Awake!, March 22, 1953

Download: PDF — Awake!, March 22, 1953

LENT—A CHRISTIAN CUSTOM OR A PAGAN PRACTICE?

What is its origin?

Reading—a Dying Art?

Most people can read, but many do not

The Fabulous Football Pools

Ten million Britons gamble in a most amazing enterprise

Brotherhood Week” Misses the Mark

ml Christ would be out of place

FEBRUARY 22, 1955 semimonthly

THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL

News sources that are able to keep you awake to t|ie vital issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. “Awake 1” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, 1* free io publish facts. It is not bound by political'ambitions or obligations; it is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; 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.

“Awake 1” uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its own correspondents are on all continents, in scores of nations. From the four corners of the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal’s viewpoint is not narrow, but is International. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass' in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.

“Awake I” pledges itself to 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 righteous New World.

Get acquainted with “Awake!” Keep awake by reading “Awake!”

Published Semimonthly By WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, INC.

Brooklyn 1, N. YM U. S. A,

117 Adame Street

N. H. Knorei,.

Printed this i»ue: 1,300,000

LMiMtM In whlefc tkta mMulne li poblhhed; Reminwcithly—Afrlkanns, Engltih, Finnish, French, Herman, Hollandlsh, Norwecian, Spanish, Swedish. Monthly—Danish, Greek, Porlupeae, Ukrainian.

Offices Yearly subscription Rate

An er It a, U-S.r 117 Adans St., Brooklyn 1, N.Y. SI AHtralli, 11 Beresford Rd., RtrathHeld, N.tf.W. 8* Canada, ID Irvin Aye,, Toronto !5, Ontario >1 EmJaad, 34 Craven Terrace, London, W, 3 7s Seith Africa, Private Baf, P.O. Eiandafratein,

TransTail Ta

Grant Suites, SwreMry

E-ntVTcd aa iecond-clus matter at Brooklyn, N. Y.

Five cent a a copy

RirhiUlaMI ahunld he dent to office In yew Country in compliant with refttlattonp to fftsarante* safe delivery of money. BemlttiDCw are accepted al Brooklyn from countries where no office U located, by international money order only, Subscription rates in different countriea are here stated In local currency. Kotlea of expiration (with renewal Mank) is sent at least two issues before subscription expires. Cham* of address when mt to our office may be eipccted effective within one month. Send your old as well as new address.

Art of March 3, 1878. Printed in U- S. A

CONTENTS

What Makes Bad Men Heroes?

Lent—a Christian Custom or a

Pagan Practice?

Skin Diving in Cape Waters

Ever Knock on Wood?

Science of Soil Mechanics

Reading—a Dying Art?

Colorful New Words

Fancy Foods for China’s 400 Million

The Fabulous Football Pools

“Mankind’s Last Experiment"

Grateful Babies

The H-Bomb or Blood Transfusions?

“Your Word Is Truth"

“Brotherhood Week" Misses the Mark

Jehovah’s Witnesses Preach in All

the Earth—Guatemala

Do You Know?

What Makes Bad Men Heroes?

SOMEONE once said, “One murder makes a villain, millions a hero.” The grim import of that utterance has been dramatized only too hideously ever since the days of Nimrod, who, by taking the lives of countless animals, made himself a hero. Of course, the Pharaohs and the Caesars specialized in the slaughter of men and thereby made themselves heroes. In fact, if we take a close look, most rulers in history and the men who bear the title “great” are noted for their many killings, but they became heroes in the eyes of the people. On a smaller scale we have the bad men of the “wild West” period of the United States. The men with only one notch on their six shooters were only villains, but the men with a dozen notches were heroes. But the strangest part of it all is that the really bad men went down in history, often receiving more glory than the lawmen who put them six feet under the sod. What makes bad men heroes?

Is there a cloak of glamour around a notoriously bad man that bedazzles the mind? It seems that way. But how did the glamour get there in the first place? It cannot all be attributed to legends, books or movies. They may indirectly glamorize a bad man. But when a clear-cut memorial is made to a bad man, it ought to provoke some hard thinking. Strangely enough, when the news came out about the latest memorial for Jesse James, few questioned the propriety of it. But an editorial in the Willimantic, Connecticut, Chronicle of August 3, 1954, took note: “Not the ballad singers nor the myth makers but the psychiatrists should explain why America is fond of its rogues and scoundrels—so much so that the town of Adair, Iowa, will put up a monument to the memory of Jesse James, bandit. And not only the town, but the Rock Island Railroad which Jesse robbed, is pitching in for the monument. . . . What was there about those bandits who led sheriffs and marshals merry chases over the plains and mountains? Billy the Kid, Sam Bass and the others live on in American song and folk lore while the men of the law who tracked them down get little more than footnotes. Was it adventure outside the law?”

What has been the effect of glamorizing adventures outside the law? Could it be a, subtle stimulation for more adventures outside the law? If adults can glamorize bad men, children see no reason why they cannot identify themselves with the “bad men” of the movies and comics.

But now what is the cause of this weird phenomenon? There are two principal reasons. The first is that bad-men heroes have usually received the blessing of some false religion. Nimrod, using religion, became a god. The Caesars, using religion, were regarded as divine. It was the embracing of the apostate Christian religion that helped make murderer Constantine a hero. It is said that “no emperor has received more praises than Constantine.” He is called the “first Christian emperor.” When we take off Constantine’s cloak of glamour, what do we find? We find that after his so-called conversion he continued murdering. Says Botsford’s History of Rome (page 282): “Let us not imagine that his avowed conversion improved his character. He continued to be what he had been, —a man without heart or scruple, more pagan perhaps than Christian, ready to service himself by hypocrisy or bloodshed.” This is Christendom’s hero!

Bloodshed was also the favorite diet of Charlemagne, another hero blessed by the clergy. Grand Inquisitor Peter Arbuez, who burned 40,000 people at the stake, was made a saint by the pope in 1860. The pope made concordats with Hitler and Mussolini, both one-time heroes in their own lands. And what shall we say of Franco, blessed by the clergy and called by a cardinal a "Christian gentleman”?

