very much like Luzern, in many respects. It is also beautifully situated upon one of the Swiss lakes, and on both sides of a Rhine tributary. During the tourist season, the same difficulties are met as in Luzern. But it is a metropolis, has a large poor and middle class population, and therefore furnishes us better opportunities for our line of work. Zurich, like all other large cities, has its numerous sects. They represent all degrees of religious warmth, from the ice-cold Reformed Protestants, whose belief seems to be a formal one-hour Sunday affair, to the feverishly hot fanatics who anticipate the near approach of the "end," when their fearful God will proceed to chew up all the hated sinners. What a squirming mess of religions! Their ideas are as different as the people themselves, and among a great number the beliefs change with the wind; doubt and atheism playing their parts, too, blighting here and there a few, and sending backboneless one-time believers headlong to dissipation and destruction.

"Freethinkers" have carried on open discussions with ministers, and in too many instances have exposed the hollowness of their religions. The listening "rabble" have often jumped at ridiculous conclusions, upon seeing the educated ministers driven into corners, and have gone out with the cry, "There is no God and no hereafter; eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!" Accompanying these atheistic movements are such microbes as prostitution and free love. Lectures have been frequently held in Zurich advocating free love, and attempts have been made to alter the Swiss laws so as to legalize this and other forms of degradation; but thanks to the good, solid, conservative Swiss people, as a whole, such schemes have been voted down with overwhelming majorities. This clearly indicates that, while these surface disturbances make lots of noise and seem to amount to a great deal, yet the depths of the Swiss people are firm. Their moral sense of right and wrong is still keen, and detects readily the approach of such social evils. God grant that it may remain so.

There is, however, an element at work, among all classes, the tendency of which is to benumb the finer and nobler feelings of the people. This is alcohol. Its power has increased to an alarming extent lately. For every 144 people, including children, in Switzerland, there is a beer hall. An average amount of one mil

This first has be

lion francs a day is spent for alcoholic drinks. come a social epidemic. Today, father, mother, and child drink, while years ago the father was the drinker. During the last few years, working men and women have begun taking a bottle of "booze" to work with them. The result of this is a marked degeneracy more noticeable among the children, especially in Germany. It is estimated that from 60 to 70 per cent of the schoolchildren are not normally healthy, and the number of weak-minded and idiots is increasing. Experience and science demonstrate that alcohol dulls the moral sense and destroys the God-given conscience; therefore, if the power of strong drink increases in Switzerland much more, the strong stand the people take against such social diseases as free love and prostitution may weaken. Alcohol is prostitution's best friend and lover. She has little courage to work without him. Lately, however, new temperance movements have been started, and are waging war with drink: their battle is a fierce one, though. Entertainments, concerts, celebrations, excursions, and even political gatherings are gotten up by alcohol merchants to furnish opportunity for selling drink and reaping enormous profit. Societies organize for pleasure purposes; they build their own halls, and pay for them through the selling of alcoholic drinks. Churches have been built the same

The

way. Therefore, people are almost compelled to indulge. temperance movements have bettered conditions wonderfully. They have helped to create nobler pleasures for the working classes, have established restaurants where no intoxicants are sold, and have laid out parks and gardens with concert pavilions where people can enjoy, without filling themselves with "booze." I think we "Mormons" should devote some of our time, money, and literature to helping these movements, and spare a little time from arguing over doctrinal differences and interpretation of scripture. The amount of good our hundreds of missionaries could do toward lifting mankind is immeasurable. We are trying at present to effect some plan of having our literature deal more with the live necessities of today, and hope to develop one, if we can get support from the proper authority at home. Our gospel is to lift mankind, and the most practical way is to help destroy the enemies of mankind. We can convert the people later; and, even if we

don't convert them, we can make them better representatives of their species.

The great question now in Europe is, will the bad or the good win? We like to be optimistic, and think the good will come out on top. There is no question but that mankind is forging ahead, even if, for short intervals, the tendency does seem to be backwards. The good must win.

