The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 23, 1896, Page 1

Gra n * T VOLUME LXXIX PRICE FIVE CENTS, ON THE VERGE OF REVOLUTION Yet France's Government Is Easily Controlled by Bourgeois. S0 DECLARES FREDERIC. Russia's New Position Affairs of the Globe Causes Uneasiness. ENGLISH STATESMEN WORRIED At Present They Are Trying to Pre- vent a Demonstration Upon Jameson’s Arrival. ed last week 1 forecasts French Senate would not v th the B s out who! inst al amber to com- for itself, t into e of the v that the to Senate ver, and the Sen- passed the consti to ofthe Depu not d , and d smong the Sen- result that Bour- 1s at them both o their cowa ators as wel conten do not and his PP s have only one e majority ve 1o voice. er hand, the Cabinet, with benind it, represents uni- s supreme zzlery of com- franchises in nds on and ges the lecree dissolution to the people at e poll ient thinks of e situation thus ot not known, the Senate has shown the abject white feather. On Monday radical banqt ends these ri and ¢ ets are to be beld throughout France to celebrate Jhe enniversary cf universal e of 1843, &t which this assertion ¢ 1 will paramount to the law will b the sheet anchor of the republ decade of rottenness in high p and of government by corrupt syndicates of financiers has ripened the French popu- ment for just such an appeal. No doubts that if the elections were a hence Bourgeois would sweep France. When that month elapsed doubt may be entertained whether he would be able to bold in orderly restraint the pub- lic passions which his defiance of tt Senate has reduced. There was frightened talk even this week in I probable mob violence. Elaborate police and military precau- tions were taken yesterday to prote Luxembourg palace irom a possible riot- ous raid, and the vast crowd which assem- bled was anxiously kept moving by extra forces of gendarmes. As it was, o few hisses greeted the Senators on leaving, but the apprehension of something worse was plainly in their minds and @f their faces. Engzland’s interest in all this quite frankly “selfishly contined to the prospects of Berthelot keeping his post at muc s of the Foreign Office. There is really not much to base an opnion on the feeling 1s strong here that he disli the Russo- German alliance, which a ring of Paris financi so nearly committed France to, end that he favors instead a friendly combination with England, TItaly and Austria toedefend the civilizing interests of Western Europe. That these interests sorely needed de- fense is being borne in on the people here witih & rush. It is very likely that another few weeks will witness a genuine national panic here about Russia’s new position in the affeirs of the globe. She isin Korea and Manchuria, she is maraging the Sultan at Constantinople, she has taken charge of Bulgaria and of Servia. England a have regarded any one of these s a few years ago as ‘‘casus pelli,” = thi and now they are all accomplished events. Fnglang etares bewiloered at the magni- tude of what confronts her, hardly know- ing what to do. Very soon, however, 1 fancy the necessity of doing something will rise uppermost in her mind and set these islands humming again with en- thusiasm. To prevent the British public from wel- coming Jameson-as a sort of second Nelson or Wellington, and thus giving the whole irtuous official character of the country to the rest of the world, is at present chief concern of the Government. A profound mystery accordingly sarrounds the whereabouts in the channel of theship bringing him home and the cordons of re- porters who stand along the southern coast will probably find that he has been sneaked ashore and hurried to London under cover of night, without their knowledge. How the authorities will keep the mobs from shaking Bow street with cheers Mon- day and the following days does not yet sppear. This embarrassment isthe na- in the| tural fruit of the popular habits here, Where practically the whole people culti- vate and glorify their muscle atthe pense of their brains, and the jockey Archer is mourned by millions in the same week that Matthew Arnold goes to the grave almost unnoticed. Undoubtedly it makes a fine fighting race, but it also makes a race stupid enough not to see that Jameson, instead of being a hero, was 4 treacherous filibusterer, who brought | his country into disgrace at the bidding of | | | a millionaire group of promoters. There is absolutely nothing new about the Venezuelan business. The official British resume of the case will be out early Xt week, that is to say only a fortnight ! later than was promised, and some