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Review and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 2.

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Earlier text: Swatow Mission, China

Progress in the Pacific Union Conference

By E. E. ANDROSS

I AM glad to be able to report progress in all departments of our work in the Pacific Union Conference. The camp meetings of the past summer were, in some ways at least, the best we ever held. The last one closed November 23. This was held at Phoenix, Ariz., and was a very successful meeting. It was not a large gathering, as we do not have a large constituency in Arizona as yet, but the Lord was very manifestly present, and there were evident tokens of progress in the work.
The attendance of our people has been the best this summer that we have ever had at our camp meetings. Probably the largest camp meeting that we have had for many years was held in Los Angeles in August. There were about five hundred tents pitched on the ground, and perhaps twenty-five hundred believers encamped. It seemed very much like the General Conference, as far as numbers were concerned. While this was a very large meeting, and hence difficult to handle, it was a very profitable one for the work in this part of the field. Our membership in Southern California is growing quite rapidly. The Lord is greatly blessing the efforts of the laborers.
This is also true in the California Conference. Perhaps the largest meeting that we have held in the Pacific Union Conference was the one at San Jose following our camp meeting in that city. Between sixty and seventy have accepted the truth as a direct result of the summer's effort there, and the brethren are now planning to erect a large church suitable for the increased congregation. In both the California and Southern California Conferences where evangelistic efforts have been held splendid results have followed.
It really seems that the Lord is visiting us with his Holy Spirit, and there are evident signs of the beginning of the latter rain. I feel confident that our people generally are enjoying a better Christian experience than ever before. They seem to be awakening to a realization of the times in which we are living, and I sincerely hope that we may see fulfilled the word given us in Volume IX of the Testimonies, where the servant of the Lord saw a great reformatory movement among God's people.
The Northern California Conference is enjoying much of the Lord's blessing, as is also the Central California Conference. A foundation is now being laid in Utah for a larger work than we have ever seen before. While that field is a very difficult one, we are not at all discouraged, but believe sincerely that the Lord has a people in that State, and we hope to be able to reach many in the near future, and thus build up a strong work.
Our educational work is also prospering. The college is enjoying a much larger attendance this year than ever before. We have about two hundred and fifty students enrolled in the various grades. Between fifty and sixty of these are in the collegiate department. A number of our young men are definitely preparing for the ministry, and are giving evidence of a call to that sacred work. The academies at Lodi and Fernando are also enjoying a good patronage this year, and a good spiritual atmosphere pervades the schools.
An intermediate school has been established at Phoenix, Ariz., and about sixty students are in attendance. This gives promise of becoming a great help to the work in that field. It is not wholly confined to the English language. We are planning to bring some of our Mexican young people to that school, and train them there for field work. Some will pass on to our higher schools after completing the course in that school. We hope in this way to develop some strong workers for the Mexican people.
Our church schools are enjoying prosperity. Their numbers have materially increased this year. Altogether, we are of good courage in our education work.
The medical school is also prospering. Our sanitariums are enjoying better patronage this year than they did last, and we have hopes of financial prosperity. Best of all, the Lord is blessing in these institutions in bringing the light of truth to many patients, and it is our great desire to see this department of our work continually grow in power and influence among the people. We have a large class of nurses who are preparing for work in the various fields. Many are deeply devoted to the work of the third angel's message.
Without attempting to enter into the detail of all the various departments of our work, I may say that the Lord is blessing in our efforts to get the printed page into the homes of the people. He is also blessing our young people, and they are being awakened to the necessity of taking a more earnest and active part in the work of this message. Our Sabbath schools are growing in interest, and are becoming important factors in raising funds for the mission work. Our conferences are doing all in their power to raise their quota of the Twenty-cent-a-week Fund.
We rejoice in the assurance that we are now homeward bound, and shall soon enter the port of eternal rest.
E. E. ANDROSS.

