The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 19, 1896, Page 15

L] THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 19, 1896. 15 MR, SNOOK 15 CATCHING TROUT. Supervisor Talcott Says He Should Be at His Office. EQUALIZERS ARE AT SEA Want an Opinion on How fo Value and Assess Fran- chises. STREET ROADS LOSE MONEY. F. M. Smith, the Horse Magnate, Has Paid Damage Judgments From His Own Pocket. 0AxLAND OrFicE SAN FrANcisco CALL, 908 Broadway, July 18. District Attorney Snook is missing and has not been at his office all the week. Su- pervisors have asked for bim every day, but the only answer that could be given was that Mr. Snook was doing the Gray Gables act in the mountains. While the Board of Equalization isin session the District Attorney is in great demand. His opinion is wanted on many points. All through this week the very important question of the assessment of franchises has been before the board. All kinds of political capital has been made and is being made out of the assess- ment of the corporate interestsof this county, and Mr. Snook has seriously im- peded the work of the Supervisors by his fishing excursion. : “{ told the District Attorney he had no business to leave his office at this critical time,” said Supervisor Talcott to-day. *‘I told him we should need his advice daily, but he persisted in going and bis absence has caused many matters to be delayed that we could have disposed of days ago. Mr. Church, hischief deputy, is willing to give us an opinion on the matter of these franchises, but we must bave no shelving of responsibility and Mr. Snook must attend to this matter himself.” As the Supervisors will undoubtedly act e of the District Attorney, y have been warned by their enemies that their success at the next election will depend on their actions Monday, Mr. Snook’s sbsence from his desk is being discussed in many lights and shadows. ‘When the Board of Equalization ad- journed to-night there were twenty-nine cases under advisement. All of these cases will receive the aitention of the District Attorney before the board will act. Since the remarks of Mr. Morehouse yesterday the members have given up the id ea of an extension of time and are bend- ing every nerve to complete their labors by Monday night, when tneir iabors as a board expires. The Alameda Water Company, which furnishes water for Berkeley, asked to have the assessment upon their franchise stricken from the roll on the ground that their principal place of business was in San Francisco, The total, including $5000 for the franchise, was $196,675. They asked to have it reduced to $129,636. The ! ear- ing of the application was set for Monday morning. The question of the assessment upon the -Alameda, Oakland and Piedmont electric line was next taken up. Mr. Rank was sworn and testified that at the valuation fixed by the Assessor the company ‘was not making 1 per cent profit. If it was allowed to stand the company would either have to go into the hands of a receiver or else cut theiremployes’ wages. He thought that if the franchises had not been so hignly assessed he might not have filed an application for areduction at all. The iant could stand its assessment. Mr. alton took occasion to tell the board how exceedingly kind Mr. Rank had been to him, and he was glad to know that the assessments upon the improvements were g0 nearly acceptable to Mr. Rank. The case was then taken under advisement until the opinion of District Attorney Snook should be received upon the ques- tion of franchise assessments. _The Oakland Consolidated Electric peti- tion was taken up. They claimed that the assessment upon the Claremont fran- chise should be canceled, as the franchise had ln{\sed. They uever held a franchise from Forty-seventh and Grove streets to Adeline. The tracks were laid on their own property, hence that assessment should be siricken off the rolls. Mr. Grim, the superintendent, was placed upon the stand and testified that the road was the poorest in the county. It was poorly built in the first place. The whole road needed replacing with new material. It had never paid dividends, but the stock- holders had been compelied to put their hands down in their pockets and pay the interest on the bonded indebtedness. The various judgments against the compan; had been paid by Mr. Smith andDMI)‘: Martin. The petition was taken under ad- visement on the testimony taken last year and the District Attorney’s opinion. A. L. Stone presented the petition of the Oakland, San Leandro and Haywards electric line. There were twenty-eight separate reductions asked for. It was assessed at $304,000, and he desired to have it reduced to $146,000. Most of this wason ] franchises. He cited the case of the fran- chise, only one block long, on Thirteenth street, belween Washington snd Clay. It was only used occasionally, und then the proceeds did not }.ay the expenses of running the car out of the power-house. He said their franchise on the city wharf was assessed at $10,000, while Mr. Vandercook had a franchise which was not assessed at all. Any other line could run over that line if they paid their share of ihe expenses. 