All who have been readers of the REVIEW for the past three years know that we have constantly called attention to the fact of a national apostasy from republican principle, which has been going on in these United States. It is true that a few have thought that this was “too much politics;” but we knew that it was not politics at all, but principle of divine truth, and of prophecy. The prophecy had declared long ago, and shortly ago, that such would be; that there would be, in this nation, an apostasy from the truth, a repudiation of republican as well as Protestant principle of government.
In the REVIEW of Aug. 30, 1898, under the general heading of “Passing Events,” we called attention to “A Quiet Revolution” that was even then going on in the United States. We cited some facts that had occurred the week before in a great convention at Saratoga, N. Y., in which the lines were drawn between the maintenance and the repudiation of the principles of the Declaration of Independence; the force of the argument resting in favor of the Declaration, but the weight of sentiment being overwhelmingly against it. We then said:
“This occurrence is only an illustration of the situation all over the country. And by this it is perfectly plain that there is a great and most dangerous revolution going on before the very eyes of the American people; and they are even helping it on, while they do not discern it.
“Under the false impression that revolutions can be accomplished only by violence and visible upheaval, the American people are even now passing through a revolution, and are in danger of finding themselves in the clutches of a new and strange power before they realize that any such thing is going on at all.
“We have already shown the course of the Roman Republic, and how the American Republic is going over the same ground precisely. And just now it should not be forgotten by any member of the American Republic, that the Roman Republic passed through the despotism of two triumvirates, the second far worse than the first, each ending in the despotism of one man, and then passed into the ‘furious and crushing despotism’ of the Roman monarchy, all in the name of the republic. All this occurred inside of forty years, before the eyes of all the people, while they were pleasing themselves with the fancy and the name that they were still a republic.
“Even when Augustus had become emperor, this fiction was played by him before the eyes of the people; and the people were pleased with it. For, as Gibbon most pointedly remarks: ‘Augustus was sensible that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation that the senate and people would submit to slavery, provided they were respectfully assured that they still enjoyed their ancient freedom.’ Upon this safe assumption,185he accordingly deceived ‘the people by an image of civil liberty, and the armies by an image of civil government.’ He was eminently successful, and both people and armies congratulated themselves upon the greatness, and the new and wonderful career, of the Roman Republic!’”
From that day, Aug. 30, 1898, to this day, March 19, 1901, the progress of this revolution has been as steady as has been the ticking of the clock. And this revolution is now so fully accomplished that, in principle, there is nothing more to be done: all that remains is the practice of the principles which have been officially adopted and promulgated by the government of the United States.
In the United States Senate, Wednesday, Feb. 27, 1901, and in the House of Representatives, Thursday, Feb. 28, 1901, there was enacted as law, for the governing of the Philippine Islands, the following:—
All military, civil, and judicial powers necessary to govern the Philippine Islands acquired from Spain by the treaties concluded at Paris on the 10th day of December, 1898, and at Washington on the 7th day of November, 1900, shall, until otherwise provided by Congress, be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner, as the President of the United States shall direct for the establishment of civil government and for maintaining and protecting the inhabitants of such islands in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion: Provided, That all franchises granted under the authority hereof shall contain a reservation of the right to alter, amend, or repeal the same.
First of all it is to be noticed that this is a distinct abandonment of the Constitution, and a distinct abdication of its powers by the Congress of the United States. For Section 1 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States says:—
“All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
Secondly, Section 1 of Article III of the Constitution says:—
“The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
Now, when the Constitution definitely confines to Congress all legislative powers granted, and to a supreme court, and such inferior courts as may from time to time be provided, all judicial powers; and then Congress passes over to, and vests in, “such person and persons . . . as the President of the United States shall direct,” all civil and judicial powers necessary to govern territory of the United States, that is nothing less than for Congress so far to abdicate its own powers; and, so far, to take away from the courts their powers. It is also a clear abandonment of the Constitution of the United States, so far as the Philippine Islands are concerned, and, in principle, so far as any place is concerned.
Nor is this abandonment of the Constitution merely tacit, by the wording of the law relating to the government of the Philippine Islands. It is explicit, and was repeatedly confirmed.