Post-Office Sunday-Closing Law Under Fire

By S. B. Horton

DURING the Sixty-second Congress, a rider was attached to the post-office appropriation bill (H. R. 21279) providing for the closing on Sunday of first- and second-class post offices. It was the opinion of certain members of that Congress that Sunday closing would bring economic results to the postal service as well as “rest” to its employees. This view was expressed in the Senate report, (Report No. 955, July 23, 1912), as the following excerpt therefrom indicates:—
“It has been suggested by some that the provision be changed so as to permit the delivery of mail for one hour or for delivery of mail through boxes on Sunday, but on a moment’s reflection it will be readily apparent that the delivery of any portion of the mail for any portion of the day necessitates handling and distributing the entire mail, and, consequently, the employment of a considerable number of clerks, thus defeating the purpose to be accomplished.”
After a year’s trial of compulsory Sunday closing, the Post-office Department presents facts and figures showing that neither economy nor rest has been secured by the arrangement imposed by Congress. The First Assistant Postmaster-General, Mr. Roper, in his report to the present session of the Sixty-third Congress, maintains that the Sunday law impairs the efficiency of the service, saying, in part:—
“The enforcement of this law, particularly the latter clause, not only adds largely to the cost of the service, but materially lessens its efficiency. Mails are received and dispatched at practically all first- and second-class offices on Sundays, and during certain hours this necessitates the employment of at least a part of the force. Under the law these employees must be granted compensatory time on one of the six succeeding days. Owing to the constant fluctuation in the postal business, this legal requirement works materially to the detriment of the service. For instance, during the very busy periods, especially between October and May, in order to prevent an undue accumulation of mail in post-offices, it is necessary to require a considerable number of the employees to report for duty each Sunday. The granting of compensatory time to these employees during the succeeding week when the condition of the work urgently demands their presence, and to employ inexperienced substitutes in their places, results in a serious impairment of the efficiency of the force. The granting of compensatory time in New York City alone deprives that office of the services of about one hundred and ninety clerks on every week day during the busy periods.
“The department believes it would be in the interest of both the service and the employees to amend the law so as to provide for the granting of compensatory time for Sunday work when the employees can be most conveniently excused from duty.”
The present Sunday-closing law is the first favorable response by Congress to a campaign inaugurated more than a century ago for Sunday closing. Jan. 4, 1811, a petition was presented to the Eleventh Congress by the synod of Pittsburgh, asking for the altering of post-office and post-roads regulations so as to provide for compulsory cessation of the service on Sunday. This petition was referred to Postmaster-General Gideon Granger, who reported that “from the peculiar phraseology of the ninth section of said act (April 30, 1810), it is doubted whether he be warranted by law in limiting the right of the citizens to demand their letters to one hour on the Sabbath.”
Postmaster-General R. J. Meigs, Jr., reporting Jan. 16, 1815, to the Thirteenth Congress on a similar petition, said, among other things:—
“The usage of transporting the mails on the Sabbath is coeval with the Constitution of the United States, and a prohibition of that usage will be first considered.”
By the Twentieth Congress, members of Congress began to protest against that character of legislation very strongly. Col. R. M. Johnson, of Kentucky, who was chairman of Senate and House committees on post offices and post roads in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Congresses, took decided grounds against religious legislation, the feature he said others saw in the proposed Sunday-closing laws. From these memorable reports we present a few thoughts:—
“It should, however, be kept in mind that the proper object of government is to protect all persons in the enjoyment of their religious as well as civil rights, and not to determine for any whether they shall esteem one day above another, or esteem all days alike holy.”
“With these different religious views, the committee are of opinion that Congress cannot interfere. It is not the legitimate province of the legislature to determine what religion is true, or what false.
“If admitted, it may be justly apprehended that the future measures of the government will be strongly marked, if not eventually controlled, by the same influence. All religious despotism commences by combination and influence; and when that influence begins to operate upon the political institutions of a country, the civil power soon bends under it; and the catastrophe of other nations furnishes an awful warning of the consequence.”
“Let the national legislature once perform an act which involves the decision of a religious controversy, and it will have passed its legitimate bounds. The precedent will then be established, and the foundation laid, for that usurpation of the divine prerogative in this country which has been the desolating scourge to the fairest portions of the Old World.”
“If Congress shall, by the authority of law, sanction the measure recommended, it would constitute a legislative decision of a religious controversy, in which even Christians themselves are at issue. However suited such a decision may be to an ecclesiastical council, it is incompatible with a republican legislature, which is purely for political, and not for religious, purposes.”
“If the measure recommended should be adopted, it would be difficult for human sagacity to foresee how rapid would be the succession, or how numerous the train of measures which follow, involving the dearest rights of all—the rights of conscience.
“It is perhaps fortunate for our country that the proposition should have been made at this early period while the spirit of the Revolution yet exists in full vigor.”—“American State Papers,” pages 234, 236, 237, 239, 244, 250, 253.
At the time the present Sunday-closing arrangement was in the Senate Committee, repeated attempts were made to secure a hearing on the part of those who could have pointed to the exigencies which have arisen, as set forth in Mr. Roper’s report, but the committee, of which Senator Jonathan Bourne was chairman, did not view with favor the application therefor.
The thing for Congress to do is to keep within the beaten path of a patriotic ancestry, which refused to turn the course of our country from a civil to a quasi religious affair. Sunday observance by compulsion of civil law has always proved unsatisfactory, and can meet with no other result, because such legislation antagonizes and repudiates the principles of civil and religious liberty.
S. B. HORTON.

