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VOL. 1 AUGUST 5, 1897. NO. 39
It seemed, at the early part of last week, as though the Sultan of Turkey might be brought to terms, but matters have again become threatening, and the outcome is as doubtful as ever.
The Sultan is a very wily person, and, finding that delays and triflings would no longer serve him, he changed his tactics and said that he had been misrepresented by the reports, and was as anxious for peace as the rest of the Powers.
He issued a proclamation of the most friendly character, declaring it to be the plain duty of Turkey to put an end to the uncertainty, and commanded his ministers to find some means of coming to an agreement.
The following day the Ambassadors sent to Tewfik Pasha, and asked him whether Turkey was willing to resume the peace councils in accordance with the wishes of the Powers. They stated very clearly that if matters were not to be discussed on those lines, they would be obliged to break off the conference, and tell their various governments that Turkey could only be made to obey by force of arms.
After consulting with his Government, Tewfik Pasha replied that the Porte was willing to accept the frontier suggested—with some slight alterations.
This did not seem unreasonable to the Ambassadors, and they telegraphed hopefully to their governments that the peace was as good as concluded.
As to the slight changes asked for, the Powers had informed Turkey early in the conference that they would be willing to meet her wishes in regard to the frontier line if it was possible to do so.
Everything seemed in train for a speedy peace. In addition to being willing to give up Thessaly, the Sultan had also intimated that he would reduce the sum of money asked for as war indemnity. When first the negotiations were commenced, Turkey demanded $50,000,000. It was said that she would now accept $20,000,000.
The Ambassadors were prepared to have the Porte (the Turkish Government) ask that all the mountain passes between Greece and Turkey should be given to Turkey, and that the army should continue to occupy Thessaly until the war indemnity was paid. They thought that the final understanding would be reached at the very next meeting.
They were doomed to disappointment. The following day, when the conference assembled, Tewfik Pasha kept the Ambassadors waiting a long time for him, and, when he at last appeared, laid a new frontier plan before the diplomats.
To their surprise, they found that the frontier demanded was mapped out in direct opposition to their wishes.
They one and all declined to discuss it, and informed Tewfik that they would adjourn until he brought a written acceptance of the frontier as they had designated it, and the meeting broke up with unpleasant feeling on both sides.
The military experts who had arranged the frontier line had appointed the day after this stormy interview to meet the Turkish frontier commission.
They waited and waited, but the Turks did not put in an appearance.
They then went over and reported the fact to the Ambassadors, who had met together in the council room—in the hope that Tewfik would come with the written acceptance.
The hours went by and brought no Tewfik.
The Ambassadors went to the Austrian embassy to talk the matter over and decide what course they should pursue. They had hardly reached the place before the Pasha appeared. He said that the Sultan, his master, had detained him and the military commission, discussing the situation, and added that the Sultan had decided to appoint two of the military delegates to discuss the peace negotiations in his (Tewfik's) place.
Believing this to be but an excuse for further delay, the Ambassadors one and all refused to have any dealings with any one but Tewfik Pasha.
The Turkish Minister then withdrew, to acquaint His Majesty with the decision of the Ambassadors—and so the matter stands for the present.
No one knows what the Sultan's next move will be.
England does not believe that he really intends to give up Thessaly, but the other Powers think that he will do so as soon as he is absolutely sure that a refusal will mean war.
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The most interesting news in regard to Cuba this week is the renewal of the report that Spain and Japan have entered into an alliance against the United States.
A correspondent at Paris, France, telegraphs that the understanding between the two countries is to the effect that should the United States take any active measures to secure the freedom of Cuba, or persist in the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, Spain and Japan shall declare war on her at the same moment. The plan is that Spain shall send vessels to attack our Atlantic seaboard, and Japan shall simultaneously make war on the Pacific coast.
Inquiries at the Japanese embassy only elicited a denial of the report. The Japanese insist that it is absurd to think of an alliance between Japan and Spain, because there is an unfriendly feeling between the two countries on account of the war in the Philippine Islands. Spain, as you may remember, accused Japan of assisting the rebels in Manila with the hope of securing the Philippines for herself.
Inquiries were also made of the Secretary of State, but the department denied the truth of the rumors as firmly as the Japanese had done.
