The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 19, 1899, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 19, OJHN D. SFRECKELS, Proprietor. Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager PUBLICATION OFFICE. .. Market and Third, S. F. Telephone Main 18508, EDITORIAL ROOMS. .. ... 217 to 221 Stevenson St. Telephone Main 1874, Per Week. 15 Cents Deltvered hr Carriers, Stagl Terms hy Mai DAILY CALL (including Sunday), DALY CALL (ncluding Sunday), ¢ months. . DAY CALL dinciuding Sunday), 3 month DAILY CALL—Ry Single Month.. SUNDAY CA Year. IKLY CALL Ome Year. All postmasters are suthorized subscriptions. Semple coples miil be forwarded when requested 1.50 SR Ne e HNADO) to receive OAKLAND OFFICE 908 Broadway €. GEORGE KROGNESS, e Mamager Foreign Advertising, Marguette Build- ing. Chicago. PONDENT: ..Herald Square NEW YORK €. G. CARLTON. CORRES TATIVE: 29 Tribune Bullding NEW YORK RE PERRY LULENS JR. . CHICAGO NEWS STANDS: Sherman Hous 0. News ern Hotel: Fremont House; Aunditorium Hotel. NEW VORK NEWS STANDS: Waldori-Astoria otcl: A. Hrentano, 31 Un Sguare; Murray Hill Hotel. C¥..Wellington Hotel respondent. WASHINGTON (D. ¢ J. L. ENG BRANCH OFFICES—527 Montgomery street, cor- spen until 9:30 o'clock. 300 Hayes street, open antil 9:30 o'clock. 639 McAllister street, open 615 Larkin eet, open unt uu‘: M 220 9:30 o'clock. o'clock. 1096 Valencia street, 106 Eleventh street, AW streets, open until 9 open until ® o'clock. corner Twenty-second and Kentucky o n antil ® o'clock. AMUSEMENTS. { r th Left Home.* oldee Gate Lodge No. €, B. F. o Merry Monarch.™ 1 B evening s . i b 2 to-day -dny. | ul Ball, Thanksgiving e AUCTION SALES. svember 21, at 11 o'clock, Horses, e settlement which Francisco was when wn to be S It wa Yerba Buena. s in those days liere people went to sleep at dark and desired a fiesta by night na learned to love | among their bright- The « 1 has long since outgrown nearly | e of those early days. San Fr e | o resemblance t « es the bustling activity of her 1 v by night as well as by P, m w the quiet life | « ie respect, however, there has | been nc For a certain space in each month 4‘ rities shut off the ghts of civili- | gas and the | v and its people to | alike the gleam of to leave th t the lights of other days, and for | 1 copie have to go about at night by he moon, even as was done when the | town w Buena. Not lon, g ago a distinguished traveler from Ger- T a nobleman of wealth and social habits, came to S to stu He struck the town during one } periods. He went out one night and found himseli in darkness, | for clouds and fogs had come to hide the lovely light | of the Not to be balked of his visit by that ‘ t himself a Jantern, and for a week | San Francisco by lantern-light every | night and furnished the lantern at his own expense. | g a time is this condition of things to | 5 San Francisco has now become a great city— one of the most noted in the world. Its multifold ac- es of business and pleasure can be no longer carried on by daylight alone. Thousands of people mre out after dark, and there is a need for well lighted streets at all hours of the night and every night of the month. Persons who come here from the East or from Europe expect to find a well lighted city. It is ridiculous to show them a metropolis of such pre- ten<ions in every respect relying on the moon for illum Semething should be done by the municipal author- an end to the absurdity of the situation. juena custom of relying upon moonlight e kind that are more honored in the breach There is not only an inconve- Francisco to behold the beauties thereof and v its culture, of its Yerba Bu oon. tion. ance. 1 nience but a danger in these regularly recurring pe- riods of darkness. In some parts of the city private enterprise ed certain of the principal thor- oughfares, and the enterprise is commendable, but is a weak and inefficient municipal administration which renders such enterprise necessary. FEven so are thoroughiare as Market street is left to misty darkness during moonlight period, and when the night is clouded would be in total darkness were it not for the lights which are radiated from stores and from restaurants We are to have a new charter in force very soon. Yet us ¢ a new lighting system with it. We are to start a new era, let us signalize it by doing away with the Yerba Buena reliance on the moon. It will not be difficult to find 2 way to light the streets every night if the city officials honestly try to accomplish it, and a resolute public opinion should demand that they make the trial at once. e e —— In the grim business of war all the destructive pov.er of modern weapons, all the merciless ingenuity of fighters, have paled beiore disease as agents of death. In thirteen months of war the records show that only 406 American soldiers were killed in battle, while 6223 died from disease and other causes than an enemy’s work on the field. 