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1908 IN HISTORY A Brief bat Comprehensive Review of the Important Events and Tendencies of the Year Past For Busy Readers Who Want to Be Well Informed. By EDWIN S. POTTER, Editor Universal News Analysis. Despite the Depression, Republicans Retain Control. IjOoUng now calmly and dlRpawton- ately buck across the tl«*ui of coOdiot- latf Interests ami balancing; forces wtitcti sIi.ijmhI the American presiden tial cntup:tiKU of Hats, one incontesl able conclusion forces itself on the •pen mind It Is that a majority of the people became convinced in one way or another that it Is "IsMtcr to bear the evila that they have than to tiy to others thut they know not of and to give the trust regulating |*dl- eies of President Roowvelt u longer and fairer trial In the hands of his favorite adviser. William Howard Taft. How the people became so minded is a question to which no an swer can l>e found ault all kluds of partisans. The salient facts can, how ever, be recounted briefly and with historical impartiality. On .Ian. 31 was Issued the challenge of the dominant persitnallty and offi cial of the party In power which was to detcrihine in many ways the plans of battle of the different parties for the capture of the Ainericau electorate —namely, the message of 1'resident Roosevelt to congress advocating his program of radical legislation. On June Hi at Chicago the Itepubiic- ■ ns got together. They cheered forty minutes when Chairman Lodge eulo gized the president and seated all the Taft contestants. The thoroughmYss of this operntiqn caused it to be described as the administration “steam roller.” of which Prank H. Hitchcock was the engineer. The quly fight was on the court injunction plank. Samuel Com pers. head of the A. F. of L. t and other leaders of organized labor, confronted with numerous court decisions unfa iTorable to their methods and facing lower wages or lack of work for many workers, had decided to fight in the •f>en for the party wboae labor plank suited them beat. Despite the warn ings of the Gompera “cabinet’’ before the platform committee the plank final ly adopted at Chicago was not to their liking. Van Cleave, Cannon, Crane and oilier Republican lenders insisted upon upholding the integrity of the courts, but asserting that the rules of injunction procedure be “more accu rately defined by statute" and that no Injunction should Issue without due no tice “except where irreparable Injury would result from delay." William H. Taft of Ohio was nominated for presi dent cm the first ballot aud James 8. 8 her man of New York for vice presi dent. On July 7 at Denver the national con vention of the Democratic party as sembled with the knowledge that an overwhelming majority of Ita delegates were pledged to the nomination of Wil liam J. Bryan of Nebraska. The big gathering broke all records for continu ous cheering when the blind Oklahoma senator, Gore, eulogised the Nebraskan, the demonstration lasting eighty-seven minutes. Bryan was nominated on the trst ballot, although the names of Johnson and Gray were presented. John W. Kern of Indiana, with the ap proval of Bryan, was named for second place. As in the Republican convention, the main contest had to do with the wont in* of the Injunction or labor plank of the platform, ftompera was present «nd gave his assent to the plank finally agreed upon. While asserting that tbit* ■tcourta of justice are the bulwark of our llTierty." It demanded n modifica tion of the injunction law so ns to pro vide for a trial by jury.in cases of in direct contempt. It declared against treating labor organizations us Illegal (combinations in rest mint of trade, fa vored the eight hour day and promised a general employers’ liability law. Bryan at once induced his executive committee to aay that it would reject all corporate gifts, would limit iudlvid- ual donations to $10,000 and would publish on Oct. 15 snd dally thereafter the names of givers of $100 and up ward. The final total published after election was $020,044 from 75,000 con tributors. Although the Republican convention had rejected a publicity plank, Taft and hie managers decided he work under the New York lew end publish names end amounte of contrib utors after the election, tmlelei fl.UlPJIfl t Frank H. Hitchcock, who had neared the Taft af the ~ B. was