Passing Events

Passing Events. Salt Lake City's population is officially announced as 92,777, and the county at 131,426, an increase in the city, since 1900, of 39,- 246, or 73 per cent; the county population in 1900 was 77,725. David Bennett Hill, formerly governor of New York, and after- wards senator from that state, died October 20, age 67 years. He became lieutenant-governor in 1882, serving until 1885; and was gover- nor from 18S5 to 1891, and United States senator from 1891 to 1897. He was candidate for the nomination for president in the national Demo- cratic convention in 1892. The Portuguese Republic has been formally recognized by the governments of Switzerland and Brazil. On October 18, the provincial government decreed the abolishment of the house of Peers, Council of State and titles of nobility, banished the Braganza dynasty and secular- ized charitable institutions. Considerable difficulty is experienced by the monks and nuns who were driven out of Portugal, in finding refuge in other countries. Spain will not entertain any of them who are not nationally Spanish. Postal savings banks are being established, according to the order of Congress, in forty-eight second-class postoffices throughout the nation, one in each state and territory. In these offices the system will have a trial. Provo has been designated in Utah for this purpose. The idea seems to be popular, and numerous applications from all parts of the country, for the establishment of savings banks, have come in, but as Congress appropriated only $100,000 for all the expenses of equip- ment,engraving, printing, etc., it has been impossible to make an experi- ment, so far, upon a large scale. Julia Ward Howe, reformer, philanthropist and distinguished poet, died October 17, 1910, age 91 years. She is best remembered by her famous "Battle Hymn of the Republic," but was the author of sev-

MASSING EVENTS. 185 eral volumes of verse, besides The Life of Margaret Fuller, Essays on Modern Society, Reminiscences and other prose writings. For forty years she was a leader in the movement of women suffrage, and was actively interested in the promotion of peace. She frequently lectured and enjoyed a wide acquaintance with men and women of letters. She was the wife of Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe,and shared his interest in the cause of anti-slavery. The battleship "Maine," the blowing up of which was the immediate cause of the opening of the Spanish-American war, in May, 1898, is to be raised from the Havana harbor, and army engineers have been given charge of the work. A representative of Spain is to be pres- ent. Few believe that any authorized representative of Spain planned or executed the explosion which destroyed the warship, and recently one of the generals of the army stated that the Cuban insurgents blew up the battleship to percipitate and facilitate the war between the United States and Spain. Whether this is true or not, it is hoped that when the wreck is uncovered the full truth will be disclosed. China's progress is marked by the second great step toward the establishment of free institutions in that country. The first was the convention of the provincial assemblies a year ago, and on the 3rd of October, this year, the second great step was taken by the opening of the National Assembly at Pekin, by Prince Regent Chung, who declared, in a brief address, that the wish of the people was for parliamentary government, and urged the representatives to labor to this end. In the new assembly are two hundred members, one hundred of whom are royal princes and nobles, literati and rich men. The remainder are elected by provincial assemblies. The present program contemplates a general parliament in 1915. The November elections resulted nationally in a victory for the Democratic party in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other Eastern States. The Republican majority of 43 in the House of Representatives was wiped out, giving the Democrats a safe working majority of about 29; while in the Senate the Republicans will have a reduced majority after the legislative elections are held in the states. In Utah the Republican general ticket won by large majorities in all the counties except Washington. D. N. Straup, as justice of the supreme court, was elected over Charles C. Richards, and Joseph Howell over Ferdinand Erickson, for Congress, by a majority of about 18,000. Senator Sutherland will doubtless be returned to the Senate. Salt Lake county went Republican by a comfortable number; the city went

186 IMPRO VEMENT ERA . "American" by a small plurality, that party electing a justice of the peace and a constable. The campaign was marked with considerable acrimony, the question of prohibition being the cause of most of the ill feeling. Two Democratic senators, and seven members of the lower house of the legislature were elected. One cent letter postage is what the postmaster-general is cred- ited with having promised the United States in the near future. The postoffice department, according to figures recently made public, is rapidly appproaching a state of complete self-support. The deficit of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 1910, was only a little over five million dol- lars, as against seventeen million dollars the year before. When the receipts are equal to the expenditures, Congress will be in a mood, undoubtedly, to facilitate the transaction of business by reducing the rate of letter postage to one cent. The experience in the past is that every reduction in letter postage has been followed by a larger increase in the postal receipts, more letters being written where the postage is lower. In 1792, the rate of postage was six cents for a distance under thirty miles, and twenty-five cents for 450 miles or more. In 1845, the rate was reduced to five cents for 300 miles, and ten cents for a greater distance, for half ounce letters. In 1851, it was again reduced to three cents for 3,000 miles or less. The last reduction to two cents was made in 1883, when the allowable weight was increased to one ounce. In early days the government receipts in the postoffice department were much les than in a modern city of 25,000 inhabitants. In 1792, all told, there were less than 200 postoffices in this country, whereas now they are numbered by the tens of thousands, and turn over to the treasury department every year about $250,000,000. Crossing the Atlantic in an airship was attempted by Walter Wellmanand five companions who left Atlanta City on October 15, in the airship America. The following morning the airship passed Nantuckett, but, encountering diverse winds, it was carried out of its course, and after traveling about 1,750 miles, and being in the air about seventy hours, the crew abandoned the ship about 300 miles off Cape Hatteras, and was taken on the steamer Trent, bound for New York. "Siam made remarkable progress under the enlightened rule of King Chula Longkorn, who died late in October. One of his early teachers was an American woman, and he had a great admiration for this coun- try. Among his many reforms he abolished slavery, wisely declaring that the welfare of the land is impossible when the principle of equality is absent.''