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The Fresbytfeiian- of the South
Vol. 96. No. 12. RICHMOND, VA.. 9 MARCH 22, 1922.
EVERY Member Canvasses have been made .
in most of the churches by this time. The
Stewardship Committee is very anxious to have
reports sent in promptly. The results of the can
vass, giving the goal set and the amount sub
scribed, should be sent to the Presbycerial Man
ager at once, if they have not already been re
ported.
THANK Offerings were very common
among the Children of Israel. After
they had paid their tithes and met all of their
oilier obligations, they often felt that they
wanted to show their thankfulness to God for
His goodness to them. If they had received
any special blessing or just in recognition of
the general blessings they received from llim,
t hey made a special thank offering. Would it
not be a good plan for us to follow their exam
ple ? Let us look back over the year and see
how wonderfully God has blessed us. Even if
trouble has come sometimes, the blessings have
far outweighed the troubles. When we have
taken an inventory of God's blessings, let us
see what thank offering we can take to Him.
?Tust now every department of the Church's
work is in great need of money. The work is
suffering. Souls are dying. If every member
of our great and glorious Church would make
a thank offering, which will show his apprecia
tion of God's unbounded blessings and will give
it to the treasurer of his church next Sunday,
all of the committees will be able to continue
their work and instead of retrenching, they
could expand. Let's do it.
PASTORS and churches all over this coun
try are receiving communications from the
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in
America, urging the churches as organizations
to sign a petition to be sent to the members of
the United States Senate, urging that body to
adopt "promptly without change and without
reservations" the treaties recently agreed upon
hy the Conference held in Washington on the
invitation of President Harding. It will be
well to consider for a moment the subjects
delt with in these treaties. They not only
recommend the reduction of naval armament,
hut decide just what that shall be in the case
of each country. They deal with the question
of fortifications on the Pacific islands. They
propose to settle the rights of the contracting
lowers in the Pacific and its islands. They
provide for the abrogation of a treaty between
Kngland and Japan. The treaties decide upon
?lie rights of the United States and Japan in
the Island of Yap. They divide the former
German ocean cables among certain nations.
The treaties insist upon the "open door" policy
in China, and show how this is to be brought
about. They demand that Chinese integrity
shall be maintained, and lay down many regu
lations as to the internal affairs of China. They
undertake to settle the dispute between China
and Japan over Shantung. They also direct
what Japan is to do in connection with Siberia.
This is a bare outline of the subjects with which
?be treaties deal. We submit that no Church
court has the right under its charter, which
the Bible, to require its members to pass
judgment on- such subjects. These are all dis
tinctly political questions, and no mortal man
fan say that any one of the questions here
treated has been answered in the only way in
which it could be answered from a moral stand
point. The Church has no right to say to its
members, "You must endorse the 5-5-3 naval
disarmament plan." That may be a wise plan
or another may be better. And so with all the
other questions. How is it possible for the
rank and file of the Church to be able to de
cide, without even reading the treaties, that
those many questions have been decided in the
right way '( Of course every individual mem
ber lias the right to his own opinion on these
subjects, which he litis a right to express, and
which lie may express to his Senator. But that
is a very different matter from the Church of
ficially taken such action. The Federal Coun
cil claims to represent all the churches which
are connected with it, and when any church
does not take such actions when it calls for
them, that church is put into the position of
seeming to be unwilling to act with others in
matters which the church feels are out of its
province. It would be well for the Federal
Council and the churches to make and keep in
mind a clear distinction between the things of
Caesar and those of God.
NEW YORK newspapers arc feeling the
effect of a strike by their pressmen, which
compelled them for some days to issue very
small size papers. It seems that for eighteen
months there had been made an effort on the part
of the publishers and the pressmen to come, to an
agreement in regard to wages and certain work
ing conditions, but no agreement was reached.
