--- 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: 17 number: 3 published: 1914-01 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, \"Passing Events,\" *Improvement Era* 17, no. 3 (January 1914): 278–280." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1703unse 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: improvementera1703unse start_page: 278 end_page: 280 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1703unse publication_year: 1914 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 1914, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Passing Events Passing Events The first craft to pass through the Panama canal was the little steamer "Louise," which made the trip November 17. "Louise" is a relic of the old French enterprise, first brought to Panama' in 1886, which was re-fitted and used in the canal work by the American engineers. Miss Jessie Wilson, second daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, was married at the White House on November 25, 1913, to Francis B. Sayre, assistant to President Carfield of Williams College. It was the thirteenth wedding to be held in the White House. A state religion in China that looks toward the establishment of Confucianism was proclaimed by President Yuan Shih-Kai, November 27. The conflict over his declaration promises to be bitter, for Christians, Buddhists, Mohammedans and Taoists threaten to join in opposing the establishment of Confusianism as the state religion. Germany at the Panama-Pacific exposition will be represented, although the German empire will not officially participate in the exposition. On November 25 it was announced that fourteen hundred German merchants and manufacturers had promised to send exhibits, and that German steamship lines had agreed to transport them free of charge. The Island of Crete has finally been annexed to Greece. By this action the Greek kingdom has enlarged its dominions by over 3,000 square miles, and by about 350,000 inhabitants, thus gaining an important strategic ~osition and materially increasing its strength. The island naturally should be a Greek possession, as the Cretans have always desired to become members of this kingdom, and are naturally Greek, in language, religion and sentiment. Katherine M. Anderson, widow of the late James Anderson, and daughter of Matthias and Ann Cowley, died recently in Salt Lake City. Her funeral was held Sunday, December 7. She was born on the Isle of Man, February 2, 1841, and came to Nauvoo in 1841, where she grew up to share the persecutions, and came to Utah with the early pioneers. She was the mother of ten children, among them James H. Anderson, present United States marshal of Utah, and a member of the general board of Y. M. M. I. A. S. Pearson & Son, which is the firm of Lord Cowdray, announced on November 27, that' the corporation had surrendered the concessions recently granted by the republic of Colombia for the development of oil resources in that country. The reason given was that political feeling had been aroused by the negotiations, and that it was injuring the firm's interests in other -laces: but it was widely believed that it was because of the disfavor with which our own government viewed the granting of large concessions to European contractors. The Lucy Mack Home, in Salt Lake City, was formally opened on the 17th of November. This institution is designed chiefly for those who come to the city and are obliged to make their homes with strangers, or whose own homes are elsewhere, and many of whom are obliged to room and board in private families where the home spirit and privileges are often denied them. The building is one of the former residences of Bishop John Sharp, and will accommodate about twenty persons. Mrs. Emily Caldwell Adams, of the General PASSING EVENTS 279 Board of Y. L. M. I. A., has been aopointed the superintendent, and will reside permanently at the home. The new interurban railway between Salt Lake City and Provo, it is expected will be completed by January 1st. The road will be operated by electricity. Cars of the latest type have been ordered and will be ready for delivery early in 1914. The Utah Power & Light Company will furnish the power. Until the electrification takes place, April 1, 1914, gasoline motors will be used. It is expected that aside from the population of Provo and Salt Lake City, some ninety thousand people along the line will be served by the road. Since it passes through one of the richest sections of the state, in which the principal industries are sugar-beet raising, truck gardening, dairying and fruit-growing; it will enable the farmer to get his products to market earli :, quicker and cheaper than in any other way. The road owns its own right-of-way the entire distance, excepting on the streets in the large towns. The Mexican situation now promises the downfall of Huerta by degrees. The constitutionalists' armies have taken Chihuahua and given fight to the federalists at Tampico. General Huerta's power seems daily to be slipping from him. He has failed in his effort to raise money in Europe. Generals Carranza and Villa appear to be gaining the mastery of the situation. The new Mexican Congress was formally convened in Mexico City, Nov. 26. President Huerta opened with a message in which he studiously ignored the subject of relations between Mexico and the United States. Elder A. W. Ivins, of the Council of the Twelve, returned on the 7th of December from an extended visit to the Mexican border. He reports that the success of the constitutionalists in ousting the federalists from Chihuahua will practically mean the end of the war, and the success of the constitutional forces. He considers that the present situation is the most favorable to the solution of the question that has yet occurred. There are still some three or four hundred Latter-day Saints in their former homes, in Mexico, but during the month they have been harassed to some extent by bands of bandits. Colonia Diaz has particularly suffered. The regular session of Congress began December 1 at noon, at which time the special session closed. The president read his message on December 2nd. He declared that the administration's policy toward Mexico was justifying itself. President Wilson advocated the •passage of the currency bill, which has now been made a party measure, by the Democrats, and recommended the enactment of laws to make the restraint of trade more difficult and to establish rural banks to serve the financial necessities of the farmers. He advocated the nomination of presidential candidates by preferential primaries, and suggested that national conventions to formulate the party platforms should be composed of senators and members of Congress and actual nominees for those offices, together with national committeemen. A billion dollar congress was considered a curiosity a few years ago but recently the various departments of government have asked for appropriations that aggregate $1,108,000,000 which is nearly $34,- 000,000 more than the appropriations made for 1913. The new Snowflake Stake Academy, dedicated November 27, 1913, by President Joseph F. Smith, cost $35,000, $13,000 of which was contributed by the Church, $1,000 by the various schools of the Church, and the balance by local donations. It was dedicated just three year- Thanksgiving day since the old academy standing upon the same ground, burned. Among the speakers at the dedicatory services and at the meetings, two being held that day were President Joseph F. Smith, Bishop Charles W. Nibley, President Anthon H. Lund, President Samuel F. Smith of the Snowflake stake, Supt. H. H. Cummings of the Church schools, Joseph Peterson, principal of the Academy, Dr. R. H. Blome of the Northern Arizona Normal School, Flagstaff, Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., of the Quorum of the Twelve, Patriarch Hvrum G. Smith, and others. The building is entirely free of debt. Large numbers of people were in attendance, many being unable to gain admission to the services. Utah has seven sugar factories, one in Payson having recently been built. The capital invested in all of them is over nine million dollars. Luring 1912, approximately one hundred twenty million pounds of sugar, valued at five million dollars, was manufactured. More than eight hundred thousand dollars were paid for labor, and $2,600,000 for the 500,000 tons of beets that were grown in Utah during the year 1912. The present season nromises to exceed in every way the season of 1912. However, the passage of the free sugar act, which goes into effect partially on March 1st next, and completely in 1916, will tend to injure the industry to some extent at least. In fact, some of the sugar men are very gloomy over the prospect. Judge H. H. Rolapp, of the Amalgamated Sugar Company, Ogden, who returned late in November from Chicago, where he attended the convention of the beet sugar manufacturers of the United States, said to the newspapers: "There is no doui t that the reduction will prove ruinous to the sugar industry. Seven factories have already closed, and others will follow. All will have to follow when free trade comes, in 1916, and the industry will be killed.' At the new factor-" in Sevier county recently $209,000 was paid to the farmers of Sevier county, and the sugar-beet growers of Utah and Idaho received, up to November 10, about $2,572,500 for beets, while another million dollars, was distributed in December for November deliveries. It is estimated that the entire amount for 1913 paid by the eleven sugar factories in Utah and Idaho for beets will be $3,500,000.