We have just returned to our station from our good annual meeting held in Seoul. It was truly the best meeting conducted by our people in this field. A splendid spirit prevailed throughout, and we believe all have returned to their homes with increased strength, a firmer hope, and renewed consecration for service in the cause to which we all have dedicated our lives.
While we have had setbacks and discouragements, the field reports are very encouraging. There are now nearly 1,100 Sabbath keepers in Chosen; that is, total adherents, of whom more than 500 are baptized members. The work that17began so recently has spread to all the thirteen provinces of the country. Plans have been formulated whereby the work will be further extended in new regions during the coming mission year.
We appreciate the efforts of our dear brethren and sisters in the homelands in extending the glad tidings of salvation in these dark lands. We who are here on the frontier are but their delegated messengers. We are indeed grateful to know that loyal hearts and strong, willing hands are holding the cords as we endeavor to venture forth.
The hot summer weather is right upon us now. In the south end of the peninsula it is much warmer than any place in the Lake Union. We shall hasten to finish our work, and ere long go to our eternal home in the land of perfect day. No more heat or cold,—all these severe atmospheric changes and conditions as they exist in this sin-cursed earth, will be past. May the Lord keep us ever loyal to the message and faithful to himself, that we may eventually inherit an eternal home with him on high.
R. C. WANGERIN.
Work for the Colored
By C. B. Stephenson
The regular annual collection for the work among the colored will be taken, as usual, the first Sabbath in October.
The funds gathered at this time aid in carrying forward the work for the Negroes in the dependent sections of the Division Conference. There are over eight million colored people in the South who are waiting for the third angel's message. This people compose a missionary field as truly as do the peoples of foreign lands, and must, at least for some time, receive aid from the Mission Board.
The amount available through the regular channels falls far short of being adequate to the great needs of the field. In order to make up for this shortage of funds, the Division Conference has set apart the first Sabbath in October for the taking of a special collection.
This people are ready and waiting for the last message of love to a lost world. I do not recall a single tent effort the past year that has not been fruitful, and many of them have brought out large churches. We ought to have many more workers to quickly give the message to the colored people while conditions are so favorable.
In almost every mail I receive some heart-touching appeal for a little help. Cannot some of our people who have been blessed with much of this world's goods invest some of it in the salvation of this race? Why not convert our perishable property into the imperishable, by letting it go to a work so worthy, and thus lay up treasure in heaven. Soon the privilege of giving to God's cause will cease. We cannot afford to let the books of heaven close and find our balance on the wrong side of the ledger.
The present unsettled condition of the world is but the beginning of the great struggle of all nations, and is an illustration of how quickly things can change about. We know not how soon Europe's misfortunes will be ours. Now is the accepted time, the last time. Shall we not make this year's offering to the uplift of the colored people the largest ever taken?
C. B. STEPHENSON,
Secretary Negro Department.
West Pennsylvania
By W. F. Schwartz
ERIE.—On the twelfth of July we held the opening service in our gospel tent at Erie. The reasons for pitching a tent at this time were to build up the work in the church, to give the church a standing in this city, and to break down some of the prejudice that stood in the way of saving souls. The meetings were attended by a good class of people, and interested ones came every night. Our largest gatherings were on Sunday evenings.
The newspapers published our sermons in full whenever we furnished them. The order about the tent could not have been better, and we were not molested in any way. There are 42,000 Catholics in this city. Many of the families living near the tent, including the one next to it, were Catholics. We found only a kind feeling toward us and our church.
On August 15 we held our first Sabbath meeting in the tent, and a goodly number were present. In the testimony meeting ten persons said they were going to keep the Sabbath. On the twenty-sixth we took the tent down, and transferred the meetings to the church. We have had a large attendance at the church. Twenty-six interested families are still being labored with. Last Sunday, September 6, I had the privilege of burying nine adults in baptism. Several are keeping the Sabbath, and expect to be baptized soon. The faith and courage of the church are good. We hope that many of those that are now interested will finally decide for the truth. Elder J. W. Watt and Sister Addie Bowen assisted in all these meetings, and Brother J. S. Glunt acted as tent master. We thank our brethren and sisters for their prayers in our behalf.
