in heaven or in put-' gatory or in a hell of torment? Assuredly no one so teaches. They are already in a perished condition in the tomb; and the perishing would be absolute, complete, unless a resurrection be provided for their deliverance from the power of death. Hence we read: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life”.

In a word, then, the Bible teaching is that man was made superior to all the brute creation —in the image and likeness of his Creator; that he possessed life in a perfect degree in Eden and might have retained it by full obedience. But in his trial, his testing, he failed and came under the death sentence. “In the day that thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die.” (Genesis 2:17) There the dying began, which, after 930 years, brought father Adam to the tomb and involved all of his children in his weaknesses and death sentence. He died in the very day, which the Apostle Peter explains w*as not a twenty-four-hour day, but a thousand-year day, saying, "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years”. (2 Peter 3: 8) During six of these great days the death sentence has brought man down in some respects to the level of the brute and left him without hope of future life, except as God might take compassion upon him and bring him some relief. This was hinted at in the statement that “the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head”. It w^ras yet further elaborated to Abraham, saying, “In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed”.—Genesis 28:14.

But not until four of the great thousand-year days had passed did God send forth his Son to redeem the race, by paying father Adam’s penalty, by dying, “the just for the unjust, that ho might bring us to God”. (1 Peter 3:18) As a result of that redemptive work accomplished at Calvary there is to be “a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust”-—a recovery from the death sentence, from the 'prison-house, the tomb.

Note well the mistake made in assuming eternal torment the wages of original sin, when the Scriptures explicitly declare that “the wages of sin is death”—not eternal torment. (Romans 6:23) We search the Genesis account of man’s fall and the sentence imposed, but find no suggestion of a future punishment, but merely of a death penalty. Repeating it, the second time the Lord said: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”. (Genesis 3:19) But he said not a word respecting devils, fire and torment. How, then, did the adversary deceive our fathers during the “dark ages” with his errors, which the Apostle styles “doctrines of devils”¹? Note the fact that none of the prophecies mention any other than a death penalty for sin. Note that the New Testament likewise declares the same. St. Paul, who wrote more than one-half of the New Testament, and who assures us that he did “not shun to declare the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20: 27) says not a word about torment. On the contrary, discussing this very matter of sin and its penalty, he says: ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. (Romans 5:12) Note that it was not eternal torment that passed upon one man nor upon all men, but death. If some one suggests that death would not be a sufficient penalty for sin, all we would need to do would be to point him to the facts and thus prove his suggestions illogical. For the sin of disobedience Adam lost his paradisaic home— lost eternal life and divine fellowship, and instead got sickness, pain, sorrow, d*^.tlu^ Additionally all of his posterity, reasonably estimated at twenty thousand millions, disinherited ’ so far as the blessings are concerned, have inherited weaknesses, mental, moral and physical, and are, as the Apostle declares, “a groaning creation”.—Romans 8:22.

Let no one think the death penalty unjust and too severe. God could have blotted out Adam, the sinner, thus fulfilling the sentence. He could have blotted out the race instantly. But would we have preferred that? Assuredly not Life is sweet, even amidst pain and suffering. Besides it is the divine purpose that present trials' and experiences shall prove useful as disciplines, to prepare us for a wiser course than father Adam took, when we shall be privileged to have a further individual trial. Our race would have been without hope of future existence, just as agnosticism claims, had it not been for divine compassion and the work of redemption.—John 3:16.

Notice again why our Lord died for our redemption and see in that another evidence of the penalty. If the penalty against us had been eternal torment, our redemption from it would have cost our Lord that price. He would have been obliged to suffer eternal torment, the just for the unjust. But eternal torment was not < the penalty; hence Jesus did not pay that penalty for us. Death was the penalty and hence “Christ died for our sins”. “By the grace of God he tasted death for every man.” Whoever could pay Adam’s penalty could settle with divine Justice for the sins of the whole world, because Adam alone had been tried—Adam alone had been condemned. We, his children, were involved through him. Behold the wisdom and the economy of our Creator! The Scriptures assure us that he condemned the whole world for one man's disobedience, in order that he might have mercy upon all through the obedience of another—Christ. We were condemned to (death without our consent or knowledge. We were redeemed from death without our consent or knowledge.

