--- 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: 25 number: 11 published: 1922-09 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* 25, no. 11 (September 1922): 1040–1044.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25011unse 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: improvementera25011unse start_page: 1040 end_page: 1044 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1922-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera25011unse publication_year: 1922 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 1922, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Passing Events Dr Frederick Dunn was appointed superintendent of the mental hospital Provo July 12. He was the assistant superintendent under the late Dr. George T. Hyde. The farming population of Utah was reported, July 17, to be 140,249, or 31.2 per cent of the entire population. Idaho has 200,902 rural residents and Wyoming, 67,306. The government assumed control of freight traffic of the railroads, July 25, at midnight. That means that men who want to work can do so under government protection. • An attempt to murder Millerand, the French president, and Premier Poincare, was made by anarchists, July 14. The two men escaped the bullets, but a woman was wounded. An InterhAUied Conference opened at Downing St., London, Aug. 7, for the purpose of discussing European financial affairs. Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Japan were represented. Mrs. Henrietta Elizabeth Crombie Williams, a Utah pioneer of 1847, died June 11, at her home in Ogden, at the age of 95 years. She was born in Boston, September 27, 1827, and came to Utah in 1847. George R. Emery passed away, July 25, at the L. D. 9. hospital, aged 67 years. He was first counselor to President Nephi L. Morris of the Salt Lake stake, and was a highly respected citizen of Salt Lake. The Old Warm Springs bath houses were destroyed by fire, July 17. The buildings were erected more than fifty years ago for the accomodation of the people of Salt Lake City, and have been in use almost ever since. The invasion of crickets into Uintah county, Western Colorado, and Franklin county, Idaho, is looked upon as the worst since 1848, according to a statement made by Heber J. Webb, state crops pest inspector, July 25. Citizens of the Irish Free State were called to arms, July 6, for a, period of six months, as a guerrilla war was anticipated by the provisional govern- ment. The Free State has an army of 2,000 men, but that is not deemed sufficient. Wholesale arrests for violation of prohibition laws in Salt Lake City were made Aug 8, by federal and state officers. Between 75 and 100 suspects were apprehended, most of them being connected with rooming houses and soft i drink parlors. Warrants had been issued for the arrest of about 200 persons. William Henry Swanson died at his home in Salt Lake City June 19, after a week'= illness of pneumonia. He was the president and manager of the American Theatre Co. For many years he was identified with the motion picture business. The total number of registered voters in Utah is 173,752, according to information furnished to Charles Heiner, deputy secretary of state, by the county clerk9 in twenty-eight of the twenty-nine counties in the state, and published July 19 and 20. PASSING EVENTS 1041 The Wasatch resort was sold, July 14, by the Church, to the Utah' Con- solidated Stone Co. The holdings, including hotel and grounds, and stone quarries, contain 160 acres. It was tof the stone from these quarries that the Salt Lake temple was built. Newton Francis Auistin died, July 30, at the home of his son at Kila, Montana. He was one of a company of Saints who sailed around Cape Horn in 1846 and landed in San Francisco, July 31, that year. He came to Utah in the summer of 1848. "Uncle Johnny" Shell, of Lexington, Ky., died at his home there, July 10. He claimed to be 137 years old at the, time of death. A few years ago he was exhibited at county fairs as "the oldest man in the world." He was a typical Kentucky mountaineer. A movement for peace has been started by a milllion members of allied war veterans. A congress of this international organization will be held at New Orleans this fall, according to a statement by Mr. Hanford MacNider, commander of the American Legion, July 30. The mandates over Syria and Palestine were confirmed by the council of the League of Nations at its session in London, July 22. This gives further effect to the policy of establishing a Jewish national home in Pales- tine. Mesopotamia is made an independent country. President Harding will arbitrate the Taena-Arica controversy between Chile and Peru, according to the agreement reached by the representatives of the two countries, July 21, at Washington. That is the happy result of ten weeks' discussion of questions involved in the dispute. Alexander Graham Bell died Aug. 2, at his estate, Beinn Breagh, near Baddock, N. S. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, March 3, 1847. In 1876 he perfected the telephone, and in 1883 the graphophone. He was justly considered one of the greatest inventors of modern times. A new sugar refining process, invented by Heber C. Cutler, will, it is said, revolutionize that industry. By it 850 pounds of sugar can be made of a ton of sugar beet molasses, which at present is worth only $2.50 a ton. The process was demonstrated at the Springville-Mapleton sugar factory, July 28. Funeral services for Miss Rose Mantelle Vimont, who died at Pasadena, Cal., July 27, following an operation, were held in that city, July 28. For more than twenty years she has been a member of the faculty of the Univer- sity of Utah. She was well known for her tireless and capable work in the interest of education. The Hague congress on Russian affairs, adjourned July 30, without reaching an understanding with Russia concerning foreign property in that country, confiscated by the government. The Russian delegates refused to pledge their government to restore such property to the owners, until they know how much money Europe Would lend the country. Andrew B. Naismith died, July 19, in his home in Salt Lake City. He was born in Falkirk, Scotland, November 5, 1853, and came to Salt Lake forty-two years ago. He followed the trade of an iron moulder and was chosen to mold the oxen for the baptismal font in the Salt Lake temple. Funeral services were held in the Sixteenth ward chapel July 22. A replica of the statue of Massasoit was unveiled, July 31, at the Utah State Capitol. Mr. C. E. Dallin, the sculptor, made the address of pre- sentation, and Governor Mabey accepted it in behalf of the state. Tke statue is the work of Mr. Dallin. It now occupies the place of "The Signal of Peace," and this work of art has been removed to the rear of the rotunda. A dead man was made a candidate for Congress from the Seventh con- gressional district of Tennessee, when former Congressman Lemuel P. Pad- 1042 IMPROVEMENT ERA gett of Columbia won the primary election, Aug. 3, although he had passed away the day before. The puqjose of keeping him in the race after' his demise was to force a new election and give other candidates a chance to run. Crickets were reported, July 17, to be devouring crops in Southern Idaho. The people of Franklin, Idaho, asked for help to fight the pest. A fighting force was organized and millions of the insects have been destroyed. The general method followed in exterminating the pests is to drive them onto piles of straw which have been saturated with gasoline and then set fire to the straw. Mrs. Margaretta Lemon King, died at her home in American Fork, Utah, July 26, after an illness of about five weeks. She was one of the pioneers of 1847 but was not able to attend the diamond jubilee anniversary. She was born in Cass County, Indiana, Oct. 4. 1839. Her parents joined the Church in 1846 and started across the plains from Winterquarters the following spring. President Harding's proposition was rejected, Aug. 1, by the railway executives in session in New York. His suggestion was that the strikers be reinstated with unimpaired seniority rights. This the railway heads declared to be impossible. The other conditions were accepted. The striking railroad shopmen, in a meeting in Chicago, Aug. 2, accepted the Harding plan as satisfactory to them. A dinner in honor of Cyrus E. Dallin, the Utah sculptor, and Mrs. Dallin, was given by Governor and Mrs. Mabey, Aug 3, on the roof garden of the Hotel Utah, as an official acknowledgment from the state to the famous artist for the gift of the plaster model from which the bronze statue of Massasoit was cast. Following the dinner, the party repaired to Liberty park where a public reception was tendered the guests of honor. President Harding warned strikers and others, July 11, not to interfere with interstate transportation or the U. S. mails. The president took the position that men willing to maintain the operation of railroad trains in order to transport mail have the "same indisputable right to work that others have to decline to work. B. M. Jewell, directing the striking