W. F. SCHWARTZ.
A School in the Interior of Honduras
By W. W. Murray
THE English school at Siguatepeque, Honduras, Central America, opened Feb. 1, 1914, receiving one recruit to the teaching force on March 25. The enrollment at the opening was twenty-one, but there has been an increase of seven, an evidence of a growing interest. Present indications point not only to a successful year's work, but also to the permanency of the institution.
Scarcely a year and a half have passed since the founding of this school, yet in this brief space it has claimed the attention of the citizens, and today occupies a prominent place in the minds of thinking men and women of Honduras. To the grace of God and the able management of Brother and Sister Snow may be ascribed the high degree of favor the school has attained at such an early period.
A congress of educators which convened at Tegucigalpa, the capital, in April, called for the finished products from the arts as an evidence that the training is a fact as well as a name, and later directed a committee to investigate in person the methods and principles of the institution, and the textbooks in service. May 28 brought to the school the nation's exponents of education in the persons of the minister of public instruction, minister of public improvements, postmaster-general, and their secretary. They expressed themselves as being both pleased and in sympathy with the institution. They intimated that they would, as far as possible, give their official support to the school, and by their suggestion a petition for financial aid was presented to the government.
SIGUATEPEQUE SCHOOL CARPENTRY CLASS AT WORK
Carl Snow, in charge of school, at right, with back to the wall.
The class numbers nine.
The actual studies that are being taught are as follows: Reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, bookkeeping, descriptive geography, physiology and hygiene, carpentry, cabinet work, pencil and pen drawing, painting, music, dress-making, and embroidery. The principles of English are being taught in such a way that the pupils make rapid progress in acquiring the language. This year, and in the years to come, the following will be added: Algebra, geometry, physical geography, history (ancient and modern), rhetoric, blacksmithing, weaving, pyrography, electricity, and telephony. As these studies are added, more teachers and supplies will be procured from the United States.
Weaving has been added to the curriculum. The loom, a splendid gift from Mrs. C. E. Couch, is now in running order.
That the conservative people of Honduras feel the need of English, that they want American teachers, that they invite schools, and that some one will eventually accept their invitation, is now a matter of fact. Treatment rooms are also needed. Mountaineers often walk to the school for the simple treatment the teachers have to offer. A great work could be done through this avenue.
W. W. MURRAY.
Camp Meetings
By F. W. Paap
It has been my privilege to attend sixteen camp meetings this season, and for the benefit of our people in general, I18desire to say a few words regarding these spiritual feasts.
The great advantage and blessing of these annual meetings eternity alone will reveal. Thousands have renewed their covenant relationships, and many have found the Saviour for the first time. It seems to me that it would be nearly impossible to carry forward this great movement without these seasons of refreshing. Those who miss these opportunities are handicapped, to say the least, in the great battles of life. We see the spiritual uplift that comes in seeking the Lord at these annual gatherings.
The daily study of the Word, the inspiring testimonies of the brethren, the opportunity of learning better how to work for our neighbors and friends, the knowledge of the financial conditions and problems, the inspiration that comes in the consideration of the great mission fields and their need,—these and many other items all magnify the importance of these meetings and the necessity of God's people being present. I would not give the impression that these meetings have been in every particular just what they should have been, but in spite of some failures they have been a great uplift and blessing to our people and the work.
There is surely coming in a revival among God's people. Never before in the history of this work has there been manifest a more wholesome, willing spirit on their part. We are in the time of a great awakening. Thousands are turning to God for a new and richer experience. Money for the carrying forward of the work is being supplied. Everywhere we find the conferences raising their full quota and more. Again and again our hearts have greatly rejoiced in God as his Holy Spirit has rested upon the people. “Courage in the Lord” may well be chosen as our watchword. The willingness on the part of God's people to work for souls, the large amount of literature purchased by them in connection with the home missionary campaign movement, the eagerness manifested to know better how to labor for the lost, and the determination expressed on the part of so many to win at least one soul for Christ, are omens of good.
These conditions are not exceptions, but the rule throughout the entire field. We surely are homeward bound. Our all-powerful Leader is directing the affairs of the universe. With perfect unity in the ranks, such as we are seeing more and more, victory is certain. Our great home missionary campaign is to play a very important part in the finishing of the work of God.
If the same spirit of consecration that possessed our hearts while at camp meeting is with us all through the year (and there is no reason why it should not be), if the same interest in home missionary work is taken, if our literature purchased in such a wholesale way is distributed as largely and faithfully, the results cannot be other than encouraging. We are expecting great things. The Lord is expecting great things.
