Papa Papa Father Vater
Mamma Maman Mother Mutter
Table Table Brother Bruder
Chair Chaise Sister Schwester
Boot Bottine Hat Hut
Some of these words have a common Latin root. The word "table," for
instance, is derived from the Latin word "_tabula_."
If the Albanians do indeed speak a tongue that cannot be closely
connected with any of the known languages, it is more than probable that
they are a remnant of some ancient and world-forgotten people.
Albania is under Turkish rule, but the Albanians do not seem a very
pleasant people to govern.
If they are not satisfied with those who are set in authority over them,
their fierce qualities rise to the surface, and they are apt to do
violent things.
The last governor of Albania made himself so objectionable to the
people, and they in turn made things so unpleasant for him, that he
sought safety in flight.
A new governor was appointed, but he in turn found no greater favor with
these mountaineers than his predecessor. Annoyed that they should have
had two obnoxious officials sent to them one after the other, the
Albanians have become restless and are threatening to revolt.
A Turkish commissioner has been sent to try and calm them, but further
trouble is feared.
* * * * *
The Haitian matter, about which we told you last week, promises to
arrive at a peaceful settlement.
At first, however, it assumed such a threatening aspect that it seemed
as if serious trouble must follow.
The Haitian Government was very much disturbed when it was learned that
a German warship was to be sent to bombard the capital city,
Port-au-Prince, in case the indemnity, or damages, demanded for Herr
Emil Lueders was not paid.
The Haitian Government immediately asked the United States to use its
good offices, and endeavor to bring about a peaceful settlement with
Germany.
Our Government began to make inquiries into the matter, and learned the
Haitian side of the story.
It seems that Lueders is not a German citizen, after all. He is the son
of a German father and a Haitian mother, was born on Haitian soil, and
is, according to the laws of the country, a citizen of Haiti.
He had, therefore, no right to appeal to Germany for protection, and
President Simon Sam will not listen to Germany's protest.
In addition to this, it seems that Lueders is a tiresome fellow, and
that this is the second time he has been arrested for resisting and
attacking officers in the performance of their duty.
The Haitian ministry looks upon this demand from Germany as a mere cloak
to enable her to seize some territory, and establish a German colony in
the West Indies.
With this belief in mind, Haiti has appealed to the United States to
interfere and protect them, on the ground of the Monroe Doctrine.
We told you about this in the supplement following page 210. It says
that the United States shall forcibly resist any attempt to extend the
European political systems in America.
Our Government was in a slight quandary over this appeal from Haiti.
We have no quarrel with Germany, and we do not want to have one, but
still it was clearly our duty to do what we could to assist a weaker
sister republic.
After much consultation and thought, the heads of the Government decided
that our ambassador in Berlin, Mr. White, should be instructed to ask
what Germany's intentions were in the matter.
It was cabled back that the German minister had given a satisfactory
reply to Mr. White, and so the United States has decided not to
interfere actively in the matter unless Germany attempts to seize
territory.
In the mean while, Haiti has sent a very dignified letter to Germany.
The republic declares itself willing to discuss the matter with Germany,
but objects to the German method of judging and settling the whole
affair without first inquiring as to both sides of the trouble.
The demands of Germany are considered excessive, and in any case Haiti
will not consent to pay any such sums as those asked.
In her answer, Haiti complains of the conduct of Count Schwerin, the
German representative in Port-au-Prince.
It declares that he forced himself into the presence of President Simon
Sam, and in an angry and insulting manner demanded Lueders' release,
threatening many things if Haiti dared to oppose him.
Because of these circumstances, President Simon Sam refuses to have
anything more to do with Count Schwerin, and declares that the further
discussion of the matter must take place in Berlin.
The latest news says that Germany has changed her mind about sending a
warship to Port-au-Prince, and that the vessel intended for Haiti will
go to China. Two German school-ships are to call at the West Indies
during the winter, and to them will be intrusted the settlement of the
Lueders matter.
It is probable, however, that the whole matter will be settled by
arbitration.
* * * * *
From the fact that an extra ship is to be sent into Chinese waters, it
would seem that the Germans do not intend to give up the Bay of Kiao
Chou.
Telegrams from China have given us further details.
It seems that the German minister to China has presented a string of
claims to the Chinese Government which are so absurdly large in
comparison to the amount of damage done, that people do not scruple to
say that they are only offered as a means of enabling the Kaiser to keep
the territory he has seized.
Here are the damages demanded by Germany for the murder of her two
missionaries:
The murderers must be discovered and punished.
The officials concerned in the murder must be punished.
The mission buildings which were destroyed must be rebuilt.
The sum of six hundred thousand taels must be paid to the relations of
the dead missionaries. A tael is worth $1.40, so you can see for
yourselves what a big sum this is.
A heavy sum of money must be paid to defray the expenses of the German
naval expedition to China, and money must be paid to keep the German
force in the Bay of Kiao Chou, which they have seized.
The Chinese Government, on hearing these demands, said that the Bay of
Kiao Chou must be given up before they could even be discussed.
The German minister replied that Germany would not give up Kiao Chou,
and there the matter rests.