1t was not an abso- lute franchise. It would be cheaper to take up the track and abandon the fran- chise than to pay taxes on such an assess- ment. The franchise only cost $230 in Open competition, which he thought was its full valae, Mr. Stone went further and said he thought the whole franchise should be greatly reduced, owing to the loss the roads were meeting with. Beveral years ugo it Was a paying proposition. The road was run at a loss of $18,000. It was not fair to assess a franchise without a knowledge of its income. He had offered to show Mr. Dalton the books whenever he ca'ied, but ;l;xzegenllemun had never putin anappear- Mr. Dalton nmught the value placed uvon the franchise by the company when they placed their bonds would be a good criterion, and asked Mr. Stone to giye that figare. Mr. Stone refused to submit such hg‘"”h and Bupervisor Taicott upheld l;m« The latter gentieman though: that the assessment should be made upon the present worth of the franchise. What it Was worth years apo cut no figure now. }tl,e thought the boara had ull, the fizures chey had any business to ask for. They Id not sit there to depreciate values of property in this county. Mr. Dalton thought the figures placed upon the fran- chise by the corporation when issuing bonds was a good starting point. The petition was then taken under advisement. The board will meet again to-morrow. e e sel:?nd Best in the Stave. OAKLAND, Car., July 18.—Company F, N. G. C., of this city is very proud of its standing among the fifty-seven com- panies of the State. 'The local company ranks as the second best company in the guard. It is commanded by Captain Wethern and is connected with the Fifth Infantry Regiment. The percentage of the company is 4.75. Five different com- panies have the same percentage, but Company F of Qakland is placed at the top. PEIRSOL IS SAFE. The Poundmaster Will Not Shuare His Quarters With the City Attorney. OAKLAND, CaL., July 18.—City Attor- ney Peirsol and Poundmaster Weitzel con- ferred together to-day, and both agreed that it would not be advisable to share the same office. Mr. Peirsol outlined the objections that he feared, and told Mr. Weitzel how intri- cate was the practice and interpretation of municipal law in Oakland. The neces- sity of quiet and freedom from probable angry visitors was carefully and graphic- ally outlined to Mr. Weitzel, and made the neceu%y impression. Mr. Weitzel's pound is_associated with the Humane Society, and he thought it would not be humane to inflict tortures on Mr. Peirsol that he would not permit on a dumb animal, so he graciously agreed to seek other quarters. Hana in hand the two officials made a tour of the hall and found a cozy slcove that just suited Mr, Weitzel. In fact, it suited him better, as in addition to the ordinary entiance it contains an exit into the Chief of Police’s office, which can be used in an emergency. ——————— Young and Naughty. OAKLAND, Car, July 18. — Rosina Haasa, a pretty miss not yet 15 years of age, has consented to be sent to Whittier to get away from associates which have led her astray. Her mother to-day luglied to have her daughter sent to the State school, because she could not manage her. She says Rosina refuses to go to school, and bas developed such a fondness for men’s company that on several cccasions she had run away with them and remained three days at a time. She says on one occasion the naughty irl went to a lodging-house on lower roadway and remained several days. Another time she went to 8an Francisco IVSPECTOR PIEACE 5 VERY HAPPY, Knows Not Allopathy Nor Homeopathy in- His Business. JUST AN ORDINARY VET Will Probably Not Be Removed by the New Board of Health. NO PROFESSIONAL JEALOUSY The Present Inspector Has Filled the Office Since It Was First Created. OARLAXD OFFICE SAN Fraxcisco CALL,) 908 Broadway, July 18. § Dr. F., E. Pierce, who goes out in the early morning and intercepts the milk- County Treasurer the sum of $195,248 04, all of which 1s for State and county taxes, except $39 for tax deeds and license, col- lected as follows: April, $920; May, $1180; June $2487 40. This covers a period from Oetober 8, 1895, to July 11, 1896. Father Yorke to Lecture. OAKLAND, CaL., July 18.—Rev. P, C. Yorke will lecture at the Macdonough Theater Monday night for the benefit of the Catholic s’ Aid Society. His subject will be *The Tribulations of Truth,” As the fame of Father Yorke both asa lecturer and writer in defense of Catholi- city is acknowledged by all classes on this coast it is expected the Macdonough Theater will be filled to overflowing on Monday night to hear the eloquent divine and indeed from the sale of tickets and the constant demand for reserved seats _tba; expectation is now practically real- 1zed. Testimonial to Cook. OAKLAND, CaL., July 18.—An elaborate and attractive programme being ar- ranged for the testimonial which wl'il be tendered to retiring Manager Charles E. Jook at the Macdonough Theater, Tues- day evening, July 28. The talent to appear will include prominent members of the Frawley and California stock companies and a number of leading specialty artists. A grand prize cake-walk will alsobe a fea- ture of the performance. The sale of seats opens next Thursday morning. Will Have to Stand Trial, OAKLAND, Car., July 18.