--- 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: 23 number: 8 published: 1920-06 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* 23, no. 8 (June 1920): 758–762." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera238unse 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: improvementera238unse start_page: 758 end_page: 762 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1920-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera238unse publication_year: 1920 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 1920, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Passing Events 758 IMPROVEMENT ERA games, etc., may be participated in. In most of our communities are found facilities for holding these gatherings out of doors. Stake and ward officers should begin early to plan for these rallies. It is suggested that in the case of the ward gatherings, committees be formed among the M. I. A. members, under the direction of the officers, so that the spirit of youth may enter into the programs. Let thorough preparation be made that these rallies may be highly successful; let them be the big events of the Summer. It is desired that stakes report to the General Offices their arrange- ments for these rallies by May 20. Fathers and Sons* Outing Under the leadershipof the Y. M. M. I. A. provision will be made for a fathers" and sons' outing to be taken some time during the summer. The place, date and duration of the outing, are to be left to each stake. Where it is thought advisable by the Stake Superintendency, the ward. instead of the stake, unit may be used. With proper preparation, giving announcement early, this event can be made one of the most pleasurable and profitable of the season. Have a vacation, do something different, get close to your boys, go out into the open country and play, sing, rest, and worship. Every bishop, father, son and every Y. M. M. I. A. officer should go. Keep away from resorts; it interferes with the camp social spirit. If possible, plan for at least three days in order that vou may establish a regular camp. Avoid Sun- day.- Details will follow. Portneuf Stake Spring M I. A. Chautauqua What proved the most successful Chautauqua ever held in the Portneuf stake was rendered under direction of the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association stake boards, assisted by Mary Fisher, premier violinist of Ogden, Utah, in Robin, March 23; Arimo, March 26; McCammon, March 25; Lava Hot Springs, March 24; and Downey, March 27. The company played to packed houses, but Downey turned out en masse to hear Miss Fisher's splendid playing. She is a violinist of exception- al ability and her rendition of several difficult numbers demonstrated that she has taken advantage of the teaching of masters in the profession. She fulfilled every expectation, both as artist and as a whole-souled girl of the golden West. All who heard her, bespeak for Miss Fisher a bright future. She was assisted on the piano by Mr. B. D. Blackhurst of Downey. The two did excellent team work. Others who took part were Mrs. Charles Hall, of McCammon, who captivated the people with her beautiful and well modulated soprano solo. Miss Shelley rendered valuable services as her as- companist and as a piano soloist. The girls' chorus of Downey and Swan Lake had their work well in hand. They had taken leading parts in the Downey high school operetta, '"The Pennant" and exhibited some of the good training received under the tutorship of Professor Edward Cox. President William A. Hyde of Pocatello stake delivered a well outlined lecture containing many beautiful thoughts which were well received. He made a very strong argument in favor of a clean, upright, and God-fearing life. Mr. Cox's and Milton Hyde's playing in the trio with Miss Fisher, was declared one of the great features of the evening. The Chautuaqua is a novel feature of the work performed by the Portneuf stake, and the officers are highly elated and encourgaed by the results obtained. It is hoped that similar work will be undertaken next sea- son. The officers of both associations extend a hearty thanks to the gen- eral public for the support that they gave the Portneuf stake Chautauqua for 1920. G. Osmond Hyde, Downey, Idaho. Armenia, the new republic, has been formally recognized by the United States government, as an independent country. Disabled veterans of the world war number 641,900 in the United States. The appalling figure is given by Dr. W. C. Rucker, of the bureau of war risk insurance, who also calculate! that it will cost the country $325,000,000 annually to take care of them. The population of Salt Lake City now totals 118,110. That is an