LYNCHBURG.— We began a series of tent meetings in Lynchburg, June 20, 1902. The attendance has been good, and the people seem deeply interested in the truth.
Our tent is located near the place where Brethren W. A. McCutcheon and J. P. Neff held a tent meeting six years ago. Many who heard the truth then are still interested, and some are walking in the truth as a result of the meeting at that time. As a result of the labor put forth here last winter and spring, a number accepted the truth. A Sabbath school of eighteen members was organized, and twenty persons signed the covenant to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Since this series of meetings began, ten other persons have accepted the truth, and a number have been added to the Sabbath school. Quite a number desire baptism, and we hope that a good church can be organized in this city. We trust that the State camp meeting to be held here August 8-18 may prove a blessing to the work.
We are of good courage in the Lord, and ask to be remembered in the prayers of God’s dear children.
B. F. PURDHAM,
T. H. PAINTER.
ALBERT WEEKS
By Albert Weeks
TWINING.—I have spent three Sabbaths with the company at this place. Five have decided to obey God, and others seem about to yield to the Lord’s claims.
It was by an urgent invitation of the friends here that I visited them after an absence of about three years. Many seemed cheered and strengthened in the service of God. My own soul has been revived as the Lord has given liberty in the presentation of his word. Praise God for his kindness.
ALBERT WEEKS
British America
By J. W. Boynton
PONOKA, ALBERTA.—Since my last report, I have spent some time helping the brethren at Harmattan to erect a log church. This is twenty by thirty feet in size, and when completed will make a comfortable place for church and Sabbath-school services, and also for a church school, if we can get a teacher. This is one of our greatest needs just now. We did not finish the building for lack of material, which could not be obtained on account of bad roads. Bridges have been washed away, and it has been almost impossible to travel.
Since my return home, I have held meetings on Friday evening and Sabbath in town, and on Sunday in the country, and have canvassed for “Christ’s Object Lessons” during the week. As it is just about a year since I came to this territory, perhaps a short summary of labor would be of interest. I have preached 97 sermons, given 132 Bible readings, attended 19 other meetings. I have visited 520 families, taken orders for 129 periodicals, and for about 80 copies of “Christ’s Object Lessons.” I have also baptized eight persons, organized three Sabbath schools and one church, and built one church building. Since December I have traveled over fifteen hundred miles on foot and in the saddle. The Lord has truly helped me, and given me good health, for which I am indeed thankful.
In some respects this is a hard field, as many of the settlers are well acquainted with our work in the States, and seem to have their minds made up to seek first the kingdom of this world. I find some of our books in about three out of every five homes I visit.
We are well, and of good courage in the work, and hope to see more fruit of our labor during the coming year. We have used the many papers which have been sent to us, and could use more.
J. W. BOYNTON.
The Sublimity of Jesus in Rejecting Worldly Greatness
“THE sublimity of Jesus appears in his rejection of the opportunity of moving in a path that men deem sublime.”
The Needs of the Southern Publishing Association
By George I. Butler
In view of the fact that the attention of our people has been recently called to the Southern field by Sister White’s “Appeal to All the Churches in America,” it seems proper that those who are placed in charge of the work here by the authority of the General Conference and the votes of the delegates of the Southern Union Conference, should properly explain the present needs, so that our brethren and sisters in different parts of the country may understand where money is most needed. The wants of the cause in this field are manifold. In this union conference of nine large States, with fourteen millions of people, composed of both races, where, in comparison with other portions of the country little has been done, our churches are small, and few, and far between. Where every branch of the work needs help and encouragement, means can be properly solicited for any of these objects. Yet there is always a more pressing need for help in some directions than in others. Some agencies are of greater importance than others. And the most important of these might be in great straits for means, while others could wait a little later for assistance and not suffer so much. Such is the case in this conference. To the very best of my knowledge, the Southern Publishing Association is the one above all others just now needing financial assistance. In the nature of things, the establishment of a publishing house and its equipment for successful operation, requires more means to begin with than does a work for other purposes. The necessary outlay of means is great. In our enterprise the friends of the cause contributed means to build a comfortable office building, and that was nearly all that came in for that purpose. Then there was machinery of various kinds to purchase, involving quite a large outlay, type and material of various kinds to procure, and paper and other stock to be supplied. The cost of these things aggregated quite a sum. Then help must be hired and paid. Besides this lack of funds thoroughly to equip the office and keep a reasonable amount of stock on hand with which to print books, papers, tracts, etc., also capital with which to keep in stock the various books, etc., published by other offices, to supply the rapidly increasing trade that will center in our office, there are also some debts that have gathered since the building was erected, and one small payment not yet due on the original purchase of the property.
