The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 31, 1895, Page 18

CHARLES M. SHORTRIDGE, Editor and Proprietor. . SUBSCRIPTION RATES: DAILY CALL—#6 per year by mail; by eagrier, 15¢ pex week. 4 NDAY CALL—#1.50 per year. WEEKLY CALL—#1.50 per year. The Eastern office of the SAN FRANCISCO CALL (Daily and Weekly), Pacific States Adver- tising Bureau, Rhinelander building, Rose and Duane streets, New York. SUNDAY MARCH 31, 1895 What experience costs in-dollars, it pays in sense. ‘While things are improving, improve yourself. The railroad will not go to Stockton—it will start there. A good walker never finds any difficulty in taking steps for recreation. The ideal San Francisco is worth work- ing for as well as talking about. It the beautiful life can be 1 where, it can be lived in San Fra ed any- ncisco. Theater-goers have noticed of late that the loveliest girls never wear high hats. Silurians are not always old men; there are some people who are born that way. Pleasure as well as business will have a grand drive when tbe boulevard is open. There are more living pictures on the streets than ever were shown in a theater. Meny Easter bonnets are now on view, ! but the loveliest are said to be out of sight. Solongas we have cobblestones on the streets, progress will have an insecure foot- ing. “Devil take the hindmost” is an old say- ing, but as a rule he takes the first that comes. The man who reaches for the st not grasp them, but he k of the mud. may ps his hands out ects to praise his wife ow how to ‘make the best of a The man who neg doesn’t good thin If we cannot have musical enlture with- out grand opera, it is time to whirl in and build an opera-hous Joaquin Miller saw Hawaii with a poet’s eye and depicts it with a peet’s skill in the Carr this morning. The craze for cc ng lessons is one of the fads that may be counted upon to im- prove the taste of th 'y a man who counts his rousgnds who himself can- rted for anything. not be co Notwithstanding the femptations of | gold, it is easier to be honmest in money matters than in anything el If municipal improvement doesn’t keep pace with individual enterprise, individuals avill soori cease to be enterprising. - Somg women reqt every devoted hus would be just as lov re Easter bonnets, but and knows his wife without one. The Lenten flirtations in society have about reached the point where both .sides | are wondering how they can turn loose. There is a source of delight for all intel- lectual people in the mere thought of lgving in the most picturesque City in the world. Whatever defects as a place of residence exist in-San Francisco have been caused by human folly and can be removed by human reason. Don’t iail to read the opening chapters, which we publish this morning, of Cap- | tain Charles King's new story, “Fort Frayne.” Men whose work requires sedentary habits during the w themselves on Sunday by ly a change. ng in bed for Why wait twenty years for public im- provements when we can make the im- provements now and pay for them in twenty years? The law that made it possible for a com- peting rs * to secure a foothold on this peninsula a declaration of California’s independeric intention of forming a monopoly in its efforts to encompass the whole State in its A grand driveway commanding vistas of sea and shore is all that is needed to com- plete the attractiveness of San Francisco, and the bouievard will give us that. The full name of the sunflower poet has been incorrectly spelled in the telegrams to this country, for the Westminster Ga- zette of London gives it as Oscar Fingal O’Ffiahertie Wills Wilde. Eastern papers talk of the onion social as the popular form of amusement in the Tural districts of that section, but we have noticed in our country exchanges that the Polly Doodle social is the prevailing Len- ten diversion in California outside the metropolis. A curious anomaly in English law has been made public by a recent breach of promise suit against 4 young man 20 years old, in which the court decided that while the man was old enough to marry he was under age and could not make a promise that was legally binding. Mr. Seward Webb has leaped to emi- nence in New York by clothing his ser- vants in a livery composed of black coats with gilt buttons and gold festoons, black plush breeches with gilt buckles, yellow plush waistcoats, silk stockings and low shoes with large, plain, silver buckles. A livery of this kind, neat but not gaudy, is an evidence of how far the simple grace of republican society surpasses the gor- geous folderols of aristocratic courts. An obstreperous Populist in the Ne- braska Legislature was brought to order the other day by a sergeant-at-arms, who seized the belligerent’s luxuriant beard and twisted it'until the owner gave up the unequal struggle. Thus in the economy of nature ‘the Populist whisker takes its place with the heel of Achilles and the’ African shin. The incident will probably tend to make the Pefferian badge of party unpopular among Populists militant, who . will doubtless sacrifice the mode to the exigencies of the times and adopt the style of “iacial unadornment affected by Napo-| leon, Colonel Ingersoll, Sitting Bull and Bill Nye. A QUESTION OF HONOR. The Fair will controversy, although as yet only in its incipiency, has already be- come one of the notable cases of Califor- nia. It is,. in a certain sense, a public’ matter, by reason of the amount of prop- erty affected; by reason, also, of the pecu- liar circumstances surrounding the several efforts to probate the various alleged last wills of the deceased millionaire; and, in a still more delicate sense, by reason of the family and trust relations involved in the administration and distribution of this vast estate as it was the final, but as yet