Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 23, 1910

— Sir Charles Hardinge has been appointed viceroy of India, to succeed the earl of Minto, the present viceroy.

— Premier Asquith announced in the House of Commons, June 13, that the government proposed to bring in a bill to modify the king's accession oath, which has been the cause of much bitter feeling among the Catholics of Great Britain.

— A meeting of representative men in Washington, D. C., was held on June 6, at which preliminary steps were taken in the formation of an organization having for its object the erection, in the capital city of the nation, of a fitting memorial to Abraham Lincoln.

— While an aviator was attempting an exhibition at Worcester, England, on June 9, his aeroplane became unmanageable, and descended upon a crowd of spectators. One woman was killed and several persons were injured. A similar accident occurred in Budapest on the same day, six men being injured. In both cases the aviators were unhurt.

— A serious accident occurred in Montreal on June 13, when the supports of the sprinkling-system tank, on the roof of the Herald building, gave way; and the great mass of metal and water crashed through the building to the basement. Fire broke out immediately, and spread with such rapidity as to render the rescue of the injured a perilous task. Twenty-nine persons are known to have lost their lives, a search of the ruins showing that the victims were crushed, drowned, or burned. There were three hundred persons in the building at the time of the accident, which occurred without warning.

— A stinging rebuke was administered to Winston Churchill, the Home Secretary, by King George of England last week. At a reception of the cabinet officers held at Marlborough House, to discuss the political situation, the secretary interrupted the king to say, “I do not agree with your majesty there.” He was instantly ordered from the royal presence.

— Charles R. Heike, secretary of the American Sugar Refining Company, was convicted, June 10, on an indictment charging conspiracy to defraud the government of customs dues on sugar. E. W. Gerbracht, a former superintendent of the refinery at Williamsburg, was also declared guilty. Sentence was suspended, pending an appeal, until August 30, and bail was fixed in each case at $25,000. Minor officers of the company, also found guilty, were sentenced to short terms of imprisonment. Large sums of money out of which the government has been defrauded by this company have been refunded.

— At three o'clock on the morning of June 7 the province of Avellino, in southern Italy, was visited by an earthquake shock of considerable severity. Many small towns and villages were wrecked, a number of deaths occurred, and many persons were injured. A party of American clergymen, who were in the province at the time of the earthquake, had a narrow escape. “Some of the panic-stricken populace believed that the calamity was due to the presence of the clergymen, and attacked the latter with the avowed purpose of lynching them. The police rescued the ministers, afterward escorting them to a safe distance from the village.”

— Heavy storms in the region of the Ahr River valley, Germany, culminating in a cloudburst on the night of June 12, caused the river to overflow its banks, and resulted in enormous financial damage and great loss of life. It is estimated that more than 150 persons were drowned, and fully 1,000 are homeless. The greatest loss of life occurred in the barracks of foreign laborers employed on the railway. These were surprised in their sleep by the onrushing flood, and were unable to escape. The Prussian Diet has authorized an appropriation to relieve the sufferers. Unprecedented floods in other regions of Europe have caused many deaths and serious damage to property.

— On June 13 Charles K. Hamilton flew from New York to Philadelphia and return, making the round trip of 172 miles in an actual flying time of 209 minutes. The flight from New York to Philadelphia was made without a break in 1 hour and 51 minutes; but an accident on the return trip caused a delay that hindered the making of a new record for long-distance flight. In several ways, however, his flight is regarded as a wonderful achievement. “Carrying, as he did, letters between the two cities, Hamilton created the first fast mail by the overland route to Philadelphia and return, and demonstrated that an aeroplane can deliver mail from one city to another with the punctuality of government service. During the whole of his first lap he never varied more than two minutes from his time-card, and came down on the handkerchief laid to mark his landing-spot with the precision of a homing pigeon settling on its perch.” On the same day, at Indianapolis, another aviator reached a height of 4,384 feet in a Wright biplane, thus breaking the world's record for altitude.