The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 28, 1901, Page 6

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1901. WEDNESDAY .AUGUST 28, 1901 JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor, Address All Commusications to W. 5. LEAKE, Manager. MANAGER’S OFFICE... +..Telephone Press 204 PUBLICATION OFFICE...Market and Third, S. F. Teleph: Press 201. EDITORIAL ROOMS. 217 to 221 Stevenson St. Teleph: Press 202. Delivered by Carriers, 15 Cents Per Week. Single Coples. 5 Cents. Terms by Mail, Including Postage: DAILY CALL (including Sunday). one yeer.. DAILY CALL (including Sunday), 6 months. DAILY CALL (including Sunday), 8 months. DAILY CALL—By Single Month SUNDAY CALL One Year... WEEELY CALL One Year. All postmasters are authorized to receive subscriptions. Sample coples will be forwarded when requested. Mail subscribers in ordering change of address should be particular to give both NEW AND OLD ADDRESS in erder %o insure a prompt and correct compliance with their request. OAKLAND OFFICE ++..1118 Broadway C. GEORG OGNESS. Yanager Yoreign #dvertising, Marquette Building. Chiesz>. (Long Distance Telephone *“Central 2618.”) NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT: C. C. CARLTON..... ..Herald Square NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: STEPHEN B. SMITH. . +30 Tribune Building NEW YORK NEWS STANDS: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel: A. Ifentano, 31 Murray Hill Hotel. BRANCH OFFICES-—:27 Montgomery, corner of Clay. open until £30 o'clock. 300 Hayes, open until 9:30 o'clock. 633 McAllister, open until 9:39 o'ciock. 615 Larkin, open until #:30 o'clock. 1911 Mission, open until 10 o'clock. 2261 Market, corner open until 9 o'clock. untll § Eleventh, open until 9 o'clock. NW. y-second and Kentucky, open until 9 o'clock. 11 9. a. m. D e — Unfon Square; xteenth, clock pen Wheels Within Romeo and Juli -house—*‘Lord wo Orphans.” Op: and Eddy streets—Specialties. cater—Vaudeville every afternoon end even ischer's—Vandeville. Sutro Baths—Swimming. Ringling Bres.’ Circus—Folsom and Sixteenth streets. Mechanics’ fentific Boxing, Friday evening, August 30, State Fair and Exposition. Sacramento—September 2 to 14 AUCTION BALES. Jomn Horses, ery streets. 3. Doyle — Thurse August 20 at 11 o'clock 10 SUBSCRIBERS LEAYIKG TOWK FOR THE SUMMER. Cnll subscribers contemplating a change of residence during the summer months can have their paper forwarded by mail to their mew mddresses by notifying The Call Business Office. Thix paper will also be on sale at all sammer reports and is represented by a local afgent im Il towss on the cosst. TURKEY AND THE POWERS. AR clouds around Constantinople blow up fiom the unknown and after looming above the Levant for a while blow away again, ogs come ard go in and around San Fran- Consequently it is hardly worth while to speculate whether the particular cloud that now threatens will pass in a2 day or remain for a month. The reports that come from the scene have a pictur- esque variety of affirmation and contradiction. It seems the French Embassador, M. Constans, has left the city. That much appears reliable. The rest is guesswork. One authority says his going means war. - Another says he has gone only because the time has come for him to take a holiday. Whether right or wrong in the controversy, and whether it lead to a fight or another diplomatic deal, France ha: the sympathy of all the statesmen of Europe. A recent (dispatch from London said: “Diplomatic opinion in this city approves the action of France toward Turkey,” and went on to add: “The Chancelleries of Europe have been considerably annoyed by the Sultan’s recent efforts to reassert himself and to shake off the limited control exercised by Europe over certain parts of his administration. The Sultan’s dispatch of a mission to the Far East was also displeasing to the great powers. The pow- ers are expected to generally welcome France's course.” The cause of the universal sympathy among the diplomats is not hard to find. Nearly every nation in Europe has some kind of a claim against the Turkish Government, and not one of them has had any satis- faction. one power after another, and sometimes by two or three of them at once, but all without avail. The Sultan, fecling secure in the conviction that the pow- ers would never permit either one of their number to declare war against him, has met their demands with bland promises of future payment, or with de- nials of any debt, and they have had to submit even when they knew the promises were worth nothin and the denials were fzlsehoods. N That kind of thing was borne with diplomatic pa- uence for a long time, but recently the Sultan actually paid certain claims of the United States, and since then European diplomats have been on their mettle, each trying to obtain payment in advance of the others. In their rivalry this time, however, there has been no such antagonism as in former years, and consequently the