Golden Age, July 2, 1924
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TRUTH
- A DESIRABLE GOVERNMENT
A DIGEST OF WORLD NEWS
VoL V Bi-Weekly No. 125 July 2, 1924
5$ a copy — $ 1.00 a Year ’Canada and Foreign Countries $ 150
OLD •VORLD DYING
ASTRONOMICAL FEAST AT THE OBSERVATORY
USE OF PORK AS AN ARTICLE OF DIET
a Journal of fact Hope aiul courage
RI GHTE OUSNDSS
NEV r
VORLD /
BEGINNING'■-
7- ■ —
Contents of the Golden Age
Labor and Economics
AUTHOBTTT—DEMOOLATW VEHSVS PLUTOCBATIC
Social and Educational Digest or Wobld Newb
Education in China and Japan
Suicide and Crime In Austria
Revising the Dictionaet . . . . . - . . * * .
A Golden Rule House
Finance—Commerce—Transportation
Business and Transportation in the United States
Breaking up of Estates In Czeeho-Slovaku .......... 616
Political—Domestic and Foreign
Youth Movement in the Churches •
United States Postal Service ■
Canada, Argentine, Great Britain, The Hebrides ....... 618
France, Germany
Roumania, Denmark, Russia..... .
Turkey, Palestine, Mesopotamia, China, Philippines, Japan ... 616
AGRICULTURE AND HUSBANDRY Agricultural Notes
The World's Need . ...
Science and Invention An Astronomical Feast at the Omebvatory . . .
Kennan*s Description of the Northern Lights
Home and Health Pork AS an Abhclb or Duct..... .
Travel and Miscellany The Vapors Obey God's Law . . * .
Phrenology and The Bible
Religion and Philosophy Preachers Condemning Themselves ...
A Desirable Govebnment . . . ..
Heard in the OmcE (No. 12)
“In the Day or the Lord's Recompense**.......'. . . . 638
Studies in “The Hasp op God”
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Golden Age
VolWM V
Brooklyn, N.T., Wodnooday, July 2, 1124
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A Digest of World News
(Broadcast from WATCHTOWER WBBR on a. wave length of 273 autora by the Editor)
THE Literary Digest notes in the Brawley, California, News an article in which the editor of the News comments on the effort made bv automobilists to avoid license plates in which the number thirteen or any combination of that number appears. It quotes the News as saying:
“There must be something wrong with our churches, schools, scientific institutions, and educational authorities. After two thousand years of Christianity, after five hundred years of modern civilization, and after one hundred years of scientific achievement, it still appears that in America we have a large class who at heart an pagans, believing in spooks, incantations, magic numbers, signs, and witchcraft Fear ia the basis of this pagan worship. Fear ia the cune of mankind, and a drag on civilization."
The Digest was right in drawing attention to this editorial in the Brawley News. Fear is a curse on mankind; it is a drag on civilization. But this curse and drag could be at once removed if those who can, and should and do, know the meanings of the words sheol, hades and gehenna, and who know full well that these words do not in the remotest sense of the word signify torment of any kind, even temporarily, to anybody, would abandon their "professional ethics” and tell the people the truth. Nothing could be more wholesome; nothing could be more helpful to mankind.
The 500 Methodist "young men and women, representing 110,000 Methodist students in colleges and universities, who met at Louisville, April 18, 19 and 20, disturbed things in the M. E. Church greatly by their demands for continuous employment for labor, and for a constitutional amendment prohibiting child labor, by their protest against the use of injunctions in industrial disputes, by their demand for public control of public utilities, and by their demand that the Methodist Church should henceforth be a Christian church to the extent that it should never bless or sanction another war, and should at once abolish military training in its colleges and universities.
A Lithuanian gentleman by the name of Li-towsky is in America, giving exhibitions of his skill in remembering numbers. His explanation is that he associates the numbers with the colors of the spectrum. This is the key to the success of every mnemonic system, but there are people who are naturally gifted with most extraordinary mnemonic powers. The historian Macaulay uould read a poem once and for a long tima afterward repeat it verbatim; while the Italian Hbrarian, Magliabecchi, literally never forgot anything. He could read a book at any time, and afterward repeat the contents of the book word by word, from beginning to end, without a mistake; During the Middle Ages it was claimed that in one of the Central European countries there were four thousand men who could repeat the entire Bible by rote, without an error.
An investigation by the Save a Life League of New York city shows that between 15,000 and 16,000 persons committed suicide in the United States during the last year, 2,000 of whom were disabled soldiers, left in sickness and poverty because of the wholesale graft in the Veterans Bureau.
Business-Finance—Transportation
BUSINESS is beginning to fall off in the United States, as is usual during the year of a presidential election. In the month of April, 60,000 men lost their jobs; and, as is always the case under such conditions, wages began to fall. The total decrease in payrolls for the month amounted to about $2,000,000. These figures are based upon a survey of 8,242 establishments.
mi
Profits in copper are large. The Anaconda Copper Company made a net profit last year of nearly $9,000,000 after all expenses were paid. The profits of the Southern Pacific Railroad for last year were more than $44,000,000. The profits of the International Harvester Company for 1923 were over $10,000,000, The net profit of the steel trust for the first quarter of 1924 was more than $50,000,000. The profits of the Timkin Roller Bearing Company for the first quarter of 1924 were about $2,000,000; and of the Underwood Typewriter Company, about $1,000,000. ’
A novel experience is reported from Springfield, Missouri. On Saturday, May 10, there was a run on the Union National Bank of that city. The cashier telegraphed to St Louis and Kansas City for help. Kansas City responded by~ $100,000 cash, hastily collected on Saturday afternoon, not a very good time to obtain money; while St. Louis did the phenomenal thing of collecting $400,000, and sending it by aeroplane, surely a new way of delivering money.
, The greatly increased use of automobiles in the United States, an increase estimated at five million machine in 1924 over 1923, has created such a demand for gasoline that oil profits, very small a year ago, have now jumped again to large figures. The Standard Oil Company of Indiana reports $41,000,000 profit for the first quarter of 1924, after all charges were paid.
