Awake!, July 22, 1950

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Newc Bounces that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our tknee must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. ‘ Awoke 1” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must n^t be troodenon; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps Itself free that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.

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“Awake!” pledges itself io righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of a right* eous New VVtrld.

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ENTS

Russia^ Red Religion

Following the Orthodox Pattern

Many Other Points of Comparison

An “Ism” with a Creeping Influence

Stalin Deified as God

N«w York City— What a Sight!

Seeing the Sights

Museums and Zoos

Coney Island and Statue of Liberty

Getting from Sight to Sight

Meet the Murderess—Marijuana!

Its Criminal Record

Religious Fury Feeds the Flames in Quebec 16 “Thy Word Is Truth”

God's Everlasting Covenant

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands

How the Blood Circulates

Tito Hearts iit Otte

What Makes the Heart Beat?

Vascular System and Arteries

Capillaries and Veins

Heart Trouble and Related Ailments

Common Sense

Watching the World

RUSSIA’S RED RELIGION

Proof that communism is just another false religion

LAST December the public press and radio told how the whole communist world celebrated Stalin's seventieth birthday with the greatest display of gifts, honor and praise ever heaped upon any one man. The satellite countries were not one whit behind the U.S.S.R. in their extravagant words of adoration. In Vienna the occasion was celebrated with “semireligious ceremony". In Hungary the usual Christmas festival was ordered canceled, and in its place an all-out and prolonged celebration of Stalin's hirthday was held, beginning on December 21. In Albania the People’s Assembly voted to erect a statue to “the deity, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin". Declared Albania’s Premier Hoxha: “The Great Stalin is our people’s glorious savior.’’

The six months and more that have elapsed since then allow thoughtful people an opport unity to now look back and see how that splurge of publicity, and the events surrounding it, fits into the communist picture as a whole. On the surface, and from all outward claims, communism is considered by many people as anything but religious. In fact, the enemies of communism so often proclaim that this particular “ism" is anti- and non-religious. They quickly call to mind the dogma of Karl Marx: “Religion is the opium of the people." But if it is true that communism as practiced today is altogether nonreligious, then how are ive to understand or explain this recent outburst of fanatical deification of Stalin as "the deity”, the “glorious savior”,etc.?

The world is full of religious of various creeds, concepts and colors. Sit down and make a list of all the religions you can think of. Maybe your list will not be so long compared with the thousands that are now practiced, but even at that you will undoubtedly include many "isms” that are commonly referred to by Christendom as "heathen” religions. Now those who hold to such religions do not worship or serve the same Deity you profess to w’orship, us, for example, the multitude of gods ’worshiped by the native tribes of Africa, South America, Asia and the far-flung islands of the South Pacific, Yet you will readily -admit that such strange people do 'worship strange gods, and, hence, practice some sort of demon religion. If, therefore, one takes a broad view of the matter, there should be no difficulty in accepting the fact that communism is just another religion with a different set of gods. The orthodox religions are shocked by the rites of snake worshipers, but you would not call the latter godless. Neither are those who adore Stalin as “the deity'1 and their "glorious savior" godless. Yes, communism differs from other religions in many respects, but you will be astonished to see the similarity at so many other points of comparison.

Before the parallel is drawn between communism and the great orthodox religions of the world, it is well to look up and have in mind the definition of the word “religion” as found in Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition. On page 2105 "religion” is defined as follows:

1. The service and adoration of God or a god as expressed in forms of worship, in obedience to divino commands, esp. as found in accepted sacred writings or as declared by recognized teachers and in the pursuit of a way of life regarded as incumbent on true believers. . . .

3. Ono of the systems of faith and worship; a form of theism; a religious faith. ....

5. Devotion or fidelity; scrupulous conformity; conscientiousness. ...

8. a. A pursuit, an object of pursuit, a principle, or the like, arousing in one religious convictions and feelings such as great faith, devotion, or fervor, or followed with religious zeal, con.wdemtlousrms.s or fidelity; as, patriotism was to him a religion, b. Acceptance of and devotion to such tin ideal as a standard for ones life.

Following the Orthodox Pattern

Even as every religion has its "faith” or creed, so also has communism. Atheism and materialism are among its “ten commandments” Members of the Communist party, if they are in good standing, must wholeheartedly believe, teach and practice the atheist creed, and a solemn curse or ban handed down by the Communist party is just as fatal as any anathema issued by ecclesiastical authorities of an orthodox church.

A communist preaches that orthodox religion “is the opium of the people”, hut can it he successfully denied that communism is just as potent a drug as any sleep-inducing doctrine peddled by the recognized religious organizations? Injections of the atheistic narcotic into one’s veins is just as intoxicating and benumbing to the reasoning senses, just as freedom-robbing and enslaving to the mind, as any preachment of the churches. Blind and unquestioning belief in the theories, ideologies, philosophies, traditions, superstitions and myths of the party is demanded of all who consecrate their lives to the communist system of faith and worship. George E, Sokolsky once wrote that communists “are more dogmatic than the most bigoted fundamentalist in religion, accepting on faith that the Marxist prognosis must be correct, no matter what the facts may he”.—New York Sun, January 8,1949,

Do the great ecclesiastical institutions exercise domineering influence over the masses in their flocks ? So also does com-munisni. Not a small sect or cult, communism is monstrous in size, dominating the lives of millions. Not a mere hyphenated partnership, or “church and state" rule, communism has swallowed up the state, and the two are as one. Are organized religions of the world intolerant toward other beliefs? So also is communism, In countries behind the “iron curtain" attempts are made by the communists to regiment the churches, forbid and hinder them from carrying on their normal activities, and force them to bow to control by the state. Inside Russia, in the rural sections, practically all churches have been closed to public worship, and many of them have been turned into garages, storage bins for grain, or are being used as schools or museums. This state religion of communism is just as intolerant toward other “isms” as Franco’s Catholic government is toward Protestants.

