The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 3, 1898, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL,- SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1898 @all APRIL 3, 1808 | JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprigtor. ‘ Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. | PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F. | Telephone Main 1865. | EDITORIAL ROOMS..........2I7 to 291 Stevenson Street | Telephone Main 1574 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND S8UNDA3S s | served by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns | for 16 cents a week. By mail $6 per year; per month | 65 cerits. THE WEEKLY CALL.. ..One year, by matl, $1.50 | OAKLAND OFFICE.. . . 908 Broadway Eastern Representative, DAVID ALLEN. NEW YORK OFFICE.. Room 188, World Building WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE....... --..Riggs House C. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. — | ANCH 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 9:330 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 untll 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second and | Kentucky streets, open untli 9 o'clock. Baldwin. Columbia— A N: Mummy-" hts 1n a Barroom.” | ‘The Morosco’s—"Ten N Tivoll—" The W Orpheum—Vauder The Chutes—The Zoo, Vaudeville and Lion Hunt Olympta, corner Mason and Eddy streets—Specialties. Coureing—Ingleside Cour Park, this morning. Coursing—At U: Park, this afternoon. Central Park- Recreation P: ow O'Brien." e. By G. H. Umbsen—Monday, April 4, Real Estate, at 14 Mont- gomery street, at 12 0'clock. MR. LACEY’'S FRANK FRIEND. | CONSTITUENT of Representative Lacey of Iowa has sent to him for a copy of every 1 ‘ obituary to be found among the archives of the House. “I do so love to read about dead Con- gressmen,” explains the person making the request. Perhaps this is a specimen of irony as she irons in Iowa, or it may be that Mr. Lacey’s frank friend has a touch of that morbid trait which leads certain na- tures to the place of mourning, there to find a pleas- ure such as another would seek at the play. To the ordinary intelligence the privilege of read- | ing about dead Congressmen does not actively ap- peal. Im fact when a member dies there is apt to be more said concerning him than his importance in the world would justify, and the habit of skipping the long eulogies has been acquired even by the most en- thusiastic devourers of the Congressional Record. But there are a few Congressmen who might im- prove the public service by dropping out of it and getting into a condition to be embalmed in epitaph. Yet these epitaphs would be read without the reader | manifesting signs of jubilation or more than a se- rene content. Lacey could not be blamed for declin- ing to-be a purveyor of funeral sweets to a crank. fl the postoffice self-sustaining has been defeated, and notwithstanding the fact that the postal appropriation bill for the ensuing year has been adopted by the House, the question of postal deficits continues to occupy more attention in the East than any other issue of national legislation except that re- lating to Cuba and national defense. It seems that the business sense of the country has about made up | its mind that something shall be done to place the | postoffice on a business basis and will not let the issue die until that has been accomplished. The Loud plan of putting an end to the deficit by restricting the privilege of second class postage to legitimate newspapers having been defeated, the next plan to be tried is that of those who urge a reduction | of the rates paid to railroads for transportation. | There are many advocates of this plan outside of" Congress and some strong champions of it in that | body. It would seem, therefore, as if the plan might be embodied in a bill and brought up for considera- tion before the Senate follows the House in disposing of the matter for this session. The Philadelphia City and State, in discussing | the cost of transportation, recalls the statement of | ex-Postmaster-General Vilas that the Government is .“paying for the use of postal.cars more than a. mil- lion dollars a year in excess of what it cost to build the cars,” and denounces the rates as “a gigantic | thievery.” The Springfield Republican declares the | scandal of the situation falls upon Congress:no less | than upon the administration of the Postal Depart- ment, which is empowered to make terms with the | railroads, and, quoting Senator Gorman, attributes | the failure of Congress to make any effort at reform to “the great power of these corporations who control | everything, who are so powerful that they make and | unmake public men.” | Evidence in abundance, and much of it seemingly | conclusive, has been advanced from time to time in | proof of these assertions. It is somewhat strange, therefore, that no attempt has been made to bring the issue fairly before Congress so ‘that the subject could be discussed on