The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 27, 1903, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY. APRIL PRIL 27, 1003. MONDAY.. " JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprielor. r Aca;u- All Communications to W. S. LEAKE, Mgncgz TELEPHONE. Ask for THE CALL. The Operator Will Connect You With the Department You Wish. Market and Third, 8. F. | PUBLICATION OFFICE. .217 to 221 Stevenson St. EDITORIAL ROOMS. Delivered by Carriers, 15 Cents Per Week. e Copies, 5 Cent Terms by Maill, Including Postage: | DAILY CALL (including Sunday), one yea ..86.00 DAILY CALL (including. Sunday), 6 months .- 8.00 | DAILY CALL (ncluding Sunday), 3 months 8 DAILY CALL—By Single Month ; . 85 SUNDAY CALL, One Year . 1.80 WEEKLY CALL, One Year . 1.00 All Postmasters are authorized to receive subscriptions. Sample coples will be forwarfed when requested. subscribers in ordering change of sddress should be to give both NEW AND OLD ADDRESS in order re & prompt and correct compliance with their request. | OAKLAND OFFICE. 1118 Broadway.. ..Telephone Main 1083 TOFFICE. ......... Telephone North 77 | 2148 C. GEORGE XROGNESS, Manager Foreign Adver- tising, Marquette Building, Chicago, (Long D “*Centr L") NEW YORK- RE NTATIV! STEPHEN B. SMITH. 30 Tribune Building NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT: €. C. CARLTON. .. Herald Square ance Telephone | NEW YORK NEWS STANDS: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; A. Brentano, 31 Union Squa Murray Hill Hotel; Fifth-avenue Hotel and Hoffman House. CHICAGO NEWS STANDS: Sherman House; P. O. News Co.: Great Northern Hotel: Tremont se; Auditorium Hotel; Palmer House. WASHING (D. C.) OFFICE...1406 G St., MORTO . CRANE, Correspondent. BRANCH OFFICES—327 Montgomery, corner of Clay, open 1 9:80 o'clock. 800 Hayes, open until 9:30 o'clock. 633 cAllister, open until 9:30 o'clock. 615 Larkin, open until 930 o 1941 Mission, open until 10 o'clock. 2261 M corner Sixteenth, open untfl § o'clock. 1096 Va- | e open untll § o'clock. 108 Eleventh, open until 9 | NW. corner Twenty-second and Kentucky, open ck. 2200 Fillmore, open until 9 p. m. cia. TRADE STILL NORMAL. T week was another quiet week in trade, with any distinguishing feature. The bank yrings of the country showed a loss of 19.7 \ the corresponding week in rings of $2,156,000,000, which The country outside of New York The failures showed a gain of 6.4 per cent 212 last year. There was some com- and some lines reported The retail trade wals were being requested ted more agtive, in sympathy with improved the wholesalers reported business below months the year, with large buyers committing themselves. Evidently the iasing as freely as during the past This is especially of the textile and y wires from Chicago call attention to act that the large packers are standing under the et to prevent a decline in pork products :md‘ of the case with footwear trades ile the slow-going conservative tradesm out of n e country, who scldom if ever spe eir own immediate lines, are reporting business on ole quieter than it has been, J. Pierpont Mor- rs who are handling immense say that the country is still 1 publicly wave of prosperity and that it will As for the bank- But ues comparatively quiet, as far as an be called quiet. Tt is a mat- atification to many that the mar- | has bee rom serious disturbances during | t few months, considering the enormous place since last fall ge quantity of “undigested securi- f underwriting syndicates, and the to get rid of them, but the public| or ghe time being. They will ried until somebody wants to buy them. Morgan and his ociates say that there is fio over- apply of them and that they will all be wanted before ng, but ii they are they will be found “for sale” | 1t the same. Meanwhile the banks will not sanction | sy further underwriting on such a gigantic scale. | The feature of the week was the rapid rise in silver, due to the large purchases by the Government for | coinage into pesos for the Philippines under the act | oviding for a coinage of 75,000,000 pesos besides a | ntity of smaller coins. The white metal has ac- | ordingly enjoyed a boom such as it has not known some years. The staples exhibit no particular change. The/ woolen and cotton mills are not overburdened with | orders at present, nor are the New England footwear | mills obliged to run ni%hts to keep pace with their ! orders, though hides have lately been hardening in he West. The markét for pig iron is reported easy, with buyers backward and trying to obtain conces- ons. Railway earnings continue large and consid- crably ahead of last year at this time, but there is not } the complaint of car shortage that existed then. Zithes there is less freight being offered the com- panies or there are more cars. Probably both con- ise and g so free has taken f this focd f ditions exist. On this coast the noteworthy changes at present | re weak and declining markets for all grains as the | cw crop draws nearer, a shortage in and firm markets | r all feeds, inclu@ing hay, which is in brisk demand! 