---
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: 11
number: 1
published: 1907-11
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: 'Edward H. Anderson, "Events and Comments," *Improvement Era* 11, no. 1 (November 1907): 74–80.'
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1101unse
  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: improvementera1101unse
start_page: 74
end_page: 80
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1907-11)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1101unse
  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

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EVENTS AND COMMENTS.
BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON.
New Member of the Quorum of the Twelve.— Elder Anthony W. Ivins,
president of Juarez stake, Mexico, has been nominated, sustained and ordained
one of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to
fill the vacancy in the Quorum of Twelve, caused by the death of Elder George
Teasdale. His name was accepted by the quorum of Twelve Apostles, then
presented to and sustained by the Church at the seventy- eighth semi-
annual conference, Anthony Woodward Ivins, son
Sunday, October 6, 1907.
of Israel Anna Lowrie, was born at Toms River, Ocean county, New
Ivins and
Jersey, September 16, 1852, and a year later came to Utah with his par-
ents, who remained in Salt Lake City until 1861, when the family removed to St.
George. His education was obtained in the public schools. From an early age he
has been accustomed to practical labor; and he has been a Church worker from
the first. As early as 1875, he performed a mission to Mexico, exploring, with
his companions, the Salt River Valley, the Little Colorado River country, and
northern Chihuahua and all the section of country where the Latter-day Saints are
now settled, in Mexico.
His second mission was to the Navajo and Pueblo Indians, in Arizona and
New Mexico, in 1878. The year following, he became an active officer in the Y.
M. M. I. A. of St. George, presiding first over the fourth ward, and later over the
consolidated associations. He became a High Councilor in St. George stake in
1881, and in 1888, the first counselor in the stake presidency. In 1895, he was
chosen president of the Juarez stake, Mexico, which was organized on the 9th of
December. From that time on he has resided in Colonia Juarez, conducting the
affairs of his stake with marked ability.
In political matters, he has been no less active. He served in St. George as
constable, city councilor, attorney and mavor; in the county, as deputy sheriff and
prosecuting attorney; and in the state, as representative to the legislature in 1894,
as a member of the state constitutional convention of 1895; and as govern-
ment Indian agent for the Shebit Indians for two years He gave satisfaction in
.
every position. As in Church and political affairs, he has had wide and success-

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EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 75
ful experience in business.As manager of the Mojave Land and Cattle company,
and the Kiabah Cattle company of Utah and Arizona, and at present vice-president
and general manager of the Mexican Colonization and Agricultural company, he
has shown persistent push, wise judgment, careful management and many other
pre-eminent business qualifications that stamp him a successful man of affairs.
His practical, wide and varied business, ecclesiastical, and colonizing experiences
fit him specially for the exalted calling which he now occupies as one of the
Twelve. Besides these qualifications, he is an energetic student, and a fluent and
effective public speaker, and he is not unknown to readers of the Era as a writer.
He is a practical, influential man of the people, in possession of deep sympathy for
the masses, and in full enjoyment of the spirit and power of the gospel of Jesus
Christ as a redeeming and uplifting force in the world. He can lasso and brand a
steer with the roughest cowboy; or hold his own side by side with the hardiest sons
of toil; yet, as a father under the refining influences of home, as a member of
society, an able minister in the house of worship, or a counselor and leader among
the people, he commands the attention and admiration of all classes.
Oklahoma.- By a vote of about three to one, the constitution of the state
of Oklahoma was adopted at an election held September 17. The clause which ex-
tends over the entire state the prohibition of the sale of intoxicating liquors, al-
ready provided for in Indian Territory, was adopted by a majority of ab,out 30,000;
and the whole Democratic state ticket, with Charles N. Haskell for governor, was
elected by a plurality of about 20,000. Four out of five congressmen were
elected by the Democrats, who have also a large majority in the legislature which
will choose two United States senators. The action of the legislature is fore-
shadowei by the primaries held last June, at which Robert L. Owen, who is one-
eighth Cherokee, a graduate of Washington and Lee University, a teacher, an
editor, a banker, lawyer, and an Indian agent to the Five Tribes; and Thomas P.
Gore, a brilliant young blind man, were elected for senators. Charles Carter, who
is one-fourth Chickasaw Indian, and also has some
Cherokee Indian blood, a Demo-
crat, farmer and stockman, is Congressman-elect from the 4th Oklahoma District.
But this man Thomas P. Gore will interest young men, for according to biog-
raphies printed of him he has probably overcome a greater physical handicap to
achieve success than any other national figure in the history of our country. He
is 37 years of age, and totally blind.
When eight years of age he was struck in
the eye by a playmate, and at eleven years of age, while serving as a page in the
Mississippi state senate, he was struck in his remaining eye
with the arrow of a
But undaunted, he went on with his studies, entering college at six-
cross-bow.
with distinction. In June, 1892,
teen, where he asked no favors, and graduated
from the law school of Cumberland University, Tenn. In 1902, he
he graduated
the campaign last summer stumped
was elected to the territorial senate, and in
the state and convinced the people, by his
ready wit, his iron memory, and his re-
people in the national
markable eloquence, that he would be of more use to the
wealthy attorney, who were his oppo-
senate than the millionaire banker, or the
what pronounced "a heated and acrimonious campaign.*' If the legis-
nents in is
election to the senate is practically assured
lature shall follow instructions, his

