European News and the Boer Campaign
The Russian press, in articles evidently inspired by the Russian Government, holds out the threat that in case the tariff war continues, Russia may lay a heavy import tax upon still other classes of American goods. Thus the work of the trusts in influencing legislation to keep up the price of sugar will bring a heavy hardship on many other American industries, and may lead to a general tariff war against America on the part of European countries. Such a state of affairs was foreshadowed several years ago when the first suggestion was made of a European combination against America, and the suggestion seems now in a fair way to become a fact. The Boers under General De Wet have made several desperate attempts during the week to escape from the water belt of the Orange and Brak Rivers, but have been unsuccessful. It is reported that General De Wet escaped across the river in a boat with a handful of followers. General French is said to be driving before him a considerable number of small companies of Boers, having defeated them in several small engagements, and captured a considerable number of prisoners, with a large amount of ammunition, many horses, trek oxen, cattle, sheep, and wagons. The burghers seem to be hard pressed in a number of localities. Lucie Faure, daughter of the late president of France, has secured the financial support of the French Government for a great children's exposition, to be opened May 1, under the auspices of the French aristocracy. Everything pertaining to childhood is to be represented, artificial brooders, kindergartens, infant gymnastics, rational feeding, toys, home training, and amusements. Exhibits are to be sent from the different countries. Two of the great art palaces erected for the exposition of 1900 will be occupied by the children's fair. So much pressure has been brought to bear upon the promoters of the great steel and iron trust by congressmen that the corporation is reported to have abandoned its first plans of consolidation; but the several companies, tho maintaining their respective organizations, will still be under the control of one organization. The companies which were to have been consolidated will now be “harmonized” instead, and the same object will be attained, but in a way more difficult of legislative control or interference. The power of the moneyed trust is fast becoming supreme in this country. Father McKinnon, of Manila, has given out thru the Associated Press a statement to the effect that the Federal party of the Philippines is merely a cloak for Protestant attempts to weaken the power of the Church of Rome in the islands, and accuses the Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries of using unfair means to induce the Filipinos to leave the Catholic Church. Father McKinnon declares that only by securing the good-will of the priests can Americans make permanent progress in the Philippines. The Cuban Constitutional Convention has completed its work, and delivered to General Wood a copy of the Cuban constitution as drawn up by that body. This document will be translated and forwarded to Washington at once for ratification. The belief is quite general that the constitution as it now stands will not be ratified, as the United States is demanding greater rights of interference in Cuban affairs than the Cubans wish to grant. The Russian police continue to make arrests of students in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kieff, and Odessa, and the military are put at the service of the rectors of the various universities for the purpose of quelling any revolutionary demonstrations among the students. The great mass of the students of these institutions are said to be imbued with republican and revolutionary principles, and a number of arrests are made daily. The great ice trust, in order to maintain the high price of ice, has decided not to harvest any ice on either the Penobscot or Kennebec Rivers this winter. On this account, about 12,000 men and 4,000 horses usually employed in the harvesting of ice on these rivers are idle; and the overseers of the poor in every city and town within the zones usually influenced by the cutting of ice, are receiving many appeals for assistance. One of the most important astronomical events of recent years is the discovery of a new star, which has, within a few days, advanced in brightness from the tenth to the first magnitude. The new star is located in the constellation Perseus. A map of that constellation will enable one to detect quite readily the presence of the stranger. The cause of the sudden appearance of this luminous body is not known. The Senate on February 23 passed a bill making available the appropriation of $5,000,000 for the Louisiana-Purchase Exposition, to be held at St. Louis in 1903. The bill was amended so as to provide an appropriation of $250,000 for a government exhibit at the Charleston Exposition, to be held next December. Before the bill was passed, amendments were adopted closing both expositions on Sunday. Complete reports of the exports of the United States during the year 1900 show that America stands at the head as an exporting nation, having risen from the fourth place during the past 25 years. The amount of the exports of the larger exporting nations for the year 1900 are as follows: United States, $1,453,013,659; Great