undetermined, intent of its . testator that it should be done. Every step in the proceedings therefore has been and will be matter of immediate pub- lic interest and concern because of the legal and moral precedents which may be cre- ated for the making and breaking of dead men’s wills and for the execution or be- trayal of the trusts which they may seem to impose. Ever since the production of that alleged will of Senator Fair which was most re- cently offered for probate, there have been vague rumors of a compromise betwéeen the children of the decedentand the execu- tors or trustees under the “stolen” will. These rumors have taken definite form within the past few days, and it is broadly ated that the children of Senator Fair have offered to each of the executors a much larger amount of money than they could hepe to realize in fees from the estate, if they would agree to re- tire from the field and permit the first-offered will to, be broken and the last- produced document to be sustained. Dame Rumor-has it that while some of the executors have been willing to acquiesce in this arrangement Attorney Goodfellow holds out and firmly refuses to consider the proposition upon the ground that he believes that the stolen will is the valid one and is bound in honor to so maintain. Without in any way, by sign or argu- to the merits of eitherof the proposed wills of Senator Fair, we respectfully submit that from every standpoint of law and of morals Mr. Goodfellow. is .right in his position, and that for himself or his associates to retreat from it would be a public dishonor as well as a private disgrace. If the document which was first offered for probate is the last will of Senator Fair, the execntors named therein have been invested with a trust which it is their sacred and solemn duty to carry out to the last letter of the dead man’s desive. 1f, on the other hand, the instrument last presented be the latest expression of Senator Fair's intention then the gentlemen first named as his ex- ecutors are not so in fact; or, if some of them are so, it is with far less ex- tendéd functions than they were to exercise under the other nstrument. The whole issue in the controversy is therefore practically whether the gen- tlemen, who for convenience may be styled “‘the executors,”” sustain or do not sustain the relation of trustees toward the property and the children of the late Sena- tor Fair. Can any of the parties to the controversy afford to make this issue a matter of bar- gain -and sale, and if so is the public, and its representative, the press, ex- pected to look with approval upon such a proceeding? We say decidedly not. These executors are the trustees of Senator Fair or they are not. Their pal- on and compensation have try comu nothing to do with the case. If they are, t that they are not, then would they be- false to the trust which the dead man solemnly laid upon their consciences, and would also be guilty of the ex- press crime of being the recipients of a bribe. If, on the contrary, the “pen- cil” will is valid, then they are not trustees at all and have no right to receive money from the estate for saying so, To take such money after thus far claiming that the stolen will is the only valid one would be to plead guilty to an offense very like blackmail or extortion, and equally penal, if proyen, to theoffense of the taker of bribes. There is no alternative of honor in this matter mor any position which, with decency, the executors can assume save that taken by Mr. Goodfellow. Across the narrow rift which separates the living from the dead is stretched the shadowy hand of him who doubtless left a last will and testa- ment, to which, with pen or pen- cil, he subscribed the name of James G.Fair. If that name was written with a pen the shadow of the hand which held it is laid upon the executors of the will which that signature made valid as a solemn suggestion that their trust is not sceptible of sale for coin without the barter of their honor with it. If, on the other hand, the name was written in pen- cil to a penciled will, the shadowy hand is resting upon the heads of the chil- dren of the deceased millionaire, with an equally solemn ~ warning not to sully the last will of their father with the suspicion that they bought silence from those whose opposition to its validity they feared. In either case it is, or ought to be, a question of honor, which cannot be compromised by means of a money transaction without also and for- ever compromising the parties to the af- fair. It may be argued that compromises between interested parties to a litigation which bids fair to be protracted are to be favored, and in certain cases this is doubt- lesstrue. Such cases, however, are not those wherein the will of the dead has imposed an accepted trust upon the living, espe- cially where that trust is of a char- acter which, if imposed at all, was created with the utmost confidence that it would be executed to the letter on the part of its trustees. If in a cause of the fame and magnitnde of the Fair will case the heirs can, with offers of coin, in- duce a body of men who believeand assert themselves to be trustees to abandon that belief and assertion and to lend themselves, by their silence at least, to the establishment as genuine of a will which up to the moment of their inducement they have averred to be a forgery, then, indeed, are wills and the trusts they seek to create vain and use- less things; and trustees hereafter, hav- ing such- precedent, may be hired with impunity to break faith with dece- dents, while above the doors of Probate courts may well be written Falstaff’s homily: “What is honor? Air. A trim reckoning. Who hath it? Hethat died o’ Wednesday.” GOOD MUSIC AND GOOD TASTE. Herr Scheel expresses