Earlier text: A Prayer for RemembranceONE vital need of the church to-day, according to the Christian Observer of Sept. 11, 1912, is a sane Sabbath. Quoting an exchange, it contrasts the present insipid manner in which Sunday is observed in the average family with the Puritanic strictness with which it was regarded some years ago. While it feels that the Puritan Sunday may have been a mistake in that it filled the children’s minds with a distaste for religion, it feels that the modern Sunday is a gigantic blunder. It adds: “We must get back to the old-fashioned idea of a day of rest and reverence. These things are vital to our welfare. We need a Sabbath that brings peace.” We commend to the Observer and to all our brethren who are observers of the Sunday sabbath the good old Sabbath of the Lord, which has descended to us from the days of man’s innocency in the garden of Eden. If this institution were given its proper place in the teaching and regard of the Christian ministry to-day, we believe it would do much to check the spirit of irreverence and indifference to sacred things which is so strongly possessing the minds of men at the present time. For the observance of the first day of the week no appeal can be made to the moral sense or conscientious convictions of the child of God. The observance of this day has no warrant in the Scriptures of truth. It stands as an interloper, as a counterfeiter, as a usurper of the true Sabbath of Jehovah. Because there is no warrant for its observance is the reason why many to-day are appealing to the arm of civil law rather than to the Word of the Lord in seeking to bring about its more careful observance. Let us ask for the old paths. Let us “get back to the old-fashioned idea of a day of rest and reverence.” Truly “these things are vital to our welfare. We need a Sabbath that brings peace.” This we can find only in the Sabbath the Lord made for man. Religious Apathy and the Reason for It
By C. M. S.
SOME TIME AGO THERE WAS PROPOUNDED BY A PROMINENT AND WIDELY READ MAGAZINE THIS QUESTION: “What books have had the greatest influence upon the thought of the nineteenth century?” Answers were published from G. Stanley Hall, president of Clark University; W. DeWitt Hyde, president of Bowdoin College; Arthur T. Hadley, president of Yale University; Henry van Dyke, professor of English literature at Princeton; Edward Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and James Bryce,—all men who are thoroughly conversant with the literature of the day, and who aim to be familiar with the prevailing thought of the people. Each of the above named submitted a list of ten books which he considered had “had the greatest influence upon the thought of the nineteenth century.” It is a singular fact that, while each of these names books that are not named by the others, yet there is one book that they all agree must have a place among the ten. That book is the one which is the chief exponent of the evolution theory, the theory of man’s descent from the lower animals. These men are not giving a list of what they consider the greatest books of the century, but a list of the books that have had the greatest influence upon the thought of the people of this century. Viewed in this light, their answers are significant indeed; and their unanimous decision in reference to that book is startling, to say the least. The influence which the learned theorist who wrote that book is exerting upon the people can not be estimated, but it is eating like a cancer into the religious life of the people of this generation. A careful and prayerful study of the Word of God, and a real experience in Christian life, would have armed the people against this insidious, undermining foe; but the people have neglected that armor, have neglected the study of the Word, held their Christian experience too lightly, allowed themselves to be lulled to sleep with pleasant words; and when this foe came in with its subtle insinuations, they were prepared to receive it as a friend. At first they imagined that they could in some way hold to the theory of evolution and still be Christians, still believe the Bible. Thus disarmed, the enemy soon had them at his mercy, and they forsook the divine truth for the human theory, the temple of God for the slough of doubt. Unfamiliar with the use of that shield which would have quenched all the fiery darts of the enemy, they were vulnerable at every vital point. Doubt robbed them of the quickening power of a real Christian experience, and then merged into actual disbelief; and disbelief of God’s own account of the origin of life in the earth, set the muck-rakes of God’s accusers at work for the secret of life in the protoplasm and the ameba, and so developed that human invention the “missing link.” The propounding of great questions to which they could discover no answer, the discovery of phenomena which they could not explain, and the building of a false theory upon their unanswered problems and unexplained phenomena,—this was labeled “Science,” and familiarity with it was made a requisite of scholarship. Then, by this class, ministers of the gospel were held to be behind the times8 unless they could disbelieve God because they were not able to fathom all his secrets. It became “fashionable” to be an evolution theorist; it became “out of style” to have explicit confidence in God’s Word; and the fashionable pastor of the fashionable church yielded to the influence of his fashionable members, and “set the style” for many another whose foothold upon the Rock was already insecure. This is no fanciful linking of events in the popular drift