News and Notes by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 26, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 17.

News and Notes.

By Editor

FOR THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 19.

RELIGIOUS.

—It is said that the Christian Endeavor movement is growing with astonishing rapidity in Ireland, but as yet there are no societies in Germany.

—The Catholic Mirror notes the fact that Protestants admit that New England, once the stronghold of Puritanism, is now practically controlled by Catholics.

—Of the population of Ireland 77 per cent. are Catholic. County Clare has less than 3,000 people who are not Catholics. Presbyterianism claims 9 per cent. of the entire population, and Methodism less than 1 per cent.

—It is said that Bishop Horstman, of Cleveland, Ohio, has, within sixteen months, confirmed 30,000 persons who were born Catholics, and 900 converts within the territory of his diocese, which is less than one-third of the State.

—It is reported that H. W. Blair will at an opportune time introduce in the House of Representatives, of which he is now a member, his once famous National Sunday Rest Bill, which he introduced and advocated so persistently in the Senate while a member of that body.

—The final decree has been issued by the pope beatifying Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, a French heroine who flourished in the early part of the fifteenth century. She was burned at the stake by order of Henry V. of England, on the demand of the University of Paris, on charges of being a sorceress.

—A Catholic protest against the use of Myers’ “Outlines of Mediæval and Modern History” in the high schools of San Francisco has been laid before the Board of Education. The ground of objection is that it is calculated to prejudice the pupils against the Catholic religion, whereas the Constitution of the State guarantees that the public-school system shall be absolutely unsectarian.

—The Catholic News says: “Even the Lutherans of Germany are adopting some of the methods of the Catholic Church. Deaconesses and sisterhoods, in imitation of Catholic sisterhoods, have been introduced into Germany, and the Lutherans have already numerous organizations of this kind, notwithstanding the fact that Luther, Beza, Melanchthon, and the other leaders of German Protestantism, condemned such associations indiscriminately.”

—Those who advocate the claim that this is a Christian nation also propose to demonstrate the pretense by tyrannical legislation, compelling all classes of citizens to put on a religious cloak on Sunday. Thus, when they shall have secured their desired end, they will have, instead of a Christian nation, only a nation of compulsory hypocrites. That which is held up as the proof of our national Christianity is the most conclusive evidence of the fallacy of such a doctrine.

—Miss Frances E. Willard, head of the W. C. T. U., is out with another idea of reform—a “Christian theater.” Of course what Miss Willard suggests will find a large following, and even staid denominational journals indorse the suggestion. Anything goes for Christianity now, excepting the simple gospel and Bible order. The growing idea is that the world must be won for Christ with worldly methods, that the “fishers of men” must use worldly bait. But if the idea is to be adopted, there may be found many “Christian” theaters ready made; all that will be necessary will be to change the names.

SECULAR.

—Two new bridges across the Niagara are among the projected enterprises.

—Extensive floods in the Szamos Valley, Austria, are said to have inundated several villages.

—The Servian reserves have been ordered out for a protracted drill, in anticipation of a civil war.

—A cave in a coal mine at Plymouth, Pa., on the 13th inst. buried thirteen miners beyond all hope of rescue.

—There is now a joint resolution before Congress proposing a Woman Suffrage amendment to the Constitution.

—Fire in the oil warehouse of Preston & Co., at Newark, N. J., on the 14th inst., caused a loss of $200,000.

—A fire in the Bath (Me.) Iron Works, on the 13th inst., damaged the establishment to the extent of over $200,000.

—Large orders for raisins are said to be coming into Fresno, Cal., from the Eastern and Middle States. Orders to the extent of 135 car loads were reported last week.

—While the new German war ship Brandenburg was making a trial trip outside of Kiel Bay, on the 16th inst., a steam pipe exploded, killing thirty-nine men and wounding nine.

—European and American “civilization” is still onward in Japan. They are said to have adopted bomb throwing as a means of political revenge, and started fourteen life insurance companies within a year.

—A member of the Prussian Diet calls attention to the fact that the silver coins of Germany are now 60 per cent. below their face value, and appeals to the imperial government to inaugurate some measures of relief.

—From Oh-Kuh-Su, Mongolia, near the Siberian frontier, come reports of severe earthquake shocks during the last week of December. It is said that a large district was devastated, and a large number of human lives lost.

—Col. J. D. Stevenson, who came to California in 1846, in command of the First New York Volunteer Regiment, died in San Francisco on the 14th inst., aged 94 years. He attributed his long life to his extremely temperate habits.

—Property owners on Indian River, Fla., whose land was liable to damage by a railroad being constructed to Lake Worth, are said to have planted the proposed track with explosive bombs in order to deter workmen from prosecuting the work.

—Last week we announced the first dispatches that reached here in regard to the great storm, which included only the section from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. But later advices tell of its fury even to the northern Atlantic seaboard.

—At Fullerton, Orange County, Cal., last week, a delegation of armed citizens visited a company of Chinese fruit packers and notified them that they were not wanted in that town. The Chinamen immediately quit work and took the next train for Los Angeles.

—A late dispatch from Rio Janeiro says that yellow fever of a virulent type has invaded the American merchant ships in that harbor. In consequence of the rapid spread of the disease, Admiral Benham has ordered two of the American war ships away from the port.

