The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 15, 1896, Page 14

14 THE SAMUEL M. SHORTR IDGE 1§ APPOINTED AS EXECUTOR The Heirs and All Interested Parties Unite in Urging the Court to Appoint Him to Serve Withou MRS. ALLEN’S WILL GOES TO PROBATE. Witnesses Say They Are Well Pleased With the Conduct of the Trust. THE BLACKLEG “FXAMINER” FULLY ANSWERED. This Case Would Cover It With Con- fusion if It Knew Any Shame. Only One of Money. Samuel M. Shortridge was yesterday confirmed as executor, without bonds, of the last will and testament of Mrs. Marion M. Allen, deceased. The daughters, their husbauds, and all | in | court at San Raiael at the time and united | the pariies in interest were present in urging Judge Angelotti to admit the will to probate and to confirm the ap- paintment of Mr. Shortridge, without bonds, as stipulated by the will. And the court did so, saying at the same time that it was his pleasure to do so. And this is the case that the Examiner, day after day, for weeks past has been making use of in its cowardly attempt to do harm to the fortune and good name of Samuel M. Shortridge. This is the case that has made the subject for its almost daily cartoon. Thisis the casein which by innuendoand indirection, the weapons of the coward and blackmailer in newspaperdom, it has sought to“make it appear to the public that a reputable lawyer and private citi- | zen, against whom no voice had been raised save its own, had been unfaith- ful to a trust. This is the case that has served as one recent text for that outrageous misuse of its power by a ckleg press of which the Examiner is so constantly guilty, and o which any man, however secure he may feel himself in his own sense of rectitude and the trust of good citizens, is still ever liable merely through giving offense to some of its petty hirelings. 3 Gathered in the little courthouse at San Rafael yesterday afternoon was, as stated, every person interested in the will of Mrs. Allen save one—and this one, a daughter unable to rise from a sick bed, was represented by her husband—and all of them testified to the perfect regu- larity of all the proceedings preliminary to the probate, and urged the Judge to carry out the wishes of the deceased, and aopoint Mr, Shortridge as executor with- out bonds. The whole proceedings con- sumed less than an hour, there being no intimation of a contest, the court admit- ting the will to probate with the executor as named. Those present were: Mrs. Ada Romer Shawhan, daughter of the deceased and wife of J. M. Shawhan; Mrs. Edythe Ro- mer Hodees, danghter of the deceased and wife of Walter M. Hodges, the actor, now with the Katie Putnam company; Dr. Walter R. Shoaff, representing by power of attorney his wife, Cora Romer Shoaff, tfie third daughter of Mrs. Allen. Mr. Shawhan and Dr. Shoaff were also pres- ent. The only other interested perty was Marion Richards, daugter of Dr. Richards and granddaughter of Mrs. Allen. She was represented by Mr. Humphries of Bishop & Wheeler. The will had been filed previously with the court of Marin County and came up yesterday on the petition for its probate. It had been the wish of Mr. Shortridge as well as the heirs that all the persons-interested might be in court in person upon the hearing of the etition, and Mrs. Shoaff and Dr. Martin ing taken ill the case was postponed two or three times that they might be given that opportunity. Yesterday, however, the case went on in spite of the fact that Mrs. Shoaf was still ill, she giving power of attorney 1o her husband to represent her. Dr. George H. Martin, a well-known physician who had for several years been in “attendance upon Mrs. Allen and who was one of the witnesses to the execution of her wili, was in conrt. He was the first witness called. Quite a number of per- sons had assembled in thelittle courtroom at the time, and listened to the proceed- ings with considerable interest. Dr. Martin stated that he bad attended Mrs. Allen for some two years previous to the making of the will. asked again and again by Mr. Shortridge, he said, before the execution of the docu- ment, whether the lady was of sound mind and competent. Afterward he had taken him (the witness) into the presence of the others who were in the room, and again asked him the same question, to which Dr. Martin gave the same reply. Mrs. Allen lay ar the point of death, he said, in her room in the Hotel Langham. Two of her daughters, their husbands, a nurse, Miss