p. 736 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 46. (12/1/1887)

Health and Temperance.

By Cadmet

OUGHT NOT WOMEN TO SMOKE?

Tobacco smoking is on the increase in the United States. Look, for instance, at Puritan Boston, where half a century ago smoking in the streets was a breach of the law, but where, at the present time, to see men with cigars in their mouths is a matter of course. A quarter of a century ago, a smoking minister of the gospel would have outraged the sentiments of Boston church-goers; now a tolerable number of the ministry are taking to the habit; two of the most prominent of the Boston clergymen are hardly less noted for their smoking than for their sermons; still another Boston preacher is so wedded to the habit that his medical adviser, it is said, thinks his life might be endangered were he to attempt to give it up. There must be, it should seem, some good reason for this great change in sentiment and practice. There ought to be a presumption in favor of a habit practiced by so many men, and gaining ground among those who are supposed to mould public sentiment and conduct in the right direction. Smoking is either an advantage or a disadvantage, a good or an evil, reasonable or unreasonable. If, now, men do not smoke without adequate reason, ought not women also to bear their part in this progressive movement?

In order to be able to answer this question correctly, the chief reasons given for men's smoking should be thoughtfully considered: 1. It is said that smoking is soothing to the nerves. It is thought that tobacco quiets the system when it has been overtaxed physically or mentally. The excitements of modern life make some such sedative influence especially helpful. But the tax of modern life upon the nerves of women is even greater than upon those of men. And the nervous system of women is more highly and delicately strung than that of men. Whose nerves are overtaxed more than those of the mother of a family? Who requires the sedative, soothing effect of a good cigar more than she? Our women are every year in increasing numbers succumbing to nervous disorders; ought they not without delay to seek relief from the calming, renovating virtues of tobacco?

2. Again, it is said, on the other hand, that smoking stimulates the nerves; that it acts as a tonic, and is especially fitted to quicken the system when exhausted by protracted mental effort. If this is true of men, it is equally true of women, especially of highly educated women. Fear is nowadays sometimes entertained that the increased demands made upon the mental activity of our modern girls may impair their constitutions. Would they not find in smoking that which should counteract this danger? Might it not be well to introduce the use of cigars into our colleges for girls, as, it is reported, has already, to a limited extent, been done by some of the students of one of these colleges?

3. It is alleged that smoking preserves the teeth. But women, too, have teeth.

4. It is maintained that smoking is agreeable. Probably more men smoke because they like to smoke than for all the other reasons taken together. But women no less than men like to do what they like to do. It may possibly be objected that women do not like to smoke. Well, admit that American women do not yet, as a rule, like to smoke, still this is not true of all women; many Russian and Italian women, for example, enjoy smoking intensely. The question is, Could not and should not American women learn to like smoking? Is there any less reason why they, than why men, should learn to like it? For men have to learn to like it, and many men always dislike it. Most men dislike it at first, as anyone may infer from the aspect of a youth smoking his virgin cigar. Observe the expression on his pallid face as he staggers to bed after his first attempt to practice this manly habit, and any impartial person will say that he does not look as if he liked it. We all ought to learn to like many things which at first, and in themselves, are disagreeable. The question is simply this: Is the loathing of tobacco the healthy aversion of every pure, unperverted human being—an instinct which is not overcome without incurring physical and moral damage—or is it a mere silly prejudice which men and women alike should train themselves to conquer?

