-- Feb 25, 1899; Saturday
Presidents [Lorenzo] Snow and [George Q.] Cannon were at the Office, where the former met some of the legislators on the question of electing a United States Senator.
Brother Andrew Jenson of the Historian's Office presented to Presidents Snow and Cannon the title page of the second edition of his work Church Chronology, in which it was stated that the author and compiler had turned it over to the Church. President Cannon expressed his sentiments very freely to President Snow in the presence of Brother Jenson regarding this matter. He was opposed to the Church accepting this work for the purpose of building a new Historian's Office. He gave as one of his reasons that after the death of Brother Jenson it might be that some of his heirs would present a claim against the Church for what he was now doing; and moreover, he thought it was the duty of the Church to build its own Historian's Office, and that it was better able to do it than Brother Jenson. A young man was in the office at the time, a son of Brother B[righam]. Y[oung]. Hampton, and President Cannon referred to his father's case as one in point; Brother Hampton having done work in behalf of the Church, for which he now sought compensation when the Church could least afford it; and this was a sample of many such cases. Brother Jenson here reminded President Cannon that the Church had accepted the copyright of his work and that he had used time in compiling this work which belonged to the Church, he being one of its paid employees. He maintained that the Church ought to accept this work from his hands, as things had gone so far and his honor was at stake; in fact it would not do at all for him to now publish it as his own work, since the public had been informed that he had turned it over to the Church and the people had been asked to purchase it with the understanding that the proceeds would go towards the erection of a new Historian's Office. President Cannon admitted that in his opinion a mistake had been made in accepting the copyright, but maintained that this and all the other matters mentioned might be corrected and Brother Jenson's honor guarded in the premises. During the latter part of this conversation
President Snow had withdrawn to his desk to converse privately with some other brethren, while President Cannon continued to talk with Brother Jenson. The latter remarked that the work would be out in a few days, and he asked what he should do about it. President Cannon answered that he had now expressed himself, and it was for Brother Jenson to consult President Snow. Brother Jenson turned to President Snow, who was at his desk, and he referred him back to President Cannon, saying that anything decided by him in relation to the matter would be approved by himself. Brother Jenson then conferred with President Cannon, and the latter assisted him in correcting the title page, by striking out the line "Published by Franklin D. Richards, Historian for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". This left Brother Jenson to publish the work himself and be responsible for it. He now withdrew, and President Snow remarked to President Cannon that he endorsed his views entirely. (1)
-- Tuesday, Feb 28, 1899
[Apostle John Henry Smith Diary] Salt Lake City
I spent most of the day at President Lorenzo Snow's office.
The weather is very much unsettled. Showers, Sunshine, Snow, and lots of mud. (2)
Endnotes:
1 - First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve minutes
2 - Jean Bickmore White (editor), Church, State, and Politics: The Diaries of John Henry Smith, Signature Books in association with Smith Research Associates, Salt Lake City, 1990, http://bit.ly/johnhenrysmith
LDS History Chronology: Lorenzo Snow
Mormon History Timeline: the life of Lorenzo Snow
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
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