p. 21 | Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 4, 1909

Current Mention

— France has re-established the use of the guillotine, four murderers having been executed on it, January 11.

— Reports from Oklahoma state that a large number of land frauds have been unearthed by secret-service men in that State. The government will begin at once the prosecution of those involved in the frauds.

— Two battle-ships larger than any now afloat were authorized in the naval appropriation bill recently passed by the House of Representatives. These battle-ships will be of 26,000 tons displacement.

— President-Elect Taft, Mrs. Taft, and others, including a party of civil engineers selected to work with Mr. Taft in the inspection of the Panama Canal, sailed from Charleston, S. C., January 25, for the Isthmus. The party will reach New Orleans on the return trip, February 13.

— The final report of Governor Magoon of Cuba to the United States before turning the government of the island over to the newly elected Cuban officials, strongly urged the raising of the old battle-ship “Maine” in Havana harbor. President Roosevelt, in a special message to Congress, has recommended the same thing.

— Another great gold discovery is reported in Alaska, in the Tanana Valley. An immense ledge of quartz-bearing gold has been uncovered, and is said to cut across the headwaters of a number of the streams emptying into the Tanana River.

— The officials of the Young Turk party have discovered a wide-spread plot to overturn the present form of government in Turkey, abolish the constitution and parliament, and install the sultan again as absolute ruler. Twenty thousand persons in all parts of the country were involved in the conspiracy, and many arrests are being made.

— A remarkable achievement in aeronautics was witnessed in New York on January 27, when Mark O. Anthony, an electrical engineer, sent up a balloon provided with propellers and certain electrical apparatus. By means of wireless mechanism on the ground, Mr. Anthony was able to direct the balloon in any way he desired. He asserted his ability to control the balloon within a radius of twelve to fifteen miles.

— A despatch from Tetuan, Morocco, Africa, states that the village of Romara has been practically buried by the mountain near which it was situated. The side of the mountain was dislodged by an earthquake, and about five hundred of the people were killed. The earthquake was felt across the strait in Spain, causing great consternation among the inhabitants of Totana and Olias, who fled to the open country in fear of a disaster such as that which befell southern Italy and Sicily.

— The British government is planning the reforestation of large sections in England, Scotland, and Ireland, partly to give employment to the many out of work, and partly to resist deterioration of the land.

— On January 19 the Senate passed a bill raising the president’s salary to $100,000, but making no allowance for traveling expenses. The bill also raises the salary of the vice-president, the speaker of the House, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court to $15,000. The bill will not become a law unless concurred in by the House.

— The anti-Japanese bills which have been under consideration in the California Legislature have been put over for another week, and the author of one of the bills has consented to an amendment which will make his bill less objectionable to Japan. Press reports indicate that many members of the California Legislature insist that some remedy be found for the conditions of which they complain. It is a difficult situation, and one which it will be found hard to remedy without offending Japan, and renewing the rumors of war.

— The dalai-lama, the religious head of Tibet, has left Peking, China, for the capital of Tibet. This will draw to a close his four years of wandering over north China since the occupation of the capital of Tibet by a British column. He is shorn of much of his power, and goes back with the title of “sincere and loyal spreader of civilization.” This title, conferred by the Chinese government, is taken to be an indication to him that he is not to stand in the way of civilization. The Chinese government is now considering ways and means for the opening of schools and banks in Tibet.

— The situation in the Balkans is again nearing an acute stage. Bulgaria has called out her reserves, and Turkey is reported to have ordered the mobilization of a portion of her reserves. The difficulty at the present time is over the question of the indemnity which Bulgaria should pay to Turkey, and the further question of whether the boundary-line is to remain where it is now located. Bulgaria offers to pay $20,000,000 indemnity, and Turkey agrees to accept this if Bulgaria will agree to a rectification of the boundary. To this Bulgaria will not accede. The other European powers are bringing pressure to bear to cause Turkey and Bulgaria to keep the peace.

— The United States refuses to recognize the transfer of the sovereignty of the Kongo Free State to Belgium, until Belgium shall give satisfactory assurance upon five points: (1) The humane treatment of the natives; (2) abolition of the labor tax; (3) restoration to the natives of land formerly held by them; (4) freedom of trade between the Kongo and the United States; and (5) an agreement to submit to arbitration certain questions of an economical and commercial nature. Those who have been laboring so long for reforms in the Kongo regard this as a great victory, inasmuch as Secretary Root’s demands in this particular are almost identical with the demands made by the British government.