1 over the coast; weakening quotations for live stock. ‘ ue to increasing shipments of cattle and sheep into | market; a good demand for wool, a fair movement in | and a good all-around movement in gen- | 2l merchandise. There are no large failures to ren- i cr us suspicious, and collections are fully up to the | ormal, while the supply of available funds is fully | as good as at any time within the past four or five Prosperity is still with us. e e i Cars. Commenting upon the apathy of the people of New YV ork in matters of politics, the correspondent of the | Boston Globe says: “The public doesn’t care a rap or politics until the morning of election, and a good any do not care even then. It is all very well to end that voting can be controlled. It cannot. When a man can buy a2 nomination in a district abso- lutely certain for $25,000, what is the use of pretense at an honest expression of the popular will?”. The statement is all right, but who is the man that bought the sure thing so cheap? | German-speaking peoples into the empire? W i to Prince Henry a side show. L will go to Washington, consult the Department of PAN-LATINISM. F “Pan-Germanism” and “Pan-Slavism” the world hears a great deal and gives attention to what it hears. In fact, when no new move- ment among either Slavs or Germans has taken place a large variety of theories is put forward to explain why nothing is doing. It appears the public demands news to gratify its curiosity on the subject, and when there is no news it becomes necessary to invent some. Such being the degree of curiosity and inter- .t in the Germanic and Slav aspirations for unity, it is strange that so little attention is given to similar movements to bring about a unity of the Latin peo- ples . When the first Pan-Latin Congress was announced considerable discussion followed as to its purposes | and probable results. Before it assembled, however, popular attention was - distracted to something else, | and the meeting, though held in old" Madrid, backed by France and attended by a considerable number of | delegates from various South American countries, received hardly so much as a casual mention in the | dispatches of the time. The second congress of the | kind, which has just held its sessions at Rome, has been even more unfortunate. More space has been | | | { 1 freely and sausage will be not less familiar than it was given in the news of the day to mere rumors and tattle of Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism than to the proceedings of what appears to have been a nota- | ble gathering of representatives of the Latin race. Such reports as come to us announce that the dele- gations at the congress represented upward of 163, 000,000 people. The nations represented are France, | Spain, Italy, Portugal, various Balkan states z\n(l‘ every country in Central and South America with | the exception of Argentina. Even that exception, | | however, hardly counts, for on the opening day the Argentine Minister at Rome sent to the president a telegram from his Government announcing that Ar- gentina would accept all the decisions of the con- gress. One reason for the comparative indifference to the Pan-Latin movement is to be found in the fact that Pan-Germanism and Pan- “urope. Pan-Latinism carries no menace to any nation. In welcoming the congress to Rome Signor Nasi, Ital- jan Minister of Public Instruction, stated that the | object of the congress is “not to provide for aggres- | | it does not threaten war. Slavism are supposed to menace the peace of | sion upon other races, but to defend the Latin world | inst the advance of other péoples wishing to con- | quer the globe.” Other speakers followed along (I\(‘f 1e lines, and it may ke taken for granted that thus r, at a rate, the movement has no other intent | than that of conserving trade and industry among Latin peoples by the establishment of some kind of | a union of sentiment among them in all parts of the world. The various movements for racial unity are among | It seems not | the most significant signs of the time. improbable that within the next fifty years racial aspirations wiil be more potent than national patriot- | isms. The man who boasts of being a German will | mean that he is of German blood rather than that | he is of the German nation. Of course, along with | the development of the sense of racial unity there will It is that fact that | come a desire for political unity. alarms all Europe at the thought of Pan-Germanism | or Pan-Slavism. Conceding that