The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 29, 1899, Page 4

~trade reports of | THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, MAY 29, 1899. MONDAY. MAY 29, 1899 ilOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. Address All Communications ~—— - PUBLICATION OFFICE Market and Third Sts., S. F Telephone Main 1865, EDITORIAL ROOMS 217 to 221 Stevenson Street Telephone Main 1874. DEWVERED BY CARRIERS, 15 CENTS PER WEEK Single Copies, B cents. Terms by Muil, ding Postage: 1 PAILY CALL (including Sunday Call). one vear 86.00 3.00 PAILY CALL (including Sunday Cail), 8 montl DAILY CALL tineluding Sunday Call), 3 months DAILY CALL—By Single Month 6Ge BUNDAY CALL One Year 1.50 WEEKLY CALL, One Year ) All postmasters are authorized to receive subscriptions. Sample coples will be forwarded when requested. OAKLAND OFFICE.. ., 908 Broadway NEW YORK OFFICE Room 188, World Bullding <G KROGNESS. Advertising Representative. WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE Wellington Hotel C; €. CARLTON, Correspondent. CHICAGO OFFICE .. .. .ieeoo....Marquette Bailding C.GEORGE KROGNESS, Advertising K:_prosant-!lve. BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, corner Clay open until 9:30 o'clock. 387 Hayes street, open until | 9:30 o'clock. 62! McAllister street, open untll 9:30 o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 1941 Misslon street, open until 10 o'clock. 2291 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open until 9 o'clock. 2518 Mission street, open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open untll 9 o'clock. 1605 Polk street, open wntil 9:30 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second ana Kentucky streets, open until 9 o'clock. L e ———— AMUSEMENTS. Columbia—*"The Moth an G 1 i the Flame."” 1 Overa ¥ The Princess Nicotine.* we Theater—Vaudeville every afternoon and Ellis streets—Specialties. street, near Eighth—Bat- AUCTION SALES. By This day at 11 a. m. at 408 Van 55 av Frank W Furni N IS CALIFORNIA'S YEAR. Z are tranquil times in trade. There is no All lines of business seem THIS 1 speculation the commercial current is From the East come the regular and bank clearings, HES excitement anywhere to be in good shape, and as there is no undue hout as smooth as 1t ever gets now stereotyped reports® of larger a booming iron market, increased These continued prosperity are becoming monotonous, and r failures, et, in wopl, and' so on weekly reports of te are simply‘repetitions, in phrase- ology changed to give them an air of newness The extraordinary activity in iron and steel has be- 1d- that the s come S0 ¢ peated 15 excite little comment The flurry in wool is of recent date and is, therefore, T'he s at the three chief markets 1y 31,000,000 pounds and ti ances in-quot more for are ree weeks foot up ly due to speculators. the manufacturers They will probably have ) T 3 speculators are getting are doing very little buying to come to it, however, as tt t into their own hands and are determined if the manufacturers buy they will have to pay ir profit. The cotton mills are doing a good business, even at the higher quotations, and are put- I imber continues ting out large quantities of good firm and active, as building operations contine lively Boots shoes hold the recent advances without difficulty, and hide d leather are firm in sympathy. But t tuatioh has its drawbacks. The wholesale distribution is slack at the moment; chiefly on accc and backward spring, which checks retail | the winter wheat crop has been falling oft seriously of late, and ex n conservative parties in 1 fall 100,000,000 - trade now admit that the yield w 1els under the estimates of a month ago. The Feb- work, which has been con y and cold and unfavorable Extremists predict a complete failure of the The export trade, too, has lately shown a decided decrease, both in food supplies and ruary freeze began the tin d by the Hessian weather. winter sown grain manufactured goods. In spite of these drawbacks, however, the bank clearings of the country last week were 358 per cent larger than for the same week in 1898, and all of the more important cities showed a gain. The failures were 142 against 245 last year. It is gratifying to note that goed a showing as any other State, as the grain crop is in fine condition as a rule, and the fruit interests are -in high feather. Oregon and Washingten, where the climatic condi- tions East, with the same re- ction directors for both a very cold and backward season, with are the same as in the Tt States rey sul e Government a poor outiook for grain and a serious deficiency in almost all fruits. This is evidently California’s year. When a single car of cherries and apricots sold may be said to be good among the fruit-growers, and Advices from New York report the demand for California canned fruits as immense, with smaller_supplies than for ten'y California canners have al- read; Id all the fruit they can possibly pack, and this before the fruit is anywhere near ripe. Of course there is a general skurrying about the State for sup- plies, and the high prices for fruit quoted in this column last week still rule, with no signs of a decline. Enthusiasts