Awake!, October 8, 1959
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THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAl
New* sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "Awake!" 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 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!” 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 oil 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!” 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.
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CONTENTS
The Qualities of Joyful Living
Blood Transfusion Quotes
Giving Under Compulsion
Appeal for Freedom of Worship
How Safe Is Your Home?
‘‘Your Word Is Truth”
Pearl of the Indian Ocean
Halloween Not for Christians
Forest Fires—a Wilderness Menace
Watching the World
081059
THE QUALITIES OF
THE acquiring of material things has little to do with joyful living. There are other things that are far more meaningful. Take, for an example, the mother whose child is seriously ill. The health and life of that child mean more to her than all the refrigerators, television sets and modem furnishings in the world. A man’s home may be his palace, but it must be at peace. His loving family means more to him than all the rockets, missiles and satellites in space.
Some persons have erroneously concluded that wealth would add to their quality of living. “If we were only rich, all our troubles would be over,” they say. This is not the case. Wealth could very easily complicate matters and make life immeasurably more miserable than ever before. There are more important things than wealth. A common saying is, “The best things in life are free.”
Joyful living is not a product of the production-line system. Rather, it is the fruitage of God’s spirit at work on the hearts and minds of men of good will. Living can be appreciated to its fullest extent only after one comes into a dedicated relationship with Jehovah, the happy God. Apart from his Creator, man’s life is shallow, empty, without meaning. Mankind’s highest happiness and greatest joy rest in acquiring accurate knowledge of his Creator and using this knowledge to the praise of his Creator God, Jehovah. It is this God that supplies the qualities for joyful living.
Qualities of the Spirit
The apostle Paul writes: “The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffer-ing, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” To divorce these qualities from life or not to have or develop them is to cut oneself off from what makes life worth living. What is life without love, joy and peace? A man can live in a palace and still be miserable and he can live in a shanty and be completely happy. The difference lies with the exercise of these qualities. If love, joy, peace, along with the other qualities Paul mentioned, are present, then life can be beautiful. Possessing an abundance of material things has no bearing on the matter.—Gal. 5:22, 23.
When we come to realize that we are the children of a loving God, we come under obligation to emulate his tender qualities toward one another. Paul writes: “Clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, mildness, and longsuffering. Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also. But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.” What a changed world this would be if people would follow this inspired advice! Doing business would be a pleasure. Traveling, shopping and our human relations would all take a change for the better. Christians are under command to put this advice into practice. Therefore, Christian living should be not only the highest of living but the most joyful there is on this earth.—Col. 3:12-14.
Other Contributing Factors
Besides the qualities of the spirit, there are other things that contribute toward joyful living. Becoming a participator in events helps to make life more meaningful. People who are participators go places and do things, and the Christian ministry provides plenty of right things for them to do. —1 Cor. 15:58.
It is not enough just to do things. To make what we do worth-while we should want to do it with all our might. This calls for the quality of enthusiasm. How can we put this quality into our lives? Respond readily. Do not hesitate to work, to play, to laugh, to enjoy the fun of living. Always look for the sunny side of the street of life and you will find it more joyful. Respond to life’s challenges with a spirit of appreciation. As David wrote: “In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Such trust and enthusiasm, spirit and appreciation face up to Goliath-like situations with success. —Ps. 56:4.
The art of living joyfully calls for the qualities of awareness and anticipation. “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens.” (Ecel. 3:1) Persons with awareness appear to appreciate this fact more than others. They are abreast of things that are worth knowing, and they have time for things that are worth doing. They are busy, yes, but they are active in a happy way. They know how to get the most out of life with the minimum of effort.
Observant persons and persons with insight have a way of making life fuller, richer and happier for themselves and others. This combination of qualities makes a person wonderful company. They have their physical and spiritual eyes wide open. Being observant aids them in making wise choices and in evaluating properly. Jesus told Martha: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things. A few things, though, are needed, or just one. For her part, Mary chose the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” Martha apparently allowed material things to becloud her spiritual sight, while Mary kept this quality sharp, for which she received the Master’s ‘well done.’ Martha should have known: “It is the spirit that is life-giving; the flesh is of no use at all.” For life to be joyful, creatures must make room in their lives for. God’s spirit to do its part.—Luke 10:41, 42; John 6:63.
To be convinced of these spiritual truths and to put confidence in them are also factors that contribute toward joyful living. Confidence and conviction inspire one to hope in the living God to usher in a new world, to resurrect the dead and to bless faithful ones with everlasting life. So, happy are those who are conscious, not of their material but of their spiritual needs, for life to them will be joyful and most complete.—Matt. 5:3.
GIVING must be voluntary to be enjoyed. To compel one to give of his own is not only wrong, but unkind and unchristian. The impulse to give must flow freely from the heart, and when it does it has a pleasant rewarding effect on the giver, whereas giving under compulsion almost always has a revulsive effect. It usually fills the giver with bitterness and resentment.
It is not only important but necessary that we should give of ourselves and our possessions. The Dead Sea is dead because it does not give out. Men were created to give out. That is why it is impossible for us to hoard good within ourselves for very long without doing injury to ourselves. We must give for our own good. What good would the sun, moon and stars and nature be if they did not give forth? What good would we be if we refused to give of ourselves? We would be psychological wrecks if we were suddenly prevented from giving. In fact, it is impossible to imagine a world without people giving to one another.
