Europe on the Verge of War
During the past week Germany and France have been on the verge of war, and it was well understood that, in case a clash had come, England stood ready to assist France. Germany had demanded an international conference over Moroccan affairs. France did not care to join in such a conference, and, because of her attitude, neither the United States nor England accepted Germany's invitation to the conference. Germany then pressed the matter to such a point that war would have followed had France remained obdurate. Thereupon the French premier agreed to take the matter of a conference under advisement, providing the scope of the conference were outlined beforehand. There the matter now rests; but it is understood on both sides that the situation is still extremely delicate. A failure to agree on the part of the men having charge of arranging the scope of the conference, may precipitate war at any moment. As both nations are well prepared for war, both in trained men and modern equipment, and as the war would bring the great navy of England into action, there would be the most terrible struggle that Europe has ever witnessed. We thus see how ready the world is for the final conflicts. The Lake Shore train, known as the Twentieth Century Flyer, was wrecked at Mentor, Ohio, on June 21. The train was running at about sixty miles an hour, and ran into an open switch. As a result of the wreck 19 persons were killed, and a larger number are more or less seriously injured. The train was running on an 18-hour schedule between Chicago and New York. It is reported that the train will be put back on its old schedule of 20 hours. On June 17 a wreck occurred at Patabisco, Md., in which 18 persons were killed, and about 20 injured. Assistant Secretary of State Loomis has been exonerated by the President from the charges of Mr. Bowen, the minister to Venezuela. Mr. Bowen has been dismissed from the service for making the charges. Paul Morton, ex-secretary of the navy, has also been declared blameless by the President from any illegal act in the railway-rebate matter. The Chicago strike has virtually come to an end. The employers have now refused to arbitrate the question of the demands of the men, and are conducting their places of business with new help. The Chicago grand jury has ascertained that large bribes have been received by labor leaders in connection with the strike. A report from Kamchatka states that pirates recently landed at a small, unprotected place, and massacred all the inhabitants of the village, looting the place, and setting fire to the houses.