its merits. The argument of exces- sive railroad rates was used effectively as a weapon to kill the Loud bill, but it was not strong enough +to | kill the appropriation bill, although the appropriations [ for transportation were made on the old basis. It is time to put an end to this sort of juggling | on a matter-of such importance to the country. The advocates of lower rates should bring in a measure dealing with the issue. They should come forward with a well-defined policy. The postal deficit is a serious evil, but the reported domination of Congress by railroads is a greater evil still if it be true, and it behooves those who claim to be free from that domination to make a straight fight and show their hands at some time before the session closes and the people aré called on to pass judgment upon their official acts. i AN ISSUE THAT LIVES. | LTHOUGH the Loud bill designed to make | News that Zola is freed will be received everywhere with satisfaction. Perhaps Zola does talk too much, but his excessinthisdirection is as nothing compared with his_habit of writing too much. However, if France did not intend to keep the gentleman in jail it is hard to understand why she made such a show of herself in an endeavor to establish the right to put him there. PERARER 0 If the Queen Regent of Spain gets scared away from that troubled land by the Carlists she ought to come to this country, where she would be rcceivedl with courtesy and treated to the attentions due a: lady of rank. Peace is so blessed a thing that the country is will- ina ta devote its UV and nayxta the securigz of it. | of which the truthful Blanco writes, dention its material resources are vastly greater than | those of its foe. | to know that the final resolution to strike a blow at | been that of an unauthorized enthusiast, Spain vol- | the brazenness of the hardened criminal has refused THE BORDERLAND OF STRIFE. NLESS events shall as by a miracle be changed U in the aspect they now present to human judg- ment, this country and Spain will soon be en- gaged in deadly strife. Of the outcome America has nothing to fear. That its quarrel is just gives it triple strength, and aside from the moral phase of the con- In sentiment it is united. That the national honor must be maintained is a statement over which there is no tendency to haggle, and the national honor is at stake. It will be satisfactory to the people of this country the arrogance of an ancient and decaying monarchy is based upon the murder of our seamen, for this, de- spite any diplomatic expression, is the real explana- tion. When the Maine went down it carried with it the hope of Spain. The mine which wrecked the ship was destined to hurl the Castilian from power in the western hemisphere, and its reverberations may yet change a dynasty. Still, for some reason, there was for a time an effort to dismiss this unexampled ex- hibition of treachery as a minor incident. The peo- ple refused to have it dismissed, and no sounding phrases can blind them to the truth. If, when the battle-ship was sent to the bottom, Spain had offered condolence, if she had denounced the perpetrators as assassins and hunted them out, the event which is to lead to war might have opened a way to peace. In sympathy there is at least the be- ginning of friendship. But from the first Spain as- sumed the attitude of defiant guilt. A calm and im- partial investigation proved that the responsibility rested upon her, and though the actual deed may have untarily took the position of an accessory, and with to listen to reason, has been dead to all the impulses of humanity and fairness. Now the penalty be upon her, and if in fire and blood she reap a dread harvest, history will record that it was of her own sowing. While there was hope of honorable peace no pa- per of influence, no man of standing, urged the Presi- dent or Congress to extreme measures. But this hope vanished when there was an attempt to have the Maine incident thrust aside as trivial. Had such a course been permitted no American ship but would have been the safe target of any country with a fan- cied grievance, and the American flag, instead of | been an invitation for the heaping of indignity upon subjects to whom its shadow should be, and shall be, Even if the ostensible ground for war be that Cuba’s chains have long enough bound her to oppression, the this the United States could not have interfered; only for this it would not have been moved by a concerted and vainly. There is no way of telling how much | longer she might have struggled. But a new and think that contemplation of her bravery and suffering | caused it. It is not'so. In the bleaching bones of the read the true story of her own salvation. SPAIN'S TORPEDO FLOTILLA. lconduct of the diplomatic controversy precipitated by the blowing up of the battle-ship Maine in Ha- torpedo flotilla to start for the West India Islands. The arrival of the torpedo flotilla at the probable on this side of the Atlantic. Although Spain