IN a recent number of the European Division Conference Review, we note several items of interest in connection with the place our temperance work fills in helping onward the wonderful progress of the cause in that field. They are so good we quote the following, Elder J. F. Huenergardt giving the first two experiences:—
The Blessings of Our Temperance Work
“Perhaps no one can more fully appreciate the blessings of the principles of temperance than those who are working among the peoples of southeastern Europe.
“One poor but honest slave to alcohol seemed to wake up to the realization of his wretched condition. This man had so completely lost all strength of self-control that he made himself and family very unhappy. He heard of a people, however, who assemble for Bible study, and teach others the better way.
“Before concluding to visit them, he decided not to drink another drop of intoxicants. He was so earnest about it that he really held fast to his resolution for nearly one year. He then came in contact with these people, attended their meetings, and gradually accepted their views. He at last asked to be admitted to their church. They examined him before receiving him. Among the questions asked was this: ‘Do you use intoxicants?’ He answered, ‘No, sir, I have not used a drop of intoxicating liquor for a whole year.’ ‘But why do you take such an extreme stand against alcohol?’ was the query. ‘Because I was a slave to drink for many years, and if I taste another drop, I shall surely be conquered again.’ ‘Well,’ the reply was, ‘we take the position that one may use wine moderately. The Christian must be able to control himself. In fact, we do not feel free to accept you, as a member, if you do not accept our position on this matter.’ At length the man saw no other way than to comply with their wishes, notwithstanding the fact that his own convictions about the matter must be overcome.
“Quite a time after this, they found their brother in a drunken condition. He was at once summoned before the church, and made to give an account of himself. He answered that he had fallen because they had obliged him to take a liberal view as to the use of alcoholic drinks. He was excommunicated. He asked them, however, to be merciful, because they in reality were at fault for his having fallen.
“When this man heard of the present truth, and became acquainted with our temperance principles, he manifested great joy. He at once accepted the whole truth, and now rejoices in the third angel's message. Many of the people know of us as the church which does not use intoxicants, and we are proud of this name.”
Among the Slovaks and Croatians
Brother Huenergardt tells of an experience in founding the first Slovakian company in Hungary after repeated visits during a period extending over three years, these people having for a time rejected the truth because of the tithing system and our health principles. He maintained his position that these were a part of the whole truth. He says:—
“Finally, at the end of three years' hard and prayerful labor, they asked for pardon, with tears in their eyes, for having caused me so much trouble, and requested that they might be received into church fellowship. Thus was founded the first Slovakian company in Hungary, which has since fully developed into a very intelligent, industrious, and hard-working missionary church. Every one of these brethren is really in earnest, faithfully paying tithe, and a number have even gone out as workers.
“I first visited Agram, Croatia, in 1906. A young friend of the truth invited me to a wedding in a small village near the city of Agram. This young man's fiancée was the daughter of a Servian priest. I heartily accepted the invitation, hoping that the Lord would give me opportunity to testify to our message.
“A very fine company of lawyers, doctors, and even priests assembled. I had accepted the invitation on the condition that worldly entertainment, such as dancing, would be discarded. Naturally, as might be expected, I thus made myself the center of attraction; and at the table every one wondered why I did not partake of the wines and the pork. This gave me a splendid opportunity to explain the evil effects of liquor and other unhealthful practices.
“It was not long until they had a practical illustration of their ‘good’ Hungarian wine. Even the priests joined in the loose conversation that had been caused by the freely flowing wine. One Protestant minister, who believed in the moderate use of wine, was at last obliged to acknowledge the great blessing of total abstinence. While the company was perfectly satisfied with my declaration that I was an antialcoholist, and so allowed me my glass of water, the poor Protestant minister, after he had drunk several glasses of wine and found that he had enough, was obliged to decline all further hospitality in this direction. This, however, was looked upon as an insult to the host, and so he got into a very critical situation. He was at last compelled to acknowledge to me that the only reasonable way to deal with the alcohol question is total abstinence in theory and in practice. On this occasion I secured a number of very good addresses from the city of Agram, and a year or two later, when one of our workers was sent there, he began his work among the people whose addresses I was able to furnish. Thus it was that we found our first entrance among the Croatians. Companies of believers have been organized, especially in the eastern part of this country, as at least an indirect result of this first visit among this nationality.”