the belief that only through the stage can the general public be made to respond to music of a higher order. As far as it goes this state- ment is true, but it needs qualification. The fact is that good music on the oper- atic stage must be adequately performed or else it corrupts and demoralizes instead of elevates popular taste. “Robin Hood” or the “Mikado,” given by singers of high opera, who render their parts pleas- ingly and in tune, is something that, while not exactly instructive from an artistic standpoint, is certainly not injurious, ment, intimating an opinion with respect | and should accept any sum however great | THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 1895. | Such performances can be listened to by | proprietors such rascality as this would critical audiences as a harmless recrea- | not be possible. Assuming thatthe charges tion, just as ardent admirers of the classic drama can unbend occasionally and enjoy a wéll-performed farce-comedy. But let the singers of light opera, or, worse still, singers with the stamp of the variety artist attempt to render such works as Gounod’s ‘Faust,” or Bizet's “Carmen,” and“the performance at once becomes degrading to the taste of those people who fondly imagine they are hear- ing good music, because they are being treated to a travesty of grand opera. In intensely musical communities if the artists who are applauded to the echo in *La Fille de Madame Angot’’ were to attempt classi- cal works the public would not thank them for giving refresbing glimpses of good music. On the contrary, they would be fiascoed for attempting to sing what it was beyond their province to execute artisti- cally. * ; In short the tendency to go into raptures over classical operas performed in an un- classical manner is what a community has to guard against more than against the en- joyment of trivial music, adequately per- formed, for in all arta trifling subject well rendered is better than the butchery of a classic by inferior execution.. The first is only a triviality, the second is a biasphemy against the canons of art. THE STOCKTON ROUTE. The prompt decision of the directors of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad to select Stockton as the point for beginning the road shows that no dallying or delay of any kind is to be indulged in. Within sixty days the actual construction will be begun, as by that time the rails and other supplies which have been ordered will have been delivered. ‘Proposals for supplying additional material will soon be called for, and the rapidity with which the line will be pushed southward over the level plains will surprise the State. The necessary jni- tial steps having now been'taken, the next cry will be, “On to Bakersfield 1"’ The condition of the people’s road now is this: "General subscriptions to stock, $2,600,000; Stockton’s subscription, $100,000 for stock and $100,000 in land, and the right of way through the city and for a consid- erable distance beyond; terminal facilities at San Francisco and land at Martinez for grain warehouses. In addition, contracts have been let for furnishing building ma- terial for the first section of the road. All this has been accomplished so quickly that the people have hardly had time tc realize the magnitude of the achievement. The selection of the route was the last of the great initial acts necessary to complete the outlines of the plan, and now that it is out of the way the pluck and enterprise of the people will undoubtedly respond read- ily and generously to the call of the direc- tors for further subscriptions. The esti- mated total amount required is $6,000,000. Nearly half of it has been already secured. The directors have already accomplished wonderful results; all that is needed now is a general exhibition of energy, prompt- ness and patriotism equal to theirs. Stockton has acquitted herself nobly. No sooner had the directors stated their terms than the Stockten Commercial As- sociation, promptly and without a word of haggling or hesitation or a single dissent- ing voice, accepted them and proceeded at once to make their pledges effective. This shows what Californians, and particularly those who already have made so beautiful a city as Stockton, will do whenever given an opportunity. The route south from Stockton has not been exactly determined, but it will tra- verse the most fertile part of the San Joaquin Valley, and immediately after leaving Stockton will tap a rich tract of 250,000 acres, which are being brought under irrigation. Last year Stockton re- ceived 324,000,000 pounds of freight from the region lying between it and Bakers- field, and sent out 203,000,000 pounds into the same territory. If all this freignt, to say nothing of the passenger traftic, should be turned over to the new road the profits that would come from an investment in it shares would be apparent; and it is mani. festly the duty of the shippers to pledge themselves at once to patronize the new road exclusively. Such a pledge would be the natural consequence of subscriptions to the stock, and it would be clearly in the interest of every shipper to acquire shares in the company. The plans of the company with regard to rail connection with San Francisco will probably be formulated and putinto opera- tion before the principal part of the road is completed. Meanwhile, the land-owners in the San Joaquin Valley have an eminent duty to perform. A right of way through the valley must be secured at once, and it is earnestly hoped that no grasping dis- position will manifest itselfl. Of course, the new company can enforce the right of eminent domain, and thus secure a right of way upon the payment of such damages as the courts may award, but its policy will be to rely as far as possible on