The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 11, 1902, Page 6

- 4 SATURDAY..........c.......JANUARY 11, 1902 JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Adéress AU Communieations to W. 8. LEAKE, Masager. MANAGER’S OFFICE........Telephone Press 204 PUBLICATION OFFICE. . .Market and Third, S. F. Telephone Press 201. EDITORIAL ROOMS.....217 to 221 Stevensonm St. Telephone Press 202. Delivered by Carriers, 156 Cents Per Week. Single Copies. 5 Cents. Terms by Mail, Including Postage: DAILY CALL (including Sunday), obe year. All postmasters are autherized to recelve subscriptions. Sample coples Will be iorwarded when requested. Mafl subscribers orderiig change of address should be mbnwl:ammousmnmnm %o insure & prompt and correct compliance with their request. QAKLAND OFFICE..............1118 Broadway C. GEORGE KROGNESS. anager Yoreign Advertising, Marguette Building, Chleags. (ong Distance Telepbone “Central 2615.") NEW TORK CORRESPONDENT: €. C CARLTON........cvcueeeeeoHerald NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: STEPHEN B. SMITH........30 Tribune Building MORTON E. dent. California—*"Whose Baby Are You®™ Tivoli—Little Red Riding Hood.” Central—*Lost in New York.™ Alcazar—*“The Wife.” Columbia—*Henry VIIL™ ana *"Com- B e oot Thuatol Vihoutiie’ opicy - atositons pok evening. Fischer's—Vaundeville. Central Park—Vasco Ball Game. Recreation Park—Baseball. Oakland Racetrack—Races to-day. A POWERLESS COMMISSION. considerable cost a Board of Railroad mmissioners designed for the purpose of protecting shippers and travelers from railroad ex- tortions or from any unfair discriminations in favor of one man or corporation against another. The Com- missioners are clotl with power to summon wit- nesses and to make examinations into freight and pas- senger rates, and they were supposed to have power at C ALIFORNIA has established and maintains C to reduce rates wherever they are found to be exces-" It costs money, time and energy to get that accomplished, and it is fair to assume the people of the State did not intend that the work when done should be futile. California is rich, but her taxpayers have no money to throw to commis- sions that serve no useful purpose. From the very first the Railroad Commission has been a disappointment to the people. Doubtless it can be shown that something has been accomplished by it, but the total amount of such accomplishment is far short of what the people expected. Even when the board undertakes to do its duty it finds it- i powerless to enforce its rules. Developments in the oil rate case afford a present instance of its weak- ness. After two hearings, in which a large number of witnesses were examined and able attorneys pre- sented arguments of each side, the commission made a slight reduction in oil rates. The shippers were gratified, the people were pleased; it seemed as if the commission were at last to achieve something of public benefit. It has proven, however; to be a case where appearances are deceptive. The irailroads have gorie into court 2nd the Judges have issued in- junctions which nullify the action of the commission. The victory is with the roads. They can restore their old rates whenever they please. The situation is one in which the railroads can say “Heads, we win; tails, the people lose.” If the commission decide in favor of the roads the people cannot get an injunction, but if they decide in favor of the people the roads can get an injunction from any compliant judge they apply to. Under conditions, what is the commission worth? The relation of the railroads to the people and to thae law is becoming serious. It is by no means a local question. The Interstate Commerce Commis- sion has repeatedly reported to Congress a statement of its inability to maintain the Federal laws on the subject of pooling and freight discriminations and has asked for an increase of power to enforce its de- cisions. Similar reports come from State commis- sions in every part of the Union. The roads will not cbey the law, and any attempt to compel obedience is met by a prompt injunction from the courts. When once a case is brought before the court the bearing is postponed from month to month and from year to year, and during all that time the roads go right along violating the 'law and defying State commission and the Interstate Commission alike. A serious evil should be dealt with seriously. The reople of California should make up their minds whether they will maintain the Railroad Commission or not. If they are going to maintain it they should clothe it with power to enforce its rulings. If they are not going to give it sufficient authority to act efficiently