Earlier text: Pacific Press Publishing CompanyENVIRONMENT NO EXCUSE FOR SIN.
By G.
MANY people who feel that they are backsliding spiritually, and realize that they fall far short in the line of Christian duty, are prone to lay the blame on their location and surroundings. If such excuse were legitimate, then all could be excused; for "the whole world lieth in wickedness," and there is temptation everywhere. The individual who imagines that in such or such a place, or amid certain imaginary surroundings, he would be free from temptation, or would find it easy to resist the wiles of the enemy, would be sure to meet disappointment. The Christian life is a warfare against spiritual wickedness, whatever the surroundings. While no one would be justifiable in choosing a particularly bad location—excepting for the express purpose of doing good—it is an equally mistaken idea to think of finding an environment free from the necessity of being always alert and watchful against the wiles of the evil one. The reason of such condition is, that the temptation that causes the real injury to spiritual life is that which works from within. "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." James 1:14. "Then when lust hath conceived [when it has been fostered into life by the desire of the individual himself], it bringeth forth sin." Verse 15. The only safeguard against temptation in the most favorable situation, amid surroundings the most congenial to righteousness, is to abide in Christ, and let His Word abide in us; then no enemy can reach the citadel of the heart. With the heart kept pure by the indwelling Word, outward environment matters not—so long as one is in the line of duty. The Spirit of Inspiration says: "My son, attend to My words; incline thine ear unto My sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Prov. 4:20-23. This whole idea of the influence of environment being an excuse for spiritual laxity has been amply illustrated. Lucifer was originally placed in the most perfect environment possible. His place was by the very throne of God, and his companion in service was the Son of God. All the creatures of God were holy, and there was not one object of evil influence to draw any one away from allegiance to the throne of the universe. Lucifer was endowed with the perfection of beauty, and had honor next to the only-begotten Son of the universal Father. But because of Lucifer's beauty his "heart was lifted up," and he desired higher honor. This spirit of envy was fostered until it broke out into open rebellion against God. The Word of the Lord said to him, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Note, it is not said that iniquity was found in his surroundings, in his companions, but in him. The lust was not sin until it was fostered into actual life, and not until Lucifer yielded to the lust of his heart, and was drawn away by it, did he become a real adversary of God and a menace to his companion angels. Had he overcome this temptation of inward lust, it would have been a glorious victory for him. But he gave way to it and fell. On the other hand, when Christ came to earth to live a human life in behalf of a fallen race, He assumed the form of a sinner, was born of sinful flesh, and, from infancy to manhood, had His home in a city despised for its wickedness. It was even a proverb, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Yet, amid such surroundings, He "did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth." "He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." So no one can legitimately make excuse for sin on account of surrounding conditions. The help of Christ, who overcame all temptation, is available; "for in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted." G. It was the Pharisees who brought the woman guilty of adultery to Christ, and told Him that the law of Moses commanded that such should be stoned. They wanted to know what Christ would say about it. He did not condemn the law. He always recognized that "the wages of sin is death;" and it was for that reason that He gave His own life as a ransom for all who would believe on Him, and thus be redeemed from the penalty, by a resurrection from the dead. But He drew the line as to who should execute the death penalty. He said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." So, when one is disposed to cast stones at the erring, even tho the offense be adultery, let him first be sure that he is without sin himself. Let him remember that it is the Pharisee who is always ready and anxious to condemn the erring. In the instance of the woman just cited, there was only one Person at hand who was "without sin," and He was the One, the only One, seemingly, to suggest mercy. He refused to condemn the woman, altho there was no doubt of her guilt. Thus it appears that the nearer one comes to being without sin, the more he will be inclined to show mercy. The perfect Word says, "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." This is the course to be pursued by those who are spiritual; of course the other class will pursue their own course. It would be impossible for them to do any restoring, anyhow. Their religion consists in condemning and destroying. The people of God would always do well to heed the instruction of the apostle Paul: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." G. FROM time to time under this head, we will answer pertinent questions, the answers to which we believe will be generally helpful to our readers. Some questions we can not answer here. They are of special interest only to the person who asks them. We will not answer what seems to be mere quibbles or cavils. We do not propose, for instance, to explain, more than once a year, where Cain got his wife. In all cases we must have the name of the questioner. We may wish to write them. To the questions we sign only the initials, or another term, if preferred by the questioner. But we have neither time nor space to bother with unsigned letters or questions. One more thought: "Foolish and unlearned questions avoid." 1628.—On the Latter Rain.
