The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 21, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN F The Cal MONDAY. 18 'NOVEMBER 21, 1808 JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Propretor. e e e e~~~ Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. L e P PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F. Telephone Main 1868. EDITORIAL ROOMS ..217 to 221 Stevenson Street Telephone Main 1874. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) s served by carrlers In this city and surrounding towns for I5 cents a wezk. By mall $6 per year; per montb 65 cents. THE WEEKLY CALL. One year, by mall, $1.50 OAKLAND OFFICE. ...908 Broadway NEW YORK OFFICE.. Room 188, Werld Building DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Representative. WASHINGTON (B. C.) OFFICE Riggs House €. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. CHICAGO OFFICE .Marquette Building C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Represcntative. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay, open until 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street. open until 9:30 o'clock. 621 McAllister street, open until 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, BMisslion street, open until street, open until 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk street, open until §:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ane Kentucky streets, open untli 9 o'clock. 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh Olymp!: Sutro’s Bath Ingleside Track Sherman, Clay Hall—] . Tuesday evening, No- r 22, senthal — Coming in December. AUCTION SALES. ———— e ——————————— ovember 21, at 7:30 and Market street. at 11 o'clock, den Gate ave: Day, at 324 Go nue, Elegant Fu , at 11 a. m. OUR COMMERCIAL STANDING. A fall elections is on the wane. On the con judged by the country’s bank These clearings last week the 2 per cent larger than those of cor- year, and the only import: The increase in week e was Buffalo. 8.9 per cent, in St. Lou urg 26 per cent, in Omaha 30 6 per cent, in Denver 5.4 per cent, in Kansas City t, and so on, all over the coun per cen turns st 1897 in the volume of week were 233, against 267 during the year. At the same time there is no boom in anything. The staples remain quiet as a rule, and there is no particular disposition to speculate. There have been | heavy sales of bonded wool for re-export to gland, which is a good sign, as it may indicate the turning of the tide in the wool indu Cotton is doing rather better, mpathy w in the goods mark The exports of breadstuffs from the Atlantic coast are demand. The though some orders. The 1 g strength, and several have advanced distribution shows little ccllections are reported better Wall street was quieter last week, and there was none of the excitement that characterized the pre- ceding week. But it was noticed that any concessions in price immediately brought out large buying or- ders, showing a strong undercurrent to the market. Early in the week the New York money market | as ons of the nation a ow that all se in improving tone | foreign | for iron seems to be growing, | rge, owing to a consta in stern mi report a shortage showing groceries are The e, but slig’ merghand bacl | | business. was only momen hardened somewhat, but th it was soon discovered tf gency would result in a free influx o from the interior of the co | In this latter connection the enormous imports of | gold from foreign countr are particularly interest- | ing. The October s nent of the Treasury Bureau of Statistics, just issued, shows that the imports in 1808 are the largest in the history of the country, | while the exports are the smallest for many years. The imports of gold during the first ten months of | the year were $143,658,000, which is more than 50; er than in any previous year. The ex-| ports were only $14,061,000, which leaves an excess of imports of $129,506,000, which is enormous. It only two or three years back when the situation in any pronounced strin- gold, not only | try, but from Europe. per cent lar regard to the gold movement was just the other way. The total money in circulation November 1 was 000, against $1,706,733,000 on the cor- responding date in 1897. The increase in circulation during the last two years foots up $356,850,000. In California the week shows some changes, among which the breaking up of the long dry sped by Sat- urday’s rain is the most prominent. The protracted drought was causing some alarm, especially as the scientists were freely predicting another dry season. The State needs two or three inches of rain to put it into good spirits, and if we get it the change from apathy to activity will be marked. Already ‘the live- stock market was beginning to harden under the growing shortage in feed, and higher prices for beef, veal, mutton and pork were reported. The rainfall was not sufficient, up to Saturday, to affect the dif- ferent markets one way or the other, the average be- ing about .25 of an inch for the northern half of the State and practically nil for the southern half. Still, it was an opening wedge, and as such had its effect. The local staples were rather steadier as a rule last week. While there was nothing doing in wool, the jeeling was better, owing to the improvement al- ready noted in the East. The grain markets were un- settled, with a fair demand for most descriptions. The tendency in dairy products was upward. Hides were quiet and easy. Fruits, fresh and dried, were inactive and featureless. Merchandise quotations showed few changes. Collections were up to the average at this season of the year, and there wesre no large- failures reported. From now on to the close of the year business will probably be restricted in volume and devoid of interesting feature, unless something out of the way occurs. P “An eminent authority” has traced the suicidal im- pulse to food. He might also trace it -0 the lack of food, but this seems to have been out of his line of investigation. Little Tod Sloan says the English are true sports, - and the English say Tod is an unfair rider. Evi- open until 9 o'clock. 