An indication of the growth of automobile traffic in New York city is provided in the fact that in 1916 there were in the entire city about forty-five persons per motor vehicle, while at present there are about fifteen. In other words, there are about three times as many machines in the streets now aa there were seven years ago. Those who have been studying the problem estimate that in another seven years there will be in New York city about eight persons per motor vehicle.
H S. Postal Service
VERY year the postal service delivers on an average 112 letters to every man, woman and child in the United States, and over 100 newspapers, parcels or other articles. Every hour of every day in the year, 1,400,000 letters are dropped into the letter boxes. To handle this work requires a total of about 351,000 employes. One-half of all the farmers in the country get their mail by rural free delivery. During the year 1923, 65,000,000 letters were carried by aeroplane. There are over 5,000 postal cars in the American mail service. In 1857 it cost $2.04 to send a letter to Australia; today it costs five cents, and a letter may be sent to New Zealand or to the Philippines for only two cents. The post offices in the United States uso 70,000 quarts of ink annually, and half as many quarts of mucilage. Six million yards of canvas are used annually to make the new mailsacks required.
Agricultural Notes
MAY 10th is supposed to be the day for planting gardens throughout the North. It is safe to say that there were no gardens planted in the vicinity of Duluth, Minnesota, on that date; for only two days previous the streets and sidewalks of that city were covered with slush, and the air was filled with snowflakes. At the same time thirteen ships were jammed in the ice in the harbor.
We are very sorry for the people of California, where the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease is raging among the cattle and sheep of Los Angeles County. Human beings are not very apt to contract the disease, although it is quite common among children. The disease is seldom fatal Milk from infected cattle is rendered safe for use only by boiling or pasteurization.
Dr. Richard T. Ely, Director of the Institute for Research in Land Economies and Public Utility, has pointed out that in Chester County, Pennsylvania, taxes are now absorbing sixty-six percent of the net rent of all farms which are rented for cash. This is taken to mean that unless something comes soon to help the farmer, the Government, by taking the entire income of the land, will have taken the value of the land.
A woman in Madison, New Jersey, in answer to an advertisement undertook to raise rabbits for their fur and for food purposes. She started with six rabbits, and at the end of a year had nine hundred. But parties who had agreed to buy the fur and the rabbit carcases at seven dollars each, failed to keep their promise; and she went into bankruptcy, the rabbits in the meantime having destroyed every living thing on her farm.
Cana<
CANADA is noir to have some excitement similar to the entertainment we have been having at Washington. Senator J. D. Taylor, of Vancouver, British Columbia, has accused the Canadian Government of using its merchant marine on the Pacific Coast for smuggling liquor into the United States. He charges also that Government officials in Vancouver have conspired together to defraud marine insurance companies, that they are reeking with graft, that dishonest employes are promoted, that honest employes are dismissed, and that every attempt at an investigation has been thwarted by the activities of officials higher up. The Prime Minister of Newfoundland is also involved in liquor graft scandals.
Argentina
THE curious news comes from Argentina that the Argentine Government has been so dictatorial toward the Vatican that the Vatican desires a separation of church and state, which Argentina is not willing to grant. This is the exact opposite of the situation in Portugal some years ago, where the Pope then upon the throne made the most strenuous objections to the proposed separation of church and state in that country. It is well known that in America the Vatican seeks, and desires and would heartily welcome, as much union of church and state as it can obtain.
The students in Argentina universities have banded together, and succeeded in obtaining the dismissal of all professors who seem to them to be reactionary, out of touch with the spirit of the times.
Great Britain
THE following is from the pen of Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of Great Britain, written on December 15, 1915:
"When war breaks out, Christianity is defeated; but that is no justification for its surrender and its joining the enemy. The temper of hate and lying which rises during war, and which hands over the war spirit u an inheritance to peace, has been only rarely checked from Christian pulpits and in Christian literature; the duty of rational thoughtfulness and reflection upon the errors which brought war, and the wisdom which will avert it, has been the message of secular rather than religious * bodies; the guardianship of honest inquiry and speech, which its own history has handed over to the Christian community, has been vindicated not by it but by those opposing. It is that neglect which marks the failure of the church today, and makes the songs of Christmas time a Cain's sacrifice."
Prime Minister MacDonald has done the courageous and manly thing to urge the world, or at least that portion of the world involved —Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, and Belgium— to adopt the Dawes report complete and put it into operation immediately. Mr. MacDonald made this proposition within twenty-four hours after studying the report
Britain has once more decided against a protective tariff, this time by a vote of 317 to 252.
An attempt in the British House of Commons to nationalize the coal mines has been defeated by a vote of 264 to 168.
The English King has signed the agreement for a treaty establishing a twelve-mile limit within which liquor-laden vessels approach the American cdast at their own risk.
Reports from London are that the British Government has almost decided upon the construction of a tunnel under the English Channel in order to relieve the unemployment situation. The plan is that the British build half the tunnel, and the French the other half. A French company is ready to begin work as soon as it is certain that the British Government will approve the undertaking. It is proposed to have in the center a chamber which can be flooded by either side in case of an emergency.
It is estimated that the Dover-to-Calais tunnel could be completed in about six years. The channel rock is of soft chalk. The estimated cost is $300,000,000. When the tunnel is completed, only six hours will be required to go from London to Paris by train-
The Hebrides
WE HAVE previously called attention to the deplorable condition of the 45,000 people who go to make up the population of the Hebrides Islands, off the west coast of Scotland. For two years there has been a succession of bad weather in the Hebrides, making it impossible to raise or harvest any crops. The British Government is now endeavoring to move about one-third of the population to Western Canada, so as to enable the remainder to earn
a living. The Hebrideans are loathe to leave their native land; and many times after full arrangements have been made for their departure, they abandon the idea of emigration and return to their cottages.
France
THE New York World says of the new party that has come into control of French affairs, that "they are the thoughtful French middle class, whose principles of internal policy fall midway between the Socialists and the Republicans. They oppose the influence of big business and of the church in government, and they also oppose the reactionary press.”
