SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PARK MEETINGS

If -p         V                  eh'-         ...

Fifty Million Gamblers Can Be Wrong

Do Mutations Cause Evolution?

Prodigal India

THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL

News sources that are able to keep you awake io the vital Issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish Interests, “Awake!’* has no fetters. It recognise* facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound ty political ambitions or obligations; Lt is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This Journal keeps itself free that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth,

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CONTENTS

The Holy Year in Retrospect

Supreme Court Upholds Park Meetings 5

Repercussions in Havre de Grace

Reds Issue “Holy Commandment”

Fifty Million Gamblers Can Be Wrong 9

The Gambling “Fever”

You Can't Win!

Do Mutations Cause Evolution?

Genes—Carriers of Heredity

Mutations Fail the Evolutionists

Doomed by the Caste System

Shaking Loose the Snares

Painting with a Needle

Thinking Out Loud

Catholic Church Would “Absorb" Evolution

“Your Word Is Truth”

The Lord's Supper or Evening Meal 25

Masquerade in Words

& “Now ft is high time to awake."— Romans 13:11 $

Volume XXXII                        Brooklyn, N. Y., March 22, 1951                            Number 6

THE HOLY YEAR IN RETROSPECT

THE “Holy Year of 1950” is now in the past, and we can look back to examine its results. According_to PopePius jt was to be an extraordinary year. ‘expressed hopeThaE fHrough the revival of religious fervor there might ‘rise during the Holy Year a new era—a more just Holy Year, happier for the whole ^great hurnan_fan> (flew Ybrlc Times, *lJecemEer^—1C 13^9) The World Almanac for 1951 said it was a “year of special devotions and prayers, especially for world peace”. The American Weekly (December 24, 1950) said that the prayers of the 3 million pilgrims were ardent echoes of the words Pope Pius XII spoke just a year ago: ‘Maj this genuinely Holy Year be for the human family the harbinger of a new vear of peace, prosperity and progress? ”

But peace is not all the “Holy Year” was to bring. According to the pope’s Christmas message in 1949, it was also to be the “year of the great return” to Catholicism. It was also to be “decisive for the future of the Church”, and was to witness a crusade against communism.

What resulted? The T950 “Holy Year’s” promise to bring peace was a miserable failure. Just note the following review of “Holy Year” happenings. Hardly a month had passed when President Truman ordered production of the hydrogen bomb on January 31. The solidarity of the communist world was"strengthened ,in February when Russia signed a 30-year mutual frien3ship*pact wim Corr^unTst^Cliina, and*7!urTH£ tfie~ year tHe tentacles of communist aggression stretched out to encompass even larger areas of the world j Nerve gases as a horrible weapon for the next war were described by a U. S. official on April 17. Britons were told by Prime Minister ^ttleg on June 30 tha; ‘the fire tha^hasTe^gt^e^hrSSfea jnay Burn Sown your^house । Order s'? or' substantial increases in U. S. troops in Western Europe were given in September, and the Defense Department announced that the U. S. army’s weapon-buying increased ^00 per cent in four months. President Quirino of the Philippines said on December 4^ “Mankind is facing its most desperate hour” and on December 7 General EisenEower proposed universal military training for U. S. youths. On December 16 a national war emergency was declared in the U. S. ITte ^Holy Yegr” ^ded^vithjnjyminous fea/qfjwar hang^gjverjh^epti^^ofjd.

During the year there were revolts in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru. Puerto Rico and Nepal: wars in the Philippines, Burma, Indo^China and Indonesia, Tibet wasTn-vaded, and the Kpfean"_vvar took about 40,000 U. S. casualties and involved numerous U. N. member-nations.

Then what about the pope’s pleas for a ‘return to the Catholic fold’ on the part of Protestants and others in 1950? Were

the ranks of Catholicism swelled by a great influx of Protestants? Did Protestant churches embrace Catholicism? No! Protestants openjy ridiculed this suggestion, md~ f ormedmeN at io nal Council of Churches of Christ in the. U.S.A. on No-vcmber^fT

But what did the "Holy Year” accomplish? It witnessed the making of new ‘faints”, ma, announcement of the claim that Pe-’ten’s tomb haTT been TbuncT a crusacfe M. 1.1    ^4.                  *r-                               mJ 'i'

against communism, religioygj^ju^pajjju^s, andTa display jf T^athoFicpowcr. ’^EighTdead'persons" were made “saints”, eigh£ more were beatified, (a step toward “sainthood”); but this is not in harmony with God's Word, which calls all Christians “saints”, not ^ust after death but, during their lifetjrne. (See Acts" £13,32,41; Romans 1:77"2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1.) The dogma that Mary went to heaven in body was proclaimed, but this too is not Scriptural, for even the Roman Catholic Douay Version Bible makes no exception for Mary’s flesh and blood when it says, “Flesh and, blood COTJQt possess the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:50) The claim that Peter’s tomb was found under the Vatican was made, ^but^Pet^r’sJeath.jn^Rpmeig g^nJacon^yfirsyTtihepope wasnoFsure the relics found were Peter’s, and one official asked, “How can one identify the bones after l_?9(7Tyears?” The "Holy Year” ceremonies were spectacular, widely publicized and full of pageantry, but they were not in harmony with the simple worship of Christ and the apostles.

Attendance figures of 3 million persons indicated Catholic power but, considering theconvenij^ee^ portaUo^^i^jieyju^^rnpar^wit^.tjK¹ 2 rnjUjonjjajmedjtendancejfor_tb£. jllgt ^^^^ear^^wav^backJn_A3Q£L^ The figure shrinks even more when we note the

Roman Church’s boast of haying 45 million members in Italy alone, all !iving~no more than, 400_ miles from the Vatican. Hence the “Holy Year” pilgrims in Rome-equaled only 7 per cent of the claimed* Catholic population of Italy alone, and less than one per cent of the claimed world-wide Catholic population. Even this total, though, may be questioned when we consider Paul Blanshard’s statement ttiat “l&)ly Yeag’Bubllpity 'figures jwejs highly. inflated. He cited measurements of St Pe-tePs Square made by Camilla Cianfarra of the New York Times which indicated that Jthearea^ would hold no more than 140,000 jg^rsgns^ while the Va tican claimed a half million assembled there for •fl&L 5*-   «■*"■         .....■■ ¹  111    * "                       -_-T—

Holy Year” ceremonies.

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The “Holy Year of 1950” was a year of little holiness, little justice and little happi-negs. It brought neither peace, nor a return to Catholicism, n_Qr ja haut to communism. WorlTconditionswent from^ad~to^worse. Now the pope asks for more “prayers for peace” during the “Holy Year” extension in 1951. gut as far as bringing lastingpeace, thg.V- will^e as fruitleS as the prayers of 1950! Just as the ancient worshipers of Baal prayed unsuccessfully to their god from morning until noon, and from noon until night, and>cried aloud, and cut them³ selves . . , till the blood gushed out upon \themj>tmd still Baal did not answer them (1 Kings 18:17-40), so do the pope’s prayers for peace fall on deaf ears, because God’s purposes to bring peace through the blessings of His kingdom are in exact conflict with the pope’s plans for spreading Roman Catholicism. “Holy Year” prayers by the millions failed to bring peace, failed to bring a “great return” to Catholicism, and failed to satisfy the desire of the people. Reject such failing schemes. Study the Bible. Learn its truth. Serve God and his kingdom, and do not be deluded by man-made “Holy Years”.

ON JANUARY 15, 1951, across the

United States from Washington, D.C., flashed the good news that the Supreme Court of the United States had ruled again in favor of Jehovah’s witnesses. This time the state and town to be rebuked for persecution of the witnesses were Maryland and its little race-track city of Havre de Grace. It unlawfully refused Jehovah’s witnesses the use of the local park for public Bible meetings.

The case started in the summer of 1949. As a part of the uniform world-wide policy of Jehovah’s witnesses to hold open-air meetings the local congregation of the witnesses at Havre de Grace applied to the park commissioner for a permit. He took the application and gave no answer. After evading the witnesses for several days he was cornered by the pursuing and persistent ministers. He referred the request to the mayor, who objected to Jehovah’s witnesses’ using the park and who transferred the application to the city council. The council held a hearing, attended by the witnesses and the council members. At the hearing the council members became infuriated and spoke in a riotous manner against Jehovah’s witnesses because they did not salute the American flag and claimed exemption from military service as ministers and conscientious objectors. The use of the park was denied.

Realizing that they had a lawful right to use the park and that the denial by the council was unconstitutional, Jehovah’s witnesses planned to hold the last two of the originally planned four meetings. The first two had not been held because of the use of the park for a Flag Day ceremony on the first Sunday, and on the following Sunday the city council was still considering the request for the permit. The local congregation invited Daniel Niemotko, a minister from the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, to speak to the assembly on June 26, 1949, and Neil W. Kelley, a minister from Baltimore, Maryland, to speak on the following Sunday, July 3, 1949.

Arrests and Convictions

Ori Sunday afternoon, June 26, while Daniel Niemotko was peacefully delivering his sermon “Palestine in Prophecy” to a quiet and attentive audience, the chief of police of Havre de Grace, accompanied by other officers, invaded the park and unlawfully disturbed the religious meeting. He stopped the speaker and placed him under arrest for several hours until released on bond.

Minister Neil W. Kelley was unlawfully arrested and falsely imprisoned by the chief of police because he attempted to lawfully speak to a peaceful assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in the park on the following Sunday, July 3, cm the subject “The Two Great Commandments ofLife”. Each minister was charged with disorderly conduct

A short and summary trial was had before the local police magistrate, with convictions resulting. Appeals were taken to the Circuit Court of Harford County sitting at Bel Air. A trial completely anew was had before a jury and circuit court judge. The result was a speedy conviction, with fines. Counsel for Jehovah’s witnesses attempted to take the case to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, but it refused to review the case, holding that the local prejudiced jury had the final word and that their biased decision could not be reviewed by that court. One dissenting judge of that state court was outraged at the holding of this court against Jehovah’s witnesses, and said that Jehovah’s witnesses' "rights under the Constitution of the United States of freedom of worship, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly have been wantonly violated and completely flouted by the municipality of Havre de Grace and by the circuit court”.

