Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-12-26
YEAR 1907 LEAVESA
RECORD OF DISASTER
Natural Phenomena and Direful
Accident Furnish Long Lists
of Dead.
EPITOME OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
Recent Financial Disturbance-Okla
homa a State-Fine and Gift
of Millions.

The chronicler who scans the record
of 1907 that he may write Of it hnds
himself confronted by an exhibit Of
destruction and disaster that he had
not fully appreciated before. Since the
opening day of the year the great ca
tastrophes that have been accompan-
led by large loss of life have numbered
26, an average Of slightly more than
two for each month. Several of these
have been great commissions Of nature.
There was the earthquake that destroy
ed Kingston, Jamaica, out OF which
came the disagreeable Swettenham in
cident; subsequently occurred other
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in
Mexico, Chile and China. An earth
quake and mountain slide that de-
stroyed the town of Karatagh. Russian
Turkestan, snuffed out $4,000 lives, and
a frightful typhoOn at Hongkong,
China, killed unknown hundreds of the
inhabitants. hurricane in the Caro-
line Islands wiped out 200 lives; a
great flood in Japan caused 600 deaths.
Among the catastrophes originating in
the operations and enterprises of hui
mainly there have been explosions
several of them in mines, others in
blast furnaces and on shipboard-col-
lisions of ships and of railway trains,
the collapse of the great uncompleted
bridge over the st. Lawrence river
near Quebec, and the blowing up of
the Du Pont powder works in Fonta-
net, Ind. All these produced long cas-
ualty lists.
The roll of eminent dead is also an
extensive one. Sweden has lately been
called upon to mourn the decease of its
beloved king, Oscar IL, and his son
and successor has assumed the reins
Of government. In Persia, also, the
old Shah has died and a new one rules.
Not death, but abdication has also
changed the governmental head in
Korea. Politics, art, science, letters,
and the platform have each paid its
toll to death in the loss of some fore
most representatives. Among the names
may be reco4ded those of former Pres
ident NJ. Casimir Perier of France,
Senators Morgan, Pettus and Alger,
Galusha A. Grow, James II. Eckels,
Maurice Grau, Richard Mansfield, Jo-
seph Joachim, Edward Grieg, James
McGranahan, Col VIII S. Hayes, Prof.
Alexander S. Herschel, Thomas Bailey
Aldrich, DR.. John Watson Clan Mac
laren), Theodore Tilton, Mrs. Mary ].
Holmes, Francis Murphy and Mrs.
Helen NJ. Cougar. Mrs VIM. McKin-
ley and John Alexander Dowie are also
in the list of the well-known dead.
A financial disturbance of widespread
Influence has made itself felt during
the last three months of 1907
The number of States in the Union
has been increased to 46 by the adj
mission of Oklahoma.
That modern minds are not appalled,
by large amounts is shown by two of
the years transactions. The Standard
Oil Company has been fined S29,OOO,-
900 by a Chicago judge, and John D.
Rockefeller has made donations of $50,
100000 to educa tional projects.
Two great expositions have been
held. That at jamestown, Va, did not
receive the patronage expected and is
in the hands of a receiver. The other
was in Greater Louisville, Ky.
A public work of vast MAGNITUDE was
begun when Mayor Mcclellan of New
York broke ground for the construc-
ton of the great Catskill aqueduct
which in few years is to convey to
the metropolis an inexhaustible supply
of pure water.
The Harry Thaw trial in New York
and the general strike of telegraphers
the country over were subjects of much
interest to the public while they con-
tinued.
The principal happenings of 1907 are
briefly given below:
JANUARY.