lessons will not have been considered in vain. It will make them happy. not the practical, the work division of the lessons, be neglected. Let Work and Play. It was Ruskin who defined work and play in these words: Play is an exertion of body or mind made to please ourselves, and with no determined end; and work is a thing done because it ought to be done, and with a determined end." How do you class the duties of your calling in the priesthood? After thinking it over for a moment you will doubtless come to the conclusion that they are work. Then you would naturally enquire, "In my priesthood work what is the end in view?" The life of Christ would answer that, and this should be our example as far as our weakness shall permit us to follow it. To learn and to do the will of the Father; to overcome temptation; to teach and preach the gospel without price, and to call men to repentance; to administer to the sick; to reprove the wicked; to devote of our days and means to the welfare of our fellows, and to unselfishly do good to all men;-these are some of our practical labors, and they demand the earnestness of work and the joy of play. What High Priests are Doing. -Elder N. V. Jones, president of the High Priests of the Granite stake of Zion, has reported on the division of the priest. hood under his care, and states to President Frank Y. Taylor that there are 313 High Priests in the stake, 83 of whom are over 70 years of age. This is how they are engaged: 43 are stake officers; 53 are members of bishoprics; 105 are doing duty in the auxiliary organizations; 9 are patriarchs; 36 are infirm, and 88 are not engaged in any Church work. That is not a bad showing for a quorum, sometimes accused of being inactive. How to Win the Boys.-Associate with the boys, and your influence will help them rise. Away from them, with the same virtue and power, it will not reach them. Finally, "Only what thou art in thyself, determines thy value." Artificial trappings are of no real worth, remember that. If we work upon marble, it will perish. If we work upon brass, time will efface it. If we rear temples, they will crumble into dust. But if we work upon immortal minds, imbue them with a just fear of God, and their fellow men, we inscribe upon those tablets that which brightens throughout all eternity, and when we meet beyond the veil, where our true relationship will be understood, the helped will be our helpers; and the movement for good which was started upon earth shall vibrate eternally throughout the immensity of space.-H. E. Iverson, Bear River. Want to be Counted In. -One of the bishops in the Oneida Stake of Zion excused a number of the Higa Priests on account of their age from attending the Monday night meetings. Tavy demurred at this, and some of them are now traveling seven or eight miles in order to be present at the class. Another bishop reported that the Monday night meetings are more of a success than any priesthood gathering ever before held in the ward. EVENTS AND COMMENTS. BY EDWARD H. ANDERSON. Geronimo. Geronimo, the unreconstructed Apache Indian Chief, who had been under arrest and a prisoner for twenty years since he was captured by General Miles in 1886, died some weeks ago at the age of about ninety years. He died unreconciled to the new conditions, and with great hatred to the white man. Some years ago he dictated his autobiography which is said to be "a characteristic human document" of singular interest and sincerity. President Taft's Inaugural Address.-The President declared his purpose to sustain and enforce the reforms initiated by his predecessor, and stated he would submit to Congress in December definite suggestions on needed amendments to the anti-trust law and the interstate commerce law. Other things advocated were: Adequate provision for the army and navy; currency reform; tariff revision at the extra session of Congress to be called March 15; the establishment of postal savings banks; encouragement of foreign trade by mail subsidies; energetic progress in the building of the Panama canal; a conservation of the resources of the United States; the negro question to be handled by the south, and the enforcement of the 15th amendment by proper legislation; and a continuance of Roosevelt's attitude toward labor. William H. Taft, President of the United States. On March 4. at Washington, William Howard Taft was inaugurated President of the United States, with James Schoolcraft Sherman as Vice-President. Owing to a severe blizzard, of sleet, wind and snow, which everybody considered a calamity, the inaugural cremony for the first time in 75 years took place in the Senate chamber instead of in the open, at the portico, of the east front of the capitol as had been contemplated. At night the inaugural ball, with its magnificently gowned women, gorgeously uniformed diplomats, superb decorations, and entrancing music, made up for the curtailed inauguration ceremonies of the morning, to those who were fortunate enough to be there. The oath of office was administered to Mr. Taft by Chief Justice Fuller, and to Mr. Sherman by the retiring Vice-President Mr. Fairbanks. Dedication of New Meetinghouse.-The new Latter-day Saints meetinghouse, built by the Saints of Cokeville, Wyo., with some help from the Church, was dedicated on Friday afternoon, Feb. 12, by President Joseph R. Shepherd of the Bear Lake Stake of Zion, and his counselors, Brothers W. W. Richards and W. L. Rich. The Montpelier choir, and many other friends of the cause, came to Cokeville to assist in the dedication, which was very appropriate and instructive. The building is twenty-five by forty feet, and cost $2,000, including seating. It is all paid for. A splendid program was rendered in the evening, and a rich banquet was served in the public hall, where the Saints formerly met. Three long tables were spread with the best of everything, and the good sisters who arranged The new Latter-day Saints Meeting House at Cokeville, Wyo., Dedicated Feb. 12, 1909. Size 25 by 40 feet; cost $2,000 including seats. the banquet, invited all the people of Cokeville to partake of their hospitality free. All denominations attended, and all had a royal, fraternal, and enjoyable time. An interesting account of the affair was sent by our old friend Elder James Dwyer, who has the thanks of the ERA for the courtesy, and who, by the by, has taken a most important part, not only in aiding to get an organization of the Church at Cokeville, but also in the erection of the new building, Close of the 60th Congress.