The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 11, 1898, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1898. AUGUST 11, 1808 ' THURSDAY JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Propnetor. & H{@3§Mun»cnlnonv to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts.. S. F. Telephone Main 1868. “EDITORIAL ROOMS 217 to 221 Stevenson Street - Telep Main 1874. "“fHE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) Is | "~ gerved by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns for 15 cents a week. By mall $6 per year: per montb €5 cents. FHE WEEKLY CALL ....One year, by mall, $1.58 "OAKLAND OFFICE 908 Broadway 'WEW YORK OFFICE ‘Room 188, World Building :.7" " DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Representative. .“.’ASIIINGTON (D. €.) OFFICE...............Rigge Houee | : C. €. CARLTON, Correspondent. | * €HICAGO OFFICE ..Marquette Bullding | C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Representative. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay, . . open untll 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, open until | *9:30 o'clook. 621 McAllister street. open untll 9:30 o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. 1941 Mission street, open untll 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 unth 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk strect, opea untll 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana | Kentucky streets, open untli 9 o'clock, AMU MENTS Columbia—*His Absent Boy." Alcazar—~Camille Morosco's— B The Cherry Pickers " hutes—Z : Olympia—Corner Mascn and Eddy streets, Speclalties £utro's Baths—Swimming. | . El Campo—M . Vaudeville and Cannon, the 613-pound Man. | daneing.bonting, fshing, every Sunday. mento, September 5. 1 v and Fete—A1 Crocker's residence, San Mateo, | August 1 AUCTION SALES. | erad b | By G. H. Umbsen & Co.—Mona August 15, Real Estate, at 114 Monwomery street, at 12 o clock. OUR LOCAL BUNSBY. N the language first used to account for the stir at llhc Hoffman House on the arrival of Mr. Moses % Gunst—"Maguire has ca Having ‘‘came,” he spoke, of course. His speech was barren of reference ito the Chicago platform, 16 to 1, and government by njunction. Of course it was sumptuous in its treat- | ment of the railroad issue, and was incidentally de- | voted to attacking Senator Morgan for “yielding to | corporate influence” in his support of Mr. Hunting- ‘ton’s funding bill. Loud and Barham also .mildly roasted, but the Judge failed to explain why he sat still and omitted the one objection, which, as | explained by Senator Perkins, would have beaten the | Perhaps the Judge wanted it passed in or- | -der to have a grievance that would be useful to him | -and his daily organ, the aminer. When he came to speak of the proposed colonial ‘policy, however, the Judge rose to the full height of Bunsby. He said: “What shall be done with these islands ultimately I am not prepared to say, but this I do say concerning them, that they should be dis- posed of according to the best interests of our coun- try, limited only by the consideration of the rights of the people of the several possessions, rights that our country recognizes and accords to all, at home or | abroad. In the settlement of these questions those interests alone shall be considered, and respecting the rights of the people there those questions shall be settled according to our final judgment of what is the best interest of our own country, without foreign in- terference.” There you have it. We are first to seek our inter- ests, limited by the rights of the people we conquest. Then we are to settle the matter by considering these | interests (the rights of the conquested) alone. Then | we are to settle it all according to our final judgment | of what is the best interest of our country, regardless of any limitation by the rights of the conquested. | This enables the Judge to hit the settlement or miss it. He carefully omitted what the people expect | of all public men now, an expression of his own | " opinion of what the interests of this country are and ‘what the rights of the conquested. He avoided saying | “whether he thinks the people of this conquested ter- | ritory shall be made members of our body politic, be- .come our fellow citizens and enjoy our franchise, and through it representation in our Government; or -whether they shall be excluded from our body politic .and that we shall pay the cost of goverhing them; or ‘whether we shall tax that cost to them and deny lto them representation. Ugon this burning question _he was silent while pretending to speak. . After shuffling off this fine coil of meaningless .words he plunged up to his I's into the railroad issue, omitting to explain his failure to enter the parliamen- . tary objection that would have killed the funding bill. * He indicated a wild desire for railroad competition. | “He mourned that under the funding bill the people -of California are to be oppressed by Mr. Hunting- _ton “until they either build