---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 6
number: 8
published: 1903-06
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: "Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, \"Editor's Table,\" *Improvement Era* 6, no. 8 (June 1903): 622–635."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0608unse
  transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers.
  identifier: improvementera0608unse
start_page: 622
end_page: 635
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1903-06)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0608unse
  publication_year: 1903
  note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1903, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Editor's Table

<!-- page:622 -->

EDITOR'S TABLE.


               THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.

        It was a hundred years,   on April 30, 1903, since the purchase
of the Louisiana territory was consummated at Paris. It is the
largest and most important real estate deal that this country ever
made.      It comprised the great central section of the United States

lying between the Mississippi river on the east, and the        Rocky
mountains on the west, and extending from the Gulf of Mexico on
the south to British America on the north.   From the mouth of
the great river to the extreme northwestern point, its length is about
two thousand miles; its width, at the extreme north, about one thou-
sand miles, from which it narrows to the narrowest portion what—
is now the State of Louisiana.   Texas then belonged to Mexico,
and California, the country west of the Rockies, was a possession
of Spain.  Louisiana first belonged to France, but in 1765 it was
ceded to Spain, and later by secret treaty the Spanish government
transferred Louisiana back to the French.      This displeased the
Americans who were trying to negotiate with Spain for the use of
the mouth of the Mississippi for an outlet for their products. They
regarded France as more formidable than Spain, and, hence, were
greatly distressed at the change. But on account of looking after
the revolt in Haiti, the French had not taken possession at New
Orleans.    President Jefferson took advantage of this, and
tried     to   purchase of Napoleon the east  bank of the Miss-
issippi   river to its mouth. Our minister in Paris, Mr. Robert
Livingston was unable to do this. Then the President sent James
Monroe, a special envoy with authority to treat at Paris and Ma-
drid, and to buy New Orleans and the river outlet for two million

<!-- page:623 -->

EDITORS TABLE.                           623

dollars.     Suddenly Napoleon proposed through his finance minister
that the United States should purchase not only New Orleans but
the whole French territory, including almost a million square miles
of country, most of which had never been seen by white man.
     Commissioners Livingston and Monroe had no authority to
buy, there was no quick         way to communicate with this country,
Napoleon was anxious to close the deal, and so Mr. Livingston of
New York and Mr. Monroe of Virginia took it upon themselves to
close the bargain, and they signed the treaty, which doubled the
domain of the United States. About fifteen million dollars was
the price to be paid by this country as a consideration for the ces-
sion of the Louisiana tract.  Napoleon doubtless had broad enough
vision^ to see that the American pioneer would at last take the
country, and it was therefore best for him to dispose of all his in-
terests peaceably and get this        sum of money which now (in view
of the fact that its assessed valuation alone amounts to nearly
seven      billion   dollars, with a population of fifteen million people)

seems a paltry sum, but which was a vast sum then.        It was

statesmanship on Napoleon's part, and broad vision that actuated
our commissioners when they made the bargain and signed the
-treaty, April 30, 1803.
      The news of the purchase reached the President July             1,   of
that year, and that was only four days before the expedition of
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark started on
its notable tour of exploration of         the great region, under the pat-
ronage and arrangement of the President.             The summer of 1805
found the expedition safely descending the Columbia, the winter
having been spent with the Mandan Indians, on the Missouri, in
what is now Dakota. The Portland, Oregon, exposition to be held
in 1905 will celebrate the 100th anniversary of this remarkable
exploration of 1804-5-6, and one of the most notable achievements
in the pioneer history of the world.
      Three tiers of states have been carved out of this territory:
first, Louisiana (1812), Missouri (1821), Arkansas (1836), Iowa

 (1846), Minnesota (1858); second, Kansas (1861), Nebraska (1867),
 North and South Dakota (1889), Oklahoma and Indian Territory;
 third, eastern Colorado         (1876),   Montana   (1889), and   Wyoming
 (1890).      It has an area of 875,025 square miles, or 560,016,000

