Vital Problems Confront Us

Vital Problems Confront Us "God give us men. The time demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith and willing hands. ■>■> MUTUAL Improvement workers must be doers. Action is their keyword. At this particular time when we turn in faith and hope to the new century of "Mormonism," the call comes to us to throw the full strength of our young manhood and womanhood into the fight against evil. At the meeting of M. I. A. officers held during the Centennial Conference of the Church, the fol- lowing three stirring appeals were made for prohibition, for the anti- tobacco movement, and for regu- lations promoting safety. At the conclusion of each ad- dress definite projects were named. We recommend these to you for your thoughtful consideration and for your adoption as far as may be found necessary and advisable in your locality. At our June Conference we shall ask for a re- port of progress made and of your plans for future campaigns in these three movements. General Superintendency, Y. M. M. I. A., General Presidency, Y. L. M. I. A. What Shall We Do About Tobacco? By Heber C. Iverson Member of the General Board of Y. M. M. I. A. P VERY thoughtful parent and ■^ teacher will feel the challenge of these two messages by the Pres- idents of the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and of the National Education Association. "But now comes a cold-blooded, fact- finding government agency, the Federal Trade Commission. The commission brings the tobacco men to the mourners' bench, and gets from them an abjectly humiliating confession of falsehood, de- ceit, and cheeky imposture. The news- papers put the story far back in the second section, if they printed it at all. Editorially they have little to say. Didn't they print the fake advertising? The cigaret corporation that was on the carpet admitted that it lied when it said smok- ing its cigarets would keep a woman from getting overweight. It admitted that it printed tes.imonia';s from people who did not use its cigarets at all. It admitted that it printed tes.imonhls from people who not on.y did not write tnem. but never s .w them. It admitted that it paid for testimonials from a group of actresses to the effect that the use of these cigarets kept them slender and fit for their work, though the actresses were not cigaret smokers at all." — Christian Advo- cate. Northwestern Edition, February 13, 1930. "Ignorance and Narcotics tend to standardize,' we_ken and defeat people. Education fosters individuality, distinc- tion, and achievement. Has there been in ail history so colossal a standardizing process — such a vast demonstration of the sheep. ike qu .i ies of the human race as in the spread of the tobacco habit. Has not this increase in the use of cigarets been brought about through the expendi- ture of minions of dollars for advertising; through the hured misuse of psycho.ogy, art, wri ing, printing, and radio; through the degraca ion of newspapers and maga- zines? Have not the tobacco interests admitted the falsity of the statements which were pub.ished in newsp pers and magazines th it had the confidence of our homes and of our schools? Should any school or home subscribe to magazines which support such a policy? Can we afford to spread, even among the children, a habit whose cost is greater than the total cost of free public education; a habit surely unworthy of an age that has produced a Lindbergh and has brought into the high schools of America a wonderful army of more than five million fine young men and women!" — E. Ruth Pyrtle, President of the National Education Association. T WESTON OAKS, M. D., • says in his book on Medical Aspects of the Latter-day Saint Word of Wisdom: "Dr. M. V. O'Shea conducted an in- quiry among one thousand high schools of the Middle West, concerning the effect of tobacco upon high school work. Of this great number of high school boys who smoked, only 15.9% were above the median in 'school work, while 60% were below it. Many hundreds of these boys contracted the habit while attending high school; and it was found that where this was the case, 68% of those doing so had shown a decline in their scholarship, with 61.9% losing in deportment. These fig- ures are significant, because they cover such a large group; and they justify some generalization as to the effects of this drug upon mental effort in young adult and adolescent boys. The decline in scholarship in this group varied from ten per cent to u ter failure. Dr. O'Shea requested the principals of these schools to furnish such brief reports upon the work and behavior of their boys, beiorv and after beginning the use of tobacco. Because of what they represent in loss of potential manhood, these reports bear a pitiful significance; and Dr. O'Shea says of them: 'One cannot go over the reports from these two hundred six schools without forming the conviction that tobacco is either directly or indirectly playing a tragic role in the high school. There is no evidence of bias or prejudice in the returns from most of