IN beginning a series of articles on the subject of health, it is well to consider for a moment its importance, and our special need of it as Christians. It is unnecessary to prove that it is God's wish to have his people healthy, as before man brought upon himself ill health and disease, there was neither sickness, unhappiness, or death; and when God led the Israelites through the wilderness we are told "there was not one feeble one among them;" besides we are exhorted to look forward to a state of perfection in both mind and body.10We see therefore that health is not a matter of small concern, for if any part of our body, by reason of disease or otherwise, does not do its full duty, every other function of the body is affected. The happiness of our life, the effect of the Spirit of God upon us, and the condition of our religious experience, will depend largely upon the condition of our health. Imagine a man without a mind to think and reason for himself—what real enjoyment can he have? Can such a man be a Christian? No; such a person is not accountable for his life and actions.
It is with the mind we reason, with it we choose or decide any question which comes to us, and it is only with the mind that we can receive knowledge, religious or otherwise. Take a man of sound mind and let him becloud the same by drink or other poison, and in such a condition he can neither receive knowledge or carry out what he would otherwise know to be right.
Should any organ of the body be diseased, the mind and other functions are proportionately damaged and just so far incapable of fulfilling God's purpose of giving us life and being.
The mind is simply one of the functions of the body, and we have to depend upon it for learning Christianity, and we need its full power to carry out Christian principles.
As Christians, therefore, how to attain to a perfect action of all the functions should claim a great deal of our attention. Inspiration gives us instruction as to the care of the body as well as to our relation to God and our fellow men; and while it is true that everything that brings us peace of mind helps us physically, there can be no doubt that anything which helps us physically will enable us to be better Christians. Let us then remember that health is necessary to Christianity and Christianity necessary to perfect health.
When we study our bodies we can not fail to notice how intimately all parts are related to each other, and the more we study the more we will appreciate the importance of the smallest matters when they concern the good of the whole body. A small injury often repeated may result in great harm.
If a person feels gloomy or discouraged, no function of the body works properly.
Excitement affects the appearance of the face, the rate of the pulse, and in fact every function of the body; death has occurred as the result of fright. The felon may be small, but it incapacitates one for either business or pleasure, or when the stomach gives us pain, or we feel miserable from the poison of an undigested meal, we do not feel like improving our time, or thinking soberly on any subject. The thing that goes wrong may not give us such severe symptoms, and yet there is a damage done in every case, and it may often be out of proportion to the cause.
The mind is the ruling function, and everything that lessens the activity or health of other parts is apt to so lessen its power of control over us as to make us an easy prey to disease. And when the mind becomes diseased, almost any condition in other parts of the body may result. We should, therefore, understand the laws of health, that we may be able to obtain full vigor of mind and body.
DANGERS TO LIBERTY.
IN view of the agitation just now in political circles over the jurisdiction and decisions of the Supreme Court; in view of the "Christian nation" decision of Feb. 29, 1892, and the interpretation of the First Amendment to the Constitution in harmony therewith; in view of the decision of February 1, of the same year, in the Louisiana Lottery case, by which Congress was made the censor of the press; and in view of many of the many Sunday law decisions, diametrically opposed to the religious liberty guaranteed by Federal and State Constitutions, the following extracts will be of interest to our readers. They are taken from an article (No. 1, of a series) by Samuel R. Taylor, counselor at law, in the Independent of Oct. 22, 1896.
"Owing to popular ignorance, changes are constantly occurring fraught with the gravest results, and the public are blind and deaf because uninterested. Every one knows, or ought to know, that the law-making power is theoretically entrusted to the Legislature and the Executive; but few realize that the courts are continually manufacturing law. Now, it needs no argument to prove that this is an extension of their immense powers for which they have no warrant, no justification. Their duty is to enforce the law as they find it, not to create it; and occasionally they are conscious of this, and will say, 'The fault is in the statute, but we have nothing to do with that; we must administer the law as we find it.' But such conscientious declarations are rare, and a few examples of the course which we criticize will, perhaps, draw attention to the necessity of reform in this regard.
"Within the past fifty years by steady advances without the aid of the legitimate law-making powers, the courts have altered the substantive rules of law and the rights of individuals."
