The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 13, 1896, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSPAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1896. CHARLES M. SHORTRIDGE, Editor and Propflefia:- N RATES—Postage Free: | AL, one week, by carrler. .§0.15 BUSINESS OFFICE: 710 Market Street, San Francisco, California. 1 Felphtne. ... g e Main—1868 | EDITORIAL ROOMS: 517 Clay Street. ...Maln—1874 | BRANCH OFFICES: 530 Montgumery sireet, comer Cla: open untl | Telepbone... 9:30 o'clock. 3839 Hayes street; open w o'clock. 718 Larkin street: open u o'clock. £W. corner Sixteenth and Mission streets; open entil 9 o'clock. 2518 Mission street: open until 9 o'ciock. 116 Minth street; open until 9 0'ciock. OAKLAND OFFICE § 808 Broadway. EASTERN OFFICE: Rooms 81 and 32, 34 Park Row, New York City. DAVID M. FOLTZ, Special Agent. FEBRUARY 13, 1896 | THE CALL SPEAKS FOR ALL. e i e i . Get your valentines read, The young leap year has a chance to be frisky to-morrow. By this time Huntington has ceased to expect a refunding biil as a valentine this year. It is very seldom that American jokes are poor, but the comic valentine is cer- tainly not rich. The Senate has at last done something | that may be expected to grow. It has passed a free-seed bill. The cannon-makers and powder manu- | facturers bave formed a trust and a new | terror has been added to war. | st i | Senator Dodge says that political patron- age is nn-American, but why, then, does the average American call it pie? It seems the anti-funding resolution never reached the Governor, but there can be no doubt it reached Mr. Huntington. Hunter has made a great fight for the senatorship in Kentucky, but the time has now come for him to quit and go fishing. The success of the San Joaquin road in getting a right of way through Fresno is not a viciory over the city but for the city. Senator Vest seems to have settled down to the roasting of Secretary Morton as a steady job und keeps up the fire évery day. Salisbury talked of peace, but all the same he told Parliament he would ask for an increased expenditure in preparing for war. The Queen’s speech does not use as many words to conceal thought as one of Cleve- land’s messages, but it conceals 1t just the | same. The debate in Parliament on the Vene- zuelan question was as agreeable as a love | feast, so it seems Uncle Sam is a great harmonizer. The burning of sugar plantations by the Cuban insurgents looks a good deal like cutting off the nose of Cuba to spite the face of Spain. When the Senate proceeds to elect a doorkeeper it would not be a bad plan to attach a silver bill to him and thus shut the gold men out. Some people are still discussing whether & woman ought to ride a bicycle, but we do not hear any one suggesting ‘the pos- sibility of stopping her. Fdison should hurry up his machine for photographing the brain, as it will come in bandy in making pictures of Congres- sional candidates this fall. Chinese new year threatens to collide with St. Valentine’s day this year, but the good saint is not afraid of firecrackers and will bring out his sparks as usual. — / After all it hardly needs a resolution of the Legislature to speak for California on the refunding scheme, for on that ques- tion the people are speaking for .them- selves. . The omission from the records of the anti-funding resolutions passed by the last Legislature may have been an acci- dent, but 1t was the monopoly ax that was ground. It is worth noting that the burglars who broke into the house of Governor Mat- thews of Indiana stole the cold meatin the pantry, but never thought it worth while to take his Presidential boom. In these revivine times a revival of the festival of St. Valentine would not bea bad idea, and the date falls, moreover, ata season propitious for San Francisco to have a frolic and invite the youth of the world to come In and dance. The New York Sun says the chief issue in the coming campaign will be neither the tariff nor the silver question, but a de- mand for a patriot President, and, of course, in that case the third-term move- ment might as well get out of the race. The fact that the League of American ‘Wheelmen increased in membership éver 13,000 last year shows how rapidly the use of the bicycle is growing and inclines to the belief that the time is coming when cyele tracks along the main streets of a city will be as necessary as car tracks. There is a chance to add a fine adorn- ment to the City in the new building to be erected on the site of the old City Hall, and thereis a prospect moreover that the chance wiil not be lost, for we have good architects and. some of the designs sub- mitted offer us a building that we could be proud of. It is not surprising to learn that the un- sanitary condition of the San Bruno road district is due to the fact that the Southern Pacific Company has built up sn embank- ment that interferes with the flow of the tide and forms a dumping-ground for ref- use. In fact, wherever anything is wrong in 8an Fraucisco it is nearly-always