shopmen, replied that the strike would not be called off, until further justice had been secured. Mrs. Mary Ann Cook Hanks, died at the home of her daughter, Salt Lake City. She was the widow of Sidney A. Hanks, one of the original pioneers of July 24, 1847. She was born June 22, 1830, in St. John's parish, Worcestershire, England, and became a member of the Church in 1857. Four years later she came to the United States. Mrs. Hanks walked the entire distance from the Missouri river, arriving in Salt Lake on September 12, 1861. Mrs. Caroline J. Crosby, a pioneer of 1847, died, July 8, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. C. M. Evans, in the Fairmont apartments. She was born in Waterford, Mich., July 13, 1843, and was the wife of William H. Crosby, a pioneer of 1848, who crossed the plains three times as a wagon master. In addition to the daughter at whose home she died, she is sur- vived by a son, Byron R. Crosby, eight grandchildren and three great- grandchildren. Twin suns hawe been discovered 52 quadrillion miles from the earth, by Dr. J. S. Plasquet, director of Canada's astrophysical observatory at Vic- toria, B. C, according to an announcement made July 22. One is 15,000 times as bright as the sun, the other 12,000 as bright. Plaskett, Dr. Plaskett estimates, is more than five times as large as any other heavenly body. Scientists here say the discovery is one of the outstanding astronomical PASSING EVENTS 1043 achievements of recent years. The suns have been named Plaskett for their discoverer. Utah is ninth in illiteracy, in a list of states made up from the last census report of the United States on that subject. Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon, Kansas, South Dakota, "Washington, and Minnesota are the eight states ahead of us, having a percentage of illiteracy ranging from 1.1 to 1.8 per cent. Utah's showing is 1.9 per cent. This is an advance since the census of 1910, which gave Utah 2.5 per cent, but at that time thia figure was nearer the top than 1.9 is now. Louisiana is the last on the scale, with 21.9 per cent illiteracy. Octogenarians climb a mountain trail with ease. The couple are Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Nielsen, of American Fork, Utah, 84 and 85 years of age, respectively. On Aug. 6 the aged couple climbed the trail from the United States forestry service camp in American Fork canyon to Timpanogos cave, 1500 feet above the camp. The grade is a 25 per cent slope. The climb was made in one hour and the descent in fifty minutes. Mrs. Nielsen was forced to rest every ten minutes on the climb. The day following, the couple went about their daily work as usual. President Grant addressed the farmers at the morning session of their encampment at Logan, July 28. He said that he was proud to claim a particular interest in the farmers on account of having borrowed money in connection with several other men, on their personal security, to start the first sugar factory built in the United States, He congratulated the farmers of the state on the progress they have made and upon their interest in the encampment, and in conclusion asked them to remember their wives as partners and; companions and show them the same respect as they did in sweetheart days. A Distinguished Service Cross was awarded to Major Andrew S. Rowan, of San Francisco, who carried the message to General Garcia, of the Cuban revolutionary army in May, 1898, during the war with Spain. Major Rowan, then a lieutenant, entered the Spanish lines at Orienta, Cuba, in disguise, crossed the island, "and not only succeeded in delivering a message to General Garcia, but secured secret information of great value." At the same time Major Rowan was awarded a silver star citation for gallantry in action on Hudlon Mountain, Philippine islands, in January, 1900, during the Philip- pine insurrection. Mrs. Mary Ann Fielding MacKnight died June 28, at the home of her daughter in Salt Lake City, at the age of 76 years. She was born at Nauvoo, 111., March 22, 1846. With her parents, Joseph and Mary Ann Fielding, she came to Utah in the spring of 1848. In the early days her parents, with other pioneers, endured many hardships and privations. During the "grasshopper famine" they were compelled to subsist on roots and a few other sparsely supplied edibles. The last six years Mrs. MacKnight Aad been an invalid as the result of an accident. Mrs. MacKnight was the first cousin of the late President Joseph F. Smith. Throughout her life she was an active member of the Church. A delightful party in honor