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Review and Herald, Vol. 88, No. 23.

A Time for Everything
Earlier text: A Time for Everything

What if It Were You?

By E. W. Farnsworth

E. W. FARNSWORTH
Look at this picture of conditions existing in our mission at Chang-sha, Hu-nan, China, as presented in a recent letter from Elder R. F. Cottrell. He says:—
“Chang-sha is not a little, insignificant village in some out-of-the-way corner. It is the proud capital of the province of Hunan; it has paved streets, magnificent temples, and large government schools, with tens of thousands of students. It has nearly as many inhabitants as Buffalo, N. Y.; and here are to be found thirteen missionary societies, carrying forward their work, the most of which have from five thousand dollars to fifty thousand dollars invested in land, buildings, and equipment.
“And what have Seventh-day Adventists in this city?—They have a rented compound about 30 x 70 feet in size. A ‘compound’ is an enclosure for dwelling purposes, surrounded by a high wall. Inside our compound are several small Chinese houses, very cheaply built. In the front about twenty Chinese make their home; these include our evangelist and family, canvassers, and helpers. Next comes our little dark chapel, which, because of its peculiar construction, is impossible to enclose on one side. It is what would be called a shed in the home land. As we have winter weather here, with snow-storms, you can imagine our little congregation does considerable shivering during four or five months of the year. To one side of the chapel is a Chinese guest-room, and on the other side is a room used as a school-room for the children of believers. Both of these are very dark. We are sure no American parent would desire to have his children sent to such a place to study. Above these three rooms are three others occupied by Brother and Sister Sparks, who came from Nebraska a year ago. Ten feet back of this stands a little three-room house that we call home.
“A part of the windows are glass, and part of them are paper. The houses are enclosed by one thickness of cheap Chinese boards, which were nailed on in an upright position when the lumber was green. At present there are wide cracks between the boards. As the houses in our compound are huddled so closely together, the sun has little chance to shine in and dry things, hence the quarters are very damp and moldy. A physician says we run great risks in living here.
“Is it any wonder, then, that we are interested in the $300,000 Fund? We had hoped ere this to have received sufficient on this fund to purchase land and begin building operations. But the word that comes to us is in no way assuring, as the money seems to be coming in very slowly. In order to purchase land, build suitably for school and chapel purposes, and erect dwellings for two families, we should have from $3,500 to $4,000. This is our situation; though, in common with photographs sent from China, the ‘dirt and odor’ are omitted.”
Can we wonder that our missionaries in China and other countries are interested in the $300,000 Fund? What would we expect them to do if they were living in the houses we occupy, and we were living in China? Think of “several houses,” a “chapel,” a “school-room,” and twenty-four persons all on a small city lot! Think of the narrow, crowded, rented, unsanitary quarters! Think of our missionaries being compelled to hold their meetings in a “shed,” where we would not house our cattle! Think of that little congregation shivering with cold, and trying to protect themselves from the drifting snow! Think of the three damp, moldy, dark rooms that our missionaries call “home,” and then answer the question, How would you like to exchange places with them?
Brother and Sister Cottrell are young, educated, refined people. They were teachers in one of our academies, and were comfortably situated in a pleasant home. But they heard the call to China. They “forsook all” to go. They laid their lives on the altar of China’s need, as many others have done. What obligation rested upon them that does not rest upon us? They do without the conveniences and comforts that even the very poor can enjoy in this favored land. We go on buying property, withholding our money from the Lord, hoarding treasure, buying things we could well do without and not suffer, and leave these and other missionaries to wonder if their brethren and sisters in the home land have forgotten them.
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Our affections may be centered in the work of God on earth, or they may be engrossed in farms, buildings, money, pleasures, and earthly things. “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” What is our record in heaven call with reference to supporting our missionaries?
Read Elder Cottrell’s statements again, as quoted above, and say what you would have him do if he were in your place, and you were in his.
Oakland, Cal.

