Page Two

Each year millions of persons lose loved ones in death. Your heart will be warmed by the experiences of some who have faced the ordeal with courage and optimism. You will also learn what gave them such strength

5 LEARNING TO LIVE WITHOUT ONE YOU LOVE

8 THE DIFFERENCE A SURE HOPE MAKES

10 PREPARING THE FAMILY TO COPE WITH DEATH

Have You Ever Wondered—

Is It of Any Benefit to Be Religious?

WE LIVE today in a world where people often ask, “What is there in it for me?” So it is not surprising that people would ask whether being religious brings any real benefit. When asked in sincerity, the question certainly deserves an honest answer.

WHY DO SOME FEEL THERE IS LITTLE BENEFIT?

When “benefits” are mentioned, some persons immediately think of material things​—money, a better job, an improved social standing, or something similar. Being religious does not automatically ensure that one will have any of these. Because of this, a person might conclude that a religious way of life has no genuine advantages.

Of course, in today’s world we need money. But often a good job, prestigious social standing and many material possessions are viewed as more than merely a means of sustaining life. They become symbols of success and happiness. However, do these material benefits always bring genuine happiness?

WHAT BRINGS GENUINE HAPPINESS?

“I just can’t go on like this,” sighed the distressed young man who was described as “one of the biggest stars in the country, loved by millions, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars” and in the prime of his life.

“But, Freddie,” responded his manager, “all these things that are troubling you are coming to an end. . . . So it’ll cost you a little money . . . it’s only money and you can make more money. This is going to be a tremendous year for you!” The manager’s words fell on deaf ears. In one last bitter conversation, he telephoned his ex-wife and pleaded: “Kathy, I can’t go on. I love you and I love the baby very much, but I just have to find peace.” He then pressed a gun to his temple and killed himself. The money and the fame did not make up for a lack of peace of mind.

A woman married to a multimillionaire’s son also showed that material things alone cannot bring real happiness. She said: “My marriage was painful and unfulfilling. And though there was plenty of money, it was unbearable.”

Yes, peace of mind, a harmonious family life, a good conscience, contentment and rewarding friendships all are factors in attaining happiness. No amount of money can buy these. But the Bible shows how to acquire them, and it indicates that all of them are related to being religious.

Yet, you may know people who say they believe the Bible, who go to church, and yet are NOT happy. So you may wonder. . .

CAN BEING RELIGIOUS REALLY BRING HAPPINESS?

To gain happiness requires more than simply professing to believe the Bible and belonging to a church. “Happy are those hearing the word of God and keeping it!” explained Jesus Christ. His words show what being religious really means. It includes hearing God’s word​—either by reading the Bible or listening to it being discussed—​and obeying what it says. This is what brings genuine happiness.​—Luke 11:28.

Many persons have been freely helped by Jehovah’s Witnesses to study the Bible and to learn how to apply it in their life. The benefits received by those who honestly applied what they learned from the Bible were outstanding. For instance, some of these benefits are revealed by statements made by persons newly baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“I have lost my fear of death.”​—C. G., 84-year-old man.

“After studying the truth of the Bible for almost three quarters of a year, I discovered that I had made greater personality changes than I ever would have considered possible.”​—L. T., former convict.

“Alcohol had almost paralyzed my hands and arms. I was surprised that I was still alive. I had long written off the rest of my life. But, by means of a study of the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I finally found out what life is all about.”​—K. H., a former juvenile delinquent and alcoholic.

“Despite my sickness and the handicaps I have because of it, I can still lead a happy and satisfying life.”​—H. F., middle-aged woman afflicted with cancer.

Just think: How much money do you feel a person would spend to be able to cope mentally and emotionally with serious illness, even to the point of being able to conquer the fear of dying? How much would a parent spend to cure his or her child of alcoholism and to transform him into an obedient, respectful youngster? Such benefits are priceless. Yet these are what a genuine study and application of the Bible​—being religious in the proper way—​can bring.

So being religious can really bring happiness now. But First Timothy 4:8 (“The New English Bible”) says that “the benefits of religion,” of true devotion to God, are not only for “this life” but also for “the life to come.” Does this betoken even greater benefits for the future?

WILL THERE BE FUTURE BENEFITS?

Yes, because God promises to remove the wickedness and corruption from our earth by a “destruction of the ungodly men.” He then will see to it that this earth is turned into a global paradise where righteousness will prevail. Everyone will do the right, kind and just thing, for love will permeate all of society.​—2 Pet. 3:7, 13; 1 John 5:3.

Imagine the benefits when the words of Revelation 21:4 are fulfilled: “And [God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

Why not let Jehovah’s Witnesses in your locality assist you to become more familiar with the Bible and this marvelous hope? Experience their happiness and prove to yourself that being religious in a proper way is of benefit indeed.

Part 1

Learning to Live Without One You Love

AS LITTLE Gregory was born into the world, his mother was going out of it. She knew that she was going to die. Medical treatment that might have extended her life briefly could have destroyed her unborn child. She did not want that.

So Anita Brown made her decision. She refused the treatment, and then tried hard to stay alive long enough to have her baby. Five hours after giving birth in a California hospital, after seeing her baby and saying farewell to her husband and family, her own life ended. Now they were left to cope with life without one they loved.

What Can Be Done?

Each year millions of persons throughout the world suffer the tragedy of losing a loved family member in death. The stunning shock and awful grief that often follow are indeed difficult to overcome.

Perhaps you or someone you know has suffered such a loss. What can such a person do to ease the pain and return to a more normal pattern of life?

Some have said that ‘time is a great healer,’ and that its passage will bring life back to a more normal routine. But time, by itself, heals nothing at all. It is what you do with your time that either harms or heals. Time following a death can be poorly used to cave in to self-pity, or it can be wisely used to develop a fulfilling life pattern.

While there will be a variety of problems, the basic one is learning how to live without the one you loved. The steps you take will determine how much of a scar is left and how long your period of sorrow will be. And there are a number of things that many have found to be helpful in coping with the problem, things that involve the day-to-day routine of life.

But, in addition, there is something else, something that is a very powerful help in easing sorrow and enabling one to go on living in optimism. It is what Anita and her family had, and it caused doctors and nurses attending them to be amazed because it proved to be such a help in time of need.

First, though, let us consider some of the things in the daily routine of life that have been found helpful in coping with the loss of a loved one.

Resuming Responsibilities

When a death occurs, you will, of course, have to break with your normal routine for a while. Some may suggest a long period of mourning. But that could prolong the process of overcoming grief and could make it more difficult to overcome self-pity.

Hence, many have found it helpful to resume a more normal routine as quickly as is practical. For example, one married couple worked together on a bread-delivery route. But tragedy struck when the husband fell off a roof he was working on and was killed. The wife relates:

“Partly due to a financial need, I had to get back to work quickly. Within two weeks I was back delivering bread by myself.

“But in some ways that was a blessing. Necessity is a good teacher. It helped to get me back into association with others in the community, to listen to their problems and to think of others, instead of just brooding over my bleak circumstances.

“Having to go back to work so soon forced me to accept the responsibilities I knew I had to face up to eventually anyway.”

Get On with Living

Hence, there comes a time when a person needs to accept the situation realistically and get on with the process of living. As another widow observes:

“The time comes when you realize you are thinking too much about the terrible loss you have had. Many of my tears, though, were being shed in self-pity.

“I began to realize that my grieving would only stop by living each day. So I started to make deliberate plans, taking an occasional trip and doing little jobs that had been started but not finished.

