--- 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: 18 number: 2 published: 1914-12 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* 18, no. 2 (December 1914): 183–189.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1802unse 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: improvementera1802unse start_page: 183 end_page: 189 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1914-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1802unse 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 Zebulon Jacobs, a pioneer <>f Utah and a veteran of the Black Hawk Indian war, died September 22, in Salt Lake City, seventy-two years of age. He came to Utah when six years of age with his mother, Zina Young. The inscription stone for the Canadian temple was unloaded, September 23, according to a Canadian exchange. The stone weighed six and a half tons, and was nineteen and a half feet long by three and a half feet in width. The Philadelphia Athletics were defeated in four straight ball games with the Boston Braves in the world's series campaign of 1914, the final game being played at Fenway Park, Boston, October 13. It is the first time a world's series has been won in four straight games. A great dam on the Jordan river is to be built by the Salt Lake County Associated Canal Companies. Recently twenty men and a dozen teams began work on the big dam and weirs which will be built in the Jordan river in the narrows at the head of the Utah, Salt Lake and East Jordan canals. It is stated that the main dam will be a hundred feet long, and nineteen feet high, to be built of solid concrete. The Utah potato crop this year, it is said by prominent experts of the State Agricultural College, is badly infected by disease. The loss to the farmers, as a result, will aggregate over a million dollars. Fields which under normal conditions would yield four hundred bushels to the acre, did not produce more than one-half this amount this year, and other fields did not yield the seed planted last spring. The War revenue bill passed the House of Representatives October 22. There was an immediate desire for adjournment, but southern Congressmen wished to pass legislation for the relief of the cotton situation, and refused to permit adjournment until promise was made that there shall be early consideration of legislation on this subject at the next session of Congress, in December. The Congress just closed was the longest in the history of our country, it having been called in special session on the inauguration of President Wilson, and continued uninterruptedly for 567 days. The University of Utah Administration building, completed last March at a cost of $500,000, was dedicated October 8. Students and visitors formed a procession in front of the building and later attended the exercises in the men's gymnasium. Hon. W. W. Riter chairman of the Board of Regents, presided. The dedicatory prayer was offered by President Anthon H. Lund. State Senator W. N. Williams and Governor William Spry gave addresses, and the benediction was offered by Herbert Ware Reherd, of Westminster College. Music was furnished by the university male quartet, choir and orchestra. The Utah State Fair, 1914, was largely attended, and while the weather on the date of opening, October 3, was stormy, and also during the nights of some of the other dates, on the whole it was not so bad but that large crowds were able to be present. Miss Ivy Erick- 184 IMPROVEMENT ERA to grow on the upturned earth, so long had they been occupied. In other parts of the great battle line the situation remained much the same up to the 12th of November as for several weeks past. There was severe fighting all along the line with little change in the situation. In the east, however, the Germans appear to have been repulsed. The Japanese cruiser "Takichico" was torpedoed by a German destroyer S-90. Only 12 men out of 456 were saved. — October 17. A British cruiser sinks four German torpedo boat destroyers on the Dutch coast; of the four crews, 197 men were lost, and 31 taken prisoners by the British. — October 20. A revolutionary rising in Portugal was quelled. — October 22. The Boer rebels in South Africa were defeated. — October 23. Desperate but indecisive fighting continues on the Belgium border near the coast, British ships taking part in shelling the German entrenchments. — October 25. Germans cross the Yser, between Dixmude and Nieuport. THE REMAINS OF THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF VILLERS-AUX-VENTS WHERE THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE STAYED — October 26. The Austrians and Russians continue the combat along San River in Galicia. Bloody battles continue in FlandeYs with no aoparent result. The Germans were driven back over the Yser. — October 27. The trial of Prinzip, who assassinated Franz Ferdinand, June 28, came to an end in Sarajevo. He and 23 of his accomplices were found guilty of treason. The British superdreadnought "Audacious" was either struck by a torpedo, or disabled by a mine and sunk on the north coast of Ireland. It was one of the greatest battleships in the British navy, and when it sank $12,500,000 went to the bottom of the sea. The "Olympic" on her way from New York to Glasgow, passing ten miles away, and carrying 300 passengers, caught the wireless cry for help, and laid to and rescued the 800 officers and men from the battleship. — October 28. The Russians defeated the Germans on the Plitza in Poland, and pursued them south; they continued to retreat beginning October 16 and finally leaving Warsaw on the 31st, their retreat being almost a rout. The Russians took 17 officers and 4,000 men between October 22 and 25, 11 machine guns and 22 cannon. PASSIM. LVLN I'S 115 — October 29. The Russians defeat the Austrians at Tarlow, Poland. Crimean ports were attacked by Turkish warships. The Germans report having captured on the east Prussian frontier during the last three weeks