The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 9, 1898, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, MAY 9, 1898. CThe MONDAY. L Scken wiee. W PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F. Telephone Main 1868. EDITORIAL ROOM Telephone Main 1574. THE. 6AN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND S8UNDAY) 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. OAKLAND OFFICE. NEW YORK OFFICE...... DAVID ALLEN, Adver WASHINGTON (D. €.) OFFICE...............Rig¢e House C. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. l CHICAGC OFFICE -Marquette Building C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Representative. | ..One year, by mall, $1.50 | .908 Broadway | Room 188, World Building & Representative. BRANCH OFFICES—52T Montgomery street, corner Clay, open until 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, spen until 9:30 o'clock. 621 McAllister street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 1941 Mission street, open until 10 o'clock. 2991 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o'clock. 2518 Mission street, open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open untll 9 o'clock. until 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock. N S AMUSEMENTS. Baldwin— 0Old Japan.” oubars " California—"The Ensign.” {iobe Morosco's—*The Prisoner of Higiers.” Tlvoli— ip Ahoy." Orpheum—Vaudeville. Mechanics’ Pavilion—Masonic Festival Metropolitan Temple—Tesumonial to Fritz Scheel, Sunday aftern con, May 15, Golden Gate Hall—California State Floral Soclety, Thursday afternoon and evening. Sherman, Clay Hall—Kneisel Quartet, Monday, May 16. | The Chutes—Zoo, Vandeville. and “African Lion Hunt” | Olympta—Corner Mason and Eddy streets, Specialues. | Central Park—Dog aud Pony Show. Sutro Baths—Swimming. El Campo—Music. daneing boat! California Jockey Ciub, Oakland fishing, every Sunday, aces to-day.} AUCTION SALES. By G. H. Umbsen & Co.—Tnis day, May 9, Real Estate. at 14 Montgomery street, at 12 o' clock. OUR GUNS AND BUSINESS. \/\] HEN Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor a week ago he did more than | sink a dozen men-of-war and batter down as | many forts. He gave trade throughout the United | States a mighty stimulus, which is just becoming ap- parent. All commercial reports from the East now ]‘ abound with allusions to the impetus given to all sorts of business by those deadly American guns. In ; the first place, as soon as the result of the battle | became known there was an influx of buying orders in Wall street for both long and short accounts, | London being a large buyer, and we are told that “a new sense of national strength and energy was immediately developed, and that the commercial com- | munity has come to the conclusion that the possible effects of the war have already been discounted, ex- | cept perhaps in a few lines.” r is this all. Industries have received a wonder- ful st from the conviction that the war will not | last long, and that it will go our way. Besides the{ great demand for steel plates and other iron products and ammunition the Government has ordered 2,500,- | 000 yards of woolen cloths, 125,000 blankets, 3,000,000 | yards of cotton goods and great quantities of provi- | sions and other supplies, and meanwhile reviving con- | In addition the iron trade has been stimulated by | large orders for the construction of warships and | Those works | | | | fidence has multiplied other demands. to these ite merchantmen for foreign countries. which produce steel rails, plates, farming utensils, etc., | are being pushed to their utmost capacity, and some are refusing orders. Textile works have also r=ceived | heavy orders besides those from the Government, and | the wool market Is showing the effects of this by | more steadiness than it has exhibited for some time, | with a slight increase in sales. The sensational ad- vance in wheat also helps things along, for high wheat always goes hand in hand with general pros- perity. All these things tend to revivify trade throughout the whole country. The railroads seem to be deriving their share of the benefits, for there has been an aver- age advance in railroad shares of $2 70 since that little exhibition of Americanism in Manila harbor a few days ago. The business failures are again smaller, those for the week being 240, against 245 for the preceding week. The bank clearings, howeyer, dropped down to a gain of only 5 per cent over the same week last year, this being the smallest increase for some time. Still we are told by Bradstreet’s that “evidences accumulate that the corner has finally been turned in the trade situation, and that circumstances which have hitherto been regarded as disquieting have begun to give way to more cheerful conditions or are beginning to be recognized in a truer and more reasonable light. While it is claimed, and perhaps with justice in many cases, that the changes yet noted ure largely sentimental, and little that is tangible is to be cited in the direction of improvement, it is not to be forgotten that the dullness and even depression ruling for some time past was likewise largely senti- mental and it i3 now beginning to be admitted by many had even less of a basis to rest upon than the present unmistakable signs of improvement.” So much for the country at large. On this coast there are few new conditions observable. Wheat con- tinues to attract general attention by its ground and ‘lofty tumbling, the advance last week being