1880, and had risen by 1895 to 675 per cent. Accordingly, a smaller proportion of the receipts is available for the payment of interest and dividends, and the result is a marked diminution in the return to the capital invested, for the capital itself has increased more rapidly than the earnings. The statement on page 707 is a condensed income account showing the amount and disposition of railway earnings in 1880 and 1895. It is worthy of note that the amounts received and disbursed by the railroads in a year exceed the aggregate receipts of National, State, and local governments, and equal 15 per cent. of the country's total annual produc

tion of wealth.

Compared with mileage, the income both from operation and from other sources has diminished, while operating expenses, taxes, and fixed charges have increased, notwithstanding a diminution in accrued interest. The result is a very decided falling off in dividends from $804 per mile of line in 1880 to $472, or (including other payments from net income) $484, in 1895. In other words, while the mileage more than doubled, the aggregate sum paid in dividends increased only 50.9 per cent. In declaring dividends to the amount of $85,287,543 in 1895, the railway companies used $29,845,241 more than was available for that purpose from the revenue of the year, and a net deficit of that amount was therefore created, to be met, if at all, either out of the accumulated surplus of former years or by the creation of current liabilities. The average rate of interest accruing on railway bonds in 1895 was 4:69 per cent., but there is no official statement showing how much of the accrued interest was actually paid. The average rate of dividends was 1-72 per cent., but $3,475,640,203 of the stock, or 70-06 per cent. of the whole, paid no dividends whatever. On the dividend-paying stock the average rate of interest was 574 per cent. Treating the accrued interest as having been all paid, the total return to capital may be stated at $196,992,652 in 1880 and $337,800,463 in 1895, a gain since 1880 of only 71.5 per cent., although the capital had more than doubled. It is evident that, on the whole, the return to capital invested in railways is by no means exorbitant. Unofficial reports show that the year 1896 brought no very important changes in the distribution of dividends.

Bankruptcy. During the period from 1880 to 1896 inclusive 412 railroads, operating about 90,000 miles of line and $5,000,000,000 of capital, were placed in the hands of receivers, and 506 roads, with 73.000 miles of line and a capitalization of nearly $4,500,000,000, were sold under foreclosure. In studying these totals, however, some allowance should be made for duplication, some roads having been placed with receivers more than once. On June 30, 1895, about 38,000 miles of railway, or more than one fifth of the entire mileage of the country, were in the hands of receivers, and hence at least nominally controlled by the courts.

Discrimination.-The most characteristic feature of the last decade in railway transportation is the attempt to prevent unjust discriminations by means of an act of Congress and a commission appointed for its enforcement. The interstate commerce law, like most important legislation, consists of a series of compromises. This explains why it attempts to apply three separate remedies, each of which had been loudly advocated by a considerable body of adherents as a complete cure for the evils of unregulated transportation. These remedies are: 1. A summary process for hearing and adjudicating complaints and enforcing relief. 2. Publicity of railway methods and accounts. 3. Perpetual competition among railways. Though the law has been in force ten years, and has been several times

amended, these fundamental principles are unaltered. The first has been deprived of all practical effect by the refusal of the United States courts to consider the conclusions of the commission as final as to either facts or law. The others have been enforced with reasonable continuity, but have by no means produced the effect desired. Unjust discriminations between individuals, classes of traffic, and communities continue to exist, while the unrestrained competition imposed by the law has assisted in producing the present unfortunate financial condition of numerous important railways. Public opinion has gradually passed to the side of the railways, and there may be said to be a strong balance of sentiment in favor of permitting pooling arrangements under strict Federal supervision. In the meantime railway officials and attorneys are striving to find some way to secure the maintenance of fair charges, elimination of the unjust discriminations always produced by active competition, and an equitable division of traffic without violating the statute. The Joint Traffic Association, which has just completed the first year of its existence, and the more recently organized Southwestern Traffic Association and Western Freight Association are expressions of this desire. These associations are all organized on a similar plan, and, among other things, involve the delegation of rate-making powers to boards consisting of representatives of each interested road, the concentration of agencies, and the gradual abolition of separate solicitation for traffic. Though the one first organized has had remarkable success, it is yet too early to decide whether the divergent interests of the separate railway corporations are made sufficiently harmonious to give to these associations the cohesive qualities essential to permanent success.

