SPAIN SUPPRESSES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

team the facts — page 5

Do You Leave Religion to Your Wife?

PAGE IS

Weekends—a Pleasure or a Plague?

PAGE 20

APRIL 8, 1962

THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL

News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital Issues at our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "Awake!" has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it 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 daes not abuse its freedom, it maintains integrity to truth.

"Awake!" uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its own correspondents are on all continents, in scores of nations. From the four corners of the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through those columns. This journal's viewpoint is not narrow, but is international. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.

“Awake!” pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of a righteous New World.

Get acquainted with "Awake!" Keep awake by reading “Awoke!”

PUBLISH KD SIMULTANEOUSLY IN TUB UNTTKI1 SlATM BY THE WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC. 117 Adams Street                               Brooklyn 1. N.Y., U.S.A.

and in England by WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY Watch Tower House, The Ridgeway          London N.W. 7, England

N. H. Knobs, President                         Grant Swtbb, Secretary

CONTENTS

Luxuries—Are They Worth Their Price? 3

Spain Suppresses Religious Freedom

A Letter of Appreciation

Guns and Children

Do You Leave Religion to Your Wife?

Peace Destroyer

Weekends—a Pleasure or a Plague?

World Insanity

"It is already the hour for you to awake.” —Romon* 13:11

YOU cannot escape it, everything has its price. Luxuries certainly do. But are luxuries worth their price? Some hold that all luxuries are sinful. Others live for them.

What are luxuries? The word “luxury”

comes from a root meaning “excess.” AU commodities are said to be either luxuries or necessities. The general view of necessities, however, is that they include, not only the bare essentials for existence, but also what custom and rules of decency have rendered necessary. Thus butter on your bread and sugar in your coffee, although not absolute necessities, are, nevertheless, not generally considered luxuries.

The term “luxury” is a relative one. That is, something’s being a luxury often depends upon circumstances. For example, food and drink are necessities, but certain foods and beverages may be luxuries in some localities, while they are everyday fare elsewhere. In France, for example, wine with one’s meals would be considered a necessity; in other lands it may be called a luxury. Likewise, for one person any automobile may be a foolish luxury; another may view the very best as a necessity in his case.

Luxuries are not all to be condemned, as they are by some, for it is evident that the Creator himself is not opposed to luxuries. Consider with what lavish hand he has bestowed upon man the beauties of nature! These may be said to be luxuries, for you could exist without them. If you were dying from hunger or thirst, they would be of little use. But once you have life’s necessities, how much such beauties, such luxuries, if you please, add to your joy of living!

Are luxuries worth their price? Obviously—but only if you keep them in their place. They make enjoyable slaves but wretched taskmasters. Use them wisely, for, as the Bible says: “Luxury is not fitting for anyone stupid.” A stupid person is neither deserving of luxuries nor does he know how to use them. So it is not in the fitness of things that he have luxuries. —Prov, 19:10.

Luxuries are worth the price if not obtained at the sacrifice of necessities and if used in moderation. In ancient times wine, oil and honey were considered luxuries. They were worth the price, provided one did not overindulge: “He that is loving merriment will be an individual in want; he that is loving wine and oil will not gain riches.” “The eating of too much honey is not good.”—Prov. 21:17; 25:27.

Luxuries can also be worth the price if prompted by an unselfish motive. As a husband you may take your wife out to dinner or some entertainment as a special treat. Thp dinner may cost from two to five times as much as it would have had it been prepared at home; but occasionally, as an expression of appreciation of your wife’s cooking, you let her enjoy the luxury of a meal she herself did not have to prepare. That luxury is worth its price. Or you may give a friend a bottle of liqueur, one that you would not think of buying for yourself. A luxury? Yes. Worth the price? Absolutely! Yes, a generous impulse may be a costly luxury and yet fully worth the price.

But luxuries are not worth the price If the motive for indulging in them is rivalry, trying to keep up with the Joneses, seeking status. Neither are they worth the price if they run you into debt, causing you to worry and to work overtime. And when persons resort to illicit means, such as shoplifting, burglary, embezzlement or gambling, to satisfy their craving for luxuries, they certainly are wrong.

Neither are luxuries worth the price if that price is your health. Luxurious living as to food and drink often results in obesity, diabetes, stomach, liver or kidney ailments. Those who live to eat, whose “god is their belly,” suffer for it according to the rule: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”—Phil. 3:19; Gal. 6:7.

Luxuries definitely are not worth the

- price if they deaden your concern for others. How much better to forego the luxuries' and to share with oik’s feUowznan! Yes, even when one’s fellow is not in dire need, greater joy may be derived from sharing what you have with him than from saving to indulge in a luxury alone. There is “more happiness in giving than there is in receiving."—Acts 20:35; Jas. 5:1-5.

And, above all, luxuries are not worth the price if they estrange you from your Maker, Jehovah God. Unless you keep luxuries in their place you will find yourself among those who are “lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God." That is why the apostle John counseled: “Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world .. . because everything in the world —the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world.” Unless you are careful luxuries may well cause you to “rob God,” as it were, of the “exclusive devotion” that is due him. They may well cause you to forget that "not by bread alone does man live but by every expression of Jehovah’s mouth,” and to become dull to your “spiritual need.”—2 Tim. 3:4; 1 John 2:15, 16; Mal. 3:8; Ex. 20:5; Deut, 8:3; Matt. 5:3.

The infinite variety and manifold beauties of nature testify to the fact that the Creator, Jehovah God, intended man to enjoy luxuries to augment his happiness. But they are worth the price only if there is a right motive, if wisdom directs and moderation controls, for only then can they make you happy. And since there is “more happiness in giving than there is in receiving'/' why not often turn your ability to have a luxury into an opportunity to share?

regime is publicly criticized by such highly respected persons and organizations? Are Spanish officials as prompt to correct violations of human freedom as they are to protest criticism of those violations?

Authorities Spurn

World Protest

On September 8, 1961, the curtain of silence shrouding Spain’s police state tactics was broken by an Awake! expose entitled “Totalitarian Inquisition Revived in Spain.” Copies were sent to government offi

A TELEGRAM became international news recently. It was signed “Eleanor Roosevelt,” widow of the former American president, and sent to New York newspapers. The message condemned the U. S. Secretary of State for hailing Francisco Franco as “an ally of the U. S. in the fight against Communist aggression.” The telegram read: “That a member of this Administration could praise a Fascist tyrant who has violated every basic precept of freedom and decency is indefensible just as General Franco is indefensible.”

Mrs. Roosevelt quickly labeled the telegram the work of an impostor, but added that its sentiments might not be far from her own. Editorially, the prestigious New York Times applied an Italian saying, “Se non d veto, d ben trovato” which, roughly translated, means: “Even if it was not true, it was a good idea.”

Spanish authorities quickly protested these statements against the regime. Spain’s United Nations delegation sent a letter of protest to the Times. Barcelona’s La Vanguardia in a front-page article described the Times as an “aggressive antiSpanish newspaper.”

But why is it that after more than twenty years of rule the present Spanish cials, civic leaders, prominent citizens and newspapers in every province of Spain, alerting them to the crusade against Jehovah’s witnesses. Many newspapers in other lands reprinted the Awake! report As a result Spanish embassies and Francisco Franco, as well as Camilo Alonso Vega, Minister of Government, were inundated by thousands of indignant protests.

To date the Spanish government and newspapers have ignored the protests. The Spanish embassies, however, categorically replied that “there is no persecution in Spain of Jehovah’s Witnesses or of anybody else.” Spain’s Washington Embassy accused Awake! of circulating a biased and distorted report of unproved facts, asserting that there is “complete freedom of worship” in Spain, and by means of its diplomatic free mail the Embassy even responded to some protests by mailing a Catholic pamphlet published by the “Re-demptorist Fathers” attacking Jehovah’s witnesses. The Spanish Em-

at the protests and advised that “there are no ’Jehovah’s witnesses’ in Spain.”

While Spanish Embassies solemly quote Article VI of Spain’s Bill of Rights (“Nobody shall be molested for his religious beliefs nor in the private exercise of his worship”), is religious freedom upheld in Spain? No! Jehovah’s witnesses in Spain have become the object of an all-out crusade designed to stamp and starve them out. Spanish officials have revived the spirit displayed against the Christian apostles Peter and John, reported at Acts 4:17: “Nevertheless, in order that it may not be spread abroad further among the people, let us tell them with threats not to speak any more upon the basis of this name to any man at all.” Consider the evidence.

Arrests Increase

On December 19,1961, Esperanza Amen-gual Canellas, 15-year-old daughter of Antonio Amengual and Esperanza Canellas, was left alone and unprotected in the world when police agents arrested both her parents. Why? Because Mrs. Canellas professes to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses. This was only one of several December arrests in the city of Palma on the island of Majorca, instigated by the Direction General de Seguridad.

Juan Torres Cardona, father of five children, and employed for over twelve years with Palma’s Water and Sewer Department, was ordered to be fired by Mayor Juan Massanet Moragues, after police jailed him and one of his sons for fifteen days for having a Bible study in their home.

On January 13, 1962, in Valencia, Carmen Arenas Marti de Cuso, a 26-year-old married woman, was taken to jail for a month for refusal to pay an unjust fine she had received for speaking about the gospel to another person.

Police agents entered and searched the house of Ramdn Barca Villar in Joane, province of La Corufia, on December 12, because it was said that he was one of Jehovah’s witnesses! Barca and his brotherin-law, Jesus Pose Varela, were taken into custody. Police also confiscated religious books, magazines and a Spanish Catholic Nicar-Colunga Bible for closer examination at police headquarters. Their interrogation lasted from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. On January 4 both men were fined by the civil government.