found that the monopoly is back of it. In noting the source of an extract, the New York Literary Digest puts the politi- cal status of one of our morning contem- poraries in this curious way: “The Chron- tcle (Ind.), San Francisco, M. H. de Young (Rep.), editor and publisher.” This kind of distinction between the politics of an editor and that of his paper is unusual, and moreover in this case is peculiar. | Venezuelan atfair as wholly settled. | arbitration of everything in sight. | is no danger of war, but there 1s a good THE BRITISH VIEW.. To the American people the most inter- esting portions of the debatein Parliament on the Queen’s speech are naturally enough those relating to tlie Venezuelan contro- versy and the partthe United States has played in it. It is pleasing to note more- over that by no one was our interfer- ence denounced. Both the Government and the opposition speakers frankly de- clared their ‘willingness to have our Gov- ernment assist in the settlement of the long-protracted dispute, and even Lord Salisbury said it was as natural for the TUnited States to take an interest in the affairs of Venezuela as for England to be interested in those of Holland and Bel- gium. Through the debates both in the Lords and the Commons, however, there runs | the suggestion of an idea quite different | from that which the American people have on the subject. This appears quite clearly when comparing the speech made by Rosebery or Balfour in Parliament with that made by Blanchard in Congress on the same day. The American Senator saw in the affair no more than a warning to European nations that they could not commit aggressions on American soil, but Rosebery claimed to see in it a guarantee on the part of the United States of the permanence of any settlement that might be arrived at, while Balfour declared amid cheers that as a result of our mediation and their acceptance *‘a permanent guar- antee of the good will of an English- speaking people will have been cbtained for all time,” From areading of the whole debate 1t ap- pears that most British statesmen think we are going to arbitrate South American af- fairswith them; thatwe will undertake the settlement of the whole dispute with Vene- zuela and will guarantee that Venezuela shall conform to whatéver is decided. Now, as a matter of fact, we propose sim- ply to draw a boundary line and to de- clare where British Guiana ends and Vene- zuela begins, Only one speaker in Parlia- ment seems to have had a clear idea of the true condition of affairs, and that naturally enough was Lord Salisbury. That astute old statesman did not gush over umestricted arbitration like the younger speakers ground him. He de- clared himself opposed to any arbitration that might hand over 40,000 British sub- jects to Venezuela, and favored what he called a “policy of arbitration and nego- tiation combined.”” It will be seen that while we derive sat- isfaction from the glowing professions of friendship on the part of so many parlia- mentary orators, we must not regard the The British have got to learn that we are not offering them an alliance nor favoring the There deal of negotiation to be carried on yet between England and Venezuela, while our task consists simply in drawing a line and saying to the British, Thus far shalt thoil go and no farther. SIDEWALKS T00 WIDE. The cheerfulness with which the prop- erty-owners along Lombard street agreed | to the proposition to reduce the width of the walks in order to widen the driveway in its establishment as a boulevard is ex- plained by a petition which the resigents of the Richmond district have filed with the Board of Supervisors for the reduction of the width of the walks on certain streets in that section, and both of these incidents are sufficient to call attention to the general fact that the sidewalks in the newer parts of the City are entirely too wide. That is to say, the sidewalks are too wide in proportion to the width of the driveway. A street seventy feet wide, for instance, will have fifteen-foot sidewalks, leaving forty feet for the driveway and giving thirty to the sidewalks. In some cases even a greater proportion goes to the sidewalks. The question of convenience is the only one that can rationally be considered in this matter. On Montgomery or Kearny street, where at certain times of the day the walks are pretty well filled, it' would be reasonable to have walks fifteen feet wide, but in the residence parts of the City such a provision is absurd. The system under which our streets were laid out seems utterly to have ignored the pos- sible advent of streetcar lines, which necessarily take considerable space that otherwise might be used by wagons, thus greatly reducing the usable width of the driveway without affecting that of the sidewalk, It is far more essential to have abundant free room in the driveway than on the walks, for human beings run no risks of collisions or blockades, Again streets in San Francisco, by reason of the wretched methods of paving which are prevalent, are frequently