Interesting Experiences in the Mexican Revolution

THE following word comes from Brother C. P. Martin, written on board the battleship “Rhode Island,” in Tampico harbor, December 16:—
“Some one has said that ‘variety is the spice of life.’ If this is so, then we are still enjoying(?) some of the spices that belong to life. Long since you doubtless heard of the rebel attack on Tampico. The two New Mexican boys and I were there and had about one half of the town canvassed and many orders to deliver. We could not get one out, but the commander refused to let any trains depart until Friday morning, and then, with no announcement, began to sell tickets to San Luis. Brother Ring and I learned of it, and he caught the train. Brother Carrasco, not hearing of it in time, could not go, so I concluded to stay with him.”
“Friday evening all consuls, through the North American consul, ordered all foreigners to go aboard the cruiser ‘Tacoma.’ I easily secured a pass for Brother Carrasco. We went down to the docks about 8 P. M., and two hours later were transferred to the little gunboat ‘Wheeling,’ which had just come in. We were then brought down the river, and at 1:30 A. M., Sabbath morning were placed on the battleships in the Gulf. (I was sorry our flight was on the Sabbath.) There are between four hundred and five hundred of us on battleships here in the harbor. We all have offers to be carried to New York or Vera Cruz or to stay here. I understand the New York boat is crowded. Nearly every one on board the ship expects to stay, I among the rest.”
“If Tampico is not taken, all the good orders I have on my list can be delivered. I can land today or tomorrow. The Lord is wonderfully blessing us, and I believe that he is leading.”

