The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 8, 1902, Page 6

G THE SA The-_ ol Call SATURDAY.... _MARCH 8, JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor. Aédsess All Communieations to %, 5. LEAER, ¥arager. MANAGER'S OFFICE. .. Melephon Preas /9"7‘ FUBLICATION OFFICE. ., Market rnd Third, 8. F. Telephon CDITORIAL ROOMS Telep! Delivered by Carriers, 15 Cente Per Weel' single Coples. 5 Centw. Terms by Mail, Inclunding Postages DAILY CALL (ncluding Sunday), one year. DAILY CALL (ncluding Sunday), 6 months DAILY CALL Oncluding Sunday), 3 month DAILY CALL—By Single Month FUNDAY CALL. One Year.. WEEKLY CALL. One Year. All postmasters are horized to recelve wubseription Sample coples will be ed when requested. Mat " ® of addrece should Ye icular to give both NEW A LD ADDRESS fn order, insure & prompt apd correct compliance with thelr request: ..1118 Wroadway O, GRORGE KROGNIESS, 3 M, nager Poreign Advertising, Marguotts Buildiny, Ohdoage, (Lopg Distance Telephone “'Central 2619.') NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT: ' CARLTON. ..v0ns <vs.Herald Squ NEW YORK KEPRESENTATIVE : STEPHEN B, SMITH,...,,..80 Tribune HBulldl NEW YORK NEWS STANDB: | 1 ‘ Waldort-Astoria Motel; A, Brentano, 81 Uhlod ‘Square; Murrey il Hotel. CHICAGO NEW Sherman House; . O, News C Fremont House| Auditorium Hotel. WASHINGTON (D, MORTON ¥ C ITANDS:; | Great Northerp Hatel; rrespondent, omery, eormer of Clay, epen open until 980 o' plock, 081 MoAllister, open untl) 0780 o'elock, 616 Larkin, open untll O8O o'olook, 1941 Misston, open wntil 10 o'elock, SE0Y Marker, cornes Bixteenth, oven untll § o'clock,, 1008 Vo Tenoln, epen until © o'clock, 108 Eleventh, ' open until b wolook. NW, corner Twenty-second and Kentgoky, open @00 Filmore, open uniil 8 p. m, uptil B o' eloek AMUBKMENTS, Cotumbin =" Arisona. " Orphenm—Vaudevilie Crand Opera-hotee Contented Woman Fimcher's Thenter—“fhe French Mald Catifornia— Tupert of Hentsau* Tivoli=""The Berenade.’ “The Last Stroke " At the White Torse Tavern." Chutes, Zoo and’ Thester—Vaudevilla every afterncon and Metropolitan Hall—Emma Nevada, this afternoon. Sherman-Clay Hall—Piano Recitai this afternoon, Sherman-Clay Hall—8ong Recital, Tuesday night, March 11, Woodward's Pavilion Winter Circus. MARCONI'S PROMISE. ARCONTI on his recent arrival in New York told the members of the press who inter- viewed him: “In about three months commercial business between —that is, transmitting messages of any kind between Cornwall and Cape Breton. Of course we will be competing with the cable compa- will pot like it. There is no longer we shall be transacting England and Ame: es and they vention for trans-Atlantic business.” stater it was given with positiveness on the ccessful tests made during the voyage of the Philadelphia across the sea. These tests were far thorough than that by-which the first signal was oss the occan Jast December, and the re- far better. In fact, they leave apparently no room for further doubt or skepticism on the part the least credulous. The statements concerning them rest not upon Marconi’s observations only, but are corroborated by the recording tape on the ship and by the officers in command. These bear witness to the fact that at a distance of 1551% miles from the sending station in Cornwall there were received on the Philadelphia the clearly distinguishable . words, “All in order here.” Beyond that distance the mes- sages became unintelligible, but signals continued to be received until the ¢hip reached a distance from the station of 2000 miles. The New York Press publishes a fac-simile of the tape cont2ining the laost signals received. It is signed by A. R. Mills, captain of the Philadelphia. It is made up of a series of dashes, of which the first three are perfect, and give clearly the “S” of the Morse code. The others practically mean nothing beyond the fact that they are unreadable, indefinite signals made by eclectricity. It is to be noted that the distance from the Poldhu station in Cornwall to the station in Newfoundland is but 208 miles, so that the Philadelphia signals covered a greater dis- tance than those first sent across the ocean It will be seen from these facts that Marconi’s mise to have wireless telegraphy ready for com- mercial business within three months is by no means an idle He has proven the ability of his sys- tem to send messages readable at a distance of more 11 to increase the distance it is merely necessary to increase the power at the trans- mitting station Modern methods of generating electricity will enable him to obtain the increased power with comparatively little difficulty. It is only a question of coin, and in the present state of the per- fection of his system he will hate no trouble in get- ting all the financial backing he needs. Indeed, the stockholders and directors of his company appear to be even more enthusiastic than himseli. One of them who crossed the ocean with him said: “We are prepared to meet any one who may dispute our claims on this trip and are prepared to confront him with incontrovertible proof of what has been done.” In v of the promise of Marconi there has nat- vrally been a good deal of discussion concerning the probable effect of the mew system as a competitor of telegraphy by wire. Until' great improvements have been made in transmitting and receiving by the Marconi miethod the old 'system will continue to have advantage by reason of the greatly superior rapidity of its work. Some zrthorities hold that for a long time to come the main usefulness of wireless teleg- hy will be in communicating with ships at sea, and that the land business and the bulk of commer- cial business across the ocean will go by wire.. It appears, therefore, that, swift as has been the advance of wireless telegraphy since the day when The Call first applied it to the practical use of transmitting the news of the arrival of the transport bringing bome the California Volunteers from Manila, it is not going to work a sudden revolution in Business, Whatever change it is to bring about .will come slowjy. ngth of s boast than 1500 miles, Schley's friends the East are now in the habit of referring to him az “the unofficial hero of San- tiago,” and it looks as if they were trying to hit everybody in office, from Roosevelt to Crownin- shield, possible doubt about the practicability of the in- | PROMOTING THE STATE. HE new movement to bring. into notice the T merits and capacities of what is called Northern California is timely and necessary. The divi- sion of the State by points of the compass and calling it Southern and Northern California 'has produced {abroad an entirely mistaken impression. The mind | associates clemency of climate with the south and !rignr with the north. In this State such distinction does not exist. The whole State is winterless and has practically the same climate from San Diego to Shasta. ¢ 2 An examination of the daily record of temperature shows a scarcely appreciable difference between San Francisco and San Dicgo, though they are more than five hundred miles apart. . An inspection of the products by counties shows the same variety in asso- ciation frcm Los Angeles to Butte. Cereal grains and citrus fruits, the olive, fig and pomegranate, flourish throughout the State, and are physical tes- timony to the same clemency of climate everywhere. 1\'(-(, as the master motive of migration hither from {the East is to escape. the rigors of winter and the humid ‘heat~ ‘of summer, Northern California is avoided because its geographical situation is sup- posed to imply the same climatic conditions that pre- vail in the samc latitude east of the Missouri River, This is one reason why the Sacramento Valley in- |¢reased only 5 per cent in population in the decade 1890-1000; the San Joaquin, being farther south, in- creased 13 per cent, and Southern California §2 per ¢ent, lured by the adjective “southern,” As far as the Sacramento Valley is concerned there were other causes, local in their nature, including lind tenure, the persistence of wheat growing, the [ tuck of proper advertisement of resources, the need of irrigation and the indisposition to resort to inten- sive farming, Many of these causes are passing away, The lurge land-holdings are being broken up, | There Is growing attentlon to lrrigation, and the whole valley promises to profit by the example of one of its counties, Yolo, which s the richest rural county in the United States, The foothill counties, like Placer, in a group com- | posed of that fine county and Amador, Calaveras, El | Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada and Tuolumne, show an | increase in ‘ten yeats of 11 per cent, or more than | tw that of the valley. One reason for this may be | seen in passing through Placer from Rocklin to Col- fax, where the small hioldings lie on both sides df the railroad, cultivated in the most beautiful and fruitful | orchards and vineyards in the world, each supporting a family under the finest of climatic and productive conditions. In all this northern region a farm of | from twenty to forty acres is all that a family can | farm intensively, and its returns are abundant. At the Buffalo Fair the State Board of Trade dis- tributed a” pamphlet which reveals the richness of these small holdings in statements signed by their owners. One 20-acre peach orchard nets $2500; an- other of 40 acres $4000; another of 6o acres, which its owner started with only $400:capital, is valued now at $13,000, and though not all in action nets $3500 per year. Hundreds of such cases are cited and of course represent thousands of others that are not given. Similar opportunities await the industrious immigrant to the Sacramento and San Joaquin val- | leys all over this northern region, and if made known will soon bring it up to the results achieved by en- terprise and advertising in Southern California. bl Legislative work is going on very well in the East. New York has prohibited - pigeon-shooting matches, Massachusetts is going to require a citizen |to take out a license before he can keep a cat, and New Jersey has passed a bill for the extermination of mosquitoes; and it looks as if earnest efforts were under way all along the line to make the Bast a habitable country. 