tilled by Herman Kidder, editor of the New York Htnats Zeituug. July 2S, at Cincinnati. Taft delivered h*s siH'is h «,f acceptance. He frankly accept’d the role of “me too” by tlc- fendlng the Roosevelt policies in their ciiiiri‘t.,'> and expiainiug that his work, if elected, would be to carry on those reforms in detail. Aug. at Lincoln, Neb., Dry; n was notified of bis nomination aud sounded the keynote of Lis campaign in the question. '•8hall'* tile people I'UfeV’ in subsequent speeches he gave great prominence to the bank guaranty plan, to the popular election of senators and to campMig'u publicity l*efore cks tiou. He made a special bid for the labor vote on the injunction plank. He would destroy all trusts controlling over oO |H*r cent of an industry. Regarding the depression as the be ginning of the breakdown of the «aj»- Itaiist system and claiming the army of idle workers as their asset, the S.» cinlists of America went into the cam paign with letter weapons than ever before, (in May 10 the Sis iaiist con vention met at Chicago. For the first time the Socialists of America uf firmed their position on specific ques tions of policy. The convention nom inated on the first ballot unanimously, Kngene V. I>ebs for president aud<|cn- jamin Hanford for vice president, the same ticket put up by the Socialists in 1904. Tin* Prohibitionists, conscious of tin* great strides their ruuse had mad,*on the bsat option Issue in many states, ooiuinaled Kugene W. Cbafin of I’ll nois and Aaron S. Watkins of Ohio July 15 at Columbus, O., on a plat form containing many radical propos als besides that against the sale or manufacture of Intoxicants. On July L’K at Chicago the first na tioual convention of the lndc|>endcn< c party, outgrowth of the league organ ized J>y Editor Hears,, naqied Thomas L. Hisgen of Massachusetts and John Temple Graves of Georgia on a plat form containing most of the radical ideas of the Inunoerats and some more radical. Opposition to Bryan was, its keynote. JThe People's party April 3 at St. Irfmi* again nnm«*d Thomas E. Watson of Georgia as Its standard bearer along with S. W. Williams of Indiana, al though It did not put a ticket up in all of the states. On Sept. 15, at Columbus, O., Henrst stirred up the hitherto calm current of the campaign by reading Into his speech the first butch of a series of letters which had !>een stolen from the files of the Standard Oil company and which threw a Sinister light on the ac tivities of various public men. notably Foraker, Bailey, MacLnurln, Sibley, certain Pennsylvania judges and ex- Governor Stone, who was urged to ap point them. Most of the letters were written by Vice President Arcbhold of the trust and contained divers certlfi cates of deposit for large sums of money. At the same time Hearst re peated the story of the alleged attempt to bribe former Attorney General Mon- nett of Ohio wherein Haskell, the Dem ocratic treasurer, was made to figure. As governor of Oklahoma Haskell also was accused of protecting a legal branch of the Standard. Foraker at once withdrew from the campaign, and the president issued a hot statement condemning the Ohioan and gave out an old letter showing how Taft had re fused to deal with Foraker; then com pared this course to that of Bryan and Haskell. Bryan replied, demanding a hearing for Haskell, and then ensued a bitter verbal duel on personal and party Issues. Haskell resigned, but protesting innocence, us did also Du Pont, the powder trust head, from the ehatrmanship of the Republican speak ers’ bureau. Both the president and Taft took the ground that publishing names of contributors before election would lie to invite unfair and partisan criticism of candidates. Gompers appealed to all unions in the A. F. of L. to give moral and finan cial support to Bryan. Speaker Cannon was the special target of the Gompers battery, and “Cannonlsm" became a national Issue, many candidates for congress being pledged against Cannon as the next speaker... On Nov. 3 the voters of tbe nation bad tbelr say. Tbe extent of tbe Re publican victory can be beat remem bered by tbe statement that Tbft car ried every state that Roosevelt did in 1904 except Nebraska, Colorado and Nevada. Furtbermore, Taft Invaded the solid south with smalt pluralities in Maryland and Missouri and large gains in other southern states. The popular vote stood; Taft. 7.037.070; Bryan, 0.383.182; Debs. 447.051; Cbafin. 