The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 3, 1895, Page 10

‘. from our memories. 10 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, OGCTOBER 3, 1895 IS WHEAT-GROWING A PASSING INDUSTRY ¢ De.velopment and His-| .- tory for the Past Forty Years. OUR PRESENT OUTLOOK. Horace Davis Favors Small Holdings and Diversified . Farming. ‘MORE SKILL AND MORE PROFIT. An Interesting Study of Crops, and the Changes the Years Have Brought. Horace Davis, merchant, ex-Congress- | man and ex-president of the Universi Californ ing in California is fast passi he welcomes the fact with sa Closely associated as he has been years with the grain and milling intere and elose student of affairs economic Davis is well equipped for fair judgment . upon this topic. “What is the outlook ?"" s the wheat yield of the Stateisapparently d ning. Taking the crops from 1878 inclusive, sixteen years, the first years averaged 1,084,531 tons per annum, the last eight years averaged 1,043,956 tons—a faliinz off of 4 per cent. Tam well aware that-two exceptionally | bountiful vears, 1830 and 1884, came into | the first eight years, but we must remem- | ber that during the years the | v, and over 2000 “mile been_built, opening les of fresh soil, not only without any corresponding | increase 1n wheat production, but with actual diminntion. | “No, the trouble is wheat does not pay. With the increase of Indian shipments to England wheat fell, beginninz in 1883, to a | general level of § to $140 per cental | hiere, at ich there ceased to be | much profi i with the best farm- ing” maci the influx from now brought it down to | Other products of | d wheat farming is all events till wheat ost of rai pay bette being abandoned, becomes profitable. “*Now, we need about 500,000 tons for the requiréments of the State, exclusive oments; that is, for| d, and feed, and our regplar flour tr n the North Pacific Ocean, which amounts to about 800,000 bar- rels .annually All we raise over this| 500,000 tons must find a market in Europe, | and this makes the price of the rest. *‘What. then, is the chance of better | prices in Europe? In January, 1882, wheat | was 10 shillings and 9 pence per cental i Liverpool. i declined. ings to-day. has steadily 1 stocks on Janu: our -own food, ars ago the wheat consumed in England was raised | mainly on her own soil, and most of her | imports were raised on high-priced land by | well-paid labor, earning good wages, in Since then the conditions have | d greatly, and now a constantly in- proportion of her supply comes | trom che: Saml, tilled by cheap labor, aid in silver or paper currency. The | nglish farmer goes to the wall, he cannot | stand up against India, Chile and Argen- tine. Who goes next? “We cannot stand it long against the present odds, and must turn to other uses for our land. Wheat export is the resource , of a mew community and of wasteful farm- | ing. 1 grieve to see the State wearing out | its sail to give cheap bread to Europe, and every new product that rofi ably-gives me new sa igs with diversified farming i indispensable condition of prosperity here. And I look forward to the time when this ° huge bulk of t shall be cut down to one-half, and for it we shall substitute a hundred different products requiring more labof. more skill, more indusiry, and re- turning us more profit and greater pros- perity.” Mr. Davis has s all this and much more-in an instructive and entertaining - essay printed recently in the Journal of Political Economy of the University of Chicazo. Here he reviews the history of LCalifornia as a wheat producer for forty years and tersely comments upon the fea- tures of that interesting epoch. *‘It was at the urgent request of Professor Adolpn Miller of the University of Chicago, a_Cal- ifornian. that I wrote that pamphlet,”seid | Mr. Davis vesterday. “I spent much time and labor in getting at the exact facts acd ‘put them in the most condensed form for general reading. -The tables and charts show at a glance the ups and downs of the wheat-growing industry; they show how products and prices bave fluctuated by Teason of rainfall, how wars and drought elsewhere have disturbed our market. “*But they don’t show, and I cquld not begin to tell the many domestic features whieh should properly be included in a history of our wheat industry for forty years. That would include the history of many so-called deals of the big specula- tions undertaken by men like Isaac Fried- lander, and down to the recent corner at- ‘tempted in the interests of the late Senator Fair. It would tell of the ups and downs of many merchants now passed away; of the excitements of '58, of '64, of ’70; of the - time when Chile wheat came pouring in to flood our markets; of how wheat that was - selling- as low as $1 25 a cental in 61 ran up to 3 cents.a pound, and then 5 cents, and flour in April, 1865, brought $15 and * $16 a barrel. 