The Syracuse Journal, Volume 28, Number 36, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 2 January 1936 — Page 2

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BRISBANE piS WEEK The Greatest Deed The Richest Man JMX)O Planes for England What! the Whole World? Universal Service Hats the “ten greatest scientific achievements In

1935,” and puts tint the artificial heart “for keeping organs alive when separated from the body." This Invention, credited to Colonel Lindbergh and the teamed Doctor Carrel of Rockefeller Institute, may be Important, letting scientists study the progress and nature of cancer and other diseases. But that is not

Artkar IriataM

the year's greatest scientific achievement, although It Is gratifying to know / tbat Colonel Lindbergh, whUe so young, with no more “air" to conquer, has turned fils concentrated mind toward science.

Vastly more important than any Invention for studying human disease Is the new 200-inch telescope lens that will enable men to study the universe more intelligently. That universe is more Important than any cancer or gland. The Nizam of Hyderabad, one of the numerous rulers whom the British keep on their thrones, in return for a servility that delivers their subjects to ' the British, is about to celebrate his silver jubilee as ruler. He interests Americans, because he la called absolutely the richest mao'ln the world, richer than Rockefeller, Ford of Mellon. Hts Income Is put at $90,000,000 a year, which might be possible, mi's though his real fortune bears no Interest. He has 14.000,000 Hindu subjects under bis rule, thanks to the toleration of Great Britain, and after England has finished with the 14,000,000, they might well yield an avenge per year of $4 to the Nizam, which would give him $56,000,000 a year of new money. The British, who realise what airplanes mean, as they study Italy and Ethiopia, have more than 2,000 planes ordered for immediate use, with full equipment and men ready, and. for •very plane in the air, England will have three on the ground, ready to replace losses. - Tb«s Britain's program It 8,000 planes, compared with our retail buylag. Senator Pittman thinks Japan plans to conquer the United States and the > rest of the world. He says Japan will ■seise the Philippines as soon as the opportunity offers." That is probable; the Phi;;,.pines are In Asia. | After the .Philippine* Japan will take Mexico, then the west coast of the United States, according to Sen ator Pittman, who wants to know whether this co{miry will withdraw within Itself as Japan advance*, or make a definite stand somewhere. The west coast would give him a definite answer about that There 4s an aristocracy even to crljne. You read, “Hauptmann sings carols to death bouse.” Five other murderers In the same boose eang the carols with him, “Jingle Bella," and also “ffeillge Nacht" (“Holy Night”), which must have had a sfrange sound coming from the throats of murderers There are six murderers In the death bouse, and all sang together, but the other* five are merely -also present,” no names mentioned. Their murders were not sufficiently Interesting. "Japanese airplanes bomb Kuyuan to China; many killed'*—including civilians and soldier*. Japanese ordered China’s soldieg* to evacuate the city, dropped bombs'when they refused. What will kind-hearted England and the League of Nations do about that? Not much. Premier Baldwin, juattfytng the sudden decision to carve up Ethiopia to satisfy Italy, reveals the fact that British ships feared to visit Italian , pons faring tlVe recent un ' pleasantness. That bring* danger too close. The country has inflation now, with Its accent dollars and double the amount of rash circulating compared with prosperous 1929. Inflation la not realised,, bemuse bankers, their vaults bulging, do not dare lend, not knowing what Is good security or what upstanding 100 per cent American will be “flat broke” six months hence. Mussolini calls those trying to starve his people with sanctions “egotistical, hypocritical," says Italy can go on to spite off them. .Tall Queen Elena, the king's wife, prays st the tonpb off the Italian Unknown Soldier “for the triumph of Romas civilization In Africa." It It Is possible to talk or think tn the tomb, that Unknown Soldier may have murmured: “So. they are still st It* •Bwrwtww By»d*«w lae. , WSCWnWk y Water fas Snew

News Review of Current Events the World Over " * Great Britain Lining Up the Nations Against Italy—More Trouble in the Orient —Death of Senator Schall. By EDWARD W. PICKARD O Western Newspaper Union. *

WAR clouds over Europe were growing denser and blacker during the Christmas holidays when all the Christian world was supposed to

be singing “Peace on Earth, good will toward men." Under the skillful guidance of Anthony Eden, the new British foreign secretary., a solid front against Italy was being built up. There was no present talk of further sanctions against Mussolini, but It Is expected added penalties will be put

