The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 2, 1898, Page 6

THE SAN OCTOBER 2, 1898, JOHN D. SPRECKELS Propnetor Adire:s All_ Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager, PUK' IGATIOV OFFICE .Murkt\ und Thlrd Sts, S. F Telephone Main 1868 EDRITORIAL ROOMS.. ....2IT to 221 Stevenson Street | Telephone Main 1874 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) Is served by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns for i5 cents @ week. By mail $6 per year: per month €5 cents. THE WEEKLY CALL One year, by mall, $1.50 | OAKLAND OFFICE.. -908 Broadway NEW YORX OFFICE.........Room 188, Worid Building | DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Represcntative. WASHINGTON (D. ¢.) OFFICE....... --Riggs House €. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. | CHICAGO OFFICE v ....Marquette Buildlag C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Represcntative. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Moptgomery street, corner Clay, epen untll 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, open until | 9:30 c'clock. 621 McAllister street, open untll 9:30 | o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. iS41 Mission street. open until 10 o'clock. 2291 Market | etreet, corner Sixteenth, open untll 9 o'clock. 258 | Mission street. open untll 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventb | street, cpen until 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk street, open | untll 930 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock, P Al e 1| AM MENTS “An Enemy to the King."” Qliver Twist.” In Mizzoura “rilby 20 and Juliet. vhat Happened to Jones.” auaeville. and the Zoo. Maso; hs—Swimmin, gleside Coursing Park. all this afternoon. Hall-Hother Wismer, Violinist, Thursday saturday, October 15. bruary Central Park— Rosenthal AUCTION SALES. October 5, Works of | By Easton, E THD-m. . Art, at Maple Roos TO RUIN MARKET STREET. HE CALL of yesterday published the outlines Tu. a proposed scheme for providing the hgl\llng! Market street without expense to the city. In | briei, the plan involves letting the Market Street | Company erect poles in the center of the thorough- “ fare for the operation of an overhead trolley line; in return, the company to surmount the poles with lights, these to be maintained at its expense. In other words, San Francisco is to permit and | perpetuate the overhead trolley where it should not | be allowed for an instant, is to ruin the great street in which it is beginning to take renewed pride. Hav- ing made a sacrifice so vast that it could not be com- puted in money, having fixed a blot and menace of live wire overhead, having marred the aspect of the street above and below, destroyed its beauty and cur- tailed its usefulness by a row of hideous iron poles, citizens are to be asked each one a separate peril, to- think they have paid no price for the illumination such as is to be shed over a mutilated Market street! It is.a cunning scheme, but it won’t work. There must néver-be an overhead trolley line on -Market street. The best system is one which operates | by underground wires, and on a crowded thorough- . fare the overhead style, since a better one is known and is in successful use, should be regarded as out of date. There is no reason-for allowing the Market Street Company to spoil the ‘property along which - it has'a double line of cable tracks. When the time shdll come for-a change to electricity, let it use the conduits. it already- has to place the wires where they cannot impede; maim,-slay nor spoil the outlook. The. poles. constitute as grave an objection. - The " proposition-to despoil Market street of -its stately | width by dividing it into two strips. with ‘a row.of poles between is ridiculous ffom an.artistic’ stand- | point, and dangerous from a-practical one. ~With | such obstacles in the road.accidents to horses and | .vehicles would be continuous, while many a passenger ‘hastily leaving a car would be dazed by ‘sudden con- | taét with a castiron monument to the ca<nron nerve of the Southern Pacific. We advise Mr. Hewitt, who - waxes : enthusiastic‘ over the foolish notion, to take counsel of his better | judgment. People are not improving Market . street for the purpose of ruining it later for the benefit of any corporation. There will never be there an over- | head trolley line. - The privilege could mot-be pur- {chased, and the city is not to be cajoled out of it by plauslble talk. QJ" Costley versus the Wells-Fargo Express Com- pany is published in another column"this morn- ing and will be found profitable reading for all ‘who -have been compelled by the company to pay the war 1 révenue tax upon merchandise’ shipped through their | express.. “ Justice Barry decides that the company it- | self must pay the tax, and thereby sustains thie posi tion taken