The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 24, 1902, Page 4

4 {HE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1902. Thes i Call. MONDAY.....cc0cce00000,. NOVEMBER 24, 1902 JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Propriclor. B e Address All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Manager i S s s S TELEPHONE. Lsk for THE CALL. The Operator 1.ill Connect You Witk t-e Department You Wish. {'UBLICATION OFFICE...Market and Third, S. F. ‘DITORIAL ROOMS. 217 to 221 Stevemson St. Delivered by Carriers, 15 Cents Per Week. Single Copies, 5 Cents. Terms by Mail, Including Postage: DAILY CALL (including Sundey), One year. DAILY CALL (incluing Sunda:), § ‘months. DAILY CALL (including Sunday), 3 months. All Postmasters are wuthorized to receive subscriptions. Sample coples will be forwarded when requested. Mafl subscribers in ordering change of address should be particuler to give both NEW AND OLD ADDRESS in order 10 ineure & prompt and correct compliance with their request. OAKLAND OFFICE. eeeesss.1118 Broadway C. GEORGE KROGNESS, Manege: Foreign Advertising, Marquette Building, (Long Distance Telephone “‘Central 2619. NEW YORK REPRESENTATIVE: STEPHEN B. SMITH + .30 Tribune NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT: ©C. C. CARLTO! +++.Herald Square NEW YORK NEWS STANDS: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel: A. Brentano, 31 Union Square; Murray Hill Hotel; Fifth-avenue Hotel, and Hoffman House. Obisage. Building CHICAGO NEWS STANDS: Sherman House; P. 0. News Co.; Great Northern Hotel; Fremont House; Auditoriom Hotel; Palmer House. BRANCH OFFICES—S527 Montgomery, corner of Clay, opea unti] 9:30 o'clock. 300 Hayes, open until 9:30 o'clock. , 633 McAllister, «pen until 8:80 o’clock. 615 Larkin, open until $:30 o'clock. 1941 Missiofi, open until 10 o'clock. 2261 Market, corner Bixteenth, open until ® o'clock. 1098 Va- lencie, open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh, open until 9 c'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second and Kentucky, open until ® o'clock. 2200 Fillmore, open until ® p. m. = BANKERS AND PLUNGERS. DECIDEDLY better tone developed in New A\'urk last week and imparted a sympathetic eling of confidence to the country at large. While such flurries as Wall street has lately been passing through are distinct from legitimate trade, such as merchandising, they necessarily affect it more or less, especially if the flurry be of a bear character. Wall street is generally considered the indicating hand of the financial barometer, and the country watches its forward and backward move- ments across the dial of commerce just as the navi- | gator watches the indicator of his glass. Hence, when the stock market brightened up last week trade at once felt the beneficial infiuence thereof. Consummated liquidation was probably the cause of the improved feeling in Wall street. For several weeks the great-banks, tired of seeing the stable business of the country beirig steadily undermined by overcapitalization of gigantic syndicates, bigger at the top than at the bottom, like balloons, and whose | millions and millions of unsold shares were hanging over the markets like a cloud, to say nothing ‘of hundreds of smaller but equally overcapitalized con- cerns already hatched or in process of incubation, and apprehensive of possible consequences later on, have been calling these unwieldy concerns down. In this pruning and weeding process the usual banking { methods were employed. Loans were contracted, old | loans called in and new ones gingerly made, securities ' scrutinized and often coldly returned to the borrower, ; rates of interest advanced, quotations on the Stock | Exchange hammered back to where they belonged, | even though some reckless fingers were caught under | the hammer—these and other familiar methods were used to bring back the center of American finance to more stable conditions. The remedy was drastic, but it had to be drastic. The only way to stop a runaWay horse is to lariat him. The only way to stop, 2 financial plunger is to hammer his stock market. The result of this procedure on the part of the banks was very soon seen. Now the banks are once more loaning time money at moderate rates, which shows" that they regard the future as again settled, and they have withdrawn their cinch from the stock market and permitted it to pursue a natural and healthy re- action. The stream of money which flowed West some weeks ago to move the crops is now ebbing back, funds are flowing from the treasury back into circulation, loans are expanding and the readjusted mechanism is moving along with restored