the fairness and patriotism of the people. This road is to be operated for the benefit of the farm- ers, and to that end facilities will be ex- tended to them such as have been unknown heretofore in the history of railroad opera- tions in California. It will be to their interest to meet it half way and be as re- gardful of its prosperity as it will be of theirs. Not only should they offer the right of way and be glad to receive the benefits which the presence of a railroad on their farms would bring, but they should also acquire a financial interest in the line by taking shares. The San Jose part of the enterprise is by no means dead. The selection of the Stock- ton route will serve merely to spur up the people of Ban Mateo and Santa Clara coun- ties to greater efforts. Those who know the earnestness of the people residing on that route, and the greatadvantages which would accrue to them from the presence of a line to intersect the Stockton line in the San Joaquin Valley, are confident that no great time will elapse before they also have a line of the people’s road. A SERIOUS CHARGE. The Marysville Appeal, with a positive- ness that leavesno doubt of its earnest- ness, makes ah astonishing charge against one or two unnamed business houses in San Francisco, and from the discoveries on which these are based the Appeal draws the damaging conclusion that “much of San Francisco’s commercial methods are as badly flavored with the scent of rotten- ness as those of her political and social tactics.” The specific charge is that in one or two instances, of which the Appeal declares that it has positive knowledge, “the owners and managers of and for dif- ferent commodities” in Marysville and its vicinity have had to bribe the head clerks of the San Francisco houses irtrusted with the agency of these commodities 1n order to assure the selling of the goods. One case is mentioned of the discovery thata head salesman in one San Francisco house was accepting bribes from two persons who were in competition with each other. The Appeal, with its customary dignity and firmness, charges the existence of such a state of affairs to the carelessness of the San Francisco houses, and not to their honesty; if salesmen and heads of depart- ments were more carefully watched by the | made by the Appeal are true, every mer- chant in San Francisco who is in a position to be thus betrayed by his employes will be grateful for the warning. But he should also carefully overhaul his business and ascertain if this practice has been carried on in his own establishment. No reputable merchant would easily condone so grave an offense, for it is not only a direct injury to his own business, but it is a matter seri- ously affecting the interests of the whole State. Tt may be suggested in this connection that if no organized machinery already exists among the San Francisco merchants for ferreting out and punishing such scan- dalous practices as these, it is time that proper steps to that end were taken. No doubt the editor of the Appeal would cheerfully do all in his power to assist in uncovering the ra scalities of which he has knowledge. A VIEW TFROM THE HEIGHTS. The possibilities for drawing wonderful results from the topography of San Fran- cisco have as yet been hardly dreamt of. Before the invention of the cable roads the broken range of steep hills traversing the veninsula from north to south were deemed a barrier to the spreading of the -| City from the bay to the ocean. Thatisan old story now, for the cable long ago took the old City on the bay shore in its grasp and spread the beauty of it all over the lofty summits that overlook the channel and the Golden Gate. With the coming of the cable much of the old aristocracy of South Park and Rincon Hill betook itself to the heights of the Western Addition, and the glory of the old bay region was gone. Living upon the heights has taught the people a lesson, and thereis many an aspiring soul that longs to climb still higher, and. thus obtain a still broader view of the wonderful things that are re- vealed in the view from the higher alti- tudes. Europeans, and especially English- men, who visit San Francisco are fas- cinated by these towering hills, and they wonder that we lack the aspiration which should lead us not only to take frequent walks to these noble heights, but to con- struct winding roads to the summits. The view from Lone Mountain, with its great white wooden cross gleaming in the sun; or from Mount Olympus, with its forest of pines and eucalyptus sweeping.in dark-green waves over its majestic contour; or from Twin Peaks, with their hard, bold lines and verdureless severity—what nobler sight could all the cities of Christendom reveal? Thereis a wide and splendid as- semblage, not of small and pretty details, though these abound in plenty, but of vast and impressive elements in amazing variety. Far away to the south roll the hills of San Mateo, and beyond and in line with them tower the deep blue heights of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the red- woods gather their brood of strange shad- ows in the canyons. On the north, far below us, and seem- ingly so near that we are careful lest we fall into’ it, is the deep green channel which connects the bay of San Francisco with the Pacific Ocean, and beyond it rise the hills and mountains of Marin, over- topped by the sharp, stern peak of Tamal- pais. The old brick fort is seen squatting like a fat toad at the Golden Gate, and it and the flag that waves from Black Point, and the stern military prison on Alcatraz Island, in the middle of the stream, re- mind us that the spirit of murder which abides in the hearts of men has found a place in this noble picture that has issued from the atelier of the gods. The eastern view is broader and more wonderful still. Beneath our feet begins the great City with straggling houses, which further away grow larger and more compact, like grosser mushrooms thriving in richer soil. This mass, cut by the sharp lines of the streets, has its own charms, its own varieties of color and strength of tone, and it gives evidence of various kinds that aristocrats live here and plutoerats there, and that wealth here aselsewhere holds back its skirts from contact with the rags of the poor.