Do some churches have their confessional with a provision for sin atonement ? So too the communists. Frequently the press reports that some artist, musician or scientist has confessed to “bourgeois” sins and asks forgiveness. Excommunication? Indeed, both churches and the communists use this lash over the backs of their disobedient members. Do churches have their heretics? So also communism has its Titos. Does not the Catholic Church have its inquisitions and torture methods, used whenever possible on those who openly or secretly plot against its rule! Who has riot heard of similar blood purges brought against those accused of being heretic communists t Sueh ordeals by fire are almost as notorious as the medieval Inquisition.

Many Other Points of Comparison

Communism is not behind the other religions "when it comes to a well-disciplined priesthood. For its “college of cardinals” it has its Politburo, beneath which are various categories of lesser functionaries—“archbishops,” "bishops” and “parish priests”—all together composing a formidable hierarchy, headed by its pope, the “infallible” Stalin. This official “clergy” class among communists is well defined, and is separate and distinct from the “laity”, the faceless masses who bear up and support the thin communist crust. Private audiences with papa Joe are as difficult to arrange as those with the pope of Rome. The Cominform together with the secret police, it should be noted, functions with as much efficiency and dispatch in international intrigue as the Society of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits.

Communism also has its “holy cities”, its shrines aud synagogues. Moscow is its Mecca: the Kremlin is its Vatican: and pilgrimages are made to the tombs of its venerated saints and martyrs. On its calendar of “holy days” is the anniversary of Lenin's death, celebrated each year with great religious devotion and reverence. “Holy" May Day is also annually observed with much festivity and to-do, and Christendom’s Easter parades find a counterpart in the May Day parades.

Even as the churches send out their missionaries, so also communism sends out well-trained missionaries and vociferous prophets fired with as much zeal and fervor as any religious zealot. Preaching their “gospel of salvation” to a religion-weary world, they encompass land and sea to make proselytes and converts of whomsoever they may. The theorists and dialecticians of communism are particularly skilled in the art of clever disputation and debate. They even see through some of Christendom’s mysteries, and, like Indian medicine men, they are able to deceive the simple with theif own wonder-working magic. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, noted pastor emeritus of the Riverside church in New York, in observing this powerful competition communism gives the churches, said this:

Communism is a tremendous faith. It has a creed—dialectical materialism—winch its adherents believe in as Christians do the scrip-, tures. It has shrines, pilgrimages, hymns and rituals, and where do we find more energetic missionary work?

The great religions of the world in both Christendom and heathendom have their sacred writings, prayer books and catechisms, as well as their educational institutions and schools for the propagation of their doctrines. Then how does communism differ from them on this point? They too have their “parochial” schools, where young converts are indoctrinated with the tenets and dogmas of the “holy” Communist party. They too have their most “holy writings”. Stalin’s History of the Communist Party, for esample, is drilled into the members as if it were inspired scripture. The works of Lenin and Marx are also considered very sacred. Like Constantine, who called together the ecclesiastical authorities in A.D. 325 for the formation of the Nicene Creed, so also Stalin called together 84 experts for a convocation when a dispute arose over doctrines in a new’ textbook. For nine days these didacticians brooded over the philosophical points in question. The fine threads of atheistic materialism, you know, must be spun with as much cunning and finesse as the gossamer cobwebs of theology.

Columnist Dorothy Thompson, after observing many of these points of similarity, comes to the obvious conclusion that “communism is a secular church”.

In her syndicated newspaper column she says of this "ism”:

It is organized like a church, with an immutable body of faith, a strict and continuous theological discipline (the dialectic), repeated spiritual exercises—confession and atonement —and it has its saints and martyrs. It has its educational, missionary, disciplinary, and propaganda sections, and its militant arm.

In the minds of communists they are the upholders of the only true faith in a world of infidels. They alone are the saved on the way to a terrestrial heaven, carrying weaker humanity with them, while their opponents are on the way to the bottomless pit.

Also taking note of several points of similarity between the radical communist brand of' religion and the more conservative standard brands, Tlir Christian Century magazine says:

Communists scorn such a suggestion, but they can hardly deny that their movement displays most of the familiar appurtenances of a religion. Communism has its saered scriptures, its inspired revelators, its inerrant dogma, its saints, its martyrs, its hagiology, its demonology, its heresy trials, its inquisition, its excommunications, its pope, its ruling hierarchy, its initiatory vows, its consecrated priesthood, its missionaries, its sacred shrines, its proaelyting passion, its apocalyptic future to make up for a grim present.

An “Ism” with a Creeping Influence

Were it not for the fact that communism is essentially and basically a religion it would not be able to penetrate the very fiber of life and saddle itself upon the minds of so many millions, holding them in abject submission. Generals in the Bed army, for example, are reminded that more is required of them than a mere knowledge of military tactics. If they are to remain in the good graces of the communist hierarchy, Red Star, the official army newspaper, says they must study Marxism and Leninism with all diligence, as diligently as a priest studies his breviary. “Even in sports we must learn from J. V. Stalin,” declared a Communist Czech athlete. Into whatsoever this yeasty spirit of fanaticism seeps, even into the various arte and sciences, there one finds the same excessive religious froth of fermentation.

When the Academy of Science met in Bucharest, among the so-called "scientific papers” read were those with the following titles: “J. V. Stalin, Lenin’s Perpetuator in Creating the Theory of the Construction of Socialism”; “J. V. Stalin, Theoretician and Leader of the Fight for Peace and Brotherhood Among Peoples”; “J. V. Stalin Mirrored in the Literature of the Peoples of the World”; “J. V, Stalin, Military Genius of Our Time”; "J. V. Stalin, Teacher and Inspired Leader of the World Proletariat.” This last paper must have been an interesting one if it stuck to its subject, for when it speaks of Stalin as being “inspired” it reaches into the field of religion. And since every communist will quickly admit that Stalin is not inspired of Jehovah God, then there is only one conclusion left: Stahn must be inspired by the “god of this world”, Satan the Devil. A very interesting conclusion. —2 Corinthians 4:4; John 8: 44.

