Protestants take as their basis of faith the Scriptures of Truth. They reject tradition, and profess to take the Bible, and the Bible alone, as their rule of faith and practice. Catholics, on the other hand, receive the traditions of the church as of equal authority with the Scriptures of Truth.
Are Protestants true to this position which they have assumed? Do the Protestant churches find authority for all their creeds and doctrines in the Scriptures of Truth? What about the practice of infant baptism, which is observed in many of the Protestant churches? Where in the Scriptures is there afforded authority for belief in the conscious state of the dead, and that death affords an immediate entrance to eternal glory? What warrant is there in the Word of God for sprinkling or pouring as a mode of baptism? Particularly, where can be found divine authority for the practice of the great Protestant church in the observance of the first day of the week as the Sabbath of the Lord?
Indeed, for these doctrines there is no Scriptural warrant. Tradition has played a very important part in their acceptance by the adherents of Protestantism. It was on this authority they were brought into the Church of Rome, and in the great split from Romanism in the Reformation of the sixteenth century, Protestantism never cleared itself from these Roman beliefs and traditions. The Catholic Church is not slow to recognize this weakness in the Protestant platform of faith. Repeatedly it has challenged the consistency of Protestants in professing to take the Bible, and the Bible only, as their rule of faith, while at the same time they go entirely8contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures with reference to some of these important doctrines.
The Ecclesiastical Review for February, 1914, a representative Catholic journal, contains an article by Walter Drum, S. J., on "Sunday Observance." In this, as many of his coreligionists have done in other papers, he charges Protestants with great inconsistency in professing to reject tradition while at the same time acknowledging its claims in the regard which they give to the Sunday institution. He declares:—
Protestants make much of the observance of the Sunday, and are sometimes sincerely and honestly shocked that we Catholics seem to make little of that same observance. It does not occur to our separated brethren that by their principle of faith—the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible—there is no Sunday observance of obligation at all. Christ abrogated the Mosaic law, "Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day" (Ex. 20:8); and, so far as the New Testament tells us, substituted no Lord's Day for the Sabbath,—no Sunday observance for Saturday observance. The logical thing for Protestants to do is not to keep holy either the Saturday or the Sunday. And yet they deem it their duty to keep the Sunday holy. Why?—Because the Catholic Church tells them to do so. They have no other reason.
This caustic writer suggests that in the early church there was a celebration of mass on Sunday on the part of the faithful, as instanced by the gathering of the disciples at Troas. He believes also that 1 Cor. 16:2 indicates that it was a custom of the Christians "to celebrate the sacred mysteries" of the church on this day, but adds:—
No more than this can we gather from the New Testament. It contains not a shred of a law to keep holy the Sunday. The substitution of a Sunday law for the Sabbath law is a purely ecclesiastical institution; the celebration of the Lord's Day was for several centuries a custom that was local, and not a universal law of the church. The reason of this universal law was to honor the day of the resurrection of Jesus. And yet, as late as 154 A. D., that same feast of the resurrection was rarely celebrated on a Sunday in the Oriental church.
The writer then proceeds to detail the steps by which the Passover came to be celebrated on Sunday. The idea of Sunday observance he claims, even down to the middle of the fifth century, was entirely disassociated with the idea of Sabbath keeping, and no claims for its observance were made in connection with the law of the ten commandments. He concludes his argument with the following statement:—
The observance of Sunday thus comes to be an ecclesiastical law entirely distinct from the divine law of Sabbath observance, the prescriptions of Gen. 2:2, 3, in regard to the Sabbath having nothing whatsoever to do with the law of the church about Sunday, the Lord's Day. Catholics should observe the law of the church, not by the Old Testament observances of the Sabbath nor by the dictates of Protestants or of the Jews, but by the prescriptions of the church herself. The author of the Sunday law is the only one who has a right to interpret that law; and that author is the Catholic Church.
By what argument can the great Protestant church meet this charge of inconsistency? If Protestants admit the authority of Rome in the observance of a weekly rest day, should they not also admit the authority of that same church with respect to other church days and ordinances? Logically they are forced to do this, and practically they will do it in the days to come. Even now the great churches of Protestantism and the Roman Catholic Church are uniting to secure legislation for the enforcement of the Sunday sabbath; and this is only one of many points of contact in these great organizations, as will be seen in the future.
