The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 9, 1901, Page 18

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALIL, SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1901. e R BY BLANCHE AN AMERICAN OPERA SINGER Who Is Now Appearing in Europe WRITES WARNING TO STUDENTS. PARTINGTON. 1 ve of the New ¥ork | an article on the abroad that has interest in Eastern The article in ques- jon is by Mrs. Alma Webster Powell, | LL.B. an American, and now a mem- | ber of the Royal Berlin Opera Company. ! Mrs. Powell's letter is of particular inter- | s here given almost | for what it is worth. As! it her legal education Mrs. Powell's account should possess a strong | evjgential value, and though her facts are stated from a persistently gloomy stand- | point, it is to be feared that the situation has not been exaggerated: i d—Standing, as 1| my career which, | n is possible, is yet \ me a clear view of the singers in their desire to give to students tions @s ‘an American was obliged to make an | t upon European suc- se are to be found un- s who started their fitted to leave the stu- areless execution, lost | trouble are the results while much h enough 1o ched mistak made by ! 1 o noticeable here | the evident craze | o be gained at ail returning to thelr own complished something | **professiona r result is so feared that s volces and talerts m anything above a | which can never make sizn contracts for engage- | eard of towns, With the inty of wretched living and poor pay, and all for the pleasure of seeing the announcement the engagements in the home papers. The | arely for less than five years, | in summer, and the | thing to astonis outside roy must buy her own | her salary is absolutely | impossible. After the motices of the singer's engagement larating effect upon the art- | lizes that she must ontract is made | or may dk ven f re- ¥ prevents hundreds m fleeing to their | sition at home itively fear and ritics, those poor the bread that , in many cases, are € upon the merits of | are able to decide whether | atmosphere or not. Or, to be | t more expressive, “‘they don’t | from a bar of soap,” as I | fall down and more capable & singer than th three-hour perf; as 1o the op! that performance placing the ability | s true value. Once | properly they ex- which is beautifully cov- ut intonation, quality, ex- There is no danger in The water only begins to be | ticle attempts to discuss vocal inion it ehould ts. From these subjects our eir bots very carefully. The | is that of ail subjects the male critic | I weakest on vocal art when it is expressed by | & womar shou realize that this | ing toward the in their stri; for fa 5 gles for far thing worse than » bub. | ble, which reek barmless againsf | material of t merit B . { ke is made when the | o her career, and | I refer sunz. It is a fact died the situation that throughout | are in @ wretched conal- | cal demands of the Wag- The Wagner singers here at the evil | n in The singers merely | this is not art, as I under. .‘l‘( singers with a certain of voice are limited in their vocal cholce Wagner music or bad imitations of the owing to the vo ner ‘music Royal Opera are good examples of the influence of this master of evil suggestio music Richard Wagner. type o 10 master, because of the lack of compositions which combine the grace of the Itallan school with the deeper character of the modern. If @ voice mossesses great range and ilght- ness, with power hardly equal to Wagner de. mands, and yet more than necessary for ef. fective coloratura work, the singer fs com. pelied to confine herself to the Itallan workes which are far too trivial for the tastes of | this sge The mezzo-soprano s also in a dilemma. The classical compositions are either too heavy for the health of her voice or too light in character to give full scope to her abils jties. 1 have experienced this difBeulty my- #eif Guring several years, consclentiously Jearn. ing hundreds of mew gongs, only to throw them aside as unworthy the effort. The light- er works are devold of grace and depth, and the heavier ones are gencrally without melody or_ refinement. Naturally, the fault lies in the temperament of the composer. We do not find elegance, delicacy or grace in the average German mind, and the solid, restful and slow traits of the German are gemerally lacking in the Italan That the American possesses some. thing of both should keep him to the ideal temperament, only, unfortunately, he has too little of either, Hundrefs of new compositions come under | and certainly t at a small | | B e < PRIMA DONNA SOPRANO WHO WILL APPEAR AT THE TIV- OLL 3 my notice every year, and I know that the time has come for a new style of composi- tion which shall cleverly combine the mo ern with the old Italian school. Then colo- ratpra singing will be comething more than a mere exhibition of vocal