French have the sympathy of the diplomatic world. The objection to the act of the Sultan in sending 2 mission to China is curious. When the mission was announced it was stated that the action had been taken at the prompting of Russia, but a little later that was denied and another statement put forth to the effect that Kaiser William had prompted it. The matter was not of much moment, for reports from Hongkong some time ago announced that when the Turkish mission arrived there it was found that the Chinese had never heard of Turkey and did not care anything about the mission. Since the venture was thus unimportant, it does not appear why the powers should object to it unless it be that they have reached a condition of mind that renders them hostile to anything Turkey may do. It is worth noting, by way of giving the devil his due, that the reason z2ssigned by the Sultan for taking away the.concession he had granted to the French quay company was that the means they have pro- vided for landing and erhbarking passengers are in- adequate and dangerous. If that be so he has cer- tainly some right to complain, and if the diplomatic Wworld be against him, perhaps the traveling public in that part of the world may be on his side. i A, . cisco. 1096 Valencia, open | Buggies, etc., at corner Mission and New Montgom- | For years the claims have been pressed by E publish a quite thoughtful communication REFORMING LABOR UNIONS. W from a member of the Builders’ Association, inspired by a Call “editorial. ~ The writer sees part of the ‘difficulty which ‘inheres in the pres- ent union system. He finds that under it a mechanic does not depend on his skill and industry for em- ployment, but works or lays off as a majority of his union decides. He finds that the skillful and the less skillful in the same trade are put upon a level and that the more skillful gains nothing by his expertness, since his wage is fixed by the union and is the same as that of the least skillful or the least indus- trious. This is a stumbling-block to personal ambi- tion, and finally measures all handicrafts down to the level of the least competent. The recent strike of the painters is an illustration. The strike was for a uniform wage of $3 50 per day, and all the men walked out. Then it was developed that a large num- ber of them were already getting $3 50 per day by the voluntary act of their employers because they were skillful, were worth that wage and got it. But the majority of less skilliul, who were not worth more than three dollars, controlled the union and stopped all painting until they got the same wage as the best. Our correspondent proposes to meet this obvious injustice to skillful mechanics by reforming the labor union system, through a classification of mechanics according to their skill. It is argued that such a sys- |tem will give the thorough workman the benefit he deserves for his superior skill, and will incite the less thorough to acquire the excellence which will take them into a higher class and give them higher wages. | While the means for instituting this plan are highly | artificial, our correspondent’s statement of it is very clear and is, indeed, the most original and sugges- | tive proposition that has ever been made since the | union system was used to create a distinct class and, by reducing all to the same level, keep the members | of that class from ever advancing by superior skill, jrhrit’t, industry and temperance. We invite the study of the plan by all men who j see that the union system must be reformed. Recent | events have infected the management of the labor | leaders with an infirmitv which will destroy the | unions unless it is corrected. All business operations ’rest upon a contract. The pending strikes here and | in the East develop the fact that the unions had con- | tracts with the employers of labor, and that these { contracts have ‘been violated by the order of labor | leaders. This violation has been justified by Presi- | dent Shaffer and the leaders here. These contracts ;\\'ould not be violated if they could” be enforced against the unions. The leaders know that they are irresponsible, and show not even that restraint which | honor puts upon a promiseé. These violations of con- I tract are the cause of refusal of arbitration by em- | ployers. What use to arbitrate? An arbitration is jsimp]y to produce a contract, an agreement, between the union and employers. As the unions have vio- i lated past contracts at will, what use to make new contracts with them, by arbitration or otherwise? | We warn union labor that a fatal blow has been { dealt it, out of its own headquarters. Public opinion | will not tolerate breach of contract in a matter that liu\'olves the welfare of the whole community. | If the employer viclate his contract his property | must answer in damages. But the union has no re- | sponsibility, and as the labor leaders teach that it is more honorable to break than keep a