Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-31

| war. but also in the serious social dis
orders at home For in Catalonia and
other sections of Spain the pOpulace, I'M
der the alleged lead Of the republicans
and revolutiOniSts. rebelled against the
sending of more soldiers to the front, and
the rebellion almost amounted to an IN
surrectiou. Martial law was declared not
only in Catalonia. but also at Madrid, and
hundreds of arrests and many executions
took place. but not before many outrages
against the church and it's upholders, botf
priests and nuns had been perpetrated
Eventually the whole situation eliminated
| In the arrest and execution, as an anarch-
6t of Francis Ferrer, a professor In the
schools of Barcelona. who was accused OF
treason. The execution provoked a storm
of indignant protest. first among laborites
| and socialists and then among many con-
servatives of other countries including
our own. Anti-Spanish demonstrations OF
violent character were made In Italy ana
France. and less disorderly ones in other
nations. In Spain the resentment swept
| the Maura ministry out Of power and re-
stored the premiership to Moret Prend-
ergast.
The socialists Of all European countries
their cause. In fact. in this and many
other affairs the socialists of Europe ap-
peared as opponents of warfare. They
were among the leaders of the opposition
to the imperial taxation policy In Ger
many, and they aided materially in the
overthrow in July Of Premier Georges
Clemenceau in France. as the result OF
the uncovering of serious naval coTrup-
ton, he being succeeded by Aristide Bril-
and. a radical socialist. Furthermore. the
socialists were active opponents of the
Vatican in the controversy between
France and the Vatican over the clerical
assoc alton. AS the year closed this con-
troversy between the church and the gov
acute through the opposition of the
church to the attendance of Catholic chill
dren upon lay schools.
Religion and Morals.
There was nothing in the religious at
mosphere of the United States during the
year that savored in the least OF religious
political controversy. There was, how
| ever, a strong development of religious
and moral propaganda in general. Also,
there was a continuance of the anti-liquor
movement which had begun even before
1905 This resulted in the enactment OF
extremely stringent prohibitive statutes In
Alabama, Kansas and other states. Kan
| sas forbidding the sale of liquor even IN
drug stores and rendering it practically
| imp possible for one to have liquor in his
| own home. There was some reaction
against this tendency In the elections OF
| the fall, the result in many cities at
tested, notably in San Francisco, where
an attempt to raise the saloon license
most decisively.
The Fall Elections.
| In some quarters the elections OF NO
vember were interpreted as a general re-
action from the extremes of morality and
righteousness. But, however that may
| be, the anti-corruption elements certainly
were OyerthroWn in such conspicuous
places as San Francisco and Philadelphia
l ,x,,yoS
ney, the celebrated Francis j. Heney and
Clarence d. Gibboney, another noted
fighter of political corruption. being
showed under; while in Cleveland Tom
Johnson, running for reelection as mayor
and his three-cent fare ordinance were
rejected for the first time in a long
period In Toledo the reform mayor
Brand WhitIock, succeeded in being re-
| elected. And in New York the ant1-Tam
many forces triumphed in everything ex
| flee, though William j. Gaynor was
elected. he was chosen rather in spite OF
than because Of his support by Tammany
| Another interesting political result wa:
| the reelection of Gov. Guild of Massa
| chusetts by the republicans by the great
ly reduced plurality Of 1000 votes. Dis
satisfaction over the various schedules II
| the tariff bill was given as one of the
| republicans
Sugar Trust Case.
! So far as there was any conspicuou!
probing on the part Of the public dur
ing the year., it centered in a series Of
exposures of the so-called sugar trust
The latter was caught in the early par
Of the year in perpetrating certain fraud!
in the weighing of it's sugar Importation
at the government dock in Williamsburg
N. Y, and fined to the extent Of $134, III
| March 5, 1909. Also, in April, it was com
| PEELED to dtsgorge over $2,OO.OOO fol
| fraudulent entries. But I'M November
| Richard Parr. an agent of the Treasury
| Department., gave out a statement alleg
ing that the frauds in, weighing. in max
ing untrue appraisal 5. ETC., would aggre
gate nearly. $3o.oOO.oOO and would cover
a period of twenty years past. The enor
| NOUS amount of the so-called fraue
| created a sensation, started a general in
vestigation at the specific order of thu
| President and the cabinet. and led tt
what promises to be complete overhaul
ing of the customs service, eighty-thret
| New York custom house employees having
been dismissed up to December l. Mr.
Parr intimated collision within the Treas
ury Department at Washington and al
legged that his Investigations had been Inn
peded even by a former assistant secre
tary Of the Treasury, James b. Reynolds
who entered vigorous denial. Variou!
sugar trust and government officials nov
stand indicted for collision in these Gus
tom frauds