1912 Watch Tower - A2Z.org

POLITICIANS ARE SEEING THINGSTwo great political conventions have been held whichhave had an awakening and enlightening influence on theminds of many. The candidates have spoken out withconsiderable freedom. The charges generally made andgenerally believed are that in each of the two principalparties there is a warfare in progress between a "stand-pat"element (willing to yield nothing) and a reformelement. The former have apparently the more particularbacking of the financial world and the Church influence,Catholic and Protestant. The other, or more progressiveparty, realizes in some measure the real condition ofthings in the world today--realizes that Capital mustmake concessions to Labor and must improve Labor conditionsor else a social revolution is inevitable. Mr. Rooseveltand Mr. Bryan are the prominent standard-bearersof the progressive thought in the two great parties. Theyrepresent millions of the middle-class people and millionsof sympathizers in religious circles and in the world.The Boston Globe quotes Mr. Roosevelt as saying,"With unflinching heart and undimmed eye, we stand atArmageddon and we battle for the Lord." Then theGlobe quotes the Scripture to which Mr. Roosevelt refersin Rev. 16:16-18: "And He gathered them together intoa place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. Andthe seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; andthere came a great voice out of the Temple of Heaven,from the Throne, saying, 'It is done.' And there werevoices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a greatearthquake, such as was not since men were upon theearth, so mighty an earthquake and so great."We cannot but wonder how much of what he said Mr.Roosevelt believes and appreciates. But the same thoughtis in the minds of others who profess little knowledge ofor faith in the Bible. The Cincinnati Post, for instance,commenting on the same subject, says:"And no one knows what it all means now or nextweek or before another generation has begun to crawl."Men talk among themselves--experienced newspapermen, men who have attended political conventions foryears. But they don't print what they talk and don't talkall that they fear."There is a feeling that history is being made in amore mysterious manner than any of us can understand--that something is moving more powerfully than any ofus can comprehend--and however much men predict orhazard guesses, nobody knows."Sometimes one forgets it is a Republican conventionand sees only two tremendous forces about to clash. Itis people who are stirring, not mere partisans. And itis the same spirit of unrest, the same mysterious uprisingand breaking forth from beneath of a wonderful andawful power that has been breaking forth in spots allover the world."If, however, it be conceded that the financial powers