Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-08-24
,,JJT7AH AND The PIONEERS.

IL PllJINEERO.
feet high and feet thick Through
large gates on each Of the four SIDES
the passer-by gets glimpses OF the
beautifully parked grounds.
Adjoining the temple is the world
famed Tabernacle. The first Impress
sion made upon a visitor Is the SIM
plicity of the building, and as he sur
veys the long rows of seats, and the
tremendous ylulted ceiling, the vast
Iress Of the place grows upon him. and
inspires mingled feelings of solemnity,
awe and admiration a1le Tabernacle
is an immense auditorium, shaped like
a turtle. with a seating capacity Tor
5000 people. 1t Is $50 feet long by lao
feet Wide and so feet in height. The
self-supporting roof Is a remarkable
work of engineering. 1t rests upon Pill
lars or buttresses of red sandstone.
which stand IL 10 10 feet apart in the
whole circumference OF the building.
The pillars support wooden arches 10
feet in thickness, and spanning 100 feet,
These arches, of a lattice-truss cons
astrnction, are put together with wooden Z
pins there being no nails or iron OF
any kind used 4ipsthe frame work. The 4
building was erected from 1855 to 1857
at u cost of 100000, exclusive of the
eCOSL- Inc FOTSdIl, altit
etured material used in the construction
of the Tabernacle had to be hauled by
OK teams from the Missouri river. 1t
was for this reason that wooden pins
were used in place of heavy nails. Our
guide illustrated the wonderful acous-8
tic properties of this building, by drop
ping n pin and whispering at the 4
sfarthest end OF the place from where
We We're seated, "a distance of 200 feet,
s,,l, iSfS
remarkable building and also the tenn
pie We're planned and erected under
the direction of Brigham Young, who
was a glazier and cabinet maker by
trade, and president of the Mormon
Church.
In the west end of the Tabernacle IS
the great organ. 1t has been conceded 4
by visiting musicians to be the finest
instrument of its kind in America, il
not In the world 1t was constructed
over 80 years ago, entirely by Utah
artisans. and mostly from native ma
terial. To be abreast of tho times, the
Church had 1t revolced according to
modern schools, and had entire new
mechanism placed in it,: Since then the
organ has been regarded as the ne plus
ultra in organ building. The. front tow
ers have an altitude of As feet, and tho
dimensions Of the organ are 80 by 80
feet, 1t has ITO stops and accessories,
and contains a total of over 5000 pipes,
ranging in length from one fourth inch
+ to 80 feet. 1T comprises five complete
5organs--solo. swell, great, choir and
pedal: In other words. four key boards
in addition to the pedals. 1t is capa-
5ble of thousands upon thousands of
tonal varieties. The different varie-
strunlent represent the Instruments of
an orchestra, military hand and choir,
as well as the deep and sonorous stops
for which the organ is famed. There2is
no color, shade or tint Of tone that can
not be produced upon 1t. 1t is blown by
a ten-horse power electric motor, and
two gangs of feeders furnish 5000 cubit
feet Of air minute. when 1t is being
played full The organist lis seat
cd 20 feet from the instrument,
which places him well among the
choir. The organ undoubtedly owes
much to the marvellous acoustics of
the Tabernacle, but even with this
allowance made, 1T is still the most
perfect instrument of its kind in ex-
istence.
The Tabernacle Choir of 500 mem
bers. the largest Church choir in the
world, is self-supporting financially,
and the members give their services
freely to this phase Of Church work
This choir has won four FRIES in
choral contests, notably in Chicago,
where it won prize Of $1,000 in
California. Its chief work, however,
is to furnish choral music for the re-
gular Sabbath services held in the
Tabernacle
West of the Wasatch mountains,
stretches the deep blue expanse Of
the Dead Sea of America. or the Great
Salt Lake. This body of water is so
miles long, 30 miles wide. and has an
average depth of 10 feet. The water
is IS per cent salt. and the specific
gravity is so great that 1t sustains the
human body in any position. The
bathing at this wonderful lake is the
best, most eXhilarating and heaithful'
In the world. and may he enjoyed be-
tween May and October to Its fullest.
extent. For this purpose. the magni-,
ficient Saltair Pavilion was built at,
cost of over s35O.O0O. 1t has a
length of LOO feet. while the ex-
IRENE width Is ass feet. The lower
floor Is used principally for lunch
and refreshment bowerN. with seats
and tables enought TO accommodate
over thousand persons at one time
| The upper floor of the main building
is used for dancing. and is one of
| the largest dancing floors in the world
its dimensions being 14o BY 15o feet
| of clear floor. without a pillar or OBJ
struction Of any kind. a frequent
sight to be seen at this resort is a
| thousand couples dancing at one time
| The dancing floor is covered with a
| dome-shaped roof, constructed after
the plan of the Salt Lake City Tab
| ernacle
The Great Salt Lake has glorious
| sunsets--the crimson and gold of the
sky making pictures that Il person
| can never forget, while the whims
| of light and air throw the moun-
tains into all kinds of shapes, with
tints of purple. pink and yellow.
which are extremely beautiful at
| times.
Though agriculture is the leading
| industry of Utah, vet II is only iii its
/ infancy. Less than two per cent of
/ the total area Of the state is under
cultivation. There are still millions Of
| undeveloped acres of first quality.
| which can by scientific principles, be
| made TO produce good farm crops. In
| the southern part of the state, grapes
l figs. almonds, pomegranates, cotton
| and tobacco grow luxuriantlS In the
| northern valleys. wheat oats. barley.
4 sugar beets, vegetables, apples, cher
| ries, grapes. peaches, pears, apricots.
\ flums and berries thrive. In the CEN
\ trail part of the state, cereals, Yege-
! tables. root crops and fruits are sue
| cessfully grown.
| Utah now ranks fourth in It's per-
1 centage of educated persons. There
4 are 66S school buildings owned by the
districts in tlie Stnfe TIL q fotaI I, NOM