The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 27, 1899, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 1899. SUNDAY AUGUST 27, 1809 Elsicroeal JOHN D. SPRECK C ications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager. Address All Commun PUBLICATION OFFICE......Market and Third Sts., S. F Telephone Maln 1888. EDITORIAL ROOMS ..217 to 221 Stevenson Street Telephone Matn 1874 DELIVERED BY CARRIERE, 16 CENTS PER WEEK. Single Coples, B cents. Terms by Mall, Including Postage: DAILY CALL (including Sunday Call), one year. PAILY CALL (including Sunday Call), 6 month: ¥ CALL (including Sunday Call), 3 months ¥ CALL—By Single Month AY CALL One Year. Y CALL One Yea: o 1.00 | postmasters are authorized to recelv. subscriptions. Sample coples will be forwarded when requested. CAKLAND OFFICE... .908 Broadway C. GEORGE KROGNESS, Manager Foreign Advertising, Marquette Building, Chicago. NEW YORK CORRES! €16, CARLTON: 200 i ns NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: PERRY LUKENS JR 29 Tribune Building WS STANDS. News Co.; Great Northern Hotelj PONDENT : L NEW YORK NEWS 8TANDS. -Astoria Hotel; A. 1 Muters °H°HIA§o‘:el.. Hotel; A. FErentano, 31 Union Square; WASHINGTON (D. C.) OFFICE ‘Woelllngton Hotel d. L. ENGLISH, Correepondeat. | BRANCH OFFICES-527 Montgomery street, corner Clay open untll 9:30 o'clock. 300 Hayes street, open untif 9:30 o'clock. 639 McAllister street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 615 Larkin street, open until 9:30 o'clock. 1941 Mission street, open untll 10 o'clock. 2291 Market street, corner Sixteenth, open untll 9 o'clock. 2518 Hisslon street. open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh street, open uptil 9 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty- | second and Kentucky streets, open untll 9 o'glock. AMUSEMENTS. i A Bachelors Honeymoon.' Southern Gentleman.” —Vaudeville. “avalleria Rusticana’ and ‘T'Pagliaccl.” Alcazar—'‘Romeoc and Juliet. Grand Opera-house—*‘Clover.” Zoo and Free Theater—Vaudeville every afternoon | er Mason and Ellis streets—Specialties. lla—Market street, near Eighth. Swimming Races, etc. "ark—Baseball to-day. i on Coursing Park—Coursing To-daj | 2 Park—Grand performance to-da: | Agricultural District No. 1—Races to-morrow. — Benefit to John W. Slade, Saturday Fair, Sacramento—September 4 to 16. AUCTION SALES. W. Louderback — Wednesday, August 30, at Persian and Turkish Rugs, at 117 Sutter street. 2:30 THE COLUMBIA AND THE SHAMROCK. \ Y ACHTING experts in New York are by no means sanguine that in the contest between the Columbia and the Shamrock we are to have g extraordinary in the way record- It is pointed out that in the trials be- of a ace. them the Columbia has perior to the Defender, while the fact that the tannia was beaten by the Meteor almost as badly nrock inclines to the belief that the new ger is by no means such a notable improvement not shown herseli y the Sh mer British. models of racing yachts as has been on re ted S the Shamrock has been studied in New York the t Americans in the success of the Columbia has been increased. A considerable number of yachts- ¢ lared they do not regard her as a dan- s d express unshaken confidence in the he home yacht to retain the famous cup on this side of the wat but there are some authori- es who hold that Sir Thomas Lipton has a chance to ler certain conditions of wind and sea s his boat will have considerable advantage in inas- heavy weather. 1 elaborate comparison of the two yachts a or the New York Tribune says: “The Sham- e freeboard, sits higher out of the water olumbia, and does not look any better for | it. She is also more bulky in the build between the ship section and the stern. Consequently she is looking a model as the American boat. 1ether this is a gain or a fault only trial will tell. For a long time yachts have been pared away aft to let them leave the water cleanly when they lie down | to their rail. But the latest high speed racers of Bos- ton have been carrying their beam far aft, and the | of some of them at the stern is surprising. s tr In r words, they prefer to have something to lie | down on rather than to study how to keep their lines | 1e and leave the water cleanly. While, thcrc{ore,l it is certain that the Columbia is much prettier in this | region, it by no means follows that her superior grace greater speed. There is a good deal of the about the Shamrock. Unquestionably she can canvas longer, and more of it, than the Co- | the ballast power of both boats is about the The Shamrock will be dragging some water | when she is hard pressed over, but she will be lying mean e down on a good support that will be a powerful aid d out by the writer that superiority in | The Valkyrie | much more of it that the Defender, but in thc; n the two it was never once called into never wind enough to enable the to make use of her huge beam, and the ! der, with more than two feet less of beam, from her in every race. 1ents pronounced by the experts it | hts are not unequally matched, and | that the