“Positive thinking can help overcome pain. If there is no self-analysis, grief can be prolonged for years. I have met widows who are still weeping every day after five years, causing real emotional and health problems.”

This calls to mind an interesting account mentioned in the Bible. It was about King David of ancient Israel. He was grieving for a newborn son who was dying. While the baby was still alive, he was in deep sorrow. But after the baby died, David quickly resumed his responsibilities, getting on with daily living. This surprised his associates. When questioned about it, he said: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?”​—2 Sam. 12:22, 23, New International Version.

The survivors cannot bring back the dead. And, likely, the one who has died would want you to go on living a meaningful life. So do not try to keep on living through the identity of a person who is no longer with you. Develop an identity of your own, and get on with the process of living, as did King David.

Changing Your Surroundings

Some who have suffered a death in the family have found it helpful to allow time to pass before giving things away or making major changes. The question that needs to be faced eventually, though, is this: Should you dispose of the personal items of the deceased? Perhaps you will. But, then again, some things may be useful later, such as a husband’s tools for home repair.

However, what if the personal items kept cause constant depression because they are painful reminders of the loss? Trying to preserve things too much as they were, or trying to live as if the loved one were still there, will not help overcome sorrow. Instead, this can make a home a museum of sad memories.

So after an initial period of mourning, it is best to see how many things need to be changed to meet your new needs in life, so that the past does not unduly hinder the present.

Remarrying

In the case of losing one’s marriage mate, the survivor, in time, may choose to remarry. But since no two persons develop exactly the same relationships, no other person will ever exactly replace the one who died. There is no point in trying to find someone who will. However, the new can be just as unique as the previous, giving much fulfillment.

In many cases, a mate may choose not to remarry, or to remain single for a longer period of time. Such persons may quickly find that they have greater ability to do things than they thought. The added responsibility of doing more in raising children, cooking, or performing other tasks previously cared for by someone else can bring into play personal resources not developed as much before. Even children often find that, when they must adjust to the loss of a parent, they are able to do much more than they realized. They can be of far greater help with chores around the house or with caring for younger members of the family.

While friends can never replace a loved one lost in death, they can be of great help and comfort. They may volunteer to assist in caring for many things. If they are trusted friends, you may even ask them to help. Of course, you should not become overly dependent on them. But a true friend who will listen and keep a confidence, who will accept some of your burdens for a while, and who will help you to make wise decisions, is of great value in a time of distress.

Thus, practical considerations such as these can do much to help a person return to a more normal life after the death of a loved one. Yet there is another powerful help. It is what helped Anita Brown and her family to meet their challenge and still be so optimistic about the future.

[Blurb on page 6]

Time, by itself, heals nothing at all. It is what you do with your time that either harms or heals

[Blurb on page 7]

Some may suggest a long period of mourning. But that could prolong the process of overcoming grief

Part 2

The Difference a Sure Hope Makes

‘IT WOULD amaze you. She was positive and cheerful until the very last.’ That was what was said of Anita Brown when she died of cancer after giving birth to a baby boy.

One of the attending physicians at Esperanza hospital, Dr. Ron Lapin, observed: “That 80-pound weakling has really impressed me with her faith and what Jehovah’s Witnesses stand for. She’s been a real lift to the whole hospital staff​—a little dynamo.”

When one is dying, from where does such courage and optimism come? How is this related to the faith of Anita that the doctor mentioned?

The matter is made clearer by what a nurse’s aid, Cheryl Douglass, observed. She stated that it was much harder for her to cope with the shock of Anita’s death than it was for Anita’s family. Why? She answered: “They took it a lot better than I did because they’re all Jehovah’s Witnesses and I’m not. Their faith is helping a great deal.”

Sustaining Hope

What was it about the faith of Anita and her family that had such strengthening power in time of need? It was that their faith included the hope of someday living in a new order of God’s making where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death itself, will be no more. In that new order, even the dead will come back to life in a resurrection!

Those are some of the marvelous promises that God has had recorded in his inspired Word, the Bible. Since the Creator’s promises can never fail, the Bible simply declares: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) Anita knew that the Bible likens death to a temporary deep sleep from which she would be awakened in God’s due time.​—Eccl. 9:5; John 11:11-14.

When Jesus Christ was on earth he spoke about the resurrection. In fact, he actually demonstrated it by bringing back to life persons who had been dead! For example, when he resurrected the only son of a widow, the Bible account says that Jesus “gave him to his mother.” (Luke 7:11-17) Similarly, Anita knew that someday she, too, would have the opportunity to see her son again, the son with whom she was able to spend only a few precious hours before she died.

On another occasion, Jesus resurrected a young girl. One result was that the girl’s father and mother, and others who were there, “were beside themselves with great ecstasy.” (Mark 5:42) In the same way, great will be the ecstasy when people see their loved ones coming back from the graves in God’s new order.​—John 11:1-45.

In that new order under God’s guidance, a new human society will develop that will enjoy a peace, a contentment and a happiness beyond anything ever experienced by any human now alive. The promise is: “God . . . will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former [bad] things have passed away.”​—Rev. 21:3, 4.

It is because all of today’s saddening conditions will be removed that God’s Word can promise: “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” And this joy will not be just temporary, because the Bible adds: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”​—Ps. 37:11, 29.

This sure hope of living in a new order here on earth, which includes the hope of the resurrection, is a powerful force that helps sustain those with the right kind of faith in God. And they are further strengthened by knowing that this new order is not far off. Why is this so? Because Bible prophecy clearly shows that this present wicked system is in its “last days,” and in the very near future is to be crushed out of existence by God.​—2 Tim. 3:1-5; Dan 2:44.

Hence, this hope enables persons to have great optimism and strength in a time of tragedy. That is why the Bible says: “Moreover, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping in death; that you may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13) So those who have this sure hope, while certainly saddened by death, do not grieve excessively. They do not find all joy crushed out of their lives. They know that death is a “sleep” from which one can return to life to benefit from the promises of God.

Another Powerful Help

In addition, one who has true faith knows that the God who will restore life can also now supply powerful help to those who look to him. How? By means of His active force, his holy spirit. That holy spirit is without question the most powerful force in the universe.​—Gen. 1:2; Isa. 40:28, 29.

The Bible states that this power can be “tapped” by sincere persons in times of need. Jesus said, for example, that God would “give holy spirit to those asking him.” (Luke 11:13) That spirit enables sincere worshipers of God to do things that other persons cannot. It is why the Bible calls what God’s spirit produces in a person a “power beyond what is normal.” (2 Cor. 4:7) That is the kind of powerful help that aided Anita Brown and her family.​—1 John 5:14.

Thus, a person’s having the solid hope of the new order and of the resurrection makes a big difference in his coping with death. And God’s powerful active force helps mightily to sustain the survivors who have lost loved ones. These appreciate, and have actually experienced, the truth of the Bible counsel that says: “Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.”​—Ps. 55:22.

[Pictures on page 9]

Reading Bible accounts of Jesus’ bringing dead persons back to life strengthens our hope in the coming resurrection, helping us to cope with death now

Part 3

Preparing the Family to Cope With Death

AT TIMES, a person knows in advance that he or she is soon to die. What can be done to prepare other family members for this?

Many have found it helpful not to view death as a taboo subject in the home, even when all family members are in good health. Especially is this so when one has the proper understanding of what death is, and how it will be conquered.

So, appropriate to each occasion, death can be discussed when there are tragedies in the news, or when friends or relatives die. In this way, family members, particularly younger ones, are helped to be better prepared for the possible death of those they love.

