The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 5, 1898, Page 4

JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. 1 Alcrees SR OMMURICAIONS 0 Mo R e SR PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F. Telephone Main 1868. EDITORIAL ROOMS..........217 to 22| Stevenson Street Telephone Main 1574 WHE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) s served by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns for 15 cents @ week. By mall $6 per year; per month €5 cents. THE WEEKLY CALL One year, by mall, $1.50 OAKLAND OFFICE.. ..908 Broadway NEW YORK OFFICE.. ...Room 188, World Buliding DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Representative, WASHINGTON (D. C.) GFFICE -.+--Riggs House C. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. CHICAGO OFFICE.... Marquette Building | 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'clock. 621 McAllister street, open untll 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 untll 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open untll 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk street, open until 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock. ——————e AMUSEMENTS. Columhia—*Lost—24 Honrs " A Marriage of Convenence.” e First Born” and “Up To Date™ 0's—~Shall We Forgive Her. Rigoletto.” audeville. Theater — The Leading Man.” dy and Jones strecis—Vaudeville. Z00, Vaudevilie and Spaaish Bull Fight. Corner Mason and EQdy streets—Speclalties. —The Irish Fatr, —Durward Lely, Monday, September 2 hs—Swimming. \ Metropolitan Temple—Concert, Thursday September §. seball this afternoon. ber 5. Ales Moro Tivoll— tutro’s AUCTION SALES. By G. H. Umbsen & Co.—Monday, September 1%, Real Estate at 14 Monwomery street, at 12 o clock. - AUGUST BROKE THE RECORD. UGUST made a brilliant trade record. Its clearings were the largest ever known in that fl month and were 23 per cent heavier than in | August, 1892, the year preceding the panic. Its fail- ures were the smallest for five years, and their ratio to solvent business was only $108 70 in $100,000. As August is usually the quietest month in the year | this heavy increase in business has attracted atten- | tion, and it has been found that while much of it was due to the resumption of contracts suspended on the { outbreak of the war and to heavy purchases of se- curities, it has been definitely ascertained that the major part of the increase was due to a legitimate expansion of domestic trade, such as the distribution of manufactured goods, provisions, etc. The in- crease is the more noteworthy when it is considered that prices, being much lower than in 1892, just so much more business is necessary to produce the re- markable gain in the bank clearings mentioned above. The bankers and financial authorities of the East have all along been predicting a pronounced increase in trade, and it seems that they are right. They are now predicting a further increase as the fall advances, and it is to be hoped that they will be right in this case, too. Certainly present signs indicate continued improvement. Reports to the recognized commercial | authorities show a brisk fall opening all along the | line, except in the extreme East, which has been dragging more or less for several months. The West and Northwest still lead the rest of the coun- try, and are doing a large business in boot: and shoes, hats and caps, machinery, hardware, clothing and similar lines. In the South a good cotton crop and slightly firmer prices give that section a strong tone, and a slight advance in print cloths at Fall River tends to infuse more animation into the trade circles of New England. As for the iron and steel trade, it continues to keep up its phenomenal record, and the mills, especially in the West, report themselves unable to fill all their orders. Wheat shipments from Atlantic points continue to fall behind those of last year, those for the past week being 3,687,000 bushels, against 6,265,000 for the same week in 1897. The other staples show no new features worthy of note. The woolen mills report rather better orders, though their purchases of wool are restricted by the tenacity of Western holders in asking more than the condition of the Eastern markets justifies. Wall street shows a slight reaction from the ab- normal activity which has prevailed for the past two or three weeks. There is less disposition to specu- late, even in Government bonds, and a small decline in prices of many securities is apparent. But no im- portance is attached to this lull, as it is considered merely. one of the regular breathing spells of this high pressure mart. In California conditions remain very much the same as for several months, and no particular ten- dency in any direction is apparent, Wheat has shown rather more animation during the past week, but this was due to the cove-ing of contracts by the Produce Exchaflge shorts rather than to any intrinsic strength in the cereal. As soon as the shorts were covered the price, which had advanced sharply for a day or two, fell back again under decreased trading. Still, the market is in better shape than for some little time. Barley has advanced somewhat, but oats have declined. Hay is lower under enormous receipts, as the farmers have been rushing it in to escape the pos- sible early rains, which everybody seems to be ex- pecting this fall—for what reason nobody