Colporteurs’ Summary for November, 1913

Books — Periodicals
Unions Agts. Hrs. Value 1913 Value 1912 No. Cop. Value 1913 Value 1912
Atlantic
Maine 6 212 $180.35 $46.75 1575 $157.50 $91.00
N. New England 5 187 178.76 524.94 314 31.40 46.40
Massachusetts 8 215 283.18 286.77 1656 165.60 106.00
S. New England 7 204 311.18 289.35 1625 162.50 125.50
New York 13 365 358.65 1558.80 171 17.10 78.50
W. New York 7 334 264.45 187.30 260 26.00 125.00
Gr. New York 11 516 541.50 1025.54 4300 430.00 274.50
Totals 57 2033 2118.07 3919.45 9901 990.10 846.90
| Columbia | | | | | | | | | Ohio | 26 | 2072 | 2380.95 | 1020.90 | 1862 | 186.20 | 414.80 | | West Virginia | 7 | 674 | 534.20 | 580.55 | 187 | 18.70 | 1.50 | | Virginia | 9 | 405 | 376.55 | 41.00 | 896 | 89.60 | 123.10 | | Chesapeake | 5 | 393 | 491.25 | 815.90 | 595 | 59.50 | 87.50 | | E. Pennsylvania | 8 | 493 | 514.90 | 961.60 | 838 | 83.80 | 125.50 | | W. Pennsylvania | 9 | 708 | 940.16 | 1226.20 | 1110 | 111.00 | 109.00 | | New Jersey | 8 | 755 | 577.45 | 455.50 | 1817 | 181.70 | 99.20 | | Dist. of Columbia | 9 | 550 | 713.90 | 295.00 | 535 | 53.50 | 77.50 | | Totals | 81 | 6050 | 6529.36 | 5396.65 | 7840 | 784.00 | 1038.10 |
| Lake | | | | | | | | | E. Michigan | 10 | 578 | 442.15 | 290.20 | 3083 | 308.30 | 218.40 | | W. Michigan | 4 | 283 | 181.10 | 167.80 | 230 | 23.00 | 30.50 | | N. Michigan | 4 | 96 | 57.35 | 375.50 | 355 | 35.50 | 14.00 | | Wisconsin | 2 | 199 | 179.80 | 339.60 | 397 | 39.70 | 152.50 | | N. Illinois | 4 | 348 | 242.10 | 415.70 | 2295 | 229.50 | 225.40 | | S. Illinois | 11 | 1230 | 1272.75 | 1113.35 | 80 | 8.00 | 74.20 | | Indiana | 17 | 1352 | 1286.75 | 177.00 | 315 | 31.50 | 133.70 | | Totals | 52 | 4086 | 3662.00 | 2879.15 | 6755 | 675.50 | 848.70 |
| Eastern Canadian | | | | | | | | | Ontario | 3 | 233 | 252.82 | 234.20 | 546 | 54.60 | 90.00 | | Quebec | 1 | 110 | 119.87 | ..... | 70 | 7.00 | 50.00 | | Maritime | 3 | 140 | 134.95 | 81.00 | 100 | 10.00 | ..... | | Newfoundland | .. | ..... | ..... | 111.25 | 100 | 10.00 | ..... | | Totals | 7 | 483 | 507.64 | 426.45 | 816 | 81.60 | 140.00 |
| Southern | | | | | | | | | Louisiana | 17 | 1005 | 762.10 | 464.40 | 235 | 23.50 | 65.50 | | Alabama | 16 | 1278 | 756.55 | 921.00 | 425 | 42.50 | 45.00 | | Kentucky | 14 | 1076 | 1127.70 | 841.00 | 1210 | 121.00 | 124.10 | | Mississippi | 22 | 1952 | 925.65 | 2735.55 | 215 | 21.50 | 57.50 | | Tennessee River | 13 | 1487 | 885.75 | 1470.25 | 847 | 84.70 | 166.60 | | Totals | 82 | 6798 | 4457.75 | 6432.20 | 2932 | 293.20 | 458.70 |
| Southeastern | | | | | | | | | Cumberland | 11 | 992 | 665.05 | 1167.17 | 145 | 14.50 | 15.50 | | Georgia | 11 | 702 | 324.20 | 967.45 | 1480 | 148.00 | 204.50 | | North Carolina | 14 | 1367 | 1069.50 | 1141.90 | 791 | 70.10 | 63.50 | | South Carolina | 15 | 1362 | 974.80 | 397.00 | 762 | 76.20 | 30.50 | | Florida | 5 | 203 | 192.00 | 1063.15 | 277 | 27.70 | 25.50 | | Totals | 56 | 4626 | 3225.55 | 4736.67 | 3455 | 345.50 | 429.50 |
| Southwestern | | | | | | | | | Arkansas | 16 | 1061 | 617.40 | 830.37 | 117 | 11.70 | 32.50 | | Oklahoma | 29 | 2089 | 855.63 | 602.35 | 635 | 63.50 | 31.30 | | W. Texas | 3 | 110 | 39.00 | 390.30 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | S. Texas | 7 | 482 | 458.35 | 1393.67 | 395 | 39.50 | 90.70 | | N. Texas | 16 | 878 | 534.10 | 308.80 | 247 | 24.70 | 6.10 | | New Mexico | 4 | 335 | 616.00 | 497.30 | 265 | 26.50 | 20.00 | | Totals | 75 | 4955 | 3120.48 | 4022.79 | 1659 | 165.90 | 180.60 |
| Central | | | | | | | | | N. Missouri | 6 | 184 | 360.20 | 190.50 | 1369 | 136.90 | 151.50 | | S. Missouri | 12 | 567 | 1195.05 | 424.45 | 190 | 19.00 | 152.60 | | E. Colorado | 24 | 700 | 645.70 | 419.90 | 600 | 60.00 | 80.00 | | W. Colorado | 7 | 205 | 244.05 | 282.30 | 185 | 18.50 | 2.50 | | Nebraska | 2 | 114 | 232.10 | 441.55 | 550 | 55.00 | 211.10 | | Wyoming | 1 | 79 | 121.15 | ..... | ..... | ..... | 3.50 | | E. Kansas | .. | ..... | ..... | ..... | 232 | 23.20 | 114.90 | | W. Kansas | 15 | 512 | 560.70 | 384.30 | 790 | 79.00 | 50.50 | | St. Louis Mis. | .. | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | | Totals | 67 | 2361 | 3358.95 | 2143.00 | 3916 | 391.60 | 766.60 |