(1) Will each one receive the latter rain, as soon as he is prepared to receive it, independent of the other members of His church? or would he have to wait until the rest were prepared, and all receive it together, as the apostles did? (2) Is not this power given to keep us sinless after Christ leaves the sanctuary? If so, will it not be given just preceding this event? The last outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the earth is typified by "the latter rain" of Palestine. Just as that latter rain ripened the grain for the harvest, so will God's Spirit ripen and prepare the world for its great harvest at the second coming of Christ. Each one, as he is prepared for it, will receive of it. God gives His Spirit as we need it, and have the consecration and faith to receive it. There may be no miraculous manifestations, but there will be the greatest of all miracles, a humble, holy life. When God's church can see the transcendant importance of righteous life and living, then He will permit His miracle-working power to be manifest among them. But He can not, as long as they become exalted over such manifestations. 2. This power—the power of the Holy Spirit—is always given to keep men from sin. As God's people sense their need more and more amid the perils of the last days, more and more will they cry out for His Spirit, and the Spirit will be bestowed. Zech. 10:1. At last the sifting time will be over, and God's people will be ready for the plenitude of His Spirit. The change will be by gradual increase, from grace to grace, from glory to glory. The text reads as follows: "Jesus therefore said to them again, Peace be unto you; as the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit; whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." This is the power which Christ gave and gives to His qualified ministers. Their mission was to teach the Gospel, preach the Word. That message declared what sin was. It told the conditions on which sin would be forgiven and retained. It said to the sinner, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. And the messenger of God has the right to declare to the one who truly confesses, that his sins are forgiven; and also to say to him who will not so confess, that his sins remain with him. So Jeremiah was set "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." Jer. 1:10. But he did all this by the word of the Lord which he proclaimed. See verse 9; chapter 18:7-10; 27:1-11. The true preaching of God's Word will accomplish the same to-day. SUNDAY-LAW ENFORCEMENT.
By Editor
We never have maintained, as some are disposed to insinuate, that it is wrong to close saloons, and to prohibit other bad things on Sunday. What we have maintained, and do maintain, is that all such prohibition, while ostensibly against the practises thus prohibited, are only in the interest of Sunday observance. And this is demonstrated by the fact that the Sunday closing, and Sunday prohibition generally, are not confined to pursuits that are recognized as evil in themselves. No one ever thinks of condemning a barber-shop as an evil thing, yet the barber-shops form one of the special objects of attack by Sunday-law zealots. And the medium through which they are attacked is the selfish few who, not wishing to open their own shops, imagine that they will be ruined if all others are not compelled to close also. The inconsistency of legislating against bad things on Sunday only, lies in the fact that such laws practically declare the prohibited practises to be legitimate at other times. The saloon being evil, and only evil, is not only wrong on Sunday, but equally so on all days. If it can not be prohibited because professed Christians and professed temperance men will not vote prohibition; in other words, if it must exist, let it be deemed a nuisance, and exist where it can, as such, rather than give it standing by legal recognition in any form. There would not be half the temptation for young men, who pass as respectable, to enter a place publicly branded as vile, as there is to go in where the people say, by their suffrage, “This place is recognized as worthy of protection by law.” It is a peculiarity of laws or crusades in the interest of closing saloons on Sunday, that, instead of being made an entering wedge for further prohibition of the liquor traffic, as is usually claimed, they are made stepping-stones for the closing of legitimate places of business on Sunday. Such laws are solely in the interest of the enforced observance of a religious institution. In all parts of the country the work of enforcing Sunday laws is being pressed with increasing zeal—not merely against the saloon, but against all other classes of business, excepting the corporations. This shows the animus of the crusade to be compulsory religion, and it also shows a gradual relapse from the standard of religious liberty so nobly taken by the Republic in former days. In several of the states the Sunday laws have been reckoned as dead letters on the statute books—relics of continental days—until recent times, when the spirit of intolerance has been revived under the guise of “Sabbath reform.” In this