Golden Age ■

A ' JOUR-NAL- OF -FACT

hope-and-convicTion

Nov. 10, 1920, Vol. 2, No. 30

IBB Published every other ■ K*B trrt'Ar at 35 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, Xeic York City

TM'Conta a. Copy—$2.00 a Y«ar

Canada and Foreign Countries, $2.50

' VOLWMin WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 10, 1920 NcrMBDM

. CONTENTS of tho GOLDEN AGE

A                                                       ■

^?         LABOR AND ECONOMICS

Kansas indurfriai delations Objections to the Law..........69

' ‘ Court ......  -_____97 The Eight to strike.__________„tt

' First Effects vt the Law—67 How About the Constitution 70

, Who to the Public?———68 Jama Talked Plainly Also_74

’              SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL

:     A Money-Mad World-------.71 Control of Transportation....72

.    ^:     Money Control of Wages-----71 Control of Legislation.-----—Tt

.* .  Control of Renta in New Y*k 71 Control of the Courts........—73

Control of Food Product's 72 Control of Thought___7$

FINANCE— COMMERCE—TRANSPORT AVION

<■■ -_x. Transportation Benefits__—74 Exercises for Business Men-tjfc

$ U.        POLITICAL—DOMESTIC AJflft FOREIGN

/ .    ---Norway’s Conciliation Crts..75 Conciliation Verras Lltiga-

. i American Conciliation CTts 75 tkm  --------------

7 . Informal Courts of Equity....75 Bolshevism _____

.               SCIENCE AND INVENTION

•*.         Invention and Prophecy._______._________-_____.....

agriculture and husbandry

Blasting Out Stumps.__________—________________—

,.       HOUSEWIFERY AND HYGIENE

Castile Soap................... 82 Dried Fruits and Their Tse..84

> The Barrier of Disease

■                TRAVEL AND MISCELLANY

Color and Its Maker.__~85 Dear Hayom______________:------...8IF

,     '            RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

' - Advanced Bible Study------------------------------------------------

i        Behind Nature’s Machinery is the Intelligent, Omnipotent

V        God -...............  *

; -        Having Given Man Capacity for Appreciation God Provides

- •           Him a Revelation...................... .....M

The Existence of a Book Implies Motive on the Part of the

•             Writer ......._

What AxtonisheR Thoee Who Terra the Bible a Manufactured HLstwy

.          Juvenile. Bible Study..........

Waiting for the Bugle (poemi—„

■                                                      • • ■ ■^r ••Twy'rv" ■

■                                    • . . ' ........ . . -                         - 1 , C ’• :                                    . -

’                                                                    ' * I ’ -

'flu-Golden Age Teluu II                          New York, Wednesday. November 10, 1920                        Number 30

Kansas Industrial Relations Court

DURING the coal strike of last winter the people of Kansas were without coal in zero weather; and in desperation Governor Allen called the legislature in special session, January fifth, to deal with the emergency. At that time the citizens in some parts of the state were cutting down their shade trees for fuel, in order to keep the women and the children from freezing.                       ,

In the interim, while the legislation was in preparation, the mines of the state were manned for three weeks by volunteer workers who produced a quantity of much needed coal, albeit at an expense to the state estimated at two hundred dollars per ton for the supply produced. This is ‘ sufficient evidence that the working of mines by volunteers is not practical, and that some better way to keep the mines working should be devised.

The Kansas Legislature tackled the problem and, using New Zealand and Australian laws as . models, succeeded in a very brief time in bringing forth a law which is a novelty in America, in that it is the first law ever passed in this land compelling employes and employers to submit their differences to a tribunal for adjudication. The law was passed on January tjventv-fifth.                                               ‘         ’

The industries covered by the law are tin* manufacture and preparation of food, the manufacture of clothing, the mining or production of fuel, the transportation of these commodities, and all public utilities, such as water, gas and electric plants. The Court may intervene in anv industrial controversy, either on its own initiative, or that oT the employers or of the employes or of a Committee of ten citizens or of the attorney general of the state.

The Court can summon all interested parties before it and make such orders, pending investigation of the condition of the workers, as ar to the public interest. It has the power to settle and adjust all controversies affecting working and living conditions, hours of labor and wages. It grants the right of collective bargaining and the right to choose one’s own field of labor.

The Court has the power to establish or to change working and living conditions, hours of labor, rules and practices, and a reasonable minimum wage or standard of wages. Striking is absolutely forbidden. Persons can quit work, individually but must not influence others to quit. Picketing is made unlawful. '                r

Any person violating any order of the Court ■ \ may be punished by $1,000 fine br one year in , the county jail: but officers of labor unions who call strikes are liable to $5,000 fine or two years ! in the penitentiary. Lock-outs are forbidden, J except by order of the Court. This provision | makes it the only law ever passed in America ; which requires the manager of an industry to • ; get permission from anybody before he can j close his plant.                  .                            ;

First Effects of the Law

WITH tin* power of the state behind it, the first effect of the law, was, of course, to put the mines into full operation and to increase the production of coal. It is claimed that seven hundred men took advantage of the law ami appeared bofon* the Court to request an adjustment of grievances. A provision of the law does away with court fees, and without any expense a workman’s case may be appealed to the Supreme Court of the state, and is given priority.

The Court was able at once to correct an abuse, a species of thievery which had been practiced by the coal-mining companies and of which the men justly complained. If a miner wanted to draw half of his pay ahead of time the companies had been charging ten percent interest. The Court reduced this to fifteen cents in each case, thus correcting a great wrong.

Governor Allen was naturally very enthusiastic about this law, and has been reconunending it to legislative bodies and to commercial and manufacturing associations everywhere, including the Republican National Convention. He has boasted that the bill has teeth, and this is ■probably true. One of the questions at issue just now, however, is whether “teeth” and a gatling gun policy are better in the long run, or whether the old American idea of fair play and honest dealing is best, after all.

While it is true that many chambers of commerce, and “big business” in general, have stamped the Industrial Court with their approval, yet there are other men of ability and influence who have misgivings, and the law has been denounced by some economists, by the governors of some states and by some who are held in great esteem as statemen. Mr. Herbert Hoover, at one time world food administrator, has said of the- new Industrial Court that its summary actions “may both stifle a delicate adjustment of industrial processes and cause serious conflict over human rights”.

Ou May 28, while elated with the first flush of victory, Governor Allen came on to New York in a special train and debated the value of his new law with Samuel Gompers, President of the American Federation of Labor. The debate was held in Carnegie Hall. In the debate Governor Allen showed himself an able logician, and asked his capable antagonist three questions which have been widely published since the debate and which, at the moment, Mr. Gompers found it bard to answer. The questions wore:

1. When a dispute between capital and labor brings on a strike affecting tin' production or distribution of the necessaries of life. thus threatening the public peace and impairing the public health, has the public any rights in such a controversy, or is it a private war between capital and labor? 2. If you (Mi*. Gompers) answer this, question in the affirmative, how would you ''protect the rights of the public? 3. And. in addition, let him define for us, if he will, who had the divine right to forbid the switchmen to strike in their outlaw strike— who controls this divine right to quit work?

Who is the Public?

ovep.nor Allens questions, and the attempts to answer them with fairness to all, have thrown much light on the question of who and what the .public is, and what are its real and its fancied rights. Kansas has 14 percent of population made up of employers and 54 percent of employes, and the conclusion has been jumped at that the remaining 93 percent constitute a public that is really not a party at all to any controversy which may arise between miners and mine owners.

But a more critical examination of this question narrows us down to the fact that the public is made up of workers of some kind, and that if there are any of the public who do not work, and who are not interested in the living conditions of those who do work, then they may as well be eliminated from the discussion.

The wives, the children, the brothers, die sisters of workers, and their fellow workers and their families in other trades have a real interest in the living condition of miners, although it is true that educated as they are by employer owned newspapers (14 percent of the population) they sometimes give no thought to that subject until they are without coal in the midst of zero weather, and then, perhaps, the thoughts are only of anger that the miners should have as little regard for their comforts as they have shown for the miners' own comforts.

This presents a new aspect to the strike, or one generally not seen. No person can claim rights without acknowledge ng-responsibilities. If we claim the right to have coal we must acknowledge the responsibility to see to it.that the miner gets a fair deal. In every strike the workers who are not directly involved in the struggle, that is* to say the public, by whatever inconveniences they may have to suffer, are helping to bear their proper responsibility for failure to s^e that economic justice has been provided for other workers.

Mr. Gompers, with his long experience in such matters, saw this point: for in his public answer to Governor Allen, published after the debate, he said:

"The public has no rights which are superior to the toiler's right to live and to his right to defend himself against oppression. Every strike for the improvement in the condition and standards of those engaged in industry has its relies and influence for the uplift of all,”

Did we ever think of that before? Did wo ever seriously reflect that we ought to as zealous in the cause of labor when it is underpaid as we are in our own behalf when a strike shuts off the necessities of life I Did we ever stop to think that workers do not bring on the sufferings which are incident to strikes, and in which they themselves suffer most of all, unless they are 'forced to do so by intolerable conditions?

¹ These observations help us to see how the interests of all are bound.up together and that the gatling-gun method of adjusting difficulties of this nature can never succeed. No majority of the people can have rights which impose upon a minority of the people intolerable conditions. The claims of justice can not be righteously fulfilled as affecting the whole public if at the same time these claims are denied to any part of the public.

i Now coming to the Governor’s new law we can see the necessity, if it is to be a success, that it must be administered by men of the highest character, men whose sense of justice is unusually keen, for these men are assumed to represent all the people in their efforts to see that justice is done to each and every one of its component parts—surely a large order.

1 One can see that whatever rights the people as a whole have to the enforced service of miners, or other workers, they have the same rights to the services of the highest-paid and most capable men in their midst, and the ability to compel an employer to continue to pay out money to workers once employed is as real as the ability to compel workers to continue working for certain employers. The Governor’s new law is a step toward socialism.

Objections to the Law

IMMEDIATELY after the Kansas law was passed, the movement spread to other states, Illinois, Colorado. Wyoming, Nebraska, New York and Massachusetts: and there will evidently ^e an attempt to make such legislation general. ’’ But can we be certain that the temporary success of this Court is any augury that it will prove to be a permanent remedy ?

Until now the whole peorde. sitting in the Court of public Opinion, have been passing upon matters of this nature, and if the newspapers would but do their duty and tt'll all the facts, and not suppress the facts favorable to the miners, our opinion is that this informal Court would still l>e better for the settlement these issues than any formal Court that could J>e appointed by a Governor. If there is to be such an Industrial Court then it should be elected by the people as a whole, and not appointed.

The living conditions of the miners are not good. Their work is very irregular, as previously shown in The Golden Age, and the report of the President's Commission has shown that foi* two years they have been working for a wage thirty percent below the level of bare subsistence. Wien the mines are working, which is a poor percentage of the total, time they should be working, they are overcrowded with men and have insufficient cars to enable these men to make a living wage.

Offsetting the condition of the miners is the fact that in 1917 all the bituminous coal mines east of the Mississippi River made an average profit of 100% to 150% on the invested capital. This profit was less in 1918, but even these large profits were still enjoyed by about one-fifth of the total number of mines.

The Industrial Court will be liable to establish precedents which will make it increasingly difficult for the workers to progress in the direction of better wages or greater control of. the industries by which they live. Indeed, some students believe that by the delays which will intervene before revisions of rewards may be obtained this law may be the means of bringing about the very unrest it is supposed to allay.

The Right to Strike

HE newspapers of the country are mostly owned by wealthy men, and the uniform impression they convey with reference to almost every strike is that the men who have quit work as a protest against their low pay or excessive hours of labor, or other unsatisfactory conditions, are a band of assassins, highwaymen that must be quickly cowed by the display of force. This is not true; and Mr. Gompers has truthfully said in this connection that ‘‘American workmen, through organization and protest, through the strike, have paid back to America in fitness for citizenship a thousandfold for the sufferings strikes have caused”.

Surely the people as a whole do not approve of the employment of children in mines and in factories or of the sweatshop in which, in order to exist, whole families for a mere pittance work sixteen hours a day in the most unsanitary conditions. It was the strike that measurably put an end to such conditions as this in America, and it is to be feared that any Industrial Court would have accomplished the same results much more slowly and less thoroughly, if at all,

. It is true that strikes are a nuisance, and that the country has had thousands of them to try its patience, yet the American people would not tolerate a condition such as prevails in India, China or Japan, where the workmen must accept ■ what is given them and where many are at all times on the edge of starvation. No one will deny that one or two or more human beings striving for a right have more justice on their side than a million other human beings seeking to take that right away. Moreover, history has shown that the strike has repeatedly been proven to- be a measure necessary to public progress, as long as the mainspring of business is selfishness.                     ’

In an address to striking shoe workers of Worcester? Massachusetts, President Lincoln said: ‘’Thank God, we live in a country where, at the last point, the workman may stop work”. The New York Times says that President Wilson has also declared that the right to strike is inviolate. Attorney General Palmer, however, > admits and denies the right in the same breath ' “by the following statement, issued October 29, ■. 1919. He said, “It does not follow that every i strike is lawful merely because the right to strike is recognized to exist. Every case must stand upon its own bottom and be governed by its own. facts.”