contract, the employer cannot depend upon the morality and code of honor which governs men everywhere except in the unions. When the labor unicn system arose in the British Isles the unions themselves sought legalization by Parliament, which passed the trades union acts of | 1871 and 1876. Under these acts the unions register and have the right to hold property. Under these laws, too, they founded the union stores, making wholesale purchase of the necessaries of life, and i thereby expanding the purchasing power of their :\\'ages one-third. One of these registered unions | damaged employers by much such a strike as that of the marine firemen against Geodall, Perkins & Co. in this city. The employvers sued the union to re- cover the damage inflicted. The case went up on | appeal and was won by the employers. The Lm:d | Chancellor in moving the appeal said: “In this case |1 am content to adopt the judgment of Mr. Justice Farwell, with which I entirely agree, and I cannot find any satisfactory answer to that judgment in the judgments of the Court of Appeals which overruled it. If the Legislature have created a thing which can own property, which can employ servants, which can inflict injury, it must be taken, I think, to have im= | plied given power to be suable in the courts of law for injuries done by its authority and procurance.” That is a simple statement of the law of responsi- bility. If American labor unions, were lawful bodies, as are corporations, they cculd not void contracts and inflict injury at will,'acting under the vicious ad- vice of fire-cating .leaders and infamously reckless newspapers. To the credit of the masses of Mmembers contracts, but their leaders compel their violation. Let the unions rise to the dignity of legal responsi- bility. Let them be honorable in observing their agreements. Let them cease to subordinate the skillful workmen to the control of the unskillful. Let them put in less time harassing their employers and causing great losses to themselves and the com- munity by strikes that are without reason, and the apparent antagonism between capital and labor will disappear. It is announced that ostrich feathers are to be brought into fashion again, so the other birds who have been exposed to wholesale will slaughtering for feminine adornments probably arrange for a thanksgiving meeting. THE FIGHT IN PENNSYLVANIA. UCH opposition as was threatened to the lead- S ership of Quay among the Republicans of Pennsylvania appears to have gone like the late hot spell, and things are decidedly cooler than they were. The Republican State Convention met in har- mony, adopted its platform without a dissenting voice, nominated its candidates for the few State of- fices that are to be filled this year, and adjourned within one hour and forty minutes after the chair- man had called the assembly to order. It is said that breaks the speed record for political conventions in Pennsylvania, and it is doubtful if it has been beaten anywhere else. It will be remembered that the Democratic con- vention in that State not only ignored Bryanism and all other national issues, but even set aside Democ- racy itself by adopting a platform declaring for a non-partisan contest. In other words, they left the polifica‘! field and took to the woods. The Republi- cans have promptly accepted the new issue. They set- forth properly and in due form their declaration | of national principles and policies, but did not stop in the unions be it said that they desire to keep their | at that. Their resolutions -accept the fight on State f issues, but they deny that it is to be a non-partisan contest. They assert that the chief issue is Democ- racy itself. The platform says: “We arraign the Democratic party as incompetent, incapable, insincere and un- trustworthy. The citizens of our State within a very few days have witnessed a spectacle seldom seen in the history of a political party asking the suffrages of the people. The Democratic party, ashamed of its record in the past, and afraid to name a single isstte of a national character on which it is willing to appeal for support, asks the people to forget that in the past when intrusted with the administration of public affairs it has yuined our business enterprises, shut down our mills, closed our factories, put in idle- ness our great laboring classes, ruined credit of the State and nation, and it now appeals to the public on what it chooses to cail local issues. We condemn it in the administration of our State affairs as much as in the incompetency shown in its administration of our national affairs.” The offices at stake are not of a kind that arouse | much interest among the masses of the people, and consequently it is not likely there will be a big vote on either side. The State being solidly Republican, no doubt is felt cencerning the outcome of the elec- tion. The only thing, therefore, that attracts atten- tion is the effort that has been made to virtually