--- 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: 11 published: 1916-09 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* 19, no. 11 (September 1916): 1039–1044." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse 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: improvementera19011unse start_page: 1039 end_page: 1044 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1916-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse 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. --- # Passing Events m ' i i i i i ) i ; i ; [ i i i i i i i t i i ; PASSING EVENTS Charles Evans Hughes, Republican presidential candidate, has declared himself strongly in favor of woman suffrage. J. Frank Hanly, former governor of Indiana, was nominated by the Prohibition party for president of the United States, on the 21st of Julv. For vice president they nominated Ira D. Landrith, of Nashville, Tennessee. The English war debt is climbing up to large sums. In late July, the House of Commons was asked for the eleventh time to give a vote of credit to the amount of three million pounds. This brings the war total up to approximately $12,549,500,000 A bomb exploded at San Francisco during a preparedness parade in that cityon the 22nd of July. As a result eight people were killed, and a large number injured, with several buildings wrecked, on corner Stewart and Market streets. The guilty party was apprehended. Le Grand Richards, formerly president of the Netherlands Mission, who was set apart November, 1913, and recently honorably released, returned to Salt Lake City on the 10th of July with his family all well. John A. Butterworth succeeds him as president of the illusion. The British aggressive campaign continued during July and up to the present writing, in the sweltering mid-summer heat which struck northern France on July 29. Offensive operations were renewed which were bitterly resisted by the Germans, with great loss of life on both sides. A hail storm passed over parts of Utah county in a swath about three miles wide, on the 7th of August and destroyed in about ten minutes beets and grain to the value of from ten to twenty thousand dollars. Hailstones fell that were four inches in circumference and an inch to an inch and a quarter in diameter. George W. Goethals, builder of the Panama Canal, resigned his position as governor of the canal zone, in the latter part of July, and will retire from active service also in the United States Army. The completed Panama canal stands as an everlasting monument to his energy and ability. He has been succeeded by Colonel Chester Harding. The navy appropriation bill, with a three-year building program including the immediate construction of four dreadnoughts, four great battle cruisers, and fifty-eight other craft, passed the senate on the 21st of July, the vote being 71 to 8. It carries an appropriation of $315,826,843, or over $45,000,000 more than the total when the measure passed the house Christian Jensen died in Mt. Pleasant, Utah. August 4. He was 1040 IMPROVEMENT ERA 91 years of age, the oldest citizen of that town, lie was horn in Den11 ark, June 7, 1825, and came to Utah in 1856. He filled a mission to Denmark in 1879-80, served two years as City Councilman in 1896-7, and was a Black Hawk War veteran, and an active member in Church and political work. The epidemic of infantile paralysis continued with unabated fury in New York City during the latter part of July and August. The total recorded deaths since the epidemic began, June 26, up to August X, were 1,196 and the number of cases reported 5,347. Nothing entirely effective to stay the disease has yet been discovered by the physicians, although every effort is being made to stay the epidemic. On the 8th of August 40 cases were reported in Chicago. Good roads money to the amount of $56,950 comes to the state of Utah out of the five million dollars recently appropriated to be distributed among the states of the Union, by the national government. To be entitled to its share, each state must provide an amount equal to that put up by the federal government. This will give Utah, if the state authorities appropriate the necessary amount, over $113,000 to be expended on the state roads of Utah in the year to come. A cloud burst on the 26th of July, at Milford, did much damage to farms. Hundreds of acres of land were flooded and a dozen bridges were swept out and a number of farm buildings were wrecked. Lightning struck the barns of the state experiment station and hurled parts of it a hundred feet away. Another cloud burst occurred in the mountains northwest of Milford, but luckily resulted in no damage. William Kesler, formerly secretary of the Swiss-German mission, who was pressed into the European war in its early stages, was slain on a European battlefield on July 1st of this year, according to a cablegram received at the office of the First Presidency on the 22nd of July, from President H. W. Valentine, president of the SwissGerman mission. It is believed that young Kesler was the grandson of the