K&i wmm . an Anthony Ctfsn

In force late to January. Meanwhile the general military qnd naval staffs of Great Britain and France concluded conversations which were declared “satisfactory." meaning that those na tlons were prepared to stand by each other in case II Puce makes what Prime Minister Baldwin called "a mad dog attack." In the capitals of other member! of the league of Nations stutter plans were? luring laid by military and naval attaches. Turkey came Into line with the other presumptive opponents of Italy, but la reported to have made a sugges tlon that France doesn’t like. This is that it be permitted to fortify the Dardanelles, the strait between Europe and Asiatic Turkey which was demilitarized under the treaty of Lausanne after the World war. The Turks alio, according to ParUr ad vices, ask the eventual return of the island of Rhodes to the Aegean sea, which has been under Italian ‘Sovereignty since 1925.. Eden Is a firm believer In the League of Nations and, though he is moving with caution, is determined to bring Italy to terms through the sanctions provided the other members of the league give the necessary support. The British government certainly doesn't want war with Italy, but it* la fast preparing for armed conflict If that shall prove to be unavoidable. That Mussolini, too, to getting ready for extreme eventualities wait evidenced tor order? canceling all Christmas learns of all officers and men of the army. Hie, same orders directed the return to their units of the 100,000 army men demobilized In November In order that they might do the needed work on their farms. The Italian press ceased Its attacks on Great Britain, and this was taken to mean that some peace move was on foot or that Mussolini had said his last Word in that way and that he and his government were prepared to meet their fate. In Rome the hope Is still entertained that Laval will pot go all the* way with Britain In the policy of extreme sanctions. The French them-" selves hope that the advent of the wet season In Ethiopia will halt the Italians ,there before tt 1s necessary to Impose the final penalties decreed by the league. Egypt's cabinet was taking step* to protect, the Libyan frontier ' against Invasion by the Italians. The Egyptian leaders are-urging the speedy conclusion of a treaty with Great Britain that will give the Egyptians the rights they claim, remove their resentment against England and enable them to line up with the British If war with Italy comes. How close Europe is coming to a general war is apparent with the revelation that Britain Is lining up the coutries of the Mediterranean region for support in case she Is attacked by Italy. Most of them are believed to have given thia pledge. But Bulgaria. a close friend of Italy, would be expected !u that case to attack either Greece or Turkey, both "allies of Britain, and Rumania has promised the British that she will attack the Bulgarians In that case. This would arouse Hungary to the defense of Bulgaria; Czechoslovakia would be drawn In against Hungary, and Poland probably would take the field against the Czechs. Germany la allied to Poland, and Russia to Czechoslovakia. Such la the realistic view of the situation held by competent observers to European capitate. OUTER Mongolia is aroused by threats of Invasion by the Japanese troops and their puppets,. the Manchukuoana. Already the border tots been crossed by the tatter and five Mongol guards killed and eleven carried off by the raiders. The Mongol government has filed a strong protest, demanding an apology and the return of the captive*. Most of this news comes from Moscow and naturally the Russian Soviet government is deeply interested, for this and similar incidents may bring en the long expected war between Russia and Japan. The Japanese authorities la Tokyo let it be known that they are preparing, through the autonomy government In North China and hoped for cooperation by Chlang Kai-shek, Chinese dictator, to combat the spread of sovietism to China, In line with this is the proclamation of Prince Teh, Mongolian rater, declaring the independence of the western part of Inner Mongolia, a vast territory with a population of two million psstoralists and rich mineral resources, Chinese students continued their riotous demonstrations against North China autonomy, demanding that It be stopped by armed force. In Shanghai thousands of them took possearien of the railway terminal, demanding sent their protests to the central govliftPtlH FY IS,