connection we note a few current items: “Sunday law in full force,” is the report from Superior, Wis. Two indictments for violation of Sunday law in Shreveport, La., and others charged. Convictions and fines for a like offense in New Orleans. Grand jury investigating complaints for violation of Sunday law in Abbeville, La. Religious societies in Missouri urging Legislature to pass a law prohibiting Sunday baseball. Merchants of Maury City, Tenn., agree not to sell goods on Sunday, under penalty of $10 for each offense, to be applied to building sidewalks. Six indictments in Gonzales, Texas, for violations of Sunday law, and general closing ordered by officials. The village board of Cherry Valley, Ill., has decided to enforce the state Sunday law on all kinds of business. The mayor of Marinette, Wis., having informed the ministers that the citizens would not back the enforcement of the Sunday law, they are endeavoring to form a general committee of 150 for that purpose. A movement is reported from Chicago looking to a provision in the new charter closing all kinds of mercantile and manufacturing business. The Milwaukee, Wis., barbers' union is discussing the matter of urging a law closing all barber shops in the state on Sunday. Official word has recently gone forth in the towns of eastern Long Island, N. Y., that barber shops must be closed on Sunday. The Ministerial Association of Waterloo, Iowa, have started an agitation to secure a state law prohibiting baseball playing on Sunday. There can be no more Sunday funerals in the cemeteries of Riverside, Fairmont, or Denver, Iowa, and the agitation is said to be spreading. Trials for violating the Sunday law are reported in El Paso, Texas. The Men's League of the Methodist Church in Chariton, Iowa, has started a movement for the enforcement of Sunday closing. Some merchants in Iron Mountain, Mich., are said to be greatly exercised because others open their places of business on Sunday, and propose legal prosecutions. The grand jury of Romney County, W. Va., has indicted the superintendent of the state school for the deaf, dumb, and blind, on a charge of gambling on Sunday. This action implies that he might gamble all he pleased on other days, and it would be all right; which is an illustration of Sunday-law inconsistency. The Bulletin, of Anderson, Ind., says that on January 5, the sheriff had placed under arrest two boys who had participated in a game of baseball last summer. The barbers' unions of Cincinnati and Indianapolis are pressing the matter of Sunday closing. The “ministers and church people” of Missoula, Mont., are urging the county attorney to prosecute the proprietors of Sunday theaters. It is reported from Sheboygan, Wis., that the ministers of that county have adopted a resolution against Sunday funerals, altho the undertakers declare it a hardship on the poor, who find it difficult to obtain pall-bearers on other days. The Protestant clergymen of Carbondale, Pa., have declared against Sunday funerals. The Wisconsin Sunday Rest-day Association has solicited the co-operation of the State Federation of Labor in support of further Sunday legislation by the state. An instance of the treachery which the Sunday-law principle fosters, is reported from Brooklyn, N. Y. The superintendent of the Society for the Prevention of Crime employed two detectives to induce a man to open his store on Sunday, and sell one of them a cheap cap, on the plea that he was going sleigh riding. Just as the sale was made, the superintendent dropped in and arrested the merchant. Thus, instead of being preventers of crime, these officials assumed to induce a violation of the law for the cruel pleasure of making an arrest. The following announcement, with twenty names, of men apparently, following it, appeared in the Ottawa (Kan.) Republican of November 25: We, the undersigned citizens of Franklin County, in Centropolis and Greenwood townships and adjoining country, who, being desirous of protecting the morals of our people and the sanctity of the Sabbath, do hereby request that all parties interested take notice and stop hunting and shooting in the vicinity of our homes on the Sabbath. We do further declare that unless this warning is duly heeded we will, after due notice has been given, report all violators of our Sabbath laws to the proper authorities. No law can affect the sanctity of that which God has made holy, or give sanctity to that which is common. Under the heading, “Observance of Sunday,” the Winnipeg (Manitoba) Telegram, of November 29, thus reported an action which had just been taken by the board of Aldermen of that city: It was moved by Alderman McCharles and seconded by Alderman Fry that the mover and seconder of the motion be a committee to inquire into the law with reference to the proper observances of Sunday. Alderman Fry explained that he thought that merchants selling goods on Sunday should be prosecuted under a bylaw instead of the present law governing violations of the observance of the Sabbath, as the present fine of five shillings was altogether too small to prohibit offenses of this nature. The motion was carried unanimously. A PRESUMPTUOUS CLAIM.
