— The Bell Telephone Company's linemen threaten a general strike.
— M. Waldeck-Rousseau, Premier of France, is ill, and will spend the winter in Naples.
— It is reported that General Botha's Boer force is surrounded by British troops in Zululand.
— Charles Kendall Adams resigns the presidency of Wisconsin University, because of poor health.
— Dispatches announce that the Chinese imperial court has started on its return journey to Peking.
— In his speech at Minneapolis, President Roosevelt stated there should be laws governing great corporations or trusts.
— Marquis Ito, of Japan, stated, in an interview at St. Paul, the 8th inst., that Russia is “no longer a menace to the peace of Japan.”
— An anarchist meeting was held in London, England, the 6th inst., in which Czolgosz's act was described as a “deed of heroism.”
— Russia is circulating a paper calling for “a joint protest by the Powers, against Great Britain's conduct of the war in South Africa.”
— A mob of “whitecaps” attacked a crowd of negroes returning from a festival near Lewisburg, Tenn., the 8th inst., wounding fifteen.
— Senator Beveridge, of Indiana, held a conference on the Chinese situation with the President the 9th inst., dining at the White House.
— The temperance committee of the Presbyterian General Assembly plans a campaign to prevent the repeal of the present United States army canteen law.
— The British have been obliged to proclaim martial law in the Cape Town district, Wynberg, Simon's Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London, South Africa.
— The latest theory is that the Sultan instigated the abduction of the missionary Miss Stone, in retaliation for the recent indemnity taken from him by the United States.
— The National Purity Convention met at Chicago the 9th inst., and was in session three days. Delegates from all over the world were present, and many excellent things were said.
— Dispatches from China state that more trouble is feared at Peking. The situation is “intolerable.” The legation quarters appear like a “fortified city,” and the legation guards are said to maltreat the natives.
— M. Santos-Dumont made another attempt, the 11th inst., in Paris to navigate his dirigible balloon. But, “as he was crossing the Seine, an accident happened to the rudder, and he was compelled to return.”
— Habib Oullah Khan has just succeeded his father, Abdul Rahman Khan, as ameer of Afghanistan. The new ameer and his nobles have sworn allegiance to the British. Before his death the old ameer “warned the Afghans against the Russians.” A London dispatch of the 9th inst. states that “the mystery over the death of Abdul Rahman has not been dispelled.” The English in India have confidence in the young ruler of the Afghans.
— A special Mexico, Mo., dispatch of the 11th inst., to the Chicago Tribune, says: “The Sabbath-breaking case was disposed of this afternoon, when Judge Hughes overruled the motion for a new trial, and told the prisoner, Godfrey Wenzer, that he would parole him for one year; and if he worked again on Sunday, he would send the sheriff after him, and put him in jail. Wenzer was convicted and fined twenty dollars for whitewashing trees and scalding a hog on Sunday.” This is but a sample of what is occurring almost every day. And yet, years ago, Seventh-day Adventists were laughed to scorn for saying that such arrests would yet be made in this free country. As already stated, these arrests for Sunday desecration are now so frequent that the Sentinel of Liberty, Chicago, devotes an entire department to brief items concerning those that have occurred during the preceding week.
— About 1,200 Boer prisoners are to be sent to India immediately.
— The total number of students now attending Yale College is 2,750.
— The Chicago anarchist paper, Free Society, applies for readmission to the mails.
— Of the 453,496 foreigners who came to America last year, 130,000 were Italians.
— The Sampson-Schley controversy is still on, popular opinion favoring the latter.
— It is discovered that a Bloomington, Ill., beggar has a $25,000 fortune made by begging.
— A $500,000 fire occurred the 8th inst. in the Peabody Coal Company's Docks, Chicago.
— The universities of Russia have cut down the per cent of Jewish students who may attend.
— Ohio coal operators notify dealers of a 25-cent-per-ton advance in price of coal at the mines.
— Lorenzo Snow, President of the Mormon Church, died at Salt Lake City the 10th inst.
— Owing to the recent floods in the Yangtze Valley, China, 10,000,000 people are homeless.
— Lord Pauncefote will try to bring about a new Nicaraguan Canal treaty with the United States.
— Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) will support Seth Low, the anti-Tammany candidate for mayor of New York.
— President Roosevelt favors a still greater reduction in war-revenue taxes, the amount now collected being greater than needed.
— An anarchist paper, the Agitazione, published in Rome, Italy, has been seized by the police “for publishing a defense of Czolgosz.”
— A Berlin dispatch of the 9th inst. states that Emperor William has instructed the Kiel Yacht Club to challenge for the “America's” cup.
— Herr Panzer, an anarchist editor of Berlin, Germany, will be prosecuted for utterances regarding William McKinley's assassination.
— Another public meeting “to protest against the British war of extermination in South Africa” was held in Chicago the evening of the 12th inst.
— The police and a mob of Porto Cabello, Venezuela, recently attacked a party of sailors from the German cruiser “Vineta,” wounding several.
— The London Chronicle circulates a rumor that Lord Minto, Governor-General of Canada, will resign because of disagreement with his Cabinet.
— Emperor William confers the German-Chinese war medal upon all rulers whose troops participated in the recent operations of the Powers in China.
— Testimony brought out at the Schley inquiry the 7th inst. proves that the “Brooklyn” and the “Oregon” were “almost entirely responsible for the destruction of Cervera's fleet.”
— At a meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, the 6th inst., a resolution was adopted by the 20,000 persons present, which asked the Bulgarian government to “intervene at Constantinople for the protection of Bulgarians in Macedonia.”
— The Derby Desk Company's four-story building in Chicago was destroyed by fire the 9th inst. The alarm was not turned in until “flames were pouring out of every window,” one hour after the fire began. The policeman was not at his post.
— A Managua, Nicaragua, dispatch of the 8th inst. states that “severe seismic disturbances, probably caused by volcanic activity in the Pacific, raising the level of the ocean, occurred about nine o'clock last night. The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was flooded to a depth of eight feet, and considerable damage was done.”
— The very latest news concerning Miss Ellen M. Stone, the kidnapped missionary, is that her ransom ($110,000) must be paid at once. This country has requested the search for the abductors by Ottoman troops to be discontinued, it being feared that should they be closely pursued, the brigands would kill her. According to the London Spectator, “President Roosevelt and the Washington Cabinet maintain justly that the Sultan is responsible, as it is his misgovernment which provokes and protects brigandage, and they intend to demand reparation from the Porte. It will not be limited, we imagine, to £25,000. The Porte will be required to punish the authors of the outrage, and, as Turkey is sure to shuffle and America is tired of being played with, a naval demonstration is quite on the cards. The Sultan will, of course, yield to the first show of force.” Smaller incidents than this have often led to conflicts of considerable size. The situation, while not necessarily a grave one, is well worth watching.
— All the railroads of the United States agreed, the 7th inst., to abolish all free passes on and after Jan. 1, 1902. This action was taken in New York by a subcommittee representing all the railroads in the Trunk Line Association, the Central Traffic Association, and the Western Passenger Association. It seems that “no exceptions are to be made in the new policy. Even the presidents of the various lines, who have been accustomed to riding where they pleased without paying, will put down their money in the future, like any ordinary traveler, and submit their tickets to the conductor's punch.” This will be a great saving to the railways. A. J. B.
