The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-06-03
MORMON SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
Advantages OF Town Life blended with
the Chsrms of ERuraI Existence.

advantages OF 2OWn AkG0 111Gm0e0 Win
the Charms of E1uraI Existence.
Social changes of a marked character
will be wrought by the occupation OF
the arid region. In this matter also
Mormon experience is luminous, says
William E. Smythe in Century. Brig
ham Young sought to found his pros
perity not only on industrial ethics,
but also upon the happiness of the peo-
pie. He would not tolerate idleness,
and the walls of cobblestones still
standing in the older portions of Salt
Lake City were invented that the
church might pay for the labor of men
who would otherwise have been tenn
porarily supported by charity. AS a
means OF furnishing entertainment,
various diversions were planned, in
Guiding the Saturday night dance, led
by the bishops of the wards.
The leaders wisdom is almost as
clearly exhibited in his social scheme
as in his plan of industry. The central
idea in it was the farm-village. 4 vii
lage site, generally a half-mile square,
is selected in the midst of tract of
five thousand or six thousand acres to
be colonized. In Utah there are many
small valleys between the towering
mountains, and the village site is gener-
ally located near the center of the
valley, and near the river from which
the water is diverted into canals on
each side at a sufficient elevation to
command the irrigable lands. The half
a square mile is then laid out into
blocks of four acres, with broad ave-
nues between, and the blocks are divi-
ded into lots of an acre each. On these
acre lots the farmers have their homes.
Here also are their cOmmodious barns.
Here they have their poultry aud swine,
while considerable space is devoted to
market-garden. The farmer then has
his farm on the outlying lands, which
are divided into lots ranging from two
acres up to twenty acres.
From the public park in the center to
the farthest outlying farm is only two
and a half miles. Most farmers traverse
much shorter distance to reach the
farm from their homes. On the other
hand, the women and children enjoy
the important advantage of having near
neighbors, while the church, school
house, stores and post Office are near at
hand. Under this system the advan-
tages of town life are blended to a very
considerable degree with the charms Of
rural existence. It is a system full of
delightful possibilities. The Mormons
have realized it's substantial advan-
tages in neighborhood association; but
their model will be much improved
upon by many colonies of more recent
ablishment. Farm life under the
old conditions has involved isolation.
The hunger for human sympathy and
| company has driven thousands from
the country to cities already over
crowded. This factor is responsible for
many a social tragedy, as well as for
the problems which have arisen in con-
gested city populations.
There is no reason why farm villages
patterned after those Of Utah should
| not have a social life and an outward
beauty quite as pleasing as, for in
stance, the suburbs of Boston. There
the architecture seems almost uniform
| ly pleasing. Attractive lawns, with
trees, vines and flowers, are everywhere.
People of small means will be able to
surround themselves with similar adj
vantages in the farm villages of the
arid region, while realizing all the
benefits of independence and equality
inseparab1e from the Industrial scheme
! of irrigation.