| Northern | | | | | | | | | Iowa | 3 | 355 | 1434.85 | 566.69 | 3368 | 336.80 | 264.60 | | Minnesota | 6 | ..... | 201.55 | 413.65 | 1400 | 140.00 | 318.50 | | North Dakota | .. | ..... | ..... | ..... | 445 | 44.50 | 17.50 | | South Dakota | 2 | 25 | 84.30 | 30.00 | 732 | 73.20 | 11.60 | | Totals | 11 | 380 | 1720.70 | 1010.34 | 5945 | 594.50 | 612.20 |
| Pacific | | | | | | | | | California | .. | ..... | $..... | $..... | 2306 | $230.60 | $..... | | N. Cal.-Nev. | 5 | 311 | 491.30 | 372.95 | 240 | 24.00 | 50.30 | | Arizona | .. | ..... | ..... | 81.00 | 200 | 20.00 | ..... | | S. California | 25 | 667 | 877.05 | 1316.45 | 7100 | 710.00 | 205.20 | | Utah | .. | ..... | ..... | 198.85 | 95 | 9.50 | 2.50 | | Cen. California | 4 | 77 | 111.90 | 140.15 | 300 | 30.00 | 52.20 | | California Coast | 14 | 274 | 250.30 | 232.60 | 350 | 35.00 | 151.50 | | Totals | 48 | 1329 | 1730.55 | 2342.00 | 10591 | 1059.10 | 461.70 |
| North Pacific | | | | | | | | | W. Washington | 9 | 216 | 326.70 | 381.30 | 1800 | 180.00 | 236.20 | | Upper Columbia | 8 | 361 | 958.20 | 948.05 | 450 | 45.00 | 39.00 | | W. Oregon | 7 | 337 | 333.10 | 707.15 | 1125 | 112.50 | 231.80 | | S. Idaho | 4 | 89 | 300.55 | 102.90 | 175 | 17.50 | 28.70 | | Montana | 7 | 80 | 263.00 | ..... | 405 | 40.50 | 84.00 | | S. Oregon | 6 | 101 | 158.85 | 135.75 | 380 | 38.00 | 16.00 | | Totals | 41 | 1184 | 2340.40 | 2275.15 | 4335 | 433.50 | 635.70 |
| West Canadian | | | | | | | | | Alberta | .. | ..... | 276.40 | ..... | 615 | 61.50 | 230.00 | | Manitoba | .. | ..... | 61.82 | ..... | 460 | 46.00 | ..... | | British Columbia | .. | ..... | 128.70 | ..... | 2360 | 236.00 | 32.10 | | Saskatchewan | .. | ..... | 337.96 | ..... | 1140 | 114.00 | 35.50 | | Totals | .. | ..... | 804.88 | ..... | 4575 | 457.50 | 297.60 | | Subscription lists | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | 27670 | 2767.00 | 3184.00 | | Foreign and miscellaneous | ..... | ..... | ..... | ..... | 9961 | 996.10 | 975.20 |
| Foreign Union Conferences and Missions | | | | | | | | | British | 51 | 5262 | 2669.51 | 1955.05 | 146405 | 2970.80 | 2833.07 | | Australasian | 67 | 4562 | 9459.16 | 12852.11 | ..... | 2387.25 | 1909.66 | | South African | 12 | 1230 | 1539.24 | 750.07 | ..... | ..... | 52.85 | | Indian | 21 | 2873 | 668.26 | 491.38 | ..... | ..... | 56.78 | | Scandinavian | 105 | 14302 | 5542.73 | 5513.30 | 2449 | 130.16 | 332.46 | | E. German | 95 | 9552 | 2896.50 | 13585.10 | 52825 | 1203.92 | 10265.20 | | W. German | 100 | 9332 | 2975.04 | ..... | 85142 | 2221.53 | ..... | | Danube | 32 | 3069 | 754.05 | ..... | 4154 | ..... | ..... | | Cen. European | 99 | 10998 | 3654.22 | ..... | 26076 | 689.27 | ..... | | Russian | 29 | ..... | 2757.26 | 1573.48 | ..... | 25.75 | ..... | | Siberian | 4 | ..... | 404.89 | 206.23 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | Latin | 7 | 763 | 759.11 | 866.46 | 5883 | 141.36 | 188.05 | | Mexican | 2 | 97 | 110.37 | ..... | 12902 | 547.28 | ..... | | Porto Rico | 3 | ..... | 207.45 | 60.00 | ..... | 129.40 | 118.01 | | Cuba | 6 | 256 | 578.00 | 1029.50 | ..... | ..... | 26.60 | | West Caribbean | 5 | ..... | 761.31 | ..... | 1329 | 132.90 | ..... | | Philippine Islands | 1 | 80 | 298.93 | 472.28 | ..... | 5.49 | ..... | | Levant | 6 | 375 | 40.73 | 139.11 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | Korean | .. | ..... | 35.53 | ..... | 2237 | 55.92 | ..... | | South American | 28 | 1532 | 2700.00 | 1707.31 | ..... | 296.80 | 77.21 | | Japan | 10 | 1120 | 9.86 | ..... | 2016 | 62.17 | ..... | | Brazil | 32 | ..... | 1551.20 | 639.64 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | Totals, foreign | 715 | 65403 | $40373.35 | $41841.02 | 341418 | $11000.00 | $15859.89 | | Totals, N. Am. | 577 | 34285 | 33576.33 | 35583.85 | 100351 | 10035.10 | 10875.50 | | Grand totals | 1292 | 99688 | $73949.68 | $77424.87 | 441769 | $21035.10 | $26735.39 |

