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REVIEW OF EUROPEAN WAR AND OTHER
IMPORTANT EVENTS" OF THE YEAR 116
Great Conflict Rages With Increased Intensity—Roumania, Fif-
teenth Nation to Enter Struggle, Overrun by Central Pow-
ers—Teutonic Allies Make First Peace Proposals—
United States Faces Several Crises.
THE EUROPEAN WAR
Those who are engaged in or are
wiewing at close range the titanic con-
flict in which all Europe is involved
can with difficulty appreciate the
magnitude of the events which have
transpired during the past 12 months.
Generations to come, however, looking
back upon this period with a clearer
vision, will recognize the year 1916
as one of the most tremendous, from
a history-making standpoint, since the
world began.
Europe continued its blood-letting
throughout the year with even greater
ferocity than marked the first 18
months following the breaking of the
storm. The great war rounded out
its second and entered upon its third
year, with little promise of an early
conclusion of peace. During the year
mew nations entered into the war, one
of them, Roumania, to become the
scene of some of the most ferocious
fighting of the year, one new nation
was created, another tottered to its
fall, while on a dozen fronts millions
of men were fed as human sacrifices
to the insatiate war monster.
There were seven outstanding
phases of the great war during the
year 1916. These comprised the great
offensive of the Russians in Galicia,
which was finally checked by the Teu-
tonic allies; the superhuman efforts of
the Germans to capture Verdun,
which were thwarted by the equally
superhuman defense offered by the
French; the long-awaited grand offen-
sive of the British and the French on
the western front, resulting in the re-
covery of considerable area in the
Somme region, but not definitely break-
ing the deadlock in northern France;
the checking of an Austrian offensive
by the Italians and the launching of
a counter-offensive by which the Ital-
fans made big strides in their cam-
paign against Trieste; the conquest of
Roumania by the Teutonic allies; the
drive of the Serbs, aided by French,
Italian and British troops, in an effort
to regain their lost kingdom, and the
final abandonment by the entente al-
fies of their disastrous Gallipoli cam-
paign.
The Russians launched their of-
fensive in Galicia on the first day of
the year. On January 9, the effort of
the entente allies to force the Darda-
nelles was definitely abandoned, and
the forces of the allies entirely evacu-
ated the Gallipoli peninsula.
; Verdun Attack Launched.
Early in February, the Russians, aft-
er a lull in the fighting, resumed their
offensive in Galicia and on February 10
they’ crossed the Dniester and threat-
ened Czernowitz. The Russians, un-
der Grand Duke Nicholas, also con-
tinued their drive in the Caucasus and
on February 14 they captured the
Important town of Erzerum. Febru-
ary 21, the Germans, led by the crown
prince, launched their attack on Ver-
dun, and during the next few days
they smashed their way through the
outer defenses until they came within
big-gun range of the French strong-
hold. The French, taken by surprise,
were forced to give ground, but by
the last of the month they had
strengthened their shattered lines and
had checked the German drive. In the
Verdun sector, for the next few
months, occurred some of the most
sanguinary fighting of the entire war.
The Austrians had considerable suc-
cess on the Italian front during the
month, entering Durazzo on February
26 and driving the Italians before
them. Portugal signalized its entry
into the great conflict February 29 by
seizing 34 German steamers interned
in Portuguese ports. Germany demand-
ed the release of the ships and on
March 9 declared war on Portugal, the
thirteenth nation to enter the con-
flict.
The month of March was marked
chiefly by the continued determined at-
tacks of the Germans upon Verdun.
The assault entered its third stage in
this month with repeated attacks on
Vaux, Douaumont and other outlying
towns, most of which were repulsed
with terrific losses. During the month
the Italians finally checked the Aus-
trian drive and launched a big offen-
sive along the entire Austrian front.
The Russians continued their victori-
ous drive against the Turks in Ar-
monit, capturing Bitlis on March 3,
and other important towns later in the
month. .
