The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 11, 1901, Page 1

YVOLUME XO—NO. 41. SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1901. PRICE FIVE CENTS. DEATH WRITES FINIS TO FOUR SCORE YEARS OF DR. HARKNESS’ LIFE OF NOBLE ACHIEVETIENTS Venerable Physician Whose Researches in Realm of Pure Science ade His Fame World-Wide Goes to His Long Rest. —- — serve these societies as no other man in San Francisco_ could. ‘When James Lick gave his noble bene- faction to the Academy of Sclences it was Dr. Harkness who pushed the work of building to a successful completion. His plans were followed in the main, and it was under his supervision that the museum collections were installed in the new bullding in 1890. i | | { i | | | | | — — — — — e X TE DR. H. W. HARKNESS, ONE OF THE GREATEST OF CALIFORNIA'S SCIENTISTS, WHO FOR MANY ARS WAS A LEADING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, SERVING AS'ITS PRESIDENT FOR { YEARS. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY HODSON. : 3LE, revered for no- | wells Bar and began the practice of his , Dr. Harkness' sclentific research was f character and honored | profession there. A year later he had |in the field of the lower cryptogams— for Sis ments in the realm | come to realize the larger opportunities | chiefly a study of the fungl of the Pacific o ce Hark- | that were offered at Sacramento and he [Coast. He was the author of a large ness went A s long rest in the gray dawn of yesterday morn- | ing. His de rred in his apart- ments at -1 on “Club, 1 be had beer to his bed s early in June The aged scientist's etghtieth birthday, May 2%, was an occasion of celebration | among his most intimate friends. With- | in 2 week afterw et s of old age compelied him to take to bed, and he | failed steadi o ensued F. J. Harkness of Skofield, Utah, 2 nephew and the only surviving near re- | with Dr. Harkness during his | last ts. Lifelong friends did all | that was possible during the venerable physicien’s last illness to = appiness. until death mome to his com- fort ar Dr. Harkness was one of | nent sclentists of which California has been able to boast, and in his chosen specialty, | , the lower crypt . he was | years an authority. His name v associated with the Cali- | Academy of Sciences for rter of a centuw ble portion of the success of that e most emi- gams more fornia than 2 q and a very | . cause of science. rvices will be held on Sat- urday at 11 o'clock at the chapel, Odd MWeilows’ Cemerery. Scientific Bent in Youth. Jarvey Wilson Harkness was born May 25, 1821, Pelham, Mass. His parents were of Scottish birth. As the seventh child of a large family in comparatively humble circumstances his educatjonal op- Jimited, but he early dis- ness for study and perse- ce in the pursuit of knowledge. He ned his attention to the study of medi- nd in 1847 was graduated from the Medical College: ung physician joined a party of emigrants Rock Isiand, Illinois, and journeyed across the plains to California. They met with many hardships but finally crossed the Sierras into the land of gold in October of 1849, Dr. Harkness at first located at Bid- inities wers fon at removed to that bustling mining camp. He met with a high degree of success, be- coming one of the best known physicians of the State. He amassed a considerable fortune and in 1869 he retired permanent- Iy from the practice of medicine and thenceforth devoted himself to scientific research and the furtherance of the work and irterests of scientific societies. Dr. Harkness was chosen in 1853 as president of Sacramento’s first Board of Education. In 1854 Dr. Harkness married Miss Ame- lia Griswold. She lived less than a year after thelr marriage, and her death was a blow that left a scar which time did not efface. Removes to San Francisco. i Dr. Harkness removed to San Francisco | in 1869 and resided here coptinuously from | that time until his death. He was a great traveler, and made many trips to Europe and to the Eastern citles and two visits | to North Africa. When the first transcontinental raflroad was completed Dr. Harkness presented on behalf of the State of California the gold spikes which were driven by Leland | Stanford, May 10, 1869. On May 17 of the same year Dr. Harkness was present as the invited guest of the Viceroy of Egypt at the opening of the Suez Canal. Dr. Harkness' researches during his first years of residence in San Francisco began to attract attention. In 1575 he be- came connected with the Academy of Sci- ences and the study of fungi became his hbbby. His devotion to science and his unremitting efforts to advance the inter- ests of the Academy were recognized in 1887 by his election as president of that scientific body. He served in that capa- city until 189, when he withdrew andJevening, to protest