"Our courts have fostered and strengthened and may almost be said to have invented obstacles to prevent redress to those injured by the negligence or turpitude of others. This is a grave and serious statement; but if true, and we believe its truth demonstrable, then courts and judges have transgressed their limits and those limits should be restored by legislative enactment. There is hardly a reader of this essay who has not immediate knowledge of some injury caused by gross negligence where the sufferer was denied redress because he or she had failed to prove to the satisfaction of the judge (not the jury) the absence of contributory negligence; in other words, because the person injured by gross negligence of another could not prove his own absolute caution the cause has been taken from the jury, and the sufferer denied redress by the judge. There was no such rule of law fifty years ago."
Mr. Taylor then goes on to give specific examples of how, in matters of this kind, the courts have been adding to the law, to that extent that unless a person could "satisfy the judge (not the jury) of his own want of negligence, his case was thrown out of court." "It is almost the only case where a plaintiff is called upon to prove a negative." These things are worthy the attention of all.
The Confectioners' Annual Business
The National Confectioners Association represents an annual business of $80,000,000.
Question Corner.
By Editor
No. 433. Born of Water.
PLEASE explain John 3:5. If literal water was meant, what agency, if any, has it in the new birth?
Our Lord was carrying out just what John predicted. John baptized with water alone. Jesus declared that man must be born of the Spirit as well as of water. The water in believer's baptism is that symbol of faith which indicates the belief of the one baptized in the efficiency of Christ's offering, and the power of God, not only to create anew, but to preserve unto the end. See Rom. 6:3-5. It shows faith in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism is the marriage ceremony, the outward symbol to the world of an inward work.
No. 434. A Question of Tithing.
Is IT right for a farmer to pay tithe on the whole of the profits of his farm before dividing with his wife and children, each of which has an equal share in the profits, and some of which do not think it binding upon them to pay tithe? Or should the profits be divided, letting each member of the family pay tithe or not, as they see fit, the farmer paying tithe only on his share?
We can not answer such questions dogmatically. If the husband and father stands at the head of the family, conducting the farm, taking charge of business, we see no reason why he should not render to the Lord first what is the Lord's due from the income of the farm. If his children are not of age, of course they would have no legal right to regulate the payment of the tithe, and morally it belongs to God anyway. As regards the wife it would depend on circumstances, such as her share in the transaction, in the labor and business, and as regards previous and other arrangements in respect to property, income, etc. There are many questions involved which the writer does not know. 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.' Pray for wisdom and for courage and grace to do as unto Christ just what is duty.
But what is meant by 'profits'? The tithe of the land and the field is the Lord's. Of course this would be exclusive of rent if the farm were hired; interest, if the farm were incumbered; hired help, over and above the labor of the tithe-payer. These would be deducted from the gross income. A tithe of the balance is the Lord's.
WAS IT THE TRULY BRAVE?
Who is the truly brave?
The boy with self-control,
Who curbs his temper and his tongue,
And, though he may be big and strong,
Would scorn to do the slightest wrong
To any living soul.
Who is truly brave?
The boy who can forgive,
And look as though he had not heard
The mocking jest, the angry word;
Who, though his spirit may be stirred,
Yet tries in peace to live.
Who is the truly brave?
The boy whose daily walk
Is always honest, pure and bright;
Who can not lie, who will not fight,
But stands up boldly for the right,
And shuns unholy talk.
Who is the truly brave?
The boy who fears to sin;
Who knows no other sort of fear,
But strives to keep his conscience clear,
Nor heeds his comrades' taunt or jeer,
If he hath peace within.
Who is the truly brave?
The boy who dares to pray,
And humbly kneeling seeks the face
Of God, and asks supplies of grace
To help him run the Christian race,
And walk in wisdom's way.
—Selected.
IN THE PINE WOODS.
By Mrs. S. Rosalie Sill
"I've been thinking of going into a logging camp during the winter," said Paul Howard. "My not obtaining that situation in Hamilton's store is a great disappointment to me. I must be earning in some way, or I can not complete my education."