Chicago journalist Jory Graham, who herself has had to cope with cancer, remarked: “When a family can discuss dying openly, something marvelous happens to that family, and I’ve seen it over and over again. When they are really open and concerned and supportive of each other, there is a closeness built there that you couldn’t achieve in any other way.”

A Family’s Experience

That is similar to the experience of an Australian family of five. The mother, a cancer victim, was told that she had but a few months to live. In that brief time before she died, she worked to prepare her family. In particular did she want to prepare her eldest daughter, 13 years of age, to help with raising her two younger sisters. And she did so in a very realistic way. The eldest daughter later related this account, saying:

“I remember with gratitude that my mother herself let us know of her approaching death and didn’t keep matters hush-hush. She kindly explained the position and then took steps to help the situation.

“I then cooked all the meals under her direction, even though she was bedridden. We wrote out basic recipes together. She then taught me to use the sewing machine more efficiently, as she knew that I would take over most of the family’s sewing. We drew up a house-cleaning schedule, divided duties, discussed basic first-aid and safety-first factors to be mindful of around the house. The fact that my father had confidence in my being able to cope was a great incentive for me to try my best.

“Sixteen years after my mother’s death, I received the following letter from one of my younger sisters who is married and has three children herself. She says: ‘It is so nice to have two wonderful sisters like you and Bev. There is no substitute for sisters who love and understand you and who are loyal. Thank you very much for being the person you are. I don’t think I have ever said this before, and I’m sorry if I haven’t, but thank you for doing your best in bringing Bev and me up and for taking Mum’s place. I realize now that it took a lot of love and effort and self-sacrifice on your part. I have often thought of those years and prayed that you may be blessed. I know that you have been.”’

Trust in God’s Promise

The eldest daughter continues her story: “My mother never gave way to emotionalism but showed us by example that she had complete trust and faith in the Bible’s resurrection promise.

“After her death, my father handed each of us a letter from her. Part of mine reads: ‘Lynette, my darling, I wanted to leave you a note to thank you for being such a sweet, loving daughter to me. It will be hard on you without a mother, darling, but others will help, and your Daddy will take very good care of you. Help your little sisters​—I know you will—​as they will look more and more to you. I want to say thank you, sweetheart, for all that you have done for me and for being such a lovely, obedient little girl, never giving me any worry. I pray that Jehovah will remember me and that we will all meet again in the New World. Lots of love from your loving Mummy.”’

As with Anita Brown, this mother did not leave the world groping, wondering about her future. She was confident that there would be life again in God’s new order. And by taking practical steps, she helped to prepare her loved ones to cope better with her death.

[Blurb on page 11]

“My mother never gave way to emotionalism but showed us by example that she had complete trust and faith in the Bible’s resurrection hope”

Printing Revolution Sweeps into the Eighties

FEW inventions have influenced history like the printing press of Johannes Gutenberg, who developed printing from movable type about 1450 C.E.

The printed page helped transform Martin Luther from a lone critic of the Catholic Church to the leader of the Reformation. It also contributed to the development of the modern languages of Europe, which helped inspire national movements in the following centuries.

Is Gutenberg’s revolution over? By no means! As one authority puts it: “In the decades after World War II more changes were introduced in printing than in the 500 years following Gutenberg’s invention.”​—Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 22, p. 604.

Would you like to know more about these changes?

Limitations of Letterpress

Gutenberg’s original press, likely a converted cheese or wine press, was based on the principle that raised letters could be inked and pressed against paper to print. This type of printing, called letterpress, dominated the world for 500 years.

Of course, Gutenberg’s press was greatly improved. Instead of printing a single sheet at a time, modern web letterpresses use curved plates mounted on rotating cylinders. As the cylinders rotate, they print on a long sheet of paper called a web that is pulled by them. (See illustration.) While Gutenberg could print only 300 to 500 sheets a day, modern web letterpresses may turn out 60,000 impressions per hour, with many pages produced from each impression!

But letterpress has its limitations. The curved plates used are usually cast from molten lead and are very heavy. There is a limit to the amount of fine detail these lead plates can carry. Making the plates is a complicated task, requiring expensive casting equipment and highly trained labor. When the plates are finally put on the press much time must be spent in painstaking work called makeready before production begins.

Nevertheless, until recently letterpress was the best way to print large quantities of quality material cheaply. As recently as 1960 almost all newspapers were printed on letterpress. Then something dramatic happened.

The Offset Revolution

What happened was the explosive growth of printing based on an idea different from Gutenberg’s​—offset lithography. As the industry journal Graphic Arts Monthly put it: “Way back in 1929 . . . lithography was that ‘quick and dirty’ process that you used if you didn’t need high-quality letterpress printing.” But after World War II offset printing benefited from a steady flow of technological breakthroughs, while letterpress printing changed little. The result? Offset became respectable and competitive.

Today it is hard to find a popular magazine printed wholly on letterpress, and 70 percent of America’s daily newspapers are printed by offset lithography. Why did offset suddenly become so desirable?

Cameras and Computers

Most letterpress plates are thick, heavy, and cast in molds. Offset plates, on the other hand, are thin, light, and made by a photographic process. Both cameras and offset plates have improved in recent years.

By the 1950’s some printers were looking into offset. One big advantage they saw involved photographs. Most letterpress printers must have their pictures specially engraved on metal plates by photoengravers. With offset plates, however, even the small printer could process his own photos along with the rest of his printing plate. He saved time and money and controlled his own quality. This was important, because competition from television was making pictures more important to printers.

Since it was easier for a beginning newspaper to install cameras than heavy lead casting equipment and linotype machines, it was not surprising when small newspapers began moving to offset in the 1960’s. These papers began to “steal” readers and local advertising from the big urban dailies. The quality of offset was steadily improving, and the offset plates could be made quickly without using highly skilled labor.

It was harder for the big papers to change. Many people would have to be retrained to operate new machines. Besides, the big papers already had their linotype machines, lead platemaking equipment and expensive presses. Since lead plates can be melted down and used over and over, for a time letterpress appeared to be more economical for printing runs with lots of plate changes.

Still, the big papers had to do something. Their costs were rising fast. By the 1970’s most readers in the United States were in the suburbs, and distribution costs were increasing. The big papers needed to cut labor expenses, to get into print faster, and to regionalize their editions, so their advertising would be more effective. What was the solution? Computers!

The 1970’s saw large urban newspapers move to computers​—for circulation, accounting and typesetting—​so fast that, as media expert Anthony Smith put it: “The newspaper industry is, in a sense, the dove sent from the ark of mechanical society to test the waters of computerization. It is the first of the traditional, major industries to start the process of complete transformation to computerized methods.”

“Lead Is Dead”

To combine computerized typesetting with letterpress printing is not easily done. Computerized “cold type” works on photographic principles ideally suited for offset platemaking and printing. That means that most of those printers who have already moved to cold type are replacing their letterpresses with offset presses as quickly as they can do so practically and economically.

All of this affects various suppliers to the printing industry. By the 1970’s the cry arose that “lead is dead,” and it became harder to obtain spare parts and other needed items for hot-metal typesetting and letterpress printing. Brass matrices for linotype machines and asbestos paper mats for platemaking became scarce, as suppliers quit making them.

“Owning a letterpress operation is sort of like owning a vacuum tube radio,” said a purchasing agent for a large printing firm. “The radio still works fine, but it’s harder to find those tubes today. Our letterpresses still work, but it is harder to find the parts we need.” No printer is immune from these pressures, “squeezing at the lifeline of letterpress printing,” as one expert put it.

