The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 22, 1895, Page 8

8 THE SA FRAi‘IC]SCO CALL, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1893. GRAVE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST JUDGE STANLY. What Defendants Aver in the Bowdoin College Suit. TRUST DEED QUESTIONED Was Mrs. Garcelon Unduly In- fluenced Against Her Nephews ? ESTATE PURPOSELY TIED UP. Attorney Philbrook’s Version of the | Merritt Litigation in the Fed- eral Court. The defendants in the celebrated Mer- ritt estate case of President Wiiliam De Witt Hyde and the trustees of Bowdoin <College, Maine, against James P. Merritt and Frederick A. Merritt, the nephews of Dr. Samuel Merritt, and William E. Dargie of the Oakland Tribune and Thomas Prather oi the Oaklana Union Savings Bank, involving the trust deed of Mrs. Catherine M. Garcelon, have just filed a very sensational document in the United ‘States Circuit Court. Tt bears the simple litigant title of a | “Memorandum in Behalf of Defendants,” and copies were served by Attorney Horace W. Philorock upon the legal talent inter- ested yesterday. By it Judge John A. Stanly is acoused of baving abused his confidential relation with Mrs. Garcelon by inducing through superior will force and by the aid her, | U anyhow. That was before we had gone into the compromise business. There was a reason why the two boys should have received the estate as an in- beritance, thinks Mr. Philbrook. Dr. Merritt came from Harpsweil, Me., as one of the early pioneers. A plague broke out here, and Isaac Merritt sent him money to | enable him to go to Japan and get out of | danger. With part of this money and | some he had accumulated Dr. Merritt pur- chased his Oakland property, for at that time real estate there was cheap enough. | The two boys were as sons to the doctor | until the estrangement between them and Dr. Rogers, whom, as a poor boy, Dr. Mer- ritt had brought out from Bath, Me., and whom he made his business manager and agent, and who superintended his lumber- | yard. Mr. Philbrook recalls the circumstance of the chartering by the novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson, of the Merritt yacht, | Casco, in 1889 for a voyage inghe South | Seas. For the yacht Stevenson agreed to pay $500 a month. There was some ques- tion as to the recularity of accounts, says Mr. Philbrook, and Stephen W. Purington, Mrs. Garcelon’s cousin, was made business manager in Mr. Rogers’ place. Judge Stanly, old man Purington and Rogers are singled out by Mr. Philbrook as having been the cause of the alienation of { the proverty from the two boys. He quotes Mrs. Garcelon as callitg Rogers | “that gopher always burrowing under | ground.” Here is the manner in which Mr. Philbrook lays before the court his | version of the way in which Judge Stan- ly, as he avers, influenced Mrs. Garcelon by the agency of Purington and the help of Rogers to execute the deed: In obtaining for his own pecuniary gain a isposition giving to himself and Stephen W. Purington (or the survivor of them, for Mr. Purington soon died), the Merritt property to be sold and the proceeds divided—providing for 400,000 of the proceeds to be given to | Bowdoin College in the State of Maine, and | $600,000 to himself and two physicians to es- tablish in Oakland a hospital for people of and extorting as much as he could for himsel? at the outset as & secret gift inhand, John A. Stanly was only moving along | the obvious line of least resistance and accom- plishing the most possible for himself. The scheme had to have semblance of plausi- bility. Stephen W. Purington, though ‘he was a man that would be governed and con- trolled by a stronger mind,” was of about 61 ears of age and very “fixed in his He had lived in the house in the life- | moderate mea) | | HOW MRS. CATHERINE M. GARCELON APPEARED ELEVEN YEARS BEFORE HER DEATH. [¥rom a photograph.] of her aged cousin, Stephen W. Purington, as his instrument, into making the trust | deed by which he and Drs. Agard and Pinkerton were to receive $600,000 of the big Oakland estate for a hospital in that | city, and the Bowdoin College was to get He is charged with conceiving and caus- ing to materialize an immense trust scheme for his own personal benefit, and at the expense of those whé were next of kin to Dr. Merritt and Mrs. Garcelon. And uglier things than this are insinuated in this “memorandum” of over 200 printed ages. 2 he value of the Merritt estate was esti- mated at $1,250,000. When Mrs. Garcelon, who was the ome sister of the deceased doctor, died in 1891, the estate consisted of $500,000 in money and gilt-edged stocks and $750,000 in real estate. The net income from this has been