Your ShelfYour Projects

Signs of the Times, Vol. 42, No. 30.

MRS. E. G. WHITE MEMORIAL NUMBER
Earlier text: The Church of the Living God

Gossip Mongers at Their Trade

By Mary Alice Hare Loper, M. S.

They Work on a Very Low Level—They Cultivate Mental Cheapness—Their Destructive Influence in the Home, Especially upon the Children
By MARY ALICE HARE LOPER, M. S.
HAVE you an individual in your neighborhood whom you have heard styled "a regular gossip"? If so, you doubtless are familiar with the reason for the application of the epithet, and can vouch for the unpleasant experiences suffered by others as the result of such a busy but useless life.

AS OLD AS SIN

The tendency to gossip is as old as sin itself, and has lost none of its virulence through all the ages. Old Testament writers, as well as those of the New Testament, were well acquainted with the results of this besetting sin. Job, David, Solomon, Paul, Timothy, and James have written very emphatically against evil speaking, and in many places in the Bible it is pointed out as worthy of special condemnation.
Gossip is not confined to the criminal classes, where it fittingly belongs, but is so widespread that it is found even among church members. In fact, even the modern benevolent and social societies of the church have sometimes been termed gossip societies, and perhaps not without some shadow of reason.
There were gossipers among the high-church people of Jerusalem in the time of Christ. The spirit manifested by the scribes and the Pharisees when they told Jesus that a certain woman had done thus and so, and that according to the law of Moses she should be put to death, was the real gossip spirit, which finds expression in the words, "I am holier than thou."
Jesus forever placed the ban upon the great sin of gossip when He said to those scribes and Pharisees, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." This is what Jesus says to every one who is the target of the gossiper to-day.

SEPARATES CHIEF FRIENDS

I once heard the significant statement made that "more harm is done by gossip than by any other one cause." It is sly, deceitful, treacherous. It disintegrates the most sacred human ties. It separates husbands and wives, it alienates children, it estranges friends. It revives old neighborhood feuds, and fans the dying embers of all sorts of infelicities. Truly, "a whisperer separateth chief friends."
Gossip, like a rolling snowball, has a tendency to enlarge. Those who delight to "keep the ball rolling" are usually glib talkers but shallow thinkers. One energetic gossip in a church can alienate brethren and sisters, and bring in a spirit of disunion that means death to spirituality. Such an individual will talk to you about others, if you will permit it, and then will go to others and talk about you. As Timothy says, "Withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not."

ATTEND TO YOUR OWN AFFAIRS

The typical gossip peddles others' family affairs which never should be known to the public, attributing as the cause of personal acts, motives which may be wholly visionary. Peter says, "Let none of you suffer . . . as a busybody in other men's matters." In other words, Attend to your own affairs, and let others' alone. The great Creator has given to every one a definite work, sufficient to employ his time till the close of life, with no vacations for indulging in sin. Therefore it is very necessary to follow Peter's instruction if one would finish his life work.
Gossip is decidedly repulsive to one who maintains a Christlike interest in humanity.
Jesus forever placed the ban upon gossip when he said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
Jesus forever placed the ban upon gossip when he said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
He does not enjoy listening to adverse criticism of others. "To err is human; to forgive [and forget], divine." Every one of us poor mortals makes mistakes; and it does not help any one overcome, to have his mistakes paraded before the public. Gossip is cruel. It overlooks the good in an individual, and enlarges upon real or imaginary evil, until one might well exclaim, "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" It attacks without mercy, and often without cause, affording indisputable evidence that "the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, . . . and it is set on fire of hell." The tongue is savage in its nature. Without divine help, man cannot gain control over it. It is "an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." Only the Judgment day will reveal how many have gone to untimely graves as the result of evil words.

