p. 16 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 14.

On the Way to China

By F. E. Stafford

Leaveing San Francisco for a trip to the Orient, is not to be dreaded as it formerly was. In fact, it is to-day regarded as the popular vacation for the person of time and means to take a pleasure trip to Japan, China, and Manila. And it is indeed a pleasure long to be remembered to step aboard one of the magnificent Pacific liners and feel the pulsating of the great engines which carry one through the Golden Gate on the way to the Far East.

Such a pleasure was ours on November 16, 1909, when we bade all our friends good-by and went aboard the China. Her captain is D. E. Friele. “Commodore of the Pacific” he is styled, as he is the oldest commander in the Pacific Mail service.

The China is long and slim — 440 feet long, 48 feet beam, 33 feet depth — and is called the greyhound of the Pacific. This trip is her ninety-fifth, and she has never had a serious accident. I have seen the water so high it washed on the promenade deck and yet she did not pitch much, she is so well balanced. She is a magnificent floating hotel, very elegant in all her appointments; but especially noted for her excellent cuisine and spacious cabins, our stateroom being 7 x 10 feet and 10 feet high by actual measurement.

She carried 129 passengers; and after counting a hundred we found the extra twenty-nine were missionaries, representing nearly every denomination. A few were bound for India and Japan; but the majority were for China. To our great surprise and delight we found two sent by our own mission board, Brother and Sister C. Sparks, of Nebraska, on their way to Shanghai.

After a very pleasant voyage of seven days we found ourselves in the heat of the tropics, with Honolulu, the “Paradise of the Pacific,” spread out before us. Words can not describe the scene that we saw that morning as we were piloted in through the coral reefs that surround the island of Oahu.

The early morning sunshine sparkled on the water and was reflected as a million diamonds from the harbor waves in front and housetops of the city. Everywhere were waving palm-trees and the vivid green of the tropical foliage. The hillsides were covered with banana and pineapple plantations, and back of these rose the volcanic peaks stretching up into the clouds. From sea-level to 14,000 feet is quite a rise for a distance of a few miles inland, yet here we see it, there being two peaks of that height.

We were met at the dock by Brother and Sister Williams, who have had charge of our work in Honolulu for the last five years. They took us to their home and treated us to a delightful dinner, the delicious tropical fruits being much in evidence, most of which grew in their own yard.

We spent the afternoon seeing the city and surrounding country, and as the street-car service is very efficient, we covered considerable territory. The chief attraction to all tourists is the beautiful Waikiki Beach. This is the finest beach in the world, there being no undertow; and the water averages 78 degrees temperature all the year. Here one sees the natives in their various aquatic sports of surfing and surf-boat riding.

Near the beach is Kapiolani Park, where one sees every variety of palm-tree and tropical foliage. In this park is a fine aquarium where we observed hundreds of specimens of various colored fishes.

One interesting point is the great cliff of Nuuanu Pali, where one has a wonderful view of the valley. Up this valley, Kamehameka the Great, the Napoleon of the Pacific, drove the Oahu army of 3,000 men, forcing them over the cliff, where they fell 1,000 feet into the sea.

We learned from Brother Williams that our work in the islands is going steadily on,

with a solidity which speaks well for its permanence. A chapel has been built which makes a home for the people. The tithe is quite regular and averages well with most companies of the same size. There is great need of more laborers, more literature in the Hawaiian language, more ship missionary work, treatment rooms, vegetarian cafe, and church school. It is simply impossible for one family to carry on the work on seven islands where the people speak eight different languages. While new fields may call loudly for help, we should not pass idly by the older ones which are in need.

We had a very pleasant visit with Brother and Sister Williams, and left them at five o'clock in the evening as our ship pulled out from the dock followed by a swarm of native boys swimming and diving for coins thrown by the passengers.

We are now midway between Honolulu and Yokohama, and our next letter will be a description of our visit to Japan.

F. E. STAFFORD.

Pineapples growing, large, juicy, and with a flavor superior to those in the markets in the States

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Honolulu, with a glimpse through the trees of Brother William’s house on the left.