Comparative Book Summary

1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913
Jan. .... $25,929.06 $49,677.06 $42,532.23 $44,495.65 $53,931.97 $64,262.88
Feb. .... 30,466.40 48,748.21 50,990.34 53,923.57 53,525.18 62,813.12
March .. 35,757.15 52,703.85 55,711.55 73,015.56 73,374.99 66,640.42
April .... 43,858.29 55,109.54 64,042.39 73,548.31 73,027.32 73,520.45
May .... 67,455.44 82,971.94 86,333.58 81,923.78 94,166.15 101,640.01
June .... 82,878.67 124,412.34 112,606.05 135,888.76 137,838.38 139,217.06
July .... 120,973.89 95,445.21 103,919.12 127,256.86 156,166.90 140,576.74
Aug. .... 66,946.38 71,652.97 91,145.11 91,810.46 103,165.69 111,660.64
Sept. ... 51,148.56 55,625.41 66,523.65 86,001.72 67,551.70 73,732.12
Oct. .... 62,719.91 52,669.93 62,461.13 81,367.89 70,219.07 84,013.00
Nov. .... 52,787.31 49,964.99 58,211.68 67,600.00 77,424.87 73949.68
Dec. .... 39,873.18 45,759.73 54,663.93 58,386.24 57,291.91
Totals $681,794.24 $775,741.18 $849,140.76 $976,218.80 $1,017,684.13

Comparative Summary of American Periodicals

1910 1911 1912 1913 1910 1911 1912 1913
Jan.1 89462 122202 121666 177080 Aug. 152520 215773 183119 153849
Feb. 116198 99234 144257 201659 Sept. 120020 135179 173077 127017
March 132165 244003 207529 166499 Oct. 116157 164537 587830 126562
April 183981 192757 189498 152088 Nov. 102795 110326 108755 100351
May 174886 141204 162220 166465 Dec. 99137 98541 111199
June 193727 145025 163120 156550
July 222146 197582 191937 176772 Totals. 1703194 1866363 2344207

Field Notes

THE new church building at Ford's Store, Md., was dedicated a few weeks ago.
THE recent tent effort in Richmond, Va., has resulted in fifteen new Sabbath-keepers.
THE baptism of five persons in the Juniata River, in eastern Pennsylvania, is reported by Elder A. R. Bell.
ON a recent Sabbath twenty-three persons were baptized by Elder O. F. Butcher in the South Lancaster (Mass.) church.

Publishing Department

By N. Z. Town; W. W. Eastman

N. Z. TOWN  General Secretary
W. W. EASTMAN  N. Am. Div. Secretary

The Summary

By Editor

OUR summary this month is a reminder that we cannot slacken our efforts if we are to continue our upward progress. The summary is a good one, but the book sales show a falling off from the corresponding month last year. The periodical sales also show a decrease. This falling off is in both the home and foreign fields. We are glad to note that six of the unions in the North American field show a gain over November of last year, and a few of the foreign fields also show a gain.
As we enter upon the new year, shall we not make stronger efforts than ever before to increase the circulation of the printed page in every field? Cannot every worker improve upon the record made during 1913? We have great reason to be encouraged in this branch of the work. Reports are continually reaching us of persons' accepting the truth through the printed page. Let us take courage and press forward more vigorously than ever before.

