Freedom of Conscience in Russia
It is refreshing once in a while to see a man brave enough to stand for right and truth in the midst of the most dangerous opposition. Such was the stand recently taken by M. A. Stahkovich, marshal of the province of Orel, at a missionary congress in the city of Orel, Russia. Stahkovich boldly preached freedom of conscience, toleration of the dissidents, and other “heresies” with which Russian nobles and officials are popularly supposed not to be tainted. His speech has been printed in a paper more courageous than the rest, and has called forth a storm of protests from the orthodox priests, and from the whole official press. This Russian pioneer of liberty of conscience is a member of the orthodox church, and evidently has faith in it; for he declares that it is strong enough to stand without the help of the police. But he avowed that the time had come to permit everybody to preach and seek salvation after his own fashion. The present system of conversion he held to be barbarous and worse than useless. FRANCE is adding many new ships to her navy. At the launching of the cruiser Leon Gambetta, on October 26, the minister of marine declared that this vessel was one of a contingent of upwards of 100 war-ships building or to be built, each of which will possess perfect fighting qualities. He declared that soon France’s navy would make her as safe on the sea as her numerous solid battalions now make her on the continent of Europe. But each of the great nations is now preparing in just the same way, both on sea and land, and national safety is not increased in the least, but rather diminished; for as each nation increases her defenses by land and sea, she will consider herself in less danger when provoking another nation. THE War Department is preparing to submit to Congress a great mass of testimony in favor of the restoration of the army canteen. The department will contend that the abolition of the canteen has been productive of much evil; all this in spite of the recently published report of the highest officer in the regular army, General Miles, who declares that the abolition of the canteen has been productive of great good. Thousands of petitions are being sent in to Washington, protesting against the restoration of the canteen until the present law has been given a fair trial. REPORTS from China indicate that the feelings of the people are in a very unsettled condition. Many foreigners claim that within three or four years, five at the most, there will be a renewal of the Boxer troubles on a much larger scale. Disturbances of considerable proportions have broken out in different places. Some of these have been put down by imperial troops with considerable loss of life. A HIGH official of Russia has recently given out the statement that Russia and Japan had arrived at an understanding in regard to the integrity of Korea, which they hope will remove all possibility of war between these two nations. According to this agreement, each of these powers is to respect the present boundaries and the sovereignty of Korea, making of it a sort of buffer State between them. THE system of fortifications planned for the Straits of Fuca, at the entrance to Puget Sound, is now nearly completed. The fortifications consist of commanding towers, each of which is provided with a system of mirrors so adjusted as to reflect on a chart the exact position of any vessel entering the straits. This enables the gunners to train their guns on any vessel coming within range. THE Supreme Court of Montana has handed down its decision in a case involving the legality of discrimination against the product of non-union labor in the giving out of contracts for public supplies. The Supreme Court in this decision overrules the decision of the lower court, and declares that such discrimination against the product of non-union labor is illegal. THE Navy Department’s estimate of expenses for the coming year, amounting to $98,910,984, is nearly $21,000,000 greater than for the present year. In this matter of expense the American navy exceeds all others except that of England, which for the present year amounts to $149,755,620; but England’s navy is about three times as large as that of this country. MISS ELLEN M. STONE is still in the hands of her abductors, somewhere in the mountains on the border between Turkey and Bulgaria. It has been rumored that the brigands have killed their captive, but the report is not considered authentic. Every effort has been made to get into communication with the captors, but nothing so far has been achieved. CRIME is rapidly increasing in British India, probably due to the impoverished condition of the people in the districts stricken by the famine. There are 92,000 more criminals in prison in British India at the present time than there were one year ago. A VERITABLE panic is reported among the people of Teheran, Persia, owing to the discovery of a plot to assassinate the shah, a plot in which his own relatives were concerned, together with the revolutionary party and many of the higher priests. The priests and the members of the revolutionary party involved are to be executed. THE great strike of French miners has not yet materialized, the government having warned the strike committee that in case they ordered a strike under present conditions, each of them would be liable to indictment for inciting civil war, and that the government would prosecute if necessary. ITALY is making strenuous efforts to rid certain portions of the country of malaria. The swamps and fever-stricken districts are to be drained, and mosquito-netting furnished for the doors and windows of the houses of the workingmen. Malaria has been one of Italy’s most persistent plagues. ON October 26, General Weyler, Spain’s minister of war, virtually declared that a dictatorship might soon be declared in Spain, with himself as dictator. The speech created a sensation in the Chamber of Deputies, where it was delivered, and has occupied much of the public attention since. ON October 23, Yale University conferred upon President Roosevelt the degree of Doctor of Laws. Many other men, well known in public life, were granted degrees by that institution on the same day. This was one of the features of Yale’s celebration of her two-hundredth anniversary. LEON F. CZOLGOSZ, assassin of President McKinley, was electrocuted at the New York State prison at Auburn on the morning of October 29. His body was buried in quicklime and acid in the prison cemetery, and everything belonging to him will be destroyed in the prison. A CONFLICT occurred between whites and negroes at Balltown, Louisiana, on October 28, in which nine negroes and one white person were killed, and a number seriously wounded. Much excitement followed the shooting, and many armed men hurried to the scene. THE Pan-American Congress, which is composed of delegates from all the nations of North and South America, was formally opened in the City of Mexico on October 23. That evening all the delegates and their families were made the guests of the president of Mexico. ADMIRAL SCHLEY has completed his testimony before the naval court of inquiry, and his cross-examination was taken up by the judge advocate on October 28. There are still several witnesses to testify in his behalf, and a number who will testify in rebuttal. GENERAL SIR REDVERS BULLER, who commanded the English army in Natal during the operations around Ladysmith, has been retired from the English army, because of certain remarks which he made recently at a luncheon given in his honor. A DESPATCH from Kentucky states that Caleb Powers, ex-Secretary of State, has been again convicted of complicity in the murder of Governor William E. Goebel in January, 1900, and has been sentenced to imprisonment for life. ON October 24 a woman went through the whirlpool rapids of the Niagara River and over the falls in a specially constructed barrel. She came through alive, but was much bruised and strained by the terrible force of the water. BRITISH papers which last year took a position in opposition to the abrogation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, are now quoted as favoring such abrogation, in order to facilitate the building of the Nicaragua Canal. A BIG steel trust is now in process of formation in England, which will have a capitalization of $200,000,000. This combination will completely control the manufacture of rails in Great Britain. IN view of the continued activity in Cuba over the question of annexation to the United States, the Cuban question is bound to absorb much of the attention of the coming Congress. IT is now reported that King Edward’s condition is very grave; that he is suffering from cancer of the throat, and has submitted to several operations, which have given little relief. ARIZONA is now putting forth strenuous efforts for recognition of her right to statehood. The question of granting her statehood will probably come up in the next Congress. THE army transport Sheridan, with over a thousand soldiers on board, was disabled between Manila and Nagasaki, Japan, and has put into that place for repairs. NINETEEN persons lost their lives in a destructive fire at Philadelphia on October 25, and property valued at $500,000 was also destroyed by the flames. A REPORT from Mexico indicates that the Yaqui Indians are again on the warpath, and are preparing to make raids upon unprotected settlements. AT Brousa, near the Sea of Marmora, the water rose suddenly on the night of October 22, drowning 80 persons and destroying 776 houses. ACCORDING to a despatch from Vienna, 23 persons have been eaten by wolves while working in the fields near Wilebsk, Poland.