sharp enough to satisfy almost anybody. Merchandise con- tinues in steady demand and almost all fluctuations are in the direction of higher prices. The staple gro- ceries are all firm, and higher figures are announced for qnicksilver, cordage and several kinds of oils, the advance in the two first being directly caused by the war. In produce we have an improved market for dried and canned fruits at rising prices, advanced quotations for several descriptions of provisions and a wonderful market for all kinds of grain, millstuffs any hay. In fact, throughout the whole long list of commodities quoted in the market reports of The Call meat is the only line that shows a decline, and this is due to the dry weather, which has caused i{free shipments of cattle and sheep to this market for want of sufficient pasturage. There was a slight break in hay a few days ago, but this was local and momentary, being due to excessive receipts from out- side the State in one day. 4 e —m—— Helen Gould is an American woman of whom the country has reason to be proud. Probably if it were permissible she would be shouldering a rifle herself. As she can’t do this she is buying rifles for other JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. ! ..2IT to 221 Stevenson Street | 1506 Polk street, open | | this. | lay was a raw potentate, but he never presented quite | patriots to shoulder. The spectator of the future prize fight who shall neglect to have his life insured will be guilty of crim- in~1 disregard for his heirs. THE OBESE DEMOCRACY. E are seldom called upon to record a more W soul-inspiring instance of municipal patriot- ism than is disclosed by the published results of an examination of the membership of the Demo- cratic General Committee elected a few days ago by the regular organization of the local party. Out of some 450 committeemen it is stated that over 160 hold positions under the municipal government. Had the Sullivan faction made this charge in a general | way we should have discredited it. But it seems to be supported by proof. A list of the names with the particular offices held has been published. While it is quite true that no person should be amused to hear of Democrats holding office—seeing that office-holding and Democracy are synonym- ous—we must confess that the presence in the Dem- ocratic General Committee of 160 patriots serving their country in peaceful capacities which pay a salary | is calculated to tickle not only our risibilities, but the | risibilities of the people generally. Evidently these | gentlemen do not propose to let anybody in on the good things of the municipality. Having the Demo- cratic “works,” it is their purpose to keep them. If an occasional Democrat manages to breach the party organization this year it will not be their fault. In any event these 160 self-sacrificing fellows will all be provided for. We do not wish to be understood as objecting to On the contrary it is a pleasure to distinctly approve the proceeding. The fact that the Demo- cratic local organization consists almost entirely of office-holders, determined to hold on by controlling it, will do more to bring Republican success in the coming municipal campaign than any other bit of in- formation that can be published. We are, therefore, not only gratified to know that the regular Dem- ocracy is made up of the bread and butter brigade, but we are under distinct obligations to the Sullivan- Phelan Democracy for making the fact public. A great deal of immoderate laughter must prevail in the vicinity of Livermore these days. Mr. Buck- | so raw a front as this. Colonel Sullivan declares that Agriculturist Rainey is responsible for the new Gen- eral Committee. But we doubt him. If Colonel Rainey had a hand in the making of that body he should be summoned before the Lunacy Commis- sioners at once. The old man is certainly daft. It is quite plain that Providence has it in for the Democrats this year. With its moth-eaten accouter- ments and serried ranks of pap-suckers the General Committee will make a weaker showing than the Spanish made at Manila. Like the jumping frog of | Calaveras, after he had been fed on bird shot, it will | not be able to jump. It will simply stagger about, breathe hard and lunge. ey T — THE CHARTER ELECTION. T is time for the citizens of San Francisco to give | erious attention to the duties imposed upon them i by the approaching charter election. The issues at | stake are of far-reaching importance. They concern | the establishment of a new system of government for | the municipality, and therefore affect to a greater or | less extent the interests of all. The first duty is that of registration on the part of | all who are not registered. The registration office closes to-morrow, May 10. The time for attending to this duty, it will be seen, short. It should be performed at once, for while it is possible for the | dilatory to put the matter off until to-morrow, the | duty is one that should be done to-day. The classes of persons who must register in order | to have the right to vote on the charter are: | First—All persons not registered at the last general | or special election, but who were entitled thereto. | Second—All persons who were registered, but by moving out of their “special election precinct” or otherwise have lost their right to vote. Third—All native male citizeps not registered and all naturalized citizens (not registered) who have be- | come such prior to February 26, 1808, and are other- | wise qualified