--- 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: 11 published: 1908-09 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* 11, no. 11 (September 1908): 898–904.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11011unse 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: improvementera11011unse start_page: 898 end_page: 904 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1908-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera11011unse publication_year: 1908 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 1908, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Events and Comments EVENTS AND COMMENTS. BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON. Salt Lake is Bonded for 600,000,— On the 29th of July, 1908, a bond election was held in Salt Lake City, for the purpose of obtaining money for water and sewer purposes. The total vote on water bonds was 5, 547, and on the sewer bonds 5,524; the maiority in favor of the water being 501, and in favor of the sewer bonds, 350. Six hundred thousand dollars of bonds will now doubtless be issued by the city authorities for the purposes named. Important Events.— Joel Chandler Harris died, in Atlanta, Georgia, July 3. Commander Peary started from New York July 6, on his Northpole expedition; and on the day following, his ship Roosevelt was reviewed by the President at Oyster Bay. — On the 9th, President Roosevelt closed arrangements with Charles Scribner's sons for the publication of his African hunting articles, it being his design to hunt big game in Africa at the close of his presidential term. — Frank H. Hitchcock was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee on the 8th — Thomas E. Watson, on the 9th, accepted the Populist nomination for President.— The candidates for President and Vice-President of the Independent Party are Thomas L. Hisgen of Mass., and John Temple Graves, a journalist born in South Carolina in 1856; of the Prohibition Party, Eugene W. Chafin, now of Illinois, born Wisconsin, 1852; and Aaron S. Watkins,- a professor of literature at Ohio Northern Universitv. — On July 17, William W. Astor's son, Waldorf was nominated as a Conservative Candidate for Parliament. — On the 19th the celebration of the Quebec tercentenary was formally opened, and on the 22nd the Prince or Wales arrived as Canada's guest. — The day following Vice-President Fairbanks and the Prince exchanged addresses. — On July 24, the Sultan of Turkey proclaimed the restoration of the Constitution of 1876, and called for a meeting of an elective assembly, and took the oath of allegiance to the Constitution on the 28th. The first Parliament will meet Nov. 1. — On the 22nd the U. S. Court of appeals for the 7th District, Chicago, reversed the decision by which Judge Landis fined the Standard Oil Co. $29,400,000, and the following day President Roosevelt directed the Attorney- General to take immediate steps to retry the case. — On Aug. 4, the Bamberger railroad was opened between Salt Lake City and Ogden. There was a great banquet given by Mr. Bamberger and attended by the leading people of the city, including Lorin Farr the first Mayor. EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 899 President Joseph F. Smith's Trip to the 'West. —President Joseph F. Smith and party returned to Salt Lake City on July 19, from a 22-day journey in the north-west and south-west of our country. The party which left Salt Lake City, June 26, consisted of President Joseph F. Smith and wife, President John R. Winder and wife, Elder George Albert Smith and wife, Patriarch John Smith, Bishop C. W. Nibley and wife, and Frank and Calvin Smith, sons of President Smith, and Emily, Lucy, Rachel and Jeanetta Smith, daughters of President Smith. The object was to look after Church affairs in these districts, to obtain rest from routine work, and enjoy a little recreation. At La Grande, Oregon, they attended the Union stake conference on June 27 and 28. On the evening of the 27th, a concert was given by John J. McClellan and Lizzie Thomas Edward which the party attended. The new $4, 500 organ just installed was used in the large $41,000 tabernacle owned by Saints of that stake. After visiting the Hood River Valley, and taking boat down the Columbia, they held a notable conference in Portland, Oregon, on July 5, attended by about 200 Saints. President Nephi Pratt of the Northwestern States Mission presided, and President J. E. Robison of the California mission was in attendance. A number of natural attractions were visited, including a tract of land where it is the purpose to erect a meetinghouse; there was a ride on the Willamette, another on the Columbia to Astoria; and then they made their way to San Francisco, stopping on the way at