Besides these reasons, which are the chief ones usually adduced for men's smoking, there are some reasons why the habit is even more fitting for women than for men: 1. Smoking requires but little physical strength. It can be prosecuted assiduously without violent exertion. It is thus peculiarly suited to the weaker sex. The feeblest girl can lie on a lounge or in a hammock and puff cigars. No over-anxious mother nor medical fanatic need have the slightest dread that she will thereby either overstrain her muscles or overtax her brain; she incurs no danger of becoming by this means either a drudge or a blue-stocking. Having once learned the art, she can smoke as easily as she can breathe. 2. Smoking is a private enjoyment, and is thus peculiarly adapted to the private and domestic life led by the great majority of women. In social and business circles the pleasure may be often interrupted; it can never be so thoroughly and keenly and continuously enjoyed as in solitude, or in a small circle of congenial participants. And in this respect the ordinary life of women affords great facilities for successfully cultivating the habit of smoking. When the husband has gone to his business and the children are at school, what opportunities a woman has for the enjoyment of cigars, as she sits quietly alone at home, busy with her needle, or nursing the baby! Consider, too, that, by reason of this comparative privacy, women are not so liable as men to be puffing tobacco smoke into the nose and mouth of those unfortunate wights who will not, or even cannot, learn to like to breathe and swallow it.

Another very strong argument for the wives of smokers to conform to this habit is found in the consideration that they would thus promote family unity. This argument is so wide-reaching that it is impossible in limited space to do full justice to it. But one or two hints may be given. As already implied, both men and women who have never learned to smoke are often afflicted with a great dislike to the smell of tobacco. Many suffer severely from headache or from nausea if they are even for a short time subjected to the powerful odor. But those who once learn to smoke, and are thoroughly inoculated with the weed, generally cease to experience these discomforts. Now many wives find themselves seriously discommoded by the smoking of their husbands; but all these much-enduring wives might, by merely cultivating the habit of smoking, transform their trial into a delight. And how much the enjoyment of an affectionate husband would be enhanced if his wife could only lay aside her prejudices and dislikes and participate in his pleasure! And would not his temptation to resort for recreation to the club-room or the saloon be greatly lessened by this means? Might it not add a fresh charm to the atmosphere of a sweet, pure home, if, on his return to it at evening, his wife could come to greet him having her

garments filled with the fragrance of his favorite cigar; if she could reciprocate his tobacco-scented kiss; and if she could sit by his side and seek in harmony with him to smother in smoke the cares of a weary day?

Again, the prejudice against tobacco on the part of many women is in reference to the training of the sons, often a fruitful source of family disquietude. The mother thinks smoking a disagreeable, wasteful, injurious practice, and would like to have her boys abstain from it; but 'Papa smokes' is the irrefutable answer to any suggestion she may venture to make that it would be well for them to avoid the practice. If mamma smoked also, that house would not be divided against itself, but would stand firm for tobacco. It is not necessary to multiply such illustrations, for it is well known that many heads of families, in other respects united, are diametrically opposed on the tobacco question, and the disturbances of family harmony and happiness which spring directly and indirectly from this single source are innumerable. The remedy seems to be as easy as the fact is frequent: Let all wives of smokers become smokers themselves. If the husband has chosen the course which is pleasantest, wisest, and best, do not wisdom and duty alike dictate that the wife should pursue it also?

From what has been said it appears to be plain that if smoking is a real good, the reasons for it are even stronger for women than for men—unless, indeed, an exception is granted in the case of clergymen. The ministry, as those who should be leaders in every good work and exemplars of all noble and worthy habits, are, it may indeed be admitted, under especial and peculiar obligation to maintain a right theory and practice with reference to the tobacco question. But second only to that of the ministry should seem to be the obligation of women to smoke, provided that it be once assumed that smoking is the reasonable, becoming, and excellent habit which its frequency and increase among men who profess to have an educated conscience might seem to imply.—Cadmet, in Congregationalist.

Keep the Home Near Heaven

KEEP the home near Heaven. Let it face toward the Father's house.

News and Notes.

By Editor

RELIGIOUS.

—There are forty millions of Presbyterians in the world.

—The New York Methodist Book Concern has recently paid nearly half a million of dollars ($439,000) for a new site for its publishing house.

—The English Catholics have recently made a notable innovation in the church service in allowing the psalms to be sung in English instead of Latin at vespers.

—A conference to discuss the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures was held in Philadelphia, commencing on the 18th inst., and some of the most prominent biblical scholars in the country, it is said, took part in it.

—The Roman Catholic Church has in Great Britain 1,600 chapels, 254 monasteries, 415 convents, 29 colleges, and 2,599 priests. The gains since 1870 have been as follows: Chapels, 256; monasteries, 155; convents, 182; colleges, 9; and priests, 872.