- The great City, which never roars and groans in the agony of human endeavor, is silent to the viewer on these distant heights, and he sees only the bright red of the apple, caring nothing now for the worm that lies fattening in the core. Thus the City rolls sadly down to the bay whose calm blue surface is fretted with masts from every corner of the world--a vast bay, with whose generous dimensions some people associate the idea of miles. On the further shore humanity begins again where God had left off, and other cities, all with names, spread over the as- eending plain like a soft white cloud. Then come the Contra Costa hills, russet or green, as the season is, and beautiful in the distance; and beyona them is reared the dark, solemn bulk of Mount Diablo. In the west we find the mountain on which we stand receding in a succession of graduated hills to a great stretch of yel- lowish-gray sand-dunes, a bald and monot- onous sea of sand, thrown into billows and ripples by the wind. Where the gray of the sand ends and the green of the ocean begins there is a long line of shining white surf, and far out at sea is found a lonely sail here and there bearing sturdily away to the lands of Oriental mystery. If the sun is setting a most glorious spectacle is seen. The great yellow ball; as it ap- proaches the ocean horizon, gains in size what it loses in fervor, and as it lingers in the lap of the purple sea its yellow becomes a glowing copper, which softens into gold and then sinks as a ereat flattened orange into’the silent deep. And then comes the glory of the sky, with its wide burst of orange light, changing gradually into gold and then into a splendid deep crimson that is not of this earth. OUR EXCHANGES. The great importance and large propor- tions of the projected San Joaquin Rail- road must not lead us to overlook lesser railway enterprises, which, within a lim- ited area, are likely to be hardly less bene- ficial than the great competing road itself. One of thege lines is the electric railway projected on the other side of the bay, and it is pleasing to learn from the Haywards Journal that the prospects for its immedi- ate construction are good. The Journal says: “Themoneyed interests represented in the new road are sufficient in them- selves to construct the entire road and are a guarantee that the road is going through in short order.” That is the sort of local item that gives vitality to the hope of the speedy coming of better times: Every Californian can note such items as a grati- fying evidence that progress has begun in all parts of the State and is showing itself in a vast variety of new enterprises. 72 The friends of municipal improvements are rising into prominence on every side. Their voices are heard on the streets and in the mass-meetings, and the press of the City has in many instances spoken out clearly on the subject. No better or more cogent arguments for such improvements have been advanced, however, than those contained in the current number of the |- Retail Grocer. In a strong and elaborate editorial our progressive contemporary, which represents one of the leading trades of the City, says: “Why should the peo- ple of this townhesitate to borrow a little money, when, by its employment, every head of population will be benefited, directly and indirectly, tenfold the cost of the use of the money? We do not think the people would hesitate. We are of the opinion that at the present time the proposition to create a bonded indebted- ness would get a ten-to-one vote of the en- tire population.” These words are well worthy of the consideration of the Super- visors. The business men of the City are impatient to begin the work of public im- provement, and as a special election may have to be called for the adoption of the new charter, it would be no more than right for the Supervisors to allow the people to vote on the bond proposition at the same time. The Hon. N. B. Scott, ex-Senator from West Virginia, is quoted by the Los An- geles Times as saying that the East has never dealt fairly with the issues of the coast, and has never yet been brought toa realization that California and all the States lying west of the mountains have a claim upon the whole country, on account of their marvelous resources and the char- acter and quality of their citizens. Mr. Scott attributes this lack of fair dealing to the fact that the Eastis iguorant of the Pacific Coast, and he very justly says Eastern statesmen should come to Cali- fornia and see the country for themselves. This means of course that he favors the holding of the next Republican National Convention in this city. The Times, it is needless to say, indorses his position, for Los Angeles is co-operating cordially with San Francisco in this andertaking, and can be counted on to help in making the con- vention a California enterprise and not merely a local one for the metropolis. A fakly good hit at that form of journal- ism which delights in foreign news more than home news is given by the Lodi Senti- nel, which, in commenting on the close of the war in the Orient, says: “If some other nations will commence to growla little so that the City dailies can continue to write up big ‘scare heads’ of ‘impend- ing war’ it will be a great accommodation to