according to law. | It is desirable from every point of view that all | citizens should vote in this election. Whether th:% charter is adopted or rejected, the decision should be given by a majority vote of all. On neither should the issue be permitted to go by default. Popular indifference to municipal issues has long been one of the defects of our civic life. San Fran- cisco would be a much better city if our people had always shown a true and wholesome interest in local political contests. There should be no indifference displayed in this instance. The form of government under which our municipal affairs are to be carried on for a long time to come is to be determined by the vote cast on May 26, and surely no man who has the welfare of the municipality at heart can be in- different to such an issue. The duty of the time and of the day is plain: See that your name is on the Great Register, study the charter and prepare yourself to rightly fulfill the re- sponsibilities of an intelligent citizen by voting on election day. side | e ———— T——TT JUDGE MAGUIRE’S REPUDIATION OF DEMOCRACY. UDGE MAGUIRE'S denial that he said the d seizure of Spanish merchant ships was “nothing more than piracy,” and his admission that he said such seizure was “no better than piracy,” sug- gests a further examination of the Judge's somewhat tortuous political course. In 1887 he formally and forever withdrew from the Democratic party, State and national. His reasons were given in the following letter: [From the San Francisco Bulletin, Friday, January 28, 1887.] 3 JUDGE MAGUIRE ABANDONS THE DEM- OCRACY. Boodle and Bossism Too Much for Him—Socialism of a Certain Sort More Suitable to His Fancy, Etc. The following letter from Judge Maguire to the California State Democratic Club may create some- thing of a political breeze: SAN FRANCISCO, January 27, 1887. To the Officers and Members of the California State Democratic Club—Gentlemen: I hereby tender my resignation as a member of your club. In withdrawing permit me to return thanks to the officers, past and present, for many courtesies which they have extended during our long and pleasant association. Let me also assure the members, with whom my relations have always been most cordial, that my withdrawal is not prompted by any pe con-~ siderations, but that it Is to me a painful act of duty to political principles and convictions with which the present policy of the Democratio party is not in accord. As this resignation is _the final act which severs my connection with the Democratic party, State and national, it is but just to you, and to all others who have stood shoulder to shoulder with me in the poli- tical battles of the past, that I should fully and frankly state the reasons which have moved me to this serious step. Early in life I learned to reverence the name De- | there. | and recorded testimony of several citizens; mocracy, as representing all that is sublime in the political history of past ages and as connecting the best of political principles. The party bearing this sacred name being out of power at the time I reached my majority I naturally entered its ranks, hoping and expecting that it would ever be the aggressive and intelligent champlon of liberty, equality and justice, wherever and whenever these vital principles of social happiness might be efther neglected or assailed. Finally our party triumphed, but alas! It has brought no relief to our suffering people. The bene- fit of that triumph has amounted to no more than the distribution of a few official prizes to the friends and relatives of wealthy aristocrats and to the henchmen of political bosses. There are, of course, exceptions, but this has been the rule. ‘Wealth is still the standard of respectability, just as it was under Republican administrations, and the rights and wishes of the great Democratic masses of the country are just as completely ignored. Rival bidders for the affection of monopolists, the great national parties have become like as two peas, both in actions and principles. The great intellectual statesmen, the men of prin- ciple and courage, once the glory of our country, have been retired from our Federal Senate, and the people have practically ceased to be represented The chamber which once held that highest body of earthly legislators is now a sort of national stock exchange, wherein seats are sold to monopo- lists and to wealthy seekers after social standing. In the matter of sanctioning this iniquity honors seem to be easy between the parties. The entire solid area of our great country, includ- ing the natural opportunities of all our people, the natural resources without which none of our people can live, has been made the exclusive private prop- erty of a few thousand allen and domestic landlords, who, by virtue of the absolute control which they do thus, as owners, exercise over the only megns of living of our landless millions, are robbing the latter continually of from one-half to four-fifths of the fruits of their labor, and are daily driving them to lower and lower depths of slavery and helpless misery. This is a system of human servitude just as com- plete as chattel slavery, and in many respects more atrocious; yet the so-called “Democratic party,” while claiming to be the friend of the laborer, ex- pressly defends this system and bids for the support of those who profit by it. But these are not the only matters in which the party has been recreant. In the late Democratic State Convention an emissary