Current Events and Foreign Affairs
In an election held by the city of Chicago on April 1, the people declared by a heavy majority for municipal ownership of the street railroads and the gas and electric light and power plants. THE Chinese exclusion bill passed the House on April 7 by viva voce vote. As passed, the bill practically re-enacts all the existing exclusion laws and incorporates with them the existing treaty regulations. It extends these exclusion laws to the Philippines and the other possessions of the United States, and forbids Chinese laborers in these possessions coming into this country. Before its passage, the bill was so amended as to exclude Chinese sailors from American ships whose voyages terminate at any American port. THE revolution in Venezuela seems to be growing in strength. The seaport of Tucacas and the city of Barquisemito have fallen into the hands of the revolutionists, and government troops have been defeated in several recent engagements with the rebels. At San Agustin on April 3 an engagement occurred in which less than half of the government troops engaged were accounted for at the close of the battle, the rest having been killed or wounded or having deserted to the rebels. AT last an international question has been referred to the Hague arbitration tribunal for decision. The question to be decided is involved in what is known as the Pius claim. The claim is a dispute between the Catholic Church of California and the Government of Mexico as to the liability of the latter for the interest upon certain church lands which the Mexican Government undertook to hold as trustee for the church. For about a third of a century the matter has been pending. DURING a foot-ball game at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, on April 5, between teams representing England and Scotland, a crowd, unable to obtain admittance to the grounds, broke down the fences and swarmed upon the field. The police drove the crowd back upon the terraces and seats, with the result that part of the highest portion of the terrace collapsed, precipitating the mass of people to the ground. Hundreds were badly hurt, and 21 have succumbed to their injuries. CONGRESS will soon be asked for $50,000 to meet the expenses incurred in connection with President McKinley’s injury, death, and burial. A great portion of this will go to the physicians who operated upon him and waited upon him during the time between his injury and death. Strangely enough, the one who performed the unsuccessful operation receives the largest proportion of the money. A DESPATCH from London states that the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company has sold its American rights and patents to an American company with a capital of $6,150,000. The German Government is preparing to prevent the use of the Marconi system on German ships or the establishing of Marconi stations on the coast of Germany. THE oleomargarine bill recently passed by the House has now been passed by the Senate, tho with some amendments in the Senate. The bill imposes an internal revenue tax of one-fourth of a cent a pound on the manufacture of oleomargarine; but on that which has been colored in imitation of butter a tax of 10 cents a pound is imposed. IMPORTANT engagements have recently occurred in Colombia between government troops and the insurgents which are regarded by the government party as practically putting an end to the revolution. Governor Salazar reports that there is now only the insurrection on the isthmus to be put down, which will soon be accomplished. OFFICIALS of the Pacific Commercial Cable Company are now in San Francisco selecting a landing place for a cable connecting San Francisco with Hawaii and the Philippine Islands. These officers of the company state that they do not expect Congress to place any obstacles in the way of laying this cable to the islands. FOUR army transports are to sail from San Francisco for Manila in the near future for the purpose of bringing home American troops whose terms of service have expired or whose services are not needed in the islands. It is proposed to bring all such home as quickly as possible on account of the outbreak of the plague. THERE is much excitement now in Denmark over the proposition to sell the Danish West Indies to the United States. The party which is opposed to the sale is bringing every possible influence to bear to prevent its consummation. The party favoring the sale is equally active, and both sides are confident of success. THE battle over the Cuban reciprocity measure is to begin in the House this week. There will be strong opposition to the bill in its present form; and it seems probable that a substitute bill, providing for reciprocity in case Cuba agrees to adopt our immigration laws, will be passed in its stead. FORTY-FIVE British soldiers were killed and 39 injured near Barberton, So. Africa, on March 30, by the wrecking of a train on which the soldiers were passengers. The engineer lost control of the train on a steep grade, and the train left the track while running at a speed of 80 