We cannot admit the premises of Rome without accepting her conclusions; and the man who in his religious faith accepts the claims of tradition as of equal authority with the Scriptures of Truth will finally come to receive them as of paramount authority. The spirit of true Protestantism rejects the whole fabric of superstition and tradition which has been created by the philosophy of the Roman Church.
True Protestantism will be found in these last days not deriding Romanism and at the same time accepting its traditions as a basis of Christian faith and practice, but standing consistently and squarely upon the Word of God alone, and sounding God's message for this generation against the worship of the beast symbolizing the papal system and the worship of the image to that beast, as represented in apostate Protestantism. Those only who do this are logically, intelligently, and consistently Protestants.
F. M. W.
No Man Cared for My Soul
By Editor
Editorial
"No Man Cared for My Soul"
This was the mournful cry which went up from the heart of David. He had been driven out from his father's house. Destitute, forsaken by his old-time friends, and accompanied by only a few companions, who, like himself, were in dire straits, he was driven from valley to valley and from mountain to mountain, pursued by the relentless hatred of Saul, who through jealousy sought to take his life.
On one of these occasions David and his men were so sorely pressed that they sought refuge in a cave. Saul and his men had chosen the same retreat for a rest. David's enemy was delivered into his hand, but even in the face of this advantage he maintained his loyalty to God; but the longing of his heart for fellowship and sympathy was expressed in these words: "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul."
From how many burdened hearts has this cry gone up since the days of David! How many there are in the world today who have this conviction, even though they may not openly express their feelings! Among all classes in the world, in the church, and sometimes even in our own homes, discouraged ones are found. We are afforded the blessed privilege in the year to come to prove to our associates that some one has regard for their souls' welfare. Let us by our kindly attitude, by well-chosen words as occasion shall warrant, manifest our interest in the souls of those around us. On every side are hearts hungering for love, for a kind word, and for a sympathetic smile.
Among our daily associates we may find those who have never professed the name of Christ, who are waiting for some one to speak to them. We find members of our churches who have become discouraged and indifferent. They have ceased to attend meeting; they have come to feel that no one cares for their welfare. Let us call on these discouraged ones during the year to come. Let us make it the earnest purpose of our lives to bring souls to Christ. Sometimes we feel a great burden for those in heathen darkness, and this is right; but let us remember those who need our help close at hand. While we manifest no less interest for the heathen, let us remember those at our very door who, if they are not saying it in words, are carrying the feeling in their heart, No one cares for my soul. F. M. W.
The Call for Preaching Evangelists
By W. A. Spicer
At the great World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh serious attention was given to the tendency in all mission field work toward the tying up of missionaries in institutional work. At that time it was stated that "less than one half of the whole missionary staff in China is now engaged in direct evangelistic work." This had reference, of course, to the great body of missionary activity in China, where perhaps four thousand foreign missionaries were engaged in the service.
There is significance for us in this movement that is under way throughout the societies to turn the missionary forces to the preaching of the word. We know that the time has come for a quick work. The great missionary movement by all the societies is a work of preparation for the final advent message proclaiming the coming of the Lord. We see this everywhere. And we may well rejoice that the great missionary societies are endeavoring to turn more of their force to the preaching and spreading of the word among the people.
While this is being done, we ourselves must indeed appreciate as never before that it is the call of the hour to throw our own forces more and more generally into the preaching of the message among the masses of the people.
This is the call of our own mission committees in the fields. Our needy mission fields still repeat to us that they want preachers,—preachers with the conviction of the coming of the Lord and the love of souls in their hearts, who can learn languages and lead native associates, and push the preaching of this message among the unwarned millions. It is the call of the hour.
This call means that we must urge the young people in our schools—the strongest of them—to give more and more attention to preparation for the work of the ministry. It is the chief and most fruitful line of service. It is the work that is needed first of all, and most of all, in the great mission fields.
The pioneer of Manchuria, Dr. John Ross, now one of the aged veterans of the missionary army, not long since wrote to the Missionary Record of the United Free Church of Scotland an appeal to the Scottish societies to send out preachers. He says:—
The history of Christian missions from the beginning to the present day proves that not the toilsome methods of human wisdom, whether educational or medical, have produced the great Christian movements among non-Christian peoples. These were the outcome of the simple, clear, convincing, earnest, and sympathetic preaching of the gospel. Not by the wisdom of the world, but by what the world has always called "the foolishness of preaching," have souls of men been attracted out of godless hopelessness into the light and life and joy of a God-filled existence.
