---
title: Improvement Era
description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930.
authors:
  - Joseph M. Tanner
collections:
  - periodicals
tags:
  - magazine
  - improvement-era
periodical: Improvement Era
volume: 21
number: 5
published: 1918-03
publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
publisher_place: Salt Lake City
language: en
type: magazine
reference: "Joseph M. Tanner, “Problems of the Age,” *Improvement Era* 21, no. 5 (March 1918): 407–417."
source:
  url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2105unse
  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: improvementera2105unse
start_page: 407
end_page: 417
rights:
  status: public-domain
  basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1918-03)
  source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2105unse
  publication_year: 1918
  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 1918, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright.
---

# Problems of the Age

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Problems of the Age

Dealing with Religious, Social and Economic Questions and their

Solution. A Study for the Quorums and Classes

of the Melchizedek Priesthood

By Dr. Joseph M. Tanner

VII. — A Real Danger to the Middle Class

Growth. — In general terms the middle class may be said to occupy a

position somewhere along the line between the producer and consumer.

They consist of distributors, such as merchants and other agencies — who

take from the producer and hand to the consumer, and in turn become a

part of the class of consumers. Within the bounds of their legitimate call-

ing they are benefactors to all industrial life. They are common carriers

and distributors that make it possible for all the world to enjoy the prod-

ucts created or grown in every part of the earth. Modern commerce is a

comparatively new field of human endeavor. It has for centuries been a

sparsely occupied field. It has grown rapidly within the past few decades,

and is therefore today full of adventure and of reward. It has called for

men of superior talents, and has invited them from all ranks of life. Like

other new fields of enterprise, it has been both novel and remunerative.

There is no field of exploit so fascinating and paying as that of humanity.

Out of it myriads of fortunes have been accumulated, and it is the most

attractive of all adventures. The result is that millions have flocked to it,

and incurred the danger of tipping one end of the balance board into the

stream. At times very large numbers of them may be carried down stream

or drowned. Nothing seems more certain at the present juncture of human

life than that the middle class, so called, is altogether beyond the needs of

industrial life, and that its massed formation will make it all the better tar-

get for the new machine guns that are sure to be turned on it by the pres-

ent and coming changes in organized industry.

The same inequality in industrial life has more than once in the history

of mankind proved disastrous to national well-being. Examine for a mo-

ment the present movement of life into the great cities, where men and

women find employment in occupations that are emphemeral, that is,

in those whose chief business it is to produce luxuries and amuseme-ts not

necessary for the support of mankind. Take as examples automobiles,

movies, and every conceivable form of amusement. Profitable they may be

in prosperous times, but such employemnt is the first to go down in every

industrial crisis. Luxuries must go. The pinch of the rising cost of living,

and the dangers of financial panics may at any time reduce millions to a

state of starvation. The panics of the future will not be what those of the

past have been. Food and clothing are higher, and the numbers of those

outside productive life are so much greater, that a serious disturbance in

the industrial world would create a social havoc wholly unknown to history.

The siren of false business principles is luring thousands into the danger

zone. What is not done by adventurous business methods to entice men

and women away from safe conditions of existence, is done by our state

and national legislative bodies that are creating boards and commissions

galore to meet the demands of those who are chiefly exploiters of human-

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408 IMPROVEMENT ERA

ily. It would be a hopeless task to tabulate the appendages to the industrial

life of our nation. When men cannot find legislative aid they organize elubs

;iml societies that are today really becoming a burden to the producer and

consumer. It is sometimes called a "speculative life." It is speculative, for

no one can even guess the dangers it carries with it.

Ethical Conditions. — Aside from its dangers, there are ethical reasons

why such a life is disturbing to the welfare of society. Nothing does more

to create discontent and disappointment than speculation. Those who fail

despair and make for anarchy. Those who succeed, plunge into extrava-

gances which in turn lead to physical and moral destruction. The spirit of

our modern world is largely that of the gambler. "I'm going to take my

chances" is the announcement before a leap into the unknown regions of

disaster whichever way the chances go. No man can afford to take chances

that have more temptation to vice than he can endure. To fully one-half

which thus take chances there comes the misery of envy and despair.

Satisfaction in Production. — There is not the satisfaction in speculation

that there is in production. The gains of contentment in the latter are im-

measurably greater than they are in the former. The mental anxiety over

the outcome of production and markets when judicious labor is expended, is

incomparably preferable to the anxiety of a pure game of chance. There

is a solid satisfaction in the thought that you have helped others that is not

found in the all-too-prevalent fact that you have "done" others.

