The Golden Age

A JOURNAL OF FACT HOPE AND COURAGE

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JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES STANDING FOR THEIR LIVES EVENTS IN CANADA

OBEDIENCE ENDEARS ONE TO SAVIOR

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every other WEDNESDAY five cents a copy one dollar a year Canada & Foreign 1.25

Vol. XVI - No. 394 October 24, 1934

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CONTENTS

LABOR AND ECONOMICS

Looking at NRA with Skepticism . 55

SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL

“News by Radio”......35

Mix-up in Relationships .... 53 Grave-Robbing in Chicago ... 53 671,866 Persons on Relief in New York 55 A Disgusted Robber.....58

Atlanta Convention.....63

FINANCE—COMMERCE—TRANSPORTATION

A Glance at the Air Schedules . . 54 Interborough Receivership Scandal 54 Anchor of the Big New Cunarder . 54 Two Air Passengers Lose Nerves . 54 The Deadly Auto in Illinois . . . 54 Too Many Taxicabs (?) . . . . 54 Leviathan Loses Half-Million a Year 54 Seaplane Commuter Service ... 54 Some of the Coal Tricks .... 55

POLITICAL—DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN

Creeping Paralysis of Bureaucracy 55 Too Many Political Quacks ... 55 Fascism Breaks Out in Illinois . 55 Equipped for Strike Duty ... 55 $12,000 for a Single Letter ... 55 Papal Fascism in Austria ... 57 Radio Hearing Chart Defaced . . 58 Bulgaria Ends Clerical Grafts . . 58

AGRICULTURE AND HUSBANDRY

Famines—Past and Present . . 40

Lantern-Bearers of the Deep . . 56

Largest Flood-Control Reservoir . 56

Midsummer Frosts in Bavaria . . 56

SCIENCE AND INVENTION

The Mersey Tunnel......54

Artificial Lightning at Pittsfield . 56

Electroplating of Rubber .... 56

Radios on Motorcycles .... 56

HOME AND HEALTH

Senora Chairez of Santa Ana . . 53

Cabot Condemns Human Vivisection 56

TRAVEL AND MISCELLANY

Events in Canada......51

Blinding the Minds......56

One of the Gibborim, Perhaps . . 56

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

Whose Servant? (Part 1) ... 49

Jehovah's witnesses in Germany

Standing for Their Lives . . 50

Observations on New Jersey “Hate” Bill.......57

Hindu Catholics Abandon Church . 57

The ‘ ‘ Flames of Purgatory ” . . . 58 Obedience Puts One Close

to the Savior’s Heart ... 59

Demonism in a Catholic Church 61

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jl Golden Age

Volume XVI                      Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, October 24, 1934                      Number 394

“News by Radio”

An address by Clarence C. Dill, Senator for Washington, before the Annual Convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, at Cincinnati, September 17, 1934

THE controversy in this country over news by radio centers about the question whether the radio or the newspapers should be first to give important news to the public. We may properly recall that the broadcasting of news not yet printed in the newspaper gave birth to radio in the United States. Since radio broadcasting service originated in this country, news by radio brought radio service into existence for the human family.

Why did the broadcasting of election returns from East Pittsburgh on election night in 1920 arouse so much interest? Because those returns were news, up-to-the-minute news not yet printed in the newspapers. What if those election returns had not been broadcast for several hours after the newspapers printed them? Do you think the listeners would have written such strong letters to the Westinghouse Company urging the broadcasting of more news? Of course not. Those election returns were flash news, up-to-the-minute news, if you please, that made them so interesting.

Our newspaper friends should note also that the newspapers furnished those election returns to the Westinghouse Company and that those same listeners were not satisfied with simply the flash news heard by radio that night. They bought the newspapers the next morning just as previously. They wanted the full reports and the interpretative discussions which only the newspapers furnish. The people wanted newspapers before we had news by radio. They will continue to want newspapers after radio gives up-to-the-minute news flashes and brief news reports in the future.

How Radio Broadcasting Was Born

News by radio gave birth to radio broadcasting not only in this country, but also in Denmark. A few years ago the Politiken, the leading daily newspaper of Copenhagen, was operating an experimental radio station. It announced in its news columns that each day at noon the radio station would broadcast brief news reports of the trial of the president of a large bank in Copenhagen, who was charged with embezzlement. Depositors all over Denmark were deeply interested.

As a result the interest of listeners in radio became so great that the government later took over all radio broadcasting there. Today the government radio station of Denmark broadcasts news four times each day and pays the Politiken several thousands of dollars annually for the news which it furnishes.

What is the result ? There are more radio sets in proportion to population in Denmark than in any other country in the world, and the Politiken has found that news by radio is one of its best means of holding its circulation.

News by radio in this country has had a haphazard history. Generally radio stations have used news reports from newspapers, sometimes by permission and sometimes not. Of course, no radio station has any right to use news collected by press associations or newspapers without paying for the news, but, since radio stations can give news so much more quickly and to such vast numbers instantaneously, news by radio serves the public interest; and serving the public interest is the legal basis for the grant and renewal of radio licenses.

Surrender of the Birthright

During the winter of 1934 representatives of the press associations and of the radio chain systems held a conference on this subject and formulated what is known as the Press-Radio agreement for news by radio. By that agreement, the radio chains surrendered radio’s birthright. They made the agreement as an experiment to avoid a bitter fight over the question of whether radio or the newspapers should be first to give the news. They yielded to the newspapers.

At that time I protested against the agreement on the floor of the Senate. I predicted it would be highly unsatisfactory to radio listeners. I pointed out it would certainly bring rebellion and confusion among radio stations and that it could not continue long.

Several months have passed. The result is chaotic. The Press-Radio agreement is a failure. It satisfies nobody, because it flies in the face of progress. The listeners are disgusted with it. Most stations refuse to use it. Many newspapers say it is unsatisfactory. Radio stations and newspapers all over the country are trying all sorts of schemes to furnish news by radio in violation of the spirit of the agreement. Even most of the stations now using the Press-Radio bulletins pronounce them highly unsatisfactory.

Either the press associations must change the terms of the agreement so radio stations can give their listeners up-to-the-minute news and for longer periods of time, or radio stations will find or create means and methods for securing news entirely independent of the press associations.

This is not only their full right. It is their duty. It is a part of that public service which they are bound to give if they are to justify the use of the radio frequencies the government has granted them.

An Agreement to Suppress News

Let me call attention to how one-sided the Press-Radio agreement is:

First, it limits the time in which stations may broadcast general news, to two five-minute periods during each twenty-four hours. That is about 1,000 words per day.

Second, it fixes the time at which even those five-minute periods shall be used, so that the news by radio will not be broadcast until after it has been printed in the newspapers.

Third, representatives of the press associations, and they alone, determine what news shall be broadcast and what shall not be broadcast.

Fourth, the representatives of the press associations, and they alone, write the language of the broadcast copy, and literally hundreds of station managers say the language used is uninteresting and tiresome.

Fifth, no station is allowed to have the news it broadcasts sponsored by a commercial advertiser.

Sixth, the press associations give the news to the stations. They say it is a “public service”. That makes the stations charity institutions, as it were, so far as news by radio is concerned. Since the news costs them nothing, the radio stations can’t complain. They must take what they get and be thankful.

Seventh, and worst of all, radio stations are bound not to use news from any other source except the 1,000 words from the press associations. This compelled the Richfield reporter on the Pacific coast recently to abandon the up-to-the-minute news reports which have made that source so popular.

Tyrannical and Indefensible Censorship

As operated today, this Press-Radio agreement simply results in the press associations’ censoring all national and world news by radio. From the standpoint of radio it is tyrannical and indefensible. Every radio station that complies with it makes radio subservient to the press in the collection and dissemination of news. It cannot continue, because radio stations will not submit to it.

There have been so many complaints that the press associations themselves have changed the agreement. The press associations have lately been giving brief flashes of world news too important to be held up until newspapers have printed them. Such events as the killing of Dillinger and the SOS call from the Morro Castle steamship last Saturday morning are examples of this change. But even with this change, the radio stations bound by this agreement must await the pleasure of the press associations as to what flashes they may broadcast and when.

The most objectionable thing about the PressRadio agreement is the effect it is having on radio listeners. Intentionally or unintentionally, the press associations are chloroforming radio listeners into believing that news by radio is a poor substitute for news by newspapers. To that extent they are destroying the listening public of radio.

They are teaching radio listeners that they must look first to newspapers for news. If they can’t get the newspapers until they are old, then they may get a stale, sketchy, uninteresting statement of a few items of news by radio. In actual operation this plan causes radio stations to destroy their own listeners’ love for one of their most popular and informative features, namely, live, hot, up-to-the-minute reports of news events of the nation and the world as they happen from hour to hour by day and night.

Newspapers Afraid of the News

This Press-Radio agreement had one virtue. By surrendering their birthright of broadcasting news before it was printed and limiting the broadcasts to two five-minute periods each twenty-four hours, the radio chains proved their willingness to do everything possible to avoid a fight. Now that this plan has proved a failure, the press associations should be willing to sell uncensored news to radio stations, let them broadcast that news with sponsors or without sponsors, ■whenever the stations desire. Newspapers and radio stations should cooperate fully and freely, and radio stations be just as free to broadcast any and all news as newspapers are to print any and all news.

"While there may seem to be some competition between the press and the radio in giving news to the public, the fact is they supplement one another far more than they compete with one another. News by radio must be brief to be interesting. News by newspapers must be more detailed to satisfy readers. News by radio lasts but for the moment. News by newspapers is in permanent form.

News by radio includes descriptions of events while they are happening, such as sports, races and celebrations; and radio also may give the actual event itself, such as a speech, a musical program or a convention. Such news is exclusively for radio. News by newspapers contains descriptions of things about these events impossible for radio to cover at the moment, and also interpretations by leaders and experts.

Newspapers Should Advertise

The fact is, the newspapers should use the radio transmitter as a new advertising medium. Not all newspaper publishers have overlooked this, because newspapers own 68 radio stations and an even larger number have mutually beneficial arrangements with privately owned radio stations.

In the past newspaper publishers have been quick to seize upon new inventions. They replaced the pony express with the telegraph and the telephone. Then they added the teletype and the automatic printer. They bought linotype and type-casting machines. They bought highspeed presses. They established mail distribution by auto and airplane. Why? To speed up the delivery of news.

In addition, they have used every device possible to attract readers. They have erected bulletin boards outside their offices to carry news headlines of events before being printed. They have newsboys to shout headlines in their newspapers in stentorian tones. Why? Towhet the news appetites of those on the streets.

Here is a medium by which the newspaper can cry its headlines and brief news statements to literally hundreds of thousands and millions all at once. It seems unbelievable they don’t use it or that they should try to throttle and handicap it to the point where they force radio stations to set up a competitive service, which a few years hence may easily become so powerful that it will prove a Frankenstein to them by printing radio newspapers simultaneously all over the world.

There can be only one explanation: The business manager has supplanted the news manager in dealing with news by radio. In other words, they are thinking in terms of advertising. They think if radio becomes more popular, radio advertising will increase and newspaper advertising will be more difficult to secure.

No Reason for Newspapers to Be Timid

Statistics show that fear is more imaginary than real. Radio advertising has never exceeded one-seventh of the amount spent for newspaper advertising, nor one-ninth of the combined total for newspapers, weeklies, and magazines. There cannot be much increase in this proportionate expenditure for radio advertising, because the number of radio stations is limited and increased rates cannot more than keep up with natural increase in newspaper and magazine advertising.

But even if the fears of newspaper publishers were justified, and even if increased popularity of radio would decrease newspaper readers, there is a bigger consideration than the financial one. The public interest demands that radio stations give news to their listeners in order that the people may know the truth and whole truth regarding public controversies.

When the forefathers wrote the constitution, they inserted freedom of speech and freedom of press as two of the chief pillars of the temple of liberty. They knew that no majority, however strong, should ever be allowed to override these rights, and that any minority, however weak, must always be able to exercise them.

What has happened ? By taking advantage of inventions for rapid communication and rapid printing and speedy transportation in the newspaper business, newspaper publishers are giving the American people millions of copies of daily newspapers every day.

Exercising this right of freedom of the press, the owners of many of these newspapers omit some news, exaggerate other news, and minimize or distort still other news. In short, many of our largest newspapers have become the personal or partisan organ of the corporation or individual who owns them.

If readers complain, their answer is that this is a free country and you can start a newspaper of your own. But that isn’t as simple as it sounds. It takes enormous sums of money to start a daily newspaper and build it into a paying proposition. The result is that year by year big newspapers are being bought by their competitors and we have larger and fewer daily newspapers in our great cities each year, with a more monopolistic control of sources of news.

Why People Lost Confidence in Newspapers

The abuse of this right of free press by great newspapers as I have described it has destroyed the confidence of the masses of the people in the press in many parts of the country. They doubt that they are getting the full truth about controversial matters. They deplore their inability to get both sides, and in many communities the support of certain newspapers for any cause often does that cause more harm than good.