On December 13 Antonio Alvarez Sardina was conversing with an acquaintance in a hotel at Martinet, in the province of Lerida. The acquaintance brought up the subject of the Bible and asked Alvarez if he knew of any way that he could procure some printed aids for studying the Bible. Alvarez went home to pick up his briefcase in which he always carried a few tracts and booklets on Bible subjects. Upon returning, he was pounced upon by agents of Spain’s Guardia Civil, who ordered him to open his briefcase. As a result, Alvarez received a whopping 5,000-peseta fine from LSrida’s governor Jos6 Antonio Serrano Montalvo, because, to quote him, “you were surprised when you were devoting yourself to proselytism and the sale of publications of dissident sects.”

On December 24 one of Jehovah’s witnesses imprisoned at Burgos' provincial prison for preaching the gospel was scoff-ingly told that she would be thrown in with one of her own kind. There she met Angeles Iglesias, a woman previously unknown to her. The woman explained that she had become interested in the Bible and had come into contact with some Biblestudy magazines printed by the Watch Tower Society. Because of having them in her possession she had been thrown into prison for three months by the Burgos authorities.

Similarly, Patricio Colina Dorado, one of Jehovah’s witnesses who lives in the famous church council city of Toledo, received a fine of 2,500 pesetas from civil governor Francisco EJviro Meseguer. In a written document, the governor stated that the fine was imposed because, during an interrogation by Toledo police, Colina admitted “having received propaganda literature and having been recently baptized as such a witness.”

Bible Study a Crime

On Thursday, December 7, 1961, Felix Hop Anguera, a 36-year-old minister of Jehovah’s witnesses, was peacefully conducting a study of the Bible among a small group of friends in a private home in the city of Oviedo, The group was studying the subject of “Satan the Devil” when suddenly and without warning two squad cars of police were upon them. The house was searched, and the Bibles and Biblestudy literature were confiscated. Felix Llop, the conductor of the study, as well as three other Bible students, was taken to jail.

Police then raided the home where Llop lived and arrested his wife. A 500-peseta fine was levied against the owner of the house, and a 200-peseta fine imposed on the owner’s wife. None of these latter ones had attended the Bible study.

Llop, his wife Maria Teresa, along with another couple, Sergio Cruz Hernandez and his wife Pilar, were fingerprinted and their pictures taken, followed by a stiff four-hour interrogation. They spent ten days in jail before word was finally received from Oviedo’s governor Marcos Pena Royo. He decreed a total of 17,000 pesetas in fines for the four for “acts of clandestine proselytism in Oviedo for the sect called Jehovah’s Witnesses.” When added to the fines that all those in attendance at the Bible study received, the amount totaled more than $300.00 (in U.S. currency). No liberty was allowed the imprisoned ones and they could not start legal proceedings against the unjust fines.

On December 22 it was announced that, while one couple would continue imprisoned in Oviedo, Llop and his wife would be transferred to the province of their birth, 1,126 kilometers away. Authorities paid no attention to the fact that, while Llop and his wife were not born in the province of Oviedo, they were legally registered as residents with the government, and that Spanish law guarantees Spaniards the right to live in the province of their choice. The trip was dragged out for eleven days, during which time Llop and his wife were registered at four different dungy prisons. He was continually handcuffed to common criminals.

Upon arriving in Barcelona on January 2, more police photographs were taken, again fingerprints of all ten fingers were made. Rugged police interrogations continued off and on until January 13, when the couple were finally allowed provisional liberty.

Gospel Preaching Brings Prison

On December 18, 1961, Maximo Murcia Crespo and Juanita Quiles went to visit some of their neighbors in the city of Zaragoza in order to share with them their knowledge of God’s Word, in obedience to Jesus' command. (Matt. 10:27) At one home a secret policeman happened to answer the door. The police agent knew Maximo Murcia well, for he had been present on previous occasions when Maximo was thoroughly interrogated about his Bible teaching activity.

The policeman immediately took the two Christians to the office of the chief of police where they were kept until 8 p.m. Then handcuffs were put on the prisoners to take them to jail. Although Zaragoza has a very cold winter climate, no blankets were offered to them in order to keep warm during the night The interrogation the following morning lasted from 9 a,m. until 12:30. The questions were very similar to the ones that Maximo was asked just a year before, in December, 1960, when he and his wife were jailed for no apparent reason for fifteen days. Next, the prisoners’ fingerprints and pictures were taken.

On Wednesday, December 20, again wearing handcuffs, they were transferred to the provincial prison, to await the disposition of the chief of Spain’s national police network, the Direction General de Seguridad located in Madrid. Meanwhile these Christians were forced to associate with murderers, robbers and effeminate persons. Release finally came at 2 p.m. on December 22.

Children Expelled front School

On October 20, 1961, a teacher at a grade school located in the town of Torral-ba de Calatrava in the province of Ciudad Real gave strict orders for all the children to line up so as to march to church to attend mass. Little Juanito Garcia Villaraco, 9-year-old son of Pedro Garcia Villaraco, stepped aside and again explained to the teacher that he belonged to another religion and therefore did not wish to attend mass. The instructor angrily ordered the boy to take his books, leave school and not come back.

The boy’s father visited the school and tried to reason with the teacher. The teacher retorted that he could not tolerate nonCatholic children in a Catholic school, and that the children must learn obedience in everything, even to the extent of attending mass though not professing that faith.

The child’s father pointed out that the government does not provide anything but Catholic schools and that, furthermore, the government guarantees that every Spanish citizen shall “receive education and instruction” and that “no one will be molested for his religious beliefs.” Certainly, trying to force a nine-year-old to attend a religious service and subsequently expelling him from school for refusal to do so was not only molesting the child and his entire family, but was an outright trampling upon one’s rights as a Spanish citizen. In addition, he pointed out that many other children of Jehovah’s witnesses had attended the school without incident, and that they had always been highly respected because of their good conduct. A subsequent visit to the teacher on November 19 proved to be fruitless. The child is still not attending school.

On October 17, Juanito Belmonte, 11-year-old son of Jose Belmonte of Manresa, province of Barcelona, was expelled from school. The teacher had ordered all the children to stand and salute the national emblem. While little Juanito stood respectfully at attention, he chose not to make any gesture that he considered to be an idolatrous act toward an inanimate object. Hitting the child and trying to force his hand up into position did not change the boy's well ingrained principles. In a furious tirade the teacher ordered the child to leave the school building and not come back.

The boy’s father immediately left his place of employment in order to try to reason with the teacher. He pointed out that it was not the custom for Spanish schoolchildren to salute the flag, that there was no law requiring such an act as a requisite for attendance in a government school. The father showed that it was actually the teacher who had shown disrespect for the flag, for his son had stood respectfully during the ceremony, while the instructor had committed assault and battery on the defenseless child and was now depriving the youngster of needed basic education.

The teacher haughtily retorted that the boy’s father should have his head examined, and then slammed the door in the father’s face. The teacher then filed a complaint with the police against the father and the son, charging that they had shown disrespect for the flag and that illegal [Bible study] meetings were held in their home. Dutifully, uniformed police took the father from his place of employment under armed guard and interrogated him for hours for the purpose of making a “declaration.” On November 25, 1961, the father was presented with an official paper signed by the governor of the province of Barcelona, Matias Vega Guerra. It stated: “Considering the complaint formulated against you, and your minor son, Juan Belmonte Tomes, for manifesting yourself and instigating your son to commit disrespectful acts toward the national flag, in that locality, around the middle of the ■ past month of October, reprehensible facts and contrary to the discipline of every Spanish citizen, in use of the faculties conferred to me by Article 23 of the Decree of October 10, 1958, I have resolved to impose upon you a fine of 5,000 pesetas [$83.33] ... The Civil Governor [signed], November 22,1961.”

While Jose Belmonte continues the legal fight against the unjust decision of the civil governor, his son Juanito continues to be deprived of the basic schooling guaranteed by the government.

Oppression in Albacete

More than a year ago, on December 10, 1960, police went to the home of Alfonso Cabot Diaz, a 23-year-old witness of Jehovah who lives in the city of Heflin, located in the province of Albacete. The house was searched and the Bible-study literature confiscated, including the Nacar-Colunga version Bible translated by Spanish Catholic priests. While young Alfonso was escorted to prison, the secret police started searching for the owner of the house, Antonio Ruiz, who was out making his daily deliveries of milk. Upon finding him, they did not allow him to finish his deliveries before they took him to jail. Interrogations lasted off and on until 4 a.m. the following morning, when the two prisoners were transferred to the province’s capital city of Albacete, where they were fingerprinted. The interrogations continued until Monday evening, December 12. At 6 p.m. on that day both of them were paraded handcuffed through the streets of Albacete by two armed guards in order to take them before the judge. Finally, on December 14, both received 5,000-peseta fines for “illicit association” and were released.

Upon his refusal to pay the unjust fine, the vehicle used by Antonio Ruiz to deliver milk was confiscated by the authorities and sold at public auction. Since Alfonso Cabot had no material possessions to confiscate, he was constantly hounded by police authorities and sentenced to one month in prison, from June 13 to July 13,1961.

On September 21 “trial” was held concerning the Cabot case. No witnesses were presented by the prosecution. The court-assigned lawyer made a commendable defense. For a character witness he presented a Hellin policeman who had once studied the Bible with Alfonso. On November 22, Alfonso Cabot received the sentence of a month and a day (suspended), plus a three-year probationary period. Cabot took immediate steps to appeal the case to the Spanish Supreme Court. However, he was advised by his lawyer that the lower court had purposely held up the notification of his sentence until it was legally impossible to file an appeal.

