Passing Events

Senator Reed Smoot was elected Nov. 2, 1926, for the fifth time, to represent Utah in the U. S. Senate, where he has served almost a quarter of a century with distinction. A new chapel was dedicated by President Heber J. Grant at Sheridan, Wyo., October 29, 1926. The Saints in Sheridan, who have erected this place of worship, belong to the Western States mission. Five thousand Indians gathered ', Oct. 26, at Lawrence, Kansas, in order to smoke the pipe of peace and celebrate the opening of a $250,000 athletic stadium. Many of them came in limousines and other expensive automobiles. A typhoon, a tidal wave, and floods combined to devastate large areas of the Philippine islands, according to a dispatch from Manila. Nov. 7, 1926. Over 300 lives were lost, and thousands rendered homeless. The property damage was reported very heavy. Physicians and medical supplies have been sent to the stricken districts. ■ Radio across the ocean is now possible, direct communication between Montreal and London, by wireless, having been attained, Oct. 21, 1926, by means of the so-called Marconi beam. This system directs the radio waves in a limited path toward a given objective, instead of radiating them in all directions, as in ordinary wireless transmission. In an earthquake that rocked Armenia, Oct. 23, thirty- two persons were reported dead and a hundred injured. It was thought that the Mountain of Ararat was in eruption, and people fled in panic. Upward of 400 persons were killed, hundreds were injured, and 100,000 made homeless.- The greater part of the city of Leninakan, with 40,000 inhabitants, was destroyed. Eugene V. Debbs, the socialist leader, died, Oct. 20, 1926, at a suburban sanitarium, Chicago. The body was taken to his home at T^rre Haute, Ind. Later it will be cremated at Indianapolis, Ind. He was born at Terre Haute, in 1855, and became a member of the Indiana legislature in 1885. He was a candidate for the U. S. presidency in 1900, and again in 1904 and 1908, on the socialist ticket. Concerning the speed of light, Prof. Albert A. Michelson, of the Uni- versity of Chicago, made the announcement, Nov. 8, 1926, before the National Academy of Science at Philadelphia that light travels at the rate of 299,796 kilometers per second, instead of, as formerly taught, 186,000 miles. The profeslsor has ppent a lifetime in research on this subject, and the result attained, though the difference is apparently slight, is considered of immense importance. Earthquakes are terrorizing the inhabitants of Ararat Valley, Armenia. Shocks had occurred for 1 5 days at the rate of five a day, as reported on Nov. 7, 1926. Professor Shaw of England and Dr. Chester Reed of America, earthquake experts, have been consulted as to whether the shocks are likely to continue. The Armenian earthquake is unique in seismic history. The development of fissures of unknown depth and sulphur springs and a fifteen-foot recession of the foot-hills, Russian scientists say, indicate a disturbance of the greatest importance in the earth's crust. Mme. Alexandra Kollontay. Soviet Russia's "minister" to Mexico, has been denied entrance to the United States. The American consul general in Berlin has refused to visa her passport, with the approval of our state department, as announced from Washington, Nov. 4, 1926. The

210 IMPROVEMENT ERA request for a visa was refused on the ground that Mme. Kollontay was "one of the outstanding members of the Russian communist party, ar member of the third congress of the communist international, who has been actively associated with the international communist subversive movement." The Summer season on the planet Mars is well advanced, astronomers announced on Oct. 27, after observations of that luminary. The white spot at the north pole, supposed to be snow or ice, is much smaller than it was in August, 1924, when observations were taken of the planet's winter "cap." A Martian Summer, however, is not very hot. They tell us the temperature in Mars ranges from 30 or 40 degrees above freezing point at noon to 150 or more below at midnight. The distance between the earth and Mars just now is 42,400,000 miles. Next time it will come so near will be in 1939. Queen Marie, the consort of King Ferdinand J, of Rumania, arrived in Washington, Oct. 18, 1926, on a special train from New York. Secretary and Mrs. Kellogg received the distinguished lady and her traveling com- panions at the railroad station, and after formal greetings had been exchanged, she was escorted, by a formidable military force, to the Rumanian legation. Later in the day she paid her respects to Pres. and Mrs. Coolidge, and hei visit was promptly returned at the legation, by the president and the first lady of the land. Dinner was then given in the large dining room of the White House. Lieutenant Frank H. Conant, of the U. S. Air Service, crashed into shallow water at Winter Harbor, near Norfolk, Oct. 30. His body, strapped to the seat, with the parachute undisturbed on his back, was recovered 7 hours afterwards. It was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 2. Just what caused the accident