The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 18, 1896, Page 6

THE SAN FRA ISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 189 CHARLES M. SHORTRIDGE, Editor "'"’, Proprietor. SUBSCRIPTION RATES—Postage Free: aily and Sunday CALL, one week, by carrier..$0.35 2 mall.... 6.00 Sunday CALL, one ye WxEKLY CaLL, OB 3 BUSINESS OFFICE: | 710 Market Street, San Franciseo, California. | Lelephone............. Main—1868 | EDITORIAL ROOMS: 517 Clay Street. Main—1874 | | felephone BRANCH OFFICES: 630 Montgomery street, corner Clay: open until #:30 o'clock. 339 Hayes street; open untll 9:30 o'clock. 718 Larkin street: open until 9:30 o'clock. £W . corner Sixteenth and Mission streeis; open entil 8 o'clock. 2518 Mission street; open until 9 o'cloci. 116 Minth street; open nntil 8 o'cloci. OAKLAND OFFICE : 908 Broadwsy. EASTERN OFFICE: Fooms $1 and 32, 34 Park Row, New Yerk Clty. DAVID M. FOLTZ, Speclal Agent, | WEDNESD A ... MARCH 18, 1896 | THE CALL SPEAKS FOR ALL. It was & good day for St. Patrick and everything was loyely. If King Menelek were at ali civilized he would never lose this chance of makinga speech. The Abyssinian crisis seems liable to cave in at any moment and engulf all Europe. H The Supreme Court is with the Ken- tucky company some of the time, but not all of the time. The Democratic State Committee cer- tainly ripped the local fight up the back, but failed to kill it The Junta will find a profit in shearing the Buckley lambs, but a bigger and safer | one in skinning them. If the Cubans do not quit burning towns they will not leave enough of the island for anybody to recognize. Senator Cannon of Utah began his Sena- | torial career by firing hot shot at Hoke | Smith and the target was riddled. | If Kentucky Democrats had their way | there would be very little difference be- tween a Senatorial contest and a lynching | party. | Since the recent experience with the State Committee Buckley’s little lambs | have grown just about old enough to feel | sheepish. The funding scheme has been so weak- | ened in committee it will hardly be able | to get into the House, much less pass | through it. 1 England will march into Central Africa | to help Italy out, and perhaps Russia wiil | take a hand’with Abyssinia to bounce | England out. As that distinguished Kentuckian, Jack Chinn, is less famous for talking than for cutting, he should get his name changed to Jack Knife. As the game looks at present McKinley is standing pat on protection and Allison is going him one better as the champion of protection and reciprocity. People who once thought Quay’s candi- dacy was only a joker have now had time to remember that the joker sometimes takes the last trick and wins the game. In placing the grand cordon of the Order of St. George upon the breast of King Menelek the Czar has shown his hand and Europe seesit is against the Dreibund and almost ready for war. The Southern Pacific victory in Ken- tucky has been more than ofiset by the people’s victory in the Supreme Court. The monopoly keeps its charter, but Cali- fornia can collect taxes. ¥ Carlisle has written a letter on the money question, but as no one can make head or tail of it, there is no telling whether it was intended as an entrance to the Presidential campaign or a back out. The settlement of the Venezuelan con- troversy has got far enongh along for the British Embassador and the Venezuelan Minister to meet with Olney at dinner and- diplomacy has achieved another triumph. From the promptness with which all leading Democrats are declining the Presi- dential nomination it seems evident that for that party at any rate it is going to be a yellow dog year by the mere force of cir- cumstances. As the Supreme Court has held that Cahfornia can collect taxes from railroads within her borders, there is reason to ex- pect it will also sustain the right of the State Railroad Commission to regulate freights and fares within the State. g Notwithstanding the protests from the provinces the French Chamber of Deputies has approved the scheme for an inter- national exhibition in 1900, and now if France can only keep the peace of the world until that time Paris will have her show. The expedition up the Nile seems foolish and is sure to be costly, but after his re- cent experience of the isolation of Eng- land Lord Salisbury may be willing to pay even a preater price than that for the sake of getting into touch with the Dreibund and having allies in time of need. Though there are no new developments in the funding bill fight, ana though Mr. Huntington seems to have concluded to keep his mouth shutfora while at least, there are still urgent reasons why the people should bear the fight in mind. ‘When the monopoly is most silent is the time when the people should be most watchful. As an illustration of the way the Demo- cratic taniff is helping farmers it is worth noting that the wool shipments from Great Britain to the United States aggre- gated over 13,000,000 pounds last January against little more than 6,700,000 during that month of the previous year. That much of trade was lost to our sheep-raisers and the foreigner got it. The Inter, Ocean is a Cullom paper, but in uummeflfing on the canvass of Senator Allison it says: “Instead of fool friends be has had friends who are as level headed as they are loyal. Such a campaign policy does not foment trouble nor embarrass the post-nomination campaign whoever bears off the prize.” To this praise it may be added that Allison has won such friends because he has been worthy of them, | opinion as much as possible. THE FUNDING FIGHT. The contest over the