Consolation, July 4, 1945
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Contents
Industrious, Progressive Sweden 1
One of the Lands of the Midnight Sun 3
The Heart Is in the South
Sweden and America and the War.
, The Swedish Government
i Almost No Crime
11,100 Lakes; Hence Everybody Swims
Accused of Being Proud
Prosperous and Progressive
A Deer Rescues and Is Himself Rescued
■ Hitler’s Threat of Judenrein
Various Slaughterhouses
Slaughters Continued in 1943
■ The Knights of Columbus
“Your Holy Father"
Oh, -the Lace, the Beautiful Laee I '
“Thy Word Is Truth"
llan—"Why Put on Earth
Theocratic Tidings from India
The Smell of Oil
“Dear Eddie" Lands in Rome
“Every Beast Is Mine”
WThat Human Would Not Oppose It!
The Albigenses
Presenting “This Gospel of the Kingdom"
Speaking Well Daily
The American Legion at Baton Rouge, La. 31
Administering the Cattle
Gods Once Carried on Flag-Poles
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In Brief
“All Dogs Go to Heaven”
♦ The foregoing is the sentimental title of a $2.50 book by Beth Brown, the advertisement of which contains the following blasphemous statements:
As you read “All Dogs Go to Heaven” you really get to know dogs—and once you know' dogs—^ou know people—and once you know people—you know the divine plan of the universe. And then somehow you get a new perspective on life—renewed faith and courage and hope. Ever hear dogs speak? These do. They speak to say that there is no death. There is only life in another form. Some little dog you’ve lost—is not really lost. He is always with you—wherever he is— wherever you are.
To be sure*Almighty God warned the Jews that they must not bring the price of a dog into His house, for it would be an abomination (Deuteronomy 23:18); to be sure, the psalmist said, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me” (Psalm 22:16); to be sure, he prayed that he might be delivered from the power of the dog (Psalm 22: 20); to be sure, the prophet makes reference to the “dumb dogs . . . greedy dogs which can never have enough” (Isaiah 56:10,11); to be sure, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs” (Matthew 7:6); and the apostle Paul said, "Beware of dogs” (Philippians 3:2); and the apostle Peter mentioned that “the dog is turned to his own vomit again” (2 Peter 2:22); and the apostle John said, “Without are dogs.” (Revelation 22:15) But none of these things would have any weight with the one who wrote Beth’s advertisement.
Think! Isn’t it just a little bit raw, when God’s Word uses the dogs to picture the clergy, to have some money-mad book concern make the literal dogs give the lie to Almighty God by its representing the dogs as claiming that even dogs have what God alone inherently has, immortality?
CONSOLATION
“And in His name, shall the nations hope?1—Matthew 12:21, A. S'. F.
Volume XXVI Brooklyn, N, V., Wednesday, July 4, 1945 Number 573
Industrious, Progressive Sweden
TACITUS mentions the Suiones of the Baltic. The bows and sterns of their ships were alike, and equally well suited for landing. No sails were used. There were no oarlocks for the huge oars. In the north the men were Svea or Swedes ; in the south they were Gota or Goths, and Gotaland, or Gothland, is the historical name for south Sweden. Moreover, Sweden’s largest island possession is called Gotland to this day. The Goths w’ere descended from the Swedes.
The Swedes and Goths, at war with one another for centuries, were migratory, restless, courageous, indomitable, and probably possess the purest Teutonic ■ blood in existence. They were demonworshipers, and when they chased .the Anglo-Saxons back into the British highlands they gave them the names of their gods by which to identify the days of the week. The ancient Swedes worshiped the sun on Sunday, the moon on Monday, Woden on Wodensday, Woden’s wife Frigg or Friga on Friday, their son Tyr or Zeus on Tuesday, and Thor, the god of thunder, on Thursday.
The center of demon worship was Upsala; there also the priests offered human' as well as animal sacrifices. Priests are like that. One of the sacred acts was to throw a poor mhn into a sacred well in the precincts of the temple. When the priests could mot recover his dead body, it was taken as a token that the wishes of the people would be fulfilled. The poor people had not yet caught the brilliant thought that, if they really wanted peace and happiness, what was needed vras that homebody should throw' all the priests into the well and then put the cover on the well. Upsala, 36,547 population, 50 miles north of Stockholm, is now the site of Sweden’s largest university.
In the days of the Hanseatic League, Visby, now with 11,673 population, on the island of Gotland, was considered the wealthiest city of its size in the world. It then had 13,000 merchants, divided into 16 guilds. The elaborate rules of trade formulated by these guilds are the basis of the present admiralty laws of Great Britain and America.
Lawsuits were strictly formal. If the evidence was obscure, one of the parties had to prove his case by oath. This oath was corroborated by a certain number of “trusted men”. Out of this curious institution a jury. was developed, whose business it was to acquit or condemn the accused. It was the business of the lagman (lawman, lawyer) to recite from memory the law of the province which applied to the case in hand. The practices of these vikings persist in the courts of the twentieth century.
One of the Lands of the Midnight Sun
Russia, Siberia, Alaska, British North America, Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden are all lands of the midnight sun. The Swedes are veiw prac- . tical. They say that if you are in Sweden June 21 and you wish to see the midnight sun, all you have to do is to go to Jokkmokk, Porjus, Harsprang, Galli-vare, Fjallasen, Kiruna or Abisko on the railroad that terminates at the famous ore port of Narvik, Norway, and you can see King Sol swing clear around the horizon without touching it. And they might pause to tell you that the best place to go would be Gallivare, where they have a great ore mine that has been the talk of the world. This ore, very rich, ’has been a great factor in the production of German iron and steel.
The whole of Sweden is rising, with the north parts rising more rapidly than the south. The evident explanation is that the icecap was heavier id the north, heavy enough at one time to cause subsidence of the earth’s' crust, but as the ice deposited in Noah’s day gradually melted the earth returned to its former level. There are places on ’the coast of Sweden where forty or fifty tide marks may be counted one above the other, upon the rocks. These tide marks show that the water was once higher by seventy feet. The shores are indented by cliffs which formerly inclosed beaches that are now thirty, forty or fifty feet above the level of the sea.