climinate Democracy and make a really non-partisan fight against the Republican machine. Under ordin- ary circumstances such an effort would be hopeless, but Bryanism has so completely demoralized Democ- racy in Pennsylvania that it is possible a considerable number of voters may believe it is really out of poli- tics and so be induced to vote for its candidates on a non-partisan platform. It will be seen that the sit- uation has developed a queer kind of politics, and the campaign is interesting as a curiosity if for no other reason. B The number of persons who have applied for lodg- ings in New Haven in order to attend the Yale bicentennial celebration in October is said to have been so large that already every available room in the city has been engaged, and the committee is now trying to rent steamers to serve as temporary hotels. Evidently old Yale is going to have a great time, and if the New Haven people leave the visitors any money in their pockets there will doubtless be big contri- butions to anything Yale wishes as a permanent memorial of the occasion. THE UNDAUNTED BOERS. Fceived replies to his proclamation calling upon them to surrender, and has transmitted them to London. The answers in every case are what the world expected from such men. With one accord they announce a determination to go on fighting so long as the power to fight remains with them. The end of the struggle is not yet in sight. Even the brief summary given in the telegraphic dispatches shows that the Boer leaders in their replies have indulged in no bravado. Kitchener's report says: “Have received a long letter from Steyn con- taining an argumentative statement of the Boer case and saying he will continue to fight. Also a short letter from Dewet to the same effect. Botha writes acknowledging the receipt of my proclamation and protesting against it, and stating that the Boers in- tend to go on fighting.” It is true that after announcing the receipt of the letters Kitchener added: “On the other hand, the surrenders lately have increased considerably.” In that same dispatch, however, he had to report that a British troop operating with Elliott’s column had been surrounded by a superior force of the burghers and captured. Evidently the surrenders are not all on one side. The winter in South Africa is drawing to a close. The fighting Boers on the plains and in the hills and mountains will soon have more favorable weather for campaigning. Those that have maintained them- selves through the winter will have a good chance to continue the war for the next six months with much less difficulty than in the six months that have passed. On the other hand, the British exposed to the heats of the African summer to which they are not accli- mated will not profit much by the change. The sum- mer campaign is therefore more likely to be favorable to the Boers than to the invaders. Shortly before the adjournment of Parliament Mr. Chamberlain, replying to a question in the Commons, said he would not undertake to estimate how much longer the war would last, and added, “I have quit predicting.” At the present time the British have something like 200,000 troops in the field, and yet with all that force they have been unable to head off the vigorous commandos of the Boers. They have also found it expedient to diminish their force, and consequently will enter upon the summer campaign with a smaller number of troops than they had at the beginning of the winter. Clearly, therefore, Mr. Chamberlain was wise in making no further predic- tions. With all odds against them the undaunted Boers have a fair prospect of a successful summer campaign and a fighting chance for ultimate victory should European complications arise which would endanger Britain at home. ROM the Boer leaders Lord Kitchener has re- ‘When an ordinary man wishes to obtain'a divorce on grounds that his own State will not sanction he has to leave home and go to another State, but when Flagler wished a divorce he got the Florida Legisla- ture to change the law to suit him. Evidently there is something in Standard oil that greases a way for almost anything the owners wish. The people of\St Louis, in their eagerness to have their city look pleasing to visitors during the expo- sition, have enacted ar: ordinance designed to put an end to the smoke nuisance. The chances are, how- ever, that if the smoke be abated so that visitors can see the place more clearly they will like it less. We had our little “muss up” over the reception to President McKinley, and now the Canadians are about to have their spasm over the reception of the Duke of York. It is always a great honor to receive a distinguished visitor, but sometimes it is trying on a population. P AR The discovery that malarial fever is caused by the bite of a mosquito has led to a clamor in the East for the discovery of an insect whose bite will cure it, but it seems no one is willing to give the kissing bug a trial, B King Edward has