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Review and Herald, Vol. 83, No. 49.

Alone With God

Review and Herald

Dec 6, 1906

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 6, 1906

Alone With God

By Worthie Harris Holden

WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
Commune with thine own soul, O traveler, And feel the pulses of thy conscience beat Its rhythmic measure to thy confidence, Alone, apart, or in the crowded street.
For e’en amid the bustle and the stir Thou mayest still be all alone with God, Conversing with thy soul to learn anew Its hidden motives, naked to thy Lord.
For weighed within His scale omniscient, now No veil enshrouds the secrets of thy life; Eternity hangs in the balances, And life and death are dueled in the strife.
Forgotten be earth’s praises or its frown, Forgotten all thy pretenses or fears; And know thou in the silence of thy soul How reads thy record in the Court of Years.
And if thou findest there one sullied spot, One jealous thought, one act yet unforgiven, Let not a moment pass ere thou hast known The gracious pardon of thy Judge in heaven.
Portland, Ore.

Publishers' Page

Conducted by the Department of Circulation of the Review and Herald Publishing Association

The Report of the Publishers' Convention

The proceedings of the publishers' convention held at Washington, D. C., October 3-10, 1906, are printed in a pamphlet of 256 pages, and will be mailed for ten cents, post-paid. The following introductory note to these proceedings will reveal their importance:—
“Since the organization of the General Conference Publishing Department at the General Conference session held in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1901, only one general convention of the department has been held previous to the one held in Takoma Park, Washington, D. C., Oct. 3-10, 1906. “This second convention was held under most favorable conditions. As the General Conference Committee, together with a large delegation of State conference presidents, treasurers, and other officials, had been in council at Takoma Park during the week previous to the opening of the convention, favorable opportunity was given for a publishers’ convention in which there would be a large representative gathering of leading men. “The officers of the General Conference co-operated with the department officers by dropping almost entirely the regular work of the General Conference Council, and by opening the way for all to attend the meetings of the convention. “The result was very gratifying indeed. For one week the members of the General Conference Committee and many other leading men sat together with the members of the department, joining their committee work, their devotions, and all their discussions. “The questions considered were of vital importance and of world-wide interest. It has, therefore, been deemed advisable that a report of these meetings be published in convenient form for general distribution. An effort has been made to publish the larger part of the important papers and discussions, so as to give our people a clear, comprehensive understanding of the strong, enthusiastic work of the convention. “We trust that in the reading of these reports our people will catch the enthusiasm of the convention, and be greatly strengthened and encouraged in their home missionary work.”

A Friend in the Kitchen

“A FRIEND IN THE KITCHEN, or What to Cook and How to Cook It,” by Mrs. Anna L. Colcord, is described in the following first paragraph of the preface of this helpful book: “The object of this work is to furnish in an inexpensive and convenient form plain directions on healthful cookery. Special attention has been given to the idea, presenting such recipes as will tend to make the living of the family what it should be,—simple, economical, wholesome, nutritious, palatable, and varied.” The book gives over four hundred recipes, while in the back will be found a table giving the time required to digest
various foods, another giving the nutritive value of different foods, still another setting forth the weights and measures for the kitchen. Special paper binding, 25 cents; oilcloth, 50 cents, post-paid.

Choice Swedish Tracts Topically Arranged

Second Coming of Christ

Earthquake, Illustrated (San Francisco) ............ $.20 — Per 100: 100 His Glorious Appearing, Illustrated ............... .15 Alarm of War ...................................... .04 — $3.20 Can We Know? ...................................... .01 — .80 Judgment ........................................... .02 — 1.60 We Would See Jesus ................................ .02 — 1.60

Immortality Question

Is Man Immortal? .................................. .04 — .80 Rich Man and Lazarus .............................. .04 — 3.20 Sinner’s Fate ...................................... .01 — .80 Sleep of the Dead .................................. .01 — .80

The Law

Law and Gospel ..................................... .02 — 1.60 Law of God ......................................... .01 — .80 Perpetuity of the Law of God ...................... .03 — 2.40 Canright Versus Canright ........................... .10 — ...

