The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 28, 1898, Page 6

THE SAN The MONDAY... JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Propristor. Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. Market and Third Sts., S. F. Teleph Main 1868. EDITORIAL ROOMS 217 to 221 Stevenson Street Telephone Main 1874. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) Is served by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns | for I5 cents a week. By mall $6 per year; per month | 65 cents. | THE WEEKLY CALL.. .One year, by mall, $1.50 OAKLAND OFFICE .908 Broadway | Eastern Represcntative, DAVID ALLEN. NEW YORK OFFICE... ..Room 188, World Bullding WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE -Riggs House €. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. PUBLICATION OFFICE BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay, open until 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 621 McAllister street, open until 9:30 | o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open untll 9:30 o’'clock. 1941 Mission street, open until 10 o’clock. 2291 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o’clock. 2518 Mission street, open untll 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open until 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk street, open until 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second and n until 9 o'cloc! AMUSEMENTS. Baldwin—*“A Gay Decetver." Columbia—+A Naval Cadet.” Alcazar—“The Mummy- Morosco’s—*Ten Nights 1n a Barroom.” Tivoli—* The Wid ow O'Brien." Orpheum—Vaudeviile. Calitorni® Theater—Lecture by F. Marion Crawtord, Monday The Chutes— The Zoo, Vaudeville and Lion Hunt. Olympia, corner Mason and Eddy streets—Specialtes. Pacific Coast Jockey Club, Ingieside Track—Races to-day. AUCTION SALES. By M. German—Tuesday. March 2, Hardware. at 1011 Broad- way, Oakland, at 11 0 clocl H. Umbsen—Monday, April 4, Real Estate, at 14 Mont- street, at 12 o’elock. OUR COMMERCIAL STATUS. HE ieeling in trade was again unsettled last | week, owing purely to the war scare. As usual, Wall street was feverish and irregular, and stocks responded on the moment to both favorable and unfavorable rumors from Washington, showing extreme sensitiveness of securities to current condi- tions. Press reports state that the public is entirely out of the market and the larger holders are also | king comparatively little interest, though foreigners | e sellers to some extent. Industrial operations, however, have not been perceptibly affected, and mer- | who are suffering from the intolerable wrongs | aggression upon our commerce, violations of the ndising is going on as usual. There is no strin- gency in the money market. The bank clearings of | ry are 22 per cent larger than last year, and | 30 per cent smaller, hence, as onc author- tersely puts it, “it is difficult to take dismal | ews when the nation is surpassing all previous | commercial records.” The inflow of gold from | pe mounts to over $34,000,000 since the | movement began, and the end is apparently not yet. The exports of wheat from the Atlantic Coast last | week were 2,160,000 bushels, against 1,272,000 for the | 1e week last year, and the most flattering reports | regarding the distributive trade are being received from the West and Northwest. The only two staples | which are really dull are wool and cotton, while to | the coun now offset this we have an iron trade which is simply | booming. The activity in this line is unprecedented, | the mills all over the country being rushed with | At Chicago, for instance, an enormous de- mand for new cars and farming tools and implements | is reported, with a structural demand exceeding that | any previous year by 8o per cent. There is, how- | unfavorable feature to all this, inasmuch as | decreases in prices are more numerous than for some ‘ time past, though they are chiefly in articles of specu- | lation rather than those of regular consumptive trade. | The local markets are almost devoid of feature. | General trade is good, as shown by the bank clear- | ings of San Francisco, which were 30 per cent larger | last week than for the same week last year.. The close | of the week was distinguished by an advance in | wheat and barley, the former rising in sympathy with higher Eastern and foreign markets, and the latter owing to the dry weather. There was a fine shower on Friday in the Salinas and San Joaquin valle; but it was less than an inch, hence it was | hardly enough, but was infinitely better than noth- | ing and made the farmers feel brighter. The most | uniavorable feature at the moment is the widespread damage to several kinds of fruit, notably apricots | and peaches, by the long-continued cold weather. It | is now conceded that the apricot crop of the State will | be practically nil this year, and the peach crop will be too light for the usual large output of canned and dried fruit. Prunes have not suffered as much as the others up to the present writing, and the pears, apples and grapes remain