Correspondence A Wrong to France To the Editors of The Outlook: The writer believes in the innocence of Dreyfus and that the decision of the court martial of Rennes is scandalous, but this is far from justifying the unreasoning condemnation of France which has just been made. The utterances and deeds of Americans during the last week have appeared as if a supremely unjust spirit was moving over this land from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Never have the Americans assumed such an attitude of moral censorship in dealing with a foreign and friendly power. One looks in vain among the weeklies for a calm, matter-of-fact judgment. Instead of discriminating and rational comments on the part of the press, we have had a harsh condemnation of the French nation, as if Colonel Jouaust and his colleagues were France. With this have come ludicrous appeals to boycott French goods and the Paris Exposition. How senseless it would have seemed to Americans had the French passed a wholesale judgment of this kind upon the facts related in "A Century of Dishonor," or had declined to attend the World's Fair because of the lynching of negroes! What would have been thought of the pious generalizations of French Baptists, French Methodists, French Shakers, and the protests of a French Tammany? How justly indignant loyal citizens of the United States would have been on hearing of the burning of their beautiful National banner, the Stars and Stripes, in the street of a French city? This unfriendly manifestation comes, primarily, from deficient information, numerous and well equipped as are the American agencies of news. All the data used for the discussion of the Dreyfus case have come from the Associated Press, the correspondence of representatives of divers papers, and a few extreme French literary men like Reinach, Zola, Jaurès, and Paul Marguerite-all positive Dreyfusites. Everything for America has been written from that point of view, which is also mine-a point of view right as a matter of conviction, right as a position of combat, but deficient as one of objective and just judgment. These men have written like advocates, while they should have written as judges, or rather as historians. Suppose, again, a public hearing for eighteen months of the Andover controversy only from men in absolute sympathy with one of the parties, would not that public become imbued with an almost irretrievable prejudice against the acts and motives of the other side? Similarly, the American press, fed upon this correct but one-sided news, excited by the cumulative force of repetition, has been led to bring down into one slashing condemnation French military judges, the General Staff, the French army, and the French people. It is evident that several members of the military hierarchy have appeared in bad light, but it is unjust to generalize from them to a wider circle of officers. At any rate, it should be remembered that most of them belonged to the spying service-a service which, from its very nature, is done by men of an unscrupulous character. Colonel Jouaust is known to us by those hostile to him. It is only from full French reports that I learned that General Mercier was refused some requests, and that the defense was not alone in meeting refusal for further light. I profoundly disagree with the judges at Rennes, and I would, upon the facts involved, protest against their decision; but I am not ready to view them either as “imbeciles "-though they were not brilliantor as "perjurers." It is possible to find a third alternative. Prejudice is almost always unconscious. Conversations with honorable anti-Dreyfusites have convinced me of their honest incapacity to see that which was evidence to me. The conduct of General Mercier and the dubious course of one or two other generals should not blind us to the sincerity of the others. Some military witnesses were tricky and evasive, but do we not frequently see kindred performances even in the religious world? Fifteen years ago a professor was summarily dismissed from a New England theological seminary without the least show of justice and without the least opportunity to defend himself, and yet I could not raise the least doubt as to the uprightness of purpose of the body of trustees who acted in such a manner. The removal of a heretical professor seemed to them far more important than the method of procedure or the future of the man. Corporate institutions, with an allabsorbing sense of the importance of their functions, are seldom over-delicate in sealing the fate of individuals. The French Staff were convinced, erroneously indeed, but sincerely, that Dreyfus is a traitor, and that Jews and their subsidized agents were endeavoring to save him from a well-deserved penalty. They seemed to hold that when law was defeated by Jewish finances, their illegal acts were the best way to serve justice. Even M. Labori has recognized that in the case at Rennes error played a greater part than deception. Without