did | nothing but send her men-of-war into her own waters, was a distinctly hostile act. /The purpose of Spain may not have been to irritate the people of the midable a fleet at a time when relations were so strained can'be considered from no other standpoint precipitate a conflict. Certainly the presence of this torpedo flotilla near Cuba could do nothing toward numerous and their resources too great for such a presence to frighten them. In other words, the Span- Americans can be bulldozed. The dispatch of the flotilla may, however, prove take in attempting to reach peaceful conclusions with the “Dons.” If a war shall now come, as seems ex- great deal of damage upon the American fleets. It is the opinion of naval experts that Spain is now as case the impending conflict will be simply a test of fighting qualities. If the Spanish can throw as much thrown into their diplomacy they will be likely to put up a rather strong fight. final result. An effete and bankrupt nation like Spain cannot continue a naval struggle against a nation like being a protection to those bencath it, would have a shield. real ground is the destruction of the Maine. Only for desire to interfere. Cuba has, fought long and well greater power takes the burden from her. She may Maine, in the graves of our murdered men, she may | F the administration has made any mistake in its | vana harbor it has been in permitting the Spanish seat of battle would place Spain upon a war footing the dispatch of these boats from:the home country | United States, but her action in transferring so for- than that she has been determined’from the start to promoting peace. The American people are too | ish Government blunders when it thinks that the that President McKinley has all along made a mi. tremely probable, these torpedo boats will inflict a strong in Cuban waters as we are. If that be the vigur into the management of their ships as they have | But of course there can be no question as to the the United States any great length-of time. SOME PENALTY FOR 7SLAUGHTER. NSPIRING the suit brought by the widow of lLieutenant Burke against his slayer is such an evident justice that there can be no harm in com- menting upon a matter.yet to be adjudicated by. the proper tribunal. So often has a murderer been al- lowed to escape that every step tending to express disapproval of his act is certain to be applauded. A man cherishing the homicidal tendency, and cer- tain to be hanged for permitting it to lead him to the act of crime, would repress the impulse and remain with hands unstained. If assured in advance that even if not dropped through the gallows trap he would spend the balance of his days in prison, he might curb his desires and ultimately die a free man, succumbing to old age, his neighbors not suspecting how close he had been to the shedding of blood. Yet the man who killed Burke seems to have been so constituted that gold to him is more than life or liberty. There could be no penalty more certain to awaken in him such shred of conscience as he may possess than one prescribing that he forfeit to those whom he deprived of support the hoard he spent years in collecting. In the abstract the contention of the widow seems unassailable, and in the particular case under consideration the conditions are especially against the assassin. He cannot plead even the shadow of justification. Of course by establishing an allegation of insanity he would render invalid any- claim Mrs. Burke might bring, as well as save his neck, either contingency one much to be regretted by the public. None of the cameras taking pictures in Cuba seems to have got a snap-shot at the “serene contentment” | these 6653 were voters. THE INTERSTATE CONVENTION. ROM the readiness with which Governors of various States of the Great West have agreed to co-operate in the project, and from the cor- dial approval with which it hus been almost univer- sally received in all parts of this State, it is evident the proposed celebration of the semi-centennial of the admission of California to statehood will be car- ried to a splendid success if the right impulse is given to the movement before the present ardor fails and the sanguine hopes of the people are weakened by postponements and delays. The enterprise, having been virtually launched, should be kept moving from this time on. The sooner definite plans are adopted the better. The project will gain in strength by acquiring a well- defined form and purpose. There will be a greater readiness on the part of men of energy and influence to assist in the undertaking when they can see more clearly the good that is to be accomplished- by it and wherein they can aid it. For all these reasons some action in the direction of formulating a programme for the enterprise should be prepared for at once and adopted as soon as possible. The first definite step to be taken is necessarily that of calling the proposed interstate convention to consider the project. Nothing in the way of plans can