International | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 12, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 15.

International.

On account of charges of bribery and intimidation brought against certain members of the Greek cabinet, the cabinet has resigned, and King George has accepted its resignation. . . . A serious conflict has occurred between Turkish and Bulgarian forces on the Bulgarian frontier. The sultan's soldiers attempted to seize a fort on the frontier, but were repulsed. Both sides suffered losses in killed and wounded. A correspondent writing from that locality states that grave consequences can not be deferred much longer. In Macedonia matters are rapidly drifting toward open rebellion against Turkey. The people are drilling for the coming struggle, and Turkey is pouring her troops into the province, knowing that Bulgaria is upholding the Macedonians and that she will actively support the expected rising. . . . Norway and Sweden are drifting rapidly toward a clash of arms. The Norwegians have issued an order prohibiting Swedish officers from inspecting the forts of Norway or witnessing her troops drill. This brings her in direct conflict with King Oscar, who is commander of the armies of both Norway and Sweden, and thus has a right to appoint Swedish officers to military duty in Norway. That the Norwegians realize the meaning and consequence of their course is shown in the fact that they have appropriated money for military purposes which they borrowed for building railroads.

The French expedition under Marchand, which came so near involving France and England in war over the occupation of Fashoda, has arrived at the capital of Abyssinia. This expedition turned back up the Nile from Fashoda, and will return to France through the kingdom of Abyssinia. . . . France has appropriated a large sum of money for the navy, to be expended during the coming year. Her expenses for the coming year will be 47,000,000 francs more than for last year. This large expenditure is viewed with considerable alarm by political economists, who point out that French taxpayers are already “at the last gasp.” . . . During the present year England will add to her navy fifty war vessels of different types, five of which will be battle-ships of the largest size, costing over $4,000,000 each. The number will also include fourteen protected cruisers and thirty-one unprotected cruisers.

In the Philippines.

Up to March 28 the report of the Adjutant-General shows that 157 Americans have been killed in the fighting in the Philippines, and that 864 have been wounded. . . . On March 29 the Americans captured the town of Bocave, within eight miles of Malolos, and the latter town, the seat of the Filipino Government, was entered by General McArthur on March 31. Bloody battles and a running fight preceded the occupation of the place by the Americans. Much of the city was in flames or had been destroyed, and the Filipinos moving north located at San Fernando and Calumpit, where more fighting is expected soon. . . . Many of the Filipinos who had left their homes are returning, under the promise of protection from the Americans. . . . The Philippine Commission appointed by the President to assist in the pacification of the Filipinos has issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of the different islands, setting forth the purposes of the American Government in eleven articles. First, that the sovereignty of the United States must be recognized as supreme, and that those who oppose it can accomplish nothing but their own ruin; second, that the amplest liberty of self-government will be granted which is reconcilable with the obligations assumed by this government; third, that civil rights will be guaranteed and religious freedom assured; fourth, that there shall be no exploitation of the people; fifth, that honest civil service shall be instituted, employing natives as far as possible. Article 6 deals with the collection of taxes and the expenses of government; article 7, with the establishment of pure and effective courts of justice; article 8, with the construction of roads and railroads and other public works; article 9, with the development of foreign and domestic trade and the general development of the country; article 10, with the establishment of schools; and article 11, with reforms in all departments of government and all branches of the public service.

Domestic.

By order of President McKinley, Fort Stanton, N. M., has been transferred from the War Department to the Marine Hospital Corps, with the purpose of making it a hospital exclusively for consumptives. It is proposed here to conduct a series of experiments to learn if consumption can be cured, or if the progress of the disease can be stayed. . . . The U. S. transport Crook arrived in New York on March 28, with the bodies of the soldiers who died in Porto Rico, and 671 of the soldier dead from Cuba. A large portion of these will be interred in the Arlington National Cemetery on April 6. . . . The failures during the first quarter of 1899 have been in amount of liabilities $26,680,000, against $31,710,000 for the first quarter of 1898, $48,007,000 in 1897, and $57,525,000 in 1896. . . . The statement of the United States Treasury for the month of March shows a decrease in the public debt of $8,398,828. . . . Many of the vessels of the navy are being fitted out with new six-inch rapid-fire guns of high power, in the place of the slow-firing six-inch guns with which they were mostly equipped during the war with Spain. This change is due to the more effective work done by the guns of the English-built cruiser, which was purchased just before the beginning of the war. . . . The investigations of the board appointed to look into General Miles’ charges in regard to the meat furnished the army in Cuba and Porto Rico are bringing out much evidence of a serious character. Almost without exception witnesses who had eaten the meat furnished by the packing houses condemned it as a mass of unwholesome, innutritious food, and attributed to it a great deal of the sickness in the army. It seems that the charges of the commanding general are being amply substantiated.