This Christian, as well as many others, continues to be constantly harassed by police authorities. Just last November 25 armed civil guards revisited Cabot’s home at 6 p.m. and searched it for any “Jehovah literature.” The knock at the door may come at any hour of any night.

Police Beating in Granada

On September 27, 1961, Miguel Gil Castell along with a young friend paid a return visit on a lady with whom he had spokefl, and who had shown interest in the message of the Bible. At her house they found the lady’s husband, who is a secret policeman, and a Roman Catholic priest awaiting them. The young Witnesses tried to reason tactfully with the two, but the priest said that they were “uneducated” and “ignorant.” As the priest watched, the young ministers were escorted to jail by the secret policeman. The interrogation was extensive. Wrote Gil to a friend: “When I refused to say anything about my [spiritual] brothers they became very angry, and the three of them started questioning me all at the same time. They took hold of my jacket, and the three of them started hitting me in the face with their hands. They said that I should be hit much harder, but that they would be ashamed to do so. Anyway, I did not give one name nor one address of any of my Christian brothers . . . Finally among themselves they began to say, ‘Why, if these people would ever become Catholics, they would absolutely prohibited from speaking about his belief to anyone in the prison. Now at provisional liberty, Gil has been arraigned on the trumped-up charge of mocking the Catholic church.

Mistreatment of Foreigners

Nor have native Spaniards been the only ones continuing to feel the heavy heel of religious oppression. The intolerant attitude of government officials also continues to be practiced against foreign visitors to Spain who happen to profess a religion different from that of the Roman Catholic Church. Several Americans who wanted to pass through Spain while on tours of Europe during 1961 were turned back at the border when it was learned that they were Jehovah’s witnesses.

On October 21,1961, Carl Wayne Warner, an American citizen, was hunted down and arrested by police agents in Barcelona after he had spoken to a Spanish woman about the Bible and had left a small Bible tract with her. Warner spent the night in the Barcelona jail and was informed on the following morning that he would receive a trial for the serious charge of “illegal propaganda.” His home was searched and private Bible literature was taken by the police. Police refused to return his passport and he was required to report daily for further questioning at the central police headquarters located on Via Laye-tana. Interrogators called him a “liar” and a “juvenile delinquent” because he had spoken about the Bible.

On November 2, suddenly and without warning, Warner was informed that he would be accompanied to the border by police for the purpose of expelling him from the country. Time was not even allowed for his clothes hanging on the line to dry. Pleas that he be allowed to remain in order to complete his plans to marry his Spanish fiancee went unheeded. Held under police guard from morning to nightfall, he was given nothing to eat, and was finally ushered across the border at Cerbere, France.

The Canary Inland Case

On December 24, 1960, Jose Orzaez Ramirez of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and thirteen other Spanish citizens were ■ arrested in a private home where they were participating in a group Bible study. Ten months later trial was held at Las Palmas on Great Canary Island on the charge of “illicit association.” Strangely, no mention of the trial was made in the newspapers, yet a crowd of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, students and members of other religions gathered at the provisional building of the Provincial Court to see if justice would be done.

Instead of using a jury, the Spanish court consists of three magistrates who make up the tribunal. One magistrate serves as chairman. The court proceeding was held up more than an hour when the appointed chairman of the tribunal apparently decided that he did not want to accept responsibility for the case at question and declined to serve as chairman,

A hush fell over the forty-five persons squeezed into the tiny courtroom. Outside the room twenty, others strained to hear the proceedings when the trial finally got under way on October 27, 1961, at 12:30 p.m. First called to the stand was the accused, Josd Orz&ez Ramirez, followed by several witnesses. All testified that they had paid no money to anyone other that) perhaps a voluntary contribution, that they had never pledged any allegiance to an organizational statute, had not signed anything, nor had they received any orders from the accused. Attendance at their Bible study groups was usually five to ten, but never more than twenty.

In his final summation to the court, the prosecutor explained why he felt that the accused should be condemned to three months in prison for “illicit association": “In view of the facts, there is no doubt that we are treating organized persons. Some of them admitted that they were baptized—proof that something exists among them. The accused invited them to his house, and the accused also ignored the fact that it was necessary to ask permission, but this does not excuse him from the punishment.

“I must add that this belief or religious idea according to the police report [sent from Madrid], which I do not want to cite, but the tribunal can see it, has brought complications in many lands including our own. Also it should be added that he was proselyting his faith.”

The Defense’s Summary

Don Fernando Sagoseta de Illurdos, the defense attorney, made an eloquent plea in the defendant’s behalf: “The prosecution has made in the accusation a mixture of things that make no sense. It has cost much sweat and blood to arrive at this twentieth century where liberty of conscience can be obtained and today we can give thanks that the medieval age has passed.

“The fact that fourteen persons are together, commenting on the Bible, is not an offense, and the Spanish Bill of Rights in its article 16 (1) states: ‘Spaniards can meet together and associate together for licit purposes and in accord with what is established by Law.’ Besides, the law prescribes that for up to twenty persons there is no need to ask permission. For this reason the offense of ‘illicit association’ does not apply to the accused. What is more, on December 24, there were more than twenty people in my own home.

“In addition the tribunal has heard from the mouths of the witnesses that they do not pay money, that they do not recognize the accused as leader, that there are no organizational statutes or associate members. Therefore there is no organization, it does not exist, it is as a fantasy of the mind.

“If you condemn the accused, don’t forget that here in Las Palmas there are Evangelists, a Hindu colony, Anglicans, and Mohammedans. They hold meetings and they are not registered or legalized with the Civil Government of this province. I myself have entered these meeting places and no one blocked my entry. I repeat that if you condemn, you will have to indict them all

“I have before me a case that happened about seventy years ago, on the peninsula, to a certain man dressed as a priest and who said that he belonged to the Spanish Catholic church, not the Roman, and he celebrated mass in Spanish instead of Latin, One day he was surprised, together with others, celebrating mass for a delegate of the government. When the hour came to try him, the tribunal found that he had not committed the offense of ‘illicit association,’ because there were no statutes, no associate members, no paying of dues, that is to say, there was no organization, and for that reason he had not broken any law. My defendant is found in the same situation.

“As to the charge of proselytism mentioned by the prosecution, it is absurd. First of all, persons naturally feel the urge and necessity to communicate to others that which they believe. This right is therefore guaranteed In the Spanish Bill of Rights, Article 12, which permits the free expression of one’s ideas, and after all, to speak about the Bible to others in a Catholic country certainly could not be a crime.”

The lawyer then read a statement made in January, 1961, by an official Spanish government agency, the Delegation National de Organizationes del Movimiento, which endorsed the principles laid out by the European Convention of the Rights of Man, held at Rome in 1950: “Every person has the right to freedom of thought, of conscience and of religion; this right implies the freedom to change one’s religion or beliefs, as well as the freedom to manifest his religion or his beliefs, individually or collectively, in public or in private, by means of worship, teaching, practices, and the fulfillment of the rites.” “The freedom to manifest one’s own religion of beliefs, cannot be subject to other restrictions.” “Every person has the right to freedom of expression. This right consists of the freedom of opinion and that of receiving or communicating information or ideas without any interference of any public authority and without limiting considerations.” “Every person has the right to the freedom of peaceful assembly or to associate with others.”

“Therefore there is nothing wrong in speaking to others about one’s beliefs.”

The attorney then demonstrated to the tribunal that not one law in the Spanish Penal Code prohibits “proselytism.” Only by means of a circular of the Ministry of Government, dated February 23,1948, and not by law, is the subject even mentioned, and its application does not correspond to the case in question. Therefore, if no law exists, there can be no offense of proselytism.

The attorney continued: “As to my defendant’s being the ‘leader,’ the fact does not exist. The witnesses have shown that they refer to the word leader in the way that I might consider a colleague more erudite and qualified than myself, someone to consult. Besides, when he came to the Islands, there were already persons here who read the Bible.

“As to the reference that the prosecutor has made about the police report, and what some publication of the Watch Tower Society might have said against the Spanish regime and its chief of state, my defendant has had nothing to do with it. Just because a Catholic journal criticizes the regime of whatever country, it doesn’t mean that the Catholics of that country are going to be held responsible. What you should do if you wish, is go to Brooklyn and file your complaint against the named Society, but don’t take it out on my defendant.

“In conclusion then, in view of the facts, the organization as such does not exist, and therefore the accusation of ‘illicit association’ does not apply. If it applies to him, then it must apply to all the religious organizations which exist in Spain, There is no doubt as to the innocence of my defendant, and I therefore ask for his absolution.”

The Decision

A few days later the tribunal of three handed down their decision: Condemnation without modifying circumstances for the offense of illicit association, and a prison sentence of three months, with credit given for time already served.

How could such a decision be made In view of the conclusive facts and powerful defense that demonstrated the innocence of the accused? An interview between the attorney and the tribunal’s chairman, Don Luis Vallejo Quero, proved revealing: “If you decide to condemn, you will give the police a carte blanche against these people,” stated the defense lawyer. “And if he is absolved,” retorted the chairman, “we will give a carte to them, and they will inundate us with propaganda, and besides, . what would the authorities say?”

Case Appealed

Spain’s high-ranking authorities will soon have the opportunity to go on record in regard to the persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses because the Orzaez case is being appealed to the Supreme Court of Spain, Will the central authorities dignify their government before the world by upholding the Spanish Bill of Rights and halting the crusade against Jehovah’s witnesses? Or will they add momentum to the persecution by giving it further court sanction?

