The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 4, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, APRIL 4, 1898. R ————— and save MONDAY... _...APRIL 4, 188 i JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F- Telephone Main 1868. EDITORIAL ROOMS...... .. 21T to 221 Stevenson Street | Telephone Main 1574 ! THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) Is | erved by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns | for 15 cents a week. By mail $6 per year; per montb | 65 cents. THE WEEKLY CALL. OAKLAND OFFICE NEW YORK OFFICE... DAVID ALLEN, Adver WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFIC] Riggs House | C. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. One year, by mall, $1.50 | vereees+..908 Broadway | Room 188, World Building ng Representative. CHICAGO OFFICE ... R th .Marquette Building C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Representative. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay, open untll 9:30 o'clock. 38T Hayes street, open until | 9:30 o'clock. 621 McAllister street, open until 9:30 | o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 1941 Mission street, open untll 10 o'clock. 2291 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o'clock. 2518 Misslon street, open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open untll 9 o'clock. 1505 Poik street, open until 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock. ! Baldwi, ay Decetver. Col s Calitor Aleaz. Morosco's- | lle and Caniac’s Leopards. corner dy streets—Specisities. lifornia Jockey Club, Oakland—Races t0-uay. PRl e e eee] Oek. eld—This day, April 4 Furniture, at t 11 0'clock. A. F. Rocker—Tuesday, April 5, Horses, at 721 Howard 111 0'clock. A FINE BUSINESS. NERAL trade conditions throughout the G d States are about as they were a week ago. The bond and stock market in Wall street continue: re or less unsettled in sympathy ing aspects of the politi 1d the public as a rule have left the mar- ¢ with, Interest rates there situation, ket for sg Id, already mentioned, tend free from stringency, hence It is well known that there is still 00,000 in outside y to be imported, s still enormously in favor of s money is concerned this na- prepared for war as at present. We have more actual coin in sight and in our vaults than Sgp y raise in the European capi- tion was never so wel b can pos: tals, even if the European financiers were disposed to accommodate her, which, with the possible ex- ception e, they are unwilling to do. The n iising of the country proceeds with serenity. ut little decrease in the distribut- | y in one or two sections. The st week were 220, against 260 during the | e week last year. The bank clearings were 29.3 better. The failure records bear witness to ctory conditions ruling in commercial lines in a total for the quarter just closed of 3515 involving liabilities of $36,198,000, ber from a year ago of 13 per cent, and from two years ago of 22 per cent, while as re- es there is a falling off from last year of 30 per cent, and as compared with 1896 of over 42 rds liabil e record continues favorable. The depre- the week were confined to oats, flour, | while the advances included wheat, 1 fee, cotton and sugar. Most of the leading staples showed no change during the week. Hence it will be seen that the general commerce of the c is proceeding as if there were no such ‘thing as war. | There is nothing especially new in local trade. re seldom is at this season of the year. The con- | dition of the crops is now pretty definitely deter- mined, and it is generally admitted by all interests | that the yield of grain will be moderate at best and that of hay light. High prices will probably rule for this latter staple during 1898 and at least the early part of 1899, unless all present signs prove illusive. The state of the fruit crop is less defined, but nobody ex- | pects a crop of apricots this year, and a small yield | of peaches is equally probable; but a fair crop of prunes and other small fruits will doubtless be har- vested and sold at good prices owing to the deficiency | in the two other fruits. Wheat and barley have been | irregular owing to the uncertainty of the weather, but | -there was quite an advance in both during the week, and oats and several kinds of feedstuffs went up in | sympathy. The other staples have been less satis- | “factory from the quotation standpoint. New wool is ¢oming in, but it is neglected and no quotations for it have thus far been established. Hides and leather ule quiet and unchanged in price. Beef has advanced a fraction, but pork has declined owing to free re- :ceipts. The East is at last waking up to the fact that ur -fruit crop has been severely damaged by frost, | and more tone to dried fruits in New York is re- ported in consequence. The dried fruit market bids “fair to be a pretty good one this year, which will be | -a blessing to the orchard interest. Already local and “ country holders of apricots are refusing to sell at “advanced bids from