On March 22, 1897, the Supreme Court of the United States rendered a decision by which all such associations as those described seem to be declared illegal under the anti-trust law.

REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA. The statistical reports of this church, presented to the General Synod in June, give the following footings: Number of churches, 634; of ministers, 654, with 7 candidates; of families, 58,371; of communicants, 107,960; of baptized noncommunicants, 45,188; of baptisms during the year, 6,283 of infants and 1,315 of adults; of members received on confession, 5,585; of Sunday schools, 915, with a total enrollment of 120,808 names; number of catechumens, 27,800. Amount of contributions for denominational benevolent objects, $204.889; for other objects, $100,754; of contributions for congregational purposes, $1,038,321. These figures show an increase of 5 churches, 2 ministers, 666 families, and 3,256 communicants; a decrease of $23,458 in contributions for denominational benevolent objects and of $11.259 in those for other objects, and an increase of $32,818 in contributions for congregational purposes.

The report of the Board of Education to the General Synod showed that 114 students had been aided, 26 new names had been enrolled, and 13 students had entered the ministry during the year. The Board of Publication reported that it had a business account of $16,000. The contributions had amounted to $1,388, the smallest amount received during the last fifteen years. The Synod directed the board to discriminate between its purely business affairs and its benevolent work, and to report separately concerning them.

The total receipts of the Board of Home Missions had been $72,217; of which $40,414 were in contributions from the churches, Sunday schools, and individuals, to home missions and the Church Building fund; $10,262 from legacies, and upward of

$20,000 contributed through the Woman's Executive Committee. Eighty-six churches, with 68 missionaries, had been assisted in the East, and 131 churches, with 84 missionaries, in the West. The assisted churches in the East were situated frequently in new centers of population, where, if on the outskirts of large cities, they soon became selfsupporting. The mission churches returned in the aggregate 9,059 families: 13,539 members, 1,016 of whom had been received during the year on confession of faith; 17,934 members of Sunday schools; 6 new churches organized, 2 churches disbanded, and 5 become self-supporting. The low state of the treasury had prevented the board's responding to an appeal made to the previous General Synod for help among the colored people of the South. The General Synod advised the board to make further inquiry into the expediency of instituting missions among the colored people of South Carolina and the District of Columbia, and to proceed as they might judge best in the matter; also to ascertain the financial system existing in the churches receiving aid, with an ultimate view to promoting selfsupport; and to introduce, so far as might be practicable, the principle of local or classical support of new missionary enterprises.

The total receipts of the Board of Foreign Missions had been $111,112, and the expenditures had exceeded this sum by $8,000. The growth of the missions during the forty years since they were established on an independent foundation (they having till 1857 been associated with the American Board) is reviewed in the report, which says: "The 2 missions of 1857 have increased to 5, while in every element of work and fruit the increase has been many times as great. The 6 stations have become 23, nearly four times as many; the 2 outstations have increased more than a hundredfold, till they number 236; for 17 missionaries, men and women, there are 78, with 6 others under appoint- · ment; 33 ordained native ministers, where there were none forty years ago, and 247 other native helpers where there were only 22. More than six times as many churches (47) number nearly twenty times as many communicants (5,306). Nineteen boarding schools for boys and girls gather nearly 1,000 scholars, and 4 theological schools or classes have 9 students, where there were none of either class in 1857. For the 6 day schools there are 159, and into them are gathered 5,859 scholars, for the 87 of forty years ago. During the forty years 143 missionaries have gone to the different fields (55 men and 88 women, married and unmarried)-16 men and 22 women to China, the same number to India, 17 men and 33 women to the two missions in Japan, and 6 men and 1 woman to Arabia." In China one effect of the massacres of 1895 had been to call more public attention to the Christian "doctrine." Valuable evangelistic work on extended tours was rendered by the women of the Amoy mission. Substantial progress was making in the evangelistic work in the Arcot mission, India. The mission in Japan had celebrated the quarter centennial of the organization of its first church. The Arabian mission in its work among the Moslems found opportunity also among the slaves taken by the British from the traders. The General Synod asked the board to consider the advisability of appointing an agent who can devote his time to presenting the cause of foreign missions among the churches.