The Sabbath

Franson on the Sabbath ............................ .15 — ... Christ and the Sabbath ............................ .05 — 4.00 Sabbath of the Lord ................................ .02 — 1.60 Seal of God ........................................ .04 — 3.20 Seven Reasons ...................................... .02 — 1.60

The Millennium

Thousand Years’ Reign ............................. .25 — ... New Earth .......................................... .25 — ... Millennium ......................................... .02 — 1.60

Bible Study

Bible Sanctification ................................ .10 — ... Family Bible Teacher (28 lessons) .................. .20 — ... Present Truth ...................................... .04 — 3.20 Sanctuary .......................................... .02 — 1.60 Scripture References ............................... .04 — 3.20

Miscellaneous

Man of Sin ......................................... .05 — 4.00 Salvation in Christ ................................ .05 — 4.00 Twofold Apostasy ................................... .04 — 3.20 Without Excuse ..................................... .01 — .80

Religious Liberty

Christ and the Pharisees ........................... .03 — 2.40 Our Answer ......................................... .02 — 1.60 Sunday Laws in the United States ................... .03 — 2.40
Order of your tract society or of the International Publishing Association, College View, Neb.

Bibles for Christmas Presents

The Review and Herald Publishing Association, of Washington, D. C., has secured a line of Bibles printed in the Old Country that equals any other Bible published. They contain all the latest, up-to-date features of any Bible manufactured, and have a clear, large, bold-faced type, Arabic figures for chapter headings, the popular center-column references, with or without thumb indexes; 6¾ in. long by 4¾ in. wide, ⅞ in. thick, except the cheapest book, which is 1¼ in. thick. The general demand is for a large type in a small Bible, and this line is the nearest approach to such a book we know of. Note the following styles and prices: No. 2990, Alsatian morocco, divinity circuit, round corners, red-under-gold edges, silk head band and marker, linen lined, plain book paper, $2.50. No. 2990x, same as above, with the exception of being made with thin India
paper, which makes it only ⅞ of an inch thick, $3.50. No. 2992x, Egyptian morocco, same style as above, grained leather, silk sewed, $4. No. 2996x, Alaska seal, same style as above, calf lined to edge, silk sewed, $5.50. If concordance is desired, 50 cents extra; if thumb index, 50 cents extra. Order by the number of the Bible.
It pays to buy more than one Bible. If persons can club together and send us an order for three Bibles to one address, a liberal discount will be made.

New Spanish Books

A new and revised edition of “Steps to Christ” in Spanish is now off the press. The book is bound in cloth only, and retails for 50 cents. Also a new edition of “Christ Our Saviour” in Spanish is now being printed in Kansas City, and will be ready for delivery by November 15. Cloth, 75 cents; board, 50 cents. Order through the regular channel.

The New Testament Primer

A new book by James Edson White, entitled “New Testament Primer,” is now ready. It is handsomely illustrated with new half-tone and line engravings, with type work in blue ink. All cuts are printed in two colors. It will make a beautiful and attractive book for children. It will contain four departments, the first a Scripture Alphabet, with each letter printed in two colors, and a text of Scripture by the side of each letter, the first word beginning with that letter, and ornamented with vines and flowers that grow in Palestine. The second department is made up of trees, flowers, animals, birds, and insects, with eleven pages of pictures in colors, and descriptions in blue. At the bottom of each page in this department is a slate exercise in writing lessons, drawing, and stick-laying, which will afford endless and useful amusement and home study for the children. The life of Christ is the subject of the third department. It is made plain, simple, and interesting. In this department are lessons on baptism, the Sabbath, the resurrection, and the second coming of Christ, which are interwoven naturally into the story. Following the life of Christ, the fourth department takes up the life of the apostles; beginning with their return from the Mount of Olives, their early mission is described; the experiences of Peter, in prison and out; the conversion of Saul, his ministry, his shipwreck, etc., while on his way as a prisoner to Rome. The book closes with John on Patmos, with beautiful full-page illustrations of “John Viewing the Holy City,” and “A Little Child Shall Lead Them.” These pictures are also printed in colors, and are especially good. Prices, in board covers, cloth back, 25 cents; in full cloth, 50 cents.
Orders for any publication mentioned on this page may be sent to any conference tract society, or to Review and Herald Publishing Association, Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C., or Battle Creek, Mich. Also Pacific Press Publishing Company, Mountain View, Cal.; Portland, Ore.; Kansas City, Mo.; Southern Publishing Association, Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Tex.