<!-- page:624 -->

624                           IMPROVEMENT ERA.

acres of land, and is four times greater than the German empire,
and larger than Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal
and Italy combined.           It includes          the most important wheat and
corn areas in the world, while               its   southern part is noted for              its

cotton and other products.                This wilderness, which was bought by
Jefferson and his agents and traversed by Lewis and Clark, finds
outlet for its commerce in scores of thousands of miles of railroad
lines;   and over fifteen million people have mines, farms, schools,
factories and homes therein.
       Its development has mostly taken place since the close of                           the
civil war.      The whole section is prosperous, its agricultural pros-
pects were never brighter.                It is the   one hundreth anniversary of
this purchase that is to        be celebrated in             St. Louis, in    1904.        The
grounds and the buildings were dedicated on April 30, this year,
in the    presence of President Roosevelt, Ex-President Cleveland,
and the diplomats of Spain, France, and other countries.                                   The
governors of the states were also there, including Governor Wells
of Utah.       It is well   known that Utah has appropriated $50,000
for this exposition, and $10,000 for the Portland exposition in
1905.      As the pioneers of Utah early crossed the great west and
raised the stars and stripes in a foreign land across the borders of
the Purchase, and as the Church had some of                          its   most wonderful
experiences       therein,     it    is    specially    fitting      that    our citizens
join     the    celebration.         Accompanying              the    Utah     delegation
was      President    Joseph F. Smith, who dedicated                         the    site    of
the Utah building after             it    had been selected by the governor.
The Utah delegation was well                       treated    by the people of             St.
Louis.      This state       will   doubtless        make a showing            in   mineral
and other resources, that will be commensurate with its importance
as a prosperous western commonwealth.
       As to the exposition in St. Louis, it will be one of the greatest
if not the     greatest ever held in this country.               A comparison of the
space covered in this fair and in other world's fairs is interesting.
The first world's fair in London had under cover twenty-one acres;
the Philadelphia centennial, fifty-six acres; the Paris fair in 1900,
one hundred and twenty-five acres; Chicago, 1893, two hundred acres;
but the Louisiana Purchase Exposition will have two hundred and fifty
acres under cover, and one thousand one hundred and eighty acres in-

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EDITOR'S TABLE.                                 625

eluded within the fence of the exposition gjrounds; twice as much as
was included in the grounds at Chicago. Adjoining this vast area, will
be seven hundred and seventy-one acres of park outside of the fair
grounds. The expenses will be greater than at any previous fair,
for the directors began with seventeen million dollars in hand, five
million of which   was personal subscriptions from citizens of St.
Louis, six million from the United States government, five million
by the city of St. Louis, one million by the State of Missouri. Every
state in the Union will vote or have voted appropriations which
will swell    the account to over five million more; and many of the
foreign countries will expend vast sums, so                    that fifty millions,
at   least,   will   be    the    propable   total    outlay.     The Exposition
will thus stand preeminent over all its predecessors, in extent,             and
magnitude, as well as in expenditure.                 The chance of a life time,
to see the peoples and displays of all countries, and of every stage
of civilization in the world, will here be offered to the visitor.                 It

is   near our doors, and the citizens of Utah who desire a liberal
education in all that pertains to a view of the arts and sciences of
the world,                                            —
           may here be accommodated, and they may also learn
"how a single century of free institutions and unfettered enterprise
can transform a wilderness into populous, rich and progressive
commonwealths."




                           THE PROBABLE CAUSE.