the German Gov- | ernment itself has no designs upon Austria, who can say that the force which in the past was powerful | enough to form a united North Germany out of divided states and principalities may not be able ere long to force a war for the purpose of bringing all | All tendencies of the time are toward larger and larger units, whether industrial or political. It is an era of giant empires and the development of racial | instincts will have a tendency to expand their growth. Nor can an ethical reason be given for opposing the aspirations of any race to unite itself as a political en- tity among the nations of the earth. The Latin races have a peculiar need for developing the new bond of sympathy, for of late years they have been falling behind in the struggle for supremacy. Against a| m and Pan-Germanism, and pos- sibly a union of all the Anglo-Saxons, it is essential | that the Latins take steps for mutual support. The Roman congress, therefore, merits more attention | than it received. It is significant of a movement that | means much for the world. A high German authority has had the unkindness to make the bald asscrtion that Americans are very Alaska patience, take lawless in He should possess -his soul in trip to Modoc County and endow the world with a new inferno. OUR GERMAN VISITORS. HEN the delegation of expert farmers sent by the German Agricultural Society to study the rural industries of the United States arrive in this country they will have a great time. They have talked much among themselves in their homes about the “American invasion,” and have persuaded themselves that the American farmer is an aggressive creature, riding a hay rake for sport and seeking to drive the machine rough shod over all Europe. They will find him a genial and quiet citi- zen, with a fondness for politics and hospitality. The visiting expert will not have to share the politics, but he will find the hospitality pressed upon him with a vigor that will make him think the reception given i We have been told that the delegates left Germany provided with a book of information concerning the | curious country they are coming to visit. The book informed them that they must expect to wear on or- dinary occasions “light trousers, a leather belt and a short, light jacket”; that all business visits in Amer- ica, even by “high persons,” are made “in traveling suits,” and that only at “festival dinners” are evening clothes worn. Finally, they have been advised to bring their cigars with them, as in this country they “cannot buy anything smokable under 10 cents.” Thus instructed and informed, and doubtless sup- plied with funds and cigars by the Agricultural So- ciety, they are goming to spend two months with us, during which time they expect to study our farming systems from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. The capacity of a German for study is higher than that of any other kind of man, and it is but fair to assume that the men chosen to make this study have a higher capacity than the average of their country- men. . Consequently there will be no failure on our part to recognize their worth or their merit; but, nevertheless, it is a foregone conclusion that they will not:make a scientific study of American farming in two months. They may be eager and they may be carnest, but they cannot accomplish the work in that time. It would take them two months to see what California alone has to show them, and as for mak- ing a study in that time of American agriculture as a whdle it is simply impossible. It is safe to say that after the delegates have pro- vided themselves with “American clothes,” and duly paid the customs duty on their imported cigars, they F | come into office a set of prosecuting officers who are Agriculture, pack up an assorted lot of agricukunl! reports, and then start out on a junket. From that time on their journey will be the biggest thing in their lives. The United States will be theirs. They will find millions of people who can talk to them.in ireely and sausage will be not less familiar than it was wrestling with ours. Beer will flow around them in the fatherland. In fact, they will be feasted and made to feel at home. They may not learn all about our farming, but they will learn that the American farmer is a hospitable hayseed and has a hearty wel- come for every one who comes across the continent this summer in light trousers with a leather belt, smoking a German cigar and showing an appetite for festival dinners. . e e It is feared that the battleship Maine is structurally weak and may be dangerously unfit for service. This fear excites no unusual remark except for the fact that the Maine seems to be a type of American war- ships which are now being constructed to harass our national pride. THE MISSOURI