However, it is one thing to give freely and another thing to be forced into giving. Said one woman, "I feel like a million dollars when I give from my heart.” No doubt, we have often felt the same way ourselves. But when compelled to give, an entirely different reaction is created, as is shown by the following remarks of an executive who was questioned about various drives and giving. “Too much pressure,
too many campaigns,” he said. "You are made to feel unpatriotic if you don't give. I appreciate their problem, but I get----
mad at them.” There is no joy in such giving.
Doubtless, many have been driven to anger by the number of collectors that have approached them for money. One businessman of a small shop said that as many as twelve have asked him for money in a single morning. If a customer is doing the soliciting, one is forced to give, because not to give may mean the loss of business. But to give a dollar every time someone pleads for help, it would not be long before you would be on relief yourself.
In the United States alone close to $5,000,000,000 a year is lifted from private pockets and purses into charities. During one Christina# season, Time magazine reported that there were some 2,tfi0,000 fund-raisers on the prowl. One charity group that collected $3,978,000 in five years stated that 84 percent of their collections went for “overhead.” Another group collected $21,480,000 for disabled American veterans. However, $17,000,000 of that amount went for salaries and promotion costs and almost $4,000,000 went for lobbying in Washington, and, according to Time, “not a cent went for the direct aid of a needy veteran.” Would giving to such causes make you happy? Hardly.
One large city in the United States found that more than half its charity groups were in the questionable category. Other investigations have discovered that a number of women who rattle charity boxes in busy city business districts set aside 25 to 30 percent of the collections for themselves, with the same amount going to the professional promoter for whom they work. Little wonder people feel that there are not only too many campaigns and too much pressure, but too many grafters and chiselers, too many full-time professional and amateur panhandlers in the moneyraising business.
Religion, “the mother of charities,” has also come under suspicion by many a donor. The New York Daily News reported that hundreds of small churches are organized, not to teach Christianity, but to fleece the public. These so-called churches expend their main efforts on collecting funds in the name of charity. This newspaper stated that more than $100,000,000 was being picked out of people’s pockets and poured down a rathole in the name of sweet charity by this method. Giving to such fake charities does not result in happiness but resentment.
Pressure Methods
Professional swindlers or collectors are cleverly adept at pressurizing and shaming the public into giving. The doorbell pusher, for example, is a skilled fasttalker. One householder, referring to this method, stated: “I don’t like it. It makes you feel forced into it, shamed into contributing. You feel like a heel if you refuse.” The fast-talker knows this and he presses his skill to the limit, extorting money from the public. Other collectors smooth of tongue will use the telephone to make contacts, then they follow up prospects. Others are clever writers. These use the mails to reach the heartstrings and open up the wallets and pocketbooks of the public.
Often money-raisers will send merchandise. They know that when people receive the unauthorized merchandise, varying from Christmas and TB seals to pens with one’s name engraved on them, they will feel obligated to give something. “I resent very much getting things through the mail,” said one woman, “I think I’m on every sucker list. And being on the third floor, I resent going downstairs and finding nothing but something from Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Town. I resent this particularly because they send year after year, whether you respond or not. ... I resent it when they keep on sending even when I write and tell them to take me off their list.” Here again, resentment and not happiness results from pressure.
Professional collectors know that by personalizing their approach they can reach into more pocketbooks. So instead of directing attention to an impersonal organization or agency, these shrewd fundraisers will say they are collecting funds for poor, destitute widows, helpless children or families who are desperately in need. These swindlers know,, too, that you will say “no” to most appeals. So they will cleverly arrange for a friend to do the collecting. When a friend says it is for a hospital, it becomes very hard not to give something.
With a view to stimulating giving or to shaming nongivers into giving, many welfare agencies, colleges and even churches will publish the names of contributors and the amounts that each gives. F. Emerson Andrews in his book Attitudes Toward Giving states: “The New Testament admonition to ‘take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven,* is an ethical concept more admired than followed, at least by agencies desiring to put maximum pressure on givers.”
In recent years the proportion of welfare contributions sought and obtained in factories and offices has been on the increase. Collectors talk up the “100 percent” type of drive. “You’re the only one not giving,” they say. “Come on. you want our office to be on the heel list?” “Don’t be a tight wad. What’s a fin ($5.00) anyway?” Sometimes there is absolute compulsion. Instead of asking how much one would like to give, many collectors demand a certain amount. One donor stated that he was violently opposed to such pressure tactics. “It is not a gift. It is a business requirement, holding him up at the point of a pistol,” he said.
Perhaps the most heartless way to collect money for charities is to prey on children. Solicitors say school children learn the needs of the community this way. Parents say it is simply an underhanded method of hounding them for more money. Collectors know that if parents do not give, the child will be made to feel bad and embarrassed. It is rotten high-pressure salesmanship. Andrews tells of a mother who had a ten-year-old son that gave his lunch money. The mother said: “I discovered that after a while, and went to one of the nuns to protest. . . . The nun said she did not like these fund-raising campaigns; the children should be let alone, she thought. But the head of the school is of another opinion.”
Children of another school became nervous and depressed. When the parents checked with the teacher, they found their answer in a hurry. “Those poor youngsters,” the teacher said, “have been flooded and nearly drowned with vicious, whipcracking, carefully contrived campaigns for money for ‘health campaigns.’ They have been told and told and told that polio is hovering over their shoulders, and ‘Bring money to fight it;’ that heart disease kills children as well as adults, and ‘Bring money to fight it;’ that tuberculosis is everywhere, and ‘Buy stamps to fight it.’ Is it any wonder,” the teacher asked, “that sensitive, growing children are being frightened to death?” Despite the legitimacy and laudability of some campaigns, one can feel only deep revulsion for schemes that prey on minds of school children. It is a crime what men will do for a few extra dimes and dollars.