—Attorney Phil M. Walsh got out & Wwrit of habeas corpus this morning on behalf of Mary Wagner, the colored woman who shot Mrs. Amanda Calloway recentl{y. Prose- cuting Attoney Melvin heard of it and at once drew up & warrant charging Mrs, Wagner with ault to murder and had Clerk of the Police Court Crawford take it to Mrs. Calloway, who swore to it. When the habeas corpus case came up before Judge Ogden on the ground that there was no warrant for her arrest and and stayed at a house on Fifth street for three nights. Rosina thinks if she was sent to Whit- tier she could break herself of these bad habits and be & better girl. WORE A PMTENT DRESS A Pretty Copyist Waved Her Hand and Instantly Ap- peared in Bloomers. Half a Dezen County Officials Still Wondering How It Was All Done. OAELAND OFFICE 8AN FRAxcrsco CALL,) 908 Broadway, July 18. | Miss May McKee was the innocent and ignorant cause of a little sensation at the Courthouse to-day. The lady is one of the most courteous and popular of County Clerk Jordan’s copyists. She is also a very enthusiastic cyclist. Every day she goes to and trom the hall on her trim wheel, about which there is nothing effeminate. This noon Miss McKee came down the hall steps carrying her wheel. A small coterie of officials saw her with the woeel, and as she was not dressed in any new woman costume there was much discus- sion as to what would happen. One of the men finally thought he had solved the mystery by saying that the lady had made a mistake and taken Mr, Jor- dan’s wheel. No one, however, liked to sugeest to her that she had probably made an error. , Miss McKee took her wheel to the edge of the sidewalk and a minute iater she was spinuing up Broadway in bloomers and looking very attractive, while half a dozen county officials were wondering at the alacrity witn whicn the change was made. Miss McKee bas invented a new com- bination bloomer dress. When ready to mount her wheel she merely pulls a string, and a second later she has some- thing in her hand which she throws over the handle-bar and is off in bloomers. No further description of the dress has yet been given., A Mountain Runaway. OAKLAND, CaL., July 18.—Captain W. R. Tiomas has just returned from a trip in the country, where he took a stage ride that he will not soon forget. He was on the Quincy stage riding with the driver when it reachea Bidwells Bar. The driver got down and attempted to water his horses. One of the wheel- horses in swinging his head around threw his bridie off, scaring himself and the other horses. Off they started without a driver. Captain Thomas reached for the lines and attempted to_stop them. The lead horses became disentangled and turned off the road. The other passen- gers on top of the coach were thrown one at a time to the ground. The captain Leld on to the lines trying to turn the team off the road for fear of being dashed over an eighty-foot embankment. They came within three and a half feet of it by actual measuments taken afterward, before they were turned up the hill, where he soon stopped them. The driver followed, and as he passed the passengers he thought Captain Thomas would surely be tbrown into the pit which bad water in it. On arriving there hesaw the captain’s hat floating around. He be- gan to look into the water, but was soon relieved to see him coming np on foot. Denth of Miss Wakelfleld. OAKLAND, CaL, July 18.—News reached this city to-day of the death of Miss Rose Wakefield at Los Gatos this morning at 4 o'clock. The family left home less than a month ago with,the yonng lady in the best of heaith and her sudden death will be a great shock to her numerous friends in this city, where she was raised from her infancy. Miss Rose waus one of the triplets born to Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Wakefield of 330 East Seven- teenth street, and was only 19 years old. She has one sister living, Miss Violet, the two young ladies hawn; duated last Christmas from the Oakland High School. They were always together and by many taken for twins. The separation will bea keen shock to Miss Violet. She has the sympathy of hundreds of friends in this Ler bour of béreavement. The family will return home with the remains to-morrow morning. The funeral will take place from the family residence Tuesday afternoon at 20o'clock.” Mr. Wake- field is well known, baving served as a member of the City Council. Letter From McKinley. OAKLAND, Car, July 18.—After the ratification meeting held in the Expaosition building in bhonor of the nomiuation of McKinley ana Hobart Major £. W. Wood- ward sent Mr. McKinley a copy of each of the evening papers reporting the sameand a bearty indorsement of the ticket by the Army and Navy Republican L-ague of this city. To-day he received a reply dated July 6, in woich the Presidential nominee gratefully acknowledpes the compliment and-thanks him for the honors bestowed. Leases +.ore Land. OAKLAND, Caw., July 18.—J. 8. Emery to-day leas:d to the California Jjockey Club a piece of land about 325x770 feet for five years at & cash rental of $500 a year in advance. It runs jor filteen years and en- Milk Inspector Pierce, Who Is Also City Veterinarian, Is Congratulating Him- self That There Is Only One School ef Horse Ductoring. men who bring their product into Uak- iand, is a happy man. He is the City Vet- erinary Inspector, and he owes his position to the Board of Health. He is very much of the board and Inspectors Ott and Smith, who do not know whe: the ax may fall. Dr. Pierce’s joy is based on the fact that there is but one scnool of horse medicine and that he need fear nothing from a ho- meopathic Board of Health, When the Mayor made appointments last week that placed the board hopelessly 1 the power of tne little pill men there was-great consternation among the ‘em- ployes of the board. There was justifica- tion for it, for the very first time the board met a homeopathic Health Oflicer was substituted for the