Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-01
LEADING EVENTS OF 1902
Conspicuous Chapters in the Record Of the
Osatury's seo.nd Year.
RAILROAD MERGERS IN The FOREGROUND
Extraordinary COMMISSIONS OF Nature
Wreck Life and Property-RoII of
DistinRuIsbed Dead-PoIIt-
zeal Happenings.

NNA "aNtnAhh"
Time In its strenuous round completes
another volume. In many important re-
spects It is a decided advance on the an
nual tones now crowding the shelves.
Events OF uncommon moment. affecting the
Industrial. commercial and political life OF
the nation, leave their impress upon the
record OF the year. Combination ana con-
solidation Of transportation lines have been
completed, and community OF interest"
policy succeeds competition on all main
lines Of railroad. Chief among the rail-
road mergers. so-called, was the absorp-
ton Of the Burlington system by the in
terests controlling the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific, and the practical con-
solidation Of the Union and Southern Pa
clio systems. These lines control the
trafnc Of the western half Of the republic.
The community Of interest policy and
consolidation reached is highest develop
ment in many industrial lines hitherto con-
sidered beyond the domain OF trusts. Some
OF the necessaries OF life were involved,
producing popular discomfort and a wide
spread demand for national restriction. In
response to this demand action was begun
In the courts in behalf Of the United States
to annul the consolidation Of the Great
Northern. Northern Pacific and Burlington
roads and 20 restrain the Beef trust.
Labor troubles werL many and Of far
reaching Consequence. There were strikes
by freight handlers, teamsters and mes
sengers. which kept Chicago in a turmoil
for months, strikes by street car men in
Rochester. ". Y, Chattanooga and New Or
leans, which required military force to
maintain order. and the lockout OF boiler
uanEara rnanh4pf9t. ,,a hto-tz-zg.k. - -
Union Pacific railroad. which is yet I'M
settled. The greatest strike in the history
Of labor in this country, in lumber d.
rectly involved and in cost to the people
AZ large, was the strike Of the anthracite
coal miners in Pennsylvania. Beginning
May IL, 1t lasted just FIVE months and
boosted the price Of coal to double and
treble its former cost. In eastern cities
hard coal Is doled out sparingly at S12 and
S15 a ton, where a year ago it was album
dant at 81. s. and Sc a ton. In Omaha at
the present time the price OF hard coal ia
IS a ton above the normal. and very little
is to be had. Directly and Indirectly. the
strike reached into the pockets OF one
half the people. BY extraordinary persua-
sion on the part Of President Roosevelt
hostilities were stopped October Is and the
questions at issue submitted to a commits
oAOh appoluleu ny the president. The COM
mission has not yet completed its task.
Chief among the political events OF the
year was the launching of the republic OF
Cuba.
Political events at home were OF a minor
character. Abroad they were chiefly orna-
mental. Royalty made two conspicuous
parades. King Alfonso was crowned king
OF Spain In May, and a like affair arranged
Tor KIM Edward of England in June,
though delayed by an attack OF Appendix
citis. was successfully pulled on August Q.
Two weeks before this event Lord Sails
bury, premier OF Great Britain, retired
from ONCE and was succeeded by his
nephew. Arthur ]. Balfour. No Kingdoms
tottered in their decay, but the throne of
Turkeys monarch received a mild shake
down from France.
COnvulsiOns of Nature.
The year witnessed extraordinary con-
Vulsions Of nature in the volcanic regions
OF South America and In Russian Asia.
The eruption OF Mount Pelee rivaled the
deadly outbursts Of Vesuyius in ancient
times and surpassed 1t in rapidity OF ex-
ecution. Ashes and lava consumed and
buried Pompeii and Herculaneum and their
Inhabitants. Exploding and suIocating gas
and heat killed with the speed Of a light
ming flash the inhabitants Of St. Pierre.
wrecked every building in the city and
partly covered the ruins with ashes. La
Soufriere, a companion volcano, added to
the death roll. Second only to the 81.
Pierre disaster was the catastrophe at
Andijan, a town in Russian Turkey. Early
In December a succession of earthquakes
practically destroyed the town and killed
upwards Of 5000 persons. In September
the Santa Maria volcano in Guatemala
burst forth. running a large amount Of
property and destroying many lives.
Storms were startling In their magnitude
and frequency during the year. Snow
storms and cold waves Of much severity
In spots marked the opening months and
the closing month. Cloudbursts and water
Hpouts and downpours OF unusual frequency
and quantity signaliEed the spring and
summer months. The middle west sui
fered severely from floods in June and
July. Altogether the summer season was
Uncommonly cool and wet. Disturbed ele-
ments we're in evidence north and south Of
the equator and made the most formidable
record Of disaster in modern times.
MarcOnrs Triumph.
An event OF signal Importance to the
world at large was SignOr Mareoni's tri-
umph in wireless telegraphy. On December
lS 4 dispatch was sent across the Atlantic
ocean from Glaze Bay. N. s.. to Poldhu,
Cornwall. England. a distance Of 800 miles.
One Of the forces tending toward inter
national peace and justice was the formal
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