      It is   difficult,   if    not impossible, to fully understand the un-
friendly attitude of        certain people towards the Latter-day Saints.
Two     incidents     have       recently    caused     some    stir   against   the
Saints; at least, have been the              basis of     much talk about them.
Both have arisen from the opposition of the so-called ministers of
the Gospel. They are, the inhospitable disposition of the German
local officers toward our missionaries; and the jealousy and hatred
of our growth and progress of certain ministars of the Protestant
churches at home.           Especially does the criticism of the ministers

<!-- page:626 -->

:




 626                          IMPROVEMENT ERA

of the nation take the  form of wrath when they see the Saints
exercising their franchises  as American citizens.  They seem to
believe that no member of our Church has a right to assert his
mind in.politics; and, while members of their churches, and even
they themselves, not only take part in               politics,   but also practice
political intrigue in their pulpits             and religious conventions, and,
as religious       organizations, engage in
                                     politics against the "Mor-
mons" to their         content— they are not willing, apparently,
                        hearts'
to grant the Saints the earned title and the right of American
citizenship, individually, notwithstanding there is no politics in our
Church, as a church.              The Church does not engage in politics; its
members belong            to the political parties at their         own pleasure
—to the Republicans, the Democrats, or to no party at                             all.

They are not asked, much       required, to vote
                                         less         way or         this
that— a requirement made by the Protestant ministers of                         their
members against the Saints.      But they cannot justly be denied
their rights as citizens, and their is no reason why they should be,
for,   on the average, they are as loyal, as sober, as well educated,
as honest, as industrious, as virtuous, as             moral, as thrifty, and as
worthy in every other respect as any people                in the nation, or on

the earth, for that matter.             I   think that they are just        a   little

better in        these respects than most          other communities or indi-
viduals.
     A labor leader, during the coal strike, gave to M. Gohier, the
famous French Dreyfusard, an illustration of how the Protestant
churches are under a dangerous submission to the powers of the
money classes
   I   am really sorry for the parsons. Most of them are good fellows at
heart.  They know what Christ wanted to have said, and would be gen-
uinely glad to preach it, if they dared. But Lord! how can they? They
must look out for their salaries; they have their families to provide for.

     Can it be possible that money is at the bottom of their agita-
tion against the Saints?    Or is it desire for notoriety? Were it
not that their fight assists them in obtaining money and prestige
from the misled public, and from wealthy people who are also mis-
guided, there might be little or no censure from them for our
people.     It    seems very strange that a body of ministers, who

<!-- page:627 -->

EDITOR'S lABLE.                                627

should have plenty of Christian work to do in their own parishes,
should go out of their way to denounce a people who injure none,
mind their own business, and who, in every good way, compare
very favorably with any over which the ministers preside. These
ministers are in a constant wrangle about what shall be their
creed, but in one thing only they seem to be united          —
                                                     in their con-
demnation of the Latter-day Saints. Why not unite on some
scheme to better their own, and let the "Mormons" alone? Such
would be the Christian way. The Saints in no way interfere with
them or theirs, except to teach them the precepts of Christ.
         Harper's Weekly, carelessly,     thoughtlessly joining with the
crowd, declares that "no government that respects and values its
own people wants 'Mormon' missionaries to go -among them."                But
it further declares    that "the 'Mormon' machine is as efficient in
turning inferior human material to industrial use as any machine
in the world."      Then the editor manages to dismiss the subject in
this way:

     In the popular mind the "Mormon" missionaries rank not as mission-
aries,    but as seducers of the ignorant and credulous.        They are an
extraordinary body of men   —   zealous, devoted and able.   The closer they
are watched abroad, and the more they are restricted in their proselyting
enterprises, the better it will be for this country, which has to harbor
them and their proselytes, and which finds in their insidious and spread-
ing organization one of the ugliest problems it has on its hands.


         Men who have studied social conditions in New York and the
East, not forgetting Germany, and compared them with the social
conditions in Utah, will smile at the last expression.           If the social

conditions existing among the "Mormons" could be transferred to
New York's "inferior human material" (and this might include
some of their high-toned money classes), and turn.it          to industrial
use, would not the "material"          as well as the country be greatly
benefited?       But the "Mormon"         emigration   has   already been
turned to good use before         it   lands in New York; there is not a
better class of people in all respects, that land upon our shores,
than the Saints whom our missionaries have converted.
     "By their fruits ye shall know them," is a true, old expres-
sion, and, as a people, the Latter-day       Saints are willing to be so

