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The Salt Lake City Beobachter: Mirror of an Immigration
Utah Historical Quarterly
Vol. 26, 1958, Nos. 1-4
THE SALT LAKE CITY BEOBACHTER: MIRROR OF AN IMMIGRATION
By Thomas L. Broadbent
When the Salt Lake City Beobachter rolled from the press for the last time on October 3, 1935, a journalistic enterprise of almost forty-five years came to an end. The demise of this German language weekly suggests a twofold story of journalistic endeavor and of the unusual assimilation of an immigrant people.
The background of the story is the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — more commonly known as the Mormon Church — with its vigorous missionary system designed to gather converts to "Zion," Utah's Valley of the Great Salt Lake. Particular success was achieved in England and the northern countries of the European continent. From the middle of the nineteenth century the flow of convert-immigrants increased until by 1890, isolated from seaports and industrial centers though it was, the territory of Utah could boast 2,121 foreign-born Germans, 117 Austrians, and 1,336 Swiss, a number destined to increase significantly during the next two decades. While a great many of the newcomers settled in Salt Lake City, considerable numbers were soon found throughout rural Utah, in Idaho, and in Wyoming where, congregating in many communities, they rapidly became active participants and leaders in civic as well as religious affairs.
PREDECESSORS
A Scandinavian press was already well established when in 1881 a convert named Goebel, publisher and printer by trade, founded the Salt Lake City Anzeiger, which was destined to quick death after three numbers because of the high cost of newsprint and insufficient capital backing.
A second attempt to supply the German "saints" with a newspaper in their mother tongue was the Mormon Anzeiger, appearing — in German type which Goebel had been unable to procure — on August 26, 1882. The publisher, Carl Lynn, a "convert from the east," likewise fell victim to financial difficulties and gave up after four numbers.
Eight years passed before Dr. Joseph Walter Dietrich, "former Catholic priest in Bohemia" and also a convert, tried his hand in the spring of 1890 with the Intelligenz-Blatt. If we may rely on die statements of the paper itself, it was immediately successful, being sold "in offices, hotels, restaurants, saloons, stores and private homes" of the area. It also found subscribers in Kansas City, Cincinnati, San Francisco, and New York, and emigration agents and editors of the most important journals of Europe received copies. The publisher availed himself of the counsel of an advisory committee headed by Dr. Karl G. Maeser, prominent convert scholar and educator whose name looms large in Utah's educational and cultural history. Through ten numbers Dietrich guided the fledgling weekly, increasing the circulation to something over two thousand before he retired from the field because of illness.
Two weeks after the discontinuance of the Intelligenz-Blatt, its successor appeared on August 9, 1890. Its masthead read: "Der Salt Lake City Beobachter — A German Organ for the Region of the American Rocky Mountains."
Basically, the history of the Beobachter falls into three periods; these in turn reflect corresponding eras in the assimilation of the German speaking saints. The first, from 1890 until the outbreak of World War I, is a continuation of a transition process which had begun with the influx of German speaking converts three decades earlier. The second, essentially the war period with its aftermath of adjustment, is a time of testing by fire and of consolidation of loyalties. The third, beginning with die establishment of "The Associated Newspapers" in 1923, marks the transition from newspaper to religious journal and mirrors the completion of the assimilative process.
THE EARLY PERIOD
The tone and content in the early period were established by the first publisher, owner, and editor, Joseph Harvey Ward. A native American, Ward had served as missionary to Germany and more recently as business manager of the Intelligenz-Blatt under Dietrich. For assistance he called on converts F. W. and Edward Schonfelt and a certain "Professor von Haag." Financially, he subsidized the enterprise from other businesses. Whatever its problems, the paper was on a sound enough footing that it survived Ward's death in July, 1905, without missing a single number. Gustav F. Buschmann (later Bushman), compositor and assistant to Ward, served as interim editor until November, when there was announced the formation of the Beobachter Publishing Company. Capitalized for $2,500.00, shares were advertised at one dollar par value with controlling interest held by the church. A board of directors was elected by "die Prasidentschaft," presumably the presidency of the church, and in the October general conference of the membership of the church, Hugh J. Cannon was sustained by vote as president of the board, Rulon S. Wells as vice-president, and Arnold H. Schulthess as editor and business manager. Buschmann was retained as compositor and assistant.
The Beobachter now began a long period without change of management and without competition. There is no evidence of internal disharmony or of interference by the supervisory board until after World War I, a development which is treated later on.