Vina, Cal., where they held meeting with a colony of 200 Saints composing the Upper Yosemite or Sacramento Valley branch. At Gridley, where there are about 400 members of the Church, a meeting was held. Mount Shasta, the glorious sunsets, and other attractions were fully enjoyed; then the main points of interest in San Francisco were visited and a meeting held. The big trees, Santa Cruz, and the timbered belts of the redwood district were viewed. The party arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 12, where three largely attended meetings were held. San Pedro, Catalina and Coronado Beach were visited, and at Long Branch they were entertained by Mrs. A. W. McCune. The party lunched at the Huntington Club, with a party of bankers, business men and prominent citizens of Los Angeles; and after lunch were treated to carriage and automobile rides through the countryside by courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce. Flowers and fruits were sent to the party, and the favors extended to them were most cordial. The newspapers gave several columns of favorable notices, extracts from speeches by the members interviewed by them; and the reception they met from the people, special organizations and the railroads was very courteous. The trip took twenty-two days, during which time they covered 4,000 miles and visited several states, and they' returned home tired but greatly pleased with what they learned, heard and saw. It was really the first trip of the kind ever made by President Winder who appreciated it very much. Weber Stake Divided and Reorganized.— For some time the Weber Stake of Zion has been the largest in the Church, with a population of about 17,000 people. On the 19th of July the announcement of the proposed division into three stakes was made. On the 26th, the Sunday following, the Ogden Stake was organized. This comprised the northeast portion of the county, divided by 24th Street in Ogden, and includes the districts of North Ogdcn, 900 IMPROVEMENT ERA. pleasant View, Eden, Liberty, Middleton and Huntsville, nearly all of Mound Fort and the east half of Lynne ward, and all of the 4th ward of Ogden. The following officers were elected under the direction of Elders George F. Kiehards and David 0. McKay of the quorum of Twelve Apostles: Thomas B. Evans, president; C. C. Richards and Thomas E. McKay, counselors. High Council— A. T. Wright, Marcus Farr, N. J. Harris, Samuel G. Dye, Joseph R. Morrell, W. M. McKendrick, C. J. Jensen, C. E. Peterson, Reuben Rhees, Hyrum Belnap, George E. Ferrin, and Miles L. Jones. Alternates: John W. Chambers, Lester H. Froerer, Albert Stratford, Gilbert Thatcher, Frederick Barker, E. A. Larkin; Clerk of Stake, Fred W. Hodgson; Patriarchs: Lorin Farr, David McKay and Gustave A. Olsen. On August 2, the North Weber Stake, consisting of that portion of the old Weber Stake lying north of Kanesville and Hooper and 24th St. east to Washington Avenue, was reorganized. Elders] Richards and McKay were present, representing the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. Bishop James Wotherspoon, of the Third Ward was chosen, sustained and set apart as president, and John V. Bluth, clerk of the Weber stake, and Bishop Frank W. Stratford of Wilson ward, counselors. The following high councilors were chosen and set apart : Moroni S. Marriott, Samuel A. Blair, Harry E. Baker, William D. VanDyke, Sr., William H. Tollhurst, Israel C . Brown, George H. Butler, Emuel Bachman, Haskel H. Shurtliff, John F.Barton, Lawrence N. Sherner, Henry W. Nelson. Alternates: John C. Neal, Elias S. King, Nathan A. Hawkes, James M. Carlson, Moroni Chugg, Henry A. Anderson. Stake clerk, recorder, stake tithing clerk and clerk of the high council, David W. Evans. On Sunday, August 9, the organization of the Weber stake was completed. The old presidency were sustained as follows: Lewis W. Shurtliff, president; Charles F. Middleton and John Watson, counselors. High council: John McQuarrie, John L. Herrick, Wilford 0. Ridges, Thomas A. Shreeve, Henry H. Rolapp, Edward I. Rich, J. W. F. Volker, William E.Newman, Francis L. Woods,] Joseph C. McFarlane, Fred G. Clark, Alva L. Scoville. Alternates: William G. Rackham, Chris J. Brown, Joseph A. Fife, James R. Beus, Adolph G. Fernelius, David C. Eccles. D. Ray Shurtliff, stake clerk and clerk of the high council. By action of the conference South Weber ward was annexed to Weber stake in conformity with a request from the people of the ward, and by consent of Davis stake. There are now 58 stakes in the Church. William Bowker Preston.