—Constant vigilance, we are told, is the only safeguard of liberty; and constant watchfulness and decision on the part of Protestants and of all true Americans are demanded for the perpetuation and purity of our common-school system.—Religious Herald, Hartford.

—Says the Interior: "Something must be done to hold in check those Christianized Indians in the Indian Presbytery of Dakota, or they will leave the rest of us behind. Our minutes show that during our ecclesiastical year that presbytery, composed of converted Sioux Indians, gave $571 more to foreign missions than any other presbytery in the synod, and during the last synodical year it gave to the nine boards of our church $234 more than any of the white presbyteries of the synod."

—The Catholic Assembly of Hungary has voted to present to the Pope an address signed by 1,500,000 men and 86,000 women. The address favors the restoration of temporal power to the Pope. It is feared in official circles that this feature of the address will make a bad impression in Italy.

—An attempt was recently made by the First Unitarian Society in Hartford, Conn., to depose their pastor, Rev. J. C. Kimball, because of his avowal of sympathy with the Chicago anarchists in a recent sermon. The women of the society, however, supported Mr. Kimball in a body and the attempt to oust him failed.

—The Toronto Globe says: "An announcement of a church lottery in Western Ontario has been sent to us with a request to notice. We do notice—with the most unqualified condemnation—any attempt by any church to raise money by means of the gambling habit. Nothing but a curse could rest on money thus obtained."

—A half-hearted service in religion is neither acceptable to God nor satisfying to the soul. It prevents a person from enjoying the pleasures of the world, but does not secure the spiritual pleasures which true religion imparts. If a man would be truly happy, he must be wholly on the Lord's side, and serve him with all his heart.—Methodist Recorder.

—Three hundred thousand women of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union have agreed to pray in private and in their meetings for the 54,000 men who constitute the ministry of the United States, that they may all become total abstainers and advocates of prohibition. They have also determined to send them each a copy of the New York Voice, the leading prohibition paper.

SECULAR.

—China, it is said, has 500,000 blind people.

—Des Moines, Iowa, had a $250,000 fire on the 25th inst.

—In France there is one liquor-shop to every thirty-three men.

—Thirteen lives were lost one day last week in a wreck off Cape Finisterre.

—A new undertaking in the fruit line is the shipment of Florida oranges to Europe.

—Ex-Senator Jones, of Florida, is said to be practically a beggar in the streets of Detroit.

—Owing to the protracted drought, extensive forest fires are raging in Kentucky and doing immense damage.

—Of the 150,000 electric light carbons used daily in the United States 100,000 are manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio.

—Recent heavy rains in Arizona have done considerable damage to the railroads, and travel has been somewhat impeded.

—The death-rate of the world is about 67 per minute, or 97,700 per day; while the birth-rate is 79 per minute,—100,500 per day.

—The American ship E. F. Sawyer, from San Francisco, was sunk by a British steamer near Folkestone, England, November 22. No lives were lost.

—France seems to be almost on the verge of another revolution. President Grevy has resigned, and Mr. Ferry will probably be elected to the presidency.

—The Russian steamers Sineus and Vesta came into collision off the Crimean coast on the 23d inst. The Vesta was sunk and fifteen of her crew drowned.

—It is said that there is a movement on foot among the Tories to adopt the policy of the protection of English manufacturers by taxing foreign imports.

—A fire at the Bunker Hill mine, near Amador City, Cal., on the 25th inst., destroyed property to the amount of $40,000, and threw 80 men out of employment.

—Heat holidays are an established feature in the German schools. When the thermometer reaches a certain point study must cease, in private as well as in public schools.

—Ready-made houses are being shipped to Southern California from Chicago. The demand for houses is so great there that lumber cannot be procured fast enough to build them.

—The total immigration to the United States from all countries except Canada and Mexico, during the first nine months of this year, was 411,000 against 294,596 in the same period in 1886.

