---
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: 19
number: 4
published: 1916-02
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, \"The Lights Go Out,\" *Improvement Era* 19, no. 4 (February 1916): 357."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1904unse
  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: improvementera1904unse
start_page: 357
end_page: 357
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1916-02)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1904unse
  publication_year: 1916
  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 1916, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# The Lights Go Out

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The Lights Go Out

The close of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, inSan Francisco, on December 4, was characterized by a splendidprogram. It appears that 459,022 people attended during the lastday ending midnight, December 4, and that during the season inwhich the exposition was open, namely, 288 days, a little over65,000 people on an average attended the exposition daily, mak-ing a grand total of 18,876,438. A beautiful brochure was issuedby the management commemorating the close of the exposition,entitled, "The Lights Go Out; the Last Day and Night." In it isfound the following beautiful poem by George Sterling, entitled.

THE BUILDERS

The Year grows old, but Progress has no age:Her flags go forward to increasing light;Behind her lies the night;

It is a ceaseless war her soldiers wage,

And on her great and ever-widening sky,"Onward!" is still the truceless battle-cry.

The Future is our kingdom, and although

Our hands unbuild the city they have built.Yet here no blood is spilt,

Nor swords uplifted for a nation's woe, .

And though the columns and the temples pasr,Let none regret; let no man cry "Alas!"

We do but cross a threshold into day.

Beauty we leave behind,

A deeper beauty on our path to findAnd higher glories to illume the way.

The door we close behind us is the Past;

Our sons shall find a fairer door at last.

A world reborn awaits us. Years to come

Shall know its grace and ^ood,

When wars shall end in endless brotherhood.And birds shall build in cannon long since dumb.

Men shall have peace, though then no man may know

Who built this sunset city long ago.

Wherefore, be glad! Sublimer walls shall rise.

Which these do but foretell.

Be glad indeed! for we have builded well,And set a star upon our western skies

Whose fire shall greaten on a land made free,

Till all that land be bright from sea to sea!

—George Sterling