Let the young men in our schools take to heart the call of our own leaders in the mission fields for preachers, and the strong note that is being sounded in the same key throughout all the missionary ranks.
W. A. S.
Rome's Claim on America
ThE Roman Catholic Church claims America as hers by right of discovery; and claiming America as her rightful possession, she is throwing every power of her mighty organization into the work of making it hers in fact, by occupation and control.
This is the reason for the establishment of her missions to Protestants in the large cities. It is the reason why she is devoting so much attention to securing control of the great cities. It is also the reason why she is so strenuously fighting against the enactment of any law that would restrict immigration from those portions of Europe where ignorance rules and the Catholic Church is in control. For that reason she is employing every effort to defeat the immigration bill now before Congress. That bill aims to exclude immigrants who are illiterate, who cannot read or write in some language. The immigrants from Roman Catholic countries are nearly all illiterate. To exclude the illiterate is to exclude about two thirds of the Roman Catholic immigrants. That would seriously interfere with Rome's project to gain control quickly of the American nation.
As Rome bases her right to America upon what she did to discover it, it is not amiss to inquire into the matter and see how much of a basis there is for such a claim.
In the first place, there is a real question as to whether Columbus was a Catholic. Some hold that he was a Jew, and produce weighty arguments to prove it. But that contention aside, we are at a loss to understand where Catholicism finds any substantial ground to stand upon in claiming America as hers by right of discovery. There was not in that church at that time any of the spirit of real research or discovery. He who brought forward a new idea was quite likely to pay for it with his life at the stake, or suffer in the gloomy dungeons provided by the Inquisition.
John Clark Ridpath, in his "History of the World," says of that time:—
It were perhaps useless to conjecture at what time and in what way this belief in the sphericity of the earth and in the existence of a new world beyond the waters became diffused in the minds of men. The spread of such an idea, as of all others tending to the betterment of mankind, was first among the radicals and disturbers of that torpid society which, in conjunction with a still more torpid church, held possession of Europe in the fourteenth century.
The worst feature of the situation was not that the church was torpid,—even more torpid than society,—but that it refused to permit society to be aroused from its torpid condition. When it was a crime which might be punished with death for an individual to bring forward a new idea, or to discover and make known a new law of nature, it stands to reason that not much was being done in that direction. The less one knew, and the more subservient he was to all the dictates of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the less likelihood was there of his being the victim of an auto-de-fé. Wherever any church has been wedded to the civil power, the brightest intellects have been snuffed out at the stake, or hidden away from the light of day in dungeon cells.
Columbus found little encouragement from either the church or the state of his day in his proposed expedition across the unknown sea. The populace took no interest in it, for they were the pitiable9victims of their deplorable environments. They laughed at Columbus as a fool or a dreamer. The church was opposed to the project, for it seemed to the superstitious priesthood to be an impious and preposterous notion. The state was incredulous, for it looked to the church for its instruction and enlightenment, and the church shuddered at the thought of such an undertaking.
When Columbus approached the rulers of Spain at Salamanca and laid the project before them, the king listened to him with indifference, and then turned him over to a council of priests. This body, says Ridpath (Id., page 166), instead of considering the scientific possibility of the undertaking, sought to prove by the Scriptures the impiety of the project, and persuaded the king "that it was not becoming in great princes to engage in such a work."
By such experiences as this (for which the church was in every sense responsible) was Columbus buffeted for years, until at last Queen Isabella, against the counsels of both her consort and her priestly advisers, pledged her own jewels to insure the raising of the necessary means to outfit the "impious" expedition.
The expedition succeeded in spite of the opposition of the Roman Church; but the next year after the New World was found, Pope Alexander the Sixth "drew an imaginary line north and south, three hundred miles west of the Azores, and issued a papal bull giving all islands and countries west of that line to Spain. Henry VII of England was himself a Catholic, and he did not care to begin a conflict with his church by pressing his own claims to the newly found regions of the West. His son and successor, Henry VIII, at first adopted the same policy, and it was not until after the Reformation had been accomplished in England that the decision of the Pope came to be disregarded, and finally despised and laughed at."—Id., page 183.