—The highest ambition of the Liberals, now in control of the Government of Great Britain, is announced to be the abolition of the House of Lords, whose acts are declared to be always in the interest of its wealthy members and against the interests of the people at large.

—The reckless injustice of mob law was demonstrated in Chilton County, Ala., last week. A white woman was fatally shot, as was supposed by one of two negroes, and, it being uncertain which of the two had committed the deed, which both denied, the mob hanged them both.

—The entire crew of the wrecked U. S. sloop of war Kearsarge were rescued by the steamer City of Paris, after a ten days’ exposure to tropical heat on Roncador reef. They are expected to arrive in New York sometime the present week. All the money on the wrecked vessel was saved.

—Sir John Thompson, of Canada, publicly charges that the “United States Government has paid agents going up and down Canada sowing discontent and disaffection among the people, so that the present government of the Dominion might be deposed, and that American manufacturers might get control of the markets of the Dominion.”

—On the night of the 15th inst. robbers ditched an express train at Roscoe, a flag station in the southern part of this State. They blew open the express car, but the amount secured is said to have been small. By the overturning of the locomotive, the fireman and a tramp who was stealing a ride on the cowcatcher were killed. This is the second robbery that has taken place at Roscoe.

—A Frenchman, named Bourdin, passing through Greenwich Park, London, on the 15th inst., was fatally mangled by the explosion of a bomb which he had in his possession. He died in half an hour afterward, being unable to give any account of himself. The explosion is supposed to have been accidental. Other explosives were found in his room.

—Steamer advices from Japan report several extensive fires. At Kagoshima, January 24, 500 dwellings and several other buildings were burned, and fourteen men lost their lives. In Soo Chow, January 15, 1,500 houses were destroyed by fire, 400 of which were stores and shops. On January 28, at Shinagawa, over 300 houses were burned, including the city hall.

—It is reported that in Warsaw, Poland, there have been numerous searches of houses recently, by Russian officials, owing to the discovery of an extensive Nihilist Society. The editorial workers on two newspapers have been arrested, as also a number of Catholic priests, on charges of agitating the liberation of the Poles. The bishop of Kaliniki has been deprived of his stipend.

—At Penseline, Germany, on the 13th inst., a barn in which some schoolchildren took refuge from a storm was blown down, and five of the children were killed. At Lucjenwalde the storm blew down a factory chimney and ten persons were killed. At Finteln the fall of a chimney killed two persons. At Cuxhaven shipping suffered extensive damage. Great damage is also reported at Hesse and Waldeck.

—The Japan Mail states that the authorities have promised to execute the ringleaders of the riots at Sung Pu, on which occasion two Christian missionaries were killed. U. S. Consul Beck refused a money indemnity. It is claimed that the ill feeling recently manifested toward foreigners has considerably abated, and that three heads of police who tolerated the assaults on Archbishop Shaw have been removed.

—Armenians of Seevas, Asiatic Turkey, have earnestly requested the American Consul there to inform President Cleveland of the sad condition of the Armenians. They claim that the governor of Seevas arbitrarily detains a number of innocent prisoners, and that included among the number is a doctor, educated in the United States, who is falsely accused of sedition. Turks killed 125 Armenians and wounded 340 during the recent riots at Yugaq.

—Official position sometimes fails in a court of justice. A man named John Y. McKane has been convicted in a New York court of conspiracy to violate the election laws. His official and social position is designated by the press as “king of Coney Island, despot of Gravesend, chief of police, chief of the fire department, president of the Police Board, president of the Town Improvement Board, supervisor, and superintendent of the Methodist Sunday school.”

—Several associations of railway employees have petitioned Congress to investigate the legality and propriety of the order of the U. S. Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, enjoining the employees of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company from joining in a strike against a reduced schedule of wages. It is claimed that the injunction invades the rights of free men to confer together for mutual benefit, or to cease labor for an employer when they choose to do so.

—At the San Francisco Midwinter Fair, on the evening of the 13th inst., Carlo Thiemann, the lion tamer, was attacked by three lions in their cage, and so badly mangled that he died the next day. He was just entering the cage to begin the usual performance, when the lights went out, and the beasts suddenly became furious and attacked him. As soon as the light was restored, the owner of the show went into the cage, beat off the maddened animals, and dragged out their victim.

—A destructive bomb was thrown and exploded in the restaurant of the Hotel Terminus, Paris, on the night of the 13th inst. As a result the furniture and windows were somewhat damaged, and a number of persons were injured. The culprit who threw the bomb was arrested, and has been identified as an American, named Henry, a native of Barcelona, Spain, although a Frenchman. He seems to be regardless of consequences either to himself or to others. He fired on the police as they pursued him, and one officer received four shots.

—The leading brewers and hop dealers of this State have declared a boycott against Lake County hops, because the supervisors of that county have adopted a prohibition liquor ordinance. The daily Times of this city, speaking of the injustice of this action of brewers and dealers, says, “To all enlightened, unbiased minds the boycott is an un-American institution.” Only a few months ago the Times indorsed and even urged a boycott against a clothing merchant who persisted in keeping the store open Sunday mornings against the wishes of the Clerks’ Union. The principle of the boycott is underhanded conspiracy, whether it be inspired by business interest, political intrigue, or religious bigotry.