“There is before the church the dawn of a bright, glorious day, if she will put on the robe of Christ's righteousness, withdrawing from all allegiance to the world.” God is ready, and his people are to be willing in the day of his power. We have reached that day.
F. W. Paap.
West Pennsylvania Conference
By W. F. Schwartz
RIDGWAY.— The Bible work which was carried on by Sister Jenks and followed with a tent effort a year ago by Elder G. L. West and the writer, has been looked after by Sister Jenks. On September 9 I went to Ridgway to hold a few meetings and organize this company. The organization took place on Sabbath, September 12. Eleven members comprise this organization. The officers were elected, and Brother H. A. Jenks, who has acted as leader, was chosen elder. This company has been very faithful in their tithe and donations to missions. The tithe for the past seven months was $292.45, and their donations to missions was $63.45.
A few others in this vicinity are keeping the Sabbath, but did not unite with the church at this time. The attendance at the meetings just held reveals that there is still a good interest in this place. We hope that this little vine will continue to grow and become a strong plant in the center of our conference. We praise God for the guidance and help of his Holy Spirit in turning mankind to this glorious truth.
W. F. Schwartz.
Church Additions in Washington
FIVE new members have been added to the Swedish church in Spokane, Wash. During the summer sixty-five persons have been baptized and added to the Seattle church.
City Work in Buenos Aires, Argentina*
By Deborah Knight
The work in Buenos Aires is onward. In the beginning of the year 1913, when the church was divided into three, it was thought best to seek a more central place for our meetings. Securing one, we began constant visiting to arouse an interest, meeting with varied experiences, both encouraging and discouraging. With the help of God and of our associate workers, Elvira Deggeller and Ernesto Tulin, we pressed the battle to the gate, gaining victories. From our first baptism, April 19, to the same date one year later, thirty-three persons were baptized, all of whom were adults. There are seven others who desire baptism, making forty new Sabbath keepers gained during this time. These have not accepted this message without passing through severe trials. The enemy is working harder now than ever before to prevent souls from coming into the truth.
One young woman who accepted the truth came out of the Catholic Church. Afterward, it was necessary for her to go to a public hospital for an operation. Upon entering the hospital, the mother superior told her she must confess her sins to the priest. She said, “No.” It was insisted upon, but still she said, “No.” Then she was told that she would go to purgatory. She said, “I will not,” and told them that she was a Christian. They tried to convince her that if she did not confess her sins, she would die during the operation. She underwent the operation, and came out from under the effect of the anesthetic without the slightest feeling of sickness. Then the mother superior cried out with surprise, and “Look how the Christian comes out!” Afterward the priest sought opportunities of talking with her, asking her how she dared to change her faith without consulting with the church. She in turn asked him why they kept Sunday, and how they dared to change the law of God and the Sabbath. The priest said, “We keep Sunday because now it is impossible to change the customs of the whole world,” thus acknowledging that the day had been changed.
By this we see that the priests are in darkness, and they are holding the people in it. May God help by his Holy Spirit to enlighten these poor souls.
DEBORAH KNIGHT.
News and Miscellany
Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press
— Work on Chicago’s new union depot was begun September 20. The cost will be about $50,000,000. The project will furnish employment for 10,000 men, and the number employed will at certain stages of the construction reach as high as 25,000 men. The time set for the completion of this building is five years, and work must be rushed in order to finish it in that time. The city will get $800,000 as compensation for the streets and alleys which have had to be vacated for the new building.
— St. Petersburg is no more! Not because it has been captured by the enemy, but because the form of the word is German rather than Slavic. By order of the czar it is henceforth to be called Petrograd. The Teutonic names of other Russian cities will be Slavicized in a similar fashion. We hope they will all be as pronounceable as Petrograd.
— The Baldwin Locomotive Works has just constructed for the Erie the largest locomotive hitherto made. It has a traction power of 160,000 pounds, and the weight on the driving wheels is 753,000 pounds, and the total weight is 845,050 pounds. It is 261,000 pounds heavier than any other locomotive in existence. It can draw 25,000 tons on the level.
