Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 29, 1909

— A despatch from Teheran, Persia, states that 2,000 persons, including women and children, have been massacred by Turcoman tribesmen at Astrabad.

— A despatch from Tokyo, Japan, dated April 16, states that on that day nine members of the lower house of the diet were placed under arrest, charged with participation in the fraudulent transactions of the Japan Sugar Company.

— More than ninety of the one hundred counties of Virginia are now free from the legalized saloon, and the temperance forces have begun a campaign to close the saloons in the cities of Richmond, Newport News, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Petersburg. With these in the “dry” column, Virginia will be a prohibition State in all but name.

— At Ada, Okla., on April 19, a band of about 200 men took from jail and hanged four wealthy land and cattle owners who were accused of the murder of a deputy United States marshal. The report states that the members of the mob belonged to “the better class” of citizens, and were “disgusted with the kind of justice meted out to criminals in the smaller towns of Oklahoma.”

— Statistics just published by the railways of the country show a loss of $330,000,000 to the railways as a result of the financial depression of 1907-08.

— Because of the rise in the price of wheat due to the gambling of Chicago wheat speculators in future deliveries of that article, a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to prohibit dealing in futures of wheat, cotton, and other agricultural products.

— The negotiations between Turkey and Bulgaria regarding the recognition by Turkey of the independence of Bulgaria, have been brought to a close by the signing of a protocol at Constantinople on April 19, by which Turkey recognizes the independence of her former dependency.

— There is now a prospect that Missouri may soon join the ranks of prohibition States. The lower house of the Missouri Legislature has passed a resolution by a strong majority to submit a prohibition constitutional amendment to a vote of the people in November, 1910. The measure is yet to be acted upon by the Senate.

— Two American cruisers stationed in Cuban waters have been ordered to Turkey to protect the interests of American citizens during the unsettled conditions now prevailing in that country; and one cruiser on her way across the Atlantic has been ordered by wireless telegraph to proceed to Turkish waters on the same mission.

— The threatened strike of anthracite coal-miners has been averted by an agreement between the mine operators and the miners’ representatives at Scranton, Pa. This agreement will be signed for a period of three years. By this agreement the grievances of the miners are to be settled by a conciliation board. The miners hold that the new agreement amounts to a recognition of the union.

— An investigation carried on by the Des Moines Tubercular Association among the schoolchildren of that city has resulted in the discovery that six out of every ten children examined were infected with tuberculosis. Most of the cases were incipient, but in many cases the disease had progressed to a dangerous degree. The association is considering the establishment of a children’s tubercular camp.

— The long litigation between the State of Texas and the Waters-Pierce Oil Company was brought to a close on April 16, when the mandate of the United States Supreme Court was announced at Austin, Tex. By this mandate the property of the oil company is to be placed in the hands of the State receiver, whereupon the company will pay to the State the fine assessed against it, amounting to $1,804,000.

— The Canadian Parliamentary Blue Book, issued March 31, shows that convictions for drunkenness in Canada have, in the last ten years, increased by 164 per cent. In the year ended September, 1907, there was an increase of twelve and a half per cent in convictions for general offenses under the criminal code. In the Yukon there were 56 convictions for every 10,000 of the population; and in Prince Edward Island, which is the prohibition province, only one conviction.

— In the destruction of the St. George Hotel, at San Francisco, Cal., on April 16, at least six persons were burned to death.

— On April 21 a tornado swept through Cleveland, Ohio, which resulted in the death of six persons, the fatal injury of seven, and the less serious injury of about fifty others. The value of the property destroyed is estimated at about one million dollars. The tornado came up without warning, and was over within five minutes.

— Because of the disturbed conditions in Persia, Russia and England have reached an agreement by which Russia is to invade Persia and seek to put an end to the massacres by the troops and irregular bands now operating in the vicinity of Tabriz. A six-days’ armistice is now in operation at that city to enable the starving inhabitants to procure food; but Russia is using this time to concentrate her troops on the Persian border.

— There has been discovered at New York City what is termed a smugglers’ trust, which, it is stated, has been doing a regular business amounting to about one million dollars a year. This trust has been smuggling into the country from Paris high-priced gowns, bringing them in in steamer trunks which were brought ashore through the connivance of some one who could have prevented it. It is claimed that prominent New York firms are involved, and efforts are now being made to bring about their conviction.

— Events in Turkey during the week led up to the expected crisis on March 24, when the troops who are supporting the constitutional government advanced upon Constantinople, and were engaged by the garrison that remains loyal to the sultan. The battle lasted from morning till noon, and reports indicate that thousands were killed or wounded. The defenders are now hemmed in on all sides, the sultan is virtually a prisoner in the Yildiz Kiosk, and the constitutional troops have entered the city. The leader of the constitutionalist forces has given assurances to all the foreign ambassadors and ministers that order will be maintained, and so far reports state that no excesses have been committed by the invaders. It is still a question whether the sultan will be deposed, or will be permitted to continue as the nominal head of the government but shorn of his power. In Asiatic Turkey, especially in the vicinity of Antioch, massacres of Christians continue. It is reported that between 20,000 and 30,000 Christians and Armenians have been slain by Mussulmans. In Antioch it is stated that quiet now reigns, because all Armenians have either been slain or have secretly left the city and are in hiding in the mountains. At different places throughout Asiatic Turkey, thousands of refugees are seeking shelter at Christian missions. These may at any moment become victims of the rioters, and both the missionaries and the refugees are greatly in need of the necessaries of life. During the fighting at Constantinople, many of the constitutionalists were killed through the treacherous use of the white flag by the defenders of the garrison.