Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-17

NH interest.
~ The event marks
the entrance of Utah upon a new and mo-
n.entous era of its history. in which Nor
mon and Gentie-after contending more
than generation for the mastery-will
work harmonicusly together in shaping the
destiny OF the new commonwealth. In fact
Utah Is no longer the Mormon colony of
old and the coming jubilee will illustrate
this fact
If Brigham Young could return at this
Interesting juncture he would find that
IolySamy-one of the NEST cherished of
his institutions-had gone down before the
onslaught of public opinion: that his scheme
of theocracy had been greatly weakened;
that the state was rapidly being separated
from the control of the church. This Is
true. even though the church organization
has "a great and undoubted influence over
its followers. and must continue to have
for years to come. He would also find that
the Gentle had firmly established himself
IN the business, social and political life of
the community. ON the other hand the
founder of Utah would certainly behold IL
noble monument to himself and his fellow
pioneers in the splendid state which has
grown from their planting. He would find
that his people. having pIospered and null
tiplied amazingly. now rest securely upon
the hrrzest Of economic foundations. He
would find that his church is still sending
its missionaries to the four corners of the
earth. and planting new colonies among
the deserts and mountains of the west
Considering that he began with mere
handful of people who were utterly poor
and in the midst of the hardest natural
conditions. the great leader who sleeps on
the hillside at Salt Lake City must be
written down in history as an empire
builder who succeeded Few who have
studied the man in his works will wish to
withhold from him the honor of a vast
material achievement.
Utah and the Holy Land.
On July n. 1871, the pioneers emerged
from the rugged deiile now known as
Emigration canyon and faced a broad and
sunny valley. which sloped gently to the
shores OF an inland sea. On the east the
Wasatch mountains, and on the south and
west the Oquirrh range made grim walls
about the desert. When the pilgrims had
proceeded a little further they saw a large
fresh lake few miles to the SOUTH empty
Ing its surplus waters into the inland sea
through slender river These odd condf-
items suggested striking comparison to
brigham Young. who felt that he was a
Moses leading new tribe of Israel to a
new promised land The fresh lake was
the sea of Liberals. the salt one the Dead
sea, the river was. of course, the Jordan
This, then, was the new Palestine: and
here the leader and his followers would
build new Jerusalem Advancing a few
miles miles INTO the valley. and halting near the
banks of a roaring brook Brigham Young
struck his staff upon the ground and ex-
Gained: Here We will rear our temple in
holiness to the Lord!'' 1t is above this spot
that sculptor Dallin's graceful figure of
the Angel MorOmi now locks down from a
stately pile of Utah granite. reared at a
cost Of forty years labor and several mill
lion dollars
The small party of emigrants who ended
their tiresome and dangerous pilgrimage in
the Utah desert fifty years ago gave but
the slightest promise of founding an endur-
To
and possessed neither canals nor the slight
est knowledge of the art of irrigation
They had but a scanty store of provisions.
anu thousand miles of deserts and noun
tains lay between them and any base of
supplies They had no shelter save that Of
iereu by the canvas coverings of their
crowded wagons. and there were no forests
rear at hand from which lumber could be
made But they went to work under the
direction OF a masterful leader turning the
waters OF a canyon stream upon the hard
alkaline soil and stalking the last Of their
stock OF potatoes on the venture. The re-
suit of this desperate beginning is seen in
the Utah of today.
Utah of Today
This latest of American states contains
nearly 3oo@0 people on the occasion of its
hftieth anniversary. OF these less than
one-third live in large towns. Salt Lake
City. the metropolis and capital containing
about 6n.oOO. and Ogden, its cheerful rival
apout i"''V- More than tWo-thirdS of the
tCtal population is dispersed in mining
camps. on the stock range and over a
myriad OF farms. There is a healthy cur
rent OF emigration from both Gentle and
Mormon sources. while the natural increase
is SO large and SO characteristic that a
photograph. crowded with hundreds of
bright baby faces, and labeled .Utah's
Best Crop. is popularity sold in the stores
ana rises almost to the dignity of a state
emblem.
While Utah owes much of its present
prosperity to its mines. and will be even
more deeply indebted 10 this item of fts
resources in the future. the broad founda-
ton or Its economic life Is in its irrigated
SOIL There are some remarkable facts to
be recorded about its 1886 farms. In the
nrst place, IL .fS4 of them are absolutely
free of all incumbrance Whether or not II
De true that mortgages breed populists 1t
Is an interesting fact that there are as few
popuiists as farm mortgages in Utah. The
average size Of these farms Is twenty
seven acres, but as some large ranches are
Included in this estimate, the figure given
1or the average is rather too high. The
typical farms range from three TO twenty
acres-the smallest of any state In the
Union They are universally devoted to
diversified agriculture. and thus render
their unmortgaged proprietors absolutely
self-sustaining.
In another important respect these farms
cirer from those elsewhere. Their owners
40 not live. as a rule. upon the farm
acreage, but in villages or home centers
bodies OF 5000 to 10000 acres. The farm
ers have their homes on acre lots in these
villages, getting from this small area
many of the things they consume and hay-
Ing the social advantages of town life to a
considerable degree. The church Is also
the dance hall. and in the remotest hamlet
there Is a Saturday night dance led by the
bishop These social arrangements nave
contributed much to the contentment of The
farming population There has been less
temptation for the boys and girls to leave
the soil and go to the large towns than
elsewhere The people live under such con-
ditions that neither panics. strikes nor
wars could seriously menace their three
meals a day. These conditions have msds
them pre-eminently conservative and Utah
IL perhaps the last place which would Weld
TO the temptation Of revolution.
Modern IRRIGATION,
The MormoDs are admittedly the found
ers Of irrigation among Anglo-Saxons. I'm
til they made their first rude canal from
City Creek on that July day. in 1877, men
OF their race had never dealt seriously with
this Industry. As the pioneers entoyed n
practical equality in the matter of poverty
their irrigation works were necessarti
built by means Of cooperative labor
Every man performed his share of the