The General Synod met in its ninety-first regular session at Asbury Park, N. J., June 2. The Rev. Charles W. Frittz, D. D., was chosen president. A communication was received from the General Synod of the Reformed Church of the Netherlands, asking for an interchange of delegates, who, besides

conveying the greetings of the churches. should have seats as members having full powers of discussion. The proposition was accepted, and the Synod of 1898 is expected to appoint delegates to the General Synod of the Netherlands, which will meet in the summer of that year. It was also resolved that a delegate be appointed to convey by letter the fraternal greeting of the Church to the Reformed Church of South Africa, with a proposition for regular correspondence. A report was made that the plan of co-operation in home missions of Presbyterian and Reformed churches had been adopted by the General Assemblies of the Northern, Southern, and Cumberland Presbyterian churches, the General Synods of the Reformed churches in America and in the United States, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Committee on the Amsterdam Correspondence (see "Annual Cyclopædia" for 1895, REFORMED CHURCHES) reported that, having obtained subscriptions seemingly sufficient to warrant the step, they had appointed an agent to go to Holland and secure copies of such papers as might seem important. They would, further, endeavor to obtain additional funds to provide for translating and editing the material collected, with the expectation that it would then be published without further expense to the Church. The correspondence in question is regarded as of great importance, in that it embraces a history of the Reformed Dutch Church in the United States as well as of the older churches, down to and beyond 1771. The work of the committee was approved, and the Rev. E. T. Corwin, its agent, was designated official historiographer of the General Synod, to gather, arrange, and edit, without expense to it, historical material, "such as this of the Amsterdam Correspondence," and also such as would probably be included in the digest heretofore authorized, and in a new edition of the manual. The term “baptized noncommunicants," as it appears in the statistical tables, was defined to mean all those whose names appear on the roll of baptized members of the Church who have not been received into full communion. The Synod reaffirmed its belief that the observance of the Fourth Commandment is of perpetual binding obligation on all men; advised all members to promote it, and ministers to be diligent in defending it; and commended the American Sabbath Union and the Woman's National Sabbath Alliance.

REFORMED EPISCOPAL CHURCH. This Church has, according to the latest collected statistics, 87 ministers, 93 churches, and 8,863 communi

cants.

The fifteenth General Council met in the city of New York, June 9. Bishop Samuel Fallows was chosen presiding bishop. A woman, presenting her credentials as a delegate, the question of admitting her was referred to the Committee on Constitution and Canons, who decided that she was ineligible. The treasurer of the body reported that his receipts had been $19,226, and that a balance of $2,600 remained on deposit. The receipts of the Special Church Extension Trust had been $30,900, and its disbursements $26,000, spent chiefly in aid to churches. The bishops, rendering account of their several jurisdictions, reported that 1,494 members had been confirmed. The work of Bishop P. F. Stevens was among the freedmen of South Carolina and other States of the South, and included 17 ministers, 16 congregations, 24 missions, 1,295 communicants, and 2.000 adherents. In this jurisdiction 249 confirmations were returned. The secretary of the Publication Society reported that a new prayer book, containing the Bishop's Psalter, had been published. The introduction of a resolution restricting the use of vestments in the services of

bow as a warning, and, in case of persistent refusal to allow an examination, to compel obedience by means of shot and shell. Each cutter, therefore, carries great guns and a full complement of small arms for the use of the crew if forced by stress of circumstances to resort to harsh methods in executing and securing respect for those laws which the Secretary of the Treasury is bound under his oath of office to enforce.

