THESE BE THY GODS THE TRUTH ABOUT SPAIN I. WILL THE

THESE BE THY GODS
By A. S. MAXWELL
•
THE
TRUTH ABOUT SPAIN
By ROBERT LEO ODOM
(Madrid)
I. WILL THE LEAGUE OF
NATIONS SUCCEED?
By W. L. EMMERSON
SWALLOWS IN
AFRICA
By MARY J. VINE
A LIVING FAITH
By W. T. BARTLETT
Two Pages for Children
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Present Truth
These Be Thy Gods !
H
UMAN nature has not
changed with the changing years. Even the stupendous revelations of God's
power in this mighty hour have
brought Him but little glory
from men. He has spoken in
earthquake and fire, in cyclone
and tempest, by miraculous illumination of this last generation,
in many promised signs fulfilled ;
but all in vain. The impression
of His might and majesty has
faded more quickly than from
Israel at Sinai.
The creature has once more
supplanted the Creator. Yet
again man has succumbed to the
temptation to worship the works
of his own hands, and to ignore
the One from Whom all inspiration for achievement proceeds.
Indeed, under the strain and
stress of modern life, induced to
no small degree by the very enlightenment that has come to the
world during recent years, the
thought of God has utterly vanished from the minds of multitudes. Of such it would be true
to say that, "God is not in all
their thoughts." And in His
place other deities have been
erected amid the frenzied acclamation : "These be thy gods, 0
Israel !"
The Mammon of Unrighteousness
Chief among these is the god
of gold. Christ called him Mammon. In every age he has had
his faithful devotees. Avarice
has always brought a large following to worship at his shrine.
But to-day almost all the world
bows down in homage. In the
midst of universal poverty the
craving for money has become an
intense, unquenchable passion.
It breaks out from time to
time in wild excesses of speculation, such as the "boom" that
gripped the United States in 1929
and precipitated the world financial crisis. So intense was the
greed for gain at that time that
poor men bought vast blocks of
shares for which they were entirely unable to pay, but which
they held temporarily in the hope
that prices would rise and give
them spectacular profits. Homes
and farms and businesses were
mortgaged to provide means to
carry on the colossal speculation,
and assets of every available
kind were thrown wildly into the
May 11, 1933
whirlpool of this greatest gamble
of all time.
When the fever spread to Britain hundreds of people of small
means joined with the well-to-do
in the great world chase of this
golden will-o'-the-wisp. Many
sacrificed their all to buy stocks
and shares in companies of which
they had never heard be fore—
nor have ever heard with satisfaction since. Even typists and
office boys pooled their little savings and made themselves proud
shareholders in big firms in the
eager hope of sharing the profits
they thought would come to
them. There was a time when
sober men thought the world had
gone mad in this frantic scramble for gold.
The Gambling Craze
The mighty bubble burst at
last, bringing ruin to thousands
of homes. But the lust for gain
seemed only to be intensified
thereby. Sweepstakes, under the
guise of a great philanthropic
movement, seized the public imagination and took on huge proportions. Over £3,000,000 was
subscribed in one such endeavour
to aid the Irish hospitals. . . .
Shorn of their veneer of benevolence, however, these great
national gambles merely give
further indication of the general
I
•
May 11, 1933
•
ap.
trend towards the shrine of
Mammon. There is no denying
that, upon the announcement of
some great new "sweep," a thrill
goes round the world. Every
purchaser of a ticket says to
himself, "Perhaps luck Will fall
my way this time and I shall be
rich at last." Old women in the
East End of London have been
known to pawn their very bedsteads that they might have a
share in the great lottery. "Dole"
money has been sacrificed and
children left without necessary
food in the vain, mad hope of
reaping sudden plenty by this
means.
Allied to the lure of sweepstakes is the betting evil, ever
present, but taking on rapidly
widening dimensions. The hold
that it has upon the public is indicated by the space given to
racing results in the daily press.
Who, indeed, would care ought
about a few horses running together if there were no money
set on the winner? Who would
give two thoughts to half a dozen
greyhounds playing in a field if
there were no odds on the fastest
runner? It is the greed for gain,
the longing for money without
labour, that make dog-racing and
horse-racing so popular to-day.
Yet gambling, like Mammon, is
a god of sorrow. It has ruined
countless homes. Every day it
raises false hopes of fortune in
thousands of hearts only to dash
them pitilessly to the ground. It
saps vitality, spoils love for honest toil, and breeds dissatisfaction, discouragement, and despair. One thing it never does—it
never brings happiness. For happiness is contentment and no one
who has ever won a bet is content with his gains. He wants to
bet again. He believes that he has
found the royal road to easy
money. So he continues to bet
until he loses, then returns to it
to recoup himself, invariably
finding at last that he is poorer
than when he began.
Those who are already in the
Present Truth
clutches of this ruinous habit—
for such it surely is—would be
well advised to call a halt without delay. And to the young and
those who have not as yet become entwined in the coils of this
serpent, the path of wisdom and
safety lies in complete abstention
—in a settled determination
never to make the first bet.
The Pleasure Mania
Another deity of the modern
world is the god of pleasure.
Since the war there has come
about a new exaltation of selfishness, an inordinate craving to
satisfy the "lusts of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life." Though the terrible happenings of this solemn hour
might have been expected to
solemnize all hearts and stimulate a mass movement towards
the things of God, there has developed, on the contrary, what
seems to be an attempt to drown
all sorrows and disappointments,
all fears for the future, in reckless indulgence.
In most countries to-day
the uppermost thought in the
minds of the populace is "sport."
The daily conversation of millions is concerned chiefly with
nothing more elevating than the
conflicts of rival football teams,
the possible issue of a cricket
match, the result of a boxing
contest, the latest racing tips, or
the rise of some new star in the
tennis, theatre, or cinema heavens. More and more this discussion of "sport" is monopolizing the newspapers. In fact, no
paper stands any chance of exis-
3
tence unless it devotes a large
proportion of its space to the
subj ect. . . .
This gazing and gambling
upon the fierce contests of
highly-paid professionals, this
wild orgy of pleasure-seeking
that seems to have captured our
modern world, is ominously reminiscent of the scenes connected
with the gladiatorial combats in
the Roman Coliseum. And it
should not be forgotten that the
decay of the Roman Empire began when the people, ignoring
the stern times in which they
were living, cried to the emperor : "Give us bread and circuses !" Civilization might well
ask itself to-day if it is not witnessing a repetition of history.
The Sin of the Cinema
Of all the seductive pleasures
of this time none equals the
cinema for popularity. These socalled "palaces" where moving
pictures are shown have quite
displaced the churches in the affections of the people. Thousands flock to them day after
day, night after night. It is another world craze that has spread
from the United States to every
corner of the globe. Indeed,
there is no longer a town of any
size that does not boast at least
one picture house. An American
writer says :
"There are multitudes of people in
the United States who see moving
pictures every day : hundreds of
thousands of working girls and
school children who see moving pictures every noon and night. There
are literally millions of children in
our great cities who know nothing of
love, work, home life, business, poli-
Typical queue outside a London cinema.