He who raises enough grain to feed a hundred others besides his own

family, contributes really as much to his own happiness as he does to the

welfare of society. Such is the ethical side of productive life.

Physical Enjoyment. — Nothing need be said of physical enjoyment. I

know a man who said that the happiest experience of his life was when he

sat by the warm fire of a friend's home in Sterling, Canada, after days of

great activity and exposure with sheep, when the thermometer registered

often 30 degrees below zero. It was the pleasure that comes from the re-

bound of physical activity and hardship to rest and comfort. Rob man of

physical rest and recuperation by a life of physical ease and indulgence, and

you rob him of the ability to enjoy the blessings of his existence. A world

upside down is sure to be snagged.

Warnings. — How do we know that the middle class is upsetting the bal-

ance of a safe social and industrial condition? We have symptoms enough

to warn us of the disease. There is the higher cost of living, there is an in-

crease of vices which an over-crowded middle class always produces, and

lastly, we have the disease itself in the most violent form. War has always

been the selfish determination of one or more nations of the world to ex-

ploit humanity. The soldiers of Europe are the most numerous of all its

middle classes.

The worst aspect of this class is its drift away from religion. It may

not be universal, but it is general. There is less religion in the city than on

the farm; there is less religion in speculation than there is in the factory.

Work is an essential part of religion, even physical work. That explains

why among the Latter-day Saints men of affairs are chosen to so many places

of ecclesiastical offices. Members of the Twelve are given opportunity, after

their spiritual labors, to recuperate in some form of activity. They urge an

active, not a restful, life. Mental action is not sufficient to obtain the best

results, and many Church authorities engage in out-door life in one form or

another. "Home industry" has been the keynote of life and labor among the

Saints, and they have been warned frequently against the evils and dangers

that follow those who shirk toil.

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PROBLEMS OF THE AGE 409

From Producer to Consumer. -What are the dangers to the middle class

in the United States today? There is now on foot a movement which is

rapidly increasing; it is the slogan, "From the producer direct to the con-

sumer." Its'dangers to the distributors of the middle class are minimized

by those it is most likely to affect. It began by the enactment of the parcel

post system, which for some unaccountable reason did not make a monopoly

of it. The government could handle all the business cheaper and more ef-

fectively than it now handles the part of it which the express companies

have been allowed to retain. There is certain to be a strong movement in

favor of the government's exclusive control and an extension of the system

that will make the government the greatest business institution in the

United States. There is further a restive spirit against overloading the

producer and consumer with any heavier demand from the middle class.

Until recently the producer felt most the weight of this load. Men and

women were leaving the farm for city life, not factory life, and labor be-

came a menacing problem. The increase by our agricultural colleges of

men whose business it has become to tell the farmer how to do rather than

to do themselves, is a striking illustration of a tendency to ally education

with the middle man rather than with the producer. Indeed, that is the

tendency of all our education. It is making that class of society most

popular. In the factories, the work is done largely by foreigners. The

recruits to the industrial life of the nation are not supported by the ideals

and aims of modern education in the United States as they should be. Years

of experience in education convinced the writer that nearly all educational

talks were about ideals, aims, and ambitions, rather than about work, duty,

and industrial life. The professional side of education has almost oblit-

erated its industrial side, notwithstanding that we putter a little with manual

training. The enticing influence of education is leading the great army of

school men into city life. How large an army of this middle class the pro-

ducer and consumer can support is of course a question, but that the load

is sure to bring a break-down, no thoughtful person can deny. A newspaper

in Lethbridge, Canada, published an account of a man who bought a barrel

of apples in which he found the following card : "I sold this barrel of

apples for 90c; what did you pay?" The purchaser paid $5.75. The high

cost of living is the most vital issue in the world today. What has caused

it? The most potent of all causes has been the unparalleled increase of the

middle class and the corresponding decrease of producers, especially in agri-

culture, animal husbandry, and fruit growing. To add to the danger of the

situation, there is a growing antagonism toward those who have imposed

themselves by various agencies upon both the producer and the consumer.

Government intervention has resulted, and it is not likely to be wholly va-

cated after the war.

