The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 2, 1899, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MUNDAY, JANUARY 1899 .JANUARY =2, 1399 CKELS, Proprietor. ns to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. Addr W. 5. LEAK PUBLICATION OFFICE .Market and Third Sts., S. F. Telephone Main 1888 ROOMS. 217 to 221 Stevenson Street Telephone Main 1874 MONDAY. JOHN D. SPRE ess All Commu nic: EDITORIAL THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL (DAILY AND SUNDAY) !s served by carrlers In this clty and surrounding towns for I5 cents a week. By mall $6 per year; per month 65 cents. THE WEEKLY CALL, 18 OAKLAND OFFICE.. One year. by mal, $i pages B ...908 Broadway NEW YORK OFFICE.........Room 188, World Building DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Representative. WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE Riggs House C. €. CARLTON, Correspondent. CHICAGO OFFICE e .....Marquette Bullding C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising Representative. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay, open until 930 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%lock. 1941 Mission street, open until 10 o'clock. 2291 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o'clock. 25I8 Mission street, open untll 9 o'clock. street, cpen untll 9 o'clock. 1505 Polk street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock. —_— AMUSEMENTS Cilumbla—*"The Man From Mexico.” Californta—>Minstrel Jubilee Morosco's—H{ Henry M rpheum—Vaudeville. All Aboard.” es—Gorilla Man, Vaudeville and the Zoo. Olympia — Corner Mason and Eddy streets, Speclalties. Glen Park—Mission Zoo. Central Park—The Steeplechase. Metropolitan Hall—Rosenthal Plano Recital, Tuesday even- y 3. AUCTION SALES, livan & Doyl Horses, Buggies, Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 827 Sixth st, etc 5 5; GREAT YE@AR. HE commercial returns for the year 1898 are T[ Iy all in and they show the year.to have been the greatest in the business history of the United States. This news has already been liberally b ted, as the trend has been in this direction for some weeks, but the figures are staggering. To begin with, the center of financial power has n to cross the ocean, and it may not be long ere rican dollar may supplant the English sov- the basis of the world's exchange. "Even 4 divides with London the first place in international finance. " This country is lending v millions to Europe that for the first time. for- n ‘banks look to New York to dictate the rates of This may be temporary now, but y to become a permanent condition in the future. There is nothing visionary in this hypothesis, for the center of the commercial and social world moving westward, and has done so as far back as history goes. At present this movement is progres g with such rapid strides that the attention of the whole world is arrested. Trade figures at the close of the year show that during 1808 the United States sold-two dollars’ worth of goods for every dollar’s worth it bought. The éx- ports reached the enormous aggregate of $1,250,000,~ 000, which is an excess over imports of $617,000,000. In 1897 this excess was $357,000,000. As to the influx of gold into this country last year the amount i dntazing, being $140,000,000, while the best previous record was less than $73,000,000. A good deal of this ! banks at profitable rates of interest, and considerable has been so gold has been loaned back to European recoined into American money and goife into national circulation. The exports of cotton during the-year amounted to 3,036,000,000 pounds, while in no pre viaus the ports reached 3,500,000,000 pounds. The exports of breadstuffs reached the total of 220,000,000 bushels of wheat, ificluding flour, and 201,000,000 bushels of corn. But it was in industrial progress that the world's record was beaten by the United States in 1898. The otifput of pigiron was 11,045,000 tons, the largest in the history of the country by 2,000,000 tons, and larger than Great Britain ever produced by 00.000 tons. The exports of iron manufactures in ten months were $87,630,000, while the imports were only $13,500,000. Textile goods, however, did not make such a bril- liant steel goods. Cotton touched the lowest price in fifty years, with the great- est vield ever known. Cotton goods declined 5 per cent up to the middie of November, but since then have risen 7 per cent and closed at the highest point of the year, thus auguring well for 1899. The wool trade of the country was disappointing, enormous supplies having congested the markets during the ajor part of the year. The financial statistics also made a good showing. The failures throughout the United States numbered. 