Watchtower Society Adapts

A major printer of Bibles and Christian literature is the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Last year alone Watchtower’s Brooklyn factory produced over 27 million hardbound books, and another 2.5 million Bibles, in a number of languages. The Brooklyn factory, along with its associate plant at Wallkill, New York, printed over 201 million magazines like this one you are reading. Magazines and books are also printed by the Watchtower in a number of countries around the world besides the United States.

For years the Watchtower factory’s web pressroom operated only letterpress equipment, although sheetfed offset presses had been used since 1959. By the late 1970’s the need was seen to move to web offset printing and phototypesetting. Two high-speed Harris web offset presses were installed in 1978, and willing volunteers quickly learned to operate them. The result was the production that year of the colorful My Book of Bible Stories. In less than three years this highly popular book has been translated into over 35 languages and printed in some 15 million copies!

Printing on two webs at the same time, the new presses are able to produce well over twice as many impressions per hour as Watchtower’s letterpresses. One of the new offset presses is already equipped to print in four colors, and the second press will be given four-color capacity “as soon as we can shut it down to make the necessary addition,” according to one factory overseer. Magazine printing as well as the demand for My Book of Bible Stories, which is currently printed with three colors, is keeping the press very busy for the moment.

Since 1977 the Watchtower Society has scrapped 13 old letterpresses, ranging in age from 21 to 55 years, to make way for the new offset presses. There are no buyers for these outdated presses, but they have served the Society well. The remaining letterpresses cannot be replaced immediately, as new offset presses are expensive and the Watchtower Society is a nonprofit organization, financed by voluntary contributions.

Watchtower’s Future in Offset

Gradual offset expansion is under way, however. Branches of the Watchtower Society in Canada, England, Finland, Germany and Japan are installing new four-color presses. Already, the press in Japan has printed more than one million bound books. South Africa has a two-color offset press that prints magazines in local languages. A third web offset press (with four-color capacity) started to operate at the Brooklyn factory in November 1980. These three offset presses can do the work of about nine of the letterpresses they replace. Not only do the offset presses have higher production when running, but much time is saved in preparing the offset presses for new runs. Why? The tedious makeready process needed for letterpresses, sometimes taking one or two days, is reduced to a matter of minutes in offset printing. Hours that were spent cutting pieces of paper can be spent in production.

A fourth web offset press, currently being installed and tested in Brooklyn, “is very special,” according to a plant overseer. How so? “This is a Bible press. It’s going to print the Bible on four webs of paper at once, while our other offset presses print on only two webs.” Each impression of the new press will print 128 pages of the Bible, instead of 64 pages as done currently. Since the number of Bibles printed in Brooklyn doubled last year, the need for this new, high-production offset Bible press is obvious. Indeed, since 1970 over 24 million Bibles have been printed in this Brooklyn plant, in 13 languages. This is more Bibles than were produced by Watchtower in the previous 40 years! It is hoped that the new press will achieve the production of six of the current Bible presses. The new press should speed things up in the bindery as well, since it will print the Bible in fewer, but larger, sections to be collated and sewn there.

Willing Workers

One of the most remarkable aspects of printing at the Watchtower factory is the work force. While those supervising the work have been in the printing business for decades, the workers are mostly young men who volunteer their services, staying, in many cases, but a few years.

“It takes five years really to learn to operate an offset press,” pointed out one factory overseer. “When you consider our lack of experience on the presses it is surprising what we are able to do. Still, we would like to improve the quality of our printing. To do this, there is a tremendous need for workers who would be willing to learn this job and stick with it.”

The Watchtower factory, like other major printeries, has seen the need to shift to computerized photocomposition. This creates special challenges due to the unusual printing requirements for a multilanguage Bible education society. The way these challenges are being met is a fascinating story in itself, which will appear in a later issue of Awake!

[Diagram on page 12]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Letterpress

Unprinted Paper

Ink

1 Ink rollers apply ink to top of raised letters

Plate Cylinder

2 Printing occurs one side at time when ink from top of raised letters is pressed against the paper (similar to a typewriter)

Impression Cylinder

3 Thus the term “letterpress” printing, because the raised inked surface is pressed directly against the paper

Printed Paper

[Diagram on page 13]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Offset

Water

1 Water rollers wet plate. Image area remains dry

Ink

2 Ink rollers apply ink. Ink sticks to dry image

Plate Cylinder

3 Ink transferred from plate to rubber blanket

Rubber Blanket Cylinder

Unprinted Paper

4 Printing occurs when ink is pressed against paper

Printed Paper

Rubber Blanket Cylinder

Plate Cylinder

5 Same process happens on bottom side of paper so that both sides are printed at the same time

6 Thus the term “offset” printing, because the inked image from the plate is first made on the rubber blanket cylinder and then transferred (or offset) to the paper

As Forests Go, Songbirds Go

Forests in Central America and northern South America are being cut down for timber and other wood products​—approximately 35 percent in the last 25 years. Some 55 species of songbirds winter in these areas, and migrate into North America for spring and summer. As the forests disappear, so do the numbers of warblers, kingbirds, vireos, tanagers, peewees and other perching songbirds. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service conducts a survey each spring at 1,700 sites across the country. Thousands of millions of birds migrate northward each spring, but the surveys show a steady annual population decrease since 1968.

Crossword Puzzle

Clues Across

1. One who tells others about God’s kingdom is likened to him (Matthew 13:1-23)

4. A good neighbor in Jesus’ parable (Luke 10:29-37)

9. Paul was in two cities with this name (Acts 11:22-30; 13:13, 14)

10. Mentioned as being produced by cursed ground after Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19)

11. Make null and void (Numbers 30:6-15, NW, JB; compare RS)

12. Some apostates forbid persons to do this (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

13. Some understand its appearance but not signs of times (Luke 12:54-56)

16. What God’s kingdom will do over the earth (Psalm 67:1-4, AV)

18. In vision John ‐‐‐ an opened scroll (Revelation 10:8-11)

19. Joshua asked 26-across not to ‐‐‐‐ anything (Joshua 7:19)

21. Figuratively, Jehovah measures the heavens with this (Isaiah 40:12)

22. Became a living soul (Genesis 2:7)

23. Between Patara and Tyre Paul was ‐‐‐‐‐‐ a ship (Acts 21:1-3)

25. Family head of Gad who lived in Gilead (1 Chronicles 5:15, 16)

26. Stole from Jehovah (Joshua 6:18-20; 7:16-26)

27. Gulf between Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31, NW, RS)

29. Also called the Sea of Arabah (Joshua 12:3, NW, RS) (2 words)

32. An eloquent speaker (Acts 18:24-28)

33. Father of Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:12)

34. His only full brother was an ancestor of 25-across (Genesis 35:26; 1 Chronicles 5:11, 15)

Clues Down

2. His threshing floor was the site for Solomon’s temple (1 Chronicles 21:18-28; 2 Chronicles 3:1)

3. Some of these mocked Paul on the Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34)

4. David’s enemies did this (Psalm 31:13, RS, NW)

5. “Let us press on to ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐” (Hebrews 6:1, NW, RS)

6. Mighty man who “did not become involved with” Adonijah’s conspiracy (1 Kings 1:5-8)

7. One like those mentioned at Matthew 19:14

8. Jehovah hears their sighs (Psalm 12:5, AV)

14. The Shulammite maiden was like the dark tents of ‐‐‐‐‐ (Song of Solomon 1:5, 6)

15. Addressee of Luke’s Gospel and Acts (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1, 2)

17. Unlike Ruth, she turned back (Ruth 1:1-15)

20. Bilhah’s second son (Genesis 30:1-8)

24. Being a Christian should ‐‐‐‐‐‐ good conduct (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

25. In vision, Isaiah saw a war chariot pulled by them (Isaiah 21:7)

28. “‐‐‐‐‐ up treasures for yourselves in heaven” (Matthew 6:20, NW, JB)