During this development of the free press into such a vast power in the creation and influencing of public opinion, the power of free speech has dwindled greatly in comparison. The human voice can be heard only a short distance. Without newspaper publicity it has often been impossible to assemble crowds to listen to a speaker. The newspaper reaches millions, and they are often dependent on one set of newspapers for their information.

Now w^Te have radio. It can combat the abuse of the power of the press as no other agency ever developed, if we establish complete freedom of speech on the radio. We must make freedom of speech by radio as sacred as freedom of speech on the platform has so long been.

We have the only system of radio by which we can compel freedom of speech by radio. Under government-owned radio systems, there is no freedom of speech. There is no freedom of speech by radio in Germany or Italy or Russia. In those countries speech by radio is simply propaganda by those in power to retain control of the government. Even in democratic England, in free France, and in liberty-loving Denmark, there is no freedom of speech by radio for the discussion of public questions.

People Still Have Some Rights

Under our system Congress makes the law for regulating radio stations and Congress will compel freedom of speech by radio whenever public opinion demands it. I think the law already implies that. Freedom of speech on the radio is in the public interest, it serves the public convenience, and it is a public necessity. If radio listeners are to be able to think and act intelligently as free men and women in the formation of that public opinion, which, in the end, becomes the law of this land, they must have the facts that only freedom of speech by radio will give them.

News by radio is the very essence of freedom of speech by radio. No radio station would dare omit important news items or exaggerate or distort facts. That would be against the public interest and would endanger the renewal of its license. Radio stations today which broadcast only the one-sided reports of individual newspapers are likely to find themselves in that kind of trouble when their licenses come up for renewal. That is one of the strongest reasons why radio stations should have their own independent radio news service.

Another great public benefit which a radio news service giving both sides of all public controversies would render would be that it would compel those newspapers now guilty of omitting, exaggerating or distorting the news to cease such practices or stand convicted of duplicity before the world. By means of short waves and chain system broadcasts, an independent radio news service could reach the whole country. This would make radio an invaluable force in the creation and formation of an intelligent public opinion. It would compel the press to serve its highest purpose of telling “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, because the truth will keep us free.

Radio Stations Unorganized for News

Radio stations are handicapped because they are not organized to secure news by radio. The Associated Press has 1,200 members. But the Associated Press, the United Press, the International News Service, and the Universal Service, with their 2,000 newspapers, are all solidly united when they deal with radio stations regarding news by radio. It is the old, old story: “In union there is strength.’’ If radio stations are to be able to assert their rights to give news by radio, they must have an organization for that purpose.

Let me now outline what an associated radio news organization of 100 or more stations could do.

First, it could either induce press associations and newspapers to sell news flashes and brief news reports for use by radio stations or, failing in that, it could finance the beginning of a great radio news service. At a cost of $25 per week for small stations, and $50 to $75 per week for large stations, it could set up its own news bureaus in large cities, use its own station members as correspondents in smaller communities, and buy a foreign news service for use until it became powerful enough to create its own worldradio news service.

Second, an associated radio news organization of 100 or more stations could secure recognition for its correspondents on an equal basis with press associations, because its listening public would be greater than any press association on earth.

Third, such an organization could send its news to member stations by short waves to be received on automatic short-wave silent printers in station offices, at rates low enough for sending 3,000 to 4,000 words per day. This shortwave printer is not a dream of the future. It is a reality now. I have seen it in operation. It is being tested for distance of reception now, and will be on the market for commercial use before an associated radio news organization of 100 stations or more can be formed and in readiness to use it.

Fourth, such an organization could secure licenses for its members to use the necessary short waves to pick up sport events or celebrations where wire service is not available. The Associated Press and United Press often secure short waves for such purposes, but individual stations in small communities find it almost impossible. Such an organization could work out schedules for the use of short waves by member stations with approval of the radio engineers of the Communications Commission.

Fifth, if the newspapers should start a fight on radio because of news by radio and refuse to print station programs, as they have repeatedly threatened to do, such an organization could easily print their own national weekly publication, such as the Radio Times of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It could then copyright radio programs, and no newspaper would dare print them except by permission, and then in the form the organization might direct. When it is possible to transmit newspapers by facsimile, it will be able to compel newspapers to treat fairly or face a new kind of competition in their own field.

Sixth, such an organization could keep in direct touch with the impending developments in short-wave facsimile transmission that will certainly revolutionize the art of communication. This development, again, is not a dream of the distant future. It is already a reality that is just ahead, probably not more than a year or two at most. Radio broadcasters should have such an associated radio news organization to take advantage of these developments as fast as they are made, in order to fulfil the true destiny of radio in presenting news first to all the world.

Such an organization is not only possible now, but it is highly desirable in the interest of radio. I believe the broadcasters of this Association should start it before they leave Cincinnati.

Statements Based on Facts

I have talked to many leading radio men of this country. I have read the replies of 364 of the active station managers to my letter and questionnaire. Practically all of them believe that listeners want news by radio, and 281 of 364 replies favor the formation of an associated radio news organization.

In other words, 80 percent say they favor such an organization. Of course, nobody knows the attitude of the other 200 stations, which did not reply, but, having had considerable experience with election returns, I have generally found that when 60 percent of the vote was in, if that 60 percent was from all parts of the state or nation, the final totals generally resulted only in added majorities for those who were ahead.

Several of the newspaper-owned stations favored such an organization unless the press associations release more up-to-the-minute news. Many stations favored on condition the cost is not too heavy.

The 281 stations favoring the formation of an associated radio news service consisted of

1............15-watt station

2............50-watt stations

98 ........... 100-watt stations

21 ........... 250-watt stations

63 ........... 500-watt stations

55 .......... 1,000-watt stations

3 .......... 2,500-watt stations

13 .......... 5,000-w^Tatt stations

5 ......... 10,000-watt stations

2 ......... 25,000-watt stations

12 ........ 50,000-watt stations

Of the 106 chain stations of the two networks replying, 82 favored such an organization and 34 opposed it.

Of the 364 replies, 296 give some kind of news by radio and 141 use Press-Radio. Of these 141 such users, 100 said it was unsatisfactory, while 54 stations not using Press-Radio news declared it so unsatisfactory they would not use it.

Of the 364 replies, 214 favor sponsoring the news by commercial advertisers. So long as press associations give their stale reports to radio stations “as a public service”, they will never permit the stations to secure commercial sponsors. This is another reason why many radio stations are so insistent for an associated radio news organization. They want news which can be sponsored.

Radio News Abroad

I wrote also to the capitals of the leading foreign countries of the world to learn what they are doing in the way of news by radio. I have

(Continued on page 62)

Famines—Past and Present

RIVERS, lakes and ponds dry and their bottoms baking in a heat that for weeks hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit; oil rigs drilling day and night for streams of w^Tater hoped for at 2,000 feet below the surface; prairie lands that it took thousands of years to form dried to po-wdery dust and blown completely away in dust storms; livestock starving because they could not eat the dust-covered grass; no gardens; crops abandoned over large areas and in toto reduced to 25 percent less than consumption; the government buying 360,000 cattle a week, killing and canning the meat because there is no feed; 200,000,000 bushels less of wheat raised than are needed for domestic use; barren and blasted orchards; losses amounting to $5,000,000,000 ; 3,200,000 persons on drought relief: these and similar conditions in the United States, which many of us never expected to see in this favored land, give us all an interest in a subject that is in the most absolute sense of vital concern to every creature on the earth.

In past ages men had but a limited knowledge of agriculture and in unfavorable seasons or localities knew but little how to stimulate the productive powers of nature; transit was poorly developed, so that it was often impossible to relieve the wants of one region, even when plenty existed at no great distance; stupid and brutal governments interrupted labor in the fields and wasted the fruits of their toil; droughts, floods, frosts, wars, pestilences and pests all contributed to keep food supplies low and famine never very far away.

Famines in China, India, Egypt

To go back less than sixty years: It is reckoned that 9,500,000 perished in China in the single season of 1877-1878, half of them in the provinces of Shensi, Shansi and Honan. We do not know how it is this year, but up to 1933 there had been no rain in the fertile province of Shensi for five years, and tens of thousands were dying w^Then the item last came up. The province is so remote that news filters through slowly. This year the provinces of Honan, Anhwei, Kiangsu, Chekiang and Hupeh are the sufferers, with 500,000 virtually without food and water the last we knew. At that time crops were burning up in a temperature of 100 to 115 degrees, locusts were destroying what the sun left, and even before August 1 the peasants over large areas were reduced to eating the bark from the trees; cholera was taking a heavy toll; food supplies were steadily shrinking; no relief was in sight.

In India, in 1769-70 as many as 3,000,000 perished; in 1865-66, about 1,500,000; and in 1877, about 500,000. Since then the authorities have grappled more successfully with what is, in India, an almost constantly recurring problem. In 1900-1901 the famine cost $250,000,000: much help was sent from other countries, including very large contributions from the United States.

In the famine of 1870-72 Persia lost 1,500,000 inhabitants, a quarter of the whole population.

All our readers are very familiar with the famines mentioned in the Scriptures. The famine which occurred in Egypt in Joseph’s time has been duplicated since. There is always scarcity of food in Egypt when the inundation of the Nile is either too scanty or too great. In the years 1064-71 (A.D.) (seven years, the same as in Joseph’s time) people ate corpses and animals that died of themselves. The catching and murdering of men for food became a regular business. Organized bands of kidnapers infested Cairo and caught passengers in the streets by means of ropes furnished with hooks and let down from the houses. Persons that were burned alive for eating human flesh were themselves, thus ready roasted, eaten by others. Better pin your faith in Jehovah God; no telling what the Devil has in store for humankind yet.

The Situation in Russia

It is hard to get the facts regarding conditions in Russia. Soviet authorities are past masters at propaganda; it suits them well always to put conditions in Russia in a favorable light. The enemies of Russia declare that between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 people died of starvation in that country in 1933, and insist that not only was this dreadful condition hidden from the rest of the world, but 1,700,000 bushels of grain were shipped out of the country because the Soviet authorities desired the cash it would bring. It sounds too horrible to believe, that any so-called “government” would send food away from the starving, for any financial reason.

The reports about last year’s Russian famines are sponsored chiefly by the Roman hierarchy, and therefore their truthfulness may be questioned, but they are supported by photographs of what are alleged to be the bodies of starved peasants in Ukrainian cities, lying in gutters and along sidewalks.

One thing that lends some color to the possible truthfulness of these reports, despite the general unreliability of their source, is that William Henry Chamberlin, correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor, ten years a newspaper correspondent in Russia, married to a Russian wife, and himself speaking Russian fluently, when transferred to the Far East, wrote that he estimates that 4,000,000 peasants died of starvation in Ukrainia and the North Caucasus during the winter of 1932-33. He further stated that the Soviet officials deliberately allowed millions to starve to death to force the survivors into the cooperative farms. Mr. Chamberlin did not dare send out this report until he was safely out of Russia.

The same Roman authorities that reported last year’s famine in Russia predict that 10,000,000 will starve in Russia this fall and winter; the Soviet authorities say there is not a word of truth in it. The truth probably lies somewhere between. It is certain that the present drought prevailed over much of the country, and, though wonders were done by the military organization that now operates the Russian farms, yet even the military cannot do impossibilities. It is not possible to raise crops without water. In some districts every able-bodied man who could be spared from other tasks was ordered to carry water to the parched crops.

Droughts are common in parts, of Russia. Soviet authorities are now compiling a register of all water resources of the country, reservoirs, rivers, lakes, marshes, seas and glaciers, estimated to fill a hundred volumes. The last of July, 1932, they disclosed in connection with this register the seriousness of the drought of 1931, resulting in the loss of 10,600,000 metric tons of grain. It took a full year for the facts to get out of the country.

There is a drought-proof grass from the steppes of Russia which is proving of great merit in western North Dakota. It is called “crested wheat grass”, survives drought and cold, is palatable as livestock feed, grows well after other varieties become unproductive, and yields seed abundantly.

Serious Droughts in Europe

Generally favored with plentiful rains, Europe has, nevertheless, occasionally suffered from the lack of food which results from a prolonged drought. The year 879 (A.D.) was such a year. In the year 1125 famine diminished the population of Germany one-half. For centuries during the Dark Ages, while Roman Catholicism was the only religion tolerated in Europe, in times of dire need the “Christians” who had thoroughly Tammanyized the city governments regularly drove out of the gates the neediest inhabitants and let them perish of cold and starvation. All they had to do to square the account was to go to confession and get the priest’s O.K. In a famine which devastated Hungary in 1505 parents who killed and ate their own children were not molested.

The last famine in Germany was in 1817; since then transport on a large scale has made famine less likely. But even in 1934 the hay crop of Germany was a failure, and Germany bought the entire hay crop from the reclaimed land of the Zuider Zee, Netherlands. In July the Rhine was so low that many vessels grounded, and the “blue Danube” was also at low ebb.