The early days of April saw a slow-
fng up of the Russian offensive in Ga-
licia. The Germans launched a coun-
ter offensive all along the Russian
front but gained little headway. The
following months saw terrific fighting
along this front. April 23, the British
admitted a defeat at the hands of the
Turks in Mesopotamia and on April
29, General Townshend and 10,000 Brit-
ish soldiers, who had been besieged by
the Turks at Kut-el-Amara, were
forced to surrender after repeated ef-
forts to relieve them had failed.
Great Sea Battle Fought.
The first great naval battle of the
war was fought by the German and
British high seas fleets off the coast of
Jutland, Denmark, May 381. The Brit-
ish admit the loss of six large cruisers
and eight destroyers, the Germans one
battleship, ore battle cruiser and a
number of light cruisers and destroyers.
More than 9,000 lives were lost. Both
sides claim the victory. Five days later
Great Britain received a staggering
blow when the British cruiser Hamp-
shire was blown up in the North sea
by a mine and Earl Kitchener, British
secretary of war, and his entire staff,
were lost. During the early part of
June the Russians broadened their of-
fensive in Galicia and along the lines
further north and on June 7 they an-
nounced the recapture of the fortress
of Lutsk in Volhynia and the crossing
of the Ikwa and Styr rivers at several
points,
On July 1, the British and French
launched their great drive on the west
front. A concerted attack was made
on a 25-mile front north and south of
the Somme river. July 11, after ten
days and nights of continuous fight-
ing, the British claimed the capture
of the whole of the enemy’s first lines
of defense on a front of 14,000 yards.
During the remainder of the month the
British and French continued their ad-
vance, the British occupying the entire
village of Pozieres July 26 and the
French advancing close to Peronne, an
important railroad center.
During the monfh of August the
Russians, after terrific fighting, pierced
the Teuton lines on the Lemberg and
Kovel fronts and advanced in the Car-
pathians. The Italians continued their
drive on Trieste. August 9, after days
of terrific fighting, they captured Go-
ritz and pushed forward, pursuing the
retreating Austrians. ’
Roumania Enters War.
Roumania, after months of wavering,
“entered the war on the side of the en-
tente allies with a declaration of war
on Austria-Hungary. Roumania was
the fifteenth nation to enter the war.
On the same day Italy declared war on
Germany and the following day Ger-
many declared war on Roumania. With
the declaration of war fighting began
between the Roumanians and Aus-
trians on the Transylvanian frontier.
August 30, the Roumanians occupied
Kronstadt and Hermannstadt, the two
chief cities of Transylvania. Field
Marshal von Hindenburg, whose suc-
cesses had made him the idol of the
German people, succeeded General von
Falkenhayn as chief of the general
staff of the German army August 29.
During the month of September, the
Roumanians, ' co-operating with the
Russians, advanced in northern Tran-
sylvania and Bukowina, but suffered
severe reverses at the hands of the
Bulgarians and Austrians in Dobrudja.
The allied troops made decided gains
in the Somme sector, occupying
Combles and other important towns
on September 26.
Early in October the tide turned
against the Roumanians and Russians
in Transylvania and the latter were
forced to retire before a strong Austro-
German force under command of Gen-
eral von Falkenhayn. On October 11,
the Teutons began an invasion of Rou-
mania. On the Verdun front, the
French smashed the German lines Oc-
tober 24, retaking Douaumont fort and
village.
The struggle between the Roumanian
and Russian forces on the one side and
the Teuton and Bulgarian armies on
the other held the center of attention
in November. Taking advantage of
the plight in which the Roumanians
on the Transylvanian front found
themselves Von Mackensen held his
lines in Dobrudja and, attacking the
Danube line, forced the river barrier
at several points. Effecting a juncture
of their forces, the Teuton command-
ers drove the Roumanians back upon
Bucharest. The Roumanians retreat-
ed rapidly toward the capital, burning
villages and all stores of grain and
munitions in the district through which
they passed. November 28, the seat
of the Roumanian government was
moved from Bucharest to Jassy, near
the Russian frontier. The Roumanians
evacuated Bucharest December 6 in or-
der to save their army.
