p. 22 | Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jan 12, 1905

Current Mention

— Theodore Thomas, the famous orchestra leader, died of pneumonia, in Chicago, January 4.

— Seven deaths from exposure and accidents were caused in New York City by the blizzard which swept over the northern Atlantic coast, January 3, 4.

— At Huntington, W. Va., January 3, eight men were killed and three seriously injured by a boiler explosion and fire, which destroyed the towboat “Defender.”

— One of the most important measures now before the United States Senate is the “Statehood bill,” which provides for the admission of Indian Territory and Oklahoma as the State of Oklahoma, and for the admission of Arizona and New Mexico as the State of Arizona. The capital of the former State, it is provided, shall be located at Guthrie until the year 1910, after which time it is provided that the capital may remain permanently at that city, or at some other city, as determined by the voters at an election to be provided for by the legislature. Until the year 1910 it is provided that the capital of Arizona shall be located at Santa Fe, in the present Territory of New Mexico, the permanent capital to be selected at an election similar to that provided for in Oklahoma. Religious toleration is guaranteed in Oklahoma, polygamy is prohibited, and, according to a Senate amendment, it is provided that in that portion of the new State now known as Indian Territory intoxicating liquors shall not be sold or exchanged for a period of ten years. It is also stipulated in the bill that no law shall be passed restricting the right of suffrage on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

— The military situation in the far East has been materially altered by the surrender of Port Arthur, which took place January 2. The decision to surrender was reached by General Stoessel after the resisting power of the garrison had ceased to be effective in stopping the advance of the Japanese, only a few thousand able-bodied men remaining in the forts, these being worn out with incessant hardships. Previous to surrender the Russian general blew up or set on fire all but a few small ships in the harbor and all buildings and property in the city that might be of use to the Japanese. Six torpedo-boats escaped from the harbor, and reached Chefoo. By the terms of the surrender the Russian officers were sent to their homes on parole, while the soldiers, to the number of about 48,000, of whom about 16,000 were sick or wounded, were held as prisoners of war. The Japanese investing army is reported to have numbered about 100,000 men. The Russian garrison is reported to have lost 11,000 men killed during the siege, and it is believed the killed and wounded of the Japanese totaled about 80,000. The surrender of the fortress releases a large part of the investing army for duty with the forces under General Oyama, who is opposing the Russian commander-in-chief, Kouropatkin, near Mukden. Following the news of the surrender come

renewed reports that the Russian Baltic squadron on its way to the Chinese coast has been recalled. A rumor has also been received that the Russian admiral’s flagship has been lost by striking a rock. The effect of the news from Port Arthur in Russia has been to accentuate the demand for a reform in the government, and the latest reports from St. Petersburg state that the czar is facing a crisis, and that actual revolution is now seriously threatened. It is believed by some that the Russian government may be forced to conclude peace with Japan in order to be free to deal with the threatening situation at home.