p. 21 | Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · May 21, 1908

Current Mention

— The Socialist national convention has nominated Eugene V. Debs for president of the United States.

— Since May 6 the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church has been in session in Baltimore, Md., in which city it held its first session one hundred years ago. The address of the bishops reports the largest gain in the number of communicants during the last four years of any quadrennium for sixteen years. Bishops will be chosen at this conference to take the places of those who have died since the last general conference.

— Disaster overtook the aeronauts Wilbur and Orville Wright, last Thursday, during the longest and fastest test of their 950-pound aeroplane, a mistake in touching a lever bringing the airship with a crash to earth, smashing it into an almost unrecognizable mass of machinery. The navigator escaped with a few scratches. When the accident happened the airship had covered eight miles in seven minutes and forty seconds, and had been under perfect control of the navigator. The trouble was caused by unfamiliarity with new steering gear that was recently installed. The navigator wished to send the airship to a higher altitude, but he pressed the wrong lever, and the machine shot earthward at terrific speed, and was crushed like an eggshell when it struck.

— An attack upon the Roman Catholic Church was made at the Methodist Conference last week, when Bishop Neely criticized the record of that church in South America, and accused it of mingling in the politics of this country, declaring that its influence is felt in the State and municipal governments and at Washington.

— Never before in the history of the United States has there been assembled at one time such a representative gathering of men as that which met at the White House last week, when the governors of forty-one States assembled on invitation of President Roosevelt, to devise plans for the conservation of the country’s natural resources. Among the other well-known men present were Andrew Carnegie, J. J. Hill, and William J. Bryan.

— The British government has shown a disposition to co-operate with China in her effort to suppress opium-smoking. The House of Commons unanimously adopted a resolution urging the speedy abolition of the system of licensing opium dens in the crown provinces of Hongkong, Straits Settlement, and Ceylon. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs said that it was the policy of the Indian government to reduce the exportation of opium with a view to its eventual abolition.

— Since the panic in Wall Street last October, twenty-eight suicides have taken place which have been caused directly or indirectly by it. Among these men who took their own lives because of ruinous-finance are five prominent brokers, five bank cashiers, and seven bank presidents. The total list of those who have committed suicide since the first of January because of business misfortunes of various kinds is sixty-seven, and some of these cases also probably were due to the October panic. How many more will appear in the records, time will show.

— Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, in a recent hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that there are two million unemployed working men and women in the United States; and, speaking of the Supreme Court decision against the boycott of the Danbury hatters, said that “there is more intense feeling among organized laborers of this country to-day on account of that decision by the United States Supreme Court than ever before since I have had any knowledge of the affairs of organized labor. The American laborers are not going out of business. They are not going to surrender their right of association. They are not going to be driven out of existence by being forced to surrender the privilege of doing the lawful things that other people are privileged to do, and exercise individual rights that have been recognized as lawful since Magna Charta. If they are not allowed to do these lawful things openly, in full public view, then I imagine, I predict, they will do the next best thing—or<no-break>ganize secretly.”

— Twenty-five spiritualist meetings were advertised for a recent Sunday in Boston.

— Three stamp-vending machines that have been on trial in the general post-office of New York City the past month have given such good satisfaction that the report of the postmaster concerning them may result in the adoption of the invention by the government for general use.

— The experiment of receiving wireless messages about three thousand feet above the earth was made with great success last week by several officers who went up in an army balloon from Washington, D. C. The balloon was equipped with a wireless receiver, and numerous messages were taken from the government station at Annapolis, Md. The experiment has never been attempted before by the officials.

— The troops have been called out in some of the southern counties of Ohio to protect the farmers against the “night riders.” Members of this organization have crossed from Kentucky, and the troops fired upon a number of men, believed to be “night riders,” as they were attempting to cross the Ohio River. One volley was exchanged. There has been some more bloodshed in Kentucky where the work of destroying the tobacco beds was going on.

— The anti-gambling bill that passed the Senate some weeks ago was passed by the House, May 12, without a dissenting vote. By its terms “it shall be unlawful for any person or association of persons to bet, gamble, or make books, or pools, on the result of any trotting or running race of horses, or boat race, or race of any kind, or any election, or any contest of any kind, or game of baseball,” in the District of Columbia. The Senate also passed the bill restoring the motto “In God We Trust” on coins of the United States.

— During the recent visits of Secretary Taft to Panama, conferences were held with leading officials of Panama in reference to the treaties which it is desired to negotiate between Colombia, the United States, and Panama. Among these Colombia’s recent seizure of the town of Jurado, involved in the general question of the boundary between the two countries, was fully considered. The Panaman government has agreed to the suggestion of Mr. Taft to withhold all action until the secretary has had opportunity to confer with President Roosevelt and Secretary Root.

— Because it was deemed that the resolutions of the last peace congress did not go far enough, Secretary Root took up the work inaugurated by Secretary Hay of inducing all the powers of the world to enter into special arbitration treaties with the United States. Eleven of the powers have thus far assented. Germany, whose emperor has never been particularly friendly toward an arrangement for the settlement of international differences by arbitration, has signified her unwillingness to make a treaty of this character. The authorities do not believe that Germany will stand out in its opposition if treaties of arbitration are arranged with all other nations. So Secretary Root will continue his negotiations with other nations, and hopes to win Germany last of all.