We should not be too sure that these rumors are false on this account, for Ambassadors and diplomatists are frequently obliged, for state reasons, to deny facts which they know to be perfectly true.
There has been considerable excitement in Havana on account of the arrest of some fifty of the most prominent merchants in the city.
The charge made against them was that they had been shipping goods into the interior of the island without a license, as required by a recent rule of Weyler's.
The true cause of their arrest was that a number of packages containing medicine and ammunition were found on board one of the trains leaving Havana. Weyler declared that these packages were intended for the Cuban rebels, and had the merchants arrested.
There is intense indignation in Havana over this outrage. All the men arrested were wealthy and prominent, some having held important official positions in the city—one in particular having been Mayor.
It is openly said that the whole affair was planned by the Spaniards to give them an opportunity of plundering these men of their wealth. It is reported that the Chief of Police has informed the prisoners that they will be released, and no further proceedings taken against them, if they will pay him the sum of one million dollars.
When the news of these arrests became known, crowds gathered around the jail, protesting against the Government and calling loudly for the recall of Weyler.
The Government in Madrid has been cabled to upon the subject, but so far no reply has been received.
A dispatch from Madrid tells us that the people are indignant over Senor Canovas' promise to send another twenty thousand soldiers to Cuba.
They say that Spain has already suffered enough, and that the Government ought not to ask for any more money or soldiers.
They complain that they were told that Cuba was pacified a month ago, and that nothing remained to be done but to subdue some bands of insurgents that were scattered throughout the island. This was only a month ago, and now they are asked to prepare a fresh army to go to Cuba, and are told that the Spanish cause has met with disaster.
The Spanish papers are openly declaring that the time has come to put a stop to the sacrifice of men and money, and that the mother country must end her wars and give her people peace.
The latest news of the insurgents is that Gomez is advancing on Havana, and promises that at the gates of the city he will show General Weyler whether the island is really pacified or not.
He has issued a proclamation, saying that Spain might as well stop any attempt to grant reforms to Cuba. He says: "We will accept neither reforms nor home rule. Spain must know that this war is one for independence, and that the Cubans would rather die than yield. The day we lifted our flag of liberty, we wrote on it: 'Independence or death.'"
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The committee appointed to inquire into the Transvaal raid has sent in its report to Parliament—or, to speak correctly, it has sent in two reports, for the members could not agree.
One report says that, whatever justification there may have been for the people of Johannesberg to rebel against the rule of the Boers, there was none whatever for Mr. Cecil Rhodes to organize and dispatch an invading army into the Transvaal.
This portion of the committee declares that the blame rests entirely on Cecil Rhodes, notwithstanding the fact that Dr. Jameson did finally invade the territory without direct orders.
They find that Cecil Rhodes seriously embarrassed the home and colonial governments, by thus breaking the peaceful understanding between the nations; and further, that he used his high position to provoke a rebellion, and deliberately deceived the home Government that he might be able to carry out his own personal plans. The Government in England is declared to be entirely innocent of any knowledge of the affair, but two officers of the colonial Government are found guilty.
To the surprise of everybody, the report contains no suggestion for the punishment of any of the offenders.
In regard to Cecil Rhodes' refusal to produce the telegrams which they asked for, the committee says that he ought undoubtedly to be disciplined for his conduct, but that it would take so much time to do so that it would perhaps be as well to let the matter alone.
This is one report.
The other is much stronger in its tone. It blames everybody concerned, and says that there is little doubt that the raid was simply a plot arranged to make wealthy men wealthier.
This report does not agree that the home Government is entirely blameless. It says that it is a pity that the matter was not more fully investigated, so that it could be thoroughly ascertained whether the Government, and especially Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, was in truth ignorant of the plot.
Both reports agree that the officers who led the raiders imagined that they were acting under orders from the British Government, and that they have been punished more heavily than they deserved. The second report suggests that their commissions should be restored to them.
After the raid was over these soldiers were arrested and sent to England, where they were tried for invading a friendly country without proper authority. They were found guilty and sent to Holloway Jail in London.
When they were convicted they were one and all deprived of their commissions in the British army. While they were only imprisoned for a short time, and were not harshly treated in any sense, the fact of being dismissed from the army was a very serious thing for them.