4 LAEOR IN MEXICO. ABOR conditions in Mexico aré carefully re- L viewed in the January bulletin of the Depart- ment of ‘Labor at Washington by Professor Weyl of the University of Pennsylvania. The study is the more interesting because of the péculiar char- acteristics of the Mexican population, which is now developing into a thoroughly mixed race of Spanish and Indian. The total population according to the census of 1900 was 13,545,462. There is reason to believe, how- ever, that the count was not accurate among the In- dians and that the real number of the inhabitants of the country cannot be less than 15,000680. Fully 75 | per cent of the whole live in the high plateau in the central portion of the ¢ountry, and that fact has a good deal to do with the labor problem. Since 1875 no attempt has been made to classify the people ac- cording to races, and consequently, no exact figures are available as to the proportions of Spanish, In- dian and mixed races, but in that year the whites constituted 20 per cent, the Indians 37 per cent and the mixed races 43 per cent, There has been a steady increase in the proportion of mixed races ever since 1810, and it is fair to assume that at pres- ent those races constitute a majority of the popula- tion, Viewing the people from the standpoint of labor it is noted that their most salient characteristic is apathy. This constitutional indolence is attributed to a variety of causes, among which are the high clevation at which most of the people live, the lack of .severe winters, bad social and economic condi- tions, malnutrition, the large consumption of alcohol and tobacco, contentment with a low level of life, improvidence, and an excessive number of holidays, which ‘encourage the people to neglect their work for idleness and gambling. Concerning the effect of the climate the review says: “The average elevation of the central plateau is about Gooo feet above the level of the sea, Mexico itself being at a height of 7444 feet. At that eleva- tion the barometric pressure is very much reduced, the air is quite rarefied and the amount of oxygen contained in a given:measure of air is considerably reduced. The effect of this reduced breathing in of oxygen in the case of both mien and-lower anirals is to be observed in a lessened activity and a regduction of ability to perform work of any sort. * * * With- out discussing the exact extent to which the corporal powers are lessened by the reduced amount of oxy- gen in the air, it suffices to state that the efféct of this condition in producing indolence is very great and is felt by foreigners who go to Mexico to live as well as by those to the manner born.” « The greatest drawback to the value of labor in Mexico, however, is its unreliability, and ‘that pro- ceeds not so much from a natural indolence result- ing from the climate as from the mental traits of im- providence, carelessness and a lack of ambition. In fact, despite the lack of oxygen in the air of the central plateau, the Mexican is capable of a large amount of work when roused to it. Thus Humboldt has given many examples of the endurance of Mexi- 1cans working in the mines, and in everything that FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, MARCH FORTY-THREE CLOCKS TICKING pertains to walking or carrying they are remarkably efficient. When on the march Mexican soldiers fre- quently make over thirty miles a day, and marches of | forty-five miles for infantry and fifty-five miles for | cavalry are not rare. | . g x Among the good qualities of the race from a labor point of view are docility, patience and a high ar- tistic faculty, accompanied by a remarkable quickness in learning new, arts. In the development of these qualities lie the industrial hopes of the republic. Better education will probably induce the acquire- ment of desires for higher conditions of life, and when these are strong enough to overcome the natural contentment of the people we may expect Mexico to attain.a’ high standard of labor and of civilization. i A Among other reasons assigned by President Eliot of Harvard for granting a degree to Prince Henry is that his grandmother 'was Queen Victoria, and if that recommendation counts consistently Harvard will have to get out diplomas by the wholesale, for the venerable and royal lady had a numerons off- spring, and her grandchildren are many. ——————— EDUCATING THE EAST. EPRESENTATIVE NEWLANDS of Nev- R ada has contributed to the New York’Times, an instructive article on “Irrigation in the West,” which will doubtless have a good effect