<!-- page:628 -->

—


628                      IMPROVEMENT ERA.

judged.     Why should    the zeal, the devotion, the ability, the loy-
alty, the virtue, the pastoral and      happy family life, the industry,
honesty, the thrift, the power to take the poor but honest in heart
of the earth, and     make them useful, loyal and happy citizens
                                                          —
powers rightly and justly attributed to the Church be regarded
as dangerous to our nation?   Why should such a Church organiza-
tion be looked upon as "one of        the ugliest problems it has on its
hands?" And further, why should ministers of the gospel grow
wild ^vith rage because men selected from such a people are sent
to take part in our national aifairs? Can good, honest men con-
taminate our national politics?
        We are not alone in holding these sentiments. Many thought-
ful citizens of our own country are with us.         Here is a selection
from what Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who recently visited Utah, said
of the Saints, in the New York Journal:

     It is twenty years since polygamy has been a part of the "Mor-

mon" religion. Its devotees are dying out. Because a few men still
remain who refuse to desert or cast off the families they already had
before the passage of the Edmunds bill, it seems idiotic and ignorant for
the people of the earth to denounce every statesman from Utah as a
polygamist.    Still more ignorant and un-Christian does it seem for us to

regard the"Mormons"as monstrosities of immorality,and to go out of our
way to insult or injure them. For the last twenty-one years they have
committed no greater offense than to have a religious faith differing
slightly from the orthodox churches.    They are essentially a peaceful and
industrious people.   Their sufferings have been manifold; their indus-
trialachievements in the desert of the West marvellous. Their young
men and young women lead beautiful and wholesome lives. Before we             .




cast any more stones at their ancestors,let as weed from the ranks of our
own churches, and our own fashionable      society, all the unwelcome and
fatherless children, all the deserted, betrayed girls, and stand them in a
row, and practice upon them as targets, in order that we may have a
surer aim when we stone the polygamists again.

       The only explanation apparently, of the rage of the ministers,
is   found in the labor leader's reply to M. Gohier, quoted above.
        To the young men who may be disheartened by these false
attacks upon the Saints, and to the missionaries in the world, who
are driven and persecuted,       I   wish to say: Have no fear; slacken
not your labors for the truth; live as becometh Saints.        You are in

<!-- page:629 -->

EDITOR'S TABLE.                             629

the right way, and the Lord will not let your efforts fail. This Church
stands in no danger from opposition and persecution from without.
There     more to fear in carelessness, sin and indifference, from
          is

within; more danger that the individual will fail in doing right and
in conforming his life to the revealed doctrines of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.  If we do the right, all will be well, the God

of our fathers will sustain us, and every opposition will tend only
to the further spread of the knowledge of truth.
                                                         Joseph F. Smith.




                       QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Personality of the Holy Ghost.

  Is the Holy Ghost a personage,      that is, in form and being like man?

        Yes. "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible
as man's; the       Son   also; but the   Holy Ghost has not a body of
flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit.           Were it not so, the
Holy Ghost could not dwell          in us."   —Doctrine and Covenants,   sec.
130: 22.

Renewal of the Ten Commandments.
        Have the ten commandments been renewed since the days of Moses,
or were they, as the law,   fulfilled in Christ, and are not now applic-

able?

        The Latter-day Saints believe the ten commandments to be
still   in force,   and the substance of their instructions are practi-
cally reiterated      in the revelations of      God to the Prophet Joseph
Smith, as contained in the Doctrine and Cevenants, and are for
that additional       reason also    now binding upon the people.        See
sections 59:5-9; 42: 29; 59:21; 6: 2; 60: 13; 42: 42; 68: 29; 59:
10, 11, 12, 13, 14; 42: 18; 42: 24; 42: 20, 21; 38: 123; 42: 27, 28;
42: 45; also 88: 124, 125, 126.
     The Latter-day Saints also believe the Book of Mormon to be
the word of God, and in that book, (Mosiah chapters 12, 13,) in the
preachings of Abinadi to King Noah and his people, though this
was before the advent of Christ, the ten commandments were

