The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 28, 1896, Page 1

This Paper ‘ \ | to be taken ffo‘:‘ | the Library.***" not \, Call VOLUME LXXIX.—NO. 150. GRANT'S NAME CAN NEVER DIE Seventy - Fourth Anniver- sary of His Birth Observed. . EXERCISES AT GALENA. Ex-Pension Commissioner Black Eulogizes the Great Hero of the Rebellion. MEMORIAL BANQUETS HELD. Distinguished Men of the Present Time Unite in Recalling Noble Deeds of the Past. GALENA, Iy, April 27.—The seventy- fourth anniversary of the birth of General Grant was celebrated at Galena to-day with unusnal enthusiasm. Business is generally suspended, the city is in holiday garb and -hundreds of visitors from other parts of the State, as well as from across the Towa border, are joining wita Galena citizens in the celebration. A large dele- tion from Chicago, headed by Hon. H. H. Kohlsaat of the Times-Herald, who a year ago presented to the city a magnifi- cent oil painting of Lee’s surrender to ant at Appomattox, and who is also the the statue in Grant Park, arrived his morning at 10 o’clock. The events of th were inaugurated with a parade of s, municipal de- partments, Grand Army and secret and otic societies. Following this wasa reunion of the survivors of the Twelfth Regiment of Illinois Volunteer: This was the regiment in which Grant first en- listed. He was offered the captaincy of a company, but declined it, and General A. L. Chesain, now of Chicago, and who is present to-day, was chosen in his place. The redoabtable Jerry Simpson of Kansas is also one of the survivorsof the Twelfth, The chief feature of the day’'s pro- gramme was the mass meeting this after- noon in Turner Hall, and at which, after patriotic selections by the orchestra and audience, ex-Congressman General John . Black, now United States District At- for the Northern District of delivered the oration. In beginning his oration General Black aid: He who has trodden the high uplands of middle age, or perchance turned to its de- cli that run down into the shadows, has not need of 1 in his personal immortality derstand why the great live forever. For his side so journeying troop the fair com- of childhood, those with whom he who stood with him in the early le the worla was sweet with the w dewy 1ncense of flowers and radient with the lights of dawn; and after them the stronger figures of joyous and emulous youth; they whose garments begin 1o show the first dust of the journey, whose fac loss of ¢hildhood’s celes- tial glo r these, those heroic figures whom we have seen and admired, although moving in different spheres; such a Pantheon of the beloved and venerated in esch man’s memory. And the universal memory of the country preserves in like fashion the memor- ries and shades of its beautiful, its good, its true, its strong and brave. He who stands by Yorktown sees, not the lowlands and tumbling ses, but there arise before him Washington and Lafayette and the united armies of France and America; at Bunker Hill stands Warren’s slender form; at Val Forge the worn and starving conti- ne at Vicksburg, Grant snd Logan, McPherson and Sherman, McClellan and Blair, e invincible besiegers; at Gettysburg, ck and Meade, and Doubleday and ckels; over against them Lee and Longstreet 1d Pickett and 150,000 struggling men; at Appomattox, Grant and a vast host and a gallant quarry! In the old Scnate chember we observe, mnot the quaint columns and the vaulted roof, but ell the ghostly echoes are vibrant with Clay and Calhoun, Benton and Webster; their shades troop forth along the uncolumned air; they gather where their earthly deeds were done; they fill the measures oi heroic song; the pages of history show their brave acts and noble speech; their dust may be scattered on the winds, lost in the loving and all-embrac- ing earth, but themselves, grown into luminous bands, rise and form a shining array till they fill the whole heaven of recollection, and, gathered about their country’s broad-based sud growing structure, become its immortal guards. Such an immortality belongs to those who feil at Marathon, and those who tingea the blue sea with their blood at Salamis and Trafalgar; such are all our immortals! They will not die from among us; they throng our exalted stations; they point to glorified battle plains and to high scaffolds, where they paid the last obligations to right; they sentinel thelong and growing highways of fame; they cluster around heroic ep ochs made noble by teeir speech or written word or un- selfish deed; they are the better angels of our National life, and point to highest purpose and noblest devotion, to love of country and ber cause. After reviewing the gallant services ren- dered the Nation by General Grant the ex- Pension Commissioner concluded his ad- dress as follows: Character such as