Practically all the Russian writers of poetry and prose have likewise been inspired to glorify this “great ersatz religion of the century: communism”, as Dorothy Thompson so aptly defines it. Scarcely a novel is published which fails to show in some way the influence of the leader, Stalin. He and his supposed virtues are the subject of thousands of poems. As one poet raved: “Hail our father and teacher [meaning Stalin], the eagle’s glory of the centuries.” Another, crawling on his belly, laments: “On behalf of the people I will bow to the earth to him.”

Composers of musical symphonies and overtures have attempted to immortalize this personification of communism in their compositions. In one way or another national hymns and folk songs extol and praise this atheistic religion to the heavens. Producers and artists of the stage and screen overwork this theme. Canvaspainting artists, too, and the lithographic printers and photographers are kept busy turning out paintings and sculpture works of Lenin and Stalin, and these are worshiped in the same blind pagan fashion as the images of other religions are venerated. Yes, indeed, communism is very much infected with hagiol-atry and idolatry, the worship of saints and idols, and the kindred disease— hero-worship.

So that you may appreciate the fact that this picture is not overdrawn, and in order that you may more fully realize how very devoted communism is to its gods, the following quotation is taken from the communist newspaper Soviet-Art. Concerning Stalin and his influence, it says:

Masters of Soviet art work over this exciting theme with inspiration. Our composers write songs and symphonies about the great Stalin. The image of the genius leader is embodied in the best canvases and sculptures, in the works of the movie art, in theatrical productions, Our people owe the victories in all branches of the national economy, science and culture to the creator of the Constitution of victorious socialism, Comrade Stalin, the great pilot whose firm hand is piloting the Soviet ship of state along the way outlined by the immortal Lenin.—New York Times, Dec. 5, 1949,

Stalin Deified as Gad

A religion as potent and all-embracing as communism, having as it does all the trimmings and phylacteries worn by the other religious organizations of the world, surely needs an “infallible” godhead, Pharaoh of Egypt was hailed as “the good god”; the ruler of the Peruvian Incas was considered “the child of the sun”; the emperor of the ancient Chinese was spoken of as “the son of heaven”; the great Caesars of the Roman Empire were deified. Then why should not a witens wand transform the high Mogul of the communists into a god for their anthill? The communists have their patriarch Marx; they have their embalmed and mummified Lenin; but what they need is a "living Buddha” to give their materialistic religion reality and power. Hence, the recent deification of Stalin as the golden calf or sacred cow of communism.

To make a god out of a shoemaker’s son is a slow, drawn-out affair. First he must have power over the lives of millions. Stalin got this by scheming, clawing and slowly plodding his way up from serfdom to a position among the mighty, not equaled even by Hitler. Great cities have been named after him: Stalingrad, Stalino, Stalinsk, Stalinabad, and others. Mountains and dams and schools bear his name, Even the servile Russian Orthodox Church fell right in line with this god-tuaking program. A headline in the New York Times read: “Stalin Selected by God, Moscow Patriarch Says.”

Next, supernatural powers, abilities and genius surpassing all other men are attributed to him, as, for example, “inspired leader of the world proletariat,” “genius-creator of the friendship of the Soviet peoples,” the "inexhaustible source of creative inspiration in all the arts”, the "shining star”, "inspirer of creation, gladness of life,” the "people’s glorious savior”. Soaring even to greater heights of eulogy, the communist president of Hungary, Szakasits, says that Stalin is so lofty “human eyes can hardly follow” him. The official Soviet newspaper, Pravda, says Stalin is so superhuman “he can survey all humanity and all happenings on earth”. Well, that certainly attempts to exalt him into the high heavens, strives to make him equal to God, as in the case of Satan,—Isaiah 14:12-14.

Communism is even attempting to duplicate the "mother and child” worship that originated with Nimrod and his mother Semiramis on the plains of Shi-nar in the Mesopotamian valley more than 4,000 years ago, and -which today is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Fostering this mother worship, a Russian novelist wrote on Stalin’s seventieth birthday: “This day, let us transfer ourselves to the suburbs of Tbilisi and with reverent sorrow and ardent gratitude in our hearts silently bend our heads over the sacred remains of a small, modest Georgian woman, the mother who 70 years ago gave the world him who became humanity’s greatest man, our leader and father.”

No single piece of evidence so completely proves that coininiinism is a religion as the extravagant display of worship and devotion heaped upon the deified Stalin on his birthday last December 21. The AP news dispatch, reporting that rank orgy of paganism, said:

Thousands of parcels and crates, trainloads of merchandise, whole exposition halls of trinkets and pictures, factories and socks, books and horses, wines and toys, delicacies and cars were tunneled toward Moscow from the Elbe to China, from the Arctic to the Black Sea. ... No one man conld ever use all the gifts, or read ail the honors. Probably no one man could ever distribute them. For weeks the Communist press and radio have been reporting the rivalry of Communist leaders everywhere to contribute imposing tokens of obeisance. What it was all worth was anyone’s guess, certainly millions of dollars.

Eastern Germany alone sent a -whole mountain of material, a seventy-car train fully loaded with gifts, to the god in Moscow. Pravda devoted its entire twelve pages to recounting the glory of this god. Millions of Bulgarians sent a message of gratitude, and likewise 9,000,000 Czechs signed birthday greetings. Factory workers and farmers pledged themselves to longer hours of work.

