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Show TIIETCOKLDAS IT ISTOH.VT. IK reflecting upon the unusual kind of weather we are having this winter in our own region, one cannot can-not help seeing much that Is unusual and abnormal In other tilings as well, both at home and abroad. It is truo w e have what is termed a very mild winter in Utah, hut unfortunately this mildness Is attenJedwith an exceptional amount of sickness. This sickness embraces not alone Utah, but the whole mountain'region west of the Bocky Mountains, extending even to California. Cali-fornia. The mortality from fever, nneumonla. diphtheria, and other troubles which generally originate in cold?, b?glns to become alarming. Already this mortality mor-tality has assumed unusual I proportions lc this city, which lias I always held a first rank for sanitary perfection. . IntheKast and along the Atlantic At-lantic coast the climatic conditions have undcrgono a change. The snow blockades of tho Union Taclfic seem to have been transferred to the Pennsylvania Central, while the blizzards of Dakota appear to have taken up their abodes in the deserted homesteads of the old Maine and Vermont farmers. Tho health of Kastern people does not seem to be affected in auy way by tho climatic conditions as with us, but in the East they aro living In alarming dread of cholera, yellow fevtr and other epidemics of the most violent character. However, it is not in the sanitary or in the climatic phases that the greatest changes aro apparent. For the changes which are likely to revolutionize society or to disintegrate disinte-grate it we must look Into the religious re-ligious and political worlds. The state of unrest and of anxiety which is plainly visible in these realms augurs forcibly that an era of stirring times is at hand. As to the religious an 1 political condition of our own country, we must admit that it is by no means re-assuring. In almost every State In the Union secret societies of a rcligio-polltical character are starting start-ing up. In some States the issue in politics is religion and education. In the politics of our own land, who can tell what is coming? The old parties still maintain their organizations, or-ganizations, but the leaders arc watching the wind, prepared to jump whichever way it blows. The farmers, generally the most conservative In every country, nre In this country already allying themselves with revolutionary associations as-sociations and resorting to the oath, the password and grip in organizing themselves. They are demanding reforms which, if granted, would sweep this Republic out of existence in one decade. Who can say that the abolition of tho Supreme Court of the United States would be a bene-gflj-i yoonejexcept a political luny. would be the order of socltty and of politics In this country in a very short time. Look at the condition of Europe. It Is true there Is no war In progress, but in every country there, unrest is visible. In Scotland the labtr question is assuming a phase that Is simply revolutionary. And when Scottish manhood is aroused something some-thing must give way. In tact, that labor issue seems to have taken hold of the people in every land even at the antipodesjlu tho sunny climes of Australia. In addition to the labor troubles in Scotland, there is a growing feeling in favor of church disestablishment and of Home Kuie. In ugland ma'ters are not as quiet as usual. Tho "Grand Old Man" is sorely perplexed anl it seems as if his political llfu has closed. Questions of internal and foreign policy are agitating the masses and the classes. Tho fishery question is far from settled between England and the United States. Socialism Is the great spectre whicli alarms the European governments and the conservatives in religion and politics. Except tho Scandinavian Scandi-navian countries every nation in Europe has its strong socialistic organization. In Busslait may as sume the name of Kihilism, iu Italy.Free Masons, in France.Com-munism, France.Com-munism, and si on; but in every country some form of it exists and is causing alarm. What makes Socialism so dangerous is its secret, insidious working and its scorn and hatred of all existing institutions. The Emperor Em-peror of Germany sees this, and by his apparent toleration of It hopes to develop an open political party rorn the secret oath-bound factions. tn -ither day a manifesto calling mi n MMii i to open war on capital was poslsnrp-iu all the public pub-lic placet. The pollcehf BarlTn nulled it down, and onened prosecu tions against the promulgators of it, but the Emperor stopped the police in their work. An attempt is being made to establish fraternity between French and German Socialists on the basis of