On Sunday, the first day of October, Cardinal Gibbons, as is his custom on the first Sunday of each month, preached to his people. And on this particular Sunday his discourse was a sort of prelude to his "jubilee" celebration, which was to begin two weeks later.
In the course of this discourse the cardinal expressed his opposition to the election of United States senators by popular vote, and to the referendum and the recall of judges that is so strongly advocated in many quarters. He also spoke in terms of grateful praise of the demonstration in Baltimore in his honor last June, which was attended by President Taft and leading members of the coördinate branches of the Government. Passing from these matters, he spoke of the
Growth of the Catholic Church
in America during the fifty years that he has officiated as priest, bishop, archbishop, and cardinal. The substance of his remarks upon this topic, as given in the press reports, is the following:
In 1861, the archbishops and bishops of the United States numbered 48. The priests were 2,064. The number of churches with priests attached was 2,042, and the Catholic population was estimated at 1,860,000. The number of archbishops and bishops to-day in charge of sees amounts to 96, just twice as many as existed in 1861. The priests amount to 17,000, an increase of over eightfold. There are 13,500 churches, nearly a sevenfold increase. We have about 15,000,000 church-members, eight times as many as existed in the United States in 1861.
But the progress of religion in our country is to be estimated not only by the augmentation of the numbers of its communicants, but also by a more efficient coördination and discipline. The clergy, in 1861, were as detached squadrons compared to the compact and well-marshaled army of to-day. Half a century ago the prelates and clergy labored under many adverse circumstances. In widely extended parts of the country they had to minister to the faithful scattered often without churches wherein to worship, and without Catholic schools. They had but scant resources to sustain them. Frequently they had to contend with deep-rooted prejudices.
Parochial Schools the Rule
Now, thank God, we have in most places parishes well organized. Churches have multiplied from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Parochial schools have become the rule instead of the exception in the large centers of population. A generous laity are usually able and always willing to aid our missionaries. An unfriendly feeling indeed still exists in some quarters, as the result of long-standing traditions and biased education. But the mists of prejudice are gradually disappearing before the sunlight of truth.
The increase in numbers of the Catholic Church in America is not more strikingly significant than her increase in power and influence. When the cardinal was ordained a priest in 1861, the sentiment was strong that it would never do to allow the Catholics to become dominant in political matters. It was considered that her past history was such that it would not be for the safety of the State ever to permit of such a thing. And so there were many Protestants who held the view that Catholicism might be allowed perfect freedom in her spiritual realm, but that the age had reached a frame of mind that would never allow her to become a political power.
But there has been a growing sentiment, during this last fifty years, among the Protestant churches themselves, that they should take a large hand in politics and be a dominant power there. And if it is all right for the Protestant churches to become a political power, there is no law of logic that will not admit that it is just as right for the Catholic to do so. One of the main points that is made by many in demanding the federation of churches, is that they may be able to bring the united power of all the churches to bear on the politicians, so that they may secure their demands. And since the Catholic has the best equipped and most thoroly trained organization for attaining political ends, it should be easy to see which will be in the lead when the grand march is fully under way.
Watching the Laymen's Parade at Cardinal Gibbons's Jubilee. The cardinal in the center, Apostolic Delegate Falconio at the cardinal's right, Archbishop Farley at his left. (Photo by Paul Thompson, New York.)
There are many great evils in this age that need to be corrected. And many able and well-meaning men in both the Catholic and the Protestant churches are strongly advocating that the power of the church will have to be invoked. When the church has given herself to the work of leading the individual to Christ, she has always been a mighty power for good in the world; for society as a whole can not be any better than the individual units of society, and it is for the individual that the church must work. Whenever she has entered politics and tried to do church work by political methods, she has invariably met with dismal failure. Tyranny, oppression, and cruel martyrdom have ever been the fruitage of the church-and-state régime. A thing that has this invariable history, is not worthy of another trial. No man nor body of men has any right to demand of the State anything as churchmen that they would not ask as individual men or citizens. Legislation must be for the man, not the religionist. T.