By Editor
JAMES CARDINAL GIBBONS, styled "the most eminent Roman Catholic prelate in America," declares through the public press that "every impartial student of history is forced to admit that woman is indebted to the Catholic religion for the elevated station she enjoys to-day in family and social life." He attempts to prove his assertion in the following manner: The Catholic Church [by which he means the Roman Catholic Church], following the maxims of the Gospel and Saint Paul, proclaims woman the peer of man in origin and destiny, in redemption by the blood of Christ, and in the participation of His spiritual gifts. "Ye are all," says the apostle, "the children of God by faith which is in Christ Jesus. . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither servant nor freeman; there is neither male nor female." Gal. 3:26-28. The meaning is that, in the distribution of His gifts, God makes no distinction of person or sex. He bestows them equally upon bond and free, on male and female. And as woman's origin and destiny are the same as man's, so is her dignity equal to his. As both were redeemed by the same Lord, and as both aspire to the same heavenly inheritance, so should they be regarded as of equal rank on earth; as they are partakers7 of the same spiritual gifts, so should they share alike the blessings and prerogatives of domestic life. Now, these declarations of the cardinal look very much as tho he was claiming for the Catholic Church all the blessings that have come to the world through the Gospel. We agree with the cardinal in all that he says about the equality of women and men. However, the world is not indebted to the Catholic Church, but to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for that principle. The cardinal might as well have stated that for every truth of the Gospel we are indebted to the Roman Catholic Church. It would have been just as true. The world is not indebted to any man, set of men, or any church, for the truths contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially to a church that has handled that Gospel as the Roman hierarchy has done, and treated those who chose to believe in it in its purity in the manner that it has. Further, it is strange, if the cardinal's claim be true, that women are accorded equality to a greater degree in countries where Rome's influence is less dominant than in countries where it has had full sway for centuries. The cardinal claims, also, that woman is indebted to the Roman Catholic Church for monogamy as opposed to polygamy; but long before that church was established we hear the apostle directing that an officer in the church should be the husband of one wife, and our Lord Himself made the matter very plain indeed. Did Christ receive that truth from Roman Catholicism? Was Paul indebted to the Roman Catholic Church for what he knew of the Gospel?—We think not, for we hear him asserting that he was not even indebted to the disciples of Christ for his knowledge of the Gospel, but to the Lord Himself. We are willing that the Roman Church should have credit for any good thing it has done; but when it would take to itself all the blessings that have come to the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we think it is time to protest its claims. NERVOUS CHILDREN.
By Uriah Smith
ALL competent observers admit there is a great increase of nervousness in city children, and many have wondered what was the cause of this condition. There is no doubt that the process of "cramming" in the city schools is responsible for a large part of the trouble. The editor of Archives of Pediatrics calls attention to this matter in his journal. He does not hesitate to say that he attributes it in part to "the present teaching in the public schools, which assumes that education is proportional to the amount of information, useful or otherwise, which can be crammed into children." To remedy the condition, he says: "Nervous disorders must be prevented rather than cured. As far as possible, the artificiality of city life must give way, for the children at least, to a return to nature—spontaneous play in the open air, plain living, and long hours of sleep, after healthy fatigue. Parental attempts at the encouragement of precocious solemnity in children, by display, and imitation of their elders, must be firmly discountenanced. There is in the bringing up of children the one opportunity for the present-day physician to assume the important rôle of domestic confident and adviser, so long and satisfactorily held by the old-time family physician. For the sake of the rising generation there is here a place to be filled that must not be neglected, or it will prove a costly oversight." It is almost unanimously agreed that the system of education at present employed in our public schools requires more of the children than the vast majority are able to do without injury to themselves. The nervous strain which children are constantly under during the school periods and during much of the time out of school, constantly fearing that they may fall behind their grade, is admittedly shattering their nerves, and laying the foundation for all manner of nervous disorders later in life. The nervous strain weakens the general constitution, and makes it more susceptible to the inroads of any and every disease. And yet the system goes on unmodified, doing its ruinous work. How dear is an education purchased at such