REBUKE THEM BY SILENCE

It is a sinful waste of time to encourage scandalmongers in their iniquitous career. Jesus set us an example to follow when confronted by gossipers. He acted "as though He heard them not." When a tattler comes in search of news, it is well to preserve a golden silence. "The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness." He plies with questions in order to gain information that he may go and tell some one else. He delights in tattling to one person what another says about him, while perhaps posing as a friend to both. "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge." James 4: 11. Paul tells us that only "the doers of the law shall be justified." Rom. 2: 13. And Matthew says, "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

LIVE ABOVE THE FOG OF GOSSIP

When tempted to gossip, it would be well to remember the words of Christ, "Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," is the divine law which eliminates all gossip from the program of everyday life. He who follows this law lives to serve humanity, in whatever capacity it is his privilege to help. Optimistic in his tendencies, he looks for the good in others, and is not disappointed. He lives so far above the foggy atmosphere of gossip, that it does not affect him; while the cynical, faultfinding tattler scarcely sees a ray of philanthropic sunshine from one year's end to another. He is so accustomed to evil criticism that we might easily imagine him thinking of his very best friend, "Everybody is queer but thee and me, and I sometimes think thee is a little queer too."
The home where gossip reigns — what an undesirable habitation! The child who is reared in its contaminated atmosphere is deserving of pity. He becomes so accustomed to the foul odors of adverse comments, and the death damp of faultfinding, that he learns to look for the bad in everybody, and to consider himself about the only sample of human clay that is above criticism. He hears from babyhood that the minister is faulty, that the church members are not what they pretend to be, and that it is well to be suspicious of one's neighbors and of humanity in general, for there is no telling when they may overstep the bounds of propriety. Such a child learns to imitate his parents in thinking along cheap lines, and in acting out cheap thoughts.

CHEAP THINKING

Cheap thinking is one of the worst habits an individual can form. One never rises higher than his thoughts, and he can assist no one else to rise higher than himself. Parents who gossip before their children, would do well to remember that they are setting the standard of their children's ideals, and perhaps deciding their failure in life. It is a shame that a child's possibilities for success should be besmirched with the mildew of gossip — words which he should never hear, and which are unfit for repetition.
Children are the echo of the home, and their harmonious or discordant tones heard along the path of life reveal the realm of thought to which they have been accustomed. A child's words disclose whether his heart is pure or impure; "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

THE RIGHT TO GOOD REARING

It is the right of every child to be well reared as well as well born. He should not be compelled to become accustomed to intellectual poison any more than to physical poison. It requires but little of the latter to constitute a fatal dose. Let us not presume too much upon the ability of the child mentally to resist the former. It is a deplorable thing to become a victim of the drug habit. It is no less deplorable to become a victim of mental poisoning. The child who is fed upon gossip enjoys companionships that are not elevating. He has his taste formed for conversational trash, and will choose society that is of an injurious character. Thus his whole life will receive the wrong bent, and he is likely never to accomplish his divinely appointed mission. It is best to speak that which is good, or to remain silent.
We hear very much said about the temperance pledge, and surely it is a means of accomplishing good for humanity. But Bible temperance—"temperate in all things"—includes temperance in the use of words. If every one would sign a pledge not to gossip, and then live up to it, what a different world this would be! In this respect, it would surely afford a foretaste of heaven.
"There is so much good in the worst of us, And so much bad in the best of us, That it hardly behooves any of us To talk about the rest of us."

Beautiful California Home for Sale

By M. B. Drake

New five-room, modern, stucco-finish bungalow, with sleeping porch and cellar. Also garage. Surrounded by variety of bearing fruit trees, lawn, and hedge, on one third acre of rich land. In fast-growing part of Mountain View, near church, church school, and Pacific Press. Photo on request. $1,400 cash, balance terms. M. B. DRAKE, Mountain View, California.