The election shows that France has gone back to her pre-war democratic liberalism, with a completeness which has surprised even the most successful candidates. As a result of the defeat of M. PoincarS there was a sudden and heavy * fall in the value of the French franc, and also - in the Belgian franc. Normally worth twenty cents each, the French franc has been down to about five and a half cents, and ,the Belgian franc to about four and a half cents. .
Senator Borah says that the defeat of M. Poincarfi creates the brightest outlook in Europe that we have had for a long time. He adds: "The course of England, the wise, far-seeing, courageous policy of Prime Minister MacDonald, and now the course which seems to be initiated in France, may possibly lead even the United States out of its war trance, and cause us to adopt a tolerant and constructive foreign policy also.” Hopeful man!
The drift toward the control of public affairs by the common people becomes more and more accentuated year by year. Until 1910 France and Switzerland were the only republics in Europe. Since then Portugal, Russia, Germany, Austria, Greece, and Turkey, as well as China, have become republics. Britain has come under the control of a Labor Government; while France, Denmark and Sweden have become Socialistic. In the United States the present drift is away from a continuance of government by Mr. Morgan's U. S. Chamber of Commerce to government by the people.
Despatches from Jerusalem report that several weeks ago, when the natives under French control in Syria refused to pay taxes, French airplanes bombed and destroyed sixty villages, killing men, women and children indiscriminately. If this report is true, it becomes one of the greatest horrors of the time of horrors in which we live.
The Nation reports that in the section of France which was devastated by the World War an era of grafting has been going on unequaled by anything before known in history. It cites the shining example of a sugar refinery which was bought for 335,000 francs early in 1914. The refinery was destroyed by war. The company that had bought it asked for damages to the amount of 10,000,000 francs, and actually * received 7,000,000 francs—a little more than twenty times what the property had cost The same company received 3,000,000 francs indemnity^ for another factory purchased for 275,000 francs; and it received 2,000,000 francs for damages to other properties, the actual damages having amounted to only 240,000 franca. The current procedure is for the common people of France to pay these preposterous claims, and then French politicians endeaver to collect them from Germany as legitimate reparations claims.
Germany
THERE seems to be a slight difference between Germany and the Reparations Commission as to the amounts which Germany has paid toward reparation. The Commission published a statement showing that up to the end of 1923 the Germans had paid eight and one-half billion gold marks; while at the same time the Berlin Government issued a statement that the payments amounted to sixty billion gold marks. The reasons for these differences of opinion are too intricate for examination here, but the general report says:
'Tay after day, between September, 1919, and January 11, 1923, a coal train of fifty cars crossed the German frontier every quarter of an hour, all for the purpose of supplying French, Belgian and Italian industries, without any consideration in return. This was hardly an indication of bad faith on the part of Germany; and these coal deliveries, which amounted in round figures to a total of 54,000,000 tons, are only a small part of the vast tribute that Germany has paid to its former enemies from the conclusion of the armistice down to December 31, 1922. Such enormous payments as Germany has made in four years under the treaty of Versailles have never before been made or imposed upon any people in history.”
Statistics compiled by the Bankers Trust Company show that the present wealth of the twenty nations that engaged in the World War is now almost exactly one-half of what it was before the war occurred. The wealth of Germany has decreased from $80,000,000,000 to $55,000,000,000. The wealth of Great Britain and her colonies has increased from $140,000,000,000 to $149,000,000,000. The wealth of the United States has increased from $200,000,000,000 to $230,000,000,000; while that of France
/remains unchanged at about $60,000,000,000.
An American returning from Berlin states that meals alone in that city now cost about $20.00 a day.
At this time there are 300,000 miners on strike or locked out in the mining districts of the Ruhr and Saxony. The miners demanded the seven-hour day and increased wages, and in consequence the mines were closed by the owners.
The Krupp Plant has been made over from top to bottom, and is now quite busily employed making locomotives, agricultural and textile machinery, cash registers, automobiles, giant steam shovels, and so on down to and including such small articles as needles and pins. There are fifty-three thousand workers at the Krupp Plant
Denmark
WHILE other countries are talking about disarmament, Denmark has really and completely disarmed. It has a national militia of 55,000 which could be organized for use in an emergency, but has discontinued its standing army.
Chechoslovakia '
THE Government of Czecho-Sloyakia is actively engaged in breaking up the greater estates within her border. Within the past year, 350 estates amounting to about 500,000 acres have been broken up into smaller portions of land. The owners of the large estates are being recompensed for the holdings thus taken from th pm.
Austria
ONLY a few weeks ago it was widely reported that Austria was rapidly recovering from the effects of the World War. Different reports are now current. In the effort to depress the French franc, the bankers of Vienna got beyond their depth, with the result that suicides among them are now matters of daily occurrence. Additionally, a crime wave is sweeping over that country. There has been an epidemic of poisonings. Suicides have been so frequent that six caseg of suicide were recently reported in one night; and in the city of Budapest, Hungary, there were 105 suicides in a single month.
Roumania '
IT IS reported that the entire Roumanian army has been mobilised, including all the men up to forty years of age; and that hostilities are about to break out between Roumania and Russia.
Russia
“DESPATCHES indicate a very conaidarable J-f immigration of various sorts into Russia, including groups of colonists from the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. These settlers are occupying portions of the great estates which were broken up by the Soviet revolution. By way of retaliation, however, further immigration from America is now forbidden.
The name of the city which was once St Petersburg, and subsequently Petrograd, has been changed once more by the Russians. It is now called Leningrad. Despatches from Leningrad declare that in the graves of persons of wealth who were buried in Russia a hundred years ago, there were found passports issued by the bishop of St Petersburg, requesting St Peter to admit the bearer to heaven and to the full enjoyment of all its privileges thereafter forever, without any hindrances. It might be added that although these passports were signed by the bishop, they would have been just as efficient if they had been signed by a newsboy, a bootblack, or a be whiskered seller of vodka.
The idea that any human being has any scheme by which he can prevail upon St. Peter or Mary or Jesus or anybody else to obtain indulgences or other favors for some purchaser is as foolish as the carrying of a rabbit’s foot. All that can be said for such a scheme is that it helps the circulation of money; for it accomplishes nothing else.