About 56.5 percent of Sweden is covered with forests, largely spruce and pine, fir and birch. The northerly climate' is conducive to the slow growth and excellent quality of these, and on account of a careful program* of conservation and reforestation there has resulted a steady increase in the total stock of green timber available. Some single tracts of unbroken forest are as much as 80 miles long by 20 miles wide.
Before World War II upset everything, it was calculated that the annual yield of Swedish forests would make a hoop around the world one inch thick and 144 feet wide. To handle this lumber and take care of the output of its mines, Sweden has more miles of railway trackage in proportion to its population than any other European country.
A Swedish invention enables the seasoning of wood artificially in two days. A log is placed in a cylinder, a centrifugal pump creates a vacuum, and out comes the sap from the entire log, including the heart. In 48 hours the lumber is ready for use; the cost is only about one dollar per thousand board feet.
The Heart Is in the South
Roughly 200 miles wide from east to west and 1,000 miles long from north to south, the heart of Sweden is in the southern 400 miles of its length, and is in the same latitude as the southern part of Alaska. Cutting this 400 miles in half is a magnificent system of lakes and canals from Gbteborg to Soderkbping. Several of the country’s important cities are on the shores of the two great lakes, Wenner and Wetter, that comprise essential parts of this “Gotha” transportation system.
Stockholm, 570,771 population, noted for its beautiful sea approach, lies to the north and east of the system of water transportation last named. Located at the eastern terminus of Lake Malar, Stockholm was founded as a fortified port and has extended over numerous islands connected with one another and with the mainland by a network of bridges; hence its claim to the title “Venice of the North”. Lake Malar is remarkable for the .number of islands which so crowd its surface that it is hardly possible to find a square mile of open water.
A trip through the Gotha canal, 360 miles long, takes days and is a very interesting experience, En route it requires seven hours to traverse Lake Wenner, and for two hours the steamer is out of sight of land. The net lift of the 74 locks of solid granite is 300 feet. The landscape throughout is the loveliest in Sweden; in places the route is through virgin forests of silver birches which overhang the stream.
In the middle of the journey Lake Wetter is traversed. Its behavior is singular: it. has periodic rises and falls, independent of the wetness or dryness of the season, and is subject to violent subterranean swells, emitting terrific sounds when covered with ice. The claim is made that Lake Wetter and the Boden See of Switzerland are connected. It is observed that on Lake Wetter mirages are frequently visible to many people and for hours at a time. These include marching armies of cavalry, infantry and artillery with banners and glittering weapons. Probably natural conditions are favorable to mirages and the demons make the most of it.
Sweden and America and the War
Of the foreign white stock in the United States, only Russia, Canada, Ireland and England have supplied more than the .1,301,390 that are traced to Sweden. Illinois, Minnesota, New York, California and Washington have large contingents. Swedes were the first settlers in Delaware, March 26, 1638, then called New Sweden. Swedes taught Americans how to build log houses.
Swedish writers claim that it cost Sweden some $800 a minute, or over $1,000,000 a day, to maintain neutrality in the late European war. Sweden has not been visited by war for over 100 years, but came near getting into World War I and. missed getting into World War II by a narrow margin. It slipped from the path of neutrality in the summer of 1941 by permitting German troops to pass through Sweden from Norway to Finland. It has also permitted German troops to move between northern and southern Norway via the Swedish railroads which alone make possible such a trip. But this right was later withdrawn.
To be sure, there are some Americans who hold that “the Swedes are utterly contemptuous of America”; that “there is not one strain of love in their hearts for America and never has been”, and that “Sweden, through its natural heritage of German blood, is now and always will be loyal to Germany”. To be sure, as early as May, 1944, there were 426 Swedish firms on Uncle Sam’s blacklist, alleged to be assisting the German war effort. And it is of record in the Encyclopedia Americana that in 1917 the Swedish Foreign Office permitted German official messages from foreign countries to be sent as its own messages. Thus, the German charge d’affaires in Buenos Aires wrote to his then fuehrer in Germany that either the Argentine vessels should not be sunk at all or else they should be sunk without leaving any trace, and he sent this to his homeland in the Swedish government mailbag.
But there are offsets. The 381 American airmen that have been forced down in Sweden are alleged to be having a good time, reading much, given great freedom of movement, and playing all sorts of games; though the Russians claim that when German planes were forced down their crews were not interned, but they were permitted to return to Germany. Definitely, when the Germans closed Oslo University and shipped the students off to Germany, and when the Gestapo seized the 7,000 Jews of Denmark, both the Swedish government and the Swedish newspapers let the Germans know that they resented it. Swedish ports in the Baltic and in the Bothnian gulf wTere closed; the German minister to Stockholm was recalled and relations were near the breaking point. The Nazi-controlled Norwegian press countered by calling Sweden a “bastion of international Jewry and plutocracy”.
The Swedish Government
In 1811 the Swedish parliament designated one of Napoleon’s field marshals, General Bernadotte, the son of a French lawyer, as crown prince; and his descendants are still on the throne. Napoleon advised him not to take the job, but he did, and, in the final coalition, lined up against his former chief. The royal palace at Stockholm, 348 by 372 feet in size, is a most imposing structure, and is right in the middle of everything, including street traffic, and the confusion of loading and unloading vessels. The king must be a Lutheran.
The princes are not permitted to occupy governmental positions. They are all millionaires and give .their time to science, sports, and art. Other nobles may run for office, the same as anybody 'else. They have no legal privileges. Pub-Ijc registration is in the hands of the clergy; that keeps things largely in their hands. Theoretically, all the clergy are ■ appointed by the king.
- All public officials, including schoolteachers,. must be Lutherans, and, by law, the Lutheran religion is taught in all schools. The country is divided into six bishoprics, 83 deaneries, and 482 parishes. The parishes are grouped into 24 provinces, each with its own government, responsible to the national government, the Rigsdag, one of the oldest of parliamentary bodies.