A glimpse of Kapiolane Park, Honolulu. Palms grow with wonderful invariance. Larger palms we could not photograph.

The capital, formerly the Royal Palace, at Honolulu. Note the brilliant sunlight in contrast with the deep green of the foliage.

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¶ Some call it the Easter number because the Easter festival and the truth about the resurrection are given considerable space. If you wish to know for a certainty about the state of the dead get the April number of the Signs Monthly and read it carefully. You'll find out.

¶ The Awakening of Buddhism, An Atheist on the New Theology, Conditions in the Nominal Christian World, Divine Healing and Hypnotic Suggestion, Current Topics, etc., also enter into the make-up of this excellent number.

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The Vegetarian Cook Book

By E. G. Fulton

By E. G. FULTON

THE author has had years of experience in vegetarian cookery and in the management of vegetarian cafes and cafeterias. With its aid the chef, cook, or housewife is able to prepare appetizing, healthful meals without the use of any flesh food.

This book contains 268 pages, including a handy and well-arranged index of all the recipes given.

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Anti-Mormon

THE American Anti-Mormon Association, the organ of which, The Sword of Laban, is published in Pikeville, Kentucky, as also the Utah Gospel Mission, is doing strenuous work to check Mormonism. Yet notwithstanding this we are told that Mormonism is increasing and spreading. In fact the Utah Gospel Mission, the headquarters of which are in Cleveland, Ohio, declares that polygamy in Salt Lake County and City has far more than doubled in the last two decades, contrary to law. Polygamy and priestly polygamists, it declares, are only more under cover, but they are nevertheless prospering. But it points out that these two things are not the great thing, after all, but it is the absolutely pagan doctrine of the flesh and bones polygamous gods out of which logically comes the actual or practical denial of every fundamental Christian doctrine. It admits, however, that the Mormon people do not grasp this fact. They think it is the only true Christianity; and the appeal from the mission truly says that the remedy for this is not law, but the Gospel.

If one desires to obtain publications, he can write to the secretary, the Rev. John D. Nutting, Utah Gospel Mission, Cleveland, Ohio, or to R. B. Neal, Box 426, Pikeville, Kentucky.

There is certainly need of enlightenment. Mormonism is spreading, and is spreading rapidly. One recent Mormon paper told of eight places in Western Pennsylvania where elders were then working with success; and another Mormon paper brings reports from Northern Illinois, Eastern States, Southern States, Central States, Northern States, Northwestern States, California, and Australia, all reporting abundant labors and great success for the elders. Enlightenment is what the people need, and enlightenment means the preaching of God's Word in all its simplicity and purity and power.

Seeking Ione V. Carr’s Address

SUE E. LITTLEFIELD and Ida Carmichael, 1854 Allasandro St., Los Angeles, Cal., would very much like the address of Sister Ione V. Carr. Will she herself or any one knowing her address communicate with old friends?

Seeking Malissa Harlan’s Address

ELDER D. T. SHIREMAN, Hickory, N. C., Route 5, Box 26, wishes the address of Miss Malissa Harlan, formerly of Hildebran, N. C.

An Illustrated Bible Names Game

By Editor

We have received from the authors and designers an illustrated game of Bible names for old and young. The object of this game is to acquaint the young with Bible facts and persons, and so spend a pleasurable hour now and then that probably would not be used so well in something else. The unique feature regarding this series is that each separate card — there are 100 of them — is a little gem of art. All are illustrated by reproduction of drawings, typical or connected with the character presented on the card. We find this little series of cards freer from historical and Biblical errors than others we have examined. While they are a little more expensive than some other Bible cards, the price being 75 cents, they are worth much more than that for their beauty and information. Address Lemos Brothers, 824 Athens Ave., Oakland, Cal.

Bibles

Bibles.—Remember that we are headquarters for anything in the Bible line. We shall be pleased to send you our catalog of Bible selections on application. Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal.

Left with a Trust

Left with a Trust. By Nellie Hillis. Is a story of the struggles of a family to help mother and each other during the absence of father, and pleasantly reveals the brighter side of youth where there is a worthy purpose and a will to be kind and affectionate. 160 pages, illustrated. Cloth, net, 50 cents. Address this office.