We need not think it incredible that the clergy have blessed bad men when we realize that Christendom’s clergy have blessed the biggest wars in history. H. D. Lass-well, in his book, Propaganda Technique in the World War, page 73, explains: “The churches of practically every description can be relied upon to bless a popular war, and to see in it an opportunity for the triumph of whatever godly design they choose to further. Some care must, of course, be exercised to facilitate the transition from the condemnation of wars in general, which is a traditional attitude on the part of the Christian sects, to the praise of a particular war. This may be expedited by securing suitable interpretations of the war very early in the conflict by conspicuous clericals; the lesser lights twinkle after.”

Even modern-day gangsters receive the religious glamour treatment. Said the Christian Century (May 2, 1951): “Last week a notorious gangster . . . was buried from a Roman Catholic church in Brooklyn. . . . The mantle of respectability . . . was thrown over this wicked life by the church. Who can estimate the influence on Brooklyn boys when church and society make such a display out of a typical gangster’s funeral? When ‘respectable’ elements combine to glamorize despoilers and parasites, who can blame the children if they elect to follow the hoodlums’ example?”

Bad men of the wild West occasionally get the religious limelight. The Denver Catholic Register (October 27,1946) went out of its way trying to prove that Frank and Jesse James “were always good Catholics.”

A clue for the second big reason why bad men are made heroes is found at Proverbs 29:16 (An Amer. Trans.): “When the wicked are in power, crime increases; but the righteous will see their downfall.” The wicked are now ruling under the fiendish misleading of the chief “bad man,” Satan the Devil, who is "the god of this system of things.” No wonder crime increases! But soon now all criminals and false religions under their crazy god, Satan, will be wiped out forever at Jehovah’s war of Armageddon. Gone, too, will be all hero worship. For the new world that Jehovah brings in is one in which “righteousness is to dwell.” No one will enjoy everlasting life in the new world who does not practice righteousness. Says the Almighty: “I the Lord [Jehovah J love justice, I hate robbery and crime.”—2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Peter 3:13, New World Trans.; Isai&h 61: 8, An Amer. Trans.

ON February 23 of this year a very large part of Christendom, both Catholic and Protestant, will begin the observance of the spring fast known as Lent. It is a fast regarded as commemorative of Jesus’ forty-day fast in the desert, a fast inspired by the thought of fellowship with Christ in his sufferings during this time and during the events leading to his death.

Lenten fast days, it is well to observe, are totally different from the fast kept by faithful men mentioned in the sacred Scriptures. The former are mechanical; the latter are spiritual. Lenten fasts are rarely connected with prayer and spiritual services; whereas those of faithful men were always closely associated with prayer as a preparation for some important ministerial work.—Acts 13:2, 3; 14:23.

To the majority, Lent is simply the observing of days set aside by the pope or a priest or some other worldly ecclesiastical body, during which time one is to abstain from certain foods, whereas proper religious fasting is not a command of the church or any institution or man; it is a voluntary act on the part of an individual, a self-imposed fast. It is not an ascetic afflicting of the body with hunger, as though bodily pain or discomfort were in itself meritorious. Proper fasting is not done for merit. Rather, it is a natural consequence

at a. ftayan J^tactica?

What hat lent to do with Christianity? Did Christ institute it? Did his apostles or disclpl*s koop such a fast? What is its origin? This article answors.

of strong emotion. It shows that the in? dividual’s mind or emotions are so burdened with a sense of sin or so loaded with grief or thought that the body refuses food. Fasts usually bespeak sorrow and repentance. To be acceptable, however, they must be accompanied by a correction of past sins. Repetitious and insincere fasts are a mockery. They are deplored in the Scriptures and an abomination to God.

Jehovah himself exposes such hypocritical fasting. “When they fast,” he says, “I will not hear their cry.” “Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?” No. Rather than an ascetic afflicting of the body with hunger, he says: “Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.”—Jeremiah 14:12; Isaiah 58:5, 6, 8, 9, Am. Stan. Ver.

Jesus also condemned mechanical fasting and a hypocritical show of piety. “When you are fasting,” said he to his disciples, “stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when fasting, oil your head and wash your face, that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father who is in secrecy; then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you.”—Matthew 6:1618, New World Trans.

Pagan Fasts

Fasts that were accompanied with showy and costly processions and with pompous and elaborate exhibitions of priests and trained artists were all of pagan origin and therefore condemned by God. The ancient pagans believed that human enjoyments were displeasing to their gods and that voluntary sufferings, bodily mortifications, loud crying and even the sacrifice of life itself were a mean§ of appeasing or placating their gods. Faithful prophets of Jehovah made mockery of such worship. —1 Kings 18:26-29.

Among pagan nations fasting was required of individuals, <3f groups and of the whole community at intervals and on special occasions. Fasts were required when danger threatened, when preparations were made for the reception of a sacred food and as a ritual of mourning; Pagan priests and prophets fasted to experience the seeing of visions and the hearing of strange voices. In more recent years fasts and hunger strikes were a means of protest against alleged injustices of the law of the land. Men of different lands and ages have bound themselves by an oath to take no food until they have performed some act of revenge for their own honor or country. The late Mohandas Gandhi risked death voluntarily by fasting, in an effort to restore peace in hostile areas of his homeland. The Bible relates a case where certain Jews “formed a. conspiracy and bound themselves with a curse, saying they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.”—Acts 23:12, New World Trans.

Pagan fasts were not fasts carried on in secrecy. They were formal and external acts, the kind condemned by Christ. What, then, are we to say of Lent? Is it a Christian fast? Does it give honor to Christ? Did Christ’s disciples keep a forty-day spring fast? Let us turn to the Bible and to ecclesiastical and profane history to discover the origin of Lent.