How about the Constitution?

KANSAS had its birth in opposition to slavery, but now it is alleged by some of its foes to be the champion of that condition. The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution provides, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted;- ^Jiall exist within the United States, or any place’subject to their jurisdiction”.

The legal definition of "involuntary servitude” is "any control by which the personal service of a human being is disposed nf or coerced foi\ another's benefit”. The American Federation 4>f tabor claims that the Kansas Industrial Court law violates this constitutional

. right, and states that the Federation will never surrender its right to strike.

It is tacitly admitted by all well-informed and honest people that, during the war, the United States Constitution was ignored and deliber . ately violated by the very officers who had promised Almighty God and the American people that they would uphold it to the letter, in peace and in war. Conditions developed that made the servants of the people, sometimes mistakenly called the authorities, feel that they were justified in overreaching and assuming prerogatives never entrusted to them by the people and therefore still rightly’ in the' people’s care.

Miners and others were enjoined from striding or were notified that they must not strike, and the people were content to let the matter pass unchallenged; but now that the country is at peace the right to do these things is challenged. The right to do these things implies the equal right to issue injunctions against employers, forbidding them to reduce wages or-to lock out employes, and compelling them to submit to the workers³" demands. No such rights have ever been delegated by the people to anybody.

The Industrial Court did not start off in Kansas without a hitch. On its first visit to Pittsburg, the Kansas coal center, two thousand miners went out on strike as a protest against the presence of the Court in their midst, and remained out for a week.

The leader of the miners, Alex. Howat, refused to testify before the Industrial Court or to recognize it, on the ground that it is an unconstitutional court. After a week in jail he gave bond, pending an appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court. While he was locked up practically all of the coal miners of Kansas left their work. The Industrial Court took no steps to lock up the twelve thousand miners that thus held it in contempt, Init the incident raises the question whether it is a good thing to have a Court in existence that functions in this manner.

Judge Underwood, of Tulsa, Oklahoma (whether having this incident particularly in mind or not we do not know), has made the statement that in his judgment the time will rotne when the golden rule will be followed by all men, and when courts and lawyers will be a thing of the past. That is the kind of doctrine The Golden Age believes in, and it also believes in the men that do believe in that kind of doctrine.                        '

IF THE love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, then the tree of evil must be growing more rapidly now than ever before, for its roots are surely spreading with lightning rapidity.

The actual money of the world is not so great. If all the currency of the world were divided equally it would give each person only about forty dollars. The greater part of what passes for money is merely a printed acknowledgment of indebtedness. There is a great deal more of this kind of money afloat now than ever before.

Before the World War the average indebtedness, the world over, was about $26.67; now it is six times as great. If all the money in the world were divided equally, and all the debts in the world were divided equally, we would each be $140 in debt until we could sell some of our other property and turn it into money, in case we happened to have any to sell.

Early the other morning a money-mad milkman passed the house. He was driving slowly, and was slowly pouring off a large part of the cream from the top of each milk bottle, thus making up little bottles of cream which he would sell, later in the day, to the damage of his employer and his employer’s customers, for. the benefit of his own private purse.

An illustration of the lengths to which people will go when they are money-mad is afforded by a circumstance which has been brought to our attention. There is a business in New York in which two hundred fifty men and women are employed. The business has been successful and within a year has accumulated a fund of $225,000 over and above dividends, interest and surplus. Two men, the general manager and his assistant, each in the business over ten years, and each receiving over $15,000 a year salary, came to the president, representing all the em-ploj'fe^asked a share in this special fund, and finally requested that a committee of employes be named to run the business in the place of the president of the concern. Seemingly, every person in that business, from the president down, wAs m^iiey-mad.

Money Control of Wages

THE Anaconda Mining Company, of Butte, Montana, has the reputation of being one of the most cold-blooded combinations of wealth in the country. Living conditions in Butte are very bad. The air is so gas-laden that nothing green can live, and the prices for necessities are out of proportion to the wages, $5.75, paid to the ore diggers.

In April the miners went on a strike for better wages and picketed the works, a thing in itself entirely lawful, whatever may be our views regarding its abuse. In two days from the time the picketing started, other employes of the company, in the guise of deputy sheriffs, and in the company of their employers, shot down twenty of these pickets.             *

This was done while the sheriff and members of the city police force calmly looked on and did nothing. Unable to face such a combination of wealth and power many miners have left Butte, and the company has. imported men to take their places, but has probably not gained as much as it has lost, owing to the lesser efficiency of the new men.

Control of Rents in New York           -

ENTS in New York and vicinity have risen to heights that are almost incredible. We know of a man who was paying $75 per month rent; his landlord at one jump increased his rent to $225 per month—another $150 to $400.

Conditions like this are possible only because there is a shortage of homes, and investigations have now disclosed a permanent arrangement in New Y'ork for maintaining such a shortage indefinitely. The buildings of New York are mainly of brick; nearly all the brick is made in yards located along the Hudson River; all of the manufacturers of brick in these yards sell their product through a dealers’ association; a builder who is not a member of that association cannot get any of that Brick, and no man can become a member of that association unless his competitors admit him to membership. In other words the building business of New York is in control of the men who control the dealers’ association. As a matter of fact, persons who are not members of the dealers* association can not get cement either; for Hie cement dealers dare not antagonize those who now hold the strings of power that control the building operations and thus the rents of the great city. We shall discuss this whole housing question at length in our next issue.

Control of Food Production

FOR more than a generation the fanners of the West have been compelled to pay extortionate rates of interest for the money needed to put in their crops. Fifteen percent was not uncommon, and much more than this has been obtained by the familiar ruse of “shaving’ notes.

At length, after a long battle, the farmers succeeded in securing legislation bringing about the establishment of federal farm loan banks, to loan them money at 5 percent to 54 percent. But at once the victory was spoiled by a suit brought to test the constitutionality of the farm loan bank act, the bonds of the farm loan banks could not be sold, and as a result the farmers are now paying the same old interest as formerly.

The bankers of the Farm Mortgage Bankers’ Association have now come out with a formal statement to other banks whose cooperation they court, claiming all the credit for the operation by which the farmers have been deprived of the privilege of borrowing money at a reasonable rate of interest. No doubt these bankers would be the first in the land to urge other people to contribute their dollars or their sons to be used in the defense of American honor; but where is their own honor, when they know that the Government has urged the farmers to plant more crops and they stand directly across the path by which alone the farmers can provide more food for the people?

The bankers need to got at it and clean out the hypocrites that are in their midst. When the Executive Council of the American Bankers’ Association met for their three-day session at Pinehurst. N. C.. in April, they discussed the need for more farm owners, longer lease*' for tenants and means for. stopping tin* drift fr< .a the farm to the city. Moreover, they listen'd to a message from the Secretary of Agriculture to the effect that there is an increasing demand for food to feed the increasing population, and that this must be met by producing mor*' food to the acre and by improved methods, as otherwise the cost of production will increase more jmd more. Bub how is the farmer to produce more and cheaper food, if he is deprived by the bankers of the use of capital, at reasonable figures, which every business requires if it is to live!

Control of Transportation

ONE of the meanest tricks that are played upon the workers is played by politicians who pretend to be interested in the lot of the workers, so as to take the leadership away from some man who is really interested in their welfare. They thus deceive the workers into hoping for better conditions, knowing all the time that they have no intention of aiding them.

Everybody knows why government management of the railroads was made out to be a failure. It was a failure which was deliberately planned. The same men were permitted to operate the roads under government management who had everything to gain financially, ami nothing to lose except honor, if they could succeed in proving to the public that. government ownership is a failure. How well they accomplished their purpose you can readily learn by asking any railroad man to tell of the instances that came under his own observation of how operating costs were deliberately multiplied, and the time of crews wasted, by the men who recently secured the advance in freight and passenger rates.

It is not true that transportation lines cannot lie operated successfully by the public, and it is not true that higher than five-cent fares are a necessity for the proper operation of street-car lino? that were honestly built and financed. In San Francisco, which has public ownership of ■rreet-car lines, the passengers are carried for a iivo-rent fare, the same as formerly: the cars are clean, commodious and comfortable; and they pay a handsome profit to the city.

Control of Legislation

THE wealthy minority in both Democratic Republican parties controls absolutely the ;j-rious of a great majority in each party. The tool that is used to accomplish this is the press, ■ Inch has been trained to yell "pro-Germanism’’, " Bolshevism." "Anarchy," every time an idea adverse to rheir interests lifts its head. Fear “L a change for the worse is made the basis for a constant pressure by the wealthy minority— mie percent of the population — against the undoubted rights and interests of the majority.

For six years there has been introduced in the assembly at Albany a bill providing for an eight-hour day for women. Is this bill in the interests of the people! It is. Is it a patriotic measure’ It is. Tias it the support of the “patriots” at Albany that twice denied elected representatives the seats to which they had been elected ? It has not.

During this entire period of six years this bill in the interests of humankind has not been permitted to come before the Assembly for discussion. The man wjio would bring up this bill without obtaining the consent of the party boss Beforehand would never see his own bills, the bills in which his personal constituency are interested, brought out of committee; he would never be put on any important committee, and his apparent inaction would cause his defeat the next time he came up for re-election. Moreover, if he should refuse to vote as the boss wished him to do, the boss would very probably be able to control enough votes to defeat any measures which he desired to have passed.

Before hp was elected President, Mr. Wilson made the following statement:

“The facts of the situation amount to this: that a comparatively small number of men control the raw material of this country; that a comparatively small number of men control the water powers that can be made useful for the economical production of the energy to drive our machinery; that that same number of men largely control the railroads; that by agreements handed around among themselves they control prices, and that the same group of men control the larger credits of the country. Suppose you go to Washington and try to get at your Government. You will always find that while you ap> politely listened to, the men really consulted are the men that have the biggest stake- -the big bankers, the big manufacturers, the big masters of commerce, the heads of railroad* corporations, and of the steamship corporations/’              '

Control of the Courts

IT WOULD be too much to say that money controls the courts of the United States: but there is no question that it has a larger influence than^ft ought to have. Who are the wealthy profiteers that have gone to Atlanta, and why has the Department of Justice not shown the enthusiasm in prosecuting cases of -this kind that it sjiowpd in the prosecution of politically friendless Bible students, seven of whom it sent there fo? twenty years each because of a disagreement as to the true meaning of a text in the. Revelation of St. John!

Early in the year tin- Attrrn-- C 1 -al admitted before the Senate Committee Un Agriculture that the packers had clearly violated both the civil and the criminal provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law, but admitted also that no criminal proceedings would be brought against them.

Benevolence such as he did not show toward the Bible students that he sentenced to Atlanta, was manifested by Judge Howe toward Felix Gouled, a wealthy army raincoat contractor. This man was convicted October 18, 1918, of defrauding the government and was sentenced to seven years in the penitentiary and a fine of $10,000, but he was not locked up and denied bail, as in the case of the Bible students. On the other hand he was released on $25,00Q.bail; and now, while his case is up before the Supreme Court, he is permitted to go to Europe for three months to undertake a large sale of ' cotton to the Polish Government.

Control of Thought

IT WAS a great discovery that Jhe men cf greatest wealth in the United States—the great financiers—made when they discovered a-plan to suppress thought. The greatest concern*! in the country’ are represented in this plan’, and the plan is both simple and sinister.

Every clergyman, editor, lawyer, teacher, physician, labor leader, merchant and public official is supplied with carefully prepared literature, conveying to his mind just the kind cf impression that Big Business wants circulated abroad by these, the men of influence in the community.

Additionally, the foreign press in America is to be made over. It is to be supplied with . American advertising, supplies and credit, and it is to do what its American backers dictate. If there is any attempt at open discussion of economic questions, the American advertising will disappear, the American supplies, including the paper upon which to print the publication, will be withheld, the American credit will be shut off. the paper will die, and another victory for this particular brand of one-hundred percent Americanism will have been gained.

What tatter plan could he devised of stopping all progress than to feed the most influential men in every connuunity with propaganda <*al-culated to poison their minds, and then to shut off the life breath of the few papers that do have an outlet for public opinion?

Transportation Benefits: 2?// z?. J. Wilson

Mr. Editor: In your April number, page 495, under the heading, “Finance—Commerce—Transportation,” I find the following: ‘ The proposition is under way in England, as in America, to raise the railroad rates so as to put the railroads on a paying basis. Those who use the railways, whether for travel or for merchandise, should pay for them.” I presume at least you endorse that sentiment or you would not give it a hearing in the columns of your publication.

There never was a greater economic errer promulgated than that the users of a public utility are the only ones benefited by such utility. The late James J. Hill recognized the fact that the presence of a railroad created land values second only to the presence of people upon such land; consequently, the holders of vacant land were benefited in a greater degree by such railroads than the people who used them. That being the fact (and no rational person will deny it), then the burden of upkeep and maintenance should be borne equally by all who are benefited by such utilities.

