The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 23, 1903, Page 30

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 1903. 30 STILL BUSY AFTER HALF CENTURY OF AT LABORATORY LABOR | Ll o ] K 1 | NATURAL BENT FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND WHOSE FAME AS A CHEMIST IS WORLD-WIDE. + ENT discoveries and events | tific world with skepticism, the course of e scientific world have | time has proved that Professor Crookes’ | renewed interest in | thesis of 1579 was no wild chimera of the | . . laboratory, but an indisputable fact, ssor S ssor Sir William CrookeS. |y opened up a fresh untrodden fleld ugh in his seventy-|yn scientific investigation. The existence ar, is still working | of matter in an ultra-gaseous state, the away laboratory with as much | existence of material particles smaller | energy vigor as when he began his | than atoms, the existence of electrons, | first original researches fifty-two years |the emanations from uranium and the | o dissociation of the elements have now all His has been a remarkable career. | Sir William Crookes is & born scientist. | He played with chemistry in his infanc: practiced it during his youth—much to the | discomfiture of his parents, whose goods | and chattels suffered from the effects of | his experim developed it ever since in his seventy-| in 182 At - Royal Col- | 1 of the fa-| quitted him- | two years | k: Ymann's as- 1854 he obtained the much coveted post of superi ent of the royal meteorological nt of the| Radcliffe College of Oxford, which post | he subsequently relinquished in order to | devote his entire rgles the pursuit of chemistry., With this view he accepted | the professorship of chemistry in the | Training College at Chester in 185. ‘Scientific men are very like paviors; 2 stol for future g Ik over, and wear out Such 1s the presient explanation of scien- tific research and pursuit of a new dis- | covery, expressed by Professor Sir Wii- | jam Crookes, F. R. S, the eminent Brit- ieh chemist. Science, although it pos- sesses a bewitcning glamour to its disci- | ple, is yet a lonely occupation. Great ideas and possibilities of the hitherto un- known, drawn upon the mind of the chem- | ist, only to be foliowed by years of pa- tient investigation, ceaseless experiments and reveated faflures. When an epoch- making discovery bursts upon the world not an evanescent thought is bestowed upon the years of protracted labor and | intricate fone that such a discov- ery has enta Sir William Crookes can relate many such experiences. When he discovered the nmew element thalllnm‘ he promptly set to work among other numerous experiments to ascertain its | atomic weight—202.642. The figures were worked out as far as the first decimal point with comparative ease, but to de- | termine the second decimal figure in-| volved no less than two years of patient 1abor His experiments with this new elément | covered the period of eleven years from 1862 to 1673 Professor Crookes' discovery of thal-| Jium, like Dr. Roentgen’s discovery of the X-rays, was to a very great extent the | result of an accident. He was engaged | in the examination, by the spectroscope, of the residue which results from the manufacture of sulphuric acid, when his attention was attracted by a bright em- | erald green line which asserted itse)f. | This line had never been noticed before, | and he consequently followed up its Bp-‘{ pearance, with the result that he suc- ceeded in isolating a_mew metal which | he colled thalllum. The first plece of | this new element was placed on view at | the Great Exhibition in London of 1861, | and commanded universal attention. | It was the observation of certain anom- | alous behavior of thallium when being | weighed in a vacuum, which he explained | as “expulsion from radiation,” that led | to his invention of the radiometer. He next devoted his attention to the discharges of electricity through highly rarefied gases, and to the development of the theory he had formed in the course of his previous experiments with thal- | Yum of the existence of a “fourth state of matter.” The name of Crookes will forever be as- soclated with his remarkable discoveries | in connection with radiant matter and his evolution of the genesis of elements. The results of his researches in highly rare- fied tubes caused him to assume the ex- istence of matter in ultra-gaseous form, to which he applied the term of radiant matter. He explained the novel phenom- ena of phosphorescence, trajectory shad- ows, mechanical action, magnetization and intense heat possessed by matter in ultra-gaseovs state. It was a remark- able discovery that stormed the sclentific world, for it was of enormous range, as the discoverer conclusively proved by demonstrating that while some radiant matter was as stable as a chair, other forms were of the character of radiant energy. It was the fringe where matter and force