seems to know, except that last winter was a dry one—if there be any reason in such reasoning. The fruit trade has held up remarkably well this year, and prices are even higher than they were some weeks ago. With the exception of prunes, which have not opened yet, quotations for dried fruits are extremely high, and at the rate buyers have been lay- ing in_supplies there will be little stock left in the State by Christmas. The output of canned fruit has THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1898. MR. GAGE AT LOS ANGELES. HE address of Henry T. Gage at Los Angeles TOn Saturday evening in response to the cordial welcome of thousands of his neighbors greeting him on his Teturn home as the chosen standard- bearer of the Republicans of California may be ac- counted in some respects as the opening of the Republican campaign, and as such will be given care- ful consideration by all intelligent voters. In its form the speech is not that of a campaign oration. It was not intended to be so. It was the talk of a man to his friends and has all the fluent ease of conversation. At the outset the speaker put himself in the attitude of a friend talking to friends, and said to them frankly: “During the time that I have moved in your midst you know whether I have walked as an honorable, upright citizen or not. If 1 have failed anywhere to comply with the dictates of common honesty or common manhood, I implore you at the coming election to cast a vote against me and not for me.” Beginning with that straight, direct statement of his life among them, Mr. Gage went on to talk to his Los Angeles fellow-citizens of the issues of the cam- paign with an equal terseness and directness. As a matter of course he referred to the attack made upon him by Maguire during that gentleman’s recent visit to Los Angeles, and with a keén wit exposed both the absurdities and the dangers of the candidacy of the leader of what Senator Bulla felicitously called “the amalgamated. errors.” It was in those portions of his speech that the Re- publican candidate for Governor showed himself at has revived all manufacturing trades, and the main- tenance of the gold standard provides every worker The war with Spain, while of little magnitude itself, has opened before the nation wide fields for expand- activity in all lines of industry. The Pacific Coast will reap a large share of the increasing profits of the first and largest beneficiaries. All the prospects of the future, therefore, as well as all the conditions of workers, and it will be with joyous voices they hail one another as they assemble to do honor to their YELLOW COPPERHEADS. [:: OR some time past it has been apparent that the to make political capital for the factions it sup- ports as well as sensations for readers of depraved country as plague spots, and asserting that the War Department of the Government has been criminally soldiers. These charges from comparatively small beginnings The officials of the army have been accused of of- fenses which morally amount to murder. The coun- pestilence, starvation and cruelty in the camps of the volunteers, and women whose sons, brothers and cases driven half distracted by the anxieties and fears the reports have caused. istration” is augmented by the fact that the very pa- pers whose yellow instincts now prompt them to the clamorous against the Government for not sending the troops to Cuba without even a month of prepara- New York Journal and its Hearstiform appendix, the Examiner, could have had their way, the President tropical jungles of the West Indies as fast as they could be hurried to the front, and set without equip- of capturing Santiago. The main cause of the hardships borne by the vol- of the nation for undertaking such a campaign within the short time between the outbreak of hostilities and military deficiency the Democratic party is mainly to blame. For years past the representatives of that signed to increase the strength of the army or im- prove its equipments. It would be a grotesque mock- with wages of the highest purchasing power. ing commerce, and that in turn will call for increased new trade, and our workingmen will be among the the present, cheer the hearts and the homes of our crafts and celebrate the festival of their labor. yellow press of copperhead tendencies is trying tastes by describing the various military camps of the neglectful of the welfare of the sick and suffering have now gone to the extreme of malignant lying. try has been excited by fearful reports of disease, husbands are among the soldiers have been in many ‘The outrage of this vicious attack upon the admin- circulation of the lies were but a short time ago tion for the campaign. If papers of the type of the would have been forced to dispatch troops to the ments to the task of besieging Havana as well as unteers during the war was the utter unpreparedness the beginning of the sickly season in Cuba. For that party in Congress have opposed every measure de- ery of justice if a party which has always denounced | all efforts to strengthen the military power of the country should now gain an advantage in politics by reason of the evil that has befallen the nation through the iack of a larger army. his best. It has been so frequently boasted by the Democrats and the Populists that Maguire is invin- cible on the stump, that this demonstration of the ability of Mr. Gage