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NOTES BY THE WAY. No. 4.
By M. C. Wilcox
We reached the Vermont camp-meeting, Monday, August 20. The meeting had been in progress three days, and a spirit of devotion and prayer was manifest. It was held in the beautiful town of St. Johnsbury, on the Passumpsic River. The camp was situated in a pretty grove, on the river bank, half-encircled by the rapid, shallow, though clear stream. Just above were the falls of the dam. The tents were neatly arranged, and there was but little dust. The weather was delightful, and the cool nights and the song of the singing river made sweet and serene the nights for sleeping. The writer and Brother Curtiss spoke in the aggregate five times. Later came Brethren H. F. Cottrell and Allen Moon, who also were at Virginia and Maine meetings.
The meeting was a success, closing with excellent results, thirty-one being baptized, of which three were rebaptisms. Elder J. W. Watt was elected president of the conference and tract society. As we left before the meeting closed, we did not learn the names of all the officers. These we will give later. A State agent was elected, and the promise is good in the year to come for much larger success in the missionary work. The work in St. Johnsbury has been conducted under the charge of Brother Grant Adkins, formerly an employee of the Pacific Press, now a minister of the Gospel of Christ.
August 24 we left St. Johnsbury, Vt., for Ellsworth, Me., passing on our way through the White Mountains, in full sight of Mount Washington, arriving on the camp-ground in the evening, in time, weary and worn, to speak at the first meeting. This meeting was about the size of that of Vermont, about 200 being encamped upon the ground. Here we stayed until the morning of August 29, speaking seven times while present, leaving five days before the meeting closed, the last meeting—a social service—being the best of all. Pastor H. C. Basney was elected president of the conference and tract society, and Miss Eliza H. Morton secretary and treasurer.
At both these meetings we were right royally treated, and made welcome. There are many old soldiers of the cross in both of these States. The tendency is as age comes on to lay off the armor and retire from active service. But this is not God's plan. While the body may grow old, God designs to keep the heart and soul young and warm and fresh in Him. May the hearts and lives of God's children in Vermont, young and old, be as green as their mountains now are, and as free and full of life as the swift flowing rivers. More than this, may they drink from the living fountain and be "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." M. C. W.
Faith and Reason, T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
As Lights in the World, MRS. E. G. WHITE, . . . . . . . 2
Redemption of the Dominion, MRS. H. HURD HASKELL . . . 2
God's Memorial, G. W. ROGERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Simplicity of Life, WM. SCHWARTZ . . . . . . . . . 4
Heaping Up Treasures, G. B. THOMPSON . . . . . . . . . 4
The Meat-offering, G. E. FIFIELD. . . . . . . . . . . . 5
An Unmanageable Boy, E. J. DRIVER . . . . . . . . . . 6
Between Stations; "The Relief-valve," DARIUS DALE . . . 6
"Bear Ye One Another's Burdens, E. J. BURNHAM . . . . . 6
Editorial.
The Parting Instruction of Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Result of Ingratitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Outlook.—A Pitiful Condition—To Legalize Good Friday—
Flocking to the Cities—The Submarine War Vessels—The
Situation in China—A Terrible Visitation . . . . . . . 8, 9
The Home.—Alcohol; Its History, and Its Effects upon
Society, W. H. RILEY, M.D.—"I Must Go to Willie"—
Some Points Regarding Food, DAVID PAULSON, M.D. . 10, 11
Missions.—The Need of Reformation in India, W. A.
SPICER—The Bonze Monks of China—In an Ever-widening
Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 13
Arguments favorable to Sunday laws are often contradictory. One is that without such law many persons are obliged to work on Sunday or go without the necessaries of life. On the contrary, a leading advocate of strict Sunday observance maintains that young men who conscientiously refuse to work on Sunday are always the gainers. Another argument is that the dealer who wants to close on Sunday must be protected by law lest he lose in competition with his rival who does not close. And this argument is stultified by the presentation of the same advocates that those who do business on Sunday are always losers. But there is no pretext for compulsory religious observance by civil law that is not inconsistent and therefore absurd.
Prepare for the Master's Reception
"Zaccheus, make haste, and come down; for to-day I must abide at thy house." Reader, your name may not be Zaccheus, but it is nevertheless important that you "make haste" to-day and prepare for the Master's reception at your house. He is saying, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock," and to-day may be your last opportunity to have Him for a guest. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
The Failure of the Raines Liquor Law
At the time the Raines Liquor Law was enacted in New York the temperance people thought they had won a great victory. But its operation has been anything but satisfactory. The Christian Work says, "The fact is, the Raines Law is the veriest fraud ever imposed upon the statute-books of the State." Temperance advocates always make a mistake when they attempt to curb the liquor traffic by taxing it. Its great political strength lies in its boast of how much it does to support the government. The masses are thus made to believe that the public could not do without its assistance.