A commission in the army means the authority by which the officer holds his rank of Captain or Colonel—or whatever it may be—and is naturally valued very highly by the holder.
In England, especially, the highest class of young men go into the army as officers, and to leave the army without wishing to, to have one's commission taken away from one, is a great disgrace. An officer who leaves the army at his own wish has all other careers open to him, but one who is dismissed from the service is disgraced and cannot easily find fresh employment, and moreover loses all the income and standing that being an officer in the army had given him.
This is the position of the officers who led the Transvaal raid; they have been disgraced and deprived of their profession.
If, indeed, they are innocent, it is only right that their commissions should be restored to them.
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The Tariff Conference has done its work very rapidly.
After less than two weeks of discussion, this committee has prepared its report and given it to Congress.
It was presented to the House on the 20th of July, and after a debate of two hours it was adopted by a vote of 185 to 115.
The Conference had done its work so well, and had arranged the changes in the bill in such a manner, that the House made little objection to them.
The measure now goes to the Senate, where it has to be readopted; but, as the changes made by the Conference were so very slight, no doubt is felt that it will be passed without delay.
Unless something very unforeseen occurs, it will be in the hands of the President before the week is out, and the Dingley Bill will then become a law.
There is general rejoicing that the long and tedious discussion is over, and that Congress will be able to adjourn before many days have passed.
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An interesting story comes from Paris about the new X-rays.
According to the account which reaches us, an apparatus has been prepared by which the Custom House officers can examine the baggage and ascertain whether there are any dutiable articles concealed in it, without going through all the trouble of unpacking and searching.
It is said that cigars can be easily counted by this new process, which promises to be a great success.
The method of using it is very simple.
The instrument is mounted on a large table; one of the Custom House officers takes the fluoroscope and stands at the end of the table. Two others seize the baggage, and piece by piece hold it in front of the rays for examination.
If this method is really as useful as it is declared to be, it will save an infinite amount of trouble in our Custom House. Unfortunately there are so many more dutiable articles in this country than in France that it is possible even the X-rays might not be sharp enough to discover them all.
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The treaty for the annexation of Hawaii has been approved by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and returned to the Senate for ratification.
The committee thoroughly approved of the treaty, and sent it to the Senate without any alteration or criticism. It therefore stands as we explained it to you in No. 34.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Davis, would be glad to have the treaty ratified at once, as he thinks that speedy action would be the best way to avoid any trouble with Japan. He has, however, been warned that if he tries to press the treaty this session, the Senate will block it with the lengthy discussions about which we told you. Senator Davis therefore thinks that it will be best to let the matter rest for the present.
The President called a cabinet council to discuss the affairs of Hawaii, and at the council a policy was laid down to protect our interests in the Sandwich Islands until the treaty can be ratified.
In accordance with this policy full instructions have been sent to Rear-Admiral Beardslee, who is in command of the cruiser Philadelphia, which is now in Hawaiian waters.
The Admiral has been commanded to land a force of sailors and marines and hoist the American flag over the Hawaiian Islands at the first sign of hostility from Japan.
As we stated before, the American fleet in Hawaiian waters is to be reinforced by the battle-ship Oregon, one of our first-class cruisers. This will give the Admiral three vessels under his command—the Philadelphia, the Oregon, and the Marion. There have been several rumors that the Marion was to be recalled, because she was an old-fashioned wooden ship, and was badly in need of repairs. She will, however, remain where she is for the present.
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Reliable information has been brought to us of an enormous find of gold on the borders of British Columbia and Alaska.
The accounts of the find read like a fairy-story.
Those familiar with placer mining declare that the new gold-fields are the richest and finest ever discovered; they say that the California find of 1849 cannot be compared with this present one.
The place where this great discovery has been made is on the borders of Alaska, not many miles east of the British Columbia boundary, and therefore on English territory. It is called the Klondike district.
The Klondike is a river, a tributary of the Yukon River, into which it flows above Forty Mile Creek.
The story of the find is interesting.
It was discovered by an old hunter named McCormick.
McCormick had married an Indian squaw, and was therefore, according to the custom, known by the uncomplimentary name of squaw man, and was not much liked by other white men.
