Earlier text: CONSIDER HIMIN WHICH POWER IS YOUR TRUST?
By S.
The German emperor, as head of the State Churches of Germany, is strongly advocating a confederation of these various churches. There are forty-eight such churches in that country. Altho State Churches, they each have their individual and independent organizations. It is thought by many, and the emperor is one such, that by uniting the Protestant organizations under one head, they could present a more solid front to the world, and thus develop and defend the common principles of Protestantism, in one numerically strong and powerful organization. This one organization could be more easily influenced and led by the one head, the emperor. As there is no indication of a separation of Church and State in Germany, many believe that this will be the best possible move for strengthening the position of the Protestant Church in that country; and it is quite likely that the movement will increase in strength until the object is accomplished. The same movement, virtually, is going on in this country, the movement for the federation of Protestant denominations. The movement here has the same object in view, a concentration of power and influence, to “present a more formidable front to the world,” or at least to be in such a condition that it can be more easily wielded by a few leaders in bringing about any desired object. It is not to make a united effort to seek God, and get upon higher spiritual grounds; it is not a united seeking of power to convince the world of sin; but to present a formidable front. It is always the policy of military commanders to arrange their forces in such a way as to present a formidable front to the enemy. But Christ did not come into the world to kill and crush, and force men into this or that. He did not come to present a formidable, forbidding, fearsome front to men. His “take My yoke upon you and learn of Me,” is a gracious invitation, not a harsh command given with glowering face. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” are the words of Jesus. There is nothing formidable about them. He who goes through this world presenting a “formidable front” is not going in the Spirit or the power of Jesus Christ. “Not by might [as an army, margin], nor by power [or force], but by My Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.” Zech. 4:6. This is the Lord’s own instruction regarding how His work shall be carried on in this earth. He also tells His servant Zerubbabel that he is to accomplish the Lord’s work by proclaiming, “Grace, grace.” Verse 7. There is nothing formidable about such a work. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” “The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come; he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” This is the spirit and the characteristic of the true work of God—a winning work and not a forcing or formidable one. True, the spirit of confederacy among denominations is in the air at the present time. It is strongly manifest both among German Protestants and American Protestants, and the more strongly it is manifest the greater becomes the dearth of real spirituality in the churches. The Lord has foreseen and foretold this, and so He warns His children not to take part in it. “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be dismayed.” Isa. 8:12. The people are now saying, A confederacy. The cry for it will be louder and more persistent and insistent until the thing is done; but they who are God’s children in deed and in truth will have no part in that faithless work. That work is done through fear and dread of the work of an opposing religious body. But the Lord says upon this point directly, “Jehovah of hosts, Him shall ye sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” Isa. 8:13. There is no need for us to fear the fears of the world; for God has promised power to overcome in every trial of our faith. To confederate on worldly lines to protect ourselves from the world is to show a lack of faith and trust in God, and look to the human arm instead of to the divine for the strength and protection which we need. In other words, in whose power shall we trust, man’s or God’s? Each must answer for himself, and there is no neutral ground. “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” NOT AN EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIAN PROGRESS.
