The Enormity of the Evils from the Drink Traffic—1
By B. G. Wilkinson
BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST “The empire of Babylon fell on a night of drunken revelry”
EATING caused the fall of Adam, and the beginning of ruin for the antediluvian world; drinking was Noah's worst sin, and the commencement of evils for the world after the Flood. If the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused the fall of the world prior to the Flood, the knowledge of the vine and of intoxicating liquors has been the bane of the human race ever since. Drunkenness had its origin in the wretched career of Ham, and of the subsequent Babylon and Egypt, the nations which sprang from his descendants. And from that day to this the history of evil in this world has ever been coupled with the history of intoxicating liquors. With the true church of God prohibition has ever been as extensive as the numbers of its members; but the church of the devil has always been against total abstinence and the subjection of the body. In other words, the whole history of evil is coupled more or less with the history of the drink traffic.
The Conscience Benumbed
When the conscience is numb, carnal passions are fully awake. In that measure in which conscience is alive and energetic, in that same measure is there carried on a determined warfare against evil in every form, and against intemperance in particular. Not only can the downfall of the human race be traced more or less to the abandonment of self-control, to the tyranny of fleshly desires, but the crash of empires also is traceable to the same causes. It is said that Alexander the Great died as a result of a drunken debauch; and all are acquainted with the history of the Roman emperors who became fools in their delirious surrender to intoxicating passions. The empire of Babylon fell on a night of drunken revelry; and a few hours before it passed away, the prophet Daniel declared the following words to the monarch on this throne: "And thou, . . . O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, tho thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of Heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, HAVE DRUNK WINE IN THEM; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, WHICH SEE NOT, NOR HEAR, NOR KNOW."
When men plunge into the debauchery of sin, they hate to recognize the existence of the God that can see and hear and know. They surround themselves by gods of gold, brass, and other lifeless materials. They prefer gods which have neither eyes nor ears nor reason, because their own conscience has been overpowered by intoxicating liquors. "The conscience," one has said, "is like an alarm-clock; if we refuse to hear its first notes of warning, its continued sounds of alarm come at length to make no impression upon us." The baser elements seize control of our existence. Common sense, reason, and conscience are thrown down, and with the loss of dominion over self comes the loss of dominion over life, liberty, and happiness. In such an hour as this ended the empires of Babylonia, Grecia, and Rome. No wonder the cause of temperance is a cause of so great importance. Intoxicating liquor demands something more than possession of the pocketbook; it puts a yoke upon the individual, loads chains upon his property and his family. Yes, it mounts even higher; it exacts subjection of earthly kingdoms.
This Country's Gigantic Struggle
This great country of ours is now having her gigantic struggle with this exacting Moloch. In 1850, we are informed, the inhabitants of the United States consumed on an average 4.8 gallons per capita of intoxicating liquors. Twenty years later they were consuming 7.7 gallons per capita. By 1890 this dangerous consumption had risen to 15.53 gallons per capita of our population; while in 1910, statistics inform us, we had already reached the enormous consumption of 23 gallons per capita. In other words, from 1850 to 1910, for a space of about sixty years, the consumption of drink for the average American citizen had risen from 4.8 to 23 gallons per year.
Rum is able to turn the Declaration of Independence into a mockery. We beat off the English from across the sea, but right here at home we have a more terrible foe in the fiery water. It has watched by the cradle of every growing nation. Again and again has it succeeded in strangling manly kingdoms. Still the Government of the United States has entered into partnership with it. Other merchandise can circulate freely and be disposed of over the country without the Government's special approval. But not so with the little packages of bottled poison. The special agents of the State scour over the mountains and through the caves, seeking for any who might unlicensed be fabricating this dynamite, this destroyer of kingdoms. But when the accepted distiller has put forth the product, the Government hurries it off into warehouses, every barrel and bottle bonded and secure, this precious revenue-producing material. From out the storehouse it is passed on to no ordinary hands. A select nobility, gentlemen in white livery, have been especially commissioned to sell the poison of hell distilled into drops. Their diploma hangs on the wall—or rather diplomas, for they have two,—one a charter from the Federal State, the other the letters patent from the municipal hotel de ville.