torn up for repairs while walks are not, and this fact serves further to embarrass vehicular traffic. Most of the sidewalks in the residence parts of town are nearly twice as wide as they should be in order for the streets to subserve their highest usefulness, and the improvement clubs which are aiming to upbuild the various sections in which they work might give profitable heed to the subject. Of course there is hardly need to call attention to the matter of cost in con- structing sidewalks. - The case of Lombard street illustrates the whole subject. The property-owners, recognizing the fact that the making of their street into a boulevard would in- crease travel and thus make a wider drive- way necessary, cheerfully agreed to a proposition that would benefit their prop- erty and increase the carrving capacity of the street. That is the entire subject in small compass. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE. The San Jose Herald, in an able analysis of the hydraulic mining problem, while recognizing the principle of restraining dams as a feasible engineering achieve- ment, takes the ground that Government assistance in their construction would not be good policy, and that argumentsin sup- port of such assistance “ignore co nstitu- tional limitations and sound political science.” Forinstance, it asserts that while the output froma year’s crop of hen &’ eggs is twice as great as that from hydraulic mining this furnishes no reason for the construction of chicken-coops by the Goy- ernment. ‘We had supposed that a very important function of Government is a reasonable encouragement of important industries af- fecting the welfare of the whole couniry, provided such emcouragement s necessary. It is upon that principle that the Republi- can idea of protective tariff is founded. Hydraulic ‘mining and hens’ eggs are hardly parallel cases, for mining by the bydraulic process has been actually pro- hibited by legislation, except under very burdensome conditions — conditions so burdensome as practically to make the prosecution of the industry impossible in the absence of Government assistance. That is not the case with hens’ eggs. Even though, as our contemporary de- «clares, a rehabilitation of hydraulic min- ing by means of Government assistance might, under our present single-standard financial policy, result in the outflow to Europe of the gold which we might pro- duce, the wealth represented by the pro- duction would not be destroyed or de- ported. Whether we sent the product to Europe as gold or any other commodity of value equal to it we would receive an equivalent in return. Hydraulic mining is desired as much for its wealth-produc- ing as its gold-producing results. If it is the duty of the Government to open interior waterways for traffic—as, for instance, the rivers of Califernia that might be made navigable by the employ- ment of Government funds in their open- ing—and thus establish better facilities for the profitable conduct of agriculture, it is equally its duty to make appropria- tions for the development of hydraulic mining. The farmers in the valley of the Sacramento cannot consistently support one proposition to the exclusion of the other. We understand their contention to be not that Government assistance of hydraulic mining is wrong in the aspect of governmental fostering of an important industry, but that the engineering difficul- culties in the way are insurmountable; that restraining dams are a physical im- possibility. This question must of course ve left to the decision of competent en- gineers, and that decision has been already given to the effect that there is nothing in the probiem of impounding dams that rénders them either impossible, imprac- ticable or uneconomical. A MARE'S NEST. Our highly esteemed contemporary, the Chronicle; thinks that in the recent state- ment of Mr. Maguire concerning the inter- est of the Goulds and Vanderbilts in the fight against the refunding scheme it has discovered evidences of a conspiracy in the interests of the monopoly. This conspir- acy it calls a “Vanderbilt-Huntington- Hoke Smith-Thurston combination,” and argues that everybody who is opposed to Government ownership and operation of the roads is playing into the hands of the conspirators and either intentionally or ignorantly is betraying the real interests | of the people. The opinion of the Chronicle is worthy of passing consideration. It is a familiar proverb that ‘lookers-on see most of the game,” and certainly in this affair the Chronicle has been a looker-on. It has taken no part in the fight. We are con- vinced, however, that despite the wisdom of the old proverb any one who gives the subject the consideration it merits will arrive at the conclusion that our contemporary is mistaken. There is no conspiracy in sight. That both the Goulds and the Vanderbilts should desire to ex- tend tleir railway systems across the con- tinent is natural, and it is certain that if either of them should succeed in doing so we should thén have a transcontinental line in