Railroad Suits and Persian Gulf Rivalry
SUITS have been instituted in the courts of Ohio to revoke the charters of five of the large railroad companies of that State because of violation of the State laws forbidding railroad combinations in restraint of trade and the consolidation of parallel lines of railway. The properties against which suit has been brought are believed to be practically controlled by the great Morgan syndicate. It is charged that they have conspired together to limit the production of coal while increasing the price of shipment and the cost to the consumer; that they have conspired together to fix a common and high standard of freight rates; and that they are paying taxes on a valuation of less than $5,000,000, whereas their property really amounts to more than $45,000,000. THERE seems to be a prospect of friction between Russia and England over the operation of Russian and British war-ships in the Persian Gulf. An English man-of-war has sustained the sheik of Koweit in his claim of independence from Turkish rule, and Russian naval officers are making friends with the sultan of Muscat. Koweit, at the upper end of the Persian Gulf, is the proposed terminus of a railroad from Bagdad, which England wishes to control; but if Russia controls Muscat, she will control the entrance to the Persian Gulf, and therefore practically control the railroad terminus at Koweit. Thus it can readily be seen how antagonistic are the plans and aspirations of the two nations, and how easily war might be provoked. GERMANY announces that she has sent no ultimatum to Venezuela, but she is preparing to enforce her demands. It is expected that she will seize one or more of Venezuela’s ports, and collect customs for the satisfaction of her claim. It is feared that other nations which have claims against Venezuela will follow Germany’s example in collecting them. The government at Washington has made it plain that no acquisition of territory in Venezuela would be tolerated. The revolution in Venezuela is reported to be gaining ground. THERE has been much satisfaction in Italy over the report that Argentina and Chile had agreed to the arbitration of their differences, as Italy would have been bound to support Argentina, and unpleasant international complications might have arisen. Orders had already been issued to prepare a strong squadron for operations in South American waters. But the danger of a conflict in South America still exists because of Argentina’s final refusal to agree to the protocol. THE first submarine cable to surrender to wireless telegraphy is that lying between Rome and Sardinia. Its use will shortly be discontinued, as the 200 kilometers of sea between Rome and the island has been successfully traversed by wireless messages. THE city of St. Louis has instituted a court of inquiry into the cause of the recent death of thirteen school-children who had been inoculated for the prevention of diphtheria. The janitor of the Health Department, who had charge of dispensing the serum, has confessed that he gave out the dangerous serum containing the tetanus germs. His excuse was that there was no more of the diphtheria antitoxin on hand, and he did not suppose that the tetanus serum would kill children. THE news from South Africa indicates that peace is a long way off in that part of the world. There has been a revival of Boer activity. General Botha and General De Wet are both in the field, and small engagements are numerous. At Tafelkop, on December 20, the British lost 32 men killed and 40 wounded. A British camp at Zeefontein was rushed by the Boers on December 24, and the casualties were 61 killed and 54 wounded, and 245 were made prisoners. STRONG opposition has been manifested in Washington against the application of the Dingley tariff rates between the Philippines and the United States, and it is thought that the bill will be amended when it is taken up in the Senate, and a lower rate established. Much opposition has also been developed against the provision to allow foreign ships to carry passengers and merchandise between the islands and domestic ports. ASSASSINATION and pillaging of villages and outraging of inhabitants have so increased recently in Macedonia that the consuls have been forced to appeal to their respective embassies for protection for the people. The foreign ministers have made earnest representations to the sultan in regard to the danger of permitting such acts to continue, as their continuance would result in the interference of the nations of Europe. ITALY is again making representations to the United States to have the Federal statutes so extended as to protect foreigners residing in the various States. As it is now, the Federal Government has no jurisdiction over the cases of foreigners killed in the several States, and foreign governments are not allowed by the Federal Government to exact justice from the individual States. THE railroad combination of the Northwest, fearing the public sentiment which is rapidly forming against the combination, has decided to make a general and material cut in the freight rates in that section of the country. This action is taken to forestall, if possible, adverse action on the part of the people, which might result in legally tying up the roads. THE lack of a sufficient number of cars to transport the products of mills along the Allegheny Valley has resulted in the closing down of a number of the largest steel mills, throwing thousands of employees out of employment. It is reported that $3,000,000 worth of the finished products of these mills is piled up in the yards awaiting transportation. THE Zionist Conference opened in Basel, Switzerland, on December 26, with over 1,000 delegates from the various countries of the world. The president of the conference declared that the sultan looks with approval upon the aims of the Zionist movement, and that he himself has absolute confidence in its ultimate success. THE great Diamond Match