241,252; Hisgen. 83.186; Watson. 33.871: GUbaus (Socialist Labor). 15,421; total. 14,852.239. The total vote in 1901 was 13,510,708. Several states In the Taft column elected Democratic governors —Harmon In Ohio. Marshall In In diana and Johnson In Minnesota. Taft captured tbe Democratic stronghold of New York city. The Republican major- ity in congress was reduced to 47. tbe total being 219 and tbe Demo cratic 172. The senate's Republican complexion was unchanged. • The early months of tbe long session of congress were devoted chiefly to the Republican wrangle over tbe terras of a currency bill. Tbe Aldrich relief measure finally went through tbe sen ate March 28 deaptte the all night fili buster of La Follette, to propitiate whom the railroad bond feature had been cut out La Follette named an oligarchy of fourteen wealthy men who, hs said, actually ruled the na- ttoo. Thu Vineland bill, la which Sterling liability bill was advanced by tie* majority and passed unanimously in If*iii houses. This holds Interstate carriers liable for injuries to employ ees aud abolishes the rule barring ' compciikaliou when the uegligctn e of I ' a fellow employee cau Ite proved. The Democratic filibuster was met , by a gag rule and dally reces-i uulil [ the majority had accompli-Janl its purposfc. This included provision for j two new battleships instead of the i i four urged by the president, higher! pay for army officers and privu?es>and a liability law to protect employees iu j the servi e of the government. The house failed to pass the anti injunc tion and anti trust amendment to the Sherman law desired by the president iu tl»e interi*st of labor. “In God We Trust" was restored to the gold coins, i The total appropriations of the *cs- > si«m reached the record figure of $1,- | 8fH.HOO.894. i Congress reassembled Dee. 7 and re- celved the final Roosevelt message. In which executive control of legalized trusts was advocated and judges were urged to heed the will of legislators ac cording to present day standards. A , Utter controversy arose over one pas sage which intimated that congress I lind confined the sis ret service to the treasury department liecause members did not want to Ik* investigated. The I senate moved an investigation of the i seeft service, and the house demanded proof of the president's assertions. Uncle Sam Insists Upon Carrying a Big Stick. The administration's foreign policy has exemplified well this year a fa vorite saying of the president, •‘Speak softly, but carry a big stick." This nation has preserved good feeling to ward other nations, but at the same time has sent Its battleship fleet to the Huti(HKl»s and devoted much thought 1 and money to navy and army better ments. March 11 at Magdalena bay the fleer ended Its voyage around the Horn, iu command of Evans, and was wildly welcomed all nloffg the coast to San Francisco. Evans then gave up the command to Sperry, and on July 7 the licet sailed from San Francisco on its r**cord breaking naval practice cruise, visiting Hawaii. New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and the Phil ippines before the yeaFs end. The war department changed heads July 1. Luke E. Wright succeeding Taft. On May 5 the state department con- ! chided a five year arbitration treaty with Japan. On Nov. 30 notes were signed containing an. agreement with Japan for concert of action In main taining the status quo in tlx* orient, a virtual alliance. r .,TbP treasury In. January had a defi cit of $10,000,000, w hich grew to $60,- 000.000 by the end of the fiscal year.* The i*ostoffice department, by order of the president, ruled that papers in foreign languages must submit trans lations and authorized postmasters to exclude papers containing incitement to murder, arson and treason. In May the imreel limit to England was raised to eleven pounds, and Oct. 1 the postal rate to that country was lowered to 2 cents, later the same to Germany. On Aug. 14 the president appointed a commission, headed by Prof(*saor L. H. Bailey of Cornell, to gather data look ing to betterment of farm life. May 13 to 15 at the White House tbe first conference of state governors and noted men met the president to dis cuss the conservation of national re sources. the conference making a new element of national unity. This body reassembled I>ec. 8 and approved *a | great scheme of waterways by a bond ' issue. Old World Rokre Had a .Nerve Racking Year. GREAT BRITAIN.