of Mrs. Heber J. Grant was given, July 7, at Saltair, the occasion being the 66th anniversary of her birthday. The guests numbered thirty-three and included the First Presidency of the Church; the twelve apostles and their wives, the first council of seventies and their wives, the presiding bishopric and their wives, and Presiding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith and Mrs. Smith. After a dinner in the Ship Cafe formal talks were given by various members of the party. Mrs. Lucy W. Smith presented the guest of honor with a book as a memento of the occasion. Mrs. Grant accepted with a brief response. The affair was arranged by the wives of the apostles, with Mrs. Joseph Fielding Smith, Mrs. 1044 IMPROVEMENT ERA George A. Smith and Mrs. George F. Richards serving as a general con*- mi tee. Blancliard P. Ashton and Georgia Ashton, hi» sister, were drowned July 31, in the Aberdeen-Springfield Canal, near Blackfoot, Idaho, where they were swimming. Following a dive in which he appeared to have been injured, his sister Georgia waded into deep water toward him. Blanchard sought to rescue her and both sank. A deep bruise on his forehead indicates he was injured in his dive. Blanchard P. Ashton, who, until two years ago was principal of the Roosevelt school in the Granite school district, is sur- vived by his wife, Mrs. Jeanetta Smith Ashton, daughter of the late President Joseph F. Smith and Sarah Richards Smith. Funeral services, attended by nearly a thousand friends, were held in the Richard's ward, Granite stake, August 3. Colonel N. W . Clayton, 66 years of age, died July 12, at one o'clock at his residence, Salt Lake City, of cerebral hemorrhage. He was the son of William Clayton and Augusta Braddock Clayton, and was born in Salt Lake, October 8, 1855. He was the territorial librarian, auditor of public accounts of the territory, 1879 to 1890, a member of the staffs of Governor Caleb W. West and Heber M. Wells. He organized and promoted the Salt Lake & Los Angeles, the Saltair Beach Company and the Inland Crystal Salt Company. At the time of his death he Was president of the Clayton Investment Company, chairman of the executive committee of the Inland Salt Company, president of the Inland Railroad Company, director of the Utah State National bank and president and owner of the N. W. Clayton Company. He was at one time General Secretary Y. M. M. I. A. The death of George Smith Rust, a resident of Manti, Sanpete Co., Utah, occurred in that city, June 18, and in his departure another of the old stalwarts of the Church, a personal witness to the Divine calling of the Prophet Joseph, has passed away. The deceased was born January 23, 1834, at Lowell, Vermont. He lived on a farm with his parents until the age of twelve years, when the family moved west. Mr. Rust was baptized in the Mississippi river by the Prophet Joseph Smith, near the city of Nauvoo, in 1843. At the age of 13 years he started across the plains with his father, his mother having died several years previously. When the call came for the Mormon Battalion the elder Mr. Rust volunteered and left George to make his way across the plains with the Haite family in Daniel Spencer's company. He arrived in Salt Lake valley in September, 1847. He filled two mission in the eastern states and labored twenty-one years in the Manti temple. Together with his wife he did temple work for more than 5000 persons. He is survived by his widow, five sons and two daughters. Elder Orlando Clark Barms — President Charles A. Callis of the Southern States mission, sent the following telegram to the First Presidency, dated August 9, 1922: "Elder Orlando Clark Barrus, of Fairview, Star Valley, Wyoming, was drowned Tuesday afternoon in the Chauga river, three miles from Westminster, South Carolina. He was bathing with missionary companions and others, and waUced unknowingly into deep water. Two others did the same. He rescued one, and evidently became exhausted in the excitement of getting others out of danger, and was overooked, being considered a good swimmer. The body was embalmed and brought to Atlanta to be prepared for burial. Two elders will accompany the body home." President Callis telegraphed the parents a message of con- dolence, and particulars of their son's sad death. Elder Barrus' parents performed faithful missions in South Carolina, twelve years ago, and their son, according to President Callis, was a good missionary, He left for his mission, November 17, 1920, and is the son of Orlando Barrus and Mary E. Clark Barrus, born August 18, 1901.