--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Anderson, Edward H. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 10 number: 5 published: 1907-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Anderson, Edward H., "Events and Comments," *Improvement Era* 10, no. 5 (March 1907): 396–400.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1005unse 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: improvementera1005unse start_page: 396 end_page: 400 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1907-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1005unse publication_year: 1907 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 1907, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Events and Comments EVENTS AND COMMENTS. BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON. Raise in Salaries. —In the legislative appropriation,the salaries of the Vice- President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, and the members of the President's cabinet, have been increased from $8,000 per annum to $12,000 each; and those of Representatives and Senators from $5,000 to $7,500. Russell A. Alger Dead.—In Washington, Januaiy 24, Senator Alger died in his 71st year. In the Civil war he participated in 66 battles and skirmishes, rising from captain to the rank of brevet major-general of volunteers. In 1884 he was elected governor of Michigan, and four years later was a prominent candi- date for President before the national convention of Republicans. Nearly a de- cade later, he served as Secretary of War—1897-9—during the Spanish-American conflict, in which he was severely criticised for inadequacy in the conduct of the army and its supplies, though through no fault of his, as was later recognized. After the death of Senator McMillan, he was appointed to fill his place in the Senate, in September, 1902, and later elected by the legislature for the term end- ing March, 1907. Spanish Cabinet Crisis. —The Liberal cabinet in Spain, formed last De- cember, and headed by Marquis de Armijo, has resigned, and Senor Maura, ex- premier, and leader of the Conservatives, has been recalled to office. This makes five Liberal Cabinets that have been formed and that have fallen in Spain during the past 18 months. The fall of the last one delays the religious reforms that were in process of formation, following the lead of France. The return to power of Maura is favorable to clerical interests. New elections will be held, and the sessions of parliament have been suspended. Kosciusko Monument.—The United States Government is to erect a statue in front of the White House, Washington, to the memory of the Polish pa- triot, Thaddeus Kosciusko, who was born in Lithuania, in 1746, and who died at Solothurn, 1817. Models have been submitted in competition by noted artists, and a jury of art experts had decided that the best was that of Mr. St. R. Lew- andosvski, of Vienna. Recently President Roosevelt dissented from the verdict of the committee, severely criticising the design of the Vienna artist, and de- clared his preference for a model submitted by a sculptor of Lemberg, Austria, whose name is not given. Kosciusko, who received his education in the military school at Warsaw, is a name closely associated with American liberty. Disap- pointed in a love suit, he quitted his native country, betaking himself to America, in 1776,where he attracted the notice of General Washington, and was appointed by EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 397 him an engineer, with the rank of colonel, and aftewarda general of brigade. Three years after peace had been declared in 1783, he returned to Europe, and was ap- pointed, in 1794, generalissimo of the insurgent forces. In a battle near Cracow, he defeated the Russians, but in a following battle his army was defeated, and he was himself wounded and taken prisoner. He remained in captivity tor two years, being liberated on the accession of Faul I of Russia, in 1796. He later visited Eng- land and America, finally settling in Switzerland, where he lived in quiet retire- ment. In 1817, just prior to his death, he issued from here a letter of emanci- pation to the serfs on his estate in Poland. The year following his death, his body was removed, at the expense of Emperor Alexander of Russia, to Cracow. A peculiar monument, in the shape of a mound 150 feet high, formed of earth from all the principal battlefields of Poland, has been raised to his memory in the vicinity of Cracow. The selection of the Washington Monument is now in the hands of a government jury of award, which shall have the final determination in the contest. The jury consists of Secretary Taft, Senator Wetmore of Rhode Island, and Representative McCleary of Minnesota. Esperanto.—Many attempts have been made to found an international tongue, but it is believed that now at last this has been accomplished in Esper- anto. Dr. Louis Lazarus Zamenhof, a Russian Jew, is its originator and ex- pounder. The movement began with the issuing of a little pamphlet at Warsaw, in June, 1887. From Russia it spread to Sweden where it has had some of its steadiest and most hard working adherents. Then Austria took it up, and France, England and America have followed, the United States being among the latest countries to join the movement. The Japanese have also taken to it with great enthusiasm. From an article by Joseph Rhodes, vice president of the British Es- peranto Association, in the North American Review, it is learned that thirty-one countries, up to June, 1906, have been penetrated by the new language, and 377 societies, 349 in Europe, and sixteen in America, seven in Asia, three in Africa, and