them.” Rumors of foreign wars would indeed be a great accommodation to some papers, but the Sentinel should have been keen-eyed enough to except the CaLy from its category. We can find more interest- ing things at home, and will never need scare heads for war clouds aslong as the Pacific Coast continues to furnish live news of progress and enterprise. In a recent article on the revival of hydraulic mining the CALL stated: “Itis of record in the report of the United States engineers that the value of the hydraulic mining property, reservoirs, ditches, etc., involved in the controversy was $100,000,000, while the value of the farming lands really injured was only about $3,000,000.” Commenting on this, the Marysvillle Appeal says: “Any such record or compilation of statistics is delib- erately false. The CaLL evidently has de- termined its course and refuses to be fair.” The comment is itself unfair. It was not the CarLr that made the estimates given, but United States engineers. The Appeal must brace up and be just if it expects to be heeded. VICTIMS OF CIRCUMSTANCES. Although San Francisco is well equipped with asylums for the unfortunate tnere is one class that is sadly neglected. There are hospi- tals for the sick and injured, asylums for the insane and for young girls who have strayed from the path of virtue, retreats for the cure of inebriates and men addicted to the excessive use of morphine and similar drugs, homes for children who have lost their parents and for the aged who are destitute. There are chari- table organizations and church societies for supplying the wants of the poor and needy and other philanthropic institutions. But for the wives and families of men who are confined in the penitentiary or in jail there is no home, asylum or retreat. Any one who cares to give the subject thought or attention will be forced to admit that they are entitled to as much, if not more, sympathy and consideration than almost any other class of unfortunates. They are gemerally in the deepest distress and in the greatest need of pecuniary ald, sympathy and advice. Tie man is not the real sufferer. He is deprived for the time being of his liberty, but food and clothing | are supplied to him. The wives and families have to bear the shame and mortification of his disgrace. They are shunned by their neighbors and often forsaken by old friends. Although anxious to obtain work, they find it difficult to secure employment either at home or in shops or factories. If they go among strangers they are in constant fear that thefact of the bread-winner being a criminal will be discov- ered. They are often in want of the necessaries of life, and if the family is grown up it is seldom they can resist the temptation of being dragged into the waysof sin when they are compelled to believe that they are virtually outcasts. It seems strange that no benevolent institu- tionor charlty organization has ever turned its attention to alleviating the sufferings of the families of convicts, who are the unfortunate victims of circumstances. The subject is one deserving the attention of philanthropie indi- viduals. THE CONNECTING BOULEVARD. That high sense of civic patriotlsm which contemplates the public welfare in the accom- plishment of individual enterprise is the only policy that can be snccessfully employed in the beautifying of a city. Such is the policy adopted by the gentlemen who propose to give to thiscity a connecting boulevard from Golden Gate Park southward through the City to meet the San Jose grand boulevard at & given point. Itis that sort of patriotism that is the founda- tion of all permanent public improvement. Either of the two routes presented in vester- day’s CaLL is feasible and will make a hand- some boulevard. If they are both placed upon the same liberal footing in the offer to présent the boulevard free to the City they will furnish to the Half-million Club propositions either of which is worthy of the recommendation of that important body to the Board of Supervisors, and either of which will be approved of and aided by the Spring Valley Water Company and other parties in interest. The superior attractiveness of the scenery claimed by the projectors of one route may be outweighed by the less prohibitory grades of the other. Yet in the consideration of the leveler road there may b taken into account the liability to intrusion by heavy traffic. One of the prime requisites of & boulevard is that it shall be attractive and free from the annoy- ance of heavy teams. On the other hand the ease and speed that may be attained over the leveler and more direct road is also entitled to consideration. But whatever may be the deci- sion in this matter, the public should bear in mind the spirit that originated the idea of con- necting the beautiful Golden Gate Park with a proposed boulevard that will pass through that rand stretch of country between this cityjand n Jose, aud emulate it by supporting the project. PEOPLE TALKED ABOUT. The yearly expenses of the Sultan of Turkey have been estimated at no less than §30,000, 000. Mme. Lazare Cfimot, an aunt by marriage of the late President of the republic, has just died at Chalons-sur-Saone, at the age of 85. M. Puvis de Chavannes, the distingnished French artist, is to receive $30,000 for decorat- ing one room in the Boston Public Library. M. Hertz, whose name is well known in con- nection with the Panama scandals, began life as the holder of German patents for the incan- descent lamp, and although & German by birth has served as a surgeon in the French army. NICE present for Eastern friends—California Glace Fruits in Ja; s¢ baskets. 