For an amendment was proposed, to the Philippine section of the bill, as follows:—
Sec. —. That the Constitution of the United States is hereby extended over and declared to be in force in the Philippine Islands so far as the same or any provision thereof may be applicable.
This was rejected, by a vote of thirty-nine to twenty-three; not voting, twenty-six.
Afterward there was offered the following amendment:—
And provided further, That no judgment, order, nor act by any of said officials so appointed shall conflict with the Constitution and laws of the United States.
That amendment was rejected by a vote of forty-five to twenty-five; not voting, eighteen.
After this an amendment was offered requiring that:—
Every person in whom authority is vested under this grant of power shall take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.
This was also rejected, by a vote of forty-one to twenty-five; not voting, twenty-two.
After this there was offered the following amendment:—
All persons shall be bailable unless for capital offenses where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his life, liberty, or property but by the judgment of his peers and the law of the land. If the public exigencies make it necessary for the common preservation to take the property of any person, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same. No ex post facto law or law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be made. No law shall be made which shall lay any person under restraint, burden, or disability on account of his religious opinions, professions, or mode of worship, in all of which he shall be free to maintain his own, and not burdened for those of another.
This, too, was rejected, by a vote of forty-one to twenty-three; not voting, twenty-four.
When, thus, it had been voted, over and over again, to bestow unlimited power upon such persons as the President shall name to govern the Philippine Islands, then attempt was made to limit the time of the exercise of this power. Accordingly, an amendment was offered, limiting this time to March 4, 1903. But this was rejected by a vote of forty-three to twenty-six; not voting, nineteen.
When it had been so positively decided that unlimited power should be given to these men,—and for unlimited time,—an attempt was made to give the Filipinos a part in the government of themselves. Accordingly, an amendment was offered as follows:—
And secure to them such participation in the affairs of the civil government so to be established as shall be consistent with the safety of the government.
But this was rejected by a vote of thirty-nine to twenty-three; not voting, twenty-six.
When it had thus been explicitly and confirmedly settled that the powers of such men as the President shall appoint to govern the Philippines, shall be unlimited; shall be unlimited for all time; and shall be absolute over the people of the islands, attempt was made to save at least a vestige of Constitutional liberty, as follows:—
Mr. Hoar: Mr. President, there is one principle of Constitutional liberty not yet slain, and I desire to give it a little chance for its life. I move the amendment which I send to the desk, to be inserted at the end of the bill.
The Presiding Officer: The Senator from Massachusetts submits an amendment which will be stated.
The Secretary: It is proposed to add as a new section the following:—
“In the government of the Philippine Islands no person vested with legislative powers shall ever exercise the executive or judicial powers, or either of them; no person vested with executive powers shall ever exercise the legislative or judicial powers, or either of them; no person vested with judicial powers shall ever exercise the legislative or executive powers, or either of them; to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of men.”
The Presiding Officer: The question is on the amendment of the Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Hoar] to the amendment of the committee.
Mr. Jones, of Arkansas, and Mr. Pettus called for the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered, and the Secretary proceeded to call the roll.
And even this last principle of Constitutional liberty was slain. It was rejected, by a vote of forty-three to twenty-six; not voting, nineteen.
See the whole account in Congressional Record dated Wednesday, Feb. 27, 1901.
As already stated, the next day the House of Representatives passed this legislation, as it came from the Senate, without any change whatever. And since it was all done at the demand of the President, of course it was all approved by him when it came before him to be signed. And thus the government of the United States has, in principle,—and for the Philippines in practice,—deliberately and expressly repudiated every principle of its Constitution as a republican government. Not a single item, nor even an iota, of the principle of republican or Constitutional government remains.
A HAPPY DUTY
By Uriah Smith
“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Phil. 4:4. The duty here enjoined is to rejoice; and lest something might occur to interrupt the continuous flow of the happy stream, or the mind should not be sufficiently impressed with its importance, the apostle immediately repeats his instruction: “And again I say, Rejoice.”
To rejoice is to “experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to feel joyful; to exult,” followed by at or in, as, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth.”
We judge from the context that it comes in as a remedy for disagreements in the Church. See verses 2 and 3. The apostle entreats and beseeches certain ones to be of the same mind, and to help each other in the gospel. And having come to that state of unity, then to rejoice in the Lord continually. Directions how to attain to the rest of faith are prescribed in verse 6, and this rejoicing is a prelude and preparation for it.