Bible Lessons and Songs for Children

By Lillie E. Affolter; F. E. Belden

Bible Object-Lessons and Songs for Little Ones.—By Lillie E. Affolter and F. E. Belden. This book contains fifty-two illustrated lessons, accompanied by thirty original hymns and songs, and thirty-one large engravings from the famous "Hofmann Series." The steps in the teaching are natural and progressive; the music is good and pleasing, and adapted to little children, and the illustrations are beautiful. Blue cloth, ink titles, white edges, 7½x10 inches, $2.00. Bible kindergarten material (3 boxes) to illustrate lessons, $1.75.

The Resurrection of Moses

By Editor

We are glad to note that when men take the rational view of the subject, many times the words of our Lord in Mark 9, Luke 9, and Matthew 17, concerning the appearance of Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration, are not used as a proof that the soul is immortal. Yet that is one of the standard proofs on the part of those who so believe. Somehow or other they never seem to connect that passage with what is said in Jude 9. We note that one writer, however, the Rev. J. M. Sweany, in the Christian Advocate, connects the two, and declares that when the devil disputed about the body of Moses, as recorded in Jude, it was to thwart God's purpose; and when the Archangel came and said, "The Lord rebuke thee," Moses' "body was resurrected, for he had just come from heaven to the mount. What else can the 9th verse of Jude mean? What else could the devil have been contending for about the body of Moses unless to prevent its resurrection before the time?" And that is good common sense as well as sound Bible exegesis.

Bible Versions Used in This Paper

Our authority is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. When the Common ("King James" or "Authorized") Version or the American Standard Revised Version is used, the version will not generally be designated in reference. Any Bible quotation in this paper, therefore, differing from the Common Version, unless otherwise indicated, will be almost invariably from the American Standard edition of the Revised Bible, copyright 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons.

For further particulars, subscription rates, etc., see page 15.

Articles on Revelation

The articles on the Revelation will begin as the series "Out of Babylon to Zion" draws toward its close.

The Holy Spirit

By Editor

The Holy Spirit.—In our next issue we begin a series of articles by Mr. John Orr Corliss on the Holy Spirit, its gifts and its manifestations in the Christian church. Surely there is no subject which ought to be of greater interest than the study of the representative of our Lord in this earth, and we are sure that these studies will be of great interest to our readers.

Out of Babylon to Zion

By Editor

In this issue we begin the study of the great pre-advent reformation and its typical lessons concerning our own time. These will run under the general head of “Out of Babylon to Zion.” That is a great present truth now, and we hope that these articles will be faithfully studied. They will present no arbitrary interpretation of Scripture, but will develop the prophecy in a clear, logical, Biblical way.

Renew Your Subscription

By Editor

We once more invite all our old subscribers whose terms of subscription are about to expire, to continue with us. We will have constantly more and better things as the weeks go by. One subscriber writes us that he would as soon go without his daily food as without the SIGNS. Surely the paper that contains more of Bible truth for this time than any other published in this world, ought to be in the homes of every lover of Christ's coming.

David Josiah Brewer Dies

David Josiah Brewer, associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, died suddenly at his home, 1923 16th St., Washington, March 28. His death will likely affect the big trust cases of Standard Oil and tobacco which are before the Supreme Court, and may entail the time and expense of a new trial. This may be delayed until President Taft appoints a successor to Justice Brewer. It is thought that overwork hastened his death.

The Busy Man’s Corner

The Busy Man who will have charge of the Busy Man’s Corner has been too busy to furnish it this week, and that may be the case for two or three weeks. But it is coming.