Negroes and the Catholic Church

By M. C. Strachan

M. C. STRACHAN
It is reported upon good authority that more than two hundred thousand colored people in the United States profess the Catholic religion. Rome is proud of these black sons and daughters, and she wishes to win to her ranks the remaining portion of the Negro race in the United States.
Rome boasts of her intimate knowledge of the race, and declares that she has the confidence of the Negro in a far greater measure than any other body of religionists. She has set out in a most remarkable manner to make the colored man and the colored woman feel that within her fold alone lies the spiritual and intellectual redemption of the race.
In order to court and hold the confidence of the Negro, she is making great capital out of the apparent mistakes and prejudices of other religious bodies. There is no mission work in the United States of greater importance to the Catholic Church than the salvation of the unbaptized millions of Negroes.
In order to carry this work forward effectually, the bishops and the archbishops of that church with the approval of Cardinal Gibbons, took Father Burke away from his church for colored people in New York City, and imposed upon him the burden of directing this great Catholic missionary movement. A national headquarters was opened in 1907, at 1 Madison Ave., New York City. Father Burke has had over twenty years' experience in practical missionary work among colored people, and it is hoped that as director-general of the Catholic board for mission work among the Negroes, the gathering of that race to the fold of the mother church will be assured. Says Rome: “The colored people are at our doors. We alone can uplift them. These are our cherished sons and daughters, and we must prosecute this work with earnestness and faithfulness, because the work is a part of our life.”
It is proposed to raise one hundred thousand dollars every year for this movement; large gifts and legacies are solicited, and the widow's mite is also encouraged. Schools and churches will be built; priests, members of religious orders, and men and women who give their lives to this work, will be supported. Pope Pius X is particularly solicitous about this matter. He wishes his church in America to leave nothing undone that this work may be successfully prosecuted. Indeed, he seems to put this branch of missionary endeavor above all others of the present day.
Here is an excerpt from a letter addressed to Bishop Byrne by the Pope's secretary:—
“His Holiness most earnestly wishes that this work of the apostolate to the colored people, worthy of being encouraged and applauded beyond any other undertaking of Christian civilization, may find numerous and generous contributors, to all of whom he imparts from this day his apostolic benediction.”
Already promising mission stations have been started in the large cities of the South. Negro men are sought out, and encouraged to enter the priesthood. Several zealous colored men and women are now acting as missionaries. With intense earnestness this work is being pushed forward.
Let God's remnant people everywhere pray much now for the spread of the third angel's message among the Negroes of the United States; for this is the only movement in the earth that can successfully meet every advancing step of error, tear away her disguise, and reveal her true character and the principles of the blessed truth for this generation.
Atlanta, Ga.

His Infinite Care

By Worthie Harris Holden

WORTHIE HARRIS HOLDEN
The breeze in passing whispered to the sprigs That tasseled from the boughs of the lone tree To vibrate to the music of the wood In nature’s symphony.
Anon the other trees afar and near Were nodding to the mandate murmured low, Until the mountain forest caught the strain, And tingled, all aglow.
Erelong the breeze grew bold to beckon on The north wind wild descending with its blast, Till every bough upon the mountain range Was quivering at last.
I watched the first slight tingle, but despaired To note each vibrant twig on e’en one tree; For only God discerns each tiny tone Of forest harmony.
How like our life, this music of the firs! We comprehend not e’en the ones most near; Yet each vibrating sprig of every tree By Him is counted dear.
So great our God, I can not understand The breadth and depth and height of love divine; But still I joy that in his hand he holds This little life of mine.
Portland, Ore.

Striving for the Truth

“A WISE man has well reminded us that in any controversy the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.”

Gather the Children and Pray

By Stella Cole Putnam

STELLA COLE PUTNAM
O GATHER the children, mothers, At the opening of the day! Teach them a precious promise, Teach their young lips to pray.
Before the burdens enthrong you, And you're cumbered with cares of the day, You'll find it will strengthen and help you To gather the children and pray.
The snares for young feet are so many; Would we keep them from going astray We must plead more for guidance from Heaven, And gather the children to pray.
When the shadows of evening enfold you, And the trials are o'er for the day, It will rest you, O mother so weary! To gather the children and pray.
How sweet, at the end of life's journey, While some to the mountains shall call, To present to the Master our children — Not a part of them only, but all.
Montavilla, Ore.

Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE
For many years my life was blessed with the friendship and love of one of the dearest old ladies—one of the sweetest-tempered and calmest-browed Christians—that I have ever met. She had seen her share of the shadows of life,—sickness and poverty and anxiety,—and had brought up a large family; but I never remember seeing her give way to anger or discontent.
One day we were speaking about unfortunate people; some one had lost his property, and in sickness and poverty had been obliged, as a last resort, to accept the tardy charity of the public, and the unwelcome refuge of the poorhouse.
“What a dreadful thing it must be!” I exclaimed, drawing a mental picture of the county almshouse, with its unhomelike exterior and its ungarnished and unwholesome interior. “It seems to me almost the worst fate which could by any means befall any one,” I continued, “to be obliged to end one’s days in the poorhouse.”
I had never heard of any one who could take an optimistic view of such a case; so what was my surprise at hearing her merry, good-natured laugh ring out in hearty protest.
“Why, no, my dear,” she said; “there are some things much worse than being obliged to go to the poorhouse.”
Of course I looked at her in open-eyed amazement. What had this paragon of contentment to offer in favor of this—to me—condition of supreme wretchedness?
“Pray tell me what can be worse?” I insisted.
“Why, not having any poorhouse to go to, of course!” and the dear, philosophical saint of the Lord smiled brightly and reassuringly into my gloomy face, until it caught and mirrored some of the sunshine of her own.
My sweet friend is laid away to rest; but the quiet influence of her calm, contented life and cheerful disposition will never die.
“Yes,” says some tired sister, as she lifts a weary face, upon which deep lines of unhappiness and discontent have been graven,—“yes, but no one ever had just the peculiar trials and difficulties that I have always had. Hard luck and poverty have followed me from the cradle.”
But, my sister, there has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, and I verily believe there may be others worse off still.
“It may be; but that is poor consolation. I, for one, could never get any enjoyment out of the fact that some one else was worse off than myself.”
Very well, then; get enjoyment out of the fact that some one is better off, can’t you? Just try it, anyway.
O, if there were less time spent in envying others, and more in kindly ministrations to those who are in greater need than ourselves, there would be fewer ugly lines plowed by the fingers of discontent upon brow and cheek, which might be passing fair but for this.
My dear sister, we are never to forget that we are commanded to give thanks “in everything;” not some things, not for the pleasant things alone, but everything.
“What! am I to thank God for the accident that befell me the other day? Can I be cheerful and happy when I know that the cruel tongue of slander is busy with my name? Can I be even-tempered, and keep sweet and gentle, when the children are cross and careless, and the servant is exasperating and heedless?”
Can you?—Yes. Says the Master: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” This is the promise, and it is for you. O blessed grace! O precious promise! It remains for you and me to take it at its face value.
Can we imagine the godlike Nazarene Carpenter going about his homely duties with a frown upon his face or a jarring note in his voice? But were his tasks always pleasant ones? Did he not know and feel the sting of poverty? Was the hard toil of a common laborer congenial to him whose home was among the glory-gleaming mansions of paradise?
Yet he whose attendants were the royal ministers of heaven beautified the life of common toil by his own wonderful example. Even under the very shadow of the cross, misunderstood by his best-loved friends, and maligned and spit upon by those for whom he was willing to die, never a word of discontent passed those blessed lips or marred the record and sweetness of that wonderful life.
Next week we will perhaps have another little visit upon this important theme, and see if, peradventure, we may inspire each other with more real faith in the promises of God, and more confidence in his power and willingness to help us bear the petty trials of everyday life.
Lansing, Mich.

Blessed to Be Needed

“No, I can’t go this vacation,” said the young teacher. “I’m the eldest daughter, you know; and when I’m out of school, there are endless things to be done at home. Mother isn’t very strong, help is hard to get and unreliable, and the children are always needing something.”
Was there a touch of impatience in her tone? Her friend, older by many years, watched the healthy, capable girl as she turned from one task to another,—ready to help father with the gathering-up and arranging of his papers, deftly tying bows and managing refractory buttons for the little ones, then donning a big apron for the kitchen and “the gingerbread that nobody makes like Mollie.” The whole household turned to her. “O you fortunate girl!” said the friend between a smile and a sigh. “I wonder if you realize that the most blessed thing in all this world is to be needed and be able to supply the need.”
There are many who could understand the full meaning of her words better than Mollie did. It is not the busy days, the many demands, love’s incessant calls, that bring the heartache, but the lonely days that come later. We often look forward to the thought of being “free to live our own life,” and long for leisure; but it is only when years or change have brought the coveted gift, that we fully realize how blessed it was to be needed—to have eager eyes turn to us, trusting hearts depend on us, trembling hands seek ours for support. Life’s busiest time is the very time of our human life that Christ chose for his own in this world, and there can be no greater mission than that on which he came—“not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”—Forward.