The early numbers of the Beobachter are so much like its predecessor that it is difficult to distinguish between the two except for the masthead, although examination reveals that Ward excludes the advertisements for liquor, tobacco, the saloons, and die beerhalls regularlycarried by the Intelligenz-Blatt. By 1891 the page size is increased by one fourth to make room for a seventh column, and by 1900 the number of pages advances from six to eight. Internal changes are subtle, reflecting the gradual Americanization of the immigrant.
The reader senses a strongly defensive attitude during 1890 and 1891 as the newcomers find themselves caught up in the bitterness of the struggle for political, social, and economic supremacy between two powerful local parties. In spite of its announced neutrality, the Beobachter inevitably sides with the Peoples' party, supported by the church and the Deseret News against the Liberal party, supported by the "Gentiles" and the Salt Lake Tribune. The Intelligenz-Blatt had carried plea after plea for tolerance, understanding and acceptance of new people and new concepts into the American culture. Typical is an editorial appearing in what was to be the last number. "The contributions of all immigrant groups must be preserved, their national cultures respected if the United States is not to fall victim to the evils of nationalistic pride in its most evil form. . . . The airstreams . . . now carry a poisonous breath in this respect, we mean the hate against everything which is German and which is especially stirred up in the coarsest manner by many newspapers. . . ." Ward further suggests the problem in defining the purpose of his paper. His objectives are "not to favor a special clique, for that we are too honorable — too German — but rather to favor a party, not religious or political, but one of the heart, of the conscience; to warn the new arrival not to fall into the snare of the trapper, but to examine everything for himself." "We must," he concludes, "take up the cause of the oppressed, discover injustice, and illuminate the right." {Beobachter, August 9,1890).
The Beobachter takes the field against the Liberal party very directly in a series of letters to the editor from a fictional "Hans Besenstiel." Highly exaggerated in their satire, extremely earthy in their humor, these letters strike blow after satirical blow at die party and its philosophy. Free of die need to maintain the neutrality so strongly asserted editorially, "Besenstiel" pokes fun unmercifully at his opponents through his fabulous characters "Brother Saufer" (toper), "Friend Schnapps" (brandy), "Pastor Heiligschein" (sanctimoniousness), "Brother Schlaufink" (crafty bird), and the right honorable "Herr Ex-Baron Ohnegeld (impecunious) von Carpetsack." He is not above an occasional dig at his German compatriots, in a good-natured way, from the security of his "Schatshugel" (treasure hill) and "Paradieshalle."
By 1892 the local parties had been supplanted by die national Republican and Democratic parties, which cut across church, economic, and cultural lines, and the feud, if it did not die out entirely, at least became less acrimonious. A calmer, less defensive tone is noticeable in the Beobachter and obtains generally until the rumbles of World War I begin to be heard. Even "Besenstiel," having no real targets for his barbs, disappears in early 1892.
Meanwhile, with emotional roots still clinging to die soil of die fatherland, the converts maintained an active interest in "home" and countrymen. Particularly was this true since many of them were isolated from loved ones, not only by geography, but by the bitterness toward the new religion of those left behind, and the realization that the move was permanent. How eagerly they must have looked forward to the "Notes From Home" which occupied so much space. Reports of floods, fires and all sorts of natural catastrophes, celebrations, festivals of singing clubs, notes on the travels, illnesses, successes and local appearances of celebrities all take a prominent place. Stories of crimes committed, criminals apprehended, and court processes vie for space with labor news and discussions of union problems. A typical issue, for example, carries reports from twenty provinces and the free cities. Under each province are date lines from cities and towns too numerous to list.
Much space is given to political and social matters of the "old country." A continuing concern for the affairs of Bismarck and the Kaisers runs through the numbers of the first two decades, with the sympathies generally going to Bismarck. Thus, in 1890, the Kaiser, as King of Prussia, is reported trying to reorganize the Prussian House of Lords (Herrenhaus) to eliminate opposition to his social reforms. It will be impossible, the editor thinks, because of the vested interests of the rich nobility. In 1891 the danger of the Russian-French alliance is pointed out in a story which emphasizes that for years Bismarck, now deposed, has prevented such an alliance through astute statesmanship. "One wonders whether the young Kaiser will now finally decide to call to Bismarck for help, and if it finally happens, will it be too late?" A poem by Kaiser Wilhelm I is published in 1893 with the notation that it contains his political philosophy, and as late as 1914 a sermon given by the Kaiser in 1900 replaces the usual article in the church column. While there is evident on die one hand a growing insistence on political participation and equality in the new country, there is on the other a sentimental, almost stubborn loyalty to the monarchial system which even the mores of the new land cannot quickly replace.