smooth- ness. The banks have done well, as they usually do. The week’s commercial reports were uniformly cheerful. Unseasonably mild weather interfered with the retail distribution of winter goods, but that hap- pens almost every year at this time. The railroads were tendered so much freight that they simply could not handle it, and the cry of insuffi;i_gnt rolling stock grew louder throughout the land. This car shortage is a serious matter. It extends from California to Maine, and is cutting down trade statistics. In spite of it, however, the railroads report earnings thus far in November 5.9 per cent larger than for the corre- sponding perjod in 1901. The iron and steel trades, too, are reporting better conditions. Orders held back for months in expectation of easier prices are again being received, and premiums for prompt de- livery are increasing. The export trade is looking better than the preliminary reports foreshadowed. | High prices for farm products are restricting exporté in this line, but shipments of manufactured goods are large and in a measure offset this diminution. The mild weather, which is interfering with the retail trade in the North and West, is favoring a continued growth of the cotton crop, and a larger yield is thus | promised. The bank clearings for the week show a gain of 108 per cent over the corresponding week in 1901, and all important cities except St. Louis and Detroit show an increase, while the aggregate clear- ings soared up to $2,700,000,000, which is simply enormous. There is not much change in the staples. Sugar is higher, coffee is firm, rice is advancing owing to crop shortages in several important producing regions, provisions are slowly receding from the recent ex-: tremely high-price levels, wool is firm and hides and leather show little variation, though stocks of the former are increasing. Farm and orchard products in California are generally high and in brisk demand. The season thus far is all that could be desired, and | the influx of small homeseekers from the Western States is the greatest seen since the gold days. If it keeps up very long the great ranches of the State will be cut up into cozy farms long before the most san- guine have heretofore anticipated. As far as all signs go business is still all right. ' A NEED OF THE TIME. ENATOR DEPEW, in a recent address before S the Board of Trade of Springfield, Mass., re- viewed the result of the elections and the re- sponsibilities which’ success has imposed upon the Republican ‘majority in both houses of Congress. In doing so he did not overlook the urgent need of currency reform and other important matters of legis.- lation, but nevertheless gave particular emphasis to the requirements of our increasing commerce for an American merchant marine. The address was a timely one, for at this juncture in our affairs it is well nigh imperative that something be done to rouse Congress to action on this impertant issue in our national life. The Senator spoke of the revival of our ocean mer- chant fleet as a siibject of “vital importance to us in our invasion of the markets of the world and the sale of our surplus in competition with Great Britain and Germany esi)ecizlly and France and Russia po- tentially.” The statement is hardly an exaggeration. An enlarged merchant marine is an essential element in the life of our growing commerce. Trade follows the flag of the merchant fleet much more fully- than it follows the flag of military conquest or of colonization; and at the present time, when we have S0 vast a sufplus of products seeking foreign imarkets, we have but a scant shipping service to open new markets, or gven to find the way to old ones. In speaking of the existing conditions the Senator said: “Our deep-sea mercantile marine has fallen off one-third in the last thirty years, and is constantly diminishing. . We ‘are enlarging our navy and ‘de- pleting our merchant ships. This process goes on in France, because France has little foreign com- merce; and that not increasing. Our foreign com- merce, on the other hand, is increasing by.leaps and bounds, but it is practically wholly in the hands and under the flag of our commercial rivals. We pay to them two hundred millions of dollars a year in | freight.” Bad as the situation is to-day, it will be worse in the future unless something be done to increase our merchant fleet and to.enable it to compete on an equality with the fleets of other nations. The con- struction of an isthmian canal is now assured. Are we to construct it for the benefit of our rivals or for our own benefit? If we have but one ship where Great Britain and Germany have ten, how are we.to profit-by