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THE OMATIA SUNDAY' BEE: JUNE 19, 1911.
0
BORN IN AN EVENTFUL YM-rMncipal Happenings
During 1871, the year of the birth of The Bee,
there occurred some of the principal events in the
lilstory of the world. It was during this year that
the Franco-Prussian war was being waged. Dur
ing this year a commission was appolnttd
to inquire into he condition of the re
public of Kan Domingo and learn if it was the desire
of the people to be annexed to the United States. Dur
Ing.thls year the Indian council of Ocmulgee convened
for the purpose of organizing a territorial government,
adopting the preamble of a constitution and a bill of
rights. ,
In the United States congress, in 1871, the senate
passed a bill abolishing the income tax. It was during
this year that President Grant appointed a commission
to confer wl'h a like commission appointed by Queen
Victoria to arbitrate questions affecting the people of
British America. There was the Impeachment of Gov
ernor Holden of North Carolina and the outrages of
the Ku-Klux. Later in the year St. Joseph was visited
by a hurricane and five persons killed.
During the fall of 1871 the republicans made Im
portant gains In about all of the southern states. In
OOctober occurred the great-Chicago fire, by which
$300,00,000 of property was destroyed and thousands
of people left homeless.
The principal eventB of the year are given in
chronological order and are classified aa domestic and
foreign:
Domestic.
; President Grant appointed Andrew D. White of
Cornell university, Senator Wade and Dr. Samuel
"Howe of Boston as the San Domingo commission. They
! were authorized to inquire Into and report on the
political state and condition of the republic of San
' Domingo, also the desire of the people to become an
nexed to the United States. The commission was ac
companied by several acentlflc men.
The Indian council at Ocmulgee, I. T., convened
; for the organization of a territorial government of
Oklahoma, adopted the preamble of a constitution and
a bill of rights. 1
, January 14 The steamer .T. L. McOUl, from St..
Louis to New Orleans, was burned in the Mississippi
on Shoo-Fly bar. At least forty-eight lives were lost.
January 26 A bill for the abolition of the income
tax was passed by the senate by a vote of 26 to 25,
the repeal to take effect from December 31, 1869.
The bouse, on February 7, referred a bill for the re
peal of the tax to the committee of the whole. -
January 28 Steamer H. R. Arthur burned near
Memphis. The boiler exploded and the boat took fire.
Nearly ninety lives were lost.
' February 4 A Dill to organize Alaska Into a
county, with the county seat at Sitka, and with the
public laws and the jurisdiction of Washington (then
a territory) extended to it, passed the house
February 6 Hudson Tver night express ran into
an oil train near New Haburg, N. Y. An explosion fol
lowed, and the locomotive and one sleeper went
through a drawbridge. Twenty persons, including
George Benedict, editor of the Cleveland Herald, were
killed.
February 9 President Grant appointed the fol
lowing to represent the United States In a joint high
commission, suggested by Queen Victoria, "for the
i adjustment of questions materially affecting the rela
tions between the United States and the territories
'and the people of British North America:" Hamilton
Fish, secretary , of state; General Schenck, Justice
During the Memorable Twelve Months of 1871
Nelson, ex-Attorney General Hoar and Senator Wil
liams. February 12 Alice Cary, the Well known poetess,
died, aged 60 years.
February 16 Lower house of Arkansas legislature
passed articles of Impeachment of Governor Clayton.
The senate could not meet for want of a quorum.
February 20 and 21 The great event of the sea
son at Washington was the grand carnival to celebrate
the completion of the wooden pavement on Penn
sylvania avenue. The prominent features were a
masquerade procession, a ball and a magnificent pyro
technic display.
February 21 The house, by a vote of nearly two
to one, passed the Southern Pacific railroad bill. The
bill provided for the construction of a trunk road from
Marshall, Tex., to San Diego, Cat.
March 4 House of representatives organized by
electing James O. Blaine speaker. The first important
act of the senate was the displacement of Senator
Sumner from his position as head of the committee on
foreign relations. The outrages of the Ku Klux in
North Carolina, especially, where life and property
were rendered insecure, were followed by the ap
pointment of a congressional committee for the pur
pose ot investigating southern affairs.
March 22 Impeachment trial of Governor Holden
of North Carolina concluded. He was convicted on
six charges.
March 23 President Grant sent to congress a spe
cial message recommending legislation for the sup
pression of lawless outrages in the south. A bill to
more fully enforce the provisions of the fourteenth
amendment was passed by the house, April 6, and
by the senate, April 14.
March 29 Town of Tuckee, Cal., was almost to
tally destroyed by fire.