untouched as yet. The hay crop looks poorly, and buyers are already in the field bidding $15 for new oat hay, which is about 100 per cent better than the usual opening price of this de- scription. The farmers are generally refusing to sell at this figure, but it is all guesswork on both sides. It is admitted by all, however, that this important staple will open far above its usual figure. The question of feed has become a serious. one. It has caused the shifting of cattle from one point to another, has led to the withdrawal of all extra horses from ordinary business and has sent in larger supplicsi of hogs to this market for sale, besides affecting | butchers’ prices more or less. In fact it is cutting in many directions. In spite of all these drawbacks, however, the con- dition of trade is better than at this time last year. The increase in the volume of business is well illus- trated by the overland shipments of produce and merchandise from California during February, which were 41,650 tons, against 17,582 tons in February, 1897. crders Twice has ex-District Attorney Page been found guilty of the meanest type of embezzlement and twice have the courts granted him a new trial on a foolish technicality which has no possible bearing upon the merits of the case. It is a thing like this which tends to rob the courts of the respect people would be glad to feel for them if they were permitted to do so. It is claimed that no demand had been made upon Page for a return of the stolen money, and so far as actual words are concerned this may be true. Yet the cir- cumstance of arrest on the charge of stealing might be construed into a strong insinuation that the return of the loot was considered desirable. If Page has the money concealed about his person and yearns to make restitution he should not let a diffidence due to the fact that he had not been asked for it stand in the way of handing it over. The law was not made for the benefit of rogues, and when the courts permit it to be twisted about so that such seems to be its pur- pose they are not doing their duty, and no defensive technicality can be projected into the situation, either, THE PRESIDENT’S PROGRAMME. CCORDING to reports from Washington it /C\ is the intention of the President to send to Congress this morning the findings of the Naval Board of Inquiry concerning the cause of the destruction of the Maine, with the information that he has acquainted the Spanish Government with the results of the inquiry. He will follow this to-morrow | or Wednesday with a message on the condition of the non-combatants in Cuba and will ask of Congress | an appropriation for their immediate relief. As the President will so soon speak for himself, it | is useless at this time to attempt to forecast what he | will say. The programme as outlined promises a policy that will meet the approval of the country. It | is evidently the intention of the President to take on the issue a position that will have not only the sup- port of all loyal Americans, but of the civilized world. The question of indemnity for the destruction of the Maine is not to be permitted to overshadow the even greater question from the standpoint of humanity, of relief for the starving and destitute people of Cuba | mn- flicted by despotic government and barbarous war- fare. Congress and the country have shown abundant | confidence in the President. A sum of $50,000,000 has | been voted for him to employ at his discretion in providing for national defense, no effort has been made to force his hand, nothing has been said or done in either house to embarrass him, the most intense partisans have made no attempt to discredit his methods of procedure for the sake of making points for use in the coming Congressional cam- | paigns. He has had a free hand and full support from | all parties and classes of the people and from all sec- | tions of the Union. His message will go far to show whether this confidence has been well or ill placed. The people expect of him something in the nature of an ultimatum, and if it is not forthcoming the week | in Congress will be stormy and wrathful. | McKinley can find in the message sent to Congress in 1854 by President Pierce in relation to the seizure | of the Black Warrior a precedent which will serve him as something of a model in this juncture. Pierce, | | after pointing out that the Black Warrior case did not stand alone, but that “there have been in the : | course of a few years past many other instances of | rights of American citizens and insults to the national flag by Spanish authorities in Cuba,” went on to say, “All attempts to obtain redress have led to protracted and as yet fruitless negotiations.” He then added: “In case the measures taken for amicable adjust- ment of our differences with Spain should unfortu- | nately fail, I shall not hesitate to use the aulhoricy; and means which Congress may grant to insure the | observance of our just rights, to obtain redress for | injuries received and to vindicate the honor of our | flag. In anticipation of