A SCRIPTURE promise or two with reference to the limitations on the power of spirits and Spiritists should be given for the comfort of certain sensitive minds.
The Bible truth concerning Spiritism brings home with vivid reality the fact of the actual existence of devils. To some timid souls not acquainted with the Word or power of God, the thought that at any hour of the day or night they may be confronted by an apparition, becomes a source of terror; and not a few suffer under apprehensions lest some hypnotist with evil designs may cast a spell upon them against their will. To all such the Word of the Lord gives the amplest assurance of protection. Let us recall an instance.
The people of the Lord, on their way from Egypt to the promised land, had blotted out from under heaven Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, with all their hosts and subjects. Balak, king of Moab, was in terror lest he should be the next. Well knowing that human prowess and weapons were alike powerless before such an enemy, he sought to paralyze the arm of Israel with divination. Having heard that one Balaam in Mesopotamia was possessed of supernatural power, he sent to him, saying, “Come, I pray thee, curse me this people . . . that we may smite them.” Now Balaam had indeed been a prophet of the Most High, but had apostatized. The Bible says he “loved the wages of unrighteousness”—the magnificent rewards and offers of worldly honor promised by Balak. He would fain therefore have granted the request of the terrified king of Moab. The Scriptures make it plain that he had the mind to do so; but even while he sought the means, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel.”
Enchantment and divination are apt and proper terms to denote the manipulations of Spiritists, hypnotists, and all others that meddle with the occult.
As Jacob had been dead for half a millennium, it is evident that the term as here used is generic instead of personal; and the class to which it refers is shown by the word Israel, which is defined in Gen. 32:30 as one who prevails with God. It means, therefore, all the true children of the Lord—every converted soul; as Paul affirms in Gal. 6:15, 16, where it is stated that in order to belong to “the Israel of God” one must be “a new creature,” and, according to 2 Cor. 5:17, “a new creature” is any man “in Christ.” All of which conclusively demonstrates that no child of God can be harmed by any incantation, spell, or pow-wow of any tool of the devil.
Let it be noted, however, that this promise is only to the Christian. And this is the very reason—namely, that God beheld neither iniquity nor perverseness as He looked down upon the tents of encamped Israel—which He gives as rendering them curse-proof. This will be found in Num. 23:21-23. As to all other persons, that they are not pounced upon by the devil at midnight, disfigured, strangled to death, and thrown out upon the dust-pile, as was the notorious Dr. Faustus, is due neither to their own power nor to the devil’s good will, but to the mercy of God.
The fact that strong-minded persons have been hypnotized apparently against their will, need be no cause of alarm to the weakest Christian. It is merely an illustration of how a mind originally and continuously controlled by “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:3) may by him be turned over to the domination of another mind which he likewise directs. “But we,” says the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 2:16), “have the mind of Christ.” And this mind can not be subjected to Satanic control. You may not feel that you have much will power; but since the Lord’s “strength is made perfect in weakness,” faith may rest without fear, knowing that “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
Phantasms.
One important phase of modern Spiritism remains to be noticed. It is one of the most subtle stratagems of the arch-fiend. An illustration will best make the matter clear: Not long since, a young married woman—I mention the fact of her marriage lest some skeptic incline to the notion that the following was the romancing of a sentimental girl—told me that one night, a short time ago, she had just gone to bed with her husband, at their home in Phenix, Arizona, when she plainly saw her mother, who was at that moment in California, enter the room.
“Why, husband,” exclaimed the astonished woman, “there is mother!”
Her husband could not, however, see the apparition. After a time it vanished.
In all probability most persons that read these lines can tell of similar incidents.
Notice now the extreme cunning of this Satanic scheme.
This young woman is, and at that time was, an undoubted Christian.
“There must be,” said she to me, when relating the incident, “some truth in telepathy. There must be a scientific basis for thought-transference. Because I wrote to mother telling her about the incident, and she replied that on that same evening she was very tired and had an unusual longing to see me. She had heard that by concentrating your thoughts upon a distant person, the latter may be led to think of you. She thought that she would try it, and at that time was holding me strongly in mind.”
“Why,” I inquired, “could not the phantasm have been the work of the devil, who by some expression of your mother, knew her thoughts at that time?”
