Show FROM THE missionary FIELDS in the mission r lamsonn Lam ps soun oun on the black sea aug ath i it to now nearly three months since I 1 fc left haifa for a trip to and other places since then I 1 have trav F sled sed more than miles mostly by land partly on horseback partly in a i wagon traveling in some parts of turkey Is quite easy in others quite hard and difficult in syria and pal r entine one can acquire a spring wagon at reasonable figures and for horses s meddles caddies moderately good can be had v but bat after one leaves the arabic speaking line to syria and enters into the turkish speaking part of syria north syria and then proceeds farther north the country becomes more and its people more coarse and uncle all until one arrives so far norh tt abe trie european influence from the black sea trade can be felt then there i a laxity of strictness and a milder and ad more advanced feeling prevails 4 the roads in syria are far better tun th those upon asia minor those in gly syria axe are often strictly first class laade of the best of material and in fiord style making travel easy in aaa key proper the state roads which axe am tew few and fax far between are poorly but at a great expense bome crank engineer has here and abe there been at work and in the place of economizing labor and means it can be seen that he has had some pa theory in his head which by exe eating he has imagined himself great offid A accomplished site road bed in the north is of the toughest pig hest kind large cobble stones ial 64 rocks as large as a mans head are taia in pave fashion or in the old old country style so that even at best the wagon Is on a continuous bump bump the time but as can easily be un y aie od the road will not remain as aar cor as soon as it becomes wet the move out of their place and they toe be seen in any other place but y vetere they were intended to lay ate roads are horrible said a colonel traveling companion when I 1 get I 1 ft SaS awas I 1 shall complain to the pasha V W 41 lie he needed to he was not slow in jr 4 the government from top attorn aftem still he was going to conr 1 0 ale to seek an appointment as inu t ea arif sarit a governor of a province ife had taken to drin drinking klug and he said abb 10 salary allowed as an editor was MM clent he was somewhat edu az but he was still a turk road bulldog is a curse to the iodie it is forced upon them they ao not t want fant roads in many places they destry the bridges and other ariae blockade travel in one place f a very dangerous river the f ets anent ent had put in a bridge in ad 1 ance ce of the regular building of the t fead this the kurds burds did not want I 1 they needed it every time they to town the bridge was dei for no other apparent cause than that the people on one stole side of the ile did not want the people on the mothr side to bring their sheep sheen over tto to graze so to prevent fi it they c 60 destroyed the bridge tre the business part of the people com ddn that a road tax of about lif fifty ty cents pw man an to is levied and that the money to not honestly spent they of course wold id like to see the country built up vat aas as there Is no settled policy of im in Turkey improvements can sa s1 done danle by some wise and emar which happens now and then to receive an appointment the policy of the government Is called plunder by any and all except by themselves no one can have much of anything unless he knows enough to keep on the right side of some leading pasha when he can all of a sudden become wealthy and just as suddenly loose it all if he is unfortunate enough to fall into disfavor in paying their taxes people are driven to desperation if they wish to be honest they are followed up from one thing to another with a new tax or a fine for this cause or that so that the man feels he will do nothing save that which he is compelled to do few men think of paying their taxes no matter how small unless forced they will often close up their business and leave to draw out paying or to get ot o t of it all together it must be understood taxes are collected by officers who go 90 to the houses or shops or villages vill agles and force taxes I 1 brother nishan Sherin lan heard heard of the government call tor for a new registration of children born bom in later years this was cried out on the market place no notices being placed soon brother She ninian lan went w ent to the registration office gave in the names of the males in the family and paid the tax for the children and himself but when he wanted his receipt he was told that the taxes were two days overdue and that he would have to pay a fine of 10 pi eastres for each person he refused he said he knew of no time set and said tt was enough that he came willingly to pay while hundreds were on the list who neither reported nor paid many of whom were more able than he but they insisted on their fine aney knew how to get it at that time nothing was done but as soon as he was home from his trip with brother lunds bunds party to jerusalem they sent an officer and fetched him up before the authorities he did not wish to pay but they said we wish you had not paid it at all but now that you have paid the tax you must pay the fine also and besides a man that can go to jerusalem and travel three or tow four months