about $40,000 per an- num. Frederick A. Merritt and James P. Mer- ritt were the sons of Captain Isaac Merritt, the brother of Dr. Samuel Merritt and Mrs. Catherine M. Garcelon. Their aunt had the fondest affection for them until after Dr. Merritt's death. Somehow the two boys got only a compromise of $125,000 worth of the real estate between them, and as a proportionate division of the improved and unimproved property had been made, their monthly income was not greater than $40 sometimes, and at others went only as high as $209, so Mr. Philbrook says. Referring to the relationship existing between their aunt and the two_boys, this is what Attorney Philbrook observes in the document just placed before the court, after quoting the evidence of W. W. Foote: Let us also listen to the voice of nature— “the volume of which God is the author’— Mrs. Garcelon was born and reared in Harps- well (Great Island), Me. There the iong cold winters and rugged climate draw close the mother, brothers and There family, and father an sister become most dear 1o one another. were three children in the family, her: Samuel end Of the three only children—Fred and James. To Mrs. Garcelon Fred and James, “the boys,” were bound by a threefold tie, each strand one of the most pow- erful that can bind a human being. To her,a woman without offspring, they took the place of children; and “‘the boys were her brother's boys,” and when children they were with her in “{he 0ld homestead in Maine.” Then he quotes Captain Knowles’ testi- mony and that of Judge Israel Lawton, Mrs. I. W. Taber and Attorney W. W. Foote to show that if let alone Mrs. Gar- celon would have willed half or perhaps all the estate to them. See Baptaiu Knowles’ evidence as quoted : Q.—Do you remember telling Frederick A. Merritt in the year 1892, soon after the death of Mrs. Garcelon, that if the lawyers had let her alone, he and his brother would have got half of Dr. Merritt's estate? A.—No, I did not know that I did. I think they would though. Q—What is that? A.—I] think they would though. Q.—What lawyers do you mean? A.—When they took them away—kept them anY from Mrs. Garcelon; when he died, she ‘would have given them half—told me so. Judge Lawton is alluded to as testifying that Mrs. Garcelon said the same to him, and the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Taber is given as to Mrs. Garcelon’s intentions. And from W. W. Foote’s evidence the fol- lowing is quoted : Q.—Did Judge Stanly ever say anything to you ahout the boys getting the whole of that estate? A.—The first time I talked to him he was very friendly. We were talking in a pleasant amicable way about this compromise. He was advising me'to take as little as possible then, because, eventually, the boys would getitall, % time of Dr. Merritt, and still lived there. He was Mrs. Garcelon’s cousin, and had been | handed down to her from Dr. Merritt as her | sole agent and the exclusiye manager of all her property and business. Holding with her the position he does, he could not be under- mined and barred out as Judge Lawton and Judge Hamilton were. He had to be reckoned | with. Besides, as he was an old bachelor and as he hated Mrs. Garcelon’s heirs, often declar- ing that “if he could not have his way they never should have a dollar of the doctor’s money,” he wasa most convenient instrument. John A. Stanly himself testifies: “I was fa- miliar with the whole household.” From his acquaintance with the family he knew that Dr. Merritt and Mrs. Garcelon’s deceased hus- band had, in youth, attended medical lectures in a medical school in Maine connected with Bowdoin College, and that each of them had for a time practiced medicine and bore the title of “doctor.” He was fully aware of Mrs. Garcelon’s in- competency and that with Stephen W. Puring- ton she was under “something like a guardian- ship of the person and property.” He had as his friend and fidus achates the shrewd Henry Rogers, ‘“that gopher always burrowing under- round.” He was a lawyer himself and famil- ar with the advantage of making a citizen of another State his ally. He could gratify the natural vanity of the old bachelor, and his natural desire to continue to manage the pro; erty, by making him (as he did) in form his co-trustee and at the same time, in fact, merely his own agent. The gift of §25,000 to Stephen W. Purington, expressly stated in the “‘declaration of trust,” was doubtless placea there for a purpose, like that with which Jacob put spotted rods before Laban’s cattle at the watering-troughs—in the norelhnz Purington, looking upon it, might help Mr. Stanly to take, or consent to his tak- ing, 850,000 secretly in hand. Doubtless the express statement there of that $25,000 for Purington was what made Pur- ington—though he had to be pressed from the 10th or 12th of March till the 21st of April, and though he recognized it as robbery and n[lcrié! was done could not sleep for thinking of 1t—consent at last to Stanly’s takin, $25,000 secretly in hand, and keep qyulet. = “He told me not to tell of it.” The gift of $600,000 for Stanly and two fvh.