— William Bowker Preston, the fourth presiding bishop of the Church, died on Sunday, August 2, 1908, at the residence of his son-in law, Oscar W. Moyle, at Cottonwood, Salt Lake County, Utah, whither he had been taken to escape the heat of the city. He was born in Franklin County, Virginia, November 24, 1830. He acted as presiding bishop of the Church from the 6th of April, 1884, to the 6th day of December, 1907, when he retired on account of ill health, and the death of Bishop Robert T. Burton. He was released from the office with the love and good will of the Church, and all of his immediate associates, having a consciousness of duty well done. His father, Christopher Preston, settled in California in 1852. Bishop Preston was baptized into the EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 901 Church in 1857, and almost immediately thereafter was called into the ministry by President George Q. Cannon, who then had charge of the Pacific Coast mission . Being ordained an elder, he traveled in Upper California, until in the fall of 1857, when he was called to Utah on account of the invasion of Johnston's army. He arrived in Salt Lake City on New Year's day, 1858. On the 24th of February following, he married Miss Harriet Thatcher whose family he had labored with and known in California. He became a member of the organization known as "Minute Men' ' who were organized to meet the trying situations of those stirring times . He became a pioneer of Cache Valley in 1859, and located in what is now known as Logan of which settlement he was made first bishop on the 14th of November 1859. He was ordained and set apart under the hands of Apostles Orson Hyde Ezra T. Benson, and Bishop Peter Maughan, who was the pioneer of Cache Valley. He took a leading part in the building of Logan, in constructing canals for water ing the country, and in surveying the beautiful city which he spent much energy in assisting to build. In 1862-3 he served in the Territorial Legislature, and at the April conference, 1865, he was called to fill a European mission, leaving Salt Lake City on the 10th of May following, to fill his call. While on this mission he labored as president of the Newcastle and Durham conferences, until January 18, 1866, when he was given charge of the business department of the Liverpool office. On the 14th of July, 1868, he sailed for America, and came to Utah in charge of a company of 600 Saints. Prior to this time he had made two trips to the Missiouri river with ox teams to emigrate the poor in the years 1863 and 1864. With the advent of the Union Pacific Railway, we find him in Echo canyon in the winter of 1868 9 engaged in the construction of the great overland route. Returning to Logan he was again sent to the legislature to represent Cache County in 1872- 76-78-80-82. After the death of Bishop Peter Maughan, he was called, April 24 1871, to act as presiding bishop in Cache Valley. He was one of the leading spirits in the formation of the Utah Northern Railroad Co., which was organized in 1871, to build a railroad from Ogden to Cache Valley. John W. Young was president, and W. B. Preston, vice-president and assistant superintendent, which position he held until the road passed into the hands of the Union Pacific Company. He was chosen as first counselor to Moses Thatcher, president of the Cache stake, at its reorganization, in May, 1877, which position he held until President Thatcher was called to the quorum of Apostles in April, 1879, when he succeeded Elder Thatcher as president. When Bishop Edward Hunter died, October 16, 1883, the office of presiding bishop was left vacant until the following spring when, as stated, William B. Preston was called, April 6, 1884, to the high and responsible posi tion of presiding bishop of the Church. He was buried in Logan, and many of the general Church authorities attended his funeral. The life of Bishop Preston was a busy one. He was a good and kind man, and many who crossed the plains with him remember his wise counsel and fatherly care for the Saints. He was a man who acted more than he spoke, though he could express himself pointedly and practically whenever it became necessary. In character, ruggedness and stability, he was a genuine type of early "Mormon" pioneers. 902 IMPROVEMENT ERA. The Philippine Code. — Following is an extract from an article in the January, 1908, Green Bag, entitled "Some Legal Aspects of the Philippines," by Judge James H. B'lonnt, formerly of the Philippines. That such a splendid compliment should be paid to a citizen of Utah, is cause for congratulation, and a source of pride to the thousands of friends of Major Young, who is now the president of the Ensign Stake of Zion: ' 'After a year or more of experience with the native courts, it became evident that the Spanish criminal procedure was entirely incompatible with American ideas of justice. For instance, its red tape was so interminable as to amount practically to a denial of justice. Again, evidence would be presented in court against absent persons, the testimony would be reduced to writing, slowly from day to day, and when enough was accumulated to convict, the man would be seized and imprisoned, informed that he was guilty of such and such a crime, and, if he denied it, told that he must prove his innocence. 