During the month of October, 1950, the case came before the Supreme Court of the United States. Counsel for Jehovah’s witnesses based his argument upon the long line of decisions by the high court in favor of Jehovah’s witnesses. The attorney general of Maryland realized that a number of the fair and liberal judges of the Supreme Court who had rendered those decisions had died in recent years and that they had been replaced by other justices whom he concluded might not be so liberal toward the exercise of rights of free speech, free assembly and free worship. He asked the court to overrule all of the former decisions by the court in favor of Jehovah’s witnesses.

Counsel for Jehovah's witnesses showed that the good law of the land ought not to change with theehange of justices end that if It did the law would be different with the rising of every sun and no one would know from one (by to the next what the law of the land was. Such a changeable condition and uncertainty resulting from the sophistry issued by the attorney general of Maryland would bring the courts of justice into disrepute and disgrace, he told the court.

Supreme Court Decision

The high court took the case on October 17 and studied it until January 15, 1951, when it handed down its decision in favor of Jehovah’s witnesses. The opinion was written by Mr. Chief Justice Vinson. Among other things, he wrote:

"At the time of the arrest of each of these appellants, there was no evidence of disorder, threats of violence or riot* There was no indication that the appellants conducted themselves in a manner which could be considered as detrimental to the public peace or order. On the contrary, there was positive testimony by the police that each of the appellants had conducted himself in a manner beyond reproach. It is quite apparent that any disorderly conduct which the jury found must have been based on the fact that appellants were using the park without a permit, although, as we have indicated above, there is no statute or ordinance prohibiting or regulating the use of the park without a permit.

"This Court has many times examined the licensing systems by which local bodies regulate the use of their parks and public places. ... In those cases this Court condemned statutes and ordinances which required that permits be obtained from local officials as a prerequisite to the use of public places, on the grounds that a license requirement constituted a prior restraint on freedom of speech, press and religion, and, in the absence of narrowly drawn, reasonable and definite standards for the officials to follow, must be invalid. . . . In the instant case we are met with no ordinance or statute regulating or prohibiting the use of the park; all that is here is an amorphous 'practice/ whereby all authority to grant permits for the use of the park is in the Park Commissioner and the City Council. No standards appear anywhere; no narrowly drawn limitations; no circumscribing of this absolute power; no substantial interest of the community to be served. It is clear that all that has been said about the invalidity of such limitless discretion must be equally applicable here.

“This case points up with utmost clarity the wisdom of this doctrine. For the very possibility of abuse, which those earlier decisions feared, has occurred here. Indeed, rarely has any case been before this Court which shows so clearly an unwarranted discrimination in a refusal to issue such a license. It is true that the City Council held a hearing at which it considered the application. But we have searched the record in vain to discover any valid basis for the refusal. In fact, the Mayor testified that the permit would probably have been granted if, at the hearing, the applicants had not started to ‘berate’ the Park Commissioner for his refusal to issue the permit. The only questions asked of the Witnesses at the hearing pertained to their alleged refusal to salute the flag, their views on the Bible, and other issues irrelevant to unencumbered use of the public parks. The conclusion is inescapable that the use of the park was denied because of the City Council's dislike for or disagreement with the Witnesses or their views. The right to equal protection of the laws, in the exercise of those freedoms of speech and religion protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, has a firmer foundation than the whims or personal opinions of a local governing body.

“ . . * We might also point out that the attempt to designate the park as a sanctuary for peace and quiet not only does not defeat these appellants, whose own conduct created no disturbance, but this position is also more than slightly inconsistent, since, on the first Sunday here involved, the park was the situs for the Flag Day ceremony of the Order of the Elks.

“ . . . Inasmuch as the basis of the convictions was the lack of the permits, and that lack was, in turn, due to the unconstitutional defects discussed, the convictions must fall. Reversed"

The decision was unanimous. Even the justices of the court (including those appointed by President Truman) not liberal toward exercise of civil liberties when opposed by the police power joined in the ruling in favor of Jehovah's witnesses. Without the precedent of the former holdings of the court by which they were bound the result might have been different. May Jehovah’s witnesses in the United States take full advantage of their liberties under the law of the land made by the Supreme Court through increasing their preaching of the good news in this time of the end.

Repercussions in Havre de Grace

The mayor and council of the city of Havre de Grace did not take the decision by the Supreme Court with much grace. Immediately following the announcement of the decision the mayor, according to a special dispatch in the Baltimore Morning Sun of January 16, 1951, said: “As long as I’m mayor, they still are not going to use the city park for their meetings.” He, according to the newspaper, “declared the town has leased the park to a local veterans organization for every Sunday in the year and 'that’s the day they have tried to use it*.” The threats of the mayor and city counci] to defy the Supreme Court were also published in the Havre de Grace Seconf, a local newspaper, on January 19, 1951. The paper reported: “City officials and representatives of Joseph L, Davis Post No. 47, The American Legion, were working out terms of a lease when this was written, whereby the recreational area of the city park would be leased to the local post for the remainder of the year. The lease would give the Legion full use of the park every day for the balance of the year."

The Baltimore Evening Sun of January 16, 1951, contained an editorial condemning the plan of the mayor of Havre de Grace to defy the decision. Under the heading "Self-Defeating?" the editor wrote, among other things, that "Mayor Robert R. Lawder of Havre de Grace has taken a good deal on himself in refusing to yield to a Supreme Court ruling that a religious sect must be permitted to use a public park for services”.

Concerning Jehovah's witnesses the Havre de Grace Record on January 19, 1951, published in its column "Round the Town”: "They have caused much trouble so far and we’re afraid the city is In for more trouble in the future.” This pronouncement is false. It is not Jehovah’s witnesses who caused the trouble. It is the vicious, hard-headed, stubborn and liberty-hating officials of Havre de Grace who caused and will continue to cause the trouble. They bring it on themselves in ‘framing mischief by law’ and by defying the Supreme Court. They are in for more trouble in the future if they do not yield to the request of Jehovah’s witnesses and the power of Jehovah, who backs them up.

These officials are laying themselves open to federal criminal prosecutions for violations of the Civil Rights Act according to the Supreme Court, which said in Screws v. United States, 325 U. S. 91,104-105, that a public official who interferes with the constitutional rights of a citizen in the teeth of decisions of the Supreme Court may be convicted for a violation of the criminal sanctions clause of the Civil Rights Act. The court said: "He violates the statute not merely because he has a bad purpose but because he acts in defiance of announced rules of law. He who defies a decision interpreting the Constitution knows precisely what he is doing. If sane, he hardly may be heard to say that he knew not what he did, . . . When they are convicted for so acting, they are not punished for violating an unknowable something.”

While it is a lamentable thing for public officials to fall into the hands of a federal judge for violating the Federal Civil Rights Act, it is far more terrible to fall into the hands Of Almighty God Jehovah. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31) Let the public officials of Havre de Grace take heed to the divine admonition: "Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”—Psalm 2:10-12.

GAMBLING is not new. Historians tell of dice being rolled on the streets of ancient Rome and describe the various gambling devices used in ancient Egypt, In fact, it may be said that gambling is just about as old as the human race itself, for, believe it or not, the first gambler was none other than Adam's wife Eve.

Eve had a perfect body, a beautiful home in Eden, a perfect mate, the hope of living forever and of bringing forth children that would likewise be perfect and live forever. But, lacking in appreciation for all this, she fell for Satan's lure and gambled all she had on a chance of getting still more, on becoming like God in knowing good and evil. Instead, she lost everything.

While many nations officially encourage gambling, in the United States the lawmakers consider it as both wrong and injurious and so have made it more or less illegal; notable exception being the state of Nevada. Recently conducted polls, however, show that some fifty million adults as well as a considerable number of children gamble. The amount being spent in the United States for gambling at the present time exceeds that spent by any nation at any other time. Thirty billion dollars a year is the latest estimate, with profits at six billion dollars.

The Gambling Kaleidoscope

Gambling has many facets. Chances on a new automobile sponsored by the Ladies’ Auxiliary to the local Knights of Columbus; bingo games at the parish house; screeno at the movie theater; keno, beano, the punchboards found in the neighborhood candy and drug stores—all are just so many forms of gambling. Then there are the “one-armed bandits”, the slot machines. The federal government collects a $100 license fee on these even though they are legal in only a very few of the 48 states. About 200,000 of these machines are in operation although only some 70,000 are properly licensed. They average a profit of $100 a week for their owners and can be purchased for as little as $16 for a secondhand one. New de luxe models sell for as high as $1,000.

The policy slips and the “numbers” games flourish in the poorer sections of the large cities. Policy slips are shuffled in a container and the winner drawn. In the “numbers” game the better risks his money on a three-digit number which is chosen each day from the first three figures from such published totals as bank deposits or parimutuel betting. While mostly in nickels and dimes, these forms of gambling amount to many millions each year. At the turn of the century the policy “king” of Harlem, A, J. Adams, was reaping a million dollars annually from this racket It seems that his successors have had to be content, however, with a mere $300,000 a year. Incidentally, Adams committed suicide.

While every kind of event, the outcome of which is supposed to be in doubt, furnishes a basis for gambling, including the weather, sports events lead. Full-sized newspapers dealing almost exclusively with racing information have a daily circulation of one million copies.

Gaming casinos combine night club entertainment with gambling in all its various features, roulette wheel, cards, dice, etc. One such casino, the Desert Inn, opened in Las Vegas in the spring of 1950, was built at a cost of three and a half million dollars.

The Gambling “Fever”

Those religious organizations who encourage the gambling habit for their own pecuniary gain and who claim that gambling is harmless provided it is conducted honestly and one can afford to lose are guilty of sophistry or hypocrisy. How many gambling affairs are conducted honestly, and who can afford to throw his money away? Besides, is there not always the danger of contracting the gambling fever? And what a disease it is! A greed for selfish gain that becomes such a consuming passion as to blind the mind to reason And to stifle all conscience.

