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Review and Herald, Vol. 89, No. 10.

A Morning Prayer
Earlier text: A Morning Prayer

Editorial

By Editor

The Hand of God in History — No. 3

Notes on Important Eras of Prophecy

Witness Borne to Nations in Ancient Times

WE select two illustrations of the manner in which the fulfilment of time prophecies bore witness of the living God to the nations in ancient times. The record shows that when the time comes for the work to be done, no power can stay his hand; heaven and earth are moved for the accomplishment of the divine purpose.

1. The Deliverance From Egypt

The Lord uttered a time prophecy when he made this promise to Abraham and his seed:—
“Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. . . . In the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Gen. 15: 13-16.
No doubt as the people of Israel groaned under their bondage, with Egypt seemingly ever more cruel and powerful, all hope of deliverance well-nigh fled. But God had promised; and he never forgets his promises.
In Stephen’s last sermon, before the council at Jerusalem, the martyr spoke as follows of this promise to Abraham:—
“But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, . . . in which time Moses was born.” Acts 7: 17, 20.
As the time of the prophecy was drawing near, God began to prepare the agencies for the deliverance. The Lord is never overtaken unready. As D’Aubigne says:—
God takes ages to prepare his work, but when the hour is come, accomplishes it by the feeblest instruments. To do great things by small means, is the law

Editorial Correspondence

By F. M. W.

PORTLAND, OREGON, Feb. 12, 1912.
Passing through Denver, we were pleased to greet Brother J. G. Weller, the manager of the Colorado Sanitarium Food Store. This work is more than meeting expenses from year to year, and in addition serves as a valuable advertising agency for the institution. Here also we met Dr. H. C. Menkel, who with his wife, and on account of her health, returned from India one year ago. Sister Menkel is much improved, and both are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to return to the great Indian mission field, where their labors were greatly appreciated, and where they will again be warmly welcomed.
En route to Walla Walla, Wash., we had the pleasure of journeying for a little distance with Dr. Horace Parker, who boarded the train at Nunn, Colo., and went with us as far as Cheyenne, Wyo. Dr. Parker and his wife, Dr. Alice Conway-Parker, are engaged in medical work at Nunn, where they have succeeded in building up a good practise. They feel a deep interest in the cause of truth, and are seeking as best they may to advance its interests.
We were gratified to find such a large number of students at the Walla Walla College. Including the normal department, over three hundred are in attendance. Many of these are excellent young men and women who are seeking a preparation as gospel workers and burden-bearers in connection with this great movement. This school is the educational center for the great Northwest, and from it should go forth many devoted workers into the unevangelized regions of the home land as well as into the great regions beyond the seas. An earnest foreign mission band is serving to kindle the flame of missionary zeal in the hearts of the older students.
Prof. E. C. Kellogg is the president of the college. This is his first year, but already he has endeared himself to his associates and his students. With him are connected Elder O. A. Johnson as Bible instructor, and other earnest, faithful teachers, who sense their responsibility, and are endeavoring by God's grace to act well their part in the preparation of workers for the whitening harvest. Miss Bertha Allen, with four other teachers, is conducting an excellent normal department. Prof. John Isaac is in charge of the German department, in which are enrolled over thirty students. Brother C. M. Christensen has returned to the school to direct in its financial management.
At the time of our visit the school was without a preceptor, but the board was seeking to arrange for one. This, we believe, is a necessity. In every school competent, consecrated men and women should be charged with the responsibility of maintaining, kindly but firmly, a high standard of discipline and deportment. Only the young men and women in our training-schools who are willing to submit themselves to proper restrictions and regulations, and thus acquire under discipline a well-balanced experience, are well-prepared for their life-work, or to go out as teachers to their fellow men. He who has not learned to obey, even under unpleasant conditions, is not fitted to command.
The little sanitarium at College Place, near the college building, is enjoying a fair patronage, and is doing a good work. Dr. I. A. Dunlap is in charge of the medical work, with Brother W. E. McCully as business manager. Recently the nurses' training-school was discontinued, the institution operating with salaried nurses. The spirit of consecration on the part of the workers was recognized by the guests. Our stay while in College Place was made very pleasant by the kindly consideration of the sanitarium family. We had the pleasure of meeting Elder C. W. Flaiz, the president of the North Pacific Conference, also Elder H. W. Decker, whose faith has not wearied these many years in waiting for the consummation of Israel's hope. We were pleased to find that Elder W. A. Westworth was so far recovered from his terrible accident by burning some months ago as to be able to resume in some measure public labor.
The believers in College Place, the same as our brethren at some other centers, are in great need of a church building. Steps have already been taken to arrange for the raising of means for this work. We were privileged to speak five times in all while at College Place, and rejoiced in the spirit which makes of one the believers in this message, even though they meet as strangers here.
Portland is one of the great ocean doorways of the Northwest. The city has made great gains in population during the last decade, increasing from 90,426 to 207,214, or over 129%. In this important center, our work has gained a splendid foothold. Seven organized churches, representing four different nationalities, and with one exception each congregation having its own church edifice, have been established within the city limits.
Here also is located the Portland Sanitarium, which in no small measure has contributed to the upbuilding of the work. The institution is practically full, our assignment being the last vacant room, with the exception of several that were undergoing repairs. About fifty guests were registered.
A fine class of young women are training for nurses. Brother C. M. Everest, the business manager, has made good headway the last two years in the installation of new equipment which materially lessens the cost of light and heat, and in making other valuable improvements and necessary repairs. Miss Ruby Wright is rendering excellent service as matron of the institution.
The medical faculty consists of Dr. W. B. Holden, medical superintendent, who has also an office in the business center of the city, and whose successful work as a surgeon calls him as well to neighboring towns and cities. The work of house physician falls to the efficient care of Dr. M. N. Canfield.
The city physicians in Portland manifest a very kindly attitude toward the sanitarium, and frequently send to it patients, or bring to it their surgical cases for nursing.
It has been my pleasure to meet here Mrs. Worthie Harris Holden (wife of Dr. W. B. Holden), whose poetical contributions to our columns for a number of years have been so truly appreciated by our readers. We have met also Dr. John J. Reith and wife, who are planning to connect in the near future with the Walla Walla Sanitarium. While at this institution I had the pleasure of speaking once to the nurses of the sanitarium.
A wonderful future lies before this northwest corner of the United States. Great undeveloped resources are finding fast development. Every year witnesses a stronger tide of tourist travel.
Step by step with the growth of population our work should advance. This we are confident it will do, if the good brethren of the North Pacific Conference remain alive, as they now appear to be, to the opportunities afforded them.
F. M. W.