by Mr. Costléy and gwes ;udgment in h) 3 favor. o) The vu:tory thus gained hy Mr. Cosfley is a2 vie- tofy for the. community at large. It is-a complete vindication of the course of The Call in the fight it : has made against the unjust demands of the express | company. upon the public. - Eyery contention of The Call i in .the contest has beeri-sustained. The company has never had any right to shlrk the burden of taxa- tion from- itself to :the ‘general: public, and. in doing | so has been vnolatmg the 1a v-as well as’ mtposmg\ upon :ts patrons;’ 5 The decision of Justice' Barry i§_in Tine* with all’ precedents in the case. When the quéstion was first JUSTICE BARRY’ S DECISION: USTICE BARRY'S decision in the case "of | kinds of property. i-shall * raised. by the attempt of the express companies of the | East to shirk their taxes; the Attorney-Gereral. ren- | dered an opinion adverse to the claims of the corper- ations. Since then Judge “Tuley of. C]ucago has also | b ¢onstrued ‘the law against them. In fact thé e‘(press' companies have neither precedent nor.authority. to, sustain them in. their practice of extortion npbn the pubhc and all the money they have gained ‘in .this way has been acquired by what .is but little Detter in | practice and no better in ‘morals than petty larceny. - It is one thing for the peoplé to know their rights’ * and another to maintain them. Many persons submit | to petty impositions and extortions on the part of | powerful corporations rather than to take the risks of fighting them. Every citizen, thereforé, who makes a contest for the right deserves the most cordial com: mendation from his fellow citizens. Mr, Costley ‘has .mérited something more than words of congratula- tion this morning. He has madé a good fight for the public, and, thanks to the unswerving judicial hon- esty of Justice Barry, which was not to be shaken by the fear of a powerful corporation, he has won a vic- . tory that will be of benefit to the whole community. “tracted discussion of them. WILL MAGUIRE EXPLAIN? HEN called to meet the chiarge that land con- fiscation by single tax is put in issue by his candidacy, Judge Maguire said that only 12} per cent of the land in this State now belongs to farmers and that they pay 30 per.cent of the taxes, while under the single tax they would pay only 10 per cent of the taxes, because the exemption of their improvements would amount to vastly more than the increased tax on their land. The State Board of Equalization from time to time issues a report of the assessment of the various The last of these reports at hand is that for 1804, which we use in considering Judge Maguire's defense of land confiscation by single tax. By that report the value of country real estate was $304.002,357. and of city and town real estate $320,481,523. ; The value of improvements on country real estate was $62,022,145; on city and town real estate $181,- 801,026 The values of country real estate and im- provements and city real estate and improvements, then, compare as follows: $320,481,523 ity real estat City real estate 151891926 City real estate i \provements Total Country real estate .. | Country real estate imp $394,902,357 #62,922,146 Total $457,824,602 It will be seen, then, that city real estate and its improvements pay on-an assessment exceeding that of country real estate and improvements by $44,548,- 047, and it will be seen, too, that Maguire’s statement that 1214 per cent of country land pays 50 per cent of all the taxes is obviously false, since country realty and its improvements together is assessed $44,548,047 less than city real estate and its improvements, and the State tax borne by each is levied equally, the same number of cents to the dollar on their valuation. When it comes to the taxation of towns and cities, their real estate and its improvements have to bear the State and county tax the same as country prop- erty, hut must carry on top of that also the city or town tax, which frequently amounts to more than both the others. This fact adds more to the falsity of Maguire's statement that 12} per cent of the land belonging to farmers pays 50 per cent of all the tax, since the farm land does not participate in city and town taxation at all. Now let us see how the farmer will stand when Maguire’s land confiscation is accomplished and all improvements on real estate and all personal property are exempted from taxation. The improvements and personal property assessment was as follows: 3 GZ 922,145 ,891,926 Improvements of country real estate. Improvements of city: real estate Personal property Total ..... Hence: the tax $407,917,111 formcrly borne by $407,917,111 of property will be lifted from" it and dropped upon the land.: When' this is- done; the farmers ‘will have es- caped tax on their $62,922,145 of improvements, but the city real estate owners will have escaped tax on their $181,801,026 of improvements. = Of the personal property, one-third .is in the country and two-thirds is in the towns and cities: ~ The tax exemptions will compare as follows: COUNTRY OWNERS. Exempt improvements = Exempt personal property .