that of Grant was slow in growth; mnot attracting public attention, known only to the most intimate of his com- panions, and not fuMy comprehended by them; it was aceretion to 8 rock; when the hopr came for its display it was found ringed and banded by all the surroundings of his life. How true he was to friends all know. His word was pledged at Appomattox to the Southern soldiery, and &t a later day, when it wes proposed 1o ignoce the terms he had made, he stood like a lion for those who had trusted his word—and saved them. When he discovered that his purposes were opposed by constitutional authority he bowed his crested head and let the island of San Domingo go. He upheld the traditions of his country and announced, as the illustrious before and sincs him have done, that on American soil there was room only for American institutions. At last, his life’s work done, he bowed to the inevitable. All men watched those closing hours—alike his comrades and those deyoted opponents whom his arms had saved for the nobler destinies of our citizenship. Of old they turned a river by and buried the conqueror deep in its bend, where no vengeful hand couid ever desecrate his sad remains, Butour hero passed away in the sight of all men, weeping and listening, and from those lips that had spoken the iron words of inexorable war breathed in faint tones that shalt shake down the fortresses of strife and pierce all hearts with theirloving power, their balm and benediction: ¢Thisis what I have longed to see before I died, the peace of my country agd the reconciliation of the estranged’—the growing tone of that earlier cry. “Let us have peace.’” Grave in demeanor, quiet in beasing; not given to public speech, but charming in per- sonal converse; pure-tongued as a woman, he said, “I have never, to my knowledge, uttered a profane word”; quick in braving; Tespecting others as well as himself; of very wide and most accurate information: so simple in man- ner that sometimes others believed him pliant, vet determined to to the edge of immobility; accepting all counsel and assuming all com- mand and responsibility; possessed of common execution, but tender in victory; sure of his chosen subalterns, trustful of his tried soldiery; counting the cost, yet paying the whole need- ful price—no wonder that victory attached herself to his cause snd loaded his life With her choicest prizes. He stood— Serene amid alarms, Inflexible in faith. invincible in arms. And now we have assembled about his statue three-quarters of a century after his birth, and while the recollections of him still abide with many living witnesses, to renew our regard and tell our affection for him whose ashes are treasured by our distant countrymen in his- toric urn at the gateway from the sea to the land he helped to keep—let them guard his ashes! Here is the threshold over which he stepped to fame! This the town that was his home, and this the State that upheld him throughout every moment of his prosperity and greatness! The thronging thousands who shall lift careful eyes to the monument at Riverside shall see beside it a figure pointing over mountain and plain and saying: “He who sleeps here wes a son of Illinois, and from her mighty nurturing arms rose to continental stature and boundless fame.” A feature of the day was the arrival from the Rock Island arsenal of an historic can- non captured by members of the Forty- fifth Illinois Volunteers during Sherman’s march to the sea, and upon which is the inscription: ‘“Presented to the Sovereign State of South Carolina in Commemoration of the Twentieth Day of December, 1860, by Citizens Abroad.” This piece of ordnance ran the blockade at Charleston, S. C., and was actively used throughout the war, first by the Confeder- ates and afserwards by its captors. Here- after it will rest beneath the Grant Monu- ment in the Public Park, having been do- nated by Congress for that purpose through the medium of a bill passed within the last few days. AT THE BANQUET BOARD, Grant’s Memory Honored With Speech and Good Fellowship, PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 27.—Gen- eral Grant’s memory was honored with speech, story and good fellowship at the Union League Ciub to-night. Many prom- inent men in military, naval, official and civil life were present. The dinner was held in the large banqueting hall, which was profusely decorated with flowers and bunting. The bust of Grant and his por- trait were draped with the stars and stripes and were placed directly behind the President’s table. Colonel Fred D. Grant was the guest of honor. Upon the conclusion of the dinner, the following toasts were announced: ‘The President of the United States,” “The Memory of Grant,” Hon., Robert S.Cous- ins of Iowa; ‘‘Congress,” Hon. John L. Dalzell of Pensylvania; *Grant in Di- plomacy,” Hon. Andrew D. Wtite of New York; “The Army,” Hon. Charles 8. Grosvenor of Ohio; *“The Navy,” Hon. Charles A. Boutelle of Maine; “The Heroes of the South,” General M. C. But- ler of South Carolina. PITTSBURG, Pa., April 27.