On the morning of April 9, 1907, I started for St. Johns, Newfoundland, expecting to arrive there in three or four days. However, the winds and ice interfered, and nine days were consumed in the trip. Upon reaching my destination on the morning of the eighteenth, I was greeted by Elder Keslake and Brother Morgan, much to my delight.
I found a little company of faithful souls there, over whom the truth has had such an influence as to cause their hearts to respond to the call of God to “come out and be separate.” There are also several others whose hearts are touched by the Spirit, and one by one they are declaring for the kingdom. While I was with them, three of these dear souls declared their intention to serve the Master. Three public and two cottage meetings are being held each week in St. Johns.
It had been planned for me to visit Twillingate, but the ice was so late in breaking up that I was forced to return home without doing so.
The committee had a number of sittings to consider the needs of that field. I am sure that a good canvasser would be a valuable help there; also there is need of a man to join Brother Johnson in the outposts, as the interest in St. Johns seems to call for one man to remain there, for the present at least. Is there not some conference that would share its God-given means and laborers by sending a man with support to this “island world”? Such should write to Elder W. H. Thurston, 123 Albert St., Ottawa, Ontario.
The world is our field, and as Newfoundland is a part of “the world,” let all feel that it is a part of our field, and the Lord will bless our efforts and sacrifices, and will give us fruit for the kingdom.
Wm. Guthrie.
President Maritime Conference.
Field Notes
ON Sabbath, May 4, five persons were baptized at Hotchkiss, Colo.
BROTHER F. G. WARNICK, at work for the colored people in Virginia, reports that four have accepted the truth at Danville, and six have been baptized at News Ferry.
BROTHER W. F. SCHWARTZ reports the baptism of six persons at Clearfield, Pa., May 21.
SIX persons were baptized on Sabbath, June 1, at Brooklyn, N. Y., by Brother L. H. Proctor.
AT the time of the dedication of the chapel at Nunda, N. Y., recently, four were baptized, and six united with the church.
FOUR persons have accepted the truth, and others are studying it carefully, near Stettler, Alberta, where Brother J. W. Boynton is laboring.
DURING the last week of May Brother L. H. Christian baptized five Scandinavians at Milwaukee, Wis., and organized a Scandinavian church of fifteen members.
BROTHER D. U. HALE reports the baptism of three at Dallas, Tex., June 8. The rain has seriously interfered with the meetings he and Brother E. L. Neff are holding at Fort Worth.
MEETINGS have been held in two schoolhouses near Richland Springs, Tex., by Brother T. W. Field since the latter part of April. Two have accepted the truths of the third angel's message, and on June 8 six were baptized.
BROTHER CHARLES THOMPSON reports the baptism of nine persons May 18 at Bartley, Neb. Ten were added to this newly organized church, thereby doubling its membership. Plans are being laid for erecting a house of worship.
MAY 26 Brethren C. A. Burman and Henry Block organized a church of twenty-three members in Calgary, Alberta. The majority of the Sabbathkeepers are Germans who have accepted the truth through the labors of Elder Block.
NUMEROUS additions to the churches at Monterey and Douglas, Mich., as well as renewed courage to all churches visited, were the results of meetings recently held with several of the churches of west Michigan by Brother J. W. Hofstra.
SUNDAY evening meetings have been held in a schoolhouse in St. John, Ill., by Brother W. C. Dalby since March 3. The result is that six have begun to obey the commandments, and others are in the valley of decision. A Sabbath-school was organized June 1.
THE church at Grand Island, Neb., was encouraged by the addition of six members recently. Brother J. K. Kroeker has been holding Bible readings in the vicinity, and a series of public meetings at the Soldiers' Home. There are still others deeply interested in present truth.
WRITING from Denver, Colo., Brother G. W. Anglebarger says: “On Sabbath, June 15, it was our privilege to bury five more precious souls in baptism; this makes nineteen who have been baptized since May 11. We are enjoying the best interest in our work that we have ever yet seen.”