Another feature not favorable to our prosperity that has existed since the printing work began in Nashville, has been this: owing to the lack of the means and facilities spoken of, the office could not print extensively enough to do its work with profit. Any one at all familiar with this business knows very well that the larger the editions printed, the greater the profit. For example, much of the cost of printing comes from the setting of the type, the editorial work, the proof reading, making ready for the press, etc., etc. If the edition is small, the preliminary work will not all be paid for by the price the job will bring. Whereas, if it is large, after sufficient has been run off to pay all the preliminary cost, that which is run off later is largely profit; for the cost of the press work is but a small percentage of the whole cost. Then again, the cost of firing up, the changing to and from the press, and other matters, make it impossible to do work profitably on a very small scale. Our office has had to run at a loss for the lack of capital. And our only hope of doing work profitably has been to secure additional capital, and place the work on its feet. Very few can possibly realize the great perplexities of our situation for weeks and months past. Care and anxiety have weighed heavily on the health of some of the managers. These and other difficulties brought us to the point almost of desperation, till we felt that we must appeal to those upon whom we could rely as true friends to our important Southern work; hence the trip across the continent to one whose solemn appeals for years past have been ringing in the ears of our people in behalf of the long-neglected work in this great Southern field. Our appeal was not in vain, thank God. Our hearts have been encouraged. My visits to five of the leading churches of the Pacific Coast, presenting, among other things, the wants of this field, have been rewarded, and in less than two weeks over eighteen hundred dollars was received in pledges and cash. The people are willing to help this needy field if we are only permitted to reach them.
Let me say further that our experience in this Southern field is not something peculiar to this locality, nor because of any mismanagement on our part. The early history of the publishing work in Battle Creek and Oakland was precisely the same. Those of us who are old enough, remember full well how the Review office struggled against seemingly overwhelming difficulties in its day of small things. It was at first a small, poverty-stricken affair, and had not our people sacrificed far more in proportion to their means than any of18them have ever done in behalf of our Southern institution, the weak office might have gone under completely. It was precisely the same with the Signs office: had not the Review office advanced many thousand dollars as loans, and helped it in various ways; and had not the generous California believers and many others farther East lifted vigorously in its favor, it never could have reached its present high state of efficiency.
We ask for assistance and tender sympathy because we are in the hardest field in America, and have great difficulties to struggle against. We have such confidence in our people that we firmly believe that they will come forward and help us when they really learn how much we need help.
Some recent Testimonies have been placed in my hands by the servant of the Lord, bearing on this subject of great interest just at this juncture. I quote from one of them, as follows: “God has given our publishing houses opportunity to co-operate with him by assisting the newly established publishing house in Nashville. When a publishing plant is established in a new field, it must receive help and encouragement from the various plants already in operation, in order that it may develop into a strong, influential institution. Every new institution is to be regarded as a sister helper in the great work of proclaiming the third angel’s message. The publishing house at Nashville is now in need of several thousand dollars to establish its business on a firm basis, and to enable it to do without delay the work that is to be done in its territory. We are instructed by the Lord to call upon the long-established publishing houses to favor the Nashville publishing house as they were favored years ago when in straitened circumstances. They are to act toward the Nashville institution the same part that was acted toward them in their early history. God expects them to help their sister institution by gifts and offerings.”