The Bible nowhere mentions “Lent.” Cruden’s A Complete Concordance makes this enlightening observation: “It does not appear by our Saviour’s own practice, or any commands that he gave to his disciples, that he instituted any particular fasts, or enjoined any to be kept out of pure devotion.” Harper’s Bible Dictionary enlarging on this point says: “The act [of fasting] was considered inconsistent with the imminent approach of the Messiah. . . . Jesus . . . asked his followers to avoid the self-advertised piety of the fasting Pharisees. . , . Not fasting, but joy, was the keynote of Christ’s message (John 15 ; 11; Heb, 12:2).”

Since the Bible does not command or mention a forty-day spring fast, from where, then, came this observance? The historian Alexander Hislop answers in his The Two Babylons, saying: “The forty days’ abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, *in the spring of the year,’ is still observed by the Yezid is or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians.”

The Encyclopedia Americana declares that fasting was so widely diffused “that it was practised in nearly all the nations of antiquity.” The eminent archaeologist, Wilkinson, testifies in his Egyptian Antiquities that centuries before Christ the Egyptians observed a forty-day fast. And Landseer’s Sabean Researches, page 112, says that this Egyptian spring fast of forty days was expressly in honor of the demon god Osiris or Adonis. The Encyclopedia Britannica declares that “the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians resembled the Babylonians and Assyrians in that fast was largely used by them in connection with penance and the offering of sacrifice.” Humboldt, in his Mexican Researches, states that the ancient natives of Mexico “three days after the vernal equinox . . . began a solemn fast of forty days in honor of the sun.” What more conclusive proof is needed that this forty-day Lenten fast is of pagan origin?

Becomes Part of Christendom’s Religion

How, then, did pagan Lent become a part of Christendom’s religion? McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopaedia tells us that Lent “was introduced into the Church slowly and by degrees.” That Christ’s immediate disciples did not keep the fast is evident from what Cassianus, a Marseilles monk who lived in the fifth century, wrote: “It ought to be known that the observance of the forty days [of Lent] had no existence, so long as the perfection of the primitive Church remained inviolate.” After the death of the apostles these pagan doctrines began to creep in. At first there was a forty-hour fast instead of forty days of fasting. Irenaeus, one of the early “church fathers,” said: “Some think they ought to fast for one day, others for two days, and others even for several, while others reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast.” Faced with these facts the Catholic Encyclopedia (vol. 9, page 152) declared: “We may then fairly conclude that Irenaeus about the year 190 knew nothing of any Easter fast of forty days.

The same inference must be drawn from the language of Tertullian only a few years later.... And there is the same silence observable in all the pre-Nicene Fathers, though many had occasion to mention such an Apostolic institution if it had existed.”

According to The Lutheran Advocate, “in 325 A.D. the observance of forty days is mentioned for the first time, in the fifth canon of ’Nicaea.” However, the histOTian J. R. Schlegel contends that it was not until “the sixth century, or as others say Gregory n in the eighth century, added four days more to this fast [which was thirty-six days long], so as to make it full forty days.” The Encyclopedia Americana declares that “in its [Lent’s] present form it dates from the 9th century.” As for Ash Wednesday, the day which begins Lent, McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopcedia reports that there is “a perfect silence in the most ancient writings.” “Excommunication” was pronounced for all those who failed to keep the pagan Lent during the seventh and eighth centuries. “In later times,” say McClintock and Strong, “some persons who ate flesh during Lent were punished with the loss of their teeth.”

Pre-Lenten revelry turned decent people into raving maniacs. McClintock-and Strong’s Cyclopaedia calls the spectacle on this occasion “most ridiculous,” saying: “After giving themselves up to all kinds of gaiety and licentiousness during the Carnival, till twelve o’clock on Tuesday night, the people go on Ash-Wednesday morning into the churches.” Penny Cyclopedia identifies such feasting, dancing, masquerading and buffoonery with the pagan Saturnalia of the ancient Romans. The “weeping” because of no meat and then the “rejoicing” on Sundays with much feasting are directly traceable to the ancient pagan custom of Lent attached to the annual worship of the demon god Tammuz.

Christian Attitude Toward Lent

In view of these facts, what should the Christian’s attitude be toward Lent? He should have the mind of God, who commands : “Learn not the way of the heathen, ... For the customs of the people are vain/’ Paul sounded a similar warning: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers.” Christianity allows no room for paganism within its ranks. Lent is of demon and not of divine origin. Its enforced observance imposes an intolerable burden on the people, encourages idleness and its attendant evils, and tends undeniably to profanation, hypocrisy and the extinction of vital godliness.—Jeremiah 10:1-3; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, New World Trans,

The observances of days, months, times and years was a characteristic bondage of the Mosaic law from which Christians are freed. The regulations for fasting in Lent, which are annually published in every diocese, the commandment of abstinence from flesh on various days, and the enforcement of these man-made rules by threats of excommunication, and by other penalties also, are/ an unwarrantable infringement of Christian liberty and in direct violation of Jehovah’s law, which says: “Nothing [by way of food] is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified through God’s word and prayer over it.” This same supreme Judge says through his apostle that those who ‘forbid to marry and command to abstain from foods/ are those who have fallen “away from the faith”; those who pay “attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons.”—1 Timothy 4:1-5, New World Trans.; Galatians 4-9, 10-

To those who delegate to themselves authority to decide what others may eat or drink and to punish the others for nonconformity to their decision, Paul’s words may properly be applied: “Who are you to judge the house servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Jehovah can make him stand. For the kingdom of God does not mean eating and drinking, but means righteousness and peace and joy with holy spirit.”—Romans 14:4, 17, New World Trans.

Christian Fasts

Does this mean that Christians never fast? No. Individual Christians might choose to fast on occasion for spiritual reasons. But for the Christian organization as such to fast now would be a self-imposed fast, one not commanded by God. It would be out of order. Just as the disciples were not to fast at the time of the first presence of Christ the Bridegroom, so true Christians today do not need to in the time of his second presence, ft is time for rejoicing, not mourning.