To those who hold that modern, superior, more exact business methods are the evidences of increasing Christian morality and progress, the New York Independent says:— It is the flimsiest kind of pseudo-religious optimism which holds that because honesty and fidelity to contracts are more and more essential to modern business relations, modern business is therefore more and more essentially Christian. Religion goes deeper, and might even condemn the entire structure as radically wrong and hostile to the true life of fellowship with divine perfection. Indeed as far as honesty and fidelity to contracts are concerned, a society composed wholly of gamblers would be necessarily stricter on these points than any other conceivable form of society. The gambler who violated his contracts and did not play up to the rules of the games would be absolutely shut out from earning a living. No one would play with him. He not only would not succeed he would not even be admitted to the game, and the penalty would be starvation. Among themselves gamblers are the “soul of honor”—it is only when they are “fleecing the lambs” that they violate their high code of ethics. If there were no lambs and all were gamblers, their code of honor and fidelity to agreements would be irrefragable. And this is true. The Christian business man needs not these rules in order to make him honest; he will be honest any way. He needs system and intelligence for the sake of economy, order, better understanding, etc., but he will be honest and do justly whether there is a civil or criminal law or a rule of commerce or a regulation of business. There is a wonderful difference between being honest under all circumstances and acting honest because your system of business is so regulated that you dare not do otherwise or even where a premium is paid for accurate, rapid work. Honesty is not a cloak for occasions; it is a principle that controls. The tendency of all peoples who have accepted the doctrine of the soul’s inherent immortality is to decry and denounce materialism as something utterly abhorrent to Christianity. Materialism in their eyes means the gross materialism of earth marred by sin, subject to corruption and decay; it means the sin-polluted and disease-decaying body of the flesh; and that opposed to this view is the immaterial, which practically makes nothing of God, or of heaven, or of man hereafter. There has obtained the idea that material could not be spiritual, nor could the spiritual be material. In all this sin has blinded men’s eyes and befogged the vital question of man’s here and hereafter. The true view-point, the true source of knowledge, of all this is not sinful man and his reasoning, but God’s revelation concerning His purpose regarding man. God made man a material being, composed of flesh, bone, and blood. God’s purpose was and is that man should live forever; He did not create him to die. He placed the man on a material earth, which is destined to abide forever. Its trees, its flowers, its soil, its waters were all material. But they were not as we see them now. It was a living earth. No threefold curse rested upon it; nay, no single curse had marred its glorious beauty. The Spirit, the life of God, penetrated its every fiber, and bound it together, a member of the living universe of God. Had it not been for sin, here man would have lived and rejoiced forever. But sin came, and as a consequence death came. And the whole earth has been a great lazar house of sin, and carnage, and woe, and misery ever since. The bright spots are God’s encouragements to hope; they are the manifestations of His power despite of sin. When the long struggle is over, when the black course and utter ending of sin shall have vindicated God’s merciful justice, then God will gather His people home to a sinless kingdom. Then will He cause those that love Him “to inherit substance.” Prov. 8:21. Then it will be demonstrated that the sinful material was nothing, for it comes to nothing; but that the spiritual, substantial is something. A spiritual, real earth, inherited by spiritual, real beings, will be ruled by a spiritual, real King, to all eternity. God has in heaven for His children a “better and more enduring substance.” The new heaven and earth will last forever. “The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” Dan. 7:27. The glorious, substantial capital of that substantial, spiritual kingdom is described in Revelation 21. Dear souls, it is all real, all substantial, all spiritual, which the people who trust in God shall inherit. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” That is all that is worth seeking. 1286.—The First That Should Rise from the Dead.
Please explain Acts 26:23. As Christ died in the sinner's stead, did He not pay the penalty—nothing more, nothing less than that which is due the sinner, and which is recorded in Rev. 20:14? We know that many were raised from the state we call “dead” before Christ was raised. W. T. P. “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Cor. 15:3. “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. Jesus met it all. But to say that His death meant “nothing more” in the bald sense is limiting the great offering, of which death was the climax, wherein all the great love, and power, and wisdom, and glory of God are revealed to all the universe, to all eternity. As to the meaning of His rising, read as in the American Revised Version: “How that the Christ must suffer, and how that He first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.” He was the first in whom was demonstrated for the world the great power of God over sin and death. 1287.—“Not of the World.”