buyers, and peaches and prunes | .are reported in better request at firmer prices. Merchandise is meeting with an averagedemand and - “there are no violent fluctuations in anything to report. ‘Money continues easy and in ample supply for sol- vent borrowers at the usual rates of interest. The ::local bank clearings showed a marked gain in March i -over: the same*month in 1897, which indicates a bet- | ter volume of trade this year. War talk has thus far| not affected local trade, except in those lines which are directly dependent on the East, such as \\‘ool,’ hides, etc., but actual hostilities would doubtless | produce a marked change, one way or the other, in | almost every branch of trade. Thuse who like tol observe commercial conditions will watch with inter- | est the international situation from now on. It is to | be hoped that they will not be disappointed in the outcome, nor is it likely that they will be. When next the Vizcaya shall visit New York the THE SOONER BEGUN THE SOONER ISPATCHES of yesterday announcing that the President’s message to Congress on the ENDED. D crisis with Spain, which was expected to be sent in to-day, may be postponed until to-morrow and possibly until Wednesday were far fror. satisfac- tory to the people. At this juncture delay increases rather than quiets popular excitement. It serves no good purpose. It cannot aid the cause of peace. It simply gives more time for the Spanish torpedo flotilla to make its way across the sea to a point of | hostile vantage against our coasts. Ever since the report of the Naval Board of In- quiry removed all doubt that the Maine was de- stroyed by a Spanish mine the nation has expected of the President not only firmness of decision, but promptness of action. It received with indignation every rumor or suggestion that the treacherous mur- der of American seamen would be treated by diplo- macy as a minor incident in our dealings with the | Spanish, and that the issue of Cuban relief would be given precedence over it. The cry of the people was for that justice which takes the form of vengeance, and had the report of the naval board been followed by an immediate declaration of war the armed strength of the republic would have responded at once and the civilized world would have approved. As if the destruction of the Maine were not enough, the Spanish Government immediately set about giv- ing our Government another cause for war. This | was done by the dispatch of the flotilla of torpedo ' boats to Havana. Under the circumstances it was clear to all that this action was a war measure. Spain designed it as a means of striking a blow at the United States. We have stood comparatively in- active and permitted that weapon to be drawn and aimed at our heads. Had it not been for the accident of a storm at sea the flotilla would even now be in easy reach of Havana, if not actually within the port. We have delayed long enough. Unless Spain at once vields to our demands and makes every reparation possible for the murder of our seamen there should be war. Moreover, it should be made clear to all the peo- ples of the earth that the war when it comes is made by the American nation, not for the relief of Cuba, however desirable that may be, but for vengeance on the assassins that wrecked the Maine. The moral of the battle should be made plain that the republic will protect its flag and its seamen in every sea under the whole heavens. That lesson should be made so im- pressive and so terrible that no such offense will ever be committed again so long as America remains powerful and nations fear her wrath. It would be, in fact, an anti-climax to turn aside from the high outrage of the fiends that exploded the mine under the Maine to consider the cause of the people of Cuba made destitute by war. We cannot as a nation right the wrongs of suffering humanity. There has been intolerable cruelty in Armenia, there is spoliation in China, and doubtless there have been many foul offenses committed against humanity in the incessant revolutionary struggles going on in the South and Central American states. We cannot right | all these evils. We cannot protect everybody. We | can, however, protect our own wherever they may be, and to do that is our duty no matter what the cost. Unless Spain makes a complete surrender war must come, and it should be waged with such effectiveness as to make it as short as terrible. It would be a false economy to begin with half measures. The fighting should be forced from the start. Spain should have no moment of respite from the time war | is declared until it is ended by her complete subjec- tion. The whole struggle should be finished in time for our harvests to be gathered in peace and shipped across a sea untormented by the Spanish flag. THE FOLSOM BOULEVARD BONDS. T has been arranged in Sacramento to make up an agreed case involving the question of the valid- ity of the recent issue of bonds for the construc- tion of Folsom boulevard and submit it to the Su- preme Court for decision. This is