4 *“It's a stirring history, and somé dey I hope to write it a!ll, supplementing this . paper I've written recently-by adding the persanal and biographical features of the - men who have made and lost fortunes in our wheat market.”” ‘The history of California as a producer may. be divided into three periods, says Mr. Davis in beginning nis essay, each dis- . tinctly marked by its main product: First, the .eighty years from 1769 to 1848, when she was a stock-raiser; then the mining period, say to 1860, which year marked the time when she entered the lists asa large exporter of breadstuffs. Her maximum yield in this line seems now to have gone )y, and she is entering upon a new condi- tion, where she tinds more profit in fruit, wines and oil; a fc and perma- nent form of civilization. Her history as & grain producér is so remarkable that it deserves to be recorded before it has faded . Her isolated geographical position, sepa- Tated as she is trom her sister States by high mountains on the north, and a desert . belt on the east, makes it possible to treat her products and her trade by themselves, “at all events untii the building of railroads (and even after that time, it is easy to esti- mate the imports and experts across the | in 1835 to 7000 in 1842. | been largel Staze line), and they should be so treated, because her climatic conditions are quite independent of her neighbors, and the fact- ors that make a bountiful crop in Califor- nia do not operate either in Oregon or Ari- zona. . “As viewed in the perspective of history, this trade is not a_dry recora of statistics: it is full of rapid changes, abounding in situations marvelous and even picturesque, presenting a group of scenes of wonderful * variety and interest. Inthe infancy of the settlement we bave the old padre teaching -his Indian neophyte to guide the rude home-made plow, little better than the branch of a tree, as he scratched the sur- face of the ground to receive the precious seed; then tie sturdy settler, bronzed by his dusty journey over the plains, breaking | up the virgin soil of the interior valleys and anon deserting the stancing crop in his eagerness to secure a share in _the gold of the river beds. The rush of gold-hunters follows, and after a time the Golden Gate is white with the sails of ships, laden with foreign flour to feed the hungry miners. Then comes a decade of wild speculation, and when it closes the valleys are again waving with grain; the currentof trade | has been reversed and a fleet of ships are bearing out upon the broad bosom of the the Old World, and the strong men of that | day are organizing trade in these new channels. Then follows the marvelous development of the grain-raising valleys, the ups and downs of rain and drought, the wars in Europe pouring gold into the pockets of our farmers, the wild gambling on the call board, the competition of Oregon on our own soil, and of India and Argentina in Europe, crushing the market with a mass of low priced wheat, till values fall even below the cost of production. For figures as to the product of the | early periods the author refers to the state- ments of H. H. Bancroft and Alex Forbes. | age yield from 1780 to 1800 was els. els as the average yield from 1821 to 1830, Then came the breaking up of the mis- sions, the scattering of the Indian labor- ers, the war with Mexico, the influx to Oregon. gran of all kinds fell from 122,000 fanegas This, if true, must ons alone, and must have refer to the m settlers whose number now began to in- In 1818 it ran up to 82,500 | bushels, with a falling off to 47,595 bush- | De Mofras says that the yield of | offset by the crops of the | on the whole. a period of great ‘prosperity ; still, it presents singular fluctuations, though not as remarkable as those just re- viewed. It included twe dry winters— 1870-71 with 14.10 inches of rain, and 1876- 77 with only 10 inches—each followed by a scanty yield. Abroad it was marked by wars in Europe, the French-Prussian war in 1870-71 and the Turkish-Russian in 1877-78, each causing high prices. The re- sult was that wheat brought over 2 cents apound for more than half the decade. The period opened with $1 90 per cental, which the dry winter of 1870-71 soon raised to $310in May, 1871. Extreme prices in Europe maintained the market till the bountiful harvest of 1872 gk;xve ships the advantage over wheat; freights rose to the enormous figure of 95 shillings in July, 1873, and wheat fell to $170. The sew- saw between the two rivals, freight and wheat, continued through the decade. g | The scanty crop of 1877 gave wheat the ad- ocean the harvest of wheat returning to | it vantage again, and it rose to $2 35 under the influence of the Turko-Russian war, after which it settled down, closing the period in June, 1880, at §1 4714. The building of new railroads during these ten years opened up many miles of | new land, which, under the stimulus of high prices, were put into wheat. The ex- portsof the period agzregated 4,426,798 bar- rels of flour and 72,123,213 centals of wheat, or reducing both to wheat, 85,403,607 cen- tals (4,270,180 tons), an average of over 427,000 tons of wheat per annum. The total crops of the ten years amounted to 147.923‘063centals (7,396,153 '.03958. The next ten years, 1830 to 1890, wrought %reat vermanent changes in the business. he extension of railroads in the interior valleys widened vastly the area available for wheat; theacreage under the plow was greatly enlarged; the yield increased cor- respondingly, and in the first half of this decade production reached its maximum. The year 1850 beat the record, with a yield of 