pyrotechnics. There will be a depth in the tomposition that will demand a corresponding expression of depth in the voice, Demand creates a supply. With the compositions will come the voices. et s Now a last word to students who look with longing eyes toward a foreign stage career. Be sure that the voice is very unusual a perfectly trained. Discipline the mind by s yere study of some kind. I studied law and it has proved the best thing I could have done for my career. Test well your power o suf- fer all kinds of humiliation and endure all rdships e a well filled purse and a bank account upon which to draw constantly. Be prepared to work like a horse and be treated like a stray dog. Kill all fine feeling and high ideals, harden your heart against all affections, and then come over here and g0 on t ALMA BSTER POWELL, Berlin, May 9, 1901 “The best grand opera for the money that I have seen in any city either here or in Europe,” was the verdict of Maurice Graua last ‘year after a visit to our little Mr. Grau LL.B. opera-house on ¢ street. M w not alone in_ his commendation. Al- most all the members of his splendid com. pany at one or another time found them- selv the rival opera-shop, especially on sa nights, and added generously to_the volume of applause. 1t is almost decided that we shall have ancther double opera season this year, decided that the usual eason at the Tivoli will be The plans for the season are al- iy almost matured. the singers secured the repertoire arranged. Among old favorites to appear will he Salassa, Colla- marini Ferrari, Repetto, Barbareschi, , Polettini, Castellano and Nicolini, ome important additions to the com- pany have been made. Linda Montanari, whose Mimi-n that first memorable per- formance of “La Boheme” at the Califor- nia Theater is so pleasantly remembered. ill be one of the principal sopranos, and nother favorite of that charming and pathetic performance, Agostini, has also been secured. Two thus, Montnari and Agostini. come to us as legacies from the Del Contl company, and though “La Bo- heme” may not be given. other operas in which these excellent singers have full scope for their talents are on the season's repertoire. Another very welcome addi- tion to the comvany is Signor Lada, the fine basso who was heard on the one and only occasion when San Francisco had the pleasure of listening to Madame Sem- brich. Choice candies, Townsend’s, Palace Hotel* ey Cal. glace fruit 50c per Ib at Townsend’s.* —_————— Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042. & PR On Wall street Southern Pacific is nick- named “slow pup,” Ontario and Western “that old woman,” suwar sweetness,” and American Steel and Wire “swipe.” i Alabama Press Association. The Mayor received information from J. H. Rountree of Birmingham yesterday that the Alabama Press Association, con- sisting of about 100 members, will arrive in this city on a special of Pullman sleep- ers over the Santa Fe on Tuesday, June 2. The party will be here three days— Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. —_————— Tahiti and Marquesas Islands. The steamehip Australia, sailing June 26, for Tahiti, will call at Nouka Hiva, Marquesas Islands, both ways. The trip is only nine days trom San Francisco. This speciil voyage of- fers an unusual opportunity to visit these beautiful islands. About a week's stop will | e made in Tahitl, where one of the most unique native festivities takes place July 14, lesting three days. Tllustrated pamphlet and programme of events free at 643 Market street. ————— “It Is Up to You” We have made a very low round-trip rate to the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, and the comfortable Nickel-Plate trains, with Nickel-Plate dining cars serving American Club meals at 35c to $1 eaci, insure you a pleasant trip. Book free showing Pan-Ameri- can views. Buffalo hotel accommodations re- served. JAY W. ADAMS, P. G P, A, 37 Crocker bullding, San Francisco, Cal THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Address Communications to-W. S. LEAKE, Manager SENDAY 05 s fiohreies b aatses s 5 s AR e T i e Gt A Gleiitie B feeeescenaeannn... . JUNE o, 1901 Publication Office AMERICAN ENGINES. HILE English royalty is receiving, and London hospitality is entertaining, the repre- sentatives of American capital and energy, and bob and nabob are gaping at Pierpont Morgan and Andrew Carnegie, another section of English sentiment is doing quite otherwise. THe technical engineers and manufacturers are picking flaws in those things which we boast as special examples of our superior skill. The first thing impeached is the American locomotive and the next is the American bridge. Both have made their way into India and Egypt, and it is complained that the authorities representing Great Britain in those parts are unwilling to admit the structural infirmities observed by English engineers, and