C Topical
4
tics, nature, or even anything else
save what the movies have to tell
them." . . .
Pictures have always been a
source of special interest and
happiness to the young and the
lure of the moving picture for
them is not hard to understand.
But with such an audience, how
fearful a responsibility rests
upon the promoters of the
cinema business ! In their hands
lies the moulding of millions of
plastic lives. The destiny of a
whole generation of boys and
girls is theirs to fashion. They
possess an instrument for good
or ill with simply terrific possibilities. It is within their power
to defeat all that educationalists
and religious workers are attempting to do for the uplift of
the race. Before them also is the
glorious possibility of implanting
beautiful ideals, of turning the
minds of youth towards nobler
ways of living, of stimulating
them to great deeds of self-sacrificing service.
The sin of the cinema lies in
its failure to live up to its splendid, unexampled opportunity. Instead of proving a blessing to
humanity, and firing youth with
holy ambitions, it has contented
itself with playing upon the
baser passions, exalting folly, advertising crime, debasing love,
making sin attractive. Not that
all films are bad. Great travel
films and stirring dramas with
valuable moral lessons have ap
peared from time to time. Wheat
has been mixed with the chaff,
but the chaff has predominated.
Through almost every performance there runs a "sex element," a leaven of licentiousness,
which pervades and spoils the
whole. That is why it is so perilous for the young even to enter
these places of amusement.
While there may be much to
amuse, and a little to edify, they
are almost certain to see something which will leave an ineradicable scar upon both mind and
conscience. . . .
Present Truth
Alcohol and Tobacco
Upon the altar of the pleasure
god many costly libations are offered. In Britain alone, despite
the hard times and unemployment, £260,000,000 a year is
spent on alcoholic liquors, as
against £80,000,000 for bread
and £70,000,000 for milk. If the
money spent on strong drink in
this country in the last hundred
years had not been spent but had
been allowed to accumulate at
compound interest, it would have
been sufficient to provide for
every family in the country, quite
apart from what they earn or receive in interest or dividends, an
income of £4 per week, not
merely for their lives but for the
lives of their children and their
children's children. It would
have paid off the whole of the
national debt of £7,000,000,000.
But the money was spent, and
is still being poured out in a constant golden stream. Think of
it ! Hundreds of millions expended annually with no return
save broken homes, spoiled lives,
and crowded prisons ! Could
folly be carried further? Why is
it tolerated ? There is only one
answer. The people want it. The
craving for drink must be satisfied. The god of pleasure must
have his due.
The incense at his shrine is
supplied by the tobacco fumes of
a thousand million smokers. No
May 11, 1933
health and blurring of the mental
faculties. Why, then, are these
added millions offered up on this
altar of self-indulgence? The
answer is the same. The people
want it.. They have become enslaved by the lure of nicotine and
they cannot break the shackles of
the habit they have formed. Day
by day they bring perforce new
tribute to the god they have
chosen to serve.
A Drugged and Deluded World
•
a
So while the world hurries on
to the stupendous scenes of the
crisis of this mighty hour, while
the dark night of the time of
trouble such as never was settles
upon it, the inhabitants are turning from the One Who alone
could save them to the gods of
their own creation. They worship
the works of their own hands
and revel in the lusts that such
idolatry invariably begets. As the
apostle Paul predicted in his inspired description of "the last
days," they have become "lovers
of their own selves, covetous,
boasters, . . . lovers of pleasures
more than lovers of God." 2 Tim.
3 :1-5.
But rejecting the Lord of
glory, men find no satisfaction in
their dreams of avarice. No lasting joy rewards their unceasing
search for new delights. Even
their realized ambitions turn to
Dead Sea fruit in their hands.
Their petty deities, to whom they
This article is the seventh in a series of extracts from the new book
by the Editor of PRESENT TRUTH entitled:
THIS MIGHTY HOUR a
412 pages; 52 full-page illustrations; Price 11/6
Ask your PRESENT TRUTH agent about it or order direct from
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reason supports this incredible
absurdity that blows more money
away in smoke year by year than
was consumed in the greatest
battles of the war. No good
comes of it, only undermining of
have offered such rich oblations,
fail them. The darkness of discontent transmutes their choicest
treasures into basest metal. They
discover that gold without God
makes one poor indeed.
4
May 11, 1933
Present Truth
5
The TRUTH about SPAIN
The Revolt against State Religion. Overthrow of
Roman Catholic Domination brings Religious Liberty
and great Educational Advance.
0 N the fourteenth day of
April, 1931, Alfonso XIII
hastily departed f r o m
III Spain for a more congenial
abode in France. He left the
Spaniards in a frenzy of joy,
rushing about through the streets
and plazas of the Spanish cities,
yelling, "Down with the Monh.
archy !" and, "Viva la Republica !"
The smoke from a dozen or
more burning convents rolled
skyward as infuriated mobs cried
out, "Down with the Jesuits !"
Priest and friar disappeared
from the streets that day, save
those who doffed their garbs for
the habit of the common people.
Thanks, however, to the calmness and prudence of the Spanish leaders, popular enthusiasm
was turned from the destruction
of life and property to the
weighty problem of building up
the social and economic interests
of the nation. The fiery Spaniard is to be commended, in that
he restrained his violent passions
4
and staged a revolt without the
blood-letting and horrors of the
French and Russian revolutions.
The overturning of the Bourbon throne constitutes a revolt
against state religion. It is a
sequel to, and another demon111/ stration of, the baneful effects of
the system of politico-ecclesiasticism that has been for centuries
the plague and curse of the
world.
One of the first steps of the
new regime was to decree the
•
divorce of church and state, to
suspend official relations with the
Vatican, and to declare the concordats with the Papal See null
and void.
By ROBERT LEO ODOM (Madrid, Spain)
Topical
The enraged populace taking vengeance on the Jesuits. Furniture from a
Jesuit monastery being thrown into the street and burned.
The republican constitution
declares that "the Spanish State
has no official religion." Guarantees of religious liberty are
assured to all citizens. Provision is made for a bill to regulate
the status of religious denominations. No minister of religion,
nor member of a monastic order,
is eligible to the presidency of
the nation. In the space of two
years (about expired now) the
budget f or t he worship and
clergy of the Roman church is to
be discontinued. Public education is in the hands of the state,
and must be directed by laymen.
Divorce, hitherto impossible, is
allowed in the courts, on proper
grounds. Only civil marriage is
legal. The walls separating the
Catholic dead from non-Catholics are to be abolished in public
cemeteries.
The monastic orders are subject to special restrictions, and
are forbidden to engage in in-
dustry, commerce, and educational activities. They must
account to the state for all funds,
receipts, disbursements, a n d
holdings of property. They cannot acquire property for other
purposes than the immediate use
of the monastic life. And when
the activities of any order are
deemed a menace to the safety of
the state, that order may be declared unlawful and its property
confiscated for public welfare.