—The tenth annual dinner of the Americus Club in honor of the birthday of General U. S. Gran: was given this evening. The feast- ing and brilliant oratory drew a repre- sentative assemblage of Republicans to the Monangahela House, where the festivities were held. The guests of honor incluaed members of Congress, State officials, Judces of the courts and local political lights. Covers were laid for 324 guests and not a chair was vacant. Hon. Thomas J. Stewart, adjutant-general of Pennsyl- vania, filled the office of toastmaster. The principal speakers of the evening were: Congressman J. P. Dolliver of Iowa, who talked of *‘Grant.” Senator C. K. Davis of Minnesota spoke of *‘Progressive Repub- licanism,’” his address arousing much en- thusiasm. Congressman L. E. Quigg of New York talked of the *‘Party of Grant.” Letters of regret were read from a host ot people, among them Mrs. General U. 8, Grant, Colonel Fred D. Grant, ex-Presi- dent Benjamin Harrison, Governor Levi P. Morton, Senator W. B. Allison, ex- Governor McKinley of Ohio, Robert T. Lincoln, Governor W. O. Bradley of Ken- tucky, Governor Hastings®%f Pennsylvania and many others. NEW YORK, N. Y., April 27.—The ninth annual dinner of the Grant Banquet Association was held to-night at the Wal- dorf Hotel. Covers were laid for 108. Among those present were President Granville A. Dodd, General James A. Williamson, Governor Hastings of Penn- sylvania, Posmaster-General Wilson, Mayor William 1. Btrong of New York, Commodore Sicard, U. 8. N.; General Wager Swain, Joseph H. Choate and Mayor Worster of Brooklyn. Speeches were made by General Dodd, Postmaster- General Wilson, Governor Hastings and General Horace Porter, eulogizing the life and services of General Grant. BOSTON, Mass., April 27.—The seventy- fourth anniversary of the birth of General Grant was celebrated by the Middlesex Club this evening at a dinver at the Hotel Brunswick. More than 350 members and, guests were in attendance. The guests of the evening included Senator John M. Thurston of Nebraska, Lieutenant-General James Longstreet of Georgia, Hon. J. B. Foraker of Ohio and Hon. James H. Hoyt of Ohio. General James Longstreet, Sena- tor Foraker and Senator Thurston spoke. To Accept the Proposition. NEW YORK, N. Y., April 27.—At a meeting of the bondholders of the Omaha and St. Paul Railroad to-day it was voted to accept the proposition made by the syn- dicate, consisting of Drexel & Co. of Phila- delphia, the Gilman Sons Company of this city and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Trust Company. The syndicate is be- lieved to re'rressnt either the Wabash or Rock Island roads. The offer is to pur- chase the certificates of the Omaha and St. Louis first mortgage bondholders, to pay therefor 75 Fer cent in 4 per cent first mortgage gold bonds and per cent in stock of the new company that will take over the pmgen. and franchises of the Omaha and St. Louis. The same terms are offered to the second mortgage bond- holders. Treasury Gold Reserve. WASHINGTON. D. C., April 27.—The treasury gold reserve to-day at the close of business stood at $125,732,730. The withdrawals for the day amounted to $123,700, sense in large development; remorseless in [ - WAITING PRICE FIVE CENTS. FOR SOMETHING TO POP. MESH 1D FOR THE SURGENTS Sympathizers of Cubans Are | Rejoicing Over Good News. MEN AND ARMS LANDED. An Important Adjunct to the Patriots Who Are Fighting for Freedom. MINOR BATTLES ARE REPORTED Already a Loss of Over a Million Is Caused by the Burning of Tobacco Fields. HAVANA, Cusa, April 27.—Tne Cuban sympathizers in this city are secretly re- joicing over the receipt of trustworthy intelligence that further aid for the in- surgents has arrived. An expedition with a large quantity of arms and ammunition has safely landed on the coast of Pinar del Rio, and the supplies are now safe in the hands of the patriots. The expedition comprised a large number of men, all well armed and equipped for instant service. No details are given as {o where the ex- pedition was from, but there is no doubt of its having safely evaded the Spanish warships and troops. Colonel Zubia reports that the troops under his command met a band of rebels on the San Jose estate, near Camajuani. A brisk fight foliowed, in which the rebels lost four killed. The insurgents retreated, but were followed by the troops, who again attacked them. The rebels made a stout resistance, but could not. withstand the fire of the troops and were compelled to retreat, leaving eleven dead on the field. The troops, according