these schools; at any rate the principals and faculties were aware of the danger that preconceived no- tions might distort their views, so that they were on their guard. And if they erred at all it was probably in the way of leniency in estimating the intellectual status of smokers in their schools. Some at least of the principals who made returns are personally friendly toward tobacco, so far as its use by adults is concerned. * * * " 'In personal interviews they informed the writer they enjoyed a cigar and believed that a moderate use of tobacco was not harmful to them mentally or physically. But they could not overlook the fact that records of the smokers in their schools were conclusive in showing that the use of tobacco by their pupils is detrimental to intellectual effort, and in extreme cases it paralyzes mental ac- tivity.' TyRITING in the Kentucky vv Medical Journal, Dr. E. S. Frey of Louisville, mentions some careful observations made by Dr. Seaver, Director of the Physical Laboratory at Yale University and says: "Out of the highest scholarship men at Yale only five per cent use tobacco. Of all the men who do not get appointments, ninety per cent use tobacco." In MacLevy's book "The To- bacco Habit," are given some in- teresting statistics, of which the following are typical: "Dr. George Lewis says that in fifty years no tobacco user in Harvard has graduated at the head of his class, though five out of six graduates were users." "A Clark College professor says, out of two hundred one, ninety-three were users, one hundred eight were not. Of the non- smokers 68% won honors, while of the smokers only 18% won honors." What noted men say: "Boys, through cigarettes, train with bad pompany. They go with other smok- ers to the pool rooms and saloons. The

The Improvement Era for June, 1930 561 cigarette drags them down. * * * One of the magistrates in New York states that 99 per cent of the boys between the ages of 10 and 17, who come before him charged with crime have their fingers disfigured by cigarette stains." — Henry Ford. Attitude of Employers: "Employers generally disapprove of cigarette smoking and will not employ boys who smoke. Neither Edison nor Ford will employ men in their factories who smoke cigarettes." The Cadillac Motor Company in Detroit recently posted this no- tice: "Boys who smoke cigarettes we do not care to keep in our employ. In the future we will no: hire anyone whom we know to be addicted to this habit. It is our desire to weed it entirely out of our factory. * * * We have two objects in view: First, to help men and boys; sec- ond, we believe that men who do not smoke or frequent the saloon can make better automobiles than those who do." Marshall Field and Company, Chicago: "For many years it has been our policy not to engage boys who make a practice of smoking cigarettes, as we believe it to be detrimental to their development." Suggested Projects on Use of Tobacco 1. Public Education on law reg- ulating sale of tobacco and the harmful effects of its use. 2. Pledge officers to missionary work, assignment to and personal contact and labor with users of tobacco. 3. A project for M Men and Gleaners. Through the leaders of these groups stimulate these young people to do missionary work among their associates and friends. 4. Cooperate with civic officers in enforcement of law. 5. Have officers make it special business to check on sale of tobacco to minors. 6. Send men to the state legis- ture who will vote and work right on this and all other moral issues. What Shall We Do About Liquor? By DR. JOS. F. MERRILL Church Commissioner of Education nrHE liquor problem in its va- ■ rious phases and angles is con- tinually in the mind of the public. There are always "two distinct phases — the habit and the traffic. The beverage use of intoxicating liquors is unwise, often dangerous, for the individual, for society and for the race." After trying for generations all other means of controlling the evils of the traffic in, and drinking of, intoxicating liquor, the people of the United States adopted prohi- bition, the constitutional amend- ment becoming effective on the 16th of January, 1920. In all, 46 states ratified the 18th Amend- ment, this being the largest number of affirmative state votes ever given to any amendment. The Outlook said, January 27, 1926: "National prohibition did not come as a result of an effort to m:.ke men moral by law. It was only when public opinion became convinced that the legalized liquor traffic was hopelessly corrupt and corrupt- ing, and traffic in alcoholic drink was an economic burden which the nation could not afford to bear, that prohibition be- came national." A ND now what are we going to Jr^ do about it? Repeal the 18th Amendment, as some demand, modify it as others request, or en- force it as prohibitionists insist? Relative to law observance Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes once said: "Everybody is ready to sus- tain the law he likes. That is not in the proper sense respect for law or order. The test of