a wise and timely thing to do. At present the bonds cannot be sold because it is seriously doubted if they have been issued in accordance with law. That doubt must be removed before any step can be taken in the work of construction, and the only way to remove it is that which has been arranged. ‘When differences of opinion as to questions of law exist among high legal authorities, as in this case, no power less than that of the Supreme Court can de- cide them. The Call, therefore, will not undertake to argue the question involved in the controversy. It is sufficient to know that while the issue of the bonds was regarded as in every way legal by the law officers of the State, other lawyers equally eminent advised their clients not to purchase them. The construction of the boulevard is blocked and the improvement for which the people voted by an overwhelming majority is delayed because of this legal doubt. On all questions affecting public improvements and on all issues that have been submitted to the popular vote our courts should give a liberal con- struction to the constitution and the statutes. That has been the course of the Supreme Court of the United States in construing federal laws. Strict constructionists who would impose the restrictions of excessive technicalities upon the course of growth and improvement of the na- tion or any of its communities have never had as much influence in determining the decisions of the Supreme Court at Washington as have those Judges who, like Marshall, studied the law in its broadest aspetts and gave the republic scope in which to develop from a Federal to a National Govern- ment. . It is but a fair expectation that our Supreme Court will follow in this respect the example set at Wash- ington. A mere technical defect in the issue should not be permitted to invalidate bonds which in every important respect were issued as the law required. The Folsom boulevard is a much needed public improvement. The people of Sacramento have by | great benefit to all who live in localities where public | adaptation of the wisdom, shown by Mahomet in de- | ciding to go to the mountain since he could not make their votes shown a desire for it and a willingness to pay for the construction. It will cost them a great deal of money to hold a new election if the present bonds are invalidated. There will be also a loss of much time in the completion of the work. The case is one that should be decided in accordance with the spirit rather than the letter of the law, and the way made clear for the counties of California to go for- ward with the work of improvement. The arrest of a fortune teller for theft is a poor ad- populace will not be rushing down to the water front ver'tiscment of her busirgess. A gift of second sigl?t to get a look at it, and the saluting guns will be apt which cannot spy a policeman around the corner is to Be loaded with something solid. “Under certain conditions,” explains a London cor- small capital for one in the soothsaying line. It can hardly be said that a city which has contained respondent, “Spain would withdraw from Cuba.” | at the same time two such eminent novelists as Craw- There are reasons for believing that this country will | ford and Gunter doesn’t have its periods of being a undertake to supply the conditions, literary center from 'way back. PROGRESS DELAYED. Y the vote in San Mateo on the proposition to B cause of progress has met with a serious de- feat. The strong majority given in Sacramento County not long ago on a similar proposition encour- aged hopes that the people of the State had at last reached a right understanding of the value of good roads, and that hereafter there would be an extensive movement in that direction all over the State. These hopes have been disappointed in San Mateo, and there can be no use in denying that the disappoint- ment has been severe. Rarely has the issue of road improvement been presented under more favorable conditions than in this instance. San Mateo has exceptional reasons, founded on her peculiar situation, for favoring the construction of highways of the highest excellence. Her location is such that all travel between San Fran- cisco and either the rich valley of Santa Clara or the romantic seaside resorts of Santa Cruz shall pass through her territory. If opened up by good roads the whole country would be virtually a suburban dis- trict. Every acre would be valuable. Every por- tion of the mountain and valley would have attrac- tions for men of means and culture. In a time com- paratively short after the construction of such high- ways San Mateo would have been one of the most flourishing rural localities in the world, while without such roads much of it must remain in the condition of an almost inaccessible wilderness. In addition to the arguments for the bond issue | drawn from the situation of the county, there were others hardly less important drawn from the character | of the proposition itself. The plan of improvement had been thoroughly studied out in every