sted that his Queen shall be crowned as well as himself as joint sovereign of the empire, and now he is getting a great deal of ‘credit for being a good hushand. : P Now that the organization of a shovel trust has been effected we may expect it to make a bigger scoop than Morgan ever dreamed of. > N SUGGESTS AN ELABORATE PLAN FOR REORGANIZING LABOR UNIONS UPON A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Correspondent Believes the Unions Would Then Be Conducted by Higher Grad:s of Labor, and the Result Would Be Complete Harmony Between Labor and Capital. / DITOR San Francisco Cail: Your editorial on the labor question of to-day's issue poiats out a great many facts and should be instrumental in assisting to bring har- mony; but the keynote to this labor question is to solve ihe problem of how to harmonize capital with labor. This is one of the great questions now agitating the whole human family, and it would seem to me an opportune time that thought along these lines should be made public. The condi- tions as they now exist in San Francisco and elsewhere is “‘dog eat dog” and each is waiting for the other to give way. A very streng argument can be shown for both sides that they are both right, but from my study of the situation I consider that both sides are radicaily wrong. Now this strife should stop and all should lend assistance to prevent if possible a continuation of this state of affairs; it certainly can be accomplished and I firmly believe that the true solution is the separation of all classes of labor and re- organization of the unions upon a classification system. It Is a well known fact with all master mechanics and all master laborers as well there are vast differences in the qualifications of the men under their supervision and it is also admitted by all the masters that highly skilled mechanics and efficient laborers are in the minority. Now I contend that all classes of laborers should be uniohized and therefore I say let them have their unions, which if carried on systematically would prove useful and instructive. State Assistance Suggested. Let the State help to unionize all classes of labor, but sys- tematize them by classification and graded scale of wages. What a grand outlook for the masters of all the industries— they could safely figure the exact cost of labor and they could select from any class which would be suitable for their wants. What satisfaction this would givé and what confusion this would save. Then what a grand arrangement or order of things this would be for the employed. The higher grades of labor would conduct the workings of the unions, while now it is the lower grades which have full control, they being largely in the majority. Under the present conditions there is no incentive to become a first-class mechanic or laborer, but it is very evident that a great incentive would bé created un- der the classification system. Every man would strive to at- tain more knowledge of the business he had adopted so that he may be advanced in the classes. Now in order to accom- plish this a system of procedure must be inaugurated and a partial outline of my views for its accomplishment is heramn given. The State Legislature should be appealed to for assist- ance by making an appropriation of money to defray expense of furnishing literature bearing upon the subject and the dis- tribution of the same which would assist in educating the pub- lic mind as to the feasibility of the classification system. Legislative Committee Should Act. A committee should be appointed from said Legislature through which the business could be conducted. The very fact that the State Legislature was interesting itself for the amelio- ration of the working classes and in harmony with the em- ployer of the same would give confidence and standing to the proposition. The duties of said committee should be to ascer- tain and secure the names of the best mechanics of any par- ticular branch of industry which are now offering or selling their mechanical skill /and labor. Secure the names of both union and non-union men, then arrange to have them meet and discuss ways and means and a plan of action to separate them- selves from the lower grades of their own particular kind of labor and make rules and regulations and adopt bylaws for their guidance. Organize into a body to be known-as (for example) the Classified Carpenters’ Union. After being -duly organized and® officered they should make and adopt a system of mechanical questions for determining the qualifications of an applicant. This must be thorough and as near perfect (without technicalities) as the brain of the mechanic can make it. When the system of questions is perfected the secretary should ke authorized to send out invitations to all whom it may concern with literature embodying all the tenets vpon which the classification system was founded and upon which in the future the higher class of mechanics would stand and in con- sequence