Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-10-10
Editor 3. F. Cummings Of the
Liahona Tells Of Attractions
OF Historic Town.
NO ANlMosITY MANIFESTED
Members Of the Re Organized Church
There Disapprovc OF DIsscntsion
And Contention With l.. ID. S.

y. i. Cummings, editor of tho liza
mona. the elders Journal. which IS tha
oflclai organ OF the missionary work
Of the Church OF Jesus Christ of TAT
ter-day Saints in the United states.
published in Independence, Mo. Ia
spending q few days in Salt Lake. or
his adopted city he says;
Iii Is a beautiful town. n,l;et ,yo,,
governed, neat and attractive. If 10
situated 10 miles due east of Kansas
City, and has population Of about
1000 people. 1000 of whom arr, coll
ored. a generation prior to about four
years ago, very little public improves
ments In the way of paving, sewerage,
etc, were made, but beginning about
four years ago the town has taken on
great activity in these respects. A
great deal of paving has been laid
within the last four years, sewers have
been extended, and many public i'm
provements have been made. The town
has an excellent public school system.
Tho surrounding country is rolling,
and grassy slopes and gentle decllvities
appear on every hand. When our peo-
pie first went there 1t was largely COW
cred with forest. but only here and
there are seen remnants or the prime
s val woods"
Such We're tho main points of Mr..
Z Cummings description Of this historic
+ town.
CORDIAL FRIENDSHIP.
OF the prevailing sentiment of the
people of the town with respect to tho
Latter-day Saints, Mr.. Cummings af-
firms that 1t Is one of cordial friend
ship. II have been a resident of indie
pendence for more than a year and a
half" he said, "and have yet to hear
the first unkind or disrespectful word
In reference to our people, spoken by
any inhabitant of the place. In fact,
the business men and residents gem
orally manifest a marked and cordial
friendship toward all of the members
OF the Utah colony.
OF local saints, there are about so;
by adding to these the missionaries
with their families. who are employed
in the mission office and the publica-
tion office OF our magazine, we have
about Is members. We have good
Sunday school, q Relief society of about
Is members, and u Mutual Improve
ment association of about 40 members.
Besides those in Independence there
are from one to two score members
OF the Church in Kansas city"
Continuing, Mr.. Cummings said:
Prior to locating in Independence T.
anticipated a. disagreeablc experience
through contact with the members of
the Rcorganizad church in the town
but I have been happily disappointed
in this respect. There are In the town
of Independence about 1000 members
Enf tha Ranrp-o nizpl rhnI'Cb TTbp1y 1,aI
q fine church edifice built OLA beauti-4
full gray stone--an expensive struc-$
ture. They have finished this year a
sanitarium costing, as I understand,
from 100000 to $4,000. / have met
scores of members of that church, and
without a single exception have been
treated with Kindness and respect"
DIFFERENT IN UTAH.
THAT is not the spirit manifested
by their missionaries and members
here in Utah" was suggested. How
doo you account for the difference?"
The Reorganized church is not a
homogeneous body as our Church Is.
There is a great variety of religious
faith mad views among it's members,
and am convinced that the mission-
aries whom this church sends out and
whom the elders and members of our
church meet, arc not fairly representa-
tive of the mass of the members of the
Reorganized church. l have zconversed
with dozens of them in Independence,
and the prevailing sentiment among
them disproves of animosty between
tho two churches. Many of the mem
bers OF the Reorganized church have
expressed to mo the firm belief that
the two churchese must and will come
together sooner or later and they dis
approve of all animosity between the
members of the two bodies.
..Thc chief feature of interest in In
dependence to Latter-day Saints Is the
Temple lot, small park containing