Love's Active Way

THE test of love is obedience. “This is love, that we should walk after his commandments.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” That love which claims to be above obedience to the law is love perverted — free love. “So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfil the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting his glory and showing forth his praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confiding and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies.” It was the self-assertion of Satan which introduced discord and rebellion against the law of love, and he has maintained his warfare against that law ever since his first refusal to submit to divine authority. This enmity against God's law he has inspired in the minds of the human family, so that the carnal mind “is not subject to the law of God.” The claim that Christ has abolished the law is only a part of the scheme to prevent man from walking in harmony with the commandments of God. Love fulfils the law. To refuse to obey the law of love is to refuse to love God. The law is love's active way.

The World and the Message

I WOULD like to call your attention briefly to our present situation, and our work in view of that situation. My subject may be expressed thus: the world in the light of the third angel's message, and the third angel's message as the light of the world.
It certainly must be clear to us all that we are living in a remarkable time. There is certainly an intensity that seems to have taken hold upon everything,—an intensity that we can perhaps feel and sense better than we can really express. If we take a somewhat general view of the world at the present time, and compare it with the conditions that prevailed within our own memory, we can certainly see marked changes, and we can hardly avoid the feeling, even though we may not be able to interpret all these changes, that there is a greater significance in things now than appears upon the surface,—a significance that is not understood by many who are the actors in these movements. It shows itself in many ways in different fields.
Take China and Japan; as compared with their conditions a few years ago, such a change has come that the common phrase now is “the awakening of China,” and a similar change has come in Japan.
I might relate to you a conversation which I had last summer with a young Chinese student, with whom I rode on a train as I was going to a camp-meeting which I attended. I found that he was an intelligent young Chinese student, on his way to college, under the support of the Chinese government and the direction of the Chinese minister here at Washington, taking the same course, with the same purpose in view. Finding that he was in close touch with the Chinese minister here, and generally intelligent about Chinese affairs, I questioned him quite closely, and he said to me, “China will never be partitioned now. What Japan has done, China can do.” And by way of enforcing the change that would come, and the significance of it, he said, “By the beginning of 1910 China will have one million armed and trained men in the field, ready for service.”
Of course the results of the Japanese war were a surprise to many, and indicated that that nation, viewed from the general standpoint of civilization,—while civilization is measured by the ability to conduct warfare,—has made great advances. It is also true that educationally both those countries have awakened.
There is a certain sort of stimulus that seems to have taken hold of the human mind. Remarkable things are happening, unusual things are being talked and written about, unusual positions are being taken. Religious views have changed remarkably within the last five or ten years, and the last five years have perhaps brought a greater change than any like period within our recollection. There is a different alignment in almost every field, whether it be in the political field, or the religious field, or the social field; and even in business operations there seems to have come in a stimulus; and the results are seen in these remarkable combinations of capital, the remarkable achievements that are attempted now. Think of the remarkable inventions, the problems that are being attempted,—such problems as would have almost frightened men a quarter of a century ago. They are the common thing to be attempted now.
There is an unusual situation in the religious world. In its survey of the field, from a religious liberty standpoint, the present number of Liberty just issued, takes up the developments in that particular line, in Brazil; in China, where the order has been issued that no diplomatic business shall be transacted on Sunday, no visitors received at court on Sunday; in Cuba, where an attempt is being made to enforce Sunday observance; in Italy, where there is a drifting apart of church and state so closely related in the past; in Canada, where a stringent Sunday law has been passed; in Russia, which has been in the throes of a political revolution for months, and where changes of such note have come; in France, where the whole nation is stirred over the question of the proper relation between the church and the state; in Spain, where the same thing is being agitated, and where a step toward separation has been taken; in Hungary, where, in spite of the law's being technically correct, it is possible to persecute those who teach any religion contrary to the established religion; and in England, where a notable controversy is now reaching a very critical stage. The question of the teaching of religion in the public schools was an issue in the last general election, and on that issue a very large majority was returned to the House of Commons, in favor of eliminating those requirements from the education bill; and the House of Commons passed almost unanimously a bill which threw out all provisions for teaching religion in the public schools. The House of Lords has amended the bill, in such a way as to make the religious education compulsory. That brings the matter to a very critical point.
What is the real point that is so stirring the minds of the people in all these countries?—One common thing, and that is the attitude that the state should assume toward religion. It may manifest itself in one way or another; but the real point is, What attitude should the state assume toward religion? While it may not always appear on the surface, yet we know, from the light of prophecy, that the objective point in all this question is the relation between the state and religion, and that question will simmer down to a question of the enforcement of the Sabbath. Many countries are dealing with the question directly. But the real issue back of every phase of this question is the question of the Sabbath. And the issue back of the Sabbath is really the issue of the true God, and the true worship of God.
When you survey the whole field, the only thing that can explain the situation, that can give us a point of view so that we can interpret what these things mean, is the light thrown upon it by the third angel's message; and it becomes more and more clear that this message is the one voice in the world that is to give a clear interpretation of these things. We ought to give serious thought to these things. We seem to be almost forced along without ourselves appreciating the meaning of the present situation in the world in the light of this message. What these things mean to us we are to tell others. They have a great meaning to us. There must be a proclamation of God's message in the world that shall be a light to the world concerning these things.