thereof said higher class of mechanics will sever their connections with all other unions. Graded Scale of Wages. This organization should settle on and adopt a graded scale L e e e e R 0 of wages, to be determined upon according to the actual value of each class; there being no person more competent to aa- judge the value of said skill and labor than the first-class artisan. Under this system the workings of the union would be entirely under the control of the high grade mechanics or laborers, just the same as any other business is conducted; take for instance, any mercantile business or any other busi- ness down to the smallest or up to the highest, there 1s always a head that controls all, even to the Government itself, and 1t you will carefully sum up_the situation you will observe that the heads of all the successful undertakings have made ! Atudies of their particular lines they follow and by their domitable foresight, skill and energy they have become master and they rate their own earning power and they de- mand an equivalent and they get it. They have a system and they work faithfully under that system. Why cannot the me- chanics or laborers adopt a system upon which they can place a salable value for their skill and labor and at the same time establish themselves on a substantial and harmonious footing with the purchasers? Separation of Labor. This can only be accomplished by the separation of skiljed and unskilled labor and by giving control to the higher grades. Under the conditions and mode of conducting unifons to-day its members are grossly interfering with the interests of the only source from which they can ever expect to make a suc- cess. Suppose all the large and small firms throughout the United States should come together and form unions on the same basis as the unions of the present day: each class ofd business would work together and by vote each class would de- termine the workings of said unions; the great majority would constitute the smaller classes, they being in full power would vote to cinch the manufacturer and producer and there would be no end to the trouble. The manufacturer and producer would have to combine against the small and large dealer and there would always be contention. There would certainly be great masses of the populace ready to back either side and the fight would go on indefinitely, but this state of things does not exist: there is perfect harmony be- tween the manufacturer, producer and the whelesaler and also harmony between the wholesaler and the small buyer or store- keper; but if you will take notice the small buyer is subser- vient to a certain extent to the wholesaler, the latter being in the lead although in the minority, and he has aright to have the lead as according to the classification system he has attained this prominence by application and study just the same as skilled and unskilled labor would attain if the first-class me- chanic and laborer shall take the lead and conduct the unions. A great many of the small storekeepers are satisfied with their positions and others are reaching out and hope to be wholesalers at some future time, and so it is with the mechanic and laborer; some are so constituted that they would be satis- fied in any class, while others would advance even beyond the unions and become master mechanics, shopkeepers, manufac- turers, ete., ete. Greater Power of Unions. The unions formed and conducted on this classification sys- tem would have greater power and be more respected than the unions under the present: regime. Every member under the new system would have a standard value for his skill and labor and there would be an object for him to look forward to and the dignity of labor would advance. As to the compensation ‘of employes under this system the rate for each class should be fixed at a stated price per hour and the number of hours should be limited to nmot more than ten hours according to the character of business, unless oy consent of employes, or in other words, the employer should not have the power to compel any person to work a great number of hours than that which the union had adopted the number of hours constituting a day should be subject to change only at certain periods, say two, four or five years; this would give stability and safety to the employer and employea. This mode of procedure would make better men and better mechanics and out of confusicn and chaos would come con- tentment and advancement. I will say in conclusion that I am ready at any time to con- fer with any interested party to assist in putting these views in practical form and will use every endeavor to harmonize capital and labor. Respectfully, J. L. COOKE, Builders” Assoclation. San Francisco, Aug. 21. N PERSONAL MENTION. A. H. Bar of Etna is a guest at the Grand. E. H: Dodd, U. 8. N,, is staying at the California. Dr. Mack V. Stone, U. 8. N,, is at the Occidental. F. J. Doyle of Honolulu is registered at the California. Garrison