Dangers of Anarchy. — The middle class has heretofore been a great

bulwark against anarchy. It has usually been well fed and cared for. Let

us suppose a violent suppression of this class through famine or a financial

collapse — something easily imagined. Famine and its consequent sufferings

know no law. This preponderating class is growing, therefore, dangerously

large. It cannot be easily provided for, and any movement to disperse it

would be deeply resented. How can such a large mass be provided for in

case of a dispersion? Other forms of life would be distasteful, and what-

ever forced them away from their present pursuits would engender hatred

of a most violent form. Hatred is the stuff from which wars and anarchy

are made. Men are often the creatures of circumstances over which they

have no control. The world has ceased to be merely drifting: it is at sea,

and without a safeguard, or rudder. Confusion has laid its perilous hands

upon the political and social life of the world. President Wilson has said

that "the world must be made safe for democracy;" and Governor McCall

of Massachusetts has added that "democracy must be made safe for the

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IK) IMPROVEMENT ERA

world." Can then- be a godlesi democracy? The world long will !><•

forced lo seek a solution of conditions that are bo full of danger ami dis-

aster to the welfare and happiness of mankind. All sorts of remedies will

be sought; hut outside of religion, they will never l.e found.

Revelation "Behold, I sent you out to testify an:! warn the people, and

it beeometh every man who hath been warned, to warn his neighbor" (Doc.

and Cov. 88:81).

Vlll— Value of Child Life.

Purity of the Race.- -There is nothing in the crumbling processes of our

modern civilization more menacing to our future welfare and happiness than

the curtailment of child life. Thoughtful men and women he^in already to

appreciate the dangers which beset us from this source. They are making

every effort to conserve human life, but at best they are dealing only with

remedies, and are not grappling with the dangers at the seat of this world-

wide disease. Public men are appealing to the men and women of the world

to spare the nations of Christendom the calamity of self-extinction. Of all

questions which beset mankind today, there is not one whose ramifications

go into every phase of life like that of child-birth. Neither is it a matter

of will, for we are solemnly warned that evil conditions have so crept into

the lives of our youth that the absence of child life cannot be avoided.

The Revelation of Evils — The determination which a very large class

of the people of the world have manifested against any further increase of

child life reveals a multitude of evils that are a danger to the morals of the

world. There is now going on throughout the United States a campaign

among women against the so-called "double standard," by which is meant

that men may be forgiven the excesses of youth, that their sins may be

winked at, and that they may be permitted to assume the solemn duties of

husband, and it may be, of father. When the women were charged with

wilful barrenness, they were quick to retort, in perhaps most instanc-s, that

the charge was false, and refused to permit the accusation to be laid at

their door. They began then a campaign in the legislatures of the different

states of the Union to compel men, through doctors' certificates, to estab-

lish their fitness for married life. While they have had some measure of

success, as a rule their campaign has not been successful.

A Dangerous Situation. — If it be true, as is frequently charged by med-

ical science through certain publications, that the question of parentage with

a large percentage of our men is not at all a question of willingness, but one

of ability: when the young, manhood of our nation reaches such a state of

degradation, the revelation is most appalling, and the hope of the future

posterity is indeed small. Again, it is declared that in a large number of

instances the danger of birth is more alarming than its absence, because

so many children are born into the world with physical inheritances that

wholly unfit them for the responsibilities of life. It is the sacred right of

children to be born physically, mentally, and morally right. If the vices of

the fathers entail upon our children the dangers and sufferings of sin, every

effort should be made to eradicate them. The double standard is said to

be the fixed rule in life, but it is not true among Latter-day Saints. Upon

men there is put the same accountability as that which rests upon women.

If, indeed, there is a difference, it stands against the man, whose mission in

life is to protect by every means the daughters of Eve.

National Calamities. — Already France has reached a stage where the

death rate is in excess of the birth rate. In Germany publicists are sound-

ing a note of warning against conditions which threaten there to become as

menacing as they are in France. The present war is much more likely to

increase this menace to the race than it is to improve it. Even though fu-

ture wars may not be immediate, and the peace of the world may not be

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PROBLEMS OF THE AGE 411

threatened for generations, child-bearing will be refused on the ground

that parents do not care to produce "fodder for the cannon" of those who

are ambitious for war. There have been serious economic objections against

child-life, and now new objections will be furnished by the destruction of

the youth, the strongest and best in the manhood of nations.