respect for law is where the law is upheld even though it hurts." In his inaugural address Pres- ident Hoover said: "There would be little traffic in illegal liquor if only criminals patronized it. We must awake to the fact that this pa- tronage from large numbers of law abiding citizens is supplying the rewards and stimulating crime . * * The duty of citizens to support the laws of the land is co-equal with the duty of their govern- ment to enforce the laws which exist. No greater national service can be given by men and women of good will * * * than that they should, by their example, assist in stamping out crime and out- lawry by refusing participation in and condemning all transactions with illegal liquor. * * * Our whole system of self- government will crumble either if officials elect what laws they will enforce or citizens elect what laws they will sup- port. * * * For our citizens to patron- ize the violation of a particular law on the ground that they are opposed to it is destructive on the very basis of all that protection of life, of homes and property which they rightly claim under other laws." A RE we Latter-day Saints? If so we not only stand for law observance, but as U. S. Prohibi- tion Administrator of this district, German E. Ellsworth says, we are active law observers. We cease standing and become active. This is the greatest thing of all — to obey the law ourselves. Next by our teaching and our examples we try to get others to obey the law. And further, we aid the officers in enforcing the law. How? (a) By reporting all infrac-. tions of it that our keen and wide- open eyes may see. We now re- port robbery, arson, burglary, as- sault, theft, etc. Is it not equally an obligation of good citizenship to report to the proper officer ob- served or suspected violations of prohibition laws? A failure here is a failure in good citizenship. And this is what the Federal, County and City enforcement of- ficers in Salt Lake City complain of — lack of the active sympathy and aid of the citizenry in helping the officers. The latter are far too few to bring about unaided good enforcement. In any community M. I. A. members might organize to get information that will help the officers. (b) By frequently compliment- ing the officers who do good work. Let them know you are watching them, confident they will do their duty. Just praise is helpful. (c) By voting only for candi- dates for public office who are com- petent, fearless, dry in deed as well as word, and in full sympathy with law enforcement. President Coolidge said: "A government which does not enforce its laws is unworthy of the name of a gov- ernment, and cannot expect to hold either the support of its own citi- zens or the respect of the informed opinion of the world." (d) By ceasing to shirk jury service. Prosecutors are very often discouraged by juries, which, con- trary to the evidence and the facts, acquit guilty defendants. Courts sometimes even reprimand juries for their failure to convict in ac- cordance with the evidence. It often appears that the "wets" are organized to furnish juries that will acquit guilty defendants. (e) By being optimistic rather than pessimistic with respect to the* success of prohibition. Competent observers declare that prohibition in the United States is an eco-

562 The Improvement Era for June, 1930 nomic success. Hon. Geo. W. Wickersham, Chairman of the Hoover law enforcement commis- sion, recently declared that prohi- bition laws are better enforced than other federal laws. Sheriffs and chiefs of police produce records to show that prohibition is succeed- ing. Frantic opposition efforts of "wets" prove it. Let us talk for, work for, vote for, and in every way act for, law, its observance and enforcement. Safety By JOHN F. BOWMAN Mayor of Salt Lake City INTRODUCTORY observation : * Every thirty-one seconds a serious automobile accident oc- curs in the United States; the average increase of population of one every thirty-three seconds barely exceeds this casualty toll; every 17 minutes a death from automobile accident occurs; there were 31,500 persons killed by auto in 1929. These figures show an urgent need for action. Agencies For Correction 1. Traffic consciousness, very im- portant and may be developed by; (a) Educational programs. 1 . Schools. a. Junior Traffic Of- ficers. b. Compositions. ■ c. Lectures and class- work. 2. Safety Council, co- operating with State Council. 3. Civic Clubs. 4. Motion pictures such as "The Verdict"— a traffic story. 5. Children's safety clubs. 6. Drivers' clubs. Their function is to report flagrant violations. 7. Radio. 8. Traffic Week. a. Posters. b. Other publicity. c. Brake testing, light testing, etc., drives. 9. Safety contests among commercial drivers. 1 0. Special box in paper for accidents and deaths weekly. (b) Law Enforcement. 1. Strong police policy. 2. Cooperation of the courts. 3. N o n discrimination among petty violators. No tearing up of tags. Impartial enforcement. 4. No withdrawal o f complaints because of non-prosecution for a consideration. .