These words are an outburst from the cheerful heart of Paul; but to appreciate their force, we must remember the condition he was in when he wrote this epistle to the Philippians. He was a prisoner in one of the sub-dungeons of Rome; his life was at the mercy, and hung upon the insane caprice, of the tyrant who sat upon the throne; his circumstances were so dreary, comfortless, and hopeless that he expressed an earnest desire to depart by means of death from all his trials and sorrows, only he knew that his brethren needed his presence, labors, and counsels; and from his love for them, he was willing to abide in the flesh. Yet in this depressing condition, he was so wonderfully sustained that he could sit down and pen this earnest exhortation to his friends from whom he was so cruelly separated, to “rejoice in the Lord alway,” just as he had written before to the Thessalonians to “rejoice evermore.”
We learn from this that it was the apostle’s idea that God intended His own people to be constantly and habitually happy. This is a command, to rejoice. Everybody is willing to be in a condition in which he can rejoice; but the joy commanded here is something more than peace; it is demonstrative; it shines and sparkles, and fills the mouth with song. Joy is a bird; let it fly in midheaven, and fill the clouds with its music. It is a power for good. Sinners are attracted to Christ by the joy of the saints. More flies are caught with honey than with vinegar. A cheerful Christian is a recommendation to the gospel; but a sour, desponding Christian is a misnomer and a misfit.
This rejoicing which the apostle recommends is contagious. Others catch the same spirit, and dismiss their gloom for joy and courage, when they see persons exercising these virtues, and prospering by so doing. This rejoicing is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and, like other fruits of the Spirit, can not be counterfeited. No man can long play the hypocrite with this grace, pretending that he has joy and rejoicing when he has not. He can not deceive others by trying to keep up this show, for any great length of time. The discerning will see through it, and he will have his reward.
A true view of life and its limitations, would help us to carry out the instruction of the apostle much more calmly, and cherish the spirit he recommends, right in this connection: “Let your moderation,” or your “fairness, consideration, equitableness,” as it might be more strictly rendered, “be known unto all men;” and, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Verses 5, 6. Who would care for great loss or gain to-day if he knew that Christ would come to-morrow?—10No one. But the true Christian feels as he would feel if he knew this to be the case; for he knows for certain that the event sooner or later will surely come. And he anticipates that time, and makes it just as if it were in the past already. It is certain that much that agitates us intensely to-day, will, in a year hence, not interest us at all. So will it be with all human hopes and fears, pleasures, pains, jealousies, disappointments, successes, and losses. When the last day has come, they will have no life in them. They will be like the faded flowers of a banquet, which only mock us with past memories. What this world will be understood by all to be then, such it is now felt to be by the Christian. He looks at things as he will then look at them, with an uninterested and dispassionate eye, and is neither much pleased nor greatly disturbed by the accidents of life, because they are accidents.
But there is discrimination to be observed in regard to this rejoicing. It is not to rejoice in temporal things, or in pecuniary success, or literary or political honors, but only “in the Lord.” Many lay hold with avidity on the word “rejoice.” Even the worldly and sensual man prizes the word and the invitation to rejoice; but when the restriction comes, “in the Lord,” they lose their hold. They have no connection with the Lord, and take no interest in the invitation to rejoice in Him. With the Christian, it is very different. With him it is all in the Lord. He lives in the Lord. He labors in the Lord. He marries in the Lord. He dies in the Lord. While dead, he sleeps in the Lord. When raised from the dead, he is raised in the Lord. And when caught up at last to meet the Lord, it is to be “forever with the Lord.” So, now for the Christian there is no one to rejoice in but the Lord,—in what He is, in what He has done, and what He has promised to do for His children.
The time is also specified when, and during which, we are to rejoice in the Lord. It is “alway.” But, shall we not get out of material? Have we something to rejoice in, in the Lord, alway?—Certainly, so long as we have the Lord. Let us make Him our portion forever and rejoice in Him. If we read the sixty times David calls upon all to rejoice in the Lord, we shall find matter enough for rejoicing. “I will rejoice,” he says, “in thy salvation.” Ps. 9: 14. And salvation is a theme to which there is no end. Even inanimate nature is called upon to rejoice before the Lord. The floods are summoned to clap their hands, and the hills to be joyful before the Lord; for He cometh to judge the earth with righteousness, and the people with equity. Ps. 98: 8, 9. This is not merely a recommendation, left to the discretion of the hearer to heed it or not. But it is a command; and in not heeding it, we are disobeying the gospel.