A Disquieting Situation

By William Warren Prescott

THE rapid increase of the Socialist vote in recent years, and especially emphasized in the elections of November, 1911, is causing some apprehension in the minds of the students of the political system, and is still the subject of discussion. An article in the Outlook of February 24, entitled “The Rising Tide of Socialism,” deals quite fully with this problem, giving facts and figures that are full of interest and significance. We quote a paragraph relative to the November elections:—
The Socialists have carried eighteen cities and towns throughout the country—eight in Ohio, five in Utah, one in Minnesota, one in Pennsylvania, and, most startling of all, the rapidly growing manufacturing town of Schenectady, in New York. Rhode Island and New York, for the first time in the history of these two States, had elected Socialists to their legislatures. Pennsylvania and Massachusetts had returned Socialist legislative representatives by increased pluralities. In Buffalo the Socialist vote was nearly doubled; in Columbus, Cleveland, and Dayton, Ohio, and in Reading, Pa., it nearly equaled the vote of the Republicans and Democrats, respectively.
The words of Bismarck to Carl Schurz, uttered many years ago, are quoted by the writer of this article, who declares that they “sound now like a prophecy:”—
Will not the real test of your democratic institutions come when, after the disappearance of the exceptional opportunities springing from your wonderful natural resources, which are in a certain sense common property, your political struggles become, as they surely will become, struggles between the poor and the rich, between the few who have and the many who want?
As a fitting close to the article an extract is made from a recent address by Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University, who reviews “the serious economic and political problems which confront the people of this country.” His analysis of the situation is worthy of serious consideration. He declares:—
We are living in an age of unrest and discontent. Never before has there been anything like it in this country. In the past there have often been specific grounds of complaint and dissatisfaction; but with their removal, the American spirit has regained its buoyancy and optimism. We are to-day like men moving about under a pall which stretches to the horizon, and which can not be broken through. Yet I venture to assert that the oldest man in this audience can recall nothing like it in his experience. The spirit of discontent is far more widely diffused than ever before, and the causes are at once more fundamental and more permanent.
This spirit of restless discontent is not confined to the United States. We find it in foreign countries and in all continents. It is especially active in England, France, and Germany. It has been a controlling influence in Australia. It animates the Nationalist party in Egypt. And in China it has burst forth with a colossal energy which menaces the dynasty of the Manchus, and is certain to revolutionize the immemorial institutions of that venerable empire.
In its most general form, this revolution is one of man, the worker, against the governments, organizations, or powerful individuals who have exploited him. And in countries whose governments are already democratic, it takes the form of a contest between workers and owners, or, in more abstract language, between labor and capital.
The working men of the world are becoming possessed with the conviction that they do not get a fair share of the wealth of which they are the principal creators. And with ever-increasing emphasis they are calling on the state to correct this injustice and redress their wrongs.
To one who is familiar with the prophecies relating to this time, this description of present-day conditions reads as if it might have been written to furnish proof of the fulfilment of the predictions made long ago. This wide-spread unrest and this attempt to make conditions better by reaching after political power are only preliminary to a time of violence and lawlessness which will as surely come as effect follows cause.
In one of his talks with the Pharisees our Saviour compared the day when the Son of man is revealed with the days of Noah; and one of the prominent characteristics of the days just before the flood, is that “the earth was filled with violence.” The climax came when men utterly refused to listen to the counsel of God, and as a consequence the earth was overwhelmed by the flood. We are gradually approaching a similar state of things when, according to the Scriptures, “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
The present confusion in the political world, and the efforts being made to find a suitable leader for the so-called “progressives,” who are seeking to bring about reforms by political action, are significant intimations of the political chaos which threatens the country, while at the same time they indicate the anxiety felt by many thoughtful men as to the probable outcome of the mighty struggle now in progress “between the few who have and the many who want.”