late Bishop Fred Kesler of the 16th ward, Salt Lake City. He was born in Pleasant Green, Utah, and his father is now living at Lethbridge, Canada. James Whitcomb Riley, the noted Indiana poet, died on the 22nd of July at his home, age 63 years. On October 7, ,1915, a unique celebration was held in Indiana, and in the schools of the United States, attended by more than a million children, in his honor. He was born in the middle west. At the request of the governor Mr. Riley's bod> laid in state at the Indiana capitol building for two days, and the people of the state were thus given an opportunity to pay their last respects to the "Hoosier poet." Blacklisting cf American business firms was objected to by American Ambassador Page who presented a strong note to the British foreign office on the 28th of July, protesting against the action of Britain prohibiting British subjects from trading with 82 specified firms in the United States, who are suspected of being pro-German. The note insists that Americans are entirely within their rights in trading with the people or governments of any of the nations now at war. Charles R. Mabey, of Davis County, former member of the State Legislature, was nominated Republican candidate for Congress from PASSING EVENTS 1041 the Second Congressional district of Utah, at Salt Lake City, August 9. There were six candidates: Charles R. Mabey, W. E. Rydalch, A. R. Barnes, R. W. Salisbury, James Devine, T. L. Holman. The first ballot stood: Mabey 118, Rydalch 39, Barnes 32, Salisbury 67, Devine 25, and Holman 82. The third ballot upon which Mr. Mabey was elected, stood: Mabey 218, Holman 97, Barnes 23, Salisbury 24. Prohibition in Russia has received a permanent imeptus by the passage of a law by the Russian Duma which makes permanent the prohibition of liquor drinking that was enforecd two years ago as a war measure. The Duma has also passed a law giving the peasants civil rights equal to those enjoyed by the rest of the population. The peasants did not receive full electoral and civil rights when, many years ago serfdom was abolished, and it has long been the aim of the liberals to remove that disability. Evidently the war is making Russia. Sir Roger Casement, notwithstanding the strong body of liberal public opinion which was manifest in favor of some kind of commutation of the sentence, was executed for treason in connection with the recent Irish rebellion by hanging, at 9 o'clock on the morning of August 3, at the Pentonville jail. His relatives' request for his body was refused. Casement is said to have met his death with calm courage having the last rites of the Catholic church administered to him just before the execution. When the priest recited the litany of the dying, Casement responded in low tones, "Lord, have mercy on my soul." The Lloyd George plan for the government of Ireland was made public on July 5. Under it the new Irish parliament will be organized to consist of an appointed senate and seventy-eight Irish members of the British parliament who will have seats at Westminster, as well as at Dublin. It is provided that within a year of the end of the war an imperial conference will decide on the permanent character of the Irish government. In the meantime, the dispatches announce the reappointment of Baron Wimborne as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and considerable opposition to the new plan, and the old quarrel seems to have been renewed. Timothy C. Hoyt, of Ogden, formerly head of the Lands department of the Fourth district Forest Service, was named Republican candidate for Congres*s from the First Utah Congressional district, at the Congressional convention held in the Orpheum Theatre, Ogden, on August 10. Four candidates were in the field, the others being Thomas W. O'Donnell of Vernal, Congressman Joseph Howell of Cache, and Judge Jacob Johnson of Sanpete. Mr. Hovt was elected on the third ballot, receiving 251 J/2 votes to O'Donnell's 160, Joseph Howell's 13J/2, and Johnson's none. On the first ballot Hoyt received \77Y? Howell 9\]/2 Johnson 77, and O'Donnell 73. , , The Danish West Indies have been purchased by the United States at a cost of $25,000,000 and the abandonment of all exploration claims in Greenland. The islands consist of St. Thomas, St. John, and Santa Cruz or Croix. St. Thomas has an area of 26 square miles and a population of about 15,000; and St. Croix, an area of 74 square miles with a population of about 20,000. Sugar is the main crop. The sale has met with considerable opposition from the Danish press. The opening of the Panama canal has given a new importance to these islands as they stand where the steamer route from Europe to 1042 IMPROVEMENT ERA Panama crosses the route from New York to South America, commanding the Caribbean sea. The advantages to this country will be largely political and strategic. "Deutschland," the German merchant submarine which arrived some weeks ago in the Chesapeake, after a trip through the British blockade from Bremen, Germany, passed away from Baltimore on August 1, on the very day