Vol* Vllo The Glory of God is Intelligence. No. 9.
IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Organ of Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations.
PUBLISHED BY TBB GENEIRAL BOARD.
JosBPH F. Smith, NwdUom Hbbbh J. Grant. ; Business
Edw. H. ANDBKSOif, ( »"»•■"»■• Thos. HULL, j Managers.
Sintered at the Poet Office, Sale Lake City, Utah, as Second Glass Matter.
JULY, 1904.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Portrait cf Governor Stephen S. Harding Frontispiece
Was the Declaration of Independence a Heaven- ly Inspiration? Elder Joseph E. Taylor 641
A Dream. A Poem W. S. Phillips 646
Converted by Signs Walter M. Wolfe 647
To Man. A Poem James Nielsen 653
The Bible Frederic Clift,M.D. 654
The Baby's Lesson 664
Adventures of a Pioneer. Ill Hon. John M. Horner 665
An Experience David B. Anderson 673
The Prophesied Exodus. A Poem Henry E. Home 674
Talks to Young Men. IX — Choosing a Vocation 676
Suggestive Thoughts for the Mildly Skeptical Dr. J. X. Allen 680
A Trip to Cuba Dr. Joseph M. Tanner 684
Does an Education Pay? Success 687
Sunlight. A Poem T.E.Curtis 688
Radium Dr. James E. Talmage 689
His Mother. A Poem Grace Ingles Frost 698
Joseph Smith as Scientist. IX Dr. John A. Widtsoe 699
Some Leading Events in the Current Story of the World— Progress of the War— The Battle of Nan Shan Hill— Senator Quay — Perdicaris Kidnapped — A New Canadian Transconti- nental Railway — Postal War on Patent Medi- cines—Colorado's Troubles Dr.J.M. Tanner 706
Editor's Table— Rest for the Peaceful Followers
of Christ President Joseph F. Smith 714
Annual Conference of the Mutual Improve- ment Associations— A Talk to Graduates — Governoi Harding— Radium — Two Books on
Utah 718
In Lighter Mood 726
Our Work— M. I. A. Work in England— Flourish- ing Norwegian M. I. A.— New Superintend- ent Chosen 727
Events of the Month 730
SALT LAKE CITY:
214 ^ 215 TEMPLETQN BUILDING.
Published Monthly. $2.00 Per Annum
Keep IHoney at Home
By Insairing in the
Don't Carry Your Own Risk
HOME FIRE
or UTAH
HeDer J. Grant & Go.
GENERAL AGENTS.
20-2€ S9uth Mam St.. tali Lake My. Utmt
mi C. ItCLIII. Pnii. mo T. BURTN, %». N> i. lURTN, Tritt
BUf^TON COAlk -HO l0]«BEH CO.
ALL KINDS OF
GOAL
ALL KINDS OF LUMBER
Wholesale and Retail.
LUMBER IN CAR LOTS A SPECIALH.
Office, 60 W. Second Sotrtli Street.
Yards, Cor. Fifth Sooth and Third West Stk
Telephone 808.
THH.
STATE BflM OF UTAH
Aeeounts Solielted. Covvespondene* Invited*
OFFICBR8 AND DIRBCTOB8.
Joseph F. Smith, President.
Wm. 6. Preston, Vice-President.
Charles S. Burton, Cashier.
Henry T. McEwan, Asst. Cashier. Heber J. Grant Job. D. Mnrdock
A. W. Carlson . Heber M, Wells
Byron Groo Isaac Barton
|
1 |
1 |
||
|
— |
j^BdHj^V |
||
|
^ |
i"^ |
^HHV iHHl |
|
|
9!!||« |
1 1 |
||
|
K.'^ l».» •■•*»• "•••• •™'' ■■ |
— ^li 'M'Jih.. ' ' »4 1 ' 1 |
||
|
1*1 i>^^ |
!^: «««i*ii!i-i>*5!!'i: |
/:•/, |
|
|
11.1 |
i'?:b«"'iiM«ii |
- -^^ 4^t,.: |
|
|
CZi-^-^ |
ir^T^ |
||
|
-.^^^■1 |
|||
|
^^9BSS^^SSIf^^^^^^K[^f^l^misik,.^ |
SniiTfllR BEflCH
Jl^e (greatest ai^d (jraQdest pauiiioi} ii^ tl^e doited States.
Jl?(? F"P<?st salt U/ater Batl^irj^ i^esort Iq tl?^ U/orld.
Jl?e Car§(?5t ai?d pi^est Dai^eii}^ ploor ip pmeriea.
2o0 bath bonsea built this year In deep water.
New hardwood floor juet laid on the dancing pavilion.
(When writing to Advertisers, please mention the Era.)
NO!
iAZE DON'T
Pirns at)d Orgafis.
ifl^E SELL. THE7VT.
$ $ $
DflYHES & f^OlWHEY PiflflO GO,
TH© 7U^0N©Y-BK0K: F'eOF=>L-E.
40-50 Richards Street.
Salt Lake City.
1= .o. :bo2c "w.
MISSIONARIES
should write to pr call on the
SALT LAKE KNITTING WORKS
for their HOSIERY. UNDERWEAR AND "GARMENTS"
before leaving for their fields ot labor.
We havs a full line of
WHITE SHIRTS. HOSIERY, NECKWEAR
9ir Specialty is KNITTED "6ARMENTS."
We have them in Cotton from $1.00 up and in Wool from $1.75 up.
ORDBR BV 2B(RIL< PROTBC US.
' When ordering "Garments" send your iieight, weight, chest measure and length of «Ieeye to
Salt Lake Knitting Works,
Salt liak* City, Utah JOSEPH R. SMITH, Mgr.
DIKECTOKS:
Joseph F. Smith, President. Budger Clawson, Vice-President. Thomas hull. Josepb Kelson, Alvln F. Smith.
TBE LITERARY DIGEST
"All the Perlouicals in One."
An illustrated weekly magazine with Interesting In* fori lai ion adequately covering all the chief subjects of human interest, as selected, translated, and di- gested from the world's choicest periodical litera- ture.
Should you become one of its regular readers?
BEOHllSF ^lisn your time Is precious It enables atisjrwjiJti ygy ,q Qjabe the most of every read- ing moment, proviriing you with Ihe cream of 1,(.00 valuable periodicals.
BECfllJSE ** ''®^®'^*^i translates, digests, or re- ocvnUiJC prints Ihe best literature to be found in the numberle-s periodicals i rinted in all lands, giving its subscribers the benefit of expert editorial skill and discrimination.
BECAUSE '' enables you to greatly economize ** your expenditures for periodicals making it possible to get th- best In a greater num ber than you could ever subscribe for— this for single subscription.
BECAUSE regular readers of The Litebabt " '^^ Digest become versatile on all sides of topics of current Interest and discussion In pol Itlcs, science, literature, art, religion, etc.
THE IiITERARY DIGEST
$3.00 a Year. 3iQ<$'e Copies 10 etj
•
FUNK & WflGNflliliS GOPflNY
NEW YORK.
(When wrltinr to AdTartlawrs, ptoaM mention the Eb«.)
TH[ PRESTICE OF AN
sometimes causes imitation.
THERE is only one Taylor-Romney-Armstrong-Co., organized in 1869, and still doing business under the same name. Be sure you get the name right. No need to tell you that we sell lumber of all kinds and everything else that is usually sold by a first class yard. We also do custom mill work — yes, lots of it. Other dealers who send us their mill work tell us they do so because the work is done better than elsewhere. No joubt that is the reason. Suppose you try it.
TilYIiOH01«flEY-flHl«ISTfl05G-GO ,
South Temple and Seeond West.
SAVE YODR MONEY, AND WHEH YOD GET A DOLLAR DEPOSIT IT WITH ZION'S SAVINGS BANK & TRUST COHPANY.
4 Per Cent Interest PaU on |i. to $5,000.
OppiCEI^S.
Joseph F. Smith,
President Anthon H. Lund
Vice-President George M. Cannon
Cashier Lewis M. Cannon,
Asst. Cashier .
OII^HCTORS.
Joseph F. Smith Anthon H. Lund John R. Winder, T. G Webber James Jack John T. Caine Angus M. Cannon Francis M. Lyman George Reync^ds L. John Notttkl] Angus J. Cannon A. O. Woodruff Hyrum M. Smith
SAIiT liAKJEi GITT fJTAM
No 1. MAIN STRElfiT.
(When writing to Advertisers, please mention the Bra.)
Digitized by tiie Internet Arciiive
in 2011 witii funding from
Corporation of tine Presiding Bisiiop, Tine Ciiurcii of Jesus Ciirist of Latter-day Saints
Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/improvementera0709unse
^ "^
GOVERNOR STEPHEN S. HARDING. 1862-3.
IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Vol. VII. JULY, 1904. No. 3.
WAS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE A HEAVENLY INSPIRATION?
BY ELDER JOSEPH E. TAYLOR, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.
From a "Mormon" standpoint, we answer most emphatically in the affirmative.
In arriving at this conclusion, we have gone back to the very- earliest history of the land of America, and considered the par- poses of our Father concerning this land, and also traced his pecu- liar providence in relation thereto.
It is with reluctance that the historian of our day goes back only as far as the year 986 A. D., and gives a somewhat doubtful credit to Herjulf son as being the first to discern, by accident, New- foundland or Labrador. Fourteen years later, it is said that Leif Erickson, a noted Icelandic sailor, in order to learn the truth of Herjulfson's report, sailed westward and landed at Labrador. He continued his explorations along the Atlantic coast until he reached the present New York harbor.
Thorvald and Thorstein, brothers of Leif, also Thorfinn, a noted mariner, and others, made occasional voyages up to as late a period as the fourteenth century, and explored the Atlantic coast, some of them going as far south as the capes of Virginia.
642 ' IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Nothing of importance, however, seems to have resulted from their discoveries. It remained for Christopher Columbus to startle all Europe by the discovery of the New World. For the time had not arrived until then, 1492 A. D., according to the purposes of the Almighty, and, I may add, the decree of heaven, that the Western Continent should be opened up to the white races of the earth, and its limitless advantages attract the attention of the whole civilized world. Although the most diligent search has been made for the history of this western world, as also its strange people, yet no reliable history could be found. We are led to ask, Is it possible that a people, in almost every part of whose land have been discovered the surest evidences of a past civilization and refinement, exceeding in some respects the attainments of the white races of mankind today, should be without a written history? Every person of enlightenment would give but one answer to the question: It seems incredible.
Like Columbus' discovery, it remained for the prophet of the nineteenth century, Joseph Smith, under the direction of heaven, to dig from the earth that history; for it had been hidden therein, in a chosen spot, by the direct command of God; and by his ap- pointed agents had been preserved, until the Lord's time for its coming forth had fully arrived. It is not at all strange that the latter-day prophet, in translating this sacred record dug from the hill Cumorah, should discover many things which Judah's record (the Bible) intimates, but leaves somewhat in obscurity, especially those passages which relate to this continent. It is not strange, either, that he should make diligent enquiry from that source of true information, to which he had unlimited access, as to the mis- sing links, in order to make the historical chain of this choice land complete. Nor is it any wonder that upon receiving answer there- to that he should make the astounding statement, and that, too, without any qualification whatever, that here, upon the continent of America, was the first home of man. That the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve communed freely with the Holy One, was here. That here Adam fell. That Enoch's Zion was here. That here Noah built the ark. That with Noah began the peopling of other lands.
We will quote now from the sacred record as translated by
* DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 643
Joseph Smith. About two thousand years B. C, at the time of the confusion of tongues and the scattering of the people, a man by the name of Jared, his brother, and their families, under the direction and guidance of heaven, migrated to man's primitive home — America. They dwelt here for many centuries; but, in con- sequence of their continued wickedness, they were finally extermi- nated. Their records were found by the Nephites, whose forefather, Lehi, about six hundred years B. C, was commanded by God to leave Jerusalem, with his family and others, and take up their line of March to the promised land. This colony landed on the western coast of South America. The American Indian of today is a small remnant of this Lehi family, who, at one time, num- bered millions of people, as did the people of Jared.
The decree of heaven concerning this land from the beginning was, that whatsoever nation or people should possess it, they should serve God, or they would be swept off, when they were "ripened in iniquity."
How literally was this accomplished in Noah's day ! Also in the utter extinction of the people of Jared; as well as fulfilled in the destruction of the Nephites and Lamanites. That decree is not abrogated in the least degree, but shall remain in force, and will continue until the end of time.
Further, the Lord said to the brother of Jared: Whatsoever nation shall possess this land shall be free from bondage and cap- tivity, and from all other nations under heaven. Fifteen hundred years later, when speaking to Nephi of the Gentiles occupying this land, he says: And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, for I will forti- fy it against all other nations. (See II Nephi 10: II, 12.)
From the above quotation, and others of a similar character, which might be given, we conclude that North and South America has a manifest destiny, requiring a peculiar fitness on the part of those who inhabit it, and that a special providence has hitherto guarded with a jealous care, and will continue so to do, every pur- pose of the Almighty concerning this land.
Two thousand years before Columbus made his discovery, the Prophet Nephi says that he saw "a man among the Gentiles who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters;'*
644 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
that the Spirit of God came down and wrought upon this man, "and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land." This evidently was Columbus; although he did not recognize, much less acknowledge, any divine inspiration. He only desired to demonstrate his pet theory, that of circumnavigation. But, nevertheless, he was God's chosen servant to accomplish a certain defined purpose, which he did, though unknown to himself. Nephi also saw that "the Spirit of God wrought upon other Gentiles," they following to this promised land. He further says that the Spirit of the Lord was upon these Gentiles, that they prospered upon the land, that they were "white and exceeding fair." This also was literally fulfilled.
He beheld that their mother Gentiles came against them to battle; but they were delivered by the power of God out of the hand of all other nations. This evidently refers to Great Britain in the on- slaught she made upon the American colonies, for England was certainly their mother.
We have now come to the memorable 1776, the very time when should be put to the test the prophetic utterances of Nephi, more than two thousand years ago, as to the intervention of heaven in behalf of the people (Gentiles) who were oppressed beyond fur- ther endurance, and that, too, by a kingly power, which heaven had decreed should not rule upon this land. We confidently assert that under the inspiration of heaven, at this supreme moment, was formulated that immortal instrument, the Declaration of Independ- ence, proclaiming to the entire world, but England more particu- larly, that the United Colonies had absolved themselves from all allegiance to the British crown, and that henceforth they were free and independent states.
I .presume that Thomas Jefferson, who penned (with the ex- ception of a few interlinings by Franklin and Adams) the memorable document, would claim no special heavenly inspiration in its prepara- tion, although, as stated in the document itself, heaven was relied upon to support them in the accomplishment of this noble resolve. Nor would the signers of the Declaration acknowledge that they were influenced by any particular heavenly inspiration, but rather that the twentv- seven valid reasons contained in the document was the
' DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 645
only incentive which called forth their action. Neither did King Nebuchadnezzar know, as nation after nation yielded to his mili- tary prowess, that God had declared by the voice of the Prophet Jeremiah that all nations should serve this wicked king, whom God called his "servant," when at the zenith of his greatness as the world's conqueror, God compelled him, because of his boastful arro- gance, to dwell for a long time with the beasts of the field. It was only after this humiliation that Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged and honored the King of heaven. Many others, and even wicked men, all unconscious to themselves, have been employed as agents to accomplish certain purposes of our Father.
But to return to our subject proper. By this Declaration of Independence a conflict was invoked that must terminate in liberty, or bondage worse than death. That heavenly agents watched care- fully every move during that memorable conflict, need not be ques- tioned; and that although more than one defeat was met with by the gallant men who composed the American army; and although disasters many were added to defeats. Also, in addition, the credit of Congress gone, the national treasury bankrupt, the army ill-fed, ill-clad and unpaid. And while pitted against millions of money, and more than a quarter million of well- disciplined marines and troops; yet victory came at last, after six years of the most des- perate struggle. A victory of far greater value, and more highly prized (because so dearly bought) than it would have been if without a struggle the goal had been reached. All was controlled, suffered and consummated by the unseen hand of a divine Providence.
Will the people of America — Gentiles as we are named in the text quoted — serve the God of this land, in order that they may continue to possess it? or will they jeopardize their national exist- ence, as well as their individual existence, by iniquitous practices?
These are questions pertinent to the subject before us. I make bold to assert that no outside nation, nor combination of nations, will ever achieve a national conquest on this soil. If dis- ruption and disintegration should ever occur, they will come from internal sources, and not from a foreign foe. And if that comes — which heaven forbid — one cause, and one cause only will produce the wreck.
It was God who established this nation by divine inspiration.
646 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
He it was who defended it against a powerful foe. It is he who has sustained it up to the present. Let us see to it that we offend him not by a "ripened iniquity."
A DREAM. (For the Improvement Era.)
I dreamed I saw two fair young lives Come from the throne of Grace;
They took upon them mortal mould, Eaeh fair of form and face.
One winged its flight to stately halls;
One, to a lowly cot. One chose the joys and wealth of earth,
And one the pauper's lot.
I saw the two walk side by side. Through childhood's flowery gate;
I saw the two emerge at last To manhood's fair estate.
And he who sought the stately halls
A life of pleasure led; But he who chose the lonely cot.
Toiled for his daily bread.
Unfair, 1 thought, that one should have All wealth and power by birth:
Forgetting there are greater things, Than powers and pelf of earth.
The scene changed to a justice court:
The judge, the pauper mild; But he who stood to answer guilt,
Was fortune's pampered child.
And then I saw that God was just,
That all his deeds are right; That oftentimes the brightest day,
Succeeds the darkest night. — W. S. Phillips. Weston, Idaho.
CONVERTED BY SIGNS.
BY WALTER M. WOLFE, ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE "MILLENNIAL STAR," LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.
It is only while in a state of purity itself that any church or creed can hope to win disciples by its intrinsic merits. Faith be- gets faith, hope begets hope, and love, love. The man who fails tq keep the entire law cannot preach that law effectively. If he attempt to do so, something will arise that will brand him as a hypocrite. The very disregard of law shows a lack of faith. If he keeps one law and disobeys another, the one that is slighted will inevitably rise in judgment against him. Hence, men often try to evade the commands of God by substituting some scheme of their own for obedience. Faith, hope and love cease to be factors in the evangelization of the human race, and a method of promulgating doctrine and creed has to be employed.
There came a time in the history of the Former-day Church when, through the disobedience of those who professed the gos- pel, the Church, as it had been established by the Savior and his apostles, lapsed into apostasy. The beauties of Christ's teachings could no longer be used to attract honest souls to it, because the teachers themselves did not practice the virtues which Jesus in- culcated. So another means of proselyting became absolutely neces- sary to widen the field of Christianity, to increase the number of converts, and to place all the people of Europe under one spiritual over-lordship, that of the pope.
The sword might be effectual under such generals as Belisa- rius and Clovis, but the sword, save the sword of the Spirit, was not a Christian weapon. Even in the cruel centuries that followed the era of Constantine, men did not quite forget that the gospel
648 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
should be a gospel of peace. Faith as an element of conversion being lacking, and the sword being discredited, the only recourse left was to miracles and signs; and these were the means that, for more than a thousand years, were used to bring individuals and even nations into the fold of the church. Instead of signs follow- ing those who believed, signs preceded and were made the founda- tion of belief. Without the miracle there was no faith, and faith that is based solely upon miracles must need have fresh supply of the miraculous constantly, in order to keep it alive. As signs in- creased, faith waned; and when the reason of men obtained mas- tery of their credulity, there arose an intellectual revolution against the teachings and practices of the dominant church that eventually led to a spiritual reformation.
For more than twelve hundred years prior to the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the now famil- iar verse, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself," seemed to have been expurgated from the Bible. At all events its signifi- cance was utterly lost sight of. Men obtained their knowledge of religion not of themselves, nor for themselves, but only on the testimony, in a great majority of cases traditional, of others. There was incentive neither to acceptable work nor to implicit faith. Man was contented to go along taking for spiritual bread tlie barren stone — the myths and legends of what had been done generations before."