And the apostle lays emphasis on the command, by repeating it: “Again I say, Rejoice.” He would have them be careful not to forget this, whatever else they might omit. But having once said, “Rejoice . . . alway,” does not that include all the time? and how can he add, “Again I say, Rejoice”? And what can this signify, but still adding to the fullness of our joy, till our cup runs over?
The calendar of the wicked has only a few days in the year marked “Festival days.” But every day of the Christian’s calendar is marked as a day of rejoicing. When Napoleon was banished to St. Helena, he adopted, in proud defiance of his fate, this motto: “Ubicumque Felix.”—“Everywhere happy.” This, in his case, was not true; but the Christian is to be happy, and to rejoice not only ubicumque, but semper—not only everywhere, but always.
U. S.
THE WORK IN TEXAS
By A. G. Bodwell
As the members of the Dallas church are quite badly scattered, I have been giving instruction in different parts of the city, wherever a few could assemble in a private house. At our first meeting to study “Christ’s Object Lessons” in north Dallas we all decided to go to work at once. The plan adopted was to take the book with us wherever we went, and to canvass every one we came in contact with; and if any one came to see us, not to let him go until we had called his attention to the book. In short, we decided to keep the book on the brain.
The next morning while one of the sisters was washing dishes, a man came to her kitchen. She proceeded at once to carry out the instruction by showing him a copy of “Christ’s Object Lessons.” As a result she sold him two books, he paying for one of them, and requesting the other to be delivered at a later date.
Another sister climbed up into an express wagon, which was standing by the side of the fence, and invited a neighbor woman to climb up on her wood pile. This sister proceeded at once to show her neighbor the book. The result was that she obtained an order for the book. The same sister has obtained an order from every one to whom she has showed the book, with one exception. And in this instance, the person who refused to purchase gave her fifty cents. The other day a woman called her up over the telephone. And as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she told her of the book. The result was that she sold her a copy.
One of our brethren showed the book to his grocer, who bought it. This same brother has sold a copy for cash to every man to whom he has shown the book.
We are beginning to see some of the fruit of the books that have been sold. The grocer who bought the book has been reading it, and is highly pleased with it. It has awakened in him a desire to know the truth. In fact, to-day at our Sabbath meeting we had the largest crowd that has attended the Dallas church for a long time. The brethren and sisters who have been out working brought quite a number of strangers with them.
The church here is getting hold of the old-time missionary spirit, and we praise God for it. I might mention other interesting experiences, but space will not permit.
These brethren and sisters thought that they could not sell books. But what has been demonstrated proves the truthfulness of the following from page 146, paragraph 4, of “Christ’s Object Lessons”:—
“You need not go to the ends of the earth for wisdom, for God is near. It is not the capabilities you now possess, or ever will have, that will give you success. It is that which the Lord can do for you. We need to have far less confidence in what man can do, and far more confidence in what God can do for every believing soul. He longs to have you reach after Him by faith. He longs to have you expect great things from Him. He longs to give you understanding in temporal as well as spiritual matters. He can sharpen the intellect. He can give tact and skill. Put your talents into the work, ask God for wisdom, and it will be given you.”
The Lord knew that many of us did not have natural ability as canvassers. But He has sent us a message telling us that every man, woman, and child should engage in the work of selling “Christ’s Object Lessons.” And He has also told us that this thing would test us. I wish every one would ask himself these questions: How am I standing the187test? Am I obeying God in this thing? Am I selling “Christ’s Object Lessons”? If not, what will be my answer should God call upon me for one?
How will you excuse yourself when, in unmistakable language, God has told you what your duty is? You can not plead lack of ability or qualification, for He has promised to do for you that which you can not do for yourself. If you will only move out into the work, and take God at His word, you will see a change in your life.