In May and June, 1934, there was much pessimism all through southeastern Europe because of the prolonged drought, with crops calculated to be 25 percent to 30 percent below normal. In Rumania bakers were again making war bread, and the export of grain of all kinds was forbidden. There was need of rain in Italy. In Bavaria several small rivers ran dry; water for households and for cattle had to be brought long distances. In Egypt many children fainted from the heat during lessons and it was necessary to close the schools. Red dust from the Sahara desert settled in such quantities in Switzerland as to give a red color to the snow on the Alpine peaks. Crops were greatly reduced in France, owing to a prolonged drought from March 20 to June 9. Little rain fell except in isolated spots, where deluges often did more harm than good. On the latter date Portugal mobilized its army in an effort to save the wheat crop from the army of locusts which threatened it. Spain was the only nation that by midsummer, July 15, offered optimistic crop reports, and got this “break” in spite of the fact that it threw out “holy church” with its “holy year”.

Drought in Great Britain

In normal times Great Britain is well watered, making it the garden spot of the earth. Droughts are rare, but not unknown. The periodical John Bull mentions a past famine, but not the date, during which “the Thames was so low that it could be crossed on foot at Westminster and on horseback at London Bridge; every meadow in the country, even the marshlands, cracked and crumbling. Fruit dried on the trees. Corn was of such bullet hardness that it was unusable. Grass falling to powder at a touch. The country pestered with plagues of fleas, flies, gnats and other insects. Sweats and agues affected the healthiest people, and deadly fevers took toll of the lives of thousands. Farm stock died and rotted unburied in the scorched fields. Dogs died in thousands”.

The drought in Great Britain in 1934 was not as bad as the one above described; nevertheless, the papers of the country carried many items indicating its great severity. For convenience we give them chronologically:

December 29, 1933, a little ten-year-old boy at Boxford, Berkshire, died of drinking dirty water; clean was not to be had. This state of affairs followed a spring drought in 1933, a hot summer and inadequate autumn rains. January 1, 1934, the people were flocking to the churches to pray for a downpour. January 12 several villages had to rely upon water carted to them.

April 14 the authorities stated that conditions in the British Isles had reached such a stage that even if normal rainfall were resumed it would not set the drought right. The erection of modern buildings, calling for water for bathing and toilet purposes, had created a situation not contemplated years ago, and which was not being met. By the middle of April the temperature was 76 degrees, and a veritable sirocco from the Mediterranean was drying gardens completely and depleting stocks in reservoirs seriously. By the last of April it was 76 years since there had been such water scarcity, people in many places had to give up bathing, and the watering of cattle became a problem.

Water Queues in a Land of Showers

June 16 carried a picture of a water queue, 26 good-natured, smiling, lovable faces, with their owners standing in line with buckets of every size and shape, waiting their turn at the one water faucet where they could get the sine qua non of life. At that time, near Bristol, there were places where the people were suffering from tonsilitis epidemics due to lack of water. June 18 the sheep and cattle were dying by the hundreds, and in some waterways the fish were dying by the thousands and could be seen floating in solid masses. In some places water was being sold at one penny a bucket. At that date the fanners were said to be in the worst plight for 200 years.

At that date also the bishop of London was urging prayers in all churches in London and plans were being made for rain prayer meetings in other centers. The press backed up the bishop and scolded some person unknown to them (the same being the one for whom they work) because there were plentiful rains in midocean but they came not near Britain. On the same date 500 police, having no more important work, guarded the Ascot heath and race course from the danger of fire.

June 28 it was a punishable offense anywhere in the London metropolitan district to wash cars or water gardens or sports grounds. Where the river Dee is ordinarily 90 feet wide, at Berwyn, in Denbigshire, people were able to walk across it dry-shod.

July 2 snakes were overrunning Wiltshire, their appearance being due to the drought. July 4 the training of summer troops was abandoned over 400 square miles of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, due to lack of water in the district. The heat of the sun caused a street fire alarm to go off. July 6 water was cut off the fountains in the royal parks of London.

July 9 the “upper crust” were asked to cease horseback riding in London’s famous Rotten Row; water could not be spared to keep down the dust stirred up by the horses’ hoofs. July 15 the gravest fears were experienced as to how London would get its water. July 19 there was concern because of the likelihood of pollution of such reserves as remained.

Recent Canadian Droughts

The vast farming regions of Canada have not escaped the blight of drought. In 1931 an eyewitness stated, “The elements loosed themselves upon us with demoniac fury. The heat mounted to 104 degrees in the shade, and was driven upon us with a high wind which felt like a blast from the Inferno. Yesterday the wind veered and churned up the dust from fields that had been baked to a fine powder, and today the wind is still more violent, with a dust storm raging which blackens the heavens so that it seems like midnight.” In the worst districts crops failed and there was no grass for pasture. The blowing away of the soil injured a large fertile area in Saskatchewan.

Drought had a damaging effect on crop growth from eastern Quebec to the Rockies in 1933, and, together with hail, heat, insects and disease, deepened the feeling of hopelessness which previous lean years had brought about. No relief came the following year, in which the greatest invasion of grasshoppers in the history of western Canada conspired with the drought to devastate the fertile farm regions. Nearly sixty percent of the 21,000,000-acre wheat crop was burned up before rains gave some hope that the late-sown crops might be saved. More than a million dollars was spent to combat the plague of grasshoppers which afflicted the three Canadian prairie provinces. There was a shortage of seed to sow in the drifted areas. The wheat crop, which in preceding years had been around 400,000,000 bushels, was 270,000,000 in 1933, and in 1934 an estimated 240,000,000.

Our neighbor to the south has not altogether escaped the ravages of drought. The drought caused a serious reduction in the water supply of northern Mexico and its irrigated lands, most of which are watered by the Rio Grande.

In the United States

The shortage of water in Mexico’s irrigated lands was largely the result of drought conditions in the United States. Scarcity of rainfall has been the situation over large areas of the United States in varying degrees since 1930. Dry spells are common enough in all parts of the country from time to time, but there has not, as far as records indicate, been a drought in the past that has affected the greater part of North America at one time, as was the case in 1930. Not only the western plains, but the eastern or Atlantic states were affected by drought.

In 1930 the water board of Annapolis, the capital of Maryland, ruled that a fine of $10 to $20 would be imposed on residents who wasted water. At Olean, New York, a spring which had failed only once in the memory of local residents, diminished its flow and then the water gradually became oily, until, finally, more than a barrel of oil daily was taken from the spring. In Logan, West Virginia, drinking water was selling at three cents a gallon.

August 4, 1930, the chairman of the Federal Farm Board said, “The present severe drought has reached a point where the shortage of feed and forage threatens serious losses to livestock growers and dairymen over a wide area.” That year’s drought was described as “the worst in the country’s history”. Scattered rains did little good, and in certain sections hail instead of rain only increased the damage to crops.

A “Blessing” to Big Business

Big Business considered the drought a blessing in disguise, because it checked decline of prices. The secretary of agriculture, however, said, “I do not share the feeling that this terrible drought is a blessing to American agriculture, either in disguise or in any guise. The devastation of whole groups of counties, and of large areas of states; the ruin of thousands of farmers does not appeal to me as a desirable thing, no matter what economic results it may have in clearing away the accumulated surpluses.” Of course, the secretary failed to get the viewpoint of Big Business. What these gentlemen meant was that it was a “blessing” to them, and with them that is all that matters. Business is business, no matter who may suffer.

The Department of Agriculture considered the 1930 drought as the worst the country experienced since records were kept, a period of forty years. In some sections the drought continued for nine months.

The drought gave the Mississippi an opportunity to air its bed in many places. At some points its width was a few hundred yards where before it was over two or three miles. Millions of fish died as a result of drying up of rivers and lakes, and wild life in many parts of the United States and Canada was greatly reduced.

Cattle had to be transported from one place to another in search of pasturage, and in several instances the beds of shrunken rivers grew grass which supplied the best pasturage for cattle in the surrounding territory.

Government agencies provided drought relief in numerous states and prevented the complete ruin of the farmers, appropriating $45,000,000 for the purpose, where forty years ago they were completely wiped out in the wheat lands of Dakota and other states, the life insurance companies being compelled to foreclose their mortgages and sell the farms.

Dust storms, accompanied by rains, resulted in a shower of mud at Edenton, North Carolina, a phenomenon that is likely to occur after extended droughts.

San Francisco faced the crisis of a water famine. New York city, though it consumes 800,000,000 gallons of water daily, was able to withstand the drought because of good rains.

Physicians at a “better babies” contest of the Kansas state fair stated that the drought had left its mark on babies to a greater degree than on crops.

The loss entailed by the drought of 1930, the most severe of record, was estimated as high as $3,000,000,000. The weather bureau explained the drought as “a prolonged stagnation of the air over nearly the whole continental extent of the United States”.

Radio stations, blamed for the drought, have in previous years been blamed for floods. A survey of the location of radio stations and atmospheric conditions indicates, however, that there is no connection between ‘radiodation’ of electric energy and the drought. Rather, the effect of too much radio on the air would be the opposite, as the disturbance of the atmosphere tends to cause rains.

Destitute farmers at England, Arkansas, angry and armed, threatened to seize merchants’ supplies unless adequate relief were given them by the government. The Red Cross collected $10,000,000 to deal with the drought sufferers, but, as these numbered about 2,000,000, the funds were quickly exhausted.

Blessed Are the Merciful

Scarlet fever, pellagra and dysentery were far more prevalent than in previous years, as a result of the drought. They were the result of contaminated water, particularly in Kentucky. In not a few instances death came to those whose undernourished and weakened bodies could not resist the onslaught of disease. Entirely destitute, large numbers had no money, and not even anything which they might exchange for the necessary food. In Arkansas, State Representative Fleming wept as he described conditions in his district and proposed a bond issue of $15,000,000 for relief of drought distress.

President Hoover, on the other hand, opposed a move to appropriate $25,000,000 for relief, and was praised by the Chicago Association of Commerce. It can never be said that Hoover was unfaithful to his employers. His ability to deal with the unemployed and destitute is proverbial, and was fully demonstrated at the Battle of Anacostia.

Drought sufferers in the middle-western states were generously helped by farmers in other states. Colorado and Wyoming shipped them over two million pounds of foodstuffs. New York farmers contributed 31 carloads of fruits and vegetables to needy farmers in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

One generous individual sent a $1500 stock certificate to the Red Cross in St. Louis, saying, “My heart has been touched by the suffering of the drought victims.” Investigation showed, however, that the certificate had been stolen, and it was returned to its owner, as the donor signed his communication only “J. C.” It hath been said by them of old time, “One should be just before one is generous.” That bit of sentiment is now quite out of date with many folks.

At Brunswick, Georgia, the local Red Cross organization arranged to give a Sunday matinee for the benefit of drought sufferers. No admission was to be charged, but a free-will offering taken. When the Ministerial Association got wind of this interference with their time-honored method of getting through the world without work they raised a howl, threatening to withdraw all future support of the Red Cross. Result : No matinee for the benefit of drought sufferers. Also, a little more blood on the skirts of the ministerial garments.

Red Cross Relief

No doubt there are many well-meaning persons connected with the work of the Red Cross. Yet its tactics in connection with the administration of drought relief were severely criticized by a writer for Labor. He stated that “the Red Cross makes men work for what they get at the rate of $1 a day, and in many cases compels them to work for someone to whom they owe a debt”. Men were paid in orders on local merchants. One gentleman of leisure is reported to have said, “That’s the way to do! Make them work for what they get. Those ‘bums’ wouldn’t work at all if they weren’t forced. I don’t believe in giving anybody anything.” These are noble sentiments, worthy of an apostle of Big Business.

Men were given work for two or three days a week and received the munificent sum of from $2 to $3.50 for their work to “relieve” their families. Families thus “helped” were afraid to give the facts to investigators for fear they would lose even this pittance. This is probably the Red Cross application of the injunction, “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.”

However, the press reported that more than 2,000,000 persons in 21 drought-stricken states came under the care of the American Red Cross. The situation called for the most extensive relief operations in half a century. At the close of the summer of desolation seed was distributed to more than 58,000 families for the planting of rye and other pastures, and 27,000 families received seed for planting kitchen gardens, which would enable them in time to provide food for their families, the weather permitting.

The Department of Agriculture appropriated $65,000,000 for making loans to farmers, of which $45,000,000 was for financing the purchase of feed, seed and fertilizer, and $20,000,000 for “rehabilitation”. Thousands of farmers took out loans.

In Ohio nature reversed herself to the extent of flooding sections of the drought region in the southern part of the state. The 1930 drought, however, continued far into 1931, in large areas of the country.

