The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 2, 1896, Page 6

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2, 1898 CHARLES M. SHORTRIDGE, Editer and Proprietor. SUBSCRIPTION RATES—Postage Free: Paily and Sunday CALI, one week, by carrier..§0.18 and Sunday CALL, one year, by mall.... 6. ¥ and Sunday CALT, six months, by mail.. 5. and Sunday CAlLi, three months by mail 1. end Sunday CaLL, oue month, by toail. .65 Bunday CALL, one year, by mall.. 1.50 WAEELY CALL, one year, by mail 150 BUSINESS OFFICI 710 Market Street, San Francisco, California. Telephone. .Maln—1868 EDITORIAL ROOMS 517 Clay Street. N Telephohe..ouus vevas @& .nuln'-lll'u BRANCH OFFICES: £27 Montgomery sireet, corner Clay; open untll £:80 o'clock. & 289 Eayes street; open until 8:30 o'clock. %18 Larkin street: open until 9:30 o'clock: £W _corner Sixteenth and- Mission streets; OpeR ntil 9 o'clock. . 2518 Mission stree 167 Ninth street; o & Marker street, op open until 9.0'clook. antil 9 o'clock. nill 9 o'clock. OAKLAND OFFICE: 808 Broadway. EASTERN OFFICE: Rooms 81 and 82, 34 Park Kow, New York City. DAVID M. FOLTZ, Fastern Manager, TIHE CALL SPEAKS FOR ALL. PR —_— According to Judge McKenna the Rail- road Commission is sufficiently constitus tional to draw salaries, but it cannot re- duce-freight rates. There is but one sure way of reducing > freight rates in California and that. is to break the cinch of the momopoly by build- ing competing roads. ——— Tax reform in Iowa is aburning issue for the State has a deficit of $500,000 ta meet and there is no chance of -postponing the question to some other eve. It is admitted that Major McKinley can construct his Cabinet himself, but many people seem to think it incumbent upon them to tell him how to select the timber. It isanill wina that blows nobody good, for even the Eastern blizzards have bene- fited some people of that section by in- ducing them to start for Californiaatonce. Judge McKenna’s decision that the Southern Pacific Company could not re- duge grain rates 8 per cent without ruin will make the people along the line of the Valley road smile. The monetary conierence which assem- bled in Indianapolis yesterday will hardly attract any great-degree of public interest. It is to the next Congress the people look for the settlement of that question. Up to this time nine Californians have been mentioned for a vlace in McKinley’s Cabinet. The President-elect will take notice, theretore. that we have the timber to fit into any pesition where he hgppens to need it. s e The almond-growers of California have acted.wisely in beginning at- once a move- ment’ to procure a proper protection for their industry and the growers of other produets in California might well imitate their example. Ex-Secretary. Foster declares that Sena- tor Sherman and not Mr. Hanna should represent Ohio in the Cabinet, but as Mr. Foster is somewhat desirous of Sherman’s seat in the Senate his view of the situation is evidently cut on the bias. The news of yesterday gave the names of three additional manufacturing estab- lishments which bave started work after having been closed during the depression, and 1t will be seen the movement toward prosperity keeps steadily along. The capture of Guayamaro by the Cu- bans has compelled Weyler to change his plan of campaign, but he has sufficient vegsatility to do so with promptness. Be- fore the capture he was marching for- ward and now he is marching back. The Bakersfield Californian announced & short time ago that, owing to & reyival of business, it would have to issue a six- puge paper in order to keep pace Wwith the demand for advertising. It found, how- ever, even within-a short time, that it would have to issue an eight-page paper. In a literal sense that means business. Bak- ersfield is evidently determined to take the lead. ——— The proposed construction of a railroad to connect the Candilian Pacific with the gold fields in the northwestern part of British Columbia will emphasize the need of a speedy settlement of the controversy over the Alaskan boundary. It 1s barely possible tte Canadians may take a notion torun their railroad into Alaskan terri- tory and ciaim it as theirs if the line is not drawn before they get to it. An irdustry which is likely to have a large development in California is that of tobacco-growing, Enough has been done to show that tobacco can be cultivated with profit in many sections of the State, and the demand for it in the Union is large enough to- justify a vast increase in the production. It will be worth while for farmers in many sections of the State to devote a portion of their land and their energies to this crop, for the prospects are that it will prove more than ordinarily remunerative. % Road improvement is receiving a large amoupt of attentién from the newspapers of many of the interior counties, and many suggestions of value on the subject have been put forward. Itis certain that several propositions looking to the pro- motion of good roads in the State will be . submitted to the next Legislature, and the’chances are we shall have some im- portant legislation on the subject. THE CarL has no particular plan to advance, but will cordially support any which promises to result in good to the common- wealth. Let the discussion go on. The subject is an important one, and it is cer- tainly high time to take some action con- cerning it, The Marysville Democrat gives but s lukewarm support to the movement for the appointment of a Secretary of Mines and Mining, and says that even if sach an officer could be appointed, it is by mno means certain a Western man would get the piace. This1s not the proper way to look at the subject. The object we are ‘¥friving for 18 not to get s Cabinet posi- tion for a Westeyn man, but the estab- lishment of a National department which will take care of the great mining indus- try in which the West is so largely inter- ested. It matters not whether the