Some one may inquire, "Are we, therefore, without responsibility? Will there be no individual penalty upon us for individual wrong doings?” Y?e answer, “A just recompense of reward” will be meted out to all. But our eter-rjal destiny, can be settled only by ourselves, by bur individual acceptance or rejection of the grace of God. The Scriptures clearly inform us that every sin, in proportion to its wilfulness, brings a measure of degradation which involves "stripes”, chastisements, corrections to regain the lost standing. Thus the more mean and more wicked a man or a woman may be, the greater will be his or her disadvantage in the resurrection time, and the more he will then have to overcome to get back to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed by Christ.

At his first advent our Lord’s miracles foreshadowed the great work which He, with His glorified church, will accomplish for the world during the Millennium—then all the sick, lame, blind and dead will be revived and, if obedient, will be brought ultimately to full perfection. The disobedient will be destroyed in the second death. The most notable miracle which our Lord performed was the awakening of Lazarus, His friend. Jesus was gone several days when Lazarus took sick and, of course, knew not about the matter. Nevertheless, Martha and Mary sent Him a special message, saying, “Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick”. (John 11:3) They knew of Jesus’ power to heal, even by the word of His mouth. They had faith that if He could help strangers, He would surely be glad to assist His friend. But Jesus remained where He was and permitted Lazarus to die and a rude shock to come to the dear sisters. Then He said to His disciples, “Our friend Lazarus sleepeth”. (John 11:11) Then, coming down to their comprehension, He added, “Lazarus is dead; and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there”.

—John 11:14,15.

He was glad to let His friend fall asleep in ;• death, because it would provide a special opportunity for a special miracle. Then; with His disciples, he began the three days’ journey to Bethany. We cannot blame the sorrowing sisters that they felt hurt that the Messiah should apparently neglect their interests. They knew that He had the power to relieve them. Martha’s gentle reproof was, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 21:23,24) Notice that our Lord did not say, ‘Thy brother is not dead; thy brother is more alive than he ever was; he is in heaven or in purgatory*. Nothing of the kind! Purgatory had not yet been invented, and He knew nothing of it. Arid as for heaven, our Lord’s testimony is, in our text, “No man hath ascended into heaven, but he that came down from heaven”. Martha was also well informed. The errors of the dark ages had not yet supplanted the truth. Her hope for her brother was the Scriptural one; that he would rise in the resurrection, in the last day, the Millennial day, the seventh of the great thousand-year days from creation.

Our Lord explained that the power of resurrection was vested in Himself, that He was there with her, and could give relief to them without waiting. Martha told our Lord that it was too late; that putrefaction had set in by this time. But Jesus insisted on seeing the tomb and when He arrived at it, He said, “Lazarus, come forth”. And we read, “He that was dead came forth”. (John 11:43,44) Mark well that it was not the living that came forth, but that Lazarus was really dead. Mark well that he was not called from heaven nor from purgatory.

What Jesus did for Lazarus He intimated He would ultimately do for Adam and his entire race. Note His words: “The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth”. (John 5:28, 29) Does this astonish us? If so, the reason is

not far to seek. It is because we have gotten So far away from the teachings of the Bible—so fully immersed in the “doctrines of devils”, eo fully to believe in the serpent’s lie, “Ye shall not surely die”—so blinded to the Lord’s declaration, ‘Ye shall surely die”, and “The wages of sin is death”.

The remainder of John 5:29 explains that there will be two general classes of the dead to come forth: First, those who have had their trial and who have passed it successfully; the second, all the remainder of mankind who have thus far failed to have divine approval. The approved will come forth from the tomb unto a resurrection of life—perfection. The disapproved will come forth unto a resurrection of judgment, (see Revised Version) The coming forth is one thing. The resurrection is another. The Apostle explains that they will come forth "every man in his own order”. (1 Corinthians 15:23) On thus being awakened the privilege will be their rising up, up, up out of present degradation, mental, moral, physical, to the glorious perfection which father Adam enjoyed in the image and likeness of his Creator. The uplifting or resurrection work St. Peter refers to as the "restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”.—Acts 3:21.     .

Nor does this mean universal everlasting life, for the Scriptures declare that such as refuse to profit by the glorious opportunities of the Millennium, such as refuse to be uplifted to perfection, shall be destroyed from among the people in the second death. "They shall be as though'they had not been.” (Obadiah 16) The Scriptures declare that a part of our Lord’s work is “to open the prison doors and set at liberty the captives”. Our Lord did not open any of the literal prisons, such as John the Baptist was confined in. He made no effort to succor him. The prison-house which Christ will <jpen is the great prison-house, the tomb, which now holds approximately twenty thousand millions of our race. In due time and beginning shortly our Lord will open this great prisonhouse and allow all the prisoners to come forth, just as truly as He did in the example—in the case of Lazarus. Nor will He call them from heaven, purgatory and hell; but, just as He declared, "Lazarus, come forth,” "all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and come forth”.