be permanently decided upon until that conven- | tion meets, for the convention will have the deciding voice as to the place of holding the exposition and the time when it shall be opened. It is therefore a matter of considerable importance to have the con- vention assemble at an early date, and to this object the committee having the enterprise in charge should direct their attention without delay. One reason why the convention should assemble as speedily as is consistent with a good attendance from all the Western States is the desirability of getting the enterprise well under way before next winter so that appropriations may be obtained for it at that time from the Legislature and from Con- gress. For the purpose of getting'a Congressional appropriation it seems indeed that prompt action is imperative. Philadelphia has already asked for an appropriation for an exposition in 1899, and a move- ment has been started in New York to ask for a grant of money to that city for one in 1901. If we | delay in putting forward our claims some other city | may precede us in asking an appropriation for 1900, | and then our chances of obtaining a grant. will be | greatly diminished. While it is by no means certain that the proposed convention will select San Francisco as the place for holding the exposition, it is to this city that the whole West looks for leadership in the movement. It is here the convention should assemble. The com- mittee appointed by Mayor Phelan should therefore | arrange for it and hasten its coming as far as pos- | sible. The whole enterprise, in fact, is now waiting | on the convention, and delay, if prolonged-to ex- | cess, will impair the enthusiasm upon which the | movement largely depends for success. THE TAX-PAYING CLASS. HEN Benjamin Harrison '~ on Washington's W birthday delivered in Chicago his address on the evils of tax-shirking by . the rich and| uttered his famous warning that this country cannot continue half taxed and half untaxed his statement of facts was generally accepted as correct, and on that basis his conclusions were widely approved and com- niended. * 5 It appears, however, that there was at least one man in the nation who did not accept the statement of the ex-President. This was W. W. Baldwin of Bur- lington, JIowa. Not having any data ready to his“ hand by which to refute the premises of the emi- | nent orator, he set about gathering them from the tax-rolls of his own city, and has recently made pub- lic the results of his search in an array of statistics | which show that in Burlington, at any rate, it is not | the so-called poor people, but the rich, or at least the | well-to-do, who pay nearly the entire cost of the muni- | cipal government. According to Mr. Baldwin the city of Burlington, by a census taken in 1895, had a population of 25,246, | of whom 13.900 were adults, 6849 being men, and off The records show that the general taxes of the city were paid by 4,038 persons, | of whom 839 were women. Thus more than half of the voters paid no tax at all, and out of the whole number of adults more than two-thirds, or over 71 per cent, paid no tax. Among the taxpayers there were 1896 whose prop- erty was valued at less than $300 each, and whose aggregate taxes amounted to less than 10 per cent of the whole amount raised. Thus it appears that about 14 per cent of the adult population pay virtually | the whole amount of municipal taxes. Even among these, moreover, the taxation is very unevenly di- vided. The twenty-two largest taxpayers, together with three national banks and six corporations, pay fully one-third of the whole amount, and the re- mainder is paid by some 2000 citizens who represent the prospérous well-to-do business men of the com- munity. Mr. Baldwin claims that Burlington may be taken as a fairly representative American city and that the conditions there are not widely different from those in other cities of the country. He therefore main= tains that three-fourths of the adult urban population of the United States pay no taxes, and that these in- clude all that can be called poor. Hence he concludes that the dictum of General Harrison was not founded upon truth and that the conclusions drawn from his statement of facts were unwarranted. 3 2 The argument, of which we have given but a sum- mary, is a good one, but it does not fairly meet the point to which it was addressed. Mr. Harrison did not say that men of moderate wealth like the good citizens of Burlington do not pay their share of taxes, nor did his words carry any such implication. His charge was directed against the giant-corpora- tions, monopolies and plutocrats of the larger cities of the Union. If Mr. Baldwin will transfer the scene of his studies from Burlington to Chicago and find on the records there that the greater millionaires pay in proportion to their wealth as much as the average citizen of means, he will have refuted Mr. Harrison, but not until then. In the meantime, however, he has made an interesting study