Evening star., 1914-12-31

of tho Treasury, to be controller of the
currency. and ex officio member of the
new federal reserve board. January 20
the Wisconsin eugenic marriage law.
which had been discussed widely, was
declared unconstitutional by the circuit
court.
January e7 the President signed an
important order which established a
permanent civil government in the
Panama Canal Zone, to go into effect
April l. By this executive. order q gov
ernor took the place of the commits
sion in charge, A few days later he
be first governor. February IL the
government brought suit at Salt Lake
City to compel the Southern Pacific
! railroad to relinquish Its control of the
Central Pacific.
In March government proceedings
We're begun against two railroads: The
interstate commerce commission ac-
cused the Chicago. Milwaukee and st.
Paul road with overstatement of in
come and other financial irregularities
and suit was brought against the Le-
high Valley road under the charge
that 1t was monopolizing the anthra
cite coal industry through subsidiary
companies. In this month, also. the
Department of Justice announced that
plan for breaking up the transporta-
tion monopoly practiced by the New
York, New Haven and Hartford had
been arranged satisfactorily to all
parties.
Defeated in Railroad Suit.
Early in April the government met
with defeat in its attempt to prove
that the Delaware, Lackawanna and
Western road and the coalmining
| company of the same name existed as
an illegal and monopolistic combina-
| t.on. April the committee appointed
rpr fl,a ftof hph
selected twelve federal reserve dis
tricts, with their central banking cities,
under the new currency law.
June 8 the American Thread Com
bination of manufacturers which prac-
| tically controlled the output, fore
stalled the action contemplated by the
Department of Justice by dissolvinS.
June Is the President made public IL
charge that big business interests had
been trying to force Congress to ad-
journ. He declared that he should do
everything. in his power to keep Con-
gress in session until the proper busi-
ness legislation had been enacted. m
June. also, the United States Supreme
Court affirmed the power of the inter
state commerce commission to fN
rates. and held that pipe lines are COM
mon carriers and must carry products
at rates fixed by the commission. In
July the commission found that the
former management of the New Haven
ligent. President Wilson directed the
Attorney General. July II, to begin civ
IL and criminal proceedings against the
New York, New Haven and Hartford
road, and two days later the suit was
begun in the United States district
court at New York.
August / the interstate commerce
commission denied the petition of the
of 5 per cent in freight rates. but al
lowed certain increases in the mid
die west. August 12 the dissolution of
the International Harvester Company.
of trade. was ordered by the United
States district court at ST. Paul, Minn.
Panama Canal Opened.
The Panama canal was formally
opened for world traffic August Is. The
steamer Ancon, belonging to the Pana-
ma railroad. passed from ocean to
ocean in ten hours In September the
railroad rate case showed increased ac-
tivity. A delegation of railroad presi-
dents visited President Wilson at the
White House and laid before him the
unsatisfactory situation which con-
fronted American roads. The President
was sympathetic, but expressed his
confidence in the interstate commerce
commission to regulate the matter sat
isfactorily. The roads east of the Mis-
again petitioned the commission for
permission to advance freight rates .
per cent, and the commission consented
to reopen the case.
aroused great interest in banking cir
cles by announcing his intention to
withdraw government patronage and
assistance from national banks known
excessive interest. In October. the
court dismissed all but one OF the
governments charges in its suit to dis
solve the Atlantic steamship trust. FL
nal argument in the suit to dissolve
the steel trust was made at Philadel-
phia, and the discussion of increased
railroad freight rates was resumed be-
fore the interstate commerce commits
sion.-
The outcome of the elections held
November was in the nature of po-
litical landslide. The democratic ma
jority in the House of Representatives
the democratic majority in the Senate
was increased from 10 to 16. One of
the most interesting features OF the
election. was the triumph of Gov. Hi
AS an out-and-out progressive. Consti-
tutional amendments giving the SUI
frage to women were carried in Ne
vada and Montana and prohibition tri-
unphed n Virginia, Washington. Oregon,
Arizona and Colorado. In Missouri the
so-called full crew" law passed by
the legislature was rejected.
Increases in freight rates were grant
ed to the eastern railroads by the in
terstate commerce commission The
decision awards the carriers per cent
on everything but coal and iron ore,
and is expected to add nearly $50.00o.-
600 year to revenues OF the lines
east Of the Mississippi and north of the
Potomac and Ohio rivers.
Political Activity in Other Lands.
Although all other political events in
Europe and elsewhere during the year
have been overshadowed by the great
war. some Of them were of much i'm
portance. January Fl Michel Oreste,
president of Haiti, warned of the ap-
proach of large body of revolution
sts, abdicated hastily and took refuge
on a German cruiser. February
Orestes Zamor was elected president of
Haiti, and on the same day Jose VI
.en'e Concha was elected president Of
Colombia.
Early in the year the Chinese admin
strative council re-established Confu-
:ianism as the state religion of the re-
If parliament, February 10, King
jeorge urged mutual concessions in
he Irish home rule controversy. March
the home rule bill was introduced for
is third passage through the COM
mons. May rs the bill passed the COM
mons for the third time, thereby vir-
ually becoming law without the ap-
'rova1 of the house Of lords Septem-
,ar Is King George signed the home
'ule and Welsh disestablishment bills
md the parliament was prorogued.
10 Oh, ~. L.