A Memorial for South Carolina
By J. S. WASHBURN
An article by R. T. Nash appeared in the REVIEW of May 2 under the heading, “An Opportune Time for Spartanburg, S. C.” The brethren and sisters throughout the country have given several thousand dollars to establish a memorial church in Washington, D. C., the headquarters of our work in the world. Five thousand dollars of the overflow of the $100,000 fund was appropriated to buy the memorial church for Nashville, the headquarters of our work in the South. And now an appeal comes to us to help in the establishment of a church in Spartanburg, S. C., thus far the leading church of that most neglected State of all the long-neglected South.
The request is a very humble one. A thousand dollars is certainly not a large amount to be given for that purpose. But the little church in Spartanburg is heroically doing all in its power to raise the needed funds, thus making the appeal to our people in general for only a small amount.
We believe those who have helped to establish memorial churches at the headquarters of our work for the world, and at the headquarters of our work in the Southern Union Conference, will now gladly give something toward the establishment of our work on a solid basis in this important center for the work in South Carolina.
Here a short time ago our brethren stood trial for Sunday labor. Here a great interest has been manifested to know the truth. Let the people of Spartanburg realize that Seventh-day Adventists are a people who are in earnest, and who are willing and able to do a substantial and an enduring work.
Send all donations to Elizabeth McHugh, Spartanburg, S. C., or to Mrs. R. T. Nash, Campobello, S. C.
J. S. WASHBURN.
Current Mention
— A severe earthquake shock was felt at Anglesey, England, June 26. No casualties are reported.
— Eleven deaths and many prostrations from heat were reported from Pittsburg in a single day last week.
— Three men were knocked senseless by hail-stones, said to be as large as baseballs, which fell for half an hour at Millard, Neb., June 26.
— Five hundred deaths are reported in a Chinese theater fire at Hongkong, due to the igniting of explosives concealed under the theater floor.
— The Pacific freight steamer “Santiago” was recently wrecked off the Chilean coast, all, except two persons of her four passengers and eighty-seven crew, being lost.
— Mrs. Russell Sage has given $300,000 to found an adjunct to the New York City Hospital on Blackwells Island, to be known as the Russell Sage Institute of Pathology.
— On account of the disquieting news from Central America, the new cruiser “Milwaukee” has been dispatched to that locality to protect American interests. Both Guatemala and Salvador are sending troops to the frontier.
— Railroad accidents were reported the 23d ult., from Hartford, Conn., where eight were killed and thirty-five injured; from Sharon, Pa., where eight were injured; and from Pittsford, N. Y., where four persons were killed, three fatally hurt, and eight badly injured.
— The latest development in the Japanese situation is a communication from the chambers of commerce of seven leading cities of Japan, addressed through President Roosevelt to the leading chambers of commerce of the United States. After recounting the indignities of Japanese in San Francisco, they express fear lest these things, unchecked, shall hinder the growing trade between the two countries.
— For some months the Senate committee on military affairs has been investigating the disturbance at Brownsville, Tex., last August, in which a citizen was killed. For alleged participation by some negro soldiers stationed there, President Roosevelt later discharged two companies. The committee has temporarily ceased the inquiry, and the chairman, Senator Foraker, has issued a public statement in which he declares that the inquiry has failed to show that any soldiers took part in the affray.
— At the second session of The Hague Conference Gen. Horace Porter, on behalf of the United States, reserved the right to present the question of the right to collect contractual debts by force. It is now thought that if no other power presents the subject of limitation of armaments, the United States will do so. Much interest was aroused at the conference on the twenty-ninth, when President Nelidoff refused audience to a Korean delegation which brought a protest against the treatment they are receiving at the hands of the Japanese.
Address of Mayor W. G. Platt
By W. G. Platt
Ladies and Gentlemen:—
Appearing for a time as the representative of the citizens of Takoma Park, it is with pleasure that I welcome you to our beautiful suburb on this memorable occasion. The Washington Sanitarium Association is engaged in a great and noble work—a work which appeals to the best in our natures; and it is a peculiar satisfaction to our citizens to know that their scientific judgment confirms our own judgment in choosing our town as a place of great natural healthfulness. In making this choice, they but give fulfilment to the prophecy of others who have been before us.
Twenty years ago I visited this identical spot in company with Mr. B. F. Gilbert, the founder of Takoma Park, who pointed out to me its many attractive features.