$ 62,922,145 54,552,025 Total .. .$117,474,170 H CITY OWNERS. Exempt ‘improvements .... Exempt personal property .$181,891,026 109,104,050 Total .. 3290 995,976 When all this is done the whole tax will be leit to fall on land, and: it will fall hardest on country. land, as shown by the assessment: Country real estate ... .$394,902,357 City and town real estate. . 320,481,523 With the improvements and. personal. property ex- empted the State levy. for 1804 would have been over 70 cenits on the hundred to raise the required sum of $5.511,634, so that-thie country real estate .would have paid ‘over three millions in State taxes and city real estate only abotit two millions. confiscated by the single tax the former will pay only 10 per cent of the taxes’is just as false as that he pays 50 per cent now, for at the existing assessment coun- try. land will pay more State tax than it pays now. It will now be in order for Judge Maguire to make a lightning change by showing the farmers how he is going to stick the city land-owners for go per ccn( of all the taxes. AN ULTIMATUM NEEDED PAIN, accordmg to the reports that come from Europe, is not yet aware that she has "been .'thoroughly beaten in war. She does not recog- nize ‘that the United States has the power to dictate | the terms on which peace shall be established. Her Commissioners at the peace conference have been in- structed to make claims of such a nature it is clear the American Commissioners cannot agree to them, and the ineyitable inference is that her officials hope to prolong the negofiations indefinitely for some _puzpose not fully understood. According to the reports the Spanish Commis- sioners will- maintain that the United States have not conquercd the Philippines and can rightly demand there no!hmg beyond a port and a coaling station; that if -Spain ‘has to, withdraw her sovereignty from the’ islands she will insist on her nght to sell all ex- cept the-territory now in our military possession; that in all territory surrendered’ by Spain there shall be granted special tariff privileges to Spanish textiles; that the power whose sovereignty prevails at Manila ssunic the entire Philippine debt, and that the entire Cuban debt prior to the last revolt shall be | imposed utpon Cba. - "While .there. are . grave "reasons’ why the United States should avoid the annexation of the Philippines, the: Spanish Govérnment cannot ‘be permitted to de- termine. the issues for us. Nor if we should decide to retain-Manila ‘and the district around the bay of that port, can.we agree to pay for it by relieving Spain of the” whole Philippine. debt and taking it upon our- selves, Neither can we consent to impose upon the Cubans the debts the Spaniards have contracted in bygone wars to defray the cost of their attempts to conquer the people. . With such reports coming from Europe of the na- ture of the Spanish claims and the attitude of the Spanish Government, it is not surprising the Presi- dent continues to hold the army and thdnavy in readiness for the resumption of hostilities. We can- not ‘consent te negotiate on the basis of claims so unreasonable, nor can we engage in a long and pro- There will be needed at the Parie conference an ultimatum. The business ought to be settled in time for peace to be declared before Thanksgiving day, and from the firmness which has thus far been displayed by the President there is every reason to believe it will be. One bad feature of the forest fires now raging in various States is that most of them were started as the direct result of criminal negligence. - - -1t will be seen, then; that Judge Maguire's statement that when. land. is |. SUPERVISOR -LACKMANN. FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY OHN_ LACK'M-ANN, Republican candidate for 'QJ Supervisor from the Sixth Ward, occupies an enviable position in the politics of this city. Not only has he been renominated by his own party Swith a unanimity that is remarkable, but even Boss Phelan’s job-chasers have been compelled to recog- nize hi§ public services and indorse him. This latter action was taken by the Mayor's -men for seli~ laudatory purposes; that is to say, Phelan - thinks his indorsement of Lackmann will prove conclusively that in bossing the Committee of One Hungdred he is governed by one motive only—the public weal. In order to make this point he gives away a place on his Supervisorial ticket which he could not have won for a personal friend under any circnmstances. We know of no case in the history of San Fran- cisco exactly parallel to that of Supervisor Lack- mann. He will have no opposition in