\'slcun: to establish and maintain in Oak- and a hospital for people of moderate means was likely to intrench the scheme. and could readily be made to look plausible to Stephen W. Purington. The gift of $400,000 for Bowdoin College, in the State of Maine, could, for_obvious reasons, be made to look plausible to Purington. And Mr. Stanly has confessed here, on oath, that he then expected the disposition of the property he wes making to be contested, and at the very time foresaw that it might not be safe to have it investigated by a jury of Ala- meda County, and that, to guard against the dané;er of such an investigation, he then in- tended to tie the whole matter up—precisely as he has done—by a suit in the United States Circuit Court. The gift of $400,000 for Bowdoin College was likely to enable him to use its name and its status as a citizen of another State (as he bas done) for such a suit. The giits of sums for relatives and acquaintances would gratif the prejudices of Stephen W. Purington, ani at the same time interest the donees to help ;flstati: the eukir: scheme. As for Mrs, Garce- on, the owner of the property, she wi condition indicated nt?ovg 2 e In another portion of the document Mr. Philbrook thus commentsupon the secrecy of the transaction: Here, then, is the case of an aged lady, who never before had had any property of her own, coming unexpectedly, when 76 vears of age, into a fortune of ut $2,000,000, and we have a disposition—a disposition of practically herentire estate—a; me within a few months of its being castupon her to her attorney at law and her business agent in charge of all her property, papers and business—a disposition of rmneny in view of death, supported by what s an agreement taken in her name and from her heirs by that same attorney at law, cutting off her heirs from ?uesuunlng the disposition: & disposition obtained by that same attorney atlaw and attorney in fact for their own per- sonal benefit as ‘well as for others whom they represented and represent, diverting her estate “from those who by the ties of nature would be the natural recipients,” and this en- ure disposition of property, including the cutting off of her heirs from their right to question it, all obtained from the aged lady, under the veil of the most complete secrecy, by these two persons, occupying such confident relation with her, no other human mxng advising or consulting or communicating witl herin regard to it, or being told by her that she understood it or any partof it or that it was her wish. And during all the time covered by the transactions, and long before, and afterward till she died, this Stephen W. Purington lived in her house, and this John A, Stanly lived only across the street and in sight of her windows. Mr. Pnilbrook says that Purington drove away Fred Merritt when he went to see Mrs. Garcelon when Dr. Merritt died and would never let either of the two boys communicate with her afterward, and that Judge Stanly had turned her mind against Judge Israel Lawton and Judge Noble Hamilton. In the document there is a copy in type of a letter said_to have been written in encil draft to Judge Noble Hamilton by Judge Stanly for Mrs. Garcelon. The object of this is to demonstrate that Judge Stanly made a false statement when he swore that he did not write the communi- cation. Mr. Philbrook refers also to Judge Stanly’s *‘false, vile and infamous insinu- ations” against his client, Judge Lawton, and appeals to Mr. Foote’s testimony 1 this respect. **And though Judge Lawton did not suspect it,” Mr. Philbrook’s words are, ‘‘she was poisoned (meaning in mind) against him.’’ The $125,000 compromise with the two boys, Fred and James, is touched upon at some length; also Mrs. Garcelon’s will, “leaving all her property to Stephen W. Purington,” in the hope Purington would make disposition of the estate as her deceased brother had wished; and in an appendix Judge Stanly is made to say, in italics, that both the” request signed by Harry P. Merritt for the commencement of the suitand his reply were written by Judge Stanly himself. ~ Just before the ap- pendix a letter from Stanly to M. C. Blake is copied to show Judge Stanly’s motive in having the litigation begun, Summed up, Mr. Philbrook’s argument in the paper 1s that the conveyances in question area ‘‘fraud upon and a viola- tion by indirection of section 1313 of the Civil Code of California,” which makes void any attempt of a person to give by will more than one-third of his estate to charitable uses; that the widow of Dr. Seward Garcelon did not have the proper mental capacity to make the alleged con- | vevances; that the conveyances were pro- cured by undue influence and fraud, and, lastly, a doubt is ventured that Mrs. Garcelon ever delivered the. papers in question. The court’s jurisdiction is chal- lehged also. “If the court had jurisdiction of the suit,” Mr. Philbrook starts out, ‘‘the ques- tion upon the merits would be whether a decree could be given against James F. Merritt, Catherine M. Garcelon’s next of kin, and against Harry P. Merritt, her re- siduary devisee and legatee, and against George W. Reed, her administrator, de- i id a deed of real estate of the ,000 and a conveyance of per- sonal property of the value of $500,000 and a declaration of trust, all being parts of one instrument and embracing all her property, except $14,000, alleged to have besn made by her April 21, 1891, to John A. Stanly, her attorney-at-law and legal adviser, and Stephen W. Purington, her general business manager and agent, re- siding in her house.” MR, JENKS AS CO-PASTOR, First Presbyterian Church Has Secured a Promising Divine. A Young Minister From Red Bluff to Share Dy. Mackenzie’s Honors and Duties. Rev. E. H. Jenks, the recently elected co-pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of this City, will preach his inaugural ser- mon this morning. Mr. Jenks arrived last evening and will reside temporarily at 2021 California street, the home of Dr. Robert Mackenzie, the well-known pastor of the First Church. One of the promising young divines of the coast, with energy and organizing ability equaled by his power as a preacher and his affability in social life, Mr. Jenks is regarded as a valuable adaition to Pres- byterianism in general and the First Church in particular. He is a native of Janesville, Wis., where he was born in 1862. His parents removed to New York in his early childhood and he received his education in the Empire State. He was graduated from the Whites- town preparatory school in 1879, from Hamilton College in 1886, and the Auburn Theological Seminary in 1888. The weck following his graduation from the Theological School he came to Lake- port, Cal., where he was in charge of a Presbyterian church for three years, after which he went to the Red Bluff Church, then a home mission, but since, largely through his efforts, made self-supporting and the leading church of the town. He was tendered a farewell reception on Mon- day, when Major Kimball, Dr. Westlake, L.V. Hitchcock, Mr. McCoy and other citizens of prominence made addresses, in which they expressed the esteem and pride in which he was held, not only by his parishioners, but all his townsmen. The sentiment of regret at losing his services was said to be counterbalanced by the pleasure of seeing his progress. The burden of the labors attending the discharge of the_duties of his large parish has been heavy for Dr. Mackenzie, and his request that he be relieved by securing the services of an assistant was considered feasible by his congregation. Rumors of the efficient labors of the young pastor at Red Bluff reached the committee ap- ointed to engage a pastor, and two mem- ers of it visited nis church and listened to his sermons, unknown to the prospective candidate. The result was that he was summoned to speak at the First Church as a candidate on November 24. He was called to the post of co-pastor immediately after. He will be released from the Sacra- mento presbytery as soon as that body meets. Mr. Jenks is, properly speaking, neither assistant nor associate, but co-pastor with Dr. Mackenzie, sharing with him equall the responsibilities and labors of "their joint charge. Dr. Mackenzie will preach the morning, Mr. Jenks the evening ser- mon. They will alternate in the conduct of the {)rnyer-meet.ings. Pastoral visita- tions will devolve chiefly upon Mr. Jenks. His address this morning will be on “Christ Born in Bethlehem of Judea.” He will have charge of all church matters during Dr. Mackenzie’s holiday visit to his son at Princeton, N. J. ———— Very Particular. ‘““Are you the warden of this here jail?” he inquired, as the leaned on the stick over which he had carried his bundle. “I am,” was the reply. “Well, how’s the wentilation " “Why—good, of course.”” “An’ the food 2’ “‘Same as usual.” “Any elevators yet?" ““Of course not.” “Hot an’ col’ water in the rooms?” “Not a bit.” ‘‘Well, they’'s time yet. Hustle ’roun’ an’ git things in shape. Ye know I've been a reglar boarder with ye fur many winters, but ye’ll have ter git in er few modern improvements, er I'm goin’ ter transfer me custom.”’