it? : Differences of opinion exist as to the means by which our shipping is to be built up, but such differ- ences should not stand forever as a bar to progress. On that phase of the question the Senator said: “By some process the cost of construction and the Bpera- tion of ships 4@ Americans as against foreign owners | and masters should be equalized, so that American goods will be carried in American bottoms and the Yankee skipper will be an advance agent of Yankee goods. If it can only-be done by subsidies, which at the maximum are a concrete bagatelle of $9,000,000 or $10,000,000, compaied with our other expenses for the army znd navy, rivers and harbors, pensions, etc., then 1 am in favor of subsidies. But I want the enemies of subsidies to propose some practical plan for the rehabilitation of the American mercantile ma- rine. Abstract principles, as with the tariff and free trade, must not stand in the way or bar the progress of American development and of our legitimate po- sition upon the high seas and in the ports of the world.” Over and over again the Republican party has given pledges to enact legislation designed to promote our ocean-going merchant service, and surely with 6ur rapidly expanding foreign trade it is now high time that the pledges were fulfilled. Trade follows the flag, and we ought to have our flag borne by American ships over every sea and into every market on the globe. " — The local police have started to rid the Hall of Jus- tice of the legal parasites which infest the place. ‘While this may not be as difficult an undertaking as driving the money-changers from the temple, it sug- gests something more strenuous than the eradication of sewer rats. O problems of the world politics of to-day is that of the future of Morocco. The country is occupied by one of those peoples’'whom Lord Salis- bury described as “decadent nations,” whose decay is injurious to the welfare of sound nations by rea- son of their proximity and the relations which neces- sarily exist between them. The interests of civiliza- tion demand that something be done to establish law and peace in Morocco in order that its resources may be developed and full profit be made of its many potencies for industry and commerce. That much is conceded by diplomats and states- men of all European nations, but out of the agree- ment arises the delicate question which of the strong nations is to be deputed to undertake the ‘“white man’s burden” of redeeming Morocco. | Britain, Germany, France and Italy are each quite willing to assume the responsibility. As a matter of fact each of them is eager to do it, for the strategic position of Morocco with respect to the Mediterranean is of the highest value. Recent changes and improvements in warships and in artillery have largely discounted the TO APPEASE FRANCE. NE of the most interesting of the many old-time dominance of Gibraltar over the straits be- | tween the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and it is believed that a good, strongly fortified harbor on the African coast would be more than an offset for the huge old rock from which the British flag flies. Such being' the case, the possessipn of Morocco by a strong power would mean something more than control of the country itself, and hence the wide and deep interest in the future of the territory. 4 For a long time it has been supposed that British interests would be more seriously impaired by a French occupation of Morocco than by an occupa- tion by any other power. Recently, however, there has grown up a different opinion in London, and it is now proposed that Great Britain shall unreserv- edly concede Morocco to France on condition that France withdraw from Newfoundland and surrender all her claims upon Egypt and the Nile territory. In other words, there is to be a further partition of the world among the great powers and a new basis for permanent peace. h Just how far Great Britain has a right to trade Morocco for certain lands in the possession of Frarice is a question for academic debate. It wjll not in any way affect the minds of the statesmen who are sup- posed to be contemplating the deal. France has very little use for her bit of the Newfoundland shore, for her deep sea fishing industry has been reduced to but a small matter. She holds to her Newfoundland rights more from jingo sentiment than from any industrial or commercial considerations. = Equally valueless are her claims in Egypt and along the Up- per Nile. She would make a big bargain should she get Morocco in exchange for such shadowy preten- 1 sions, for control of that territor would round out | face of fate in trying to find out. 1 