should not kick for paying a small fine of 30 P pias lastres tres about they said tauntingly W well ell he paid it as he be would ait oit otherwise be locked lacked up until he did pay it most of the people in the town have paid no attention to it I 1 asked about it t they say they have not got it this works some times until some business of importance must be done with the government then all back taxes ad ar hunted up and an a demand is made me a applicant for a clean sheet before any business can be done taxes vary a little in places where the law is justly administered one tenth of the crop whatsoever is collected but in some districts dietric ts one eighth is taken in some places the tax on the garden is more than the crop they levy to suit themselves this is remedied in other places by levying a reasonable tee fee per borrom and toun leave it to the owner whether or not he will saw and plant all these variations are because the government has no fixed policy except to plunder and eat I 1 do not believe that taxes are altogether so if levied and collected in the proper way but they are not when I 1 passed through rough amaila the government was selling tax collee collections in the villages at auction some sold as high as and a piece 22 pias tres government standard tan dard these tax gatherers then oppress the people and those that have are forced to pay in some wy way or other the government as a rule will hear no complaints from the people for instance agman may be unjustly taxed on his hi property or even tor for his hi neighbors and he says to the tax gather this is not my property this is my neighbors he will say you pay it all and collect from your neighbor but the neighbor will not pay so the man has the choice of having his grain left on the threshing floor unmeasured and until he pays if he does not pay at once then he will have to go to the tax gatherer and ask him to come and probably have to wait for cor lays days and his grain graan lef left t out in the rain and he himself as guard they thresh in the field and when done it must be tithed before it can be removed for there to is no confidence here until it can be tax tithed it must be geared or it will be stolen so that practically the man has haa no other chance than to pay what they ask and be sa satisfied with what they leave this is because there is no protection and no one to appeal to I 1 had a long talk with the german consul to amasia on the subject he said they experienced no great trouble as the people had general confidence in them and then when the law was satisfied all parties had to be but to the natives it is not so especially the christians there is not much difference however for if the christians is more highly taxed he is more capable of making his living and he makes more money and ean meet his obligations better with equal chances it would not be long until the christians would own the country the turk who is made to be and quite immovable in his ways is forced to oppress his christian subjects and keep them from accumulating or they would be like the jews jewa they would own the country as ig the I 1 jews own the world the turks are warriors not business men they can spend in pomp and parade the earnings of other people but they cannot plan and economize so long as they could conquer and plunder some foreign nation the home subjects were all tight right but now that that is long since past a system of home in austry and home economy is needed that they have not the slightest knowledge of that they know nothing of political economy will be shown in another article when the armenian question will be discussed it is wonderful however how submissive the people a are r they almost to a man blame V government the h le toe for something they k know w it is corrupt and rotten ratten to the core yet they do not speak of rebellion they are kept la in ignorance of the world and its progress and are made to believe that they have in their thedr country about all that is worth having in this world and that chait god W pleased only with islam they never think of lifting a hand against the government ern ment I 1 know of no government on earth so BO safe and free from sedition ea as is Ws this government it if they were not interfered with by the other nations they would last a long time at homed home as the people are satisfied with a little bread and leave to live it is the christians who rebel they of course feel the yoke as they are not of the falth faith elih the rulers and were they th ey the ae christians not disturbed by outside influences they would last a long time yet as they have lasted a long in the past F P F HINTZE laboring under difficulties newark licking county ohio august 23 28 ISA 1898 the gospel of jesus chirst is being carried from house to house but I 1 aza am sorry to say many close their ears against the truth they are seeking an easier way elder thomas E B cottell and I 1 have labored here in newark here months and have distributed over tracts among he people but have held no spee meetings tings we secured the court house houke and dmd it through the different papers one evening two or three came out to hear there seems to be considerable prejudice existing the ministers Minister here shere of the eighteen churches have warned their