Secre- tary hails from the East or from the West, s0 long as He gives histime to the pro- motion of an industry which has too long been neglected by the General Govern- ment, THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1896. A TRELESS OOMMISSION. The decision of Judge McKenna, when carefully considered by the people of Cali- fornia, will be’ found to bave placed the Railroad Commission in the position ofa lexal, but otherwise useless and -expensive luxury. As such the duty of the next Legislature is plain and unmistakable. It should submit a constitutional amend- ment to the people, either ebolishing the commission entirely or so reforming its functions as to make it serviceable to the people of California: * . The utter uselessness of the commission has been made doubly apparent by ‘!udge McKenna's decision. It has been ip ex- istence as a department of the-State gov- ernment for the past sixteen years, during which time there have been five different | sets-ot Commissioners elected by the peo- ple. If thers has been anything of real service renderéd to California by the Rail- road Commission during all these years it has not been discoveréd. There has never beeh an election since the commission was created in ‘which thé pedple.of Cali- fornia have not expressed their disap- proval of the outgoing board and mani- fested their hqpe of something better from the incoming one. o These expressions: at the time of the State electioh in 1894 took the-form of an express effort to pledge-aspirants for the office of Railroad .Commissioner to'a posi- .| tive and aefinite Teduction, in freight schedulés. Upon their election every member of the commission manifested an appareiit anxiety té redeem that pledge. * However earnest ‘the purposes ‘of the commission may have been; the decision of Judge McKenna has made them vaia, and has gone further in so Mmiting the powers of the commission as to make all future purposes and effortsin a like direc- tion equally vain. % The Commissioners are declared to have power 1o hear complaints, to take testi- mony and render thereon.a judgment re- ducing freights and fares, but'at the same time the right has been accorded the rail- ‘road companies to‘appeal from the judg- ment of .the commission to. the Federal courts, and there, upon new evidence and upon an entirely different showing’ from that presented to the -commission, to seek and in. all probability to obtain a reyersal of its decree.” This it will be seen &t once removes everything but.the mere sem- -blance of power fromi the commission and leaves it in ‘a position’ where transporta- tion companies may snap their fingers at its processes’ and orders and nullify its at- tempted action whenever it may chance to be nnsatisfactory to them. In addition to peingg useless body, the Railroad Commission is a. most expensive one. It costs’ the State of California in the salaries of its members and of their _clerks and assistants not less than $16,000 ayear. Itisthe plain duty of the next Legislature either to put a stop to this ex- pense by abolishing the commission, or, by some reforth in its powers and duties, to get for the Btate an adequate return for this large annual ohtlay. The decision of Judge McKenna lays this imperative obli- gation upon the next Legislature, and the i people of California, who have just been judicially informed upon the subject, should see to it that the Legislature per- forms its duty in this regard THE ' MONETARY CONFERENCE. ‘The Monetary Conference which assem- bled at Indianapolis yesterday will hardly attract much attention from the country generally, no matter how capable may be the men who engage in it. The people ‘have elected .a President and a Congress to deal with the monetary prob- lems, and they are‘not likely to give any great consideration to’ anything. whicn may be sald or done by a volunteer con- { vention on the subject. - - = - From the tone of the call for this con- ference it seems to be the begmning of an agitation for the retirement of greenbacks. In other words, it.is an ajtempt-to revive the platform of the Indianapolis eonven- tion on which Palmer and Buckner were nominated. The'conference, therefore, is likely to be composed of the advocates of the Cleveland monetary policy, and it is probable that whatéver resolutions it adopts will be in accordance therewith. Itis of course 1mpossible to predict what course will be followed by the conference, since the men who are to take part in it are drawn from boards of trade and are not widely known. Their convictions on the subject, therefore, are largely matters of speculation. It is possibie that those who called the conference may not be able to control its proceedings, and the resolu- tions adopted may be quite different from what was expected by those who designed the gathering. This uncertainty is the only thing which gives a degree of interest to the assembly. It was the intention of the promoters of the plan to make the conference simply a preliminary to a Jarger one to be held later on. Whether this plan is carried out will depend of course on how the present conference acts. If 1t should fol- low the programme we may expect an- other convention to be called for, and an active agitation for the retirement of greenbacks to be begun. If, however, the conference breaks away from the leaders, the work will probably end with its ad- journment. The country pretty well understands by this time that the Cleveland-theory of the “endless chain’ is not true. The cam- paign of education which erded in the re- cent election amply dsmonstrated the fact that the drain on the gold rescrve was caused not so much by our financial sys- tem as by the tariff system which fur- nished a revenue inadequate to the needs of the Government. A Republican tariff will materially alter all the circumstances of the case, and the demand for the re- tirement of 'greenbacks which Cleveland so diligently