Religious Giving
Today about half of all individual giving goes to churches of various denominations. They have a large variety of philanthropies, including complete school systems, hospitals and a wide range of social services. One great-grandmother spoke her mind when she said: “Nobody wants more money than the churches, and they don’t do too much good! Beg, beg, beg, beg, and you hardly see the preacher until you go over there.”
From ancient times religious people have been induced to give by listening to vain promises made by preachers. It was believed and taught that almsgiving would free one from death. Cyprian asserted that almsgiving could bring renewed cleansing to souls that had lost their baptismal purity. Augustine taught that almsgiving obtained forgiveness for light offenses, that it atoned for sins of the departed as well as for those of the living. To this day Roman Catholic prelates encourage giving as a means of atonement for sins; “If there is anything in your past life you would like to atone for, the best way to do it is to make a sacrifice . . . pin your sacrifice to this column and send it to the Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen, ... or to your Diocesan Director.” Are such valid inducements toward making contributions? Scripturally no, for not with silver and gold, but with Christ’s precious blood are our sins wiped out. Not with works of self-righteousness, but through faith do we gain forgiveness.—1 Pet. 1:18, 19.
Recently the foremost United States Roman Catholic weekly, Our Sunday Visitor, devoted practically an entire issue to stressing the giving of money on the part of Catholics, shaming them by implying unfavorable comparisons with Protestants, such as: “We Can Learn from Others"; and, “Here’s the Zeal We Ought to Have.” Is this the Christian way of encouraging contribution^ for worthy causes? The motive for Christian giving is love, not shame or compulsion.
The tithing law of Moses is not now obligatory, for Christians were made free from the law. Still there is an increasing number of Catholic and Protestant organizations that are stressing the giving of the tithe. But even such tithing has in it a sense of compulsion, or at least a duty. While to some people there is satisfaction in doing their duty, yet many do not get great joy out of it. As a matter of fact, King David looked upon giving not so much as a duty but as a privilege when he said: “Who am I and who are my people, that we should retain power to make voluntary offerings like this? For everything is from you and out of your own hand we have given to you.”—1 Chron. 29:14; Rom. 10:4.
Christian Giving
Christian giving must be voluntary to be acceptable to God. Christians do not need every device known to modern psychology applied to them to get them to part with their money. They do not need clever fund-raising sermons directed at them; neither need they be forced to make pledges, play lotteries and bingo games before letting loose of their money. And certainly they do not need that everpresent collection plate or basket before them to move them to give. None of these methods find support in the Scriptures.
The Scriptural method is simply to make known the fact that there is an opportunity or privilege open to give of one’s substance and then use the amount contributed for the intended purpose, not for personal gain. That is the way Moses did it when it came time for building the tabernacle and furnishing it. There was such ready response that soon the Israelites were told to stop bringing contributions, for they had more than enough.—Ek. 36:3-7.
Christians follow the same principle of giving voluntarily. They know that “the generous soul will itself be made fat, and the one freely watering others will himself also be freely watered.” They appreciate that each one is to “do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” With them there is “a readiness to want to do,” which is rewarding in God’s sight—Prov. 11:25; 2 Cor. 9:6, 7; 8:11,12.
For such generous giving all that is necessary is to give Christian people a gentle reminder that there is need and that giving is a privilege. Criticism or compulsion is not God’s way to move hearts. Christians should never find occasion to say, “You must give.” The word “must” should never be used in connection with giving. The givihg must be free, voluntary, willing. And when it is, it brings us deep satisfaction and joy. As Jesus himself said, "There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” Giving is a privilege and a blessing. It should not be forced. —Acts 20:35.
YOU might as well face it, your home is not as safe as you might think it to be. A man is almost as safe on the highway during the rush hour as he is in his proverbial castle. Every eight seconds somewhere in the
United States a serious accident takes place in the home. Every year about 34,000 lives are lost, and in some years accidents in the home far outnumbered highway accidents. In many cities home accidents of all kinds outrank every other form of fatal mishap. Annually approximately 5,250,000 nonfatal accidents occur in the home. About 140,000 of these suffer permanent impairment. Not all of them, however, are seriously handicapped. In 1954 accidents cost the United States in the vicinity of $9,800,000,-000, almost twice the amount the nation spends on its education.
What can be done to minimize the hazards in the home? What can be done to keep people from crippling and killing themselves accidentally?
It is amazing how many people hurt themselves falling in the home. A vast majority of these are older people. Persons over sixty-five suffer more than twice as many fatal accidents as occur in all the other age groups put together. If you are between fifty-five and sixty-five, watch your step. Older bones break easily and they take longer to mend, which means that fatal complications may set in.
Statistics show that nearly 18,000 yearly are killed by fails in the house, which accounts for about 50 percent of home accidents. Thai is nearly three times the nuMiber killed in the lext most important type of accident. Burns and fires are responsible for about 30 percent of the fatal accidents in the home. Various other causes make up the remaining 20 percent.
Many deaths were the result of slipping on highly polished floors. The telephone rang. A young mother dashed across the kitchen floor to reach the phone. She took a bad spill that hospitalized her for weeks.
To avoid serious spills polish your floors with nonskid waxes. There are nonskid paints and nonskid tile that can be used in kitchen, bathroom and basement floors. Even with nonskid preparations, caution is necessary. Also, make sure your carpeting has a rubber back or is otherwise securely installed. A slip on a carpet can be just as painful as on anything else.