to the re- port, had only three wounded in both fights, & claim that has a seeming air of improbability. While Col. Pinto’s command was recon- noitering on the Conchita estate nearMariel a rebel band, under Perico Delgardo, was encountered. The insurgents occupied strong positions in the Rubi hills, but the troops dislodged them and pursued them into the mountains. The loss of the in- surgents is said to have been heavy. They left twelve dead on the iield, and two men were wounded died later. ‘The troops had seven wounded. General Razan has gone to Santa Clara. It is understood that he has been ordered away on an imyportant mission. Among the documents found on the hody of Jose Alfonso, the rebel leader, who was killed near Cardenas, was acircular ordering him to respect the property of Americans, Manuel Martinez Valengua was shot this morning in the Cabanas fortress for rebellion and arson. There is no news concerning the move- ments of Maceo, who is still in &a pro- vince of Pinar dei Rio. The rebels have burned all of the to- bacco plantations belonging to Pedro Marias, near Dimas, in the Pinar del Rio province. Altogether, with other prop- erty, over 300 houses and 40,000 bales of tobacco were destroved. The loss is esti- mated at over $1,000,000, that of Marias alone being $700,000. 3 The misery resultant from- the firing of the plantations is terrible. Three thou- sand people are rendered bomeless. They are being protected by the Government as best they can be fed with military rations, The rebels made an attack upon the town of Sitio Grande, near Sagu, but were repulsed. Maximo Gomez is reported at Sancti Spiritus, organizing his forces for a new invasion of the Matanzas and Havana srovinces. He is said by other reports to have already started to march his men in pursuance of his purpose of invasion in the provinces mentioned. It is believed, however, that he will not be successful, as the Government is taking strong meas- ures to prevent him from accomplishing his object. The elections passed off ~ iietly yester- day, and resulted in"tie eition of con- servative afid Autonomist candidates. G T DEPARTURE OF THE BERMUDA. Again on the Way to Cuba With Men for the Insurgents. JACKSONVILLE, Fra., April 27.—The | filibustering steamer Bermuda left this port at 1:40 this morning, but did not cross the bar untii 7 o’clock, having been detained on the twenty - mile trip by numerous embarkations' of men. The number of men she carried out is variously estimated at from 200 to 300. The com- mander of the expedition is said to be the old veteran, General Videl, with General Torres second in command. The Cubans in Jacksonville have heard that Spanish cruisers were sent north from Key West to intercept the vessel, but they say that the Bermuda will outrun them, barring acci- dents to her engines, and if cornered will fight. et GENERAL MACEO DETERMINED. Would Like to Obtain Rifles and a Lot of Cartridges. . NEW YORK, N. Y., April 27.—Senor he says: *“With us everything goes on very well, and there is no doubt of our ability to tri- umph, if by no other means, by exhausting Spain, However, as an early termination of the war must be sought for, and asI read in the papers that it is discussed whether the United States shouid inter- vene or nor, and I haveno doubt that, im- pelled by yoar patriotism, you make every effort to obtain whatever may be beneficial for Cuba, I take the liberty of remarking that the surest way way of bringing the war to a very early termination would be to place her some 20,000 rifles and 4,000,000 cartridges. If the United States, observing their own laws, will not interfere with the shipments of arms and ammunition for us, it would be a great service rendered to Cuba with- out provoking any complications with Spain, for as I understand those shipments would be perfectly legal. “I have been compelled by circum- stances to resort to exireme measures. General Weyler, in his wild desire of gain- ing glory and of obstructing the recogni- tion of our belligerency, went in his proc- lamation so far as to promise the planters that they would be able to grind their sugar-cane, while to the Government he gave the assurance that the elections could be peaceably held, and to the country at large he declared that the Pinar del Rio and some other provinces would be soon pacified. Some of the planters expressing them- selves willing to believe that the general would keep his promise began to get ready for grinding the cane. Under the circum- stances I made up my mind to invade Pinar del Rio again in order to show that we are fully able to compel obedience to the orders of our Government. I am perfectly satisfied with the success which has attended all my operations during this second invasion which shalllast as long as there is anything to destroy from which Spain may derive revenue.’’ Due to Dull Trade. BOSTON, Mass., April 27.—Pemberton Brothers, ‘dealers in sheepskins, with a factory at Peabody, Mass., have assigned for the benefit of their creditors.- The tirm of B. E. Baker & Co., dealers in goatskins, of which the Pemberton Brothers are members, join in _the assignment. The aggregate indebtedness is about ,000. The suspension was due to the dullness of trade, shrinkage of values and the diffi- culty of making prompt collections. . LEAVES A WIDE PATH OF RUIN Terrible Havoc of the Big Cyclone That Swept Kansas, MANY HOMES LAID LOW. Six Persons Killed During the Fury of the Twister and Others Injured. SOME MIRACULOUS ESCAPES. At One Razed House a Mother With Babe in Arms Was Not Hurt at All. CLIFTON, Kax., April 27.—Later details | from the scene of the cvclone Saturday Palma of the Cuban Junta has received a | o Soare 4 letter from General Antonio Maceo, dated | E1 Rubi, Pinar del Rio, April 14, in which | night do not change the figures in regard to the ‘loss of life. For a distance of four or five miles a space a quarter of a mile wide is covered with wreckage. In this strip ten houses were demolished, six peo- ple killed, two fatally injured and fifteen hurt. Mrs. Bong, hearing the storm com- ing, rushed into the pantry under the stairway. She had barely got there when the whole upper part of the house disap- peared in the darkness. She remained in the house all night and was found by the neignbors in the morning calmly sitting amid the ruins. Near this house in the track of the storm stood the home of a doctor called Indian Jonn. Two other men were in the house at the time. Suddenly, without a mo- ment’s warning, the house was crushed like an eggshell, but the men were un- injured. 'In the home of Frank Peterson, which was wrecked, were seven persons, six of them members of the Peterson family, and a hired man. The house was scattered over several acres, the barn ruined and Peterson’s wife and daughter killed and all the others more or less in- jured. Just below Peterson’s place lived Ola Halverson. His home was taken to the northeast. Not one stick upon an- other was left, and Halverson’s wife was killed and himself badly injured. At the house of Charles Gardner the family started for the cellar when the roar of the storm was beard, but before they got to the door thie house was dashed to pieces. Mr. Gardner says: “I saw my wife pick up the baby and then a crash came. I remember nothing more till I felt the rain falling on my face. I arose and looked around. The house had disappeared. I called to my wife and she anowered, and going towarda her I found her with the baby in her arms amid the frag- ments of the house. She was uninjured, and had the baby safe. One of my boys was under a part of the wall on one side of the house. One of his legs was broken below the kaee. I took a stick and pried him loose. My five-year-old boy had dis- appeared, but after ‘some search I found bim sixty rods from the house in the mud, not seriously injured.” At Peter Anderson’s, just across the val- ley from Gardener’s, the wreck was even worse, nothing being left but the cellar. ‘here were seven members in the family. ‘he house was blown from over their heads. “Anderson soon found all the mem- bers of his family except the chila of his daughter, five years old. The ‘poor little fellow was found in the morning dead. e 4An Arkansas Cyclone. MEMPHIS, TExN., April 27.—A dimiu- tive cyclone swent over a portion of Ar- kansas yesterday affernoon, wrecking a considerable amount of more or less val- uable property, but so far as reported no lives were lost. It was heaviest in the vicinity of Morrillton. e NOETH DAKOTA’S TWISTER. Buildings Demolished by a Cyclone Dur- ing Its Course. FARGO, N. D., April clone in North Dakota since the Fargo catastrophe in 1890 is reported west of Barnes County last evening. The cyclone formed in the southern end of Lake Eckleson, moving in a zig- zag course in a northeasterly direction. The first damage is reported at Sanborn, where a schoolhouse and barn were com- pletely demolished. The cloud was funnel- shaped and inky black at the bottom. The peovle at Sanborn were greatly fright- ened and took refuge in cellars. The storm veered slightly and passed without further damage. The force of the storm was greatest at Hobart where all the farm buildings of Nels Munson were swept away. Mrs. Munson rushed to the cellar where she remained until the storm had passed. The building was swept from over her head and the cellar was filled with debris com- pletely burying her, but fortunately she escaped with a few bruises. Mr. Munson was carried away with the house and was found unconscious lying in a slough fifty yards from -where the building had stood. His arms and legs are broken and it is thought he is injured internally. Recovery is doubtful. Farm implements were twisted and broken and scattered all over the farm, and the coal stove cannot be found. The path of de- struction was only a few feet in width and included but few buildings in its course of about eight miles. The forceof the storm was spent at Valley City. Wires between here and Hobart are down. GREAT SKIN-GRAFTING. Life and Arms of @ Man Saved by Suc- cessful Operations. WICHITA, Ka: April 27.