appeared to merge into each other. Though at first recelved by the sclen- {ory by the remarkable discovery of ra- | widespread been proved to be one homogeneous the- dium and the experiments with this new element by M. and Mme. Curle, so that | what was twenty-five years ago regarded as Professor Crookes' dream has at last been realized. In his presidential address to the Brit- ish assoclation in 1898 he announced the discovery of yet another number of the rarer earths—monium or victorium. The investigations of this eminent sci- entist have not been confined to a select. ed few of the many fields of chemical re search, but to all its ramifications, with the result that he has bestowed incalcu- lable benefits upon various manufactures. He discovered the sodium amalgamation process of separating gold and silver from their respective ores; he carried out numerous experiments with M. Molssan's | method of the manufacture of diamonds, | by which our very limited knowiedge of the nature of this substance has been considerably extended; he 18 deeply inter- ested in dvelng and calico printing, the manufacture of beet sugar and the deriv- atives of anthracene, while he is one of the greatest authorities in sewage and ar- | tificial fertilizers. In 1871 he accompanied the scientific expedition to Oran, and in 1866, when the cattle plague caused such alarm in Great Britain, he was appointed by the English Govern- ment to report upon the application of disinfectants for arresting the scourge. Perhaps his most famous invention fa- miliar to the lay mind is the Crookes tube, by means of which Professor Roent- gen was able to make his famous discov. | ery of the phenomena of the X-rays. Professor Crookes is also deeply inter- ested in psychical research and its attend- ant phenomena, and is now endeavoring to establish some connection between psy- chical and physical waves—to establish the existence of “brain waves” to answer the question, “What is thought?” Owing to his immense knowledge, he is naturally assoclated with the leading learned and scientific socleties of Great Britain, the presidential chair of many of | which he has occupied at one time or an- other. He has also made many valuable | contributions to scientific literature. His best-known publications comprise: “Se- lect Methods in Chemical Analysis,” ““Manufacture of Beet-root Sugar in Eng- land,” “Handbook of Dyeing and Calico Printing,” “Dyelng and Tissue Printing,” | “The Profitable Disposal of Sewage” and | “The Wheat Problem.” In 1859 he found- ed the Chemical News, and in 1864 he be- came editor of %he Quarterly Journal of Science, He has received many distinguished awards in recognition of his many valua- ble contributions to science. In 1880 he received from the French Academie des Sciences their gold medal and a purse of 3000 francs; in 158 the Davy medal of the Royal Soclety of Great Britain was be- stowed upon him. He is a royal medal- list, and his crowning recognition came-in 1897, when he was knighted for his achlevements by the late Queen Victoria. The charm of Professor Crookes’ char- acter is his honest, frank and simple manner. He believes in the truth, and is kindly and ¢ourteous to all those who approach him. His laboratory is his ha- ven, and therein he passes the greater part of his time among his retorts, spec- trographs, test-tubes and numerous other scientific appliances, and what he regards as much more important, his extensive library of works upon every concelvable branch of science. —_——— Townsend's California glace fruits and candjes, 50c a pound, in artistic fire. etched boxes. A nice present for Eastern friends. 715 Market st., above Call bldg. * e Special information supplied daily to business houses and public men by thi Press Clipping Bureau (Allen’s), 230 Cali- fornia street. Telephone Main 1042. —————— During the nineteenth century London grew from a ity of 800,000 people to one of 6,500,000—that is, Increased eight-fold. New York increased from 60,000 to 3,500,- 000—nearly sixty fold. London is now increasing 17 per cent in a decade and New York 35 per cent, or twice as fast, If this rate shoyld hold good for fifty years more New York would have over 15,000,000 population and be 1,000,000 ahead of London. \ THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL. © 4 eevwu .. . Address Communications to W. S, LEAKE, Manager j....Ai}&USf 23, 1'903 Public-tion Office @m.ndxumm,s.r THE QUESTION OF THE YACHTS. NCE more the American champion has beaten the British challenger for the America’s cup. It is true that only the first of the series of races in this. match has been sailed, but the showing of the two yachts justifies public expectation that those which are to follow will have similar endings. As the affair stands it is doubtful if the succeeding races between the Reliance and Shamrock 111, in the hands of their present skippers and crews, will be close