The Home Missionary Motto and Aim for 1914

By E. M. Graham

A DEFINITE aim always aids in the accomplishment of any work. Therefore we have adopted for the motto for the Home Missionary Department for 1914, “Every Sabbath keeper an active worker,” and for the aim, “Every Sabbath keeper to bring at least one soul to Christ during 1914.”
We may draw a lesson from the experience of the children of Israel during their travels in the wilderness. They were guided by the pillar of cloud. When it moved they were to move. They did not need to go back to be left behind; it was sufficient for them to stand still. The cloud would pass on, and they would be left behind. They did not even need to stand still. If they traveled slowly, not keeping pace with the cloud, they would soon be left farther and farther behind.
It is so in this message. We have come to the days when the third angel’s message is moving rapidly. We do not need to backslide to be left behind, out of touch with God and his work. If we move forward slowly and reluctantly, the message will soon be far beyond us, and we shall not have shared in the blessings that have been given to those who have traveled with it.
We are living in the time when this message is to be finished. Everything about us shows this. It is impossible to take up any daily paper without finding in it some fulfillment of the signs which tell that the coming of the Lord is at the door. We also see evidences that the end is near in the dealings of the Lord with his people.
The recent Atlantic Union Conference was truly a Pentecostal meeting. The experiences in putting away wrongs, in drawing together in brotherly love and unity, in healing, in seeking the Lord, were beyond description. Since this meeting closed, the good work is going on, and the Lord is pouring blessings on his people. Similar reports are coming from other places. We are evidently in a time of great revival, of preparation for speedily finishing the work. But a time of revival also means a time of scattering, for it will leave every one either better or worse, according as he relates himself to it. The Lord’s call is a call to consecration and to work. Only as a hearty and loyal response is made to the Lord’s call may we receive the special blessings he is giving to prepare his people to stand through these last days.
In view of these things, is it too much to suggest that every Sabbath keeper work and pray for the salvation of at least one soul in one year? It is by no means an impossible thing, for if we pray with persevering faith, and work in the power of the Lord, we can accomplish great things. Think of the joy that would fill our hearts if, at the end of 1914, each of us could have at least one soul to present to the Master. If such a year’s work did not finish this message, it would be a very long step in that direction.
In order to reach our aim we shall have to work definitely and systematically. We should sow as much seed as we possibly can, as not all may bring forth fruit. We should pray for the seed we sow, that the Lord will cause it to take root in some honest heart. As soon as we see signs of interest in any one for whom we are working, we should begin to pray definitely for him by name, while continuing to work for him. In this work we may claim the Saviour’s promise, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:13, 14. It is the persevering prayer of faith, together with persistent effort, that will gain the victory.
As we see the possibility of finishing the work in a short time, should not joy fill our hearts? Should we not, one and all, do our utmost to reach this aim of at least one soul brought to the truth in 1914?
E. M. GRAHAM.

Comparative Summary for Foreign Periodicals

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February, 1912, 384,735 copies, value $9,671.61; 1913, 394,257 copies, value $12,342.06.
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August, 1912, 346,928 copies, value $10,831.40; 1913, 313,746 copies, value $9,987.06.
September, 1912, 332,948 copies, value $10,889.11; 1913, 285,257 copies, value $9,537.95.
October, 1912, 379,837 copies, value $12,255.77; 1913, 303,818 copies, value $9,824.08.
November, 1912, 507,894 copies, value $15,859.89; 1913, 341,418 copies, value $11,000.

The Tennessee Trial

By C. S. L.