April 2 Four fishing schooners of Gloucester,
Mass., were lost in a gale and all on board perished.
April 5 Report of San Domingo commission sub
mitted to senate.
April 7 A serious riot occurred at Scranton, Pa.,
among the miners. Two coal-breakers were burned
and state troops called out.
April 8-9 A heavy gale swept over Iowa, Kansas
-and Missouri, doing great damage and involving some
loss of life.
An Indian war of considerable proportions was
waged in Arizona during 'he early part of May. Two
soldiers and eighty-five Apaches were killed.
May 21-A fire -at Alexandria, Va., destroyed a
number of buildings famous because of their his
torical associations,
May 24 Senate ratified the Washington treaty
framed by the joint high commission appointed by the
British and the United States governments.
May 27 The shaft of a coal mine at West Pitts
ton, Pa., caught fire. There was no other egress for
the miners at work and sixteen lost their lives.
During the first few days in June 100 squares of
New Orleans, including 2,500 houses, were Inundated.
' June 12 A hurricane struck Galveston and did
great damage during the eight hours it continued. -
A schooner of St. Johns, Newfoundland, was driven
ashore and dashed to pieces. Forty lives were lost.
The United States army was, during June, finally
reduced to a peace footing, in accordance with the act
of congress of July 15, 1870.
June 24 Cornerstone of the capltol at Albany
was laid with Impressive ceremonies. There was a
procession more than three miles long.
Fifteen persons were killed and twenty-three in
jured by the giving away of a railroad bridge near
Nashville. ,
July 5 During a storm in Nebraska a train on the
Fremont & Blair road was blown from the track. Two
lives were lost and fifteen passengers lDjured.
July 12 Over 100 persons were wounded or
killed in New York City during the rioting occasioned
by the celebration of the Orangemen and interference
on the part of the Catholics.
July 13-14 A terrible hurricane visited St. Jo
seph. Five people were killed and many houses de
stroyed. July 30 The boiler of the Staten Island ferry
boat Westfleld exploded. Two hundred persons were
Injured, over 100 fatally.
August 16 The New York steamer Lodona was
wrecked off the Florida coast. Twenty-one lives were
lost.
August 26 Twenty-four persons were killed and
fifteen injured by the collision of two trains at Re-'
vere, Mass.
August 27- The boiler of a steamboat in Mobile
bay exploded, killing more than thirty people.
During September the United States authorities
made important progress in the conflict with the Mor
mons in Utah. The prosecution of Mormons guilty
of assassinating Gentiles was begun.
The October elections, except those in Texas, re
sulted favorably to the republican party.
October 2 Brigham Young was arrested at Salt
Lake City for polygamy.
On Saturday night, October 7, a fire broke out in
Chicago, which proved to be the most destructive con
flagration in the history of the country. The fire de
vastated a district of four and a half miles in length,
by over a mile in breadth, involving a loss of between
$200,000,000 and $300,000,000. About 18,000 build
ings of all descriptions were destroyed. Within ten
days after the fire over $5,000,000 had been sub
scribed for the relief of the suffering.
Awful fires raged during the early part of October
in northern Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Over
1,500 persons were burned to death in -Wisconsin
alone. Manistee, Mich., was almost obliterated, in
volving a loss of $1,000,000 above Insurance, and the
destitution of hundreds of Inhabitants.
A number of state elections were held in Novem
ber. During the year elections were held in twenty
two states, fifteen of which went republican.
Toward the last of October the president was sent
a petition, fifty feet long, in favor of polygamy, signed
by about 2,500 Mormon women of Utah.
October 24 The murder ot an American citizen
by a Chinaman at Los Angeles led to a riot. Over
$20,000 worth of property was plundered from China
men, of whom eighteen were killed.
A whaling fleet met with disaster in the Arctic
sea. Thirty-three lives and $1,500,000 worth of
property were lost. '
December 4 Congress assembled. In the senate
there were flfty-slx republicans, fifteen democrats and
three vacancies. In the house there were 140 repub
licans and 103 democrats.
The Grand Duke Alexis was feted in many Ameri
can cities.
Foreign.
January 2 Prince Amadeus of Italy, despite the
great indignation of Spaniards generally, was crowned
king of Spain, swearing fealty to the British constitu
tion. ' January 10 General Chanzy of the French army,
in the Franco-Prussian war, was forced to fight a battle-near
Le Maus by Prince Charles. After two days
of hard fighting the right wing of the French armv,
was routed and the left and center compelled to make
rapid retreat.' General Chanzy 's loss In killed,
wounded and prisoners was 40,000; that of the Ger
mans, 20,000. Fifty thousand French troops that had
left Cherbourg to reinforce Chanzy were cut off by
the breaking of the railway communication at Alen
con. This was the most notable engagement of the
month.