He lived a very lonely life in his cabin, with his squaw wife and his half-Indian children, and made his living by hunting and fishing.
In the spring of 1896 he went up the Klondike River to fish. At the point where this stream meets the Yukon, very large salmon are often caught. It was for this profitable spot that McCormick set out.
He had poor luck, however. The salmon didn't run as usual, and his fishing expedition was a failure.
He didn't want to go home empty-handed, and cast about for some fresh game. In his uncertainty he bethought him that the Indians had often told him that gold was very abundant in this region, and could be washed out of the sand in any little pan or vessel that hunters happened to carry.
Failing to catch salmon, he determined to seek for gold, and, starting off in the direction the Indians had pointed out, he soon found that their stories were absolutely true.
Filling his pockets with all the nuggets he could carry, he started back with the news.
As soon as word was spread abroad, the miners began to rush into the new district.
After McCormick's fishing-trip several men went prospecting, and, finding that he had not exaggerated the greatness of his discovery, men began to hurry to the Klondike region to take up their claims and secure their share of the great prize.
The work of mining this gold is very lengthy and somewhat curious.
The Yukon region, in which the Klondike lies, is very cold. Alaska is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, and the Arctic circle runs right through the Yukon country. You can imagine therefore that it is terribly cold, and that the ground is frozen nearly all the year round.
The rich pay-dirt in which the gold is found lies from eighteen to twenty-five feet below the surface. It would not pay the miners to wait for the short warm season when the frost is out of the ground to make their harvest; so they have found a plan to get at the gold all the year round, no matter how hard or frozen the earth may be.
They build great fires on the top of the gravel, and fix them so that they shall burn all night. When morning comes about eighteen inches of the ground beneath the fire is found to be thawed out. This surface is shovelled away, and another fire built on the gravel where it is frozen again.
They keep right on in this slow and tedious way, until finally the pay-dirt is reached.
The yield from these new gold-fields is something wonderful. It is greater than anything ever recorded in the history of gold mining.
One miner, who is a thoroughly experienced man, declares that he is absolutely amazed at the amount of gold that has already been produced. He says that the work has only been commenced, and that this present find which is setting people crazy is nothing to the gold that will be discovered as soon as the miners really get to work.
He stated that, in addition to the rich pay-dirt we have already spoken of, there were veins of gold in the rocks underneath, which veins appeared to grow richer the farther they were probed. In his opinion the gold deposits of the Yukon region form the mother vein of all the gold in North America.
Many people are hurrying to the Klondike district from all parts, and the excitement is intense.
San Francisco has caught the gold fever. It reached the city through some miners from Klondike, who arrived by steamer, bringing with them piles of shining gold to prove the truth of their stories.
Not one member of this party went up to Alaska with anything more than his outfit and a few hundred dollars. All have brought back stores of riches.
The smallest amount of gold owned by any of these men was valued at five thousand dollars, while several had as much as fifty thousand dollars' worth.
The luckiest people in this little band were a Mr. and Mrs. Lippey, who left New York in April, 1896.
Mrs. Lippey was the first woman to go over the trail to Klondike. She went because she did not wish her husband to undertake the journey alone, preferring to share his hardships with him.
They brought back sixty thousand dollars' worth of gold.
Another party has just reached Seattle, Wash., having come direct by steamer from St. Michaels, Alaska.
In this party there were sixty-eight people, who brought back with them one and one-half tons of gold. This is worth nearly a million dollars.
The gold is found in dust and nuggets ranging in size from a hazelnut to fine bird-shot.
It must not be supposed that this gold is lightly earned. Those who have returned say that the hardships of the life are beyond description. Many declare that no amount of gold could tempt them back, as beyond the hard, rough life, the severe cold, and the constant labor, there is an ever-present dread of starvation. It is difficult for any man to take in sufficient food to last him through the long winter, and there is hardly any possibility of obtaining more when the supplies run out.
A company has been formed to send provisions up into the district, and if this is done the work will be rendered much easier.
The treasury of the United States has already begun to feel the benefit of the Klondike gold discovery.
The San Francisco mint has received half a million dollars' worth of the gold, and expects another half-million by the next steamer.
The Mint Bureau has been informed that Alaskan gold has been received at several of the Pacific ports for shipment to the East, and the ton and a half from Seattle is also on its way.