I remember that he called my attention to the peculiar fact that the sound of the rippling waters of the beautiful Sligo can be heard much more distinctly from this point than from any other of equal distance, but what is of especial interest on this occasion is the fact that he made the statement at that time that nature had designed this place for a sanitarium, and that it was his intention to reserve it for that purpose.
For years this was a cherished plan with him, and he constantly sought to enlist the interest of the medical fraternity in such a project. He finally succeeded in securing the co-operation of a celebrated physician of New York to build such an institution, but the financial troubles of 1893 prevented the consummation of his plan.
However, it was a source of the greatest satisfaction to Mr. Gilbert in his declining years to know that persons skilled in the treatment of disease, who have made a success of sanitarium work throughout the whole civilized world, should verify his judgment in selecting this as an ideal spot for a sanitarium.
The people of Takoma Park are justified in the great pride which they take in this institution, not merely because of the erection of this beautiful building, but rather because of the fact that this delightful suburb of Washington through this institution is sure to become known throughout the world for what it really is—one of the most healthful spots in America.
This is not a mere idle, extravagant, or thoughtless statement made to exalt our pride of home, but is fully justified by the vital statistics. Prior to 1904 we had no official record. The report of the registrar of vital statistics for 1904 shows five deaths from natural causes; not a case of typhoid fever or other contagious disease.
In 1905 there were five deaths from natural causes; three cases of typhoid fever, all originating out of the town, and all quick recoveries. During the same period there were eleven hundred cases of typhoid fever in Washington, and one hundred and thirty-five deaths resulting therefrom.
In 1906 there were six deaths, three of them being temporary residents, and there were no cases of typhoid fever, although this disease was prevalent in Washington and in the surrounding country.
The census report of 1900 shows that the average death-rate in the United States was about seventeen in a thousand, and no city or town whose record is given has a death-rate lower than nine in a thousand. The average death-rate of Takoma Park during the three years mentioned was less than three in a thousand.
This is a remarkable showing, and clearly demonstrates that if this institution succeeds financially, it must get its patronage outside of Takoma Park.
In view of these facts, then, we are gratified at your coming here; we hope loyally to support you in all your efforts to make this Sanitarium a source of renewed health to thousands, and thereby known the world over. Our trust is that they who come to it, and they who go away in the full vigor of renewed health, may know and appreciate not alone the beauty of the place, the purity of the environment, but above all, the hospitality and generous nature of our people who join with me in a hearty welcome.
THE WASHINGTON SANITARIUM
W. A. R
By W. A. R.
Findings
Mr. H. N. Sisco, Mr. Riley Russell, and Mr. V. L. Mann, all medical students in the George Washington University, are assisting at the Washington Sanitarium during the vacation.
Dr. Willis Warner has connected with the Tri-City Sanitarium, at Moline, Ill., as assistant to Dr. S. P. S. Edwards, who is at present taking a much-needed vacation, visiting friends in New York. Dr. Warner has just completed the medical course in the George Washington University of Washington, D. C.
Miss Ora Barber, a medical student in the Woman's Medical College, Philadelphia, is assisting in the work at the Pennsylvania Sanitarium, 1929 Girard Ave., Philadelphia, during the summer.
Dr. Geo. Loveren, who has just completed the medical course in Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa., has accepted a position as assistant physician to Dr. Rand, in the St. Helena Sanitarium.
A list of Seventh-day Adventist young people graduated in medicine this year thus far reported is as follows: Mr. Roy Clark and Mr. Willis Warner, from George Washington University, Washington, D. C.; Miss Estella Houser, from Howard University, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. Nina Case-Baierle and Miss Dot Case, from the Woman's Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. T. T. Abbott, Dr. Wilburn Smith, Mr. Clarence Mercer, Mr. George Loveren, Dr. H. A. Morel, from Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pa.; Mr. G. W. Bailey, Miss Amy Bascom, Mr. C. J. B. Cove, Miss Anna A. Cook, Mr. H. R. Harrower, Miss Myrtle B. Hudson, Miss Estella G. Norman, Mr. R. L. Owens, Miss Nellie M. Stevens, from the American Medical Missionary College, Battle Creek, Mich.; Mr. G. B. Replogle, Mr. A. W. Peterson, Nellie Long, Little Rock, Ark.