January 18 Exactly 180 years after the corona
tion of the first king of Prussia, Frederick I, King
William accepted the title and crown of emperor of
Germany.
January 26 George Tlcknor, author of "History of
Spanish Literature," died. ,
In the Franco-Prussian war the capitulation of
Paris occurred on January 28. Articles of armistice
agreed upon between Count Bismarck and Jules Favre
provided for its continuance until February 19. The
object was to convene a French assembly, freely
elected, which should decide whether the war should
continue, or what terms of peace should be made.
With Paris were surrendered 1,900 pieces of artillery
and 18,000 prisoners. The delivery of arms was com
pleted February 12. The French elections resulted In
making M. Adolphe Thiers chief executive of the re
public. In his address to the assembly he urged the
necessity of peace, but promised to insist on terms of
peace consistent with French honor.
Mont Cents tunnel, extending seven and one-half
miles from Fourneaux, France, to Bardouneche,
Italy was completed in January. The work was be
gun in the spring of 1858.
February 7 The French transport Le Cerf
wrecked on rocks oft Cape de la Haque. Number of
lives lost, over 1.100.
February 26 Terms of peace accepted by MM.
Thiers and Favre and the consultative commission of
the French national assembly. France ceded the
whole of Alsace and other territory to Germany. The
ceded portion embraced 6,006" square miles and con
tained 1,600,000 inhabitants. France agreed to pay
Germany a war Indemnity of $1,000,000,000.
The insurgents issued a proclamation for com
munal elections, of which the mayors of Paris refused
to take notice.
March 1 The Germans made their triumphal. en-1
try into Paris. Ex-Emperor Napolean addressed a
communication to M. Grevy, president of the French
National assembly, in which he protested against the
vote of the assembly decreeing the fall of the empire.
The French assembly met at Versailles March 20.
The wisdom of Its avoidance of Paris was demon
strated by the rioting of the malcontents in Paris. On
March 19 the mob held possession 0f that city.
During the early, part of April occurred a series
of unprecedented earthquakes In China. Over 3,000
were killed.
The Insurrection In Paris proved Itself sufficiently
powerful to hold the city agalnjt the Versailles gov
ernment and compelled the latter to Institute a slego.
Nowhere outside of France did the communist rebel
lion succeed. The Versailles army was placed under
command of General McMahon. There wns continual
fighting between his forces and the insurgents during
April.
April" 14 A religious riot, in which Jews were de
spoiled and violent outrages committed, began at
Odessa. It continued for three days and was only put
down at the point of the bayonet.
May 10 A treaty of peace between France and
Germany was signed at Frankfort.
The Italian senate and the chamber of deputies
passed the bill which tended to banish the last vestige
of the temporal power of the papacy.
May 21 Buenos Ayres fell a prey to the yellow
fever. In fifty days there wero 12,000 deaths. The
population of the city was reduced from 200,000 to
40,000.
The last days of the Paris commune were marked
by the violence and internal dissensions which had
characterized that body from its organization. The
Versailes army rapidly approached the city ramparts,
and on May 21 entered with but little resistance.
May 17 A naval expedition, consisting of Ameri
can, English, French and Prussian vessels, set out for
Corea for the purpose of endeavoring to make a
treaty with Corean authorities for the protection of
shipwrecked sailors. After the Corean envoys had
made professions of amicable intentions they suddenly
opened fire, but were soon driven from their forts.
May 26 Volcanic eruptions in Singapore, killing
over 400. A coolie ship with a cargo of 500 or 600
coolies burned fifty miles off Hong Kong. Few sur
vived. "
May 28 The final surrender of Paris by the com
munists to the government forces. The loss of the
latter in taking possession of the city was less than
3,000, The communists had 10,000 killed and 20,000
taken prisoners. The destruction of property and life
led to the summary execution of a large number of
the captured insurgents.
May 31 Prince Napolean addressed a letter to M.
Jules Favre full of bitter denunciation of the men of
September 4, and the policy. He also urged that safety
could be found only in a free expression of the pop
ular will.
August 6 A serious riot occurred in Dublin, oc
casioned by an attempt to hold a meeting in favor of
an amnesty for the Fenian prisoners.
i Earthquakes throughout Asiatic countries. Involv
ing enormous loss of life, were common durlns
. August. There were also ravages of pestilence and
famine in Persia.
August 26 Charles Scrlbner, the head of the emi
nent publishing house, died at Lucerne,
i , September 2 The court-martial of the communist
- prisoners of Paris was concluded, A large number re
ceived the death penalty.
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