1 "Without further specific instauces, it will at once become apparent that under President M^Kinley's instructions aforesaid, it was both permissible and advisable to put in force legislation containing the Bill of Rights and other fundamentals of our law, including the right to writ of habeas corpus, so that a man should always enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to be confronted by and to cross-examine the witnesses against him, to have counsel and a copy of the charges, etc. "To meet this need, on April 23, 1900, there was published what has since been known, continuously down to the present time, as General Orders 58, Office of United States Military Governor, Series of 1900. "It was simply a piece of legislation, a code of criminal procedure, drawn principally by Major R. W Young, a lawyer of Salt Lake City, a volunteer officer of the Utah Battery, who before the war had been chairman of the Utah Code Commission. ' 'This gentleman little suspected, in all probability, what a splendid and enduring piece of work he was doing. After the Civil Commission of five members, headed by Governor Taft, came out to the islands to take charge in June, 1900, some friction, not, however, of a serious nature, arose from time to time between them and the military authorities, the latter considering the three eminent lawyers among the newcomers, Messrs. Taft, Wright and Ide, as mere high-toned theorists, and the two professors, Messrs. Moses and Worcester as mere lucky carpet-baggers. As the time passed and the situation grew less and less harmonious, the disposition of the Taft Commission to consider the military authorities as unskilled in the law grew apace, and having the power to do so from the president, the common chief of all, they undid a good deal of what the military had done. But never did they find fault with this General Order 58. It stands upon the statute books of the Philippine Islands today with a few minor amendments, a monument largely to Major Young. "It has been translated into Spanish and the native dialects, and every lawyer in the Archipelago, be he Filipino, Spaniard or American, is familiar with it. In an article which appeared in the American Monthly Review of Reviews for Sep- EVENTS AND COMMENTS. 903 tember, 1905, my successor in office as judge of the twelfth judicial district of the Philippine Islands, Hon. Charles S. Lobingier, of Nebraska, speaks of General Order 58 as 'a precise, and yet humane and up to-date mode of criminal procedure.' Judge Lobingier goes on to say that the authorship of this important piece of legislation has been ascribed to Secretary Root, adding 'I cannot say how authentically.' I concur in the opinion he expresses that 'it is certainly worthy of so distinguished a lawyer.' It becomes apparent from the foregoing, that, though not quite so distinguished as the Secretary, the gentleman from Utah aforesaid is efficient in drafting of laws, as well as commanding artillery in action. * * * * * "The work done by Judge Ide in improving the law of civil procedure, like that of Major Young, on the criminal side, very greatly decreased the law's delay which under the Spanish regime had too often practically amounted to a denial of justice. * * * "There are few lawyers, if any, in this great country who could have done our 'lawgiving' in the Philippines better than did Major Young; and later Governor Ide, and their respective co-laborers. It was not like the work of coderevising under a settled system or jurisprudence. The legislation they successfully worked out, taken as a whole, ought to rank in the annals of jurisprudence along with the East Indian Code prepared by Lord Macaulay and others at Calcutta in 1834-1838." Young Turkey. — For more than twenty years there has been a steadily increasing opposition by a certain class of young Turks against the policy and methods of Abdul Hamid, the present Saltan of Turkey. Over thirty years ago a constitution was promulgated. Before it fell, in the words of Grover Cleveland, into inoccuous dessuetude, the present Sultan found it more to his liking to rule the country absolutely. There is, to be sure, the sublime porte, a sort of Turkish cabinet, but this is made up of men who are the mere creatures of the Sultan. Abdul Hamid, has been a very resourceful, indefatigable worker, and withal ingenious in warding off the dangers of European