32,537,360 centals, or 1,626.868 tons. No year since has equaled it. This abundant | harvest was due largely to the spring rains, which were unusually copious that year. The lightest yield s of the decade were in 1885, 1837 and 1888, each after a HON, HORACE DAVIS, [From a photograph.] crease considerably. Wilkes, in the narra- tive of his expedition, about 1840, gives | the average exports at 12,000 bushels of wheat, and Thomas O. Larkin estimates the wheat exports of 1846 at 10,000 fanegas, while flour is quoted at San Francisco in | March, 1847, at $16. Then came the gold-fever period—1847- 1852. Prices of breadstuffs rose rapidly under the great demand, and by Decem- ber, 1848, wheat sold at 615 cents a pound and flour at $26 per barrel. The popula- tion ran up to about 115,000. How could such an army be fed? Cali- fornia was utterly incanable of providing for it, but Oregon came to the rescue and poured her accumulated supplies into the San Francisco market. These were soon exhausted, but Chile, with a plentiful stock, found a profitable market here and shipped thousands of tons to San Fran- cisco. Then. too, almost every vessel from our Atlantic ports brought’ its quota of flour, and for a year or two even Australia sent her small supplies to California. But Chile was our mainstay for some years, until we discovered the prodnctiveness of our own soil, and she must have sent us between 1849 and 1854 the equivalent of | nearly 800,000 barrels in flour and wheat. This was a time of mad speculation, from 1849 to 1853. 'The prices fluctnated wildly with the constantly varying supply, and this market suffered ups and downs al- most without parallel. 1 have not been able to get the prices current of 1849, but 1 have seen it stated that flour ranged from $6 per barrel in June to $40 toward the close of the year. In 1850 it varied from $8 in April to $22 in November. The year 1552 Tepeated the freaks of 1849, and flour that went begging at $7 75 in May was pushed up to $42 in November. This was the last of such violent ex- |} tremes. After the first flush of the gold fever was over farming had been gradually resumed, and the State Em(luced in 1852 271,763 bushels of wheat, by census report. The enormous prices of 1852 made grain- raising more attractive than mining. Seed wheat sold in the fall of 1852 for 12 cents a pound, and the yield of 1853, in spite of bad rust, was estimated at 625,000 bushels, while that of 1854 came up very nearly to 2,000,000 bushels—more than enough to feed all our people. The State had proved her ability to support herself. Wheat was sold that fall for $150 per cen- tal. Little flourmills sprang up all over the inhabited part of the State, whose daily capacity was estimated in the fall of 1854 at 3215 barrels. Flour settled into a . tolerably steady range from $7 to $10 per barrel. “Chile drew out of the market. Shipments from the Atlantic States diminished steadily, and by 1859 ceased entirely. Exports began about 1851, and the Aus- tralian trade developed, amounting to about 800,000 centals from July, 1852, to June, 1862, 3 The ten years from 1860 to 1870 divide themselves” naturally into two equal periods, at June, 1865. The first five vears are marked by a remarkable irregularity in rainfall, crops and prices; the last five we had steady rains, bountifal crops and a good export market. We entered the decade with a large surplus on_hand, after two fine crops in 1859 and 1860, the best ever harvested up to that date. The mar- ket was overloaded and prices sank to $1 25 per cental, at which prices ships were again laid on for Liverpool and onr exports to England that crop year (1860-61) ex- ceeded 1,000,000 centals of wheat and 100,000 barrels of flour. These low prices stimulated the export business all along the line, and it seemed as though California had fairly entered the ranks of the world’s bread producers, but the State had to pass through one more remarkable experience beiore she settled down to mature sobriety. Inthe winterof 1861-62 came the heaviest rainfall ever known; then followed two years in which, taken together, nature gave us less than half the rainfall of that one year. There was a fine crg&in 1862, and another in 1863, but that of 1864 was a failure from drought; wheat rose rapidly in value—putting an end to all export business—till it reachea $5 25 per cental in May, 1865, and flour sold vlm at $15 a barrel; ‘again Chileand New ork eentus wheat and flour, and we were changed from exporters to importers. The total exports of the decade were 2,640,740 barrels of flour and 22,123,011 cen- tals of wheat, equivalent to 1,502,262 tons of wheat. My estimates of the crop field for the ten years foot up 54,768,820 centals, or 2,736,441 tons of wheat. ‘The decade from 1870-71 to 1870-80 was, | | | light rainfall; the crop of 1885, the smallest of all, was 761,739 tons. The ten years’ yield reached the enormous figure of 210,- 651,180 centals (10,532,559 tons), an average of 1,053,256 tons per annum. . EXPORTS OF WHEAT AND FLOUR FROM CALIFOR- NTA, 1854-64. ToTAL EXPORTS. z ] -l gr g3 3 YEAR. £3 2 H b ) i s | i2 g 1 74.087 17,976 | 22017 20 23 57,228 ‘ 856,105 | 2.120,246 | misi7a2 1136256 | 1,01 7‘ 1,427,342 1,005,701 1,441,172 26,111 205,114 l.