W. A. R
Medical Missionary Department
Conducted by the Medical Department of the General Conference
W. A. GEORGE, M. D., - - - Chairman
W. A. RUBLE, M. D., - - - Secretary
Dedication of the Washington Sanitarium
By W. A. R.
The exercises connected with the setting apart of the new institution at Takoma Park to the work of healing body and soul were beautiful and impressive. Hundreds of the citizens of Washington and surrounding towns were present to witness the scene.
Program
HYMN, “Praise Ye Jehovah’s Name,” Congregation
INVOCATION, Pastor I. H. Evans
MALE CHORUS, “Answer the Call, Ye Brave Men”
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, Pastor G. A. Irwin, Chairman
ADDRESS OF WELCOME, Mayor Platt
DEDICATORY PRAYER, Pastor A. G. Daniels
MALE CHORUS, “Lead, Kindly Light”
DEDICATORY ADDRESS, Dr. D. H. Kress
DEDICATORY HYMN, Takoma Chorus
SONG, “Praise Ye the Father,” Takoma Chorus
BENEDICTION.
We wish especially to thank the Takoma chorus for their kind services on this occasion. The dedicatory hymn was exceptionally impressive, and was well rendered. This hymn was printed in full on the first page of the REVIEW of June 13. The dedicatory address will be printed later.
W. A. R.
To the Front
By F. G.
MEN more than money are needed in the work of this great last message of salvation to the world. By this we do not say that money is not needed. It is needed to support the men and women who give themselves to the finishing of this movement. But money is a dead thing that has no choice as to its use for good or ill, and men and women are living, vital beings that have given to them the right of selecting the avenues in which the powers of their being are to be spent. Let men and women elect to spend their energies in the service of truth, trusting to the leadership of their Captain, and their support is at hand.
In the midst of the sordid cares and the rush of our daily lives, it is far too easy for us to lose sight of the fact that the mightiest struggle, the final conflict of all time, is on. We are in the midst of it. It will be finished in a short time. God has given to those who believe that this is a fact, the work of warning the world of its impending and awful doom. And it is a mighty work. Its greatness is attested in many ways. For instance, one can ride continuously on a fast express-train from one to two days in many portions of the world, and not pass a place where this last message has ever been heard. The thought should wonderfully move us to action. “In this generation”—these words are very familiar to our people. We must, however, not let them become common ones, for upon our sense of their meaning will depend the intensity of our efforts. The work will be finished in this generation whether we act our part or not. But we must act well our part.
God will cut the work short in righteousness. Evidences are multiplying daily that he has begun the finishing of the work. There is now being issued a call for volunteers. Hundreds of young men and women should be placed on the frontier, in the forefront of the battle, within the next two years. India, China, and Africa must be invaded by armies of consecrated soldiers of the cross. This is no figure of speech, but rather a living fact, and it is a solemn one too. “Can we whose souls are lighted with wisdom from on high,” longer deny the light of life to those who know it not?—No; a thousand times no. To do so is to quench our own lamp of life. God is now going to send out his saving light to all nations, and the choice as to whether we bear the torch must now be made.
It is a work full of dangers and hardships to which this call is being made. There are great privations to be met; there are great sacrifices to be made; and only courageous-hearted men and women should apply, for only such can be used. The experience of Paul as recorded in the sixth chapter of his second letter to the Corinthians will be the experience of those who do go to the front at this time. Paul was not the only one in his time who possessed the graces of character portrayed in this chapter. There were hundreds and thousands of men and women whose lives had been touched and transformed by the love of Christ. So in this day God is providing those for his work who so completely yield themselves to his spirit of love that he can use them in his service.
The message must go in the same thorough way in all lands that it has gone and is going in the United States. But it must go far more quickly. Where we have had one worker in the home land, we must have hundreds in the foreign lands. These workers must be prepared and sent forward at once. Our schools must have, this coming year, many hundreds of new students, together with those now attending whose courses of study are not so far advanced as to properly qualify them for immediate service. This means that there must be an earnest spirit in every Seventh-day Adventist home all over the world to send out an army of true-spirited workers. If this spirit were to really exist as it might and should, there might be a force of at least fifteen hundred strong, sturdy young men and women placed in the benighted lands of the world within the next two or three years, and to this end we must work.