Ttsricap—Paleetin*—Mesopotamia
emal Pasha^ not content with having suppressed the Caliphate, thus ousting Mohammedanism from its throne, has now decided, the newspapers say, to oust the heads of the Greek Church, the Armenian Church, and the Jewish Church from Constantinople. He accuses these institutions of being enemies of progress and hotbeds of political intrigues, opposed to the welfare of the Turkish Republic.
Surprising stories come from the Sinaitic Peninsula to the effect that it is possible that parts of the original ten commandments, written by the finger of God and broken by Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai when he discovered the people in idolatry, may have been found. The reputed discoverer, Dr. Flinders Petrie, has a world-wide reputation for scholarship, having made many interesting discoveries in connection with the witness to the Lord in the land of Egypt; namely, the Great Pyramid, mentioned in the nineteenth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah.
Another discovery, perhaps even more significant, is that of a library of tablets occupying forty rooms in the city of Kish, the oldest capital of Babylon, founded immediately after the Flood.
China
OTH China and Japan are making wonderful strides in the adoption of Esperanto.
There is now an Esperanto University in Peking, with about two hundred students from all parts of China, Siberia and Japan. All the lessons are given in Esperanto. In Japan, Esperanto teachers are traveling from place to place, forming classes and giving lectures continuously. In China there is a number of schools which have courses in the new language.
Th* Philippine*
THROUGH their spokesman at Washington, Mr. Manual Roxos, speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, the Filipinos are urging that they be given their immediate freedom on the following grounds: That they established a Republic twenty-five years ago, which was supplanted by a colonial regime without their consent; that the Filipinos had practical control of the Islands during the World War; that the government of the Philippines has functioned successfully in the hands of the natives; that the present administration there is reactionary and militaristic; that government at a distance is difficult; and that the House Committee of insular affairs has voted in favor of Philippine independence. The arguments offsetting this are generally of a financial sort, which evidently should not have much weight where questions of liberty are involved.
The President of the Philippine Senate, Manual Quezon, deciares that the Filipinos themselves can supply all the capital they need to develop their natural resources. Miss Alice Park, of California, always in the forefront of every good cause, was one of the speakers at the hearing in Washington in behalf of Philippine independence.
In the effort to find some argument against Philippine independence, the vice-president of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines indicated where his heart was in the statement that the withdrawal of American sovereignty from the Philippines would be the beginning of the end of Anglo-Saxon influence in the Far East, in India and in Egypt. In other words, we may suppose that it would mark an end of the British opium monopoly. Well, suppose it should, what of it T
Japan
AMERICANS who have been in Japan an - convinced that war between Japan and the United States is coming soou. So many Americans were eager to leave Japan, when the discussion of the Japanese exclusion was at its height, that the steamships were overcrowded, and thousands of people were unable to get away.
Extra Copies of The Golden Age
WE HAVE a small surplus of No. 119
Golden dated April 9th, 1924. This number contains “Facts About Miracle Wheat,” which is an excellent number to use wherever Pastor Russell's character is defamed. It also contains “Luther’s Ninety-five Theses.” We will sell these in bundles of 25 copies for 50 cents. Other extra copies may be had. Assorted lots of 25 copies for 50 certs. Address: The Golds* Age, 18 Concord Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
An Astronomical Feast at the Observatory Mr^ fSmtartaur)
<*T BRING you an invitation to the observa-
J- tory.” With these words I was greeted by Dr. Minatti, a physicist, with whom I was acquainted. “There,” he continued, “we will meet Professor Xyland, who is en route to Asia, and who is making only a brief sojourn here. But hurry, as we shall be called for immediately; and probably we shall stay up there over night”
To me this meant a great treat The famous physicist, Professor Xyland, was not only a man of great learning, but, moreover/a devout Christian.
Hardly was I armed with notebook and pencil, when the automobile which was to take us to the observatory came into sight
It was a wonderful evening. The west was still dipped in gold and purple, from the last rays of the sinking sun, but not for long; for hardly an hour later the blue silk of the celestial dome was decorated with stars.
In less than an hour we were at our destination, where we met Professors Xyland and Hennach, as well as a young student of physics, Eugene Bergolf. After the introduction and exchange of greetings,-Dr. Minatti whispered to me: “Professor Xyland is just our man. Like none other he understands how to point out the glories of the Creator and to help others to see His wisdom. Just ask him questions. I will make memoranda of all in your notebook.”
That sounded promising, as the golden stars beamed down upon me; and involuntarily I thought of the words of the great Ruler of the world to Abraham: “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them!” (Genesis 15:5) Happily I anticipated that this evening, or rather this night, would permit us an especially deep insight into God’s great wonder-world.
The guest stepped to the powerful equatorial, which he praised as being a very excellent telescope.
“If it is agreeable to you,” he said, “we could utilize this exceptionally dear and beautiful night for consideration and observation of some of the fixed stars.” And hardly had all agreed when he invited us to look at the beautiful star Mira, at the neck of the Whale.
“Mira, that is, the wonderful,” explained the Professor, “occasionally appears to us, of course only for a few weeks, as a star of first magnitude, then gradually decreases in bright ness. Now, however, we see it just in its most beautiful deep red luster, which does full justice to its name Mira, the wonderful. Yet after a few weeks it is no longer discernible to the naked eye. It belongs to the class of so-called variable stars, among which we distinguish three different varieties; the Mira type, the Lyra type, and the Algol type. There are known today hundreds of variable stars of the Mira type, whose variability, it is assumed, is traceable to spots, the same as are shown also at times by our sun.
“Stars of the Algol type give forth a white light The assumed cause for their variability is that planets rotate around them and temporarily darken them to our eyes. The fixed star ■ Algol—the Arabians call it monster, devil—ia the constellation Perseus, is in all probability a giant sum”
Looking at the deep red glowing Mira affects me peculiarly. Doesnot the singer Isaiah call the Prince of Life wonderful—“Mira” f—Isaiah 9: &
“To me,” remarked Professor Xyland, “it is a symbol of the glowing love of the Eternal God, like a blood-drop out of the ocean of love.” *
The Splendor of the Stars
ALOUD exclamation of admiration interrupts the speaker, induced by the majestic Sirius, which had been caught in the instrument. In bluish-white splendor this sovereign of light looks down to greet us. A smaller sister-sun rotates about it once in fifty years.