of certain raflroad corporations, who acted as a car- rier of messages between his masters and the com- mittee on platform, caused that committee to elim- Inate a resolution condemning the election of the president of the Central Pacific Railroad Company to the United States Senate, and also caused the committee to eliminate Senator Reddy’s resolution upon the Chinese question, which, prior to his ap- pearance, had been adopted. This rallroad emissary recelved as his reward for this successful service a Democratic nomination for Congress. It Is but just, in defense of the people, that I should add he was not elected. I will not recount the painful history nor dwell | | upon the deplorable condition of our local Democ racy. It is difficult to speak of this branch of the | party in the language of polite correspondence. Let | it here suffice to say that our local Democracy is under the acknowledged dominion of & man who has | { been publicly charged with having openly and no- toriously purchased votes on last election day. This charge has been strongly supported by the sworn | yet, al- though this crime against the elective franchise is a blow at the very heart of our liberty, a crime more dreadful in its consequences than murder or open treason, no citizen has yet manifested sufficient con- fidence in the Democratic officers who are charged with conducting public prosecutions to even file a complaint against the alleged offender. In face of this public charge and of other equally | outrageous doings, as If to wantonly humiliate the | State Democracy and commit it to the ratification of such iniquitles, the chairman and other members of the State Central Committee publicly serenaded this man, and the chairman thanked him and eulogized him for his statesmanlike services to the party dur- ing the campaigns. And so I might go on, ad 1ibi- tum, ad nauseum usque, but it is unnecessary. As a self-respecting man I would feel justified and bound in honor to withdraw from a party which has fallen to such levels; but there is another and potent reason for my immediate withdrawal, which is, that a new natfonal party is being formed for the pur- pose of restoring the natural rights of the great landless Democracy of America. It is founded upon the idea that all men have an equal right to live, and, as a necessary consequence, that all men have at all times an equal and fnalien- | able right to the use of the natural elements which God made and gave freely for the subsistence of human life; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers | from the consent of the goverrted; that all American citizens are entitled to equal opportunities with re- spect to the great natural yresources of our common country; that no speculator in the natural rights of his fellow-men should be permitted to prevent American citizens from making homes upon land | which he does not want to use; that no landlord— alien or citizen—should be permitted to collect toll from American citizens for allowing them the privi- | lege of using the natural and indestructible powers of our soil; that the rental value of land, which re- sults in all cases entirely from the presence, enter- prise, virtue and industry of the whole people, be longs to the whole people, and should, as a matter of common justice, be taken for public use; and that no tax or burden of any kind should be imposed upon commerce, agriculture, manufactures or other industries or upon any products of human labor as long as this rental value of land—which is the margin of production—shall be sufficient for public purposes. To the new party, founded upon these principles, which I conceive to be the very soul and essence of true Democracy, all of the time which I ean hence- forth give to the political service of my country will be devoted. I shall therefore in the next political campaign do all in my power to secure the election of Henry George or some other land reformer to the Presidency of the United States, unless the Demo- cratic party shall in the meantime become demo- cratic by adopting the principles which we have espoused. Having deliberately resolved to pursue this course 1 desire that my position may be fully and exactly understood, so that my actions and relations with respect to political matters shall be neither incon- sistent nor ambiguous. Sincerely trusting that our social relations may be as pleasant in the future as they have in the past, I remalin, very truly and respectfully yours, JAMES G. MAGUIRE. San Francisco, January 27, 1887, In the campaign of 1883 there is no trace of him. It was waged locally by William D. English, the same chairman of the Democratic State Committee whom he berates in connection with Buckley. In 1886 the Judge had bolted the ticket and opposed McCoppin for Congress. In 1890, the Democratic party meantime not having changed its principles or professions, the Judge was back in the organiza- tion. In 1802, still no change in the party to meet the views of his letter, he took the nomination of the unregenerate Democracy for Congress and held office ever since in the same party which he damned and quitted in 1887! As chairman of the Metropolitan Temple meeting he sustained the Buckley organiza- tion, which he denounced in 1887, and although the Democratic party has never declared against the private ownership of land he secks its nomination for Governor. When he left the party it was under the most sol- emn determination not to return to it unless it de- clared in