News from Abroad and America
In France old shoes are bought up by rag dealers and sold to factories, where the shoes are taken apart and submitted to a long process by which the leather is turned into a paste. This pasty material is then transformed into a material closely imitating leather, appearing very much like the finest morocco. Upon this material stylish designs are stamped, and wall papers, trunk-coverings, and similar articles are manufactured from it. The matter of sending young native Catholic priests from the Philippines to the United States to be educated in Catholic seminaries is now being agitated among those interested in Catholic work in the Philippines. It is proposed to send 400 of these young native priests to this country to get them in touch with American Catholicism and Americans. The theme of political and economic union of the countries of Europe against the United States continues to command the attention of the thinkers of those countries. One of the most influential journals of Berlin published recently a long article openly advocating such a union for the protection of those countries against aggression from abroad. Justice Gray, of the United States Supreme Court, has resigned his position on account of ill health, and the President has appointed Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes, son of the author and physician of the same name, to that position. Judge Holmes is at the present time chief justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. The Colombian gunboat Boyaca, with 300 men on board, is believed to be lost, nothing having been heard of her since July 29, when she sailed for Agua Dulce to reinforce the government troops there. Electrical phenomena of marked characteristics are being reported from various parts of the Pacific Coast the present season, especially the mountainous districts. During these displays the earth and various objects became highly charged with electricity, so that it was dangerous to touch almost any object. In one locality a whirling cloud of sand became charged with electricity from top to bottom, giving out a wonderful display of electrical fireworks to the accompaniment of crashing thunder. The earth is becoming an immense storage battery, and we may look for still greater phenomena of this kind until the end. That its store of electricity is becoming greater and more dangerous, is seen in the increased number of deaths by lightning each year. An English naval authority, writing of the great naval demonstration in honor of the coronation of King Edward, declares publicly that the greater portion of England’s navy is practically worthless for practical work, and that “the majority might as well be built of cardboard, as they are mere dummies, too feeble to fight and too slow to run away.” He calls the recent parade an “exhibition of flags, paint, and gilding,” not admitting that some of the battle-ships and cruisers are efficient vessels. This criticism, coming from the source it does, will no doubt result in increased expenditures for the navy of England, whose cost is already tremendous. The revolution which has been raging in Venezuela for the past three years has reached an acute stage, and the position of the government is said to be now almost untenable. Revolutionists are in possession of several of the more important cities in the republic, which are being sacked for the spoils of war. The situation of the capital itself is critical. If this falls into the hands of the rebels, it is conceded that the government will be overthrown. American war vessels are now closely watching the development, as it is feared that either party may at any moment commit acts which may call for their intervention. The total cost to England of the Boer war up to March 31, 1903, which is the date covered by the present budget, is $1,088,113,000. Mr. Kruger was right when he said that this war if entered upon would be at a cost which would stagger humanity. The cost has certainly been enormous, both in men and means. The Cobden Club recently issued a pamphlet showing that this enormous sum would have been enough to establish and maintain fifty universities, while Oxford and Cambridge are now so desperately poor that they are scarcely able to pay current expenses. A despatch from Shanghai, China, states that the protocol of the new tariff treaty between China and the powers has now been signed by all the powers but China, which country is expected to sign it at once. It is reported that the situation is now being complicated by Portugal. This country is demanding of China a concession of two small islands and the right to build a railroad from Macao to Canton. The document is so framed that any alteration in its provisions will nullify it. China must sign it as it is or not at all. The famous Boer generals, Botha, De Wet, and Delarey, have been visiting in England during the past week, and have been enthusiastically received by all. They were cordially received by Generals Lord Roberts and Kitchener, against whom they had contended so long, and also paid a visit to King Edward on the royal yacht. The Shah of Persia is also paying a visit to King Edward at the present time, and is the recipient of marked attention. The Russians are refusing to relinquish their hold on the Newchwang section of the Shan-Hai-Kwan Railway, unless they are allowed to retain the roundhouses and machine shops at Shan-Hai-Kwan. The Russians also object to foreign officials participating in the management of the line. Russia will prolong her stay in China to the greatest possible extent in order to take all the advantage possible of the delay occasioned. The International Harvester Company, which is a combination, or merger, of a number of other companies, has ordered the reduction of its employees in the field. The reduction will amount to three-fourths of the total number employed, or