The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-23
Frederic Haskin's Lette,


1850 the Mormon University Il x.
eret was founded, while to- !" -, -
later = territorial library vas ~: s.n
Iished In the council hons. a
books hauled by OK team Il, -. y.
way from New York. Toda, :, 'ns
cent of Utah's revenue ia ~. M
education. a' %
The matter Of recreation w..
given practical consideration y W., sso
holding even at this early a., v .1
play was a fundamental nec. ~. -.
Of human existence. So, vhiI. y.
nrst school was being built n s.s
wee also at work erecting . 49,. ~
and the Mormon farmers 49,, !,
alternate their blowing With
hearsals OF popular melodram..
In the exact center Of the citr a
viding it into four sections, 4 i,, -
space was set aside for rel,s,oss .
worship. and thick adobe ~.n
built around it. This wall has h..a
reinforced with concrete. I'm, -.
buildings erected within il ,s..;.
all Of their pristine picturessn.a
ness. The Mormon tsmpls' !.
course, ought to be phenomsn,,i.
sturdy, for it was built BY an .,.h
crate and tedious process GOVERN,
a period of 40 years. The hue
greyish-white stones that form i,
walls were hauled by OK team FINN
granite quarries 20 miles from tha(
city, and the Mormons claim that /. \
often took four yoke of oxen fou,
days to cart one stone. After N.
stones arrived they still required
great deal Of attention, for thew h,d
to be fitted together without the Ms.
Of mortar.
The object Of all these 40 y,an
Of incredible toll is not, as might b.
expected, q thing of Overwhelming
beauty. It is too frequently pupe.
tured with curious windows, SOM
OF them shaped like portfolios, for
that. But its tall spires give a,
heavenly dignity to the city, espe.
cially since attached to one Of them
is . statue Of the Angel Moronkal
gorgeous, 12-foot statue Of ham.
mered copper covered with sold
leaf-just on the verge of proclaim.
ing judgment day with his trumpet
horn.
None but Mormons of good stand. !
ing, which means Mormons Who
pay their tithes regularly, are per.
mitted inside the temple. but pic.
lures of its inner chambers have
been taken showing them to BE-
rather dull, Insignificant Offices and
not the mysterious apartments and
passage-ways ascribed to it BY
fiercely imaginative anti-Mormous
The Famous Tabernacle.
The tabernacle Immediately toj
the west Of the temple is also re-
markable building. 1t looks much
like a huge, petrified turtle. The
turtles back or roof is the largest
non-supported dome in the world,
It rests entirely on the 4S sand
stone pillars built into the walls,
and has no interior supports. AT
the time it was built no steel or
nails were available, so the roof was
tackled together with wooden pegs
reinforced with rawhide. The tab.
ernacle seats 10000 people and can
be emptied in four minutes through
its 81 12-fOOt doors. The acoustic
properties are SO marvellous that a
pin dropped in one end of the buildt
ing can be heard in the furthest,
corner of the gallery more than $50
feet away. This adds greatly to the
tone Of the tabernacle organ, which
in its day was the finest in America.
Having put the infant Mormon
empire on its feet, and having start
ed these prodigious monuments to
the Church of Jesus Christ Of Lat.
ter Day Saints, Brigham Young
took unto himself a large tract Of
farm land: proceeded to marry most
Of the homliest women in Utah, TO
judge by their portraits, and settled
down to run his absolute realm
But his well-earned complacency
did not last long. In the east the
magic word. gold" was tearing
men from their placid paths and
sweeping them westward as fast as
the overland stage would carr!
them. Utah. then emraclng the
widely-heralded Nevada mines
could not hope to escape the gola'
seekers. The Mormons did thsr
best. or worst, whichever you pre-
fer, to dissuade them from taxing
up their residence in Utah, but
was futile. Where Indians had fan'
ed to stop the influx of pioneers ~
did the so-called ayenging angeS'
Gradually, Young's dream OF >
great Mormon empire fadeA
Today it has become very olm'
indeed. The non-Mormons are nov
in the majority in Salt Lake .M
and own most of the property. luz
entire smelling industry, the iaN
est banks and department stol@
are in their hands. Their various
churches outnumber the MornN1
houses of worship. They are oesi.
ming to boast that Salt Lake ~
is principally theirs. But as w
visitor peers at Brigham iouns'
grave, which is merely a pla'.
green mound, enclosed by WV :,
covered iron fence, and oeafs ~,
tablet, he cannot help but feei ~. "a
Brigham was right when ne sSs
salt Lake City shall be my m0''
ment."