Otherwise how can we account for the seemingly harmless slot machine’s causing a long-trusted bookkeeper to embezzle $17,000? causing a wife to appeal to a court because week after week her husband came home without his $60 pay check? and causing a Kentucky railroad worker to commit suicide? Why, in Oklahoma a retired businessman spent 13 hours a day for six months at a slot machine, until he had lost all his savings, mortgaged his home and was reduced to begging small change from his former business associates. Addicts have been known to keep at a slot machine for 16 hours at a stretch, until their arms gave out.

An Iowa widow sold her farm for $100,-000 and moved to Florida. She got to playing the shuffleboard and betting on her games. Soon she had the gambling fever, and in less than six months she had run through all her money and ended it all with an overdose of sleeping pills. Just a few years ago the gambling fever became so widespread at one of the Ford plants that the company had to fire 16 workers and suspend 18 more to call a halt. In December 1950, the Zenith Corporation, after six months of investigation, smashed a gambling ring in their plants involving one-third million dollars annually. Action was taken because a committee of wives had appealed to the management: “We want our husbands to bring home their pay checks!”

Gambling is the cause of many crimes and the chief cause of embezzlement. It is responsible for the breaking up of many homes, for neglect of children, for poverty, suicide and murder. Gambling is bad for one’s health, especially the heart; one heart specialist stating that many coronary failures can be laid to gambling, and that particularly the excitement of winning is, a strain on the heart. Said an Indiana housewife when haled into court for neglecting her children to play bingo: “Something gets hold of me. I begin to get excited. Every day I am sure I am going to win. Then if I lose, I feel sure that the next time I will win,”

Foq Can*t TFinf

Fifty million gamblers also can be wrong, because gambling simply does not make sense. Tantamount admission of that fact is seen by the superstitious Harlem "numbers” addict who consults a "dream” book for a clue as to the winning number, and in the gullibility of the race track gamblers who pay many, many millions each year for phony clues. One establishment had two and a half million names on their lists and they did a ten-million-dollar business annually simply by dividing the suckers into ten lists and the horses likewise, and so each sucker had one chanre out of ten of having a winning horse on his list!

Gambling is an unrealistic approach to the facts of life, a cherishing of the illusive hope that one can get something for nothing. But the odds are against the gambler. He simply cannot win. Take the slot machine for example. While some claim to set their machines so that the customers get some 90 per cent back, investigation has proved that the average machine is set to return about 20 per cent. In other words, by playing the . slot machine you have a fifty-fifty chance of getting back 20 cents on the dollar. Does that make sense? Usually the machine gives out a certain number of dribbles, now and then a juicy bit, and some machines yield a "jackpot” after 3,000 tries. They are operated on the principle of giving the suckers just enough to keep them coming.

Actually the gambler is one who butts his head against the stone wall of the law of averages, a law so certain that all insurance is based on it. That is why the luxury of gambling costs just so much an hour, even if operated honestly. According to Life magazine, by gambling $10 at a casino at every opportunity, even with an average streak of luck, one stands to lose from $53 to $333 an hour, depending upon the type of gambling indulged in. All operators of gambling devices have things adjusted to assure their percentage.

Fifty million gamblers also can be wrong because of the dishonesty associated with gambling. What assurance does the ticket buyer have that the church raffle will be conducted honestly? that there will be a bona fide drawipg of the policy ticket? How certain can the race track better be that the race has not been fixed? In fact, it is because of gambling that so many races are fixed. Has the slot machine been rigged so that it can never show a jackpot? Are the cards marked? the dice loaded or polished oif? Dice have been discovered in the ruins of ancient Egypt that showed a total of seven each time they were played. Cheating at dice Is as old as the game itself.

Dishonesty in gambling is taken for granted. When playing cards with a stranger or even an acquaintance or "friend”, watch out! There are ever so many ways by which one can cheat at a card game, and some of the ways are very slick. In gambling no merchandise or manufacture is involved and so there is no way of detecting dishonesty. The law will not come to the aid of the victim defrauded at gambling, for all of it is done outside the pale of the law. And this brings us to the most powerful and urgent reason why 50 million gamblers are wrong! They are responsible for the mushrooming of a "Hoodlum Empire”, a secret government which threatens to become more powerful than the federal government at Washington.

Daily the evidence is piling up that gambling in the United States is organized by the lowest elements, operated on a national scale and is threatening political and economic freedoms. Congressional, state, city and county commissions are trying to get at the facts. How successful are they and why? And what is the only remedy? For answers to these and related questions we refer the reader to a future article.

DARWIN’S concept of the mechanism of evolution was that the continued exposure, generation after generation, to some adverse element of the environment woulT&ingj^out thcjnh^rijance^f char-actenstics^hich would suit the indiyujual TBfc'^vas what he called /natural selection; by analogy with the cSnsciouF^selecHon of certain characteristics in domesticated plants or animals by those who breed them.

However, the scientist of today has learned much about heredity that was unknown in Darwin’s time. One of the outstanding facts of heredity is that, however

JLij^yidual may b^affe&fed fedlis enylrpnmgit, a3e^itejhat^he_ga§sesj® to his offspring are not affectedbyiE.

Anexplanation o? this principle is based on a very interesting sequence of events which occur in the nuclei of sperm and egg cells in sexual reproduction. Under the microscope these cells, like all other living cells, are seen to have a darker colored spot of J^otoplagm inside; this is called the nucleus. The most important part of the nucleus is a number of bodies called chromosome^. so calle? because tfiey take on more stain-thSnJh^rest £>f the cell matter s^hen "dy e£-ar£ applied?

These chromosomes appear to be all fondled ijp with each other during the cell’s ordinary activities. When a cell begins to divide, however, these chromosomes separate themselves and are then seen as rod-shaped bodies in an orderly array. At the climax of cell division, these chromosomes split lengthwise, and each half becomes a new chromosome which moves into the nucleus of a new cell. Thus each new cell has a complete set of the same kind of chromosomes as were possessed by the parent cell.

In the formation of a germ cell (either a sperm or an egg) there is a slight but very significant difference from the usual process. Here the chrolhosomesfirst pair up, and then ar^s^parajedjntojjs/o^cells inJwKa^^dle^a^^ducUQn.AYisi9.n₂_so that each germ cell formed has only half the normal number of chromosomes. The egg cell forms a fertilized egg, the original cell _of the new individual, with the same number of chromosomes as the parents.

Genes—Carriers of Heredity

It is supposed that these chromosomes contain tiny parts, whose nature can only be conjectured, far too small to be seen in the microscope, which determine the heredity of the individual. These submjcro-scopic entit i es are called genes? The as sumption ruat each¹ cfir6mosome--there^ &re j8 in man—contains many thousands? of genes is necessary to accpunt for the great diversity of characteristics which one individual can inherit from his parents.

The presence of such genes, or heredity factors, in the chromosomes would account for the characteristics of the offspring being in many ways similar to the parents’. But also, the shuffling of these genes at random when the pairs of chromosomes are separated and recombined with another set at fertilization explains why one child will “favor” the father in certain qualities, and another the mother.

It is also seen why changes in an individual caused by his environment are

not passed on to his children, because; conjJ)ination of geneg jwhlch^ he will all hiscell§ ' ‘ ^{r                    j} brown-eyedness and blue-eye predicted. Usually one type is (^dominant”, dividuabhe will inherit the dominant charhifierited unless both of theparents con-tribute the same gene. Thus, when both parentsare blue-eyed,they will have only blue-eyed children, since blue-eyedness is recessive. In contrast, brown-eyed parents may have either blue-eyed or brown-eyed

V arieties and Natural Selection

Does not the cultivation of the wonderful diversity of breeds of dogs, horses, garden crops, etc., lend weight to the evolutionist doctrine of gradual change in species? By careful selection of certain desired characteristics, dogs have been

bred in all sizes and shapes from the tiny lapdog to the giant St. Bernard. However, this is only an illustration of the amazing capacity for variation built into the genetic structure of a species. No new genes have been created in this process, but out of the complexjnultiplicity of^ene_combinations already existing In the'wiffd^^dp-ntesficatecTl^^                 - years

ago,Hie prof essional breeder has patiently

sorted and selected those particular genes

^It is important tone tethatthishakbeen dS^Tyl^^ci^^J^jtiin.Naturar scTcc-uonbrings about some interesting varieties of the same plant or animal in different localities, but the results oftfais are verji linyiedin ebmparisoh with what can Indene by deliberate, long-continued breeding. Left to themselves, these specialized varieties rapidly intermix in the wild state original form. There is no evidence that natural selection leads to continued differentiation and specialization. The field of eugenics is based on the failure of natural selection to improve the species.

It is evident that the gene theory of heredity allows for the almost infinite variation between different members of a species.Yet it offers no comfort to one who is looking for an *'explanation” of evolution,Alljheinheritablevarjationsofthe

la^nHn^^gemTcells cJTfieTireFhuman iSTmfTOiFtemsras^KfffiHo^Ss BuFnoam^^

extremes of climatic conditionsj no dwelling or eating or working habits, could change the genes which are passed on’ from one generation to another.

By no stretch of the imagination could the inheritance of one species gradually shift to that of another. In the, genes the Creator has supplied tfee mechanism by which creatures in unending variety are brought forth, and yet eaqh 'after his own kind'.—Genesis 1:11,21,24.

Mutations

It does appear, however, that these genes themselves can undergo changes, which are then reflected in a difference in the hereditary make-up of the individuals which follow. These changes, known as mutations, are exceedingly rare in nature.

occurring only once in thousands of mat-jngs. Miey have been particularly observed and closely studied in a certain kind of fruit fly, known as Drosophila, which has a short lifetime and is easily bred. An example of a mutation might be noted inja long seriei of generations of flies withered eyes, tri which one fly with ^white eyes vftKUd suddenly appear, with thS'Tapacfty to pass on its white-eyedness to its prog-gyiv. Other mutations have been observed, mostfe, affecfggithe jgage (%Jengtli~of wings.