If, however, a Christian is confronted with a special trial, or exacting assignment, or is grief-stricken over some trespass, his concern or sorrow might be reflected in abstinence from food. He might prefer to fast in order that his mind may engross itself in deep reflection and meditation, uninterrupted by the intake of food for a season.

While he might find occasion to fast from the material, he will never fast from the spiritual food, which embraces both the learning and doing of Jehovah’s will. His fasts will be minus all paganism. He will heed the command: “‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, 'and quit touching the unclean thing,’ 'and I will take you in.’ ” His fast will be patterned after the Scriptures, without public announcement, without a sad countenance, but one in secrecy; “then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you.”—2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Matthew 6:18, New World Trans.

skin »v*'**<>W**

,* By ‘'Awoke!” correipond*nl tn South AfrlcO

/ HILDREN at picnic spots next to ... the water’s edge cannot imagine it in their fondest dreams. Tourists, who traveled hundreds of miles to swim in i -the sea, pass by not even a hundred yards jflL from it, but very few stop and -

take the trouble of investigating the very finest part of the ocean. Those who know it call it a new and silent world, a kingdom of fantastic panoramas and legendary beauty. Come along, bring your water goggles and follow the skin diver into his domain under the surface of the foaming breakers.

The first dive is clumsy and your goggles slip off. Scared? No? Then try again. This time you are more careful. Down slowly now. And then with the first sight you hardly believe your own eyes. Huge rocks loom up ahead. Every color surrounds you as your flippers swiftly carry you along with the current. And what a diversity of shells! Radiant ones, plain ones, big and small, all tenaciously clamping on to the rocks. Below you the bed displays an even greater variety of colors than the rocks, with pretty anemones that olose up as you touch them, attractive sea urchins and starfish—all this beauty contributes to the enchanted hold that this very first sight has taken on you.

Suddenly a whole shoal of bream appears. They tear in and out of the tiny cracks as they snatch their lit-fie bits of food, then are gone just asf quickly as they appeared. But now a bigger fish comes hurriedly around a rock, followed by two more. They glide around in the pool, and come so near that you can almost touch them, but as soon as you move and are observed they flee in all directions, forgetting about the food they were so anxiously seeking. But nothing happens. “Hang on, fellows, it’s all safe!” They slow down, and then in curiosity begin to turn around to find out exactly what is going on.

,,-g,

5 '

You move on, and now find your way obstructed by a thick patch of seaweed, toward which the current dangerously carries you. Do not panic, your guide signals, as he capably maneuvers his way through the labyrinth of green stems. Another pool, right in the midst of the dense forest of seaweed, has an abundance of fish. These do not even seem to worry about the strange intruders, except for getting out of the way when you come too near.

The largest shells you have ever seen clamp on to the rocks not five yards away. Nice to eat, they say. Then your guide points to rock lobsters sitting side by side in a long crevice. Their long feelers point straight in your direction. When your hand moves right, the feelers also go right. Move it back, and they go back. As soon as you risk it too near and touch one feeler, the vVhole bunch vanishes, as if informed by radio that there is an intruder. And you? What a fright you got! The first thing you do is to see if all your fingers are still there! Anyway, if they can get in, and so quickly at that, they must be able to get out sometime to hunt for their food. Reasoning thusly, you happily leave them behind.

Soon, yes, far too soon, the cold tells you to get out. As you stand on the rocks again feelings of pride for the achievement, mixed with regret that you are still such a “softy,” have the mastery over you. In the warm South African sun you soon recover from that shakiness caused by the cold; but now you are quite lazy about going in again. All right, then, listen to what your guide has to tell you about the underwater world and its inhabitants, curiosities and dangers. .

During World War H skin diving came into the limelight. (The term "skin” diving is applied since the diver has no suit like the deep-sea diver, his clothing consisting merely of a bathing costume and sometimes a jersey that helps him keep warm.) Particularly in the later stages of the war the forces built up squads of underwater mine-demolition teams. A Frenchman, Cousteau, developed the celebrated “aqualung,” which enables a diver to stay underwater for very long periods without any contact with the surface. The times vary from a quarter of an hour to two hours, depending on the type of cylinder (containing compressed air) that you are using. With this device depths between three and five hundred feet were reached, some, however, ending fatally for the explorers. It is quite safe, though, down to a depth of two hundred feet.

After the war the experience gained at skin diving was used by these men for their own benefit Underwater fishing, or spear-fishing, an entirely new sport, spread all through the world like wildfire. This sport not only has made its mark on the literature of today, so that one finds books and numerous articles on the subject, but it also has provided the spiciest material for fiction stories in popular magazines and periodicals.

Underwater Fishing

Whereas their companions in other lands enjoy a large scope of visibility underwater, Cape skin divers have to be content with a maximum range of about twenty-five to thirty feet on a very calm day, and far less when the “Cape Doctor”—that notorious southeast wind—stirs up the coastal waters. Conditions then are hopeless for scientist and sight-seer, and only the goggle fisherman ventures into the water on such days.

As soon as goggle fishing had made its mark there arose a great matter of dispute as to whether the spear is more effective than the rod and line of the angler. So far, many competitions have resulted in victories for the spear-fishermen. There is a very friendly spirit between “frogman” and angler in the Cape, and the former often has the privilege of helping the angler when his hook gets stuck on a rock. Frogmen maintain that, if anglers would care to investigate Neptune’s domain but once, the rocks above the water would forever be bare.

Frogmen have invented several different types of guns, in addition to the hand spear that they put to such effective use. A very common type of gun is the Hawaiian sling, which is simply a piece of piping with a crossbar in front, to which

a strong rubber band is attached. The arrow is then drawn through the hole and the rubber shoots it out when released. Woe to the unwary fish that comes in the way, for when shot through the gills or central part of the body, so that the spine is severed, it dies instantaneously.

