--- 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: 3 published: 1915-01 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* 18, no. 3 (January 1915): 279–284." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1803unse 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: improvementera1803unse start_page: 279 end_page: 284 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1915-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1803unse publication_year: 1915 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 1915, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Passing Events Passing Events The third session of the sixty-third Congress commenced on Monday, December 7, the first Monday in December being the day prescribed by the Constitution of the United States for the annual meeting of Congress. The session will expire by statute March 4, 1915, and the newly elected Congress will convene next December. Mrs. Elizabeth Howe B. Hyde, the oldest resident of Logan, died November 24, age 101 years. She was born in Hollinston, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, October 2, 1813. She joined the Church in 1838 and came to Utah in 1849. Her husband, William Hyde, was a member of the "Mormon" Battalion. All her faculties were intact to the last with the exception of failing eyesight. George A. Black, formerly private secretary to Governor J. W. Shaffer of Utah, and acting-governor of Utah for several months, in 1870, died at Tacoma, Washington, November 27, 1914. His body was taken for burial to Freeport, Illinois. He was territorial secretary under Vernon H. Vaughan and was a veteran of the G. A. R. He had always considered himself a citizen of Utah since the time he came here, over forty years ago. President Joseph Smith, of the Re-organized Church of Latter- day Saints, son of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and born in Kirtland, Ohio, Nov. 6, 1832, took ill on the morning of November 26 with heart failure superinduced by acute indigestion, and died at Independence, Mo., on the 10th day of December, 1914. He was appointed president of the Re-organized Church when it was organized in Amboy, 111., in 1860, and acted in that capacity until his death. President Joseph F. Smith, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a cousin of his. Frederick M. Smith will succeed Joseph Smith as president of the Re-organized Church. Stewart Eccles, of Ogden, Utah, president of the London confer- ence, died November 3, 1914, at "Deseret," London, England. He was a faithful and efficient missionary, and was filling his second mission in Great Britain, having arrived in Liverpool on the 5th of May, 1913. His remains were shipped on the "Adriatic" on the 11th of November in charge of R. Delbert Rasmussen of Ephraim, Utah. Marintha Eccles, the wife of the deceased, returned home on the same ship, having been a faithful companion and help meet to him in his mis- sionary labors. Elder Eccles was a brother of the late David Eccles. The funeral was held in the Sixth ward chapel in Ogden, November 27, and he was buried in the cemetery at Eden. James Andrus, son of Milo and Abigail Jane Daley Andrus, died at St.George, December 8. He was born June 14, 1835. in Florence. Ohio, and came to Utah, September 24, 1848. In 1857, he married Lora Altha Gibson. Later he married Mamonas Luvine, a sister of his first wife. Among his large family are many children and grand- children who are prominent citizens of the community. He was a pioneer of St. George, and for many years was bishop there, a member of the High Council of St. George stake, a member of the first Utah state legislature, and has held many other prominent and responsible positions, civil and ecclesiastical. He was also an Indian war veteran. 280 IMPROVEMENT ERA and later a successful farmer, stock raiser, merchant and banker, ana above all a faithful Latter-day Saint. A new chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated at Independence, Mo., November 22, 1914. In giving an account of the dedication, Liahona, the Elders' Journal stated that it was the most notable gathering of Saints, from the standpoint of numbers, in the history of the Church since their expulsion in 1833 and 1834; and marked a new era in the history of the city of Inde- pendence of which all her substantial and progressive citizens are proud. President Joseph F. Smith ofTered the dedicatory prayer. Among President Smith's party were President Charles W. Penrose, Elders George Albert Smith and Joseph F. Smith, Jr., of the Council of the Twelve, Bishop C. W. Nibley, Presidents German E. Ellsworth, John L. Herrick, Charles A. Callis and Elder Benjamin Goddard. The Utah Educational Association met during the Thanksgiving holidays in November, in Salt Lake City, and on the 24th elected Prof. Howard R. Driggs and Principal O. J. P. Widtsoe of the L. D. S. High School, president and vice-president, respectively, of that organ- ization. W. S. Rawlings, of the Jackson school, Salt Lake, and D. A. Broadbent, superintendent