—Washington Star. ————————— READY-FRAMED pictures from $1 50 to $25 each, Onyx tables from $4 50 to $20 each. Piano and banquet lamps from 150 to $30 ch. Clocks from 75 cents to $24 each. No such variety and no such bargains in fine £00ds 10 be found elsewhere. Visitors welcome. Open evenings. Sanborn, Vail & Co. . MOSBY AVERSE 0 WAR, Asserts That Cleveland and Olney Have Very Sadly Blundered. HE PERCEIVES NO MENACE. Declares the Monroe Doctrine Obsolete. Was Directed Against the Holy Alliance. Colonel John 8. Mosby, the famous ex- guerilla chief, has some decided views re- garding the present strained relations be- tween England and this country, the ac- tion of President Cleveland and of Con- gress and the construction and application of the Monroe doctrine. The colonel ha« served as Minister to China and 1s an attorney of high standing and more than usually well posted on dip- lomatic matters and questions involvin, international law. In an interview yes- terday he said: I heartily condemn the message of President Cleveland and the action of Congress. Ilook upon the whole thing as pure demagogism, practiced just to get the votes of the Irish, an each party is endeavoring to outdo the other 1n demagogism. These people who are hur- rahing for the Monroe doctrine don’t know what it is. George Canning, a former Prime_Minister to England, is the real author of the Monroe doc- trin In 1823 England was fighting the Holy Alliance, which had issued a circular an- nouncing a crusade against free institutions all over the world. At the instigation of Mr. Canning President Monroe embodied a declar- ation in his message to Congress that any at- tempt on the part of the Holy Alliance to carry out its designs on this continent would be considered as an unirsendly act toward the Government of the United States. But the Holy Alliance has long ago been dis- solved, and there is no such danger now men- acing our institutions. The Holy Alliance had proclaimed its purpose to establish abso- lute Governments ali over the world, and to suppress any uprising in favor of popnlar in- stitutions, and 1t was against the Holy Al- liance that President Monroe fulminated his now famous proclamation. It is perfectly absurd to announce that if England should take possession of a littie strip of territory on the Orinoco it would be a menace to our institutions, when England al- ready has Canada on our northern frontier and Jamaica and Trinidad in the Gulf of Mexico. It would be no more a menace to us than if she were to take possession of gold | fields in Africa. What constitutes a menace is a question of | fact and not of law. Mr. Calhoun was in President Monroe’s Cabi- destruction. The *Kitty,” stung with pain, was butting things in all directions, and Mr. Casey, in a vain endeavor to quiet the rsdge of the now infuriated animal, got a header in the stomach, which doubled him up like a jackknife in a corner of the room. Bottles by the dozen went flying every which way, and the probabilities are that the goat would still be in possession of the saloon and reeking vengeance on anything and everything in its way had it not been for the timely arrival of a vaquero, who procured a rope, with which he lassoed the animal, and soon had it under subjection. The ewner of the goat has offered a reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the vandal who tortured his prized pet in such a horrible manner. THE CITY HALL ROOF. Matter of Deciding Upon It Deferred Until Tuesday by the Commissioners. The matter of deciding upon the archi- tectural style of the new roof for the City Hall has been deferred until Tuesday, when it is expected that Mayor Sutro will be able to be present at the meeting of the City Hall Commissioners. Architect Shea seems to prefer a slate roof and Commissioners Broderick and Creswell are said to rather agree with him. There is quite a collection of sam- ples of roofing material gathered for the | Commissioners’ enlightenment. It is com- posed of sections of various kinds of sphaltum roofs, steel roofs, terra-cotia | ron;s, cement roofs, shingle roofs and slate roofs. The manufacturers have erected a minia- ture mansard roof after the design of the big roof to be constructed, and itisa very substantial affair, consisting of terra cotta laid on steel and covered with cement, in which the slabs of slate are imbedaed. It | is fireproof and waterproof. The steel roof has these qualities also, but is very expen- sive. ANEW CONVENT BUILDING. Sisters of Notre Dame Are Con- templating