of the second anniversary of Germany's declaration of war against Russia. She was loaded with a return cargo of rubber and nickel, at Baltimore. Captain Paul Koenig was confident that he would avoid the eight warships of the entente allies that were waiting for him' at the three-mile limit, spread out in a radius of five miles. A sister ship, "Bremen" was expected into the American port at any time, but up to this date (Aug. 12) has not been heard from. "You have been more than courteous," said the captain to the surveyor of customs, "and the fatherland will not forget it." William Thurston Ferguson, 28 years of age, was drowned in Utah Lake near his home in Lake Shore, on the 1st day of August. He was employed in the Sugar factory and went out on the lake in a boat to bathe. Rowing out to where the water was about twelve feet deep, accompanied by two of his younger brothers, he dove into the water, but never arose until his dead body was found the next morning. He was a graduate of the University of Utah, a brilliant student, a noted debater, and popular among his fellow students. He made his home in Emerson ward, in this city, while a student of the University, where he took interest in Church work, and he held the office of a Seventy. He was under contract to teach mathematics in the Spanish Fork High school next year. An explosion of 80 car-loads of munitions of war, on the pier at the Black Tom Island, on the New Jersey coast, near New York City, July 30, killed a number of persons and destroyed about $30,000,000 worth of property. It shook great office buildings in New York to their foundations, and covered the streets for miles around with broken glass. Many ships and warehouses were also destroyed by fire which followed the explosion. Whole cases of shrapnel were hurled half a mile, bombarding the harbor, Ellis Island and Jersey City with shot, shell and debris. It was charged that blame for the explosion lay with either the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, or the storage companies, and that some of them had violated the laws of New Jersey by permitting barges, loaded with explosives, to remain moored at the piers over night. Matthew H. Walker, pioneer banker and financier, and president of the Walker Brothers Banking Company, died in Salt Lake City, July 28, 1916. He was born in Yorkshire, England, January 16, 1845. and was the youngest of the four Walker brothers whose names are indissolubly associated with the material development and progress of Utah. In 1852, the family having been converted to the faith of the Latter-day Saints crossed the ocean to America. They remained two years in St. Louis where the father died. The widow and the four sons decided to come to Utah, and came over the plains in ox teams in 1855. From that time on, the boys supported their mother, and in 1859 entered business on their own account, on Main Street, including banking in a primitive way. They became pioneers in this line succeeding admirably in business. Their great bank at present has a deposit of over seven million dollars. Mr. Walker was the , PASSING EVENTS largest individual real estate owner in Salt Lake E City. - 4 ^M 1043 His other three brothers preceded him in death. Professor Evan Stephens, conductor of the Tabernacle Choir, has tendered his resignation, in a letter received at the President's office, July 22. The resignation was reluctantly accepted. Professor A. C. Lund, who was at the time in charge of the music department of the Hrigham Young University, at Provo, has been chosen Professor Stephens' successor. Professor Stephens has had charge of the choir for almost twenty-six years. He leaves with the love and loyalty of thousands of the people, singers, and fellow workers. During his incumbency great progressive strides in music have been made in the Church. Professor Stephens was born in South Wales, June 28, 1854, and came to Utah when he was twelve years of age, traveling over the plains in an ox team. He settled at Willard, Uox Elder county where, at the age of fourteen, he became deeply interested in music in the ward choir. In 1879, Professor Stephens was called to be the organist for the Logan Tabernacle choir, in which city he also began to teach music classes. He came to Salt Lake in 1882, studying the organ under Professor Joseph J. Daynes, and later taught music in the University of Utah; and he spent a year at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1890, he organized various musical societies and the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir which, under his leadership, has toured many of the states of the Union and competed in many musical contests. It has grown under his direction to be the best known musical organization in the country. He was in charge of the music of the public schools of Salt Lake City for two years introducing the study of music into them. His successor, Prof. A. C. Lund, is the son of President and Mrs. Anthon H. Lund, and was born in Ephraim, Utah, in 1871. He attended the public schools, the Brigham Young