In this time when the very foundations of civil society seem trembling, and the outlook seems absolutely forbidding when the situation is viewed from a merely human standpoint, it is most important that we should heed these words of exhortation:—
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” 2 Peter 3:11.
Neither a nation nor a people, as a body, will be delivered in the day of the dissolution of all things. The only basis of confidence is that holiness of life which is the fruit of a personal faith in the great Deliverer. Happy are they now, and happy will they be in the day of the earth’s overthrow, whose righteousness is of the Lord. W. W. P.

Our Obligations to Mission Fields

By W. T. KNOX.

THERE appeared in the REVIEW AND HERALD of February 1 the report of the year’s offerings to missions for 1911. This was the most favorable report of this character ever put out by the denomination. For a number of years we have had as our aim the raising for missions of an amount equal to ten cents a week per member, which would have meant $323,648 for the conferences of North America. The report shows that the amount actually secured for 1911 was $311,282.12. Thirty-three conferences contributed $26,157.57 in excess of their proportion. Had the remaining forty-one conferences raised their full amount, the General Conference treasury would have received $349,805.90.
The rapidly increasing demands of the world-wide work render it imperative that yet greater demands be made upon the liberality and devotion of the membership in America. The settling of the political troubles in China will, without doubt, give a great impetus to all mission operations in that vast field, resulting in greatly increased demands upon the Mission Board for workers and enlarged appropriations. The developments of our work in India, Korea, and Japan can not longer be held in check by us, even if we desired. We must expect to strengthen our efforts in these countries very materially. The same can also be said of the work in West and South Africa and the Malaysian fields. Everywhere the Lord is going before us, preparing the way for a great work, and we must be prepared to follow quickly in his opening providences.
With this in view, the standard for our mission offerings has been raised to fifteen cents a week per member. Can we attain unto it this year? If we set our hearts to accomplish it, we certainly can.
In this connection it may be profitable to consider the report for 1911. An examination of this will reveal the fact that the success of those conferences that made the best record in raising money for missions can not, at least not always, be attributed to favorable financial conditions existing in their territory, for many of them are comparatively poor. Some of them have been suffering with severe and protracted drought. To those who have had an opportunity to observe their work it is very evident that the most important factor in the accomplishment of the results has been a constant and well-organized effort on the part of conference and church officials to inform the people of the developments and needs of the different mission fields, this effort beginning with January 1 and continuing to December 31.
Failure to any degree has generally resulted from a delay in work of this character until the year was well advanced, or from reliance on spasmodic efforts. A most convincing argument of the advantages of well-organized effort is found in our Sabbath-school offerings, where the needs of missions are invariably kept constantly before the schools, their systematic giving having made their offerings the most fruitful and reliable of all sources from which the General Conference draws its mission funds.
It is to be greatly regretted that the conferences have not appreciated more fully the possibilities of the Harvest Ingathering campaigns. Sufficient experience has been had in some localities to demonstrate the great possibilities of this agency for enlightening the people, and for securing substantial financial assistance for mission work. There is no reason why, if taken hold of earnestly, this agency might not be made to yield a fourfold increase over receipts of any past year, and thus greatly augment the offerings of the denomination.
The eyes of our brethren in foreign fields are longingly turned to us here in America. They are earnestly hoping that our liberality this year will enable them to respond to the many Macedonian calls that heretofore they have been obliged to ignore because of the inability of the General Conference to grant their requests for increased appropriations.
The only way we can be sure of a forward movement in missions is to begin now to give liberally of our means, with that object constantly in view, and to continue our offerings systematically according as the Lord may prosper us.
W. T. KNOX.