Faced with such an array of tangible evidence, all honest persons must admit that communism has become a way of life, a system of faith, a form of worship, a religion, if you please, to which millions of people bow the knee in worship. Many of these people undoubtedly have turned away from the false gods of Christendom and heathendom in bitter disappointment because such have not answered their prayers or brought them salvation. Others, perhaps, have heen fascinated by Russia’s display of power. But, regardless of why one is a communist, let all face up to the fact that this "red” religion, like the orthodox “isms”, is just another demon religion sponsored by the Devil. Its dogmas and teachings, just like the conflicting and confusing creedal doctrines of the others, turn men away from the true God Jehovah.

So while there is still time, in the short remaining time before Armageddon, when communism, together with all other “isms”, will meet its final and complete downfall, abandon this form of creature worship and turn to the true and living God whose name alone is Jehovah, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, thexonly Source of life! Study His Word the Bible. Learn of His purposes. Keep His commandments and live. If you do this, then you too will be able to say, as one writer of the Bible expresses it: “We know that ‘an idol has no real existence,’ and that ‘there is no God but one.’ For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there arc many ‘gods’ and many ‘Lords’—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”—1 Corinthians 8: 4-6, Itev. Stan. Ver.

NEW YORK city is a jungle of brick, stone and steel jutting out of the island rocks upon which it is built Like towering cliffs the skyscrapers push heavenward, leaving yawning chasms at whose bottoms lie the streets of the city. Through these crevices rushes the sea of humanity, to work in the morning, home in the evening, out for entertainment at night. There are about eight million people in this jungle, more than the total number of persons living in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming.

The ends of the earth are .gathered in the streets of New York, for here are found representative people from nearly every nation on earth. There is Chinatown, with its chop suey and ' curio shops; Little Italy, the oldest and smallest of many Italian districts; Harlem, with its large Negro population; Yorkville, a mixture of Germans, Irish, Czechs and Hungarians; and the lower east side; which has more Jewish residents than any other place in the world. New York is a blend of these and many other nationalities, each clinging to old customs and traditions, and yet mingling the old with the new.

Geographically the city is divided into five boroughs. Of the five only the Bronx is located on the mainland of North America. Brooklyn and Queens are on Long Island, Richmond is better known as Staten Island, and Manhattan is the island purchased from the Indians in

1626 for trinkets valued at $24.00. Today Manhattan is the heart of the world’s second-largest city, the center of its financial, cultural, fashion and entertainment world.

The hustle-bustle, noise and vastness often leave the visitor bewildered. But to the enterprising guest no other city on earth holds the wonders and sights that may be found here. This article will take its readers on a tour of a few of the many sights in Big Town, U. S. A.

Seeing the Sights

Since skyscrapers are the trademark of New York city, lot’s begin with the one that really scrapes the sky, the Empire State Building, at Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fourth street in Manhattan. It rises 1,250 feet, or 102 stories, like a gigantic finger that tickles the clouds as they pass overhead. There are observatories on the 86th and 102d floors, from which you may get a panoramic view of the monarch of American cities. Below you stretch the miles of man-made jungle. There are the cliff-dwellers' apartments jammed tightly together. Rising high and irregularly above these are the commercial buildings. Surrounding you are the Hudson and East rivers, across which stretch numerous bridges linking Manhattan with the rest of the city and with New Jersey. Other connecting links are the many tunnels which burrow beneath the rivers. Lining the waterways are the docks, which handle forty percent of the nation's exports and nearly as large a share of itj imports. Into port

COHiv the great ocean liners like the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and America- bringing visitors from every quarter of the globe- Uptown can be seen the green expanse of Central Park, with its trees, lawns, lakes and recreational facilities, set down practically in the middle, of Manhattan island. If you wish the best view possible, be certain it is a bright, clear day.

Going up Fifth Avenue to Forty-ninth street we come to an unusual group of fifteen buildings forming Rockefeller Center. This '“city within a city" is said to be one of the greatest of modern architectural achievements. A tour of the entire Center is available. The Centene ttes will show you many of the beautifully designed and deeorated buildings: the Lower Plaza, where there is outdoor ice skating in the winter and dining in the summer, the Radio City Music Hall, which is the largest theater in the wTorld, featuring a motion picture, symphony orchestra, ballet group, glee club and precision dancing by the Rockett es, and the tour is climaxed by a trip to the observation roofs, seventy stories and 850 feet above the street. While taking in all that is to be seen, look down at the 15,000 gleaming windows in Rockefeller Center and think oft he busy window' washer who keeps them clean. With up to seventy floors of space below him, truly he hangs high on a windy sill.

The dominant building in the Center is the R. C. A. building, located between Forty-ninth and Fiftieth streets on Sixth Avenue, The National Broadcasting Company has its studios here, and regular guided tours take visitors behind the scenes of radio and television, Tickets for radio shows are available, though they usually must be obtained in advance by writing the studios. Information concerning such tours and radio shows may be obtained in the lobby of the R. C. A. building.

Of feminine interest particularly will be the shops on up Fifth Avenue from

Rockefeller Center. This, fashionable shopping area contains many of New York's most exclusive shops. If your pocketbook says to you, “Don't touch/' you can still enjoy the privilege of window shopping.

Having arrived at Fifth Avenue and Fifty-ninth street, you find yourself at the entrance to Central Park. This plot, one-half mile wide and two and one-half miles long, provides a variety of recreational opportunities. There are playgrounds, ball fields, lakes for rowboating, a zoo, thirty-two miles of winding footpaths and four miles of bridle paths. Horses are available at nearby livery stables. For a quaint ride through its gracefully winding roads, take a horse-drawn Victoria or Hansom cab. These lend an air of days gone by and are a favorite with many.