0.1 Great North- | A DEMOCRATIC IMPZRIALISTS. /\/\R. WATTERSON concludes that the Novem- ber elections were a crushing blow to the anti- imperialists and proceeds to rejoice thereat with exceeding glee. Along with this outburst of Democratic imperialism comes the announcement that cotton is carrying the South into imperialism head- long, in light marching order, and that the Bryan Democracy will drop the issue next year entirely. For many reasons it is to be hoped that this is true. | Mr. Bryan's convictions on that subject are as shallow | as his arguments, and the common mind can wade either dry shod. He apparently reached out for the ue as a straw that might count something in float- ing him until 1900. But Mr. Bryan has become an incumbr: He is a mortgage which his party is anxious to liquidate. The anti-imperialist sentiment of the country toward him is expressed by Senator Caffery of Louisiana, who declares he will support imperialism in preference to Mr. Bryan and the Chi- cago platform. Bryan's late entry into the ranks as an imperialist was not agreeable to the men of deep convictions who had been reasoning with the country while he was urging upon his followers in Congress the first steps which have led the country into an embarrassing position. As we have said, we , repeat, that imperialism had its origin in the ranks of the Democratic politicians who followed Mr. Bryan in 1806, with some sound money allies like Watterson who were for anything that would antagonize Mr. Cleveland. It was an unnatural graft on Republican- ism, and the Republican party is suffering from the ope: While the Louisville Courier-Journal is rejoicing that the elections have affirmed and confirmed impe- rialism, even imperialist Republican papers are treat- ing the subject with sobriety. The New York Press, which supports imperialism, says: “It would be quite iQolish to claim these nor- mal Republican majorities as great victories for the | expansion policy. It would be as foolish as it was in Democrats to crow over an increase in their vote in the darkest Missouri of Free Silver Dick Bland's old district as a crushing rebuke to the imperialist policy of the administration.” This indication of a sober mind among Republican imper: amateur ant tion. sts is due to the growing sense of responsi- The cc ssion h | bility. Com fusion of voices from the Philippine et the country thinking, and Repub- licans are feeling great anxiety about what is to come While war is subordinated to its excitement, to its | when the slaughter ceases in the islands. But what is to come letermine the final sentiment of e quips and jokes now over the capture of Senora Aguinaldo’s wardrobe and her flight to the mountains carrying a week old baby. But when we overcome the Filipinos, as we will, and catch Ag Ido, as we will, what are we going to do? We have been driven into the position of treating him as a traitor. Will we shoot our prisoner or will the lic have an exile? Will we banish him and have rep parte and the King of Delhi and Arabi Pasha? ng slain thousands who were defending their es, how will we make the name of the republic beloved in those homes? With a military garrison in every town, with a land tenure which detaches the people from the soil, which they till as tenants, turning furrows wet with the d of their fathers, how are we to placate a race that never forgets an injury and has no benefits to remember as incident to our first appearance among them? The utter confusion of ideas on the part of the commission as to the form of government, and the resulting proposition that it shall have no form at all, no consistency of scheme, but shall be empirical, dictated by expediency, laying down one rule in Luzon, another in Panay, another in Negros, another in Cebu, and a fantastic departure from them all in the Sulus, all indicates and measures the sad difficulties to come, The country is likely to learn to the last letter the wisdom of Blaine, who declared against annexation of territory that carries with it an indignant and hostile population. But what an opportunity the situation presents to the Republican party! If the party refresh itself at the fountain of its original principles it has a chance to escape a predicament and enter into great glory by setting to Asia an example in the form of a Phil- ippine republic, protected from without by the United States and guarded against disorder within by our example of justice and liberty and law going hand in hand. UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENTS. CCORDING