There is another thing that has attracted attention lately. A recent number of the New York Independent contained a discussion of the question of the family. One article was written by Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, advocating extremely loose views concerning the family. If carried out, they would mean the practical application of the principle of free-loveism. The same number contained an article written by Mrs. Harris, a Southern writer, who took strong exceptions to the liberal views advocated by Mrs. Gilman. In this she presented a very different view of the family, a more stable view. Harper's Weekly took up this matter, and a long editorial upon the subject appeared in that journal. There is one paragraph in this article which seems to me to be of such significance that I will read it, to show how some of the positions that have been set forth in the spirit of prophecy, and some of the truths there advocated, are coming out now in a light where we can understand more clearly their meaning. The extract is concerning the passing of the home:—
The passing of the home began when, from false economy, or necessity, or whatever cause, people ceased to have a little land around their houses, a little ground where they could have the ineffable joy of sticking something into the ground and seeing it grow. The passing of the home continued when married people began to live in second-rate hotels and boarding-houses, and to create a leisure class of the wives of poor men. The passing of the home went on as people built smaller and smaller and less solid houses, with fewer sitting-rooms, doing away with the day nursery, the library, the business man's den, the sewing-room, the big, roomy linen closets, where the housewife could sit down and count her embroidered napkins and shake out the lavender bags in her hemstitched linen sheets. The passing of the home was announced when people began to build in blocks, leaving half the rooms in the house damp and dark, and when apartment houses went up all over our cities and towns. It meant that people were going to have sleeping dormitories, and possibly a place to eat together, but it meant that the home, the old-fashioned family life, the privacy, the dignity, the close and sacred relations, were loosening, and that people were more and more living in the world and less in the family.
Now put that with the fact that just recently a book has been issued, entitled “The Family,” written by the wife of a Congressman, the daughter of a prominent New York banker. That book advocates what is called marriage on trial. That is, a couple will live together for a year or so, and if they do not like it, give it up, and try again. That is seriously advocated in this book. It is creating a public storm of protest in certain quarters, and you can judge something of the character from this protest made by the Right Rev. William Croswell Doane, Episcopal Bishop of Albany, who says:—
This is a most revolutionary and in- decent performance. I can not understand why a woman in her position expresses such ideas. It is too bad to be true. The only thing to be said of the book so far as I have read the excerpts proves to me that it is a fundamental denial of the religious, civil, and social position that marriage has always occupied.
There is coming in a perfect revolution over this question of the home, the family, and the marriage relation, that I think has a deeper significance than we may admit. The home, the family, dates back to Eden. There is something fundamental in the relation that exists in the home. It is fundamental in God's plan. An almost insane desire seems to be possessing people's minds to break away from everything that has been established in the divine plan, to break away from all revealed truth, from the gospel as given to us in the Bible, and to substitute new and different ideas. Who do you suppose inspires these new ideas and interpretations? God does not put those ideas into people's minds, and urge them to give expression to them. It is because we are so near the crisis, so near the finishing of the controversy, and there is a satanic inspiration seizing upon minds everywhere, arousing them to do unusual, strange things, defying God, and defying the principles of the divine government. The only explanation is found in the light of this message, and the fact that the controversy is nearly finished. Now the final outbreak, the final effort is to be made, concerning the fundamental principles of God's government, as expressed in the law of God, as sealed by the Sabbath of the Lord. All these efforts are only shaping toward that one thing. While they may not be directly and in terms dealing with it now, they are all aimed toward that one thing, to turn aside as many as possible from obedience to the divine law, and harmony with the divine plans.
I will read further from Bishop Doane's statement:—
The theory of what she calls trial marriage is to my mind an outrage. It attacks the most vital part, the home life, not so much the relation between husband and wife, but the home. It is opposed to, and in contradiction of, the entire religious, legal, and social views as to what marriage is. From a religious point of view it is blasphemous, from a legal standpoint it is a revolution, and from a human standpoint it implies disaster and disgrace.
There will be a great deal of discussion over that question one way or another. This is perhaps the most flagrant departure from the divine and human law of the family that has yet come to public attention; but every time something appears, it is a step further.
Now when you think that in this apostasy which broke out within our own denomination, that very element of free-loveism was found, and is being revealed in it, you can see how much significance that has with reference to this message. That is, there is an element there that means a departure from God and his truth, and it needs this warning message from God to hold to right principles upon this question. And when we think that the effort was made to bring right into this message these very elements that are breaking out in the world now, we can understand who is back of all these movements, and why an effort was made to corrupt the very message that is to give light to the world concerning the meaning of these things. When I think of it from that standpoint, I am greatly disturbed over the need that there should be a clear and forcible proclamation of this message that would make itself felt in all the earth as a power for righteousness against all these tendencies,—such an interpretation of this message to the world as would have an influence to stay this tide, to make clear what these things mean; that every one of these movements is inspired of Satan, not for the uplifting of the family and of the people, but for their ruin, tending toward their destruction.
(To be concluded)