toward clerical infidelity. It is the sorrowful setting forth of what has actually taken place, and is taking place now, in all parts of the country. The church is in the wilderness of her great temptation. In too many cases she is yielding to Satan’s suggestion, and is trying to get the bread of life out of the stones of the desert. She breaks them open, finds a fossil, and discovers (?) that her Master’s record of creation is untrue. Eve found out in that same way that she could not die. Eve’s descendants are reaping now the sad fruit of her wonderful discovery. God told man in Eden, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Satan scoffed, and Eve doubted. God has told man the secret of his existence. Satan has scoffed again, and the fashionable church is doubting, and logical doubters are growing cold in church attendance. Here is one of the chief secrets of the empty pew, the dry sermon, and the decay of spirituality in the churches; and that decay will increase, and the number of empty pews will increase, just in proportion as the theory of evolution supplants the truths of God’s Word in the minds and hearts of those who have called themselves Christians. It is the logical and inevitable outworking of such a program. Evolution deals in fossils. The starfish forces open the shells of the mollusk, sucks out the life, and leaves the empty shell to fill with mud and form a fossil. That is what evolution is trying to do with Christianity. With many individual members of churches it is succeeding. They have been robbed of Christian life, spiritual vitality, and all they have left is the dead, fossilized form of what they once had been. The man who has ceased to believe God’s Word can not be expected to put zeal and whole-heartedness into the worship of the One who indited that Word. The true believer expects to meet God in the place dedicated to his worship; but what incentive has the logical doubter for attendance at such a place? What incentive, then, has the evolutionist for attendance there? What heart has the “spiritual adviser” in his own spiritual advice, when he is fostering and propagating a theory which is diametrically opposed to the truths of God’s Word? Satan planned his masterpiece of deception for this last generation upon the earth, and we are in that generation. In this thing, he has struck at the very root of true religion, belief in God’s Word, and thousands of casual, careless Christians are caught by the deception. We are told that they are men of the brightest minds; but they are minds which have submitted to the leading of God’s enemy—minds which are naturally bright, but which have given more attention to strange philosophies than to the truths of the religion which they professed. Therefore they became narrow toward God and broad toward every species of doubt and unbelief. Satan had a bright mind; but it did not insure for him loveliness of character, or truth or loyalty to the government of God. But there will be those who will stand fast in the midst of this devastating flood, whose anchor will never drag, however turbulent the sea. These are they who have made a daily, thorough, prayerful study of God’s Holy Word, who have yielded to the leadings of God’s Holy Spirit, and have learned to feel and know their acceptance with him. “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind.” “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.” The brightest minds of the world are dull when compared with that of the fallen “covering cherub,” and, consequently, unable alone to cope with his deceptions; but the mind that is fully submitted to the will of God has a shield which that enemy can never pierce. Through lack of that submission, thousands will go down to destruction; but the protection which such submission gives is within the grasp of the humblest soul upon the earth. It is said that Henry Ward Beecher prayed not only for those who were absent from the church service on beds of sickness, but particularly for those who were absent “on chairs of wellness.” Indeed, it is this latter class who are in the greater need of prayer. There are many persons, and we would by no means exclude some Seventh-day Adventists, who are afflicted with periodical Sabbath sickness. They are abundantly able to carry on their labors of the week up to the very beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening. They appear well able to begin their duties early Sunday morning, and oftentimes at the sunset hour Saturday evening, but for some unaccountable reason they are quite incapacitated during the hours of the holy day. They are unable to attend church, or if they do manage to reach the service, they make the occasion one for physical sleep and rest. This class particularly need the prayers of God’s people even above those who are kept away from the Lord’s house by actual physical disability. While the Sabbath of the Lord was given man as a day for physical rest, it was likewise given as a day for spiritual refreshing; and if he enjoys the one without improving the other, he misses the great purpose of God in the establishment of this institution. To the shut-ins and to those who in consequence of physical disability are kept from meeting with their brethren and sisters, our hearts go out in the fullest sympathy. We should seek to bring into their lives as far as possible sunshine and joy and blessing. But as well let us remember the more needy class who absent themselves through indifference and spiritual indolence, who remain at home on “chairs of wellness.” Celebrating the Four Hundredth Anniversary of Protestantism
By F. M. W.