railroad refunding | scheme has now reached a critical stage. It has been so long protracted that to the general public it has become as wearisome asa twice-told tale. No new features have developed of late, and there is danger of a loss of interest on the partof some who should be most interested. It isa time, therefore, when all resolute opponents of the scheme shonld be on their guard and watchful of every move. There is no tell- ing what the cunning managers of the monopoly interests may attempt as soon as they believe the people’s representatives are no longer alert and determined. Ic bas been evidént from the start that | the policy of the railroad lobby has been | to confuse the issue and divide public| Every con- ceivable trick likely to accomplish that has been resorted to. Many different schemes of refunding have been advanced at one time or another. Persistent at- tempts have been made to raise the ques- tion of Government ownership of the roads or some similar plan to distract attention from the one issue at stake. Over and over again the motives of the papers and of the men who oppose refund- ing have been aspersed, denounced and maligned. Almost every form of evil has | been attributed to them and ‘every effort made to weaken their influence with the people, and particularly with Congress. The one object of all these efforts has been to so distract or confuse the minds of the members of Congress that they would become impatient with the subject and adopt some scheme of the monopoly simply to get rid of it. The railroad organs in Washington and in this City have been working to that end with great vigor and with as much astuteness as they are capable of. The words of prominent men in different parts of the State have been distorted and in some cases deliber- ately falsified for the purpose of mislead- ing Eastern Congressmen as to the pre- vailing sentiment of the State, and every slur or slander that Huntington could put forth against the supporters of law and justice ‘has been repeated and harped on by his organs in this City with the hope that even in this State men might be divided in opinion and rendered the more easy victims of a scheme that would place their industries and their commerce in the vower of an exacting monopoly for a cen- tury to come. The incessant repetition of these mis- statements or deliberate slanders are but repeated warnings to the people of what they may expect if they become divided or cease to be vigilant. Though no new developments may arise to-day or to-mor- row, thereisno telling when the monopoly may attempt a great strokeand try to rush a bill through Congress without giving time for debate or full consideration. Thac is the danger ahead. That is the feature of the contest which to all resolute de- fenders of the people makes it more inter- | esting in this seeming quietness than it has ever been before. ‘ REGULAT};IG STREET RAILROADS The Oakland City Council is considering and will doubtless pass an ordinance pro- hibiting the passing of streetcars at street crossings and requiring that the speed of | meeting cars shall not exceed three miles an hour. This is well so far as it goes, but no provision for fenders seems to have been made. Even as it is, however, Oak- land has gone considerably beyond San Francisco in protecting the lives of the people. The report made by the committee from the New York State Assembly appointed to investigate the methods of street rail- way management in the larger cities of the State should make very good reading for the Merchants’ Association of San Francisco. Passing over tbat part of the report which recommends measures pro- hibiting the excessive capitalization of roads and the adverse report on municipal ownership, we may glance at the part de- voted to other matters of particular local interest. The committee found that the payment of a lump sum or a percentage of receipts for franchises was very undesir- able, and that the experiment of having companies bid against each otber for franchises by offering a percentage of gross receipts had been found a failure. In lieu of all other means for disposing of franchises the committee recommended that franchises be sold by lease for a stated period—say thirty years—at public auction to the company offering the lowest rate of fare, further reductions to be provided for when justified by receipts, the State Rail- road Commission to be the arbiters in case of disagreement between the city and the company. Further recommendations ad- vocated the sale of thirty tickets for $1, good between 6 and 8 A. . and 5 and 7 ». M. whenever the roads’ finances enable them to pay 5 per cent dividends on their capital stock. Fenders were strongly urged. On petition of fifty citizens the Mayor should have the power to compel an improvement of the service. The effect of such regulations would be a radical change from the unrestricted power which the companies of San Fran- cisco are now permitted to exercise. The practical operation of our law reguiring franchises to be sold to the highest bidder has been found to be a failure. The sug- gestion that the company offering the low- est fare should be given the franchise is a recognition of the principle that any charge levied by the municipal govern- ment for the exercise of the franchise is a direct and indirect tax on the people and that the plan of the lowest fare is a straightforward way of letting the people enjoy the benefit of any competition which may arise for a given franchise. Placing the franchise on the basis of a lease in- stead of a perpetual right permits of