—November 21 the Austrian imperial yacht, with the empress on board, was in a collision with an Italian vessel on the Austrian coast. The Italian vessel was sunk, with the loss of only one life, however.

—The Federated Trades Unions, the central anarchist organization of New York, has sent a long letter to Mayor Hewitt, in which he is told that the class to which he belongs is doomed.

—November 25 a collision between two freight trains on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, fifteen miles from Pittsburg, Pa., wrecked both trains and injured eight men, five of them fatally.

—It is said that the English Government is negotiating for 200 acres of land near Esquimalt for the purpose of establishing a vast arsenal. This is a step, presumably, in the interests of universal peace (?).

—Bedford, Pa., was the scene of a free fight between miners on the 24th inst., in which two men were shot and about fifteen injured in other ways. Pistols, knives, and stones were the weapons used.

—Bismarck, one of the suspected Haddock murderers, has turned State's evidence and testifies positively that Arensdorff is the man who did the killing. His evidence was not shaken by cross-examination.

—It is stated that in a single cotton factory in Cohoes, New York, there are employed over 2,000 children under sixteen years of age. As might be expected, they are densely illiterate, many of them being unable to read or write.

—News has recently been received at San Francisco of the loss, last month, of three vessels in the Orient; namely, the Monarch, a vessel of 1,127 tons, the Jesusa, a Spanish schooner, and the steamer Hong Kong. Only three lives were lost.

—An opium-crazed Chinaman fatally stabbed a passenger in a crowded emigrant car on the Denver and Rio Grande Road one day last week. The Chinaman declared his intention to kill everybody in the car and was promptly shot by a brakeman.

—A freight train ran into a work train on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad six miles this side of Williams, Arizona, on the 25th inst. Fifteen men on the work train were more or less injured. The brakeman on the freight was badly hurt and is expected to die.

—A rather novel insurance company has been formed in New York. The new company proposes to guarantee and indemnify merchants, manufacturers, traders, and those engaged in business and giving credit from losses and damage by reason of giving and extending credit to their customers.

—The Dutch steamer W. A. Scholten, which left Rotterdam, November 19, for New York, was sunk by a collision with the steamer Rosa Mary of Hartlepool, at 11 o'clock that night, ten miles off Dover. The Scholten carried a complement of 230 passengers and crew. One hundred and thirty-two lives were lost.

—Two thousand crofters,—tenants on small holdings,—on the Isle of Lewes have commenced a campaign to exterminate the deer in the forests. They allege that 6,000 crofters are starving who ought to be living on the land now given up to deer, and that in adopting their present course they are actuated by sheer necessity.

—One day last week Barnum's big menagerie was destroyed in winter quarters at Bridgeport, Conn. Many of the animals perished in the flames, while quite a number of the larger and stronger animals escaped. A great deal of valuable tent and other property was also burned. The total loss is estimated at not less than $200,000, with but $80,000 insurance.

—A Quebec dispatch of the 26th inst. says: "Probably the most disgraceful riot which ever took place, in the ancient city of Quebec occurred last night, when, for upwards of two hours, the city was thrown into a disgraceful state of uproar by an attempted counter demonstration against the Salvation Army on the part of an organized band of roughs, largely composed of Naval University French-Canadian students."

—Jesse Pomeroy, the Massachusetts boy-murderer, who at the tender age of eight years was guilty of torturing children to death in order that he might enjoy their sufferings, is still, though now a man grown, giving the prison authorities a great deal of trouble owing to his desperate attempts to escape. His character is abnormal and such as entitles him only to the consideration and treatment accorded to wild beasts.

—The imperial family of Germany are not to be envied by any means. The old emperor cannot hope to live much longer, on account of his extreme age; the empress is suffering from paralysis of the lower jaw, with the probability that it may become general; the Crown Prince has cancer of the throat, and his son, Prince William, is afflicted with an incurable disease of the middle ear. It is not at all likely that this prince will ever be emperor of Germany. His disease is making rapid progress and seems likely to result very shortly in insanity, which in turn would be followed in a few months by death.

OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLES.