flocks against us in licking county we have been unsuccessful in securing a meeting house the news is a welcome visitor your brethren in the cause of truth EDWARD F TURLEY t THOMAS E COTTLE north alabama conference Teas teasdale daJe mississippi august 17 1898 the annual session of the noigh alabama coh conference ference was held at teasdale tallahatchie Tallah atchle county miss on saturday and sunday august and ta S all air the elders of the conference were in attendance some having talked a distance of mils to be present resent elder ben E rich being unable to be with us we were pleased to io welcome into our midst elder F lder niels 1 P nelson of the mission presidency who formerly was associated with elder albert matheson in the presidency of f this conference public services were held in a beautiful grove near the church house and tile many people who attended were addressed addre sed by the following elders john V P jos JOB bellows G morris matthews walter H slack black edwin C penrose N P nelson R B ashleyann Ashle yand aba os P F mcgregor president of the conference also peter neilson frank G and N H tanner appropriate hymns rendered by the elders under the direction of elder Us H johnson and quartette singing by elders johnson madsen tanner and reynolds interspersed the preaching in ton s monday day morning the elders assembled at and the forenoon was wap occupied by the eldres in giving reports of the work being accomplished in the several counties and each barp strong testimony to the mercies and blessings akings of god in their behalf after dinner ner they reassembled when elder gave an encouraging report ot r the condition of the conference stating g that baptism ahad had been reported since the beginning of the present year deports along other lines of the wor were ware equally gratifying elder N P welson decu occupied pled the remaining portion of f the afternoon in instructing the el oft relative to their labors and aid deport t scent among the people Thel the elders gilAra pell r alved their assignment to their at everal fields of labor retiring president joseph mcgregor and his trot assistant rodney B ashby also elders nielson bellows and jas 0 A lee were released to return nome home the following day and ohp new vivai presidency dency was announced as fc follows joseph jokeph skeen sheen president with reuben alvord alord as first and thomas H hum as second assistants through the untiring efforts of elder Js ja J a A ue iee who labored against much opposition from a certain elaml element mt suitable preparations were made for holding conference and the entertainment of the the weather was perfect and H anost enjoyable time was vas spent WALTER A SLACK BLACK clerk of bf conference la in the southern states mission sibley la aug 23 1898 1998 when n in my utah home I 1 often read th plea pleasure letters written for the yf fews by elders from all parts of sang salt ue la ace thursday morning 1 april bivil 21 1868 iri company ith bera kimball woolley and barnot of salt bait lake I 1 found myself the following monday at the rossmore hotel chattanooga tenn being raised in one of the narrow vales of our fair state the scenes of the great plains was a grand sight to me standing out upon the car platform and gazing in every direction one beholds with feelings of admiration the cloudless sky outspread like a great umbrella its edges resting upon the dim horizon its edges resting ren trackless plains presently a dark cloud makes its appearance and within an hour the rain is pouring down in a manner which convinces one the blue umbrella leaks sufficiently as to be in need of some repair in a very short time the sky is clear and bright again the red sun like a great naming flaming orb seems to be burying itself in the ground with the broad plains stretched be fore hima him a mountain raised boy inexperienced perien perlen ced in travel is likely to exclaim like the chick fresh from the she shell oh what a great world anis is arriving in north louisiana I 1 was given an experienced companion and began canvassing a parish prom from house to house we delav delivered ered the important message given to joseph the prophet by the great master for the salvation and redemption of mankind the people generally receive our tracts but sometimes emphatically request us to make tracks which request we generally obey As a rule we are treated kindly and find welcome in the rustic cottage of the southern home the hot damp climate of this state I 1 is favorably adapted to the growth ot of cotton corn rice and some tropical fruits the tobacco plant is grown in abundance and used in large quantities both by male and female with a few exceptions the fairer sex dip snuff and I 1 have seen a little child unable to talk cry for the snuff stick or a chow chew of tobacco on july and we held our conference in a large and commodious tabernacle in grand ph thirty six elders with elder rich and elder N P 1 nelson were present sickness prevented two elders from being present A large congregation listened with in sermons delivered at both days session and seemed very pleased with the same the elders were treated very kindly A fine picnic was prep prepared axed by the young ladies each noon the memory of the treatment received from these our kindhearted kind |