These traditions belong not alone to the old world, nor to any one race of people. Wherever the great Catholic church has gone, there she has taken her tradition, for to her, tradition is sacred, and tradition has in every case been transformed so as to adapt itself to the immediate needs of the people with whom it has to do. There are legends of mighty events whereby the whole trend of history has been changed, legends that have almost become his- tory, such afe the appearance of the fiery cross in the heavens to the Emperor Constantine, and Clovis' miraculous victory over the Burgundians. There are other tales so manifestly improbable that they have been almost forgotten, save by the more superstitious who still make pilgrimages to Lourdes and Loretto. A third class of traditions contain in themselves an element of truth that ex-
CONVERTED BY SIGNS. 649
aggerations, the natural result of time, and the desire of the priests to foster a belief in the miraculous, have so distorted that it has almost been hidden. Yet these legends of homely origin, told in simple language, have had a heart-power to win souls that the more mighty miracles did not possess. The one filled the human breast with awe, the other with love; and love has always been the most powerful and effective weapon in spiritual conquest. Two of these folk-legends that are little known are here given; the one deals with the Christianization of the Angles in Northumberland, the other with the conversion of the Zapotecs in Mexico. Both come to us from monkish sources.
For a long lime after the Saxons of the Thames valley had been converted to Christianity, the Angles to the north of England refused to receive the new religion. They clung to their old gods with a tenacity that was worthy a better cause, and it was only by a sign that their hard hearts were changed and they received the gospel as it was brought them from Rome by Paulinus. It hap- pened in the early part of the seventh century that Edwin, the rightful heir to the throne of Deira, was an exile in the house of - Rsedwald, the king of the East Angles; and while he was there ^thelfrith, who had usurped the kingdom of Deira, sent to Rsed- wald and demanded his life. At first Rsedwald refused to betray his guest, but afterwards, when ^thelfrith had sent the third time and now threatened to come into East Anglia with an army. Rsed- wald consented to give up Edwin to his enemy.
Now, Edwin had a friend who heard what Rsedwald had said to the messengers of ^thelfrith. So he went to Edwin in his chamber (for it was the first hour of the night), and he said, "Come forth out of the house." So Edwin came forth out of the house, and his friend said unto him, "Lo, Rsedwald hath promised- to slay thee. Follow me, therefore, and I will lead thee out of this land and hide thee where neither Rsedwald nor .Ethelfrith can find thee.'' But Edwin said, "I thank thee well, but I cannot follow thee. I have sworn to Rsedwald that I will dwell in his land, and I may not go back on that I have spoken." So his friend went his way, and Edwin sat alone on a stone before the house, and his heart was very sorrowful, and he knew not what to do or whither to turn Mm.
650 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Then there came a man and stood before him, a man of strange countenance and clad in strange raiment, such as Edwin had never before seen, and Edwin was afraid. Then said he, "Wherefore dost thou, while other men sleep, sit thus alone and sad on a stone be- fore the house?" And Edwin answered, "What is it to thee whether I abide this night within the house or without it?" Then the strange man answered and said, "Think not that I know thee not who thou art, and why thou art sad and sleepest not, and why thou sittest thus alone before the house. For I truly know thee, and I know what evils they are that thou fearest lest they should come upon thee. But tell me what reward wilt thou give unto him who shall free thee from thy sorrows, and shall persuade Raedwald that he shall not do thee any harm, nor deliver thee into the hands of them who seek thy life?" Then Edwin answered and said, "All that I have will I give as a reward to him that will do this thing for me." Again the stranger said, "And what wilt thou do, of a truth, if a man shall promise thee, of a truth, that thou shalt smite thine enemies and reign in their stead, and shalt be a mightier king than were any of thy forefathers?" And Edwin replied, "Yea, verily, if a man shall do this thing unto me, I will give him such a reward as shall be fitting for his good deeds." Then the strange man spake unto him the third time and said, "Yea, and when this thing hath come to pass, and when thou sittest on thy father's throne, what wilt thou do if he that promised thee all these things shall tell thee of a new life and of a new law, better than any that thou or thy fathers have known? Wilt thou then believe him, and obey him, and do such things as he shall speak unto thee for thy good?" And Edwin answered and said, "Yea, verily, if such a man shall deliver me out of my sorrows, and set me on my father's throne, I will believe him, and obey him in all things whatsoever he shall say unto me." Then the strange man laid his hand on Edwin's head, and spake unto him saying, "When this sign shall come unto thee, remember this night and thine own words, and delay not to do that which thou hast promised." Then the strange man van- ished out of Edwin's sight, and he saw him no more, and he said in his heart, "This is no man, but rather one of the great gods, or one of the kind elves that has spoken with me."
So Edwin sat alone before the house, and he rejoiced greatly
CONVERTED BY SIGNS. 651
in his heart at that which the strange man had said unto him, and he wondered who the man might be and whence he had come. Then came forth the friend who had before spoken to him, and he came with a joyful countenance and said, "Rise up, and come into the house, and lay aside thy sorrows, and let thy limbs rest in sleep, for the king's heart is changed, and he will do thee no harm, but will keep the promise that he hath sworn unto thee."
Afterwards Rsedwald and Edwin fought with ^Ethelfrith and his army, and slew him, and Edwin did indeed sit on the throne of his father and become the greatest king in all England. He mar- ried a wife who was a Christian, and her priest, Paulinus, spake with him often about the gospel of Christ, but he would not accept it. Years after, when all the kings of the West Saxons were sub- ject to Edwin, and there was peace throughout the land, he was sitting by himself one day and pondering upon the things that Paulinus had told him. Then came Paulinus to him and laid his hand upon his head, and said, "Knowest thou this sign?" And Ed- win trembled and fell at his feet. Then Paulinus stretched forth his hand and lifted him up, and said unto him, "Be of good cheer, Edwin; the Lord whom I serve hath delivered thee out of the hand of thine enemies whom thou didst fear, and he hath given the kingdom which thou didst desire. Defer not then to do the thing which thou didst promise." Then Edwin knew that it was he who spake to him by night, as he sat at the gate of the house of Rsed- wald, and he believed.
When the king was converted, the work was really done. Ed- win called a council of his wise men and told them all that had happened to him, and they believed also. So, as the result of a sign, all the folk of the north of England became Christians and were baptized, as was Edwin their king. In honor of his conver- sion, Edwin built a great church of wood in his capital city of York, and he made Paulinus bishop of York. Afterwards a mighty church of stone was built called Yorkminster, and today it is, next to the cathedral in Canterbury, the most important church in old England.
We often think of the inhabitants of Mexico at the time of the conquest, with the exception of the Aztecs, as a barbarous people, and yet the tradition of the conversion of the Zapotecs will compare very favorably with the Anglo-Saxon legend given above.
652 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Midway between Oaxaca and Mitla, in the state of Oaxaca, is the little village of Santa Maria del Tule, famous for its big tree, which is said to be the largest in Mexico. It shades the greater part of the church-yard, and is an object of veneration to the In- dians. When Alvarado commenced his southward march of con- quest, it was beneath this tree that the Zapotec princes met to consider plans for resistance. It had been their council tree for generations. The new faith was exceedingly hard for the Zapotecs to accept. Had they been allowed to retain their old religion, they might have yielded fealty sooner. As it was, neither mailed war- rior or black-robed priest produced much effect upon them. One evening after the council had dispersed, a blind man came to rest under the wide-spreading branches. As he sat, he became aware of a presence near by, and a melodious voice asked him if he wished to receive his sight. Naturally he replied in the affirmative. His visitor then informed him that she was the Blessed Virgin, the pro- tector of the Christians, and that if he would believe her and obey her commands, he should see. The Indian made all the necessary promises, whereupon his eyes were touched, and looking up, he saw a being of such celestial brightness that he fell to the ground in a swoon. The Virgin raised him to his feet, and bade him go to the priests and princes of the Zapotecs, who had known him in the days of his affliction, and tell them who had healed him, and preach to them the religion of Jesus and Mary. It goes without saying that, by this miracle, the tribe was immediately brought to a sense of its lost condition, and the priests were kept as busy baptizing converts as they were in the days of Clovis, the Frank. A church was built close to the tree, and Santa Maria del Tule became the patroness of the Zapotecs. Pilgrimages are made here by blind In- dians, but, during our short stay in Tule, we could get track of no authenticated case of healing in this generation. Still the faith of the Indians is unshaken.
For both the story of Edwin and that of the blind Indian there might have been originally the shadow of a foundation, but, as was the case with the ancient classic myths, by being repeated from generation to generation, the tale increased until the predominat- ing element, instead of truth, was fiction, and it was the fiction rathe-5' than th. <,rath. that possessed the power of attraction. It
CONVERTED BY SIGNS. 653
is not at all improbable that each of these legends is the result of what was at first considered harmless exaggeration. The Latter- day Saint is privileged to see many marvelous manifestations that to the world are truly miraculous. As these sacred things are talked about and pass from mouth to mouth, there is, among too many of us, a tendency to make the tale as large as possible, and if this practice were continued, there would be constantly arising stories that would have to be corrected, traditions that would have to be disavowed. It is sufficiently easy, even under the most fav- orable conditions, for the Saint to lapse into the errors and evils of the world, and it is devoutly to be hoped that a tendency to ex- aggeration will not lead to a copying of the world by turning spe- cial blessings into mere tradition, and making them the subject of idle gossip. The manifestations which are enjoyed by the people of God are the results of faith and obedience, and are not given to make converts, and they can never be considered with the tradi- tion, innocent though they may be, by which the churches of the world have too often been built up.
TO MAN. {For the Improvement Era.)
Planted as thou art, amidst a moving universe,
Catch thou the tread, and linger not behind! List to the echoes, as the Gods converse,
Thy soul shall be attuned; so, too, thy mind. Stretch forth thine hands, (permit, we call them five).
Gather with them all. To squander? Nay, to hold And crown thy inner brow with truth to live.
Then weave them into garments pure as gold. And as thy glorious thoughts, clothed as a dream.
Rush on amid the current from above, Let the uncomely traits be drowned beneath the stream,
Thy soul be wrapped in swaddling clothes of love.
James Nielsen.
THE BIBLE.
THE KING JAMES TRANSLATION— A COMPROMISE. BY FREDERIC CLIFT, M. D.
Inspiration — we understand by this word when applied to re- ligious matters that the mind is impressed by Divinity with certain thoughts which the individual expresses in his own words, either verbally or in writing. He does not lose his personality — the edu- cated man expresses the same thought, but in a different language, to that used by the uneducated. Contrast the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The language of the latter shows that it could not have been written by the authors of three of the Gos- pels, whilst its similarity of expression, and the use of scientific terms, identifies it with the author of the Gospel of St. Luke who, we are told, was a physician. So, too, when we compare the writ- ings of St. John with those of other writers in the New Testament, we find that his Greek is that of the more educated class, whilst the others wrote in the provincial Judaic or Hellenistic Greek.
The Christian world considers the Bible to be the one and sole revelation of God. It contains the history of man from his crea- tion and fall to the redemption wrought out by Christ; and a short history of the founding of the Church, as also a prophetic forecast of the future. They assert that direct inspiration by the Almighty has ceased since the year 97 A. D., and that God no longer em- ploys prophets through whom to reveal his mind and will to his people; and this notwithstanding he declared by the prophet Amos, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets."
In 397 A. D., the so-called church of that day established what is known as the Canon of Scripture — that is, the bishops,
THE BIBLE. 655
under the inspiration and by permission of the Roman emperor, assembled at the Council of Carthage, in that year, and decided which of the then existing numerous Hebrew and Christian writings should be received as inspired scripture. They rejected all other writings as uninspired, and thus arose the collection of sixty-six books known as the Bible. The reception or rejection of each book was decided by a majority vote in each case, and history records that St. John's book of Revelation was only included by a bare majority of one. The inspiration, if any, given to the compilers must have been somewhat meagre, if it had not already departed. We can picture the acrimonious discussions which took place, from the spirit which pervaded the so-called councils of the church, at the beginning of the Roman usurpation. The Lord hath said, *'My Spirit shall not always strive with man," and this council seems to mark the time of the absolute departure of the Spirit of God from the church, as a whole. There were individuals who sought the Lord and obtained blessings, but the apostasy of the church was complete from that time, for they had rejected many precious truths; and later, we find Luther rejecting several books of the New Testament, including the Epistle of St. James, because the doctrines taught therein did not agree with his philosophy. The time had come when men "would not endure sound doctrine" (II Tim. 4:3).
The majority of the Christian world admit that the individual authors of the various books of the Bible were divinely inspired, and that the books, as written by them in their respective dialects, are true and authentic writings; but the Latter-day Saints, whilst proclaiming the inspiration of Paul and others, do not admit that those who copied and translated the original manuscripts into other languages were also inspired. Before the days of printing, errors necessarily occurred, and were passed over by successive scribes, each copying or endeavoring to correct the mistakes of his prede- cessor, and adding some of his own. The originals were lost or destroyed during the early Christian persecutions. The three ear- liest known copies only going back to and ranging in date from 300 to 450 A. D. These three manuscripts, or copies of the books in their original tongues, are: 1. The Vatican, or Codex B. 2. The Sinaiatic or Codex Alept. 3. The Alexandrian, or Codex A. The
656 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Vatican is to be found in the Roman Catholic library at Rome, The Sinaiatic is one of the treasures of the Greek Catholic church, in St. Petersburg; and the Alexandrian belongs to Protestant Eng- land, and is kept at the British Museum. The latter was presented to Charles I. by the Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1628, seven- teen years too late to be of use in preparing the King James' trans- lation of 1611.
In addition to these manuscripts, we have what are known as versions, 2;i2;., translations made from the original Hebrew, Chaldaic, and Greek, into the various languages of Christendom, one of the most important being that knowm as the Latin Vulgate. This was made by St. Jerome, about the end of the 4th century, and is that from which the Roman Catholic translations, used in English speaking countries, and known as the Douay and Rheims versions, were made in 1582 and 1609. Bede, the Anglo Saxon historian, 735 A. D., was one of the first to translate the Bible, or portions of it, into the language of our forefathers. The first English translation by Wyclif, 1383, was based on the Latin Vulgate, and of this one hundred and seventy original copies are still in. existence. Then came the printing press, in 1450, with the revival of Greek learning in Europe, resulting in the publication by Tyndale of sev- eral editions of his translation of the books from the original Greek, about the year 1530, or three hundred years before the publication of the Book of Mormon. To those interested in com- paring these translations with those of subsequent date, it may be noted that the Gospels and Epistles in the first prayer book of Ed- ward VL, are taken direct from Tyndale's translation, whilst the Psalms, in that and the present prayer book of the Episcopal church, are taken unchanged from the Great Bible of Henry VHI. These were followed by other translations, at short intervals, until the publication of the Genevan Bible, in 1560. This translation was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, and, during Puritan times, be- came the standard Bible. The following, a copy of one of the notes in that Bible, clearly indicates its Calvinistic origin, and shows that Episcopal dislike to it was not unwarranted, from their point of view. Commenting on Rev. 9: 3: The locusts that came out of the bottomless pit are explained as meaning "False teachers, heretics and worldly, subtile prelates, with Monks, Friars, Cardinals,
THE BIBLE. 657
patriarchs, archbishops, doctors, bachelors, and masters of arts, which forsake Christ to maintain false doctrines." In 1568, ap- peared another translation which was ordered to be read in the Episcopal churches. It was known as Parker's or the Bishops' Bible.
At the beginning of the reign of King James, these two Bibles were in general use, whilst a third — the Great Bible of Henry VIII — was still chained to a stone or wooden desk in many of the English country churches. Smyth, in How we Got Our Bible,*' tersely sums up the position: "The latter was antiquated and cumbersome, the Genevan, though a careful translation and con- venient for general use, had become, through the Puritan character of its notes, quite the Bible of a party, while the Bishops' version, a very inferior production, neither commanded the respect of the scholars nor suited the wants of the people."
In January, 1604, a conference of bishops and clergy was held, under the presidency of King James himself, at Hampton Court Palace, to consider certain alleged grievances of the Puritan party in the church, at which it was proposed that a new transla- tion of the Bible should be made. King James favored the project. He did not conceal his dislike for the Genevan Bible, and in author- izing the preparation of the new Bible he directed, "that no notes should be added, having found in those which were annexed to the Geneva translation some very partial, untrue, seditious, and savor- ing too much of dangerous and traitorous conceits." The follow- ing note shows the temper of both parties at the time. In Exodus I, where the conduct of the Hebrew midwives is described, and who it is stated, "did not as the king commanded, but saved the men children alive," the Genevan margin declares "their disobedience to the king was lawful, though their dissembling was evil." "It is false," cried the indignant advocate of kingly right; "to diso- bey a king is not lawful, such traitorous conceits should not go forth among the people." On' another occasion the king exclaimed
* I am indebted for many thoughts and quotations to this small vol- ume— published by Pott Co., New York, Our missionaries would gain much useful information from its perusal. — F. C.
IMPROVEMENT ERA.
"Pr€sbyterianism agreeth as well with monarchy as God and the
devil."
Such was the spirit of the times. Men were largely tired of the wrangling of the two religious parties. Fifty-four learned men were selected impartially from High Churchmen and Puritans. Forty-seven of them took part in the work, and in addition some who represented scholarship totally unconnected with any relig- ious party. Pains were taken by the king who wrote a letter to Bishop Bancroft charging "the bishops to inform themselves of all such learned men — having special skill in the Hebrew and Greek tongues— that they send their observations * * * that so, our •said intended translation may have the help and furtherance of all pur principal learned men within this our kingdom." Marginal notes were forbidden, except for the explanation of Hebrew and Greek words. The translators were divided into six companies. They carefully studied the then available Greek and Hebrew texts; they used the best commentaries of European scholars, and the Bibles in Spanish, Italian, French and German were examined for ^ny help they might afford in arriving at the exact sense of each passage. But, there was no Divine inspiration, except such as was ^claimed for the councils of Nice, Carthage, etc. ; and further, these translators did not have the privilege of examining and comparing their work with the three earliest manuscripts. It was a bold .effort on the part of man to put forward a Bible which should suit the majority of the people of whatever religious party they might ,be members. The sense having been found, "no pains were spared ,to express it in clear, vigorous, idiomatic English." Words were inserted or interpolated without any corresponding equivalent in the original language, in order to elucidate or improve the sense, and oftentimes the meaning of a passage was strained that a smooth and euphonious rendering might be given. Its admirers speak of its "grace and dignity," its "flowing words," its "masterly English style;" and Father Faber, one of Rome's greatest converts, wrote of this version: "It is part of the national mind, and the anchor of national seriousness. Nay, it is worshiped with a pos- itive idolatry, in extenuation of whose fanaticism, its intrinsic beauty pleads availingly with the scholar." It must be admitted that the translators did not hesitate to add words expressive of
THE BIBLE. 659
their own views, and to alter and transpose the language of pre- vious translators, in order to obtain this "grace and dignity." On the other hand, the Rheims and Douay translations are not so ele- gant, in their diction and euphony, but are more correct and literal translations, and, like Tyndale's, may therefore be frequently con- sulted with advantage by those not able to use the Hebrew and Greek texts, for the purpose of clearing up the actual meaning of many passages of scripture.
Notwithstanding the Bible has been thus handled by various translators, one of the chief objections to the Book of Mormon is, that it is not translated into the elegant English of Boston or Lon- don. These same Christian objectors, who claim inspiration for the authorized translation of King James, object to the most triv- ial verbal correction of the Book of Mormon, and adduce such cor- rection, or the added "grace and dignity" produced thereby, as evidence of its fraudulent origin. How appropriate that those who approve of adding "grace and dignity" to the language of the un- educated fishermen of Galilee, and converting their Judaic provin- cial dialects into "masterly English;" or who, again, in order to bolster up a conception of the Godhead, hostile alike to sense and reason, approve of the interpolation of twenty-four words between the 7th and 8th verses of the 5th chapter of St. John's 1st Epistle — how appropriate, I submit, that these same followers of the Christ should use the self-same arguments which have been adduced by nfidels against the truth of the Bible, when they, in turn, contend against the truth of the Book of Mormon.
It may be said that the spirit of compromise was the prevail- ing element amongst the translators of the King James version. They knew that neither party would submit in Mo to the other, and there is evidence of an agreement to give and take. The vote of the majority was to be accepted, and, as in the case of the ac- ceptance of the Book of Revelation into the Canon of Scripture at Carthage, so in the authorized translation, a single vote may have been sufficient to bring about the acceptance of renderings, the contentions in relation to which have since led to the building up of the numerous sects of Christendom. We may well tadie upon ourselves the duty imposed by Tyndale in the preface to his own ranslation, "that if they perceive in any place that the version has
660 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
not attained unto the very sense of the tongue, or the very mean- ing of the Scripture, or have not given the right English word, that they should put to their hands and amend it, remembering that it is their duty so to do."