The representatives of the other foreign powers think these terms are
unreasonable, and that China shall not think of accepting them.
China has expressed her willingness to rebuild the mission-houses and
punish the criminals. She hopes to be able to settle the difficulty by
diplomacy, as she is not in a position to go to war.
The cowardly governor who gave up the forts without firing a shot has
been condemned to death.
* * * * *
The Queen Regent has signed the decree giving home rule to Cuba.
The plan, in brief, is that the island shall be governed by the
Captain-General (who is to represent the mother country) and two
chambers of Congress, the Council Chamber and the House of
Representatives.
There will be thirty-five members in the Council Chamber, eighteen of
whom will be appointed by the crown, and the other seventeen elected by
the people. All of the members of the House of Representatives will be
elected by the people.
This Congress is to settle all the affairs of the island, with the
exception of the foreign policy, the question of relations with other
countries, which will be arranged by Spain.
The supreme authority will be vested in the Captain-General, who will
have to give his consent to all the acts of the Congress before they can
become laws.
The army and navy will be under his sole control and direction.
Congress will have the right, subject to certain restrictions imposed by
the home Government, to fix the tariff duties.
The mayor and all the city officials will be elected by the people, and
while the Spanish Government keeps to itself the right to the final
voice in all decisions, the prospect offered the Cubans seems fair home
rule.
Porto Rico, another Spanish possession in the West Indies, is to enjoy
the same privileges as Cuba.
The insurgents, however, will have none of this.
Both Gomez and Garcia have published proclamations, so severe in tone,
that there can be no doubt that the insurgent leaders are sincere in
their declaration that they will have nothing from Spain but
independence.
Here is Gomez's proclamation:
"HEADQUARTERS OF THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF THE }
CUBAN ARMY, SANCTI-SPIRITUS, NOVEMBER 15th, }
1897, THIRD YEAR OF THE INDEPENDENCE. }
"The news I have received of the establishment of autonomy
in Cuba by the Spanish Government compels me to remind the
military and civil leaders of the revolution once more that
our only aim is independence. Therefore,
"Article 1.--Any military commander of the Cuban army
accepting proposals of autonomy from the Spanish Government,
or even conferring with Spanish envoys for any arrangement
of peace, shall be immediately put under arrest, summarily
court-martialled, and, if declared guilty of such acts,
sentenced to death as a traitor to his flag.
"Article 2.--Any envoy from the Spanish Government, or from
any Spanish or military commander, or from any political
party favoring the Spanish dominion in Cuba, who shall
approach our lines and confer or try to confer with any
military or civil representative of the republic of Cuba,
and propose to him the acceptance of autonomy from Spain,
shall be immediately put under arrest, summarily
court-martialled as a spy, and, if declared guilty, hanged
according to our military laws.
"These articles shall be enforced by all the generals and
subordinates of the Cuban army in the West and Santa Clara,
the general commander of the East already having orders to
enforce our laws on the matter. For country and liberty.
"MAXIMO GOMEZ."
It is said that the publication of these proclamations has created a
deep impression in Havana.
Under these proclamations, any person who seeks the Cuban lines to offer
home rule to the soldiers will be hanged as a spy, and any Cuban
listening to such proposals will be shot as a traitor.
The two brave commanders have therefore made it very difficult for
Spanish agents to approach their soldiers and corrupt them.
Very few battles are reported from Cuba. It is said that the Spanish
troops are massed in such large numbers that the Cubans do not dare to
attack them. It is also rumored that the present season being the one in
which the supply of vegetables is scarcest in the island, the insurgents
are not well enough supplied with food to venture on any long marches.
* * * * *
The _Dauntless_ has again succeeded in conveying an expedition to Cuba.
She left Jacksonville with a schooner, the _Jenny Thomas_, in tow. When
she reached the mouth of the St. Johns River, she was overhauled by the
cruiser _Vesuvius_. Nothing contraband being found on her, she was
allowed to go on her way after an hour's delay.
Unfortunately, it never occurred to the officers to search the vessel in
tow, and so the daring little vessel got safely away.
It now appears that the contraband material was on board the schooner,
and that after the cruiser was safely passed, the _Dauntless_ cast
anchor in some convenient spot, took her forbidden cargo on board, and
sailed away to Cuba without further hindrance.
The Spanish authorities are much annoyed over this incident, and think
the United States is not showing a proper regard for Spain in allowing
filibustering expeditions to leave her shores at a time when Spain is
trying to pacify the Cubans with such liberal reforms.
* * * * *
Don Carlos is said to be showing some activity again.
Realizing that the new decree giving Home Rule to Cuba will be very
objectionable to many Spaniards, he has called a consultation of the
leaders of his party, and asked them to go about among the people, and
rouse them against the Government.
He promises that if he is called to the throne, he will not show any
such mercy to the rebellious Cubans, but will compel them, by force of
arms, to obey the will of the Spanish sovereign.
The leaders of the Carlist party do not, however, seem to be in any
great hurry to act.
Such a revolution as Don Carlos is anxious to begin means life or death
to the nobles and men of position who support him. If the rising fails,
these men will be regarded as traitors to their country, and shot or
exiled. In any case they will lose everything that they own or that the
Government can discover and take from them.