they should abolish it. To Teave the Tegu- Iation of railway rates to the Legislature is not a de- sirable thing, but better that than 'no regulation at all. The issue, in fact, is a simple one. The Rail- road Commission at present is suffering from par- alysis, and we should either cure it or kill it. ———— A Chicago woman who says she lost thirty pounds in weight because she was jilted wants $10,000 dam- ages from an offending swain. The lady might have raised the price a trifle and submitted a claim that she is worth her weight in gold. sive. viork such A spasm of reform, over which there has been much comment, has struck St. Louis. The municipal authorities have ordered street car conductors to give up their “billies” and stop their pastime of fighting with passengers. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 1902. SEVEN THOUSAND POLICEMEN UNDER " HIS COMMAND IN GREATER NEW YORK THE MODOC TRIAL. x THE scenes epacted in the trial of the Modoc lynchers are of such a character as to seem en- tirely foreign to American life. The passages between the court and the attorneys for the defense are so violent, so subversive of the dignity of judicial procedure, so opposed to the order and decency of a proceeding in which men are on trial for their lives, as to make one wonder that they can be the outcome of any stratum of American civilization. It is to be hoped that.the result will finally vindi- cate American jurisprudence. A sworn jury sits in the case, to find a verdict on the facts. That the court will give it the law applicable to those facts there can be no doubt, for the Judge, notwithstand- ing his errors of temper, seems to be fearless and de- termined that the good name of his jurisdiction shall be upheld. No paper has the right to prejudge the case, as to do so would be a part of the howling improprieties that have characterized the hearing of the case. But prejudgment does not consist in expressing the opinion that the testimony, procured under the great- est difficulties, seems to fasten the guilt upon the right parties so plainly that the jury will find but one way to keep its oath and declare that that remote corner of California is not outside the pale of law. The proceedings seem to be evidence that in crimi- nal cases the State as well as the accused should have the right to a change of venue. If a community un- derstand that by general agreement it cannot condone crime and give shelter to criminals, but that the law shall have the right to vindication by changing the scene of trial and locating it among a people who are not under duress nor affected by sympathy with the criminals and the crime, it will be the means of creating therein a wholesome public opinion which will not permit such cffenses as this, which has tar- nished the reputation of the whole State. California cannot afford to have her smallest corner, even, known as the dark and bloody ground, where people mistake their passion or prejudice for a warrant to administer to others such punishment as they please, regardless of the protection the law extends for the rights of person and the sanctity of human life. Wantonness cannot be permitted to usurp the place of law, the lyncher that of the bench. The State has done its utmost under existing law to clear its skirts by delegating a representative of the office of the Attorney General to condifet the prosecution. That the necessity for this was shame- ful no one disputes. It arose in the manifest laxity of local authority and its indisposition to punish the guilty. It is no excuse for overlooking such a crime that its victims were despised or distrusted and that their murder, withal cowardly and brutal in the ex- treme, was approved by their neighbors. The courts were open for their punishment for the offenses charged against them. The Justice of the Peace who is charged with knotting the ropes and advising their use, even instructing the active agents of the outrage in the details of the unlawful execution so as to in- sure its success, was himself the court of first instance in jurisdiction over them, and was given by law the power to initiate their punishment and restrain their cvil courses. If it appear proved that he took the part alleged, his offense is so much blacker than any charged against the victims as to make it necessary that he be made an example of, to deter his suc- cessors, chosen to administer the law, from them- selves violating it in the most conspicuous manner possible. The eyes of the State are upon the jury, and men await in patience its verdict. o e e William Jennings Bryan says he intends to move the Commoner into the country and edit it on a