Mrs. Howard, a pale, slight woman, was busy preparing their evening meal as her son spoke, and she paused, with the bread-knife uplifted, to say:—
"Why, Paul, dear, those logging camps have ruined many a boy. Really, I can not have you go!"
"Does not the word say: 'The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them who fear him?' Perhaps, I have a mission work to do in a logging camp, who can tell?"
"I know you are a good son, Paul. But so many have been overcome, and their good resolutions swept away as the hurrying snow."
"I know, mother. But the right way is to overcome, and not to be overcome. I am quite sure I shall not have greater temptation than did Daniel within the king's court. Walter is nearly fifteen, mother, and quite old enough to care for you. I must earn money, so I can go away to school next year. And some day I can earn enough so my mother will not have to work as she does now."
Paul pleaded his cause so well that when the men started for the great pine woods he went with them. The scenery was all new to the boy, and for the time being he was glad he was not to stand behind a counter and measure tape and ribbon, but could exercise the strength the Creator had given him.
It was late when the camp was reached, and after supper every man was glad when he could retire to his hastily prepared bed of pine boughs, to rest. Paul took out the small Bible he always carried with him, and by the light of the huge camp-fire read a chapter, and knelt down and made a silent prayer.
"What are you doing? studying Greek?" called out one.
"O, he is one of your pious lads!" said one who was called "Fearless Jim." "Let the parson alone to-night. He'll be tired enough to-morrow night to turn in, the same as the rest of us."
Paul was tired the next night. However, the Bible was read, and the silent prayer made, the same as on the previous evening. Most of the men ridiculed Paul. But there was one young man who said, after a few days: "I'd give anything, Howard, if I was as brave as you. I once professed religion myself, but I was a coward, and went back."
When Sabbath came, Paul took out the Bible and began reading to himself, when Harry Barr, the young man who had told Paul he had once professed religion, said:—
"Read a chapter aloud, Howard, I used to like reading it."
So Paul read the fourteenth chapter of John, and, strange to say, nearly all of the men ceased their conversation and listened, although no one made any comment, save Harry Barr, who said:—
"That is the most comforting thing I have heard in a long time."
That night, when Paul knelt as usual, Harry knelt beside him.
"Two parsons, I declare!" called out Fearless Jim. "If we keep on, we'll have a school of theology before long."
But Paul was so kind and obliging the men could not help regarding him with a kindly feeling, altho they at times ridiculed him.
The weather grew severe, and heavy storms ensued, the great drifts piling up, until they seemed shut in from the outside world. And to make things worse, Fearless Jim cut himself so badly that he came near dying from loss of blood.
As the next few days brought no favorable symptoms in the case of Fearless Jim, it was said by one:—
"We'll have to get a doctor out here, or Jim will go under."
"Looks as tho we could get a doctor! Why, man alive! you couldn't even go after one, unless 'twas in a balloon!"
"A slight-built fellow could manage to get over the snow on snowshoes if he knew how to rightly use 'em," said one elderly man named Andrus.
"But could he bring the doctor back on his back?" asked another.
"No. But a man that knew his business could state the case so a doctor could send something."
"To begin with, I don't suppose there are a pair of snowshoes nearer than the Indians."
"I have a splendid pair," said Andrus. "In fact, I never go into camp without them. I could go now; but I am too heavy, with the snow the way it is."
"I am not heavy," said Paul, coming forward. "And I fully understand using snowshoes. Send me, if you like."
"It's quite an undertaking," said Andrus. "It's thirty miles to the nearest town."
"There is a little cabin where a settler lives, ten miles this side of the town, I noticed," answered Paul, "Which would help, in case one became too tired."
"I see you took notice of things as we came in; your head appears to be level. I think you could go. But you'll want to take a compass, and not start in too heavy at first—you know what I mean? Save up your strength for a long pull."
Several of the men shook hands with Paul before he left on his perilous journey, and all felt their respect growing for the brave boy. Alone, upon the vast expanse of snow, Paul felt himself to be nearer to God than ever before, and almost unconsciously he repeated:—
"I know not where the islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I can not drift
Beyond His love and care."