Editorial

By Editor

The signs of the times are now written in large letters, and the writing is punctuated with earthquakes, tornadoes, and other terrible disasters. Thus does our Lord announce to all the world that the end is near.
“The plague, and dearth, and din of war. Our Saviour’s swift approach declare, And bid our hearts arise; The signs confirm our trembling hope, While scoffers still in darkness grope, And view them with surprise.
“Whatever ills the world befall, A pledge of endless good we call, A sign of Jesus near. His chariot will not long delay; We hear the rumbling wheels, and pray, ‘Triumphant Lord, appear.’”

Misquoted

By C. M. S.

It is far from our purpose to injure any man or organization of men by misinterpreting their motives or misquoting their utterances. Nevertheless, we have so long foreseen the result of the National Reform principles, if adopted in this country, that we have actually in one instance put that result in the place of their statement of their aims. We are glad, however, to make correction in this matter.
In the article which appeared in these columns in our issue of September 27, entitled “An Interview on National Reform,” we declared one of the objects of the National Reformers to be that “all the laws, rules, and usages of the church shall be placed on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.” The quotation is not correct. Art. 2 of National Reform Constitution reads:—
To secure such an amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will declare the nation’s allegiance to Jesus Christ, and its acceptance of the moral laws of the Christian religion, and so indicate that this is a Christian nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of our government on an undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law of the land.
We unintentionally substituted the word “church” for “our government.” To some it may seem that the error is vital, and that the difference between what we said and what they propose is a great and important one; but it is far more in the seeming than in the reality, as we shall show.
What are the “Christian laws, institutions, and usages” referred to?—Manifestly, they are those “laws, institutions, and usages” which are based, in fact or in theory, upon practises existing among, or instituted by, bodies calling themselves Christians, the Christian church. Therefore, when this government places “Christian laws, institutions, and usages” in its fundamental law, it is placing there the “laws, institutions, and usages” of the church. If they were not the “laws, institutions, and usages” of the church, they could not be denominated Christian. If they are “Christian,” they must pertain to the visible body of Christ on earth, the church, otherwise they have no right to be so named.
The question arises, How many “Christian laws, institutions, and usages” would our National Reform friends have “authenticated in our fundamental law”? They reply: Those “of our government.” What limit is set to the number?—None. Whatever the government will permit to be adopted, they would have placed on that “undeniable legal basis in the fundamental law.” The limit to the number of such laws, institutions, and usages which they would have placed in the fundamental law is thus only gauged by their ability to have such laws, institutions, and usages in some way sanctioned or practised by those in government employ.
It is thus perfectly apparent that the gates would be thrown open for constitutionalizing “all the laws, rules, and usages of the church,” just as we unintentionally made them say.
The editor of the Christian Statesman calls our misquotation a “wholly erroneous charge.” We would like to know in what its erroneous nature consists. In spite of the fact that the quotation was not exact, it is certainly a more comprehensive setting forth of the organization’s aims than is the expression which the association has adopted.
And now, when the government adopts the policy and carries out the purpose of that organization, it will adopt the principle of a union of church and state in spite of the declarations of the National Reform leaders that they are against any such union. Every move which the leaders of the organization make to carry out its purposes is a move to direct and supervise the functions of the state, even in its minutest ramifications. The whole purpose of the organization, which is a religious one, is to control in civil affairs—to say who shall be elected and who shall not, what laws shall be enacted, what laws shall be enforced, and what laws shall be abolished; what days of the week men shall work and what day they shall cease from labor. And with every such law a penalty must go. Admit the righteousness of the principle, and we admit the righteousness of everything Rome ever was or ever did in her palmiest days.
In view of the fact that “our government” is a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” and the further fact that it has guaranteed the equality of men within its borders, we ask what right it has to adopt the religious practises of one portion of its inhabitants to the exclusion of the religious practises of other bodies? Again: in view of the fact that Christ himself declared his kingdom was not of this world, we ask what authority Christians have for insisting that “Christian laws, institutions, and usages” shall be the “laws, institutions, and usages” of our government?
And now, when the state has adopted and is carrying on certain “Christian laws, institutions, and usages,” which come to it through church influence, how can men consistently and truthfully declare that there is no union of church and state? And when Christian men are giving all their time and exerting all their influence to legalize those practises, and to foster the adoption of others, that they also may be legalized, how can they consistently and truthfully declare that they are opposed to a union of church and state? To be sure, they call it by another name — religion and the state — which in its outworking is merely the pseudonym for the same thing.
C. M. S.