Note that at the first the church opposed the project. Then, when it succeeded, she assumed control and ownership, taking to herself the right to say whose should be the New World thus discovered in spite of her objections. As a result of that action of Pope Alexander the Sixth, the colonization of America was long delayed. Not until the English ceased to fear the anathemas of the Pope did they make serious endeavors to colonize the New World. And they would never have attempted it had it not been for the Reformation, which set so many of them free from the spiritual and temporal thralldom of the Papacy. One shudders to think what would have been the result to the New World had there never been any Reformation.
Not daring to brave the anathemas of the church, England would have kept to her own shores, and whatever civilization America would have known would have been of the Spanish colonial type, in humiliating subserviency to the papal system.
Upon no ground of discovery, reason, logic, or equity can Rome justly lay claim to America. She hindered its discovery, she hindered its colonization, she has attempted to lay claim to that upon which she has no title, and now she would seize upon that which has been accomplished in spite of her and make it a part of her possessions, to pander to her ambition and contribute to her coffers and her splendor. C. M. S.
North American Division Conference Executive Committee Meeting
By G. B. Thompson
SEVERAL meetings of the North American Division Executive Committee were held at Loma Linda, Cal., in connection with the board meeting of the medical college, March 25-29, 1914. The following recommendations of general interest were passed:—
Harvest Ingathering
Voted, That the rallying cry of the Harvest Ingathering campaign for 1914 be, "One hundred thousand dollars for missions."
Missionary Campaign
The following plan for a great missionary campaign was very carefully considered and adopted:—
Believing that the hour has come when our people must devote themselves most earnestly to the finishing of the work, and desiring that every Seventh-day Adventist in the North American Division Conference shall take an active part in getting the third angel's message before the people of this division, we recommend the following:—
1. That a special missionary campaign, beginning Oct. 1, 1914, and continuing until the following spring, be definitely planned for by all our people.
This does not mean that we are in any way to slacken our missionary work during the interval between the present time and the date set; but that due preparations be made so that when the special campaign begins, the entire working force of our people may be utilized to the best advantage.
We earnestly solicit the cooperation of all union, local, and church officers, and pray that the Spirit of God may move upon our people everywhere to unite in making this plan a mighty factor in the giving of the message to the people of this division.
As a working basis on which we may all unite, we suggest the following:—
a. That each church be organized into missionary bands with suitable department leaders.
b. That these bands carry forward cottage meetings, Bible studies, medical missionary work, missionary correspondence, the selling and lending of our small books, and the distribution of tracts, pamphlets, periodicals, and magazines, and all other lines of missionary endeavor.
c. That we encourage every church member to engage daily in definite prayer for the salvation of some particular person or persons for whom the Lord may give a special burden.
d. That during the Sabbath services of the coming year we unite in prayer, beseeching the Lord's blessing upon the communities in which we live, praying that the Lord may lead souls to himself; and also for our ministry, that there may be a large ingathering of souls.
e. That we urge the home missionary secretaries in the territory of the North American Division Conference and the union and local conference executive committees to unite their efforts in effecting the organization of our churches into missionary bands, and to give definite instruction regarding field work.
2. That when possible, a suitable leader and organizer visit the churches, and set before them in detail the purpose and plans of our coming missionary campaign:—
a. By organizing the churches into missionary bands, and helping to select and instruct suitable leaders.
b. By carrying on a vigorous correspondence, keeping before the churches the importance and possibilities of this home missionary work.
c. By soliciting large clubs of the Campaign number of the Signs of the Times, endeavoring to reach the goal of not less than an average of two copies of the paper for each church member.
d. By encouraging the church to order in time so that a good supply of literature may be on hand for this work.
e. That monthly donations be taken from now until the campaign closes, in order that ample funds may be in hand to pay for our missionary literature.
f. That each person who is to canvass for our home workers' books, carefully study these books during the summer, so that he will be able to handle the same to advantage; and that special instruction be given by the home missionary secretaries on selling the small books.
g. That the following-named persons be appointed as a committee on literature, and that they be requested to give careful study to the special literature to be circulated during the missionary campaign: G. B. Thompson, Miss E. M. Graham, W. T. Knox, A. O. Tait, R. L. Pierce, I. A. Ford, W. A. Spicer, H. H. Hall, and F. M. Wilcox.