regular physician, whose term had not yet expired. & Interest next centered on the Milk Inspector and City Veterinaria i place is held, and has been held creation over a year ago, by Dr. F. E. Pierce, It was naturally supposed that the victors would claim the spoils and that Dr. Pierce wouild go. “I am very glad that there is but one school of veterinary surgery,” said Dr. Pierce to-day. “Iaminconflict with noone. I have never heard of allopathic or homeo- pathic horse or cow doctorinz. I do not believe there is more than one school, and naturally I am glad there isnot. The new appointees on the Board of Health are all men of high standing, and I do not think they have any idea of upseiting the p&;ur},fi arrangement of the bacieriological office. . Mayor Davie says that he is not advis- ing the Board of Health and that be has full confidence that they can carry out their duties. *‘I have no suggestions to give them,” said the Mayor to-day, ‘and I have no desire to see any one dismissed or elected. Inspector Pierce has done very well and I believe his only enemies are milkmen who vatronize the pump and dealers who sell impure goods.’ Another American Girl. OAKXLAND, CaL, July 18.—Word has been received by Deputy County Clerk Frank D. Adams and wife of the success of their niece in her recent debut in London musical circles. Her first dppearance wi greeted with such lppluns:?hat she w‘:: forced to appear and reappear before the curtain. Her tutor claimed that she had ables the association to make another en- trance to the driving park. the best voice of any American a i in London 1n yenu,’ o The lady in question is Mrs. Bertha Harmon-Force and is weil known in Oak- land. Her mother, Mrs. Dora Harmon, is pow the guest of lLer sister, Mrs, Frank Adams, in East Oakland, where she will remain until her daughter returns to this country. Miss May Adams will then go East with Mrs. Harmon and meet Mrs, Force, who was her childhood’s com- panion. More Fire Protection. OAKLAND, Cai., July 18.—The fire and water committee of the City Council has reconmended the placing of more r bydrants, as follows: By the Oak- land ater Company, at Twenty-third and Webster streets, Walsworth nns Moss avenues, and Walsworth avenue 300 jeet north of Summit; by the Contra Costa Company, at Perry and Chestnut streets, Oakland and Santa Rosa avenues, an Orange street 300 feet north of Morris ““The Footrace.’’ OAKLAND, CaL., July 18.—The evan- gelist, John Currie, will speak at the Young Men’s Christian Association rooms to-morrow afternoon at 3 o’clock to men only. His subject will be “The Footrace,” Mr. Currie was something of a racer in earlier days and will be .‘nh to interest young men. Statement of Collections, OAKLAND, CiL, July 18.—Tax Col- ‘avenue. | lector J. B. Barber has tarned over to the more comfortable than Secretary Schafer | detention Mr. Melvin produced the one just prepared. Judge Ogden dismissed the case and remanded Mrs. Wag, THE OBSERVE 1 SELED Forms of an Alameda Paper Carried Away in a Hurry.» Fee of a Reil Estate A’n —Installa- tion of Young Endeavorers—A New Yacht. ALAMEDA, Car., July 18.—The “forms” of the Observer were taken away by Thomas M. Ball from the Telegram office this morning, under authority from Hawks & Shattuck, San Francisco. 3 The authorities in Oakland are looking for W. H. Hill, in regard to his connec- tion with the removalof the Observer paraphernalia, which practically paral- yzes that paper temporarily. A Real Estate Agent’s Fee. ALAMEDA, Caw., July 18.—Judgment for defendant was rendered yesterday aft- ernoon in the suit of Charles Hoch against 0. 8. Meysell to recover $50, which he had retained as compensation for his services in connection with the sale of property of Joseph Miller of Railroad avenue for §2150. The suit was taken to Oakland on a change of venue from Justice Swasey’s court in Alameda Township. A Corporation Purchase. ALAMEDA, Cax., July 18.—By a return of real estate made to-day in the estate of the late Samuel King it tranepires that a biock of land on Webster street, between Eagle and Atlantic avenues, has been sold to the California Improvement Company for the sum of §1000. Church Installation Servies. | ALAMEDA, Cau, July 18.—Professor George A. Coe of the Northwestern Uni- versity, Chicago, will deliver a cial address to-morrow evening in the Parx- street M. E. Church. The occasion will be the installation of the officers of the Young People’s Christian Endeavor Society. Brevities. QOAKLAND, CaL, July 18.—The de- fender of the Encinal Yacht Club’s pres- tllgo. The Fawn, bas been wholly remod- eled, and about the only original thing left of l;er is the naml'; Mlld thon“vlv.tlno are not landlubbers say she wlhil worthily u; hold the honor of the local yacht clnz. &3 Mrs. Delsney will not contest her hus- band’s suit for a divorce, as she is very glad to get rid of him. Tbecase is now in the court commissioner’s hands. The Alameda day committee is to meet a delegation from Oakland in the City e A s, et, Who Ps a smal cery'n the foot of Park street, had her till robbed at sundown this evening. Five dollars and some odd cents was n. ———————— Identified as a Sun Francisean, OAKLAND, Cax., July 18.