to refute his sophisms by strong argument, and to turn aside his ridicule with ready wit, will carry confusion into the ranks of the fac- tions. It will not be surprising after this if the course of the campaign should prove that Mr. Gage is not only a safer citizen, a better business man and more fitted for the office of Governor than his versatile opponent, but even a better campaign debater. Certainly in the first conflict between the two the honors have'been won by Mr. Gage. He has riddled Maguire’'s Los Angeles speech, and has furnished the Republicans of the State with as good a campaign document as could be desired. The State convention clearly chose the right man for the work before him. He will not only be a good Governor, but he is going to be a good fighter as well as leader in the con- test for conservatism and prosperity against erratic theorists and political confusion THE GERMANS IN SYRIA. EPORTS that the Governments of Great R Britain and Germany have arranged for joint action and co-operation in Egypt and in Syria, ! with a proviso for an offensive and defensive alliance | under certain conditions, will occasion no surprise. Such an agreement has been long foreshadowed, not | only by,.speeches of British statesmen, but by the | drift of events, which for years past have tended to make some alliance necessary to both countries. The time has gone by when British statesmen ex- | ulted in a separation from European alliances and | boasted of the “splendid isolation” of their kingdom. | The mighty coalitions of the Continent have made it | evident to them that, strong as Great Britain is, she | will need a friend when the shock comes, and, more- | over, that the knowledge of her having a strong ally | may prevent the shock from coming at all. Germany ‘ is naturally the Government to which the British | would look for an alliance, and it so happens that re- | cent developments of German energy have brought about a situation that renders British friendship about | as important to the Germans as their friendship to the British. One of the most forceful and far-reaching move- | ments which has taken place in Europe and Asia | Minor in recent years has been the influx of German | energy, German capital and German commerce into | the Turkish empire. The movement has been a silent one, and until a few years ago was not much | noted. Then it was suddenly discovered by an inves- tigator at Vienna that while the Russians had been | seeking a dominating influence in the Balkan Penin- | sula and over Turkish territory generally by diplo- matic methods, the Germans had been building rail- roads, starting factories, extending commerce and | absorbing the banking business of the people of those | countries. The Turkish problem, therefore, assumes a new phase, and it is now German industry in place of British diplomacy that stands as an antagonist to | Russian domination around Constantinople. | If it turn out that the terms of the treaty are such as have been reported the chief public interest in it | will lie in that portion which relates to ‘these German : interests in Syria. The world has long since accepted | British domination in Egypt as a settled fact, and the agreement of Germany to co-operate in maintaining it does not materially alter the situation. The agree- | ment with respect to Syria, however, is a new thing | altogether. It creates a condition never before in existence, and may prove to be the beginning of a | movement that will have a worldwide effect, changing and sweeping away every aspect of international re- lations as seen to-day. That German supremacy in Syria would be of im- mense benefit to the people of that country and in- directly to the whole world cannot be questioned. It would carry into those rich lands and among those sluggish, tax-oppressed communities the law, the or- der, the industry and the science of one of the master races of the globe. It would prepare a way for the eventual redemption of all Asia Minor, a region that was once powerful in the world, and would assure to Europe a protection against the menacing advance of the colossal despotism of Russia toward Constan- tinople. L morning to the enjoyment of . the day set apart for the annual celebration of the accom- plishments of industry and a recognition of the honor due to the workingmen by whom that industry is carried on. It, is, moreover, a day which all citizens LABOR’'S FESTAL DAy. ABOR in the United States will awake this also been small this season, so there will be no sur- plus of any kind of friit in California this year. This means a good market for fruit next year, though it i§ not to be expected that prices will range as high as they have this season. Importers and jobbers of merchandise report trade fair for the season and collections average. The money market is tame and without feature, there being plenty of funds for all solvent borrowers at the dsual rates of interest The foreman at the Wells-Fargo building upon whose head a metal casting weighing fifteen pounds alighted after a fall of six stories is to be congratu- lated that he was not hurt. Neither was the casting fractiired. y The “war board” of Los Angeles will probably have its hands full in inducing Colonel Berry to sub- scribeto a peace protocol. should observe as far as possible, for in American society we have few idlers; nearly all men are workers, and