The Serbians, aided by French and
Italian troops, made a start toward
winning back their country during No-
vember. Their big drive resulted in
the capture of Monastir on November
19. On the Somme front the battle of
the Ancre opened November 13 with
the capture by the British of five miles
of the German positions, together with
three strong towns.
An announcement of far-reaching
significance was made in the Russian
duma December 2 by Premier Trepoff,
who read a proclamation announcing
officially that an agreement concluded
by Russia, France and Great Britain
in 1915, and later approved: by Italy,
“establishes in definite manner the
rights of Russia to the straits and
Constantinople.”
The fall of the British cabinet early
in December furnished one of the most
sensational features of the year's war
developments. Demands of David
Lloyd-George for the formation of a
smaller war council to obtain greater
efficiency forced the resignation of Pre-
mier Asquith. Lloyd-George was made
premier and selected a new cabinet,
the prosecution of the war being
placed in the hands of five men, in-
cluding the premier.
The first direct overtures for peace
came on December 13, when Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey
THE MEYERSDALE COMMERCIAL, MEYERSDALE, PA.
sent identical notes to the entente al-
lies through the United States, Spain
and Switzerland, proposing that the
belligerents arrange a conference for
the discussion of peace terms. The
notes were transmitted to the allied
governments by President Wilson with-
out comment. The peace proposals
were received coldly. Premier Briand,
in the French house of deputies, is-
sued a warning against a premature
peace, and the Russian duma, accord-
ing to announcement made December
16, passed a resolution favoring a re-
fusal on the part of the allied govern-
ments to enter into any peace nego-
tiations whatever under present con-
ditions. ;
As if in answer to the ‘peace pro-
posals, the French in the Verdun sec-
tor delivered a crushing attack on the
German forces December 15, winning
12 square miles of territory north of
Verdun and driving the Germans back
close to the line from which they start-
ed their great offensive against Ver-
dun in February. General Nivelle,
who directed this attack, had been a
few days before placed in supreme
command of the French armies in the
west, succeeding General Joffre, who
was made commander in chief of the
French armies, but with little more
than advisory powers.
WAR AND THE UNITED STATES
Diplomatic difficulties growing out
of the war in Europe continued to
confront the United States govern-
ment throughout the past year. The
submarine controversy with Germany,
which had been more or less acute
since the sinking of the Lusitania, was
intensified March 2, when the British
Channel steamer Sussex and the Brit-
ish steamer Englishman, both of which
carried Americans, were torpedoed
and sunk without warning. This oc-
curred about two weeks after congress,
at the urging of the president, had re-
fused to adopt a resolution warning
Americans to remain off armed mer-
chant ships of the belligerents. The
german government at first denied any
responsibility for the attack on the
Sussex, and on April 18 President Wil-
son addressed a note which amounted
practically to an ultimatum to the Ger-
man government. In this note the pres-
ident declared that unless Germany
immediately declared and effected an
abandonment of its methods of sub-
marine warfare against passenger and
freight-carrying vessels, the United’
States could “have ns choice but to
sever diplomatic relations with the
German empire altogether.” Ger-
many’s reply to this note, received in
Washington May 5, promised compli-
ance in the future with the laws of
warfare in its submarine operations.
A supplementary note from Berlin, re-
ceived May 10, admitted that the Sus-
sex was torpedoed, expressed regret’
offered indemnity and declared that
the submarine commander had been
punished. No further serious contro-
versy occurred with Germany until
after the sinking of the Marina, with
Americans aboard, October 28. It was
charged that the vessel was torpedoed
without warning. After an investiga-
tion Germany assumed responsibility
for the sinking of the boat, declaring
that the captain of the submarine
thought the Marina an armed trans-
port.
An interchange of notes between the
United States and the entente govern-
ments, regarding the seizure and exam-
ination of American mails, was produec-
tive of little result. In several com-
munications Great Britain and France
insisted upon their rights to examine
neutral mails, but on October 12 they
made some slight concessions, promis-
ing to improve the mail service be-
tween America and neutral countries.
A blacklist against American firms
and individuals, charged. with dealing
with Germany, which was published
by Great Britain July 18, and by
France August 6, brought emphatic
protests from the United States gov-
ernment, but on November 14 Great
Britain formally rejected the American
protests, declaring that the blacklist
was not aimed at neutrals.