periodical adjustments by the municipal- ity in the interest of the people. aexmmTmm——— A LAST MESSAGE. Among the reports from Armenia none has been of a nature to cause a profounder or more lasting impression upon the Christian world than that which has just made known a letter prepared by the Gregorian clergy at Urfa at a time when they stood in the shadow of impending death and kuew that within a brief time the fearful fate the fanatic Moslems had dealt out to their brothers would fall upon them. Only a brief extract from the letter has been telegraphed, but that is full of solemn significance to the civilized world. “A short time ago,”” wrote the doomed priests, “nobody could have believed that at the end of this nineteenth century a Christian people could, on account of their loyalty to Christian civilization, under the very eyes of Christendom be exterminated by Mos- lem power. Yet just this fearful tragedy is being consummated to-day and we are the unhappy victims. We see no signs of relenting on the part of our destroyersand 10 hand is raised or reached out to rescue us. We have only to say farewell to any who have loved and cared for us and pre- pare ourselves for death, counting our- selves honored in being called to seal our faith with our lives.” ’ A few days after this letter was sent out the archpriest and four of the clesgy who signed it were put to death. The letier, theretore, was almost literally sealed with blood. It comes to the Western worldasa message from the dead and draws an added influence from the martyrdom of those who wrote it. The apoeal it contains will be sure to find a response somehow and some time from the great heart of humanity. Evil triumphs for a time, but sooner or later justice is done and all the sooner when the evil becomes so great as to render itself intolerable and abhorrent to the conimon instincts of men. THE SECRETARY'S LETTER. The letter addressed by Secretary Carlisle to Congressman Patterson of Tennessee was evidently intended for publication, and was doubtless the result of an under- standing between the two gentlemen. Mr. Patterson had written to Mr. Carlisle ask- ing for his statement concerning the charges made by Congressman Crisp that the Secretary had abused his power in dis- criminating against silver and in favor of gold in the handling of treasury funds. Mr. Carlisle has made the desired state- ment, and its publication would not have occurred without his consent. The Secre- tary has made a very able defense, which on its face appears to bea refutation of Mr. Crisp’s charges. He asserts that in- stead of discriminating against silver he has really favored it, going to the length of making the Government bear the ex- press charges on silver sent out in redemp- tion of silver certificates on treasury notes of 1890, deposited for that purpose, while requiring all who demand gold to pay for its transportation. As Secretary Carlisle is understood to be the one particular candidate of the Cleve- land administration for the Presidency, this amusing letter has a special interest. If it proves nothing more it shows that the pressure o&silver advocates is hurting the golden cotns of the administration and that the Cleveland wing of the Dem- ocracy is anxious for the friendship of the silver men. But the Secretary’s ingenious letter will hardly deceive the South and the North. Nothing that he can write will undo the blazoned record of the ad- ministration of which he is the chief lieu- tenant. It is even conceivable that the able Secretary, while supporting the single gold standard on the broader lines which have so firmly established it, deliberately performed all the minor acts friendly to silver which he has narrated, for the sole purpose of being able to produce for pub- lication the interesting letter which Con- gressman Patterson has given to the pub- lic. It is remembered that a severe pressure on the gold reserve in the treasury has existed for some time, and that the Cleve- land administration has been compelled to adopt desperate measures for maintaining it. A large “‘popular loan” to protect it was one of them. It is hardly conceivable that the Secretary would recklessly squan- der this reserve and deliberately violate the law by paying out gold when silver | was demanded, especially in view of the fact that the maintenance of the reserve ‘was a more important consideration with the administration than any fear that ad- herence to the gold standard would antagonize the “silver fanatics”’ of the South and West. The aaministration, sitting down quietly to count its golden toes; now finds some of them bruised, and is seeking to heal them with a plating of silver. The Secretary’s letter is a special plea for the support of the silver wing of the Democracy in his candidacy for the Presidential nomination, and is an un- worthy exhibition by the goldbugs’idol. THE YOSEMITE ROADS. Thedisclosures made in Tuesday's CALL concerning the probable intent and in- evitable effect of the passage of the bill in Congress for the purchase by the Govern- ment of the Yosemite toll roads requires minute investigation by those whose duty it is to protect the Government against trickery. The matter seems to have been brought to the public attention first by A. C. Maude, a member of the California Bureaun of Highways. The proposition of the bill introduced in the House by Con- gressman Grove L. Johnson is that the Government buy the four toll roads run- ning “over’ the Yosemite National Park at a cost of $268,650 and make them free, leaving the parts of the same roads out- side the reservation in the