With so much at stake it is but natural that the nobles should wish to
be sure that their reward in case of success will be as great as their
punishment in case of failure.
They are therefore anxious to secure certain pledges from Don Carlos,
before they openly join themselves to an enterprise so full of peril.
Don Carlos does not seem willing to give these assurances, and so the
rebellion is at a standstill at present.
* * * * *
There was a little excitement during the past week over the announcement
that the English and French armies had met in battle in West Africa.
The story was not, however, believed, because the English Government had
given orders to her soldiers that they were to avoid any conflict with
the French, and the same directions had been given to the French by
their Government.
It is, however, felt that trouble is pretty sure to come ere long, and
so England has been sending more soldiers to the Niger territory, and
now has a force of four thousand men there.
A commission was appointed to examine into this vexed boundary question,
and it has been sitting in Paris for many weeks.
Unfortunately, neither party seems willing to wait until the commission
has finished its work.
The French, maintaining that they have a right to seize any city or land
that is not occupied by an armed force belonging to any other nation,
have been sending out armed parties to take possession of any territory
they can get. They have already taken possession of several places that
England has long looked upon as her property.
The British are naturally not going to submit to this, and so they, in
their turn, are trying to seize land wherever possible.
It is feared that in some of their various raids the British and French
may meet, and a serious conflict ensue.
* * * * *
From India it is reported that the Ameer of Afghanistan has refused to
listen to the envoys from the Afridi tribes, and that they are about to
submit to the English rule.
They will be forced to give up the rifles and plunder they have taken,
and hostages will be demanded of them as a guarantee of further good
behavior.
The allowance made by the English Government to the Afridis will be
stopped. The Khyber Pass, which was held by them, will be reopened, and
matters will proceed much the same as if no rising had occurred.
A state durbar will shortly be held, at which the chiefs of the Afridis
will do homage, and submit to the English rule.
A durbar is, as you no doubt remember, a levee or reception.
It is rumored that the results of this campaign are very unsatisfactory
to the English people. The hill-fighting, however, turned out to be so
much more severe than the English expected, and the tribesmen proved
such formidable foes, that they were glad to make peace on whatever
terms they could.
To punish the natives as they had intended would have taken such a large
sum of money, and employed such a number of troops, that the Government
finally decided that the wisest thing was to put a speedy end to the
difficulty.
* * * * *
The Soudan campaign has also been brought to a close.
The English people are also indignant about this.
They think that the Government ought not to have allowed such a good
opportunity for punishing the Mahdists to slip through its fingers.
With a little more perseverance, the lower Soudan would have been opened
up to the world and Gordon avenged.
As it was, no decisive battle was fought; the Mahdists, under Osman
Digna, steadily retreated before the advance of the British.
After the brilliant reconnoitring trip to Khartoum, and the shelling of
the city by the two little gunboats, it was expected that something
decisive was about to be done. But no advance has been made by the main
army, and now it is positively stated that no further steps will be
taken until January.
People are wondering why the soldiers were sent to the Soudan, if they
are only to camp on the banks of the Nile and contemplate the Mahdists
from a distance.
After building their railroad, and making such excellent preparations
for a brilliant campaign, it seems astonishing that the troops should be
allowed to sit down and wait, without striking a blow.
It is, however, rumored that the English Government does not wish to
spend more money pushing the campaign further, and that more troops are
needed to bring the campaign to a successful termination.
Whatever the reason, nothing more is likely to be done in the Soudan for
the present.
* * * * *
The committee which was appointed to find out just how much it would
cost to make armor-plate, has sent in a report which will be presented
to Congress at the earliest opportunity.
It appears that it will cost over three and a half million dollars to
build an armor-plate factory capable of making the amount of armor
required by the Government.
It has not yet been decided whether the factory shall be built, but the
Secretary of the Navy is going to advertise for offers to build it so
that he can lay the whole matter before Congress at one time.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem steel companies have not been idle while the
Government has been making its inquiries.
Krupp, the German gun-maker, has recently invented a process for
manufacturing armor-plate which is said to make a plate that is still
more durable and better than that manufactured by the Harvey process.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem companies no sooner heard of the Krupp
process, than they sent experts to examine it, and finding it to be all
that was represented, they purchased the sole right to use the process
in this country.
The Government, of course, wants the best possible armor for its ships,
and if the Krupp is the best, they must have Krupp armor-plate.
The cleverness of these two firms has, however, made it impossible for
the Government to manufacture this kind of armor for itself. If it is to
be used, it must be bought from the Carnegie or Bethlehem people.
The Secretary of the Navy does not approve of the Government spending so
much money in building a factory of its own. It is said that when he
lays the matter before Congress, he will recommend that the armor be
bought of the Carnegie or Bethlehem firms.
It is stated that he expects to get the armor for $425 a ton.
The Carnegie Company are, however, masters of the situation. With the
Bethlehem works, they own the right to manufacture this new and
excellent armor, and if the Government must have it for its ships, the
company will ask what price they please. Their excuse will no doubt be
that they have had to pay so much money for the right that they are
obliged to make the price high.