predict that California fruit will sell high for the next five years owing to the widespread de- struction. of trees throughout the East by the Feb- this is the record of a single car last week. Afe an , ruary.freeze, but this is a pretty sweeping prediction. " light on the subject. Other local staples are equally prosperous. Wool has been remarkably active of late, hides and leather have been in steady demand at firm prices, provisions show no decrease ‘in activity, cattle, sheep and hogs continue to bring stiff quotations, and so on down the commercial list. Unless all signs fail, a good many farm mortgages will be paid off in California this year. B R S— General Gomez intends to visit President McKin- ley. It is a safe wager that the Cuban general will not discuss the Santiago campaign. He dare not tell what he did not do, and it would be equally embar- rassing for him to tell what he did. > It is reported that Gaptain Watkins of the steam- ship Paris said that he could not understand how the accident to the ship happened. Pérhaps the fact that the vessel is on the Manacles Rocks may shed some The Filipinos want to make terms for an uncon- ditional surrender. When they understand the lan- , guage better they may learn that “unconditional” is a word that has no modifiers. With $25,000 in hand as a nest egg to start with, the ' Dewey Monument Committee would be justified in bminning to count it: chickens. ect is threadbare, and re- | lifornia is making as | Reverse conditions prevail in | v in | New York nets the California orchardists $4000 times | THE STREET RAILWAY STEAL. | ‘ HERE are thrée principal daily newspapers pub- | lished in San Franci Upon a great many | questions they are “dissevered, discordant, bel- ligerent.” And yet on the Market Street Railway ;’sleul, which the Board of Supervisors, elacted by a | preponderance of votes in the entire municipality, is | expected to ratify to-day, their denunciation is unani- | mous. What does this mean? whelming preponderance of public sentiment against ance of the men who own the CO. | the outrage, a preponde | property and pay the taxes in San Francisco. | In 1851 and in succeeding years the Common Coun- | ¢il of this city was corrupt and was owned by rotten politicians. In 1856 the Board of Supervisors, estab- lished by the Consolidation Act, was indescribably purchasable and low. But in 1899 all previous experi- | ence has been transcended. The railroad Supervisors, | one and all, belong to a pachydermatous breed. Their | skins are so thick that if they were thrown into a den of lions or a blazing furnace their moral sensibilities would remain torpid. They are the nearest approach that has yet been discovered to absolute impervious- | ness. They are encrusted with the railroad cuticle and are proud of the branded covering that encases them | with degradation. | It has been demonstrated that no Supervisor can | vote for the tangled mass of franchises and privileges, unintelligible except to the initiated, that seven Super- { visors have been ordered to turn over to the monopo- Iy, without confessed dishonesty. And this fact is in affected by the parade on Friday last before | the Street Committee of property owners who justly | desire increased railway facilities in the southeastern part of this metropolis. Some of these gentlemen be- leng to the living statuary that Mr. Huntington occa- sionally uses to produce an impression of popular sentiment that no real existence. But their de- mands are nevertheless legitimate and in due time and in the right ought et. It does not follow that, whil king for the re to which they are entitled, the n that, under the guise of pro- | 1o w: way to be me ¢ public improvement, the residuary interests of the municipality in its’ streets and in the in { moting a necess: employed transportation should be gratuitously delivered to Mr. Huntington. But, notwithstanding the fact, generally appreciated and which has excited the community almost to fren- 7y, that seven of the existing Supervisors constitute a Board of Registration for railroad decrees, the Mayor and the five honest municipal representatives are not Time is the essence of this nefarious business, casements necessarily | helples: and law, which even railroad audacity cannot disregard, favors the public interest. It has been vituper: y declared by the blatant advocates of this monstrous iniquity that the law prohibiting the granting of street ch ges within go days of a general election has been repealed. This statement is February 24, 1893, which not only railway fr es or privil false. The act of | covers this point but also prevents the transfer of | those privileges and franchises for seventy days after an election is an independent statute which does not | conflict with any other legislation and, therefore, is of binding force It is of course the duty of the City and County At- torney to advise the Board of Supervisors of the |isting law. If he is consulted he will probably tell the'| indurated en, who unfortunately in one respect do not represent the united seven of Wordsworth’s poem that they ot confer a railroad franchise or pri lege without the concurrence of the Mayor or without | nine votes to override his veto. Segtion 68 of the FC Act enacts that every ordinance or reso- lution providing for “the granting of afy privilege” or appropriation of public property,” which covers all the tions of the Market Street Railway | Company, “shall, before it takes effect,be presented” to the Mayor for appr 1868, compels nine Supervisors to unite before a veto | onsolidati involving “th | pplic an be defeated | fore Judge Morrow he held provisionally that, under the act of March 3, 1893, the signature of the Mayor to | )lution granting a franchise or privi- | lege was not required.. Under that law, clearly dis- | tinguishable from the act of March 13, 1897, thc‘ Board, aiter advertisement. was compelled to make an ward to the highest bidder. But, in the first placo,; the attention of that distinguished jurist most likely had not been directed to a decision of the Supreme | | Court of this State, mentioned in this article, that will | | furnish a controlling rule for a Federal tribunal; in | the second place, the act of 1893 applies to conditions | | upon which exclusive franchises or privileges can be | granted, and not merely to the method of procedure; | and in the third place, the act of March 13, 1897, with- | draws the compulsory requirements of the earlier law | and authorizes the rejection of all bids. Its language on this subject, establishing a discretion in which the Mayor must be recognized, is very precise: “Pro- | vided further, that the governing power may reject And again, that “in the discretion of | an order or re | any or all bids.” such Board or governing or other legislative body, all bids may be set aside and rejected.” And section 2 of | that act, in dirccting that, upon proper application, the Attorney General shall institute proceedings to forfeit | unused franchises, includes the Mayor as a “governing power.” Authority fully confirms the view The Call has sug- gested of the right of the Mayor to pass upon such | orders and resolutions as are before the Board of Su- | pervisors to-day. In the case of the County of San | Diego versus Siefert, published in 97 California Re- ‘pnrts, page 599, the Supreme Court confirmed the | proposition of Judge Field, which had acquired the ‘;f: wree of an axiom, that, inl respect to municipal gov- | ernments, the mode of legislation was the measure of ;tho power. Inthecase of Jacobsversus the Board of Su- | pervisors, 100 California Reports, pages 125-128, it was gheid that, in fixing water rates, the signature of the | Mayor was unnecessary. This decision has been wide- ly misinterpreted. It was based entirely upon the fact that, as to this kind of quasi-judicial legislation the State Constitution conferred the authority exclusively upon the Board. The court said: “But the power in question here comes not from the Consolidation Act, but from the Constitution of the State,” and the opin- ion of Mr. Justice Harrison, in which he concurs with the prevailing opinion, written by Mr. Justice Mc- iI~‘arlam|. definitely indicates the distinction between } | “granting any privilege.” And in a suit which seems to have escaped general attention, the Supreme Court ‘defined and limited the water rate decision and held specifically that an order or a resolution granting a street railway franchise or privilege is subject to the Mayor's veto. This was a suit'brought by the plain- tiff, Eisenhuth, against Ackerson, the Street Superin- nia Reports, at pages 89-05. It quotes section 68 of the Consolidation Act, and, although it was decided in 1893 without reference to the statute of that year, and four years before the act of 1897 was passed, it covers the point exactly and has not been subsequently in- | validated. t Unless, therefore, there is some other undisclosed law that avoids the ruling of the highest tribunal in Caitiornia, the veto.of the Mayor can defeat the pre- determined rascality of to-day. But there are other safeguards to be pointed out. The mere fact that the new charter has been adopted by popular vote and - It means an over- | In the garbage crematory suit be- | | the case before the court and an order or resolution | | tendent, and is reported in volume 105 of the Califor- | ratified by the Legislature and that, with its reduction of the duration of street railway franchises to twenty- five. years and .its augmented percentages and other stringent limitations on street railway exactions, it will take effect within seven months, demonstrates the in- | famy of the Supervisors who propose to donate the | property of the city to the monopoly, with no reserva- | tion of any percentage for five years. However, so far | as we are advised, it is evident that in this corrupt pro- | ceeding one of the clauses of the act of 1897,has been studiously concealed. That statute declares that “no percentage shall be paid for the first five years suc- ceeding the date of the franchise.” that is, as originally | granted, but'it also enacts that the Board of Supervis- ors “may provide as a condition of such franchise that time léss than five years after the franchise is granted, if such franchise is a renewal, or substantially a re- newal, of a franchise already in existence.” It thus appears that, in respect to the Geary-street renewal, the seven railroad agents in the board are designing ;]m give away the rights of the public both under the | old law and the new charter. Such treachery and vil- lainy are almost inconceivable. It has been denied that there is a string to the prof- fered surrender of the four years’ residue of the exist- ing Geary-street franchise. But the Market Street Railway Company only makes that tender on condi- tion that the new franchise be granted and section 2 of the act of March 13. 