A Soldier Nurse
One of our brethren tells his experience in the recent Balkan war. After giving a vivid description of some of its horrors, he says of his own work:—
“Never did the thought of the war strike me so heavily as when I considered the matter of keeping the commandments. From the standpoint of a human being, there was hardly a way out of the difficulty other than to let this part of the truth go and obey man, or, on the other hand, to keep true to God and be ready to die for the truth. He who has never faced such a decision as this cannot imagine the terrible struggle it means, nor the greatness of the blessing which comes to the one who conquers. The question troubled me greatly until the Lord showed me the way I should go. I inquired of the military doctor in the hospital whether I could not serve as a doctor or a nurse, since I once obtained a certificate as a student of medicine, and believed that I could thus render much more effective service at the front. As a position happened to be open, my request was granted. Thus, I was able to go through the whole campaign without carrying arms. During the week I helped nurse the wounded and sick, and on Sabbath I retired to the mountains or into my tent in order to be with the Lord a short time alone.
“My mode of living and missionary work made a good impression on those with whom I came in contact. During our long march, my officers had watched me. They noticed that I not only kept up my strength, but was able to help in the evening with the medical work. I69can only thank God for thus being able to hold out, and no doubt I was greatly helped by living on simple food, eating mostly almonds, figs, nuts, etc., but not touching the fatty foods of the officers. While most of the other men lost greatly in weight during the campaign, I gained four pounds. Often we arrived in villages where the Bulgarians would neither sell nor give us anything to eat, and so we had to go without. But the Lord helped me then also. Once, for instance, I went into a house and asked for some eggs, milk, or cheese, but the people refused. As I was about to go away, the woman asked me if I was a doctor, as I wore the red cross; and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, she led me to her sick child, and I was able to show her by signs how she should treat him. In the same house I bandaged the leg of a wounded man, thus being able to help my enemies, and I was also loaded with food on leaving.
“It soon spread abroad in the army that I was an Adventist; and officers, underofficers, and men came to me and asked me questions about the truth. I could even speak with the captain of our battalion about it. Before I left for home, I obtained a number of subscriptions for our Roumanian paper.
“The results of intemperance and lawlessness in the Roumanian army made themselves especially noticeable by the outbreak of the cholera. Although only a dozen men were killed by bullets, over two thousand men never saw their homes again, being wiped out by this terrible plague. I was able to nurse some of these sick. The illness appears quite suddenly. The day before a man is taken down he seems quite healthy, but all at once terrible pains seize him, causing great distortion. Some die in a few hours; others, with strong constitutions, overcome the epidemic. It requires much self-sacrifice to nurse such cases. Many bring the diseases upon themselves.
“The long-expected return home came at last. The sixty days were very monotonous, because we received no intelligence from home whatever. The moment when we could cast off the military uniform was, therefore, all the more joyful. The privilege of being at liberty and able to breathe freely is one that I shall esteem more highly in the future.
“Not one of our brethren was hurt in this campaign, either by illness or by bullets, each one being able to return home well. Those who remained true to the Sabbath had to suffer blows and prison confinement. Many were cruelly treated. One brother came from the school in Friedensau, and is now ready to return.
“During the war little could be done for the truth; but when everything is in order again, we shall push on, for the prospects are better than ever. Food, rent, and fuel are all more expensive. Living in the Orient is in every way more costly than before, and prices rise every day; but we are trusting in God. From him comes all help, and he will care for his children.”
"My Neighbors Are Not Interested"
By E. M. Graham
Frequently when presenting some plan whereby the members of a church may labor for those living around them, we are met with this objection, "My neighbors are not interested in this truth. I cannot get them to listen or to read."
The objection is not unfounded. The neighbors really do not manifest any disposition to investigate the truth. But shall we therefore cease to labor for them, or shall we devise ways whereby we may create an interest?
At one of our camp-meetings recently a man told the whole secret of the matter. He said he had argued with his neighbors about the truth until they were all so angry they would not listen any more. He realized he had made a mistake, and he was going home to love them.