a price! A REPORT from Berlin states that the whole of Caucasia is in open revolt; that Armenians, Prussians, and Circassians have formed a coalition against the emperor of Russia, and seized arms and even cannon from the soldiers; that they hold the governor of the district a prisoner; that revolutionists are organizing camps outside the cities. The Baku district is said to be panic-stricken; banks are closed and business suspended as a result of the attacks of armed Mussulmans on Armenians. Many murders are reported. The strike situation in the Southwest is said to be spreading. As a result of the murder of Grand Duke Sergius, martial law has been declared at Tsarkoe-Selo. Numerous threatening letters are being received by officials. The chief of police has ordered special precautions to prevent any outrage upon members of the royal family. At a great meeting of students and educators at St. Petersburg, it was decided to suspend school work. Almost the whole educational system of Russia has entered upon a period of stagnation, the protest of the youth of Russia against the bureaucratic system. A German manufacturer who has just returned from Warsaw, reports that in the conflict there between troops and strikers, no less that 2,000 dead covered the battle-field in the center of the city. One-third of these were declared to be women and children. A later report from the same place states that strikers are resorting to violence. They have destroyed the great switch-board railway station, and cut the telegraph wires. The government of Warsaw admits that it does not know how to handle the situation. The strike situation is spreading in every direction. The Vienna railroad is completely at a standstill, and Western Poland is completely cut off from communication with Middle and Western Europe, except by telegraph. In spite of the peace talk indulged in to a considerable extent during the week, reports still indicate the determination of the Russian war party to continue hostilities. The czar hopes to defeat Oyama, and then secure more favorable terms. There is considerable activity along the entire front of the two armies in Manchuria. The fighting wing of the Russian Socialists is said to have decreed the death of every member of the Russian royal family, and the empire is in dread of the next move. CRIME in high places is becoming more and more conspicuous and frequent. When those whom the people delight to honor are so prone to indulge in fraudulent transactions, it is no wonder that crime continually increases along the lower lines of society. Illustrative of corruption in official life, we have a list given in one day's news of a prominent journal: 1. The Illinois Legislature has appointed a committee to investigate the charge—made by one of its members—that that body "is a great public auction, where special privileges are sold to the highest corporation bidder." 2. The California Legislature is investigating some of its own senators, charged with bribery, on the formal statement that their agent secured $1,650 to influence their votes. 3. An alderman of Milwaukee, Wis., is adjudged guilty of having accepted a bribe in connection with a special privilege ordinance. 4. The Federal Grand Jury at Portland, Oregon, has indicted a United States senator for bribery in connection with land frauds. 5. The mayor and comptroller of New York City are under injunction to prevent their giving away the people's money to the gas trust under a secret contract. And there is a demand that the Legislature investigate corrupt practices in that city's government "from top to bottom." 6. The coroner of Jackson, N. Y., is found guilty of demanding a bribe in his official position. 7. A federal judge is impeached before the United States Senate for high misdemeanors. When we find all this in one column of one day's news, the outlook does not show much indication that "the world is growing better." On the contrary, such signs indicate a positive downward tendency—verifying the inspired prediction that, in the last days, "evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." G. THE Serpent of the Still strikes its envenomed fangs into scholars and statesmen, as well as the unlettered and laboring classes. An American editor says: "The havoc wrought by strong drink has been brought home to us in an unusual and unexpected manner of late. We have been examining three large and expensive libraries, lately thrown upon the market, searching for books now out of print; and we made some inquiries as to the break-up of these valuable properties. Each library exhibits the taste and attainments of its owner. They were not chance collections of heterogenous volumes upon all sorts of subjects, but they were carefully-selected books upon themes which might interest gentlemen and scholars. They contained costly publications upon abstruse subjects and upon esthetic themes. And the sorrowful fact was that in each case the dissolution of the collection was owing to the owner. It showed plainly that the profound scholar and the elegant man of letters were equally exposed to the contagion of drink. Alcohol seizes its victims not simply in the ditch, or upon the cow ranch, but in the study, at the bar, and behind the sacred desk." No family is secure, not a business firm is safe, and no ties of friendship or affection are too sacred for the rum fiend to sacrifice.—Selected. VERMONT AND RUM-SELLING.