issue of the contest will be determined partly | 1e condition of the weather and partly by the men who handle them. The story that ck was badly strained while being towed age across ‘the Atlantic is not generally ted e races are to be sailed under conditions | riect fairness, and the case seems to be one in h the best sailors rather than the best yacht will is poin " power does not always win. ere was ipinos seem to be overstocked with guns. Otis has become a purchasing agent and is $30 apiece for insurgent rifles. . The rebels n't appear to need the money. Widters, convicted Baden murderer, is striving reate the impression that he is insane. He has | already established the fact that he is dangerous to be dead. S T 7, the Dominican rebel and Presidential | pretender, says he needs money. His complaint seems to be a common one. DU it England has shipped a number of her largest can- | non to South Africa. What can Oom Paul's Boers do against such big bores? Herald Squers | | on unless Burns is elected. | travel is safe and robbery is unknown. SEARCHING FOR SIGNIFICANCE. T HE long and highly sustained series of events -[—‘p]anncd to express the unanimous welcome home of the First California Volunteers has gained all of its significance from their personality and their return to their homes and the pursuits of | peace. Some individual politicians may have used the occasion to put themselves in the focus of public attention, but as this is the politician’s way, and noth- ing can restrain him from using everything, from a funeral to a fete, for that purpose, there is nothing un- | usual in it. The people have paid for the welcome and have turned out in hundreds of thousands to ex- press their respect for our fellow-citizens who have been under arms and under fire, in obedience to orders, in a hazardous war for which they volun- teered. No sensible person has considered it to mean ;anything else. The cheers and tears and shouting have been by those of all shades of opinion on | the issue of expansion, and of all sorts of political belief. Silver and Gold Democrats, Republicans and Populists, all put up their sound money that the city might be garnished and in gay dress for the pleasure | of the soldier boys. | It has remained for the Evening Post to entirely | disconnect the great occasion from the presence and | the personality of the returned volunteers. It insis | that it is a unanimous expression in favor of incor- porating the Philippines into the United States, and a demand that Dan Burns be elected Senator in order to effect such incorporation! This theory is important. No one else has devel- oped the relation of Burns to the holding of the Philippines or the holding of anything else, except the public nose. We had no idea that the case had be- come so bad that the Post sees in every group of con- sulting citizens and in every crowd of thousands a de- mand for Burns. We have no doubt that that ambi- tious person has assumed that it is his campaign. The welcoming fleet of ships and craft on the bay were to him the enlistment of Neptune in his fight. The thousands of electric globes that string the streets are merely to light his march up the shining way to the Senate. When the band played “Hail to the Chief” he saluted himself and knew who wore the | The procession, from Shaiter to was merely his dopple- said chief’s clothes. the last man and horse, ganger, ai the ladies turned every window into a casemate from which to throw kisses, the luscious and light artillery of osculation was all in action for his benefit. The Post is quite positive in all this. It thinks that ! not only the land and the people thereof crave for Burns to take his seat in the Senate next December, | It says | but the Pacific Ocean joins in the demand. that wide sheet of water has prepared itself for “the | theater of the grandest national drama yet enacted on the stage of human history,” and the play will not go If he is not, that ocean will immediately cease to be a theater and will shrivel to the petty purposes of a fishpond. The Post should add that if Burns is not imme- | diately commissioned Senator the sun will turn back at Verdi and cease to beam on California at all. The big trees will become saplings, the fig trees will bear thistles, and disgusted nature will shrug her mighty shoulder and shake the State back to eocene chaos and black night. In all humility The Call ventures to assert that not the one hundredth of one per cent of the people who welcomed home our sol in the Senate, or of its perpetuation by the election of Burns. They were not even approv- ing or disapproving of the Philippine war. Its popu- larity or unpopularity did not figure in the event. The whole occasion was a big-hearted, whole-fisted welcome to men who had individually and as an or- the vacanc gan upon their State, and written a shining chapter in its deathless history. It meant that and nothing else. and that was enough. themselves and to the people who hailed them home again so genuinely and heartily to put upon it