The Super-Drought of 1934

While not characterized as drought years, 1931, 1932 and 1933 were abnormally dry in many parts of the United States. And then came 1934. The scarcity of rainfall in April, May and June of this year surpassed any previous drought on record, and threw the drought of 1930 completely into the shade. This fact, added to that of the unusual dryness of preceding years, made the drought of 1934 exceptionally serious.

The extent of the territory affected almost doubled that of 1930, in which year about twenty states were involved, while in 1934 almost the entire country suffered from excessively dry weather, the only states having a rainfall that was average or above being Washington, a portion of Oregon, Kentucky, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. In the middle west the drought was especially severe. In all, thirty-five states were affected, from the Rocky mountains to New England, twenty of them severely.

In many sections of Kansas water had been hauled for livestock since the fall of 1933. In Utah the drought was the most serious since 1847, the year when settlement began. Reservoirs of twenty-five cities and towns in southern Iowa were depleted to an alarming extent. Western New York state took on the appearance of a parched desert. Damage to crops in Erie county alone was estimated to exceed $2,000,000. At Winona, Minnesota, the Mississippi river set a new low mark, receding to 2.5 feet below the low water mark of 1864. Creston, Iowa, pumped all the water out of two lakes and then had to go to Council Bluffs and haul its water supply in tank cars. A daily allowance of 20 gallons to a family was established, though many housewives used less by making laundry water serve for house cleaning and making a single filling of the bathtub do for several members of the family.

Water was hauled, wherever that was possible, all through the drought-stricken area, for both man and beast; and improvised methods of irrigation were resorted to in places where water could be drawn from rivers or deep wells.

Fields which in normal years are yellow with corn and verdant with wheat were pictures of desolation. Ranges ordinarily filled with grazing herds were empty and barren or dotted with dead and dying cattle. Planes flying over hundreds of miles of territory could find hardly a drop of water. The beds of rivers were caked hard, and lakes were only dry and ghastly depressions in the earth.

The river having the largest watershed in Texas, the Brazos, which ordinarily had an average flow of 2,640 second-feet, had, in July, 1934, a flow of only 12 second-feet. A second-foot is the equivalent of 90 gallons passing a point in one second.

The abnormally high temperature, which continued above 100 degrees for weeks at a stretch, added to the absence of rain, brought unprecedented loss of. crops and herds. Insect pests added to the work of desolation.

In May the secretary of agriculture stated that the wheat crop would probably be but little more than half the country’s requirements. Taking into consideration all foodstuffs and feedstuffs, the United States would, according to another observer, raise but three-fourths of its total requirements. Wheat abandonment proceeded at the rate of a million bushels a day, representing a loss of nearly that many dollars to the farmers. Early in September the Chicago board of trade anticipated that the corn crop would be the smallest since 1887.

Herds Die in the Fields

After the crops, the next to suffer were the herds of cattle. Thousands upon thousands languished, grew lean and gaunt, and died, their carcasses, falling where they expired, lying as evidence of the terrible extent of the drought. As the problem of furnishing cattle with feed became more and more acute, fields of grain, because practically worthless for harvesting, were thrown open to them, temporarily halting their deathward course. In Wisconsin the two million acres of national forest land were thrown open to grazing, in an effort to preserve the cattle. Texas, having no such means of halting the course of destruction, saw cowboy firing squads riding over the ranches and shooting over a thousand cattle daily to keep them from the suffering incident to thirst and starvation.

Nebraska’s director of the Federal cattlebuying program, inaugurated to preserve for food cattle that would otherwise die of starvation, said, “We had 3,130,000 head of cattle on hand in the state on April 1, about one-fourth being in dairy herds. The outlook now is that we cannot carry more than 1,500,000 through the winter. I doubt if we can carry more than 1,000,000.”

In the Dakotas there was not enough feed and water for 1,000,000 cattle out of 2,500,000. The excess had to be slaughtered and canned to prevent complete loss.

Government agents* bought cattle all over the country, weeding out those too weak to ship, and destroying them, and feeding and watering the others to enable them to make the journey to the stockyards or to pasturage in the southeast. The stockmen call the drought-cattle “shells” and “hatracks”, apt descriptions of their emaciated appearance. It was estimated that between 7,000,000 and 10,000,000 head of cattle would be butchered, the meat canned, and much of it given to the unemployed. The government is doing some of its own processing to help out the regular canners.

In New York state the tuberculin testing of cows was being discontinued for fear of a milk shortage. Evidently there is no real danger from cows that have not been inoculated, otherwise this course of action would only invite the addition of pestilence to famine.

One traveler, who passed through Missouri, described conditions as follows: “Not only are the hogs and cattle all gone, but there are no horses, no chickens; nothing at all is left. Even the birds one usually sees along the road are not there. Weeds are all dead. Trees are bare or have their leaves burned as brown as if a heavy frost had hit them.”

Damage from Dust Drifts

Because fertile farms had been turned to powdery dust, the wind raised numerous dust clouds. One storm is described as having been fifteen hundred miles long and a thousand miles wide, which should be big enough for anybody, even an American, who likes to have things big.

On one occasion dust blown from western fields reached as far east as New York and a thick layer of dust continued to annoy dwellers in the central states. Had the dust storms been combined with rain, the result would have been a “shower of mud”, like the “rains of blood” which sometimes fall in the south of France when the red dust of the Sahara is blown across the Mediterranean sea, and brought down by rain.

Pictures of dust drifts, almost completely hiding drought-denuded trees, give an effect of desolation which resembles midwinter but lacks all of that season’s natural charm and beauty. Fences are covered with piles of dust, groves are filled with it, and pastures made unfit for cattle. Even the drought-stricken cattle will not eat the dust-coated grass, which would only increase their gastronomical distresses.

At Tekamah, Nebraska, the topsoil from Fred Morehouse’s farm was blown across the road and deposited on a neighboring hay meadow, spread out to an average depth of six inches. About ten thousand cubic yards of dirt are estimated to have been thus transferred, and Morehouse sees no chance of getting back the most valuable part of his farm. It would take him 500 days to haul it back, if he hauled twenty wagonloads a day, which would seem to be a man-sized job.

Millions for Relief

Needless to say the drought and its effects brought distress to millions of farmers and their families. First of all, there was the discomfort and even death caused by the heat, which was intense and protracted. City hospitals in St. Louis were crowded with prostration patients, and deaths in Missouri and other states were counted by the hundreds. Typhoid fever, due to the use of polluted water, also broke out in Missouri, where the heat destroyed two-thirds of the corn crop.

A conservative estimate was that 10,000,000 persons had been affected by the drought. Actually the entire nation was affected. In July there were 3,200,000 families receiving drought relief, which added to 800,000 receiving Federal relief makes a total of 4,000,000. The total monetary loss ascribed to the drought was placed at about $5,000,000,000, which is equal to about one-half of the war debts.

It was estimated that from $800,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 would be needed for relief work in drought states. Congress approved an appropriation of $525,000,000 for the purpose.

On Limiting Crops

The drought, of course, made a complete fizzle of the program for the limitation of crops and the reduction in the raising of hogs, and similar schemes for increasing prices. It has sent wheat above $1 a bushel, but at no great advantage, if any, to the farmer. Secretary of Agriculture Wallace, however, still believes in crop control. He believes in controlling it both ways. That would mean, in a measure, an adoption of Joseph’s plan, who made the surplus of the seven years of plenty serve the people during the years of famine. To a certain extent surplus crops have been carried over from one year to another in recent years. Due to the operation of the AAA, 270,000,000 bushels of corn is sealed in bins, which constitutes a large reserve. The killing off of 28 percent of the pigs likewise saved the consumption of the corn that would have been needed to raise them to maturity. The reduction of grain crops provided more pasturage for cattle. All these points were brought out by the secretary in his defense of the AAA plan. It must be admitted that some kind of control and regulation is desirable, but it is certain that only the complete establishment of Christ’s kingdom can accomplish a proper adjustment of all the factors involved.

Farm bureau leaders, in conference at Chicago, called on the federal government to go no further -with irrigation projects to develop more farm lands, and generally approved the AAA. They even want to increase the powers of the secretary. All this is in the direction of dictatorship and is being stoutly resisted by libertylovers, though the Roman hierarchy is heartily in favor of it, and probably had much to do with nurturing the development of increased centralization in the affairs of government.

Preventing Drought

The cause of droughts is still a mystery. Meteorologists, more commonly known as “weather men”, frankly admit that they do not know enough about it to speak with conviction. It would be well if all other prognosticators, scientific, religious and political, "were as modest and as honest. Of course, the honesty of the weather man may be the result of the fact that people can check up on him so easily. Nevertheless, some suggestions have been offered as to how drought conditions might be mitigated.

The creation of artificial bodies of water in otherwise dry localities will, some claim, tend to increase the rainfall. The idea is vigorously denied by other “authorities”, however.

The planting of large numbers of trees, it is supposed, will bring about a greater degree of moisture. It looks, however, as if in this case the cause and effect have been confused. Noting that there was plenty of rain wherever there were forests, some concluded that the forests caused the rain. But no one will deny that rain must have had a lot to do with the growth of the forests.

It is thought, further, that if forests can get a start over a sufficiently large area they will serve as a shelter belt and prevent soil erosion, by breaking the force of the winds as they sweep over the open fields. President Roosevelt has sponsored a plan for creating a “shelterbelt” in the middle west which is to be made up of about a hundred windbreaks seven rods wide and a thousand miles long, and planted about one mile apart. This would make a tree belt covering a thousand-mile strip over a hundred miles wide, and the windbreaks would occupy approximately 1,400,000 acres. One thing is certain, such a project would provide relief by furnishing work for many men. Its ultimate cost would be about $75,000,000. It is hoped that this scheme will prevent the plains states from turning into practical deserts through the loss of the rich topsoil. The proposed shelterbelt would run from the Canadian border to Texas, and would affect the eastern portions of the Dakotas and Nebraska and also measurably benefit Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

However, this scheme would not, of course, remove the causes of drought itself, though it probably would mitigate some of its effects. The causes of drought are difficult to determine, because only one-tenth of the earth’s surface is being observed by weather stations. Weather men believe that a drought tends to perpetuate itself, particularly in regions that are stripped of vegetation. In such districts rain often falls to within a few hundred feet of the earth and evaporates in the hot, dry air.

Meteorologists say that it is quite possible that the entire world is headed for a dry period. This was the case in Joseph’s day, for we are told that “the famine was over all the face of the earth”. The drought of 1934 has set a new record. The first five months of the year were the driest of any on record, and the records go back one hundred years.

And Who Caused It All?

Many people incline to the thought that God brought on the drought, that it was, as they call it, “an act of God.” These are also disposed to offer up prayers for rain, and such prayers were quite generally offered up in the areas affected by the drought. They forgot the circumstances which brought on the trials of Job, or who inflicted them. People still seem to be equally forgetful that the Devil is still rampant, and that there must be some reason why the Lord permits him to be at large. Faith in God tells us that the words addressed to Pharaoh of old have a very pertinent application to the greater taskmaster: ‘For this cause have I allowed thee to remain, that I may show my power in thee, and that they may proclaim my name in all the earth.’—Exodus 9:16, Leeser.

In view of Jehovah's power to control the outcome, “prayers for rain” seem inappropriate for properly informed Christian people. Such entreaties are like the petitions which the prophets of Baal addressed to their senseless deity, and little better than the rain-dances which Indian medicine men advocate to put the raingod into a good humor.

Those who love God will not pray merely when special distress is upon the world, but will do as Judge Rutherford states in his lecture on “Praying for Prosperity”. He says, “They will be praying constantly every day to Jehovah, in the name of Christ Jesus, in this manner: ‘Hallowed and vindicated be Thy name; Thy kingdom come, and Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.’ God knows of the things we have need of, and hence it is unnecessary and improper to ask for more than our daily bread, even as Jesus taught us to pray; and when the will of God is done on earth all oppression and depression will cease and there will then come to stay peace, prosperity and happiness, and these blessings will come only by and through the kingdom of God under Christ.”

ANOTHER

in the series of talks by Judge Rutherford, dealing with salient Bible truths and related matters, appears herewith. The direct and straightforward presentation of important issues will prove of great value to everyone who gives them thoughtful and sincere consideration. Jehovah is the God of the Bible, and it is by trying and squaring our ideas by its infallible standards that we arrive at just and right conclusions. The next issue of The Golden Age will contain Part 2 of this talk.

Whose Servant?

Part 1

JEHOVAH is the only true God. Satan, the Devil, is the mimic god, the wicked one, and man’s worst enemy. Every person serves either Jehovah or the Devil. The following words are written in the Bible, which is God’s Word of truth, to wit (Romans 6:16): “Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Each person must determine whom he desires to serve, either God or the Devil; and the Bible declares that he who knowingly serves Satan shall die, and those who gladly serve Jehovah shall live for ever in happiness.