in- crease of 25,333 since 1910, or 27.3 per cent. The average growth of Amer- ican cities for the decennial has been estimated by high census officials at twen'y per cent, and Salt Lake easily surpassed the average. James J. Larkin, convicted of criminal anarchy, by a New York court, was sentenced, May 3, to from five to ten years' imprisonment with hard labor. Several women expressed their sympathy with his cause, by shak- ing hands with him as she was led away, and one woman embraced him. The death of Mrs. Tahora Hafen, wife of the artist, the late John Hafen, occurred Sunday, April 11, while she was visiting one of her sons at a ranch in West Tintic. She was born in Provo, June 13, 1861, was a faithful mother, and Church worker, and has lived in Springville the greater part of her lifetime. War's cost in lives is now estimated at 35,380,000. Actual deaths as a result of wounds and exposure totalled 9,829,000. The larger figure includes losses through the decrease in the birthrate of the countries involved as •will as the increase in deaths from causes directly attributed to the war. The estimate is given by the Copenhagen Society for the Study of the Con- sequences of the War, after an exhaustive study of the data available. The nation-wide railroad strike was reported virtually at an end on April 19. Warrants for the arrest of John Grunau, president of the so- called "outlaw" Chicago Yardmen's association, and other strike leaders, were issued by United States Commissioner Lewis F. Mason. On May 3, 9,000 strikers in Chicago were ready to return to work, on certain condi- tion but the conditions were not granted. Beatrice Irene Scoville, daughter of Frank L. Scoville, of Ogden, passed *way, April 10, at Boston, Mass. She had finished a two-years' mission in the Eastern states and was about to return home when she was stricken with illness. Her father hurried to her bedside and was with her when she died. Sister Scoville was born in Ogden, Dec. 3, 1897. She was well edu- cated and a faithful worker in the Church both at home and in the mission field. The National Catholic Laymen's Council was organized May 6, in Chi- among American Catholics and cago, for the purpose of raising $20,000,000 combatting "Bolshevism, anarchy, and all isms." Representatives of the American Federation of Catholic societies, the Knights of Columbus, Cath- olic Order of Forresters, Knights of St. John, Associated Catholic Char- ities of Chicago and other cities participated in the discussion preliminary to the adoption of a program. 760 IMPROVEMENT ERA The Socialist convention in New York, May 13, selected Eugene Debs as the candidate of the party for the presidency of the United States. Debs is, at present, serving a ten-year sentence in the federal penitentiary at At- lanta, Ga., for violation of the Espionage Act during the war. When he had been nominated, the Socialist delegates expressed their anti-government sentiments by prolonged cheering and marching around the hall in prison lock-step, a red flag in the lead. Mrs. Annie C. Hansen died, April 28, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Minnie J. Lund, Brigham City. She was born on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, Nov. 25, 1825, and came to this country Oct. 6, 1854, in the second company from Scandinavia. Mrs. Hansen was the mother of eleven children. There are fifty-five grand-children, 114 great-grand-chil- dren and eleven great-great-grandchildren. Mrs. Hansen's total posterity numbered 191, of which 151 survive her. Roald Amundsen, who has been in the Arctic regions for over nineteen months, was reported at Anadir, eastern Siberia, April 23. He left Dixson Island, Sept. 1, 1918, intending to sail and drift as far northward as he could, and then go to the North Pole by airplane. Captain Amundsen, it will be remembered, succeeded in reaching the South Pole, Dec. 14, 1911. The supposition is that his ship, Maud, is now icebound in the Kolyma river, and that a party was sent to the trading post station at Anadir, to establish communication with the rest of the world. Jews in Palestine have just selected delegates to a constitutional con- vention. According to an announcement dated May 13, this year, two women won seats in the assembly. The labor group, it is added, will control a majority of the delegates which will draft part of the fundamental law of the Jewish communities in Palestine. The elections were open to every Jew and Jewess in Palestine above the age of 20. The ability to read, write, and speak Hebrew were the only qualifications demanded of candidates for the assembly. Seventy-five per cent of the Jewish population is said to have voted. The Supreme