all have a clear understanding. of the high position labor rightly holds in every civilized community. The date selected for Labor day is somewhat un- fortunate. It falls ‘'so near the date of Admis- sion day that it is lost sight of by a good many people who are engaged in preparations for the cele- bration of what is distinctively California’s natal festi- val. In addition to this there is the further draw- back that there is a California Labor day to be cele- brated later in the year, and that fact confuses the " public to some extent. < The conditions of industry throughout the com- monwealth are as a rule favorable to the celebration this year. The farmers, indeed, have suffered from droughts, but the prices of all farm products have been good, and on the whole the crops have been re- munerative, The restoration of the protective tariff l It is’gratifying to be able to say that up to this time no Democrat -of national reputation has made him- self in any way responsible for the foul campaign started on this subject by the yellow journals. On I have read the speech of Mr. Gage dellvered in Los Angeles on Saturday evening., I was greatly surprised by its tone as well as by much of its matter. It seems to me that he displayed unrea- | Sonable anger at my pleasant allusions to his Sacramento speech, which he con- strued to be abusive *‘verbiage.” As to his personal criticisms of myself and of opinions held by me on questions | not involved in the campaign, I shall have nothing to say. How far a candlidate for Governor may properly proceed in such personal denunciation is wholly a mat- ter of propriety which must be deter- mined by each candidate according to ius own taste and judgment. For my own part, I have always avoided personal at- tacks and have refused to notice them ! except under great provocation. I choose ! to deal only with his discussion of ques- tions of fact and of principle involved in the campaign. Referring to the passage of the funding bill at the last session of the present Con- gress, Mr. Gage Is reported as saying: “We had no’ epportunity to vote upon that question, but there came a time ‘when James G. Maguire occupied a place in the Congress of the United States en he could have voted up it. A short time ago, you remember, a law in reference to that matter was adopted in the United States Senate, and it passed the Congress. James G. Maguire stood there, and had he raised his voice, had ha simply sald, ‘Mr. Chairman, I ob- Ject to the consideration of that bill, it | never could have been considered. He made no such objection. Then what right has he to stand upon the rostrum to-day and assail the acts of that body? Tell me, if you can, as honest, fair-minded citizens, whether that conduct becom an hovest official or not?” = Is it possible that Mr. Gage knows so little of Congressional procedure as to believe that statement? But he must | have been deceived into believing it, as otherwise he would certainly not have repeated it. Does he not know that the refunding provision in question came back to the House from the Senate as a part of the general deficiency bill? That general deficlency bill carried appropria- tions to the amount of nearly Pzgo, ,000 to meet deficiencies already incurred for the support of the army and navy of the United States. Does he imagine that a single objection from nn}'bod)’ could have prevented the House of Representatives from voting on that bill or from voting on the question of concurring or non-con- curring in the Senate amendment? Does he imagine that the House of Representa- tives is such an impotent or imbecile body as to be paralyzed and .prevented from making appropriations for the support of the army and navy in time of war by a single objection, or by a hunared objec- tions, to the consideration of an appro- priation bill? The proposition is so absurd that its very statement should have con- vinced him of its incorrectness. Mr. Gage has been grossly deceived in this matter. The fact fs that there was no_possibility of either defeating the refunding provi- sion or of striking it from the general de- ficiency bill except by a majority vote of the members of the House present at the time of its consideration. As to Mr. Gage's deduction concerning | my official honesty, based upon his belief that I could have defeated the refunding | provision by simply saying *“Mr. Chair- | man, T object to the consideration of that | bill,” I presume he will withdraw his de- | duction when he discovers that he has been imposed upon concerning the facts. | His suggestion that ‘a drunken man | er of his party” I must, of course, pass without notice. | Again, Mr. Gage, referring to me, says: “He may not have said, as the Republl- | can platform declares he did, that the | taking of Spanish ships by American sail- | ors was an act of piracy, but he did this— the contrary, such Democrats as General Lee and General Wheeler, who have nobly borne their part in the battles for the nation, have been foremost in re- futing the slanders. At present the ocherous editors have it all to themselyes, and they only are to be con- demned by an indignant public. It must be remembered, however, that we are on the eve of a ; olitical. campaign whose genuine issues afford no resdy topics for the professional agitator, the calamity howler and the venomous copperhead. To these classes of stump orators