"Without population land has no vahie, and without transportation you cannot have a prosperous community. So, to my mind, the speculator who holds vacant land out of use is of no value to the community and should ho taxed out of existence, the same as any other nuisance.

James J. Hill uttered another vital truth when he said: “Land without labor is a wilderness, and labor without land is a mob”.

At least $350,000,000 of value has heen created in vacant land in Seattle by the street-car system, and the holders of such land have never been called upon to pay one penny by taxation, to extend, maintain, and operate said system. Our City Councilmen are back numbers, and they abe^preparing to make the users of our street-cars pay all the expense that goes with the system, but they let the holders of vacant property, the operators of the great department stores, and the owners of the great office buildings in the business districts escape absolutely, nothwithstari^ling the fact that they are the greatest beneficiaries of the car svstem.

In addition to this, the rent hog has boosted rents beyond the power of endurance, and that increase also has been passed on to the ultimate consumers, so that the ordinary citizen is robbed of his birthright, and is unable to provide the necessaries to clothe, shelter, and nourish his wife and family properly. These questions are up for settlement and never will be settled until they are settled right.

Please give this letter space, and thus help the people think along correct economic lines.

James Talked Plainly Also

The Apostle James gave the wealthy men of his own times a rebuke in the following language:

“Hearken, my beloved brethren. Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats I Do not they blaspheme [misrepresent] that worthy name [Christian] by which ye are called?”—James 2:5-7.

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shalhcome upon you. Your riches are corrupted. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton.”—Jas. 5:1-6.

Exercises For Business Men

A Southern Lumber Company has compiled and published the following rules for keeping well and keeping a sweet’ temper during business hours:                     ■

Rise 7 a. m.

Stand in the middle of the room, raise arms slowly, take deep breath and think of the month's bills, lowering the arms in attitude of despair. Do this 10 times.

Extend body flat downward on floor, cover eyes with hands, kick heels, think of the railroads and weep—till dry.

Kneel, wring hands, meditate upon radicals and groan 150 times.

Collapse on floor. Grovel vigorously, think of the income tax and gnash your teeth as in anger.

Follow till exhausted.

While cooling off try to get a number on telephone.

Norway’s Conciliation Courts

IN 1797, by a royal edict, while Norway and Denmark were still under one sovereign, there was instituted what has proven to be the ■‘most beneficent law ever promulgated by a king.

This is the use of the principle of conciliation procedure, an arrangement by which the parties to a suit meet a special tribunal in private, with or without attorneys, tell their stories, receive advice from’the judge as to their rights, and his advice as to what would be an equitable settlement. The plan met with immediate and permanent success.

■ Every village containing at least sixty fanii--iies constitutes a separate district of conciliation. The*districts are purposely made small so ■that all the parties may know one another. The very best men in the community are selected as the peacemakers or judges of these causes.

‘ The plaintiff states his case in writing. A fee of twenty-five cents is charged for issuing ^; the’summo'ns. with fifty cents more if a conciliation is effected. No case can go to a regular court unless it is accompanied by a certificate that it has been before the conciliation court. As a general thing, lawyers are excluded. Parties who refuse to appear before the conciliation court must pay the costs when the case goes to the regular court, even if they win.

Agreements of settlement are recorded and can be enforced the same as final judgment. Nothing that is stated in the conciliation court can l>e used if the case goes into the regular court, except that if either of the parties was . willing to settle he receives a certificate to that effect. From seventy-five to ninety percent of the cases are-peaceably adjusted in these courts of conciliation. Any attempt to abolish them would bring about a revolution.

In one year, out of 101.669 cases submitted to this court, conciliation was effected in 81,015 » instances, and 7,866 more cases were success-fully^&rbitrated in the same court, thus adjusting about nine-tenths of the cases amicably, quickly and cheaply, without loss of time or money and without severing old ties of friendship an$ go$d will.

American Conciliation Courts

AN ATTEMPT was made in North Dakota, in .1893, to introduce the Norway and Denmark procedure, but the act permitted either of the parties to the conciliation to send another to represent him at the hearings, and made it necessary that the hearings be held before a justice of the peace. These provisions weakened the effect of the act, and when it was subse* quently so modified as to require attorneys tn represent the parties before conciliators could be called in, it died an ignominious death.

In Cleveland, Ohio, in March, 1913, the ♦ Municipal Court of Cleveland opened a concilk ation branch for causes involving not more than ’ $35. Proceedings are private, defendants always appear in response to notices mailed, agreements are always reached and there are nd appeals. The cost to litigants ranges from 25 cents to 55 cents. Formerly, 40,000 cases were brought annually before the justice courts 0$ Cleveland. Now the conciliation branch is taking care of more than 25,000 of these and the limit , has been raised from $35 to $200.            .

Minneapolis also has a newly organized conciliation court in which causes involving , not more than $1,000 can be tried, although^: summary power?* of disposition are limited' far causes not exceeding $50. It is expressly provid** ed that satisfaction of judgments may be made ' either in a lump sum or in installments in suchs> amounts and at such times as the judge may deem just and reasonable.

Of 3,500 cases thus far disposed of in the Minneapolis Conciliation Court 1,745 were recorded as settled out of court. A rule has been put into effect that no single plaintiff can file more than three suits in any one month, and thus the flooding of the court with the claims of telephone companies, gas and electric conn panies is prevented.                *          ¹

Informal Courts of Equity

CHICAGO has an informal court for the trying of claims amounting to less than $35.

Contested cases are tried at an average of fifteen minutes each. During the first year one judge disposed of about 1,000 cases a month. The limit has been gradually raised to $200, and a second, and then a third, judge put oa the calendar. During the first four months of 1918 these judges disposed of 6,863 cases. About forty percent of all the causes which go to court in Chicago are for claims of less than $200. What is saved the contestants may be judged from the fact that a jury trial in a cause involving $300 usually costs the parties .for witness and counsel $75 and the public a like amount.

. In the State of Washington there is now an attorneyless small claims court in which claims of $20 or less may be tried and final sentence obtained at once. Plaintiffs must pay $1.50 to enter suit

Another step forward is that in several states the office of Public Defender has been created, to make sure that a poor man accused of crime is adequately defended. This is on the true theory that the State has no good interest in merely seeing a man convicted—an innocent man.

Conciliation Versus Litigation

Abb ah am Lincoln's motto was

.“Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often the realjoser, in fees, expenses and waste of time.” Compare these wise and kindly expressions of a great man with the bare fact that in some cities of the United States— notably Philadelphia, though it is doubtless true elsewhere — that there are men who make a living by watching hospitals and doctor’s offices and getting powers of attorney from persons who have been injured in accidents. These powers of attorney are subsequently auctioned off to lawyers who make a specialty of handling such cases.

Alex.‘Simpson, Jr., Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, is quoted in the Journal of the American Judicature Society as having said:

‘T happen to he president of the board of trustees of the Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia : and until that board by resolution forbade it them was not an accident case brought to that institution that there was not at least a dozen lawyers coining in to see the injured man and trying to get to represent him on a contingent fee. This is not an exaggeration; ir is an actual fact.”

But there are staunch defenders of right in the Bar Associations. In New York city recently a majority of the^Bar Association passed resolutions expressing the opinion that two of the judges before whom they practiced daily were unworthy of renomination. This had a'direct bearing upon the earning power of these lawyers,, and required of them a considerable degree of courage and faithfulness to right for the sake of right.

Bolshevism: By Newton T. Harkhorn

VIDENTLY the meaning of the word Bolshevism, as applied in Russia, is government solely by the working class in the interest of the working class. Hence the underlying principle of Bolshevism is government by a class in the interest of a class.

Some years since, in London, in discussing American politics, one of the heads of the greatest banking house in the world said to me: “You do not have popular government in the United States; the people do not rule; mopey rules”. The New York agent of that banking house, who was also the agent of the British Government in the United States, was for fourteen years chairman of the national committee of one of the two great political parties which have elected the president of the United. States for fifty years past.

Evidently the English baron afore mentioned was good'authority on the kind of government which we have in the United States.

Now then, if, as before stated, Bolshevism is government by a class in the interest of a class, and if the English baron was correct in his analysis of our government, we have had Bolshevistic government in the United States for these many years: the only difference between^ Russian Bolshevism and American Bolshevism being that in the United States it governs in the interest of the capitalistic or aristocratic class, while in Russia it governs in the interest of the working class.

Rev. Dr. Fisher, head of the Industrial Department of the Inter-Church World Movement, was sent to Russia by that organization to learn the facts in regard to the Bolshevist government. At the Atlantic City’ conference he reported that the Russian Bolshevist government was a sincere and successful effort by the working people of Russia to administrate the government in the interest of the working people, and that if he lived in Russia he woqld be a Bolshevist. I was at that Conference as the accredited representative of a leading American newspaper, and I heard (and secured a verbatim report of) Rev. Dr. Fisher’s speech. But the paper I represented refused to print the report, and it did not appear in any paper, as far as 1 could learn. Dr. Fisher stated that nothing but lies appeared in the American Dress about Russia: he also stated that Lenine was a’greater statesman than the British Premier, Lloyd George, or Clemenceau, or President Wilson. The celebrated aphorism of the last, "Make the world safe for Democracy," seems to have lieen very generally translated into "Make the world safe for Imperialism”. From such few direct reports as we have, truly Lenine seems to "ne about the only one of the world’s prominent statesmen who is making a sincere effort to apph the famous slogan.

Tn England ninety percent of the working people are organized in labor unions: and they notified the English Premier. Lloyd George, to quit meddling with Russia or take the consequences. And he quit.

The Inter-Church world move seems to have collapsed, and possibly one reason for the ™ collapse is that Dr. Fisher was tolling the truth tn the American working men-too industriously to suit aristocratic Bolshevism. Dr.. Fisher, • however, is not the kind that lies down at the

ergck of the whip; and we may hear more from him.                 .

The A in e r i can press with scarcely an exception (possibly the Hearst papers) is controlled by big capitalists who are in terror lest working-class Bolshevism shall get control; and their press goes into spasms at the bare thought of Communism, as they call it.

Communism may destroy the vital spirit of industry, but if it can show worse results than have come from aristocratic class communism (rule by the few in the interest of the few) in the past few years, it must indeed be a dreadful system. But the fact is that the Soviet System is.not real communism. However,-we need not expect righteous government by either the working class, or the middle class, or the aristocratic class. All of them are bound to' fail under the depraved conditions that obtain. The psychology of the times is peculiarly phenomenal; the old social, political, economic and religious world is in its death struggle, and the birth of a new world of surpassing glory is-about to take place—the kingdom of heaven— the Golden Age.                            ’

Invention and Prophecy: By Frederick Lardent, DJF.O.A., London

ONE reason why so many wonders in our midst are taken as matter of course, is the fact that invention and improvement have arisen by seemingly slow successive stages. But had they been more suddenly thrust upon the human race what an excitement would have been caused!

For instance, to change instantly as a means of transit from the horse or the camel into the long serpent-like train, which rushes and hisses over the surface of the land at fifty miles an hour, and within which are seen men quietly reading er sleeping, or surveying the quickly passing landscape, would l:av<» surely brought forth marked expressions of astonishment.

A^aim to see men able to overcome the power of gravitation and to rise and soar like a bird high in the air and then quickly disappear in 'he fr-r distance—in other words to see them, as it wipre,/mount up with wings as eagles’’— would I^avp been a marvellous sight in days gone by.

Again, to come to the edge of the glassy sea and to witness a few men disappear in a strange looking craft, which eventually glides beneath the waters like a fish; or to hear the voice of a relative or of a notable singer or the fuH r ; music of an orchestra proceeding from a box- । -upon a table: or to see a man talk to his friend । who- is actually at a very great distance, by ’ simply speaking through a small funnel-like ; contrivance; or to touch a switch and find one's * vicinity illuminated by a powerful light; or to ¹ enter an immense vessel, equipped with many ‘ conveniences for human comfort and pleasure, and in a short time find one’s self upon another continent, the other side of the world—all these _t 1 and many other such-like marvels would have _s caused our friends of long ago to think they : were living in a land of endless enchantments.

Indeed, the fairy-fiction writers of the past . ' did not conceive of such wonders.

But this is in fulfillment of prophecy; the ' "shall'* of so many a prediction may now be ‘ turned into the present tense — ‘knowledge _{ * has increased? ‘many are running to and fro? : ‘chariots are raging in the streets? ‘they rfo seem like torches' and ‘run like lightnings'. (Nahum 2:3. 4: Daniel 12:4) Also the “swift, ¹ ; beasts” of Isaiah 66:20 — literal, 'swaying ; furnace’ as of a train in rapid motion—are now rushing toward Jerusalem.

Moreover, we are witnesses to the foretold ‘'time of trouble" upon the nations, and the increasing prosperity of the Jews and their return to the land of their forefathers. (Romans 11:25) These prophecies in their fulfillment point to the fact that we are on the eve of an entirely new dispensation. Thinking men realize, too, that the present-day marvels are but in their infancy. Forogleams of greater wonders are still reaching the ears of the public, and we may rest assured that, when these discoveries and inventions are all utilized for the general welfare and happiness of mankind, the coming age will be superior in every way to any which has been witnessed in the past.