enough to be interesting, for there is hardly much excitement or even fun in a match where the conclusion is foregone. : 3 The one question of keen interest to yachtsmen now is whether the superiority of the Ameri- can competitors in the various races that have been sailed for the cup is due to superiority of yacht construction or to superiority of seamanship. That question has been asked more than once, but no answer has ever been given, because no trial has ever been made to test the relative importance of the craft and of the seamen. A good opportunity%s now afforded to put the question to the test of experi- ment. Were the American crew to sail Shamrock III and the British crew to sail the Reliance, the comparative showing made in that race would go far toward solving the issue. - The question of the comparative merits of the men and of the yacht has become more inter- esting of late because of the close approach of the two yachts to similarity of construction. There is no longer a British type and an American type of yachts to be matched the one against the other. The yacht builders of each side have borrowed the best points of the construction of the other, until now there is no radical difference between them. In fact, the New York Sun recently said of Shamrock IIT and the Reliance that they “are as alike as any two peas that ever came out of the same shell.” Such being the case it is quite probable that the success of the Americans in race after race should be attributed to seamanship rather than to any assumed superiority in yacht building.” It is an old saying that victory in battle is due not so much to the gun as to the man behind : the gun. The battles of our war with Spain appear to have established that truth beyond the shadow of a doubt. Our warships were not much if any superior to Spanish ships, our guns were not better and our ammunition was in some respects inferior. We won in every fight because our men were able to handle their guns more rapidly and to shoot straighter than the foe. Tt was the men and not the ships that made every battle of the war a new glory to our navy; and it is not at all unlikely that our long series of yachting victories may be similarly due to our seamen more than to our yachts. The question is sufficiently interesting to render it worthy of solution by actual experiment. There would be an immensely increased interest in the coming races of this contest if an exchange of yachts could be made and our seamen were given a chance to show what they could do with Lipton’s challenger. The very announcement that such a trial is to be made would have the effect of sending a thrill of expectation through the country, and the match would be awaited with an eagerness that has not been felt over a racing event in many years. ® Even if the experiment cannot be made now, it might be arranged for in future contests. The issue is in fact the only one that now interests the mass of American yachtsmen. For more than a generation we have held the America’s trophy against all comers, and have avon in most cases with such ease that after the first race the remaining contests of the match were hardly worth speculating ahout. To persist in conducting the matches in the old way will result in a diminution of public interest in them, and perhaps lead ta their abandonment. To introduce the proposed exchange of crews would at once renew popular interest. There would be a double issue at stake in every contest. The men as well as the yachts would be squarely matched against one another, and we should doubtless have the satisfaction of proving our superiority not only in the construction of yachts, but also in that of handling them in a race. - CESOCIETY IN DISTERHESS. HILE the dread forces of insurrection and revolt that are disturbing the Balkan states with pillage, arson, battle and massacre hold public attention by reason of the frightful atrocities committed and the lurid tales told concerning them, let us not wholly overlook the unhappy fate of the dwellers in high society, for they, too, are suffering because insurrectionary forces are invading their peculiar realms, storming their holy citadels and doing a cakewalk in their sacred ballrooms. - > We need not dwell upon the fearful stories that come from London telling how the haunts of the nobility are thronged by aspiring plutocratic Huns from the wilds of African gold fields, or the dangerous depths of Chicago stockyards; for these stories are like chestnuts and have whiskers on them as stubby as the spikes of a chestnut burr. London society, as we know, has long since been lost, and only now and then there arises-out of the discordant din of the invading hosts some feeble wail of one of the good old aristocracy, to remind us that it was ever a temple of the elect and the festival ground of a beauty and a chivalry too good for common clay. It is more interesting to note