that contingency, which I earnestly hope may not arise, 1 suggest to Congress he propriety of adopting such prov sional measures | as the exigency may seem to demand.” | Some such message as that in the present temper of | the people and of Congress would settle the crisis and put an end to the feeling of uncertainty. It is in confident expectation of it that the country waits the | message which is to make known the President’s | | | [ policy. — A NEW PHILOSOPHY IN CONGRESS. R. WALKER of Massachusetts is regarded /\/\ as one of the leading political economists in Congress. He is chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Banking, is always one of the most conspicuous speakers on questions of tariff and finance, is a director of a bank and a manufac- turing company, a member of the American Acad- | emy of Political and Social Science, a trustee of the | American Institute of Civics, trustee of Brown Univ} versity and of Newton Theological Seminary and | president of the board of trustees of Worcester | Academy. He is also several other kinds of a digni tary, and altogether one who has a right to say, * am Sir Oracle, and when I speak let no dog bark.” This eminent master of social and political econ- | omy has just propounded in Congress a new phil- osophy and thereby won another title to fame. He achieved the distinction in the course of a discussion on the comparative conditions of factory operatives in New England and the Southern States, and pro- pounded his novel theory in reply to an assertion of | a Southern Representative that owing to the smaller cost of the necessaries of life in the South the South- ern workingman saved more money out of his wages | than the Northern worker. Lest we may be sus- | pected of garbling Mr. Walker’s economic discovery we will quote exactly as it is printed in the Con- gressional Record the paragraph in which he an- nounced it to an applauding House. Mr. Wa]keri said: | “Let me say to the gentlemen on the other side that each man in this country cannot save 10 per cent of his earnings or income without the nation going back to barbarism in a hundred years. Under natural law and economic conditions it is only the few who can save. The economic law of the race is that enough will save—that enough are so dowed with acquisitiveness and the administrative faculty that they will accumulate enough to employ the balance. All men ought not to save and do not save. All spend that all may live in comfort. It is in spending that civilization advances. ~Why we have in our town four or five men to-day who have fifty to a hundred thousand dollars who yet live on an income of five or six hundred dollars a year, and if we all did it we would all go back to barbar- ism. They are practically the worst citizens we have. (Laughter and applause.) I tell you it is in the act of spending the race gets on and not in the act of saving.” (Applause.) . It is fortunate for Benjamin Franklin that his bones are buried in Pennsylvania and not in the soil of his native State, or this doctrine uttered from the lips of a Massachusetts man in answer to a thrifty speech from the son of a wasteful cavalier of the Sunny South would have ruffled his rest and made him uncomfortable in his grave. “A penny saved is a penny earned” was Franklin’s doctrine, and the old philosopher would hardly be able to comprehend such a proposition as that of the new man. Mr. Walker, it is safe to say, does not spend all that he earns. He is content to leave to other men the advance of the nation. He takes his place among | the ranks of the worst citizens and practices thrift while urging workingmen to spend freely. This fact of course does not detract frem the value of his teaching, for no apostle of a new creed can be ex- pected to practice what he preaches. The only point we make upon it is that the difference between the fife and the lesson is so striking that it needs eluci- dation. Mr. Walker should write a book. e o en- If the Minnesota widow who wants $1000 from a man who rashly ventured to hug her is not over- estimating the value of that operation she must in- deed be a charming woman. 4 | and punished with the utmost severity of the law. FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, MARCH 28, 1898. THE RESPONSE OF THE GOVERNORS. OVERNOR BUDD'S letter to the Governors 6 of the States of the Great West requesting them to appoint committees to attend a con- vention for the purpose of formulating a plan of joint action in celebrating the semi-centennial of the admission of California to the Union has been cor- dially responded to, and assurances have been given that the enterprise will be warmly supported. It is thus apparent that the movement will be something more than a State undertaking and that the proposed exposition will be one of the greatest in design and accomplishment ever carried out in the United States. The letters of response which have been feceived up to date have been published in The Call and they show the wide extent of territory which will be inter- ested