A few pointed examples will help you to understand who serves Jehovah and who serves the Devil. The National Broadcasting Company, and the Columbia Broadcasting System, together with other selfish men, have undertaken to say that only certain clergymen, whom they approve, shall be permitted to use their radio facilities to preach to the people, and that they must preach nothing that is not approved by them. Those same men attempt to control the politics of the country and engage in many commercial and political schemes, which oppress the people. They could not be serving Jehovah, but must be serving the Devil, because it is the expressed will of God that all men shall have the privilege of knowing what is in the Bible and freely telling others about it.

The German government under Hitler denounces and persecutes all persons who openly declare that they believe on and serve Jehovah God. Moses was a Hebrew, or Israelite, and one of God’s inspired prophets who wrote much of the Bible. The prophecy written by Moses declares that Jehovah would raise up a Greater One, of whom Moses was a type, and that such Greater One would be the Messiah and become the world’s rightful Ruler and Jehovah’s Executive Officer. Many other Bible texts prove that Jesus Christ is that Greater One, the Messiah. The Hitler government denounces, persecutes and expels from that land Israelites or natural descendants of Abraham, confiscates their property, and denounces Jehovah God and His Word. The Hitler government has undertaken to say that only its state church and the Roman Catholic organization shall freely practice their religion in Germany and that all others in that land must comply with such fixed rules or else be severely punished. Pharaoh of Egypt likewise illtreated Jehovah’s chosen people, and the Scriptures declare that Pharaoh was the special representative of the Devil. The Hitler government is in the same class with Pharaoh, and is certain to meet with the same fate at the hand of Jehovah.

For years in Germany there have been many earnest Christian people known as Bible Students or Jehovah’s witnesses who have been going about teaching the people the Bible and bringing comfort to those who are in distress. They have spent millions in that land to help the German people, and now in these times of great world distress those faithful Christian people are wickedly persecuted, arrested, driven through the streets under the lash of whips, thrown into prison, and some of them killed, merely because such people honestly serve Jehovah God and His King and tell the people about the kingdom under Christ that will bless all the world. It is certain that the Hitler government is not doing this by the will of Jehovah; therefore all must determine that it serves Satan. phonograph, at the usual speed of 78 revolutions per minute. The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, 117 Adams St., Brooklyn, N. Y., is the originator of the instructive and helpful idea of recording these unusual lectures and supplying them to the public on reasonable terms. There has been, the Society informs us, a very eager demand for these records, and orders were temporarily held up, but can now be filled without delay. Inquiries concerning the records should be addressed to the Society, and not to The Golden Age.]

Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany Standing for Their Lives

AT THE convention held in Basle, Switzerland, on September 9, 1934, Judge Rutherford dispatched the following letter to all the companies of Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany:

To Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany:

My Beloved Brethren:

You have heretofore made a covenant to do the will of God. He has taken you at your word, begotten you as His own, and called you to His kingdom. Christ Jesus at the temple of God lias gathered unto himself the faithful and taken them into the covenant for God’s kingdom. Such faithful ones God has anointed and commissioned to be His witnesses. It is to sueh that this letter is addressed.

Moses was a type of Christ Jesus, whom God raised up as His great Prophet, and now all who are of the anointed remnant must render complete obedience to God’s great Prophet Christ Jesus. (Acts 3:22,23) The commandments of Jehovah and of His great Prophet to the anointed, among others, are these: ‘Ye are my witnesses that I am God’; ‘go and tell the people ’; ‘ this gospel of the kingdom must be preached as a witness’; ‘forsake not the assembling of yourselves together’; ‘study to show yourselves approved unto God’; “shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”— Isaiah 43:10-12; Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 24:14; Hebrews 10: 25; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Peter 2: 9,10.

Contrary to and in violation of the foregoing positive commandments from Jehovah God the government of Germany has forbidden you to meet together and worship Jehovah and serve Him. Whom will you obey: God or men ? The faithful apostles were placed in a similar position, and to the worldly rulers they said: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 4:13-20; Acts 5:29) No man has the right to command you concerning God’s service. You are duty-bound by your covenant to obey God and Christ. I conclude, therefore, that you will obey Jehovah, and not man. I therefore advise as follows:

Let every company of Jehovah’s witnesses within the land of Germany meet at some convenient place in the town where you reside on Sunday morning October 7, 1934, at nine o’clock; that this communication be read to the assembled company; that you all then join together in prayer unto God asking His guidance, protection and deliverance and blessings through Christ Jesus our Head and King; that you then immediately send a prepaid telegram to the government officials of Germany, a copy of which is prepared and will be ready; that you then devote a brief period to the study of Matthew 10:16-24; that doing this you all 'stand for your life’ (Esther 8:11) ; and that then the meeting adjourn and that you go out among your neighbors and bear testimony to the name of Jehovah God and His kingdom under Christ Jesus.

Your brethren throughout the earth will have you in mind and at the same time will be asking a similar prayer of Jehovah. United in the holy cause of righteousness and rendering ourselves fully in obedience unto God and His kingdom we may look with complete confidence for deliverance and blessing from God by and through Christ Jesus His great Vindicator.

Be assured of my love and best wishes.

Your brother and servant by His grace, (Signed) J. F. Rutherford.

Message Sent by the German Companies

To the Officials of the Government:

The Word of Jehovah God, as set out in the Holy Bible, is the supreme law, and to us it is our sole guide for the reason that we have devoted ourselves to God and are true and sincere followers of Christ Jesus.

During the past year, and contrary to God’s law and in violation of our rights, you have forbidden us as Jehovah’s witnesses to meet together to study God’s Word and worship and serve Him. In His Word He commands us that we shall not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. (Hebrews 10:25) To us Jehovah commands: ‘Ye are my witnesses that I am God. Go and tell the people my message.’ (Isaiah 43:10,12; Isaiah 6:9; Matthew 24:14) There is a direct conflict between your law and God’s law, and, following the lead of the faithful apostles, “we ought to obey God rather than men,” and’this we will do. (Acts 5: 29) Therefore this is to advise you that at any cost we will obey God’s commandments, will meet together for the study of His Word, and will worship and serve Him as He has commanded. If your government or officers do violence to us because we are obeying God, then our blood will be upon you and you will answer to Almighty God.

We have no interest in political affairs, but are wholly devoted to God’s kingdom under Christ His King. We will do no injury or harm to anyone. We would delight to dwell in peace and do good to all men as we have opportunity, but, since your government and its officers continue in your attempt to force us to disobey the highest law of the universe, we are compelled to now give you notice that we will, by His grace, obey Jehovah God and fully trust Him to deliver us from all oppression and oppressors.

Respectfully,

Jehovah’s witnesses

at--------------

Message Sent by Companies Outside of Germany

Cablegram sent by Bethel family, Brooklyn, and by companies and secretaries in every city and in every land outside of Germany:

■-------, Oct. 7, 1934.

Hitler Government,

Berlin, Germany.

Your ill-treatment of Jehovah’s witnesses shocks all good people of earth and dishonors God’s name. Refrain from further persecuting Jehovah’s witnesses; otherwise God will destroy you and your national party.

Jehovah's witnesses,------,

Events in Canada By Our Canadian Correspondent

Buying and Selling Political Jobs

NDER the heading “Trafficking in Offices” the Toronto Daily Star has the following enlightening and interesting editorial:

The province will be surprised at the intimation from its attorney-general that “trafficking” in magistracies and crown-attorneyships has been going on for some time with the knowledge and approval of the government. Mr. Price admits that not infrequently when persons retire from positions connected with the administration of justice terms are arranged which provide that their successors shall pay a retiring allowance for a period of years. What happens when a suitable person for the office is unable or unwilling to make the yearly payments can easily be imagined. He might be eminently qualified for the position, indeed, be the most eligible person in the community, but his unwillingness to pass a tollgate would debar him from the appointment.

The affidavit made by Mr. McCaughrin, the Orillia police magistrate, that he was offered $2,000 to retire from his position, so that a constituent of Hon. Mr. Finlayson might be appointed, and that Mr. Finlayson and Mr. Price approved of the proposal and had it endorsed by order-in-council is serious enough. But it is not nearly as serious as the intimation by the attorney-general that something of the same sort has been going on for years, affecting many positions. The province will not be satisfied now until it learns the extent of the practice and all the details connected with it.

"Heil” Mary or—

We quote again from the Vancouver Sun an editorial appearing under the caption “How Not to Raise Children”:

Miss Magdalene Strang, formerly matron of the disgraceful Windsor Children’s Shelter, which is now undergoing a very revealing probe, has testified as to the code of punishment prevalent in that remarkable institution.

For fighting in the yard, the children were given a good strapping.

Violence always cures violence.

For creating disturbances in the dormitory, the culprits had to kneel in the hall and repeat the Lord’s Prayer or Hail Mary until the monitor in charge was tired of hearing it.

It is a splendid idea to inculcate in a child’s mind that a prayer is a form of punishment.

For talking during meals, the children were sent to a corner and given a “pat” on the side of the head.

Talking is such a heinous crime, especially for children, that a cuff alongside the head, which frequently causes deafness, seems almost too lenient.

If the same brutality and stupidity and ignorance have been employed in managing the other affairs of this institution as manifestly went into the creation of this punishment code, no wonder it has become a blot on the face of the Dominion.

Sorrows of Saskatchewan

The terrible conditions prevailing among the poor in parts of the great wealthy western provinces of Canada are revealed in a small way in the following news item from Saskatchewan as appearing in the Toronto Star:

Children are undernourished and underclothed as winter descends after five years of drought. Cattle and horses are dying in the fields for lack of fodder. Parents are cutting up their own badly-needed clothes to keep their children warm.

While statements in Vancouver that people were dying here of scurvy caused by lack of fresh vegetables are incorrect, they undoubtedly are suffering privation.

Five years of drought, devastation by grasshoppers, and general depression have eaten up all the small stores of reserve funds the hard-pressed farmers had. In one family of thirteen, the small children are dressed in flour sacks, with holes eut for the neck and arms. They have no shoes or underclothing. Another mother, who could not bear having her children face life without an elementary education, has eut up her clothes to dress them for school. She has not been outside her home for months.

Carcasses of horses and cattle litter the fields where the animals died for lack of fodder and care. The fields themselves arc going back to virgin soil, because tilling them has cost money which was not returned in crops.

A voluntary relief committee has collected some vegetables, but not nearly sufficient for the children. Practically all garden stuff was wiped out by grasshoppers last summer.

Hudson Bay versus St. Lawrence River

Under the caption "The St. Lawrence Has Its Disadvantages”, the paper last above quoted contains the following interesting item:

The wrecking of a ship or even the grounding of one in shallow water may not be a suitable subject for hilarity, but it sometimes happens that the circumstances surrounding, attendant to and preceding such a happening must give rise to chuckles. No doubt Captain Gofton of the Pennyworth, if he is not too worried by immediate conditions, will have a few chuckles to himself and certainly the people of these prairie provinces are likely to indulge in a few crude, earthy, western guffaws at the expense of those who have said the Hudson bay route was an impossible one, dangerous, and everything that a good route like the St. Lawrence is not and prophesied that there never would be a bushel of wheat move over it. It happens thus.

The Pennyworth was the first freighter into Churchill [on Hudson bay] this last summer. It brought in a cargo of goods and it sailed with holds filled with wheat. After leaving Churchill it carried cargoes to and from Mediterranean ports and finally came to Montreal with a load of rye grain from the Danubian countries. Canadians may think bringing rye to Canada is something like bringing coals to Newcastle, but there it is.

When he was in Churchill Captain Gofton expressed his pleasure over the arrangements at the new port, declared the voyage in was an easy and pleasant one beset with no dangers and quite ordinary routine sailing. When he arrived at Montreal he declared there that he would much rather sail into Churchill than into Montreal because there were fewer difficulties and the skipper was in charge of his own ship right to the harbor entrance, instead of having a pilot aboard for something like 1,000 miles as in the St. Lawrence.

At Montreal he loaded a cargo of wheat and fared forth down the river, his ship under the command of a pilot, one of those chaps who know every foot of the stream and take complete charge of the vessel. And the boat went aground 100 yards from the shore of the island of Orleans. It is a circumstance which thoroughly proves the accuracy of the view expressed by Captain Gofton at Montreal.

The British skipper’s opinion of Churchill and the St. Lawrence could not have been very pleasant reading for those gloomy souls of the Montreal Gazette, the Ottawa Journal, The Financial Post and divers other papers who have written so much to show that the Hudson bay route is worthless, useless, dangerous, uneconomic, icebound, fog-bound, rock-bound, cold, wretched, berg-infested, a waste of money, a political football, a nightmare of extravagance, a sop to the west, in short, that it is no good, and that the route from Montreal is the direct opposite in all things. To them the sudden, unexpected and unfortunate proving of Captain Gofton’s words by the mishap to his own vessel must be even less pleasant. But just imagine what would have been said had it gone aground in Hudson bay.

Let the west not point the finger of scorn at these dismal prophets, but, rather, commiserate with them in their discomfiture.