Does Matt. 24:36-39 and Luke 17:26, 27 infer that when Christ comes those who are looking and waiting for Him will not be doing as the world are—eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, as they were in the days of Noah, and knew not till the Flood came and destroyed them? Will there not be a time before the coming of Christ that His people will not be like the world in that as well as other things? M. E. W. What the world does it does for the thing itself. What the true Christian does, he does to the glory of God. There would be much less eating and drinking, there would be many fewer things eaten and drunk, there would be fewer marriages, and no divorces, if men and women would but use this world as not abusing it, and would eat, and drink, and do all that they do to the glory of God. God's people must continue to eat and drink as do others. We presume that they will marry as others, outwardly, but they will not eat and drink to satisfy a depraved and abnormal appetite, nor will they marry to satisfy lust or animal passion. The true question should always be, Will this glorify God? The apostle James says, chapter 5:14, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil,” etc. I would like to ask you for answer in your Question Corner. Which church does the apostle mean? Does he mean any church, Catholic or Protestant? or does he mean some church that has no specialty except Jesus the Christ, and Him crucified? He means the church of Jesus Christ. It must be an organized church, for it has elders. See Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 11:30; 20:17, et al. How to find that church is by the Word of God. See Apples of Gold Library, No. 36, “The True Church, and How We May Know It.” (Price one cent and same for postage, if but one copy is sent for.) John the Baptist was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, but he had his disciples, and he was the follower as well as the forerunner of Christ Jesus. When Elijah thought he stood alone, the Lord told him that he was but one of a remnant of 7,000. It is true that persons in various Protestant churches (we never heard of Catholics doing this) have sought God's healing through the elders of the church, the only church they knew, and have been healed. God in His mercy meets men where they are that we may stand with Him where He is. Sometimes a “church that has no specialty except Jesus the Christ” has nothing. The term becomes a catch phrase, a covering, under which great truths are rejected and great error maintained. The United States Government is rapidly being forced to paternalism in government. Labor unions and their control are forcing it there. Trusts are forcing it there. Roman Catholicism and Socialism are forcing it there. How long it will be before the parent will take possession of all the great industries and natural sources of supplies we know not; but in the last few months, especially since the coal strike in the East, the opinion has grown apace, not that that is the ideal form of government, but that it seems to be the only way out of the difficulty. The Democratic platform of New York State declares for governmental ownership of the coal mines; and the New York World, a Democratic newspaper, strenuously opposes it as undemocratic, unconstitutional, un-American. The problem is a serious one. It is said that ninety per cent of the anthracite coal of the world is in ten counties in Pennsylvania; and a few men and railways control it, when there is no strike. Thousands upon thousands are dependent upon those mines for labor and wages and warmth who are in no way connected with them. What is to be done? People stand upon all sides of the question, but many are looking to public ownership as the only feasible settlement. That conservative journal the Springfield Republican says:— Something has got to be done to prevent a repetition of any such experience as the country has been going through, and there are but two things left to do. Either these coal mines must be taken over by the State or nation for operation on public account; or they must be subjected to the closest public control, including compulsory measures for avoiding strikes, lockouts, and all other controversies between employers and employees which endanger the continuous operation of the business. We must accept the remedy of public ownership advanced by the Hill democracy of New York State, or we must adopt a system of enforced arbitration of labor disputes. The public ownership method involves a leap so far into the dark as to be contemplated with the gravest misgivings. Especially is this true of ownership on the part of the nation. If the State of Pennsylvania wants to try the experiment, the way stands open to it. But the nation can not enter upon that course without being forced along directly, step by step, to the taking up of other coal mines, other mines of natural wealth, and many other enterprises of a monopolistic nature. It is obviously a proposal not to be entertained until every other means of meeting the problem has been exhausted, and this is by no means now the case. There are laws, it is averred on good authority, which would control these hostile elements, but through the overmastering influence of money and fear of politicians they are not enforced. The New York Independent tells us that while the public will not greatly concern itself about the politicians or their destinies, “the affairs of government in a number of the commonwealths, and possibly at Washington, will to a great extent, pass under a different political control from that which has been ascendent in the last four years.” After speaking of the wrongs on both sides of the present struggle, the right of every man to work, unionist or not, and the stupendous insolence of the mine operators, the Independent continues:— For more than twenty-five years the people have been quietly, thoughtfully considering the propositions that were somewhat dramatically forced upon their attention by the publication of Mr. George’s “Progress and Poverty.” They have been in no hurry to admit that all private property in land is wrong. But no one who reads the signs of the times can fail to observe that the opinion is spreading, steadily and resistlessly, among the great middle classes no less than among the wage-earners, that private property in certain kinds of land and under certain circumstances may be very wrong indeed. The insertion of a plank in the New York Democratic platform calling for public ownership of coal mining lands marks the entrance of this question into practical politics. Once in, it will not drop out. The American people will never consent to an indefinite continuance of such private domination of one of the prime necessaries of life as has been so disastrously exhibited this summer. If the only way to assert control by the public and for the public is found to be through public ownership, the public will take that step without the slightest hesitation. These words from such conservative journals indicate the straightened conditions prevalent in the nation, and the utter ineffectiveness of present remedies. Will public ownership help matters?—In some respects; in some lines it will bring untold evils. We are in a crisis in America. The testing of the Republic is on now as never before. And what is true here is in greater or less measure true all over the world. Men promise themselves relief through law; but law will not convert souls, regenerate the heart’s longing, nor take away the innate selfishness of humanity. Only Jesus Christ can do that, and He must do it through individual men. Truly these days are the fulfilment of Christ’s words of the last days, “distress of nations with perplexity.” And this with other prevalent signs foretoken our Lord’s soon coming. A CALL FOR TEMPERANCE WORK.