seven | nths behind the time when it ought to | | e been ready, but considering the ordinary methods and movements of the British foreign office this is almost hur- ried promptne: I get no further in- | formation as to Lord Salisbury’s personal | attitude, but there is no doubt that he was at the beginning of the week in an| obstinate frame of mind. It is precisely | this point that this incessant newspaper n across the cable does harm. It| annoys Salisbury, and would exasperate a { much me Foreign Secretary, as such officia ope, to have propositions for settlement ai d to be officially in spired, istic ultimatums of f they are not accepted spread out every morning in the news- papers week after week. These are things for foreign officers and | embassadors to deal with in decent and courteous confidence, and it will be time for the public to interfere when appointed agencies confess failure | mption that it is the busi- | Yakutsk, ts to settle the whole dis- | ly wea % real danger of provoking Ises of resistance and friction in the | er circle of diplomacy charged with the | k of arranging a settiement. Parlia- | mentary interest this week is almost en- | rely concentrated on Balfour’s propo tion to alter the rules so that the supply | | will occupy twenty consecutive Fridayd, 1d then whatever is left undiscussed will | be automatically passed. | This has a sort of academic popular in- | terest, because it destroys the mostancient | {of all the parliamentary principles, that | redress of grievances precedes the supply; | but it cannot be said that the public dis- | | plays the faintest concern in the fate of | this historic formula. Curiously enough, | the Radicals in the House of Commons are | the ones who like this iconoclastic scheme | na if they can get the assurance | vate members in return for ceding | their Fridays to the Government can have | Tuesdays guaranteed to them they will | support it. Such opposition as is discern- | ible comes from the crushed old Tories, whom James Lowther is striving to orgs ize, but it is not likely that he will succeed | in upsetting the measure. { In a aay or two Petersburg expects written details from the Siberian officials | about the story of Nansen and the north | pole. These will at least clear up, it1s | | hoped, the question whether Kuchnareff, | to whom the report is ascribed, is| the well-known trader of that name at in which case much weight will attach to the rumor, but it happens that Kuchnareff is an extremely common | name at Yakutsk and further on, so that | | the tale may have really no parentage | worth considering. As for getting news from Yakutsk itself evenf the Governor sent off a messenger from Yakutsk as soon as the report reached him that would be a | matter of nearly a month. But the drift | of speculation meanwhile is increasingly toward crediting the rumor. Somuch has tobe printed every day | about the developments in the line of | Roentgen’s discovery that the question of a | name for the thing has become one of im- | portance. Thus far it is called the new photog- raphy, but that is both clumsy and mis- | leading, and the suggestion is now made | by severa! English scientists that it be termed elecirography. This, however, | raises the objection that all sorts of things are being done a la Roentgen without the use of electricity at all. Among the myriad | reports of fresh experiments during the week that from Le Gaulois’ office is most striking. Two journalists there suc- ceeded in photographing a letter through | the thick manilla envelop used by the | French Parliument by wrapping it in a sheet of tin foil off a chocolate packet.” In | France, where private documents just now plav a chief part in the Government of the | country, this ought to be especially useful. HaroLp F Fire in the M ouri’s Hold Put Out. LONDON, E» Feb. 22.—The fire in the hold of the British steamer Missouri, | beached at Falmouth yesterday, has been extinguished. Her cargo will be dis- | charged. BY SHOOTING HIMSELF | s o, |1 “The name of ‘Américan, which be fongs to you in your National ca- pacity, must:"always exalt the just pride of patriotisp, more than ap- pellatiéns derived from local dis- criminations. ‘With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habite and political princi- ples You have, in a common causa fought. gnd " triumpheg together; the independence and Tiberty you possess are the work of joint eounsels and joint efforts, of common dangers, suf- ferings, and successes The Words of Washington Like His Memory Can Never Fade. FOUND DEATH AT HIS OWN HANDS, Ex-Congressman Michael