detail by competent experts and was both efficient and econ- omical. It is hardly likely the people of that section will ever have a better devised system of road im- provement submitted for their approval. This fact adds to the regret at the result of the vote. When such well-considered measures for the public weliare are rejected it is doubtful whether any progress can be made until conditions have changed and a new temper prevails among the people. The only apparent cause for the defeat of the en- terprise is the feeling of despondency caused in the minds of the people by the dry winter and the dam- age done to crops by the recent frosts. When the weather is unfavorable to agriculture the people are generally unfavorable to everything in the way of progressive politics. Presidential contests have been decided by the condition of the wheat crop, and the course of much of our legislation has been deter- mined by the way the winds blew in election years. San Mateo cannot be persistently opposed to a sys- tem of road improvement which will add so much to her wealth and her prestige, and when a good crop is in sight it will be worth while for her enterprising reconsideration. THE TRAVELING LIBRARY PLAN. l crease the usefulness of the State library by adopt- ing the traveling library system, which The Call in the State and has been warmly supported by some of our most influential contemporaries. The propo- monwealth, and if carried out on a scale commen- surate with the needs of the peoble would be of citizens to submit the proposition to the people for T is gratifying to note that the proposal to in- has so strenuously advocated, is being well received sition is one of no ordinary importance to the com- libraries are not within reach. The scheme of the traveling library is simply an the mountain come to him. It is impossible to take the State to the library at Sacramento, but it will not be at all difficult to make the books of the library circulate through the State. The plan is not a hazardous venture into the unknown. It has been tried in many States, and is now in successful opera- tion wherever tried. We have repeatedly directed at- tention to this phase of the question. In adopting a system of traveling libraries for California we would simply have to follow the methods which are used in New York and other States of the East to achieve success from the start. The library at Sacramento is one of the best State libraries in the Union. It is an institution of which the commonwealth has a right to be proud. Unfor- tunately we cannot be equally proud of the use we make of it. Few are the readers of California who have an opportunity to profit by the volumes that are stored upon its shelves. Under present conditions it is in fact hardly more than a local Sacramento library, and of the people who are taxed to maintain it not more than one in ten ever gets a chance even to look at it. Very different would be the condition of affairs if the traveling library system were adopted here on a scale approaching if not equaling that of New York. The noble collection of books at Sacramento would tlhien be a State library in fact and usefulness as well as in name. Its volumes would then be accessible to readers in even the most remote counties, and all Californians who desired to share in the benefits of the institution would have an opportunity of enjoy- ing the privilege. The issue is one of comparatively little importance to San Francisco, for we have here many libraries and books are easily accessible to all who desire them, but to the people of the smaller cities and towns where there are no large libraries, and particularly to the dwellers in rural communities distant from libraries of any kind, the matter is one of the highest concern. It is a well-known fact that in the United States some of the most cultured and most earnest readers of standard books live on farms or in small villages. We are all aware of the difficulty ex- perienced by young men of the Lincoln type in get- ting books to satisfy their ambitious desires for knowledge and intellectual advancement. California has no lack of ambitious youth and earnest manhood in her country districts, and she has at Sacramento a library whose volumes are almost unused. It will be a folly if she does not place the books at the disposal of the man and make the library fre€ to all who desire to profit by it. ¥ Editor Braun of Texas has at last been shot. It is impossible to feel any emotion of surprise at this cir- cumstance. He ‘has devoted his time to trying to get somebody to shoot him, and Texans have the reputation of being willing to oblige. As the editor gave as good as he got in the final encounter the af- fair may be continued elsewhere. —_— Those Cubans who announce themselves as tickled to the point of exuberant happiness by the brand of autonomy doled out by Spain were a little tardy in letting people know it. Spain herself never had a suspicion that they were feeling this way. ‘The Spanish spy on the Brooklyn