Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-12-31


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 petiuoned the interstate
commerce commission for permission TO
advance freight rates per cent, and the
commission consented to reopen the case
The commission granted the increase,
with certain exceptions, on December e.
A delegation of railroad presidents Wis
tied President Wilson at the White House
and laid before him the unsatisfactory
situation which confronted American
roads. The president was sympathetic,
but expressed his confidence in the inter
state commerce commission to regulate
the matter satisfactorily.
On September 3 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 its
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.
the elecLOnS n6I0 on november the
Democratic majority in the house Of rep
resentatives was reduced from AT to Is,
although the Democratic majority in the
/ senate was increased from 10 to IS. Con-
| stitutional 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 27 Michel oreste, president
Of Haiti, warned of the approach of a
! large body Of revolutionists, abdicated has
! tily and took refuge on 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 re-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 disesta blishment 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 I the new Chinese consti-
| tuition was published. It abolished the
! premiership and gave increased power to
| the president. On May 6 Prince Alexan-
| der of Teck, Queen Mary's brother, was
appointed governor-gene 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 81 Ahmed Mir
| "a, sixteen years of age, was crowned
| shah of Persia. On August rs the French
! cabinet was reconstructed on commit
! tee of national defense basis. Rene vi
viani, Socialist, remained premier.
On September 10 Turkey notified the
outside world that she had done away
| Win tIS 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.
Two days later a note was presented to
| 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
| RI ri OIL onf
| Austria and Germany presented sepa-
| rate protest.
! On September % the Albanian senate,
which had driven its recently elected ruler
! Prince William of Wied-out of the
| country, chose a Turk for kiDg-Prince
| Burhan-Eddin son of the deposed Abdul
| Hamid of Turkey. The European powers
protested, but their wishes were disre-
| 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 Is a 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
| tenn 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 5000 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 protest against
| the discharge of two empIoyees was set