Some Leading Events in the Current Story of the World

SOME LEADING EVENTS IN THE CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. BY DR. J. M. TANNER, SUPERINTENDENT OF CHURCH SCHOOLS. Chamberlain in South Africa. Now that the mission of Chamberlain to South Africa is closing, people are beginning to take an inventory of results, in order to determine whether they justify the undertaking. Mr. Chamberlain journeyed in South Africa as far north as the Transvaal, and talked to the Boers on various occasions, holding out to them the "olive leaf." From most reliable information, he has certainly allayed much prejudice in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. One of the chief purposes of his visit was to confer with the mine owners at Johannesburg; become familiar with the conditions of this great mining camp; and reach some definite conclusion, amicably if possible, as to what proportion of the great war debt the mine owners, for whose benefit the war was carried on, could pay; for the landed interests in this country cannot bear any of the burden. The mine owners agreed to meet directly $150,000,000, by taxation, and they further agreed to be responsible for the interest and sinking fund of another $150,000,000. This last named sum is to be expended largely in the development of the agricultural resources of the country. The British will do all they can to have the Boer farmer remain in the country. The mining districts afford him a market for his produce, and the agricultural developments of the country will make farm-products much cheaper for the mine owners. It is hardly likely, therefore, that the Dutch will accept any of the inducements, either in this country or in South America to colonize n the western hemisphere. The Boer is attached to his African

« CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 463 home, and is not likely to leave it, especially in view of the strong inducements that Great Britain will offer him to remain. Certainly Mr. Chamberlain has done much to bring about in the newly acquired colonies a more harmonious feeling. The Dutch of Cape Colony, who are generally called the Afrikanders, are more irreconcilable. They experience a most inveterate hatred toward Lord Milner, their governor. Mr. Chamberlain, of course, would not yield to any appeal for Lord Milner's removal; so Cape Colony will probably experience race antagonisms stronger than they were before the war. Some of the problems that exist can be solved only by time and patience. One of South Africa's great problems is the labor question. Shall the Kaffirs, or the negro race there, be subjected to a condition of peonage—a sort of compulsion in the matter of labor that smacks too much of slavery to be tolerated by the British public? Shall the mine owners import negroes from Central Africa, or shall they import coolie labor from China? The latter would be preferable to them. If inferior races are employed to work the mines, the Europeans will have to leave, and it is the European workman who is agitating the labor question, and insisting that both negroes and Chinese be kept away from the mines. That question Mr. Chamberlain left just where he found it—in the air. Altogether, the results of Mr. Chamberlain's mission may be said to entirely justify the undertaking. There is another delicate question which the English of Cape Colony will urge upon the mother government. The English colonists of the Cape want the constitution of South Africa suspended, in other words, they would have the Afrikanders, whom they regard as enemies to the British government, disfranchised. But taking away a colony's constitution might prove an em- barrassment to Great Britain in other countries. If England can discipline the Afrikanders by taking away their constitution, why may they not likewise discipline the Canadians or the Australians. Certainly such an action would not result in strengthening Great Britain's hold upon her colonies. The Failure of the Educated Class to Reproduce Itself. A novel investigation has been carried on at Harvard Uni-

464 IMPROVEMENT ERA. versity with a view of answering the question, "Does the educated class reproduce itself?" Six graduating classes of men, who had graduated from the university more than twenty-five years ago, were selected for the purpose of determining the average number of children born to each graduate. The figures show that to each of these graduates the average number of children is two. The president in summing up in his report says: "If it be assumed that the surviving children are about one half males, it follows that these six classes have by no means reproduced themselves. They have indeed fallen twenty per cent short of it." President Eliot concludes that the highly educated class in America does not reproduce itself, and thinks the cause of this failure is to be found largely in the fact that college men postpone marriage until late in life. The conclusion, however, will hardly commend itself to a large number of people, who will be prone to think that in such cases the college man does not have more children simply because he does not want them, and shirks the responsibility of rearing a family. The Jewish Encyclopedia. The publication by Funk & Wagnalls, 30 Lafayette Place, New York, of the great Jewish Encyclopedia, three volumes of which are now out of press, will undoubtedly prove the most valuable contribution to Jewish life, religion and literature that has ever appeared. This voluminous work will be issued in twelve large volumes, and will treat of every phase of Jewish history from the earliest times. There is hardly an important nation, either in acient or modern times, that has not felt in some way, and at some period, the inflaence of Jewish life. The art, science and government of the Jews have rendered valuable aid to the world's civilization. This great Encyclopedia will contain about all that is worth knowing of Jewish life and character. There are enlisted in its production the greatest scholars of the world, both Jews and Christians. It is truthfully said in the preface to the first volume that the world's interest in the Jews is now, perhaps, keener than ever before. The "Mormons," who have always had a particular and peculiar interest in the Jewish people, will gladly