The Three Best Ways to and from California

The Overland Route via Ogden

The Overland Limited Extra Fare Train The Pacific Limited The San Francisco Express
All Making Less than Three Days to CHICAGO

"The Sunset Route"

Via the Elegant Sunset Limited Three Days to New Orleans Connecting with Palatial Southern Pacific Steamers, or Trains for the East

"The Shasta Route"

Through the beautiful Shasta Region, through Portland and the North All protected throughout with automatic block signals. Inquire of any agent, or
C. S. Fee, Passenger Traffic Manager Flood Building, San Francisco

SOUTHERN PACIFIC

Mrs. White's Works

By Editor

13,351 Pages

In addition to the long list of articles furnished our various periodicals throughout the world, as well as books, tracts, and pamphlets on special issues which have gone out of print, Mrs. Ellen G. White has written the following standard works, which have been translated into numerous foreign languages:

BOOKS — 12,991 Pages

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 630 pages. English, German, Swedish; cloth, $1.50; leather, $2.00.
CAPTIVITY AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL, about 600 pages. In manuscript form.
CHRIST'S OBJECT LESSONS, 436 pages. English, Danish, French, German, Swedish; cloth, $1.25.
CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR, 183 pages. English, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, German, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish; cloth, 75 cents; $1.25 in Portuguese.
COUNSELS TO TEACHERS, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS, 574 pages. English; cloth, $1.00; leather, $1.50.
DESIRE OF AGES, 860 pages. English; cloth, $3.00; half leather, $4.50.
EARLY WRITINGS, 316 pages. English, Danish, German; cloth, 75 cents; $1.25 in Danish.
EDUCATION, 321 pages. English, German; cloth, $1.25.
GOSPEL WORKERS, about 500 pages. English; cloth, $1.00; leather, $1.50.
GREAT CONTROVERSY BETWEEN CHRIST AND SATAN, 718 pages. English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Spanish, Swedish; cloth, $3.00; half leather, $4.00.
LIFE OF CHRIST, 624 pages. French, Danish, Swedish; cloth, $1.75.
LIFE SKETCHES OF ELLEN G. WHITE, about 500 pages. English, German; cloth, $1.00; leather, $1.50.
MANUAL FOR CANVASSERS, 78 pages. English, Spanish; leather, 25 cents.
MINISTRY OF HEALING, 541 pages. English, Danish, Finnish, German, Swedish; cloth, $1.50.
PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS, 793 pages. English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Swedish; cloth, $3.00; half leather, $4.00.
STEPS TO CHRIST, 144 pages. English, Armenian, Bohemian, Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Esthonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Lettish, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Roumanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Spanish, Swedish, Welsh, Wendish; cloth, 75 cents; $1.00 in Portuguese.
TESTIMONIES FOR THE CHURCH, 4,955 pages, 9 volumes. English, nine volumes, cloth, $8.25; leather, $12.75. Selections in Dutch, French, German, and Swedish.
THOUGHTS FROM THE MOUNT OF BLESSING, 218 pages. English, Esthonian, Finnish, German; cloth, 75 cents.

PAMPHLETS — 256 Pages

Sowing Beside All Waters, 80 pages ...$ .05 Jehovah Is Our King, 48 pages ... .05 The Madison School, 32 pages ... .05 The Paradise Valley Sanitarium, 16 pages .05 Unwise Use of Money, 40 pages ... .05 The Spirit of Sacrifice, 40 pages ... .05

TRACTS — 104 Pages

A.G.L. 2 The Christian's Privilege, 8 pages ... .00½ A.G.L. 90 Home Missionary Work, 16 pages ... .01 B.S.L. 14 Sufferings of Christ, 32 pages .02 B.S.L. 105 The Way to Christ, 16 pages .01 B.S.L. 146 Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, 16 pages ... .01 B.S.L. 196 Drunkenness and Crime, 16 pages ... .01
These publications may be ordered from or seen at our various depositories.

PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSN.

13 GOOD REASONS

By Editor

why you should get a copy of the Signs of the Times Magazine for August
Enlightenment Our Empty Boast
Spiritualism Foretold in Prophecy
Providential Agencies for a Quick Work in This Generation
Christ's Prophecy, Distress of Nations
Breathing War and Strife
Man Destined for Immortality
Wars Foretold in Prophecy
No Bible Support for Sunday
The Clock of the Universe Mark-ing His Unmeasured Ages
Avoiding Moral Shipwreck
Christ's Sabbath Observance
Knowledge Shall Be Increased
What Is Divine Healing?