We have now heard the testimony of God’s Word—the divine declaration as to 'Where are the dead?” Harkening to the voice from heaven we are assured that they are really dead and that all their hopes as respects the future are centered, first, upon the redemptive work of our

Lord Jesus, accomplished at Calvary; and, see-ondly, upon the work of resurrection which, at ■» His second advent, He is to accomplish for those whom He redeemed. If perchance you have a ,' shade of disappointment as respects a saintly _x brother or sister, father or mother or child, who * you hoped was already in heaven, then as a con- -solation look at the other side of the question— ’ behold how many of your loved ones, kith and    ”

kin, friends and foes and neighbors, according    >’

to your theory and all the prevalent theories, have been suffering untellable woe since tho^: death and would be suffering similarly fo~ centuries to come—consider t’ ^elief of and heart you get from the knowledge 0; truth; that they are not alive anywhere, simply dead, or more poetically, they are “asleep in Jesus”, in the sense that He is their \ Redeemer, in whom all their hopes of a future awakening reside.                        .         j

Palestine from Day to Day                '

NEW Yiddish-Hebrew dictionary is being prepared by “Stefatenu”, a Hebrew-speak

ing organization, which now has a membership of more than 400 in Jerusalem. It is also .' •' issuing a list of useful words in Hebrew, English, French, etc.                               ?

The parents of the pupils attending the ■ Herzliah Gymnasium in Jaffa participate in the management of that institution. It was ,v decided to open a preparatory school to the _s. ? Gymnasium to teach Hebrew to the many new . immigrants that are expected. This school is to , be controlled exclusively by the Gymnasium and receives no subvention from the Vaad Hach- u inuch (Board of Education).

A kitchen financed by the Orphan Committee ■ has been opened in Jerusalem to supply mealfl to the trade apprentices who attend Hebrew < evening classes, and many of whom are orphans.

The great lack of modem agricultural machinery which has long been felt in Palestine . has caused representatives of the colonies o* Rishon, Petach Tikvah, Nes Zionah, Reho’ Gederah, Beer Jacob to negotiate with t’

C. A., to open a store in Jaffa, wh implements will be sold on the insta¹' Machines for pealing almonds a¹

A course in agricult ¹"^,as ' the Mikveh Israel Schr

Haavoda.

• 1. Did death pass upon Adam only or upon all men?

Ans. : See Romans 5:12.

• 2. Is death an enemy of man?

Ans.: See 1 Corinthians 15: 26.        ¹

• 3. Did God give any hope to fallen man?

Ans.: See Genesis 3:15.

d God 1 r give further hope?

• a. : He did. See Genesis 12: 3; 22:16 -18.

Vhat other promise, connected ivith the blessing of all, was made to Abraham?

■ - Ans.: Possession of the land of Canaan. See Genesis 13:.12,14,15.

• 6. When Abraham moved into Canaan did he then inherit the land?

Ans.: Stephen said, “No”. See Acts 7: 4, 5.

• 7. Was Abraham sometime actually to possess the land, or was he to go to Heaven and from there with his seed to bless all "families and nations”?

Ans.: Read again Genesis 13:15.

• 8 Does the Bible say that he went to Heaven?

Ans.: No.

• 9. What does it say?

Ans.: He died and was gathered to his people. See Genesis 25:8.

• 10. Who were "his people”?

Ans.: Heathen.

• 11. Was the promise to "bless all families and nations” fulfilled in Isaac and Jacob?

Ans.: See Hebrews 11:13.

• 12. Since a dead man cannot own land or bless any one, how is Abraham to have part in blessing "all families and nations”?

Ans.: See John 5:28,29. Revised Version. ... '

• 13. Will the resurrection of the ancient worthies be "to life” {perfect life) or "to judgment"? Ans.: They are to get “ a better resurrection” than the world in general and be “made perfect” (Hebrews' 11: 35, 40); consequently it will be to perfect life.

• 14. Did God "bless all families and nations” before Christ's first advent?              .

Ans.: See Amos 3:2; Ephesians 2:11,12.      .

©hr Jimsbrti fHyairry

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