While these problems are bothering the people in Protestant Switzerland, the larger part of the Catholic population remain in their hidden Alpine valleys, little disturbed. They think these commotions are just punishment upon an apostate church. The disunited Protestantism is one of their strongest arguments for the divinity of united Catholicism, and this has brought many back into their fold. On the other side, in many districts where the two populations rub against each other, young Catholicism is partaking somewhat of the progressive, free-thinking spirit, and drifting away from the Catholic ranks. As a result of this, the clergy at present grows feverishly hot in denouncing this tendency to think freely in religious matters. The sermons are mostly directed along this line, and the threats are something fierce. It is all branded as from the devil. If that is the case, the devil has played a big part in the progress of the world. A Catholic minister told me most decidedly that the purpose of life is to avoid,not to overcome sin. In this way, they justify the thousands that seek refuge from the world in dark forests, mountain valleys, and canyons, in monasteries, etc. These people love the world so much, and their enemies, that they run away from them, nicht wahr? If they would all get in, shoulder to shoulder, and help the world solve its social problems, they might be the means of bringing many back into their fold.

What part does "Mormonism" play in these questions? A small one, because our religion isn't understood. Prejudice makes it impossible for us to get our grander principles before the people. They look upon us as a fanatical sect, quarreling over baptism, authority, etc., and teaching polygamy. A superficial reading of some of our tracts rather justify their notions. The world has no idea that we teach such grand principles as equality of gexes, temperance, eternal development, etc. If we could get

these principles before the people, our part in helping Switzerland solve its problems would be a big one. The gospel has benefited. the majority of those who have accepted it. Their attitude toward life is different. In religious matters they are neither fanatical nor cold, but sensible and reliable. The gospel has made them better mothers, fathers and citizens. If these countries realized what kind of citizens "Mormonism" makes, they would not take such a stand against us. This is the small part we are playing in Switzerland, and it is a good one.

Our increase has not been very great, but we have already baptized more new converts this year than all together last year, and more than for several years back. The total souls in this small conference is now 493, and many have emigrated during the last few years. The last statistical tithing report showed something over 11,555 francs or $2,311 received, which was an increase of about 933 francs or $187 over the previous year. When you consider that the people are poor, this tithing report indicates that they are doing their duty in this respect and are happy.

Attempts have been made to deprive us of our rights. The meetings were officially stopped at the Catholic towns of Zug and Chur. At the latter place, four missionaries were imprisoned for three days. We took the case to higher courts and they handed down a decision in our favor, so we have freedom again. Some of the newspapers have "roasted" the courts for giving the "Mormons" the decision, and the general opinion is that we won by some clever maneuvering. And so it goes. But the longer I remain here, the less I blame these people for their deep-seated prejudices against "Mormons." When one considers the amount of anti"Mormon" literature this country has been flooded with, when one sees how the writers of numerous blood and thunder dime novels have laid the fiendish plots of their stories among the "Mormons," and when one notes how even otherwise authentic encyclopedias picture us, it is easy to understand why the people have an inborn horror of "Mormons." The school-children picture us as a wild, fierce species of white men, living among the less ferocious Indians. I got two schools here to correspoding with Utah schools, in an endeavor to put aside this prejudice. The children took a

keen interest in writing, as much as if they were writing to young Indians.

We feel that there has been a little done, during the last year or more, to kill prejudice. We have come in touch with a better class of people, and they have been surprised to find our religion and people so broad. But it is often hard for us to answer their questions to our own satisfaction. Bishop Berg, how would you answer the following questions if they were put to you by a fair, broad-minded, intelligent person? Suppose he should say, "Yes; your principles are grand, but the test of a principle is its fruits. You say you believe that the glory of God is intelligence, and that as God is, man may become. This sounds very beautiful, but do your people take this principle seriously? I mean, do the members of your Church, as a rule, exercise themselves to acquire this development any more than other Christian peoples, or do they settle back into routine lives of eating, sleeping, entertaining, etc., very much like most communities? Don't especially your old members feel they are saved, and take it easy? Are your young people taught to take this principle seriously? Do they devote their time to lifting themselves on to higher planes of intelligence, or do they waste their precious time lounging around street corners, beer halls, or cheap entertainments? Do they not chase out to public dances and carouse around at night very much in the same way that young men do elsewhere?

"Another thing, in regard to your temperance plan, or 'Word of Wisdom' as you call it. Do young people follow its teachings? Don't your young men, and more especially the student element, disregard this principle and indulge in strong drink, just about as freely as the young men in most Christian lands, and more especially in America or England?

"You speak of your attitude toward virtue. Now tell me frankly and honestly: are you absolutely sure that conditions among your people in this respect are more ideal than among other Christian peoples of the same population? Or, can you claim honestly that the transgression in your land is due to outsiders? In other words, what are, in reality, the fruits of your religion?" Of course, Bishop Berg, some of these questions I could easily answer to our advantage, and do it with enthusiasm, but some of