--- 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: 32 number: 2 published: 1928-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "*Improvement Era* 32, no. 2 (December 1928). Salt Lake City: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, December 1928." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera322unse 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: improvementera322unse curator_note: Internet Archive issue scan; advertising and unpaginated plates omitted. rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1928-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera322unse publication_year: 1928 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 1928, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Improvement Era, December 1928 Improvement Era Vol. XXXII DECEMBER, 1928 No. 2 The Great American Inheritance By Elmer G. Peterson, President Utah Agricultural College T ^HE American republic is the immediate offspring of European civilization and the inheritor of much that has crystallized from the world-old upward struggle of all humanity. We are the recipients of many of the weaknesses of the old world and yet embody ideas and ideals seemingly impossible of realization in Europe or elsewhere. I am conscious of the fact that it is customary, particu- larly in what is sometimes called intellectual circles, to condemn America and point with pride to the beauty of other parts of thi' world. There is a school of near-intellectuals who try to make almost everything in America ugly. They glory in discovering odd and abnormal or diseased features of our life and in the name of literary freedom or realism exposing and prodding about in these sores, revel- ling in the very ugliness and odor which they uncover. But while these people occupy considerable attention they probably will give way to more creative and enduring thinkers who try to record the charm rather than the ugliness of life. America embodies many praiseworthy features in her political and social life which she has inherited from the past or developed out of her own experiences. There are, indeed, so many that it is difficult to say off hand what the great American inheritance is, what is of greatest importance that her children inherit as a result of their fortunate birth on her soil. There is the item of natural resources which has given to Amer- ica the privilege of extraordinary industrial development. This is a tremendous force in our advancement and many would undoubtedly name it as the great inheritance. America, with only 6 per cent of the world's population, now produces 50 per cent of the world's re- sources in basic products of iron, steel, copper, timber, cotton and oil. It is estimated that we are now producing 55 per cent of the world's iron ore. 55 per cent of the world's pig iron, 66 per cent of the world's steel, 5 1 per cent of the world's copper, 62 per cent of the world's pe- troleum. 43 per cent of the world's coal, 52 per cent of the world's timber output, 65 per cent of the world's naval stores, 42 per cent of