The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 28, 1899, Page 6

; ] " begged free lodgings in Call MARCH 28, 1899 { D. SPRECKELS, Propristor. e T cations to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. 2 L .Market and Third Sts., S. F. Main 1868, 217 to 221 Stevenson Street faln 1874 15 CENTS PER WEEK. CATION OFFICE Telephot EDITORIAL ROOMS. Telep VERED BY CARRIE 1zed to recefve subzoriptions. s will be forwarded when requested. QAKLAND OFFIKCE...... e e 908 Broadway NEW YORK OFFICE.........Rcom 188, World Building DAVID ALLEN, Advertising Repregentative. WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE ....Wellington Hotsl C. C. CARLTON, Correspondent. CHICAGO OFFICE 5 . . Marquette Building C.GEQRCE KROGNESS, Advertising Representative. EBRANCH OFFICES—52T Montgomery street, corner Clay, 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, open until .. 621 McAlilster street, open until 9:30 615 Larkin street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. o'clock reet, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o'clock. 2518 Misslon street, open until 9 oclock. street, open until 9 o'clock. until 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second anq Kentucky streets. open untll 9 o'clock. AMUSEMENTS. 1 Opera Company,-Sat Vaudeville every afternoon Specialties. THE ELECTION OF SENATORS. ve been expected the Senatorial h of electing Senators. The one of so amending the for election by direct vote t change will require years proposals have been e quarters are strongly advocated. tion a few day o to the -plan which provides aiter the ity of the Legis- 3 Now comes the San nother plan. It says: organization at its regular nate the party candidate for obviate all uncertainty or The legislative campaign would 1 atorial contest, and for the 1 be a simple matter of choosing be- tween the Republican nominee Smith, or the Demo- Populist nomiaee Jones, t should elect a majority of the, as soon as the ballots were xt Senator would be. e Brown or t vou who the n There woul c 10 subsequent wire-pulling; no orial dals. The Senatorial party controlled the Legislature on the first ballot, and the Legisla- be free to proceed with the business of good for the people perhaps do s The or by State convention would this plan are obvious. ections of a S e in the pools along with State offices nt would go by bargain and log- te State es involved in the elec- tion of le ors to the of Senatorial candi- dates. Voters who desired the election of a particular candidate for United States Senator would have to vote for his legislative ticket whether it were com- posed of good men or not. Moreover the additional factor introduced into a campaign by the nomina- tion of a candidate for the United States Senate would the danger of dividing a party into fac- tions, if the candidate happened to be unpopular in some localities, and would to that extent compromise the rest of the ticket It is in every way desirable to have national politics a$ separate from State politics as possible, so that parties will not be able to carry a weak State ticket into office by linking it to a strong national ticket. For that reason no satisfactory solution of the prob- lem of electing United States Senators can be reached short of their election by direct vote of the people without reference to the Legislature. In the meantime, since that consummation is likely to be long delayed, it would be worth while to experi- ment with the plan of the Mercury. Its defects are so clear upon the surface that they can be guarded against to some extent, and at any rate they are not greater than those of the present system. In fact hardl hing in the way of change could produce results worse than the deadlocks and the scandals rivalr; that now prevail at Senatorial contests in all parts of the Union. An elderly woman of Ozkland was sent to jail for having attempted to pass two bogus nickels. As yet there is not the slightest reason to think that she sup- posed the coins to be bogus, and the suspicion that somebody has acted with brutal haste cannot be avoided. such a stage that white boys shoot colored people just for the e of getting into practice so when they grow up their marksmanship will be creditable to an advanced civ: Forger Creegan has gone to Folsom for two years, which is considerably milder a dose than the sen- | tence of life imprisonment he once received. Yet no- body but Creegan complained that the first sentence was too severe. The Oakland man who with money in his pocket which to. commit suicide played a decidedly mean trick. He should have paid for the room, and, in decency, for the gas employed. The Tacoma druggist who while asieep shot and killed his wife should either reirain from acquiring a new one or drop the habit of keeping a loaded re- volver under his pillow. To comment on the latest fool boy who used an “unloaded” weapon seems almost useless. He will not long be the latest fool boy. As the leader of an army in retreat Aguinaldo seems to be the right man in the right place. 