Other forms of guns provide much more force, being powered by carbon dioxide or compressed air. These not only enable the frogman to hunt for what he wants for food, but also to defend himself when he is being hunted as food. The first question everyone asks when told about this pas-time is:"What about sharks?’* Well, admittedly sharks are a most renowned danger in the sea. But for the skin diver they are, by far, not the greatest peril of the deep. To the shark a man swimming underwater is just another fish, and goggle fishers often scare sharks away by shouting or blowing air under the water. The shark generally seems just as afraid of a man underwater as the man is of the shark. This is probably to the shark's advantage, for otherwise he might not be alive to tell his pals he had seen a man! A bather enjoying the surf might be in more danger than the skin diver because of creating the appearance of being in distress.

Also feared by divers is the octopus. A big one is indeed treated with respect. In most instances they retreat immediately when attacked, and when they fasten themselves on to the rocks with their mighty arm it is all but impossible to loosen them.

But skin divers fear that should one decide to fasten some of his hold on a human and the rest onto a rock, sure drowning would be the result. Like sharks, when something is in difficulty the octopus will attack for food. Once a fish was shot and as it sank to the bottom an octopus came from under a large rock and snatched it away from the fisherman, retreating to its shelter quicker than it came cut. The octopus was not the least disturbed by the insults that were slung down at it from a nearby above-water rock.

When it comes to encountering underwater dangers, the frogman’s motto is: Not scared, but careful; and rightly so. Burroughs said of lions that some shy away from humans when they see them in the jungle, but others do not. It is well not to take for granted that because some sharks back away all sharks will back away. Similarly one octopus might worm his. way through a tiny hole to avoid you, but there is no guarantee that another might not try to worm you through that same hole after him. Therefore, respect the sea and its inhabitants.

Throughout the earth the popularity of skin diving grows as an increasing number of people become aware of the infinite variety and marvelous beauty of this formerly hidden aspect of Jehovah's creation, experiencing the thrill of new sensations in the amazing and silent world that lies just a few yards beneath the surface of the sea.

Knock IKood?

C. “When you knock on wood,” reports Ladies’ Home Journal for September, 1954, “you are paying tribute to the god of the tree. The custom originated in times when men believed that gods lived in sticks and stones. Thunder and lightning, the tallest hill, the tallest tree—each had its deity, a wrathful and jealous being. If a man's luck were too flourishing, it would be changed. Consequently a man bragging of good fortune let the nearest god who might overhear him know that he bowed before him, and he did this by knocking on wood.”

Science of Soil Mechanics

■I COMPARATIVELY new science among the sciences Is that oct soil mechanics, a study and analysis of the behavior of the earth’s crost by reason of pressures and forces created by weights of structures on the earth’s surface and the removal of weight by excavation. If the earth’s crust were formed of a solid, rigid material, these problems would not exist. Changes in pressure and forces artificially applied by modem construction or excavation would have no effect on the behavior of the crust.

Within a few feet of the surface the crust is a mixture of sand, clay, rocks, humus, etc., all well weathered and dried into a fairly solid mass. In some areas this weathered surface is underlaid by solid rock, as in mountainous regions. But in others, such as the general Great Lakes area, this is not the case. Here the surface crust overlays the bed of a huge postglacial lake which, over the centuries, has shrunk to the present Great Lakes. This lake bed is composed of soft, water-deposited clay, extending to a depth of 100 to 125 feet down to the "hardpan,” which, in turn, overlays bedrock. Any significant change in the vertical pressure over a small area produces an actual displacement of large amounts of the clay.

Actually the weight of the building forces the soil out from under the building and up at the sides. This results in displacement of masses of soil relative to others, a process called a shearing. By computing the shearing resistance and the soil density, it is possible to calculate how much weight the soil will bear without allowing the building to sink dangerously. In the case of water this shearing resistance is small, but with soil it is relatively high so that a comparatively light structure displaces practically no soil and even a very heavy building will not sink suddenly, like a boat in water, until it reaches a position of equilibrium, but will move so gradually that it may be a year or more before there is perceptible distortion. But even slight movement can be highly destructive.

Something different occurs when a large excavation is made for the basement of an office or factory building, in a mining operation, a tunnel or even a storm sewer. The problem here is not one of a collapse of the walls of the excavation, but of the floor of the excavatipn being pushed up by the pressure of the higher ground around it.

Can anything be done about this soil behavior? Yes! Structures built on the earth can be so designed as to avoid the problems exemplified above. Engineers are divided into two schools of thought with respect to the cause and nature of the settling of structures. One holds that it is due to the squeezing of water out of the soil, so that eventually the soil will become sufficiently consolidated to halt the settling. The other theory maintains that settling is due to the plasticity of the soil, as described above, and that this could continue indefinitely, or until a state of equilibrium is reached. The study of soil mechanics has proved that subscription to the first theory may give engineers a false sense of safety in structural design.

<[, Conforming to the second theory the engineer can solve the problem of settling in one of three ways. First, he can design the structure in such a way as to spread the weight over a large area. Space limitation often makes this impossible. Second, he can erect the structure on a deep foundation; that is, he can drive bearing piles or caissons down to hardpan or bedrock. This is expensive but is common practice, particularly in cities, where there is no room for "spread footings" or where there is the possibility of damage from nearby excavations, erection of other structures, or removal of existing structures. Lastly, as an extreme resort, the engineer can design the structure to allow for settling. Most sinking is very slow, not exceeding one inch in five years, and if the structure is well designed, no irreparable damage will be suffered.

C There is no doubt that the impending battle of Armageddon will make tremendous changes in the earth’s surface, but whether the plasticity of the earth’s crust will be rendered stable or not the Bible does not disclose. However, from the fact that soil plasticity can be expressed in well-defined mathematical formulae, and conforms to the same physical principles governing the entire universe, it is possible that this phenomenon will continue and t^at information gained now in a study of soil mechanics can well be used in postArmageddon reconstruction.—Contributed.

READING—a Dying Art?