of municipal taxation in an ayerage American community, and for that he merits the thanks of all who are interested in such subjects. When Sherman shall retire to make way for Har- rison as Secretary of State the heavens wili fall with that dull, sickening thud which has been so exten- sively advertised. A —_— It will be interesting to notice how the practice of putting in bids for public work after the work has been performed will strike the Grand Jury’s sense of propriety. | read it again. There was a somber feature to the report that ‘Steve Brodie, the Bowery hoodlum, had died. It IR P P E R R R LR R R R WITH ENTIRE FRANKNESS. By HENRY JAMES. B NN ERENNRRERENRR RN RRNS Verbum Sap does not seem to under- | To the unbiased observer it manifests | last | more of the symptoms of gall. "R stand that my farewell to him week was extended in the spirit of sin- cerity. After having been given more space than he is worth, he has written again. ‘He must send in his name and photograph before he can work me for a single additional line. « s s s “Some Philosophy of the Hermetics” has been sent to me. It s a volume fairly reeking with mysticism. One es- pies the symbol on its cover, and picks it up with awe. I have read the book and must confess that it conveys noth- ing to me save that the Hermetics must have something the matter with them. Their philosophy presents every aspect of having been dreamed in a lunatic asylum, It is an emotion, not clearly defined. It is a gasp of the eager theo- rist as he strains after the unattain- able. Needless to say, he doesn't get it, and there are in this book evi- dences of the fact that his disappoint- ment is considerable. He asks us all to share this, and we cannot; we are gross. We recognize that the difficulty of grabbing the unattainable is a seri- ous matter, yet having other things to bother us, let the unattainable slide. Yes, we are gross. But before attempt- ing to criticize the book I intend to Its title page announces that there are those “who will see, and seeing will perceive.” Perhaps I may be educated up to a place among them and learn to repent of to-day's frivol- ity. At present I believe the “Philos- ophy” but a record of vague impres- sions, such impressions as a vision of the day or night may leave, too dim and fading to be portrayed, too deli- cate to be transmitted to the senses through the medium of cold type. Ev- ery mind seems to catch glimpses of lives it has known or is to know, and feels yearnings it can neither analyze nor account for, In ordinary cases this leads to the writing of poetry, in which love and dove are sure to poise at the ends of two lines, while gloom and tomb are almost certain elements. In the case of an Hermetic, however, the effect is different. o . There must be a reason for unloading poetry upon me. I wake up in the night wondering what it is and wondering also-if the reason is good why some of the poetry s not. Here is Cecil Vere with a song of spring. I would not de- preciate the - beauteous season when birds begin to carol and the little buds to venture forth. Neither would I.de- preciate the soulfulness of the singer. I hasten to assure Cecil, however, that spring is an annual occurrence, and really nothing to get excited about. Let it be made clear again that I approach a poem with modesty, realizing that failure to discern its merits may be a personal weakness. Yet I will go so far as to say that Cecil would be wise and kind were she to warble soft and low until her muse shall be a little steadier on its wings and feet. For in- stance: And the vi'let’s breath, and the vi'let's breath Brings a feeling most divine; Nature, unto death, nature, unto death 1 will be thine. The plan of being nature’s unto death and even later is a hard ohe to get away from. It was all arranged before the earliest song-burst fell upon the ears of the new-created. But why leave an *“o” out of violets? Why eliminate a particular superfluous foot and leave a lot more just as superfluous? Better eliminate ’em all and use the blank paper which would remain to inscribe with a resolution of reform. I do not wish to hurt Cecil's feelings. At some period a girl is apt to think herself stirred by the spirit of poesy. She gen- erally survives it and a few words of plain advice have been known to hasten the process of recovery. sl enie A peculiar person, whose excuse for getting into print must be left to the puzzle editor, accuses me of imitating Bierce. Anybcdy writing a personal column for a Californian paper must expect from time to time to writhe and perspire bloodily under a similar accu- sation, unless, as the peculiar person hereinbefore mentioned, safe-guarded by his own stupidity. Among certain scribes there exists a provincial igno- rance best concealed while they rerhain at their level, reporting the current dog-fight or calling some citizen from his bed to ask if it is true he had sto- len a partner’'s money and contemplat- ed eloping with the servant girl. But