Value of Children. — What is likely to be the result of this menace to

our national life? In the first place, the birth of a million children has in

it more potential value than all the billions of dollars that come from our

fields, and we might include in that all the wealth that comes in a single

year from our mines. We have never fully realized the value of an increas-

ing population. If our population begins rapidly to decrease, our workshops

will be empty, our railroads will be without patronage. The doors of our

factories will be closed; and what will be more trouble, there will be a stag-

nant condition of life that forebodes decay and destruction. A decreasing

population is a sure sign of increasing decay. The spirit of abandonment

is the spirit of defeat. Men lose their courage, women their fortitude,

and they settle down in a spirit of the fatalist, whose demoralizing life is

reflected too much among Asiatics, in whom there is no ambition to advance-

ment. Fruthermore, by the abandonment of children, our lives are cut in

two, so far as our ambitions and struggles to promote ourselves in life go.

Men forty-five and fifty are in the zenith of their power. At that age they

are able to take a survey of practically all that they have to hope for in

life. At that age their ambition comes generally to a standstill. If there

are no children to whom their ambitions may be transferred, they are with-

out hope.

Australia allows by law $25.00 to the mother of every child born to her

without making inquiry into its parental origin. Other countries make pro-

visions for the expenses of child-birth because they have learned the value

of child life. The United States has in the past been supplied with popu-

lation largely by immigration; and yet different states make provisions for

the expenses of childhood.

Ruskin beautifully declares that "There is no wealth but life — life, in-

cluding all its powers of love, of joy, and of admiration. That country is

richest which nourishes the greatest number of noble and happy human be-

ings; that man is richest, who, having perfected the functions of h!s own

life to the utmost, has also the widest helpful influences, both personal and

by means of his possessions, over the lives of others." The wealth that comes

from the veins of human life is purple. It is not the yellow of gold, a dross

in comparison.

After the War, that ever-recurring phrase, human life will be more val-

uable than ever. How little value the nations have put upon childbirth!

It is the old story of a buried talent, which the calamities of war is taking

away from us. It is the taking away of even that which we have. Are the

Latter-day Saints becoming tinctured with the fatal philosophy that they

cannot afford life? Do they argue the "higher cost"? If so, they, too, may

experience the "taking away." Whatever is a talent we ought not to bury;

but the world is the grave-yard of buried talents. "But," it is asked, "what

is the remedy for the "higher cost?" Faith. If we lose faith in God we shall

also lose faith in his creations and in his law. The pressure, we say, is

awful, but all life is born and continues under pressure. We are not safe

without pressure; it is the law of our being. Escape from it does not bring

relief. The trouble is not that God has placed upon us a load too heavy to

bear, but we have wasted the strength that would make the burden light.

Child-bearing makes a woman strong, wilful barrenness makes her weak. The

latter weakens her will and robs her of her faith. The man who bears an

empty case carries an emptv life. "The strenuous life" makes men and

women strong in purpose and valiant for the right. The objector further

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412 IMPROVEMENT ERA

reasons thai a fad is a fact, that "it is a condition, not a theory which con-

fronts us." But facts are miserable things if borne of false theories. Con-

ditions fade in the light of faith and hope. We do not see our way through

life, not even through a da" of twenty-four hours, for part of it is given

to darkness. The birth of children brings faith to the home. They come

from a divine presence, and bring with them a love for things divine.

"Blessed is he who hath his quiver full."

Revelation. — "Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabit-

ants cf Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are grow-

ing up in wickedness; they also seek not the riches of eternity, but their

eyes are full of greediness" (Doc. and Cov. 68:31).

IX — Co-operation

Counsels of Brigham Young. — Within the memory of many now living,

it may be recalled that a strenuous effort was made in Utah to induce the

people to conduct their business by co-operative methods. The writer

once heard Brigham Young say to the people of Provo that the day would

come when they would discover the fallacy of all their arguments in favor

of competition, when the competitive methods about which people talked

so much would be a burden to them. He declared that one distributive

business of any kind was enough for the community; that the more the

stores, the higher the prices would be; and that it was in the interest of the

people to have as many as possible in some productive labor. His efforts

were thwarted in time, partly by the insistence of large numbers who were

d termined to become merchants, and men of business in other pursuits,

and partly by the miscarriage of many co-operative institutions. There

was a clamor for the correction of these miscarriages in co-operation by

competitive methods, rather than by the application of improved methods.