11,683, a decrease of 11.2 per cent from 1897, while the liabilities decreased 9.5 per cent. The commercial deaih rate or the proportion of traders failing to those in business was the smallest since 1802." A gratifying feature of 1808 was that the liveliest and best business of the country was done outside of Wall street, that is, by merchants and farmers rather than by stock oper- ators, though there were several lively times in that famous speculative mart during the year. Taken on the whole, 1898 was a banner year and for.the coun- try at large could not have been better if it had been nade to order. As for the Spanish war, which some worthy people predicted would plunge the country inte a financial paftic and visit us with hard times for years to come, it cut no figure of any consequence, being merely a sort of extended Fourth of July cele- bration, a momentary ruffling of the eagle’s feathers, and by this time has been relegated io the limbo of history. The participation of California in the great com- mercial celebration of 1808 was only partial. Dry weather clipped our wings last year, though we still had feathers enough left to make a respectable flight with and keep in sight of the balance of the national flock. We are not accustomed to the fag end of the procession, however, and do not like to be there. It does not seem like home. g year have ex showing as iron and It would, indeed, be a serious blow to things in general if Assemblyman Kennealy were to be de- prived of the privilege of voting for a great and good citizen for Senator through the simple circumstance 6f having killed another citizen who had mot the honor of being in politics. A question naturally arises as to what provision of the statutes Burns can turn to for authorization of his scheme for being at the same time Governor and Senator. ‘Well, there are people who had thought better of Major McLaughlin, 106 Eleventh | it is | is ever | BETRAYAL OF A TRUST. O expose the untrustworthiness of the telephone ompany was not a pleasing task, but it hecame a duty and was performed. That a corporation whose chief hold upon the public is' based upon the understanding that it will keep faith, to betray the secret messages of its patrons is a breach of decency. It passes beyond a simple breach of trust. It is dis- honorable, dishonest and despicable. When a message is put on the telephone wires it is always with the idea that it will go from sender to re- ceiver without being diverted to the listening ear of a wire-tapper. That a man connected with the Exam- iner should have conceived the plan of breaking into : the confidence of people conversing an matters in no way his concern, is not surprising. That he should | | | | have desired to pry into private affairs and use the stolen information for his own benefit creates sio feel- ing akin to amazement. The startling phase of the situation is that in all | this skullduggery he seems to have enjoyed the sanc- ; tion of the company and the active co-operation of | | employes. To him were revealed the communications :passing between husband and wife, between business | partners, between associates in politics. By the scheme of tapping the wires he was able to know many things he had no right to know, and which a man of principle would have scorned to have acquired. But the blame does not rest with the individual solely. It has forfeited its claim to public confidence. It has | grossly abused those who have paid it toll. Not only | | has the fact become manifest that messages go awry, | but it has been learned that messages are put in writ- Why? That the company | | has no right, no good purpose in doing this, is clear. | It is, in the | The telephone company must share |ing and placed onfile. It is at best a piece of impertinence. {light of revelations, a grievous and impudent wrong, }p!acing every stbscriber at the mercy of a corpora- tion. When word cannot be sent over the telephone | vire without being sidetracked, switched to the ample | | ear of the meddler, it is time for the wires to be per- mitted to rust and the hello girls to be sent where | | | they cannot interfere. hedged | Letters and telegrams are safeguarded, ‘ about with restrictions of honor and polity, but the | message given to the telephone company is the com- | ‘mon property of the company itself and of every | | eavesdropper who chooses to buy his way into the ! fellowship of that concern or of any of its numerous employes. ‘However, it is fitting that the expose | should have come through :the partnership of the | 5 | Examiner in the iniquity. Now, a question arises as to what method of pro- tection the public has. To fortify itself against spies is a difficult operation. At least it must have from | 1 l lobliged to withdraw its patronage from an institution | the corporation assurance of reform, or it will be | | year after. ample, and their experience demonstrates that the evil can be greatly diminished if not eradicated. With such illustrations before her of what can be ac- complished by wise laws enforced at a comparatively small cost, California should not delay in following the lead of these progressive commonwealths. She should be the next State to protect her forests, and the needed legislation should be provided this winter. N more acceptahle or more