Old chairs are very unreliable if -the legs are wobbly or the backs are weak. Climbing on chairs to reach cabinets, hang curtains, or to dust is a sure invitation to a serious fall. Never be foolish enough to stand on a rocking chair. Have a small stepladder nearby to use in hanging curtains and pictures, and for dusting and cleaning. Going up and down stairways has led to serious accidents. About ten times as many people fall going downstairs as climbing up. Reports show that many more women than men fall downstairs. It may be that women, being at home more than men, use the stairs more often. High heels may make you look inches taller and slimmer, but on the stairway they are a hazard. One misjudgment and they can send you plunging headfirst to your death. Also, watch out for old shoes, roller skates and other things that might be in the way. An untied shoelace can also be a menace. Inspect the stairs regularly. Be careful when you walk up and down them, and be especially careful if you have a knife in your hand or are carrying glassware.
According to the United States Safety Council, bifocal glasses can be a major cause of falls. Sometimes those using bifocal glasses look down at the stairway and see part of the step through the lower lens and part through the upper lens. They get confused, miss the step, and fall. Always hang on to railings. Of all the fatal accidents that happen every minute of the day in the United States, studies indicate that at least one fifth of them are due to poor eyesight. Those of you who wear glasses have reason for extra precaution.
Most Dangerous Spot in the Home
You may find it hard to believe, but the most dangerous place in your home, according to accident statistics, is not the stairway, or the kitchen, or the bathroom. It is the bedroom. Of some thousand fatal accidents in the home, 25 percent of the total number occur in the bedroom. Some people have the habit of leaping out of bed; they get dizzy and tumble. Or they get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and stumble over shoes, rugs, chairs and lamp cords. Take your time getting out of bed. Give your body a chance to adjust itself. It is a good thing to have a flashlight near the bed for night use.
The kitchen ranks next as the most dangerous spot in the house. Here is where power, heat and various sharp tools are in almost constant use. Women between the ages of thirty-five and sixty-four suffer most from kitchen injuries. In the kitchen are boiling pots, flaming gas burners, humming electric motors, deadly poisons and powerful bleaches. Of the 17,000 and more people that die yearly as a result of falls, 850 have met death as a result of slipping on slick kitchen floors. Knives and old tools are the cause of 14 percent of the casualties in the homes. Do not play with knives. Also, have a special drawer and rack in which to put them. Tin cans, broken glass and razor blades should never be thrown in wastebaskets where children can get at them. Keep poisons such as ammonia and powerful bleaches and certain corrosive preparations for a clogged sink out of a child’s reach. Under the kitchen sink is no safe place for them. Stock them high overhead in the pantry.
How dangerous is the bathroom? The bathroom in itself is not dangerous. Accidentwise, it is relatively safe. Accidents that take place in the bathroom are just a little more dramatic. People drown, get scalded, electrocuted or poisoned in the bathroom. And it is these dramatic accidents that make the newspaper headlines. There are a few things to beware of in the bathroom, however. Beware of anything operated electrically. One study showed that of two hundred deaths at home, twenty-five were caused by electric shock. Never touch anything electric unless you are dry, and that goes for hair curlers, hair driers, electric razors, telephones, radios, massage vibrators, etc. Even to turn on an electric lamp with one hand while the other is on a water faucet may, under certain conditions, result in death from electric shock. A person immersed in water or standing on a wet floor while handling electrical equipment is courting death, and a quick one. Perhaps the best advice is to keep electrical equipment out of the bathroom. It takes only one mistake to bring about certain death. It is well to have a sturdy grab-bar installed next to the bathtub, so that you can grip it as you lower yourself into the tub and as you crawl out. A nonskid bathmat in front of the tub will help prevent slipping. Do not wait until you have an accident before you take these precautions. Make the proper adjustments now before it is too late.
Electricity and Poisons
Electricity is always unpredictable. Exposed electrical wires are fire hazards. In United States homes about forty fires occur every day in the week because of electric irons left in the circuit. Such fires have cost taxpayers about $1,625,000 yearly. Sister is ironing the week’s laundry. The phone in the next room rings. She hurries to answer the telephone without disconnecting the appliance. When she returns the room is on fire. This happens over and over again. Disconnect all elect trical appliances when not in use. Also, never run electrical cords under rugs, and do not place cords in door jams. Wear and squeezing may break the covering and expose the wires. If that happens, there is sure to be a fire.
Poisons rank high on the accidentaldeath list. In a year over a thousand children are poisoned fatally at home. It is usually a case where adults or children pick the wrong thing. It is amazing how many people will drink out of a bottle without examining closely to see what is in it, so to keep people from killing or poisoning themselves, keep poisons under lock and key. In addition, label every bottle containing poison in big red letters “POISON." Then perhaps tie a little bell around the neck of each bottle containing poison so at night the tinkle will be a warning to you. Do not wait until you poison yourself before taking these precautions. Do it now.
Fight Fires
Every twenty-four hours there are about sixteen deaths from fires in United States homes. Every day some nine hundred homes catch fire. That is a deplorable record for a safety-conscious nation. In 1955, 5,400 persons died from fires and burns at home. One out of three deaths due to burns was a child under five years of age. What are the causes? A good many of these fires started when the mother went out for a few minutes to visit with the neighbor or do some shopping. If you love your children, never leave them alone in the home, not even for a few minutes. If you do, the unexpected will happen.
Fires usually call to mind matches, burners and furnaces. The more than 850,000,000 matches that are used daily in the United States, which represents an average of 600,000 matches struck every minute, betoken a tremendous danger that exists constantly. The match in itself is not a fire hazard, that is, if shielded and put out carefully. But if treated lightly, each match becomes a potential danger to the home. Never keep matches where children can get at them. Keep matches in a metal container far from the stove. Make sure the match is cold when you throw it away.