his ward, and will be practically unanimously elected. Sometimes we hear of the politicians in Eastern States indorsing candidates for Judges who do not belong to theit party, and often in this State weak men have been nominated against popular men on opposing tickets: but Mr. Lackmann is the first public official who has in city or State received the compliment of a nomina- tion by all parties for a desirable office. This fact is important in view of the circumstance that Supervisor Lackmann is a Republican and the creation of the Republican party. His record in the Board of Supervisors shows that in political matters he is a partisan and believes that Republican prin- ciples ought to control in government. He has not supported Mayor Phelan’s administration in every- thing, though in most matters he has acted with that official. The statement of Phelan’s committee on Super- visors, therefore, that they have indorsed him because he has supported the Mayor’s job-chasing band of patriots during the past two years, is untenable. The real motive of Lackmann’s indorsement was to steal from the Republican party a good official, one whose record shows that if a Republican Board of Super- visors is elected this year there will be an end of the boodling and chicanery which has made a majority of the present board—every one of whom was named by Mayor Phelan—odious to the public. But this theft must not be allowed. John Lackmann is a Republican, and the credit for the record which assured his re-election under any and all circum- stances belongs to him and his party. Phelan can- not steal a scrap of it. His job-chasers must stand upon their own records. Last year when the Mayor ousted the Shifty Eight he hesitated to appoint Lack- mann to the new board. ‘At that time he was averse to rewarding a faithful Republican and making politi- cal capital for 2 man ‘who might some time beat ‘a Democrat for office. It was only after,much pressure had been exerted that Lackmann's appointment was assured. Now, however, when his own fortunes are at stake, the little boss is ready to steal the Supervisor from the Republican party: But he cannot do it. e GETTING TO WORK AT ONCE. NLESS something unforeseen intervenes, Chief UEnginecr Story of -the San Francisco: and San Joaquin Valley Railroad will set out during the coming week to inspect the territory through which the projected line from Bakersfield to. Los Angeles will pass. "It is expected this preliminary work will be completed in about two weeks, and immediately thereafter a corps of surveyors will take the field to survey- the route. It will be seen from this thefe is to. he no delay in pushing forward the line that is to connect the Val- léy Road:with the railroad system of the southern part of the State, thus providing a’ transcontinental road to break the Southern Pacific ‘monopoly and give to the-industries and the trade of the State the advantages that accfue from competitive transporta- tion facilities. It may. be rcgarded as assured that the rapid work . dohe in ‘constructing the -road !hrough the San’ Joaquin: will be duplicated ‘in the new enter- prise as far as the conditions of the country will per- mit, and that the:day. of Cahformas emancipation from: railroad domination ‘is at hand.. ¥ Maguire and. his allied demagogues of the stump and the press are wise in making-as much as they can out of the anti-railroad sentiment: of the people-at this. ‘juncture. With the completion of the connecting line from Bakersfield the Southern Pacific monopoly will be a thing of the past, and will no longer be an issue in politics any more than an oppression in business. What the politicians failed to achieve after years of | talking and speech-making will have been accom- plished by a company of business men, and the long-’ wished-for new’ era will be at hand. In the méantime, while preparations for the sur- vey of the line to Los Angeles are being made, the work of constructing the extension of the Valley Road itself from Stockton to Point Richmond is goiné briskly forward. Energy is the order of the day and is rapidly working out the salvation of the State. . e e e 5 Over in China when an official is suspected of plotting against the throne his head is cut off. - Six underwent -this rigorous treatment the other day. The dispatch adds, naively, “there is no excitenient.” Evidently the Chinese do not go into hystérics over trifles. According to the showing of. Pullman earnings that benign corporation will soon be able to pay its ‘own employes and not force them *o depend upon the tip of the traveler who has alréady been charged more than the accommodations furnished are worth. R A If Aguinaldo’s forces have been engaged in the massacre of women and children there does not seem anything in the way of holding him responsible, and with a firing squad eliminating him from a suuatwn