DISCLOSURES. OLLOWING so closely upon the municipal scandals in St. Louis, the disclosures of cor- ruption in the Missouri Legislature tend to im- press the public mind with a conviction that Mis- souri is about the worst State in the Union. The impression, however, is by no means a fair one. The fact is that in St. Louis and in Missouri there have resolved to do their duty no matter what happens. Were similar prosecutions undertaken with an equal vigor in other States it is quite probable the Mis- souri politicians would have a good deal of congenial company in their tours abroad. The winter in the East has been as full of rumors and charges of corruption as it was of blizzards and snowstorms. In Delaware such charges were made so specifically it is hard to see how the authorities were able to treat them with “silent contempt” and ignore the evidence on which they were based. In| the New England States the situation has be=n just as bad as in Delaware, while New York and Pennsyl- i vania have, as usual, managed to hold in that, as in other things, an easy supremacy over the less imperial States. Missouri, in fac cleaning and is making a public exhibition of the soiled linen of politics that in other States has been left hidden in the back closets of the house, out of sight of the public. For this work she deserves con- | gratulation rather than condemnation. Bad as are the effects at present, and evil as is the reputation she has acquired, she is going to reap big benefits from it later on. The disclosures and the prosecutions come at a very opportune time. St. Louis is getting ready for a world’s exposition, and therc will be big tempta- tions to dishonest men to make private profits out of money voted for the fair. With the present search- light turned upon the sources of corruption, however, it is not likely that men will yield to temptation so easily as they would have done had there been no vigor in the prosecution. Missouri, therefore, is all right. Her politicians are no worse than those of some other States, while her prosecuting attorneys are much better. e et is engaged in a process of house- The Southern Pacific Company seems to have won the palm for the invention of the most extraordinary excuse (o evade responsibility forra train wreck. In a suit for damages recently tried the company won the case by accusing a cloudburst and fixing blame upon it. MORMON MISSIONARIES. HILE all countries are denying to China the right to exclude missionaries, it is interest- ing that Germany claims the right to expel the Mormon missionaries who are working in that country. There are 235 American Mormon mission- aries now working among the Germans and the Kaiser orders them all to leave, using the authorities of the kingdom of Prussia and of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg as instruments of the expulsion. The reason given is that the Mormons are propa- gating a faith that is incompatible with the laws of the state. But in this country the Mormons are citi- zens, and, except as to polygamy, there is no oppo- sition to their creed except such as originates in the prejudice of all religious sects against each other. Their essential declaration of faith is not held to be inconsistent with good American citizenship. But Germany holds that public authority is endangered by permitting Mormonism to be preached. China held the same position as to the German missionaries who penetrated the Middle Kingdom, but Germany was ready to follow them with an army and support their preaching by making war. Just why China has less rights in respect to missionaries than Germany has is not explained. There is every evidence that Christianity, as preached by the Ger- man and other missionaries, is destructive of the civil authority of the Chinese Government, and yet the western nations deny to China the right to pro- tect herself from strange doctrines. There may be some interesting diplomatic ex- changes and Congressional inquiries over this ex- pulsion of American missionaries from Germany. One of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon, church is now a member of the Senate, and is not likely to be indifferent to the treatment of his co-religionists. | When Apostle Smoot takes the matter up there will | be a fine opportunity for a sensational discussion of the whole missionary business The number of aspirants for the Democratic nom- | ination for the Presidency next year is about equal to the number of factions in the party, but as yet only one man has a Vice Presidential boom. He is | the Hon. Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts, and it is | said his boom has a coupling that can be readily | adjusted to any Presidential boom now in sight with J the sole exception of that of Mr. Olney. s S | To a Sausalito man belongs the palm of having ' devised a defense which for daring originality merits almost the plane of genius. When accused of trying | to shoot a neighbor into eternity this ingenious de- | fendant made reply that the gun with which he | threatened was not loaded. | D R The family of President Roosevelt has given an- ‘other illustration of its thorough Americanism and of its fidelity to the traditions which help to make all American fampilies one. Two of the Roosevelt children have that glorious privilege of American childhood—the measles. | S con e | Several daring counterfeiters of this city areI pleading that a continued residence in jail will re-! sult in serious sickness to them. The Federal officials are uncharitable enough to persist in planning a campaign which will insure to the accused a long life of permanent ill health, | 27, 1903, CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR UNION PLA ION a2 g i ' ZZE 5 | ALY | ooz DIEECTE, e AN DIEGO, April 26.—Both the State and local committees of the S Christian Endeavor Union are busy sending out literature calling attention to the fact that the State convention of the organization is to be held in San Diego and that great preparations are already being made here to entertain the largest gathering of Endeavorers that has ever been held in this portion of the State. This State convention is a called mass meeting of all the organizations engaged in Christian Endeavor work in the State and every member of every Christian En- deavor Society in the State is entitled to sit as a delegate. The purpose of the gathering Is to bring the young people ot the State together for consultation in the cause of Christianity. Present indications are that the attendance will be very large and the partlally prepared programme in- dicates that a great deal of work is planned for the varlous sessions. Speakers and workers of national im- portance, al well as the leaders in the State, will be present and participate in the discussions, glving the results of their many years of experience in the work. While miost all of the arrangements for the gathering are left in the hands of the local committee, the State commitiee re- serveg to itself the important work of arranging the programme. It has just is- sued’ a provisional pro nme, which gives a good idea of the scope of the work which it is planned to cover at the gath- ering. The big meeting will open on Wednes- day evening, June 3, at the convention service by the under the leader- The convention State Presi- The address on the part of the ¢ity will be de- livered by Mayor Frary, and the welcome ship of Lee B. will be formally dent Jesse O. Smith of Los Angeles. Milliken. opened by on the part of the local committee and the local union will be spoken by J. E. Coulthurst, the chairman Leonard Merrill of in of the 1903 committee. Los Angeles will make the response L o e e e R e ) BREAKDOWN OF TH NS NOTEWORTHY SESS ——«f a song service In charge of Secretary J. E. White of San Francisco. On Friday morning there will be meet- ings arranged for the junior and interme- diate grades, at which the Rev. Mr Chapman of Los Angeles, the leader in anti-saloon work in this part of State, will speak. The afternoon wil devoted to denominational rallies, and in the evening, after the usual praise service TIATZLLS N SCoryr | LA - RECGITTIRAZION i CarmrrrrrEs - | '.l' g OFFICERS PREPARING CHRIS- | NDEAVOR UNION SES- SIONS IN SAN DIEGO. | L T <+ behalf of the visitors. Announcements will bée made and committees named for the session, after which the convention sermon will be delfvered by the Rev. W. M. White of San Franeisco. On Thursday morning there will be = session at the First Presbyterian Church, at which the principal theme for consid- eration will be the missionary fleld, which, after a Bible s on the sub- ject by the Rev. E. S. g Angeles, will consist of missionary talks by the Rev. and Mrs. M. E. Bandy of the India Christian Endeaver Union. The school of methods will be conducted by Miss E. Smith of San Francisco, the State superintendent of missionary work. Thursday afternoon will be devoted to the California Veterans' reunion, and William G. Alexander of San Jose will have charge of the programme. In the evening there will be a sermon by the Rev. W. F. Har- ands on the text, “What Think Ye of Me?" the sermon to be preceded by ool D) Mr. Chapman will preach on rvice of Citizenship” and the Rev. .. Potter of Oakiand will speak The Grace of Giving. will be a special “Tenth Legion™ he direction of Miss Anna a Monica, the superin- h Legion, Saturday tian citizenship meet- on There session under G. Fraser of tendent of morning, and a Chr ing under the leadership of Paul Brown of Los 1geles, the superintendent of that division of or work. There