By G.
At the close of the general meeting of the Society of Friends, recently held in Indianapolis, a call was issued to the various Christian bodies in the United States to unite in practical effort against the evils of the liquor traffic. The call invites the governing bodies of the various denominations of Christians in the United States to appoint delegates to represent them in a conference to be held in the city of Washington, to begin on the second Wednesday of March, in the year 1906. Incidentally this is a notification to the liquor traffic that, if the various denominations respond to the call, in three years and four months from this time there will be the beginning of a proposed united effort of Christians against its ravages. King Alcohol will hardly be much frightened at this declaration of war. However, the call contains a statement of fact that Christians would do well to consider. We copy the following pointed extract:— We are confident that the consensus of opinion of professed Christians of our land is opposed to the evils of the liquor traffic, and we find a want of co-operation in practical effort to give effect to this opposition because none of the propositions heretofore made has met the approval of the general judgment of Christian people. We recognize that this is the case in our own body, and we believe it is likewise true of others. As a result, the church exerts far less influence than it should to prevent the evils produced by this great cause of poverty and crime, and which also is a most serious obstacle to the spread of the Gospel. There is no doubt that the compromising attitude of the church toward the liquor traffic is one of the great obstacles in the way of the Gospel message. This has been illustrated over and over in the limitation of church temperance effort to the one purpose of securing temperance on Sunday. In the large cities the ideal condition of temperance is closing saloons on Sunday. When this fails, the impression seems to prevail that nothing else can be done. The work must always begin with a crusade for Sunday closing, and if that fails the effort practically ends there. Thus in so many instances it develops that the nominal temperance effort has no real temperance sentiment behind it; the spirit of the movement being the spirit of enforced Sunday observance. Every move of that kind is an encouragement to the liquor traffic to the extent that it acknowledges the legitimacy of the business on every other day of the week, especially where there is no united church opposition to legalizing the trade as other trades are legalized and recognized. Often and in divers places we hear of campaigns to secure high license for saloons, and usually the churches are practically united in the endeavor. They look upon it as a kind of punishment to the evil-doers, but they do not reflect that it never yet restricted the amount of liquors sold and consumed. The higher the license the more the liquor business contributes to the public expense, and the more indispensable it is thought to be from the standpoint of the commonwealth. But it is upon just such impracticable issues as these that the churches usually unite in the name of temperance. A few years ago in this city the question of prohibition was submitted to the popular vote. The church leaders were very certain they could carry the Sunday-closing issue, but they were equally certain that they could not carry prohibition,—and they didn’t. Why?—Because Sunday closing was only a Sunday-observance measure, designed as an opening wedge for closing everything else, while prohibition was a temperance measure—just that, no more, no less. Thus it was demonstrated that the denominations were willing to unite for enforced Sunday observance, but not for practical temperance work. The call of the Society of Friends is correct in its statement of conditions, and the need for united effort; but its proposition gives too much grace to the evil it is intended to combat. All the liquor element ever asks is postponement of the time for effective opposition. Yet it would be practically impossible for all the governing bodies of the various denominations to act sooner. It is time just now for all Christians to unite as one man, by precept and example, to discountenance not only the liquor traffic itself, but everything that works toward enlarging its field of operations. All can unite in the education of the people, especially the youth, against the habits and the institutions that tend to create appetite for intoxicants, or that tend to lead them into temptation. With all the profession of Christianity in this country, there ought to be sufficient influence to refuse license for the continuance of a traffic that is admitted to be the direct cause of the greater portion of the crime committed in the land. It would be a great help in keeping the evil thing in disgrace, in calling the attention of the unwary to its innate venality, if it were but outlawed, and thus discredited by the authorities. A union of Christian people to this end could accomplish a great work. But the longer it is delayed, the stronger the monster becomes—in the State, in the church, and in society in general. EMPEROR WILLIAM AS A ROMAN CATHOLIC.