promoted will, in all proba- bility, end with the ending of the deficit tariff. PROTEOTION FOR ALMONDS, The almond-growers of California have acted wisely in beginning at once the movement to procure from the National Government an adequate protection for the products of their industry. They have taken advantage of tbe annual con- ventfon of the State Fruit Growers’ Asso- ciation at Sacramento to hold & prelimi- nary convention of their own and take steps for the promotion of the needed legisiation. £ In a memorial to Congress the almond- growers set forth that.the climate and soil of California and other Stateson the Pa- cific Coast are adapted to the growth of the almond, and that the tree is now be- ing extensively cultivated. They repre- sent further that, owing to the great com- petition of foreign-grown almonds sold in our home market and the low tariff on tne imported almond, there is no profit for the home product. The memo- rial states that there is scarcely an almond-grower in California who has made the slightest percentage of profit in the Jast ten years, and assertsthat the busi- ness has been conducted at a loss and that the loss will continue until the tariff on imported almonds is revised to meet the exigencies of the industry, It is claimed by the growers that the selling price of almonds is from 10 to 12 cents a pound, and they desire the tariff on foreign almonds increased from 5 to 6 cents a pound. They ask for a higher tariff than that fixed by the McKinley bill. The request is founded on good rea- #ons and certainly deserves favorable con sideration from Congress when the work of tanff reform begins. There are two factors in the problem of the almond industry which give an ad- vantage to the foreign producer over the Californian. One isthe rate of wages paid in the cultivation and barvesting of the crop, and the other is the rate of trans- portation to the Eastern market. In Cali- fornia the average wages of persons em- ployed in the almond industry 1s §1 a day, while in Europe it is only 16 cents a day. The European, moreover, sends his crop to New York by the cheap transportation of ocean steamers, while the California crop has to pay the high rates fixed by the railroads. These factors are sufficient to overcome every advantage which Califor- nia has of soil and climate, and leave the industry in this State helpless to compete with that of the foreign producer. A’consideration of these facis would be sufficiént to convince all genuine protec- tionists of the justice of the request,which the almond-growers have put forward. Nevertheless, it was an act of wisdom on their part to/begin an agitation on the subject at ofice. The producers of other crops in California may well profit by this example. The sooner we begin to put for- ward our claims for protection, the more certain we are to attain success. Nothing can be lost by starting early, while delay may prove disastrous in the extreme. * THE TOURIST SEASON. According to reports from Chicago, the severity of the blizzard in the East has greatly stimulated the rush of travel to California. As a rule, the tourists do not begin to come into the State in large hum- bers until after the holidays, but the re- cent cold snap has induced thousands of people to abandon the idea of spending Christmas at homein the snowdrifts and to start at once for the land of winter suns shine, 25 The report from Chicago says: “In- quirjes at the offices of all the leading lines develop the fact that hundreds of Chjcago people are’ leaving for the balmy climate of the Pacific Coast. Two lines say that all tne berths on two different trains were engaged for that night and reservations were being received fast. There are people at all the ticket-offices lined up at the counter buying tickets and reserving berths.”’ ‘Fhe coming of these tourists into the | State will probably mean something more than good, business for the hotels. Itis fair to assume that among those who come out this winter there will be many who will seek something more than a tem< porary escape from the blizzard season. Not a few of those who come into the State will come here with the intention of making permanent homes for themselves. We may, therefore, count on an incoming of home-geekers and settlers as well as of passing tourists. - There has never been in late years a better opportunity for home-seekers to | come to California than at this season. Land prices at the present time are down to a bedrock basis. There is not a symp- tonit of a Yoom in’&ny portion of the State. The man who buys land in California to- day will obtain it for exactly what it is worth to-day. "He will not have to dis- count the future. He will not be expected to pay for raral land a price dependent upon the supposition that a great city will eventually be constructed on it. This fact, we believe, is fairly under- stood in the East. The peovle of that sec- tion are aware that in California, as everywhere else, the long depression- of the past three years has had the effect of bringing .all. prices down to the level of" legitimate business propositions. There is no longer any speculation in California real estate. The home-seeker or the in- vestor will get bis money's worth :every time anda’can count on a sure profit .the start. ~TEE POOLROOMS, After long delay the Board of Supervi- sors has passed to print the much dis- cussed poolroom ordinance, and there is now areasonable hope it will be enacted into law, and put an end to an evil which has too long been tolerated in San Fran- cisco. ) The measurse was framed with great care and was elaborately argued and dis- cussed at the time when it was first pro- P“jed to the board. Reduced to its Isst analysis it prohibits all forms of betting money or anything else on horseraces conducted within the limits of San Fran- cisco, except within the confines of the racetrack. It therefore closes up the downtown poolrooms and