Museums and Zoos

Just across the street from the west side of Central Park at Seventy-ninth street is the American Museum of Natural History. It contains exhibits of animals, birds, aquatie life and reptiles in lifelike habitat, and numerous other collections, the most spectacular of which is the Akeley Memorial Hall, where African mammals are exhibited in extremely lifelike groupings. The museum rs open daily and admission is free.

Under the same roof is the renowned Hayden Planetarium, where stars are the stars. By an astronomical' computing mechanism the myriads of stars and other heavenly bodies are vividly projected onto the rounded dome of the planetarium, giving the illusion of the night sky. The lecture subjects change every month or two and are interestingly and dramatically presented. There are several performances daily in New York's “Theater of the Sky", and the shows are well worth the cost.

Almost directly across Central Park from the planetarium may be found the most comprehensive art collection in

America. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, at Fifth Avenue and Eighty-second street, contains several hundred thousand works of art gathered from all over the world. Are you a lover of paintings, drawings or sculpture? Then here you can spend many happy hours among the large collections, ranging from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art to modern American art. The Hall of Arms and Armor may be of particular interest to the men. Or are you interested in home decorations ? Then browse through the decorative arts section with its many household objects dating from the Middle Ages. Or visit the American Wing, where there is a series of original rooms from early American houses, each completely furnished with objects of its period. Whatever your taste in art, you can likely satisfy it here.

If you have youngsters in your group, take them to the New York Zoological Gardens in the Bronx, better known as the Bronx Zoo. They will bubble over with joy as they watch the more than 2,500 animals, reptiles and birds. Here can be found all the animal favorites as well as many rare specimens such as the two duck-billed platypuses named George and Penelope. They are queer egg-laying mammals from Australia and may be seen only at certain times. A nickel is charged for admittance, which goes toward the upkeep of the worm farm so that George and Penelope's fussy and gluttonous appetites may be satisfied. Another star attraction is the Giant Panda. Also there is a special children’s zoo, where the youngsters can pet and handle the animals.

While here in the Bronx, you baseball fans can root for the home team and crunch peanuts and crackerjack to your heart’s content, for here is Yankee Stadium, home of the American League New York Yankees. Frequently called “The house that Ruth built”, it is Babe Ruth’s home stadium, and one of the largest in the country, seating 67,000. It is at 161st street and River Avenue. Just across the Harlem river is the Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants play ball. Since 1920 the two moon craters, Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds, have witnessed seventeen of a possible twentyeight World Series. Of course, no mention of baseball would be complete without Brooklyn’s pride and joy, the “Bums”. The Dodgers’ home diamond is Ebbets Field, in Brooklyn.

Also noteworthy in the field of sports is Madison Square Garden, famous indoor sports arena located at Eighth Avenue and Fiftieth street in midtown Manhattan. There the patrons are offered a wide variety of spoil and entertainment.

Coney Island and Statue of Liberty

If you visit New York in summer you will probably find it warm and humid, and there is nothing like a dip in the Atlantic to cool off. There are several beaches in the New York area, the most famous and most crowded of which is Coney Island. If you want a nice, quiet, restful afternoon on the cooling sands, don’t expect to find it at Coney Island, for it is neither quiet nor restful, and if you find a few square inches of sand you are lucky, and then you will probably have to share it with a couple of pop bottles. But if you came to ride the many thrill concessions, then Coney Island is the place. Other more pleasant beaches arc Riis Park, the Rockaways, and famous Jones Beach. To get to them consult a map or ask.

The next stop on our tour is possibly the most renowned of New York sights, the Statue of Liberty. It vTas a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, and the pedestal upon which it rests is America’s contribution to the monument. The sculptor envisioned liberty in the form of a gigantic woman breaking the bonds of tyranny and extending the light of freedom to the world. The pedestal and statue together rise 305 feet above Bedloe island, upon

which it stands. One gains an appreciation of its enormous size when consider, ing that the width of the face is ten feet and the length of the extended right arm is forty feet.

Visitors majT climb the twelve-story spiral stairway leading to the head of the statue, from there to enjoy a magnificent view of the Manhattan skyline. The ferry to Bedloe island leaves Battery landing at the lower tip of Manhattan every hour, with half-Kour schedules during the summer.

The heart of New York city is at Broadway and Fortyspcond street. This has been left until last on our tour, because, to see Times Square at its spectacular best, it must be seen after dark. Seen during the day it is old and ugly. But night paints its own peculiar form of camouflage, and the unsightly is hidden in the shadow’s. Then the huge electrical signs come to life and transform the entire square into a gaudy wonderland of flashing color. So large are these signs that at first they hardly seem large at all. Yet one is a full block long, having two statues, each of which rises five stories, and between the figures is a flowing waterfall covering almost the entire block. Many of these flashing giants rise four or five stories and are half a block long.

Along Broadway stand the many motion picture theaters, restaurants and night clubs that attract crowds and dollars. But the thing for which Broadway is most famous is its legitimate stage. Great variety is offered, from serious drama and tragedies to comedies and gay musicals. Strangely enough, most of these theaters are not on Broadway itself but on the small side streets just east and west of that famed thoroughfare. Shortly before curtain time these streets become choked with thousands of theatergoers, most of whom bought their tickets weeks or months in advance. On the American stage, New York reigns as queen.

Jetting from Sight /o Sight

Always a problem with visitors is transportation to the points of interest. Those having automobiles may wish to use them, but by all means get a map, or take the chance of getting lost. Manhattan is the borough simplest for strangers to master geographically because it is mostly laid out in a neat and logical manner, with rectangular blocks separated by wide north and south avenues and east and west cross streets. The street systems of the other boroughs follow no plan, and even native New Yorkers often get lost in the boroughs. Hence get yourself well briefed on how to get where you are going, and then do not hesitate to ask questions of policemen, taxi-drivers, or passers-by. Another difficulty which the driver must watch is New York’s great number of one-w’ay streets. Before turning onto a street look for signs on the lampposts indicating a one-way street.