a competing railroad or secure the building of one by somebody else.” In this connection one is driven to recall the re- cent situation in this State. “Some one else” put up _the capital, not the Maguireans, and built a competing line which ends “the dominion” of Mr. Huntington in that productive area where it had been most gall- ~ing. No sooner had this competition been secured -than Judge Maguire’s daily organ, the Examiner, be- -gan libeling the projector of this competing road, ‘whose credit and capital had made its construction " possible. The Judge's organ treated this gentleman on a more libelous level than it had attacked Hun- ‘tington upon, with the result that Maguire's friend, Hearst, is exiled from California and dare not show - himself in the State for fear of punishment for his low libels against the projector of competition to Huntington. In the closing sentence of his speech the Judge brilliantly illustrated the illogical and contradictory character of his mind. He said: “In my opinion public operation of railroads is not necessary, and under the Democratic idea it is not proper, unless it is necessary to destroy the monopoly, but it must be done if the Government is to preserve its indepen- dence of corporate dominion. It must be done if the people are to maintain the rights which alone can secure to them individual freedom.” We leave the Judge to explain why a thing that is not necessary must be done. o e e e Some foreign writers seem to believe there is trouble in store in the Philippines for Americans. But they will find that the Americans are generous. That trouble will be distributed so that anybody in the vicinity may have a share. | were neasure. . Senator Thurston of Nebraska declares a disbe- lief'in the sincerity of the Spanish. Possibly he also _ believes that the world is round. Among the possible peace preliminaries the neces- _sity for licking the Spanish some more may be dis- cerned by the observant. | specified, | are going to vote? | strongest Republicans in the South. ‘“REPUBLICAN YEAR?"” IS THIS @A F one were to judge from the large number of ]dead men and respectable colored canines who have been “prominently mentioned” for the highest office in the State by the intelligent Republicans in- terviewed during the past few days by The Call's gubernatorial canvassers he would be forced to the conclusion that the great and overpowering menace to Republicanism in California is again prevalent this year. What, for instance, can be running through the mind of a human being who deliberately names a Southern Pacific attorney to lead the Republican party in the impending fight? What sort of a notion can a person have of political conditions who de- clares that a man who has been twice defeated for Governor is the “strongest” candidate who can be nominated? These notions, and others that might be are indubitably the product of over- confidence. There is an idea abroad that this is a “Republican year” and that even a dead man may be placed at the head of the ticket with safety. This idea always presages Republican disaster. Political can- paigns won in advance are generally lost. Yet it would be difficult for any one to ascertain the foundation for this assumption. Has a canvass of the people been made for the purpose of ascer- taining what they think on the subject or how they Is there any fact in the history of past campaigns which indicates that the Republican voters of the State are disposed this year to turn their government over to the corporations, the yellow dogs and the political bosses? San Francisco is generally acknowledged to be the uncertain quantity of recent political calculations. Has anybody taken pains to discover whether or no its people will stand a railroad hack for Governor or a colored canine for Mayor? On December 27 last an election for Freeholders was held in this city, at which 26,163 votes were cast. On that occasion all the local parties, Democratic, Republican and Populist, united and nominated a fusion ticket. The Merchants’ Association opposed this unanimous political movement simply by placing in the field fifteen ordinary citizens, and they de- feated the fusionists by majorities ranging from 2500 to 3300. Does this indicate that the people of San Francisco are in any mood to follow the dictation of party politicians or accept the leadership of a yellow dog, or a boss tool, simply because he is at the head of a Republican ticket? How do the Republicans ex- pect to win this year without votes? Do they imagine that blather about the war and cheers over the achievements of McKinley, Dewey and the rest are going to blind the masses to the fact that their real interests lie in good government, an economical ad- ministration and consequent low taxation? But how about State partisanship? Is there any- | thing in recent history to justify the idea that a dead | man or a railroad hack can with safety be nominated for Governor this year? Let us scan the figures a moment. McKinley carried California by just