present owner- ship and subject to tolls. It isbelieved that this pleasant arrangement would re- lieve the owners of the expense of main- taining the most difficult parts of the road and not disturb their power to levy tollsas at presert on all who visit the valley. If this is the truth it isshameful and the project should pe defeated, There are much better ways for the expenditure of that amount of money in California by the Government. The amount provided for in the Johnson bill is nearly $20,000 more than that asked for by the Miners’ Association to be added to the appropri- ation made by the Btate of California for the construction of works for impounding debris. It is so difficult to secure money from Congress for really useful improve- ments in California that the apparent readiness to make the appropriation for the purchase of the Yosemite roads does not bear a very pleasant aspect. 5 Of course the purchase of these roads would be only the beginning of the expense connected with them. They will have to be kept in order, and that means an annual appropriation. The project for the construction of a steam road up the Merced River is now assured and is in the hands of responsible capitalists. Such a road will greatly weaken the argument for the Government purchase of the wagon roads, as the expense of entering the valley will be 8o much reduced both for freight and passengers that the necessity for wagon roads will be practically eliminated. It may be merely a coincidence that the proposition to purchase these roads comes concurrently with the project of the steam road, which will seriously impair their value, but the whole affair has not an agreeable look. These remarks are made merely as suegestions. The case seems to deserve fuller cousideration than it has received. At all events the Calfornia delegation should be made acquainted with the matter in its entiret; HUMOR OF THE HOUR. A Leap-Year Opportunity.—She — Do you think it would be unmaidenly for a girl to pro- pose to a man? He—Certainly not, if she is rich enough for two.—New York Sun. 2 First Boarder—They say the new Spanish commander is & butcher. Second Boarder—Pity our landlady can’t go to Cuba! She’d soon get the better of him,— Puck. “Your daughter hashad a great many ad- mirers?” “Oh, yes; she puts nearly all her window curtains on the rods with her old engagement rings.” —Chicago Record. 0ld Mr. Fussy—Matilds, hes that young man gone yet? His Daughter—Why, yes, paps. 0ld Mr. Fussy—H’m! You were so still that I thought he was there yet.—New York Truth. “There, there!” said Mrs. Blue-Myrrh, pick- ing up her little boy, who had stubbed his toe, “Don't ory. Be & man, like msmma.”—Indian- spolis Joprnal. AROUND THE ' CORRIDORS. ~ James Hickey, who used to be & member of the stock board here and who has mined in different parts of California and the coast, is at the Russ. For some time past he has been interested in mines at Silver Peak, Esmeralda County, Ney. % Esmeralda is a large county with varied in- ferests, but the silver mines, he says, can scarcely be worked now when silveris as low asitis. One other thing that is somewhat detrimental besides the existing price is the distance from a railroad. The Silver Peak mines are forty-five miles uorth of Candelaria, which is in the same county, but unlike the latter they carry a good deal of gold. Not far away are the Silyer Star properties, the most noted of which is the Hardserabble: “These properties carry gold entirely, there be- ) James Hickey, Who Is Mining at Silver Peak. [Sketched from life by a “Call” artist.] ing no silver orlead, so he says. One of the Yerringtons got a bond on this same mine some months ago, and for & time it was reported the Hardscrabble group was sold, but such does not appear now to have been the case. “They are not doing snything at Candelaria now,” said Mr. Hickey. “The mine of that name is closed down and has been for a long time. Not apound of ore is coming out. “I don’t suppose either there are over twenty- five men in the camp. You see the mines are all silver and therefore nothing is being done. The miners will have to wait a little while till things get better. “But Esmeralda is agreat county and has vast areas of wealth, notwithstanding these things. Part of the wealth is in borax beds, which are in different localities and which are nearly all owned by Smith of Oakland, the borax king.” Mr. Hickey is a miner of many years experi ence and is said to be & good judge of mines. He is well known on the Pacific Coast. Robert J. Burdette, the humorist who made the Burlington Hawkeye famous, will be here in afew days. He is on a lecturing tour. When Burdette was on the coast last, which ‘was some three or four years ago, he preached in some of the churches. It is said that on this trip, however, he will be simply a humorist. 