--- 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: 7 number: 10 published: 1904-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Events of the Month," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 10 (August 1904): 809–816.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0710unse 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: improvementera0710unse start_page: 809 end_page: 816 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0710unse publication_year: 1904 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 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Events of the Month EVENTS OF THE MONTH. Local—June, 1904. New Bishops Chosen.— Elder Oscar F. Hunter was sustained Sun- day, June 12, as bishop of the Eighth ward, Liberty stake of Zion, at a meeting held in the ward house, to succeed Bishop Elijah F. Sheets wha had presided there for 48 years. Elders James G. McDonald and George F. Richards were also sustained as Bishop Hunter's counselors. At a — meeting of the Saints of the Fifteenth ward, held in the evening in the ward meetinghouse, Sunday, 19th, John Wallace Boud was ordained and set apart as Bishop of the Fifteenth ward, to succeed Elder Edward T. Ashton, who is now a member of the stake presidency of the Salt Lake Stake. John Moller Christensen and George Savage Ashton were also sus- tained and set apart as Counselors to Bishop Boud. Presidents Joseph F. Smith and Anthon H. Lund were present and ordained and set apart the brethren to their offices. Severe Frost. — In the Snake River Valley, and in Bear Lake, and many of the upper valleys of Utah, such as Ogden, and Morgan, a severe frost, on the 24th, injured potatoes, peas and all kinds of vege- tables, and in some instances the growing grain. Died. —In Ogden Canyon, Tuesday, June 7, Caroline P. Winslow a hand cart pioneer of 1856, born England, Feb. 5, 1830, and baptized in the fall of 1856.—In Provo, 7th, Sarah Ann Scott, wife of the late Bishop A. H. Scott. She joined the Church in 1847.— In Salt Lake City, 17th, John Frederick Oblad, born Sweden, Nov, 10, 1841, baptized April 1, 1859, came to Salt Lake in 1865. He filled a mission to Sweden in 1873-4, and was a highly respected citizen of Utah for forty years.— In Ogden, 16th, Ann Hardy, born England, April 16, 1820, joined the Church in 1850, and came to Utah in 1874.— In Salt Lake City, 16th, Annie D. Luce, age 64 years, who came to Utah as an orphan in 1847, the wife of Wilford W. Luce.— In Ogden, 19th, Sunday, Josiah M. Ferrin, for 27 years bishop of Eden, and a member of the High Council of Weber Stake, born New York, Jan. 22, 1834, joined the Church in 1852, filled a mission to England in 1868, and removed to Ogden in 1896, becoming soon thereafter a member of the High Council.— In Salt Lake City, Tues- day, 21st, Jane McCune Gardner, a pioneer of 1847. She joined the Church in 1844, and came to Utah in Bishop Edward Hunter's Company, October, 1847. — In Morgan, Sunday, 23rd, Mrs. Andrus Olsen, a pioneer settler of Morgan Valley, aged 70 years. — In Salt Lake, 16th, Edwin Frost, born Connecticut, 63 years ago, and a Utah pioneer of 1847. He worked at his trade as blacksmith ever since. —In Hood River, Oregon, 27th, Edward W. Davenport, born Mass., Sept. 20, 1822, came to Utah in 1851, removed to Idaho in 1884, and in 1900 to Oregon. Monument to the Memory of Joseph the Prophet.— The first definite step towards the erection of a monument to the memory of the Prophet Joseph, and the Patriarch Hyrum,Smith was taken Monday after- noon, 27th, —the sixtieth anniversary of their martyrdom — when the First Presidency, and other authorities of the Church, assembled on the Temple block, and selected a site for the monument. The chosen spot is near the southeast corner of the block, directly west of the first en- trance, on the east side of the grounds. July,— 1904. The "Tribune" Under New Management.— Perry S. Heath, who took control of the Tribune on October 17, 1901, resigned as manager, June 30, and Joseph Lippman, a trained and practical newspaper man of good ability and who is well known in Utah, at once succeeded Mr. Heath, assuming the management July 1, and will issue the paper as a straightforward Republican organ. Ore Production. —During the first six months of this year, the ore and bullion settlements amounted to $11,267,540, besides about $4,000,- 000 drawn from the furnaces of the copper plants in the valley. This would show that Utah produces about $30,000,000 per annum from the mines. Dividends amounting to $2,046,500 have been paid exclusive of profits divided by "close corporations," and personal undertakings. New Member of School Board.— On the 5th, Mathonihah Thomas was elected a member of the Salt Lake Board of Education, to fill the vacancy caused by the removal of B. S. Young to Canada. President Woodruff Released.