13 Good Reasons

why you should circulate the magazine among your friends and neighbors.
Hundreds of matured, responsible men and women sell it every month. Some good, bright boys and girls do well. Other agents wanted. Little capital required; immediate cash returns. "Helps" furnished beginners upon application. If interested, write to or order of our representative in your state.

PRICES

Yearly subscription, $1.00; 6 months, 50c. 5 to 40 copies of any one number, 5c each; 50 or more, 4c each.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES MAGAZINE Mountain View, California

SANITARIUM COOKING OIL

"The Oil of Quality"
Pure Cotton Seed Oil direct from refinery. Sweet, wholesome, and delicious.
4 1-gallon cans, $3.40; 5-gallon can, $3.75; 2 5-gallon cans, $7.40; 30-gallon bbl., $18.90; 50-gallon bbl., $30.75.
Cash with order. Sanitarium Cooking Oil Company, Louisville, Kentucky.

It's a Comfortable Trip to Sacramento

Through Cool and Shady Canyons

Fast Electric Trains Make the Trip Shorter

Transcontinental Scrip Honored

Oakland, Antioch & Eastern Railway

San Francisco Depot, Key Route Ferry

Dark Valley Railroad Folder

By Editor

A powerful 8-page temperance document. Printed in two colors, in the form and appearance of a railroad time-table, with names of stations, time of trains, and map of the route. Begins at Cigaretteville and ends at Perdition. $1.50 a hundred, postpaid. Address our depository in your state or
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION Mountain View, California

Suggestions for Circulating Tracts

Millions of tracts have been circulated by various means.
Results, seen and unseen, are beyond computation.
“PLACE THEM IN READING RACKS”
“PLACE THEM IN READING RACKS”
Experienced tract distributors approve of the following methods:

Reading Racks

People waiting for trains at railway stations, at public buildings, or at your place of business, are usually glad to get hold of something to read. It has been observed that those who take the tracts do not destroy them, but as a rule carry them off for further reading and study. Let us "sow beside all waters."

Correspondence

Almost every one writes letters. Why not have a selected assortment of tracts to cover the needs of friends and business acquaintances? Without extra cost for postage, you can inclose an eight-page or sixteen-page Apples of Gold Library tract with your letter. The Lord may be impressing a mind at the very time your letter is received. Consider the amount of good you can do by this means in a single year.

Personal Touch

By many, this is regarded as the most effective means; for the tactful distributor, by the use of well chosen words, can create a desire to read.
Have the tracts with you at all times. Hand them to business men, to fellow passengers on cars, or to any others, as opportunity may afford. God has said that His word shall not return to Him void.

Buy Tracts by the Package

$5.00 package Practically wholesale. $7.00 worth for $5.00. Price so low, transportation cannot be prepaid. 775 tracts on 25 different subjects — 10,400 pages, with printed envelopes.
$1.00 package Ideal assortment for individual use. 98 selected tracts on 8 different subjects. Over 7,000 packages sold. In German, Danish, and Swedish also. Price postpaid.
25c package Four of them in English,— No. 1, Miscellaneous; No. 2, Prophecy and the Coming of the Lord; No. 3, The Sabbath and the Law; No. 4, Temperance. 400 pages in each package. Postpaid.
Order of our representative in your state. See list on this page.
Pacific Press Publishing Assn. Mountain View, Cal.