competition with the Southern Pa- cifie. As for the assertion that those who are opposing Government ownership and oper- ation of the railroads are “defying the wishes of the people and working in the interest of Vanderbilt, Gould and Hunt- ington for fun,” it is hardly eredible that any large number of people should believe it, even in the class that never stops to think. To defeat the refunding scheme and to provide for the operation of the Pacific roads by the Government are two different propositions. Many who dis- agree on the latter are united on the former, and it is because of that union that we have now such good prospects of defeat- ing the Huntington scheme and obtaining at least a competing line. i The proposal to foreclose the mortgages on the roads without undertaking Govern- ment ownership is not a new one. In the report of the Pattison committee of 1886, it is said: ““Ihere is only one course open to Con- gress and that is the immediate winding up of the affairs of all the companies, en- abling the Government to withdraw at once from all connection with the running of railroads, or sharing in the profits of their management. There ought to be an end to the partnership between the Gov- ernment and the Pacific railroads; a speedy and absolute divorce.” This “‘speedy and absolute divorce” of the Government from the railroads is what many people desire to see, and they will be surprised to learn they are sus- pected of “working in the interests of a conspiracy.” We see no danger ahead in the desire of the Vanderbilts and Goulds to get control of the roads, They are well able to bid against one another, and if either should win we shall obtain posses- sion of a competing line. Moreover, we would have the satisfaction of knowing the Government had not compounded a fraud, but had‘enforced the law acainst a rich and powerful corporation exactly as it would bave enforced it against the poorest citizen. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. SEE PENSACOLA—S., Santa Monica, Cal. The navy- yard at Pensacola, Fia., is still maintained by the-Navy Department. William H. Whiting is the commandant, whose rank is commander. HoMESTEAD RIGHTS—J. J. L., Redding, Cal. In this State children have no rights in a piece of property that was declared a homestead by their parents while the parents are living, » SHAKERS—A. 0. 8., Sacramento, Cal. A few months ago the preliminary steps in the mat- ter of organizing a society of Shakers were taken in San Francisco and there the matter rested. HIGHEST POINT—G. H., City. The highest part of Clay-street hill is not the highest point in San Francisco. The altitude there, Clay end Jones streets, is 355 feet. The highest point is Twin Peaks, 905 feet above base. NAVAL RENDEZVOUS—S,, City. There1s a naval rendezvous at 20 Ellis street in this City where men between the ages of 21 and 35 can enlist as marines. Those who wish to ship as able- bodied seamen must make application on board the Adams at Folsom-street whars. RAY PALMER—. P. 8, City. Ray Palmer isa native of the United States. At present he does not preside over any congregation. For many f',;en.l-zu he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Stockton. A few months ago he, o}x‘limannt of his health, resigned the pastor- ship. MaRE IsLAND—J. T. B, City. Edward A. von Schmidt, now of Mare Island, writes as follows in regard to the naming of that island: It was my pleasure to hear the late William T. Sherman, who was a pioneer, and 1ike the writer & member of the Society of Callfornia Pioneers, say that Mare Island was named from the unusual fact that a band of wild horses found there was led by & very large and_handsome white mars nstead of by one of the other sex, as is usually the case, ASSESSMENT WORK=-A. H. H., Empire mine, Coulterville, Cal. The law requires the amount of assessment work to be performed yearly upon each u‘pnnu claim. If two men own joining claims and they should decide to Tun a tunnel from one claim 1o tie other, and in pursuance of such an agreement one should perform twice the amount of assessment work on one claim alone, that would not protect the adjoining one. FonteNoy—S,, Santa Monics, Cal. What is known in history as the battle of Fontenoy was fought near that village, in the province of Hainault, Belgium, on the 11th of l(lg. 1745. The contending forces were the French, num- bering about 60,000, under command of Marshal Saxe, and the allies, in equal number, commanded by the Duke of Cumberland. The allies were English, Hanoverians and Dutch, and after a hard stru; were defeated by the French after & loss of 15,000 men. It is re- ported tha: it was at this battle, as it was in progress, Louls XV asked Saxe if the enemy had been repulsed, dnd that the Marshal mede Teply, ".