—The remains of a man found in the bay near the Mole were identified to-day as of Giacomi Demater of San Francisco. He is a meel iy LIS T it uced af mg! show En:mm- he committed suicide or met death.by accident. ————————— Tn the Baidar Valley, near Balaklava, in | the Crimea, there stands a nut tree which must be at least 1000 years old. It yields annually from 80,000 to 100,000 nuts, and is the property of tive Tartar families, who shere its produce equally, STILL RISKING INFANTS' LIVES, Street-Car Companies Are Ignoring the Safety Ordinance. RUNNING GREAT RISKS. City Attorney Peirsol Speaks About Culpable Negligence at Crossings. BIG DAMAGES ARE CERTAIN. Fenders for Cars Are Again Receiving the Attention of the Council. 0AKLAND OFFICE SAN FrANcIsco CaLy, 908 Broadway, July 18. 2’ Two bright little girls are in Mounatain View Cemetery who should be the delight and the pride of their parents. Unless the law specially passed to prevent such fatal- ities is enforced there will soon be a recur- rence of that fatal night several months ago. When the two little Booth girls were killed ic West Oakland by an-electric car as they were going to meet their father after his day’s work, great indignation was expressed by the public. Tue result was the passage of an ordinance making it a misdemeanor for cars to pass one another within fifty feet of a street crossing. They were also forbidden to pass each other at a greater speed than four. miles an hour. Neither ordinance has been obeved and complaints are being made every day of the narrow escapes of women and chil- dren at street crossings. At Thirteenth and Broadway this after noon two cars of the same line that killed the Booth girls were passing right on the crossing. A lady with a baby in a buggy was coming down Broadway and had safely passed the rear of one car and was on her way across the second track. To her surprise she encountered another car going in the opposite direction in direct violation of the ordinance. The lady screamed aud but for the timely help of some people hey buggy would have been smashed. To make matters still worse the car which she had avoided was being closely followed by another one and aiter avoid- ing the second car she was in danger of collision from a third. These situations are provided for in the ordinance. The matter was called to the attention of City Aitorney Peirsol, who said the volice should be instructed to rigidly en- force the ordinance. “Shoula any more accidents oceur,” said Mr. Peirsol, *‘the very fact of the cars being together at a crossing will be abso- lute proof of negligence on the part of t e car employes. There are already several suits in the courts for heavy damages, but they all occurred before the passage of the ordinance. There is no doubt about its violation, and it is to be hoped thai it will be enforced before any more people are killed.” The Street Committee of the City Coun- cil met last night and discussed the sub- ject of fenders for streetcars. An oxdi- nance was passed nearly a year ago order- ing all companies to place proper guards on their cars. but so far nothing has been done. The committee will refer to the matter again next week. A few days ago a fender on an Alameda eléctric-car picked up a boy comparatively uninjured who had wandered on the track. This is the only fender known to have performed such ‘a feat, and its in- ventor is trying to have the Copncil ac- cept it as a standard. VASTNESS OF ST. PETER'S. It Produces Almost the Effect of Terror on the Mind. The building is so far beyond any famil- iar proportions that at first sighvall de- tails are lost upon its broad front. The wind and judgment are dazed and stag- gered. The earth should not be able to bear such weight upon its crust without crackiing and bending like an overloaded table. On each side the colonnades run curving out like giant arms, always open to receiue the nations that go up there to wonhl?. The dome broods over all, like a giant’s head motionless in meditation. The vastness of the structure takes hold of a man as he issues from the street by which be has come from Sant’ Angelo. in the open space in the square and in the ellipse between the colonnades and on the, steps, 200,000 men could be drawn up in rank and file, horse and foot and guns. Excepting it be on some special occasion, there are rarely more than two or three hundred persons in sight. The paved emptiness makes one draw a breath of surprise, and human_eyes seem t0o smail to take in all the flatness below, all the breath before and all the height above. Taken together, the picture is too big for convenient sight. The impression it- self moves unwieldly in. the cramped brain. A building almost five hundred jeet high produces a monstrous effect upon the mind. Set down in words a descrip- tion of it conveys no clear conception; seen for the first time the impression pro- duced by it cannot be put into languace. 1t is something like a shock to the intelli- gence, perhaps, and not altogetber a pleas- antone. Carried beyond the limits of a mere mistake exaggeration becomes cari- cature: but when it is magnified beyond humanity’s common measures it may ac- uire an element approaching to terror. %he awe-striking giants of mythology were but magnified men. The first sight of 8t. Peter’s affects one as though, in the every- day streets, walking among one’s fellows, one should meet with a man forty feet high.