The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1909-08-06

MI The old Salt Lake CITY, tue CITY
shicb Brigham Young founded, ruled
gith an iron hand and loved because
Il believed that it was ever to be the
,ropghold Of the church OF the living
God has passed never to return. In
Hs stead has come modern city, a
Young giant among the business cen
ters Of the great west.
The fear of Mormonism, or, more
\ BroDerly speaking, perhaps, the gen
"a oral conviction that the influence and
shirt Of Mormonism were such as
we're bound to retard progress, has
passed or is rapidly disappearing.
Although the Mormons have ever
strenuously maintained that they
we're for everything that would bene-
B fit the city and community generally,
Il is true that their ideas OF what
would bring this about were frequent
" running counter TO those OF the
Gentiles This was bound to be the
case because the church looks at TEN,
pOTal things through the spiritual
eye.
Although it is undoubtedly true that
= the Mormon church ardently desires
the welfare of Salt Lake City and OF
The state Of Utah, it is equally true
that progress in its real western sig
nifeanee did not strike Salt Lake City
until the people at large had become
convinced that the Mormon church
did not have quite so firm a grasp on
the affairs of state as it Gid in days of
Its early leaders.
: Whatever the cause for the change
may be, there is no longer any doubt
that 1t has come, and that neither cap
zeal nor people need longer avoid Salt
Lake City and Utah for fear of Nor
mon influence.
The change which has been
wrought is so marked that the trav-
eler OF to-day would recognize little of
the Salt Lake City with which he was
familiar ten years ago.
Formerly the lines of demarkation
10 the business of the city between
Mormon and Gentle were very tightly
drawn. 1t was carried to such an ex-
tent that the Mormon stores were
patonl2ed solely by Mormons while
tAe Gentle stores were patronized
solely by the Gentiles. /
To-day it would be very difficult for
Tue visitor to tell whether he was in
Mormon store or a Gentle store.
80 lar as appearances go Gentle and
SAINT DO their trading just as they do
~ any other city, namely, buy where
lney can get what pleases them and
oay where they can buy the cheapest.
doubtless sentiment would cause
many Mormons still to favor their
OWN lfadespeople where things were
ABOUT equal but clannishness is be-
s0nihg less and less of factor in the
BUSINESS life of Salt Lake City.
Z can safely be said that both the
sermons and the non-Mormons are
meased with this changed condition.
iae Moimons certainly are, for they
sls SAfeWd, sharp business people,
Aa'ing ~ their church organization
Ols OF the best business organizations
anywhere on earth.
ims business organization realizes
through its heads that what is good
y, u SAT- Lake City is good for the
sortdiy portion of Zion. And the
worldly portion of Zion is a tremen- |
.sOasiy large proportion of the wogldly |
n'sLests Of Salt Lake City and of |
.. anu SO it is that in studying the |
p y Of this city and of the state
= Y IS affected by Mormonism, one
aa- 4os heip being struck with the evil
na .,' ueslse on the part of both Nor
y ns ana Gentiles to have done with
s sas aaseemly fight, the bitterness 90. I
s sd,..ity that have in the past undoubt- |
suly retarded progress.
,oa aae ehange which has come will
.snoiy grow more marked because
.Aoth amount of capital coming from
8tssa., sues and invested in joint en- !
a pt,ses is rapidly increasing.
n ~ Jew years ago the majority |
bnsine.ss 'oiahons would not engage in
can,as sss enterprises in which Gentle |
WAR; a,,aa was interested, or at least |
40 's = opposed theoretically to doing |
To-Day there are many large ON,