1897, exacts as a condition pre- cedent to renewal that the existing franchise “shall be first surrendered by the holders thereof.” | It is clear, therefore, that Mayor Phelan and the five decent members of the Board of Supervisors are not without weapons that may be used efficaciously for | defense. There remains also the opportunity on | which it is impossible here to amplify, for reconsider- ation of any action that the bare majority of the Board | may seek to perfect at one session., The Board of Su- | pervisors, under its own rules, is governed by parlia- ;mcnmry law, and the motion to reconsider, made after the dissolute seven have registered their own degrada- | tion by some gentleman who changes his vote for that purpose, will either carry the scheme over to the next regular meeting or afford a fair opportunity to invali- date the fraud. The Clerk is bound to register the 11mr)lim\ and the Mayor to hold that no bulldozing | tactics can dispose of it out of the regular order. | Tt is to be hoped that the delegations chosen by the | impressive public meetings that have been held may convince the unspeakable seven that they are | rounded by the magnetic influence of indignant con- | stituents, who will not silently defer to their contuma- | cious audacity but will assert the sovereignty and the integrity of the American people. | THE DEWEY STATUE FUND. 5 sTe sur- URING the present week, and probably begin- ning to-day, the task of gathering contributions | ward. The observance of Memorial day will, of course, | suspend ‘the work for a' time, but the patriotic mem- | ories of the day so far from interfering with the move- ;mem will augment its force by reviving in the public | | mind-and heart those sentiments and feelings of loy- alty and love for the heroic brave, to which the pur- pose of erecting a monument in commemoration of | the victory ‘at Manila directly appeals. The committee in_charge of the enterprise begins the canvass for contributions with $25.000 subscribed | on the first day. That jis ene-fourth - of the entire {amount at which the cost of the monument is esti- mated. Such a sum subscribed at'once is a virtual | guarantee of the'success of the movement. -It is an {assurance to the public that the promoters. of the en- terprise are in earnest and ‘that they are willing to | give freely of their money as well as their time and al, and the act of March 3o, | their energy to bring it to a speedy and triumphant conclusion. Several efforts which have beén undertaken to raise money in this city for monuments have thus far failed and remain hardly more than subjects of talk and dis- cussion. For that reason some persons have doubted whether the present: movement would be successful. The splendid subscriptions of Friday prove all such doubts to be unfounded. A man need not be a very sanguine optimist or a very ardent patriot to have | faith now in the enterprise. The erection of the monument is about as certain as anything in the future | can be, and every citizen can contribute to it in pro- | portion to his means with full confidence that the work of erecting the monument is not to be postponed to some indefinite date in the dim future, but will be under way before popular interest in the matter either fades or flags. o Tt will be remembered that for years before any- | thing was accomplished there was talk of constructing | | a competing railway down the San Joaquin Valley. | Such a road was in every way desirable and promised to be profitable, but for a long time no one could be | induced to undertake it. At last Mr. Claus Spreckels ic:.mc forward, assumed leadership and responsibility in the enterprise, subscribed for a large amount of | stock, and at once the construction of the road was | assured. As a matter of fact, it was undertaken and pushed forward with an energy and rapidity almost unparalleled in the history of railway construction. Something of a similar nature will be seen in the | work of raising what will be the most notable monu- | mental work on the Pacific Coast and one of the state- | liest in America. Men do not hesitate to support ‘great enterprises when well assured that something will ‘be achieved, and that assurance they have in the present case. The list of contributions has been headed | by Claus Spreckels with $10,000. © Mayor Phelan | promptly followed the lead with a contribution of | $5000, John W. Mackay contributed $3000 and “a friend” added $5000 more, making the’ total of $25,000 with which the committee begins its work. Upon this showing of contributions already made it will be seen that citizens are not to be asked to sub- | scribe to a doubtful