valuable gift than, that brought yesterday in the showers which fell in-abundance over so large a portion of the State. It was, indeed, a glad day for all who have been watching the long procession of weeks of sunshine, impatient for the rain. The records of the State show that not infrequently seasons which began as dry as the present one, have after New Year and toward spring been profuse of showers, and in the succeeding season all forms of | crops have been abundant. There is now a fair pros- pect this will be a season of that kind. Gradually the drought has been breaking up. There have been more or less clouds for some time past, and at last there has set in what promises to be a period of good ‘rains. ‘It is not in the rural districts only that the benefits of the showers will be felt. With the brightening prospect of a good season there will come a greater confidence in all lines of business, and that industrial and commercial activity which has been so notable in the East for the past three months will be manifest here not less energetically than in the most progres- sive States beyond the Rockies. It seems, therefore, that we are to have a really glad New Year. The evils caused by the drought will pass away and once more California will take the lead of her sister States in the profusion as well as the variety of her rural products. We shall be in good | condition to prepare for the development of com- merce with the Orient, for the world's great exposi- tion at Paris and for our own State exposition the In fact after the years of struggling with the free trade depression, the financial panic and the drought, California is about to be herself again. She needs nothing but rain, and the new year has brought that and promises more. S of the Two Republics concerning the seizure in Mexico of a large quantity of California wine found to be adulterated with salicylic acid there has been a renewed activity in the direction of pro- viding a better enforcement of our pure food laws and of obtaining from the Legislature further statutes on the subject where such are needed. To that extent good has resulted from the event, and the incident cannot be regarded as an unmixed evil. ‘When the reports get abroad of what is being done in California to protect the purity of its food products | the effect upon the general public will be highly bene- ficial, and if these efforts result in completely elim- inating frauds from the trade, there will be a sure market for California goods.in countries where our products are now regarded with suspicion and dis: trust. The benefits of the proposed inspection will be particularly felt in our wine industry. Abundant reasons exist for believing that the long struggle.for THE NEW YEAR'S RAIN. O New Year's day ever brought to California a PURE FOOD LAWS. INCE the publication in The Call of the story | which demonstrated facts show to be unworthy, which ! will not shield it against the approach of a sneak, and I which, for a fee to its servants, exposes secrets to the | | world.. There have seldom been stories more shame- | | ful than that told in The Call yesterday morning. The \ telephone company is culpable. It has been exposed | and its disgrace is open. What have its representa- tives to say? | i . | ture is about to. convene and this abuse is one to be They will probably say nothing. But the Legisla~ ! regulated by statutory enactment. The patron of a telephone company is entitled to the same protection {afforded the patron of a telegraph company, or of a Such dereliction as has been laid -bare | | postoffice. should be corrected through the enactment of a law | N article of timely interest and pertinent to the | making it a felony. e e , \ welfare of California is that on “Forest Fires” - in the current number of the Forum, by Henry LOSSES BY FOREST FIRES. Gannett, chief geographer of the United States Geo- logica! Survey. It is timely because the importance of providing some means for preventing the destruc- | tion of our forests, which is go clear to people dur- ing the months when the fires rage, is generally for- gotten in the winter when the Legislature meets, and is therefore ignored in the work of the session. Mr. Gannett’s article comes in time to recall public at- tention to the subject and revive popular desire for a remedy for the evil. The first notable point in the article is the state- ment made on the strength.of official statistics of the extent of the damage caused by forest fires. Speak- ing generally Mr. Gannett says: “Lvery. year when the summer heats have dried the vegetation, forest fires prevail over the Northwest from the Great Lakes to Puget Sound, and over the pineries of the south; ! and thousands of square miles of forests go up in smoke. In addition to millions of dollars’ worth of timber there are destroyed each year ranches and even towns which stand in the track of the flames, not to speak of the loss of life.” He adds: “Let us get some measure of the amount of this destruction. In the year 