is not known. Conant, born at the naval academy at Annapolis, November 13, 1898, was graduated there in 1919, and was assigned to the battleship Oklahoma as an ensign. The next year he requested flight instruction, and, in addition to his regular duties, was qualified as a pilot at the Hampton Roads air station. Dr. John A. Widtsoe was made president of the Utah Public Health Association, Oct. 21, at the annual meeting of the association at the Hotel Utah, to succeed George D. Keyser. That Utah should have a state sani- torium for the care of residents of the state afflicted with tuberculosis was the chief plea embodied in the report of James H. Wallis, executive secretary of the' Utah Public Health association. The report contained extracts from- the survey conducted on the state tuberculosis situation by Dr. H. E. Edwards, medical field secretary, in which Dr. Edwards declared that the most out- standing control measure needed was a state sanitorium. Earthquake shocks rocked California coast cities, Oct. 22, but no material damage was reported. The first tremor was registered by the University of California seismograph at 4:36 a. m., the second an hour later and two others at 6:42 and 8:04. The first was the sharpest and the others of mild intensity, the last not being felt generally. Merchants in the downtown stores reported their stocks were undisturbed and those dealing in china said that they suffered no loss. The center of the disturbances was located seventy miles south of San Francisco in Monterey county. The first and sharpest shock was of four degrees maximum on the seismograph. Harry Houdini, the "handcuff" magician, passed away at Detroit, Oct. 31, 1926, of peritonitis, following an operation for appendicitis, at the age of 52 years. He began his career as a trapeze performer, and then became a sleight-of-hand performer, with a predilection for jail parapher- nalia. He challenged the spiritists, claiming that he could duplicate any of their tricks. The challenge was accepted by Ramen Bey, Egyptian mystifier. in August, who created a sensation by remaining in a sealed coffin under

PASSING EVENTS 211 water for nineteen minutes. "Short breaths and conservation of oxygen did it." said Houdini, who entered the coffin and stayed there ninety minutes. A year of 13 months, and* 28 days each month is being used, it is said, by private organizations both in America and England, as an auxiliary calendar for purposes of accountancy and the payment of employees, according to a statement published, Oct. 28, 1926, by the International Fixed Calendar league. The movement for a new calendar reform is sponsored by the League1 of Nations, but it is found that public opinion is not yet prepared for it. The advantages claimed for the 13 -months year are that all the months have the same number of days, that the periods for which salaries are calculated correspond to the periods of expenditures, and that each month contains the same number of whole weeks. A disastrous hurricane struck Cuba, Oct. 20, 1926, causing death and destruction. According to some reports, 600 persons were killed, 9,000 injured and 6,000 rendered homeless. Ten or more towns and villages were destroyed. One hundred ships of various classes were sunk or badly damaged. The center of the hurricane was east of Havana. A. section of the city of Havana was inundated by a tidal wave that in the lower part in the city reached to the second story of the houses. The total damage is estimated at $100,000,000. In Havana, on Oct. 24, 117 bodies had been buried. Cuba asks for outside aid. Thirty-two were reported dead, 1^)0 injured and virtually all property destroyed in the Isle of Pines. Oil has again been struck in the Frank Shafer No. 1 well, according to a report from Moab, Utah, Nov. 2, 1926. The oil gushed from a depth of 4,976 feet. It is of a greenish hue and high specific gravity. The Frank Shafer is the well that last December blew in as an oil gusher at a depth of 2028 feet, and flowed unrestrained for several weeks. After a long struggle the formation from which the oil came was closed, and the drilling proceeded as a test well for the deeper strata. On Nov. 2, the tools dropped into an oil stratum, and, with a roar that could be heard for some distance away, the well blew in. The tools were blown up the hole for several hundred feet, when they bridged. The column of oil gushed to the top of the derrick, the flow continuing for ten minutes. "Uncle Joe" Cannon, for forty years leader of the House of Represen- tatives, died at 2 o'clock a. m., November 12, at the age of ninety. He passed quietly away while asleep, or in a state of coma. He contracted a cold last July, from the effects of which he never fully recovered, and was compelled to forsake his daily walk and take to his automobile instead. His daughter, Helen, was summoned from Europe in September, when his condition began to appear serious. This year was the first time since he voted for Lincoln, in 1860, that "Uncle Joe" failed to cast his ballot. He was elected to Congress in 1873, and was an active member and leader until 1922, when he