A Great Faith

By Francis M. Wilcox

A GREAT faith possessed the thief who died in connection with Christ’s crucifixion. Of his life experience in a general way we know but little, only what is indicated by his crime. In God’s providence, not a mere coincidence, he and the Lord Jesus are crucified at the same hour. Perhaps the thief had heard of Christ before, had known something of his mighty works, but now he is brought in personal contact. He is enabled to witness for himself the spirit that possesses the Man of Calvary. He finds in him no hardened criminal, like himself and his companion. From Christ’s lips escapes no word of curse or rebuff or murmuring. “As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” Patiently, meekly, he speaks to his persecutors; and when reviled by the very men he came to save, who ask him in derision to prove his divinity by descending from the cross, the only word he utters is a prayer that the Father will forgive his enemies for their malicious hatred.
Christ’s demeanor has its effect upon the thief who hangs by his side. He recognizes in Christ a spirit he has never before seen manifested. He queries if this is not indeed the long-looked-for Messiah, the Saviour of men. Every moment as they hang there side by side strengthens the conviction. Faith takes possession of his soul. Receiving the just deserts for his evil deeds, forsaken of men, he sees in the throng before him no pitying eye; but in the One who hangs by his side, he sees a holy calmness, a face softened and subdued, an eye of pitying tenderness, a heart of love. He grasps the hope which the Spirit of God has created in his soul. He casts his eyes upon the Lord, and cries, in agony, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
O, what a faith was this! to see in the Crucified One the Majesty of heaven, to realize that he who now hangs upon the cross, classed by men among criminals, was sometime to possess a kingdom, was sometime to reign in triumphant glory! Peter could forsake his Lord and flee, the disciples could be scattered as sheep without a shepherd, crushing doubts filling their hearts as to the divine mission of their Master; but here was one whose faith pierced the gloom of the cross, and recognized in the Man of Sorrows his own divine Saviour.
And if the faith was marvelous, as truly marvelous was the confident answer returned: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee to-day, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” To human onlookers this appeared on the part of Christ a vain assumption of power. How could this man, despised and rejected of his own nation, forsaken by his own disciples, about whose cross the lightning of heaven played fitfully, surrounded by a darkness which seemed the frown of his Father’s face, thus meet the request of the penitent thief? Here, too, in the promise of our blessed Lord was the manifestation of a mighty triumphant faith over the powers of darkness. He understood his position, if man did not. He knew the outcome of his sorrow and suffering, even if his disciples did not know. Across the abyss of death he saw the glorious resurrection day. As the culmination of his ministry of grace, he saw the establishment of his divine kingdom.
The request of the thief was that he might be remembered when Christ came into his kingdom. Into this glorious estate our Lord did not enter at his death, nor even at his resurrection. When the work of grace has been accomplished; when out of all nations have been gathered a people for his name; when from the east and the west, and the north and the south, the redeemed of the Lord shall come with songs of joy and rejoicing to Zion, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,—then it is that Christ will fully enter upon the establishment of his kingdom. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.”
In full accord with this request of the thief was the promise of our blessed Lord. He promises the penitent believer that he shall be with him in paradise. Paradise is the dwelling-place of the Most High. “To him that overcometh,” the Lord says, “will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” This tree of life, we learn from Revelation 22, is on the banks of the river of life, which flows from the throne of God.
Christ did not ascend to paradise the day he died; even three days after, the morning of his resurrection, we find him plainly stating that he had not yet ascended to the Father. In the garden of burial, where Mary is weeping for her Lord, Christ draws near. Mary mistakes him for the gardener, but in tones which she could not mistake, Christ calls her name. She turns herself, and with a cry of “Rabboni,” she is about to cast herself at his feet in divine worship, but Christ restrains her. “Touch me not,” he said; “for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”
Why did Christ decline the worship of Mary on this occasion? Was he not the divine Lord, and had he not shown by his triumph over death his right to Mary’s worship?—Yea, verily, but evidently he had not yet received from the Father’s own lips the assurance of the acceptance of his sacrifice. Before receiving worship, he must know from the Majesty of high heaven that the penalty for man’s transgression had been fully met, and that he was man’s accepted Substitute.
Nor is it probable that the thief died the day of his request. Frequently criminals hung on the cross for several days before death ended their suffering. The thieves, when taken from the cross, had their legs broken in order that they might not escape. That the thief expected salvation at the establishment of the kingdom, and that this was the time Christ promised that he would be with him, is the conclusion we are forced to accept.
This view of the dying request of the thief and of the promise of the Lord makes perfect harmony with the divine plan. The generally accepted view as indicated by the punctuation of Christ’s promise, the placing of the comma before the word to-day instead of after it, only serves to bring in contradiction and confusion of the Scriptures of truth. The punctuation of the Scriptures is not a matter of inspiration. By its use the translators expressed their conception of the meaning of the sacred record. Christ did not promise that the thief should be with him that day in paradise, but he did make the promise that day—“Today.” In that day of all others when it seemed that such a promise would be utterly fruitless, when any statement of his coming kingdom would seem sheer assumption, the great faith of the Lord Jesus in the triumph of his divine mission was positively asserted. The blessed realization of this promise will be made possible through the marvelous working of God’s grace, and the sublime, childlike faith which actuated the humble penitent.
May such a faith be ours. May we look beyond the present darkness and gloom, and take hold upon the blessed fruition, the grand reality, of that hope in the everlasting kingdom of our God.
F. M. W.