they are charged with screening the Americans, to the detriment of the manufacturing reputation of their own country. It is charged that our engines wear out too quickly; that they bum more coal per mile traveled and ton hauled than the English product; and that there is not a proper adjustment of the weight of metal used in their several parts to the work done or strain borne by such parts. These vices of our railway engines are stated in great detail. But one who reads the im- peachment should not be discouraged, for it is in order to inquire what advantages our engines possess to offset the serious disadvantages complained of and still. leave them so much ahead of the English engine as to give them the preference in the judgment of English railway officers in India and Egypt. Upon the face of the case as presented by the British experts, instead of pointing out the defects in our machine they should be soberly considering the greater defects in their own which leave it still inferior to ours, admitting that ours has the alleged infirmities. Railroading is, in a large sense, an exact science. That is to say its success depends upon the economic application to art of so much that science has determined that it is the most exact of the arts. The best technical skill is employed in it. Everyhing, from the water in the engine boiler, the fuel that converts it into steam, to the relation of traction to grade, is the subject of the closest study. Where a facility finds its greatest profitable use, there it is safe to say that its con- ditions receive the closest study. The United States, with the greatest railway mileage in the world, and until the completicn of the Russian-Pacific road the longest lines in the world, znd carrying the greatest tonnage at the lowest rate in the world, is in the very nature of things the field in which to expect the closest technical attention to the very details in which the British en- gineers claim that we are lacking. It is believed here that we are able to pay the highest rail- way wages in the world to nearly a million employes, and at the same time give the lowest freight and passenger rates in the world, by reason of our study and application of scientific economy in operation. £ s We must therefore be permitted to maintain an interrogative attitude upon this issue raised against us in London. Every operating department of a railroad in this country knows the energy potential in the fuel it uses and the percentage of loss thereof in its transmission into power by the locomotive. To reduce that percentage of loss has been the study of the builders of engines here and in Europe. The principle of expansion has been applied wherever possible, and there is little room for doubting that the American steam engine, stationary, locomotive and marine, has reached as high efficiency as any in the world. Tts efficiency is a leading and necessary element in the chaep- ness of American freights and fares. The first consideration on a completed railway is the power and its economies. We are inclined to believe that our British critics have omitted something from their calcu- lation that is essential to its correctness A MATTER OF MANNERS. LL of the schools, public and private, are now in vacation for the summer, and the pupils are returned to the all day care of their parents. When the schools reopen the young people will return to be in charge of teachers during :he greater part of the day. Asa subject of interest to both pafents and tdachers we beg to suggest the matter of manners, of street manners especially. In this city pupils ride on the street cars at a reduced fare, and they use the privilege extensively, on both the short and long haul.” Tt is complained by business men, workmen and aged people that at certain hours of the day the street cars are so crowded by chil- dren that the old and infirm and the tired cannot get seats, and that the children are so caréful of their half-fare privilege that they do not make room for the classes of passengers who are entitled to, and usually receive, the polite consideration of their fellow-travelers. This is a thoughtlessness that is susceptible of correction by home counsel and admonition in the schoolroom. The young need only to have their attention called to.it and they will not be longer in fault in that respect. Our schoolteachers should impress the necessity of respecting the rights of others on the streer. In Oakland, when the subject of tree planting on the streets was discussed, a movement started for planting palms, which give an interesting and useful Oriental air to the streets of a city. Palms are cpstly, but large numbers of them were planted, when it soon appeared that on streets leading from schoolhouses the passing pupils jumped over them, broke their leaves and otherwise defaced and destroyed them, to the loss