The cause of these mutations is unknown, although they are supposedly related to changes in the genes. They apparently occur spontaneously, and completely at random. It has been observed however, that ceftain kinds of radiation, like Xrays, or gamma rays from radioactive materials, increase the number of ^nutations. This fact fias fed to the Use of such rays to speed up the study of mutations, and much new evidence has been forthcoming in recent years.

S|nce all their other theories to account for evolution, such as the spontaneous generation of life* the inheritance dt acquired characteristics, the natural selection of slowly changing species, have been relegated one after another to the trashcan of discredited imaginations, it is natural that the evolutionists would jump at the idea of mutations as providing a mechanism for their tottering theory. By a continuing series of small mutations, inherited by the oncoming generations, might not new species be developed gradually? Or, perhaps by gross mutations, could not a new species be formed at one fell swoop, thus saving the embarrassment of having to explain the missing links? Do the observations and the facts bear out these hopes? Do mutations provide a means for bridging the gap between species?

Opportunities for observing mutations have been greatly multiplied since the building of atomic piles. The radiations emanated by the pile in operation, and by the radioactive elements spewed out as by-products, have been put to extensive use for many experiments, including their effects on heredity. Do the biologists hail the advent of the atomic age with high expectations that now the evolution of the human race, ever onward and upward, will be accelerated? Can ive look for supermen to be produced'in a_fraction of the time jt.took to raise man from the monkey stage?

Mutations Fail the Evolutionists

The answer is, emphatically and unequivocally, No. The outstanding fact that emerges more and more clearly the more the subject is studied is that mutation^are almost without exception. hamfj330^^e ^ecfesf RecognEfingthis, no^encticisVls so^bolS as to express a hope that the race will be improved as a result of widespread radioactivity over Japanese cities; rather the universal feeling is one of fear of the appearance of freaks and deformed specimens among succeeding generations.

One of the world's most famous geneticists is Professor H. J- Muller, of the University of Indiana, who received the Nobel prize in 1946. He is a confirmed evolutionist, but, in spite of his views, his outstanding work in the study of mutations points clearly to the impossibility of evolution from one species to another by this means. He finds that most of the changes caused by mutation of genes cause a weakening of some of the chemical processes which normally occur in the body, resulting in a decreased resistance to disease. Such mutations would not be evident in striking outward effects; the individual would lead a more or less normal existence aside from being subject to more than the usual ailments. These are the smallest changes. Larger changes in the genes produce offspring even more handicapped; many suffer stillbirth: others survive but

But what about the other mutations, the helpful ones which improve the individual's ability to cope with his environment? Unfortunately, these-do not hanpen. Muller says that in all the experiments that have been attempted in changing genes, none have resulted in beneficial mutations; all have been harmful. "That is the hard, cheerless fact facing the evolutionist who had hoped that mutations would be able to transform the species.

But is it not possible, even though it may not have been observed, that a rare mutation would produce a new species all at one jump? Not according to Muller's work. A general conclusion to be drawn from his results Is that minor mutations may occur and the offspring survive, as long as the result is only a slight deviation from the normal. But if the mutation produces a major change, it invariably results in the death of the offspring, either in the womb or shortly after birth. Sometimes a mutation affects a recessive gene; this will not visibly affect the offspring until he or one of his descendants mates with another carrying the same recessive gene. In such a case the mutated gene might be carried unsuspected for many generations, but when a combination occurs which brings two such genes together, with an expected change In the species, the individual thus produced either dies or is sterile.

Thus, the firm fact emerges from the fog of wishful thinking that mutations do not result either in the gradual improvement of a species or in the formation of new species. Rather, the genes have been so constituted by the Creator as to make this very thing impossible. While allowing for the production of even more varieties, at least among the simpler forms of life, the automatic mechanism working to destroy the mutant which strays too far from the average guarantees the integrity of the species and insures each ‘bringing forth after its own kind*.

The conclusion that evolution has not been induced by mutations is clinched by the experience with the fruit fly. Muller himself claims to have bred 900 consecutive generations of these flies, equivalent to some 25,00<T years qf human inheritance. This is The period of time in which man is supposed to have risen from some missing link ‘'ape man” to his present level. But do not forget that a great many of these generations of fruit flies have been subjected to radiations of such intensity that the mutations have been greatly enhanced over the normal rate. Making the conservative assumption that on the average the mutation rate has been multiplied only about twentyfold, the experience with the Drosophila would be equivalent to half a million years of human evolution. In this period all kinds of different species of ape men, as well as Homo sapiens, are supposed to have evolved.

What, then, has happened to the fruit fly during its equivalent of this time? Has it turned into a bumblebee, or a June bug? No; Drosophila is still the same little fruit fly the geneticists started with almost a thousand generations ago, still undergoing mutations to change its eyes from red to white, and back again, inheriting now longer, now shorter wings—but still the same, identical kind of fruit fly.

This fact remains unshaken: the Bible account of creation is harmonious with the proved discoveries of true science, and both unite in exposing the theory of evolution as “science falsely so called*'.—Contributed.

PRODIGAL

By ^Awok*!” correspondent in India

HAT is that? India prodigal? India?

That land of poverty wasteful of her possessions? Skeptically the reader of lifts his eyes from its pages for a moment as he ponders this heading, this seeming contradiction of terms. Surely, thinks he, someone has blundered!

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight little stalls basking in the hot afternoon sun beside the Trivandrum bus terminus. To describe one is to describe all Little more than boxes on stilts, inside each of which squats its proprietor surrounded above, beside and below with bottles of gaudy-colored, sweetened and synthetically-flavored aerated waters. As a prospective customer approaches and slowly walks the line eight stall-keepers stir in their half-slumbers Until he stops at the stall of his choice, and then seven relapse into their doze. The right color selected, there is a loud report from the overgassed bottle, and the contents gurgle down a thirsty throat. As he strolls away, the eighth joins the seven, and peace is restored, and time drags its way through the afternoon.

Time is money, but not in India. Time here is something to squander, something to idle away. Why work when you can sit drowsing in the sun or chatting with your friendly neighbor? True, money is scarce, for competition is plentiful even if not keen; and not many folks are buying drinks at the bus station. One stall alone could handle the combined business of them fill, and still leave the owner with plenty of time on his hands. But, he argues, his competitor too must live. Times are hard, and besides, he is a nice fefiow, one pleasant to talk to to help while away the days. And if business is bad, well, it is nice to sit here in the cool shade. It is our fate- God has fixed it so. Karma.

Time is money. Why, reasons the western mind, should so many labor at what a single man could easily perform? If there is trade for only one, then why do not the others seek employment elsewhere to greater advantage? The whole land just cries aloud for the many things that urgently need to be done. Roads and bridges are needed, railways and rolling stock are urgently required, rich mines wait to be opened and worked, forests are wealthy with timber, the warm seas swarm with fish to feed a starving people, millions of acres of land Ue Idle and unproductive for want of those monsoon waters that yearly rush unused into the seas. Wealth is there, man power is there. Why not use such wasted labor to extract the wealth? Where is the intellectual force able to bring these two together?

Intellectual Starvation

Yearly the universities pour out graduates. What becomes of this stream of B.A/S, B.Sc/s and LL.BZs? Come with me through this narrow dirty doorway and let us see. Here in this squalid, dim-lit passage we find a brass plate: Raja Lal, B.A., LL.B. The door opens and reveals a room twelve feet square where live our graduate, his wife and several small children. A few cooking utensils, a cheap tin trunk, a thin mattress and a string line on which to hang garments are the only furnishings. Mrs. Lal looks thin and undernourished. The children are rickety and full of sores.

Mr. Raja Lal has a pitiful story to tell. His father, himself a lawyer, was blessed by God with many sons, and it was by great personal sacrifice that he was able to give them a university education. Our

Mr, Lal passed with honors, and set up his practice in this city Immediately after. You see, he explains, by the time I passed my LL.B. I had four children, and I had to do something quickly. But times are hard, and my practice is not extensive. It is a great struggle to live. God blessed me with seven children in all; three of these died soon after birth. You see, he adds, I cannot give my wife and children the nourishment they need. He brightens up. But she is due to have another baby in a few months.

Mrs. Lal, squatting on the floor, continues to grind the masalas for the noon meal. She has nothing to say.

But, you protest with Western logic, why do you continue to practice law? AU along this street are lawyers, most of them as poor as you. Why not take to some other profession? Mr. Lal spreads his hands. It is my fate, he explains. Karma,

No matter where you go in this unfortunate land, no matter the community or the task at hand, it is always the same answer: waste, waste, waste. Come with me to the villages where live over ninety per cent of India’s vast population.

At our early-morning approach the sun shines red through the cloud of dust that hovers over the village. The “picturesque east”, you tell yourself. As you approach nearer you observe the cause of the dust cloud: a large herd of cattle slowly coming from* the village, muzzling the thick dust underfoot for some dried blades of grass, each dropping hoof adding a puff of dust to the cloud. If it is the first time that you have seen such a herd your mind will re* ceive a terrific shock. For ribs gape wide through a thin, parchmentlike covering of skin that clearly exposes the whole skeleton structure of each miserable beast. It seems impossible for an animal to be in such a state and still live. Many weeks have yet to go until the monsoon, and the fields are stretches of dust. There is not enough to feed the children, let alone cattle. The cattle must starve.

Poverty Worships “Holy Cows"

You lift your eyes to the village from which the herd came. How comes so small a village to have so large a herd? you ponder. After a day in the hot, sun-baked fields they return, each to its own stall, which is often part of a tiny mud house, each house with one or more cows. But why so many cattle, you ask? Well, you see, we are so poor, and we must have milk for the children, and the animals are so starved that they give little or nothing, bo we have to keep many beasts and even then do not get all the milk we need. In all good faith you offer the suggestion: Why not improve the strain of your cattle and keep but a dozen properly fed beasts which will give much more milk than this whole starved herd? Pasture is limited. Use it to greatest advantage. Kill off the useless animals and use them for food.