The Thief on the Cross

“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Perversion of Spiritual Gifts

By W. A. S.

THERE is nothing more self-deceptive than spiritual pride. This was Lucifer’s error. It is light and blessing turned to darkness; and then “how great is that darkness!”
Every power for service is the gift of God. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” said the apostle, “that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
The apostle evidently sought never to forget that all that was accomplished by their labors was what God himself “had done with them.” Acts 14:27.
The converted heart is humbled by the blessing of God that makes fruitful the effort to help others. In the presence of the manifest working of the power of God, the soul feels like crying out, as did Peter when he saw the miraculous draft of fishes: “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Of David it is written: “And David perceived that Jehovah had established him king over Israel: for his kingdom was exalted on high, for his people Israel’s sake.” 1 Chron. 14:2, A. R. V.
It was for the sake of the people that God blessed and exalted David. And David’s mistakes were made when he forgot that all the gifts for blessing and service that he possessed were from God.
It may be that God has blessed a man in service, and given strong gifts for the upbuilding of his cause. Then sometimes that man has become self-confident, spiritually proud, independent of counsel, has talked, perhaps, of “my message,” with exaggerated ideas of his importance to the work, and his powers for good have been perverted. And then the strong becomes weak, and the counsel of the wise is turned to foolishness.
In the earlier days of our work, Elder James White wrote as follows of this peril (REVIEW, Oct. 3, 1854):—
It is a lamentable fact that a great portion of those who have had any of the gifts of the Spirit of God bestowed upon them have soon become exalted, and have fallen. Such is the weakness of human nature that God has to bring his people through the furnace of affliction in order to save them. He often withholds his rich blessings from his people, lest they make a wrong use of them and perish. It was necessary that the apostle Paul should have a “thorn in the flesh,” lest “through the abundance of the revelations” he “should be exalted.” It has too often been the case that when the Lord has bestowed any great spiritual blessing or gift upon any of his humble children, the church, instead of carefully watching over them to see that they still keep humble, has heaped upon them compliments and flatteries, which in most cases have exalted and ruined the brightest lights set in the church.
If the apostle had not had such an abundance of “visions and revelations of the Lord,” he would not have needed a “thorn in the flesh.” This proves that those on whom Heaven bestows the greatest blessings are most in danger of being “exalted,” and of falling; therefore they need to be exhorted to be humble, and watched over carefully. But how often have such been too apt to drink in the extremely dangerous idea that all their impressions were the direct promptings of the Spirit of the Lord. And how often has it been the case that such have become self-righteous, puffed up, denunciatory, and finally gross fanatics, and the most efficient agents of the devil to scatter wild-fire, and to divide the flock of God. “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Prov. 16:18.
A man may have strong gifts as a teacher or an evangelist; but he needs the grace of Christ for daily overcoming, just as much as any one. An apostle or a prophet must keep his sins forgiven and self out of the heart, the same as every other believer.
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,” said Paul, “and have not charity [love], I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” The most conspicuous gifts are no substitute for the grace and spirit of Jesus.
“Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”
There is no basis for counting the gifts bestowed for the service of the cause of God as personal possessions. The treasure is in earthen vessels, and the excellency is of God. W. A. S.