her African possessions into the dimensions and im- portance of a true empire. On the other hand Brit- ain would lose nothing by giving Morocco away, for Morocco does not belong to her and is not at all likely ever to belong to her. !, We have here, then, a new scheme.of partition on a large scale, and a new effort on the part of the British to appease their European rivals and make friends for themselves by skillful use of the very things that threaten to be “bones of contention.” | Reports are already current of an arrangement with Germany for the settlement of South Africa, so the report of the Morocco deal with France is not in- credible. Perhaps we shall in the end Hear of an agreement with Russia for the division of -Asia, and then the British empire will be able to go about its work in peace, T —— And now they say that Uncle Sam is trying to steal a part of Canada. Some of these days we will have the whole place, and even Canada won't say that we caught her with any larcenous purpose. She will bestow herself upon us. A VIRGINIAN EXEMPLAR. ANY a year has passed since Virginia fur- M nished the nation, and the people with a 3 statesman of the ideal type—a man who could be held ap before the world as an exemplar of re- publican virtue, a model for youth to follow. She has now, however, presented a new illustration of her old | renewn as the mother of noble men. One of her can- didates for Congress, William F. Rhea, has startled the professional politicians of the time by declaring that he will not accept a seat in Congress should it be shown that his opponent received a larger number of votes, not even if under a strict but indisputably legal construction of the law some of the votes for his opponent must be rejected because of technical vio- lations of the election act. . : It appears that in his district (the Ninth) the elec- tion officers threw out a good many ballots on techni- cal grounds. The result gave him a majority on the returns sent up to the State Board of Canvassers. | Upon that showing he has made a public statement, | in the course of which he says: “While I am sure that the Board of Commissioners in each . of said counties were perfectly honest and conscientious in their belief that said returns should be rejected be- cause of legal technicalities, and that they had no legal right to count said vote, yet I believe that the votes at the two precincts of Pattison and Mendota properly Gelong to my opponent, and would probably elect him and entitle him to-the certificate:- Thus be- lieving, if a certificate of election were issued to me by the State Board of Canvassers, based upon the ex- clusion of the precincts mentioned, I would decline to accept it.” WWhether that can be called straight politics is a question that professional politicians may debate. It will strike the average American as pretty straight manhood. It is hard to say what our political cam- paigns would be like if every candidate should regu- late his campaign and his conduct according to the standard set up by Mr. Rhea. It is certain, how- ever, they would be quite different from those to which we are accustomed. The practical objection to Mr. Rhea’s standard .is that it puts election officers in an awkward position. They are bound to enforce the technicalities as well as the spirit of the election act, and consequently must throw out of the count every ballot that has not been torrectly cast. ‘If now the candidates are to go hehind the returns and re- canvass the votes for themselves there will be trouble. Such considerations will not affect public judg- ment of Mr. Rhea’s course. It is so seldom we have in politics a man who insists upon absolute fairness to his competitor that prompt approval will be given to any man who sets a conspicuous example of such fairness, even if it appear to be a little bit fantastic and impracticable SOUTHERN CHILD LABOR. SHORT time ago the clubwomen of Massa- A chusetts received from the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs ‘an appeal for assistance in | putting an end to“the employment of children in Southern factories. The Georgia women named a number of mills 4n the South that are entirely con- trolled by Massachusetts capital in which some of the extreme cases of child labor are to be found, and they then went on to say: - “If your State Federation will only persuade mill owners to prohibit child labor in their own mills, and neither to 'do nor to allow to be done any lobbying against our bill in_ the South, much can be done toward curing the great child slav- ery evil.” The appeal has naturally ruffled Massachusetts. The Boston Globe says: “Of course charity