any cther construction, and especially to reduce all this hearty roar of good feeling into a shout for Dan Burns. There are scores of men in the First who marched | for miles between walls of warm hearts beating time to their soldierly tread who are better fitted for the Senate than the Post’s candidate. Any one of these scores can put off his weather-beaten uniform for the Senatorial toga and wear it worthier than Burns. But to the eye of the Post these young veterans had no other place in all the pageantry but to act as sand- wich men bearing a sign inscribed, “Burns for Sen- ator.” Travel in Thibet has been usually regarded as about the most dangerous on the globe, owing to the fierce hostility of the natives to foreigners, but two Englishmen who have just made a tour through the country report that the Thibetans, while poor, have a much higher moral standard than their wealthier neighbors of the adjoining districts of Asia, that It appears, therefore, that by excluding foreigners the Thibet folks have remained in poverty but preserved morals, and it remains for further investigators to determine whether the morals are worth the loss of the money. THE ST@BILITY OF FRANCE. S conclusion that everything in France is in a condi- O many and so sensational are the disturbances and. excitement that emanate from Paris, a con- ;ti(»u of instable equilibrium and that a revolution may occur at any time. Such opinions are not shared by intelligent men who have closely studied the coun- try and the people. According to their testimony the French, despite the strength of the military caste, are essentially a democratic people, and their institutions are about as stable as those of any in Europe. The popular control of government in France is by no means so slight or so uncertain as would ap- pear from the frequency with which Ministries are changed in response to clamors on the Parisian boule- vards. James B. Eustis, who was Minister to France | under Cleveland’s administration, has in a recent ar- ticle in the Conservative Review expressed a high opinion of the attachment of the people generally to democratic ideas and of their power in directing legis- lation along democratic lines. He says: “All the laws enacted by the French Assembly are in the in- terest of the masses of the people, and not in the in- terest of any one class. In the contest between the | power of money and the rights of the people the trutal influence of wealth is unknown in the politics of France. * * * No class interests can claim to exercise any influence over any department of the Government of the French republic. As the revolu- tionists of 1703 destroyed the aristocracy which sprung from the nobility of birth, the French republicans of to-day will not permit the wealth of a class to con- tiol the economic policy of their Government, but rather the contrary, for it is the common—the work- ing—people who receive its protection and its favors. The spirit of true democracy is so intense in the nd when the crowd roared its cheers and | ] | ier boys had a thought of zation shed great glory and imperishable honor | It is an insult to the soldiers | their | siderable portion of the world has come to the | French people that they have no reason to apprehend that their republic will be undermined by the: cor- rupting wealth of a political aristocracy.” Nor is it against the money power only that French democracy is holding its own.” The fact that public opinion has forced the military chiefs to concede a new and an open trial to Dreyfus is an evidence of ihe ability of the people to guard against the army as we'l as against the aristocracy of wealth whenever the need arises. Excitements, disturbances and not in- frequent riots are the natural accompaniments of free governments. There could be no Dreyfus affair in any cther country of Continental Europe, but the reason is not that other countries are more stable or more just than France, but solely because public opinion, having there no freedom to prompt to ac- tion, can produce neither bad nor good results. —————— The dispatches announce that a triple execution of murderers at Dawson passed off without special in- cident. It is reasonable to suppose that the mur- derers had a different view of the event. Eastern people will please take notice that San Francisco has had an August festival with crowded streets for nearly a full weck and not a complaint has been heard about the weather. JUGGLING WITH STATISTICS. | URING his term of office as Chief of the D Bureau of Statistics of the Treasury Depart- ment Joseph Nimmo Jr. was instructed to in- vestigate the commercial aspects of the proposed canal connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific and compute the amount of tonnage likely to pass through such a waterway. His report was highly encouraging to the advocates of the enterprise and did much to bring about popular approval of it. Since leaving | the office Mr. Nimmo's services have been at the dis- posal of the opponents of the canal, and he has now