in the enterprise. Among them are letters from the Governors of such distant States as Minne- sota and Nebraska. These States, which by us are regarded as parts of the East, are, however, essen- tially Western in history, development and sympathy. Their Governors promise a cordial co-operation in the movement for the celebration, and their progres- sive citizens will take a pride in assisting to make the first great Western exposition a genuine triumph for this section of the Union. The cordial tone of these responses from other States should be felt by Californians as an incentive to earnest efforts in promoting the enterprise. It will devolve upon California to lead the way and take the initiative. When the interstate convention assembles the delegates from this State should be prepared to submit a programme of work which will at least fur- | nish a basis for discussion even if it be not sufficiently broad to be generally satisfactory. That much will be expected of us and we must not permit the ex- pectation to be disappointed. It will be seen that the sooner we get to work the better. The time between now and 1900 is none too | long for the task of preparing for such an undertak- | ing as this is designed to be. We have invited our | sister States to join with us in a movement to aug- ment the prestige of the Great West and their Gov- ernors have responded with words of warm accept- ance. Now let us be ready to welcome the conven- tion and all its delegates in true Western style and | Californian hospitality. d have shown a commendable zeal in searching out the parties who are responsible for tampering with the boxes containing the lists from which the jurymen are drawn for service in the Superior Courts. It is to be hoped the zeal will not diminish no matter in which direction the evidence may point. The | offense is one of the rankest that could be committed under our system of society, and the offenders, whether high or low, should by all means be dragged | from concealment, disclosed to the public, convicted THE JURY-BOX STUFFERS. UDGE HUNT and his colleagues on the bench + > + + - + + POSITIVE POLE. OME very interesting and Instructive experiments in photographing the electric spark have lately been made by M. Henry Langumier, in charge of the course of practical electricity given at the “Bourse du Travail” to the mem- bers of the Assoclation of Firemen and Engineers, at Paris. The results of one of these experiments are shown on the ac- companying illustration, taken from a half-tone picture in a recent number of L'Tllustration. It is about half the natural size, and represents an electric spark sixteen centi- meters in length, which was obtained di- rectly and without the aid of any lens in a chamber or lecture room completely darkened. A sensitive plate was set in in- sulating clamps and to it were fastened at the opposite ends the two extremuties of the wires from the poles of an induc- tion coil. The spark was furnished by an int duced current of about 45,000 volts from a RuhmkKkorff coil, which was operated by a primary current of eight volts and four amperes. As the spark passed over the R R e e e s R R L S AR AR AR RAS PHOTOGRAPH OF AN ELECTRIC SPARK. : + R R S S S S e TR R S R R AR RS S NEGATIVE POLE. sensitive coating of the plate from one end to the other it left the curious evi- dences of its ways and wanderings per- manently marked thereon. The plate was then developed and from the nega- tive the picture for L’'Illustration was printed directly from the etching plate. Photographic results somewhat similar to the above have been produced before by the aid of iron filings or sulphur pow- der scattered over the sensitive plate, which, of course, to a greater or less de- gree, affected the course and character of the spark and the resulting picture. In this instance, however, we are as- sured by M. Langumier that the spark which he has reproduced was absolutely natural, the opposing electricities being entirely free to exert themselves in every direction but that of the sensitive plate. It is to be noticed that the negative pole | of the spark takes the form of a branch | of fern, while the positive pole takes that | of a bunch of hairy roots. This accounts | for the curious vegetable-like appear- ances that are often to be found indelibly | marked on the skin of persons who have been struck by lightning. COLLECTED ' IN THE CORRIDORS. J. A. Chancelor of Los Angeles is at the Palace. George F. Buch of Stockton arrived at the Lick yesterday. ‘William P. Veuve of Los Gatos is a | guest at the Lick. R. E. Jack, a banker of San Luis Obis- Po, Is staying at the Palace. L. A. Spitzer, Assessor of Santa Clara County, is registered at the Grand from San Jose. James Redman, a mining man of Mont- pelier, Idaho, is one of the late arrivals at the Lick. Mr. and Mrs. William Holden are stay- ing at the Lick, where they will remain for about a week, when Mr. Holden The difficulties in the way of finding legal evidence | against the criminals may be great, but with patience ‘ and perseverance there will be found a means to | overcome them. No matter how clever a rascal may | be, he always leaves behind him some trace of | his work. This is especially true of offenders who | have been practicing a particular sort of fraud for a | long time. They are careful at first, but, growing bolder as they progress, they at last become careless and then exposure comes swift and sharp. There is reason to believe that this is what has happened in the case of those responsible for the stuffing of the jury lists, and if so it needs only a persistent and sagacious pursuit to catch them and bring them to justice. While-the offense is not what is known as a sen- sational crime and has not “startled the community,” it has nevertheless made a profound impression upon the more intelligent and reflecting class of citizens and will not be lost sight of until it has reached its proper conclusion. A cloud upon the jury-box is | a cloud upon our whole legal system, and Judge Hunt can render no better service to the community than that of confirming public confidence in the es- sential impartiality and fairness of our juries by | bringing to punishment any one who has violated the | law which regulates their selection. Ttask of saving the Mercantile Library from what | seems an impending bankruptcy deserve the cor- ; dial support and help of the community generally. | Their labors are for the public good, and they have a right to appeal to all who have regard for the literary advantages and mental culture of the city to assist them with energy and with money to accom- plish it. It matters not by what unfavorabfe conditions, ad- verse circumstances, mistakes or errors of manage- ment the Mercantile Library has arrived at its present perplexing condition. It is sufficient to know it is one of the institutions of which the city has a right to be proud, to which a large number of people owe much, which has had a career of usefulness in the past, is useful now, and may be even more useful in the future, and that it needs help to tide over an emergency in its affairs which threatens it with dis- solution unless help is forthcoming. To know the merits of the library and to know what are its urgent requirements should be sufficient to prompt every one in proportion to his means to give the aid that is needed. ‘We have none too many libraries in San Francisco. Any institution of the kind would have a rightful clairq on popular support. In this particular case the claim is augmented by the worth and dignity of the library that makes the appeal. The Mercantile is one of the oldest of our civic institutions. It represents one of the earliest efforts of our people to provide for a broad and deeply cultured intellectual life at a time when few persons expected San Francisco to be any- thing more than a trading center. It is an honor- able monument of the co-operative efforts of former days, and if for no other reason should be so sup- ported as to be made perpetual THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY. | HE men and women who are engaged in the | | The strong feature of the Army and Navy Jour- nal is its conservatism. This publication says that the dispatch of the Spanish flotilla to Porto Rico is an act of war. Now is the time for some complacent advocate of peace at the price of any insult to rear on his hind legs and denounce the journal as a jingo. ST Announcement that one of Pulitzer's war editors has brain fever will be received with more or less incredulity. There is a common impression that he leaves for Montana. John M. Steele, A. Lohenstein and George Earle Kelly are three naval of- ficers attached to the Monadnock who are registered at the Occidental. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar P. Mills of New York are at the Palace with their daugh- ter. Mr. Mills is a prominent official of the Wabash Railroad Company. 0000000000 Saturday night o O Anna Held, the o BLESSED o famous French © ARE THEY o dancer, who lives ° ‘opn o Inher private car 5 THAT HUNGER. o &t the Townsend- street depot,came oooo0000OOC townZ for Ta up little while and on her return to her Fourth home on wheels walked down r street to her destination instead of taking @ street car. She was accompanied by a couple of theatrical people besides one or two Willie-boy admirers, who, knowing the charming Anna's love of comfort and distaste for any sort of unnecessary phy- sical exertion, wondered why she should elect to walk instead of riding, particu- larly such a distance and at such a time, the hour being considerably after ten. They had not gone far before they passed a green-grocer's and Miss Held stopped and purchased a bunch of asparagus, which she handed to one of her admirers, who not only carried it, but gallantly in- sisted on paying for it. At the next shop a bundle of spinach was acquired, which was paid for and carrled by admirer No. 2. Then, in quick succession, a market, a fruit store and a fish stall were visited | and purchases made, which were paid for by the different