p. 21 | News and Miscellany

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 22, 1911

News and Miscellany

— Thirty persons were drowned near Uglitch, Russia, on June 12, by the sinking of an overcrowded ferry-boat.

— June 15 the steamer “John L. Lowry,” with fifty excursionists, was burned at Hamletsburg on the Ohio River. The number lost is not given.

— At Dubuque, Iowa, May 27, fire started in a large lumber-yard, destroying property to the amount of $1,000,000.

— Official returns in the matter of the recent earthquake in Mexico place the number of those killed by this disturbance at about two hundred.

— Of the many large war-ships which will attend the English coronation navy review next month, the United States battle-ship “Delaware” will be the largest.

— It is reported that in the northern part of Haiti a rebel force has defeated the federal army, and the prospects are that the present government will soon be overturned.

— Work continues on the raising of the battle-ship “Maine.” The coffer-dam has thus far proved of sufficient strength to withstand the pressure of water from the outside, and the wreck will soon be uncovered.

— In view of the threatened invasion of Portugal by adherents of the deposed monarch, the government has mobilized a very considerable portion of its army along the frontier, and declares itself ready to deal decisively with any Royalist army that may invade the country.

— The Navy Department has decided to erect three towers at Arlington, Va., to be used in wireless telegraphy. The highest of these will be 600 feet tall; the other two, 450 feet each. The department expects by the use of these towers to be able to communicate with vessels at a distance of three thousand miles.

— An army of 4,000 men, said to be the best equipped force among the late insurrectionists in Mexico, is now menacing the capital of that country. The leader of this force is said to be a noted bandit, who is preparing to attack the city in the near future in case his demands concerning the control of that military zone are not complied with.

— In studying recent census figures, one is impressed with the decrease of the rural population in many sections, and the continual influx of people to the great centers of population. This is not only true of the United States, but of other countries as well. The census recently taken of Scotland shows the same tendency.

— An international seamen’s strike was inaugurated in London on June 14. This strike will affect Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, and Scandinavia. The German lines and the American Line have acceded to the demands of the strikers. The full effect of this strike will not be apparent, however, for several days; and if it should continue any length of time, great inconvenience will be suffered by Americans who desire to return from ports in the countries affected by the strike.

— The long-expected debate on the Canadian reciprocity bill began in the United States Senate on June 14. It is expected that the discussion will not end before the middle of July, and perhaps not until the first of August.

— Fifteen persons lost their lives off the Virginia peninsula on June 12 as a result of the storm which swept over that portion of the country on that date. Great damage was done by this storm in Newport News, Norfolk, and vicinity.

— The coronation census of the city of London, which has just been concluded, shows a large increase of female employment in various stores and offices. In some firms, women are employed as buyers and heads of departments in control of large numbers of employees.

— There is prospect of a serious disagreement between France and Spain over the activity of the Spanish army of occupation in Morocco. France has asked Spain to outline definitely her proposed course of action in that country. Reports seem to indicate that Germany is interested in the movements of Spain, and is urging them on.

— The representative of the Chinese government at Washington has signed the prospectus of the $30,000,000 railway loan as a preliminary of the simultaneous issue of bonds in New York, London, Paris, and Berlin. This issue of bonds is for the purpose of providing for the construction of railroads in China. American, British, French, and German financiers are to share equally in the purchase of these bonds.

— Former President Cipriano Castro, of Venezuela, is now in the West Indies on board a small steamer endeavoring to return to Venezuela. It is rumored that a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition is on board this vessel, and that General Castro intends to begin a revolution in the country over which he was formerly president. The United States government is keeping a close watch on the movements of this vessel, with a view to preventing General Castro’s return to Venezuela.

— A $25,000,000 corporation, or trust, was organized in New York City on May 14, composed of twenty-one baking companies in the larger cities of the East and of the Middle West. This concern is known by the name of the General Baking Company. The organizers of the new company declare it is not their purpose to create a monopoly in the baking business, but rather to educate the public to a high standard of quality in bread. However, bakers who are not in this organization look with a great deal of suspicion upon the organization of this great baking company.

— A report from St. Petersburg states that 6,500 European-trained Chinese troops are being quartered in villages and towns within a three days’ march of Harbin, Manchuria, and that auxiliary troops are being maintained in the same area; that 90,000 so-called rural guards have been drafted along the Chinese Eastern Railway, and that four divisions of regular troops have been stationed at various towns in the provinces. It is felt that this step calls for great vigilance on the part of Russia if she is to maintain her standing in the far East.