2518 | i | i i ations that the im-| - s s : T present there are no‘mdic “?n mft ¢ the | tion of the currency problems, and if the Republicans provement in trade due to the resu | should now fail to accomplish anything in that direc- | wait until another financial storm comes and then un- | | didates A FOOLISH POLICY. | | ! ECAUSE the country is now prosperous, the ! B treasury of the nation overflowing, gold com- | ing into the channels of trade from Europe in a steady stream, and our finances in good condition, some Republican newspapers have declared that no change in our currency is needed, and that the com- | ing Congress should make no attempt at currency reform in any direction whatever. To this policy of leaving the currency alone its advocates give the name of “a wise conservatism.” It is, however, no wiser than that of the Arkansas | settler who would not repair the roof of his shanty | when the rain was falling because he did not like to get wet, nor when the sun was shining because then the roof did not leak and repairs were unnecessary. That our currency system is ill devised and inade- | quate to the stress of bad times is beyond dispute, | and the only question is whether we shall reform it | while times are good and the reform can be made | without injury to any interest, or whether we shall | dertake the work in the midst of popular panic and industrial disturbance. At the %resent outlook all the conditions of the time promise to be most favorable to a thorough re- | vision of the currency by the Congress which has just been elected. When it meets all the branches of the | Government will be under Republican control, and | it will be possible to enact a reform bill without re- sorting to any compromises with fiat money or free silver factions for the purpose of assuring its passage. 1f the opportunity is permitted to pass unused there | is danger that one so favorable may not return again ! RAN CO CALL, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1898, lead to war, would tend to check the increase rather I AR{)UND THE than to augment it. The only safe way to provide for commercial ex- pansion is to continue to stand aloof from the wars of the world so that our labor will not have to bear the burdens that are imposed upon the workingmen of Europe, and to provide by proper legislation for the upbuilding of an American merchant marine which will enable our sailors to carry the products of our peaceful industry to all markets on equal terms with any competitors. We need an American merchant marine much more than we need the Philippine Islands. Give to our merchants a suitable means of carrying abroad the products of our industries and we will have in the Orient, as well as in all other parts of the world, a trade which no people burdened with the expense of huge armies and the maintenance of costly colonies can take away from us. STORED LIKE OLD JUNK. TATE TREASURER GREEN in his report S to the Governor directs public attention once more to the evil effects of the crude system we now employ in handling the money collected by taxa- CORRIDORS | Dr. J. Goodwin Thompson of Oakdale is at the Baldwin. ‘W. A. Gett, one of Sacramento’s leading Jurists, is at the Lick. * S. Alexander, an Arroyo Grande mer- chant, is at tHe Grand. G. Meyer, a prominent Antioch mer- chant, is at the Baldwin. ‘Willlam Muir, a Sacramento dredging | contractor, is at the Russ. M. M. Gragg, a promient Monterey mer- chant, is at the Occldental. F. M. Chittenden, a prominent Fresno vineyardist, is at the Grand. W. D. Long, a well known attorney of Nevada City, is at the Grand. Marion de Vries is down from Stockton, and registered at the California. 8. R. Porter, superintendent of the Baliol mine, is at the Occidental. 000699 ® oo When the Unit- ° & ed States officials @ THE TIME Were out here to o investigate the ® WAS merits of the tor- . ®pedo boat Farra- @ TOO SLOW. ®gut, which was > @ bullt at the Union PO PO® OO Iron Works, Irv- tion. As Mr. Green puts it: “California is still follow- ir.g the method of collecting money semi-annually from the people and storing it up as old junk, when the object and only object of money is circulation. We | also pay large sums of money for the transportation | of money to and from the treasury, which is a most useless proceeding.” From the summary of the report which was given to the public in The Call yesterday it appears that! | for many years. One of the arguments of the opponents of reform | that the money question has been settled by the | is | elections and is no longer an issue. This is a curious | ustration of how easy it is to arrive at erroneous | conclusions by misconstruing