As instances showing the position assumed in this article, let us consider the crucial doctrine of baptism. There were, at that time, at least two parties holding different views. 1. The Catholic (English and Roman) who believed in its absolute necessity, and that immersion was the primitive method of performing the ordi- nance, but asserted that the quantum of water was immaterial, and therefore allowed sprinkling or pouring. 2. The Presbyterians and Puritans, on the other hand, who asserted that baptism was not a necessity, but allowed that a little water, more or less, would not do harm, anyway. Thus the Episcopalian English Prayer book in- structs the priest, that, taking the child into his hands, "he shall dip it in the water discreetly and warily," but if certified that "the child is weak, it shall suffice to pour water upon it." In practice Episcopalians of today act on the principle that all children are too weak to be dipped, and accordingly, without calling for a cer- tificate, sprinkle them, unless, as sometimes happens, parents insist upon the ordinance being performed by immersion. Thus, although the- Canon law of the English church required immersion, yet, by the neglect to insist on the production of certificates of ill-health, and the unfaithful teaching of the clergy, there was, and even to- day there is, no strong opinion in that church as to the necessity for baptism by immersion — although the canons of the church re- quire that it be done in accordance with the primitive pattern, set by Christ himself. When, therefore, such passages as Matt. 3: 1, 6, and 11 came up for translation, the re visors wer© willing to leave it an open matter by translating the Greek word en in verses 1 and 6 by the word "in," whilst the same identical Greek word in verse 11 is translated "with." If "with" is the proper translation of the word en, then verse 1 would read "With those days came John the Baptist preaching with the wilderness of Judea,"and verse 6, "And were baptized of him with Jordan." This would corres- pond with the King James translation of verse 11: "I indeed bap- tize you with water," and consistency requires that the word en should be translated by the same word in all three verses. The
THE BIBLE. 661
Greek language has two words meaning "with" viz. : meta and sun neither of which however are used in verse 11. In the Rheims, Roman Catholic Testament, and also in the American Standard Revised Bible, of 1901, the words en udatos are correctly translated "in water." Thus modern and ancient translators agree, when they throw aside their doctrinal differences, and seek only for a correet translation of the original Greek. Again in John 3 : 5, where Christ says, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit," we find the revisers use the simple genitive case sign, "of," before the words, water and spirit; but a reference to the Greek shows that not only was the genitive case used, but a special preposition governing the genitive was inserted before the word udatos, water. This preposition ek has the forceful meaning, "out of." The same word is found in Matt. 2: 15. "Out of Egypt have I called my son," also in John 20: 2: "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre." The use of this special word em- phasizes the fact that a man must first go down into the water in order to come "out of" it, but the translators, by purposely or otherwise omitting it, weaken the esssential principle of the ordi- nance— viz.; the immersion. The proper rendering therefore is, "Except a man be born out of water and the Spirit." The Latin versions are of great value, from the fact that the Greek and Latin languages were both in general use by the civilized world, at the time when the scriptures were written, and at the time when no disputations had arisen as to the meaning of the Greek word baptizo. The English translators, instead of translating this word by its primitive equivalents, viz.: "to dip" "to plunge," coined the word "baptize," and so introduced a foreign term into our language, which has since gradually lost its primitive meaning of "dip," and is today held by the majority of Christians to permit of the ordi- nance being performed by sprinkling. The Latins, however, did not import the word baptizo into their language, but contemporaneous writers translated it by the Latin word immergo which by all com- petent authorities is rendered into English by the words, "plunge into," "immerse" "drown." Immergo never did nor can mean to "sprinkle" or "to pour." On the other hand, the two Greek words nipto or luo both have the generic meaning of "to wash" and may also be rendered "sprinkle" or "pour." The inspired Galileean
662 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
fishermen knew what they were writing and talking about, conse- quently they did not use either of these two words, when referring to the ordinance of baptism as instituted by John and our pattern, Christ.
Again, the translators inserted words which formed no part of the original text. Take for instance, John 20: 1, "The first day of the week." The Greek text contains no corresponding word for "day" — it is an interpolation pure and simple. Whilst the Greek word sabbaton is translated by the word "week." This word sab- baton is with one exception never translated "week" except in the places in the New Testament in which the Christian Sabbath is referred to, viz.: the day following the Jewish Sabbath. These places are: Matt. 28: 1, Mark 16: 2 and 9, Luke 24: 1, John 20: 1 and 19, Acts 20: 7, I Cor. 16: 2. The interpolations and mistakes made by the translators in this connection, enable the Seventh-day Adventist to state, and make much of the fact, that Sunday is never called a Sabbath in the New Testament; and per- sons who believe— as the Christian world generally does — in the correctness and inspiration of the King James translation, are thus led to accept such statement as a fact, whereas if they consult other translations, e. g., Tyndale's, or the Emphatic Diaglott, they will find that the Greek word sabbaton, in this connection, is cor- rectly translated "Sabbath"; and so, one of the principal arguments upon which Seventh-Day Adventists build up their doctrine, falls to the ground.
Thus comparing Matt. 28: 1, in the King James, with a literal, or word for word, translation, we must admit that "in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary," is more euphonious and has greater "grace and dignity" than the literal rendering, "Now after the Sabbath, as it was dawning into the first of the Sabbaths, came Mary." At first sight the meaning or distinction may not seem clear to the reader," but if the word "Jewish is read before the word "Sabbath," and "Christian" before the word "Sabbaths," the mean- ing is clear and intelligible. Jesus had rested in the tomb during the whole of the Jewish Sabbath, and rose therefrom early on the first of the Christian Sabbaths, viz., Sunday morning, the Lord's day. A reference to the writings of the early Fathers of the
THE BIBLE. ^3
church show this to have been the interpretation given by those- living nearest to the days of the apostles; and Bede, the Anglo- Saxon historian, in book 3, chapter 25 of his History, writing of Eaatei^/iay and St. John the Revelator, says, "And when that day cam^i^the Lord's day, then called the first after the Sabbath." The word "then" refers to the time of St. John, and proves that in- 664 A. D. the Bible was better understood than it was a thousand- years later. '''^ ,Liir//i>i ioi b-^ui
From these examples it is seen that the d'ocMhe"6f Ibkptisiif^ by immersion has been weakened by mistranslations, and by the intro- duction of a foreign word into the English language, instead of its proper synonym or meaning; whilst an unauthorized interpolation and mistranslation, as in the instances given in connection with the Sabbath, has formed a basis for the building up of a sect. Hundreds of such sects have been formed by private interpretations of un- learned men, who, while denying the possibility of new revelation, have accepted as inspired, a translation of the scriptures made by men. •
This is not written in a spirit hostile to the King James trans- lation, as a whole. The various books comprising the Bible were written under the direction and inspiration of God, and the eighth article of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declares that "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly." Our Father has given us the keys whereby we can understand for ourselves; and where doubt occurs, let us go back to the original or earliest copies, and with the aid of his Holy Spirit, and through his living oracles — our prophets, seers and revelators — we can arrive at the truth. The King James transla- tion was the work of fallible men; and I submit, from the instances given, that in some points mistakes were made. We, as individuals and as sowers of the word, must therefore follow Tyndale's advice — go back to the earliest available copies.
I believe it is important that our missionaries should thor- oughly understand and appreciate the cause and origin of many of the mistakes made in what is considered the standard translation of the Bible, and thus be prepared to support in argument, if neces- sary, our eighth Article of Faith. Such knowledge largely explains the present divided condition of the Christian world, each of the
664 IMPROVEMENT ERA
rival sects cryinp:, "Lo, here is Christ." The devil is the author of all contentions and division, and although the translators of 1611, in their revision, endeavored to put forth a Bible which should be acceptable to the two great religious parties of that day, yet they failed to preserve peace, unity and concord. On almost every page of the history of Christendom, there is evidence of the devil's handiwork. Wherefore, in the words of Micah, "The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof t'each for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us?"
THE BABY'S LESSON.
She was only a golden-haired little tot, barely two years old. But she was so bright and quick, so dainty and sunny that when she was taken sick, the whole house seemed in mourning. "How is baby?" asked papa, forlornly, as he came in at night. Dot heard him, for the nursery was just at the head of the stairs, and the door was open. And back came a faint little voice, half pleading, half laughing, half commanding, "Peak as 'oo do when 'oo're laugh- ing, papa!" That was the baby's lesson, and the whole household remembered it, even after Dot was all well again. It's hard to make the voice cheerful, and the face sunny, at all times. But it is pleasanter and more helpful for those around us when we do. — Selected from Herald of Union, Mammoth, Utah.
ADVENTURES OF A PIONEER.
EMBRACING THE STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS OF A LONG AND BUSY LIFE.
BY HON. JOHN M. HORNER, OF PAAUILO, HAWAH.
III.— WEALTH IN CALIFORNIA FARMING.
In the beginning of January, 1850, my brother William came to me by the way of Panama, consuming six months time on the journey. By the blessing of heaven he escaped the cholera on the isthmus; his shipmates died by the dozens. He escaped starvation and perhaps a violent death, by a fair wind springing up and waft- ing them safely into Atapulco, at the critical moment when the ship's company were about to turn cannibals and cast lots to decide who should be eaten first. He afterwards heard that since he was more fleshy than others of the company, they were going to make the lot fall on him.
My brother had also been bred on the farm, was young, (about twenty-one) ambitious and very industrious. I received him as a partner in my business. We worked and flourished together dur- ing the next four years, perhaps as no other farmers ever flourished before in the United States, in so short a time. My experience, my location, my estabhshed business, our skill and industry, to_ gether with the property I had acquired, all became capital in our hands. We worked them to the utmost of our ability, knowing that we were almost the only farmers in the territory that year. We knew, too, that there would be a good sale for all the produce we could raise.
Fortune is said to knock at least once at every man's door. We looked upon this time and opportunity as the knocking at our
666 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
door; she found us at home. We opened the door and bade her welcome, thankfully accepting her offer.
We extended our fence, inclosing about five hundred acres. Farming what we could, we let to two tenants a part of our land to be worked on shares, the teams, seed, and tools' being supplied by us.
Our crop this year was comparatively large, and the soil being virgin, the product was of good quality. We bought out our ten. ants at harvest time, paying them over thirty thousand dollars for their share of the crop.
Our gross sales this year approximated one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Our onions sold for forty dollars per cental; to- matoes, three hundred dollars per ton; potatoes, one hundred and fifty dollars per ton; and other things in proportion. This crop was not grown and cared for on flowery beds of ease; help was scarce until harvest time; the fencing was obtained at great ex- pense and labor, as in 1849. As in that, so it was this year. Some parts of the fence were weak, and had to be guarded; my brother and self did the guarding. Help being plentiful in the fall, this crop was gathered without loss. We established a com- mission house in San Francisco, under the firm name of J. M. Horner & Co., to sell our own and others' produce. This move- ment served us a good purpose in this and other years. Thus ended our farming venture of 1850. This year we purchased one hundred acres of land at the landing, on the Alameda river, and laid out the town of Union City upon it. We made extensive preparations for increasing our business in 1851. We bought some excellent farming land near Union City, fenced, built upon, and farmed it, in addition to improving our home farm, which was ten miles away.
We bought teams, (horses, mules and oxen which had crossed the plains) imported agricultural implements from the eastern states, and iron fence and wire from England, for fences. By this means, miles of fencing was quickly, but not cheaply, constructed, as each mile cost over one thousand dollars.
This year our crops were large, and a ready market was found for all we raised, though at reduced prices from former years, since farmers had multiplied. We secured by purchase the steamer
ADVENTURES OF A PIONEER. 667
Union to carry our produce to market. This year our gross sales amounted to two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. During- the fall of this year, Professor Shelton, a botanist, held, in San Francisco, the first agricultural fair ever held in California, to which I was the largest contributor. Some months afterwards I received the following letter and a silver goblet (the largest premium) from the professor:
Jno. M. Horner, Esquire: — Although you were recently presented with the accompanying testimonial of the public appreciation of your efforts to develop the agricultural resources of California, yet I cannot refrain from adding my individual congratulations to those so universal- ly accorded by our fellow citizens; if it be but to assure you that I heart- ily participate in them, and fully recognize your right to the title of pioneer in this branch of public industry. Sir, it is true that the pre- mium was not awarded by me personally, nor by those who could be in- fluenced by any preferences I may have indicated, but I have the con- sciousness of knowing that Messrs. Fremont, King, Snyder and Saunders, whose pleasing duty it was to select the most worthy of the candidates for the honor, did nothing more than to echo the public voice in present- ing you with this goblet. Take it, then, sir, no less as the evidence of the public esteem, than as proof of my individual regard; keep it as a memento of successful enterprise, and as a pledge of private friendship. And believe that no member of your family, however remote may be his generation from our own, but will recognize it as an honorable token of the worth of his ancestor, with more pride and pleasure.
Sir, very truly.
Your friend and obedient servant, C. A. Shelton. San Francisco, 30th March, 1852.
The above letter is copied here, as a partial confirmation of my own statements.*
* John M. Horner, of San Jose, and George Q. Cannon of San Fran-^ Cisco, have conferred a great favor upon Utah, by sending cuttings of choice varieties of apple, pear, grape, gooseberry, etc., etc., to Governor Young who will see that they are carefully treated.
Will Brothers Cannon and Horner and others forward cuttings and young trees of choice varieties by every seasonable mode of conveyance?. — Extracts from Deseret News, March, 1856.
€68 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
We extended our agricultural operations in 1852, by purchas- ing more farming lands, fencing and placing tenants upon such as we did not wish to use ourselves. These tenants worked on shares. After planting was over, I sent my brother back to New Jersey, on business, and he brought back with him my father and mother and all their children and grandchildren, two of my wife's sisters, and a brother, and some other , young people, some twenty-two souls. He arrived home safely, in the fall, and in time to take the place he had left in the firm of J. M. Horner & Co., to sell our large crop now ready for market. We continued our energetic and prosperous career, buying more lands and farming them our- selves, or letting them to tenants, until our potato crop reached the enormous quantity of twenty-two million pounds, in 1853. We had also in that year fifteen hundred acres of wheat and barley, besides cabbages, tomatoes and onions in quantities. California had not only supplied herself with vegetables this (1853) year, for the first time, but she produced a large surplus which could not be sold, and was never sent to market.
Flouring mills not being sufficient in California at this time, we built one at Union City, with eight run of burrs, at a cost of eighty-five thousand dollars, and ground our grain and that of others.
Another agricultural fair was held in 1853, in which most of the first premiums were awarded to me. A fifty-dollar silver pitcher, for best flour in competition with seven other mills; a twenty-five dollar silver goblet, for largest variety of vegetables ; and several smaller premiums were awarded me for best vegetables of differ- ent kinds.
We equipped and ran a stage line in connection with our steamer, as far up the valley as San Jose, twenty-five miles. Thus completing a through passenger line from San Francisco to San Jose. We opened sixteen miles of public roads, mostly through our own land, and fenced the larger part on both sides.
These roads have never been changed, save to narrow them to sixty-six feet. We had fenced them one hundred feet wide, in- tending them for shade trees on both sides.
Money and other values increased rapidly in our hands, and, having more confidence in banks of earth than in money banks, we seldom permitted our deposits in the latter to exceed, at any one
ADVENTURES OF A PIONEER. 669-
time, thirty thousand dollars, before we started some enterprise, or invested in real estate. However, the unsettled state of land titles rendered investments in land almost as hazardous as deposit- ing money in commercial banks, as we found to our cost. The United States opposed all land titles, and requested proof of their genuine- ness to be made before its land commissioners, reserving the right of appeal to its district court, in the event the commissioners de- cided against the government; and to appeal again to its supreme court, if the district court decided against it. Thus years of costly law suits, and in some cases ruin to owners of land titles, inter- vened before final settlement. We suffered from the law's delay in settling titles, and from squatters keeping from us, by force, a goodly portion of our lands, being encouraged to do so by the gov- ernment; for as long as the government withheld final confirmation^ the squatter continued to hold possession, however good the title. We suffered more mentally and financially during these years from' the above named causes, than from all floods and four-footed ani- mals in former years.
When I arrived at the mission, all the mission land outside of the buildings and a small vineyard, was believed to belong to the Government, and was placed temporarily in the care of a Cath- olic priest, as agent. To him I applied for, and did rent, a small piece of land, but when I commenced work upon it, I was met by an Indian who claimed the ownership or the right to use that land. Upon inquiry of those supposed to know, I was satisfied he held a right there; but had no papers. So after that, I dealt with him, instead of with the priest. I finally bought his claim for six hun- dred dollars, and raised my first paying crop upon this land. Before my second crop was harvested, a merchant living near, brought to me a map of this land and what was claimed to be a provisional grant by Mexico to another civilized Indian. This annoyed me, but as there were no records within reach, and, rather than risk a law suit, as I had a valuable crop growing upon the land, I acknowl- edged his claim, and paid him seven thousand dollars for it. I had to borrow the money to do it. This was the first money I had ever borrowed. I returned it in a few months.
The Indian, before selling to the merchant, had reserved a life-time right of occupancy, but as he only wished to use a small
670 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
piece of the land, there was no conflict between us. After a few years, he wishing to leave, I bought his life-right for six hundred dollars.
While planting our 1850 crop, one Juan B. Alvarado and one Andrew Pico, both ex-governors of California, under Mexico, sent an agent who presented to me a title or grant from the Mexican government to these gentlemen, of the whole ex-mission tract, containing thirty thousand acres, including my farm, which I had bought three times already, and wanted to sell me the whole. In submitting these papers to lawyers, for their examinations, their opinion was that the grant was good. So there was no alternative for us but to leave, rent, or buy. After considerable hesitancy on our part, enquiry, and negotiation, we, in connection with George B. Tingly, a lawyer, and E. L, Beard, a farmer on this mission land, bought their claim for forty-nine thousand dollars, for which we gave our joint notes to be paid at some future time. When the notes matured, neither Mr. Tingly nor Mr. Beard were able to meet their share of these obligations. I reluctantly paid the money. Mr. Tingly deeded to me his share of the property, Mr. Beard offered to deed me his share, but I permitted him to retain it. He afterwards returned to me the money I had advanced for him. Some time after, this grant was confirmed by the United States Land Commission, and an appeal taken to the United States District Court. While this title was being adjudicated, the squatters took possession of much of these lands, particularly those inside of our fences, which were not cultivated. We realized nothing from these lands, excepting from such parts as we had under cultivation. We had fenced them at great expense, and were paying yearly five thousand dollars taxes. Confirmed grants in the lower court, with good fences, did not constitute either ownership, or possession, ac- cording to the squatter's creed of justice and law.
Their creed appeared to be ''the good old plan, let those take who have the power, and those keep who can." No squatter would buy, however cheap the land, as long as he could take by force all the well- fenced land he wanted, without cost to him, even the taxes on the land he occupied were paid by the owner of the title.
What was further observed, the closer these squatters could
ADVENTURES OF A PIONEER. 671
get to San Francisco, the better they liked it; and if the land was surveyed and staked into streets, blocks, and lots, the better, as then they could and did sell lots cheap to innocent parties.
We purchased nineteen hundred and fifty acres of a confirmed grant of excellent land bordering on Alameda River near Union City, and paid for the same fifty-eight thousand five hundred dol- lars. We raised our heaviest crops on these lands, fenced and farmed them, ourselves or by tenants. The above comprises all our purchases of real estate, in what is now Alameda county, Califor- nia.
The extent of our property in Santa Clara county was valued at nine thousand dollars. This property was received by us to settle a debt.
In San Francisco county, we paid two hundred and eighty-five thousand dollars for five thousand two hundred and fifty acres of land adjoining the city of San Francisco, and expended nearly eight thousand dollars upon it in surveys, fences and other improvements. One thousand and fifty acres of these lands we surveyed and staked into streets, blocks, and lots, extending the streets of San Fran- cisco over it. It is now, and has been for over thirty years, a part of that flourishing city. The above includes all our real estate, and the price which we paid for it, which was purchased by us in Cal- ifornia up to and including 1854. Our personal property consisted of steamer Union, costing eighteen thousand dollars; a flouring mill, costing eighty- five thousand dollars; a stage line, warehouses, farm houses, stables, out-houses, thirty miles of fencing, costing nine hundred dollars per mile, farming tools, and livestock of good quality, and sufficient in number to enable us to plant and harvest our large crops in good season.
The above includes all the real estate and personal property, owned by us in California, in 1854, save it may be a large crop then upon the land.