to estimates based upon the sum received by Mrs. Stanford from the sale of her Southern Pacific stock Stanford University is assured of an endowment valued at something like $30,000,000. If the estimate be not exaggerated that will give to Stanford the rank of being the wealthiest | of American educational institutions, and far in ad- vance of any other. A recent compilation of the endowments of univer- | sities in this country, made after what appears to have | been a careful investigation by a writer for the New | York Sun, credits Girard College with a productive | endowment of $15,250,000; Staniord, $13,500,000; Har- {vard, $10,000,000; Columbia, $9,500,000; Cornell, $8,000,000; Chicago, $6.500,000; and Yale, $4,500,000. | Each of these is credited with holdings in excess of | the figures given, and some of the holdings will even- | tually become a part of the revenue vielding wealth, | so that in every instance the “productive funds” may | be much larger in a few years than they are now. At | the time the compilation was made it was estimated | the seven universities named have in the aggregate an |income of $7,478,330, or an average of more than $1,000,000 each. That is an excellent showing for our universities, |and yet it is but a drop in the bucket of the total | amount of wealth which the American people have devoted to higher education. In the article quoted it is stated tliere are 426 colleges and universities in the | United Stdtes and they have an invested capital in ex- | cess of $250,000.000. They employ something like | 25,000 proiessors and teachers and have now on their rolls upward of 175,000 students. It is a showing of which we as a people can be justly proud. What other | nation can show anything approaching it? | It is noted that in every university in the United | States the cost of giving instruction to a student is considerably in excess of the price fixed for tuition, consequently a university 19ses money by each stu- | dent. It is said that in some of the larger universities | the problem of providing education for the number of students who apply for it has become a serious one and trustees have had to raise the standard of ad- mission not only for the purpose of advancing the degree of instruction given but for that of limiting the | student body to the number t’e university can afford to receive. 3 To meet the demand for education the liberality of | the people in voting increased revenues for State uni- r banished subject on some island as England had | 1899. versities and the generosity of wealthy citizens have done much. It is estimated that during the past year our colleges and universities have received from pri- vate citizens donations exceeding $20,000,000. Every year sees large sums added to the endowments of the greater institutions, and in future these are sure to in- crease with the increasing wealth of the people. At the present time it is estimated that American universities represent an investment of $1425 for each student, while in Great Britain the average is about 750 and in Germany something like $600. For the management of the large property interests there is required at the head of our greater universities an executive having business ability of the first order. As he is also expected to be a scholar or a man of science as well as a business man, the selection of a | president for one of these institutions is a matter of no little difficulty. California is fortunate in having at the head of her two great universities men of the rank of Wheeler and Jordan. She is thus assured that the large sums provided for education at Berkeley and Palo Alto will be so administered as to procure from them the best service to the cause to which they are devoted. l irrigation policy in this State will not disappear in the great rainfall and the compromises of the recent convention. The antagonism of party platiorms and the cry of “irrigation without debt,” by which the Federal irri- gators have roused that old and ever present desire 1(0 get something for nothing, have combined to turn | the thoughts of the people toward Washington for | aid. It has always been true that neglect follows the | expectation of help from the outside. California has such a peculiar interest in the subject that we can- not long afford to wait for external help. An appro- priation of a million or two in the river and harbor | bill, according to the plan of the Federalists, when divided between the many States and Territories | which are out with their buckets after water, will leave just enough, for each, to be wasted. Suppose the | amount is ten millions, for which the most arid Fed- cralist can hardly hope, yet in the division only a pit- tance would fall