—The government of King Edward began tbe year with a program of radical legislation, in cluding bid age pensions, frankly in tended as a sop to socialism, which showed signs of rapid growth along with the increase of the vast army of the unemployed. Asquith took the reins April 5, when Premier Banner- man retired on account of continued illncsa. Asquith carried through tbe .v-o (tension bill July 20, tbe plan of which is $1.25 a week to all over sev enty years of age wh<*se income is un der $150 a year, to take effect Jan. 1. 1969. The Asquith government encoun tered a boisterous campaign for wo man suffrage, the suffragettes organiz ing huge parades and rashes on the parliament to attract attention, many wbinen choosing prison terms rather than give bonds to keep the |(eace. Alarm over the signs coming revolt throughout India has Increased, with numerous acts of violence against the ruling Britons. CANADA felt the ef fects of the American depression in decreased exports and in a halt in her industrial development. The general elections Oct. 26 sustained the Laurier government A great historical pag eant marked the tercentenary of Quo- bee, the Prince of Wales attending. GERMANY.— The German people will remember the year 1908 as mark ing the end of their kaiser’s absolute, personal rule and the beginning of ministerial responsibility to the reicbo- tag. This revolution through tho power of public opinion voiced In tho radical press and In parliamentary ac tion of nearly all parties cams to a hood In October, the oucnalnu of tho being as Von Bulowr to account, and William made concessions. I 1 l;KEY.—The leaven of democ rat. showed signs of working even in the European stronghold of autocratic Islam. The sultan of Turkey saw bis army turning from him,tinricr the 1»- fluHiue of the Young Turk party and Ibu- powerless, he put Into effect the Ifitherto dead letter constitution of 187'> and called into being a national parliament at Constantinople. This body met amid rejoicing Dec 17. THE BALKANS. On Oct. 5 the whoh* status of southeastern Europe as ti.\«**l by the treaty of Berlin (1H7S» was suddenly altered. Bulgaria pro- claim**d its inde]>eudeiice, with Prince Ferdinand as Its czar and at the same time by concerted arrangement Austria announced to tbe (siwers that she propos«-d to annex completely the former Turkish provinces of Herze govina and Bostda, while the Turkish island of Crete moved toward a union with' Greece. War seemed unavoid able then, and the clouds still lower in the diplomatic sky as a gloomy omen of what the new year may have In store. The prompt action of the (Movers on motion of Russia iu agree ing' to hold a conference to readjust the balance iu the Balkans, the open ing of negotiations between Bulgaria and Turkey and the military Impo tence of Servla and Montenegro com bined to prevent an immediate out break. Later Turkey began a boycott of Austrian goods, and all the Balkan states prepared for war. PORT! GAL.—The ferment of Re- publicanism In the Portuguese mon- atvhy after long restraint found vent In the assassjnation of King Carlos and Cmwn Prince Luiz Feb. 1 while they were riding in the streets of Lisbon. The younger son, Manuel, who was slightly wou niied, succeeded to the throne, and the hated Premier Franco fled the country. Subsequent elections showed the Conservatives still In a large majority. . MOROCCO.-On Aug. 24 the oft re pented story of the defeat of Sultan A Infill Aziz by the forces of the (ire- tender. Mulai Hatid, proved to be true, and tho latier demanded recognition of the powers ns the sultan. That was where the German emjieror made a peck of trouble by recognizing Hnfld without consulting the nations In the Algecirns conference. France firmly ol>- Jecied, Spain seconded, and the kaiser “came down.” Then they ,all Imwed to Ha fid together. PERSIA.—The Radical first parlia ment at Teheran under the constitu tion granted In 1907 was wiped out of existence In n bloody battle with the shah's soldiers June 23. 400 persons be Ing killed In the streets, the parliament buildings battered down and some of the Radical leaders executed. The rev olutionist# captured and held Tabriz. JAPAN.