In just five years (1917) we shall reach the four hundredth anniversary of perhaps the most significant event in the rise of Protestantism. Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed to the door of the Wittenberg church his ninety-five famous theses, or propositions, condemning the doctrines and practises of the Church of Rome. That act on his part, above any that went before it and perhaps even more than those which followed after, marked his separation from the mother church. It would be fitting indeed for the Protestant churches of the world to observe this anniversary. Some there are who could enter wholeheartedly into it, thankful indeed for the liberties and privileges that have come to the world through the noble stand, under God, which this defender of the faith took for Bible truth. It is to be regretted, however, that many so-called Protestants have so far departed from the principles of this great Reformer as to consider his efforts an unwise innovation, and his work a failure, regarding him rather as a disturber of the peace and quiet of Christendom than as one raised up of God to sound a warning cry against the doctrines and superstitions of an indifferent and deluded church. The preparation which the Protestants of America have been making for the celebration of this anniversary is pointedly stated by Luther Hess Waring, Ph. D., in his Washington Letter, published in the Lutheran Church Work of June 27, 1912:— The four hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of the ninety-five theses on the castle church door at Wittenberg is but five years off. Our people, our government, and our present administration are making preparations to celebrate it; but they are strange, suggestive preparations. Here are some of them:—
1. We have in this national capital an annual Pan-American Thanksgiving mass held in one of the most prominent Roman Catholic churches of this city, attended by the President of the United States and members of his Cabinet.
2. A military memorial field mass was held here last year, attended by the President of the United States, Cardinal Gibbons, and a great concourse of people; and as I write, arrangements are announced for another one to be held Sunday, June 9, on the Monument grounds south of the White House, when President and Cardinal will again be the center of a huge throng.
3. Here in the capital city we have a juvenile court, almost every officer of which is a pronounced Roman Catholic. This court has gone so far as to judicially order infants before it to be baptized into the Roman Catholic faith, and girls, Protestant as well as Catholic, have been committed by it to Roman Catholic institutions.
4. We now have, resident in Washington, a papal or apostolic delegate from the Pope of Rome to the United States, who is entrusted with the duty of seeing that the laws enacted in this country are to the liking of “His Holiness the Pope” and to the interest of the Roman Catholic Church.
5. Every cardinal as a “prince of the blood” demands official and social recognition next to the President of the United States; that is, above the Vice-President, the United States Supreme Court Justices, governors of States, and the representatives of all the civil governments of the world.
6. An effort is on foot to introduce, if possible, by act of Congress, a national holiday to be known as Columbus day, which would practically establish a Roman Catholic Saints’ day.9
7. Since the present chief executive entered office, nine out of nineteen army chaplains appointed were Roman Catholics. But two such appointments were made during the past year, and both of these appointees were Roman Catholics.
8. The Roman Catholic catechism is taught to-day in virtually every public-school building in the Philippine Islands under the jurisdiction of the United States; but Protestant teachers there are forbidden to teach their religion either in school or out of it.
9. The Roman Catholic Church refuses to recognize marriages between Roman Catholics and Protestants when performed by a Protestant minister, and declares them null and void, reckoning the offspring of all such unions illegitimate. The German emperor William II refused to allow this so-called Ne temere decree to be published or proclaimed in his dominions, and the Pope was compelled to withdraw its application to Germany.