in educating Eastern public opinion on the subject, Mr, Newlands, from his long service in Washington, is familiar with ob]ection. made’ by Eastern Represen- I tatives to the policy of irrigation, and he is therefore uble to dirvect his argument especially to the points on which the East needs enlightenment. In that re- spect his article is a valuable contribution to the dis- cugsion of the subject and may prove even more effective than i speech in the House itself, { The first Issue with which the writer deals:fs that rulsed by the question, “"What right has the West to demand Goverhment ald in this matter?” . He an- swers slmply that the Gobernment is the vwner of al- most all the arid lands, having in its possession of arld and semi-arid lands upward of 600,000,000 neres; that it fs the duty of the Government to fit this land for settlement and cultivation by conserving the snow and flood waters and constriteting such ditches and canals as are necessary to bring water within reach of settlers. In making such inprovements the Government will not be wasting moneéy, not giving it away, for the lands when improved will be more valuable than in their present condition. Moreover, the work cannot be effectively or écortomically done by private parties. It is therefore strictly a govern- mental task, one which is in the truest sense national, since it will benefit the East as well as the West. Noting the Eastern objection to voting money out |O|' the national treasury for the enterprise, Mr. New- lands says the bill now pending before Congress pro- vides for establishing an arid land reclamation fund out of the receipts from sales of lands in the arid re- gion, and adds: “In this way a revolving fund is created out of the sale of the = lands reclaimed, which is applied to new work, and thus, in the end, the West will reclaim itself. The Secretary of the In- terior can make no contract for irrigation works un- less the moneys therefor are in thé fund. Thus the arid region will be reclaimed without taxation of the general public.” ~ One of the poitts upon-which the Eastern people most need enlightenment is that relating to the effect the opening up of the néw'4rea for home-seekers will have upon Eastern farmers. “Over and over again it has been said that the irrigation of arid lands will serve no other purpose than that of encouraging competition to the East and injuring Eastern landed interests, Upon that issue Mr. Newlands says: “It might as well be contended that the people of the original thirteen States suffered from Western de- velopment as that the eighty millions of people now occupying this country will suffer from the develop- ment of the arid region. The arid region will simply furnish a market for Eastern manufactures and East- ern products. It will not compete with the' Eastern or Middle Western farms, because in the northern part of the arid region culfivation will be confined almost entirely to alfalfa, which is very useful in the fattening of cattle, and in fhe southern region culti- vation will be confined largely to the citrus fruits and other products of a semi-tropical character. It has only to be borne in mind that the entire area capable of reclamation does not exceed 60,000,000 acres, and that this area will only equal the arca of the two States of Iéwa and lilinois, If a nation of a few millions of people did not suffer from the develop- ment of Towa and Illinois, how can it be contended for a moment that a country with 80,000,000 of peo- ple can suffer from the development of the arid re- gion?” To Californians it may seem strange that issues of this kind have to be argued over time after time, It is, however, not casy to educate public opinion on a subject to which it is comparatively indifferent, Cam- paigns of popular education are always long and sometimes tiresome, This one, however, is going forward at last with gratifying speed. Indeed it is not improbable that the irrigation bill may be passed by the present Congress. e e e A Boston artist by the name of Cook, who re- cently eloped ‘with a woman %o years old, was inter- viewed in New York, and when asked how so old a woman could have fallen in love with him replied: “I know that I am fascinating. Many women have fallen in love with me—positively raved over me, can't help that, you know.. I am young, handsome, rarely magnetic, full of high spirits and imagination and have boundless ambitions. These qualities, with a splendid reputation as an artist, and the culture of a traveled man of the world, make a remarkable com- bination of attraction.” ~And we know now just why it is that these Boston men are so dangerous. The New York Sun says that at a recent perform- ance of “Romeo and Juliet” in that city it was noted that the most poetic love passages were received in- variably with titters and giggles by very many of the young women of thé crowded audience, showing, ac- cording to the critic, that