D. Harter Committed Suicide For Some Time the Well-Known Ohio Statesman Suffered From Insomnia. HAD A HEAVY LIFE INSURANCE | Made Certain That the Policy Would Be Paid Before He Closed His' Career. FOSTORIA, Osro, Feb. 22 —Ex-Con- gressman Michael D. Harter committed | suicide here last night by shooting him- self. He came here from Philadelphia last Wednesday on business, .and was in THE LATE EX-CONGRESSMAN MICHAEL D. [From a photograph.] HARTER. the best of spirits, only complaining now. and then of insomnia. He was in com- pany with Colonel Brown last evening and took supper at the Presbyterian church. When he returned to the Knapp residence, where he has been staying sir-e | his arrival here, be told Mr. Knapp that t he did not wish to be called in the morn- | ing, as he intended to try to get some sleep. His wish was obeyed and he was not called until near the hour for dinner to-day. Getting no reply to his calls for Mr. Harter, Mr. Knapp went upstairs and entered the room, when the true state of affairs was discovered. @ i Mr. Harter took out a $100,000 gold bond life policy yesterday. Before signing it he turned and asked Colonel Fowler, the agent: “Colonel, suppose I should take ui this policy to-day and commit suicide | to-night, would my heirs receive the face | of the policy 2" The colonel replied that the courtsin all sach cases had generally decided that the policy must be paid. “Youdo not think that there would be any question about that, Colonel?" he per- sisted. . The colonel assured him there would not. Michael D. Harter was born at Canton, Ohio, in 1846, He lived at. Mausfield, Ohio, was out of active business, but interested in farming, banking, manufacturing, rail- roading and insurance. His leisure for twenty years past had been devoted to the promotion of tariff reform, sound money and opposition to all class legislation. Mr. Harter was Jeffersonian, and his influence politically was for conservative, safe meas- ures and against radical, unsound, meddle- some legislation. He was quiet in his manners, a plain man in his dress and a | studious one by habit, and was elected to the Fifty-second Congress asa Democrat, receiving 19,832 votes, against 16,084 votes for George L. Sackett (Reoublican), 1445 votes for W. D. Miller (Prohibitionist) and 414 votes for D. T. Adams (Unior Labor). FRIGHTFUL EXPLOSION, A Beors of Workmen Injured, but Nome Were Killed. WHITING, Ixp., Feb. 22—A sweeten- ing still in the Whiting Oil 'Refinery ex- pleded at 8 o'clock to-night, scattering burning oil, bricks, twisted pipe and mor. tar in every direction. A score of work- ingmen were injured, but none were killed. The explosion was caused by a carelass workman opening a wrong line, which caused two kinds of gas to come together, producing the explosion. Hundreds of windows were shattered; houses were shaken to their very foundations, many being in imminent danger of topvoling over. The financial loss is heavy. The shock was felt at a distance of twenty-five miles. St ENFORCING PROHIBITION. A Kansas Grand Jury Indicts One of Its Own Members. TOPEKA, Kans., Feb. 22.—Before final adjournment the Grand Jury added to its list of indictments ove against 'W. E. Niece, one of the grand jurors, for violat- ing the prohibitory law. Niece’s son had been arrested previously for the same of- fense. The Grand Jury was in session twenty-three days and it examined over 300 witnesses, resulting in thirty-one in- dictments, Fourteen of the accused men bhave been apprehended and all except two of the fourteen haye given bouds. Sl Philip J. Harper Dying. HEMPSTEAD, N. Y., Feb. 22.—Philip J. Harper, retired senior member of the firm of Harper Bros., New York, is dan- | gerously ill at his home here with a com- plication of kidney and heart troubles. | Little hope is entertained for his recovery. BILL RYE 1S CALLED TO REST, Passing of the Noted Writer, Humorist, Lecturer and Lawyer. KILLED BY OVERWORK. For Over Ten Days He Battles Bravely Against the Grim . Destroyer. LOVED BY MANY MILLIONS. Few Men Had Better Succeeded in Gladdening the Hearts of the People. ASHEVILLE, N. C., Feb. 22.