30. Satan is its father (John 8:44)

31. What the Romans called the sun

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS PAGE 22

Answers Across

1. SOWER

4. SAMARITAN

9. ANTIOCH

10. THISTLE

11. ANNUL

12. MARRY

13. SKY

16. GOVERN

18. ATE

19. HIDE

21. SPAN

22. MAN

23. ABOARD

25. AHI

26. ACHAN

27. CHASM

29. SALTSEA

32. APOLLOS

33. SHEALTIEL

34. ASHER

Answers Down

2. ORNAN

3. EPICUREANS

4. SCHEME

5. MATURITY

6. REI

7. TOT

8. NEEDY

14. KEDAR

15. THEOPHILUS

17. ORPAH

20. NAPHTALI

24. ENTAIL

25. ASSES

28. STORE

30. LIE

31. SOL

Counterfeiting​—Don’t Be a Victim!

IT IS nearly closing time and a long line has formed at the checkout counter of the local grocery store. The tired cashier hardly looks at the man before her. He is buying only a small item, but paying for it with a $20 bill.

“Don’t you have anything smaller?” she asks. “Sorry,” he replies, “that’s all I have.” With a sigh she glances at the line of customers and hurriedly changes the bill, anxious to keep things moving.

This cashier does not know it, but she has just accepted a counterfeit bill from a professional passer of bad money. She has been robbed of $20 as surely as if her customer had used a gun. By the time her store’s bank spots the counterfeit and refuses to honor it, it will be too late to remember where it came from.

Counterfeiting has been around ever since the Chinese first invented paper money​—about the time of Charlemagne. Since then authorities say that “every currency note issued by any state” has been counterfeited. Today counterfeiting is definitely a worldwide industry. In fact, some of the most realistic phony American dollars are made in Hong Kong!

The international police agency Interpol was established primarily to organize the worldwide fight against counterfeiting. That fight is by no means over. All over the globe, whether your local currency is British pounds sterling, American dollars, or Japanese yen, the danger is growing that you could be stuck with bogus money. Why? The main reason is technology.

Duplicating-Machine Danger

It used to be that counterfeiting required the services of a talented artist and engraver to make the printing plates needed to produce counterfeit money. Today, anyone can make a crude counterfeit on an office copying machine. A 14-year-old boy in Michigan was arrested for doing just that. He used his phony dollars in change machines. (The change machines have been adjusted so the trick won’t work anymore.) So it is no surprise that law-enforcement officials in the United States operate a “Don’t-Be-Tempted” program for office workers with access to high-quality copying equipment.

‘But I would never be fooled by copies of money from an office machine!’ you might protest. Don’t be too sure. For 10 years the police tried to catch a New York City counterfeiter whose product was so poor that it was sometimes mistaken for stage money! He even misspelled the name of George Washington, whose likeness appears on the bill. How was he able to keep passing such a poor imitation? He was counterfeiting $1 bills and people never bothered to look at them.

LOOK at Your Money!

As one police specialist put it, “No matter what kind of currency people use, they simply don’t look at their money often enough.” Counterfeiters depend on this. If you develop the habit of taking a brief hard look at the money people give you, it is unlikely that you will ever be fooled by a counterfeit passer. What should you look for?

“Surprisingly,” says one expert, “often the best way for an individual to check a bill for genuineness is to let his sense of sight and touch determine or gauge it in a general way. People often identify counterfeit bills without knowing exactly how they do it.”

In other words, getting in the habit of looking at good money is the best training you can have for spotting bad money. Regardless of your country’s currency, you can develop a “feel” for what is genuine. Then, if you ever receive counterfeit, it just won’t look right. It may not feel right either, because counterfeiters have a very hard time duplicating the paper used by most countries.

If your suspicions are aroused, simply lay the dubious bill beside a genuine one under plenty of light. Most counterfeit money cannot stand up to such a comparison.

Why the Difference?

“You can see the difference,” said an expert from the United States Secret Service, “because most currencies are printed from plates that have been painstakingly etched by expert craftsmen and artists. Those plates make clear, sharp lines with exact detail. Most counterfeit plates, on the other hand, are produced by a photographic process that uses acid to etch the lines on the plate. Those acid-etched lines are just not as sharp and distinct as the engraved lines.”

While a magnifying glass reveals missing, broken, or blurred lines on a counterfeit bill, even without it most people would see that the quality of the fake is just not as high as the genuine article. Other tipoffs to phony money include serial numbers​—counterfeit bills often all have the same number, or the serial numbers may be poorly aligned. Counterfeit bills are also likely to be new and crisp. After all, the professional passer bought them brand new, and you are probably the first person to receive the bill he is giving to you.

Popular Targets for Passers

Don’t expect a passer of counterfeit money to be nervous or shifty-eyed. The passer of counterfeit money doesn’t necessarily look like a crook. He or she is likely a professional, purchasing large numbers of bills for about half their face value, and then looking for people who will unsuspectingly take them. What are his preferred targets?

Service stations, restaurants, supermarkets, bars, department stores and liquor stores are all popular with counterfeit passers. Unlike trained bank tellers, the cashiers in these establishments are generally not looking for bad money. Besides it is not unusual for customers of such businesses to pay for small purchases with $10 or $20 bills, which are the most common counterfeits. Often there are long lines, which put added pressure on tired cashiers, tempting them to neglect to give each bill a quick, hard look. If you work in such a place, be alert! Be especially wary of crisp, new tens and twenties coming from strangers.

Rural communities and shopping centers are getting more and more popular with counterfeit passers, who rightly feel that salespeople there are less suspicious than their urban counterparts. Interestingly, practical advice for salesclerks can be found in the Bible book of Proverbs, which says, “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.” (Prov. 14: 15) This counsel applies to banknotes, as well as to mere words!

If a stranger enters your store and wants change for a $20 bill, or uses it to make a small purchase, should you not be suspicious? If a passerby stops and buys a dozen eggs from your farm, paying you with a $10 bill, should you not take notice? If there is a long line at your cash register and someone you don’t know wants change, should you not take the few seconds required to give the bill a careful look?

What You Should Do

If you spot a counterfeit bill, your first impulse may be to return it indignantly to your customer. Of course, the customer, even if he or she is a professional passer, will profess shock and innocence​—and the professional passer will leave as soon as possible, taking the evidence along.

Most law authorities recommend, instead, that you hold on to a counterfeit bill and contact the police. You might simply say, “Let me check this bill with the manager,” who could have someone phone the police.

Remember, however, that a professional passer of counterfeit money is a criminal and a thief. Someone like that could be dangerous although not looking dangerous. Do not endanger your life trying to detain such a person who is determined to leave. Concentrate instead on getting a good description of him and his automobile, if possible, including the license number.

Afterward, police suggest that you write your initials and the date on the bill, handling it as little as possible, since the passer’s fingerprints may be on it. Then the bill should be kept in a protective cover until surrendered to the proper authorities.

Could It Really Happen?

Could you really get stuck with counterfeit money if you are not alert? No doubt about it. In the last 10 years the amount of counterfeit printed in the United States has nearly tripled, and the amount actually passed has more than doubled! While it is true that American dollars are the most popular currency with counterfeiters, no currency is exempt.