hostility to the governments govern-ments of both countries. Tills shows that Socialism Is opposed to republics a9 well as monarchies. Study tho attitude of Bismarck. A few years ago he was held up as the type of absolutism, now he Is in opposition to the Emperor's policy. Bismarck is upholding the land aristocracy of Germany against the proposed land reforms of the Imperial Im-perial rule. Bismarck tried to eliminate tho Ilomin Church Influence In-fluence from German politics, but his policy ouly strengthened the Church. Xow tho Emperor takes a different attitude, and the politics of Germany may be summed up in one taord of their own, 'JCultur. kampf," that is a religio-political fight between what might be called religion and culture, or,as wo would call it at horn;, secularism and theology. In Italy politics consist of a clerical cleri-cal party and a secular party. In Spain, though universal fran chise was granted the male adult citizen?, yet they do not avail themselves of IL In the cities a wild kind of Schlisai is rmpiut, something of tho character of Anarchists Anar-chists in our own country. The con iition of the Ssan Jiuavlan countries is a puzzle at present. Protestantism there is still unquestioned. unques-tioned. Religion and politics are dormant However, a study of Henry 1 1 cnt tliu grtn cortlirrn dramatist, ioet nnd J hlIoopher, shows that there is something In the Northmen which may yet develop Inloa parallel to the Normans who civilized Europe la the tenth and eleventh centuries, and to tho Northmen who, under Gustavus Adolphus, saved Europe in tho thirty years' war. Will these Northman come a third timuto the rescue, aud will Copenhagen, Stockholm Stock-holm and Christiana send out their sturdy sons to help once more to save Europe? In our own country theto people are tho cream of our alien races. In their natures they unite progress and spirituality, in tellcct end religion, science and theology. the-ology. The political nnd religions sltua-tiin sltua-tiin is summed up in a very able manner by the Chicago tkii'y Xeict. Here U a paragraph which puts the who'e question in a nutshell: "Tho present situa'Jon of Earopo is full of symptoms indicating a similar stato of affairs in tho abstrait. at Icait to that which preceded tho great upheaval of European society by Ibo reformation. The discovery of a new world, which played so irapor- tanta part in the era of tho reformation, reforma-tion, corresponds to tho disco ery or u .ilizatlon in the crvico of mankind of natural forces which form a new world in themsches and which aro hastening a social revolution whero er civilized humanity exists. I "Tho shifting of the loinls of pobti-oil pobti-oil gravity have not been more pronounced pro-nounced and frequent daring tho last half c-cntury than it was during tho fifty years preceding tho birth of IVotesUn-ism, if'the difference) in tho extent of the political world four centuries cen-turies ago and of today I taken into cocsideratioa. But the greatest and most interesting point of similarity between now and then is tho prevalence preva-lence of a strong religious undercurrent under-current in the social movement of todey. Ths struggle of tho fctalo against this undefined and vaguo something which is called socialism in a gcueral way, although it includes much n hich socialists profess to abhor, is no more intense and bitter than the effort hich tho church or religious power is making to recoer and re-a-scrt its old time supremacy over tho allairs of the old world. Both branches of tba creat catholic church the Russian Rus-sian or Grecian and tho ltomin aro strain ng every norvo to obtain recognition recog-nition assuprcme forcos,whoso human representatives should be exempt from all duty toward human or secular secu-lar government and whoso spiritual authority over mankind should bavU oo limitations save those of its own creauon." With this political and religious panorama of tho world before our eyes, what are tho people of Utah doing iu the great struggleT Arc they content to take a back seat, to let themselves be consumed by apathy, apa-thy, in-tty jealousy or Indifference. Are not all the traditions, teachings and revelations of the Church of Jesus Chrlstof Latter-day Saints but expositions of the present perturbed state of affairs. Where are the sons of the men who founded this com-mouncalth? com-mouncalth? Their day is at hand. If their mission is to be fulfilled, now is the time. Will they be con-tent con-tent to let Roman and Greek dominate domi-nate the world Will they stand asidu apathetically while American-Ism American-Ism is being wiped out, and while the spirit of their fathers and of the fathers of the republic is being trampled in the dust? |