undertaking. It may be regarded |as certain that a monument to the great admiral whose victory has marked the beginning of a new epoch in American history will be erected in San Francisco within the: near future, and every citizen who feels within him either national patriotism or civic pride will be glad to be able-to contribute to it. P — According to one expert the coal fields of Great Britain will be exhausted within fifty years, and ac- cording to another the mouth of the Thames will be choked up so that large vessels cannot get to the city. It is therefore high time for British optimists to begin to talk about storing up sunlight for heating purposes and making use of flying ships for commerce, With the gold fields of Alaska panning out very | well to the north of us and new gold fields paying well | to the south, San Francisco ought to feel something like a bonanza thrill in her business this year. Bryan’s statement that something may be added to the Chicago platform, but nothing can be taken from it, is equivalent to saying it may be made worse but it cannot be improved. AR N Unless the Supervisors during the day cool off con- ! siderably on the street railway franchise proposition, there is likely to be a hot time in the old town to- night. . the payments of said percentage shall begin at any | for the Dewey statue fund will go briskly for- | RETRENCHMENT WILL BE THE REGENTS' POLICY —_— |University Funds to | Be Saved. e AVERTING A BIG DEFICIT —_—— SALARIES AND ASSISTANTS | WILL BE AFFECTED. | e President Kellogg’s Place Will Very Probably Be Filled at the Meet- * ing to Be Held on June 13. — The committee on ways and means re- cently appointed by the Regents of the State University to devise some¢ plan to avert a threatened deficit, met yesterday and agreed on a system of retrenchment that will be equal to the occaston. Under present expenses and a much shortened income, the Regents have fig- ured they will be behind just $48,000 when | the next fiscal year shall have passed. | There was no plain way out of the diffi- culty that the Regents could find, so it was decided to place the matter in the hands of the finance committee and a | speclal committee of three, and let those | six find a remedy. The finance commit- | | tee is composed of Regents Hallidie, Red- | gers and Miller; the special committee of Regents Denicke, Slack and Rowell. Mr. | Rodgers and Mr. Miller were away and the other four met at Colonel Denicke's residence yesterday afternoon. Since the appointment of the commit- tee the heads of the various departments of the university have been communicated | with; the condition of the institution has ll:lc(m explained to them and the necessity | for retrenchment has been pointed out, and they were all asked to submit to the | committee some idea of the amount they could save and the way they could save it. The reports submitted were the sub- jects of discussion at yesterday's confer- ence. , The report of the committee will not be made public until the meeting of the Re- gents on June 13. There are a good many details that will have to be considered and discussed, but the general plan is one | | of such retrenchment as will keep the uni- | versity running on what money it has | ‘while not seriously 1nter(c\'lr¥: with the | efficiency of the institution. The plan of retrenchment will necessarily reduce the staff to some extent and also some of the salaries, but there will be no radical | changes. It was reported at one time that the deficit would be avoided by the exac- | tion of a fee from each of the students, and there was a good deal of adverse | comment on the prngosed inauguration of such a policy; and there was another - re- port to the effect that money would be raised by subscription, and that, too, was condemned. It is probable that the com- mittee will not find any necessity for making any departure so radical as the scheme of fees. The ldea of allowing the presidency to remain vacant untfl at least a year had nassed and so save a clear ten thousand, was also brought_ to the attention of the | committee, It m“gt little, favor, h | The committee was of the opi | the university could not be properly con- | ducted without an executive head. That the plan has beén abandoned is lpro\'ed by the fact that a President will very S)rohaby be. elected at the meeting on une 1. The Regents are all ready to | vote on the candidates, and there 18 a | general desire to have the place filled and the matter settled. The identity of the | successful candidate, however, Is still a | matter of speculation. AROUND THE CORRIDORS | Alex §: Porter, U. S. dental. F. M. Chittenden, the Fresno attorney, | s at the Grand. C. H. Shiveley, the Oroville banker, is stopping at the Grand. W. A. Avery and R. Ross of Los Ange- les are at the Occldental. George Myers and G. C. Freeman, an at- | terney of Fresno, are at the Lick. | G. S. Grosvenor, a capitalist of New Jersey, and wife are at the Palace. R. A. Fitzgibbon and family are here | from New York. They are stopping at the Palace. J. J. Hoffman, a Chicago merchant, is | visiting this city with his family and have | taken apartments at the Palace. | Major W. Quinton of the Fourteenth | United States Infantry, arrived from the East yesterday and is at the Occidental. | John Kelshaw, the well-known mer- | chant of San Luis Obispo, arrived in this A., is at the Occi- | city accompanied by his wife. They are | registered at the Grand. J. M. Williams, stock raiser and | rancher, and Julius Cain, the merchant, came up from Newmans yesterday and | are stopping at the Lick. ] | Penalties to the amount of $i119 | were incurred during the year ending | March 31 last for delay in the fulfillment | of contracts for the British navy, but | were only enforced in two cases to the ex- tent of $275. The subscription collected by the Paris- | ian newspaper Matin footed up to $77,915, | | which sum the Minister of Marine has | | promised to apply at once to the object intended, that of building two small sub- | marine torpedo-boats. An imposing German fleet. left Kiel on May 3 for a two months’ cruise in the Baltie and North Sea. It consisted of four first class and two second class battle-ships, one coast defense vessel and two small cruisers aggregating 61,500 tons and carrying a crew of 3700. The French cruiser Cecille, built in 1888, has just been recommisioned at Toulon where she was thoroughly repaired. The Cecille has done considerable service and been a very satisfactory ship, and now after eleven years made 19 knots on her trial, which Is exactly the speed she at- tained when prepared for her first com- mission. She is of 5933 tons and 10,200 horsepower, and carries a battery of eight 6.4-inch quick-firers; ten 5.5-inch; ten 2- pounders and fourteen machine ,guns. The London Engineering directs atten- tion of the British naval authoritles to the superiority of American naval gun- nery as evidenced at target shooting and the running fight off Santiago. It claims that the American target 3 feet by 16% feet is larger than that used in the Brit- ish navy, but urges at the same time that ““Money can hardly be better spent on any purpose connected with war which would yield such fruit as that laid out in perfecting our shooting.” The French naval appropriations have increased during the past thirty years to enormous proportions. In 1868 they amounted to® $34,400,000 and diminished to $23,600,000 in 1872 In 1890 the total was $40,300,000, and for the present year it is $60,400,000 or 50 per cent over that of nine years ago. For new construction, in- cluded in the foregoing totals, $7,172,000 was allowed 4in 1890, and $18,538,000 for 1899. | and carries 2 feet 6 inches over the sill. | a very creditable performance. 39,58 men, is now to be {increased ta 44,620, A mammoth drydock at Glasgow s ready for service, the test of its pump- ing machinery having passed off satis- factorily. The dock s 880 feet long and 81 feet 8 fnches wide on the floor. It Is 115 feet wide at top, 83 feet at entrance The dock can be divided by a central calsson in lengths of 420 and 460 feet. The pumps cleared the dock of 66,033 tons of water in % minutes, giving the con- tractor a margin of 21 minutes to spare, and the outer section of 460 feet can be pumped out in 35 minutes. The British battle-ship Renown of 12,350 tons arrived at Portsmouth dockyard on | April 30, returning from the North| American station. The ship made the trip from Bermuda to St. Catherine, a distance of 3010 knots, in 19 hours, giving an average speed of 15 knots an hour and consumed 1200 tons of coal making the The trial speed of the Renown sea draught extending for over eight days is passage. PR under forced draught was 18 knots, but the recent speed under natural Three torpedo-boat destroyers for the British navy have recently passed| through their trials with good resuits. They are all denominated as $0-knot boats and of 300 tons. The Cygnet, built | by Thorneycroft, made 30.68 knots over the measured mile and averaged 30.375 knots during a three hours’ run. The Mermaid, from the yard of Leslie & Hawthorne at Newcastle made 30.926 knots over the measured mile and 30.833 knots during a three hours' run, develop- ing 7024 horsepower or 1024 in excess of the contract. The Orwell, built at Laird's, Birkenhead, ran over the measured mile at a speed of 30.7 knots and averaged 30.2 during a three hours' run at sea. At the meeting of the Royal United Service Institute in London on March 8, the “Lesson of the Battle Off Bamlago_” was discussed by Rear Admiral A. K. Wilson, Admiral Colomb and other prominent naval experts. Rear Admiral Wilson closed his recital of the naval event by saying: *I have not the slight- est doubt that If the Americans had been turned into Cervera's ships—in bad con- | dition as they were—they would have| made a very good fight of it. It is the energy and enterprise of the race, (\fj which we hope we may have our share | as members of the same race, that, I| think, is the greatest factor in the suc- | cess of the Americans.” OPPOSED TO - EXAMINATIONS | To the Editor of The Call—Dear Sir; Al- though a citizen of no note or importance socially, I wish to add my feeble protest | to that now being made by so many against the cruelty and injustice of the impending examination of the children of the public schools. I am the father of a child who can show a year's record card of the highest standard among a cl of sixty scholars. So much so that two months ago we heard from the teacher| that by uniform attention to and excel-| lence in studies this child was already en titled to the medal; also that this pupil reputation for honesty in study could be vouched for by all fellow scholars. Now, is this year's record to go for nothing?