male members of the p:& until every one of the crowd was p: ing something that promised to de- velop into a toothsome dish under the skillful handling of a good cook. Miss Held herself brought up the rear, carry- ing a large sized crab tled to the end of a string. To the numerous interroga- tories put to her with the purpose of as- certaining what she intended to do she would return the one answer to wait and see the artist she had for a cook, so the gentlemen who were carrying the dif- ferent articles trotted along contentedly, cheered by visions of the delightful mid- night supper that would reward them for their trouble and devotion when the car should at last have been reached. It is a long lane that has no turning and Fourth street is no exception to other lanes. When the party stood beside the car they heaved a sigh of relief, and, handing their bundles to the servant, they prepared to mount the steps which were to lead them to the interior and supper. Miss Held, however, had a surprise in store for them which they little suspected. Standing on the platform she expressed her regret that the lateness of the hour prevented her from asking them in and then, thanking them for their kindness in carrying the parcels, which she in- formed them were destined to charm the palate of Tod Slpan, who was to dine with her on the morrow, she bade them a smiling good night and vanisfied. To say the gentiemen of the party were crest- fallen would be putting it mildly. They were crushed. M. Marks of Oroville is a guest at the Grand. E. B. Dana is registered at the Lick from New York. H. Thorp of Sacramento is one of yes- terday’'s arrivals at the Grand. R. Livingstone and wife of Portland, Or., arrived in the city yesterday and went to the California. Q. C. Ward and Albert Eads of Ma- comb, Ill., are at the Occidental. Both gentlemen are accompanied by their wives. Larry J. Killean, a Boston sporting man, has returned to the Palace from a trip to the southern part of the State, where he has been for some time past, together with Abe Levy and Chris Buck- ley. NO OBJECTION TO THESE. While there is a general feeling against the incoming of the off-scourings of Europe no one will have a word to say against 605 steerage passengers who ar- ved last week on the Kaiser Wilhelm. Their_average age was 25 years old and they brought $21,460 with them, had rail- has nothing to have it with. It is learned from one of the evening papers that Salisbury has retired, and from another that he has no thought of taking such a step, all of which goes to prove the value of accuracy. road tickets to their destination and knew exactly where they wanted to go. A third of them were Russian Mennonites who_are bound for the Dakotas and ‘Washington, where so many of their countrymen are already settled and are developing that great agricultural terri- tory. Such citizens as these would welcome anywhere in the world.—Louls- ville Courier-Journal. | THE BITTER RIVER WARRIORS. When fust the papers come to hand _sayin’ there might be a war, You'd ort to seen us fellers stand A fightin’ battles at the bar! There wa'n't a Bitter River chap, From Colonel Tom to Kid McLane, That wasn't ackin’ fur a scrap, All spattered up with blood, with Spain. We'd stand an’ diagndse the news Atween our frequent snifts o' booze. Ol Colonel Tom he sald that he Was in the wor o' Sixty-one. An’ reckoned he was up in G, A pumpin” bullets through'a gun. Fur bravery in facin’ death His name was on the honor roll— An’ then he'd reinforce his breath By h'istin’ in another bowl, An” we jes' cheered till we was hoarse; Him settin’ up the drinks, of course. An' One-Eyed Riley, he chipped in By sayin’ that he marched an’ fit All over sacred ol Virgin., An' used to make the rébels git. He reckoned he was jes’ as brave As any man that follered Grant, An many a rebel soger grave He'd furnished with an occupant. An’ now if war should come, you bet ‘We'd see he was a fighter yet. Then Shorty Norton said that when You talked o' p'rit fightin’, he Was one o' them same rebel men That tuk his_dose along with Lee, It used to be one delight, As Lee an’ al comrades knew, o' the fight \ boys in blue, n' if a call for sogers come ‘We'd see him steppin’ to the drum. An’ Dick the Lamb an’ Faro Dowd An' Windy Jim an’ Scrapper White— In short the hull durned River crowd Vas all a itchin’ fur a fight. An’ when ol' Colonel Tom once more Set up the devil lightnin’, and Get off a speech “bout spillin gore “lected him to take command, wore that In the bloody fray We'd foller him through Helena. Nex' day we found a written call Stuck up in front o' Jackson's store, In_scholar langwidge askin’ all To give their sarvice to the war. It drawed a quite excited crowd, An’' ‘twasn’t very hard to see That talkin' wasn't near so loud Nor bloody as it used to be. None of us hadn’t much to say, An’ sald it, in a quiet way. Or' Colonel Tom he run the bluff That he was old an’ full o' pain, An’ there was youngish men enough To knock the stuffin’ out o' Spain. An’ One-Eved Riley said 'at he Had