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76 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
Mr. Gore owes much of his educational success to a fellow class- and room-mate,
Charles H. Pittman, who, during the long college years, studied aloud at all times
so that his blind companion could follow the daily tasks.
Why does Oklahoma have five Congressmen? you ask. Because it is shown,
by the recently completed census, that the state has a population of 1,408,732. It
has grown to this number since 1900. when Indian Territory and Oklahoma, which
two former territories now compose the new state, had .a population of 790,391.
The enabling act gives the state five, but the population really entitles it to seven
representatives, on the basis of the present apportionment. The state is big in
area, also: for it is estimated that the whole of New England could be set down in
Oklahoma, and yet leave a fringe of territory amounting to nearly 4,000 square
miles.
President Roosevelt's Trip Through the Middle West.— On Sunday
evening, September 29, President Roosevelt left Washington for an extended trip
through the Middle West. He stopped first at Canton where he delivered an ad-
dress at the dedication of the McKinley monument. He sailed down the Mississippi
river from Keokuk, where he met many governors and addressed the people, to
Memphis, on the typical, old-fashioned stern- wheel steamer Mississippi as a guest
of the Inland Waterways Commission. This journey was made to accentuate the
government's increasing interest in the preparing and maintenance of a deep water
highway from the Lakes to the Gulf. It is pointed out that the opening of the
Panama canal will give to the Mississippi the opportunity of transporting perhaps
one-fifth of our nation's commerce. At St. Louis the governors of eighteen states
greeted and, with the people, eagerly welcomed the President. Here, on October 2,
he made an address in favor of deep-water transportation, and justified the Pacific
cruise of our battle-ships. Arriving at Memphis at noon, October, 4, he delivered
an address to a large crowd, and then took train for Lake Providence, Louisiana,
in the cane-brake region, where his hunting camp was pitched, and where he spent
a brief season of seclusion and sport.
The President's addresses on this journey are masterful expositions of the
attitude of the government on wrong-doers of great wealth, on the control of
corporations, the Pacific fleet, the value of a Mississippi deep-water way, the
Panama Canal, business and justice, and his own estimation of the character of
President McKinley.
Of the PanamaCanal, he said that in August, 1,200,000 cubic yards were ex-
cavated, and at this rate, the actual digging could be finished in five or six years.
On wrongdoers of wealth he said:
At intervals during the last few months the appeal has been made to me not
to enforce the law against certain wrongdoers of greath wealth, because to do so
would interfere with the business prosperity of the country.
Whenever a serious effort is made to cut out what is evil in our political
life, whether the effort takes the shape of warring against the gross and sordid
forms of evil in some municipality, or whether it takes the shape of trying to
secure the honest enforcement of the law as against very powerful and wealthy
people, there are sure to be certain individuals who demand that the movement
stop, because it may hurt business. In each case the answer must be that we

