p. 943 | SECULAR | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 24, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 59.

SECULAR.

—Extensive fires are reported raging on the plains over a large section of Texas.

—Late advices state that Attorney-General Olney has dismissed the cases of railroad strikers in Missouri.

—It is reported, December 12, that M. Le Mire de Villers, French special envoy to Madagascar, has declared war against the government of that island.

—Reports from Ashtabula, Ohio, December 13, state that diphtheria in a malignant form is raging. Over one hundred cases are reported, with ten deaths.

—Late advices report the death of Robert Louis Stevenson, the well-known novelist and essayist, at Apia, Samoa, his home during the last three years.

—Andy Bowen, a prize fighter of New Orleans, was killed in a bout with Lavigne, December 15. This is No. 16 in the list of killings of this "manly" art since 1824.

—A tornado struck Forsyth, Ga., December 12, injuring several people, and destroying property to the extent of $40,000. The M. E. Church, valued at $18,000, was wrecked.

—A landslide on the Great Northern Railroad near Everett, Wash., ditched the overland December 11. A tramp had his legs badly crushed between the tender and the bank.

—Robbers held up a Rock Island train near Wichita, Kansas, December 10. Finding no money in the express car, they relieved the passengers of what money and jewelry were readily obtainable.

—Two Swedes, Charles Johnson and G. E. Wennerberg, were smothered to death in a San Francisco lodging house the night of December 10. The gas was accidentally turned on after the light was extinguished.

—Eugene V. Debs, president of the American Railroad Union, was sentenced December 15 to six months' imprisonment. His leading assistants in the strike received three months' sentence. There is the usual report of appeal.

—A Central Pacific overland train was ditched near Auburn, Cal., the 12th inst. The engine and four coaches were thrown off the embankment, but fortunately no passengers were hurt. The cause of the derailing is not known.

—A cyclone struck the town of West Berkeley, Cal., December 11, causing considerable damage and much consternation. Lumber piles were scattered, and $1,000 worth of damage was done to the Standard Soap Company's building.

—A sixteen-year-old son of Engineer Fulton, of Sag Harbor, L. I., dropped dead at the supper table December 12. The boy was an inveterate cigarette smoker, and his overindulgence in the habit is thought to be the cause of his death.

—A dispatch states that the Universal Peace Union has forwarded to the emperor of Germany a petition urging his consideration of the proposition that Germany restore to France that portion of Alsace-Lorraine whose occupants speak French.

—Sir John Thompson, the Canadian Prime Minister, died at Windsor, England, December 12. He was ill but a few hours. Sir John was a native of Nova Scotia, 48 years of age. In religious belief he was a Roman Catholic, though educated a Protestant.

—David Spragg, a farmer near Ridgeway, Mo., went insane December 11, and killed his wife, three of his children, and himself. Two other children were assaulted, but managed to escape, taking with them a babe of eighteen months. The family had lived happily together to this time.

—On the morning of December 10, three burglars drove up to the front of a leading jewelry store in Fayette, Iowa, deliberately broke the plate-glass window, blew open the safe, securing $800 in cash, loaded up their wagon with $12,000 worth of jewelry and other valuables, and drove leisurely out of town.

—The lumber schooner W. L. Beebe was wrecked on the beach near the Golden Gate the morning of December 10. The crew of nine were rescued with difficulty after several hours of clinging to the rigging. Advices from different points along the coast report considerable damage to ships and shipping during the late storm.

—A horrible state of affairs has just been brought to light through the investigations of the royal commission at the provincial insane asylum, New Westminster, B. C. Flogging, dark cells, and ice-cold plunges were among the favorite methods for subjugating refractory subjects. A reorganization will immediately take place.

—A powerful and dangerous gang of counterfeiters has just been unearthed at Guthrie, O. T. Their plant was located in a cave reached by a subterranean passage 300 feet long. When raided some twenty-five men were at work. The officers gathered in three bucketfuls of bogus dollars, besides two tubfuls of dimes, quarters, and nickels.