phrases. The currency | question was settled by the elections so far as the peo- | ple are concerned because by their votes they elected | Republican Congress to solve it. If, however, Con- | ss refuses to do anything about it, the question ill remain open at the next election. As a matter of fact the issue was never more vital than at present. It was more potent than any other ingle factor in determining the votes at the recent lection of the great mass of independent voters hroughout the Union. Large numbers of conserva- tive Democrats cast their ballots for Republican can- r the sole purpose of assuring a wise solu- W | tion the party would forfeit the surport of many of{‘ these conservative allies in 1900. | That the settlement of the issue will require no lit- | tle political sagacity and courage goes without say- | g, but nothing will be gained by shirking its diffi-‘ Ities. We have just had a disastrous experience of | i cul 6 per ce in Boston | 2 SR 3 A J s Cm E the results of shirking the silver issue. There should | when the Treasurer entered upon the office last April, 1 just before a taxpaying time, there was in the | vault of the treasury more thah $2,067,000, and after | the June settlements the sum stored in the vault ex- ceeded $4,000,000. It is no slight drawback to industry and trade to have so large a sum of money withdrawn from circu- lation and locked up in idleness, but the loss of the use of the money is not the whole evil of the system. The transportation of the money back and forth costs a great deal more to the taxpayers. r. Green says: “I have no means of determining even approximately the cost of transportation of money, but $15,000 per month is a conservative estimate.” ing M. Scott Invited the party to visit the works at the Potrero, which invitation ! was gladly accepted. Now, on account of the high standing of the gentlemen from ‘Washington, Mr. Scott determined to es- cort them through the grounds himself, and on the appointed day they all met to take in the interesting features of the concern over whose destinies he presides. Mr. Scott had shown them the partially completed battle-ship Wisconsin, the mas- sive and wonderful hammer which can be stopped in a tenth of a second’s time, and | a number of other things, when the vis- itors happened to stop at a place where a mechanic by the name of Cassidy was at work. Cassidy that morning had been given a long, smooth piece of iron to trim down, and he was working on it. Now, Cassidy is a sort of musical genius in addition to his mechanical accomplishments, and to help while away the tedium of the job he had traced five parallel lines in chalk, and on these had marked the notes of the first few bars of the “Dead March in Saul”” He was softly humming the air just as the party came up, and Mr. Scott, who is something of a musician himself, observed the notes on the iron slab and at once recognized the piece of which they were an extract. He also observed that The report recommends a plan for remedying these evils by the adoption of a system somewhat similar to | that employed in several of the Eastern States. In| the main it consists in the establishment of State | and county depositories, and lending the revenues | to banks upon the security of approved bonds of the | nation or State or of some county or municipality / within the State. The subject is not a new one. The evils of the| present system have long been known, and remedies | have been suggested time and again. It is none the less advisable to give the issue a reconsideration. | The plan proposed by the Treasurer may not be | | world. be no further temporizing with political opportunists The coming “Congress is pledged to currency reform, and it will be false to its duty if it fails to fulfill the pledge. S upon our consular service and the work of the men engaged in it, that when some good report is given of the results accomplished it is only fair at- tention should be directed to it. Such reports are by no means uncommon in Europe, though they are rare here. In fact, the merits of our consular system seem to be better known abroad than at home. A recent issue of the London Mail contained a re- view of the work achieved by our Consuls, and the writer found the results attained to be so important | that he pronounces our Consuls to be “ambassadors of commerce,” or “commercial travelers for American producers.” Many instances are cited of what has been done to advance the trade of our merchants in ‘uropean countries and to make a market for the | roducts of our farms as well as of our factories. ! In fact, the traders of Europe have discovered that the average American Consul is one of the most effi- cient workers to be found in the markets of the| They have felt the effects of his competition | and they know his value. He has been instrumental | and monetarycranks. CONSULAR SERVICE. O much adverse criticism has been pronounced P in teaching the American producer how to find a way | irto the markets where Europe expected to ‘be with- out a rival, and by his vigor and enterprise has man- aged to overcome the advantage which European Consuls have over him by reason of their longer ser- vice and more elaborate training for consular duties. Our system of choosing Consuls and making such appointments subject to politics has many defects, but it has also one advantage over the life service system. The