Eckhardt, Mr. Shortridge and the witness were present. The doctor gave a_ graphic description of the scene. He said that Mr. Shortridge read the will to Mrs, Allen, who lay in her bed propped up by piliows. Having con- cluded, the lawyer asked her distinctly if what sbe had heard was her last will and testament and by a nod of the head she gave assent thatit was. The court asked the witness as to the condition of his mind at the time, and the® witness replied that there was no doubt that it was perfectly sound. Mr. Snortridge, he reveated, aske! him at that time very particularly as to this point. Being assured by him, the law- yer had then askea Mrs. Allen if he (Mr. Shortridge) should sign = NEW TO-DAY. IRRITATIONS OF THE - SKIN Instantly Relieved by ‘To cleanse, , purify, and beautify the skin, soly, and hair, o allay itching and irritation, to heal chafings, excoriations, ulcerative weak; esses, to speedily cure the first symptoms of Sortaring, 5rfigur{n¢ skin and scalp humors, nothing so pure, 60 sweet, 80 wholesome, 80 ily effdctive as warm baths with CUTICURA " -ndg:nda applications of CUTICURA (ointm;nt), skin cure. 8old the world. Price, CoTI S0e.; Boar, 2e.i venr, f0c. and $1. PoT?ZR DEUG axD CEEm. COEF., Sole 5 - #@~* How to Cure Bkin He naa been | t Bonds. her name to it. She agaln gave the nod of assent. The nurse then put her in position so that she could make her mark. Mr. Shortridge got a larze book from a small table at the foot of the bed, ! put the document upon it and held it be- | fore the sick woman on the bed, at the same time piving her a pen, and she there- upon made a Cross. This was all done, he said, in the pres- ence of the subscribing witnesses, her two sons-in-law. They signed as witnesses to the mark and as witnesses to the will im- mediately after and in her presence. Before doing so, however, Mr. Short- ridge, said the witness, asked Mrs Allen if it was her wish that they should so sign, both as to the cross, her mark, and | as to the will, and 1n each instance she gave the sign of assent as before. “Then there is no doubt in your mind as to her competency to make a will and to express dissent and assent?” inquired the court. “None whatever.” Dr. Walter R. Shoaff, son-in-law of the decaesed and one of the witnesses to the will, was the next witness. He explained that his wife was unable to attend because | of illness. *“There have been two continuances on | this accourt and no other?”’ asked Mr. | Shortridge. | “Yes,” said the witness. 3 The witness stated that he had stood at the foot of the bed on the occasion of the reading of the will to Mrs. Allen by Mr. Shortridge, and heard it all and saw Mrs. Allen give assent to it as being her last will. He described the locations about | the room, and how the persons present | were disposed so as to see and hear. | “When all were present did you hear | Mr. Shortridge ask if this was the last | will?'” asked the court. | “Yes, sir.”” *And you saw Mrs. “llen give assent by | anod?” . “Yes, sir.” | “Did you hear Mr. Shortridge ask the | ladv if she wished you and Dr. Shawhan | to sign as witnesses?”’ | “Yes,sir.” | “Did you hear Mr. Shortridge ask if he | should write his name?” “Yes, sir.”” | The witness explained fully how their | names were signed in full view of Mrs. | Allen and all present, also how she made | her mark as described by the previous wit- ness. and how Mr. Shortridge had asked | Dr. Martin in the hearing of all of them | whether the sick woman was perfectly competent, and the doctor’s answer that | she was. | _ Mrs. Ada R. Shawhan, eldestdaughter of Mrs. Allen, next took the stand. She re- | memoered tne occasion of the execution of the will, she said. It took place in the | Langham Hotel, June 11, 1894. She named | all those who were present and gave a | description in a general way of what took place, but she said she was overwhelmed with grief at the time and did not have that clearimpression of details that some of the others had. She neard Mr. Short- ridge ask the question, however, of her mother as to whether the document they were preparing to sign was her last will and testament. At this point Mr. Shortridge himself asked leave of the court to make a state- ment. The court assenting, Mr. Short- ridge said: ‘“While in point of law it is not necessary, in my judgment, I desire to explain or state some of the circum- stances surrounding the execution of Mrs. Allen’s will. “The body of this document is in my bandwriting. I