1880, in connection with -the tenth census of the United States, Professor C. S. Sargent collected all possible information concerning | the forest fires which occurred during that year. The | results of that investigation, which jn the nature of things could not be exhaustive, showed ‘that there were hurned at least ten and a quarter million acres of forest land—an area twice the size of New Jersey. The value of property thus destroyed was more than $25,000,000. This is the tale of one -year, and a year not at all remarkable for its forest fires.” The waste is more destructive on the Pacific than on the Atlantic coast, as Mr. Gannett points out, be- cause on this ceast it seldom rains from May to Octo- ber and by Augiist the forests are as dry as tinder. On this coast, thercfore, the need of laws for forest preservation is more important than elsewhere, and yet we are behind the more progressive States of the East in undertaking the work. Within a genera- tion, says Mr. Gannett, one-fiith of the magnificent forests of Western Washington have gone up in smoke. “Timber having a stumpage value of $30,000,- 000 has thus been thrown away in a part of this one | State. : New York led the way in providing laws for the protection of her forests and as a consequence she now suffers little from the ravages of fire. New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Min- nesota and Pennsylvania have lately followed her ex- 1 | | | | | L | at Washington. | one of their own number. | be stars in such a court. Possibly they are practicing. | necessary. Not only was the fake apparent, but it an entrance to the world’s wine market has about succeeded, and that California winemakers are to have better times than has been their lot in the past Moreover, the demand for our wine in some parts of our own country is rapidly increasing. The New York Sun, in commenting upon the extent to which the use of wine is supplanting the use of beer in some parts of the Union, recently stated: “A New Orleans brewer asserts that in Louisiana, while the quantity of beer sold during the five months from July to November, 1897, was 111,675 barrels, it was, during the corresponding five months of 1808, only 82,736 barrels. For the same two periods the sales of California wine in Louisiana increased from 14,118 barrels in 1897 to 48,230 barrels in 1898. It is sold in pitchers and cans, thus avoiding the bottling tax, and is retailed at the rate of 5 cents per quart, with a chunk of ice thrown in.” ‘The Sun adds it has been noted that the French, | Spanish, Italian and South German peoples in that city are consuming less beer than formerly because of the increasing consumption of California wine. It seems, therefore, that the industry is on rising ground at last and has the prospect of an enlarged home market, the best in the world, before it. Whatever is done at this time, therefore, to keep the product | pure and wholesome will be highly profitable in the long run. In the meantime it should be remembered that no matter what may be accomplished in California for the enforcement of pure food laws, the subject cdn never be effectually dealt with by any authority less coniprehensive than that of the United States. As long as Eastern adulterators can mark their fraudu- lent output with California labels, so long will our producers be handicapped in the market. The pro- moters of such laws, therefore, should push the fight | Every effort should be made to pro- cure the enactment of a statute on the subject, either at this session or at the next. It is well to be frank. The retiring Board of Edu- cation is the rottenest body ever convened, unless one of the “kangaroo” courts which convicts form to try Waller and Ragan would The only surprising feature about the official denial of the authenticity of the Examiner’s latest interview with the Pope is that one should have been considered had the indorsement of Creelman. With all respect possible under the circumstances for the learned counsel of Mrs. Botkin, the public is not prepared to believe that as to the sort of crime she committed there cannot be found a competent jurisdiction and a law to fit. i TS Judge Sweeney's one day term of office was all too short. He had the privilege of turning loose only two women pickpockets. They boasted of a pull, and ap- parently knew what they were talking about. Astronomers Barnard and Burnham have received new honors. These are in addition to the honor of having been frozen off Mount Hamilton by the justly celebrated Professor Holden. Dewcy'and Lee might make a strong combination, but handicapped by the effusive indorsement of Wat- terson they would have a fight on their hands. S e Sir Robert Ball predicts an explosion which will rend the earth. It is surprising to learn that Sir Rob- ert has been keeping an eye on Sacramento. Compliments to Professor Hammon, and if he has | he took no part in the first State con- | lines, the abolition of the so-called na- MR. T. V. CATOR'S - RETROGRESSION To thHe Editor