The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1903-01-14
EVENTS OF
THE YEAR
Resume of Important Happen
ings In All Parts Of the
World In 1892.
COAL STRIKE IMPORTANT
Many Prominent Persons Have
Passed Away.
The Terrible Disaster at Martini
que When Mont Pelee Buried
10000 Persons Under Ashes,
the Nest Appalling Gala nifty
Events Of History.Making I'm
portance.

The year of 1902 opened with the as. |
sured certainty OF the carly coming of |
peace in tn" Philippines and South AZ
rica and with the date for the establish
mcnt of an lndepondcn: government In
Cuba already determined: the Congress
OF the United States was rapidly APP
preaching tho favorable determination Of
its great problem Of tho construction %
an isthman ship canal, and abroad Ger
many and England were almost ready
for combined action against Venezuela
in the matter Of those same debt claims
which In the concluding day of the year
have been the cause for Il new strain in
the Interpretation Of the Monroe doctrine.
But as tho outcome proved not even
the greatest of these matters possessed
for the people of the United states such
vital Importance as another event. which
was far from being fOrcscen at the time,
and which. when 1t came, gave at the
start little reason to suspect what its
course and conclusion would b.. This
was the great strike In the anthracite
coal mines Of Pennsylvania. which lasted
through the summer and fall
IT was not merely that this was one OF
the greatest strikes in the history Of the
United States for tho number of men en-
gagged the length of Its duration and the
obStnacy with which IL was fought; nor
was 1t because of the mere fac. OF the
Inconvenience and loss ocCasiOned by 1t
10 the public; nor yet because In securing
its settlement the President of the United
States was forced to take control of the
situation By acting In manner for which
there was nothing In the constitution or
customs of the land to give Justification.
Beyond all these thinss the strike was
the most pregnant event of the year, be-
cause Of the way K cgy4taliizod sentiment
on the part Of that great body OF the
American pubc--thc commemorative
were concerned IN 1t neither as employ
ers nor as laborers, bot who Were forced,
by the jeopardizing of their own inter.
ests as CONSUMERS, to intervene for their
own protection
1t was the approach of winter, with
coa.-yards empty and the mines un-
worked, that caused the public to lay
aside all old prciudiccs on one side or
the other. pent trate directly to the heart
of the problem as to which of the OPP
ponents was he one responsible for tn
lack of settlement, and then bring pres
sure to hsu" that could not be disregard
ed. DatiHg from tn" year 1892 II Is safe to
say that not even the most significant
strike Will be contested without more
real recognition of the rights OF the long
suffering third party, the consumer, than
has ever been accorded before The wide
spread sentiment that manifested Itself
for government ownership of the coal
mines and the still wider demand for the
Ftrictest government regulation of them
In default of ownership, are other things
20 be numbered among the permanent
results Of the strike,
The strike began May ~, and the min
ers did not Yield an inch In their reso!u'
ton until they voted TO return to work
Oct. 81. after arbitration had been ar
ranged for. The number OF men involved
NJ M. ri n
York. where the factories were accus
toned to no other fuel! rose from IS tC
as high as 500 ton with often no sup
plies TO be had. The demand of the min
ers was IN part for higher wages, bu
still more for "A regulated and fair meth
Cd Of weighing and recording the produc
of the men. by which the union, actinl
as an organization. could protect it,
members interests.
The mine owners, organized In the mos
thorough monopoly In the country, ant
represented by the presidents of the Goa
carrying railroads. seemed to welcome
the strike, and cOntemptuousiy decline,
all proposals of arbitration from what
over source Whether their attitude va
dictated by a desire 10 obtain larger hold
ings of stack In a dcmOrllzea market o
to make possible permanent higher price
for coal. or from deep antagOnism {
organlzed labor was matter only 70
Through the strike there has risen a
one of the greatest among the great fig
ures of Americans of the day that o
John Mitchell the young leader of tn
Mine Workers Union, who June H. a
indianapolis, prevented the bituminou
coal miners from striking In sympathy
who carried on the strike with less nc
cOmpanying violence than was eve
known in 40 great Industrial dsOrganlza
ton before, and who, despite great pei
sonal aggravation from his opponent!
methods. maintained serenity tina
hclped not a little in the clelr-sighte
progress which h. made to ultimate vi,
tory. VITA the finding of Prcsdcr
Roosevelts commission of avSltratlO
next spring vii, come the end. as ia
ms it's immediate incidents are r0nccrnoC
OF an industrial struggle that would nel
Q. have begun had tn" representatives {
cauitnl showed themselves as true
trolr agreements and ~ intelligent
their Views as did the representatives {
luNor.
Political Campaign.
The poIltlcal campaign which concluC
Cd AT the November c.c'ti0ns conCerne
the general question o! the policy of II
eoyprnmt toward huge combination
Of %" ptal The tariff became again ais
after long neglect, to some extent RET
noiitl.ol issue and demand so stron
ihnt it could not, prior to the election
be ignored, was raised within the Repul
llcan party Itself, for recasting of II
schedule of duties, and moderatlng
all such duties as served to strrrgthC
Industrial monopolles
The elections gave the Repuh
~ a majority of thirty In .!
House. only slightly less thar re
ent majority.
Independence Of Cuba.
or the two great events of the year
connection with the treatment by Il
United States of the Islands that Z,
under its influence as result Of Il
Spanish war, the first was the inaugur
49, 81 inhanandant RoYernment In Cub