Other items just as significant as these could be added; but these are enough to show one of the most seductive, one of the most aggressive, and one of the most daring and alarming tendencies of our day. Our government is passive and permissive, if not indeed actively acquiescing and approving, in many of these matters. Awake, ye mighty hosts of the Reformation! and let us even now take steps that will faithfully and fittingly prepare the way for a worthy celebration of the four hundredth anniversary of the mighty protest of Oct. 31, 1517. As in the days of the Reformation, we are confronted at the present time with a great Roman peril. It is time indeed for us to awake from our indifference, and, as did Luther and his coworkers, raise aloft the standard of truth. Our salvation now, as was Luther’s then, will be found in withstanding the sophistry and overtures of Rome, rejecting her dogmas and doctrines, and taking our stand upon the immutable Scriptures of truth. The need in this crisis is for earnest, devoted Christian believers, who in the fear of God, fearlessly but meekly, shall stand unswervingly for the right as God gives them to see the right, and who in their lives as well as in their words shall represent the saving power of the gospel of Christ. F. M. W. General Conference Committee Council
By W. A. Spicer
FURTHER actions by the committee may be reported as follows:— The estimates from all the mission fields were considered, and the financial budget made up for the year 1913, as is reported elsewhere in this paper by the treasurer. The Missionary Volunteer Department was encouraged to continue the holding of institutes for the furtherance of the young people's work in various school centers and elsewhere, as arranged in consultation with union and local conference officers. Ministerial Reading Courses
1. That a required course of reading and study for ministerial licentiates be adopted, and that all licentiates be examined upon this course before ordination. 2. That a course of progressive reading and study be recommended to all ordained ministers. 3. That the preparation of these courses be referred to the Department of Education, working in conjunction with the General Conference Committee. 4. That these courses be operated through the Correspondence School. 5. That the report as to these courses of study be made by the Department of Education at the next General Conference for consideration and adoption. Loma Linda College of Medical Evangelists
In considering the needs of this new missionary undertaking, the following recommendations were made:— 1. That a committee of three efficient men be appointed to visit Loma Linda, to investigate carefully the situation with a view of reducing the operating expense. 2. That until the findings of the above-mentioned committee can be placed in operation, and in view of the needs at Loma Linda, and of the fact that the sanitariums have been requested to pay a tithe of their net gain into the General Conference treasury, the General Conference shall supply the support of five teachers in the school, not to exceed the sum of six thousand dollars, this portion of the recommendation to cover only the present school year. 3. That a direct cash appropriation of four thousand dollars be made to the Medical Missionary College for 1913. 4. That for the erection of such buildings as are deemed necessary, the conferences composing the constituency of the college be requested to assume the responsibility of raising ten thousand dollars for 1913, on the same basis as for 1912, and that the General Conference Committee give its permission and indorsement to regularly appointed solicitors to go into the field to assist the conference presidents in raising this amount. Uniform System of Accounts
The council had before it specially prepared forms for the keeping of church, conference, and union accounts, and the following action was taken:— Inasmuch as the auditors in convention assembled last May gave consideration to a uniform system of keeping church, conference, and union conference accounts, and referred the results of the study to the treasury department of the General Conference for expert advice to be secured from a firm of public accountants; and— Inasmuch as the system worked out and submitted by this firm has been presented for consideration to the presidents of all the union conferences in North America, who have approved the idea of a uniform plan of keeping accounts, and recommended the adoption of the forms submitted; therefore— Resolved, That the General Conference Committee adopt this form of accounts as the uniform system to be used in churches, conferences, and union conferences, beginning with Jan. 1, 1913. The treasurer of the General Conference was further requested to set on foot a movement for a uniform system of accounting for use in our institutions, it being believed that uniform systems will effect no small economies in the denominational work. For prompt preparation of the annual statistical report, it was recommended— That all our union and local conference secretaries, and those in charge of institutions be requested to furnish their annual statistical report at the earliest possible date after the close of each year, completed final returns to be in the hands of the statistical secretary not later than March 1. A considerable number of the actions relating to the distribution of labor can not be reported at this time, as correspondence is being had with those concerned. The following items may, however, be mentioned:— W. C. Hankins, of China, now on furlough, to labor in the Northern Union Conference until the General Conference. L. V. Finster, of the Philippines, now on furlough, to labor in the Central Union until the General