whu:h his presence renders complex. —_— General Shafter is wasting his breath in denounc- ing the yellow journals which have abused him. The fact that they were lying had already been recognized, 4nd decent papers had gone so far as to remark to this effect. Perhaps the Emperor of China committed suicide, but from the way the old lady who rules in his stead is acting, it would not be beyond her to have stabbed him with a hatpin. General Wood, as Military Governor of Santiago, has accomplished wonders. army life he ought to be able to get a good job as Mayor somewhere. Opponents of capital punishment would have hard work to deal with the Folsom convict already serv- ing a term of fifty years, who has just commltted murder. Doubtless Widber is handicapped somewhat in the establishment of his innocence by the fact that at fi-st, without reservation, he proclaime. his own guilt, If N.c'w York Remocrats have any more nomina- tions to make they should bear in mind that the sup- ply of Van Wycks has not been exhausted. 5 When he gets tired of | UR-F- R Because a student of Madison, Wis., has committed suicide, a ‘boon com- panion not long ago having ‘done the same thing, the conclusion is jumped to.by some observers that the young men belonged to a suicide club. “To asperse the dead is meither fair mor profitable. Nobody but a fool ever be- longed to such an organization, and these young men seem to have been sensible up to the time they grew tired of living. ‘I am not prepared to say they were not sensible even then. But for a man to agree that on a certain date he will kill himself is for him to confess to a pernicious brand of idiocy. Not that I would discourage him or in any manner interfere with his plans, save perhaps to urge him to make the date less remote. . Unhappily I am not a critic of the drama. When I have essayed to be candid friends have advised me to try something else. But I can appreciate any writer who is eapable of being one and therefore my hat is off to the star of the Bulletin. The most an ordinary Journalist can do in this connection is to quote. Far be it from me to as- sume to comment adversely, and I am conscious that words of praise must be all too faint. In setting forth the suc- cess of “An Enemy to the King” this star says: ‘“The sun dial scene, with the faint, half dreary song of the fal- sity of woman’s dove lulling it into poetry, is indescribably pretty.” I cer- tainly should think so; more than pretty, unique. A sun dial scene lulled into poetry is nothing less than a daisy. The half dreary song of the falsity of woman’s love would naturally be ef- fective, and if a sun dial scene hap- pened to be in the way it could not hope to escape. Of course the Bulletin star noted the effect, but few could have so fortuitously expressed it. There is nothing left to be desired except some more of the same kind. A little farther down in the criticism it may be noted that Blanche Bates has been ‘‘capitalized.” The amount is not stat- ed, nor the size and frequency of the dividends, but these are mere details. I refrain from reproducing other of the gems. This is an unappreciative world. If T knew how I would write a faint, half dreary song on the subject. T e o A Texas minister has just been sen- tenced to death for having poisoned his wife. He was not only tired of her but in love with somebody else. Of course he is disturbed somewhat at the prospect of being hanged, but he ought to be able to find a text in the circum- stance. . A news item sets forth that the six children of Eugene Paris, a man of wealth, have been sent away to rela- tives because he refused to support them, and that he would not even con- tribute to -the expense of their going. Paris strikes me as an unnatural beast. It seems strange if the law. is unable to get hold of such a man and wring from him the sum due his offspring and to society. If there ' were whipping posts he should be lashed. In the: ab- sence of such corrective, he belongs in Jail, 'where he " deserves to perform hard labor, while his property becomes confiscate. & Somebody writing in the C€alifornian accuses me of scratching. the back of a contemporary writer. - Perhaps the ac- cusation is just although the figure is not -artistic. . "* has been my joy to scratch other backs so deeply that the scars remain. ¢ . Wit There. Is & magasine published at Portland and known, slightly, as “The ‘World’s® Advance: Thought.” It isia puzzle magazine, the problem being’as to.what the thing.is for, and no- prize for solution. A" marked copy has been sent to me, Tam not prepared to thank the sender, .but will. thank _him or her nol to dD ll agalnA #o0 Rt The papers staté that Rev. J. Q. A. Henry has gone slumming in Chicago. with intent to ferret out the evil there and crush it under his holy heel. I have no. doubt he will ferret, but as ‘to the crushing, lack