Sudras, vagrants, and outcasts of several
tribes, who being without resource, turned
Christians in order to form new connections,
chiefly for the purpose of marriage or with
some other interested view. I will declare
it with shame and confusion that I do not re-
member any one who may be said to have em-
braced Christianity from conviction and
through quite disinterested motives. Among
these new converts many apostatized and re-
lapsed into paganism, finding that the Chris-
tian religion did not afford them the temporal
advantages they had looked for; and I am
verily ashamed to make the humiliating avowal
that those who continued Christians are the
very worst among my flock.”
On the other hand, note the following state-
ment by a Protestant evangelist in the same
country, the bishop of Madras :—
“Among the converts from the lower strata
of Hindu society, the effect of Christianity is
remarkable. Scores of Christians whose fath-
ers were Pariahs, living as serfs, without hope
in this world or the next, are now self-edu-
cated men, fit for positions of trust and high-
est responsibility, and bright examples of
Christian faith and conduct. I have visited
village after village where the Christians of
Pariah origin are the best educated and most
moral class in the community. I feel sure
that when the whole 2,000,000 are converted to
Christianity, they will be raised from the bot-
tom right up to the top of the social scale,
and form a marvelous witness to the power of
Christ, such as no age has seen since the
days of the apostles. We see now the begin-
ning of a mighty movement that will revolu-
tionize the whole fabric of Hindu society and
Indian thought.”
THE $150,000 FUND
A FINISHED WORK
THE words of inspiration declare that God
will “finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness,” that “in the days of the voice
of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to
sound, the mystery of God should be finished.”
The primary and leading meaning of the word
“finished” is “completed,” “ perfected.” God
will have a completed work in the earth. All
that his people are will be given to him, body,
soul, and spirit. All that they have will be
in his cause.
When the trumpet sounds that wakes the
dead, and changes the 144,000, every cent of
property of that selected people will have been
placed in the Lord’s work. ‘This must be so.
No one can deny this to be the truth. The
work needs help that we can give now. Let
us place our means as rapidly as possible in
the bank of heaven, where neither moth nor
rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through and steal.
How much has been raised in the collection
on the 4th of May it is impossible as yet to
tell ; but from the encouraging omens, from let-
ters and conversations with our people here
and elsewhere, the writer is encouraged to be-
lieve that several thousand dollars have been
THE WATCHMAN
paid in on the $150,000 fund, and that the
Review list for the South will be quickly in-
creased to a large extent.
But, brethren and sisters, we are in this
work until every cent of this fund is raised.
I believe that every Seventh-day Adventist,
even though he may have given as much as
some one else, or perhaps more, should stand
by this fund with continued help until the
last cent is raised. Let no one say, “I have
done my share; you do yours.” But let us
strengthen the hands of our brethren in re-
sponsible positions, who, after most serious
counsel, decided that $150,000 was the least
that should be raised at this time to meet the
pressing needs of the work.
I call your attention to the following solemn
words that we believe have been sent to us
through the Spirit of Prophecy: —
“My dear brethren and sisters, all the money
we have is the Lord's. I now appeal to you,
in the name of the Lord, to unite in carrying
to successful completion enterprises that have
been undertaken in the counsel of God, and
that are waiting for their portion of the $150,-
ooo fund which has been called for by the
General Conference Committee.”
J. S. WASHBURN.
ARE YOU WEARY?
ARE you weary of the repeated calls for
means? It is probable that those who give to
each call are not among the class that are
weary, but those who do not give at all are
doubtless weary, not of well doing, but of do-
ing nothing. Read the following, which the
Lord has sent us by his Spirit: —
“Will not those who know the truth see
what they can do to help just now? Will not
every one cut off all needless expenditures?
See what you can do in self-denial. Dis-
pense with all that is not positively neces-
sary. Come up to the measure of your God-
given responsibility. . . . Some may say, We
are being drawn upon continually for means.
Will there be no end to these calls? We hope
not so long as there are in our world souls
perishing for the bread of life.
“Until all has been done that you can do
to save the lost, we ask you not to become
weary of our repeated calls. Many have not
yet done that which they might do, that which
God would enable them to do if they would
consecrate themselves unreservedly to him.
The Lord’s servants are to feel a noble, gener-
ous sympathy for every line of work carried
on in the great harvest field.”
J. S. WASHBURN.
THE PUBLISHING HOUSE IN PORT OF SPAIN,
TRINIDAD
Turis little publishing house is one of the
youngest in our denomination, and one that
has been put up largely by the sacrifice and
self-denial of those in the field. It is a small
cement building, with six-inch walls, about
twelve feet in height, sixteen by forty-five feet
in dimensions. It has ventilation really on
but one side, and on that side stands the Sev-
The roof, which
enth-day Adventist church.
299
is partly of galvanized iron and partly of terra-
cotta, is subject to the scorching ravs of the
tropical sun. Port of Spain is only ten de-
grees north of the equator, and the city is sur-
rounded, except on one side, by mountains, so
that it gets comparatively little breeze, and
the employees of the office are exposed to the
most intense heat. They did not have the
money with which to buy a lot backing up
against this building, and the General Confer-
ence Committee has authorized them to pur-
chase the said lot, so that they could open
up their printing plant, and have ventilation
through the same.
This little plant is sending out the Caribbean
Watchman, one of the ablest missionary pe-
riodicals printed by our denomination. It has
supported itself from the very start, and has
maintained a monthly circulation of about
seven thousand five hundred copies.
GENERAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.
HELP FOR OUR PARENT INSTITUTION
AMONG the institutions to be helped by the
$150,000 fund is one which appeals to every
Seventh-day Adventist as a sort of parent in-
stitution. It is the Review and Herald. On
the last day of 1902, the Review and Herald
Publishing House in Battle Creek, Mich., lost
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
above insurance by the burning of its prin-
cipal office. By the direct leading of the Spirit
of God, the Review and Herald office was re-
moved in July, 1903, to Washington, D. C.
About $50,000 has been invested in the new
buildings and equipment there, a very small
amount, considering the importance of the in-
stitution, and the great work that it has in
hand. The only assistance thus far received
was three thousand dollars from the overflow
of the $100,000 fund, and various individual
donations amounting to about four thousand
dollars. The Review and Herald, therefore, is
in great need of immediate help.
It was originally intended to make a suitable
appropriation for the Review and Herald; but
owing to the destruction by earthquake and
fire of the Pacific Press, and other pressing
calls, only ten thousand dollars of the $150,000
fund is devoted to this institution. This is a
very small amount compared with the needs,
but we believe that the desire to supply our
parent institution with this small needed as-
sistance will inspire our people to hasten for-
ward the raising of the $150,000 fund.
Many of our other institutions, now strong
but once weak, have been helped by the Re-
view and Herald. We believe our people will
gladly come forward with help through the
channel provided by the General Conference
Committee in the ten thousand dollars appro-
priated for this institution out of the $150,000
fund. J. S. WASHBURN.
CI BE
HE HELPS US
Tur work which we count so hard to do,
He makes it easy, for He works, too;
The days that are long to live are His,
A bit of his bright eternities,
And close to our need, His helping is.
— Susan Coolidge.