The Rising Note of Opposition

By W. A. S.

Not only the rising note of inquiry bears witness to the fulfilment of last-day prophecies, but the rising note of opposition as well. This latter is a testimony to the fact that the enemy of truth sees that the advent message is winning victories in all the world.
Letters from widely separated fields bring these reports. In lower Central America opposition by a Catholic priest is taken as a model for a crusade by others. In Burma, led by the highest church dignitaries, the cry is raised against the third angel's message. The progress of the Sabbath truth in East Bengal leads to intemperate denunciation by excited assemblies. In Singapore a non-Christian editor—a Mohammedan—rebukes the denominations for their bitter onslaught upon our work because hearts there are receiving the hope of Christ's soon coming. In Portugal the reaping of the first-fruits of the message is signalized by the translation and circulation of well-known American attacks upon the truth. Invariably these attacks give the greater publicity to the truth, and the cry of the message is raised to a louder note.
“The seventh day is the Sabbath.” The Lord himself says it; and the more men agitate the question of the Sabbath, the more emphatically the truth is pressed upon the attention of inquirers.
The coming of the Lord is “even at the door;” and the more men scoff at the “blessed hope” or oppose the message announcing it, the plainer it becomes to hearts loving his appearing that the Spirit of truth is with the advent movement.
W. A. S.

Note and Comment

By Editor

What the world may expect when the labor unions have compassed their purpose is faintly foreshadowed in an article which appeared in the New York Sun of November 20. The article was written by a San Francisco correspondent, and deals with the difficulties confronting San Francisco contractors in the matter of erecting buildings. It is entitled “Blight of Predatory Labor; San Francisco Helpless in Union’s Strangling Grip.” Concerning the difficulty of obtaining laborers for construction work this correspondent writes:—
Only the other day a San Francisco contractor who has a number of large contracts on his hands became desperate. His desperation was so great that he mustered up enough courage to advertise for help—not non-union help—union help. Immediately the secretary of the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union wrote to him an insolent letter practically commanding him to withdraw his advertisement from the newspapers. The penalty for disobedience, he was informed, would be a boycott.
“I must complete my contracts on time or lose a great deal of money,” said this contractor. “I have repeatedly applied to the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union for men, but they can’t furnish them. And now they won’t even let me advertise, though only for union men at union wages. What am I to do?”
How many other contractors are also under the conscienceless domination of these organizations can only be surmised. That they are so dominated is evidenced by the slowness with which the work of reconstruction goes on; and their mute acquiescence of the contractor at so great expense to himself would indicate his fear of still greater loss if he should attempt to assert his rights in the matter. And these organizations, actuated by such principles, are the forces which the “civic righteousness” arm of the modern church is seeking to enlist in the cause of legal religion, enforced Sunday sacredness. There is no doubt that when the union of these two forces is accomplished, they will make it as uncomfortable for those who believe in religious liberty as the unions now do for those who seek to support their families without a union card in their pocket. The closing paragraph of the article above referred to reads as follows:—
Everybody gives up; everybody bows the knee; nobody dares say his soul is his own, when predatory labor speaks in San Francisco.
What the unions are accomplishing in the realm of labor the advocates of national Christianity hope to accomplish for all classes everywhere. Their willingness to unite with the unions to bring it about foreshadows distressful experiences for dissenters.