exactly 1922 plurelity. One Bryan elector was chosen, J. W. Mar- tin, who received a plurality of 148 votes. The total vote cast was 208,691, of which McKinley received 146688 and Bryan 144,766. San Francisco, a city which gave Budd (Democrat) in 1896 12,000 plurality, | returned a plurality for McKinley of 400. Had it given its normal Democratic majority of about 3000 the President would have lost California and the Leg- islature would have been Democratic. At the same election Southern California, which has always sup- ported the Republican ticket with from Gooo to 8ooo majority, showed up with a beggarly plurality of 1000 | for McKinley, electing two Populist-Democratic Congressmen over McLachlan and Bowers, the Furthermore, Maguire carried the Fourth Congressional District by 8134 plurality and De Vries defeated a “railroad | attorney” in the Second District by 4845. Do these figures justify the confidence of those who are now talking about placing at the head of the Re- publican State ticket a man who enjoys the favor of the Southern Pacific and the political bosses? 'What is the use of talking about it? California with a weak | candidate will never be safely Republican again. The political party which persists in entertaining such a; idea merely falls upon its own sword. - Two years ago If the convention which meets at Sac- ramento on the 23d inst. does not nomi.- mate for Governor a man who commands the confidence of the people, who in his persom represents honest govermment, low taxation, opposition to boss control and railroad and corporatiom corrup- tion, its ticket will encounter a political iceberg in November which will freeze it stiffl Fgmund of the District of Columbia, where the people have no vote, the Washington Post has | been studying the prospects of the approaching cam- paign and announces the conclusion that the Demo- cratic vote will exceed that of 1896 in a great many Congressional districts, and that it is by no means certain the Republicans will control the House in the | next Congress. | The reasons given in support of this somewhat sur- prising conclusion are that the subsidence of the silver | issue has been followed by a return of the gold Dem- ocrats to their former party, and that with little in | the way of a substantial issue on which to base the | campaign the Democrats of the Eastern States that | have thus far made nominations have exercised great | care to select able men as their standard-bearers, with | the object of making up for the lack of an intel- | ligible platform by the personal force and popularity of their candidates. How far these conclusions are justified by the situa- tion in the East it is impossible for us to determine | from this distance and at this early stage of the cam- paign. It may be that the gold wing of the party | is returning to its former place in the Democratic ranks and that the free silver plank has been slaught- | ered as a fatted calf in honor of the returning prodi- | gal, but if so we have noted no signs or reports of | these things in our Eastern exchanges outside of the | Post. Moreover, we are equally ignorant on this side | of the continent of the personality of the able stan- | dard-bearers who have been nominated to atone for } the lack of a platform. So far as we have heard no Democrat has yet been put forward for Congress who if elected will be big enough to cast the shadow of eclipse over the present Democratic leader of the | House—the statesman who is known to fame as “Boy Bailey, the teeming bazoo of the Waco school of thought molders.” Nevertheless the estimate of the Post is not to be set aside as unworthy of consideration. It may be that | the Washington editor is simply patting the Demo- crats on the back so as to encourage them to battle and thus enable the District of Columbia people to CAMPAIGN PROSPECTS. ROM the non-partisan and possibly impartial have a good fight to watch and bet on this fall. The chances are, however, that the study of the Post is | more serious, and that we are to have in reality a of hard struggle to retain in the next Congress the splendid Republican majority of the present one. The Call has repeatedly pointed out that in State politics this is not to be a yellow dog year, and if the Post is right the same warning may be given with respect to the Congressional districts. Whether or no the Democrats are putting their best men forward, the Republicans must do so. Of the seven Representa- tives from California in the House but three are Re- publicans. We must at least reverse these figures in the next Congress, and in order to make sure of doing so we must beware of being over sanguine. This may be a woodpecker campaign on the part of the Democrats, but it must be borne in mind that when the birds are plentiful and diligent they can get away with the wood by pecking it just as effectively as by sawing it. NEWS FROM THE FRONT. HE shiiting scenes of war pass with the rapid- Ti!y of a magic lantern exhibition. A short time ago the “front” meant Cuba. Now