begins at home, but this is rather a hard application of that truth.” Fortunately, reports from the South encour- age the belief that child labor in that section will soon be prohibited by Southern Legislatures whether the Northern mill owners like it or not. Public senti- ment has been strongly aroused on the subject, ald there are now bright prospects that one by one the Southern States will put an end to the evil. In a recent address on the sybject Mr. Wadlin of the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of Labor, after pointing out that of the total wage-earners in South Carolina nearly 18 per cent were under 16, 14.7 per cent in North Carolina, 7.6 per cent in Geor- gia and 6.6 per cent in Alabama, as against 2.5 per cent in Massachusetts, went on to say: ‘““At present it seems probable that a child-labor law will soon be passed in each of these States. The dominant pdtty in South Carolina has resolved in favor /of it; the press throughout these States is aiding the move- ment, and energetic work is going forward to or- ganize public opinion in its behalf. Many manufac- turers who oppose legislation do so not because they believe in child labor, but because they oppose the interference of the law at all. As such legislation has followed. the factory €verywhere else, however, it is likely to do so there.” Such reports are gratifying to the whole country. The South is rapidly working her way up to the level of the national standard of labor and is extending her manufacturing industries in every direction. The temptation to employ child labor is of course great, but’ public sentinent against it is increasing every- where. Within a time comparatively short this ves- tige of oM injustice may be abolished in that section as thoroughly as in the rest of the Union. ¢ 5 s ——— News reports of a game of football between two of the great Eastern college teams announced that no unnecessary savagery characterized the contest. In other words, nobody was maliciously murdered. The Crown Prince of Siam, who has been be- (trothed to a Japanése Princess, say he doesn’t know that he is engaged., Perhaps he is rushing in the L IMELVILLE'S PLA “THE PERSO HE Secretary ‘of the Navy and all the chiefs of the several bureaus unanimously agree that the navy requires more officers. The vessels now complete are 477 short and the ships which will be ready for service dur- ing the next four years will need 498 ad- ditional officers. During this latter period only 355 will probably graduate, and mak- ing an allowance of 160 for casualties and for the number required for shore duty, Rear Admiral Taylor finds that the short- age in July 1, 1906 will -amout to 1005, not including officers for auxiliaries required in the event of war. The reduction of the. term at the Naval Academy from four to three years does not help matters and e recommends ‘that the number of mid- shipmen be doubled, and further that the grade of lieutenant commanders be fin- creased from 170 to 200; lieutenants from 300 to 3% and junior lieutenants and en- slgns from 350 to 700. He further recom- mends that midshipmen may be promoted to ensigns after four years instead of after six years’ probation as the law now provides. These and other recommenda- ions, if carried into effect at once, would increase the corps of line officers, includ- ing midshipmen, from 1059 to 1557. The navy of Germany has at the present time 1416 officers, which by 1906 will be further increased to 1856, and as the two navies ere practically of the same number and character of ships, the increase of officers in our navy appears to be reasonable. Engineer-in-Chief George W. Meiville has another plan for the increase of officers which is likely to be seriously ~ considered by Congress, although it' is certain of strenuous opposition from the line corps of the navy. He suggests that graduates from the technological colleges be permitted. to compete for acting commissions in the navy; that the 'successful competitors be sent to the Naval Academy for one year, und after that for another year on board a modern warship for practical instruc- tiom. At the end of these two years’ pro- bation they are then to receive permanent commissions in the navy. He admits that they would not have that intimate knowledge of naval customs and tradi- tions that had been acquired by the Naval Academy graduates, but they would have a much more rounded educa- tion, since the requirements for entering the technological colleges are much high- er than those for ' entering the Naval Academy. Chief Melville contludes by asserting that “such a system of increas- ing the personnel would bring the service