Those binding its members to
the fourth vow are unlawful,
which is a blow to the Jesuits.
Such a project was naturally
the subject for blazing oratory.
Partisans of the old regime defied defeat, and stubbornly clung
to every vestige of civil support
for the old state church. Don
Fernando los Rios, Minister of
Justice, opened the debates of
the Parliament with an eloquent
oration, in the climax of which
he said :
6
"And pardon me now, gentlemen,
that I may address the Catholics of
the House. We have arrived at this
hour, profound for the history of
Spain, we heterodox Spaniards, with
soul lacerated and full of wounds
and deep scars, for it has been so
since the depths of the sixteenth century. We are children of the Erasmites; the spiritual children of those
whose dissenting conscience was
strangled for centuries. We come
with an arrow driven into the
depth of our soul, and that arrow is
the rancour which the church has
produced by having lived for centuries confused with the Monarchy,
and making us constantly the object
of deepest vexations. She has not
respected our persons, nor our
honour ; nothing—absolutely nothing
—has she respected; even in the supreme hour of suffering, in the moment of death, she has separated us
from our fathers."
Almost the whole body of the
Parliament rushed forward to
embrace the speaker, and the
session had to be suspended for
several minutes for emotions to
subside. Don Manuel Azaria,
actual leader of the government,
brought the debates to an end
with a whirlwind discourse,
and the measures were voted.
Don Niceto Alcala Zamora, the
present president of the republic,
voted against the measures, and
resigned the presidency. It was
indeed a radical turn for old
Spain !
Since the days of Ricarred I
in A.D. 589, the Roman church
had enjoyed the special favours
and prestige of being the state
cult. And though she scrupled
to lay her dead in the same
ground with those of contrary
opinions, she never hesitated to
maintain her worship and more
than 25,000 priests with moneys
taken from all men by the power
of taxation regardless of their
beliefs. The annual budget called
for more than 40,000,000 pesetas
annually. But the church's revenues from fees for special services, baptism, marriages, funerals, masses, freewill offerings,
and special collections, with the
bequests of wills and legacies,
swelled her total income to about
500,000,000 pesetas a year.
Other religious organizations
Present Truth
enjoyed a degree of restricted
liberty, but by taxation were
compelled to contribute to the
support of the state church. Indirect interference and vexation
were all too frequent from the
favoured church. Colporteurs,
selling Bibles and religious literature not sanctioned by the state
church, were often expelled from
towns or mobbed by ruffians at
t h e instigation of fanatical
priests, or even the civil authorities. In some parts marriage,
and interment of the dead, were
vexing problems for non-Catholics. Protestants were sometimes
fined for failing to pay special
reverence to the passing of a
religious procession. But during
the past two years the people
have enjoyed equal liberties
without distinction as to opinions
of religion, and Spain has had
greater religious liberty than she
has known in a thousand years.
Reports of the so-called persecution of the Roman church are
false, unless to deny her favouritism, which she has long enjoyed,
be persecution.
"When the Catholic religion
ceases to be the state religion
and lives by its own means, then
it will be seen whether or not
Spain is Catholic," said a member of Parliament. But Catholics
insist, and will be satisfied with
nothing less, that the state serve
their ends. It was urged that to
vote the separation of church
and state would be to vote God
out of the country. It was declared a crime to deny 25,000
priests their salaries from the
public funds in these days of depression and unemployment. It
was replied : "If the Catholics
want sacraments and services, let
them pay for them themselves."
Under the concordats there
were to be three monastic orders
in Spain, whereas there were
actually 203, with 4,886 convents,
the inmates of which were 81,162
monks and nuns. Madrid has
seventy-one such communities,
whose estates are estimated to
May 11, 1933
be worth 100,000,000 pesetas.
Barcelona has 105 communities.
They have invested in commerce,
taken part in industries, and
acquired such wealth and influence as to make them a powerful
factor in Spanish society. Public
charities and education rested
largely in their hands. Yet the
facilities for public education
were poor and meagre, and about
fifty-eight per cent of the masses
could neither read or write.
a
La Voz, one of Madrid's leading daily papers, recently declared that in a single section
of Madrid there are 40,000 children without the facilities for a
common education. A project
for the education of the Spanish
youth is under way, and calls for
an outlay of 480,000,000 pesetas.
One may now see splendid buildings, with spacious playgrounds,
rising everywhere to meet the
educational needs. Popular libraries for the free use of the
public are being opened everywhere. The educational programme is one of the greatest
contrasts between old and new
Spain.
Spanish sentiment is divided
between two extremes—the one
for the monarchy and state religion, the other for anarchy and
no religion. The nation stands
poised between the two. Two
attempted revolutions, one from ti
each quarter, have been
quashed. God alone knows what
will come to-morrow.
Politico-ecclesiasticism h a s
produced in Spain what it has
always produced—a militant and
intolerant atheism. Thanks to
the state aid the old church succeeded by means of the inquisition, which the Parliamentary debates revealed as killing at least
48,000 persons, in practically
destroying Protestantism, Judai s m, a n d Mohammedanism.
Neither of these has regained a
very great hold on the people.
The Bible is almost an unknown
book among the masses, and the
words "religion" and "Christi-
May 11, 1933
anity" are synonymous with Roman Catholicism and state religion for the most of the people.
If ever a religion has had an
opportunity of demonstrating its
efficacy, and the beneficial results
of state religion, Spain has afforded Rome a fair field.
•
•
4
•
Present Truth
7
The wily Jesuits, once before The churches and buildings conexpelled from Spain, defrauded nected with the Roman Catholic
in part the hopes of great public worship, the altars, images, etc.
benefit from the confiscation of are declared to be the property
their property, since much of it of the state. The object of this
was loaded down with mort- appears to be for the purpose of
gages, and the titles in some cases avoiding the alienation of the
invested in persons outside the property by the ecclesiastical
Who are the leaders of the order, all of which makes the authorities. But some see in it
revolt against the church? Men disposition tedious, complicated, a favour and protection to the
Roman church. The theft and
reared in her own bosom, bap- and expensive.
The bill regulating the status injury done to such property
tized by her own priests, educated in her own schools, have of religious bodies is now under would be a direct offence against
suspected her sincerity, doubted discussion. The old state church the state, and such property may
her faith, despised her institu- began an obstruction programme be exempted from all taxation.
tions, and sworn her destruction. of wasting time, offering a thou- These are privileges which other
Liberty of conscience having sand and one amendments, and religious bodies do not have.