1941 Mission street, open untll 10 o’clock. 2291 Market | 106 Eleventh | {505 Polk street, open | y States have revived public | blem of effecting some bene-‘ THE DINNER CAMPAIGN. HE Democracy will have two dinners of na- In these the op- ! i l tional import in New York. posing factions will line up, one at $1 and the | |- other ‘at $10 per plate, and eat and drink defiance at The dollar a plate party will be led by | Colonel Bryan, who with munitions, consisting of | hash and steam beer, will assault the turkey and Jchampaxne position of the ten dollar party, led by | General Richard Croker. It will be a war to the knife and fork between the house of want and the house of | have. Mr. Croker, who by honest industry has ac- | cumulated a fortune without work, will lead his fly- | | ing columns against the forces of Colonel Bryan, who In the ranks of the | | each other. has made a living with his jaw. d : latter will fight Mr. Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, | who recently deserted the mahogany of the ten-dollar | platers and took his place in the one-dollar trenchers. He has announced that while personally a gold man he believes the country can get along with silver or any old standard, provided the naticnal banks are turned over to a lynching committee and judicial de- He also de- | i cisions are rendered in mass-meetings. “ sires public ownership of everything the Belmonts are | not dealing in and thinks State communism is the remedy for everything in sight. The dollar platers propose to roar against trusts, and that is right, but the ten-dollar platers will also roar against trusts and the Republicans have roared already, so that between roars the simple citizen and the Man With a Hoe will be confused as to which is the original and only roar, with the senior caveat, | among the roars which are making every/trust feel | around for its Jawyer and other weapons of defenss | There are grounds for believing that Mr. Croker’s anti-trust roar will be louder than Colonel Bryan's and the roar of Mr. Belmont. This belief is based on | Mr. Croker's wide and long experience as a roarer. In the presence of his stentorian sonorosity a bull of Bashan would retire crushed and hide his ineffectual | roar in the bushes. | The campaign is being carefully planned. Mr. | Bryan has been ‘practicing on the South and is now | giving his roar a course of the waters at Hot Springs, for he knows that when it meets Mr. Croker’s it will be up against the real thing. This beginning of the campaign of 1900 has the merit of novelty and will attract widespread attention. The news will be hardly second in interest to the battle dispatches from the Fhilippines. At the Antipodes the strife is for the conquest of Aguin- | aldo’s Capitol, which is built of bamboo, while at | | The fact of the matter is, Attorney Ach’s contention THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, TUESDAY, MARCH 28, cannot enter a house where a murder is being com- | mitted or some one is being beaten into insensibility is to lay down a doctrine which for absurdity is only equalled by the injunction logic of Attorney Ach. Besides, even if a man’s house were his castle to | commit murder in it if he pleases, the Ingleside race- track is neither a house nor a castle. It is an in- closure erected for the purpose of charging an ad- | mission fee. If the racetrack gamblers did not want to collect a dollar from every person who witnesses their races they would have avoided the expense of surrounding their grounds with a fence. There is no resemblance between this fence, either in theory or in actual contemplation of the law, and the walls of a man's house. is a legal absurdity, utterly unsupported by authority o1 reason. The police were informed that an ordi- nance of the Board of Supervisors was being vio- lated at the Ingleside racetrack. They thereupon pro- ceeded to the place, entered forcibly, and with their own eyes saw the bookmakers scooping in the ducats of the populace. If comparison is admitted at all the case is similar to that of a peace disturber or a murderer carrying on his operations inside the walls of a house. When a crime is being committed the police are authorized by law to overcome all barriers between them and the criminal. Attorney Ach ought to take a reef in his logic or abandon the law and enter upon mercantile pursuits. THE OREGON PRUNE TRADE. UR esteemed contemporary, the Oregonian, O in commenting upon the organization of the Prune-Growers’ Association in this State,not only shows a clear appreciation of the importance