nearer the hearts of the peopie, for in the ccurse of a decade the alumni associa- ticns of every great university would have some of its representatives holding commissions in the line of the navy.” % -~ g Two armored cruisers have been de- signed by Philip Watts, Director of Naval Construction in the British navy. They are improvements on those now under construction in that they will carry the most formidable armament of any ar- mored cruiser yet bullt or planned. Their tornage, dimensions, horsepower and speed have not béen made public, but the chief characteristics are known to be as follows: They will have central citadels within which all the guns will be placed. The battery consists of six 9.2-inch guns, one forward and one aft in the citadel and one at each corner, and eight 6-inch quick-firers in bronfl\slde. The American ANSWERS TO QUERIES. ARITHMETIC—A Subscriber, City. This department does not answer questions in arithmetic nor problems. -ROOSEVELT — P., City. - Theodore Roosevelt was the unsuccessful candidate on the Republican ticket for Mayor of New York in 1886. TIDAL WAVE=-J." W. R., City. The great tidal wave in Japan, by which about 28,000 lives were lost, occurred on the 15th. of Fébruary, 1896. % KING OF BEASTS—Subscriber, City. The lion is called the king of beasts be- cause he is noted for the grandness of his nature and royal quality of mercy. UNION SQUARE THEATER-T. F. H., City. The Union Square Theater in New York was opened September 11, 1871. None of the biographies make rhention that Jenny Tind ever sang there. CASINO—Subscriber, City. In the game of casino if a dealer exposes a card in the last round, that is the round in which the cards are exhausted, he is compelled to take the exposed card and allow his ad- versary to take one of his. (the delin- quent’s) own unexposed cards, in ex- change for it. NONE SUCH COINED—J. C., Live Oak, Cal. The United States never coined “gold half-dollars.” Jewelers have issued tokens and marked them half and quarter dollars. Such are only worth face value. The smallest gold coin isued out of the TUnited States mints Wwere dollar pieces, first coined in 1849. HEARST—Reader, Cascade, Cal. W. R. Hearst was born n San Francisco in 1867. George Hearst, his father, was elected United States Senator January 19, 1887. His term commenced March 4, 1887. He died in Washington, D. C., February 23, 1891. Charles N. Felton was elected March 19, 1891, to succeed Hearst. THE VALLEY OF DEATH—A. H., City, There is, on the island of Java, a place known as ‘“‘the Valley of Death,” or “The Poison Valley.” It is said to be the most extraordinary example or an atmosphere laden with carbonic acid gas in exist- ence. It has never been fully :explored, because of the danger of remaining more than a few momerits in its poisonous at- mosphere. The valley is about thirty-five feet deep, oval shaped, with bottom hard and sandy, but without vegetation. No ‘craters or fissures are vistble on the floor of the.valley and it is thought that the openings, from which the gas flows to fill the valley, are at the base of the rocky hills surrounding. ARTESIAN WELLS-S. & A., City. If, in sinking an artesian well, the perfora- tion be through retentive rock into a wa- terlogged strata below, the moisture there contained will rise through the bore to a height depending upon the pressure of water which has accumulated in the confined space between two impervious veins. Whep, as often happens, especial- iy where the surface of the country is un- even, the vein of water yielding sand may run beneath the surface of the earth to a level far apove the point where the “boring has . been NEW ADVERTYSEMENTS KILL THE DANDRUFF GERM Or Your Hair Will Fall Out Till You 4 ' Become Bald. lodern science has dllco:]:e:;s:!n :’:.&Pdfié the hair's vitality, causing falling hair, and, ultimately. wb%mneu After Professor Unna, of Hamburg, Germany, discovered druff germ, all efforts to find remedy failed unu’}d the great laborato: e m; discovery was e _which . resulted Newbro's Herpicide. Tt preparation: alone, of all other s kills the dandruff germ. ‘Without dandruff, hair grows luxuriantly. “Det ““:,‘1' %ou remt:vf the ef. _ druggis Send 10 for sample to the Herpi- - NNEL L | | | i | g - ENGINEER IN CHIEF GEORGE w. MELVILLE, UNITED STATES NAVY. B —— armored cruisers Tennessee and Washing- ton, of which designs have recently been completed, will carry four 10-inch in two turrets and sixteen 6-inch In broadside. Contracts have been awarded by the British Admiralty for the construction of four scouts. The firms are the most prom- inent in the United Kingdom, being the Fairfield Company, at Glasgow; Lairds, Vickers & Elswick. The ships are guar- anteed to make a speed of 25% knots in sea-going trim. Two third-class cruisers, improvement on the Pelorus type, will shortly be given out by contract. They are 360 feet in length, 40 feet beam and displace 3000 tons on a mean draught of 14 feet 6 inches, at which they carry 300 tons of coal. The engines are to develop. 