a very different set of figures to show as the result of his computations. In the pamphlet recently issued and widely circu- | lated he attempts an explanation of the discrepancy | between what he said then and what he says now. | the Bureau of Statistics he says: “The work was one of considerable magnitude. | was begun in the month of February and completed | in the month of August, 1880. I reported a possible | tonnage of 1,625,000 tons per annum for any one of the proposed canals. Since the year 1830 seven trans- continental lines and parts of lines have been com- pleted, the facilities for transportation by rail have been greatly increased, there has been an enormous | development of transcontinental traffic, and, as al- | ready shown, rates have greatly fallen. the general trend of the evolution of transportation facilities during the last twenty vears has been in the direction of reducing the possible tonnage of any American interoceanic canal. From a computation | ent day I conclude that not more than 400,000 tons of shipping annually can be confidently expected to pass through any such canal. The receipts of any Ameri- | can interoceanic canal from tolls would therefore be insufficient to meet the expenses of its maintenance and administration, with nothing for interest on cost of construction, amounting probably to $8,000,000 a year.” The passage is interesting as an illustration of the | ease with which clever statisticians can make their | computations suit their desires and serve as argu- | ments for the object they wish to attain. In 1880, ac- | cording to Mr. Nimmo, the tonnage likely to pass through either one of the canals would have been over | 1,600,000 tons per annum, but after nearly | twenty years of increase in commerce, the tonnage would not exceed 400,000. The logic of the argument now, Edccr(‘mts, and the explanation of the paradox is that | railroads are now doing the work that would have been taken by the canal in former years. It requires no great cleverness nor any considerable knowledge of the statistics of commerce to refute so plain a fallacy. The construction of additional trans- | continental railroads has not led to a decrease in the | traffic of the old ones, but has created an additional traffic. Neither has the increase in railroads been fol- lowed by a decrease of tonnage afloat, but has been accompanied by an increase of such tonnage. In- creased facilities for commerce are always followed | by an increase of commerce itself. Under the most favorable conditions it will require at least ten years to complete a canal across either of the suggested interocean routes, and Mr. Nimmo will | be a very clever statistician indeed if by any compu- tation he can convince the American people the ton- nage passing through the canal at that time will be less than it would have been twenty years ago. v —— A tragic life worse than death might have been the fate of the unfortunate Redwood City woman who was murdered because she rejected a social outcast. When we have finished shouting for the volun- teers we might add three cheers for the executive committee. S law has recently been established by the High Court of Justice in Great Britain in a case to which the London Times and Lord Rosebery were parties. It appears that in preparing a volume of his “Speeches and Appreciations” Rosebery included five speeches taken almost verbatim from the reports in | the Times, and the newspaper at once brought suit to restrain the publication on the ground that its re- ports of the speeches were copyrighted and the pub- lication would be an infringement of its rights. The court decided for the newspaper and granted an injunction -against the publisher. As the decision means that one man may copyright the speeches of another and thus prevent the speaker from republish- ing the reports, it has naturally given rise to a good deal of discussion. The ground upon which the de- cision was based is that there is no such thing as copyright of ideas; it is all a matter of literary form. The reporter gave the speeches the written form, and hence he is entitled to the exclusive control of that form. Lord Rosebery gave his words and thoughts to the public at large. If he had written them out in the | beginning and had copyrighted them before speaking them he could have retained possession. Failing to | do this, the reporter was entitled to become the ex- clusive owner of his version of the speech. Under this decision it appears that if an orator in Great Britain desires to retain any property in his speeches he must take out a lecturer’s copyright, otherwise his ideas will belong to the reporter who first translates them from spoken to written language and copyrights them. The decision is good law and is unquestionably just, but at the same time its novelty renders it rather startling. The doctrine that an orator has no rights to his own ideas until he has copyrighted them will have a tendency to increase the revenues of the copyright office by a considerable percentage. COPYRIGHT