In time small stores sprang up in all the communities. A half dozen or

more stores took up the work of distribution where one might have

sufficed. All these systems of business had to exist. For a time, no doubt,

there was strenuous competition; but eventually, merchants found it more

profitable to put their heavy burden upon the community at large than to

carry it themselves. If they were to exist, they must come to some sort of

understanding. Gradually they formed business men's associations, where

they regulated prices. Whenever a new man entered their ranks, there was

but one or two courses to pursue. Either one of them must drop out, or

prices must be raised to support them all. In bad times there were fail-

ures, but to protect themselves against failure it was necessary to raise prices

again.

There can be no doubt that constantly rising prices were due in part

to the growing and necessary cost of distribution.

Today there is a widespread discontent against the rising costs of

living, and a considerable amount of suffering as a consequence. For a

time the burden of these excessive costs fell upon the producer. Goods

had to be bought as cheaply as possible, and they were cheap because

production was large, in consequence of a considerable preponderance of

farmers and manufacturers. Cheap production meant cheap labor, and

men soon found that they could earn more in the ranks of those who dis-

tributed than in those of the producer. Labor unions began to force prices

of labor up in manufacturing centers, but there were no unions among

farmers. That meant that the higher prices for labor in the cities took men

away from the farms. Farm products and live stock suffered. Wheat

growing on a commercial scale began in later years to contract, as the

prices for labor on the farm made large wheat farms unprofitable. Farmers

soon began to reason that a general movement to raise less was more

profitable, for the less raised, the higher the prices. There began an almost

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PROBLEMS OF THE AGE 413

universal cry for mixed farming. That meant stockraising and dairying;

it also meant less wheat. The higher cost of wheat is not merely a result

of the war. Nor is the recent decline in amount of wheat raised due en-

tirely to adverse conditions, such as draught and wheat insects.

Commercial System.— Speculators have combined to force down prices

at harvest time and to raise them when the wheat was bought up. Loans

were sll on short-time notes on which bankers could enforce payment.

"t ay «i»," they said ; "we will renew the loan." I have known stock buyers

to an to' a bank and make arrangements with the manager to buy a certain

man's livestock. What the manager was to get out of the transaction could,

of course, not be known. He telephoned the stockman that his note was

due and must be paid. "But I have not yet sold, I have plenty of feed to

keep my stock over for months; and besides, prices are down just now,

came the reply from the stockman. The manager informed him that there

was a buyer in town, and that he must sell. There was no alternative, and

the buyer secured a cheap bunch of stock. Such methods, of course, in

time resulted in loss of business to the bank by a restriction of business,

or by the transfer of it to another bank, which did not make conditions

much better. By combination they keep a uniform rate of interest and

competition among them is practically unknown. The live stock was

cheaper, but the packers' products remained the same.

Illustrations.— Alberta is one of the best barley countries in the world.

From this feed, millions of hogs could be fattened and yet today there are

comparatively few hogs fattened for market in the Province. In 1914 the

farmers were under full swing in the production of hogs. It was a dry

year and feed was high, but hundreds of thousands of hogs were fitted for

market. When they are ready they must be sold, as it would be a loss

to hold them longer. The packers saw their opportunity to get them "dirt"

cheap. They dropped prices to four cents a pound. That was an enormous

loss to farmers, but they had to sell. They were disgusted, but they "took

their medicine" and unloaded, breeding-stock and all. The packers sent an

agent out to beg the farmers not to sell their brood sows, but to no purpose.

They were done with a business whose control was in the hands of a few

men who might ruin the farmers whenever they saw fit. The business was

practically killed. It will be slow to revive. Did the packers bring down

their products? Not a cent. Their fortunes are mounting into the millions.

Yet their agents pull long and painful faces when they tell of the great

chances they are taking, and how their company "lost last year." The

shrinkage in production is bringing prices to a bigher level, and the con-

sumer must suffer with the producer.

Co-operation. — What's the remedy? That's a question. It is certainly

not competition. Is it co-operation? Perhaps so, but it will be an enforced

co-operation by the Province regulating the business through provincial or

municipal agencies. The important co-operation may be between the pro-

ducer and consumer through the agencies of the state. Market slumps in

the products of the farm and ranch are the bane of life in these industries.

A monopoly in them is impossible, as in certain manufacturing products,

where combination is comparatively easy. As a war measure, price-fixing

has been established in the interests of the producer and consumer. The

principle will not likely end with the war. Conditions have greatly changed

within the past few years, and what has been found to be in the interest

of the people, the people will insist shall continue.