CURRENT SIORY OF THE WORLD. 465 welcome any new publication intended to throw light upon the history of this wonderful race. With reference to the Jews in this country, the preface states: The entire field of the history, sociology, economics, and statistics of the Jews in America has hitherto been left almost uncultivated. There has, for example, been no attempt to present a comprehensive account concerning the foundation of the earliest Jewish communities, either in North or South America or in the West Indies. The developmental stages through which Judaism has passed in America, although of extreme interest, not only in themselves, but as promising to react upon the shaping of Judaism over all the world, have received but little attention. In the Jewish Encyclopedia the facts concerning Jews and Judaism in the New World are for the first time adequately presented. Interesting extracts from this Encyclopedia will appear in the columns of the Era, and the appearance of the succeeding volumes will be announced as they come from the press. The Encyclopedia will naturally find its way into the public libraries. The Negro's Appointment to Federal Offices. The outcry in the South against the appointment of Dr. Crura as revenue collector at the port of Charleston, South Carolina, has evidently made itself heard in the Senate of the United States, where Dr. Crum's confirmation has been refused. It is generally believed that the President will again appoint Dr. Crum, so that his services will go right on during vacation in spite of his re- jection by the Senate. The negro is really becoming quite a factor in the Northern states, and it is not easy to d.fy his political influence. Those who want the negro's political support in the North, and favor his appointment to office in the South, are between two most uncomfortable fires. During the writer's recent visit to the East, he found the subject discussed in Missouri, in a most heated manner. The antagonism to the negro seems almost as strong there as it is in South Candina. The negroes are emi- grating north in great numbers; the negro problem is, therefore, . becoming one of large and serious dimensions. The Troubles in Macedonia. Some months ago, Austria and Russia determined that the

466 IMPROVEMENT ERA. government of Macedonia was greatly in need of reform, and that officials of some small power, such as Switzerland or Belgium, should be chosen to bring about the needed reformation. Finally, the great powers were induced to join Austria and Russia in their demand for better government for the Christians, in the Sultan's empire. The administration of the affairs of government in Turkey is most wretched. The officials, in the first place, are venal, as they rarely get salaries for services rendered. The be- setting sin of the Turk is his great aversion to any sort of physical disturbance. He is an enemy to modern civilization. And the Christian subjects of Turkey, the Rayahs, are not much more progressive than the Turks; perhaps they would be, if an oppor- tunity were given. At present, however, the Bulgarians are the cause of the trouble in Macedonia. They style themselves a committee whose avowed purpose is the liberation of Macedonia from Turkish rule. With them the end justifies the means, and so these Bulgarian brigands are plundering, robbing, stealing, blackmailing, and committing all sorts of depredations in Macedonia, in hopes that a war may be brought on, and Europe be compelled, for the sake of peace, to intervene and give Macedonia over to Bulgaria. It was these same Bulgarians who kidnapped Miss Stone, and compelled the American people to pay a heavy ransom. One cannot resist the wish that the Turks might be given a free hand in punishing these Bulgarian Christians. Of course, the Sultan promises the reformations which the powers have demanded. All the world is looking on to see whether the reformations will be carri«l out. And now it really looks as if some of the great powers were blackmailing Turkey, by following up the demand for governmental reform by demands for franchises and concessions, which will result in the enrichment of certain European powers, as well as a hold upon Turkish territory. Germany is anxious to . have her railroad completed through Asia Minor, and the valley of the Mesopotamia, to Bagdad; Britain wants certain ports, on the Persian Gulf, that would give her control over southern Arabia; and Russia is pushing her demands for railroad concessions, through Persia and Asiatic Turkey, to the Persian Gulf. It may be that the Sultan in this way can buy off all the great powers, and thus escape what seems to be the

CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 467 impossible—the betterment of Turkish government. In the end, commercial interests will dominate Turkey, and commercial interests will be the strongest factors in the improvement of conditions in Turkey. The poor Turk himself is as much in need of reformed conditions as the Christians themselves, in that country. A New Way of Proselyting. On the east side of New York are found the densely populated centers of Jewish life, called the Ghetto. Recently, Christians have been making every effort to Christianize the Jews; and the Jews, in turn, are now resisting and resenting the efforts. A writer from among the Jews says: "Christian settlement houses, nurseries, clubs, schools, and kindergartens, are attracting our children by the hundreds, aye, thousands, under the cloak of non- sectarianism." "These missionary agencies," he says, "have been unsparing, even to the point of extravagance, in the distribution of toys, dolls, candies, and the like. The little ones come home from the kindergartens singing songs of praise to Jesus." Another writer complains that there are too many Jews who observe Christ- mas, that the Christmas tree is too much in evidence, and that Santa Glaus is too familiar a character among Jewish children. The Motor-Bicycle. The great success in the construction and operation of the automobile has led to the application of motor power to the bicy- cle. The hard work required in running the bicycle has confined its use to the young who are possessed of good muscular powers. The invention, however, of motor apparatus for running the bicycle will make its use very much more general, and increase very ma- terially its speed. In Great Britain, the motor-bicycle is growing very rapidly in use. It is somewhat heavier, however, than the ordinary wheel. As a rule, its weight with all apparatus attached is from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds, though some of sixty-five pound weight have been constructed and are in use. The cost of the new motor machine is from two hundred to three hundred dollars. It is not at all unlikely that its use in this coun-

468 IMPROVEMENT EUA. try will become quite general during the coming bicycle season. Inventions are the order of the day. A Curious Discovery. The value of blood as a food for cattle and horses has been discovered, and this waste product of the slaughter-houses is now turned to new economic advantage. The slaughter-houses of the world would furn^'sh a fairly good-sized river of blood which has been regarded as a waste product. In Germany, experiments have been made with a view of de- termining its use as a food product, and now comes the announce- ment that a factory has been established for the preparation of what is called in that country "Blut-Kraft Futter" (blood-strength fodder). This fodder consists of a mixture of blood, chaff of grain, the husks of peanuts, and molasses. The blood, of course, is sterilized and steam-dried. To the milch cow, three pounds a day are fed, and for fatten- ing, seven pounds a head per day. It is said to have excellent effect upon horses, and is cheaper in Germany than the food ordi- narily given to cattle and horses. In the feeding of a horse with this mixture, eight cents per day are saved, nd ten cents in the feeding of a milch cow. It is believed that the government will make use of the new discovery for their cavalry horses. Science is making wonderful contributions to the economic conditions of life.