Publication date
9/1/14
Volume
35
Number
17
The WatchTower
The Present Crisis
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1914/17/1914-17-1.html
 
 
VOL. 
XXXV 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
SEPTEMBER 
1, 
1914 
THE 
PRESENT 
CRISIS 
No. 
17 
,. 
Ye 
shull 
hear 
of 
wars 
and 
rumors 
of 
wars; 
Slce 
that 
yc 
bE: 
not 
troubled, 
for 
all 
these 
things 
must 
come 
to 
pass, 
but 
the 
end 
is 
not 
yet.' 
'-Matthew 
24: 
6. 
The 
Seri 
ptures 
speak 
of 
a 
great 
time 
of 
trouble 
in 
the 
conclusion 
of 
this 
Gospel 
age. 
Our 
Lord 
in 
the 
prophecy 
re­ 
corded 
in 
Matthew 
24 
mentions 
this 
great 
time 
of 
trouble. 
Under 
a 
figure 
of 
the 
,]istress 
of 
earth 
an!l 
the 
shaking 
of 
the 
heavens, 
etc., 
he 
tells 
of 
the 
momentous 
events 
of 
our 
day. 
In 
connedion 
with 
it 
he 
says, 
"When 
ye 
see 
these 
things 
begin 
to 
corne 
to 
pass, 
then 
lift 
up 
your 
heads 
and 
re­ 
joice; 
for 
your 
re(]emption 
dra 
weth 
nigh' 
'-linking 
this 
great 
climax 
to 
the 
il<'1iverance 
of 
the 
church, 
their 
change 
from 
eartlily 
nature 
to 
heavenly 
nature. 
It 
is 
in 
this 
conneetion 
that 
our 
Lord 
says, 
"Ye 
shall 
hear 
of 
wars 
nJl(] 
rumors 
of 
wars; 
all 
these 
things 
must 
come 
to 
pas,s, 
hut 
the 
end 
i" 
not 
ye't." 
These 
continued 
all 
through 
the 
ngp. 
\Vr~ 
arp 
not 
to 
think 
of 
wars 
as 
heing 
the 
particular 
thing 
that 
thp 
Master 
hail 
in 
mim] 
when 
he 
referrpil 
to 
the 
grpat 
trouble 
with 
whieh 
this 
age 
will 
elose. 
That 
trouble 
is 
piptllre,] 
in 
Daniel's 
prophecy 
as 
"a 
time 
of 
trouble 
such 
as 
was 
not 
sinee 
there 
was 
a 
nation.' 
'-Daniel 
12: 
l. 
Our 
Lon] 
speaks 
of 
this 
snme 
time 
of 
trouhle 
and 
says 
that 
.T 
erusa]pm 
shall 
he 
trodilen 
ilown 
of 
the 
Gentiles 
until 
thp 
times 
of 
the 
Gentilps 
he 
fulfilled. 
(Luke 
21:24) 
These 
"times 
of 
the 
OenUles" 
rppresent 
a 
pprio!l 
during 
which 
the 
world 
wns 
to 
l){' 
rnle!l 
hy 
Ocntile 
nations. 
The 
Ocntiles 
were 
to 
Rhow 
their 
skill 
in 
giving 
the 
world 
a 
government. 
This 
giving 
of 
the 
wor],l 
into 
the 
han,] 
of 
Gentile 
governments 
fol­ 
lowp,] 
the 
taking 
away 
of 
the 
typical 
kingr]om 
from 
typical 
Israel. 
With 
%p,lekinh's 
fall 
am] 
the 
taking 
away 
of 
the 
crown 
fr01ll 
hilll, 
thp 
1,OI'r] 
def'lared 
an 
overturning 
of 
hiR 
gov­ 
prn1llpnt 
until 
the 
estahliRhnH'nt 
of 
Messiah's' 
kingdom.­ 
Ezekiel 
21 
:2!'i-27. 
Simultaneoll~Jy, 
King 
Nehllehadne7.7.er 
had 
a 
dream, 
which 
portrayed 
tllP 
(;pntile 
rulp 
of 
earth 
dnring 
the 
interregnllm 
of 
(iOI] 
'R 
kingdolll. 
Dnllil'1 
Rhowed 
the 
king 
the 
dream, 
which 
the 
monar..]l 
kH] 
forgotten, 
and 
gave 
him 
the 
interpretation. 