twa in Oceania, have been formed. He guesses that at least 300,000 people are now studying the language. There are twenty-eight Esperanto magazines in which the national language appears side by side with the international, and eight national periodicals containing a regular Esperanto column. There are at present ten societies in the United States, in seven centers, and in the past three months the North American Review has published, semi-monthly in its regular issues, a division devoted entirely to a study of the grammar of the new lan- guage. One or two young men at the University of Utah are known to have be- come interested in the language, and they pronounce it practical and easy to ac- quire, its roots being taken from other languages in about the following propor- tion: 36 to 60 per cent Latin; 30 per cent Teutonic including English; 28 per cent Slav. Mr. Rhodes declares that it has "an exceptionless grammar so tiny that a scholar could master it in an hour or so." He says further, "that it is a lan- guage that defies competition on the score of facility." The German Elections.—On the 25th of January, important elections were held in Germany. The Reichstag was dissolved by Imperial decree on the 398 IMPROVEMENT ERA. 13th of last December, as a result of its rejection of a supplementary budget for South Africa, the granting of which had been strongly urged by the government. The government then appealed to the voters to return to parliament members who would enable it to dispense with the support of the Clerical or Center party, and defy the opposition of the Socialists. It was the common opinion in Europe that the government would not succeed, but that the Clerical and Social parties would be represented in the Reichstag in increased numbers. The election, however, resulted in several surprises; Socialism was vanquished at the poles, the Clerical party or Center, which, generally considered, had been the mainstay of the gov- ernment, was punished for its recent opposition, and the success of Chancellor Von Buelow, who is the mouth-piece of the Kaiser, appears to have been almost complete. A new party has been made out of sixteen or more different political denominations, which sent members to the Reichstag. The Kaiser has learned that he has the nation on his side, and the elections indicate a strong public de- fense of the German colonial policy. It might be stated in this connection that the Reichstag, which is the lowest house of the German parliament, is made up of many political groups and is a body of almost 400 men. The dissolved Reichstag had as many as nine parties of ten members each, and five or six other parties without quite so many members. The Clerical, Catholic, or Center party num- bers 104. The Jamaica Earthquake.—A great earthquake nearly destroyed Kings- ton, Jamaica, January 14. Jamaica is an island located about eighty or ninety miles south of Cuba, the third in extent of the West Indies, and the most valu- able of those belonging to the British; it has an area of 4,256 square miles, is 146 miles in length east and west, and 49 miles broad at the widest part. King- ston is situated on the south coast, on a harbor six miles long by two miles wide, separated from the sea by a narrow slip of low land. It has a population of about 50,000. Many people were killed by the earthquake and buried in the ruins of falling buildings. Fire followed the earthquake, and swept through a part of the business section of the city, destroying much property. As soon as the extent of the earthquake was known in the United states, several American naval vessels, commanded by Rear-Admiral Davis, sailed from Cuba conveying medicines, tents, and food supplies for the relief of the sufferers. The landing of the American relief forces came near creating strained rela- tions between the United States and England, but the matter was happily averted by the better judgment of the heads of the English and American governments. Sir James Alexander Swettenham, governor of Jamaica, repudiated the assistance which was offered by Rear-Admiral Davis, and as well as told him that his services were neither needed nor desirable. President Roosevelt and cabinet refused to recognize the insult, and later the British authorities conveyed to the government of the United States "cordial thanks for the prompt and powerful assistance which the United States navy under Rear-Admiral Davis ren- dered to the inhabitants of Kingston in their suffering." In England, however, several journals approved the course of General Swettenham who, however, later resigned,evidently because of his serious discourtesy and blunder. There is, however, EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 399 no lack of English publications which uphold him. This affair, in connection with the exclusion of Japanese school children in California, has had a tendency to strain the heretofore friendly relations between the United States and Great Britain. Library Donation.—On the 21st of .January, this year. Elder James Duck- worth, formerly president of the Australian mission, who is at present pursuing a business course at the Latter-day Saints University, donated $1,000 for the pur- chase of books for the department of Modern English in that institution—a gift highly appreciated. New Senators. —Senators Crane of Massachusetts, Frye of Maine, and Cullom of Illinois, Republicans, and Bailey of Texas, Democrat, have been re- elected. From Kansas, Representative Charles Curtis has been elected in place of Senator Benson; from Delaware, Henry A. Richardson has been chosen in place of Senator Allee; from Michigan, Representative William Alden Smith has been elected to succeed the late Senator Alger; and from Nebraska, Mr. Norris Brown has been chosen to succeed Senator Millard. These are all Republicans. The legislature of Tennessee has elected ex-Governor Robert L. Taylor, Democrat, to succeed Senator Carmack of the same party. In Idaho^ William E. Borah, Republican, has been chosen in place of Senator Dubois, Democrat, and in Mon- tana, Representative Joseph M. Dixon, Republican, in place of Senator Clark, Democrat. Simon Guggenheim, Republican, was elected from Colorado, in place of Senator Patterson, Democrat; and Senator Henry E. Burnham, Republican, New Hampshire, was re-elected. Senator -Smoot Wins.