Sweden has two houses of parliament; the upper chamber has 150 members, and the lower has 230 members. At the last election of the lower house 115 Social -Democrats were seated, 39 Conservatives, 36 Farmers’ Union, 25 People’s Party, and 15 Communists. To be a member of the upper house of the Rigsdag one must be 35 years of age, must have been for eight years the possessor of real property of the value of 50,000 kronor ($12,500) or have an income of 3,000 kronor annually. All persons 23 years of age may vote.
Almost No Crime
There is almost no crime in Sweden, as compared with the horrid conditions prevalent in America. The Roman Catholic Register unwittingly explains:
For centuries Catholicism was forbidden there by law, priests were refused citizenship, and Catholics were banished—all this as late as 1911. Even today [1942] there are only about 5,000 Catholics in Sweden.
Ration cards are a temptation in the direction of crime, but the Swedes have, all told, 90 or more ration cards, issued to govern purchases of food and clothing. Besides the regular ration cards, which apply to all persons, there are numerous special cards to take care of different classes and groups. And there > are fractional coupons, so that for a Swede to eat bread, meat, eggs, butter, or other rationed foods in a restaurant, he must surrender coupons to cover what he eats.
Five percent profit is the amount which the liquor monopolies of Sweden may receive. There are 121 liquor control districts, with a separate company to each district; each must buy its supplies from one wholesale house. All concessions are granted by the county authorities. Stock in the liquor control companies may not be sold. Each reputable citizen may purchase one gallon per month, but must pass an examination to prove that he is financially and socially responsible. In restaurants liquor may be had only with hot foods, and not at all after midnight. People below par are limited as to the amount of liquor they may purchase; those wholly irresponsible may not have it at all. Police keep the liquor control companies posted as to who are responsible. The total prison population of Sweden is but 2,000, and.many jails house but two or three inmates.
Sweden is divided into seven areas, in each of which there is a state conciliator who follows industrial relations in his territory from day to day; he is at work before as well as after a dispute arises, and frequently settles troubles and disputes before they arise. He carries facts from one side to the other and tries to bring about settlements before relations are harmed. ’
The General Export Association maintains representatives in all lands and has a.great fund of information available to all inquirers. It has arranged large shipments of American and Canadian fur-bearing animals into Sweden, to populate the cut-over lands. Wild reindeer and bears are now protected in Sweden.
Swedish engineers are famous the world over. John Ericsson, inventor of the screw propeller, and of the irohclad battleship, was employed as a surveyor on engineering works when he was seven years of age, and at twelve was in charge of the work of six hundred men. Swedish railways are electrified, and nearly all Swedish farms.
1,100 Lakes; Hence Everybody Swims
There are so many lakes in Sweden that it comes natural for Swedish boys and girls to learn to swim, and they take to the water like ducks. The nation goes in for athletics. Diplomas are awarded for superior swimming. Everybody can skate as well as swim. The winter sport is skiing or skimming over the country on snowshoes. A skillful skier can make a mile in two minutes. Ice-yachting and sailing are popular sports.
In Sweden doctors more often recommend massage than medicine. They do not send bills to their patients, but depend upon their generosity. They receive an annual fee, with something extra in case of serious illness in the family. Electrical treatments of various sorts are much in vogue. Sick clubs are popular; the national government contributes 15 percent and the communes 25 percent of the clubs’ funds; when a member falls ill he collects 83c per day. '
As a result of attention to their bodies the Swedes are rapidly growing taller and stronger. In a period of 87 years the average height of 21-year-old recruits increased from 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches. An item on the other side of the ledger is that the Swedes are the greatest coffee-drinkers in the world, averaging 600 cups each annually.
Most Swedes are tall, robust, active, enterprising, with light hair, blue eyes and light complexion. As a result of their long winters, or perhaps in spite of them (nine months in the northern part and seven months in the southern) ■, they are unusually healthy, and no country furnishes more abundant evidences of longevity.
Accused of Being Proud
The Swedes are accused of being the proudest people in Europe, one reason being that Sweden is the only nation in Europe that has never been invaded or had its boundaries changed by foreign powers. The children are taught to say yes and no and to mean it. Some give titles to nobody, not even the king, while others give titles to everybody, invariably giving their occupation every time they are mentioned. This creates a 'curious situation where people are constantly referred to as “Thora-daughter-of-Upholsterer Anderson”, or “Son-of-Or-ganist Nilsson”, or “Mr.-the-Wholesaledealer Smith”. A doctor’s wife is always a doctoress, and a colonel’s wife is a coIoneless.
About half the proper names in Sweden end in “son”, and half the space in city directories is monopolized by the families of Olson, Larson^ Anderson, Johnson, and Peterson. There are no colors in the nomenclature, no Whites, Greens, Blacks, Browns, or Grays.
Swedish servants are admittedly the best in the world. This is because children are trained to the duties of the kitchen, as should be the case everywhere. Children are taught to save; the government opens an account with each child and puts two crowns to its credit to start it off. In Spain every other person is illiterate, the ideal of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. In Sweden only one in 500 is illiterate, the opposite ideal. Political uniforms are barred in Sweden.
Prosperous and Progressive
Just before World War II Sweden was written up as the then most prosperous country in the world. Practically all public utilities are owned either by the state or by the municipalities. This is as it should be. Americans have been deluded into thinking that they may own the sewers, because such are a constant expense, but they must not own other public utilities, because there is a chance for huge .profits and the people should be taught that only Big Business has the wisdom to know what to do with profit on a colossal scale.
"There are comparatively few poor in Sweden. At the “people's kitchen” in the ^wintertime a man may get a substantial dinner for 9c, and a breakfast or supper tor 4c. It is not intended as a charity and nothing is given away. At some hotels a man and his wife are charged as persons if they occupy the same room. There is high respect for motherhood, ■both married and unmarried. It is regarded as a special service to the state. No Swedish woman who has been employed two years at the time of her marriage can be dismissed from her job owing to marriage, the birth of a child, or confinement. She will be allowed twelve weeks’ absence during confinement, and no signing away of her rights will be recognized by law.