Escaping gas comes third on the list of causes of accidental deaths in the home. Never go to sleep in a room with doors and windows closed where a gas heater is burning. The fire can go out for lack of oxygen and the- escaping gas can kill you. There is no record of fresh air killing anyone, so keep the windows high.
Cleaning clothes with gasoline is extremely dangerous. About three hundred women a year lose their lives this way. A woman set about to clean the spot on her dress. The fumes from the cleaning fluid reached the pilot light on the stove a few feet away and ignited. That cleaning cost lives. Never be too sure with gasoline. A burning cigarette or the fire in the furnace in the basement can touch off a gasoline explosion. If you must clean at home, make sure you use only nonflammable and nonexplosive fluid.
Attics and basements are places where parents like to stack their junk. The attic is piled high with old pictures, newspapers and clothing. The basement is stacked with cans of paint, bottles of turpentine, cans of kerosene and gasoline, oil-soaked rags and empty burlap bags. This combination makes the neatest bomb you ever saw. All it needs is a spark to blow the house sky-high. Many fires start from spontaneous combustion in oily rags. If you must store these things, keep them in a fireproof place far away from the house. As for the attic, toss away the needless trash and free the house from this fire hazard.
Dangerous Farm Life
Farm life used to be referred to as some sort of sanctuary from the hazards of city living. Now even this has changed. There are more casualties annually on farms than in any other occupation. About 14,000 deaths and 1,200,000 injuries take place yearly. Mechanization has arrived on the farm and so have its fruits. Tractors, mowers and combines are reaping their toll in accidents. Farmers have become heavy smokers and many of them are careless as to where they toss their matches and cigarettes. In the United States and Canada about two hundred farm buildings burn every day in the year. Farm fires, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, kill from 2,000 to 3,500 persons each year and cost the country $100,000,000. About 40 percent of farm fires occur in dwellings, which means that $40,000,000 worth of farm homes go up in smoke every year.
The number of children hurt on farms is increasing sharply. Farmers must train their children to stay off tractors, hay wagons, mowers, grain binders, and so forth. More than 90 percent of the accidents with farm children result from inattention and carelessness on the part of adults. Learn to put away your yard and garden tools. A scythe hanging on the branch of a tree is a menace. Someone may walk into it.
Both farmers and city folk must look after their little ones to keep them from suffocating or accidentally strangling themselves in their cribs or in-a bed. Beware of using heavy bedclothes in the crib or carriage; the child can smother under them. There is always a danger when placing an infant in bed with an adult or older children that during the night these may roll over on him. Even nursing mothers can smother their infants brought into bed for feeding. The mother drops off to sleep and rolls over on the child. In the United States this happens on an average of 150 to 200 times a year. Feed your baby sitting up. And, if at all possible, have him sleep alone.
Traditionally, man’s home was his castle, a tower of security. There is no reason why it cannot continue to be just that if he combines a little more carefulness with reasonableness. Eliminate all the man-made contraptions at once. Safety does not depend on the place but on the person. Instill in yourself this sense of safety or caution and you will insure for yourself a happier life in this age of accidents.
<[ “The drop in the ability to learn is so gradual that at eighty we still have the learning ability we had at the age of twelve.”—The Retirement Handbook, by Joseph C. Buckley.
ONE were privileged to choose his - birth* z place, doubtless, the beautiful island of Mauritius would be considered just about perfect- From the coral reef that surrounds it to the top of the highest mountain, Mauritius brings only praise to its Creator. The island is truly a pearl, small in size but precious to its inhabitants. It rises quickly from the sea to its highest points. To call the mountaintops “points” is no exaggeration. Many of these mountains rise like fingers from a hand. In fact, one is called Le Police (Thumb) for this reason. This island pearl of the Indian Ocean was formed by volcanic action, which accounts for the unusual shape of the mountains and the numerous splits in the earth, into which fall the beautiful sparkling waterfalls or cascades. For the most part the island’s lower grounds are covered with sugar cane, while bananas and tea are grown higher up the mountains. Trees make Mauritius colorful and variety is everywhere, from the tall bamboo grass to the flaming flamboyants with their huge scarlet flowers. However, the island lies in the cyclone area east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, and because of the cyclones it is rare to see a really big tree. Fortunately though, Mauritius is more likely to be just missed than hit by a cyclone. The last one to strike the island was in 1945.
The first view a visitor has of this enchanting island is as the ship steams toward Port Louis harbor. The harbor lies low in the foreground against a backdrop of mountains, not high mountains but impressive because of their ruggedness and
because of the fluffy clouds that gather around their jagged summits. Once ashore, however, one is attracted by the sights near at hand. A newcomer has to steer his way carefully through the narrow streets. People hurry along sidewalks that in locations are not very evenly paved.
It is not difficult to get a taxi from Port Louis, the capital city, to wherever one desires to go. In fact, it is difficult to avoid taking one. Many smiling taxi drivers stand ready with their latest-model cars, doors opened wide, hoping to lure passengers in. However, a bus ride gives one more of an opportunity to see Port Louis, the only big town in Mauritius. It is not long after you arrive that you are fully convinced that the radio is quite popular with the Mauritians. From one house come the strains of Indian music mixed with the voices of a Chinese singer, while from the Coca-Cola Palace across the road a radio is blaring out with a forceful base of rock ’n roll.