of Wasatch county, were elected for three- year trustees; and C. H. Skidmore, superintendent of the Granite district, and Miss Millie Peterson, primary supervisor of Weber county, were elected for two-year trustees. A splendid feature of the educational meetings was the school chorus of 200 voices from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade schools of Nephi, under Music Supervisor Carl Nelson, which appeared before the organization on November 24 and gave some splendid demonstrations of their musical ability. Col. Wm. N. Fife, Indian fighter, "Mormon" pioneer, and per- sonal friend of President U. S. Grant and General Sheridan, died at Ogden, October 21, 1914. He was a native of Scotland, 83 years of age. He built the Ogden tabernacle, the Weber county courthouse, the Central school, and other edifices about the city, and was marshal of Ogden for fourteen years. He joined the Church while in Scot- land, and came to Salt Lake in 1853, removing to Ogden shortly there- after. He was commissioned a colonel by President Grant, and did great work in suppressing Indian uprisings, in scouting, and in other military duties in Utah and adjoining states. He entertained Presi- dent Grant and General Sheridan at his home in Ogden on their visit to Utah. He was a rough and ready officer of the law. At one time he captured single-handed, two notorious robbers who had pillaged the mails, and received a reward of one thousand dollars from the United States government. Hyrum Goff, late president of the Jordan stake, first mayor of Midvale, and a prominent merchant of that city, died November 24, age 65 years. He was born in Long Whatton, Leicestershire, Eng- land, July 29, 1849. He came to America, crossing the plains in ox team, arriving in Salt Lake City, September, 1862, when thirteen years of age. He settled at West Jordan and established a store there which later became the mercantile concern of Goff & Company. He hns occupied the positions of superintendent of the West Jordan Sun- day school, counselor to Bishop John A. Egbert, of West Jordan word, bishop of East Jordan, and first counselor to President O. P. Miller of the Jordan stake, and later became president of the stake in which position he served for thirteen years. He was sincere, kind, devoted and faithful. Funeral was held at Midvale chapel, Friday, November 27'„ and his body was laid to rest in the West Jordan cem- etery. PASSING EVKNTS 281 The Situation in Mexico.— On the 20th of November the troops of General Carranza were withdrawn from Mexico City and General Villa, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the forces of the Pro- visional government of Gutierrez, and who was ordered to proceed against the forces of General Carranza, drew near the capital. On the 23rd, the United States soldiers and marines who had been in Vera Cruz seven months were withdrawn. They were followed closely in their movement towards the boats by the Carranza forces, under General Aguilar, who took possession of the city. There was no formal transfer of the place to any authority. The American sol- diers simply departed, all the factions in Mexico having given the guarantees that were demanded by the United States. In a proclama- tion Aguilar stated that foreigners should be protected. He closed the saloons and gave notice that citizens having arms must surrender them under penalty of death within twenty-four hours, also that all thieves would be shot. The United States troops found Vera Cruz a foul den of disease, but left it a clean and healthful city. On the 26th, General Carranza entered the city passing under the arch of triumph. He came from Orizaba and asserted in a proclama- tion that Vera Cruz was now the only legal capital, and that the dif- ferences in Mexico can only be settled by arms. The United States battleships will remain in the harbor, although Carranza has asked the United States to withdraw them. Five hundred refugees left the city on a steamship chartered by General Funston. They were taken to Galveston, Texas. Mexico City was taken by Zapata with four thousand men, while Villa and his army remained at Tuala, a short distance from the capital. On the 30th, General Pablo Gonzales proclaimed himself provis- ional president and appointed a cabinet. He was at Pahucha, forty miles northeast of the capital, with ten thousand men. Thus there are three governments proclaimed. Villa published a statement say- ing that he did not aspire to the presidency for which he knew he was unfitted, but only desired to make the Mexican people free, affairs in the country seem more muddled and complicated than ever. On the northern border a long siege has been carried on by General Maytorena at Naco. Shooting over the border into the American side has been the cause of five killed and 42 wounded, and the Americans urgently protested to the Governor and to Washington. The result was that United States troops were ordered to Naco, and on Dec. 15 there were 5,000 men, the Washington government being determined not