the stories started by the yellow fakers will be as acceptable as a gift from the devil himself, and before long we may ex- pect to hear them ringing from every platform around which can be gathered a rabble to listen to them. TRAVELING LIBRARIES AGAIN. OW that the time is approaching for the elec- N tion of a new Legislature all persons who are interested in the advancement of the general culture of the State can with advantage press upon the attention of legislative candidates the importance of enacting a law which will permit the use of the State library in providing for California a traveling library system similar to that which has accom- plished so much good in New York and other pro- gressive States of the East. To establish and maintain such a system will not entail any considerable expenditure on the part of the State, while it will confer a great benefit upon all sections, and particularly upon those where no pub- lic library exists. At present the volumes in the State library are of very little use to any one, and of no use at all to the great majority who are taxed | to sustain the institution. By providing for traveling libraries a considerable proportion of these volumes now unused could be put into general circulation and made available for the reading and the study of the great masses of the people. As has been repeatedly pointed out by The Call, the operation of the system is simple. A number of beoks useful for reading and study by those persons who wish something better than the cheap novels that are now so plentiful could be classified by the State library trustees into sets containing anywhere from twenty-five to onme hundred volumes.. These sets would be sent to any part of the State where three or more taxpayers would guarantee the freight charges and be respensible for the safe-keeping of the books. When a set had been read in one locality it would be passed on to another, and thus the expense of shipping would be very little. Traveling libraries, it must be borne in mind, have passed beyond the experimental stage. They have been in active operation in several Eastern States for a number of years, and the success achieved has been remarkable. The trustees of our library could ob- tain from the East abundant information concerning every detail of the working of the system and learn exactly how to put it into operation here without running the least risk of losing the boaks or involv- ing the State in heavy expense. Until the Legislature so authorizes the State li- brary cannot be used for the proposed purpose. It is for that reason that advocates of the system and all who wish to give the whole people a fair and free use of the books bought with their money should at once impress upon all candidates for the Senate or the Assembly the expediency of enacting the required lcgislation this winter. '{’hc question is one of considerable importancs, for owing to the widely scattered condition of the popu- lation there are thousands of cultured Californians who are out of reach of a public library, and it is but jug\ice to expand and extend that at Sacramento so that they may profit by its volumes, — . Correspondents seem to have absorbed the notion that the world is wrapped in anxiety as to the divorce of old General Clay, But it isn't . . he stood there In Congress talking andl » | for nomination was duly sometimes has better sense than the lead- | fi MAGUIRE CRITICIZES GAGE. voting along lines opposite to those from which American bullets ‘were flying. That s a serious statement which Mr. Gage should be able to substantiate by producing or referring to the Congression- al Record. It is sufficiently serious to justify if not to require him to quote the | language used by me in talking along lines “opposite to those from which American bullets were flying,” and to re- fer specifically to the votes which he says were cast along those lines. Mr. Gage has been deceived in this mat- ter. Evidently he does not examine the Congressional Record himself. He further says that I ‘voted against the revenue bill.” That is true. The rev- enue bill imposed substantially the entire | burden of the war upon the poor, and | comparatively poor, people of our coun-| try. I opposed not the raising of revenue, as he intimates, but the Republican meth- od of raising revenue, which involved the exemption of the accumulated wealth and | great. incomes of the country from taxa- | tion while imposing the burden of the war upon the poor. 7 Again, still referring to me, he says: “He voted against the bill that was to prov.ue our sallors and our soldiers with drugs, with clothing and with general sustenance.” T trust that he will in his next speech designate the bill to which he refers and the record of my vote against it. I say to him that in this at- ter also he has been firnssl)’ deceived; | that I voted for every bill providing for | food, clothing, medicine and all other | supplies for our sailors and soldiers. I further say that, by the votes of the Democrats, Republicans and Populists in Congress, ample provision was made for | supplying our soldlers and sailors with all these things in abundance, and that, in so far as they have suffered for lack of these things, it has been due to mal- administration or to inefficient adminis- tration. He charges me with responsibility in some measure with the Cleveland -bond issue of two