1t was a strange career that Burdette and the Hawkeye had. Burdette went on the pa- per in the little Iowa town at that time almost unknown and ina brief time attracted such attention that bis stories and bon mots were quoted all over the country. This. was long before the days of Bill Nye and before his pa- | per in Cheyenne, the Boomerang, was ever heard of. Lewis of the Detroit Free Press, bet- ter known as M. Quad, was a contemporary of Burdette, and aside from those there was only Balley of the Danbury News and the genius who scintillated in the Oil City Detrick, who had any prominence in a similar style of writ- ing. Petroleum V. Nasby of the Toledo Blade, who wrote his celebrated ‘Confederate X Road” stories, and Josh Billings attained celeprity in somewhat other lines. Their articles were much fewer and longer, and addi- tional interest was added by the queer spell- ing they used. As for the Hawkeye, under Frank Hatton as the managing editor and Burdette as the humorist, it was only & brief period until it attained fame. The character of the paper for extraordinary business was maintained for many years. There came a time, however, when the Hawkeye had to take a back seat. Fast mail trains were put on, reaching to and from all principal cities and towns, and these delivered the big Chicago and St. Louis papers into Burlington when the Hawkeye was barely off the press, This was competition strong. The papers from these great cities could and did print far more special and general news than the Bur- lington local paper, while they also gave suc- cinct reports of important local news. It was & new era in journalism in the river cities of Iowa. Mr. Burdette about this time changed his residence to the Atlantic Coast. Mr. Hatton went to Chicago and Washington. Ever since then the humorist of the'old Hawk- eye has made his home in New York and Brooklyn, though he has, as formerly, tray- eled a great deal, and delivered many lectures. He is to speak in this City on March 24. LONELY. Isit lll;l my chamber lonely, and the city’s pulses t en Asthe human wavelets ebb and flow along the dark’ning straet, And the. lamp-lights glance and quiver on the forms of passers-by, And the hum of ten thousand voices goes up to the evening sky. And lil‘llehserlpl ot music and broken sounds ot rt) m Rise up beneath the silent stars and float away from earth. ‘And I sigh 1o think the music, the laughter and the glee That rise from the great city are strangers ail to me, 80 I sit beside my window and gaze into the night, Till the sounds and scenes around me are lost to sense and sight. And my ears hear other voices with a sweet fa- miliar tone, And time and space have vanished, and I'm no more aione. Dear voices fill the darkness, dear faces crowd the gloom, And forms I love move silently about my silent room. Ihold my breath to listen and I close my eyes to 0 e The voices and the faces that speak of home to me. OWEN HaLL, in Harper's Weekly. PARAGRAPHS ABOUT PEOPLE. Dr. Sheepshanks, the Anglican Bishop of Norwich, is an enthusiastic cyelist, and often rides on Sunday. Hannis Taylor, American Minister in Spain, isan Alabaman who is not easily alarmed ot hostile demonstrations. Miss Jane Eyre, who has just been graduated {from a Pennsylvania normal school, is a full- blooded Pawnee Indinn. Charles Hodges of Sharpsburg, Ky, is anx- ious for a college education, and for the past two years has paid for his schooling by mend- ing shoes. United States Senator Sewell of New Jersey was born in the County of Mayo, Irelana, and came to this country in 1851,a penniless or- phan, at the age of 16. General T. L, James, formerly Postmaster- General, saia at a lecture in *New York, the other night, that our postal system is infinitely superior to that of any other country. The death of Prince Henry of Battenberg hds caused the Queen unexpected and nnwel come anxiety on a subject which she had thought wes finally seitled—namely, her will. It has been an open secret that the Queen in- tended that Prince and Princess Henry should “after her desth have Balmoral as their home. PERSONAL. 8. N. Griffith of Fresno is here. F. Haynor of Pheenix, Arizons, is in town. J. W. Prosser of Davenport, Iows, is at the Palace. Dr. B. Friedlander of Berlin arrived here last night. C. W. Gaffey, an old resident of Montana, is in the City. L. P. Lowe, & business man of Pasadena, is at the Grand. J. M. Mannon of Ukiah was & guest of the Lick yesterday. Judge C. O. Clarke of Siskiyou is among the Tecent arrivals here. W. E. Morford, Deputy Street Superintendent of Los Angeles, is in the City. Allen C. Bragg, editor of the Reno Gazette, arrived in San Francisco yesterday. Edward Henderson, a prominent stock raiser of Plush, Oregon, is at the Cosmopolitan. W. C. Waters, superintendent of the sugar refinery at Watsonville, is at the Palace. E. B. Willis, the editor of the Sacramento Record-Union, is in town on a brief trip. Rev. J. W. McGueekin, dean of the university of Ottawa, is stopping at the Cosmopolitan. W. S. Robinson, & merchant and large land- owner of Grass Valley, is at the Occidental. D. J. Humphrey, & merchant and mine owner of Junean, Aluska, is at the Cosmopoli- tan, Hon. Enoch Strother of Virginia City, Nev., isin the City. Mr. Strother is one of the solid citizens of the Silver State. J. P. Nichols. who is engaged in mining at Sutter Creek, and who has recently been at Salt Lake, arrived heze yesterday. Mrs. 0. W. Ruggles of Chicago, wife of Gen- eral Passenger Agent Ruggles of the Michigan Central Reilroad, is at the Palace, About forty excursionists, largely from Penn- sylvania, and sent out by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, are at the Palace. H. H. Buhne, the wealthy pioneer of Eureka, who is interested in tugboats, lumbering and different other projects, is at the Grand. W. E. Holm, general freight agent, and F. A. Wadleigh, general passenger agent, of the Rio Grande Western Railway, are 1n the City, Among the arrivals at the California yester- day was Dr. J. H. Chalifaux of Montreal, Can- ada, and Dr, Louis P. A. Donori of Haverhill, Mass. Dr. A. Ross, professor of finance at Stan- ford University, is in town, and will lecture to-night at the Academy of Sciences upon “The Social Diffusion of Enjoyment.” Katherine C. Wambold, & missionary who is enroute to Seoul, will arrive here in a few days and will sail on