Place of Concord, a noted plaza partly covered by water
Suffering Paris
By Editor
One can but read with great sadness of the awful calamity which has fallen upon Paris—Paris the Proud, Paris the Beautiful, Paris the Pleasure-seeking, Paris the Pleasure-loving, "Gay Paree."
To-day she is mourning. Her beauty is marred. Some of her great and notable structures are in ruin or menaced by increasing peril. The Eiffel Tower is surrounded with water, every day softening its foundations. The Hotel des Invalides and the Tomb of Napoleon are partly submerged. So with the Chamber of Deputies, the Louvre, Tuileries, and other noted buildings. Twelve of the twenty-five bridges are swept away. Whole streets have caved in. Sewers are choked.
The Eiffel Tower, 1,000 feet high—the base submerged in water, and its safety feared
The cause?—The Seine River, with its world-famed bridges, runs through the very midst of the noted city. For days and weeks the clouds have been pouring their floods upon France, and the historic river has become a mad, raging, roaring torrent, sweeping over its banks, inundating large portions of the city, racing through the great catacombs and sewers of underground Paris, washing out new channels, and undermining streets and noted buildings. One half of the city is in darkness; 200,000 souls are homeless; thousands are facing starvation; over $500,000,000 of damage has been wrought by the flood; and disease and pestilence are bound to follow.
Palace of the Louvre Pavilion of Henry II, a great group of buildings, used as a fortress, arsenal, prison, royal residence, gallery of arts, museum, now filled with the richest collection of art treasures and works of antiquity of any building in the world. The basement was flooded with water.
What awful calamities have befallen the cities of the world in the last generation, most of them in the last few years! Think of them! Of fires, recall Chicago, Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Osaka. Of storm, flood, and cyclone, recall Galveston, towns in the Southern States, Monterey (Mexico), cities in China, and India; of plague and pestilence, some of the great cities in the Orient; of earthquake, Charleston, San Francisco, Valparaiso, Kingston, cities in Mexico, Messina and others in Italy, cities in Japan, and towns in many places. Martinique was buried and burned by the hot breath of a volcano. And now Paris. It is awful!
Tower of St. Jacques (James), a noted feature of Paris
Are all these accidental? We do not believe it. The great God who notes the fall of the sparrow, could have stayed the calamity or turned it aside. He is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He notes also the sinfulness, the wickedness, the wholesale corruption, the awful vice, the glossing of sin, the insidious devilishness of it all. Paris has been among the greatest of sinners. She has given to the world fashion and art and beauty and science, but she has corrupted morals everywhere. Blatant, God-defying infidelity on the one hand, and traditionalism on the other, have gone to seed, stultifying consciences and hardening hearts. Paris has never given to the world one thing which has lifted that world nearer God. A few stars have shone out of her night, but they have emphasized the darkness. In her, every transgression of the law of God and of man has been fostered, sin made respectable, vice apotheosized.
Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady), surrounded by the flood
The flooded Seine can not wash out her sins; but O, it ought to tell to her the need of a greater fountain in which she could wash and be clean.
"When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." They ought so to do. God speaks in judgment only when men will not hear His voice of pleading.
But this does not mean that we should not help the poor troubled, afflicted people. We pity, beyond words to express, the sufferers of Paris. We believe it is a time to help in every way possible that humans can help. Let all who can, give for her needs. Let all Christians pray.
Flooding in France
Paris is not the only suffering city in France. Other towns along the Seine and in other places also are inundated. Large tracts of land are cov11ered, and there is great damage and suffering outside the capital; for the abundant rains seem to have affected all Southwestern Europe.