wrote it at the request and by thedirecticn of Mrs. Allen. On the night in question testified to by the witnesses, | the things took place which they have | stated did take plac2. I did read this document, which was prepared at the re- quest of Mrs. Allen, as I stated, and I read it over to her slowly and carefully, and naving doune so, I asked her if it was her last will and testa- ment, and if she wished to declare it such, and she assented to it in the manner testified to by the witnesses, and par- ticularly Dr. Martin, namely, by the nod of the head, which indicated assent. I then asked her if I should write her name, knowing her physical weakness. To this she assented. She then made her mark. I acked her if she desired that Dr. Shoaff and Mr. Shawhan should sign as witnesges, and she assented in thesame manner substantially as testified. Miss Eckhardt was there, assisting in propping the lady up in the bed by pillows. I then took from a little sideboard or piece of furniture standing against the wall at the foot of the b-d some sort of a book. I | do not reca!l what it was, but think it was | a sort of pictorial book, rather large in size and not very thick, and standing by the bedside facing toward the | lady - [indicating] and holding this paper and the book in this manner, the pen, as I recollect it, was brought by Miss Eckhardt, Mrs. Allen’'s arm was put upon the book so that it rested in that position [showing]. The pen was placed in her | hand, and she made a cross, which is there. | Isaw it made. I then wrote these words, ‘Marion M. Allen’ and ‘her mark,” which vour Honor sees. To all the questions propounded to her she answered in sub- stance and in the manner testified to. and the gentlemen who have testified as doing 80 signed this instrument as witnesses in her presence, on a little table to the right :ng a little back of the footboard of the ed. *This document was executed in June, 1894, and Mrs. Allen died in October, 1896. At her request I placed the document in my safe and vault in the Mills bailding, where my offices then were, and there- after in the Crocker building, where it re- mained inclosed in an envelope, stamped and sealed with her own seal. The will so remained until her death and the zroper time to open it and hle it for pro- ate. ‘At the time of the execution of this instrument I asked Dr. Martin in the Langham Hotel whether he thought the lady was competent to make a will, and he answered, as he testified, that she was. ““Idrew that instrument according to directions given me by Mrs. Allen, and I particylarly wish to state that my name was setdown in thatdocument as the exec- utor thereof at the request of Mrs. Alien,ex- pressed to me on many and many occa- sions long prior. I had on different occa- sions suggested to her the propriety and the wisdom of her making a will. Upon all occasions when she would bring up the subject she said she desired me to act as executor, for the protection of her chil: dren.” The court—You were Mrs. Allen’s adviser until the time of her death? A.—Yes, &i: search to ascertain whether she left any other will. The children can testify to that. Q.—Was there any mention made of this will subsequently by her? A.—Ithink on one or tWwo occasions she spoke of it incidentally. I replied thet the will was in the safe. Q.—As I understand, Mrs. Shawhan and Mrs. Hodges are not present? A.—Mrs, Hodges is here and I will put her on the stand. Q.—You say there are three children surviv- ing? A.—Yes, sir. Q—And there wasalso a deceased child? A.— Yes, sir. Dr. SBhoaff was recalled and testified as to there having been a search made for any other or later wijl, but without suc- cess. Mrs. Edith Hodges, a daughter of Mrs. Allen, recently from Portland, testified that she was not present at the time of the execution of the will. In answer 1o a question she declared that she was per- FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1896. The British Ship Centesima Was Towed to Richardsons Bay Yesterday and Run on the Mud Flats. Sunday Last She Struck on the Potato Patch While Being Towed Into Port, and Sprang Aleak, Yesterday She Was Making 16 Inches of Water an Hour, and Had to Be Beached to Prevent Her From Sinking. fectly satisfied with regard to the ngpoint- ment of the executor as provided by the will itself, in the person of Mr. Short- ridge, and said she had gone so far as to telegraph the court requesting that he be appointed. James M. Shawhan was