IN SPEECHES. OMETHING of a novel principle in copyright Referring to the computations made while Chief of | In! In a word, | | volunteers based upon all the controlling conditions of the pres- | | of the deepest and truest as well as is that as commerce increases the demand for a canal | | campaign something in the way of public thanks g*oun*o*o*o*ou*uom«uam*o«onumo*o«*um‘ ° i EDITORIAL VARIATIONS. : ® § BY JOHN McNAUGHT. § * O%OXPROAPAOKOROXORONDA P XS A DA PIPUPAPHOAPHOXOAOXONOX P4 O X 1D ‘We have had a joyous, proud and |who describes it as “a wide-open town,” brilliant week. Our victorious volun- teers have returned to find the city in festal array for their welcome; and from the moment when The Call first announced to the public the arrival of the Sherman off the Golden Gate down to the closing glories of last night, everybody in town has had a “halcyon and vociferous time.” Visitors from the interior who witnessed the celebration and shared in its raptures will be con- spicuous among their fellow citizens when they return home by the size of their heads and their demand for hats a little larger than they really ought to wear. Among our own citizens there will be, of course, no such distinction of persons, for the heads and the hearts of all have expanded in unison. We are all somewhat bigger, brighter and bet- ter than ever before because we know we have done the right thing in the right way at the right time and have sufficient self-appreciation to be proud of it. Moreover, the end is not yet, for it is safe to say most folks will no sooner get out of bed on this day of rest than they will proceed to have a frolic for the rest of the day. R e There have been in other cities many greater and more brilliant pageants than those which during the week have been displayed on our bay and along our streets, but there never has been | one in the world where so large a pro- | portion of the whole people took part, or where the popular ardor and en- thusiasm were greater. As a popular demonstration of honor to brave men the reception accorded to California’s heroes has never been surpassed. The significance of the demonstra- tion will not escape the mind of any thoughtful person. The American people are not warlike in the ordinary meaning of the word. inordinately fond of military glory, nor have they any aspirations for battles and conquests. Nevertheless, when a Jjust cause for war arises the republic never lacks for volunteers to take up arms and follow the flag wherever duty calls. Thousands of those who thronged the streets to cheer the vol- unteers would as readily have enlisted to follow them across the sea had the nation needed them in continuance of a war for liberty, for justice and for humanity. who in the Phillppines have attested their devotion to the re- public and their willingness to give life itself for their country was therefore | one of fullest sympathy, and the re- sounding acclamations were expressions | ject of the publication of the Browning the most joyous and jubilant of emo- tions. s Whoever saw Market street in the glow of its illuminations must have felt like taking off his hat to the memory of the pioneers who planned for the city in its early days that magnificent thoroughfare. It seemed to have been ordained prophetically for this partic- ular occasion, and with the innumer. able lights, many colored and various as the rainbow, festooned above it and walling it in, the great avenue was more mystically and beautifully gor- geous than ever was the Sacred Way that led to the temple of the Capitoline Jove when adorned for the pomp and splendor of imperial triumphs. ‘We have indeed, for once at any rate, accomplished something artistic and splendid in the way of street illumina- tion. There was no evidence any- where of lack of taste or lack of money. From where the tapering tower of the ferry depot rose like a shaft of light against the darkness, to where the dome of the illuminated City Hall shone resplendent, the glittering lights were everywhere as multitudinous as the eye desired. The whole street was, in fact, like a setting for a grand opera and formed a fitting stage for the ex- ultant drama of glorious life that was enacted upon it. . Before the glow of delight in the festival dles away and our thoughts are made dry as dust by the municipal that impends above us. and testimonial should be given to the members of the evecutive committee to whom we are all indebtid for the success of the racaption. When the committee first announced its plans and asked for $50,00¢ to carry them out, the proposition was regarled as an ex- travagance. Many persons declared the sum could not be raised, and for a time the coramittee had but a half- hearted support even from tha most generous. The plans, howsver, were well devised. Anything less magnifi- cent would have aroused less ardor. The longer the people meditated upon the subject the more were they pleased with the brilliancy of the undertaking. In the end, as is now well known, the whole people responded