Commerce and Religion
THE Federal Council of Churches is doing all in its power to work into the good graces of the organized labor element. It makes a plea in behalf of the working man for one day's rest in each seven, reasonable hours of labor, and a living wage—all good, by the way. But evidently the Council does not wish to offend the large manufacturers; therefore it does not demand that the working man shall have the universal Sunday. They ask that where possible this shall be done, but they recognize "the increasing complication of the industrial situation and the necessity of conducting many industries seven days of the week," and urge all its organizations, branch and affiliated, to press home their "obligation in these premises; namely, that it is the right of every man to have one day out of seven for rest and recreation of body, soul, and mind, and that it is the obligation of every Christian employer so to arrange his business that each of the employees may have one day holiday in seven without diminution of wages." "The nominal holiday is the Christian sabbath, the Lord's day; but where the condition of industry or service requires continuance of work seven days and the consequent employment of some part of the employees on the Lord's day, then those so employed are entitled to receive a holiday on some other day in the week."
Now it is true that every man ought to have a day of rest if he desires it; it is also true in this free country that he may have it if he desires it strong enough to take it. No one can compel him to work on the day he regards as sacred. There are any number of men who could not be hired to work upon the day which they consider sacred, and such men are generally appreciated enough by their employers to be given employment. No civil law is needed in aid of a man if he is religious enough and independent enough to claim his right, and the day is worth observing.
By the terms "Christian sabbath" and "Lord's day" the Federal Council means Sunday, a day which has absolutely no claim to either title. The only true "Christian Sabbath" is the Sabbath which Christ kept and endorsed. That goes without saying; but the only Sabbath He knew or of which He approved, which He Himself observed, was the seventh-day Sabbath. So also the only Lord's day that the Bible knows is the day which the Lord claimed as His own—the seventh day of the week. That is the normal day; and if man had been educated rightly, if the consciences of the masses had been kept clear and strong by the Word of God, there would have been no question as to the observance of the day without civil law. The only things for which religious people demand civil law are dogmas or institutions unsupported by the Scriptures.
Making Anarchists
By Editor
Ella Wheeler Wilcox quotes a bright man as saying that what helps to make anarchists is "the indifference of scores of people born rich to the needs of their creditors." Many of them will go on and withhold from the poor whom they owe for months small sums due, because it is of very little importance to them. She declares that a milk dealer once told her that families in New York whose names were synonyms of wealth and aristocracy often allow bills of $50.00 to $70.00 to go unpaid for years. And newspaper accounts with poor newsboys run up to $25.00 unpaid, tho the bills had been presented six times. Teachers, seamstresses, coal merchants, milliners, restorers of furniture, all tell the same tale. The millionaire is busy with big things, and leaves his secretary to attend to these bills; and the secretary considers the small bills unimportant, and puts them aside while he attends to "more serious" matters.
Mrs. Wilcox remarks, "As if anything could be more serious than the needs of the man or woman dependent upon the small hard-earned income," and then she declares that more frequently, the fault of these neglected bills lies with the women of wealth rather than with the men; and the lesson she draws from it is that children should be taught to meet their obligations promptly.
We hope her article will reach the homes and hearts of those who are guilty in this respect. It is the same story everywhere. Go into any town you will, and you will find that the people who pay their bills the most promptly are generally the poorer people, who are temperate and frugal. Would that the wealthy people could appreciate not only the inconvenience and suffering which they cause, but would set such an example that it would be followed all through the ranks of business!
Great Land Holdings of England
ONE of the great causes of discontent in England is the large amount of land which is held by the nobility uncultivated, untaxed. In the aggregate British peers possess one fifth of the total area of the United Kingdom, or nearly 16,500,000 acres. The Lords whose votes defeated the recent budget own more than 10,000,000 acres, an amount of land double the area of Massachusetts.
The average ducal domain is 142,564 acres, an area almost equaling that of Chicago and St. Louis combined. Marquises own an average of 47,500 acres; earls, 30,217; viscounts, 15,324; and barons, 14,152. Seven titled landlords alone derive an annual income of over $70,000,000 from their property holdings in London. The Duke of Westminster receives $15,000,000 a year from this source; Lord Howard Walden, $14,500,000; the Duke of Bedford, $11,500,000; and the Duke of Norfolk, $7,500,000.