to tolerate firing across the border. Some time ago, the bandit Ynez Salazar escaped from prison in New Mexico, and is now leading men to conquer Chihuahua. On Dec. 15, it was reported that between 100 and 150 Mexicans had been secretly executed. The Great War in Europe. —Five months or more have passed since the great war began, and yet no verdict of victory is in sight, though this war is carried out upon a scale unparalleled in the history of the world, involving, as it does, four continents and all the seven seas. It is still practically a drawn game. Since our last report closed, the field of big battle changed from Flanders, in the west, to Poland, in the east. Conflicting reports come of victories on both sides, but all that can certainly be said is that thousands upon thousands of human beings have been slaughtered in the great battle lines. Ger- many failed to reach the North Sea near Calais, the Allies holding them back, with terrible losses on both sides. The latest news indi- cates that the Allies are upon the aggressive. In the east there have been fierce conflicts with no decisive results. In the meantime, Bel- 282 IMPROVEMENT KRA gium is without food, and relief, by the ship load, is being forwarded to the starving population, from America. Poland is reported in 'sim- ilar condition to Belgium, in point of suffering. Opposing armies are driving each other back and forth, occupying and re-occupying cities and villages, inflicting upon the inhabitants bombardments, fire and sword, similar to those suffered in Belgium and northern France. It is reported that more than five hundred Polish towns have been ruined. The flight of the civilians from Lodz is said to have been one of the most tragic episodes of the war. The fate of Calisz is said to- have been a repetition of Louvain. One of the sad features of the Poland fighting lines. is the fact that blood kindred are pitted against eacli other. Several hundred thousand Poles were in the Russian ranks, and as many more in the ranks of the Germans and Austrians. A short chronology of the war follows: — November 15 Premier Asquith informed the House of Com- mons that fifty thousand British soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoners during August, September and October. — November 16 The flooding operations were continued in the canal systems of Belgium, making the German advance impossible at any point from the coast to Dixmude. The British House of Com- mons voted an additional credit of $1,250,000,000 for war purposes, and authorized the enlistment of a million more men. Premier As- quith stated that the war is costing Great Britain five million dollars a day. Pope Benedict issued an encyclical urging peace among the warring nations. The Vodka prohibition in Russia was extended to other forms of alcoholic drinks and a stringent prohibition regulation goes into effect in all the Russian war zones. — November 17 The German squadron bombarded Libau, a Rus- sian port on the Baltic. November 18 — Russian and Turkish fleets have an engagement in the Black Sea. "Goeben," one of the Turkish cruisers manned by Germans, received serious damage. — November 19 A strong German offensive movement in Poland checks the Russian advance toward the German frontier, and forces Russians back fifty miles toward Warsaw. — November 20 The Germans regain. Lodz and Plock, in Poland. — November 21 Premier Borden, of Canada, announced that by the end of the year 108,000 Canadians will be under arms. Thiee great Russian armies are engaged in Poland in battles of great im- portance. In the north the Russians gained ground in East Prus- sia. In the south, the siege of Cracow began. In the center, the Russians claim to have checked the German offensive movement in Poland. — November 23 The Turks claim to have defeated the Indian troops east of Suez. The Russians retake Gumbinner in east Prus- sir _ November 24 — The Portuguese parliament votes to support the Allies. war ships bombarded Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast. British — November 25 German invasion of Poland was checked at Lodz by a heavy counter attack from the Russians. The Germans mass troops at Arras. November 26 — The British battleship "Bulwark" was blown up in the The Russians defeat the Austrians east of Cracow. Thames. — November 27 The forces of the Germans, in Poland, were di- vided and partly surrounded by the Russians. German submarines entered British Channel and sunk two British cruisers. — November 28 In the battle between the Warta and the Vis- PASSING EVENTS 283 tula, in Poland, both Russians and Germans lost heavily without definite results.The Austrians advanced southward in Servia. — November 29 The Germans attack in Argonne and Vosges. The invasion of the Russians into Hungary through the Carpathians was repulsed. — November 30 The Germans broke through the Russian ring at Lodz. Russia officially reports that 50,000 Austro-Hungarians and 600 officers were taken prisoners during the first half of November. Parcel post service is resumed