done enough fur Uncle Sam, An’ Norton, him that fit with Lee, An’ Windy Jim an’ Dick the Lamb. An’ all the rest could plainly show Jes' why they hadn’t ort to go. That night "twas hinted 'round that Bual, That's tendin’ bar fur Whisky Brown, Whose place we paternize, had stuck That notice up to call us down, An’ when he owned right up on sight That he had put the war call there, ‘We acquiesced in his invite To take a drink an’ call it square. Then every autermatic chin Cut loose a scrappin’ Spain ag'in. —Denver Post. NEWS Of FOREIGN NAVIES. The Russian contract for armor plates, recently given to the Carnegle mills, is for two armored gunboats. The Hai-Shen, the third of the three Chinese protected cruisers of 2050 tons, was launched at Stettin, February 12. The contract delivery of these three ships will be exceeded by nearly six months. Contract for an armored cruiser of 7700 tons, to be named Kleber, has been given to the Chantiers et Atelier de la Gironde Company. The ship is to be delivered in fifty-one months, dating from December 9 of last year, and to be ready for her officlal test three months later. Another British torpedo-boat destroyer, the Sturgeon, has come to grief. During a protracted sea trip something went wrong and she limped into Portsmouth under the starboard engine. An ex- amination revealed the fact that the struts of the port propeller had broken off and that the shaft was bent and twist- ed, the rudder smashed and the hull bad- ly damaged. A pair of sheer legs 150 feet in length, to 1ift 100 tons, are to be erected at the De- vonport dockyard. The cost of the sheers and machinery will be $55,000. The item recalls the fact that a similar work was accomplished at the Mare Island Navy- yard In 1887, where the sheer legs and machinery were built in the department of steam engineering under Chief En- gineer Kutz for the sum of $44,375, or nearly $6000 less than that now being built in the British dockyard. The European press—excepting that of | Russia—is greatly worked up over the mystery which surrounds the departure of two Russian battle-ships from the Black Sea. The treaty stipulation be- tween Turkey an. Russia expressly for- bids any Russian war vessel to pass the Dardanelles, and hitherto the Sultan has e apd fearnought. An 10,278 ive was male, hoses strotched and water soon extinguished the blazing woolen stuff, and the R. N. R. individual was escorted by a guard of marines to the guardhouse. His explazation that he “‘did not know it was loaded” will not save him from a court-martial ant merited punish- ment for a criminal prank. have been giyen to the Arm- any for ten 12-1nflch bze‘ech!; rifles and tweaty-five 6-inc! zlfizli-:gflrlng guns. The latter will have improved mounts, which will greatly in- crease the facility of working: the gun and enable them to fire nine rounds in one minute, agalnst six rounds Whl'c_h is at present the best record mede with this caliber gun. The length of bore will also be increased, permitting a Righer ghargq to be used, and the muzzle enersy in foot tons will be raised from 4840 to 5374 foot tons. The 40 caliber 6-inch gun in the United States navy has 2 muzzle energy of 3204 foot tons, and as none of them on board the ships are quick firers they are able to fire only two rounds per minute. AGAINST THE CUBANS. San Francisco, March 25, 1898. v blic sen- jtor Call—Dear Sir: W hile pa uggm appears to be so bitterly opposed to the consideration of _u_n_vthing that would tend to relieve Spain of the odium that the Maine disaster has created, it may seem out of place to say anything that would tend to lessen the hatred of the American people against that nation. Nevertheless I cannot forbear to direct the intelligent reader’s attention to some pertinent conslderations that even the extremest patriotism should not sanction. The people of these United States, we are told, are wearied with the continuous warfare that has been malntained with so little valuable result and so much use- less suffering In the “‘Queen of the An- tilles” and they propose to put an end to it by demanding that Spain, having been unsuccessful either in subjugating or coaxing the subjects of its rebellious col- ony, should give them their liberty. The excuse for this demand is primarily that this incessant strife in Cuba is damaging to the commerclal interests of this repub- lic and incidentally that the suffering of the Cubans should come to an end. I ad- mit that the commercial claim is a good one, but when we begin to lament the cruelties of war we are depending upon the ignorance of our listeners for ap- plause. A war that has no cruelties is no war, and the more merciless a war is the more successful it becomes. More- over, in theé instance under consideration, the misery of those who are complaining is entirely of their own making, as loy- alty to thé Spanish crown would secure them protection and better government than the nondescript blood of the rebel- lious movement could ever provide. We are told by the telegraphic dispatches from those who profess