—Marion Crawford, in the Century for July. —————— THE PENALTY OF HUMOR. Why Was Not Franklin Asked to Write the Declaration of Independence ? ‘When the time came for the people of the thirteen united colonies to proclaim to the world that they were free and that they held themselves absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and Great Britain was totally dissolved, & com- mittee of the Continental Congress was appointed to draw up a declaration of independence. The members of this committee were Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylyania, John Adams of Massa- chusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticul Robert R. fi'vlnpwn of New York_an Thomas Jefferson of Virzinia. Why was it that their colleagues com- mitted the writing of the Declaration of Independence to Thomas Jefferson and not to Benjamin Franklin? The Virginian Was not the most prominent man éven of his own section, and, although his reputa- be fairly termed local, it was but little more, while the name of the Pennsylvanian was well known through- out the whole civilized world. Franklin was not only the foremost eitizen of Phila- delphia, where the Congress was sitting, he was the most experienced publicist and the most accomplished man of letters in all the thirteen colonies; and he was spe- cially well equipped for 'the drawing up of an appeal to Europe, as ne had but just returned from London, where he haa been pleading the cause of his countrymen with indomitable courage and indisputable skill. Yet Franklin was not asked to write thi Declaration of Independence; and, al though he and Adams made a few verbal amendments, the credit of that great state per belongs to Jefferson. And why was t.ihat this responsibility was placed on Jefferson and not on Franklin? Ithink the expilanation lies in the fact that Franklin was a humorist.” Not only was Frunklin’s sturdy common-sense felt $0 be too plain 2 homespun for wear 1n the courts of Europe, when the thought needed to be attired in all the lofty rhet- oric that the most fervid enthusiasm could produce, but also, I fear me greatly, his colleagues were afraid that Franklin would have his joke. It would be a good joke, no doubt—probably a very good joke; but the very best of jokes would moi bein keeping with the stately sccasion. They were acute, those leaders of the Continen- tal Congress, and they kney that every man has the defects of his qualities and that & humorist is lik-ly to be lackin reverence, and that the writer of the Dec- laration of Independence had a theme which demanded tbe most reverential treatment. 8o it was that Benjamin Franklin bad to pay the penalty of humor in the last century, just as Abraham Lincoln_had to pay itin this century. Because Lincoln was swift to seize upon an incongruity, and because he sought relief for his abid- ing melancholy in playiuiness, there were not a few who refused to take him seri- ously. Even after his death there were honest folk who held the surewdest and loftiest of our statesmen to have been little better than a buffoon. Of the three greatest Americans—Franklin, Washington and Lincoln, two were humorists; and it is, verhaps, bis deficiency of humor which makes Washington - seem a trifle remote from us and less friendly than either of the others.—Harper's Magazine. ROYAL TELEPHONES. All the Pala of Europe Provided With the Instrument. Now that Queen Victoria has at length permitted the instaliation of the telephone at Winasor Castle, Osborne House, Bale moral and Buckingham Palace there is not a sovereign in Europe who does not utilize this instrument for communicating royal and imperial wishes, as well as commands, to subjects and officials Even the Pope, who has lately de- cided that, while a confession may be heard over the telephone, the priest can not use the wire for tue purpose of granting absolution, has had a receiver installed in his private apart- meunts, by means of which he often com- municates with the Propaganda Fide, which is situated on the other side of the Tiber and at a considerable distance from the Vatican. It is generally his valet, Cintra, who does the talking over the wire for him, but he occasionally speaks over it himself, and only the other day, when a Jesuit priest was taken suddenly ill during a private audience. the Poupe rushed to the little redlined booth and personaliv called up toe Jesuit College. King Leopold is enabled, by means of the telephone, to communicate with his Ministers at Brussels, without leaving either his palace at Lacken or his marine residence at Ostend. When, a year ago, the little King of Spain was prostrated with the measles ard seciuded at oae end of the huge palace at Madrid, the Queen Regent was abie to bold intercourse with him, located in a distant wing of the edifice, not only deily, but almost hourly, over the wire: Queen Victoria, however, is so ultra- conservative that it is most difficult to get her consent to any modern innovation, and it was only two years ago that she ermitted the installation of electric light in the state departments at Windsor. Previously eleciricity, as well as gas, had been uncompromisingly barred from her private apartments. Yet 1t is almost im- possible l0 exaggerate the importance of thus placing the various residences of the Queen in telephonic communication with London, as far as the transaction of official business is concerned. Until now, whenever the Queen was de- sirous of consulting one of her constitu- tional advisers upon any point, or when any Cabinet Minister had some matter of urgencv to impart to her Majesty, the un- fortunate dignitary had to travel all the way from Windsor to Balmoral—a twenty- four hours’ journey—or to'Osborne, which entailed a sea trip across the stormy