In every community there is a director of public relief, aided by a committee of representative citizens whose business it is to inquire into the needs of the unemployed and the poor. Hospital care for such is provided free of charge. There are also child welfare committees in every community, and committees to distribute funds to widowed and abandoned mothers. Old age and invalidity insurance is obligatory for every person between 16 and 66 years of age. When a man is unemployed he receives his unemployment pay check at the same window where he once received his wages.
Divorces are granted by mutual consent and may be secured by either party after a separation of three yearsl Woman suffrage was granted in 1909, and more women vote than men. Sweden was the first country to recognize the equality of sons and daughters in the inheritance of property. The country is world-famous for its cleanliness. There are no slums. The “eight hours for a day’s work” law has been in operation for a quarter of a century.
Real service for all the people is the rule. Grocery stores on wheels traverse the w’hole land, with full stocks of meats, vegetables, and other merchandise. About one-fourth of the population is represented by these traveling co-operative stores. The buses are everywhere. To mail a letter, meet the bus; the driver will stop anywhere to permit posting a letter in the letter box attached to his vehicle. The bus operates a rural express service, delivering promptly parcels ordered from town by telephone. If packages are numerous, the bus leaves town five minutes ahead of time, so that the run may be finished on time.
The co-operatives manufacture electric lamps, shoes, and galoshes. They operate grist mills, elevators, and bakeries, and beautiful, hygienic and sanitary stores. They have helped to make Sweden a good place for the common people to work and to live in while looking to “the desire of all nations”, which is even now at hand.
A Deer Rescues and Is Himself Rescued ♦ At Lake Lynn, near Uniontown, Pa., H. F. Beverage was out in a skiff, engaged in duck-hunting, when he saw a deer, a big eight-point buck, swimming. Rushing toward the deer, his skiff overturned, and, to save himself from drowning, he grabbed the buck’s horns and was hauled ashore. The deer escaped. That w’as in the fall of 1943.
At the same lake, the same winter, the same man was walking on the shore when he saw an eight-point buck entrapped in the ice. He found a plank, slipped it under the exhausted animal, pushed it ashore and covered it with his mackinaw. While he was trying to figure out what to do next, the deer jumped to its feet and ran away. Of course, Mr. Beverage cannot swear that it was the identical animal that rescued him a few months earlier, but he thinks it was, and that is probably the case. In any event, it is a remarkable illustration of the proper relationship of men and wild animals.
Hitler’s Threat of Judenrein
Hitler’s threat to,get rid of all the
Jews in the world was not to be ignored, for many reasons. In the first place, the world owes much to its Rubensteins, Damrosches, Meyerbeers, Bernhardts, Einsteins, Disraelis, Cardozos, and Brandeises. In the second place, the United States is the home of 4,770,647 of the 15,688,259 Jews in the world. And, in the third place, the Jews were at one 'time the covenant people of Jehovah God, The Devil, no doubt, has in mind to bring His name into yet greater reproach, if he can bring it about, by murdering the remnants of this race.
The Jews are well dispersed over the planet. ’ The following table shows the approximate number in the principal places of habitation:
Algeria
110,127
Lithuania
155,125
Canada
155,614
Netherlands
156,817
Morocco
161,312
Austria
191,408
France
240,000
Germany
240,000
Britain
300,000
Czechoslovakia
356,830
Palestine
424,373
Hungary
444,567
Rumania
900,000
Russia
3,020,141
Poland
3,113,900
United States
4,770,647
Other '
947,398
Total
15,688,259
The Inter-Allied Information Committee in London is the source of the claim that by June, 1943, one-seventh of the Jews of the world had been exterminated by the maniacs that ruled Germany, A portion of the report published in the Vancouver Daily Province says in a matter-of-fact way: *
In Poland the Gestapo chief Himmler ordered his fellow criminals to exterminate half the Warsaw ghetto population within twelve months. Six to seven thousand were deported daily. A special “extermination squad” was trained in the Reich. Jews who were not deported were either shot or mass-murdered in large groups by electrocution or lethal gas.
In two days, August 26 and 27 of last year (1942), the Germans herded 20,000 Jews together under pretext of re-registration and shot them at Lutzk in the conquered' Ukraine, while at Sarny, already the scene of a massacre of 18,000, they shot another 14,000. At Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk 60,000 were slain.
Various Slaughterhouses
There does not seem to be any gainsaying of the fact that various human slaughterhouses have been operated in Poland. The New York Times mentions 35,000 slain at Lwow, 15,000 at Stanisla-wow, 16,300 at Brzezany, 5,000 at Tarno-pol, and 2,000 at Zloctrow or Zloczow, It says there were about 1,000 gassed daily from the townships of Kolo, Dabie, Izbica and others between November, 1941, and March, 1942, as well as 35,000 Jews in Lodz between January 2 and January 9 (1942). Two thousand “gypsies” were gassed.
Dr. Henryk Strasburger, finance minister, of the one-time Polish government in exile, is authority for the statement that human slaughterhouses were functioning in 1942 in Kaunas (Lithuania, under German control) and at Belzec, 60 miles from Lwow, Poland. Giving details he said:
The method used is the following: The victims are ordered to strip naked ‘to have a bath’. They are then led to a barrack with a metal floor. This door is locked and an electric current turned on. They die in agony. When the current is turned off the bodies are loaded on cars and dumped into a mass grave. In addition to firing squads, electrocution and lethal gas, Poles are also packed into locked freight cars, 50 or 60 in a ear, and long trains of these ears are driven into the country and left on sidings where the people in them are left to die.
The New Leader mentions the death of a fellow Socialist in Poland and states ^incidentally that he was one of 7,000 shot kt a concentration camp at Palmiry, near Warsaw. The man shot was editor of a Socialist publication, and the story' is confirmed by the fact that the New Lead' er is a Socialist publication.
