The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-12-29

The Panama Canal was formally opened
for world traffic on August Is. The steam
er Ancon, belonging to the Panama rail-
road, passed from ocean to ocean in ten
hours. In September the railroad rate
case showed increased activity The roads
east of the Mississippi and north of the
Potomac again petitioned the interstate
commerce commission for permission to
advance freight rates per cent, end the
commission consented to reopen the case.
The commission granted the increase.
with certain exceptions, on December IS.
A delegation of railroad presidents Wis
tied President Wilson at the White House
and laid before him the unsatisfactory
roads. The president was sympathetic,
but expressed his confidence in the inter-
state commerce commission to regulate
the matter satisfactorily.
On September % Secretary McAdoo
aroused great interest in banking circles
by announcing his intention to withdraw
government patronage and assistance
from national banks known to be hoard
ing currency or demanding excessive in
tereSt.
In October the court dismissed all but
one Of the governments charges in it's
suit to dissolve the Atlantic steamship
trust. Final argument in the suit to dis
solve the Steel trust was made at Phila-
delphia, and the discussion of increased
railroad freight rates was resumed before
the interstate commerce commission.
At the elections held on November 3 the
Democratic majority in the house of rep
resentatives was reduced from lat to 25.
although the Democratic majority in the
senate was incpea sed from 10 to Is. Con-
stitutfonal amendments giving the suf-
frage to women were carried in Nevada
and Montana and prohibition triumphed
in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, and
Colorado. In Missouri the so-called full
crew. law passed by the legislature was
rejected.
Politics in Other Lands.
On January ~ Michel Oreste, president
of Haiti, warned of the approach of a
large body of revo1utionists, abdicated has
tily and took refuge on a German cruiser.
On February Orestes Zamor was elected
president of Haiti. and on the same day
Jose Vicente Concha was elected presi-
dent of Colombia.
Early in the year the Chinese admins
trative council Te-established Confucian-
ism as the state religion of the republic.
At the opening of parliament February 10
King George urged mutual concessions in
the Irish home rule controversy. On
March the home rule bill was introduced
for its third passage through the COM
mons. On May 25 the bill passed the com
mons for the third time. On September
IS King George signed the home rule and
Welsh disestablishment bills and the par
lament was prorogued.
On March II, as the finale to a bitter
political and personal controversy, the
wife Of the French minister of finance,
Nine. Caillaux, shot and killed the editor
of Figaro, CASTOR Calmette. Her hus-
band resigned his Office at once and a
new cabinet was formed. The trial of
Nine. Caillaux resulted in her acquittal
on July %. On March IA treaty of peace
between Turkey and Servia was signed at
Constantinople, a sequel to the Balkan
war. On May the new Chinese copsti-
tuition was published. 1t abolished the
premiership and gave increased power to
the president. On May Prince Alexan-
der of Teck, Queen Mary's brother. was
appointed governor-general of Canada.
On May IS Colonel Benavides, leader
of the Peruvian faction which expelled
President Billinghurst, was elected pro-
visional president. Three days later a
group of senators and deputies declared
Roberto Leguia provisional president. The
Peruvian supreme court, however, recog-
nized Benavides. On July q Ahmed Mir
"a, sixteen years of age, was crowned
shah of Persia On August rs the French
tee of national defense basis Rene vi
viani, Socialist, remained premier
On September 10 Turkey notified the
outside world that she had done away
with the arrangement whereby foreigners
in that country have been exempt from
local jurisdiction in civil and criminal
cases and under which many special priv
ileges have been enjoyed by citizens of
other countries residing in Turkey.
low 1afo toJ T.
the Turkish government by Great Britain
France, Russia and Italy, in which it was
affirmed that the special rights of aliens
can be abolished only by the powers that
were parties to the original contract
Austria and Germany presented a sepa-
rate protest.
On September % the Albanian senate.
which had driven it's recently elected ruler
Prince William of Wied-out of the
country chose a Turk for king-Prince
Burhan-Eddin, son of the deposed Abdul
Hamid of Turkey. The European powers
protested, but their wishes were dsre-
garded. On October 4, after four months
exile, Essad Pasha accompanied by an
armed force, entered Albania and took
possession of the government. On the
day following the death of King Charles
of Roumania his nephew, Ferdinand, took
the oath Of Office as sovereign.
On October 10 rebellion broke out near
the border of German Southwest Africa
but was frustrated by the loyalty of the
Beers Of the Union. On October A. Rus
TEN Bey, Turkish ambassador to the Uni
ted States, left Washington, where he
had incurred criticism by his frank views
of American affairs.
Industrial Trials and Triumphs.
The Ford Motor company at the begin
ming of the year adopted a proft-sharing
plan by which 100000 is to be distrib-
uted annually among the $4,000 wage-earn-
ers of that concern. The great South Afri-
can railroad strike came to an end On
January 10 a strike of the Delaware and
Hudson railroad men, as a protest against
the discharge of two employees, was set
tied within sixteen hours by the federal
board of mediation and Cancellation
Two great labor controversies had been
left over from the preceding year-one in
the Michigan copper mines, which began
July 90 1913, and another in the Colorado
coal fields, where A. 600 men had been on
strike since September % of the previous
year Violence ensued and federal aid
was demanded. On April 20 the striking
miners clashed with the state militia near
Trinidad, Colo, and twenty-five persons
were killed or burned to death in a fire
which followed. President Wilson ordered
federal troops to the scene. It was not
until September Is that the strikers and
their employers accepted President Will
sons offer for a settlement of their dis
pute, but his plan was rejected On the
last day of November the president named
a commission of three, headed by Seth
Low, to deal with the strike. Shortly af