Freedom-loving Catholics around the world will not be indifferent to what is happening to Jehovah’s witnesses in Spain. In Poland, according to the New York Times of December 20, 1961, Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski has criticized a police raid on a Catholic youth meeting in the Dominican Church in Poznan. According to the report, the Polish government has just modified an education decree authorizing inspectors to look into catechism classes being held in churches. “The decree had been openly defied by the Catholic hierarchy,” said the news report. Yes, suppression of religious freedom is unwelcome in Communist Poland, just as it is unwelcome in Catholic Spain. May Catholic Spain’s authorities do unto others what their Catholic brothers in Poland would like to be done unto them.

The Supreme Court may profitably review the wise precedent set by the ancient Supreme Court at Jerusalem in exonerating early Christian witnesses charged with failure to keep silent about their beliefs. “Do not meddle with these men,” warned Judge Gamaliel, the Law teacher, “but let them alone; (because, if this scheme and this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them;) otherwise, you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.”—Acts 5:38, 39.

Awake! readers who have received replies from Spanish officials denying the charges made in the September 8, 1961; issue of Awake! in its article “Totalitarian Inquisition Revived in Spain” now have the latest facts. Not only was the totalitarian crusade against Jehovah’s witnesses in Spain a fact at the time that article was published, but it has continued and increased in intensity since then. If you have not written to the Spanish government to voice your protest against its suppression of religious freedom, do so now. Or if you have already written, but feel that you want to answer the dishonest reply given you by the representatives of the Spanish government, you now have the facts with which to do so. Religious freedom is being suppressed in Spain!

gA SEetfe/i cAppfceefatten

A letter recently received by the Watch Tower Society offered this warm expression of appreciation:

“Dear Brothers,

“For some time I have been enjoying the use of the wonderful Watch Tower Publications Index you have made available to us. As a congregation publisher with three Bible studies I can say that it is truly wonderful. Today I wanted to look up some information proving that Paul was the twelfth apostle. With the help of the Index, I was able to find the answer within a few minutes. I was able to give the person with whom I study Scriptural information as well as interesting facts about Paul to clarify the matter.

“It has occurred to me that too many of us take for granted the wonderful work you brothers are doing. Even though we deeply appreciate it, we neglect to tell you so. Many of the publishers in my congregation use the Index constantly. It saves so many precious hours, time that can be used to further the Kingdom message, and helps both the publisher and persons of good will alike to find the answers to help them to maturity. Thank you all on behalf of the many publishers like myself. We really appreciate deeply the work you are doing to help us further the good news of the Kingdom. May Jehovah’s rich blessings continue to be upon all of you in his theocratic organization. It is indeed a privilege to be unitedly praising our loving Father together with you. M.S., U.S.A.”

Guns and Children

AVE you ever had a child approach you S with a toy gun, pointing it directly at you? If so, you have probably found the i[ sensation no pleasant one, especially when J' the child pretends to kill you. All too often j! children really succeed in killing their pre- i[ tended victim. In the United States, for in- !■ stance, in a recent year over five hundred [i children under fifteen years of age were shot i[ to death by accident, seventy-seven of them 5 being under five years of age. Most of the ] । children were shot by other children.

What are the basic causes of these trage- i[ dies? Games in which children play at killing are no small factor. When an elght-year-old was shot by his playmate with a gun that hap- ? pened to be real, he was asked by authorities: )■ “Why did you do it?” The crying youngster, [! who had been playing cops and robbers, an- i[ swered: “I thought he would just jump up 5 and go on again!”                           5

Many children who play with toy guns evi-dently do not fully appreciate the consequences I [ of what a real gun can do. The games in [> which children take turns at killing and dying do not teach them that there can be perm a-nent consequences from use of guns. These Ji games do not teach them God’s view on killing and what the Bible has to say about the sane- '[ tlty of human life. Thus Bible principles enter ]i into the matter, and the question arises: Should children of Christian parents play at i[ killing? The world is no example for Chris- ji tians: “Quit being fashioned after this system [! of things.”—Rom. 12:2.

It is surprising how many parents actually encourage children to play at killing and even [> join them in such games. At Johnston, Rhode j! Island, a thirty-three-year-old father joined his i[ two sons in playing a game of cops and rob-bers. In the middle of the game the eleven- ]! year-old son ran into a bedroom and came back i[ with a 22-caliber rifle. The father shouted at his son to put it down, but the boy aimed ]! the gun at his father and, thinking his father was joking, pulled the trigger. The gun fired, [[ and the boy’s father, hit in the chest, died ], two hours later.

It is not surprising that parents who play at dropping dead sometimes really do. A few ]i years ago a four-year-old girl picked up a gun 'J and pointed it at her mother. The gun fired, i[ and the mother dropped—but not in play. The 5 gun was real. Toy guns look so realistic today that real guns are sometimes picked up by very young children as toys. These “toys" kill.

When young people play at killing with toy guns, it is not to be expected that when they get their hands on real guns they will suddenly stop such play. In July, 1961, two eighteen-year-old boys at Thomaston, Long Island, New York, were playing. One picked up a hunting knife and playfully lunged at the other. The unarmed youth then took out a fully loaded revolver from a dresser and pointed it jokingly at his knife-wielding companion—but the weapon went off, killing the boy.

Joking with real guns has caused many a death. This is what apparently happened to a alxteen-year-old boy of San Diego, California. He was returning home from a hunting trip along with his four teen-year-old brother. The rifle went off by mistake, and the fourteen-year-old fell dead. In a frenzy of remorse, the sixteen-year-old boy put another shell in the rifle and shot himself.

Whenever a real gun Is within the reach of children, there is peril. A six-year-old girl in Little Silver, New Jersey, found an automatic pistol in her parents' bedroom. Her nine-year-old sister came in and took the weapon from her, but while doing so somehow the trigger was pulled and the six-year-old girl fell back on the bed, shot between the eyes.

Even when parents do not have guns in the house, their children may someday handle a real gun, perhaps one belonging to a playmate. So parental training should include counsel on guns, especially this counsel: Never to point any gun at any person, no matter whether it be loaded, unloaded or just a toy. When parents bring up their children by Christian principles, it is not likely such children will play at murder.

Quite understandably, any person can feel uneasy when a child points a real-looking gun at him. Many persons rightly feel indignant at the parents of such gun-toting children. Parents who train children never to point any kind of gun at 'a person, not even for a joke, win the respect of true Christians—and they may save their own lives.

attend church periodically, enjoy religious music occasionally, think religion is fine for their wives and children, but as for themselves, they want no part of it Why do these men feel that way about religion?

They seem to be of the opinion that religion was meant for women and children but not for men; that the job of instructing children in religion, like dishwashing and housekeeping, belongs to the women. But is that so? Are not husbands under divine command to lead their wives in worship and fathers commanded to inculcate the ways of God in their children? Why, then, all this aloofness on the part of some husbands toward religion?—Deut. 6:4-9.

It is common knowledge that there are more women than men taking part in religious activities, more women than men attending religious services and more women than men who are registered members of religious denominations. Nevertheless, many men and women who do not attend religious services regularly do express a keen delight in a study of the Scriptures because they represent a sizable percentage of the population in need of religious comfort and guidance.

For example, they state that religious sermons are far too frequently based on emotion rather than reason, that the clergy too often sound like politicians and psychiatrists rather than spiritual leaders and that the authorities quoted for support are more often worldly than the Word of God. Their complaint about religious rituals and doctrines is that many of them smack of idolatry, superstition and mystery instead of established truth; that religious sanctimoniousness is but a hypocritical veneer.

- Other reasons given are love of physical privacy and mental freedom. To these husbands and fathers religion presents a threat to their homemade peace, because it calls for vigorous action and participation. They care for neither. Others admit to being afflicted with guilt complexes. Their occupations may force them into dubious transactions and deals during the week; therefore, on weekends they do not feel right about drawing nigh to a God who Is righteous and just. So they steer clear of religion altogether.

Still others withdraw because they are not avid readers, and religion does call for a certain amount of reading and studying. Even those who do enjoy reading do not ordinarily relish a diet of religious books and periodicals. Religious reading has a reputation for being dull and too often is overloaded with its unconvincing testimonials and speculations of men.

What is perhaps a greater deterring factor is the constant appeal for money in the churches. The frequency with which the collection plates are passed around in some churches tends to remind some husbands of the oft recurrence of television commercials on the late, late show.

Others dread the spotlight. And to become an active member in a religious denomination almost inevitably means being dragged into social activities, giving speeches at church dinners, taking part in group discussions, all of which means sharing the spotlight.

Sympathize as we may with these men, yet are these justifiable reasons for them to shrink from the responsibility laid upon them by God? What husband or father has the right to transfer the load that is his to carry? Does not the Bible say: “Each one will carry his own load”?—Gal. 6:5.

His Load to Carry

Religious responsibility is delegated by God; therefore, it is not a charge to be taken lightly. The first man Adam received his religious instructions from God and he, in turn, was commissioned to instruct his wife Eve in the way of life. Eve rebelled at that arrangement as so many women today do. But they have not altered God’s way. Adam should have corrected his wife, he should have branded the serpent a liar, as Jesus did. He should have stood up for his religion and asserted himself as head, but he, hke so many men today, abandoned the lead in religious matters to his wife. He was delinquent toward God’s law and to his responsibility as a husband and head of the wife. Instead of refusing to be led in the wrong direction, he followed his wife into rebellion against God. Adam confessed his breakdown regarding his husbandly headship by saying: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate it.” Many husbands are still following Adam’s infamous example in allowing their wives to take the lead in matters of religion. —Gen. 3:12; 2:15-17; John 8:44.