April 8, accompanied by Miss Strong, daughter of the late Judge Strong of Portland. Bill Lange, the California basebail player, who has been the Stanford coach for the last month, left last night for Galveston, Tex., where he will resume his high-salaried posi- tion as center fielder in the Chicago nine. G. Wharton James of Fasadena, the agent of the Southern California Hotel Men'’s Associa- tion, isin the City. He hascome in the inter- estof the National Hotel Men's Assdciation, which is to visit the State during the next four weeks, 5 Mrs. R. Clarke Wheeler of Aspen, Colorado, wife of Professor B. Clark Wheeler, one of the earliest pioneers of Aspen, and best known mining expert in that State, is at the Palace. Professor Wheeler is the owner of large mining interests there and in other parts of Colorado. General John 8. @lunikson aff fowa and Hon. William H. andrews of Pennsylvania, who are the friends of Senators Allison and Quay, re- spectively, in their candidacy for the forth- coming Presidential nomination, left over the Shasta route last night for Oregon and Wash- ington. W. D. Duke, who for three or iour years past has been superintendent of the Haggin & Hearst cattle ranch in New Mexico and Chihuahus, and has been in this section for some three weeks, returned yesterday from Batavia, where for some time past he has been visiting friends. He is at-the California. W. H. H. Hunt of Walla Walla, the builder of the Hunt. system of railroads in Washing- ton, who has been in Califorcia a good deal for the past two years, arrived here yesterday after a visit to Oregon and Washingion. He says it is pretty quietin the Northwest and he does ot look for it to get decidedly better till after the coming Presidential election. Charles F. Hoff of Tucson, who is at the Ocei- dental, says thie health of Whitelaw Reid has greatly improved since he came to Arizons, and that the six delegates from that Territory to the Republican National Convention will undoubtedly be for him for President. Mr. Reid has rented the finest house he could get in Pheenix, and intends to stay there a long time. J. K. Choate, president of the Overland Cot- ton-mill Company, Denver; Henry R. Wolcott, president of the Argo Smelting Works, brother of United States' Senator E. 0. Wolcott, and €. G. Codman, of Denver, arrived yesterday and are at the Palace. Mr. Choate says the Cripple Creek boom is getting bigger each day and that he believes Denver is on the most prosperous basis now of any city in the country. CALIFORNIANS IN NEW YORK. NEW YORK, N. Y,, March 17.—Among recent arrivals were: A. M. Dockham, T.F. Lynch, Grand Union; J. L. Feichtmann, Broad- way Central; M. P. Hammatt, Belyidere; Miss E. V. Hobart, Mrs. C. E. Lester, Miss 8. E. Vas- saule, Holland; C. W. Merrill, Hoffman; W. Weneman, Savoy; L. Brosin, Plaza. J. Louis Feichtmann and Gerald R. Lumley were among the passengers who sailed on the steamship Saale for Bremen. A CAVE OF TREES. One of the most curious and beautiful sights in Contra Costa County can be found on the hills of S8an Pablo Point, only a few hundred feet from the bay shore and about fifty feet above the tide level. It is a natural cave of oak trees, and its existence is largely due to the presence of & spring that flows from the hill- side. At first glance the cave would not impress & person as particularly unusal, as it has much ve Formed by Oak Trees on San Pablo Point. [Sketched by a * Call” artist.] f the appearance of hundreds of other groups o oak trees that can be seen in the vicinity. It is in the bottom of a ravine that runs from north to south, and on being approached closely presents the apvearance of a cavern of inky blackness. There is a large pooi of water at the entrance, and several ol from among bowlders on either side, branches meeting overhead and also extending out on both sides until they completely fill the b ravine. It is the inside of the cave that is the most curious, however. Stepping back & few feet and looking up not the faintest ray of light can be seen, 5o dense is the growtn of leaves and branches. Ten feet back from the mouth of the cave one stands in a soft twilight, and fifty feet back the entrance can scarcely be seen. At the end of the cave where the spring 1s it is as dark as midnight. The entrance cannot be seen from this point as the ravine makes a roceed to slight turn, It s impossible Erored farther becanse the spring comes from 8 large rock that completely blocks the way. It would be impossible fora person to teil | wha the sides of the cave were made of even teu feet back from the entrance. They appear so dense the impression is that there must be rocks on all sides. But a careful examination with the aid of & lamp reveals & most in- tricate metwork of leayes end branches. The abundance of water supplied by the spring has given the trees a phenomenal growth. It has also been the means of causing a growih of vines of different kinds. These are so_thick they form & perfeet wall that it would be im- possible to get through without cutting & pas- sage. B The cave is about eight feet wide and seven feet high and is the same size from end to end of its sixty fect. The stream of water at the bottom is 50 wide that it is necessary to step from rock to rock to avoid walking in it Even on hot days the temperature of the cave is cool and pleasant. CONFUSION ON THE CONTINENT. Abyssinia is justifying its name. It is,in- deed, the “Land of Mixtures.” 