They were opposed to the three forms of taxation in the proposed budget which was defeated; the twenty per cent tax on unearned increment, a tax of two tenths of one per cent on the value of undeveloped land and on the mining royalties, and a 10 per cent duty on benefits accruing to the owners of leased land at the termination of the lease. At the present writing it would look as tho Mr. Lloyd-George would be sustained by the suffrages of the people, altho his parliamentary majority will be much less than before. The result of the election reveals the perplexity and uncertainty of the people.
The Dollar Displaces the Flag
By C. L. Shelton
THE following is a clipping from the Ohio State Journal of Dec. 29, 1909, and is self-explanatory; but I may be excused for pointing to it as being another chain in the link which the devil is forging around those who seem to "love to have it so!"
"Dollar Displaces Flag
"Judge says 40 per Cent of Public Money Is Lost in Graft.
"TROY, N. Y., Dec. 28.—'The age of patriotism has yielded to the age of commercialism. Uppermost in the human mind, to-day, is not the stars and stripes, but the dollar mark.'
"Such was the declaration of Supreme Court Justice Wesley O. Howard, in an opinion to-day, reducing the compensation of members of a commission appointed to appraise damages to property resulting from the construction of the Ashokan reservoir in Ulster County, which is to furnish a water supply for New York City.
" 'At least forty per cent of all the money appropriated for public use is lost in graft,' said Justice Howard. 'All things could be possible if this frightful leak could be stopped — roads, canals, libraries, asylums, and hospitals.
" 'Graft is as much an element to be reckoned with in computing the cost of a public structure, as is cement or lumber. It has come to be a matter of course — this rake off — a loss recognized by all who make estimates of cost in such cases. A public structure built honestly would be a freak.' "
When a judge feels called upon to give such a rebuke, his words should be heeded. While some are saying, "Peace and safety," and looking for a world's conversion, the greatest frauds and scheming for bigger frauds are coming to light. There is uncertainty and perplexity everywhere. Truly men's hearts are "failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth."
This nation has been the wonder of the world. God has most signally blessed it in the past by raising up men to manage its affairs in such way that His name would be honored in the relief of the downtrodden, and giving light to those who were in darkness of error; and just so long as these principles are carried out and there is a work of this nature to be accomplished, and there are men who will dare to stand for the right, this nation can and will be used of God. But should this high purpose be lost sight of in the scramble for place and riches, it will be just as easy for the Lord to turn the tables as He has done in the past when His purposes were not accomplished. The nation will be set aside even as others have been. Can you not see and appreciate the situation?
"The night is far spent, the day is at hand." The next great event will be the coming of the King, and the beginning of that kingdom which shall know no fraud.
C. L. SHELTON.
A Disgrace and Insult to Womanhood
By Editor
WE have received from several sources a clipping, and we noted it also in the papers when it first came out, of a most disgraceful sort of thing, seemingly at a Jewish synagog affair, in which kisses were sold at so much apiece, these kisses divided into seven different classes described, prices ranging all the way from 25 cents to $2.50. The report states that four thousand tickets already had been sold, netting two thousand dollars. It is disgraceful. We do not know how a decent moral man, say nothing about a religious man, would be willing that his wife or his daughter should even assist in the carrying out of such a wretched, lustful, indecent program. We are at a loss for words to express our feelings regarding it. It seems as tho a protest ought to ring throughout all Christendom, and that protest ought to include the congregations of Jewish synagogs throughout the United States. We doubt sorely if any more evil ever grew out of the incident at Baal-peor than may grow out of this wretched affair in Chicago.
— ★ —
A Danger
By Editor
A Danger.—In the President's message relating to trust prosecution and the Sherman Anti-trust Law, he presents as a part of his remedy a suggestion which many Americans see great danger in, and that is that these trusts are to incorporate under a federal incorporation law. It will be a great question whether the states will want to yield their rights. Some point out the fact that the trusts can be prosecuted now when desirable, but that really the biggest checks to the overreaching power of the trusts has been through the states after all. Some think that the branch of the Federal Government which would control the trusts would be more easily corrupted than would the governments of many states. The whole tendency is to centralization—centralization in politics, centralization in religion.