Then both parties signed a written agreement
to refer the question to arbitration, and Judge
Martin T. Mantin, of the United States Court
of Appeals, was selected as arbitrator. When
his decision was rendered the publishers ac
cepted it. and even agreed to do more than he
required. But the pressmen treated the deci
sion as "a scrap of paper," and refused to ac
cept it, and went out on strike. We are not
concerned with the merits of the contention l>e
tween publishers and pressmen, as we are not
informed as to the details of the case. But of
one thing we arc very sure. When two parties
agree to submit a question to arbitration and
an arbitrator agreeable to both parties is se
lected, they are both in honor l>ound to accept
his decision. If either party fails to accept it,
he has broken his pledge, and his word can no
longer be depended on. If after refusing to
accept the decision of his arbitrator, lie at
tempts to force the other party to his demands
made previous to the arbitration, he acts the
part of the bully and does not deserve the sup
port and sympathy of honest men. This would
l>e just as true of the employer as of the em
ploye. Only when men deal honestly with one
another and live up to their agreements, will
there be peace and quiet, justice and prosperity
in this country.
t
WHISKEY still exists in vast quantities
in this country. In the bonded ware
houses, which are under government control,
there are still stored 38.000,000 gallons of this
liquor. Of this amount 05 per cent, is in the
three States of Maryland, Pennsylvania and
Kentucky. In Kentucky there are stored Sr'5,
000,000. This whiskey was made before the
adoption of prohibition, and it is understood
that none of it can be removed from the ware
houses, except for legitimate purposes allowed
by law. But it is evident from all reports that
much of it has been removed fraudulently.
Something should be done to remove tlii3 source
of evil. It would be far better for the Govern
ment to pay the manufacturers wln-.t it cost
them, and then destroy it all, than for it to be
kept as a continual temptation to fraud on
the part of those who are entrusted with its
care. It does not seem fair to the owners of
this liquor, who made it under the authority of
the Government, to keep their money tied up
in this way by not allowing them to sell their
product. The Government allowed it to l?e
made, and now it says that its makers shall not
sell it. We believe in being fair. Let the
Government pay such a price as is just and I hen
destroy the cursed stuff. No doubt such a
course would make it much easier to enforce
the prohibition law.
FLORISTS have adopted as their slogan,
"Say it with Flowers." Would this not
l>e a good slogan for every one to adopt? Un
fortunately there are some people who "say it''
with thorns and briars and thistles. The flowers
of kind words are far better for all concerned
than the thorns and briars of unkind criticism
and harsh words. Kind words carrying the per
fume of a kind heart, bring comfort, consola
tion and peace to the troubled and the sorrow
ing, and joy and happiness is added by them
to the lives of those who are already bright and
cheerful. Cast the thorns and briars and this
tles into the fire of oblivion, and let the heart bo
a garden in which the sweetest and most beauti
ful flowers grow in such abundance that there
will be a plenty to give liberally to all whose
lives will be brightened by them, whether they
be those upon which the shadows of sorrow
have fallen, or those upon which the sun of
happiness and joy is shining. The more flow
ers we give to others, the more will our garden
produce, and the more of light and jov will l>e
in our lives, and the more will we reflect the
rainbow colors of a Saviour's love and grace.
SOUTHERN Methodists seem to l>e having
some difficulty in collecting their subscrip
tions to their .$37,000,000 fund sul>seril)ed three
veai*s ago. The pledges were made for annual
payments to be paid each year for five years.
The average subscription was $10.50 for the
five years, or $3.30 a year. According to the
Wesleyan Christian Advocate, the amount that
should have l>een paid up to this time should
average $0.00, but it says that the average
amount actually paid is only $5.10 per member.
This leaves more than two-thirds of the whole
amount to lie paid in the next two years. We
are more thoroughly convinced than ever that
our Progressive Program with annual sulHcrip
tions .is much the better plan.
BEN E VO LEX CES ? What do you mean bv
that ?" asked one member of the Presby
terian Church of another. The reply was: "Do
you read the Presbyterian of the South?" And
when a negative answer was given the reply
was: "Well, you ought to, for it will tell you
a great deal more than I can. I hope you will
subscribe for the paper, so that you may learn
many things that will help you."