An Important Gathering
An Important Gathering.—In response to the suggestion of Bishop McFaul that all Catholic societies in the United States should organize for political purposes, a large convention is to be held in Philadelphia on September 17, looking to that end. The object in view is to form a federation of all Catholic societies and associations for the purpose of “protecting” and furthering Catholic interests; to push the demands of the church through Legislatures, and compel officials to do the bidding of the church through fear of losing their political positions. With the present-day tendencies of the politicians to yield principle where position is threatened, the success of this organization is almost a foregone conclusion. In the growth of this organization one can begin to see how there will be brought about that condition of things which will make it possible for this country to produce an “image to the beast.” With the legislation of the country controlled by the church, and the church controlled by its head at Rome, the image power is formed. Rev. 13:12-14. Since the suggestion was made by Bishop McFaul, Catholics are entering into the spirit of it with marked zeal, and it will not be long until the organization’s lobbyists will be doing their work in the halls of Congress.
THE DEMAND OF THE TIMES.
By Editor
EVERY one is well aware that the world is in the midst of most thrilling events. There are distress and perplexity among the nations of the earth, and there are storms by land and sea. There are difficulties that threaten the whole fabric of society.
These things are filling the minds of men with fear and dread. The Word of God has foretold that such would be the case. He who is familiar with his Bible knows just what all these distressing things mean. He knows that they are the tokens by which the Lord designs that we may know that the end of all things is at hand. The outlook from the human standpoint is indeed very dark, but from the standpoint of the Word of God everything is bright and glorious, because there is nothing clearer than the great fact that the resurrection day and the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven are right at hand.
Knowing these things, our souls should be thrilled with the importance of spreading this knowledge to the ends of the earth. The great mission of this paper is to give this truth to the world. It is the design of its publishers to thus place a medium in the hands of the friends of truth everywhere, through which they can rapidly communicate these great soul-stirring truths to their neighbors, in fact, to every one they can possibly reach.
From time to time we feel impressed with the importance of getting out special numbers that will give a forcible setting forth of the great themes of these times. The special World's Outlook number that we are now preparing for publication this fall will, we believe, be the very best issue of the SIGNS that has ever come from our press; and, being the very best, it will be the most important. Therefore it is necessary that every lover of truth do all within his power to place it in the hands of the people. Our opportunities for laboring for souls will soon be past, and while the hearts of multitudes of men are being filled with perplexity because of the things they see going on in the earth, we should embrace every opportunity to tell them the meaning of all these things.
This World's Outlook number will be one of the best assistants in this direction that has ever been issued, and we trust that the friends of the SIGNS everywhere will organize and work to the end of circulating hundreds of thousands of copies.
For further particulars concerning it, for suggestions in regard to circulating it, etc., etc., address SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. T.
Coming Articles and Series
By Editor
In this week's issue is the closing article of "The River of Life" series, which we feel sure has been appreciated by our readers, especially by those who have read all the articles. We begin in the Home department a series on "Alcohol; Its History, and Its Effects upon Society," by W. H. Riley, M.D., of the Colorado Sanitarium. Next week we will begin a series by Alonzo T. Jones, editor of the Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich., based on the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. The first article will be entitled "The End of the World." Also another series by George B. Thompson, president of New York Conference, on the general subject of Creation and Redemption. The first article will be entitled, "How Things Were Made."
THE LAST CHANCE.
By Editor
The price of single subscriptions to the SIGNS OF THE TIMES will be changed on October 1 from $1.00 to $1.50. In order to place every one, far and near, on an equality in point of time, we will accept, at the present price, all subscriptions posted to us not later than Sunday, September 30, and will set the date forward from where it is now, one year for each dollar sent. Let all who wish to take advantage of this, do so NOW. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
The Cause of Trouble in China
There are many theories concerning the cause of the present trouble in China, but the one leading cause is selfishness. We are having "perilous times" in these "last days," because men are "lovers of their own selves, covetous," etc. As this is a prevailing characteristic of individuals, it must be also of the combinations of individuals known as nations. The Chinese are selfish and reserved, deeming themselves superior to other nations; therefore they wish to exclude other people from the empire. The other nations are selfish and aggressive, desiring to enforce modern ideas and customs upon the Chinese, for the purpose of gaining enlarged "spheres of influence." The selfishness of the western nations is antagonistic to that of the Chinese; hence the clash.