This and other anti-Japanese demonstrations led to the tteclaring of martial tew in Shanghai and Nanking. LIBERTY league has put out a 12-polnt program which it thinks the incoming congress should follow for th'e sake of the country. It is designed “to put the government’s house In order.” In Its statement the league accuses the New Deal of "doing violence” to the Constitution and charges the Roosevelt administration with “gigantic waste” In handling relief funds, “promoting pet theories of monetary cranks,” responding to “socialistic Influences" to competing with private Industry, and capitalizing on the nation’s emergency to make centralization of power In the federal government a permanent phlicy. Continued deficit financing will destroy government credit and may lead to chaos and dictatorship, the league warned in demanding a balanced budget and repeal of tax laws aimed at “redistribution of wealth.” Emphasizing adherence to the Constitution sill be the vital Issue in next year’s election campaign, the league called upon congress to defeat two “threatened" amendments which would bring about “a virtual change In oar form of government” These proposals would create an “unhampered dictatorship," the league declared, by extending federal authority “to permit complete regimentation of Industry and agriculture” and by taking away the Supreme court’s power to declare laws unconstitutional. SENATOR THOMAS D. SCHALL of Minnesota, tjrho was struck by an automobile as he was being conducted across the highway near his residence

Senator Schall

In Maryland, ; suecumbed to bis Injuries, The blind statesman had been one of the bitterest opponents of the New Deal and President Roosevelt He had started his campaign for re-elec-tion, and Gov. Floyd Olson of Minnesota ' had announced he j also would seek the , nomination for '

Scball's seat The governor said after the senator’s death that be would soon appoint his i successor; that he had no Intention of resigning tn order to be himself named to fill Scball’s place. ’ Mr. Schall, who was born tn 1878 In Michigan, lost bis sight in an accident after he bad been practicing law In Minnesota foer years. He continued bis work, and served six terms In the house of representatives before he was elected to the senate In 1924. P ■■RESIDENT ROOSEVELT deI dared himself satisfied with the progress made by Harold Ickes and Harry Hopkins in carrying out the relief program. He said that the Works Progress administration had come within :20.000 of reaching its goal of 8.500,000 men at work, and that 77 per cent of public works projects under way. By January 15, he predicted, PWA will be functioning 100 pef cent Mr. Roosevelt repeated that the government assumed no responsibility for those not hired nnder the program. He had congress for four billions last Janaary, he said, based upon an estimate that there were 3,500,000 needy men who could work. He got the four billions and the 3,500,000 have been * put to work, he said. The remaining unemployed must be cared for by "states, municipalities, counties, and private charity," he added. When reporters said that some estimates placed the total of unemployed st 11.000.000, the President held that It was often difficult to say whether a person should be classed as unemployed. He cited the case of people who have resources, but desire parttime employment for supplemental Incorn**. s He also said, to discussing unemployment further, that 5,000.000 persons had found employment since the spring of 1933 In industries which report sUch statistics. UNEXPECTEDLY early decision as to the validity of the Guffey coal act was snared when toe Supreme court agreed to pass on the constitutionality of the tew without waiting for a ruling by the Federal Court of Appeals, Both the government and Kentucky soft coal producers had asked the Supreme court for tote “short cut." The labor relations board asked toe Philadelphia Circuit Court of Appeal* to help speed the Wagner labor disputes act to the Supreme court for ft final test of Its constitutionality. D EPKATED threats off kidnaping sVand even murder for their tittle son have driven Col and Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh from toe United States. They have salted with their boy, Jen, for England, and plan to establish s residence there, though they will not give up their American citizenship. Where they will live has not been revested to even their closest friends. It. is believed the colonel will not sever hie relations with the two air tranaport companies for which he Is a technical adviser but that his active work for them will cease. O ARTAUD university received n n handsome Christmas present from Thomas W. Lament, one of the partners to J. P. Morgan A Go. It was chair In political economy. one of the rovmt*, rofe^HscMrslilies in cr^-^t'ievi the university’s three-hundredth analveraarv that comes to 1038. v _rsazf that comes, in Ham.