(c) Legislative Program. 1. Uniform Motor Ve- hicle Legislation, a. Drivers' License. Issued upon exami- nation. Subject to revoca- tion or suspen- sion. Uniform Speed Regulations. Uniform penalties throughout the states for 1. Reckless driving. 2. Speeding, head- lights, brakes, etc. 3. Driving while intoxicated. 4. Manslaughter. Out of the Burning (Continued from page 554) wanted to be useful, to serve, to render return for her share of life's generous gifts. She was relieved from duty one evening about nine o'clock, short- ly after the end of her probation- ary period. It had been a hard case. The head nurse was nearly exhausted, many assistants were needed. Dr. Locke had lost his bantering tone. Terse, muttered orders had been the only sound in the grim battle. Even now, though Pamela was relieved, the battle was not yet won. Dr. Dick, the shad- ow, was in attendance for the night. THE lights of the nurses' home beckoned to the tired Pamela. Her feet ached. Her shoulders drooped. A nausea of ether and gas assailed her. How good the fresh air seemed; hints of running water, of buttercups and pussy willows. She raised her .head to breathe deeper and sud- denly stopped, petrified with fear. A tall, lean man stepped from the shadows directly into her path. "I come ter marry ye, Curly." "Oh!" cried 'Pamela, in a tone of half relief and half additional fear. "O," she added. "Is it Bud?" None save the family of Steve Turner called her Curly now. "I come ter marry ye," persisted the voice in a monotone. He was under the light now and stood re- vealed in a store suit. Tall, straight, erect, purposeful. "Weuns kin be married in the mawnin' and be home fur supper. Ma air afixin' a feast." "O, Bud!" cried Pamela, regret clutching her heart. "I can't do that. I ain't fur marryin' no- body, Bud." She dropped into his speech, hoping to be kind. "Weuns has got a new room, Curly. I made et purposeful fur youns. Ets got windows; two of 'em, Curly." "O, Bud, I can't marry nobody. I'm too young. I hev ter keep on larnin'. I hev ter keep ter school three years." "Youns air twenty," continued Bud in a tone that seemed to con- sider no obstacle. "Millie hed three least ones when she war your age." He came closer and held out a bunch of odorous mountain vio- lets. That was what Pamela had smelled. "I'm a comin' fur youns in the mawnin'," he repeated. "Maw's fixin' fur a party. Maw air poorly nowadays. Et air too much fur her, tendin' Millie's least one an' totin' coal, and all." He held out his arms, blocking the path. There was no escape save retreat. Pa- mela's mind flashed back seven years to the time Abe Walters way- laid her by the mountain well. Why did men court her in the dark? B. >UD stood patiently waiting, the drooping violets clutched in one hand. How ter- rible to hurt him. Mild, kind Bud, who had shielded her youth; who had stood off Millie's threats

The Improvement Era for June, 1930 56H of violence, who had broken paths through the deep snows. Bud, who had hoed her corn rows, hunted the cow and helped fill her allotted sacks with potatoes. But she faced him bravely. "I ain't fur marryin' nobody. You air good and kind, but I don't want nobody!" Bud's mouth dropped open. Ev- ery mountain girl hoped to marry. If she were not chosen by twenty, she was considered old, and usu- ally had to be satisfied with a wid- ower. It had never occurred to him that Curly would not be eager and willing. Mountain girls had long considered him desirable but un- attainable. "I'm a comin' in the mawnin'. " Ti HE nurse whom Dr. Locke had pronounced so depend- able, so reliable, was openly cry- ing and running back into the hos- pital. Down the corridor to the vacant porch. There she fell up- on a bed, sobbing unrestrainedly. Poor Bud! How dreadful to hurt him. Dr. Dick, coming from the room where death had been so im- minent, sought fresh air on the porch. He snapped on the lights and gazed in amazement at the prone figure of Pamela. "What have we here?" he call- ed. "Why, Miss Harrison! What's the matter? You are supposed to be in bed. Why are you crying?" "A man wants to marry me!" blubbered Pamela. " "Merciful heavens!" answered the doctor. 'Then why weep!" He had had no first hand experi- ence concerning marriage, but from observation, the young women whom he knew did not weep over proposals. They were usually the result of well laid plans. "I don't want to marry any- body," sobbed Pamela. "He's waiting downstairs. He'll stand there all night. I can't go over to the home. It's Bud Turner from Crow's Nest. Your father knows him. I tell you, I don't want to get married at all!" 