Extensive Im- provements. The College Was Founded in Early Days and Has Enjoyed a Suc- cessful Career. Out on Dolores street, opposite the his- | toric old mission church from which the | thoroughfare takes its name, and which was established when the bells of National independence were being rung for the first | net at the time when this declaration was: time in Philadelphia, the Sisters of Notre | 1= =) ) L) =1 (A1) B =) l;‘ = =) 1= m| (S == 1= o) 1= =l NEW NOTRE DAME CONVENT, DOLORES AND SIXTEENTH STREETS. [Sketched by a “Call™ artist.] made, and if any one will read his_speech on the Yucatan question he will see how utterly President Cleveland has perverted and misin- terpreted Mr. Monroe's message. The United States had about 7,000,000 people at that time, | and now has about 70,000,000, and no man outside of a lunatic asylum can believe that the occupation of this little strip of territory on the Orinoco by England can endanger the United States. 1 am utterly opposed to war with England, because if war comes ] am going to war for my country. These people Who are NOw most Joudly elamoring for war have not the least idea of fighting. but want to send somebody else todo the fighting. Secretary Olney’s dispatch to Lord Salisbury is utterly nonsensical. He tells Salisbury that Europeans, meaning of course Englishmen, are devoted to monarchial forms of govern- ment and that Americans are devoted to self-government, as if there was any inconsis- tency between a constitutional monarchy like England and his own government, or as if the English people were less devoted to self-gov- ernment than the American is to nis govern- ment. He also tells Salisbury that the days of the crusades are over. If Cleveland by his blundering succeeds in getting us into & war with Great Britain about a little strip of territory away down in South America, in which we have not the slightest interest, it will be the most ridiculous and Quixotic crusade that was ever undertaken; far more 8o than those that had for their ob- ject the recovery of the holy sepulcher. MR, MALPIN'S PET OAT, An Animal That Created Con- sternation in a Sixth-Street Saloon. Stung by Acid It Bucked Everything, Not Barring the Pro- prietor. “Do you want to see my ‘Kitty’ doing some gymnastics and other funny things, Mr. Greggains?” said Mr. McAlpin, who is the proud owner of an educated billy goat, a few evenings ago, as the pugilist and the goat-tamer were strolling along Sixth street in the direction of Market. Greggains is one of a class of men who have a desire at all times for sport of any kind, and as he had never seen a billy goat perform in a manner that would elicit praise from an appreciative spectator, he agreed to accompany his friend, McAl- pin, to a drinking resort on Sixth street, within close proximity of the engine-house, where the goat was temporarily domiciled. When the noted boxerand his companion arrived at Mr. Casey’s rendezvous for dry and weary pedestrians, there were a num- ber of firemen waiting for the performance which was delayed somewhat, owing to the late arrival of Mr. McAlpin, the owner and instructor of the trained animal. The goat manifested great joy the moment it heard the sweet and “musical voice of itsowner, and Pugilist Greggains acknowledged before he had seen the four- lezied animal put up its props, that Mr. McAlpin had in his possession a most wonderful beast to be sure. ‘While preliminaries were being arranged for the fierformsnce some practical joker called Mr. McAlpin’s attention to the street, and in the meantime some ruffian, who was richly entitled to severe punish- ment, procured a vial of acid, the contents of which he poured on the back of the poor animal. The goat immediately declared war. It dashed madly at everything in sight, and in a few seconds the saloon was cleared of its occupants excepting Mr. Casey, who made heroic attempts to save at least 8 portion of his furniture from Dame are about to erect a new college 1 building for girls. | The college of Notre Dame was founded in 1865. Additions have been made to the building from time to time, but the de- mands for more capacious accommoda- | tions have lately been so pressing that the sisters have found it necessary to erect a new building. The attendance now num- bers 250 pupils, including a large number of boarders. The contemplated improvements will be made 1n the near future. The new struc- ture will be four stories in height and will cover a large area. 1t will front on Dé- lores street, and extend from the present college to Seventeenth street. Plans for the new_ building have already been pre- vared. When completed it will be one of the finest convent buildings