to the commit- tee's leadership. and we have had a celebration that will have a national reputation. Therefore while we are cheering it is but right there should be three times three and a tiger for the executive committee. & Next to the patriotism displayed in the warmth of the reception given to the volunteers the most notable feature of the festival was the delight of the people in the beauty of the decorations and in the freedom of the holiday. We are clearly an artistic, glad-hearted, pleasure loving community. The crowds that thronged the streets night after night were happy and were gay in the exuberance of their joy in a frolic. We are not of that class of Americans who “take their pleasures sadly” and who can never be merry except when drunk. The geniality of the climate, the prevalence of prosperity and the influence of the Latin elements of the population have developed the joyous faculties of our natures, and that for- mal dullness which marks the holiday crowds of the East is conspicuous here by its total, thorough and very far off absence. It is evident that if a com- pany of whole-souled men with well- filled purses should undertake to pro- vide the city with an annual festival week New Orleans would soon lose her prestige as the Carnival City of the United States. Indeed, it is not un- likely we might make our gala days as world renowned as were those of Venice in the years of her glory. . e We are a gay people and a dandy people and a people of large toleration, but neither so gay, so dandy nor so tolerant as some Eastern ks think us, or pretend to think us. The Boston Herald has a correspondent who has just been visiting our metropolis and The reception given to the | | | “the smart set.” They are not | an “isolated town" far remote from civ- ilization, where all sorts of folks do all sorts of things. Then he says: “This sense of isolation is greatly en- Jjoyed by the Eastern tourist and as much by the ladies as by the men. A very fashionable woman indeed—when at home on the Atlantic seaboard— confesses that the other evening at high midnight she sat in a lace. screened box in a “hall,” and there wit- nessed the exposition of Little Egypt. “‘It was so like Paris,’ declared the truant lady. ‘But, poor thing! poor little Egypt—she must have had the stomach ache! You see, when I am in Rome I do as Romeo does! All of which goes to show that when Boston respectability is In San Fran- cisco, Boston respectability has a good time—and who can blame it? It is not fair, however, for the frolicsome dames | to pretend that in all their frolics they are but living according to our views | of life. It is of course proper ‘“when in Rome to do as Romeo does,” but it appears the Boston Juliet sometimes overdoes it and makes Rome howl. IR Having quoted that story from the Boston Herald man it is only fair to him to add that on the whole he makes a good report of us to our well-beloved ! Eastern kin. Thus he says that what most impresses the stranger in San Francisco is the tendency of the people toward independent judgment in all matters, social, literary or artistic; and he adds: There is a disinclinatfon to accept es- tablished verdicts and a desire to form an opinion based upon the facts in the case. This is shown In the reception ac- corded to celebrities of all sorts, from those of the army and navy, the church and the state, to those of the stage or Some very great people, indeed, in their own estimation, when In the East, are ‘small pumpkins” indeed out here, whereas merit is readily recog- nized, and an actress, for example, does not need to enjoy a New York or London reputation to be in vogue in San Fran- cisco, and vice versa. That statement is pleasing and thor- oughly satisfactory. It will be read with general gratification and approval, not because it is in praise of us, but because it is true. We do not care for flattery, but we do like to have visitors speak well of us because such speaking | shows they appreciate merit and can tell the truth. That is always pleasing. e Many men and women of many minds, and many with many a lack of mind, have had their say on the sub- love letters, but it has been left to a young English poet, Miss Elsle Hig- ginbotham, to give the best expression to the finest feelings on the subject, which she has done in this dainty triolet: AN APOLOGY. On Reading the Browning Love Letters. Forgive, sweet lovers of this book, The sad, who scan your story; Forgive their wistful eyes that look— Forgive, sweet lovers of this book, Their knowledge whereyour fingers shook; Their watching of your glory; Forgive, sweet lovers of this book, The sad, who scan your story. Accept, true lovers here enshrined, The few who share your gladness In touch of heart, and soul and mind; Accept, true lovers here enshrined, Their seeing of themselves defined, Their growth of joy from sadness— Accept, true lovers here enshrined, The few, who share your gladness. Condone, great lovers—being dead, The printing of these pages; Nor shrink that we—we too, have