1 //Iw

j / though it presents i difficulties for

L / / / both adults

3 I children

T^HE frustration that results when a child 1 cannot read successfully is astounding’

But when you stop to think about it, it really should not surprise us at all. What can a school child do who is deficient in reading? Can he do his best in mathematics, history or any other subject that requires private study if he has difficulty in understanding the textbooks that provide the information? Would he feel equal to his schoolmates when his deficiency in reading prevents him from keeping up with others of his own age? Can this lead to a revolt against school and a disdain for the authority that it represents?

Some authorities say that these things can and do happen, that one of the biggest high-school disciplinary problems is among , nonreaders. Further, the National Society ’ for the Study of Education said in its 1948 report (published by the University of Chicago and quoted in C’oWier’s, November 26,1954): "A surprisingly large number of high-school and college students are seriously deficient in many of the basic aspects of reading. As a result they are unable to prepare assignments effectively and are, therefore, frustrated in their efforts to do high-school and college work.”

Thus, the ability to read with ease and understanding is of vital importance. Yet in the United States at the beginning of World War II 433,000 young men were rejected in the draft specifically because they were unable io read. After the rejections reached such proportions, the government saw fit to change its program and to teach illiterate draftees the rudiments of reading and writing so that thousands more would not be lost by the armed services. But even that does not represent nearly all of the story. Almost everyone in the United States today can read, but to many people the process of reading is still a difficult job. They shun reading simply because it Is a task. They have never gotten to the point where they can read with sufficient ease, interest and understanding really to enjoy it.

Yet the value of being able to read well should never be understated. When asked, “What one skill or attitude would you consider essential in achieving an education?” Professor Leslie B. Hohman of Duke University’s College of Medicine replied: “I would stand firmly on reading.. .. Except for a tiny percentage of children who have brain damage, I believe that all children can be taught

dren who can be taught to read but are not”

Yale University president A. Whitney Griswold said: “I would say that teaching maximum numbers of children to read with ease, interest and understanding was a minimum objective if not the minimum objective. The schools generally are not accomplishing even this minimum.” Why is reading so important? Simply because it opens the way to all the things that have been written. Yet, with the present overcrowded schooling in the United States it is clear that some children never acquire this basic tool of learning—never really learn to read. They stumble through elementary and high school, sometimes considering themselves stupid. And though they are finally graduated with a diploma, they have been handicapped and humiliated through their school years simply because they never have been taught to read well enough to handle other subjects satisfactorily. As the editors of the Ladies' Home Journal pointed out, these students have “learned mainly to hate anything that looks like a book,” yet, “with smaller classes and some individual attention at an early age, they might have become enjoying readers,”

Mrs. Muriel Alexander, principal of Kelly Miller Junior High School in Washington, D.C., protested: “We have one hundred children in this school who can’t read arid write. Imagine—in junior high school!” A Toledo, Ohio, teacher said: “Isn’t it too bad' that in the eighth grade we still haven’t time to teach so many just to read? Shouldn’t something be done about it soon? It’s already too late for too many.”

Some of the Problems

There probably are several reasons why the children have not been taught to read well. One of the most glaring is that there simply are not enough teachers. St. Louis, Missouri, gives a typical big-city example. There the average number of children per class is 38, but some classrooms have as many as 58 children. The amount of time that the teacher can give to each child, therefore, is very limited. She may wish to concentrate Upon students who need special help, but she just does not have time to give them the amount of special assistance that they need.

Another matter to be considered is the method that should be used in teaching. In the early 1900’s the schools had gone overboard in teaching the students to sound out the letters and syllables of words. They made a fetish of using phonetics, and they trained children laboriously to sound out even simple words like room as “roo-oom.” Words were read piece by piece, rather than as a unit. Critics, in ridicule of this phonetic system, nicknamed it the “grunt and groan’ ’ method. In revolt against fanatical phonetics, “word recognition,” “sight reading,” or “total word configuration” became almost sacred. The youngster was to look at the word and say it right out. He was to learn it as a whole, not in its parts. He identifies the word’s whole shape and appearance with a picture in his workbook, rather than struggling with separate syllables. However, there are points in favor of both methods, and many people think that each has been carried to an extreme.

The stress on the child’s "readiness” for reading is another point that is often discussed. Glenn McCracken, school principal in New Castle, Pennsylvania, thinks “ ‘reading readiness’ has become one of the most overworked terms of the day.” He says: “We use it to defend our inability to teach more children to read. So many children have failed to profit from reading instruction at the beginning level that we have come to the Conclusion that they were not ready to read.” His view is: “It’s our program that is not ready, hot the children.” Another supervisor said: ”1’11 tell you frankly, we really don’t know whether our children are ready or not. We just go ahead and teach them to read!”

Finding a Solution

How are the schools attacking the reading problem? Some are developing special remedial reading programs that are reportedly achieving excellent results. One such program is under way in St. Louis, Missouri. Small “classes of twenty” have been developed to concentrate on teaching the basic skills of reading, spelling and arithmetic to selected third-grade students who are particularly deficient in these fields. The third grade was chosen because from the fourth grade on the child is expected to get a considerable amount of information from the books that he must study on his own, and he cannot succeed if he cannot read them.

It is reported that with this special training children who could not read at all have been taught to read within just a few months’ time, and that most children double their proficiency during the first four months. G. M. White, writing in the Ladies? Home Journal, said of the children who had shown this spectacular accomplishment: “As they acquire the basic tools of learning, behavior problems' all but disappear.” He further reports that Assistant Superintendent William Kottmeyer, who is in charge of this remedial reading program in the St. Louis public schools, says flatly: “All children qualified to be in regular public-school classrooms can be taught to read. If they do not learn, it is because they are not taught.”

But these results are achieved in small classes where the teachers can give special attention to the individual pupils, and where wise and proper use of both phonetics and drill (those naughty words in the ears of many modem educators) has been marked with definite success. Few people would suggest that a return to the methods of the early 1900’s would be wise, but there is a considerable opinion that the modem methods have gone too far. Remedial reading programs are expanding, but it is interesting to note the view of Superintendent Ernest C. Ball of Memphis, Tennessee, who boasted that his schools had no remedial reading program. He explained: “We teach it right in the first place.”