No one can doubt the sincerity
been strangled for centuries, the much idle and aimless talk. It
had
been
expected
this
would
be
of
the leaders of the Spanish reprivilege of free thought and
investigation denied them, is the most difficult question before public. Yet they are men, and
bound to make men atheists and the Spanish Cortes, and the fact because they are men, they must
to make the people look upon that it had been postponed for have their faults and weaknesses.
state religion as a system of two years until all other mea- But considering the world crisis,
sures were considered seemed to Spain has enjoyed two years of
bondage.
confirm the notion. But the un- government equal to that of any
The enormous wealth of the wise obstruction policy has pro- civilized nation. It takes genius
monastic orders, who live in voked its passage, as some be- and courage to rule a people that
great and commodious buildings, lieve, without due consideration are being swayed by the agitawhich multiply throughout the in some points.
tors of the conflicting doctrines
land; the towering churches,
All denominations are made of anarchy and state religion.
sumptuously furnished with the
best that art and industry can
produce; the clergy living on the
revenues of the church and the
public funds of the nation; the
vast estates of king and nobles
serving no purpose but the pleasure of the owners; all these
had become the envy of the
masses in need of relief, and the
talk of atheistic and communistic
agitators.
The agrarian laws which compel the great estates to be put to
some useful end, especially under
cultivation, or be forfeited; the
conversion of the royal estates
© Topical
to public use ; the inauguration
A few of the scores of Jesuits, driven out of Spain, who have settled in
England. Though ever hospitable to the exile, this country would do well
of public works throughout the
to keep a watchful eye on the activities of these servants of the pope-king.
country to employ the idle and
develop the nation's resources ; subject to strict state control. We wish Spain well, while we
the expulsion, and confiscation of Only Spaniards may hold cleri- fear for her future.
Let every sincere Christian
property for public welfare, of cal or administrative offices in
the Jesuits; the separation of the churches. This will be a pray that God may manifest His
church and state; and the launch- heavy blow if put in force with saving power, and bless the
ing of the educational pro- rigour. It will result more in efforts of every honest Christian
gramme, have in a great measure favour of the old church if Pro- endeavour, on behalf of this
remedied some of the evils.
testant missionaries are expelled. noble people.
8
Present Truth
May 11, 1933
The Coming Kingdom
•
X. Will the League
of Nations Succeed?
By W. L. EMMERSON
O complete our survey of
the present world situation
in the light of the great
image of Daniel two, there is
one other movement towards
unity which must be taken into
our purview, namely, the League
of Nations.
We cannot class this among
the modern aspirants to world
domination, however, because it
has no such aim. It seeks not
amalgamation but rather a world
federation in the interests of
peace and security.
The conception is by no means
a new one. It may, in fact, be
traced back almost to the earliest
days of the divided empire as an
alternative to the unsuccessful
attempts at reunion already referred to. But not until recent
T
times has it received really serious consideration.
As early as the beginning of
the fourteenth century the
French writer, Pierre Dubois,
suggested the formation of a
league of states under the suzerainty of Philip of France with
supernational authority for the
settlement of differences between
individual nations, and with the
power of economic boycott to enforce its decisions. About the
same time D a n t e, in Italy,
broached a similar scheme in his
De Monarchia, advocating a central organization and a system of
international law for a united
Europe. The hostility of the developing nations of the time,
however, precluded even the discussion of such propositions.
"The Grand Design"
Towards the end of the sixteenth century the Duc de Sully,
a minister of Henry IV of
France, set forth his "Grand Design" for an international league
headed by France to secure the
settlement of all differences by
arbitration and to maintain an
armed force for the coercion of
delinquent powers. Twelve sovereigns, including Elizabeth of
England, signified their willingness to consider such a scheme,
but before anything definite
could be done Henry was murdered and the plan fell through.
Another abortive proposal was
made late in the seventeenth century by William Penn, the
Quaker who suggested a European Diet or Parliament with representation on the curious basis
of "value of territory." A quarter
of a century later the Abbe de
St. Pierre, the secretary to the
French diplomat who arranged
the Treaty of Utrecht, suggested
another scheme for European
federation. Though it got no
farther than any earlier proposal
the abbe's plan is particularly interesting in that it specified that
no king might hold two sovereignties, thus definitely dissociating it from any suggestion of reunion or amalgamation.
•
I
The Holy Alliance
The Peace Palace at The Hague, where the international conferences of
1899 and 1907 were held.
After the disastrous Napoleonic Wars the idealist, Czar
Alexander I of Russia, induced
every sovereign of Europe except the Pope, the prince-regent
of England, and the sultan of
Turkey, to unite in a Holy Alli-
4
May 11, 1933
Present Truth
9
ance for the perpetual preservation of the peace
of Europe. The
principal powers
expressed "their
unchangeable determination to
adopt no other
rule of conduct
either in the
government of
their respective
countries, or in
their political relations with
other governments, than the
precepts of that The Palace of the Nations at Genera, where the assemblies of the League of Nations are convened.
holy religion, the
precepts of justice, Christian est of its own country to the find a new cement to hold the
charity, and peace, which far general interest of Europe."— n a t i o ns together." And the
from being applicable only to "Cambridge Modern History," cement he suggested was the
modern League of Nations.
private concerns, must have an Vol. 10, pages 14-20.
immediate influence on the counSo, after thirty-three years of He confidently believed that the
cils of Princes, and guide all rather strained co-operation, the time had come when the peoples
their steps as being the only concert of Europe was dissolved of the world would come tomeans of consolidating human in the revolutions of 1848, and gether and form a universal
institutions and remedying their the revival of economic and poli- brotherhood of nations.
imperfections."
t i c al nationalism precipitated
On another occasion, at a dinArticle sixty-three of this nine extensive wars during the
ner given by King George in
treaty of Alliance stated :
next quarter of a century.
December, 1918, President WilA new attempt at co-opera- son declared :
"The confederated states engage in
the same manner not to make war tion, also originating with the
against each other, on any pretext,
"There is a great tide running
nor to pursue their differences by Czar of Russia, was made at the
in
the hearts of men. The hearts
close
of
the
nineteenth
century,
force of arms, but to submit them to
the diet, which will attempt a media- and at the Hague conferences in of men have never beaten so
tion by means of a commission. If
this shall not succeed, and a juridical 1899 and 1907 twenty-six and singularly in unison before. Men
sentence becomes necessary, recourse forty-four s t at es respectively have never before been so conshall be had to a well-organized were brought together. Again a scious of their brotherhood."
Austregal court, to the decision of
which the contending parties are to number of lesser disputes were
"The common will of mansubmit without any appeal."
settled, but the major antagon- kind," he said on another occa"White Angel" and "Universal
isms proved irreconcilable, and sion, "has been substituted for
Saviour"
eventually blazed forth in the the particular purposes of indiAlexander was hailed as the cataclysm of 1914 to 1918.
vidual states." And again :
"White Angel" and "Universal
"National
purposes have fallen
Finding
a
"New
Cement"
Saviour," but it was very soon
more
and
more into the backWith
the
close
of
the
World
apparent that the signatories had
ground
and
the common purpose
War
it
was
realized
by
the
leadno intention of seeking justice,
of
enlightened
mankind has
peace, or unity except as they ing statesmen that unless sometaken
their
place."
would further their own ends. thing effective was speedily deWhile a few minor questions vised in the way of co-operation
So under his inspiration the
were satisfactorily negotiated it between the nations civilization League was established and its
was evident that "wherever the must inevitably annihilate itself. purpose was declared in the preinterests of the several powers
Speaking in Italy, President amble of the League Covenant to
were deeply engaged, . . . no Wilson declared in words strik- be, "to promote international cogovernment would or could ingly reminiscent of the word of operation and to achieve intersubordinate the particular inter- prophecy, "We shall have to national peace and security."