The 
king 
har] 
drPHlned 
of 
a 
great 
imnge, 
the 
head 
of 
which 
rppre~entr',1 
thp 
Bahylonian 
kingdom; 
the 
hreast 
of 
silver, 
the 
Medo-Persian 
kingdom; 
the 
helly 
and 
thighs 
of 
braRs, 
the 
Greeian 
kingr]om; 
the 
legs 
of 
iroll, 
the 
Roman 
Empire. 
The 
Holy 
Homnn 
Empire 
was 
repreRente,] 
in 
tlw 
fed, 
part 
of 
clay 
and 
part 
of 
iron. 
A 
stone 
wns 
to 
smite 
thr 
image 
upon 
the 
fept, 
which 
werp 
iron 
am] 
day, 
an<l 
hrpak 
them 
to 
pieees. 
ThiR 
('rushing 
of 
tllP 
feet, 
of 
t.he 
image 
,vas 
to 
eome 
in 
the 
en<l 
of 
the 
age, 
nnd 
would 
be 
the 
preparatory 
step 
to 
the 
es­ 
tahliRhment 
of 
McsRiah's 
king<lom.-Danipl 
2::n-45. 
So 
long 
as 
theRe 
g'overnmpntR 
woulr] 
h" 
hprp, 
they 
and 
Messiah'R 
kingdom 
('oul,] 
not 
I'o-opprate. 
The 
Gpntile 
go\'­ 
Pl'lllTlentR 
nrp 
haser] 
011 
sl'lfishneRs 
alII] 
eoen·ion; 
Christ's 
king­ 
<lom 
will 
],e 
hnsp,1 
on 
.illsti('p, 
10\'(', 
nle]'('y, 
llm]er 
the 
Prince 
of 
Pellee. 
Thp 
two 
('oldd 
not 
rull' 
at 
the 
snmp 
time. 
Hen('e 
it 
wa~ 
forptold 
thnt 
Mp~si:J11 
nt 
his 
sr'I'on,] 
eoming 
,,-ill 
first 
hi/H] 
the 
"strollg 
man" 
of 
(ientilp 
SUpTPlTlacy, 
allt] 
on 
the 
ruills 
of 
pnrthl.v 
r]OIliiniou..; 
est:lhliRh 
a 
righteous 
(iovernment. 
TIll' 
pl'espllt 
terrihlp 
,vnr 
is 
llOt 
thp 
great 
time 
of 
trouhle 
in 
till' 
fllllp~t 
sPlise 
of 
thp 
worl], 
hut 
nH'rely 
its 
forenmner. 
The 
grellt 
tillll' 
of 
tl'olll,le 
of 
tlIP 
Seril'tureR 
will 
he 
brollght 
on 
hy 
anan'hy-the 
g'P 
II 
I'l'al 
uprising 
of 
the 
people; 
ns 
the 
Prophet 
S:lYS, 
",'\,pry 
llIau's 
hHlu] 
ngainst 
his 
neighbor, 
no 
))(':)('e 
to 
him 
that 
godh 
out 
or 
to 
him 
that 
cometh 
in.' 
'-­ 
Zeehariah 
8 
:10. 
FRUIT 
OF 
THE 
VINE 
OF 
THE 
EARTH 
'fhe 
Lor<l 
dpcln]'('s 
that 
he 
has 
a 
hau<l 
in 
theRe 
matters 
that 
arc 
a 
natural 
out('OUH' 
of 
hllman 
RelfishnesR, 
aggressive­ 
Ilt'SS 
nllt] 
grePll. 
'rlIP 
Lord 
has 
to 
do 
with 
all 
this, 
in 
that 
at 
the 
apJlropriab' 
time 
he 
grantpr] 
to 
thl' 
world 
the 
knowledge 
which 
is 
Rtirring 
tlwm 
np. 
In 
other 
,von]s. 
men 
with 
sin 
and 
selfishneRs 
in 
thpir 
heartR 
arc 
not 
in 
a 
JloRition 
to 
use 
knowl­ 
edge 
wisply, 
rightly. 
\VitllOUt 
reflecting 
upon 
any 
person 
or 
class 
we 
can 
sec 
that 
if 
tlw 
knowlpr]ge 
that 
is 
in 
the 
world 
should 
eontinue 
to 
in('J'ease, 
a 
certnin 
few, 
hy 
that 
increase 
of 
knowledge, 
woul(] 
get 
far 
ahear] 
of 
the 
others-until 
finally 
the 
wenlth 
would 
be 
massed 
in 
the 
hands 
of 
the 
very 
few, 
and 
the 
whole 
worl,] 
would 
l,ecolTle 
the 
serfs 
of 
these 
few. 