called. He testified that he had heard Dr. Martin’s testimony and that of othegs and that he agreed with all that had been said; he had testified previously himself. He knew that a search had been made and no cther wills found. At this point W. P. Humphreys, repre- senting Dr. Richards and his daughter, granddaughter of Mrs. Allen, addressed the court, saying: Your Honor, on behalf of Martin Rich- ards, one of the heirs at law, and a grand- child of the deceasea, I wish to' express here my satisfaction with the proceedings so far, and I unite with the others in expressing sat- isfaction as to Mr. Shortridge acting as exe- c\hmr of the last will and testament of Mrs. Allen, The Court—There has been no opposition to hisacting as such, has there? Mr. Humphreys—No, sir. The court—The only reason that I desired this testimony was to have, as far as pos- sible, the testimony of all the persons who were present at the time of the signing of this purported will, in view of the fact that Mr, ~hawhan, one of the subscribing witnesSes, has testified that he did not remember seeing any expression of assent on the part of Mrs. Allen, either to the declaration ot her will or to the request that they should sign as witnesses. He did wuot, however, testify that such assent was not giye. He simply testified that he did not see it. The testimony of Dr. Shoaff is quite poitive on the proposition, as 1s also the testimony of Dr. Martin. I see 1o reason to doubt, in view of the testimony that has been given here, that Mrs. Allen was perfectly conscious of all that was done at that time, and that it was done by her request and with her consent, and thatthe document in probate is her lasiwill and testament. In accoraance with the provision therein that Mr. Shortridge be appointed ex- ecutor—and there is also & request that no bonds be required of the executor, assuch— and 1n view of the fact that no one interested in the estate opposes the appointment, Mr. Shortridge will be appointed as executor with- out bonds. Mr. Shortridge—If your Honor please, you will indulge me for a moment, touching mat- ters which will natureily and properly now come up. I will ask your Honor to name three appraisers of the estate. Your Honor will take suggestions from the heirs or exer- cise your own choice in the matter, if itis agreeable to all parties. The estate consists of property, all located in San Francisco. There is a mortgage on land in the State of Washington. It is proper now to bring -the matter up touching the value of the estate, in order that your Honor can give the proper order as to the notice to creditors, as well as the ap- pointment of appraisers. I will ask your Honor to indulge me one moment while I lay before the court proof upon which you can base your order. The perition states, your Honor will observe, that the estate is of a value exceeding $10,000. The cowrt—Why is it necessary to go into that at this tme? A notice will have to be given of ten months. Mr. Shortridge—For this reason: One of the notes referred to is of that amount, $10,000. ‘Whether 1t is worth its face value or not is a matter of proof. I will state, however, that the petition aversthat the property 1in ques- tion exceeds $10,000. In point of truth, I suppose, fairly estimated, it would be in the neighborhood of $20,000. There is & note of $10,000 which was loaned on property in the State of Washington, on which some interest is due. The Court—On the question of the note there will have to be ten months’ notice, and the executor will be safe in giving that notice. Mr. Shortridge—It is only & question of sat- isfying your Honor. had intended on this occasion to make reply to certain assaults that have been made upon me, and made upon me as an officer of this court,in and about a case or proceeding then and now pending. But it is enough to know, perhaps, that the three chil- dren, the three ughters of the deceased mother, are and have been agreeable to the order wnich your Honor has made, and that the granddaughter, who has been represented by her father, has expressed & preference in the same way. The court—I think I prefer not .to hear that matter, You can reply to that in another way. This matter is disposed of. I willstate in regard to the appraisers that I prefer to appoint such as would be satisfactory to the hneirs. And so it appears that Mr. Shortridge is the choice of the rs of the Allen estate, despite the lying reports that have been &ersist:n:ly circulated