it means Manila. This possibility was recognized at the time the first transports laden with troops started from this city for the Philippines. The Call sent along men in whose ability and courage it had the utmost confidence. It is for this reason this paper is now able to give each morning the latest information from the islands where Dewey won fame and Merritt has set up a government of which he is the head. Among those whom The Call sent was Sol Sher- idan. He had never had an actual war experience, but he had carned a reputation as a thorough jour- nalist, one who recognized the value of news, had the faculty for expressing it in explicit terms, and who would not shrink from any danger in his quest for facts. He was not instructed to seek a post of dan- ger, but he felt that the place for him was where the boys were fighting, and he was with them on the line of fire. With modesty, and yet with succinctness, Mr. Sheridan told yesterday of his trying experiences. The result was that this paper was enabled to print the best account of the first battle in which California troops were engaged. He was among the soldiers. He heard the bullets sing, and he saw the Americans fall. He was not forced to tell of what had been re- lated to him by stragglers from the front, for he was there himself. To boast is not seemly, and we refrain. The news columns merit laudation, but they do not need it. They set forth their own story. Sheridan is simply a correspondent. He did not go with the title of “special commissioner” nor was he laden with in- structions to Dewey, nor flags wherewith to make glad the heart of the admiral. He went simply as a newspaper man, the representative of a newspaper, and he acquitted himself with honor. The readers of | daily papers appreciate enterprise. There is no occasion for calling their attention to it, yet to pay a passing tribute to Mr. Sheridan for his energy, his courage and his success cannot be out of place. EASTERN ASSURANCE. ITH a show of impartiality and fairness the | W Chicago Tinms-Herald concedes it is natural | that the California State Board Trade | should ask for the appointment of a citizen of Pacific Coast to the Peace Commission which is to | decide upon the future disposition of the Philippines, 1 but it follows this concession with the emphatic state- ment that the request should not be granted. The argument of our Chicago contemporary is terse. It says that while the greater part of American trade with the islands must be carried on through the | Pacific ports, yet as the men who are selected to ar- range for the settlement of the Philippine question will be confronted by trained diplomats, it is neces- sary that they should be men of marked ability, and that consideration, it claims, bars out all Commis- | sioners from this portion of the Union, for it declares, “There are no great international lawyers on the Pacific Coast, but the best are all to be found east of the Rockies.” The arbitrary exclusion of Pacific Coast men from the diplomatic service of the nation would be an in- jury, but to exclude them on the ground taken by the Times-Herald would be the addition of insult to in- jury. That a widespread ignorance of Western con- ditions prevails in the East is made evident by the frequency with which this assumption of superiority in ability, intellect and learning is put forward by the people beyond the Rockies. It is an ignorance that should be dispelled, and one of the best ways to dispel it is that of giving Pacific Coast men a chance to demonstrate in a conspicuous field their fitness for the highest work. No man can achieve repute as an international law- yer unless he is intrusted with the performance of work which affords an opportunity to display his ability to deal with international questions. It was thought in the East that we could not build warships urtil a contract was given to our shipyards to con- struct several of them, and then it was shown by the Olympia, the Charleston, the Monterey and the peer- less Oregon that we can surpass competition in that work. In the East itself and in recent years there have been abundant instances to prove that a high order of ability may exist in men and be unknown to the na- tion at large for years simply because the possessors have never had an opportinity for its display on a great occasion. Neither Cleveland’s Secretary of State, Mr. Olneyof Massachusetts, nor the present Secretary, Mr. Day of Ohio, had any fame as international law- yers before they were tried. There are men on the Pacific Coast who are just as competent to serve the nation with distinction in diplomacy as these men of the East. There may be good and sufficient reasons why no member of the Peace Commission should be selected from this section of the Union, but if so they will be widely different from that assigned by the pre- sumptuous folks of Chicago. In this war California beat the East in promptness and efficiency in furnish- ing men in response to the President’s call for vol- unteers; warships