International

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 28, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 26.

International.—The resignation of the French cabinet under the leadership of M. Dupuy has thrown the government into a grave crisis. Three different men have been requested by the president of the republic to form a new cabinet, and after an attempt so to do, have been compelled to confess their inability. This leaves the government in a trying situation on the eve of the return of M. Dreyfus, when there is much partisan agitation over his coming trial.

In the house of the Hungarian Diet, on June 14, an important bill was passed, which means the virtual separation of Hungary from Austria in the year 1907. Hungary will then decline to renew the "Ausgleich," and will conclude separate treaties with foreign powers. . . . At the consistory held in Rome on June 19 the pope created thirteen cardinals. By these nominations Leo has definitely decided who shall be his successor, having named men who were favorable to Cardinal Rampolla, now filling the office of papal secretary of State. . . . At the highest court of Cassel, Germany, on June 17, it was decided that a clergyman of a denomination not officially recognized by the government is considered by the government simply a layman, and that for such a person to offer a public prayer is a crime. A clergyman named Wicke has been sent to jail for this offense.

The commander of the armies of Prussia has suggested to the emperor of Germany and the czar of Russia the advisability of reconstructing into a nation the dismembered fragments of Poland. This would necessitate the surrender of Polish territory by Russia, Austria, and Prussia, and would create between these countries what is known as a buffer State. By adopting this plan the excessive armaments maintained on the frontiers of these countries could be reduced to small garrisons, and Russia could then give her entire attention to the absorption of Chinese and Persian territory, whereas she is now compelled to maintain a heavy army on her western frontier. The czar is reported to have referred the matter to a special committee. . . . Advices from Belgrade state that a number of Servian villages have been attacked by Turks and Albanians, and are now being blockaded by them. The government of Servia has sent regular troops to the scene of trouble. . . . The arbitration tribunal to decide the disputed boundary question between Venezuela and British Guiana held its first meeting in Paris, on June 15. The commission consists of two American justices, two English barristers, and a Russian professor of international law who is to act as umpire. . . . The large Spanish penal colony for Cuban and Filipino political prisoners on the island of Fernando Po has been almost entirely wiped out by the cruel treatment received at the hands of the Spanish jailors. It is stated that only five of these convicts are now alive. . . . The sessions of the Peace Conference at The Hague still continue, but with what success none but the conference itself knows. . . . The war-clouds which hang over South Africa have failed to disperse during the week. The outlook is far from peaceful. Lord Chamberlain seems inclined to agree with the premier of Cape Colony that the course pursued by the Transvaal demands the interference of England. British munitions of war are being shipped in the direction of the Transvaal, and English newspapers have ordered their war correspondents to hold themselves in readiness to proceed to South Africa. President Krueger has declared that the Transvaal will agree to no more concessions to the outlanders, and intimates that war will be the next step in the controversy.

The Philippines.—In the recent battle around Imus the quick-firing guns of the Americans are said to have done terrible execution. One hundred and twenty-one of the natives were killed and about three hundred wounded. The Filipinos, having sworn upon the crucifix that they would never leave the field alive, made one of the most stubborn fights of the war. On June 16 the Filipinos attacked the city of San Fernando, but were repulsed with heavy loss. It is reported that one hundred dead were found on the field in front of the American lines. The U. S. transport Sherman arrived at Manila on June 19 with 1,875 men, under command of Gen. Fred D. Grant. A battalion of the Fourth Infantry, on a reconnoitering expedition south of the Imus, was attacked by 3,000 Filipinos on June 19, and had a narrow escape from complete annihilation. Upon the arrival of re-enforcements the Filipinos were compelled to retire, having suffered a loss of ninety-three killed and many more wounded. . . . Preparations are being made at the War Department with a view to placing in the Philippines, by September, 10,000 more regulars. For this purpose a number of transports are being added to the number already in charge of the quartermaster's department. . . . It is reported that a strict censorship has been established at Manila over all news sent out from there, and that correspondents who have sent reports to Hongkong by mail to be filed from there have been threatened with expulsion. . . . The report of the death of General Luna at the hands of Aguinaldo's bodyguard seems to have been confirmed. It is understood that his death is due to the rivalry existing between the two Filipino leaders. . . . Captain Charles A. McQueston, who recently returned from the Philippines, declares that to subdue the islands will require from 100,000 to 150,000 men; and that the work of the peace commission has resulted in utter failure, through its inability to secure the confidence of the natives. The quickness with which the Filipinos recover from reverses at the hands of the Americans is a matter of considerable surprise to the American officers. At the battle of Zapote, in which they suffered great loss, they were thought to be completely demoralized, but the following day they were marching to the attack of Imus.