1tiscausinga predigious mixture of affairs smong the great powers of Europe. Not for many years heve tne dissolution of the Triple League, the forma- tion of new alliances and the general redistribu- tion of the balance of power seemed so immi- nent as now. A single decisive victory of King Menelek's forces has thrown the whole conti- nent into confusion. Itis alsoa pretty bit of what we call the irony of fate that the power which first adopted extreme militarism as a system should now strike that system 1n Eu- rope so staggering a blow. That power was Abyssinia. ng before Sedan, or even Sadows, King Theodore made of his realm one mighty camp. He organized the stand- ing army on a greater scale, Dropor- tionately,” than that of any European power to-day. It was that fact that aroused disaffection toward him among his own people, made the conquest of his capital by the British so easy—a curious paradox—and drove him to suicide. And now European militarism comes into contact with the rem- nants of his system and is almost shattered by the shock. The utter selfishness of thé Great Powers was neyer more strikingly shown than in this crisis. Italy had been impov- erishing herself and shedding her very heart’s blood for the sake of her allies. And now, in her dire distress, those al- lies pass by on the other side, oftering her not even their sympathy. Their only message is the brutsl remark that she is beaten and ruined and may as weil own up to it. To-mor- row they will be as ready to. prey upon her and despoil her as they have hitherto been to use her for their own ends. No wonder King Humbert resents their so-called advice and resolves to stand or fall on his own chosen ground. But what & pity it is that he will not at once sever the fatal bonds that bind him to his eynical and self-seeking allies, and raise the standard of “Italy for Italians and for Italian interests.” Then he might Testore prosperity and prestige, and make his Kingdom once more worthy of its old renown.—New York Tribune. VIEWS OF WESTERN EDITORS. Put His Foot in It. San Jose Mercury. ‘When Mr. Huntington set the funding trap he little imagined that perverse fate would force him to put his own foot in it. Just as Significant. Redwood City Times-Gazette. Railroad Magistrate C. P. Huntington’s re- mark, “I am content if one man thinks well of me, and that man is C. P. Huntington,” may Dot be as epigrammatic as the late W. H. Van- derbilt's, “Ph> publie be damned,"but itis just as significant, Competitio: Fresno Republican. And now there is talk of telephone competi- tion in California, and it looks as though the talk would be followed by action. Competition has been the great need of the coast for years past, and_there will soon be great improve- ment in that respect. Where the Climate Is Good. Stockton Independent. Roses in full bloora, fruit trees in blossom and birds singing in the branches of trees that are sending out their young leaves make life delightful tn San Joaquin County at this time, when the East is frozen hard sud people are suffering with the cold. An Attractive Exhibit. Los Angeles Times. 1f we could only corral one of these perfect days and set it down in the midst of the frozen and sleet-pelted East it would excite more won- der than all the recent marvelous discoveries of science. But it would need to be carefully labeled in order to have it recognized there as a genuine California March day. Here and There. Santa Barbara News. While the English philanthropists are boom- ing the Chicago fad of the Permanent Arbitra- tion tribunal for England and the United States, sud, are protesting +How we love you, Jonathan,” the ngluh politicians and money kingswre ‘patting Spain upon _the back and egging on other powers to rTesist our prop tion 1o recognize the belligerency of the €uban insurrectionists. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, HENRY IRVING—A. B. C. & Co., City. Henry Irving is the stage name of John Henry Broadrip. He was born at_Keinton, Somerset- shire, Eng., February 6, 1838. He received a public-school education and entered the office of an East Indian merchant in 1852, studied elocution and made his first appearance on the stage at the Lyceum Theater, Sunderland, Eng,,in tho character of Richelieu, September SEAMAN’S RIGHTS—A Reader, City. To the direct question “Cana seaman vote for a Presi- dential candidate if he arrived only a day be- fore the election 2’ the answer is no and yes. No, if the seaman is not a citizen of the United States; no, if a citizen of the United States, but not acitizen of the port at which he lands. Yes, if he, at the time he left the port of ship- ping, was'a qualified citizen and elector of that place, and should return to it the day before election, for a man does not lose his residence becanse engaged in navigation, butif he ar- rived, say in San Francisco (where registration closes thirty dair,l before election) on the da{ before election he would have to make sppli- cation to the Registrar’s office for a certificate to enable him to cast his ballot. To DRILL Grass—W.W. B, Oakland, Cal. A writerin an article on drilling glass says: “Wet an ordinary drill with petroleum or ben- zine—turpentine will answer, but not so well. It will then bore common glass as rapidly as steel. Ifitisintended to bore through, the glass should be first countersunk on each side ‘with a drill dressed off so as to form a very flat three-sided pyramid. Flint and plate glass are very difficult to bore. It has been ascertained that dilute sulphuric ?dd is much more effective, with less wear of the tool, than oil of turpentine. Itis stated that fims castings for ump barrels, etc., are drilled, planed and Porea like iron ones, and in the aame lathey and machinery, by the aid of sulphuric