ought to be sen- tenced to a transfer to the Texas. ; 0000000000000 00000600006000000006¢ MANUSCRIPT L4 ® @ O you're back again,” sneered “A Cynic’'s Love Story.” *“I told you how ‘twould be. These editors have vowed that nothing really meritori- ous, nothing lifelike, human, orig- inal shall be publshed. To which one ‘were you sent?" “The Atlantic,” “Helena"” answered de- Jectedly. “I've aiways wished he'd sent me there instead of to the Cosmopolitan. I've an idea—" “‘Oh, have you?”’ interrupted “Helena.” ““Well, take courage. You'll have an op- portunity to test your theory some day.” “It's only a question of time, my dear, said ‘“Who'd be a Woman?” the dean o the MSS. “He swears he'll never try again when we come back, but along comes a day when there’s a renewal of hope—you can't kill it In a writer—then he’ll take you up or *“The City of My Heart” or “The Penance of Peter’—the first one of us his hand lights upon. His fingers close upon one so lingeringly, so tenderly. Almost unconsciously he be- glns to read; he becomes deeply Interest- ed (I never knew it to fail when an author’s his own audience) he reads to the end, lays down the story and sits for a moment, a beautiful light in his eyes, a tender, proud smile about his lips. What's he thinking about? What does he see? T'll tell you what I sometimes think. He sees us not as we are with all our faults of execution, with all our little human shortcomings, but as he conceived us, full, warm and glowing with life, clear and sustained as the note a tenor thinks he sings. Each incident is a living, breathing picture to him; he sees us as we live in his own mind, each of us, all of us, his beloved children even—even—" “Who'd Be a Woman?' concluded al- most with a sob—"even those of us who are least vigorous, who are old and yet immaturely crude.” “I know,” exclaimed “The Penance of Peter” eagerly. “When he takes me up llke that, the power of appreciation, the delicacy of perception which is in him, seems to inspire me. I rise—or try to— to the ideal he has of me, and judging by the triumph in his face I believe I al- most succeed in being the dainty, deli- cate, witty thing he imagined me. You know he wrote me in an afternoon, banged me into an envelope and sent me off as if he were afraid some second thought might induce him to alter a sin- gle word or phrase of what he judged good. When I arrived at Harper's and was taken out of my shell I spread my- gelf haughtily and crackled a little superciliously under the reader’s eye. I watched her furtively as she read me, walting for the glow and sparkle that comes to his face, but hers was as non- commlittal as the postman’s when he brings us back. My, how fast she read! Hope dled out of me; and perhaps (my conscience gives me an occasional twinge) it was my own fault that I came back to him. But under that expressionless eye, who could sparkle? Who could be light and airy and gay? Not I. The meaning faded out of the short, snappy lines he had written with so much pleasure, the wit became dull, the action slow. I felt heavy and stupid, and tingled all over with a sense of being ridiculous and ef- fortful. I could have edged, of my own accord, toward the return envelope; I knew her mind before she read three pages, and I was so mortified, I was glad to be placed in the envelope and back on my way to him.” “That's all very well,” murmured “Adrian the Musician,” *but think of the home-coming. Oh, how I shivered irside the envelope when I came back to him! He held me for a time, looking not at me but straight ahead. ‘So you're not avail- able, either,’ he said bitterly. Then he put me aside, and it was weeks before he broke open the envelope. Oh, how I felt for him! The very sadness that was in me for his suffering must have tinged my lines, for as he read me over—" “He always will,”” interrupted *“A Cynic’s Love Story,” “it's as if he hoped to find the fault the editor had discov- ered.” “—As he read his face lost its personal pain, and when he finished there were tears in his eyes—for Adrian’s pitiful story, not for his own.” “Can you fancy how it would be if one of us were really accepted?”’ asked “In Our Town,” the youngest MS., speaking a little conceitedly. “Can we!” they exclaimed in one voice. They all began to speak at once, but Q00000 & MUTTERINGS. ¢ issue bonds for highway improvement the 0006600000006 006000000600000000000008600009 ylelded to “Who'd Be a ‘Woman?’ de- ferring to her age and experience. “Why, do you know, 1 was o sure of being accepted—it gave me such a shock to be returned—that I almost lost my senses. I was in a fury, too. I suppose I was very vain, but you see I was his first, and he was so proud of me! But I forgot my own feelings when I got home. Oh, the humiliation, the shame, the bitter disappointment he felt! I shall never forget it. I felt guilty myself, and only kept up my courage by bragging to myself about what I would do if he gave me another chance.” “And did he—and what then?” asked “In Our 1own.” “There’s no need to ask,” said “Who'd Be a Woman?' with simple dignity. “Would I be here if—"" ““Yes, that's true,” murmured “In Our Tow! “You've never been submitted; where are you going? Do you know?”’ asked “Another Man's Wife. “To Scribner’s, I believe.” “They’ll never accept you. I was sent to Scribner’s and—"" “Yes, but,” began “In Our Town,” “but you—you're about—" “Well,” sald “Another Man's Wifs,” hotly, “suppose I am? Are the magazines written «for children? Shall American stories appear in them exclusively for the jeunes filles, with not even a department for mature minds?” There was an embarrassed silence and no answer to her questions. ‘‘Here comes ‘Joel Morriso; * sald the “Penance of weter,” relieved ct a diver- sion. “He's been gone a long time. Sorry to see you, Joel.” “Sorry to see you,” he answered, cor- dially. *You were out when I left. Some- how, I can't help havipg hopes oz you.” “Neither can 1,” sighed “The Penance of Peter.”” ‘‘Anything new?” “No; same old story. They didn’t even read me through. Missed the best part; that which pleased him so. ’'Pon my word, it isn't worth wasting postage stamps on us. We're a measly crowd!” he said, despondently. “Oh!” broke in “in Our Town,” *you wouldn’t have him abandon hope—you ‘wouldn’t have him stop writing?"” ““Why not?” asked ‘“Joel Morrison."” “Because—because—" ‘“‘Because you wouldn’t get your chance? Never fear! You'll be sent to join that pale paper caravan which moves on to the magazine offices in myriad squadrons, only to 'bout face and home singly again. I do hope though, you'll be the excep- tion,” he concluded, generously. “Oh, if I should! he exclaimed. “It would be a beginning, and then he might revise—"" “Revise! Why, I'm the shadow of what I used to be,” saia "The Story of Ag- atha.” “And I'm so swollen with new material I no longer know myself,” said ‘“Faraway Ferguson.” “He's never touched me,” Penance of Peter.” “Nor me,"” said ‘‘Adrian, the Musician.” ‘““Wonder whose turn will come next? No, ‘In Our Town,’ you may wait here weeks yet. Some fancy will seize him that ‘Peter’ hasn’t had a fair chance, or that ‘Joel’ there is too good to keep, or that somewhere some one dwells and pub- lishes a magazine who can judge ‘Another Man's Wife' with artistic liberality, or he may—" “Hush! Listen!” whispered “The Story of Agatha.” The noise of a continuous scratching permeated the desk’s lid. ““He's writing another!” “In Our Town" gasped, pale with disappointment. “Well, I like his gr..,” remarked “Joel Morrison.” “Wonder what it'll be about? We're all so different, saild Adrian the Musi- cian.” “All so alike, you mean,” sarcastically interrupted “Faraway Ferguson.” “How? In what?”’ demanded an indig- nant chorus. “In our unavailability,” he answered, tartly. There was a universal rustling sigh. “Perhaps this one—" - perhaps this one—" SOnl 1= A silence followed, broken only by the rapid, steady scratching of the pen above. Inside the drawer the folded MSS. lay, hushed and prayerful. MIRIAM MICHELSON. sald “The NEWS OF FOREIGN NAVIES. The Russfan squadron In Asiatic wa- ters consists now of twelve vessels, ex- c.usive of torpedo boats, and four battle- ships were due during last monta. The German squadron on the China sta- tion will next summer be composed of the Kalser and Deutschland, and three sec-| ond, two third and one fourth class cruis- | er, carrying a total of 3184 men. There are two cruisers and a torpedo | gunboat under construction at Yokosuka, | and a battle-ship and a first class cruiser are soon to be laid down at the same yard. A signalman on the British crulser Taurango, on the Australian station, has | been court-martialed for striking on offi- | cer and sentenced to three years’ penal | servitude and dismissed from the ser- vice. Four torpedo boat destroyers are build- ing for Japan at the yard of Thorney- croft, the first to be delivered next June and the others at intervals later on. The boatg are to have a speed of 31 knots, with 6000 horse power and a displacement of 360 tons. The conning towers will be armored and the coal capacity 9 tons. The Japanese navy in commission num- ‘bers six armored ships, fourteen cruisers and coast defense ships, eight gun ves- sels and torpedo cruisers and fourteen torpedo boats. This fleet of forty-two vessels constitutes four-fifths of the available naval force and includes nearly all ships built and acquired since 1882. Lord Beresford has a direct and prac- tical way about him which evidently troubles the admiralty. In Parliament on March 11 Lord Beresford asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he would, settle all doubts as to the perform- ance of Belleville boilers by ordering the crutser Diadem to steam across the At- lantic under full power, to which propo- sition Mr. Goshen declined to order the experiment on the plea that it was inad- visable to run a ship at full speed for such an extended voyage before the en- gine shaft had become fully accustomed to the machinery. The pride of the British navy, the Powerful, is in a bad state. She made 21.8 