{lol yet, my u.qe; the gIrish troops AROUND THE CORRIDORS. Ex-Senator John C. Spooner of Wisconsin left for Los Angeles yesterday and will prob- Ably not return to San’ Franeisco again. ~After doing Los Angeles, Pasddena and other points he will go to San Diego and Coronado. The ex-Senator is & peculiar-looking man., From his reputation’ one wonid suppose him ebout six and a half feet high, with the stride of & giant and a will something like a lion. This is the idea common among those who have xnown him only by reputation, firstas an able lawyerand afterward as & United States Senator. - Instead of this, however, he seems little over five feet and a hali in height. His 16-year-old son with him overtops him by two or three inches. The ex-Senator wears his hair long, hunting 52 days; to calls on allied Princes in Austria, 8weden, England, Oldenburg, Fried- richrube, Weimar, Szehlen, Darmstadt and Carlsruhe, 38 days, and to military maneuvers 28 days. Days unaccounted for were spent in various cities and palaces of the empire. General John M, Schofield is visiting Florids for the first time since early in the fifties, where he went as & lleutenant just from West Point to ‘regulate the Seminoles. His special chum in those days was A, P. Hill, then a lieu- tenaut in the same company, afterward the famous Confederate general. It was in tha house of Hill's father at Culpepper, Va., that General Schofield drank his first mint julep. The Empress of Austria was 58 on December 24. She has changed very much of iate years from the dashing sportswoman who used to Ex-Senator John C. Spooner of Wisconsin as He Appeared at the Palace Yesterday. [Sketched from life by a “Call” artist.] and as it i8 thick and fluffy he looks from a rear view not unlike a Stanford or Berkeley student. Another weakness of the Wisconsin orator is & Willey-boy coat, so ample as to length that it almost trails the floor. He stood in the corri- dors of the Palace, his wife and chiidren about him, last evening, preparatory to taking the south-bound train, and said good-by to several old Wisconsin friends. The Madison statesman is not in very good health, and therefore is taking particular care of himself. He looks to be a little over 50 years old. MY SHADOW. I have a little shadow that goes in and out with And what can be the use of him is mors than I can He is very, very like me from the heels up to the 4201 4055 jump before me when I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him is the way he likes 0 grow— Not’ at_ali like proper children, which s always b ory slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller, like an India rubber ball, And he sometimes gets 80 little that there's none of him at all. One morning, very early, before the snn was up, Lrose and found the shining dew on every butter- cup: But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy- ead, Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, NEW FLAG FOR NEW YORK, \ The Committee on Ways and Means of the New York Assembly has decided to report fa- vorably the bill for a new emblem of the Em- pire State. The coloring of the new flag, as the expert designs show it, is an orange red, with the coat R Empire State Flag. of arms of the State in the center. It will be the same flag in detail as the Ainerican patriots carried in the wars of 1776 and 1812, and will be the first historically correct emblem the State has ever had. The 1dea of perfecting the flag as it should be is the inspiration of Colonel Asa Bird Gard- zx;e;,alc%mmnnd-m of the Society of the War PARAGRAPHS ABOUT PEOPLE. Prince Edward of York, being now a year and e half 0ld, is tq be reproduced in a life-size marble statue. = Mrs. McKee will go to Indianapolis in a short time to superintend the refurnishing of ex- President Harrison’s house. Count Leo Henckel von Donnersmarck, who recently died in Germany, was said to be the last descendant of the Goethe family. “‘Trilby” has been translated into Russian and the craze is on in Moscow. The name of the translator is Teminoff, and Katia stands for Trilby in Russian. C. E. Dillon, the instructor in sculpture at the Drexel Institute, Philadelphia, has com- pleted the statue of Sir Isaac Newton, which is to be placed in the rotunda of the new Con- gressional Library at Washington. It appears that Mark. Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) is the author of the “Personal Recol- lections of Joan of Arc,” appearing in Harper's Monthly. Sosays volume VIof the ‘“National lehel?edin of American Biography,” just pub- ished. Kaiser Wilhelm was out of Berlin and Pots- idam for 159 days last year. He ~devoted to / huntlike a man. Her health has been much affected, and she spends most of her time moy- ing from place to place in the hope that change may do her good. She travels a good deal in her yacht, which is appropriately named the Wanderer, and sails ceaselessly up and down the Adriatic from Trieste to her island palace at Corfu. PERSONAL. Dr. C. B. Provins of Illinois is at the Russ. Alired Hanford of Idaho is at the California. Dr. H. W. Emerson of Centerville is in town. Judge O. H. Hope of Santa Rosa is at the Russ. & W.D. Toby of Carson, Nev., arrived here yes- teraay. W. G. Harding of London, Eng., is at the Pelace. Oswald Kunhardt of Mexico City arrived here