Ecuador in Revolution

By W. A. S.

THESE are truly days of unrest, even though the winds of universal strife are being held. What will it be when the storm bursts? As I left America, the flight of our missionaries from the interior of China, amid revolution, had just been reported. The turmoil in Persia made us think of our two missionaries there, Brethren F. F. Oster and H. Dirksen. Now here is revolution in Ecuador, South America, and I am unable to get into communication with our two missionaries in Quito, Brethren W. W. Wheeler and John Osborne.
The ship on which I sailed from Panama for Guayaquil was called into Manta, an Ecuador port, to take on a thousand soldiers to aid the revolutionary party, operating from Guayaquil, against the party of the former government, operating from Quito.
The Quito forces seem to have been winning, and in a battle a few days ago, in which they say seven hundred were killed, the Guayaquil forces were driven back to within thirteen miles of this city. There the matter stands. The reenforcements by our ship, and another four hundred who came in last evening from another coast town, are expected to turn the tide. But they seem poorly equipped, and many brought down to the port, I am told by witnesses, were brought tied with cords, four abreast. They were taken by force from their villages and plantations. It is a sorry situation, and all for the profit of private parties striving for the possession of power and the gains that come with it.
As yellow fever and the plague are in the town, I stopped two days aboard ship in the harbor. I came into town last evening to secure transportation for Peru,—no meeting in Ecuador being possible,—and to see if I could communicate in any way with our brethren in Quito. All communication is absolutely cut off. We can only hope that our brethren there have means sufficient, or credit, so that they will not suffer need. Matters will doubtless be settled one way or the other soon. Pray for the workers in Quito. It is a wicked, stormy world we live in.
Last night I was kept awake by the firing of guns and pistols by the half-drunken soldiery. The commander of the thousand men who came on our ship was so intoxicated as to be unable to get about when led on board. This morning soldiers are rolling several field-guns along the street in front of the hotel, as I write. Just out on the river lies the United States man-of-war “Yorktown,” which is looked to to protect property in Guayaquil in case the revolutionists are defeated and return to the city to loot and escape as best they may.
Business is tied up, and men feel the country is going to ruin. When one sees the dirty streets and hears the mosquitoes humming outside the window-screens, it is not surprising that fever and plague abound. Our workers in Quito are high in the mountains; and it is from bases in the most healthful parts of these equatorial countries that we must work in seeking for true hearts who are looking for light.
I hope to hear of the arrival of the ship for Peru this morning.
W. A. S.

