--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Unknown collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 28 number: 9 published: 1925-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Unknown, “Editors’ Table,” *Improvement Era 28, no. 9 (July 1925)*: 917–922." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2809unse 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: improvementera2809unse start_page: 917 end_page: 922 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1925-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2809unse publication_year: 1925 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 1925, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Editors’ Table EDITORS' TABLE 91? of the march. Facing the standards was a great crowd of people, con- spicuous among them being President Heber J. Grant, Governor George H. Dern and Mayor C. Clarence Neslen. RUDGER CLAWSON. We Are Marching One Hundred Thousand Strong Elder Orson F. Whitney, has favored the Era with the following sentiment, on the Y. M. M. I. A. 50th Anniversary Jubilee: I attended most of the gatherings connected with the great Jubilee. The Pageant in the Tabernacle, while it had flaws — due, no doubt, to lack of enough rehearsals — was still a splendid success. As for the Parade on Wednesday, it was absolutely unparalleled. I have never seen anything like it — anything that approached it. I believe it could not be duplicated anywhere else on earth. It was costly, no doubt, but it pays to lay out money for the cultivation of high and noble sentiment. I would not willingly part with the feelings of exaltation that filled my soul as I witnessed that unrivaled spectacle, that marvelous out-pouring of the sons and daughters of Zion, marching under the banner of Mutual Improvement. It made me think of a slogan in the days of Lincoln and the Civil War. After the firing on Fort Sumpter, Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteers, to put down the Rebellion, thinking they could do it in about sixty days. But that hope was shattered at Bull Run, where the Union army was routed by the Confederates. The President then issued another call, to which the whole North responded, marching, marching on to overwhelming victory. It was then that the slogan was sounded: "We are coming, Father Abraham, one hundred thousand more!" I thought of this while our boys and girls were marching in that wonderful parade. I also had in mind the memorable words of President (then Counselor) Daniel H. Wells, spoken at that meeting in the Social Hall referred to by Elder Moses Thatcher in his letter to Junius F. Wells, and quoted by Junius in his address last Sunday morning. I, too, was at the Social Hall meeting and heard Brother Wells utter those thrilling words: "I hear the tread of marching hosts — the coming hosts of the youth of Israel, and it is music to my ears." That parade was a delight to all who witnessed it, and whose good opinion is worth having. The angels must have rejoiced over it, and the devils, if they looked on, trembled. It was both a prophecy and a fulfilment — a fulfilment of past hopes and predictions, a prophecy of glories yet to come. Orson F. Whitney. 918 IMPROVEMENT ERA MESSAGES FROM THE MISSIONS On the Laws of Nature and the Laws of God Wilford D. Gygi, president of the first branch of Zurich, Switzerland, reports that on the 12th of February, 1925, Elder James E. Talmage, presi- dent of the European mission, paid his first visit to Zurich, accompanied by President Fred Tadje of the Swiss-German mission. On a short time of two day's notice a conference was arranged which turned out to be well attended by members and friends, many coming from neighboring cities. President Talmage gave a splendid talk on the relation between the laws of nature and the laws of God. A missionary meeting was held on the following day. Six elders are at present laboring in this conference, but we hope that this number may be soon increased, for the work of the Lord is going forward rapidly. This is the largest city in Switzerland, having 222,000 inhabitants. It is one of Europe's prettiest cities. Elders, left to right, back row: Morris Kunz, Bjrn, Idaho; Wilford D. Gygi Salt Lake City; Charles Baumann, Geneva, Idaho; Gustav Liebelt, Salt Lake City. Front row: Mission President Fred Tadje; President James E. Talmage; and Milford Herzog of Geneva, Idaho. Rulon S. Howells, writing from Cologone on the Rhine, Germany, says: "We are sorry that the people here cannot read English so that we could get subscriptions for the Improvement Era, for we feel that through its columns, among friends, the gospel message would be well spread, but we ippreciate the little magazine and look forward to each issue." James D. Moyle, conference president Norwich conference, England: "We find the 'Era a great help in the missionary life, both as an instruc- tion book and as an international medium between the missions. Many of the elders welcome the Era as they would a letter from home, for it carries gratifying articles and stimulates readers, even though they be not numbered with us." cAfutual Work M. I. A. Year-Round Program in Recreation SUMMER PROGRAM. June — Flag Day. Commemorate some of the stirring events in which the Latter- day Saints have given allegiance to the flag. An evening in honor of Jubilee year. The message of the Torch Bearers. July — Independence Day. A safe and sane Fourth. Pioneer