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EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 77
earnestly hope and believe that there will be no permanent damage to business
from the movement, but that if righteousness conflicts with the fancied needs of
business, then the latter must go to the wall.
I am as certain as I can be of anything that the course we are pursuing will
ultimately help business; for the corrupt man of business is as great a foe to this
country as the corrupt politician. Both stand on the same evil eminence of infamy.
Against both it is necessary to war; and if, unfortunately, in either type of war-
fare, a few innocent people are hurt, the responsibility lies not with us, but with
those who have misled them to their hurt.
McKinley Mausoleum Dedicated.— On September 30, at Canton, Ohio,
the monument to William McKinley was dedicated, President Roosevelt attending.
The cost of the monument was $578,000 received in loving contributions from the
people of the United States and many other countries. The bronze statue of
President McKinley, which stands in front of the entrance to the great tomb, was
unveiled by Miss Helen McKinley, the only sister of the late President. The
pedestal supporting this statue bears the following inscription, the words of Presi-
dent Wheeler of the University of California, used in 1901, when the degree of
LL. D. was conferred on President McKinley, at the time of his western journey:
William McKinley, President of the United States a statesman singularly
;
gifted to unite the discordant forces of the government and mould the diverse pur-
poses of men toward progressive and salutary action; a magistrate whose poise of
judgment was tested and vindicated in a succession of national emergencies; good
citizen brave soldier, wise executive, helper and leader of men, exemplar to his
,
people of the virtues that build and conserve the State, society and the home.
Mrs. McKinley, the heroine of a great national love story, the sweetheart
wife of the late president, was buried last May. It was her wish that she might
live to see the monument completed, but this consolation was denied her. The
site selected for the memorial is a half mile west of the receiving vault where the
bodies of the President and his wife now lie, and not far from the original
McKinley lot in West Lawn Cemetery.
'
'Not far away" says Joe Mitchell Chappie, "from the resting place of William
McKinley and his wife lie their children. At the head of the two little graves is
a bronze cherub upholding a basket of flowers the figure seems the very emblem
;
of immortality, and almost speaks aloud of victory over death and the grave. Just
over the brook, its waters running 'smooth music from the roughest stone,' on
the crest of the ridge, is the memorial. It is approached by circular terraces with
spacious flights of steps, recalling a picture of some old Grecian temple. Before
it is a lagoon whose tranquil waters lend the charm of a magical restfulness to
the landscape. The memorial may be reached from the rear by two other stair-
ways, and from the height one looks over the beautiful green hills and valleys,
'
forests and lakes of Stark County.
Nebo Stake Tabernacle. — A new style of church architecture for this
region, excepting, perhaps, Ogden, Nebo Stake tabernacle, recently com-
is the
pleted at Payson, Utah, and to be dedicated at the stake conference this Novem-
ber. Its dimensions are 60x125 feet, not including towers and portico. The tow-

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78 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
era are 54 feet high. The auditorium is 58x123 feet, with a 28-foot ceiling.
The exterior is of white pressed brick, and the wood is all of Oregon fir, except
the flooring, which is of white maple. The pressed steel ceiling is colored white
and gold, and the walls are a light green, making the color scheme white .and
gold and green. The building is seated with best grade pews, and furnished with
electric lights, steam heating plant; and matting for the aisles. The acoustic
properties, tested by Elders George Albert Smith, Reed Smoot and the stake
presidency, John S. Page, Jr , Hermon Lemon and Henry Gardner, are pronounced
very good. The conveniences and comforts of the building are said to be much
better than some tabernacles costing two or three times as much as this one.
The cost of the completed building is $22,000.
The Awakening. — Since the Japanese proved their ability to defeat the
soldiers of a great European power on the battlefields, the more highly civilized
peoples of Asia have had a great awakening, and as an outcome the agitation for
self-rule is fast gaining momentum among them. In Bengal and Hindustan, there
appears to be a spirit of inquiry as to why the triumph of Japan cannot be re-
peated elsewhere — and as a result there are omens of a desire for self-rule,
accompanied by great unrest throughout India. It is called to mind that the
seemingly fundamental step towards reclothing Japan with dignity and authority
after the extinction of the old rule, was the establishment of a constitution, and
the introduction of a parliament. Persia seems to have been the first Asiatic na-
tion to profit by the example, and that country's national assembly is now engaged
•in legislation. The Dowager Empress of China, said to be the most powerful

