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The Presbyterian Vol. 97. No. 35. RICHMOND, VA. VIRGINIA August 1!>22 I JEER things occur sometimes in the re ligious educational world, but we have seen nothing recently quite equal to what is re ported to have taken place in Cambridge, Alass. The divinity school of Harvard University is said to be distinctly Unitarian. Andover Theo logical Seminary is said to be Trinitarian in its teaching. Yet these two institutions have I icon combined and will operate as one school from the opening of the next session. In or ? lei* to comply with some charter requirement, the trustees of Andover will appoint a Trini tarian professor of theology, so that those who ? lesire instruction in that system may have their wanta supplied. It seems* strange that any sen sible men will pretend to believe that two sys tems as directly opposed to Trinitarianism and I nitarianism can be taught in the same school. They are so distinctly opposed that one might as well try to mix water and fire. CHURCHES are oftentimes held up and called upon to stand and deliver just as really as a lone traveler is held up by a high wayman. An example of this has just come to 11s. A communication has just been received coming from New York and signed by a man entirely unknown to us, and who does not claim to represent any organization or anybody but himself. He urges upon all the churches, in order to advance Americanization, to sing the last verse of America at the close of every ser vice. He adds: "With your help this custom would spread very quickly throughout the land and no church would refuse to" adopt it, as such action would advertise that it was in op position to what we stand for as Americans." America is a great hymn and we are always ready to sing it on all proper occasions, but when the singing of it is to be made the test of our Americanism, we are ready to rise in rebellion against any one who assumes the right to rule <iver us and lay such a command with such a penalty upon us.. The fact is that there are entirely too many people trying to tell the Church what it ought to do. Every man, who wants to pose as a reformer, goes at once to the Church for help, and woe betide the church that does not adopt his program ; for he will hrand it as lacking in loyalty to God or to the *tate or as unwilling to aid the needy of th-3 world. If the Church will iake its stand firmly against outside interference, it and the world will be far better off. i WORSE than Turks are some people who are going about in this country. They are pretending to represent the Near East Relief and are collecting money which they say is to go to this great organization to aid it in doing its life saving work for the orphans and the destitute in the Near East. It is hard to see how any man or woman can get so low as to capitalize the sufferings of orphan children to enable him to steal money from the benevolent people who want to help those who are in dis tress. But there are such people in the world, it seems, and some of them are in this country. We advise all who want to give to this worthy cause, and none is worthier, to be sure that they are giving their money to those who will use it properly. In every state and in many communities there are organizations of the Near East Relief made up of men and women well known in their communities, and if there is no such organization convenient, gifts may be sent to the Near East Relief, New York. CORRESPONDENTS some times wonder why communications which they send us are not published and why they do not hear from us when this is the case- The reason is usually because the communication is sent without the name of the writer. The name may l>e withheld through modesty or through care lessness, but it is all the same to the news paper. "When a writer wants anything pub lished, it is certainly asking very little of liim that he should send his name. This is not done in order that the name may l>e published, if the writer does not want this done, but as a protection to those who publish the communi cation. If statements are questioned we must know to whom to go for confirmation. If for any reason we cannot publish what is sent, we like to be able to tell the writer why we can not We do not keep the yawning waste basket, which is supposed to sit in all newspaper of fices, and into which all rejected articles are thrown. We feel that if any one docs us the kindness to write something for us, and we cannot use it, the explanation should l>e given and the article should be returned. Our Mr respondents are usually very careful in sign ing their names, but some times we cannot find out from whence comunicat.ions come. PESSIMISM as to the financial condition of this country ought to be entirely driven out. when the crops of the present summer are con sidered. Government reports show that from present indications and at present prices the seventeen principal crops raised by the farmers of the country will be worth $7,000,000,000. This will give the farmers $1,000,000,000 more than they received last year. That means a tremendous increase in prosperity, if the pres ent troubles in the business world can be settled. STRAWS may show which way the wind blows, but straw vote* do not always show which way the political winds are blowing. The straw ballot being conducted by the Literary Digest shows that Ohio is decidedly "wet," yet the recent primaries held by the Democratic and the Republican parties both show the re verse to be the case. In each party a "dry" man was nominated for governor. The same thing is true of the two nominees for attorney general. An Ohio paper says, "the 'dry' forces of the state have won a complete victory." This sustains the positions taken by us before, that such a ballot will not represent the real senri ment of the country. A very large number of the most sensible people will not take the trou ble to fill out a ballot and pay the postage k send it in. when absolutely nothing will be ac complished by it. And a great many of the strongest friends of prohibition believe that the best way to support that cause is to accept it as a settled fact, and to stop discussing it. We do not impugn the motives of the Digest, but we think it is doing more harm than good. VAUDEVILLE theatre managers are not usually given to advancing reform move ments, and when they do anything in this direo tion it is generally supposed that it is done in the interest of their own business. It has re centjy been reported that the head of one of the largest vaudeville organizations in this country has given strict orders to all actors under his control that they shall not allow in any of their performances any joke at the expense of pro hibition nor any slighting remark in regard to the enforcement of the prohibition law. It is said that this will require the modification of many of the plays, which are being presented on the vaudeville stage. It is generally under stood that this order has gone out because the patrons of the theatres have become tired of these jokes and slurs. They see that the treat ment of any law in this way will have a bad effect upon the olwervance and enforcement not only of that, but of all other laws. This is a very gratifying sign as to the growth of public sentiment. Any law can be enforced if public sentiment demands it, and no law will be gen erally enforced when public sentiment is against it or indifferent as to its enforcement. The good people who want to see all laws en forced can mould public sentiment so that not only this law, but all others will be enforced. Too many citizens have a name to live, but are dead to the l?est interests of the country. BAPTIST polity gives that denomination trouble at times. That church has al ways opposed the ordination of women to the Gospel ministry. Yet the First Baptist Church of San Jose, California, has recently ordained Mrs. Aimee Semple McPherson. It seems that she has l>en a lay preacher in one of the small denominations, and had gained sons popularity as a preacher. Claiming that her views had changed to accord with those of the Baptists, she applied to that church for ordination, and she was ordained. The action of that church is final and there Is 110 appeal from it Although every other Baptist church in the country may be opposed to this action, they can do nothing. Mrs. McPherson is an ordained Baptist minister. EPISCOPALIANS will meet in the trien nial convention of their church in Portland, Oregon, on September Gth. This gathering represents the Episcopal Church of the whole country. There are two important matters to come l)cfore the convention. One is the report, of the committee on the revision of the Prayer Book. The changes to l?e proposed have not yet heon announced. If they are approved by l>oth houses of the convention, the laymen and the bishops, they will then Ik? referred to the various dioceses for consideration and report to the next convention, meeting three years from now. If the. dioceses approve, it will be neces sary for the two houses to approve again. Then the changes will become effective. The other mattor of special importance will be financial. The last convention started a plan for raising during the three years of $28,000,000. It is said that the full amount secured has fallen far short of that sum. It is reported that this convention will probably adopt a plan for the next three years which is very much like the Progressive Program of our Church, the goal to be set being $G,000,000 the first year, $7,000,000, the second, and ^?S,000,000 the third year.