The crown of righteousness is promised to those only who love the appearing of the Lord, and those who do really love that appearing will work for it. They will have the spirit of Gideon's band of three hundred faithful warriors, and their eyes will continually be on the enemy. Young man, young woman, you can not avoid the test, even though you might so desire. We have a great and fierce conflict, but it will be a short one. Let every true-hearted person respond at once to the call for help, and prove himself a true, valiant soldier in the army of the Lord.
F. G.
The Summer Recess
By F. G.
Now as never before do our schools occupy an important position in the work of God. From these schools there must go forth a great number of well-educated and cultured youth to do valiant service for the Master. Our schools are to be centers of light which shall attract earnest students, and which shall diffuse the truth to all the world. We can not too highly appreciate the great power for usefulness which these schools have in combating wrong and upholding right.
It is now the duty of every loyal-hearted Adventist to build up our schools in every way possible. This vacation time should be improved in doing this work. This vacation should mean that we shall have better schools next year. Our plans must be laid broad and deep for effective work in all grades of our schools. Arrangements should at once be made for all our church-schools. We should not wait until nearly time for the schools to open, but should immediately see that provisions are made for teachers and the support of the school. A most earnest effort should be put forth to place in our academies and colleges every young man and woman who can by any possibility be induced to attend. In many cases it will be necessary to assist worthy students financially in attending the schools, but money can in no way be better invested. This matter of getting our young people into our schools is one which should in many instances be taken up by churches and conferences. We must all be roused upon this subject, for workers are needed immediately.
This vacation should result in a great advancement of our school interests in every way. This can not be accomplished by those alone who are directly connected with this phase of our work. It can be effected only by a united move by all our people, each sharing in the responsibility of making this move, and making it at this time. F. G.
Symposium Service
In the Friedensau School Chapel, May 3, 1907
[We believe that the following words spoken to the students of the Friedensau School by the visiting brethren will be of great interest and value to our young people everywhere. The meeting was stenographically reported by Brother H. E. Rogers, and we take pleasure in presenting herewith the substance of what each speaker said.—[F. G.]
A. G. DANIELLS: My heart is full of gratitude to-night because of this opportunity. I am glad that you can meet so many laborers and representatives of this cause from America and Scandinavia. We have been looking forward to our council in Gland, Switzerland, with a great deal of interest. We have thought that we should have an interesting, encouraging, and important meeting then; but we feel that we have just such a meeting here in Friedensau.
Why are we here? I wish to give you just one reason why I am here with you, and in Europe at this time. It is because God is now giving his last message to the world.
WM. COVERT: I come from the Lake Union Conference, in which there are fifteen thousand Seventh-day Adventists, and almost all of them are deeply interested in what you are doing here. When we began to hold conferences in the part of the world where I lived, we did not look very far away from our own field for work and workers; but as time has gone on, the work has widened, and our interest has increased. We have now come to Europe to attend a General Conference council. This message is to go to all the world, and we want to become acquainted with one another, so that we can work together intelligently.
E. T. RUSSELL: As I see that Europe is but a vast military camp, training young men for war,—though not known to themselves, for the battle of the great day of God Almighty,—this thought has deeply impressed itself upon my mind: that the young people of this denomination in the different European countries should be trained for the kingdom of God. They should be trained to fight in this final battle, that they may receive the final reward.
FREDERICK GRIGGS: There is an old saying that old men are for counsel, and young men are for war. I count myself happy to be engaged in the work of training young men and young women for war; and I am glad to know that it is the last war of any kind for all time. As I thought of coming to Europe, there were no places that I looked forward to visiting with more interest than our training-school in London and our training-school in Friedensau. I find that they are filled with the same earnest spirit that we have in our schools in America, and I am glad to take back to our schools in America some of the inspiration which I have received from visiting these schools.
E. E. ANDROSS: I am glad to tell you that the work is moving rapidly over in the union that I represent. We have about seventy young people in our college in London, and without an exception, I believe, they are training for service in this last great warfare. There is nothing that gives me such hope and courage in the finishing of this work as the thought that our young people are devoting themselves to God's service. The secret of the success of our work lies in their consecration and devotion to God's cause.