<!-- page:630 -->

630                            IMPROVEMENT ERA.

taught.       While it is generally conceded that after Christ it was
not expedient to teach the law of Moses, because salvation cometh
by Christ, we are neither taught in the gospel nor in modern reve-
lation that the        ten commandments are abrogated; the sacrifices
and burnt offerings, however, are superseded by the sacrifice of a
broken heart and a contrite spirit, which is required of all
men who come to Jesus for salvation.                 There    is   one exception,
that of the Sabbath day, which has been changed since the time
of Christ to the first day of the week instead of the last. This has
been commanded in modern revelation.                 (Doc. and Cov., sees. 68-
29; 59: 9, 10, 12-14.)

The Millennium and the Final Judgment.

      Will any people who have not received the gospel, or are wicked, be
privileged to live on the earth after the second coming of the Savior, or
will they all be consumed at his coming?
      Will   all   saints be   made immortal    at   the coming of Christ?     If
BO   (since there     is   no marrying or giving in marriage in the resur-
rection), how will the work for the dead be attended during the Millen-
nium?
    Are the wicked to be entirely destroyed at the coming of the Savior
at the ushering in of the Millennium?
      If the wiched        are destroyed at the coming of the Savior, upon
whom will Satan be turned loose at the end of a thousand years?
     The above questions have arisen, in the study of the Manual,
from a slight confusion of the partial destruction of the wicked
at the beginning of the Millennium, and their total destruction at
the end of the world. There is also some misunderstanding manifest
as to the      immortalizing of the saints at the beginning of the
Millennium.        In the first    place,   we do not suppose that all the
saints will be "changed in the twinkling of an eye" at the begin-
ning of the Millennium.            Some will doubtless be left in mortality
to attend to the           necessary temporal labors         of the Millennium.
It is clear also that the        destruction will    not come, at that time,
upon all who have not previously accepted the gospel.                    There is
no doubt that many who have not obeyed the gospel                       will live

in the midst of the people of          God, as they do now.           The line of
distinction    between the two classes will, we believe, be more and

<!-- page:631 -->

EDITOR'S TABLE.                                631

more closely drawn as the time goes on, until finally, at the close
of the Millennium they will be ready to take sides in the final con-
flict between    Messiah and Satan.     Then the righteous will all be
changed, while the wicked      will    suffer total destruction,     "by fire
cast down from heaven."     Then the earth will be celestialized, the
wicked will all be resurrected, and the final judgment will occur.


Gathering Places of the Saints.

    At the coining of the Savior, where will be the place of gathering?
Will the Jews be gathered with the Saints, or will there be but one
Zion?

    The gathering will be     in Zion and Jerusalem, the chief cities

of gathered Israel, so the prophets inform us. (Jeremiah 31: 6-13;
16: 14, 15; 50: 4, 5; Isaiah 52: 9-12; 62.)
        The Latter-day Saints believe that the Jews will be gathered
to Jerusalem, to rebuild the Zion of the east— the land of their in-
heritance.     (Book of Mormon, III Nephi 20: 29-46; Improvement
Era, vol. 5, p. 628.)
    The Latter-day Saints also believe that Zion              will   be built
upon this continent, as expressed in the article of         faith:   "We be-
lieve in the literal gathering of      Israel   and    in the restoration of

the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this [the American]
continent; that (Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and
that the earth will be renewed, and receive           its paradisical glory."

This land   —America— given to Joseph and the scattered rem-
                         is

nants of Israel for their inheritance, and they are to build upon it
a city, to be called the New Jerusalem, into which they are to be
gathered.       (Book of Mormon,      III Nephi   20: 14, 22; 22: 22-29;
Isaiah 2: 23;  18: 1-3; 35; 40: 1-11; Doctrine and Covenants, sec.
42: 9, 35, 62,67; sec. 28: 9.)  The exact location of this central
city of Zion (sec. 45: 66-71) is in    Jackson county, Missouri,        (sec.