and injury of the property-owners who planted them and to the defacement rather than ornamentation of the streets. This again is thoughtless- ness and is corrigible by proper admonition in the schoolroom. It must be admitted that in regard to the respect shown for public monuments, objects of art and street adornments the people of Europe are ahead of us. But little official watchfulness is needed in a public picture gallery, park, garden or private grounds to which the public has access, on the Continent, to prevent depredations. The people of all classes enjoy the privileges given by these things and have no desire to mar or destroy them. It should be so everywhere, and can be made the habit here if the young be early trained in proper respect for the rights of others. 1 What is called “nature study” is finding a place in our school curriculum, and it offers a chance to teach children hew plants grow, to develop their appreciation of the form and sym- metry of a tree, and cause them to desist from harming it, as they would if it were animate and its sap were the warm blood of I:fe. . Proper training in these few essentials of good manners and good order is a legitimate tunction of a school, and it enters largely into the future character of the young. THE RIGHT KIND OF SHERIFF. EORGIA has reason to be proud of having in her service such an official as Sheriff Joseph Merrill of Carrollton, who, for the purpose of defending a negro committed to his charge, fired upon a mob of lynchers and dispersed them. The attack was of a nature that put a supreme test upon the Sheriff’s courage and fidelity to duty. The negro prisoner had been convicted of the murder of a white boy and sen- tenced to be hanged. Upon the day appointed for the execution a reprieve was obtained by an appeal to the Supreme Court, and the mob that had gathered to witness the execution was ren- dered furious by being balked of its victim. It was easy in such a crowd to raise the cry for Iynch law and start an attack upon the jail; but it was not easy for the Sheriff to face the danger. Pop— ular sentiment in Georgia is not averse to lynching negroes who are but “suspected of crime, and therefore it was inevitable that the mob ir this case should have looked for no more than a formal opposition to the attempt to lynch one who had been tried and convicted. The mob, however, was mistaken. The Sheriff of Carrollton is an officer who knows his duty and has the courage to fulfill it. He warned the assailants to retire, and when in defiance they broke into the jail he fired upon the leaders, killing one and wounding two, driving the others back. vindicating the law and doing much to redeem Georgia from the stain which so many recent lynchings have put upon her civil- izatien. 4 When officials fail in the performance of duty in the face of mob violence, the country is prompt to condemn and denounce them. Consequently it should be equally prompt to commend and honor those who do not fail. Moreover from the rapidity with which one lynching follows an- other in all parts of the Union it is evident the time when the faithful and the brave who upkold the law against the violence of mobs should have the recognition due to men who merit the honor of their countrymen by the noble performance of dangerous duty. Sheriff Merrill has served his State well. In the fulfillment of his comparatively humble office he has done in defense of law an act of as genuine heroism as could have been done on the field of battle in defense of the flag. In his address at the dedication of the Haltof Fame Mr. Depew said our Shakespeares and Angelos of to-day are building railroads. It will be remembered that Mr. Depew is a railroad man. If you have changed your residence from one district to another since registering last year you must re-register or,you will lose your vote. Look out for it and be ready for the primaries. | his In the Palatial ) AM going to turn prophet even in my own country and predict that there will be more elegant home entertain- ments next season than we have en- joyed—well, for years and years. I ave no authority for making this state- ment. Iam simply making deductions and drawing' my own conclusions. This is the way I reason: The Flood mansion will be finished and occupled. The Dingees will be in their new house. Miss Kate May Dillon and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Casey, will have moved into the elegant mansion that Miss Dillon is preparing to erect out on Broad- way. John D. Spreckels, his charming wife and fetching daughters will probabiy be dispensing hespitality in thelr stone palace, and Mr. and Mrs. Sam Buckbee will in all likellhood be occupying the avenue. gees, Miss Dillon and the Buckbees are all famous for their generous hospitality, and the homes they are shortly to occupy all show to entertain. derstand, is to