National Good Citizenship Movement
By G. E. Langdon
NOVEMBER 2 and 3, 1911, at the First Methodist Church of Chicago was held a meeting which has laid the foundation for the organization of a powerful compact, or federation. Representatives were there from the Christian Endeavor, Epworth League, Baptist Young People's Societies, Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A., Young People's Civic League, Anti-Saloon League, Prohibition Party, National Reform Association, and the Temperance Society, an organization of the Methodist Church under Dr. C. T. Wilson, the American Civic Reform Union, and other societies.
The object of this meeting is to secure the federation of all these organizations; as one speaker put it, so they can "strike one unanimous blow for home and country." The three principal points set forth in the program were surely what every one must admit is called for in this land of ours, under a united force. Their object is a world-wide movement against intemperance, impurity, and gambling. These were the principal points discussed in all their lectures; but when Dr. Wilbur F. Crafts spoke, he said that in a combined effort of all these mighty organizations against these evils, which he denominated "three snakes in the nest," it would be impossible to fail in greatly wounding them and soon destroying them altogether. He said he thought it would be just as easy to fight four snakes in the nest as three, and that wisdom would direct that instead of having so many little sticks fighting the nest, we might as well have a combined effort, that they might receive a mighty and everlasting stroke.
The fourth "snake," he suggested, should be Sabbath-breaking, or the desecration of Sunday. He saw no reason why they could not at the same time fight "four snakes in the nest" as well as three. Some, he said, were opposed to this point in the movement, but he felt anxious that the Sabbath question should have a place among the others.
This earnest people, who are made up from the best people and societies of the land, so far as this world is concerned, are terribly in earnest in seeking to save our country from these ruinous and disreputable vices — intemperance, gambling, and impurity; but we know that while this is a worthy object, and God is using them to help hold back this awful spirit of depravity, yet Satan would have them tack on the Sunday question, and at the same time unite their forces against the Sabbath of the Lord Jesus as "a snake in the nest" of all the corruption of earth, and associate it with the worst crimes of the land.
A temporary organization was effected with Harry S. Warner as chairman; vice-chairman, the Rev. Charles D. Bulla; secretary, Miss Margaret Wintringe; treasurer, Mary F. Balcomb. The committee appointed for nomination and plans recommend that in the "National Good Citizenship Movement," five delegates11be officially appointed from each of these organizations, and others who may join them, who shall meet in Chicago February 12, for the purpose of perfecting the movement. They also recommend that the headquarters shall be at Chicago. Dr. Crafts was the first one of the committee appointed on plans.
It will not be difficult for many of my readers, understanding as they do the prophecies relating to the Sabbath question and this nation, to see how this mighty federation of peoples, societies, and churches can bring about a great hardship to those who observe the true Sabbath. It is evident that with the National Reform Bureau and National Reform Association in this movement, with one of their chief objects the enforcement of Sunday upon the world, and also the American Civic Reform Union, with the Rev. A. S. Gregg superintendent, the Sunday movement will soon be incorporated therein. Article two of the constitution of this latter reads thus: "The object of this organization shall be to improve the government of the cities, expose graft, promote civic pride, civic education, Sunday observance, temperance, and better marriage and divorce regulations; prohibit the manufacture and sale of cigarets, the publication of immoral literature, and abolish gambling and immoral traffic in women, and to obtain and enforce laws in harmony with the foregoing objects." They also have an article in their by-laws establishing a bureau of information and investigation, and PROVIDING DETECTIVES for special work.
While they have set their force and determination against the flagrant and appalling sins witnessed on every hand, and without doubt God is using them to hold back the beggarly elements of wickedness, yet they will classify the true Sabbath of Jehovah with all these vile and evil practises; and when those obedient to God's law say that they can not work in harmony with one point of the organization, because of their united efforts against God's Sabbath, they will classify them with those who are enemies of temperance, chastity, the peace of our land, and the advancement of God's kingdom.