Another duty that has fallen to the lot of revenue vessels was the natural outgrowth of their cruising always in close proximity to the coast. They were witness to many shipwrecks, and, from instincts of humanity, rendered all the assistance in their power

partment resulted in the birth of the Life-saving Service as an independent bureau in 1878, and Mr. Kimball, in recognition of his exceptional fitness for the post, was appointed its general superintendent, which office he still holds. But the connection of the Revenue-cutter Service with this branch of the public service has not ceased, for 12 of its officers are detailed to drill and discipline the crews at life-saving stations, and to inspect the condition of the buildings and equipments. A glance at the annual reports shows an average of 100 persons saved from drowning each year by the Revenue-cutter Service, irrespective of the Life-saving Service, while the record for 1895 registers an

to the sufferers. Under the law of 1837, requiring the President to assign public vessels to service on the coast during the winter months for the relief of storm-driven vessels, ships of war were at first designated, but could not perform the work, owing to their size and draught, and were soon replaced by the revenue cutters. These little vessels have since performed the perilous task every year in a most creditable manner, and its accomplishment demands superior knowledge of coast waters, skill, and discretion. During seventy years of winter cruising for the relief of distressed navigation, only one wreck of a cutter has occurred, that of the "Gallatin," which stranded on the New England coast in a blinding snowstorm. From this requirement of guarding the coast line with a view to preventing disasters and the fatal consequences of unavoidable wrecks, was evolved that grandly benevolent institution the Life-saving Service, which owes its present perfect system to the unremitting, zealous efforts of Sumner I. Kimball, chief of the Revenue Marine from 1871 to 1878, who detailed some of his most efficient officers to set in order the affairs of the incipient life-saving districts. While a branch of the Revenue Marine, the Life-saving Service grew to such size and prominence that the attention of the navy was covetously attracted. But the struggles on the floor of the House of Representatives for and against its transfer to the Navy De

aggregate of 122 vessels in actual distress assisted, their cargoes being valued at $1,081,592, a sum $150,000 in excess of the entire appropriation for the maintenance of the Revenue-cutter Service. When vessels of the service are in commission on the Great Lakes the officers are specially charged with the duty of aiding vessels in difficulty or disaster, and never, no matter how severe the weather, has a signal of distress been exhibited in vain within sight of the service.

The Revenue-cutter Service has developed with the growth of the nation. Its multifarious duties, as formulated in the volume of regulations recently published, cover every class of maritime necessity. The list is as follows:

1. Protection of the customs revenue. 2. Assistance of vessels in distress.

3. Enforcement of the laws pertaining to the quarantine.

4. Enforcement of the neutrality laws.

5. Enforcement of the navigation and other laws governing merchant vessels.

6. Protection of merchant vessels from piratical attacks and the suppression of piracy.

7. Protection of the seal fisheries and sea-otter hunting grounds in Alaska.

8. Protection of wrecked property.

9. Protection of the timber reserves of the United States against depredations.

11. Suppression of the slave trade.

12. Suppression of mutinies on board merchant vessels.

13. Superintendence of the construction of lifesaving stations.

14. Inspection and drilling of crews of life-saving stations.

15. Assisting the Commissioner of Fish and Fish

eries.

16. Enforcement of the provisions of law in regard to the anchorage of vessels in the ports of New York and Chicago.

17. Co-operation with the navy when directed by the President.

18. Establishment and maintenance of a refuge station at or near Point Barrow, Alaska. (The refuge station at Point Barrow was discontinued in 1896.)