If the Beobachter reflects an understandable attachment to the fadierland, it reflects equally a cultural gregariousness among the immigrants themselves. Notes from countrymen scattered throughout the region are provided by letters and by reports from businessmen and church leaders returning from visits to outlying districts. Germans are taking the lead in Eureka, a mining community where they now constitute two thirds of the population; a Swiss immigrant has been made bishop in Midway; church services in German are being held in Logan, Providence, Midway, Provo, Payson, Santa Clara, Willard City, and Park Valley in Utah and in Paris, Montpelier, Bern, Rexburg, and Thomas Fork in Idaho. News stories and advertisements proclaim the activities of a great variety of organizations: the German Dramatic Society, the Schiller Lodge, the Goethe Lodge, the Swiss Colony, the Swiss Club, the Gymnastic Society and many more. As one reads through the numbers of this early period one visualizes the social activities centered largely around the church and more specifically around the closely knit German speaking church community. Many of the organizations went beyond the purely social, maintaining welfare, insurance and burial funds.
In addition to providing a contact with the fatherland and countrymen, the Beobachter provided a continuing contact with the church and its doctrines. Almost without exception the German immigrants were literate, although few of them knew the English language upon arrival in Zion. From the beginning, each number carried sermons of church leaders in German translation, discussions of theology, and news of ' qppenings and developments within the chorch. Converts, new in tne faith and in Zion because of their acceptance of it, were fed liberally with spiritual food along with news and entertainment. As will be seen, the emphasis on religious material became decidedly stronger in later years.
In the area of entertainment the Beobachter played an important role, especially before the immigrants had mastered English, but continuing throughout the life of the newspaper. A lively feuilleton section with its "Kaleideskop" presents a great assortment of items. Short stories by local writers and by authors in Germany appear and some novels in installments. One finds poetry, much of it by first class German poets, such as Schiller's "Die Worte des Glaubens" (Words of Faith), Hermann Lingg's "Eine Arme Mutter" (A Poor Mother), Friedrich Holderlin's, "Naturbetrachtung" (Observation of Nature), and "Krieg und Frieden" (War and Peace) by Liliencron. There is a good-natured review of Mark Twain's essay, "The Awful German Language," an article on "Shakespeare und die Frauen" (Shakespeare's Women), and a eulogy of Edwin Booth as "the greatest actor of America." Concerned for the cultural level of its readers, the'Beobachter prints a warning against the "Dime Novellen" which are, it inform- its readers, partly translations from the French and partly from the Russian — "novels of the most sensual type." Each issue during the early period regales its readers with jokes and bits of satirical humor.
Nor is the practical aspect neglected. One reads how to restore oil paintings, how to polish bronze figurines (were art treasures part of the precious cargo brought to the new home?), how to protect enamel cookingware, how to prepare clay for the making of jugs and dishes, how to protect chickens against the pips. A fascinating note explains the use of coffee as a disinfectant "much less offensive than carbolic acid or chlorine in hospital rooms." In a day before mechanical refrigeration, meat could be kept fresh for days by sprinkling it with ground coffee.
That he might better understand the customs and traditions of his new country, the reader is invited to study its history in articles of a popular nature. He may read numerous discussions of the Revolutionary and Civil wars. The census is explained and he is encouraged to co-operate in making it complete. He is admonished to understand the true significance of the Fourth of July celebration and to participate wholeheartedly. The bewildering intricacies of the Electoral College System are analyzed, and he is urged to prepare himself for citizenship as rapidly as possible and to vote as soon as he can. Biographical sketches of Americans in literature and history call his attention to his cultural heritage; news and articles of local, national, and international nature vie for his interest.
In the field of social problems the Beobachter consistently takes a firm stand. Without deviation and with great vigor it supports the franchise for women. The equality of all human beings demands they be given the vote; the contributions of women in professional fields justify it. Idaho, it is pointed out, has provided in the constitution submitted for admission to the Union that women shall have the vote in all elections dealing with the public schools. While that is a step in the right direction, it doesn't go far enough. (I, 7, September 20, 1890). When the question is raised in a Mediodist publication "Shall Women Preach?" the Beobachter answers, "if they want to, can anyone stop them, even the whole Methodist world?" (II, 45, November M, 1891).