3. That our pioneer missionary paper, the Signs of the Times, be made a more active agent in our home missionary effort for the finishing of the work, as follows:—
a. That the publishers and editors plan for the contents of the paper to carry the third angel's message in its various phases twice a year.
b. That the six months' issue of the Signs of the Times, beginning Oct. 1, 1914, and ending March 1, 1915, be known in our correspondence as "The Home Missionary Series of the Signs of the Times."
c. That for this special Missionary Series, strong and forceful writers be secured from various parts of the field to present the truth through the columns of this paper in such a way as will appeal to the people.10
d. That our work in the mission fields be written up and well illustrated in each issue of the paper, so that the people may be able to understand more fully the magnitude of the work we are doing.
e. That the publishers of the Signs of the Times make the club rate for six months of the Missionary Series 60 cents to our people.
f. That large clubs of the Signs of the Times be solicited from our churches by those in charge of the work, and that we make the goal for the circulation of this paper not less than an average of two copies a church member.
g. That in addition to the use of the mails, we organize our churches for effective house-to-house work, territory being assigned to individuals as in the book work.
h. That during the fall and winter a canvass be made of the territory where our missionary papers have been circulated, in order to secure annual subscriptions for them at the regular subscription price.
4. That in conferences where there are a large number of foreign-speaking people, and our foreign papers can be used to advantage, we recommend that they be circulated, and that the publishers be urged to prepare these papers with special reference to this campaign, filling these periodicals with live matter dealing with the vital principles of Christianity and the great fundamental doctrines of the third angel's message.
5. That we accept the generous offer made by the Pacific Press Publishing Association to donate to our foreign mission work the entire net gain on the Signs of the Times; and that we request them to distribute said profits to the respective conferences on a pro rata basis according to the number of the copies of the Signs of the Times and similar missionary papers printed in foreign tongues, taken in each local conference; said profits to be applied the same as other regular offerings on the raising of the definite weekly sum for missions according to the plan adopted by the denomination, it being understood that this gift from the Pacific Press Publishing Association is designed to augment the mission offerings of the conferences as long as the standard remains at fifteen cents a week. But if the standard is increased to twenty cents, the amounts apportioned are to assist in attaining this amount.
6. That this campaign be kept before our people by articles in the REVIEW AND HERALD and the Church Officers' Gazette, by correspondence, and by earnest talks at camp meetings and other public gatherings, in order that our people may be fully aroused to active missionary work during this coming campaign.
Temperance Special of the "Signs"
Voted, That we request the Pacific Press Publishing Association to issue a special Temperance number of the Signs of the Times for use in the temperance campaigns which are to be carried forward in various parts of the United States and Canada during the coming summer and autumn.
Danish-Norwegian Seminary
A request from the Danish-Norwegian Seminary Board to build an addition to their building was laid before the committee. The seminary is unable properly to accommodate the students who are in attendance. The proposed addition is estimated to cost approximately $8,500. The proposition of the seminary board is to build on a strictly cash basis, in harmony with the plan set forth by the General and North American Division Conferences, the money to be raised before the addition is built, and no debt to be incurred.
Voted, That we concur in the plans of the Danish-Norwegian Seminary Board in making this proposed addition, with the understanding that the money will be raised before the building is put up, and no debt be incurred.
Educational Secretary
Prof. J. L. Shaw having been elected president of the Washington Missionary College, and this necessitating the giving of his entire time to the building up of the college, instead of to the Department of Education, Prof. Frederick Griggs was appointed to fill the vacancy as educational secretary. It was also further recommended that Prof. W. E. Howell continue as assistant secretary of the department.
Exchange of Laborers
The following recommendations for the exchange of laborers were voted:—
1. That the North Pacific Union be requested to release Elder A. V. Cotton to labor in the Atlantic Union.
2. That the Southeastern Union be requested to release Elder R. T. Nash, of Florida, to labor in North Dakota.
3. That the Pacific Union be requested to release J. H. Behrens to connect with the North Carolina Conference as president.
4. That the request received from the president of the Broadview Seminary for Dr. S. Jesperson and wife to connect with the institution as teachers, be granted.
5. That we pay the transportation of David Guldbrandson and wife from Iceland to Winnipeg, to labor among the Icelandic people, and that we pay his salary until Dec. 31, 1914.
