or how many were hurt in the transaction. Claims that establishment of war plants here would enhance the welfare of all in this locality with unprecendent prosperity was deceitful and misleading. Concerned only in promoting the welfare of the greedy, selfish, business interests of Ogden City, whom it represented, nailed and consummated a deal with the Government with an offer of a sizable sum of money $325,000, to assist in the purchase of land. To be sure that value of property involved would be held at a minimum, three-hand-picked men known for their shady, unfair tactics in business dealings, were awarded the job of appraisers. According to reports of some uninterested sources, each of these men were paid a sizable amount of money, which they denied receiving, for performing a shabby, low-down piece of work that no honorable men would stoop to do. Across the street a short distance west of the area the Government was taking, a farm owned by one of the appraisers was valued, according to his own words, at $800 per acre, while the same quality of land he appraised for the Government was only worth from $50 to $200 per acre. The $200 was less than half the price the land cost a decade previously, when it produced a thrifty growth of meadow grass. Through draining and intensive cultivation, representing much toil and expense, this land, according to testimony of the owner and Sugar Company officials, produced the year the Government took over (1940), an average of thirty-two tons of beets to the acre; a greater tonage than was ever raised any year on his $800 an acre farm. The $200 an acre appraisal was less than half the price the owner had paid for it when it was in meadow. In almost every case parcels of land were appraised at less than a third the price they would have brought in the open market. Property owners were helpless. The handwriting was on the wall, accept our liberal offer or take your cases to court and risk the chance of getting less and bear the costs of litigation. Court action was the only recourse left. Property owners, it is true, fought a losing fight. Odds were against them. While none of the land brought less than the Government's appraised value, only a few parcels were increased in price sufficient to justify a contest in court. The court venire of jurors, from which twelve were selected to try each case separately, was composed of men and women from various parts of the state. Some from parts where land values were low compared to values in this section, which made it difficult for them to render a just decision. Each jury panel, consequently followed the same pattern; ignored testimony of property owners, appraisers, and instructions from Federal Judge, Tillman D. Johnson, to place "fair values on the land." And upheld inordinately low values by the Government's trusted servants, resulting in property owners in the greater number of cases, sustaining heavy losses. Unbelievable when we contemplate that heirs to estates of noble men and women who settled this spot some eighty odd years before and transformed it from a wilderness to a thrifty productive section of God-given necessities, should be forced through deceitful unfair means by a small organized group to surrender a life time accumulations to the Federal Government. The deceitful part played by the Chamber of Commerce was to be expected, but it was generally felt that the Government would reexamine facts distorted by the Chamber, and make a more generous appraisal of disadvantages, sacrifices, and losses that would accrue from such an untimely transaction, but its evaluations of claims made -14- by and in behalf of defendants, like that made by the Chamber, was shocking travesty of the truth. It became evident that the intercession of a handful of men representing Ogden City carried many-fold more weight in influencing Government decisions, than all the cries and pleas that could be mustered in the interest of justice by a community of common people unbacked by the corrupting power of wealth. The policy the Government pursued in dealing with the weak and helpless in this case, as in numerous others, is not new. If original owners of the property in question, who long since have passed away, could speak from the dust, they could testify how this self-same Government, operating under a Constitution that provides for religious tolerance and defense of the individual against unlawful searches and seizures of person or property or unjust compensation for property taken for public use, remained neutral when heart-rending torture and persecution of the Saints followed the confiscation and destruction of their possessions by lawless mobs, unrestrained by magistrates of states during the early years of the Church. Government refusal to use vested powers granted by the constitution to inflict punishment on the perpetrators of atrocities such as these, was evidence they met with its approval. It is evident that the Government our Pioneer Fathers knew had not changed, but even employed more drastic measures in dealing with matters involving human rights a century later. It appears that we are no longer governed by laws passed by legislation of states or Federal Government to promote the general welfare, but by edicts issued by bureaus that have become so numerous and powerful enough to dictate about all individual and Government activities. The rights of individuals who adhere to principles upon which a great nation was founded and through which the spirit of brotherhood has existed through years gone by, have little in common with demands of modern-day society. Our Pioneer Fathers adhered to counsel of our Church authorities and remained on the farm. Therein they were told, rests the welfare of the family, our public institution and safety of the Republic. The small-scale farmer that has been the economic backbone of our nation since its inception, unable to continue to cope with ever increasing demands of Government and an uncontrolable economy, is rapidly declining. Sad to contemplate in this connection is the rapid decline in the close relationship of family life and strong community ties. Years ago, the farm family lived and worked together, striving forward in a modest but effective way. Today, far too much emphasis is placed on acquisition of material wealth. In the simple ways of farm life, accomplishments were of a different nature. Our forebearers felt life worthwhile if they lived simply by the laws of God and laws of their own hearts and minds. Their families, community, and nation were foremost in their lives. They felt they had accomplished much in living clean lives and raising their children to become worthy citizens, increasingly stronger physically, mentally, and spiritually. We must unhesitantly concede that these virtues untainted by filth and corruption, such as contained in much of our modern-day society, was a priceless heritage to pass on to future generations. The trend in living extending down to the present day has reached the low -15-