Such a thought comes naturally to one not knowing the country. Others, better informed, know the horror such a suggestion would provoke. Kill the holy cows! Never! It is their and our fate if they starve, but, no, we will not kill them. Karma,

Karma, Your eyes fix themselves into a stare as you ponder this strange karma until, recovering, you find they have focused themselves upon the mudlike cakes plastered all over the outside of the house across the way. Curiosity aroused, you investigate and find these consist of cakes of drying cow manure which are to be used as fuel for cooking. The emvheid takes his basket as he follows the herd and gathers the droppings with his hands (for, sahib, cow manure is very holy) or, if adroit enough, catches it while dropping. This is molded into cakes and slapped onto the wall to dry. But why use this? you protect, feeling rather squeamish. Why not use wood? In reply the villager sweeps his hands to the fields, where hardly a tree is to be seen. But, you persist, the jungle is full of wood; why not have it brought in from there? Because we are poor, and cartage costs money. Hot on the scent you continue: But you will have to spend money in any case on fertilizers if you burn up the natural manure. No, we do not use fertilizers. And are your crops healthy? No, Indeed, very impoverished. Very poor. You see, he adds, we cannot give the fields the manure they need.

Lost in the maze that is the Indian mind you give up. As your eyes take in the treeless, desolate landscape, it does indeed seem so hopeless. So difficult to try, so easy to sink into the welter of universal despair. A single man is In the fields plowing. As you watch him going round and round a small plot you become aware that you in your turn are being watched. Many weary and lusterless eyes are upon you, eyes void of hope. You are suddenly aware that so many men are sitting around doing nothing. You return to the attack.

Why are these men not working; is it a holiday? No, it is not a holiday, but, as there are so many weeks yet to the monsoon, they have nothing to do. Months ago we finished harvesting, and now we wait for the next rains before serious plowing begins. But, you protest, compared to your standards I am a wealthy man, yet I cannot afford to be idle for months in a year. The villager lifts his hands in despair as he makes ready to reply, but you hasten away before he has time to make the same old answer, karma.

Karma, karma, all is karma. Exasperated you turn into the fields, partly to hide your feelings, partly to watch the man at the plow. Slowly his bulls cover the plot of land about fifty paces square. His plow, which consists of a straight piece of wood tipped with iron, barely scratches six inches beneath the surface. He appears to be an old, venerable type of man, and your hopes revive. As he stops his plow beside you he gives you a “salaam” of greeting, and wipes the sweat from his forehead with his dhoti. Out of politeness you ask about his crops. How do they fare, are they good? No, very poor. You point to his plow and ask, Then why not increase the depth of your plowing; don’t you know that it wi/I improve your crops? Why not get a better, a Western-style plow? Too poor. Of course you are too poor, you counter, so long as you do not get the best out of your soil. Why not arrange with your neighbors to get one jointly? He is silent.

Doomed by the Caste System

Encouraged, you try again. Is this your own land? you ask. Yes, sahib, I inherited it from my father. Where are your boundaries? He points to the low mud wall around the plot he is actually plowing. You are staggered. Is that aU the land you possess? It is. And you and your family live off that half acre of land? Yes, sahib, we are very poor. You see, God blessed my father with ten sons, so when his land was divided we got little each. Consequently I am very poor, for I have many children to feed. In turn he points out his brothers* plots; each as small as his own. Why, you half-heartedly suggest, do you not arrange for one of you to work all ten plots and the rest of you find employment in the city? Disconsolately Jie allows his eyes to wander over his brothers¹ fields and then to the village where tiny house lies cheek by jowl with tiny house. It is our custom, he quietly rejoins. God has willed It sa

God has willed it so! Deep in your heart you find yourself hating this demon religion and their god of karma. With what malevolent design has he fastened this system of waste upon this poor, unsuspecting nation? Everywhere, everywhere, all things wasted. A land rich in all that makes a nation rich materially turned into poverty by a universal mental attitude that prevents that wealth from being utilized. Sadly, a mental attitude that has survived twenty centuries of outside change, itself unchanged.

This conservatism finds its roots in the caste system, and the caste system is the Hindu religion. It is caste that keeps the farmer to his plow, the lawyer to law, the shopkeeper to his stall. As an illustration of this waste, take the servants required by any European or moderately well-to-do Indian. These may comprise from six to ten persons, doing the work that one or two women could do in other lands. There will be one to cook, but who will not lay the table; one to lay the table, who will not sweep the floor; one to sweep the floor, who will not wash the clothes; one to wash the clothes, but who will not dig the garden; one to dig the garden, who will not wash the car, clean the shoes, clean the bathroom. They cannot. They dare not. To do so would be to break caste; tfte social crime of India.

As they built centuries ago, so they build today. Sometimes in a seemingly modem city like Bombay or Calcutta you will see the most crazy bamboo scaffolding, up the sides of which in steps stand a chain of men and women coolies, as many as thirty or forty laborers. From hand to hand up to the top are handed small containers of materials. Or to convey material from a cart to where it is to be dumped a email army of coolies with small loads on their heads will go back and forth tiJJ it is completed.

Waste Begets Dishonesty

As the caste system produces waste and waste poverty, so this in turn breeds dishonesty. Petty, mean dishonesty. And this is another source of waste. Not able to trust one another in even the smallest transaction, wasteful precautions are taken all along the line. To illustrate the point: If you post a letter having stamp, of greater value than, say, ten cents, then you must get the stamp canceled before your eyes or it is not likely to reach its destination. For just eight annas (ten cents) your letter will be stolen. You cannot post any letter of importance without registering it. Then every step of the way it must be signed for and re-signed. Just everyday honesty is lacking. It is the regular thing to see the housewife with a huge bunch of keys attached to her belt, for everything from soap to sugar must be kept under Jock and key, or it will be stolen by the house servants.

Knowing these things helps us the better to understand modem Indian political philosophy. For an example, in the center of the Indian flag there is a wheel. This was carried over from the Congress flag on which it was a charkha_} or home spinning wheel. Mr. Gandhi made it a matter of policy, almost of religion, to use and advocate the use of the cftarfcfta. His purpose was to provide some employment for the farmers during those months of enforced idleness mentioned above. That was very good. But today this same wise policy has become fully a religion and a snare.

To illustrate: In the Madras province the number of spindles used in the power weaving mills is severely restricted by the government, the purpose being to force the people to use homespun khadda and so provide employment for the farmers during the hot season. Now it is obvious to anybody that a nation must be richer if a man can turn out a thousand yards of good mill cloth instead of a hundred yards of poorly made khadda. But the law is against his doing so. Displaced by the mills, a man is forced back to his village, the charkha and poverty.

The problems with which the Indian politician must grapple seem infinite. Were these men men of integrity, truly the servants of the nation, then some improvement of the lot of the common people might be hoped for in the near future. But national dishonesty has not left the politician unaffected. The majority of those who scrambled for power upon the withdrawal of the British seem more concerned about filling their pockets than seeing to the interests of the people, until it has become common bazaar talk to express dissatisfaction with the new rule, and communism finds ready soil for her seeds. No doubt President Pandit Nehru saw these dangerous rocks onto which the state was drifting when he caused every railway station and other billboards to be plastered with this solemn warning: “If corruption and bribery are not put down in the near future it will spell the ruin of India.’* (From his speech of June 6,1948)

Shaking Loose the Snares

So we find the effects of waste, prodigality, from the humble farmer to the politician. It is the people themselves that need changing, not just the politicians. It is unjust for the common man to charge his leaders with corruption when at the same time his fellows cannot trust him, or he them, with an eight-anna postage stamp. Never yet has it been possible to change the heart of a people by legislation, and certainly not a nation so conservative as India.

In truth much credit is due the present government. Since obtaining home rule they have accomplished a colossal task, saving the nation from complete anarchy. This is negative, true, but none the less important. The finest human government would be taxed to the limit under the circumstances. Just recall the circumstances in which it took over power: A transfer of power from foreign domination to native democratic rule; the division of the land into two governments and nations; civil war; the largest refugee problem of all history; recovery from World War II which had played havoc with railways, commerce and essential supplies; and now an undeclared cold and hot war with Pakistan. No, the new leaders have done well, even if they might have done better.

The people are bound by the most blinding force known, demon religion. Where is the politician who can remove demon religion? It is a task calling for greater powers than man possesses, powers possessed only by him who was able to say, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”—Matthew 28:18.

What joy it gives to know that this power will shortly be used to destroy false religion and in its stead establish the Kingdom rule of God over all mankind. What a comfort to the Indian who thoughtfully reads the psalmist’s words: “Blessed is the. man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be inighty^fupon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house; and his righteousness endureth for ever. . . . For he shall never be moved; the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.” (Psalm 112:1-3, 6,7, Am. Stan. Ver.) India *and Indians, rejoice! A wonderful new world lies at the doors.

r-J MANSIONS and museums hang masterpieces of brush and oil. But down another corridor hang equally priceless rare and beautiful specimens of magnificent embroidery. Some are so intricately done that not a thread of the material they are laid upon can be seem Some are alike on both sides. Some look so real and of such true and rich color you could caress the grapes, peacock or roses. Some tell a mute story of love, war, history, or a festival of their day.

But this luxurious art is not limited to lovely pictures in art galleries and homes of the wealthy. No, the poorest peasant can and, does avail himself of its colorful ornamentation. Embroidery’s uses are wide and varied. It graces anything from an elephant cloth to milady’s glove, the royal garments of kings and queens to the dishtowels of the housewife.

Embroidery is relatively easy to apply and the materials are inexpensive. It consists of applying with a needle and thread decorative designs to an already existent material. Shape and shading are formed by means of a stitch of some suitable material (cotton, silk, wool, linen, etc.) being left on the material every time the needle goes through it. Do not confuse embroidery with tapestry. Tapestry has its designs and colors woven in the material, whereas embroidery is added to the already-finished cloth.

The first question that arises for the embroiderer is the selection of materials. Time, expense and energy are wasted on

poor materials. It Is quite dis-carefully^worked design has frayed and broken. It is interesting to note too, that instruction manuals usually follow a- Scriptural rule when suggesting materials, that of keeping materials made of vegetable fiber separate from those made of the hair of animals. (Leviticus 19:19) Silk thread is recommended for silk cloth and other light materials, cotton for cotton and linen, wool for woolens and other heavy material.