Company is planning to control the world’s trade in matches. It is reported to have secured already a practical control of the match business of the United States, England, and South America. The principal portion of the stock is in the hands of Edwin Gould, who proposes to monopolize the industry. THE directors of the Panama Canal Company have decided to make a new offer to the American Government for the sale of that canal. The Walker Commission appraised the value of the work done on that waterway at $40,000,000. It is reported that the company will offer their canal to this government at that figure. THE new ameer of Afghanistan, at a recent meeting of his chiefs, declared his intention of following the policy of his father in guarding the country against foreign aggression, and in preventing the introduction of railroads, telegraphs, European trade, and education by missionaries. THE new battle-ship Missouri was launched at the yards of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company, on December 28. The Missouri is a sister ship of the Ohio and the Maine, and her contract price is $2,885,000. Her speed is to be 18 knots, and she will carry 551 officers and men. STORMS and floods have brought disaster to several large salmon-packing firms along the Fraser River in British Columbia. The entire plants of some have been destroyed, and many thousands of dollars’ worth of canned salmon were carried away in the rushing water. IN the great race for commercial supremacy, English writers and speakers are reported to be voicing the fear that unless something is done soon, England is bound to be relegated to third place as a commercial nation, being outstripped by the United States and Germany. AT Allentown, Penn., on December 23, an electric car left the track on a sharp curve, killing six persons. RAILROAD building in the United States during 1901 has been more extensive than for any year since 1890; the amount constructed during the year just closed was 5,057 miles of line. The total railroad mileage of this country is now 199,370 miles. TWENTY Japanese were drowned at Point Roberts, B. C., on December 28, by the washing away of a boarding-house in which they were staying. Other fatalities are reported along the flooded streams in that part of the dominion. FOUR hundred men are reported to have been killed in an engagement between insurgents and government troops of Colombia near Honda on December 19. The insurgents attacked the garrison of Honda and were repulsed. A DESPATCH from China states that a missionary and a number of native converts have been massacred at Ning Sha Fu, in Kan-su province. It is reported that the troops of General Tung Fu Hsiang are responsible for the massacre. MINOR engagements continue in the Philippines. In one of these engagements Company E, 9th Infantry, lost 7 men killed and a number wounded. The murder of friendly natives continues at the hands of the armed Filipinos. ARGENTINA has repudiated the action of her minister in signing a protocol with Chile by which it was hoped trouble would be averted. Both republics continue energetically preparing for war, tho both claim to be hoping for peace. IT has been authoritatively announced at Washington that Governor Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa, has been appointed Secretary of the Treasury to succeed Lyman J. Gage. The change will be made some time in January. THE governors and attorneys-general of the Northwestern States met at Helena, Montana, on December 30, to lay plans for bringing legal action to prohibit the consolidation of the northwestern railways. THE banks of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston will pay out in dividends at the beginning of the new year more than $200,000,000, the largest amount ever disbursed by those institutions for that purpose. MANUFACTURERS’ statistics show that 1,500,000 gallons of rum are manufactured in the United States each year. Of this amount 600,000 gallons go to Africa to debase and destroy the native races. THE threatened tariff war between Russia and Germany will probably be averted by Germany’s yielding to the protests of Russia over the grain duties which Germany proposed to establish. THE civil governor of the Philippines has declared the ratio between American coin and the Mexican silver in use in the islands now to be $2.10 Mexican for $1.00 in American gold. A REPORT from Michigan states that practically the entire peach crop of Southern Michigan has been destroyed by frost. The loss is said to represent about $1,000,000. THE Congress of Peru has dissolved without sanctioning the treaty of arbitration with Bolivia over the question of the boundary between those two countries. A NUMBER of young Catholic priests are coming to America to be tutored by Archbishop Chapelle preparatory to going to the Philippines to take the place of the friars. THE daily press recorded a large number of murders and suicides on Christmas day, the former generally due to drinking and the latter to despondency. THE entire creosoting plant of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company located near Houston, Texas, was destroyed by fire on December 24, loss $100,000. IN spite of the panic in Wall Street last May, the year’s business of the New York Stock Exchange is reported to be nearly double that of last year. GOVERNOR JOHN R. ROGERS, of Washington, died very suddenly at Olympia, Washington, on December 26, from an attack of pneumonia. THE severe storm which visited the Puget Sound country Christmas night is reported to have caused damage to the amount of $300,000. CAPTAIN RICHARD P. LEARY, first American governor of the island of Guam, died of heart failure at Chelsea, Mass., on December 27. THE municipal authorities of Denver have ordered the summary closing of all the pool-rooms and bucket-shops of that city. IN a waterspout which burst over Safi, Morocco, on December 29, it is reported that 200 persons lost their lives.