So why not start now to develop the good habit of looking at the money people give you? Remind yourself to be especially alert to new bills coming from strangers. Be “shrewd” and remember that if you carelessly accept bogus money, you have been robbed.

Even though counterfeiting is on the increase, you don’t have to be a victim!

[Blurb on page 22]

Getting in the habit of looking at good money is the best training for spotting bad money

[Blurb on page 23]

Be especially wary of crisp new tens and twenties coming from strangers

Household Time-Savers

It is claimed that housework expands into as many hours as you have for it​—plus half an hour! Many homemakers agree that it surely seems that way. However, there are procedures that can save time. Below are listed four recommended by many experienced homemakers.

● DO TWO THINGS AT ONCE. “There is hardly a woman alive who can’t do two things at once if she puts her mind to it. The living room can be dusted while you are waiting for the cereal to cook. You can swab up the bathroom and still keep an eye on Junior while he plays with his floating toys in the tub. And never go into the kitchen for the single purpose of washing dishes. The laundry can be soaking while you are doing dishes, or breakfast dishes can be in the suds and washing themselves while you are putting together the casserole for dinner.”​—“America’s Homemaking Book” by Marguerite Dodd.

● AVOID BUYING ANYTHING THAT MAKES MORE WORK. Buy clothes, sheets, curtains, etc., that do not need ironing. Sterling silver eating utensils are nice to look at, but be prepared for plenty of extra time polishing them. Stainless steel often is very presentable with a fraction of the care.

● ELIMINATE THINGS AS WELL AS TASKS. Do you really need all the ornaments that stand or hang in the room? The less you have, the less you have to take care of. Analyze your cleaning tasks. Are you performing certain ones merely out of habit? Could some steps be combined or even eliminated?

● CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF. “Then there’s that little matter of the apple pie that cooked over in the oven​—don’t wait a week until it has burned on and takes three times as much work to remove. Pour some household ammonia on it and let it soak. By the time the last dish is washed you will be able to wipe up the mess with your soapy dishcloth.” (“America’s Homemaking Book”) The same is true of the dirty ring in the bathtub. When the dirt dries, you have to scrub hard to get it off, so why not wash it as soon as you finish using the tub?

Feathers​—Marvels of Design

By “Awake!” Correspondent In Canada

IN YOUR garden, a ruby-throated hummingbird hovers in all its iridescent glory to draw the nectar out of a lovely flower. At the zoo, a peacock struts with its magnificent spread of tail feathers fanned out in a dazzling display of color. The splendor of these birds, of course, is due to their clothing of feathers.

For the human wardrobe, the tailor, seamstress and milliner select fabrics of many kinds and colors. What an interesting variety of clothes they produce from their bolts of wool, cotton, silks and synthetics! However, the clothing of birds is created from just one material​—keratin. This hardy, corneous protein is the substance of your fingernails as well as the hooves and claws of animals. With it, the Great Designer of bird wardrobes has far surpassed in beauty, variety and utility the imagination of human fashion designers.

Delicate yet Strong

Just as hollow tubing is known to have advantages over a solid rod, so the hollow basal quill is bonelike for strength, but only a fraction of solid bone weight. The portion of a feather that is thickest is the quill, the part that anchors the feather in a follicle of the skin of a bird.

Farther along, the quill becomes the shaft, from which parallel barbs branch out on either side. At right angles to each barb are small projections called barbules on which tiny hooks act much like zippers between adjoining barbs, creating a strong fabric, yet supple enough to bend freely or repeatedly without breaking.

If, by chance, the bird’s feathers become unlocked, he simply preens them until all the barbs are properly zipped together again. Then, with all his ruffled feathers properly in place, he is thoroughly insulated against the cold, besides having a waterproof headdress and raincoat. On ducks and other waterfowl it has been observed that their feathers have even deflected bird shot!

How Formed

The feather bud forms in a small follicle in the bird’s skin. As it develops, marvelous, complicated changes take place. Within a sheath, unique feather segments, wound snugly around a shaft, develop. It is so exquisitely packaged that when you see the full-grown feather you might well ask: How did all that fit into such a restricted space?

With development completed, blood vessels that fed the growth cells dry up, the sheath bursts, the bird speedily removes waste material and preens his new feather into its full shape. The feather now is essentially dead tissue that no longer needs nourishment from the bird’s bloodstream​—a real advantage in economy for the bird’s circulatory system.

Variety of Feathers

Feathers come in a multitude of shapes, sizes, colors and varieties. Most serve some functional purpose, while others appear to be simply for show. Birds are provided with feathers, each one in proportion to its needs, larger birds having no surplus, while the midgets of birddom have no shortage. By actual count, one of the largest birds, the whistling swan, was found to wear 25,216 feathers, whereas the tiny ruby-throated hummingbird, decked out in all its finery, had 940!

Among the functional ones are the fluffy down feathers, delicately designed to provide “thermal” undergarments for our bird friends. Under a magnifying glass one can see long, finely formed and very flexible barbs and barbules but no hooks. The very light, formless mass of soft feather branches insulate the bird’s body, keeping it warm in cold weather and cool in summer.

Some birds have more down feathers than others. The eider duck is one of these. In fact, it uses the silky-soft surplus as insulation to line a nest with “baby blankets” par excellence for its pampered ducklings! The Antarctic emperor penguin also wears a downy garment under its waterproof and windproof contour feathers. This enables it to stand immobile, without food, for about three months, while incubating an egg on its feet, at the same time contending with 80 km/​h (50 mph) winds and -50° C (-58° F) temperatures!

Speaking of contour feathers, these are designed to streamline the bird for flight, being arranged in a certain pattern according to the species. Their centrally located shaft is slightly curved to fit body surfaces, always pointing backward from the beak and toward the tail. At its base, a downy portion contributes to the “underwear” next to the bird’s skin, being modestly covered by the next row of feathers.

Have you watched a mother hen fluffing out her feathers to cover her eggs or newly hatched chicks? Contour feathers are attached to muscles and fibers in the skin that can lift them in this way. This also allows the bird to dry-clean or rearrange its plumage as necessary, or trap more air for insulating or air-conditioning purposes.

Perhaps even more fascinating are flight feathers, the “propellers” that provide lift and movement of the bird through the air. A single one of these may have up to a million ingeniously designed and fitted parts. At the extremity of each wing are the 10 or more primary feathers, really the main propulsion unit of the entire wing. Next are 17 secondary feathers, which, like the primaries, have an exceedingly strong quill and offset shaft attached to the bone structure. All are able to turn on their axis, enabling them to overlap tightly on the downbeat and open like a venetian blind on the upstroke. Incredibly light tertiary feathers smoothly cover the rest of the wing structure, making an airfoil of unequaled excellence.

Other flight feathers belong to the tail, where strong muscles allow these to be depressed, fanned out, folded or tilted at will. Thus, these 10 or more feathers serve the same purpose as an airplane’s rudder, stabilizers, flaps and ailerons during takeoff and flight and as an air brake when coming in for a landing.

Coloring

Eye-catching, to say the least, is the display of color marking the beauty of birddom. Blue, green, yellow and red look well together on the painted bunting, while the male cardinal dares to appear in public with a vivid red coat from the top of his crest to the tip of his tail, with only his black face giving contrast.

Many bird feathers vary in their coloring according to habitat. The well-dressed ptarmigan changes from shades of brown in summer to an almost pure white in winter​—a perfect camouflage for Arctic regions. Among the luxuriant greenery of jungles, vivid greens are in vogue. In desert regions birds become quite inconspicuous to predators by the sandy hues they wear.