We can not afford to delay taking hold of this work for a single day. To those who have not yet started, I would say, Begin at once. Do not put it off until to-morrow, next month, or next year. Procrastination is one of the enemy’s strongest weapons. But the Lord says that now is the time. To-day will never come again. He longs for us to believe what He says and to show our belief by our actions.
A. G. Bodwell.
INFINITE THEMES
By L. A. Reed
“THAT which in the councils of heaven the Father and the Son deemed essential for the salvation of man, was defined from eternity by infinite truths which finite beings can not fail to comprehend.”
Here are the themes of Biblical literature—“infinite truths which finite beings can not fail to comprehend.”
Compare these themes with the themes that men may present. The themes of Biblical literature are infinite truths. Now an infinite truth has three dimensions, to use a figure,—length, breadth, and thickness. Or with a certain verse in mind, we may change the order, and say these dimensions are thickness (height and depth), and length, and breadth.
Its thickness: “It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?”
Its length and breadth: “The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.”
Deeper than hell, longer than the earth, and broader than the sea: these truths are measured only by the infinite. And yet there are hundreds who think they have got about all there is in some of the verses of the Bible. Think of it a moment. “It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do?” When it comes to ascensions, the most of us can do practically nothing. We may get up to the top of some high mountain, and a few may ascend in balloons; but how far?—The distance upward that we can go toward God may be barely hinted at by the width of a hair as compared to the awful measures of interstellar space.
Thus it is with reference to the truths of God. We have not yet mounted the first step in the great staircase of infinite truth. And yet already some men have had enough, and settle down to men’s ideas; while the great truths of eternity, swinging out yonder into the infinitude of time and space and being, are left to swing to eternity if they choose, while men rotate on the pivot of self-interest until they wobble and tumble at last like spun-out tops into the quiescence of death.
Marvelous limits has God set to an infinite truth—high as the heights of heaven, deep as the depths of God’s mind, wide as the measure of His love, and long as the length of His unending life. And these are the unfathomed and unmeasured themes of Biblical literature.
And yet I would be misleading were I to stop here. There is more to the thought,—“Infinite truths which finite beings can not fail to comprehend.” It is not merely that we can comprehend them; it is more than that; we can not fail to comprehend them. But how? I answer, By faith.
God tells me what is so; this is the infinite truth. As fast as I learn what He says, it is my privilege by faith to re-echo His words, and say, too, that it is so. It may be years before I shall get the philosophy and explanation of the thing, to any large extent. But as the years roll on, no matter for how long, the philosophy will ever grow deeper and larger, and the explanation clearer.
And so, victoriously in Christ, as the old question is asked again,—“It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do?”—we now may cry, “I can take it by faith.” It is “deeper than hell; what canst thou know?”—I can know it by faith.
Brethren, shall we not drink at the pure stream that flows from the throne of God? There is no water in the broken cisterns; they are “broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” L. A. REED.
The Entrance of Thy Words Giveth Light
“THE entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
Sing Aloud Unto God Our Strength
“SING aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.” “He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.” “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”
News and Notes
— De Wet, the Boer general, has not yet been captured by the British in South Africa.
— It is said that if a new lamp wick be soaked in vinegar before using, and allowed to dry, it will never smoke.
— A gentleman living in Bangor, Me., has invented a self-propelled sled, which he calls an “automosled.” It is 10 feet long, 3 feet high, and 4 feet wide.
— London will add telephones to her fire alarm boxes, the firemen carrying receivers in their pockets, and the handles of the alarm boxes being converted into transmitters.
— It is stated that “in Tartary, onions, leeks, and garlic are regarded as perfumes. A Tartar lady will make herself agreeable by rubbing a piece of freshly cut onion on her hands and over her countenance.”
— King Edward VII, of England, recently relinquished “the office of Grand Master Mason of England, taking the title of Protector of English Free Masons, the Duke of Connaught being named for Grand Master.”
— A common hen will lay from 500 to 600 eggs in ten years. She will lay from 10 to 20 eggs the first year; from 100 to 135 a year during the second, third, and fourth years, the number diminishing rapidly thereafter. In the tenth year the hen lays from 10 to 12 eggs.
— The American trusts are already beginning to exploit Cuba. For example, “the United Fruit Company has acquired vast tracts of land in eastern Cuba, at a cost of $1,400,000, and will expend $20,000,000 in developing this and other property which they expect to control.”