While the hearts of true Sabbath-keepers yearn to unite with them in helping to suppress these destructive sins, they will be compelled, no doubt, to come out from among them, and work alone, in order to uphold and maintain the true Sabbath of the Lord, which Jesus honored and sealed into His own church by the blood of the everlasting covenant.
G. E. LANGDON.
Church Federation
By George S. Work
FIRST of all, let me candidly say that this proposed federation has for its main tenet the Sunday rest day. This is where its influence will be felt. Whether or not the various denominations connected with this movement set aside all dogmas and doctrinal points, they will inevitably decide in favor of the Sunday rest day. They must meet it. It is the very center of their activities. They must have some strong doctrine upon which they will agree as a body, and Sunday affords this opportunity.
The spirit of unionism is abroad, and is pervading many fields of social activity,—which is good in many ways, but beware that in our desire for centralized power we do not overlook vital principles of truth which have been recognized since the fall of man. Such a federation as this, can only result in apostasy and despotism. When this federation is formed, it will not only be national in its scope, but also international. It will be the greatest religious federation that the world will ever see. The civil power will be forced to enact more stringent Sunday laws according to the will of this power. This in itself would be contrary to the glorious principles of religious liberty as outlined in the Constitution of the United States, and which has made this nation the champion of true reform.
This movement is directly opposed to the plain and immutable Word of God, which emphatically declares in no unmistakable terms, "Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces." Isa. 8:9.
A noticeable feature of this movement is the seemingly disinterested attitude of the Church of Rome. The Papacy will never step down from her pinnacle of supreme authority in religious matters. The various denominations must come to her for recognition. The man on the Tiber will have something to say regarding this federation when the time comes.
The ultimate result of such a concerted movement would be nothing short of a union between Church and State, and consequently, all that follows in its wake. The terrible scenes of the Dark Ages would be repeated; for if this movement should succeed in its efforts—and it will—to have the Sunday enforced, who can tell what next it will demand? Why not demand that people throughout the world pray so many times a day? It would be no more unreasonable than commanding all to rest on the first day of the week. May God, in His mercy, keep the lovers of liberty when this time comes.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who is regarded as the leading, moving spirit in the Chinese revolution. From his latest photograph, taken recently in Denver. (Paul Thompson.)
I fancy I hear the people of old, building the Tower of Babel, when they said, "Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Then again, I fancy I hear these modern religionists clamoring for power, saying, "Let us proclaim to all the inhabitants of earth that they must rest on the first day of the week, regardless of their opinion, lest we lose our prestige as a religious body."
The Roman Catholics in Politics
Henri Bourassa is a French Catholic politician in Quebec, Canada. He was once the friend of Premier Wilfrid Laurier, now his political enemy. In its issue of September 9 the Detroit Saturday Night has the following from its Montreal correspondent, Mr. H. M. Nimmo:
Bourassa and the Church
To further aggravate public opinion in the present campaign it is reported here that Bourassa has the sympathy of the powerful Catholic Church in Quebec, tho to what extent, it is impossible to guess. Laurier has by no means been unfriendly to his church, but the Quebec church is aggressively pro-Catholic in all things as well as pro-French in membership. That it would therefore welcome the creation of a new republic on this continent subject to the control of no temporal power and almost wholly given over to the Catholic faith, is not beyond the bounds of reason.
It is not very many months since Father Vaughan delivered his now celebrated utterances at the eucharistic congress here, when he predicted that Montreal would become the Rome of the American continent. The Catholic clergy of this province have not lost sight of that vision. Not only does the Catholic Church in Quebec enjoy the privilege of collecting tithes from its members in precedence over the civil tax, which civil tax falls most heavily on its own members because of the enormous holdings of church property that are exempt, but it is now proposed in effect that the marriage laws of the church shall supersede the civil law governing matrimony. Naturally, the Protestant churches of the dominion have resented this proposition, as illumined in the famous Heber case, and have voiced their resentment in strong words.