the New York young wom- an has come to look tipon poetry as guff and on love as an absurdity. It seems they have.raptures only for chewing gum, millions of money and a Duke. Some Eastern pqper\s' are making a great deal of fuss over the fact that Cleveland, after declining an invitation to attend a banquet given to Prince Henry |on the score of ill-Health, went duck-shooting the same day. There is, however, nothing in the affair that shows incomsistericy on the part of the ex-Presi- dent. It means merely that finding himself off his feed he went duck-shooting to recover his appetite. The defenders of Tillman are now comparing him to Andrew Jl_c_kspn, who was a good deal of a fighter in his time, but they forget that Jackson never made ’&; fool of himself, Fa blackguard, either. o ¥ 1902, N 4 AND STRIKING LULL HIM TO SLEEP fo— IRoressen.. , GENTRY MHIY ehoe s iy i @ [ S - PROFESSON THOMAS @, GENTRY OF PHILADELPHIA, WHO HAS THR GREATEST CLOCK COLLECTION IN THE WORLD, IN THE WINDING THEM, AND A FEW OFF HIS INTERESTING TIMEPIECES, ACT oF i HEN the grandfather of Thomas (. Gentry, supervising principal of the U. 8. Grant Hehool of Philadelphia, was a young benedict, living near Holmesbure, people determined the time of day largely from the sun’s position. A notch on the door jamb, across which would fall a shadow on clear days, indi- cated the hour of high noon. Clocks were luxuries, and luxuries were known to but few, homes. One day a Yankee peddler, with an amazing array of clocks in his wagon, induced Grandfather Gentry to take one on trial This clock, with its machinery of wood, now occuples an honored place in the home of Professor Gentry. Its correct- ness in Indicating time equals many of the best of modern make. But Gentry has not allowed that old prandfather's clock to suffice him. No doubt with the trite saying, “Time is money,” in mind, he has continued buy- ing, until now he has 225 clocks in his Lome. They are of all sorts and sizes, young clocks and very old ones, native and foreign. Professor Gentry is not a “crank” ex- cept on clocks. As an author of several books, chiefly on bird life, and as a col- lector of minerals, he is well known among speclalists. One of his works, “Nests and Eggs of Birds of the United States,” has sixty-two colored plates. His wonderful collection of clocks dis- closes rare taste and wisdom—not a hap- hazard lot. 'These have been gathered 1rom high-class stores, smaller stores and sunk shops, Not the place but the article hLas decided the purchase. On the second floor in the rear s his large library, where his literary work is done, Here, tlcking away and striking the hours, are about seventy-five clodlks— enough to distract the average mind bent upon study. Perhaps the most notable clock is one that requires winding but oncea in 400 days, It 18 small and would not attract atten- tion in a collection on sale in one of our best stores. Covered with a glass globe, it attends strictly to business for the yeriod stated, having received its energy from the winding just before midnight on last New Year's eve. Then comes a choice collection Japanese manufacture. One of these dates back 200 years. No dial appears. An upright slot, with Japanese figures at the side to represent the hours, and an indicator rising for twelve hours and then falling for a like period, supply the place of a dial. Some of these Japanese clocks require winding twice each day; the oth- ers but once in twenty-four hours. They have many interesting features, viz., sec- ond hands represented as butterflles or scissors, etc. Now we come to the Napoleon BEona- parte clock, which Head Salling Muster Jones of a United States vessel brought from St. Helena. This he presented to his son, who in turn gave it to Mr. Gen- try. A French make of the Louis XVI epoch is a beautiful plece of mechanism. A “Knight of Malta™” clock is notable, 2s is another timeplece with an elliptic spring requiring to be wound but once each month. Of night clocks, primarily intended for use in the sickroom, there are some ten varieties. An astronomical clock, hdving one very large dial, comprehending five smaller ones, Professor Gentry says, cannot be Guplicated. He has been offered five of —_ times its cost, but declines to part with Professor Cenry says that clock col- lecting is the outgrowth of his need for a change of labor following his daily re- turn from his school work. He declares that the change of ideas gives him need- ed rest of mind and body. It requires one hour and 'twenty-five riinutes each day to wind and adjust his clocks. This task he has reduced to a system, and apy other pe-son would per- haps need double that time to perform the work. There are clocks in practically every room of the house. Passing to his own sleeping apartment he remarked, ‘‘Here are forty-three clocks, and you may well wonder how a person can sleep."” Seven strike the hour, eight strike the alarm at 5 