W. J. FITZGERALD: The question of why we are here from America has been raised this evening. In America it was answered that we were to come here, not for the purpose of giving counsel, but for the purpose of joining in counsel concerning the great world-wide work. The one thing that inspires my heart more than any other thing in the world, is the fact that this work has so grown that it is perfectly justifiable, right, and natural for a General Conference council to be held east of the Atlantic, instead of west.
R. A. UNDERWOOD: In the sixteenth century Germany aided largely in the great crisis that was on during the Reformation, and I trust that in the closing crisis of this world, which will come under the third angel's message, not only this country, but all Europe, will furnish a large share of the young men who will stand the truest and bravest in the conflict. As I look into the faces of these young men and young women, I see one hope and one purpose, it seems to me, expressed: you are here to prepare for active service for humanity and for God. I can carry back to the field from which I came a good report from Friedensau.
W. B. WHITE: I remember years ago when I was a young man upon the farm, that many times when the harvest was ripe, and the storm was gathering, the whole family had to go into the field and assist in the work. It seems as if we have reached that time now. The harvest of souls is now ripe, and the storm is gathering, and it is high time that all God's children should be in the field at work.
DR. R. G. INGERSOLL: I am glad to be here to-night as a representative of the Orient, and to tell you that eight years of the most enjoyable portion of my life have been spent in a missionary outpost. I was also very glad to hear this afternoon from Elder Conradi that all the students who are here are preparing for missionary work. There is no question but that we have come to a time when every Seventh-day Adventist must be a missionary. Not all will be permitted to go to foreign countries, but they must be truly missionaries. We are told that those who earn the money to send the missionaries are as truly missionaries as those who go.
I. H. EVANS: There are in the world to-day about one thousand men giving their lives to preaching this gospel. We have about one thousand other men who are either printing or distributing our literature represented by this message. We have another thousand who are engaged in the sanitarian work represented by this message. We have about twelve thousand young boys and girls of various ages attending schools, to prepare to give this message to the world. We have nearly nine hundred teachers in our schools. Our people are paying about one million dollars of tithe annually, for the support of our evangelical work. They are contributing about three hundred thousand dollars for work in foreign lands, besides the tithe they pay. They are distributing literature to all the various nations of earth, in about forty different languages. They gather in from the sale of this literature at least one million five hundred thousand dollars annually. And the sanitariums represented by this message are taking in perhaps two or three million dollars a year.
So you can see that there is a mighty army engaged in giving this message to the world. We need to increase this number of workers many times; we want them to go out into the frontiers and break up new land.
W. H. WAKEHAM, president of the South England Conference: Some years ago I saw a little tract, written, I think, in the city of Chicago, by a Unitarian minister. The title-page struck me so forcibly that I read it. The title was this: “Blessed be Drudgery.” I wondered what there could be about what we call drudgery to be really blessed. But the gist of it was this: All these little experiences and difficulties and trials and hard knocks that we pass through fit us better for the work that we have to do in the future. Blessed be perplexities. Blessed be hard work. Blessed be the trials and the difficulties that you encounter, because these are stepping-stones to a character that will enable you to make a success in the field wherever you may be called.
R. C. PORTER: I expected, on coming to Europe to attend the meeting of the General Conference Committee, to receive much more than I shall be able to contribute. It has been a source of great encouragement to me to meet with the brethren and sisters in England, Germany, Scandinavia, and the representatives from India and other fields. I can only say, as did the queen of Sheba when she visited the kingdom of Israel in the reign of Solomon, that what I had heard of the progress of the work in those countries did not half tell what I really find when I come to see it myself. There is but one motive that is worthy any young man to-day, and that is to prepare to devote his life in God's service.
G. F. HAFFNER next spoke in German, which was not translated.
P. A. HANSEN, president of the Scandinavian Union Conference: I am thankful to meet so many of the same faith here to-night, and to see so large a group of students, especially when I compare the number with those here the first time I visited this school. It was then quite different from what it is at the present. I remember the buildings called the barracks, back of the old grist-mill, which were first used for the school. I remember going through the buildings, and of seeing in the boys' quarters the groups of students along on the floor. I think the floor was the bedstead, and the bedsteads their chairs, and as we walked through there, we had to be very careful not to walk on the beds. The last time I was here, I noticed the motto on the end of the school building. It is, “Pray and work,” and as I look over this group of students to-night, I think there must have been some praying and some working done since I was last here.