The State Getting the Worst of It
And all for money! But the State is getting the worst end of the bargain. She is in the hands of the "mocker." About one third of the male insanity in the country is due to the excessive use of alcohol. Build more asylums. That costs money, but the loss is pitifully small compared with the ruin of these noble souls, the wealth producers of the State. Over one third of epileptic cases can trace their origin to alcohol. In 1908 there were in the State of Massachusetts 86,365 arrests due to intoxication—60 per cent, or three fifths, of all the arrests that year. The union of the Government with the liquor trade is turning out to be for the State a "bear hug." Is it a wonder that national crimes are on the increase? Booker T. Washington says that two thirds of all the lynching done in the land is due to the bad whisky sold to both blacks and whites. And every one knows what kind of effects this modern hellebore has upon the Negro. It turns the otherwise peaceful and happy creature into a dangerous and passionate fiend.
"M. de Laveleye has established," says the French "Revue des Deux Mondes" of August 1, 1900, "that with the money spent by the working men for intoxication, they could in twenty years buy all the manufacturing plants in the country, and deliver themselves from the power of capital. . . . Mr. Coste, in a recent volume, 'The Hope of the People,' shows that if those four million industrial workers who spend more than £20 each year for strong drink, should put that sum in the bank, they could in sixteen years buy up the property of the great industries and become their masters."11Right across the Rhine from France is Germany, where, it is estimated, the money spent each year for drink is four times that spent for war purposes. England pays out annually for alcoholic liquors an amount equal to about $22.00 for every man, woman, and child within its borders. One writer estimates that in the last thirty years alcohol has killed 7,500,000 in Europe, or more than were killed in all the wars of the nineteenth century. It is not in heathen lands alone that men sell their birthright for a mess of pottage; for no man who worships before the altar of Strong Drink, and brings his body as a living sacrifice to the temples of Alcohol, can expect to inherit the kingdom of heaven. He does not even enjoy the richer pleasures of this life; for he who builds the palaces of the brewer and the mansions of the distiller, loves the saloon-keeper's home better than his own home, and loves the saloon-keeper's child better than his own little girl. Poverty enters his cottage, and a dagger is aimed at the prosperity of the nation.
A traveler viewing the ruins of Pompeii, while wondering at the beauties of ancient art mingled with the licentious paintings of old heathenism, can still see in the main streets of the unburied city, the bacchanalian shops whence was freely sold the drink that made them mad.
Determined to Win
Back of the bottle stands the producer and the producer's gold. The brewer and the distiller have determined to sell the people of the country for gold. They have banded themselves together into what they call an association, but what should be called a conspiracy, with one determined object, and that is to ruin every man, woman, and child in this country. They have fastened their eyes on the children with the avowed purpose of selling into slavery your boy and my girl. Hell is moved from beneath, and the proofs are at hand.
The "Christian Herald" tells us that in the city of Los Angeles, California, a club is organized with the avowed purpose of inducing young people to form the habit of drinking alcoholic liquors. The rum advocates continually raise the cry that prohibition does not prohibit, but it was noticed that when the constitution of Oklahoma was framed with a prohibition clause in it, the brewers and distillers worked with all their might, hired lawyers, conducted campaigns, and spent $500,000 in order to have that article changed. If prohibition does not prohibit, why did they not become the firm friends of prohibition? Why the necessity of spending $500,000?
These allies of death must make great profits from their godless traffic, to spend in one State in a few weeks so much wealth. They knew well enough that an effort was being made for man's emancipation, and they deliberately poured out that $500,000 in order to keep up the slavery into which they had sold their fellow men.
The British battle-ship Dreadnought, built in 1906, and which put all previous war-ships altogether out of date
We will consider in our next article more about this conspiracy, who are consciously and unconsciously its agents, and later we ought to say something as to how this enormous evil may be met. B. G. WILKINSON.
The United States battle-ship Michigan, one of the most powerful ships of the United States Navy, and that puts the Dreadnought of five years ago far in the background. At the pace that is now maintained, what will the next five years do to the Michigan?
The Spirit of War in the Field of Prophecy
By T.