Government Cat Plays with Its Tail

Speaking of the dilemma in which governments find themselves, the Toronto Star, under the heading “Running Around in Circles”, says:

It cannot have escaped the observation of the most obtuse that the ■wise men of the world, in the presence of the difficulties by which mankind is confronted, have advised this and that and have, actually, been going around in circles, approaching no definite destination.

Mr. Bennett at the outset talked the big, fine talk so well liked in Toronto—Empire first, Canada first, world trade, old flag, thin red line, on which the sun never sets, no matter how high the tariff not a cent of increase in price to any loyal Canadian consumer. This kind of talk went over big in Toronto, and if any Liberal asked a group of friends what sense or meaning there was in such contradictory talk they told him severely that he was a partisan and that with a man like Sir. Bennett in office there ought to be no partisans in the country he was so nobly and eloquently serving.

Mr. Bennett was going to abolish unemployment throughout the land from coast to coast. Men, he said, would have work, but not one cent by way of dole. He tried that. Work, to an extent, was provided. But the statisticians got busy. They showed Mr. Bennett that if, as a measure against unemployment, the nation built a bridge across a river two-thirds of the sum expended went for steel and timber and stone and wire and what-not and did not take off the unemployed list those who were on that list. This was regarded as shocking. The statistics showed that for every unemployed man who was taken off the list the cost had been $12.00 per day. What they overlooked was that the makers of the steel, the hewers of the timber, the cutters of the stone, the drawers of the wire, were also employed. Also they overlooked the fact that when the work was done the nation had a bridge.

So Mr. Bennett finally decided in favor of direct relief—do not call it a dole—and to the delight of the statisticians was able to show that for every dollar expended there was an unemployed man half kept. He was doing nothing. If he tried to do anything he was disqualified.

This did not turn out well, either. It was found that men who get paid for doing nothing sometimes get sore and think evil.

Mr. Bennett discarded his statisticians in the third year of his indecision and decided to quit “direct relief’’ and go in for public works as he set out to do in his first year. Work, paid-for work, is now the panacea.

Premier Henry, who won great applause not so long ago for his economy fit, in which he reduced the salaries of the civil service, is now in high favor again because he has decided not only to restore the former rate of salaries but to apologize and pay back to the employees the money deducted from their past pay. Queen’s Park has got new light. In all such matters the wise men of the world have been walking in circles.

In Great Britain a great stroke of economy was under taken a year or more ago, when every school teacher in the kingdom suffered a cut of pay. Today it is proposed to undo that bit of economy, restore salaries of teachers to the old rate and pay back to them the money taken from them by the famous cut. The chancellor of the exchequer figures that it would cost the budget £11,500,000 to remit those past “economy” pay-cuts. On this the London Daily Express says: “Eleven and a half millions given back to the victims of the ‘economy’ cuts would be an act of fiscal justice. Like many another act of the kind, it would pay the exchequer handsomely. It would promote the efficiency and remove the grievances of civil servants and public officers. It would raise the status of schoolmasters who have the care of the next generation of citizens. It would expand the purchasing power of a large section of the public.”

So it goes. The government at Ottawa, the government in London, the government at Washington, are each going around in circles, trying a reduction of expenditure for the sake of economy and trying an increase of spending to raise the purchasing power of the public.

Social and Educational

Mix-up in Relationships

IN PENNSYLVANIA the mother of Samuel

Kriebel became the first wife of Jacob Doney. When Jacob was sixty years of age he took as his second wife Ida, the fifteen-year-old daughter of the same Samuel Kriebel. Thus Jacob became stepgrandfather of his own wife and Ida became stepmother of her own father. Jacob’s son Max by his second wife was Jacob’s stepgreatgrandson, and Max’s mother was Max’s stepgreatgrandmother. Max’s grandfather was Max’s half-brother. It is as bad a mix-up as the heathen doctrine of the “trinity”.

Senora Chairez of Santa Ana

enora Chairez, of Santa Ana, California, born September 26, 1813, near Mexico city, enjoys modern music, dances when she gets the chance, and is said to still be as erect as a soldier. Her only suggestion for improvement is that, having eaten beans for 120 years, she would now like a little more meat in her diet. If the Senora is wise she -will stick to the beans, which have kept her alive, lo, these 120 years; if she had had much meat for the last 100 years or so she would not be here to tell it. Daniel stayed with the beans.

Grave-Robbing in Chicago

TN CHICAGO ghouls are robbing the dead of J- their caskets and even their burial clothing and returning the caskets and shrouds to the undertakers that are in with them on the racket. A father who had paid $325 in cash for the burial of his son had the body exhumed the next day and found it in a rough box, lying face down, wrapped in newspapers.

Transportation Items

The Mersey Tunnel

FTVHE tunnel under the Mersey, between Birkenhead and Liverpool, is two miles in length, and the largest underwater tunnel in the world. The ventilation machinery of the Holland tunnel, New York, was duplicated. The cost of the project was $40,000,000. It took nine years to build. The tunnel is paved with cast iron; it is lined with shiny black glass to a height of six feet, and then with glazed cement. It is 46 feet in diameter, a single tube, instead of two tubes each 30 feet wide, as in the Holland tunnel. The four traffic lanes are separated by blocks of compressed rubber. The Queensway tunnel, as it was named by King George, was so skillfully engineered that when the two ends met their line was not more than five-eighths of an inch out of exact center. At one place the shell of rock between the clay-and-gravel bed of the Mersey and the top of the tunnel was only 3 feet 6 inches thick. Before the tunnel was air-tight 33,400,000 tons of water were pumped out.

A Glance at the Air Schedules

A GLANCE at the air schedules shows the wonderful progress made in the past year or so in the conquest of the air. A business man does a day’s work in New York city, leaves the New York (Newark) airport at 4:00 p.m. At 8:00 he is in Chicago, at 11: 00 in Kansas City, and at 7:00 the next morning in Los Angeles. Returning, he leaves Los Angeles at 4: 00 p.m., is at Chicago at 5:30 a.m., at Pittsburgh at 9: 00 a.m., and back in New York at 10: 55 a.m. This is by the TWA, Inc., which has other services between the principal cities; and there are many other lines with nearly equal facilities. The one-way fare from New York to Los Angeles is $160; round trip, $288. Baggage up to 30 pounds is carried free. Children over two years of age are charged full fare.

The Interborough Receivership Scandal

WITH $6,000,000 cash in its treasury the

Interborough Rapid Transit Company of New York was thrown into a receivership for a bill of $27,000 owing to the American Brake Shoe Company of Delaware. Lawyers have already collected $25,000 in fees from the Brake Shoe Company, and expect as much more, though the debt is still uncollected. This receivership, it was admitted, before the Senate investigating committee, was a deal arranged by insiders.

Anchors of the Big New Cunarder

THE anchors of the new Cunarder Queen Mary weigh, all together, 44 tons. The two cables, each 990 feet long, are of links each 2 feet long and 4^l/_s inches in diameter, so tough that they can be bent double without fracture. It is figured that when both anchors are down 500 feet the big ship will be able to ride out any storm without using its engines. The rudder of the big boat weighs 163 tons, and is hollow at that.

Two Air Passengers Lose Their Nerves

IN TWO different instances air passengers in

Britain have lost control of their nervous systems, and fought the pilots of their airplanes in mad efforts to seize the controls, which, had they succeeded, might very probably have resulted in the death of all on board. Other passengers helped subdue the ones that had temporarily lost their mental balance.

The Deadly Auto in Illinois

IN THE state of Illinois, in the first quarter of 1934, there were 568 deaths from motor accidents, but only half that number, namely, 285, for all the so-called “contagious” diseases put together: typhoid fever, smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, diphtheria, infantile paralysis, encephalitis, and meningitis.

Too Many Taxicabs (?)

THE Mayor’s Committee on Taxicab Survey reports that, whereas New York needs only 10,000 taxicabs, there are, nevertheless, more than 15,000, with the result that nobody is making any money, and the 53,713 drivers are hardly making a living. There are not enough people who can afford to ride in taxicabs.

Leviathan Loses Half-Million a Year

THE Shipping Board requires that the Leviathan must make at least seven round trips to Europe each year, but the boat, the way it is designed, and the way it is scheduled, is unprofitable, each voyage costing about $80,000 more than is taken in.

Political—Domestic

The Creeping Paralysis of Bureaucracy

REFERRING to the impossibility of maintaining a free press in a country where the citizens are not free to choose their callings and conduct their affairs according to their own judgment, Senator Borah, in a radio address, said :

‘ * If the government can take away the right to grow cotton and force the grower to plant according to some bureau’s judgment, and thereby force thousands to the point of starvation, it is only a question of time, and it has always been so, until this creeping paralysis of bureaucracy benumbs the hand of the editor. Of all forms of government which have ever been permitted to torture the human family, the most burdensome, the most expensive, the most demoralizing, the most devastating to human happiness, and the most destructive of human values, is a bureaucracy. It has destroyed every civilization upon which it has fastened its lecherous grip.”

Millikan Says Too Many Political Quacks

Dr. Robert A. Millikan, president of the Cali

fornia Institute of Technology, referring to present economic conditions, said in a radio address :

“This situation has called all the quack doctors to the bedside of the patient. The least intelligent and understanding among these doctors tell the patient he is suffering from too much capacity for the production of wealth, and that the remedy is to smash the machine. I can quote chapter and verse to show that precisely the same diagnosis, precisely the same remedy, was put forward in Rome in the time of Tiberius, and hence before the foundations for the industrial revolution had been laid.”

Fascism Breaks Out in Illinois

AT STAUNTON, Illinois, Oscar Sturm, a prominent socialist, secretary of the Illinois Workers’ Alliance, was knocked down and kicked unconscious while police stood idly by. When he regained consciousness Sturm, not the bully who had attacked him, was arrested, but was discharged. Local business men financed the attacker. Thus Fascism in America gradually begins.

Equipped for Strike Duty

AT HAND is a picture of a Seattle policeman equipped for strike duty, a truly terrible sight. He has on a gas mask (which makes anybody look like a monster) and, besides, is equipped with the steel hat and tear-gas pistol used in breaking up large groups of the restless and unemployed.

Looking at the NRA with Skepticism

THE executive board of the International

Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, in their report to their union, though conceding that the garment workers were greatly benefited by the NRA, especially at first, says:

“Instead of a ‘partnership voice in industry’, as originally intended and practiced in the early stages of the NRA, Labor is now being accorded only more or less polite chance to be heard, but the fixing of work hours and wages is actually left to the employers only. Doubtless there is deep disappointment among the working masses of America with the new turn which the NRA and its administration and enforcement is taking. The workers who greeted the NRA ■with so much faith and confidence last summer are looking with skepticism and misgivings at it now.”

Some of the Coal Tricks

SOME of the coal tricks by which $1,000,000, at the least, was stolen from New York city on its coal purchases during the last five years are as follows: false barrel bottoms, watering the coal, changing numerals indicating truck capacity, the use of double load tickets and the employment of a dummy half-ton in the front of the truck, never used when an inspector is around. Barges were loaded systematically with poor coal underneath and good on top. Coal samples in the coal sample room were juggled during the night.

671,866 Persons on Relief in New York

IN NEW YORK city alone, in July, one person in every ten was on relief, and in the first seven months of this year the Emergency Home Relief Bureau had spent $40,468,961, or more than the total amount spent for the same purpose last year. The number of persons now on relief, 671,866, is 7,929 larger than the number carried on the relief rolls at any time in the two and a half years that the Bureau has been in operation.

$12,000 for a Single Letter

AS THE new administration continues to dig into the records of postal subsidies it finds things that shock even a politician. On one occasion three ships left the same American port on the same day. Each ship carried one letter. Each ship received $12,000 for the one letter it carried. The net result of the subsidy plan, so far, is that the mails have been decreased by it rather than increased, and the American merchant marine not strengthened.

Scientific Miscellany

Doctor Cabot Condemns Human Vivisection

Dr. Richard C. Cabot, professor of medicine and of social ethics at Harvard University, is quoted as having made the following statements in a letter to John Sturgis Codman: “I think it is high time that our profession repudiated the defense of human vivisection published in a pamphlet by the American Medical Association and stated what I think we all substantially believe—that such procedures are wrong, as you have properly declared them to be. I agree with you that experimentation upon a human [creature] without his consent and without the expectation of benefit to him is without any ethical justification. Few if any physicians in this country would be willing (I believe) publicly to express a contrary opinion. At the same time, the practice of making such experiments is common and is often condoned, as is shown by the publication of Dr. Wile’s experiments and the still more recent ones of Dr. M. Hines Roberts.” (The experiments of Dr. Wile were surgical operations performed on six insane patients of the Pontiac state hospital, Michigan. The patients for the operations were "provided” by Dr. Christian, in charge of that hospital. The next ones thus “provided” may include your father or your mother, or—and that might not matter so much to others—yourself.)