— Elder Ashael H. Woodruff, presi- EVENTS OF THE MONTH. gll dent of the Northern States Mission, was honorably released on account of sickness, For some time past he has been sorely afflicted July 2. with a disagreeable growth in his right eye, and on Tuesday, June 28, it having become necessary, that member was removed in one of the hospitals of Chicago. Death op Bishop Sheets.— Patriarch Elijah P. Sheets, one of the early pioneers of 1847, and who had served as Bishop of the Eighth ward, Salt Lake City, for 48 years, died at Rexburg, Idaho, Sunday, July 3, while en route to Teton basin to visit with members of his family. He was born March 22, 1821, in Charlston, Chester count)', Pa. He became an orphan at the age of six years, and a short time later found a home in the family of Bishop Edward Hunter, who at that time, was a wealthy farmer of Chester county. On the 5th day of July, 1840, he was baptized by Elder Erastus Snow, and the following year removed to Nauvoo, where he was ordained an elder and volunteered to work on the Nauvoo Temple for six months without pay. In 1842, he filled a mission to Pennsylvania; in 1844, he filled another mission to Great Britain, spent the winter of 1846-7 at Winter Quarters, where he lost his wife and child, and in 1847 crossed the plains as captain of a ten in Perri- grine Sessions' company of fifty. In the spring of 1848, Elder Sheets went on a mission to Iron county, as a pioneer; here he remained for some six months, when he again returned to Salt Lake Cit\. May 11, 1857, he was ordained a High Priest and a Bishop, and was set apart to preside over the Eighth ward, which position he held until about two weeks before his death. He was ordained a Patriarch, Friday July 1, 1904, at the President's Office, by President Joseph F. Smith, just before his departure for Idaho. Elder Sheets has held many important posi- tions of trust, both ecclesiastical and political, and was one of the prisoners for concience, having been sentenced by Judge Sanford in 1888. Since the Salt Lake Temple was opened, in 1893, he has been a faithful and continuous worker in that edifice. His body was brought to Salt Lake for burial, and his funeral services were largely attended, President Smith being one of the speakers. Sad Ending op 4th July Celebration. — At Glenwood Park, Ogden, a fireworks celebration on the 4th ended in the death of two people. A 5-inch mortar, used for the discharge of fireworks, burst, at 9.30 p. m., the flying pieces instantly killing Daniel W. Shupe, of Ogden, and Charlotte Clarke, of Warren, and severely injuring four others. Shupe was a well known young business man, a member of the Shupe- Williams Candy Co.; and husband of Etta Gay Shupe. Miss Clark was an estimable young woman who was to have been married next November to Joseph Gibson, of West Weber. The three men who were operating the fireworks have been arrested for criminal negligence. Quite a number of less serious accidents occurred in various parts of the state from the handling of arms and fireworks. Charles W. Penrose Chosen a Member of the Quorum op — Twelve Apostles. On the 8th, the Presidency of the Church announced that on Thursday, 7th, in the Council of the Presidency and the Apos- tles of the Church, Elder Charles W. Penrose was unaimously chosen to the vacancy in the Council of the Apostles occasioned by the death fill of Abraham 0. Woodruff; and he was ordained and set apart as one of the Twelve Apostles under the hands of the First Presidency and the Apostles present, President Joseph F. Smith officiating. Charles W. Penrose was born Feb. 4, 1832, in London, England; joined the Church in 1850, being baptized May 14: was shortly after ordained a deacon, and on Jan. 6, 1851, was ordained an elder and sent on a mission to preach the gospel, in which work he spent ten years in his native land, then emmigrating to Utah, settling in Farmington, where he was ordained a Seventy and one of the presidents of the Fifty- sixth quorum. He moved to Logan, in the fall of 1864, and was called on a mission to England in 1865. On arriving in England, he labored for some time in Lancashire; was then sent to preside over the Essex conference, and afterwards over the London conference, bringing many persons into the Church. He labored for two years on the Millennial Star. Returning after an absence of three and a half years, he labored as a home missionary and member of the High Council in Cache Valley un- til January, 1870, when he was called to Ogden to assist in the establish- ment of the Ogden Junction, a semi-weekly paper of which he became the editor, and which soon became an influential daily. He was ordained a High Councilor, and acted as home missionary in the Weber stake of Zion, and was elected to the Legislature from Weber county; he also served sev- en years as a member of the city council. In 1877, he was called by presi- dent Brigham Young to assist in the editorial department of the Deseret News, and on September 3, 1880, was appointed editor-in-chief. He was elected a member of the Legislature of Salt Lake county in 1879, and re-elected in 1882; was a home missionary in the Salt Lake stake, and became second counselor in the stake presidency Aug. 2, 1884. In Jan- uary, 1885, he went on a brief mission to the states, and while there was called on a mission to Europe; he labored in nearly every part of the British Isles, presided again over the London conference, and in company EVENTS OF THE MONTH. 