—One of the most remarkable skin-grafting operations on record has just been performed at Kingman, a few miles west of this city. While attempting to save a child from a burnine building several weeks ago J. H. Light was terribly burned about the face and arms and physicians despaired of his life. It was decided as a last resort to amputate both arms, but the family ob- jected and urged the doctors to try skin- grafting. The family and friends agreed to furnish the necessary grafts. It took two days to prepare the patient to receive them. Eight persons contributed from 50 to 200 grafts each, making a total of 637. The pieces are knitting satisfactorily, and Dr. Buck, who performed the operation, says his patient will soon be out. s EVIDENCE OF A MURDER. Bloodstained Garments Worn by John H. LBrownrigg3of Dublin Found in a Freightcar. SIOUX CITY, Towa, April 27.—Evi- dences of & murder of which John H. Brownrigg, late of Dublin, Ireland, is sup- posed to have been the victim have been found by the Sioux City police in a Chi- cago, Burlington and Northern boxcar re- cently received here from some point in Missouri not vet known to the officers. The car was switched into the yards here to be loaded with ties. The men engaged in the work, on opening it, discovered on the floor a bloodstained canvas coat, hat, shirt and newspaper. The coat and hat were cut in several places as though a knife had been thrust through them. In the coat pocket was a letter written by Edward S. Roe of Dublin to John L. Roe of Union, Vancouver Island, intro- ducing John H. Brownrigg, who, it was explained, would leave November 1, 1895, for the latter place to locate. The. local authorities think Brownrigg was murdered in the car and his body was thrown out. They are investigating with a view to ascertaining its starting point, It has aiready been traced to St. Louis, but as the trains for this section are all made up there, it is by no means certain that the clothing was not left in the car before that city was reached. AIOTS ANOIG SCLINS Populace of Paterno Incensed Against the Imposition of Unjust Taxes. Soldiers Stoned and an Attempt Made to Open the Prison and Re- lease Convicts. PALERMO, Srcrvy, April 27.—There was ariot to-day at Paterno, a city ten miles northwest of Catania. The populace, which consists chiefly of the lower classes, became incensed against the imposition of the communal taxes, and made a demon- stration at one time which threatened to become very serious. The mob attacked the house of the Syndic or Mayor and smashed the win- dows and destroyed a number of street lamps. They then set fire to the office of the Octroi, where the tax on provisions, etc., entering the city is collected, and to anumber of sentry boxes, and they were destroyed. The mob was in a most dan- gerous humor and the gendarmes were powerless to quell the disturbance. The military were called out, but the rioters stoned the troops, severely wound- ing an officer and three soldiers. An attempt was made to open the prison and release the convicts, but this was for- tunately prevented by the troops. The situation was becoming extremely critical when the Prefect of Catania arrived on the scene. He finally, after several fruitless ai tempts, got the crowd to listen to him. He promised that some of the more bur- densome of the grievances of the people would be redressed, and by his concilia- tory attitude ultimately calmed the pas- sions of the mob, which then dispersed. e e Failure of a Large Firm. ROCHESTER, N. Y., April 27.—It was announced this morning that the large sash, door and blind manufactury of John A. Smith was in the hands of the Traders’ National Bank by virtue of two mort- gages aggregating $500,000. It is under- stood that Smith’s failure was induced by stagnation in business, and has no con- nection with the lumber failure of Water, Armstrong & Clark, which occurred last Saturday. NATIVE. SONS AT SAN LUIS Stockton's Workers Capture the Admission Day Celebration. GOOD-WILL PREVAILS. Claims of the “New Chicago” Are Allowed Without an Argument. GUESTS GIVEN THE CITY'S KEY, Take Full Possession of the Tempo- rary Capital of the Golden West. SAN LUIS OBISPO, CAL., April 27.