Life Sketches of Ellen G. White

By Editor

In the first 245 pages of this forthcoming book, Mrs. White gives a brief story of her childhood days, her conversion, and her early Christian life, and thrilling experiences in connection with the great second advent movement of 1840-1844. She tells, in a vivid way, the sorrows and joys of her youthful ministry in the years that followed the disappointment which came to those in the 1844 movement.
Following that is the narrative of her more extended travels and labors in connection with her husband, Elder James White, up to his death in 1881.
From that time, the relation of her life story is taken up by C. C. Crisler, who, with the assistance of W. C. White and D. E. Robinson, has completed the sketch, which includes an account of her last sickness, and the funeral services held in California and Michigan.
The book will contain about 500 pages, and will be ready in about two weeks.
Cloth . . . . . . . . $1.00 Limp leather. . 1.50
Prices 10% higher in Canada.
Order from our representative in your state. See list in next column.
Pacific Press Publishing Assn. Mountain View, California

WELCOME

By Editor

You may not see it, but you will find it at

Our Exhibit

at the

Panama-Pacific Exposition

You will also find much of interest—
Books, periodicals, and tracts in many of the 88 languages in which our denominational literature is printed.
Easy-chairs to rest your weary bodies. A large electrically driven revolving globe, representing the world, and showing by colored lights the location of our foreign mission headquarters, publishing houses, sanitariums, and educational institutions.
Bear us in mind when you visit the exposition. Located in Machinery Hall.

Our Representatives

By Editor

UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN

Alabama Tract Society, Room 316, Lyric Building, Birmingham, Ala. Alberta Tract Society, Lacombe, Alberta, Can. Arizona Tract Society, 417 West Fifth St., Los Angeles, Cal. Arkansas Tract Society, 37 E. South St., Fayetteville, Ark. British Columbia Tract Society, 1708 Maple St., Vancouver, B. C., Canada. California Bible House, 537 25th St., Oakland, Cal. California-Nevada Missionary Society, 341 E. Lodi Ave., Lodi, Cal. California Tract Society, Northwestern, 537 25th St., Oakland, California. California Tract Society, Southeastern, 417 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, Cal. California Tract Society, Southern, 417 W. 5th St., Los Angeles, Cal. Central California Bible House, Box 1304, Fresno, Cal. Chesapeake Tract Society, 1611 Tenth St., Baltimore, Md. Colorado Tract Society, Eastern, 1112 Kalamath St., Denver, Colo. Colorado Tract Society, Western, 122 So. 8th St., Grand Junction, Colo. Connecticut (See New England, Southern). Cumberland Tract Society (Eastern Tennessee), Graysville, Tenn. District of Columbia Tract Society, 708 McLachlen Bldg., Washington, D. C. Florida Tract Society, Room 11, Yowell-Duckworth Block, Orlando, Fla. Georgia Tract Society, 169 Bryan St., Atlanta, Ga. Greater New York Tract Society (See New York). Hawaiian Tract Society, 767 Kinau St., Honolulu, H. T. Idaho, Northern (See Upper Columbia Tract Society). Idaho Tract Society, Southern, Room 327 Sonna Building, Boise, Idaho. Illinois Tract Society, Northern, 3645 Ogden Ave., Hawthorne Sta., Chicago, Ill. Illinois Tract Society, Southern, 304 W. Allen St., Springfield, Ill. Indiana Tract Society, 521 E. 23d St., Indianapolis, Ind. Iowa