What Is a Christian Nation?

In view of the much-vaunted declaration that “this is a Christian nation,” it is instructive to note the statement made in a recent issue of The Christian Advocate (New York) that “the phrase ‘Christian country’ stands for very different things in different parts of the world.” As illustrating the truthfulness of its remark, the Advocate says:—
Mexico—while professedly a Christian country—contains millions as ignorant of genuine Christian experience and as devoid of genuine Christian practise as can well be imagined. Roman Catholics claim a right to govern all Christians, and to transform adherents of all other branches of Christianity into Roman Catholics. We believe they have no more right to do that than we have to preach the gospel to those who are plainly ignorant of the most elementary principles of Christianity or entirely neglectful of everything but ceremonies, whether they profess to be Roman Catholics, Mohammedans, pagans, Buddhists, Brahmans, or to be nothing at all.
A nation or a country is Christian when the people composing the nation are Christians in fact, and not merely in name; and when this is true, it will not be necessary to secure a decision from the Supreme Court in order that the fact shall be known. Furthermore, the more genuine Christians there are in any country, the less disposition there will be to enforce religious observances upon anybody.

In Twenty Years

By W. A. S.

HERE is an interesting comparison, showing the growth of this cause in Europe within twenty years. Twenty years ago we had about one thousand members there. Now we have a thousand missionary workers on the European list, devoting their time directly to the cause.
These workers, roughly stated, are engaged as follows: In ministerial and Bible work, 300; canvassers, 400; nurses, doctors, and teachers, 100; employees of institutions, 200.
To repeat, there are more laborers now engaged directly in pressing this cause forward in Europe than there were members in that field twenty years ago. What a promise this is of still more rapid progress from now on till the end.
W. A. S.

A Test for the Higher Critics

In defending the work of the higher critics and in showing how harmless their worst efforts would prove to be, a writer declares:—
If all the Bibles of all the world were to be destroyed, religion would still continue to be. The men of light and of learning would set about framing a new Bible that should contain all the inspiring things of the old Bibles with the additional inspirations of the newer generation.
A happy thought indeed! But why wait until the old Bible is destroyed? Why have not “the men of light” demonstrated their ability to meet such a crisis by giving to the world a book which would contain “all the inspiring things of the old Bibles with the additional inspirations of the newer generation”? This would certainly be a good test of the constructive power of the higher critics. Nothing would bring confusion upon “the men of light” so completely as to compare their “additional inspirations” with the law, the prophets, and the psalms.

Liquor and Crime in the Cities

LOCAL option is gaining ground in the State of Missouri. According to an official report recently made public the license question was submitted during the last year to thirty-seven counties. Of these only seven voted for license, and fourteen other counties are arranging for a test of the question at the polls. It is a significant fact that of the total 4,642 saloons in the State 3,371 are in the three largest cities. This leaves only 1,271 for all the rest of the State.
If this is any indication of the conditions throughout the country, it gives the strongest reasons for the greater amount of crime in cities generally. Liquor being a notorious breeder of crimes of all kinds, we can not expect any other result where these great congregations of humanity give it license to prosecute its business; and the fact that this is carried on to so much greater extent in the cities than in the country, and that the resultant evil is spreading and increasing, should appeal to us to make a swift and earnest work in these places before the opportunity is gone. The cities are great, needy mission fields; but they are the poorest places on this earth to rear a family. That was true in the days of Lot, and it is emphatically true now; and that is the reason that we are counseled to work them from suburban places. But work them we must until the jewels they contain are gathered out.
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