News from Belgium, Nicaragua, and Samar
THE great strike and labor and Socialist demonstrations in Belgium have come to an end. The government refused to grant the desires of the laborers and Socialists in reference to the matter of equal suffrage, and the Socialist and labor leaders counseled their followers not to use violent measures against the government. Work has been resumed by the more than 300,000 strikers, and what threatened to be a civil war against class oppression has been averted. The dissatisfied populace will seek now to obtain its ends by peaceable means, later. Had the people not yielded to the counsels of the cool-headed leaders, a reign of terror would have been inaugurated. As it was, troops were called out in all the cities, and there were many collisions between them and the people, resulting in many deaths and injuries. A TERRIBLE explosion occurred in the capital of Nicaragua on April 16, in which a large two-story barrack was blown to pieces. The building was occupied by soldiers and officers, and was also used as a storehouse for munitions of war, and more than 100 soldiers are reported killed, with a great many injured. The president attributes the explosion to the work of conspirators. The present lowest estimate of the damage to the war supplies and to the buildings in the vicinity is $2,500,000. GEN. JACOB H. SMITH, who has been in command of the troops in the island of Samar, is to be court-martialed at Manila. This action is the outcome of the court-martial of Major Waller of the marine corps, who was accused of shooting natives without trial. It was found that Waller was acting under the orders of General Smith. THE great steel trust known as the United States Steel Corporation has decided to change its purpose from a purely financial concern to an operating and manufacturing company, which will operate directly all the properties now owned and controlled by it. AUTHENTIC reports from New York state that J. Pierpont Morgan has succeeded in combining nearly all the large trans-atlantic steamship companies into one great steamship trust under his supervision. The effect of this mammoth ocean-going combination can not be realized at the present time. It is all working, however, to the one end of combining all industries in the hands of a few men, who will regulate them to their own profit. It is one of the most striking signs of these times. THE rebellion in China continues, though little information concerning its progress is obtainable. The city of Nan-ning, which was reported in the hands of the rebels, is still holding out against them, though surrounded by a considerable army. The total rebel force in this vicinity now numbers 10,000 well-armed men. A despatch from Peking states that there is much uneasiness in that city, owing to the unmistakable anti-foreign feeling among the Chinese troops in northern China. PROFESSOR NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER was installed as president of Columbia University, New York, with imposing ceremonies, on April 19. There were present at the installation ceremonies President Roosevelt, the governor of New York, the mayor of greater New York, presidents of other colleges and universities, generals of the army, United States officials, and leaders in the Catholic Church. THE recent earthquake in the Caucasus Mountains, in which several thousand persons lost their lives, has had a peculiar effect on the beds of the Black and Caspian seas. Ridges of rock have appeared where formerly there were several fathoms of water, and the harbor of Krasnovodsk, from which the Central Asian Railway starts, has been rendered unapproachable by the vessels which used to enter there. THE Russian Minister of the Interior, M. Sipiaguin, was killed on April 15 by a student whom he had punished. He was opposed to all liberal tendencies, and employed the most severe measures for their repression, upholding the views of M. Pobedonostzeff, the chief procurator of the Holy Synod. His successor has already been appointed, and is an adherent of the same imperial policy. THE populace of Helsingfors, Finland, have had two sharp encounters with the Russian soldiers during the week. The people were severely handled at first by the troops, but later the troops received rough treatment themselves at the hands of the people, who fought from the windows of their houses with vitriol, firewood, and stones. Many were hurt on both sides. THE power of the trust is being well illustrated now in the city of New York, where the beef trust is giving an illustration to the people of what it can do in the way of controlling the prices of meat, butter, and eggs. It has been advancing prices steadily during the week on these products, without any apparent reason for the advance except its own wish to increase its own wealth. AT the New York conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at New York City, on April 2, the secretary announced that as the result of the national twentieth-century thank-offering movement, $16,000,000 had already been raised or subscribed for. Church debts had been paid to the amount of $7,500,000, and $6,500,000 had been raised for educational purposes. HUNDREDS of persons are reported to have lost their lives in earthquakes which occurred in Guatemala on April 19 and 20. Quetzaltenango, the second city in importance, was reduced to ruins. The town of Amatitlan was completely destroyed. The disturbance extended into Mexico, and in one city alone the damage is placed at over a million dollars. THE steamer City of Pittsburg was burned on the Ohio River, near Cairo, Illinois, early on the morning of April 20, and fully 100 persons are believed to have lost their lives. Some perished in the flames, and others who jumped into the river were quickly drowned. Within a few minutes after the discovery