By Editor
A STRONG reaction in temperance sentiment in Vermont has taken place. It will manifest itself in the Legislature. Forty-four towns which last year voted in favor of license, this year voted no license, while only one changed from no license to license. Most of the towns still for license, declare for it by reduced majorities. We have learned from various sources that the effect of license has been very bad. Citizens of Burlington, Vt., have told us that the demoralizing influence of the saloons upon youth in that college city is greatly increased, and all over the state the consequences of ill-considered action are being realized. Apart from the merits of prohibition, or license with local option, the spirit manifest in the repeal of the prohibitory law was decidedly demoralizing. Opposition to the Standard Oil Trust
In a number of the states legislation is being enacted or has been threatened, the purpose of which is to oppose the operations of the great Standard Oil trust. The independent oil companies have been importuning the Texas Legislature for anti-trust legislation, which will put an end to the extortions and business conspiracies of the trust. It is alleged that the trust now holds and controls the Texas pipe line. In case the pipe-line bill is not passed, the independent concerns will use their best efforts to establish a state refinery for oil. In Kansas it is proposed to establish a state refinery, and legislation to that end is now before the Legislature. The Legislature of Illinois has adopted two resolutions affecting the Standard Oil Company. One offers to loan to the state of Kansas $100,000 to assist in establishing a state refinery, and the other provides that the pipe line now being laid through that state shall be designated a common carrier, and thus be compelled to convey oil belonging to other parties, as well as to the Standard Company. The Kansas Legislature is also considering a measure for the investigating of all trusts in the state. District Attorney Jerome, of New York City, speaking before the People's Institute Club, on February 23, made the following declaration in regard to the condition of affairs in that city: "There are some honest men on the police force. But if the people knew the truth about the bulk of the higher police officials, they would take the law in their own hands, like the people of Montana and California, with their vigilance committees, and annihilate them. When you remember that the collection of $5 tribute for each saloon in a precinct would, in some of the larger precincts, amount to $12,000 a year, you will have some idea of the possibilities. More than this, even to-day there is not a street on which cars run that pickpockets are not operating under a distinct contract with central office detectives. There is now a man awaiting sentence in the Tombs—and even if he is a thief, I believe him, for I have corroborated much that he told me—who says that the police demanded fifty per cent. as their share of the proceeds." The restless chief of Somaliland, known as the Mad Mullah, is again on the warpath. He is instituting a war against the sultan of Obdia, on the east coast of Africa. The territory which he is now invading is under the protectorate of Italy. If his operations continue, Italy is certain to be involved in the trouble. A clash occurred between Bulgarians and Turks, near Strumitza, on February 16. Twenty of the Bulgarians were killed in the encounter. Subsequently the Turks burned the village, and searchers later discovered in the ruins the charred remains of fourteen women and several children. The bill which passed the House some time ago, authorizing the placing of the work of building the Panama Canal in the hands of the President, has now passed the Senate, and it goes without saying that it will be signed by the President. Bulgaria is said to be expecting trouble with Turkey. A recent despatch states that twenty freight cars loaded with shrapnel, and other ammunition, have passed the Servian frontier, bound for Sofia, Bulgaria. A terrible explosion occurred in what is called the Virginia coal mine, near Birmingham, Alabama, on February 20, as the result of which 110 men were buried in the mine. It is believed that all have perished. The four state senators of California who had been accused of accepting bribes, have been declared guilty by the committee chosen to investigate their course. The Senate has voted for their expulsion. President Roosevelt has issued a call for an extra session of the Senate, to convene on March 4. The reason for the calling of this extra session is not given. Milk consumers of Chicago are now confronted by a combination of all the large dairy firms in the city. This trust will control the entire milk supply of the city. The Senate has decided that it will enact no legislation at this session in the matter of railway rates. Another strong fight for home rule is being made by the Irish members of Parliament. The House has passed the pension bill, carrying this year $138,250,700.