In the matter of capital versus labor, strong suspicion of capital and sympathy for labor show themselves. Note is taken, for example, of the net profit for the railroads of $2,087.00 per mile of track, "ihe railroads and this enormous wealth are in the hands of twenty men. "Already the railroads are stronger than the government," says the paper, "and the railroads have won every argument. It is enough to make one shudder with fear." (I, 5, September 6, 1890). Rockefeller, Gould, Huntington, Vanderbilt, and Stanford are typical of the fifty men who control the economic market and could, by manipulation, ruin the country. They are arousing the hate and rebellion of the workers. "In the old world these great fortunes are often looked upon as a benefit, since they are used in the industrial interest of the folk." (II, 14, April 11, 1891). When labor and capital came to grips, as, for example, in the strike of the English coal miners in 1912, the sympathies are uniformly on the side of labor. Paradoxically, the same number takes note of the fact that the Salt Lake City Chamber of Commerce is planning to publicize the opportunities of Utah to potential European emigrants. This, the Beobachter editorializes, would be a mistake. What Utah needs is capital and industry to make jobs for workers already here.
Persecution of the Jews causes the Beobachter deep editorial concern. Regarding the persecution in Russia, for example, the editor exclaims, " 'Whom the Gods would destroy they first make blind.' The Czar doesn't see that in persecuting the Jews he is loosing forces which will eventually destroy him." (I, 7, September 20, 1890).
Politically, as the local parties gave way to strong national ones, the German immigrants tended to become Republicans rather than Democrats, although by no means unanimously. The reasons are suggested by the Beobachter. Very few will deny that the Democratic party is the conservative, the Republican party the progressive, even radical one, advocating among other things full franchise for women, temperance in the use of alcohol, and (in the past) abolishment of slavery. Mormons, more liberal in their approach to social problems than their neighbors who so often criticize them, have long advocated these same progressive principles. "We know the Republican party is not perfect by far, but as long as it stands for progress, freedom and reform, we will support it." (II, 23, June 13, 1891). Perhaps less idealistic is the commendation by the Beobachter of Republican support for tariff for the protection of agriculture, cattle, wool, and silver. Tariff on sugar from Cuba is particularly important in view of the growing beet sugar industry in which German immigrants take particular pride, since the sugar factory at Lehi, Utah, was built after the pattern of German factories and was the first such factory west of die Mississippi. The Republican leanings of the Beobachter and its readers become especially clear during the presidential campaign of 1912. In spite of a claim of complete neutrality, in order not to give the "kickers" an opportunity to complain about church interference, Taft is supported because he "has made clear that big trusts must be controlled no matter how desirable they may be; he has stood up to Russia without offending her; he has sided with Utah's Senator Smoot in advocating the protective tariff so important to the west."
Presaging a long period of anti-British sentiment is the vigor with which the Boer War is reported with all sympathy for the insurrectionists. England's prestige and influence will be significantly lowered as a result of this affair, predicts the editor. "The English have lied so much in this war that one can no longer believe them even when they occasionally tell the truth." Since this strong anti-British attitude continues until America's entry into World War I, one may speculate that it is a reflection of a comparable attitude in Germany during this period of intense competition between the two nations for colonies and industrial markets. One wonders whether there was any overt antipathy for the English converts in Zion. There is no internal evidence.
On the matter of Utah's admission to the Union, surprisingly little is said in the Beobachter. The act making Utah a state was signed into law on January 4, 1896. A search of the numbers surrounding that date produces only two allusions to this event. On the tenth of January a one column, five-inch article lauds Utah's statehood and proclaims the forty-fifth star in the flag one deserving to be glorious and bright. On January 31 the editor offers one year's free subscription to the parents of the first child born in the new state after ten in the morning of January 4. Since the act was signed one day after the January 3 issue appeared with an entire week elapsing before another number came out, perhaps the news was "cold." In view of the foreign circulation and the dependence of so many local inhabitants on the Beobachter, the lack of editorial comment and extended news coverage is difficult to explain.
If more attention is paid in this brief analysis to the non-news features of the publication, it is because the editorials and more subjective features most clearly show the personality of the paper and the immigrant. It should not be inferred that there was no coverage of local, national, and international events. A sampling of any number will show substantial numbers of column inches of objective reports. Indeed, a comparison through the years makes it clear that the amount of such news increases proportionately during the first two periods as the need for the "special interest features" decreases. That the paper carries, even though on a reduced scale, "Notes From Home" and an active feuilleton section right to the end attests to the continuing nostalgia of the readers for native land and language.
