Events and Comments

: EVENTS AND COMMENTS. BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON. Monument to Hirini Whaanga.— On Decoration day a splendid monument was dedicated to the memory of this celebrated Maori chief. Appropriate cere- monies were held at the Salt Lake City Cemetery, and an address was given by President Joseph F. Smith. The monument is located in the north end of the city cemetery. Ocean Speed Record.— The Lusitania made another trans-Atlantic speed record on May 22, from England. The voyage to New York was made in 4 days, 20 hours and 22 minutes. The best run for a single day was 632 knots; and the hourly speed average was 24.83 knots. The ship surpassed all previous records in all three particulars. Another State for Prohibition.— On May 26, a law enacted by the last session of the North Carolina State Legislature was submitted to a referendum, and adopted by the people of the state by a majority vote of more than 40,000. This makes five Southern States that have adopted prohibition,— Oklahoma and Georgia, where the law is now in force; and Alabama and Mississippi, where it will take effect January 1, 1909. Delegates to the Democratic National Convention.— On June 12, the Democratic State Convention of Utah, met in Salt Lake City, and named six dele- gates and six alternates to the National Convention, at Denver July 8. A large number of delegates from all parts of the State were present. N. T. Porter, of Davis county was chosen permanent chairman, and John L. Herrick, of Weber county, secretary. Delegates and alternates were elected as follows Delegates— 0. W. Powers, Salt Lake; W. H. King, Salt Lake; Samuel New- house, Salt Lake Mrs. H. J. Hayward, Salt Lake; Abel J. Evans, Utah county; ; S. S. Smith, Weber county. Alternates — W. F. Olsen, Carbon county; T. H. Fitzgerald, Salt Lake county; Chas. H. Humphries, Weber county; L. P. Nielsen, Sanpete county; Mrs. Sarah Ventress, Salt Lake; J. D. Call, Box Elder county. Hon, Frank L. Nebeker, of Cache county, was elected National Committee- man, to succeed the late Hon. D. H. Peery, deceased. The convention instructed the delegates to cast their vote as a unit for Hon. William Jennings Bryan, as

726 IMPROVEMENT ERA. their candidate for President of the United States. Speeches were made by Hon. B. H. Roberts, W. H. King, 0. W. Powers and others. Statue of the Prophet Joseph. —For two and a half years Mahonri M. Young, under commission of the Church, has worked upon a life-size statue of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. It is now completed, in plaster, and will be cast in bronze later, and given a place in the Temple. It was on exhibition at the Bureau of Information during the M. I. A. conference. It is pronounced by competent peo- ple who have seen it to be the most skilfully executed piece of statuary ever shown in Utah, giving a strength of character to the prophet which no portrait heretofore has ever delineated. The youthful face is strong, and is shown in a front view, the large eyes and kindly countenance presenting unusual animation, even in the plaster. The figure is in full dress suit, with a bow tie. The right arm rests on a walking stick, the head of which is held in the palm of the right hand, the fingers closed over it. On the third finger is the famous signet ring, presented to the prophet early in the history of the Church. The left arm is bent with a cloak thrown over it, and a copy of the Book of Mormon in the hand. The shoes are square-toed, as was the fashion some seventy-five years ago. The artist gathered his facts for description from every available source, and from these formed his own conception of the likeness, and built the statue to conform. What the "Mormons" Are. — It appears from the daily papers that a public announcement has been printed in the columns of the East Oregonian by what is said to be a prominent member of the "Mormon" Church in Ogden, in which he announces that he will gladly invest in any cheap property in "dry" territory. This announcement has impelled the editor of the Oregonian to pay the following truthful tribute to the "Mormons," as copied in the Pocatello Tribune : The "Mormons" have revolutionized Grand Ronde valley farming methods. They have simply converted large portions of that valley into a paradise of small farms, highly cultivated garden and orchard tracts, and have added millions to the wealth of the county without reclaiming any new land or increasing the tillable area of the county. The wealth they have added has come through intensive methods. They have multiplied the values of existing property, without extend- ing the borders of the farming districts They would do the same for Pendleton . and Umatilla county. They would start a dozen small industries in the vacated saloons of this city, and would make every acre in Umatilla county produce from two to three times its present yield. They are also school builders, home build- ers, lovers of music, good society and an elevated home life, and with the coming of the ' 'Mormons' into this county a new era would begin. ' It is significant to note that you never see a "Mormon" in a poor house, and scarcely ever see one of them in jail. Their methods of living, their teachings, their life work, keep them out of these two Gentile institutions. This is the reputation, and a very truthful one, of the "Mormons." It is incumbent upon the young people of the Latter-day Saints to maintain this reputa- tion in every respect. "We Cannot." — We cannot, nonpossumus, are the words containing the reply of Pope Pius X to M. Briand, who has charge of the separation law in

, EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 727 France. It will be remembered that about a year and a half ago the French government repealed what for a century had been known as the Concordat, a law or stipulation by which the French governmpnt was to maintain the Catholic clergy in consideration that appointments, especially in the higher priesthood, should be submitted to the government of France by the Pope for its approval. In pursuance of that law, the Catholic church established a system of education whose influence in favor of the church, its traditions and political influence, has been strongly felt for years throughout that country. In the repeal, however, of the law, France evidently yielded herself up to the demands of the socialists whose oppositions to church were radical and whose measures for the repeal of the Concordat were excessive. The extreme attitude of the French in the matter naturally had its own reaction among the people there, and has been quite gener- ally criticised, even in countries where a strict division of Church and state is popular. The issue between the people and the government hag centered on the character of the organization under whose control the French government pro- posed to place all of the property which had been virtually confiscated by the gov- ernment. The minister of education and the government agents generally were quite willing that the property should go into the hands of a secular organization whose members were friendly to the church. The church would not yield the point, contending that church property must be subject to a church organization and would not yield to the point of allowing its priests to organize under a secular law of the state, contending that as priests their allegiance to the church in the matter of church property must not be fettered or abridged by the secular powers of state. Forty thousand priests, through the repeal of the Concordat, will cease to receive the traitements, or salaries, which formerly came to them through the appropriations of the government. Among the property taken over by the state was a large amount of money which had been contributed through bequests and otherwise for the support of infirm and aged priests, and for the saying of masses for the dead. The $12,000,000 contributed for these purposes, the gov- ernment, no doubt, felt anxious to dispose of wholly in the interest of the church, as the French people would be most sensitive to any popular use to which thp government might put such funds. M. Briand therefore proposed to the Pope by way of compromise that this fund be transferred to certain committees which he defined. The proposition was liberal, and placed the funds practically in the control of the church, though under a secular organization. Many of the priests and clergy were in favor of the compromise, but the Pope, after months of deliberation, or at least time for deliberation, answered the French government in his recent communication, non possumus. Thus it appears that the church will not yield, and will not re- ceive churches or funds, except they be placed wholly under the control of relig- ious organizations over which the church, and not the state, shall have control. To make good the loss of the church appropriations, a general church tax or con- tribution has been established, by which all Catholics pay into the church dues known as God's penny, or denier du cwZ/e. —Joseph M. Tanner.

— 728 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Susa A. Talmage, — It is our sad duty to record the death of Sister Susa A.Talmage. She passed to the great beyond at Provo, April 16, 1908. Sister Susa was born at Provo, February 11, 1879; she was the daughter of James J. and Susanna P. Talmage, and the youngest sister of Dr. James E. Talmage. From her early youth she was a student and a teacher* Preeminently she was the children's friend, and particularly she was an interpreter, of nature to the young* After graduating from the Brig- ham Young University with the collegiate degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy, in 1903, she spent a year in the practical work of the teacher, and then matriculated in Columbia University, New York. Daring the summer vacation follow- ing her first year as a student at SUSA A. TALMAGE. Columbia, she was called to bear the great trial incident to the death of her beloved mother; from the burden of this bereavement she never recovered. With aching heart she returned to Colum- bia after the painful obsequies. A year later she came home and resumed her professional work in the Brigham Young University. In addition to her school work she was ever ready and active in Church duties generally. In Sunday Schools, in Mutual Improvement Associations, and in ward affairs, our sister was always a willing and an able worker. Susa Talmage was a writer of marked ability and of assured promise. Her particular gift was that of story-writing for boys. Her stories will live, and their lessons will bear fruit for good , though she has passed. The following lines by a loving student are recorded as a well deserved tribute: TO THE MEMORY OF MISS SUSA TALMAGE. Sweet, lovely flower, blasted in thy bloom, Why couldst not thou a little longer stay. That we might learn to love thee more and more, Thy constancy inspire us day by day? When we remember how thy life was spent, In loving service unto all mankind, We'll try to follow in thy simple way, And God will not unto thy worth be blind. Though here with us thou canst not longer be, May thy sweet spirit linger ever near, To guide us safely into virtue's paths. And be a shining light while we are here. — ErijA Hold AWAY.

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