50c pound. Townsend'’s, 627 l’m Hotel. b - AROUND THE CORRIDORS. Charley Wallace, & political warhorse of Nevada, who is known around the corridors of the State Capifol as “Black Wallace,” because of his rich olive complexion and the former blackness of his beard,is at the Palace Hotel. Nevadans have a way of bestowing nicknames, such as Red Frank Wheeler, Uncle George “Tuffy, Gray Eagle Nye and the like. The most pronounced of Mr. Wallace’s peculiarities is his ability to attend to his own business and to never know what his next neighbor is doing. A question put to Mr. Wallace is as unproduc- tive of resnlts as & banana-tree planted in Greenland. Silence on all matters that con- cern other people is a pronounced element in his compos.tion. His association with the Southern Pacific as & lobbyist in Nevada has equipped him with & wonderful amount of political information, which, by the w amount of questioning can wring from b “J was looking for you last week, Mr. lace,” said a CALL reporter to him, “thinking attempt to stop mnsking one of the most inter- esting phases of that event will be eliminated. Of what interest would tiese annusl affairs in New Orleans be if the merry maskers were weeded out? The trouble in Los Angeles is supposed to originate from the State law which applies to masking. The intention of that statute, however, was plafnly to prevent dis- guising the person for illegal purposes and was never intended to interfere with the harmless amusement which is always the chief source of pleasure in cvents similar to that in which Los Angeles is about to take Acarnival with- out maskers would be about as interesting asa newspaper without news. THE LOSS OF THE PRESIDENT. While the steamer La G ne on a recent voyage was overdue and etill unreported the Duke of Newcastle wrote a letter to a London newspaper, which, when publisned, created a profound sensation. It purported {o clearsup the mystery surrounding the loss § the Atlan- “BLACK » WALLACE IS TURNING WHITE. |Sketched from life for the *“Call™ by Nankivell.] that you might be able to give a little informa- tion in regard to Mr. Millspaugh’s successor as adjuster of claims for the Southern Pacific Company.” “Would have been delighted to have done it for you, my dear sir, but really I didn’t know & change was contemplated until I got here a day or two ago.” ““You formed some ides then?” “Not the slightest. I heard other people forming ideas.” “Did you hear anybody suggest Byron | Waters?” “Didn’t pay any attention to the conversa- tion.” “One would naturally suppose that a railroad man would be pretty well posted about those things. There was plenty of talk.” “Yes. Thatis true, and some of the talkers Dbit their lips off.” “What gave rise to the supposition that a Nevada man would get the place?” “Perhaps Nevadadid. Was thereany thought of thatkind?” “Yes. Itlookedas though Charles Benderor George Nixon wonld getin.” “Strange, is’t it, that those reports should have started. I wonder how it happened.” ‘Wallace looked as if he was in a quandary and his face expressed great surprise, as it always does when anybody attempts to get informa- tion from him. Once in Carson a politician asked him where he was born and he replied that he had heard no discussion around the corridors of the Cap- itol about it and that he would not like to say for fear he might be mistaken. “Some Eastern people think Western folks have very small brains” said H. P. Sonntag while standing in the corridor of the Mills building yesterday. “but I recollect an in- stance when the wise men of the East changed their minds very quickly. I had been East looking up the proposed introduction of elec- tric light plants, and had arranged with Alvin- za Hayward that in case I found the process was likely to be put in general use, I was to wire him and steps would be taken to form a company in San Francisco. Ireturnedtomy hotel in New York one afternoon and found a big stack of cards left by people utter strangers tome. They saw by the register thatI was from San Francisco, and I suppose they natu- rally concluded that I was a bird to be plucked. Every one of the outfit had some scheme they desired me to invest in. One fellow even had anew-fangled back-action monkey wrerich, but Ididn’t monkey long with him. In the crowd was an old man, who evidently thonght the people of the Pacific Coast were all fools and intimated as much. His son, who was with him, gave me to understand that he agreed with his father. Well, they unfolded their scheme. They had secured the names of a few California men from some of the bankers, and among others was that of Mr. Hayward. The old fellow wanted to know whether I was ac- quainted with ‘that gentleman, and, when I answered in the aflirmative, said he and a few friends proposed to establish a company to light San Francisco by electricity. The com- pany was to be incorporated under the laws of New York. Itiwas their purpose to retain 52 per cent of the stock there, but have the other 48 per cent paid up by Western men. “And you propose to incorporate in New York and hold 52 per cent of the stock here, do you?” “Yes, sir; that is our intention.” “Did you ever deal in stocks, young man?” I asked. “Yes; and I had all I wanted of it.”” “Did you ever dabble in Comstock ?”” “Yes, T did, and got badly done up, t0o.” “Well, sir, let me tell you that the venerable gentleman whom you expect to get your cash from for your company is one of the men whe did you up on the Comstock and—" but the young msn broke in, “I guess we'd better drop it, father,” and they did. “As the CALL shows sach a friendly feeling toward improvements contemplated through- out the State, I want to give you a line or two on a novel proposition now being considerea in the southern part of the State,” said R, M. g Towne of Los Angeles, at the Occidental yester- day. *For some time past General O. 0. How- ard has been looking