Conference. W. L. Foster, of Japan, now on furlough, to labor in the Pacific Union until the General Conference. Frank Mills, of the Foreign Mission Seminary and Review and Herald Office, to proceed to Korea, as superintendent of the printing work. Isaac Baker and wife, of West Texas, to Central America, Elder Baker to take the presidency of the Central American Conference. A. L. Sherman and wife, of the Foreign Mission Seminary, to make Argentina, South America, their field of labor. Miss Frankie Stout, of the Foreign Mission Seminary, to respond to the call for further nurses in Uruguay, South America. R. A. Underwood, of Ohio, to labor in the Columbia Union Conference until after the week of prayer. J. E. Anderson, of Cuba, to join the staff of Cuban Mission laborers. Miss Ruth Workes, of Alberta, to proceed to India. A. F. Prieger and wife, of Alabama, to labor in Haiti, West Indies, Elder Prieger to take the superintendency of the Haitian Mission. Byron Meeker and wife, of Idaho, to make China their field of labor. N. V. Willess, returning from Central America on account of health, to labor in the Southeastern Union. Dr. George Thomason presented his resignation as secretary of the General Conference Medical Department. Soon after accepting the secretaryship, it seemed necessary for him to respond to a call to fill temporarily the position of10 medical superintendent of the St. Helena Sanitarium. The way not having opened for his release from that important post, Dr. Thomason stated that he had felt convinced that he should remain in St. Helena, and resign the general work. Under the circumstances, the council released him, no action being taken to fill the vacancy. The brethren of the General Conference Committee in the European Division presented a memorial looking toward a further organization of the divisions of the General Conference, which may be summarized as follows:— The divine plan of organization is one of natural growth, keeping in accord with the steady development and needs of the cause of God. Seventh-day Adventists existed twenty years ere the first conference was organized. As the conferences increased, the need of general organization was seen, and the General Conference was established in 1863. Thirty-one years passed, and the necessity of a new factor in organization between the General Conference and the local conferences was seen. Then came the union conference; and to-day there are twenty-three union conferences, and four union missions. Another want, however, made itself felt, and in an informal way the 1903 General Conference recognized the divisional plan, creating the office of vice-president for the European Division and for the North American Division. In 1909 the Asiatic Division was added, and a vice-president appointed. But this divisional idea has not yet been given any definite plan of divisional organization. In order to give the workers in the European Division the privilege of meeting in council to consider special needs of the division, the General Conference Committee held its biennial council at Gland, Switzerland, in 1907, and at Friedensau, Germany, in 1911. These meetings were a great factor in binding the workers together, and in bringing spiritual blessings to thousands of our people who could not attend the General Conference session in the United States. Yet these meetings emphasized a manifest lack of a proper organization of the division as such. All could see the need of divisional meetings for the planning of the common work, but the representative and constitutional basis for a divisional meeting, as such, was lacking. Feeling this, the European members in recent session at Skodsborg, Denmark, asked the General Conference Committee at this fall session to take under consideration a divisional plan of organization, and, if favorably reported, to appoint a committee to introduce a well-considered plan at the time of the next General Conference. Europe's needs to-day will be the need of South America, Asia, and other parts of the world to-morrow. As we recognize the difference between conferences and mission fields, so there would naturally be a difference between fully organized self-supporting divisions and missionary divisions. North America and Europe are to-day not only self-supporting divisions, but supporting factors for large mission fields. If the world were gradually divided into five or six divisions, we suggest that representative gatherings might be held as follows: The local conference annually, the union biennially, the regular divisional meeting every third year, and the General Conference every fifth year. The president of the General Conference could then during his term of office make the round of these great divisions, and become fully acquainted with the world's great needs. While each conference and union, as well as the General Conference, elects its own president, the division has no way of appointing its own head, but is served by a vice-president of the General Conference. If the divisions had their regular constituency session, elected their own officers, considered their own peculiar wants, as all other organizations, then the workers and people could have the advantage of attending more generally such meetings, and the head of each division would not be the vice-president of the division, but its president, and could at the same time be a vice-president of the General Conference by virtue of his office as president of the division. As long as our membership was mostly in North America, the General Conference sessions were easy of access to the representatives of the work. But now that forty per cent of our membership is outside of the United States,—and this percentage is growing,—these divisional meetings become a real