newly appointed Consul is on his best behavior and puts forth his best energies. he sweeps clean. Permanency of tenure does not in- crease the activities of an official, and while the Euro- pean Consul, assured of his position virtually for life, takes things easy, the American new comer knows he a beaver. COMMERCIAL EXPANSION. CJ tion that the Philippines must be annexed in order to provide for the expansion of our we can extend our trade only by force of arms, and that we must undertake the government of the mon- taining among them a market for our products. These assertions have a good deal of effect upon a expansion has become one of the great aspirations of the nation. It is not an aspiration founded upon development. Under the protective system we have built up industries that produce far more than we to find foreign markets for their products. Under such circumstances whatever tends to ex- | the people. The annexationists understand the fact very well, and are, therefore, eager to present their commercial expansion. They ignore or evade all the | difficulties in which the nation woulg be involved by theneselves to a clamorous iteration that the annexa- tion of the Philippines is a necessary preliminary to of the Pacific. The falseness of the claim is known to all who have develops. The expansion of our commerce with foreign countries has been going forward by leaps selves with colonial governments and foreign posses- sions we have increased our exports until they now tinuance of peace and prosperity the increase will go on with steady progression, while the annexation dently the jockey believes in returning good for evil. | INGO imperialists are much given to the asser- commerce. They would have the people believe that grel savages of the Philippines as a means of ob- considerable number of people, because commercial sentiment merely, but an outcome of our industrial consume, and consequently it has become necessary pand our commerce is attractive to the great mass of scheme to the public under the guise of a policy of assuming responsibilities in the Orient, and devote the upbuilding of our trade with Asia and the islands any knowledge of the conditions under which trade and bounds for years past. Without burdening our- exceed those of any other nation. With the con- policy, by involving us in complications that might Like a new broom, | must make a record in four years, and he works like | | i | feasible under existing conditions, or may not be ac- ceptable to the Legislature. It will serve a good pur- | pose, however, even if it does no more than to revive | interest in the question and lead to some earnest effort to provide a better system. It is certainly a folly for an enlightened commonwealth to go on withdrawing millions of money from the channels of trade and storing it up like old junk. e R e ECONOMY AND LIBRARIES. IR JOHN LUBBOCK is reported to have de- S voted a considerable portion of a recent ad- dress at the opening of a public library in England to a consideration of the economic value of libraries. He argued that those who object to the: maintenance of libraries on account of the expense | make a mistake even from their own point of view, | since by diminishing the tendency to crime, which is { always costly to a community, a well regulated public | library saves the taxpayers much more than it costs. In a summary of the address that comes to us the speaker is quoted as having said: “Ignorance costs | more than education. Victor Hugo well said that he who opened a school closed a prison. The same might be said of a public library, which was the school of the grown-up. Statistics showed how much crime and pauperism had diminished in late years. In Lon- don they had happily been able to close several prisons. Our paupers were still, of course, too numerous, but they were less than hali the number they had been in proportion to the population. In fact, our schools and libraries had been an investment, not an expense. Only a fraction of the crime of the | country arose from irresistible temptation or deliber- | ate wickedness; the great sources were drink and ig- | norance. Drink, again, was often due to dullness and the craving for excitement, which might to al | great extent be gratified by the proper use of books.” The validity of the argument is not to be ques- tioned, and the application is as pertinent to California as to Great Britain. We maintain an elaborate system | of public education by which the youth of the State is | taught to read, but we have as yet made no adequate provision for supplying the graduates of our schools with books which will help them to continue their education after they leave school. To a large extent this is due to the sparsely settled condition of the State. It is impossible to maintain public libraries in communities where the population is scant, and yet among such populations there may be many persons | well fitted to make the highest and best use of such libraries. 