Tract Society, Nevada, Iowa. Kansas Tract Society, Room 615 Butts Bldg., cor. First St. and Lawrence Ave., Wichita, Kan. Kentucky Tract Society, Box 398, Nicholasville, Ky. Louisiana Tract Society, 810 Jackson Ave., New Orleans, La. Maine Tract Society, 75 Grant St., Portland, Me. Manitoba Tract Society, 290 Bannerman Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Maritime Tract Society, Can. Pub. Assn., Oshawa, Ont., Canada. Maryland (See Chesapeake Tract Society). Massachusetts Tract Society, 607 Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass. Michigan Tract Society, East, 426 Trumbull Ave., Detroit, Mich. Michigan Tract Society, North, 510 Petoskey St., Petoskey, Mich. Michigan Tract Society, West, 1214 Madison Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich. Minnesota Tract Society, 336 East Lake St., Minneapolis, Minn. Mississippi Tract Society, 932 Union St., Jackson, Miss. Missouri Tract Society, 203 W. Franklin St., Clinton, Mo. Montana Tract Society, 411 S. Black Ave., Bozeman, Mont. Nebraska Bible Supply House, 905 N. California Ave., Hastings, Neb. Nevada (See California-Nevada Missionary Society). New England Tract Society, Northern, 136 N. Main St., Concord, N. H. New England Tract Society, Southern (Rhode Island and Connecticut), 51 Whitmore St., Hartford, Conn. Newfoundland Tract Society, Box 217, St. Johns, Newfoundland. New Hampshire (See Northern New England). New Jersey Tract Society, 200 Columbus Ave., Trenton, N. J. New Mexico Tract Society, Box 286, Albuquerque, New Mexico. New York Tract Society (Greater), Room 902, 32 Union Square, New York, N. Y. New York Tract Society, Eastern, 317 W. Bloomfield St., Rome, N. Y. New York Tract Society, Western, 527 Garson Ave., Rochester, N. Y. North Carolina Tract Society, 234 Summit Ave., Greensboro, N. C. North Dakota Tract Society, Drawer N, Jamestown, N. Dak. Ohio Tract Society, Box 8, Mount Vernon, Ohio. Oklahoma Tract Society, P. O. Box 644, Oklahoma City, Okla. Ontario Tract Society, Box 308, Oshawa, Ont., Canada. Oregon Missionary Society, Western, 509 E. Everett St., Portland, Ore. Oregon Missionary Society, Southern, 1164 Military St., Roseburg, Ore. Pennsylvania Tract Society, Eastern, 4910 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. Pennsylvania Tract Society, Western, 7155 Mt. Vernon St., Pittsburgh, Pa. Rhode Island (See New England, Southern). Saskatchewan Tract Society, Box 244, Regina, Sask., Can. South Carolina Tract Society, 1208 Calhoun St., Columbia, S. C. South Dakota Tract Society, Drawer R, Redfield, S. Dak. Tennessee, Eastern (See Cumberland Tract Society). Tennessee River Tract Society (Western Tennessee), 509 Cole Bldg., Nashville, Tenn. Texas Tract Society, North, Box 15, Keene, Texas. Texas Tract Society, South, Box 755, San Antonio, Texas. Texas Tract Society, West, Amarillo, Texas. Upper Columbia Tract Society, College Place, Wash. Utah Tract and Bible Society, 776 E. 6th South, Salt Lake City, Utah. Vermont (See Northern New England). Virginia Tract Society, 2705 W. Main St., Richmond, Va. Washington Missionary Society, Western, 228 S. Brannan St., Auburn, Wash. West Virginia Tract Society, 124 Marion St., Fairmont, W. Va. Wisconsin Tract Society, Box 57, Grand Rapids, Wis. Wyoming Tract Society, Crawford, Neb.
Above is a list of our authorized agencies and depositories, and we invite you to communicate with them if you wish to secure any books or periodicals advertised in this journal.