Council of the League of Nations adjourned, April 26, after a ten-days' meeting at San Remo. The Associated Press dispatches tell us that premiers and foreign ministers parted in great personal cor- diality and with confidence in the future. As a result of the deliberations of tho Council, Great Britain continues her mastery of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, and is accorded a dominating influence over Palestine and Mesopotamia. The interests of France in Silicia and Syria are recog- nized, as are those of Italy in Adalia, while the Greek territory is ex- truded by the addition of Thrace and Smyrna. The decree relating to Palestine, which was adopted on May 24 and which recognizes that country as the homeland of the Jews, is one of the utmost importance. John August Olsen, of Salem, Utah, a brother of Dr. Charles L. Olsen, was called from this sphere of action April 25, this year, at his home. He was born in Christiania, Norway, Aug. 21, 1849, and became a member of the Church July 6, 1861. A few years later he left his native land and ar- rived in Ogden, Aug. 8, 1869, on the first emigrant train from Omaha, on the Union Pacific. He later resided in Salt Lake and Santaquin, and in 1880 settled in Salem, where he has had his home ever since. Twice he per- formed faithful missions to Norway and Denmark. From Nov. 3, 1893, till Dec. 8, 1895, and later in 1907-8, he was associate editor of Skandinaviens Stjerne; and for a goodly number of years, was the ward clerk of Salem. He was a gifted writer, and some of his poems have been published both at home and abroad. He leaves a widow and five children, besides numerous friends who will miss him. The revolt in Mexico has assumed a serious aspect. On April 22 it PASSING EVENTS 761 was announced that other states had joined Sonora against the Carranza government, and on the following day United States warships were dis- patched to Sinaloa ports and other points, to protect American interests. Juarez capitulated May 3, and the event was signalized by the ringing of church bells and the blare of bands. On the same date American destroyers were ordered to Vera Cruz and Tampico. On May 4, Adolfo de la Huerta, governor of Sonora, was made provisional president of the seceders. Their aim was to carry the war south and to attack the City of Mexico. Villa, the notorious rebel leader, turned his armed force over to General Ignacio Enrigues, the revolutionary commander in the Chihuahua district. On May 6 the federal garrison at Vera Cruz revolted, and the southward sweep of Sonora revolutionists began. The City of Mexico was occupied by rebel forces the following day, and Carranza fled and with several companions was reported killed, May 20 at Tlaxacalattongo, in an attack led by General Rodolfo Serrera. Jordan school district principals have created what Is said to be a precedent, by the adoption of a resolution, that hereafter, to obtain un- conditioned promotion, pupils in junior and senior high schools must have attained a certain standard of proficiency in health, vocational, and civic service subjects. A tentative schedule of the health program provides that the pupil must make a certain percentage of the credits allowed for health work, including care of teeth, nails, and hair, bathing at least once a week, venti- lating bed room the year round, sleeping from eight to ten hours daily, wearing light, loose, porous clothing, keeping the physical functions of the body active, daily exercise in the open, meals at regular intervals, plain foods well masticated, abstaining from the use of certain stimulants and narcotics, and be cheerful. For vocations, accomplishments in Smith-Hughes or in Smith-Lever work may be taken. For civic service, clean-up campaigns, membership in the Boy Scouts, Mutual Improvement associations, glee clubs, etc., may be taken into account. A destructive wind, blowing at the rate of 70 miles an hour, struck Salt Lake City April 17, in the evening. Many plate glass windows were smashed, trees were torn from their roots, and sign boards were hurled into the streets. Some houses were damaged by trees falling against the roofs, but no accidents to people were reported. The city of Denver was visited by a blizzard that paralyzed railroad traffic and created a serious food situation. Hundreds of railroad passengers spent Saturday night and Sunday in the coaches without food and sleep. About 250 fatal accidents were reported as a result of tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennes- see. Many people sustained injuries, and a great deal of property was destroyed. On May 3 the little village of Peggs, Oklahoma, was practically wiped out by a