Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 8, 1909

— The monthly statement of the public debt shows an increase during the month of March amounting to $3,088,574.

— Admiral Cervera, who commanded the Spanish fleet at the battle of Santiago, died at Puerto Real, Spain, on April 3.

— The Central American governments continue to mobilize their troops, and it is felt that another war involving four of these states will soon be declared.

— In the burning of the Hamburg-American steamer “Altenburg,” at Havana, Cuba, on March 30, fourteen persons are reported to have lost their lives.

— The census bill, which was vetoed by President Roosevelt, as one of the last official acts of his administration, was passed again on March 18, but short of the provisions to which the former president objected.

— The United States and Canada have decided to limit the amount of water that may be taken from the Niagara Falls for power purposes. The power companies on the Canadian side are limited to 36,000 cubic feet a second, and the companies on the American side to 20,000.

— There are certain questions of disagreement between Japan and China over Manchurian matters which China desires to bring before The Hague tribunal for arbitration. Japan disagrees to the proposition because, she claims, the powers of diplomacy have not been exhausted to bring about a settlement.

— Georgia’s system of leasing convicts to various industrial concerns came to an end on April 1. The system had been in vogue for forty years, and many charges of cruelty have been made against it from time to time. An investigation into these charges was started some time ago by the governor. It is declared that the system was abolished because of the colossal graft and shocking cruelty revealed by the investigation.

— King Leopold of Belgium has offered a prize of $5,000 for the best treatise on aerial navigation.

— The last symbol of American authority in Cuba was removed on March 31, when the American garrison at Camp Columbia, Havana, lowered its flag and embarked on two American transports for Newport News, Va.

— A despatch from Bluefields, Nicaragua, states that the sloop “Kearsarge” went down in a storm on March 22 while on her way from Monkey Point to Greytown, and twenty of the twenty-nine persons on board were lost.

— Eight negroes were killed and twenty wounded in a race war at Henrietta, Okla., on March 25. One of the deputy sheriffs was the only white man wounded. The negroes fled to their cabins and refused to be arrested.

— The president of the Bethlehem Steel Company announces that his company has practically closed a contract with the government of Argentina for the building of two of the largest size battle-ships, each to cost $10,000,000.

— According to daily press reports, wireless telephony has not proved an unqualified success on the battle-ships. It has been impossible to send messages except over short distances, and then only when the wireless telegraph was not in operation.

— On April 3 the city of Fort Worth, Tex., was visited by the most serious conflagration of its history, which swept through the residence, church, hospital, and business district of the city, resulting in a loss estimated at between four and five million dollars.

— A company has been formed in Germany to lay a submarine cable connecting Germany with her colonies. The entire length of the cable will be 7,000 miles, and the first section from Borkum Island, Germany, to Teneriffe, Canary Islands, is to be finished this year.

— A despatch from Japan states that the Japanese government has issued a decree forbidding the importation of any of Count Leo Tolstoi’s works, and ordering that all of these works now in Japan be seized and confiscated. The reason for this decree is said to be that Tolstoi’s works are of a character “to demoralize youth.” It is doubtless Tolstoi’s teachings against war to which the Japanese government takes exception. It is his teaching upon this point that has made his works so objectionable in his homeland, Russia.

— The Servian government April 1, made formal submission to the demands of Austria-Hungary, and the danger of war over Austria’s annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is thought to be averted. In this formal submission, made in the capital of Servia on the date mentioned, Servia declares that her rights have not been violated by the annexation of those states, and that she accepts the powers’ decision to annul paragraph 25 of the treaty of Berlin. She therefore agrees not to protest against Austria’s annexation of those states. She agrees to maintain peaceful relations with Austria-Hungary. She agrees to return her military forces to their normal conditions and discharge her reservists and volunteers, also to prevent the formation of independent troops or bands.

— The two piers of the Havana Central Railroad, at Havana, Cuba, were burned on March 29, entailing a loss of $1,000,000.

— In a local option election for Clark County, Ohio, on March 29, the county voted out the saloons. This closes ninety-seven saloons and three breweries.

— The pension bills passed by the Sixtieth Congress have increased the pension budget by about $1,000,000. Since the year 1865 there has been paid in pensions the sum of $3,654,653,365. This is in addition to the cost of maintaining the pension bureau and pension agencies.

— The new twenty-million-dollar bridge connecting New York City and Long Island City was informally opened to pedestrians and vehicles on March 30. This bridge, including its approaches, is 7,424 feet in length. The clear height of the bridge above mean high water is 135 feet, and the height of the towers above the bottom chord is 185 feet. The bridge contains four trolley tracks, two elevated railroad tracks, two floors, a roadway fifty-three feet wide, and two foot-walks each fifteen feet wide.

— A few weeks ago an Italian detective in the employ of the police department of the city of New York was killed in Sicily while making investigations into the operations of the Italian secret societies. The Italian police have made no headway whatever in the work of capturing the murderers, in spite of the fact that the detective was killed in a public place. It is quite openly charged that the Italian police are themselves in fear of the secret societies, and dare not enter actively into the work of capturing the assassins for fear of losing their own lives.

— The reason for Servia’s final submission to the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the demands of Austria-Hungary is now manifest. Servia was depending upon Russia to assist her in case of war; but it was known that Germany was supporting Austria-Hungary. The crisis was reached in the negotiations when Germany peremptorily demanded that Russia withdraw her encouragement from Servia and acknowledge Austria’s annexation of the two provinces. This must be done within twenty-four hours, or Germany would invade Russia. The Russian minister, Isvolsky, asked for time to consult the other powers; but this was refused, and he was given to understand that a large force was already mobilized on the Polish frontier. The minister called an emergency council, and it was agreed to yield to Germany’s demands. The bringing to light of this transaction has greatly stirred England, and a movement is now on foot to hasten the construction of battle-ships, that she may be prepared against the time when Germany makes some such demand of her. It is felt that this move on the part of Germany will result in the formation of a strong alliance against her on the part of Russia, France, and England. The Russian people feel deeply chagrined over the matter, especially in view of their previous humiliation at the hands of Japan. Germany’s method of settling the Balkan question has thus added another irritant to the European situation and made more certain a general European war.