Such irresponsibility toward divine requirements and order on the part of both Adam and Eve has had far-reaching effects. To Eve it meant childbirth with increased pain, a craving for her husband and being dominated by him. For Adam it meant loss of paradise, a cursed earth and a life in sorrow and finally death for both of them. Today’s consequences are equally as great.—Gen. 3:16-24.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the apostle Paul should remind the young overseer Timothy about this responsibility of headship. Paul wrote: “I do not permit a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.” This order must be strictly obeyed by both the male and female if happiness is to result.—1 Tim. 2:11-14.

In ancient Israel fathers, not wives, were the masters of their families and they took the lead as instructors of religion. The wife, being her husband’s property, followed his religious guidance. However, often in the Scriptures the mother is linked with the father in the training of their children. For example, it is written: “Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." “Observe,

O my son, the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother.” While mothers joined in the training of their children, they always di'd so under the direction of the father as their head.—Prov. 1:8; 6:20.

This does not mean that honor was not accorded the wife and mother, for accounts of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel show that they were held in high esteem. Some Hebrew women even reached positions of peculiar prominence, such as Deborah the judge, Huldah the prophetess and Esther the queen. But it is significant that such women as attained positions of importance did so by working with and through men and never by usurping authority over men.

The Modern. Trend

However, over the passing years and especially so in this twentieth century there has been a major shift in both authority and functions in .the family. Today the wife and children have come into places of greater power in decision making, primarily because many fathers have abandoned their duty as family head. In an interview of fifty upper middle-class Protestant church families it was discovered that “the men rejected decisively the traditional patriarchal, authoritarian father role; they would neither own it for themselves, nor would they tolerate the associate who would try to reclaim this idea of headship for himself.” Another study of 131 men and women, representing social levels from the lower economic class to the upper middle class, revealed that among the younger persons interviewed the man still assumed headship. But it was found that in the older group, including men and women between 55 and 70 years, “the woman was the head of the household.”

Illis shift of authority has had serious effects on the husband, wife and children. Hiose who study human behavior say that the man is no longer the masculine, strong-minded soul who pioneered and conquered continents, that he has changed as a husband and as a father. The effect of his collapse has been that the wife has lost respect for him. Dr. Margaret Mead in Male and Female says: “When American women do rise to positions of power and status, they have great difficulty in treating their male subordinates with any decent sensitivity—for aren’t they failures to be there?” So take note, you husbands.

Female dominance becomes even more damaging when husband turns father. Worldly authorities no longer are positive that they know what a father’s role should be. Anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer writes: “In few societies is the role of the father more vestigial than in the United States,” Worldly experts ask, “Does the American father have any role at all, beyond procreation and moneymaking?” Can this be applied to you? Do you know that in order for your boy to grow into a masculine man, he needs to see what masculinity is like, he needs to feel father’s authority and see his headship? What, then, are you as a father doing about your responsibility?

To Husbands and Fathers

Therefore, you husbands and fathers, assume the authority and headship entrusted to you by God, for he holds you responsible as heads even as he held your forefather Adam responsible. Jehovah has set himself up as an example for you to follow. As a Husband he cares daily for his “wife’s” spiritual and material needs. He does not shirk this responsibility by passing it on to her. As a Father he disciplines his children and takes a keen interest in their everlasting welfare. Therefore, you fathers, take hold of your duties before God. Imitate him.—Matt. 4:4; Prov. 3:ll,12;Heb. 12:5-11.

Jehovah also gives to you the perfect example of his Son Jesus Christ to follow. Do not spurn this loving provision. Christ loved the congregation, his bride, and delivered himself up for it. Why? “That he might sanctify it, cleansing it with the bath of water by means of the word, that he might present the congregation to himself in its splendor, not having a spot or a wrinkle or any of such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish.’’ “In this way,” the apostle Paul says, “husbands ought to be loving their wives.” Are you husbands doing that? This means exercising a vigorous headship, lovingly caring for the wife’s spiritual needs so that she will be "holy and without blemish.” It means having her everlasting welfare at heart and so instructing her in the way of life, counseling her in religious matters so that she with you may gain salvation. Following Jesus’ example will be a blessing to you.—Eph. 5:22-29; 1 Pet. 2:21.

As Jesus cared for the “young children” whom Jehovah gave to him, so, too, you fathers, care for your children. (Heb. 2: 13) He did not shift the responsibility to others, but carried it alone faithfully. He lovingly cared for them, prayed for them and diligently instructed them. Do you care that much for your children? They desperately need you. They need to feel your firm guidance. They need to experience your authority, your discipline, your love and your care. They need to hear you speak spiritual things so that they may grow in spiritual values. They need to hear you pray so that they, too, may learn to draw nigh to God in times of need. They need to be understood and disciplined. Therefore, Paul instructs: “You, fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah.” (Eph. 6:4) Children need you to give them advice and discipline.

If religion is going to mean anything at all to them, you fathers must contribute your share toward building their conviction in God, his Word and his organization. It is not enough just to send the wife and children off to religious meetings for instruction while you stay at home and read the paper or join your buddies on the golf course. You must live your life so that your children may note that your practices are in accord with your beliefs. Otherwise, when the occasion arises to discuss with them serious religious and ethical values, they will be bound to take what you have to say to them with a very large grain of salt.

Yours is a serious charge that is non-transferable. Therefore, meet it with the zeal set before you by your Examplars, Jehovah God and Christ Jesus. Remember, Jehovah holds you responsible as head. If you do your duty, your wife and children will honor and respect you. They will seek your advice, not shun it. Then together as a family you will not only reflect the wisdom of following the perfect pattern, to your own happiness, but also reflect a life of praise and glory in worship of God. —Lev. 19:32.

££T TOW was your weekend?” Is that not a familiar question? It is one asked the world around, probably being repeated millions of times every Monday morning. Just as common is the inquiry: “What are you going to do this weekend? Have you made any plans?” Almost anywhere one may go, on all continents, both in heathendom and Christendom, weekend activities are a chief topic of conversation.

To most persons weekends mean one and a half to two days off from the regular routine of work. This provides various opportunities, de- _x'/ pending on where "

one may live. In       a |

Ghana soccer has be-       A DI

pastime and on the weekends people flock from far and xJL; near to attend the games. Korean motion picture houses change their movie feature on weekends and draw large attendances. In some places, as in Brazil, people still use the weekends primarily to visit friends and sit around and relax. But throughout Europe, America and many other places there is an increased tendency to get out on the highways and go someplace. Go to the seashore, run to the mountains, race to some resort area—just so long as one is going somewhere or is pursuing some activity that is considered pleasurable.

The present-day trend is toward shorter

workweeks and longer weekends, and particularly is this true in the United States. Formerly it was the custom to leave work at noon Saturday, but now, in some places, employees leave as early as 3 or 4 p.m. Friday. Some foresee a standard three-day weekend andathirty-to thirty-five hour workweek. The January 18 New York Times front-page headline “Five-Hour Day Is Granted by One Electrical Group” is indicative of the trend toward shorter workweeks and more leisure time. It is now said by recreation experts that Americans have r \, i,    \ - more leisure than

-• working hours.

With the prospects

SUAw C/ °f ^a shorter work-a     week and a longer

IQUQj     weekend some raise

® _r <    _} '■ v the question as to the

advisability of such an arrangment. They

point to evidence indicating that most people are incapable of using leisure time constructively—that it leads to crime and immorality and that, instead of easing tensions and equipping people for their work, it increases tensions and ruins working efficiency. Thus the questions are raised: Are weekends beneficial? Are they

A Pleasure or a Plague?

Weekends should be a pleasure, not a plague. Why? Because they allow people time to pursue interests that they enjoy. In this mechanized age so. many persons serve like cogs in a machine, performing one operation over and over again. Weekends allow for a break in this monotonous routine. They provide a change that can contribute toward a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. God took this into consideration and gave a law to his nation of Israel that allowed for a day of rest from regular activity. If weekends are used wisely and constructively, they can be a real pleasure to man.—Ex. 20: 8-11.

Today, however, instead of using the weekend for constructive purposes, there is an increased tendency for people to run themselves ragged in a wild chase after pleasure. This regular weekend pursuit begins Friday evening and often does not end until late Sunday night or the wee hours of Monday morning. Invariably what one then needs is another day to recuperate. Comes Monday morning, and instead of being refreshed and with a feeling of satisfied contentment, a person is exhausted physically and emotionally, not to mention being bankrupt spiritually. Such weekends have become a plague. In evidence of this are the accidents, mistakes and the general inefficient operation that have come to be associated with “blue Monday.”

In recent years people have been blessed with increased amounts of leisure time. But, instead of a blessing, it has proved in many cases to be a curse to them. It is not uncommon today to see persons obliterate their entire weekend, getting drunk Friday night and not sobering up again until Monday morning. Others, who apparently feel they have no place to go and can think of nothing to do, sit and stare at the four walls of their apartment or idly roam the streets. Their weekends are far from pleasurable. For them it can truthfully be said, ‘Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week.’

Even those who absorb themselves in a wild chase after pleasure are often not happy. As in other fields of human endeavor, keeping up with the neighbors, not personal enjoyment, often governs where they go or what they do on the weekend. Then too, many weekend pleasures involve highly competitive games, with severe disappointment on the part of the losers. All of this is far from relaxing and contributes to the plague, which, in the case of tens of thousands of persons, ends in violent death. That comes when the irritated, tension-ridden driver, fighting heavy weekend traffic conditions, takes one too many chances and becomes another traffic death statistic. It is significant that some two out of every five traffic fatalities are registered on the weekend.