built in San Francisco have sur- passed those of the fleet built in the Eastern yards, and if a fair opportunity is given we will show that we are equally capable of matching Eastern men in maintaining the honor and the interests of the nation in the fields of statecraft and diplomacy. As every man has the right to think his own wife the best in the world, so each State in the Union may claim to have first sent its National Guard to respond to the call for troops. And most of them are doing it. We violate no confidence in saying that all of them except California are mistaken, but no matter. There is no surprise in the fact that the Supreme Court of the State has declared marriages at sea, con- tracted with an express view to beating the law, il- legal. Nobody ever thought they were anything else. Tl California knew all the time that when the boys of the First got on the firing line they would give a good account of themselves. Doty Sl Aguinaldo is said to be losing popularity, but he is not losing any with us. the |+ DR. CLINTON REPLIES T0 FATHER YORKE. Rev. Father Yorke in to-day’s R hich, in jus- To the Editor of The Call—Sir: v Call has made many e-roneous and misleading statements W tice to myseif, I desire to correct. 5 He states that I am the author of the communication signed by tl:e board of managers of the Seamen’s Friend Society and thg[——re(erring 0 me—"he is the moving cause in this latest attack on me. I most emphatically deny both statements. I am not !:h.- auth}:)r utylhe communicatioxhand I have never either di- rectly or indirectly attacked the reverend gentleman. A I had fondly g’oped that with the granting of the lease of fhe saxlors Home to the Seamen’s Friend Society by his honor, Mayor Phelan, an the Board of Supervisors, after they had thoroughly investigated its marll& agement and found it faultless. the regrettable controvery over it wou cease. But it was not to be so. In a recent number of the Monitor the subject was again brought up and again the management of the Sailor's Home was attacked. This “last straw” was probably the immediate cause which moved the board ofvt'hat institution to defend themselves in the manner they did before the Board of Supervisors. 3 Father Yorke has repeatedly and without just cause aspersed my good name. The epithets which he has so lavishly applied to me I pass without comr}rlxenh save to say 1 yleld to no man in my love of fair play and in my hatred of injustice. This & can *rujthfully say, and T believe the people wiil indorse the state- ment, that I have, according to my light and a conscientious sense of duty, ever striven, as a public servant to do my whole duty by the whole people of San Francisco. Father Yorke is a minister of God and I am loth to believ~ that he has knowling '~ borne false witness against me, ;- neighbor and friend. In charity I forgive him the great wrong he has done me and I pray that He who reads the hearts of all men may forgive him. C. A. CLINTON. THE EFFECT OF THE WAR ON POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS To the Editor of the San Francisco Call—Sir: A question frequently asked is the probable effect of the war with Spain upon political organiza- tions. This is a hard question to answer. The war and its probable con- sequences constitute but one factor in the co-ordinated events through which parties are to be readjusted. That a readjustment is inevitable, I firmly believe. The Federals and the Republicans of our early history, the Democrats and the Whigs, and their successors, the Democrats ar_nl »lhe later Republicans, until within a few years ago were divided by distinct issues upon which great statesmen brought to bear the pressure of their intelligence and their patriotism. But, in recent years, while the average standard of our population has been raised, the real intellect of the coun- try has been largely diverted to the army and navy, to the other learned professions, and to the numerous channels of trade, commerce, finance and literature, and the management of politics has been correspondingly rele- gated to greed, cunning, vanity and corruption. We still have able men in public life, or our Government would have failed to rise even to the emer- gencies of this war. It is, however, true that intelligence and integrity hz?