Teaching it right in the first place would probably require considerably more money and teachers than are now available, so that individual attention could be given at least to those children who have a special need for it.

So That Your Child May Read

4-11 of this comes home to the individual parent. Where does your child stand in the matter? No doubt a variety of methods must be used in the schools if children of widely varying abilities and attainment are to progress as far as possible. But the parent certainly is not left out of the child’s training.

Most children would read better if they read more. The good reader usually is the one who does a good deal of reading. In reading, as in other fields, there is no substitute for practice and expedience. But can this be made a joy, not just a chore? Yes, it can. You can help your child to want to read, to want to know what is in books. You can read interesting things to him, whetting his curiosity about stories in books; and by your own example you can show him the joy of reading things that have been written down.

A child who really wants to learn something usually learns it. Therefore, an atmosphere in the home that is conducive to reading will encourage him. Of course, to have such an atmosphere the parents themselves must enjoy and benefit from reading good things—thus setting the example for the child. Also, they must provide reading material that is of interest to the child, that is not above his reading ability, that the child is able to comprehend, and that sufficiently arouses his curiosity to where he will want to make the effort to read it. There will be a great deal to distract him, not the least of which is television. But television does not replace reading. It gives neither the instruction nor the enjoyment that comes from reading. Parents cart entertain their children by reading to them—making it a pleasure, just as television is a pleasure.

A feeling of parental approval and appreciation for his accomplishments also can be an incentive to the child. When the child’s efforts are not so successful as the parent might have wished, encouragement, coupled with praise for an effort well made, still goes much farther than condemnation. But, since the pleasure derived from an act does not come ahead of learning to perform the act, and since learning involves work, insistence that the child get down to work on the matter of learning to read may also be necessary.

In these days it is almost a necessity for a person to be able to read with ease and comprehension. This is true if he wishes merely to learn the things that must be learned in school, if he wishes to become an intelligent and mature adult, if he wishes to improve his mind, or if he wishes merely to gather information so as to draw sound, intelligent conclusions. Reading is not losing popularity among those who realize the knowledge and pleasure it brings, although it may be losing popularity among those who have never learned to read well enough to do it without its being a chore.

You have something to say about which class you are in, and you have something to say about the class in which your children will find themselves. Do you read well—reading with ease, comprehension and understanding? If not, you can improve your reading by study and practice. Do your children read well? If not, then you can help them by example, by interest, by making reading really inviting to them, and by seeing that they do put forth the necessary effort to learn this basic skill that is the door to so much other knowledge.

Colorful New Words

C Here are colorful new words and words in the news selected from a list Funk & Wagnails Company sent to owners of its dictionaries. Some can be clearly recognized, others need the written definition.

A'qua-tot noun An expert child swimmer, Au'to-vbbt' noun A self-centered motorist; especially one who drives with reckless disregard of the safety and comfort of others.

Bop'o-chat noun An ardent devotee of bop and similar forms* of entertainment.

In-i'ti-al-ese' noun An immoderate use of acronyms or initial letters in speaking and writing; excessive abbreviation of names, titles, etc.

Scoff'd*w noun One who scoffs at the law; especially a habitual violator of traffic, safety and health regulations.

Slum'lord noun A building owner who derives excessive profits from substandard tenement properties; word used by Chief Magistrate John M. Murtagh of New York city.

So-phis'to-crat noun A sophisticated person with expensive, supposedly aristocratic tastes.

This'kai-de'ka-fho'bi-a moww A morbid fear of the number 13.

Vid'i-ot noun An incorrigible television fanatic.

fANcy poods

hr Chula's 400 Miffion

By “Awake!" correspondent in Hong Kong

TALK about Chinese cooking and the first thing that Westerners think about is rice! Actually, at an excellent Chinese feast the only rice you may be presented with is a dainty bowl at the conclusion, which is the gentle and polite way of saying, “We have now drawn to the close.” But, to the poor, rice is number one on the menu. In fact, the customary way of calling you to the table is simply by using two words—“eat rice.”

When the Chinese housewife visits the rice store, she finds many high wooden tubs with a great selection of rices. Some grains are fingerlike, long, thin, clean and white, with very little foreign matter showing; some are more broken or not so well cleaned. Then there is the pink unpolished rice, said to be the richest in vitamins and a counter for beriberi. The tiny housewife, however, gives scant consideration to the scientific side of diet. She has “tummies” to fill and the smooth soft bulk of boiled rice is just the thing to fill them.

How to Prepare Rice

To prepare rice the first operation is to spread out the measured amount of rice for the meal and pick out the husks and stones. There is nothing more jarring than to champ on a gritty piece of quartz when enjoying a meal. The next move is to wash the rice very thoroughly, not only to remove the dust but to get rid of the starch that would otherwise gum the grains together when .cooked. Most Chinese enjoy their rice rather dry, with the grains free and separate, easily swept into the mouth with the chopsticks. For flavor they prefer

it cooked in earthenware rather than met-al.‘

The knack in cooking rice is to gauge the amount of water that the rice will take up when it swells. The rule of thumb method is to put the, rice in the pan and pour in water until it laps just over the back of the hand when placed flat on top-of the rice. After it is brought to a boil, the simmering is kept up until the rice is soft enough, by which time all the water should be absorbed. An excess of water will make the rice an unpalatable sticky mass.

What should be served with rice? No self-respecting Chinese would eat rice just by itself. Rice is but the foil to bring out the taste of the side dishes and to constitute the bulk in the diet. The poorest may eat salt fish with his rice, and supplement this with some thin vegetable soup. But take a look around the market and you will be amazed at the number of items that can add to the flavor; vegetables galore, dried shellfish of all sizes, dried mushrooms, bean cheese and bean curd, tasty meat cuts, fish from tiddler to shark, and fowl from tiny ricebird to fatted goose.