“Because,” was the answer, “I am a Christian.” And here is the exact point: persons get the idea that phantasms do not appear except when a manifestation is willed; or that because they are Christians an atmosphere of righteousness so envelops them that an evil spirit can not so much as work a miracle in their sight. The adversary of souls himself no doubt suggests to our minds—and is delighted when we give the suggestion entrance—that to admit that Satanic agencies appear to us would be a reflection on our own character6as having willed them, and possibly on the power of God to protect. Conscious of our rectitude, we are led to entertain the notion that such an admission would be an imputation upon it which we can not with honesty to ourselves believe, for we know we have not willed such a materialization.
I do not think that self-righteousness is so often the reason we accept this as is failure to remember two important points; namely, first, that temptation is not sin; it is not voluntary on our part; second, that the serpent sported himself under the very eye of Eve and in the Garden of Eden itself.
“But what can possibly be the temptation in such a strange phenomenon?” we are asked. “What purpose could Satan have in such a trick?”
Here is where the very smoke of the pit is puffed into our eyes to blind us. Do we so soon forget that the wily serpent began by exciting mother Eve’s curiosity?
Beelzebub is the keenest mental scientist this side of heaven; nor does he fail to improve that knowledge by seeking to control every psychic function.
His whole scheme is thus laid bare. Curiosity is organic, and few things fascinate us more than the mysterious and occult.
If we can be led to believe ourselves immune to witnessing involuntarily anything of Satanic origin, then, of course, such a manifestation will be to us only the operation of some hidden law. There is certainly no harm in the investigation of a mere law of nature. The result is, we are soon entangled. My mind recurs at this moment to a sad case of this kind. A very consecrated young man of Indianapolis, Ind., began, as a doctor, to experiment with hypnotism for therapeutic purposes; he ended not only as a hypnotist, but also as an infidel.
This is an extremely broad and suggestive subject. Numerous questions arise which might be profitable for discussion; but here we must rest for the present. However, if any persons have questions or experiences which might be used beneficially and will send them to me, I may work them into material for some future articles. J. A. L. DERBY.
Healdsburg, Cal.
COWARDICE OF LYING.
THE Devil is the father of lies, but Cowardice mothers them. All the devil's promoting would never bring them to birth if our own weakness and fearfulness did not yield to his suggesting. When the lie tempts, it is not only necessary to say to the tempter, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” but it is also needful to say to our own hearts, “Fear not; be of good courage.” The seduction of the lie is that it seems like a good place to hide; the curse of it is that it is like hiding in the powder magazine to escape the fire; the ruin is not quite so quick in coming, but, when it does come, it is far more deadly. The brave man may have to dash through the flames, but he is not caught in the explosion. So the great French novelist, Balzac, says, “All trickery, all deception, is certain to be discovered, and to result in doing harm, whereas every situation presents less danger if a man plants himself firmly on his own truthfulness.” And Cardinal Woolsey said to Cromwell, “Let all the ends thou aim est at be truth’s, then if thou fall’st, O Cromwell, thou fall’st a blessed martyr.” But if one falls practising deceit, “he dies as the fool dieth.”—Sunday School Times.
EARTH'S FUTURE GLORY.
By Wm. Covert
On the other side of death and sin comes to view, upon our earth, scenes and fields of matchless splendor. No place can then give out greater manifestations of glory than will be seen in our restored earth. Even to a murmuring people the Lord made a happy promise saying, “As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Num. 14:21.
Israel had become skeptical, and darkness was upon them, so to revive their faith the Lord stated anew the promise made to their fathers. The expression, “As truly as I live,” signifies that the Father's life is pledged to the accomplishment of the promise. This pledge was not intended alone for the wandering Jews, but was given to encourage all people to press toward the promised land.
It will require a complete agreement in righteousness between the earth and the people upon it to bring about the condition of glory promised. The people must all be righteous, that they may inherit the land forever. The prophet says, “Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.” Isa. 60:21.
In writing of this blessed condition, John said, “There shall be no curse any more.” Rev. 22:3, R. V. The curse being removed from the land, and the people all made righteous, there can be nothing to hinder the manifestation of glory. “Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,” says the prophet. And evidently it can not be, for righteous people do no violence. Neither “wasting nor destruction” will be seen “within thy borders.” Under the influences above stated, nothing amiss can transpire.