AMONG the remarkable things that characterize this most remarkable age, none stand out with more prominence than the marvelous development of the implements of war. A recognized authority of the United States Navy affirms that since the Spanish-American War of 1898 the effectiveness of the machinery and equipments of war has been increased by 1,200 times. This increased effectiveness is shown in the far greater range of guns, the rapidity with which they can be fired, the phenomenal accuracy of aim, the increased speed of war-ships and the greater number of powerful guns that they carry, the submarine torpedo-boats that have been produced, the military air-ships that have been built, etc., etc., etc., to the end of the list.
Every year adds still greater military and naval burdens to the people that compose the various nations of earth. Many of the rulers of these nations are feverishly clamoring for still more war-ships, to replace the ones of yesterday, that are now out of date. Some have even suggested that the present high cost of living, which is so much discussed, is occasioned in part by the great waste of men and materials, which are in such demand for the sacrifices to the gods of war.
The training on the battle-ships, in the forts, and in the armies, is of the most intense character. Only the choicest of the young men of the several nations are accepted. Defects of mind and body must be reduced to the minimum, because action and achievement must be stretched to the greatest possible limit. In the intensity of the drills with gun and battle-ship, time is counted not only by seconds, but by the fractions of seconds. With all the modern improvements of death-dealing weapons, it is considered that within five minutes after two hostile ships come within range of each other, one of them will be put out of action. Hence it is that not merely seconds but fractions of seconds saved in loading, aiming, and firing the modern guns, are counted of so much value. The loss of a part of a second by the gun's crew might allow the enemy to strike the telling blow that would decide the outcome of the engagement.
Every one is hoping that none of the leading nations will go to war and thus bring into action the awful weapons and implements that have been devised during the last two or three decades. And yet there is an intensity of training that is superhuman. You can find thousands upon thousands of people who earnestly affirm that the cruelties and barbarities of war should not be permitted among civilized nations. Still it is the most civilized nations that are foremost in the furious race to stand at the head in military and naval power.12
England has been for centuries the home of letters and of science, and one of the greatest of the world's civilizing nations. But she feels so keenly that some great evil is hovering over us, that she is urging, almost with frenzy, that every dollar possible be given to keeping her navy the strongest in the world. She is told by editors and magazine writers from every quarter of the globe that she is foolish for having such a dread of what may come to her if she is not kept at the highest point of fighting efficiency. But none of this advice allays her fears. She feels that she must keep up her defenses or perish as a nation.
Germany is another home of letters, of science, and of civilizing sentiments. Some of the greatest influences that make for progress have come from that great nation. But the civilization that she possesses does not keep her from entering the arena to compete with England in reaching the position of the first naval military power of the world. Her war burdens are most oppressive, and she feels urged on to make greater and still greater exertions to prepare for some emergency that she can not describe, but that she feels impressed will surely come.
And thus we might go round the world and mention the nations one by one, and in each case we find that they are arming to the limit to meet some great issue of war that is casting its dark shadows upon the earth. They all admit that war is brutal, that it should not be tolerated in this time of great enlightenment; still they say it is not safe for any nation to allow her war equipment to become out of date. She must keep spending her millions to keep up with all the inventions that follow one another in such rapid succession; for she fears that if she did not, her neighbor nations might take advantage of her unpreparedness and divide her dominions among themselves.
It must be admitted that the foregoing paragraphs are stating nothing more than present-day fact that all know to be true. It must be admitted also that it is quite impossible to give in a few brief paragraphs anything like a full presentation of the awe-inspiring facts that would have to be narrated in order to make in the mind a picture of all that is being done to prepare for war. It must go without successful contradiction, that the greatest century of enlightenment and civilization that is known to our world's history is sternly confronted by the most awful preparations for war that our planet knows anything about. If the ordinary facts of war preparation and war equipment of today had been suggested to our fathers of a century ago, they would have said that the wild fancies of a nightmare were causing the speaker to talk like a madman.