WAR AND AFTERMATH
The dual loyalty to native and adopted land caused die German immigrant no difficulty during the first decade of the twentieth century. If he followed his German sympathies and, taking the lead from his fadierland, became anti-British, he had many non-German colleagues. If he enjoyed the socials, the dramatic and choral performances, the religious meetings of his own language group, he was no different from the Swedish, the Danish, the Dutch or the Norwegians. His loyalties were not questioned, and he was accepted freely into the society of his church and his community. With the approach of the war, he, unlike the other immigrant groups, found himself faced widi unique problems which are abundantly reflected in the pages of the Beobachter.
It is significant to note here that the issue of July 1, 1914, for the first time carries on the editorial page a box with the statement, "German Organ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." There is nothing to indicate change of control or of management. One must assume either that the church desired to be more closely identified with editorial policy for its own good reasons, or that die editor felt die need of the announced support of the church in the approaching crisis.
The first editorial recognition of the possibility of war is found on July 29 in an editorial, "The European Volcano," which analyzes die Serbian-Austrian conflict and assesses the roles of the European nations. The editor fervently hopes the war can be avoided.
But war was not to be avoided. The issue of August 5, 1914, carries a five column banner headline: "War Has Become a Fact." More important than the headlines — major and secondary — are an editorial and several articles justifying Germany's position. Because the editorial represents the opinions expressed throughout this issue and during the next two years, it is quoted here in full:
The next issue has two notes of importance. On page one under large headlines is the news that the German-United States cable has been cut and that all news will now have to come via France and England and will therefore be highly unreliable. Page two carries a report of a mass meeting held during the week and attended by over five hundred persons. The purposes of the meeting were to establish a German-American Relief Organization, to explore the best ways to explain the position of Germany to the American public, and to discover means of aiding the fatherland. From the meeting a telegram resolution went to the German Ambassador with assurances of all possible assistance. The program, reflecting the duality of loyalties — apparently not felt to be a conflict of loyalties — included the singing of "Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles," and "Die Wacht am Rhein" and the reading of two patriotic and rousing poems, "Auf dem Schlachtfeld" (On the Battlefield) and "Aufruf 1813" (Call to Arms 1813) by Korner, followed by a toast to President Wilson and the singing of the "Star Spangled Banner." Several speeches exhorted the audience to render all possible moral and financial aid to the fatherland.
The German speaking saints, by publicly taking a united stand, called attention to themselves as a group and thus invited criticism which was not long in coming. The Beobachter supports the stand taken in the meeting and defends Germany against continuing castigation. To the reaction of horror, for example, which followed the German invasion of Belgium, the Beobachter points out that everything in war cannot be justified, and since the invasion has occurred, there can be little point in discussing justification. One can be sure, however, that the reports are not totally reliable. On August 26, 1914, in an editorial, "Must We Be Ashamed of Being Germans?" readers are reminded that only three weeks ago:
When Germany introduced bombing from the air by the Zeppelin attack on Antwerp, the Beobachter counters the criticism by pointing out that Germany, Russia, and France were not signatories to the agreement of the Third Peace Congress at the Hague which prohibited the use of bombs from the air. It is easy, the paper points out, to understand why the other fifteen nations joined in such an agreement, since they had no means of using such weapons, which admittedly are very dangerous. "He who does not wish to be torn to pieces by a lion should not tantalize the lion." (XXV, 35, September 2,1914).
To refute the constantly appearing stories of German atrocities, the Beobachter publishes a statement signed by five journalists, Roger Lewis of the Associated Press, Irvin S. Cobb of the Public Ledger, Harry Hansen of the Chicago Daily News, James O'D. Bennett and John T. M'Cutcheon of the Chicago Tribune all of whom deny the atrocity stories. They have, according to their published statement, accompanied the German army for two weeks in an advance of over one hundred miles and have found no evidence of the reported acts. On the contrary, German soldiers are exemplary in their actions. (XXV, 36, September 9,1914).
There is a constant flow of letters to the editor answering the angry attacks of the anti-German press. Gradually, however, defensive aggressiveness gives way to more impersonal notes on the progress of the war, to encouragement for Germans in America to hold fast to their ideals. Frequent articles covering regulations and rules of personal conduct and explanations of policy and procedure replace the militant editorials and articles of early war days.
