Passing Events

The railroads of the country were turned over to their respective own- ers, March 1, after having been under government management for 26 months. Vladivostok was occupied by Japanese soldiers, April 5. The Ameri- can expeditionary force under General Graves had left the place four days before the Japanese attack. French forces occupied the cities of Frankfort-am-Main, Darmstadt, and other places in the Rhineland, by order of Marshal Foch. According to a proclamation issued, the territory will be held until German forces are withdrawn from the neutral zone. The Versailles peace treaty was rejected by the Senate, March 19, by a vote of 49 for ratification and 35 against; the supporters of the treaty being seven votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority. On April 9, the House passed a government resolution declaring the state of war with Germany at an end. The first diplomatic paper by Mr. Colby, the new secretary of state, concerns Turkey. It is a note to the allied supreme council, setting forth the view that Armenia ought to be given full autonomy, and that in any ar- rangement for the government of Constantinople and the Turkish states, Russia's interests should be considered.

Mrs. Elizabeth J. Hyde, 76 years of age, widow of Apostle Orson Hyde, died at Farmington, March 17, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Luella M. Hess. General debility was the cause of death. Mrs. Hyde was born in Germany and came to Utah in 1861, first settling at Spring City, where she resided until about twenty years ago. The state of Sonora, Mexico, has revolted. A proclamation made its ap- pearance. April 12, on the streets of Agua Prieta calling the citizens to arms against the Carranza government. The proclamation was signed by the president of the municipale of the city "and issued by order of General *'

P. Ellis Calles, commander in chief of all forces of 'the republic of Sonora.'

Rear Admiral Robert Edwin Peary, Arctic explorer and the first to reach the North Pole, died at his home in Washington, Feb. 20, after an illness extending over a period of two years. He was 64 years old. Peary made no less than eight successful explorations into the frozen regions, and reached the Pole in 1909. He spent April 6 and 7 in that forbidding locality.

Alfales Young, son of President Brigham Young and Eliza Burgess Young, a veteran newspaper man, died March 30 at his home in Salt Lake City, after an illness of three weeks. Mr. Young was the editor of Salt Lake Democrat, in 1885, and later became connected with the Salt Lake Herald. For the last twenty years he has been the telegraph editor of the Deseret News. Five Socialists, members of the New York State Assembly, were ex- pelled from the lower house of the legislature, April 1, as belonging to a

political party alleged to be disloyal to the U. S. government. The result arrived after an investigation extending over twenty-one days. By was at

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its action the assembly established a procedent altogether unique in the United States, as never before has an entire party legislative history in the delegation been ejected from any legislative body. Bainbridge Colby of New York, who was one of the leaders in the Pro- gressive party under Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded Robert Lansing as sec- retary of state according to announcement by President Wilson Feb. 25, at the White House. Mr. Colby was born in St. Louis, fifty-one years ago. He was a Republican until the famous "Bull Moose" bolt at the Chicago convention in 1912. He joined the Democratic party in 1916, when the Roosevelt influence was given to Mr. Hughes in the presidential race. Henry F. Burton, for many years bishop of Farmers Ward, died Feb 16. He was a son of the late Robert T. Burton, late of the Presiding Bish opric, and Sarah Garr Burton, and was born in Salt Lake City, Feb. 21, 1858 Surviving him are his wife and the following children: Henry F Alice M., Mrs. Frank H. Fox, Grover G., Harvey L.. Mrs. Alfred R. Koller Shipley D., Mildred, Louise, Edna and Anna Burton; also seven grand children, five sisters and fourteen brothers, among the latter being General Charles S. Burton, Edward L. Burton, and Willard C. Burton. Constantinople was occupied, March 16, by the allied forces under the command of Sir George F. Milne of the British army. The landing of occupation forces was carried out under guns of the formidable allied fleet operating in the Bosphorus. The British dreadnought Benbow was moored at the Galata quay, her guns trained on Stamboul. Another man-of-war faced the arsenal in the Golden Horn, while all other warships in the Bos- phorus were standing by with their decks cleared for action. The inten- tion of the allies, as explained by Bonar Law in the House of Commons, is to compel Turkey to carry out the terms of the peace treaty and to stop the massacre of Christians. Judge John Edge Booth, a well known Provo attorney, died March 28, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. Lloyd Woodruff, Salt Lake City, after an attack of influenza. The deceased was born in Bedford-Leigh, Lancashire, England, June 29, 1847. He came to Utah in 1857 and received his education here, graduating from the B. Y. University, Provo, in 1907, with the degree of B. S. Since 1875, he has been practicing law. In 1899 he was appointed judge of the Fourth Judicial District, which office he held until 1913. He had been county attorney for Utah co., justice of the peace, member of the Utah State constitutional convention and legislature, mayor of Provo, member of the city council of that city, and had held several other public offices.