of | the movement, but directs the attention of the prune- | growers of Oregon to the advisability of co-operat- | ing with it. The point made by the Oregonian is that the interests of the industry in the two States are identical. In illustration of the fact it says: “The want of trade organization in Oregon, co- | operative or other, is not only a serious matter for our own own prune-growers, but for the growers of California. During the past year prunes of the forty- ito—fiity grade have been fairly waiting for frqn\ 7% | to o cents in growers’ hands. Californians readily got | these figures, but the Oregonians accepted anything offered them, and in the main the Oregon produce of forty-to-fifty prunes was sold at prices ranging from 3% to 5 cents. Any careful regulation of the Cali- | fornia market must involve protection against bad methods of marketing in Oregon. In other words, Califorina for her own protection must see to it that Oregon has such opportunities in the markets as will prevent the Oregon crop from being a demoralizing factor in each marketing season.” The lesson taught in that statement is not needed home this battle of the banquets is for the|in California, for the prune-growers of this State are conquest of the Capitol of the republic, which | well aware of the desirability of obtaining the co- is built of brick and marble with a dash]| operation of the growers in Oregon. In fact, the of granite and is honeycombed with offices. Mg. i movement started-in San Jose expressly includes a | plan for such co-operation. The value of the argu- | ment of the Oregonian is to be sought in the effect | | it produces in its own State. It is safe to say that it | | is well understood here that “California for her own | protection must see to it that Oregon has such op- | portunities in the markets as will prevent the Oregon from being a demoralizing factor in each Croker enjoys the advantage of his ownership of Greater New York, with its Mayor, munitions, muni- ments and merchandise, its taxes, tithes and tolls. Colonel Bryan's properties and impediments have not ical value of Croker's equipment, but still he martial voice and the copyrighted trademark | crop of the Jefferson cigar. He has fed his forces on em- | marketing season.” 3 | bafined hope and expectation, stale and stringy to be| 1be object of the Clifornia association fis not i | <o that the quality of the | any way to lantagomze the interests of the g—owe(;‘ e e | of aay locality, but to steady the trade and make it | more profitable for all concerned. Good reasons | exist for believing that the present depression in the industry is due not so much to an oversupply as to | bad methods of marketing. It is said the fluctua- | tions in the prices of prunes are so great as to render | the trade something like a speculation, and prudent merchants hesitate to purchase large stocks. If in any way the prices can be made more stable the | the ph: has b sure, but very abundant, ration is somewhat compe: RAINBOW PROSPECTS AHEAD. | V OT in the domain of material things only are our prospects bright for the coming year. The upon us with showers of blessings. The brains of our | 1899. RANCH AND RURAL LIFE and the The very prolonged drought has finally been entirely broken, soil has been deeply moistened by the March rain. It is useful to think a little and talk some on the subject of this past drought in California. It has been on for two years, the rains of January and March this year being practically the only rains of any importance in twenty-four months. Of course that means a prolopged, persistent drought, and yet its effect upon the varied crops and industries of the State was but slight. The statistics in the annual report of President Chipman of the State Board of Trade shows that in nearly all lines, and especially in fruit and fruit products, the exports last vear gained on 1897. There has been some local distress. Places in the dairy districts have been dried out, and else- where there has been loss of stock due to lack of feed. But put all the losses of this long drought alongside the droughts in Eastern States and compare the ability of California to endure with t_ha'. of the East. In the prairie States eight weeks in the growing season with- out rain means an entire loss of all crops. Two months at such season there overpasses the limit of endurance without moisture. Here two years of drought by no means materially affected California with disaster. This should be kept in mind by our people and should be widely knowh among the people who may look this way for homes and occupation to sustain them by rural industry related to the soil. It is now established that pitiful destruction has occurred by frost in the orange orchards of Florida. Not only is the crop cut off, but the trees are