(’l-\A,flEfl‘ 1,794,424 8,842,505 5,089,284 8,778.003 5051478 4,373,213/ 5,753,012 4,864,580| 3854,106| 5,926,008 | 3583,124| 104,763 4,167,413 | 1,404,355 292,398 2281540 9835571 261,598 10,629/158 | T980.273) 674,698 9318372 | 8803880, 526,614 10.380,772 6113695 503513 7,644,38 '10.527.891‘ 507,088 12,160,272 3942612 4421308| 5,269,658 | 9.996,122] 527,440 11.578.442 10526912 493,949 121008756 | 118,307,767/ 122,660,622 13602619 1. {11,285'670/ 1 115,73 435[ 1,804,641 119,646,358 {11,3: 9 l,!mfl.fl?fi‘ll.sw.Ail 112,005,010 801,913 14,410,749 | B878767| 828212 11)148,103 118,088,653| 845,232/15,544,349 |13,495,859| 1,145,340 16,940,870 | 18.611,516| 902,250 16,318,266 !12.0802271 1,058,375 15,855,362 10.310,513| 1,176,676/18,840,541 19191408 '799,450/11,689,758 ASSETS USED UP. Little Left of the $130,000 Estate of an Insolvent Biscult and Cracker Company. From the insolvent estate of the Field Biscuit and Cracker Company little is left for the creditors and the dividend will probably not be higher than five mills on the dollar. The company failed in 1888, It had been highly prosperous, paying dividends of over 1 per centa month for years, and at the time of the failure the Pproperty was valued at $130,000. The total liabilities, besides a $60,000 mortgage, amounted to $60,000, and the debts could easily have been paid but for the foreclosure of the mortzage. Practically all of the property was ab- sorbed in the foreclosure, and only $8000 was left to pay the general claims. Of that amount William Collins, the assignee, was able to collect only $3380, Collins died, and when his successor presented his report to Judge Hebbard yesterday the fees of attorneys, experts and the ‘assignee ‘aggregated $1451. This leit only $1929 with which to pay the claims of $60,000. Judge Hebbard objected to’the fees, as only a few mills on the dollar would be left for the creditors. Expert Atkinson had received $200 and Attorney Desbeck $175, and as they would have to pay back the money if any reduction were made their claims were allowed to stand on con- dition that no fees should be asked for work vet to be done. The fees were al- lowed to remain at $975. ——— Sons of Temperance. The fifty-third anniversary of the Order of the Sons of Temperance was observed in Cali- fornia Sunday evening in the Chester-street Methodist Episcopal Church, Oakland. Rey. Mr. Beattie, pastor, presided. There was a good attehdance of members and friends from San Francisco and the surrounding district and an appropriate programme was rendered. meeting closed with expressions of good will by the members and renewed promises to work unceasingly for the good of humanity. The meeting was in charge of the following com- mittee: Robert J. Hunter, G. W. P.; Joseph Humphreys, P, G. W. P.; Jessle C. Duncan, G.S. MILLS" MODUS VIVEND!, \ He Responds With His Form of an Agreement for the Miners. COMMITTEE TO ACT TO-DAY. Either Benjamin or Franks May Represent the Association as Commissioner. The reply of W. H. Millg, the Central Pacific land agent, has been formally made to the Miners’ Association, and an agree- ment formulated by him providing for a joint commission to examine and pass upon disputed lands has peen sent along with his reply to the mineral-lanas committee. In his letter to Mr. Ricketts, chairman of the committee, Mr. Mills explains his points of divergence from the form of agreement submitted by the committee to hin: as drafted by John M. Wright, and gives the information that C. E. Uren of Grass Valley, Nevada County, has been se- lected by the Central Pacific to represent it as the commissioner of the raiiroad company. The correspondence between Mr. Rick- etts and Mr. Mills speaks for itself. Mr. Ricketts took pains to fully set forth the position of his committee in the following: W. H. Mills Esq., Land Agent Central Pacific Railroad Company, City—DEAR Sik: The com. mittee on the protection of mineral lands of the California Miners’ Association, replying to your favor of the 26th ult., begs to state tnat ihe “withdrawal of the names of the Southern Pacific Company, the Western Pacific Raiiroad Company and the Southern Pacific Railroad Company from the list of partieson the one gide to the proposed arbitration” applies and extends only to the negotiations now pending between you, as the land agent of said Central Pacific Rellroad Company, and said commit- tee, and no further. That all matters and pro- ceedlngs now in hand or which may hereafter arise aifecting each and every other company herein named shell not in_any way be preju- djced by such withdrawal of their names from said “proposed arbitration” with the said Cen- tral Pacific Railroad Company, but may be at all times prosecuted and maintained without reference thereto. Before the said negotiations are closed you will, in acoordance with your request, be fur- nished with the date of the appointment of said committee and a duly authenticated statement of the scope of the authority vested in the committee by the California Miners’ As- sociation. Yours very truly, A. H. RICKETTS, Chairman. Following was the reply of Mr. Mills: A. I Ricketts, Chairman of the Mineral Lands Commiltee of the California Miners' Association— DEAR SIR: Answering your late communica- tion I beg leave to