by the Examiner. e is asked to serve and no bonds are re- quired, and the attempt to prove that there wes trouble between him and the heirs is found to be only another of *‘those Examiner fakes.” HE HAS JURISDIOTION. Judge McKenna Refuses to Dismiss the Humb#6ldt Timber Land Cases. United States Circuit Judge McKenna yesterday denied the motion to dismiss the important Humboldt County timber- land cases. The motion was made by the' defendants, the American Lumber Com- pany and the Central Trust Company. The latter contenaed that the cases should be tried in Illlinois, the -headquarters of the defend=nt corporations. The Govern- ment officers argued that the jland being in the Northern District of California the cases come properly before Judge Mec- Kenna. The case involvesthe title to large tracts of valuable timber lands in the county stated, and the corporations received rnlems to the same from the Government n 1894. The action is to rescind the grants upon the ground that fraud was practiced upon the Government in the Land Office. The case wilt be heard next month. ——————— Around the Observatory. The drive that leads to the top of Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park was extended last week, and instead of terminating &t the entrance to the observatory has been continued s0 that now persons can drive around the exterior of the observ: ———— ‘Warcaes, Diamonds,Jewelry, at greatly reduced prices; buiiding 10 be 5 and 7 Third st. WITHIN AN ACE OF TOTAL LOSS The Ship Centesima Had to Be Run on the Mud Flats. Struck Sunday on the Potato Patch When the Bar Was Breaking. Quite a Number of Vessels Are Bar Bound in Coast Ports at Present. The British ship Centesima, that struck on the Potato Patch last Saturday night, was towed to Sausalito yesterday and run on the mud flats. . The dams#ge wasfound to be much greater than was at first sus- pected, and when it was discovered that the vessel was making sixteen inches of water an hour the captain thought it time to run his ship ashore. The tugs Sea King and Sed Queen were sent to her as- sistance, and whnile Captain Rasmussen, in the former, did the towing. Captain Smith, in the Queen, remained alongside and kept the pumps going. In this way the Centesima was taken to Richardson’s Bay, where she now lies only a few hun- dred yards from the Sausalito ferry-boat. The big ship hasa cargo of over 4200 tons aboard, but none of it is perishable. At Dundee she took aboard 2000 tons of pigiron and considerable marble and other goods. At Newcastle-on-Tyne she loaded up with coke and then made the run her in 145 days. Pilot Freeman boarded her outside and the tug Reliance put a line aboard outside the whistling buoy. The bar was break- ing at the time and three he:v& rollers in succession struck the ship. The first one threw her over, the second one put her down on the patch and the third raised her enough to give the tug a chance to tow her clear. An examination shows that the Centesima’s deck beams are broken and that nearly every plate in the center of the ship has been started. The cargo will be discharged into lighters and then the vessel will go on the drydock for an overhauling. The Pomona got in from Eureka yester- day after a very stormy passage. She caught the full force of the siorm and Captain Doran says that had it not been for the steamer’'s powerful engines he could never have made time. The Czarina was to have sailed on Sun- day for the Beaver Hill colliery, but owing to the state of the bar and the heavy weather outside the captain made up his mind to remain in port. He took the steamer as far as the bar and then came’ back again. All of yesterday ths Czarina lay at anchor and the chances are that she will not go out until the gale 1s over and Coos Bay bar not dangerous. The steamer has new boilers and new machinery in parts. The repairs have never been thor- oughly tested, so her owners considered it safer to keep her in port than to send her out_in a heavy southeaster, where she would be helpless if anything gave way. “Bob” Spt the boatman, had a nar- row escape in yesterday’s storm. He was taking out some supplies to the Monad- nock when the wing took control of his boat and swept him down to Lombard street. ¥ He was almost giving up in despair when the tug Reliance came along and took the whitehall in tow. Spear was landed on the warship_about 10 A. M., but it was late in the afternoon before he would venture on the return trip. _The tug Rescue