Events of the Month

EVENTS OF THE MONTH. BY THOMAS HULL, SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL BOARD OF Y. M. M. L A.

May 20th, 1899: Admiral Dewey sails from Manila for the United States. * * * Word is just received at Victoria, British Columbia, that the main portion of Dawson City, in the Klondike region was destroyed by fire on April 26th, causing a loss of $4,000,000. 23rd: At the meeting of the National Congregational Home Missionary Society, which is in annual session at Hartford, Conn., the Rev. Clarence T. Brown, of Salt Lake reports conditions of missionary work in Utah. Among other things he says: "Christian work in the rural districts of Utah was said to have some points of likeness to work in the foreign fields," said Mr. Brown. "It is like it in this respect at least, that only after a long period can we expect to have sufficient numbers in an agricultural community to make an ordinary church. No doubt the very best medicine for Mormonism would be an active and attractive Christian church in each community, but it is extremely difficult to give them this concrete illustration of what evangelical Christianity can do, because there are so few Gentile Christians, and so few Mormon converts that it is very hard to form churches of any considerable numbers, and it does take more or less quantity as well as quality to make an attractive church."

He also says: "There is a work for the law to accomplish, and for the public schools, and the press, but the leaven that really is to change the inmost evil of it all must be the pure gospel."

24th: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Taylor, announced this afternoon that he had selected as the site on which to locate the new public building at Salt Lake, the lot on the corner of Main and Market streets, commonly known as the Walker site.

27th: President Lorenzo Snow and party arrived in Salt Lake City from their trip to St. George, in excellent health and spirits.

718 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

28th: The third General Conference of Y. M. and Y. L. M. I. Asso- ciations convenes in the Tabernacle at Salt Lake City. * * * Admiral Schley, the hero of Santiago bay arrives in Salt Lake City and visits the various points of interest. He speaks in the Tabernacle. 29th: President McKinley issues an order releasing about 4000 of- ficers from the operations of the Civil Service rules. * * Major H Richard W. Young is appointed a member of the Supreme Court in Manila. 31st: The Rev. H. B. Steelman, pastor of the First Bpatist Church in Salt Lake City, makes a characteristic "Christian" minister's speech, filled with falsehood, at the second session of the sixty-seventh anni- versary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, in San Francisco. He spoke in part as follows:

"At no time has Mormonism been in the prosperous condition it is today, and it is growing more and more aggressive. There are at present 460 missionaries in the field, and during the past year they held 71,000 meetings, gave away 167,000 tracts and 143,000 books. In that time-- — they have baptized 1225 people. They are everywhere in our colleges, in our universities all over the country. "They are preaching a veiled doctrine, and when the veil is lifted then it is found that it is not God but Adam they are preaching. What man is, God once was. Adam is the only father with which the world, will have anything to do. Jesus Christ was a polygamist and what men ought to be. That is the teaching that they are pushing with prodigious energy. "I predict that if it makes the same progress in the next five years as it has in the past five years, Mormonism will have secured the balance of power in these States and become a controlling factor in Congress. "You ask if polygamy is being taught. Yes, polygamy is being taught today with as much aggressiveness as it was before the mani- festo of 1890. As it was when Utah begged to be admitted as a State. "The president of one of the leading Mormon societies made the state- ment a few months ago in the Logan temple that the women of Utah, as the result of polygamy, were out-Heroding Herod in order to keep out of prison. I would not make this statement did I not believe it to to be true. But I must add, and I thank God I am able to do so, that there are pure- and noble women among them. Women living in polygamy are carried away and swayed by their feelings and the hidden poison in their false beliefs. "As to the fight against B. H. Roberts to prevent him from being seated in Congress, I want to say that it is not a religious fight. No, it is not a religious fight. It is a fight against a man who is living pub- licly as a polygamist, living in open violation of the law of the country. He has no right to debauch women, to seduce women, to ruin the queens of our homes. All the people of this country should arise as one and in- sist upon him being turned out. "The question is asked if the Christians of Utah ever succeeded in.

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converting members of the Mormon belief. I want to say to the Amer- ican people in answer: No: the gospel has never been taken to the Mormons. "Here is work for missionaries. Send them out, help them to stamp out this poisonous belief from our country." * * * The tenth annual session of the Trans-Mississippi Commercial Congress opened in Wichita, Kansas.

June 1st: The birthday of President Brigham Young is celebrated at Saltair. A very large number of people attend. * * * A sharp shock of earthquake is felt throughout northern and central California. 2nd: The westbound Union Pacific fast mail train is held up by bandits near Rock Creek, Wyoming, and the express car dynamited and robbed. About $45,000 is supposed to have been secured by the robbers. 4th: President Loubet, of the French Republic, is grossly insulted by the populace while attending the races at Auleuil. * * * Diplo- matic relations with Spain, broken off April 21, 1898, were formally re- sumed at 11 o'clock today, when President McKinley greeted Due D'Arcos, the newly-accredited Minister to the United States in the blue parlor of the White House. 5th: The sharpest frost known for many years, so late in June, visits northern Utah and Idaho, and destroys fruits and tender vegetables. 6th: General Maximo Gomez issues a farewell Manifesto to the Cuban people in which he urges unity of all parties and earnest work in assisting the Americans in their work of organizing a free government for Cuba. 8th: In a cloudburst in Texas twenty-five people are reported to have perished, and in a landslide at Ross Hollow, near Little Rock, Ar- . kansas twenty-eight are killed. 11th: President Loubet, who was, a few days ago, treated to an in- sulting demonstration while attending races in Paris, was today given an ovation by the populace. 12th: Frederick Kesler for forty-three years Bishop of the 16tb Ward, Salt Lake City, dies at his residence in said ward. * * * ^ disastrous fire occurs in Fairview, Sanpete Co., and destroys several build- ings, causing great damage. * * * a. frightful cyclone sweeps over

Northwestern Wisconsin. The town of New Richmond is practically wiped out of existence. At least one hundred persons are killed and two hund- red injured. Several other towns are also visited and great damage done. * * * The French Cabinet tenders its resignation to President Loubet and it is accepted. 13th: At the Conference of the Salt Lake Stake of the Church of

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Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, the following resolution is adopted: Resolved, That it is the sense of this conference that the leading authorities of this stake of Zion, and the members thereof, use the utmost diligence to sustain and maintain and continue the existence of the Latter-day Saints' college in Salt Lake City.

Prof. Stephens volunteered to take charge of the musical department free of all charge. The continuance of the college is therefore assured.

• • *     A great battle is fought with the Filipinos at Las Pinas, Luzon.
    

  After an engagement lasting all day the insurgents were only driven back five hundred yards. * * * ^ rumor, believed to be reliable, is current in Manila that General Luna and his aide-de-camp, Lieut. Ramon, who had gone to Filipino headquarters to confer with Aguinaldo, got into an altercation with the captain of the guard and were both killed by the guard. 15th: Francis Armstrong, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners

of Salt Lake County and ex-Mayor of Salt Lake City, dies at his residence in Salt Lake City. * * * Richard P. Bland, Congressman from Missouri dies at his home in Lebanon, Mo. * * * The War department receives telegram from Gen. Otis reporting that the Filipino loss at Las Pinas was over 4000 in killed, wounded and captured. 16th: A report is circulated in London, England, that Aguinaldo has been murdered by friends of General Luna.