Truly this language is clear and pointed. None can say it is not definite and emphatic. I trust it will result in giving us who are struggling with poverty and great perplexity in our difficult field the hearty co-operation of our strong and influential sister institutions.
It was once my privilege to hold the office of president of the oldest and largest of our publishing houses for about ten years. It was an era of prosperity and very large and rapid growth. It is now my duty to preside over this young, needy institution, so recently organized in this Southern field. I confidently expect to see great success and enlargement result here if we can have the full sympathy and co-operation of our strong sister institutions, and liberal contributions from our people, in this our time of need. In all young institutions there is a crisis in their progress. They must have a sufficient equipment to do business profitably. They must also secure their constituency: that is, they must develop their trade, secure their patrons, find large numbers who will desire to buy the things they have to supply, and fill the position God designed the institution to fill when he called it into existence. At Nashville we have reached this important crisis in our work. If any think we have been a little out of order in our efforts to bring our wants before the people, and should have shown greater regard to the regularly constituted agencies of the denomination, our only reply is, In the special straits and difficulties of our position, we felt that we could not sit down here to wait perhaps for a year or two, helpless and running behind, and failing to accomplish the work God has called us to do. We have sought in his fear to make every effort to break through the difficulties that have hedged us about, and see if the Lord would not help us. We are greatly encouraged already. We see light ahead. We thank God and take renewed courage. We have that implicit confidence in our devoted people and in our sister institutions to be fully convinced that they will aid us when they realize fully the difficulties of our position.
Next week the readers of the REVIEW may look for an article giving the special reasons why Nashville has been selected as the important center for our great work in the South.
GEO. I. BUTLER.
Donors to the Southern Publishing Association
The following sums have been donated and pledged since Sister White’s appeal was printed:—
Ellen R. Gott ............... $ 1 00
Mrs. H. L. Gilbert ........... 1 00
C. C. Gear ................... 5 00
P. D. Porter ................. 5 00
Mrs. Lavinia Eastlick ........ 100 00
Jessie Werfield .............. 1 00
M. H. Minier ................. 10 00
A. F. Malcolm ................ 1 00
D. H. Carmichel .............. 5 00
John S. Youngquist ........... 5 00
Mrs. Marian Benaman .......... 50
Fannie Onley ................. 1 00
Mrs. Ella Marsh .............. 5 00
A. C. Fry .................... 10 00
C. W. Comings ................ 10 00
Jennie Williams .............. 5 00
J. M. Church ................. 20 00
May Driver ................... 5 00
E. M. Nierhoff ............... 5 00
A. J. Cole ................... 5 00
H. E. Townsen ................ 10 00
Thomas Hare .................. 10 00
H. D. Reynolds ............... 10 00
E. J. Driver ................. 10 00
N. J. Hager .................. 5 00
A. A. Caney .................. 10 00
Daniel Mauk & family ......... 5 00
Mrs. Nannie C. Jones ......... 1 50
Mrs. Melissa Cookendofer ..... 5 00
Ada Kirkpatrick .............. 1 00
Anna Vanderbilt .............. 3 00
Mrs. Mary Larnison ........... 1 00
M. Baird ..................... 1 00
S. B. Secord .................. 1 00
R. H. Schwartz ............... 50
W. S. Sadler ................. 5 00
Leander Mattson .............. 1 00
Mrs. R. Hall ................. 1 00
Lizzie Hunt .................. 1 00
Mrs. A. C. Plowman ........... 1 00
V. S. Vincent ................ 1 50
L. Northmore ................. 1 50
F. W. Gotterke ............... 5 00
J. Figer ..................... 5 00
Mrs. Phebe Press ............. 10 00
Mrs. M. E. Ballenger ......... 5 00
P. Pearson ................... 5 00
Mrs. Susan James ............. 2 50
Mrs. M. E. Brighouse ......... 10 00