“Just imagine this giant sun, which exceeds the brightness and warmth of our sun by six or seven thousand times!” Dr. Minatti now was heard to say. “Sirius, as Flammarion says, travels many million kilometers daily. In a fairly straight line, it rushes through space; and because of its tremendous speed, it overcomes all attraction. From unknown space it comes and travels on and on into unknown'star-worlds. In order to be able to appreciate this glorious sun in its full splendor, one would have to seek southern countries. Only there does this majesty of fire show itself in its incomparable magnificence and beauty.” '
“Now Arcturus sends its light to us through the telescope,” the young physicist interrupts his colleague. “It is well known to all of us, this red love-star. Even a glance at it with the unaided eye makes us conclude that it is a sun •f immense proportions.”
"Yes,” assents Professor Xyland, "Arcturus could actually melt our earth, if it would come near us. But quietly and majestically it runs its course, with its planetary princes rotating about it at distances of thousands of millions of kilometers, their revolutions probably requiring thousands of years. This king of light, according to Elkin’s calculations, exceeds the size of our sun by 550,000 times—a red ocean of fire, compared to which our king of the day looks like a little dwarf.”
“Looking at the innumerable worlds of light,” joined in Professor Hennach, who had thus far remained silent and who was now in charge of the instrument, "the thought involuntarily forces itself upon one: What immeasurable energies must be at the command of the Creator of this universe I And for what lofty aims and purposes were all these glorious wonderworks created T This thought will not leave me, Professor,” he remarked to Professor Xyland; "what do you think of it t"
“On no account do I believe,” he answered, "that these innumerable millions and millions of suns, planets and their satellites, were created only because of their being beautiful to look at, and will forever run their courses and rotate about each other without aim or purpose. When we see how upon our own planet active life obtains, not only upon land but in just as abundant profusion in the air and in the ocean —yea, even the waterdrop is a living world in which, no longer discernible to the naked eye, infusoria, monads, and above all the little wheel animalcule (or rotifier) with its wonderful little body clear as crystal, happily romp about and sail along—it would actually be difficult to imagine that, aside from our own terra, all planets should remain desolate and empty. In fact, the entire extended natural sciences speak against this. Kant, for instance, calls this assumption an absurdity.”
"To the telescope,” calls Dr. Minatti; "Regains, the main star in the Great Lion, a beautiful giant sun, is looking at us. How appropriate is its name—Regulus, the 'king star* I Proudly it flashes to us a royal greeting. This star, glowing forth in bluish white rays, has an olive-oolored sun revolving about it”
“It must be even many times greater than the red Arcturus," explained Professor Xyland, “because notwithstanding the enormous distance, Regains beams down on us like a fixed star of first magnitude. This prince of light occupies a space in the universe against which our solar system with its planets represents only a tiny speck of earth."
The telescope is adjusted a little toward the north; and the wonderful and most beautiful double-star of the northern hemisphere sends its rays of light to us; the main star, glistening in magnificent golden brilliance, is circled about by a sapphire-blue sun. The illuminating power of this marvelously beautiful star is so great that it can be discerned with the aid of the telescope even in broad daylight
It is as though I hear the old seer Isaiah saying, "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them [these thousands of millions of shining stars] all by names I”—Isaiah 40:26.
Orion A a United Family
BUT in reality only the telescope, spectroscope, and photography make possible an insight into the world of fixed stars, magnificent above all conception, so that astonishment over the wisdom and greatness of the Builder of the Universe, everywhere manifest, becomes endless. Then first one begins to realize that it is God’s business to be Creator. Also His Divine Word is full of fine allusions and suggestions for man to listen to and to heed this symphony, whose sound waves and light waves lead to the Fountainhead itself.
"Knowest thou," the Almighty calls to Job, “the ordinances of heaven T” “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades [the seven stars, which are united into one celestial family], or loose the bands of Orion t"—Job 38:33,31.
As spectroscopical research reveals, the constellation Orion is a united family, which is bound together among themselves by invisible fetters. In like manner, unknown powers and bonds< unite the far-apart suns of the Great Bear into one mighty family of stars in the heavens. Even to the naked eye the star-bedecked celestial dome provides an elevating spectacle, in which Job already rejoiced. But how would he have felt could he have discerned
fVLT 2, 1924
the swarms of shining suns, star groups, star fogs, light fogs, light oceans, etc., through modern optical instruments! How he would have marveled over phenomena like, for instance, spiral fogs, where thousands of suns represent a giant Catharine-wheel, whose direction of revolution is clearly discernible in the form of the rays! An incomprehensible richness of creation discloses itself to the gaze! .
“While on my last trip to Africa,” Professor Xyland interrupted the awed silence, "I often had opportunity to observe the southern skies. At that time the sight of a star of sixth magnitude in the Southern Cross, visible to the unaided eye only in a perfectly clear sky, interested me more than anything else. Seen through the telescope, it represents a true little jewelbox of celestial gems, compared to which the earth is only a tiny grain of dust. This wonder star is in reality a shining astral family of one hundred and ten suns, sparkling in beautiful opalescence—sea blue and sapphire, ruby, emerald, violet, some sending forth rays of precious gold and silver lustre—briefly stated, a family of light glowing beyond measure, whose members are bound together among themselves by various powers and bonds, and which presumably also have planets rotating about them. How this celestial roundelay, with its magically beautiful opalescence, praises the All-wise and Omnipotent Creator!”
I caught Tollman, in the constellation Centaur, upon the film. The sight of this double sun, shining in dazzling brilliancy, is overwhelming; no picture could possibly reproduce its splendor. Mentally, I pictured to myself how these oceans of light and fire are lashed into waves thousands of kilometers high, like gigantic red and gold colored fountains and cataracts of glowing hydrogen, gushing up and rushing down again. But never will it be possible for us human beings to behold such a dreadful, yet terribly beautiful spectacle close by; we would be driven to flight by the terrific heat before the flood of light could make us blind.