What we need in our work now is genuine Christlike love for our neighbors. "Those who have long known the truth need to seek the Lord most earnestly, that their hearts may be filled with a determination to work for their neighbors. My brethren and sisters, visit those who live near you, and by sympathy and kindness seek to reach their hearts. Be sure to work in a way that will remove prejudice instead of creating it. And remember that those who know the truth for this time and yet confine their efforts to their own churches, refusing to work for their unconverted neighbors, will be called to account for unfulfilled duties."—Testimonies for the Church, Vol. IX, pages 34, 35.*
In what way can we work that will remove prejudice instead of creating it? If we study the Saviour's method of working, we shall see that he gave attention to two things,—to commending something good in the person, and to starting with some subject in which the person was interested.
As an illustration of the first point, we note Christ's commendation of Nathanael: "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" John 1: 47. On the second point, we notice that Christ started his conversation with the woman of Samaria by asking her for a drink, she being just then interested in the drawing of water; that he gave a miraculous draft of fishes to men whose minds were on fishing; and that from these things he led their thoughts to spiritual matters.
We should, therefore, get acquainted with our neighbors, and show them by our actions that we love them. If there is sickness in their homes, we should see what help we can give. At times when they are unusually busy, we may lend a hand. We should learn the things in which they are especially interested, and if they are worthy objects, be interested in them, too, and through them lead to other things. We should be always ready to speak a word of commendation of their methods of work, plans, etc., when we can truthfully do so. There is always something that can be commended, if we watch for it. This does not mean that we should flatter. Our commendation should be truthful and heartfelt, growing out of a spirit of love that looks for things to approve rather than things to censure.
But these things take time, and we are so busy. Our Lord has the first claim on our time, and we should so plan our work that we may have some time to devote to the saving of souls. One mother with several children enlists them in service. She teaches them to assist in the housework, and the time thus saved to herself she spends in helping her neighbors. She tells the children she wants them to do as much of the housework as they can, that she may have time to teach the neighbors the truth, and they enter into the plan heartily, realizing that they, too, are helping to save souls.
If we thus cultivate our neighbors, showing that we do truly love them; and if we show by our lives that we are followers of Jesus, we shall find ways of introducing the truth that will interest them. They will begin to ask us questions as their curiosity is aroused to learn more of the religion that makes us so unlike others. Then we can lend them tracts, papers, and books, and hold Bible readings with them. Love is the key that will unlock the doors of the neighbors' hearts which are now closed to us.
E. M. GRAHAM.
News and Miscellany
Notes and clippings from the daily and weekly press
— Russia will soon have a fleet of forty Curtiss flying boats to augment the efforts of her regular army toward territorial expansion.
— Cardinal Rampolla, formerly papal secretary of state, died in Rome late in December. Rampolla's full title was Cardinal Mariano Rampolla, Marquis del Tindaro, Palatini Cardinal and Archpriest of St. Peter's. He was a Sicilian. He was born at Pollizzi, in 1843, and was educated in Rome, at the Collegio Capranica, the Roman Jesuit college, and at the Academy of Noble Ecclesiastics.
— Formal notification has been sent by Third Assistant Postmaster-General Dockery to each of the 58,400 postmasters70throughout the country concerning the new rates of postage and other parcel post changes, effective January 1 and March 16, 1914, as provided in the recent order of the Postmaster-General. The order reduces the rates, applicable on and after Jan. 1, 1914, to parcel post mail for the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth zones, and increases the limit of weight to fifty pounds for parcels mailed for delivery within the first and second zones, and to twenty pounds within all other zones. It also provides that on and after March 16, 1914, books shall be embraced in the fourth class of mail, the rate of postage for parcels of books weighing eight ounces or less being fixed at 1 cent for each two ounces or fraction thereof, and extending the regular zone rates to parcels of books weighing more than eight ounces.
— Determined to maintain naval supremacy in the waters bordering southeastern Europe, the Greek government has planned a strong program of expansion for the next five years. The government will let contracts for the construction of two dreadnaughts, two cruisers of 10,000 tons each, forty-three minor vessels, and twenty hydroaeroplanes.
— Europe experienced the bitterest year-end in a decade. Blizzards and floods did great damage inland, and gales of exceptional violence ravaged the coasts. In Spain and Portugal the intense cold caused numerous deaths, and Mt. Vesuvius, in Italy, was covered with snow. In Germany, France, and southwestern Europe there were also heavy snowfalls.