Strikes and Riots.—Martial law is still in force in the vicinity of the recent mining troubles in Idaho. About four hundred men remain close prisoners, awaiting the slow process of the courts. The mines in which work is being done are under military control; a newspaper has been suspended because of certain utterances of its editor; and the sheriff and commissioner are under arrest. . . . The strike of the Denver and Leadville smelter employees has not yet been settled, and a longer continuance of it threatens to throw out of employment in the State of Colorado at least 20,000 men who are operating the mines of the State. Large numbers of men have already been discharged from the mines on account of the smelters' strike. . . . The Buffalo strike of grain handlers is said to be extending, and but few men are at work. . . . Striking employees of the Cleveland, Ohio, street-car companies caused a riot in that city on June 14 while cars were being operated by non-union hands. . . . The big strike of coal miners at Reading, Penn., is still on, the no rioting or destruction of property has so far occurred there. . . . In Cleveland a riot occurred on June 20, participated in principally by the striking street-car operatives. The police charged a mob of several thousand, but were received with volleys of missiles, and gave up the attempt to disperse the rioters. . . . Serious rioting is reported from Montserrat, Leeward Islands, over the collection of the excise duty which occasioned similar trouble one year ago. The police were overcome, and for a time the island was in the hands of the mob. . . . On June 20, the street-cars of Cleveland, which were being operated by non-union hands, were attacked by a mob of about 5,000 people. The cars were smashed, and conductors and motor-men assaulted with bricks and stones. The mob also broke into the car house and demolished several cars. . . . On June 21 a number of imported negro miners were shot by strikers at Evansville, Illinois, and some of the injured are expected to die. . . . A pitched battle was fought in Chicago, on June 20, between opposing forces of boys belonging to Jewish and Christian families, and a number were severely injured by clubs and stones. . . . A despatch from India states that over fifty small villages have been burned and looted by rioters in the Tinnevally district. These riots have spread to Travancore, where the police were severely beaten and compelled to retire. About 450 houses were burned by rioters in another district.

Casualties and Calamities.—The crops in seven or eight of the famine-stricken provinces of Russia are again to be a failure, and the eleven million poor peasants who were looking to the new crops for subsistence must face starvation for another year. . . . The town of Montana, Minn., was destroyed by a cyclone on June 17. . . . The property damage in the great tornado at New Richmond, Wis., amounts to about $750,000. The number who perished in that catastrophe is now placed at 125. . . . Four men were killed in an explosion at the smokeless powder factory near San Rafael, Cal., on June 17. . . . In a collision on the river Oder, in Germany, on June 16, thirty persons lost their lives. . . . Eleven men were killed in an explosion in the Caledonia coal mine at Glace Bay, Cape Breton, on June 16. Five of these were men who had gone to the rescue of others. . . . Hundreds of natives are reported to be dying of starvation in East Africa on account of a long-prevailing drought which has ruined the crops upon which they depended. . . . Ten persons were killed and twenty-five injured, five fatally, in the tornado which wrecked the town of Herman, Neb., on June 14. . . . The British ship Lochsloy was wrecked on the south coast of Australia about May 9, and thirty of her passengers and crew were lost. . . . A cloudburst occurred in the mountains near Spokane Junction, Texas, on June 14, destroying a number of lives and much property. At Bracket a large number of houses were washed away, and the inhabitants were forced to flee to the hills for safety.

Trusts.—A trust composed of 1,000,000 farmers is now declared to be in process of consolidation by the president of the National Grange. The purpose of this trust is to combat certain other trusts whose existence is inimical to the interests of the farmers. . . . Seventeen State governors and a number of State attorneys-general have accepted the invitation of Governor Sayers, of Texas, to attend the anti-trust convention to be held in St. Louis, Mo., beginning September 20. . . . The attorney-general of Texas has given orders that no trust shall be granted a permit to do business in Texas. . . . At the session of the Industrial Commission at Washington on June 16 it was developed that the formation of trusts was throwing thousands of traveling salesmen out of employment, and materially reducing the pay of all whom they retained in service. . . . It is reported that a great liquor trust has been formed in Wall Street, New York, including all the largest distilling companies in the country. The amount of capital involved in this combination is $125,000,000.

Domestic.—It was declared before the Industrial Commission at Washington, on June 19, by the vice-president of the Georgia State Agricultural Society, that the agricultural conditions in the South were worse than ever before in the history of the country. The price of raw cotton has decreased in value, forcing down the wages of the laborers, and turning over to the merchants many of the farms from which the farmers have been unable to lift their mortgages. . . . Immense copper mines have recently been developed in Washington and Alaska. It is reported that on Graviana Island, Alaska, 100,000 tons of copper ore are in sight. . . . According to the latest police census of Chicago the population of that city is now 2,083,043. . . . Steamers are beginning to arrive in Puget Sound cities from the gold regions of the North. The steamer City of Seattle arrived on June 16 with nearly half a million in gold, brought out principally by returning miners.

Cuba.—The payment and disbanding of the Cuban troops continue, but the work is necessarily slow on account of the attitude of the leaders. Many of the troops report that it was only by accident they learned they were to receive American money on the surrender of their arms. They are said to express surprise that the American Government has kept its promises to them. The customs receipts at the port of Havana from January to May amounted to $763,194, and the municipal expenditures $178,228, the balance being cash on hand. This surplus is said to create much astonishment among the Cubans, and to be unprecedented in the history of Havana. The figures were never published during the Spanish administration.