\'e been submerged, and that, in a comprehensive nse, official action throughout the United States is on a plane far lower than our institutions and the ma:; of our citizens. ' One of the results is that party names have lost their significance; that issues are the catchwords of campaigns; and that glittering spoils mainly stand for principles. Many Democrats in name are essentially Republicans in fact. Many Republicans in name are essentially Democrats in fact. The fundamental thought which tends toward centralization in some men and toward liberalism in others, is lost sight of in a wild scramble for office, and to-day the people, the real people, who are not in the service of “prac- tical politics,” are groping for genuine issues, which will probably be found. The war may furnish the occasion for the shaping of these issues. The space I can occupy is too limited for elaborate discussion, but it must be broadly acknowledged, however “the sober second thought” may modify its influence, that there is a growing sentiment among millions, affected by superficial enthusiasm for military glory, by a mania for speculation, or by local, class or individual interests, and who have not yet stopped to reflect, in favor of such radical changes in our Government and its policy as would be tantamount to revolution. On the other hand, there are other millions, and many of them, less noisy and demonstrative, who adhere to the Amer- ican conception of our constitutional system, at least to the extent hereto- fore conceded by all parties. In these facts there Is a basis for the develop- ment of an issue, definite, exact and deep, upon which the intelligent masses may be antagonistically arrayed and around which other issues may be grouped and thus a readjustment of parties effected. 1t is difficult for me to be dispassionate on this subject, which, to my mind, involves the destiny of the human race. A few words expressive of my own convictions may not be misplaced. I am a firm believer in the American system as originally constructed. I believe that as Judaism and Christianity combined brought irfto the world that love and fraternity which are the bond of peace and of all approaches toward perfection among men, so Washington and his associates, the statesmen and the soldiers of the Revolution and the fathers of the republic, formulated and organized the undying type of government, of which the constitution, as heretofore ex- pounded, is the gospel. And, as any form of religion, no matter how elas- tie its practical methods, which abandons its creed, must fail, so 1 believe that if we abandon our creed and enter into a British policy of conquest, under the pretext of extending the area of freedom, we will meet with the fate of Rome. But I am confident that America will never be converted into a lamb and swallowed by the British lion. Centralization at home and conquest abroad must inevitably result in imperialism. I care not what the government is named or what its appar- ent form, if it is not limited in its functions and quickly responsive to the intelligent demands of man exercising and capable of exercising his own sovereignty it is imperi:® in substance. If this republic is a failure let the fact be squarely admitted and the experiment abandoned. If it is not a failure then keep it on the founda- tion of the constitution. I hold that it is the most majestic triumph of all history. But, for many reasons, the mere enumeration of which would outrun my space, there has to be and there will be . cortest between those who work, consciously or unconsciously, for revolution and away from the American ideal and those who feel and know that true progress, the pro- gress of life, energy, :rains, education and system, is a growth of which the motive power is immutable principle. It is often but falsely suggested that the constitution, instead of sup- plying a force for unlimited expansion, was a sheet too narrow to cover a great nation, and that Washington, in his farewell message, spoke for a juvenile community and that his utterances, which have been the texts of the deepest thinkers of modern times, were full of wisdom for his gen- eration, but had no application to a continental re,iblic stretching out in all directions for trade, for commerce and for financial relations and, be- fore it is a century and a half old, finding it necessary, with greater re- sources and with a sparser population to the square mile than any other civilized nation, to preserve internal peace by external outleti for insub- ordinate energy. I wish here deliberately to repudiate these and all similar propositions. They are assumptions and delusions and not arguments, and they are fraught with dangers at which humanity itself might well shudder. The Declaration of Independence is an epitome of the eternal truths essential to the welfare of man on this earth. The constitution poured those truths into channels as deep and as permdnent as time, and capable of fertilizing the human race as the Nile fertilizes th: wastes of Egypt. Washington lived and wrote for all ages. And the dwarfs and pygmies who would re- verse this history, which is the natural womb of future humanity in its most perfect form, in my opinion, have not reckoned with the American people, as they will discover through the coming alignment of parties. Thus, in compressed sentences, I have endeavored to answer the ques- tion which lLas furnished my theme, and, in doing so, it w.s inevitable that I should convey my individual {deas. So far as this State is concerned I hope that our coming Governor may be a man of breadth and character, better versed in our institutions, our business, our history and our re- sources than in “practical politics,” and prepared, not to provole and main- tain constant turmoil and controversy, but to co-operate with every man and with eve~y organization ready to work for our internal advancement and for the steady accumulation of the most fruitful and assimilating elements of population. PUBLICOLA. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. POWER OF ATTORNEY—M. §., City. There is nothing in the law to inhibit a person from taking the power of attor- ney of any number of individuals for the purpose of locating mining claims for such individuals. NEW YORK TO LIVERPOOL—Old Salt, City. The best time by a sailing vessel from New York to Liverpool was made by the Red Jacket, in 1854. The time from Hook to bar at Liverpool was thir- teen days, one hour and twenty-five min- utes. A GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION—J. S, Clty. The report, “The Nutritive Value of Food,” by Professor Atwater, is a Government publication, and may be had by addressing a communication to the Government Printing Office, Wash- ington, D. C. The work is on file at the San Francisco Free Library. STRAITS OF LE MAIRE —J. P. B, City. The straits of Le Maire are be- tween Tierra del Fuego and Staten Isl- and, in 54 degrees 40 minutes south and 6 degrees west. The breadth is from fif- teen to eighteen miles. Vessels pass through the straits. The tidal current is regular and will assist vessels if taken at the right time. NAVAL ACADEMY—F. M. B, City. Candidates at the time of examination for admission into the naval academy at Annapolis must not be under 15 nor over 20 years of age and physically sound, well formed and of robust condition. They enter the academy Iimmediately after passing the prescribed examination and are required to sign articles binding themselves to serve in the United States navy eight years (including the time of probation at the naval academy) unless sooner discharged. AEOLIAN HARP—G. M. S., Emery- ville, Cal. The Aeolian harp is usually three feet long, five inches broad and three inches deep, of pine, with beech ends for insertion of the tuning or hitch pins, with two narrow bridges of hard Wood, over which a dozen small catgut or first fiddle strings are stretched. These are tuned in the most exact unison pos- sible, or the beats caused by their dif- ference would be disagreeable. The ten- sion should be low; in other words the strings should be rather slack. ESTRAYS~—C. R., Oakland, Cal ‘This | department has not the space to give in full the law of California in regard to estrays. The substance of that law Is that every resident householder in any county of the State on finding any es- tray horse, mare, jack or jennet, or any neat cattle, sheep, goat, or any number of such animals, upon his farm or prem- ises, who shall desire to take up the same, shall go before a Justice in the township, or of the adjoining one, and make affidavit that he has made diligent search for the owner, and that he has put up a notice in the most public places, He shall also give, the marks on the ani: mal or animals. The law then provides that if not called for in six months the property, if of less value than $100, shall be sold by the constable of the town- ship; if of the value of more than $100 then a longer period must elapse. Then the law provides for the distribution of the proceeds of the sale. The law in full 15 to be found on page 36 of the laws o 3 A FARMER HAPPY. T ain’t no politicianer, But I resent them Jokes They've been a-makin, near an’ fur, About plain country folks. A lot of 'cute remarks they spread, But I could let 'em pass ‘Without no comment till they said That I was ‘‘green as gras: It ain’t so long since manners rude An’ discontent was bred By diplomats who wasn’t shrewd In what they did an’ said. As hist'ry your attention claims, Jes' glance from leaf to leaf. An’ note the highfalutin’ names ‘Whose owners come to grief. At last the farmer’s time is here, We listen and are gay, ‘While England and this country cheer A man whose name is ‘‘Hay.” —Dirk Varrick. NAVAL SUPERIORITY. Tt was expected that the war between the United States and Spain would fus- nish a practical test of many modern de- velopments in naval construction and ar- mament and its beginning was watched with much Interest on this accojunt by students and eritics of naval warfara. As time went on it became apparent that the test would not be satisfactory, and after two months of remarkavle experi- ence we can say that this war has dem- onstrated one thing and one thing only, that the value of the modern armaments, quite as much as of the old, depends ipon the use that is made of them. The Spanish navy was not ill-matched to ours and we supposed that it was go- ing to give us trouble. But the Spaniards have made such poor use of their ships and machinery and have shown such lit- tle idea of gunnery that there has been no actual test of onme type of vessel against another or of guns, projectiles, armor, torpedoes or other appliances. It would be absurd to assume, for example, because the Gloucester