PRICES AND STYLES OF BINDING.

Pearl 16mo. (Size 4 5/8x3 1/4 inches.)

NOS. (Page for Page with the Minion 8vo.)

French Morocco, boards............................$1.25
French Morocco, circuit............................1.40
French Morocco, limp, round corners..................1.35
Persian Seal, limp, solid covers, round corners.......2.15
Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed...........2.50
As No. 513, with round corners......................2.60
Turkey Morocco, boards..............................2.20

511 1/2. Turkey Morocco, limp, round corners..............2.35

Turkey Morocco, circuit.............................2.70
Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined..................4.00

515 1/2. As No. 515, with round corners...................4.15 Postage, 10 cents extra.

Pearl 16mo. India paper edition. (Size 4 5/8x1 inches.) NOS. The smallest Teachers' Bible in the World. 514x. Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, round corners..................................................$3.25 515 1/2x. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners..................................................5.50 Postage, 8 cents extra.

Ruby 16mo. (Size 4 1/4x6 1/2x1 1/2 inches.)

(An entirely new edition. Page for page with the Minion 8vo.) NOS.

French Morocco, boards............................$1.90
French Morocco, circuit............................2.30
French Morocco, limp, round corners..................2.20
Persian Seal, solid covers, round corners............3.00
Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed...........3.15
As No. 563, with round corners......................3.30

561 1/2. Turkey Morocco, boards..........................2.70 561 1/2. Turkey Morocco, limp, round corners..............2.85

Turkey Morocco, circuit.............................3.75
Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed......4.65

565 1/2. As No. 565, with round corners...................4.80

As No. 565 1/2, Brown Levant.........................4.80
Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed,

red under gold edges, round corners......................7.00 Postage, 12 cents extra.

Ruby 16mo. India paper edition. (Size 4 1/4x6 1/4x1 inches.) NOS. 564x. Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, round cor- ners..................................................$4.50 561 1/2x. Turkey Morocco, loose limp, round corners, silk sewed..................................................4.50 565 1/2x. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners..................................................6.50 566x. As No. 565 1/2x, Brown Levant.......................6.50 571x. Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners............................................7.50 Postage, 9 cents extra.

Nonpareil 8vo. (Size 4 3/4x7x1 3/4 inches.)

(An entirely new edition. Page for page with the Minion 8vo.) NOS.

Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, round corners........$4.00
Turkey Morocco, boards..............................4.00

661 1/2. Turkey Morocco, limp, round corners..............4.15

Turkey Morocco, circuit.............................5.00
Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed......5.35

665 1/2. As No. 665, with round corners...................5.50

As No. 665 1/2, Brown Levant.........................5.50
Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed,

red under gold edges, round corners......................8.00 Postage, 16 cents extra.

Nonpareil 8vo. Thin paper edition. (Size 5x7x1 1/4 inches.) 664x. Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, round cor- ners..................................................$5.75 661 1/2x. Turkey Morocco, loose limp, round corners, silk sewed..................................................5.50 665 1/2x. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners..................................................7.75 666x. As No. 665 1/2x, Brown Levant.......................7.75 671x. Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners............................................9.50 Postage, 11 cents extra.

Minion 8vo. (Size 5x7 3/4x1 1/2 inches.)

Persian Seal, limp, round corners..................$4.30
Persian Seal, limp, solid covers, round corners......5.00
Persian Seal, Divinity circuit......................4.70
As No. 713, with round corners......................4.85
Turkey Morocco, boards..............................4.50

711 1/2. Turkey Morocco, limp, round corners..............4.65 715. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed......5.70 715 1/2. As No. 715, with round corners...................5.85

As No. 715 1/2, Brown Levant.........................5.85
Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed,

red under gold edges, round corners......................9.00 722. Seal Skin, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, red under gold solid edges, round corners...................11.00 Postage, 18 cents extra.