— From January 1 to 5 a severe storm swept the United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic. San Francisco was practically cut off by rail from the outside world for a time, her beautiful beach was wrecked, and the great transpacific cable exposed to danger. Floods in the Napa Valley and along the Sacramento River did great damage to property. On the Atlantic coast five lives were lost, and the property damage will probably exceed $1,000,000. The coast from Portland, Maine, to Norfolk, Va., experienced a severe gale for more than twenty-four hours.
— On January 2, the scout cruiser "Chester" brought John Lind, special United States envoy to Mexico, for a conference with President Wilson, who is spending his vacation at Pass Christian, Miss. The President joined Mr. Lind on the cruiser for this conference, and absolute secrecy has been maintained regarding the matters discussed. However, the following warning issued by the State Department to all American citizens the next day is significant: "The information in the possession of the department indicates that economic and political conditions have not changed in such a way as to justify an attempt to return to Mexico and resume industrial operations there, and that any purpose to take such a step is due to misunderstanding or to misrepresentations as to actual conditions and prospects at the present moment."
— Queen Eleonora of Bulgaria has appealed to the American Red Cross Association, asking relief for thousands of refugees left destitute by the Balkan war. The queen's request is seconded by many Americans. Miss Edith M. Durham, a well-known war correspondent, says: "The survivors were left destitute to face a winter, possessing only the rags they wore. Heaps of blackened ruins are all that remain of prosperous villages; fruit and timber trees, and, worst of all, the great olive gardens have been destroyed. To provide food for the invading armies, every beast was driven off, and every possession looted. When it was safe to do so, the owners returned to their devastated homesteads. The women crouch in a corner of the roofless walls, and boil chopped grass and dandelion leaves to feed their starving children. At night they crawl into miserable little kennels made of bent twigs and brushwood, which do not keep out the chilling rains. Among many such scenes, I remember seeing a woman and two children huddled under an umbrella in the lee of a wall. It was snowing, but the umbrella was the only shelter they possessed. There were others who had flour, but found it useless, because they lacked a pot in which to cook it, much less the means of making bread. There are hundreds of such who will die this winter, slowly and miserably, if help is not given them."
— War Department officials are agreed that the training of the youth of the country is a fundamental principle of national defense. With the reassembling of Congress a concerted effort will be made to secure the enactment of a law to permit the Secretary of War to issue old "Krag" rifles, with ammunition, for use by rifle clubs organized throughout the country under the rules of the national board for the promotion of rifle practice. The proposed law also will be designed to permit the issuance of similar ordnance supplies to schools having a uniformed corps of cadets and carrying on military training.
— An indication that Russia is not satisfied that all complications raised by the recent Balkan wars have yet been disposed of was given New Year's Day by issue of a long official list of topics which Russian newspapers are prohibited from mentioning during 1914. Among forbidden news items are those referring to changes in equipment and effective strength of the army and navy, the building, repairing, and arming of Russian warships, information concerning fortresses and naval ports, the maneuvers of troops or fleets, test mobilizations, and chartering of merchant vessels for transports.
— What probably will prove to be the largest and most important ruin discovered in South America since the days of the Spanish conquest — the discovery of the ruins of the city of Machu Picchu, the cradle of the Inca Empire, on the top of the Peruvian Andes — was brought about by the chance meeting of an expedition under the auspices of the National Geographic Society and Yale University, with a Peruvian Indian. Details of the discovery became known only recently. The expedition came across the Indian, who was selling food and pasturage for horses to travelers, on the mountain trail, six days out from Cuzco. Professor Bingham, director of the expedition, says that the Indian, when questioned, said he believed there were signs of ruins on the top of the high and almost inaccessible precipices near by, and offered to act as guide. The professor became interested, and a few hours' later the ruins were discovered. "Machu Picchu," says Professor Bingham, "is essentially a city of refuge. It is perched on a mountain top, in the most inaccessible corner of the most inaccessible section of the Urubamba River. So far as I know, there is no part of the Andes that has been better defended by nature. Here on a narrow ridge, flanked on all sides by precipitous slopes, a highly civilized people — artistic, inventive, and capable of sustained endeavor — at some time in the remote past built themselves a city of refuge. Since they had no iron nor steel tools, — only stone hammers, — its construction must have cost many generations if not centuries of effort."