That the paper itself was having difficulty can be imagined; indeed one wonders that it continued publication without missing a single number throughout the war years. Canada, for example, seemed not to be permitting delivery of the Beobachter, according to the editor who offered one month's subscription to all Canadian subscribers who responded with information as to whether they were receiving their copies. Mailings to Europe ceased altogether.
As America's entry into the war approached, a new note appears which undoubtedly reflects the concern of the readers. Significant of the general feeling is an analysis of Wilson's peace proposals which includes a provision for a League of Nations. Germany, says the paper, offered essentially the same things in her peace proposals of January. "Peace will be preserved not through paper treaties but through a strong power group with Germany at the head. Europe will then have lasting peace . . . and we [in America] will enjoy the blessings of this peace without giving up the traditions of a hundred years and without subjecting ourselves to the danger of international involvement." (XXVIII, 5, January 31, 1917).
By March, America had adopted a policy of "armed neutrality." This is to be regretted, says the Beobachter, but it need not lead to war. By the end of March, America's entry seems inevitable. Here, now, is a crisis. Under a large reproduction of the American flag there appears an announcement of a meeting to be presided over by Governor Simon Bamberger, to discuss the position of German-Americans in the present emergency. Without a dissenting vote the following resolution was adopted at the meeting on March 29 (America declared war on April 6):
Faithfully the Beobachter adheres to this declaration of loyalty throughout the remainder of the war. Stubbornly, and with dignity, however, it encourages in its readers pride in national extraction and refusal to deny one's ancestry. It does not accept unjust personal accusation of itself or its readers meekly.
And so the war years passed. Following a heart attack suffered by Editor Schulthess, Hermann Grether succeeded to the editorship on the fourth of April, 1918. On the second of May a minor but significant change appears on the masthead. To the statement "Official Organ of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" there is added "American in Everything but the Language." The feuilleton and "Notes From Home" — almost exclusively from Switzerland — continue. News stories are factual and parallel to those in the English language press.
At last came the armistice. Perhaps the news was considered old when the November 14 issue appeared, but to the writer who vividly remembers the wild celebrations with which the false and then the genuine armistice were greeted, the Beobachter report seems very subdued indeed. With no unusual headlines, a factual and very conservative report of the signing itself accompanies a fervent hope that Wilson's plea that "the enemy be treated without vengeance and harsh- ness" be accepted by all allied peoples. News of the armistice shares the front page with a quarter-page picture of Joseph F. Smith, president of the church, and a statement honoring him on his eightieth birthday, a report of the eighty-ninth conference of the church and about one eighth of a page devoted to Swiss humor. In the next issue, with the exception of a short poem "Friede" (Peace), there is not a single reference either to the war or to the armistice and subsequent problems. Perhaps the editor and the readers were sufficiently war-weary to let the English language papers carry the burden. Perhaps, too, readers of the Beobachter no longer relied on the German language organ for news except in those areas in which they could respond sentimentally as Germans. Perhaps, too, the transformation of the Beobachter to a religious organ of the church had begun.
Not until well after the war did the first internal conflict in the history of the paper occur. In the issue of October 7,1920, there appears a bitter letter headed "Farewell to our Subscribers and Friends" signed by Hermann Grether, editor, and G. F. Bushman, compositor, both of whom had been asked to resign. An editorial of September 9, "The Real Campaign Questions," had opposed vigorously America's entry into the League of Nations, had attacked the motives of England and France in urging American entry, and had staunchly supported the candidacy of Harding over Cox for the presidency. Now, argues the letter, because Rulon S. Wells, chairman of the controlling board of the Beobachter, is a Democrat and pro League of Nations, Grether and Bushman have been asked to resign. A long and vituperative report of a conference between Wells and Bushman ends with a "bill of particulars": the political articles and especially the editorial are responsible for the request for resignations; the request was incited by "Kickers" such as brothers Bode, Sentker, Wolters, and Willy Wehler, who acted out of personal animosity and ambition and without familiarity with the paper; the Beobachter has been very successful under the direction of the two men involved as constantly increasing subscriptions will testify; Grether was not given a hearing and was most unjustly treated; there is no truth in the assertion that "many German-Americans have demanded a change."