'Thank heaven for that!" mut- tered Dr. Dick, not knowing just why he said it, and utterly un- conscious that he was patting Pa- mela's golden curls. tice to which few people paid any attention. But to Pamela Harri- son and Dr. Dick it had a hidden meaning: "Steven Turner, age 22 of Crow's Nest, enlisted for a three- year term in the U. S. navy to- day." "Thank heaven for that!" re- peated Dr. Dick, still not knowing just why he felt so relieved. (To be continued) Briefer s Indian Wife Dies (Continued from page 557) Ti HE next evening's papers carried a brief, cursory no- "Well, the old fellow was 'rubbed out' at last, but it took a grizzly bear to do the job, and it would have been worth a year's wages to see that bear-fight!" We now skip over seven or eight months to February with the snow crusted and the winds cold at Fort Henry on the Yellowstone: "Night had fallen, and the hush of intense cold was upon the white waste! A merry fire roared on the hearth of the big trading room where the men were lounging. Old Baptiste was making the Major's fiddle laugh and weep, and often when his bow swung into some old Southern jig-tune, the younger fellows, such as Bridger, would step it lively, aping the negro dancers. By and by, in a momentary hush, the stockade gate was heard to rattle at its bar as though a sudden wind had shaken it: yet there was no wind. The men listened a while, but heard only the howling of the wolves and the fort timbers popping in the great freeze. "The music began again, and a youth, swinging into an extravagant Negro clog, aroused a roar of laughter. Again the music stopped; and scarcely had the si- lence returned, when a wild hoarse, cry arose outside. Some Crow Indian was there at the gate, no doubt; but what could he want? A trapper got up, and went out into the snow that whined under his moccasins, and, followed by the candle glimmer that spilled through the open door, went to the gate and raised the wicket through which trading was sometimes carried on. Immediately those inside heard the wicket clatter down, and with a look of terror on his face the trapper dashed back into the room and slammed the door. 'I — I — saw — ' he stammered. 'Saw what?' asked the major. 'Old Hugh Glass!' whispered the trapper, ' — all white — his ghost!' 'Fiddlesticks!' said the Major. Get- ting up from his bench by the fire, he went out into the starlit silence, and the men thronged to the door. The chain clanked: the gate swung wide. And then the impossible came to pass! The men saw Henry walking backward, and after him came no other than Hugh Glass who had died yonder at the forks of the Grand and was buried there! His hair that swept his shoulders and his long gray beard matted upon his chest were ghastly with his frozen breath. The men gave way at the door, and Henry backed in, followed by the spectre. And what a fate it had — -grotesquely blurred as though seen reflected in ruffled waters! The old man stalked boldly into the middle of the room with his long rifle where a trapper wall with abject under his arm and stared about him. " 'My G — ■!' gasped the Major; 'two men saw you die at the forks of the Grand!' "The old man's chest rumbled with un- pleasant laughter. 'Show me those men who have seen so much,' he said. 'Either they lie here or I lie there! I'm not half sure myself.' 'Yonder is one,' said Henry, point- ing to Jim. "Hugh turned to crouched against the terror in his eyes. For a brief moment the ruined face of the old man was as though a blizzard swept across it. He set the trigger of his gun and clicked the lock.) Then as he recognized Jim, the youthful blacksmith, his face softened, and. easing the hammer down, he strode over to the young man, demanding, 'where's your companion, the other one that saw me die; it's him I'm after!' , And again revenge seemed stirring every muscle as he sent his glaring eyes, search- ing the men as if impatient for the an- swer, 'show him to me!' 'Glass,' spoke up the Major, 'he left here before the river froze, carrying dispatches to Fort Atkinson.' Well, well, that's all mighty pe- culiar!' he growled, 'I've come a long, hard journey to take revenge, but seein' he's gone, I'll wait.' . Then turning to his old friend, Hansel, the cook, he half demanded, 'Put on the pot and you'll see what an appetite a ghost can have!' And, having eaten with a wolfish hunger, the old man told the story of his resurrection. "He could not say how long he had lain there by the spring; but by ir.d by he awoke and managed to get his eyes open. It was sometime before he could realize what had happened to him. Then he knew by the footprints of horses all around him that the main party had been there and gone on. The ash- heap of an old fire, however, showed that Major Henry had not intended to desert him. Some of his comrades had been left be- hind to care for him: but where were they? And where was his 'fixin's'? Not even so much as a knife had been left him. "The more he thought about the matter the greater grew his anger, and he swore that he would live that he might avenge that treachery. Deliberately he set about the difficult business of getting well enough to travel. The spring furnished plenty of good water, and over it hung a bush full of ripe bull berries. Also, with his teeth he was able to tear flesh from the gashed body of the bear; but the meat had begun to spoil, and soon he had only the fruit and what bread-root he could find in the vicinity. (Continued on page 566)