—The Japanese government gave the American fleet a wonderful reception, the mikado and the presi dent exchanging most cordial greetings. CHINA. — On Nov. 13 Emperor Kwang Sen and the dowager empress, who had lieen for n generation the real ruler of Chinn, died. Pu Yi. the Infant son of Prince Chun, had been deaignated ns heir to the throne, and tbe regency was seized by Prince Chan. CENTRAL AMERICA hovered on the verge of war. hot finally the Issnes were laid iiefore the new Central American court of Justice, which was set up May 26 nt Cartage. Costa Rica, with all the states represented. VENEZUELA added Holland to the list of her “don’t speak” neighlsirs by expelling tile Dutch minister for some indiscretion, and the Dutch were hot for coercion. They began war Dec. 13 by capturing the Venezuelan const gnsrd ship. Alix. Sleeper, the American minister, finally broke off relations and quit the country owing to the failure of the Castro government responding to the overtures from Washington as to a settlement of claims. The- Vene zuelan minister later was recalled from Washington. President Castro sailed for Europe the last of November. CUBA rose to her new opportunity with orderly elections In December, Jose Miguel Gomez, the Liberal leader, being chosen pres^ent. HAITI wms torn by two revolts, that led by Jnneau and Firmln In January being crashed, but tbe second, under Antoine Simon, resulting in tbe blood less capture of Port au Prince and tbe fall of the Nord Alexis government Dec. 2. As the forces of Simon ap proached the capital the officers of Alexis deserted and the people turned against him. so that he was barely ■hie to escape with his life on board a French warship. Simon took posses sion of the city and on Dec. 17 was elected president by the Haitian con gress. Rays of Hope Follow Year of Business Distress. Everything is relative. While busi ness conditions In this country are •till far from what, they were two years ago, the end of 1906 presents an encouraging outlook in comparison to that which capital and labor faced last January. Then 338,000 freight cars were Idle, thousands of mills and fac tories were closed, at least 2,000,000 wage earners were unemployed, other millions worked on part time or et re duced wagee, goods on hand could not be eoM at a profit railroad and Indus trial stocks were bettered In price al most beyond recognition, and at high rates of Interest little money could be enticed from hiding. Fear poaeaaeed the tnatnaas common! ty on the are of ts which both from wage reductions, but few were successful. The railroads were between the dev il of reduced traffic and the deep wa of a threatened general strike. Their only apparent relief, if they ho(ied to pay salaries and dividends, was to raise freight rates. Here they met the opposition «if the shipioers barked by tin* preliminary investigation of the ! Interstate eonnnere#* euniiK*! in. The , Southwestern association did advance j rates in July, an^l aome southern lines redueed wages, while nearly all lines j laid off men. In December came the general announcement of a 10 (ht cent Increase to take effect Jan. 1, 1!*»9. E. II. Ilarrlmnu iu March’took full possessioh of ibe Georgia Central, which with a new connecting link gave him crooi continent system. On April 28 Cleveland's three cent fare municipal street railway system went into effect, but hardly was it j started w hen a bitter strike was called ; to enforce a former contract fur wage ^ Inerease. Riots aud ear dynamiting tied up the lines for weeks, but tbe city finally won. A deficit the first two months gave way later to a sur plus. but the public, dissatisfied with the service, voted in the Oct. 2 refer endum against the municipal fran chise, and a few wrecks later the com pany wqs thrown into a receivership. Secretary Wilson reported the value of all « rops to the former to Ik* $7,772.- OOO.octt, a new record, corn heading the list with 2.643.1’<>,(M) bushels. Jan. 9 New York celebrated the com pletion and operation of its first East river tunnel and of Its first Hudson river tunnel from Holstkcu Feb. 25. riiilndclphia’s. $20,(x«).(ioo Market street subway was opened July 30. The ocean speed record was lowered ro|K»atedly In- the big British turbines, the Lusitania finally doing the l>est western trip In 4 days 15 minutes. Regulation of Trusts and Pursuit of Grafters. The American spille of 1907 whe'a Judge Lamlia fined the-oil trust $29.