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NoveMBeER 1, 1903 is transforming you into a sycophant or a prince of freedom. Today you are either girding your soul with fetters of sorrow or building a chariot that will conduct you to paradise. Good habits are as potent for emancipation ag vile ones are for slavery and anguish. One may resolutely form habits of purity, honesty, fidelity, till he breathes the air of divinity as his native air;—as he eventually becomes expert and master in melody, by years of inexorable drill.” The power of habit is unquestionably a great one either for good or evil, but let us not forget that the human will, however strong or persistently exercised,, can only reach its highest attainment and most favorable results when placed under discipleship to Christ—to be taught of God. The Christian Endeavor World gives the following information regarding the use of liquors in various civilized countries. From this it appears that although the liquor habit has reached terrible proportions in this land and is blighting millions of lives annually, nevertheless the United States is fifteenth in the list. We thank God that it is no worse, and yet long for the time when our prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth,” shall be answered in the establishment of the Millennial kingdom under which Satan shall be bound, and all necessary restrictions be put into operation, to the intent that the world of mankind may be uplifted everywhere and brought to a knowledge of the salvation made possible for all through the dear Redeemer’s death. The quotation follows:— “A table recently published showing the amount of all kinds of liquors consumed per capita in twenty-three nations, throws startling but not astonishing light on the much-talked-of commercial invasion of European markets by America. “At the head of this list of nations, the heaviest in drinking in the world is the Argentine Republic. Close after it come France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Great Britain,—the nations that are feeling most keenly the commercial ageressiveness of the United States. Fifteenth in the list comes the United States, the commercial rival whose success is making all Europe uneasy. In other words, the difference between successful competition and failure lies largely in the difference between the 6.4 gal. of pure alcohol in all kinds of liquors consumed per capita in France, the 2.63 in Germany, the 1.96 in Austria, the 3.47 in Belgium, the 2.52 in Great Britain, and the 1.26 in the United States.” “At a recent meeting in Birmingham, England, addressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the presiding officer, Mr. Edwin Smith, said:—‘If we spent on alcohol the same per capita as America, our drinking bill would be about £66,000,000 less than it now is. We cannot succeed commercially while we are handicapped in this way to the extent of forty-eight per cent.’ ” The wise man does not say that a moderate use of alecholic liquors brings woe, sorrow, contentions, complainings, wounds, redness of eyes, etc., and we are not to add to his words. We are to remember, however, that those who tarry long at the wine probably reach that condition through habit, that most of such begin with a fear of the consequences and the intention of becoming moderate drinkers only. Let us beware of ZION’S WATCH TOWER (415-419) the slavery of habit! Even the force and weight of the exceeding great and precious promises are not sufficient to hold our fallen appetites where they are being constantly fed and the chains of habit being forged; hence the wisdom of the exhortation to turn our eyes away from the smcoth-flowing wine, to engage our attention and thoughts in some other direction, knowing that wine is a mocker, and that whatever it may promise of rewards and blessings at our first introduction, “at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” Its tendency is to pervert the judgment in general, so that the eyes will see strange things, as in delirium tremens, and the heart will utter through the mouth perverse things. Surely the new nature could not thrive under such conditions, which tend even to deprave further the old nature. Hence, every new creature must beware of this seductive influence, and resist it faithfully, as he would make his calling and election sure. Those who give way to the drinking habit become sottish, careless, as though a man were to lie down to sleep in the sea and not expect to be drowned, or as though he were to lie down upon the top of a mast and not expect to fall and be injured. To such ultimately the only desirable thing is oblivion, to be stupidly insensible to the reproof of friends and the blows of enemies. The waking idea seems to be to seek further intoxication. A well known temperance worker, when asked to address a Sunday School, desired to bring out the fact that the drunkards of the future must come from the ranks of the boys of today. “Boys,” said he, “these men that we see all around us on the street, in the stores, in this church, grow old and feeble and sooner or later will die. Who will take their places and be the men then?” After a moment’s pause they answered, “We boys.” “Very true,” answered the speaker. “Now, boys, you have all seen men who drank too much,—drunkards we call them. After a while they will die too. Now, boys, tell me who do you think will take their places and be the drunkards then?” Promptly came the answer, “We boys!” The thoughtless answer roused the whole school. Could there possibly be any truth in it? Alas, yes—not true of all these boys, but true of some of them. . With this thought in mind, what child of God could feel indifferent in respect to his example and instruction to all boys over whom he exercises any influence; how carefully his own boys should be guided, counselled, assisted in the formation of correct principles, correct habits, A number of young men were one day sitting around the fire in the waiting room of an English railway, talking about a total abstinence society. Just then a policeman came in with a prisoner in handcuffs. He listened to the young men’s conversation but did not give any opinion. Mr. McDonald, a minister of the Gospel, was also in the room, and hearing what the young men were saying, stepped up to the policeman and said aloud, “Pray, sir, what have you to say about temperance?” The policeman replied, “Well, all I have to say is that I never took a teetotaler to York Castle prison in my life, nor to Wakefield House of Correction either.” Vou. XXIV ALLEGHENY, PA., NOVEMBER 15, 1903 No. 22 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY As illustrating the progress being made toward the condition described in the Bible as that of the immediate future, when “every man’s hand shall be against his neighbor” (Zech. 14:13; Ezek. 32:21), we give below without comment copies of two circulars being widely distributed among manufacturers—urging them to organize for mutual protection against the “unreasonable” demands of organized labor. These purport to go forth from The Press of the National Association of Manufacturers. The two circulars follow:— WHITHER ARE WE DRIFTING? At the late meeting of the American Federation of Labor, held in New Orleans, the following resolution came within four hundred votes of being adopted: Whereas, Capital being the product of all the toilers of the human race, and as wages can never be regarded as the full equivalent for labor performed, and since it is the mission of the trades-unions to protect the wage earner against oppression, and to fully secure the toilers’ disenthrallment from every species of injustice; therefore be it Resolved, That this twenty-second annual convention of the American Federation of Labor advise the working people to organize their economic and political power to secure for labor the full equivalent of its toil and the OVERTHROW OF THE WAGE SYSTEM, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INDUSTRIAL COOPERATIVE DEMOCRACY. This resolution was introduced by delegate Max Hayes, one of the radical socialists from Cleveland, Ohio. In the final action on this resolution the socialistic element almost secured control of the convention. The struggle lasted a full day. The debate on the resolution was the most exciting of the meeting. John Mitchell’s United Mine Workers’ organization cast one thousand eight hundred and four votes solidly for this resolution. This is the organization which evoked so much maudlin sentiment and brought the whole country to its knees in the Anthracite strike. It is confidently prophesied that the socialists will be in full control of the Trades-Union movement in the United States by the time of the next A. F. of L. Convention. Max Hayes’ resolution means that there is to be an attack upon the productive wealth of the country. Productive wealth, as interpreted by the socialists, means capital, factories, plants, machinery, railroads, etc. The socialists mean to take possession of all the money and private properties, Not content with getting their share of the consumable wealth of the nation, clothing, food, etc., which is being distributed more generously and cheaply to the people than ever before in the history of [3271]