yesterday. F. A. Cruse, & business man of Healdsburg, is at the Russ. T. B. Neal, a business man of Gilroy, arrived here yesterday. C. Cranz, long a resident of Guaymas, Mex- ico, is at the Lick. Charles W. Strine of Sousa’s band, New York, is at the Baldwin. Charles Barclay, a wholesale grocer of Phila- delphia, is in town. A. E. Gruhler, a wealthy brewer of Sacra- mento, is at the Grand. Casimiro Barela, a business man of Trinidad, Colo., is at the Baldwin. F. A. Alderman, the fruit-raiser of Santa Clara, is at the Cosmopolitan. George F. Kleinberger, a woolen manufac. turer of New York, is in town. Fred Tristan, » mining man of Cripple Creek, is staying at the Cosmopolitan. F. W. Kincaid, & wealthy merchant of Utica, XN. Y., whois here for pleasure, is at the Palace. R. S. Lopez, Minister from San Salvador to Mexico, was among the arrivals here by the Zealandia. He is at the Occidental. T. B. Kay, one of the Councilmen of Salem, Or., and one of the owners of the extensive woolen-mills in that city, is at the Russ, Wolf Rosenberg, a wealthy merchant of Healdsbiirg, who owns one of the largest ary- 8oods stores in Sonoma County, is at the Russ. Dr. C.E. Case, a prominent surgeon of Ta- coma, is in this City for the purpose of visiting the polyclinic at the State University, He is accompanied by his wife. _D. L. Whitney of New York, who formerly h\'%d at Downieville and was a member of the California Legislature from there. has arrived here on the way to Downieville, wnich he Wants {0 see again after the years that have in- tervened since the excitement in gold mining. E. Myron Wolf, secretary of the State Bureau of Highways, is down from Sacramento, to be present at the preliminary good roads meet- ing to be held this evening at the Bay City Wheelmen's Club. He says all the important clubs interested in better highways will be Tepresented at thié meeting, but it is prelim- inary to a grand meeting to be held in this City about March 4 next, William E. Hazeltine, cashier of the Bank of Arizona, at Prescott, is at the Grand. He has for three weeks past been enjoying a vacation Wwith friends at Livermore. Mr, Hazeltine esti- mates the population of all Arizona at little more than 50,000. “You can ride miles and miles either by stage or rail,” he said, “and never see & man, nor_a solitary thing that in- dicates his work, except the road you are on.” He says the thought of this tends to retard local advertising. The people are not there to reach. C. W. Booth of New York, who represents an English business house and who was here a year ago, when his acquaintances, Tom Mul- Yaney, the rich New Yorker, and his wife and T. M. Valentine, created such a sensation at the Palace and Grand hoteis, says Mrs. Mulya- ney has obtained a divorce in New York and is now somewhere on the Pacific Coast again. As for Valentine, he appears to have dropped out of the comb:nation, as Mrs. Mulvaney has. Mrs. Mulyaney at that time, as will be remem- bered, left Sait Lake with Valentine and went to El Paso. There they were arrested and brought back to Salt Lake, when the lawyers in whose clutches they had fallen literally skinned them and then turned theém loose. The queer trio then came to this City. Mr, Booth has long known all of them. The German Emperor, it is said, is fonder of Shakespeare than of any other suthor, MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Varri Stefanski, a young New York pianist, has made a greatsuccess in Paris. Stefanski is & nom de guerre, suggested by Nikita, the young pianist’s real name being Ward Ste- vhens. His success was a surprise, as for the last few years he has modestly avoided all drawing-room povpularity and has passed his time in quietly preparing himself for his debut. The Musical Courier says: “On Monday even- ing he mounted the stage an untried and unknown pianist. Tuesday's Figaro, Gaulois, Monde Musical and New York Herald announce the immense success of an American pianist, whose appearance had already placed him high on the roed to fame. One hears mnch nowadays of temperament and sympnthet{c personality. Perhaps not a little of Stefanski's success is dpe to. these attributes. Poetry of sentiment, refinement and delicacy of concep- tion are salient characteristics of the young man’s playing. No one seems to know whether he anticipates an American debut in the near future. I hope.so, and it surely will not be & case of the prophet in his own land.” Varri Stefanski was ‘‘discovered,” so to speak, by William Sherwood some years &20. The boy, who was passionately fond of music, had no idea of making it his career, but he went by chance into Chickering Hall one day and heard Sherwood was in the building. Fol- lowing a sudden impulse he ascended to the artist’s studio and ingeniously introduced himself, saying, ‘‘Some one told me you were here, Mr. Sherwood, and I have come {0 beg you to play for me.” Sherwood langhed in open amusement, and suggested thathis vis- itor set the . ball rolling. “I studied lheymn’f;' for & time, but I have given it up entirely, said