be one of the most beauti- ful in the house. The walls are all to be upholstered in bamboo and the room is to be stocked with the many art treasures and rich fabrics the Floods brought with them on their return from the Orient. Pecple are making pilgrimages to the vicinity of Washington and Franklin streets to look upon the magnificent con- servatory that is to be the wonder of the Dingee house. Just imagine a ball in that splendid home and a stroll in that mag- nificent conservatory ablaze with elec- tricity. Miss Dillen’s house has not got much further than the prepared plans as yet. It is a magnificent lot, though, that Miss Dil- home to be erected upon it will be worthy of the generous and hospitable young hos- tess who is ta occupy it. R T What a tragedy is Hugh Tevis' sudden death! Never has sympathy been so generally i extended as to the bereaved members of his family. Hearts have gone out to the fair young widow, to his little orphan daughter, to his devoted = brothers, but most of all to his tender, loving mother, who on account of recent ill health is but poorly prepared to meet such a severe shock. & Never was there a family more united than the Tevis family; never did brothers show such decided preferment for each other's society. 1 am sorry for Mrs. Tev- is, the mother, Mrs. Tevis, the widuw, and his two loving brothers, Dr. Harry and Will. But most of all I am sorry for lttle 8-year-old daughter. I shall never forget how she clung to him and sobbed when she kissed him good-by as he went sailing away on his fateful jour- ney. Only 8 years old. Could one call it presentiment? What gorgeous dressing was there at Mrs. Martin’s luncheon in honor of Mary Scott. I never saw the girls look so well PR SRR N ST IR L o PO 6 A 1 SOCIETY WILL DINE AND DANCE OF HOSPITABLE ENTERTAINERS. BY SALLY SHARP. home now building for them out on Pacific | The Floods, the Spreckelses, the Din-| evidence that they have been built | Tke Flood mansion is now nearly ready | for cccupancy. The Japanese room, I un- | lon has purchased and I feel confident the | ———————————— New Residences | | | - . 1 | MISS DOROTHY HEYNEMAN OF THIS CITY AND MR. l STEVENS OF OHIO, WHOSE ENGAGEMENT HAS BEEN | ANNOUNCED. < | +- + | nor dress so beautifully. I thought the handsomest of all the beautiful well- dressed women present was Mrs. Latham McMullin. She simply looked stunning in a gown of clinging white crepe. Miss Alice Hager's gown. I thought, was the bandscmest of all. It was of blue panne satin _and immensely becoming to its wearer. Miss Hager's hat was fully worthy of her elegant gown. It was of blue tulle, with a long blue plume for its only trimming. ore white dresses were worn at the lvi-cheon than I have ever seen before, Mrs. Will Taylor, Mrs. Gus Taylor and Miss Georgiana Hopkins were all dressed in spotless white and, as usual, looked sturnirg. | My! but Mrs. Martin did have her ta- bles decorated attractively. The decora- tors showed rare good sense in using blossoms that were beautiful without be- ing fregrant. The perfume of flowers often becomes overpowering in a crowded rcom. There was considerable discussion as to which. was the most beautiful of all the four gorgeously arrayed tables. For my taste, I preferred the heartsease table, although I must confess that it did not light up as well as the tables decorated in lighter blossoms. However, it cer- tainly was the most gorgeous table dec- oration that it has ever been my good for= tune to see. Spllling from a dark brown basket, y low-faced pansies fell over the su damask into a cool bed of maidenhair fern and outlining this exquisite center piece Were trailing branches of deep pur- ple clematis. The effect was enchanting- Iy artistic. 5 .« . I thought that .the prettiest compliment Mrs. Martin paid to Mrs. Scott was the placing of her photograph on the gor- geous table that occuples the place of honor in the center of the magnificent drawing-room. There is nothing small in this, the truly ‘“‘company” room, in Mrs. Martin's home. There are no little bits of bric-a-brac to take the eyes from the vast beauties of the apartment. It is easy to Imagine that Miss Scott’'s photo- graph, in its delicate silver frame, at once caught the attention—and held it. Of course, Walter's picture stood along- side of Mary's. . . The prettiest thing I saw at Mrs. Mar- tin’s luncheon were Ruth McNutt's pretty little feet encased in dainty low shoes with high red heels and steel buckles. We offer this week at remarkably y "comlortable ful. In TAN RUS. CALF and Back Kid, ‘with doubls soles, broad coin toes and o 8; wi Reduced from SJ.&)E 2 $2.10 e puic BIY3' AY) YJUTHS' TAN BALS ° low figures. Made with fair stitch, double soles, new coin toes and low heels. Boys' sizes 11% to 2; ou price $1.10 2 pair. Youths' sizes 2% to 5'; our price $1.25 the pair. Send postal for our new catalogue.