that took the barken- tine Geneva to Eureka has been caught by the storm and is now bar-bound. lfnd she arrived off the port two hours later Captain Thompson could not have got his tow 1n and would now be facing a forty- five knot breeze, The schooner Lizzie Prien and the tug Tonquin are in a queer predicament in Nehalem River. The latter was towing the schooner out when she struck a snag and not only broke her propeller shait but sustained considerable damage in the en- gines also. The Prien cannot get out over the bar, and as the Tonquin is useless the chances are that both yessels will remain side by side until another tug can be sent from San Francisco to tow one to sea and ihe other to a place where repairs can be made. The steam schooner Alliance was tested on the bay yesterday and proved herself to be a fast boat and very steady in a sea- way. The chances are that she will be put in the Coos Bay trade and_carry coal and Ensungan for' Goodall, Perkins & Co. 'he company has been seeking a suitable boat ever since the wreck of the Arago and the Alliance will probably be used until a new vessel is built. The E. K. Wood, beiore reported as being overdue at Tientsin, has, according to a private telegram,*arrived at that point and sailed again on the 12th inst. for Nagasaki. he commission of officers selected by the Secretary of the Navy to locate aund establish a naval traming school on Goat Island similar to the one at Newport, R. L, wili meet to-day and come to some decision. The board will consist of Cap- tain A. 8. Baker of the Mare Island Navy- yard, Commander Frank Courtis, U. 8. N., the lighthouse inspector of this port; Major C. E. L. Davis, U. 8. A., of the En- gineer Corps, and Lieutenant W. S. Hughes, U. S. N., of the hydrographic office. Money for the work has been ap- vropriated by Congress, and as soon as the board decides upon the site the work of preparing quarters for the men and boys will at once begin. ACCEPT THE MEMORIAL. Park Commissioners Formally Receive the Ulysses S. Grant Monument From the Association, The following correspondence is self-ex- planatory : GRANT MONUMENT COMMITTEE, SAN FrANCISCO, December 9, 1896, To the Golden Gate Park Commissioners City of San Francisco—GENTLEMEN: The Monument Association, through its president and secretary, desires to present to the Golden Gate Park of the City of San Francisco, the bust, pedestal, etc., of General Ulysses S. grnn!, now in place near the museum at the ark. This is the result of the contribution made several years ago for a Grant monument. The matter was dropped for many years and the amount of money that hed already been col lected was put into the present shape as being the most available. While the monument is notsufficient in mag- nitude to represent the wishes of the people of San Francisco it is the best that could be done with the amount of money available. We, therefore, most respectfully ask you to accept irom the hands of the Grant monu- ment committee, in behalf of all the people, this monument located in Golden Gate Park. Respectfully yours, GRANT MONUMENT COMMITTEF, By CORNELIUS O’CONNOR, President. THEODORE REICHERT, Secretary. GOLDEN GATE PARK COMMISSIONERS, SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 9, 1896. To the President and Secretary of the Grant Monument Committee, San Francisco—GENTLE- MEN: In behalf of the people of the City of San Frarcisco, we accept the monument of General Ulysses S. Grant, and will maintain he same in proper condition. Respectiully yours. COMMISSIONERS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK, By JOSEPH AUSTIN, President. INSANE MEN FIGHT. A Chinese and & Negro Tangle Up in the Waiting-Room of Judge Hebbard’s Court. The deputy sheriff who officiates as bail- iff in Judge Hebbard’s department of the Superior Court had an exciting time sepa- rating two infuriated insane persons who were up for examination yesterday morn- ing. One of the unfortunates was a burly negro named Gus Jemison and the othera hollow-eyed Chinese named Choy Sam Choy. Trouble was brewing when they were brought up together from the Receiving Hospital. Jemison had tbe wild light of the insane in his eyes, but he objected to the company of the Celestial. When they were placed in the waiting- room they glared at each other for a while and theu Jemison began making hostile demonstrations. After shaking his fist at Choy he sud- denly made a rush at him, and dropping on his knees before the Chinese, threw his fists into a pugilistic pose and struck at Choy. 