tends to re- move one of the greatest sources of evil which exist among us. At the time the ordinance was pro- posed THE CALL gave it the most cordial support and repeatedly urged 1ts passage in the interests of morality and public welfare. We pointed out that these down- .town poolroor:s are a constant source of temptation to the youth of the City and that many of the patrons of such estab- lishments were little more than -boys. We repeatedly called attention to the evils resulting from the maintenance -of such places within the City and specified many instances of injury odcasioned by them. Every argument which was urged in favor of the ordinance at that time could be urged again. Theevils which existea then are equaily potent now. Neverthe- less we believe it will not be necessary to go over the old ground. The vote by which the ordinance was passed to print was unanimous, and there is ‘reason for believing the opposition to it has praeti- cally come to an end. When the ordinance is enaoted the peo- ple of San Francisco can congratulate themselves on having taken one long step forward in the direction of reform. Oae great evil which has long been tolerated will be in a fair way of removal from the City, There can be no doubt that the officers of the law will be vigilant in en- forcing the ordinance and it will be effect- ive at once. This will be a victory for good govetnment and the better element of the people, which will encourage fur- ther effort in the same direction. Lat the good work ¥o on. HOW 1HEY DIE Tllustrated Monthly. The banker “passes in his che ,” the cashier “goes to his last account,” the mug- wump “joins the great majority,” the cobbler “breathes his last,” the saloon-keeper ‘“‘seeks the spirit Jand,” the gambler “shi the stableman ‘’kicks the bucket,” the usalistic medium ‘‘gives up the gl the accountaut “‘goes to his long reckoning,” but, according to the newspapers, very few people simply “die,” PROVIDENCE NOT RESPONSIBLE. Boston Herald, The State of Rhode Island apparently gets the leather medal for defective ballots in the late voting. To think that nearly 10 per cent of the voles cast there had to be thrown out on account of the ignorance or carelessness of the voters in marking them, ‘| gun that nighi ftom | ONE SHOT DID IT. Wonderful Work Accomplished by the Dynamite Guns tn Cuda. Lieutenant Ramos of the Cuban service ar- fived in New York the other day, and in an interview published in the Herald gave an in- teresting account of the wonderful dynamite gun of wkich he bad charge while wita Maceo’s army. The gun, 28 he describes, is about 6 feet in length and weighs 250 pounds. The dynamite gun is formed of three parallel barrels. Theright tube holds a eartridge of smokeless powder; the left tube confines com- pressed air, and the center holds the fron pro- jectile, in which is the explosive gelatine— which has three times the force of ordinary dynamite. When the cartridge is exploded in 1he right barrel of the zun it sets free the com- pressed air in the left barrel, which rushes sud- denly inio the eenter barrel, and hurlsthe projéctile at the enemy. When this projectile strikes, it éxplodes with tremendous force, .not only destroying human life, but uprooting yet. They all arrived in on the Campania Sat- urday from abroad. PROSPERITY AND CONFIDENCE. TIndianapolis Journal, After all, the best assurance of better times is not in the number of establishments which ve started work since the election, though this s an important feature, but in the restor- ation of confidence, which insures a steady, progudve and healthy revival of business o all kinds as rapidly as the country can adjust itself to the new condition. What was needed above everything else was the restoration of confidence. The free-silver' agitation, the threat of a debased and fluctuating currene; and Bryan's vicious candidacy had destroye confidence to such an éxtent that any revival of prosperity was impossible whiig that con- dition continued. If Bryan had n elected it would not only have continued, but would | to enebl ggravated. The | truly representative of all the people in this have been immeasurably election of McKinley has Emrodueedeondl- tions under which the returh of prosperity is absolutely assured,-and, while it may not come all at once or maintain the pace of the THE DYNAMITE GUN. s trees and tearing loose the ground and rocks. The gun in the hand of a good gnuner can do effective work at the distance of a mile, though the best range for certain work is half of that distance, When to this is added the certainty of aim of which the gun is capable in expert hands, and °the effect of the explosion of mmmme, the result when it strikes in the it of & body of troops can be imagined. The work done by the gun in battle is thus described: ‘Tt was on the 13th of the month that we met two Spanish columns, which meant a battle with even forces. As we reached a hilltop overlooking a narrow valle: ‘we saw the Spaniards on top of the next hill, only a guarter of a mile away. They were at ‘work throwing up a line of fortifications. “A few shots were exchanged. when Maceo ordered our gun forward and had it trained on theenemy. He stood by the piece and ob- served us closely as we prepared to fire, and when the report was heard he watched the re- sult with the deepest interest. “The alm was too low and the shot fell short of its mark. No one was injured, but the eftect of the explosion on the ground where it struck apparently astonished the Spanierds, for they ceased firing for several minutes. “During those minutes we were preparing for the second shot. The muzzle of the gun was raised a little when all was in readinessand the command to fire was given. This time the aim was perfect and the deaaly vgroject'la was thrown over the brow of the hill and into the very midst of the Spanish troops. The explo- sion brought consternation. The shot hid done its frightful werk, and the Spaniards, disappearing from sight, did not fire another “We waited hn' morning to renew the batile, but as soou as it was light the eneny fired one bombshell and then retreated. The battie was won by that one shot from our gun.” 5 PERSONAL ' James Feeley of Red Bluff is at the Lick. E. C. Harlan of San Ramon is in the City. A. P. Rowland of Portiand is at the Russ. Sam N. Rucker of San Jose is at the Palace. E. Blum, a business man of Butte City, isin town. e G. B. Foster, a publisher of Chicago, is at the Grand. - 2 Sherift . G. 8.'McKenzie of Napa is at the Grand. Frank A. Low of Washington, D. C., is stthe Baldwin. g .Isaac Grabb of Louisville, Ky, is a late arri- val here. - 2 Rev. J. W. Webb of Fresno is a guest at the Ramona. F. K. McDaniels of Oberlin, Ohio, reached here yesterday. Professor Bpencer from Stanford University is.