_ ' . _ SYRACUSE JOURNAL

WHEN toe Supreme court passes on the constitutionality of the Tennessee Valley act, Its opinion will not be unanimous, Is the prediction of those who were present during the oral arguments. The case was taken np to the highest tribunal by fourteen preferred stockholders of the Alabama Power company. During arguments by Forney Johnson, Birmingham, Ala., attorney for the stockholders, and by John Lord O’Brian, New York attorney, for TV A, Justices shot many questions at the lawyers. Justice Meßeynolds, known as a “conservative," appeared to challenge toe TVA lawyer to defend the right of toe government to sell surplus power produced by Wilson dam at Muscle Shoals. On the other hand. Justices Brandels and Stone, who are known as “liberate,” inquired Into the right of minority stockholders of the Alabama Power company to bring the suit which led to the Supreme court test The stockholders sought to enjoin performance of a contract nnder which the company was to sell lines to TVA for transmission of power. FEDERAL Judge Merrill E. Otis at v Kansas City has held unconstitutional the Wagner labor dispute act which gives employees the right to organize and bargain collectively. The judge granted toe Majestic Fi-<ur mills of Aurora, Ma, a temporary injunction against a National Labor board complaint which cited it for alleged refusal to bargain concerning a wage and hour agreement with a union of ita employees. TWO grand. Juries, a house committee and an army court martial have been investigating lobbying at the War department for two years. The climax tome with the indictment in Washing/on of a dismissed army officer, a former member of congress, and two alleged lobbyists on charge* of conspiracy to defraud the government Those named were former Brig. Gen. Alexander E. Williams, one time acting quartermaster general of the army, who was convicted by a military court last spring of accepting an Improper loan and ordered dismissed from the service; Thdmas. Jefferson Ryan, lawyer and former representative from New York, and the well known Silverman brothers, Joseph, Jr, and Nathan, surplus army goods dealers. The men were charged with conspiring to prevent the bouse military affairs committee from questioning Frank E. Speicher, “mystery witness" of the long inquiry by hiding him ont In New York city while federal agents were hunting him throughout the nation. GOVERNMENT ownership of America’s railroads in the objective in a campaign which has been started by the Railway Labor -Executives’ association. Describing thfe carriers as “chips in a financial poker game,” the executives, in a circular to members of congress, ask for government ownership as “the only way out of the morass tn which toe roads have been placed by toe banWfs.” Hie financial practices, the circular said, “endanger the equities in the roads of insurance companies, educational institutions, mutual savings banks, philanthropic Institutions, and last but not least, the individual Investor who, in many instances, has his ail in the securities of railroads. ’‘Banker control, with its constant demand for rake-offs," the circular continued, “has caused and causes continuous loss of positions by employees —some hundreds of thousands before 1929 and hundreds of thousands since the depression, ail of which had its part in bringing on the depression and intensifying that depression." Senator Wlieeler of Montana Introduced a resolution for government ownership in the last session but did not ask for immediate consideration of the measure.

IF WISCONSIN Republicans wish to make Senator Borah their candidate for the Presidential nomination. It te all right with the veteran from Idaho. State Senator P. E.

Nelson of Maple, Wls, and former State Senate. Bernhard Gettelman of Milwaukee called on Mr. Borah io Washington and asked permission to circulate nominating petitions for him in their state. This was granted. Mr. Borah toM reporters that Nelson and Gettel man had

Senator Borah

suggested a campaign for “a delegation representing the liberal forces'in the party out there, and to my name." He bad agreed, be said, to “go along with them." Later Mr. Borah issued tote statement: “My primary objective tea convention liberal delegates which will write • liberal platform and name a liberal candidate. To that end 1 shall derate my efforts If In any state or district the liberal forces think that tt will %elp the liberal cause to pled?* delegates to me. I shall co-operate fall* with that plan. If. however, ft to thought better to pledge the delegate* te store other liberal, I shall co-operate just a» fully, hs other words, inflexible as to the objective, flexible as to the tactics. “As I see toe political situation In this country, s man would be seeking political Immolation to take a nomination upon any other than a liberal platform. So the first thing to do is to get a convention committed to liberal principles So far as my efforts count I am not gotag to permit personal matters, either my own or tbooe of others, to Interfere with the main purpose.*CONTRACTS have been awarded for V>ioa new bombing planes for too craf atr corps. The Douglas Aircraft company, Incw of Santa Monica, Calif, was given an order for 90 all-metal, low wing, twin-engined monoplanes, coating a total of $6,496,000. Thirteen giant four-motored “sky cruisers” were bought from the Boeing company of Seattle, Wash. The price for the Boeing craft was not given in nBaSZmMt WCC TtzlMWj Ql W»f*