Not only is there to be an absence of all things evil, but all good things shall abound. “The ransomed of the Lord [those who will be called to the court in heaven during the millennial judgment] shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa. 35:10.
Then the riches of God's grace within the earth will manifest itself in beauty and fragrance through the whole vegetable kingdom. The adaptability and co-operation of all things will be perfect. Then “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.” Continuing to write of the glory that shall be everywhere manifested, the prophet says, “In the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” Isa. 35:1, 2, 6.
Thus the havoc wrought by sin shall be corrected, and righteousness in all things maintained.
In the good time coming, the love of God will reveal itself through all nature. By all their physical senses men will perceive this goodness. The psalmist says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Take honey in the mouth, and let the palate know its sweetness. Eat the rosy peach, and relish its pleasantness. Smell the lily and the rose, and enjoy their fragrance. Look, and admire their beauty. And understand that in all these ways God is manifesting His life. By these He is adapting Himself to man's understanding.
This is not pantheism, but God manifested. Satan through sin is endeavoring to blind the perceptions of mankind, so that God can not be known. But the curse that sin has wrought is to be so wholly removed, that the knowledge of the Lord may fill the earth as water fills the sea. Then all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. Even the lower animals will be affected by the restoration to such a degree that the viciousness of their natures will be removed. Then shall be fulfilled the scripture where it is written, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain;” and the reason assigned is, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Isa. 11:6–9.
The above promises make known the glorious future of our earth. No orbit holds a world more beautiful than ours will be. No place can furnish blessings more sweet than will then be known by the inhabitants of our earth.
Wm. Covert.
The Laborer and His Wages
THE laborer who simply works for his pay never gets higher than wages.—Saturday Evening Post.
HEAVEN OR NIRVANA, WHICH?
By S.
HEAVEN has set an example for the world; God has set an example for men. God has not called us to a life of active service in His cause without first setting us an example of service. Christ served in the household until the time when He entered upon His work of ministry, and He not only gave His life at that time as a sacrifice upon the altar of service for all humanity, but He actually and personally served those who were His immediate companions. So His whole life was a life of service, and a life of service on behalf of man.
Now He calls us to the same work, the same service, having proved by His own life that He is not asking of us that which He Himself was unwilling to do. He rather left us an example that we should do as He had done.
We have been led, unintentionally perhaps, to believe that heaven is and is to be a place of one long siesta, the haven of the naturally tired, a place of placid, uninterrupted rest; but the Bible does not so reveal it. Referring to the angels it reads (Heb. 1: 14): “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?” To minister is to serve, to work for; a minister is a server. He who is the greatest minister, is the greatest server. They who have been permitted to look into heaven in vision have beheld there scenes of intense activity. Who can imagine a busier week than that which put in shape our solar system, bathed it in light and filled it with life? And we have no reason for supposing that the activity of God ceased when the week was done—that that short period of Sabbath rest was unending. Our God is a working God. Christ said of Him and of Himself, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” There is man's example. Instead of being the center of repose, heaven is the very center of activity personified.
The great reward that comes to Jesus Christ comes to Him as the fruit of His life of service. He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. The kingdom and dominion given to Him are the fruit of His life of service and sacrifice.
Heathenism has always perverted that great truth, and has looked, and is still looking, for Nirvana, the place of endless repose. Its devotees are willing to endure any amount of physical suffering if only they may be absorbed into the great ocean of complete repose; and in that snare Satan is capturing his millions. But God has not so taught His children. His command is, “Go work to-day in My vineyard;” “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature;” and that He Himself was not looking for any Nirvana is shown by the declaration, “And, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
As Christ Himself is not rewarded without service, His followers must not expect to be. “A place of reward in heaven presupposes a place of service on earth,” and that place of reward in heaven will not be filled by us unless the place of service on earth has been so filled. My question is not to be, How many talents have I received? or, Have I received as many talents as I should have received? But rather, How am I employing the talents which God has given me? Every man who is not an idiot has at least one talent to be used for God; and many who think they have none have in reality many more than one. How are we using them? It is a question we must answer at the bar of God; but when the time comes to answer it, it will be too late to make any change in the record. God has done great things for us; so He expects great things of us, and has put at our command a power that will enable us to do great things for Him. He has made it possible for us to be a source of joy and satisfaction to Him through all eternity. Do not disappoint Him! As there are no drones in heaven, we can not be drones here if we hope to enter there. Let Him work out in you that thing that He has purposed concerning you.