farm. This may mean the creation of a village to be called Bryansburg. This is one way at least of get- ting on the map and of impressing oneself on the nation. HE Kaiser's speech from the throne to the T Prussian Diet frankly discloses the hard indus- trial and financial conditions of the German em- pire. The shrinkage in trade and the reaction from overtrading and speculation have disabled the smaller German states, which are no longer able to pay their imperial tribute. Conditions teach impressively the futility of expectations that a high tide of prosperity can be permanently maintained. Within the last year Germany has seen the tide ebb and is now in the midst of distress and reverse equal to that which we suffered between 1893 and 1897. The Government finds its credit strained, and is un- comfortably limited in carrying out projects that were devised when there seemed no end to the prosperity it was enjoying. At the Paris Exposition the German exhibit brought the empire to the front as the leading indus- trial rival of the United States. It seemed that her paternal training of her people had at last converted them into a productive machine of such power as to defy us and the rest of the world, challenging all comers to a competition in which she was confident of her power to win, All this is changed in one year. This. great in- dustrial machine is rusting in idleness, and the note of defiance is succeeded by the cry of distress. Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall, is the lesson for us to derive from this appalling reverse, The Kaiser seems no* to see the influence of state socialism, or paternalism, in producing this result, for he advises the use of the public credit to house stat¢ workmen and the minor imperial officials. How far this will contribute to the general relief does not appear. It seems that the imperial ownership and adminis- tration has contributed its share to the embarrass- ment of the state. The railroad revenues have de- clined, and yet credits are asked to extend the state railways and build feeders to the systems already in existence. Being embarked in business enterprise, the state finds it hard to let go. The people of the United States do not contem- plate these German disasters with any satisfaction. They mean that Germany’s consuming power is im- paired and she will take less of our surplus, while in seeking betterment of their fortunes ‘more immi- grants will turn hither to add to our producing power and increase our surplus as the demand for it de- clines. The lesson should rot be lost upon our own people. The high earning capacity of American labor and en- terprise should be accompanied by the thrift that saves, keeps out of debt and conserves the yield of the fat years against the coming of the lean. On the 1st of last July the savings banks of New York had deposited and invested $1,105,076,765. The increase in open accounts in the savings banks of that State during last year was 183,774, and there was one savings deposit account for every three inhabitants of the State. This may be taken as an index of the conditions all over the c',qun'try‘ Savings deposits withdrawn during the year were for the purpose of other investment and not for the living expenses of idle labor. Much of the money withdrawn went into the purchase of homes or for investment in some business, indicating that the owners had passed from the ranks of the employed to those of the employers. Our people are prosperous, as the Germans were. They are thrifty, they save. Let them have confi- dence in the future, but be at the same time prudent in the present. ———— Every now and then for many years past there has been revived a scheme for separating New York City from the State and setting’it up as a distinct com- monwealth, and it has popped up once more. It is a foregone conclusion it will be killed. The rural legislators of the State would not for anything aban- don their right to reform the city every year or so and share in its spoils between times. BRITISH AGRICULTURE. GREAT BRITAIN is once more discussing the portentous decline in her rugal indus- tries. The preliminary report of the agri- cultural returns for 1801 shows that the diminution of land employed for farming purposes goes steadily on, so that it seems to be only a question ‘of time when there will hardly be any such thing as a farm- ing industry in the country, From a summary of the report given in the London Chronicle it appears the acreage under wheat in 1901 was 144,077 acres less than in 1900, In the bar- ley acreage there was a decrease of 17,817, in'oats 20,185, in beans 11,627, in turnips 24,081, in mangolds 15,611, and