Earlier text: Rooster Feathers as Aigret Plumes

Rosencrans Wrecked Off Oregon Coast

The oil steamer Rosencrans went to pieces on the Astoria rocks off the coast of Oregon on the morning of January 7. Thirty-three lives are reported as lost. Life-savers did all in their power to save those on board, but their devoted efforts saved only three.

Evidence of the Lord’s Coming

Among the mightiest evidences of our Lord's coming are: the tremendous advance of the Papacy; the peace cry and war preparations; the great federation movement; the giving of God's gospel of the kingdom to all the world. There are others; but these are great, clear, and obvious. He who is not keeping pace with the progress of these events, is endangering his own soul.

The Ubiquitous Bible.

Thank God the Bible is going,—the Word of life, and light, and power. For instance, an item from the American Bible Society of New York, under date of December 16, says that 1,575,000 volumes of Scripture were put into circulation in the United States during the year ending March 31, 1912, by the American Bible Society alone. Of this number 1,274,787 volumes were in the English language.

Divine Help in Temptation

When temptations come to us, it is no evidence that God has deserted us, and that all of our surroundings are necessarily evil. More or less darkness accompanies every trial, but it is not total darkness, unless we make it so by rejecting the offers of divine help which the Lord graciously promises us. Christ, in the wilderness, probably endured more severe temptation than ever fell to the lot of mortals. The loneliness of the desert, the rapaciousness of the wild beasts, and the direct presence of Satan himself,— all these things were there. But angels of glory were there also, and, notwithstanding the presence of these other things, their pure companionship and holy influence were ministered to Christ in His hour of need.

Police Protection for New York Vice

What kind of a conception can one have of an officer of the law, sworn to maintain order and protect the people of a city, and yet who will live on the vice of the city, on that which continually degrades and destroys human character? There are 35,000 “disorderly” women in New York City, including girls who took to the life because they could not make a living in shops, so a woman testifies that belongs to the class. “The average price for police protection is $60 a month, but some of the houses pay as high as $1,000 a month.” And some of these houses receive an income of $1,500 on a Saturday night, and these, we are told, “are not the exclusive houses, but the ones that cater to the laboring classes.” A large number of these houses are in a vice trust run by men nearly all foreigners. In one block, the total number of disorderly apartments is more than 700. One of the things that brought out this condition of things, is that the people who are engaged in the business get to quarreling among themselves. A number of keepers of independent apartments got together to fight the trust. They wanted to do business unmolested by the police. They have been molested, not legally, but criminally, on the part of the officers of the law. Think of the condition of twentieth century civilization, when such things as that can exist. It is God’s Word that has told us that the days of Sodom and Gomorrah shall come again, and unquestionably they are here, and will be more and more evident as time goes on.

Alcohol’s Effects on Offspring

The “Journal of the American Medical Association” declares that in actual experiments with guinea-pigs, it has been clearly shown that alcohol affects the offspring through either parent. In nine matings of normal animals in the same group, there were nine living litters of seventeen vigorous individuals, but out of forty-two matings of alcoholized animals never completely intoxicated, but constantly in a chronic state of alcoholism, only seven survived, and five of these were runts. Some were born dead, others died in convulsions at an early age, and in general the deaths of the unhealthy young followed symptoms of nervous disorders. If such is the effect upon the human, and there is no reason to doubt otherwise, it accounts for many of the mentally and physically defective and incapacitated now in existence.

The Old Year and Its Troubles

A striking cartoon in a newspaper, which we would not care to reproduce in all its features, gives a very vivid representation of the old year. The figure is that of a man being jerked off the stage as a bad actor. Somebody has caught a hook around his neck and is lifting him through space. His clothing is torn to rags and labeled: “Crime,” “Bribery,” “Graft,” “High Cost of Living,” “The Turkey Trouble,” “Police Scandal,” “Railway Wrecks,” “High Price of Coal,” “War,” “Divorce,” “Poverty,” “Shortweights,” and “Trusts,” and none of them seem to be misnomers. The fairy incongruity that calls itself 1913, which comes in to take the place of 1912, does not offer any future promise.

Accidental Relief for Rev. Rupert’s Eyesight

A despatch from Oklahoma, December 4, states that “a bit of tin-foil flipped from a rubber band by a child, is responsible for the eyesight of the Rev. G. G. Rupert.” He used hot cloths to alleviate the pain, and the application of heat in this way practically restored his normal vision. Brother Rupert is well known to us, altho we have not heard from him regarding it. If this item is true, we rejoice with him in the little accident which was the means of bringing relief.

Missouri Merchants Seek Sunday Law

The merchants of Springfield, Missouri, agreed to close their stores on Sunday after December 1, and declared that they are determined to get a general Sunday-closing law passed by the state legislature. Retail merchants in St. Louis, Kansas City, and other large cities of the state, are said to be in favor of such a law. Just as if they could not close their stores without a law demanding it!

Railway Dismisses Employees Who Drink

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway Company have made a wise decision, in announcing that any employee convicted of drinking alcoholic liquor will be dismissed; and one official declared that “We will not entrust the lives of our passengers in the hands of a man who drinks even moderately.”

Cold Damages California Orange Crop

The recent cold days in California have greatly damaged the orange crop, to the extent, it is estimated, of from $20,000,000 to $40,000,000. The lower estimate will probably be found from 50 to 70 per cent too high; but even then the loss is great.

Petitions Against a Sunday Law

According to the San Francisco “Examiner,” many petitions have been introduced into the California Legislature against a Sunday law. More of this later.

Forgive Those Who Wrong You

If some one wrongs you, pity not yourself, but him who did the wrong. Christ did. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Wilson Has Not Chosen Cabinet

Later news declares that President-elect Wilson has as yet chosen no members of his Cabinet.

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