favor of permitting American citizens to make homes upon any land that the owner was not using at the time the said citizen desired to squat thereon. ‘Will the party take this position now? —— Refusal to grant citizenship to a Spanish resident whose home had been in San Francisco for at least a dozen years may seem a little harsh, but it was the only proper course to be taken by the court. The man could not speak English, and anybody who would live here so long and not have interest enough in the country to have learned its language is unfit to be a citizen. It is true that San Francisco makes more noise over bulletins from a prize-fight than over those from the seats of war, but there is more thinking over the latter. :00000000000000000 ADMIRALS AND ; THEIR FLAGS. PP00000000000000009 The grades of admiral, vice-admiral, rear-admiral and commodore have only existed by law in our navy since July 16, 1862, and the first two, created especially for Farragut, Porter and Rowan, ceased to exist with the death of these officers. As early as November 15, 1776, Congress established the relative rank between army and navy officers, namely: Admiral with general, vice-admiral with leuten- ant-general, rear-admiral with major- general and commodore with brigadier- general. It fafled, however, to commis- slon any naval officers to those grades, and the title of commodore given to such officers as John Paul Jones, Hull, Bain- bridge, Decatur and other heroes of the early wars was merely complimentary, and without warrant of law. The highest lawfully recognized title up to 1862 was that of captain, and our navy officers in command of squadrons abroad have been subjected to annoyances, which, to mili- tary men, are very serious when they e @ ® L4 @ @ L & ADAMIRAL 1866 VICE ADAIRAL " 1866 commodore was swallow-tafled and had song through the patriotic lips of Ed- mund Clarence Steadman: a single star. 5 In a change was made In all these My name is Liberty! 1l which created considerable unfav- o out & mighty land orable comment among naval officers. Ad- 1 face the anclent sea, miral Farragut had left Washington for I 1ift to God my hand. - a visit to California and, Porter, who was By day in Heaven's light, the vice-admiral, succeeded to the dutles Pillar of fire by night, of Farragut during the latter's absence. At ocean’s gate I stand, Porter was envious of the popularity and rank of Farragut, and solely to perpe- trate a small piece of spite work ordered ‘a radical change in t flags, by which no distinction was made between the three grades of admirals. °“They were made of red and white stripes alternat- ng. the commodore’s differing only in be- ing swallow-tailed. The admiral's flag was to be worn at the fore, the vice-ad- miral’s at the main and the rear-admiral’s | mizzen. mFlahrszgut Was intensely disgusted. and never made use of this new bunting. It is told that while on his dying b set- iling up his affairs he expressed the wish “not to place that ‘Bremen bunting’ upon his coffin, but to have it carried after him,” and his wish was complied wit! In’ 1876 a general order from the Nay ment restored the flags with the | ree, two and single stars, and the | vo latter are now in use. | ‘“Tohla President has not the power to promote an officer to a grade that does Dot exist, hence Commodare Dewey’s pro- motion 1, for the time being, be to that of rear-admiral. Congress will, without | doubt, re-establish the grades of admiral and vice-admiral, and the President will, in all probability, recommend Rear-Ad-| Nor bend the knee. $ I In 1862 George F. Root wrote many memorable war songs, and whether they were inspired by genius or the demand of the public or the needs of patriotism it is certain that all these requirements were united in the: His *Just Before the Battle, Mothel was _composed especially for Jules Lumbard, the famous war singer, who when patriotism lagged and men refused to enlist roused them to the highest pitch of enthusfasm by his power of song. On the day that Mr. Root composed “Just Before the Battle, Mother,” he gave it to Lumbard in the grounds of the old courthouse. It was during the enlisting of soldiers and thou- sands were assembled in the place. That g it there from the original manuscript—which he still has—and the bands took up the alr and the crowds Joined in the chorus with him. . e “Dixie” is one of the most fetching and inspiring melodies ever sung in any land. It was considered during the war a song of the rebellion, but it was nothing of the sort. The Southern people, with a fine appreciation of its melodious catch line, sim adopted it after it had been writ- ten by a Northern man, Dan Emmett, for Bryant's minstrels, two years before the war and in the city of New York. But Mrs. John Wood introduced it into New Orleans in 1861, when Susan Denin marched at the head of a band of zouaves on the stage of the Varieties, singing “I Wish I Was in Dixie!” The audience went wild with enth: that time “Dixie” bec: J what the “Marseillaise’” is to France. was the Washington Artillery that had the time aranged to a quickstep. Carlo Patti was the leader of the first orchestra that played “Dixie.” The new song will grow spontaneously, taking its author by surprise. It will not be the result of any fine meditative line of thought, but an eruption of bottled-up en- thusiasm that fills an atmosphere with the smoke of genius. When that has cleared the crystallized poem with its at- 1 . tendant music will be there. There are NOMIRA L COMMODORE soldiers and soldiers—soldiers of peace OMMODORE 1866 VICE ADMIRAL 4869 - and soldiers of war. He is a soldier who REAR ADMIRAL can make a song to quicken the pulse 1865 —76 and nerve the heart that is going into : battle, who can help lift lagging feet by the march of his music.