speaking of the leading He brews and Protestants who did their duty, or of the large number of educators and scientists who heartily espoused the Dreyfus cause, I come to the rank and file of the people. It is well known that they were misled by the anti-Semites, by religious fanatics, and by narrow-minded nationalists. It would be interesting to study the genesis of the present popular aberration, but for the present suffice it to say that it exists. It is unworthy of a great people, even though legitimate excuses are not wanting. Still, notwithstanding the excitement of passion, the nation at large has wished to refer the Dreyfus matter to competent authorities. The best evidence of this is found in the reports of the Conseils Généraux, the local assemblies of France, at their last session. They looked to the courts, and not elsewhere, for the settlement of the Dreyfus case. They did not ask for a condemnation, but for justice. They were doubtless mistaken in their reliance upon the court martial, but their attitude was right. Nothing justifies the harsh and hard judgment expressed by this country upon France during the last week. I read with astonishment in some of the best American weeklies, "The Moral Sedan of France," "France's Infamy," "Outrage of France," and kindred expressions. These are, to say the least, the indices of poor moral judgment, and of a singular incapacity to do justice to a great wrong in France-wrong great enough not to be magnified by moral conceit or by a quixotic imagination. (Prof.) JEAN CHARLEMAGNE BRACQ. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Papers for Soldiers To the Editors of The Outlook: I need all the Outlooks and other magazines and books your readers can service in the colonies. They can be sent spare me, to forward to garrisons doing by freight or express, expenses prepaid, and I will forward to the numerous garrisons in the islands. When we contemplate the fact that these men are where our language is not spoken and our literature cannot be procured, where they cannot have social or religious. privileges, our duty to them is simple and plain. Let me suggest in this connection that Old magazines that are not taken up with old papers are not valuable or useful. are useful and acceptable to soldiers. discussing or chronicling current events Denominational papers that are of inter est chiefly to members of certain churches only are also of doubtful value. ORVILLE J. NAVE, Fort McPherson, Ga. Religion in Our New Possessions To the Editors of The Outlook: Permit me to express my opinion that in obtaining and publishing, in your issue of August 26, the interview with our distinguished fellow-citizen, Archbishop Ireland, on the Religious Conditions in Our New Island Territory, you did your readers and every thoughtful American Christian a great service. Could you not now, in the interest of the Protestant Church of America and of humanity at large, be persuaded to undertake the initiative in the arranging for a gathering of a body of the representatives of each of the different denominations of Protestants now engaged in Foreign Missions, whose duties shall be something like the following: First, to investigate thoroughly the religious condition and needs of our new territories. Second, to advise the bodies whom they represent whether or not they would advo cate the pushing of missionary operations in these territories in the near future. Third, to advise, in case missionary operations were thought advisable in the near future, along what lines they should be undertaken. No one who has read the utterances of Archbishop Ireland above referred to can fail to see the truth of a large portion of his position in the matter treated of. If only our new possessions could be included in the diocese of this distinguished American patriot, probably the great bulk of our Protestant community would be in favor of committing the work in our island possessions to him and his Church. But, in any event, the question of whether the various Protestant denominations shall or not begin operations in this territory will soon be at the front, and before money, representing in many cases hard work and self-sacrifice, is called for from the Christian public, it would seem as if the question of expediency should be thoroughly gone into, by those who have better opportunity than the average citizen to judge of it. J. M. COBURN. Adobe Walls, Tex. Religion in German Universities To the Editors of The Outlook · The very fair and sensible article, in a recent issue of The Outlook, on Religion in German Schools and Universities, will strike a responsive chord in the heart of many a German, and will be warmly welcomed and sincerely appreciated by unprejudiced Americans who have studied abroad in the environment of German influences. The remark that inspired the article, namely, that a certain Englishman had not found a real Christian at any German university, is absurd, and could not have been based upon