He did not pause before the settler's cabin was sighted; and coming to it, he knocked at the door, and asked for food. He was kindly entertained, and invited to call upon his return. As it was getting late, Paul's host thought he had better remain over night and go into the town in the morning, do his business, and return and stay with him once more over night. To this Paul agreed, as walking on snow so poorly packed was hard work. So it was in the afternoon of the third day when Paul came into camp.
Jim had been growing weaker, and could only speak with difficulty. But he managed to say:—
"No one will dare to make fun of you in my presence, should I get well. If I do not, I thank you for your kindness to me."
"I was afeared you'd gone under," said Andrus, as he grasped Paul's hand, "and I blamed myself for having you go. However, now it's done, I'm heartily glad."
Fearless Jim did recover, and he was quite a different man. When the camp broke up, and the men were about to return home, Fearless Jim said:—
"Boys, I've got a proposal to make. I want every man of you to give Howard a dollar towards his education fund. I'll give five; not because he went after that medicine for me—I would not insult him like that, for he would not have gone for money, even if we had offered him a hundred dollars. We can afford to give him the money, because his example has shamed us until we've saved it in keeping from drink many times over. I shall always respect Christianity after this, because I've seen one person live it every day, and that is better than forty sermons to me."
Paul protested against taking the money, but when he returned home, and went to the post office; he found a check for forty dollars awaiting him.
PROHIBITION STATES.
THE bill of fare of a Pullman dining-car is revealing the fact that America is becoming a nation of teetotalers. The list of states where the citizens have formally voted the liquor out is given, for a note on the card says: "Wines and liquors will not be sold in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indian Territory, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming." This notice is given in harmony with a general law which will not permit the sale or serving of liquor on Pullman cars in states where prohibitory laws exist. Slowly and surely the dread traffic is being driven out of our beautiful domain.—Pacific Ensign.
DURABILITY OF TIMBER.
SEASONED timber is but little liable to decay under the influence of a dry atmosphere, and will resist decomposition for an indefinite period when kept totally submerged in water. The piles of old London Bridge, driven 800 years before, were found to be in good condition when the new bridge was erected in 1859, and those which served as a foundation for Trojan's bridge over the Danube, A. D. 105, are said to be still visible at low stages of water.—Toronto Mail.
A TWO WEEKS' VISIT AT HONOLULU.
By Rosalind A. Young
LEAVING Pitcairn Island on the evening of the 26th of June, the Pitcairn visited in succession the following islands,—Tahiti, Rurutu, Raratonga, Aitutaki, Palmerston and Upolo, in the Samoan group. Here we left Sister Hattie Andre, on the 25th of September, to take the first steamer to San Francisco, while we sailed away for Tongatabu. Four days later we cast anchor in the harbor of Nukalofa. After a few days' stay, the Pitcairn was ready to leave, but had to wait for favorable winds to go to Fiji, so she was still in harbor when the steamer Ovalau came in on the 2nd of September.
Owing to circumstances, it was thought best by Captain Graham and Brother McCoy that I should return to Samoa from Tonga, join Sister Andre there, and take passage with her on the steamer going to San Francisco. Accordingly, they engaged a passage for me on the Ovalau, and gave me the passage money for San Francisco.
The Ovalau then left for Samoa, calling in at Haapai and Vavau on the way, to discharge passengers and supplies for those places, and on the 6th of September she dropped anchor in Apia Harbor.
After a short stay, Sister Andre and I left Samoa, taking passage on the steamer Mariposa for San Francisco. As the steamer was to stay for a day at Honolulu, we were glad of the opportunity of seeing Elder Gates and family, even for so short a visit, but through the kindness of a friend who was traveling with us, we were allowed the privilege of staying at Honolulu for sixteen days, and have our tickets transferred to the Australia.
On Wednesday evening, September 16th, the Mariposa lay alongside the wharf, and in a few minutes Elder Gates was on board with his hearty welcome. Words can not express how glad we were to see him and his dear family again; but we were sorry to find his wife in poor health; as she had always been so well and strong.
Leaving our luggage in the hands of the custom house officials, to be forwarded to Elder Gates' residence, we accompanied him to his house. It was prayer-meeting night among all the churches, and the little company of Seventh-day Adventists was gathered in a room on the ground floor where the different services of our church are held. It is very well adapted for the purpose, and has ample accommodations for those who at present are members of our church.