—“Bill” Nye is dead. For ten days he had been wrestling with death, but the best medical talent in the land saw that it was a ques- tion of only a few hours before the loved humorist, who had made millions of hearts glad by his speeches and writings, would be no more. Ten days ago a stroke of avoplexy laid him low. He was at his home, Buck Shoals, twelve miles east of here. He sank constantly until the summons came this afternoon at 1 o’clock. His daughters, who were at school in Washington, ar- rived in time to attend their father in his last hours. Overwork was the cause of the humor- ist’s death. He literally worked himsel | to death. For two years he labored with tigerish zeal, writing letters for the syndicate by which he was regularly em- ployea, writing books and plays and lec- turing. The work was enough to killa far stronger man. Upon the verge of col- lapse, tortured with mental and nervous pain, weak from the burden of cverwork, the happy-hearted humorist reached Pat- erson, N. J., last fall. He was to lecture that night and ke did not feel equal to the task. His tortured mind craved for some arti- ficial stimulant; his nerves needed some- thing to stay the portending collapse. In that hour he drank excessively of intoxi- cants, and appeared that night on the platform drunk., It was a story of shame that the newspapers carried over the country the next day, and everywhere he was abused. No one knew the truth or cared to know. No one knew that the genial humorist, who had contributed so much to mankind’s enjoyment, who was always ready with a smile, and who had driven awav mountains of care, was stag- gering under a superhuman task which he had put upon himself, and drank only to relieve his pain. Humiliated and feeling keenly the shame that was put upon him, the genial writer left. 1t touched his heart when, a few days later, Eugene Field penned, as his last work upon earth,a defense of him. No one knew but Nye how well that defense was deserved and what a flavor of truth it containeéd. Still the humorist offered no excuse; he said nothing in extenuation. With fiercer energy he continued his work. He worked feverishly, forgetting the cutting things that were said about him, and, seeing his brave course, the people had commenced to forget. Ten days ago the collapse, of which the incideng at Paterson was but a warning, came. He was stricken at his home. A few days before he had been at Asheville and had spoken gratefully to friends of the act of Eugene Field in writing in his defense. He was a member of the Epis- copal Church and since his residence here has been the most popular man in this section. His family consists of his wife ana four children, two sons and two daughters. In addition to his regular syndicate work within the last two years he pub- lished a history of the United States, which he often said he wanted to stand as the last book he wrote. All of last fall he was busily engaged in writing a play in connection with Paul Potter, “The Stag Party,” which was produced in New York some time ago. The failure of the play had no effect on Mr. Nye's good humor. He jokingly said a few weeks ago that ‘“play-writing is not my forte.” NYE'S CAREER. From a Lawyer He Became a Celebrated Humorist. Edgar Wilson Nye was born in Shirley, Piscataqua County, Me., August 22, 1850. He was educated in an academy at River Falls, Wis. Soon after his graduation he removed to Wyoming Territory, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1876, He began early to contribute humorous sketches to the newspapers, using the pen name of “Bill Nye.” He was connected with various Western journals, and after- ward settled in New York City. He pub- lished “Bill Nye and the Boomerang” in 1881; “The Forty Liars,” 1883; *Bailed Hay,” 1884; “Bill Nye’s Blossom Rock,” 1885, and “Remarks,” 1886. “Bill” Nye, as the world knew him, had few equals as & humorist and many imita- tors. For years his syndicate letters and publications yielded an annual revenue of not less than $10,000, while the proceeds from his lectures netted about $20,000 more. About seven yearsago he took up his abode in a magnificent residence on Staten Island, where he lived with his wife and four children when not on lectur- ing tours. Later he moved to the South Carolina home, where he died. Benind his fund of humor there wasa seriousness in Mr. Nye's composition which very few fully understood. During a visit in San Francisco some six years ago he told an interviewer that it was his intention to cease his career as a humorist as soon as an opportunity presented itself. After many years of travel the practice of the public to regard all he said as a joke had become exceedingly annoying to him. Even in the discussion of matters of great public moment his hearers would always laugh when they discovered the speaker was Bill Nye. Such was the fame of his humor, but it grieved him to be thus treated on every occasion of his appear- ance in public. Constant peals of laughter at what he intended to be taken in all seriousness iiritated and pained him more than was ever imagined