10
Many noble-minded statesmen
and laymen gave their support to
the ideal, but even while the
League was under discussion it
was clear that among many of
the national groups the noble
conceptions of the founder were
sadly lacking. And during the
twelve years of its existence
whenever a major issue has
come up for discussion the same
spirit of prejudice, independence,
jealousy, and fear that has dominated European politics since the
close of the Middle Ages and
effectively vetoed every attempt
of the idealists to draw the nations together, has invariably
been manifest.
Present Truth
A United States of Europe
Some leaders of international
thought believe that world cooperation is dependent upon economic internationalism rather
than political federation, and
build their hopes upon an economic partnership of the nations.
Pre-eminent among suc h
schemes is the conception of a
"United States of Europe," suggested by the late M. Briand, to
work in collaboration with the
United States of America or
even a pan-American economic
organization.
Thus far, h o w e v e r, such
schemes have had an even less
encouraging reception than the
League itself. Where attempts
have been made to break down
the economic barriers between
nations, as in the case of the
Austro-German Customs Union,
they have been regarded as precursors of political union and
quickly nipped in the bud by suspicious neighbours.
May 11, 1933
hastily jump to the conclusion
that the conception of a league
of nations is impossible of fulfilment, and that it will never be
attained.
The prophecy of Daniel two
does categorically declare that
the fourth empire will never be
organically reunited into a single
world power. But it does not
state that there will be no
friendly confederation.
Confederation Predicted
Other prophecies, in fact, envisage the development of just
such a movement. Paul, for
example, refers to a time in the
closing days of earth's history
when the nations would join in
Nationalism Still Rampant
saying, "Peace and safety." 1
Time and again nationalism
Thess. 5 :3. These are the very
ideals set forth by the supporters
has revealed its vitality and its
of the League of Nations, and
continued dominance over internationalism. In 1923 the authoralthough 1 it t l e success along
ity of the League was so daringly
these lines has yet been achieved
flouted by Italy during its disit may be that some type of
league will in the future effect a
pute with Greece that it was only
with difficulty saved
real measure of cooperation.
f r o m disruption.
France in defiance of
That such a confederation will arise
the League invaded
is still more clearly
the Ruhr in the same
indicated in the
year, again straining
seventeenth chapter
it almost to the
of the Revelation,
breaking point. And
which also suggests
this year Japan has
that this league will
a c t u ally resigned
for a time be dominfrom the League
ated by the last-day
rather than submit
manifestation
of
to its declared judgAntichrist. (Verses
ment in connection
12, 13.) In this conwith the Manchurian
nection the words of
dispute.
Napoleon on St.
As in the case of
Helena are almost
the Holy Alliance, it
prophetic. Said he,
seems that a few
referring
to his plans
powerful states are
© Topical
using the League for The last page of the Kellogg Pact for the renunciation of war, for a homogeneous
the maintenance of showing the seals and signatures of the world's leading statesmen. Europe : "The imIt would seem, therefore, pulse has been given and . . .
the status quo in their favour,
while other discontented nations that the co-operative federation, the first sovereign who, in the
are bending every effort to attain either political or economic, be- midst of the first great struga position where they can defy tween the divided states of the gle, shall embrace in good faith
it. And when such a time comes old Roman Empire is, at present the cause of the peoples, will
this latest concert must go to at any rate, as unattainable as find himself at the head of all
Europe and will be able to acpieces and precipitate a new suc- organic union.
We should not, however, complish whatever he wishes."
cession of disastrous wars.
—"Cambridge Modern History,"
Vol. 10, page 1.
The exercise of this power in
the economic boycott of God's
faithful remnant in the closing
days of earth's history is brought
to view in the thirteenth chapter
of the Revelation. "And he
causeth all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right
hand, or in their foreheads : and
that no man might buy or sell,
save he that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the
number of his name." Verses
16, 17.
This leadership, however, will
not long be tolerated and the
confederated ten kingdoms will
turn their arms against Antichrist, bringing about the final
overthrow of that power. "And
the ten horns which thou sawest
upon the beast, these shall hate
the whore, and shall make her
desolate and naked, and shall
eat her flesh, and burn her with
fire. For God hath put in their
hearts to fulfil His will." Rev.
17:16, 17.
Its End
•
S
11
Present Truth
May 11, 1933
In the end the Scriptures indicate that this confederation will
set itself against the Lamb and
the faithful remnant, and by this
act will encompass the simultaneous destruction of all the
nations comprising it : "These
shall make war with the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome
them : for He is Lord of lords,
and King of kings." Rev. 17 :14.
And here fit in the concluding
words of Daniel's prophetic history of the divided empire in the
image vision. "In the days of
these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed : and
the kingdom shall not be left to
other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for
ever." Dan. 2 :44.
(Next time: "The Crash of
Empires.")
Swallows in Africa
By M. J. Vine
ALM trees, oil and wine
and coco-nut. A vulture
hovering stilly over the
bush. Yellow-eyed, red-headed
lizards. Strange that so suddenly
we could feel so thoroughly out
of harmony with it all.
But all at once a swallow
swooped down out of the blue,
and someway, in that instant, we
were no longer African with the
Africans, we were at home again,
with swallows building under the
eaves, their little ones sometimes
falling out of their nests, and
we, with clumsy fingers, trying
gently to pick up the dear, ugly
little things and carry them upstairs that we might be able to
reach out and put them cosily
back again.
And then there came others,
dozens of them, darting here and
there and skimming gracefully,
over the parched, brown grass.
It was thrilling and we, always
happy though sometimes homesick souls, greeted them with
rapture. They seemed to bring
our England so intimately near.
"Oh, Mate," said Bim, "red
roofs and elms, beech woods and
rolling meadows, lovely hills !"
We talked long that night. We
often talk, we two. And of all
the lovely places that we know
there were not many to which
we did not go again, so fully had
the swallows brought it all.
This poor old world is in such
a sad and sorry state that homesick for heaven is what most of
us are just now, and heaven
seems so far away. And yet, just
as those swallows brought England to our doorstep even here
in this dark country, so God has
strewn His reminders around,
and heaven, too, could be very
near. Only, like Jacob in stony
Bethel, we need to be made
p
aware ; like Moses in the desert,
we need to be able to see ; like
Thomas, in the midst of his
doubts, we need to be willing to
receive.
There are some that see, but
they are very few, and they are
certainly not those whom the
world counts discerning.
"For they do grope in darkness so
profound.
Not all the glory light of heaven
can pierce
The earth of their coarse clay."
So deluded and blind, indeed, are
they, that they blot out the whole
plan of salvation when they
stumble over an old bone.