In what seems to be an extract from a 'letter of the archbishop of Canterbury published in the London Times, and copyright 1942 by the Chicago Daily News, occurs this statement:
During the last three months 260,000 or 400,000 people living in the Warsaw ghetto have been liquidated and mass murders are proceeding over the whole country. There is no question of the validity of reports on which this declaration was based.
Slaughters Continued in 1943
The Polish government in exile announced in March, 1943, that all the Jews had been exterminated in the ghettos of five Polish towns not named in the foregoing, namely, Radomsk, Ujazd, Sobo-lew, Radzymin and Szczerzec. What , probably happens in such eases is that the occupying authorities suspect Jews of underground papers or sabotage, or else invent these excuses to explain* their annihilation.
At Warsaw the editor of one of the underground papers had Gestapo callers. He slammed the door, inserted a notice of his death in the paper, had a small edition run off and smuggled out through a tunnel and distributed. It took all night for the Gestapo to capture the place, which they finally did by burning it to the ground. Inside of it they found four men and one woman—cremated. But the subscribers got their papers.
Though the Jews seem to be the principal objects of extermination, the Poles themselves are often involved as in the following statement by the Polish minister of home affairs, issued in London July 26, 1943, and published in the New York Times the following day:
The entire population is being removed from the areas involved. A considerable percentage of them is shot on the spot. Small children are killed with a kick. Males from 14 years to 50 are deported to an unknown destination in sealed trucks. Children up to 13 years, women and all over 50, are deported to the Majdanek death camp, in the Lublin district, where they are slaughtered in masses in death chambers, as were the Jews before them. On July 2 and 5 (1943) two trains of thirty cars each, with 100 persons per car ran into Majdanek siding. Within a few hours on each of those days more than 3,000 persons were murdered in gas chambers. Such executions are taking place every day.
The foregoing reports seem to have been made by responsible persons, and are susceptible of investigation. There is also at hand the New York Daily News for September 28, 1943, with a story having a three-column-wide headline “Charge Nazis Burn Civilians Alive” at Oswiecim, Poland. This was by an unnamed Polish spy disguised as a laborer. There is also a story in the California Jewish Voice (September 11, 1942) of a twelve-year-old Jewish boy in Bryansk, Russia, who stabbed and killed the German commander von Reichen for throwing his two-year-old sister into the fire of his burning home. And the boy escaped and reached the Russian lines.
. These tales of horror ought to convince everyone that the demons are loosed, and that in a special sense the Devil and his cohorts are bent on doing everything they can to the dishonor of Jehovah’s name in the “short time” that they have left. The only safety for anybody at all is to be squarely and wholly on the Lord’s side, and to be wholly and completely immersed in His “strange work” now under way throughout the world—the proclamation of Jehovah’s kingdom as the only hope for man.
The Knights of Columbus
WHEN Christopher Columbus sailed into the beautiful Caribbean wa-• ters that bathed this continent's shores, in the year 1492, it never entered his mind that men would in time name a secret society after him. Nor is it likely that such would have been the ease had they known the true nationality of Christopher. As school children we were taught that Columbus was born at Genoa, Italy. But in recent years it has been reported that he was really born in Portugal, and was by birth one of those hated and persecuted people called Tews, which circumstances Columbus concealed due to fear. These facts were not known when, in 1882, a few men met in New Haven, Connecticut, and founded a secret order. Tentatively those men called themselves “The Connecticut Catholic Order of Foresters”. Then another name, the “Sons of Columbus”, was suggested to give it an “American” flavor. This was finally changed to the now familiar name, the “Knights of Columbus”.
Three years after the order was founded it established its first council outside of the state of Connecticut, in Westerly, Rhode Island, and from then on it rapidly expanded. By 1910 the order had local councils in every state and territory of the United States as well as in Canada, Newfoundland, Philippine Islands, Mexico, Cuba, and Panama, and was also making inroads into South American countries. By 1928 its membership had grown to the number of 700,000, with something like 2,500 councils. And it has for some time now been recognized as the leading Catholic layman's organization in the world.
The laws and by-laws of the KC, as the order is often briefly termed, are so framed as to make the local councils subordinate to the supreme council, thus W’elding the whole organization together into an effective instrument in the hands of the Catholic Hierarchy of Authority. The order is divided into four degrees
JULY 4, of ceremonial, teaching, as claimed, “charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism.” After eighteen years from the time this Catholic layman’s order was founded the first instance of the fourth degree took place on February 22, 1900, in New York city when 1,200 were given this degree. Much contention has .developed over the so-called “oath” that is required of the fourth degreers. They themselves claim that no such oath is required, yet, from time to time others assert that those obtaining the fourth degree must bind themselves with strong papal vows. As late as November, 1944, such claims have been vigorously denied by the supreme council. Be that as it may, it is freely admitted that the Knights of Columbus are a secret order, their own law stating that any member ' “revealing to a person not a member of this Order any of the work, business or doings of his council or the order, shall be expelled”. All the meetings and sessions of the order are held in the strictest secrecy and only those that give the secret password are admitted. And, furthermore, their law says that any member who fails “to continue a practical Roman Catholic shall be expelled”. So then, oath or no oath, the results are the same and the aims of Catholic Action are accomplished.
On the surface it would appear that the Knights of Columbus are a benevolent, charitable, and educational fraternity of Christians made up of only the cleanest and sweetest characters. At their assemblies the order of business calls for an opening and closing prayer. However, there is no stipulation as to to which god the prayer is addressed, inasmuch as the Bible says there are many gods. (1 Corinthians 8:5) It is claimed that those who engage in the liquor business are excluded from membership and any member convicted “of a crime by a court of competent authority shall be expelled”. That sounds good,
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but we wonder *if it is strictly enforced. We are particularly wondering about that notorious criminal, Judge Martin T. Manton, who was fined $10,000 and sent to prison for two years for “selling justice” over the bar to the tune of $186,000. He was one of those gilded ^Knights of Columbus, yet several years have silently slipped by and the world v has never heard of his being expelled.