You are doubtless ready to inquire for the reason of all this. The solution is an easy one if we are willing to admit the evidence of what should be an unquestioned authority with all the peoples everywhere. Let this witness testify in His own language, which follows:
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations: and they have parted My land, and have cast lots for My people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. Yea, and what are ye to Me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? will ye render Me a recompense? and if ye recompense Me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head. Forasmuch as ye have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried into your temples My goodly precious things, and have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye may remove them far from their border; behold, I will stir them up out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompense upon your own head; and I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to a nation far off: for Jehovah hath spoken it.
Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the wine-press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge unto His people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion My holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. Joel 3:1-17.
The foregoing scripture, taken by itself, and viewed superficially, might seem to apply only to the ancient Jewish nation. But a New Testament text says, "These things happened unto them by way of example ["by way of figure," margin]; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come." 1 Cor. 10:11. Then whatever was written of ancient Israel is expressive of certain universal principles that have a universal application. And not only is this true in a general way, but there are distinctive statements in the foregoing words from Joel that show plainly that the prophet's vision is directed to the judgment scenes of the last days of time. There are "multitudes in the valley of decision;" "the day of Jehovah" is near — an expression that applies to that time when the day of sin is ended, and the day of the vindication of God's righteousness has come. It is the time when the captivity of the children of God is to be turned into the joys of deliverance.
M. Millerand, French Minister of War, who is asking his government for $4,200,000 for military air-ships
And when this great time has arrived, the text shows that there is to be a mighty stir among the nations. They are to "prepare war;" "all the men of war" are to draw near, and to beat their "plowshares into swords" and their "pruning-hooks into spears."
Even the weak ones are to say, "I am strong." All nations are to be gathered to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for the war of that great day.
Lest any one might think that the text from Joel will not warrant this interpretation, it might be well to read the following from the New Testament, which serves as an inspired guide to the meaning of the quoted portion of Joel's prophecy:
And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the almighty. (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon [Armageddon]. Rev. 16:12-16.
This text, as well as the one from Joel, affirms that the "great day of God" is to be characterized by a war in which the whole earth will be engaged. This text from Revelation also affirms the agency that will work to fill the world with the war spirit that drives the nations to Armageddon. The "spirits of demons, working signs," are the supernatural agency that leads the world into the furies of a universal war.
Consider the efforts that strong and good men, like President Taft and thousands of others, are putting forth to have the nations plan for peace. And with the thought of these efforts for peace, in mind, consider the furious pace with which all the world is preparing for war. Can there be any doubt in regard to the meaning of it? The actors are already on the scene, and the great day is just before us. Will we stop to weigh the evidence and get ready for the issue? T.
A Vacant Mind Is an Invitation to Vice
"A VACANT mind is an invitation to vice."
Wealth and Poverty in America
By Editor
Large space was given on the front pages of the dailies a few days ago to report the dinner of Mrs. Edward Beale M'Lean and the social function that followed it. The dinner is said to have cost $30,000, and Mrs. M'Lean wore her famous "Hope" diamond on the occasion — the diamond that is the envy of all the fashionable ladies of the world. And while this wanton display of wealth was in progress at the national capital, the mayors of a number of the large cities of the Middle West were calling for help to feed and clothe the hungry and starving multitudes of the poor that were in the grasp of the cold winter. And as this note is written, there is lying on the desk before us a letter from one of those who are suffering from pinching poverty. He states that he does not want "charity." All he wants is a chance to do honest work and thus earn for himself and family an honest living. The men of wealth in this nation are in a stupor. They do not seem to hear the mutterings that are growing stronger and stronger against a few people's being able to squander great fortunes on the pleasures of a single evening while others are shivering with cold and starving for the lack of simple bread. If we were a "Christian nation" in fact as well as in name such things could not exist among us.
The French minister of war says, "Aviation is now an integral and even essential part of the national defenses." Hence he is asking his government for $4,200,000 with which to equip the greatest fleet of military air-ships in the world. France has been a leader in the development of the air-ship, and Minister Millerand says that his parliament "is full of good will toward aviation." He feels confident that his requested appropriation will be granted, and so he and his associates are holding daily meetings to study the best means of developing this new "fourth arm" of the army. The air-ship is also an established part of the navy as well as the army; and with the submarines that have been perfected, the next great war will be fought on the land and in the air and on the water and under the water.