And neither are they the rich,
"for it is easier," said Jesus, "for
a camel to go through a needle's
eye, than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God."
Indeed the great tragedy of
wealth is that it costs so much,
and its greatest cost is the spiritual dullness it brings to the
heart, and thus the impossibility
of attaining heaven.
I knew a girl once, and she
was a good friend to me, who,
though all her life she had lived
in a godly home and worked with
godly associates, still, at last,
gave it all up. Her fingers itched
for the violin strings and the
music hall ; twinkling over the
dance floor her feet seemed made
for jazz; and she revelled in
dress. Neither had she the will
diligently to overcome her inclinations. They blinded her,
those stupid, futile things.
And she is only one of an
overwhelming number, and as
Mildred Hill again writes :
"If thou art seeking heaven, ask not
Whothecrmavaens his joy in passing
gaieties,
Who loves his wine, his pleasures,
and his lusts;
He has already made his choice
between
12
Time's fleeting things, and heaven's
eternities.
And 'tis impossible for him to see
Heaven's glory light."
No, they who see are different
from all these. He who sees has
taken off his shoes. He is humble and alone.
"In the place where He was
crucified," says the apostle John,
"there was a garden." To John's
clear mind this nearness was
more than a coincidence, and so
he recorded it for our encouragement. "One is nearer God's
heart in a garden than anywhere
else on earth," and God and
heaven are near to him who is
crucified. Perhaps we, too, have
got to suffer crucifixion before
heaven can be brought near to
us.
Indeed, they that are Christ's
must crucify the flesh, must they
not ? To quote Dr. Morrison,
"Self-surrender is the way to
service, self-denial is the way to
song."
"I always distrust things that
are too easy," he says, "especially a too easy Christianity.
Strait is the gate and narrow is
the way. If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off. They that
are Christ's have crucified the
flesh. Is that an easy life? One
might well think that such a life
as that would be a desolate and
dreary business, and there are
many that shun it on that score.
What ! Surrender up my life
with its freedom and its sweet
and secret pleasures? Turn my
days into an arid desert where no
passion-flowers can ever grow ?
But the strange thing is that with
the great surrender there comes
gladness, and birds begin to sing,
and every common flower takes
on new beauty."
Moses was in the wilderness
when he came into such intimate
contact with the Lord. Jacob
was in Bethel when he found
himself at the gate of heaven.
Let us open our eyes. Perhaps
we, too, are within touch of
angels. Our clothes may be even
brushing them as they pass.
May 11, 1933
Present Truth
A Living Faith
Another instalment of our serial,
"Friendly Talks on Vital Topics"
By W. T. BARTLETT
[WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE.—Mr.
Summers, an earnest Christian, being deeply
impressed with the imminence of the return
of Jesus, seeks to impress his neighbours
and friends with the solemnity of the times,
and lead them to join with him in a definite
preparation of heart and life against that
day. Two godly young men, Mr. Rogers
and Mr. Barker, respond to his invitation,
and meet with him week by week for Bible
study. They search out what the Bible has
to say concerning the second advent of
Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and
the judgment of the last day, and find that
the standard of the final judgment will be
the moral law of God as expressed in the
ten commandments. An examination of the
ten commandments leads them to the discovery that the Christian world to-day is
no longer observing the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment. They
therefore 2pply themselves to a study of
this subject to find out how the change
came about. They discover that the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh
to the first day by human and not divine
authority. Mr. Barker and Mr. Rogers re.
solve to obey God rather than man and
join with Mr. Summers in the observance
of the true Sabbath. Mr. Rogers expresses
regret that his stand will cut him off from
the lines of Christian service in which he
has been engaged, but is assured that he
will have no lack of opportunity for witnessing. He would in fact play his part in
the last great reformatory movement preparatory to the return of Jesus.]
"I SUPPOSE there is nothing in the
Bible about such a reformation?"
inquired Mr. Rogers.
"Indeed, there is," replied Mr.
Summers. "There are many Scriptures which show plainly that when
the Lord comes, He will find a
tested but faithful people, who
have been cleansed and freed from
every sin, and who are obedient to
all of God's commandments. Here
is one in the twelfth of Revelation,
verse seventeen."
Mr. Barker turned up the passage, and read : "And the dragon
was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
commandments of God, and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ."
"If you read the whole of this
chapter," said Mr. Summers, "you
will find that it deals with a long
and bitter warfare on the part of
the dragon, or Satan, and his agencies, against the woman, representing the church. The struggle is
traced down to the end, and in the
verse to which we have just
listened, we find the remnant of the
woman's seed described. The word
`remnant' means 'remainder,' and
certainly indicates the last of the
seed, or the individuals who compose the church of Christ in its
closing stage. How does John
speak of this remnant?"
"They keep the commandments
of God, and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ," was the answer.
"Then they must be observers of
the seventh-day Sabbath, must they
not?" asked Mr. Summers. "For
they could not be described as
keeping the commandments of God
unless they were. And notice, it
is not until the remnant is reached
that God's people are characterized
by such obedience to His commandments. Cast your mind back
over the history of the Church during the last seventeen or eighteen
hundred years. You can describe
the saints as martyrs to their faith,
and by many other honourable
terms, but it would be impossible
truthfully to say that they were
distinctively keepers of God's commandments."
"I suppose they thought they
were," said Mr. Barker.
"No doubt," answered Mr. Summers, "and if they had seen the
light on the Sabbath they would
have been as true to that as they
were to other truths that God revealed to them; but very few of
them saw it. Some did, and were
obedient, but the great mass did
not. So although the revelator,
speaking of those faithful witnesses during the long period of papal
supremacy, could say, as in Rev.
13 :10 : 'Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints,' he could
not then add: 'and they that keep
the commandments of God.' There
are many references in the book of
Revelation to the saints and their
experiences during the rule of the
papacy, but there are only two
places where the saints are said to
be keepers of the commandments
of God, and both of those places
refer to the church in the last days.
One of those passages Mr. Barker
has read to us, and now I will ask
him to read the other. He will
find it in the fourteenth chapter,
verse twelve."
•
May 11, 1933
0
S
•
S
Mr. Barker took up his Bible,
and read the following words :
"Here is the patience of the
saints : here are they that keep
the commandments of God, and the
faith of Jesus."
"Thank you," said Mr. Summers.
"You can be certain that these
words apply to the people of God
in their last earthly experience, for
two verses on you read of the coming of the Lord to reap the harvest
of the earth. So you see, when the
Lord comes to gather His saints,
those saints will be keeping the
commandments of God and the
faith of Jesus. In other words,
they will be Sabbath-keeping
Christians, and since this will be
true of all the saints at the time
spoken of by John, it is evident
that a great reformation on the
point of Sabbath-keeping must precede the advent of the Lord."
"There is another point which is
worthy of careful attention in this
fourteenth chapter of Revelation,"
continued Mr. Summers, "and that
is that the Sabbath will evidently
be the central point around which
the last controversy of the church
will move. We might, of course,
infer this from the fact which we
have already noted, that a great reformation on the keeping of the
Bible Sabbath is to take place in
the last days. But this chapter
makes it certain."