To most of these Protestants the men who cheer the flag of France and cry out against the consolidation of the empire are the same men who endanger religious liberty in Canada and place their church first. And so, what with ecclesiastical aggressiveness and racial and pro-French animosities the efforts of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the last thirty-five years to weld French and English Canada into one harmonious nation is by way of spelling not success, but secession. That blows will some day be struck is not at all impossible.
It is worth while for Rome now to keep nations divided. Reciprocity helps to unite. Did the influence of the Papacy help to defeat it?
A Strange Spectacle
By Editor
AMERICA has been justly lauded as the "land of the free and the home of the brave." It gave to the world a new order of things when it adopted the Declaration of Independence and presented its Constitution to men. It rightly placed upon the reverse side of its great seal "Novo Ordo Seclorum." It emphasized this "new order of things" in its first amendment to the Constitution, practically a part of the Constitution itself: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The Federal Government stood for liberty, civil and religious. The sad part was that the union of religion with the State was not swept away from the various colonies or the individual States. Logically, this ought to have been done to bring them in harmony with the Federal Constitution; but in some of them it was not, and now, in these later days, men are harking back to the old intolerant colonial laws of the States, especially in regard to Sunday keeping.
Among the States which have "sabbath laws" is that of South Carolina. In the later days of harvest, heavy rains fell; and whenever sunny weather came, the farmers improved it. This seemed to them necessary respecting corn fodder, cotton etc.; and one Sunday being a clear, dry day, the early morning found many of the farmers in a certain neighborhood out in their fields trying to save their crops. Among these were two Seventh-day Adventists, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. Several of the workers in the fields were closer to the public way and nearer to the homes of others than were Mr. and Mrs. Brown. They were quietly picking cotton in their field, while other people in that section were hauling fodder, and among them the town constable; and yet religious bigots, taking advantage of the law, caused the arrest of these two persons, because the law declared that persons are not to perform labor of their ordinary calling on "the Lord's day, commonly called the Sabbath."
When the case came to trial, Mr. W. H. Branson, a minister of the same church, came to the aid of the "criminals." He wished to present before the jury and the court the reasons that the brother and his wife had for doing as they did, to show that they had not violated "the Lord's day, commonly called the Sabbath," according to that Book from which all Sabbath observance comes; but the court ruled that the Bible must not be used as evidence, that it was incompetent evidence, and must not be referred to in the trial. It was stated that the question as to which day is the Sabbath is to be decided by the State of South Carolina, and not by the Bible, and that to introduce God's law, God must be present in person, else it would be only hearsay or supposition.
Think of it! Think of a court prosecuting men for doing ordinary work on the "Lord's day, commonly called the Sabbath," and then shutting out of that court the evidence of the only Book which12calls for the observance of such a day! Of course the only thing that was left for Pastor Branson was to state the true principles of religious liberty, and he and a friend of his did so. It was also shown that the work was a work of necessity, as the cotton in the field was wasting.
The jury returned a verdict of "guilty."
There is a Court before which all will appear—the South Carolina judge and jury among the others. At that Court the law which will acquit or condemn men is the Decalogue, the law of Ten Commandments. No human pleading, no human perversion, no human law, can set aside the plain letter and intent of that law. It will stand as it was written by the finger of God. But entirely apart from this, man is responsible to God, and to God alone, as to the day he observes or fails to observe as the Sabbath.
We wish the case were appealed. We can not conceive that a South Carolina higher court could shut out from the pleading or the evidence that Book which furnishes the only basis for Sabbath observance.
Our sympathies are with those who suffer; and yet their case is a thousand times better than those who prosecuted them, because he who has the truth can afford to suffer for the truth and for the sake of the Master of the truth. Those who, however, put themselves in God's place, and prosecute men for conscience' sake, are in pitiable case indeed. Let us pray for them.
"Be Still, and Know"
By Editor
At a time when the nations rage and the kingdoms are moved, God speaks to His people, "Be still, and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10. "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." Dan. 4:32. This is a lesson that He would have kings and statesmen learn; for the word was spoken to one of earth's mightiest monarchs.