in the State. The sisters also expect to make many other improvementsduring the year. The playground, which already covers nearly half a block, will be extended and beau- tified. These grounds will extend arouna the entire building. Shrines are scattered around, and are surrounded by stretches of lawn, intersected] with graveled walks ;;Id set off with beas of flowers and shrub- Ty. ————— A Monkey’s Sugar. A tame monkey in India recently was given a lump of sugar inside a corked bot- tle. The mongey was of an inguiring na- ture, and it nearly killed him. Sometimes, in an impulse of ‘distress, he would throw the bottle away out of his own reach and then be distracted until it was given back to him. At other times he would sit with a countenance of the most intense dejec- tion, contemplating the bottled sugar, and then, as if pulling himself together for another effort at solution, would sternly take up the problem afresh and gaze into the bottle. He would tilt it up one way and try to drink the sugar out of the neck, and then, suddenly reversing it, try to catch it as it fell out at the bottor. Under the impres- sion that he could capture the sugar by surprise, he kept rasping his teeth against the glass in futile bites, and, warming to the pursuit of the revolving lump, used to tie himself into regular knots around the bottle. Fits of the most ludicrous mel- ancholy would alternate with spasms of delight as 8 new idea seemed to suggest itself, followed by a fresh series of experi- ments. & Nothing availed, however, until one day a light was shed upon the problem by a jar containing bananas falling from the tléle with a crash and the frait Tolling about in all directions. His monkeyship contem- plated the catastrophe and reasoned upon it_with the intelligence of a Humboldt. Lifting the bottle high in his claws he brought it down upon the floor with a tre- mendous noise, smashing the glass into fragments, after which he calmly trans- ferred the sugar to his mouth and munched it with muck satisfaction. ———— Mahone’s Thin Legs. The late General William Mahone of Virginia was 2 small man and excessively thin, and soma very good stories have been told about him. One cold December marn- ing in 1864 the general’s tent was pitched on a bleak hillside in Virginia. He was taking & morning nap when his negro body servant, Uncle Davy, in tiptoeing about the tent, stumbled and fellon the cot, tumbling the little general out. Springing up; the furious officer snatched his saber and gave chase to the flying darky. Davy jumped a fence; then; feel- ng somewhat secure, looked back at his master, whose remarkably slender, naked legs were shaking with coid, and shouted: ood Lawd, Massa William, you ain’t trustin’ yo'se’f in dis yer wind on. dem legs, is you?’—New York Mail and Ex- press. DANGEROUS TO NAVIGATION the Accumulated Debris in Canyons of the Sierra Nevadas. IMPOUNDING DAMS NECESSARY Bill Prepared by Miners’ Association to Appropriate a Million for the Work. Besides the bill for presentation to Con- gress intended to settle the land contro- versy existing between the railroads and the Miners’ Association of this State, which Tirey L, Ford will carry to Wash- ington next month, he will take a bill which, although it is intended directly to protect the navigable streamsof Califor- nia, incidentally will result in vast benefit to this State’s mining industry. It is entitled “a bill to appropriate money for the construction of works to impound mining debris and thereby to protect the navigable streams of Califor- nia.”’ There isa provision made in the bill for an approoriation of $1,030,000 by Congress, which shall be immediately available and shall be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War, in ae- cordance with the recommendations of the California Debris Commission, ap- pointed under the Caminetti act ot 1893, passed by our State Legislature. The Caminetti act provided for the cre- ation of a commission composed of three members of the Engineer Corps of the United States army. It mentioned the con- struction of impounding dams and set- tling reservoirs by the Government and contemplated only an_ appropriation of money for the construction of these works, but contained no definite provision for such appropriation. Under its provisions an individual mine-owner or mining cor- oration is obliged to submit a petition for Eydrnulic mining privilege, and, when granted, pay for the construction of im- pounding dams. The present bill eliminates the necessity of this personal expense on the part of the miner ana requires that he pay but a per cent per annum tax of his yearly output for the use of the dam or reservoir. ‘When the