Educational Convention
The question of holding the convention of the Educational, Missionary Volunteer, and Sabbath School Departments voted at the last fall council, was given further consideration. Following so soon after the last General Conference and the recent union conference institutes and conferences, in which practically all the workers have been called together, it seemed that it would be impossible to send from the various unions at the present time such a delegation as should be sent to a convention of this character. After careful consideration it was—
Voted, That the proposed education, Missionary Volunteer, and Sabbath school convention be deferred for the present.
Fall Council
Voted, That the fall council of the North American Division Conference Executive Committee be held at Takoma Park, D. C., Oct. 25 to Nov. 3, 1914.
Twenty-Cent-a-Week Fund
Consideration was given to the Twenty-cent-a-week Fund adopted at the last General Conference. It was recommended that the plan be adhered to by all our conferences, the plan being slightly modified in some particulars, as follows:—
The Twenty-cent-a-week Fund, twenty-five per cent of which is to apply on the institutional indebtedness, was recommended by the General Conference in open session, and the same policy was reaffirmed during the fall council, and it was voted that said policy should continue until the next session of the North American Division Conference; and,—
Whereas, this policy has been operative only from last July, and has not been given a sufficient test to determine whether we can find relief through it or not, we therefore recommend the following:—
1. That we continue this policy of twenty cents a week until the next session of the North American Division Conference, and that all union conferences unite in raising their full amount.
2. That in the distribution of the five cents a week per capita relief fund, we work on the following basis:—
a. That all funds be sent to the North American Division Conference treasurer.
b. That the full fifteen cents for foreign missions be paid monthly to the General Conference Treasury out of this Twenty-cent-a-week Fund.
c. That each union conference adopt such plans as it seems advisable in securing additional funds with which to liquidate its indebtedness.
d. That at the end of the year, that part of the five cents a week which may remain after making up any deficit, which may be in the whole field, in a full fifteen cents a week for foreign missions, shall be returned to the union conferences on a pro rata basis of the amounts received from each union above the fifteen cents a week.
e. That the proceeds received from the self-denial week appointed at the fall council, be returned to each conference, the same to be applied on institutional relief in the union conference.
The Blessing of Labor
By St. Augustine
THERE is nothing so laborious as not to labor. Blessed is he who devotes his life to great and noble ends, and who forms his well-considered plans with deliberate wisdom.—St. Augustine.
Note and Comment
The Private Armies of Capital
IN a book, “Violence and the Labor Movement,” by Robert Hunter, recently issued by the Macmillan Company, it is charged that there are hundreds of detective agencies in the United States employing men by the hundreds or thousands, who “are to the money kings of today what mercenaries were to the medieval dukes and princes.” One agency is said to employ constantly five thousand men, ready and competent to serve in any capacity desired in connection with labor troubles. Mr. Hunter deplores the ever-increasing commerce of these industrial soldiery as being “as great an evil as has ever afflicted any country at any time.” He presents, according to the review of his book in the Literary Digest of April 4, this pen picture of conditions:—
You have only to call on the telephone any one of hundreds of “detective” agencies to obtain an assassin of the very choicest brand. You should not, of course, ask for a thief or a pickpocket or a murderer. You should ask for an operator or a special officer or a private detective. But, no matter what you ask for, you will get a man carefully selected for his skill in criminal work. You will obtain a man who can shoot straight, an agent who needs no troublesome explanations or detailed instructions. He will be an understanding person, who will comprehend very easily and quickly the nature of the work to be done. Trained in the ways of the underworld, the “detective” will undertake to see that the patron is successful in whatever mischief he wants done. He will steal the correspondence of a business rival, bribe his clerks, burn his factories, or incite a strike among his employees. He will dynamite his works, slug him or any one else, and, in case court work is necessary, he will obtain enough perjured evidence to accomplish almost any purpose whatsoever. There is, in fact, hardly any conceivable crime that the mercenaries supplied by the American mafia are not capable of committing. And, most important of all, no matter what the agents do, it is understood that they will be fully cared for by the mafia and protected all along the line by its able attorneys. This American mafia has its agents in every city and town in the country.