Money to the Old World
Money to the Old World.—It is reported that the lack of confidence on the part of foreign immigrants to this country results in the sending of millions of dollars by postal money-orders from the United States to foreign countries each year. Since 1890 it is stated that $640,640,000 has been sent abroad. In the year 1909 a total of nearly $77,000,000 was sent abroad by foreign workmen. Auditor Chance of the Post-office Department declares that this might be largely stopped by the establishment of postal savings banks.
Suggestive, Isn't It?
By Editor
Suggestive, Isn't It? — The Western Watchman (Roman Catholic) in referring to the Commoner's remarks anent Professor Ferrer of Spain, says, "The trouble with Mr. Bryan is, as we stated during the late campaign, that his instincts are all Protestant." How much had that to do with his defeat?
Responsibility of Parents
By Mrs. E. J. Hildom
HOW great is the responsibility of parenthood! of begetting, and bearing, and educating a child who will be capable of enjoying the glories of eternal life, or enduring so much wo! This thought should lift every husband and wife above the plane of selfishness, and bring them to ask as did Manoah, "How shall we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?" or the margin, "What shall be the manner of the child, and what shall be his work?" And consider well the angel's answer respecting the mother: "Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware. . . . Neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing."
Let us consider that the education of the child begins in the character of the parents, as is plainly taught in the case of Zacharias and Elisabeth. They were chosen to be the parents of the forerunner of Christ, because "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." What a testimony is that! And we may each come up to that standard. We may each "have a conscience void of offense toward God and man." We may give our children a heredity against which they will not have to contend all their lives. Like John the Baptist, every child is entitled to be a welcome child, and bring "great rejoicing at his birth," and be "trained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
The Two Readers The child trying to read the book; the mother trying to read the child
The word "train" suggests a vine with clinging tendrils. Is not that a beautiful similitude of a little child? Yes, indeed, they are constantly reaching out for something to cling to, constantly seeking to learn. The father and mother are intended by God to supply all the support and wisdom the little child needs.
Many parents appreciate the sacredness of this trust, and improve their opportunities the best they can. But do they fulfil their mission, when the little clinging hands are pushed aside, and the little pleading face is clouded by their lack of time? So busy with everything under the light of the shining sun, with time for everything but their dearest treasure, their most precious responsibility! Would to God that parents might appreciate their blessed opportunity while their children are about them; before they have learned to cling to other supports, that will pierce them with sorrow; before they receive an education in the way that leads to death. The precious promise is ours that if our children are trained in the way they should go, when they are old, they will not depart from this way. They may depart for a time, but in the end their parents' teaching will prevail. And the Gospel brings hope to those parents who from lack of knowledge, or any other cause, did not give their children this right training in early life. When they do see the right way, instead of becoming discouraged, let them remember that Jesus can heal and repair every wound that sin or neglect has made; and let them take hold of God's strength, who does not will that any should perish, and they may yet each have the glorious privilege of saying, "Here am I, Lord, and the children Thou hast given me." And they may all "come to Zion with praise and rejoicing."
Mrs. E. J. Hildom.
Pure Air and Correct Breathing— Their Value
By D. H. Kress, M.D.
By D. H. Kress, M.D., Physician in Washington (D. C.) Sanitarium
III. Correct Breathing
THE furnace fire burns briskly when the drafts are opened. If either the lower draft, which admits oxygen to the flame, or the damper which controls the exit of the smoke, is closed, the fire burns slowly, and combustion is incomplete. To have free combustion there must be a free admission of oxygen, and the gases produced by combustion must have free exit.
The human body is a furnace. The food is the fuel needed for the production of heat and energy; oxygen is needed to make combustion possible and to keep alive the vital spark. The more oxygen admitted, the brighter the fires burn, and the more pronounced is the energy experienced. To admit but little oxygen will cause the fires to burn low, and will result in the retention of partially oxidized products. These products clog the furnace, and are responsible for the lack of energy experienced. Naturally when deprived of energy we think more fuel or food is needed, and so the sick have food forced upon them. The demand is not for fuel. When this lack of energy is felt, it is frequently a call for more air.