Our Duty

By I. H. Evans

WE are living in thrilling times,—times that have no parallel in human history. The marvelous accumulations of great wealth; the bringing into every-day service of hundreds of modern inventions, minimizing labor, and thus giving man a leisure never before enjoyed; the telephone and the telegraph, reducing time and distance, throwing communities and nations into one great family, so that each may know what the others are doing; the printing-press, carrying to the four corners of the earth every advance made in human knowledge, in many places enabling the poor in remote rural districts to keep pace with the most advanced thought and inventions of the day; the convenience and rapidity of travel, making it possible to visit distant parts of the world with ease, and at a comparatively meager expense; the Word of God in the vernacular of the people; the rapid strides in extending and perfecting public-school systems in various countries,—these and a hundred other things make this the most wonderful of all ages in the history and progress of man.
What meaning has all this to the people of God? Are they, blinded to every opportunity for service, to partake of the spirit of the age, and drift with the current into the maelstrom of worldly business and speculation?—No! The definite duty of the church is clearly set forth in the farewell charge of the Master to his disciples, “Go ye therefore, and make Christians of all nations.” This is our duty, this should be the chief object of our existence. The words of the prophet Elisha to his servant Gehazi, who followed Naaman for reward, may be well applied to God’s people at this time: “Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive yards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and men servants?”—No; a thousand times No! The voice of the Master is, “Go ye, . . . and make Christians.”
What interest can the people of God have in the present clashing of the nations, this clamor for war, this national thirst for world-power, this reaching out on the part of strong governments to absorb the territory of the weak?—None whatever, save as they see in it all the stepping of the nations to fulfil the Word of God in the last great conflict. Our duty is to “make Christians.” It matters not to us whether Italy or Turkey controls Tripoli; whether Russia or Turkey directs the affairs of Persia; whether or not Russia and Japan absorb Mongolia and Manchuria; or whether China has a republican government or a constitutional monarchy. Ours is clearly a plain duty—to make Christians.
Everything earthly must soon perish. The awful doom of a lost world is impending. The message entrusted to us is the last warning of divine mercy to the peoples of earth. Ours is the great privilege of the ages,—to call the honest in heart to repentance, to prepare a people for the coming King. We have no other duty, no other business. We are in the world, but we should not, we dare not, be of the world. Kingdoms may rise, and kingdoms may fall; markets and stocks may go up or down; implements of destruction may be multiplied without end; pleasures may invite, and the maddening, clamoring voices of the world may seek to distract: but none of these things will move the children of God, save as they impel them to quicken their efforts to warn the world of its coming doom. Ours is the word of the prophet Jonah to the people of Nineveh, the message that Lot bore to the inhabitants of wicked Sodom and Gomorrah,—Flee! for the destruction of the Almighty is impending. Never was a prophet of any age sent on a more solemn errand, never did seer bear a more thrilling message to any kingdom or nation, than is entrusted to those who are called to give to this generation the solemn warning, “Prepare to meet thy God.”
I. H. EVANS.

Note and Comment

By C. M. S.

An Impending Conflict

In the February issue of the National Ripsaw, a Socialistic journal published at St. Louis, Mo., the editor, in seeking to stir up the farmers of the country to join with labor against capital, has this to say in reference to the conditions that now exist throughout the world:—
We are at the beginning of a crisis which will end either in revolution by force, and carnage and bloodshed such as the world has never known, or in revolution through the peaceful methods of revolution and the enthronement of labor in the administration of justice and the promotion of universal happiness.
In either event, the old systems, which are but relics of barbarism, veneered by a boasted civilization and gilded by a thin pretense to Christianity, must fall, and in their place be established a civilization based upon justice and equality of opportunity.
The logic of events has prepared a new order of things in the establishment of which you are destined to take an important part.
Isolated as you are, you do not feel the throbbing pulse nor participate in the defiant spirit of the great unrest that prevails in our large cities, crowded with human beings and congested with all the ills and evils with which human flesh can be afflicted.
In the coming crisis a vote is the most precious possession of the American.
It is the means that shall determine whether the new order of society, which new inventions and new discoveries have made necessary, shall be established by forceful methods and the sacrifice of millions of precious lives, and amid scenes of carnage and bloodshed such as were never before witnessed, or whether the transformation shall be accomplished by the peaceful methods of the ballot.
Then follows a fearful arraignment of capital, legislatures, and the judiciary; and upon these is placed the blame for practically all the dissatisfaction, injustice, turmoil, sorrow, and misery in the world. The conditions are certainly serious enough; and surely the class hatred exists which seems destined to bring the clash and the revolution that the editor expects to see accomplished, either through peace or through war. But he who expects to see blossom out of that clash a world-nation of true civilization, peace, plenty, prosperity, justice, and love, is doomed to a most bitter disappointment. This condition is graphically described in the fifth chapter of James, verses one to six. But it is followed by this admonition:—
“Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. . . . Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the Judge standeth before the doors.” James 5:7-9.
While the conditions of discontent, injustice, and misery are to be deplored, the Lord is not in, and is not sanctioning, any movement or work that stirs up class against class, that makes peremptory demands and talks of bloodshed as a means of securing them. The idea that these conditions are to be remedied by such means is one of the most dangerous deceptions of the evil one. With that deception he will lead myriads straight up to and straight into the day of doom. Let us heed the Lord’s admonition: “Be patient,” “establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
C. M. S.