Washington Digest JL National Topics Interpreted t!tl By WILLIAM BRUCKART

Washington.—There has been much discussion lately concerning the liquidation of the dozSpending ens of New Deal Must Stop emergency agencies. It is a discussion that is timely because, first, Mr. Roosevelt in his plans for the forthcoming government budget contemplates a shrinkage to toe vast outlays repre-~ sented in the emergency agencies, and second, it is a matter of political import. Whether Mr. Roosevelt is reelected or whether there should be a Republican succeed him in the White House to January, 1937, somebody must dean up the wreckage of the alphabetical soup—which\is what all of,, these various agencies eventually must become. They cannot go on ; an end must be had to the expenditures and that will conclude the operations of these agencies and, further, something In the way of permanency for agencies that may be kept must be worked out It Is one of the real problems of government Those who have been In Washington any length of time recognize that it is much easier to establish • government bureau and populate It with bureaucrats of a political hue than it'ls to pot an end to the agency and send the political patronage boys back home. It is really an old story to observers here and, I believe, all of them recognize how difficult If not dangerous it is going to be to dynamite the alphabetical agencies out of existence. Some of. them undoubtedly have served and are serving a useful purpose. Undoubtedly, some of them were needed long before Mr. Roosevelt brought his New Deal to Washington. Instead of that fact making the wrecking Job easier. It makes the job more difficult. It Is very hard to convince plum pickers that their job Is a temporary one, even though they were so Informed when they were appointed. It is more difficult to convince that type of individual that their agency Is not all-important or that it is of less Consequence than a neighboring agency bearing another ret of alphabetical letters. In addition, the plnm pickers have their patronage backers at the capital. The representatives and senators interested in building up their own political machines back home naturally put people in the political jobs who wiii be most helpful in assisting that particular representative or senator to be re-elected. Thus, it becomes rather obvious that even If Mr. Roosevelt seriously tries to liquidate the various alphabetical bureaus, boards, commissions and administrations, he has a man-sized task on his hands. If by chance a Republican should be elected and Mr. Roosevelt retired to private life, he, too, will find himself criticized, cajoled and threatened when he seeks to squeeze the water out of this structure known as government which was expanded so much in Mr. Roosevelt's plans to meet the emergency. * * • Frankly, I believe it will take the full four years of the next President’s term to unseat all of Long, the excess job holdHard Task ers and eliminate from the government ali of the surplus alphabetical agencies In the very nature of things It cannot be done more quickly. The answer lies in the fact that there agencies embark upon ambitious programs that cannot be halted. The government becomes committed to certain propositions and, except In war time, most of them must be executed. So. however you examine the situation. Uncle Sam is well booked. To illustrate bow difficult is the Job of getting rid of a government agency after It is once established, one need not go further than the late NRA. Six or seven months have elapsed since the Supreme court unanimously clipped the wings of the famed Blue Eagle. That decision did the work of wrecking NRA as completely ss a bombshell can wreck a boat when a direct hit Is scored. But, whether you realize it or not, we still have in Washington an NRA organization of almost 2,500 employees. It is true that number is probably only about one-fourth of the total number on the NRA pay roil when General “Crack-Down” Johnson was at the helm and guiding the Bight of the Blue Eagle but It was assumed at least that the Supreme court decision made payments for the NRA pay roll illegal at toe same time. However, it has happened that toe administration has found money some place with which to pay this regiment of employees who, as far as most observers in Washington can ascertain, have very little constructive work to do. The organisation has no official status except such as is given It by Mr. Roosevelt** various executive orders It has no authority- Anything it does or says has no more force than a zephyr. Yet thousands of dollars are being paid Ua workers on the first and fifteenth of every month—and there is no sign that these payments will be ended soon. Far another example let us go back to the war days. In order to successfully prosecute America's part In the World war, the government took over and operated the railroads. A gigantic organization was built up here in Washington and representatives of the railroad administration were scattered tor and wide throughout the country. Commitments were made that continue even to tote day. Credit in the form of government loans was extended to the rail lines, and several hundred million dollars of that amount remains uncollected to this day. And with all, after 18 years we still have a railroad administration operating in Washington at government expense. Another wartime agency about which liftle Is heard btt which still is ! n ex istence is the corpora- "' - o