when these rise higher, and essay to think, they cannot even understand that they have nothing to think with. It becomes a duty and a subdued pleas- ure to discourage them. Years before I had the honor of knowing there was a Bierce on earth, I wrote for an East- efn paper as now for this. Reward was largely: in knowing the work at- tracted the attention of people with brains. But it also attracted the fnev= itable ass, who, rearing on his hind legs and clearing his throat of hamper- ing hayseed, brayed that I was imitat- ing somebody or another. Thank heav- en he never went so far as to intimate that I was' imitatir~ him. The local brayer i{s simply possessed of the no- tion that Bierce is the only writer there is or has any right to be. His meager knowledge does not permit him ‘[to be aware of facts plain enough to persons endowed with sense. Sl e gl It would be thought from Bismarck's latest remarks that his neuralgia had taken a turn for the worse. He says, in the language of diplomacy, that the diplomats of the United States are jays, and that the affairs of Spain are be- ing conducted by a lot of polished knaves. Not only does this give an inkling as to the physical condition of the prince, but calls to mind that the only real diplomatist is an elderly Ger- man now out of a job. e s s e Several days ago the papers had ac- counts of the marriage of a man named Oswald to his niece. Even with the iniquitous habit of employing a tug- boat and the three-mile line to defy the law and decent usages it is not often there has been an offense so flagrant as this. I have been expecting to see some mention of Oswald's arrest as well as that of the woman and the person who officiated at the mock wed- ding. If anythlnlg of the kind has ap- peared I overlooked it. The statutes on this particular point are clear. If this precious trio go unpunished they are bigger than the law, a condition for which, unhappily, a long array of pre- cedents may be cited. s w . I am unprepared to think with Mr. Vining that the power sustaining him against the clamor of a wicked peosle ~<_4 came in the form of a distressingly authentic denial, |for decent street-car service is | - . e o = One friendly critic has found fault with me for not mentioning Ambrose Blerce in a recent article touching upon the merits of the two Bret Hartes, the | one of the West hnd the long ago, and | the one of England and the present. The occasion did not seem to me to re- quire it. The reputation of Bierce is secure. In the field he has chosen Bierce is without a peer. He has the| power to make the shadows he creates | quiver with horror, to portray the pas- sion of fear as no other has done it. Under the spell of his imaginings the | nerves creep and 'sleep flees away. There may be question as to the utility | of employing so strange a gift, yet if it must be asked as to the work of Bierce so also must it of that of Poe, | De Quincey and De Maupassant. What | he may or may not do in the newspa- pers is of little consequence. - Good or bad, in an hour it is forgotten. At its| best it displays weakness of which | there is never a hint in his books. . . el lent et Comes forward by post another sam- ple of the trouble I am delighted to share with friends. . The signature is withheld because it happens to be the writer’s real name. - This ‘'verse is the | first of a number, and by dropping it and the several coming after, the pome would be notably improved. I leave the justice of this verdict to readers: ‘What color's conceded - the fairest on earth? Our flag. In ifberty’s cause came forth souls of true worth, And with travalil for freedom wasbrought to its birth, Our flag. There can be no fault found with the | sentiment, which, so far as it can be discerned among the wreck of words and punctuation, is distinctly patriotic. The expression of it lacks coherency, leaving too much to be guessed at. I do not favor the publication of the entire pome, but there might be a use for it. Let some of our rabid-fire Congressmen commit it to memory, spout it through a megaphone pointed in the direction of the Spanish fiotilla and the torpedo-boats will whirl around with so short a turn that they may | break their own backs. . x It 1s not a duty imposed upon me to try cases which have been through the courts. Therefore, the fact that Dr. Hall has been acquitted again is mere- ly recorded here, despite my impulse to add an expression of belief that he ought to have been hanged long ago. It may be that Hall is an angel of light, on earth for the purpose of do- ing good works. At any rate, there must be some reason for the consider- ation shown him. When he desires ac- | quittal it is only necessary for him to assist a patient to leave this world of woe. Then he is tried, his guilt made manifest, and released. I am inclined to believe that these experiences which to some doctors would be disagreeabla awaken within the bosom of Hall an emotion of pleasure. P With every passing day I grow more confident