against the proposed was succeeded by Dr. David Starr Jor- dan. Inestimable Service to Science. The services rendered by Dr. Harkness to the Academy of Sciences, the Geo- graphical Society and other scientific bodies of the city were of inestimable value. Being a man of independent | track at the North Vallejo station. means, of scientific attainments, broad experience, and without other interests to engross his attention, he was able to number of bulletins and monographs pub- lished by the Academy of Sciences,‘and was a frequent contributor to scientific Journals. His collection of cryptogams, containing 10,00 specimens, than which rone finer exists in any museum, was pre- sented by him to the Academy of Sciences. s b Sty VALLEJO GIRL HANGS HERSELF IN A BARN | Eoda Johnson Resents Parental Re- procf by Taking Her Own Life. VALLEJO, July 10.—Smarting under a parental reprcof which she regarded as unjust, Miss Roda Johnson, the 17-year- old daughter of Alexander Johnson, com- mitted suicide this afternoon by hanging hersel The tragedy occurred at the family home, just bevond the railrcad The girl had just returned from a week’s visit in Napa. After the noontime meal she left the house. Her body was found at 6 o'clock this evening, cold in death, hanging to a rafter in a small barn on the place. She bad fastened a hayrope to the beam, and, placing a noose about her neck, had stepped off a pile of shin- gles on which she stood. Apparently she slowly strangled. Coroner McDonald has taken charge of the body and will hold an inquest. —_—— OPPOSES ILLUMINATION OF YOSEMITE VALLEY YOSEMITE, July 10.—Upon a telegram from Elliott McAllister of San Francisco, vice president of the Sierra Club, a meet- ing of the members was held here last illumination of the Yosemite Falls or any of the domes of the Yosemite by elec- tricity. Said Professor Soule: ““To have electric lights for thé falls and domes would be to convert this noble val- ley into'a sort of midway plaisance.” A committee consisting of Willlam Col- by, Josiah Keep, William Denman, A. G. Eells and Willlam Keith prepared and signed a protesting resolution, which was indorsed by the club and forwarded to the Yosemite Commissioners in San Franctsca. NEW WEATHER DBSERVATORY ON MOUNTAIN Wilson Requests McAdie to Make Estimates of the Cost. Sum of $200,000 Needed to Provide Structures on Tamalpais. Local Forecast Official Says That Scientific Plant Should Be the Best in the World. Secretary Wilson of the Department of Agriculture has expressed his approval of the plan, long entertained by Alexander McAdie, local forecast official of the ‘Weather Bureau in San Francisco, for the establishment of a high class station, ob- servatory and laboratory on the summit of Tamalpals Mountain. He has also re- quested Forecaster McAdle to prepare estimates for the cost, which is roughly fixed at about $200,000. The Department of Agriculture has not the funds, so Mc- Adle says, to establish the proposed secien- tificiplant at this time. He is preparing the estimates as requested. He thinks that there are wealthy men in the country who could well afford to build for them- selves this striking scientific monument to their memory on the towering peak of old Tamalpais. The interest that Sec- retary Wilson has manifested is signifi- cant. If it should lead to results in the near future it would mean that the fore- | casting for this reglon would be per- formed at the summit and not in San Francisco. It would also bring about an extension of the study of meteorological phenomena on a wider scale than has been possible. Forecaster McAdie thinks that the ob- servatory and laboratory should be the best and most complete in the world. ‘When the Presidential party was in San Francisco Secretary Wilson had several ! conversations with McAdie on the sub- ject of the observatory on Mount Tamal- | plas. Weather Breeding Topography. The Secretary stood on the summit of Mount Tamalpais and viewed the won- derful topography of the country about the bay of San I‘ancisco, the Golden Gate, the mountain ranges on both sldes of the bay and the valleys that are re- vealed from the mountain top and he was greatly interested. To the west was the broad expanse of the Pacific Ocean, over which sweep the storms that strike the Pacific Coast as their initial point of visitation in the territory of the United States on their journeys eastward. North, south and east, for many leagues, until the view was bounded by the horizon, ex- tended the fair land of California, with vast agricultural interests to be benefited by prompt knowledge of the meteorologi- cal disturbances from the sea. Almost at his feet, as it appeared, was the city of San Francisco, which manifest destiny has selected to be one of the great com- mercial ports of the world. He