So, instead of being a pleasure, weekends have become peak periods of conflict, nervous strain, physical and mental upset and automobile accidents. Alcoholic consumption and sexual promiscuity also reach their peak at this time of the week. Dr. Irving J. Sands, a Columbia University neurologist, went so far as to refer to the “national weekend neurosis.” It is evident that many are not happy with the way they spend their weekend leisure time. Therefore it would be appropriate that we consider suggestions on how one might make

Wise Use of Weekends

A pleasurable weekend is one that is built around a constructive change of activity. Years ago it was the general rule to work from sunup to sundown, as many as seventy to eighty hours a week, and the purpose of a day off at the end of the week was to rest and recuperate. It is true that few work that long these days, but the Scriptural counsel to be reasonable would dictate that one use the weekend to rest and recuperate if need be.—Phfl. 4:5.

Of course, for persons who are away from their homes most of the week, there may be many things around the house that need attention, such as cleaning, house repairs and mowing the lawn, to mention a few. If that is the case, tackle the job and get it out of the way. There is great satisfaction in getting a job done.

Weekends also can provide time for diversion, and this in moderation can contribute to your well-being and can be strengthening to family ties. For an enjoyable weekend, make your plans in advance. Do not just wait to see what turns up. Too often unplanned weekends turn out to be “lost weekends.” Plan to take the family for a hike in the woods, for a swim in a lake or at the beach, or to engage in some other activity that suits the likes of everyone involved.

There are so many possibilities for weekend activities, but plan constructively. Use the time to strengthen family ties by doing things together. Families should find pleasure in being together, and they do when parents take the inltative in planning activities in which all can share. This may take a little thought and effort, but the rewards will be well worth it. Youngsters win enjoy so much doing things with their parents, and husbands and wives will be drawn closer together.

The Scriptures advise that “bodily training is beneficial for a little.” So recreation has its place and is beneficial, but be reasonable and do not try to crowd too many things into a weekend, nor necessarily make such activity a regular weekend feature. Remember, the rest of that scripture says that “godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.” Godly devotion is of primary importance. So recreation should not be a goal in itself, but merely a momentary diversion to refresh the mind and the body for more important things. If you keep this mental attitude, weekend recreation will be a pleasure and will never gravitate into a plague.—1 Tim. 4:8.

A dedicated Christian, while he leads a balanced life that includes many activities, finds the greatest pleasure in the service of God. He finds his keenest joy in association with the clean-living people who make up the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses, studying and discussing the Bible with them and sharing with his neighbors the hope-inspiring truths found in the Word of God. Whenever he can arrange his time to do so, he shares in these activities, doing so along with the other members of his family. For that reason it is only to be expected that when the weekend comes at least part of the time is devoted to the pursuit of these interests. Activities such as these are upbuilding, refreshing and a source of real contentment. They mark a weekend well spent.

You, too, make wise use of your weekends. Rather than allowing them to be a time of loneliness or days of dissipation in a mad pursuit of the desires of the flesh, plan so they will afford you pleasurable relaxation and opportunity to do things you really enjoy. Use them wisely to draw the members of your family closer to one another. Use them to the best advantage by engaging in activities that will draw you closer to God.

WORLD INSANITY

“Perhaps the final proof of our insanity is the fact that we have so prostituted our scientists . . . that a large percentage of them have concentrated all their knowledge, all their imagination, all their industry, all their skill, on the invention of ever more horrible means of killing

their fellow man.”—Dr. Hugh Keenleyslde.

POISONS AS MEDICINES

A deadly poison used on blowgun $ darts by Indians in the tropical 5 jungles of the Americas is a valuable drug in modern hospitals. X In the jungle it destroys lives, ?

but in the hospitals it helps to save them. X A victim struck, or even scratched, by a ¥ dart dipped in it faces certain death, be- y cause it paralyzes his muscles and stops his A breathing. Yet the ability of this poison, known Y as “curare," to block the transmission of nerve $ impulses to the muscles is what makes it valu- X able to doctors. A small amount injected into ¥ a patient before an operation relaxes the mus- y cles, permitting a surgeon to get through them X easily In order to reach the abdominal cavity. X But this is only one of several medicinal uses y for curare,                                    i

When a tube must be passed through a $ patient’s windpipe for artificial respiration, $ curare facilitates the task by relaxing the Y muscles. Convulsions resulting from the shock y treatment of mental patients can be made $ milder by an injection of a small amount of $ this jungle poison. The same is true when a $ patient suffers convulsions from lockjaw. An- X other useful poison that affects muscles is commonly used by eye doctors.               £

Small amounts of belladonna, a plant of £ the nightshade family, is used to relax the y involuntary muscle of the eye so as to cause $ the pupil to dilate. This is often done by doc- J. tors to facilitate the examination of an eye. X It can also be used to relax stomach spasms, $ because it affects the terminals of the nerves X that go to the involuntary muscles. But in large doses it is deadly. Even the poisons in $ certain types of fish are being put to a medie- *’• in al use.                                         $

The poison of the puffer fish is considered $ to be one of the most violent poisons known. X When used in small amounts puffer poison £ can slow down a patient’s heartbeat or inhibit blood clotting. The poison of the stingray also J-affects the heartbeat. Under investigation as a drug in the cancer fight is the venom of the X sea cucumber. It appears to interfere with X the process of cell division and may prove £ helpful in interrupting the growth of cancer ¥ cells. And the venom of the toadfish is being ¥ examined for possible uae in the fight against diabetes.

Commenting on how poisonous fish open up a whole new field of useful drugs, the magazine Science Netos Letter of June 27, 1959, stated: “These fish represent a sizable potential source of new drugs that, until now, almost nobody has done anything about. And even now, while many researchers are busily screening thousands of chemicals and antibiotic broths, a few scientists have just begun to investigate the medical possibilities in marine animals." One of these scientists is Dr' Bruce W. Halstead. Intrigued by the great possibilities in this practically untouched field, he said: "There Is an ever-increasing amount of scientific evidence that these noxious organisms and their poisons may serve as sources of the life-giving antibiotics, anticancer, and other indispensable therapeutic agents of tomorrow.” At his World Life Research Institute near Colton, California, in the United States, he is carefully examining ■ poisonous marine life for venoms that may have medicinal value.

The fire ant, which has been considered somewhat of a nuisance by farmers in the United States, has a poison in its stinger that causes a brief, stabbing pain like a beesting. Investigations of this poison have shown that it is deadly to other insects as well as to bacteria and molds. This fact opens the door to many uses for its venom. Comparing its effectiveness with antibiotics, Dr. A. F. Novak observed: "The widest ranging antibiotics In use today kill only a few different kinds of bacteria. And I know of none that kills both bacteria and molds.” Further investigation of this poison may cause it to be adopted by medical science as another valuable tool in the fight against disease.

Spurred on by the knowledge that the poison on darts of Indians can help to save life as well as destroy it, scientists have launched investigations of many poisons and have been rewarded with finding valuable drugs that could be added to the arsenal of medical science. There is much yet to be learned, but there is sufficient evidence to convince them that poisons in small amounts can be used as medicines.

KING of birds— so it is said of the soaring eagle! Nation after nation has in effect placed a crown on the eagle. There is no doubt about it: Standing three feet high and with a wingspread of seven feet or more, many of these birds are unusually striking in appearance. And what strength! Powerful wings, curved beak dnd sharp, strong talons or claws make the eagle a most formidable creature. Little wonder that Assyria, Persia, Greece, France, Germany and the United States have used the eagle as an emblem. The bird’s success in overcoming its prey, plus its commanding appearance, has given reason for calling eagles feathered monarchs of the sky.

The golden eagle of the Northern Hemisphere is a magnificent bird with a wingspread up to well over six feet. This blackish-brown bird is so named because it has a golden sheen on its nape and back. One pair of golden eagles were observed dining upon a dead ox, at the same time keeping at a distance a flock of California condors—birds about twice the eagle’s size! When the golden eagle pounces upon prey such as rabbits, woodchucks, prairie dogs and ground squirrels, it is like an animated thunderbolt. It plunges after its prey with tremendous force and velocity, so that the sound of the air whining through its pinions can be heard for some distance. On one occasion, the golden eagle was clocked at 120 miles per hour.

bound. The greaUfiird'JJ flick of time on its shod without losing the stroke of h’is wirigS^FB rose again and rested in a tree. His'woSc was done. He could afford to wait. The young kangaroo hopped on. Slowly it swung in an aimless circle, gradually narrowing its orbit until it spun about on nerveless legs and fell in a quivering heap. The eagle, in one lightning probe, had pierced its spinal column.”—Atlantic Monthly, February, 1932.

Monkeys for Dinner

In the tropics young monkeys often furnish tender steaks for eagle menus. The monkey-eating eagle of the Philippine Is*-lands looks like a feathered monarch, having a crown of pointed feathers on its head. Another monkey-feeding bird is the African crowned eagle, whose feathers and huge claws have long been prized by African chieftains.

Most powerful of tropical eagles is perhaps the famed harpy eagle—named after the hideous monster of Greek mythology. No other eagle seems so sinister-looking as the harpy. With its double crest, emphatically hooked beak and sinister face, it creates a terrifying impression that might well paralyze its prey. But Mr. Harpy Eagle uses his talons for killing prey, zooming down with irresistible force upon monkeys and other mammals and birds. Its claws and powerful legs are said to be unequaled by any other bird of prey. Small wonder this feathered monarch seldom misses a meal.