Solent, very often for the sake of ouly ten minutes’ talk with the sovereign. Then, too, Lord Salisbury and even Mr. Cham- berlain, both of them busy men, have had to spend a good deal of their timeexplain- ing matters to the Queen in writing, the library at Buckingham Palace containing many volumes of letters such as these, written to the Queen by her various Min- isters throngh her long reign of well-nigh sixty years. Henceforth tbe Queen will be in a position to be consulted by her Ministers at a moment’s notice, which will greatly simplify matters. In the same proportion that the Queen is old fashiomed in her views, in her sur- roundings, in her manner and in her ap- pearance, so is the Prince of Wales up to date. Marlborough Hous: and Sandring- bam are fitted up with telephones and electric lights in tga most approved style. Should the Prince survive his niotier, his advent to the thronme is likely to be marked by all sorts of innovations, which will have the effect of simplifying the present intricate manner of conducting the business of state. In this respect he resembles his nephew, Emperor William of Germany, whose pre- dilection for the telephone is a source of disgust to the various Government officials at Berlin. There are instruments in his library and working-room, as well asin a number of other of the imperial apart- ments, and be is all day long engaged in ringing up one Government official or an- other, or else talking with his friends and courtiers over the wfn. He seems to find the same pleasure in calling up the various Government departments over the tele- phone that he doesin alarming the various garrisons. at night time, being evidently under the impression that by so doing he keeps theofficials strictly attentive to their duties, and convinced that if not the eye, at any rate the ear, of the Emperoris upon them. Although it may flatter the pride of the telephone people at Berlin to have the Emperor among the subscrioers of the system, yet he gives them far more trouble than any other subseriber. For when he telephones to any of the Government de- partments the operators at the central office are under the strictest orders to ab- stain from lllunins to the conversation.— New York Mail and Express. SOENERY OF GUIANA. It Is More Enchanting Than the Imagi- nation Can Picture. ‘Whatever discomforts the traveler may have to undergo in journeying through Guiana he is compensated for them by the scenery, which is more enchanting than the loftiest flights of the imagination can picture. As soon as you leave the low swamps at the great mouth of the Orinoco River the land rises gradually toward the Imataca range, the peaks of which are clearly outlined against the clear tropic sky. Still farcher into the interior, fotlow- ing the windings of the Rio Cuyuni, the green banks of which are bright with scar- iet passion flowers, you see more moun- tain peaks, and innumerable cascades and waterfalls 'umbling and roaring over rocks that raise their biack heads abave the sur- face of the water. On all sides countless rasites entwine themselves in the most ntricate and fantastic fashion around the | ¢ branches of the lofty trees, It was my good fortune to reach one of the loftiest of the Imataca peaks just at sunset, the hour that most impresses all travelers. To the south and east, as far as the eve could reach, the scene indescribable bea uty and grandeur, Be- one of’ Auction Sales AUCTION SALE. Monday....... July 20, 1896, 2 P. M., 13:8 VALINCIA STREET. Admisistrator's Sale of Fine Stock of Hard take notice. ware. Denlers, v L. H. KURD, Auctioneer. low, the great Cuyvuni, unknown to the world for so many generations, but now with a name in history, wound in and out of the green valley like a serpent of a thou- sand colors, The soft rays of the after- noon sun, glimmering throdgh the mist of waters, fell upor ihe river in showers of rubies, sapphires and diamonds. _Soon darkness closed upon the valley, for in the tropies the twilight is asbrief asitis en- trancing; and on all sides the tiny camp- fires of the Indians twinkled like myriads of fireflies. Now and then the stiliness was broken by the night cry of some wild animal in the distant jungle.—W. Nephew King, in the Century for July. BENIGN TORNADOES. Delivered a House to a Mortgagee and Another Made a Dog Salable. “And talking about eyclones,” said the man from Kansas, “them air twistersis mighty queer things. This here cne down in 8t. Louey wasn’t worth shucks com- pared wi.h some we have down our way. Why, our country had six last summer, but it 'pears like we wasn’t going to do as well this year. Missouri seems to be a-gettine 'em all.” The smart young man who sat beside the Kansan threw away his cigarette, and even the gripman looked interested. “You have seen a tornado, then?" said the smart young man, with animation. “‘Seen 'em 2"’ said the farmer, scornfully “Whv, yanng feller, I come from Kans: *Oh,” saw th+ smart voung man. little Jater he ventured to remark: A ~Had ixperience? Naw, vou don't yet no experience dealing with evelones,” said the man from Kansas, *’'cause them twisters never do the same thing twice. You just learn to dix‘out for the cellar when you see 'em comin’.” *They do all soris of queer things, I suppose?'’ said the gripman, as h.e started the train with a sudden bound that jostled the smart young man’s hut over his eves. “:One of em done me & good turn once,”* said the man from Kansas, meditatively. “Boot and Mit Glover own the next farm to mine out in Pawnee County, and their crops kept a-iailing and they kept a-bor- rowing money off of me till they had their ouse mqrtgaged clean up to the roof. It ooked fike my money was a goner, for chey kept on losing their corn crop every year and I couldn’t get the house 'cause they had a shetgun waiting for me in the kitchen, -Well, one day 'long comes one of these roaring cyclones, and blessed if it didn’t blow that whole house overinto my pasture. Yes, sir, and drovped the roof down on the foundations just as neat as you could bave laid it. Looked as if the house had just sunk out of sight. But then I didu’t have a mortgage on the roof, so I didn't care about that.” “Reminds me of a story of a brother of mine out in Ioway,” said the man on the step. ‘‘Had a fine setter dog—best hunter in tue State. My brothergcouldn’t shoot, s0 he wanted to sell him. ‘But be couldn’t, cause the dog had a twist i his tail like a pig. Cyclone caught that.dog out in the buckwheat patch one day and just nach- erally ironed out that tail like a broom- stick. He s>ld the dog for $80 the next week."’—Chicago Daily Tribune. — GUNPOWDER 1N EARLY DAYS. Possibly It Was Used in Warfare Before the Begiuning of History. People outside of military life who have no connection with the making of gun- powder know it only as a coarse,.black powder, like black sand, which will flash off with a loud report if shut up in acase ot any kind and set on fire. 1t is a very queer mixture, made up of three simple and well-known substances, no one of which will explode, aithough two wili burn. Nobody knows when or bow it was discovered, for as far back into the dark ages as records or tradition will carry us, we find that gunpowder, though not used for guns, wus known. It was, no doubt, looked upon with awe and fear by the ancients on account of its tlame, ils noise and its rending force; but their lim- ited mechanical skill could suggest very little use for it. Possibly it was used in warfare long be- fore the beginning of history: but the first man in historical times to form an idea of the terrible destruction which this awful, bursting, fiery substance might produce was an English monk named Roger Bacon. Monks, in his day, were the chemists, scholars and writers of the world; and this Roger bacon traveled and studied much, and made . coutinual experiments in his laboratory to prove for himself and to de- velop what he learned from otners. He probably saw gunpowder among the Moors in Spain, and tried for him:eu‘iu explo- sive effect. Then he wrote of its composi- tion in the year 1267, and in his writing suggested that it could be used in engines of war to deal deatn and destruction to armies of men, Boon after Roger Bacon’s time his suggestions were tuken up, and guns were constructed first oy binding iron bars to- gether with hoops to f:?: a tube, then by casting a tube ol brass with one end closed. Stones of suitabie size were selected as shot, and the powder bad to be carried arouna in chests or barrels and shoveled into the muzzles of the guns, the stones being rolled in after it. In spite of these draw- backs very large guns were built, for there was one used by Mahomet II against the Greeks at the siege of Constantinople in 1453 which threw a stone weighinz 600 s;our.dl a distance of one mile.—Lieutenant ohn M, Ellicott in July St. Nicholas. ————— The Duchess of Mariborough. The Duchess of Marlborough being ;onng e&nd enthusiastic is eagerly sought or by the promoters of charitable enter- tainments who have failed to scoure the presence of even the smallest royalty at ibeir fetes. The women who crowd to bazaars and such-like joyous meectings bave read so many newspaper paragraphs about her trans-Atlantic Grace that they are almost as anxious to see her as if she were a German princess distantly related to the Queen, and they come in their dozens to gratify their curiosity. The Duchess was nearly paying for her good nature one day last week. On her way from the siation to open a bazaar atOxford in aid of the Church Army Labor Home the horses of her carriage slipred on the granite in Queen street and both came down together. Fortunately, however, no harm was done to the occupants, and the Dachess was able to periorra the kind office for which she bad conie to the town. ————————— There are forty-eight different materials used in the construction of a piano, from no fewer than sixteen countri —_— LATESYT SHIPPING INTELLLGENCE. Arxiivead. SATURDAY. July 18. Stmr Newsboy, Fosen, 6 hours from Pigeon 2 ; nt. Stmr State of California, Green, 5034 hours fm Portiand, via Astoria 4035 hours; pass sud mdse, % Goodall, Perkins «& Co. Sailed. SATURDAY, July 18. Stmr Mineola, Pillsbury, Comox. importations. 'PORTLAND—Per Siate af California—61 sks 400 bbis 8911 ks 1499 gr-sks flour. ts, 160G sks bran, 1290 sks shori, 6200 £ maple lmber, 5 sks wool, 280 vicss hides and 1us, 1 s’ fruit paper, kg paper, s p ¥ ah m:u‘fb’ e med bark. 618 5K oat bxs prunes, 176 cs canued 1s° staves, 458 bdis heads, 200cs rs, 63 bls hemp, 259 bls barlap. Consigneas. Per State of California—Morgan Oyster Co; E C Ward: M E A Wagner: M B Moraghan; J M Hud- orrow & 3 P Thomas; Lick Paper Co; S H Frank & Co: CS Moses: Moore, Ferguson : Crown Paper Co; Otis. McAllister & Co: Bissinger & Co: 1 D) Miteh- ell; Golden Gate Plaster Co; S & Strausa; Tubbs Cordage Co: Trumbull & Beei B Rodes Co; Blasinger & Co; J Wigmaore & Son.