One of the difficulties to-day is that men do not stop to think of God. They rush hastily, madly, pell-mell into conflicts and struggles which would never have come if men had waited upon God and trusted Him. The Wall Street Journal of September 26 presents the matter just now in the following striking way:
"MAKE THE MEN SIT DOWN"
Once nineteen centuries ago, when a large multitude believed the food supply was exhausted, it raised its voice in wailing and protest. There were a good many thousands present, and it did not look as if five loaves and two small fishes would go far among so many. They could not count upon the miracle that followed. But the first command has some bearing on parallel events to-day. It was, "Make the men sit down." The clamor was stilled. Whether the multitude was fed or no, at least order was restored, and order is Heaven's first law.
We are unquestionably in a period of great unrest, and the industry and commerce of the nation are gravely affected. From the President down, everybody is talking at once and nobody is listening. It is conceivable that we have among us those who can bring order out of chaos. We can not do it unless the example of order is set in high places. The Great Exemplar we have instanced is not recorded as making any speeches on that memorable occasion. Have we any "still, strong man in a blatant land"? Is there anybody calm enough to "make the men sit down"?
We have not space to quote all, but the editor closes his pertinent remarks by saying:
Let us still a clamor which helps nobody and settles nothing. Let us "make the men sit down."
Nearly all the troubles which come upon humanity are increased, multiplied, intensified, by the unreasoning clamor of men, who generally find out too late that they were mistaken. Let the men "sit down" and think, and think past humanity to God, and submit to Him their cause.
Needless Expenditure.
As indicative of growing extravagance, according to Government statistics, the importation of ostrich feathers during the month of July amounted to "$225,000, suggesting that the amount of money sent out of the country in the purchase of ostrich feathers," says the report, "approximates three million dollars a year, while the price the consumer pays for them is of course greatly in excess of that sum." Imports of laces, edgings, embroideries, amount to between forty and fifty million dollars a year, aggregating more than four hundred million dollars in the past dozen years. It is safe to say that very little of this was necessary.
The despatches of recent date contain the account of a very unique meeting held by the Socialists in the neighborhood of Riga, Russia. They had tried in vain to hold meetings, but the police just as promptly broke them up. They finally advertised a swimming match, and each of the swimmers was an orator who addressed the crowd on the bank while swimming. Asking and answering questions was also a part of the feats of these swimming orators.
President Taft holds a great record in traveling for the Government; up to date he has traversed 298,728 miles at Government expense since entering the service in 1900.
"Runaway Matches"
STATISTICS compiled from the records of the district supreme court at Washington, D. C., show that forty per cent of all divorces in that city are the result of runaway matches, and that thirty per cent result from marriages where one of the contracting parties was under twenty-one years of age. Eighty per cent of the divorce suits have been filed by women, and less than ten per cent of the couples who seek the courts are parents. There is one divorce suit in the district to every four marriage licenses. It is also a most remarkable fact that less than ten per cent of the couples who seek the courts are parents. There is a warning in these statistics to young people who run away to be married, and a caution to persons to consider well when inclined to marry in haste.—N. Y. Christian Advocate.
Does Germany Covet the Dead Sea?
It is undeniable that the Holy Land is gradually being Germanized. More than two thirds of the philanthropic institutions in the way of churches, missions, hospitals, and hospices are in the hands of the Germans. The leading polytechnics, public schools, and educational institutes are also governed by them, while quite large German colonies are now to be found in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jaffa, and other places. Recent excavations of any importance have been carried out by the Germans, who also virtually control the country's trade.
Now an important German expedition is to explore the Dead Sea. It is being sent out by the Palestine Exploration Society of Berlin, and Dr. A. Brühl, custodian of the Berlin Institute for Sea [Exploration] Research, will be in charge. Whether it is Germany's desire to secure the mineral wealth of the Dead Sea basin, remains, of course, to be seen.