will be some r tate superintend- ents and committee »{ various branches of Christian vor work The afternoon is to be devoted entirely (o pleasure trips under the direction of the amusement and recreation commi Saturday evening there will be the elec and installation of officers for the year, the selection of the next place meeting and an address on “Opportuhi- ties” by the Rev. C. J. Hall of Los A geles. The usual hours of devotion on Sund will be given to worship in the differe churches in which the conventien will supply most of the pulpits of the cit There will, however, be early morni prayer services at sunrise, and in the a ernoon there will be evangelistic serv at the big tent in charge of the Rev Harry Hillard of San Luis Obispo, as- sisted by the Rev. E. W. Work of Berke- ley. After the afternoon meeting there will be several gospel meetings on the street, led by different members of the convention, and several short addresses will mark the close of the convention The local committee In charge of the work has been working hard for the suc- cess of the convention, and from letters received it is evident that it is going to be a complete success. E BATTLESHIP MAINE'S BOILERS A SERIOUS MATTER TO CRAMPS I ers is likely to be a serious matter to the.Cramps, who built and guar- anteed the ship. It will be remem- bered that the contract speed of 18 knots was reached by close and favorable figur- ing in making allowance for the drift of one of the stake boats and the contractor escaped paying the penalty of $25,000 reticence regarding the details of the trial especially as to the performance of the boilers, which was taken as an indication of unsatisfactory work, and naval experts regarded the ship as deficient in speed. The Maine is fitted with Nicclause water- tube boflers, as are the armored cruisers Colorado and Pennsylvania, building at the Cramps' yard, while the battleships Missouri and Ohio, building at Newport News and Union Iron Works, have Thornycroft water-tube boilers. All the other vessels under construction or con- templated are to have Babcock and Wil- cox water-tube bollers, which type has received the indorsement of the Bureau of Steam Engineering. It is alleged that the introduction of the Nicclause and | Thornycroft boilers in the five ships men- tioned was because the Babtock and Wil- cox firm demanded a price which the ship- builders considered as exorbitant, and the contractors took the risk of putting in boilers that-were not considered as ef- ficlent by the Navy Department. The preliminary acceptance of the Maine was made December 29 last year, but her final acceptance, which would have been due on June 29 next, may be indefinitely post- poned, pending which a large sum of money retained by the Navy Department | will remain unpaid to the contractor. The | ship is now being overhauled and re- paired, but if, as alleged, the boilers are in such a condition as to permit a safe load of steam for fifteen knots only, it fol- lows that the Cramps will either have to take out the Nicclause boilers and re- place them with the Babcock and Wilcox type, which means an expenditure of ap- proximately $400,000, or to have the ship rejected. As to the structural defects of the bat- tleship Maine developed during the recent gun practice, the builder is not responsi- ble. The ship was designed in 1888, at which time her main battery was intended to be composed of four 12-inch (3 cali- bers) and sixteen 6-inch (40 calibers) guns. Later on the Bureau of Ordnance in- creased the 12-inch guns to 40 calibers and those of the 6-inch to i calibers, an in- crease in weight from 45.2 tons to 5® tons for the 12-inch and of the '6-inch guns from 6 tons to 8.17 tons. No additional al- lowance avpears to have been made to carry these additional weights, nor to withstand the increase strain of firing HE breakdown of- the Maine’s boil- | these guns, and | for reduced speed. There was a singular | period of nearly eighteen months, the de-l the responsibility lles with the present chiefs of Bureau of Ord- nance and Construction. The Maine was not launched until July 27, 1901; the ship was then about 44 per cent completed, and <0 far as the hull was concerned merely a shell in the interior, of which little prog- ress had been made in framing of decks and gun supports. From the time of launching up to the date of completion, a‘; fects now developed could have been ob- pleted ships. The Spartiate is the last ona of eight ships of this type to be complet- ed, the first of which, the Niobe, having been begun December 16, 1%, was placed in commission December 6, 1308, wheieas the Spartiate, begun May 10, 1897, has just been completed ready for service. This delay of nearly three years beyond the calculated time has been due to a series of