China, the Jewish Sabbath, and Coal Strike
THE rebels in China are not lacking in field guns, although the protocol signed by China and the powers forbids the importation of arms; for the rebels are said to have bombarded the city of Nan Ning Fu with modern field guns. There is a suspicion in some quarters that some nation that is a party to the protocol has supplied the rebels with these arms at the same time that it has forbidden China to import them, all for the purpose of making an excuse of maintaining troops in that country or invading the country to preserve order, and then sharing in its partition. THERE is considerable agitation among the Jews of New York over the Sabbath question. At the recent conference of Jewish rabbis in New Orleans, considerable time was spent in discussing the proposition of abandoning the Sabbath and keeping Sunday. To this the orthodox Jews of New York are strongly opposed, and circulars are being distributed among the congregations urging them to be true to their traditions and to aid in founding schools to keep the faith alive. THE great coal strike which has been threatening for some time in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania began on May 12 in the Scranton end of this mining district. Whether a general strike of all miners of this region will be declared is yet uncertain. It seems probable that the miners will go out, tho many fear that the company contemplates some move for which the miners are not prepared, as no efforts have been put forth by the mine-owners to prevent the strike. THE claim of the San Francisco company, known as the Salvador Commercial Company, against the government of Salvador, which had been submitted to arbitration, has been decided in favor of the company. The arbitrators were Sir Henry Strong, of Canada, Don Jose Rosa Pacas, of Salvador, and Don M. Dickinson, of the United States. The damages awarded the company amount to $583,118. The arbitrator of Salvador protests against the majority decision. A DESPATCH from Java states that famine, flood, and pestilence are destroying life so rapidly in the province of Demak that in some districts there are not enough survivors to bury the dead. After large numbers of the inhabitants had been reduced to a low physical ebb by lack of food, heavy rains fell and submerged the lowlands, inducing a rapid spread of malaria among the inhabitants. It is also officially reported that cholera is developing in various places. SECRETARY HAY and Ambassador Aspiroz of Mexico have agreed on the terms of a protocol submitting to arbitration, under the terms of the Hague convention, the claims of the Roman Catholic bishops of California against the Mexican republic. This is known as the Pius claim, is of thirty years’ standing, and amounts to $1,400,000. The United States Government has taken up the claim of the church, and has been pressing for a settlement. A MERCHANT’S trust has been formed in Chicago with a capital of $25,000,000. The plan contemplates a general organization for the purpose of giving the retailers the advantage of large capital and the consumers that of discounts. The promoters of this combine hope to secure for its members advantages now obtained only by large concerns. By this organization they hope to be able to get much of the business that now goes to the mail-order houses. LOCK and safe experts of Washington have come to the conclusion that even the best tempered steel, no matter how thick, is not proof against a new chemical compound which professional safe-crackers have learned to use. This compound is called thermite, and when mixed with magnesium powder, will destroy the hardness of the metal, rob it of its temper, enabling a burglar with ordinary tools to cut into it as if it were lead. RECENT despatches from China state that there are still in the three Manchurian provinces of China 116,000 Russian troops. The report does not take into account what are known as railway guards, who number 8,000 all told; while in Siberia it is reported that Russia has 130,000 men ready at short notice to act in China or against Japan. Russia is said to be planning to reinforce her Pacific squadron with eleven warships. THE condition of Queen Wilhelmina of Holland is reported to be very encouraging, tho her life had been almost despaired of for many days. OHIO has enacted a law which is intended to reach trusts formed in other States and operating in Ohio. It requires all such corporations to file annual statements of their financial condition, and to pay an annual fee equal to one-tenth of one per cent on the proportion of the authorized capital stock of the corporations represented by property owned and used, and business transacted within the State. THE State of Missouri has taken action against the large packing companies which have formed a virtual trust for the purpose of raising the price of meats and controlling the meat market of the whole country. Attorney-General Knox has asked for and received copies of the testimony of the retail butchers taken in the investigation, with an evident view to assisting in the prosecution of the trust. FOR some time there have been rumors afloat that Judge Taft of the Philippine Civil Commission was going on a mission to Rome to consult with the pope in reference to matters in the Philippines. It is now authoritatively stated that this is the case. The principal matter to be considered in this conference with the pope is the sale of the property held by the friars in the Philippines. THE bill for the admission of Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona into the sisterhood of States of the Union was passed by the House on May 9. In the case of Oklahoma, Congress reserves to itself the right at any time to unite to it any portion or all of Indian Territory, and New Mexico is given the right to designate the name by which she shall be called. PRESIDENT-ELECT TOMAS E. PALMA, of Cuba, arrived at Havana on May 11, and was given an enthusiastic reception by the populace. The flags of Cuba and the United States waved side by side from the fortress and shipping, while a black-and-white pennant flew from the wreck of the Maine in the harbor. He will be inaugurated president on May 20. JUDGE EARL of New York, sitting as referee in the case of the constitutionality of the New York franchise-tax law, has declared the law constitutional in every point. If this decision is upheld by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and by the Court of Appeals, the amount of franchise property in that State to be taxed will be $266,000,000. ON May 8 a new million-dollar watch company was organized at South Bend, Indiana, for the purpose of competing with the Elgin and Waltham watch companies, which have recently been forcing up the price of watches, through an agreement which makes them virtually a trust. The new watch company will be known as the Studebaker Company. FOR some time a Brazilian aeronaut, Senhor Auguste Sevros, has been experimenting with a new airship in Paris, which has given promise of greater success in navigating the air than has been achieved by Santos-Dumont; but while maneuvering in the air at Paris, on May 12, the airship exploded, and the inventor and his assistant were killed. LORD SALISBURY’S recent speech at Albert Hall, in which reference was made to the relations existing between England and Egypt, shows conclusively that the British Government has no intention of ever giving up its hold on that country. It is a virtual declaration that England will retain her sovereignty over this portion of Africa. THE Pennsylvania railroad will soon have in operation between Chicago and New York a new fast train which will cover the distance of 902 miles in exactly 17 hours. The average speed will be 57 miles an hour, exclusive of stops, tho for much of the distance it will be considerably greater than that. REAR ADMIRAL WILLIAM T. SAMPSON died at his home in Washington, D. C., at five o’clock on the afternoon of May 6, after a lingering illness of many months, and was buried in the national cemetery in Washington on May 9. Officials of the navy and the nation followed the admiral to the grave. GERMAN cast-iron works and foundries are preparing to form a giant combination which will embrace all the leading plants of the empire, for the purpose of eliminating competition and defending the industry against the invasion of American products in that line. ON May 10 a heavy fall of snow was reported from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. In some places the ground was covered to a depth of six inches. In some localities much damage was done to crops and fruit, the fruit trees being just in bloom. A SWEDISH artillery officer is said to have invented an aerial torpedo which promises to become one of the most destructive agents in any war in which Sweden engages. The government is guarding the details of its construction with great care. FRANCIS BRET HARTE, the story writer whose name was closely associated with the early days of California, died at his home near Aldershot, England, on May 5. ADVICES from Washington state that there is little likelihood of Congress doing anything more in the way of canal legislation at this session. A CABLE from Christiania, Norway, states that 30,000 emigrants are booked to sail for the United States during the present year. THE well-known Catholic archbishop, Michael A. Corrigan, died at New York on May 5, at the age of 62.