Experts at Preparing Meats

Although a large proportion of the diet is vegetarian, yet the Chinese are experts at cooking meat; not that they are interested in the Western way of cooking and serving large roasts. Indeed, one good American steak dressed Chinese style would serve a large family. Countryfolk are reluctant to eat meat from the patient water buffalo, but almost everyone loves the succulent meat from the ever-present hollow-backed pig. With no butter and no margarine the housewife relies on the hog to supply the necessary fats.

For home consumption the quickgrowing chicken furnishes much of the meat. Almost everything of the chicken is eaten. Somewhere down the menu you will meet-up with legs, head, comb, giblets and all. As well as the usual roasting, stewing and steaming, you may have your chicken tender and juicy from having been cooked imbedded in salt.

How is Peking duck for a tasty morsel? Hong Kong has its share, especially around the Chinese New Year festival when the exchange of presents often Includes a carton of special dried duck. On huge frames outside the poulterers in serried rows like scales are these dried ducks, dressed knd all opened out like a plate, having been salted and wind dried.

As is to be expected, eggs figure prominently on the bill of fare and you are never quite certain where they will turn up. You may be handed a bowl of fresh hot soup and there may be an egg or two broken into it. When a baby is a month old, all the family and friends gather to celebrate and on this occasion you must take home with you a quantity of boiled "red” eggs. There is always a basketful to supply you. And again, break open a "moon cake” at the mid-autumn festival. Implanted in the center of the sweet oily mincemeat will be a whole dry salt yolk. Locally it is considered a very special treat. Many are fond of salted eggs. The Chinese, it appears, like to take their salt this way rather than sprinkled on food. When they boil rice, no salt at all is added.

Noodles and Beans Tra-la

There are shops where you can see a great lump of yellow dough on a table against a wall. Fastened to the wall at one end is a long springy stem of bamboo and balanced on the other end, as on a seesaw, bounces a young man. With every rythmic beat he steadily kneads his way through the dry mass. This is your noodle maker at work. He makes batches of many different mixes. Wheat flour is the base. All noodles are priced according to what eggs or flavors they contain.

Noodles made from rice are different. Special rice is ground in a granite hand mill with enough water to make a liquid like milk, a ladleful of which is poured on a cloth on a fiat slat, which, in turn, is placed on a frame over a copper of boiling water. When sufficiently cooked the mix coagulates into a thin limp opaque sheet, which is then expertly rolled from the cloth to a stick and is cut in a range of sizes. Fresh supplies are on the go all the time. Being sold quite moist, large supplies are not kept on hand. In every lane and alleyway vendors cry their cheap rice noodles. For three cents a schoolboy can get a bowl of appetizingly tasty noodles and at the same time call for a dash of his favorite sauce to personalize the snack.

What the East can do with beans almost outwits one’s imagination. They can create anything from the most savory sauces to milk and bread! On a winter’s evening your hostess may offer you a bowl of what looks like thick cocoa, but it really is made from red beans. Or your hostess may pass you a kind of doughnut made from a fermented bean flour. Familiar in every street

is the wooden bucket of the bean-curd vendor with a flat scoop. He will flick out a serving of creamy curd and sprinkle it with sugar, providing a mouthful that will freshen you and give you energy. Soups are flavored with the tangy smoky taste of another kind of bean curd or cake. Chinese cheese, which can be as sharp as or sharper than a milk cheese, is also a product of bean curd under controlled fermentation.

Greens and Snakes

Chinese cooks have the art of retaining the bright fresh color in cooked vegetables. This seems to be because the cooking is lightly and quickly done: a shallow iron dish, a charcoal chatty, a little oil, a splash or two of sauce and a brisk and nonchalant agitation is all the vegetables get, and out they come looking as if all the goodness were still locked up inside.

Eating snake is quite an adventure; you can call for a helping in many restaurants. Outside eating establishments you can see wire crates writhing with different sorts of these crawling creatures and you are at liberty to make your own selection. Frequently three different kinds are cooked together. If you did not know you were eating snake you might well take it to be chicken, their meats being so similar in taste.

A word of wisdom: if you have the good fortune to be invited to join in a Chinese meal, just go prepared to enjoy whatever is placed before you, asking no questions for conscience’ sake. Many a good feast has had its luster spoiled because of finding out that the delicious morsel you were eating did not fit with the preconceived idea in your mind. Remember Jehovah God's words to Noah after the flood: “Every creeping animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, i do give it all to you.” Our Chinese friends can serve you these to your complete satisfaction.—Genesis 9:3, Nev; World Trans.

The Death-dealing (loch

■gj it happened in London. Tommy Manners, a K-year-old clock mechanic climbed tower stairs to tend his favorite and largest clock on his founds. This was the clock in Gothic tower above Fleet Street, Manner’s job was to start the motor that winds tiw huge weights into place. As he worked, his smock caught in the gears of the clock’s winding mechanism. He cried for help. But below on Fleet Street people exchanged morning greetings, the exhausts of autos sputtered and the busy hum of a big city prevailed. As the hands of the great clock inched their way around'the dial, no one heard the pathetic cries that came from behind a clock face some one hundred feet above the street. For two torturing hours the clock ticked. Then a pair of mechanics, on a routine inspection tour, went up the tower. There by the clock that he had tended so faithfully and so long they found Manners crushed to death, his hand only a few inches from a switch. The oddity of this death attracted sympathy from around the world.

of &<*&&&*&

<£ A photograph of a sign that hangs in a church in Trinidad was printed in the September, 1954, issue of True magazine. The sign reads: “Parish Church of Sangre Grande. Hours of Baptism, Unlawful Children every Saturday at 11 a,m. Lawful Children every Sunday at 11 am. For all Baptisms at least one day’s notice must be given. Unlawful children are not baptized on Sundays,”

4 Signal Mishap

At the height of the morning rush hour in Boston, Massachusetts, half the traffic signals in the downtown district suddenly stopped working. Extra policemen rushed out to unsnarl traffic jams. Alarmed maintenance men sleuthed about for half an hour to track down the cause. They found it: an unsuspecting pussy cat, hunting mice, had switched off the lights by brushing against a control panel in City Hall.

…