| Is it just that a year of honest and suc- cessful study should be weighed in the balance with a hurried and favored exam- ination of an hour? Especially if a child is of a retiring disposition and apt to be flurried and nervous before strangers. Certainly such a child is not at his best compared with other children either more | self-composed or more forward, honest as to their methods of su S than he is. I think this examination business is a deliberate injustice and that all parties concerned should cry out| against it and insist that the year's rec- | ord =hall be the only standard by which | efficiency shall be tested. I remain yours | very respectfully, AN INDIGNANT PARENT. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. TWIN PEAKS—J. H. B. and E. W. M., City. The height of Twin Peaks above clty ‘base Is 910 feet. 3 THE OREGON—H. G. W., Watson- ville, Cal. The Oregon sailed from Hono- lulu for Manila February 20, 1899. INSANITY—H. H. B., City. Insanity | of husband or wife developing after mar- riage is not a ground for divorce in the | State of California. SAN FRANCISCO TO CINCINNATI- | A. 8., City. The shortest mail time be- tween San Francisco and Cincinnati, Ohio, is 89 hours and 20 minutes. THE LARGEST STEAMER—H. M. T., Alviso, Cal. - The largest steamer afloat | at this time is, according to Lloyds’ regis- | ter for the current year, the Lucania, 12,952 tons. s THE ARIZONA—G. L., City. The di- mensions of the Arizona, now called the | Hancock, Length, 0.2 feet; | 5. : depth, 3.7 feet.; ton nage, 3356 net, 5305 gross, COAL COMPANIES—W. E. C., Grass Valley, Cal. Some of the leading coal companies of Washington are: Pacific | Coast Company, Blac] Diamond _Com- pany, Scotch Prairie Company, Rosen- feld’s Sons Company. PAWNBROKER'S CHARGES—S. W., City. If a pawnbroker makes a loan on a pled%c in the regular way he is not al- | lowed by law to charge more than 2 per cent per month, and if he does he may be arrested for a misdemeanor. TABLEAUS—Inquirer, City. You can- not patent a thought, such for instance as an idea as to the placing on a public stage of novel and original ideas in the matter of tableaus, but you can have the same copyrighted, Just as you would a dramatic production. THE PILOTS—H. T. T., City. The fol- lowing named are the pilots for the bay of San Francisco: .T. H. Barber, F. Boyd, 8. Castle, Captain Erskine, E. A. Freeman, D. Haskell, F. Jordan, N. B. Jordan, G. 8. Korts, J. Miller, L. Meyer, P. Murphy, A. Swanson, G. D. Scott, C. Reed, J. W. Ott, G. D. Wallace, F. Ma- thieson, J. E. McCuilough. MARRIAGE—W. F. A, City. In the State of California a minor under the age of 21 male and 18 female can be married if the consent of parents or guardian is glven. In Mexico the age for marriage without consent of parents or guardian is 21 years. In extraordinary cases a special dispensation may be granted to authorize marriage where the male is over 14 years of age and the female is over 12. GOLD IN A WATCH CASE-D. R. T. C., Auburn; Cal To extract the gold from an eighteen-karat gold watch case the case must be pounded in a mortar and placed in a bath of nitric actd and allowed to remain until there is no longer any fuming. That will eat away all the base metal that it may contain. Then the material must be rinsed and dri2d then rolled in sheet lead, placed In a-cupel and then into a muffled furnace. That will dissipate the lead and then there will remain a button of gold. If it is de- sired to refine the gold so as to make it of a higher grnde. there must be idded two parts of silver to one of gold and the same process gone through. TWO HULLS—F. J., City. In relation to the question as to the -difference in tonnage between a steel hull and a wooden hull_of -exactly the same dimensions G. Dickie of the Union Iron Works says: ““As to register tonnage there would be no difference between the tonnage of one vessel and another that measure the same internally, as the interior cublc capacity of the vessel in cube feet divided by one hundred is the register tonnage. This, however, has nothing to do_with the car- rying capacity of a vessel. Very often the register tonnage is confounded with the dead weight carrying capacity. As a rule the steel vessel of the same register ton- nage will carry more than the wooden vessel on account of the verfi material difference in the weight of the hull of the one as compared with that of the other, but there is no rule to determine .what that difference is, it depending en- tirely on the structure of the wooden ves- The personnel, which in 1897 numbered sel and the weight - 1 ght of material | march out of the | grabbed hold of | was uncertain a | nan_fell PRESENTATION CONVENT SCROOL » FLAG-RAISING ——— Old Glory Flung to the Breeze. —_—— INTERESTING CEREMONY LA AN EXERCISES BY THE PUPILS OF THE INSTITUTION. ettt