knots at her trial trip last July, and great things were expected from her on her voyage from England to the China station. The orders were to push her up to 20 knots on the trip from Singapore to Shanghal, but she accomplished only about 13 knots. The cause of this remark- able reduction in speed is alleged by the Hongkong Press to be due to the fact that the port engines have settled slight- ly. This settling, however trivial, throws the shafting out of line with the engine and prevents smooth running of the journals. She was overhauled upon her arrival at Hongkong and made a' brief trial, developing 21 knots, but it is never- theless asserted that the ship must re- turn to England to have defects made good. French journals have taken offense at the names of British ships. These names recall victories of the British over the French, and they particularly dislike such names as the Nile, Blenhelm, Agin- court and Trafalgar. As the Agincourt {waa bullt in 1568, and the others in 15%, the wrath slumbering from thirty to eight years has been somehow slow in manifesting itself. The Figaro grieves that some of the ships building in France have not been named Le Fontenoy, Le Steinkerque, Le Nerwinde, Le Port Ma- hon, Le Calais, etc., and adds that one has only to open the history of France to find plenty of English defeats. Of the new vessels in course of construction in England one is to be named Crecy, an- other Hogue and a third one Abourkir, which is likely to still further intensify the bitterness of the yellow journals in France. HAWAIl IN CASE OF WAR. San Francisco, April 2, 1898, Editor Call: Now that the country fis on the verge of war, I thought it would be reasonable to show to those who think that by annexing the Hawaiian Islands we can better protect ourselves how fool- ish it would be to take such a step. Our navy is being got ready for action, and our seaports are being fortified, and as the preparations for trouble are going on we see how few ships we have to pro- tect the Pacific Coast. I ask one question of the annexationist, and that is this, Where in the name of God would the Pacific Coast be in case of war with Spain if we had already an- nexed the islands? As the United States navy is none too large at present, it can be seen at a glance that if war were de- clared either the Pacific Coast or the Ha- ‘walian Islands would have to be left open to attack. Senator White did well when he said that “‘we cannot protect ourselves by acquiring other territory which needs Pmtectlon." Uncle Sam cannot afford to eave his own coast open to attack while sendmfi his warships out to protect isl- ands miles away. Let every annexationist bear this in mind. R. D. WHITE. COLLECTED IN THE CORRIDORS. Albert Levy of Fresno is at the Bald- win. J. E. Green of Courtland is a guest at the Grand. A. L. Lindsey of Boston is staying at the Palace. J. H. Einhouse and wife of Santa Rosa are at the California. George C. Roeding, a big fruit man of Fresno, is at the Lick. « J. P. Farrell and son of Los Angeles are registered at the Occidental. Among yesterday's arrivals at the Grand is Charles Baker of Sacramento. M. C. Harrison of Portland, Ore., is at the California with his wife and family. Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Curtis of Phila- delphia arrived at the Palace yesterday. 0000000000 At one of the o O prominent down o THIS BEAU o town hotels lives O HAS SEVERAL o & family whose o STRINGS. o Son and heir is ° © Feru, where he eru, Wwhere 0000000000 expects to make a fortune in gold mines of which he will be the discoverer. The other night quite a party were gathered together in his parents’ parlor discussing the prospective trip, when one old gentleman sald; ' suppose that when you reach the land of the Incas your golden ex- pectations are not realized, what will you raph home for a ticket an s 3:;1:8;?petfte for the fatted calf?” “Not much,” replied the young fello?v, 354 things go wrong with my mining venture I will simply marry a daughter of' the country and wipe out my fallure b,’, be- coming an Incas-raiser (inkeraser). “1 see, by the Injun-uity of your reply, that you are better qualified to make your way among a semi-civilized people than I was at your age,” continued the first speaker. I remember when 1 was a lad I started out on a somewhat similar venture. My father, a rather stern man, was very much opposed to the idea of my leaving, but finally, after considerable persuasion, allowed me to depart. I struggled along as best T could for about a year, but things became harder and harder, and I finally wrote home, telling my father of my intention to return, winding up by asking him if the fatted calf would be killed to welcome the prod- igal. The answer I received was n"lorq concise than encouraging; it sald: ‘My dear son: You left contrary to my wishes and advice. If you return you may rest assured 1 will roast a calf as well as I know how. Your father.’