* * * * *
There has long been a movement on foot to limit the wearing of feathers on hats.
So many charming birds are slaughtered to adorn the headgear of our women folks, that it has been feared some of the songsters might become extinct.
A law has, however, just been passed for their protection in Massachusetts, which forbids the use of certain birds for millinery purposes.
The petition begging that a bill of this character might be framed by the State Senators was drawn up by United States Senator George F. Hoar.
The petition was supposed to come from the birds themselves, and to be signed by thirty-five song-birds. It was written in such a delightful manner that it roused the interest of the Massachusetts Legislature, and the desired bill was prepared and passed in an astonishingly short space of time.
The document is so pretty and graceful in its tone and language that you would certainly like to read it for yourselves.
Here it is:
"To the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
"We, the song-birds of Massachusetts and their playfellows, make this our humble petition. We know more about you than you think we do. We know how good you are. We have hopped about the roofs and looked in at your windows of the houses you have built for poor and sick and hungry people and little lame and deaf and blind children. We have built our nests in the trees and sung many a song as we flew about the gardens and parks you have made so beautiful for your children, especially your poor children, to play in. Every year we fly a great way over the country, keeping all the time where the sun is bright and warm. And we know that whenever you do anything the people all over this great land between the seas and the great lakes find it out, and pretty soon will try to do the same. We know. We know.
"We are Americans just the same as you are. Some of us, like some of you, came across the great sea. But most of the birds like us have lived here a long while; and the birds like us welcomed your fathers when they came here many, many years ago. Our fathers and mothers have always done their best to please your fathers and mothers.
"Now, we have a sad story to tell you. Thoughtless or bad people are trying to destroy us. They kill us because our feathers are beautiful. Even pretty and sweet girls, who, we should think, would be our best friends, kill our brothers and children so that they may wear our plumage on their hats. Sometimes people kill us for mere wantonness. Cruel boys destroy our nests and steal our eggs and our young ones. People with guns and snares lie in wait to kill us; as if the place for a bird were not in the sky, alive, but in a shop window or in a glass case. If this goes on much longer all our song-birds will be gone. Already we are told in some other countries that used to be full of birds they are now almost gone. Even the nightingales are being killed in Italy.
"Now we humbly pray that you will stop all this and will save us from this sad fate. You have always made a law that no one shall kill a harmless song-bird or destroy our nests or our eggs. Will you please make another one that no one shall wear our feathers, so that no one will kill us to get them? We want them all ourselves. Your pretty girls are pretty enough without them. We are told that it is as easy for you to do it as for a blackbird to whistle.
"If you will, we know how to pay you a hundred times over. We will teach your children to keep themselves clean and neat. We will show them how to live together in peace and love and to agree as we do in our nests. We will build pretty houses which you will like to see. We will play about your garden and flower-beds—ourselves like flowers on wings—without any cost to you. We will destroy the wicked insects and worms that spoil your cherries and currants and plums and apples and roses. We will give you our best songs, and make the spring more beautiful and the summer sweeter to you. Every June morning when you go out into the field, oriole and bluebird and blackbird and bobolink will fly after you and make the day more delightful to you. And when you go home tired after sundown, vesper-sparrow will tell you how grateful we are. When you sit down on your porch after dark, fifebird and hermit-thrush and wood-thrush will sing to you, and even whippoorwill will cheer you up a little. We know where we are safe. In a little while all the birds will come to live in Massachusetts again, and everybody who loves music will like to make a summer home with you."
The signers are:
Brown thrasher, Kingbird, Robert o' Lincoln, Swallow, Hermit-thrush, Cedarbird, Vesper-sparrow, Cowbird, Robin redbreast, Martin, Song-sparrow, Veery, Scarlet tanager, Vireo, Summer redbird, Oriole, Blue heron, Blackbird, Hummingbird, Fifebird, Yellowbird, Wren, Whippoorwill, Linnet, Water-wagtail, Peewee, Woodpecker, Phoebe, Pigeon-woodpecker, Yokebird, Indigo-bird, Lark, Yellowthroat, Sandpiper, Wilson's thrush, Chewink. Chickadee,
The bill which was drawn up in response to this petition provides that any one who shall wear birds or feathers for the purpose of dress or ornament shall be fined $10, and that the same fine shall be exacted from all persons who take or kill certain specially mentioned song-birds.