The sympathies of the German Emperor are slowly but surely forming themselves in the direction of the Roman Catholic Church, if we are to credit statements made in the leading organs of the Vatican party on the Continent of Europe. Various reasons are given for this. The principal one is the support he has received from the Center or Roman Catholic party in his dominions. His imperial ambitions, his purpose to build a mighty navy, his opposition to the Social-Democratic party, and his view that royalty rules by right divine have been encouraged and supported by the Center. The votes of that group have helped him in the Reichstag when he could get support nowhere else. Germania (Berlin), the Clerical organ, and the equally Clerical Kölnische Volkszeitung have rallied to his aid again and again, reflecting in this attitude that of the party leaders. As a writer in the Clerical Correspondent (Paris) says:— Catholics exult, and their joy is the more intense in that Protestant bitterness is so keen. They dream of creating a Roman Catholic Germany, of creating a new Catholicism, more solid and less destructible. It is a renaissance that will succeed an evangelical reform. This is a sentiment common to many German Catholics. . . . But the Catholics wish to dominate the Protestants, to take away from them their preponderance. The instrument to this end must be the Center party, now so potent in the Reichstag. It is pointed out that the organs of the Social-Democratic party, from Vorwärts (Berlin) down, are attacking the Roman Catholic party as a force that menaces the democratic idea in Germany. The Center, however, is growing, thanks to the support of Emperor William himself:— Thus a Catholic movement is definitely shaping itself in Germany. The Catholic Congress at Mannheim showed how strong a tie united the church's faithful in the four quarters of the empire. All in the unity of their belief, despite differences of political opinion, have grouped themselves about the Center party, which has placed itself at the head of the movement and has united elements hitherto irreconcilable. And if the Center has managed to effect9 this difficult fusion, if it has succeeded in transforming it into a veritable political demonstration, a congress in which religious interests only were to have been discussed, the credit is due to imperial policy and to the personal wishes of the Emperor. And William II. is going a great deal further than this, if the opinions freely expressed by one authority have any foundation in fact. His imperial Majesty will intensify the surprise with which he has filled the world by appearing in the new character of a pillar of the Roman Catholic Church. Our authority quotes a Roman Catholic paper as follows:— Emperor William has a lucid mind. He is perspicacious enough to be aware of the ever divine and living power of the Catholic Church in the face of the impotence and weakness of Protestantism, which is dying of decay. There is every reason to believe that the Emperor has made or will make this observation, which is a thing self-evident, and that he will have the courage to give his support, in every German Protestant state, to the Catholic Church, and to bring all Germany back to the old mother church, that is to Catholicism. He would thus give to Germany a splendor and a power known to her only in the days of Charlemagne. The Emperor, as he says himself, wishes to maintain religion among the people. Now that can only be the Catholic religion. For Protestantism can be sustained no longer. It is suffering from inward ruin, it is stricken with consumption. Hence it can be said that the Emperor, in his speech at Aix-la-Chapelle, spoke as a Catholic Emperor.—Literary Digest, Oct. 18, 1902. People so nearly assimilated as are the inhabitants of the United States and Canada are only nominally separated by a line across an unbroken country, with nothing but an occasional mound to mark it. An interesting statement is made by Christian Work and Evangelist, as follows:— BANDS of Philippine robbers and murderers are again active in the provinces of Rizal and Bulucan, island of Luzon, and in the islands of Biliran and Leyte. A band of these marauders recently entered a town on the last named island, killed the presidente and his wife, and carried away the children. A band of fanatics is still operating in the island of Samar. The native constabulary have frequent encounters with these lawless bands, and many have recently been killed. A clash has occurred at Manila between the regular Catholics and the independent Catholic body known as the Catholic Church of the Philippines. The independent movement is a defection of the native clergy and their followers from the regular Catholic Church. The latter have forbidden the former to inter their dead in the Catholic cemetery. The independent Catholics are planning to appeal to the courts for their rights. American Emigration into Canada