a. m., the hour at which the professor arises for the ‘day. - Two of them discourse music, one playing, “FHome, Sweet Home." An antlque clock, 125 years old, has flabaster columns supporting x%zl and works. In the parlor Is & . the, kandiwork of his son, Dr. Allen F. Gen- iry of West FPhiladelphia, who never verved an apprenticeship. It shows rare gentus in the maker. Then there is the Angelus and a col- lectiont of cuckoo clocks, also a grand- father’'s clock over 100 years old, marking time as well as any In the house. Of sun alals there are several, one of pewter Learing the date 1778. @ ivirieinlieiviriviniiiieiii e e O A. G. PLATT MAKES CERTAIN CAUSTIC CRITICISMS OF ASSESSOR .DODGE’S POLICY AND PUBLIC DUTY Contribution toa Controversy Which Is of Timely Interest to the Financial and the Busi- ness Communities and to Taxpayers of the City Generally. Assessor Washington Dodge and Alfred G. Platt have locked horns in a quarrel which is of timely and intense interest to the financial and business communities and to taxpayers generally. Fach of the disputants possesses the faculty of sar- castic retort, as the following contribution to the controversy by Mr, Platt will at- i SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 1002. Dr, Washington Dodge, City and County As- sensor, New City Hall—8ir: Having recelved from you an official létter, without bearing any date, but which reached me on the Sth ins 1 dexire to say, T would have replied sooner, but business of more importance occupled my time, The commypiention referred to reads as fol- ehe Office’ of the City and County Awsemsor. HAN FRANCISCO, — 4 1901, Mr. A. G, Platt—Denr 8ir: ' Having heard of cases in which firms have declined to.employ you, at your solicitation, to manage and wu- pervise tholr tax statements, I want to sy At this early day to you, do not waste any time In wuch efforts, for I have rule this year to deal with, or hi course with, principals only in such matters Very truly yours, WASHINGTON DODGE, lying to the first paragraph of your very M::;‘I,lr‘n:l note, 1 will dismiss It by saying je 18 ‘practically untrue. Invariably my seryv- fces are required, through personal acquaint- ance, client's recommendation, or bankers' ref- erence; and even if it were true, do you know of any law prohibiting’ the professional employ- ment of an accountant's eervices in correctly listing assessable property? ‘Thanking you for your unrequired, unsolicited and unappreclated advice “Not to waste my time,” etc., allow me to say my time is my own, employed as T choose and not subject to your official direction or criticism. In other Words, It is an unwarrantable presumption. The concluding sentence of your brief and in- solent letter states you have ‘‘established a rule this year to have intercourse yith principals only.” So far as this applies to making a sworn statement of property, it conforms to ar- ticle VI of the rules and regulations of the State Board of Equalfzation, which reads: “‘As- gessors must not accept returns or statements from agents for persons, When the persons themselves can be found in the county.” My cilents in the past have always made individual cath to the statements filed with you, and have in many instances been per- sonally examined thereto, but the words in your letter, ‘“principals enty,” would impiy that it 1s your intention to debar a taxpayer from having the benefit of the advice of his accountant or attorney when requested to at- tend a “'star chamber inquiry” at your office. It is open to question whether the law confers on you any such power, and I am perfectly willing to make a test case of your own se- lection, providing my client will submit to the notoriety and annoyance. As well might the Colléctor of this port, who attends to the Fed- eral revenues, object to a custom-house agent making an _entry of goods on behalt of his client. An eminent writer in a recent magazine says: ‘“There is no need to state in words that harm may result if a public officer is permitted to make his own laws and rules for the transaction of public business under his charge.” | Now a word or two as to the methods adopi- ed by you in making assessments of personal property. 