of The Call: As one of T. V. Cator's most faithful support- ers, and as his ready defender for seven yvears past. whenever he has been as- sajled by political opponents, though | ever openly and. frankly opposing his political methods whenever occasion | demanded it, propriety will certainly permit me to make brief reference to the letter which appeared over his sig- nature in The Call of last Thursday. I note first this opening sentence: “So many * *°* have asked me whether I intended to take sfeps to re- organize the People's party,” etc. His signature to the letter, with that sen- tence in it, was quite superfluous so far as the Populists of this State are con- cerned. It may seem ungracious to in- timate that Mr. Cator was not ‘the whole thing,” and yet it is probable that the Populists themselves will in due time “take steps’ to advance their cause, and that, too, in spite of Mr. Cator’s able effort to justify his u qualified repudiation of the principl he formerly held and which they still h as fondly as they did while he advocated them. Mr. Cator has appar- ently forgotten that he took no steps to organize the People's party at Los Angeles in October, 1891, and also that vention, held in Stockton in June. 1892, The reform forces will again be or- ganized, I doubt not, and without his assistance. ‘With painful surprise many thou- sands will read this unwarrantable statement made by Mr. Cator: “It is apparent that the main support of the People’s party came from those who thought free coinage of silver at the ratio of sixteen to one a desirable pol- icy.” No one knows better than Mr. Cator that during the time while the People's party made its great growth and commanded the confidence of the country the subject of free coinage of silver was never discussed by the speakers or the press of the party, and in his own pamphlet on the money is- sue, one of his best efforts, he himself | ignored the silver question. One of Mr. | Cator’'s worst political blunders. which hurt him seriously in his own part was in setting aside his prior convic- | tions on the money question and taking | up silver in joint debate with Colonel John P. Irish. I am loth to think of Mr. Cator as capable of making the above quoted statement that free silver | was the main support of the People’s | party. It is in no sense true. In the| growing days of the People’s party, | When men came into it by tens of thou- | sands with joy in their hearts. national | ownership of the railroad and telegraph | tional banking system, Government i [ sue of full legal tender paper money | and the land question constituted the State and national platforms, and the | whole literature of the new party. Sil-| ver was ignored, even as Mr. Cator himself ignored it. I will not comment rurther on the astounding incongruities which go to make up Mr. Cator's attempted justi- | fication for making public a total re- versal of all his political views. That | he now indorses the national banking system and the gold standard. finds it| easy to say a good word for the trusts, | and can amuse himself over his recent | fad of free silver—that he can say the| other things in this strange letter to | the public—shows a capacity for change | and a lack of devotfon to principle| which I think will not much commend | him to the confidence of the party to| which he has now transferred his al- | legiance, and may cause him to wait | some time before “they give him any- thing he wants.” I think Mr. Cator has made another political blunder.. Policy has once more got the better of his judgment. He has deserted the reform | movement when it is such a growihg | moral force in our country and throughout Europe as it never was be- fore in the history of the race. JOSEPH ASBURY JOHNSON. December 29, 1898, AROUND THE CORRIDORS T. H. Lowe of Denver is at the Palace. W. L. Clark of Benicia is at the Cali- fornla. L. E. Black of New York is a guest at the Grand. Robert Young of Tacoma is at the Occidental. Clifton Macon of San Mateo is at the | Occidental. Mans H. Coffin of Boise City Is a guest | at the Lick. John F. Turner of Chicago is a guest| at the Grand. | E. H. Willson of Haveshire, Mass., Is| at the California. G. F. Kinney of Reno registered at the Grand yesterday. F. D. Newberry of Philadelphia is reg- istered at the Palace. Charles C. Gallagher of New Jersey Is registered at the Palace, L. U. Grant of Salinas, a well known contractor, is at the Grand. &—90—&—0—90—99—> Aprominent i croRoE L [ Bt et DU MAURIER guest at one of | AND THE the hotels in the | GOLD FISH. «%» city, stands spon- sor for the fol- 6——0—0-—0-90—0—0 1owing story, which he tells at the expense of the famous novelist, George du Maurier: The gentleman in question was a close com- panfon of the author of “Trilby” when | the latter was a student in Paris. Du Maurier had rooms In a house kept by an | elderly maiden lady, who possessed a jar of gold fish. These small fish were the Joy and pride of the old lady's life, and she was accustomed to place them