The Mystery of Light
WHAT oceans of light, beyond comprehension, must surround the throne of the Most High, I thought. No wonder David declares: “Who eoverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain!” (Psalm 104:2) Also, it was said unto Moses: “Thou canst not see my face] for there shall no man see me, and hve.”— Exodus 33:20.
“What is light, anyway!” questioned Dr. Minatti.
“Science as yet gives us no definite answer to this question,” answered Professor Hennaeh. “For a long time the emission theory was believed, according to which the sun and also the other fixed stars cast off luminous matter with great velocity. Now light waves are assumed, that are transmitted through the primary substance, the earth’s ether. Nevertheless, even this theory does not explain what light is. On the contrary, one gets into even deeper fogs of mystery. In the case of light waves, one really does not know what undulates, but on no account is it a substance, as happens with water or air waves.”
“Light to this day has remained a wonderfully beautiful, glowing mystery,” Professor Xyland interposed, “which to us children of men pictures the glory and wisdom of the Creator of the universe in millions of ways. And the more we try to penetrate, the more there are revealed to us new beauties and powers. Greater miracles and riches come continually to view, and with them even deeper, more impenetrable mysteries, which emphasize and give unsuspected meaning to the words of the great Apostle: 'God dwell-eth in an unapproachable light; no man hath ever seen him, nor can see him? ”—1 Tim. 6:16.
“As far as I know,” I interrupt the silence which ensued, “they are unable to give a satisfactory explanation of the appearance of the beautiful polar lights. Or has science recently made progress in this direction!”
“No appreciable progress,” Professor Xyland took up the question. “The electrical nature of the polar lights, of course, is now undoubted. It is supposed that they are caused by an illumination of the air, which originates from cathode rays of the sun. One distinguishes two kinds of polar lights; ray-emitting, and the so-called drape or mantle fight, which create the impression of a curtain suspended in the air.
"The polar lights seem to be connected in some way with the magnetic elements of the earth. Except for a belt about twenty-five degrees wide surrounding the equator, one can observe them throughout the entire earth. Self-evidently, however, they appear more frequently and more beautiful nearer the magnetic poles. The disturbances of magnetic needles, so often observed during display of polar lights, point to a close connection between the polar light and earth magnetism, although probably produced by a common cause. The color is affected by the intensity of the phenomena; and possibly also by the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere. The effect of the light, as has been observed to date, is not powerful enough to conceal stars of first magnitude. The explorer, G. Kennan, describes in his writings a polar light observed by himself. This must have been an extraordinarily beautiful one.”
Description of Northern Lights *
AT OUB request, to secure for us this de- scription, the Professor left the following excerpt, which follows here verbatim:
<fWhile we were yet in Anadyrsk, we had the opportunity to see one of the finest Northern Light displays, the brilliance of which astonished even the natives. It was a cold, dark, but clear winter night, and not a trace of the coming phenomenon could be observed in the early evening hours. Several rays of light did flash up in the north; and a faint glimmering, like that of the rising moon, appeared on the horizon. But those were ordinary appearances. Late at night, however, Dodd called to us: ‘Quick! Quick! Come out I* Arriving outside, there appeared to us a splendor of light and colors, which kept us completely spellbound. The universe seemed to be on fire. A gigantic bow, shining in all colon of the prisma, spanned from the east to the west; and from its convex edge a long fringe of red and yellow lights extended toward the zenith. In short intervals, parallel with this bow, broad light waves appeared on the horizon, and flowed majestically over the entire heavens like great clouds of phosphorescent light, that rolled out of an endless ocean of light
“Each part of this great bow undulated, quivered for a moment, changed colon; and the brilliant lights that surrounded its edge flashed back and forth in great curves, like the flaming sword of the angel at the gate to paradise. Immediately thereafter the large Northern Light rainbow with its lights moved slowly toward the zenith; and just below the first, a second bow of like beauty formed itself, from which a long row of colored spears flashed toward the North Star, as if a heavenly battalion were presenting their weapons before their
manding archangel. With every moment this phenomenon unfolded its supernatural beauty.
‘/The rays of light revolved rapidly like the spokes of a great light wheel, the bright streams shot forth from the ends of the bow towards its center; and also in the north a fiery glow showed itself, making the sky purple and flooding the earth with a roseate gleam. But already the red had disappeared, and an orange colored lightning flashed above us with such blinding brilliance, as though the entire atmosphere were suddenly on fire.
"I held my breath for a moment in expectation of a terrific thunder clap, which I believed must now follow this phenomenon. But neither in the sky nor upon the earth did any sound break the silence of the night. I could not imagine that anything could be added to this beautiful spectacle. The rapidly changing red, blue, green and yellow in the sky were reflected so vividly by the white blanket of snow that the entire world at times seemed dipped in blood. Then again it quivered in a pale greenish atmosphere, against which the great purple and yellow bows contrasted in indescribable beauty.
"But that was not all! While we were watching with unaverted gaze, the ebbing and rising of this exalted canopy of varicolored lights, the last seal of this beautiful revelation broke suddenly, and both bows were sumU taneoualy shattered into many thousand parallel beams, each of which, tn regular succession showed the seven original colors of the spectrum.
"From horizon to horizon, there were now spanned two broad bridges of colored beams, upon which one almost imagined the bright figures from another world going to and fro. Amid exclamations of amazement and the shriek of the natives: *God hors mercy upon usf these numerous beams now began to move rapidly in dancelike fashion and shot past each other with such confusing swiftness that the eye could no longer follow them.
“The entire dome of the sky seemed to be a large growing kaleidoscope of shattered rainbowa Never would I have thought that a Northern Light could form such a beautiful spectacle; and I am not ashamed to admit that its stateliness filled mo for the moment with a reverential fear. The entire sky from zenith to horizon was a rolling ocean of colors and fire, purple and rose, scarlet and green, colors for which language has no words.
“The signs in the sky were even marvelous enough to be heralders of a coming to end of the world. Lightnings of glorious quivering color covered half of the sky for a moment and disappeared like summer lightnings; bright green rays of light shot quickly and without sound toward the zenith; thousands of colored beams passed by each other in two beautiful bows, and huge, glowing waves rolled out of space, breaking through the atmosphere of the dark earth in long rows of shining rays.