tornado. Over seventy deaths and more than one hundred cases of injury were reported. Another destructive cyclone was reported from Greeley, Col., May 5. Rhodes' Scholarships. —We have been asked to explain the Rhodes' Scholarships. Cecil Rhodes, an Englishman of South Africa, founded about ninety free scholarships for the most important British colonies, two for each state and territory for the United States, and, finally, five for the kindred Teutonic nation of Germany. The term is for three years. The amount of the scholarship amounts to £300, or nearly $1,500 a year, and continues for three years. Applications for scholarship from Utah should be sent to Secretary Baltzar H. Jacobsen, from whom detail information may be obtained. His address is 3369 Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, and applications should reach him before August 14. Two students from Utah will be chosen by Sept. 25. Every applicant must be a college graduate and endorsed by the college from which he graduated. For the information of our correspondents we refer to a richly illustrated article containing the pictures of the first three Rhodes' scholars from Utah, and written by the first appointee, B. H. Jacobsen, found in the *Improvement Era*, August 1908. In ten pages information in detail is given concerning the scholarship. Changes in Ward and Stake Officers, April 1920. New Wards and Branches—Lost River ward, Lost River stake, Henry N. Mickelson bishop; Nibley ward, Hyrum stake, Alma Yates, bishop, address Logan R. D. No. 1, Utah; Genola branch, Nebo stake, Frederick Larson, presiding elder. New Mission President—Samoan mission, John Q. Adams, president, address same. Succeeded Willard A. Keith. New Bishops—Arco ward, Lost River stake, Thomas Chamberlain bishop, succeeded Henry N. Michelson, address Arco, Idaho; Chester ward, Yellowstone stake, Ernest G. Bates, bishop, succeeded Elisha H. Bingham, address same; Unity ward, Burley stake, Archie L. Stokes succeeded Lawrence E. Harris, address same; Pella ward, Burley stake, James C. Peterson succeeded Charles H. Smith, address same; Storrs ward, Carbon stake, Albert Richards Peterson succeeded Franklin T. Bennett, address same; Lehi First ward, Alpine stake, Robert John Whipple succeeded Andrew Field, address same; Corinne ward, Box Elder stake, Abraham Evans succeeded Alma Jensen, address same; Sterling ward, South Sanpete stake, Eric Ludvigson succeeded Louis C. Olsen, address same; Moore ward, Lost River stake, John E. Harris succeeded Willard H. Sorenson, address same. The resignation of Horace G. Whitney as business manager of the *Deseret News* was accepted by the First Presidency, April 16, this year. He is succeeded by Elias S. Woodruff, bishop of the Forest Dale ward. Mr. Whitney was appointed business manager of the *News*, January 1, 1899, by President Lorenzo Snow. The Whitney family has been connected with the paper ever since its establishment, Mr. Whitney's father, the late Horace K. Whitney, having set the first type on the first issue, in June 1850. Later, Orson F. Whitney, brother of the retiring business manager, was city editor of the paper in the early ’80s. Mr. Whitney himself became connected with the musical and dramatic departments of the paper when the sheet was under lease to the Cannon Brothers in the ’90s, he having been an early and enthusiastic supporter of these arts as represented in the Home Dramatic and various musical ventures of a few decades ago. His first experience in the daily newspaper field, however, was gained as city editor and subsequently manager of the *Salt Lake Herald* in the ’80s. The prominent position which the *News* at present holds in the newspaper world is due, very largely, to the business ability and integrity of Mr. Whitney. Elias S. Woodruff, his successor, is the son of Wilford Woodruff and Emily Jane Smith Woodruff and a grandson of the late President Wilford Woodruff. He attended local schools, spending two years at the University of Utah, and has since the age of 14 been connected in some way with the printing trade. He first worked under Joseph Bull, pioneer printer, later for the *Tribune* press room and also in the press room of the Utah Lithographing Company. After having filled a mission in Kentucky, from 1895 to 1898, and been in the employ of the Z. C. M. I., 1899 to 1903, he came to *The News* as advertising manager, but left to organize the Woodruff-Sheets-Morris Coal Company, of which he is still president and stockholder; and he returned as advertising manager, June 1, 1917. He was appointed assistant business manager February 1, 1919. He is well liked by his business associates. We wish him success in his new calling.