in many other crops there was a propor- tionate decline. There was an increased acreage planted in rye, potatoes, lucerne and several smaller crops, but the increase by no means counterbalanced the decrease. The total increases barely amount to 90,000 acres all told, while the decreases aggregate about 297,000 acres, so that more than 200,000 acres cultivated in 1900 were left uncultivated in 1901. Along with the decline in the acreage of crops there was a decline in the number of farm animals of every kind except horses. The showing is an in- crease of 11,268 horses, but a decrease of 41,276 cattle, 215,026 sheep and 202,067 hogs. It has been the belief that fruit-growing would af- ford the British land-owner a means of obtaining a profit from the soil even though he can no longer compete in the production of grain, hay or livestock, but those who have tried fruit-growing seem to have been disappointed. Mr. Martin, author of “The Ruin of Rural England,” contributes to the Chronicle a review of the agricultural situation, and in speaking of the orchards he says: “In one center where the fruit industries made great strides in recent years some of the smaller growers were in great distress because they could 'not meet their payments as re- cently as last Michaelmas,” He adds that British or- chardists have “to sell their fruit in a market flooded with foreign produce brought from the very ends of the earth at one-fourth the freight it costs them for similar service.” Mr. Martin asserts after all his studies into the conditions of rural England that not only are the large farms unprofitable but that the small farmers are making no progress. In fact, it appears the en- tire industry is declining and that nothing can save it but a system of protection from foreign competi- tion. That protection, however, is not likely to be given. The British workingman is not willing to tax his bread and meat for the purpose of benefiting the land-owners. The decline in British agriculture, therefore, has not yet reached the limit. It must sink still further before it reaches a point where the nation will be aroused to the need of doing some- thing to save it. —— An up-to-date preacher in a Missouri town has advised the women of his flock that they should exer- cise, as well as men, the privilege of proposing mar- riage. The reverend gentleman perhaps forgot that this is not a leap year and that four years ago the fair sex lost their chance for eight years. 3 e ——— SILENT DEMOCRACY. OR many a year the orators of Democracy chpt the country well informed of the anniver- sary cf Jackson’s victory at New Orleans. They made it the occasion for banquets and speeches dealing with affairs of state and outlining political programmes. This year the day of glorious memory was passed without any oratory of a notable kind. A considerable number of Democratic clubs held ban- quets and a considerable number of orators spoke, but they spoke mildly and in a low voice. The coun- try did not hear them, for it was not listening, nor would it have heard much had it been listening. These are the lean years of Democracy, the days of its wanderings in the wilderness without a Moses and without the hope of a promised land. Twice in succession it has been defeated in contests for the Presidency, and four times it has l6st control of the House of Representatives. In the Northern and the Western States at the present time it is well nigh out of politics. Northern Democracy has but few Rep- resentatives in the House and only three Senators. In the South alone has the party any strength, and even there its strength lies solely in the race issue. Southern Democrats have no agreement upon any fiscal, financial or colonial policy. They have neither a leader nor a platform to offer to the forlorn Demo- crats of the North and the West. It is not to be expected that Democracy will perish as the Whig party perished, but it will never win another victory in national politics until it has un- dergone a radical change. As a local party, indeed, Democracy is surprisingly strong. It has captured control of great cities like Boston, Chicago, Cleve- land and St. Louis.. It has been able to make strong fights in several States. It has won back Kentucky and Maryland from the Republican party, and has a fair prospect of victory in some of the Northern States next fall. A party so strong in local contests is bound to be | a factor in national struggles even when led by such a man as Bryan and flaunting such issues as free sil- ver in the face of the public. It js, however, merely a negative factor. It stands for nothing except op- position. It cannot even talk affirmatively, much