University, and spent three years in the Royal Conservatory of Leipzig, Germany, from which institution he graduated in 1894. He then studied for one year in Paris and one year in London, and was the professor of music at the Brigham Young University for a number of years, laboring there when called to this new position. The Republican State convention was held in Ogden on Tuesday, August 8. Senator George Sutherland was renominated to succeed himself in the United States Senate. Nephi L. Morris was nominated candidate for Governor on the third ballot, receiving 313 2-3 votes against Governor Spry's 188 and E. E. Jenkins' 42 /2 L. R. Anderson l , 52, A. W. Carlson 13& Mackay 11, and Rideout 4 1-3, the first ballot having given Spry 197 A, Morris 246 2-3, and Jenkins 69y2 l . Other state officers were nominated as follows: Supreme Court Justice. D. N. Straup; Secretary of State, Lincoln G. Kelly: Attorney General, Harold P. Fabian; Auditor, Joseph Jensen; Treasurer, David 11. Madsen; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. E. G. Gowans; Presidential Electors, Asa J. Holley of Sevier, Orrin Seeley, Sr., of Emery, Thomas Smart of Cache. David Jensen of Weber. In the platform resolutions were incorporated declaring for good roads and pledging "The incoming Governor and legislative assembly, if Republican, promptly, and not less than 15 days before the close of the next session of the Legislature, to enact a law effectively prohibiting, by direct legislation, the manufacture and the sale, by prescription or otherwise, of intoxicating liquors of all kinds within the state of Utah, a law which shall be thoroughgoing, unambiguous, and as in capable of evasion as language can make it; and that said law go into effect within six months after its passage." 1044 IMPROVEMENT ERA The platform also pledges "our candidate for the United States Senate, to favor by his vote and every other way possible, every measure that shall be introduced into Congress for the elimination of the liquor traffic and for the securing of National prohibition." Further, the platform favors a workman's compensation law, a constitutional amendment conferring the elective franchise on .women, providing for proper recognition of women on state boards and commisions; providing for a public utilities commission, and an anti-pass law, legislation for the protection of workers against writs of injunction and from dangers incident to industry and transportation, demanding a faithful observance of the eight-hour law, protesting against National Government special taxes in times of peace, and providing for public schools being kept entirely free from partisan politics. Pioneer day was celebrated in Ogden on July 24 with a program which included a great parade of attractive floats, headed by three hundred pioneers in automobiles, as the first division; Washakie Indians, Franciscan fathers, trappers, and floats representing Utah before the entrance of the pioneers, as the second division; floats showing the several nations represented in the state's population, as the third division, ten nations being represented; the fourth division consisted of the old-fashioned cradle scythe followed by the modern reaper and binder, different methods of transportation, and the volunteer firemen. The fifth division consisted of floats giving the community growth, showing early log cabins and modern homes. Then followed the organizations, including the Boy Scouts, Bee-Hive girls, Daughters of the Pioneers, as the final division. There were five bands in the parade. A short program was given at Glenwood Park at which President Joseph F. Smith spoke, also Mayor Abbot R. Heywood, Rev. Cnshnahan, President L. W. Shurtliff. A poem dedicated to the Daughters of the Pioneers was read by Mrs. Eunice Wattis Bowman. Three hundred Weber county pioneers were given a luncheon in the canyon. Elder David O. McKay was the toastmaster. It was pronounced one of the grandest celebrations ever held in the state. Ensign Peak day. The sixty-ninth anniversary of the naming of Ensign Peak was celebrated by the Boy Scouts of Ensign stake, N. W. Reynolds stake scout commissioner, on July 26, in commemoration of the visit of Brigham Young's party to the peak on that date, in 1847. Among the speakers were B. H. Roberts who gave a talk on the early history connected with the peak, and also the pioneers who first entered the valley. A resolution was adopted providing that the celebration of Ensign Peak Day shall be observed by the Boy Scouts of the Ensign stake annually, with an invitation to all other scouts to take part. Other speakers were Mrs. Ruth May Fox and Scout Commissioner Dr. John H. Taylor, John Giles, stake superintendent, and N. W. Reynolds, stake scout commissioner. The Ensign stake scout officers went on a hike to Brighton on the 16th. Accompanying was Lester W. Mangum, representing Jesse Knight who has donated a permanent camp ground to the Ensign stake scouts on which will be erected a permanent log cabin. There will also be a baseball diamond and tennis courts.