N 0 A bl ed OF THE YEAR the year 1903 will be known as the record year of prosperity in the unit ed states St aites some few crops have not yielded so largely as they did in former years ears but the prices received were so much higher that the shortage was more than made up for cotton reached the highest figure at which it has been sold since the war beet beef and leather have been dent edly high petroleum and its products advanced in price 25 per cent ent iron and steel were sold at high prices and the demand was so great that orders could not be filled within a reasonable time and seaport cities made large purchases abroad because deliveries were so much delayed fhe production of precious metals will probably turn out to be nearly 7 per cent greater than last year the rice crop of texas a new indus try practically was remarkably large and nd sold for high figures tremendous discoveries of am on the pacific coast enabled that part of the country to substitute six million dollars worth of oil tor for coal which was previously imported either from great britain or australia the total destruction of the fruit crop in great britain and in southern europe made an unexpected market for american green fruits more than aa per cent of all the fruits sold in the london markets today to day Is american the average increase in the cost ot of foodstuffs to the consumer in the united states was 16 per cent tn in many cases the labor unions by force of organization though tre ire not until a long and serious strike had been engaged in were mere able abi e to increase the pay of their members thus greatly enhancing the ing power of the plain people which Is the basis of all prosperity in the united states in nearly all of the large cities throughout the country the population has increased and the price of real estate has done more than keep pace with the general march of prosperity under the circumstances the coun try has every right to look forward to a continuance of prosperity our granaries are groaning with the products of an abundant aoun dant harvest our savings banks overflow with the re serves of the people our scale of ex Pend ture iture is the highest the world has ever fever known the stock market that unfailing barometer of the feeling of the gam gain bling element of the country has recently taken a short sharp rise the area of land which will be plowed and seeded th s winter and next spring will exceed the area tilled last year it is inevitable that a prosperous li harvest arvest brings a greater seed sowing the greatly increased demand for cat eat tie and horses means more stock breeding pastures will be fuller next year than they were ever before THE YEAR IN REVIEW momentous events that have signal laed the past twelve months the all absorbing topic of january 1903 was the venezuelan imbroglio the active events of that affair be long of course to 1902 though as late as jan jall 22 the german ships bom barded the fort of san carlos but on jan 8 president castro rested ven eruelas s side of the case entirely in the hands of minister bowen who set sail tor for home jan jail 11 after that the whole matter was thrashed out in washington and the interest in the affair remained keen to the very close because many thought they saw in the warlike action of the all es especially germany a determination to attack no venezuela so much as uncle sam s famous monroe doctrine the attempt it if it were really so intended ly failed for though pitted some of the most astute diplomats of europe minister bowen persistently upheld the real rights of the weaker country and negotiated terms of set favorable to venezuela with out calling the time honored doctrine into question or dispute the great coal strike the anthracite coal strike belongs even more to the history of 1902 than does the venezuelan affair and the deliberations of the arbitration commis elon sion attracted even less general in terest than their importance justified the commission entered into the mat ter most thoroughly and systematical ty the last witness was not called until feb 5 and the arguments of the opposing counsel consumed the fol lowing week president george F baer represented the operators and clarence darrow the miners after a month a deliberations the commission reported the miners won a portion of in crease in wages and reduction of hours of work demanded before the strike were granted a better system of meas aring their work and a practical it if not a formal recognition of their union the decision was a victory for the miners as they would will angly have accepted the terms allowed before they began the strike had not the mine operators refused to concede arbitrate or negotiate in congress the second session of the fifty sev anth congress may be briefly zed provisions were made for an increase in the navy similar to that of former years a uniform militia bill was passed as was also a law creating a general staff in command of the army other important if not interesting legislation was mas effected but the om oin bibus statehood bill was mas lost little field fields s bill to regulate corporations never got to a vote in the senate no tariff concessions were granted gi anted to im ports to the philippines an act that met with knivel universal univ eisal sal ap al was the