that woman’s right to be treated as a sane and sensible entity cannot be reasonably disputed. When a man has had a mother, and perhaps acquired a wife, orvainly soughtone, itis not easy to see why he should desire to pose as a superior creature. He knows the bluff is palpable. There is no sense in treating women as though they were incapable of behaving them- selves, or in making the stupid pre- tense that because a lady or a group of | ladies may have the joy of being with- out a male escort, they lack thereby any element of respectability. I no- tice in a certain restaurant to which people resort after the theater to lunch and listen to music, that women unes- | corted of gentleman or gent are sent | into side rooms, curtained off from the | main hall. The unuttached gentleman or gent goes where he pleases, and if he choose to tag the ladies into their exile under the pavement, there is nothing to hinder. Now, why is all this nonsense? Surely if it is for the protection of the ladies it is a failure. They would, in the main hall, be far safer from the ogling of impertinent snips who are given to this form of insulting attention than in a side room cut off from general observation. I be- lieve a woman has just the same right in a restaurant that a man has, and that any other view of the case is an affront to her. Observation has led me to think she has a habit of conducting herself with the utmost propriety. At least, if the boss of the place is deter- mined to keep up this fool distinction, he ought to allot to the ladies an apart- ment as well lighted and ventilated and of as good acoustic properties as the one from which they are banished. And if the men who visit the restaurant in question are not fit for ladies to as- sociate with in the casual contact of elbows, in the full glare of -electric lights, it is time to yell for the police and close up the concern as dangerous to the morals of the community. * s s oA With a pessimism almost unneces- sary some people are already counting the pension list to arise from the war with Spain. They seem to take for granted that because the Government has been robbed once, it will be taken in again. This is hardly giving the legislative branch of the concern credit for intelligence. 1Indeed, as soon as Spain shall have been given a lesson in manners, would be a good time for purging the pension roll of fraud. This task would not be a hard one; it would be objectionable to no honest pensioner and it would not reflect discredit on the old soldier. To the pension he draws he is more than welcome, By publishing the list alone, a great re- form would be worked. There are rich men recelving pay they do not need for services never rendered, who would be ashamed to see themselves in print as treasury vampires, and there are thousands of lesser swindlers for whom exposure would make easy the path to the penitentiary. o tel L 4% te The policemen accused of cowardice have shown some courage in sticking to the force when there was nothing in the way of their resigning and stait- ing & milk route, or something more | in keeping Mwith their lamb-like na- tures. As policemen they are obliged to carry weapons and come jn contact with people of morose disposizion. i e et iy FIGURES FOR FARMERS. One of the strongest appeals made in support of the silver lssue was that its doption meant improvement in all farm | but never so conclusively as by a statis- | ticlan who recently has investigated | March 10, 1898, ; uctions. The absurdity of the claim 1 has been demonstrated time and again, in the course of silver and farm prod- gecgnm the twenty-one months since the adoption of the silver proposition by the Democratic convention at Chicago. " in 1896, and finds that in prn.ctl(‘a.lly every case farm products have advanced at about as rapid a rate as silver has fallen meanwhile. The following table shows that while sllve!b l;;]%(r:)mms?zi g::::_yoerx; uly 10, 159, to bi. n Shren %, 3 wheat advanced from.63.5 ents to $1 02; k advanced from 3B Cs‘: barrel to §10 75; wool from 17 cents to 1, cents, and other articles of farm pro- duction in about the same proportion: Wheat, Mess Wool, Silver, No. 2, Pork, Ohlo, per Red. per bbl. p&:ll: l]b. Dln'lcfiei July 10, 1586....... & 7.0 9. September 26, 108, 7. 80 660 vember 1, 9 19.0 659 April 17, 189 2 62 September 26, 18! z December 18, 18 February 2, March 10, 1 2 1 1f these figures could be brought to the attention of all the farmers in the land, the effect could not be otherwise than beneficial.—Albany Journal. —_————————— THE FIGHTING RACE. Josepb I C. Clarke in New York Sun. | “Read out the names!’ and Burke sat bacig And Kelly dropped his head, While Shea—they call him Scholar Jack— Went down the list of the dead. Officers, se~men, gunnbrs, marines, Ths crews of the gig and yawl, The bearded man and the lad in his teens, Carpenters, coal-passers—all. Then, knocking the ashes from out .hfs Fipe, Said Burke in an offhand way: o “We're all I that dead men’s Hst, by Cripe! Kelly and Burke and Shea: 3 *Well, here’s to the Maing, and Fm sorry fog Spain,” Bald Kelly and Burke and Shea. ““Wherever thére's Kellys there's trouble,’ sald Burke. ““Wherever fighting's the game, " Or a spice of danger in grown man’s work, Said Kelly, *you'll find my name. ; “And do we fall short,” said Burke, getting mad, ““When it's touch and go for life?”” Said Shea: “It's thirty odd years, bedad, Since 1 charged to drum-and fife Up Marye's Heights, and my old canteen Stopped a rebel ball on its way. There were blossoms of blood on green— Kelly and Burke and Shea— ¥ And the dead didn't brag,”” ‘‘Well, here's tq the flag!" Sald Kelly and Burke and Shea. “I wish ’twas in Ireland, for there's theplace,” Sald Burke, “that we'd die by right, In the cradle of our soldier race, After one good stand-up fight. My grandfather fell on Vinegar Hill, And fighting was not his trade; But his rusty pike's in the cabin still, With Hesslan blood on the blade.” “Aye, ave,”” sald Kelly, “'the pikes were greag When the word was ‘clear the wa ‘We were thick on the roll in ninety-eight— Kelly and_Burke and Snea.- “Well, here's to the pike and the sword and the lfke!” i Said Kelly and Burke and Shea. our sprigs of & And Shea, the scholar, with rising joy, Sald: ‘‘We were at Ramillles, We left our bones at Fontenoy And up in the Pyrenees, Before Dunkirk, on Landen’s plain, Cremona, Lille and Ghent, We're all over Austria, France and Spait, Wherever they pitched a tent. We've died for England from Waterioo To Egypt and Dhargal; And still there's enough for a corps or crew, Kelly and Burke and Shea.” “Well, here is to good honest fighting blood!” Said Kelly and Burke and Shea. *‘Oh, the fighting races don't dle out, 1f they seldom die in bed, For love Is first in their hearts, no doubt,” Sald Burke; then Kelly said} “When Michael, the Irish Archangel, stands The angel with the sword, And the battle-dead from s hundred lands Are ranged in one big horde, Our line, that for Gabriel's trumpet waits, ‘WIII stretch three deep that day. From Jehosaphat to the Golden Gates— Kelly and Burke and Shea.’’ “Well. here’s thank wod for the race and the sod!”? Said Kelly and Burke and : FIGHTING BY MACHINERY. ‘Warfare, llke manufacturing, has de- generated into machine work. The prep- arations for a real or apparent danger of war make this conspicuous. The great battleships are fighting machines not con- structed to kill human beings but to at- tack and destroy or disable other fighting machines like themselves. To man such fighting engines requires a small force, and a battle with a modern ordnance does not of necessity Involve great carnage. This was exemplified in the Japanese-Chi- nese conflict. In fact, nations settle their contentions by a mere comparison of strength with that of their antagonist— a quick estimate of their own- fighting machines, their armor and armament, thelr speed and coal capacity. A like esti- mate of the enemy, a footing of figures and the battle is postponed by one or the other belligerent to enable further preparation and augmentation of the en- gn&ery of modern warfare.—Chicago Rec- ord. ———————— MUSINGS OF WISDOM. Ram’s Horn. The contented mind has a continual east. Kind words, like fragrant flowers, are admired by all. Don’t waste a day’s strength fighting to-morrow’s battles. Love is like a convex mirror—it broad- ens what we see in it. There is much of both the lon and the donkey in everybody. The more heart we put into a hard task the lighter our toil becomes, Duty inquires, “What must I do?"” Love asks, ' What may I do?” New circumstances often show us what strangers we have been to ourselves. When a man begins to suspect that he is a fool it will not be long before he knows it. —————— E. H. Black, painter, 120 Eddy st. * —_————— A choice present, Townsend’s California Glace Frults, 50c 1b, in fire-etched boxes. * —_———— Speclal faformation supplied dally to business houses and public men by the Press Cllpv|n§ Bureau (Allen's), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, * —_—— ‘Writing tablets from 5c to 50c each; papeteries in the new shapes and sizes from Gc to 40c each; envelopes from ‘bc to 20c per pack of 25; writing paper and envelopes in pound boxes 15c each; extra fine quality 25c per boX; American lead pencils 5c to 75c per dozen; Koh-i-noor pencils 10c each, 3 or 25c; visiting cards and invitations printed and engraved. Sanborn, Vail & Co., 741 Market street, * —————— Burglar Bill (to his new cell-mate)—So you're a musician, are ye, an’ got sent here fer stealin’ a planny? Well, ye won't ‘Ii'oll xgu!ch musical practicin’ in dis place, et. . ADVERTISEMENTS. THE OWL DRUG (0. CUT-RATE DRUGGISTS, 1128 Market St., SAN FRANCISCO. SPRING MEDICINES. Slocum’s Psychine . Slocum's Qzomuisio ocum’s Coltsfoot Expector Pinkham's Compound © .. . " Paine's Celery Compound . Callfornfa Syrup Figs Carlsbad Sprudel Salts Willlams' Pink _Pills Warner's Safe Cure . 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