between the United States and Ger- many. — December 1 Great activity was noted in the Kiel shipyards, and it was reported that the German fleet would take to the North Sea. General De Wet, leader of the South African rebellion, was capturd by Colonel Britz, near Mafeking. The Prussian Reichstag votes $1,250,000,000 as a new war credit. — December 2 Germany claims officially that on November 1 they had in prison or hospitals Allied prisoners as follows: Officers, 7,213; privates, 426,034. The Austrians take Belgrade. — December 3 King George visits the seat of war in Flanders and meets King Albert, but the war in the west is overshadowed by the great life and death struggle in Poland. — December 4 The French invade Lorrain, near Metz and Alsace near Altkirch. — December 16 The Italian Congress approves the government's policy of armed /neutrality. — December 6 The Germans take Lodz, whence they were driven on a former retreat from Warsaw, and it is reported captured 100,000 Russians. December 8— After two months' effort to drive through the bat- tle front of the Allies, to retake Calais, the Germans find themselves compelled to fight on the defensive, and the offensive has passed to the French-British armies. — December 9 The German cruisers "Scharnhorst," "Gneisman," and "Leipzig," under Admiral Count Von Spee, were sunk off the Falkland Islands, in the Pacific, by a British Squadron commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Devonton Sturdee. The "Dresden" and "Nurnberg" succeeded in escaping. — December 10 The "Nurnberg," it is reported, was also destroyed by the British, and no loss. to any of the British vessels is reported. Emperor William has been sick some days with a bronchial attack, but is reported better today. — December 12 Two German submarines were destroyed in Scot- tish waters, that had entered the Firth of Forth to destroy the British naval station. The French occupy the west bank of the Yser canal. — December 14 The Servians reoccupy Belgrade, having been in- spired by King Peter to special effort by his visit and address on the field to his soldiers. December — 15 make a combined attack on the Ger- The Allies man line in Belgium from Hollebeke to Wytschaete. It is reported that Servia is almost freed from her foes. — December 16 A daring raid on the north-east coast of England was made at 8 a. m., by eight German battle and armed cruisers which bombarded Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby, killing 146 people, wounding 226, doing much damage to property, and seriously alarming Great Britain. The German cruisers sailed away without injury, strewing the North Sea with mines that later destroyed several vessels. The incident gave a striking impetus to British recruiting. George D. Parkinson, Attorney-at-law, Room oUl Newhouse Building, Salt Lake City. Telephone, Wasatch 3160. Adv. Ray Finlinson, Butte, Montana: "Mueli credit is due the publisher of the Era because each treatise printed therein expresses the high ideals for which we are so faithfully and diligently seeking. Many things are discussed and made clear respecting doctrinal subjects as well as conditions now prevailing in the world." G. Milton Babcock, 514 Sixth avenue, Salt Lake City, October 28, 1913, "I know in my own case, I do not support Church publications as I should, for out of about ten magazines, etc., coming to my home, the Deseret News is the only one published in Utah. However, it is never too late to mend, and I wish to enter my name at once as a subscriber to the Improvement Era." Improvement Era, January, 1915 Two Dollars per Annum with Manual Free Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Joseph F. Smith, } Editors3 Heber J- Grant, Business Manager Edward H. Anderson, j Moroni Snow, Assistant TABLE OF CONTENTS The Nauvoo Temple Frontispiece Nauvoo Temple Ruins Edward H. Anderson 189 — Nauvoo in 1846 Illustrated Charles Lanman 191 The Home Feld. A story Nephi Anderson 195 A King of Western Scouts— II. Illustrated .. Solomon F. Kimball 209 Life in a Tree Trunk W. Parratt D. 218 A Race. A Poem Louis W. Larsen 220 Alcohol: Its Effects on the Human Body. ..Dr. W. B. Parkinson, Sen... 221 The New Year. A Poem Henry Nicol Adamson 230 Joy Nephi Jenson 231 To Myself. A Poem Dr. George H. Brimhall 233 The New Year at Gunnison Island Alfred Lambourne 234 Arithon L. Skanchy— III— IV Dr. John A. Widtsoe 236 The Prophet Joseph's Birth. A Poem F. E. Barker 242 Two Moving Word Pictures Prof. J. C. Hogenson 243 My Babe. A Poem Aubrey Parker 246 Evolution Not Supported by Embryology Robert C. Webb 247 Why Turkey was drawn into the War Dr. Joseph M. Tanner 253 The Page. A Poem Grace Ingles Frost 254 The Boy and the Farm Hon. Thos. L. Rubey 255 — Editors' Table A Happy New Year A Not- — — able Missionary Tour "Mormonism" His- — torically, Doctrinally, Prophetically — Brig- ham Young and the Poor Logger — Original Story Contest 260 Messages from the Missions 265 Priesthood Quorums' Table 270 Mutual Work Helpful Hints . Prof. Evan Stephens 274 Passing Events • • 279