Many will find it time-saving and less expensive to use the splendid subway system, which adequately serves all parts of New York city. Before starting a subway journey, get full particulars, if necessary, on which train to take, where to' transfer and where to get oft. This information can be obtained from someone knowing the city or from subway guards and change booth attendants. Know’ exactly where you are going so the one giving directions can guide you correctly. Keep in mind that the term “downtown" is used to designate stops south of a given point ami "uptown’’ means north. Make certain also whether to catch a local train, which makes stops at each station, or whether to take an express train, which makes only certain stops. Map of the subway system is in each car.

There, then, is the jungle of New York city. When you visit America’s Colossus, whether you like the city or not, you will certainly carry away with you a memory of crowds, towering man-made peaks and other wonders. In brief, you will say, “What a sight 1”

MEET THE MURDERESS

THE prisons, hospitals and morgues of this land daily become the gloating possessors of more broken victims of marijuana* This devilish drug has proved itself a hideous cancer that has reached out with its groping feelers to be most brutally felt among the younger-age groups, there striking and sapping the vigor, strength and,mentality from its victims. Starting innocently as a jest, a dare or just a desire of the user to keep up with his pals and associates, its story ends all too often behind bars, in asylums or hospitals, or in a sudden ride to the grave at express train speed for the addict, for his victim, or for both.

Though admittedly not as potent in its violence as many other drugs, such as heroin or opium, the fact that marijuana is so much more plentiful and more easily obtained in the United States than the others has made it this country's leading dope menace. In 1931 the marijuana file of the United States Narcotic Bureau was less than two inches thick. The rise since has been almost meteoric, with particularly zooming gains noted for 1935 and 1936. Today the reports on this single drug fill many large cabinets.

However, this docs not at all mean that the use of marijuana is a modern-day fad or innovation. Its East hashish, and as such it was well known to the ancients. The celebrated Greek poet Horner wrote that it made men forget their homes and turned them to swine. In the year 1090 the military and religious order of the Assassins, deriving its name from the Arabic hashsha-shin. was founded in Persia. This cult's history is one of rank cruelty and murder, and it is of interest to mark the fact that its members wore confirmed addicts of hashish, And what it did for that Persian order’ in spurring it on to ramp-

^Marijuana!

ant slaughter, it continues to do today in providing the spark behind the noted outbursts of the Moros and Malays when they “run amok” in tribal violence.

Nor docs this modern assassin confine its havoc to the jungles. It stalks the streets of the teeming metropolis, lies in wait at the hot dog and shoe shine stands, appears unexpectedly at many of the most exclusive clubs. On January 12, 1948, a United Press dispatch carried the charge of a Los Angeles judge that dope (and most prevalently, marijuana) was sold in that city like speak-easy cocktails. He revealed that within sixty days one hundred of the weed's addicts were picked up within the.very shadow of th,e hall of justice. Virtually anyone willing to pay for marijuana can get it. The standard price per cigarette is from 15 to 25 cents, thus allowing the manufacturer an approximate 1,000-percent profit. In the exclusive spots the credulous addict may pav as much as 50 cents or

a dollar tor a smoke. His supplier xvill breathe to him in a confidential whisper, “It packs an extra wallop ...” Thus the fool is fooled and it becomes easier for him to part with his money and his

Indian name is brains.

What is this killer that overpowers its victims with a deadly pincers movement on the brain to stultify reason and virtue and give free rein to sensuality? To the pharmacist it is Cannabis indica, and to the botanist, Indian hemp. Like the weed it is, it grows like a rank plague, reaching Goliathlike proportions of from 3- to 1.6-foot stalks. Interestingly, the plant is of male and female varieties, the difference being manifest at the time of flowering. The males pompously appear in six-inch sprays atop the stalks and spread

their pollen profusely. The females, in ladylike fashion, remain inconspicuously hidden among the small leaves, hut by their works become Delilahs of doom. From them are born the seeds, enclosed in pods, that turn from mottled green to yellow and finally brown as they ripen. The fruit of this womb proves deadly, for in the absence of her mate the female leaf, stem and blossom “go wild” and secrete the poisonous intoxicant.

Its Criminal Record

Originally the United States marijuana problem was centered in the Southwest, where it filtered in from Mexico. However, the rapid spread of the habit has demonstrated eloquently that the plant can be grown in all parts of the nation; and large, flourishing crops have been uncovered throughout the eastern states. With the wildfirelike spread has grown a conflicting and hazy conception of marijuana’s effects. However, it was not long before alert criminologists and others noted that paralleling the rise of marijuana addiction was the almost uncontrollable growth of juvenile delinquency. More seasoned criminals as well have been linked to the drug in far too many cases to dismiss it as mere coincidence.

A New Orleans survey revealed that of 437 persons qf varying ages arrested for a multiple assortment of crimes, 125 were marijuana addicts. Of 37 murderers, 17 used marijuana. But adding to the pall of the crimes is the manner in which they are inspired.

How the dreaded dope seizes possession of the brain to prompt its wretched acts is readily seen in the quality of the atrocities themselves with which the records reeked so prominently in the marijuana heyday of the late thirties. In the company of addict friends a young Chicago girl attended numerous “reefing” or “viping” parties. During one of these, while burdened in mind with worry of much overdue homework, she suddenly thought of a perfectly “reasonable” solution to her problem, and without the slightest hesitancy rose, walked to the window and hurtled to a crashing death below. The official police records read “suicide”, but should read “murder”, with marijuana the murderer. Another shattered Chicago mother, watching her daughter die as an indirect result of marijuana addiction, reported that at least 50 of the girl’s friends were addicts. This reminds one of the gang of young hoodlum thieves with a chain of 38 “jobs” a little over ten years ago in Ohio. All “reefing men”, they pointed to their school days and the merciless merchandising of marijuana to students by traders in the weed as the start of their addiction.