Turner, an attorney of Modes- to, is at the Grand. D. Clark, a wealthy mine owner of Spo- kane, is at the Lick. G. Moore, a traveler from London, is a guest at the Palace. - A. H. Baldwin is registered at the Pal- ace from Washington, D. C 1. B. Hamilton, 2 wealthy merchant of Los Angeles, is at the Occidental. Milton McWhorter, an oil inspector of Bakersfield, is a guest at the Grand. B. B. Fairbank has come down from Petaluma and is a guest at the Lick. Alex Young, a capitalist of Honolulu, is at the Occidental, accompanied by his wife. Dr. W. C. Lucas, a leading physician of Santa Monica, is among the recent ar- rivals at the Grand. Y. Nakaijima, Chief Engineer of the Japanese Government at Toklo, is at the Occidental, en route to the East. F. W. King and J. H. Lothian, two prominent young business men of Los An- geles, are registered at the Palace. §. J. and R. B. Hardy, two English gen- tlemen, traveling for pleasure, are among the recent arrivals at the California. J. W. Farwell, a prominent young busi- ness man of Chicago, is at the Palace. He has been spending some three years In Honolulu and is now on his way to his home. S. B. Schuyler, general auditor of the Gould system of railroads, is at the Grand, accompanied by his wife and son. Schuyler is here merely for pleasure and recreation. A. F. Goss, a ploneer resident of this city, has just returned from a trip of a year and a half duration to the East and Evrope. While in Boston Mr. Goss was elected a member of the New England Asscciation of California Pioneers. PAn S SR Californians in New York. NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—The following Californians have arrived: San Francisco —J. M. Clark, at the Navarre; J. 8. For- rest, at the Criterion; W. B. Peck, B. G. Mauth, Miss McKee, Miss R. McKee, at the Manhattan; L. Morrison, at the Grand Union; D. Knight, at the Marlbor- ough; D. M. Moses, at the Herald Square. Los Angeles—Mrs. C. Osgood, at the Vie- toria. SNAILS ARE MUSICAL. A German scientist recently pointed out that snails were able to draw immense weights and now a French naturalist claims that there are few, if any, animals which have a higher appreciation of music than snails. This naturalist is M. S. Jourdain, and his views on the subject are expressed at length in a paper which he has addressed to the French Biological Society. Place some snails on a pane of glass, he says, and you will find that, as they move over it, they will make musical sounds similar to those which a person can produce by wetting his finger and then rubbing it around a glass tumbler. Complete airs, he points out, have been played on tumblers in this way, and he expresses the opinion that quite as good results can be obtained by using snails instead of fingers. : It is a curious fact that at least half a dozen scientists are now carefully studying snails. The reason, according "to one of them, s because these little anl- mals are extraordinarily sympathetic and <intelligent. Indeed, so highly gifted are they supposed to be that a writer did not hesitate to ascribe to them a few months 2go the honor of being ‘“‘the precursors of the wireless telegraph system.” - 4 ANSWERS TO QUERIES. IN MARYLAND-S§,, City. In Maryland if the husband dles intestate the widow has a dower right in the property he may leave. NOBLE KINSMEN-—F. C. T, City. ““The Two Noble Kinsmen" was not writ- ten by Shakespeare, but by Beaumont and Fietcher, and it was published in 1634. MARKET STREET—A. Y., City. The width of Market street from bullding to building is 120 feet. From curb to curb it is 76 feet, as the sidewalks are 22 feet wide. MEDICINE—Subscriber, City. The Leg- islature of California at its last held ses- slon,did not “pass a law forbidding any persan from making and selling medi- cine.” JEFFRIES AND SHARKEY-L. H. Z., San Jose, Cal. Jim Jeffries and Tom Sharkey met in the ring in San Fran- cisco May 6, 1898, and at Coney Island, November 3, 1899. OLD CURIOSITY SHOP—A. H. G, City. The old building made famous by Charles Dickens as *Old Curiosity Shop,”™ and which is to be torn down, is in the city of London, England. LATIN SAYING—C. J. H., Fort Bragg, Cal. The Latin maxim “Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas” is translated into English, “make use of your own prop- erty in such a manner as not to injure that of another.” GREAT BRITAIN—P F., Oakland, Cal. In the latter part of 190 the naval strength of Great Britain was: Ships, in- cluding vessels of all description, 1065; officers, 4907; enlisted men, 105,733; heavy guns, 1076; secondary and machine guns, 9432; France—Ships of all description, 759; officers, 1915; enlisted men, 42,605; heavy guns, 742; secondary and machine guns, 4278, IN THE ARMY — Reader, Arroyo Grande, Cal. To ascertain if your hus- band enlisted iz the United States army you will have to write to the War De- partment, Washington, D. C.,glving name, age, nativity and place where you gup- posed he enlisted