Cuba.

The overland telegraph lines connecting Havana with Santiago were completed by the American Signal Corps on April 2. The corps has completed over 200 miles of telegraph lines in sixty days, thus placing the commanding general in communication with every important command in the island. . . . A committee appointed by the Cuban Assembly visited Washington March 28, to secure an increase in the amount of money to be paid by this country to the Cuban soldiers before they are disbanded. The committee met with no success, and has returned. There was prospect that the $3,000,000 already shipped to Cuba would be returned to Washington, on account of the refusal of the Cuban Assembly to hand to General Brooke the muster rolls of the Cuban army. . . . Secretary of War Alger, who has recently gone to Cuba, has countermanded the order of General Brooke extending the time for the payment of mortgages in Cuba. This action of the War Secretary is believed to have been in the interests of unscrupulous money lenders who had bought up large numbers of mortgages on Cuban property, and will now greatly increase their riches, at the expense of the poor inhabitants of Cuba. . . . The latest news from Cuba is to the effect that the Cuban Assembly has dissolved, after authorizing its secretary to hand to General Brooke the muster rolls of the army.

Casualties and Calamities.

The steamer Stella, plying between Southampton, England, and the island of Guernsey, was wrecked on the rocks in the channel on March 30. A part of her passengers and crew were rescued, but it is believed that eighty persons were drowned. . . . The total number of bodies of victims found in the ruins of the Windsor Hotel, New York, is forty-five, and several persons are still missing. . . . The bodies of five persons were found in the ruins of the Armour Curled Hair and Felt Works, at Chicago, which was burned on March 27. Three others are believed to have perished. . . . A fight occurred between American men-of-war’s men and native boatmen at Kingston, Jamaica, on March 28, in which two Americans and eight natives were killed and a number seriously injured. . . . The hull of the steamer Portland, which foundered in the gale of November 26 soon after leaving Boston, has been found by fishermen. The vessel went down about twenty-two miles northeast of Boston light. . . . Steamers from the Orient bring news of the massacre of twenty-nine Japanese farmers by aborigines at Byomatsu, Japan. . . . Ten persons were drowned in the foundering of the steamer Chikat on the bar near Eureka, Cal., on the morning of April 4.

New Trusts.

Articles of incorporation were filed in New Jersey on April 1, by the Republic Steel and Iron Company, with a capital of $55,000,000. . . . The United Fruit Company was formed at Trenton, N. J., on March 30, with a capital of $20,000,000, which is authorized to do general business as merchants, planters, and farmers, and to grow, manufacture, and produce merchandise and property of all kinds. . . . A combination has been perfected of the manufacturers and merchants of bar iron, with a capital of $55,000,000. . . . The American Tobacco Company, a trust of Newark, N. J., has increased its capital stock from $35,000,000 to $70,000,000. . . . A woolen trust has been formed to take control of all the woolen mills in the country. . . . The amount of capital formed into trusts in the State of New Jersey during the month of March amounts to $1,111,750,000. . . . A smelting trust, with a capital of $65,000,000, was organized at Trenton, N. J., on April 4. . . . Articles of incorporation of the Continental Oil Company were filed at Trenton, N. J., on April 4. Its capitalization is $6,000,000.

Samoa.

Advices in regard to the situation in the Samoan Islands are conflicting and unsatisfactory. The natives are restive on account partially of the lack of harmony on the part of the representatives of the three powers holding the protectorate over those islands. Affairs culminated soon after the arrival of the United States cruiser Philadelphia in the bombardment of the native villages along shore by the American cruiser and two British cruisers. The German cruiser took no part in the action, but the German consul threw his influence against that of the British and Americans. According to the last advices the followers of Mataafa were still refusing to yield to the authority of the Americans and British. It is not thought that there will be any international complications over the matter. Germany has proposed a council of three, one from each of the nations represented there, to look into the matter and settle the difficulty, and her proposition has been accepted by England and America.

Oriental Affairs.

It is reported that the Chinese at Canton have captured the Hongkong chief of police, Captain Francis H. May. Two English torpedo-boats have been despatched to Canton with soldiers to preserve order and protect English interests. . . . The Germans at Kaiochau have received orders from Emperor William to take possession of two more Chinese towns under the pretext of maintaining order there. The presence of a large German fleet at this port has led the Chinese to believe that Germany intended extending her control, and led them to perform the very acts which have given Germany the excuse she has wanted for interfering.