S.
“BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD.”
IT is said that the famous author of “Pilgrim’s Progress,” on seeing a murderer taken to the gallows, exclaimed, “But by the grace of God, there goes John Bunyan.” The thought expressed was that himself by nature had the same evil instincts of the murderer, and only God’s goodness had kept him from committing the outward act.
And this is just as true of others as it was of Bunyan. “The carnal mind [the mind of the flesh] is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.” Gal. 5:19-21. These are the natural outcroppings, the poisons of the working of the ferment of sin in the flesh. We know that thousands will repudiate the divine delineation of the character of the natural man. They will declare that they are neither adulterers, fornicators, idolaters, or murderers. And in the overt act all this may be true; but it is not themselves that has kept them from it. There is many a self-voiced, sweet-faced woman in the drawing-room who looks with infinite scorn upon her fallen sisters, and who, if she had been under the same temptations, would have been with them. She may even now be like many others, “only strong for lack of test.” Her sin may not lie in this direction; it may be in envy or hatred of others superior or more successful; but hatred is the root of murder.
There are many men who will condemn with words loud and intense the wrong doings of some libertine or murderer, whose imaginations are throbbing brothels and hearts are hells of hatred. But the Master of hearts has said: “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:28), and “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” 1 John 3:15. In other words, adultery is the fruit of unrestrained lust; murder is the ripened product of unrestrained hate.
Pride leads to envy, envy to hatred, hatred to murder.
There are some who do not sin in these gross ways, who would not lift a hand to take life, and yet who will, with the stiletto of insinuation, the dagger thrust of innuendo, destroy a reputation and an influence dearer than life.
There are those who seem to be models of virtue, upon which they pride themselves in a self-righteousness more loathsome in God’s sight than the sin of the discouraged thief or adulteress. They are idolaters, worshipers of the god of self.
What has restrained sin in these?—Sometimes a cold pride as bad as the sin. The form of the sin is changed; its root nature is the same. Sometimes it is early instruction. Ingersoll often ridiculed his orthodox ancestry; but if it had not been for the very principles God taught him through them, despite all their errors and mistakes, he would have been a different man. He and his friends were proud of so-called virtues which in no wise originated with himself, but were fruits of a Christian education, a heritage unconsciously received, for which he was not only not grateful, but which he used his best-received powers to destroy.
We measure sin as God does not. We set up false standards, and estimate the heinousness of the sin by the social standard of the times. In the sight of the infinite God there is but little difference. If to-day all could stand in open vision before the Great White Throne, she who now would feel contaminated if her skirts but touched those of her weaker sister, would not pause for a moment to measure the intensity of the shades of sin. Her own selfishness would seem so black in the white light of His presence that the cry, “Unclean,” would refer but to the one, namely, self. The wealthy capitalist, whose property has been wrung from brain, and brawn, and bone, and blood of the poor, would no longer look with patronizing contempt upon their uncouth manners, crude sentences, and poverty-stricken homes, nor with horror upon their demand for justice or cries for revenge. His field of vision would be filled by his mountain of selfishness.
This is written to excuse no one, to condemn no one. It is not to get the despised of men to condemn their more fortunate fellows, or the poor to condemn the rich. Let each one look to himself. Nay, let every one look to God. See all in His light. Some day you will stand before His throne. But two persons will then seem to be present,—“God and I.” Look at things now as you will then wish you had. Consider that had it not been for God’s good providence, you would now be utterly lost. “But by the grace of God” we would still be pagans, worshipers of gods of wood and stone, and guilty of all kinds of practices.
“Search thine own heart. What paineth thee
In others in thyself may be;
All dust is frail, all flesh is weak;
Be thou the true man thou dost seek.”
And he who truly searches by the light divine will find, as did Andrew Rykman,—
“For myself alone I doubt;
All is well, I know, without;
I alone the beauty mar,
I alone the music jar.”
“Rich alone in favors lent,
Virtuous by accident,
Doubtful where I fain would rest,
Frailest where I seem the best,
Only strong for lack of test,—
What am I that I should press
Special pleas of selfishness,
Coolly mounting into heaven
On my neighbor unforgiven?”