The False Broad River Meteorite

That one can not always believe what is found in the newspapers is very frequently demonstrated. It isn't often, however, that one finds stories that are based on absolutely nothing. Taking advantage of the more or less alarmist talk concerning Halley's comet, a reporter to the New York Evening Journal writes a very vivid and realistic description of the fall of a tremendous meteorite in the Connecticut village of Broad River, after the fall of which, it is reported, a great religious revival began. He tells us with circumstantial details just what the village meteorologist said about the terrifying visitor; that the effect of the heat generated by the meteorite's striking the earth was felt a mile away from where it landed; and that the scientist of the village concluded that it was Drake's comet. We wrote to one of our subscribers who lives a mile distant from Broad River, an intelligent lady, who writes us that she never heard a word regarding any such incident, nor has she found any one else who knows anything about it, and that the local papers which give the Broad River news make no mention of any such occurrence. A moderate conclusion of our correspondent is that "it must be false." And yet that is characteristic of a great many of the alarmist stories.

A Bill Menacing Press Liberty

A bill which menaces the liberty of the press passed the Senate on the 17th of February, requiring all the corporations to appear in "any district of the United States in which a prosecution may be instituted against them, under the penalty of being proceeded against in default of such appearance, with the same force and effect as if they had appeared." It amends no postal laws, but criminal laws. Under its provisions, if it should become a law, a corporation could be prosecuted in any federal district, no matter how remote from the central place of business; and one after another prosecutions could be legalized from ocean to ocean. These facts we gather from the New York World*. The bill should be killed outright.

Claims About Adam’s Brothers

A clipping is sent us by one of our correspondents, headed, “Claims Adam Had Several Brothers,” in which it is stated that Adam probably had about four brothers that the Bible does not mention, and from one of these brothers came the Negro. Now any one who really believed the Bible and was conversant with the Bible, would gather from the Bible that the race with the exception of one family perished at the Deluge, sixteen hundred years this side of Adam. In that one family were three brothers, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and from these sprang the different divisions of the human race. The Negroes descended from Ham.

Baptism and Entrance Into Heaven

Dr. Robert McDonald, a leading Baptist pastor of New York City, is reported as saying that baptism is not essential for entrance into heaven; that the true Spirit of Christ will lift the church above dogmatic lines; that the ideal church of the future will not have any part of the Old Testament incorporated into it; and the old beliefs he refers to as “denominational shibboleths and swaddling-clothes of ancient dogmatism.” We are sure that many of his Baptist brethren will not go with him in this.

Philadelphia’s Labor Conflict Ends

From present indications the fearful war in the "City of Brotherly Love," between organized labor and corporate interests, seems to have ceased. Surely if ever city belied its name, Philadelphia has the last few weeks. It could well have been called the City of Brotherly Hate. Political boss rule seems, however, to have brought it to an end, and compelled the street-car company to arbitrate.

The Bible’s Influence in Egypt

Bible Influence.—Mr. Poultney Bigelow, in writing of his visit to Port Said on the Suez Canal, has this good word to say for England: "When first I visited this place it was a byword for wickedness, a refuge for outcasts and criminals. Today it is clean, law-abiding, and prosperous. What is the secret?—Nothing but plain old Bible teaching. The Briton has planted the seed of justice in Egypt, and his reward is in sight."

Gun Accident Kills Eight

A report from Manila, March 28, declares that a breech lock blew out of one of the guns on the cruiser “Charleston,” and as a result eight men were killed.

Under the Law

"Under the Law."—An exchange, referring to a Christian who at the age of eighty-six years accepted the commandments of God, together with the faith of Jesus, says: "After spending so many years under grace, is it not rather late to go back under the law? If the keeping of the seventh day was vital under the old dispensation, it has not been made vital under the Gospel dispensation. The one vital element under grace is to know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection." But to know Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection, is to know salvation from sin; and "sin is the transgression of the law." Consequently to be saved from sin is to be saved to a loving, genuine, loyal obedience to every commandment of God. It is to follow in the moral footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ; and He kept God's commandments because He loved the Father. "Under the law" is under condemnation of the law; and he only is "under the law" who transgresses the law. He only is "under grace" in whom grace has wrought the work of salvation from sin. The keeping of the Sabbath will not save one; the honoring of father or mother will not save one; but it is spurious grace which saves men to dishonor father and mother, and to break God's Sabbath. "Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them."

THE REMARKABLE INCREASE IN THE WHEAT YIELD OF CANADA SINCE 1889