A. J. Sanderson .............. 10 00
Herbert Martin ............... 2 00
Y. Niori ..................... 1 50
Mrs. Otelia Olsen ............ 1 00
J. C. Heistan ................ 1 00
Kindergarten class (E. E. Parlin) ... 30
Miscellaneous ................ 8 60
Mrs. Cudney .................. 5 00
Mrs. Julia Wheeler ........... 10 35
Mrs. Mary Beatty ............. 1 00
Mrs. Wm. Chinnock ............ 10 00
Mrs. M. Herrington ........... 50
P. M. Morrison ............... 5 00
Mrs. McBean .................. 1 00
Mrs. Mary Wilson ............. 10 00
J. F. Beatty ................. 10 00
Robert Blackwood ............. 50 00
E. A. Chapman ................ 5 00
Mrs. H. H. Hall .............. 5 00
John Winar ................... 2 00
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Winter ..... 5 00
T. S. Parmelee ............... 1 00
Joseph Ferron ................ 5 00
Mrs. N. A. Summerall ......... 10 00
Mr. & Mrs. J. Kloss .......... 5 00
Samuel Booth ................. 5 00
Mrs. S. A. Bryant ............ 4 08
H. V. Weaver ................. 5 00
M. E. Grubb .................. 1 00
Mary Cassell ................. 4 25
Almond church (per Sanford Nelson) ... 2 20
Mrs. S. Barbee ............... 1 00
R. H. Gilman ................. 7 30
Edwin Clayton ................ 1 00
Mrs. Emma Hall ............... 10 00
Mrs. M. S. Carle ............. 25 00
Ellen R. Gott ................ 25
A. M. Felshaw ................ 2 00
Mrs. Jacob Sommer ............ 2 00
F. J. Harris ................. 5 00
Maggie Warnock ............... 5 00
D. B. Welch .................. 1 00
Helen Swinger ................ 10 00
B. V. Finn ................... 5 00
Mrs. E. A. B. Smith .......... 25 00
Alice Anderson ............... 2 50
Mrs. Margaret Borys .......... 1 00
Mrs. E. Bonfour .............. 52
Mrs. Anna M. Rice ............ 6 25
Eveline Hamilton ............. 50
Henry Carter ................. 3 36
H. W. Hartzell (the church) ... 100 00
Mrs. Lucida Rue .............. 1 50
B. A. Hansen ................. 1 00
Mrs. M. D. Sperrs ............ 1 00
Ella R. Houseman ............. 10 00
Mrs. Cora Howerton ........... 50
Emma Siebert ................. 4 00
Mrs. Fanny Freeman ........... 5 00
Adaline Thatcher ............. 20
Peter Rudd ................... 1 50
Mrs. Belle S. Witt ........... 5 00
Mrs. B. B. Thomas ............ 50
Mrs. Jane Freeze ............. 5 00
J. Louisa Ireland ............ 5 00
F. B. Stevens ................ 1 00
Soren C. Chrestenson ......... 30 00
Mrs. Fred Stucky ............. 1 00
Anna Stucky .................. 75
Mrs. M. H. Dummead ........... 5 00
F. W. Patterson .............. 30 00
Mrs. Lucy A. Small ........... 1 00
Present Need in Christian Education
By C. C. Lewis
A BROTHER writes to me, stating that where he lives, there is a settlement of Sabbath keepers with twenty-five or thirty children, and they want a school. They have organized a district school, and all the directors are our own people. But they begin to have fears that by using the State books and being debarred from teaching the Bible and the special truths for these days, they will fail to meet the demands of the Lord upon them to provide a Christian education for their children. They ask if it is possible to secure a teacher. They do not have much money, being new settlers; but they raise plenty of produce, and have an abundance of land to give for the establishment of an industrial school.
In reply I told him that they might well have misgivings with reference to their proposed Seventh-day Adventist public school. I have seen several churches go through this experience, and always with sad results. Sooner or later they see the necessity of a church school, with no entangling alliance with the State; and when they try to change to such a school, there is friction with those in the church who think the old way is19good enough. Better start right, and have no wrong stitches to unravel.
As for the teacher, I am new in the field, and cannot now place my finger on the man and his wife adapted to the place. But I have an abiding faith in the statement on page 109, Vol. VI, of “Testimonies for the Church,” which says that God has such workers in preparation, and that they will appear when the church opens the way.