to California. It is periectly true that the larger the demand the greater will be the opposi- | tion to it. The river and harbor bill is now so large that Presidents sign it with aversion, and sometimes veto it, as did Arthur and Cleveland. With this new demand upon it the economical senti- ment of the country will be aroused to uneasiness and watchfulness. The officers in charge of the fiscat affairs of the Government are not feeling any too easy just now. Our attentive readers will remember that some | months ago The Call said that the usual speculative features have appeared in the business of the country and there was gathering that atmosphere in which financial panics are generated. It is not pleasant to know that the storm was ready to break within the | last ten days, and was only averted by the offer of the treasury to redeem twenty-five millions in unmatured bonds. Russell Sage is quoted as saving that this offer of Secretary Gage saved the financial world from a disastrous panic. With these clouds upon the Fed- | eral financial situation economies are likely to be in order more than new enterprises, over which, at the best, Federal jurisdiction is in doubt. Out of it all is to be drawn the lesson that the State must not abandon this great interest to outside expec- tations. The permanent organization, which was the most important result of the convention, should keep an eye on the situation, and when it is apparent that the loss of waiting is too great it should renew the urgency for action by which we will help ourselves. Meantime it has the most important work in con- nection with forest preservation. We have so often vrged this that no new certificate is needed to prove our interest in it. Here is a field for State action of | the greatest value, and to longer neglect it is to in- cur risks and dangers too appalling for contemplation. L war in the Transvaal are vague, but they are sure and confident on one point. It is said by all authorities that as a result of the conflict the social season this winter is to be one of the gloomiest Lon- don has ever known. With the British troops in Africa are many of the gay young officers whose presence delighted the belles of the balirooms, and in their absence there is to be but little of that round of pleasure which usually makes up the tenor of fashion- able life in that richest and most hospitable of the capitals of the earth. It is a familiar saying that when it rains in London New York clubmen turn up their trousers and carry umbrellas no matter how brightly the sun shines on Fifth avenue and the drives of Central Park. Per- haps the moral as well as the physical weather of Lon- don may have its effect on our own metropolis, and belles and beaux of the United States may deem it proper to wear countenances of grave decorum and be gloomy this winter in harmony with the British. It would not be altogether a matter of jesting should it be so. New York is socially in close al- liance with London. The Astors, the Vanderbilts, the Whitneys, the Jeromes and many another family ot light and leading in American society have close ties not only of friendship but of marriage and of blood with the families who in a large measure direct the social life of Great Britain. It is certain that in New York the bulletins of the wounded and the killed in battle with the Boers are read in many a stately mansion with almost as much anxiety as in those of London itself. It would not be strange, then, if the gloom overhanging British society should cast a shadow upon the gayeties of our own metropolis. A gloomy social season this winter would be, how- ever, something like an affront to nature. All the natural conditions of the time in our country incline men and women to gladness and to rejoicing. Never have our industries been more prosperous and rarely have brighter prospects illumined the future. The ill effects of the hard times of the past have been almost wholly eradicated by the abundant crops of the last two years, and at present all classes of workers are receiving the rewards due to energy, industry and thrift. Those persons who by their fortunes and their inclinations are in the lead of social life have therefore abundant reason for making this a gay season and a happy one. We may be sorry for the Briton and the Boer, but in that sorrow there is nothing to prevent us from dancing. We have the money to pay the piper, and why should we not set his pipes a-playing? WATERS AND FORESTS. T is to be hoped that the effort to systematize an SOCIETY AND THE W@AR. ONDON reports concerning the course of the e — It has been suggested that the Stockton merchant who attempted to set fire to an entire block enter a plea of insanity. The suggestion has been made probably from the fact that the culprit was so easily caught at his criminal work. France has again escaped from civil war. The Senate has convened, and within its historic walls Parisian revolutionary wrath is exploding into harm- less sound. BEDUCED ATES FOR STOCKME Liberal Treatment by the Railroads. — Bpecial Dispatch to The Call. DENVER, Nov., 18.