submit herewith the in- closed form of agreement asa substitute for that outlined by you. This follows your out- line closely, the chief feature of divergence be- ing that the ascertainments and conclusions of the commission to be appointéd shall take the form of judicial determination instead of an agreement outside of the tribunals established by the Secretary of the Interior for determina- tion of the questions involved. This plan has the advantage of bein% fully determined and of having the binding force of judicial conclu- sion of the parties to the agreement. Should it be fortunate enongh to meet with approval at the hands of your committee please sign both copies and return one tome. n the interest of expedition I beg to name as commissioner on behalf of the Central Pa- cific Railroad Company C. E. Uren, civil engi- neer, of Grass Valley, Nevada County. In pre- senting the name of Mr. Uren 1 wish to say that heis & mining engineer of high attain- ments, broad experience and unimpeachable fairness. You will please note that the fifth subdivi- sion of the proposition herewith submitted provides for the subdivision of the field into districts and the u&poimmem of additional commissioners for the examination of these districts. Subsequent arpmmmenu will be made as the necessities of the case demand. I shall be pleased, if the proposition here- with submitted shall conclude the matter, to recelye the name of the commissioner ap- pointed on your behalf. Yours respectfully, WiLLiax H. Mivis, Land Agent Central Pecific Railroad Company. And the agreement as drafted by him is: The Central Pacific Railroad Company by Williama H. Mills, its Jand agent, the first party, and the California Miners’ Association, by the undersigned, its committee for the protection of mineral lands, the second party, have agreed as foliows: First—That each party wlh, within ten days from the date hereof, appoint a reputable and competent person, whose duty it shall be to in- spect such unpsatented lands clsimed by the first party in California as the parties hereto may submit to them: and to testify as wit- nesses in the proper Land Office of the United States as to the character for valuable minerals contained of all the lands inspected by them, such testimony to be given at hearings ordered or to be ordered by the General Land officers of the United States, for the ascertainment and determination ofjthe character of said lands. And herein it is agreed that the versons 50 to be appointed may, when they concur in %0 doing, present profests to the General Land Office against the issue of patents to the first party conveying any lands which have been fubmitted fo, inspected and ascertained by them 10 be mineral in character; and the first party hereby consents that hearings may be ordered by the General Land officers, in pur- suance of such protests. And herein it is further agreed that the character of minerals of all lands submitted to and inspected by them shall be determined by the testimony of such persons alone, not- withstanding third persons may testify at the same heariug. Second—-That in all cases where the two per- sons to be appointed, aforesaid, disagree as to the character for minerals of any tract or tracts submitted to them they shall'appoint a third reputable and competent person, who shall have the same qualifications and duties as the said first-named persons, and in all such cases no testimony shall be given nor action be taken except by the two of such persons who nave gerved, &nd then only in so faras they are agreed. Third—The first party agrees that it will, at the request of the said persons to be appointed, u&pl{lw select any lands submitted to them which are not listed, in order that hearings as to the character thereoi may be properly and pmmgfly ordered by the General Land Office; end that it will not seek to procure the issue of {mlem to it tor any of the Iands submitted to he said persons until after irspection and action by them, as herein provided. And the second party agrees that it will facilitate in all ways within fts powers, influence and per- suasion, and will not, by action or counte- nance, obstruct the speedy issuance of patent 10 the first party for all lands not found by the said persons, or by the General Land Office de- cisions rendered in pursuance of their testi- mony, to be essentially mineral in character. Fourth—The party of the first part will furnish free railroad transportation for the use of each of the seid persons wher traveling in the per- formance of their dutiesherein provided. Each party is to pay for the services and all other expenses of the persons which it may appoint lngursmnce hereof; and the pay for services and expenses of the £aid third person to be ap- flolnud shall be furnished by the parties eretoin equal shares. Fifth—The territories comprising such of the lands within the Central Pacificand California and Oregon land grants of the first party as shall be submitted to the said persons may be subdivided into several divisions; and all the provisions hereof are alike appli sabdivision. Dated and signed. . : Yand Committee of the Califor- nia Miners' Assoclation for the Protec- tion of Min- eral Lands. Some of the members of the committee are inclined to Jook upon this step taken ’\;y Mr. Mills as a_victory for the miners. hey say they did not expect as much -from him. They are particularly jubilant considering that the miners’ convention meets here soon—on the 14th inst, in Pio- neers’ Halt on Fourth street—and in view of the efforts being made by Richard I. Thomas of Neyada County to get the secretaryship of the Miners' Association. Mr. 