2
MEXICO AND UNITED STATES
The relations of the United States
with Mexico became more strained
during 1916 than at any previous time
during the years of civil war that fol-
lowed the retirement of President Por-
firio Diaz. They approached a crisis
early in the year when, on January 10,
nineteen men, nearly all of them
Americans, were taken from a train
near Chihuahua and killed by a band
of bandits.
Conditions became still more tense
when, on March 9, several hundred
bandits led by Villa raided and burned
the town of Columbus, N. M., killing
nine American civilians and eight Uni- §
ted States soldiers. March 10, Presi-
dent Wilson ordered 5,000 United
States troops into Mexico to catch
Villa.
General Carranza, head of the de
facto government in Mexico, began
soon to display antagonism toward the
American expedition and on March 17
he issued orders forbidding American
troops from entering Mexican towns.
He also refused to grant permission
for the American forces to use the
Mexican railroads for the transporta-
tion of supplies.
April 12, a detachment of United
States troops was attacked by Carran-
za troops and citizens of Parral. Two
Americans and 40 Mexicans were kill-
ed in the encounter. The following day
Carranza demanded the withdrawal of
the American troops from Mexico, but
his demand was ignored. The pursuit
of Villa came to a standstill, however,
because of the hostility of Carranza.
May 31, General Carranza again de-
manded the withdrawal of the United
States troops from Mexico on peril of
“recourse to arms,” and followed this
up on June 16 with a definite threat of
attack uniess the troops were with-
drawn northward. The following day
re-enforcements were Pushed to the
United States troops in Mexico and
within a short time the expeditionary
force aggregated about 12,000 men.
June 18, the war department ordered
all the state militia mobilized and with-
in the next two weeks 50,000 of the
state soldiers had been rushed to the
border.
A detachment of American troops
was attacked by Carranza troops at
Carrizal, June 21, and twelve Ameri-
cans were killed and 17 captured.
A’ short time later Carranza aban-
oned his hostile attitude and in a
conciliatory note to President Wilson
suggested the appointment of a joint
commission to settle the dispute be-
tween the two countries. July 28,
President Wilson accepted this pro-
posal. {
President Wilson named Secretary
of the Interior Lane, Judge George
Gray and Dr. J. R. Mott as members of
the American commission on August
22 and on September 6, the joint com-
mission began its sessions at New Lon-
don, Conn. The sessions continued un-
til November 24, when a protocol was
signed providing for the withdrawal
of the United States troops from Mex-
ico in 40 days, conditional upon the
Carranza government showing within
that time that it could protect the bor-
der and prevent raids by bandits upon
American territory.
Two days before the signing of this
protocol, Villa, at the head of a strong
force, attacked Chihuahua City and af-
ter a battle lasting several days he
captured that city.
Carranza forces regained control of
Chihuahua City December 3 and Villa's
forces fled to the mountains west of
that city, where they were later re-
ported to be gathering new recruits
in preparation for more extensive
operations.
INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC
The outstanding feature of the year
in the industrial world was the threat-
ened strike of the 400,000 members of
the four great railway brotherhoods,
which was prevented only by the pus-
sage by congress of the Adamson bill.
The demands of the four brother-
hoods, representing the engineers, fire-
men, conductors and trainmen, were
made upon the railroads early in the
year and after fruitless conferences
between the representatives of the
brotherhoods and the committee of
general managers representing prac-
tically every railroad in the United
States, a strike vote was taken among
the members of the brotherhoods. On
July 26 it was announced that the
vote had been overwhelmingly in favor
of a strike unless the demands of the
men were granted by the railroads.