From the above showing it may readily be conjectured, that I was a man of note, at that time, or at least a man of liberal means, in so young a state as California then was, and among so few people as it then contained. By the blessing of Heaven, we had produced this wealth from the soil of a new and untried country, and no charge was ever made that we had acquired any part of it
672 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
by speculation, or by overreaching our neighbors in trade. So the credit due us was readily granted by all acquainted with the cir- cumstances. We not only produced the wealth above referred to from the elements; but at least double that amount had been pro- duced, which we paid for labor, material and other expenses. After 1849, good farm laborers commanded seventy dollars per month with board. Mechanics were proportionately high. We employed many of all classes; some employed by us saved their earnings, and thus laid the foundation for the fortunes they afterwards acquired.
The position I held in the community at this time made me much sought after as an indorser of notes, a signer of bonds, and a loaner of money to the impecunious. As I had been raised in purely a rural district of New Jersey, and was unacquainted even in theory with the "tricks of trade," the unwise course of endorsing notes, or loaning money without adequate security, had never en- tered my head. I loaned and endorsed freely, hoping to do good thereby. I have no recollection of refusing any one asking for an accommodation, or requesting his notes endorsed, up to 1854.
Our worldly prospects at this time were bright, and our prop- erty was ample to gratify every wish, and was yearly increasing. As I nor my brother ever drank strong drinks, smoked, gambled or dissipated in any way, no cloud of doubt ever crossed our mental visions, that our property should not always continue to increase, as we attended strictly to business.
Our crops were large this year. We viewed them as ample to pay every indorsement and every obligation we had out, as well as to pay the expense of harvesting and marketing them. Our prop- erty was unencumbered, large, and our farming in full operation. (to be continued).
AN EXPERIENCE.
BY DAVID B. ANDERSON, STUDENT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.
[Every person who knew the fun-loving and jolly nature of the late Hon. Aaron F. Farr, a pioneer of the original one hundred and forty-three, of 1847, and for a time judge of Weber County, a man of sterling char- acter and sunny disposition, will readily believe the following amusing anecdote of him, related in an English composition exercise by this young student. — Editors.]
A good many years ago the late Judge Aaron F. Farr, of Ogden, had a flock of sheep, of which he was justly proud and careful. He used to send them to a pasture several miles distant, every morning, in charge of two or three of his sons.
One evening, several of the old bucks came home covered with mud. When he asked his sons how it happened, they replied that the sheep must have fallen into the spring.
There being a muddy spring in the pasture, he concluded that the bucks had been fighting among themselves, and had pushed each other in. But after that, they frequently came home in the same condition, and his sons would never explain the cause, so he determined to learn for himself.
He followed the boys to the pasture, one morning, and hid in some willows, near the spring. Soon the boys brought the sheep to a large tree, they themselves coming to the spring.
One of the boys got down on his hands and knees, at the edge of the water and morass, and jumped around. An old buck saw him, and taking his actions as a challenge-signal, madly rushed at him. But as soon as the sheep got dangerously near, the boy quickly sprang aside, letting the buck turn sommersaults into the mud and water.
674 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Judge Farr then appeared and severly scolded the boys for acting in such a manner. He sent the boys home, telling them that he would settle with them later.
The boys left him, but they did not go home. They hid themselves behind some willow trees, as soon as their father turned his head. After they had gone out of sight, Judge Farr had a good laugh to himself, to think how comical the old sheep looked, keeling over in the mud. He was a jolly fellow; he thought he would like to try the same trick that the boys had worked, so he got down in the same place and manner as his sons had done. Another old buck saw him, and came swiftly, head down, at him, but the judge was not spry enough to get out of the way in the nick of time! They both went sprawling into the mud together!
The judge pulled himself out, and timidly made his way for home, through the fields. Then it was the boys' turn to laugh, and they did, to themselves, of course.
After that the sheep often came home covered with mud, but the judge said nothing further about it.
THE PROPHESIED EXODUS.
(For the Improvement Era.)
BY HENRY E. HORNE, OLD CASTLE, LEADVILLE, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA.
When Zion's Seer was soon to bear
The death of shame his Master bore. He bade the suff'ring Saints prepare
To tread the wilderness once more; And seek a refuge, hallowed.
Upon the Rocky Mountains' breast; By living waters and by dead
Proclaimed the Canaan of the West.
THE PROPHESIED EXODUS. 675
He died, but with the Saints, bereft,
His spirit sojourned in Nauvoo To nerve the mighty leader left,
His more than human work to do. And so, while ever to the goal
The dauntless Brigham led his band. It was the star of Joseph's soul
They followed to the Promised Land.
By Jordan's vale, in silent awe.
They stood at last, their journey done. And, filled with wondrous thoughts, they saw
The Salt Lake near the setting sun. It seemed that solemn beauty rayed
From heaven, a foreshadowing Of the divine event they prayed.
The coming of their Lord and King.
Those pilgrims many years have passed.
Beyond their persecutors' power; The harvest of their labors vast
The sons of Zion reap for dower. The desert, that through them became
A garden, and the city fair They builded to their God, their fame
Through all the ages shall declare.
TALKS TO YOUNG MEN.
IX.— CHOOSING A VOCATION.
Ad; act in the living present!
Heart within and God overhead. — Longfellow.
Young men are always asking themselves the questions, What" shall I do? What am I good for? There is scarcely anything they would not do to find out definitely what calling in life they are best adapted for, what pursuit they ought to follow. The dif- ficulty, I am inclined to believe, is not nearly so great as they im- agine; and a good deal of valuable time and thought is wasted hy most young men in finding out what they are good for. I want to point out, therefore a few things that it would be well to keep in mind while you are looking for a vocation.
One or two things, however, you must take for granted as certain, ©n their face. One is that you will have to do something- The world owes no one a living. If you would live, you must work.- There is no premium on idleness; it is rather on work. The stamp of approval is on the man who works, the brand of shame on the idler. He that will not work, says the Apostle, neither shall he eat. The only road to growth, physical, intellectual, spiritual, is- work. The first lesson, therefore, which a young man must learn, and which he must never forget, is, that if he would amount to anything in the world, he must toil hard and persistently.
The other thing he must take for granted is, that no one cant hope to do everything; though every one may hope to do some- thing. The time is past for the "jack of all trades;" the day for the skilled specialist is here. "What can you do?" asked a college president not long ago of a man who had applied to him for a
TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 677
;position as teacher. "Almost anything," was the answer. And I need scarcely add that the young man was not engaged. We en- ter too deeply into the heart of things now-a-days for the mere skimmer to be of much use to the world. Division of labor has been pushed into every department of human life, and he only suc- ceeds who makes up his mind to do some one thing, and do it well. But — and here is an important and inspiring thought — if no man may succeed equally well in several callings, it is certain, at least, that there is a chance for him to do well in some one. Every per- son can do something, if he tries hard, which no one else can do so effectively. It is said of one man that the only thing he could do was to balance two straws on the end of his nose; but he did that better than any one else could: and this was a great triumph.
Still, there is the problem which you must solve: What am I good for? The first answer that you are likely to get is, that you are good for nothing. You may be told that you have no talent, that you could not succeed in anything, and that you are fit for nothing but to hew wood and to draw water for your betters. Don't believe a word of it. It is a suggestion from the devil, no matter who says it, and is false. You are good for something, and if you would do anything, you must believe that you can do it. Nay more, you must believe that you can do it better than any one else. Depend upon it, there is nothing useless in God's world. Having made up your mind that you must and can do something, though you will not be able to do everything, you are on the high road.
Two or three things, however, you must keep in mind, from now on.
In the first place, see to it that you have some higher motive than mere gain in choosing an occupation. Show, popularity, wealth, more often than not, divert the energies ©f young men in their choice of a calling. The brass buttons of the street car con- ductor strike the eye of the school boy; but houses and lands, pomp and display, fine clothes, and money to jingle in the pockets, allure too many young men. That is why some doctors, lawyers and college professors would be in a more suitable vocation weed- ing the garden and raising potatoes; and also why there are "mute, inglorious Miltons" and "guiltless Cromwells" in many a country
678 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
churchyard. Not all the gems have been picked out of the dark ocean caves since Gray wrote the "Elegy;" nor have all the flowers blushing on the desert ceased to grow there. Be sure, therefore, that your heart and conscience, unreserved is in your work. It is not abso- lutely needful that you live, but it is needful that you live honor- ably. If you cannot find what you want, don't sit down and mope about it; take the next best — but do sopaething.
Then, don't be always "looking over the edge of your work wanting your play to begin," don't even take a peep, at least while y ou are working, at the thing you intend doing after a while. Do now whatever you have to do. Put your whole heart into it, if it is honorable; and if it isn't, quit before you get contaminated. "Love furthers knowledge," but it also furthers skill and useful- ness. If you're a bookkeeper, don't jump from your stool at quit- ting time, like a tiger springing from the thicket; if you're a hod- carrier, don't leave the brick in the air when the whistle blows. Otherwise, you will always remain a bookkeeper or a hod carrier, whereas, you might be the manager or head mason. (Don't think, now, that I am talking of bookkeepers and brick layers; I'm speak- ing only about growth.) The thing needful here is to do the work well. You can't do this well while your eye is on that. Boy! car- ry that bucket of water without spilling it; weed the garden clean if you weed it at all; do your errand well, put all your intelli- gence and discretion into what you are doing now. Moreover, don't be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honor- able to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work, and in learning to do it well, and not be always saying, "There's this and there's that, if I had this or that to do, I might make something of it." No matter what a man is — he isn't worth his salt, if he doesn't do well in whatever he undertakes.
No doubt you have been wondering all along when I would tell you what you are to choose as a calling, and especially how. The fact is, I don't think it matters much what you do. The whole point is how you do it. Of course, there must be something in adaptability. Some people doubtless can do this, others that. But I doubt whether there is as much in individual talent as the world would have us believe. My opinion is that Shakespeare had some- thing about him that would have made him great in any other than
TALKS TO YOUNG MEN. 679
the Elizabethan age, or in any other calling than the drama. And so with Napoleon, Washington, Franklin and Lincoln, Milton and Tennyson, Mozart and Wagner, Edison and Morse. They did their work well — better than others — they tried to do it better. And so it goes. As a general rule, anyone can do anything he wants to do. Better dig one acre than scratch one hundred and sixty. Better raise chickens and succeed, than have a farm and fail.
Bye and bye, young men, if you will have done your work well, by which I mean put all your best energies into it, men will look around for you. You will have made a reputation. The day may be long in coming, but it will surely come, and when it does» it will be well worth your while.
I notice that in those great universities of the East, the pres- idents, when they had need of a professor, looked around for a man; and it did not matter much what department of work he had been studying. If, for instance, a teacher of mathematics were needed, and a man who had been working along the line of languages were chosen, no one thought anything about it. They argued that if he had done his language well, he would do his mathematics well. The students were required to do a large amount of careful, minute research work; and if they manifested ability in any one study, it was probable that their training in that particu- lar branch would enable them to conduct a course in a different de- partment with equal care and scholarship. And so it will be with you. People won't care much whether you've been doing this or that; they will ask only how you have been doing it; and they will ireason that if you've done that well, you will do this well.
Do your work, then, so well now — this very task you are about now — that when a person of reliability and workmanship is wanted every eye will instinctively turn towards you. Never mind the fu- ture: take care of the present, and all will be well.
SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL.
BY DR. J. X. ALLEN, OGDEN, UTAH.
III.
Whence does man derive his intelligence? There is an idea prevalent, among skeptics and agnostics, that man is the highest product of nature, that there exists no intelligences higher than man, in any world discovered or undiscovered, that there is not any being in existence that surpasses him in either mechanism or in mentality.
Our forefathers believed that this earth was the all-important world of worlds, that the sun, moon and stars were all secondary; that is, were mere adjuncts to this earth, that they were made for our pleasure and convenience — mainly for light and ornamenta- tion.
May it not be possible that the first proposition may turn out to be equally fallacious with the second? We now realize that in- stead of being the centre of the solar system, and of the universe, the earth, is on a map of the heavens, something like what a fly speck is on a map of the world, almost too insignificant for seri- ous consideration.
As there are worlds hundreds, nay, thousands, of times larger than the earth, is it not possible, yea even probable, that those giant-orbs can be and are inhabited by beings as far in advance of us as we are in advance of the South Sea islanders? If there be anything preposterous in the idea advanced, I, for one, do not see it.
And again, many of these mighty, distant worlds are allowed
THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. 681
to be many times older than is our earth. May not the occupants of those older worlds have a more extended experience than we have? We know that the arts and sciences advance from century to century with us; and, judging the unknown by the known, may we not, without doing violence to reason, suspect that an enlarged •experience in an older, and far more noble world, may result in a superior intelligence ?
It is wonderful to contemplate upon the many and great ^changes that have taken place in the thoughts and ideas of men within the space of a few hundred years: When Sir Isaac Newton declared his belief that the sun was as much as five millions of miles distant from the earth, many astronomers thought that his mind was weakening. Five million miles! The distance was too great for the mind to conceive of. We now know that it is nearly twenty times that distance, and it is a very close neighbor, as com- pared with the great majority of the heavenly bodies.
Bacteriology was in its infancy, but a short time ago. Today, the microscopist will show you living creatures, both animal and vegetable, a thousand times more minute than the ancients ever conceived of. It being demonstrated beyond all dispute that there are innumerable living creatures, thousands of times more minute than the ancients ever dreamed of, is it not strongly presumptive that there may be living intelligences many times our superiors?
And now comes our question: Whence does man obtain his in- telligence, which is so very far in advance of that of all other earthly creatures? Let us look around for a short time. We have seen that there are signs of life and intelligence in the most minute particles of matter, — not necessarily conscious intelligence, but it is there all the same.
Somebody has said that all life is the same, differing not in kind but in quantity. May it not be the same with intelligence? A man is not conscious when he is sound asleep, but he is alive, and will shrink from an irritant just as if he were awake. There is much talk just now about sub-consciousness. May there not be a sub-conscious state? May not a sleeping sub-conscious condition obtain in every molecule of matter, seeing that the molecules moor so precisely and methodically in forming crystals of the many ele- mentary as well as compound substances? Yet, we cannot con-
682 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
ceive of man deriving his superior mind from the mineral kingdom. Neither can we conceive how it can come from the vegetable world; although we know the vegetable to be far in advance of the mineral kingdom. Do we, then, get our superior minds from the brute condition? Thousands of illustrations of animal intelli- gence can easily be called to mind, but it would be, simply, a waste of time and labor to cite them, as every man with a reflective mind knows full well that all good comes from above, and not from below.
All life, whether animal or vegetable, is maintained by the supra-mundane trinity — air, rain and sunshine. I take it to be axiomatic that man's intelligence is no exception to the rule.
I am aware that one man will tell you that our intellectuality is from parents through heredity, while another will say that it is absorbed or manufactured from the food we eat; while another, that it is condensed experience, and that environment is the chief factor in making us what v/e are. I leave these statements to the good sense of my readers, as a discussion of them would be too tedious for these pages.
Right here let me propound a few questions, one question un- der varied circumstances. Did you ever know of a boy, wishing an education in the arts, mechanics or the classics, being put under the tutelage of a master more ignorant than himself? Are not children brought up by parents wiser than themselves? Do school- boards employ teachers less advanced then the pupils who are committed to their charge ? In every case, the good is from above. The food we eat is manufactured by the vegetable leaves out of the air, rain and sunshine, with a small admixture of mineral dis- solved in the soil by the waters from above. The very coal that warms us in winter is, metaphorically speaking, crystalized sun- light! The very dews of heaven that make our glorious country so fruitful and Eden- like, although their native home is the vast ocean, before they can administer to our lives and pleasures, are first lifted out of their native depths by the life-giving rays of the father of light, to an elevation miles above terra Jirma, whence they de- scend to happify the children of men.
Do we exaggerate when we say that "all good comes from above?" I think not. You go to the spring for water, you know
THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. 683
that unless there exists a fountain of water higher than the spring, you will come back as you went — without the wherewith to quench your thirst. You know that the spring is but the short arm of an inverted syphon. Your city lady resorts to the hydrant to replenish your water pail; but, were there not a reservoir situated in a more elevated locality, you might twist the faucet until dooms- day, for all the good it would do you.
Do you not think that the rule holds good with regard to the human intellect? I opine that there is, and of necessity must be, a fountain of intelligence as much higher than man, as the heavens are higher than the earth, else our efforts to exaltation would be vain indeed. This fountain of goodness we call God!
I think I hear some simple one asking: "If there be a God who is so very wise and benevolently disposed, why does he not teach us more ? Why not advance us more rapidly in the scale of being?" etc. While I would not undertake to defend the Father of the human race, who is too powerful to need my feeble arm, nor would I presume to offer excuses for his conduct towards his chil- dren, he being too wise to need my infantile effort, yet, by way of suggestion, I will ask a question: Why don't you put your boy in pants while he is still an infant? Why doii't you start your child in the eighth grade, instead of in the Kindergarten? Why don't you put the roof on your house before you secure the foundation? Why don't you plant your grain before you prepare the ground, or why don't you grind your grain before it is ripe? And there are, 0, so many whys that I must stop, for eternity is too short to ask and answer one tithe of the whys, that spring up all around.
Dear reader, I must apologize for so long a talk, but my ex- cuse is, if you will kindly accept it, I feel friendly toward you. God, who made you, loves you, and I want you to believe that he is, and be reconciled to him.
A TRIP TO CUBA.
BY DR. JOSEPH M. TANNER, SUPERINTENDENT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS.
I.— FROM NEW ORLEANS TO HAVANA.
Since the Spanish-American war, there has been a growing interest among the American people, in Cuba and its beautiful climate, as well as in the commercial advantages of the island. The city of Havana may be reached by any one of three routes. The shortest and most frequent voyage is from Tampa, on the coast of Florida. The distance is only about three hundred and fifty miles, and may be covered in twenty- four hours. Vessels leave this port three times a week, and carry those passengers who dread protracted voyages on the water. Every week a steamer of the Morgan line leaves New York, whose port is one thousand two hundred and fifteen miles from Havana. During the early fall and late spring, this route is preferred; besides, the ser- vice on the Morgan line is said to be the best. The fare from New York to Havana is forty dollars, first class, and twenty dollars, second class; and it is declared by many that the accommodations of the second class are as good as first class on the other steamers.
Travelers from the west and southwest go by way of New Or- leans, from which city a boat of the Southern Pacific company -embarks every Tuesday afternoon at two o'clock. The distance is six hundred and ninety miles, and is made in about forty-eight hours. During the winter season, travel is heavy, and berths must sometimes be engaged weeks in advance. To meet the pressing demands both of passenger and freight trafllic, extra steamers are frequently sent. From this port the fare to Havana is twenty dol- lars, return trip tickets thirty-five dollars. The journey by way of
A TRIP TO CUBA. 685
New Orleans is of special interest because of the historical and social importance which attaches to that city.
The boat left on schedule time, and made its voyage down the Mississippi, a distance of one hundred and ten miles in seven hours. The scenery on either side of the Mississippi to the Gulf, is a flat, level lowland consisting of the delta deposits of the great river. Much of the land is cultivated by the negroes who live in small frame houses along the river. The plantations do not exhibit any special degree of thrift, and the lonely aspects of the sur- rounding country, which lies below the level of the river, is such as to make it habitable to the colored folks only. From the ship, the monument on the battlefield of Chalmette may be seen, but this battlefield is not far south of New Orleans.
One interesting feature is the embankment on both sides of the river, — the levees which hold the water in the spring within the limits of the stream and keep it from overflowing the lowland plantations. These levees are more than two hundred miles long on both sides, and have cost the United States government millions of dollars. Just before the river reaches the gulf, it is divided, but the main part of the stream is confined by levees within nar- row limits. The result is that the stream is rapid and deep, and scours the bottom of the channel so as to permit the largest ships afloat to pass on up to New Orleans. This navigable condition of the river means much to the future of New Orleans, in view of the certain construction of the Panama Canal in the near future.
Near the river's mouth is the quarantine station where all incoming passengers must go ashore, and, if necessary, be fumi- gated by the extensive apparatus prepared for that purpose. Dur- ing the late spring and summer, passengers from South American ports are detained for weeks sometimes. Generally the doctor feels your pulse, looks you in the eyes, and lets you go by.
The Mississippi is heavily charged with soil which is carried out into the gulf for miles. The stream of the river is then caught by the gulf stream, and carried in an easterly direction to the west coast of Florida. It is there deflected southward and brought out into the ocean by way of the Florida Straight, through which the Gulf Stream rushes like a mighty river into the Atlantic. The width of this stream is from forty-five to one hundred miles, and
686 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
it flows at the rate of two and a half to five miles an hour. The velocity is much greater in the center than at the edges.