When the meeting was over we were introduced to the brethren and sisters present, a pleasure we heartily appreciated.
The first few days of our stay were spent mostly in resting after our sea voyage, and in the enjoyment of being on land once more, and with those whom we knew and loved.
On the first Sunday morning of our stay, Sister Elsie Gates took us to the Chinese chapel, where we were introduced to Mr. Frank Damon, a gentleman whose whole time seems occupied in laboring for the good and the advancement of the Chinese, a work in which he is ably assisted by his lovely and accomplished wife, whom he married in China, where she had been born and brought up.
At the time of our visit on Sunday the Sunday-school was in session, so we visited the different departments and waited for the closing exercises, in the singing of which we took part. At Mr. Damon's request, we took up a few minutes of the time, telling about the places we had visited and left, more especially about Pitcairn Island. We did not leave until after their church service was about half-way through, everything being in Chinese. To me the whole thing was very enjoyable, as well as entirely new, not the least being the fact that the nice pipe organ was played by a Chinaman, and the choir consisted of Chinese boys. Quite a goodly company of the women came in, and we noticed that Mrs. Damon came in and sat down in their midst as one of themselves, which we thought was beautiful.
Later on in the week, at the gentleman's request, we visited the free kindergarten school, an institution in regard to which he declared himself a perfect enthusiast. The visit over, we took lunch at his home, after which he showed us all over a commodious and well-arranged home lately built for, and now occupied by, Chinese young men and boys. It would seem that so much care and thoughtfulness exercised for their comfort and well-being must result in a large measure for good, physically, mentally, and morally.
The next Sunday we visited a native church, where the closing Sunday-school exercises for the quarter were held. The lady superintendent, Mrs. Dillingham, a daughter of one of the earliest missionaries to the islands, received us warmly, and supplied all our party with seats in the best part of the building, where everything could be seen. All but two of the different parts of the exercises were conducted in the Hawaiian language, and the whole scene was interesting. One of the parts rendered in English was by the girls of the Kamehameha School, who sang an anthem, or duet, their well-trained voices, rich and sweet, being fully exercised in the chorus, "Praise ye the Lord!"
In the other part given in English, three of the resident ladies of Honolulu, and a gentleman, took part. Most of the exercises consisted of song, and the voices, especially the male voices, were full of richest, sweetest melody.
We were invited to visit the Kamehameha Girls' School, so one Friday Elder Gates, Sister Andre and I obtained the use of Brother Covell's horse and carriage, and started off on the visit, going first to the Bishop Museum, as that building was open on Fridays to the public. We spent about an hour and a half going through the rooms, when, to do justice to it, it would require days instead of hours to visit the place. Our visit to the museum ended, we went over to the building of the Kamehameha Boys' School in its near vicinity. The whole building was beautifully planned, and admirably fitted out, the schools and the surrounding homes being founded by the late Mrs. Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a direct descendant of Kamehameha the Great. The splendid museum was built to her memory, and, in the most prominent position of all, hang the beautiful portraits of herself and her husband, among the crowned heads of the little kingdom of Hawaii. When we arrived at the girls' school, the older girls were going through their callisthenics, closing up the school work for the week. We felt too tired to stay, and so left, promising to come another day, but our time was so fully occupied that we were obliged, much to our regret, to leave without fulfilling our promise.
Our stay in Honolulu was long enough for us to be introduced to several of the old residents there, who impressed me as being among the "excellent of the earth." Different ones invited us out to their pleasant homes, where we were well entertained, the only thing to regret being that the time spent in such pleasant society was not as long as we could wish.
One of the sights to be seen in Oahu is the pali, an opening in the mountains that brings the beholder abruptly, and unexpectedly, face to face with the view of a country totally different in almost every feature from what lay behind him, being a wide stretch of lowland, with the blue sea in the distance, on one side being blue-veiled mountains, and on the other, barren, desolate-looking hills. It was at the pali that Kamehameha the Great drove his on-coming enemies down to destruction and to death.