Knowledge Turned to Account
THERE is no kind of knowledge which, in the hands of the diligent and skillful will not turn to account. Honey exudes from all flowers, the bitter not excepted; and the bee knows how to extract it.—Bishop Horne.
Northern Union Conference Association
The constituency of the Northern Union Conference Association of Seventh-day Adventists, Incorporated, is hereby called to hold its biennial session in connection with the meeting of the Northern Union Conference, unincorporated, in the First Unitarian Church on Eighth Street and Mary Place, in the city of Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 27 to Feb. 8, 1914. The first meeting of the association will be held Wednesday, February 4, at 10 A. M.
CHAS. THOMPSON, President;
W. H. EDWARDS, Secretary.
New Music
THOSE interested in music will doubtless be glad to avail themselves of the opportunity to procure from Brother C. P. Whitford, of Miami, Fla., copies of several new songs which he has recently published. Among these are the following titles: "Mansions for All Over There," "Jesus Is Coming Again," "Our Eden Home," and "The Sea of Life." These four songs, printed as sheet music, will be sent postpaid for twenty-five cents.
Business Notice
WANTED.—Position on farm or ranch, by active young man, aged twenty years; four years' experience. Address J. H. Faust, care of Review and Herald, Takoma Park, D. C.
NOTICES AND APPOINTMENTS
Northern Union Conference
THE Northern Union Conference will hold its sixth biennial session in the First Unitarian Church on Eighth Street and Mary Place, in the city of Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 27 to Feb. 8, 1914. Each conference in the union is entitled to one delegate and an additional delegate for each one hundred and fifty members. The first seven days of the conference will be a gospel workers' institute, and the remaining five days will be devoted to the transaction of conference business. Let all interested take notice and prepare accordingly.
CHAS. THOMPSON, President;
W. H. EDWARDS, Secretary.
Missionary Travel and Appointments
Elder L. R. Conradi, who has been visiting our mission stations on the West Coast of Africa, reached Southampton, England, on his return trip December 30. He says: "After a stormy trip I arrived here one day late for the steamer, so shall proceed to Hamburg by rail. I had a good visit in Sierra Leone, planning with our workers for the prosecution of the work for the entire West Coast. I have had two and one-half months of sea travel during this year (1913). I hope the readers of the REVIEW will have a blessed new year."
IN response to an earnest call for a teacher for our Singapore school, Miss Mamie Yarnell, of the Foreign Mission Seminary, left last week for her home in Southern California, to prepare to sail from San Francisco next month.
South African Missionary Graduation Special
By Editor
THE last issue of the South African Missionary is a Graduation special, reporting the graduation exercises of the Claremont Union College, closing its school year Dec. 1, 1913.
Dr. Roxetta Runck Improving
Dr. Roxetta Runck, who has been in poor health for several months, is now spending some time at the Washington (D. C.) Sanitarium. Her condition is much improved, and she hopes soon to enter again upon active work.
Prof. Kern Delayed by Illness
The last week Prof. M. E. Kern, president of the Washington Foreign Mission Seminary, has been attending the Student Volunteer Convention at Kansas City, Mo. His return has been delayed by the serious illness of his mother, in Kansas.
Workers Needed Throughout Mexico
In a report from Guadalajara, Mexico, where she is now laboring, Miss Grace White says: "There is need of ministers, canvassers, doctors, nurses, Bible readers, and teachers in all parts of this country. It is true that conditions are rather unsettled in some parts, but as yet none of our people have suffered because of these things, nor have we felt that God would have us move to easier places. The work must be done though times are troublous. We can see that God is protecting his work and favoring his workers."
Serious Accident Near St. Helena Sanitarium
By Editor
WE regret to learn by letter from Prof. C. W. Irwin that his mother, Mrs. G. A. Irwin, with Miss Sarah McInterfer, suffered a serious accident several days ago. They were riding in a buggy after nightfall, near the foot of the hill below the St. Helena Sanitarium. The carriage struck a tree, and they were both thrown out. Sister Irwin’s arm was broken near the shoulder, and her shoulder dislocated. Sister McInterfer had no broken bones, but suffered severely from the shock. Sister Irwin is now at the sanitarium undergoing treatment for her injuries, with favorable progress toward recovery.