less act affirmatively. That is the reason why it is so silent at present. That explains why Jackson's day did not ring as usual with fervid oratory uttered amid tumultuous applause. — : And now England and Germany are making faces at one another simply because a statesman of the, Kaiser indulged a common fault of talking too much. It is a safe wager that the controversy will not reach a stage more serious than words. —_— Tt is said that Secretary Shaw neither drinks, chews, smokes, dances nor plays cards, It would seem, then, that the only danger of the treasury is I that he may be persuaded to buy a gold brick COLONEL JOHN NELSON PARTRIDGE, THE NEW HEAD OF THE GREAT POLICE DEPARTMENT OF BUSY GOTHAM. HE HAS BEEN A REFORMER ALL HIS LIFE AND WILL UNDOUBTEDLY REFORM THE DE- | " | PARTMENT IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE. —_— OHN NELSON PARTRIDGE, the J lc and private record. positions since 1882. There is little doubt that President Roosevelt sug- gested Colonel Partridge to Mayor-elect Seth Low as the best man to place at the head of the New York Police Department. ‘While Mr. Low discovered Colonel Partridge as an honest and efficient public officer when the Mayor-elect was Mayor of found him qualified for ‘a Brooklyn, President Roosevelt higher office in the service of the State. When the President was Governor of New York he was pressed hard for a good man to succeed George W. Aldridge, Superintendent of the Department of Public Works at Albany. A man was wanted to dive into the tangled question of New Partridge took up the herculean task, and not only did more work in one year than his predecessor had done during his entire term in office, but he saved the State the first year $137,000. He is in every sense a reformer, but a very ‘While he has never been a sensational reformer, yet all his public life has been de- voted to reforming public offices, from the Brooklyn Fire De- York canals. systematic and methodical reformer. partment to the State Public Works. One of his rafe capabilities for the position of single- New York is his military headed Police Commissioner of York’s 7000 policemen, is 63 years old and has a clean pub- He has held three Government new head of New training. He served three years in the Union army and was three times elected colonel of the Twenty-third the State militia in Brooklyn. He has never been an advocate ent of of radical changes in any branch of the city or State service, own volition. but there is little doubt about his intention of reforming the New York Police Department in more ways than one. As an appointee of Mr. Low he is practically bound to reform the department morally, and he will undoubtedly reform it in ap- pearance and in many minor details as to system from his He is something' of an expert on military dress and he I3 eighteenth century. is at home. L e e B B R o o ANSWERS TO QUERIES. HUMBOLDT SCHOOL—Constant Read- er, City. Girls are admitted to the Hum- ‘boldt Evening School. GNATS8-S., San Rafael, Cal. The best preventive against gnats as well as the best cure for their stings is camphor. DRAMATIZATION—Playwright, City. No one has a right to dramatize a copy- righted novel without the consent of the author. GERMAN ELECTRIC ROADS—A. H., Oakland, Cal. The electric railways of Germany use both storage and overhead power. ANTICIPATION—J. L., City. If by the question “What is the rule for figuring | out the anticipation on payment of bills?" you mean discount, the rule is to take off one per cent. NON-REFILLING BOTTLE—Subscrib- er, Oakland, Cal. There is a demand for a bottle that cannot be refilled after it has once been used. Several applications for patents for such have been presented. BATS—S., San Rafael, Cal. To exter- minate bats that infest a house or barn is to discover upon what they feed, pro- cure that kind of food and put poison in it. Another way is to go where they con- gregate and beat them to death with sticks, a mining claim before patent is granted must be made each year and filed with the Recorder of the county in which the ciaim is located. The record of an affi- davit of such work performed is prima facie evidence of the performance of such labor. AMOS RUSIE—Subscriber, City. The published baseball records do not give the number of years that Amos Rusie pitched for the National League. Can any of the baseball readers of this department fur- nish the correspondent, through it, the in- formation desired? TO MOUNT DIABLO-—Old Subscriber, City. The distance from Port Costa to Mount Diablo 1is: To Martinez, three miles; to Walnut Creek, twelve miles, and from there ten miles to the summit. The height of the mountain