<!-- page:79 -->

EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 79
woman ruler in the world, now in her 73rd year, has announced her approval of
many reforms in the administration of the Chinese Empire. She recently ordered
the council of state to prepare plans for the admission of her subjects to a share in
the national government, at no distant date. Hence, it is not surprising that the
more advanced natives of India should begin to enquire of Britain why they also
may not take part in legislation relating to their own affairs. To this end the
Hindus have clled an "Indian National Congress, "and the Mohammedans of India>
who constitute the largest Islamic community on the face of the earth, have
organized an "All Indian Moslem League" with the avowed purpose of preparing
a constitution providing for a national parliament to be finally presented for ap.
provalto the British government. The problem, in case their request is denied
which there is good reason to believe it will be as long as the House of Lords has
a voice in the matter, is one of dreadful gravity. Why? Because, in the Indian
empire there is perhaps less than three million Christians, including soldiers and
civilians, against a mixed mass of 207,000,000 Hindus, 62,000,000 Moham-
medans, and 22,000,000 Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Animists, etc. These three
hundred millions have been resigned and quiescent since the insurrection of 1857,
but now there are signs of upheaval among them which may well excite the pro-
found misgivings of the rulers; this, notwithstanding that the classes or kinds of
people may not be united, for each agitation is on so huge a scale that it may prove
formidable in itself. Owing first to the new Anglo-Russian treaty, and second to
the fact that the artillery is exclusively in British hands, there is little hope that an
uprising could hope for success, but strikes and boycotts of English goods might
be inaugurated, which would mean destruction to many British manufactures, and
this alone is causing many English residents much anxiety.
The Bear and the Lion Lie Down Together.— A new treaty, recently
published, between Russia and Great Britain clearly defines the interests of the
two countries in Central Asia, and if carried out sincerely by both parties will put
a stop to the struggle over Central Asia which has been going on between the two
powers for a large part of the last half century. It is reported that the hope of
Russia to gain the head of the Persian Gulf by rail, and so obtain an ice free sea
port, is now, on account of the treaty, definitely abandoned. India is thus com-
pletely fended by buffer states which Russia for the first time explicitly agrees not to
invade. On the other hand, Great Britain acknowledges the importance of Rus-
sia's commercial interests in Northern Persia, and practically sacrifices all that
was supposed to have been gained by Col. Younghusband's invasion of Tibet. The
action practically allies France with the two great powers, and closes Germany
out from another concert of the Powers, and she will probably on that account be
checked in her commercial advance into Persia. Another result is the practical
ending of the Japanese alliance with Britain which country, being freed from fear
of Russian invasion of India, against which the Japs had promised to assist, finds
the Japanese alliance no longer so necessary. A neutral strip in Persia is provided,
into which the Russian sphere from the north and the British sphere from the
south are not to be extended. The predominent British interests in the Gulf of
Persia are not explicitly recognized in the convention, but as nothing appears to be

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80 IMPROVEMENT ERA.
said against them, the English will doubtless continue to enjoy the present privi-
leges. Afghanistan is practically placed under British tutelage. Both countries
agree to treat with Tibit only through the Chinese government.
Utah State Fair.— One of the best, it is safe to say the best — state fairs
ever held in Utah closed a six-days' run on October 5. Better, more important and
more numerous manufacturing exhibits were never before witnessed in the history
of the fair association. The stock and other animal exhibits were very interesting
and satisfactory. The fruit and farm industries, showed market strides of progress
since the fair of two years ago. The exhibits and promises of dry farming were grand
revelations. There were more buildings, more room, better preparation, than
ever before. The amusements were not overlooked, and the horse-racing drew
bigger crowds and got more praise than usual. The mining industry, strange to
say, was nearly lacking, and the art exhibit, though good could be largely improved.
The attendance broke all previous records. On Friday 40,000 people attended,
and on the last day 25,000, while the total attendance was 137,000 against 51,-
500 in 1905. All told, there are $20,000 to the good from gate recipts. The
directors decided to hold a fair next year, to make the mining exhibit a feature,
to improve the entrance acccmmodations, and to add attractive features to every
division and amusement for 1908. President J. G. McDonald and Secretary H. S.
Ensign were delighted with the fair's success, and promise greater things for the
future.
The First Aerogram.— There were failures in Wall Street, political troub-
les, personal and domestic tragedies.strikes, and other important items that filled the
news columns of the daily papers on Thursday, October 17; but no event approached
in importance the fact that on this day the Marconi Wireless Telegraphy Company
began sending trans- Atlantic wireless messages between Canada and Great Britain.
The first message was sent by Sir Wilfred Laurier, Premier of Canada, congratu-
lating the British people on the new means of communication between Great Brit-
ain and Canada. The message was received without a flaw in the office at Clif-
den, Ireland, and flashed from there to every newspaper in the kingdom. The
rate per word for Atlantic messages is ten cents. Think of sending accurately
twenty words a minute, three thousand miles, through the air, without a wire to
guide them! It is not only a stupendous scientific feat, but an epoch-making
marvel, one of the most wonderful achievements of man recorded in history