"Please tell us how you find that
out," said Mr. Rogers, eagerly.
"We have just read the twelfth
verse," said Mr. Summers, "and
that tells us that the saints who are
prepared for the appearing of
Christ will be distinguished by the
fact that they keep all of God's
commandments. But before John
wrote that verse he had just described three messages, from their
contents evidently the last given
to the world. The first of these
messages proclaims the everlasting
Gospel, tells men that the hour of
God's judgment is come, and calls
upon all to worship the Creator.
Now how, have we found, did the
Creator appoint that He should be
worshipped?"
"By remembering the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy," answered Mr.
Barker. "The Sabbath is the great
memorial of creative power. In the
fourth commandment the Lord
Himself states His reason for ordaining the Sabbath : Tor in six
days the Lord made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that in them
is, and rested the seventh day :
wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and, hallowed it.'"
"Very well," said Mr. Summers;
Present Truth
"then when we are bidden to worship the Creator, it certainly means
that one thing, at least, which is
required of us is to keep the Sabbath. That, then, is to be a prominent part of the preaching of the
everlasting Gospel to every nation
and kindred and tongue and people
in the days when the hour of God's
judgment is come. That is clear,
isn't it?"
"It seems plain enough," said
Mr. Rogers. "So the keeping of
the Sabbath is to be presented before men, with a loud voice, in
every nation."
"Yes, the prophecy certainly
states that," replied Mr. Summers.
"But that is not all. You will see
that a second angel delivers a message, in which it is declared that
Babylon is fallen. We haven't the
time to go into this prophecy fully
just now, to see what Babylon
stands for, and what is meant by
its fall, but you will recognize at
once that Babylon stands for that
spirit which leads men to lift themselves up and defy God. It is evident, then, that at this very time,
when the message from heaven is
calling men to exalt the Creator,
there is a strong movement on the
earth to exalt the creature. Now
we have seen that men are to worship the Creator by honouring His
Sabbath. How will Babylon, representing an organized rebellion
on the part of the creature, conduct her campaign against God?
Will it not be by demanding honour
for itself in the observance of the
spurious sabbath, which it has set
up as a mark of its authority over
the consciences of men?"
"There is certainly," remarked
Mr. Barker, "a strong movement at
present to extend the observance of
the Sunday, just at the very time
when God is calling attention to
the true Sabbath."
"Yes, that is the situation," said
Mr. Summers. "If we refer to the
prophecy of Daniel, which describes the career of the papacy, we
shall find that one of the principal
objects of its attack is the law of
God. Will you both turn to the
seventh chapter of the book of
Daniel? You will see that four
great beasts are shown to the prophet, and that these represent the
four great predominating empires
of the world's history, Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.
Out of the last, ten kingdoms arise,
and among those grows up a kingdom different from all the others.
In the course -of the book of Daniel, the three first empires are
named, but although the fourth is
13
not named, there is no possible
question as to which world-wide
power it was that followed Greece.
Every one knows that it was the
great Roman Empire. And just as
certainly every one may know what
power it was that rose among the
nations which divided the old Roman Empire. It was the Church of
Rome. That church claimed and
exercised all the power of the
emperors, and even more. And history fully justifies the language
in which Daniel foretells, by revelation, the course of the Church of
Rome. Mr. Rogers, will you read
us the twenty-fifth verse of this
seventh of Daniel?"
Mr. Rogers accordingly read
these words : "And he shall speak
great words against the Most
High, and shall wear out the saints
of the Most High, and think to
change times and laws : and they
shall be given into his hand until
a time and times and the dividing
of time."
(To be concluded.)
A Generous Gift
IN our last issue it was our
privilege to thank an anonymous
donor for two consecutive gifts
of £25 for missions.
As we go to press with this
issue a registered letter has come
to hand from another reader who
wishes to remain anonymous,
enclosing no less than twenty
new five pound notes. Accompanying this splendid gift of
£100 is this letter :
"Will you kindly accept this
gift on behalf of missions. For
some time now it has been my
desire to give it, when it is so
much needed. Praying for God's
blessing that it may be used to
His glory.
"Yours faithfully,
"M.R.."
Evidently the Lord is moving
upon the hearts of His true disciples in this hour of crisis. We
believe that many more will be
likewise impressed to give generously of their means as the
shadows of the last days gather
around us.
Thank you, M.R., for your
generosity, and may others be
led to emulate your self-sacrificing example.—EDITOR.
April 27, 1933
Present Truth
14
JJhe Chddren s wogaoes
EDITED BY UNCLE ARTHUR
Author of " Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories "
Jack's Lost Scooter
JACK had one bad habit—he
always wanted to play first and
do his work later. One day he
came into the house crying great
big, round, shiny, tears.
"Why, what in the world is
the matter?" said Mother.
"I've lost my scooter—I can't
find my scooter!" sobbed Jack.
"Where did you leave it?"
asked Mother.
"I don't remember !" he
wailed.
For two days they searched,
but the scooter had simply disappeared.
On the morning of the third
day Mother said to Jack, "Take
this duster and dust the woodwork all around the living
room !"
"And mind that you wipe behind the couch and in the corners," cautioned Daddy, his eyes
twinkling.
Jack took the duster, but he
didn't like to do it. "It's a girl's
job," he declared; "why can't
Marcia do it ?"
Just then a little neighbour
boy whispered to Jack, so out of
the door he slipped, and forgot
all about the dusting.
"Oh," said his little
friend, "if you only had
your scooter, Jack, what
fun we could have !"
Two hours slipped by,
and then Daddy, with a
stern look on his face, suddenly appeared. "Jack,"
he said, "did you do what
your mother told you to
do?"
"No-00000 !" muttered
Jack.
"Scamper !" said Daddy, and
Jack knew that it was time to get
to work !
"I don't see what I have to
wipe behind that old couch for,"
grumbled Jack as he came to it ;
"the dust doesn't show behind
it, anyhow !" But he did not dare
to neglect it, for Mother had a
habit of seeing into dark corners.
He squeezed in behind it and
bumped into a hard object. Then
he gave a sudden squeal, for
there, sitting as quiet as could
be, was the long-lost scooter.
"Mother, do come and see !"
he cried, "here it is ! here it is !"
Mother and Daddy both hurried to the spot. "I put it there,"
said Mother, "and knew that the
first time Jack actually did his
work and did it well he would
find it," she smiled.
"Oh," sighed Jack, as he
finished dusting in a great rush,
"if I had done my work first,
I shouldn't have been without
it all morning !"
"Work before play !" said
Mother smiling.
JUNE DOUGLAS.
The Story of Francine
DURING the late war France
had an enlisted "dog army."
There were four kinds of brave
dogs — Red Cross dogs, rat
killers, sentinels, and dispatch
dogs. The two latter are very important. However, for running
into real danger at the front, the
dispatch dogs are the bravest.