Color and Dress
Living in a land of sunshine does have its effect on the surroundings. The sea and sky seem bluer, the clouds appear fluffier and whiter, and the fields seem to have a deeper restful green about them. This love of color is reflected by the people, who use it to the best advantage. The younger generation love bright reds, blues and colors of a striking nature. The Indian women know how to blend colors in the saris of pastel and softer hues. With their sleek black hair drawn into a chignon at the nape of the neck and cleverly decorated with flowers, these dark-eyed beauties make a striking contrast alongside western women with their peaches-and-cream complexion.
Just as the Mauritians love color in their dress they also love it in their homes, which are by no means dull. In most homes one will find bright paintings decorating the walls, and often these are done by the people themselves, who have an unusual flair for artistic painting. Even where something handpainted or a properly framed picture cannot be obtained, what they do is remove a bright magazine cover and hang it. These pictures can be very interesting to the visitor and quite distracting at times.
Family Life and Education
The rich of Mauritius live in the cooler areas. Many of them live in beautiful homes surrounded by lovely gardens, with a variety of palm trees and tropical flowers. Such natural beauty is cause for much praise to Jehovah, the grand Creator of it all.
Many Indian families live in small huts without the modern facilities of the larger homes that the rich have. But what these small huts lack in facilities appears to be more than compensated for in atmosphere and joys of family life. After a hard day’s work in the sugar-cane fields, the small huts, with a dinner of rice and curry and the sight of romping children, are just as much a place of rest, relaxation and enjoyment as are the larger mansions. The poorer womenfolk do not have electric washers, but the way they all gather on the banks of the river to beat out their family wash on the rocks and lay it in the sun to dry while enjoying a friendly chat with their neighbors seems to more than compensate for not having the convenience of an electric laundry.
Education has recently become a main feature in the lives of most young Mauritians, and they learn quickly. However, along with this feverish clamor for education there still exist deep-rooted superstitions. Often the sorcerer will be called in to paralyze a neighbor who has committed some sort of unlawful act. One gentleman of the “Christian” faith had an argument with his non-Christian neighbors, whereupon the neighbor immediately sent for his priest, who performed some sort of ceremony around a tree in the garden, with the result that the baby of the “Christian” family ipimediately took ill with a mysterious disease. Naturally, the family became very alarmed about it. They were told that a firm knowledge of God’s Word can be a defense against this sort of thing.
Very often visitors are startled at what they see take place in the streets of Mauritius. During certain feast days young boys are seen walking barefooted on fire. Other boys take on the appearance of human pincushions with slim skewers imbedded in their chest, arms and cheeks. Some of these pins are stuck in one cheek, cross through the mouth and come out of the other cheek.
As elsewhere throughout the world, the teen-agers here too have their problems. Studying and examinations are important to them if they hope to get good employment. Of course, they have their pleasures too. There are cinemas showing Indian or French films, and volley ball and football seem to be popular. And we must not forget the horse racing, which attracts many of the islanders to Champs de Mars at Port Louis on Saturday afternoons throughout the season.
To get a good look at this jewel in an ocean of blue, it is possible to follow a path and climb to the top of Be Pouce. The hike takes about an hour and it is worth every bit of the effort put forth. From the top it is possible to see what a tiny pearl Mauritius is. With a single sweep, the eye can see the island’s forty-mile length and its width of twenty-seven miles. Perched away up here one can see this patch of green in the middle of an ocean fringed with white lacy foam as the waves break on the coral reef before flowing gently in to the sandy shore. To descend from these lofty heights is as if one were to travel from the top of the world to the seashore in a few breath-taking moments.
Adjusting to the fact that this is still planet earth comes quickly when one sees Indian women dressed in their colorful saris and bright jewelry, with rings on their toes. Along the seashores can be seen teen-agers, the boys dressed in clean bright shirts and shorts, the girls with long black hair in beautiful cotton skirts and dresses. Most of the shops and restaurants are owned by a Chinese proprietor with many smiling sons always eager to bargain with their customers. Under the late afternoon sky, what can be better than a delicious plate of Chinese food by the seashore?
Races and Religion
When visiting the homes of the people one has opportunity to get acquainted with a number of different races. It is not unusual to find Indian, Chinese, Creole, English, French and Franco-Mauritian all living within a short distance of each other. Naturally this results in a great diversity of religions. The Indians are mainly divided into the Tamil and Hindu faiths. Among the Chinese, the older generation, and especially the women, are Buddhist, but a large proportion now profess to be Catholic. One also finds the Islamic community well represented. It is the Creoles, a people of mixed racial origin, Malgache, Indian and European, who claim to be the real owners of the island and they will be quick to tell you so, though the IndoMauritians outnumber them two to one. Their religion, for the main part, is Catholic, but the Protestants h$ve made many converts, especially the Church of England and the Adventists. The Moslem men are identified by their little fez caps and the Hindus by their toques (head scarfs) and langoutis (loincloth trousers). These men carry a big black umbrella in preparation for the heavy rainfalls.
The work of a missionary is made easy here because of the friendly attitude of the people and the warm welcome given him when he calls at the homes. The majority of people will ask him in and give him a seat while he presents his sermon. And if the person is interested, it is quite likely that he will offer his visitor a soft drink to refresh himself before he leaves. Also, he may be offered fruit or vegetables, and in some cases this is accepted as a contribution for the literature that is left.