diplomacy. He has been, however, an oriental despot, and like others of his kind has been constantly on the guard against assassination. In selecting his immediate counselors he has chosen in the first instance men upon whom he could rely for his own personal safety. He rarely ever leaves his palace grounds. Every Friday he goes across the street, a distance of a few hundred yards, to worship in a mosque built for his special purpose. He is surrounded on that occasion by thousands of guards, picked Turkish soldiers on whose loyalty he can rely. Against him personally the opposition has not been so great, as it is against a certain palace coterie who are supposed to carry out his will, but who often thwart his purposes by the use of methods which promote their own individual welfare at the expense of the people at large. The Sultan, himself, is so shut out from the world and from his own subjects that he is almost wholly dependent upon the information brought him by the coterie of men who are after all ready to deceive him so far as they are able to do so. To be a favorite with the Sultan is the road to enormous wealth and almost unlimited power and influence. It is against such a state of affairs that the young Turk has 904 IMPROVEMENT ERA. been contending for more than a quarter of a century. At first this opposition was centered in Paris where literature was sent out for the purpose of creating a revolutionary sentiment. Throughout all this period, the chief reliance of the revolutionists has been in the soldier who is the chief support of the present regime in Turkey. The soldiers are changed every so many years and the army is therefore renewed by young men who come to Constantinople from the various provinces of the Turkish Empire. The financial condition of the country is in such a wretched condition and there is so much graft in the official life of the country that by the time the simple soldier receives his compensation there is little or nothing left upon which to exist. His daily rations are of the most meager sort, and one sometimes wonders how he can exist upon them at all. The soldier, therefore, has been the most encouraging field for the growth of revolutionary ideas, and at the same time is the Sultan's only reliance. The Turks are a taciturn people. It is not easy to learn what is going on among them, so that the revolutionary propaganda took root slowly, and though slow of growth it has gained a remarkable hold upon the thoughts and feelings of the Turkish army. Furthermore, it has been the policy of the Sultan's advisers to calm his fears and belittle all reports of discontent among the troops. Among the most loyal supporters of the Sultan have been the Albanians, who are brave mountaineers, fearless in contests and excessively proud of their military trappings. The Albanian regiment was, therefore, the Sultan's favorite. It received his commendations and favors, and has been beyond question his most loyal support. When recently the Albanian regiment declared itself in favor of a constitution, it was a positive announcement which the Sultan could not disregard. Jf that regiment had been won over to the ideas of the 'Young Turk" nothing could be hoped for from any other source in the army. Abdul Hamid responded immediately and favorably to the constitutional demand by sending out an irade to all the governors of provinces, announcing his decision to re-establish the constitution of 1876. Thereafter it was his intention, he declared, to govern the country through a parliament. The new irade gave rise to wild demonstrations throughout the empire, and the phlegmatic Turk has been aroused to a political excitement that seems wholly incomprehensible to those familiar with his stolid character and indifferent demeanor. "Young Turkey" has certainly won out in the agitation which has brought about these unexpected concessions from the Sultan. Students of Turkish affairs have long known the methods pursued by the "Young Turk, "but few ever dreamed that a revolution was so near at hand. There were no visible signs of it, and it's announcement came like a thunderbolt from the clear sky. Turkey has been for the past generation the powder magazine of Europe. Statesmen of European countries have long dreaded disturbances in the realm of the Sultan, because they knew that such disturbances might at any moment lead to war. What, therefore, happens in Turkey in the immediate future will be a matter of widespread interest to those who know what dangers lie constantly concealed in Turkish diplomacy Abdul Hamid is a man of great parts, and perhaps the best qualified man in his empire to deal with complicated conditions. The world will look on with anxiety and some apprehension. — Dr. Joseph M. Tanner.