of October 13,500 Russians, 30 cannon, and 39 machine guns. — October 30. The reason assigned for the Turks entering the war is that the Russians were discovered laying mines in the Bosphorus. The Boer rebellion, under Col. Maritz, was defeated, but Gens. Christian De Wet and Byers, both of Boer War fame, took up the light, and Premier Botha has taken the field in person against them. — October 31. The Italian cabinet resign over the war question. — November 1. The Tsing-tao forts at Kiao-chau were bombarded by the Japanese and British. It is announced that the campaign of the Turks will probably be directed towards Egypt. — November 2. Last night at 6:30 a German fleet of five ships in the Pacific near Caronel, Chile, under Admiral Count Von Spree met a British squadron of four ships under Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock. The British were defeated, rosing probably two ships, "Good Hope" and "Monmouth," with all on board. Russians and Turks are fighting in Armenia. November 3. — British ships bombard the Dardanelles, and German ships are reported near Yarmouth. November 4. — Germans lose Mlawa, Russian Poland, and Russian troops invade Turkish Armenia. Turkish cruisers bombard Batum, Black sea. — November 5. Great Britain and France declare war on Turkey, and Britain annexes Cyprus, in the Mediterranean. — November 6. The righting about Ypres, Belgium, continues indecisive, except in the loss of life and in destruction of churches, farm^ and factories, and strong young men from all parts of the world "whose bodies clog the canals and lie unburied on the beet fields." A SCENE l\ THE SORELY BATTERED CTTY OF ANTWERP 186 IMPROVEMENT ERA — November 7. Tsing-tao, the German port in China, surrenders to the Japanese and British. The British take the Turkish port of Tao, at the head of the Persian Gulf. November 8. —The Russians invade Germany from Poland. There is a battle again on the Aisne, in which it is said the Allies gained ground. — November 9. It is reported that in Selicia, in East Prussia, and in Alsace the Allied forces now occupy German soil. Large numbers of German troops are withdrawn from the Yser. — November 10. The "Emden" and the "Koenigsberg," two famous German cruisers, have been lost to the Germans. The "Emden" had been the terror of the Indian Ocean, and had destroyed 26 ships of the Allies, valued at $4,000,000. The "Emden" was destroyed by the Australian cruiser "Sydney" in the Bay of Bengal. The "Sydney" set fire to "Emden" which was run onto the beach and burned. The "Koenigsberg," which disabled the British cruiser "Pegasus" some weeks ago, was caught at Mafia Island. The channel to the harbor was blockaded preventing any chance of exit. Tsing-tao, the German seaport stronghold in China, and the commercial rival of Hong Kong, was unconditionally handed over to Japan. The fortress surrendered November 7, after a siege which lasted 65 clays. It is the first fortress taken by the Allies. The territory of ' London Daily Sketch THE COUNTRYSIDE AT LUNEVILLE, NORTHERN FRANCE It is a landscape of charred farmhouses, burned and battered in the war. Kiao-chau, comprising 193 square miles, was leased to Germany by China for 99 years, in 1898, as compensation for the murder of two German missionaries, and they had spent $100,000,000 on the territory. France, Russia and Great Britain secured similar concessions from China, at the time. — November 11. Dixmude is occupied by the Germans, after defeating the Allies in a furious engagement. The deadly struggle in Belgium overshadows the many other conflicts on the fields of battle. — November 12. The Germans are again pushing towards Calais. The Austrian main army retreats before the Russians in Galicia. — November 13. A French torpedo boat sinks a German submarine oft' Westende, Belgium; the German fleet is reported getting ready to leave the Kiel canal. Along the Yser the fighting continues with unabated fierceness. The Turks are reported as having begun fighting in Egypt. PASSING EVENTS 187 November 14. — The Russians continue their advance in East Prussia about Rypin. Lord Earl Roberts, England's great soldier, Field Marshal of the British Army, died of penumonia, in France. He had gone to France to give the Indian troops his greeting, of whom lie was colonel in chief. lit was born in Cowscore, India, Sept. 30, 1832, and was resident in that country 40 years. He predicted the present war, Oct. 22, 1912, in a speech he made at Manchester, for which he was severely criticized at the time. The November election in Utah resulted in a partial victory for the Republicans who chose the national and state tickets by small pluralities, in a very closely contested election. The following shows the results on national and state ticket: For United States Senator. Reed Smoot (R) 49,562 J. H. Moyle (D and P) 46,835 Smoot's plurality 2,727 For Congress, First District. Joseph Howell (R) 23,070 Lewis Larson (D and P) 21,012 Howell's plurality 2,058 For Congress, Second District. E. O. Leatherwood (R) 25,348 J. H. Mays (D and P) 25,499 Mays' plurality 151 For Justice Supreme Court. William M. McCarty (R) 48,177 Frank B. Stephens (D and P) 46,285 McCarty's plurality 1,892 For State Superintendent Public Instruction. A. C. Matheson (R) 45,588 E. G. Gowans (D and P) 49,100 Gowans' plurality 3,512 The Democrats and Progressives made heavy gains in the Legislature. The Republicans will have a majority of two in the House, and in the Senate, owing to holdovers, about the same. Salt Lake county went Democratic-Progressive by a large majority, which will take the county government out of the hands of the Republicans, and leave the county, Democratic in the legislature. The November election resulted in a loss of nearly 60 seats in the National House of Representatives, for the Democrats, who have now a majority of 141, but who will only have 23 or 24 in the next Congiess. The Progressives mostly returned to the Republican party. Their vote in New York was reduced from 393,000 to less than 50,000. In the Senate, the Democrats show gains, their present majority of ten being increased to 14 or 15. "Uncle" Jos. Cannon, formerly speaker of the House, will return for his 20th term. State-wide prohibition was an issue in six states, being rejected in Ohio and California, but adopted in Washington, Arizona, Oregon, — and Colorado. There are now fourteen "dry" states Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma. Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia Washington, and West Virginia. Woman suffrage was adopted in Montana and Nevada, and rejected in Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and North and South Dakota. In the United States, there are now twelve suffrage states, with an aggre- 188 IMPROVEMENT ERA gate of 91 electoral votes. These states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Commission government was adopted in Buffalo which has a population of upwards of half a million people; and California prohibited prize-fighting and, with Washington, voted against an eight-hour day. — Mexico. The Agua Calientes convention of military leaders, organized October 10, with General Villareal, chairman, was pledged th e support of General Villa on October 17, who will agree to any provisional president except Carranza. On October 26, 28 delegates representing General Zapata joined the convention. The convention declared itself the supreme power in Mexico, and General Caranza disputed its title to that distinction, and also objected to the convention's agreement to the conditions imposed on Mexico by the United States as guarantees for the evacuation of Vera Cruz. Hostilities in the north continued regardless of the convention's order for an armistice. It was discovered that Zapata's representatives were allies of General Villa, and their determination to give to the "common" people by con- GENERAL VILLA AND U. S. AGENT CARROTHERS fiscation the great landed estates could not be accepted by Caranza, and he sent a message severely attacking Villa. Carranza does not agree to the conditions required by the United States for the withdrawal of troops from Vera Cruz, but is emphatic in his request to have them withdrawn. The convention ordered Carranza to gvie up his office, and Villa to resign as commander of the division of the north. On November 16, it appointed Eulalio Gutierrez provisional president, and assumed the power of a congress. Carranza declined to obey, declaring Villa dominated the congress. Villa then took possession of the city for the protection of the delegates, and approved of their orders. An ultimatum was sent to Carranza, demanding he should answer by the 10th. He replied he would "fight to the death." He then moved the seat of government from Mexico City to Puebla. He was declared in rebellion by the convention. On the 12th, Villa at the- head of his troops marched south to give battle to Gonzales, commanding Carranza's troops, as ordered by the convention. He was accompanied by George C. Carrothers, American consular agent. PASSING K VENTS 189 Bishop Albert Douglas Dickson, recently honorably released from his services as bishop of the Richville ward, Morgan county, has devoted long years of his life to this service, having been in the bishopric since the first of July, 1877, when the Morgan stake was organized. At this time he was chosen bishop of the Richville ward by Apostle Franklin D. Richards and has held the office ever since. -hop Dickson was the son of I ' i Rilla Dickson and Mary Ann Stod- dard, and was born in Porter county, Indiana, January 26, 1840. He was the oldest among four boys and two Hi ' girls. With his parents and their family he emigrated to Utah and set- tled in Kaysville, Davis county, in the ml ' "Jt^k ^HK early 50's. He served in the Echo canyon war under the leadership of Captain Lot Smith. He made five trips over the plains as teamster, putII"" ting up with all the inconveniences a id hardships of these early time-. He went to Morgan county with his ^8 parents and their family in the early 60's where he labored as a pioneer in the development of that country. He has been an exemplary man to the k 3Li people of his ward and his admoni- tions to them have always been that they lead pure, clean and noble lives. As a bishop he gained the respect of all his members and particularly the young people. He was not only a peacemaker to his own ward but was often called upon to settle difficulties in other places. He leaves the officewith the best wishes of all the people. The new banking system of the United States, setting in motion twelve federal reserve banks, went into operation on November 16. The nation's new currency system was set in motion by the opening of these regional banks. Paul M. Warburg, of the Board, declared that Nov. 16 might be considered the 4th of July in the economic life of the United States. These banks are located in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Atlanta, Richmond, Dallas, and San Francisco. Sugar beet payments were made to farmers in eleven cities in Utah and Idaho, on November 14-16, amounting to $2,860,500. In October, $500,000 was disbursed, and the final payment for beets on December 15 will approximate $700,000 more, making the grand total paid farmers for beets during the season something over four million dollars. This means that about 800,000 tons of beets have been grown in the two states for the Utah-Idaho, the Amalgamated, and the Lewiston sugar companies, which breaks all former records. The city of Ghent, was the first city to be occupied by the Germans after the fall of Antwerp. The last war between Great Britain and the United States was closed, by treaty, in Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814. It was intended that the one hundred years of peace between these nations should be celebrated in Ghentf this Christmas, but the plan is now likely to beabandoned.