to know the Presidential mind that our chief execu- tive is preparing a manifesto for the Spanish Government demanding large in- demnity from that nation (which is quite proper) and also demanding that as it has been impossible for Spain to conquer the Cubans, in the interest of humanity the war should be stopped and freedom given to them. There is no sense nor justice in this demand. If the only solution of a war is_that one of the belligerents should cease fighting, who shall have the right to decide which party shall lay down its arms? Would it not accomplish as much if Mr. McKinley shounld say to the insur- gems that if they did not cease their ghting at once this country would help Spain to compel them to do so? Unques- tionably it would. It is quite proper that Spain should pay for the loss of the Maine, but absolutely wrong that this Government should seek to interfere for the benefit of the Cuban rebels. More es- pecially does it seem wrong as this coun- try has tacitly sympathized with and aid- ed the insurgent movement in very many ways—which aid and which sympathy has emboldened the one side and embittered the other. MAS H. KERR. Contracts strong Comp: ONE GREAT UNITED COUNTRY. Roanoke (Va.) News. General Wade Hampton’s adwice to Southern men to stay at home and let the North furnish the troops, if war is de- clared against Spain, is narrow, sectional and wholly repugnant to the feelings of the brave followers of Lee and Stonewall Jackson. We are one great country un- der one flag. and it is admitted by patri- ots all over the land that a declaration of war would have the effect of abolishing sectional lines, and_that in the future there would be no North, no South, no East, no West, but one great reunited nation standing shoulder to shoulder in defense of a common cause. We are sur- prised at Wade Hampton. DOLLARS COUNT WAR TIME. National debt of Spain, $1,709,000,000. National interest charges annually, $105,000,000. $ National income annually, $160,000,000. Look at the proportion between (he to- tal revenue and the interest charge upon the public debt and he who fears war with Spain may be reassured that the hostilities may occur only between the treasuries at Washington and Madrid. It is far more likely to be a battle of dol- lars than of gratulation that the dollars of Uncle Sam are sound.—New York Mai] and Express. e e Finest eyeglasses, specs, 15¢ up, 33 4th.® } Cholce present Eastern friends, Town- send’s Cal. Glace Fruits 50c Ib Jap bskts.® { Special information supplied dally to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, PICTURES AND FRAMES. — Every week we are In receipt of new moldings. Persian Green, Japanese Gray, English, ola Du‘trch and Flemish Oaks, Green and Gold_effects, Seal Brown, Bone EI 4 and Solid Giits. Al the new odd sha"gé‘s, in pretty frames and everything that is new and good in_sheet pictures, panels and medallions. It goes without saying thst our n]ssortl}-rlmer‘n. is 'alwsays the best and our prices the lowest. yai 0, W Marwet sireat. - ouborn, Vall 4 —_———— Telegraph wires will last for forty years near tge seashore. In the manuta{t{xrlng districts the same wires will last only ten years, and sometimes less. —_— ““Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used over fity years by millions of mothers for their children while Teething with perfect success. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colic, reg- ulates the Bowels and is the best remedy for Diarrhoeas, whether arising from teething or | other causes. For sale by Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mrs, Winslow’s Soothing Syrup. 2c a bottle. CORONADO.—Atmosphere 1s perfectly dry, eoft and mild, being entirely free from the mists common further north. Round trip tickets, by steamship, including fifteen days® board at the Hotel del Coronado, $&: longer stay, $2 50 per day. Apply 4 New Montgomery street, San Francisco, or A. W. Balley, man- ager, Hotel del Coronado, late of Hotel Colo- rado, Glenwood Springs, Colorado. —_—————————— The Suez canal is eighty-eight miles long and reduces the distance from Eng: land to Indla nearly 4000 miles for shi; ADVERTISEMENTS. only given permission to vessels of the Russian volunteer fleet to pass through the Bosphorus. The armor-clads referred to as having violated the treaty stipula- tions are said to have sneaked through in the nighttime, and an investigation is on foot to locate the responsibility. A Royal Naval Reserve man on board the British armored cruiser Australia has got himself in serious trouble and thrown discredit upon this auxiliary branch of the naval sérvice. The ship was lying at Portsmouth and a lot of stores were broken out of the room adjoining the magazine. The R. N. R. man saw some pistols such as are used for firing night signals, and grabbing one fired into a bunch of fuses lying on a shelf and a fusillade of exploding fuses was the re- sult. A regular blue jacket at once threw a bundle of the fuses outside the ddor of the storeroom and fire was communicated Finest Food