necessity. The General Conference representation should naturally be more and more restricted, while the divisional meetings would give the needed opportunity for more general local attendance. Again: the General Conference session would then be left to deal more with general, world-wide plans, while the divisional session would deal with the more local and particular matters. The divisional system, perfected, would leave the General Conference president freer to be really the president of the world's General Conference, and by his presence at the divisional meetings catch inspiration for the world-wide message, see the world needs, and lay plans accordingly. Our difficulty in Europe will perhaps be best appreciated if we call attention to the fact that by the next General Conference we shall have in this division eight union conferences, two union mission fields, forty organized conferences, over forty organized mission fields, altogether some ninety-five organizations, with nearly thirty thousand members. Our delegation would come up to one hundred ten delegates, and yet this number would take in only one fifth of our gospel workers. Another matter that will necessitate these divisional meetings is the fact that as other tongues besides the English become spoken by vast bodies of our people, provision will have to be made to carry on our deliberative and representative gatherings accordingly. As the result of the discussion and consideration of this memorial, the council voted to favorably refer it to the next General Conference, and a committee was appointed to draw up a plan of organization for submission with the memorial. All in the council rejoiced at the vigorous growth of the work across the seas. Appropriations for 1913
By W. T. KNOX
THE appropriations to mission fields and enterprises for 1913, as voted by the General Conference Council, are as follows:— Asiatic Div., general expense . . . $ 2,800
China Union Mission . . . . . . . . . 54,000
Japan Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000
Korean Mission . . . . . . . . . . . 21,300
Philippine Mission . . . . . . . . . 6,500
Malay Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,000
Manchuria, opening the work . . . . 3,000
Bahama Mission . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Brazilian Union Conference . . . . 6,000
Canary Islands Mission . . . . . . . 1,500
Hawaiian Mission . . . . . . . . . . 1,250
India Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,000
Mexican Mission . . . . . . . . . . 10,000
South African Union Conf. . . . . . 27,000
South American Union Conf. . . . . 22,000
West African Mission . . . . . . . . 7,890
West Indian Union Conference . . . 16,800
Atlantic Union Conference . . . . . 24,242
Canadian Union Conference . . . . 12,586
Columbia Union Conference . . . . 21,100
Southeastern Union Conf. . . . . . . 7,260
Southern Union Conference . . . . 12,720
Southwestern Union Conference . 5,631
Emergencies and miscellaneous . . 30,870
General Conference Corporation . 25,000
Working capital . . . . . . . . . . . 37,000
Gen. Conf. laborers in field . . . . 7,430
Educational Department . . . . . . 2,656
Executive Department . . . . . . . 14,492
Medical Department . . . . . . . . 2,107
Missionary Volunteer Dept. . . . . 2,797
North American Foreign Dept. . . 10,509
North American Negro Dept. . . . 26,102
Publishing Department . . . . . . . 4,843
Religious Liberty Department . . . 5,000
Sabbath-school Department . . . . 4,278
International Publishing Assn. . . 1,500
Jewish work . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500
Loma Linda Medical College . . . 10,000
South Missouri Conference . . . . 1,200
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $522,263 A word of explanation is due concerning the appropriations voted to the Atlantic and Columbia Union Conferences. These are made necessary on account of the large cities in their borders, with their many nationalities, and also because these unions are dividing their tithe with the General Conference. Some of the local conferences that receive help from these appropriations would, were it not for this division of the tithe, be fully self-supporting. From thirty to fifty-five per cent of the amount appropriated to them is received by the General Conference in the division of their tithe. A study of the figures above will show something of the growth of the work we are carrying forward in proclaiming God’s message of mercy to the nations of the earth. The total requirements for the year will amount to $522,263. To provide this amount, the Mission Board will require the hearty cooperation of all. The largely increasing demands upon the General Conference treasury can be met only by greater faithfulness and liberality on the part of the people in their offerings. This heavy appropriation11 can be provided for in a large measure by a general and earnest effort in the present Harvest Ingathering campaign, and by a liberal offering during the week of prayer. W. T. KNOX. The Religious Garb Question