Stephens. After some demurring he seated himself at the piano and began & Chopin nocturne. “Young man, you are making the mistake of your life in not devoting yourself to an artistic career; with your talent it is wrong,” said Sherwood after hearing his vis- itor play. It was this advice which caused Stephens to study seriously, and the result has justified Sherwood’s prediction. A feeling of profound horror tinged_wuh pity has been aroused in Wagnerian circles, by the conduct of the dilettanti of Rome. At the Argentina Theater they are playing the “Valkyrie,” as much in the Bayreuth style as possible, and this includes darkness in the suditorium while the opera is in progress. A number of the subscribers have addressed a letter to the papers expressing & strong desire toputan end to this obscurity. These phil- istines claim “that, according to the laws of nature, darkness far from awakening the in- telligence tends to lull it to sleep.” They de- mand with instance ‘“un po’di luce” (a little light). But even the sacrilegious request of the Argentina subscribers pales ‘beside the conduct of the students of the University of Turin, who are preparing a parody on the poem and music of “The Dusk of the Gods.” The horror of the thing is arousing indignant editorial comment in the French papérs; and yet there was-a time—but the Parisiansdo not like to be reminded that there ever was & time when they did not bow the knee before Wagner. An incidant considere= to be without prece- dent in Berlin happened at the last royal chapel concert. The entertainment was di- rected by the first violin, Herr Halir, and al- though everything went off in the most satis- factory menner, the subscribers and the pub- lic generally have expressed great indigna- tion at being subjected to the conducting ‘of so little a man. The incident happened in this wise: Weingartner, the chef d’orchestre, had hurt his hand and could not hold the baton; Sucher, his understudy, was suffering from an attack of la grippe; and Muck, the third chef d’orchestre, had obtained leave of absence to direct & concert at Budadest. The two con- ductors for minor operas and the ballet dared not risk the enterprise, and the first violin courageously offered himself. Young Hofman is beginuing o reap Pader- ewski-like crops of gold in Russia for his pianoforte recitals. At a recent concert given in St. Petersburg the young pianist gave the net proceeds, amouuting to'the sum of $1500, to perform Rossini’s solemn mass with the best Iyric talent procurable in Italy. Luigi of Sayoy bas signified his inten- fl:x:“;?utefin‘ding the farewell concertto be given to-night by Signorina Carolina Beschie}d in the Maple Hall of the Palace Hotel. No doubt the Italian colony will pe present in great force, as Miss Beschieri is very popular among her compatriots. She has sung as prima donna essoluta on more than one occa- sion with the Italian Philharmonic Societ)", always winning warm applause. To-morrow’s concert will be her farewell appearance in this City. Miss Beschieri will be assisted by David Manlloyd, G. Almagia, Mrs. Flora Peterman, vocalists; Miss Madeline Bechhusen, violinist; G. Martinez and Emil Cruells, accompanists, and by the Alhambra Bandurria and Mandolin Clnb, directed by Professor Jose Sancho. n Levi, the celebrated Wagnerian coiei::t:;, who has been suffering for months from an attack of the nerves, bordering on in- sanity, has been obliged to obtain an indefinito leave of absence from the Munich Opera-house, It is also announced that he will notgo to Bayreuth at all during the coming summer, Johann Strauss has just finished & ng’w opers comique, “The Witch of Scharfenberg. i ————— HUMOR OF THE HOUR. Violinist (proudly)—The instrument I shall use.at your house to-morrow evening, my desr str, is over 200 years old. Parvenu—Oh, never mind that. It is good enough; no one will know the difference.—Tit Bits. “Why,” thundered the editor, “do you intro duce such impossible situations?. Here, for instance, you say a woman was comfortably, but not stylishly dressed. How absurd.” And art, thus made conscious of its error, departed with diminished head.—Detroit Tribs une. iterary criticism is a droll affair.” «Isn’t 1t? The critics say the English lsue reateship is & mean, low-down job, and then decide that Alfred Austin isn’t good enough for it."—Louisville Couner-Journal. Uncle Hays—Member the Hawkins boys who ran eway to jine a theater company? Aunt Marthy—Why, yes! What about em? Unele Hays (quietly)—They’ve walked back.— Cincinnati Enquirer. Jn-old times- barbers used to pull teeth and bleed people. Naw they talk them to death.— Bodie Exchange. “You told me you and Harry loved at sight.” “Yes, but we quarreled on acquaintance.”— New York Truth, VIEWS OF WESTERN EDITORS. Nothing Superfluous. Astoria News. There are no strings on the new woman. It’s Ducks for Cleveland. Los Angeles Times. 1f the President can bag ducks with the same facility that he can plunge the country into debt he is simply a corker. Protect Farm Products. Stockton Graphic. 