'The latter was not opposed to bat- tle and they had just clinched for a good rough and tumble fight when the deputy came back to conduct them into court. He lost no time in joining in the melee ana after a hard tussle aepnnnd the pair und held them at arm’s length. Botn were committed to Stockton, but were kept weil apart until landed in the asylum. ————————————————— TEIE INEW Orchestral Regina! PLAYING The Largest % TIME OF Music Box EACH TUNE TWO Plays an Un- MINUTES. limited num- ber of Tunes. R evelation To Lovers Of Musie! A Complete Orchestra In Itself! No. 5, NO- In form of an 4' Automaton, For Parlor Use With Nickel- withstarting drop Attach- lever. ment. Long-running Long- running movement. ‘Dimensions of the Case, Tft. high, 3 ft. wide, 15 inches deep. Dimensions of Tune Sheet, 37 in.diameter. Cases in Oak and Mahogany. THIS NEW REGINA Excels any music-box ever made, in briiliancy. and volume of tone; and having Lwo steel combs with 172 tongues, tunes in chromatic scale, em- bracing over 7 octaves, the Key can be changed repeatedly, and any plece of music cau be faith- fuily rendered. with all counter-melodies that would begiven it if played by a complete orchestra. ‘T'he metal tune sheets for this wonderful instru- ment are large enough to render it possible to play Songs, Dances, Operatic Airs and parcs of Over- tures complete, without having to cut out some of the finest movements, as has always heretofore been necessary in other boxes. ‘The high-grade workmanship and fine tone that have always been a feature of the Regina Music roved in this instrument, tho Boxes have bee! manufacturers ng made this their mn.aster- ‘CALI.. AND HEARIT. CATALOGUE FREE. SHERMAN, CLAY & CO., Y AND s ?’)RNER KSEA’?!;l CISU'I‘TBR STS., ‘movement. CIVILIZATION AND THE CHURCH.” Father Ferguson Lectures in Metropolitan Hall. Successful Entertainment Held Under the Auspices of the Y. M. L / . The Lecturer Recounts the History of Catholicism ané Its Many Triumphs Ov:r Persecution. Metropolitan Hall was crowded last night to hear Rey. Fatner James Ferguso‘n speak of “The Trinmphs of Truth.” This lecture 1s the fourth of the Y. M. L bureau series, and was the principal thoughy r{ot the only feature of an atiractive entertain- ment given under the auspicies of San Francisco Council No. 7. The genial chairman of the evening, E. J. Gallagher, stated that these lectures were the outcome of the efforts of an earnest member at the last meeting of the Grand Council. At this meeting their re- spected and well-beloved friend, the Rev. Father Yorke [loud applause] proposed the establishment of a lecture bureau for the purpose of spreading Catholic truths tothe greatest extent possible, and of ac- quainting not only Protestant friends but even’ themselves with some of those truths, This idea was subsequently re- alized and the present was the fourth of the series of lectures delivered under the auspices of the institute. The officers, he added, felt confident that ere long these lectures would become a positive neces- sity and a great educational factor. Then followed the appended programme, of which the crnotributions by the Sacred Heart College Orchestra, under the léader- ship of Professor Karl Schernstein, and the graceful iancy dancing of the little Misses Gertie and May O’Connor and their brother Charles O’Connor,|were enthusias- tically received: «King Cotton March” (Sousa), Sacred Heart College Orchestra; “Old Homestead Gavotte” (J. Zimmermar), Sacred Heart College Orcnes- tra; vocal solo, Miss Lulu Hilderbrandt; fancy dancing, the Misses May and Gertie 0'Connor; grand selections, Campaign Melodies, Sacred Heart College Orchestra; hornpipe and High- land fling, Master Charles O’Counnor: comic song, Richard.I. Whelan; ‘“Heather Rose Ca- price,” selected, Sacred Heart College Orches- ira. Rev. Father Ferguson on rising could not proceed for quite an interval, owing to the applause. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, ‘‘one of the most successful busi- ness men in this country, in reply to the question how he succeeded in doing so many difficult things, state ‘I can wait longer than any orne else in the country except the Roman Cuatholic church.” ;Loud applause.] He had the capacity or biding his time, and understood that everything comes to him who waits. He discovered one reason why the Roman Catholic church is sticcessful. She waits. She has passed triumphantly through per- secutions in almost every age of her ex- istence, as impervious to them and to all human vicissitudes as the pyramids which stand amid the eternal sands of Egypt. Kingdoms rise and fall, come and go; her enemies disappear, but the church waits on, and will continue to do so until her Founder comes dgain to judge the quick and the dead. It she were asked to prove her truth by a miracle she might say that her existence amid such long-continued { persecutions was miracle enough. Ex- amine history and we find thatat thetime the apostles began their mission the world was politically organized into the Roman empire, which as the consolidation of cen- turies was then in the splendor of its meridian glory.” The speaker devoted many words of eloquent description to the imperial city, which, he said, was crowded with poets, philosophers, painters, sculptors, as well as with the ablest statesmen and the bravest generals of that age. Into that city a poor fisherman walked one day-and began to teach the new religion. At its very inception the relicion encountered fierce oppcsition; might tried to overcome right. Peter was crucified and Paul be- headed. The Christians retired to the catacombs and for 300 years the persecu- tion raged against the Nazavenes. The lecturer described the devilish tor- tares to which the early martyrs were sub- jected, until in the reign of Diocletian it was thought that the chyrch had been forever permanently crushed and a monu- ment was erected in the streets of Rome to celebrate her extinction. But the Christians waited and ultimately the gods of the Pantheon fell broken from their altars. The edicts of that mother church were issued from that very city which had witnessed her bitter persecution, out into the universal world. But new trials awaited her and had yet to be overcome. Among these he spoke of the Arian heresy of the fourth century and the terrific bar- barian inundations from the north and east, before which the Roman legions broke and melted away. The continent was wasted from the Kuphrates to the At- lantic; churches and monasteries, cities and towns, institutions of learning, the very arte of life, such as agriculture, en- gineering and architecture, perished. The only ark of safety then was found in the Catholic church, which alone es- caped destruction. She linked the old and new civilizations. If there had been no Leo to check the “‘Scourge of Gtod,” as Attila was called, imagination could not picture the desolation which would have obliterated every vestige of human genius. The lecturer traced, also, the rise and de- cline of the Mohammedan power and its defeat at the hands of Charles Martel ana John Sobieski, both soldiers of the church. Of tne reformation he said in part: It robbed the church of nearly half Northern Europe, of half Germany and Great Britain, where Catholicism “was well-nigh extirpated. Ireland alone remained faith- ful and loyal to Rome. But again she waited, and we have seen how she has again reconquered the countries from which she was temporarily driven.’” In this connection he quoted the fumous testimony of Lord Macaulay, of Matthew Arnold and of Lecky to the wonderful de- velopment of the church and the unmis- takable evidences of her permanancy, when, as the first-named said in an im- mortal passage contained in his essay on “Ranke’s History of the Popes,” some travelers from New Zealand shall take his stand upon a broken arch of London bridge and sketch the ruins of St. Paul’s. Whether we accept Samue! Johnson’s defi- nitior of civilization as an increa ng pro- vision for the poor, or Ruskin’s dictum thav art is its chief characteristic, the Roman Catholic church must be accepted as pre-eminent above all other factors contributing thereto. Rome is the ob- jective point of all artists, and in music, sculpture, painting, in all the refinements of life that church has left masterpieces for all time unapvroachable for beauty, sublimity and grandeur. 8he established the earliest hospitals universities, such as Cambridge, Oxford, Glasgow, Louvain, TLeipsic, Viennz, and preserved the Greek and Latin ciassics for future generations. Even an infidel like the famous historian Gibbon, has affirmed that one Benedictine foundation published more scientific works than all the educa- ;ionll establishments of post-reformation ays. Haviland" China Is the finest made—that's acknowledged everywhere. 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