The fires in our stoves would not burn long were there no provision made to carry off the carbonic acid gas, which is formed as the result of oxidation. This gas extinguishes fire. A candle will not burn in a deep well, because of the presence of this gas. The chimney serves the purpose of carrying off the carbonic acid gas. The lungs serve not merely as an inlet for oxygen, but also as an outlet for the harmful carbonic acid gas.
In the lungs the oxygen is absorbed by the blood, and is then conveyed to the remotest parts of the body, and brought in contact with every cell. The gases formed as a result of the oxidation which takes place in the tissues, are brought by the return flow of blood to the lungs to be exhaled. In this way the vital fires are kept burning, the blood and the tissues of the body are kept clean, and disease is prevented.
Pure air and proper breathing are the only means provided by nature for purifying the blood; and he who is in search of some other remedy to accomplish this result, will meet with disappointment. Eating too much and breathing too little is altogether too frequently a cause of sickness. Should the stomach be given less to do, and the lungs13more, mankind would be not merely healthier and happier, but better morally.
Consumption, the great white plague of modern times, is annually carrying off thousands of young men and women in the United States; and yet this disease need not exist. A noted doctor has said, "Only those who are too lazy to breathe have consumption." Persons who make full use of their lungs, seldom have this disease; and those who, having the disease, begin to breathe as they should, frequently recover. It is the upper lobes of the lungs, the parts not usually filled with air by the lazy breather, which lose their vitality, and in which the germ of tuberculosis finds an inviting nook for development.
Breathing, like eating, is under the control of each individual. It is left with each to determine how much life-giving air shall be inhaled, and how much of the life-destroying and disease-producing products shall be exhaled. For the sedentary man or woman it is well to take a few breathing exercises the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. The following suggestions will be found of value in taking these:
Always breathe slowly and deeply, inspirations being through the nostrils, and expirations either through the nose or mouth. Inhalation may be accomplished by that part of an arm or shoulder exercise which tends to elevate and extend the thorax, such as raising the arms laterally; while exhalation should be accompanied by that part of the exercise which tends to contract the walls of the chest, such as lowering the arms laterally from the shoulders or from over the head. Always fill the lower lungs first, by forcing down the diaphragm; then, as the arms are raised, expand the entire chest, allowing the air to get into every nook and corner of the lungs.
The Truest Friend
By Mary S. Young
THERE is One that lives in heaven,
Gentle, tender, true, and kind,
Who is filled with deep compassion
For our race, and all mankind.
By our side He's always walking,
From fair dawn to darkest night;
In our ear He's gently talking
Of His happy home so bright;
Words of comfort, cheer, and gladness
From His silvery tones, do bring
Hope that drives away all sadness,
Causes lips and soul to sing.
Earthly dreams may oft deceive us;
Dearest ones grieve us some day;
But this Friend will never leave us;
He's the Life, the Truth, the Way.
MARY S. YOUNG.
Borrowed Troubles
"Borrowed troubles always demand large interest."
Noticed in a City Library
THAT more boys read than girls.
That boys read better books than girls.
That boys read more instructive books than girls.
That boys read more history and historical stories.
That boys read more travel books.
That boys read a lot of books on how to do things and how to make things.
That there are ever so many books that tell girls helpful, useful, and interesting things to do and to make, but the girls do not as a rule read them.
That the boys read a book on how to make something and then they make that particular something. They tell the librarian about it.
That boys read books that give them a more general knowledge of all things.
That girls prefer story books for the most part.—Detroit News Tribune.
A Spirit Level to Live By
A LITTLE boy saw his father using a spirit level to see if the board that he was planing was "true" and straight.
"What's the use of being so careful, papa?" he asked. "It's pretty good, I guess."