Another brother writes me for a man and his wife to take charge of a small intermediate school, teaching the classes, and making a home for a few students who could come from surrounding churches.
These calls emphasize the need for fifty or more men and women to attend the Walla Walla College the coming year to prepare themselves to take charge of the church and intermediate industrial schools which our people in the Northwest are ready to start as soon as suitable teachers can be secured. And our call is not simply for young people without experience. We need many of these, to be sure, to spend two or three years in thorough preparation for openings that are sure to be waiting for them at the end of their course. But we also need especially just now men and their wives who can be fitted by a year’s work to take charge of industrial schools. Men in middle life who have good sense and Bible religion, and have made a success in financial matters,—men who can take a farm and make a small school pay expenses upon it from the start. Such men are more difficult to find than mere teachers. The church is calling for them; Walla Walla College is calling for them; the Lord is calling for them. Let those who in their hearts can, respond, “Here am I, Lord, send me,” write at once to the undersigned at College Place, Wash. C. C. LEWIS,
President Walla Walla College.
“Christ’s Object Lessons” in Australia
By George B. Starr
FINDING prejudice here sufficient to make it difficult to secure openings among the people, we decided to work with the church, and at the same time to meet the people with the Good Health (Australian). Later it seemed clear that we all should take hold of the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons.” The more I studied the little Testimony on the “Relief of the Schools,” the more I saw that this was God’s plan to help the churches, to infuse new life into them, and that by giving themselves to this work, they were preparing the way for the outpouring of his Holy Spirit in a larger measure. So we went to work, and in the face of the most general and persistent cry of “hard times,” “mines shut down,” and “no business,” that I have ever heard, God has helped us. I knew that I must get an experience for myself, or I could help no one else. Though I have felt distrustful and weak, God has never let me go out a single day, even for only two or three hours, without selling from two to three books. I have now a list of over fifty, and am only about half through the business portion of these two streets. I have sold to all classes, and have met some of the finest people I ever saw in my life, and formed some interesting acquaintances among ministers, merchants, dentists, and others. A Catholic, a manager in one of the large shoe shops, after listening to the plan and description of the book, asked, “What do you do with Catholics?” “O,” I replied, “we treat them just as well as any one else, and sell them the book at the same price.” He laughed, and said, “Well, you may bring me one. I like your plan, and I like the ring of the book, and expect to enjoy reading it.” For weeks I felt anxious to get the book into the hands of one of the merchants on Sturt Street, with whom I had formed a pleasant acquaintance, but kept postponing canvassing him until I had more experience, for fear of losing his order; but all the time I kept praying to the Lord to open the way, and let me meet him at just the right time. Last Thursday I stepped into his shop; his son said that he was in the back room, and that he would call him, but I did not think best to have him do this, so asked the privilege of leaving my black box containing four copies of “Christ’s Object Lessons,” promising to call toward six on my way home, which I did, having worked hard to get two orders in two hours.
When I returned, the man himself was in the front store, and went at once to get my box. I thanked him, and told him that I wanted to tell him about a plan we had to raise five thousand pounds without begging. He listened attentively to the plan and the canvass for the book, and said, “O, yes, you may bring me one, I like the book;” and his nephew, a clerk with him, said: “You may bring me one also.” Of course I was pleased at selling two so quickly, but noticed that the gentleman looked rather pleased about something. He said: “Mr. Starr, I shall have to own up that I have been reading your book for the last two hours nearly. When I was in the rear room, my son came and set your box down close to me without any words of explanation. Not knowing what it was, or whose, I felt sufficiently curious to open it, and as it contained only copies of new books, I saw that it was nothing private or personal. I looked at one, and became much interested in it. I know that what you say about its being a good book is so, and feel sure we shall like it.”