1f the United States Government would de- vote a little more time to securing advantages for that great source of prosperity to our coun- try, agriculture, men who are now idle, it mat- ters not what their calling may be, could get employment at a living rate of wages. The Government fosters and protects the mant- facturer, and the growers of iarm staples are left to compete with the pauper labor all Christendom. But One California. Stockton Independent. While the people of much of the East are suffering from the second or “ground hog” half of the winter, people in the reeion of Stockton are making their gardens or remak- ing them. Potato vines are ten inches high and the shade trees seem about to burst into leaf, so thick and heavy are the leaf-buds. Only a few hours’ ride from where almonds are in bloom, near Sacramento, people are Varri Stefanski, Alias Ward Stephens, the New York Pianist Who Has Captured Paris. [Reproduced from the Song Journal.] to the Rubinstein fund in ordei to show his veneration for his late master. The well-known Viennese composer and bandmaster, Charles Komzak, is leaving the Austrian army, where he is very popular, in order to dedicate himself to composition. His colleagues recently organized a farewell enter- tainment in Vienna, at which the military music of four different regiments, in nearly all 800 musicians, performed Komzak’s compo- sitions. The execution was irreproachable, although the musicians pf the different regi- ments had never played together before. The Viennesse press remarks that the ancient repu- tation of Austrian military music is as much merited to-day as in former times, The Theatre Royal of Turin will shortly produce & mnew lyric drama en- titled “Sawitri,” by Canti. Frau d’Ehren- stein of the Imperial Opera at Vienna has been engaged to create the role of Sawitri, & sort of FEast Indian Eurydice, who obtains from Brahma the life of her defunct spouse. The management of the Imperial Opera has granted leave of absence 10 its artist to sing in Turin. The Musikverein of Manheim has just execa- ted, almost in its entirety, one of the least know n to-day of Mozart’s operas, “Idomeneo, King of Crete.” It appears that in spite of the good execution this attempt to revive the work met with no success. It is well known that “Idomeneo” was represented for the first time in Munich in January, 1781, When Mozart had just completed his twenty-fifth year, but it is not so well known that thelibretto of the opera was an almost exact transiation of a libretto entitled “Idomenee,” which Danchet, a member of the French Academy, wrote for the composer Cam pra. L4 Rossini was born on the 20th of February, consequently it is not every year that his debut on the stege of life can be celebrated with due exactitude. This being the last leap year in the century a grand music festival is being organized at Pesaro, the “Swan's” native place, in bis honor. Mascagui, who isdirector of the Pesaro Rossini Lyceum, will conduct one of hisown compositions, and it is intended also skating on ice and enjoying toboggaring at Truckee, and all in California. Public vs. Prl\'-tr;)wnll'lhlp. Fresno Expositor. It means that the people of this valley will be paying tribute to a British foreign syndicate or trust for all time if the Wright 1aw is not sustained. That would create an aggravating ‘war between the people and the trusts, and no foreign syndicate will be allowed to control the waters of this State. PURE mixed candies, 10¢c 1b. Townsend's, * e e THE sweetest Valentine—*A basket of Town. send's choice candies.” Palace Hotel. . —————————— £rECIAL {nformation daily to manufactarers, business hquses and public men by the Prass Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Montgomery, * TELEPHONE MAIN 717. The Gas Consumers’ Assoclation, the old come pany, 316 Post street. The Standard Autom. atic Gas Regulator is atjached to the meter, controlling the pressure automatically, keeping the flame steady, and allowing no waste or blowins, preventing breakage of globes, and saving from 20 to 40 per cent. New tips and burners are supplied, lesks and flickering lights remedied, pipes pumped out if necessary, and all complaints connected with the gas, electric bells or gas lighting apparatus are attended to. ‘he monthly dues are according to the aver. age gas consumption and the quantity of eleg. tric apparatus in use. . “Why, hello, Barbey, I thought you wers going South for the winter.’ “Well, I was, but I changed my mind. Tocan get all the winter I want around here, without going South for it.”—Harper's Bazar, —_— Ee—————— WA Hood's Sarsaparilla has done for o can and will do for you. A falr trial ot floo:l!'tl.::l: saparilla will convince you of the entire truth of the above statement. Take only Hood's, DE. SIEGERT'S ADgostura Bitters possess an ex. quisite flavor and are a sure preventive for ail diseases of the digestive organs. ———— A CoveH SHOULD Nor B NEGLECTED, “Brown’s Bronchial Troches” are a simple rem; immediate and sure relet, - oY 454 give ? i B M.