When the Australia arrived, bringing the body of Joseph Nawahi, who had died in California, our party proposed to visit the place where the funeral procession was to pass.
We had seen a notice of it in the evening papers, so after breakfast off we started, passing through one street and then another, but seeing nothing at all pertaining to a funeral. We learned when all was over, that the time set for the body to be taken to the Kinau steamer, had been changed, and the funeral postponed till the next day at two o'clock. We were exceedingly sorry to have missed the sight of the native demonstration, as it was said by those who witnessed it, to be something very imposing. The floral display was wonderful, as well as most profuse, and the hearse was drawn by a number of the principal men among the Hawaiians, almost the entire native population turning out to swell the procession that followed the dead body down to the steamer that was to convey it to its last resting-place on the island of Hawaii.
The time of our departure drew on rapidly, but the day before we left, we went to another of the native schools, the Kawaiahao Seminary, where the lady superintendent, Mrs. Coan, a daughter of one of the earliest missionaries, Mr. Bingham, received us warmly, and invited us to give a few minutes' talk to the girls. There, as elsewhere, where we listened to the native voices, the singing was very sweet. At the close of the meeting, which we greatly enjoyed, Mrs. Coan's brother and his invalid wife drove up. The sick lady insisted on getting down from the carriage, and having my companion and me get in, her husband driving us home.12We were sorry indeed not to be able to visit more of the excellent schools in Honolulu, but it was impossible, for various reasons, to do so; we took away with us very pleasant impressions, however, of the place and people.
On the 3d of October, with the government band playing, and handkerchiefs waving good-bys from the large crowd gathered on the wharf to see the Australia go, we took a farewell leave of Honolulu, and started on the last part of our sea voyage for San Francisco.
FALSE PRIESTS AND TRUE.
By John Greenleaf Whittier
Now, too oft the priesthood wait
At the threshold of the state,—
Waiting for the beck and nod
Of its power as law and God.
Fraud exults, while solemn words
Sanctify his stolen hoards;
Slavery laughs, while ghostly lips
Bless his manacles and whips.
Not on them the poor rely,
Not to them looks liberty,
Who with fawning falsehood cower
To the money, when clothed with power.
O, to see them meanly cling,
Round the master, round the king,
Sported with and sold and bought,
Pitifuller sight is not!
Tell me not that this must be;
God's true priest is always free;
Free, the needed truth to speak,
Right the wronged, and raise the weak.
Not to fawn on wealth and state,
Leaving Lazarus at the gate,—
Not to peddle creeds like wares,—
Not to mutter hireling prayers.
God's interpreter art thou
To the waiting ones below;
'Twixt them and its light midway
Heralding the better day.
—J. G. Whittier.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
ELDER W. J. STONE reports ten converts as a result of meetings held at Belt, Mont.
THE southern California camp-meeting, at Los Angeles, is now in progress. Elders N. C. McClure, W. T. Knox, Baxter Howe, S. Thurston, and the editor of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES are in attendance.
THE General Conference Association is contemplating the purchase of a schooner for the use of our workers in Central America, and the Foreign Mission Board recommends the establishment of a Spanish paper in Argentina.
FROM the Indicator of October 21 we compile the following items of progress in New York Conference: Elder A. E. Place reports the baptism of four persons at Schroon Lake. Five were baptized at Natural Bridge by Elder P. Z. Kinne. Three converts at Fulton and two at Roosevelt are reported by Elder D. A. Ball. A report from Rochester says that several had lately begun keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, and six were awaiting baptism. The brethren at Darien Center are erecting a new house of worship.
AT the recent annual meeting of West Virginia Tract Society, Elder R. C. Porter related various instances where the SIGNS OF THE TIMES had been the means of bringing people to a knowledge of the truth. "In one instance where a company of thirty that came out supposedly under the labors of a minister, twenty-eight out of the thirty had been reading the SIGNS, and there obtained their first impressions of the truth." The society adopted the following resolution:—
Resolved, That we recognize in the rapidly fulfilling signs of the times the evidence of the nearness of the coming of Christ, and that we make more earnest efforts to place the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, the American Sentinel, and our small tracts, in the hands of the people, to prepare them for this important event.