creation of a new de apartment part ment and the addition of a new member to the president presidents s cabinet the of aabol and corn com merce As soon as cr abed in feb auary the president presidents s private secre tary george B corteylou Cor as appoint ed its secretary at the same time and as a part of the new deportment a bureau of corporation was mas fished and james R garfield son of the late president became its chief when congress adjourned or rather expired march 3 two questions mere unsettled cuban reciprocity and the panama canal but as the treaties con berning them required only the action of the senate president roosevelt summoned the new senate into exist ence to consider the two measures measure the reciprocity treaty was rati ratified fled but the nature of its pro visions required action by the house JANUARY 1 first cable U S to hawaii awall 3 napier lou an died rost foston 0 n 5 saga ta d ed in spain 7 moses tenney died George georgetown tawn 9 ex gov hastings penn died 14 dut taken off coal 15 tiilman tillman sl ot editor S carolina 16 15 cardinal marochi died rome am 15 coal coa i investigation inn esti gation mass 1 18 M d de e 13 blowitz died paris 18 abram S henitt died new york 18 ma con igram cape cod to england 18 germany sent steinberg to U S 20 julian ralph died new york 21 germans shelled venezuelan fort 22 canal treaty with colombia 23 col lanch guilty london 24 alaskan boundary treaty 27 col lynch s sentence commuted 28 patrick divver died new york 29 cyrus cobb died allston 30 john D long seriously III 31 hobson resigned from navy 31 josserand Jus new french ambassador j FEBRUARY IFE B 1 ellela a morgan d died led springfield 3 S daniel B lord died salem 3 ire middlebury vt 3 S local option won von vermont 5 henry L dawes died pittsfield 5 end coal strike hearings penn perin 6 apar admiral V ides died at ea 10 str mad madana ana wrecked bermuda 14 venezuela blockade raised 16 cordeliou Cort Cor eliou telou secretary of commerce 16 rear adm ral dobinson Po binson died phil 16 chas theo russell died camb 18 beef trust injunction 18 G D i fiann died new york 20 pope leo leos s 9 th anni er arary ary 24 cuban coal station agreen f nt 26 dr 9 J galtung d ed joew york 27 burdick murdered in buffalo MARCH I 1 gen W r smith died phila 1 wm acol ans d ed brighton 2 extra session U S senate called 4 E d of congress 6 5 U S senate in extra session 10 arthur pennell kl led buffalo 0 10 O woman suffrage def abed N H 12 czar decreed religious freedom IS 13 maine stuck to tion 17 shamrock III launched scotland 17 canal treaty ratified by se sera a e 19 fire at pepperell 19 cuban reci proc ty treaty ratified 19 senate adjourned sl si e die 21 coal loal co coTi miss on report 22 very re F W farrar died london 26 license law in new hampshire 27 2 N 1 Fair baWs s died chicago 28 lowell mills ordered closed clord G F swift died chicago so it remained inoperative until the extra session in november the panama canal the panama canal was the burning question and at the beginning as at the close of this year it seemed a certainty for years the agitation in favor of a canal across the isthmus of panama had been agitated and recent ly with increased interest thousands of dollars had haa been spent surveying we possible routes and it at last seemed assured that the united states in conjunction with great britain would undertake the nica bagua route since the col collapse lipse of the de do les sep s panama scheme a new french company had possession of and had done some work mork on oil the panama canal but until it became evident that this country was as in earnest about nicara dicara gua the french company refused to sell out at a reasonable price then when competition seemed likely they surprised american lawmakers by of fering their holdings at less than halt their former figures they offered to sell their concessions and everything in sight for 40 giving until march 4 for acceptance congress hes stated many favoring the N nicaragua cabagua caragua route and when the time was about to expire president poosevelt roosevelt took the responsibility of accepting the tion running the risk of defeat in the senate or in colombia in the mean time secretary hay and dr herran the colombian charge d affairs signed a treaty by which the united states agreed to pay colombia a bonus of 10 and an annual rental of for such concessions as the g french company had received it was the ratification of this treaty that brought the question to the issue in the senate and when congress ad journea without action an extra ss sion was called this session ratified the treaty march 17 some pass ng sensations besides the affairs of general im poi tance already noted several events of opening months of the year should be mentioned on jan 15 J T till man mail shot and I 1 billed editor N G gonzalez gonzalez had attached attacked till man rab adly in his paper and aud had de feared his nomination for governor the affair was widely and vehemently discussed but in october tillman was acquitted partly because the fatal at tad was not entirely unjust if ed and partly because there was evidence to show that tillman thought gonzalez was armed and about to at ack him D sa floods little can be said here of the dasas trous arous floods of the year in march the lower