What, then, if this new age be ushered in by the roar of thunder? What though mankind be afflicted by foreboding fears ? What though the many idols be heaved up and dashed to a thousand fragments upon the ground beneath? If day is breaking—the sunlight of which will illuminate and bless the groaning millions— then with a clarion voice ringing throng!) earth and sky let us say—let it Come !

True are the words of the poet:

“We are living, we are dwelling, In a grand and awful time.

In an age on ages telling, To be living is sublime.

. Hark! the rumbling in the nations, Iron crumbling with the clay.

Hark! what*soundeth 1 'Tis creation Groaning for a better day!”

Now there is one of these foregleanis before the notice of the writer: A London newspaper speaks of a new age—a rublier age—or the age of silence, to be made possible by the discovery of a Manchester chemist.

One night, working alone in the solitude of his laboratory, Mr. S. J. Peachy, one of the lecturers of the Manchester College of Tech-nologyT^iscovered that it is possible to vulcanize rubber swiftly and perfectly by means of two cheap gases at a mere fraction of the cost of existing processes. The whole arrangement is so simple\ thet any unskilled person could manipulate it alter a few hoars instruction. The discovery has since been followed up with great perseverance and assiduity, ami it is now recognized by the rubber experts that the Peachy process will be useful in dozens of ways in the manufacture of such commodities and necessities as boots, clothing, paving, floor covering, upholstery, tiles—in fact the whole waterproof industry will undergo a change revolutionary in character.

Truly what a welcome change is here suggested, for we all—especially those amid the traffic and bustle of town life — realize more or less the terrors underlying the nerve-racking noises of the present time. Bible students are also among those who view this and similar discoveries with favor; for they verily believe that a certain amount of quietude, especially amid the surroundings of delightful nature, induces a calm, restful, meditative spirit, a mental concentration so essential for the exercise of the higher impulses. This they believe will be a necessary adjunct to humanity in the Golden Age.

The prophet Isaiah also tells of an age of quietude—“In returning and rest shall ye be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be your strength". Again, “The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever: my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation and in quiet resting places".—Isaiah 30:15; 32:17,18, So much for this point of view. And now comes still another foregleain which we may term the 'world’s wireless concert’. To explain this we cannot do better than quote the words of the Italian, Aldo Cassuto, whose voice was flung nine hundred miles away, from London to Rome. He says: “Speaking to somebody who is nearly a thousand miles away, with nothing between us but ether, is a strange sensation. The men who are listening to me are people I know. Some of them are very good friends, and I can imagine I see their faces bearing the marks of anxiety for the success of the coming miracle. I throw my voice into the mouthpiece, and I tell them that I am the friend they know, that they should recognize my voice, that I am very glad to talk with them. But I cannot have an answer from them. The wireless stations in Rome are not powerful enough to transmit the voice to such a distance. They are condemned to be dumb: I am condemned to be deaf. Will they hear me? I must confess I did not feel quite sure of it until T saw the wireless telegram of my editor at Rona*, announcing that the message got through all right."

This recalls another remarkable incident in

a London government building, when in the presence of some members of Parliament a colonel entered into conversation with some air men who were travelling miles away at great speed in their machines. The voices of the air men, including one of their songs, were heard distinctly by the honorary gentlemen, who were all keenly interested in the experiment. As a further proof of the bona-fideness of the messages sent and received, the airmen were asked to assemble in the evening at a certain place to dine, which was accordingly verbally accepted and fulfilled.            .

What a marvelous foregleam of the Golden /.ge this news becomes! Even at its birth we ere astonished, and we can well foresee that soon as such lines of communication are perfectly established, two or more individuals a thousand miles apart will be able to converse and reach a decision. And what a great convenience this may be for those grand worthies when they rise from their sleeping condition— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David and such like—who, as representatives of Jesus Christ and His bride the "little flock”, will be the visible representatives in the glorious kingdom to be established world-wide. -

Thus the handicap of distance will be largely mitigated;, for if David happened to be in London, Joseph in New York, and Abraham and others in>Jerusalem, thoughts and reflections over any given matter could be communicated one to another immediately, and one-ness of viewpoint maintained. Thus—“BA sendeth forth his commandment upon the earth, and his word runneth swiftly." (Psa. 147:15) "The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together/’—Isaiah 40:5.

With such inventions before us, coordinating as they do with the fulfillment of prophecy and the Bible time-features, what reverential student can doubt that we are living in the very dawu of the Golden Age»* which is so beautifully picturecFin the Divine Word? The majority of the people are blind to this great fact. Indeed, is it not again foretold by the same Daniel— beloved of God—that 'tlm wise <»nly win understand. no^e <*f the wicked shall understand’ 1 —Daniel 1^:10.

At the present time the wise in the Lord's sight see men struggling on and on. many of them selfishly grasping the benefits of each new invention as some new toy for personal aggrandizement, while many are using other contrivances in the shape of the merciless instruments of destruction on their fellows for selfish ends. But when the storm now bursting upon the human race with such relentless fury and, thank God! never to be repeated, is over, then mankind will have learned somewhat of that needed lesson, 'The fear [reverence] of the Lord is the beginning of wisdon?. (Psalm 111:10) Chastened, distressed, and hmSbled to the dust they will perceive that no real lasting progress toward happiness and life is possible unless there is restored this dispositiqn as the-basic principle.

"The fear of the Lord” will then become d veritable ''fountain of life”, and each heart, in consequence, will gradually become righteous. They will then learn to know God, and this knowledge will cause their hearts to pulsate with increasing affection, and the more so as they realize the unutterable goodness of God displayed in providing in His plan and purpose ‘a ransom for all' through the sacrifice of the man Christ Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. And when in the Millennial day mankind will see the results of the Atoning Sacrifice— how that, in consequence, all those who have died in Adam will awaken by power divine and be given a fair opportunity to come back into complete harmony with God — then they will realize that the “love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind”. Then the wonderful science of human ingenuity will be of practical, wholesome util ity in every homestead, as under the auspices of the best of governments nothing will be allowed for another’s detriment and this will mean general comfort, pleasure and edification.                                     .

Then the precious reservoh* of blessing from the dear Lord’s hand will flow freely—a congenial climate, dependable seasons, fertility of soil, and more important still, His spirit will be poured on all flesh. Thus gradually mental, inoral and physical health will be restored. Pain, fear, headache, heartache and sorrow will vanish like mists before the sunrise; and the last enemy to be destroyed will be death. No wonder we are told through the beloved Apostle John that every creature who will choose the way of wisdom, love and life will say with gratitude: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and forever”.

HAVING in my first article told how to make primers and what kind of dynamite to use for stump blasting, I will now try to describe the best way to make and load the holes for removing stumps, and in my next I will take up the simpler subjects of boulder-breaking and subsoil ipg.

There are two classes of stumps to be considered, viz., tap-rooted and lateral or spreading rooted; and an entirely different method of procedure must be adopted in each case.

The tap-rooted stumps have one large root running straight down into the earth for a considerable distance, and the idea is to remove this root to a depth that will permit cultivation without interference: and two or three feet is none too deep.

In order to find out just what your stump is like belpw the surface, you must feel the roots out in some way: and for this purpose a probe of three-eights inch steel, four feet long is about right. Buy five feet of steel; and when your handle is turned on, your probe will be about four feet in length. Sharpen to a pencil point. By using this to probe about your stumps you can tell to a nicety the kind of roots that hold the stumps, and how and where they are located.

Having found that your stump is a tap-rooted one, remove a few shovelfulls of earth from one side of stump so as to expose top of main root. Now with auger bore a hole not less than inches in diameter (2 inches is better), slanting the hole downward at an angle that will bring the point of your hole about three-fourths through the root when you are down the desired depth. Having completed the hole and prepared your primer, you are now ready to load the hole for blasting.

For a stump one foot through at the cut, use about one and one-half sticks of by 8 inch dynamite, 40 percent strength for load. Take whole $tick and with a sharp knife slit same lengthwise in two or thnⁱe places, being sure to cut whole length of stick each time. Now slip slit stick into hole and with a wooden tamping stick (an (dd r.ake or fork handle cut off square on the end is & very good one) press, not ram, tightly inter hole. Then using the half cartridge for your primer place it on top of the stick already in hole and set the primer by pressing

By C. E. Raijuh

down gently with the tamping stick. Do not slit the primer.

Now throw a little fine dirt into hole and press down gently with tamper, continuing this until you are four inches from dynamite, when you can ram tamping solidly: and the better your hole is tamped the better results you* will get. Damp clay makes an excellent tamping; but almost any damp earth can be used to advantage. When tamping is completed, throw back the earth around top of root and tread it firmly into place.

Be very careful when loading not to cut-, kink or bruise the fuse, as this will make trouble for you. Now split the end of fuse protruding from top of hole, light and retire rapidly; and soon you will have one less stump on your farm to vex and annoy you.

For stumps larger than one foot through at the cut, use one more stick of dynamite for each six inches extra at cut until you are up to thirty inches, and above this use two sticks extra each six inches. These rules apply to sound stumps on heavy soils which have been cut long enough for the small fibrous roots to be rotted off. For green stumps increase loads about one-third over and above table. If tap roots are hollow, do not try to blast with fuse but wait awhile and I will tell you how to do it electrically.

When blasting lateral-rooted stumps, first find which side of stump has the heaviest roots and where they are located. Having done this, start your hole on opposite side of stump, out from stump about two feet, and punch hole at an angle that will bring the point of your hole somewhat past centre of stump and looking toward heaviest roots when about two feet and a half or three feet deep.

For a stump one foot in diameter at cut use about three sticks of 1J by 8 inch dynamite, 40 percent strength. For stumps larger than this, use one more cartridge for each extra six inches at cut up to two feet, and then use two more, or say seven sticks for a thirty-inch stump. Don't try anything larger with one hole, as it will not be profitable. For smaller stumps you must experiment a little to get the right load, but if it is necessary to blow a stump at all, I never use less than two sticks or one pound under it. Some of the booklets issued by. powder com- •

panies advise lighter loads than I advocate, but I have found by hard experience that the above charges are none too heavy for sound stumps on heavy soil. But if blowing green stumps or working in light soil you had better increase the load one-third.                              •

If stumps are quite rotten and hollow, clean rubbish out of center and tamp full of earth before loading. Do not lighten up much on the charge: for hollow stumps come hard. The directions I have given- you for loading apply in all cases except when holes are wet or muddy. In such cases thoroughly soap, or grease your fuse with leaf tallow, being sure to fill it in well around cap where it crimps onto fuse. Do not use any light grease or oils for this purpose, as they will penetrate fuse and cause hangfires or misfires; and if holes are not to be fired at once do not load wet holes with fuse. If a shot does not explode in due time it is called a hangfire, and if it does riot explode at all it is a misfire; and both these are caused by damaged, kinked or broken fuse, or by grease, oil or dampness penetrating to the train of powder contained in fuse, and retarding or extinguishing the spark traveling in it. When a hole hangs fire, do not be in a hurry to investigate unless you are tired of life.

Never go near a shot that fails to explode for at least one hour, and it is better to leave it alone over night if possible. I will tell you how to handle a misfire later on. Now a few general suggestions and this article is ended.

Be careful with your dynamite and supplies for blasting. Don’t get excited if everything does not work together just right: and. if far enough away from buildings to insure safety, do not be afraid to load your first holes heavy enough to do the trick the first time: for it* you fail to destroy your stump the first shot, you have a hard problem, as the dirt is so loosened by the first shot as to make the placing of a second one almost an impossibility. If stumps are broken up and thrown too much, and if large holes are left in the ground, you are loading too heavily. Beech and maple stumps come out pretty well: elm and hickory are tougher, and basswood and pine are very hard.

After lightiiYg your fuse, run in such a direction that ^hen you turn to watch the blast you will have the sun at your back and not in your eyes. Do not watch the stump, but look up into the air and watch flying pieces; and do not be in a. hurry to rush hack as semetimes a piece is thrown high in air and remains there several

seconds. If you hurry you may get back in time

to meet it, with disastrous results'; and at very

least, if you inhale the smoke you will have a

headache. Therefore do not hurry back, but

wait a minute or two.

If you wish to light several holes at one time,

stick a wad of cotton-batting soaked in gasoline

on the split end of each fuse and light with a .

torch, or simply split fuse and touch with hot

iron. I prefer the latter method. Count your

holes as you light them, and also count them as they explode so as to make no mistake as to whether or not all went off.          ‘

As to tools, you will need the probe before ! mentioned, and for boring tap-roots you will ; need a two-inch* auger on which you must have ? welded a shank long enough to lengthen the      i

hole out to about four feet. On one end of shank

there must be an eye through which to pass the 1 handle. If you use an auger for dirt holes, you

can use this same one: or you can make one

specially for dirt by using an old two-inch wood .

auger, and saving your good one for boring 1 roots.