WE thought our people would be interested to learn some of the particulars of the prosecution of Brother J. S. Rooker, at Waverly, Tenn., for violation of the Sunday law. The trial occurred on Tuesday, December 16. As previously reported, the court convicted Brother Rooker and fined him one dollar.
Hon. Cyrus Simmons, of Knoxville, Tenn., was the attorney for the defendant, and Attorney-General Bowman prosecuted the case on behalf of the State of Tennessee. It was a long, hard battle, lasting three hours, and the jury deliberated for another hour before they could come to an agreement. Every inch of the ground was contested; but by the special help of the Lord the truth and religious liberty principles were ably advocated and defended by Brother Simmons. Every one present, except the attorney-general, was ready to admit that we had the truth on our side and produced the ablest arguments during the trial.
There were about ten lawyers present, and they admitted to us that we had the best of the argument even though the law was against us. They said they never knew there was so much involved in the Sunday question, and that they were going to read up on the subject and do all they could to repeal or change the law if they ever got a chance at it. Six of the jurymen with whom we had conversation afterward, agreed it was a bad law, and that our people ought to enjoy equal protection with those of other faiths in the State of Tennessee. Eight of the jurymen cast their votes to acquit on the first ballot. But the others insisted that they were under oath to uphold the Sunday law, and with this argument the rest were finally persuaded to cast their votes also for conviction.
The courthouse was well filled with spectators. The deepest interest was manifested, and it was very evident from the remarks that were made the following evening that we had the hearts and sympathies of “the common people.”
The February number of the Watchman will give the full details of the trial, and we trust it will be given a wide circulation not only in Tennessee, but throughout the whole country. The Liberty magazine for the first quarter of this year also gives an interesting account of this and former trials in Tennessee.
As soon as the court had convened and the indictment was read, Attorney Simmons attempted to induce the court to accept a demurrer which he had prepared against the indictment, and made a motion to quash the case, but the court overruled the demurrer.
Court: “I think the indictment charges the offense sufficiently to put the defendant on no exception in view of our statutes and in view of liberal interpretation of preceding cases. The demurrer will be overruled. All the questions following the first ground of demurrer have been settled by the supreme court of Tennessee, and they are not open to controversy so far as this court is concerned.”
Mr. Simmons: “I have a manuscript of description on second grounds for a demurrer.”
Court: “When rendered?”
Mr. Simmons: “In 1899, on the ground that the Sunday law is obsolete, openly and universally violated. It is after the style of this case. It covers the violation of every Sunday statute for the purpose of paying penalty under statutes. The construction of the statute came under the ruling of the court and later this decision by the court of civil appeals was affirmed by the supreme court of the Knoxville division.”
Court: “I would not follow court of civil appeal against supreme court of the State of Tennessee.”
Mr. Simmons: “This case was that of a man running a restaurant in Knoxville, and conducting a little fruit stand in the suburbs of the city, which he kept open selling fruits, etc., on Sunday. The court held that he was not amenable to the statutes because he was not pursuing his ordinary avocation of life. His business was to run a restaurant in Knoxville, and this did not come within the definition of the statute.”
Court: “You need not proceed further, my ruling is that that action did not come within the province of the statute. I must overrule your demurrer on second grounds.”
Mr. Simmons: “Your Honor, in support of the ground for a justifiable reason for a demurrer I wish to present two special pleas. These special pleas are based on the rights of the individual concerning his religious belief and the free exercise of his conscience as set forth in the bill of rights in Tennessee.”
Court: “You need not read any further. I cannot set aside the decision of the supreme court. The supreme court in the Parker case, as recorded in ‘16 Lea,’ has given a judicial decision in which the religious belief and the rights of conscience as set forth by Mr. Parker were overruled and held as not sufficient ground to exempt from the observance of the Sunday law of Tennessee. Your pleas would not be persuasive in the face of the supreme court decision. I do not care to hear anything further on the demurrer. It is not necessary to consume time on matters which have been decided by higher authority. I could not override the decision of the supreme court. I am firmly bound by what the supreme court has done. As a lawyer, you know that as a judge of an inferior court I am bound by the decisions of the supreme court, otherwise I am subject to impeachment. As far as any question of conscience is concerned, it is not necessary to consume time upon that proposition. Are you ready for trial?”
After this preliminary argument the trial began in real earnest. It was a nerve-racking experience from beginning to end. It was very apparent after this experience that we were at the mercy of the court, that an inexorable law held us in its grip, and that the most sacred guaranties of the rights of conscience and religious belief as set forth in both national and State constitutions counted for nothing in the face of a judicial decision of a State supreme court, rendered by one man on the bench who was evidently biased by his own religious convictions when he rendered his decision in the Parker case,—one of our brethren who was formerly convicted for the same offense.
One of the peculiar features of the case was that each of the prosecuting witnesses, and the neighbor who indicted Brother Rooker, admitted that they had occasionally worked on Sundays, even to the hoeing of corn, for which they were prosecuting the defendant, but that they had not done it within a year, and so they did not violate the law, as it had to be within a year from date of the indictment to be a violation of the law. Moreover, none of the witnesses except Brother Rooker's own son had seen him at work on Sunday at any time. They had merely seen him pass along the road to his fields, which were three miles from any public road. Yet they convicted him on the ground that his work on Sunday was a public nuisance and set a bad example before the public in that it corrupted public morals.
Evidence was also produced that many of the defendant's neighbors worked regularly on Sunday, cutting wood, rafting logs, fishing, cultivating fields, shelling corn, etc., all prohibited under the Sunday law; but because they did not do these things on religious grounds, the law was so construed by the court as to exempt them from its penalty. But when the statute is called into question on the plea of the rights of conscience and religious convictions, then the Sunday law must be upheld according to the decision of the court. Conscientious convictions must be set aside, and the penalty must be inflicted.
The most interesting features of the trial were the speeches of the attorney-general, those of the attorney for the defense, and the charge of the judge to the jury. These will be found in the issue of the Liberty magazine for the first quarter of 1914.
One thing that impressed us very much was the fact that the law of Tennessee is so constructed in reference to the penalty for Sunday violations that the State can collect the fine and costs if a person is worth more than $2,000; and the individual has no option in the matter. For a succession of violations, the court can impose any fine in its discretion. This shows us plainly that the time is not far distant when our property may be confiscated. Now is the time to use our means in the cause of God.
C. S. L.

Religious Liberty Department

By C. S. Longacre

C. S. LONGACRE — N. Am. Div. Secretary
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