| at the Ramona. George Mainhart, a8 mining man of Grass Valley, is in the City. G. L. Fisher, a merchant of Central America, arrived here yesterday. 2 State Senator A.D. Aadrews of Pomona is among the arrivals here. Dr. Frank Drake of Sonora is on 8 visit nere | and s registered at the Lick. Frank L. Coombs, ex-Minister t0 Japan, is down from his home at Naps. E. D. Goodrich of New York arrived here yesterday. He isat the Lick. J.E. Jennings and wife of Fort Bragg are guests at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. % C. Allen, & prominent business man of Washington, is at tha Cosmopelitan. George W. Lorenz of Sacramento and his family are at the Ramona for a week. George Johnson, s wealthy farmer and horse-raiser of Pleasanton, is in thé City, A. L. Willlams, cashier of the Carver Na- tional Bank, St. Helenas, is at the Ramona. Robert’ Dunbar snd Julius Gray of New York are among the arrivals at the Palace. Among the arrivals at the Russ is Edward Brown of Sodaville, who ison & business trip. C. P. Squires, cattle dealer of Portiand, Or., is in town and stopping at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Mrs. J. Johnson of Corning atrived in the City yesterday and will winter at the Cosmo- politan Hotel. F. D. Christie of Paterson, N. J., arrived here yesterday by way of Panama. Mrs, Chris. tie accompanies” him. Louis Dietz, advertising manager of the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, is spending a few days at the Ramona. L A. B. Hull, superintendent of the home for feeble-minded children at Glen Ellep, is in town and is at the Cosmopolitaa. i RB. F. Kelly, the well-known commission broker of Butte City, is down on & business visit and registered at the Cosmopolitan. Frank C. Baker, publishet of the Portland Farmer and Stockman and ex-State Printer of Oregon, is spending a few days in the City. Chief Officer Dowdell has taken his old posi- tion on the steamer Alameda, after four years’ absence, occasioned by being injured in a storm. Officer Rennie, who has been in Dow- dell's place, will go on the Zealandia. Japanese merchant of Tokio, Japan, accompanied by his wile, arrivea on the steamship Doric vesterday. They are maxing a tour of the United Statesand are registered at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Mrs. 8. I Du Shon, sccompanied by her daughter, Miss Mabel, arrived on the overland train this morning from Washington and wirl remain In the City until after New Year. They have taken apartments at the Cosmo- politan. Colonel H. B. Maxson of Reno, Nev., United Btates deputy land surveyor, s in the City, after many months in surveying public lands inNevada, Utah and Idsho. The colonel had three separate pariies, or a total of 80 men on thesurvey. The season in the Siates alluded to has just closed. If work is to be continued durinyt the wintgr it will probably be in Southern California and Arizons. Colonel Mexsoa is here only on a brief visit. He will probanly leave for Reno to-night. * CALIFORNIANS IN NEW YORK. NEW YORK, N. Y., Dec. 1.—At New York ho- tels—Windsor, E. H. Robinson; Mariboro, Mrs. Dolan; Brosdway Central, H. J. Goodman; Murray Hill, Mrs. J. H. Hooper. Miss J. H. Hooper; Union Square, D. G. Kempf; War- wick, Mr. and Mrs, P, M. Whitpey; Gerlach, J, J. Corbett. Mrs. C. Joseph, Miss N., Miss A. aud 8, Joseph are at the Windsor fora fow days | can be had for a doltar. 7 first few days after the election, it is hone the less sure to come. Let us labor and wait, have | confidence and-be patient. 3 it iettaintel e PARAGRAPHS ABOUT PEOPLE. Dr. Temple is the fifth Bishop of ‘London to be transiated to Canterbury-since the death of Archbighop Laud. % 3 Du Maurier used to keep lnle on hig man- telpiece for his ‘friends to drop jokes into, which be then used for Punch. i Lord Rosebery has always beén an interestr ing personality. He is now in his fiftieth year, having been born in May, 1847. SR Dr. Nansen will lecture in London, Edin.- burgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, -New- castle, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfgst, Dublin and Swansea. % At Hyde Park, Mass,, lives a real “Daughte of the Revolution,” Mrs. Adeline Goulding. Her father, General William Hildreth, dfed-at Concord in 1813, when Mrs. Goulding was 3 yearsold. 8 Governor-elect Pingree of Michigan will not resign the Mayoraity oi Detroit when he be- comes Governor. He says there is no law com- pelling him to do so, and he can perform the duties ot bothoffices, ‘ Tbsen’s statue for the front of the Christiania National Theater has been finished and sent to Berlin to be cast. He is represented in a long,’ closely buttoned coat, witii his hands behind his back, bending forward in a reverie. HISSES’ STORM CLOAK: A model of utility and style is shown here. 1t is sleeveless and semi-fitted, witlt pleats at the back below the waist Jine, over which is.a full cape. It may be made in any fabric, but the rain-proof serges, or cravenette, are most .