"Guessing won't do in carpenter work," replied his father, sighting the edge of the board and shaving it the least bit in the world. "You have to be just right. People guess at too many things. God does not like that way of living."
"I guess there aren't any spirit levels for living by," laughed the little boy.
"Yes, there are," said the father, earnestly. "You'll find them in the Bible. Try all your actions by that."—Selected.
LIBERTY
By Editor
THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY BUREAU
AN illustrated, 48-page, quarterly magazine, published as an exponent and advocate of true religious liberty; defending Christianity and the rights of conscience; upholding the Bible as the infallible word of God; recognizing the church and state as ordained of Heaven for specific and distinct purposes, but vigorously protesting against the alliance of the church with the state in the attempt to advance religion and to promote the state.
Price 25 cents per year. Liberal terms to agents.
Address, LIBERTY, Takoma Park, D. C.
Life and Health
By Editor
A PRACTICAL health journal, published with a view of meeting hygienic needs in every home; teaching how to care for the health and how to preserve life; prescribing simple home treatments to assist nature in throwing off diseases rather than adding more poison by using drugs or unnatural stimulants as remedies: teaching how to avoid disease as far as possible, how to manage in the home when sickness does come, and how to combat the disease by simple remedies which nature provides.
Send for sample copy and special rates to agents. Price 10 cents per copy or $1.00 per year.
Address, LIFE & HEALTH, Takoma Park, D.C.
Help Wanted at Once
At the new vegetarian cafeteria which will be started soon. Ten young ladies for general work, two lady cashiers, one lady bookkeeper and stenographer, two young men for dining-room, two men to wash dishes, etc. Good home, good wages, and steady work to right parties.
Write at once to E. G. Fulton, 257 So. Hill St., Los Angeles, Cal.
Help Wanted
By Editor
WE are desirous of securing the services of ten graduated or trained nurses at once. Apply St. Helena Sanitarium, Sanitarium, Cal.
Our Little Friend
By Editor
An Illustrated Paper for the Smaller Men and Women, for the Children and Little Ones
Instructive and entertaining, clean, wholesome, sensible. It is a character builder, a helper to father and mother. Our Little Friend would plant seed in the joyous life of the children in the Present, that it may bear blessed fruitage in the Harvest of the Future. Respect your child's individuality. Take the paper for him or her. Only 60 cents a year.
Address, OUR LITTLE FRIEND
Mountain View, Cal.
Washington-Lincoln
By Editor
Memorial Number Signs of the Times Monthly for February Is Now Ready
CONTENTS
CURRENT TOPICS: More Sugar Frauds; The Great Tariff Fraud; The Fraud of Our Cities; The Meaning of These Frauds; The Banishing of Frauds; Halley’s Comet; Situation in England; Is Mars Inhabited?
NOTE AND COMMENT: The New Gigantic Money Trust; King Leopold; Which Bible? Bryan’s Objection to Darwinism.
GENERAL ARTICLES: The Significance of Recent Calamities, J. O. Corliss; Washington and Lincoln, M. C. Wilcox; The Apostasy, Mrs. E. G. White; The Disappointment (a story of 1844), A. W. Spaulding; Divine Healing, Dr. Kress; The First Day of the Week in the New Testament, H. W. Cottrell; The Second Coming of Christ (Bible Reading); Why Keep Sunday Every Week? T. E. Bowen; Civil and Uncivil, A. D. Westcott; True Liberty Notes.
This splendid variety of subjects has not been excelled in any former issue of the “Signs Monthly.” A large edition is being printed, for we anticipate unusually large orders. 5 to 50 copies, 5 cents each; 50 or more, 4 cents each.
We Want Agents Everywhere
Why Not Write To-day?
Address orders or inquiries to your tract society, or
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, California
Good Homes for Sale
Two good farms for sale in a rich section of the Northwest adjoining the new Cedar Vale Academy, conducted under the auspices of the Upper Columbia Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists. May be exchanged for city or suburban property in California. Prices and terms reasonable. For further information, address J. W. Shields, Viola, Idaho.
