p. 607 | SECULAR | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 31, 1893

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 38.

SECULAR.

—A fire in Susanville, Lassen County, Cal., on the 19th inst., destroyed property to the value of $250,000.

—The rolling mills and iron mines of the Oxford Iron and Nail Company, Belvidere, N. J., have been closed, which leaves 350 men out of employment.

—Governor Markham has appointed Ex-Governor George C. Perkins U. S. Senator from California to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Leland Stanford.

—At Priceburg, Pennsylvania, on the 23d inst., a race conflict between Hungarian and Polish miners resulted in three deaths and over thirty contestants injured. Whisky was the cause.

—Rumor says that President Hill, of the Great Northern Railroad, is making arrangements in London for steamer connections between his Pacific Coast terminals and all Asiatic points.

—The first financial effect of the new German Army Bill is the resignation of Von Moltzhan, secretary of the imperial treasury. The added load on the treasury seems to have been too heavy for his faith.

—A late decision of the U. S. Supreme Court holds that all shippers must be treated by carriers with absolute equality. It also recognizes the right of law-making bodies to regulate railways through commissions.

—At Wier City, Kansas, on the 20th inst., a number of striking miners, together with their wives, attacked some miners while at work. A fierce fight ensued, in which several persons on both sides were severely injured.

—A fire near Althlone, in Merced County, this State, on the 17th inst., destroyed the grain fields of three ranches, amounting in all to 1,200 acres. The flames jumped the Chowchilla Creek at a point where its banks are 200 feet apart.

—A great fire occurred on the 21st inst. in Long Island City, N. Y. It is said that more than 100 families are left homeless. The property loss is estimated at $800,000. A new Catholic Church, which cost $300,000, was destroyed.

—Although there have been 200 national bank failures since January 1, there is no loss to the government, as each national bank that is a government depository has to deposit U. S. bonds to the amount of the government money it is allowed to carry.

—The trial of Heath for the murder of Lawyer McWhirter, which has caused so much excitement in Fresno, Cal., for the past six weeks, ended in a disagreement of the jury,—eleven standing for conviction of murder and one for manslaughter. There will be another trial.

—A Rome dispatch of the 17th inst. says: "It is stated here on good authority that Germany has intimated to the Vatican that no official opposition will be made in the Reichstag to the Centrists' proposals looking to the adoption of a law allowing the return to Germany of the Catholic religious orders."

—Prospectors report the discovery of the ruins of an ancient temple on the Colorado Desert, in San Diego County, Cal. The character of the carved columns and the specimens of pottery found indicate a higher degree of artistic skill than that possessed by any of the aborigines now known in history.

—The government has instructed the collector at New York that the certificates of the Chinese Consul there are not to be any longer received as proof in identifying Chinese merchants who may go away and desire to return. The reason is that so many of such certificates are used for fraudulent purposes.

—U. S. Senator Peffer, the only Populist member of that body, is making a tour of the Pacific States in connection with his duty as a member of the Committee on Agriculture. He is making a personal inspection of the condition and prospects in the Western States. Other members of the committee are inspecting other sections.

—The present status of the French-Siamese difficulty does not augur a peaceful solution. Siam has declined the French demands, and the latter refused to grant further time for negotiations. It is said that China will assist Siam, and it is further rumored that England is behind China. The territory demanded by France embraces 95,000 square miles.

—The Rio Grande do Sul rebellion in Brazil manifests prolonged vitality. A dispatch of the 22d inst. announces an important battle, with the defeat of the government troops and the death of their commanding officer, General Soares. Brazil is assuming a hostile attitude toward Uruguay, because of the encouragement the rebels are said to receive from the people of that government.

—It is now conceded in government circles that the experiment of making soldiers of the Western Indians is not a success. The idea of improving the red man's condition by enlisting him in the army is pronounced by the authorities "a flat failure." It is a mystery how it ever could have been thought otherwise, as experience ought to have shown that becoming a soldier was never known to improve anybody.

—The Supreme Court of Minnesota, in a recent decision, says: "This is the age of associations and labor unions. Confined to their proper limits they are not only lawful but laudable. Carried beyond these limits they are liable to become dangerous agencies for wrong and oppression. Beyond what limits these combinations cannot go without interfering with the legal rights of others is a problem which the courts will doubtless be frequently called to pass upon."

—Not only Denver, but all Colorado, is suffering from a financial panic. Last week the banks of the capital city experienced an unprecedented run, and about a dozen of them were obliged to close. But this is not the worst of the situation, for the run was probably precipitated by an unwarranted fright on the part of depositors. The worst thing for the State is the low price of silver, which has caused the closing of most of the mines. Private letters to this office from patrons indicate that business in the mining towns is at a standstill. A Leadville merchant, in countermanding an order for books, writes: "My reason is because the sudden drop in our only resource, silver, has closed all our mines and smelters. Everybody is out of employment and the condition of things here is deplorable, in fact, many people are in want. I was therefore compelled to cancel all my orders as I knew business would be dead." The Denver people expect that at least 30,000 idle men will be congregated there as a public charge, and the railroads are being asked for a $5.00 rate to the Missouri River, where the men may be shipped to probable employment. It is estimated that Colorado, Utah, Montana, and New Mexico merchants have countermanded orders for goods in New York to the amount of $12,000,000.