Britain, $1,418,348,000; Germany, $1,050,611,000; and France, $787,060,000. On account of Russia's systematic work of Russianizing Finland, Helsingfors went into mourning on February 18, the anniversary of the czar's manifesto in regard to Finland. Black sheets were hung in the streets, and black curtains draped in the windows, while the monument of Alexander II. was draped in mourning. Many of the Finns are emigrating on account of the action of Russia. A bill declaring that all saloons in which liquor is sold illegally are public nuisances passed the Kansas Legislature on February 22. The “Nation” raids continue in Kansas, and several persons have been hurt in the attacks on the saloons. One woman, the wife of a saloon-keeper, was shot and instantly killed in a saloon raid at Leavenworth, February 18. A murder trial in Anderson County, South Carolina, has developed the fact that practical negro slavery still exists in a portion of that county. This bondage is shrouded under the convict lease system, and many negroes have been sent into these convict camps on trumped-up charges, losing their liberty for long periods. As a result of the failure of crops in the Apulia district, Italy, there is great misery among the peasantry. Thousands of persons are said to be without shelter or bread. In some places the peasants have assailed the authorities with stones and other missiles, and troops have been sent to preserve order. Tens of thousands are said to be starving in the famine-stricken districts of Russia. Southwestern Russia and the provinces east of the Volga are equally destitute, and for months many of the inhabitants have been subsisting on roots, herbs, and grasses, and are now dying of sheer starvation. The attempt to amend the Post-office Appropriation Bill so as to cut down the amount paid the railways for transportation of the mails was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 51 to 18. This is regarded as another great victory for the railways, at the expense of the postal facilities of the country. The bones of two monster dinosaurs, or giant prehistoric lizards, have been found near Sturgis, South Dakota, on the Fort Mead reservation. From the length and size of the bones found, the animals are supposed to have been 80 and 60 feet long respectively. Three Indian mummies, which are thought to be about 400 years old, were recently received by the Smithsonian Institute from Peru. One of the mummy packages has been opened, and in addition to the mummy contained a fine specimen of old Indian pottery. The rebellion in Venezuela, instead of subsiding, is showing signs of increased activity. The leader is being assisted by General Hernandez and the supporters of ex-President Andrade. The whole interior of the country is reported to be at the mercy of the rebels. The Japanese official organ recently published a recommendation of the Japanese Bureau of Education to the effect that Japanese words be written in Roman characters. The Roman letters are henceforth to be used in all grades of Japanese schools. The trust wave has struck Mexico, and capitalists are planning the combination of a number of Mexico's large industrial concerns. These concerns include the breweries, the cotton mills, cigarette factories, and soap factories. Russia's quick retaliation for America's increased tariff on Russian sugar is creating some consternation in Germany, where it is feared that similar action will be taken by Russia in regard to imports from Germany. The consular representatives of Italy and Uruguay at Manila are under suspicion of having carried on dealings with the insurgents, and the accusations against them are being investigated by the authorities there. An international company has been formed whose object is to monopolize the trade of China. It is understood that King Leopold is the secret promoter of this gigantic financial undertaking. Great destitution is reported among the natives of Alaska, especially along the lower Yukon, where the death rate has been very high, owing to weakened constitutions thru long privation. Signor Marconi has established wireless telegraph stations on the Isle of Wight and the Lizzard, 200 miles apart, and perfect communication has been established over this distance. A disastrous fire occurred in the Diamondville coal mine, near Kemmer, Wyoming, on February 25. Thirty-six miners and 15 horses met their death in the burning coal mine. A clash of arms has occurred on the border between Haiti and San Domingo. Efforts are being made by the consuls of the two States to put an end to the fighting. Another great oil strike is reported from Texas, near El Paso. Oil experts declare that this new oil field will be one of the largest producers in the country. A new hot-water geyser is reported to have broken out in the Yellowstone National Park. The new geyser plays at regular intervals of about two hours. A party of astronomers left New York on February 24 for Sumatra, to take observations of the eclipse of the sun, which occurs on May 17. A donor who withholds his name has given to the Harvard University $500,000 for the building and equipping of an architects' building. The Senate, by a vote of 42 to 18, has rejected the anti-hazing bill, which was designed to prevent the practise of hazing in military academies. Twelve persons were killed and 30 injured in a railway collision at Rustings, New Jersey, February 22.