read, Condone, great lovers—being dead, Our vision of the gold you shed— For hearts In coming ages, Condone, great lovers—being dead, The printing of these pages. If that exquisite bit of verse do not give to all lovers of fine literature a joy | sufficient to induce them to read it more than once, and to thank me for digging it for them out of the welter of the verse of the day, then I don't know enough about what is poetically pleasing to be entitled to run a hay- rake. . Persons who wish a day of complete mental as well as physical rest and relaxation after the strenuous intel- lectual exertions of the week may let their brains repose upon this conun- drum which is now going the rounds in the East, having taken the place of the kissing bug and filling it so full the bug is not missed: What's the difference between a man- o'-war going through the Suez canal, under tow of a tugboat, and a boiler with a capacity of 6000 tons of steam, loaded to 7000 tons, with no safety valve, in charge of an engineer who has a certifi- cate from Bellevue Hospital showing that he is a good ambulance driver, but the sole support of a widowed mother and seven uncles, with no income to speak of, all of which is invested in Spanish fours. bought on a margin of 2 per cent in a Wall-street bucket-shop conducted by two professional card sharps from Honolulu under indictment at San Francisco for arson? T submit the conundrum to the atten- tion of the worthy for two reasons— first, as an illustration of how very silly in the East are the amusements of the silly season; second, because it is asserted there is an answer to the conundrum, and as I do not know it I give it up—to the publie. e From the frequency of the iteration and reiteration of the report that the marriage of Lily Langtry to young De Bathe was due to the match-making of the Prince of Wales, a suspicion arises that there is a theatrical advertisement in the story, and that we are to have the bride among the dramatic stars of the next season. Of course, if she come she will be welcome, for she is likely to be a better Lily and she cannot be a worse actress than she was when we received her before. It is to be remem- bered that even in the old days she showed her appreciation of the true and the beautiful by purchasing a ranch in California with the intention of living in a state of decorum. Mar- riage, like charity, covers a multitude of sins, and, besides, it counts for something that Lily has taken a Bathe. e e Lo The court-martial now going on at Rennes may not solve all the mys- teries of the Dreyfus case, but one of the episodes of it has come near to fur- nishing an answer to the old question, “Who shall decide when doctors dis- agree?” When M. Labori was taken home after being shot Dr. Reclus, a member of the French Academy of Medicine and a professor of surgery, was called in to attend him. The treat- ment of Reclus was not approved by Dr. Doyen, who is also a surgeon of eminence, and between the two dig- nitaries there arose a dispute which has been called “semsational.” In such a disagreement who should decide? La- bori-decided. He got up out of bed and went about his business just as boldly as if he had a legal right to interfe in the case and settle it to his own ad- vantage. Moreover, as the doctors when last heard from were still wrangling, Labori may yet have the satisfaction of getting a fat fee from one of them for prosecuting the other. The French are queer people. —_— CARRIER PIGEON KILLED. The Bird Was Bringing a Mes- sage to The Call. Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. Late yesterday afternoon Superintend- ent M. H. Damon of the sewer farm picked up his shotgun and started out in quest of birds. He had only proceeded a short distance when he saw a fine pigeon feeding not far away, and Ailled it. ‘When he came to examine his game he found that he had killed a carrier pigeon. On one leg was a thin metal band bearing the number “A 1489 To the other a mesage had been attached reading as fol- 5 p. m.—Farralones abeam, dist. one mile; very hazy: not a sail in sight. Suc- cess as commodore of the naval parade. Houdlett Inquiry develops the fact that among the steamers leaving San Francisco Wednes- eamship Austra- day was the Spreckels st lia, bound for Honolulu. The officer in charge is Captain Houdlette. Under the circumstances there is little reason to doubt that the message was intended for John D. Spreckels, proprietor of the San Francisco Call, and was a_special report to the effect that up to the time stated the Australia had scen nothing of the anxiously awaited transport Sherman, | having on board the volunteers returning | from the Philippines. Ag stated in the message and as re- rted in the newspapers, the atmosphera ' the vicinity of the Farallones Wednes- day afternoon was very hazy. Later on a fog rolled in. The little messenger doubt- Jess became lost in the fog and instead of fiving toward home headed north, a fact that not only delayed the mesage but resulted in the messenger meeting with a sad and