unfortunate trials, the first causing a delay of over a year to repair damages to the machinery caused by sand getting viated by the exercise of precaution of the | into the bearings, after which several oth- two bureaus referred to. | Sauerkraut and Frankfurters have been | added as component parts of the mavy | ! ration, and proposals for supplying 140,000 pounds of the aromatic succulent, 220,000 pounds of triplets of Frankfurters and 88,000 pounds of Bologna sausages will shortly be invited. . The German naval Increase as passed by the Reichstag includes two battleships, one armored cruiser, one cruiser, one riv- er gunboat and six divisicn tropedo boats. All these vessels are to be built in private vards, and the time of ccnstruction has been fixed at three years for the battle- | ships and armored cruisers and at one | vear for the other vessels. One of the | battleships’ will be the ifth addition to | the Braunschwelg class and the other | will be of an improved type. The work is distributed between the vards at Dant- zic, Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel and Elbing. Nine vessels are to be ‘aunched for the German navy during the present year, namely, three battleships, one armored cruiser, three crulsers, cne gunboat and one river gunboat. The battleships Meck- lenburg and Schwaben, of 11,800 tons, be- gun in May and October, 1909, are to go into commission, together with the ar- mored cruiser Prinz Adalbert of 8870 tons, laid down in July, 1500, and two cruisers, Arcona and Undine, of 2700, are duc on delivery by, the contractors. Public ' interest in naval affairs is in- creasing rather than waning in all coun- tries except the United States, in which latter only naval officers, contractors and a certain few manufacturers are evidenc- ing some interest for personal reasons. The recent meeting of the German Navy League at Munich was attended by 5000 persons, among whom was the Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. At Yokohama an allled navy league was formed on March 29 with a start of forty members. In Italy King Victor Emmaruel IIT has donated $2000 toward the support of the “Lega Navale Italiana™ and as an encour- agement to the public to join the league. £th The British cruiser Spartiate, 7000 tons | and 18,00 horsepower, hud her commis- | sion. trial March 26%and is to proceed to the China station at once unless prevent- ed by the development of defects in the machinery which have of late delayed the departure of several newly wm.l er breakdowns followed. The contractors for the machinery have become insolvent, and although none of the other ships of this type have experienced similar pre- liminary difficulties, none of them, nota- bly the Europa, have come up to the ex pectations, and while they are not abao- lute failures they are not considered as efficient cruisers and will not be duplicat- ed in future construction. The Admiralty’s scheme of improvement in the navy personnel went into effect on April 1. A circular letter was sent to commanders in chief, captains and com- manders of ships, notifying these officers of the changes in the existing system of training the officers and men in the royal navy. During the following month- there will be sixty promotions to the rank of Heutenant from the grades of chief gun- ners, chief boatswains, signai boatswains and chief carpenters. Two chief artificer engineers are to be promoted to the rank of, engineer lieutenants as soon as they have reached one year seniority and three promotions will be made annually until 1908. The status of boy artificers, me- chanics, etc., is likewise to be improved, and commissioned rank will be given to chief artificer engineers. Other minor but material improvements are intended in making able seamen proficient in the use of simple mechanical tools and fireroom work. New regulations are to be issued shortly for the better training of seamen in gunnery and torpedo work and a gym- nasium is to be established at each depot for a systematig course of physical train- ing under qualified instructors. Officers of the old navy are horror stricken at these changes and firmly convinced that the navy Is going to the dcgs. Their num- ber, however, is small and lessening, while the younger generation, unham- . hail the new order of iasm, confident of ma- of the service. terial improvement ——e———— Townsend's Cal. glace fruits, 715 Mrkt.* —_———— Townsend's . California glace fruit and candies, 3¢ a pound, in artistic fire-etche-i boxes. A nice present for Eastern friend-. Moved from Palace Hotel building to 7i5 Market st., two doors above Call building.* e ——— Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by tha Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s). 230 Cali- . fornia street. Telephone Main 1043