— It is reported that the famous cathedral of Notre Dame, at Rheims, has been destroyed in the bombardment of the city by German artillery. It is regarded as the greatest loss from a historical and artistic sense of the present war. Begun on the site of an earlier church erected by Robert de Courcy in 1212 and continued at intervals down to the fifteenth century, it has been described as “the most perfect example in grandeur and grace of Gothic style in existence.”
— At least seventy-two men, women, and children, coastwise passengers and crew, were drowned September 18, when the three-masted steam schooner “Francis H. Leggett” was pounded to pieces in a gale sixty miles from the mouth of the Columbia River. Two men were rescued by passing steamers and carried to Astoria and Portland to tell how the sea tore the vessel to pieces, and how the passengers were drowned a boatload at a time, as the lifeboats put off, or met their fate a little later when the vessel turned over and sank.
— After three years of negotiation, the United States is to acquire ownership of the entire Presidential Range of the White Mountains and 84,355 acres of land. This will give to the White Mountain Reservation nearly 120,000 acres of thick forests, beautiful lakes, high mountains, and marvelous scenery. In addition to Mt. Washington, the range includes Clay, Jefferson, and Adams, of the northern group, and Monroe, Franklin, and Pleasant, of the southern chain. Aside from the mountains and other forests, the deal is important in that it will give to the government absolute control of three of the largest New England rivers, the Saco, the Androscoggin, and the Connecticut, all of which draw their largest supply from the mountains.
— Twelve months’ famine, which only outside aid can avert, faces the Kwangtung and Kwang-si provinces of China, which were devastated by flood in July, with a loss of 3,000 lives and more than 100,000 homes. Consul General Cheshire reported from Canton that more than 8,000,000 persons suffered losses, and many millions in distress would need food until the next harvest. American missionaries report that in many places whole villages have been blotted out, inhabitants and all. The loss of life may never be known, but the suffering caused is appalling. At the end of July the West River was still very high; the fields and lands were under several feet of water. Banks required rebuilding, houses reerecting, fields to be pumped dry for planting.
Field Notes
A Sabbath school has been organized in Corvallis, Mont.
Elder R. H. Martin baptized four persons in Wilmington, Del., a short time ago.
During a series of meetings in Bristol, Tenn., twenty-five decided to keep God's commandments.
Elder C. J. Cole reports the conversion and baptism of fifteen adults in Eugene, Oregon.
Elder G. P. Rodgers reports fifty-five accessions to the church as the result of the tent meeting in Baltimore, Md.
As the result of a recent tent effort in Wilmington, N. C., fifteen persons have embraced the third angel's message.
At Dalton, Ga., a company of eleven members was recently organized. There are also a number of new believers at Ellijay.
Elder W. A. Alway reports the recent baptism of three persons in Wheelock, N. Dak., twenty-seven in Bowden, and six in Huron, S. Dak.
The recent tent effort in West Union, Iowa, resulted in thirty-five converts. Thirteen persons were baptized a few weeks ago in Sioux City.
At Belmont Park, Va., three persons have accepted the truth. As a result of the tent meetings in Washington, D. C., thirty-three have been baptized, and united with the church.
From the Northern New England Conference is reported the baptism of five adults in Orleans and five in Richford; also the organization of a church of fourteen members in Montpelier.
Twenty-five persons in Albany, N. Y., have pledged themselves to keep the commandments of God. There are also fifteen staunch new Sabbath keepers in Syracuse. The Brooklyn church recently received twelve new members by baptism.
Home Missionary Experiences
By E. M. Graham
From the many reports that have come to us in various ways, we have selected a few which show something of the work being done by our lay members. When reading them, remember that these represent the efforts of only a very few of the many who are working in similar ways. The Lord is wonderfully blessing the efforts of our people.
Result of Leaving One Tract
“Brother McKibben left at a home on a certain Friday a tract on which was stamped the name of our church at Sioux City, and its location. The mother in that home induced her daughter to go to our services the next day, and she seemed interested in all that was done. That night she was called to another part of the city to the home of her sister, whose child was dying. Brother McKibben was asked to conduct the funeral service, and the way was opened for Bible readings. Three of the members of that home were soon keeping the Sabbath, and others are interested. The same is true of the mother’s home, three being added from it. Five other women in the neighborhood also united with this church, making eleven brought into the truth through that one tract.”
