The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-01-01
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
LOOKING BACKWARD OYER REC
ORDS OF 1897.

All Departments.
From the beginning to the end of 1897
progress has been the watchword. En-
gineering science has seen some sensa-
tional Developments; 1897 has given us
the mighty Kaiser William der Crosse,
queen of ocean greyhounds, and has
given us the feetest battleship in the
world-the Japanese fighting craft Vas
hima-and the speediest small vessel in
existence-the British torpedo boat Tur-
binia-this last presenting in itself one
of the most important advances in
steam engineering in that she attains
her tremendous rate of speed by means
of her steam turbines
The time in which vessel crosses
the Atlantic has been cut down by
hours and minutes and seconds until at
last vessel has done the trip in less
than six days. Engineers have ham,
mered away at the record times of rail-
roads until to-day the accomplishment
of speed Of sixty miles an hour, which
few years ago would have been re-
garded as visionary and impossible, has
become of such common occurrence as
to be considered scarcely worthy of
more than passing notice.
Electric railroading has been tried
and found to be distinct advance. 1t
is operating successfully OF the New
England railroad between this city and
New Britain, and on the overhead rail-
road in Liverpool, England while in
London it is to make bearable the chok-
ing atmosphere of the underground rail-
road. Horseless carriages have ceased
to be the butt of the cartoonists' pencil
In London, Paris, New York and Hart
ford motor carriages have become such
a familiar sight as to be an object Of
curiosity to none but country visitors.
The important advancement made by
electricity is shown by the fact that In
1887 there were eightysix miles of cleo
trio railway, while 1897 finds us with
$4,000 miles of electric railway, and an
increase in the number of electric cars
operated from 172 to $1,000.
IN SUNSHINE OF BUSINESS.
In 1897 business began in gloom and
ends in sunshine. Control Of the great
steel and iron industries of the world
passed from Europe to America. The
value Of imports Of iron and steel in 1897
was less than half the value of these
imports in 1891, while the exports were
twice as great. In fact, the past year
has been far in advance commercially
speaking, of any previous year. 1t is
evident that the returns to be made in
the middle of January will show our ex-
ports to run many millions above those
of 1896, which has been the record year.
1t has been a great year for the adj
vancement of women. Even in the con-
sentative countries of Europe barriers
to the onward and upward progress of
woman has been removed. In France
this has been especially noticeable,
many of the restrictions to the higher
education OF women having been re-
moved. The attempt to secure for wo-
men equal privileges with the male stu
dents at the university proved a failure,
although the faculty had admitted the
same examinations and beat them when
they could, which casionally has hap
pened.
IN SPORTS AND POLITICS.
In the field of sport, as in the field
of science, to break records has been
the aim of every contestant. The star
of the year on the bicycle track has
been little Jimmy Michael, the Welsh
wonder. On the turf new king has
arisen-Hamburg the mighty son of
Hanover and Lady Reel, about whose
ownership there has been so much sec
recy, but of whose right to his crown as
turf king there is no question. Foot
ball has been fiercer sport than ever,
and deaths have occurred on the grid
iron with such frequency that in some
states the legislature has seriously con-
sidered the question of prohibiting the
game. Golf has more than maintained
it's popularity. The indications are that
if 1897 may be called year in which
people went daft over the game and 1895
may see the nation golf-mad 1t is
growing rapidly in popularity and
promises to take the lead among out
door sports.
Among the most interesting events of
1897 should be mentioned the return of
Tammany hall to power and favor with
a majority of the people. The ancient
political organization of New York
whose candidate has been elected to be
first mayor of Greater New York had
been in the black books of the tickle
p,1blic hut the tide has changed apain
The death, on the very eve of the cleo
ton, of the champion of single tax,
Henry George, who succumbed to the
exhausting effects Of campaign under
taken when he was far from being in
good health, is another Of the notewor-
thy events of an exciting political year
Mayor Strong's retirement in a blaze of
reform glory is notable also.
LONDON'S GREAT FIRE.
An interesting incident of the last
part of 1897 was the great fire of Lon
don, which reduced to ashes whole
blocks of buildings and awakened the
eyes of the Englishmen to the fact that
their fire department, of which they
had been so proud, was in reality unfit
ted to cope with any large confagration
Among the great public events that
make 1897 memorable year were the
inauguration of President Mckinley
the swift and decisive war between Tur-
key and Greece, which began and ended
with such a surprising suddenness and
with so little loss of life that the aver
age man, looking back over 1897 fol
events of interest, may be forgiven ii