- 240,000 for takings Alton rebates cer tainly came off July 22 last, when Judge Grosscup and associates of the court of appeals at Chicago reversed laiudis on the assumption that the fine was excessive and not based on good law. What the chief hunter of the big octopus had to say of that particular turn in the road was that the merits of the case had not been touched and he would “regard it ns a gross miscar riage of justice if through any techni calities” the quarry should escape. The president at once had the motion for a rehearing made. This was denied, and the famous case goes up on appeal to the supreme court. But in the meantime the government pack was iu full cry along other paths, the chief of which led toward the dis solution of tbe Standard Oil company. Sept. 10 at Philadelphia Judge Gray and associates on the circuit bench sustained the right of railroads to own* and operate coal mines, holding the commodity clause of tbe Hepburn bill to be despotic and confiscatory. Federal suits were also started against tbe Harriman railroad trust and against the powder trust, while numerous tinea were imposed on rail roads and other corporations under the Elkins law for rebating. On March 23 the supreme court, 8 to 1, invalidated the Minnesota and North Carolina rate laws, holding that federal courts had the right to review and to stay execu tion to protect stockholders. The Ala bama rate law was held up by 4he cir cuit court pending investigation of reasonableness of rates. Pennsylvania two cent rate law was Invalidated by the state supreme court. On Nov. 31 tbe United States supreme court ruled that the order of the Virginia railroad commission fixing a two cent passen ger rate wa* subject to review and must be tried before the highest state court before seeking federal interven tion. In December tbe circuit court of appeals enjoined tbe tobacco trust from continuing Interstate traffic. Early lu January the supreme court knocked out the employers’ liability law because It was uot confined to bi ters tale corporations. On Jan. 25 it ruled that membership in a union might justify dismissal of interstate railroad employees. On Feb. 3 in the famous Danbury hatters’ boycott case it decided unanimously that the boy cott as a method of fighting capital Is Illegal when declared against goods in interstate traffic. President Gompers and other A. F. of L. officials were en joined from publishing an “unfair list” On March 9 the California' supreme court vacated tbe conviction of former Mayor Schmitz, and be was freed on heavy bail covering other charges after having been confined ten mouths. When in November his pal. Boss Ruef, was brought to trial jbe desperation of tbs^ graft forces showed itself In the act ' of one discredited saloon man, Haas, who shot Heney in court Though Honey was seriously Injured, lx* recovered to continue tbe fight with Increased public Sympathy. Ruef was convicted Dec. 11 and faced u prison term. Four of Pennsylvania’s capltol grafters were convicted lu February and sentenced Dec. 18 to two yean In prison and $500 fine each. On Nov. 6 at New York Charles W. Morse, the millionaire whose illegal banking practices were believed to have started the financial panic of 1907, was brought to stern jufitice with convlctloci and a fifteen year sen tence. At the same tfma sentence tor bank, w oft* urroMcd lot lb** un»usv of over a i i. 11 Lion . f the- l ank funds. In June tin >y were seuteucoil to ten years oa<*ii. l )n .\ia.< f WiliiuiJ -Vmtg.im- cry. « •ashler « i the Alleghany ^N -.ional bank . H'( is a -ct! sed of «liverd"'»K which Ultllu ate ly ran uy to *1.356.00". iuclud- lug some state * funds. He was sen- U*u • •i > ■ i liftec U w yenrs in prison. Kcutn Li's tobacco Night Riders *.i 1 IK iditfoiia il raids iu sjiite of the tfi**: s soul out to < hock tin iu. and on Oct. 2‘* a hand of dispossessed squat- ters < i<n R<*t‘if"« >t lake. Tennessee, kid- na[K‘< 1 ( ’aptqiu Kankiu and Colonel Tu;. k >r of Tre ntou. They hung tho formi IT, but the latter escaped by swim uiiug the ! lak *. Troops were call- od out. ami many arrests won* made. Tho most serious race riots of tbe year (Kvurnil at Springfield. III., Aug. 14 and 15, uimb a wild mob killed nine persons, injured, eighty and burn