How One Isolated Family Works
“One of our isolated brethren and his wife are determined that those living near them shall have a little of the message to read. They sent us an order for a package of six tracts to be sent to each of one hundred persons living in their vicinity, and five dollars to pay for the tracts and mailing. This is one of the many ways we can utilize to present the truth. Perhaps others of our isolated Sabbath keepers could do this also.”
A Live Missionary Society
“From a personal letter from Brother Comer, we quote the following concerning the work in Calcutta:— “A missionary spirit has come in, and our church is working. We have a live missionary society which meets every week, and for several months we have not been able to close our meetings on time because the members have so many good experiences to report. Some are visiting hospitals weekly; some are putting tracts and papers on outgoing boats; others are giving Bible readings. All are scattering tracts and other literature, and there is one regular cottage meeting being conducted by members of the church. As a result of all this work, I am kept busy answering calls to visit interested ones and to lend assistance in various ways. However, I am working as hard as I can to encourage all to depend on themselves as much as possible. I baptized one woman in April, as the direct result of the faithful work of a lay member. Three new Sabbath keepers are getting ready for baptism, and others are weighing the cost. Our Sunday evening meetings continue with about the same interest, although quite a few have gone to the hills. Our tithes and offerings are good, and our Sabbath school is most interesting. At present we have children attending whose parents are not Sabbath keepers.”
Worked One Hour a Week With Tracts
“One of our sisters who has been working with tracts, recently counted the number she had put out, and was surprised to find that in about four months by working an hour a week she had placed five hundred tracts in the hands of the people.”
“This shows what constant, steady work will do, although while it is being done one scarcely misses the time spent. Not only does the one who receives the tracts get benefit, but the one who does the work receives a blessing from the Lord that can be obtained in no other way. Is not this an inspiration and encouragement to others to work in a similar way? Any one can do this work; it does not require great learning or wonderful talent, but a love for the souls for whom Christ died, a willingness to be used in the service of God, and a determination to stick to the work and not let the enemy of souls keep us from doing it faithfully. A few cents invested in this way will furnish material for a large work, as the tracts are used over and over again as long as they are not soiled.”
Will not our sisters who are tied at home by their duties, try this grand plan, and thus have part in finishing the message? E. M. GRAHAM.
Our Home Missionary Campaign
By E. W. Paap
“EVERYTHING in the universe calls upon those who know the truth to consecrate themselves unreservedly to the proclamation of the truth as it has been made known to them in the third angel’s message. That which we see and hear calls us to our duty.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. IX, page 25.
“Now as never before, the great and wonderful work of this message is to be carried on. Let every one professing the name of Christ, act a part in sending forth the message. The end of all things is at hand. ‘Prepare to meet thy God.’ It is our duty now to employ every possible means to help in the proclamation of the truth. When you are riding on20the cars, visiting, conversing with your neighbors, wherever you are, let your light shine forth. Hand out the papers and tracts to those with whom you associate, and speak a word in season, praying that the Holy Spirit will make the seed productive in some hearts. This work will be blessed of God.”—“A Call to Service,” pages 2, 3.
We desire to pass on to our people everywhere the good words that have come to us from some of the leaders of this movement:—
I. H. Evans: “I am intensely interested in the great home missionary campaign. I do not believe there is any one thing that can come to our churches which will be such an uplifting agency and give them such a hold on the Lord as to enter with all their souls into this campaign.”
E. E. Andross: “Our people are manifesting a real live missionary spirit. They never were more willing to cooperate with us in every effort to enlighten the public mind than now. I believe they are becoming fully awake to the situation, and are willing to do everything in their power to help finish this work.”
Charles Thompson: “We are doing all that we know how to inspire the people with the importance of this great home missionary campaign.”
D. U. Hale: “I shall certainly be glad to help in this missionary campaign with all the power there is in me. You can depend upon me to see that this work goes.”
M. W. De L’horbe: “The Lord has been burdening my mind with my duty of organizing the churches in my district for home missionary work. I feel that we must press every member into service. I believe the time has come when every minister among us should do this.”
O. Montgomery: “We are throwing heart and soul into this work. I am sure there is nothing that will so lift the people everywhere as to put them to work for their friends and neighbors.”
H. W. Carr: “We must all agree that the home missionary campaign is the only remedy for existing evil conditions. I intend to rally every laborer in the conference. We shall put forth definite efforts to enlist the sympathy and cooperation of every friend of the cause.”