Minion 8vo. Thin paper edition. (Size 5x7 3/4x1 inches.) NOS. The S. S. Superintendents' Edition. 714x. Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, round cor- ners..................................................$7.00 711 1/2x. Turkey Morocco, loose limp, round corners, silk sewed..................................................6.75 715 1/2x. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners............................................9.00 716x. As No. 715 1/2x, Brown Levant.......................9.00 721x. Best Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, red under gold edges, round corners.....................12.00 Postage, 13 cents extra.

Minion small 4to. (Size 7x9 3/8x1 3/4 inches.)

With Wide Margin for MSS. Notes.

Persian Morocco, limp...............................$7.50
Turkey Morocco, limp................................8.75

915 1/2. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners.................................................12.50 Postage, 32 cents extra.

Brevier 8vo. (Size 5 3/4x8 5/8x1 1/2 inches.)

Turkey Morocco, boards, family register..............$7.00
Turkey Morocco, limp, family register................7.00
Persian Seal, Divinity circuit, silk sewed, round cor-

ners...................................................7.75 815 1/2. Levant, Divinity circuit, kid lined, silk sewed, round corners.................................................10.25 Postage, 28 cents extra.

Any books from the foregoing list can be had with Deni- son's Patent Index. Price, $1.25 extra. When ordering Bibles be sure to give the numbers of those you wish sent. Address all orders to PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.

Publishers' Department.

By Editor

RECEIPTS.

REMIT by Bank Draft, Money Order, or Express Order.
If Postal Note or paper money is sent, register the letter.
Drafts should be made payable to the PACIFIC PRESS, on New York or San Francisco banks. Those written on other banks cost us exchange.

NOTICE.—The change of figures on the address labels will be in all cases a sufficient receipt for money sent for the paper. If these changes do not appear in due time, and if books ordered by mail are not received, please notify us. All other business is acknowledged below.

STATE CAMP-MEETING FUND.—J Leininger $25.

RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT.—Minnesota T and M Society $70.

CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE FUND.—Los Angeles $29.75, Healdsburg $150.

EUROPEAN MISSION.—Mrs Gerterean $5, Mrs M A Stewart $5, Joseph Leininger $100.

CALIFORNIA T. AND M. SOCIETY.—Dist No 2 Placerville $3.35, Dist No 4 San Francisco $6.50, Mrs Olive Lewis $10, G A Pierce $5.

THE AMERICAN SENTINEL.

By Editor

HOW IT IS RECEIVED.

THOUGH less than two years old, the American Sentinel circulates in every State and Territory in the Union, and has a large and rapidly-increasing subscription list. And while it has in a few instances been adversely criticised by the partisans of National Reform, so called, no one has even attempted to show that its positions are not well taken, or that its conclusions are not just. But on the other hand, the friends of civil and religious liberty have hailed its inception as timely, and its arguments as weighty. The following are fair samples of the letters which its publishers are constantly receiving:—

Mr. ——, attorney-at-law, Chapel Hill, N. C., writes:—

"I have happily had the opportunity of reading the November number of the American Sentinel, and I wish to express my hearty indorsement of the sentiments expressed in it."

Edward F. Berkeley, D. D., writes from Kirkwood, Mo.:—

"I have received several different copies of the American Sentinel, but my attention was not specially drawn to the paper until I was favored with the December number. I have read every line of it with great satisfaction. It is marked with ability and skill in handling the great question of Rome's progress and purpose, which will one day astonish a foolish and confiding people. 'Her words [now] are softer than butter, having war in her heart.'"

"I inclose twenty-five two-cent stamps for one year's subscription. If you will send me a few sample copies of the December number, I will make an effort to procure some subscribers. If it were possible, your circulation ought to be a million copies monthly."

Another gentleman writes a very intelligent and appreciative letter from Louisville, Ky., in which he says:—

"I have carefully read the January number of the Sentinel and would say that I fully indorse its sentiments as being the only safe doctrine for the people of this nation, and the only safeguard of religious liberty."