If you wish to punch holes, you can use a common crowbar if you have only a few holes ' to make; if you have many holes you will find a T bar about the thing. For,this take a piece of inch P^lP^e> and weld a piece of 1| inch octagon steel into it at one end, and sharpen the steel to a pencil point. On to the other end

.of pipe screw a inch T and into each side of this screw a piece 'of IJ inch pipe about six__

or eight inches long, and your bar is complete.

By keeping a little water ahead of bar in hole, you can- punch holes rapidly in almost any soil, but you will he spattered somewhat. A good way is to punch as far as you ran handily, and then finish help with auger. Now a long spoon (made by any blacksmith) to remove any loose dirt from hole, and your outfit is complete.

The whole thing will cost about $10.00, one half this being needed for a wood auger. Now go ahead, and remember that the suggestions as to loading, etc., nre to give you an idea of how to start. Watch results of first shots, and increase or decrease your charges as necessary. Use your head, and remember that stump-blasting is your hardest proposition. Boulder breaking and subsoiling are easier, and I shall treat on them next

Castile Soap:

HE Revision Committee of the U. S. Pharmacopceia meets this year to make such changes in that august volume as experience in medicine and pharmacy of the past decade seems to indicate. Members of medical, pharmaceutical and related bodies are invited /to make such suggestions on improvements as they have found to be of practical value. In this connection, E. V. Kyser, in a paper read at a recent meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association, suggests that (dive oil be replaced by other oils in the manufacture of both hard and soft soaps. He savs: “The purpose for which a soap is to be used should determine its composition. The ingredients used in the soaps of the Pharmacopceia and the methods of manufacture directed are not economical to use and do not produce the best finished products.”

The official soap of the IL S. Pharmacopceia, familiarly known as “castile soap,” is made from olive oil and sodium hydroxide. The term castile soap, which signifies a pure olive oil soap, means very little today; for this once highly recommended soap has been replaced by other soaps which are superior in quality and which can be produced more economically. While olive oil fs a non-drying oil, it is composed of a large proportion of unsaturated glycerides, as evidenced by its high iodine value, which is undesirable for soap-making* purposes. Olive oil soap, as well as other soaps made from unsaturated oils,readily decomposes, and quickly becomes rancid. In the manufacture of soaps for the toilet, the use of corn, cotton seed, soja, peanut or any other oils of low titer and high iodine value is objectionable; for the resultant soaps become rancid very readily. Yet olive oil, which is similar in chemical composition to the oils named, is used and recoghized by the Pharmacopoeia.

This preference for olive oil soap no doubt originally arose from the fact that olive oil was the only oil suitable for soap making which was nbtjpnatye, in suitable quality and quantity, when tlig manufacture of soap was in its infancy. A‘fter the industry was established, this preference was, of course, fostered by interested manufacturers for their own profit. The general public has long since been won away from the

By Dr, W, (J. Temple

preference for olive oil soap, by the substitution of other and better soaps. But the conservatism of the Pharmacopceia makers has prevented any change in this authority. Olive oil soaps are neither chemically nor physically adapted for general use. They have a disagreeable odor, are unsightly in appearance, do not produce a good lather, and have loss value as detergents than soaps made from other oils and fats. Moreover, they are generally made by the sonii-boiling method, which at times fails to insure complete saponification. /This process is ako open to the objection that any impurities present in olive oil are retained in the finished soap. Olive oil soap also contains a high proportion of water, the Pharmacopceia allowing thirty-six percent of moisture in the soap in hars, and ten percent in the powdered soap.

The U. S. Pharmacopceia is the only place where olive soap (castile soap) is given the preference. £n aff the purchases of soap made by the L United States Government, State and -Municipal Governments, except in the' cases where the L. S. P. soap is named, the specifications stipulate that the soap shall be a nulled soap, with eighty percent tallow and twenty percent cocoanut oil as a base.

The Barrier of Disease

AUCORDIXG to Dr. Hugh S. Cumming, Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, disease and famine are forming an effective barrier to a resumption of normal world trade. His report, after two years ’study, on the ground, of Conditions in Europe and Asia, throw’s light on the situation.

The people of the world have, on account of suppression of the news by the press little idea of the havoc being wrought by disease. The man-power of the world is woefully short. War casualties account for some of this, but influenza killed off more than war did. Hardly a spot on the face of the globe escaped the ravages of this pestilence. War and disease are responsible for an enormous shortage in labor. Furthermore, the production of large quantities of raw materials and foods in Asia and in central and eastern Europe is reduced by the direct and indirect effects of the epidemic diseases now sweeping these countries.

Complete statistics are not available for the suffering countries; but as the effects there are many times those of disease in this country, American statistics will do for comparison. Here, for each person gainfully employed there is a normal loss each year from sickness of nine days away from work. Most of this is preventable. In 1918 290,000 died from pneumonia, each case representing 125 days of sickness. Typhoid killed 13,000, each losing 450 to 500 days from work. Tuberculosis cost the patient 500 sick days, and there were 150,000 deaths from this disease. The number of days’ work lost through these diseases was: .

Pneumonia............... 36,250,000

Typhoid ................. 6,175,000

Tuberculosis ............. 75,000,000

Malaria.................. 42,000,000

, Total.............. 159,000,000

Malaria is added to the loss-producing diseases; for while seldom fatal, each of the 7,000,000 estimated cases of malarial fever causes a six-day stoppage of work, besides a general lowering of efficiency for weeks. If malaria were eradicated from the South, and other preventable diseases prevented throughout the nation, the increased efficiency in man power would far more than offset any losses , experienced from war and influenza.

In a number of Old World countries, production has ceased, or become inadequate as a result of disease. Since the war — which militarists and the clergy heralded as such a boon to mankind—large fertile areas have not been cultivated for several years, and industries are idle or partly so.

The world is also facing an extensive spread of pestilential diseases, although these diseases could be controlled through proper treatment, if effective aid could he rendered in the areas afflictedS-Typhus fever is spread by the body louse: bubonic plague by the flea-infested rat: malarial fever by the mosquito. Enough is known to prevent such diseases from becoming a serious inrerjace, wherever the knowledge can be applied?- Nevertheless the diseases are spreading "rapidly and creating enormous economic losses, to say nothing of the suffering and distress.

In tropical countries malaria is much more prevalent than in the South, and is more deadly, in some of the West Indies causing twenty . percent of the deaths. The work at Panama ₉’ and elsewhere has demonstrated how completely malaria can be controlled by properly conducted sanitary operations.

In the Philippines a survey convinced experts . that the efficiency of labor might be increased thirty percent by the eradication of the hookworm disease, a condition fairly indicative of a * similar state of affairs in other parts of the       :

world. This disease is spread by an improper -

disposal of human excreta, and can be controlled and eradicated, if health officers are well ip- : ported in their work.                ’

In 1917 in India there died from various preventable diseases:

Cholera................... 267,002

Smallpox ................. 62,277    .

Plague ................... 437,036

Fevers.................... 4,555,221.

Total..................... 5,321,536

The doctors hope that under the League of j Nations a vast economic saving may be accomplished by a joint attack from the nations of ' ; the world upon the sources of disease. Perhaps j there might. But if the League is not more sue-cessful in preventing nations from making war 4 on one another than it is—one of the chief aims ■ of the proposition—there is not much hope of a successful attack upon the germ armies of the j world.                                                  1

Dr. Camming says that there is another and more important reason why this world disease situation concerns the United States-. We must be constantly alert to prevent some of these . highly conununicable diseases reaching this country. The typhus fever that is raging in Asia and eastern Europe is filtering through ■ into western Europe. It will require the exer-       -

cise of every precaution to prevent it from becoming epidemic in some of the European nations. If this should occur, it would be a      —?

gigantic task to keep the typhus from reaching the United States.

Even more dangerous, because more infec- ; tious, is the spread of bubonic plague from one ■ European port to another. During the past few _y, years the plague gradually invaded one Medi- ' terrauean port after another, so that at present

there is probably no important port in that sea which does not harbor plague infection. This is regarded by the medical fraternity as a very serious situation, in view of the great increase in commerce which the United States will soon be carrying on with all the European ports.

The defense of the United States against the world pestilence situation consists of the regular quarantine officers at the various ports ' of entry into the country, and a number of experienced quarantine officers in various points in Europe, who maintain a close watch on all important diseases ami keep the United States Public Health Service posted.

The pestilence danger confronting the nations is directly attributable to the World War and to the individuals and classes that plunged the nations into the war—the kings, kaisers and nobles, the militarists, the concerns that sought to make money out of war. the profiteers, and the war-loving clergy of al] countries who, had they stood like a rock against war instead of urging it on. might have prevented the deep misery and the further distress and trouble that attend the steps of a world now on the brink of immeasurable disaster.

However, the Great Healer is at hand and shortly will heal the wounds of war, pestilence and trouble: for the Golden Age is about to open under the hand of Christ, the Great Physician. God has known all along what men have been doing, and has permitted the evil, in order to bring in on a sounder foundation the letter times to come, as it written, “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us: he hath smitten, and he will bind us up*'.—Hosea 6:1.

Dried Fruits and Their Use

TN THESE times nf H. C. L. no housewife J- need be without fruit at any season of the year, Tt fresh fruits are Tint attainable, dried fruits'X’J bp had and used instead. Pure, unadulterated. unsnlplmrrd, and otherwise not mistreated, dried fruits are every bit as wholesome as fresh fruits, if properly prepared. Tn dried fruits nothing bur the water. Jias been lost. The indispVnstrtile organic* salts remain.

All dried’tfrnits should he thoroughly washed in several waters, then placed in cold water to soak over night. The water in which the fruit has been soaked should be used in cooking the fruit. The best way to cook dried fruit is ter turn the soaked fruit and die water in which it has soaked into a saucepan, bring the water to the boiling point, and then set it aside to simmer gently until done. Then lift out the fruit with a skimmer. Boil down the liquid and pour over the fruit. Sugar is not really necessary; but then, of course, tastes differ.

I rune Jelly

Soak one-half cup of gelatine in one-half cup of cold water. Pour two cups of boiling water on one-third pound of prunes. Let them soak a little while, and then' wash and cook. When tender, remove the stones and chop the prunes; To the juice formed add enough boiling water to make two cups. Add this liquid to the gelatine with two-thirds cup sugar and one orange cut up. When thoroughly mixed, put in the prunes and oranges. Serve with whipped cream.

Pru'ie Pudding.

Soak a pound of prunes, stew and remove the . ^oium then mash. To one cupful of the prune pulp add one cup of sweet cream, yolk of one egg. and one cup of sugar. Mix thoroughly. Line a pudding dish with graham bread-crumbs, cover with a layer of prune pulp. Continue until the material is used up, dot with butter and bake one hour. Beat the white of egg to a stiff froth and sweeten; and just before the pudding is done, put on the meringue and let it brown slightly.

Pntncs and Bice

Soak and stew a pound of prunes: then remove the stones carefully, leaving the prunes whole. Boil two cups of rice in milk, to which add a little salt and one cup of sugar. Butter custard cups, fill with the rice and prune pulp. Cover with the rice, and bake for ten minutes. Serve with the liquid in which the prunes are stewed.

Salad

S<»ak one pound of prunes. Slit each one. . remove the stone, and in its place insert a half walnut meat or any preferred nut. Shred some lettuce leaves on small dishes for individual service, on which arrange the fruit in little piles. Serve with a tablespoonful of mayonnaise dressing on each portion.

<5(PR CHARACTERS

****             fr** ^Mj

Color and Its Maker

PERFECT character is perfect balance, or nicety of poise between the qualities of a perfect being. Jehovah’s character is not only the perfect standard but also the fountainhead of all character qualities. Some animals lower than man have certain items of character plainly marked; and these qualities are made use of in inspired and uninspired literature as illustrations of desirable traits, often too lacking in fallen man.

Wisdom, justice, love and power have long "been recognized by careful students of the Bible as being the cardinal principles or characteristics of God, the Ruler of the universe. Some students have magnified His justice in such a way as to imply a dearth of wisdom and love. Others have talked of His love,as though justice were not coexistent. And still others, by intimating failure of His 'efforts/ slander His wisdom and power. None can fully sense His power, though some minds can believe that it exists and that it is continually manifest in the works of Nature, both animate and inanimate.

Wisdom, justice and love are readily recognizable as being abstract principles, but power seems just a little different. It is more like the thumb to a three-fingered hand, or the base pole of an electric controller. Without it not one of the character elements can function. The honest difficulty in seeing black as a symbol of divine power is the statement of St. John:^CfHe is light; and in him is no darkness at all”. Nevertheless, He made “thick darkness” to be swaddling clothes for the earth. The only solution seems to he that His personal, -subjective self knows no darkness, as light contains no black, but that the character picture which He has chosei^to give us is exemplified through TIis works rather than immediately. Though in light there is neither black nor white, yet in pigments there is black: and in Nature black is certainly indicative of strength — especially of.character strength.