Brother Nethery: “I am in sympathy with this home missionary campaign. Last winter I got a prayer band started. We visited from house to house. We started with eight, but soon sixteen others joined, and at the close of the year, nineteen had taken their stand for the truth.”
John Isaac: “I look upon this home missionary work as the greatest thing that has ever been undertaken. I realize that much depends on the proper organization and drill given in the very beginning.”
F. H. Robbins: “I think the best thing for any conference is to get the people to work. God must give us the ability to do this.”
A. R. Ogden: “I assure you my interest is very great in home missionary work. In our large State no one worker can reach all the believers; hence the necessity of all our laborers taking hold.”
G. W. Wells: “I am thoroughly in harmony with the plan of urging our people to do missionary work. They will certainly dry up if they listen to preaching, preaching, preaching, week after week, without engaging in personal work for souls.”
From time to time we shall be pleased to pass along such words of encouragement, accompanied with reports of work done in the various conferences.
We are greatly encouraged at the prospects, but we call upon all our dear people everywhere to rally to the standard. Now is our opportunity. Let us embrace it, working patiently, wisely, considerately, with the tender ministry of love. Then we shall surely accomplish our great purpose, the salvation of many precious souls. E. W. Paap.
After Camp Meeting
By M. E. K.
“THAT’S a pretty way to do! You had better go to camp meeting and get converted over again.”
Shame that such words should ever be spoken, and especially by a professedly Christian parent. Little do you know, dear parents, how hard were the struggles of your children who made a start to serve God at camp meeting this year. And little do some of you realize, perhaps, that some of the struggles were over this very question of the possibility of living a Christian life in the unsympathetic atmosphere of your home, and under the fire of such criticism as the above. But they were persuaded that you, too, were opening your heart to receive the camp meeting blessings, and they expected that things would be different at home.
But how has it been? Your work on the farm or in the shop was behind when you returned home, of course, and there were other things to annoy. But these perplexities and temptations are the common lot of us all; and it is for the conquest of ourselves at such times that the Spirit of God is promised.
Besides, did it make things run smoother, or help you or the child over any difficulty, to shoot such an arrow? — O, no! It made matters worse and worse. And many boys and girls have thrown overboard their whole experience because of just such cruel thrusts.
“They had not much to throw over, if it went that easy,” you say. “True, they had not much. But what they had was no less genuine.”
Some young people at camp meetings I have attended this year have given themselves to God at our last young people’s meeting. The battle had waged for days, and Jesus won at last. If anybody ever needed help, it is such. They have made a start, only a start; but it is a start for the kingdom of God. And with kindness, sympathy, and love, their parents and the older Christians of their church should put their arms about them and help them to gain the victory, and “when they err, deal with them tenderly.”
The instruction given to parents is that they should “guard their children with wise, pleasant instruction. As the very best friends of these inexperienced ones, they should help them in the work of overcoming; for it means everything to them to be victorious. With loving interest they should teach them day by day what it means to be children of God and to yield the will in obedience to him.” — “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 94.
Our camp meetings this year have been a great blessing to all our people who attended. Whether or not our boys and girls retain the blessing they have gained depends very largely upon the wisdom, constancy, and consecration of parents and church officers. At the camp meeting the burden was more largely upon the ministers and young people’s workers; now it is upon you, dear brethren and sisters. How will you discharge your responsibility? What a misfortune if some dear boy or girl should give up for want of helpful sympathy, and never start again.
“A tender child of summers three,
Seeking her little bed at night,
Paused on the dark stair timidly.
‘O mother! take my hand,’ said she,
‘And then the dark will all be light.’”
Our older boys and girls, though they may not be so conscious of it, are nevertheless in need of guidance in the spiritual darkness of this world just as much as this “tender child of summers three” in the physical darkness.
May all our parents and church elders, when asked that searching question, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” be able to answer, “Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” M. E. K.