A crime emphasizing sheer senselessness in its raw horror occurred in Florida, where a marijuana-fired youth w7as arrested as he staggered about the house in which he had freshly axed to death his father, mother, two brothers and a sister.

Today the record continues as black or blacker than ever. In 1947 a small-scale marijuana ring operated by a 19-year-old girl and three teen-aged boys was broken up in the Bronx, borough of New’ York city. During January of 1950 it was brought to light in a Brady, Texas, murder trial that at least one of two young women who murdered a motorist with whom they rode had been under, the influence of marijuana the night of the crime. And as recent to this writing as March 1950 a 17-year-old boy was sentenced in New York’s Bronx County Court to from ten to twenty years for the confessed stabbing of another youth in a street fight w’hile oppressed by the devilish weed. Obviously the passing of time, rather than counteracting the spread of the habit, has only made marijuana easier to get, and when motion picture stars and other notables are found flouting the law almost openly, the result is only the addition of insult to an already grave injury to society.

Its Use

Cloaking the whole hideous picture in the manner of a gruesome shroud is the curtain of general ignorance yet prevalent concerning marijuana. Some will wink at the practice because of its common usage. Conflicting reports, some tending to talk down its menace as a stupefier and associate with crime and juvenile perversion, increase this tendency. But regardless of the relative ways in which it affects different individuals, however worse some other narcotics may be, despite the fact that a stranger can “crash” a marijuana “tea pad” much more' easily than he can a good, exclusive opium den, the bald facts testify of themselves that marijuana is the pronounced narcotic menace of Western civilization. So much for granted have some taken this menace that many even openly advocate legalizing it. If such au eventuality came to pass, it would require little or no imagination to foresee what the relentless advertising powers would do about it. How many miles would one walk for a “Marijuana”? How many doctors would testify to preferring it above other cigarettes ? Perhaps the motto would be, "They gratify!” Whatever else, the end result could only be the rapid degradation of the masses who wmuld be strangled on the advertising garble.

Quite simply, the truth is that marijuana is the unknown quantity among narcotics. When one hegins its indulgence he does not know how it will affect him. To many it may prove indeed little more than the “lift” they desire, at least at first. But it never stops there. The confirmed addict smokes from six to ten cigarettes a day, and at this accelerated rate he learns quicklv the later consequences of his habit, Conventional marijuana smokers assemble together in salons or apartments called “tea pads’. There they are usually relaxed and tend to display their noted friendly atmosphere. Early signs of the drug’s effects appear in expanded egos, frequent bois-tcrousness and, if ruusie is handy as it generally is, a compelling desire to dance. The addict’s tendency at this time is to feel himself quite capable in any field to which he takes a fancy. While under the spell or feeling “high”, he is in his own eye, irresistible and allconquering. The most absurd things become veryr plausible; time and distance fold up like an accordion, and all normal perspective of these vanishes in the later stages. The last, trancelike stage is considered the most dangerous. Then the addict may be given over to general pugnaciousness or innumerable acts of uncontrolled violence. Frequently he is known to strip off clothing, smash furniture, and emit loud screams. One consolation remains in that if he goes this far he will usually climax his orgy by passing out cold. At last he is completely harmless, and on waking will absolutely “remember nothing” that happened.

In the face of these facts it is easy to understand the next very significant addiction trait, the loss of normally present inhibitions. It is contended that marijuana will not alter the basic personality, but only bring out numerous latent desires. However, this is enough to do the damage. A person is possessed of certain irrational or impure desires, but through common inhibitions refrains from their practice. He comes under the almost hypnotic stupor of the weed and abandons all restraint. He feels irrepressible, a world beater, Beason and caution vanish like an aspirin in water to be overtaken by the rule of desire, lust and passion alone. The rest is well known—known to criminologists who have studied the consequences, to police who have run down the addicts and broken their crimes, or to families that have lost their children to the hospitals, prisons and graves on marijuana’s call list. Each passing year only adds to marijuana’s ancient record to stump it again and again as a ruthless killer.

Religious Fury Feeds the Flames in Quebec

BURNING hate continues to flare in the solid Catholic province of Quebec. Over and over again in non-Catholic lands and wherever she is in the minority, the Roman Hierarchy has continually chanted her high regard for individual freedom of worship. But “actions speak louder than words”, and where she is in control and able to wield influence over the state and an overwhelming majority of the people, Catholic deeds betray religious hate and prejudice.

On the night of Wednesday, April 12, 1D50, a local group of Protestant Christian Brethren assembled for their services in the town of Shawin-igan Falls, Quebec. Observers slated that at about 9 pm. a member of a growing mob entered and began to ridicule the gathering of twentyseven members of the sect. The disturber was ejected, providing the cue for the mob to go into action. Immediately a major barrage was opened on the plain store building used by tie Brethren os a chape]. The hall was shelled for an hour with etones, empty bottles, iee and eggs, and soon after the attack began the marooned sect members were invited by the hall owner to take refuge in his upstairs apartment.

<£ Meanwhile the mob showed its motive of senseless hate as it bitterly hammered the empty hall. After the front entrance and plate glass windows had been smashed, some mobsters made their way into the building to continue the destruction. Like a pillaging army the hoodlums proceeded to destroy everything in sight. All furnishings, including fifty chairs, some tables, the pulpit and even the electrical fixtures, were demolished, leaving the hall a barren waste, while outside a sect members ear was being pounded into junk.

<f The moboerats, who were estimated to number from 200 to 1,500 throughout the evening and against whom the police claimed they were entirely helpless, went on to express their snpreme hatred of God’s Word. Copies of the Bible were removed from the elm pel tn the street, where, along with hymn books found in the hall, they were torn to shreds ami littered in the gutters.