A Notable Discussion in Congress

By C. M. S.

It is a cause of rejoicing to every lover of present truth when the principles for which we are contending are voiced in high places by men of renown. It is not because we feel the truths enunciated are any truer because of their promulgation by such ones in such places, but rather because the principles espoused, are, by such means, brought more prominently and forcefully to the attention of the world.
On May 26, in the Senate of the United States, the measure known as the Johnston Sunday Rest Bill for the District of Columbia was called up and read in full by the secretary. Senator Heyburn, of Idaho, asked that the consideration of the bill might be postponed. On this objection the vice-president ruled that the bill would “go over.” The author of the measure objected to this disposition of his bill, and demanded to know why the senator from Idaho objected to having the bill considered then.
Senator Heyburn replied that the questions involved were of more than passing importance, and that such a measure could not be discussed under a five-minute rule. On a suggestion from Mr. Heyburn, to which the vice-president agreed, a motion was made by Senator Johnston to take up the measure at once. To this the Senate agreed, and this took it out from under the five-minute rule. Senator Heyburn then proceeded to discuss the measure on its merits. To furnish a basis for his remarks, Senator Heyburn proposed an amendment, striking out the greater portion of the bill. He said:—
I have always been opposed to this class of legislation. In the very early days of the settlement of this country we had a great deal of it, and on the statute-books of many of the States there are now provisions which are termed “blue laws,” that are ignored. There are some now in existence relative to the District of Columbia that are not observed nor enforced.
We can not make people good by legislation. You can punish them for being bad. . . . I have a due regard for the observance of the sabbath, and I believe it should be observed, but I do not believe in legislation compelling one to do it. This measure is of more than passing importance. I have not thought it would pass without considerable discussion. I have heard it suggested that it was a delicate question upon which to speak. I do not feel it to be such. A man who can not discuss his religion has none; a man who is afraid to discuss it has none. I do not think this is an appropriate place in which to discuss religious questions, except so far as they may be relied upon as a basis of legislation, but I can not refrain from expressing my regret that it is proposed in Congress to deal with questions involved in this bill. I think I opposed a similar bill on a former occasion, and it was charged in certain places that I was an irreligious person, and that I did not believe in orderly conduct on the sabbath day. There is no foundation for that charge.
I have always been a person of strong religious convictions. My ancestors have always been largely interested in religious principle and the development of it. I have followed in their footsteps, and it is because of that, at least in part, that I do not approve of this class of legislation. It was such legislation as this that wrote the annals of bloodshed and oppression and intolerance in the religious history of the world, where a part of the people undertook to be sponsors for the consciences of another part.
The senator then went on to analyze the bill, phrase by phrase, showing its inconsistencies and inequalities. Concerning the clause by which it is proposed to exempt from the provisions of the measure “members of a religious society who observe as a sabbath any other day in the week than Sunday,” he made this observation:—
In other words, this legislation grants special privileges to people who are members of religious societies. More than half the world and more than half the people in this city are not members of any religious society. It grants a special privilege to those who are, which is withheld from those who are not. The law in this land, general and local, was intended to insure perfect freedom and independence to the citizen in regard to the observance of religious principles. So, as a matter of principle, I am opposed to such legislation. . . .
No man has the right to set himself up as the moral standard of all the community, or of any part of the community except himself. As to the use of the sabbath day, every man, so far as personal acts that do not include any acts of lawlessness are concerned, should be the guardian of his own morals. It was never intended that the law should lay down the rules that should constitute a good man, and say that all men must live up to those rules. That never was the intention of the lawmakers, and we discovered it very soon after we became a nation, and had organized government, and we abandoned that kind of legislation.
It was the legislation that resulted in whipping people at the tail of the cart, placing them in the stocks, branding them upon the hands, and so forth. That was the kind of legislation under which some person, or coterie of persons, undertook to set themselves up as the censors of the morals of the people. I thought that age had passed. I never expected to see it revived, and I never expected to see an attempt made in the Congress of the United States to prescribe rules that are intended, I presume, to supplement the ten commandments; and I suppose every year, according to the temper of a part of the people, we shall have new prohibitions and restrictions. . . .
If you are going into this question, go into it to the limit, and compel the people to live as the old Puritans of New England did, when they were not allowed to have fire in their churches, and when they had to take their luncheons with them, and eat them in cold sheds or where they might. If you are going to be erratic in legislation, be erratic according to some established rule, the rule of our ancestors. If you are going to recognize the rule that is recognized, or, at least, I thought it was, in all parts of this country, of religious freedom and freedom of personal action so long as it violates no law of the land, and no contractual right of any one,—if you are going to uphold that kind of religious freedom,—you can not pass this bill.
What authority have we, whence do we derive authority, under the Constitution, to enact legislation that will interfere with the personal action of a citizen that is in violation of no law applicable to the whole country?
At this point Senator Gallinger, of New Hampshire, made the statement that laws similar to this were in force in a large number of the States. In replying, Senator Heyburn asked whether Senator Gallinger would be in favor of a law similar to this for the whole United States. Senator Gallinger replied: “I would on this subject. I do not know that I would take the exact phraseology of this bill; but I would in a general way.”
The last question and its answer illustrate the possibility and the probability of the enactment of a law which many had supposed never could be enacted in this country—a law passed by the national government for the enforcement of a religious observance upon the people of the whole country. If it could be questioned—and who can question it?—that when the Congress of the United States passes a law enforcing the observance of Sunday upon the people of the District of Columbia, the nation has, by official act, voted a nullification of the fourth commandment of the decalogue, there certainly could be no question that, when Congress passes a law compelling the observance of Sunday by all the people of the nation, the nation has voted to nullify that divine precept. It is worth while to note that such a thing has been advocated in the Senate of the United States. But it is pleasant to know that there was even one man in the Senate brave enough to point out the injustice of such a measure, and protest against its enactment.
There are developments each year which point with unmistakable certainty to the culmination of the work.
C. M. S.