—M. L. Rayne meet with forelgn commanders holding ; miral Dewey | ranks higher than that of the American commander-in-chief. Farragut was the first American naval officer flying an admiral's flag in Euro- pean waters and_ it has not been seen there since 1867. From 1777 to 1838 the fl&% officer’'s flags were cut to the shape o that of the present commodore's flag—of blue, red or white bunting, according to senfority of the officer, and they had thir- teen white stars placed in three parallel rows with four, flve and four stars in each row. In 1 the flags were changed to plain blue, red or white of parallelogram cut and were the same for commodores and rear-admirals, the distinction being made In that commodores carried it at he fore and rear-admirals wore it at the Farragut hoisted his flag as the first and senior rear-admiral in the United States navy on board the Hartford, Au- gust 11, 1 After the introduction in 1865 of the grades of admiral and vice-ad- miral the flag officers’ flags were made as shown in the accompanying illustrations, that of the admiral and vice-admiral be- ing blue th four and three stars, re- spectively: that of rear-admiral being blue, white or red. according to seniority. and having two stars, while that of the to become either an admiral It would mean a good deal to that galiant officer, for the honors and emoluments would be considerable. The salary of an admiral is $13,000 yearly, whether at sea, on shore duty or unem- loyed, As a vice-admiral the salary is 9000 at sea, $3000 on shore duty and 35000 if unemployed. Rear-admirals receive | only $6000, $000 and $4000, according to ser- vice, and commodores have to be sa fied ‘with salaries of $5000, $4000 and_ $3000. There are no perquisites of any kind, and it is only while at sea that the admiral, | all other officers and crew receive a ration or its equivalent in money of 30 cents a day. officers in Great Britain are more highly honored and better pald, for ad- mirals of the fleet get as high as $19,160; admirals, $14,600; vice-admirals, $12,775; rear-admirals, $11.450, and commodores of the first class § the table money and other allowances, included in this e- ing in one case as much as the regular or vice-admiral. full pay. In this country salaries are not so princely, but the honor of receiving a country's vote of thanks and a rank cre- ated solely as a reward for distinguished conduct in battle is something which naval officers covet and appreclate. COLLECTED IN THE CORRIDORS | C. Hunsaker of Grass Valley is at the | Lick. Horace W. Day of New York is at the | Palace. George B. Sperry and Mrs. Sperry are at the Palace. Colonel Rufus Truax of Abingdon, Va., is at the International. Fugene Blake Jr., a well-known Balti- morean, 1s at the California: W. S. Kinney, a_well-known merchant of Astoria, is at the Baldwin. Samuel W. Merchant, a well-known citizen of Mobile, 15 at the Grand. B. Irwin of Salem, Or., left the city vesterday for the purpose of starting the Dally Sentinel at Salem. Rev. William Jones of Richmond, Mo., arrived in the city vesterday for the pur- pose of studying California’s climate. HYMN BEFORE ACTION. The earth is full of anger, The seas are dark with wrath; The nations In their harness Go up against our path! Ere yet we loose the legions— re yet we draw the blade, Jehovah of the Thunders, Lord God of Battles, ald! From panic, pride and terror, Revenge that knows no rein— Light haste and lawless error, Protect us yvet again. Cloak Thou our undeserving, Make firm the shuddering breath, In silence and deserving To taste Thy lesser death! E'en now their vanguard gathers, E'en now we face the fray— As_Thou didst help our fathers, Help Thou our host to-day! Fulfilled of signs and wonders, In life, in death made clear— Jehovah of the Thunders, Lord God of Battles, hear! —Rudyard Kipling. NEWS OF FOREIGN NAVIES. The Russian armored gunboat Kraby, of 1492 tons, has passed through her trials, which, however, did not apparently come up to requirements. With 2642 horse power the vessel made 14.54 knots, while the contract stipulated 15 knots with only 2000 horse power. The British cruiser Europa, built by Thomson a1 Glasgow, left that yard re- cently for Portsmouth to be fitted out, and averaged fifteen knots with 3300 horse power. She is 11,000 tons displacement and is to make a speed of 20% knots with 16,500 horse power; and the indications are that the ship will exceed her contract speed. Three thousand workmen in the Yoko- suka dockyard are threatening to go on 8 strike. Their wages are only four- sevenths of those obtained in private es- tablishments, and the constant rise in the price of commodities makes it difficult to make a living. The workmen sent a joint request to the authorities for an Increase or wages, but no attention was paid to it. The Austrian Minister of Marine has asked the Legislature to sanction the building of five armorclads, five cruisers and sixty-eight torpedo boats. The pres- ent modern navy consists of ten armored ships, seven cruisers, eleven torpedo gun- boats, sixty-five torpedo boats and four river monitors on the Danube. The old navy includes seven corvettes, six gun- boats and four dispatch vessels, nearly all