hundred and sixty-two mil- lion dollars. If he will examine the rec- ord he will discover that I denounced that | bond issue and denounced the method adopted for the sale of the bonds. And I reiterate the statement that, in my opinion, the recent Republican bond is- sue was unnecessary, and could not have become necessary before the next session of the present Congress when, if the war continued, it might or might not be nec- essary to issue the bonds. Bonds have been sold to the amount of 200,000,000 within the last sixty days; and it will be found, when Congress assem- blés in December next, that there will be an avallable surplus in the Treasury of nearly, if not quite, $300,000,000, with the ower vested in the President tp ralse ?100.000.000 additional on temporary certifi- cates drawn against the revenue expected during the present fiscal year from the war tax. Mr. Gage complains of my statement to the effect that the late Republican State convention was dominated by rallroad in- fluence, and asks upon what authority I make that statement. I made the state- ment largely upon observation; upon the reported notorious liberality of the rail- road company with respect to the trans- portation of delegates and others to at- tend the convention; upon the statements maue by leading Republican newspapers of California (notably the San Francisco Call) during the three weeks preceding the meeting of the convention upon the fact that every person known to be the choice of the Southern Pacific Company nominated by the convention and upon the fact that the entire Republican State ticket, includ- ing all candidates for State offices, all candidates for the offices of Railroad Commissioner, members of the Board of Equalization and Representative in Con- gress was selected and publicly announced before the convention had considered the nomination of any candidate for any of- ce. If Mr. Gage will look to the columns of the San Francisco Call of August 24, 1898 (published early on that morning and long before the convention had considered any candidate for office), he will find the en- tire ticket, as afterward nominated, duly published. Where did The Call get the ticket? JAMES G. MAGUIRE. THE TSUNG: [ -MAMEN. The average newspaper reader who reads a good deal of heated inter- views between foreign envoys and the Tsung Li Yamen may be excused if he feels slightly mystified as to the nature of the latter body with its outlandish name. The Tsung L! Yamen is, in fact, the Chinese Foreign Office. gone by the Chinese Emperor (or the In times “Son of Heaven,” as he calls himself) scorned to receive the foreign Ministers (or “outer barbarians”), and all matters relating to other countries were handed over to Li Yan Yuen, a de- partment of the Ministry of Kites, which dealt with dependent and tribu- tary nations, the pleasant Chinese theory being that all foreign people are subjects of the great Emperor. But the joint Anglo-French expedition of 1861 rather upset this idea of imperial dignity, and a special foreign board (the Tsung Li Yamen) was established as a medium between the started off with three members, the Kung, a younger brother of the then members were added, and in 1869 the sovereign and western states. It chief of whom was the famous Prince reigning Emperor; in 1862 four more number was raised to ten, while in more recent times it has varied between eight and twelve. No one knows on what principles the members are selected, and being chosen from the War Office, the ceremonial and even the criminal depart- ments, they display a delightful ignorance of their own especial line business. mixed up in their mind. late war they were firm on the point of According to one writer, Austria and Holland are hopelessly They had never heard of Tunis, and as for their that only their freedom from the rail- way pest had saved Peking from capture. Their methods of transacting important diplomatic business knock the “new diplomacy” into a cocked hat. The; sweetmeats, while attendants hand roun matic “devils,” and any other visitors who may care to drop in. sit around a table loaded with cups of tea to the foreign diplo- Then there are secretaries and attendants and pipe bearers; and at this splendid free-and-easy the diplomatic situation is discussed. The foreign Minister is invited to argue the whole matter out with the board, and then tremendous discussion takes place, which is largely a mat- ter of lung power and physical endurance, for al the Tsung Li Yamen g0 at him at the same time (all speaking in good condition it’s a hopeless case together), and if the foreigner is not for him altogether. The board never makes a decision if it can possibly help it. It will argue your head off if you like, but no resolution, if you please. Everbody is anxious to put the responsibility on everybody else, and bent on putting off his final day of judgment to as remote a period as possible. “To get a de- cision from the Tsung Li Yamen,” said one unhappy diplomatist, ‘s like trying to draw water from a well with a bottomless bucket.” Between the foreign devils and the deep sea of imperial displeasure the poor old Tsung Li Yamen must be having a warm time at the present mo- ment. I stould not forget to say that they occasionally go out visiting the foreign envoys, but it will go hard with them if the patriotic small boy catches them at the game; mud and stones m!:e