Artificial Lightning at Pittsfield

AT PITTSFIELD, Massachusetts, in the effort to develop means for protecting electrical equipment against lightning, an electrical current of 250,000 amperes was discharged at a pressure of 150,000 volts in eight one-millionths of a second. More than 30,000,000 kilowatts were represented in a single discharge, far greater than any natural lightning stroke. In the experiments a silver-plated spoon vanished in a shower of sparks.

Blinding the Minds

THE rope trick, by the fakirs of India, in which, apparently, a rope is thrown upright in the air, a boy climbs it, and, when he is at the top, draws the rope up after him, and rope and boy disappear into thin air, is all a trick played upon the minds of the observers who are, for the moment, under the control of demons. Photographs taken of the trick disclosed the fakir and his boy sitting comfortably on the carpet. There was no trick except on the mind.

Lantern-Bearers of the Deep

AMONG the fishes that live deep down in the ocean, where the rays of the sun never come, are some so-called “lantern-bearers”, that really carry lanterns, luminous organs attached to their jaws with cord-like appendages. Others have headlights, some before their eyes, and some behind them. One variety, instead of having two eyes one on the right side and one on the left, has two eyes both on the same side of the head, one above the other, and none at all on the other side of the head.

The Largest Flood-Control Reservoir

BY ALL odds the largest flood-control reservoir is now being constructed at Fort Peck, Montana, at the headwaters of the Missouri river. The dam is half a mile wide at the base, and will be 245 feet high. It will create a lake 175 miles long, and will cost $55,000,000. It is expected to make the flow of the Mississippi river much more uniform than at present.

One of the Gibborim, Perhaps

A DISPATCH from Calcutta reports the discovery near Jubbulpore, India, of a skeleton simulating the human, 31J feet in length, the leg bones measuring ten feet. If the report is correct this is doubtless a skeleton of one of the gibborim, or “mighty men”, offspring of angels and women, drowned in the flood.— Genesis 6:4.

Electroplating of Rubber

A METHOD has been discovered for electroplating rubber and combining rubber with metals. This enables the manufacture of a pipe of metal lined with rubber, for convenient use at a plant where acids are manufactured.

Radios on Motorcycles

HAVING had good results in their experiments with radios on motorcycles, it is probable that henceforth motorcycle police of New York city will have radio equipment on all their motorcycles.

Midsummer Frosts in Bavaria

THE potato crop in the Danube valley in Bavaria was destroyed by a series of frosty nights during the first half of the month of July. In some fields there was a fall of 90 degrees Fahrenheit between noon and 3: 00 a.m.

Roman Catholic Department

they have resorted to the most extreme denunciations of those who venture to disagree with them. “Mere insolence,” “stupid insults,” are terms freely used to characterize the language of dignity and truth when it calls the findings of the Hierarchy in question.

The only Catholic daily in the United States, in speaking of a series of broadcasts of wide public interest, said, “What they peddle is plain nonsense, the same brand of nonsense you would expect from amateur doctors and amateur lawyers, if the laws would permit such a thing. Such amateurs in any line should be barred from the radio channels.”

The plain inference to be drawn from this is that the only ones that are not amateurs, and can therefore safely be trusted with broadcasting, are the priests of the Hierarchy. The idea seems to be that every broadcaster on religious subjects shall have a priest along with him to tell him what is free speech, that is, speech acceptable to the Hierarchy, and what is not and is therefore license, or abuse.

In one instance a Catholic paper published in one column a dispatch that the Jews are much perturbed by the increasing restrictions against the Catholic church, and in an adjoining column its own demand that speeches not favorable to the Catholic church be excluded from the air.

In another instance a Catholic society went into raptures about democracy receiving its inspiration from the Sermon on the Mount, and stating its glad acceptance of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, and wound up with a businesslike threat to a department store which operated a radio station that unless certain addresses it disapproved of were canceled the store would lose a goodly share of its business forthwith.

Papal Fascism in Austria

ONE of the first acts of Papal Fascism in Austria was to mortgage for $10,000,000 the magnificent municipal structures erected by the Socialists out of revenue, and to raise the rents of the workers who lived in them.

Hindu Catholics Abandon Church

THE Times of India reports that 10,000 Hindu

Catholics in South India have abandoned the church en masse, on account of the observance of the caste system. Hitherto, railings in the churches have kept the castes apart.

Radio Hearing Chart Defaced

(Reprinted from the New York Sun) Rutherford Says Catholics Mutilated Record

Caravati Symbol Erased

People’s Pulpit President Tells of Broadcast Troubles

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (A.P.).—A charge that agents of the “Catholic hierarchy” mutilated the official record of congressional radio hearings last spring and thereby destroyed certain evidence was made before the Federal Communications Commission by Joseph F. Rutherford, president of the Peoples Pulpit Association of New York.

Testifying concerning what he described as vigorous Catholic opposition encountered by his organization in putting its ‘Watch Tower” broadcasts on the air, Mr. Rutherford said the association had introduced at hearings before a House committee on the communications bill this year a chart identifying Henry L. Caravati, executive secretary of the National Council of Catholic Men, as the “executive agent of the Catholic hierarchy’s organization”.

“After this chart had been offered in evidence, approved by the committee for publication and delivered to the custody of the clerk a prominent Catholic who had appeared before the committee called at the office of the clerk of the House Commerce Committee and asked to see the record, including this chart, and went over the whole record before it was passed by the Government printer,” Mr. Rutherford said.

“When the chart was printed the letter ‘S’ (a sign used on the chart to locate Caravati’s place in the Catholic organization) did not appear as it had appeared on the original record.” *

Mr. Rutherford introduced photostatic copies of the chart as it originally was presented at the hearing with a letter from the clerk of the House Commerce Committee saying he had found after a check that “the letter ‘S’ on this chart was eliminated for some reason, it being plainly visible where the ‘S’ was taken off the diagram before the original was taken to the Government Printing Office”.

The “Flames of Purgatory”

ERE is a neat little 36-page book, entitled Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is the cover design that interests us, and particularly

* See “ S ” on chart, page 624 of The Golden Age for July 4,1934. the back cover, done in four colors, black, red, gold and green, above the title “Purgatorian Society”.

At the bottom of the picture we count eleven persons writhing in the red and gold flames. Three of them are men with gray beards. We wonder how they keep their whiskers in the heat. But maybe it is not as hot as it looks; for red ink is cheap. Several are ladies, and one, at least, seems to be wearing a dress cut low in the back. It must have been made of good material, asbestos, probably.

At the top of the picture is a representation of God, which is expressly forbidden by God himself. Between God and “purgatory”, on each side of the picture, a flock of angels are engaged in carrying people from “purgatory” up to heaven, and in singing after they got there. Must be hard to sing with such a dry throat! So far, the picture is cloudy and smoky. Heaven seems to be resting on the bank of smoke that rises from “purgatory”.

The clearest part of the picture, done in the brightest colors, is the center of it, which represents a priest and two altar boys saying mass for the repose of the souls in “purgatory”. The vestments of the priest are so made that, with his back to the observer, he presents the cross moving first this way and then that.

Where is Jesus in all this? Not there at all. He is on the front cover. Where on the front cover? Oh, in the arms of Mary, just as a cute little babe! The principal pictorial glory of this book is the picture of Mary, “Our Lady of Perpetual Help.” It is as large as all the rest of the pictures put together!

Bulgaria Ends Clerical Grafts

ULGARIA has state religion. Hereafter priests must do all their stuff, baptism, marriage, burial, or other services, as state officials, and if they accept additional remuneration it will be considered as a bribe, and punishable.

A Disgusted Robber

ROBBER in Camden, who had stolen six sacred vessels from an Italian Catholic church, was so disgusted when he found that the supposed golden vessels were merely gold-plated that he repented and returned them.

Obedience Puts One Close to the Savior’s Heart

THE only person that ever lived on earth who was really holy was Jesus. He alone was “holy, . . . separate from sinners”. He did not come to seek others like himself; there were none such to seek. He did not seek the companionship of those that esteemed themselves holy and despised others. But, and here is the point, He did seek the companionship of those that really wanted to be holy, right, pure, perfect, like himself, and that is why He especially loved James and John. He loved others too, and does yet, for His heart is big and roomy, but James and John will always have special places there, and they should, and the lesson today tells why.

First let us establish that James and John did have special places in Jesus’ affections when He was here as a man. It is not hard. Most people know it already; but it does no harm to review the facts.

That was a very special favor that w^Tas granted to James and John to be present when the Savior went up into the mountain to pray for the strength He needed to keep on to the end of His course, and at which time they both, and Peter, and the Savior too, had a vision of the Kingdom that now is and is for ever to be.

Luke’s account, after telling of Jesus’ promise that there were some in His presence that would “not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God”, goes on to say that Jesus took the three of them “and went up into a-mountain to pray”. Probably Jesus prayed that these that were closest to Him might see the very things they did see. At any rate, it was even “as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering”.—Luke 9: 27-29.

The personal feature is more prominently brought out in Mark’s account. There, after the same preliminary statement, it says that Jesus “leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves”. (Mark 9:1, 2) So we see three things at the moment prominently in Jesus’ mind, a vision of His coming Kingdom, a careful selection and leading of those who should see it, and a season of prayer, communion with His Father, crowned with the very thing desired.

There is no record that while James and John were on the mountain top they had anything to say; they went along as invited guests, friends. It does say that they were afraid. Who would not have been? Not only did they see Jesus’ ‘raiment becoming shining, exceeding white as snow’, “white as the light” (Matthew 17: 2), but they saw Jesus’ own face ‘shining as the sun’; they saw Moses and Elias, and heard them talk; they entered with Jesus into the cloud that signified the divine presence, and, most wonderful of all, they had the stupendous privilege of hearing the voice of the great Jehovah God say, “This is my beloved Son; hear him.”—Mark 9: 3, 6, 7.

Witnessing the Defeat of Death

That was another immeasurable favor that came to James and John when Jesus had been summoned to the bedside of Jairus’ daughter. There is a depth in a father’s love that nobody can know who is not a father. Jairus was a good man, chosen by the worshipers of his community as the ruler of the synagogue of Capernaum. When he realized that his only daughter, a maid of twelve years, was dying, he came and fell down at Jesus’ feet, beseeching Him that He ■would come into his house. Somehow he felt sure that if Jesus would only come under his roof, and lay His loving hands on this little girl, she would not die.

And then there came an interruption. In the throng that pressed around Jesus was the poor woman who “had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any”, and just when the case of Jairus’ daughter was most urgent this poor woman had touched the hem of His garment and had been made whole. There was a stir as to who had done it; there was an investigation; there was an explanation, and, finally, there was the word of the Master that it was all right. “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole: go in peace.” —Luke 8: 48.

Meantime the case was desperate with Jairus; time was going on; the condition of his daughter did not admit of delay. And then came the final blow: “While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?”—Mark 5:35.

How would you like to have been present when Jesus said to that poor heart-broken father, “Be not afraid, only believe”? How would you like to have been one of the five chosen witnesses of what followed: Peter, James, John, and the father and the mother of the maiden? How would you like to have stepped with this Son of the most high God into the chamber of death and heard Him say, “The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth”? and then, when He had been laughed to scorn, and had put the scorners out, how would you like to have seen Him give that maiden His hand, to hear Him say, “Maid, arise,” and to see her awaken and come straight from the portals of the tomb back into the bosom of the family of which she had been the light? Was that a great favor? Was it? In the presence of the Resurrection and the Life, 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory ? 0 blessed Son of the merciful God! What a privilege it must have been!

In the Savior's Darkest Hour

Who is it that you would wish to have with you in the darkest hour? Suppose, for any reason, you knew that your end was near. Suppose, for any reason, that your soul were exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Suppose, for any reason, you were in agony of spirit, so concerned about the events of the immediate future that your nervous system were to break down, and you were to sweat great drops of blood, as others besides Jesus have sometimes done. You would not wish everybody present at a time like that. You would have a choice; and so did Jesus. He chose His nearest and dearest friends. James and John, along with Peter, were the only ones who had that privilege.

It was those same friends (along with Andrew, Peter’s brother) that alone heard the discourse on the fall of Jerusalem, and incidentally the fall of “Christendom”—the Lord’s great prophecy, recorded more at length in the 24th chapter of Matthew. (Mark 13:3) Was it not a great favor to be one of the auditors of one of the very greatest of all the prophecies?

We do not usually confer special names on persons unless we are specially interested in them. Why do you suppose Jesus referred to James and John as “Boanerges, The sons of thunder”?—Mark 3:17.

It was these two men, James and John, that wished to be nearest to Jesus in the Kingdom (Mark 10:37) and expressed their willingness to drink with Him the cup poured for Him, and to be baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized. That meant a willingness to share any experiences, no matter what they might be, that would keep them near to Him.