—Dispatches from China state that Li Hung Chang has secretly reported to the Pekin Government his inability to check the Japanese advance. He deplores the want of railways more than the lack of troops, thus getting even with the censors who formerly frustrated his schemes for development of the resources of the empire.

—A report is current of the imprisonment and beating of three American lime burners by the chief magistrate of the city of Guatemala. The only reason for the outrage was the envoy of the magistrate, who demanded a dividend of the profits of the lime business. A natural refusal led to the outrage mentioned. The matter was at once referred to the United States Minister.

—Advices by Panama, December 12, state that Santa Marta, capital of the department of Madalena, Colombia, was inundated by a tidal wave November 7. The Manzanares River overflowed its banks; houses were washed away, and the inhabitants were forced to seek refuge in steeples and lofty buildings. A number of lives are reported lost. The town of Laira has completely disappeared.

—Late dispatches from Tiflis add to the horror of atrocities in Armenia. It is stated that Armenian towns held out for nineteen days against the Kurds, and succumbed only when troops under Zekki Pasha arrived. Sixty young Armenians were then horribly tortured, one of them being flayed to the waist. The report adds that pieces of his flesh were cooked and eaten by the savage Turks while he was yet alive.

—An anti-kissing club is the latest in Detroit, Mich. Its sole purpose is to prevent the communication of throat and lung diseases through lip contact. The movement is said to have received the hearty support of many leading physicians of the city. The members propose to agitate the movement, and agree to wear a small red disk or button upon the coat lapel or dress as a mark of membership and attitude.

—A mob of 300 boys ran things with a high hand in front of a broker's office in New York, the 11th inst. The broker advertised for a boy, and boys came, taking possession of the halls of the building. The janitor, becoming tired of their noise, attempted to eject them, whereupon the crowd put him, his assistants, and bystanders to flight. They were dispersed by the police. This is a good illustration of the respect for authority cherished by the rising generation.

—News reaches us by the Australian steamer Warrimoo of violent earthquake and volcanic disturbances in the New Hebrides group, threatening the existence of several of the largest islands. A landslide on Ambrym precipitated an entire native village into the sea. New volcanic craters opened, and for weeks the islands had been covered by clouds of ashes and smoke. Traders, planters, and natives are fleeing to other islands. The loss of life is estimated at about sixty.

—Newfoundland is experiencing a financial crash. Advices dated December 11 state that the Union Bank and the Commercial Bank (St. Johns) have closed their doors. The total amount of specie in the whole colony is said to be not above $400,000, of which $300,000 is in the two banks named, while the notes of the two institutions aggregate $1,500,000. The trouble was precipitated by the failure of large business firms. The great industry is fishing, and hard times are ahead, as there will be no cod fishing next summer. These fisheries employ 8,000 men during the fishing season.

—A runaway cable train dashed into the rear of a Madison Street train in the Washington Street tunnel under the river in Chicago, December 11. The trains were packed and the crash was terrific. The result is two men dead, and a score or more injured, some seriously. The stove in the rear of the front train was overturned and added fire to the scene. The scene was afterward described as a wild and ferocious struggle. A chemical engine was taken into the tunnel and extinguished the flames. The accident was caused by a grip breaking and slippery tracks caused by the rain.

—An interesting report of the discovery of the remnants of an ancient Indian tribe reaches us from Victoria, B. C. Only twelve members remain, and they differ in appearance, measurements, history, and customs from any other Indians of America. Dr. Franz Boaz, their discoverer, who has devoted his life to the study of the Indian races of America, and makes this present trip in the interests of the Berlin Museum and British Association, states that their sociology possesses much in common with the Ancient Egyptians, and their legends are of the "Great River." Their language is remarkable in its similarity to the Egyptian. The Indians are now called the Tsoutsouts, their ancient name having been lost. They once ranged from the Nass River to Alaska.