—The various pas- senger assoclations are treating the re- Quests of the National Livestock Associa- tion for reduced rates to their annual convention at Fort Worth, January 16 to 20 next, with much more consideration than the previous occasions. Presldent John W. Sprin, tions from the Southw i:fiifir::;n;,:e‘r 'U(‘lnl}lluns that a_one-fare rip rate, with a twenty- had been ted. S Chairman Wellington of the latter Ass0- ciation stated that he had taken up the matter with lines in = Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, and believed that similar action would be taken in that_ territory. Chalrman Me- Leod of the Western Assoclation, letter received to-da; aid he had recom- mended a_ one-fare rate plus $2 from all points within his district.” This is encour- aging, as the best rate the stockmen could £et 4 year ago was one and a third fare, The Central Ass lation, from Chicago to Pittsburg and Buffalo, has authorized a une and a third fare rate. President Springer left to-day for Chi- cago to attend the big meeting of breed- ers’ assocfations in that city next week. He has jolned the Shorthorn Breeders and Will be present at all the meetings. The Natjonal Association meeting to-day is- sued a bulletin showing the movement of cattle through all Western markets dur- Ing the first ten months of the present vear. The showing is very remarkabie, showing a heavy increase in consumption o}' livestock and a falling off in the sup- ply. Reports recelved by the secretary of the association indicate the approach of a big shortage in cattle, and the prediction is made that the present high prices will continue through next year at feast. Lecture by Wheeler. SANTA CRUZ, Nov. 18.—President Ben- Jamin Ide Wheeler spoke this afternoon to a large audience In the opera-house on the “American Teacher,” after which he went to Monterey. ern and Colorado T to-day received notifica- | Every piece of our furniture is yours for 20 to 30 per cent below regular cash prices. We. have more Furniture than we want, because the open- ing of our new buildi ng—the larjest of its kind in the West—will not take place until after Christ= mas. We have rented neighborhood that we looking for more ware-room. says sell what we ha cheaper than storage. on the Sixteenth-street PATILSE every small store in the could get hold of, and are Common sense ve at a big discount; it's We have a carload of LINOLEUM lying out sidewalk. - It must be re=- moved or it will get ruined, and to move it quicl_(ly we have made extraordinary reductions, viz.: Best grade, 4 yards wide, Second grade, 4 yards wide, regular goc..75¢ square yd. Third grade, 4 yards wide, regular 75t....80¢ square yd. Fourth grade, 2 yvards wide, regular 6oc..45¢ square yd. SPECIAL—jso pieces of Best American Inlaid Tile Linoleum reduced from $1.70 to........ $1.35 NS, regular $1......80¢ square yd. CORNER SIXTEENTH AND MISSION STS. L] gfiQlQ&O*Q*O{-QMM*0*0{-0““*0«!0—!0*0*0*06010*0*0!0!OM EDITORIAL VARIATIONS. *ORE H * - - Among ‘he minor lessons to be draw. from current events and which may properly be included among variations of the central theme is one which tends to show the foolishness of the doctrine that the way to have peace is to prepare for war. Old Dr. Johnson told the world long ago that proverblal wisdom is as current as copper coin and just about as valuable. We are having a new proof of the truth of his saying. We are very for- midable to the Filipinos, but they are attacking us with the fury of bantam cocks; and Great Britaln is a portentous adversary for the Boers, but none the less the Boers are making war as vigor- orously as if the British were wholly un- prepared 10 guard against it. It will be remembered that in our con- troversies with Great Britain there is never any danger of war, but on the con- trary a confidence on both sides that the peace between the two will not be broken. Some may think the confidence due to fraternal sentiments, the common language of Shakespeare and Miiton, and Anglo-Saxon unity; but the world at large knows the continuance of peace is due malinly to the fact that n_ither side is prepared for war against the other. Had the British been as unprépared for war with Oom Paul as they are for war with Uncle Sam they would have no fight with the Boers: and had we been as unprepared for war with Spain as we are for war with Great