It is reported that the Federal Grand Jury in Indianapolis has indictments prepared against about forty men involved in the big dynamiting cases, the most prominent one being the Los Angeles Times Building. The same report says that most of the men who will be arrested under these indictments during the next few days are labor leaders. If wholesale arrest of labor leaders is effected, it will precipitate such a fight that it will be hard to tell what the outcome will be. There are stormy times before this old world, and it behooves every one to study earnestly to know the meaning, and what will be the ultimate end of it.
On February 7 Emperor William opened the German Reichstag in person by his customary speech from the throne, but no representative from the Social Democratic party, comprising about one fourth of the assembly, was present. The conflict between the emperor and the Socialists is very determined on both sides. The leading topic of the emperor's address was the demand to strengthen the army and navy in order to meet "the present international situation." The Socialists are strongly opposed to the emperor's military program, hence one of the leading causes of the friction.
Through the rotting away of timbers that had been used as props, the Bunker Hill mine at Amador City, one of the oldest mines in California, caved in, entombing sixty-five miners. The frequent occurrences of this kind make one feel in harmony with the laws that are passed from time to time for the rigid inspection and supervision of mines.13England is in a big flurry over the sentence of imprisonment by the German court against Bertrand Stewart, a young attorney from London. The charge made is "espionage;" and all the British papers, including the conservative London Times, are demanding that the evidence upon which he was convicted in a secret court shall be made public. Lord Haldane, the minister of war, has gone to Berlin in person to see if something can not be done to avoid a clash at arms over the situation.
The governor of Texas has addressed a communication to the President calling for action to keep the Mexicans from endangering the lives and property of the residents of his State by their fighting along the border line. It is reported that the governor has stated to the President that if the United States can not do something to stop the difficulty, Texas will feel under the necessity of marching troops across the border herself.
Secretary Knox has notified the powers, through a note to the German ambassador, that the United States will insist upon the "open door" policy in China of the late Secretary Hay. Germany has signified her intention to support this country in the plan. This is explained to mean that secret loans and other schemes that would give certain countries a practical lien on the resources of China will not be tolerated.
"A Chapter of National Dishonor," the leading article in the North American Review for February, presents facts and arguments which should make Americans pause and think. It relates to the conduct of this Government in its relations to the United States of Colombia over the Panama affair. Mr. Chamberlain's paper is well fortified by documentary evidence.
For Sale
By L. A. Reed
One 5x7 View Camera, six double plate holders, 6 inside kits to reduce to use smaller plates, tripod, Bausch and Lomb rectilinear lens, carrying case. Cost about $60. Price $25. L. A. Reed, Mountain View, California.
Bees for Sale
By Hayden Gilstrap
I desire to sell as soon as possible my prosperous bee business located in the famous honey district of Honey Lake Valley, Lassen County, California.
Honey crop never fails in this valley. Reason for selling — I desire to devote all my time to missionary work. If interested write Hayden Gilstrap, 47 Wilson Avenue, San Jose, California.
St. Helena Sanitarium Training School for Missionary Nurses
By Editor
On April 2, 1912, we would gladly welcome thirty-five consecrated young men and women to our spring class.
This is a call for a larger class than we have ever yet formed, but it is due to the expansion of the sanitarium and hospital work and the opening up of additional facilities in San Francisco—laying the foundation for a more extensive work in anticipation of the great opportunities offered by the World's Fair of 1915.
The Sanitarium Board has decided to open treatment rooms in the best part of the city of San Francisco, in addition to the Laguna Street dispensary. This added work will necessitate more workers, but the cities must be warned.
Believing that "medical missionary work is the door through which the truth is to find entrance to the large cities," and realizing the need of medical missionary workers in foreign fields, as well as our own need of trained workers, we urge our young people to come now and enter the work.
With a large four-story hospital connected with the sanitarium, those in the training school have the advantage of a thoro preparation in surgical work. A laboratory course in gastric and urine analysis is also now part of the required work.
It is necessary that students shall have completed at least the eighth grade of preliminary school work.
The training school calendar and an application blank will be forwarded upon request.
George Thomason, M.D.,
Medical Superintendent,
Myrtle B. Hudson,
Secretary.
Sanitarium, Napa County, California.