frozen down. These disasters have been so frequent in that region that it is no longer considered a rival of California in citrus fruits. The American Poultry Journal says that it has been thought whole oats would not do for chicken feed. Experiments, however, prove this to be unfounded. Oats are good bone-making feed and are now fed whole with fine results. Whole barley is highly recommended as a chicken ration. It should be put in a tight vessel and covered with boiling water, the vessel being covered to retain the steam. This softens it and it is drained in a ?m(ie and fed. Bran is good food for producing eggs, the best of all ground eed. In Brazil blows a wind like our north wind in California, only worse, and is there cglled the “suicide wind.” It disposes men to self destruction and suicides are frequent while it blows. Luxuriant growth in fruit trees is not often associated with fine bear- ing. Very thrifty trees are cured of barrenness by pruning the roots. A trench is dug around the tree at a proper distance to cut off the ends of the roots, and the dirt taken out is then thrown back. Pear trees often re- quire this treatment. The foothill orghards are set for a large crop of fruit this year. Orch- ardists should firmly enforce thinning of the fruit. The great drain on the vitality of a tree is not in perfecting the pulp of such fruits as the peach, apricot, nectarine, plum and prune, but in perfecting and maturing the seed, the pit, both shell and kernel. When by thinning the weight of pulp can be increased, the size and marketable value of the fruit made better and at the same time the strength of the tree saved by lessening the number of the pits to be ripened, the saving and profit are worth considering. A worthless peach, that has ripened its seed, exhausts the tree just as much as a first-class one. Bees are reliable weather forecasters. If a storm is coming they will not leave the hive to work, no matter how fine the morning may be. If a storm approaches after they are out they hurry home from the blooms as fast as their wings can carry them. THE HOTEL CHILD. The hotel child who clatters through the hall And shouts a weary shout of empty glee, Until some guest sends down an angered call, And bellboys tell him he must stop it all— Oh, what a life this life of his must be! He goes to shows, but no tramp dog is his, To play with him in shed or field or wood. He looks from windows, sees the white steam fizz, A forestry of blackened smokestacks is The sum and substance of his ‘neighborhood.” His wealthy father buys him pretty clothes; His mother garbs him out all trig and trim; But, in all glory decked, do you suppose That hungry-hearted little magnate knows One-half the blessings that accrue to him? He looks sometimes from out his window high Across the intervening roof and sees The watchman's child, who shouts a greeting cry To eome young neighbor of a loft near by— He wishes well he might be one of these, With uncombed hair and patches at his knees. The hotel child, unloved but by his own, Has plays and toys. The watchman’s boy has none. But of all dreams the rich man’s heir has known, The fondest is to be the watchman’s son. —Chicago Record. STATE NOTES. Bobwhite quails, just received from the East, have been liberated in Fresno County. The drought discovered many resources before unknown. Mr. Strath- earne, in Ventura County, had to carry eight hundred head of cattle through the dry time and did it by feeding them the prickly pear cactus. The plant was placed in piles with brush and set on fire to burn the thorns off. The cattle did well f~eding on the pulpy leaves. The burning being a troublesome affair the plant was finally fed chopped up fine, thorns and all, and the cattle ate it with no inconvenience from the thorns. Milch cows especially did well on cactus. We may soon expect the appearance in the market of the cactus brand of beef and butter. The abundant manzanita bloom will help out the California honey crop. It is one of the best honey blooms we have and the quality of its honey is equal to white sage. Mr. Thompson of Lanark Park, Stanislaus County, has a double cutter that cuts straw and alfalfa together, an inch long, and in that way his stock eats the alfalfa clean, which is seldom the case when it is fed with- When accomplished it | outh seems to have reached | rain is not the only thing that has come down | reformers, more saturated than the clouds and full of | fogs and mists, continue to pour out upon us an un- | ceasing rain of promises and to overarch the land; with a glorious bow of political reform. A few days ago at the close of a lecture on thci labor problem by Carroll D. Wright in a Massachu- | sctts city, one of the auditors rose and stated that | after the first day of next September he would answer | any one