2 These considerations lead to the proposed estab- lishment of the traveling library system for the pur- pose of rendering the books in the State Library available for use by the people generally. The sub- ject is one which should be dealt with by the Legis- lature at its coming session, and all who understand the value of libraries to a people should unite to as- | sure favorable action upon it. California cannot afford to lag behind the most progressive States of the Union in this matter, and with her superb collection of books in the State Library there is no reason why she should. The traveling system will entail no additional expense upon the State and but little upon the communities that get the benefit of it. Moreover, it miust be re- membered, as Sir John Lubbock says, public libraries save more money than they cost. e s ——— The man who went into a fake museum was cheered by predictions of a happy future, and then the spieler nearly beat his head off because of refusal to pay $7 for the information. As the beating had not been pre- dicted, the unveiling of the future was a palpable pre- tense, and it is not easy tc see how the fee could legally be collected. Judge de Haven did well in refusing to naturalize a Swede who could not tell him who was Governor of the State. Any person who lives in California un- aware that the executive is Budd has too little intel- Liigence to fold a ballot after it has been marked for m. Aguinaldo is in a give-me-liberty-or-give-me-death mood. Probably, however, he would compromise for ? | man. 1 Cassidy’s movements in the direction of chiseling the metal were in exact accord with the slowness of the time in that im- mortal composition. The taps with his hammer on the chisel were few and far | between by reason of the slowness of the accompaniment, and he was making but Mttle progress. With merry twinkle in his eye Mr. Scott, who likes to get what i{s coming to him from his workmen, ap- proached the musical Cassidy and said: “Well, my man, I see you run to the musical. That is a noble trait, for there is nothing like music to increase our energy and quicken the pulses. But don't you think the time of that piece is a little slow? Just change it to ‘My Hon- olulu Lady. And with that the genial | iron king moved aff with his friends. A. Bonnheim, a well known Sacramento merchant, Is a guest at the Lick. G. G. Brooks, the well known Colusa druggist, is registered at the Grand. John Brazer, a well known Santa Cruz merchant, is registered at the Occidental. F. W. Fratt, a well-known Sacramento capitalist, accompanied by his wife, is at the Russ. John H. Yancy, an extensive merchant and ranch-owner of Newman, Is regis- tered at the Lick. The following mining men arrived here yesterday and registered as follows: Af the Russ—D. J. Morn, Nevada Count Panl Hoffman. Newcastle; R. Callstoga; N. Fitzgerald, Alturas, and E. 3 Frenzel, New Mexico. At the Grand— R. M. Green and A. Ekman, Oroville; M. P, Morgan, Angels, and Thomas Clark and R, 8, Raw, Placerville. At the Lick— M. E. Duncan Jr., O. P. Ormsby, F. W. Gibson, Oroville; 8. C. Wilmans, Placer- | ville, and Frank R. Wehe, Downieville. At the Palace—Ex-State Senator E. C. Voorhies, Sutter Creek; John F. Davis, Jackson, and J. E. Doolittle, Dutch Flat. CALIFORNIANS IN NEW YORK. NEW YORK, Nov. 20.—J. P. Chamber- Jain of San Francisco is at the Gilsey. G. R. Field of San Francisco is at the Hoft- . ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. THEY WERE ANSWERED-M. E. P., City. Both questions asked have been an- swered—one, under the title of “Petition to Probate,” November 15, and the other, “A Five Dollar Piece,” November 17. HOLD OVER SENATORS—J. H. M., City. There is no law that gives each hold over Senator ‘“the privilege of put- ing one man on the police force.” If there is such a practice it must be a matter of understanding between the appointing power and the hold overs. ILLITERACY—C. P. D., City: Mulhall, the statistician, gives the following as the ratio of adults unable to read and write in the total population of the countries named: England, 9 per cent; Scotland, 6; Ireland, 23; France, 15; Germany, 4; Rus- sia, $5; Austria, 45; Italy, §3; Spain, 72; Switzerland, 5; Belgium, 29; Netherlands, 14, and Scandinavia, 3. FAYLOR'S SUIT—G. T., City. The suit that was commenced by Faylor in 1891 against the “‘combine Legislators” to_ re- cover $6000 for lobbying was dismissed by Judge Wallace on the 27th of July of that year on motion for a non- suit. There were seven State Senators named as respondents in the action and the amount of money which it was alleged was divided between them was $20,000. MONEY MARKET-S. 8. O. F., City. Metal that is used in e coinage of money is sold in the open market in Lon- don, England, as well as in the United States, and is also sold In the countries where such s produced. The law of every country that coins money prohibits private individuals from maklnf and fis- suing coins, and also prohibits the coun- terfeiting of coins of the country. INTRODUCTIONS—J. M. O., City. One writer on etiquettesays: “If youare walk- ing with a friend and meet some one you know you are by no means bound to intro- duce them to one another.” Another writer has it: ‘“As a rule, it is not good form to introduce people to each other upon the street or in a Yubllc place.” If A and B, gentlemen, while walking in the Buk' meet C, a gentleman, walking with , a lady, and being acquainted with B and C, and C knowing A and D, and D knowing only C, there would, according to the authorities quoted, be no need for introductions; but if the parties wished to follow the silly customi of promiscuous introductions without knowinf if the in- troductions would be agreeable, A ht introduce his friend B to C, in turn introduce D, the lad: on until