announced his retirement, after forty-six years of service. He was widely known throughout the entire country, and was loved and respected by both old and young. The memory of "Uncle Joe" Cannon will always be associated with activity, leadership, a spirit of fighting for the right as one sees it, and a sane view of our country's problems. The U. S. Supreme Court, on Oct. 25, 1926, handed down a decision, which is characterized as the most important in the history of the Country. It is, briefly stated, that the President of the United States has authority to dismiss certain officials without the consent of the senate. Chief Justice Taft rendered the decision. Three of the members of the court, McHenry, Holmes and Brandeis dissented. Justice McHenry characterized the decision as revolutionary, and predicted that the consequences of it would soon be apparent. The case decided was that of the administratrix of Frank S. Myers, appellant, versus the United States. Frank Myers was the postmaster- at

212 ♦ IMPROVEMENT ERA Portland, Ore. He was appointed by President Wilson on July 21, 1917. for the usual term of four years. On February 2, 1920, Wilson removed him. Myers brought suit for his salary for the balance of the term, amounting to $8,838.71. He based his claim on the principle that the president could not remove him, except "with the consent of the senate." Myers' counsel argued the statute of congress, which, in part, reads, "Postmasters shall be appointed and may be removed by the president by and with the consent of the senate." The question was, had the senate the right to pass this statute? Can congress assert that the president must consult the senate before removing officials? Or has the president an unqualified right to dismiss? In short, is this statute constitutional? The Supreme Court now says it is not. A new cathode ray tube has been invented by Dr. W. D. Coolidge, according to an announcement made, Oct. 20, 1926, before the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. In the darkened room and with a current of 350,000 volts applied to the tube, the rays were visible as a purple glow extending about a foot from the tube. A crystal of Calcite, Iceland spar, glowed as red hot in the rays, although it was stone cold. It continued luminous for hours. A piece of marble was similarly affected. Granite became iridescent, and acetylene gas was changed into a powder of unknown chemical com- position. The ray, it was said, had removed hair from the ear of a rabbit, but after a second application, hair of different color began to grow. Castor- oil, in the ray, solidified, and cadmium tungstate, spread upon a card board, became highly luminous. Whether the new tube can be used to combat disease remains to be seen, but as the ray it emits kills insects, it is probable that it will kill microbes and bacteria as well. Three new chapels were opened, Oct. 17, 1926, in Salt Lake City, for L. D. S. worship. Thirteen hundred people attended the grand opening of the new Wells ward chapel, where President Heber J. Grant was the main speaker. All the fourteen bishops of the stake, and Stake President Joseph J. Daynes, made brief addresses. The meeting was in charge of Bishop Francis D. Higginbotham. A bas-relief, "Christ by the Well," by a local sculptor, T. S. Knaphus, was unveiled by the bishop. The new Fourth ward chapel was dedicated by President Anthony W. Ivins. The meeting was in charge of Bishop W. F. Perschon. Among those present was Patriarch Harrison Sperry, a pioneer of 1847 and former bishop of the ward. President D. E. Hammond, of the Pioneer stake, related some of his early experiences in the Fourth ward, which is one of the oldest in Salt Lake City. President Charles W. Nibley dedicated the new $62,000 chapel of Nibley Park ward. Bishop Samuel F. Bennion was in charge of the meeting. President Nibley spoke of the faithfulness of the Latter-day Saints, as manifested in their willingness to give of their means for the expansion of the Church. The Second Utah-Intermountain Egg-Laying Contest finished the year, October 30, in fine shape, with the unusual production of 42.5% for the month of October. Counting all competing birds until the close of the contest or death, the average production was 197.8 eggs for the year, a yearly average production of 54.39e. The highest three pens were, in their order: H. C. Sorensen, Kent, Washington, 2425; Henacres (E. R. Wells' Prop.), Prosser, Washington, 2319; Ivins Trapnest Leghorn Farm, Murray, Utah, 2265. There were twenty-four entries. The total cost for feeds and litter for the year was $413.01. The total number of eggs laid was 46,196. The value of the eggs was $1,048.26. The return above feed costs was $634.25. A certificate will be issued for the production of merit to all hens in the contest which have produced 250 eggs or more during the yearj and special certificates are being issued for unusual pro- duction to the ten leading pens and to the ten leading hens in the contest. Byron Alder, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, is the station poultryman and superintendent of the contest.