A gentleman connected with the National Express Company, New York, writes thus to the publishers of the Sentinel:—

"Some time ago a scrap of one of your papers fell into my hands, and the principles laid down therein and the general tone of the paper interested me and held my attention. I had no way of knowing the date of this paper, but think it was shortly after last election. If you will kindly send me all the numbers from November 1 to December 31, 1886, and with them a bill for these, and also for a year's subscription from the present time, I will immediately send the amount, and consider that you have conferred a favor upon me. I am deeply interested in any and all lawful endeavors to educate the American people on the subjects which you so clearly set forth."

The secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association at Montgomery, Ala., writes:—

"GENTLEMEN: Please accept my sincere thanks for your kindness in sending your publications for the Montgomery Y. M. C. A. It will give me pleasure to direct the attention of our visitors to the American Sentinel and the Pacific Health Journal."

"My time is so fully taken up as secretary that I could not act as a regular agent, but I will look up one for you, and if I have a chance to get a subscriber for you occasionally, will forward the name and money without charging commission."

PLEASE RENEW.

By Editor

SEVERAL hundred subscriptions to the SIGNS expire during this month. Please renew at once so as to avoid losing any number of the paper. We will send the remaining numbers of this year free to all who subscribe now for 1888. The address label on your SIGNS shows the date to which your subscription is paid.

NUMBERING PERIODICAL ORDERS.

By Editor

Will the State T. and M. Secretaries please number all their orders which they send to this office for periodicals?

It will be quite a convenience to us in filing and referring to their orders. Commence with No. 1, at the beginning of the new year. Please date each sheet of your order and write all names just as plainly as possible, giving full post-office address.

Pacific Health Journal and Temperance Advocate

By Editor

The Pacific Health Journal and Temperance Advocate is a thirty-two page monthly magazine, treating upon the subjects indicated in its title. The subscription price is $1.00 per year, payable in advance. All whose subscriptions are received at this office on or before December 9, 1887, will get the last two numbers of this year free. Address, Pacific Health Journal, Twelfth and Castro Streets, Oakland, Cal.

GOOD HEALTH.

By Editor

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

GOOD HEALTH is emphatically a Family Journal, being cheap, plain, and practical, qualities which have won for it the largest circulation of any Health Journal in America. It is devoted to all reforms, but is ultra in none. It is unpartisan and unsectarian. Its only creed is nature's laws. It treats of Health, Temperance, General Literature, Science, and many other interesting and practical subjects; it is a live journal, and every way adapted to the wants of the family. There is something in it for everybody. Price, $1.00 a year.

Address, GOOD HEALTH, Battle Creek, Mich.

THE ADVENT REVIEW

By Editor

AND SABBATH HERALD

A RELIGIOUS FAMILY JOURNAL, PUBLISHED WEEKLY AT BATTLE CREEK, MICH., BY THE S. D. A. PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION.

SIXTEEN large, closely printed pages of choice reading matter, treating upon all the Prophetic themes of the Bible, the Signs of the Times, Second Coming of Christ at Hand, Closing Reforms in the Church, the Gospel of Christ, Conversion, Practical Godliness, etc.

This is the organ of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, the oldest journal of this people. It is now in its sixty-second volume. Contains full reports from the ministers and the doings of the different organizations of this denomination. No one should fail to take the Review and Herald. Price, in advance, $2.00 per year.

Address, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

THE AMERICAN SENTINEL,

By Editor

AN EIGHT-PAGE MONTHLY JOURNAL,

DEVOTED TO THE DEFENSE OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS, THE PRESERVATION OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AS IT IS, SO FAR AS REGARDS RELIGION OR RELIGIOUS TESTS, AND THE MAINTENANCE OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS.

It Will ever Be Uncompromisingly Opposed to Anything Tending Toward a

UNION OF CHURCH AND STATE,

Either in Name or in Fact.

IT is well known that there is a large and influential association in the United States bearing the name of the "National Reform Association," which is endeavoring to secure such a

RELIGIOUS AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

Of the United States as will "place all Christian laws, institutions, and usages on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land."