all had been inf other. TO BECOME A CITIZEN-J. V. G, City. An allen who desires to become a citizen of the United States must declare upon oath, before a Circuit or District Court of the United States, or a Dis- trict or Supreme Court of the Territories, or a court of any of the States havii common law jurisdiction and a seal an clerk, two years at least prior to his ad- mission, that it is, bona fide, his inten- tion to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce forever all alle- and C would , and then so uced to each giance and fidelity to any for- eign prince or state, and par- ticularly to the one of which he may be at the time a citizen or subject. He must at the time he :gnllel for ad- mission prove that he m: a declara- tlon two years prior to that time, that he resided continuously five years within the United States, and within the State or Tt\rfltory in which is located the court in ‘which he a.psuas one year, that he is a man of good moral character and at- :;ehad to the principles of the constitu- 3 combine | business with pleasure, and your ideas| SCHEMES T0 DIVERT GOLD 10 SEATTLE Strange Plays Against San Francisco. CONGRESSMEN UP IN ARMS DISCRIMINATING EXCHANGE IN CHICAGO. Remarkable Energy of the Govern- ment Assayer at Seattle in Drumming Up Business. The California delegation to Congress has sharpened its claws for a vigorous bout with the Treasury Department at Washington regarding a striking and hitherto unnoticed discrimination against San Francisco and in favor of Seattle and Chicago in the matter of the receipt and disposition of gold bullion produced on the Pacific Coast, and especially in Alaska. One subject of protest is that since the establishment of the United States assay office at Seattle recently gold bullion de- posited with Uncle Sam there has been paid for by check on the sub-Treasury at Chicago instead of San Francisco. When a man deposits gold bullion at the San Francisco Mint he receives a check on the sub-Treasury here. The difference is that of the regular banking exchange between the Pacific Coast and Chicago. Thus, when gold is deposited in the assay office at Seattle the Treasury Department practically re- ceives the deposit at Chicago and so Seat- tle is given this advantage over San Fran- cisco. The price of exchange is small, but the price of exchange regulates the flow of gold the world over. Between the Pacific Coast and Chicago exchange costs 15 cents per $100. As the Seattle office has re- cefved between $6,000,000 and $8,000,000 this year its total advantage over San Fran- cisco amounts to several thousand dollars —a big figure in banking operations. It further transpires that the énterpris- ing F. A. Wing, who is the assayer in charge of the Seattle Assay Office, has been laying himself out to boom the busi- ness of his office and of Seattle by missing no chances to divert his way and away from San Francisco all the bullion de- posits possible. He has over his own signature adver- tised the claim that the Government pays more_for gold bullion at Seattle than at San Francisco, and has actively solicited miners to deposit their gold with him rather than at the San Francisco Mint. | | | i | | A few days ago, under date of Novembe 2, he answered a letter of inquiry written by a well-known mining man of this State, and the main part of this remark- able letter from & Government official is as follows: I take great pleasure in informjng you that the charges are as follows: The first charge is one eighth of one per cent on the gross value | | of the gold and silver. The second charge is | four cents per ounce on the weight after melt. | The third charge is $1 for each deposit, or in | cases where the deposit is over 1000 ounces | the charge is one-tenth of one per cent per ounce, which makes & small increase. The | fourth charge is 2 cents an ounce on one- eleventh of the standard weight of the gold, [ which is a very small charge. The first and | second charges are the only ones of importance. | All deposits are paid by checks on! the sub-treasury at Chicago. The| advantage of depositing with this| office over the Miat at San Francisco would be that you can secure East- ern exchange; and our second charge | of four cents an ounce after melt is| two cents less than San Francisco. I would be very pleased to handle any | gold that you might see fit to send | me, and am in position to give you prompt and satisfactory returns. Trusting to hear from you in the near fu- ture, I am, respectfully yours, F. A. WING, Assayer in Charge. This precious letter from a Treasury Department official sufficiently indicates the way the Seattle Assay Office is being run in open and aggressive competition with San Francisco by means of news- paper interviews and private communi- cations. Wing makes that Eastern ex- change stick out as an inducement and then declares that he will charge his cus- tomers 2 cents less an ounce_than will Superintendent Leach of the San Fran- cisco Mint. According to this, gold is worth more in the Seattle Government charged at Seattle amounts to exactly 2 cents per ounce, and 4 cents is added to it. At the mints one charge of 6 cents is made, and the other trifing charges for alloy and for deposit are exactly the same as at Seattle. If the facilities of the Seattle office allow ashfertect assays as at the San Francisco Mint, the depositor should receive the same