Socialism Declining in Sweden

SOCIALISM seems to be on the decline in Sweden, according to a lately published report of its own publication. In Stockholm, during the last quarter of 1907, the membership was 30,327, while in the last quarter of 1910 it was only 13,040. During the first three months of the year 1909 the membership in Sundsvall was 1,291; during the last three months of 1910 it was 318. The total decrease in the number of their publications during 1910 has been 12,000 copies.

Notwithstanding Revolution, the Message Onward

By R. F. Cottrell

R. F. COTTRELL
The annual meeting for the South Central China Mission was held at Chang-sha, Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, 1911. Although the Hunanese were much stirred up over the revolution that had broken out in the neighboring province of Hupeh, about one hundred of our brethren and sisters came together. While the meeting was being held, the city was taken over by the revolutionists, and we foreigners were prevented from going into the city for two or three days. During this time it was necessary for our native workers to carry on the meeting by themselves. But the Lord came very near, and although there was trouble without, the Comforter gave them quietness and joy within.
At the close of the meeting, eight were baptized in the Siang River, and united with the Chang-sha church. One other person, who had previously been immersed by a missionary of another church, was also received into fellowship.
Following the general meeting, most of our native workers went to their respective stations, or fields of labor. At the same time an eight weeks’ Bible institute was opened, which was attended by twenty-five persons, the larger part of whom were young people who had recently accepted the truth.
In the early part of December, word was received from the American consuls at Peking and Hankow, also from our mission headquarters in Shanghai, that it was considered unsafe for us to remain longer in the interior. On the day of leaving, it was my privilege to baptize eleven other precious souls. From the riverside we went to the chapel, where they were received into the church. A farewell prayer and praise service was then held, in which there was no note of discouragement, but only a fervent desire to be faithful, to do the will of God, and thus hasten the time of the great heavenly gathering.
Arrangements were made for the institute to be continued under the instruction of two of our native evangelists; and since we arrived in Shanghai, our brethren have written us most cheering reports concerning this work. They observed the week of prayer at the regular time, and at its close made their annual offering, which amounted to nearly thirty dollars, Mexican. When we consider this little company, a thousand miles in the interior, poor in this world’s goods, with war and famine conditions about them, making such a sacrifice as this must have been for them, we can only say their love of the blessed hope alone can explain it.
From a place thirty-five miles east of Chang-sha, we have just received a letter, a portion of which reads as follows:—
“For a long time we have known of your honorable church which has come to Hunan to proclaim the true gospel. In our humble city there are seven and a half wards longing for the light and grace of God.
“For this reason, on the eleventh month, the sixth day [December 24], we have consulted together, written our names, and mutually covenanted to send Beng Ren Ding and others to Chang-sha joyfully to welcome your honorable church to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in our lowly city, that the people may all receive of God’s grace. The house of worship will be provided for by our humble wards. We can not begin to write it all.
“We wish you peace. As pupils desirous of instruction, we send greeting.”
This letter is signed by thirty-seven persons, who not only offer a plot of public land as a site, but also promise to build a chapel. This is the third opening of this kind which has thrust itself upon us during the last eight months. In the other two places, the work started has already yielded good fruit.
It is a source of deep gratitude to our Heavenly Father, that in spite of all the trouble and unrest in this country, his prospering hand is so clearly manifest. His truth bears the divine signet, and even though China is in the throes of revolution, the message within her borders moves steadily onward. It is our earnest prayer that peace may soon be restored, and then we are assured that with greater freedom and larger opportunities a quick work may be accomplished in the land of Sinim.
Shanghai, China.