miles an hour. THE State of Washington is now seeking to enter suit against the Northern Securities Company to dissolve the merger of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads. The Supreme Court has promised an early response to the State’s application for leave to file a bill of complaint. TROUBLE is again threatening in the Balkans. Bulgarian and Macedonian bands are doing what they can to harass the Turkish Government, in the hope that the powers will step in to restore order. Atrocities are reported to have been committed by both the insurgent bands and the troops sent to suppress them. Albanians have captured and are holding as hostages a number of Turkish officials, in order to secure the release of certain Albanians now held at Constantinople. It is even threatened that Austria will attempt to restore order in one of the Balkan provinces, an act which would be likely to result in the partition of Turkey. SINCE the outbreak of cholera in Manila there have been 127 deaths from that disease up to April 7, out of a total of 157 cases. The city has been quarantined because of the plague; but the natives are much opposed to the regulations, and are trying to break up the quarantine. ACCORDING to a statement recently issued by the Department of Agriculture, the agricultural products exported from the United States during the year 1901 amounted in value to $952,000,000. During that time the agricultural exports exceeded the agricultural imports by $560,000,000. SERIOUS rioting is reported on the island of Jamaica, due to an increase in taxation. There has been considerable fighting between the people and the police. The situation is critical, but the authorities expect soon to quell the rising by force of arms. IN a fight between an armed negro and a posse determined on his capture, which occurred at Tuscumbia, Alabama, on April 6, the negro and three of the attacking party were killed, three men mortally wounded, and four others seriously wounded. A CENSUS bulletin just issued at Washington shows that the prairie division of the United States contains a greater number of inhabitants than any of the other natural divisions of the country, there being 13,300,970 persons domiciled in that region. THE British steamer Athena was wrecked on March 22, 220 miles north of Cape Pillar, Chile. Eleven survivors of her crew were landed at Punta Arenas on April 3. The captain and 19 members of the crew were drowned. THE citizens of Skagway, Alaska, are banding themselves together to resist the payment of a special license tax which they claim is required of no other citizens of the Republic, and is contrary to the Constitution. THE attempt to end the strike of miners at the mines of the Pittsburg Iron and Coal Company’s mines has resulted in failure, and this strike of 10,000 miners goes on without any prospect of immediate settlement. SANFORD B. DOLE, Governor of Hawaii, is now in Washington for the purpose of conferring with the President on matters pertaining to that territory. It is understood that this visit is at the request of the President. AMONG the noted personages to be present at the coronation of King Edward will be the representative of Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia, Ras Makonnen, the general who defeated the Italian army at Adowa in 1896. THE Secretary of Justice at Havana has abolished the jury system in police courts throughout the island of Cuba. The courts asked for the abolition of the system on the ground that it had proved to be a failure. A YOUNG man of Tucson, Arizona, has invented a method of lighting ordinary incandescent electric lamps without the use of wires, and a California man has discovered a new method of telephoning without wires. THE State Department has begun an investigation of the charge that a British army camp is being maintained in Louisiana, from which supplies are regularly shipped to the British army in South Africa. THE first American mail steamer direct from San Francisco to Manila reached the latter port on April 5. A celebration under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce was held in honor of the event. THE Government of Argentina has decided to maintain the most powerful navy of any South American State, and has recently given orders for the construction of several new warships. AT a director’s meeting of the United States Steel Corporation held at New York on April 1, it was announced that the profits of the concern for the year had amounted to $111,067,195. A REPORT from Washington states that the President has ordered an investigation into the methods of the great beef trust with a view to correct the abuses complained of. AMERICAN farmers seeded last autumn 32,000,000 acres of winter wheat, an excess of 4,000,000 over the acreage reaped in the summer. A GREAT fire occurred at Atlantic City, N. J., on April 3. It is believed that the loss will exceed $750,000. THREE thousand men are on strike at the Amalgamated Copper Company’s mines at Butte, Montana. There are now 8,650 miles of inland waterways, or canals, in Germany open to traffic.