Color in feathers comes about by a combination of structure, pigmentation and reflected rays. White feathers have a microscopic structure that totally reflects white light. To produce blue tones, minute particles in the makeup of the barbules bend, scatter and reflect only blue rays of light. Green hues result from a combination of a blue structure with yellow pigment, while red-pigmented feathers absorb the blue-green part of white light, so reflecting only red wave lengths. It is this marvelous design in feather structures that makes it possible for our eyes to be delighted by all the varicolored plumes of birddom.

Iridescence

An English naturalist described a hummingbird in these words: “One moment it resembles a ruby, the next, a topaz, then an emerald, and then again gleaming gold.” The famous American naturalist/​artist Audubon spoke of these feathered beauties as “lovely fragments of the rainbow.” Why? Because of the iridescent quality of their feathers.

What causes this iridescent coloring? Tiny and precise mirrorlike structures produce a complex optical action called interference. They eliminate some components of light rays and reinforce others by reflection. The result​—a momentary blaze of pure color on the feather’s surface that changes as light rays strike from different angles. Then, just as quickly, the brilliance may fade.

An outstanding example of iridescence is the “eye” of a feather in the peacock’s train. For its varicolored design, each barb passing through the “eye” can have three or four color zones. This requires thousands of light-reflecting structures precisely arranged in each eighth of an inch (3 mm) of the barb. Hence, billions of these molecules must be replaced year by year without the slightest modification as the bird molts and then gets its new feathers. The colors would be erased if there were even one twenty-five-thousandth of an inch (0.001 mm) of alteration!

Specialties

In the world of feathers there are many oddities. Stiffened tail feathers on a woodpecker can, like the climbing spikes on a telephone linesman, support him as he walks up a tree! The ptarmigan grows quite long, protruding feathers on his feet that serve as “snowshoes” in winter. Babies of the African sandgrouse receive their daily drink of water carried in the absorbent breast feathers of the male bird. Some snipe and grouse force air through special “musical” feathers in their wings to make a singing sound. Geese use their powerful wing feathers as weapons of war. Not to be forgotten are the courtly gentlemen of the bird world who woo their ladies with special plumes. Among these are the crowned crane, the heron with its aigrettes, the unforgettable birds of paradise, and the Australian lyrebird.

Truly, feathers are a marvel of design. Intriguing wonders, indeed, are these masterpieces of engineering! To the Grand Creator and Designer of such beauty and utility, all credit is due.

[Picture on page 26]

SHAFT

BARB

BARBULE

“Would You Type This, Please?”

In countries that use Roman letters for writing it is easy to type correspondence. Only 26 letters need to be remembered if the language is English. Other languages may require some extra critical marks, but these are soon learned. So if you can afford it, you may own a typewriter, one that is portable, very slim and light to carry.

Did it ever occur to you that some languages might not be endowed with such a simple method of writing? Take Japanese for instance.

It uses three alphabets! The simplest of these has 51 characters! It also uses Chinese characters called “kanji,” and there are at least 8,000 of these! How about a typewriter for Japanese? There is a Japanese typewriter.

One advantage of the Japanese typewriter​—it is the ONLY advantage—​it has one (1) key! So you don’t have to worry about fingering!

The Japanese Typewriter

At the beginning of World War I, Kyota Sugimoto developed a typewriter for Japanese, but this has since been modified. The present basic typewriter has a tray of letters (characters) divided into four sections.

The first section has 272 characters including the phonetic characters known as “hiragana” and “katagana,” which account for about 100 of the 272 characters. The second and third sections are subdivided into two groups each and contain only the involved Chinese characters known as “kanji”​—a total of 1,900. Lastly there is a “miscellaneous” section, which includes the Roman alphabet (A, B, C, etc.) in both capital and small letters, numerals in both Arabic and “kanji,” punctuation marks, and so forth. This gives a total of 2,273 characters. This is the “standard” set.

For certain typing, characters that are not so frequently used are provided. Two sets of these have 858 characters, which are interchanged with the “standard” set, and for more involved typing there are an additional 2,503 characters to choose from. So a Japanese typewriter can type 5,634 characters. The typewriter tray holds almost half at one time! It is not the sort of typewriter that you would carry aboard an airplane to type a letter to a friend.

The characters are set out facing up on a tray measuring 50 x 53 cm (20 x 21 inches). The typist slides the platen unit over the tray either forward or backward, right or left and locates the desired character. The tray itself can be moved forward or backward, too. On some models it is only the tray that moves. Now the typist pushes the “key” down and this activates an arm that picks up the selected character, strikes it on a ribbon so as to make an impression on the paper, and then deposits the character again in its position in the tray.

Usually a year of studying two or three hours daily is necessary to learn the basic “keyboard.” After five or six years’ experience a good typist can reach a speed of 50 to 60 words per minute.

If you are in a hurry, to be sure, it is quicker to write a letter in Japanese than to type it!

[Diagram on page 28]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

CARRIAGE

ARM

RIBBON

KEY

TRAY

SELECTOR

CHART

Watching the World

Maintaining Freedom of Conscience

◆ An article contributed to the New York Times editorial section recently considered the growing efforts in America to restrict, by law, the activities of some “cults.” The writers urged that laws “not be enacted and enforced so as to promote selective repression of unpopular minority sects,” noting that “too often, religious freedom is thought to apply exclusively” to orthodox groups. “In fact, demands for freedom of conscience by close-knit groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses have spurred the development of our civil liberties.”

“America Afraid”

◆ That is the subtitle of a recent survey probing the effects of crime on the nation. “Fear of crime is in the process of breaking communities apart, forcing individuals into self-protective isolation,” says the Figgie Report on Fear of Crime. “Americans have today become afraid of one another.” The survey found that four of 10 people are “highly fearful” of becoming victims of violent crime. Fear of rape affects 55 percent of women. Almost a quarter of the population fear being robbed and 17 percent fear being murdered. Over half of the people surveyed nationwide said they had obtained a gun to protect themselves. The recent FBI report that serious crime rose 10 percent during the first half of 1980 punctuated these findings.

Brazil’s Energy-Efficient Alcohol

◆ A frequent criticism of alcohol as an auto fuel is the claim that there is a net energy loss after all the energy used in production, from cultivation to distillation, is considered. However, Brazil seems to have solved the problem. “One of the great benefits of using sugar cane as a basic feedstock is that there is a net energy gain,” reports Britain’s New Scientist magazine. “The cane not only provides the basic fermentable sugars but also the [plant residue as] fuel for running the distillation process.” So much cane fuel is left over that “some 33 percent of it can be accumulated during the [cane] cropping period to power the distilleries when [cane] is out of season.” This is used to process other feedstocks for making alcohol. Brazil now has about 350,000 autos that operate on pure alcohol.

“Astronomical” Annulments

◆ The Roman Catholic Church’s World Synod of Bishops heard last October that the rise in annulments among Catholic couples is “astronomical.” Cardinal Felici of the Vatican’s Supreme Tribunal said that some ecclesiastical courts had granted up to a “5,000-fold increase” in annulments during the past 10 years. “It’s not so much the jump in the total number that is worrisome, but the enormous ease with which these cases have been put forward and resolved,” he observed. Those wishing an annulment must prove to church officials that no true marriage ever existed. The report in the New York Times notes that such annulments in the United States “increased from 338 in 1968 to 17,190 in 1978”​—nearly 5,000 percent.