Thus you see how God worked in a manner utterly impossible to have been planned by man. I am sure God is in the sale of this book, and in the plan to get all our people—ministers, workers, and all—to gain an experience in the sale of it. I am sorry I have been so slow to take hold of it. God has blessed me in it. It seems to me that he is intending to teach his people new methods of working, and to teach them a new language with which to come to the people. You know what I mean. Each truth has a vocabulary of its own, by means of which it is carried to the people. The Sabbath truth, the coming of Christ, the state of the dead, and righteousness by faith, all have their peculiar wording, argument, and manner with them; and it seems to me that we need to learn more of the methods and manner and words of Jesus before we are fitted to be filled with the Spirit of power to be sent to the people to witness as we should for him. But thanks be to God, it seems to me that by reading and re-reading portions of this blessed book to our neighbors, in order to persuade them to read and purchase the book, and by reading it through many times to familiarize ourselves with its contents, we shall become acquainted with the most precious things in the ministry of Jesus, and so the Spirit of God can inspire us to give to the people of this last generation the very lessons that Jesus gave to the people who heard him. In view of this, there should be no superficial learning of the canvass for the book, but each person handling it should be filled with its principles. I see more and more in God’s plan as I try to work it out. The book will remove prejudice; and if in its sale our people gain a new experience which will enable them to hold the confidence gained, a blessed ministry must follow.
Another point in the canvass for “Christ’s Object Lessons” that is impressing me, is that through this God is drilling us in unquestioning, implicit, and prompt obedience to all his directions, as he led the children of Israel to camp here and there as the pillar of cloud or of fire moved, by night or by day, and to do it without questioning; to pitch at this mountain, or in this plain, or compass Jericho seven times about; and do just that one thing then, and do it all together, and with all their powers. His kingdom rules over all, and when we all learn to hearken to the voice of his word and to his commandments, we shall be better fitted for the Lord’s coming.
GEORGE B. STARR.
Ballarat, Victoria.
The Work with “Christ’s Object Lessons” in Montana
By W. B. White
THE work is onward in our conference, and we look for a speedy victory. Those who are going out with faith in God, after carefully studying their book, are having success, and are receiving the blessing that has been promised. God is helping us, and our courage is good.
Our State was divided into eight divisions, with a conference laborer at the head of each, and we are glad to report that some of these divisions are now nearly through with their work, and the money is in.
We are having all kinds of experiences and all grades of success, but are gradually pulling forward toward the goal. Some have had remarkable success, others have not done so well; but we are satisfied that any one who will study the book so as to be able to present it in an intelligent manner, and will work hard among the people for a little time, can easily sell his quota of six books. Some can do much more than this. One sister in two half days took twenty-six orders. Another, in presenting her book sixteen times, took twelve orders. A brother made nine presentations, and took nine orders. Another brother, who at this writing has taken a large number of orders, took eight the first day he canvassed. Many others have sold double their quota, while, of course, others have not done so well. Nearly20all who try are selling some, and are making progress. Our people take hold well, and God is blessing them in so doing.
Valuable lessons are being learned in this effort, and we are glad that the Lord laid the work upon us. A happy day it will be when we can, with God’s people everywhere, shout the victory over these debts, which have so long rested upon us. We are determined to carry the work forward with God’s help to complete success before taking up other work. Pray for us.
W. B. WHITE.
Current Mention
— An immense waterspout was seen in Lake Michigan a few miles off shore by residents of St. Joseph, Mich., on the morning of August 6.
— Rear-Admiral Taylor, chief of the bureau of navigation, declares that a naval force of 40,000 men will be necessary properly to man this arm of the military service in the near future.
— All but about 400 of the 6,000 religious schools in France voluntarily complied with the law directing them to close. The nuns who taught in the schools are reported to be flocking into Belgium.
— A serious state of affairs is reported from Macedonia, where many of the peasants are in revolt against the Turkish authority. Recently a battle was fought at the village of Monastir, in which 1,000 Turkish regulars, after a prolonged struggle, put the villagers to flight, and followed up their success with the usual program of pillage and massacre.