The steamer was literally packed. When the bell rang for supper, after we had been on the river for about five hours, there was a rush for the dining room. Not more than half could be ac- commodated at the first table, and there was much disappointment and complaint. The stewart was patient and informed the passen- gers that such a mishap should not arise again, and promised them that at all subsequent meals, everyone who cared to do so should be permitted to come to the first table. His calculations were ac- curate, for food went a begging all the way from New Orleans to Havana after the first supper.
There was a strong wind from the south, and while it created scarcely a ripple on the river, it produced the wildest waves on the gulf. The ship was tossed about so suddenly and vehemently that the passengers had little warning of what was coming. They rushed for their berths, paying tribute to Neptune as they went. What happened from the time the ship entered the gulf till it came in sight of Cuba, after a voyage of forty eight hours, is merely hear- say. It was known that all contention for first place at the table had ceased, and solitude reigned everywhere. There were abroad all sorts of people. Those who most interested the passengers were American investors in lands and in commercial enterprises of Cuba. They had much to say about stock-raising, the boom prices of lands; and the small fortunes speculators had made in a remarkably short time. It was evident that the American spirit of adventure and speculation had found its way to the island.
On the afternoon of the second day, and after a rough voy- age, the ship came in sight of land. To our left, the Morro Castle rose high above the bay, a silent witness of many stormy scenes in Cuban life. To the right was the picturesque city of Havana, with low stone houses painted in a variety of colors. Soon we passed the neck of the harbor and our ship anchored near the wreck of the Maine. There was a hasty examination of sanitary conditions on the ship by health officers, and we were taken by a small steam launch to the shore.
The Cuban officers were courteous, and created no unnecessary delay or irritation among the passengers. Under Spanish rule it
A TRIP TO CUBA. 687
was necessary to have a passport in order to visit the island. A fee had to be paid and an exaction was made that the person would leave within three months. A second fee was charged when the passport was returned. There is really less annoyance in landing at Havana than is experienced in New Orleans, where one is likely to run across a French official, who is often petty and unnecessa- rily exacting. At Havana there were a number of interpreters and hotel runners. Some Americans have gone there to open boarding houses on the American plan. The better hotels are quite expensive. The rooms are airy, and the open dining rooms are characteristic of tropical lands. Accommodations and service are, of course, inferior to the better hotels in the United States. There is a growing desire to speak English, for it is evidently seen that the tourist promises to be one of Cuba's best crops. (to be continued.)
DOES AN EDUCATION PAY?
Does it pay to make life-long friendship with bright, ambitious young people, many of whom will occupy high places later on?
Does it pay to become familiar with all the lessons that history and science can teach as to how to make life healthy and successful?
Does it pay to become an enlightened citizen, able to see through the sophistries of political claptrap and vote intelligently on public mat- ters?
Does it pay to change a bar of rough pig iron into hairsprings for watches, thus increasing its worth to more than fifty times the value of its weight in gold?
Does it pay to experience the joy of self-discovery, to open up whole continents of possibilities in one's nature which might otherwise remain undiscovered?
Does it pay the sculptor to call out from the rough block the statue that sleeps in the marble, and which shall tell ths story of heroism and greatness to unborn generations?
Does it pay to have one's mentality stirred by the passion for ex- pansion, to feel the tonic of growth, the indescribable satisfaction which comes from the consciousness of perpetual enlargement? — Success.
SUNLIGHT.
{For the Improvement Era.)
BY T. E. CURTIS, SALT LAKE CITY.
I stood at yonder mountain crest
Above the dark and solemn vale. That rolled out to the distant west
All restless in the fitful gale. I heard the hostile skies applaud
The storm-king, on his evil way, Who spread his mighty wings abroad,
And held the flaming sun at bay.
Then flow'r-like, as I raised my view,
I saw the sullen clouds divide; A golden flood came bursting through.
And fell across the mountain side! And spread a picture on the plain —
A symbol of the rival powers That operate the world, and fain
Would change these mortal lives of ours.
The clouds rolled backward one by one.
And the emerging scene was dressed In all the glory of the sun.
From flow'ry vale to snowy crest. And so it is from surf to crown;
We see the clouds of error furled. Letting the light of heaven down,
Spreading its glory o'er the world!
RADIUM.
BY DR. JAMES E. TALMAGE, PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.
It is in response to a special request from the Editor of the Era that the writer ventures to present a short article on this in- teresting topic; for he freely acknowledges that to him so little is known regarding this new and strange element that to voluntarily appear in print on the subject would be presumptuous. The inter- est of scientists and of thinking people of all classes has been aroused over the announcement of the discovery of a new element in nature, the properties of which appear to be not only marvelous and novel, but in some respects seemingly contradictory of our fundamental conceptions regarding matter and force.
Radium has been described as the most powerful of all known radio-active substances; it may be well therefore to enquire first as to the nature of radio-activity in general. For nearly a decade past it has been known that a few substances have the property of emitting continuously certain rays of force which act in some of their effects like light rays, though they penetrate bodies that are opaque to ordinary light. These strange rays act upon a photo- graphic plate as does light; but the plate-holder used with the camera is no protection against them, for they penetrate the wood and hard rubber, and affect the plate as if it had been exposed uncovered. Even a casing of thin metal fails to stop these rays, though thick metal, particularly lead, is an effective barrier to the passage of the rays for short periods of time. Furthermore, these rays render the air and other gases through which they pass, pow- erful conductors of electricity. Unlike light, these new rays can-
690 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
not be reflected or refracted by ordinary means. In 1896, Bec- querel, a scientist of acknowledged ability, demonstrated that the somewhat rare metal uranium, and all its compounds, emit these rays continuously. They are known as the Becquerel rays. A radio-active substance, therefore, is one that is capable of spon- taneously emitting Becquerel rays. By the labors of Schmidt, M. and Mme. Curie of Paris, and Debierne, it has been proved that in addition to uranium, other elements such as thorium, polonium, and the newly discovered actinium and radium are strongly radio-active-
Practically all of these radio-actives are associated in nature with the uranium minerals, occurring therewith in quantity infini- tesimally small. Polonium is found with bismuth in association with uranium minerals; it has not been clearly proved that poloni- um is indeed a separate and new element. Actinium occurs with elements of the alkali- earth group in uranium minerals, and ra- dium is associated with barium in the same class of minerals.
In a general way the degree of radio-activity possessed by any mineral or mixture of minerals is in direct proportion to the amount of the radio-active element present. The discovery of radium was facilitated by the knowledge of this fact. To M. Curie and his talented wife is due the honor attached to this important dis- covery.
In 1898 Mme. Curie was engaged in research as to radio- activity among the elements. She demonstrated that but very few elements are even feebly radio-active; but to her surprise she found certain uranium minerals (notably pitchblende, or uraninite, and carnotite) to be more strongly radio-active than the contained amount of uranium would explain. This led to a search for un- known radio- actives in the uranium minerals; and radium was found — the only strongly radio-active substance thus far fully proved to be a new element. As stated, it exists in very small quantity in the uranium minerals; and moreover, the process of ex- traction is long, tedious, and expensive; the product therefore is of high cost. In France, radium is obtained from the residues left after extracting the uranium from pitchblende; and according to M. Curie's statement these residues contain from two to three deci- grams (three to four grains) of radium per ton. Much has been said through newspapers and magazines regarding the fabulous
RADIUM. 691
cost of this rare product. Statements of cost at so much per ounce or pound are practically meaningless, unless the intensity of the radium mixture is specified, as the radio-activity depends upon the actual amount of the radium element present. A prominent busi- ness firm dealing in chemical supplies recently offered the writer ten milligrams (about fifteen hundredths of a grain) of radium ba- rium chloride for three hundred dollars. This was guaranteed to possess a radio-activity of one million; that is, it was a million times as strong in radio-active properties as metallic uranium. This cost is at the rate of nearly two thousand dollars per grain. It is of local interest to note that the radium thus far pre- pared in America has been obtained from uranium ores found in western Colorado and contiguous parts of Utah. The material mostly used is carnotite — a vanadate of uranium and potassium. In the laboratory of the university of Utah the writer has obtained radium chloride by a comparatively simple treatment of a new vanadium-uranium mineral recently discovered in the Uinta moun- tains.
Radium, as an element, that is to say, separate and free from all combinations or mixtures, has never yet been prepared. It is doubtful if any pure compound of this element has been produced. The radium product as prepared is really radium chloride mixed with barium chloride, the radio-active intensity increasing as the contaminating barium salts are removed. Radium-barium chloride of one million five hundred thousand intensity as compared with the uranium standard has been prepared.
As to the properties of this newly discovered element, not much is yet definitely known, but the little already proved is sufliciently astounding. Radium is known to emit spontaneously and without cessation, both light and heat, besides other rays of force not di- rectly observable by the unaided senses, but even more remarkable than the readily recognizable light and heat.
A photographic plate, enclosed in the tightest of plate- holders, or protected against light as are the X-ray plates by wrappings of orange and black papers, is affected as if exposed to daylight, when a tube containing a radium compound is brought near, even though the tube be hermetically sealed. The rays so emitted pass through the walls of the sealed tube and penetrate
692 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
the wrappings of the plate or the hard rubber slide of the plate- holder. Metals are less readily penetrated by the radium rays than are most other bodies; if therefore metallic objects, such as coins, keys, pieces of sheet lead, etc., be placed between the radium tube and the plate, a picture of these objects appears when the plate is developed in the usual way. Such a picture is in reality a shadow-graph, the part of the plate protected by the metal piece being unaffected by the radium rays, while the unprotected parts are acted upon as if by light. To produce such a picture, an ex- posure of hours, days, or weeks may be required, according to the radio-active intensity of the radium-bearing material.
Now, as stated, uranium and other radio-actives, behave in a similar way. Radium, however, emits not only Becquerel rays, acting through glass, paper, etc., but, in addition thereto, emana- tions of substance analagous to a highly attenuated gas, which emanations do not penetrate solid bodies, but which may be con- ducted through a tube as may any gas. The writer has produced scores of shadow-graphs as described, using radium-bearing mate- rial of low intensity obtained from Utah minerals; and has also produced pictures by the emanations from the same material, by employing the following simple process: A glass bulb containing a small amount of radium-bearing chloride was placed inside a thick- walled cylinder of lead. The cylinder was closed below by a base of thick lead, and above by a lid of the same material. The lid was perforated to admit the end of a glass tube about six inches long bent at a right angle; the inner end of this tube was at- tached by hermetic sealing to the bulb containing the radium. The tube was bent downward near its outer end, and was secured in the mouth of a bottle by a tightly-fitting rubber stopper. Inside this bottle a photographic plate was placed, properly protected by opaque wrappings against any possible effect of ordinary light; on this plate, outside the paper wrapping, a disc of metal v/as held in place by a rubber band. Plates similarly prepared were placed inside the lead cylinder, and others were held in place on the out- side of the cylinder. After an exposure of a few days, during which the apparatus was kept in a light-tight box, the plates were developed. Of course, the plates from the inside of the cylinder showed the usual shadow- graphs— due to the radiations from the
RADIUM. 693
radium inside the bulb, which radiations had to penetrate the glass walls of the bulb and the several layers of paper covering the plates. The plates held in contact with the outside of the lead cylinder showed no picture, plainly proving that the radiations had failed to penetrate the leaden walls. But the plate from the bottle showed the strongest picture of all. This effect must be due to the emanations of actual substance from the radium passing through the twice-bent tube, and reaching the plate in the bottle.
Radium compounds of high intensity emit light rays continu- ously. Of this phenomenon M. Curie has written: "The salts of radium are spontaneously luminous. It might be said that they make themselves luminous by the action of the Becquerel rays they emit. Anhydrous chloride and bromide of radium are the salts that give the most intense luminescence. They may be ob- tained so luminous that the light can be seen in full daylight. The light emitted by the salts of radium recalls in tint that from a fire fly. The luminosity of the radium salt decreases with time with- out ever completely disappearing, and those that were colorless at first become gray, yellow or violet."*
Many substances, both mineral and organic, become luminous if brought near a tube containing radium; among such are zinc silicate, zinc sulphide, and the diamond. This effect may be util- ized as a means of distinguishing between true diamonds and spurious imitations, the real gem becoming strongly phosphores- cent, while the paste counterfeit remains dark and dull in the presence of the searching radium rays. A new device, known as the spinthariscope, reveals in a very pretty way the effect of radi- um inducing luminosity in other bodies. A small amount of the sensitive material, zinc sulphide for example, is spread upon a metal surface, called the screen; a particle of radium is placed upon this, or is held about a sixteenth of an inch above the pre- pared surface. If the screen be then examined through a lense of medium power in a dark room, a marvelous sight presents itself. The surface of the screen appears blazing with luminous points, apparently in rapid motion. The appearance has been likened by some to that of a shower of meteorites, and by others to the
See American Chemical Journal, April, 1904, page 422.
694 IMPRO VEMENT ERA.
luminous streaming of the aurora borealis. No observer who has once witnessed this blazing display of atomic activity will soon forget the impressive effect. The luminosity of the screen ap- pears to be the result of an actual bombardment of the phosphor- escent material by emanations from the radium.
But not only is radium capable of exciting luminosity in other bodies, it imparts to its surroundings the radio-active power in practically all of its phases. Thus, a box of paper, wood, or metal, in which a sealed tube containing radium has been allowed to lie, becomes so radio-active as to readily affect a photographic plate, and may retain this property for days and weeks. The walls and furniture of a laboratory in which radium experiments have been conducted, and even the persons and clothing of the operators, become thus excited to radio-activity.
As before stated, radium compounds emit ordinary heat rays; this they do continuously, and seemingly without loss of sub- stance. The heat so radiated has been carefully measured, and we know with fair accuracy the powers of the new element in this respect. M. Curie demonstrated that seven-tenths of a gram of radium bromide inclosed in a small bottle maintained a tempera- ture three degrees higher than that of another bottle contain- ing no radium but otherwise kept under the same conditions. As to the quantity of heat thus liberated, it has been demonstrated that radium gives off continuously heat sufficient to melt its own weight of ice every hour. Freshly prepared radium salts emit but little heat; their power in this respect increases with time, until a maximum effect is reached in about a month, after which the heat radiations are practically constant.
Radium rays produce certain physiological effects. If a ves- sel containing a radium salt be brought near the closed eyes or placed against the side of the head, the eye itself becomes lumi- nous and the sensation of light results, though in reality the light is developed within the eye. As to the effect of these rays on the tissues of the body, M. Curie has written: "The rays of radium act on the epidermis. If we place on the skin for a few minutes a bulb containing radium no particular sensation is felt. But fifteen or twenty days afterward it produces a reddening of the skin, then a slough in the place where the bulb was applied. If
RADIUM. 695
the action of the rays be long enough there is finally formed a sore that takes several months to heal. The action of the rays from radium is analogous to that produced by the Roentgen rays. The attempt has been made to utilize this action in the treatment of lupus and cancer. The radium rays also act upon the nervous centers and cause paralysis and death."*
The eminent investigator spoke from painful experience in describing the sores produced by radium. Prof. Becquerel is said to have suffered for weeks from a painful and dangerous slough- ing sore on the body resulting from carrying in his waistcoat pocket a small tube containing radium. Plainly then, radium is a dangerous substance to handle. According to present knowledge on the subject, leaden vessels with thick walls are the safest con- tainers of radium tubes. It is surprising that the destructive effects of radium rays on the body tissues are not apparent until days after exposure.
Experiments have been conducted to determine the effect of radium rays on the lower animals. M. Danysz is prominent in this part of the investigation. He suspended a tube containing a frac- tion of a grain of radium chloride over a cage of mice. The tube was removed after three days. Soon after, the mice began to shed their fur; some of them became blind, and one by one they died. Fatal effects were produced among chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits and other animals. Plant tissues are destroyed by a short exposure to radium compounds.
Among the most surprising of these physiological effects are the instances of arrested development resulting from radium ex- posure. It is reported that M. Danysz exposed the larvse of a small moth to the radium rays for a few hours. In the course of several weeks most of the larvis so exposed died, but a few lived on, as larvse. Other larvse of the same colony, which had not been exposed to the radium, passed into the pupa stage, emerged as moths, produced eggs which in turn developed another gener- ation of larvse, pupte, and moths; and so on through a third gen- eration, while the larvse that had been exposed to the radium con- tinued to live as larvae without progress or development. Modifi-
* See American Chemical Journal, before cited, pages 422, 423.
696 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
cation of form among certain animals has been effected by radium rays, such as to produce aberrant individuals suggesting new
species.
An experiment recently conducted by the writer is somewhat interesting, though not productive of significant results. Some small white ants, (termites) we^e secured, with a quantity of the earth-mold in which they had lived. A hundred termites were placed in each of four small dishes, each dish was set in an outer vessel containing a little water, and loosely covered with a glass disc. This arrangement prevented the earth from becoming dry. A tube containing about a tenth of a grain of weak radium chloride was left for a few hours over one of the vessels; a second vessel was similarly exposed; while the other two were kept away from radium. On the day following, about half the termites from the vessels subjected to the radium had crawled out of the inner dish and were floating on the water in the outer vessel. They were returned to the inner dish. A day later over eighty in one dish, and more than fifty in the other were found floating on the water, some of them dead. The living ones were again replaced. None escaped into the water after this, but they gathered on top of the mold in the dish and many died. In the case of the two lots not exposed to the radium rays, none left the inner dish, and they lived in ap- parent comfort, mostly beneath the surface of the mold. One of these lots was then exposed to the radium tube for two hours. Later in the day twenty-four of the termites had crawled from the inner dish and were floating on the water in the outer vessel. During the experimenter's absence from the laboratory for a few days following the last observations, the water in the vessels dried away and the test was thus brought to an end. It is evident that the ants experienced a disagreeable effect from the rays, — whether analogous to light, heat, or some other manifestation of force, we may not know, — and that they tried to get away from the disturb- ing cause.
One of the first questions asked by those whose interest has been awakened regarding radium is this — What is the stuff like? Radium-barium chloride — the commonest of radium preparations — is a white crystaline powder, not unlike ordinary table salt.
RADIUM. 697
Another common query is: Of what use is radium? The truthful answer is that at present radium has no practical use. The fact that the substance emits both light and heat has given rise to the popular supposition that it may be used for actual lighting and heating purposes. As already shown, even weak radium salts are destructive to animal tissues, and continued ex- posure to radium rays would be fatal to man and animals. Radium preparations of sufficient intensity and in quantity adequate to produce light and heat for house use would be death-dealing.
Is radium then useless? No, its possibilities have not yet been developed; its latent usefulness has yet to be discovered. When one of skeptical mind was heard to speak contemptuously of Montgolfier's balloon experiments, and asked to what use such could lead, Benjamin Franklin replied with the question, "Of what use is a new-born babe?"
In the treatment of disease, and in the destruction of bacteria, radium has not yet been successfully employed, and the expecta- tions in this respect aroused by early announcements of its prop- erties have not been realized. But we know as yet little of what radium can do.
The demonstration that radium emits light and heat, spon- taneously and continuously, and without diminution of substance as far as we can determine, has led to the hasty and unwarranted inference that we are here confronted with an actual creation of force without expenditure of substance. The indestructibility of matter and force, and the conservation of energy, are corner- stones of the edifice of modern science; and these have not been dis- turbed by this new discovery. The forces with which we are most familiar, — light, heat, electricity, for example — are mutually con- vertible. They, together with sound, and mechanical energy, are but as the different kinds of money — silver, gold, bank-notes — each exchangeable on a basis of mathematical exactness for any other. So, too, the precise amount of heat represented by a given expenditure of energy of other kinds can be calculated and pro- duced. It is well known that there are substances possessing the power of absorbing certain kinds of energy, and returning the same in the form absorbed, or as some other manifestation of force. Thus, barium sulphide and other bodies become highly luminous
698 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
when exposed to sunlight, and give off the light when removed to a dark room. Calcium sulphide, fluorite, and certain dolomites be- come luminous when heated — the effect of heat here appearing as light. Numerous substances, when electrified, become sources of light. Doubtless there are forces operating around us the charac- teristics of which we have -not yet learned; and these unknown forces may be convertible into the commoner manifestations with which we are familiar. Is it not reasonable to infer, in the ab- sence of definite knowledge, that radium possesses the property of absorbing energy in forms known or unknown, and of radiating or emitting such as light, heat, Becquerel rays, and the like? The discovery of the Roentgen rays made certain that' hitherto un- known forces, or hitherto unrecognized manifestations of energy, are operating, and certain bodies may be responsive to such forces, thus producing phenomena inexplicable to us because of our ignor- ance of the nature of the forces themselves.