of the fire, the whole vessel was enveloped in flames. TURKEY has granted a concession for a railroad from Konia, Asia Minor, through the Taurus Mountains, to Nineveh, and down the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates to the Persian Gulf, with branch lines. This will make a direct all-rail route from the Persian Gulf to Constantinople, and will be second in importance only to the great Siberian railway. ON April 16 the Senate substituted the amendment of Senator Platt of Connecticut for the Mitchell-Kahn Chinese exclusion bill, and passed the bill as amended by a vote of 76 to 1. Senator Hoar of Massachusetts was the one man in the Senate who stood opposed to the bill, and voiced his opposition in a vigorous and eloquent speech. MR. J. P. MORGAN is financing a new underground railway system for the city of London which will rival the undertaking of Charles T. Yerkes in the same field. The entrance of these two American millionaires into the transportation business of London is said to be causing much perturbation in England. THE Chinese Government has entered a strong protest against the terms of the Chinese exclusion bill, especially against that portion which proposes the exclusion of the Chinese from the Philippine Islands. GENERAL CHAFFEE is planning a campaign in the island of Mindanao which is giving the officials at Washington much concern, as it is known that the natives of Mindanao are Moslems, who look upon death in battle as the gate to heaven, and who are not well pleased with any interference with their customs and laws. SIX thousand textile workers are now on strike at Vienne, Department of Isere, France, and the resultant distress has led to rioting and other disorders. Troops dispersed the rioters after a sharp conflict. There is a serious strike of dock laborers at Copenhagen, Denmark, which threatens to tie up the trade of that port. THE Cuban reciprocity bill was amended and passed by the House on April 18, after the decision of the chair had been overruled as to the germaneness of the amendment. Sixty-four Republicans voted with the Democrats in amending the bill as it was finally passed. THE city of Bocas del Toro, Colombia, has been taken by the insurgents, and the government is sending re-enforcements to that vicinity to recapture the town. The government is strongly guarding the city of Colon to prevent a successful attack by the rebels on that city. THE city officials of Boston have decided to enforce the Sunday laws in that city, beginning with Sunday, April 20. The orders from police headquarters to the several captains are of the strictest character, and violators are to be haled into court without delay. GENERAL MALVAR has unconditionally surrendered to the American forces in Batangas province, Philippines. He has also ordered the surrender of all insurgents in that province. During the past four months 3,300 rifles have been captured by the Americans. THE street-railway employees of San Francisco went out practically in a body on April 19, resulting in a complete tie-up of the entire system. About 3,500 men, all told, are involved in the strike. The principal demand of the strikers is for a higher rate of wages. THE United States consul at Canton, China, cables the State Department at Washington that “whole villages on the banks of the North River, in the vicinity of Shick-wanfu, are devastated by smallpox, and Fat-shan is suffering from cholera and plague.” THE American army officer sent to New Orleans to investigate the charge that a British army camp was being maintained near New Orleans, has reported on the matter, and it is expected that Great Britain will be requested to discontinue the camp. THE United States Supreme Court has granted leave to the State of Washington to file an injunction against the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railway companies, to prevent the merging of the two companies into a railway trust. THE Boer generals who have been in conference at Pretoria in the interests of peace have returned to their commands to submit their proposals to the men in the field. It is confidently expected that peace will be restored in the near future. A REPORT from Nicaragua states that leprosy is so prevalent in the western part of that country that parents are being warned against allowing their children to run upon the streets, for fear of coming in contact with leprous persons. ANOTHER clash has occurred on the Bulgarian frontier between Turkish troops and Bulgarians, in which several men were killed. Some of the Bulgarians engaged wore the uniform of the Bulgarian army. THE census bureau figures that the area of the United States and its insular possessions aggregates 3,690,822 square miles, which makes it the fifth among the nations in point of size. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER is reported to have given $1,000,000 to the cause of education in the South. The gift is to be used for the better education of both white and negro. THE result of the spring clean-up in the Klondike mining country is estimated to be the largest in the history of mining in that region. It is now placed at $30,000,000. THERE has been a heavy decline in the price of silver during the week, owing, it is said, to China's selling of silver in order to pay her indemnity instalment in gold. THE result of the special election recently held in the Hawaiian Islands seems to have been an indorsement of the present administration of the island affairs. QUEEN WILHELMINA, of Holland, is dangerously ill of typhoid fever, and there is much anxiety in Holland over the outcome of the attack. THE crops of Kansas for the coming season are being greatly damaged, if not ruined, by the prevalence of hot, dry winds. THE import duty on grain shipped into Great Britain continues to send up the price of grain.