Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-05-17
FOREIGN NEWS NOTES

who was suspected Of being an agent !
of Scotland Yard was given a bomb
20 place in the doorway Of a well
known bank. Il was of the usual milk
can variety, filled with black powder,
and with an electric fuse attached.
The suspected member fastened TO
Scotland Yard with the bomb, where
II was very giRger.y conveyed to the
department which makes a speciality
of handling these dangerous contriv.
saces. After the fuse was removed
:he powder was submitted to the Scot
land Yard chemist, who, after a brief
examination, pronounced the sub
stance ordinary wheat -four, mixed
with lamp black. The woman was
then permitted TO plzce the bomp a.
originally planned, but Scotland Yard
fears that the usefulness Of its agent
is al an end because she was shadow
ed to the Yard by members of the
W. S. P. L.
A conference Of the leading mari
time nations of the world will be held
in London early next autumn with
the purpose of establishing on an in
ternationai basis the new regulations
for the safey OF life and property at
sea.
In June or July an informal consul
tation will be held. at which time the
report Of the committee on bulkheads,
appointed TO advise as to the water
tight subdivision Of all merchant ships,
will be available. Meanwhile the diff
fe-ent countries concerned are max
/ ing preparations, and so far as the life
saving rules are concerned, opinions
have been interchanged for some time.
The new International Radio-te.e-
/ graphic convention will come into op-
Grafton next July. This is the out
! come Of the internationa- wireless con-
vention held here last summer.
! A general strike Of British seamen
/ is to be declared early in June as the
/ sequel to the agitation for a national
/ Cancellation board to regulate working
/ conditions en- board ship. and it is pos
sible. unless the demand is scceded
/ to, that the transport workers through
rout the country will come out in sym
| pathy.
Tom Mann. who organized the great
/ transport strike Of two years ago, has
been engaged BY the National Sailors
and Firemen's union TO carry on a
months campaign. which he COM
menced on May day. to enlist the sup
port Of the transport workers..
The actual date Of the strike will be
kept secret, as it was two years ago,
the giving OF the signal being left TO
Havelock Wilson, the president Of the
union; Edward McHugh. NJ, P. for
Mid-Tyrone. and Father Hopkins, trus-
tees of the union.
The first merchant vessel to leave
England armed in accordance with
the proposals OF Winston Churchill
first lord Of the admiralty. has sailed
for South America. She is the Aragon
Of the Royal Mail line. and she brings
home from the Argeatine great guam
titles of chilled meat. Her sister ship
the Amazon. which is nov completing
will be similarly quilted The neces
sary structural arrangements were
made while the ships were building
and 10 each vessel the admiralty has
supplied two A. inch guns. The Of
fcers and seamen of the steamers in
clude a large number OF roya. nsva
reserve men, who in case Of an emer
gency would be capable of manning
the guns.
This armament is Of course not in
tended for offensive purposes, but the
admiralty believes that for defensive
purposes it is sufficient TO counterac
the risk Of attack from lightly armed
foreign merchant ships. 1t is the in
tention that large number Of steam
ers, especially those engaged IN carry
ing food supplies, shall be thus arme'
in the future.
The scheme is entirely separat
from that BY which larger steamers
such as the MaurentGnia and Lusitani
and the new steamers proposed TO
the Canadian service are under cor
tract with the government TO be arm
ed in case OF war for both offensiv
and defensive purposes.
The German government has sin
lar arrangements with the Germa
lines, some Of the vessels Of whic
are so built that they could be col
verted into very formidable merchar
cruisers.