The Work of the Ministry

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith.”

Articles for the “Review”

By Editor

THE REVIEW cordially solicits from all its readers contributions to its columns. Especially shall we be glad to receive articles from our ministers and workers throughout the field. If God has given you a rich experience or a good thought, write it out for the benefit of others. Present some phase of the special message for this generation.
We have in our files at the present time a number of excellent contributions. In some of these the subjects are well treated, and the thoughts concisely expressed. These will appear in due time. Many other articles are received which, while they contain some excellent things, are too long and prosy for use. As a rule, long articles are dull and tiresome. It is not for these we ask, but rather for the short, spicy ones, which come directly to the point, and are filled with sparkling thought and quickening life.
The REVIEW seeks each week to present a variety of topics. The publication of long articles makes this impossible; hence in the very nature of the case, short articles must be given the preference.
As a rule, no article should contain more than from one thousand to fifteen hundred words, and if the thoughts can be condensed within the limit of five hundred words, or even less, this is far preferable. Write plainly with pen and ink, on one side of the paper; send your manuscript in folded, not rolled. Do not seek to cover too many points in one article. Select one or two leading points in the subject, and clearly elucidate these. Later, if desired, write on other phases of the subject. “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little,”—this is the Bible method of imparting truth and instruction, which all may profitably follow.
Write naturally; write for the paper as you would write a letter to a friend. Do not copy the style of another; be yourself. It is left, of course, for the editors to determine the merit of your production for publication; you, however, may be sure that it possesses the merit of conciseness and brevity.

British and Foreign Bible Society Statistics

SINCE 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society has distributed 220,000,000 copies of the Holy Scriptures. Last year's output was 2,400 boxes, weighing 294 tons, from London alone, representing only one fourth of the whole production, the other three fourths having been printed abroad. The society is printing 424 different versions,—75 for Europe, 152 for Asia, 103 for Africa, 32 for America, and 62 for Australia and Polynesia.

Sabbath-Keepers Raised Up in China

Elder W. A. Westworth, who has recently arrived in California from China, brings word that thirty-two companies of Sabbath-keepers have been raised up in that heathen country simply through the reading of our literature. They have never had the opportunity of hearing or seeing a native or foreign Seventh-day Adventist.
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