of which are built of wood. The Creusot establishment in France began in 1876 the manufacture of armor and has since then turned out 52,000 tons of armor and 900 heavy gun forgings. The armor-plate plant is contained in one bullding 1410 feet in length by 164 feet in width and another building 908 feet by 82 feet. Its 100-ton steam hammer can be eard in operation at a distance of seven miles. There are several other hammers of smaller size, and in addition two hy- draulic presses, one of 6000 tons and an- other of 1200 tons, besides three forging presses of 8000, 2000 and 1200 tons have been put up during the past five years. The Terrible, sister ship to the Power- ful, is now undergoing a very exhaustive series of trials, which consist of seventy- two hours’ continuous steaming under 10,000, 14,000 and 18,000 horse power. These are more than the British admiralty has as yet demanded from any ship, and the London Times states that If this series of progressive trials are successful she will enter upon a seventy-two hours’ con- tinuous steaming with her full power of 26,000 horse power. The last reference to the ship is undoubtedly a mistake, for it | will be as much as the Terrible can do to steam straight along under 18,000 horse power, and a like period under full power | would be stmply to invite disaster or at | least serious breakdowns to the machin-| ery. | Hitherto four hours has been the | utmost extent of the full power trial of | any naval vessel. | Contracts have been given out for four colossal armored cruisers. They will ex- ceed any vessel of that class hitherto built, except the Russia, of 12,130 tons and one building of 14,000 tons for the Russian navy. The British ships will be 440 feet in length, 69 feet 6 inches beam and dis- place 12,000 tons on a draught of 26 feet 3 inches. The hulls will be wood sheathed and coppered. The side armor of 6-inch nickel steel is 230 feet in length, begin- ning 120 feet from forward and extends to within % feet of the stern. The belt covers the hull for a depth of 113 feet, of | which 6% feet above the water line and the protection deck extending for the whole length is 3 inches on the slope and 2 jnches thick on the flat. The main bat- tery consists of two 9.2-inch breech load- ers and twelve 6-inch quick-firers, all of which are carried in 6-inch nickel steel casemates and barbettes. Twenty-on thousand horse power engines will de. velop a speed of twenty-one knots. The | normal coal supply is 800 tons and the es- | timated cost of each vessel, exclusive of guns, is $3.150,000. The weight of hull and | armor is 7860 tons, of machinery 1800 tons and steam will be supplied by thirty Belleville boilers carrying. 300 pounds. WANTED—A NEW WAR SONG. W patriotism; that will fire their hearts with valor, stir the noblest impulses of their natures in defense of their country and make them forget wounds in the deeper thrill of a patriotic | melody charming them with foretastes of glory? Of such is the *Star-spangled Banner,” “The Battle Cry of Freedom,™ “Dixie” and a host of others, called forth by the exigencies of war, but re- maining with us steadfast as the flag they indorse during the tranquil seasons of peace. Some of these were as unex- pected and unpremeditated by the makers of the songs as by the public upon whose tender mercies they were droppea—and the question arises, were they inspired for the occasion by some occult power, an atom of genlus that would out, or were they the result of hard brainwork, which Holmes declared to be only another name for genius?- . Take for example that magnificent lyric “The Star-spangled Banner,” which Con- gress adopted as the national hymn, and which would seem sufficient to our wants for all ages, and look at its interesting, even wonderful, history, since it was writ- ten eighty-four years ago by a sleepless American at the bombardment of Fort McHenry when the British fleet was pre- paring to attack Baltimore in the closing war scenes of 1814. Frances Scot Key, whose grandsons are living in Chicago to-day unknown and unhonored save by a few Baltimoreans, wrote the song dur- ing the long watches of the night when he was a prisoner on the Minden, with his friend Dr. Beanes, for whose release from the British he was capitulating. All night the two men—with John 5 Skinner, a friend—paced the deck of their guarded vessel, walting for daylight, When they could see it their flag had struck to the British troops. The song ‘was written on the back of an old letter and comdple!od during the night. Key first read it his uncle, Joaephlil. Nichol- sen—a man of cultivated literary tastes— and who was in command of a company of volunteer artillerists in the defense of Fort McHenry, a soldier full of patriotic ardor. And he it was who gave it to the world, for he carried it to the printing office 'of Captain Bdes, and gave It to an apprentice in the absence of the captain, and ordered a certain number of the son, published. It was done at once, pnntei on one side of a neat sheet, with a deco- ratlve border, and handed out to any one ‘who wanted 1t. The city of Baltimore was wild_with excitement over the defeat of the British and business was suspended. Judge Lawrenson seventy years after re- called the elrcumstance. “¥ stood in the crowd before the printing office and heard people say, ‘Here's a song, but where is the tune? ™ It was a boy of 12 years who furnished the tune—Judge, or, as he was then called, Jimmy Lawrenson. It was an_English air, oddly enough, ‘‘Anacreon in Heaven." He died at the age of %, and shortly before his death said: 1 stood on a printer's high stool that day and was the first to sing, 'Oh, say, can {ou see by the dawn’s early light? and I have been singing it ever since all those eighty years and more, twice as zealously as i ever sung the doxology.” And that single line is sculptured ongehe monument which is now ready to be erected over the grave of Francis Scott Key, its d.llnn!uhlud ‘-uthor. Liberty enlightening the world in the harbor of New Yorie sings a splendld HO will write the new national song that will inspire our men on land or on sea to rousing deeds of in Chicago Times-Herald. WITH THE HUMORISTS. She—Yes, It is the province of women to suffer in silence. He—In silence? That must be suffering, 1ndeed.