Growing International Tensions in the Far East
There seems to be no abatement of the spirit of unrest in Russia. Since the riotings reported last week, many threatening letters have been received by the minister of the interior, and a Russian general, Prince Varkoff, has been arrested, charged with complicity in this wide-spread revolutionary movement. The rebellion in Formosa against the Japanese is said to be growing. All attempts by Japan to conciliate the rebels have proven fruitless, and the war is now being carried on in a most relentless manner. Blockhouses and wire trochas have been established, and the reconcentrado policy has been adopted. Russia has been sounding Germany and the United States in regard to the matter of neutrality in case of complications between Japan and England on the one side and France and Russia on the other. It is thought that if Russia could be assured of American neutrality, she would declare war upon England. In spite of the language used in both the Anglo-Japanese treaty and the new alliance between France and Russia, government officials are coming to believe that a crisis is approaching in the far East. The Russo-French agreement declares that they reserve to themselves the right to defend their interests in China. This is their answer to the Anglo-Japanese intention of maintaining the integrity of China, altho Russia professes to be anxious that China's integrity shall be maintained. The questions that would make possible a universal war are the questions that are now stirring up the leaders of the world. Several petitions have been received by Congress from the inhabitants of the Philippines asking that the Chinese laborers should not be excluded from the Philippines, as their labor is very much desired there. When the last lot of petitions was presented, Senator Hoar raised an embarrassing question as to whether the petitioners were American citizens. If they were not, the petitions could not be received by Congress; while if the petitions are recognized, it would seem to indicate that the Filipinos are American citizens. The matter was referred to the Philippine Commission. As long as the Philippines are held, and the people are denied the right of petition, they must be regarded as subjects and not citizens; as colonies governed against their will, taxed without representation in the deliberations of the governing power. Unless the efforts of the Civic Federation are effective with the coal barons, it is more than likely that there will soon be a repetition of the great coal-miners' strike of 1900. In that year more than 100,000 coal miners were on strike for a number of weeks. The coal operators have refused to meet with representatives of the men to discuss the situation. The only hope of averting the strike lies in the possibility of the Civic Federation bringing about an agreement. President Loubet of France has accepted an invitation from the czar of Russia to visit the Russian capital. This visit at this time is considered significant in view of the recent alliance of England and Japan, and the publication of a somewhat similar alliance between Russia and France. There seems to be a lining up of the forces that are particularly interested in the Chinese question, the outcome of which only the future can reveal. There has been much comment in the press during the week over the rumor that General Miles is to lose his place at the head of the army on account of testimony which he gave before the Senate committee on military affairs. The matter under consideration by that committee was a bill which the War Department has framed, and upon which it is pressing for a vote. General Miles' testimony was in opposition to the bill. Some time ago the Russian Government ordered telegraph posts set up in Korea, contrary to the protests of the Korean Government. Later the latter government ordered the posts cut down, and the order was carried out. Russia is now demanding of Korea a heavy sum as indemnity for this act. Korea demurs, and her foreign minister refuses to have any dealings with the Russian minister. The government of Bermuda is reported to have prohibited the distribution, by the American Bible Society, of any more copies of the Psalms among the Boers now held as prisoners of war in the Bermuda Islands. The alleged reason of this prohibition is that the reading of the Psalms by the captive Boers tends to keep alive their fighting spirit. Thirty Russian strikers were killed in a conflict with the military on March 23 at Batoum on the Black Sea. Simultaneously similar outbreaks occurred at Tiflis, and Baku on the Caspian Sea. Several warehouses were burned at the latter place, and conflicts occurred between the troops and strikers, but the number of casualties is not given. A report from Rome states that Mgr. Sbarretti has been given authority by the pope to negotiate all Philippine questions at Washington. The pontiff expresses the opinion that an agreement satisfactory to all concerned will yet be reached, altho Washington insists upon not recognizing the monastic orders in the Philippines as legal bodies. The acting president of the Boers and other leaders in their cause came in to Pretoria, South Africa, on March 22 under a flag of truce for the purpose of conferring with General Kitchener in reference to terms of peace. The