|.of 385 . |City. - Ang *! London, and the ninth reviews metro) Letters From the People CITY GOVERNMENT. tions for the Proposed Com- Bimmm" of One Hundred. To the Editor of the San Francisco Call—SIR: Mr. Phelan, our Mayor-elect, has a rare op- portunity to serve the City in the appoint- ment of the committes of one hundred to formulate & new charter for the government of our City, which is to serve as a sort of plat- form on which we are ultimately to elect a committee of fifteen freenolders who will prepare the charter for submission to the electors of the City for their adoption or re- jection. The commitise will be large enough e Mr. Phelan to make it fairly and City, and if they are honestly represented in the committee, with ampie time given the committee for deliberation snd discussion, there Is little room for doublmlhns a f?lod h. r will be agreed upon by this committee gl fn"g hun}lred End lht:; ;fll pr:l\:lnly insure doption by a vote of the people. “‘A:m:uu; that & genuinely representative committee will be appointed, as 1 believe it will be, I bave a few suggestions to make for the consideration of such committee. 1 have ‘devoted the leisure time of 8 week ‘o a volume ages on ‘“Municipal Government in Gre-n?mun,:' by Albert Shaw, the versatile American editor of The Review of Revie: and in this large volume by Mr. Shaw I have found such vast stores of practical and -ex- tremely interesiing infdfmation, which broadens one’s views as to the functions and ossibilities of ity government, that Ishould eel myself derelict in duty as a citizen ghould 11iail 1o commend it without stint tp the committee and to all citizens desirous of curing good government, who may not ha: seen the book. Let me pause here lorg enough to say that Iam notenamored of anytbing Enuli!h.xnn "know, by any manuer o means. Indeed, I know of nothing relating toGovernment which Ithink all American ¢itizens should reject with, deeper detestation than the British system of .+ -|financeso dear to the hearts of GroverCleve. 1and, John Sherman and all other friends of thesingle gold standard; butlcan oniy pity the man whose prejudices darken his judg- ment and make him incapable of considering &N Yrogoumon or system on its merits. 1i 1 shail succeed in giving a inir summary of th¥ contents of Mr. Shaw’s in this letter T shall certainly render a valuable seryice fo hundreds of San Francisco readers of "THE CALL Who feel a proiound interest in the movement o secure good governmeut— the best goverument attainable—for our fair T desire especially to address my- self to those-who pay the taxes, and more par- ticularly to those who pay large sums to the tax-collector; for it seems to me that if tax- E'K"' should ever find out what has been ohe-in Glasgew or Manchester or Birming- ham or London they would never rest sai- isfled & day until the fundamental principles of these cities, and more particularly of Glas- gow, have become incorporated in our own system of municipal government. . Mr. Bhaw devotes the introdlictory chapter of his book to the growth and problems of modern cities, and no. intelligent man or, woman can read that single chapter without aining broader and more cheering views of the future of our city populations, for all ten- dency to pessimism will give place to rational optimism, with a corresponding purpose ta lend a hand in dispeliing the ignorance which beclouds the minds of the citizens who now .submit to the misgovernment of our Ameri -can cities. True, there is a formidable lmon‘: of conceit in the average American who hi «cenfined his reading to the daily nowspaper and his study of municipal government to the municipal reports: but even a mau’s conceit will yield to his pecuniary welfare, for every man is rather ashamed of his gonceit when he finds that it blinds him to his own interests and mukes him ridicutous before inteiligent people. - - 3 1In, the second chapter we have an account of the rise of British towns, the reform acts and the muniefpai cole occupying eightéen pages. Itaffords a striking and instructive contrast to’our own towns and cities which often reach an astonishing growth in & decade, made up of & conglomerate population, which renders the problem of government & matter of pro- fodnd imrorm'nce. The thira chapter preseuts us with the* British system of municipal gov- ernment in full operation, becupying thirty pages, and giving us a most satisfactory con- ception of the functions and working of the | system. The fourth chapter is styled ‘A Study of Glusgow,” and_seventy-six pages are given to the most rotable and successiul city govern- ment in the worid fa ancient or modern | |times, & city of about three-quarters of a mil- | lion people, who have sciusily solved the | problem of securing the best municipals governmeut ever known, and this next year they will collect no taxes and will haye no Assessor or Tax Collector. It will be impos- tible to do justice to this chapter without de- voting half a column to it, which I may do at another time. & The fifth chapter contains a graphic review of Manchester’s municipal activities, and the sixth relates to the civic iffe and expansion of | Birmingham; the seventh takes up the social activities of British towns, a very in- structive chapter; the eighth occupies forty- one pages Gevoled to the Eovetament of litan tasks and problems. There isa valuable ap- pendix of fifty pages, with an elaborate and excellent index, which makes the contents of the book instantly available on any point. This book is of first importance to those wWho are trying to make a city charter. K EPH ASBURY JOHNSON. used. For general wear this proves a most llllllnclori %nrment if made of heavy cloak- iug, in a fabric of mixed colors, serving alike for all weathers. A broken check ia light brown or brown is extremely stylish; the cape being trimmed around the edges with rows of a ?r%rker brown braid. a € cape may be itned or have edges hound, turned in half an inch and stitched flat, or the edges made be lined with a wool braid simply stitched. — BTRONG hoarhound candy, 15¢. Townsend’s.