813 with President D. H. Wells visited Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Switzerland. He wrote articles for the Star, baptized many persons into the Church, and on his return took up his work on the Deseret News to which he had contributed during his absence, and has been active ever since as an editorial writer, a home missionary, and a defender of the faith. On June 30, 1904, he was unanimously chosen by the Church board of education as a member of that body, to fill the vacancy that occurred through the demise of Hon. James Sharp. The calling of Charles W. Penrose to the Apostleship is a recognition of ability, faith and a life- long devotion to the Church. It is a well-merited reward, not an experi- ment, and will meet the hearty approval of the Saints the world over. — Grasshopper War. State Senator Larson, of Sanpete, visited Salt Lake on the 9th, and gave an idea of the war on grasshoppers in his county. He is the author of the bounty law passed by the present legis- lature providing for a payment of one cent per pound for the pest. Nets are set for the hoppers, and in this way as high as 75 bushels have been caught in one day. Between Manti and Ephraim more than 11,000 pounds were eaught in one day; while so far, twenty-five tons have been des- troyed. This means much to Sanpete farmers, and the destruction of the hoppers in Sanpete is a real protection to other parts of the state. Republican State Convention. —This will be composed of 460 delegates, the apportionment being one to every 95 votes cast for Hon. Joseph Howell for Congress in 1902. The convention will meet in Salt Lake City, August 25, 1904, 11 o'clock a. m., to nominate candidates to be placed on the state ticket for three presidential electors, governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, superintendent of public instruction, judge of the supreme court, and a representative. Died. —In Salt Lake City, Saturday, July 2nd, at the home of Presi. dent Anthon H. Lund, Nels Peterson,born Lehi, January 26 1861, a son of the late President Canute Peterson, of Sanpete. — In North Ogden, Mon- day 4th,Abraham Chadwick, born March 30, 1821,in Blakely, Lancashire, England; baptized in 1840, came to Nauvoo in 1842;remained in St. Louis and Council Bluffs for a number of years assisting in the emigration of Saints. His wife died in 1850. He filled a mission in 1853-4 and at the time of his death was a member of the Bishopric of North Ogden. In — Ogden, 7th, George M. Kerr, the Union Depot Master, born Newcastle- on-Tyne, England, April 8, 1841, came to Utah in 1863, and has been in the railroad service many years; he was well known by prominent men from all parts of the country, and was a man of splendid character. In — Manti, 9th, Margaret K. Reid, born Belfast, Ireland, 1826, and came to Utah in 1862. She was the mother of thirteen children, a faithful mem- ber of the Church, and mother of Hon. William K. Reid. — In Stone, Idaho, 10th, W. T. Harris, born England, 1815, an old time resident and busi- ness man of Salt Lake. —The funeral of Joseph R. Dover took place in Salt Lake on the 10th. He was a substantial man, born England, Octo- ber 11, 1823, and came to Utah in 1871, having joined the Church in 1847. He built the first gas works in Utah. Domestic— June , 1904. Political Changes.— On the 10th, Attorney-General Philander C. Knox was appointed by Governor Pennypacker, of Pennsylvania, to fill the vacancy in the Senate caused by the death of the late Senator Quay. The Republican papers are satisfied with the appointment, while it does not suit the politicians; and the Democratic papers insinuate that Mr. Knox has been taken out of the Department of Justice bv the trust and railroad interests, to which he was hostile there. On the 24th, the pres- ident appointed William H. Moody, former Secretary of the Navy, Attor- ney General; Paul Morton, of Illinois, Secretary of the'Navy; and Victor H. Metcalf, of California, Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Sea Disasters.