Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Mar 3, 1910

— Twenty-three persons were killed by an avalanche at the town of Huifsdal, in Iceland, according to a report dated February 23, from Reykjavik.

— An English inventor has perfected a system of heat storage which is greatly reducing the cost of electricity for both lighting and heating purposes.

— Fifty persons are reported to have lost their lives during a panic following a fire at a theater at Trojillo, a town in northern Peru, on February 23.

— The Egyptian premier, who is also minister of foreign affairs, was assassinated at Cairo, Egypt, on February 20.

— The Italian ship “F. S. Ciampa,” bound from Sicily for Falmouth, England, was wrecked in a gale off Dunwoody Bay, on February 18. The crew, numbering twenty, went down with the ship.

— The Cuban government, after a hard financial struggle, is now completely out of debt, and has a balance over current expenditures for the past year, amounting to nearly one and a half million dollars.

— The French government has sent an ultimatum to the ruler of Morocco, demanding immediate compliance with the terms of agreement regarding the settlement for damages arising out of the Casa Blanca affair. These damages amount to $12,000,000. In case of Morocco’s refusal to comply with France’s demand, the French Military Mission in Morocco will leave at once, and France will seize the Moroccan customs.

— Advices from Nicaragua regarding the conflict between the forces of the present Nicaraguan government and those of the insurgents are very contradictory, both sides claiming victories for the same battles. Reports from Bluefields, Nicaragua, dated February 23, state that the insurgents won a sweeping victory over the government forces, and captured the city of Granada, that 400 men were killed and wounded in the encounter, and two of the government generals were killed. The insurgents are reported to be concentrating their forces preparatory to marching upon Managua, the capital. This report is denied, in whole or in part, by the representative of the Nicaraguan government at Washington. He claims that the insurgents are being held in check, and have suffered heavy losses.

— On February 19 a strike was declared against the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company by the Street-Car Men’s Union of that city. The company’s refusal to accede to the demands of the strikers and its determination to continue the operation of its cars resulted at once in rioting and bloodshed. The local police and a local company of militia were unable to give adequate protection to the street-car company, and over seven hundred cars were demolished by the strikers. A company of State constabulary numbering 204 men and officers was called to the city on February 24, and immediately the situation assumed a different aspect. There is possibility that other unions in the city may strike in sympathy with the carmen, in which case the State militia to the number of 10,000 will be called to Philadelphia.

— The grand jury of New Jersey has entered upon an investigation of certain packing companies doing business under charters of that State. On February 18 the grand jury voted indictments against the directors of the National Packing Company as individuals, with the exception of one member of the directorate. They are charged with conspiracy, in that they have kept foodstuffs in cold storage with the purpose of raising the price. The National Packing Company owns the capital stock of the following companies engaged in the business of packing meat and meat products: The Fowler Packing Company, the St. Louis Dressed Beef and Provision Company, the Fowler Canadian Company, Ltd., Fowler Bros., Ltd., of Liverpool, the Omaha Packing Company, the Hammond Packing Company, the G. H. Hammond Company, the Anglo-American Provision Company, and the United Dressed Beef Company. Its capital stock is $15,000,000. The State prosecutor declares that if indictments are handed down by the grand jury against the directors of this company, he will not be satisfied with fines, but will move for imprisonment in cases of conviction.

— Advices from South America state that Ecuador is facing a revolt, and that Uruguay is in the throes of a revolution.

— The United States Senate has passed the Elkins resolution providing for an investigation of the cost of living. The committee will be composed of seven senators.

— At least thirty men were killed as the result of an explosion in a coal-mine at Drakesboro, Ky., on February 1, while at least twenty-five others are believed to be still entombed.

— One of the greatest disasters in the history of Mexican coal-mining took place at Las Esperanzas, Mexico, on February 2. Seventy men lost their lives in the explosion in the mine.

— Reports from St. Petersburg indicate grave fears on the part of Russia that Japan is contemplating the complete annexation of Korea. The report states that in case Japan should adopt this course, Russia will begin to regard herself as grievously offended.

— Mohammed Abdullah of Somaliland, known as the Mad Mullah, is again on the war-path. A large force of dervishes under his command is raiding the neighboring country and killing and burning. The slaughter of the tribesmen is reported to be very heavy, one whole town having been destroyed by fire, and fourteen thousand camels captured, according to reports from Aden, Arabia.

— A report from St. Petersburg, Russia, says that the most influential circles in Russia are again regarding the outlook in the Orient with the greatest concern. A special agent of the Russian government has been investigating conditions in the far East, and reports that Japan is rapidly preparing for another war. There is no question in Russia but that this means another war between Russia and Japan.

— One of the most peculiar cases that has ever come before the United States Supreme Court was decided on January 24 by that body. In the year 1848, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, transferred its seminary, located in Hawaii, to the government of Hawaii. It was stipulated that the institution must teach religion. The failure of this government institution to teach religion is held by the Supreme Court to be an infraction of the contract, and the Hawaiian Territory, by order of the Supreme Court of the United States, must now pay a fine of $15,000 for its neglect to teach religion in the seminary.

— The boycott against meat in the United States continues to spread, but the price of meat continues to be held at the earlier figures. Only eggs have shown any fluctuation in price as a result of the boycott. There are two measures now before Congress providing for investigation of the prices of food products in this country. These measures have grown out of the nation-wide agitation of the question. The first institutions to be investigated, if these measures now before Congress become laws, will be the cold-storage plants in the various cities. In these plants meats are held sometimes for many months to regulate the prices of such products.