The police are rather worried over the new law, because they are not sure whether they have the right to arrest ladies who are wearing feathers in their hats.
The Chief of Police has sent out a circular (containing a copy of the act that has just been passed) to all milliners and dealers in birds' feathers.
He intends to punish these merchants if they infringe the law, and then, when the law has had time to be generally known and understood, he intends to arrest all women who still persist in wearing feathers in their hats.
New York passed a similar law last year, but the Governor refused to sign it, because the Forest Commissioners did not approve of it.
* * * * *
We told you last week that President McKinley was anxious to withhold the letters that had passed between this country and England in reference to the seal question.
Unfortunately his wishes have been thwarted by the publication of Mr. Sherman's letter to Ambassador Hay.
It is a great pity that this letter found its way into print, for it is most unfriendly in its tone.
It accuses Great Britain of bad faith in her method of carrying out the terms of the Paris treaty. It declares that at the end of the first year the United States discovered that the provisions of the Paris treaty were not sufficient for the protection of the seals, and that this Government immediately asked England to call a conference and reconsider the matter.
Great Britain put off replying to this request for three years, and now, after all this delay, says that there is nothing to show that seal life is in danger.
Mr. Sherman, in his letter, complains that the English Prime Minister bases his refusal on the report of an English scientist named Prof. D'Arcy Thompson. This report Secretary Sherman declares to be so greatly at variance with the reports of Dr. David Starr Jordan and the many observations made by other distinguished naturalists, that he insists that it is not a reliable document, but merely written to suit the political situation.
The publication of this correspondence has called forth much angry comment from England.
The result of the affair has been exactly what the President predicted—the rousing of unnecessary bad feeling between the two countries.
* * * * *
We have had a slight disagreement with the Moorish Government.
The country of Morocco is situated on the northwest of Africa, and is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.
The Straits of Gibraltar lie between Morocco and Spain, and the Pillars of Hercules, about which you have probably heard, are the promontories of Europe and Africa which jut out into the Mediterranean Sea at the Straits, and are but eight miles apart.
The European point is called the Rock of Gibraltar; the African, Abyla, or Apes' Hill, from the number of apes that have made their home on it.
Morocco is ruled by a Sultan, whose authority is supreme.
The Moors, as the inhabitants of this country are called, are a very ancient and warlike people, who were at one time a very powerful race.
In the twelfth century they conquered Andalusia, Valencia, and a part of Aragon in Spain, together with a portion of Portugal. In Spain they established the Kingdom of Granada, about which so many enchanting poems and romances have been written.
In the city of Granada they built the famous Alhambra. This magnificent palace and citadel was built by the Moorish kings of Granada in the thirteenth century. The Royal Villa, the Generaliffe, which is also in the city of Granada, was built about the same time.
The Alhambra and the Generaliffe are considered two of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The architecture and the decorations are perfect in detail and execution. You must read some time Washington Irving's "Alhambra." It is filled with interesting legends of these Moorish palaces.
The Moors were driven out of Spain in the fifteenth century.
They are still a very warlike people, and have had frequent campaigns against France and Spain.
Their country is supposed to be very rich in minerals, but as yet it has not been developed.
A great part of the trade of Morocco is controlled by foreigners, and in consequence special laws have had to be made to protect the traders.
According to the treaty between the United States and the Sultan of Morocco, American traders are allowed to employ two natives as agents for the sale of their goods. These natives are given the same protection as Americans.
The trouble with Morocco arose from the fact that one of the native agents, while returning from his rounds, was assaulted and robbed of $1,200, the outrage occurring in broad daylight in front of the consulate.
The merchant for whom the agent was working reported the matter to the Moorish Government, and demanded that the thieves should be arrested and punished.
Notwithstanding that these robbers were well-known characters, the Moorish authorities made no attempt to bring them to justice, and paid no attention to the protests of the Consul.
The agent and the merchant immediately filed a claim for damages against the Moorish Government, and the Consul cabled to this country, asking that an American gunboat be sent to Tangier, to show the Moors that the United States proposes to protect her citizens.