It was revealed locally that Paul Boeda, leader of the Shawinigan Falls group of Brethren, hud been forced aboard a train a month earlier with the threat, “Never come back.” Police also said that appearances of the Brethren on the street corners in groups had “incensed” many residents. At least one press correspondent was alert enough to link the event with “the January 19 ‘kidnapping’ of two mem hers of the Witnesses of Jehovah sect in Joliette. The Witnesses . . . were dragged from their boarding house . . . with strict orders to ‘get out of here for good’”. (See Awake! April 8, 1D50.)

<£ At this same time, Jehovah’s witnesses were reaching the people of Hull, Quebec, with a leaflet left in the doors by night. At once, Catholic tactics came to light when a local Roman Catholic school gave its students time off from classes to gather as much of this literature from the homes as possible and burn it in the schoolyard. Talk spread of lying in wait for any future distributors. Exposing the dement of prejudice present in such actions and linking it with the Joliette and Shawinigan Falls assaults against free expression and free worship, the Ottawa Evening Citizen commented editorially in defense of the law as upheld by the Canadian Supreme Court. The paper said, in part:

Cj “Persons who have taken part in these acts of intimidation excuse themselves as defenders of religious traditions against which these sectarians are zealous propagandists. But this provocation gives no excuse for authorities to persecute or for individuals to take the law into their own handy. The sectarians arc within their rights to preaeh and publish their beliefs. Those who dislike them have the alternatives of discussion or silence.”

For several years the Catholic ire has raged over the distribution by Jehovah’s witnesses of a leaflet entitled “Quebec’s Burning Hate for God and Christ and Freednm Is the Shame of All Canada”, Protest, deny, rage they have, but with each passing year their renewed assaults on freedom where they arc completely free to do otherwise have more than justified the leaflet’s publication. The current incidents again unmask their feelings: to everything and everybody not for them they would deny even the l ight of existence. They arc condemned out of their own mouths.

God’s Everlasting Covenant

TODAY the nations engage in war with each other. What shall the Christian do under such circumstances ! Is such taking of life proper! And are there any circumstances under which nian may take life ?

God’s law regarding the taking of life was first given to the survivors of the great deluge in Noah’s day. The flood had ended, and at the command of God Noah and his family went forth out of the ark. Those eight persons were the only human creatures then left on the earth. God then made known to Noah His covenant concerning the sanctity of life, and which is called “the everlasting covenant”. Its terms apply to all living creatures, and it shall stand forever. The everlasting covenant is with and applies to man, beast and fowls. (Genesis 9:12) That all creatures might have a tangible token of that covenant God set the rainbow in the cloud; and when one looks upon the rainbow he is forcibly reminded of God’s everlasting covenant.

The terms of the everlasting covenant are stated in these words: “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But the flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”—Genesis 9:2-6.

No man can give life, and, therefore, no man can take away life except he act strictly in aceord with the law of God concerning the same. The command given to individuals by Almighty God is: “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13) This command is not a contradiction of Genesis 9:6: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” If a man commits murder, he shall be punished by the taking of his life, and the executioner of the murderer cannot be self-appointed, but must act as the representative of God. The words of the foregoing text, “for in the image of God made he man,” do not refer to the creation of Adam, but mean that the executioner of the murderer acts as the representative of God and upon authority delegated by God and therefore acts in the image of God. Noah was righteous in the sight of God because of his faith and obedience, and the commission God gave him was that he should execute the willful murderer of another.—Exodus 21:12-24; Leviticus 24:16-21.

It was in this capacity as God’s executioner that Moses, Joshua and others were commanded to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Such Canaanites were opponents of God and servants of the Devil and engaged in persecuting God’s chosen people. These Canaanites who fought against God’s chosen people well

piemre mose nanons ana peupito of earth today who practice demon religion, oppose God, and wickedly persecute His chosen people now on earth, and which makes them therefore God's avowed enemies. The Lord Christ Jesus, as Jehovah’s Executioner, will punish and completely destroy all of God's enemies at what the Scriptures call “Armageddon”. —Psalm 21:8; Revelation 16:14,16.

The destruction of all God’s enemies will vindicate His name and supremacy. (Psalm 83: 2J8) He is the source of life, and from those who willfully oppose Him He takes what little life they have. It is therefore written in God’s Word: ‘A time for every purpose under heaven: a time to kill, and a time to heal? (Ecclesiastes 3:1'3) God determines the time and occasion to take life, and therefore it is written: “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompeuce,” (Deuteronomy 32:35) “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”—Romans 12:19.

Two men engage to fight a duel, and in doing so one of them is killed. In most countries the l$w of the land declares that the man who killed his antagonist in the duel is a murderer. When two nations declare war against each other, or begin war without a declaration, and the citizens of each nation respectively are required to go on the battlefield and kill, there is in fact no difference between such and the two men fighting a duel. In both instances the “everlasting covenant” is violated. When a nation prosecutes a war of conquest against another people in order to gain more territory or other things of material value, such is a violation of the everlasting covenant. If a people are attacked by invaders and those who are attacked defend themselves and their families, during whieh defense some are killed, such is not a delation of the everlasting covenant, because the wrongdoer is the aggressor.

(Exodus 22: i, 2) when a nation goes lu war for commercial reasons and men volunteer to go and fight, and do so, and kill, such is a violation of the everlasting covenant, because it is the taking of life without authority from Jehovah God.

Because a Christian has agreed to do the will of God a Christian properly refuses to kill voluntarily, because the same is a violation of the everlasting covenant. For this reason those wholly devoted to God and His kingdom refuse to go to war against their fellow creatures, because they prefer to obey God and suffer at the hands of men or earthly governments rather than to disobey God and suffer complete destruction. It should be kept in mind that the law of Almighty God is far above the laws that are made by earthly governments.

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