over the country between Santa Monica and San Bernardino, and it has finally come to the surface that the object of his investigations is to determine the feasibil- ity of a one-rail or ‘bicycle’ railroad between the two towns. General Howard is the con- sulting engineer of the company which con- trols the patents on this character of railroad, and rumor has it that he is to be president of the new company. The bicyele road isa new thing in the West. There is one now in opera- tion in Pennsylvania, I believe, and it is sald to be a success. An overhead rail is used, the cars are very narrow, but double-deckers, and ;lvery high rate of speed is said to be obtaina- e.” F. C. Meyers of San Diego, who was at the Grand yesterday, says that the impression has gone abroad through the southern part of the State that masking will not be allowed in Los Angeles during carnival week. “The City Couneil there recently met and passed an ordi- nance against the throwing of flour, but if they ¥ | | | | [ tic liner President, which sailed from New York in 1841 with 400 passengers and never reached port. It related that during his Amer- ican trip in 1388 the Duke had been informed by a former United States Minister to Persia, whose name he had forgotten, that a few years previously an old sailor on his desth bed had confessed that he wes one of the crew of & pirate vessel which captured the President, forced every soul on board towalk the plank and then scuttled the ship. The confession was said to have been made in New Orleans and the story | was told at a dinner party in Chicago. The absurdity of the pirate theory was ex- posed yesterday by J. J. Knowlton of this eity, ‘who told the true story of the loss of the Presi- dent, as he had heard it from his father, Cap- tain E. Knowlton, of the bark Planet, wilh was within half a mile of the President wgln the latter went to the bottom. In spite of lapse of time, however, the story has neve: fore been published. “My father,” said Mr. Knowlton, “was mas- ter of the bark Planet, plying between Boston and Savanuah. One evening in 1841, when well out to sea, his ship spoke the steamer President. -The latter had signals of distress flying. Asthe bark passed under the stern of the steamer her commander requested that she would lay to during the night, and explained that the shifting of the machinery had seriously strained his vessel and that she was leaking badly. The bark hove to et once and was dur- ing the entire night within a quarter or a half mile of the steamef. The latter was kept head to the sea and slightly to windward of the bark. “At midnight, when the watch was changed, nothing unusual had happened, but the cap- tain of the Planet gave his second mate strict orders to keep an eye on the steamer and notify him if anything should occur. “At 2 o’clock the lights of the steamer snd- denly disappeared. The captain was called, and he signaled for the steamer to show her lights. There was no response, and boats were sent out to investigate. The sea was very rough and it took some time for the boats to reach the spot where the President had dis« appeared, and when they did so there was nothing to be seen to tell her fate. “On reaching his destination (Savannah, Ga.), Captain Knowlton reported the loss of the President. and the facts were at once tele- graphed to the Merchants’ Exchange in Boston. It was supposed at the time that the Presi- dent’s machinery had broken through her bottom as happened in later years to the Pacific on this coast. If there had been any confes- sion by a dying sailor, as referred to by the Duke, the matter would have been cleared up long ago by reference to the records. “‘As & matter of fact, piracy on the Atlantio had been almost wholly wiped out before 1841. The pirates had only sailing vessels, and the steamers Sirius and Great Western, which had then plied that ocean for three years, had frightened them from.its waters. The only cases of piracy which occurred were those in which crews plotted to seize their vessels. This occurred to my father once, shortly after the loss of the President. His men refused to go aloft and had agreed to murder their officers and turn pirates. The plot was, however, over- heard by the ship’s cook, who told the captain. He ‘stood off’ the mutineers with his pistols and brought them to port in irons.” - SUPPOSED TO EE HUMOROUS. Daughter—Papa, I wish you wouldn’t look so fierce when young men call to see ‘me. It frightens them. Father—How shall I look—meek? Daughter—Um—not too meek; that might scare them off, toc.—New York Weekly. “What that tragedy needs,” said one eritie, “is more realism.” “Yes,” replied the other, “they ought to kill the actors sure enough.”—Washington Ster. Come hither, pretty Spain, and teil Just why the gun exploded— What's that? Good gracious me! Well, well! You didn’t know 'twas loaded. ¥ Washington Star, She—May I suggest an occasional change in your style of dancing? He—Certainly; what change do you desire? She—You might step on my right foot now and then. My left has about ail it can stand.— Truth. E. H. BYACK, painter, 114 Eddy street, CALIFORNIA Glace fruits, 50¢ 1b. Townsend’ ————————— RENTS collected. Ashton, 411 Montgomery.* ————————— Bacox Printing Company, 508 Clay street. * —————————— About 2000 soldiers are discharged year! from the English army for bad cgondzct. y pid el o Siiodhock THERE 18 no doubt but what Hood's Sarsaparilla i3 the most popular spring medicine. Words of praise for it are heard everywhere, Itis the best blood pusifier and makes the weak strong. : . THE use of Dr. Siegert’s Angostura Bitters ex- cites the appetite and keeps the digestive organs in order. —————— Tr afllicted with sore eyes use Dr. Isaas Themp- son's Eye Water. Druggists sell it at 25 cents.