Denmark is the most highly organized country in the world in her

agricultural and live stock industries. Co-operative methods there are

fostered and practiced by the government. The fixation of prices is there

considered absolutely necessary to the country's success. A few years ago

<!-- page:414 -->

the Hollanders controlled largely the English market in butter ami cheese.

They were driven from that market hy the Danes, whose co-operative method

of buying and selling made it impossible for Hollanders longer to hold

what they had gained. The Danes so standardized their products through

government regulation that the chances of the Hollanders' winning hack

what they had lost is quite unlikely. They naturally turned to Germany

for a new market. To keep up a maximum of production, it was necessary

to stabilize prices. A careful study of market conditions is made, and the

price fixed by law. Any one within the country who does not sell at the

established prices is fined heavily.

Dangers. — When the pinch is felt in the United States, as it is at present

felt in some European countries, our government will intervene by law to

stabilize certain industries which need fixed prices, in the interest of the

consumer. Farmers and ranchers are becoming more independent, and will

doubtless hold their products for a considerable length of time to secure

what they consider a fair remuneration. They must demand more if they

are to meet the higher cost of maintaining expenses on the farm and ranch.

The United States has reached a place where it will require all the wheat

raised in normal years to feed its own population. The loss of population

to Europe will undoubtedly lessen consumption there, but laborers will

be fewer and there will be also an increased demand for labor to rehabilitate

all the countries of Europe after the war. Foreign trade will be sought in

order to win back the losses in gold. Manufacture will increase rapidly

and consume more labor. New complications will arise, whose adjustment

cannot easily be foreseen. The intervention of government in all industrial

life will be very different from what it has ever been, and a multitude of

problems will arise to tax the new industrial age. Co-operation will come

more and more into practice, and with the new changes there will come a

great danger to the so-called middle classes, who are likely to be scattered

into various industrial pursuits.

After all, it is a question of brotherhood. That is fundamental in

b siness life as it is in religious life. Co-operation fosters brotherhood,

competition endangers it. Every phase of life brings us face to face with

the very thing the world needs most — religion.

Revelation. — "It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give

unto you, that ye organize yourselves and appoint every man his steward-

ship.

"That every man may give an account unto me of his stewardship which

is appointed unto him;

"Therefore if a man take of the abundance which I have made, and

impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor

and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in

torment" (Doc. and Cov. 104:11,12,18).

X — Extravagance

Luxury Rampant. — There is serious danger ahead, greater than that

which the world is now confronting, from the extravagance of war, — for of

all forms of extravagance, war is the worst. Nations are wasting life by the

millions and property by the billions. Minor extravagances lead to major

ones. We may not think of war as a result of extravagance, but indirectly

it is. Waste and greed are twin brothers. To spend becomes a passion.

People love to buy, not always because they are in need, but because shop-

ping is a pleasant pastime. Of course, bills must be paid, money must be

had, honorably if possible, but it must be had.

Are we living beyond our means? Are we borrowing to support luxury

and waste? Do we eat too much? Do we eat food that is costly when

cheaper and simpler food wrould do as well, perhaps better? It is some-

<!-- page:415 -->

PROBLEMS OF THE AGE 415

times said that France could live on what the United Stales throws away.

Dr. Rurtherford, one of the most eminent authorities on food in the world,

recently said at a meeting in Calgary, as reported in the Herald of that city,

September 20, 1917:

"No one would know Canada was at war, except for the wounded

soldiers on the streets. When one sees extravagance and waste con-

stantly going on; buying of motor cars and silly raiment; oceans of

gasoline used up, one begins to wonder what kind of a people we are,

after all. We will have to help the mother country. It seems about

time we woke up and took a tighter hold of our belts.

"Food has been shut off from Russia, Roumania and Bulgaria,

while Australia and India are too far away to be of much use. The

requirements of the allies is 450,000,000 bushels, while the amount

available for export is 30,000,000.

"There is a decrease in meat producing in the world. There are

28 080,000 less cattle in the countries of the allies since the war began

and 54,050,000 less sheen and 32,050,000 fewer number of hogs. Dur-

ing the year ending June 30, 1916, the United States exported 1,339,-

193,000 pounds of meat, as compared with the average amount before

the war of 493,848,000 pounds.

