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"No Worldly Altars." Bishop Manning has ordered the removal of the radio amplifier which was recently placed on the high altar of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Manhattan. Because of the great size of the Cathedral, an amplifier is really necessary for those who wish not only to see but to hear the communion service. But Bishop Manning ordered the amplifier removed from the high altar, as carrying modernism into too sacred a place, where only the cross and candlesticks and sacred vessels of the communion service belong. " Besides, communicants should know their service by heart, and it should not be necessary for them to hear the words of the celebrant." By removing the amplifier Bishop Manning has preserved the traditional sanctity of the altar. And the fact that communicants will be unable to hear the service will undoubtedly lead to a larger use of the prayerbook. Bishop Manning's objection to amplifiers extends only to the protection of the altar. St. John's pulpit and lectern have been equipped with amplifiers, and the whole Cathedral wired to insure better hearing. (TIME, May 28, Wireless Salvation.)

The Chronicle, a national Episcopal quarterly edited by the Rev. Alexander G. Cummings, a Poughkeepsie, N. Y., rector, contains in its current issue an article pleading against the completion of the great Cathedral, and urging that the prospective $15,000,000 be used to send out new missionaries, and to raise the small salaries of those already in the foreign field. This appeal has been coldly received by the rector's fellow churchmen. A specific cathedral is more impressive to the mind's eye than an indefinite mission field.

Commandment IV. The merchants of the East Side, New York, are largely Jews and are remarkably shrewd business men. Taking advantage of the fact that the Orthodox Jews have Saturday for their Sabbath, whereas the Christians celebrate Sunday as their Sabbath, many East Side business men have been trading throughout a seven-day week. They claimed on Saturdays that the pressure of Christian trade forced them to keep open, and explained on Sundays that they had to stay open to catch the new weekly volume of Jewish trade. They were thus evading the New York State Sunday closing law. But the Mosaic law, commandment four, reads: " Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." (Exodus 20.) The East Side Business Men's Association is composed largely of men who wish to observe this law. The minority who broke the law and traded through the entire week got so much trade away from their rivals that they were forcing all business men to adopt the seven-day week or perish. The Orthodox have at last turned upon their uncharitable brethren and forced them to observe the ancient law. By furnishing evidence against 200 lawbreakers, by testifying in court and by assisting the police in locating offenders, the East Side Business Men's Association, through its directors, has cleared up an inhuman and intolerable situation, contrary to the laws of God and man. All shops must be closed for 24 hours after 6 p. m. Friday or 6 p. m. Saturday. Arrest and fine are the lot of violators of the law, as 185 of the 200 recent offenders can testify. The Moses of Mt. Sinai has handed down a law which holds an almost world-wide sway and firmly binds New York's East Side.

Insubordination. The authorities of the Salvation Army have, for the tenth time, ordered Commandant Emma Westbrook, of Albany, to resign. For the tenth time the "lassie" has refused, despite the fact that she is 87 years old. " They mean well, but they just don't realize how young I am," she says. To her superiors' order for resignation she sent back the laconic reply: " It can't be done." Commandant Westbrook holds a position of high honor in the Salvation Army, for she is the only surviving member of the original band of lassies who " invaded " America in 1880, and placed the banners of the Salvation Army upon our shores. She still takes part in three street corner meetings weekly, attends frequent conferences in New York.

Baptists of the World. When the Third Congress of the Baptist World Alliance opened in Stockholm last week the large number of delegates (4,000) made two simultaneous meetings necessary.