When a missionary calls at the homes, it is not unusual for him to think he is entering the yard of a better-class home, only to find that it is a Buddhist temple. At first it is difficult to distinguish these buildings from ordinary homes. But on getting more acquainted with the Chinese, one can recognize the broad strips of red paper lettered with gold on either side of the gateway. This marks it as being a Chinese temple. Inside one is welcomed by a broad smile from the priestess. We are told that in this particular temple there are only young girls who have dedicated their lives to this work. They perform all the ceremonies, which sometimes last for five or six hours, during which time they claim to call back the spirits and invite them to a feast. The spirits are called by means of the rhythmical beating of the drums by the priestess, and they are sent away again by the shooting of firecrackers. Part of the ceremony consists of a giant bonfire of paper imitations of everyday items, such as dresses, shoes, household articles and perhaps even an airplane. This assures the person who is burning them that he will have plenty of this world’s goods in the next life. It is mostly the older generation who attend these ceremonies and still take an active part in their religion. The younger generation seem to
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be more interested in studying and getting degrees arid also searching for something that will give them a better hope.
In general, Bible knowledge is very lacking. The majority of people do not possess a Bible and many have never seen one. A fervent Catholic will state that he has never read the Bible with about as much pride as a Westerner may say that he has read it three or four times. In the poorer sections the Catholics insist that it is forbidden for them to read the Bible, but the educated ones are just as adamant in stating this is not so and that anyone can read it. However, both sections openly put tradition before the Word of God.
On the island there are two congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses. One is at Port Louis and the other at Beau Bassin, where the meetings are held in the missionary home. The journey between these two points takes about twenty minutes. The seven-mile trip is fascinating in that bus drivers race each other for passengers. All bus transportation stops at 9 p.m. Those who attend Bible studies after this time may find the trip home difficult. The enterprising taxi driver with his "train car” is the one who comes to the rescue. He operates only with a full load and the fare is thus less than the ordinary taxi fare.
Many people express their interest in the Bible and the work of Jehovah’s witnesses; especially is this true among the "Christian” religions. But as soon as a parishioner manifests interest and this becomes known to the priests, pressure is brought to bear against such one to stop him from associating with Jehovah’s witnesses. After a family became Jehovah’s witnesses, a priest paid them a visit. At first he pleaded with them to return to the church, saying that they were his children. When persuasion failed, he dropped to his knees and prayed for them. On rising he asked them to promise to return to the church, but the wife asked, “How can we do that, when you have just prayed in the name of the trinity and we no longer believe the trinity, because it is not in the Bible?” With that the priest left. A few days later another priest arrived and his one argument was that Jehovah’s witnesses worked only among the “Christians.” Naturally this was not very much appreciated, because he was talking to people who themselves regularly conduct Bible studies with non-Christians.
As the happy people of Mauritius learn God’s Word and join in his pure worship, not only is their island like a precious pearl to them, but they are precious in the eyes of Jehovah God. Those who continue to praise his name will be among the ones who will live when the entire earth becomes a paradise under God’s kingdom.
temperature
was nearing a hundred and the relative humidity was low; it was ideal fire weather. On the forest floor a mixture of dry leaves and pine needles was laid out as if it were kindling in an oversized hearth.
From his high perch on southern California’s Santiago Peak the lookout spotted a puff of smoke, calculated its location and phoned the dispatcher. Within seconds the dispatcher was talking to the guard station in the fire area, and before he hung up, its tanker and crew were on the road. Within a half hour more than twenty men, a bulldozer, six 250-gallon tank trucks and other fire equipment were either on the scene or not far from it.
The situation was bad. The fire was working its way uphill through heavy brush, and the west wind would be bound to sweep it down into the town beyond. The ranger radioed for more tank trucks and sent the bulldozer down to head off the flames. The operator was working his bulldozer hard to push the brush back into the fire when its cable hoist snapped. He tried to fix it, but the heat was too much. The flames raced beyond the crippled equipment and the fire was out of hand.
As evening came on, the men hoped they could bring it under control, because the rising humidity and falling temperature usually exercise a moderating influence. But the wind changed the picture when it swept the flames over the road and spread the fire out over four hundred acres. The fire was now generating as much heat-energy as five atomic bombs'. When it flared up, the men had to back up and let it go. But as soon as it came to a halt, they were back in the line with shovels, hoses and pumps to stop it for good-
By the next afternoon the wind quieted down and a few promising drops of rain fell. Then calamity struck. An article in the Reader's Digest described it this way: “The almost nonexistent wind turned lazily until it came directly from the south. Then, without warning, it suddenly picked up speed like a broad jumper and flung itself at the fire- There was a shuuush, a long rush of sound sucking through the canyons like the sound of gravel going down a chute.
“From behind a near hill a wall of flame 100 feet high swept over the ridge. The milky smoke turned orange, pink and black, and in seconds the caldron of flames sluiced down into Leach Canyon, throwing howitzer blasts of fire ahead. Dancing tornadoes of spiraling flame and embers pirouetted daintily on the edge of the conflagration, walked out ahead and collapsed suddenly in heavy brush, starting new fires which burned uphill toward the wind-driven fire tide. The fires collided and sent embers a mile into the air. A mushroom smoke column boiled orange to 25,000 feet.”
The fight still was not over, and the nekt morning, with a strong wind behind them from the east, the flames hurtled a 150-foot firebreak to expend more of their destructive fury. It was more than a week before it ended. A thousand men had been called in to join the fight against this wilderness menace, $250,000 had been spent to smother it, and the destruction extended on every side, over 6,000 acres.