Missionary Volunteer Department
M. E. KERN — — — General Secretary
C. L. BENSON — — — Assistant Secretary
MATILDA ERICKSON — N. Am. Div. Secretary
MEADE MACGUIRE — — N. Am. Div. Field Secretary
Publishing Department
N. Z. TOWN - - - - General Secretary
W. W. EASTMAN - - - N. Am. Div. Secretary
Mount Vernon Academy Opening
By E. G. Salisbury
MOUNT VERNON ACADEMY opened its doors to receive its students from the various churches of its territory at nine o'clock, Wednesday morning, September 16. A good, large attendance was noticeable when we entered the chapel, where a symposium was conducted, the speakers being the principal of the school; Elder E. K. Slade, president of the Ohio Conference; and Elder N. S. Ashton, our Bible teacher. We immediately proceeded to the organization of the school; and when the matriculation blanks were counted, it was found that one hundred and twenty had handed in their slips the first day. At the end of the first week21of school, our enrollment had reached one hundred and thirty-six. We are thankful for this large enrollment. The number of ladies enrolling is greater than the number last year, but there is a marked falling off among the young men. This is probably due to the fact that some have not yet completed their canvassing work, and others are detained by their farm work or by other occupations.
Classes have organized in all departments of the academic work. Our commercial and normal departments show a marked increase over last year. Everything indicates a successful year for us. We thank the Lord for his blessing, and trust the school may meet the demands of the people and fulfill the purposes that the Lord had in establishing it.
E. G. SALISBURY, Principal.
Religious Liberty Department
By C. S. Longacre
C. S. LONGACRE — N. Am. Div. Secretary
A New Experience for Seventh-Day Adventists
By A. O. Tait
For more than half a century we have been teaching from the thirteenth chapter of Revelation that the time would come when this nation would take the lead in making an image to the papal beast. We have quoted the text many times which states that this power will say “to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”
We have perhaps not realized how literally this scripture might be fulfilled. Several of the States have already adopted laws which provide for what are known as the initiative, the referendum, and the recall.
Through the initiative, a law may be placed upon the ballot, either at a regular or a special election, and the people themselves allowed to vote for or against the passage of this law. And when the people through the initiative enact a law, the governor may not veto it, and no legislature can either repeal or amend it. It becomes a fixture on the statute books unless the people themselves, through a subsequent election, either repeal or change the law.
California is one of the States that has adopted this initiative plan, and a bill has been prepared and the requisite number of signatures has been secured to place it on the ballot to be voted upon at the election the coming November. California is one of the two or three States that have no regular Sunday law, but she is going to have the distinction of being the first one that will fulfill in such a literal way this prophecy in Revelation, by actually saying to all the people that they should vote upon a religious measure, which will be one of the great steps in establishing the image to that persecuting power that has such a conspicuous part to act in the closing days of time.
Our brethren have planned a very vigorous educational campaign in the way of lectures and the circulation of literature. This will be a great opportunity to get the truth before the people, and our workers in California need the prayers of all that everything possible may be done to show the distinction between the true Sabbath of Jehovah and the rival sabbath of human manufacture.
A. O. TAIT.
Educational Department
F. L. SHAW — General Secretary
F. GRIGGS — N. Am. Div. Secretary
W. E. HOWELL — N. Am. Div. Asst. Secretary
The Opening of the Washington Missionary College
By F. G.
At the fall council held last October it was voted that hereafter the Washington Foreign Mission Seminary should carry a regular college curriculum, giving special emphasis to the preparation of men and women for the ministry and the Bible work, and also continue those courses having special reference to preparation for foreign mission service.
The Washington Missionary College, the name by which this school is now to be known, had its formal opening for this school year Wednesday evening, September 16. Words of welcome were spoken by Pres. J. L. Shaw. He then introduced Elder I. H. Evans as the principal speaker of the evening.
Elder Evans's address set forth in such clear terms the prerequisites of a successful college and the mutual obligations of its constituency, its faculty, and its students, and was of such general application, that it seems most fitting to publish it, that all our school workers and friends may have its benefits. Accordingly, this will appear in full in the Educational department of the REVIEW of October 15. This address may well be read to all our student bodies. The principles therein so forcibly set forth, are applicable not alone to our colleges, but to all grades of schools; and if they are observed, there will be a great strengthening of our educational work.
The opening exercises of the College also included short addresses by Elders W. T. Knox and W. A. Spicer, welcoming the school, under its new name and with its new work, to its important place in the service of the cause of truth.
The opening enrollment is very encouraging. The College dormitories are filled, and nearly all the seats in the chapel are occupied. There is a good class of seniors looking to graduation next spring.
The College finds a welcome not only in this portion of the country, but from believers throughout the world.
The prospects for all our schools of all grades are most highly gratifying, and we shall have encouraging reports from our other schools later.