* ——————— EPECIAL Information daily to manufacturers, business houses and public men by the Pr Clipping Bureau (Alleg’a), 510 Mont’lomel:;.u ! ————— JAN MACLAREYN, RUDYARD KIPLING .AND HALL ?ri‘{lnble All of these delightful story-writers represented during 1897 by stories and sketches written exprfi‘sly for tho’Ynmh'- Companion, and not to be fou; Campanian, found in any other e HOLIDAY Goops are very attractively dis- played atSanborn & Vail's, 741 Market street. Christmas cards, calendars, leather goods, pictures, frames, lamps, clocks, tables, gold and fountain P‘nl, periumery, valises, fine TORIGIISIY for the i By oy Siass 01 Welcome at Sanborn & \'u.fl'-.“ry e ——————— While the Czar was in Paris he received 90,000 telegrams, aggregating 1,850,000 words. e Phillips’ Kock Island kxecursions Leave San Francisco every Wednesday, via Rio Grande and Rock Island Hallways. Through tourist sleeping-cars to Chicago and Boston. Man- Ager and poriers accompany these excursions to For tickets, sleeping-car accommodstions and furtber Information, address Ciinton Jones, General Agent Kook Island Hallway, 80 Mont. Eomery street, “an Franciseo. ‘Through Oar to 8t. Paul ana Minneapolis An elegantly upholstered tourist-car leaves Oak- 1804 every Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock for all polnts in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota. Nochange of cars. Dining-cars on all trains. Come and get our rates i you expect to makeés trip to any Eastern point. T, K. S ateler, General Agent Nerthern Pacific Ry. Co., 638 Market street, &, F, “Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup’” Has been used over fit:y years by millions of mothers for thelr children whiie.Teething with per- fect success. It s0othes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colic, regulates :he Bowels and is the best remedy for Diarrhceas, whether aris- ing from tee:hing or other causes. kor sale by drug Bists In every part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mrs. Winsiow's Soothing Syrup. 25¢ a bottle, e e CorRONADO.—Atmosphere s perfactly dry, soty and mild, belng entirely free from the mists com- ‘mon fortuer north. Round-trip t:ckets, by steam- ship, including fifteen days’ board at the Eotel dal Corouado, $65; longer stay $2 50 per day. Apply 4 New Montgemery st., San Francisco. el el eilbin iy DON'T let your child strangle with whooplng. cough, when a bottle of Ayer's Cherry Pectoral Jos San Francisco, November 30, 1896. A BIT OF LIFE A maiden sat within the door ‘And sung as many times before. A man to d.u?' to1l passed by. No love nor pieasure lit his eye, g * But when he heard the merry song -He whistled as he went along. A woman by the window wept ¥or one whao In the churcnyard slept, * But when up.n her he: ring fell /Lpat tune she koew und loved so well, e flood of burniyg Lears was stayed, And soon a song hér lips essayed. Her nelghbor heard the tender strain, ‘And softiy joined the sweet refrain. Thus. all day long that one song bore Jts joyousuess from door {0 doOF. . CraRa J. DENTON in Ladies’ Home Journal, AN ALABAMA REFORMER. New York §un. There is somebody in Alabama who has a genius for reform and evidently has set up of nights for months for the purpose of finding evils to reform. The result of these long ses- sions of thought has justappeared, and will not disappoint the high expectations of the public. The reformer has prepared & bill pro- hibiting & woman from wearing a shirt. waist orany other piece of raiment which coples the garb of man. There can be nothing more im- portant for the Alabama Legislature to do than 1o pass a law in restraint of the shirt waist. It does not appear what specific injury that gar- ment inflicts upon the sensibJities of Ala- ‘bama, but in tnese matters it is betier to trust to the reformer. Clearly he wishes to asso- clate his name with a great measure, to go down to history as the destroyer ofa greatevil, and Alabamsa is 50 jortunate that no grester evil than this shirt waist is insight. When the law is passed, the total and instant disap- pearance of (he prohibited articie may be ex- pected. Will any womsa in Alabama wish or dare towear a shirt wais: after the Legi<lature, in the plenitude of its wisdom, has forpidden the use of that thing? Will not every woman in Alabama be struck more forcibly than ever with the superiority of legisiating man, and see the wickedness of irying to imitate the clothes of such a magnificent creature? Oh, this Alabama lawgiver knows the feminine re. He has no doubt of the succe: He must be a great man, and we should lan. fik.u to have his picture. ——e NEWSPAPER PLEASANTRY. She—After all, yowll never find another place like home. He—I hope not.—New York Herald. When & man disappears people wonder ‘whether he ran away with & woman or from one. It's generally both.—New York Press, M-'vflnt was all that rumpus in the next 42 “It was that football rusher’s wife trying to getnim to walk the baby to sleep.”’—Detroit Free Press. "II:'(! think Jones would be ashamed of hime self. “Why?? “I've Leard that he isa self-made man,”— Chicago Record. - “Dearest, if I were far, far away, could you still love me?” “Why, Reggy, what & question! I'm sure the farther you were away the better I should loye you.”—Boston Travele: Uncle Swayback—Them city folks sin’t so 1ast as I was supposin’. Aunt Furby—How’s that, Silas? Uncle Swayback—I went to one of them op- pery hous and, they was still a playin’ *Hamlit' thet I n‘um years ago, b'gosh!— Ghicago News. STOP-OVER RIGHTS: Judge Sanderson Decides . Against the Oakland - Commuters. : Says Dr..W. H. Robinson and His Asscciates Were - Conspirators, “ Were Engaged in; av- In‘quitous "Bfy fort to Make Money -Out of the Company.”.