The independence of Syria was proclaimed March 8, by a congress held at Damascus, with Emir Feisal, son of the king of the Hedjaz, as king. Palestine is included in the new kingdom. Mesopotamia is reported also to have declared its independence, with Emir Abysmal as king and Emir Zed as regent. Lebanon has adhered to this program and apparently a sort of Arab federation has neen arranged. The British and French governments promptly notified Feisal that they could not recognize the validity of the action of the Damascus congress. On March 23, the newly proclaimed king ordered the French to leave Syria before April 6, and the Arab authorities at the same time invited the British to leave Palestine.

The Death of Mrs. Maria S. Burton, widow of Bishop Robert T. Burton, which occurred March 30, 1920, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. E. E. Wil- cox, removes another of Utah's early settlers. She was born April 10, 1826, in Holliston, Mass., and was married to Mr. Burton in Nauvoo, 111., Dec. 18, 1845. The young couple left Nauvoo in Feb., 1846, crossing the Mis- souri river on the ice. In 1848 they started across the plains, and arrived

PASSING EVENTS 667

in Salt Lake Valley in the spring. Mrs. Burton was known among her relatives and friends as "Aunt Maria" and was noted for her good works of kindness and love. She is survived by seven children, twenty-nine grandchildren, and thirty-eight great-grandchildren. A Tornado swept northeastern Illinois and a portion of Indiana, Mis- souri, and Wisconsin, March 28. Elgin, Joliet, the western outskirts of Chi- cago, and north shore and western suburbs were in the path of the storm, which destroyed hundreds of buildings, uprooted trees and demoralized railroad traffic and telegraphic and telephone communication, before dying out on the shore of Lake Michigan. Reports from Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, and Alabama state that great damage was done in those states by the twister. Edgerton, a town near Fort Wayne, •

Ind., was completely wiped out. The loss of life is estimated at several hundred and the value of property destroyed is placed at $6,000,000, the heaviest loss being at Elgin, 111.

Milton J. Richardson, of Francis, Kamas, P. O., Summit co. Utah, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Richardson, died Dec. 8, 1919, after two years' ill- ness caused through an injury received while at Camp Lewis by a blow upon his head, in the company barber shop. So far, his friends have been unable to learn who did the cruel deed that caused his untimely death. Milton J. Richard- son was born Oct. 16, 1889; was set apart by Prest. Heber J. Grant to go on a mission Jan. 12, 1910, which he filled honorably and gained many friends. He served twenty-six months, and returned in good health. He was a strict ob- server of the word of wisdom, a faithful Lat- ter-day Saint all his life.

Germany was convulsed by a sudden revolution during the month of March, this year, when, March 13, a proclamation was issued deposing Friedrich Ebert, the president, and declaring Wolfgang von Kapp chancellor. Ebert fled to Dresden and then to Stuttgart. Spartacists and other radicals took advantage of the chaos that ensued, and proclaimed soviet governments in Hof, Schweinfurt, Mannheim, and some other places. Sanguinary fighting followed their attempts to gain control of the country. Berlin, Dresden, Kiel, Hamburg, were the scenes of fatal- disorders. Von Kapp, having failed to receive the support he expected in Germany, and being without recognition abroad, resigned March 17, after having held the reigns of power less than five days. On March 18, Ebert was again in control, and von Kapp, it was reported, had committed suicide, but on March 23 the situation in the country was considered extremely serious. No less than 8,000 persons had been killed since March 13, and the Bolsheviki were gaining control everywhere.