in any city in the United States and show a| solution for the question of the unemployed that | would stand any test that could be imposed and could | be put into operation at a cost not greater than the | cost of the Civil War. . While it is to be regretted that this solution is not | to be made public at once, it is comforting to learn | | that we may expect it before the next rainy season | sets in. It will be wearisome waiting for September, | but that time will come as it always comes and be- | tween that date and Thanksgiving day there will be | ample time to se profit by the new philosophy as to | enable every man to have work, wages and a turkey dinner with a champagne accompaniment at a cost not greater than the Civil War. It is a lovely rain- bow; distant, but distinct; far off, but enticing. Furthermore in the city of Wichita, Kans., there is{ | a glow of brightness shining along the ragged edges | of the thunderstorm. The Democrats of that city have nominated for Mayor a certain James W. Tapp | of the Salvation Army, and he is reported to have i promised if elected to carry out this programme: “Ten dollars fine for any girl wearing bloomers on the street. Any policeman heard swearing to be dis- charged and all will be required to carry Bibles. Re- ligious services to be held twice daily in the city | building. Free streetcar service to be given on Sun- | day morning to all church-goers. Sunday theaters | and baseball games to be forbidden. Spitting on the | sidewalks to be a finabie offense.”] | With such returns coming in from widety separated | commonwealths like Massachusetts and Kansas, and | with forty-three other States and several Territories yet to be heard from, what further evidence can be asked of coming prosperity? What brighter rainbows could we wish for above the political horizon? ]t is going to be all right with California. The rest of the country is clearly yearning for prunes—and Cali- fornia will have a big crop. DEFECTIVE LEGAL LOGIC. | /E\ CURIOUS development of the attempt to sup- | press gambling at the- Ingleside racetrack is | the appearance on the scene of an attorney who | claims that the Police Department, in apprehending criminals, possesses no authority to invade property inclosed by a fence or protected by any artificial bar- rier, Attorney Ach is not celebrated for his legal learning nor distinguished for the depth with which | he penetrates legal problems, but in this matter he has shown that he knows less about the law than ne- | cessity, which is said tq krow no faw whatever. It is true that a man’s hcse is his castle and that he may within its walls do as he pleases, but this doc- ! trine is limited by the other and more important doc- trine that a man cdnnot do in his house what the law forbids him to do elsewhere. It is true that no man can enter forcibly another’s house without warrant of law, but to say that a police officer, who is authorized middlemen will be more willing to handle the goods and as a consequence the consumption will increase. In this, and indeed in all other issues, the States of the Pacific Coast have a harmony of interest. There ought to be cordial co-operation, and, as far as pos- sible, combination in all efforts for the improvement of Pacific Coast industries. The Oregonian has been aiways a stanch exponent of the truth in this respect, and it is gratifying to note that it is giving its potent aid in promoting co-operation in this specific case. THE HONOR OF THE ARMY. WHILE the brave soldiers of the republic are | dying under the tropic sun of the Philippines, and men upon whom there is no stain and no shadow of suspicion are giving lives for their coun- try, there are matters pertaining to the army at home too grave in their import to be overlooked. The | honor of the army has always been dear to troopers and to civilians. Now it has been endangered. Lieutenant Neall is about to be tried on a serious charge.. He absented himself without leave, went to a foreign country, as a swindler might go, and having returned seems to expect that his offense will be condoned. This is for a military court to decide. Soon we shall know the estimate the army itself places upon “honor.” There seems to be no denial of the allegation that when Neall disappeared he took with him funds be- longing to his associates. That upon coming back he made prompt restitution is certainly to his credit, | and yet even this does not seem to the observer sui- ficient to restore him to standing as an officer and a gentleman. To be plain, Neall disgraced the uniform he wore, the cause he served; violated the tenets of society and friendship and honesty. That he forgot his oath and his years of discipline is also plain. The plea is made for Neall that he is so good a sold- ier the service cannot spare him. This