How It Starts
In the United States alone there are about 125,000 forest fires each year, and responsibility for approximately 92 percent of them can be laid to man. After a long dry spell when the weather is hot and the humidity low the woods is a dangerous place to have fire of any kind. It may be a campfire, burning debris, or carelessly discarded cigarette or match that sets off the holocaust. Some fires are set maliciously; others are due to railroad operation or lumbering operations. Most of them could be avoided if greater care were exercised. Lightning accounts for the remainder of the fires, but most of these fires start in the Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific coast.
In Canada it is estimated that while nearly 70 percent of the forest fires are caused by human negligence, only about five percent of the damage is done by these fires. There the greater problem is caused by lightning. This is due to the fact that fires for which men are responsible are usually accessible to the road and are started near bodies of water, whereas lightning may strike a long way from road, water or human habitation and may do a lot of damage before fire-fighting crews can get to it.
The fires are of several kinds. Most of them start as surface fires, burning leaves, grass, dead wood and other loose debris on the forest floor. With a good draft the flames are easily swept into the top of the trees, and a crown fire, racing through the treetops far ahead of the surface blaze, can move at the speed of an express train. When the main fire is gone, a hard-to-suppress ground fire may still be under way, burning out the organic matter beneath the surface litter. No flames may be visible, and the progress may be slow, but the destruction can be worse than the devastation on the surface.
Fighting the Fire -
Perched high in steel lookout towers, smoke-spotters watch the forests for any evidence of fire. Others on ground and aerial patrol share in the constant alert during the fire season. Thunderhead clouds are watched carefully and every strike of lightning toward the ground is recorded.
If a trail of smoke appears anywhere in the woods, radiotelephone equipment goes into operation and a report of the location is made immediately to the ranger. Maps are consulted; the weather is checked. As reports reach the station from other lookouts the fire position is checked, and available men and equipment are dispatched according to the apparent need. Bulldozers and plows, tank trucks to haul water, portable water pumps, thousands of feet of hose, shovels, heavy rakes, axes, power saws, spades, first-aid equipment and food supplies are on their way within minutes. Other stations are called on for help or alerted in case of emergency. The operation is organized and directed as carefully as any military invasion.
To head off the fire before it gets too big, speed is imperative. So the men move in to throw a tight fire line around the burning area, clearing away from the path of the fire anything that will burn—brush, grass, litter—and digging a firebreak right down to the mineral soil. If bulldozers and plows can get to the fire they are worked to the limit, but the job is basically a backbreaking struggle of men with axes, rakes and shovels clearing the “break.”
The fire behaves like a powerful and unpredictable monster. While the men are fighting the uphill advance of the flames, blazing logs and cones may roll downhill across open areas into dry brush and start the battle on another front. Sparks caught by the wind may be carried miles away to start a series of spot fires far from the men and equipment. A fire apparently tamed may be stirred to new life by a sudden gust of wind, explode into a crown fire, burst across the firebreak and be off on a new rampage.
In the valleys particularly the fires are dangerous, because ravines act like chimneys with a forced-draft system that whips the flames into a frenzy. At one fire in the West the men raced for their lives when this happened. Although the surface blaze was slow, the crown fire outdistanced them, suddenly dropped to the ground and had them trapped. They fought their way onto a precarious rockslide surrounded by trees and clung there face down for three hours as the inferno raged around them and was whipped across them, until at last a rescue crew reached the smoke-blackened men.
When the fire gets big the men may work on firebreaks that are hours ahead of the hungry flames, using, where possible, natural barriers such as barren ridges and river beds. If the fire simmers down, the “break” may hold it. But if the wind is violent, the men may see their work reduced to nothing in a few seconds as this wilderness menace leaps into new areas. They dig in and start again, holding on with dogged determination to win.
To carve a “break” wide enough it may be necessary to start another fire deliberately within the lines they have made, to bum back to meet the wildfire, thus depriving the main blaze of more fuel. It is risky, but the whole operation is a hazardous ordeal. Helicopters and patrol planes are used to spot new outbreaks, deliver men and equipment, and direct the men where they are needed most. Other planes, equipped as tankers, haul in water or a borate solution with which to drench the fire and the area around it.
When the fire has been effectively contained and all blazes have been put out, mop-up operations begin. Smoldering stumps have to be dug out and burned or extinguished, and in some cases the area is flooded to put an end to ground fires burning beneath the surface.
Fire Prevention
The devastation wrought by this wilderness menace staggers the imagination. It has been estimated that almost every four minutes a forest fire is ignited somewhere in America, incinerating each year an area the size of Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut together. Yet the damage cannot be properly evaluated alone in terms of land area affected. The beauty destroyed, the thousands of birds and animals killed and maimed must also be considered. Sources of Lumber and paper are obliterated and the land is laid bare for erosion. Decades or even centuries may pass before the forest regains its former state.
Much of the prevention of forest fires is an individual matter. Laws are passed to enforce respect for the resources of the forests. Posters, ads, motion pictures, radio and TV programs all urge the public to ’keep the forests green.’ But when it comes to application, how true is the sign: “Only you can prevent forest fires!”
C In The Postgraduate Journal, Vol. 29, page 59, there is an article by J. H. Dible, professor of Pathology, Postgraduate School, London, England. It says: "Medical progress is a study of trial and error, of false paths, of whole generations under the sway of wrong ideas leading to wrong treatment and God knows what in the way of casualties—and the old tale yet goes on. A friend of mine said to me the other day, 'In the 18th century hundreds of people lost their lives through blood being taken out of them needlessly; today people are being killed through blood being put into them needlessly,’ and I—who only that morning had seen the body of a young man, dead as the result of an incompatible blood transfusion, given after an operation of convenience —could only agree with him sadly.”
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