News from the Work in Japan
A LETTER from Elder W. D. Burden, of Tokio, Japan, under date of December 16, brings the sad news of the death of the infant son of Brother and Sister B. P. Hoffman, who went to that field two years ago. Sister Hoffman, who was in a serious condition for a long time, was at that writing slowly improving. Brother Burden says of the work there: "We are having our week of prayer the same as you are in the States. Surely we need a fresh baptism of the Spirit that we may see this work quickly finished. The devil is working hard, especially here in Japan this year; but this is only another sign that we are in the time when God, too, is going to work mightily for the glory of his name and the salvation of his people."
The Review’s Prophetic Articles
By Editor
Many of our readers followed with deep interest the articles from Elder A. G. Daniells on the Eastern Question, which appeared in the REVIEW the first four months of 1913. The pressure of work connected with and following the General Conference prevented Brother Daniells from completing this series. We are glad to announce that he is now prepared to continue these articles, and we shall begin their publication in February. The remaining articles strike at the vital point in the whole prophecy, dealing particularly with the closing events of the eleventh chapter of Daniel. A large amount of valuable historical data will be furnished. Our readers should closely follow the argument which Brother Daniells will make on this intensely interesting prophecy. If there are any in your church who do not take the REVIEW, this will be an excellent time to secure their subscription. The articles which begin in this number from Elder A. T. Robinson on the Spirit of Prophecy, and from Elder O. A. Johnson on Annual Feasts and Annual Sabbaths; the excellent series from Sister E. G. White on Old Testament History; together with the articles soon to follow from Elder Daniells, and the important series and articles from other writers during the year, will make this volume of the REVIEW of great value. The REVIEW ought to be in the home of every Seventh-day Adventist. By the efforts of our readers may this not be made possible within a few weeks?
Opening the Work in Colombia
Elder A. J. Haysmer, president of the West Indian Union, reports a plan under way to open work in Colombia, South America, the one country of that continent unentered by us, if we except French Guiana, a colonial possession of France.
Medical Department Sanitarium Visits
LEAVING Washington three weeks ago, Dr. H. W. Miller, as secretary of the Medical Department of the North American Division Conference, has been spending some time visiting our sanitariums east of the Rockies. Before returning, he will spend several days at the surgical sanitarium conducted by the Drs. Mayo, at Rochester, Minn.
Opening the Work in Nigeria
By a brief post-card message from Sierra Leone, where he was visiting the work, Elder L. R. Conradi reported the plan to open a new region in West Africa. Elder D. C. Babcock is to pioneer the way in Nigeria, a vast and populous country under the British colonial administration. It is the western gateway into the great Sudan.
“The Church Officers’ Gazette”
By Editor
THIS is the name of a new sixteen-page monthly journal issued by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. It is printed for the General and North American Division Conferences. The purpose of this journal, as expressed by Elder I. H. Evans in the first number, is “to furnish a medium for communicating the plans, policies, and instruction of the North American Division Committee to the church officers; to publish to local officers the lessons and instruction of the secretaries of the Missionary Volunteer and Home Missionary Departments; to place in the hands of local officers such data and special information as will be helpful to them in building up their work; and to afford a means of communicating with church officers otherwise than by circular letters.”
Of its relation to other periodicals and of the scope of its work, Elder Evans says:—
“The Gazette is not a competitor of any other periodical or magazine published by our people. It is not for general circulation. It will not contain leading articles on doctrinal or religious subjects. The Gazette has a field of its own; it is published for the benefit of the church officers, and its circulation is to be confined to them. It is hoped to make the Gazette so practical, so helpful, that every officer will subscribe therefor, and receive its monthly visits. When conditions do not warrant this, it is desired that copies be supplied out of the church funds.”
It will be necessary for every church officer to have this journal in order to become thoroughly acquainted with plans and policies relating to church work. We earnestly hope that every officer will become a subscriber. The yearly subscription price is fifty cents: in clubs of two or more copies to one address, thirty-five cents each. Miss Edith M. Graham, secretary of the Home Missionary Department, and Miss Matilda Erickson, secretary of the Missionary Volunteer Department for the North American Division Conference, are the editors.