seems to us a disparagement of the service. There is no one man who cannot be spared. There is no officer into whose authority another officer might not step and fulfill every duty. Just why Neall should have been singled out as the exception to the rule is far from clear. He should feel gratified; he might even feel {lattered. This subject does not concern alone the army. Our soldiers are citizens before they are soldiers. They represent the country. In large measure the whole people will be judged by those among them ad- judged worthy to bear arms. The subject of a sol- dier’s honor affects the honor of more than are in the ranks. / However, a military tribunal is to decide. There ic no desire to prejudice it. There can only be ex- pressed a hope that it may do its duty fairly and well. In the meantime much embarrassment and possibly some scandal could be averted were Neall to resign. The service, despite an opinion to the con- trary, could spare him. e e ——— The appeal issued by the Government to the Fili- pinos is not believed to be of the caliber to impress them. 1f the next census fail to suit Chicago she will take by law to arrest upon the evidence of his own eyes, in a county or two more and order a new census, out cutting. He found that mixing in straw made it so good a horse feed that his stock did all the plowing and seeding without barley, at a saving of $150. Five acres of sweet potatoes will fatten more hogs than twenty-five acres of corn. where they grow abundantly. Turning sweet potatoes into pork ought to be profitable here, \ VALIDITY OF THE STRATTON ACT I learn from one of the attorneys rep- resenting the Non-Partisan party that the new primary election law is to be assailed for unconstitutionality; nor am 1 surprised to learn that the point of attack is to be its lack of uniformity, or that the provisions of section 1370 constitute special legislation. The origin of the act recently ap- proved by the Governor is of no con- sequence except to set in a better light the conduct of certain Senators with reference to the feature of the bill to be assailed. The feature forming the point of attack was inserted in the bill by amendment and it is proper that an explanation be mfde and the responsi- bility placed where it belongs. For one reason or another all at- tempts prior to the act of 1899 have failed to pass the scrutiny of the courts | on constitutional grounds. The act of 1897, known as the Strat- ton bill, introduced by Senator Strat- ton, was the worst of all. No less than fifteen fatal objections were raised against it in the Supreme Court, one of them being its lack of uniformity and total omission of means or methods of enforcement. The power to frame any constitution- al act was, immediately after that de- cision, challenged by lawyers and’ poli- ticlans of high and low degree. The challenge was accepted by the inter- party confereiace, the origin of which is immaterial. It organized and ap- pointed a committee of lawyers to draft an act which should meet the constitu- tional objections pointed out by the court in passing upon the Stratton act of 1897. (Spier vs. Baker, 120 Cal. Re- ports.) Ths committee's work was completed in December, 1898, and its report adopted by the conference at a meeting held at the rooms of the Union League Club of San Francisco. This committee had representatives at both the Republican and Democratic State Conventions in 1898 and secured an ap- proval of its plan in both platforms. At his request Senator Stratton was al- lowed to introduce the bill (Senate bill 30). A committee was appointed to promote the passage of the bill and re- sist prejudicial amendments. A member of this committee was in- fluential in procuring the rejection of all amendments which were not im- provements in phraseology with the ex- ception of one offered by Senator Gil- lette on the floor of the Senate and ig- norantly indorsed by Senator Stratton, who had charge of the bill. With keen- est regret T must admit that the amendment renders doubtful the con- stitutionality of the entire act. The subsequent efforts to have it eliminated by amendment deserve more than a passing notice. The amendment was inserted in section 1370 (Code number) and reads as follows: ‘“Where a State convention is to be held the respective petitions as filed shall provide that the same delegates composing the State convention, who reside within the respective ‘rallrond commissioner districts and State equal- yization districts, shall be the delegates | to_the respective conventions to nom- |inate candidates for Railroad Commis- | sloners and for members of the State | | Board of Equalization. And the peti- tions filed by Congressional District | Committees, where there are such com- | mittees, shall state whether the dele- | gates elected to a State