History

Ne^llework goes back to an early date. Its origin is usually attributed to the Chinese, though Greece, India and Babylon vie for first place. It underwent “periods” just as did fashions of clothing and furniture—Middle Ages, Renaissance, Louis XIV and XV, etc.

The Israelites were highly skilled with the needle. History claims they learned this craft while in Egypt. However, the Lord’s spirit worked mightily with them. In the work of constructing the tabernacle Bezaleel and Oholiab were given a special portion of Jehovah’s spirit and had outstanding knowledge in all kinds of workmanship, and they instructed many men and women in the making of the tabernacle curtains, veil of the temple, and clothing for the priests. Embroidery played its part in the temple construction also. Along with the cedars of Lebanon that the king of Tyre sent Solomon for the temple building, he sent a man that knew metal work and embroidery, and he joined forces with the men of Solomon and of David who did the needlework.

In King Lemuel’s description of a worthy woman he also mentions that she sews and spins and makes linen garments and gir-dies and sells them. The girdle was an essential part of dregs worn by both men and women, and commonly made of leather; but a fine one was of linen embroidered with silk, and many times with silver and gold threads, with studding of pearls and gold.

Remember the song Sisera’s mother sang to reassure herself of his return from battle against the Israelites? She looked for him to bring home a spoil “of dyed garments embroidered on both sides”. This would likely refer to the aforementioned Eastern type of embroidery that is exactly alike on both sides.

Embroidery in Many Lands

Each country has its own prominent type of picturesque needle designs. China, for instance, holds high position in the art of the needle. The Chinese are as capable as a spider as they spin their subtle, delicate "witchery with stitchery”. Much stem stitching, satin stitching, couching, and use of French knots are evident in their work. Arthur Stanley, curator of the Shanghai Museum, reports: "The colour of Chinese embroidery is its chief charm . . . The Chinese as a race have the patience of Job and the finest embroidery is the result of the silent toil of years.” China's embroidery indeed resembles that of the West in being red with the blood of slaughtered time.

Various European nations used to send their rich satins to India, another connoisseur of the needle, to receive the luxurious treatment of the Indian needle. Cashmere embroidery on wool is most famous. Muslin, silks, velvets and satins become priceless after this treatment with colored silks, gold and silver threads, most designs remaining unchanged from their early history, except for the elaborate gold-scroll decoration similar to the early Italian designs. These adorn elephant cloths, state houses, canopies of state, and umbrellas of dignity.

Byzantine embroidery was prominent in Europe during the Middle Ages. Monasteries and convents had rooms for male and for female embroiderers. Sometimes these paintings with the needle were fashioned by embroidering the entire material. The English became celebrated in doing this work. The lavish embroideries worn by people of the sixteenth century are showii in the paintings in existence today by Italian, Spanish and Flemish artists. Gorgeous embroideries were still in demand in the days of Napoleon. Josephine’s special favorites were soft, delicately embroidered shawls.

Bulgarian and Hungarian embroideries usually require coarse linen and woolen material. Characteristics of the Bulgarian patterns are boldness and heaviness in design—geometrical figures, curiously shaped leaves, crescents and wheels. The stitches are satin, buttonhole and outline.

Festival days in Hungary are a colorful sight. Everyone dons his most magnificent costume and marches to the church, some miles from Budapest They have labored long and tediously to achieve their gorgeous outfits. The linens were homespun, the dyes homemade, and each stitch of the vivid embroidery was sewn with loving care. The slowly moving crowd looks like an immense tulip field swaying with each

breeze—a kaleidoscope’s ever-changing display of rainbow bits. Behind the women the men slowly follow, not a bit outdone by the array of feminine finery. They sport costumes even more magnificently embroidered.

Between the Narew and Bug rivers in Poland lies a forest in which lives a Polish tribe, the Kurpie. These Kurpie women are considered the most proficient of Polish embroiderers. In these northwestern districts many of these beautifully dressed girls very often had 14 costumes, especially before the war. There was a dress for attending funerals, one for shopping, one for wedding attendance, one for going to church—they were dressed differently for each occasion. These girls made clever use of the circle in their designs, they filled these with scrolls, black dots, zigzags, more circles—and true red is their favorite color. Each tribe in Poland has its own color, code, design and formula in its stitchery.

Swedish Home Sloyd employs the use of hole seam and does a lot of fringeplaiting, This is done by drawing several threads out of the woof of the material and sewing in a design by gathering the warp threads of that open part at different places of it, thereby forming a design.

But America is not uncultured in the art of the needle. Usually every household, rich or poor, boasts a supply of beautifully embroidered pillowcases, sheets, doilies, tablecloths and napkins. It adorns dresses, blouses, and even sheer undergarments.

An interesting study in designing is that of the Pennsylvania Dutch—‘really descendants of the Palatines of the Lower Rhine in Germany. Folklore and superstition are woven into each design. When being invited to the new world, America, by agents of William Penn, they were promised 1,000 years of peace, and the lily {tulips are occasionally used in place of a lily), which this symbolizes, is used frequently in designs. The design usually starts at the bottom. God’s influence is represented by two outspread leaves at the base of a stem. Sometimes designs are depicted with leaves blowing, to show the invisible power of God. The left and right sides of a design must be exact. The colors are delicately shaded, usually red, yellow and green—not loud and gaudy as many think, due to the fact that homemade vegetable dyes were used from which the pure strength was not derived—hence the light colors. Seeds depict God's goodness and also truth. Three stamens in a flower represent the false religious trinity.

However, “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Christians today could also spill much blood with “the slaughter of time”, but for these last days in which we are living Jehovah God has pronounced it a time when “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations”.—Matthew 24:14.

“Take a lesson from the lilies of the field, how they are growing; they do not toil nor do they spin, but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. If, now, God thus clothes the vegetation of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe you, you with little faith? So never be anxious and say: ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” —Matthew 6:28-33, NW,

THINKING

On Loyalty OatFu

An interesting letter answering the question, *Why would anyone but a^f communist object to signing a loyalty oath?* was received and printed by the Los Angeles Daily News₃ November 27, 1950. After introducing the matter, the letter continued;

"A friend of mine answered that quite well recently when she was faced with a decision of whether to sign or not. On the front of the oath were printed the words 'I am signing this on my own free will, having had no pressure whatever from any source.’ Behind the sheet, on a little note, were these words: 'Any teacher failing to sign will not receive her next pay check/

"A young man who lived in Germany under Hitler remarked when he heard the above instance: 'Just like Germany under the Nazis, No one was required to vote for Hitler—no pressure at all. But if you did not, you had no job/

*3* "The real purpose of the loyalty oath was to locate Communists. The following story may Illustrate the fallacy in this thinking. After the fall of France, the Vichy government imprisoned two French pastors who refused to obey the anti-Semitic laws. These pastor? were put in a concentration camp with many Communists.

"So much pressure was brought to bear on the government because of the arrest of these two ministers that soon they were given an opportunity to go free. All they were asked to do waa to sign a piece of paper, stating that they would obey all the laws of the land. They, knowing this meant the anti-Semitic laws, refused to sign. They were returned to the camp, and when the Communists heard about it, they came to the ministers and said scornfully, Tfou are fools not to sign a piece of paper, just because it told a lie. Some of our comrades signed a similar paper a short' time ago, were released, and two weeks later blew up a bridge, killing 200 Nazis/

OUT LOUD

/ "Does any thinking person believe that a / Communist is going to have any moral com-j punctions about signing a loyalty oath, fust . because it tells a lie? I think this is tnade-/ quate for the purpose it was intended, and dangerous for our civil liberties."

/ o/lnother Federal Bureau Coming Up?

\ During an exchange of letters with his old \ friend, Colorado State Senator Neal Bishop, / President Truman countered his friend’s face-\ tious suggestion that John L. Lewis, president ( of the United Mine Workers, be appointed aa / ambassador to Moscow with the flat state-y ment that he would not appoint Mr. Lewis ( to the post of dogcatcher. Last October, Mr. / Lends supplied his own answer by way of a j letter, also to Senator Bishop, in which fye ( said:

/ 7* "Conceivably It Is true that the president's J choice of words was again unfortunate. One ( could, however, persuade one's self that he / was thinking only in term?. of problems of j state and had no intent to belittle or sneer \ gratuitously at a private citizen. Assuredly, / the president of the United States would not \ permit his personal feelings to sway his judg-( ment on appointments to public office.

/ qg "Presidential appointment to the office of \ dogcatcher would postulate creation of a new \ Federal bureau with its accompanying per-/ sonnet of thousands of employes and, in con-\ sequence, an increase to the tax burden.

( "Naturally, the first duty of the Bureau / of the Dog, if staffed by the undersigned, \ would be to collect and impound the sad dogs. \ the Intellectual poodle dogs and the pusillairl-/ mous pups which now Infest our State De-\ partinent This would be gravely disturbing ( and would perhaps cause profound unrest / throughout our national canine fraternity, J “The president could ill afford to have ? more brains In the Dog Department than In ( the Department of State and, from this stand-J point, his remarks to you are eminently jus-' tifled.”

The Lord’s Supper or Evening Meal

N THE United States alone there are some 265 religious organizations claiming to be Christian. It is not surprising therefore to find a great difference of opinion regarding the various teachings and commandments of Christ Jesus. In this regard his instructions regarding the Celebration of the Lord’s evening meal, or “Lord’s Supper” as it is generally called, are no exception. For instance, some celebrate it yearly, others quarterly, others monthly, others weekly, and still others daily. What is the meaning of the Lord’s evening meal? Who properly celebrate it? How should it be observed, and when?

Turning to the only reliable source of information on the subject, the Bible, we find the eyewitness account of the institution of the Lord’s evening meal as follows: “As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said; ‘Take, eat. This means my body? Also he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: ‘Drink out of it, all of you; for this means my “blood of the covenant'* which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins?”—Matthew 26:26-28, New World Trans.