sent fi;:“hn‘;e:.: them in awkward quantities. But every year they give an at their official residence to all the diplomatie corps. annual banquet E. AROUND THE CORRIDORS. | Dr. A. Tilzer of Portland is at the Bald- win. L. R. Vance of Vallejo is at the Occl- dental. U. 8. Grant Jr. of San Diego is at the Palace. Dunning Rideout of Marysville is at the Palace. J. L. Sperry of Calaveras is at the Oc- cldental. D. E. Blackburn of Paso Robles is at the Grand. E. Biggs, a banker, of Gridley, is at the Grand. Judge C. F. Lott, ex-Judge of Oroville, is at the Lick. ‘H. W. Crabb of Oakville, Napa County, is at the Baldwin. Fred Mason, a business man, of Sac- ramento, 18 at the Grand. Rev. Silas. P. Perry and wife of Hono- lulu are at the Occldental. John 8. Mosby Jr., & son of the famous guerrilla fighter, is at the Occidental. Alexander and Robert McGraw, mer- chants of Philadelphia, are at the Pal- ace. J. H. McDowney of. Sandon, B. C,, ar- rived in this city yesterday on his way to Honolulu. * G. Woodward and B. J. Mezler, bank- ers, and Willlam H. McKenzie, a mining man, of Fresno, are at the Lick. Epes Winthrop Sargent (Chicot), the well-known critic of the New York Dally Telegraph, is here on a visit combining business and pleasure. NEWS OF FOREIGN 'NAVIES. Japan has ordered five torpedo-boat destroyers of 360 tons and 31 knots speed, to be built by Yarrow at Poplar, England. The mortality in the British navy dur- ing 1897 was remarkably low. The total strength afloat, embracing officers, blue- Jackets and marines, was 83,274, of ‘which 45 were drowned, 61 perished from other accldents and 316 died from sickness. The Ariel, torpedo-boat destro; tons, bullt by Thorneycroft, y;;sorhiog three hours’ trial on August 9. In con- formity to the custom of steam trials in the British navy the vessel was flying over elght Inches light, and with 5650 horse- power made an average of 29. gkl B 29.92 knots per Oil fuel was used at sea f time in the British navy an;ntheex:erxgE mental cruise of the new torpedo-boat destroyer Surey last month. Two boilers were fired with oil fuel and two with coal, but the trial was aisappointing in giving only 14 knots speed when 16 knots was expected. The experiment, however, will not be abandoned. The great firm of Schnelder & Co. at Creusot, France, is almost as important to the ‘Government as a couple of the regular dockyards. Since 1839 the firm bas built about 170 marine engines for war vessels and 110 engines for merchant ships on ocean, lakes and rivers. The first engine was for the corvette Pluton of 660 horsepower, and it has now in hand the emweines of 19,600 horsepower for the armored cruiser Dupetit Thiers. The Neptune Salvage Company of Stockholm has entered into a pconytract with the Russian Government to raise the turret-ship Gassgoot, which sank in the bay of Bothnia last year. The ship lies on her side in ninety-six feet of water, imbedded in twenty feet of mud. For the successful raising of the ship the con- tractors are to recelve $712,000, and in the event of faflure the Russlan Govern- ment agrees to pay $200,000 for the ef- forts made. The London Engineer of August 12, in a review of the battle of Santiago, ex- presses the opinion that “the Spaniard had not a chance.” This is somewhat at variance with its comparative tables last April of the Spanish and American navies. The Engineer then proved, to its owx satisfaction, that the Spanish navy ) Montgomery street, San Francisc. was superior to the American in speed and power of guns, but since the battle re- ferred to has proved the contrary to be the facts, the Engineer disposes of tha subject by asserting that “the Spantards had not a chance.”” The British cruiser Vindictive, built at Chatham, had her full power trial of eight hours on August 6. The ship was five inches light and made a speed, by log, ¥ 20.1 knots, the engines developing 10,262 horsepower. The Vindictive of 5300 . tons and three others also built at dock-. yards during 1896-98 somewhat resemble the United States steamer Olympia -in so far as relates to size, but the British: cruisers are far inferfor to the American in speed and armament. The Olympia has developed 17,363 horsepower and ‘& speed of 21.69 knots, and her armament of four 8-inch and ten 5-inch quick firers T the main battery is twice as efficient as the Vindictive type carrying four 6-inch: and six 4-7-inch quick firl. guns. The French Minister of Marine, Mr: Lockroy, has determined to carry into effect certain reforms essential to the usefulness of the navy. Being a clvillan he is, of course, greatly hampered - in carrying out his plans, for the legions of official functionaries constituting the bureaucracy is content to let things go as they are and always have been going; but the younger naval officers are heart and soul with Mr. Lockroy. Experiences of the recent Spanish-American war wil be taken advantage of, among which are the elimination of Interior woodwork in ships and a departure in torpedo-boat building by adopting the American style and size of 120 to 160 tons, instead of the 86-ton type, which is entirely useless {n - rough water. The squadrons in the Pa- cific and China waters are now composed .. of vessels little superior to the Spanish fleet which Dewev so easily destroyed, and more modern and efficient ships will be sent out to these stations, without which the French colonies in Asia