amount to a enny. le’: ‘Wing probably tripped on the 4 and 6 cents and may_ know better when he learns. more. At both the San Francisco Mint and the Seattle Assay Office the | charges on 1000 ounces of Klondike gold at $16 an ouce would, according to regu- | lations, be $62 56. There is thus a discrimination against San Francisco by the Treasury Depart- ment both lhroufi‘l]l its hustling agent and through the banking advantage allowed. The gold deposited at the Seattle office is shipped to Philadelphia for minting. en the bill for the establishment of the Seattle office was passed at the last session of Congress the argument for it was that it would help the poor miner. It is a great convenience to the Alaska miner who returns to the Sound, but he does not get the benefit of that “Eastern exchange.”” California Congressmen are | unable to see why Seattle should have | this advantage over San Francisco to draw gold to it. Senator Pera.ns, who is out of town ior a few days, has said that he will protest at Washington, and Congressman Hilborn has declared himself likewise. The only member of the delegation in the city ves- terday was Congressman Maguire, who has aiso looked into the matter quietly. “Tt is_an injustice,” he declared. *I shall talk with Senator Perkins when he returns. It is a discrimination which the Government should not allow.” ‘When it was suggested that the Treas- ury Department appeared to have created a “line of least resistance” for the trans- continental flov!‘ or gold, he said: *“It has done more than that. Tt has connived at a scheme to divert fFo]d to Seattle and Chicago for the benefit of special inter- ests. And it is not a valid argument to say that the gold is needed East. The Government should not do a banking business in competition with bankers. Let g::n bm’llgfirp sl:lp t.lha gold if 11:{)115 w‘;a.nled X e patural course of the bul is to San Francisco.”” on NEWS OF FORsIGN NAVIES. ‘The British cruiser Diadem, 11,000 tons, is at last ready for commission. She is the first of eight vessels built from the same design. The Diadem has a free- board of 19 feet and carries her two 6- inch quick-firers on the forecastle at an elevation of 36 feet above water. The British navy in Asiatic waters will shortly be increased by four small gun- boats suitable for river service. The boats are now being built in England, and will be shipped out in pieces as freight in cargo steamers, and will be put up in the dockyard of the Hongkong and ‘Whampoa Dock Company. The British admiralty has ordered 200 6-inch wire guns, with the Vickers new | Acker's breech-loading mechanism. Ninety of these guns are to be made at Woolwich, ers, Son & Maxim, and fifty Whitworth & Co. These guns are chiefly intended for the coast defenses. All of the forts of the southern and western districts have been com- pleted, and those of Scotland and of the northeastern and nothwestern districts are fast approaching completion. At Woolwich Arsenal and dockyard ‘work- men were employed as late as 11 o’clock at night getting out naval material for the Plymouth squadron. ored crulser Azuma, building in France, is a very formidable vessel and probably the best of her class, considering her moderate displacement. She is of 9436 tons, 445 feet 10 inches in length, 59 feet 6 inches beam and a mean draught of 28 feet, which latter is rather excessive and a defect. With engines of 17,000 horsepower a speed of 20 knots is an- ticipated. Her belt of Harveyized steel is of six-inch maximum thickness, taper- ing to three inches at the ends. The bat- tery is composed entirely of quick-firers, and includes four 8-inch, twelve 6-inch, twelve 3-inch and twelve 1.8-inch guns, in addition to which formidable armament she has five torpedo tubes, one of these being above water and the others sub- merged. The Shikishima, Japanese battle-ship, was to be launched November 1 from the Thames Iron Works, and would be the heaviest ship ever launched, as the hull and launching cradle weigh 8250 tons. The ship 1s 438 feet long over all, 400 feet on the water line, 75 feet 6 inches breadth and 27 feet 3 jnches mean draught, on which she displaces 14830 tons, making the Shikishima practically as large as the largest British battle-ship. The water line belt, extending all around the ship, is § feet 2 inches wide and ranges in thickness from 9 Inches to 4 inches. Above | this belt the gun protective armor is 6 | inches thick and the barbettes and bulk- heads 14 and 12 inches respectively. All the armor is Harveyized steel, giving a | protection equal to iron of not less than double the thickness of the armor car- ried. The armament embraces four 12- inch of 40 caliber, fourteen 6-inch quick- firers of 40 caliber, twenty I12-pounders, | eight 3-pounders and four 2%-pounders. She has also five 18-inch torpedo tubes, four of which are below water. Steam trials are more severe and ex- acting in the Russian navy than in any | other, and a continuous run of eight | hours under full power is double that of | the test required in the American, Brit- ish, French, German, Itallan and Japa- nese navies. During the past two years England has exacted three additional trials under various conditions rauging | from thirty to eight hours duration, and now the French are to follow this ex- | ample in the engines of the battle-ship | Jena. The first trial at full speed under forced draught for four