The federal board of mediation im-
mediately offered its services in an ef-
fort to prevent a strike but on August
12 the board announced that it had
been unable to bring about an agree-
ment and on the following day Presi-
dent Wilson summoned the general
managers’ committee and the brother-
hoods’ representatives to the White
House for a conference. This confer-
ence produced no result, the railroad
managers offering to submit the whole
controversy to arbitration but the
brotherhood representatives refusing
to agree to arbitration of their eight-
hour day demands. August 29, Presi-
dent Wilson, with a promise from the
brotherhood leaders that they could
rescind their strike order, already is-
sued, if a law were passed providing
for the placing of their wage scales
on an eight-hour basis, went before
congress and asked the passage of
three bills which he deemed neces-
sary tc meet the situation. One of
these bills provided that “eight hours
‘shall be deemed the measure or stand-
ard of a day’s work for the purpose of
reckoning the compensation for serv-
ices of all employees” operating trains
in interstate traffic.
Other bills proposed by the president
provided for the compulsory submis-
sion of rail labor disputes to a board
of mediation to be appointed by the
president before a strike could be de-
clared and for government operation of
the railways in case of military neces-
sity. i
The bill.embodying the provision for
the eight-hour basis for wages, known
as the Adamson bill, was rushed
through the house September 1 and
was passed by the senate September 2.
The order for a strike which was to
have gone into effect September 4 was
then rescinded. The session of con-
gress ended shortly afterwards and
consideration of the other measures
proposed by the president was post-
poned until the next session.
Strikes were in progress in a num-
ber of industries during the early part
of the year and some were marked by
scenes of violence. April 24, striking
employees of the Westinghouse com-
pany, led by a masked woman, rioted
in Bast Pittsburgh. Fatal strike riots
occurred at the Carnegie Steel works
in Braddock, Pa., May 2. A big strike
was started by the Chicago garment
workers May 9. Express drivers in
Chicago struck May 16 and consider-
able violence marked the strike, ex-,
press wagons being operated under po-
lice protection. July 13, state troops
were sent to La Salle, Ill, to quell
riots of cement works strikers.
A strike of street railway men
stopped all surface cars in the bor-
oughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Rich-
mond, New York, August 5, but the
strike ended two days later tempo-
rarily. September 6, a strike of all
men on the subway, elevated and sur-
face lines in New York was called.
Serious riots marked the street car
strike in New York, particularly on
October §.
November 5, a large party of I. W.
W. members from Seattle engaged in
a battle with a sheriff's posse at Ever-
ett, Wash. Seven men were killed dur-
ing the fighting.
November 22, Judge Hook of the
United States district court at Kansas
City, Mo., held the Adamson eight-hour
law unconstitutional and an agreement
was reached between the representa-
tives of the government and of the rail-
roads for an appeal to the United
States Supreme court in an effort to
obtain a final decision on the validity
of the law as soon as possible.
The year was one of great prosperity
in all manufacturing and agricultural
industries. Foreign trade of the Uni-
ted States, as shown by reports of* the
department of commerce, reathed a
total of $7,463,000,000 in the year end-
ing November 1, an increase of $1,600,-
000,000 over 1915, and $2,500,000,000
over 1914.
The total wheat yield ‘of the United
States in 1916 was only 547,000,000
bushels, as compared with 1,011,000,000
bushels in 1915 and at the same time
there was almost a proportionate fall-
ing off in all other grain crops. While
the crops decreased enormously in
quantity, they also increased enor-
mously in price. The value of 19 staple
crops, as based on the November 1 es-
timate of the department of agricul-
ture, was $7,099,338,031, as compared
with the estimated value on, November
1, 1915, of the same crops of that year
of $5,983,306,817. The aggregate value
of all farm products, including live
stock, was estimated at $12,000,000,000,
POLITICS IN OTHER LANDS
The Sinn Fein revolt in Ireland, the
establishment of a revolutionary gov-
ernment in Greece, the proclamation
of Poland as an independent nation by
its Teutonic conquerors and the res-
toration of the republic in China, con-
stituted the most important develop-
ments of a political nature in coun-
tries outside of the United States in
1916.
An official mandate, issued March
22, announced the abandonment of the
Chinese monarchy and the restoration
of the republic which had been dis-
placed by the monarchy during the lat-
ter part of 1915. Yuan Shi Kai an-
nounced his rejection of the emiperor-
ship and resumed the presidency of
the republic. June 6, Yuan Shi Kai
died suddenly and Yuan Li Hung be-
came president.