Each of^hese elements has an abstract and a concrete, a theoretic and a practical phase. The inert phase of wisdom is hnou'leflge: but when wisdom is called upon to consider a single problem it cannot do so without the cooperation of power. Discretion is applied wisdom, and the very application calls for effort, is not possible without it. Truth is the precept of justice; but its practice becomes righteousness —for the practice power must lend a helping _ hand. Benevolence is passive love, the very minimum of that noble trait; but an active love we call beneficence. Even power itself may be latent, might, or kinetic, force.

It is also interesting to note not only that power is necessary for the exercise of the character elements, but also that no -one of these ’ principles can be brought into action without measurable contributions from the. remaining two, as well. Wisdom would not be wisdom that were deaf to justice and love; love cannot exist in all its fulness in the presence of injustice and folly; justice cannot ignore either wisdom or love, for a man is not just at all until he loves his neighbor as himself. In this connection it is appropriate to observe that rarely, if ever, does Nature display a primary color— rarely indeed a true binary. It is practically always found that some percentage of the other two primaries is discernible, even where one primary is in decided predominance.

In Jehovah all the cardinal principles work in perfect balance and accord. If man were perfect, as at the beginning, his character, too, -would be in perfect balance, a true image of the perfect pattern. Even as it is there is enough fragmentary testimony in unbalanced man to enable him to appreciate these qualities and their beauty. Tn the perfect life love prompts, wisdom devises, justice directs, and power performs every act. ■

W/SOQrt

JUSTICE

ion

power

As yellow is the illuminating color, so wisdom is the illuminating quality in a character. Hope is the outgrowth of w isdom, and joy is the outgrowth of hope — and yellow is the cheerful, happy color. Wisdom, therefore, may be called the yellow, the pleasant sunshine, of character. Blue is the cool, the shadow color: and justice is the reserved, the restrictive, the directive phase of character. Nothing else than justice could “mark the bounds of habitation” and say to the sea: "Thus far shalt thou come, and no further⁷’. Would it be incongruous to speak of justice as the blue, the true blue of character? Faith is inseparable from justice; for faith is belief in integrity. As red is the color of action so love is the moving or motive principle among the others. Love is the thing hoped for, of which faith is the foundation. All the warmth there is in the world comes from love, all theV?heer and light from wisdom, and all the dependability and uprightness from justice.

Doar Hayom

OL'NDED as the result of a wager less than a year ago. with a capital of seventy pounds, all the money its eight backers could raise, the Daily Mail, Jerusalem’s new Hebrew daily, now has a weekly English edition, is planning a similar weekly Arabic edition and has a steadily growing circulation which has already passed the three-thousand mark, according to Miss Rivka Aaronsohn, who recently visited New York to secure modern equipment and printpaper for the newspaper.

No successful newspaper has probably ever had such a strange line-up of editors and has been managed as is the “Doar Hayoin*,ar Daily Mail. None of the board of eight editors is a newspaper man. One is a lawyer, another works with the English Occupied Territory Administration, the rest are in business in Jerusalem.

“Each evening after their regular duties are ended, the board meets at the newspaper office and gets out the .next morning’s edition," Miss Aaronsohn related. “Most of the men stay on the job until two and three o’clock in the morning. We have never missed a day yet, although sometimes we bandy had enough paper to print the edition and many times Ittamar Ben Avi got back from Egypt just in time with a supply of paper or with enough advertisements sold to c o nt i 11 ue o per a tions.”

The newspaper has now become so prosperous thaj the families of its forty employes are living comfortably off it, according to Miss Aaronsohn. It is operated entirely on a cooperative basis, but the earnings received by the board of editors are placed hack in the treasury sy thet more modern equipment may be purchas'd.

The strahgp beginnings of this little paper were told by Miss Aaronsohn as follows:

"For many years the pioneer Jewish colonists of Palestine had been dissatisfied with the one Hebrew daily in Jerusalem. We wanted freedom of expression in our press; we wanted a paper with a broad policy looking to the future welfare of all Palestine. We wanted a good feeling among all the various classes in* Palestine. But we couldn't express our views in the paper. Its editors wouldn't permit it.

"One day less than a year ago, Asher Saphir, a young Jewish colonist, who fought four years with the French, complained to one of the backers of the paper about its policy. ’Start another paper, why don’t you?’ retorted the editor. ’We will,’ answered Saphir. 'Ten pounds you can’t,’ rejoined the editor. Saphir took the bet and called us seven together. We combined our capital of seventy pounds, and on the additional credit we were able to get, together with seven-hundred pounds on advance payments of advertisements secured in Egypt and Palestine, had the paper running in a month/*

"Any one in Palestine can contribute to the paper," Miss Aaronsohn continued. "No one is barred because his views differ from the editors'. We are working for the future upbuilding of Palestine and that can be accomplished only by freedom of expression. We started the English edition because there are so many English in Palestine now. We will start the Arabic edition so that all races and creeds will be brought closer together.”

• Miss Aaronsohn claims that their paper, founded at first merely as a volunteer bit of work for the good of Jewish settlements in Palestine, bids fair to lie one of the best paying enterprises in the Holy Land. Their greatest handicap, she explained, was in. securing newsprint: and she was greatly surprised to learn that the shortage is just as acute in America, although there is no Egypt close at hand here, where an editor can run and bring back enough for the next day’s edition.

Great things are ahead of Doar Hayom as Jerusalem increases and the capitals of the present great nations decrease in importance; for wib-n the divine promise is executed, "The Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep his commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which ho hath made, in praise, and in name and in honor’’ (Deuteronomy 26:18,19) Jerusalem is to become the capital of the world forever.

• 15. While *'darkness covers the earth. and gross darkness the people'’ what class among men is privileged to walk in the light of truth. /

Those who will turn away from the mere speculations of men, and devote time to searching the Scriptures, not excluding reason, which Cod invites us to use (Isaiah 1:18), xv’ill find that a blessed bow of promise spans the heavens. It is a mistake to suppose that those without faith, and consequent justification, should be able to apprehend clearly the truth; it is not for such.—Psa. 97:11.

For the child of God a lamp is provided whose light dispels from his pathway much of the darkness. “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) But it is only “the path of the just” that “is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day”. (Proverbs 4:18) Actually, there is none just, “none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10); the class referred to is “justified by faith”. It is the privilege of this class only to walk in the pathway that shines more and more—to see not only the present unfoldings of God's plan, Intt things to come.

While it is true that the path of each individual believer is a shining due, yet the special application of this statement is to the just '(justified) as a class. Patriarchs, prophets, apostles and saints of the past and present have walked in its increasing light; and the light will continue to increase beyond the present—“unto the perfect day”. It is one continuous path, and the one continuous and increasing light is the divine record illuminating as it becomes due.

• 16. U'Ay are many still sitting in darkness when they might walk in the light?

Therefore, “rejoice in the Lord, ye right-eous/S^xpecting the fulfillment of this promise. Many have so little faith that they do not look for more light, and, because of their unfaithfulness and unconcern. they are permitted t»» sit in darknes.^ wh^n they might have been w alking in the increasing} light.

• 17. Thur^wi l (he Spirit of God 'inidr the ehi:<--h. into the truth ■*

The spirit of God, given to guide the church into truth, will take of the things written and show them unto us; but beyond what is written we need nothing; for the Holy Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus.—2 Timothy 3:15.

• 18. HViatf Scriptural assurance have we that even the world shall not always remain in darkness?

While it is still true that “darkness covers the-earth, and gross darkness the people,” the world is not always to remain in this condition. We are assured that “the morning cometh”. (Isaiah 21:12) As now God causes the natural sun to shine upon the just and the unjust, so the Sun of Righteousness will, in the Millennial day, shine for the benefit of all the world, and “bring to light the hidden things of darkness”. (1 Corin-, thians 4:5) It will dispel the noxious vapors of evil, and bring life, health, peace and joy.

• 19. What was the nature of. the divine promises in past ages., and how has the “path of the jus?’ been progressive with respect to knowledge?

Looking into the past we find that then the true light shone hut feebly. The promises made to Abraham and others, and’ typically represented in the law and ceremonies of fleshly Israel, were only shadows and gave but a vague idea of God's wonderful and gracious designs. As we reach the days of Jesus the light increases. The height of expectancy, until then, had been that God would bring a deliverer to save Israel from their enemies, and to exalt them as the chief nation of the earth, in which position of power and influence God would use them as His agency for blessing all.

The offer given Israel of heirship in the kingdom of God was so different, in the conditions demanded, from what they had expected, and the prospects of the class being selected ever attaining the greatness promised were, outwardly and humanly considered, so improbable, that all but the few were thereby blinded to the message. And their blindness ami hostility to ir wm'H naturally increased when, in the process of God's plan, the due time camp for extending the message, ami making the invitation to share in the promised kingdom applicable to every creature under heaven who should by the exercise of faith be reckoned a child of faithful Abraham and an heir of the promise made him.

• 20. TF/iaJ was the special light brought by our Lord Jesus at His first advent ?

But when the gospel which Jesus taught came to be understood after Pentecost, it was seen by the church that the blessings for the world were to be of an enduring character, and that for the accomplishment of this purpose the kingdom would be spiritual, and composed of Israelites indeed, a “little flock” selected from among both Jews and Gentiles to be exalted to spirit nature and power. Hence we read that Jesus brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:10) And since Jesus' day yet more light shines, as He foretold it woiild, saying, “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, . . . and he will show you things to come.”—John 16:12,13.

• 21. After the apostles fell asleep, what was the experience of the majority of the church ? And what matte the development of Papacy possible?

There came a time, however, after the apostles fell asleep, when the majority of the church began to neglect the lamp, and to look to human teachers for leading; and the teachers, puffed up with pride, assumed titles and offices, and. began to lord it over God’s heritage. Then by degrees there came into existence a special class called “the clergy”, who regarded themselves, and were regarded by others, as the proper guides to faith and practice, aside from the Word of God. Thus in time the great system of Papacy was developed by an undue respect for the teachings of fallible men and a neglect of the Word of the infallible God.

• 22. H7od was the nature of the Reformation movement, and why hare Protestants made *o little pioaress since the days of the reformers ?

Serious indeed have been the evil results brought about by this neglect of truth. As all know, both the church and the civilized world were .almost wholly enslaved by that system, and lechCp worship the traditions and creeds of men. From this slavery a bold and blessed strike for liberty ami the Bible was made, in what is known at The Reformation. God raised up bold champions for His Word, among whom were Waldd, Wycliffe, Luther, Zwingli, Melamdi-thon, and others. These called attention to the fact that Papacy had laid aside the Bible and substituted the decrees and dogmas of the church, and pointed out a few of its erroneous teachings and practices, showing that they were built upon tradition, contrary to truth, and opposed to God's Word.

These reformers and their adherents were called Protestants, because they protested against Papacy, and claimed the Word of God as the only correct rule of faith and practice. Many faithful souls in the days of the Reformation walked iirthe light, as far as it was then shining. But since their day Protestants have made little progress, because, instead of walking in the light, they have halted around their favorite leaders, willing to see as much as- they saw but nothing more. They set boundaries to their progress in the way of truth, hedging in, with the little truth they had, a great deal of error brought along from the “mother” church. For the creeds thus formulated many years ago^ the majority of Christians have a superstitious reverence, supposing that no more can be known of God’s plans now than was known by the reformers.

• 23. What do we understand by the term “dispense tlunal truths”? And what has given rise to the proverb, "The [Hide is a fiddle upon, which any tune can be played”?

This mistake has been an expensive one; for, aside from the fact that but few great principles of truth were then recovered from the rubbish of error, there are special features of truth constantly becoming due, and of these Christians have Iteen deprived by their creed fences. To illustrate: It was a truth in Noah's day, and one which required the faith of all who would walk in the light then, that a flood was coming, while Adam and others had known nothing of it. It would not be preaching truth now to preach a coming flood, but there are other dispensations! truths constantly becoming due, of which, if walking in the light of the lamp, we shall know; so, if we have all the light which was due several hundred years ago, and’that only, we are measurably in darkness.

God's Word is a great storehouse of food for hungry pilgrims on the shining pathway. There is milk for babes, and strong nieat for those more developed J Peter 2: 2; Hebrews 5:14); and not only so, but it contains food adapted to the different seasons and conditions; and Jesus said the faithful servant should bring forth meat in due season for the household of faith—“things new and old,” from the storehouse.—Luke 12:42: Matthew 13:52.

It would he impossible to bring forth such things from any sectarian creed or storehouse. We might bring forth some things old and good from each, hut nothing new. The truth contained in the creeds of the various sects is so covered and mixed with error that its inherent beauty and real value are not discernible. The various creeds continually conflict and clash; and as each claims a Bible basis, the confusion of thought, and evident discord, are charged to God's Word. This has given rise to the common proverb, ‘‘The Bible is an old fiddle upon which any tune can be played”.

How expressive is tbi⁴* of the infidelity of our times, occasioned by misrepresentations of God’s Word and character by human traditions, together with the growth of intelligence, which will no longer how in blind and superstitious reverence to the opinions of fellow-men, but demands a reason for tho hope that is in us. The faithful student of the Word should be able always to give a reason for his hope. The Word of God alone is able to make wise, and is profitable for doctrine, instruction, etc., "that the man of God may be perfect. thryro'Hfjlihj furnished’. —1 Peter 3:15; 2 Timothy .3: 15 - 17.