faith. Henry was once in our midst and slum-gulling was his favorite pastime. Beyond such per- sonal enjoyment as he may have ac- quired, I never heard that the process did any good. In fact, it is my-humble opinion that the people who go nosing about in the slums are hypocrites when they pretend to be inspired by a lofty purpose. There is no doubt as to what ‘the slums are, and there is no excuse for a minister of the gospel. prowling among them.. o e An industrious- gentleman named Lambert is under arrest on the charge of counterfeiting. He pleads that pov- erty drove him to it. When a man gets so hungry that he cannot buy bread it i1s much simpler to purchase an ex- pensive lot of dies and the necessary metal, and his plea goes at once to the heart. T trust the courts will be lenient and not prescribe- a longer term for Lambert than the statutes provide. While a doctor is ln a hos_mtal in Chi- cago suffering from hydrophobia there is an excellent opportunity for other doctors to come forward with the the- ory that there is no such malady. Then will it be a joke on the pa.tlenl to die of it. oot At this writing the seductive Mrs. Al- lison is in jail, which seems to be an excellent place for her. She is the per- son who, by advertising her own charms, which included a sum of $35,- 000, never yet seen of man, induced suckers of various degree to propose marriage to her. But while the Al- lison person decorates the interior of a prison cell her victims are at large, subject to the danger of being bitten by cows. It seems but just that they should be allowed to take advantage of the fact that the State has thought- fully provided . retuses for .the weak- minded. P e Any move to extend the park will naturally receive the approval of citi- zens. Golden Gate Park is one of the most beautiful in the world. I would be ‘glad to see it connected with the Presidio, which is also a charming spot. The intervening space is now a series of sand -dunes. Unless utilized in this manner they must for years remain a dreary waste. The city already owns some of the lots, and enterprising re- alty holders ought to be quick to con- tribute the rest. They coula afford to do this, even from a selfish standpoint, for the improvement would greatly en- hance '.he vuue of t.hetr Dl'op\rty - There m never yet been ‘made pub- zufi&fl&s‘-‘fl&flaflfiflfi838&_&83&3&8838&588..888 WITH ENTIRE FRANKNESS. By HENRY JAMES. RRBQQS&NSQQQS&Q_:SH&& IV LINLRNRNNS -Doubtless 8 bt I bl d ] lic any’ reason for believing that the death of Gregoire in Oakland was the result of sujcide. To be sure, the man was oddly. constituted, both mentally |and physically, but the human being never lived who could fire five large and impulsive bullets into his own breast. The murderer, however, was thoughtless enough to go away from there without leaving his autograph, address and a latch key to his apart- ments. Therefore the suicide theory is easy and comfertable. I do not blame the Oakland police. They nat- urally pattern after the superior va- riety controlled by Lees, and these find | relief in suicide every time an assassin | neglects to call around and become eon- | fidential. . It is far from my purpose to get into a religious controversy. My belief is . . that each should be permitted to wor- | ship God in his own way, provided this way does not interfere with the pat- tern of worship pleasing to the con- science of another. Yet I venture, in humility, a remark concerning a com- munication appearing in a recent num. ber of the Pacific Churchman. The writer advocates the changing of the name of the sect to which he adheres 0 “The Church of the United States.” I cannot help but entertain. admira- tion for his presumption. It approaches sublimity. The idea of any one body of sectarians dubbing themselves “the church” of a country which, among its most beneficent regulations, has one placing a gulf between church arnd state, but none supplying -a bridge, is the climax of cheek. Even the supe- rior nerve of the gentleman from whom I quote would fail to span the chasm. Perhaps there is no law which could prevent the members of a church call- ing themselves anything which strikes their fancy, but it is to be hoped that common sense will check the implied impulse to become ridiculous. o e It is time for rigid enforcement of the law against suicide. Of course when a successful attempt is made there is nothing of human avail. The person who kills himself is beyond re- buke. It is the one who tries it and fails for whom I cherish a warm dis- regard. He should be sent to prison for as long a term as though he had made murderous assault on another, Or perhaps an asylum is the place for him. Surely the community is entitled to re- lief from his presence, for a man who wants to commit suicide and can’t do it is too big a fool to be at large. o Te e There should never