Editors’ Table

<T&^ DITOe Shooting Through the Law The graphic object lesson of de- votion to law given by Dr. George H. Brimhall in the January number of the Era is one which should be chiseled into the consciences of every patriotic citizen of our land. Here was a farmer, living near a forest reserve, who could not 'kill one of the many deer which had been causing him annoyance and loss by trespassing on his fields, be- cause he would not know what to say to his boys if he should "shoot through the law." What can any father say to his sons, or to his neighbors' sons, if he him- self shoots through the law, or drives through it, or fishes through it? What can he say if he drinks |or profanes through it? Circumstances may some- times make a minor violation or even a more serious one seem justifiable, but in this day, |when the spirit of law- lessness is becoming such a real na- tional menace, every sober-minded man and boy, regardless of personal convenience or desire, should be im- pelled to do his bit toward adding dignity and prestige to the law. Some really good but thoughtless people regard it as an indication of cleverness if they can evade the game, traffic or similar laws which seem to interfere with their pleasure. They are careful not to be caught, for therein lies the disgrace in their opinion, not in the violation itself. They some- times boast of exploits along this line in the presence of their children or other young people. Even that great modern educator, the radio, brings to the listener the intimation that, in order to have a thoroughly good time, while on an excursion or enjoying a holiday, it will be necessary to wink at the prohibition officer — an insult to him if he is honest and a dangerous suggestion if he is dishonest. Violations of the eighteenth amend- ment and the Volstead law are so notoriously frequent as to cause nation- al alarm. Some prominent men, with more reputation than character, profess to believe that these laws are an in- fringement on their personal liberty, and they, too, think they are clever, and in their own circles doubless boast about it, when they succeed in evading the enforcement officers. And yet even these people will not seriously deny that many of the accidents as well as the crimes, accounts of which fill our daily papers, are traceable to violations of the liquor laws. Here in Utah, after having com- mitted the most revolting crime known to civilized communities, six men were turned loose upon the public during 1928. They had served, on an aver- age, slightly more than two years in the state prison, though in some states their heinous offense is punishable by death. Five other degenerates who were sent to our penal institution for attempting to commit the same crime, and were only prevented because of some fortunate circumstances, were re- leased also during 1928, after serving considerably less than an average of two years — twenty months and eight days to be exact. Parents of the victims of these atrocious acts will not feel that so early a release of these depraved criminals is lending any dig- nity to the law. It is not likely that lengthening the term of imprisonment would act as a restraint upon the mind of a man with

Feb., 1929 EDITORS' TABLE 335 such vicious instincts. Perhaps nothing short of the death penalty would do that, but at least there will be no repetition of their crimes as long as they are behind prison bars; and while they are serving their sentences our young people are imbibing a greater respect for the law. The one thing that will bring about a real improvement is a thorough Pentacostal awakening among our loyal citizens who, of course, far out- number the other class. If they will with determination actually "STAND FOR LAW: FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IT, AND THE OFFICERS WHO EN- FORCE IT," there will be an immediate improvement in the conditions. — C. The Happiest Person I Have Ever Known By Hardin Bennion She was born in an obscure Eng- lish village, daughter of an unlettered laborer, youngest of nine children. School facilities and opportunities were negligible. At a very early age she found herself "out at service" in the homes of the neighborhood gentry. In one of these the walls of the servants' quarters were lined with newspapers, all of which were upside down, the purpose being to prevent the occupants from wasting time reading. No doubt this very fact, coupled with the well known characteristic of the English race to outwit and triumph over op- position, caused my mother to learn to read backwards and upside down, which she could do as well as in the ordinary way. At twenty-two years of age she joined the "Mormon" Church and with three of her sisters sailed for America and Utah, to her the promised land, to reach which she walked the one thousand miles between Omaha and Salt Lake City. Two years later she married a man of sterling worth and uncompromising integrity, who, like her, had come to Utah for his religion's sake, and by whose side she walked and in whose love and confi- dence she dwelt, in ever-increasing measure, until he died. Her love of literature, with its humble beginning, grew and developed until she became a master of the Eng- lish language. Soon after her marriage her house, with herself as teacher, be- came the school for the neighborhood children. She became mother of nine children, and as they grew to manhood and womanhood the increasing time at her disposal permitted her to revel in the best of modern literature. She even did some writing on her own account, and at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, she was accorded third place among writers of her own state. Without vaulting ambition, yet with an aim sufficiently high to de- mand constant study and effort; with an abiding religious faith which de- manded constant service and devotion to others; her children steadfast in the faith of their parents and standing in the respect and confidence of the com- munity; and with a constant growth of appreciation of the good things in literature and the development and progress of the world, she grew old gracefully, it was said of her, abund- antly prepared and satisfied to enter and with her husband preside in that eternal mansion which to her would be but a glorified and exalted edition of her earthly life and home.