every day on a ledge just outside of her win- dow. Du Maurier occupied the room directly above that of his landlady. One pleasant spring day as he sat by his window he noticed the jar of gold fish. Now Du Maurier loved a practical joke and it suddenly occurred to him that these same gold fish offered an excellent chance for him to have some fun at the | expense of his landlady, so he waited un- | til she had left the house, and then get. ting a bucket of hot water he secretly | stole into her room and treated the gold fish to a hot bath. ‘When the old lady returned all of her pets were dead, floating in the jar witn | their stomachs turned upward. The hot | bath had been too much for them. TUp- stairs Du Maurier was laughing to mm- self. In some way the landlady found out that her boarder was the perpetrator of the joke and her wrath knew no bounds. ' The future novelist with all of | his earthly belongings was merciessly | piled out into tue street and Du Mau had to seek lodgings elsewhere. Years after, however, when his fame had en- circled the globe, he made his peace with the old lady by presenting her with a mammoth bowl of gold fish. | T. H. Duzan of Los Angeles registered at the Occidental yesterday. 5 J. H. Coleman, a newspaper man from | Virginia City, is at the Lick. P. P. Shelby, a prominent citizen of Cleveland, O., is at the Palace. S. Lyons, a well-known traveling man from New York, s at the Grand. L. W. Burris and wife, Shirley Burris and Miss Miller Matthews of Santa Rosa are at the California. Henry Catlin of Sacramento and W. T. Forsyth of Santa Rosa were registered at the Lick yesterday. Mrs. H. E. Kimball and Mrs. Orson Smith, both of Chicago, were among the any more rain storms in his repertoire will he kindly trot them along? 3 arrivals at the Palace yesterday. 4 F. D. Cheshire, who is connected with| to 40 cents. | laid down at Portsmout { rlod of eleven months. | length, | most | on the main deck—firing on a line of the | | other egation in"China, was the United States Leg: I i among the arrivals at the O e CALIFORNTANS IN WASHINGTON VASHINGTON, Jan. 1.—Mrs. 8. B. English and Miss Marie Francisco are in Washington. L. ; Shaw of Los Angeles is at the National: CALIFORNIANS IN NEW YORK. J 4 NEW YORK, Jan. 1—J. R. Chaffee o San Francisco is at the Netherlands. St NEWS OF FOREIGN NAVIES. are In course of rine boats subma Gt Eight - tional - dock- construction at the na of France. A battle-ship to be e eramberT She will be of the same tonnage as the Formidable, launched last November, but will have & continuous belt from citadel to stem. More orders for war-ships by forelgn Governments have been offered to ship- builders on the Thames.than the latter | could accept. Yarrow & Co. have found | their business increased so greatly as to oblige a removal to more commodious premises. B The Queen has sanctioned an {ncrease of officers in the British pavy. One’flag officer is to be added each year, commeénc- | ing with January, 1899; four captains in 1898, five in 1899 and five annually there- after. Commanders five each year com- mencing with 1888, The warranrt officers corps is to be increased at once as fol- lows: Chief gunners and chief boat- swains from 70 to 100; chief carpenters from 18 to 20; carpenters, now 207, to 240, and gunners and boatswains from 920 to 1150, English of ‘Szxr\‘= amed London was ADVERTISEMENTS. [ DECOY DUCKS AND CRIPPLED HORSES. A Fable Up to Date. Mr. Popinlaw—FEureka! Mr. Straight—What? Popinlaw—I have found JEY Straight—Found what? Popinlaw—Found the store that un- dersells Pattosien’s Two-Acre Store in the Mission. Straight—You hav: Where Not on this continent, I am sure. Popinlaw—1I tell you. The other day going up Main street I saw on the out- side of a big furniture store over the s it? A fire at Ferrol (one of the naval arse- | nals in Spain) on December 3 destroyed $500,000 worth of naval stores and fit-| tings, among which were those belonging | to the Admiral Cisnero, an armored | crusier of the same class and type as the | Marie Teresa, Oquendo, Viscaya and Cris- | tobal Colon, destroyed off Santlago on July 3 last by thie American fleet. The keel of the battle-ship Venerable will shortly be laid at the Chatham dock- vard. It will be the first time in the his- tory of that yard that three ships have been built on the same slip within a pe- The Japanese torpedo-boat destrayer Murakuma (Darkening Cloud), one of the six boats bullt by: Thornycroft, has made a very successful trial, making 30% knots for three continuous hours, the engines developing 590 horsepower on 205 pounds | of steam and 389 revolutions. The Mura- | Kkuma is 210 feet in length, 19 feet § inches | beam, displacing 275 tons when down | to her sea-going draught of 7 feet 6 inches. Her armament consists of one 12-pounder, | five 6-pounders and two 1S-inch torpedo | tubes. There are three Thornycroft boil- | ers, having collectively a heating surface | of 15,500 square feet and 200 square feet of | grate. With hatches open the boat is