HIS MOTHER.
{For the Improvement Era.)
Her form was bent, her eyes were dim,
But beamed with lustrous light on him.
He held her hand within his own,
Saying, "For thee I've worked alone.
My mother."
Her boy, — no longer boy but man, — Although like boy's, his laugh still rang,
Told of the strife to carve his name
Within the halls of living fame, To cheer the heart of her he loved — His mother.
How he had longed for this glad day. When he could go to her and say:
"A man's success is ne'er so sweet.
As when he lays it at the feet
Of her who's been his guiding star.
His mother!" —Grace Ingles Frost.
Salt Lake City.
JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST.
BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE, DIRECTOR OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, LOGAN, UTAH.
IX.— GEOLOGICAL TIME.
God speaks in various ways to men. The stars, the clouds, the mountains, the grass and the soil, are all, to him who reads aright, forms of divine revelation. Many of the noblest attri- butes of God may be learned by a study of the laws according to which Omnipotent Will directs the universe.
Nowhere is this principle more beautifully illustrated and confirmed than in the rocks that constitute the crust of the earth, and on which is written in simple plainness the history of the earth almost from that beginning, when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. For centuries, men saw the rocks, their forms and their adaptation to each other, without understand- ing the message written in them. Only, as the wonderful nine- teenth century approached, did the vision open, and the interpreta- tion of the story of the rocks become apparent.
How the earth first came into being has not yet been clearly revealed. From the first, however, the mighty forces which act today, have shaped and fashioned the earth and prepared it for man's habitation. Water, entering the tiny cracks of the rocks, and expanding as, in winter, it changed to ice, crumbled the mighty mountains; water, falling as rain from the clouds, washed the rock fragments into the low-lying places to form soil; the water in mighty rivers chiseled the earth with irresistible force, as shown by the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The internal heat of the earth, aided by the translocation of material by water, produced large cracks in the earth's crust, through which oceans of molten matter flowed and spread themselves over the land; the same heat appeared in volcanoes, through which were
700 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
spurted liquid earth, cinders and foul gases; as the earth heat was lost, the crust cooled, contracted and great folds appeared, rec- ognized as mountains, and as time went on, many of the moun- tains were caused to sink and the ocean beds were brought up in their stead. Wonderful and mighty have been the changes on the earth's surface since the Lord began its preparation for a race of men.
In the beginning, it appears that water covered the whole earth. In that day, the living creatures of earth dwelt in the water, and it was the great age of fishes and other aquatic ani- mals. Soon the first land lifted itself timidly above the surface of the ocean, and formed inviting places for land animals and plants. Upon the land came, first, according to the story of the rocks, a class of animals known as amphibians, like frogs, that could live both in water and on land; and associated with them were vast forests of low orders of plants, that cleared the atmos- phere of noxious gases, and made it fit for higher forms of life. Then followed an age in which the predominating animals were gigantic reptiles, a step higher than the amphibians, but a step lower than the class of mammals to which man belongs. During the age of these prehistoric monsters, the earth was yet more fully prepared for higher life. Following the age of reptiles, came the age of mammals, which still persists, though, since the coming of man upon the earth, the geological age has been known as the age of man.
This rapid sketch of the geological history of the earth does very poor justice to one of the most complete, wonderful and beautiful stories brought to the knowledge of man. The purpose of this paper is not, however, to discuss the past ages of the earth.
It is, of course, readily understood that such mighty changes as those just described, and the succession of different kinds of organic life, could not have taken place in a few years. Vast periods of time must of necessity have been required for the initiation, rise, domination and final extinction of each class of animals. A year is too small a unit of measurement in geologi- cal time; a thousand years or, better, a million years, would more nearly answer the requirements.
It is possible in various ways to arrive at a conception of the age of the earth since organic life came upon it. For instance, :the gorge of the Niagara Falls was begun in comparatively recent
JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 701
days, yet, judging by the rate at which the falls are now receding, it must have been at least 31,000 years since the making of the gorge was first begun, and it may have been nearly 400,000 years.* Lord Kelvin, on almost purely physical grounds, has estimated that the earth cannot be more than 100,000,000 years old, but that it may be near that age.f It need not be said, probably, that all such calculations are very uncertain when the actual number of years are considered; but, all human knowledge, based upon the present appearance of the earth and the laws that control known phenomena, agree in indicating that the age of the earth is ex- treme, running in all probability into millions of years, and it must have been hundreds of thousands of years since the first life was placed upon earth.
When these immense periods of time were first suggested by students of science, a great shout of opposition arose from the camp of the theologians. The Bible story of creation had been taken literally, that in six days did the Lord create the heavens and the earth; and it was held to be blasphemy to believe anything else. The new revelation, given by God in the message of the rocks, was received as a man-made theory, that must be crushed to earth. It must be confessed that many of the men of science, exulting in the new light, ridiculed the story told by Moses, and claimed that it was an evidence that the writings of Moses were not inspired, but merely man-made fables.
The war between the Mosaic and the geological record of crea- tion became very bitter and lasted long, and it led to a merciless dissection and scrutiny of the first chapter of Genesis, and the evi- dences upon which rests the geological theory of the age of the earth. However, when the din of the battle grew faint, and the smoke cleared away, it was quickly perceived by the unbiased on- lookers, that the Bible and science had both gained bj the conflict. Geology had firmly established its claim, that the earth was not made in six days of twenty-four hours each; and the first chapter of Genesis had been shown to be a marvelously truthful record of the great events of creation.
* Dana's New Text Book of Geology, t^. 375. t Lectures and Addresses, vol. 2, p. 10.
702 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis, enumerates the order of the events of creation. First, light was brought to the earth and was divided from darkness, ''and the evening and the morning were the first day." Then the firmament was established in the midst of the waters, "and the evening and the morning were the second day." After each group of creative events, the same ex- pression occurs, "and the evening and the morning were the third [fourth, fifth, and sixth] days." Those who insisted upon the literal interpretation of the language of the Bible maintained that the word day, as used in Genesis 1, referred to a day of twenty-four hours, and that all the events of creation were consummated by an all-powerful God in one hundred and forty- four earthly hours. An examination of the original Hebrew for the use of the word trans- lated "day" in Genesis, revealed that it refers more frequently to periods of time of indefinite duration.* When this became clear, and the record of the rocks became better known, some theolo- gians suggested, that as we are told that a thousand years are as one day to God, the day of Genesis 1 refers to periods of a thou- sand years each. This did not strengthen the argument. The best opinion of today, and it is well-nigh universal, is that the Mosaic record refers to indefinite periods of time corresponding to the great divisions of historical geology.
Even as late as the sixties and seventies of the last century this question was still so unsettled as to warrant the publication of books defending the Mosaic account of creation.t
In 1830, certain visions given to the Jewish lawgiver Moses, were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. These visions are now incorporated with other matter in the Pearl of Great Price, under the title. The Book of Moses. In chapter two of this book is found an account of the creation, which is nearly identical with the account found in Genesis 1. The slight variations which occur tend only to make the meaning of the writer clearer. In this account, the expression "and the evening and the morning were the first [etc.] day," occurs just as it does in the Mosaic account in
* Compare The Mosaic Record of Creation, A. McCaul, D. D., p. 213. t For instance Aids to Faith, containing McCaul's most able discus- sion. The Origin of the World, J. W. Dawson.
JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 703
the Bible. In 1835 certain ancient records found in the catacombs of Egypt fell into the hands of Joseph Smith, who found them to be some of the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt. The translation of these records is also found in the Pearl of Great Price, under the title, The Book of Abraham. In the fourth and fifth chapters of the book is found an account of the creation ac- cording to the knowledge of Abraham. The two accounts are essentially the same, but the Abrahamic version is so much fuller and clearer that it illumines the obscurer parts of the Mosaic ac- count. We shall concern ourselves here only with the variation in the use of the word "day."
In Genesis 1 : 5 we read, "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
The corresponding period is discussed in the Book of Abra- ham 4: 5 as follows: ''And the Gods called the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until morning they called night; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the first, or the begin- ning, of that which they called day and night."
It is to be noted that in Abraham's version names were given to the intervals between evening and morning, and morning and evening; but absolutely nothing is said about a first day: the state- ment is simply made, that this was the beginning of the alternating periods of light and darkness which they, the Gods, had named night and day. According to this version, the first creative period occu- pied an unknown period of time.
In Genesis 1: 8 it further says : "And God called the firmament Heaven, And the evening and the morning were the second day."
The corresponding passage in the Book of Abraham 4: 8, reads, "And the Gods called the expanse Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day, and this was the second time that they called night and day."
Here it must be noted that nothing is said about a second day. It is said that it was the second time that they called day — which leaves the second creative period entirely indefinite so far as time limits are concerned.
704 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
In Genesis 1 : 13, it reads, "and the evening and the morning were the third day."
In Abraham 4: 13, the corresponding passage reads, "And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time."
Here it is explicitly stated that the Gods numbered the days,evi- dently,they counted the days that had passed during the third creative period, and it was the third time that the numbering had been done. Again, the third creative period is left indefinite, as to time limits.
Gen. 1 : 19, reads, "And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Correspondingly, in Abraham 4: 19, is found, "And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it wa,s the fourth time."
This quotation from Abraham, standing alone, would be some- what ambiguous, for it might indicate that it was the fourth time that the periods between evening and morning, and morning and evening were called night and day. In the light of previous pas- sages, however, the meaning of the passage becomes clear. Certainly there is nothing in the verse to confine the fourth creative period within certain time limits.
The fifth day in Genesis closes as does the fourth; and the fifth time in Abraham closes as does the fourth. The remarks made concerning the fourth creative period apply to the fifth.
Concerning the sixth creative period. Gen. 1: 31, says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Of the same period, Abraham says, "And the Gods said: We will do everything that we have said, and organize them; and be- hold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time."
As in the previous periods, the sixth ended by the Gods num- bering the days of the creative period; the sixth period, like those preceding, being undeterminate as to time.
JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 705
Repeated reading and study of the Abrahamic account, as re- vealed through Joseph Smith, make it certain beyond doubt that the intent is to convey the idea that the creative periods included much time, and that, at the end of each period, the measure of night and day, was applied to the period, in order that its length might be determined. Whether or not the different creative periods represented days to the mighty beings concerned in the creation, we do not know, and it matters little to the argument of this article.*
Now, then, we must remember that Joseph Smith made this translation long before the theologians of the world had consented to admit that the Mosaic days meant long periods of time; and long before geology had established beyond question that immense time periods had been consumed in the preparation of the earth for man.
Joseph Smith, the humble, unlearned, despised boy, unfamiliar with books and the theories of men, stated with clear and simple certainty, if his works be read with the eye of candid truth, this fundamental truth of geological science and the Bible, long before the learned of the world had agreed upon the same truth.t
Standing alone, this fact might be called a chance coincidence, a result of blind fate. But recalling that it is one of many similar and even more striking facts, what shall be said? Has ever im- postor dared what Joseph Smith did? Has ever false prophet lived beyond his generation, if his prophecies were examined? Shall we of this foremost age accept convincing, logical truth, though it run counter to our preconceived notions? Glorious were the visions of Joseph the Prophet; unspeakable would be our joy, should they be given to us.
(to be continued.)
* The writer understands the creation, reported in Abraham, 4th chapter, to be spiritual in its nature; but he also believes that this spiritual account is a perfect picture of the actual material creation. If chapter 4 of Abraham represents the Gods planning creation, the measuring of time becomes easily understood. It then means, "How long will it take to accomplish the work?" All this, however, has no bearing upon the present argument.
t It may be remarked that other geological doctrines were taught by the Prophet, that science has since confirmed. One of these was dis- cussed by Dr. J. E. Talmage in the Improvement Era, Vol. 7, p. 481.
SOME LEADING EVENTS IN THE CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD.
BY DR. J. M. TANNER, SUPERINTENDENT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS.
Progress of the War.
As soon as Japan secured the undisputed control of the sea, she was in a position to commence her movements on land. The initial point in the land campaign was the Yalu River. This river separates Manchuria from Korea. The latter country the Russians were in no position to hold. The fighting there amounted to light skirmishes by which the Russians merely hoped to retard Japanese movements to the north. It was believed that the Russians would have ample time to concentrate their forces on the northern banks of the Yalu and so entrench themselves on the hills as to offer a most stubborn resistance.
The battle of the Yalu which occurred on May 1st was the ini- tial land contest. Every preparation for crossing the Yalu had been carefully made. The artillery at Wiju covered the movements of the troops over the river and the Japanese soldiers at once be- gan to storm the position of the Russians in their hillside fortifica- tions. The Japanese were first obliged to cross the Ai Ho, a trib- utary of the Yalu, with a division of the army, but the smaller stream offered no serious impediment for their soldiers fought while they were in water to their waists. Everywhere Japanese arms were victorious. It was immediately manifest that they had better artillery and were more skillful in its use. Even the Japanese cav- alry showed up to good advantage. The Russians were compelled to^retreat and move their position as far back as Feng Wang Chang.
CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 707
The Japanese strengthened their outposts in order to hold the position which they had gained; and General Kuroki, who had cov- ered himself with honors, began the adjustment of his troops for further contingencies, while General Oku farther to the south-west began to close in upon Port Arthur.
Just what position Kuroki will be found to have taken is un- certain. There has been much speculation as to his plans to sur- round Kuropatkin. It is more likely that he simply stands a men- ace to any movement of the Russian army to the south for the relief of Port Arthur. It is. curious to note the diversity of im- portance attached to the battle of the Yalu. Some English jour- nals, pro Japanese, class it among the decisive battles of the world. French papers, pro-Russian, refer to it as a part of a number of frontier skirmishes.
The Battle of Nan Shan Hill.
The most brilliant military achievement of the present war is the capture of Nan Shan hill May 26th. Port Arthur lies at the extreme southern point of the Liao-tung peninsula. About thirty miles north of Port Arthur the peninsula narrows to a distance of about two miles by the indentations of the Talienwan on the east and the Kin Chau bay on the west. The defense of this narrow neck was considered of vital importance. At Kinchau there is a strong fort and near by is Nan Shan hill which was considered im- pregnable. It may indeed be considered a mountain since it is something like two thousand feet high. Breed's hill or Bunker hill would be a mere ant hill in comparison. The hill near the top is very steep. On its crest the Russians had lodged a large number of heavy cannon and quick firing machines. For days the Japanese, reconnoitered the hill and drew from the enemy the fire of the cannons whose balls were examined carefully to determine the character of the field pieces which must be met in an effort to take the hill by storm. The Russian force charged with the defense of the hill is said to have numbered between twelve thousand and twenty thousand men.
On the morning of May 26th at 9 o'clock the charge of the hill began amidst deafening cannonading and fearful carnage. The guns of the fort mowed down whole companies of the Japanese
708 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
who seemed to be simply infuriated by the awful spectacle of death about them. The soldiers kept on charging up the hill, climbing over the rows of dead bodies of their comrades until late in the afternoon they penetrated the outer ranks of the Russians. The first Japanese soldiers to lead the bayonet charge were quickly followed by others until the Russians, finding the attack irresist- ible, fled to the south in the direction of Port Arthur.
The capture of Nan Shan hill cost the Japanese thirty-five thousand men in killed and wounded. It is reported that the Rus- sians lost something like eight hundred men. As the Russians were pursued for some distance in their retreat, no accurate account of their loss can be learned at present. Against such undaunted men as stormed Nan Shan hill, what defensive methods of modern war- fare can prove effectual! The whole world was astounded. It is to be doubted whether in all the history of war such determined and unflinching resistance to overwhelming odds was ever surpassed.
With equal precision and courage, the Japanese army at once began to move in upon Port Arthur and fasten its death grip upon the fortifications which it was believed could only be taken by pro- cess of starvation. The fleet has brought over the great siege guns, and the world will be given another evidence of Japanese military prowess and strategy. No doubt the Japs will be provided with mortars, or high angle firing guns, such as we have for de- fense on our sea coasts. These twelve inch guns throw projectiles of a thousand pounds a distance of five miles. What makes them so effective in besieging a fortress is that the projectiles may be thrown a distance of two miles into the air; when they fall and explode, their destruction is equalled only by a torpedo. These ex- plosives may be dropped with great accuracy; and we are informed that the Japanese have supplied themselves with balloons so as to locate the points upon which attacks can be most advantageously mad^. The period of one year which it was predicted would be necessary to carry Port Arthur may, in the light of recent prog- ress, be shortened to one month.
Senator Quay.
The old Roman adage,that "of the dead say nothing but good," is not observed in the case of Pennsylvania's senator who recently
CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 709
died. After a political leadership in that state covering a period of some thirty years, it is remarkable what a variety of opinions prevail concerning Senator Quay's political career. That he was a man of most extraordinary resources, no one doubts, and it does not seem possible that he could control the political affairs of a state so completely by methods that were wholly and always un- scrupulous or vicious. That he has resorted to tactics in political life that were questionable is asserted by his enemies. It will be, perhaps, impossible on this side of eternity to determine just what Senator Quay's rights are to the honorable consideration of the American people. Over his virtues and his vices, politicians will continue to the end to contend.
It is quite generally conceded that as a soldier in the Civil War he was brave and patriotic. He was possessed of fine literary tastes and had uncommon mental powers. To his friends, it is said, he was always loyal and that his word was as good as his bond. In political life he possessed the virtue of remembering and re- warding every service rendered him. When the great opposition he had to contend with at different periods of his political career is taken into consideration, it must be acknowledged that his mas- tery over the minds of men was something of the Napoleonic type. He does not appear to have been of magnetic personality, but rather secretive and taciturn. For sixty years Cameron and Quay have managed in a masterly manner the political life of the great state of Pennsylvania. Such a period covers almost half the his- tory of our national existence.
Perdicaris Kidnapped.
On the evening of the 18th of May, a Moorish brigand with his followers entered the house of Ian Perdicaris,an American citizen at Tangier, Morocco, and carried him off to await the ransom of their prisoner by this country. The demand for a large ransom was an- swered by our Secretary of State by the dispach of three gun boats and cruiser to Tangier. Mr. Perdicaris was a New Jersey million- aire who had gone to Morocco to enjoy the oriental life which seems to have a certain fascination for Franks (western people) who have lived a considerable time in oriental countries.
Mr. Perdicaris was born at Athens, in 1840, at the American
710 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Consulate while his father was Consul General to that country. He evidently inherited some of his preferences for life about the Med- iterranean. At Tangier he had built a beautiful palace and did much to improve, it is said, the sanitary condition of the city. An Eng- lishman, Mr. Varley, a step-son was also taken at the time of the capture of Perdicaris.
By a recent treaty between England and France, England agreed to recognize the paramount influence of France in Morocco. This, no doubt, means that France will soon take a hand in the internal administration of the country just as England is doing in Egypt. In recognition of this treaty, our government appealed to France for her good offices in securing the release of Perdicaris. This pleased France, because it was an early recognition of her claims to guardianship in Morocco. However, France took some exception to the appearance of our fleet in Moroccan waters. Our government was frank to say to France that if the latter would guarantee the restoration of Perdicaris, the fleet would at once be withdrawn.
Rasouli had often been the guest of Perdicaris and was a, leader among the Berbers that constitute a class of lawless sub- jects of the Sultan. Perhaps no more than one f outh of the coun- try is under responsible government, and brigands have things very much their own way in the greater portion of Morocco.
A New Canadian Transcontinental Railway.
A bill which recently passed the Dominion Parliament practi- cally assured Canada a transcontinental line of railway extending- from Moncton, in New Brunswick, to the Pacific Coast. The cost of the road is estimated at from $165,000,000 to $185,000,000. Un- der the terms of the bill, the Canadian government assumes a lia- bility for the greater portion of the road. Some question has arisen as to the value of the road in the eastern division, that is, from the Atlantic to Winnipeg, a distance of 1875 miles. With the exception of a few points which this eastern division will touch, the entire road will be practically through a wilderness which awaits development by settlers. This eastern portion is largely covered by forests and it is hardly likely that settlers will care tO'
CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 711
clear away trees when so much land can be had in the prairies of Manitoba and the north-west.
There is no doubt, however, about the value of the road after it leaves Winnipeg on its way to the northwest, whose immense grain fields are increasing yearly with great rapidity. The present transcontinental line, the Canadian Pacific, is wholly unable to move the great crops of grain that are yearly taken from the West. This line will undoubtedly have special value to the settlers in Al- berta. From present indications it will run north of the Canadian. Pacific railroad, but it will undoubtedly contain spur lines extend- ing down to our colonies and greatly enhance the value of our pro- ducts in that section. Canada is really a new El Dorado.