"There are two phases, one the conservation of food, and the other

the elimination of food. The waste of food in the garbage pails and so

on in the United States is estimated by their food controller to be

700,000,000 pounds, while the waste of good food in Canada, according

to Food Controller Hanna, is 50,000,000 pounds. We must take a dif-

ferent course from that which we have followed in the past. We must

do something to make a change of heart in the people of Canada. We

can regulate public eating houses, but we cannot go into the kitchens

of private people, and they must be appealed to in the right way."

The garbage pail is, after all, a small item in our waste when com-

pared with a mass of luxuries that people could live easily without. We

invent more extravagances than we do useful machinery. It is often

said that making business out of pleasure is more profitable than that

which comes from the necessities of life.

Brothers Keeper— "We don't care; it is our money, and we shall

spend it as we like." Nothing is more sinister in this age than the

example of those who have wholly divorced themselves from all thought of

duty and helpfulness to others. The most sinful phase of waste is that it

puts a burden upon others. We are all creatures of imitation, and the imi-

tation that most" influences us is toward that which leads to extravagance.

Every man and woman is under a responsibility for the burden he puts upon

others by setting a pace in extravagance which they cannot follow. "Can I

afford it?" is perhaps the last thing a man should ask himself. "Should I

afford it?" makes him his brother's keeper. Too many of the rich not only

affo.d it, but thev flaunt it. To them there is a way of reckoning if they

escape the day. Into their children's lives they instil a false and poisonous

atmosphere. Often they ruin their own health and that of those whom

they should protect. Extravgaance is one of the cursing sins of the age. It

breeds envy, creates jealousy, leads to poverty and destroys the happiness

of millions. Our nublic buildings are loaded with mortgages, our banks are

full of notes. Yet we go on as if there were no days set apart for liquidation.

Fashions.— No nation's bill for fashions has ever been presented. It

would stagger the imagination. Beneath this load of extravagance millions

of backs are bending. "What of it? One may as well be out of the world

as out of fashion." Very well, it is taking millions out of the world and

wounding millions more. It is the pride which comes before the fall. The

papers are full of it. Here is an item from the Chicago Tribune of Sep-

tember 2, 1917:

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416 IMPROVEMENT ERA

Where the eggs go 200,000,000 a year are used by barberi and

!>0,000,000 by women hair-dressers. Banish the egg shampoo for the

period of the war, and save 250,000,000 eggs a year. There are 300,000

barbers in America. They will average more than two eggs a day."

Could something else be used? Nothing will do that is not extravagant.

The costly things of life are craved simply because they are costly.

Common observation, to say nothing of experience, will teach us the

evils of waste. In the home they may be in little things. What makes the

situation worse is that extravagance becomes a habit which in turn becomes

an inheritance. Will there ever be an accounting? What if famine comes?

How ill fit we shall be for emergencies of individual and national reverses!

"Oh, well, the world has always been so," and the world has also had its

days of reckoning. Have we lost our vision? Can we not see the impend-

ing dangers? We are standing with our faces to the wall. There are dan-

gers, but as we see them they look a long way off. Many would be as blind

if they were near. A London correspondent writes:

"I find the streets full of cheery faces, the theatre crowded with

pleasure seekers, and everywhere the accents of an uplifting hope."

"Uplifting hope!" For what, for whom? "May as well be cheerful

and hopeful as sad." We need not be either, but ought to be sober. Human

suffering is past expression, human lives are going out by millions, and

sorrow reddens the world as never before. It is all so "hopefully uplifting."

Men are at war to redeem the world from a ruthless foe. The gay and ex-

travagant care just about as much for the work of redemption on the battle-

field as the masses in Jerusalem cared for the redemption of Christ.

Penalties. — All excesses pay their penalties. The law of compensation

makes it so. Extravagance does not simply drift. It is always in a hurry —

its friction wears life away into a premature grave. The later life which

follows one of gaiety and splendor is discolored by the disappointment which

vanity always brings. Is there no hope for a simple and sober ending? It

is the foliage of life which most delights us, even though the foliage leaves

no place for the fruit to grow.