— In sending in his report of labor to his Church paper, a Congregationalist minister recently accompanied the same with these words: “If you mention the inclosed calendar, please omit my name. This records the work of the church, and I am sick of the praise of pastors for what their churches have done.”
— Japan’s government controls a steel trust, it being capitalized, from the national treasury, at $20,000,000. The plant is “in the heart of the iron and coal deposits of Japan.” A Japanese expert mechanical engineer is in the United States “studying the steel industries of this country,” and he is “investing heavily in American machinery of newest designs.” The Japanese will make their own rails and, in fact, every steel article they need.
— Commenting upon the advantages of rubber-tired vehicles and rubber shoe-soles, the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette says: “The rubber-tired vehicles have reduced greatly the noises on our streets. Many people are learning the personal advantage of wearing rubber-heeled shoes; this is materially lessening the street din. One physician in Los Angeles told us that his buggy with the rubber tires would last four times as long as one with metal tires. . . . On the same principle, we believe that the man or woman who wears rubber-heeled shoes will be protected, and life will be prolonged, as is the life of the buggy with the rubber tires.”
— In a recent issue, the Gaulois, of Paris, France, says that “at the obsequies of Queen Victoria, during the reception at Windsor, Emperor William perceived near him a group consisting of M. Pierre Paul Cambon, French ambassador to Great Britain, Vice Admiral Bienaime, the head of the French delegation attending the funeral, and General Dubois. Addressing M. Cambon cordially, his majesty said: ‘Well, M. Cambon, are you not coming to greet me?’ and, as the latter approached, the emperor said: ‘I wish it to be well known that I love France much, and shall never allow her to be touched.’ ‘Sire,’ replied M. Cambon, ‘I thank your majesty for what you have been good enough to say. France is a peaceful country, but if ever she is attacked, she is capable of defending herself quite alone.’” The grudge of the defeat of 1870 still rankles in the French breast.188
— Alaska’s population is 63,392.
— The United States Senate adjourned the 9th inst.
— It is reported that 600 Russian marines have landed in Korea.
— Victor Emmanuel III, king of Italy, will visit London next May.
— Great Britain has rejected the amended Hay-Pauncefote Nicaraguan Canal treaty.
— Army officers returned from Manila say that Aguinaldo is dead. That has been reported before.
— Señor Sagasta has succeeded in forming a Spanish cabinet. General Weyler is minister of war.
— While the United States has but twenty-five persons to the square mile, Germany has over 250 persons.
— The 10th inst. a fire at Iowa City, Iowa, destroyed the medical building of the University of Iowa. Loss, $200,000.
— The bubonic plague is spreading in Cape Town, South Africa, fifteen new cases having been found, and ninety-seven persons isolated.
— The lives of Queen Wilhelmina, of Holland, and her husband, have already been jeopardized by conspiracies recently discovered by the police of Rumania.
— In a recent edict “the emperor of China annulled all decrees and reports rendered from June 20 to Aug. 14, 1900, in order that no trace of them shall be preserved in history.”
— Members of the Young Turkey Party have placarded Stambul, “with threats of violence against the government. They assert that Turkey is controlled by Russia and Germany.”
— It is announced that “the diplomatic representative of the Vatican in the United States and Canada will hereafter be one and the same person.” Martinelli is the papal delegate to this country.
— Russia has demanded that China sign her Manchuria treaty at once, “under pain of having much harsher terms substituted.” And yet Russia assures the whole world that she has no designs upon Manchuria.
— The Utah Legislature recently passed a bill “to prevent prosecutions of persons sustaining polygamous relations contracted long ago.” The Federal government of the United States can not interfere with Utah’s State rights in the matter, unless the Constitution of this country be amended.
— Japan’s recent concentration of her powerful navy is construed as a warlike move. She is “spoiling for a fight” with Russia, on old scores, the latter Power having cheated her out of the fruits of her victory over China in 1895. In case of war with Russia, it is thought that she will receive the support of England, and, possibly, of the United States.