1 am aware you have often stated to several merchants that by complying with your subpoena and attending alone, in propria persona, they will recelve from you falr and impartial/ treatment, but results, I regret to do not bear out your statement. Your only, and I would ask if you, or your ties, have ever informed a merchant importer of his legal rights in regard to merchand imported by him remaining in his warehou in unbroken packages, or inquired If the mer- chandise account, as shown by his books, con- tains any goods in transit and not arrived, possibly debited as soon as involee or bill of Inding has been received, and, therefore, not within your jurisidiction to assess, And, agaln, taxpayers are asked to make & specific declaration as to money in bank, other than savings bank, which heretofors you have askessed as such, without any offset, whereas article XII of the rules and regulations of the Htate Board of Equalization reads: “'Care should be taken #o as not to assess money deposited with banks or banking in- stitutions as money, but much property must be assessed to the owners as solvent credits,’ thereby conforming to section 3617, Political Code. And while on the subject of solvent credits, allow me to call your attention to article XI supra, which says: “In the case of unsecured credits the same should be assessed at theig reul value, which may, in many instances, be less than their par value.” Ignoring this instruction the method adopted by you, as Assessor, 18 to have stated the gross amount of credits, deducting therefrom- the Rona fide debts, owing to residents of this State, and assess the balance; whereas, you are told asses the solvent credits at their real (not bouk) value, and deduet therefrom the debts as afore- said. THs makes a vital difference in favor of the taxpayer, a fact of which you are doubt- less well aware. It may be taken for granted that most-mer- chants are altogether too much occupied with their daily business affairs to make a study of the revenue laws affecting their interests, but the law does not contemplate that they shall suffer thereby, consequently it is optional with them to engage competent professional advice 1f they choose o to do, especially as the requi- site Information as to their legal rights and o‘flfllell is not vouchsafed to them through your office. \ ‘While I contend that you, in'your official ca- pacity, have no authority to dictate what my business shall be, or how I shall employ my timo as a private citizen, it is altogether a dif- ferent matter with e you have been elected to a public of 1 grant you that a large amount of personal property escapes assessment, which rightfully should be assessed, and Im this conmection I quote from article XXIX, wherein the State Board of Equalization instruct Assessofs to personally attend to supervising and fixing the different valuations, but I beg to suggest this cannot be done by giving only a few hourg’ at- tendance of each day during the months from March to June of each year, If you are (as you claim) exceedingl: r- ous of relieving the small 'mfln:ty.m portion of his taxes and increasing the assess- ments of the wealthier class, let me ask you why you did not place on the personal property to the extent of several mil- lion dollars belonging to the estates of deced- 1t e, ents, after being ordered to do so by resolutions of the Board of Supervisors? You will doubt- less recollect the City and County Attorney, whose' consent was necessary, was willing it should be done. One other matter in conclusion: When I was engaged in an advisory capacity to the Committee on Personal Property Assessments during the year 1809, I showed you an advance copy of my report, which I subsequently filed with the Board of Supervisors. This cour- | tesy T extended to you for your personal Infor- mation at your request, but I afterward div- covered that you made use of ft (without per- mission) by filing a supplemental report a few days In advance of raine, vide Municipal Re- page 234, and appendix page 279, 1 have herstofore refrained from expressing my deep obligation to you for thus anticipating and making use of my report and figures, A though somewhat lato in the day, I bej to do wo &t this opporttnity—with thanks. Yours truly, ALFRED G, PLATT. PERSONAL MENTION. Herman Lesser has left for the East. J. Sloat Fassett of New York ls at the Palace. J. E. Terry of Sacramento Is at the Palace. Dr. A. H. Sweeney of Fresno is at the Grand. W. D. Tillotson, a Redding capitalist, is at the Grand. W. F. Knox, an attorney of Sacramen- to, is at the Lick. General N. P. Chipman of Red Biur is at the Occldental. C. R. Eagan, a contractor of Los An- geles, is at the Lick. Former State Senator B. F. Langford of Lodi is at the Lick. ‘W. H. Holabird, a real estate dealer of Los Angeles, is at the Palace. Gordon Drysdale, a dry goods merchant of,Vancouver, B. C., is at the Grand. H. O. Fox, a promMent business man of Detroit, Mich., is at the California. C. B. Dewees of the Continental Fruit Express Company in Los Angeles is at the Palace. C. E. Bigelow, a capitalist of Santa Barbara. is at the Palace, accompanic | by his wife. E. A. Davis, Superior Judge of Yuba and Sutter counties, is spending a few days in the city accompanied by his wife. —_— } Ex. strong hoarhound candy. Townsend's.* ——————— " Cal. glace fruit §0c per Ib at Townsend's." ——— T‘:::,mx?d.. Californta glace fruits, 5)c a ui fire-etched boxes or Jap. b-:- ets. ‘A nice present for Eas 639 Market lt..’ Palace firotzx b"uur:uf:mé* EE i py e chrispnadbumen information supplied dally to Jusiness houses and publlc men by tho Press u (Allen's), 510 Monc- somm?“dr:;h‘n.lugm )