— The great Nile dam at Assouan, Egypt, was completed July 30. By the building of this dam a reservoir for irrigation is formed which will give an annual supply of 1,000,000,000 cubic meters of water. The dam is one and one-half miles long, and is pierced by 180 openings, each twenty-three feet high and seven feet wide, with steel sluice gates. The work was begun early in 1898, and for the last eighteen months 16,000 workmen have been continuously employed upon it. The cost is £4,800,000. It is estimated that the reservoir adds $400,000,000 to the wealth of Egypt.
— Certain articles covering the matter of missionary privileges in China are to be embodied in a new commercial treaty about to be made between that country and the United States, says a dispatch from Shanghai. The articles illustrate the grounds for the Chinese complaints against the missionaries who have been in China. The dispatch says: “The first of these is that no bad characters will be admitted into the church; second, that lawsuits shall be settled by the officials without interference by the missionaries; third, that missionaries may report cases of persecution; fourth, that converts shall be exempt only from contributions to festivities in honor of idols, they must pay other government taxes; fifth, the missionaries shall not conceal bad characters from justice; and, sixth, property must be held in the name of the church. If it is not so held, the Chinese, in case of damages, will only pay indemnity for goods duly registered by local officials.”21
— Sheep herders and cattle men are at war in Wyoming, the latter having taken the initiative by killing large flocks of sheep.
— King Edward VII has returned to London, and is seemingly much improved in health. The coronation ceremonies are expected to take place on the date announced.
— A dispatch from Rome says that the report is current in Vatican circles that the lands of the friars in the Philippines have mostly passed into the hands of an American syndicate of New York capitalists.
— Fifteen men were killed and many others injured in a railway wreck near Marshalltown, Iowa, August 6. Two trains, one of which was running contrary to orders, collided on a sharp curve, the train men having no time to jump after discovering their peril.
— The subject of international disarmament is still occupying the mind of the czar, according to a report from Italy, whither the czar went recently to visit King Victor Emmanuel. It is said this was one of the principal topics of conversation between the two monarchs during their interview.
— Explorer De Windt, who has returned from Siberia, tells of finding a village in that country near the arctic circle whose inhabitants had received no news of outside events for the last thirty years. The people had no industries or pursuits beyond what was necessary to supply themselves with food and clothing.
— A mine inspector in the anthracite district of Pennsylvania states that the strike has already caused such damage to five large collieries by flooding that they will have to be abandoned, and even though the strike were settled at once, it would be months before operations could be fully resumed, since all but fourteen of the fifty-six collieries involved will have to be repaired and cleared of water.
— It is estimated, says a dispatch from Winnipeg, that in the first seven months of the present year 5,000,000 acres of land in Manitoba and the Northwest Territories has been sold to citizens of the United States. The greater part of this land has been bought by land syndicates, who are selling it to settlers and smaller speculators. There is an unprecedented rush of farmers into this portion of Canada from Minnesota, Iowa, and the Dakotas.
— The ordnance department of the United States is now in possession of a new time fuse for use in armor-piercing shells, which will not explode the shell until the projectile has penetrated the target to the limit of its power. Fired from a twelve-inch gun, one of these shells will penetrate the thickest armor on any ironclad ship now afloat, and exploding afterward, will be capable of working the most complete destruction on board an enemy’s ship, the shell being filled with a very powerful explosive compound manufactured by a secret process. To offset this advantage on the part of the guns, naval experts have come forward with a new electrical process for hardening armor plate, which they claim is superior to any process previously known.
— Earthquake shocks were felt August 5 at Genoa and Pisa, Italy, and in central Portugal.
— Affairs in Hayti are more quiet, and the formation of a new government is announced, with M. Firmin at its head.
— News of a three days’ battle in Colombia was received at Panama, August 1. The government forces were reported to have won a victory.
— Strange movements of the ocean waters about Hawaii have been noticed for the past three months, supposedly due to some subterranean convulsion.
— Missoula, Clinton, and Bonner, Montana towns, were shaken by an earthquake, August 4, each place sustaining considerable damage to buildings.