Often characterized as the most majestic of its family is the bald or American eagle, a sea eagle that soars in tremendous circles high in the sky. As it turns, the sun glistens on its snow-white tail and head. Not really bald, the eagle’s white head, from a distance, merely gives the appearance of baldness. Typical of eagles, it has wonderfully keen vision, and some observers have credited it with the ability to sight its prey at a distance of three miles.

Scavenger, Fisher and Pirate

Fish make up a large part of the diet of the bald eagle. Though waste fish are readily consumed by this bird, it also does fishing for itself when so inclined. It soars above the water and with its keen eyes spots its quarry; then it sets its wings for a long diagonal glide. As the bird skims the surface of the water, it extends its talons into the water at the right moment and seizes its prey.

Back in 1782, when the United States Congress made the bald eagle the national emblem of the country, there was some controversy over the choice. Benjamin Franklin thought that if the country must have a bird as an emblem it ought to be the wild turkey; he objected to the bald eagle because of its habit of eating carrion and its tendency, at times, to turn pirate. True enough, sometimes the bald eagle circles in the air while an osprey works below him, fishing diligently. Finally,'when the osprey, a large bird that can plummet down into the water, snatches a fish from beneath the surface and flies off, the bald eagle swoops down, screaming loudly. Alarmed by the eagle’s screaming approach, the osprey drops his fish and dives for safety. This feathered pirate then scoops up its easily won meal in midair and flies away to dine at leisure atop its favorite dead tree. Despite Franklin’s view that the bald eagle is more a feathered hijacker than a monarch, Congress overruled him, believing that the bird’s occasional piratical antics were offset by¹ its striking appearance, great size and dominant position in the bird world.

Because of its dwindling numbers, United States Federal law now protects bald eagles; and one can be fined up to $500 for killing the bird. Special permits are required to kill or capture them. Taking one alive may require quite a battle. “I’ve seen one with a broken wing,” says one observer, “fight like a demon against the effort of three men to subdue him, glaring defiance even after his capture.”

Some persons, on the other hand, believe the bald eagle is not the paragon of courage and confidence after all but that it is easily intimidated by other birds. Crows, for instance, are said to hairy the bald eagle, cawing raucously as the eagle flies majestically along. But after a careful study of bald eagles, Frederick Truslow wrote in the National Geographic magazine of January, 1961:

“I’m convinced that the eagle—far from being craven—is just too confident of his superior strength to deign to bother with common tormentors. He has also been criticized because he will seldom swoop at men climbing about his nest . . . but perhaps he has learned that caution is the better part of valor. . . . No, the American bald eagle Is not a coward. He is a bird of power, of self-reliance, and of majesty. . . . Master of the domain he surveys, he is not easily provoked. Cornered, he becomes a fury who will not willingly wear any man’s shackles.”

Baby'Snatching Eagles?

What about those stories of eagles robbing henyards and even soaring aloft with human babies and children? The volume Birds of America says: “On rare occasions an eagle has been known to pick up or to destroy a young lamb but these are not common offenses.” The late Charles Bromley, who climbed into more than eighthundred eagle nests to band birds for migration studies, only twice found remains of poultry in the nest debris, which was made up mostly of skeletons of thousands of rodents and fish. Not once did he find a skeleton of a human baby, “There is no scientific evidence for the legend that it has carried off children,” write Dean Ama-don and E. Thomas Gilliard, associate curators of the Department of Birds of the American Museum of Natural History in The Animal Kingdom. “The legend of eagles carrying babies off to their nests,” says Roy Chapman Andrews in Nature's Ways, “has never been substantiated and is probably pure fiction.”

In an endeavor to sum up this controversial matter, Frank Lane writes in Nature Parade: “Controversy has existed for years over the question whether an eagle can carry off a lamb or a child. I think the answer is that a few eagles are capable of the feat, but that it very rarely happens, Especially in the case of children. Children have certainly been attacked by eagles. A Negro girl of about 13 years was knocked down by an eagle in sight of her family near Jarrell, Texas, in October 1937. But carrying children off is another matter. It is generally agreed by ornithologists that an eagle is incapable of carrying a weight much in excess of its own, and few eagles weigh more than 12 pounds.”

The Holy Bible has much to say about eagles, alluding to their strength, various habits and keen vision. Interestingly, at Ezekiel 17:3-14, the eagle is used as a symbol of the conquering king of Babylon. A writer of inspired proverbs stated that one of the things that have “proved too wonderful for me" is “the way of an eagle in the heavens.”—Prov. 30:18, 19.

Truly the way of an eagle in the heavens is something wonderful. To what great altitude it flies! True kings of the air, eagles whirl, careen and dive over water, along roaring rapids in search of an evening meal; they perch like carved statues in the topmost limits of the tallest tree or upon the tooth of a crag in the wildest country; they soar untiringly in circles high in the sky. Appropriately, God’s Word says: “Those who are hoping in Jehovah will regain power. They will mount up with wings like eagles.”—Isa, 40:31.

THE Creator, Jehovah God, is powerful, just, wise and loving. In the exercise of these attributes he has seen fit, not only to endow humankind with gifts and faculties, but also to rule on their use. Thus he bestowed upon Adam and Eve the gift of procreation and commanded them to become many and fill the earth. At the same time, by decreeing that man and woman were to be one flesh he indicated how this gift was to be used. In other words, each man was to have only one wife and each wife only one husband.—Gen. 1:26-28; 2:18, 20-24; Matt. 19:3-9.

Worldly wise men ignore God’s principles and laws. They wink at fornication and adultery, allow divorce on almost any ground and even make excuses for perversions. They also claim that anything is permissible between a man and his wife so long as it is mutually agreeable or the wife can be influenced to cooperate. But not so.

The marriage tie of itself does not authorize abuses, such as a man using his wife the way a sodomite uses another man. Even if the woman were willing—which invariably she is not, the practice being both revolting and painful to her—It is a perversion and degrading of the marriage bed. The very way man and woman are created and conception takes place argues against it. Concerning ungodly acts the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, God, in keeping with the desires of their hearts, gave them up to uncleanness, that their bodies might be dishonored among them, even those who exchanged the truth of uop ror me ue ana venerated ana rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God gave them up to disgraceful sexual appetites, for both their females changed the natural use of themselves into one contrary to nature; and likewise even the males left the natural use of the female and became violently inflamed in their lust toward one another, males with males, working what is obscene and receiving in themselves the full recompense, which was due for their error.”—Rom. 1:24-27.

Connubial relations should be manifestations of love and affection for each other, not the mere exploiting of another’s body for the sake of thrills. Some God-fearing couples express thanks to God for this gift before enjoying it, and it is something for which to be thankful.—Prov. 5:15-19; lThess.5:18.

Today the question of birth control has - been pushed to the fore, especially by the most powerful religious group in Christendom, which terms it “mutual masturbation.” Due to pressure from the Roman Catholic Church, the giving out of birth control information has been made illegal in certain places, and Genesis 38:8-10 is used to support this position. Yet this scripture does not condemn birth control as such but merely condems the refusal of Onan to perform his duty of levirate marriage.

Since the Bible itself does not condemn birth control, it would seem that each married couple should be permitted to decide for themselves whether or not to practice it as well as its most effective and mutually satisfactory form; provided, of course, that the aforementioned abuses are not involved.—1 Cor. 7:3-7.

True, marriage is for the purpose of having offspring. But it is also for the purpose of companionship, which is why God gave Adam a wife in the first place. Marriage also serves as a safeguard against immorality, for it is honorable. So it is for each couple to decide whether or not they want to fulfill all three of these purposes of marriage or only two of them, and none may properly criticize them for taking what course seems best under their circumstances.—Gen. 2:18; Ps. 127:3-5; 1 Cor. 7:1, 2, 8, 9; Heb. 13:4.

Some Christian couples, after having had a number of children, wish to prevent further additions to their families. The reason may be economic or the health and life of the wife. May such couples resort to temporary or permanent sterilization if the measures for birth control they have used have proved ineffective? Scripturally they may not. The powers of procreation are too sacred to be mutilated for any such reason, even as implied in the law of Moses. True, Christians are no longer bound by that law code, but its underlying principles still do apply.—Deut. 23:1; 25:5-12.¹

Of course, no blame attaches if an operation performed for another reason, such as removal of diseased tissues or organs, results in sterilization. And if an operation for temporary sterilization was performed at some time in the past, it is a matter for determination by the individual couple as to whether another operation should be performed to restore their procreative powers; it is not mandatory for good standing in the congregation. As for the procreation privileges of such persons who survive Armageddon into God’s new world, that is for Jehovah to determine. However, since the new world will see miracles of physical restoration, Jehovah certainly can restore the reproductive powers of such persons if he chooses to do so.

Then what can be done by married couples who wish to avoid further additions to their families and for whom birth control has been found ineffective? What married couples under similar circumstances did before there were operations for sterilization. And what is that? Exercise selfcontrol. Of course, the burden of this rests primarily upon the husband. But when a man loves his wife as he does himself, this is a great aid to him in choosing between his personal pleasure and his wife’s wellbeing.—Gal. 5:22, 23; Eph. 5:25-33.

Is not intercourse basically a matter of showing intense love for each other? Without a doubt. Certainly the Creator intended that marriage partners should give each other exquisite delight thereby. However, when the life of the wife or the welfare of the entire family is involved, does it not show even greater love on the part of the husband to deny himself his marital dues and exercise self-control? Surely! This is not too great a burden for one who really has love.

It is not as though he did not have any feminine association or were denied all intimacies with his wife. Besides, he has her cooperation, her love, her welfare, in addition to God’s law to protect him from turning elsewhere for his sexual satisfaction.