news of this movement has been welcomed in London as the possible preliminary of a termination of the war. The three post-office officials who were accused of fraud and embezzlement in connection with the Cuban postal business, have been found guilty and sentenced. All of the three men, Neely, Reeves, and Rathbone receive ten years' imprisonment and are fined respectively $56,701, $55,516, and $55,324. The bill for the protection of the President from attacks of Anarchists and others, passed the Senate on March 21 by a vote of 52 to 15. A bill for the repeal of the war revenue tax also passed the Senate on the same day. Preparations are now going forward for turning Cuba over to the rule of the Cubans. The date set for the change of administration is May 20. Governor-general Wood has been in conference with the President during the week, and the new president of Cuba also has been a guest at the White House. A report from China states that Marshall Su's army of 20,000 foreign-drilled soldiers has deserted and joined the rebels. If true, this adds to the revolutionists a foreign-drilled and armed force with which the imperialists will be unable to cope, and makes the prospect of peace a shadowy one. Great suffering is reported from certain parts of Australia on account of the drought, especially in New South Wales. The governor of that State has caused to be set apart a day of special prayer for the removal of the calamity. Cattle are dying in herds, and vegetation is scarce and dry. Reports from Macedonia state that plans are on foot for a general uprising against the sultan's government, but the sultan has assured the representatives of the powers at Constantinople that he is able to suppress any uprising that may occur in Macedonia. The London Times accuses the government of “timorousness” in dealing with the growing power of the United Irish League. That journal states that it will be perilous for the ministers any longer to shut their eyes to the serious condition in Ireland. A report from southern Albania states that a revolution is in progress there, and several engagements have occurred between the rebels and the Turkish troops. An attack was made on the governor's palace, and some of his guards were killed. A revolutionary outbreak occurred at Ilok, Poland, on March 24, led by students who attempted to burn a technical school and lynch the teachers. The latter escaped with difficulty. Mounted troops were necessary to quell the outbreak. An avalanche occurred at Katsunosawa, Japan, recently, in which 200 persons are said to have lost their lives. The victims were employees of an oil-refining establishment which was completely destroyed by the avalanche. By loaning to Persia 10,000,000 roubles, Russia has obtained a concession for a railroad from Tabriz to Teheran. This is another step in Russian diplomacy toward gaining a controlling influence in Persian affairs. A general strike of the textile operatives in Lowell, Mass., now seems unavoidable. The spinners and loom-fixers are demanding an increase of ten per cent in wages, and the mills have refused the demand. On March 19 the Missouri Supreme Court, sitting in bank, handed down a decision to the effect that courts of equity have no power to enjoin labor organizations from enforcing boycotts on corporations. The Liberals and Socialists of Belgium are demanding universal suffrage and proportionate representation. Altho there is much agitation over the matter, there have been few acts of violence. Persons coming out of the Klondike country report an unusually large number going in over the trails, which are said to be strewn with the wrecks of bicycles and various kinds of vehicles. The Committee on Isthmian Canals has presented majority and minority reports to the Senate on the proposition of purchasing the Panama Canal. The majority are not in favor of the purchase. A strong opposition has developed in Denmark against the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States. The leaders in this opposition intend to prevent the sale if possible. The plague has broken out again in Australia, and a number of deaths have occurred. The authorities are exterminating the rats in the hope of staying the progress of the disease. Much suffering is reported among the settlers of northern Arkansas on account of the failure of their crops through drought. Whole families are said to be subsisting on acorns alone. The Chinese general Ma has been defeated by the rebels of Kwang-Si province, who have taken possession of Fang-Cheng. The rebellion is spreading rapidly in that province. French society leaders and actors are now engaged in raising money to build a monument to President McKinley as a new testimonial to Franco-American fraternity. On March 18 Prince Henry arrived on German soil after the completion of his tour in the United States, and was welcomed by the emperor with great ceremony. An epidemic of the grip threatens to exterminate all the Indians of Unalaska. They seem utterly unable to combat the disease, and it is rapidly carrying them off. Official reports from Manila confirm the reports which have reached this country of the existence of the plague and Asiatic cholera in the Philippines. Reports from Arabia state that at Mecca and Medina a plague of cholera has broken out, and hundreds are dying of the disease.