This evening meal of our Lord was instituted immediately after the passover, at which time Iio leavened bread was to be found in the homes of the Jews. Therefore the bread that Jesus used was unleavened; which fact is very significant in that in the Scriptures leaven is .used to represent sin, injuria usness and hypocrisy.—Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:8.

When Jesus said, “This means my body,” to what body did he refer? To his body of followers. Among the many scriptures that make this point clear is 1 Corinthians 10:16,17, which reads: “The loaf which we break, Is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ? Because there Is one loaf, we, although many, are one body, for we are all partaking of that one loaf.”—New World Trans.

The Christian who intelligently and sincerely partakes of the loaf at the Lord’s evening meal is thereby saying that he is “sharing in the body of the Christ”, that he is a prospective member of that congregation of 144,000 whose names are written in heaven. (Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 14 ;1,3) By so doing he is not exalting himself but is merely Indicating that he has met God's requirements for membership in Christ’s body.

What Is pictured by the cup and the drinking of its contents at the Lord’s evening meal? Regarding this the apostle Paul wrote: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, W) Since Christ's blood alone serves to take away sin and makes valid and operative the “new covenant” toward God’s people, in what way can it be said that his followers share in the blood or cup of Christ? (Jeremiah 31:31-34) In that the cup of wine also pictures God’s will for his servants. That is why Jesus said, “The cup that the Father has given me> should I pot by all means drink it?” when Peter odugfrt to use force to prevent his arrest (John 18:11, New World Trans.) For Jesus, God’s will, or the cup to be drunk, required not only that he die to ransom mankind but also that his integrity be tested to the limit to prove the Devil a liar and to prove that God could put men on earth who would be faithful to him under all circumstances. By drinking this cup he proved his worthiness to be the King of the new world. Since his resurrection and reward were also a part of God’s will for him, the cup is spoken of as a "cup of salvation”. —Psalm 116:12-15.

In this respect God’s will for Christ’s followers is the same as was His will for him, that they keep integrity even to death and share in his resurrection. "Trustworthy is the saying: Certainly if we died together, we shall also live together; if we go on enduring, we shall also rule together as kings.” (2 Timothy 2:11,12, New World Trans.) To thus suffer, die and be resurrected with Christ Jesus is a real blessing. Hence this "cup” is called a "cup of blessing”.—Philippians 1:29.

Each Christian who partakes of the emblems is thereby saying that he is carrying out what these emblems mean in his everyday life: that he is living at unity with his fellow Christians, that he is keeping himself free from the leaven of this world's corruption, and that he is maintaining integrity by carrying out God's will, which at the present time concerns itself primarily with the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom. For some to partake of the emblems without carrying out the realities in everyday life would bring God’s judgment upon them because such would be an act of hypocrisy, and God hates hypocrites. —1 Corinthians 11:26-34; Matthew 23.

When and how should the Lord’s evening meal be celebrated? The passover lamb in ERvnt was slain on the night of Nisan 14 and the event was commemorated annually on that date. It is therefore reasonable that, since the antitypical passover Lamb, Christ Jesus, was also slain on the same date of Nisan 14 (the Jewish day running from sunset to sunset), the memorial of his death or the Lord’s evening meal be likewise celebrated annually, and that on Nisan 14, in the evening. This year it falls on March 23, after 6 p.m.

The account shows that Jesus gave separate thanks for each of the emblems, first for the bread and then for the wine. The same procedure is in order now. And as several drank from the same cup back there, showing their common participation in doing God's will, it is fitting that the same practice be followed in this day, rather than resorting to individual glasses. And even as Christ Jesus gave much counsel to his followers that evening, it is appropriate to now give Scriptural counsel.

Today we see two groups of Christians, or ’folds of sheep’, on earth, the one having heavenly hopes, the other earthly hopes. Only those who have consecrated themselves to God and have been justified and been begotten by his spirit to a heavenly hope, who have the witness of the spirit that they are spiritual sons of God and are living up to God’s requirements for them, may worthily partake of the emblems, as only they are carrying out the realities. The "other sheep” who hope to share in fulfilling the divine mandate to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth and to receive everlasting life on earth should not partake, as they are not carrying out the realities. They will, however, be glad to be present at the Lord’s evening meal as interested spectators. They can benefit from the truths there presented, for Jehovah requires also of them that they dwell in unity, keep free from leaven and maintain integrity, preaching the good news.

Masquerade in Words

LETS face it. We all like to talk. Protests of shyness by some melt before the incomparably greater misery those same persons would suffer from the loss of all written or oral communication. But speakers and writers owe it to their listeners to be concise and accurate. Thankfully, modern trends have side-stepped the burdensome, gold-braided oratory of the nineteenth century; but we are not perfect yet. A current trait in even the lofty press and radio channels tends to doll up the “awful truth” in a verbal mask of more attractive design than the original dress. The use of language for the sake of sound and effect may at times be only humorous, but it can prove distracting and often even insulting to the reader or listener who is expected to sop it up like a fresh blotter. Alert ones will remember the wise proverb: “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” —Proverbs 14:15.

The practice of masquerading unattractive facts as something more appetizing is known as euphemism. Language authorities like Margaret Schlauch and Isaac Goldberg in their books, The Gift of Tongues and The Wonder of Words, respectively, point to social custom as largely responsible for this trend, so what do we find there?

The former mask for a saloon, a grog-gery, has been succeeded by the “tavern”, or, if catering to those who drink in tuxedos and formals, cocktail lounge. Those unable to live without that “one too many” are “alcoholics” or “inebriates” who “overindulge” or “imbibe excessively”. However, they continue to suffer the identical effects as when they were drunkards getting drunk in plain old saloons. Denying his wife’s accusation of being in one of these places, a husband might be called a downright liar. This would be “fighting talk” and the wife could have just as easily accused him of an untruth, falsehood or fabrication.

Men used to wear “breeches”, but social etiquette took them off and garbed him in, successively, pantaloons, pants and finally trousers. And if tired of wearing ordinary shirts, he can put on a chemise. Foreign expressions always go over well. Toilets once properly referred to places where one’s complete grooming took place. Taboos have now transformed them into rest rooms, where no one rests, powder rooms, lounges, lavatories (literally, wash rooms) or comfort stations.

Religious influence has been partly responsible for speech coloration. A dead person is said to have “passed on”, but where is he passing? The Bible distinctly says his days of going places and doing things are over. (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10) Variously, the cemetery and the place of wherever the various sects say the dead are, are called the “reward”, “good place,” “glory,” “paradise,” “true world,” etc. Some have even called the burial act a ‘putting to bed with a shovel*. The expression “corpse” is rarely used except by doctors. Instead, “remains” or “the mortal coil” are publicized. Does it not seem queer to speak in such glorified tones of a state everyone fights desperately to avoid as long as possible?

In business, the term “co-ordinate” can often mean the freezing out of all opposition or competition. And ‘letting a man go’ must certainly make him feel better than if he were fired. How we would rebel at being imprisoned; but if taken into “protective custody”, how much nicer! Armies backed by up-to-date press writers no longer kill, wipe out or annihilate their foes. In a gentlemanly manner, they simply liquidate them. If ranchers had to talk cattle into doing their bidding, they would never, never be able to convince them of the advantages of going to some nice slaughterhouse. Ah, but to an abattoir, now what self-respecting steer could refuse such an experience?

So, if by newspaper or radio we find fault with such language hedge-hopping, we had best recall that ‘charity begins at home*, and everyone can help to correct it. But perhaps the public channels of expression are the logical examples to take the lead in this. Certainly they are not doing so at present. A July 13, 1950, Associated Press dispatch was captioned in the New York Times: “Mentally Retarded Boy Gets $32,239 in Hold-up.*’ In discussing a Yale-Harvard graduate held for the murder of a member of the Yale faculty, the same paper last October spoke of a previous operation he had undergone to relieve “mental stress”. He was described as suffering either from “dementia praecox or schizophrenia”. State police were said to be investigating the possibility that he was one of four escaped “sexual psychopaths**. Similarly, insane asylums are commonly referred to as “mental hospitals”, “homes for the mentally disturbed,” or “training schools for the mentally retarded”, etc.

To the “word purifiers” Korea from the start was consistently referred to, in the words of President Truman, as a “police action”. But such all-out policing by November, 1950, had grown to rank fourth in casualties of all American wars. In the campaign’s early stages, editors, anxious to win the war with a typewriter, composed blaring headlines telling, as in one case, of B-29s* blasting Red troops with

960 tons of bombs. You anticipate news of a sweeping victory. However, In small type near the story itself appeared the words: “Energy Gains Seven Miles,- Wipes Out U.S. Advances and Reaches Point Nine Miles from Key Base.**

In reference to the forced evacuation of the Hungnam beachhead, it is blithely referred to as a “redeployment of troops”. Withdrawals and regrouping actions have marked the war throughout with practically no “retreats”. On January 9, Eighth Army Headquarters issued sharp restrictions upon correspondents who should chance to use the term “retreat” in reference to withdrawal of United Nations forces. Sticklers claimed the latter implies orderly and voluntary withdrawal, while a retreat is forced by enemy attack. Currently, the phrase “preventive war” has been born. This refers to an aggressive war now against someone who may logically prove an aggressor himself later on.

Individuals charged with the high responsibility of relaying accurate information to the public may take serious note of the foregoing. True of news and radio editors, it is true as well of the Christian minister, who, like the Biblical prophet^ of old, may not always bear a message easy on the ears. Yet, his source of authority being the great Creator of human communication, he must faithfully carry to his listeners whatever that message is. Today, when every device available is used to proclaim the ‘good news of God’s kingdom’, those so engaged have a splendid opportunity to combine a pleasing presentation with absolute truth and accuracy. Others who wish may profit thereby. All honest listeners and readers will appreciate and admire this candor gracing the highest of all uses of human speech and writing.