to private interests and those, commit* ments have forced retention of a skeleton organization that probably must be continued for several years yet before the job of liquidation is complete. One could go on and on in illustrating lu>w a government agency becomes a parasite on toe government structure long after its usefulness "has ceased, a burden on the taxpayers. It is hardly any Wonder then , with the knowledge of what has happened in the care of other governmental agencies that there is a question of how long It will be before the present emergency alphabet can be eliminated. It Is likewise a matter of concern what the total cost is going to be before the m§ss is finally eradicated. • • • We have had evidence lately of how efforts are Initiated to maintain there agencies even when Thumbs Down they are legally dead. OR NRA Recently, in Washington there was held a much ballyhooed meeting to which some three thousand representatives of bustness Interests were invited. It was called by George L. Berry, the top man In what Is left of the NRA structure. The purpose was to find out what business wanted in the way of a revived NRA. Business did not want NRA revived and the meeting turned out to be a genuine flop. There was nothing like three thousand representatives in attendance and the meeting itself gave a good many persons the Impression of being staged for the benefit of the American Federation of Labor, to which the old NRA catered regularly. Mr. Berry, until lately the head of one of the large union labor organizations, did not convince business that it needed more governmental interference, Indeed, if business went away convinced of anything beyond the fact that Mr. Berry’s meeting was a flop, it left Washington with a deep feeling that It did not want NRA In any form, nor did it want any other governmental agency messing around with its efforts to get back on its feet. The circumstance illustrates better than anything I know how parasitic agencies In the government seek to perpetuate themselves. One must realize in considering such a condition that all of those employees obviously want to keep their jobs In addition, there are those officials who have axes to grind. They want tb maintain the agency longer. Then there are the political elements to be considered. When they are all coupled together. It does hot take the aid of a field, glass to see that the pressure Is rather strong. In the care of the attempted revival of NRA, the political faqjor is Important. Mr. Roosevelt said, if will be remembered, that when NRA was organized It must be regarded as something of an experiment and that if the experiment failed to work, he would be the first to say so. He has not made that announcement yet for, it Is considered. if he admitted that the NRA experiment failed to work he would be admitting defeat for one qf his earlier pet projects right in the face of a Presidential campaign. Politicians do not like to make admissions of this kind. • • • It will be recalled as well that after the Supreme court held the business . codes of NRA to be Busmess unconstitutional and Fights Back the business codes were the vitals of the NRA structure, there was much pressure exerted on congress from the White House for reconstruction of some sort of a program to succeed NRA. Business did not want it any more then than It does now and it fought hack while the legislation was {tending. The result was that congress passed a law permitting lines of commerce and industry to organize and frame their own voluntary codes. Jurisdiction of these codes was placed in the Federal Trade commission. That agency was- supposed to work in cooperation with business and to exercise a judicial function in determining when the codes were properly within existing laws against monopoly. The Trade commission in the last year has blossomed forth as a rather sound agency in its consultations with business and, I believe, merits the respect which business generally has for it. But with ali of that respect and the knowledge that the Trade commission tries to be fair, only five lines of Industry have presented codes of fair practice for commission approval To the bystanders, that would seem to be conclusive proof that the country's business is thoroughly “fed' up" on policies and programs requiring It to deal with the government. It seems paradoxical then that Mr. Berry and hi* crew, acting even with the support of Mr. Roosevelt, should attempt to perpetuate a thoroughly discredited agencj tike the NRA. The details of the futile attempt t* hreathq life back into the Blue Eagle have been related at this length to show what the future holds in the way of barnacles. on our structure of government if we have many more the result Is liable to be a cancer and a cancer thus far has proved incurable • Western Newspaper Union. Yoar Pajamas Are laduua When we go to bed in pajamas, we are wearing the sort of clothing that is worn as ordinary daily dress by vast numbers of the natives of India. “PeJama” Is the name to that country, and long ago British people in India found that this native style of clothing was best for night wear in hot climates. So they started to wear “pejamas,” and when they came home to England they introduced the sleeping slightly j* .....A* . . ; ~.. ... ......

THURSDAY,. JANUARY 3, 1836.

IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY! chpol Lesson By REV. P. B. FITTWATKR. D. D, Member of Faculty. Moody Blblo Institute of Chicago. •1 © Western Newspaper Union. Lesson for January 5 MARY'S SONG OF PRAISE LESSON TEXT—Luka 1:44-68. GOLDEN TEXT—My soul doth magnify th* Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced In God my Savior. Luka I:4*, 47. PRIMARY TOPIC—Why Mary San*. JUNIOR TOPIC—Why Mary Sang. INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC—What Our Mothers Hava Dons for Ua. YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC—A Mother's Vision and Influence. ” ■ *,% . ■ Mary was a Jewish maid of the town of Nazareth. The first information we have of her is that she was engaged to be married to Joseph, a carpenter of the same village. It seems that the custom among the Jews was for betrothal to take place a year before marriage. ' • I. The Occasion of (Luke 1:26, 27). L Gabriel’s announcement (vv. 26-37). During this interval of betrothal, God sent the angel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Isaiah, more than 700 years before, prophesied that a virgin would give birth to a son, whose name should be called Immanuel, “God with ns” (Isa. 7:14). Though at first perplexed, she accepted the annuncation with remarkable courage and deration. To be told that she was to be a mother was nothing startling, for this was the normal desire of every married Jewish woman. Udder the circumstances, she accepted motherhood at a tremendous cost She was conscious of her virgin purity. She knew that to become ft mother under such circumstances would expose her to suspicion and shame (John 8:41). 2. Mary’s response (v. 38). Her faith was such that she responded with remarkable courage. She said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be It unto me according to thy word.” She accepted motherhood finder these circumstances as God’s command. It was made clear to her that the begetting was by the Holy Ghost and that the Most High would embody himself with humanity divinely begotten and that the resultant thing born would be holy and called the Son of God, 3. She visits Elisabeth (vv. 39-45). In her embarrassment she set out on a visit to an elderly kinswoman called Elisabeth. Having sought the sympathy end encouragement of her friend, her triumphant faith carried her beyond the misunderstanding, the scorn and shame which awaited her, and caused her soul to hurst out in th© most wonderful song of praise This Is called the “Magnificat” because of the first word in the Latin version, “My soul doth magnify the I-ord.” As pointed out by another, three features of her character atjand our In this song. : <L, . a. Her pfirity of. heart. Only a pure heart rejoices when God has come near. b. Her humility. She forgot herself and gave her heart to God’s praises. c. Her unselfishness. She did not primarily think of the undying honor which through the ages should be attached to her, but the blessedness which would come on future generations through her. 11. The Content of Her Song (vv. 46-58). 1. For salvatiofi (vv. 46-49). It was salvation for herself and others. There Is no suggestion whatever In this song that she thought of herself as the mother of. God. She praised God for tlie high distinction of being the channel through which the eternal Son of God was to make contact with the race and save It This high distinction wrought humility In her souL She knew that God was consummating his redemptive purpose through her. 2. For the divine character (vv. 49, 50). She praised God that he bad almighty power, that he was absolutely holy and abundant in mercy. 3. For shat the Savior shall accomplish (vv. 51," a. He was to scatter the rebellious, the unbelieving, and the proud. Though he is exceedingly merciful and patient the time is coming when all who reject him shall be scattered. , b. He was to exalt the lowly. How wonderfully this has been accomplished through the centuries. Those who turn from sin and exercise faith in Jesus Christ are lifted up to places of honorable recognition. c. He filled the hungry. It te through Jesus Christ that good te gained for the hungry. Indeed, all blessings come through him. d. He sent the rich away empty. By the rich no doubt is meant those who have arrogated to themselves importance because of the possessions which he gave them. 4. For God’s faithfulness (vv. 53-55). His faithfulness te shown to keeping his promises. That which was about to be realized was the fulfillment of the covenant promise made In Eden and perpetuated through Abraham and his descendants. Pity Pity and forbearance, and long-suf-ferance, and passing the gentlest sentence, are as certainly our duty, and owing to every person that does offend and can repent, as Calling to account can be owing to the law; and be that does not so is an unjust person.— Jeremy Taylor. What Religion Doe* The paramount virtue of religion Is that It has lighted up morality; that it has supplied the emotion and inspiration neieSful for carrying the sage along the narrow way perfectly, for carrying the ordinary man along it at ail—-Matthew Arnold. The Best Prayer Neither days nor lives can be made holy by doing nothing in them; the best prayer at the beginning of the day is that we may not lose its moments; the best grace before a meal, the consciousness that wc have just ©turned