WHATEVER motive prompted President Taft in his final decision regarding the wearing of a religious garb in Indian schools, it must be conceded by all that his decision is clearly a compromise of the principle involved. The order provides that the Catholic sisters at present employed in government schools may continue to wear their religious garb, but that from this time forward the representatives of no denomination shall be permitted to wear a peculiar costume while engaged in school duties. Speaking of this decision, the Northwestern Christian Advocate of Sept. 25, 1912, says:— Without entering into a lengthy discussion of the case, we regret that President Taft has not seen his way to uphold Commissioner Valentine in this decision; but we could not expect too much of Mr. Taft. Any one who has followed him in his relation to the Roman Catholic Church can easily see that even to rule that henceforth no new teachers shall wear ecclesiastical garb must have pained him. We must accept the ruling of the President as final. He has yielded as much as he feels he can, and those who for conscientious reasons have objected to these Roman Catholic teachers appearing before their wards in their garb must be content to abide the passage of years before this wrong can be rectified. While the Advocate feels that the ruling is in a way a victory for Protestants, it recognizes the fact “that the presence of these sisters wearing their robes, their crucifixes, and their rosaries before these susceptible Indians is practically winning them to the Roman Catholic Church.” Although depriving these sisters of this insignia may in the end help to break the influence of the Catholic Church in these schools, it will be some years before this can be brought about. In the meantime, the Catholic Church is given liberties above every other denomination, and it will not be slow to make the most of this advantage. There are about two thousand teachers employed in Indian schools, and of these fifty-one wear religious garb. It is interesting to note in this connection that before this decision was rendered, the resignation of the Indian Commissioner, who in the beginning by his order prohibited the wearing of religious garbs, was sent in to President Taft and accepted by him. The Advance of Sept. 26, 1912, offers “by Sentinel” the following comment, under the heading “The Cardinal Gets the Commissioner’s Scalp:”— A few days since, the Sentinel, reprinting an extract from the Catholic World of August 31, in which we were told that the resignation of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs “was expected,” prophesied that the cardinal, who was after the commissioner’s scalp, would get it. In fact, the commissioner handed in his resignation before the Sentinel’s words were in type. The commissioner made a serious mistake, and paid the inevitable penalty. He supposed that since the Bible had been declared “sectarian,” the rosary might be so considered; and that where the Bible was prohibited, the crucifix would not be allowed. He knows better now. The governor of the Old Bay State thought he was “a bigger man” than the Irish-American cardinal of Boston, and he declined to take the seat below the said cardinal at a banquet in that city. He, too, found that we are not ruled by our elected representatives, but by “the long arm of Rome.” Personally, the Sentinel is glad of all these incidents. He feels as Captain Parker did at Lexington that April morning in 1775: “If there is to be a conflict, it may as well begin here.” The Church and the Government
THE Northwestern Christian Advocate of Oct. 2, 1912, quotes the following editorial utterance from the Western Watchman (Catholic) of St. Louis, Mo.:— If the government of the United States were at war with the church, we would say to-morrow, To hell with the government of the United States; and if the church and all the governments of the world were at war, we would say, To hell with all the governments of the world. They say we are Catholics first, and Americans decidedly afterward. There is no doubt about it. We are Catholics first, and we love the church more than we love any and all the governments of the world. Let the governments of the world steer clear of the Catholic Church. Concerning this remarkable utterance, the Northwestern Christian Advocate says:— Here is a man of power who has been placed in a position of authority and leadership who consigns the United States to hell if that government stands in the way of the Roman Catholic Church; and we strongly suspect Archbishop Phelan [the editor] is sponsor for a large portion of his church. Can one wonder why it would be the last thought of our American citizenship to exalt to the presidency a member of a church holding such a view?—Never! But there is no more danger in electing a Roman Catholic to the presidency of the United States than in electing to that high office a professed Protestant who will yield to the pressure of any church element to favor that element at the expense of the general government. It is not surprising to find a religious element that places its religion above its political affiliation. It has been so through many centuries. The martyrs of old suffered because they placed their religion first. But in this ebullition of the Catholic editor there is more than this involved. That religious organization’s purpose is to put all governments under its feet, and it is ready to overthrow any government on earth that it may attain its end; and it expects ultimately to overturn them all, and to establish its throne upon their ruins. This Catholic archbishop and editor has spoken frankly the purpose of his church. Will Protestantism believe what he says, and act as if it did? The License of Modern Society
The license and liberty allowed by modern society is quite forcibly illustrated in the following incident as published in a recent number of the Washington Post:— Walking up to the ticket window of a moving-picture theater, at Wilmington, Del., an excited individual informed the young woman ticket seller that his wife was in the theater with another man, and that he was going to kill both of them as soon as they came out. The ticket seller notified the manager of the theater, who mounted the stage and announced that a man was outside waiting to kill his wife and the man who was with her. The manager advised the couple to leave the theater by the rear exit, and within two minutes eleven couples had hurried from the theater by way of the back door.