In a signed article Willy Wehler, the new editor, replies three weeks later. His reply may be summarized as follows: he regrets having to reply at all, but the misstatement of facts, the use of names and the claim that the removal was for political reasons make it mandatory; political reasons had nothing to do with the resignations; they were, in fact, inevitable since much of the content, particularly personal letters and articles, had long been in such bad taste that they had brought ridicule on the paper and on the official sponsor, the church; the main purpose of the Beobachter, to proclaim the Gospel in the German language and to present news and articles of all types which might interest all readers without offending any one group, has been subverted; the editor, literarily impotent, has abdicated his editorial responsibilities to his compositor who has proved himself too lazy and inefficient to perform satisfactorily; Bushman, for his part, has used the paper to further his own personal political ends, hoping perhaps to win for himself a little office (Postchen). Finally, Wehler reminds his readers, Bushman was already of questionable reputation among Germans because he was ashamed of his people and his native land during the war and snubbed them by Americanizing his name from Buschmann to Bushman.
A letter in the same issue from Rulon S. Wells maintains that the political articles at issue were indeed slanted and unacceptable for an official church paper which represents those of both parties. He insists, however, that this is not the reason for the dismissal and asserts that both men knew of the dismissal and the reasons well in advance. Finally, in the same issue, there appears a warm letter of recommendation for the new editor from Schulthess who assures the readers that Wehler is an able and a good man and that Schulthess would have invited him to serve as an assistant long since had there been sufficient funds. One is led by this remark to wonder why Wehler rather than Grether was not selected to succeed Schulthess.
Thus ends the conflict. It is symptomatic of a factionalism which seems to have developed within the German-American population as a result of the pressures of the war and the post-war adjustment. It is indicative in a corollary manner of the progressing assimilation and the subsequent dissolution of the homogeneity of the immigrant community. There is also implicit in the controversy a more active and direct concern on the part of the church for editorial policy, a more careful supervision than had previously existed, presaging the final stage in the Beobachter s history.
TRANSITION AND FINALE
By late 1923 the days of the weekly as it was originally conceived were numbered. The immigration act of 1921 had virtually stopped the flow of converts to Zion. In fact, Zion was not redefined as "The Pure in Heart," and converts were urged to remain in their own countries to build up the church throughout the world. Immigrants no longer depended on the foreign language press for news and entertainment and had largely been assimilated into the cultural, business, social, and religious life of the cities and towns. First and second generation American descendants had no real ties with the old country and only a filial attachment to its language and culture. Some did not even speak or read German. Geographically and culturally the German speaking community of 1890 and 1891 had ceased to exist.
Against this background there was established in 1923 the Associated Newspapers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with a common "executive editor" for all church-owned foreign language papers. By announced policy all were to have the same content with the exception of some local (homeland) news items. An editorial committee was organized with one representative of each paper "for the purpose of overseeing the content and for general participation in the publication." The content was to consist principally "of things related to the church, sermons, editorials on religious themes, translations of church literature, to be printed in octavo to facilitate its eventual binding into a book." At a series of meetings held during May, Adam L. Peterson was named as manager and J. M. Sjodahl as executive editor under the direction of the editorial board. For the Beobachter, Willy Wehler was retained as editor.
This essentially marks the end of the Beobachter as a newspaper and makes it admittedly a church journal. However, the change is one of emphasis rather than of total deletion of traditional material. While the front page is now devoted almost entirely to church material, the inner pages continue to carry the feuilleton section, notes from home and news coverage of important events, e.g., the English-American war debt conferences, the recognition of Russia, and the national and international ramifications of the depression of 1929.
Hitler and the National-Socialist movement are given editorial and factual coverage beginning in 1933. In January there is printed without editorial comment a story of Hitler's demands for German repudiation of reparations and war debts. His appointment as Chancellor is reported, again without editorial comment, in February. A week later a lengthy article analyzes the movement: On the positive side stands the abolishment of the class system under Hitler, a point which must have seemed of considerable consequence to the immigrants now so accustomed to the democratic pattern; on the negative side is stressed the fact that the movement is anti-Christian in concept and violates all Christian principles. In successive months strong anti-Hitler editorials appear aimed primarily at the Jewish persecution and the violation of treaties and agreements. How, the editor asks, can the German people let themselves be deceived just at a time when the German Republic is winning world respect and through patience and hard work is bringing about an orderly abandonment by the allied nations of the most objectionable features of the Treaty of Versailles? Since the readers of the Beobachter were primarily church members, and since, as has already been suggested, the process of assimilation was by this time well advanced, it may be fairly assumed that the position of the Beobachter does not do violence to the attitude of this particular group of German-Americans.