As a benevolent organization the . Knights of Columbus operates its own insurance department for its members, .and had some $288,304,000 worth of certificates in force on January 1, 1930. The purpose of such department is to furnish temporary financial aid to the families of the deceased members. The “temporary” need is understood to refer to the time when the priest comes around with the funeral bill, which is always a staggering figure to the bereaved ones. In this way the money never gets away, but merely circulates within the “church”. Great claims are made, too, that the KC is a charitable organization, with care being taken to • make it plain that such charity is not for the poor and needy of the earth, but is only for its own members and their families. Even care for orphans, in the way of homes and education, is not available to humanity in general but is restricted to Catholic orphans. In 1928 the Knights undertook the task of organizing Catholic youth in the seven different countries in which they operate into what was called the “Columbian Squires”. But such industry could hardly be classified as charitable, since there were ulterior motives behind the regimenting of the Catholic youth. And similar motives were back of the Knights’ efforts to make “Columbus Day” (October 12) a national holiday.
All these activities, however, are in the background. The main purpose of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has been and is to “make America Catholic”. And these chivalrous Knights, a creation of the Hierarchy, sally forth carrying the torch, and sword also, for the “church”. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia: “The purpose of the Society is to develop a practical Catholicity among its members, to promote Catholic education and charity . . . The Knights of Columbus • have done notable work in promoting Catholic education . . . The work of lectures to non-Catholics on questions of Catholic teaching and belief has always appealed to the spirit of the order, and of late years has been taken up with no little success.” Take note of the particular brand of “education” that they endeavor to promote, not free education, not education for life, not education in the Bible, not Christian education, but Catholic education. To this end the order endows several scholarships in Catholic universities. It publishes a 52-page magazine known as Columbia, and also operates so-called “information bureaus”, such as “Religious Information Bureau” of St. Louis, Missouri.
Notwithstanding that many Catholics who have any prominence in politics are devout and faithful KC’s, yet as an organization their laws forbid activity in politics. This best serves'the interests of the Hierarchy. Like a professional safe-cracker that has many tools to do his different “jobs”, so also has the Hierarchy as it endeavors to “crack” American democracy. Some of their “tools” are used for crashing in the front, like Coughlin’s “Christian Front”. The Knights of Columbus, on the other hand, are of the quiet type that exerts its pressure from within the seams and cracks of democracy, very much in the same way as nitroglycerin is used in cracking open safes. Under the innocent label of “education” are found their sinister concoctions which are placed in strategic positions. They are compounded by a deft hand that has been drained by centuries of experience in the art of deception.
In the article “Blasphemy Against the Bible by a Cult” (see Consolation No. .672) appeared a sample of the poi-
sonous mixture these KC apothecaries are feeding Americans. Therein the Knights of Columbus blasphemously called the Holy Bible the "Book of Disunity’". With the same cunning and wicked intent as that old serpent the Devil manifested in the garden of Eden when he made void the word of God, this modern brood of reptiles likewise, with Jes-. uitic “arguments”, endeavors to besmirch and discredit God’s Word in the minds of honest Catholics and others. That article originally published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch against the Bible is not an isolated case. Rather it is part of the Hierarchy’s “educational” program which is in reality a flood from coast to coast of Catholic propaganda intended to wash away the foundation of democracy. And the campaign is vigorously pushed by these papal Knights who strut themselves before'the people as self-appointed “educators”, claiming they have four “degrees” back of their name.
“Your Holy Father”
In the Chester Times (March 1,1945), under the title “Your Holy Father”, appeared the following article sponsored by the “Americus Council Knights of Columbus with Ecclesiastical Approbation”:
Did you ever stop to think that our Holy Father, Pius XII, is the Shepherd of Christendom? You are one of the human family, and he is the shepherd of that family, the Chief Priest and Patriarch, appointed by Christ.
“That’s what you think,” we hear you say.
But hold on a minute. We don’t want to argue. We only want to explain what 400,-000,000 of us Catholics accept as fact, and you can check it with your own Bible.
St. Peter was Head of the Apostles. His name is mentioned more than 190 times in the Gospels and Acts: after him comes St. John, the Beloved Apostle, with only 29 mentions.
As one might expect, Jesus made St. Peter head of His new Church: “Thou art Peter,
JULY 4, 1945-
and upon this rock, I will build My Church . . . And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
St. Peter’s powers passed to St. Limus, then to St. Cletus, then to St. Clement, and so on, through 261 men, to our present Holy Father, Pius XII—who is the only man living today claiming to be St. Peter’s successor. Think of that!
It is true, even we have to admit that Pope Pius XII “is the only man living today claiming to be St. Peter’s successor”. And we "think of that” as the most presumptuous and blasphemous claim made by any man. If it were not for the fact that "400,000,000 of us Catholics” are deluded into believing this magnificent lie we would lightly consider it, even perhaps jest about it. You are invited to “check it with your own Bible”, but the Knights of Columbus were not too interested in your doing so and consequently failed to give- you the citations. Let us, therefore, help you.
If you will turn to Acts 15:6-19; 21:18,19; 12:17, you will see the fallacy of the claim that “St. Peter was Head of the Apostles”. It was the apostle James, not Peter, who at least on some occasions presided at assemblies of the twelve. The apostle Paul wrote far more of the Greek Scriptures than Peter, even writing things that Peter found difficult to understand. (2 Peter 3:16) And on at least one occasion Paul had to rebuke Peter for not taking a proper stand on a certain matter. (Galatians 2:11-14) But when they say that Peter was head of the apostles because his name is mentioned 190 times, they stretch the argument to the breaking point and it snaps back at them—190 times Peter is mentioned, but not once is he spoken of or even inferred to be head of the apostles!
Another erroneous claim made in that article is that “Jesus made St. Peter head of His new Church”. And they
quote Matthew 16:18 as a supporting Scripture: “Thou art Peter [ (Greek) petros, masculine gender], and upon this rock [(Greek) petra, feminine gender] I" will build my church.” If the “rock” mentioned in this text referred to Peter, % then of necessity it would have to be in I the masculine gender, the same as his ’name. But a careful reading of the preceding verses shows plainly that Jesus referred to himself as the “rock” upon which His church is built. If anyone knew what Jesus meant on that occasion - it surely was the apostle Peter himself.