— One whole block was destroyed in Chicago, the 12th inst. by the explosion of a defective boiler in the Doremus laundry, 458 W. Madison St. Eight persons were killed, three are missing, and thirty-six severely injured. In the same block were the headquarters of the Volunteers, the Waverly Theater, etc. The concussion damaged stores and residences two blocks away.
— France is greatly increasing her large navy. Her minister of marine has just “given orders to lay the keel, at Toulon, of an armored cruiser of 12,500 tons, to have a speed of twenty-two knots and to be named the ‘Victor Hugo,’ and for the building at Rochefort of two torpedo boat destroyers of 303 tons each, to have a speed of 28.5 knots.” Besides this, she will have built three submarine boats “of a new type,” and twenty submarines “of a type already tried,” besides “eight other destroyers and eleven first-class torpedo boats, to have a speed of twenty-four knots.” In addition to all this, “other battle-ships and torpedo boat destroyers will soon be started.”
— John Henderson, a negro murderer, was burned at the stake at Corsicana, Tex., the 13th inst. Dispatches state that the affair was “made a county event, runners and special trains being used to swell the throng” of spectators. “Store and farm work was stopped, and people poured into town by hundreds. They came in all sorts of vehicles, from an ox-cart to the special train of seven cars, all crowded.” In the presence of 5,000 persons the husband of the negro’s victim tortured the bound black, “slashing at his face and body with a knife,” and “as the victim died, there was a cry for more blood.” Truly, lawlessness is rapidly increasing in the land. Hardly a day passes without its lynching or lynchings.
— The Boxer movement is reviving in China, being encouraged by the Buddhist priests.
— Mrs. Nation has been released, the jury trying her having failed to agree. Now for more “smashing” of saloons.
— It is said that Great Britain is “worried by the American tariff, which is closing the great European steel furnaces.”
— Lord Kitchener has granted General Botha a seven-days’ armistice, that he may consult with other Boer leaders about peace arrangements.
— In explaining to the Reichstag Emperor William’s visit to England, Chancellor von Buelow said that it was “purely humane in character, and had no political significance.”
— The farewell reception which was given to Mr. and Mrs. Conger, at Peking, China, the 6th inst., on the eve of their return to this country, was held “in the Chao-Kung-Lu palace, belonging to the empress dowager.”
— Benjamin Harrison, former president of the United States (1888-1892), died at Indianapolis, Ind., the 13th inst. He was sick but six days, la grippe turning into pneumonia. He was born Aug. 20, 1833.
— From China it is reported that “General Tung Fu Hsiang and Prince Tuan, with 30,000 men, are at Ning-Hsu, prepared to resist arrest. In the province of Shan-Si extensive preparations to resist an advance of the allies are also reported.”
— By order of Li Hung Chang, General Yin Tching has written to Count von Waldersee “requesting that there be no more expeditions of the allies, and asking that allied troops, when pursuing robbers and Boxers, request assistance from Chinese officials.”
— On account of famine and disease, “the population of the Central Provinces of India has decreased 1,100,000.”
— The formal order of excommunication against Count Leo Tolstoi was published at St. Petersburg, Russia, the 9th inst.
— French troops are hurrying forward to suppress a revolt among the Moroccan tribes close to French territory.
— J. Pierpont Morgan’s “billion dollar steel trust” managers, fearful of strikes, are endeavoring to establish a permanent board of arbitration for the 396,000 men employed by them. This board of arbitration will be appointed at the annual convention of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, to be held in Milwaukee next May.
— According to the census taken Dec. 1, 1900, the population of the German Empire is 56,345,014, the number of males being 27,731,067. “Since 1895 the increase in the population of that empire has been about 4,000,000, or 7.79 per cent, the highest rate of increase for any quinquennial period during the last thirty years.” According to the same census the population of Prussia was 34,463,377, an increase of 2,608,154 since 1895.
— A Vienna newspaper writer says, in a dispatch in London, dated the 10th inst., that “Russia is seeking the support of the Powers in a scheme to prevent a sudden outbreak in the Balkans. She proposes that Servia, Bulgaria, and Greece should greatly reduce their armies, on condition that the Powers give a pledge to protect their independence. It is asserted that the assent of Great Britain and Austria has already been obtained.” All this is done “to keep peace in the Balkans.” Like the papacy, it may be that Russia “by peace shall destroy many.”
