Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-12-21
RETROSPECTIVE.

ous morning when shepherds of Bethlehem heard the
song of the heavenly chorsters "Peace earth" has
been the refrain Of men in innumebo varieties Of tune and
dialect Nineteen centuries have passed. and through them
all the song of peace has sounded fields Of carnage
amidst the clash of arms.
Looking back upon the year that has almost passed, we
cannot fail to notice. that wars and Of have held
central places in the great drama of human history
In the Philippines many Of our soldiers have fallen
Much blood has been shed On the result opinions differ
and the future alone will reveal the true condition But it is
generally agreed that there will be insurgents yet to fight for
years. and that perfect tranquility will only when the
present generation of native shall have passed away
In South Africa the bitter contest has been raging all
through the year. and even the most sangunc cannot per-
cee the end The close of the year finds thousands of Brit
sh soldiers away from home and family thousands of Beers
roaming the mountains and living best they cam and hous
ands of aged men, women and little children perhing in
camps from hunger and disease
In China through greater part Of the year the armies
Of the western world marked their progress with fire and
blood And the effect as now summed up seems to be chief
y decrease Of commerce. which has fallen heavily upon the
United States Figures received by the treasury bureau Of
statistics show this The imports Of American cotton goods
fell about one half during the Chinese war and the import of
0ner goods, suCn as OH eC, HoNeu slHhdP
Still the United States played with honor the role of peace
maker in that conflict and its influence Of benevolent
character
In Central America, too, has been raging, but the
situation is reported tranquil and again the influence OF
the United States for peace has gone on record
The naval expedition of France to Turkey ended without
booded but still marks event Of the greatest mpor
lance because dsproved the traditional theory of diplomats
that Turkey cannot be nterered WITH except at the cost of
general Turkey be held accountable and that the
lesson Of the year. that may yet bring important consequences
But not only has the year been rife with and ru
mos of wars it has witnessed gigantic struggles between cap
al and labor and between rival business interests 1t has
had its lessons in this respect which should not be lost
From the scenes Of strife external and internal the eye
turns with satisfaction to peaceful pursuits Cuba has pre-
pared take her place among the independent nations Of the
EARTH with the strong support of the United States Aus
ralia too has launched out efgOyening colony and
bids fair to become in due time great factor in the develop
ment of mankind Russia has officially announced the opening
of the rans-Sberan railroad which to that part of
the world what the rans-contnenta lines their compile
ton meant to this county.
At Buffalo pan.American exhibition has illustrated the
marvellous possibilities Of the Western hemisphere, while at
the City Of Mexico pan-American congress dis
csng the interests to the nations Of the two Amer
icas Among these are arbitration panAmercan bank
aAmercan railroad and standards Of value weight
and measure.
Among the achievements Of inventors, none perhaps is
Of greater Importance than the successful transmission of
messages across the Atlantic without wrs announced by
Signor Marcon The recent successful experiments with the
Holland submarine boat also suggest future possibilities of
epoch-makng nature
Looking again at the scenes passing before our
view we notice that the year has been marked
by numerous accidents The fire loss exceeds by
several millions that Of either OF the two preceding
years BY one fire in Jacksonville, Fla, 10000 peo-
pie were rendered homeless Disastrous floods were reported
in East Tennessee in the month Of May andwhot is marvel
GUS in the present monhowng to warm weather and rain,
deluges occurred in Pennsylvania and New York Terrible
railroad accidents have happened among which that the
Wabash road Michigan is in fresh memory Utah has been
visited by an earthquake which did damage, although
nothing of the magnitude the reports would indicate The
recent earthquakes in the Philippines and in New Zealand
seem to have been serious
Among the chief secular events of the year, the one over
shadowing all the others the cruel assassination by
moral peryert Of President William Mckinley and the con-
seuuent assumption of the highest Office in the Republic by
President Theodore Roosevelt The former universally
respected and loved and all realized that the ship Of state
was safe under his direction The latter was less known as
statesman but if there were any doubts his ability they
we're dspeed by his declaration of policy and his mastery
message to Congress The nation stricken with grief
when its chosen leader fell but it feels with him. that Gods
way best and that the destiny of nations in secure
hands.
In Great Britain the accession to the throne of King Ed
January danise auprst {luapn