The 
money 
in 
the 
halltls 
of 
the 
,vealthy 
increaseR 
rapidly. 
On 
the 
other 
han<l 
the 
popul:1tion 
rlouhles 
in 
a 
eentury. 
Who 
cannot 
sre 
that 
11ll1]pr 
pre~Pllt 
(,Ol},]itions 
there 
\vould 
eventually 
be 
nothillg 
hnt 
slawry 
fo!' 
the 
mnRses, 
governed 
by 
an 
autocracy~ 
As 
long 
as 
go\'('rnmentR 
arc 
strong, 
their 
overthrow 
will 
he 
ilTlpossi 
bk. 
Our 
thoug1Jt, 
often 
presented 
in 
these 
columnR, 
is 
that 
n 
grpat 
war 
will 
weaken 
the 
nations, 
preparatory 
to 
t1'e 
I)('rio,] 
of 
annrellY. 
Such 
a 
great 
war, 
crippling 
the 
wo1'\11 
financially 
and 
discrediting 
the 
rulprs 
in 
the 
eyes 
of 
their 
peo­ 
ples, 
will 
open 
the 
way 
for 
the 
anarchy. 
The 
people 
of 
former 
times 
looked 
upon 
their 
rulers 
as 
demi-gods. 
This 
veneration 
for 
authority 
still 
obtains 
to 
some 
extpnt, 
especially 
in 
Russia, 
where 
the 
people 
almost 
worship 
thp 
C7.ar-exeept 
those 
who 
are 
anarchists. 
'fhe 
present 
war 
is 
the 
one 
we 
have 
expecte!l. 
It 
will 
drain 
the 
world 
of 
blood 
am] 
treasllI'e. 
Then 
the 
na­ 
tions, 
sick, 
weak, 
faint, 
will 
fall 
a 
prey 
to 
Socialism, 
whieh 
will 
become 
anarehy. 
ThuR 
in 
accord 
,vith 
the 
Bihle 
prellid.ions 
earth 
will 
be 
prepnrer] 
to 
weleome 
:Messiah's 
king,]olll 
ns 
"thl' 
desire 
of 
all 
peoples. 
' 
'-Hag. 
2: 
7. 
"Wait 
ye 
upon 
me, 
saith 
the 
Lord, 
until 
that 
day 
w111'n 
I 
rise 
up 
to 
the 
prey; 
for 
my 
detprminntion 
iR 
to 
gather 
the 
nations, 
that 
I 
may 
bring 
the 
nations 
together 
to 
]>our 
nl'0n 
them 
mine 
inrlignation, 
even 
all 
lIly 
fierl'e 
anger; 
for 
thp 
whole 
rsoPial) 
earth 
shall 
be 
!levonrpd 
hy 
the 
til'(' 
of 
mine 
anger. 
And 
then 
'will 
I 
turn 
unto 
the 
peoplp 
a 
pure 
message.' 
'­ 
Zephnniah 
il 
:8, 
9. 
What 
did 
.IPllOvah 
mean 
hy 
"wait 
yp.?" 
He 
meant 
thnt 
we 
are 
to 
wait 
for 
his 
time. 
He 
told 
us 
of 
the 
general 
level­ 
ing 
of 
the 
thingR 
of 
this 
world; 
he 
declare,] 
that 
all 
the 
king­ 
doms 
will 
be 
suhmergcr] 
in 
general 
ananhy. 
There 
will 
he 
a 
fervency 
of 
hent, 
discussion, 
tumult, 
Rtrifp, 
and 
at 
this 
time 
the 
nations 
of 
the 
world 
will 
"melt' 
'-go 
down 
quickl~" 
\Ve 
believe 
t.his. 
We 
arc 
not 
thinking 
of 
Christians 
as 
contending 
with 
the 
s\yord; 
for 
those 
who 
t.n 
I,p 
the 
sword 
are 
to 
]Ierish 
by 
it, 
0111' 
Lon] 
said. 