—€incinnat[7Hxlqlnrer. The Colonel—Hey, waitah, what’s been in_this glass? i 5 uffin’, sah, 'cept wattah. Waiter—N The Colonel—Wal, rinse it out.—Truth. “What is the difference between an op- <t and a_pessimist n optimist belie mist in hoodoo tim in mascots and a —Indianapolis Jour- The horrors of war would be bad enough For any nation to brook, But, to add to our grievances, Stepheit Crane Has published another book. Clara—Mr. Castleton asked me at what time you were likely to be alone, as he vanted to call on you. ud—What did you tell him? ara—I said any time.—Life. Johnny—Wot! You fit wit’ Mickey Du- dat feller don’'t know Ww'en Mebbe he don’t, but, by jocks, Tommy: suspicions.— T'll bet I made him have Puck. Jobson—Just see how hard Dobson is orking at beating that carpet. Sirs. SJobson—Yes. Mrs. Dobson sets him at work at something of the kind just after he reads the war news in the papers.—Brooklyn Life. ‘Mr. Fizzington is quite a linguist, isn’t Wi he 1 never knew it.” 'Oh, ye: talks “What are they? “Horse, baseball and golf.” “McGuffin thinks he has more bad luck than any man living.” y special instance?” “Xe if he happens to have a counter- feit half-dollar it is always the one his wife picks out to leave in his pocket.”— Detroit Free Press. —_— ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. three languages.” THE NEW YORK—Canyon, El Dorado County, Cal. The United States vessel New York Is an armored crulser of the first class. ROAD MAPS—Road Rider, Santa Cruz, Cal. Road maps of California and of Texas may be obtained from the United States Geological Survey in San Fran- cisco. TEMPERATURE—S. T. W., Eureka, Cal. The difference in temperature in San Francisco in_ sun and shade, as shown by exposed thermometers, is about 27 degrees. MINT FENCE—S. A. M., City. The reason for the style of fence around the United States Branch Mint in this city is that, according to those who had it placed 'in position, it is ornamental. ADELINA PATTI-W. and N. N., City. The last time that Adelina Patti was in San Francisco was in 15%. She came here with the Italian Opera Company that opened at the Grand Opera House on the 10th of February of that year and played a two weeks’ engagement. MAILS FOR THE NORTH—H. C., City. The next mail for Dawson will leave on the 15th inst., and then malls for that place will leave at intervals of a month during the open season. Newspapers and small packages of mailable matter not ex:fiédlng four pounds can go through the malls. PORTER HOUSE STEAK-J. B., Clty. The porter house steak is a choice cut ct the beef between the sirloin and the ten- derloin, the latter being the undercut. It is supposed that it derived its name from a once popular porter house in the city of New York. where this garflcular cut of meat was first introduced. TO ENLIST—S., Vina, Cal. If there is a body of men in your town who wish to volunteer for the war, let themvmake the offer to Captain F. L. de Carrington, U. S. A., Presidio, of San Francisco, who is now mustering volunteers, or communi- cate with “The Recruiting Officer, U. 8. A., Presidio, of San Francisco. . Cal. glace fruit 50c per Ib at Townsend's.® —_———————— formation supplied daily to it a blic men by the business houses and public Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- Press ClPeer "Teiephone Maln 1042 * gomery street. Special Notice. Those troubled with dandruff and ftch- Ing scalp mail this to Smith Bros. for free sample of Smiths’ Dandruff Pomade. For sale by all druggists. , ——————— Last week we received 67 new patterns of moldings for picture frames, Flemish and Old Dutch Oaks, Bone Ebony, Grays, Persian Greens, Seal Browns. Mahogany, Cherry, Natural Raw Woods and Fine Golden Lacquers. These are now on sale. Sanborn, vail & Co., 741 Market street. * ————————— In Hungary whisky is distilled from turnips, maize, potatoes and molasses. —_— «Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used over fifty years by millions of mothers for thelr children while Teething with perfect success. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colle, 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. 25c a bottle. —_— CORONADO—Atmosphere is perfectly dry, soft and mild, being entirely free from the mists common further north. Round trip tick- ets, by steamship, Including fifteen days' board at the Hotel del Coronado, $65; longer stay, $2 60 per day. Apply 4 New Montgomery st., S. F., or A. W. Bailey, mgr. Hotel del Corona- do, late of Htl Colorado, Glenwood Spgs, Colo. —_——— ACKER'S DYSPEPSIA TABLETS ARE sold on a positive guarantee. Cures heartburn, ralsing of the food, any form of d: e ik in msiot fives ne litle ves Imimediate. rellel AL No Percentage Bhars