The Sinn Fein rebellion in Ireland
was precipitated on April 18, when Sir
Roger Casement, former consular offi-
cer of the United Kingdom, was cap-
tured while attempting to land in Ire-
land from Germany and a German
ship loaded with arms to be used in
an Irish uprising was sunk while at-
tempting to land the arms. April 24,
the Sinn Fein rebels seized parts of
Dublin and serious fighting in the
streets followed. "The revolt spread,
and on April 27 martial law was de-
clared over the entire island. ‘April
28, loyal troops took St. Stephens
green in Dublin from the rebels, cap-
turing 400 of them, and the following
day, Peter Pearse, “president of the
Irish Republic,” surrendered. The
next day the main body of the reb-
els surrendered, May 3, Pearse, Thomas
J. Clark and Thomas McDonagh, lead-
ers of the revolt, were executed in the
Tower of London, after being found
guilty of sedition at a military trial.
Ten other leaders of the rebels were
executed during the next few days.
June 26, Sir Roger Casement was
placed on trial for treason in London.
He was convicted and sentenced to
death June 29 and the sentence was
executed by hanging in Pentonville
prison, August 3. Following the Sinn
Fein revolt, an effort was made by the
government to bring about a compro-
mise which would result in the grant-
ing of home rule to Ireland at once,
but the effort was fruitless.
The revolutionary movement in
Greece, which resulted in the forma-
tion of a provisional government by
former Premier Venizelos, grew out of
the refusal of King Constantine to
be drawn into the war on the side of
the entente allies. September 21, the
island of Crete seceded from Greece,
and on September 28, Former Premier
Venizelos and Admiral Coundouriotis
issued a proclamation declaring the
establishment of a provisional govern-
ment for Greece.
The independence of Poland, which
had been wrested from Russia by Teu-
tonic arms, was proclaimed by Ger-
many and Austria, November 5.
The death of Franz Josef, emperor
of Austria-Hungary, which occurred
November 21, was expected in some
quarters to be productive of events
of far-reaching importance from a po-
litical viewpoint in the dual monarchy.
POLITICS IN UNITED STATES
The presidential election and the
campaign which preceded it occupied
a large part of the attention of the’
people of the United States through-
out the year 1916. June 5, the Wom-
an’s party was originated and opened
its first convention in Chicago. Two
days later both the Republican and
Progressive national conventions open-
ed in Chicago. June 10, former Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt was nomi-
nated for president by the Progressives
and Charles Evans Hughes, associate
justice of the United States Supreme
court and former governor of New
York, was nominated by the Republi-
cans. The Republicans nominated
Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana for
vice president and the Progressives
named John M. Parker of Louisiana as
Roosevelt's running mate. June 186,
the Democratic national convention
convened in St. Louis and the follow-
ing day President Wilson and Vice
President Marshall were renominated
without opposition. June 26, Colonel
toosevelt declined the Progressive
nomination and the majority of the
members of the Progressive pational
committee, meeting in Chicago, ep-
dorsed the candidacy of Mr. Hughes.
« The election on November 7 wzs
one of the most unusual ever held in
the United States, the resait nat being
definitely known until three ays af-
ter the election, when the final ¢ount in
California gave the 13 electoral votes
of that state to President Wilson ana
gave him victory. President Wilson
won 276 votes in the electoral college
and Mr. Hughes 255. The vote cast in
the election was larger by several mil-
lion than any ever cast before in the
United States, President Wilson re
‘ceiving a plurality of about 460,000 in
the popular vote. The great increase
in the size of the vote was due partly
to the fact that women voted for presi-
dent in this election in 12 states.
Four more states voted to adost
state-wide prohibition in this electron.
They were Michigan, Montana, Ne-
braska and South Dakota. The Demo-
crats retained control of the United
States senate, but as a result of the
close election, neither of the two ma-'
jor parties has a majority in the low»
er house of the next congress. The
balance of power is held by five mem-
bers not elected as members of either
party—1 Socialist, 1 Progressive, 1
Prohibitionist, 1 Protectionist and 1
independent.