In fulfilling these requirements the time of the cutters is fully occupied. The "Manhattan" is engaged in enforcing the regulations governing the anchorage of vessels in New York harbor and bay, for although most vessels, on being notified that they are outside of the prescribed limits, comply with instructions at once, some are refractory, and the patrol steamer is obliged to use force in moving them from channel ways to proper anchorage. The Chinese exclusion act intrusts co-operatively to the cutters stationed on the Pacific coast the prevention of unlawful landing of Chinese subjects and smuggling of opium in large quantities. A larger patrol force than at present exists is needed on the Great Lakes, where the annually increasing commerce puts forth its vast demands. The disturbed condition of affairs in Cuba has rendered necessary the assigning of several vessels to duty on the coast of Florida to maintain neutrality, and, in connection with the Marine-hospital Service, to prevent the importation of contagious diseases.

For fulfilling the regulations respecting extinguishing fires, a terrible opportunity was given by the Chicago catastrophe in 1871. The cutter" Johnson" is still remembered with gratitude by the inhabitants, to whom she brought relief when they were driven from their homes, shivering with cold and in a starving condition. As the cutter, after several hazardous attempts to draw near the burning city, was forced to turn aside from the channel obstructed by débris, she steamed into the first basin below the lighthouse and gave her attention to the sufferers huddled together on the shore and taking refuge in shanties rudely constructed from dry-goods boxes. During the three days that the vessel remained near Chicago her provisions were liberally bestowed, officers and men uniting in the task of cooking and distributing the food.

The little fleet of cutters employed in Bering Sea is dealing with important international issues which require the utmost prudence and judgment. Ever since the acquisition of Alaska revenue cutters have been furthering the interests of the United States in its waters. Ten days after the ratification of the treaty for the purchase of the Territory, May 28, 1867, the cutter "Lincoln" was ordered to that region. She carried several scientific men from the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Coast Survey, who brought back the first information concerning the new Territory. But the duty of exploration was soon superseded by the commission to enforce the regulations of the modus vivendi with Great Britain, which treaty limited the quota of seals to be taken on the Pribilof Islands during each year to 7,500. The ruthless slaughter of these creatures by speculators had aroused both nations to a recognition that something must be done to prevent the

of Arbitration held in Paris, Feb. 29, 1892, prohibited the hunting and killing of seals at any time within 60 miles of the Pribilof Islands, the great seal resort of the world, or during the months of May, June, and July in other Alaskan waters. By

CAPTAIN CHARLES F. SHOEMAKER.

various legislative acts Congress has given effect to this award; and each year since a proclamation is issued by the President warning all vessels entering these waters against violating any of the regulations for the protection of fur-bearing animals. An officer of the navy was placed in command of a joint fleet composed of naval vessels and revenue cutters and dispatched to patrol Bering Sea. In 1895 much apprehension was felt lest the area of the award might not be thoroughly covered, because this patrol duty was committed entirely to the charge of five cutters, Capt. C. L. Hooper, R. C. S., being in command. The area covered by the vigilant little fleet extends over 60 degrees of longitude and 25 degrees of latitude, making an aggregate of 77,461 miles of cruising. The last annual report of operations shows a total of 94 vessels boarded and examined, 54 of which were engaged in the fur-seal trade. To ascertain whether they were complying with the conditions of their license, 31,000 seal skins were actually counted and carefully scrutinized. Four vessels, three of which were British and one American, were seized for violation of the treaty.

Incidental to the commission of patrolling Bering Sea and standing guard beside the Pribilof Islands, the ubiquitous cutters carry supplies to the various mission stations, afford relief to the whaling fleet, give medical attendance to American and native settlers on the coast, suppress the illicit sale of liquor and firearms to the Eskimo, and are ever on the watch to rescue distressed seamen whose vessels have been crushed by ice or driven on the inhospitable shores of the Arctic Ocean. Each year the cutters have returned from Point Barrow bringing back to civilization 40 to 60 persons who would otherwise have perished on the barren coast of northwestern Alaska. During the past five years the cutter "Bear," which originally formed one of the Greely relief