The press and standard. [volume] (Walterboro, S.C.) 1890-current, December 30, 1908, Image 2
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
\.