untimely death besides. ————————— Why the Naval Parade Was a Success Oakland Tribune. Speaking of the bay parade on Thurs- day an Oaklander familiar with such things said: “Too much credit cannot be glven Commodore Spreckels for the suc- cess of the affair. I never saw so many steam and sailing vessels in a bunch be- fore. There was no _confusion, no hitches and no accidents. Everybody in charge of a vessel of any kind knew exactly his lace and he kept out of every other fel- ow's place. The line was formed with { much discretion and the picture made was magnificent. Commodore Spreckels, in regulation uniform, from the deck of the Fearless, directed things with two small launches and proved himself a mas- ter of such work. Just think of ten thou- sand people on the bay with the innumer- able craft to carry them and not even a hat fell overboard or a single vessel's paint scratched. The line moved just when everybody expected it would and no one felt uneasy or alarmed in any way. 1f everybody who has anything to do with the sodiers’ reception does as well or half as well as John D. Spreckels the event will be long remembered.” A Record for “Scoops.” The Fourth Estate. The San Francisco Call is making a great record for “scoops.” A few weeks ago The Call was the first newspaper in the world to contain the news of the battle of Samoa, and on July 30 it was again the first to publish the report of the Samoan Commissioners on the condition of affairs in the islands and the steps that have been taken to establish a stable gov- ernment. The report of the Samoan Commission is one nF the most important diplomatic documents of the year, and In obtainin copy and publishing it in advance he Call achieved one of the greatest suc- cesses of journalism. The Commissioners arrived a week later. AROUND THE CORRIDORS R. Barker, an attorney of Vacaville, is at the Lick. William Sanders, a prominent merchant of Fresno, is at the Palace with his wife. Dr. J. M. Blodgett, one of the leading physicians of Lodi, is a guest at the Grand. W. R. Spaulding, president of the Truckee Lumber Company, is a guest at the Lick. G. W. Peltere, the Sacramento banker and capitalist, is at the Grand,.accom- panied by his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Willlam P. Coleman have come down from Sacramento and are reg- istered at the California. Dr. Rose Kidd, the famous Red Cross physician and nurse, who arrived on the transport Sherman, is at the California. H. J. Small of the Southern Pacific Com- pany iIs staying at the Palace. He will remain until the conclusion of the cefe- bration. Julius Cain, one of the best known min- ing men of Newman, is registered at the Grand, where he will remain for the next few days. Captain and Mrs. William Borrowe of Sausalito are registered at the California, where they are staying in order to miss nothing of the general jubilation. J. F. Daly, the Eureka capitalist, and T. C. Copeland, one of the leading business men of Los Angeles, are to be found | at the Palace, where they arrived yester- | day. Prison Director Daniel E. Hays has come over from his home in Blithedale to witness the celebration. He is at the Oc- | cidental, accompanied by his wife and daughter. John Ross Jr., a wealthy mining man of Sutter Creek, and J. P. Snider, a mine owner of San Andreas, are two of the | guests who arrived at the Grand yester- | day to witness last night's parade. The thousands of people who have coms to the city to participate in the festivities attendant on the welcome to the Califor- nia volunteers have so congested the ho- tels that a room is not to be had for love or money. The lobbies are fairly packed with a mass of humanity from morni until night, and the guests wait their turn at the dining tables. In the whole history of the city there has never before been re- corded such a rush —_———— CALIFORNIANS IN NEW YORK. NEW YORK, Aug. 26.—Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jaynes of San Francisco are at the Holland; Tom Pullian of Los Angeles is at the Imperial: Miss M. G. Stillman, Miss D. P. Morrison of Redlands and Mrs. Stanley Stillman of San Francisco are at the Manhattan. —_———— Cal. glace fruit 50c per 1> at Townsend's. * —_—— Specfal information supplied dally to business houses and public men by tha Press Cllpplng Bureau (Allen's), 510 Mon: gomery street. Telephone Main 1042. * —_——— ‘Will Buy a Valuable Book. J. W. Hendrle has just presented the A‘::ademy of Sc;ences with $2500 to pur- chase a copy of the Botanic: 3 This Is one of the rarest and ;lr!ogeasl;e;- ble books on botany in existence, and the g_rlces of it are constantly on the increase. The book will not be on hand for some ‘weeks, but when it is the Academy will be lv’v‘ilnf :x:lengnblo fi"u‘?"‘"x‘ of all kinds, as it 2 00] b at is the standard all ———— Very Low Rates East. On August 29 and 30, the popular Sants Fa route will sell tickets to Philadelphia and re- turn at the very low rate of $5885. Occa- sion, National Encampment, G. A. R. Call at 628 Market st. for full particulars.