. I decided to stick it out, and after a couple of years more was enabled to return in a state that assured me welcome and respect.” A. Robinson of Louisville, Ky., is stays ing at the Palace. William Jerome of New York is at the Occidental. Mrs. Jerome is with her hus- band. Judgs 8. is one of yesterday’s arrivals Grand. Among the arrivals at the Palace from New York yesterday are Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Moore. Charles H. Tipton, a mining man of Anaconda, Mont., is one of the late ar- rivals at the Palace. ‘W. O. Young, a mining man of Dawson, is at the Baldwin, where he arrived yes- terday from Seattle. M. L. Washburn, agent for the Alaska Commercial Company, is registered at the Occidental from Alaska. J. Miller of Reno is a guest at the Lick. 8. G. Cocum, U. 8. A., is at the Occiden= tal accompanied by his wife. Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Beatty, Edgar S. Beatty, Mrs. and Miss Meyhart are & par- ty of Philadelphians who arrived at the Palace last night. R. N. Bulla, Code Commissioner from Los Angeles, and T. W. Shanahan, Code Commissioner of Anderson, are both reg- istered at the Grand. Solon Holl of Sacramento at the ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. DUELING—A. BE. K., Fresno, Cal The laws of France, Spain and of Ital; prohibit dueling. S 7 4 A NOTE—Canadian, Cloverdale, Cal. An actlon on a note executed within this State must be commenced within four years, and if executed outside of the lim- its of the State, in two years. MONEY BY MAIL—J. C. P., City. The postal authorities do not know of any system by which money in small sums is transmitted by mail by means of placing postage stamps on a postal card. FRECKLES—D. B. D., Crockett, Cal Freckles may be readily removed by any agent that will destroy the epidermis or superficial leyer of the skin in which the pigment s "deposited. This, however, should be done by a competent doctor. THE CASE OF HARVEY.—A. M., Stockton, Cal. The case of Harvey, chief mate of the Géorge Stetson, charged with beating a boy named Stone of Boston, Mass., was sent to Seattle for trial. In San Francisco nothing was done but to take the depositions of two witnesses. LARGEST CARGO—A. G., Stockton, Cal. It Is stated that the largest cargo taken by any vessel leaving a Pacific Coast sh?ping port was one taken by the Shennandoah, consisting of 4500 tons of wheat. There is no record of the largest cargoe taken from San Francisco by, a steamer. \ SUCCESSION—Reader, Qakland, Cal. The law of the State of California is that if a decedent leaves a surviving husband or wife and only one child, or the lawful issue of one child, the property, if there be no will, goes in equal shares to the surviving husband or wife or child or is- sue of such child. If the decedent leave a surviving husband or wife and more than one child living, or one child living and the lawful issue of one or more de- ceased children, one-third to the surviv- ing husband or wife and the remainder in equal shares to his children and to the lawful issue of any deceased child by right of representation. That is the law where there are children. Finest eyeglasses, 15c up. 83 Fourth. * —_———— R. Pahl's $3 Shoes always on hand. Agency W. L. Douglas’ Shoes, 324 Kearny*® —_—— A cholce present, Townsend’s California Glace Fruits, 50c Ib, in fire-etched boxes, ® —_—— Special iaformation supplied dafly to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, * —_——— Trunks just received, $275 to $25 eac Valises, T5c to §18 each. Ladfes’ uckelt,: books and leather belts, all new, 25c to $5 each. No charge for name in gold let- ters on any of our fine leather goods. In this department you will always find the best possible assortment of perfumery. combs, brushes, mirrors, playing and tally cards at the lowest prices. San- born, Vail & Co., 741 Market st. . —_——— Queen Victoria has read and reread the poems of Scott so often that she knows most of them by heart, and often, during her drives, repeats verses descriptive of the scenery through which she is pass- ing. ““Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrap” Has been used over fitty years by milliona of mothers for thelr children while Teething perfect success. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colte, veg. ulates the Bowels and is the best remedy for Diarrhoeas, Whetber arising from teething or other causes. For sale by Druggists in eyery part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mra, Winslow’s Soothing Syrup. 5c a bottle. —_—— CORONADO—Atmosphere is perfectly ary. soft and mild, being entirely free from the mists common further north. Round trip tick. ets, by steamship, Including fifteen days' boang at the Hotel del Coronado, $65; langer stay $250 per day. Apply 4 New Montgomery st. S. F., or A. W. Bailey, mgr. Hotel del Corona. do, late of Htl Colorado. Glenwood Sps, Colo, —_———— Captain R. C. Clipperton, British Con- sul at Philadelphia for more than seven. teen years, has announced his purpose to retire from the Consular service, In which he has been employed for upward of forty years. ADVERTISEMENTS.