And so, later, when he wrote his epistle he left no room to doubt what Jesus meant. Peter testified that the church is not built upon himself but upon Christ Jesus. And you can 'check that with your Bible’, too!—1 Peter 2: 4, 6-8.
To claim that Peter’s powers passed on down through the succession of the popes of Rome is an ignorant falsehood. There is absolutely no proof for this in the Bible. And when we turn to secular history we see,that all the facts contradict this statement flatly. The Catholic church was not established until Constantine’s day, 300 years after Peter. And as far as the office of pope is concerned, McClintock & Strong’s Cyclopedia says (Vol. VII, page 629), “The first Pope, in the real sense of the word, was Leo I (440-471) [A.D.].” And what do you “think of that”?
But hold, on, our “education” is not finished ; we read only half of that enlightening (?) article. It continues and says:
If you are baptized, you belong to Christ’s Church, of which Pope Pius is the head; for in baptism, you gave your mind and heart to Jesus, who has passed His authority on earth to St. Peter and his successors.
You don’t recognize that authority? But it’s there, just the same, if the Bible is correct. And we Catholics accept it as the Word of God. True, a child may come to hate his own father, he may even run away from home, but the fact remains that he is a son of his father though he hate him; and his father has authority over him, though the child, be away from home.
So, the Holy Father,' when he defends the rights of men before tyrants, does not speak just for Catholics. He speaks for you, too. When he sends money for the relief of starving peoples, he does not dictate that his bread be given only to Catholics. It is for everyone in need.
The whole human family has been entrusted to his care and that great family knows, as by instinct, that it has a powerful friend and a fearless advocate in the Holy Father of Christendom, Pope Pius XII—the Shepherd, not merely of 400,000,000 Catholics, but of all baptized Christians.
We have heard of the tyrants Hitler, Mussolini and Franco; but have we ever heard of the “Holy Father” as defending the rights of men before such tyrants? We have heard of the pope’s signing. concordats with Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco; but have we ever heard of the pope’s renouncing such secret agreements as requested by peace-loving meh and women? No, we have never heard of that; but we have read that on March 29, 1945, Pope Pius XII attended the “Holy Thursday” mass together with the ambassadors of those German and Japanese tyrants! (See New York Times, March 30, 1945.)
Again, we have heard of starving ■ people, Catholics and others; but have we ever heard of the pope’s sending money for their relief? We have heard of starving people in Italy itself; but have we heard of the Vatican’s ever giving money or aid to feed them? No, we haven’t heard any startling news like that; but we have heard that in 1944 the American Relief for Italy, Inc., sent from America 7,186,100 pounds of “food, clothing and medical supplies valued, all together, at $8,314,487” for the alleviation of the suffeting of the pope’s own Italian Catholic children.
So there you have it: another sample of Catholic “education” as “sponsored by the Knights of Columbus with Ecclesiastical Approbation”, black for white, lies for truth. How 'manifest it is that the KC is engaged in a malicious eam-paign to deceive the gullible! Even their name is a deception. Instead of being chivalrous, defenders of truth and righteousness, they-are minions of the Devil, who is the father of lies. (John 8:44) Instead of being fighters for the freedom for which Columbus and America are . symbols the Knights of Columbus are straining every sinew to bring America into slavery and bondage to Rome. It is understandable, therefore, why this secret order “has the commendation of the entire Catholic Hierarchy, and special commendation from several popes". —Encyclopedia Americana, 1942 Ed.
But, when pondering the malicious deeds of men in the earth today, and when our righteous indignation is inflamed because the wicked flourish, let us remember the words of. the psalmist: “Rest in Jehovah, and wait patiently for him-: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait for Jehovah [to take action], they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37: 7, 9-11, Am. Stan. Ver.
Oh, the Lace, the Beautiful Lace!
IN THE Middle Ages the men were the ones who wore the lace, the ruffles and the fancy clothing; and some still hanker for it. Thus the Catholic Times tells about the pope’s addressing a crowd, and then remarks:
On completing his address, the pope removed a small cape that he was wearing, put on a golden stole and gave his blessing to the people.
A stole is a narrow band, fringed at the ends, and embroidered, which one hangs around his neck when he wants to make the common herd sit up and take notice. Jesus never had one on in His life. But, then, the people that followed Him were all common people, and they even smelled of fishso what would He want with a stole ? •
Taking a good big jump across the ocean waves one lands in Shreveport, La., and there finds that the “Very Reverend” John V. Plauche has been promoted to be a “Right Reverend Monsignor”, and .
Rev. Plauche will be allowed to wear the
JULY 4. 194S purple cassock, trimmed in amaranth (reddish-blue), the rochet, the purple manteletta and the biretta with a purple pompon.
If you don’t know what these things are, shame on you! Consult a dictionary, “and if pains persist,,see your doctor.”
The next jump is a double-header. At Sierra Madre church, Los Angeles, the Examiner shows a flock of priests all dressed in lace, beautiful lace, from their necks to their big feet, celebrating because “Reverend Father” Isadore Dwyer, C.P., is fifty years a priest. None of the apostles ever had a party like that one. . ■
The last item is from the same paper, but of an earlier date, and gives the breath-taking and all-important information that
Full-bearded Father Ryder, priest of the Jesuit Order of Slav-Byzantine Rite, was majestic in a red and gold chasuble, pale yellow alb and cross-emblazoned stole. Monsignor Salman, of the Syro-Byzantine Rite, was vested in a heavy white-satin robe and whitelace alb, with black headpiece with trailing train.
fWWORD I IS TfLUTH"
SJ “John. 17:17
Man—Why Put on Earth
WHEN men braved the storms of the Atlantic ocean and landed upon American shores, they planted the flag ' of their respective rulers upon the land and claimed it. When a man flew over the region of the north pole and dropped the flag of his nation, he claimed title thereto in the name of his sovereign king. The laws adopted by the common consent of nations recognize the right to the possession of the land by reason of supposed discovery, to the ignoring of the rights of the original native inhabitants. Alienated from God, and disregarding His law, men speak of the earth and treat it as though it were man’s by right of discovery and occupancy. But, in truth and in fact, no right to possession exists by discovery. The class of ultraselfish ones, known as “rulers”, mark out a portion of the earth, claim it as their own, and use it as lords; while other men work the soil as their serfs and are permitted to exercise no right of claim or possession thereof. In reality, there is no such inherent right in man.
