p. 21 | Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 30, 1908

Current Mention

—Near Columbia City, Ind., on July 18, an automobile containing six persons was struck by a train, and all the members of the party were killed.

—Advices from Chile state that a terrific earthquake occurred in the provinces of Tacna and Arica in Chile, and in the southern portions of Peru and Bolivia, on July 16. These localities being sparsely settled accounts for the fact that no loss of life has been reported.

—At the present time practically the entire fleet of British warships is engaged in a sham naval battle in the English Channel and the North Sea. There are three hundred fifteen warships, all told, participating in this maneuver. These war-vessels are divided into two fleets,—one for an attack upon England, and the other for the defense, while the directing of the defense will be carried on from London entirely by the aid of wireless telegraphy.

—The prince of Wales landed at Quebec on July 22, to take part in the celebration which is now going on in that city. He arrived on one of the largest battleships of the British navy, which was welcomed by warships of the principal nations of the world. Vice-President Fairbanks and other influential Americans were present upon this occasion, and the vice-president presented a felicitous address to England’s future king.

—The total appropriations of the last Congress have just been published in detail. The sum of all amounts to $1,008,397,543. Of this $11,672,000 was devoted to agriculture; $95,382,000 to the army; $32,832,000 to the legislative, executive, and judicial departments; $122,663,000 to the navy; $163,053,000 to pensions; $222,970,000 to the post-office. The increase in the total appropriations over last year amounts to $87,599,399. Fifty-four per cent of this enormous increase goes to the army and navy.

—A petition was filed in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia on July 20, by the Buck Stove and Range Company of St. Louis, Mo., asking for a rule against Samuel Gompers, Frank Morrison, and John Mitchell, officers of the American Federation of Labor, requiring them to show cause why they should not be adjudged in contempt of the decree of the court of March 23 last, perpetually enjoining them from boycotting the stove company’s business. The officials of the labor union, it is declared, have taken no notice of the injunction, and are still carrying on the boycott.

—The government of Venezuela now stands in a somewhat isolated condition with respect to the other nations of the world. Diplomatic relations with the United States of America have been completely broken off. The minister of the Belgian government has been dismissed by Venezuela, and in addition to this, the general manager for two large English concerns has been called home by the English government. It is realized on all sides that this is a condition which can hardly continue for any length of time without international ruptures of some kind. The latest developments in this affair seem to indicate that there is trouble ahead for Venezuela in the near future.

—Some months ago a subsidiary company of the Standard Oil Company was fined by Judge Landis in the United States District Court, in the sum of $29,240,000. The case was appealed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, and on July 22 the decision of Judge Landis was reversed, and the case ordered to a new trial. The defendant company was known as the Standard Oil Company of Indiana, and was found guilty by Judge Landis of accepting rebates on shipments of oil. Judge Landis fined the company $20,000 on each of 1,462 counts, each count representing a carload shipment. The court of appeals held that Judge Landis erred in regarding the shipment of each carload lot as a separate offense, and also in imposing upon the defendant the maximum fine in each case. The court of appeals also held that the parent company, which was not on trial in this case, would be compelled to share in the punishment if the decision were allowed to stand.