demolished the Furor, that a pleasure yacht with small guns is superior to a torpedo-boat de- stroyer. But a pleasure yacht well com- manded and manned by good sailors and gunners will outclass a much more for- midable craft if those on board the latter do not know what to do with it. Neither at Manila nor at the astounding victory won periority of craft. It w superiority of discipline Montijo were not unequ Dewey found his oppo npr and incapable of making an effective de- fense. On the other hand, when Cervera came out from Santiago he found every American ship on the alert and instantly every American gun was trained upon the fleeing Spaniards with destructive effect, while the Spanish shots fell harmless in the sea. This is the one great lesson of the war, the incomparable value o the i f discipline—not subservience of ignorance to arbi- . but the intelligent and e of members of a great which acts in every part ted strength of the whole.— Pre: orga with t Philadelph —_————————— A PIECE OF ENTERPRISE. The Call did a splendid piece of work this morning in making a canvass of the newspaper editors of the interior of the State with regard to the standing of the different gubernatorial candi- dates. This canvass serves to clear away a great deal of the mist and un- certainty of the contest and crystallizes the facts with regard to the c:fferent aspirapts. The figures are given else- where and readers can draw their own conclusions. They are worthy of close and careful study. The Call is entitled to the credit of one of the best pieces of enterprise seen in the local field for many a da: Alameda Encinal. AROUND THE CORRIDORS. Dr. L. P. Hall of Dixon is at the Grand. Dr. A. E. Osborne of Eldridge is at the Grand. Dr. Grand. G. W. Crystal, a merchant of Vacaville, is at the Grand. A. P. Fraser, a banker of Stockton, is at the Occidental. The Vicomte and Vicomtess d’Audigne are at the Occidental. A. Gonsaler and J. C. Gonsaler of Guate- mala are at the Occidental. E{ Governor J. S. Hogg and daughter of Austin, Texas, are at the Palace. Charles T. Manning, a big coffee plant- er of Guatemala, at the Palace. Reginald W. Truman of the Iron Moun- tan mine, near Keswick, is at the Palace. Philip Ghautz and §S. Solomon, chants of Portland, Oregon, are at the L. O. Cory of Fresno is at the r Battle, the Uni at Acapulco, arrived y the Oc 1. d States Consul erday and is'at arrived from G are at the Palace. 2 A. P. Field and E. Gause, miners from Dawson, arrived at the Rus erday with their little pile. Captain Dougherty and wife vesterday from the Hoopa Valley tion and are at the Occidental. C. B. Alexander and Mrs. Alexander of New York have returned from a visit Del Monte and are at the Palace. J. T. Hamilton and Thomas Marshall of Pittsburg, who have secured the iron con- tract for the new postoffice building, are at the Occidental. F. Van Wagner of Seattle and J. O. Hesterwood of San Jose returned from the Klondike yesterday. Hesterwood is one of the pioneers of the Klondike and has a fortune to show for his enterprise and energy. e CALIFORNIANS IN WASHINGTON WASHINGTON, Aug. 10—Mrs. L 8. Lightfoot of San Francisco is at the St. James; J. R. Blanchard of San Francisco is at the Metropolitan. D Hostile to Shrimps and Peewees. San Francisco, Aug. 9, 1598, Editor Call: If the Republicans nom- inate Irving M. Scott for Governor he will be elected by an overwhelming majority. If the Republicans nominate any of the peewees—such as Ellert or Gage, or the Alameda political shrimps—either one of them—Maguire will be tumbled into the gubernatdrial chair by a tremendous vote of the all-sorts. A word to the wise irom a laborer. JOHN M. DOW, %1 York street. AR S Cal. glace fruit 3¢ per Ib at Townsend's,® ol He—Why that sigh, dearest? She—I was just thinking that suppose you went to war and— He (giving her a reassuring squeeze)— And got killed. She—No! Not that! Suppose you should go to war and lose both your common day arms? (Weeps).—Puck. Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, ¢ e Milkman—You must be a very immoral man, sir, or you'd never kick about the milk I serve Customer—What's that? Mil: an—Aren't we taught tl:‘ml to the | pure all things are pure?—Puck. ————— To Portland and Return $20 First- Class. Account Pacific Coast Dental Congress, By O. R. and N. Co.'s steamer, saillng August IS. Inquire at 630 Market street. e Dewey is a temperance man and knows what Dr. Siegert's Angostura Bitters did to brace him up at Manila. —_———————— New store, new goods, low prices, everything up to date. J. Smith, the tallor, 906 Market st. “I am afraid this growing craze for golf is_going to have a marked influence upon our future politics,” observed the deep thinker, after thinking thoughtfully for some moments. “‘When a man has won about 500 silver cups in the course of a year it is apt to make him an advo- cate of free coinage.”—Harper's Bazar. ADVERTISEMENTS. RoYAL Baking Powder Most healthful leavener in the world. Goes farther. ROVAL BAKING POWDER CO., NEW YORK. mer- .