convention, | :\\'lthln such Congressional District, shall be the delegates empowered to nominate a candidate for Congress in such district, or whether separate dele- gates shall be selected in such Congres- sional District for that purpose. And petiticns filed by Senatorial or Assem- _bly d:_strk*t committees, from districts including more than one county, where there are such district*committees, shall state whether the same delegates to the State Convention residing within such district shall nominate the candidate for Senator or Assemblyman in such district, or whether separate delegates shall be elected in such district for that purpose. And unless there shall be such district petitions providing for | such separate delegates in the cases aforesaid, such district candidates for Congress, State Senator or Assembly- man shall be nominated by the dele- gates to the State Convention who come from and reside within such re- spective districts.” It will be seen that an impo tempt is here made to pl“o\'ideP f:;nrtw?!g- | inations to be made by delegates to a | convention representing an entirely dif- | ferent party than that for which the nominee is to become the candidate, all | of which and the effect of which is | clearly seen by comparison with pre- ceding parts of the same act, and Seo tion 118 of the Politleal & Code ss amended by Senate bill No. 95 at the same session and taking effect subse. quently to the primary act. By said section 1186, as amended, a lawfal eo vention must be composed of delegates elected by ballot at a primary electi, and representing the party of the po. litical division which polled 3 per cout | of the entire vote of the ' sy [ Mticat atoint particular po- ivision. The primary act co tains no provision by which anln~ within political divisions whichp it ve ’nn governing committees can pan?gle pate in a primary election or hold a | convention representing it, and sections 1366 and 1370 of the act as well as said section 1186 negative the power of any other assemblage of delegates to do 50}‘ and said power is still mors clearly negatived In section 1367, where th’er various conventions and their powers ‘nrc defingd and limited. The portions of gection 1370 preceding the above quo. tation recognize the existence ané right of subdivisional parties which have no committees, to participate in the primary, to have conventions of their own and should have provided a method for such participation, but hay. ‘ing provided no method by which they | can participate the act may with: co, | siderable force of argument be dn‘ J{nounced by the Non-Partisans as sp:: cial legislation, partial and discrimin- ating in application. By amendments to section 1188 of the Political Code, made at the same session, such parties are deprived of any right to g0 on the ballot by petition. Senator Stratton, while admitting these points when pointed out to him in time to have | fidence that the primary act w. sustained by the courts on tncvé::::lt hoef its “general equitableness,” which the legal profession recognize as a new element in political law, and 1 also remember that the learned Senator un- dertook to reply to the objections to the “Stratton primary law” with the same kind of plea and bitterly de- nounced the court for its decision ad- verse to his plea. Those who had so carefully framed Senate bill No. 30 urged him to amend that bill, as to the defects above point- ed out, before it was flnally —passed, failing in which Assembly bill No. 451 was introduced in the Assemhly. The Committee on Election Laws of the Assembly, to whom Assembly bill No. 451 was referred, found some objections to its phraseology and reported a sub- stitute (Assembly bill No. 636). Strat- ton, by representations to members of the Democratic State Central Commit- tee, caused them to interfere and they procured the enacting clause to_be stricken out of the substitute. The necessity of a bill curative of the pri- mary act was again made apparent to the Assembly Committee on Election Laws and that committee introduced a committee bill (Assembly bill No. 911) from which all possible objections were eliminated. On final passage in the Assembly every objection wa: swered and it passed without a dis ing vote. When it reached the Senate it was referred to Stratton’s committc which in due time recommended it for passage. On third reading Senat Stratton and others made arguments favor of its necessity and merits Braunhart, without assigning a sir.