that the invading hosts, having overrun London, are now pour- ing their forward floods over Berlin, while the recoil is spreading disaster over Newport. Advices from each of those courtly centers are distressing, and it is impossible at this distance to decide with any approach of accuracy which of the two is suffering most. Berlin complains that the Kaiser has entertained a Vanderbilt, and that seems dreadful; but on the other hand Newport complains that the haunts of the Vanderbilts have been profaned by persons fresh from lamb-fleecing in Wall street, and that is worse. One of the wretched sufferers in Berlin, complaining bitterly of the Kaiser for receiving the barbaric hordes from America, says: “If the whole Four Hundred should visit Germany in a body it will be his policy to entertain them as if they were all descended from Charlemagne. Any Senator, Congressman, State Governor, judge or colonel may count on the same magnificent hospitality. Even Tammany would be received with open arms. The noble company of free lunchers should make all | haste to Germany for the autumn holidays and a round of official feasts. The Kaiser keeps open castle, and they can order what they please.” . The assertion that the Vanderbilt hordes from the United States have invaded Germany as “free lunchers” is of course nothing more than the natural exaggeration of a storm-tossed heart. It may be described as “‘the language whose excess imparts the power they feel so well,” and accepted as convincing evidence that the cakewalk has stepped heavily upon the gouty toe of German pride. Listen next to the wail of woe from Newport. Several of the most indomitable leaders of the | exclusives have abandoned that place to the invaders and have fled to the inner lines of intrenchment | in order to hold there the citadel of society secure against the oncoming hosts of bulls, bears, porkpack- ers, land boomers and Indiana poets. The complaint is that Newport is “full of parvenus,” and it must be remembered that in the language of Newport “parvenu” is as much a term of reproach as is “free luncher” in Berlin. So the one place not only suffers as much as the other, but is as loud in its wail. Tt is quite probable that in the near future we shall hear similar stories from Vienna and St. Petershurg, for the invading army of free lunch parvenus is marching eastward. That being so, the only sure place for society is San Francisco. Here in a balmy climate where every prospect pleases, there will be freedom for all from the interloper, and should the worst come, the exclusives can find a last refuge on the Farallones. It is officially announced that China will yield to American demand and will provide for two open ports in her disturbed dominion. Out of the maze of -uncer.tainty, rumor and gossip c the reality of a new fact in our foreign policy. The door to China will be open. After we enter it come the more difficult problem of getting out without jostling with our troublesome national neighbors. A man who is eighty years of age and who has spent fifty of those dishonored years in prison was convicted again the other day of an offense which will send him to the penitentiary. He prob- ably feels that his intermittent appearance and freedom among decent people and in wholesome sur- roundings was an interruption in the progress of his legitimate career. He is ‘going where he belongs. The Grand Army of the Republic has come among us and has gone. Probably for the last time we have seen the heroes of forty years ago as a body, and if they think of us as we do'of them they are pleased with their week’s association with us and glad to have been in such good company. The old soldiers who fought for the Union are still the idols of the American people. Fhieris el bnal : - » A bull fighter suing in a minor court for his salary, denied him by a manager on the score that 19 WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR IS IN GRAVE DANGER | OF BECOMING BLIND | WILLIAM WATSON, AUTHOR AND POET, THREATENS TO FAIL HIM, BUT FOR WHOSE AFFLICTION AN / EMINENT OCULIST IS DOING WHAT HE CAN. WHOSE EYESIGHT o ONDON, Aug. 22—Now that the booksellers have had time to take stock of business during July, they find it has not been | so bad as was feared it would turn out to be. In fact, tfere has been quite an aver- age sale for the month. This is all the more satisfactory considering there has been really nothing that could be term- ed unusually sensational to create a spe- cial demand. The sales in fiction, partic- ularly the six shilling novel, have been rather above the average for July. The consensus of booksellers’ opinion is that the leading item of fiction has undoubted- ly been Neil Munro's “Children of the Tempest,” while another of the most popular current issues has been “Eliza- beth’s Children.” Other novels which have kept in the forefront of demand are ‘Pigs in Clover,” “Four