The identity of the various editors after 1923 is most difficult to ascertain. Following Wehler the names of Adam L. Peterson, Reinhold Stoff, Jean Wunderlich, and John S. Hansen appear. That the last editor was Edward Hoffman is confirmed by his letter of farewell in which he joins others on October 3, 1935, in announcing cessation of publication. Dr. John A. Widtsoe, chairman of the Committee of the Associated Papers, outlines the reasons for discontinuing all foreign language papers owned by the church: restrictions on immigration, death of the older generation, increase in other news agencies and increase in the relative costs of publishing and the establishment in the various countries of mission publications fulfilling the proselyting functions previously performed by the Utah foreign language press. To these, Executive Editor Sjodahl adds that die opposition to the church at home and abroad has decreased to the point where a foreign language press is not needed to present a defense against misunderstanding, lies, and opposition which, parenthetically, suggests a provocative parallel between the final acceptance of the convert immigrant into his new cultural environment and the assimilation of the church into the broader world community. Finally, a farewell letter by Andrew Jenson, Church Historian and a member of the board, reviews briefly the life of the foreign language weeklies. He has, he announces, saved complete files of all of them, a fact for which this writer is infinitely grateful, for this file of the Beobachter is, so far as can be learned, the only complete file in existence.
CONCLUSION
Writing in 1923 of the immigrant press in America, the eminent sociologist and specialist on immigrant matters, Mr. Robert E. Park, stated, "The character and contents of the papers published in these immigrant areas are an index ... to the characteristic interests, ambitions, and social attitudes of the people who read them. In this way it is possible, not merely to define different immigrant areas, but to sketch in a rough way,their moral,psychological,and political complexions." This is the really significant aspect of the Beobachter, for in spite of the fascinating journalistic history of the paper itself with its growth, its amazing continuity through the emotional violence of the first world war, with its evolution from newspaper to religious journal, it is the picture of an immigration seen through its pages that is of primary importance.
Here is a gathering based entirely on religious conversion. Yet unlike some other religious congregations which have sought refuge in this land but have held fast to customs of another world and another time and have maintained group identity as a religious principle, this one made no attempt to preserve its ethnic identity but rather strove for acceptance into die cosmopolitan group. On the other hand, neidier did these converts fit into the usual pattern of immigration described by Mr. Park. According to this pattern, most immigrant groups in this country are colonies of a town, a city, or a restricted area in the old country which has been struck by the emigration fever and has lost substantial numbers to its colony in the new world. By and large, he asserts, these newcomers have been peasants, thus posing special problems in adjustment and assimilation and making them particularly dependent on, and vulnerable to, leadership — good or bad — from within the group. Because they have come from such a low social and economic level, they have been either totally illiterate or on such a low plane of literacy that unscrupulous countrymen have all too frequently used the foreign language press, written down in level, to control them and often to exploit them. A closely knit language community has been carefully encouraged as a social refuge and is the only agency outside the public schools which has helped in the assimilation into the new social structure.
Looked at through the pages of the Beobachter and against these conclusions, the German immigrant group in the Rocky Mountain area stands out as a notable exception. Gathered literally one from a village and one from a family, they in no sense represent the type of colonization described by Park. In general, they came from the middle or upper classes and almost without exception were literate and capable of exerting independent judgment. While there were leaders within the group, the Mormon immigrant looked primarily to the established leaders of the church for guidance in temporal as well as spiritual matters. The church, while giving full recognition to the cultural contributions of its foreign-born members and encouraging them in the preservation of valued traditions and language ties, by the very nature of its program and because of the cosmopolitan nature of its membership, inevitably provided a climate conducive to complete assimilation. For if the church encouraged the holding of meetings in the mother tongue, it also insisted that its members of all language origins participate together in the "regular" services, further that German, Swede, Dutchman, Norwegian, and Englishman work and worship together as brethren.
Finally, the Beobachter, far from being an instrument of exploitation and control, adhered to its policy, immediately announced, to "sell eyewater that will be good for the eyes of the people," particularly to open the eyes of the newcomer to the schemes of those who would try to take advantage of him. It represented the German-American viewpoint faithfully, reflecting the honest emotional struggles of the expatriate as an "enemy" citizen in a country at war. It served the needs of its readers for news, inspiration, entertainment, and education, and it adapted itself to the changing needs of its readers as they moved gradually but inexorably toward their desired goal of complete absorption into the cultural, economic, and social structure of America as they had into the religious structure of their church. The very demise of the Beobachter is both indication of the thoroughness of the assimilation and the final paragraph in the story.
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