Killed and Wounded in the War

By Editor

THE International News Service has compiled the statistics of the admitted losses, in killed and wounded, by nine of the leading nations involved in Europe's war,— France, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Servia, Turkey, and Japan. The total number killed is 2,228,300, and the wounded are 4,836,190, or a total in killed and wounded of 7,064,490.
It is perfectly safe to say that the actual losses are very much in excess of these official statistics, which have to do only with the men who have enlisted in the army. There are multiplied thousands of civilians, both men and women, who have lost their lives through the war; and when the totals of these are all brought together, they will present some of the most appalling figures of destruction that this world knows anything about.
Our civilization in this time is largely a sham. There are many people to-day, it is true, who are as highly civilized as any who have ever lived; there are, without much question, some of the best men and women living to-day that any generation has ever produced. But while affirming these important facts, it is nevertheless true that the barbarism of this time is the worst that the world has ever known. The appalling facts all about us stubbornly force this conclusion upon us.
Men for the past generation, like parrots, have been learning to say that the world is growing better; but God's word has clearly told us, all the time, that the world was getting worse and worse. The facts and God's word are in harmony. The parrot phrases telling of a world growing better are a fatal delusion.

Calamity and the Blessed Hope

By Editor

FROM eighty thousand to one hundred thousand lives are said to have been lost in the recent floods in the vicinity of Canton, China. Our correspondents in that section will doubtless soon give us a description of the scenes both by photograph and by pen. Storm and flood in every part of this world have come to be terrible problems; but if we know the blessed hope, and understand what these mean, we are not terrified by them. Do you know the personal experience of standing in the presence of great calamities and yet knowing no fear? God's word promises just that thing, and God's promises are literal realities for all who will appropriate them.

"Amusement Mad"

MRS. MARY A. TEATS, of Chicago, in addressing the Purity Congress assembled at the Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, a few days ago, said:
"The American home is passing, because women are amusement mad, and the home is just a place where we eat, sleep, and change our clothes. Feeding the babies candy, circus lemonade, chewing gum, and teaching children the theater habit, together with the deadly sins of indulgence in liquor, cocoa, tea, and cigarettes, are slowly destroying the American home."
People who are not blinded to facts recognize that the world is crazed by the pursuit of pleasure. As expressed by Mrs. Teats, it is "amusement mad." The "theater habit" is formed in the very infancy of most children; and running after pleasure, to the neglect of home and the many other useful things of life, is characteristic of the age. If we will stop long enough to reflect seriously, we may recognize this, just as thousands of good men and women are recognizing it; but how many of us realize that through the inspiration of prophecy, the apostle Paul has predicted, with unmistakable plainness, that one of the things that will make the last days perilous is that the people will be lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God?
With the pleasure mania of the age before the mind, did you ever carefully study the first part of the third chapter of 2 Timothy? This one thing, taken by itself, would not be sufficient to cause us to know that we are in the last days; but when the multitude of prophecies that God's word contains are brought together, we see evidence that is overwhelming, and it is a unit in telling us that the mad follies of this time will soon meet their destruction in the great day of the Lord.

Apprehension of General Pestilence

CURRENT OPINION says: "Europe has been, from a sanitary point of view, polluted. The statement is made in one form or another by almost every medical journal abroad. The danger of epidemic disease is described by an expert in the London Times as 'very actual,' and the precautions which can be taken to provide safeguards against the menace are necessarily restricted by the prevalence of a general war."
Pestilence is one of the almost certain accompaniments of great slaughter. Hundreds of thousands of bodies have but a shallow covering of earth in the great war theaters of both eastern and western Europe.
August and the first part of September, unless unusual precautions can be taken, are liable to result in as great disasters from pestilence as have attended the war itself. This pestilence, if it comes, will bring as much suffering and death to the civilian population as to the army, and possibly more.
What a terrible thing this war is! Yet it is not Armageddon. How earnestly should every true-hearted Christian on earth breathe the prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." His coming is the only hope that can be offered in this world.

A. J. S. Bourdeau Stricken by Lightning

By Editor

THE hearts of all the workers in this office have been made sad by the receipt of the following telegram from Elder A. G. Daniells, dated at Washington, D. C., July 19:
"Augustin Bourdeau and Edward Andrews, second son of Charlie Andrews, were killed by lightning to-day under a tree in front of my office. Brother Bourdeau's little girl was thrown to the ground but not killed. She may recover."
For a number of years, Brother Bourdeau was connected with our work on the Pacific coast in a leading capacity. Later he returned to the East, engaging himself with the Review and Herald Publishing Company, where he labored with earnestness and success until a few months ago, when he accepted a call to stand at the head of the English Department of our school at South Lancaster, Massachusetts. He was talented, and had a well-trained mind, and a sincere, deep, Christian purpose.
In Brother Bourdeau this cause loses a most valuable laborer in the very prime of his life of usefulness. He was widely known, and his wife and three little children will have the warmest sympathy from all connected with the cause that Brother Bourdeau served so faithfully and well.
A later dispatch states that Brother Bourdeau's funeral was held in Takoma Park, Washington, July 21, at 2:00 P. M.
Edward Andrews is a young grandson of the late J. N. Andrews, who was one of the pioneers in this movement.
Continue reading: Bankrupting the World