52: 42, 43; 57: 2-14,) appointed and consecrated for the gathering
of the Saints.


Booics and How to Study Them.

    I ask for information and advice in regard to
                                                   study that would

prepare me for a mission, and wish to know what books would
                                                            be best,

<!-- page:632 -->

632                       IMPROVEMENT ERA.

and how to study them.        I   am working in a mining camp, and have not
the privilege of attending Sunday School and other meetings, and there-
fore wish to know what kind of books to buy to improve the time.

      In reply,we consider that a knowledge of the principles of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony of their truth, and reasonable
familiarity with Church history, are essential            to   a missionary, as
well as to every member of the Church.            You can obtain a knowl-
edge of the gospel by reading the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.                Talmage's
"Articles of Faith" or Roberts' "The Gospel" are good text books
that will aid you in studying these sacred writings, classify the
doctrines of the gospel, and assist you in learning and presenting
them.        You can obtain       a testimony of their truth by complying
with the ordinances of the gospel and keeping the commandments
of God as found in the Holy Scriptures.
      The "History of the Church" should be read to gain a knowl-
edge of the story of the hand-dealing of God with the Latter-day
Saints in the early history of the Church.           If    you wish a shorter
and cheaper work on        this subject,     containing an outline of the
history up to date, Anderson's "Brief History              of the Church" is
recommended.         It would also     be well to obtain an idea of church
history in general, and       Roberts' "Outlines of Ecclesiastical His-
tory"   is   a good work for this purpose.
     The reading of the above named books, of course, is only a
beginning; but having read these works, all of   which can be ob-
tained at the Deseret News Book Store, Salt Lake City, you will
have been made acquainted with the titles of enough other books,
in notes and references, to enable you to make your own selection
for the future.      Another good course for study is that outlined in
the six issued Manuals of the Y. M. M. I. A., to be obtained from
the Era.
      By right living, prayer, and humility, you should seek the in-
spiration of the Spirit of   God in your research. You will then
recsive a living testimony, and have joy in your labors.

<!-- page:633 -->

—                             — — —




                                           NOTES.


        When a person        is   down in in the world an ounce of help is better
than a pound of preaching.               Bulwer.

    "There are a hundred who talk," says Ruskin, "where there is one
who thinks, but there are a thousand who think, where there is one
who sees."
        "You who govern           public affairs, what need have you to employ
punishments?         Love virtue, and the people will be virtuous.         The virtues
of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of the common man are
like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends."


        I've often been asked what I think is the secret of success in busi-

ness.    To my mind it's one that a good many of the young men of to-day
don't seem to learn.    It's to pay your debts, keep your word, and be a

good collector; not to take anybody else's word, but to use your own
judgment.     I never      made a dollar on anyone else's steering.       John Durfee.

        There are ten things for which no one has ever yet been sorry.
These are: for doing good to all; for speaking evil of none; for hearing
before judging; for thinking before speaking; for holding an angry
tongue; for being kind to the distressed; for asking pardon for                      all

wrongs; for being patient toward everybody; for stopping the ears to a
tale-bearer; for disbelieving most of the ill reports.

        Directness    is   a cardinal virtue of the   man who succeeds.        He does
not go over a thing, or around it, but to it and through it.              If he calls to

see you on business, he does not spend fifteen minutes in introducing his
subject; he strikes directly to the heart of           it;   he does not waste your
time on preliminaries or non-essentials, but proceeds to attend to                  the
business in hand, and, as soon as he finishes         —   stops.    Success.

    A conductor's watch is behind time, and a frightful railway accident
occurs. A leading firm with enormous assets becomes bankrupt because
an agent is tardy in transmitting available funds, as ordered.       An
innocent man is hanged because the messenger bearing a reprieve should
have arrived five minutes earlier.           A man is stopped five minutes to hear
a trivial story and misses a train or steamer by one minute.                   Pushing
to the Front.