God's 
l'eople 
arc 
to 
stand 
nloof, 
re,·· 
ognizing 
that' 
'the 
1'0\YI'rs 
thnt 
hp 
fire 
onlainetl 
of 
C:o,!." 
in 
that 
he 
permits 
them. 
while 
he 
haR 
full 
]>mycr 
to 
mal,,' 
chnllc;es. 
If 
he 
permits 
them, 
it 
is 
not 
for 
us 
to 
seek 
to 
ovprthrow 
tlleul. 
This 
sym 
holie 
lmrning 
of 
tlle 
worl,] 
is 
sometinH's 
refprred 
to 
hy 
sec;llar 
"riterR. 
Tn 
th,' 
nell'spapers 
,yp 
fre(l1H'ntl~' 
rpad 
ahout 
"the 
great 
conflagration 
"--sp"nking 
of 
this 
fire 
of 
trouhle, 
strife. 
eonfusion. 
The 
denH'lltR 
that 
will" 
mPlt 
\dth 
fervent 
heflt" 
will 
he 
the 
lahOl' 
clement. 
the 
artisan 
el('J11ent, 
the 
eapitalistic 
elenH'nt, 
the 
relig'iouR 
clement, 
et('. 
The 
Lord 
haR 
bpen 
~athering 
the 
nations, 
as 
he 
Rairl 
he 
woul,] 
in 
this 
"r]ny' 
'-within 
the 
last 
forty 
years. 
This 
gathering 
means 
the 
drawing 
of 
the 
nations 
together. 
A 
II 
the 
nntions 
of 
Enr­ 
ope-and 
even 
China-nre 
nenrer 
to 
us 
totlav 
thnn 
Chi('ago 
wns 
Reventy 
years 
ago. 
The 
nations 
are 
(1rn,~n 
"losely 
together 
hy 
the 
Atl:mtic 
and 
Pacific 
cah]es, 
RO 
tllnt 
China 
amI 
.lapan 
are 
within 
a 
few 
hours' 
communication 
with 
us, 
and 
a 
financial 
panic 
affects 
the 
whole 
world 
within 
twpnt~'-four 
hours. 
While 
the 
Lorrl 
has 
heen 
doing 
this 
,vork, 
WP 
are 
not 
to 
think 
that 
he 
is 
l'itting 
theRe 
nations 
againRt 
eaeh 
other. 
He 
has 
]'prmitted 
them 
to 
work 
out 
their 
sPlfish 
proppnsitieR, 
am] 
the 
resnlt 
is 
Rtrife. 
Knowledge 
iR 
doing 
this-hringing 
on 
the 
l'l'st 
le8s 
social 
f"OJHlition. 
. 
THE 
FINAL 
OUTLOOK 
\Ve 
SI'P 
thnt 
this 
"ar 
has 
heen 
brought 
on 
by 
very 
Iwruliar 
r·ircumstaJH'eR. 
Hnssia 
am] 
Anstrin 
have 
earh 
loug 
heen 
anxious 
to 
hnve 
an 
opeuing 
to 
the 
:Mctliterranean; 
hut 
they 
have 
heen 
fearful 
tlwt 
a 
,grpat 
w'ar 
wonl,] 
reRult 
froJ11 
any 
attpm]lt 
to 
secure 
it. 
They 
hnw 
morp 
or 
less 
"egger] 
on" 
the 
Rmaller 
states-tlH' 
Balk:m 
States. 
They 
hnye 
done 
everything 
that 
they 
could 
to 
wen 
ken 
eaph 
other's 
influence 
in 
these 
stntes­ 
the 
"Buffer 
Stah'R," 
aR 
they 
arc 
called. 
Paid 
agents 
have 
heen 
sent 
into 
that 
region 
by 
one 
nation 
to 
ereate 
antagoniRm 
against 
the 
other. 
Austria 
thought 
that 
she 
had 
a 
good 
('X('URe 
for 
war 
against 
Servia 
on 
account 
of 
the 
ass:lssination 
of 
the 
heir 
to 
the 
Aus­ 
trian 
throne 
by 
a 
Servinn. 
She 
hoped 
t.hat 
thiR 
excuse 
would 
R('el11 
to 
be 
Rutlicient. 
She 
hoped 
that 
Russia 
would 
say 
noth­ 
ing; 
or 
that, 
othprwise, 
Germany's 
slwken 
fist. 
would 
deter 
her. 
But 
this 
time 
it 
rlir] 
not 
work. 
Russia 
detprmined 
to 
support 
the 
Servians, 
who 
arc 
her 
kinsfolk; 
and 
this 
has 
hrought 
in 
the 
other 
nations. 