“With the dividing of the two bows into uniform ban, the spectacle reached the height of its beauty. The first bow disappeared, and shortly thereafter the second also. The colored rays became less frequent and paler. The waves of light no longer extended to the zenith; and an hour later nothing but a few dimly lighted clouds in the dark sky reminded one of the Northern Light.
"No other natural phenomenon if to wonderful, to mysterious, to terrible «n its supernatural brilliance as the Northern Light. The veil which hides from the eye of mortals the glory of the throne of the Highest seems to be lifted, and the reverent observer is removed from everyday life and imagines to stand before God."— *Tent Life ijx Siberia.”
Everlasting Life Necessary to Know God
^^TTTHETHEE it is in God’s plan ever to
VV reveal upon our as yet young terra all the wonders now concealed, will probably remain unanswered for a long time. Under any circumstances, however, this will require noth- . ing more and nothing less than everlasting life!” the Professor concluded.
“To Job,” Professor Hennach again took up the conversation, “the question was propounded: ‘Where is the way where light dwelletht' And again: "By what way is the light spread out [according to exact translation]!* (Job 38: 19,24) Job did not answer; and science only makes up hypotheses concerning it”
Here Professor Xyland interrupted with the words: “We answer to the first question: "To Thee, O God, because Thou art the light F ”
“ "But Him/ says the wise Solomon, "the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain? To solve this mystery, we must follow the traces of the Divine Sun, just as with the question: What is life!”
“What a Being of Light, beyond comprehension of the human mind, must the Creator be, whose incomplete works even, as the innumerable fixed stars probably are, shine in such rich, glowing beauty of colors!” mused the young physicist.
‘"Even our sun alone,” Professor Xyland continued this trend of thought, “of necessity must offer an unheard-of, overwhelming spectacle, if closer by we could admire its flaming, ruddy geysers of hydrogen, its gold-colored natrium flames and its emerald-green copper gases, etc. What power and beauty of light this king contains and has around him! His wonderful sparkle greets the morning with rays of gold and in the evening places, as if by magic, in the blue of the western skies a glorious purple, embroidered, as it were, with gold. And what immeasurable wealth he gives us human beings, even though he lets us have only a fraction of his power! But even that suffices to produce life so rich and varied that after many hundred years we would be able to search hardly, the thousandth part.
A Moon Viewpoint of Earth
«TF WE could observe from the moon the * * playing of the sunbeams upon our earth, we would be witnesses of a fairylike, playing of lights. In beautiful glittering color we would see the earth hovering above us as our moon, her shining lights so vividly contrasted against the deep blade sky that we would hardly be conscious of the night. We would there see the beautiful earth thirteen and one-half times larger than the moon viewed from the earth. Beautifully the emerald waves of the Atlantis Ocean would glitter toward us, while in the vast water surface we would immediately recognise the reflection of our king of the day.
“And with the passing hours, the picture would change continually. Now we can distinguish the American Continents. A white belt seems to lie around the equator; these- axe masses of clouds driven by the winds across the ocean. Far up north glitter the ice fields of the arctic zone. And now appears a wonderful picture. The vast Pacific Ocean shines in beautiful sea-green; we even recognize numerous islands in it .
“And once again we see, like a giant diamond, the dazzling picture of our sun. Already we see Asia and Australia coming to view on the western edge, glittering in many colors; China and Japan shine forth a deep green; the deserts, on the other hand, are yellow. After a short time we recognize Europe, especially conspicuous Italy, which is bathing in the shining blue waves of the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. So it continues, while the earth indefatigably turns on its axis, and thereby lets the sun light up ever new beauties and charms; surprising colors play into the darkness of space.”
""How, then,” Dr..Minatti interposed, “would the glorious sun Capella, which in one day sends forth such floods of light as our daystar does in one year, wrap the earth in a blaze of light of indescribable color beauty I Or what a pleasing sight would present itself to the inhabitants of such planets—in case they are inhabited, of course—where several suns of different colors rise! What an unfathomable wonder-work is this world structure! "Star differs from star/ nowhere mechanical or monotonous; incomprehensible complexity and still all complete harmony. In fact, the entire creation is a beautiful poem made up of wonderful verses of light, colors, forms, sounds, powers, and laws
"Professor," I interposed, "in this beauty of creation, does our little earth not look like a black, sinister little dot, when we think of all the existing misery, all the strife and contention; in short, the dark night of sin and death, which has punished mankind now for 6,000 years!"
Great God, Thee We Praiee!
WITH flashing eyes he flared up: "Our terra a dark little dot! Next to the throne of God it is to me the brightest spot of the entire universe. For did not the mighty Logos, the world's Builder who created all these things under the direction of the Most High, these sovereigns of light and majesties of fire [with sparkling eyes he pointed up to the sky with his hand], did He not live here upon this earth, and was it not ennobled by Him! For what purpose, you all know. In like manner, as undoubtedly millions of years before the eternal God had given Him the cnmimaamn to bring into being these wonderful hosts of stars and to establish the laws for all of them, suited to each individually, so 1,900 years ago a new work, which He had to accomplish upon our earth, was put before Him!
"The Logos left His glory and came down to pay the ransom for Father Adam, condemned to death, in order to purchase back for him, and thereby also for all his posterity—mankind— the life forfeited by disobedience. Therefore, no matter if ever so dark shadows hover about the earth, I already see it in the golden brilliance of future aions completed, in indescribable glory and beauty, worthy, in the days when
He was flesh, to have given lodging to the great Logos, now the Prince of Life; worthy also of a perfect race of human beings, when every one as a wonder of divine love reflects the image of the Creator, and causes joy and pleasure to the Baler and King of the universe. What, then, does this six-thousand-year night of the permission of evil mean in the future aions, when every new brilliance and beauty outshines the previous! An eclipse of the sun caused by the shadows of sin, which permits the sunshine of . divine love, wisdom, supreme power, and righteousness to shine forth only the more bright!