* That part of Oakland’s population whion comes under the head of ‘‘commuters” and those who desire stop-oyer privileged handed down by Judge Banderson yester- duy jn the case of the Southern Pupitic Company against Dr. W. H. Robinson and others, who have for years been bai- thng for stop-over privileges on the rail- road lines oi the defendant company: in that the stop-over privilegze may-be exer- cised if it is exercised in good faith, but that when it is intended to be made a cause of litigation- it is not a good cause.- for damages. In reciting the circum- This action arises upon a.bill in equity seex: ing to restrain certain defendsnts, eight in | number, from litigating separately, and prin- cipally in the Justice’s Court ot meda County, some 3000-allegzd causes of action of $200 each against the plaintiff as a confmon carrier of passengers, and further compelliig \he;ielendum}s to submit and try said causes in this one action. Upon & demurrer to the bill, it was held: heretofore that this court had and would en tertain jurisdiction thereof by reason, amon others, that it prevemted a multiplicity of - actions. & Dre These.3000.causes of action arose under sec- tion 490 of the Civil Code, which every railroad corporatieh in_this Stale mast upon tender of fare furnish *each ;passengei leh a ticket for transportation from thi station where purchased to any other station on the line of the road, and further declares'’, that such ticket entitles the passenger to ride 1o the station of destination or any inter-.- mediate station, and jrom such intermed. point to the station of destination designate on the ticket, at any time within six months thereafter. In case of refusal so 1o provide. and furnmh tickels or refusing the passage- which the same calls for when sold, the eo poration must pay to the person so refused the sum of $209. . G o2l . Judge Sanderson notes th'e fact that t the Supreme Court in the case of Robin- son vs. the Sbuthern Pacific Company,.but, very important particulars in Which the, Robinson case differs from the case at bar; - namely, the bona fide or good faith of the passengers, and the matter of damages, in the Robinson case, Dr. Robinson, while on a trip from San Francisco to Alameda, on a matter of business for an *hour. Then, attempting to resume’ his journey to Alameda without the payment of whereby he was damaged in the sum ‘of $490. affirming the judgment in fayor of Dr. Robinson leges must be allowed on those tickets, by virtue of section 490, Civil Code, and it decided nothing more*the matter of thi statutory damage, or recovery, beingin no wefv considered by the court.” o 'he position of the railroa this proceeding is then stated by the de- cision to the effect that the plaintiffs whe filed these suits had conspired to make money out of the company by demanding stop-over privilezes solelg with pectation and for the purpose of obtaining refusals, so that they would have a chance- 10 sue for $200, as allowed by section 490 of the Civil Code, Testimony to sustain this position of the railroad was given at the rial, to which Judge Sanderson refers in these words$ . It may also be stated that it further ap- peared at the trial that the parties being resi dents of Alameda City were accustomeda to resorting to sundry and divers methads of oc- taining refusals o It was the procedure of some of them to ride, from their homcs in Alameda. City down ta Oakland pies and then purchuse tickets back to Alameda, demanding a stop-over at Firstand Broadway. This praclice was repeatedly fol- lowed several times a dav. ADoth.r pian wus to go by streetcars from Alameda (0 Berkeley, then buy a ticket back to Alameda yia Onkfnd pler,, demanding ‘s stop-over at Eirst aud mndwnz. Some of the defendants, without H:s able to give the slightest reason therefor, made a3 mauny &s five trips & day from Berkeley 10 Alameda. This would give the claimant $1000 for such a day’s business if the statute applied in such cases. Several other plans for demanding stop- over privileges, such as taking the Niles train, which it was well’known did not go to Alamede, and going to Ocean View, in San Francisco County, to get tickets, were resorted 10 and are commented on by Judge Sanderson. When asked why they sto} ped over in Oakland they irankly ad- mitted that they could not tell just why, but said they thought they must have stopped ‘“on business.” Judge Sanderson said it would be no injustice to declare that the only ‘‘business” was to prepare’ the way for suing the company for $200 in each case. fe scoffed ut the pretension that the claimaiits in thus acting were ex- ercising their constitutional rights tc buy tickets, stop over and collect $200 if re- fused the stop-over privilege. A number of decisions are quoted at length by Judge Sanderson in support of his decision, which goes to the merits of the claims of the stop-over passengers. Aliof the claims were formerly mergea by Judge Sanderson’s order and came un- der his jurisdiction in the present case. He declares that these defendants 6r claimants “were engaged in sn unjust and iniquitous effort to make money out of the compeny by uniawful means,” and concludes by saying: “This court nor any . other, I am reasonably confident, will noty rmit them to make money ont of any ndividual or corporation by such means, The judgment must be for the plaintiff.” The amount involved is $60,000, which the railroad company thus gets out of Ceart Absolutely Pure. . ot tariar bakiug powder. ot -u‘ m“m; strength.—. Uwamhmm Government Food Report. HOYAL BaAKING FOWDES Co. New York. N will be-specially interested in a decision" * Alameda County.” Judge Sanderson says- . stopped off in Oakland in good faith®and- further fare, was refused this privilege, " these stop-over privileges. * rovidesthat - - IRE NOW DEFNED stances Judge Sanderson remarks: ° ot “decided that stop-over privi- - d company in" 3 the ex--. validity of section 490 has been upheld by..’ d he points ou what ke believes to be two According to Judge Sanderson’s opiniom, .- the action of the Supreme Court in® 1