— Henry Martin walked up the street to the Pavilion Theater at ten minutes after noon to-day. The heavy and popular grand treasurer was late. Tall Senator Bert had observed him approaching, however, and had announced that fact to the presiding officer, so when the treasurer walked down the spacious aisle the officers and dele- gates were waiting, though in their places. Mr. Martin sat down. He smiled broadly and dried his perspiring brow with a handkerchlef, and then the annual con- vention of the Native Sons was called to order. This was the opening session, and after the preliminary business was done an ad- journment for two hours was ordered for the benefit of the committee on creden- tials. Later in the afternoon two matters of public interest were taken up—the selec- tion of a place to hold the Admission day ceiebration in September and the choice of a town in which to have the annual con- vention next year. The first matter was promptly disposed of, and the Natives will gather at Stockton on Admission day. Stockton was determined to have the September celebration, and it sent its men here with instructions to win in spite of any opposition. Delegate H. R. McNoble had a magnificent oration already to de- liver. He had been thinking about it for days. He intended to tell the Natives of the glory of the “new Chicago,”’ and to point out in his most emphatic way the commercial importance of its location. McNoble is an orator of fame as well as ot ability, and it is mainly to his elo- quence . that Stockton’s easy victory is ascribed. The delegates all knew that he could deliver justsuch an oration. They knew that they could not resist the argu- ments if they listened, so they surren- dered to Stockton in advance. Mr. Mc- Noble did not have to speak. George E. Catts and W. B. Nutter, the other Stockton delegates, were also pre- pared to speak. They also are orators. A good talking delegation had been elected at Stockton for the purpose of capturing the convention.. These two men would have left no truth unexpounded, however much might have been overlooked by Mr. Noble. They would have reviewed the history of their 8an Joaquin region from the first day that the river flowed. They would have pictured the glory and the romance of Stockton life at autumn time, and they would appeal to the delegates with all the carrying force of an ebbing tide on the overflowed lowlands, and with all the im- aginative beauty of the inland mirage that they and their home brethren know. But their eloquence was not heard. Every opposing delegation capitulated when the Stockton motion was made, and the city on the river was chosen without debate or any opposition. The choice of a place for the next annual convention was considered. Redwood City’s delegation extended a hearty invi- tation. San Francisco was named in one of the motions. The outside delecates seem to think that Redwood City’s invitation should be ac- cepted, but San Francisco can command a large vote if its motion is urged. Watson- ville asserted a claim to convention recog- nition, and to-morrow Delegate Boyd of San Rafael will present a motion in the Marin County interests. No vote was taken before to-day’s adjournment. The freedom of the city was tendered to the guests this evening. A crowd of about 3000 persons assembled about the court~ house grounds. A concert was given by the Fifth Regiment band of San Joso. Then M. R. De la Guerra of Los Osos Par- lor called the throng to order. Lawyer William Graves of this city delivered thi address of welcome. . Mayor E. P. Unangst tendered the free- dom of the city to the Native Sons, mak- ing a very effective speech as he pre sented to Grand President Frank H. Dunne the huge gilded key. He saw Milk Inspector Dockery of San Francisco in the audience, and made an allusion to San Francisco as a city “‘whose streets run not red with gore, but white with the chalk of men’s rascality.” The Mayor told Grand President Dunne to take the key,and if any rusted lock should refuse to turn to use the key asa club and knock the door from its hinges. Mr. Dunne made a brief and eloquent reply. “The warmth of our welcome,” said he, ‘‘the gracious werds that we have just listened to, the friendli- ness and good feeling that are about us, all these things, generous as they are, seem to me quite in harmony with the surroundings and the location of - the place selected for this meeting of our Grand Parlor. When we remem- ber that this ground, hallowed by those Mission Fathers, those pioneers among the pioneers who first taught of the value of fraternal association and its ap- plicatior to our human needs and desires, it is not difficult to understand the pecu- liar sympathy that makes our coming among you the visit of old friends to old friends rather than a formal gathering of strange visitors. “‘And in accepting your hospitality in