MiVY 15, 1912 



319 



vessel was running amid dangers of that 

 kind, let us remember the heroism and 

 manliness of over a thousand men who, 

 having done every thing possible to save the 

 helpless women and children, calmly and 

 unflinchingly faced death. 



I think the tragic events narrated in the 

 fifth chapter of Daniel must have had a 

 wholesome eflect on the people of that day 

 and generation. The Iroquois Theater dis- 

 aster in Chicago in 1903 had the wholesome 

 effect of stirring up the whole city and other 

 cities to the importance of remodeling great 

 auditoriums. The Slocum disaster, six 

 months later, when about a thousand men, 

 women, and children, were burned to death 

 and many drowned near New York, caused 

 a general housecleaning and overhauling of 

 excursion boats. And, later still, when a 

 school at Collinwood, near Cleveland, caught 

 fire and burned up about 180 children, a 

 wave pf reform went all over our land and 

 over all the world. Even down at Braden- 

 town, Fla., a hurried consultation of school 

 directors was held, and our two-story wooden 

 schoolhouse was speedily alive with carpen- 

 ters, on one side at least, and a wide outdoor 

 stairway was built up to the second story, 

 equipped with doors that swing outward, so 

 the hundreds of little ones there gathered 

 could get out speedily and safely in case the 

 wooden structure should take fire. I men- 

 tally thanked God every time I passed that 

 stairway on my daily trip with the automo- 

 bile. Again, a year ago last March a large 

 factory burned in New York, resulting in 

 the death of about 127 people, mostly young 

 women. All escape except at the windows 

 was cut off, and again the world was horri- 

 fied by what happened, and incensed to 

 think how easily the trouble might have 

 been averted. But it led to an overhauling 

 of buildings in that great manufacturing 

 center, which may be the means of saving 

 more lives than were lost. 



Last Thursday evening here in Medina 

 my heart was rejoiced to see almost a hun- 

 dred people at our weekly prayer-meeting. 

 I told them that I had been praying for our 

 prayer-meeting, and inviting people to 

 come, for nearly forty years, and the answer 

 to those prayers had come during my ab- 

 sence last winter. Well, I was greatly touch- 

 ed by the young man who led the meeting. 

 There seemed to be such a feeling of sadness 

 and sorrow in his countenance, together 

 with his bright shining face as he unfolded 

 the glorious promises of the lesson before 

 us, that I thanked God. After I got home 

 I was told that his only little girl perished 

 in that Collinwood fire, and the look of sad- 

 ness had never been noticed until after that 

 terrible event. It seems necessary, some- 

 times, in order to bring about needed re- 

 forms, and to rouse up poor sluggish hu- 

 manity, that many must die as martyrs to 

 the good cause. May God help me to be 

 ready to die, should the time ever come, 

 when I am needed as a martyr to the cause 

 of spreading temperance, righteousness, and 

 the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 



WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY, ETC. 



Without wireless telegraphy, which seems 

 to be making such wonderful strides just 

 now, probably not a soul would have been 

 saved from the Titanic in that fearful trag 

 edy I have just been describing. Almost 

 constantly we are hearing news of rescue on 

 the sea by means of this wonderful means 

 of wireless communication; and a recent is- 

 sue of the Scientific American informs 

 us that wireless stations are now to be set 

 up or are being set up so as to compass the 

 whole globe on which we live, or at least 

 such a part of it as constitutes traffic on the 

 sea as well as on land. Dear friends, do you 

 ever stop to consider what the outcome is 

 going to be if great inventions keep on dur- 

 ing the coming fifty or sixty years as they 

 have in the past? I can almost remember 

 the advent of railways, great steamships, 

 telegraphs, etc., and many of us of middle 

 age remember when there were no electric 

 lights, no telephones, no photographs; and 

 even the children remember the time when 

 there were no moving-picture shows nor fly- 

 ing-machines. What is coming next? It is 

 evident that God is noiv working out his 

 plans for humanity — plans conceived, per- 

 haps, ages ago. Has he been waiting for us 

 to rouse up and wake up? You and I both 

 have seen boys brought up on the farm, or 

 in humble homes. There was nothing in 

 their boyhood or childhood to indicate more 

 than ordinary ability, and now they are 

 scattered over all the world, some of them 

 occupying great and important positions, 

 and drawing salaries unheard of a few years 

 ago. Again I ask, what is coming next? 

 Are we going to explore the inhabited plan- 

 ets? and finally is the great Father in his 

 mercy, love, and goodness, letting us get 

 just a little glimpse of the great unknown, 

 beyond the confines of this transient pil- 

 grimage? 



FLORIDA INVESTMENTS. 



All winter long I have been getting let- 

 ters, more or less, from all over the North, 

 from people who wanted my opinion regard- 

 ing purchasing real estate down here. These 

 people often give me a list of bargains that 

 have been offered them, and refer to or sub- 

 mit the circulars and descriptions, etc. 

 Sometimes they ask which one they had 

 better invest in. My advice has been right 

 along, don't invest in any of them. Do not 

 under any circumstances think of investing 

 in any thing down here in F orida or Texas, 

 nor anywhere else in the way of real estate, 

 until you go and look it up yourself. Don't 

 depend on somebody else. Some time ago 

 there was much said about St. Cloud, a 

 home for the "old soldiers," etc. A broth- 

 er-in-law of mine has just returned from 

 there, and gave me some points. He could 

 hardly find words to express his indignation 

 at the people who had swindled old soldiers 

 by getting them to go down there and make 

 investments. It is true that, while the ex- 

 citement is high, and while the "gamble" 