9300 horsepower under forced draught and 700 horsepower under natural draught, with correspond- ing speeds of 21% and 20 knots, and the armament is composed of twelve 4-inch quick-firers and eight 3-pounders. The British Admiralty’s plans of con- verting the Achilles into a torpedo depot ship has been abandoned and she will be sent to Malta, relieving the Hibernia, as guard ship. The latter was built in 1804 and was originally a ship-of-the-line of 104 guns, but has been located at Malta since 1850 as a stationary guard ship. The Hibernia is next to the Victory the oldest ship in the British navy. The only foreign built ship in govern- ment service in England is the small serew steamer Edgewater of $5 gross tons PERSONAL MENTION, ‘W. H. Kerr, a raisin man of Fresno, is at the Russ. Frank B. Conner of Santa Rosa is at the California. g Frank D.’ Nichol, an attorney of Stock- ton, is at the Lick. J. J. O'Rourke, a merchant of Colusa, is registered at the Grand. Dr.’J. J. Tully of Stockton is at the Grand, accompanied by his wife. D. Levy, a merchant of Williams, Cal., is among the arrivals at the Grand. Theodore Lyons, a manufacturing jew- eler of New York, is at the Grand. S. P. Porter, a well-known mining man of Tonopah, is a guest at the Occidental. Colonel C. C. Royce, mgnager of the Bidwell ranch at Chico, is at the Califor- nia. o E. R. McMahan, a well-known resident of Bakersfield, Is at the Russ, accompa- nied by his wife. @ il el @ made. Then the water will rise rapidly in the well to the surface of the earth and often higher, and will flow _continuously y hydrostatic pressure. One of the most famous artesian wells in the world is that at Grenelle, in the outskirts of Paris, France, where water is brought from the gault at a depth of 1798 feet. It yields 516 gallens of water a minute and is project- ed thirty-two feet above the surface. An- other well has been sunk in Pesth, which, at a depth of 3100 feet, yielded 175,000 gal- lons of water per day. - e S e —— N FOR INCREASING OF AMERICA'S NAVY built at Rondout, N. Y., In 1322, She wag recently purchased by the British Govern- mept to serve as a distilling ship and she more than fulfills the requirements. The contract stipulated for 25,000 gallons to bs distilled in twenty-four hours, and the trial developed 50,240 gallons. Her orgi. nary spéed is nine knots, which is reducedq to four knots whem at work condensing salt water into drinking water. The British torpedo-boat destroyer Ey. press, built by Laird’s, has been accepteq by the admiralty at a reduced rate of speed. The vessel was contracted for si years ago, but has failed to. develop t stipulated speed of 33 knots, never r. ing over 31 knots at her numerous The total amount of penalties for faj| in speed and delay in delivery foot up $104,000. During the recent steam tiial of the French armored cruiser Dupleix a steam pipe burst, seriously scalding" nine The cause assigned by M. Pelleta French Minister of Marine, for rescinding the contracts on three battleships was not, as claimed by the disappointed coy- tractors, that he was opposed to t class of vesséls, but solely with a view bringing the manufacturers of armor a other materials to reasonable terms. quoted figures ‘to show the emorm profits made since 189, and pointed how the United States had caused armor manufacturers to reduce their prices the simple threat of establishing a gov- ernment armor plant. Navy building in all countries, he claimed, received its impetus largely by people who had ship material to sell, and it was time that this fren- zled anxiety for naval armament was stopped so far as France was concerned. M. Pelletau is an eccentric character, but the Chamber supports him and he carries his measures by substantial majorities. Thus, for example, when the naval budget came up and M. Pelletau recommended that the appropriations for the ensuing year be placed at the same figures as for 1902 there was no opposition and the bud- get for the navy was not changed, sum of $61,359,747 being allowed. It is first time in French history that the ex penses of any one department have been unchanged from year to year. The eight-hour working day recently in- troduced in the dockyard of Toulon has given satisfactory results and will be at once extended to other dockyards of