Feathers,” “In the Guardianship of God,” Lady Rose's Daughter,” “Park Papers” and “My Lady of the Bass.” Two blographical works have also tak- en a big share in making July such a satisfactory month for the trade. These are “Letters of a Diplomat's Wife"” and “Orrery Papers,” by the Countess of Cork. Preparations are now begun for the au- tumn publishing, but they cannot be said to be going forward very actively. There is nothing the publishers dread so much as a general election, especially if it be suddenly sprung upon them. Last time it resuited in tremendous losses fof those who had many books In the press, and now the rumors of a general election before the close of the year, even though little or go reliance may be put on these rumors, are having a very disquieting ef- fect on publishers, who say they might as well stop the presses and give the bookbinders a vacation at a season when books have to give way to newspapers. Publishers’ minds are also running on politics for the present, for they are much exercised as to the effect a pref- erential tariff would have on their trade. A great portion of the paper they use Is manufactured abroad. If this were taxed home made paper would go up in price and the adjustment of the burden between publishers and book buyers might be dif- ficuit, if not embarrassing. Among the books now printing which promise special interest Is the volume of ‘“‘Reminiscences of Sir Montagu Gerard.” It will deal with his remarkable experi- ences as a soldier and huntsman of dan- gerous game. He is a great sportsman. He took part in the Abyssinian and Egyp- tian campaigns and In that agalnst Arabi Pasha. He has enjoyed unusual facilities of exciting sport, principally with pig | @ ieiminieirieinielnininieleieiaiaieieie @ The Cost of Conclaves. High functions of the church of Rome cost money. The cholce of a Pope has to be pald for out of the contributions of ;n}!hflll Catholics—and it is no cheap alr. A Philadelphia clergymhan lunching at the Catholic Club recently was asked to set an estimate on the expenses of the late conclave in Rome for the election of a successor to Leo XIIL. He goes to Rome at least once a year and is on fa- miliar terms with many of the under functionaries of the Vatican. “I can’t say,” he answered, “as to the cost of the conclave that chose Pope Pius X, but I do know that the conclave of 1878, which resulted in the election of Leo XIII involved two bills, one of $11,- 674 28 for carpenters’ and masons’ work, locksmiths, painters, gas, glaziers and electric bells: the otner of $4000 for fit- ting up the Sistine Chapel. But this was dirt cheap compared with the figures for some preceding conclaves. That of 1831, when Gregory XVI was elected, cost $144.- 75618, and the elections of Pius VIIT and Leo XII were responsible for $127,702 and $98,425, respectively. These conclaves all took place during the last century: but before that period conclaves were both longer and more frequent, so that it was found necessary on several occasions to limit beforehand - the expenditure on a papal election. Thus Alexander VII lim- his performance was inferior, asked permission, a few days ago, to present his fight, bull and all, in court as a proof of the justice of his claim. His extraordinary demand was refused. He should have known that wolves, not bulls, fight in the courts of San Francisco. * ited the number of the functionaries of the conclave and cut down their emolu- ments and perquisites.”—New York Com- ‘=mercial. - — and tiger. Of the latter he has to his credit upward of 200, shot or shared in, as sportsmen say. The report was circulated recently that Willlam Watson, the poet, is in danger of losing his eyesight. It is, fortunately, not so bad as that, but he will have to cxercise the greatest care. He is net allowed to read or write, and just at pres- ent is staying at Bristol, under the care of Dr. Cross, the well known oculist. Francis Gribble, who, by the way, was a close friend of Phil May—whose sud- den death came as a great shock to lit- erary and artistic circles the ower day— and who was the first editor of Phil May's funny, popular Arnual, is now busily at ‘work on the shores of Lake Thun, where he intends remalning a considerable time. He is engaged in writing a romance based on the Franco-Prussian war. Some of the Incidents which he is using fore- shadow and account for the anti-militar- ist movement, which is now assuming re- markable proportions on the Continent. It s not decided yet whether the book shall be published this autumn, as ar- rangements have yet to be made regard- ing its serialization. ADVERTISEMENTS. WE TRUST THE PEOPLE. THIS WEEK’S SPECIAL. Satin Russe Sofa Bed; when opened as large as a double bed; comfortable and durable. Made up with 24 best steel tempercd springs, trimmed with silk plush. Only 35 will be sold at this price. 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