ca- pable of making 22 knots. The sea fight off Santiago on July 3| last demonstrated the fact that the mill- | tary masts are a source of great aanger | to the gun crews. and might even cause | the surrender of the ship in the event of the masts falling on deck. On one of the Spanish ships the mast had fallen di-| rectly over one of the 6-inch guns, no | doubt disabling the crew. On another ship | the fallen mast lay across the heavy bar- | bette guns, thus interfering with if not en- | tirely destroying their usefulness. In oren deck vessels this question is a most seri- ous one and may lead to radical changes. Fighting tops may be entirely discarded, and the masts used solely for signaling | purposes, in which event they can be | made much lighter and thereby greatly | improve the general efficiency of the ship, | especially in stress of weather. The two ships. building at Cramns’ for the Russian navy promise to be the most efficient vessels of their classes on limited | displacements. The cruiser, which is to be completed first, will be 400 feet in 52 feet beam and about 19 feet § inches draught, displacing 6300 tons. She will have two triple-expansion engines and 30 Niclause water-tube boilers, devel- oping 20,000 horsepower, and a speed of 23 knots on a trial of twelve continuous hours. The armament consists entirely of rapld-firing guns, and its caliber and disposition is as follows: Twelve 6-inch on the main deck, of which four are on each broadside, two aft on the poop and two forward on the forecastle. There are also twelve 3-inch and six 6-pounders dis- tributed all over the ship, and four tor- pedo tubes, one on each broadside and in the bow and stern. The coal capacity is 1400 tons, and the complement 450 officers and men. e Ttalian shipbuilders at Leghorn and at Sestri Ponenti, near Naples, share with Elswicks the honor of turning out the efficient war vessels. Orlando Brothers, at Leghorn, have recently com- pleted in the short time of eighteen months a duplicate of the Cristobal Colon | of 6882 tons. .The ship was built for the | Argentine Republic and is named General Belgrano. Seven of these armored cruis- ers have been built in Italy, and the last differs from- the others only in her bat- tery. She has an- all-round nickel-steel armor belt of six inches maximum thic ness, and the.side armor amidships ex- tends to the main deck, which, with the bulkheads, forms a complete citadel in which the primary battery Is carried. The armament consists of two Armstrong guns mounted in barbette on the main deck, one at each end of the redoubt; ten 6-Inch Armstrong quick-firers in battery within the redoubt on the main deck; four similar guns—two forward and two aft | | keel; two 3-inch rapid-firers; ten 2%-inch, elght 13%-inch Maxims, besides two land- | ing mitrailleuses; two Maxim-Nordenfelt | guns and four torpedo tubes on the | broadsides. The engines develop 8600 | horsepower urider natural draught and 13,000 under forced draught, and on her trlal made 18.00 knots on a displacement | of 800 tons in excess of the normal. Un- der forced draught the speed is 20 knots. The bunker capaclty is about 1100 tons, and capstans and ammunition hoists are worked by electricity. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. COLLIERS—A. S. G. F., Alameda, Cal. This department will be pleased to fur- nish you “some data about the United States colliers Apache, Chickasaw and | Merrimac” if you will explain what par- | tlcular data you want. | JUDGE GRADY--R., Mendocino Coun- ty, Cal. It was Judge Thomas Grady of | New York City, not Brady, who spoke in Metropolitan Hall in San Francisco in favor of Grover Cleveland during one of | the Presidential campaigns, CHRISTMAS PACKAGES—F, W. A, City. Those Christmas packages tnat | were intended for the soldiers at Manila that were not received in time to be sent by the St. Paul will be held until ans transport sails for the Philippine Islands, when the Government will for- | ward them. REDUCING WEIGHT-T. 8., Santa Rosa, Cal. It is fmpossible to give a gen- eral rule for a person who wishes to re- duce his weight from fifteed to twenty pounds in order to take part in a race, The proper thing to do can only be told | by a practical trainer, wio will, after individual. advise him ercise will bring down his weight. at might e good for one would be dangerous for snother. MORE COIN QUEST/ONS—S., Sacra- mento; Subscriber, City/and Cofns, City. A half dollar of 1812 do# not command a premium. The selling/ price is fram $5 cents_to $150. / A $5 gold plece of 194 commands a pre- mium of $1 if it has J Pluribus Unum on the reverse. The seilng price is for.one with the motto from §12 to $18 and without the motto from $7 t 0. A 10-cent plece of a premium. The examination of the $45 does not command ling rrice is from %L | ple free. | Press Clipping Bureau (Allen's), 510 door the picture of a couch marked $3 50. I am positive that the cheapest couch of that character at Pattosien’s was not less than §6; there’s a saving of