More than that, such Christian husbands might take note of the fact that Jehovah God required the men of Israel to stay away from all sex relations during the time they served in war. They had to exercise self-control. That this was no unbearable burden can be seen by Urijah’s refusing to go in to have relations with his wife when the rest of the army was on the battlefield. And does not the apostle Paul carry the same principle into the lives of Christians when, in the interests of the ministry, he recommends: “The time left is reduced. Henceforth let those who have wives be as though they had none”?—Deut. 23:9-14; 1 Sam. 21:4; 2 Sam. 11:6-11; 1 Cor. 7:29.

Thus, ruled by love and guided by the principles that the Creator sets forth in his Word, Christians show proper respect for the gift of procreation and avoid the corrupting and self-seeking practices of the world around them.

Flood Disaster

On February 17 storms with hurricane-force winds hit northern Europe. In Hamburg, Germany, storm-whipped floods hilled 259 persons, hospitalized hundreds more and left about 17,500 people homeless and living in makeshift accommodations. Hamburg authorities estimated the damage at the equivalent of about $250,000,000. Deaths from the storms were also reported in other parts of Germany and Europe.

Glenn In Orbit

On February 20, after repeated delays, United States Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr., was shot into space and then successfully returned after three orbits around the earth. The flight time from blast-off until his spaceship splashed into the ocean was 4 hours and 56 minutes. The flight covered a distance of 81,000 miles at an altitude varying from 99 to 162 miles above the earth. The top speed was estimated to be 17,-545 miles per hour. On his return to earth Glenn reported that he “couldn’t feel better.” He said he felt no discomfort or sickness during the flight

Spy Exchange

On February 10 United States spy pilot Francis Gary Powers was released by the Soviet government in exchange for the Russian spy Rudolph I. Abel. Powers was shot down over Soviet territory in May of 1960, and it was this incident that Premier Khrushchev used to break up a summit conference in Paris by demanding an apology from President Eisenhower. Powers was serving his second year of a ten-year sentence. Abel was convicted in the United States on October 25,1957, and was later sentenced to thirty years, which he was serving in the Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. The exchange took place on a lonely bridge spanning Lake Wannsee, between West Berlin and East Germany.

Fallout Shelter Program

<§> On February 9 a bill was sent to the Congress of the United States asking for government authority to start a fallout shelter building program that would give protection to 20 million people. The proposed legislation would provide $450,000,000 to be used to help schools, hospitals and other nonprofit organizations to finance public shelters that would hold fifty or more persons.

Automation Problem

On February 14 President Kennedy said that to obtain full employment of the nation's working force in the face of automation was “the major domestic challenge of the Sixties." In a news conference the president observed that "we have to find over a ten-year period 25,000 new jobs every week to take care of those who are displaced by machines and those who are coming into the labor market.” "I regard it as a very serious problem," he said. In February the number of unemployed was about 4,700,000.

Maiden Voyage

<$> On February 8 the new $80 million French luxury liner the “SS France” received a royal welcome as she arrived in New York harbor on her maiden voyage. She is the first superliner put in service since the "United States” was launched some ten years ago. The "SS France,” at 1,035 feet, is the longest liner afloat and the third largest, after Britain's "Queen Mary” and “Queen Elizabeth.”

Ten New Cardinals

<$> On February 17 Pope John XXIII announced the naming of ten new cardinals, bringing the number of cardinals to eighty-seven, the highest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Of the eighty-seven, thirty are Italians, eight French, six Spanish, five from the United States and the remaining ones are from twentyeight other countries.

Picket for Peace

<$> On February 15 college students from across the nation began converging on Washington, D.C., for a two-day demonstration for peace* They came from as far away as Seattle, Washington, on the west coast. On February 16 a total of 1,400 had already registered at the Student Peace Union headquarters and hundreds more were expected. They picketed outside the White House carrying signs reading, “Shelters will not save us,” "Give our children a chance,” and so forth.

Flying Saucers

During the first part of February the United States Air Force declared that after checking out 7,369 reported sightings of flying saucers since 1947 no evidence has been turned up to indicate that such things exist. The Air Force said that birds, balloons, meteors, man-made satellites, aircraft and astronomical phenomena have been mistaken for flying saucers.

Violence In Algeria

<$> On January 14 thirty-six persons were reported killed in Algerian violence and on February 14 another thirty-three persons died and eighty-six were wounded in lighting. Sueh violence is the rule and not the exception' as the question of independence from French rule becomes an increasingly hot issue. From January 1 to the middle of February the conflicts in Algeria had already claimed 826 lives and wounded 1,483.

Colombian Train Wreck

On February 22 near Cali, Colombia, a freight and a passenger train crashed head-on on a curve. Officials said that forty persons were killed and sixty-seven injured, most of them in the front cars of the passenger train. All the dead were believed to be Colombians.

U.S. Navy Waste

On February 12, in a report to Congress by government auditors, it was charged that the Navy disposed of ship parts it later decided it needed. It cost the United States $700,000 to buy the new parts needed to replace the ones disposed of, according to the report.

Greek Primate Elected

• <$> On January 13 Archbishop lakovos was elected Primate of the Orthodox Church of Greece, but under pressure from the Greek government and a nationwide outcry he abdicated his position twelve days later, lakovos was charged with having committed “unmentionable acts” of immorality. On February 14, 81-year-old Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Ka-valla in northern Greece was elected to replace lakovos.

False Prediction

For weeks there was a feeling of doom throughout India because of widespread predictions by religious wise men that the world would come to an end the first weekend in February. When the end did not come, a crowd of Jaipur women chased some Hindu priests; they caught two of them and beat them up for being scaremongers.

Hepatitis Epidemic

• -$> On January 17 Dr- K "W. R. Best, a Canadian federal health officer in charge of the health department’s epidemiology division, said that the outbreak of infectious hepatitis in Canada had spread out of control. He said that there was a record number of 12,007 cases in 1961, nearly twice the number of the year before.

Juvenile Delinquency

On February 1 W- Harold Rea, general chairman of the Canadian YMCA Youth Fund, pointed to the tremendous increase of juvenile delinquency in Canada during the past ten years. He said that in 1959 946 youths from 16 to 19 years of age got into trouble for every 100,000 population, compared with 655 for every 100,000 in 1951.

Monkey Buslneaa

<$■ On February 2 Senator Harry F. Byrd, chairman of the Senate Finance CmrmJttee, questioned government plans calling for the expenditure of 51,201^925 to study why baby monkeys love their mothers. “It seems to me,” he observed, “thaf much more care should be exercised in the expenditure of taxpayers’ money, even in this important area.”

Big City Populations

Early in February Tokyo passed the IQ-million population mark to become the first city claiming to reach that figure. The runner-up cities, according to the latest figures, are London, with 8,2 million, and New York, at 7,78 million.

City Auto Fatalities

<$> In 1961, for the third year in a row, Tokyo registered more than 1,000 traffic fatalities, nearly 50 percent of them being pedestrians. Tokyo traffic conditions have earned the reputation of being about the most dangerous in the world. Statistics support such a reputation. It is reported that for every 10,000 vehicles Tokyo has 22.9 persons killed, compared to 5.1 in New York and 2.9 in Los Angeles.

Heart Trouble

Dr. James V. Warren, president-elect of the American Heart Association, while in New Orleans to address the Louisiana Heart Association, estimated that half of ail American males have some sort ol heart trouble. He said in an interview that “in the Korean war it was found that three-fourths of the young men killed in battle had the beginnings of heart trouble.”

Immorality Decried

In a speech in New York city recently Eugene J. McCarthy, Democratic senator from Minnesota, noted that in the business world “the opportunist and the sharp dealer, high-pressure artists and dealers in influence hold high places, even though they may not sit at the head table.” He decried the ‘‘American tendency to separate action from moral principles on the one hand and on the other to moralize one’s own position, to make of every campaign and issue a crusade and in some cases to justify the use of questionable means because of the nobility and purity of the goal.”

Deadly Virus

#■ During the final week of January, in Davidson County, Tennessee, four children under the age of six died from a deadly virus that has doctors baffled. The virus was described by Dr. W. J. Core as being a type of pneumonia that develops almost Instantly from what appears to be a mere cold. In all the deaths the children were apparently in good health six hours before they died.

Wrong Blood Given

A Quitman, Georgia, man, Lennon Bates Jamison, who charged that he was given the wrong type of blood during an operation at Piedmont Hospital, was recently awarded $65,000 in a damage suit in Fulton Superior Court. Attorneys for the hospital admitted that the wrong type of blood had been given, but contended that he had been cured of its ill effects. Jamison, who is the father of six children, asserted that he had been unable to work since the operation in October of 1958. He claimed that as a result of the transfusion he suffered seventeen ailments, including partial loss of memory, mental instability, partial paralysis of both arms and impaired vision and hearing.

Five Rich Cats

<§> In her will Margaret Theresa Montgomery left $25,000 to five cats to support them comfortably for the rest of their lives. This raised the problem in the state's tax office as to how one taxes cats. Usually taxes on inheritances are based upon a mortality table that estimates how long the heirs will live. But no such table exists for cats.

Disorderly Conduct

On one weekend in. January thousands of robins descended en masse on the pyracantha bushes in the yards of Los Altos, California, and gorged themselves on the winter-ripened red berries. The results were startling. It seems the berries had developed quite an alcoholic charge. So inebriated robins were observed to fall off rooftops, stagger in the streets and in other ways behave in a most disorderly manner.

“Wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.” —EccL 7;12.

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¹

See also The Watchtower, December 1, 1061, page 734.