'Thomas has been mtgpond to have workled in sympathy with the railroad people. The mineral Jands committee will meet in Chairman Ricketts’ office this afternoon to take action on the agreement offered by Mr. Mills. John M. Wright, who drew up the form of 'ment the committee sub- mitted to Mr. Mills a little while ago, said yesterday afternoon that he had not yet given the document proper study and could not yet express any opinion. Mr. Ricketts thought it was as favorable as the other and not without loopholes, through which either side might crawl. Under the circumstances he favored ac- cepting it. f the committee decides to accept it the commissioner to represent its side may be selected at once. Two men are spoken of, one being Edward H. Benjamin, whose name has frequently been used as pro- testant in the land office contests, and who has several appealsin the Department of the Interior, and the other is ex-United States Marshal John C. Franks. Benjamin stands, perhaps, a little the better chance of the two. RETURN OF SECRETARY RALSTON. Ho Tells of His Visit and Also Talks of Candidates. Becretary Ralston of the Miners’ Asso- ciation is home again from bhis trip East and will at once make preparations for the coming miners’ convention on the 14th inst. He went East to attend the big conclave of the Knights Templar in Boston, and after that went to Washington to see the Secretary of the Interior on the mineral land appeals. He has personally protested a number of selections made by the rail- road companies. = President J. H. Neff of the association was in Washington at the same time, and Secretary Hoke Smith being then in Geor- gia the Assistant Secretary of the Interior referred Messrs. Neff and Ralston to Judge Hall, Assistant United States Attorney- General. Alluding to this visit Mr. Ral- ston said yesterday afterncon: We desirea to know whether the protests of the association would receive recognition at the hands of the Attorney-Genersl. Judge Hall told us they certainly would. and further- more that no patents would be issued while the protests were on filc. 2 Atthe General Land Office acting Commis- sioner Emory F. Best was anxious to know what was _our principal claim—what rulin we wanted. We replied that an agricultural claiment to land should be required to show that the land was fit for agricultural purposes, and that, since the miner under the system in vogue was_forced to prove the mineral charac- ter of the land claimed by him—had to prove that it contained mineral in paying quanti- ties—the agricultural claimant should also be made to show that the land he claimed could be farmed ata profit. Mr. Best thought that was & just coutention and ventured the opinion that he did not see why a rule should not work both ways. After explaining to him the drift gravel mining of the State and the exploiting of the same, I argued that all lava-cap ridges in known gravel mineral regions should be con- sidered as prima facie mineral Jand and not agricultural in any sense of the word. Mr. Best’s idea was that this was reasonable enough and he thought we ought to have a ruling to that effect. Some of the prospective candidates for officers of the association were referred to. Mr. Ralston said he would like to have some man who was an active miner like Mr. Neff chosen as presxdem and he named E. C. Loftus of Tuolumne County as a good man. Mr. Loftus is a member of the mineral lands committee. As to the secretaryship Mr. Ralston said: T have had all T wanted of it, and Mr. Neff is satisfied too. I understood that Richard I. Thomas of Nevada County is a candidate for the secretaryship, but considering the position he took in the last Legislature regarding the bankruptey bill, which the merchants of this City were anxions to have passed, I doubt very much whether he can count upon any support from the San Franciscodelegation. The Miners’ Association received a greatdeal of financial support from the merchants of this City and I certainly think that in choosing their oflicers the miners should select men who would re- ceive indorsement from the mercantile ele- ment. I tell you whom I think the merchants would indorse. I think if Julian Sonntag could be induced to accept the position he would be unauimously elected. ‘Wiltiam Irelan Jr. is also a candidate for secretary. Among those who would like to be president are Robert McMurray of this City, Alfred Tredgidgo of Nevada County and H. T. Powers of Placer County. John McMurray of Trinity County has been frequently mentioned asa good man, though he is not seeking the place very hard. President Grayson of the San Francisco association will call a meeting to choose delegates within a few days. Secietary Yale was preparing the call yesterday. Vice-President Benjamin of the Alameda | | LADIE County association—Edward H. Benja- min—will call his association together