THE following item we clip from a city paper of recent date:—
“John Bechtel is a name not yet known to fame, but which should be commemorated by a monument which will endure indefinitely. He was the apostle of lager beer; he started the first beer saloon and erected the first brewery in the United States, thirty years ago. He has just died at Brooklyn, and the announcement of what he has done for humanity was coupled with the report of his demise. It really seems astonishing that within the lifetime of one individual, such an enormous business could have been developed, and such a change wrought in the habits of the people.”
The paper continues that in introducing this nauseating stuff, and creating an appetite for it, he “has been the most effective temperance worker of his day, though he may have been wholly unconscious of the tremendous influence he had exerted.”
Noble man! Content to pass through life, unappreciated, and even himself unconscious of doing anybody any good, so long as he could fill his pockets with money at the expense of the souls of those whose appetite was stronger than their reason. This traffic, of which he was an “apostle,” has developed a wonderful amount of self-denial among its patrons. Men have denied themselves even the necessaries of life, and have allowed their families to go without respectable clothing or nourishing food. The struggles of Palissey in his search for the mode of producing white enamel on earthern vessels,—how he was reduced to the necessity of burning his own furniture for fuel, and to listen to the cries of his children for bread,—are thought to be worthy of a place in history; but thousands of men unknown to fame, have done the same thing in their self-sacrificing desire to help along this “temperance movement.” “The end crowns the work;” surely, then, the thousands of bloated forms, bleared eyes, and battered noses, to say nothing of the cheerless homes and broken hearts, ought to be a monument sufficient to gratify any man’s ambition, however depraved he might be.
If men are ever made temperate by the use of beer, it is in the same manner that men’s lives have been saved by pins: “by not swallowing ’em.” E. J. W.
What's In a Name?
By Editor
SOME of the "liberal" religionists in the East, evidently think that there is a great deal, judging from the following item from the Independent:-
The question of the relation of the Congregation-alists to the Baptists is one that has not yet fairly arisen, but must arise. Baptists can fairly raise against Congregationalists the charge of intolerance, if the latter are unwilling to fellowship churches, and install pastors that shall not accept and practice infant baptism. But that matter is being very quietly settled in favor of liberty, by the passing over of Baptist ministers, who do, what some distinguished Baptist authorities have suggested, use a form of consecration for infants which they will not allow to be baptized. But in the same Manchester which Mr. Leavell has left, a Congregational minister, Mr. Clark, has just been installed, who took somewhat novel and suggestive positions on the subject. He was asked by the council: "Who are the proper subjects of baptism?" He replied: "Believers." "How about their children?" "They should not be baptized; certainly, my children shall not be." "But how in the case of such as desire to bring their children for baptism?" "If they cannot be dissuaded, I should not object to a form of consecration; but I should not call it baptism." This, we are informed, was the substance of the examination on this point. He was unanimously accepted, and Dr. Duryea preached the sermon.
On this principle you have only to call your evil deeds by fine names to make them virtues.
A BOOK FOR THE TIMES.
The Religious Amendment to the Constitution:
OR
THE SABBATH, THE SUNDAY, THE CHANGE
AND THE RESTITUTION.
THE object of the proposed Constitutional Amendment, together with the authority for it, is fully canvassed.
The views of the leaders of the parties both for and against the Amendment are fairly given in this book.
The present agitation of the Sunday Law makes this book especially interesting and instructive at this time.
Bound in cloth, 380 pp. Price, $1.00.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
This question has developed the people known as Seventh-day Adventists, and is the pivotal doctrine upon which their applications of prophecy largely depend. It explains the past Advent movement, shows why those who looked for the Lord in 1844 were disappointed, reveals the fact so essential to be understood, that no prophetic period reaches to the second coming of Christ, and shows where we are, and what we are to expect in the future. But the greatest beauty of the subject is seen in the light it throws upon the progressive steps of the remedial system, the types and shadows of the former dispensation, and the position and work of our Lord in the present. It determines absolutely the question of the nearness of the second coming of Christ, the perpetuity of the law of God, the nature and time of the atonement, and the work of Judgment that precedes Christ's coming. A knowledge of this subject is indispensable to a correct application of the more important prophecies pertaining to the present time. 352 pp. $1.00. Condensed edition, paper, 224 pp., 30 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.
REVISED EDITION—JUST ISSUED.
By John Harvey Waggoner
THOUGHTS ON BAPTISM.
BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.
Being an examination of its ACTIONS, SUBJECTS, and RELATIONS.
Also, a brief consideration of the Historical Evidences of Trine Immersion.
Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged.
Price, postpaid, Paper Covers, 25c.; Flexible Cloth, 35c.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
BIBLE SANCTIFICATION;
A CONTRAST OF
TRUE AND FALSE THEORIES.
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THIS is a pamphlet of only 84 pages, but its value is not to be judged by its size. It is just what its title indicates: a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Every believer in Bible truth should read it. Buy it, read it, and lend it to your neighbor. Price 10 cts.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THE NATURE AND TENDENCY OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM.
By Eld. J. H. Waggoner
BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER.
THIS is a thorough exposure of the system of spiritualism. The author has carefully studied the subject, and has given such copious extracts from a large library of spiritualist publications, as to fully condemn them in their teachings and their practices, by their own testimony. It is also shown from the prophetic scriptures that spiritualism is one of the most impressive signs of the times. 184 pp. Price, 20 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES,
By Editor
PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT OAKLAND, CAL., FOR THE
Missionary Society of Seventh-day Adventists.
A twelve-page Religious Family Paper, devoted to a discussion of the Prophecies, Signs of the Times, Second Coming of Christ, Harmony of the Law and Gospel, with Departments devoted to Temperance, The Home Circle, The Missionary Work, and the Sabbath-school.
Price Per Year, . . . . . . . . . . $2.00
In Clubs of five or more copies to one address, to be used in Missionary Work, . . . . . . . . . . 1.50
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
-OR-
REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Michigan. | ELD. J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH, Ravenswood, Shirley Road, Southampton, England.
MISS ELIZA THAYER, Sec. N. E. Tract Society, South Lancaster, Mass. | W. L. RAYMOND, Gaston, Oregon.
Our Publications in England.
By Editor
ANY of the books, pamphlets, and tracts issued at this Office may be obtained of Eld. J. N. Loughborough, Ravenswood, Shirley Road, Southampton, England, who will furnish Catalogues, and give prices in English money. He will also receive subscriptions for our periodicals.