—Two fearful sea disasters have lately appalled the world —the burning of the General East River, June Sloeum., in with15, twelve hundred people on board, mostly innocent women^j and children, nearly one thousand of whom perished in flame and water; —and the sinking of the Danish steamer, Norge, June 28, west of the Hebrides, by which over seven hundred lives went down in the sea. These calamities have caused much discussion; and some doubt as to God's providence has been expressed on the part of certain writers, who have been answered by others who hold that men are responsible for breaking laws upon — which physical results are based and that not all that occurs should be laid to God, but that the responsibility should be placed .where it be- longs. Political Conventions. — On the 21st, theJRepublican National Con- vention met in Chicago. Elihu Root made a campaign, key-note speech; and later a platform was adopted declaring for the maintenance of the protective tariff. Theodore Roosevelt, and Charles Warren Fairbanks, of EVENTS OF THE MONTH. 815 Indiana, were chosen standard bearers of the party, as nominees for president and vice-president. The Democratic National Convention met on the 6th, July, at St. Louis, John Sharp Williams' address in reply to ex-Secretary Root was the feature of the first day. Later Judge Alton B. Parker, of New York was nominated for president, after the platform had been adopted with- out a financial plank. It was early Sunday morning before the conven- tion adjourned, the last act being the nomination by acclamation of ex- Senator Henry G. Davis, for vice-president, a wealthy and respected West Virginian, eighty years of age last November. On the 5th, the Populist convention at Springfield, 111., named Thom- as E. Watson, of Georgia, and Thomas H. Tibbies, of Nebraska, for pres- ident and vice-president. The Prohibitionists have nominated Silas C. Swallow, of Pennsyl- vania; and the Socialists, Eugene V. Debs, of Indiana, as presidential candidates. July, 1904. Sane Celebration of the Fourth.— While we in Utah have had more serious accidents on the 4th, than usual, it appears that the agita- tion for a sane celebration of our great national holiday, has had its effect in the East, for the day after the 4th, only 52 deaths and 3,049 in- jured were reported, a much smaller number than last year. Negroes in the United States. — A census bulletin shows the negro population of this country to be 9,204,531. The Rosebud Indian Reservation. — On the 5th, this tract of land in South Dakota was made accessible to the public. It contains 8,500- 000 acres of fine land, which will be apportioned by lottery. On August 24, the Devils Lake reserve in North Dakota will be opened, and 550 homesteads, or 88,000 acres of land will be drawn for. The opening of these and other reservations would indicate that while the Indian is not retreating he is being absorbed. The Trend of Business. — That business is not quite so prosperous as last year is evident from the report of Dun & Co., showing that there r were 6,124 commercial insolvencies in the first half of 1904, with $ <9,- 490,000 indebtedness, against 5,628 in the first half of 1903, with liabil- ities of $66,797,000. Foreign— July 1904. Zionist Affairs. — Sir Charles N. E. Eliot, British Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief for the East African Protectorate, has resigned his position rather than make thegrant of land offered to the Jewish Colonial Trust. So the proposal to establish a Jewish colony in East Africa, as a practicable substitute for the return of the Jews to Pales- tine, has met with opposition. Another serious drawback to the scheme was the death of Dr. Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement, in Vienna, July 2. He it was who succeeded in getting the 6th Zionist Congress (August, 1903) to endorse the African scheme. It may now prove abortive. A sketch of Dr. Herzl appears in the Era, vol. 7, p. 358. Cape to Cairo Railway. —In the early part of the month this road was completed to Victoria Falls, on the Zambesi, 1,633 miles from Cape Town. Its bridge over the Zambesi is said to be one of the great- est of modern engineering triumphs. Bought a Volcano. — It is authentically stated in the financial de- partment of the New York Independent that a New York syndicate has bought the Mt. Popocatapetl volcano for a price said to have been $500,000, on account of the sulphur deposits in the crater, which have been estimated in a Mexican report to exceed one hundred million tons. • The "Mad Mullah."—The "Mad Mullah" re-entered early in July, British Somaliland with 6,000 followers 2,000 of whom are armed with rifles and well ammunition and supplies. supplied with He was defeated with heavy losses by the British a few months ago, and on April 14 took refuge in Italian Somaliland. The natives were thought to have been thoroughly quelled, but now many of the tribes have again rallied to the standard of the prophet. English Raising Cotton in Africa. —Strong efforts are being made to cultivate cotton in the British possessions in Africa, in order that England may be freed from her dependence on the United States for the necessary raw material for her textile factories. The Cotton Grow- ers' Association is to spend $150,000 to develop the industry in Lagos, Southern Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and the Colonial Office will con- tribute $32,500 for the same purpose.