about 10,000 men who will lose positions by the merger. This great combination is reported to be capitalized at $120,000,000. Prof. R. L. Garner, who has spent several years in Africa studying the characteristics and “language” of the monkeys, has again appeared in London. He claims to have discovered some sounds which the monkeys use as words, or at least as expressions of feeling. But who has not known these very things in the common fowls of the barnyard? The United States War Department has purchased of a well known German gun-maker the right to re-arm the artillery branch of the American army with the gun for which he holds patents. This is a cannon of long range and great destructive powers. It will be manufactured in this country, and will take the place of practically all such ordnance now in use in the army. The annual report of the British postmaster general shows that a total of $3,335,000 was found by the post-office department in letters that have not been delivered. The undelivered letters for the United Kingdom totaled 10,000,000, and the delivered missives 2,451,500,000, or an average of 59 letters for each person in the kingdom. Two vessels were wrecked in a tempest near Cape Town, South Africa, on August 16, and others sent ashore or damaged. The vessels wrecked were British barks, the Brutus and the Highlands. The captain of the latter vessel and 23 of his men were drowned. The casualties of the other vessel are not given. The President has received from the pope an exceedingly friendly and felicitous communication accompanied by a beautiful mosaic picture of one of the Vatican gardens, all of which is for the purpose of strengthening “the excellent understanding between the church and the United States authorities.” Members of the religious orders expelled from France, especially “sisters,” are applying to the Vatican for permission to come to America. The pope suggests that they go to Canada, where the French language is spoken, but they persist in their requests to come to the United States. A despatch from Rome states that the pope has announced to the reigning families of Europe that he will grant no more dispensations for consanguineous marriages, it being his wish that members of the royal families shall marry outside of royalty in order to stop degeneration in the children. Cholera reports from Manila indicate that the plague is decreasing in that city, but in the provinces many deaths continue to occur from that disease. The total number of deaths so far reported is 17,596. A number of Americans and Europeans have succumbed to the disease. Fighting continues in the little republic of Hayti, with the result of the war as much in doubt as heretofore. Those in rebellion against the provisional government have attacked and captured the city of St. Michael, the government forces burning the city as they retired. A report from India states that the famine situation there is becoming more serious owing to the lack of rain throughout almost the entire country, especially in the Bombay Presidency. There has been a great increase in the number of natives receiving relief. A despatch from St. Petersburg states that Japanese naval officers have seized the Korean island of Kethnesan. After having driven off the Korean officials, they are said to have landed guns, erected a battery, and posted guards to defend their occupation. Four thousand people are homeless and destitute in what was once the city of Petit Goava, Hayti, which was recently burned by the rebels at the time of evacuation. It is reported that very many persons lost their lives in the destruction of that town. On the island of New Britain recently the members of a certain tribe killed a white lady missionary. A German punitive expedition immediately started out to avenge her death. They did so by killing every member of the tribe, 130 in number. The terrible drought in the back blocks of Queensland and New South Wales, Australia, continues, and millions of sheep have been lost. Many wealthy herders have been bankrupted, and those of more moderate means have lost their all. Near Uskub, Turkey, recently, there occurred a bloody fight between Turkish troops and a band of Bulgarian-Macedonian revolutionists. The revolutionists were cut to pieces, and many of the Turks also were killed and wounded. The revolution in the Republic of Colombia seems to be as active as ever. The government forces are said to be practically surrounded by the revolutionists, who have cut all communications between Panama and the outside. A despatch from Hongkong, China, states that there have been terrible floods in Kwang Province, in which at least 1,000 persons have lost their lives. Several houses collapsed at Hongkong and 20 persons perished. Chinese government troops have attacked one of the headquarters of the Chinese rebels in the province of Szechuan. The leader of the troops reports having killed 1,000 rebels and executed their leader. Cholera has broken out in many places in Japan, and more than one-half the cases are proving fatal. It is also spreading in China, and many deaths are reported from the vicinity of Tientsin. King Edward completed the program of coronation festivities by a review of the British fleet off Spithead, on August 16. The display was a magnificent one. There is little or no sign of an end to the great coal strike. About 179,000 men are still out, and the price of coal continues to go up, with no limit in sight. It is reported that there is a prospect of a combination between the big express companies of this country in the near future. A despatch from Cairo, Egypt, states that the cholera is increasing in that city as well as in the provinces. The United States consul at Odessa, Russia, states that the plague has been officially reported at that place. The Macedonian revolutionary committee has just closed an important session in Sofia, Bulgaria.