104
TH E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
March 1925
Prince of Peace, and thereby -cause' those for whom it was intended to fall a prey to the enemy of their souls who, day and night, with ceaseless endeavor, seeks to harvest their souls for an eternal doom? THE OBSCURATION OF THE OLD-FASHIONED HOME A clipping from a daily newspaper carries a message of deep import, although short and somewhat satirical: W hat were once known as sitting-room s in old-fashioned homes are known as such no more. They a re now called living-rooms. Thus it is proper to possess a dining-room or a draw ing-room , and if you can afford it a breakfast-room and a den, bu t nobody who is anybody ever talks about a sitting-room . And, seeing th a t nobody sits down in a modern house except a t meal times, to retain a room as a sitting- room is obviously absurd. The only place where members of a household sit nowadays for any length of tim e is in the fam ily buzz wagon. So th a t even in th a t indispensable home annex th ere is not always sitting room. A parlor, a place where folks ta lk in home leisure hours, is also hope lessly out of date. The modern fam ily p arlor is the cinema theater. The present generation has outgrown many old-fash ioned things, and especially some of the features which marked the home-life of our fathers and mothers. There is no more charming picture imaginable than that associated with the old-fashioned “ sitting-room” of the old-time Christian home. There sat father, with book or paper; mother, with her knitting or sewing; the children with their school bpoks or games. On the center-table (not the “ library table” !) lay the Bible—not always read, but always revered. There was no rattle of the auto with its tooting horn; no radio jazz; no call from the movies;
but there was a fire on the hearth, a quiet, restful atmosphere, a sense of harmony and one-ness of pur pose which created a real family fellowship. It was an age of sober thinking, with a place in heart and mind for high and holy aspirations. The influence of those homes permeated the nation and helped to produce men and women of sterling strength of character to whom this country is greatly indebted. What is the picture now, as suggested by the clip ping? No more the sitting-room. Where is father? At the office, the shop, the business meeting, the club, or the movie.. Where is mother? She, too, is at the club, the dance, the movie, or in the auto. Where are the boys and girls? God only knows ! The auto parked beside the road, thè dance hall, the Probation Court, the maternity hospital, tell the story. A new age has dawned,—an age of fun and frolic, of lustful love; law-defying, Christ-denying|;jhell-deriding ; a moving mass of humanity swept by the unchanging law of Efim who rules the universe (but who cannot rule the stub born, wilful heart of sinful man) into the eternal woe of lost souls. What a change from the old-fashioned home is the homeless life of today ! Is there any solution to this problem? Yes. It rests with the church of our Lord .Jesus Christ, whose membership should make the ideal real, and should exemplify it in their own homes, for their own children and for other children. The pulpit should sound out the message: “ Back to the Bible!” and “ Back to the old-fashioned home life with its Bible and family prayer!” Give the young people some happy, holy memories of the home that will aid them in establishing their own homes in the days to come.
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W k o is R e sp o n s ib le ? We ta k e pleasure in passing on to th e members of “Our Fam ily” th e follow ing tim ely and p ertin en t comment on th e cover page cartoon by Mr. Wm. A. F ish er, whose long years of experience in magazine w ork so well equip him to assist u s in our campaign to double th e circulation of The K ing’s Business. m HEN a bu rg lary is reported, the police immediately take steps to apprehend th e culprit. When a pedestrian or m otorist is held up and robbed on a public highway, a hue and cry is at once raised against th e p erp etrato r. When a .dastardly crime is com m itted, all the forces of law and order are marshalled to bring the guilty to tria l and punishment. The divorce courts are tu rn ing out an increasingly large number of incompatible couples. A F ederal bulletin recently issued states th a t m arriages increased 8.4 per cent in 1923 over 1922, bu t avers th a t divorces increased 11 per cent in the same period In one county th e re were reported 8.000 divorces to 15,000 m arriages in one year, and th is not in Nevada. In one state m arital severance increased nearly 120 per cent in 14 years, as again st an advance of approxi mately 68 per cent in population. In one foreign city fifty suicides occurred on Christmas day, 1924, in most cases the resu lt of unhappy m arriage relations. Moral standard s have slumped markedly. The easy
In our country today we see a wave of lawlessness sweep ing the land. The au tho rities seem powerless to check it. News dispatches daily repo rt revolting crimes in almost every state of th e Union. Burglaries are on the increase. Hold-ups and bank robberies are of almost hourly occur rence, one state recording an increase of 600 per cent in bank robberies alone. Riot, assault, arson, m urder— an endless succession of crim inal acts are reported in the press. W idespread disrespect for law-is evidenced in th e inabil ity of enforcement officers to make effective th e eighteenth amendment. Smuggling and bootlegging has become a highly rem unerative business. The brazen effrontery of for eign contributories to this, condition constitutes a heinous conspiracy against the peace of our land. The participa tion of domestic offenders in th is nefarious traffic amounts to treason, for no man can w ilfully and viciously disobey the law and claim sincere allegiance to our government.
fam iliarity of the modern dance is a distinct shock to refined sensibilities. Scant and immodest a ttire of women invite and contribute to iniquitous practices. Increased use of cigarets by women is a straw th a t indicates how th e wind is blowing. One sta te repo rts an increase of 25 per cent in women crim inals. Youthful delinquency has attain ed frigh tfu l proportions. Jazz, petting parties, obscene dances, liquor orgies are reap ing a daily toll of our boys and girls. The average age of crim inals has been reduced from 42 to 19. H eartless crimes by youthful’offenders occur w ith appalling frequency. Mis- (Continued on page 130)
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