Caminetti act was passed the State Legislature passed a bill in con- junction with it, providing for a State ap- propriation of $250,000 for the construction of works protective of California streams and tributaries, but this sum was not to be available until the United States Govern- ment appropriated an equal amount for the same purpose. The present bill is thus sngglememnl to the Caminetti law and if passed will unlock the State appropriation of 1893. “The lower canyons of the Sierra Ne- | vadas,” said Mr. Ford,*‘have for years been gradually filling ug with debris caused by natural erosion and mining. It needs only a flooc slightly larger than usual to sweep this out into the navigable rivers. The condition of these canyons is a great men- | ace to river commerce. | “The bill prepared to meet the emer- | gency of the situation provides that large impounding dams shall be constructed along the lower approaches to these can- ons to protect the navigable streams be- | {ow from an inpouring of the debris. After these protections are built, then the | miners will petition to mine by hydraulic | methods, and if the Commissioners con- sider the dams large enough and strong enough to report favorably on such a pe- tition, the miner who could not afford to build an impounding dam himself will be enabled to work his claim by payinga 3 per cent tax on his yearly output of gold. “If such a bill were passed, besides the vast advantage that would accrue to the commercial value of the rivers the gold- mining industry would again assume the proportions which existea before the abolition of promiscuous hydraulic mining. “0Old, deserted towns will be resettled, and California’s yearly production of gold will be increased at least $6,000,000. “I go to Washington,”” he added, “sim- ply to aid the California delegation to Con- gress and to answer all questions in re- gard to this matter.” Sorp for storage. Books of all kinds. Must close them out. Open evenings. 747 Market street. x NEW TO-DAY. DOANE & HENSHELWOOD Have Just Opened for the HOLIDAY TRADE A Cholcs Selection of the fol- lowing Articles : Foster Gloves, Fancy Silks, Street Gloves, Brocade Silks, Handkerchiefs, Dress Goods, Neckwear, Faney Linens, Lace Scarfs, Silk Blankets, Feather Boas, Silk Umbrellas, Silk Hosiery, Eiderdown Quilts, lLeather Goods, Blankets, Silk Skirts, Rain Coats. The above goods are specially adapted for Useful Gifts and the as- | Toys sortment is complete. AGENTS DR. JAEGER'S SANITARY WOOLEN UNDERWEAR For Men, Women and Children. 182 Kearny 8t., Cor. Sutter. OPEN EVENINGS. CATARRH is LOCAL DISEASE BRGNS and is the resuit of colds d sudden climatic es. Te! “which 1s spplied di- rectly into the nostrils. Be- 1ng quickly absorbed it gives at onoe. ELV'S CREAN BAL Is acknowledged to be the most thorough cure Nasal Cmm.'flcola in Head and Hay l-‘lverof -I: remedies. Itopens and cleansesthe nasal passages, allays E‘In and inflammation, heals the ucu” e membrane {rom colds. rest ot of taste and smell. Price 50c. at ¥ BROTHERS, 06 Warren street, New York. NEW TO-DAY. From the terrors of Grippe, Rheumatism, and ailments caused by Wet and Damp Feet. NOVA SCOTIA SEAL SHOES, Absolutely Waterproof. See that every pair you buy is stampe ed with the name of the makers, BUCKINGHAM & HECHT. MEN’S (ork Sole. . ....$5.00 LADIES’ No Cork Sole. . $3.50 BOYS’. .$3.00 YOUTHS'...........$2.50 MISSES'............51.75 ‘We fill out-of-town orders the day re- celved. Kast’s 738-=740 Market Street CLEARANCE SALE of DYS] AND ALL HOLIDAY G00DS §0¢c=o~ Tr=-§1,00 BUY EARLY AND GET - - - - - = - - - BEST CHOICE Wagons Velocipedes Doll Buggics Blocks Hobby Horses Pieture Books Xmas Tree Ornamenis ~——Making Room for Qur— Tinware and Huniehuld Department. VAN NESS BAZAAR, PERNAU BROS. & PITTS CO., 1808 MARKET ST. CERTIFIED =AS— THE BEST The Hoftaling J. H Cutter KENTUCKY WHISKIES. CHARLES A. OGDEN, one of our lead- ing analytical chemists, writes as follows to the firm of A. P. Hotaling & Co.: bave cerefully examined by samples of your J. H. Cutter Kentucky Whiskies, purchased in open market, and find therein no’ deleterious ingredient whats @ver—no fusel oil, no miveral acids, nor vegetable drugs. The whiskies are absolutely pure, and for this reason they ars of greater MISDICINAL EFFICACY than 8oy of the alleged pure Ameri- can Whiskies sold in this City. Dolls Games The J. H. CUTTER brand of Kentucky ‘Whisky for sale by A. P.HOTALING & CO., WINE AND SPIRIT MERCHANTS, 429 to 437 JACKSON STREET, San Francisco, Cal. ., DON'T PAY o $30 or you' examine DE. PIERCE'S. Has current x;guh(or and all latest im- vemenis. Pamphles free. Callor address . PIERC! & S Ros Franciseo. Cala Sacramento street, San