"How all powers and characteristics now dormant in man will then grandly develop, and bring forth precious fruits! And earth itself will blossom in beauty never seen before! Must not hearts be kindled in blessed rapture over the satisfying joy! Every being will breathe love for the gracious Creator, as well as for his fellow creature I And as none of the sweet flowers in the wealth of their glory is like another, so every creature shall bring pleasure to the great God by his own beauty and kind; and praises and adoration will rise up on wings of love to the throne of the Eternal God. And He will open up the gates of heaven and pour out floods of blessings and streams of love upon alL
"Then a powerful *Te Deum Laudamus'— Great God, Thee we praise!—will roar and thunder all around the terrestrial ball And in this all the heavenly hosts will join exultantly as they did at the creation of this earth!"
The words filled our hearts with solemn joy. Moved and touched we took our leave and parted. The astronomical feast, which had lasted until'four o'clock in the morning, will long remain in our memories like a benediction from' heaven. ~
“ The Science of the Stars Shdtej
Beyond lay stretched the boundleu universe I There, far as the remotest line
That limits swift imagination’s flight,
Unending orbs mingled in mazy motion, Immutably fulfilling
Nature's eternal law*
"Above, below, around, The circling systems formed A wilderness of harmony— Each with undeviating aim In silence eloquent through depths of space
Pursued its wondrous way."
Pork as an Article of Diet By Gerald Barry
IT IS well known that the Jewish people to this day do not eat pork, which irone of the articles of food forbidden by the law of Moses. (Leviticus 11:7,8) Our Lord Jesus when on earth showed His perfect harmony with His Father’s will in this respect, not only by observing this command Himself, as all Jews were required to do, but also by His dealings with the man possessed with a legion of devils (demons) which He allowed to enter into the herd of swine, as recorded in Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39. Jesus’ action in this respect showed His perfect harmony with His Father’s law.
Some might query: Why did Jesus permit the devils to enter into the herd of swine, thus causing a considerable loss to the owners of the swine t The answer to this question seems to'be that if those Jews had been living faithfully up to their law, they would not have been keeping swine. Apparently they raised the swine not for their own use but rather to sell to their Gentile neighbors, who had no scruples about eating pork. But Jesus in this miracle showed that even in doing this they had violated the spirit of the Mosaic Law; for we cannot imagine that Jesus would permit the wanton destruction of any creature or thing without a purpose. Evidently His purpose was to show His full harmony with both the letter and the spirit of His Father’s law, and also to show them that if pork was forbidden to the Jews as an article of food because it was unclean, they were not loving their neighbors as themselves when encouraging them in the use of it
St. Paul clearly shows that the Gospel Church of this age, from the first advent of Christ until the glorification of the Church during His second presence, is not under the restrictions of the Jewish law (Galatians 2:16); and that they therefore may eat without condemnation the things that were forbidden under that law.— Romans 14:14; 1 Timothy 4:3-5.
God thus places such under a law of liberty, which in His wisdom He sees will best accomplish the purpose He has in view during the Gospel Age. This law of liberty in no wise forbids anyone from voluntarily foregoing the use of swine’s flesh or anything else that one may perceive to be injurious to health, even as it places no condemnation on those who use these things. The only command God places upon His people in these respects is that they follow His example and grant full liberty to each other to follow the dictates of their own conscience in these matters.—Romans 14:2,3,13.
The writer of this article has long wondered what was the reason why swine were forbidden by God to the Jews. Just recently he read in a medical work some facts that fully demonstrate the wisdom and love of God in the matter. The following quotation is from a work entitled "Plain Home Talk and Medical Common Sense,* by E. B. Foote, M. D.:
“One of the most causes of blood imparities is the use of pork. ... As an article of diet, pork exerts a most pernicious influence on the blood, overloading ft with carbonic acid gas, and filling it with scrofula. The hog is not a healthy animal. From its birth it is an inveterate gormandizer; and to satisfy its . . . cravings for food, everything in field or gutter, however filthy* finds lodgment in its capacious stomach. It eats filth, and wallows in its filth, and is itself but a living ma* cf filth.
“When, therefore, it is remembered that all our Umbo and organs have been picked up from our plates, that our bodies are made up of the things we have eaten, what pork-eater will felicitate himself with the reflection that according to physiological teaching he is physically pari hog f . . . From the earliest history of swine, they have been regarded as more subject to scrofula than any other animaL . . . Again, pork is charged with being wormy. . . . They are called Trichinss, and the disease they produce in man is denominated ‘Trichi-niasia?
“The parasites are so minute that they can make theft way to any part of the system. . . . Trichiniasis took the form of an epidemic in some parts of Germany in 1865, and handled a great many people on this side of the Atlantic very roughly. ... A scientific investigating committee in Chicago reported having found in twelve hundred hogs slaughtered that one in fifty-eight was affected with a parasite; and the advice of that committee was that in cooking pork the Triahinos be thoroughly cooked to death ! 160° Fahrenheit was thought sufficient to do this. . . . The discovery of the Trichins and the fatality attending their transmission to the human system in many cases resulted in an excited controversy between pork lovers and pork hater*
“At a meeting of the Berlin Butchers’ Association, a medical professor set forth the best means to avoid toe spread of TrichiniaiJs. He was followed by a veterinary surgeon. Dr. Urban, who denounced the whole excitement as unfounded, and offered to eat any amount of Trichiniaed pork. But when a slice of pork affected with the parasite was offered him, hr as taken aback. It is reported that he declined, ‘but the jeen of the meeting haring touched him, he took a little nibble at the proffered slice, and hurriedly left the room. He proceeded to a neighboring chemist and administered to himslf so violent an emetic that the learned doctor's friends need labor under no apprehensions as to his safety?
“Still there seemed to be those who, while admitting the existence of the parasite in pork, claim that it is entirely harmless if the pork be thoroughly cooked. It is undoubtedly true that the epidemic character of Trichiniasis in Germany proceeded from the habit of the people of eating raw pork, ham, and sausage. My own opinion is that after a cooking Trichina are not liable to revive in the human system, unless there are impurities to nourish them and'to favor their resuscitation and reproduction. ... If a man be scrofulous, or have other impure affections of the blood, the Trichina are liable to be resuscitated and reproduced in the system, no matter how much they may be toasted, short of absolute scorching. . . .
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