- objection, opposed it. On Thurs March 9, it passed by 26 to 4, and transmitted to the Assembly for roliment. On the same evening St ton on a pretense of a desire to off amendments had it recalled and the vote whereby it passed reconsidered. But although it remained on the file until March 19 and was twice passed on file he never offered a single amend- ment; and in the small hours of Sun- day morning, March 19, the bill, having been, through the courtesy of a Senator other than Stratton, called up for pas- sage, Stratton rose in his seat and said it was a bad bill and should be de- feated, being unable to point out to the tired and sleepy Senate any reason why it was a bad bill. But eight Sena- tors, notwithstanding their drowsiness, still remembering the logical arguments of Serators Smith and Davis on its for- mer passage, voted for it. It was lost, there being present a bare quorum. The real cause of Stratton’s change of heart was that he preferred the Zavor of designing and selfish politicians, and rather than fail to gain it was willing to imperil a measure of the greatest importance to the political welfare of the State. The foregoing is written and pub- lished in order that the public may know in advance of a successful attack upon the act by the Non-Partisan party, who is responsible for its failure. I sincerely hope, as all must who de- sire good government, that the above points which the Non-Partisans intend to urge before the courts may be an- swered, and the act sustained on ac- count of “general equitableness,” or on even more logical grounds, despite the shortcomings of bungling legislators. T. CARL SPELLING. OREGON SHORT LINE. It Will Soon Be Absorbed by the TUnion Pacific. W. A. Bancroft, general manager of the Oregon Short Line, running from Hunt- ington to Ogden, is at the Occidental. Mr. Bancroft says that his visit to this coast has no special significance. When seen yesterday he said briefly: “The published dispatches to the effect that 75 per cent of the stockholders of the Oregon Short Line had agreed to ex- change their stock for stock in the Un Pacific Company are substantially co: rect, and the transfers will undoubgediy soon be made. In this way the Union Pa- cific will own a_controlling interest in the absorbed road, but the latter will be ope ated under a separate management which will be practically the same at at present constituted. “The Utah and Pacific road is now building an_extension to its road from Milford in Utah in a southwesterly direc- tion to a point in Nevada. From there a branch line wiil be built to Pioche. The line will be operated by the Utah and Pa- cific p-ople, but they will have a traffic exchange agreement with the Oregon Short Line at Milford. ” — e Ordered Into Custody. Thomas Chenich, cook and dancing master, charged with abducting Sarah Marco, 16 vears of age, from her home, 83 Shotwell street, last Wednesday morn- ing, appeared before Judge Conlan yes- terday. Chenich was out on his own recognizance by order of Acting Police Judge Barry, but Judge Conlan ordered him into custody 4nd continued the case. The police have not yet been able to get any trace of the girl, and Chenich still ersists in declaring 'that he does not know where she is. He was visited in the prison yesterday afternoon by a num- ber of his dancing pupils. —_—————————— Look out for 81 Fourth st., nr. 5c barber and grocer; eveglasses, specs, 10 to 40c. * - house and floor cheap,.at Artists’ materials, aints and fine bath enamels, anborn & Vail's. — e The best Easter gift for your Eastern friends. Townsend's California Glace Fruits, 50c 1b. in fire-etched boxes or Jap baskets, 627 Market, Palace Hotel bldg. * e e — Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen's), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042. * — e————— But There Were Two Ends. Irascible licutenant (down engine tube)— Is there a blithering idiot at the end of this tube? Voice from the engine room—“Not at this end, sir.” a e ee————— “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used for fifty years by millions of mothers for thelr children while Teething with perfect success. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays Pain, cures Wind Colic, res- ulates the Bowels and is the best remedy for Diarrhoeas, whether arising from teething or other causes. For sale by Drugsgists in every part of the world. - Be sure and ask for Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. 25c a bottle. o ee————— HOTEL DEL CORONADO—Take advantage of the round-trip tickets. Now oniy $80 by cteamship, including fifteen days' board at hotel; longer stay, $3 per day. Apply at 4 New Montgomery st., San Francisco. —_————————— No well-regulated household should be with- ofit Dr. J. G. B. Siegert & Sons’ Angostura Bitters, unequaled as an appetizer. [E—— One Victim. “What time did the hotel catch fire?” ‘Midnight.” “Everybody get out safel 5 “All except the night watchman. We couldn't wake him up in time."—Boston Traveller. RovaL Baking Powder M o o Safeguards the food against alum, amended Senate bill 30, expressed con-] Alum powders greatest mnu:lk::inlfl: of '!": :u:qxt day.