-On the 4th of March, the 60th Congress completed its work. One of the most important enactments made during its closing hours was the new penal code. One of the provisions of the new penal code forbids the shipment of liquor "C. O. D.," and makes the transportation of liquor in interstate commerce unlawful unless it is consigned to bona-fide consignees, and each package is labeled with the name of the consignee and an exact description of the contents. This provision is intended to make more difficult the shipment of liquor from "wet" to "dry" states. A bill passed which permits such of the soldiers of the 25th Infantry as can prove their innocence in the Brownsville affray to be reinstated. Another important measure is the bill to amend and consolidate the copyright laws. This measure extends the copyright period from 14 to 28 years, and gives foreign authors a period of 60 days in which to arrange for publication in this country. The President's salary was fixed at $75,000 instead of $50,000, but other salary increases failed. The bill conferring statehood upon Arizona and New Mexico was laid on the Senate table by a vote of 47 to 35; and the steamship subsidy bill was defeated in the house by a vote of 175 to 172. The forest reserve bill was not acted upon in the Senate but passed by a vote of 157 to 147 in the House. The appropriations for the short session was $1,048,543,659.50, and for the two sessions, $2,056,941,203.06. The New Cabinet.-On Saturday morning, 10:30 o'clock, March 6, six members of President William H. Taft's Cabinet took the oath of their offices, administered in the executive offices of the White House by Chief Justice Fuller. Following is the personnel of the Cabinet: Secretary of State-Philander C. Knox, of Pennsylvania. Secretary of the Treasury-Franklin MacVeagh of Illinois, was sworn in March 15. Secretary of War-Jacob M. Dickinson, of Tennessee, took the oath of office March 8. Attorney-General-George W. Wickersham, of New York, took the oath of office March 5. Postmaster-General-Frank H. Hitchcock, of Massachusetts. Secretary of Commerce and Labor-Charles Nagel, of Missouri. In order to make Mr. Knox eligible, Congress passed a special bill, thus obviating a constitutional bar. He is said to be the strongest man in the Cabinet and the best man available to succeed Mr. Root. Competent opinion of the press of the country indicates tha; the President's advisers on the whole are well chosen. Even that political iconoclast Harper's Weekly, says: "As a group the new Cabinet falls measurably below the high standard fixed by President Hayes, for example, but clearly it is a Taft-Knox, not a Roosevelt, aggregation, and seems likely to work harmoniously and effectively." Theodore Roosevelt.-"Now that Mr. Roosevelt has vacated the White House, says one editor, reported in the Literary Digest, "the nation will feel like the city man who went to the country to gain perfect rest and couldn't sleep because there was no noise." Pres. Roosevelt may have been noisy, but he made a noise to a purpose, and we believe firmly with President Wm. H. Taft, as expressed in Collier's Weekly: "When the friction of the last few months shall be forgotten, when the mists of momentary irritation shall have disappeared, the greatness of Theodore Roosevelt, as President and leader of men, in one of the great moral movements of the country's history, will become clear to every one, and he will take his place in history with Washington and Lincoln." He is as intensely popular and loved, as he is intensely disapproved and hated; but the class who disapprove and hate him are people who have been set right by his policies that have tended to that great moral awakening in methods of business and politics which has been witnessed in the United States in the past seven years. His moral reforms will better the nation for ages to come; and, the devotion of his countrymen who admire him as a statesman and love him as a writer and preacher of righteousness, will increase as time goes on. Here is a significant record of his administration taken from the Literary Digest: 1. Conservation of National Resources: Extension of Forest Reserves. National Irrigation Act-next in importance to the Homestead Act. Steps toward improvement of waterways, and reservation of waterpowers for national benefit. 2. Railroad and Industrial Legislation: Hepburn Rate Act. Employers' Liability Act. Safety Appliance Act. Regulation of the hours of labor of railroad employes. Establishment of a Department of Commerce and Labor. Pure Food and Drugs Act, Federal meat inspection, and inspection of packing-houses. 3. Enforcement of the Law: Northern-Securities case. Conviction of public-land thieves. Conviction of post-office grafters. Many successful suits, civil and criminal, against railroad rebaters, etc. 4. Improvement of the National Defenses: The Navy doubled in strength and increased in efficiency. 5. Our Dependencies and Foreign Relations: Acquisition of the Canal Zone and active work on the Panama Canal. Development of trade in the Philippines, Porto Rico, and Hawaii. Second intervention in Cuba, and reestablishment of Cuban government. Establishment of better relations with the republics of South America. The Root-Takahira agreement. Negotiation of several important arbitration treaties. 6. The Treaty of Portsmouth Between Japan and Russia. 7. Settlement of the Coal Strike of 1902 by the President's Intervention. |