Postal War on Patent Medicines. ^
For some time our government chemists have been analyzing patent medicines and other nostroms that have found so general a use throughout the country. These medicines are purported to cure any and all diseases. In recent years their advertisements have amounted in themselves to so many millions of dollars that it was evident that the sales of these medicines must have been something extraordinary. Many of these were analyzed and found to contain substances that had no healing properties for the dis ■ eases it was claimed they would cure. Many of them contained a large percentage of alcohol, which had an exhilarating effect upon the patients who mistook a temporary state of partial in- toxication for a cure.
The postoffice department has issued an order prohibiting the transportation of certain medicines through the mail, medicines that have been passed upon by government experts. The prohibi- tion of the use of the mail also extends to papers that advertise these fraudulent medicines.
The Boston Transcript, commenting on the subject, has this to say: "Now, with the necessary amount of faith, a patent medicine may accomplish a cure in one case where it will not in another. To exclude it, the postoffice department must determine that it will not, even with the required admixture of faith, effect a cure; and we do not believe that it is within the province of the post-
712 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
office department to decide which medicines are of value in par- ticular cases and which are worthless."
The postoffice department might refer this matter to Congress^ -especially to the Senate of the United State, which has recently had unusual opportunities for determining what is genuine in re- ligion and what is not. The Senate might give a full hearing on the question of patent medicines and decide where even an admix- ture of faith would not be effectual. Colorado's Troubles.
On the night of June 6th, when a squad of non-union miners at Independence, Colorado, were about to take the train for their homes at the close of their shifts in the mine, a dynamite bomb was exploded under the station platform and sent thirteen instant- ly into eternity. Next day two died from the effects of injury. At Victor, on the 7th, while a meeting was being held by non-union men and mine owners, a disturbance arose and two more non-union men were killed. This lawlessness was attributed to neglect on the part of the peace officers elected by the unionists.
It was believed that the sheriff connived at the outrages per- petrated by union men. A mob of non-union men and mine owners thereupon called at the sheriff's office and demanded his resigna- tion. Upon his refusal, a coil of rope was thrown at his feet. The threat was sufficient to bring his resignation, and a mine owner was appointed sheriff. Wholesale arrests then began. Union stores were looted and their goods thrown into the streets, though the officers put a stop to such vandalism and at once took steps to protect the stores. Bodies of unionists were escorted to the Col- orado line and ordered to keep out of the state.
Governor Peabody, who was at the St. Louis f air,hurried home to assume charge of affairs in his distracted state, which for the past two years has been the scene of one of the greatest labor un- ion straggles witnessed in this country, or anywhere else, for that matter. The Cripple Creek district has been the scene of terror, and outrages on human life have been there altogether too com- mon.
Non-union men have showed a determined effort to work and many of them have been shot down as they were returning to or
CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 713
from their work by men in ambush. The militia has been in con- stant demand and the state at times in certain districts has been in a condition bordering on anarchy.
The struggle on the part of organized labor and its contest with capital may lead to a panic of the most distressing character. Capital is naturally timid; and if it should retire from its regular channels of commerce and manufacturing, it is easy to compre- hend the appalling distress and starvation that would follow. The temper of the struggle is the most alarming, and the more so be- cause it grows rapidly in its intensity. A very large proportion of working men are non-unionists and they are apparently as bit- ter as their opponents.
No thoughtful man can contemplate the labor trouble of our country without the gravest apprehensions over the outcome. If the struggle becomes desperate, it vrill cost millions of property and rivers of blood. The horror of it all is that when once it has passed certain limits, it will be beyond the control of either side, or of both sides. Like an avalanche, it will gather irresistible force as it goes. The principle of federation is like a drag net. It will draw in the discontented and the contented alike. The organizations of labor are so complete and so well equipped for immediate action that a civil conflict may come like an avalanche without a moment's warning when all men think themselves secure.
EDITOR'S TABLE.
REST FOR THE PEACEABLE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.
I desire to call the attention of the Latter-day Saints to the words of the Prophet Moroni, who says, in speaking of his father's instructions to the ancient saints upon this continent :
Wherefore I would speak unto you that are of the Church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope, by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth, until ye shall rest with him in heaven.
This is a very significant passage. The rest here referred to is not physical rest, for there is no such thing as physical rest in the Church of Jesus Christ. Reference is made to the spiritual rest and peace which are born from a settled conviction of the truth in the minds of men. We may thus enter into the rest of the Lord today, by coming to an understanding of the truths of the Gospel. No people is more entitled to this rest — this peace of the spirit — than are members of the Church. It is true that not all are unsettled. Not all need to seek this rest, for there are many who now possess it, whose minds have become satisfied, and who have set their eyes upon the mark of their high calling with an invincible determination in their hearts to be steadfast in the truth, and who are treading in humility and righteousness the path marked out for the Saints who are complacent followers of Jesus Christ. But there are many who, not having reached this point of determined conviction, are driven about by every wind of doc- trine, thus being ill at ease, unsettled, restless. These are they who are discouraged over incidents that occur in the Church, and
EDITOR'S TABLE. 715
in the nation, and in the turmoils of men and associations. They harbor a feeling of suspicion, unrest, uncertainty. Their thoughts are disturbed, and they become excited with the least change, like one at sea who has lost his bearings.
Among this latter class are a number of young men and young women who are not thoroughly established in the knowledge of the Gospel, having not settled their minds as to the course they should pursue. They are not founded in the testimony of Jesus, and have, therefore, not entered into the rest spoken of by the proph- et. Were they convinced, their spirits would cease to be agitated by uncertainty and unrest, and they would find consolation in the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by the Latter- day Saints. They would understand that this Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. They would be satisfied, and would peace- fully pursue a straightforward course, in conformity with the law of God, swerving neither to the right nor to the left. They would not seek the street corners, listening to men with alleged new re- ligions, who are in reality without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and who pretend to have a new doctrine, one better for men to lay hold of. They would know that in the Gospel of Christ they have gems of far greater value than can be obtained from these pretended dispensers of the word of God. If they had thoroughly entered into that rest spoken of by the prophet, they would not waste their time seeking for and listening to these vague doctrines of men; nor would they be driven hither and thither, to and fro, by every wind of doctrine that blows along their way. When men are thus unsettled, uncertain, wavering, never quite satisfied, it is evident that they are still wandering, seeking for rest in the phil- osophies of men, rather than in the true Gospel of Christ, in which alone it may be found.
But what is the remedy? Where would you have people go who are unsettled in the truth? The answer is plain. They will not find satisfaction in the doctrines of men. Let them seek for it in the written word of God; let them pray to him in their secret chambers, where no human ear can hear, and in their closets petition for light; let them obey the doctrines of Jesus, and they will immediately begin to grow in the. knowledge of the truth. This course will bring peace to their souls, joy to their hearts, and a
716 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
settled conviction which no change can disturb. They may be well assured that ''he that heareth in secret will reward them openly." Let them seek for strength from the Source of all strength, and he will provide spiritual contentment, a rest which is incomparable with the physical rest that cometh after toil. All who seek have a right to, and may enter into, the rest of God, here upon the earth, from this time forth, now, today; and when earth-life is finished, they dhall also enjoy his rest in heaven.
One blessing which I desire above all blessings here upon the earth is that I may continue to enjoy this condition ; for it brings con- viction of the truth to the soul, and peace and joy and satisfaction, and banishes restlessness and every spirit of doubt. It prevents one from being subject to the cunning craftiness of men, and places one in harmony with the Spirit of God, and makes one established in the faith and doctrines of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I know that Christ is the only begotten Son of God, that he is the Redeemer of the world, that he was raised from the dead; and that as he arose, so shall every soul bearing the image of God arise from the dead and be judged according to his works, be they good or evil. In the never-ending eternities of our Father in heaven, the righteous shall rejoice, while the association and love of their families and friends shall glorify them through the ages that are to come. Joy and rest unspeakable will be their reward.
These are some of the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ which the Latter-day Saints believe. I don't wish for anything better; I desire to be satisfied in these, and to possess that peace and joy which spring from the contemplation of the opportunities and truths that are embraced in this gospel. Were I to seek for other truths, where would I go? Not to man. I must know for myself, from the source which provides these blessings and gifts; but what more would I ask for than a knowledge of the resurrec- tion, that I shall be made whole of my sins and become perfect in Christ Jesus, through obedience to his gospel? Is any doctrine more reasonable and more compatible with free agency than this? It is true that ancient philosophers taught us many morals, but where in all the philosophy of the world, have we better teachings than in the gospel of Christ which has been revealed to us, and which we hold and are made partakers of? No doctrine was ever
EDITOR'S TABLE. 717
as perfect as that of Jesus. Christ perfected every principle that had hitherto been taught by the philosophers of the world; he has revealed to us the way of salvation, from the beginning, and through all the meanders of this life to never-ending exaltation and glory in his kingdom, and to a newness of life therein. He has taught us that man is a dual being, the offspring of God, and that the body and the spirit, blended in one immortal soul,is eventually to stand in the presence of its maker, and see as it is seen, and know as it is known. Whenever the Lord speaks to man, he speaks to his immortal soul, and satisfaction and unsurpassing peace and joy come to all who listen.
Happy is the man, indeed, who can receive this soul-satisfying testimony, and be at rest, and seek for no other road to peace than by the doctrines of Jesus Christ. His gospel teaches us to love our fellow-men, to do to others as we would have others do to us, to be just, to be merciful, to be forgiving and to perform every good act calculated to enlarge the soul of man. His perfected philosophy teaches also that it is better to suffer wrong than to do' wrong, and to pray for our enemies and for those who despitefully use us. There are no other gospels or systems of philosophy that bear these marks of divinity and immortality. You may hunt the philosophies of the world in vain for any code of ethics that in- sures the peace and rest that may be found in his comprehensive, yet simple, gospel.
To the young man or the young woman who is at a loss to know what to do, among all the various teachings that are extant in the world, I would say: Search the Scriptures, seek God in prayer, and then read the doctrines that have been proclaimed by Christ in his sermon on the mount, as found in Matthew, and as reiterated to the ancient saints upon this continent (HI Nephi.) Having studied these splendid standards, and searched deeply the signifi- cance of these matchless sentiments, you may defy the philosophies of the world, or any of its ethics to produce their equal. The wisdom of men is not to be compared with them. They lead to the rest of the peaceable followers of Christ, and enable mankind to become perfect as he is perfect. No other philosopher has ever said as Jesus said, "Come unto me." From the beginning of the world until the present time, no other philosopher has ever
718 IMPROVEMENT ERA
cried unto the people such words of love, nor guaranteed and de- clared power within himself to save. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," is his call to all the sons and daughters of men.
The Latter-day Saints have answered the call, and thousands thereby have found rest and peace surpassing all understanding; and this notwithstanding the outward fiery ordeals, the turmoil and the strife, through which they have passed. They rest in the knowledge that no man could declare or teach such doctrine; it is the truth of God.
I thank our Father that I have come to a knowledge of this truth, that I know that Jesus is the Christ, in whom alone there is rest and salvation. As God lives, they are deceived who follow men and their philosophies; but happy are they who enter into the rest of the peaceable followers of Christ, obtaining a sufficient hope from this time henceforth until they shall rest with him in heaven. They depend completely upon the saving power of his Gospel, and are therefore at rest in all the tumult of mind and public agitation which beset their way.
Joseph F. Smith.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS.
On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the 5ih, 6th and 7th of June, the annual conference of the Mutual Improvement Associations of the Church was held in Salt Lake City. The first meeting was a conjoint session of the officers, held in the Assembly Hall, and was characterized by the reading of several strong papers, followed by a discussion, three subjects treated being, "Reverence for our Places of Worship," by Minnie J. Snow; "Responsibility of Officers," by Josiah E. Hickman, Utah stake; "Our Social Life," by Rose W. Bennett. After the discussion of "Reverence for Places of Wor- ship," the following resolution was unanimously passed:
Be it resolved by the officers of the Y. L. and Y. M. M. L A. in con- ference assembled:
That we will exert every effort to persuade the members of our
EDITOR'S TABLE. 719
associations to join in developing in the hearts of the young people a sentiment of reverence for sacred places and sacred things; and to unite with us in refraining from talk, laughter, and all unseemly conduct in our worshiping assemblages; and in keeping all our places of worship clean, well ventilated and attractive.
The meeting was continued in the afternoon at the large tabernacle, where a numerous congregation gathered, the main features of the exercises being an address of welcome by Elder B. H. Roberts and an address on marriage by President Joseph F. Smith. In the evening, at 7:30, another large congregation assem- bled in the Tabernacle, the speakers being Bryant S. Hinckley, May Anderson, of the Primary Association, George A. Smith, Maud May Babcock, and others.
The officers of the Young Men met in the Barratt Hall on Mon- day, at 10 o'clock a.m. and 2 p.m. There were two subjects presented at each meeting. In the forenoon, Preston D. Richards, of Granite stake, spoke on "Five Essentials for a Successful Superintendent," and Oliver Christiansen, of Juab, on "Five Essentials for a Success- ful President." The afternoon meeting was occupied by J. F. Holton, of Box Elder, on "How to Interest Non-Members of the Church in M. I. A. Work," and by George A. Smith, of Salt Lake, on "How to Secure Prompt and Regular Attendance." On Tuesday, at 10 o'clock, Joseph W. Musser, of Wasatch spoke on "Reasons Why Our Associations are Worthy of the Patronage of Parents," and David H. Morris, of St. George, on "How to Apply What We Learn." At the afternoon meeting of that day, George Q. Morris, of Salt Lake, spoke on "What Influence Has M. I. on the Morals of Our Young Men," and John A. Hendricksen, of Cache, on "Qualifications of Instructors." The subjects were well treated, and created great interest among the large number of officers present. Questions and discussion followed each subject.
It will be noticed that the subjects were somewhat diflferent from those presented at the conferences heretofore held; the ma- chinery of the organization was not specially treated, but, rather, the ethics and practice. It is intended, and it was resolved by the officers assembled, to present a manual of instruction on the ma- chinery of the work of the associations, for the benefit of all the officers, in time for the opening meetings this fall. This manual
720 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
will give the individual instructions to officers on the routine of their work, including the opening preparations, conduct of classes, general management of the associations, the Era, the Im- provement fund, the conventions to be held in September, and other instructions pertaining to the business routine of the associations.
The labors of the organizations, as far as presented, were very gratifying, both in a spiritual and financial sense. The Improvement fund was the largest this season of any [in the history of the associations, and Presideat Smith took occasion to caution the young men, on this account, not to slacken their efforts in the collection of the fund. There are 28,000 mem- bers of the asociations, and 10,000 of these had paid the annual amount required. He stated that it was a good plan to have means on hand, and that we should make every effort to collect the required amount from every member. The surplus now on hand, and which we would have in a few years, might be profitably used for many purposes, among which he mentioned the building of homes for the associations, in the largest cities of the State, such as Salt Lake, Ogden, Provo, and Logan, in which the organization could receive its members, have a library and reading room, gym- nasium, art gallery, and any other arrangement for the convenience and benefit of the members. This could not be done now, but it might be held in view, and we should, therefore, not lag in the col- lection of the fund, but be more energetic in getting all the mem- bers to pay, so that these purposes, in time, might be accom- plished. At one of the meetings, a number of the stake superin- tendents reported on the efficacy of the local missionary work. Wherever the local priesthood had given the scheme enthusiastic support, much good had resulted; and it appeared to be the con- sensus of opinion that local missionary work should be vigorously continued.
The death of Sister Helen W. Woodruff, wife of Apostle Abra- ham 0. Woodruff, in Mexico, on the last day of the conference, caused deep feelings of regret among all present, especially in view of the active part which she took in the exercises and the banquet of the officers last season. A committee was appointed, which formulated an address of condolence to Elder Woodruffs
EDITOR'S TABLE. 721
which was unanimously adopted by the assembled officers, and reads as follows:
Abraham 0. Woodruff:
Dear Brother— Having learned, with deep regret, of the death of your wife, Helen W. Woodruff, in the City of Mexico, June 7, 1904, we, your associates and the officers of the Y. M. M. I. A., in confer- ence assembled, unitedly join in expressing to you our sincere sympathy in the bereavement which takes from you a loving companion and wife, from your children a devoted mother, from us a friend- and energetic worker. We express to you and to your children the sympathy of our hearts in the irreparable loss which you and they and all of us have sustained, and pray God to console and comfort you by the presence and power of his Holy Spirit.
Taken altogether, the conference was a pronounced success in many ways, and will be a great impetus in the cause of Mutual Improvement for the coming season. Many of the papers which were presented, as well as the remarks which were made, were of an interesting character, and will be printed, from time to time, in the pages of the Era, for the benefit of the officers who were not present, and for the reading public generally.
The reception of the general boards, given to the officers of the association at the palatial home of Sister Elizabeth C. McCune, on Tuesday evening, was one of the richest treats of the confer- ence, and was a success in every way.
A TALK TO GRADUATES.
During the month just past there have been many hundreds of young men and young women graduated from the eighth grade of the public schools, besides many from the high schools, from the colleges and the universities. Superintendent of Schools A. C. Nel- son informs us that there are seven hundred more graduates this year than last,from the eighth grade. The Improvement Era joins in con- gratulating them upon the completion of their courses of study, and upon the attainment of the progress for which they have been laboring.
722 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Two points, in passing, we desire to impress upon graduates who may read these lines. First, see that you retain fresh in memory the knowledge received, by applying it, as far as possible, in your daily lives. Second, gather additional truths as you go on. It is becoming more and more necessary that young men and young women who go out into the world should equip them- selves with a solid foundation of knowledge, with a good training. As they leave the home, where they have had the care of their parents and guardians, they will discover that it is a precious quali- fication to have a good education. Business competition in these days almost compels a man to be well trained before he can suc- ceed in any calling. If he is not well educated, he has entered into the walks of life very poorly equipped to compete with his fellows. He who has the most knowledge and the best business and moral training will succeed, while the man who lacks these qualifications will be in great danger of being brushed aside by the more competent.
Hence the need you have of useful knowledge. Another need for it is that training broadens the mind, and it may be made your servant in the formation of a good character.
Moreover, if it has been good to pass through the discipline so far, and to accumulate the knowledge which you now possess, it is better that you continue further on. Not only should you carefully apply the knowledge which you now have, but you should determine to gain more. It should be your hope and ambition to finish the course of the high school. You need this addition to your knowledge, that you may broaden your capacities.
You will find, as the days of responsibility come, that incom- pleteness is a handicap always. The boy or the girl who has not thoroughly prepared himself or herself for the opportunities that are surely coming to them, at least once in their lifetimes, will feel sorry in days to come. Opportunities do not wait. It is the boy and the girl who are prepared to grasp them and to take advantage of them that will succeed. You can do no better than to get ready to make profit of Opportunity when she comes. It is safe to say that no person of good character, honest, industrious, and willing, who has thoroughly prepared himself, has ever been known to fail in obtaining a chance to seize Opportunity. He has
EDITOR'S TABLE. 723
always been able to find a place to apply his learning and talents. On the other hand, many men, and women too for that matter, who have not prepared themselves, either through failure to grasp the need of it when they had the chance, or from financial inability, have often missed splendid opportunities because they were not prepared; they could not fill the requirements.
It is better for a young man to wait a few days or years longer, and make thorough preparation, lay a broad, strong foun- dation, than to rush into the business world to take upon him- self responsibilities too early. Obligations and trusts will come in due time. Let him go slowly and surely. It is a sad thing to see a young man who is really incapable take upon himself too early the strict requirements of business life. It is a joy to meet a young old man, but it is distressing to meet an old young man. Do not be too anxious to enter into life's vocations and to take up- on you arduous tasks, without due preparation. Rather seek to apply what knowledge you have, as you go on, and determine that you will obtain more, that you will attend the high school, and that you will not fail, if opportunity offers, to attend the university.
Remember, also, that knowledge is of little use unless it is applied. You can easily tell what the interest on one hundred dollars, for one year, at six per cent is. That is theory; but of what value is that knowledge to you unless you can put the facts into practice? Get the hundred dollars and place it where it will bring you the six per cent. You have certain theories as to character: Thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not lie; thou shalt not bear false witness. Go put them into practice. Let your theories, by applying them to practice, bear the fruits of a noble character. The trouble with people generally is not that they have too much education, but that too little of it is applied by those who have it. We have an abundance of theories, but only too little practice.