A movement which is arresting public attention to a marked degree on both sides of the Great Lakes, yet which is imperfectly understood, is the emigration that is going on from the United States into Canada. From the northwest a constant stream of American emigration is flowing into the four provinces of Manitoba, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. During the last year the records show the disposal by the government and by the railroad companies of somewhat over 4,000,000 acres. Manitoba alone has 23,000,000 acres of good land, only about one-seventh of which is now cultivated. The government authorities of Canada estimate that after all the land unsuited to agricultural purposes, such as swamps, arid regions, and mountains, is deducted, there still remain 75,000,000 acres of good land in the four provinces named. The yield is large, and the quality of the wheat the very first. The movement of the Americans also forecasts important political consequences. The population of the Northwest Territory is already one-fourth American. The Church and the Theater
There is now organized in the city of New York what is known as the Actors’ Church Alliance. This alliance and a committee of clergymen are to determine what theatrical plays are fit for religious men and women to see and for children to know about. The committee of clergymen will collect information concerning new plays and send it to the pastors of churches in every city in the country. “Moral plays” and those which treat holy things with reverence will be recommended. But the committee hopes to do a good work by inducing the members of the churches in all the country to refrain from attendance at the theaters which present objectionable plays. While not questioning the motives of the gentlemen who have organized this work, it is certain that this movement will result in the greatest harvest for the theaters that they have ever experienced, and will be the means of thousands attending the theater who otherwise might never have become infatuated with the play. It is bound to work as an advertisement for the theater—a veritable theatrical billboard in the house of worship. Another fact in this connection is that the exposure of the immoral plays will not result in decreasing the attendance at the theaters where they are produced. It has been proved over and over that the plays which pander to depraved moral appetites are the plays which draw the crowds. The very condemnation of a play on these grounds has come to be the most telling advertisement for it. So the churches, through this movement, are to become theatrical posters, free advertising media, for the good and the bad alike. It were far better if both pastors and church members left the ways of the world to the worldling, and kept themselves to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the world for service, but not of it nor in its pleasures, should be the attitude of every one who professes the name of Christ and hopes for a part with Him in the eternal world. Political Rioting in Ponce
On October 31 and November 1 there was much political rioting in the city of Ponce, Porto Rico, between Republicans, Federals, and the Labor Federation. Two men were killed, and business was suspended. Railroads Move Against the Private Car Evil
A CONCERTED effort has been begun by the great railroad magnates to eradicate what is known as the private car evil. Great firms or trusts, owning their own cars, can, in a measure, control the traffic in the commodity which they produce or handle. This is true of the Standard Oil Company and the beef trust, who, by their ownership of cars, control the price of beef and oil and railroad freight rates, and thus greatly curtail the revenues of the railroad. It is simply a case of trust against trust. The railroad trust has found an impediment to its own powers of fixing rates in the cars owned by shippers. On the other hand, the great trusts, by means of their cars, have been able to carry through their money-making schemes. Whichever wins, it is the winning of the trust and the fastening of the trust incubus more securely upon the people. Volcanic Outbreaks in Guatemala
MUCH excitement prevails in western Guatemala because of the recent volcanic outbreaks and earthquakes there. The city of Quezatenanga has been covered with six inches of sand and volcanic dust from the volcano of Santa Maria. Rich coffee plantations on the coast side of the volcano have been buried under several feet of sand and ashes. This volcano is in the center of an extensive coffee producing area, and the reports indicate that these plantations are in ruins. Quezaltenango, which was recently overthrown by an earthquake in which several thousand persons perished, has its ruins now covered with volcanic dust from the same volcano. Southeastern Mexico also has been considerably affected by these disturbances. Colombian Revolution Leader Surrenders
GENERAL URIBE-URIBE, the leader of the Colombian revolution, after defeat in battle with the government forces, has surrendered with his men. This is considered the death-blow of the revolution, although the rebels maintain their resistance in the Panama country. Those still in the field are now considering the offer of a 90-day armistice through which it is hoped finally to end the revolution. The currency of the country is in a serious condition, as it now requires from $120 to $130 to equal $1 in gold. Idleness in the Oklahoma Reservations
The Oklahoma Indian agent reports a very unsatisfactory state of affairs in the Oklahoma reservations, owing to the disinclination of the Indians to work. This he claims to be especially noticeable among the young educated Indians. The agent recommends compulsory labor for the able-bodied Indians on the various reservations. He states that many of the Indians are addicted to drink and gambling, and with this class the time is spent in idleness, debauchery, and vice. Morgan and Yerkes Contest London Railways