Day. Dramatic events in "Mormon" history. Commemorate the deeds of local pioneers and give special honor and attention to the living. August — Play Day and Picnic. An inter-stake or stake event. The day when many folks can get together and establish friendly relations in competitive play. REGULAR SEASON'S PROGRAM. September — Flying Squadron. Stake boards and ward officers in organized movement in the interest of the M. I. A. Stake Officers' Social. Ward Officers' Social. An evening to cement friendly and social relations and to discuss the coming season's program. Note: Of the following program, one, the Membership Social, is planned for the second Tuesday in October; two, the Drama and the Music program, for the fifth Tuesday in December and March respectively; the M. I. A. Day for a day in the latter part of May, to be selected by the stake. The other programs suggested may be presented on other than Tuesday even- ings; a place for them may be arranged for by the Committee on Recreation, on the Year Round Program. October — Membership social. An evening to provide membership, money and merriment. November — Cooperate with year-round program. Probably produce the M. I. A. pageant, "Past, Present and Future." Read message of the Torch Bearers. (See July Era.) December — Drama. A feature year in drama. Present the Jubilee prize play and your own prize play. (See July, 1925, Era.) January — Cooperate with year-round program. Probably "a model social danc ing party." February — Cooperate with year-round program. An ideal "Fun Night." March — Music Month. a. Hymn contest of the new L. D. S. hymns; also "Glory to God," Stephens, July, 1925, Era. b. Home composers' night, local and Church-wide. c. Opera. d. Songs of the Trail. April — Civic Pride Campaign. Plant something ornamental and useful — a rose tree, a grape vine. Beautify the city, and especially the ward meeting- house and its surroundings. May — Annual M. I. A. Day. The M. I. A. in the gala attire of May Day. For elaboration of events as above, ask the Era office for pamphlet. Also for pamphlet on "Fathers and Sons' Annual Outing." for 1925. 920 IMPROVEMENT ERA Y. M. M. I. A. Efficiency Report, May, 1925 STAKES CO 8 ■I .5 a E 1 Box Elder Descret Ensign Ogden Oquirrh South Davis .. South Sevier _ Burley Franklin Idaho Lost River Oneida Pocatello Rigby ..... Teton Twin Falls _ Yellowstone _ Alberta Lethbridge __ Woodruff Young N. W. States 10 10 7 10 10 10 7 10 10 9 10 7 10 10 6 10 4 10 10 10 10 10 5 9 8 6 10 10 10 6 8 10 6 10 10 10 6 10 10 10 10 9 7 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 4 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 6 6 3 6 5 6 6 8 7 7 10 10 9 3 10 10 8 10 10 10 5 7 8 5 8 8 10 6 10 5 7 10 8 10 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 6 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 5 1 5 5 10 6 10 6 5 9 7 9 10 10 5 7 10 10 10 | 10 7 7 7 7 7 7 1 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 1 5 10 10 10 10 10 10 | 4 10 .... 10 10 10 8 1 10 10 2 - 8 7 7 1 8 7 10 10 10 10 6 9 10 9 9 10 10 6 10 10 7 10 6 10 9 5 10 10 10 10 2 10 10 7 7 10 9 9 2 7 10 7 10 8 10 9 85 82 89 96 94 100 52 86 91 76 73 91 95 94 50 79 86 76 100 89 82 82 Y. M. M. I. A. Statistical Report, May, 1925 STAKES S"8 si CO a © 13* -3 M If 9 o £ z- "9 a ii !§ § e CO s o 1 a ■S *c II |1 c s . a i s 3 o 09 Presiding Bishop Charles \V. Nibley was appointed second counselor in the First Presidency, May 28, 1925, and President Anthony W. Ivins first counselor, thus filling the vacancy caused by the death of President Charles W. Penrose. China protests against the killing of Chinese students, by the British Police in Shanghai. The note is dated June 2, and addressed to the senior Italian minister. The strikes and student demonstrations that led to the killing are supposed to have been inspired by bolshevik agitators. Sylvester Q. Cannon, president of Pioneer stake, Salt Lake City, was appointed presiding Bishop, June 4, 1925, to succeed President Charles W. Nibley. Bishop Cannon chose as his counselors Bishops David A. Smith and John Wells, who have acted many years as counselors to Bishop Nibley. Wm. J. Bryan is accused of "ignorance or wilful misrepresentation when he claims that the theory of evolution denies the existence of God." The accuser is Rev. James L. Williamson of the Kings Highway Congre- gational church, Brooklyn; and the accusation was made in a paper he read at the morning service, May 24, instead of a sermon. Camille Flammarion, the famous French astronomer, died June 4. 1925, at Juvisy where he was head of the observatory. He was 83 years old. M. Flammarion, one of the greatest astronomers of the century, was best known for his repeated assertions that Mars was inhabited. Tn addition to many standard books on astronomy, he wrote, Death and Its Mystery, and Myster- ious Psychic Forces. Sir H. Rider Haggard died in London, May 14, 1925, after a four months' illness. He was a world famous writer of fiction, such as King Solomon's Mines, The Dawn, etc. But he was also a practical farmer interested in extensive farming in England. He was born at Brodinham, Norfolk, June 22, 1856. He was in the government service in Africa for a number of years, and there he got his background for a number of his novels. He was knighted in 1912. President A. W. Ivins was chosen to preside over the Utah Genealogical Society, June 8, 1925, as the successor to the late President C. W. Penrose. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith was elected vice president and treasurer, and R B. Summerhays, secretary. A. William Lund was chosen a member of the board, there being a vacancy on account of the death of President Penrose. The officers and members now are: President Ivins, Joseph Fielding Smith, Joseph Christenson, Hvrum G. Smith, John A. Widtsoe. and A. W. Lund. The Oregon school law was declared unconstitutional, by the U. S. Supreme Court, June 1, 1925. It provides that all children between 8 and 1 6 years must attend public schools exclusively. The decision was delivered by Justice McReynolds. who said, in part: "The inevitable practical result of enforcement of the law will destroy these private schools." said the justice. "These schools have long been recognized as filling a lawful ne<:d and purpose." The law was passed in 1923 and has been a basis of litigation ever since. A lynching took place, to the disgrace of the state, at Price, Carbon county, Utah, June 17, when a mob killed a negro, Robert Marshall, for the murder of James Milton Burns, city marshal at Castlegate. The murderers' whereabouts were revealed by another negro. He was then captured and hanged. When the officers arrived on the scene, the crime had already been committed. H. E. Crockett, secretary of state, in the absence of 922 IMPROVEMENT ERA Governor Dern, ordered F. W. Keller, district attorney of the seventh district, and Ray Dcmming, sheriff of Carbon county, to make a thorough investiga- tion. Captain Roald Amundsen returned, June 18, to Spitzbergen, from trip north. The story is that, when only 150 miles from the Pole, he was forced to descend, on account of half of the fuel being exhausted. The planes then became locked in ice. After 24 days of effort, the men succeeded in freeing one of the planes, and they made the return journey in that conveyance in eight hours and a half to the northern point on Northeast land, where they were picked up by the Norwegian cruiser Heimdal and taken to the starting point at King's bay. The explorers had been missing since May 21, when they started for the Pole in two aeroplanes.. The Wendover Cutt-off was opened for public traffic on June 13, at Salduro, by the U. S. secretary of agriculture, assisted by Governor Dern of Utah and Governor Scrubham of Nevada, in the presence of perhaps 400 spectators, mostly from Utah. The removal of the last vestige of the "Chinese wall," as it has sometimes been called, came as the climax of ceremonies during which Secretary Jardine announced a policy of his de- partment to continue Federal aid highway construction until the Federal high- way system is finished, this policy applying with special force to the west, where vast areas owned by the United States make the cost of building roads across far-flung spaces entirely too costly for the local communities to bear, even were it the just and proper thing that they should bear such costs. Zion National Pack was opened officially by Governor Geo. H. Dern of Utah, in the presence of visitors from all parts of Utah, California, Idaho, and other neighboring states. According to the accounts, the governor was handed a large goldkey by little Miss Lucy Durnett, five-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Durnett. This key fitted a padlock fastened to a chain of flowers, and when he turned it, the canyon was open. At the Zion Park national lodge, speeches were made by President Heber J. Grant, Governor Dern, E. O. Howard, Senator David Hirschi of Washington, George H. Smith, general solicitor of the Oregon Short Line; T. D. Peck and H. W. Lunt, slate road commissioners. President Grant was accompanied by his brother B. F. Grant, general manager of the Deseret News, and George D. Pyper. General Nelson A. Miles died May 15, at Washington, while attending a circus performance. He was surrounded by happy children, including those of his own family's third generation, excited over the prospect of witnessing reproduction of scenes which in their actuality had occupied so important a phase of his own life. Turning to Mrs. W. B. Noble, mother of his daughter-in-law, the General complained that he felt ill. Before help could be summoned he collapsed into the arms of Dr. A. E. Craig, sitting directly behind him. Despite his advanced years — 86 — the death of General Miles came as an extreme shock to his intimate associates. During the twenty-two years which have elapsed since he was retired "for age" he had maintained an active interest in current affairs. General Miles participated in more than 30 of the severest battles of the Civil War, was wounded four times, fought Indians for 20 years, and finished his military career by leading the force that occupied Porto Rico during the war with Spain. President Coolidge visited St. Paul, June 8, where the Norwegians were celebrating the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Norwegian immigrants in New York. In his address before "the greatest audience that ever assembled in the west," he declared that "the vast tides of immigrants have come through the national melting pot with pure patriotism and fraternal spirit that stand as examples to all the other nations of the world." The first organized party of Norwegian immigrants consisted of a band of farmers who crossed the Atlantic in the little sloop Restaurationen in 1825. Mrs. Sarah Ann Nelson-Peterson, wife of the late President Canute Peterson,