realized that the summit of Tamalpais was favor- ably situated for the study of the meteorologital phenomena of the levels from 1500 to 4000 feet and that it was feas- ible there to study frost, formations of fog and other phenomena, which, in their final application, are of great practical concern to mankind. What will come of the matter is yet uncertain. Forecaster McAdie insists that the department is not prepared to take action. There are| others who believe that the Secretary has | not invited the preparation of estimates out of mere idleness and curiosity. Four Buildings Required. To make up the complete plant required, will, in McAdie’s opinion, require one cen- tral building and three other structures. The central building would be the seat of weather observations for this region. The fitness of Mount Tamalpais for meteofo- logical observation has already been de- | termined by the small station nlaced on| the mountain some years ago at the in- stance of the forecaster. In two of the other buildings there would be instru- ments, etc., for spectroscopic, optical and electrical work. There would be uses not defined for the third building. “The problem before us,” said the weather forecaster, *is the successful scientific forecasting of atmospheric con- ditions. In no other direction would the work of the aero-physical laboratory be so ‘pronounced. Carried from short pe-| riods to periods of weeks and months, | what branch of applied ~science will be found to exercise so great an influence upon the welfare of man? There is a popular impression that forecasting | weather conditions is, in high degree, a matter of scientific procedure. Much that is scientific-in character has been done, but, without disparaging such work, the present condition of our knowledge is quite unsatisfactory. The direction in which the demand for immediate appli- cation of our knowledge of aero-physics is greatest is in connection with the tides and fluxes of that aerial ocean in which we live, the storms and currents of the atmosphere. We know almost nothing of | the electrification of the atmosgphere. How the air receives its charge we do not know and of the distribution of the potential and the significance of its varia- tions we have only fragmentary and scant knowledge.” Advantages of Location. . The advantages of the location' upon Mount Tamalpais for a complete station are two, generally described, as enumer- ated by Mr. McAdie. The first is found in the elevation. Better and quicker knowledge of conditions can be gained than upon the ground levels of San Fran- cisco, where there are serious deflections. The second advantage is in the opportun- itv furnished for laboratory work. San POLITICAL. SCHEME TO FORCE . NOMINATION OF C. H. GAROUTTE _ FOR THE CHIEF JUSTICESHIP Wires Also Being Adjusted to Secure the Elevation of Superior Judge Sweeney of Shasta County to the Supreme Bench. NEW phase of political deals is sn early combination to bring about the nomination of C. H. Garoutte for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The programme contemplates the. nomination also of Judge Edward Sweeney of Shasta and a lawyer of Southern California for Asso- ciate Justices. The terms, respectively, of Chief Justice W. H. Beatty and Associate Justices Ralph C. Harrisen and C. H. Garoutte expire one year from next Janu- ary, and their successors must be chosen at the general election to be held in No- vember, 1902. The spectacle of Judges entering the office-seeking arena and adjusting wires to obtain support in nominating conven- tions is not one calculated to inspire un- | bounded respect for the judiciary. When the knowledge comes that an aspirant for the honor of the Chief Justiceship is re- cefving the support of big gaged in the vettlement and distribution of rich estates public alarm may be ex- cited. Sweeney Again a Candidate. The Call understands that C. H. Ga- routte is in the field as a candidate for e to succeed W. H. Beatty. Judge Edward Sweeney of Shasta County, | who was backed by railroad infliences in the State Convention of 1888 for nomina- tion for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, is #aid to be in the field again as a lawyers en- | W;/ Wl Bearry [ | I | | JURISTS WHOSE NAMES ARE BEI | CONNECTION WITH | THE REPUBLIC, TICES OF THE SUPREME COURT TO BE ELECTED NG PROMINENTLY MENTIONED IN AN NOMINATIONS FOR JUS- NEXT YEAR. e will fall into line for Garoutte for Chief Justice on the assurance that delegations | | from this region of the State will stand in | for Sweeney. The schemers have not yet | agreed on the third man, but it is com- mon talk among politiclans who are dis- | cussing the scheme that a lawyer of | Southern California will be taken in to { round off the programme. | Has Great Faith in Herrin. The