Apparently 
the 
great 
European 
kings 
and 
emperors 
realize 
that 
their 
own 
thrones 
are 
tottering, 
:Ind 
alRo 
that 
thiR 
war 
may 
unify 
Heir 
people. 
The 
willingness 
of 
the 
people 
iR 
an 
important 
factor 
in 
eonllPrtion 
with 
any 
war. 
A 
war 
with 
another 
nntion 
is 
preferahle 
to 
the 
civil 
strife 
of 
a 
Rocial 
n].l· 
heava]. 
Their 
judgment 
iR 
approveil 
hy 
farts. 
A 
Socialist 
in 
Paris 
the 
other 
day 
said 
something 
against 
the 
war, 
and 
he 
was 
assassinated 
immediately. 
Our 
thought 
is 
that 
this 
war 
will 
so 
weakpn 
all 
the 
nations, 
RO 
impoverish 
thl'm, 
aR 
to 
make 
thpl11 
J'(,:1(]y 
for 
the 
anarchy 
which 
the 
Bible 
portrays. 
TI](, 
rlishal1r]ing 
of 
thp 
troops 
and 
111e 
retnrning 
of 
thelll 
to 
thl'ir 
hOllll'';. 
rlisappoint,.·,I. 
rlissatisfi.'rl 
[5526] 
Vou. XXXV BROOKLYN, N. Y., SEPTEMBER 1, 1914 No. 17 THE PRESENT CRISIS ‘*Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; sce that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.’’—Matthew 24:6, The Seriptures speak of a great time of trouble in the conclusion of this Gospel age. Our Lord in the prophecy recorded in Matthew 24 mentions this great time of trouble. Under a figure of the distress of earth and the shaking of the heavens, ete., he tells of the momentous events of our day. In eonnertion with it he says, ‘‘When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then lift up your heads and rejoice; for your redemption draweth nigh’’—linking this great climax to the deliverance of the church, their change from earthly nature to heavenly nature. It is in this connection that our Lord says, ‘‘Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.’’? These continued all through the age. We are not to think of wars as being the particular thing that the Master had in mind when he referred to the great trouble with which this age will close. That trouble is pietured in Daniel’s prophecy as ‘‘a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation.’’—Daniel 12:1. Our Lord speaks of this same time of trouble and says that Jerusalem shall he trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. (Luke 21:24) These ““times of the Gentiles’? represent a period during which the world was to be ruled by Gentile nations. The Gentiles were to show their skill in giving the world a government. This giving of the world into the hand of Gentile governments followed the taking away of the typical kingdom from typical Tsrael With Zedekiah’s fall and the taking away of the crown from him, the Lord declared an overturning of his government until the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom.— Ezekiel 21:25-27, Simultancously, King Nebuchadnezzer had a dream, whieh portrayed the Gentile rule of earth during the interregnum of iod’s kingdom. TDanicl showed the king the dream, which the monarch had forgotten, and gave him the interpretation. The king had dreamed of a great image, the head of which represented the Babylonian kingdom; the breast of silver, the Medo-Persian kingdom; the belly and thighs of brass, the Grecian kingdom; the legs of iron, the Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire was represented in the feet, part of clay and part of iron. A stone was to smite the image upon the feet, which were iron and elay, and break them to pieces. This crushing of the feet of the image was to come in the end of the age, and would be the preparatory step to the estahblishment of Messiah’s kingdom.—Daniel 2:31-45. So long as these governments would be here, they and Messiah’s kingdom could not co-operate. The Gentile governments are based on selfishness and coercion; Christ’s kingdom will he based on justiee, love, mercy, under the Prince of Peaee. The two could not rule at the same time. Hence it was foretold that Messiah at his seeond coming will first hind the ‘‘strong man’! of Gentile supremacy, and on the ruins of earthly dominions establish a righteous Government. The present terrible war is not the great time of trouble in the fullest sense of the word, but merely its forerunner. The great time of trouble of the Seriptures will be brought on by anarehy—the general uprising of the people; as the Prophet says, ‘fevery man’s hand against his neighbor, no peace to him that goeth out or to him that cometh in.’’