would be practically defenseless. ANSWERS TO C?)BRESPONDENT& OLD BLACK EAGLE—L A., Oakland, Cal. It was General John A. Logan who was called “That grand old black eagle of Illinois.” A DIME—Mrs. A. M. McN,, City. A dime of 1831 has a selling price of from 25 to 50 cents, No premium is offered for such a coin. TREATIES—C. N. F., City. All treaties in which the United States have an inter- est must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. ONE OF 1822—Mrs. §. A. M., Cornwali, Cal. A half dollar of 1822 is worth, ac- cording to seller’s price, from 85 cents to il 10, buht no premium is offered by dealers ‘or such. VIRUS—X. V. X., Adin, Cal. By ad- dressing a letter to the secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, Melbourne, Aus- tralia, you will pe able to obtain infor- gha;lcn about the virus used upon rab- INQUISITION—P. J., City. If you will g0 to the Free Public Library the at- tendants there will furnish you with any number of books that will give you all the information you seek about the In- quisition. LOST HEIRS—Reno. This department does not advertise firms in London that are engaged In looking up lost heirs. I you address a communication to the British Consulate in San Franecisco, you ;r}]‘ay obtain the desired information from ere. P EXAMINATION PAPERS-F. W. C, Groveland, Cal. For information as to percentage required for examination for | admission to the United States Naval | Academy at Annapolis, and for examina- tion papers, address a communication to the superintendent of the academy. COUSBINS,CANNOT MARRY-D. H. B, City. The marriage of first cousins fs forbldden by law_in Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Mon- tana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Norta Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. SUICIDES' GRAVES—S., City. At one time suicides were buried at cross roads and a stake was driven through the body. The stake was of willow, which grows rapidly, and would therefore more surely mark the spot. That is the reason glven for willows growing at suicides’ graves. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT—Miss J. C., Clement, Cal. Capital punishment has been abolished in the States of Michi- gan, Wisconsin, - Rhode Isiand, Maine and Colorado. The reason of the abolishment of capital punishment is that it is believed that life imprisonment is a punishment that is more dreaded than hanging and will prove more of a deter- rent to those who contemplate the com- mission of a high crime. The argument is also advanced by the friends of the abolishment of capital punishment that it has occurred that innocent individuals have been hanged, and that it is to avoid the possibility of such mistakes that im- prisonment should be substituted, be- cause If it should be discovered that the individual has been convicted but was in- nocent, he could be released and ' com- pensated for his sufferings. The effect of the abolition of capital punishment as to crime is not yet decided enough to prove that such a course is advisable or un- advisable. I AM DYING, EGYPT, DYING— Elaine, Elk, Mendocino County, Cal. It was Willilam Haynes Lytle, born in Cin- cinnatti, Ohio, in 1826, who wrote the touching poem, “I Am Dying, Egypt, Dy- ing.” The words of the title of ge poem are from “Antony and Cleopatra,” act 4, scene 13, and are spoken by Antony, who says: 1 am dying, Egypt, dyin| Glve me some wine and little. Lytle was one of a number of brilllant young writers whose early ambition was to build up a school of Western litera- ture. On the breaking out of the eivil war Lytle went into the army, serving as a colonel in Western Virginia in 186L In October, 1862, he was wounded at Per- ryville, Ky., and was promoted for gal- lant services. He was killed at the bat- tle of Chickamauga September 20, 1863. It is thought that the poem was suggested by having seen Booth in “Antony and Cleopatra.” The following was told by John M. Balthes of Clifton, Ill., who was once a townsman of General Lytle in Zanesville, Ohio. In a letter to a fellow- soldier he wrote: *“I send you the ac- companying beautiful lines, written by General Lytle in the middle of the night, just before the next day’s battle in which he lost his life. The general being strong- ly impressed, or having a premonition t{at he should lose his life in the battle that was soon to begin, sat absorbed and alone in his tent, when an officer coming in admonished him that he needed rest before the serious business planned for the next day. Thereupon General Lytle handed him these verses, remarking that would be the last he should ever write.” Fe't me speak & Cal. glace fruit 50c per 1b at Townsend's.® ———— You will find the latest things in ‘wall paper at Clark’s, 653 Market street. * —— Going out of business, finest eye glasses fitted Tic to 40c. & Fo out for number. e et dook, Special informatie business houses an%n pl!l% nu:an“bn’tht: Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont~ gomery street. Telephone Main' 1042, *® —_——— First and Second Class rates again reduced via the Santa route. Call at the new ticket office, 628 lllnz — An Ttaliar doctor has discovered there is in the common pineapple a :232 Dineapple 15 sunfeiit. 15 dlget 308 S 8 ent 0" pounds of beef. gost_ ten “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing steamship, including fifteen days’ tel; longer stay §2 50