Now, Francine was one of
these dispatch dogs. She was a
little fuzzy black-and-white creature, with a curled-up tail, steady
brown eyes, full of tricks when
tricks were in order, and a real
soldier of France always.
Everyone in the army loved
Francine, but no one so much as
her kind master in blue. He
taught her many tricks, far different from those she had played
in her old home in the country.
First, she had to get used to
the noise of the guns. That was
hard on her little ears. Then,
she had to learn to crouch low—
or even to jump into a hole—
when a shell exploded ; and, most
important of all, she had to learn
to run swiftly from one camp to
another with a message in a little
leather pocketbook or bag tied
about her neck. That was why
she was called a "dispatch dog."
One morning, her kind master,
throwing back his blue cape so
that the red showed, called
softly : "Here, Francine ! Come !
This day you must fight for
France ! Come !"
With a bound she was up, and
all that day she followed her
beloved master on the firing line.
At last word came that the
French telephone wires were cut.
Unless the French commander
a
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a
May 11, 1933
•
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f
15
Present Truth
could get word to his men on the —and off—dodging this and that, are sleeping again, we will see
other side of the field, the battle running, crouching, lying down who has the best album.
Our treasure books never lie
was lost. And the wires were as if dead, up again and off.
Could she reach the other side? forgotten for long. Joyce and
down !
No ! Yes ! There she was pant- Humphrey Kinman sent a snap
"Come, Francine ! Now is
ing at the feet of the commander, of their goat along, and Marjorie
your turn !"
her precious message safe ! The Ford sent one of herself and
Her master tied the message day saved for France! Brave Connie Sturgess at the seaside.
securely in the little bag about little Francine !
Thank you all so much ! PerFrancine's neck, and whispered
When the regiment of her haps some of you have taken
in her ear, "Go, Francine, across master paraded later before all several snaps this Easter, and I
the field ! Take the message ! France, to be honoured for its am looking forward to receiving
You will not fail ! Go, little sol- bravery, Francine was there be- some of them.
dier of France !"
side her master—trotting with
I am giving you another PaintAway she darted ! The sol- her head and tail up ; for had she, ing Competition this time as
diers watched her running. Then too, not received a Cross of War you will have so much else
she f ell ! A bomb had exploded ! for her bravery? And was she to think about with the poetry
Was she killed? No; when the not the happiest "soldier" in all and pressed flowers. Send your
DAISY BROWN.
smoke lifted, she was up again France?
attempts, with your name, age,
and address attached, to me
c/o The Stanborough Press Ltd.,
Watford, Herts., not later than
May 18th.
I do hope you all had a very
Thompson of Bristol, suggests happy holiday and that you are
My dear Sunbeams,
WE always think of Hoxton that as there are so many of us enjoying being back at school
Market as a very dull, unhappy all over the country, some are again.
Yours affectionately,
place, don't we? But a few days sure to meet on holiday this
ELLA PADMORE.
ago we heard that right in the summer, and if all would wear
midst of its darkness, Hoxton their badges faithfully, it would
Result of Competition No. 7
has at least one little "Sunbeam" be nice to be able to make friends
B IBLE HUNT
Prize-winner.—Sybil Yeates, 59 Kemble
of its own. It is a little boy with each other. Don't you think
Road, Forest Hill, London, S.E.23.
whose name we do not know that is a splendid idea?
Honourable mention.—Geoffrey Belton
(Birminham); Hilda Fowler (PeterborDid you know that we have ough);
who prayed that he might be
John Thomson (Workington).
Those who tried hard.—Bernard Bailey
taught to love God first, others not only artists in our band, but (Stoke-on-Trent);
Peggy Gummer (Bristol);
Hitchcox (Wolston); Audrey Horler
poets, too ? I was so surprised to Henry
next, and himself last.
Bristol); Peggy Jones (P. Talbot); Harry
Jordan (Leeds); Humphrey Kinman (WokPerhaps his tiny friends will receive, on the same day, a poem ing);
Joyce Kinman (Woking).
take this as their motto, too. from Joyce Kinman and one
PAINTING
Then Hoxton will not only have from Peggy Schafer. Both are
Prize-winner.—Olive Thompson, 14 HillRoad, St. George, Bristol.
the joy that others give by fond of writing poetry, and burn
Honourable mentso n.—Peggy Alder
their kindness, but will be help- Joyce suggests that we have a (Reading).
Those who tried hard.—Alfred Ashby
Poetry Competition. So I will (London, N.10); Marjorie Ford (Salising itself to happiness.
bury); Hazel Jones (Manchester); Roy
Yet the need of Hoxton is give you quite a long time to McLeod (Locking); Peter Stearman (Poralways in somebody's thoughts. think about it, and later will ask ingland); Phyllis Thompson (Bristol).
Our Sunbeams' Corner
A number of balls, old and new,
large and small, arrived last
If week from a friend of the Sunbeams. And someone else tells
me that a parcel will soon find
its way here as a result of spring
cleaning ! So you see, "it's an ill
wind that blows nobody any
good !"
We have entered eight new
names on our old, well-worn
register since last time, and sent
out many badges to old and new
members. One Sunbeam, Phyllis
you to send in your poems.
Make them fairly short and
choose any subject you wish.
Now that the days of many
flowers are with us again, I
would like you to start making
a Pressed Flower Album. It is
such fun searching for wild
flowers and pressing them, and
then sticking them neatly in an
album with tiny strips of paper.
See how beautiful you can make
your collection and when the
autumn comes, and the woods
-4.- .0-
.401.
"IT's the kindness you bring,
the songs you sing and the
smiles you wear that make the
sunshine everywhere."
Present Truth
Printed and published in Great
Britain fortnightly on Thursday by
The STANBOROUGH PRESS Ltd.
Watford, Herts.
A. S. MAXWELL
EDITOR:
Annual subscription 4/6 post free
Vol. 49. No. 10.
Price 2d
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THE WORLD'S QUEST
FOR ETERNAL YOUTH AND HAPPINESS
THRILL YOUR HEART WITH A
NEW HOPE
THE growing interest in retaining one's youth and
beauty; the daily search for new happiness; the efforts
at rejuvenation—they may be successful if rightly directed! Read "The World's Quest" and see what the
Scriptures say.
"The World's Quest" shows God's original plan that man should retain life and
happiness for ever. Temporarily wrecked—will this plan yet be carried out? Read
in "World's Quest" of :
A strange Himalayan people who live two hundred years.
The English traveller and the rejuvenating spring.
The Spanish ships which sought the Fountain of Youth.
The Creator's design—what was it?
The human body designed to keep perpetually young?
How old age came—the Bible story.
A planet wrecked—Is this strange story true?
Hopes and promises of the return of Eternal Youth and
happiness—are they well founded?
Christ's own teaching—did it include restoration?
Terra Nova : The Land of Eternal Youth—new hopes for
its early establishment. God's promises sure of
fulfilment.
treg
at:
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Printed and published in Great Britain by The Stanborough Press Ltd., Watford, Hens.