ON the 3d inst. Elder W. C. Grainger and Brother T. K. Okohira sailed from San Francisco for Japan, for the purpose of opening up a mission work in the Island Empire. Brother Grainger is one of our oldest California laborers, having spent some ten years as teacher and principal in Healdsburg College. He has recently been in charge of the Japanese school in San Francisco. For several years he has had a burden for the work in Japan. Brother Okohira is a young Japanese of unusual intelligence and zeal for the truth and for his people. He has been in America for eight years, and since his conversion has taken a great interest in the Japanese school in San Francisco. He was given a ministerial license at the last session of the California Conference. His family connections in Japan are mostly connected with the government service. Altogether, these two brethren seem to be eminently fitted for the work in that field, and they go with the full confidence and many prayers of their California colaborers.
WE have received a handsome souvenir of the Working Men's Home and Medical Mission, 42 and 44 Custom House Place, Chicago, of which Dr. J. H. Kellogg, of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, is the efficient superintendent. It contains eight fine photo-engraver views, besides a general description of the practical Christian work the institution is designed to do. In addition to this souvenir, we have lately received a copy of the Chicago Inter-Ocean of October 12, containing a report of a meeting of church workers and philanthropists, at Willard Hall, at which this Home and Mission was quite fully discussed. There were about six hundred of Chicago's leading church workers present, and a number of addresses were delivered, that of Dr. Kellogg being the chief. From his statement of the work of the institution, we take the following paragraphs:—
"Our plan as regards homeless men is to furnish clean, comfortable lodgings and wholesome food, under Christian influences, and at the lowest possible cost, and to furnish employment to men who are utterly destitute of means, so as to encourage the principle of self-support. We aim, not merely to relieve the immediate necessities of the homeless man, but to lift him out of his dependent condition to one of self-respecting independence.
"We have maintained the baths and laundry during the last three and a half years, and in connection with this a dispensary in charge of a qualified physician and visiting nurses. Later we established at Forty-seventh Street a social settlement, also equipped with baths, and have connected with it a dispensary for women and children, with visiting nurses, kindergarten, and kitchen-garden teachers.
"About six months ago we moved into larger quarters on Custom House Place, at Nos. 42 and 44, and added the conveniences for lodging three or four hundred men, together with an industrial department, to furnish employment to penniless men applying for food or lodging. The penny lunch counter furnishes wholesome food in liberal quantities at one cent a dish.
"As to the results. More than one hundred thousand bath and laundry tickets have been issued to men who had no other means of getting clean. That the men appreciate this opportunity is evidenced by the fact that before we moved into our present larger quarters, a line of men would be seen to form every morning about six o'clock. Sometimes by eight o'clock, when the doors would be opened, nearly two hundred men would be found in line. One very cold morning in November, two years ago, I counted in line 185 men, a large number of whom had been shivering for two hours in the cold, waiting for a chance to wash their shirts.
"The city shelter is not intended to be a permanent home for the friendless man, but only the open door to a new life. After getting a start in the right direction, the man who has been discouraged or intemperate is helped to find employment out of the city. The atmosphere of the slums is not salubrious; it breathes the miasma of physical and moral infection. The pure atmosphere of the country is essential to the permanent recovery of this class. We have several farms in Michigan, aggregating 500 acres, and a canning factory connected with them, which furnishes employment for the summer season to from one hundred to three hundred persons, raising small fruits, peas, and other garden products. Another farm of 160 acres, recently donated to us, in La Salle County, Illinois, is nearer the city, and can be more conveniently used as a country branch of our industrial department. We have some eleven hundred agents in different parts of the United States, who have, in the last three years assisted us in finding homes for more than two hundred homeless boys and girls, and who are prepared to assist us in finding employment and homes for homeless men and women after they have been so helped morally that they are prepared to enter the domestic circle of an ordinary home."
A significant feature of this great work is the fact that Dr. Kellogg was enabled to begin operations by a donation of $40,000 from two of our brethren (the brethren Wessels) of South Africa, who, after a personal observation of both localities, were constrained to say that they thought there was as much need to work for the heathen of Chicago as for those of South Africa.