a knowledge of the actual state of affairs-and this remark was made at a prayer-meeting in France! Poor France, whose condition now more than ever illustrates the painful truth of Lessing's words : Thut nichts der Jude wird verbrannt." (It matters not! The Jew must be burned.) By way of supplement to your comments, I should like to add a list of the societies and unions of a distinctly religious character in only one German university. At the University of Berlin we find, first of all, the Student Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association of Berlin, which holds religious meetings every Monday evening at No. 34 Wilhelmstrasse; the Evangelical Union; the Students' Christian Association; the Society for Home and Foreign Missions, organized in 1821, twelve years after the founding of the university itself; and there are, besides, three theological and Christian archæological associations—the Academic Theological Society, with branches in thirteen other leading universities; the Theological Students' Society, represented also in eight other institutions; and the Academic Society for Christian Archæology. All these associations are in a prosperous condition and exercise an influence for good in the life of the German student. The religious teaching of Professor Harnack, mentioned by you, is so eagerly sought that it is almost impossible to secure a good seat at his lectures, in spite of the fact that some of them are delivered at seven o'clock in the morning. German universities, then, are certainly not lacking in religious influence, but this religious activity should not be judged by foreign standards. CHARLES BUNDY WILSON. The University of Iowa, Iowa City. The Basis of Healing Faith To the Editors of The Outlook: Dr. Gorham's recent article in The Outlook upon "The Physiological Effect of Faith," being written from the viewpoint of a member of the medical profession, will doubtless attract wide attention and interest, and deservedly so. He states very clearly certain important principles which are generally unrecognized. With your permission, and in the briefest form possible, I would like to offer one or two suggestions, not to criticise but to supplement the positions he so ably sets forth. The wonderful effect of faith upon the multiform physiological processes he enforces and illustrates most convincingly. The fact of the persistence of the "unconscious" (subconscious) life, and its unfailing responses to emotion, fear, and faith, has startling significance. It suggests prevention as well as cure. Dr. Gorham notes the fact that the thing around which fear or faith centers may have no potency per se, but if subjectively operative the work follows. Admitting cures, as he 'does, "of many functional and some organic diseases" through faith, it is pertinent to interpret faith and discover its proper basis. If it is so potent, how can it be invoked? Can it be cultivated intelligently? If not, then its availability would seem to be limited to those who are superstitious or susceptible to some illusion. In that case, an intelligent man who believes in a world governed by divine, orderly law, and who would not resort to a shrine or holy relic, would be at a comparative disadvantage. Is faith a blind, superstitious emotion, or a wise, rational acquirement founded upon truth? To arouse a living faith one must feel dependence upon something which seems superior to himself. If God be Omnipresent Love, and the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Wholeness) practically available, is that not a lawful and omnipotent leverage for faith to exercise itself upon? May not such a basis be regarded, not merely as a religious emotion, but, further, as a rational and practical accomplishment in full accord with spiritual, psychological, and physiological law? How, then, shall it be brought into concrete personal expression? By lifting the consciousness through positive thought and concentration into contact and oneness with the divine fullness and strength. Can we not consciously share this all-sufficiency by systematically making ourselves receptive to it? The avenue is a culti vated feeling of its presence, here and now. Feeling comes from persistent thoughthabit, and, as Dr. Gorham clearly shows, takes hold of physiological processes. Is God a " Present Help"? In just the degree that we feel him to be so. If this is in accord with man's constitution, that fact would make it logical and even scientific. This need not lead to extremes, nor to any withholding of the reasonable use of material auxiliaries. Dr. Gorham's timely article is an indication that conventional therapeutics is becoming less materialistic, and that its scope is being widened to the recognition and employment of closely related psychical and spiritual laws which are exact and reliable. Truth being a great unit, all its factors upon every plane must be, not only related, but mutually useful and confirmatory. HENRY WOOD. Boston, Το We have