Current Mention

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Oct 25, 1906

—Governor Higgins of New York sent a force of deputy sheriffs to New York City on October 12, and closed all the gambling places in what is known as the “tenderloin.” The city officials had no part whatever in bringing about the closing of the houses of chance.

—An explosion of gasoline in a store at Celina, Ohio, on October 17, resulted in the death of four persons, the injury of about one hundred, and the wrecking of ten buildings. Fire followed the explosion, and the amount of damage caused by the two agencies is placed at $100,000.

—The Russian premier has instituted prosecution against each member of the Finnish congress who signed the Wiborg manifesto, which means that none of them will be eligible as candidates at the next election of the Douma. A Trans-Siberian railway train was recently held up and robbed of 241,000 rubles.

—Sam Jones, the well-known evangelist, died on a train near Perry, Ark., on October 15.

—The rebels of Santo Domingo have finally refused to abide by the agreement by which peace was to be established, and the government has ordered active operations against them to begin at once.

—The State of Kansas has brought suit against the International Harvester Company of America, a trust, for unlawful combination with the International Harvester Company of New Jersey for the purpose of preventing competition and establishing a monopoly in agricultural implements.

—Mrs. Jefferson Davis, widow of the president of the Confederacy, died at New York on October 16. The body was taken to Richmond, Va., where funeral services were held. The governors of all the States which made up the Confederacy were expected to be present at the obsequies. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, of Mississippi, commander-in-chief of the United Confederate Veterans, acted as chief marshal on the occasion. He issued an order that all the living Confederate generals meet at Richmond on the day of the funeral, October 19.

—One of the most terrible storms in the history of the country was that which swept up from Cuba on Thursday, October 18, and devastated a large section of the coast of Florida. The damage to property in one city of Cuba is placed at $600,000. It is estimated that 100,000 tons of sugar were destroyed in that island. The storm found its greatest number of victims along the coast of Florida. Ten barges, each bearing 150 men, were swept from their moorings, and most of them carried out to sea, where they were broken up, and their crews lost. The estimate of the total loss of life is placed at 1,600. Homeless persons are thronging the villas along the coast, government lighthouses have been damaged, and vessels along the coast and searching parties along the shore are picking up the bodies of those who lost their lives.

—The nations of the world have entered upon another great battle-ship race. England’s “Dreadnaught,” with a displacement of 17,900 tons, set the pace, and startled naval constructors all over the world, for this great vessel carries ten twelve-inch guns, besides batteries of smaller caliber, and she has reached the speed of many of the best class of cruisers. The other nations have taken up the matter. Japan is also building large vessels. The American government provided for the construction of a battle-ship of twenty-thousand tons’ displacement. Now the matter of building three others to keep her company is under consideration. England is now building three great cruisers, each of which is to carry eight twelve-inch guns, and their displacement is only a little less than that of the battle-ship “Dreadnaught.” Now Russia has determined to build a battle-ship of the “Dreadnaught” type. It is not at all likely that France, Germany, and Italy will allow themselves to lag behind in this race for universal peace on a battle-ship basis.

—The constitution and parliament of Persia are now accomplished facts. The shah in his opening speech declared that he believed his people ready for self-government, and expressed the hope that the constitution would be maintained. His speech was acclaimed with great enthusiasm, and Teheran was brilliantly illuminated on the occasion.

—An anomaly in industrial strikes was reported from Cincinnati, Ohio, on October 12, when all but thirty of the 300 men working on the big dams below that city struck for a longer day. It being government work, the contractors were compelled to institute the eight-hour day. The men preferred to labor ten hours for the extra pay, as the amount of their wages depended upon the number of hours worked.

—On October 16 a French submarine boat, the “Lutin,” was submerged at Tunis, and failed to come to the surface. Divers have been unable to reach the boat because of its great depth, and English grapplers from Malta were hurried to the scene. All hope of saving the crew of sixteen men has been abandoned. This is the second France has lost, and England has lost three. From these five vessels only one man escaped alive.

—The Standard Oil Company of Indiana has been indicted in the District Court at Jackson, Tenn., on 1,524 separate counts of violating the law against discrimination in rates of oil transportation. The maximum penalty for each violation is $20,000, and the minimum penalty $1,000. The maximum total fine would amount to $30,480,000, and the minimum to $1,524,000. What the amount of the fine will be, if any, on each count has not been determined.

—Reports from Cuba indicate that the work of restoring peace and confidence is going on in the main satisfactorily. In the interior and remote parts of Cuba it is stated that there is some hesitancy in the matter of surrendering arms, and in some places open hostility, on the part of the natives. The Fifteenth Cavalry has been ordered to Santa Clara Province to quell threatened disturbances there. The distribution of American troops throughout the island is being carried out gradually. A severe hurricane swept the island on October 18, doing a great amount of damage, and destroying telegraphic communication both on the island and with the outside world.

—Since the reopening of the saloons in San Francisco, crime has increased to such an extent that a mass-meeting of citizens was held in Union Square on October 13 to consider the matter. Provision was made for the organization of a committee of 100 citizens, representing different industrial bodies, whose duty it should be to restore order in the city. The acting mayor was at the meeting, and advised that the citizens relinquish their plans, as nothing could be done legally except through the city’s regularly constituted authorities. His advice was not accepted, as the regularly constituted authorities had been unable to insure the public safety. The committee is determined to go ahead with its plans, and it is expected that soon this new “Vigilance Committee” will be in operation.