be an overhead trolley line on Market street. The scheme to permit the building of one deserves killing. It is enough when the cable cars are given the privilege of a double track. The overhead wire is an abomination. There is no excuse for it. It is a blot, unsightly and dan- gerous. . It mars the view, creates fires, interferes with firemen. The necessary poles -are hideous. There should not be an electric wire of any sort above ground in San Francisco. Telegraph, telephone and trolley, bury them all: If, in the future, there shall be some proposition for an electric line on Market to take the place of the present cable, and the proposition in- clude underground wires, it may per- haps be reasonably entertained. # e There is seldom recorded an incident more pitiful than the death of Mrs. Da- vose of Alameda. A young and happy wife, she had’ just left the home her presence mage beautiful to her hus- band, when she became entangled in a dangling - electric wire and died there miserably, ‘her agony prolonged. There was no possibility of atding her. Even had she not been alone at the fatal moment, to have essayed to save her would but have deepened the tragedy. Overcome by -the horror, the reason of the husband is. in the balance, and per- haps he may never rully realize the | awfulness of the bereavement which for him swept the sunlight forever from the skies. I do-not cail the death of this poor woman an accident. It was murder. That wire had been dangiing long where it constituted a trap. there are employes of an electric concern who understand that under certain conditions electricity is a dangerous thing. Nevertheless, the wire was permitted to dangle. At last it caught a victim. - That it would do S0 sooner or later was a certainty. Why was the trap maintained? Nobody with deliberate malice sought to slay. Somebody with a criminal careléssness, for which there should be condign ~un, ishment, brought about the slaughter. People’ who live precariously in cities fairly roofed by -wires laden with the agent of death éannot afford to regard this affair as g visitation of Providence, shudder sympathetically and conslder the incident clo!ed. P The fellow who sent a friend a-box of fleas by malil exceeded precedent set by criminals in misuse of the postal fa- cilities.” Heretorore no. offender has mailed more the.n one lnterual maehme at a tlme. L With difficulty . I - ;have' checked the - impulse to put politics into ‘this column. The -election of & Mayor, however, is.something" wh(ch concerns us all. It seems to me that as a candidate Patton is in every way’ superior t6 Phelan. ..I do ‘not mean to intimate that the present- Mayor is.not’ & gentlemdn, for- he is, but his career has been full of mistakes. One of these, broadly expressed, is that he has con- stituted' himself a political boss. He has to the smallest detail dictated the || ticket of which he is the head. He has clamored for purity and laid out the programme. - He has bidden his pe; sonal friends to the fedst. He has ac- cepted two nominations ahead of the formulation of either platform. But worse . than all he has apnarently chosen as chief adviser a- man than whom there is not in public or private life in San Francisco a more corrupt, and I cannot think the official who leans upon him can be inspired by lofty motives. On the other hand is Patton.. No word has been said against -him. A big man intellectually as physically, he is one about whom friends gather in multitudes, and to whom people nat- urally look to lead them.: He is'a citi- zen of broad culture, of honorable at- tainment, upright," -progressive. He pulled no wires. The nomination came to him against his protest, but havlng been persuaded to accept it he is in the fight to fight fast and fairly. He would not become the nominee .ntil he knew the character of the platform. He has Tot made the error of seeking counsel of degenerate- boodlers. I notice that every du he n.hu strength, and am * *. gener&.lly 1 have mueh respect for the He might be described He is not of the caliber It* glad of it. present Mayor. as a niee man. to be the executive of a great city. seems to me he has proved this. S g Perhaps to discuss fashions is out of my province, but here goes just the same. I have noticed with pain that certain expensively dressed women have acquired this season the faculty of 'making guys of themselves. In a respectable way I had wondered why they do it. My mind goes back to the days of the monstrous and hideous Gre- cian bend. Then a stylish woman was a freak. She is trying to be again. I saw a woman on Market street this week who was so ridiculous a figure that the cable cars ought to have shied at her. Her waist was pinched until it left no room for more than a badly squeezed spine, The manner in which she had shifted her internal mechanism around was a marvel. Probably it had