The fight between the two American millionaires, J. P. Morgan and Chas. T. Yerkes, for the possession of certain concessions for underground railways in London, is now occupying a considerable amount of attention in England. So far the Yerkes interests have triumphed over the Morgan interests; but the latter, altho their claims have been disallowed by Parliament, are still in the contest, and the newspapers of the capital have also taken up the controversy. Railroad Ties Made from Leather
A COMPANY has been organized under the laws of the State of Maine for the manufacture of railroad ties from old leather of all kinds and leather scraps. The leather goes through a preparatory process and then is pressed into the required shape. Ties made of this composition have been given severe tests, both as to the amount of traffic they will stand and the length of time they will last, and it is said that they have proved eminently satisfactory. Japan Plans Naval Expansion
ORIENTAL advises state that the Japanese Government has decided to increase its navy until it is as large as the combined forces in Asiatic waters of any two powers represented there. It is particularly desired to have a navy as large as the combined forces of France and Russia in Asiatic waters. To bring this about, the Japanese Government will increase the land tax after 1903, and apply the proceeds to the increase of her navy. A MISSIONARY in Morocco reports the existence of a serious condition of affairs in that country. The sultan of Morocco has won the distrust of his people by introducing telephones, automobiles, and a narrow-gauge railroad, and it is feared that an attempt will be made to put another in his place who will yield to the anti-foreign feelings of the populace. Traveling in the interior is said to be entirely unsafe at the present time. French Miners and Coal Operators Seek Arbitration
FRENCH miners and coal operators have decided to refer their differences to a court of arbitration. Trachoma Threatens New York Schools
At a meeting of the Health Department of New York on November 1, it was declared that New York City was threatened with a scourge of trachoma, which has made Egypt, the Barbary States, and certain parts of eastern Europe, nations of “sore eyes.” Since the beginning of the school year, 14,000 students have been excluded from the New York schools, suffering from this disease. Coal Operators and Miners’ Dispute
The arbitration committee appointed to settle the differences between the coal operators and the miners has been visiting the various mines during the week. At the close of another week the committee expects to be ready to take testimony bearing on the dispute. They have already decided that whatever changes are made in wages shall begin November 1. J. M. Hutchings Killed in Yosemite
MR. J. M. HUTCHINGS, who did so much to make famous the wonderful Yosemite Valley, was killed on November 1, while going down the grade into the valley, being thrown from his wagon upon a pile of stones, when his team had become unmanageable. His remains were interred in the Yosemite burial plot in accordance with his wish. Russian Doukhobors March in Canada
ABOUT twenty-five hundred of the Russian immigrants in Canada, who call themselves Doukhobors, have gone on a march, leaving their crops half harvested, and making no provision for their wants. Many of the marchers are in pitiable circumstances, and the Dominion Government seems at a loss to know how to deal with them. A New Automobile Riding Device
A RECENT invention of much interest to automobile users and manufacturers is a device, placed between the running gear and the body of the vehicle, which makes riding easy over the roughest roads without the pneumatic tire. Much of the trouble now encountered in automobiling arises from puncturing the pneumatic tires. WHAT amounts to a mild sort of meat famine is now in existence in Germany. Through the exclusion of foreign animals and canned meats, the price of meat has risen rapidly, and appeals are being made to the government for a remedy. The best beef brings 44 cents a pound, and other grades in proportion. Cable Connects Vancouver and Brisbane
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, is now in communication with Brisbane, Australia, through the completion, on October 31, of the great submarine cable between those points. Congratulations have been exchanged, and a series of tests have proved the cable entirely equal to expectations. Excavations at Tel-Abraham Forbidden
THE sultan has withdrawn from Mr. Banks, the American archæologist, permission to make excavations in the vicinity of Tel-Abraham, holding that it is sacred ground, the supposed burial place of Abraham. Permission had been granted through the American minister in August last. Shipping Trust Targets South African Trade
The great American-English shipping trust is now perfecting plans for securing the majority of the carrying trade from England and America to South Africa. These plans include the construction of five great ocean carriers which are to exceed all others in capacity and speed.