next week. Alameda County, he says, will send twenty-six or twenty-seven delegates, PLEASURE HOUSE BOATS Hundreds to Be Built Here Ready for the Next Qut- ing Season. An Enterprise Pecullarly Adapted to This City and State. Gasoline Launches. A number of business men of this City are about to embark in a novel line of business, which will attract general inter- est, and, when carried to completion, will give citizens of San Francisco and vicinity opportunities for summer outings on the bay. The company contemplates the building of houseboats, to be propelled by gasoline engines or towed by small launches equipped with such engines. Those houseboats will be of various di- mensions, ranging from a three-room cot- tage to an eight-room house, all built on one general plan, but with various equip- ments. S One hundred or more of these house- boats will be built this fall and winter and equipped in time for the next outing sea- son. It is designed to rent them to fami- lies or parties wishing to take a few weeks’ or months’ outing in and around the bay or up the navigable rivers of the State. These houseboats will be thoroughly equipped with every modern convenience for housckeeping, with the exception of dishes and bedding Inquiry has been made among a large number of residents of the City who might be expected to take advantage of so attractive an opportunity during the summer, and the unanimity of opinion expressed in favor of the proposi- tion was satisfactory to those who are the financial backers of the scheme. These floating houses can be inexpen- sively built, so that the rent charges can be made low enough to come within the reach of almbst every one. There may be others more expensively built and equipped for the accommodation of those who can afford a larger outlay for their pleasure. The houseboats will be so constructed as to give them a draft that will admit of their being propelled or towed in any water of sutficient depth to float a large- sized canoe. Pleasure-boat houses of the same gen- eral design, towed from place to vlace by small launches, have been in use on the River Thames, England, some time, and are said to be much favored by those who enjoy an outing on the water. Some of them are %III!C expensive affairs, costing as high as $10,000 to $12,000. There is no city in the world, however, more advan- tageously situated than San Francisco for the development of this form of enjoy- ment. . The little two to four horsepower gaso- line marine enginesto supply the power to the launches which will tow these pleasure houseboats are so simple, safe and easily operated that any child 10 years old can run them, and any one capable of steering a common canoe can take cne of these outfits and go where he wills with as much assurance of safety as by any other mode of travel. = ——————— Struck by a Car. John Clendianen, an expressman, living at 1152 Mission street, tried to drive across the track yesterdayafternoon in frontof an electric car at Eighth’ and Mission streets. The car struck the wagon and Clendinnen was thrown to the ground. He alighted on his head snd sustained along wound in his scalp. | are thus afllictes 2 = :\g:)fi)/ ( 7z (tT(\\ ) e (S 5 P -.\ \(\((\\\\\y l‘% DOCTOR SWEANY, 737 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal. (Opposite Examiner Office). HIS LEARNED SPECIALIST, WELL AND FAVORABLY known throughout the West by his long residence and suc- cessful practice in this city, desires to thank the people of the Pacific Coast for their confidence and patronage in the past, and to assure the afflicted everywhere of receiving from him skillful and scientific treatment now and in the future. With a thorough literary and professional education, and with extensive experience in the practice of Nervous Chronic and Private Diseases of both sexes, he cures every curable case in the catalogue of human ills, He addresses himself in particular to cases that have baffléd the skill and science of other doctors. His patients are among our most intelligent citizens of every trade and profession, including merchants, manufacturers, mechanics, miners, farmers, laborers, literary and professional gentlemen, many of whom have ex- hausted the skill of their family physicians without obtaining relief. every case he undertakes. letter, this day. His name is a sufficient guarantee of a perfect cure of Consult him, either in person or by It may save you much mental and physical suffering, and add golden years to your life. NERVOUS DEBILITY ofevsmsie ame cialty. This distinguished doctor’s success in cases of this character has been really phe- nomenal. YOUNG MEN if you are troubled with night emissions, exhausting drains, pimples, bashfulness, aversion to soci- ety, stupidness, despondency, loss of energy, ambition and 'self-consciousness, which de- rives you of your manhood and absolutely un- fits you for study, business or marriage—if you you know the cause. Getwell and be aman. there are MIDDLE-AGED AHD OLD MEN tmero, o of you troubled with weak, aching backs and kidneys; frequent, painful urination and sedi- ment in urine; impotency or weakness of sexual organs, ‘and other unmistakable signs of nervous debility and prematare decay. Many die of this difficulty, ignorant of