acid. Br6 Bu—E. G. 8, Livermore, Cal. “Big bng” is an Americanism’ which is a disrespectful bit common allusion to persons of wealth or with other claims to distinction. Its yariants are “big dog,” big wig” and “great gun.” In Widow Bedott's papers is found: Mrs. Samsou Savage 13 one of the big bu ] is, she has got more money than almost f:yb:;y‘ in'town. In 1851, the New York Times, in commenti; on English affairs, used tne following: 8 The free and easy manner in which the . urained Sir Robert beel doscribed the big n‘ng':u.'; Moscow brought him into difficulty, Di Vere, in his Americanisms, says: Persons of great wealth and dj irreverently called ‘big bugs, and lh::lg:el:? Wash: ington, is thus said to be inhabited by Ambassy. dors and other big bugs. J..C. Neal makes a nice distinetion when he says of @ rich man without social_importance, “He is o With moré money than brainas O YOUF DI§ bugs THE STAMP LANGUAGE—E. H. R., City. There are as many languages of stemps as there are sets of two or more persons who may arrange stamps in a particular manner on the envelope and apply & meaning to each stamp. One in- dividual, who has published the (olfi)wiug de- clares it has been adopted the world over: When a stamp s inverted on_the upper right- hand coruer, it means the person written to shall write no more. If the stamp is Pplaced on the upper lefthand corner and inverted, then iter declares his affection for the re. 'vgglave‘;'of the letter. When the stampis in the center at the top it signifies an rmative answer to a question, or to the question as the case may be. When 1t is at the bottom or ap- posite this, it signifies a negative. Should nllze stamp be on the righthand corner at right angles, it asks the guestion if the receiver Toves the sender; while if in a like position in the lefthand corner, it means that the writer hates the other. There is a shade of difference between desiring one's acquaintance am} friendship; the stamp at the upper carner;) the right expresses the former, and at the left- hand lower corner means the latter. The writer wishes the receiver of & letter toaccept his or her love by placing the siamp on the line with the surname, and the response is made if the party is engaged by placing the stamp in the same place, but reversing it. —— LADY'S APRON. This useful garment speaks for itself. An apron large enough to be of use, :nt? trim as this need not have its “raison d’ etre” pointed 5\ out. For very rough work enameled cloth or rubber is used. Denim or blue jeans makes & heavy apron that will last indefinitely. Ginghams, heavy cambric or cotton duck are serviceable materials. o Made of white lawn, cambric or batiste it forms a garment miuch’ sppreciated by ladies whose only household cares consist of light dusting. CALIFORNIA glacerfruits, 50¢ 1b. Townsend's.” “We had a very pleasant discussion in re- gara to Napoleon &t our club 10-day,” she said. “Then I suppose you know all about him now,” he replied. “Yes, indeed,” the responded promptly, “He’s the man the magazines have been boome ing for the last year or two.”—Chicago Post. ————————— STANDARD paper patterns and Delineator for April. Domestic S. M. office, 1021 Market st. * e e Dinwiddie—I understand that horseflesh as flood is growing in favor on the Continent of Europe. Van Bramm—T have gathered the same idea from my reading, and I have wondered if red. haired people prefer the meat of the white horses.—Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. —————————— EPECIAL information daily to manufacturers, business bouses and public men by the Prasi Clipping Bureau (Alldn’s), 510 Montgomery. * e e It took only one rib for a woman, but it take: severel to make a good umbrella.—Florids Times-Journa! T was atflicted with eczema on both my ankles Itook Hood’s Sarsapari!la and used Hood's Olive Ointment and iz disappeared.” Charles Behrens, 501 Broadway, San Francisco, Cal. -+ | e e CORONADO.—Atmosphere is pertectly dry, sots and mild, and is entirely free from the mists com- mon further north, Round-trip tickets, by steam- ship, including fiiteen days’ board at the Hotel del Coronado, $60; longer stay $2 50 per day. Apply 4 New Montgomery st., Sun Francisco. - 1§ TROUBLED WITH CHITIS OR ASTHMA try at once Dr. D. Jayne's Expectorant, an old established medicine for all Coughs, Colds and Lung affections. g AT “Pshaw, he only married you for spite.” “I know it, and he ought to be satisfied. He's getting all the spite I can give him."— New York Evening World. NEW TO-DAY. CREAM CHOCOLATE A Package Given Each Customer FREG ‘With Our MONEY-SAVING TEAS, COFFEES, SPICES. Our 50¢ Teas. Our 40c Teas. Our 35¢ Teas. +..Cost 75¢ elsewhe: .Cost 60c¢ elsewhere .Cost 50¢ elsewhere .Cost 40c¢ elsewhere Our 25¢ Teas. .Cost 35¢ elsewhera Our 20¢ Tess..... «+...Cost 30¢ elsewhere EXTRA PREMIUMS GIVEN AWAY. Great AmericauITm)nmng Tea Co.’s 1344 Market st., S. F. MONEY- SAVING STORES: 1419 Polk st., 5. F. 521 Montgomery ave., S, R, 333 Hayes st., 5. P. 146 Ninth st., S. F. TRY OUR Money=Saving Pric:s} In Money-.‘gnv‘:g: Stores. 100 O”nti“ MONEY SAVED EVERY DAY. NO SPECIAL DAY, 218 Third st., S. F. 2008 Fillmore st., S. B, 2510 Mission st., S. F. 3006 Sixteenth st., S, 104 Second st., S. F. 3259 Mission st., S. 52 Market st., S. P, 917 Broadway, Oakland. 1053 Washington st., Oak’d. 131 San Pablo ave., Oaki'd, 616 E. Twelfth st., Oakland. 1355 Park st., Alameda. limbs, use an _tiorls is as good as the If you want a sure relief for ~ains in the back, side, chest, or Allcock’s .~ BEAR IN MIND—Not one of the host of counterfeits and imita- geauine, s Porous Plaster K. b o