France. Two naval programmes are to be sub- mitted to the Spanish Cortes. One of these provides for 10 battleships, each of 13,000 tons; 6 to 10 cruisers, each of 3000 tons: § destroyers, éach of 240 tons; 32 torpedo- boats, each of 130 tons; 40 torpedo-boats, each of 40 to 70 tons, and 20 gunboats, each of 300 tons. The other programma gives about the same number of vessels, but differs as to the size of battleships, on which subject experts of the commission are unable to agree. Some want the larg- est ships of 14,000 tons, others contend for battleships of 8000 to 10,000 tons. The total cost of the new navy Is estimated at somewhere between $100,000,000 and $120,- 000,000 = dge A small harbor defense armor-clad is projected in the Norweglan navy on the plans of Admiral Sparre, Minister of Ma- rine. He proposes to have it built at the government yard and its cost will not ex- ceed $500,000. The vessel will carry one 8-inch and three §-inch guns in turrets on a displacement of about 2000 tons. L S e e ] ] A CHANCE TO SMILE. “Did you ever go anywhere on a yacht« ing cruise.” “No, ma’am, I am a teetotaler.”—Chi-~ cago Record-Herald. Lawyer—Your lover offers 400 marks in settlement of the breach of promise case. Client—I won’t settle for less than ‘300 marks; I get that amount every time.— Das Kleine Witzblatt. The doctor examined the patient care- fully, and with a grave face told him that he was very ill and asked him if he had consulted any one else. “Oh,” said the man, “I went to see a chemist and asked his advice, and he—"" “Chemist,” the doctor broke in angrily. “What was the good of that? The best thing to do when a chemist gives you ad- vice is to do exactly the oppesite.” “And he,” the patient continued, “ad- vised me to come to you."—Cassell's Journal. G ———— Prunes stuffed with apricots. Townsend's.* —_————— Some men return thanks béfore eating and then proceed to jaw about the cook- ing. e Townsend's California glace fruit and candles, 50c a pound, in artistic fire-etched boxes. A nice present for Eastern friends. 639 Market st., Palace Hotel building. * —_—— Special mmformation supplied daily to business houses and public men by tha Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s). 230 Call~ fornia street. Telephone Main-10i2. - + How Minna Hooven Trod o San Francisco’s Primrose | Path in “The Oclopus™ ! 66 HE OCTOPUS” IS NOW BEING PUBLISHED IN THE SUNDAY CALL ABSOLUTELY FREE. JUST THINK OF WHAT 1HAT S—THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL—FRANK NORRIS' MASTERPIECE OF CALIFORNIAN superstitions. As for instance: Through the terror of the might, 4 palaces. .+ And you get day Call. : a deep furor here in the West; m'bb]s," @ that list anywhere? \ “And that was their home-coming, the end of their bridal trip. that scene of robbery and murder, into this atmosphere of a man hunt organizing, armed horsemen silhouetted agaitist: the horizon, cases of rifles where wedding presents should have been, Annixter brought his young wife to be mistress of a home. at any moment be called upon to defend with his life.” ‘That was life in the country, with the fight of the wheat kings against the railroad juggexh’aln. _ e e Life in the city—in our own San Francisco—was never more masterfully depicted than in the installments to follow next.Sun- day, wherein pretty Minna Hooven treads the forbidden' primrose 5 whit:;:hmoflflahduefl bed as ‘write—and contrast is. t- ened by Mrs. Hooven’s search for her—a search vhim ll;r‘mm vation under the very shadow of LIFE—FREE. It is an offer never before equaled in journalism. Two-thirds Qf this great story has already been published in three editions, November 9, 16 and 23. If you haven’t read the first installments you will have to put in your orders at once ‘for The Sunday Call of those dates, for “The Octopus” is having a tremend- ous sale, for more reasons than one, the first of which is that it is'a story of such vivid, unexpected human contrasts. a No matter whether the scene is leid in San Francisco, or across the miles upon mjles of the Mussel Slough wheat flelds, there is | life—vital, pulsating life—with all its hopes and fears and weird I echoing with pistol shots, through alarms, he might the. brilliantly lighfed Nob- Hill masterpiece absolutely free with. The i;m- And now just read what is to follow: First—“The Gospal of - Judas Iscariot,” by Aaron Dvlgh’ttgkhln, which is the now re- ligious literary. sensation of - two continents. — and will ereate “The Leopard’; »» cThe Thir- teenth District,” “When Knighthood Was In Flowar & the play “The Gentleman From Indiana ©The Mississiopi ted Gold,” “The Turnpike House,” etc. Can you beat 3 i