It was these two men that sought to call down fire from heaven to burn up the Samaritans who had refused to sell food and lodging to their Master. Jesus reproved them mildly, probably laughing in His sleeve as He did so. He knew that they were both bubbling over with zeal, faith, hope and love. They only needed guidance. John wanted to stop the casting out devils in Jesus’ name by one who did not go along with the party in an orderly manner.

James Was the First Martyr

James was the first martyr among the apostles. Eusebius says of this incident that the officer who conducted James to the tribunal was so influenced by the bold declaration of his faith that he also embraced the Gospel, avowed himself also a Christian, and in consequence was beheaded at the same time. Doesn’t that show that Jesus picked His friends?

As far as John is concerned: Modestly and truthfully, not boastingly, he mentions that at the Lord’s last supper he was the one whose head reclined on Jesus’ bosom; he was “the disciple whom Jesus loved”; he was the one that was nearest to the Lord when He was before Caiaphas; he was present at the crucifixion; it was to him that Jesus committed His mother; he was first at the Savior’s tomb on the morning of the resurrection, ahead even of Peter; and he was the last of the apostles, and favored with the final Revelation.

Was the Lord partial in the selection of His friends? We know that He was not. Then what was it about James and John that specially drew Him to these two men? Unquestionably it was their obedience. The story is told in few words in the fourth chapter of Matthew’s gospel. We know from John’s account that they were early interested in Jesus’ preaching, enough to locate His lodgings. Probably they spent the night with Him.—John 1: 35-39.

At length the time came for Jesus to appoint His legates, His personal witnesses. He knew these two men, knew of their love for truth and righteousness, knew they were in the fishing business and where they could be seen. The account is very much condensed. He had called Peter and Andrew (two of the four who heard His great prophecy); “and going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.”— Matthew 4: 21, 22.

Obedience Is the Secret

That is the secret. Obedience, and prompt obedience at that. They did not hesitate; they did not stipulate; they did not meditate; they did not argue; they got up and came immediately, and that is evidently what the Lord always remembered about them, and always will remember about them.

Those boys had a good stand. They could have been in the fishing business until the end of their days; and they do seem to have retained some kind of interest in it, for in their time of confusion, after Jesus’ death, they went back there for a while. They had to go somewhere, and, come to think of it, Jesus told them to go back to Galilee anyway; so their going back was an act of obedience, too.

But the point is that they had made a consecration. They had not made a bargain. There is a big difference between a bargain and a consecration. Some people think they can bargain with Almighty God and with the Savior. They cannot do anything of the sort. No person is consecrated unless he wishes to be so, and unless the consecration is unconditional.

James and John were the right sort; they were not perfect, but the business they got into, fishing for men, was a thousand times more interesting than fishing for bass or pike or bullheads or pickerel or trout, or whatever it was they fished for in Galilee. And, when they were told to get out of the old business and get into the new, they got out immediately; and the Lord loved them for it and gave them a place in His earthly bosom and in His heart eternal.

Demonism in a

rrtHE HINDU, Madras, India, issue of April ■L 24,1934, contains a dispatch from its correspondent at Nagercoil, from which we extract the following:

Kurusady, a Roman Catholic village about three miles south of Nagercoil where there is a famous shrine dedicated to St. Antony, has now become the center of attraction for thousands of pilgrims who are arriving here daily to witness the mysterious working of evil spirits on groups of girls aged between 5 and 12 years. About 50 girls, belonging to Kurusady and the neighboring villages, rush to the church at 6 p.m. every day, as though possessed by evil spirits. The parents and the villagers tried their best to keep the girls under lock, but failed, as the doors mysteriously opened. Immediately after vespers, at 7 p.m., the girls sit in front of the church and dance, shaking their heads round about and calling the name of Saint Antoniar. This continues for about one hour. They then whisper something, and all of a sudden get up from the floor and run toward the chapel and roll on the sand and then lie down unconscious for some time. Getting up again, they sit in front of the chapel in two or three rows, repeating the same dance and words. In their whispering they often tell us, with much accuracy and correctness, whatever unchristian things have occurred in the neighborhood. The process comes to an end when they make small ditches with sand, in which, they say, the devil is cast and destroyed by St. Antony.

Referring further to the same occurrences, the Madras (India) Mail, issue of May 10,1934,

Catholic Church

contains, from its correspondent at Nagercoil, the following:

Devils are reported to be still able to influence groups of young girls at the Roman Catholic church at Kurusady, near Nagercoil (Tinnevelly district). Girls so affected are said to rush to the church every evening, and to dance, shake their heads and call on the name of Saint Antoniar. This continues for about an hour. They then whisper something, and all of a sudden they roll on the sand, and then lie down unconscious for some time. A couple of weeks ago only young girls were affected by the devils, but now I understand that middle-aged women and grown-up girls are also coming under the influence of evil spirits. The parish priest has done his best, but the devils cannot be scared away. The assistant vicar sprinkled holy water on those who were affected, but without success. A similar occurrence is now reported from Rajavoor, a Roman Catholic village close by. It is reported that about twelve girls have been possessed by evil spirits.

It seems as if it would be a peculiarly just recompense for their hatred of the truth and their exploiting of error if this curse now affecting the second largest Boman Catholic church in Travancore, India, should spread to other churches, and perhaps all over India and all over the world.

The same mail that brings us the story of the obsessions at Kurusady tells of the idolatry to Philomena, in a little booklet put out by St. Joseph’s church, Mysore, India. One man tells how he had a sick bull. He cut up a picture of St. Philomena, put it in holy water, gave it to the bull, and put a picture of Philomena up in front of the bull, and the bull got well. The Roman Catholic church is demonism, and teaches demonism, and ought sometime to reap an abundant and even a luxurious harvest.

The “worship” of the Catholic system is in reality highly hypnotic, and the chanting of “prayers” and “services” is intended to induce a state of mental inertia which exposes the “worshiper” to the attacks of evil spirits, who represent themselves as this or that “saint”, and give “revelations” which are but another link in the chain of papal bondage.

“News by Radio

(Continued from page 10)

made a table of their replies. It reads as follows:
	Gov’t News Source Control			Periods      Remarks
France	Yes	Press      Yes	2	15 min.
Poland	Yes	Press      Yes	3	5 min. News two hours old
Denmark	Yes	Press      Yes	4	10-25 min.
Finland	Yes	Press      Yes	5	10-15 min. Two languages. 14% of all hours used for news
Italy	Yes	Press      Yes	1	daily     Four languages. Government propaganda
Egypt	Yes	Reuter’s Yes	1	daily     Only 1 station in Egypt
Canada	Yes	Press      Yes	2	5 min.
England	Yes	Press      Yes	1 2	25 min. 15 min.
Switzerland Yes		Government Yes agency	2	20 min.
Norway	Yes	Press      Yes	2 1	10 min. 15 min.
Germany	Yes	Press      Yes	7	5-20 min. Government propaganda
Sweden	Yes	Press      Yes	2	7 min.
China	Yes	Government Yes agency	Irregular
Ireland	Yes	Press      Yes	o	15 min. Mostly local news
Spain	Yes	Radio reporters	1 5	hr. 8 a.m. Compete with 10 min.     newspapers
Japan Cuba	Yes Yes	Press and radio News- No regpapers ula-account tions	5	5-30 min. Stations pay news agencies more than newspapers do Compete with papers. 1 station rents 8 hours for news
Mexico	Yes	Press	4	15 min. Do not compete. News sponsored by press
Austria Yes Panama N o stations Greece    No		Press      Yes	5	5-10 min.
Russia	Yes	Press      Yes	2	30-60 min.
Belgium	Yes	Press      Yes	3	15 min.

Fresh Hearings Before Commission

There is one more consideration I desire to present in connection with such an organization. Those who hold radio licenses today are confronted with a serious and pressing demand that 25 percent of existing radio facilities be granted to educational and religious stations. You are about to participate in hearings on the subject before the Communications Commission. What new service of an educational nature can you offer ?

An associated radio news organization is one answer. It could present up-to-the-minute news flashes and brief news reports that would be different from newspaper reports. It could originate a new method of presenting such news also, by adding to the news flash statements concise, historical, scientific and human interest data. It would require men and women of big ability who could collect and concentrate facts quickly in relation to the news event, but radio can and should hire such men and women to do that kind of service. No one station can afford it, but an associated radio organization combining their finances can.

Marlin Pew once wrote that the ideal newspaper would be a newspaper every line of which would be of interest to every possible reader.

I am not a member of this association, nor have I any personal interest in or connection with any broadcasting station or radio news organization whatsoever. My interest is in radio, its development, its enlarged use for communication purposes, and, most of all, its service for increasing the happiness of the human race. Yet I dare to urge this convention to take some positive action to enlarge and improve news by radio for the American people.

You can either appoint a small committee of members of this association with power to organize a non-profit, cooperative, station-owned news organization for such stations as desire to join, or empower your board of directors to take such action. If your board or such a’committee will take charge of this work, you will find an amazing response by stations and radio listeners. The situation is ripe for action now.

So the ideal radio program would be a program every part of which would be of interest to every possible listener. There is no program that will command so nearly 100 percent attention and interest of radio listeners as a program of up-to-the-minute news events combined with interesting data bearing upon the subject of the news.

For years I have worked and fought in Congress and out of Congress for a free radio service, an interesting and informative radio service, and a service that would command advertising support because of its popularity.

I have helped to write and keep on the statute books a radio law that bases the grant and renewal of licenses upon public interest and public service. The supreme court has declared that law constitutional. It is the American plan of radio. It stands alone among the government-owned radio systems of the world. Its continuation depends on popular support.

News by radio will do more to maintain and strengthen that plan than any other feature broadcasters can use. I urge you: Seize it, use it, glorify it.

Atlanta Convention

TXfA TCI/TOW fill readers will be pleased to ' ' know that a service convention is arranged to be held at Atlanta, Georgia, November 23, 24, and 25. Ansley Hotel roof garden will be the convention headquarters. The City Auditorium will be used for meetings on the 24th and 25th, including the public meeting at three o’clock in the afternoon November 25 to be addressed by the president of the Society. It is hoped that the pioneers working in the south during the winter will be able to attend this convention. A credit of $25 will be allowed to each pioneer on book account to help pay expenses to the convention. Let all the Lord’s people present this matter before the throne of grace for His blessing that there may be a splendid witness to the honor of His name. For accommodations address C. R. Thomas, Chairman Convention Committee, 1391 Belmont Ave., S. W., Atlanta, Ga.

TO THE GOLDEN AGE READERS

Ji "VAT"® FEEL that many of the readers of The Golden Age are interested in the Bible discus- j! J      V V sions that are set forth in each issue. Many of you, however, may be interested in a fur-

• 4 ther explanation of Bible prophecies and a magazine wholly devoted to the study of God’s

f     Word. Such a magazine is The Watchtower. This journal is published for the purpose of en-

£     abling the people to know Jehovah God and His purposes as expressed in the Bible. It adheres

?      strictly to the Bible as authority for its utterances, and it is entirely free from all parties, sects

• 5 and other worldly organizations. It is wholly and without reservation for the kingdom of Jeho-

• 5 vah God under Christ, His beloved King. It is not dogmatic, but invites careful and critical

• 5     examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures. It does not indulge in controversy, and

%     its columns are not open to personalities. Subscribe, for your own good, using the blank below.

£                       The Watch Tower, 117 Adams St., Brooklyn, N.Y.

? Kindly enter my subscription for The Watchtower, as indicated below. Enclosed find

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City and State

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THE WICKED THE GOOD

THIS booklet also is written in Judge Rutherford's characteristic manner, which is clear, concise and easily understood.

Many sincere persons have greatly desired to have a correct understanding of the Scriptures concerning the angels. These are among the questions often asked:

Are the angels good or bad?

Who are the “sons of God”, the nephilini, and the “men of renown” mentioned in the sixth chapter of Genesis?

What became of the angels that sinned in Noah’s day?

If the angels that sinned in Noah’s day were destroyed by the flood, to what angels did Jesus preach following His crucifixion, and how did He preach to them?

Can men and women now on earth communicate with the angels?

What is the explanation concerning those who claim to be able to talk with their friends who have died?

This booklet gives the Scriptural and therefore the true and satisfying answer to the foregoing and related questions. You should read it carefully together with the Bible texts cited therein.

Be sure to write now and get a copy of this 64-page booklet, interestingly illustrated, and bound in an attractively colored cover. There will soon be a special period for world-wide distribution of this booklet, beginning on November 24. If you desire to have a part in this distribution, order now and watch for further announcements concerning this special campaign.

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The Watch Tower

117 Adams St.

Brooklyn, N. Y.

Enclosed find .............., which contribution you will please use for the spreading of the

Kingdom message, and especially for the printing of this new booklet Angels. Send me the quantity checked below:

□ 1 Angels booklet (5c)

□ 6 Angels booklets (25c)

□ 50 Angels booklets ($1.75)

□ Please advise me how I can have a share in the witness work.

Name.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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