—— Zechariah 8:10. FRUIT OF THE VINE OF THE EARTH The Lord declares that he has a hand in these matters that are a natural outcome of human selfishness, aggressiveness and greed. The Lord has to do with all this, in that at the appropriate time he granted to the world the knowledge which is stirring them up. In other words, men with sin and selfishness in their hearts are not in a position to use knowledge wisely, rightly. Without reflecting upon any person or class we can sec that if the knowledge that is in the world should continue to increase, a certain few, by that increase of knowledge, would get far ahead of the others—until finally the wealth would be massed in the hands of the very few, and the whole world would Lecome the serfs of these few. The money in the hands of the wealthy increases rapidly. On the other hand the population doubles in a century. Who cannot see that under present conditions there would eventually be nothing but slavery for the masses, governed by an autocracy? As long as governments are strong, their overthrow will be impossible. Our thought, often presented in these columns, is that a great war will weaken the nations, preparatory to the period of anarchy. Such a great war, crippling the world (259-260) financially and diserediting the rujers in the eyes of their peoples, will open the way for the anarchy. The people of former times looked upon their rulers as demi-gods. This veneration for authority still obtains to some extent, especially in Russia, where the people almost worship the Czar—exeept those who are anarchists. The present war is the one we have expected. It will drain the world of blood and treasure. Then the nations, sick, weak, faint, will fall a prey to Socialism, which will beeome anarchy. Thus in aceord with the Bible predictions earth will be prepared to welcome Messiah’s kingdom as ‘‘ the desire of all peoples.’’—Hag. 2:7. “Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until that day when T rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may bring the nations together to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for the whole [social] earth shall be devoured hy the fire of mine anger. And then will IT turn unto the people a pure message.’’— Zephaniah 3:8, 9. What did Jchovah mean by ‘‘wait ye?’’ We meant that we are to wait for his time. He told us of the general leveling of the things of this world; he declared that all the kingdoms will be submerged in general anarchy. There will he a fervency of heat, discussion, tumult, strife, and at this time the nations of the world will ‘‘melt’’—go down quickly. We believe this. We are not thinking of Christians as contending with the sword; for those who take the sword are to perish by it, our Lord said. God’s people are to stand aloof, recognizing that ‘‘the powers that he are ordained of God,'’ in that he permits them, while he has full power to make changes, If he permits them, it is not for us to seck to overthrow them. This symbolic burning of the world is sometimes referred to by secular writers. Tn the newspapers we frequently read about ‘‘the great conflagration’’—-speaking of this fire of trouble, strife, confusion. The elements that will ‘(melt with fervent heat’’ will be the labor clement, the artisan element, the capitalistic element, the religions clement, ete. The Lord has been gathering the nations, as he said he would in this ‘“day’’—-within the last forty years. This gathering means the drawing of the nations together. All the nations of Europe—and even China—are nearer to us today than Chieago was seventy years ago. The nations are drawn closely together by the Atlantie and Pacific cables, so that China and Japan are within a few hours’ communication with us, and a financial panic affects the whole world within twenty-four hours. While the Lord has heen doing this work, we are not to think that he is pitting these nations against each other. He has permitted them to work out their selfish propensities, and the result is strife. Knowledge is doing this—hringing on the restless socia] condition. THE FINAL OUTLOOK We sce that this war has heen brought on by very pecunar cireumstanées. Russia and Austria have cach long been anxious to have an opening to the Mediterrancan; but they have been fearful that a great war would result from any attempt to secure it. They have more or less ‘‘egged on’’ the smaller states—the Balkan States. They have done everything that they could to weaken each other’s influence in these states— the ‘‘Buffer States,’’ as they are called. Paid agents have heen sent into that region by one nation to create antagonism against the other. Austria thought that she had a good oexeuse for war against Servia on account of the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne by a Servian. She hoped that this excuse would seem to be sufficient. She hoped that Russia would say nothing; or that, otherwise, Germany’s shaken fist would deter her. But this time it did not work. Russia determined to support the Servians, who are her kinsfolk; and this has brought in the other nations. Apparently the great European kings and emperors realize that their own thrones are tottering, and also that this war may unify their people. The willingness of the people is an important factor in connection with any war. <A war with another nation is preferable to the civil strife of a social upheaval. Their judgment is approved by facets. A Socialist in Paris the other day said something against the war, and he was assassinated immediately. Our thought is that this war will so weaken all the nations, so impoverish them, as to make them ready for the anarchy which the Bible portrays. The disbanding of the troops and the returning of them to their homes. disappointed, dissatisfied 5526)

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