from. If he enlisted in one of the California regiments of volun- teers during the Spanish-American war, you can obtain the information from the office of the adjutant general at Sacra- mento, Cal. 2 # LOUVRE—C. J. H., Fort Bragg, Cal. Louvre in French means, palace or mag- nificent building. Brewer is authority for louvre being a corruption of lupra, as it is called in the old title deeds. “Dago- bert,” says Brewer, “there built a hunt- ing box, the nucleus of the present pile of buildings.” Alden says that louvre is derived from the French “I'ouvert,” “the opening,” and applied to the ornamentai opening often of turret or lantern shape on a roof to allow smoke or foul air to escape from large apartments, such as halls, kitchens and the like. These were particularly required in ancient times when the fire was placed in the center of a room and there was no chim- ney to carry off .he smoke. As to the Louvre in Paris, Hayden says: “It is sald to have been a roval residence in the reign of Dagobert, 628. It was a prison tower constructed by Philippe Augustus in 1204 It afterward became a library and Charles VI made it his palace about 1364. The new buildings begun vy Fran- cis, 1528, were enlarged and adorned by successive Kings, particularly Louis XIV. Napoleon I turned it into a museum. The buildings of the new Louvre, begun by | Nanoleon I, and completed by Napoleon i III, were inaugurated by the latter in great state August 14, 1857. —_————— SUMMER RATES at Hotel del Coronado, Coronado Beach, Cal., effective after il 15; $60 for round trip. including 15 days &> hotel. Pacific Coast S. S. Co., 4 New Montgomery st. A CHANCE TO SMILE. He—I have been in the next room ask- Ing your father for your hand in marriage. She—What was the result? Did you hear any noise while in there?” ‘:Graclous! I should think so!™ “Well, I suppose you've heard that si- lence gives consent!"—Yonkers States- man. I was “You say that you don’t care for the salary so long as you can get a chance to work?” said the billionaire. “That's the idea,” answered the youth with the sharp nose and chin. “I'm will- Ing to start right in at a big reduction and take one of those $25,000 positions you say are so hard to fill at half the money."— ‘Washington Star. “Thirteen dollars and a half seems a high price for such a comparatively short trip,” sald the man with the traveling bag in his hand. “We thought people would rather pay that than $13,” replied the agent of the steamer line with an explanatory d apologetic cough.—Cleveland Plain Deal This 1s an Anglican joke. The Bishop of N— tells a very funny story. Ove day a man and woman came to tha Bishop’s house to be married. “Make us wan,” said the man, who was Irish. “All right, it will cost you $50!"* sald his lordship, wittily. And the Bishop relates, while laughing heartily, that they were about the wanest people he ever saw as they took their de- parture.—Detroit Journal. Mrs. Hatterson—I am going to meet my husband at 1 o’clock to select some dec~ orations for the drawing room. Mrs. Catterson—What do you want him ‘with you for? Well, in case they don't turn out right, I can say It is his fault.—Life. Appreciation: She—I like some of your articles very much. He—Oh, I'm so glad! Which was tha part you liked specially? . She—Well—I liked the quotation from Balzac.—Punch. “Would you be kind enough to return my photograph?’ she wrote. “I gave it to you ia-a moment of girlish folly, and I have since had occasion to regret that I was so thoughtless in such matters.” Of course, she pictured that photografoiy framed and hung up in his room, xd was inclined to think that he would pa:t with it with deep regret. Just why she wanted it returned is immaterial. Of course, he had offended her In some way, but it is unnecessary to inquire how. The reply to her note came the following da; I regret,” it read, “that I am unable at this late date to pick out your photo- graph. However, I send you my entire collection, numbering over 600, and would request that you return all except your own by express messenger at my ex- pense.”"—Tit-Bits. —_———— Choice candies, Townsend's, Palace Hotel® —_—— Cal. glace fruit 50¢ per Ib at Townsend's.® —_———— Special information suppiied daily to business houses and public men by the Press Clipping Bureau (Allen's), 510 Mont- gomery street. Telephone Main 1042 ¢ —— e ints with pride to its cancer m‘x?é‘f.“xi,"q"‘;;‘ The first_ of its kind in the world. It was established and thercegh- 1y equipped two years ago. . e el Are You “Of the Old World”? Everything pertaining to the New World may be easily and cheaply seen at the Pan- American Exposition, and the best way to get to Buffalo is by the comfortable trains of the Nickel Plate Road, carrying Nickel Plate Dining Cars, in which are served Amer- ican Club meals from e to $1 each. Book free, showing pictures of exposition xmnyim, Hotel accommodations reserved. JAY & W. ADAMS, P. C. P. A, 37 Crocker building. San Cal.