Britaln we would not have interfered in Cuba any more than we are golng to interfers In the Transvaal. Those who study human affairs as re- vealed In the course of the lives of In dividuals =oon note that men who pre- pare for trouble always find trouble, and those who are not prepared for it keep out of the way of {t. The man who de- velops in his muscles the ability to knock out his feliow-man or who arms himself with pistol or club to protect himself is very sure to have a fight, while the man who is not conscious of any power to whip the casual passer on the street goes on his way, minding his own busi- ness, avolds quarrels and neither achieves fighting nor has fighting forced on him. It appears to be with nations very much as with individuals. Where there is a readiness for war there is very sure to be war. The way for a nation to have peace is to put itself in a condition where it will have reason to seek peace with diligence and keep it when found. ‘I'he proverbial saving that the way to pre- serve peace I8 to prepare for war should be referred to the debating socleties for reconsideration. . Lest any one conclude from the fore- going that the wars now being waged on behalf of the white man's burden are wrong or improper or anything like breaches of etiquette, it may be worth while to say there Is one bit of wisdom, made by Pope as current as a proverb, which is quite true and can be relled upon, “Whatever is, is right.” The wars are, and therefore they are right. In this connection it is worth noting that the Archbishop of Armagh has been moved by the spirit of the time to con- tribute something to the war verse of Great Britain and recently sent to the London Times what is perhaps the best poem that has been written since the fighting began. Tt is too long to be quoted entire, but the opening stanzas run thus: They say that “‘war is hell,” the ‘“‘great mc- cursed,” The sin impessible to be forgiven— Yet I can look bevond it at its worst, And still ind blue In heaven. And as T note how nobly natures form Under the war's red rain, I deem it true That He who made the earthquake and the storm Perchance makes battles too! The 1ife He loves is not the life of span Abbreviated by each passing breath, 1t is the true humanity of Man, Victorious over death. The long expactance of the upward raze, Sense Ineradicable of things afar, Fair hope of finding after many days The bright and morning Star. Methinks T see how spirits may be tried, Transfigured Into beauty on war's verge, Like flowers, whose tremulous grace is learnt Deside The trampling of the surge. Phar et ‘While in Great Pritain there are poets enough from Archbishops to Kiplings to sing something of glory into the war with the Boers, there is a dull, apathetic list- lessness among the poets of America not only upon war subjects but upon all sub- Jects. We are bragging much in these days over the exuberant vitality of Amer- ican life, which is supposed to manifest itself in things intellectual and moral as well as in things material, and yet we have brought forth no poem of note for many a day save the “Man With the Hoe.” It cannot be said we are indifferent to poetry, for the fervor displayed in dfs- cussing Markham’s poem shows that we are yearning for just that kind of topic of conversation as a change from politics and the ladies. Recent events have fur- nished inspiring themes for poets, BY JOHN McNAUGHT. CrOXOIOXONOXDTIXONDXGHOXOHANGHPADAIAOX KO OXOEOXOXDXOEO2D | | |ain is at war with a stubborn breed of | | HEXOROHORON for between the day of the bat- tle of Manila and the day of the home-coming of Dewey many a deed was done by American valor worthy of commemoration by American elo- quence; and yet we get nothing better than a coon song or a bit of magazine verse of shallow sentiment not equal in value to what even Austin does in the | laureateship. | Bo utterly.barren indeed have been our | fields of peotry of any blossom appropri- | ate to these times that one of our most | esteemed Boston contemporaries in trying | to find a verse to adorn a classic review | of the tendencies of imperfalism in Amer- | ica and Great Britain was compelled to dig up from an verse: ““Ah, LORD GOD, if yon believed me, YOU would pause in granting powers | Over cities, kingdoms, empires, | Castles, towns, and towers. For the men that powerful be Pay the least regard to THEB." «¥at i When Rome was mistress of the world some Roman Senator may have spoken with a serene, unassuming arrogance equal to that of Lord Salisbury in speak- | ing at the Lord Mayor's banquet last | week, but certalnly no such speech has ever been reported. Salisbury fis a very gifted orator, a past master of the art of public speaking, and of that other art of | adding to the force of speech by the man- ner of delivery, but he never before ac- complished any such success as that of | the Gylldhall address. The circumstances of the spesch must be taken Into consideration. Great Brit- unknown writer this | | fighters in a quarter of the globe so re- mote her troops and supplies have to be transported 6000 miles to reach the scene of action; her garrisons on the frontler are beleaguered and In imminent danger of being overwhelmed before relief can reach them; a hostile Europe, eager to profit by any disaster to the British arms, walts full armed and ready to take advan. tage of the first opportunity that comes; and there are signs and portents of storm | all around the horizon, from Egypt to| China. | Under such circumstances one would ex- | pect from the Prime Minister, the orator speaking for the Government, a full- volced appeal to the patriotism of the peo- ple, to the god of battles, to all things high and mighty—an oration full of fire and fervor, rolling in sonorous sentences suggestive of trumpets and war drums. Very different was the speech of the noble Lord. He was as quiet as one of those stage heroes, who does not even take off his gloves when he goes to meet the vil- lain. The blase British repression of feel. ing was never better exemplified. Sal bury dealt with all the issues of the time in something like the customary persi- flage of after-dinner oratory. The whole tone of the speech was ene of easy as- sumption of British superiority over everything In sight, and implied in every word that therc Is nothing about which the Government is In the least disturbed or even animated. . e . A popular actor In New York having been called to the footlights by tumult. uous applause at the close of a successful run of a new melodrama, responded cour- teously in a speech, and in the course of it told his audience that long experience on the stage has taught him that the world likes scoundrels. The average playgoer thinks the pleas- ure he derives from a drama is due to the satisfaction of seeing a villain punished, but the thought, it appears, is a specles of self-deception. The new actor, who is also a playwright, sald that at one time he excluded villains from his plays and gave the public nothing but heroes and rewarding heroines. The public refused to be pleased with such productions. “Now,” sald he, “I provide shoals of scoundrels, and the public likes them and pays liberally to see them.” This doctrine is not so unreasonable as appears at first thought. It has long ago been pointed out that our deiight in hu- mor is due to a consclousness of our superiority to whoever furnishes the, humor. We likke a clown because h/ flatters our pride In our own dignity. Why may we not like 2 villain because he flatters our pride in our morality? There is, moreover, a sneaking desire on the part of the best people to throw aside dignity and play the fool a while, 80 probably there Is a similar desire to es- cape at times from our virtue and be a villain—and smile. In his little speech the New York actor has thrown a light upon some political problems. May not the success of many a politician be due to the fact that as a voting as well as a theater-going people we like scoundrels? eitgs There are some people who say our British cousins have no sense of humor, and others who declare British Judges are no respecters of the persons of poor folks; but here s a case reported from London which shows either a spirit of fun or a spirit of mercy beyond any questiorin; Thé court was called upon to determine how much a week a certain defesdant should pay upon an obligation by #hich he was bound. To arrive at a just conclu- sion, the Judge asked the plaintiff con- cerning the ability of the defendant to pay, with the following result: Plaintif—He s a playwright, poet, critic, journalist, teacher, elocutionist, and also gives concerts at St. James Hall. Judge Bacon—And what is his income from all that? Plaintiff—I don’'t know. He lives in a £50 house. Here is an advertisement of his which has been widely circulated: “One hundred poets wanted.” Judge Bacon—That does not look like a gold mine. Ten shillings a month. ANSWERS 'IO— CORRESPONDENTS. NO WILL~C. A., Centerville, Cal. If a father dies without leaving a will and | leaves property, though the same may be unincumbered and there are no debts, and there are but two heirs, the property can- not be distributed except through probate proceedings in the Superior Court, if :ne property is located In California. CITY CIVIL SERVICE—C. H. J., City. The Civil Service Commisston to be pro=- vided for under the new charter will have | to make rules and regulations for the ap- pointment, promotion and removal