While there are many persons in this country who are opposed to, or look with suspicion upon, this movement, there are few, outside of the party, who realize what the influence of this Amendment would be. The object of the American Sentinel will be to

VINDICATE THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN CITIZENS,

Which, we believe, are threatened by this association. It will appeal to the very fundamental principles of our Government, and point out the consequences which would be sure to follow should they secure the desired Amendment to the Constitution.

Every position taken will be carefully guarded and fortified by sound argument. Due respect will always be paid to the opinions of others, but

The Rights of Conscience will be Fearlessly Maintained.

TERMS.

Single Copy, per year, - - - - - - 50 cents.

To foreign countries, single subscription, post-paid, 2s.

Specimen Copies Free.

Address, AMERICAN SENTINEL, Oakland, Cal.

Close of the General Conference Session

By Editor

The twenty-sixth annual session of the General Conference practically closed at midnight, November 27, although the last meeting, which closed at that hour, adjourned to Saturday evening, December 3, when some special matters will be discussed. The Conference session has been a most enjoyable season to the members of the Oakland church, who have felt it a rich treat to have the privilege of entertaining our good brethren and sisters from the East, and in listening to the proceedings of the various societies. The weather throughout has been most favorable for the meetings, no rain having yet fallen. The deliberations of the Conference and other associations were characterized by great harmony and good feeling, and the discussion on the various points that were considered demonstrated the fact that men may differ in opinion and still retain brotherly love for one another. We believe that the holding of the General Conference in California this year will prove to have been a wise move. We trust that, aside from the measures decided upon in the session, lasting good may accrue, not only to the California Conference, but to all the Conferences that were represented.

WHERE THEY DRAW THE LINE.

By Editor

THE New York Observer, in commenting on the Personal Liberty League Sunday contest, says that the League "has undoubtedly secured enough representatives of its kind to make it certain that an attempt will be made to have a law enacted in accordance with its wishes, that is, a law opening the saloons, museums, and concert gardens on the Sabbath." Yet the Observer thinks the League will not succeed in getting such a law, because there are so many who, although they have no regard for Sunday as a religious institution, are "quick to come to the defense of the day when its existence is threatened by the rum power." And then it confesses the very thing which we have often pointed out, that is, that it is not the saloon itself, but only the Sunday saloon that is opposed. The Observer says:—

"Many have said, in effect, that they will bear anything from the saloon but this, the giving up of the Sabbath [Sunday]. They draw the line at that."

Yes, they will bear anything from the saloon but this. They will bear the drunkenness, the murder, the woe, the ruin, the devastation, and the universal devilry generally wrought by the saloon. They will bear it day and night, year in and year out, they will bear it without a murmur or a word of objection or complaint. In the estimation of these people all these evils can be carried on entirely consistently with the principles of civil and moral right.

But if the saloon shall attempt to carry on its work on Sunday, then the saloon, which is all right all other days, suddenly becomes a thing laden with iniquity, and totally unworthy of any place in the world—till Sunday is past. With all this the opinion of the Independent also chimes. It says:—

"The people of this country want a quiet and orderly Sabbath [Sunday], and in order to have it they must shut up the groggeries."

But they don't propose to shut up the groggeries except on Sunday. "They will draw the line at that." But why? Why? Why do they not draw the line at the right point of no saloon at all? Ah! they want the saloon and Sunday too, and it is a very worthy companionship.

Unsolicited Papers and Subscriptions

By Editor

We send no papers from this office without pay in advance unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the Signs are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read.

General Conference Laborers

According to the credentials and licenses issued, there will be fifty-seven General Conference laborers in the field next year.

Sunday-Law Movement Gains Strength

It is the unanimous opinion of the religious papers of the East that the action of the Personal Liberty League in demanding open saloons on Sunday afternoons, has stirred the people in New York and Pennsylvania "as never before." And with every stir the National Sunday-law movement is increased in power and influence.

Next Conference at South Lancaster

At the last meeting of the Conference the question was raised as to where the next session should be held. There was quite a lively competition over the matter, several States being anxious for the privilege of entertaining the delegates. After many propositions, and much discussion, it was finally voted to hold the next session at South Lancaster, Mass.

Continue reading: General Conference Matters