It is your duty now to use the spare moments of your vaca- tion in the most profitable way, to economize your time, and see to it that as few as possible of the precious moments of your youth are wasted in the pursuit of things having little or no value. Do not consider yourselves closed to learning new truths. Progress is eternal, and the knowledge that you have obtained in
724 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
school is but a small beginning. Let your graduation be a real commencement, and not a closing.
You go out into the world today prepared only to learn more, and you will poorly satisfy your friends and teachers, much less your own souls, if you fail in that continued progress, which it is decreed shall be the heritage of the intelligence within you, through all the days of time, and the endless eons of eternity.
You must make your field broader, and you must develop more skill, and greater ability to grasp the meaning of life and to deal with its commonplace and cold afliairs. How? By commenc- ing now on a new and higher course. It is true that you stand well. You have been encouraged by your teachers, and you have accomplished things of which they and your parents are proud, and that are an inspiration to other boys and girls; but it behooves you still to remember that you are only beginners, that you have much yet to learn, both in and out ol school. When you have gathered as much knowledge as possible in the institutions of learning, there still remains the experiences of life to perfect your characters, as it was intended they should be enlarged and perfected when you were permitted by the Lord to come upon the earth. Above all, do not forget your religion; fight hard, but be merciful, honest and just.
GOVERNOR HARDING.
In this number the Era presents the portrait of Governor Harding whose biography, and especially his connection with the local militia, has heretofore appeared in these columns. The Era has now succeeded in preserving a complete list of portraits of the governors of Utah.
RADIUM.
Through the kindness of Dr. James E. Talmage, the Era is enabled to present in this number an exceedingly attractive and comprehensive article on radium, the new and wonderful discovery in which the world of science is just now so intensely interested.
EDITORS TABLE. 725
The history of this element is given, and the reader is made fam- iliar with its nature, as far as known. The experiments mentioned by Dr. Talmage are especially interesting, and his own experience added makes his paper of special value to our readers who, we are certain, will greatly appreciate this distinguished treat. To give room for this paper, and other articles, and at the same time pre- sent a variety of matter and the usual departments, sixteen pages extra are added to this number of the Era
TWO BOOKS ON UTAH. ^'The Mountain Empire— Utah.''
The Era has received from Blair and Sloan, publishers, Salt Lake City, Utah, The Mountain Empire — Utah, containing a brief and authen- tic presentation of material conditions in Utah; also facts and figures, from authentic sources, of special interest to those who are seeking a more desirable place in which to make a home. It shows the opportunity that Utah offers for persons who have means which they desire safely and profitably to invest in business. It gives something of the settle- ment and development of the State, and its outlook and promise of future greatness; and contains, in a very small space, a wealth of infor- mation on its mining and agricultural resources, as well as a glimpse of the social, financial and educational conditions obtaining. The book con- sists of 142 pages, has 70 illustrations of men and scenes in Utah, and is designed for distribution at the St. Louis exposition. Copies are also on hand for general sale by the publishers; price 50 cents.
''Utah As It Is."
This is a new volume of 639 pages, recently issued by Hon. S. A. Kenner, author and writer. The volume contains a large number of illustrations and biographical sketches of leading men, with useful and well classified information about the resources of Utah at the present time, together with a readable story of its past. The book is well worth consideration, with its many items of importance and interest in Utah history, social, political and religious — facts which all should know, but which are not always handy for every body to find. The author's well known humor breaks out in the final chapter of the book, in which he prints his autobiography, almost worth the price of the book, to lov- ers of humor. Salt Lake City, Utah; price, $2.00.
IN LIGHTER MOOD.
Chauncy M. Depew is quoted in Harper's Weekly as saying:
"Whenever 1 hear the accusation that my speeches are too long, I am reminded of the story told by Horace Porter. It was about an Irish- man who went into an East Side barber shop to get his hair cut. He had been imbibing pretty freely, and went to sleep as soon as he got fairly settled in the chair. The barber, a son of Italy, began his work, but presently a fight in the street caused him to look around, and in the act he clipped off the lower part of one of the Irishman's ears. See- ing what he had done, he set up a terrible howling and awoke his cus- tomer.
" 'Phwat's th' matter?' demanded Pat.
" 'Matter? Sapriste! I cut off part of your ear,' wailed the barber.
" 'An' phwat if ye did? he growled. 'It was too long, anyway. G'wan wid yer job.' "
Nat Goodwin, the actor, tells a story of an encounter with a lunatic on a country road, which makes one's hair stand on end:
"I was playing in Austin, Texas, at the time, and one day strolled out along a country road which skirted the river. I had walked probably half a mile, when suddenly a man scrambled from the bushes near the water and advanced near toward me. I saw at a glance that he was crazy. His clothes were torn, his face flushed, and his eyes glittered with the fire of insanity. In one hand he grasped a huge knife.
"I confess I was dismayed. The lunatic meant mischief, and there I was without a weapon of any kind to defend myself. There was not a house or human being aside from the maniac in sight. There was only one thing to do, and I did it without loss of time. I took to my heels and sprinted down the road. The lunatic shrieking with fury, darted after me. Before we had gone two hundred yards I knew that I was no match for him as a runner. Just as I made this discovery I tripped over a stone and sprawled full length in the dust. The next moment I could feel the lunatic's hot breath upon my face. Something touched my shoul- der. I thought it was that horrible knife. It wasn't. It was the mani- ac's hand. Springing to his feet, he darted away and called out airily:
'"Tag! You're it!'"
OUR WORK.
M. I. A. WORK IN ENGLAND.
From the Millennial Star of May 12, it is learned that improvement work in England is active for good:
The Mutual Improvement association of the Birmingham branch gave a social in the Handsworth Assembly rooms, on the evening of April 26th. An enjoyable musical program was rendered and light re- freshments were served. The affair was greatly appreciated by the Saints and numerous friends.
The Mutual Improvement association of Bradford has an enrollment of ninety-three members, and an average attendance of fifty-six. These figures make it by far the largest association in the mission field, and the officers are to be congratulated on the character of the work that is be- ing done, and on the interest that is evinced by the members, no less than on the numerical strength of their organization.
In the Millennial Star of May 19, there is an editorial on the labors of the auxiliary associations in England, in which the Mutual Improve- ment Associations receive due credit for the good work which they have performed. These associations have been firmly established, and last year witnessed a wonderful growth in Great Britain, in both the Sunday schools and Mutual Improvement associations. New schools and associations were organized, and those already founded increased greatly in numbers and in interest. "They have proved an inestimable blessing to the children and to the young people of the Latter-day Saints, They have afforded to them the same opportunities for development along spiritual lines that are to be obtained in the stakes of Zion. They have put them more closely in touch with the great body of the Church, and have given them personal responsibilities, when, in time past, they were wont only to depend upon others. Especially is the usefulness of these auxiliary organizations shown where local Saints are chosen as presiding officers or as permanent teachers." The Star encourages the officers and members of the associations to continue their efforts during the summer, and remarks that where the auxiliary organizations are
728 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
kept active there will be no trouble in securing a good attendance for the regular Sunday services.
A Mutual Improvement Association was organized at Sunderland, on the 11th inst., with an enrollment of twenty-two members. A renewed interest is being taken in the Gospel in this district. Street and hall meetings are being well attended, and a number of honest souls are about ready for baptism. The newspapers of Sunderland have given the Elders quite fair notices of their work. — Millennial Star, May 26.
FLOURISHING NORWEGIAN M. I. A.
The cause of Mutual Improvement is prospering, not only in Zion but abroad also. In Skandinaviens Stjerne, of May 12, the presidency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association of Christiania, Norway, — Christian Johannesen, Frithjof E. Weberg and Alfred Kaal- stad, — give a very encouraging report of the labors of their association, in that place. The organization has existed for twenty-five years and has at present a membership of fifty, with the usual oflScers. It issues a monthly paper entitled Knowledge and Light. During the season past, one hundred and twenty-eight subjects of a religious and miscellaneous character were presented, besides music and songs, answers to ques- tions, etc. Thirty-five meetings were held, eleven of which were con- joint meetings with the Young Ladies' Association, besides two special and five business meetings. They have a library of eighty-two volumes which have been loaned during the year, with an income of thirty kroner. The entire assets of the association is four hundred kroner. On the 7th of May, 1902, it was decided that the Christiania association should sustain a local, special missionary for two or three years in the field, which has been done at a cost of several hundred kroner, from a special fund for that purpose, to the great pleasure and blessing of the members, and the advancement of the Church. The experiment was so successful that this is still continued.
One of the characteristics of the association is the preparation of a local chronology and history of the Church, which is carefully recorded by fifteen members of the association selected for that purpose. The committee also keep a scrap-book of all the articles that are inserted in the daily papers, magazines, etc., both for and against the Latter-day Saints. These labors have been carried on systematically for three years, and doubtless, if continued, will be of great historical value to the Church,
OUR WORK. 729
The association has well ordered and comfortable rooms, where the members often gather for an evening in reading, conversation and songs. It is entitled "The Young People's Annex," and has become a social gath- ering place for them. The association has chosen as its motto, "The glory of God is intelligence," and they bid fair to gather enough of this intelli- gence to steer their course through the labyrinths of life, in a way that will be a credit to themselves, and that will render valued assistance to the builders of the dispensation of the fulness of times.
NEW SUPERINTENDENT CHOSEN-
At the quarterly conference of the San Juan Stake, held in Bluff, on the 7th and 8th of May, Fletcher B. Hammond was chosen and set apart as superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations of that stake. He was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the death of former superintendent Hans Joseph Nielson.
EVENTS OF THE MONTH.
Local— May, 1904.
Visit of Maud Adams. — This popular actress appeared in Salt Lake City, on the 28rd, in "The Little Minister." She is a native of Salt Lake City, and was given a pretty testimonial, in the shape of a silver loving cup, by her friends of the days of old. Governor Wells made the pre- sentation speech, to which the graceful actress responded. For three nights the theatre was crowded in her honor.
Water-Works for Heber City. — The citizens of Heber met in mass-meeting on the 24th to consider the water-works question, and, with a large majority, passed a resolution to bond the city for the pur- pose of establishing a water system from a spring in the mountains a mile and a half east of Heber to Main Street. The necessary steps will doubtless be taken by the legally constituted authorities, and it looks now as if Heber would have a water system. Other towns similarly sit- uated should follow the example. Much of the ill health of the settle- ments would be avoided if there were proper provisions made for water.
Condemning the "Mormons." — The religious combinations of the land still persist in condemning the Latter-day Saints, and in making sensational resolutions destined to create prejudice against "the iniquity of 'Mormonisra,' " as they call it. Thus, on the 24th, the Methodists' general Conference at Los Angeles, California, passed a resolution asking Congress to "enact a constitutional amendment that will make impossible certain practices of 'Mormonism' in any part of the United States or in any country subject to its jurisdiction." On the same day the Bap- tists, in Cleveland, Ohio, passed resolutions against "the un-American and lawless attitude of the 'Mormon' hierarchy," and on the same day, at Buffalo, N. Y., the Presbyterian general convention passed a resolution heartily commending the "work of the Christian women of all denomina- tions in carrying on such a successful campaign against the iniquity of 'Mormonism.' " On the 26th, at Dallas, Texas, the general assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church resolved that ministers and laymen
EVENTS OF THE MONTH. 731
"use all their influence against the spread of the doctrine of the 'Mor- mon' Church," On the 25th, at the close of the Biennial Convention of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, St. Louis, a resolution was passed, extending the thanks of that organization "to the United States Senate, for the investigation into an organization which controls its ad- herents morally, politically and commercially," and condemning the "systematic effort of that body to undermine the Christian standards of marriage, and to dominate state and national legislation, "and further urging upon the senators to take such legislative action as will "prevent the recognition of a power which undermines moral standards, and advo- cates the continuance of practices which are contrary to the principles of the American people." Mrs. C. E. Allen, of Utah, made a bitter speech supporting the resolution, and Miss Alice Reynolds, of Utah, the only "Mormon" woman in the convention, tried to make a response, saying: "If the resolution relates to the laws of my country and my people, there is another side you must hear. The 'Mormon' women stand for purity;" (here her ringing tones were heard to the farthest corners of the hall) "to find a 'Mormon' woman who does not, would be as difficult to dis- cover as the proverbial 'needle in the haystack.' As a Democrat, I have voted in freedom; so have most of my people. Look into things, and get the facts before you attempt to pass such a resolution as this. The 'Mormon' women" — but here she was choked off, in the middle- of a sen- tence, on the score that the discussion was out of order.
Notwithstanding all these resolutions, the Latter-day Saints are pursuing the even tenor of their way, training their children in the love of Christ and the gospel, and seeking the welfare of all, preaching the gospel in humility, and bearing testimony to the mission of Christ in all the world. They appear to be the only really Christian organization in the world; the absurdity of attacking the virtue, loyalty, and social life of the Latter-day Saints, can only be thoroughly understood by people familiar with the common mode of Christian life, and with that of the Saints.
Arrival of 29th Infantry.— On the morning of the 25th, the Twenty-ninth Infantry, under Col. Benjamin F. Lockwood, arrived in Salt Lake City, and the Colonel took command of the military post at Ft. Douglas. Among the officers are Major Thurston and Captain Briant S. Wells and Lieutenant W. H. Point, all of whom are well known in Salt Lake City, the latter two being at home here. Companies K and M went straight through to Price, whence they will march to Ft. Duchesne, under command of Captains Robert H. Allen and Charles H. Paine and others.
732 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Death of Adolph Jessen and Mr. Allred. — On the 26th, Adolph Jessen of Salt Lake, and his assistant, Hugh Allred, of Spring City, came to their death, near Bingham, while surveying a placer claim, their steel tape which they held while measuring coming in contact with a live wire of the Telluride Power Co., killing both men instantly. Mr. Jessen was fifty-three years of age, a native of Germany, a brilliant and well known engineer, and an estimable citizen, having been engaged twenty-four years in Salt Lake City and in the State, in mining, newspaper work, and engineering. He was well-respected in every walk of life, and his death> under the conditions, is a great public calamity. Hugh Allred was an estimable young man, twenty-nine years of age, respected in his home •city. He leaves a wife and one child.
The Brigham Young University. — The report of the presidency •of the Brigham Young University, for the 28th academic year ending May 26th, shows that the University was in session thirty-eight weeks; with an enrollment in the preparatory school of two hundred and thirty- five; high school and normal school, including training school and kin- dergarten, seven hundred and fifty- three; commercial school, one hun- dred and fifty-nine; music school, three hundred and one; the college, sixty-three; making an enrollment at Prove of one thousand two hun- dred and ten. The enrollment at the Beaver Branch was one hundred and ninety-one, making a grand total of one thousand four hundred and ■one students. There are forty-seven regular salaried teachers, with three on part salary. The faculty at Beaver consists of seven regular teachers. There were seven hundred and fifteen bound volumes added to the library during the year. At least one of its professors has been abroad studying, and for the year to come Professor N. L. Nelson, of this university, will go abroad.
Utah Naval Students at Annapolis. — On the 31st, the second •and third classes of the mid-ship men of the naval academy at Annapolis were notified of their formal standing. Three Utah boys stand well in the ranks of their classes, viz., William C. Barker, of Ogden, stands sec- ond in the third class; Stephen W. Wallace, of Salt Lake, stands ninth in the same class; Robert L. Irvine, of Salt Lake, is twenty-fifth in the second class.
Vale, 42 Islington.— Since March, 1855, when Apostle Franklin D. Richards first rented 42 Islington, Liverpool, the headquarters of the British and European missions have continued in that old place until the -early part of May, this year, when the headquarters of the British and JEuropean mission were removed and changed to 10 Holly Road, Fairfield,
EVENTS OF THE MONTH. 73a
Liverpool, to which latter address all mail for the Liverpool office should hereafter be addressed. The Millennial Star of May 5 notices the change, and calls attention to the many historical reminiscences connected with old 42, and closes with these words: "It has served its period of use- fulness. The work accomplished beneath its roof is recorded in books that time cannot destroy; and we leave it with thankful hearts for the many blessings with which the Lord has blessed His Church, for the thousands that have accepted the gospel plan of life and salvation, for all the good that he has permitted to be done, and for the happy mem- ories that, in the minds of the Saints, will always be associated with 42 Islington." Walter M. Woolfe has been i-eleased from his labors in th& Liverpool office, and with the Star of May 26, Nephi Anderson, well known to readers of the Era, makes his initial bow to the public as asso- ciate editor.
New Bishops Ordained. — In Salt Lake City, on Sunday, 15th, Edwin F. Parry was chosen and sustained bishop of the Sixteenth Ward,^ vice George R. Emery, who is new in the presidency of the Salt Lake Stake. Elder Parry chose as his counselors, Alfred Winn and Alfred Gardiner. In Salt Lake City, on Sunday, 22nd, at a meeting held in the Twelfth Ward, Thomas A. Williams was chosen and sustained bishop of the ward, vice Hyrum B. Clawson, resigned. Elders Charles W. Hardy and Heber K. Aldous were chosen counselors by Bishop Williams, in Spring City, on Sunday, 29th, the bishopric of that ward was organized with Lauritz 0. Larsen, bishop, and John S. Bain and Henry A. Acord, counselors.
Died. — In the Twenty-seventh Ward, Salt Lake City, 18th, Caroline D. West, a Relief Society Worker. In Ferron, Emery Co., 19th, William Taylor, first bishop of Ferron. In Salt Lake City, 19th, Joseph Clark Stickley, a High Priest in the Granite Stake; born April 3, 1819, in West Andover, Miss.; joined the Church in 1842; came to Utah in pioneer days,, and for some twenty years was president of the High Priests' Quorum in the Utah Stake of Zion. In Twin Groves, Fremont Co., Idaho, Sunday, 22nd, Catherine N. Barlow, a pioneer of Washington Co., Utah; born Manchester, England, March 17, 1827. In Salt Lake City, 24th, Phoebe Wolstenholm; born London, 1821; came to Utah in 1854; a hospitable and kind hearted woman of strong character. In Farmers' Ward, this city, 24th, Annie Pulsipher Jones, a pioneer of Cache Co., born Shrop- shire, England, 1823. In Logan, Peter Afflick, Thursday, 26th; one of the oldest residents of that city; born Oct. 26, 1834. In Weston, Idaho, Friday,
734 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
27th, John H. Clark, bishop of that ward; born seventy years ago; a pio- neer of Cache and Bear Lake valleys. In Mendon, Saturday, 28th, Henry Hughes, formerly bishop of that ward; born in Wales, fifty years ago. In Sugar House, Granite Stake, 30th, Charles G. Walker; one of the guards in Echo Canyon during the Johnston army trouble, and a Black Hawk veteran. In Salt Lake City, Monday, 30th, Harriet A. Hardy, wife of the late Bishop Leonard W. Hardy; born Lunenburg, Mass., March 9, 1828; came to Utah in 1850.
Death op Joseph N. Haywood. — While working in his field, at Thatcher, Arizona, Joseph N. Haywood was accidentally killed, on Fri- day, May 10. He is said to have been the first child born in Nephi, Utah, having been born on the 18th of November, 1851. He filled a mission to New Zealand in 1888; acted as stake clerk for some time, and for four years was bishop of the Alpine Ward of the St. Johns Stake of Zion.
New President Chosen.— On the 16th, William W. Riter was chosen president of the Board of Regents of the University of Utah, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Hon. James Sharp.
New Forest Reserve. — By proclamation of President Theodore Roosevelt, on the 26th of May, 1904, the Salt Lake forest reserves were created, covering such parts of the Wasatch Mountains from City Creek Canyon to below the Cottonwoods, as have not heretofore been selected for mineral, agricultural or grazing purposes. This makes the eighth re- serve in Utah.
Local — June, 1904.
New Bishop Chosen. — On Thursday, June 2, Charles P. Margetts was sustained as bishop of the Seventh Ward, Salt Lake City, Pioneer Stake, vice William Thorn, who resigned on account of his age and feeble health, after a service of thirty- four years. Elder Margetts chose as his counselors Elders Alfred T. Thorn and Laurentius Dahlquist.
Democratic State Convention. — There were five hundred and twenty-four delegates appointed from the twenty-seven counties of Utah to meet for the purpose of electing six delegates and six alternates to the National Democratic Convention at St. Louis. Nearly all met in the Salt Lake Theatre, on the 9th, and the following were chosen: Member National Committee. — David Henry Peery, Salt Lake. National Dele- gates.— Frank J. Cannon,