Call has no candidates for Chief candidate. W. F. Herrin and J. B. Wright, | who advocated Judge Sweeney’'s nomina- | Justice of the Supreme Court or for any tion in 1898, did not press his candidacy | other office, but it has a general knowl- with all the power at their command, C. H. | Garoutte is a progressive young man, who | would be a remarkably, gifted lawyer if | his attainments in the law equaled his | accomplishments as a politiclan. Chief | Justice Beatty is a fine lawyer, but he | knows as little of politics as Garoutte knows of law. Judge Sweeney is a good deeming excessive pressure at that time inadvisable. W. F. Herrin has knowledge of the political scheme recently devised to bring about the nomination of Judge Sweeney in the next Republican State Convention. He expects that delegations from the northern counties of California @ it Francisco, which will be one of ...e great cities of the world, is also destined to be the seat of initial experiments of many kinds in the future. The Pacific Coast will be the ground upon which all, discoveries will be tested. Already elec- tric Toads are operated in California with power brought a distance of 150 miles. On this coast climate wiil always be the sub- ject of close attention, and deservedly so. 2 The elevation of the summit of Tamal- pais is particularly favorable for the use of wireless telegraphy. In connection with the view of the ocean that ft commands | it would be an outpost of rare value in ministering to the welfare of shipping, sending news of impending storms far out to sea and receiving urgent messages from equal distances. Chance for Public Spirit. “T see a chance now,” said McAdie, “for some publi¢ spirited man or men to con- fer a great benefit upon the public by furnishing funds for the construction of the observatory on Tamalpals' summit. { edge of the fitness of .aspirants. isenot a new to assist with fund for the purpose. It | thing for .generous men { work for the good of the country. At the was donated for laboratory. condltions of the atmosphere also concern our health. There are-great problems to be attacked. One.is the formation of fog. | We do not know what causes the differ- ence between the fog and the raindrop. There should be a fine telescope on the mountain for commercial purposes—to sweep the harbor and ocean.” Forecaster McAdie said also that Presi. dent Gilman of Johns Hopkins University has thought well of the Mount Tamalpais site for an observatory for the study of meteorology. 1In addition to the existing mountain ob- servatories in the United States that.are devoted to the meteorological work there are many in Europe and uth America. the medical-biological The Department of Agriculture has no i | their funds the prosecution of scientific | |1ast commencement at Harvard $1,000,000 That is for our health. The | all-around programmer, who takes his medicine and waits. He has faith in Her- rin and holds fast to the faith. If he would cut away from all schemes and schemers and put his faith in a solid orthern California delegation he would stand a fine chence of winning out. It ought to be understood by this time | that Herrin is in politics for himself, and | not for ‘the Southern Pacific Company. The new president, C. M. Hays, has de- clared positively that the company is not in politics, but he may ascertain later on that the old political machinery of the law department is being operated for the special benefit of the corporation’s chief lawyer. Herrin is interested in big law | cases outside of the railroad domain, and is quite ready to employ the prestige of the company’s power to accomplish indi- vidual purposes. e . One of the European observatories is at | Mount Ventoux, in Provence, France. The mountain, -which is one of the last ramifications of the Alps, rises in a pyra- midal mass to the height of 6250 feet and gives a superb view of the panorama of the Rhone. The use of this high and iso- lated summit was proposed by the Mete- | orological Commission of the Department | of Vaucluse in 1579, and national and local | subscriptions were solicited for the erec- illon of a building which should benefit | meteorology, including weather and flood | predictions. It was necessary to first con- | struct a roaa twelve miles long to unite the summit of the mountain with the ) thoroughfare beiow. In 1385 the observa- | tory was opened for meteorological work. | There isa main bullding 100x35 feet, which is sunk in the north slope of the summit, | having its principal facade to the south. 'On the first floor s the dwelling and of- | fice: of the meteorological observer. On the summit of the mountain is a semi-cir- { cular platform, on which are placed me- teorological instruments. Six observations are made dally. The observatory cost about $50,000.