the cause, which is the second stage of seminal weakness. The most obstinate cases of this character treated with unfailing success. if you are suffering from persistent headaches, painful menstruation, leucorrheea or whites, intolerable itching, dis- placement of the v \ | Kidney, Bladd | ternal troubles: 'FREE TREATMENT CATARRH PRIVATE Zisenses—Gleet. Gonorrhea, Strict- ures, Syphilis, Hydrocele, Varico- cele, Tenderness, Swellings, Weakpess of Or- gans, Piles and Fistula. Rupture quickly cured without pain or detention from business. KIDHEY AHD URINARY<mpistnes painton, fret quent, milky or bloody urine, uniatural dis- chargés speedily eured. which poisons the Breath, Stom- ach and Lungs and. paves the v for_Consumption, Throat, Liver, Heart, and all constithtional and in also Rupture, Piles, Fistula treated far in advance of any other institution in the country. Disease: BLOOD AND SKIN Bierse Syphilitic Taints, Tumors, Rhumatism, tions, ete., promptly cured, leaving the 's: in a pure, strong and healthful state. for the poor who call in person at office on Friday afternoons. meE your troubles fully and frankly and effective treatment will besent you, | free from observation, to any part of the coun- b, or any other distress- | try. Thousands cured at home. Book entitled “Guide to Health” sent free to those describ- ing_their troubles. All communications sa- ilment _peculiar to your sex, you should | credly confidential. caf1 on DR, SWEANY without delaz. He cures | _ Office hours—9 A. M. to 12 M., 2 to 5-and when others fail 1 7to 8 P. M. Sunday, 10 A. M. to12M. only ADDRESS, F.L. SWEANY, M. D. 737 Market Street, San Francisco, Cal. PACIFIC DEPARTMENT. German American Ins. Co. OF NEW YORK. STATEMENT ——OF THE— CONDITION AND AFFAIRS ——OF THE—— GERMAN-AMERIGAN INSURANCE COMPANY E. NEW YORK. IN. THE STATE OF NEW York, on the 31st day of December, A. D., 1894, and for the year ending on that day, as made to the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Cali- fornia, pursnant (o the provisions of sections 610 and 611 of the Political Code, condensed as per blank furnished by the Commissioner. CAPITAL. Amount of capital stock, paid up in cash e $1,000,000 00 ASSETS. Real estate owned by the company.. Cash market value of all stocks and bonds owned by compan; Cash {n company’s office. Cash in banks.. . Interest due and accreed on ail stoc} $25,000 00 and loans. Premiums in’ due course of colle tion........ SR 382,697 01 Total assets. $6,240,0908 83 LIABILITIES. Losses adjusted and unpaid. Losses In process of adjustm N s SUSPENSe.. ... ..., 7 : Losses resisted, Inciuding expense: sggiifi 03 Gross premiums on fire risks ran- ning one year or less, 180 58: reinsurance 50 per cen Gross premiums on fire risks running 1,217,590 29 more than one year, £3,074, 552 60: reinsurance pro rata..... 1,579,915 28 All other demands against the pany. s 79,910 53 Total liabilities. INCOME. Net cash actually received for fire premiums. -..$3,154,060 40 s 85,353,728 54 Received for idends on bonds, stocks, loans, and from all other sources.. 241,224 69 Total fncome... o 3,596,188 09 EXP: DITURES. Net amount paid for fire losses (in- cluding $462.617 9’ losses of previous years)... .. -81,903,207 98 Dividends to stockholders.. . 200,000 00 Paid or allowed for commission or brokerage 459,189 70 Pzaid for salaries, fees and other charges for officers, clerks, etc.... .287,350.34 Pald for State, tional and local taxes . = 78,627 85 All other tures.. 218,879 84 Total expenditures................ $3,142,268 81 Losses incurred during the year - (BRe). - $1,653,846 08 RISKS AND PREMIUMS. | Fire Risks. | Premiums. Net amountof risks, 2 written during the i -| 399 339,611|$4.290,562 86 year.... =l Net amount of risks| expiredduringthe| Netamount in force| b 81 Dece | | 567,985,20| 5,509,738 18 1804.. ILVEY, Vice-President. EWELL, Secrerary.. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 234 dsy of January, 1895. 2% JOHN E. CAMPBELL, Notary Public:, 371,637,650 3,999,939 52 GEORGE H. TYSON, General Agent. : 4388 CALIFORNIA ST ==~ San Francisco. __*_—-“_—fi‘ yous oz di jon. BEFORE ano AFTER CUPIDENE strengthens and restores small weak organs. ‘The reason sufferers are not cured Prostatitis. CUPIDENE‘: he Is. A writtea MANHOOD RESTORED :cemi0enss tion of & famous French physician, will quickly cure ases of the geterative o ‘ains in the Buck, Sem!nal Emissions, Nervons Debility, Painsin the issior ous Debility,; . 1t sto ness of discharge, which if not checked all the horrora of Tmpotency. €¥ P! Kkidneys and the nrinary organs of all imparities. by Doctors is because ninety per cent are troubi the only known remed. arantee given and money returned i “cupm'zné* P ou of all ner ng, such as 't Manhood, Ty, Exhausting Drains, Varicocele and D381l losses by day of night. ' Prevents quick. leads to Spermatorrheea and. IDENE cleanses theliver, the ed with to cure without an operation. 5000 tésfimoni six boxes does not effect & permanent cure, 8 box, six for §5.00, by malil. Send for FREE circular and testimonl Address DAYOL MEDICINE C0., F. O, Box 27 -~ ™ = "~ Pt T Syre ey : BROLS PHARMACY, 119 Powsll sirees. e e Y ““ONE YEAR BORROWS ANOTHER YEAR’S FbOL' YOU DIDN'T USE : SAPOLIO LAST YEAR. PERHAPS YOU WILL NOT THIS YEAR.