SECULAR | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 19, 1888

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 14, No. 40.

SECULAR.

—Snow fell in Montreal October 9 to a depth of 5.8 inches.

—The steamer Baltic sunk at her dock in Liverpool October 9.

—Petrel, the first war-ship built in Baltimore, was launched the 13th inst.

—The official bulletin up to October 13 shows total number of cases of yellow fever in Jacksonville as 3,536; deaths, 311.

—The first labor trouble on the Northern Pacific occurred October 13, when all the yardmen went out on a strike for higher wages.

—Over $100,000 were raised in New York and Brooklyn for the yellow fever sufferers, besides $50,000 which passed through Mayor Hewitt’s hands.

—It is stated that the Italian Government is unearthing a huge Socialist conspiracy. It has been decided to greatly increase the strength of the expedition for the relief of Emin Bey.

—Twenty thousand Yorkshire colliers have given notice that they will strike unless ten per cent. advance in wages is granted them. Fifty thousand more will probably follow their example.

—Three dhows, having 204 slaves on board, were captured recently off Mocha by the British man-of-war, Osprey. The captain and four slaves were killed before the slavers surrendered.

—A secular paper says: “There are 40,000 unemployed men in Chicago. And in face of this the cardrivers strike! Labor organizations, it appears, can only learn wisdom by bitter experience.”

—The Cincinnati and St. Louis Express after leaving Washington at 10:45 P. M. October 6, came in collision with the East bound freight train near Dickerson. Three train men were killed and six injured.

—In one hundred years the population under the rule of Great Britain has increased from 35,000,000 to 330,000,000 people. The territorial extent of its dominion is estimated to be 10,000,000 square miles.

—A passenger and a freight train collided on an Ohio road near Massillon, October 11. Both engines, two passenger coaches, and several cars were completely wrecked. Four men were injured, two of them fatally.

—Lord Salisbury, under pressure of the Canadian Government, has instructed the British minister at Washington to protest against President Cleveland’s retaliation message as an act of hostility toward a friendly Government.

—A biography, relating solely to the domestic life of the late Emperor Frederick of Germany, the authorship of which is accredited to his wife, will soon be published in London. The profits are to be devoted to the hospital for the treatment of diseases of the throat.

—A disastrous fire along the New York wharf, the 11th inst., burned several vessels, loaded with oil and naptha, and destroyed warehouses along the dock. Four firemen and a laborer were badly burned in consequence of an explosion. Total loss is estimated at $365,000.

—A terrible railway accident occurred October 10, on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, at Mud Run, Pa. A large excursion train was run in sections from Wilkesbarre and other points along the line to Hazelton. On the return trip a rear section ran into a forward section. Several cars were telescoped. Eighty persons were killed outright, and it is estimated that twice as many were injured.

—The British steamer Wensledale was detained October 11 opposite Hospital Islands, N. Y., on account of the illness of most of its crew with chagres fever. The captain died of the fever September 22. The vessel is filthy, and the sufferers seemingly have received little care.

—The steamer Queen, of the National Line, came in collision with the fishing schooner Madeline, off the banks of Newfoundland, October 5, cutting her in two. She sank immediately; the crew were asleep in their bunks, and only those on deck were rescued. Twenty persons perished.

—Dr. William Pepper, consulting physician during the last illness of the late General Sheridan, refuses to render a bill, but desires that his services should be regarded only as an expression of the deep and lasting obligation which he, in common with all others, owed to General Sheridan.

—Since 1871 there have been about seventy vessels wrecked in the Arctic waters. The Government vessels since cruising there have rescued over 400 men. There are over 2,000 men employed in the Arctic whaleships; but there is not a doctor among them to apply to in case of serious need.

—On account of the recent advance in wheat, the local bakers of Chicago and New York have decided to raise the price of bread one cent per loaf. According to one baker’s estimate, 10,000 barrels of flour a week less will be consumed in New York so long as the prevailing stringency continues.

—The greatest depth measured in the ocean exceeds 27,000 feet, and it has been estimated that the mean depth is about 12,500 feet. About 5 per cent. of the ocean area is less than 600 feet in depth, and a somewhat smaller proportion more than 18,000 feet. About 17 per cent. is less than 3,000 feet.

—The Genesee Conference, at Rochester, N. Y., after a heated debate, adopted resolutions disapproving high license by a vote of 132 to 58. Strong resolutions pledging the Conference to abstain from political action of any kind, or influencing members of churches in political action, were adopted unanimously.

—Four German frigates lying in the Bay of Naples for the purpose of firing a salute in honor of Emperor William upon his arrival there, received orders to proceed instantly to Zanzibar, to protect German residents, whose lives and property are endangered by a rising among the natives. They carry 1,630 men and 66 guns.

—In the Bohemian Diet at Prague, Count Thun, German Conservative, expressed the hope that Emperor Francis Joseph would signalize the fortieth year of his reign by crowning himself king of Bohemia. The suggestion caused a sensation. Vienna papers in comments on the matter do not approve the suggestion.

—The vineyards of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties are infested with a disease that baffles the skill of the most expert viticulturists, and threatens to destroy the vineyards. The leaves and the fruit are both shriveled up, and a microscopic examination shows a plentiful growth of fungus on both stalks and leaves.

—An increase in the corn crop of 1888 over that of 1887 will be produced almost entirely in the seven great corn States, viz.: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. The total for the seven States is 1,435,184,859, as compared with 780,425,000, the yield reported by the department of agriculture for 1887, or a gain of 654,759,858 bushels. Assuming that the crop in other States will be equal to that reported for last year by the department, viz., 675,736,000 bushels, the total corn crop of 1888 will be 2,110,920,858 bushels.

—At Reading, Pa., the ceremonies attending the laying of the corner-stone of St. Mary’s Polish Catholic Church, were interrupted by a serious accident. A temporary floor had been laid across the joists and walls of the new edifice, upon which about one thousand people were crowded. The newly constructed walls suddenly gave way, one-fourth of the floor fell, and two hundred people were precipitated to the ground, a distance of eighteen feet. Fully two hours expired before the wounded could be extricated and cared for. One hundred and sixty are on the list of the injured.

—The street-car strikers of Chicago declared a few days after the inception of the strike that cars would not be permitted to run until their demands were met. Several conflicts have occurred between the strikers and the police. The efforts toward a settlement have proved fruitless. The command to the strikers is to “see that no cars go out of the barn,” while the chief of police declares, “We shall meet force with force and the cars will be run.” One man succeeded in driving a car through a frenzied mob; but when he reached the barn, his jaw was broken, one cheek cut open, one eye closed, and the backs of both hands were cut to the bone.