To convey an idea of the extent and profits of this line of work, Mr. Hunter offers the following figures:—
An agent operating in West Virginia and Colorado testified that he has employed as many as 5,000 men. Another agent has testified that he supplied in one strike as many as 1,000 men. Still another witness says that, in one of our great strikes, there were over 2,000 armed detectives employed, while several hundred more were scattered for secret service among the strikers. Mr. Leroy Scott, a few years ago, undertook to describe in the World’s Work the activities of one of the great strike-breaking agencies. He declared that the particular agency had 35,000 men enrolled, and that the head of the agency was in communication with 7,000 or 8,000 others. In one brief strike he supplied 5,000 men, and his income for handling that strike was equal to the annual salary of the President of the United States. This gives some idea of the immense profits that come to the manipulators of this commerce. In reality, they make enormous sums, which is clear from the fact that they pay their men from two dollars to three dollars a day, while they receive from the employers on an average of five dollars a day. Of course the profits of these agencies depend upon the number of men employed, and consequently the chief interest of these agencies is to get more and more of their men employed. An agency that can supply 1,000 men and make out of them $2,000 a day is conducting an enormously profitable concern.
This is a startling revelation of conditions growing out of the struggle between capital and labor. What the future will reveal in this struggle only time will tell. We know this, that conditions will grow worse and worse, even as sin in general will increase, till the end of all things.
While it is possible that the statement in the first quotation may be overdrawn, yet the outcome of many trials, the ease with which many guilty persons escape justice, and the failure even to apprehend the perpetrators of many crimes, lend color to the picture drawn in the above quotation. But even if it is overdrawn, the widespread suspicion that those conditions exist, and the publication of such statements as facts, are hastening the day when the disastrous clash will come between these opposing forces.
The Needs of Methodism
IN the Northwestern Christian Advocate for March 4, 1914, W. F. Oldham thus expresses the needs of the Methodist Church:—
O, my Methodism, which found me a careless, godless youth, a world's diameter from where I now stand, would God I could cause thee to hear the voice of the Son of man as he crieth, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; . . . and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see"! Then wouldst thou see that not great buildings and mighty institutions, not high scholarship nor proud gatherings of large numbers, not talks of a splendid past nor pride of ancestry, but having the spirit of devotion to God and a flaming zeal for the souls of men,—the abiding tokens of a clean heart filled with the Holy Ghost,—that in these are thy strength, thy promise for a better future, and the real grounds of hope for being trusted with a great program for a world's redemption.
Yet there are many, though generally of our humbler folk, who are called, have heard, and accepted,—effectually called to be saints,—who know the cleansing blood, and wear "a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it," that new best name of perfect love, and for these I am sure I speak when I say they want holiness. They want it in the pulpit. They want the deep, cleansing streams to flow up through their pastors' hearts, through their lips into the hearts of the listening congregations. They want these to flow through our editors' hearts and down through their pens till the pages of our official papers will be filled with the tender green grass upon which the flocks of God may feed. They want it in our schools and colleges and seminaries. They want that which has been the birthright of Methodist schools, not to be hidden from Methodist eyes or so muffled as not to be perceptible to Methodist ears.
Back to the Bible
THIS is the cry sounded in a recent number of Collier's Weekly. Speaking of the tendency of the present day to depart from the Scriptures of Truth, and to obtain salvation in man-made ways, this journal says:—
Certain of our wise men of today have shaded away sin till it becomes an expression of temperament. They tell us that we sin because our grandfather sinned, and because our home is situated in the wrong block. These are clever words of clever comforters, and surely they ought to wipe away forever the tears from our eyes. But they do not speak to human need. They leave the life blighted and the heart ashamed. They leave the sinning one to continue in despair. He does not ask that his sin shall be explained away. He wishes forgiveness and a fresh start. In the Book, which is not read as once it was, there are no soft words about sin. But the way out is shown. And not only is forgiveness offered in this Book, but man's need of comfort is met. There is comfort in plenty. These writers knew the human heart. They saw man broken by his toil and his grief. And for this, too, they had the answer. . . .
Has the human heart changed under the wear of the centuries, so that sin no longer seeks forgiveness, and grief has no need of a comforter? Have our ships sailed so far that they have revealed to us a braver continent than the fields where pain once reigned? Is our science so acute that it has banished failure from man's life? Is man's heart at last self-sufficient and all-sufficing?
“The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.” Isa. 51:6.
France’s Highway Maintenance
FRANCE will spend more than $5,-000,000 for highway maintenance in 1914. Annually for ten years the same amount will be apportioned throughout the country for this purpose. The French roads bear heavier travel than those of the United States, because the motor touring season is longer there.