Among the Tamils of Southern India

By J. S. JAMES

J. S. JAMES
AFTER an absence of two months from the Tinnevelli district, it was a pleasure to visit our work there again, in company with Elder G. G. Lowry, who has been in charge of the work since my departure. After a short visit at Trichinopoly, the chief Hindu and Roman Catholic center of southern India, where we have a native evangelist and a number of interested students of the truth, we journeyed on to our main station, near Nazareth, where we were welcomed by old friends and believers.
Shortly after Brother and Sister Lowry took charge of the work at Nazareth, they began a series of meetings and Bible studies with a view to preparing another company for baptism. On Dec. 2, 1911, just as the Sabbath was closing, our people all gathered on the shore of a near-by lake, where Elder Lowry buried nine persons with their Lord in baptism. It was a solemn but glad occasion to all present; and as we turned away from the water’s edge to mingle among the multitudes yet unwarned and unsaved, we felt more than ever before the need of the fulness of the Holy Spirit in our lives to make our labors and ministry more fruitful.
Of this company, four were young people from our school, four came from practical heathenism; and one from the Anglican church. We rejoice to see our students giving their hearts to God, and studying to fit themselves for workers among their own people. Eight of the older students have thus far been baptized. The teachers are all earnest believers and workers, and we desire to keep the spiritual tone of the school high, that it may do its part in preaching the gospel.
The following week we visited our new out-station eight miles east of Nazareth, where we found our native workers busily engaged among the people, a number of families interested, and a large territory ready for the preaching of the truth. Some public meetings were held, and plans arranged with the workers there for a more vigorous campaign. The following Sabbath the workers at this station met with the company near Nazareth, where we all celebrated the Lord’s Supper. This was a blessed occasion, and the hearts of all were knit more closely together. I left the next evening for Bangalore, about six hundred miles north, where I arrived three days later.
The next day after reaching home, I received the sad news from Elder Lowry that our evangelist in charge of our out-station, and his little girl of eight years, were seized with cholera the day following my departure, and both died in less than ten hours. The reader can scarcely realize the suddenness with which disease and death overtake one in this land. One may shake hands with a friend who is happy, strong, and well, and before the dawn of the morrow, he may be shoveling earth into the grave of this friend. While the loss of this faithful, consecrated man seems almost irreparable, still the influence left behind him, his dying words of comfort to his family and his bright hope in the better resurrection, was a triumph for the cause of truth. The work he laid down still goes forward, while we pray the Lord of the harvest to supply us with faithful men to take his place.
We have every assurance that this field is ready for the sowing of the seed of truth. In these days when the Lord is to close up the work quickly, we need not sow to-day, and say, “There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest;” but we sow to-day, and the harvest is ready on the morrow. Here is one of the many instances that illustrates this, and also emphasizes the value of sowing the seed by the printed page: A Tamil tract fell into the hands of a man living about forty miles west of Nazareth. A friend standing near glanced over his shoulder and read a few lines. Those words aroused his interest. He secured some more tracts, read them, and then found his way to our mission to learn more about the truth. Elder Lowry began instructing him, and his interest grew. He was one of the nine recently baptized. To-day he is an earnest colporteur, sowing our literature in the surrounding districts. Already calls are coming from villages where he has worked, beseeching us to send them a teacher to give them further instruction in the truth. We also have a colporteur in Madras, who is meeting with many interesting and encouraging experiences selling our literature.
Thus the work grows and extends so we can scarcely keep pace with it. Our first edition of Tamil literature is nearly exhausted, and I have ordered new editions printed and hurried on to our men, and am busy getting out some new tracts and books so our workers can have a better selection to draw from. All are working hard, and are happy as they work. Brother and Sister Lowry are carrying heavy burdens, many times going beyond their strength to do justice to the calls for help. We need another family in this field at once to be making the necessary preparation in the language before taking up the burdens and responsibilities of district work. This will require at least one year. In response to our appeals for help, the reply comes back, “We have excellent workers waiting to go forward, but no money in the treasury to pay transportation and maintain them in the field.” Verily, the ends of the earth are calling for God’s people to fulfil their heaven-appointed trust. O that the Lord would cause to pass before his people a true panorama of real conditions in these dark lands, and roll upon each believer in this message a corresponding spirit of liberality!

The Golden Key

By WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN

WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
In thy room a Holy Presence, Radiant with heavenly love, Holds a golden key, and bids thee, “Take and gain thy wealth above.” Still he lingers, though thou spurnest His great mercy, full and free; For the treasure of high heaven Opes to prayer, the golden key.
Long he waits, in great compassion Yearning riches to bestow; Thou art poor and blind and naked, For thy sins have made thee so; Starving, though in sight of manna; Clad in rags, with white robes nigh; Groping blindly, when beside thee Heaven’s Healer passes by.
Other souls might share thy blessing, Never couldst thou all demand; From his boundless store of mercy Love metes out with lavish hand. Haste! Unlock the heavenly treasure, Raiment, food, and wealth to bring; Thus alone canst thou be ushered To the wedding of the King.
Portland, Oregon.
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