Blood as Killer

◆ The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) recently carried a report titled “Fatalities from Blood Transfusion.” In its summary of the report, JAMA observed: “From April 3, 1976, to Dec 31, 1979, one hundred thirteen fatalities were reported to the Food and Drug Administration as [an aftereffect] of the transfusion of blood or blood products. Thirty-three fatalities were due to posttransfusion hepatitis.” Another 55 transfusion deaths resulted from various errors by hospital or laboratory personnel in administering the blood.

Most Powerful Computer?

◆ Japan’s Nippon Electronic claims to have built what it bills as the world’s most powerful computer. It says the device can process several times as much information as the largest American machines. Known as the Acos 77/1000, the computer’s central processor has a 64-million-character memory capacity. Yet, observes London’s Daily Telegraph, “the Japanese machine has a potential mental power still less than a thousandth of the human brain.”

“Airtight” Buildings Risky?

◆ A caution has arisen in the rush toward “airtight” buildings as a means of conserving energy. According to the Canadian news journal Maclean’s, research is showing that feelings of stupor and irritations of allergies claimed by workers in well-insulated structures may be due to the failure of some ventilation systems adequately to circulate fresh air and get rid of airborne contaminants. Cheap filters and improperly maintained ventilation systems or air conditioning may only recirculate pollutants.

Homes that were all right before insulating may not now have adequate ventilation to prevent buildup of carbon monoxide and other gases from gas stoves, fireplaces and wood stoves. The magazine also noted fears about perilous levels of formaldehyde and radon gases in such well-sealed homes. “These gasses, as well as ever-present tobacco smoke, have been linked to chronic respiratory illness and lung cancer.”

Religious Delinquents

◆ A new book published in England titled “The Church Now” contains a chapter by Roman Catholic priest Terence Tanner. In its comments on the chapter, the Times of London summarizes: “Roman Catholics are vastly overrepresented among drug addicts, alcoholics, compulsive gamblers, prostitutes, night club strippers, and convicted prisoners, for reasons no one seems to know.” Priest Tanner notes that about one in four men in England’s prisons comes from a Catholic background, or about 7,000 more of the nation’s 44,000 prisoners than the Catholic ratio in the population would call for. The cleric also observed that 40 to 50 percent of drug addicts come from a Catholic background.

Says the Times: “He believes all these phenomena are linked, and have a common origin to do with a type of traditional Roman Catholic upbringing and education.” The priest urges research to understand why there is such a concentration of wayward Catholics and to discover remedies. Could it be that the ease with which they can gain absolution from all kinds of sins in the confessional encourages more of the same?

Mind’s Potential

◆ Occasionally a child is born whose inherent mental abilities become manifest very early in life. One five-year-old Massachusetts girl has reportedly written her sixth “novel.” “She started humming lullabies hours after she was delivered, and . . . said her first word, ‘Hi!’ at the age of one month,” said little Alicia Witt’s mother. The New York Post says that she learned to read at seven months and was reading Shakespeare at two years of age. And, according to her parents, she recently declared: “First I will become President and then I will marry. If I find that being President doesn’t work out I will drop that and look for a husband.” A psychologist who tested Alicia at three is said to have determined her intellectual age was then 20.

Guard Llamas

◆ After losing hundreds of their sheep to coyotes over the years, a Wyoming wool-growing couple decided to try something new. They borrowed three South American llamas to protect the flock. “They are curious about every bit of movement,” explained the husband. “When they see something, they run over to check it out.” The animals’ keen eyesight and ability to spit are said to have succeeded in keeping the coyotes at bay. At last report, no sheep in the care of the “guard llamas” had been lost.

Atheists Fire Walk

◆ The Hindu newspaper of India reports that a group of atheists held a fire-walking demonstration at their center in Vijayawada. “The volunteers took a few paces across a six-foot diameter pit of red hot coal and came out unscathed,” says the report. “The demonstration was organized by the Atheist Centre to end the belief that only the saintly can walk on fire.” Apparently the same forces that assist “saintly” Hindus to keep their feet cool also see a common cause served by assisting atheists.

Rock Music ‘Dope Tax’?

◆ The director of New York State’s Division of Substance Abuse Services recently called for a tax on rock music stars whose songs encourage drug use. “We are developing a legislative proposal that will tax every musician who makes money on recordings that suggest drug use,” he declared. The official cited such entertainers as Paul Simon, whose “One Trick Pony” is said to be about youthful marijuana smoking; the Rolling Stones for the song “Sister Morphine” and others; and the Grateful Dead for songs that glorify cocaine. “These groups make millions of dollars on songs that are inducing young kids to get high on drugs,” he complained. “The state doesn’t get any of the profits, but I have to deal with the casualties.”

“Liberation” Brings Cancer

◆ Several types of cancer were previously far more predominant among men than among women because of their tobacco smoking and overdrinking of alcoholic beverages. Since women in many lands have become “liberated” in recent years, and feel free to share in such practices equally with men, their cancer rate has grown rapidly. For example, statistics gathered during the past 16 years at clinics in the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria and Switzerland reveal that the oral cancer rate among women is catching up to that among men. The same is true of lung cancer. Dr. Rudolf Fries of Linz, Austria, said: “The whole change parallels the increase in the women’s lib movement.”

Sermon Deficiency

◆ A Protestant church paper, published in Switzerland, recently asked: “Are we not living at a time when many ministers (not all!) feel during divine services that they must present their congregation with personal thoughts, knowledge and views rather than preaching to them the Word of God? . . . Is it sufficient to read a Bible passage and then use it as a springboard for personal ideas and sentiments? . . . The sermon should always be an explanation of Holy Scripture.” Good counsel that preachers of God’s Word would do well to follow.

Massive Mushrooms

◆ A 12-year-old boy in Düsseldorf, Germany, reportedly found three huge mushrooms weighing a total of 50 pounds (23 kg). One of the big fungi was said to be over five feet (1.5 m) in circumference and to weigh 26 pounds (12 kg). The other two became a meal for 14 mushroom lovers.

Anxiety from Money Find

◆ A truck driver found a large bundle on a road in Tokyo and was surprised to discover that it contained 100 million yen (about $470,000, U.S.) in cash! He dutifully reported the find to the police and filled in the forms for lost and found items. After more than four months, the money was still unclaimed, and it appeared that the truck driver would eventually become the owner of it. However, the sudden prospective wealth was more of a curse than a blessing. He received far more abusive and critical telephone calls than congratulations for his good fortune and honesty. Still others wanted him to split his prospective wealth with them. His whole life pattern became upset. He feared someone would attack him once he received the money, and he ordered his two children to carry a warning device. Now, it is reported, the police have turned the money over to him. While some people think that having much money is the ultimate in security, it can be just the opposite.

Now Hear Matthew! On 2 Cassettes

Now you can hear the complete Gospel of Matthew on tape cassettes. Enjoy Matthew in your car on the way to work. Or listen while you are doing housework. Play the cassettes with your children. They are also a particularly thoughtful gift to those who have grown older, or perhaps are sightless. Playing time, almost 3 hours.

Please send me, postpaid, the set of 2 tape cassettes recording the complete Gospel of Matthew. I enclose $3 (U.S.).

Where Did the Devil Come From?

If God created everything, and everything he created is good, where did the Devil come from? God could not have made him, could he?

This question and many others are examined in The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. Already more than 100 million copies of this book have been printed. This makes it the most widely distributed publication in the Western world, aside from the Bible.

Please send me, postpaid, the 192-page book “The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life”. I enclose 60 cents (U.S.).