— Sixteen convicts in the Tennessee penitentiary at Nashville escaped, August 4, by blowing a hole in the prison wall with dynamite. Several were afterward recaptured.
— Fears are entertained at Venice that the church of St. John and St. Paul, which is one of the most noted in the city, is about to collapse after the manner of the Campanile tower.
— An uneasy feeling prevails at the Vatican with regard to the situation in France. The pope fears that the French premier has not yet reached the limit of his opposition to the papacy in the French republic.
— The circuit court in Cleveland, Ohio, has by a recent decision cleared the way for the granting of franchises for the building of street railways in that city to be operated on a three-cent fare basis.
— It seems probable that the next congress of the United States will seriously consider the question of the annexation of Cuba, the present ruinous conditions which prevail in the island being used as the basis of the annexation argument.
— The Baldwin-Zeigler polar expedition, of which much was expected in the way of arctic exploration, has returned without having achieved anything of note, a quarrel among the members of the expedition being the reason alleged for the failure.
— The launching of a new giant ocean liner, the “Kaiser Wilhelm II,” which is to take place August 12 at Stettin, Germany, is an event of note in marine affairs. The new liner is 707 feet in length, with a displacement of 19,500 tons, and is expected to be the fastest steamship in the world.
— From La Grange, Ind., comes information of a gigantic farmers’ trust which is to be formed to control the price of grain in the United States. According to the prospectus which the organizers have gotten out, the trust will take in every farmer in the country, and will bring an annual gain to the farmers of $500,000,000.
— Heavy rains, in some places amounting to a cloud-burst, fell in Colorado, August 6, doing considerable damage to property, but greatly benefiting growing crops. Near Florence a railway train was compelled to race with a torrent of water which rushed suddenly down a ravine wrecking two rear coaches of the train, the passengers in which had by timely warning escaped into the forward part of the train.
— Recent French naval maneuvers at Toulon tend strongly to demonstrate the efficiency of submarine torpedo boats in an attack on battle ships.
— The Cuban government is endeavoring to float a loan of $35,000,000 to relieve the financial crisis in that country, $5,000,000 of this sum being for agricultural relief, and the remainder for the payment of the troops which fought in the late war.
— How much money would you guess is spent in this country every year on theater going? The Chicago Inter Ocean quotes an authority in theatrical matters who affirms that $25,000,000 was so spent in the United States in 1901. Attendance at the theater has come to be regarded by many almost in the light of a necessity, and reputable physicians in many instances prescribe it to patients who need “something to quiet their nerves.”
— A New York telegram announces that conclusive proof has come to light of “an air-tight book trust” in the United States, taking in publishers and booksellers. There are two branches of the trust, one known as the “American Publishers’ Association,” and the other the “American Booksellers’ Association.” Every firm which refuses to join the trust is either to be forced to come into the trust or forced to go out of business.
— Among the latest devices for raising money for church purposes we note the engagement of a noted pugilist to give an exhibition of the slugging art at an entertainment under the management of the “young men’s club” of the Prospect Avenue Congregational church of Kansas City. The pastor was consulted, and “could not see where any harm could come from it” (to quote one member of the club), and besides, “the church needs money, and needs it badly.”
— There is a clash between Archbishop Ireland and some other prelates of the Catholic Church in this country over the matter of the government’s attitude on the question of the Philippine friars. Opinions intimating that Archbishop Ireland is seeking to dominate Catholic affairs in the United States are being heard at the convention of the American Federation of Catholic Societies, now in progress in Chicago, together with criticisms of the treatment of the friars by the United States.
— If we may credit the statements of the Civilta Cattolica, an official organ of the Vatican, good reason has been given the latter to regard the recent negotiations with Governor Taft as being truly diplomatic, contrary to the assertion sent out from Washington. The Cardinal Secretary of State, says that journal, had a “special audience” with Governor Taft, at which the latter delivered to the papal secretary “a cabinet letter in the name of His Excellency Mr. John Hay, Secretary of State of the United States.” This, if it took place, constituted an official recognition of the pope’s claim to be a temporal sovereign.