Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jan 14, 1904

— Twenty people were killed and a larger number seriously hurt in a “head-on” collision of a passenger train with a cattle train on the Rock Island Railway near Willard, Kan., January 6.

— Paris, France, is deeply interested over the alleged hypnotic murder of a woman by two of her neighbors who are Spiritualists. The latter had exercised a hypnotic influence over the woman, under the spell of which she had executed a will in their favor, cutting off the natural heirs of her property.

— Fire in a wing of the Iowa State Capitol building, January 4, did damage to the amount of $500,000. Valuable books and documents were saved only by the exertions of the governor and firemen in removing them to a place of safety. The alleged cause of the fire was the dropping of a lighted candle by an electrical worker.

— According to the Tokyo correspondent of the London Daily Mail, “Governor Taft had a secret conference with the Marquis Ito this afternoon [January 7] at the United States consulate at Yokohama,” at which “Governor Taft assured the marquis that the United States will observe a friendly neutrality toward Japan in the event of war, and that if necessary, it would grant the use of American ports in the far East to the Japanese fleet.”

— A Paris dispatch of recent date says: “The diplomats are making inquiries as to the attitude of the powers in case of war, that to be adopted by the United States being regarded as particularly important.” The Japanese minister is credited with saying: “The attitude of the United States will mean much. She has negotiated a treaty with China for the opening of three ports in Manchuria to the commerce of the world. These ports have been occupied by Russia, and thus her treaty rights have been violated.” The outlook still continues very warlike.

— The weight of evidence touching the origin of the Chicago theater tragedy shows it to have been caused by the “flood light,” a very powerful electric light used to illuminate the stage in a manner demanded by the play. The great heat from this light set fire to a curtain which was swinging near it, and at times, moved by currents of air, came almost in contact with it. Evidence gathered by those charged with the duty of official investigation shows that much loss of life would have been averted if the ventilators over the stage had been opened, or the skylights not been fastened shut. Fire Inspector Fulkerson said: “All the testimony given me forms a story of incompetence, blunders, carelessness, and neglect upon the part of builders and managers of the theater.” From the latest figures obtained, it appears that almost one in three of the people who attended the matinee lost his life, the percentage being a trifle over thirty-one per cent. The theater seated 1,666 people, and in addition to these 236 had been admitted after all seats were sold, making a total of 1,842 people in the theater, of whom 591 were killed. Of the victims, all but a few were in the galleries.

— A special meeting of the American hierarchy of the Catholic Church has been called, the place and time of the gathering to be Washington, January 31. As stated “authoritatively” to a reporter of the New York Sun, “the hierarchy will be convened to discuss the project of creating a primate in the United States, and the findings of the council will be carried to Rome by Archbishop Farley. This will be one of the most important councils of the hierarchy since that of Baltimore in 1884.” “The Sun’s informant said that the establishment of a primate in this country would result in the withdrawal of the apostolic delegate at Washington, and the transfer of Mgr. Falconio to some European post. It is said that Cardinal Gibbons is the only member of the hierarchy who has been mentioned by the bishops for the new honor. The cardinal’s present rank of quasi primate is only honorary, carries no jurisdiction, and comes through the fact that tradition has made the Archbishop of Baltimore by courtesy the primate of the hierarchy of America. It is said on authority that Pope Pius has expressed his belief that the United States should have her own primate with a jurisdiction covering that now held by the apostolic delegate. . . . Another project to come under consideration at this special meeting of the hierarchy will be the convocation of another plenary council. It is stated that if the primacy is not established, the calling of the council will follow.”