ed houses occupied by negriKM .Troops were called out and the leaders brought to Just li e. l The last of the Idaho oases against ; minors’ officials ended with the ac quittal of George A. Fettibone in Jan uary. Harry Orchard, the confessed murderer of Governor Stounenbucg. whose testimony implicated the min ers, received a death sentence, which later was commuted to a life term. Caleb Powers, four times tried in eicht years for the murder of Governor G«k‘1m*1. was pardoned by Governor Willson of Kentucky. Science, Sociology, Religion and Other Data. Contiguous mechanical flight as a human feat has l>eon publicly demon strated to the satisfaction of the world by the two American aviators. Wilbur and Orville Wright, giving as surance of new military weapons and promise of practical commercial ap plications. Having finished tbelr se cret trials at Kill Devil hill. North * 'arolina, last May and having receiv ed patent protection here and abroad, the Wrights made public the details of their work. Wilbur then took one machine to Io» Mans, France, and Or ville another to Fort Myer, Va., for official trials in September. Orville scored first, making a record flight of 1 hour 14 minutes 20 seconds (»rlor to the fatal trial of Sept. 27, when the aeroplane, carrying the Inventor and Lieutenant Selfridge, fell with a broken propeller, killing Selfridge and breaking several of VPright’s bones. Lajer Wilbur sailed the air alone 1 hour knd 31 minutes and on Oct. 10 took along one man for 1 hour 9 min utes 45 seconds, winning $100,000 for the invention from a French syndi cate. Farman and Delagrange also made successful aeroplane flights In France, the former winning the Arch- Deacon prize for the first circular mile, while the tetrahedron machine of Bell and Baldwin nt Hatnmonds- port, N. Y., was flown short distances. Count Zeppelin of Germany again led the world In the dirigible balloon field, although his series of flights culminated Aug. I in the burning of his huge rigid gas airship at Mayence. where he bad paused In a storm for repairs after a continuous Journey of 281 miles In 11 honrs. With popular aid he built another ship. In which be made more flights In November, win ning the kaiser’s praise and selling his Invention to the government. The dirigible balloon built by Thom as W. Baldwin on official trial at Fort Myer, Va., in August attained a speed of 19.16 miles an hour on a two hour trip aud was bought by the war department for $6,000. Both the pan-Anglican conference and the Lambeth conference at linden went on record for socialism. The Methodist general conference at Balti more took advanced ground for indus trial reforms and prohibition, but re fused to change the code of discipline. The Episcopal diocese of New York made a working arrangement with or- ganizeef labor. On tbe other band, the American Catholic society sharply con demned socialism. The first assem bling of the Catholic hosts in this country took place Ih Chicago in No vember, the occasion being the celebra tion of the transfer of the United States from a mission country to a country with an independent national church. Signs of a comiug unification of all churches were seen first in the warm interchanges between the Methodist Episcopal conference at Baltimore and the Methodist I’rotestant conference at Pittsburg, in * the union motions be tween the latter and the Congregation al and United Brethren, In the union favored by the Presbyterian general conference at Kansas City with the Reformed church and finally In tbe first meeting of tbe great federal coun cil of the Churches of Christ In Amer ica at Philadelphia in December. - This council also took advanced ground for practical social reforms. American athletes won a majority of the events in the Olympic games at Ixmdon in July, John Hayes being the Marathon winner. In November he was beaten by Dorando In Madison Square Garden. New York, and on Dec. 15 at the same place Ddrnndo was beaten by Longboat, the Canadian In dian. The baseball leaders were the Chicago Cuba and the Detraits. Famous persons who died In 1908 were; Charles Emory Smith, iMmyind C. Stedman, Edward A. McDon ald, August WUhelmj. Louise de la' Ramee (Ouida). Redfleki Proctor, sen ator from Vermont; William Pinch- ney Whyte, senator from Maryland; WnMam B. AlUacm. senator from Iowa; C- IWt*r Mnrat mem \.