God alone can solve the problem and take away the sin; and His grace, brother, however great a sinner you may be, is all sufficient.
Do Not Be Discouraged
Do not be Discouraged.—If you are a follower of Christ, follow so closely that no disconnecting circumstance can intervene. Keep the eye fixed on Him who never was discouraged and never failed (Isa. 42:4), tho He “was in all points tempted like as we are” (Heb. 4:15). He bore all this without sin; yea, “He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4); yea, “His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that [for the very purpose that] we” “should live unto righteousness.” 1 Peter 2:24. Then do not be discouraged; for He who has so long borne all this great load without failing or being discouraged, “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24. Then whatever enemies—physical or spiritual—may confront us, we have this counsel and promise: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” Deut. 31:6. “Be not afraid, only believe.”
A SUGGESTION FROM THE MARGIN.
By G.
The common rendering of 1 Peter 2:24 is, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree,” etc. The margin reads “to the tree.” From the expression in the text, the casual reader is apt to get the idea that it was only on the cross that Christ suffered for our sins; but the marginal reading, “to the tree,” or cross, indicates that He was bearing our sins before His crucifixion, had borne them all the way, and did not shrink even when confronted with the cross.
Christ was a “Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,” just because He was bearing our sins. This was His daily experience. His long and wearisome journeys; His incessant labors in preaching, healing, and privately instructing; His long nights of watching and prayer, were full of weariness and other forms of physical suffering; but these were nothing to His sorrow of heart because of the sins He was bearing for an ungrateful race. These were trifling compared with the agony of soul for those who would not be reconciled to God—the agony that caused Him to sweat “as it were great drops of blood.” The contemplation of the doom of His people who rejected His overtures of mercy, caused Him far more agony than the thought of suffering on the cross. His weeping over Jerusalem shortly before His betrayal, and His counsel to the weeping women while on the way to Calvary, show that His sufferings on the cross were a small part, if any part at all, of His concern. That had been contemplated in His mission when He became a willing sacrifice for sin. It was not the pain of the nails, but the turning of the Father’s face from One occupying the place of the condemned sinner, that caused Him to cry out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
We would not imply that the sufferings on the cross were not all that any human imagination can picture, for as a cruel execution it was a really Satanic invention, but that was a comparatively small item in the process of bearing our sins. From the time He became the burden-bearer of fallen man in Eden, He bore our sins even “to the tree.” Nor did it cease there, for He is still the burden-bearer of all that will cast their burden upon Him; and by the turning away of those who have “tasted the good word of God,” He is “crucified afresh,” and put to “an open shame.” Verily the “mystery of godliness” is beyond our comprehension; but, praise the Lord, we may believe it unto salvation. G.
Will you be so kind to give me further light on Rom. 14:5, 6? F. J. H.
We wish our correspondent had asked more definitely. How far does his present light extend? what is yet in darkness? The scripture in question in the Revised Version is as follows:—
“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.”
Now the great lesson or lessons of this scripture and the context is not as to what days should be kept, or what food should be eaten; but (1) Each man must stand for himself before God. He is not to observe any day or thing because some other human thinks so; he is to be assured that it is truth in his own mind. For “each one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Verse 12. (2) A second lesson is that we are not judges to justify or condemn a human soul. “To his own Master he standeth or falleth,” and in spite of any judgment of ours “God is able to make him stand.” Verse 4. We may teach what God teaches, we may point out what is wrong by His Word, what His Word condemns, but the condemnation of the soul rests with Him. “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?” (3) A third lesson is that we should be very careful of our own conduct that it be no cause of offense to others. “Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block in his brother’s way, or an occasion of falling.” “It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth.” Verses 13, 21, R. V. Read the chapter with these things in mind, and see what new beauty it takes on.
1231.—“Silence in Heaven.”
Has Rev. 8:1 been fulfilled, or is it yet future? R. J. C.
The text reads: “And when he opened the seventh seal, there followed a silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” R. V.