The flag-ship San Francisco and the cruiser Raleigh immediately set out for Tangier, one of the principal seaports of Morocco.
The appearance of these vessels had a very healthy effect on the authorities. One of the robbers was immediately arrested, and the Moors agreed to search for the other and bring him to justice.
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A story comes from Oklahoma that gophers have completely destroyed a canal which has recently been built at an expense of $40,000.
These gophers are little animals, striped and spotted, and about the size of a large rat.
The Oklahoma Canal was built to bring the waters of the river through the town, with the idea of erecting mills all along the banks and making Oklahoma a more prosperous city.
It was laid out by expert engineers, and took a large amount of time and money to build; it was five miles long.
When the canal was completed and opened, it proved a great success; there was sufficient force of water to turn any number of mills, and a great era of money-making appeared to be ahead of Oklahoma.
Unfortunately the soil through which the canal had been dug was porous and sandy.
Before the work had been long completed, gophers appeared on the banks and began to burrow their holes.
The water washed into the burrows, and soon a crevasse appeared, and the canal swept through the sandy banks.
Repairs were attempted, and for a long time the people were so anxious to preserve their canal that they continued these repairs at great expense. Finally the Canal Company became discouraged; they could no longer afford to fight the gophers, and so they abandoned the waterway and left the little pests the victors.
In a very short time the canal was gone.
The banks, riddled by the gophers, gave way, and the waters soon flowed back into their original course. Where the canal once ran, farmers are now ploughing and planting their crops, and Oklahoma has lost its fine canal.
G.H. ROSENFELD.
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WE ARE PREPARING
A
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EXAMINATIONS
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SAMPLE SET, RELIEF MAPS (15), $1.00 SAMPLE ROMAN EMPIRE, - 10 CENTS
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"The Great Round World" PRIZE CONTEST
THE GREAT ROUND WORLD is now over six months old, and it feels some anxiety to know just how much interest its readers have taken in the news and how much information they have gained from its pages. To ascertain this, it has been decided to offer ten prizes for the best answers to the following:
Name ten of the most important events that have been mentioned in "The Great Round World" in the first 30 numbers, that is, up to number of June 3d.
In mentioning these events give briefly reasons for considering them important.
This competition will be open to subscribers only, and any one desiring to enter the competition must send to this office their name and the date of their subscription; a number will then be given them.
All new subscribers will be furnished with a card entitling them to enter the competition.
In making the selection of important events, remember that wars and political events are not necessarily the most important. If, for instance, the air-ship had turned out to be a genuine and successful thing, it would have been most important as affecting the history of the world. Or if by chance the telephone or telegraph had been invented in this period, these inventions would have been important events.
Prizes will be awarded to those who make the best selection and who mention the events in the best order of their importance. Answers may be sent in any time before September 1st.
The Great Round World does not want you to hurry over this contest, but to take plenty of time and do the work carefully. It will be a pleasant occupation for the summer months.
We would advise you to take the magazines starting at No. 1, look them over carefully, keep a note-book at your side, and jot down in it the events that seem to you important; when you have finished them all, No. 1 to 30, look over your notes and select the ten events that seem to you to be the most important, stating after each event your reason for thinking it important.
For instance: suppose you decide that the death of Dr. Ruiz was one of these important events, you might say, "The killing of Dr. Ruiz in the prison of Guanabacoa—because it brought the cruelties practised on American citizens to the attention of our Government," etc., etc.
In sending your answers put your number and the date only on them, for the judges are not to know names and addresses of the contestants, that there may be no favoritism shown.
It is important to put date on, for if two or more are found of similar standing, the one first received will be given preference.
Address all letters to REVIEW PRIZE CONTEST DEPARTMENT, GREAT ROUND WORLD, 3 and 5 West 18th Street, New York City.
Write answer on one side of the paper only Prizes will be selections from the premium catalogue
No. 1. Premiums as given for 15 Subscriptions No. 2. " " " " 12 " No. 3. " " " " 10 " No. 4. " " " " 9 " No. 5. " " " " 8 " No. 6. " " " " 7 " No. 7. " " " " 5 " No. 8. " " " " 5 " No. 9. " " " " 5 " No. 10. " " " " 5 "
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