Patriotic Songs and Recitations Fol- low a Short Address by Rev. Father Carraher, Donor of the National Emblem. e A large brand new American flag waves proudly over the Catholic Presentatio Convent School of St. Francis Parish, a the corner of Powell and Lombard streets and the pupils of the school who partici- pated in the ceremony-attending the rais- ing of the glorious emblem of freedom vesterday afternoon are supremely hap- py In the possession of the handsome piece of silk which means so much to the people of this country. The convent has long wanted a flag, but it was not until Reyv. Father T. Carraher, the parish priest, bethought himself to present one to the sisters, that the cherished-desire was realized. It was decided to make the raising of the national colors over the convent a notable one in the history of the institution, and yesterday was chosen for the ceremony. The exercises were held fn the convent hall and in the street in front of the building, beginning at 2 o'clock in the af- ternoon. The programme opened with the rendition of “Speed Our Republic,” by the ool, followed by a patriotic ad- Father Carraher. Then came the " march by the orchestra com- osed of boys and girls belonging to the school, and the national hymn rendered by two young lady pupils on pianos. Miss M. Benker delivered a thrilling recitation, brim full of riotic inspiration, with dramatic effect, and was warmly applaud- ed. She was followed by J. Brusher, who entertained the assemblage with a med- ley of national airs on the trombone in a very acceptable manner. The orchestra was again called upon and gave a pretty rendition of Hawaiian airs and the indoor programme was concluded with the ing of “Th the entire As the chorus of v clang of a bell signale away the the children to building and take up their positions on the opposite side of Powell street where they could obtain a ood view of th uvent roof and see the fl as its folds were flung to the breeze While the flag was being attached to halliards the pupils again ng the na- tional anthem and as Old Glory mounted rd on the flagpole the tunc .was d to “Columbia, the Gem of the followed by three cheers for the Stars and Stripes. There was quite a crowd of spectators in front of the convent at the wind up of the programme and they joined heartily ifn cheering the flag that never knew de- eat. FELL FROM HIS WAGON. Serious Accident to Michael F. Duig- nan, Driver of a Brewery Wagon. Michael F. Duignan, 1112 Rhode Island street, is a driver for the United States Brewery. He started out early yesterday morning to deliver kegs of beer to the customers of the orewery and had as usual to celebrate at vach place.of call. About § o'clock he reached a grocery at the corner of Polk and Grove streets and delivered the kegs of beer ordered. When he climbed on the seat on the wagon he ins, but his- hold lipped from d forward to rega nd fell, striking on rses bolted and Duig- to the ground and the wheels passed over his left arm, breaking the benes of the arm and hand. He was also bruised on the right arm and face. He his gr: _poss the traces. was taken to the Receiving Hospital, | where Dr. Bunnell attended to his in- juries. ———— Cal. glace fruit 50c per Ib at Townsend's.* —_——— Special information supplied datly to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telepnone Main 1042, * ———— The Prince of Wales is following the example of the Duke of Wellington and saving garments which he has worn on special occasions. The Prince's collec- tion will be as interesting as the Duke's store of -ancient trousers and swallow- tail coats. A Work of Art. The new book, “Wonderland,” just issued by the Northern Pacific Rallway Company, is the prettiest publication issued by any railway company this year. It is full of beautiful half- tone illustrations, and contains besides a well- written description of a trip taken Gver this finely equipped line, including & tour through the wonderful Yellowstone Park. Send 6c in stamps and it will be mailed to you. T. K. Stateler, Gen. Agt.. 638 Market st. San Fran- cisco. . — e “Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup” Has been used for fifty years 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 frem teething or other causes. For eale by Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure and ask for Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, 25¢ a bottle, e e T HOTEL DEL CORONADO—Take advantage of the round-trip tickets. Now only $60 by steamship, including fifteen days' board & hotel; longer stay, §2 30 per day. Apply at § New Montgomery street, San Francisco. —————— The Chinese pronounce their Dowages Empress the most beautiful woman whom the Celestial Kingdom has ever known. — ADVERTISEMENTS. A common expression is: “The human race is grow- ing weaker and wiser.” That we are growing weak- er is proved by the large number of pale, thin and emaciated people. That we are growing wiser may be proved by overcoming these disorders with the timely use of Scott’s Emulsion of Cod- liver Oil with Hypophos- phites which gives strength, enriches the blood, invigor-4 ates the nerves and forms fat. scars § SO, A1 druggists, Guemiste, Now Yok ' 4 ¥