It is well known that the finest and purest bitumen is obtained here, also quantities of excellent sulfur. According to Professor Blanckenhorn's report, copper mines have been worked near the south end of the Dead Sea in Byzantine times; and also marble, porphyry, and other fine classes of stone are to be found there, as well as phosphates. It has also been stated by American experts that evidences of coal and oil are very apparent. Salt is found in great quantities; but upon this the government holds a monopoly, with the curious result that salt is at present imported from Smyrna and England.
The principal places of interest around the sea are En-gedi, Masada, Jebel Usdum, the four or five small watered plains, and the wild gorges of the Arnon and Zerka. En-gedi, about half way down on the western shore, was undoubtedly a little paradise in the time of Solomon, and is referred to in the Old Testament (Joshua 15:62). Ten miles from here is the remarkable natural fortress of Masada, used as a place of refuge by Herod. Eight miles further down the coast is the mountain of Jebel Usdum, six miles long, composed of hard salt. In this mountain there is a wonderful salt cave, from the roof of which hang great snow-white stalactites.
Some eleven miles up, going northward, on the eastern side, is the gorge of the River Arnon, containing the finest natural scenery in Palestine. The sides of the canyon rise perpendicularly about three hundred feet, and are only about twenty feet apart in some places, here overhanging, there overlapping or dovetailing into one another, as tho this mighty mass had been rent violently asunder to allow the seething stream of the Arnon, with its cascades and whirlpools, access to the sea. The cliffs are of sandstone of the most beautiful and exquisite colors.
To the popular mind, the Dead Sea is naturally associated with Sodom and Gomorrah, the "cities of the plain" that were overthrown on account of the wickedness of their inhabitants. On the eastern shore there is palpable evidence of volcanic upheaval.—Illustrated London News.
Fashion, Politics, and Living Costs
By Editor
And now, following the hobble skirt, comes a newfangled hoop-skirt. We will not attempt to describe it; it is certain that it will be loud enough to speak for itself. These skirts will probably match the bags, or sacks, of all sizes and descriptions, which may or should be carried, but which, one fashion article says, should not be used for carrying anything which would reveal itself or cause the sack to bulge. The sacks are ornaments. It is too bad that Fashion has so many slaves.
Some of the politicians are saying that it costs from $150,000 to $200,000 to "conduct a campaign for the election of a United States senator properly." We suppose they mean by "properly," to conduct the campaign so as to win. The salary of the United States senator is $7,500 a year. It is easy to see, from such facts, the grip that political corruption has on the country.
The stock of gold now piled up in the United States Treasury is, in round numbers, $1,200,000,000. The Wall Street Journal says this "is a hoard not only unequaled but unapproached in the world's history." The next largest hoards are those of the Imperial Bank of Russia, which has about $640,000,000, and the Bank of France, which has about $630,000,000.
A great deal of the high cost of living of these days is due to the high cost of living high. Cultivating simple, inexpensive habits, will do about as much as anything that can be thought of to reduce the cost of living. And, besides, the simple, inexpensive habits bring the most health, the least worry, and the most joy into life.
The Central Society of Commercial Clerks, at a meeting held in Berlin, adopted resolutions demanding the closing of all stores on Sunday. The resolutions state that the hygienic importance of such action is recognized by scientific authorities, by all clerk organizations, and is winning the support of German business men.
Of the ecclesiastical colors of Rome the Western Watchman says: Roman violet is very near purple; and Roman purple is very near scarlet. For this reason the bishops and monsignors are said to wear the purple, which is in reality a color belonging exclusively to cardinals.
We do not believe that the present troubles in the Near East or Far East bode general war, altho this is feared and even predicted. It is not yet God's time, and His angels are holding the winds till His work is finished. Then Armageddon, but not till then.
Twice, we are told, during the Moroccan difficulties between France and Germany, the latter country was on the very verge of war with England. In each case, it is said, Germany withdrew her demands. God is holding the winds.
After numerous discussions by their great scientists and learned Brahmans, the Hindus of Calcutta have decided to light their Kalis Temple by electricity. This is a remarkable innovation.
The Manchu government, which has ridden upon the backs of the Chinese so long, in its fright is ready to concede all but the throne to the people. Peking is in a panic.