hours must de- velop 15,500 horsepower collectively for the three engines, at which the coal con- sumption must not exceed 2.07 pounds | per horsepower per hour, the second | trial of twenty-four hours under normal | 9500 horsepower and a coal consumption | of 1.65 pounds. The third trial of six | hours stipulates 12,500 horsepower with natural draught and 1.65 pounds of coal, with all the fires going, and the fourth test is of six hours’ duration under one- half power and requires 5000 horsepower. | Penalties are prescribed for the failure in getting up to the required horsepower, and for excess in coal consumption, but there are no premiums for obtaining the horsepower with less fuel than the con- tractors have guaranteed, and the test sixty at Vicke by Armstrong, The Japanese arm | is altogether very severe on the builders of the machine: THE SMILING SEASON. Man was sentenced to earn His bread in the swegt of his brow, But the man who does it is looked upom As small potatoes now. e—I have just been reading of an- Dteliearflned Crossj rl who married the sol- dier she nursed through a fever. Mildred—Yes, that's become quite com- mon now. Oh, how I wish we would have another war. Bilger—Yes, 1 always lke the cold weather. I'm never sorry when wiuter comes. Anstey—Say, how did you break your wife of that house-plant habit, or is she one of tje few that never were addicted to it? Glad; yesterday a {xo ac%or'npafin xcused. egged to be e - -fnny—Whatever in the world made her do that? I should bave been delighted at h a chance. S ladys—She said she wasn't going to be classed as one of the girls who never have invitations to go in the evenings. 01d Bullion—So, sir, you want to mas my daughter? Wasn't that your name Saw signed to a poem in one of the maga- zines the other day Reginald Ricksley—Yes, sir; I have written a great deal of magazine poetry. Tt indeed I assure you, sir, I do not de: pend upon it for a livelihodd. I regular job as timekeeper in & m shop. Oki Bullion—Oh, in that case I suppose I ought to let you have her. “What a tall girl Brigham's daughter has grown to be! She must be six feet 3 had tickets for the matinee L had ited Laura Willingsley y me to the opera, but she market than in San Francisco. St Teent It is possible that Mr. Wing is merely |~ “Yes, but she’s a mighty nice girl and ignorant. The Government charges at| the little fellow that's going to marry her Seattle are precisely the same as at San| will be a lucky chap.” Francisco. but they appear to be ex-| ‘“Who is he?” pressed differently at an assay office and| “I don't know.” at a mint. The one-elghth of 1 per cent| “But you just spoke of him as a little - 1o “Well, being a tall girl, she wouldn’t marry any but a little fellow, would she?” PEOPLE AND EVENTS. J. 8. Coxey, formerly general of “Coxey’s army,” is now atou[ to take to touring in a private car, from which he will peddle trading stamps and dissemi- nate ideas about non-interest bearing bonds. If he has the success he expects he will visit every State in the Union, carrying with him a brass band of sixteen feces. P Coionel John Hay will be the third raduate of Brown University who has field the I?Ositlon of Secretary of State. Willlam L. Marcy, Secretary of State In President’s Plerce’'s Cabinet, was ad- uated from Brown in 1808, and Richard Olney, President Cleveland’'s Secretary of State, was graduated in 1556. Colonel Hay was graduated in 1858, Mr. Ruskin has lost none of his early admiration for the work of the late Sir E. Burne-Jones, and has contributed $0 to the fund intended for the purchase of one of the artist’s pictures to_be pre- sented to the English nation. Mr. Rus- kin was one of the first to appreciate Burne-Jones' talent and used to buy his ictures when no other purchaser could e found. ‘William Barris, who lives near Beaver Falls, Pa., is seeking medical treatment for the restoration of his voice. During the McKinley-Bryan campaign Barris was an ardent free silver man. One night at a street meeting he became very enthu- iastic, and while giving a mighty cheer for his favorite candidate something cracked and he has not been able to speak above a whisper since, although he has been treated by some of the most n&}edvpecmllsts of Pittsburg and other citles. Cal. glace fruic 50c per Ib at Townsend's.® ————— Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men b, Press cupmnf Bureau (Allen’s), 510 o'x'xhtt gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, * Sir Thomas Lipton’s latest furnishing meals to the mllu‘o‘:?:?:r to: very small sum is still being criticised by tdhe small tradesmen and shoppers in Lon- on. “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used over fiftv ycars by millions of mothers for their children while Teething with perfect success. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colic, reg- ulates the Bowels and is the best remedy for Diarrhoeas, whether arising from teething or other causes. For sale by Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mrs. Wiaslow’s Soothing Syrup. 25c a bottle. —_—— HOTEL DEL CORONADO—Taks advantage of the round-trip tickets. Now only $60 by steamship, Including fifteen days' board at hotel; longer stay $2 50 per day. Apply at 4 New Montgomery stregt, San Franclsco. DYSPEPSIA CAN BE CURED BY UBING e Dl!lplplll ’l}lble{s One little tablet o handsome in boxes Or mo! refunde-d. Sola tn af No Percentage