been forced into her chest, for the bust she carried lpome1 like the prow of a bay scow. It was not such a bust as God ever gave to mortal. It would have been regarded as an affliction, if real. Yet the woman was proud of it, although a similar hump on her back would have been as winsome. Below the waist her hips swelled after the manner of a balloon. In fact, this creature, who had good looks, had done all in her power to destroy them. I have asked several ladies of my aec- quaintance why -~he did this. The mat- ter is no puzzle to them. “Oh, because,” they answer. I am glad to be enlight- ened. AROUND THE CORRIDORS. Frank F. Short, an attorney of Fresna, is at the Palace. J. B. Hollinshead, a merchant of Pes- cadero, is among the guests at the Rusa. Mrs. H. V. Morehouse and Miss More- house arrived yesterday from San Jose and are at the Lick. Charles S. Swisler, a well-known lawyer and politician of El Dorado County, ar- rived yesterday from Placerville, and is registered at the Grand. E. B. Dening and Samuel R. Ring, busi- ness men of Chicago, are at the Palace for a few days. Their trip is purely one of pleasure, and business cares will not enter in. Ex-Mayor Robert Effey of Santa Cruz is in town for a few days looking inte the decision of the Circuit Court’on the Santa Cruz water bond suit. It was un- der Mayor Effey’s supervision that the big water works of that town were built, and he has ever since been closely identi~ fied with their management. - eee— CALIFORNIANS IN _/EW YORK. NEW YORK, Oct. 1.—R. S. MacDougal of Los Angeles is at the Netherlands. Philip Mighels, Henry Hyman, John Rus- sell, Ed Farmger of San Francisco and F. Caldwell of Los Angeles have gone to Paris. Mrs. Herman Oelrichs has closed her Newport season and returned to New York. Miss Virginia Fair will remain in Newport some time. —_———————— ANSWERS ';0 CORBESPONDENTS. THE CALIFOR\!A FIRST—SuthH- ber, City. When"the First Regiment of California Volunteers left San Francisco for Manila it was armed with Springfield rifles. MECHANICAL SCHOOL — *“Would-be Mechanic,” City. There is no school in this city termed a mechanical school which admits as pupfls individuals who have attained the age of 40. PUBLICITY OF DIVORCE—C. B. E., Santa Cruz, Cal. If an individual obtains a divorce from his wife he is not re- quired to have the same published in the newspapers. The fact that a divorce has been granted is a matter of pubilc rec- ord, like any other court proceeding, and the newspapers have the right to publish the same just as any other court news. This department does not know of the methods that are (’mployed “to obtain a divorce on the quiet.” AN ATTACHMENT-L. S, City. If the Sheriff has placed an attachment upon your property and he was not author- ized to do so, all you have to do is to employ an attorney to take steps to have such attachment released. The Sheriff is responsible for any mistake he may made, and will have to pay all the to which you may be put, and he v be required to pay damages. In the case cited it looks very much as if the Sheriff had made a mistake, so you can commence an action against him. —_— e e————— Cal. glace fruit 50c per Ib at Townsend's.* —_— Special information supplled dafly tu business houses and public men b; Press Clipping 'Breau (Allen’s), 510 gomery ctreet. Telephone Main 1043 —_——— Customer—I thought I told you to paint me sitting on the piazza of mv house, You've painted the piazza all right, buf there’s nobody on it. Artist—Of course not. The painting represents an afternoon view. The sun would then be on the front of the house, and, of course, you wouldn't be sitting in the sun. !The picture is true to art and to nature. You are supposed to be sitting on the back stoop.—Boston Transcript. —_—ee———— DRINK A STEEPING OF MOKI TEA BE- fore retiring at night, and see how soundly you will sieep and how joyously vou it awake in the morning. It supplies food for the bloed while you sleep, produc clear and beautiful complexion, cures constipation and sick headache. At No Percentage Pharmacy. onl. a Commercial lunch, 11 to 2. Among the Bar- rels, 863 Market st. ADVZRTISEMENTS. {} [ Mackay’s Forcmg *out Furniture Department W A determined effort on our part is -| “being mada to wind up this depart- -ment of our establishment. Cost is not to be considered. .-We refuse no reasonable offer on any ;mcle Complete lines in CHAMBER SUITS, " DINING TABLES, PARLOR SUITS, - obD rlzc:s. HALL 'RA © _FANCY TaBiEs, In fact, everything for house furnish- ing—and every piece a bargain. . - CARPETS. This department has been greatly ,enlar ed. * All the latest styles in caiwmg and design. SPECIAL THIS WEEK Linen Warp Mattings. s Enghsh Linoleum {laid). .k ¢ A farge I'ne of "10-Wire Tagestry Carpet (sewed and laid). Opaque Shades, 3x7, for.. ALEX. MACKAY & SON 715 Markct St. e P A I—I—l——'l—‘l—l—l—l‘—l—,l—'l—,l—l—'-l'