That man has no right to use the earth contrary to God’s way is shown by the declaration of God’s law: “The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine.” (Leviticus 25: 23) God has permitted man to take his own course. But when the proper relationship between man and God is understood and appreciated by man, the earth will be used for the common good of all mankind that lives. God is just. It therefore follows that no class will occupy the land by the exercise of injustice toward another class. “For the Lord [Jehovah] most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. He shall choose our inheritance for us.”—Psalm 47: 2, 4.
From the creation of the earth God purposed that perfect man should 'fliave dominion” over it and its lower creatures. (Genesis 1:26,28) to “have dominion” means to have under foot and thus rule over, and the perfect first man, Adam, was made to exercise such dominion. One clothed wTith authority is always subject to the one conferring that authority and must conform himself to the terms and conditions upon which his superior confers the authority. All power and authority will, by thorough analysis, be found to reside in Jehovah God. All power and authority rightfully exercised by perfect man must he exercised in harmony with Jehovah’s will.
Expressing- His purpose in creating and putting man on earth, Jehovah God addressed His only begotten Son, His faithful and active Agent in the work of creation, and said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26) Then Jehovah and His Sori did so.
The power of Jehovah knows no limitation. For Him to will a thing to be created means that it is certain to be done according to His will. Having determined to make man in His own image and likeness He proceeded to do so. That man was created for the earth and that the earth was created for man there is not the slightest room for doubt. Upon this point God’s will is expressed: “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. I have made the earth, and created man upon.it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all their host have I commanded.” —Isaiah 45:18,12. .
Since the dominion of all things resides in Jehovah He could give it to whomsoever He might will. It is written (Psalm 24:1): “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” , “The heaven, even the heavens, are the " Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” (Psalm 115:16) Man, as well as the earth, belongs to Jehovah, because He created them.
The authority of man to have dominion over the earth having been conferred upon man by Jehovah, man must exercise that authority and dominion in harmony with God’s will. When Adam was granted dominion, Hie duty and obligation devolved upon him to exercise such authority in harmony with his Creator. Adam was placed in the garden of Eden as its caretaker. He was not required to put forth laborious efforts to produce his food. Eden yielded freely all the food that was essential for his sustenance and for his pleasure. He was given control over the animals, the birds, and the fish; and these were to render and did render obedience to him. He was clothed with power and authority to produce his own kind. Had Adam exercised that Godgiven authority in harmony with his Creator’s will he would have produced a perfect and happy family of children. God gave him the privilege to exercise his own faculties. He could willingly obey or disobey. This, however, did not at all relieve him from the obligation of being in harmony with Jehovah and exercising his authority in obedience to God’s holy will.
Eden was a large district, larger than is generally supposed. It must have embraced a considerable area of land. Four rivers divided off from the river that flowed out from the garden and watered the land round about. Eden had beautiful groves which pleased the eye and produced food, and in it also were to be found all the precious stones and much fine gold. The garden portion of Eden was on the eastern side and the entrance was from the east. It was more beautiful than the other part of the district. It was in that garden that man was placed as the caretaker and where he found his pleasure and his enjoyment. The earth was for man, and the perfect man Adam was placed in a perfect home.
The ecclesiastical teachers of religion, misrepresenting God and His Word, have led the people to believe that had perfect Adam remained a good and faithful officer of Jehovah God, then in due time God would have taken him to heaven. There is absolutely no evidence upon which to base such a conclusion. Adam had no promise of heaven. There never was a possibility, under any circumstances or conditions, of Adam’s going to heaven. He was strictly and purely for the earth. The earth alone was to be his everlasting home. Concerning this it is written (1 Corinthians 15:47): “The first man is of the earth, earthy.” Since the earth was made for the home of man he should not expect to find any promise of heaven for him, and there is not a word found in the Scriptures whereby Adam was promised heaven as a home. A proper understanding of this matter enables the student of God’s Word to have a clear understanding of what must be the final destiny of the human family, namely, eternal life on a perfected earth under the heavenly kingdom of Jehovah God by His Son Christ Jesus the King. .
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.—Jeremiah 27:4,5.
Theocratic Tidings from India
COLD waters to a thirsty soul, .. £\. sq is good news from a far country.” (Proverbs 25:25) The news is good; the country whence it comes is far, 1,-clear around on the other side of the 4 globe, as a matter of fact. The tidings were to the effect that a Theocratic assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses was held in India, December 27-31, 1944. In these days of restricted communication Jehovah’s people in one part of -the world ' often thirst for information concerning their fellow servants in distant lands,
and the report recently received from ■ The report that now reaches the land
India comes as a cool and refreshing draught.
India is in the general shape of a huge triangle, with its base resting upon the towering Himalayan range and its apex jutting far out into the Indian ocean.
The service meeting at the Indian shamianah
In the very center of this large triangular country lie the Central Provinces, and the city of Jubbulpore. The numerous gorges in the neighboring rocks have been taken advantage of to surround the city with a series of small lakes which, shaded by fine trees and bordered by fantastic crags, add much beauty to the suburbs. The city itself is' fairly large and modern, consisting of the European civil and military sections as well as the usual conglomeration of buildings forming the Indian town common to the country. It is recognized as the educational and missionary center of the Hindi-speaking districts of the Central Provinces. Hence it was fitting that in this centrally located city of more than 1.10,000 Jehovah’s witnesses gathered for their five-day assembly.
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