mississippi rose higher than ever before and on the of that month passed all records cities along the river especially memphis suffered heavily levees gave way and miles of lowlands were mere inundated causing un told damage and great suffering es SO lowell mills idle 31 loung co lo bett whipped mcgovern 1 roosevelt on western tour 1 elau ba hu B flay ea died lynn 7 rear ad belknap died key west 9 northern securities merger annulled 10 chap W II 11 milburn died california 11 Rel reliance lance launched bristol 17 shamro k III dismasted abroad 20 kishineff Ki massacre of jews 21 2 W K vandera it married london 98 S china refused russian demands 29 irv ng at scott died frisco 29 R ng edward visited the pope 29 russia for open door in tar far east 29 stuart robson died new york SO 30 paul du chaglu cha allu died russia MAY I 1 king edward welcomed in paris I 1 B hop foster d ed newton 3 S kaiser kalser visited the pope 4 bishop hurst died Iv washington ashington 6 5 str saginaw sunk 20 lost 8 russia reoccupied aiu chwang 9 russia left alu chwang 12 R 11 stoddard died new york 14 corruption inquiry beacon hill 36 16 sybil sanderson Sanc lerson died paris 24 max 0 rell aled paris 25 emerson emersons s birthday 26 BOO fire in lacon a N H 27 machen arrested washington 28 shamrock III sailed far new york aun J ea I 1 lowell mil reopened reopen reo penel eJ I 1 last play at boston museum S 2 forest fires in pew new england 5 eit s western t p ended 7 levee broke at east st louis S 8 rain in N E been dry 60 50 days 10 K ng dg and queen h I 1 11 d servia 1 19 gen al x mccool died ohio 14 shamrock III arri vedat new york 15 hara georgevitch k ng of servia 17 Rel reliance lance lost topmast 18 geo wheaton d ed washington IS 18 Afric ander won the suburban 20 cardinal vaughan d ed bondor 21 maj J B pond died new york 23 U S squadron at kiel 25 hooker statue unveiled boston 25 aale I 1 ale won boat races new london 26 cornell won boat races hudson JULY w 5 1 pope ope leo seriously ill 6 teachers connection conNen corn entson tion boston 7 pope ler operated on 7 U 8 squadron portsmouth eng specially ally to the poor negroes of the south the following month and in june the missouri and its tributa tributaries trib ries were flooded and topeka kansas city st louis and east st louis suffered from the rush of waters the cotton mills in the carolinas and georgia were also victims of the raging maters and many other cities notably pater son N J were inundated heppner ore was practically devastated by a cloudburst passing of pope leo late in june came the announce ment of the serious illness of pope leo XIII that aged pontiff was 93 years of age on march 2 and on march 3 celebrated the twenty fifth an niver sary of his coronation as p pope pe thus putting an end to the longbon longbon ored tradition that no pontiff would see the days of peter 25 years pope leo s predecessor had reigned 32 years the longest in history and the old tradition cannot survive this sec see ond breaking of the record on july 6 5 the pontiff was regarded as in a cratl cal condition and in a few days his life was despaired of but though ap parent ly frail in body the long years of simple habits had given him a asplen did power of resistance to disease and for more than two weeks he battled with the ravages of pleural pneumonia on july 20 however he died and on the following day the chair of peter wa was declared de cared vacant by cardinal cam erlindo the conclave to choose his successor assembled on the last day of the month and on aug 4 after several indecisive ballots chose cardinal sarto patriarch of venice who was elected he chose the title is of pius X and was crowned aug 4 eventful august august was an eventful month on the ath lieutenant general nelson A miles long the commanding general of the army was retired from active service I 1 or seven days major gen eral S B M young commanded in his stead but aug 15 the army staff law went into effect and general young became chief of staff the event of aug 12 was more sig unmeant ant for on that day misguided colombians brewed trouble tor for them selves on that day the colombian senate rejected the hay herran pana ma tua canal treaty and this unexpected atlon seemed tor for the time to put the canal farther away than ever even the chagrin that accompanied tl P turn of affairs gave place to expect tan 1 when sir thomas lipton ar rn arved ed m ith his third challenger tor for america Q cup shamrock III tl e boat had been launched in march and even before the defender had taken definite shape news of its wonderful wonder fui sailing capacity was flashed across the atlantic not a few an tiri tl at upon this expedition the gallant irishman would be successful n carrying back the trophy he was how hom ever doomed to a crushing defeat 10 pope leo s second operation 11 american riflemen won england 14 crimes act revoked ireland 15 11 mrs urs J G B blaine a ne died maine 17 P M arthur arthr d ed d winnipeg 18 1 man whistler died london 20 pope leo died pome rome 22 cassaus M clay died kentucky 26 masses for pope boston 27 Rel reliance lance picked to defend cup 29 Alaga magazines exploded tewksbury sl 31 cardinals in conclave rome 1 AUGUST 1 4 elected pope plus X 4 schwab steel trust resigned 5 stock market slump 8 lt gen miles retired 8 lt