a half for me in buying that couch. Straight—That's a sprat to catch a mackerel. A will-o'-the-wisp to lead you into a bog. That couch is merely to lead on to other things. : Popinlaw—Now am I not right? Isn't that a bargain? Straight—You are and you are not. Popinlaw—That's a paradox. How can I be wrong? Do you not admit that I would -have to pay Pattosien’s §6 for that couch? Straight—So I do, but wait. That couch is purposely put there to deceive the unwary. Popinlaw—I do not understand you. Straight—You will understand; just let me talk. You know when I was in the furniture business years ago I had to “battle again the same business methods. This® very couch you are speaking of may be worth $5 wholesale, if well made; if it is not it might cost only $3. Did you try to buy the couch? Popinlaw—No. I only priced it. Straight—If it is well made and worth $5 the store will lose $1 50 on it. The moment you try to buy it the salesman will .do his best to get you away to an- other of greater value and if he fails in that he depends on making up the $1 50 three times over on the next arti- cle. Were the other things marked in plain figures like they are at Patto- sien’s? Popinlaw—No; they had letters on the tags instead of figures. Straight—I thought as much. The S-K-I-N-T-H-E-L-A-M-B cipher sys- tem. One thing marked F-O-X and an- other W-O-L-F. Honest traders, such as Pattosiens don’t want to conceal their prices. They are fair and above board. Popinlaw—But don’t that couch indi- cate low prices? Straight—Oh, you sweet innocent! You dear pigeon, trussed for plucking! All goods are high in a siore that will | do_such deceptions. Popinlaw—But that couch was cheap! Straight-—Oh, you guileless gullible. Don’t you see that that’s a, decoy duck! lure! Can’'t you hear them singing, “Walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.” It's a cock’s feather to bait a salmon hook. Just like the dirty signs that you see plastered all over the store. Those soiled doves of the salaried sign writer are like bandages on the legs of crippled horses; they show at once the poor beast that carries them is a bro- ken-down, .spavined cripple, getting ready for the knocker’s yard. They are danger signals. When you have gazed on them pass them by on the other side and keep straight on. Board the Yis- sion-street car; go right ahead and don’t stop till you get to Pattosiens, at Sixteenth street, and there you will learn the honest price of goods. Popinlaw—I must say Pattosiens mark all their goods in plain figures. Straight—And such figures. You can- not find at the decoy duck’s nest what vou will at Pattosiens’. Such things for instance as elegant Wilton carpets for $1 a yard, or superb Roxbury maka for 80 cents. Mind you, sewed and laid. No_solid oak bedroom sets for $18, No, friend Pop, I repeat, pass by the | decoy ducks and GET HONEST G0ODS AT HONEST PRICES oo AT o PATTOSIEN’S, 16th and Mission. e —— IN THE BEST OF HUMOR. Teacher—Davie, can you define the verb “to. knit”? Davie (who has trled to knit)—Knit, knat, not.—Truth. Little Mary was discovered one day by her mother vigorously applying the oil can to the kitten's mouth. n being re- proved, she replied Why, mamma, kitty squeaks 80 awfully when I pull her tail!’” —Comic Cuts. “Papa, vou sald you would stone unturned to prospects.” “Yes, dear daughter, I did.” ““Then why do you refuse me another diamond ring?’'—Chicago Record. leave. no advance my social Physiclan—So_you have been taking Dr, Quackiey'’s medicine. have you? atient—Well, plenty of ‘peopls ‘pr it _to the ekies. Leople pratg Physiclan—It has sent plenty of them there.—Judy. “If old man Methuselah had any prop- erty,” sald the Cornfed Philosopher “what a lot of fun he must have ha after he got to be about 500 or 600 years { old and his younger relations began to be | kind to him!"—Indianapolis Journal. —_— Cal. glace fruit 50c per 1§ at Townsends. Anakesis cures Piles. nothing else. Sam- Address Anakesis, New York. ¢ —_——— Special information supplied dally to business houses and public men bg the Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042, or.zt “Your replies are very tart,” young husband. saldithg Then he hastily added: “But they aré mot as as mother made.”—Cleveland ke tart Plain Dealer, “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used over fifty :-ears by milllons of mothers for thelr children ‘while Teething with perfect success. It soothes the ohild, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colic, reg- ulates the Bo and is the Lest remedy for Diarrhoeas, whether arising from teething op other causes. For sale by Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mra, Winslow's Soothing Syrup. 2c a bottle, —_—— HOTEL DEL CORONADO—Take of the round-trip tickets. N el ow onl; steamship, including fifteen days’ byfl:: ‘:{ hotel; longer stay $250 per day. A, 4 New Montgomery street, San F’r’lnfl!eo.ppl’ v ACKER'S DYSPEPSIA TAB raising o the food, distrens after cating o any medlate relier, " At Owi Drag G, o> 51ves me