Food shortage, as a result of a strike by railroad switchmen and en- ginemen, was the outlook in Chicago, April 8. In that city from eight to ten thousand railroad men were on a strike, and about 35,000 packing house employes were forced out of work by the shutdown. Idleness, on account of the strike was reported from Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles, and many other cities. The strike was not sanctioned by the officials of the big railroad brotherhoods, but was engineered by more or less irre- sponsible agitators who denounce the brotherhood officials for their alleged failure to force the railroads to pay higher wages. On April 9 Salt Lake, Og- den, and Southern Idaho cities were involed. On the Oregon Short Line 200 men walked out at midnight. Industries in many sections of the country

were forced to close down because of inability to obtain fuel and other supplies. The situation April 20 was becoming normal, most of the men having returned to work.

Professor Osborne J. P. Widtsoe, head of the English department of the University of Utah, passed away at the L. D. S. hospital, Salt Lake City, March 14. He suffered a stroke on the day previous and was taken to the hospital. Death came as a result of cerebral hemorrhage. Professor Widtsoe was born at Namsos, Norway, December 12, 1877. He came to Utah in 1883. He attended the Agricultural college at Logan and after his graduation went to Harvard university, receiving his degree there in 1905. He was ordained a bishop July 4, 1909. He has written many articles for church magazines and was associate editor of the Juvenile Instructor from 1906 to 1909. He was an able and faithful Church worker, member of the General Board Y. M. M. I. A., and a teacher of universal ability and force. He is survived by his wife, Rose Homer Widtsoe, and two children, Karine H., and Rosetta. He was a brother of John A. Widtsoe, president of the University of Utah.

Utah's total casualty list in the recent world war is officially reported as 1,006. Of these, 302—seven officers and 295 men—were killed, seventeen officers and 680 men were wounded, and seven taken prisoner. Of those whose lives were lost, three officers and 186 men were killed in action; one officer and forty-three men died of wounds; three officers and ninety-nine men died of disease. Seven men died by accident; one was drowned; ten committed suicide; three died of other causes, and five of causes undetermined. Idaho's total casualties numbered 1351, of which number 409 lost their lives and 933 were wounded. Wyoming casualties numbered 676, of whom 233 gave up their lives and 440 were wounded, three being taken prisoners and later repatriated classified. The distinguished service cross was conferred upon sixteen Utah soldiers, twenty-two from Idaho and four from Wyoming, and the medal of honor, the highest of all army awards, was conferred upon Idaho men, the only two such awards in the group of states named.

Notable attendants at the ninetieth general annual conference of the Church, April 5, were Mr. Jennings Bryan and Senator Robert L. Owen, of Oklahoma. The distinguished visitors entered the Tabernacle shortly before the afternoon session began and were given seats immediately in front of the stand. After the benediction they were introduced to, and cordially greeted by, President Heber J. Grant, the members of the Council of the Twelve, and other Church officials. During the evening a short organ recital, and, upon request of President Grant, he made short addresses. Senator Owen complimented the Church, stating he had been inspired by his attendance at the conference. He said: “I was profoundly impressed with the religious spirit of this meeting. One thing about your organization I admire is the doctrine of labor, of Providence, of co-operation, of bringing the great power of Christ's Spirit to move to do the things necessary for happiness.”

Mr. Bryan stated that he had canceled three of his speeches in Los Angeles in order to come to Salt Lake, though he said at that time he didn't know why he did it. He said that he had now discovered that it was to attend the conference and that the things he had heard had been “inspired for many years.”

“The whole basis of your speaking,” he said, “is my speech, Back to God. What the world needs today is a whole-hearted, whole-minded belief in God. I was thinking this afternoon as I recognized the spiritual inspiration of this conference that if we could have this kind of a conference at Chicago and San Francisco, there would be no grievous mistakes made, because their standards would square with the things of God.”