Graham guardian., 1915-08-13

moved to tears by any pathetic in
cident that makes sudden demand
upon his emotions. Far from being
Il tyrant, as SINE of his enemies
have asserted, President Smith is
foe to oppression in every form, a
natural champion Of the weak and
drfenseless.
While not a millionaire, he is in
prosperous circumstances the re-
suit Of hard work, prudent manage
ment, wise investments and a dis
position to save and live within his
means. He will never purchase an
article uness he needs it and can af-
ford it. A safe and careful financier,
he never plungcs reckIessIy into an
enterprise, however inviting, and he
always takes a good look before he
leaps. Get out Of debt and keep
out" is an injunction frequently
upon his lips. when giving advice in
public or in private; and he takes
his own counsel. Like LongfelIOw'S )
blacksmith, he owes not any man.
Nor will he allow the church to
become indebted for a single dollar
that it cannot pay on demand. AS
its Trustee in Trust, holding the
legal title to its property, and
managing in general way its af
fairs, he is determined that its
credit, now giit-edgrd, shall so re
main. He permits no waste and no
needless expenditure of the funds
entrusted to him. He has been
persstently accused of avaricious
greed, maIfeasance in office, and
even Of wholesale robbery of widows
and orphans, but these charges, in.
vented and set afloat by personal
enemies for Interior ends, have no
foundation in fact. He keeps and
renders strict account of all moneys
or other means coming into his
hands as custodian of the same for
and in behalf of his people. The
total tithing paid in the church dur
ing 1915, an average year, was
81 1897 ,920. Funds distributed for
the support of he worthy poor
amounted to $266, ,528; in addition to
these regular funds, there was col
lected, practically in a single day
and without cost, $4,000 for the
war sufferers in Europe.
A full list of the works connected
with President Smiths administra-
ton would form a lengthy catalogue.
Some of the most important are the
Hotel Utah and the Latter-day
Saints Hospital; also the Bishop S
Building; the Bureau Of Information.
the Deseret Gymnasium and the
Gull Monument; all at Salt Lake
City. At the same place a build
ing to house the general church
office has beel commenced, and in
Canada a temple partly reared. In
various states and 10 some Of the
Pacific islands, school houses have
been built or mission chapeIS erected.
Valuable real estate has been ac-
quired, mostly for mission purposes,
in Missouri and Illinois, New York
and Vermont, California and Oregon,
Canada, Great Brtian and Scandi-
navia. Special mention should be
made of the Joseph Smith Menu
ment, erected on the site of the
Prophets birthplace, near South
Royalton, Vermont.
President Smith has always been
interested in industrial development,
and has played a prominent part in
establishing many enterprises that
have benefited Utah and other parts
of the West He has helped to con-
struct canals and reservoirs, to
build railroads and extend telegraph
lines, to found cooperative stores,
mills and factories, and he is now
president or director in various large
business concerns.
The question may here be asked;
Why is President Smith in business
at all? AS the religious leader Of d
religious people, why should he not
be engrossed in spiritual things, to
the exclusion of the temporal? 1t
is because, from the Mormon"
point of view, the spiritual includes
the temporal. President Smith
holds that the Gospel was intended
to save men in this life as well as in
the future life, and that a religion
which does not better ones condi-
ton here cannot be depended upon
to improve it hereafter. The object
of Christ's religion is the salvation
of the soul, and the soul, according
to the teachings of Joseph Smith,
the Prophet, is body and spirit com
bined.
Such questions as those just asked
and answered might well be met by
a question from the other side: How
could the Latter day Saints have &C
cOmplished their great work Of re-
deeming a desert. building cities,
bringing the poor from foreign lands,
colOniZlng the waste places, and