Individual extravagance is but one phase of an insistent evil. In public

life there is a similar tendency to waste. Senator Aldrich, a distinguished

political economist is declared to have stated that approximately one-half of

public money appropriated by Congress was extravagantly wasted. State

legislatures, as well as Congress, make appropriations that a frugal system of

administration in federal and state institutions do not really require. Log-

rolling is the favorite method in most legislative bodies. Local appropria-

jns are the measure of local patriotism. They are too often beyond legiti-

mate needs. No private business could be run successfully by such wasteful

methods as characterize our legislation. The "pork barrel" of Congressional

fame has long been a federal scandal. Organized revolts against it are inef-

fectual. Our natural resources have been squandered shamefully. We are

living for today with no thought of tomorrow. Talk of famine and suffering

awaken little response in our national and individual lives. Wrapped in

s lf-content, we go our way, indifferent to all danger.

Nor is the extravagance in our material lives our only vice. We are

wasteful of our physical energies. Men of simple and frugal lives do not

hesitate to work far beyond the limits of the strength of their bodies. They

are guilty of excessively long hours. They are ambitious to achieve certain

aims which they reach only at the waste of physical and mental energy.

The spirit of extravagance is manifest in all world activities. It means a

break-down in our universal system of waste. Conservation is the catch-

word of the age, but it is more than a catch-word. We are all involved in an

excessive struggle for accomplishments.

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PROBLEMS OF THE AGE 417

Thoughts and Feelings. — Extravagances in material things creates extrav-

agance in thought and feeling. Our mental concepts become exaggerated,

and the vision of life perverted. Our ideas of the world are overdrawn.

We cease to see things as they are, and consequently are led into false

methods of reasoning. There is a proper enjoyment of the riches of the

world, and there is a hope that comes within realization when moderation

is practiced. The world needs, in these fateful hours, a return to conserva-

tive living. Extremes follow one another. When we pass beyond the limits

of our powers, the return to normal conditions produces disappointment and

suffering. It is in order to bring the "old fogy" into fashion again, the

man who fears the dangers of extremes would keep within the bounds of

his ability to recover himself. Individual extravagance carries with it the

burden of debt and leads to bankrcptcy. It creates national and state extrav-

agance, that sometimes causes them to repudiate their obligations. The

spirit of moderation, on the other hand, enables men in extreme emergencies

to recover themselves. It carries with it the blessings of its own rward. Fur-

thermore, waste begets heedlessness and makes men indifferent to correction

or warning. Witness today the signal which the leading and thoughtful men

of the nation are holding aloft to the people. They do not heed them;

they are rushing headlong into a world of troubles that might be avoided

were they not intoxicated by the spirit of excess. They will not know the

truth, until the bitter realization of it brings home to them the partial, if

not the full penalty of their folly. For years the Saints have been warned.

Even before the war, coming calamities were foreseen, and the people were

admonished to "set their houses in order" against the day of God's judg-

ments.

Revelation. — "For it is expedient that I, the Lord, should make every

man accountable, as stewards over earthly blessings, which I have made and

proposed for my creatures" (Doc. and Cov. 104:13).

Notice

For the convenience of those who desire to outline a schedule for the

Priesthood lessons for 1918, the following titles of lessons to follow, are

printed :

Lesson 11 Modern Dangers; 12 Future of the Holy Land; 13 Reactions

of War Weapons upon Civil Life; 14 Intemperance; 15 Pleasure Loving

Age; 16 Financial Respectability; 17 Survival of the Fittest; 18 The New

Education; 19 The Home; 20 Woman's World; 21 Dependent Mothers;

22 Sexual Life; 23 Divorce; 24 Race Suicide; 25 Race Suicide (continued);

26 Music; 27 Dancing; 28 The Theatre; 29 Heredity; 30 Eugenics; 31 Back

to the Land; 32 Back to the Land (continued); 33 Fast Offerings; 34 Busi-

ness Life; 35 The Negro Question; 36 Manhood.

Notice to Bishops, and Class Leaders of Priesthood Quorums

The manuals for the Teachers' Quorum on the "Life of Christ" are ex-

hausted, and no new edition will be printed this year. Where classes are

short of books, it is suggested that the bishop notify the teachers in his

ward to secure from the Priests, manuals that were used in 1915.

The Committee have decided to print a pamphlet containing all the

lessons of the Melchizedek Priesthood for 1918. These will be ready for

distribution early in March. The lessons will continue as heretofore to be

printed in the Improvement Era where they will appear monthly until com-

pleted. A limited number of pamphlets will be sent to the bishops in pro-

portion to the priesthood membership in each ward.

Rudger Clawson, Chairman,

David A. Smith, Secretary.