DISASTERS ON LAND AND SEA
Thousands of lives were lost during
the year by the sinking of merchant
vessels and warships as a result of
their being torpedoed by submarines
or blown up by mines. The greatest
loss of life in accidents: or attacks
of this kind occurred February 26,
when the French cruiser Provence
was sunk in the Mediterranean sea,
and 3,130 persons were drowned.
April 23, more than 1,000 lives were
lost in a collision between a Chinese
cruiser and a transport.
February 2, the Japanese Lner
Daijin was sunk in a collision and 160
lives were lost. !
February 9, the French cruiser
Admiral Charnier was torpedoed and
sunk with a loss of 374 lives. February
16, nine persons were killed when the
opera house at Mexia, Tex. was de-
stroyed by fire. February 20, great
snowslides in the Salzburg alps killed
nearly 100 persons. February 22, ten
persons were killed in a triple col-
lision on the New York, New Hazen
& Hartford railroad, near Bridgeport,
Conn. February 29, an explosios in
a mine at Kempton, W. Va., killed 15
men.
March 5, the Spanish steamey Prin-
cipe de Asturias’ struck a rock and
sank off the coast of Brazil, with a
loss of 300 lives. g
March 28, 26 persons were killed
and many were injured in a collision
‘wid the New Yor Central railfead
near Cleveland, G.
April 19, Kansas and Missouri were
swept by tornadoes which killed 17
persons. June 5, tornadoes killed 57
persons in Arkansas and 49 in other
middle western states. May 8, the
steamer Kirby sank in Lake Superior
and 20 lives were lost. May 15, an
explosion in the Du Pont powder plant
at Gibbstown, N. J. killed 13 men.
Hundreds of fishermen were lost in
a ‘monsoon off the Ceylon coast,
July 20. July 24, 23 men were killed
by an explosion of gas in a water tun-
nel at Cleveland, O. A trolley wreck
at Johnstown, Pa., took a toll of 25
lives, August 12. August 29, the Unit-
ed States cruiser Memphis was
wrecked by a storm in the harbor at
Santo Domingo and 41 lives were lost.
Twenty-seven men were killed Sep-
tember 12, when the central span of a
great bridge being built over the St.
Lawrence river at Quebee, col-
lapsed and fell. September 18, a
great dam near Hannwald, Bohemia,
burst and 300 persons were drowned.
A fire in the Christian Brothers col-
lege at St. Louis, Mo., killed nine men,
October 5, and 19 persons lost their
lives in a fire which destroyed a hos-
pital at Farnham, Que., October 26.
November 3, the steamers Connemara
and Retriever were sunk by a collision
in the Irish sea and 92 were lost. On
November 7, 50 lives were lost when
a Boston “L” car plunged off a bridge.
An explosion at Bakaritza, Russia,
November 21, resulted in the death of
341 persons.
THE LAWMAKERS
Coilgress was in session c¢nntinuous-
ly from January 4, when it reassem-
bled after the Christmas holidays, un-
til September 8. Early in the session
a hot fight developed over the Phil-
ippine bill passed by the house. The
senate adopted the Clarke amendment
providing for the granting of full in-
dependence to the Philippines within
from two to four years. May 1, the
house rejected the Clarke amendment
and on August 16 the senate accepted
a compromise pledging independence
to the Philippines when the Filipinos
are fit for self-government. -
February 2, the house passed a bill
prohibiting child labor in the manu-
facture of products for interstate com-
merce, and late in the session the bill
was passed by the senate and signed
by the president. February 18, the
senate ratified the Haitian treaty, pro-
viding for American Supervision of
the finances and police regulation of
the republic.
Legislation providing for large in-
creases in the strength of the army
and navy received much attention.
The navy appropriation bill, as finally
passed, provided for the building of
157 ships during the next three years.
The army bill, as passed, carried ap-
propriations of $313,970,447 for the en-
suing fiscal year, an increase of $131,-
667,091 over the amount carried by
the bill as it first passed the house.
(Copyright, 1916, by the McClure Newspa.
per Syndicate.) up 4
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