Some persons have conjectured that this took place at the crucifixion, others at the destruction of Jerusalem; but these are only conjecture. The seven seals present before us a series of events beginning with the Christian dispensation and continuing in succession to its close. The last event at the close of the Christian age, is the second coming of Christ. Heaven is a living place, filled with living beings, holy messengers and servants of God, who delight to do Him praise. But when Christ comes to earth, at the very close of all His travail of soul, to take back the fruits of His victory, He will be accompanied with “all the holy angels.” Matt. 25:31. Heaven will empty itself to join in that glorious, eternal, universe-wide triumph. The half hour is probably prophetic, symboling one-forty-eighth part of a prophetic day, or literal year, equaling seven and one-half days. It will be fulfilled when Christ comes.
1232.—Laborers in the Vineyard.
Did the laborers hired the third hour (Matt. 20:4) go into the vineyard to work when it is said, “They went their way”?
Evidently they did. See the use of “likewise” in verse 5, and the “also” of verse 7. The scene is a common one now in England. On the great public market days people come not alone to sell their products or goods, but to sell their labor as well. The householder comes not only to buy goods, but to obtain servants. He hires them, if he can make a bargain, and sends them on their way to his farm.
“THE WATER CURE”
By Editor
Is the mild name given to that form of recreation wherewith certain American soldiers have tortured Filipinos. It is said that the Filipinos hide their guns, profess to be friendly, and when opportunity offers, shoot the soldiers. The “water cure” is used to torture from the Filipino the information as to where his gun is concealed. As is well known, the great proportion of Filipinos have no guns, and it may well be believed that when such a one is captured, he is, as a soldier remarked, “out of luck, that's all, for they usually died from the treatment.” This is what a discharged soldier, Edward H. Beal, tells us in the San Francisco Examiner of April 17, 1902:—
It took about five men to hold a Filipino down. One man had to hold a bamboo across his open mouth for a gag. It was pressed back behind the teeth until the lips split. Other men held the arms and legs of the prisoner as he lay flat on his back. The fifth man held a large Filipino water pot, and his business was to pour the water slowly on the man's face so as to flood the mouth and nostrils. Then when he gasped for breath, down would go the water. This was kept up until the man was bloated, then they stamped on his stomach to pour the water out again.
The officers did not exactly order that kind of punishment, but they looked on. It usually killed a man—forced the water into his lungs and did for him. If it did not kill him, he was no good after that. If there was a kind-hearted American doctor around, of course death was due to heart failure or something like that.
Moreover, this soldier frankly tells us that “the soldiers were always willing to do it. I never disapproved of it. I worked on the proposition that it was war, and the treacherous devils deserved it, anyhow.”
In the next day's issue of the above-named paper, John P. Monahan, private in company B, Thirty-fifth Volunteer Infantry, news agent on the Southern Pacific, tells us, “I have taken part in so many cases of administering the water cure that we ceased to pay any attention to the matter. Everybody did it. It was a common thing.” Once a Filipino major was “aguaed,” as it was called. He was tortured till it was thought he was dead, but would tell nothing. A doctor “beat him on the feet, wrapped him up in blankets, and rubbed him till he got to kind of breathing again. Then they threw him into an old, deserted bamboo shack, and went off and left him. I don't suppose he ever got out of there, tho. He was too far gone.” Similar testimony is being given before the Senate Committee by ex-sergeant Edward J. Davis, of Greenfield, Mass., and others. This testimony implicates inferior officers, as lieutenants and captains. It is of interest to learn that this new American method of eliciting information was obtained from the cruel Maccabebes, who received it from the Spaniards. Where did the Spaniards get it?
But how would Americans feel if some oppressive government with which they had been at war for hundreds of years, and which they had nearly conquered, had sold them out without their consent to some other much bigger nation; and that this bigger nation proceeded to benevolently assimilate the Americans by a stronger and surer process of warfare till they killed more Americans in three years than had their former oppressor in three centuries? Under such circumstances, would not Americans do all in their power to rid themselves of their “benevolent” oppressors, especially when those “benevolent” oppressors themselves used treachery, notably so in the capture of the American chief? We are not looking upon this matter from a political standpoint; we are presenting some of the cold facts concerning the operations of a “Christian nation.” Sherman spoke truly when he said, “War is hell;” and it is just as true that it transforms men into9fiends. And yet there are professed Christian ministers who advocate war, and who inculcate its spirit in Boys' Brigades and kindred organizations. This water torture of the Filipinos is one of war's legitimate fruits, especially of unprovoked, ambitious, predatory warfare.