O. A. JOHNSON, president of Norway Conference: Many centuries ago numbers of your forefathers migrated north; many of them landed in Scandinavia, and did not stop before they reached the frigid zone. I am a descendant of those ancient forefathers; I claim some relationship to you, and I therefore bring to24you greetings from your relatives in Norway. We are interested in the school question in Scandinavia. Last winter we had a union school, wherein were about forty students. It continued only four months, but we are glad to say that the spirit that seemed to actuate most of them was a desire to take part in this great conflict. And the great majority of them left the school to take part in this great spiritual warfare. We are going to grow.
J. C. RAFT, president of the Danish Conference: I am happy to be with you this evening. What I have seen and heard this afternoon and evening has made a very deep impression upon me, and done me good. Last Tuesday we closed our annual conference meeting in Denmark. I am glad to tell you that it was the largest meeting ever held in Denmark, and one of the best, too. The leading brethren from America and Europe who are here to-night, were with us, and we appreciated their counsel and labor very much. The cause of God is onward in Denmark. We are of good courage, and trust in the Lord.
J. M. ERIKSON, of Sweden: I heard about your work some five years ago, and I got the impression that you were trying to get up a school in a kind of desert. This place does not look like a desert now. What it did look like five years ago I do not know; but when I saw these beautiful buildings and the grounds, they made a great impression upon me. When I got inside this building, and saw the young people attending this school; it made a still deeper impression upon my mind, and I felt to pray God in my heart to bless all these young people, and make them true missionaries for him.
FRED ANDERSON, of Finland: All those who are interested in the work of the Reformation are interested in Germany. I am especially interested in two places in Germany, this place and Wittenberg. And it seems to me that this place should be called New Wittenberg. Reading the history of the Reformation, I notice that in Wittenberg was a power that drew people from all countries. And I know that in this place dwells the same power as dwelt in Wittenberg, and I know that the minds of our people are drawn to this place from all Europe. I pray that the Spirit of God may so dwell in this place that every one who comes here shall not only receive a knowledge of the message, but the power of the message, and go forth endued with power from on high to work for God.
DAVID OSTLUND, of Iceland: Iceland is in reality no ice land for the man who is warmed up by the Spirit of God and his work. There is not a land in the world that would be anything but a real blessing to you if you are in the Lord's cause with all your heart. Some people think that I must have a lonesome sort of time up in Iceland; but I am very glad that I shall soon be able to return to that land and give my life there if the Lord will give me that life to offer him. If I were a young man, I would not hesitate to go over the same way that I have gone. So I thank God for the privilege of being his, and being a fellow worker with you in this great cause.
EMIL LIND, of Sweden: The question that comes to each is, “What shall I do in the work?” That question came to me about twenty years ago, when I was in school in Chicago. I entered the canvassing work, and I have been in it ever since, and am not tired of it, either. In the little school we had in Sweden, which closed the first of March, we had eighteen Swedish students, and sixteen of them went out into the mission work, and ten of the sixteen are canvassers. If you get that per cent out of the school here, you will have a goodly number going out. Surely there is a place in the work for us all. I would like to speak your language, to shake your hands, and give you a hearty welcome to the canvassing work.
N. P. NELSON: Some thirty years ago a German gave me a tract about the Sabbath, and since that time I have loved this blessed truth that has brought us together this evening. In coming to this country I thought about the matter of who is to preach the truth to all these millions of people, but since being here and seeing and hearing what I have seen and heard, I believe the Lord is preparing to raise up workers right here to do this work. I am glad we can be co-laborers with God. We have the same Heavenly Father. He is preparing a home for us over there, where we can all sing and praise God together.
PETER CHRISTIANSEN next spoke, in German, which was not translated.
M. L. ANDREASON: When I heard the beautiful music and the singing this afternoon, I sat in the corner and wept. It touched my heart. There is a power that many of us do not understand. But there is the same power when we see the beautiful harmony that is in the truth. And as you are in the school here to learn that harmony, I hope you will get the truth so imprinted on your hearts that God can use you to publish that truth.