is 3848 feet. LARGEST VESSEL-S., City." The largest ship afloat is the White Star liner Celtic. Its measurements are: Length 700 feet, beam 75 feet and depth 49 feet. It is five feet six inches shorter than the Oceanie, but has seven feet more beam. Her tonnage is 20,000, while that of the Oceanic is 17,274. ODD FELLOWS' BANK—A. L, San Jose, Cal. After the Odd Fellows’ Bank of San Francisco went into liquidation a new board of directors was chosen. There was a secretary, who was pald a salary of $100 a month. The affairs of the bank ‘were wound up about two months ago. ASSESSMENT ‘WORK — Subscriber, Rough and Ready, Cal. Proof of the annual amount of assessment work on POLICE PATROL WAGONS—Citizen, City. The police patrol wagons in San Francisco were first put into services as tollows: - Old City Hall, September 13, 1890; Folsom-street station, October 21, 1590; New City Hall station, November 48%0, and Seventeenth-street station, cember 24, 1890. first wagon .used was recelved from Chicago and cost $600 with an additonal cost of $26 for a tarpaulin to cover the same in transit. wagons constructed in this city were furnished by O'Brien & Sons at a cost. of $655 each. ——————e— Marsh Mallow Kisses at Townsend's. * ——— . Ex. strong hoarhound candy. Townsena L ——— Cal. Glace Fruit 50c per 1b at Townsena’ ————ig—— information supplied daily to | gnnmamhlsmu the ! and public men Bureau 's), 510 259 omery Stfeet Telephone Mate 102 203 | PERSONAL MENTION. K. Casper, a merchant of Vallejo, is at the Lick. C. A. Canfield, an oil man of Los An- geles, js at the Palace. George H. Cowle, a merchant of Stock- ton, is at the California. George W. Mapes, an extensive cattle- raiser of Reno, is at the Russ. Judge S. Solon Holl of Sacramento is among the arrivals at the Grand. W. F. George, an attorney of Sacra- mente, is registered at the Grand. D. N. Kern, a mining engineer of Silver | Contrary City, Tdaho, is a guest at the Russ. E. E. Caine, a well-known steamship owner of Seattle, is a guest at the Palace. Dr. J. A. Ascher, & prominent attor- rey of Nevada, is staying at the Grand. | John J. Seymour, superintendent of the | is at they, electric light plant at Fresno, Lick. John Burgess, a stage owner of Ukiah, is in the city for a few days and has made his headquarters at the Russ. ————— “Your new dog seems to sleep in daytime in order to bark all night.” “Yes. I guess he's a Chinese dog."” “A Chinese dog?” “Yes. Of course you know that when it is day in China it's night here?’—Cleve- land Plain Dealer. the also an expert horseman. He will likely improve the uniform of the foot patrol and stir up the mounted police as well in several of their deficiencies. Colonel Partridge is proud of his Puritan ancestry. The name was imported early in the seventeenth century from Berwick-on-Tweed, England, by a man who called himsel? ‘Willlam Partrigg. He settled in Hartford, Conn., and became a business man in the community. extensive one in Massachusetts The family was a very in the latter part of the Colonel Partridge’s mother is nearly 9 years old, and takes a lively interest in her son, who is devoted to her. tend the Congregational church together regularly when he He is a widower, and has one grown son, Nelson Partridge, who lives in Colorado Springs. They at- % ® A CHANCE TO SMILE. ““You ought to go to Boston. They have two golf lirks in ome of their public parks—one for experts and the other for beginners.” “I suppose you mean to insinuate that I would play with the beginners?* “No, I'm pretty sure you wouldn’t play at all.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer. While an honest rustic was rubbering through the city he saw @ sign in a book- geller's window which read: “Burns” Works for $2.” to all precedent and ex- ] pectation, the homest rustic did not get oft his wagon and go In and ask if Burns worked by the week or by the month. No, indeed, he clucked to his horse and said: “I hope he gets it.” For the honest rustic had onece been ured to a city job.—Baltimore American.’ “Actress Lillian Russell had a birthday party the other day.” *“How old is she?” “That’s not polite. They say a woman is only as old as she looks.” “Well?"” “Well, if Lillian Russell were twice as old as she looks she wouldn't be half ag cld as a good many women who are a great deal younger.”—Cleveland ' Plain Dealer. -_—_— HOW SOCIETY GIRLS OF SAN FRANCISCO DEVOTE THEIR TIME - TO CHARITY. THE »BOSS BUCKLEY" OF DENVER The Story of the Most Remarkable Woman Politician. THE THIRD BEST COLLECTION OF STAMPS IN THE WORLD OWNED IN SAN FRANCISCO. “MAKING A WOMAN ATHLETE" Written Specially for The Sunday Call by Sandow, the Strong Man. NEXT SUNDAY'S