repeatedly commended this book for its general treatment of such subjects as telepathy, clairvoyance, the phenomena of spiritism, and psychical therapeutics (commonly described as mind-cure, faith-healing, etc.). We do not commend its account of the mission of Christ, which emphasizes physical at the expense of spiritual conceptions. Mr. Hudson justly brings within the range of natural laws many works of Christ that have been called miracles. But it is a pure assumption to regard him as the teacher of "an esoteric doctrine of healing," which he divulged only to chosen disciples. interpret his caution to one whom he healed, "See thou tell no man," as foreshadowing the rule of mental healers to guard against relapse under the hostile influence of skeptical neighbors, conflicts with the fact of the contrary direction to the restored maniac (Mark v., 19). Christ's conception of eternal life was essentially ethical, but Mr. Hudson's seems mainly psycho-physical. Christ's conception of the Holy Spirit was assuredly higher than Mr. Hudson's description of him as a personification of the truth-seeking spirit in man. And his notion that "in the absence of belief in immortality the soul will necessarily perish" makes the core of our nature to be in what is intellectual rather than in what is moral, the living will. Christ, on the contrary, conditions the eternal life on that faith in him which unites our will to his in aspiration and effort to realize the divine right eousness. is usually quoted of Psalm cxxviii., 2, but 1. "He giveth his beloved sleep" is all that the little word so which precedes it, or "for so"-"for" being an interpolation-must limit the phrase in some way. Does it, in connection with the preceding phrase, mean that the struggles there indicated are vain, because, by denying His beloved the things desired, God so giveth them rest or sleep from greed for 278 gain that would lead them from him? 2. Verse 4, same psalm, "So are the children of the youth "-does this mean that the children of one's youth are stronger, mightier, intellectually as well as physically, than those of his maturer years? 3. Is the phrase "I will be inquired of by my people, saith the Lord of Hosts," quoted to me the other day, anywhere in the Bible? ton's "Open-Air Preaching" (Hartford, Conn., Theological Seminary, 75 cents). 3. Professors Fulton and Trueblood's "Practical Elements of Elocution" (Ginn & Co., Boston, $1.50); Bautain's "Art of "ExtemExtempore Speaking" (Scribners, New York, $1.50); Dr. Buckley's C. G. T. 1. The margin of the Revised Version The idea seems to be, reads "in sleep." as in the preceding verse, the futility of human effort apart from the divine blessing. What we strive for early and late is bestowed even "so" when we are reposing in sleep. Compare Mark iv., 26. 2. The Revised Version reads "children of youth." The implication you mention does not seem to be here, but only a recognition of the fact that the birth of children occurs in earlier rather than in later life. 3. The nearest to it is in Ezekiel xxxvi., 37, "I will be inquired of by the house of Israel." 1. What inference may be legitimately drawn as to man's inability from the Pauline metaphor "dead in trespasses"? 2. Can you name any books on (a) Biblical Antiquities, (b) Rhetoric of the Bible, (c) Mystery of Matter? can 66 J. G. 1. None. So long as it is true that such Can you recommend a few good books on J. G. M. 1. "The Making of the Sermon," by Professor Pattison (American Baptist. Publication Society, Philadelphia, $1.50). 2. "The Romance of Christian Work and Experience," by Rev. W. Hay Aitkin (E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, $2); Bying poraneous Oratory for Professional and Amateur Speakers" (Eaton & Mains, New York, $1.50). Please name some articles on Church Unity, J. E. P. either in magazines or books. is Professor The most elaborate Shields's "United Church in the United States" (Scribners, New York, $2.50). Others are Dr. Huntington's "National Church ($1), and a chapter in Dean "Faith and Social Service Hodge's (T. Whittaker, New York, $1.25). These contain all that can be reasonably said on the general subject. In your recent reply to a query respecting the best histories of the Hebrew people, you History, made no reference to McCurdy's Prophecy, and the Monuments." Perhaps you did not regard this book as included in the terms of the inquiry, or possibly you do not put upon it a very high estimate. I should be much obliged for an expression of your opinion of its merits. W. R. L. S. We have referred to it when it seemed desirable, and have repeatedly commended it as a work of high merit in its own field. Please name two or three of the ablest books holding the "post-millennium" position of the coming of our Lord. Please name first the one most exegetical. COURTESY. We are unable to make the discrimination required. The best course for one who desires a sound view of the whole subject is to study Dr. Terry's compre- |