First Profit, Then War

<$> The advisability of strengthening a hand that is expected to fight you has always been questionable, yet the democracies have been giving material aid to Russia and Communist China. U.S. senator O'Connor reported (2/17), “Products which can be used to build the military and industrial potential of our enemies in Korea have been transported directly to the ports of Communist foes and delivered to them while American boys were being killed . , , in . . _t Asia.” Strategic material and equipment have also gone into Soviet Germany and to China from Canada. In December $10 million worth of Malayan rubber in London was scheduled for shipment to Russia, according to an International News Service report (12/22). “It’s just an ordinary business deal,” said a spokesman for the shipping company. "We can always divert one of our boats before it arrives in Odessa if the balloon goes up during the voyage.” A Chicago Daily News report, dated January 4, said, “While the French army fights for its life in IndoChina, French steelmakers have agreed to sell more than 450 miles of strategic railroad rails to Communist China for completion of China’s principal railroad from Kwangs! to the Indo-China border." The Associated Press reported on January 6 that British shipments of war-essential rubber to the Soviet Union during the first 11 months of 1950 “was more than 20 times the amount exported to Russia in the same period in 1949\ Britain’s prime minister Attlee admitted (2/7) that rubber was going to China, whose army British troops were fighting in Korea. In February, months after China intervened in Korea, the U, S. was reported to be planning to ask all U, N. members to quit providing China with petroleum products and equipment that is used for military operations or in military production, Does it seem strange that those who fear a total war against another nation, and who are arming for that war, will sell the enemy supplies with which to fight? Apparently it is just “ordinary business” to sell all possible before the war starts and then make more equipment with which to destroy the supplies that were sold to the enemy prior to the war. It is a profitable business, but a diabolical one!

Political Rackets Publicized

Many people do not trust politicians, and their confidence has not improved as a result of recent Investigations, Political corruption, connections with gamblers and ciils-elers, fantastically wealthy policemen, pay-offs to get promotions, government officials paid to help businessmen get government contracts, waste of government stockpiles, charges of wasteful overinflated bureaucracy, these and other charges have raised many questions about the tie-up between crime and politics and have raised grave doubts about the integrity of many U. S. officials. In Washington, a Senate subcommittee investigating Reconstruction Finance Corporation loans (it has a pool of $1.5 billion with which to make loans to enterprises that cannot qualify for private loans) reported that “for a sufficient fee fcertain) people would give assurance . . . that matters pending before the R.F.C. would have a successful outcome". It told a shabby tale of political influence, mismanagement and favoritism. Truman flippantly dismissed the report as asinine and said it was designed to cast reflection on the president himself. Some of these charges made by various investigators might be blamed on political hatred, but where there is so much smoke there must be fire. When observing the corruption of this present wicked system of things the need for the blessings of God’s kingdom becomes increasingly more evident.

Friend or Foe?

Imagine the confusion if a citizen of the early 1940's could have looked ahead into 1951. Instead of seeing the Allies at war with Germany, he would hear discussion about German rearmament, about war criminals being released and munitions plants being returned to their former owners. Instead of reading of the U* S. 5th Army fighting in Italy, he would read that the U. S. plans to provide aid for Italian rearmament. Instead of a Pacific war with Japan, he would

team that Japan was invited by the U. S. to rearm. Instead of seeing Russia aligned as a wartime ally with England and the U. S., he would see communism and democracy feverishly preparing for war. Friend has become foe and foe has become friend, all within a decade. Formerly the democracies viewed totalitarianism as an evil to be fought, now it is aided in Spain and elsewhere in the hope that it will help fight Russia. Today communism is the enemy, but communist oppression is aided, as In Yugoslavia, if the communist countries will help oppose Russia. And so it goes. Allies and enemies swap places. Nations fight and quarrel, and will .continue to do so as long as this world’s god, Satan, wrathfully continues to draw the nations into war, particularly now that Satan knows Jehovah God will soon end this wicked rule. (Revelation 12:12) When that rule ends this world’s wars will end for all time. Then peace will reign under the blessings of God’s righteous kingdom.—M i c a h 4:3,4.

Inflation

<$> Six months after the Korean war began, four months after the mobilization law was set up, six weeks after the mobilization's high command was installed, restrictions were finally put on spiraling prices and wages. The first two weeks of price controls did not see a halt In the rising cost of living. Wholesale prices were on the upswing faster than retail prices and instead of rolling wholesale prices back, it was reported that dealers will be permitted to pass increased costs along to their customers. Price rises on food will probably continue (although they are already 220 per cent above the 1935-39 average) because of farm bloc pressure. And so, with prices “frozen” at the highest level ever reached in history, they still continue to rise. The government seems to be beating a retreat In the face of them. Vested Interests are protected, and the country suffers. Particularly elderly persons and others who worked for years to gain security and now find that the money they saved Is worth only a fraction of its original value. As inflation continues their savings wither.

Price Ceilings In 1776

<$> In comparison with today's prices, the ceilings adopted by Rhode Island on December 31, 1776 (when Gen. Washington was supreme U. S. military commander), make strange reading. This first U.S. antiinflation law spoke of the “intolerable situation” and of “excessive and unreasonable prices”. At modern rates of exchange here are some of the prices: milk 9c a gallon, turkey and other fowl 9c a pound, tobacco 5c a pound, lodging for a night 5c, dinners at taverns 21c. But wages were low also. Carpenters were allowed 70c a day and barbers 34c a shave.

Alleged Miracles Condemned

The Vatican warned Catholics (2/3) to beware of unchecked miracles, saying that especially during the last 10 years it has abstained from encouraging belief in alleged visions, and warning that uncontrolled religious manifestations might be seized upon as proof of “pagan infiltrations” in Catholic doctrine. Yet Cardinal Newman in his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1878) frankly admitted that many Catholic practices are “of pagan origin”. Perhaps, however, modem enlightenment has made the public more critical of “miracles” than in the past, as indicated by objections like the one published August *18, 1950, in the London Catholic Herald: “I find it repugnant to me to believe a great many of the miracles and wonders, as for example those related to Fatima, which are described In your paper." The paper admitted that “this is a fairly common view today” and said, "The only individual miracles which a Catholic is bound by his faith to believe are the miracles recorded in Scripture.” This would be a wise course, for Biblical miracles are authentic, while the Catholic Church admits some of its miracles are “legendary”.

Death by Raj]

A half million persons daily commute by train from their homes outside the city to work in New York. Generally they feel safe as they ride the shining rails, but the past year has been one of unprecedented tragedy for them. On Long Island 32 were killed in a train wreck February 17, 1950; 79 more died in the November 22 accident, and 84 were killed and 500 injured in New Jersey in a Pennsylvania Railroad wreck February 7, (This death toll was surpassed only three times in U. S. history, in 1918, 1910, and 1906.) The recent wrecks on New York commuter trains took 295 lives in 12 months. In comparison with the 15 passenger lives lost on all U. S. railroads for the year of 1949, these tolls are extremely high, and all possible should be done to remedy the causes of these accidents. Yet, considering the 41 trillion miles traveled by 645 million passengers on U. S. railroads in a year, they still maintain ail amazing record of providing safe transportation.

Duplessis* Bridge Collapses

<$> Three spans of the four-year-old 2,Q20-foot steel and concrete Point Duplessis bridge at Three Rivers, Quebec, collapsed and crashed through the ice (1/31J plunging three cars to the bottom of the icy river and killing their passengers. The bridge had been a political issue since

Quebec’s premier Maurice Du-pteMls awarded the construction contract tor it without a public call for blds. Opponents charged It was built with graft and called attention to cracks In Its concrete. Before it collapsed Duplessis made the boast that the new $3-millian bridge was as “strong and straight” as his Union National government. The relatives of the dead victims probably disagree. Or perhaps, now that the true worth of the bridge is known, they agree that his government and the bridge are about equal in strength and straightness.

Flying Saucer Explanation

<$> Since 1947 when flying saucers were first reported, rumor, gossip, imagination, speculation and some facts about them have been widely published. The U.S. Office of Naval Research announced (2/12) that the “saucers”. were 100-foot plastic balloons used for cosmic-ray research at upper altitudes, rising 19 miles and being blown along by 200-mile-an-hour winds, ‘There is no longer any need for secrecy,” said the report, but the original need for secrecy is not clear. Smaller balloons have been used for years, yet these were kept more secret than the recent atomic blasts in Nevada, and many people will continue to believe that the whole truth has not yet been told, that information about some new weapon is being withheld. Soviet foreign minister Andrei Gromyko dryly suggested that they were the result of a Russian discus thrower who didn’t know his own strength.

Asia's Hope

Asia wants liberty. IndoChina wants freedom from French rule, but in its place may get a communist rule under Bao Dai, and a bloody war taking many innocent lives. Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands, but has had strife and bloodshed over its new local government India gained independence, but retained untold poverty, and ia now hoping for a U. S. gift of grain. China threw out Chiang Kai-shek, but in return got Mao Tze-tung's communism and such rough treatment that even the communists admitted (1/26) that peasants were suiciding out of fear. After 5,000 years of such failing experimentation man still Ignorantly refuses to look to God’s Word for a sure promise of peace and blessings under God’s kingdom. Do not be misled by those who blindly Ignore both the cause and remedy for present world distress.

S*d of t&e *Won£d,f

WITH the grim possibility of the nations using hydrogen and atomic bombs, many wonder, Does our earthly planet face a direct threat of destruction? Would a third world war mean the end of the world and civilization? Do world events portend a near end and man’s extinction? What are the facts in answer to these questions?

THE title to this notice is in actuality that of a chapter in the book "Let God Be True” Therein, reasonable and dependable answers to the above questions are supplied the reader. Many similar and additional questions and answers are interestingly considered- Absorbing chapter subjects, such as “The New Earth”, "The Judgment Day” and others, too, appear. All questions are fully answered to your satisfaction from the most reliable source of information possible. Send for a copy now.

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New World ‘Translation of the Christian Greek Scripture^

THE truths about the hew world of righteousness spoken of by the inspired writers of the Holy Bible are made crystal clear in the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. It is a new translation rendered from the original language, and is based on the Westcott and Hort text of 1881. Accuracy, purity and consistency are scrupulously maintained. Common, up-to-date English is used- As you read and study the New World Translation you will enjoy the richness and clarity of the language, and your understanding will become clearer and your appreciation will grow.

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