IUMBER GO.

MILL, FACTORIES AND GENERAL SALBS WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

Sdes Ofice: 715 \fe*esn Pacific Bldg.' l0rl So. Broadwry

Verehoure: L. C. L. \flholelale' 702 E. Shurolr Avc.

SAN FRANCISCO

Saler Ofice: 315 Moaradnoc& Building

OAKLAND

Sale,s Oftce: 9O8 Financial Ccnter Building forward to as fair a prospect as can the building industry in this land of ours ! Instead, it continues to' totter on the brink of chaos, while men with minds to think and nerves to feel, shudder at what 1938 has brought upon the world. What, I pray thee, has become of that kindly philosophy that most god men have hugged hopefully to their hearts during the last one hundred years, that "the world is growing better all the timd'? Not even the happiest and blindest optimist on all the Seven Seas would accept that statement as true for 1938. For during that year nations that for generations past have largely devoted themselves to contributing to the world's store of wisdom, of literature, of art, of ntrmerous things that contribute to the health and happiness of mankind, have suddenly spewed forth monstrous men with hideous philosophies. And these men and these philosophies have so far swept decency and righteo'usness before them, achieving horrors that almost bankrupt the imagination.

We see great natio"" an* J.r.r" orr"" the foundation stones of Christianity, striking thunderous blows against religion of wery sort, threatening them with extinction, and their followers with destruction. Shattered altars and

From Kansas City

I am prompted to write and thank you personally for the pleasure and enlightenment I have derived from your "Vagabond Editorials" these many years. They "sta,nd out" in a class by themselves and, stripped of all else in your publication, to my notion are worth many times the subscription price. I am sure practically every one of your subscriber friends has the sam,e feeling about them but, unfortunately, probably too few of them "take pen in hand" and convey this fact to you as should be done. Some of -vour editorials contain outstanding g'ems, and are worthy of being segregated into a book by themselves.

I. K. CAMPBELL.

I. K. Campbell Lumber Co. Kansas Citv, Mo.

broken fanes are to be found on every hand where once rntghty cathedrals pierced the sky with their shining crosses. To those within the circle of the horror no doubt it seems that the very fabric of our boasted civilization is crumbling into unmeaning chaos and formless dust, where oblivion broods, and even memory forgets. ***

History is again demonstrating, as it has done so often through the ages, that no matter how terrible and revolting a philosophy may be, if the zealot who propounds it believes it strongly enough, he will not only make converts, but will even awaken a fierce enthusiasm in its favor that sweeps even into deep fanaticism. Witness how Mahomet changed the easy-going Arabians into a horde of murderous bigots. In the pathway of a crusader everything infammable catches fire, argument and reasoning become useless. and the flame must run its course. So it will be in the Old World.

I believe that their "roJ.al "i,rr". religion will furnish the tyrants weapons for their own destruction. Hitler and Stalin and their ilk, are but incidents in the life of a natio,n. Religion is its very life. History clearly indicates that it makes little difference what the religion of a people is, provided they have one, or many. History likewise abundantly demonstrates that when a people begins to doubt its God, it begins to lose its glory, The greatest minds of ancient and modern times regarded religion as the palladium of national power. Man is at heart a creature that requires sentiment, and religion is the deepest, most ineradicable sentiment of the human heart. Crude it may be, but its tendency is upward, towards the stars and heaven. Strike out religion and you reduce a nation to the level of educated beasts. Annul the power that pulls people UPWARD, and they drop back to primordial savagery. If there is no Fatherhood of God, there can be no Brotherhood of Man. Religion is the divine perfume of the human soul. The tyrants of the Old World will find that you can't drive religion from the human heart with a maul.

We wish to express our sincere appreciation for the nxrny favors received during the past year, and to wish all our customers and friends