Graham guardian., 1895-05-11
A MORMON LESSON.
The Industrial System of Utah Was Found
ed by Genius.
From the Century for May.

OF EmlgfaIlOn Ca1lyOn INTO the val
ley Of the great Salt Lake. Utah
was then Mexican soil, and the
leader believed he could found
whatever character of institutions
should suit him and his people.
In the bitter anti-Mormon cru
sades of the past it has been al
legged that brigham Young had
chains on mems souls" There is
no doubt that religious supersti-
ton, rendered effective by the mar
velous machinery Of the church,
was partly the source of the
leaders irresistible power with his
own people; but back of the re-
ligious superstition and the church
organization stood the brain of a
great and masterful man. He knew
that his power to be enduring,
must rest upon something material
and tangible; and this something
he descerned to be prosperity of
the people themselves.
Brigham Young was an organiz-
er of prosperity. This was the
real source of his strength. He
did not aim at mere temporary
prosperity. On the contrary he
fought everything tending to that
end, going to the length of actual
ly forbidding the opening of the
rich mines in the mountains near
at hand, because he abhored the
spirit of speculation. He chose
for the corner stone of the state the
principle OF industrialism; and that
the principle lies there yet, at the
base Of the noble edifice ofoconom-
ic fact, reared by human toll, and
held firmly in place by the average
prosperity of all who had part in
its building. If the great archi-
tect, and the superintendents and
foremen who surrounded him, en-
joyed larger share of the profits
than the workmen, it is also true
that the humblest hewer of stone
ard carrier of mortar was paid in
proportion to the importance of
his labors. And what fair mind
can object to an industrial system
that yields these results.
SO far as can be learned, Brig
ham Young had no previous knowl-
edge of irrigation when he entered
the Salt Lake Valley. He quickly
realized that he had come to an
arid country, which would be hope
less for agriculture unless artifc-
tally watered. With marvellous
PERCEPTION, he saw that irrigation
was not a drawback, but an advan-
tage of the most important sort.
He realized that it meant freedom
alike from the dangers Of the
drouth and of the food. He dis
covered that having a rich soil and
ample sunshine, and adding mois-
ture to the construction of bitches,
it was actually an Improvement
upon nature to be able to turn the
Grain" either on or off with equal
facility. And, therefore, he right
Iy concluded that he had found in
these conditions the basis of the
most certain worldly prosperity
and the most scientific agricul-
ture.
1t remained for later genius to
remark: "Irrigation is not sub
stitute for rain. Rain is a substi-
tute for irrigation-and a mighty
poor one" But if the Mormon
leader did not say so he evidently
felt it. He perceived, furthermore,
that irrigation was much more
than an insurance policy upon the
crops. 1t brought all the process
es of agriculture within the realm
Of known facts, and that is science,
1t even rendered possible the con-
troll of the size Of vegetables, and
this became important many years
afterward, when the Mormon peo-
pie added great sugar factory to
their industrial system; for it is
important to grow sugar beets OF
about standard size to get the
best results. Moisture is required
to give the beet a vigorous growth
at the beginning; but when it is
well started, weeks of uninterrupt
ed sunshine are desirable IN order
to develop the saccharine qualities
Much sunshine at the wrong time
dries up the crop, while much mois-
ture at the wrong time produces q
beet pleasing to look upon, but un
profitable at the factory.
Brigham Young also realized
almost at the first, that the necessi.
ty of careful irrigation largely in
creased the labor upon an acre OF
land; but he found that this labor
was generously rewarded by the
increased yield both in quantity
and quality. And from this fact
he drew the most important prin-
ciple of his commonwealth, which
was the division Of land into small
holdings. Closely related to this
is the other twin factor in Mormon
prosperity-the diversifcation OF
farm products to the last degree.
Natural conditions, even where