Only this one storLmw contains an exhaust-less supply of things high now and old—meat in due season for the household. Surely no one who believes the Scripture statement that "the path of the just sh.ineth more and more unto the perfect day’’ will claim that the perfect day came in Luthers time: and if not, we do well that we take heed to our lamp as unto "a light that shineth in a drd: place rxTii- the day dawn”.—2 Petcr 1:19.

• 24. What ix ike arfat in'i purtance of irailrina in the tight:' .4/tt/ how do the ri/dures contrast icaikitig with sitting or standing'

Xor is it sufficient that wo find ourselves now in the path of light: we must "tralk in the light", continue to make progress, else the light, which does nobstop, will puss on and leave us in darkness. The difficulty with many is that they sit down, and do not follow on in the path of light. Take a concordance and fxamine the texts under the words\A/7 ^nd stand. then compare these with those foun^l under the words icolk and run. and you will find a great contrast: men “sit in darkness”, and with "the scornfur', and sftnid among the ungodly, but "milk in tin* light”, and "run for the prize”.—Isaiah 42: 7; Psalm 1:1; Heb. 124.

• 25. - If ire believe that perfection of knowledge is not a litifty of the past but of the future, why do we go back to the words of the apostles and prophets for all our knourt-ftige of the present aaid future !

Perfection of knowledge is not a thing of the past, but of the future—the very near future, we trust; and until we recognize this fact we are unprepared to appreciate and expect ftesh unfoldings of our Lather's plan. True, we still go back to the words of the prophets', and apostles for all knowledge of the present and i utnre : not. however, because they always under- . stood God’s plans and purposes better than we, but because God used them as His mouthpieces tu communicate to us, and to all the church throughout the Christian age, truth relative to His plans, as fast as it becomes due.

This fact is abundantly proven by the' apostles. Paul tells that God has made known to the Christian’ church the mystery (secret) of His will which He had purposed in Himself, and had never before revealed, though He had it recorded in dark sayings which could not be understood until due, in order that the eyes of <«ur understanding should be opened to appreciate the “high calling" designed exclusively for believers of the Christian age.—Ephesians 10. 17, 18: 3:4-6.

This shows us clearly that neither the prophets nor the angels understood the meaning of the prophecies uttered. Peter says that when ’ the prophets inquired anxiously the meaning, God told them that the truths covered up in their prophecies were not for themselves, but for us of the Christian age. Anti he exhorts the church to hope for still further grace (favor, blessing) in this direction—yet more knowledge of God's plans.— 1 Peter 1:10-13.

28. Although the Lord promised that the church slioald hr guided into all truth, in what manner evidently was the truth tn hr ttuf'ddrd .*

It is evident that though Jesus promised that the church should be guided into all truth, it was-to be a gradual unfolding. While the church, in the days of the apostles, was free from many of the errors which sprang up under and in Papacy, yet we cannot suppose that the early < hnrch saw as deeply or as dearly into God’s plan as it is possible to see today. It is evident, too. that the different apostles bad dififerent degrees of insight into God’s plan, though all their u ritiitrjs wore guided'and inspired of God, as truly as were the words of the prophets. To

illustrate differences of knowledge, we have but to remember the wavering course, for a time, of * Peter and the other apostles, except Paul, when the gospel was beginning to go to the gentiles. (Acts 10:28; 11:1-3; Galatians 2:11-14) * Peter's uncertainty was in marked contrast with Paul’s assurance, inspired by the words of the prophets, God’s past dealings, and the direct _t revelations made to himself.

27. What was the special value of the Apostle Paul’s ' visions and revelations, since he was not permitted tn * make them known either to the other apostles or to the ; church in general?

¹ Paul evidently had more abundant revelations than any other apostle. These revelations he * was not allowed to make known to the church, nor fully and plainly even to the other apostles _#      (2 Corinthians 12:4; Galatians 2:2) yet we can

V     see a value to the entire church in those visions

4 and revelations given to Paul; for though he was not, permitted to tell what he saw, nor to 1 particularize all he knew of the mysteries of God relating to the “ages to come”, yet what he ’ saw gave a force, shading and depth of meaning to his words which in the light of subsequent * facts, prophetic fulfillments and the spirit’s * guidance, we are able to appreciate more fully ' than could the early church.

F         28. JIoiv does the book of Revelation corroborate the

• i. ^: foregoing statements?

As corroborative of the foregoing statements, we call to mind the last book of the Bible—Reve-,     lation—written about A. D. 96. The introductory

words announce it as a special revelation of things not previously understood. This proves conclusively that up to that time, at least, God's plan had not been fully revealed. Nor has that . book ever been, until now, all that its name implies—an unfolding, a revelation. So far as ' the early church was concerned, probably none understood any part of the Book. Even John, who saw the visions, was probably ignorant of , the'Mgnificance of what he saw. He was both a ■ prophet and an apostle: and while as an apostle he understood and taught what was then "meat in due season”, as a prophet he uttered things ¹ which would supply "'meat" in seasons future for the l\ous^hold.

• 29. TT/ni£iras the promise of Revcl’i?>oH 1: 3. and hoiv

• has it been Jul fitted.'

During the Christian age. some of the saints sought to understand the church’s future by

examining this symbolic book, and doubtless allwho read and understood even a part of its ' teachings were blessed as promised. (Revelation » J : 3) The book kept opening up to such, and iix ’ the days of the Reformation was an important ‘ aid to Luther in deciding that the Papacy", of . which he was a conscientious minister, was . indeed the “Antichrist” mentioned by the apostle, the history of which we now see fills so large a part of that prophecy.                       ,

Thus gradually’ God opens up His truth and * reveals the exceeding riches of His grace; and ■ consequently much more light is due now than at * any" previous time in the church’s history. '

“And still new beauties shall we see .

And still increasing light.”

• 30. TTAaf evidence, aside from the Bible. examined in the light of reason, proves the existence of an intelligent, personal Creator?

Even from the standpoint of the skeptic, a : reasonable and candid search into the unknown, by the light of what is known, will guide the unbiased, intelligent reasoner in the direction of the truth. Yet it is evident that without a . direct revelation of the plans and purposes of God, men could only’ approximate the truth, and arrive at indefinite conclusions. But let us for the moment lay aside the Bible and look at * i things from the standpoint of reason alone.

He who can look into the sky with a telescope, or even with his natural eye alone, and see there the immensity of creation, its symmetry, beauty, ■ order, harmony" and diversity, and yet doubt that the Creator of these is vastly his superior in both wisdom and power, or who can suppose for a moment that such order came by- chance, without a Creator, has so far lost or ignored the faculty of reason as to be properly eon-sidered what the Bible terms him, a fool (one who ignoresorlacks reason) : ‘The fool hath said * in his heart. There is no God”. However it happened, at least that much of the Bible is true, ■ as every reasonable mind must conclude; for it is a self-evident truth that effects must be produced by competent causes. Every plant and (‘very’ flower, even, speaks volumes of testimony on this subject. Intricate in construction, exquisitely beautiful in form and texture, each speaks of a wisdom and skill above the human.

IIow short-sighted the absurdity which boasts of human skill and ingenuity, and attributes to mere chance the regularity’, uniformity and

harmony of nature; which acknowledges. the laws of nature, while denying that nature has an intelligent Lawgiver.

• 31. H hat in the theory of some who deny the existence of a personal Godt .

Some who deny the existence of an intelligent Creator claim that nature is the only God, and that from nature all forms of animal and vegetable developments proceeded without the ordering of intelligence, but governed, they say, by “the law of the survival of the fittest’’ in a process of evolution.

• 32. What facts in nature are the strongest evidence against the theory of Evolution?

This theory lacks proof; for all about us we see that the various creatures are of fixed natures which do not evolve to higher natures; and though those who hold to this theory have made repeated endeavors, they have never succeeded either in blending different species or in producing a new fixed variety. No instance is known \Vhere one kind has changed to another kind.* Though there are fish that can use their fins for a moment as wings, and fly out of the water, and frogs that can sing, they have never been known to change into birds; and though there are among brutes some which bear a slight resemblance to men, the evidence is wholly lacking that man was evolved from such Creatures. On the contrary, investigations prove that though different varities of the same species may be produced, it is impossible to blend the various species, or for one to evolve from another/For the same reason the donkey and the horse, though resembling each other, cannot be claimed as related; for it is well known that their offspring is imperfect and cannot propagate either species.

Surely if unintelligent nature were the creator or evolver she would continue the process, and there would be no such thing as fixed species, since without intelligence nothing would arrive at fixed conditions. Evolution would be a fact today^nd we would see about us fish becoming birds, and monkeys becoming men. This theory we conclude to bo as contrary to human reason as to the Bible, when it claims that intelligent beings were created by a puwer lacking intelligence. V \ ----

•For tho benefit nf ww renders we remark that chances sack as the tninsfonnutiun of eurerpillars into butterflies are not changes of nature; the caterpillar ie but the larva hatched from the butterfly’s egg.

BEHIND NATURES MACHINERY IS THE lOTtlX'IUIT^ ’          OMNIPOTENT GOO           _t

■ 33. What is one theory of the creation (ezceplyvn- > man) to which no serious objection can he offered* _K -

One theory regarding the creation (exceptipg^y ? man) by a process of evolution, to which see no serious objection, we briefly state ** , follows: It assumes that the various species ef the present are fixed and unchangeable so j as nature or kind is concerned, and present natures may be developed to a much higher standard, eyen to perfection, thesp ^v ‘ species or natures will forever be the sanie.

This theory further assumes that nonej these fixed species were originally cheated but that in the remote past they were developed * from the earth, and by gradual procesaes of   _f

evolution from one form to another; These •   '

evolutions, under divinely established laws, wt which changes of food and climate played an important part, may have continued until th* J fixed species, as at present seen, were estate ' lished, beyond which change is impossible^ the ultimate purpose of the Creator in this respect^ ■ to all appearance, having been reached. • -      /

Though each of the various families of plants ¹ and animals is capable of improvement orM , j degradation, none of them is susceptible change into, nor can they be produced from? * other families or kinds. Thopgh each of these may attain to the perfection of its own fixed ’ nature, the Creator’s design as to nature having ■ -been attained, further change in this respect is impossible.           •

It is claimed that the original plants and, animals, from which present fixed varieties J came, became extinct before - the creation-of . ^: man. Skeletons and fossils of animals and plants-which do not now exist, found deep below the earth’s surface, favor this theory. This view neither ignores nor rejects the Bible teaching that man was a direct image of his Maker/and ■ not a development by a process of evolution^ probably common to the remainder of creation? This view would in no sense invalidate, but J support, the Bible's claim, that nature as-it-ib today teaches that an Intelligent Being ordered * -it. and was its first cause. Let human reasonl -do her best to trace known facts to reasonable , and competent causes, giving due credit' to nature’s laws in every case; but hack of all tMt intricate machinery of nature is the hand of ite great Author, the intelligent, omnipotent God. <

34. In view of the foregoing, what in our reasonable conclusion as to the existence of tin intelligent Creator? j We claim, then, that the existence of an Intelligent Creator is a clearly demonstrated truth, the proof of which lies all around us; yea, and within us; for we are His workmanship, • whose every power of mind and body speaks of a marvelous skill beyond our comprehension. He is the designer and creator of what we term < nature* We claim that He ordered and estab-i lished the laws of nature, the beauty and harmony of whose operation we see and admire. This One whose wisdom planned and whose ] power upholds and guides the universe, whose * wisdom and power so immeasurably transcend our own, we instinctively worship and adore.

•        35. Realizing the existence of such a mighty being,

j     hawdoes reason allay dread of His omnipotent strength?

To realize the existence of this mighty God 4* is but to dread His omnipotent strength, unless J    we can see Him possessed of benevolence and

*    goodness corresponding to His power. Of this

fact we are also fully assured by the same *    evidence which proves His existence, power and

«     wisdom. Not only are we forced to the con

clusion that there is a God, and that His power f    and wisdom are immeasurably beyond our own,

j     but we are forced by reason to the conclusion

that the grandest thing created is. not superior y to its Creator; hence -we must conclude that the greatest manifestation of benevolence and just-’ ice among men is inferior in scope to that of the Creator, even as man’s wisdom and power are inferior to His. And thus we have before j our mental vision the character and attributes of the great Creator. He is wise, just, loving j and powerful; and the scope of His attributes, is of necessity, immeasurably wider than that of His grandest creation.

<         36. TFAaf should we expect of such an all-wise, all

mighty, all-loving Creator?

¹ But further: having reached this reasonable conclusion relative to the existence and char-! ' acter of our Creator, let us inquire, What should i we exp&tspf such a Being? The answer comes, that the possession of such attributes reasonably argues their exercise, their use. God’s ₍ power must be used, and that in harmony with , His own nature — wiselv. jnstlv and benevolently. Wha\evA may be the means to that end, whatever ma!K^r he the operation of God’s power. ’ the final outcome must be consistent with His nature and character, and infinite wisdom.