by his warmest friends. That is why he decided years ago to retire as an humorist at the earliest opportunity. In speaking of the talented humorist a writer recently had this to say: “There is a portrait of Bill Nye in the act of writ- ing his jokes, and we are_ told that his small, droll features, spectacled eyes, huge forehead and remarkably bald and queer shaped head add to the effect of his jokes when he recites them, as does his dry Yankee drawl. But the jokes are usually good in themselves, for he has ap original Continued on Second Page. THE LATE EDGAR WILSON NYE. [From a recen it photograph.] DULY OBSERVED ~ THE GREAT DAY People of All Rank Paid Tribute to Washing- ton's Memory. JOINED IN CELEBRATING Throughout the Nation Patriotic Citizens Honored the Father of His Country. PEEAS FOR UNIVERSAL PEACE. Distinguished Persons Expressed a Desire for the Formation of a Court of Arbitration. WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. National capital was wholly given over to-day to celebrating the one hundred and sixty-fourth anniversary of the birth of the city’s founder and in whose honor it was named. There were imposing mili- tary parades extending along Penusyl- vania avenue from the Capitol past the ‘White House morning and afternoon, and in which all the District of Columbia militia_participated. The Cycle Corps, with a day’s rations and twenty rounds of cartridges, demonstrated the adaptability of the bicycle to military purposes by throwing a skirmish line ten miles up the Potomac River, where a sham battle was held. Troop A of the local militia rode to Brightwood, four or five miles from the city, returning in time for the afternoon parade. All the executive departments were, of course, closed. As part of the general celebration Dr. J. M. Toner entertained the Washington Monument Society at luncheon and received a large number of distinguished persons. The annual meet- ing of the society, held at Dr. Toner’s resi- dence, resulted in the re-election of all the officers. As it was publicly known that the ordi- nary legislative proceedings in the Senate were to be dispensed with to-day and that the day was to be devoted to the memory of the father of his country, the galleries of the Senate were early crowded with spectatars. The opening prayer was de- livered by Rev. Wallace Radchif, D.D., pastor of the New York-avenue Presbyte- rian Chureh—the chureh attended by botn the Vice-President and the President of the Senate pro tem. He offered special thanks to God “‘for him whose name is in all hearts to-day, for the inheritance of his memory and for the inspiration of his life and example.” The reading of Thursday’s journal wa dispensed with and the Vice-President an- nounced that, under the resolution of the Senate, the farewell address of President Washington would be read by the Presi- dent of the Senate pro tem., the Senator from Maine (Frye). Takinga position at the clerk’s desk, Frye commenced in a clear, strong voice and with perfectly accentuated delivery to read the farewell address. The reading occupied three- quarters of an hour, and when it was ended the thanks of the Senate were, on motion of Gray (D.) of Delaware, given to the reader and then the Senateat12: adjourned until Monday. FOR UNIVERSAL PEACE. Noted Men Approve of Creating a Court of Arbitration. PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Feb, —The anniversary of the birth of George Wash- ington was more generally observed in Philadelphia to-day than has been the case for many years. The most important feature was the conference held in the headquarters of the Universal Peace So- ciety by prominent advocates of arbitra- tion for the purpose of discussing the feasibility of the creation of a court of arbi- tration for the peaceful adjustment of dif- ficulties that may arise between theUnited States and Great Britain. Judge William N. Ashman presided, and among those present were: Rev. W. Hud- son Shaw, Oxford, England; Rev. Wash- ington Gladden, LL.D., Columbus, Ohio% Rev. Dr. Joseph May, Philadelphia; Al- fred H. Love, president of the Peace Union, Philadelphia; Richard F. Dana, Boston; E. W. Peat, St. Paul, Minn., and President Hyde of Bowdoin College. Letters were read from President Cleve- land and Secretaries Smith and Morton and Postmaster-General Wilson, and a number of addresses were made. The letter of President Cleveland read: EXECUTIV! WASHINGTON, D. Herbert Welsh, cretary, 22 ] , 1896.§ DEAR SIR: NEW TO-DAY, S el M e LEV] STRAUSS &€CO’s COPPER RIVETED OVERALLS "~ AND SPRING BOTTOM PANTS. EVERY PAIR GUARANTEED. FOR SALE EVERYWHERE.,