<!-- page:634 -->

—                                                    —


634                        IMPROVEMENT ERA.

        "How I do appreciate a boy, who is always prompt               —always on
time," said John Wanamaker, the great dry goods merchant.                 "One soon
learns to depend upon the boy         who is never late in taking his place
who is never late in delivering a letter or a package         —never late   in going
to meet a railroad train   —never     late in keeping        an engagement of any
kind.    Such a boy will soon be trusted in weightier matters, be promoted
at an earlier date to higher positions, and honored by the shrewd men of
finance who will desire to be associated with him in important business
transactions. Promptness is better than a big capital for a business man
or woman, and is one of the most important elements of success in life."


      The secret of the undying vitality and perennial attractiveness of
the sacred Scriptures lies in the fact that they come bringing the reve-
lation of the Divine name.       Under the illumination and guidance of the
Divine Spirit there was wrought into the consciousness of the Jew of old
a sublime conception of God such as no other people ever attained.
From the background of the Old Testament Scriptures there stands out
in clear relief the Living God, separable from all phenomena           —a veritable
being, clothed in perfection.         With the majesty and splendor of His
holiness, too, is blended unspeakable tenderness.            He is an approachable
God, entering into most intimate relations with men.                The world owes
an unspeakable debt to the Jew for the conception of God with which he
enriched human thought.         Dr. E. E. CMvers.

      A special education should have a general education at the founda-
tion of it.     Special preparation for a given pursuit needs to rest upon a
general preparation for all pursuits, and the more comprehensive the
general training the more fruitful and useful is the special.             An educa-
tion that is narrowed to the facts that concern a given occupation, de-
feats itself.    In this country it   is   folly to    narrow a boy's education to
the groove of some one calling, where, as here, the different pursuits
stand with open doors and neither the boy nor his parents               know which
one he will enter or how long he will remain.             How many men are there
at forty pursuing the work about which they dreamed when they were
boys of fifteen?     In other countries boys inherit occupations, or have
them predetermined for them.          It is not so here.      If one can get a gen-

eral education he can in the pursuit         of   it   disclose to himself or to his
instructor his peculiar bent of mind and genius.

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—




                               IN    LIGHTER MOOD.


                  —
        Teacher I am sorry to say it, Henry, but your composition is not
    worthy of you. The rhetoric is faulty, the logic is week, the statement*
 are based upon misinformation, and the style is lamentably crude.
        Henry —My! Won't dad be mad when     him that? I tell

        Teacher—But you can him you did your very
                                     tell                           best.
        Henry —Did my best—nothing! Dad wrote the whole of                  it   himself*


        Fling Ling, or one of his brethren visiting the United States, writes
home to the Pekin Pelican thus about us:                    "They live months without
eating a mouthful of rice; they eat bullocks and sheep in enormous
quantities; they have to bathe frequently; they eat meat with knives and
prongs; they never enjoy themselves by sitting quietly on their ancestors'
grave, but jump around and kick balls as if paid to do it, and they have
no dignity, for they may be found walking with women."


       Two young women             of Sedgwick      hired   a livery horse with which
to take a drive out into the country.                Before the start was made the
liveryman, in'answer to his patrons' inquiries, as to the temper and dis-
position of the horse, assured              them he would be as gentle as a lamb if
they kept the rein  away from his tail, while there might be trouble if
they didn't. The young women returned in safety, and when asked if the
horse had misbehaved, one of them replied: "Oh no! There was one little
shower, but we had an umbrella, and held it so that not a drop touched
the horse's tail."       New York Times.

       Edward the Seventh, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain '"and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the
Sea, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India, etc., was recently at
a    reception    in   London, where various classes of society were largely
represented by both sexes.           An extremely wealthy costumer, who enjoys
an international reputation, approached him and remarked familiarly:
       "The crowd is a somewhat mixed one this evening, your Majesty, is
it not?"

       "Well, my dear         ,"   responded the King, apologetically, and with
an amiable smile, "we can't all be tailors, you know."