—By a vote of 42 to 28 the United States Senate, on the 20th of February, decided that Senator Smoot is entitled to his seat in the Senate. The action is a vindication of justice, and a deserved triumph of right over sectarian bigotiy. Died.—In Mayfield, December 31, 1906, Peter C. Scow, bom Denmark, Au- gust 11, 1844, came to Utah in 1866.—In Nephi, January 1, 1907, William David Norton, an Indian war veteran, born Alabama, 1832. He came to Utah in 1851.—In Spring City, 1st, Sarah Ann ^Zabriskie, born Tennessee, October 5, 1828, came to Utah in 1852.—In Mill Creek, January 1, James Madison Fisher, born Pennsylvania, July 22, 1833, came to Utah in 1850. He was a pioneer, scout, and Indian war veteran,—In Aetna. Canada, Bishop Richard Piling was buried December 31, 1906.—In Grantsville, Friday, 4th, Charles G. Parkinson, bom England, February 11, 1834, came to Utah in 1853.—In Clarkston, Cache county, Agnes Beveridge Jardine, a faithful Relief Society worker, born Scotland, May 20, 1829, came to Utah in 1859. -In Kanab, Monday, 7th, Joseph Gurnsey Brown, a pioneer of 1849, an Indian war veteran, and faithful churchman, born New York, November 8, 1824.—In Cove, Cache county, Thomas Titensor, bom Eng- land, October 27, 1829, and came to Utah in 1861, having joined the Church in 1847._In Salt Lake City, 8th, Carl J. Larsen, a young Sunday School worker of the 25th ward, who came to Utah in 1884, and filled a Samoan mission in 1893-6. —In North Ogden, 8th, the funeral services over Lafayette W. Williams were held. He was a pioneer of the place, arriving in 1854, and was born April 15, 400 IMPRO VEMENT ERA. 1825,—In Hyrum, 9th, William Henry Green, born England, March 11, 1838, came to Utah in 1860. —In Riverdale, Saturday, 12th, William Stimpson, a pioneer of 1856, 86 years of age. —In Hubbard, Ariz., Monday, 14th, Mosiah L. Han- cock, born Kirtland, Ohio, April 9, 1833, and came to Utah in 1848, and to Ari- zona in 1887. In Fremont, Wayne county, Monday, 14th, William Wilson Morrell, born Ohio, May 8, 1830, joined the Church in Salt Lake City, 1849, a companion in pioneer work with Jacob Hamblin. —In Provo, Tuesday, 15th, Julia A. Fleming, born Ohio, December 22, 1837, and a pioneer of 1848. —In Salt Lake City, Wednesday, 16th, Margaret Pierce Whitesides Young, widow of President Brig- ham Young, a pioneer of 1847, born Pennsylvania, April 19, 1823. —In Vernal, 16th, Eric Anderson, a Uintah county pioneer, 78 years of age. —In Pocatello, Friday, 18th, Joseph Henrie, an early pioneer of Utah, born Ohio, April 20, 1829. —At Fruita, Wayne county, Saturday, 19th, Henry Jakeman, born England, Feb- ruary 9, 1834, and came to Utah in 1856.—In Draper Ward house, Saturday, 19th, the funeral services over the remains of George Terry were held. He was mur- dered on the night of January 10, on the eve of a trip to Washington to see the President in behalf of the Indians of the Windriver reservation. His father is Joshua Terry, and his mother a Shoshone Indian and he was born February 1, 1853, and in early manhood took up a life's missionary labor with his mother's people, and married a native who bore him ten children, only one of whom is now alive. —In West Weber, 20th, Thomas Etkerington, a leading citizen of Weber, and a prominent stockman, born England, November 1, 1837, joined the Church in 1854, and came to Utah in 1855. In Forest Dale, Sunday, 20tti, James Fow- ler, born England, June 6, 1841, and came to Utah in 1872. —Elizabeth U. EI- wood, in West Jordan, 20th, born England, September 23, 1824.—In Richfield, Monday, 21, Sarah Frazer, born April 1, 1816, and came to Utah in 1868. —In Cedar City, Tuesday, 22, John Stephens, born Wales, April 28, 1843, came to Utah in 1868. —In Fairview, Idaho, 22nd, Lucy J. Lake, twin sister of the late Hon. L. J. Herrick of Ogden, born Ohio, December 14, 1827, and came to Utah in 1850.—In Salt Lake City, Wednesday, 23. John Hutchinson, born Scotland 88 years ago, was baptized by Orson Pratt in 1840, and continued as a missionary in his native land until he came to Utah in 1875. —In Vernal, 23, Dennis W. Winn, a member of the "Mormon" battalion, and a pioneer of 1848, born Alabama, December 11, 1826.—In St. George, Thursday 24th, Mrs. Duncan M. McAllister, of Salt Lake, for many years a member of the Tabernacle choir, born England, Feb- ruary 16, 1846, and came to Utah at the age of 15.—In Fairview, Wyoming, 24th, Clark Ames, born New York, 1832, came to Utah in 1849, and has resided in Sevier, Boxelder, Cache, and in Gentile Valley, Idaho. —In Smithfield, Sunday, 27th, William Chambers, born Bristol, England, January 4, 1818, and came to Utah in 1853.—In Salt Lake City, 27th, William Treharne, an Indian war veteran and pioneer of Cedar City, born Wales, July 14, 1838, and arrived in Salt Lake in 1852.—In Sugar House ward, Thursday, 29th, William Huskinson, born Eng- land, April 30, 1824, came to Utah September, 1853. —In Ogden, Thursday. Slst, Simon Weston, born England, April 25, 1835, joined the Church in 1854, and came to Utah in 1873.