of ail who are to be appointed under the pro- visions of section 2 of the subdivision of the charter headed “Civil Service.” Tha inference is that ail will have to take an examination, and that if the appointees “survive”” the period of probati. which is not more than six months, ey will hold during good behavior. CLERKS—S, H., City. When the new charter goes into operation clerks in the various city departments will be appoint- ed for a term not exceeding two months; after that appointments will be made un- der the civil service rules, and every one appointed under those rules will have to undergo an examination. Those who are appointed at the first of the year have no assurance of being retained, though they may successfully pass the examina- tion, for each position will be fil from three eligibles presented by the Civil Ser- vice Commissioners. The following offices will be classed under civil service provis- fons: County Clerk, -Assessor, Tax. Col- lector, Sheriff, Auditor, Recorder, ~Cor- oner, clerks and stenographers of the Jus- tice and_Police Courts, Board of Publie Works, Police Department, Fire. Depart- ment, Election Department, Health De- partment and all boards controlling public utilities. The heads of departments their cashiers and chief deputies are ex- cepted from this classification. Salarfes must be fixed no higher than is pald for similar service in similar employments. THE LAW OF SUCCESSION-D. r., Natoma, Cal. In the event of the settling of an estate, either by contest or agreé- ment, in_case no will has been left the decedent, the property would be o vided in California according to the law of succession, 1386, Civil Code, which pro- vides that if a married person dies in California possessed of property In his or her own right and leaves no lssue, one- half goes to the surviving husband or wife and the other half In equal shares to father and mother; if either is dead it goes to the survivor; If there is no father nor mother the half goes to brathers and sisters, and to children or child of any brother or sister by right of representa- thn. If the deceased leaves néither ther, mother, brother nor sister, the hole goes to the surviving husband or Wwife. If the decedent leaves a surviving husband or wife and only one chid, or the lawful issue of one child, the prop- erty, if there Is no will, goes in_equal shares to the surviving husband or wi‘e and child, or issue of such child. - If the decedent leaves a surviving h and ar wife and more than one living child and the lawful issue of one or more deceased children, one-third goes to the surviving husband or wife and the rematinder in equal shares to his children and to. the lawful {ssue of any deceased child by right of representation. GOTHAM—G. E. H,, City. Gotham is a parish of Nottingham, England. - The peo ple there, according to-one writer, were famed for their crass stupjdity and sim. plicity, and mordlnfi to another for their cunning, and for either of these two re sons they were called “The wise men of Gotham.” An old rhyme say Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea In a bowl. If the bowl had been stronger My story would be longer. It is said that King John Intended to make a progress through this town with the view of purchasing a castle and Erounds. The townsmen had no desire to e saddled with this experise, and ther fore, when the royal peared, wherever they went they saw the people engasing in some idiotic: pursuit, one being a number of men Joining hands around a thorn bush to shut In a euckoo. TM, K:n‘ balnl “"ld of this .lbandoned his project, an e townspeople cunningi remarked, “We b 4 upon some place as their limbus of fools; for example, there is Phrygia as the fools' home in Asfa: dera of the Thracian's: Boemtie 8 Als Greeks; Swabla of the modern Germans, and so on. Gotram is a colloquial term for the eity of New York. Thus aoplied it first ap- ar-d in “Salmagundi” by Washington rvirg, and is supposed to glnt sarcastic- ally at the worldly wisdom of its inhabit- —_————— glace fruit 50c per Ib at Townsend's.* ——— . Special information supplied datly to Cal. business houses and public men b Press Clipping Bureau (Mltn'l).“;lfl o':' gomery street. Telephone Main 1042 —— About the Size of It. “Let's run a rac said the macl to,_the false hair. * Ik turtle “What's the use,” replied the other. “We would both be in th finish.”"—Chicago News. = "UP &t the —_——— Four Times a Week. The California Limited, via Santa Fe route, leaves San Francisco by comnecting train at P. m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday day, giving passengers ample time to see Low Afluh‘ml“ Pl-h“ & Call at 6238 Market street one of the handsome folders scribing this sumptucus trala, -