What could be more reasonable than such * '¹ exercise.of power as we see manifested in file creation of countless worlds about us, and in the wonderful variety of earth? What could ?= be more reasonable than the creation of man, endowed with reason and judgment, capable of _c appreciating his Creator's works, and judging* * of His skill—of His wisdom, justice, power and ' love! All this is reasonable, and in perfect accord with the facts known to us.

• 37. Is it not most reasonable to expect such a God to give His creatures, made in His own image, some rcve- /I lation of Himself and His purposes'?

And now comes our final proposition. It is not reasonable to suppose that such an infinitely wise and good Being, having made a creature capable of appreciating Himself and His Plan, would be moved by His love and justice to ? supply the wants of that creature’s nature^ by giving him some revelation ? Would it not jbe a reasonable supposition, that God would supply to man information concerning the object of his existence, and His plans for man’s future! Ou the contrary, we ask, would it not be unreason-. i able to suppose that such a Creator would make I such a creature as man, endow him with powers   ’ i

of reason reaching out into the future, and yet, make no revelation of His plans to meet those longings .*Such a course would l>e unreasonable, because contrary to the character which we ^f reasonably attribute to God; contrary to the proper course of a being controlled by justice and love.                                         •

• 38. Had divine wisdom deemed it inexpedient to give mankind any knoudedge of their future destiny, what course would Justice, love and power have dictated as respects God's dealings with men?

We may reason that in creating man, had divine wisdom decided it inexpedient to grant a knowledge of his future destiny, and his share in Iiis Creator's plans, then surely divine justice, as well as divine love, would have insisted that * the being should be so limited in his capacity that he would not continually be tormented and     'll

perplexed with doubts, and fears, and ignorance;

and as a consequence divine power would have fl been used under those limitations. The fact, then, S that man has capacity for appreciating a reve-

lation of the divine plan, taken in connection

with the conceded character of his Creator, is an abundant reason for expecting that God would grant such a revelation, in such time and manner as His wisdom approved.

• 39. What is the reasonable conclusion regarding earthquakes, vydoncs and other minor irregularities m this earth, when ice consider the general hargtony and order of the rest of creation?

So, then, in view of these considerations, even if we were ignorant of the Bible, reason would lead us to expect and to be on the lookout for some such revelation as the Bible claims' to be. And furthermore, noting the order and harmony . of the general creation, as in grand procession the spheres and systems keep time and place, we cannot but conclude that the minor irregularities, such as earthquakes, cyclones, etc., are indications that the working together of the various elements in this world is not at present perfect. An assurance that all will ultimately . be perfect and harmonious on earth as in the heavens, with some explanation why it is not so at present, are requests which are not unreasonable for reasoning men to ask, nor for the Creator, whose wisdom, power and lienevo-. lence are demonstrated, to answer. Hence we should expect the revelation sought to include such an assurance and such an explanation.

• 40. bnok claims to be this revelation from God to man, and what should we expect of it.⁹

Having established the reasonableness of expecting a revelation of God's will and plan concerning the race of mankind, we will next examine the general character of the Bible, which claims to l)e just such a revelation. And if it presents the character of God in perfect harmony with what reason, as above considered, dictates, we should conclude that it thus proves itself to be the needed and reasonably expected revelation from Ged, and should then accept its testimony as such. If of (rod, its teaching, when fully appreciated, will accord with his character, which reason assures us is perfect in wisdom, justice, love and power.

having cin.x max capacity fob appreciation, '          GOD PROVIDES HIM A REVELATION

41* What is the ihf'ucnre <>f the Bi;^Je; as recognized even enemies? And what injurg ha* the grand (Id r-itfn suirtr-d <:* th* hands of Its staunchest frl* 7< d* ?

The Bible is the torch of civilization and liberty. Its influence for good in society has been recognised by the greatest statesmen, even thoujMi they for the most part have looked at it through the various glasses of conflicting creeds, which, while upholding the Bible, grievously misrepresent its teaching. The grand old Book is unintentionally but woefully misrepre- , / seated by its friends, many of whom would lay . down life on its behalf: and yet they do itmore ' vital injury than its foes, by claiming its slipport to their long-revered misconceptions of its truth, received through the traditions of their a fathers. Would that such would awake, re-examine their oracle, and put to confusion its « enemies by disarming them of their weapons! J

• 42. is the claim of the Bible?

Since the light of nature leads us to expect * ' a fuller revelation of God than that which • .’t nature supplies, the reasonable thinking mind

will be prepared to examine the claims of any-

thing purporting to be a divine revelation, which bears a reasonable surface evidence of the truthfulness, of such claims. The Bible ’ claims to be such a revelation from God. and’ it does come to us with sufficient surface evi- $ deuce as to the probable correctness of its > J claims, and gives us a reasonable hope that doser investigation will disclose more complete S and positive evidence that it is indeed-the Word of God.                     .         - ^y .    ’4

• 43. Row old is the Bible, and what do the facts of its ' remarkable preservation indicate?                           .’ J

The Bible is the oldest book in existence; it J . has outlived the storms of thirty centuries. Men . * \ have endeavored by every means possible to , Iwnish it from the face of the¹ earth: they have ' i hidden it, buried it, made it a crime punishable x with death to have it in possession, and the     >

most hitter and relentless persecutions have

Iwen waged against those Avho had faith in it; but still the Bonk lives. Today, while many of ■ its foes slumber in death and hundreds of vol-

umes written to discredit it and to overthrow

influence, are long since forgotten, the Bible has found its way into every nation and language of earth, over two hundred different i translations of it having been made. The tact that this Book has survived so many centnrifs, notwithstanding such unparalleled efforts to. ' banish ami destroy it. is at least strong circum- x->tautial evidence that the great Being whom it claims as its author has also been its preserver, -

• 44. ll’Arr <> the moral influence of the Bible, and hmo J it I* u*'d f y those who would enjoy its richest t rt ti*urer*?                                                          .         ■

It is also true that the moral influence of the Bible is uniformly good. Those who become careful students of its pages are invariably ' elevated to a purer life. Other writings upon religion and the various sciences have done good and have ennobled and blessed mankind, to some extent; but all other books.combined have failed to bring the joy, peace and blessing to the groaning creation that the Bible has brought to both the rich and the poor, to the learned and the unlearned. The Bible is not a book to be read merely; it is a book to be studied with care and thought; for God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways than our ways. And if we would comprehend the plan and the thoughts of th^ infinite God, we must bend all our energies to that important work. richest treasures of truth do not always lie on the surface.

• 45. JTAo is the most prominent charactei constantly referred to throughout the Bible?

This Book throughout constantly points and refers to one prominent character, Jesus of Nazareth, who, it claims, was the Son of God. From beginning to end His name, and office, and work, are made prominent. That a man called Jesus of Nazareth lived, and was somewhat noted, about the time indicated by the writers of the Bible, is a fact of history outside the Bible, and it is variously and fully corroborated. That this Jesus was crucified because he had rendered himself offensive to the Jews and their priesthood is a further fact established by history outside the evidence furnished by the New Testament writers. The writers of the New Testament (except Paul and Luke) were the personal acquaintances and disciples of Jesus of Nazareth, whose doctrines their writings set forth.

THE EXISTENCE OF A BOOK IMPLIES MOTIVE ON THE ■ PART OF THE WHITER

• 46. What does the exi*b>iit ? oj ang book imply: Anc what motives only could- 6* rruwtufhhi alt ributed to the writers of the Neir Testaiucnt²

The existence of any book implies motive on the p?rt of the writer. We therefore inquire What iiMjves could have inspired these men to espouse the cause of th^;s person? He was condemned to death and crucified as a malefactor by the Jews, the most religious among them assenting to and demanding his death. as mic unfit to live. And in espousing his cause, and promulgating his doctrines, these men braved contempt, deprivation and bitter persecution, - risked life itself,and in some cases even suffered martyrdom

Admitting that while he lived Jesus was ar remarkable person, in both his life and his teaching, what motive could there have been for any to espouse his cause after he was dead! — especially when his death was so ignominioust And if we suppose that these writers invented their narratives, and that Jesus was their imaginary or ideal hero, how absurd it would be to suppose that sane men, after claiming that he was the Son of God, that he had been ■ begotten in a supernatural way, had supernatural powers by which he had healed lepers, restored sight to those born blind, caused the deaf to hear, and even awakened the dead—how very absurd to suppose that they would wind up the story of such a character by stating that a little band of his enemies executed him as a felon, while all his friends and disciples, and among them the writers themselves, forsook, him and fled in the trying moment!

The fact that profane history does not agree in some respects with these writers should not ' lead us to regard their records as untrue. Those who do not thus conclude assign and prove some motive on the part of these writers for making • false statements. What motives could have prompted them? Could they reasonably have hoped thereby for fortune, or fame, or power, or any earthly advantage? ’

WHAT ASTONISHES THOSE WHO TERM THE BIBLE A MANUFACTURED HISTORY

On the contrary, if such had been the object of those who preached Jesus, would they not speedily have given it up when they found that it brought disgrace, persecution, imprisonment, stripes and even death? Reason.plainly teaches that men who sacrificed home, reputation, honor and lite: who lived not for present gratification; but whose central aim was to elevate their fellow-men. and who inculcated morals of the highest type, were not only possessed of a motive, but that their motive must have been pure and their object grandly sublime. Reason further declares that the testimony of such men, actuated only by pure and good motives, is worthy of ten times the weight and consideration of ordinary writers. Nor were these men fanatics: they were men of sound and reasonable mind, and furnished in every case a reason for their faith and hope; and they were perse-veri ngly faithful to those reasonable convictions.

UVENILE BIBLE STUDY Une question for each day is provided by this journal. The parent -                  .....—    - will find it interesting and helpful to have the child tube up the

question each day and tu aid it in finding the answer In the Scriptures, thus developing a knowledge of the. Bible und learning where to had in it the information which Is desired.

• 1. What was predicted to happen when Christ begins to take His power?               .

.     . . Answer: “The nations were angry and thy wrath is

’ come.” See .Revelation 11:17, last part, and 18, first part.                         '

;          2. Hotc did Daniel state the matter?

'■ Answer: See Daniel 12:1.

3. What does the name “Michael” mean?

. Answer: He who is like or as God.

• i 4. Does the Bible say Jesus is like God?

Answer: See Hebrews 1:3.

• 5. In Daniel 12:1, tvhat is the meaning of the expression "At that time shall Michael stand up"?              -

1     ■ ' Answer: The "time” would come when Christ would

, ■ “stand up”—take His power to reign.

• 6. What did Jesus say would happen when He y          began to take His power?

p ' . .. Answer: See Matthew 24:21.

r .   \ 7. Are we now in the midst of "the time of

'      trouble" or “tribulation"?

• 4           Answer: We are.

T '   8. When did it begin?

• -     _ Answer: In lf>14. when the great World War hroke

. out.                                    ’        .

• 9. What is the cause of "the time of trouble"? -Answer; Satan is opposing the establishment of the

Lord’s kingdom.                                     ^:

• 10. Has he deceived the kings of the earth and ' some of the people into believing that they ■ must oppose the establishment of the Lortty' * kingdom?

Answer: See Psalm 2:1 -3.          '

• 11. What is meant by, “Why do the people tm-agine a vain thing?”

Answer: It is "vain”—foolish—for them to oppose >

the Lord’s kingdom.                                .

• 12. How does the Lord himself look at the oppo-

sition of Satan and those he has deceived? •

Answer: He “shall laugh” at their effort to prevent -

the establishment of His kingdom on earth. '-Psalm 2 :A . ‘

■                                                 ■                                                                                    .              .                                  ■ ' i • t

• 13. What does it mean to "have them in dg- >.. vision"?

Answer: To mock them for their foolishness. '

• 14. What is meant in Psalm 2:6: "Yet have I set ■ my King upon my holy hill of Zion"?

Answer: Regardless of the opposition, the Lord Je-

hmah will make His Son King over all the earth.

WAITING FOR

We wait for the bugle; the night dews are cold, The limbs of the soldiers feel jaded and old, The Held of our bivouac is wiiidy and bare.

Tfc^re is frost in our joints, there is frost in our hair;

The future is veiled, and its fortunes unknown, As we lie with hushed breath till the bugle is blown.

THE BUGLE

. *

At the sound of that, bugle each comrade shall spring Like an arrow released from the strain of the string;

The courage. the impulse of youth shall come buck

To banish die chili of the drear bivouac;

And sorrows and losses and cares fade away

When die life-giving -ignal proclaims the new day. •

*3

T1n>' the hiv.-mic <»t‘ ane nmy ice in <-ur veins

And no fibre of steel in vur sinew remains;

TIio' the <'<>njr:ides of yesterday’s nmrrh are not here.

And the snnlfzht seems pale and the branches are sere— Tho* the sound of our cheerin c dies down to a moan We shall find our lost youth when the bugle is olown.

—By Thomas ’Wcniicarth Higginson