The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 5, 1903, Page 4

MONDAY. " OCTOBER 5, 1903 Adéress All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Masager. T TELEPHONE. 3 Ask for THE CALL. The Operator Will Connect You With the Department You Wish. PUBLICATION OFFICE...Mnrket and Third, S. F. EDITORIAL ROOMS.....217 to 221 Stevenson St. Delivered by Carriers, 20 Cts. Per Week, 75 Cts. Per Month. Single Copies 5 Cents. Including Postage (Cash With Order) EUNDAY CALL. Oue Year.. WEEKLY CALL, Oue Year., Sun: f FOREIGN POSTAGS....... | Weekly.. 1.00 Per Year Extra Al postmasters are anthorived to receive subscriptions. Semple coples will be forwarded when requested. Mall subscribers in ordering change of addrass should e particular to give both NEW AND OLD ADDRESS in order w lnswre a prompt and correct complisnce with their request. OAKLAND OFFICE. 1118 Broadway...... ..Telephone Main 1083 BERKELEY OFFICE. £148 Center Street.........Telephone North 77 C. GEORGE KROGNESS, Manager Foreign Adver- tising, Marquette Building, Chicago. (long Distance Telephons “‘Central 2619.”) WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: MORTON E. CRANE. ..-1406 G Street, N. W. NEW YORK NEWS STANDS: Waldorf-Astoria Hotel; A. Brentano, 31 Union Square; Murray Hill Hotel; Fifth-avenue Hotel and Hoffman Heuse. BRANCH OFFICES—S2] Montgomery, corner of Clay, open ontil 9:30 c'elock. 300 Hsyee, open until 9:30 o'clock. 633 MeAlister, open until 9:30 o'clock. €15 Larkin, open until #:80 oclock. 1941 Mission, open until 10 o'clock. 2361 Market, corner Sixteenth, open until ® o'clock. 1006 Va- lencla, open until 9 o'clock. 106 Eleventh, open until ¢'clock. NE. corner Church and Duncan streets, open uptil 9 o'clock. NW. corner Twenty-second and Kentucky, open until ¥ o'clock. 2200 Fillmore, open until § o'clock. BUSINESS CONDITIONS STILL SATISFACIORY. RADE conditions continue and the commercial rep ioned a week ago still rts from the different sections of country are irregular and erse. The best reports are coming from the western half of the country, but this has been the case for a year or more. The situation presents few features ¢ f the ordi- nary ran. The crop prospects are now pretty well de- termined and the cc have en that n , though with the 1 not an exportable surplus of every y d at Is and the corn wn by all interests to about 2,000,- hese figures 1 re a good business e e the fall and promise a fair movement of great wheat 2 lise and easy collections in the It is these conditions to come from the west- above. The belts. rep as mentioned At cc ng sat iron and steel and render business activity i owing to the decreased the continu cond: The Eastern sit ions far from st region , is more or less affected The influence of this Wall street nediate or d but i sooner or later half of the con thoroughly posted on the trade conditions of the land and that stocks go up or down according as trade and money prospects fluctuate. Hence any protracted f New York stock market is bound to affect general trade sooner or later. Therefore it is not surprising that after the severe scourging and ec reaches its logical destination Il over the eastern in pruning t the New York st market has re- ceived during the past six or eight months commer- cial reports from the Atlantic seaboard 1d be less han those from the West, where the in- optimi fluence of Wall street is not as marked. In fact there is a spirit of pessimism, with Wall street as source and distributing cen all over the Atlantic coast. The bankers do not share this pessimism and are actively ring to convince the public of the g to it, but their efforts are not fir report hits the mnail ancial square that “there is no ground what- | ever for the mistic sentiment which pervades the stock 1 like some infectious disease.” The best postec yrities are persistently calling atten- tion to the that the st lard railroad and indus- and have been for some time now down to vel of good investment from a divi- dend-pa dpoint, and many of them are below it, and that consequently now is a good time to buy, | but the public is evidently not taking the hint very freely There is not much new in the staples. It is ex- pected that a reduction of about 20 per cent in the output of pig iron will shortly be arranged in view of the lessened demand and a growing tendency toward an accumulation of stock. Heavy receipts of cattle at Western points are causing some. depression in hides. Wool is well held, though buying is confined to immediate Lumber Zontinues to quiet down, with weak quotations for some descrip- tions in the West rements Building operations, however, are still active except at some large Eastern centers. The wholesale and jobbing trade continues good, many large Eastern cities reporting the movement better than at this time last The bank clear- ings, however, indicate rather the reverse, as they show a decrease of 24.5 per cent from the correspond ing week in 1902. The railroad earnings continue to lead last vear by a fair percentage, but the loud com- plaints of car shortage which characterized last year are no longer heard except in a few sections and then only occasionally. About the best feature of the week was the report of improved collections throughout the West and Northwest, due to the beginning of the crop movement to market. In this connection it is inter- esting to note that the apprehensions of a scarcity of money wherewith to move the crops, so freely ex- pressed last spring and summer, and which for months hung like a cloud over the money market, have not thus far been realized. P Murderous dynamiters have threatened in a partic- ularly daring manner to destroy the home of the Chief of Police of Helena begause of his successful activity against criminals. This is only one instance of many indicating that the time has come for a most thmugh_housedaning on the part of American ci jes. News from them these days sounds too sus- year factory exhibit | on general trade may not be im- | y consider that Wall street keeps | THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, OCTOBER ! THE MEETING TO-NIGHT. T the meeting to be held at Union Square Hall A this evening the Republican municipal cam- paign will be virtually opened. It is to be a mass mecting of “business men,” but the phrase is to be understood in the broadest sense, including all citizens who hold to the sound doctrine that our municipal affairs should be administered on business principles by men of known business capacity and experieace. It is to be in no sense a class meeting. The appegl and invitation for attendance runs to all taxpayers and to all who have any concern and inter- | est in the raising and expenditure'of publc revenue i(or the common good. It will be recognized by all good citizens that it #8.00 |is right and fitting the /Republican campaign should be inaugurated under” business auspices since the issues of the time are distinctly of 2 business nature. Under any and 2!l circumstances there is need for the exercise of financial skill, strict economy and-a high order of executive ability in the conduct of municipal affairs, but at this juncture there is an added need for such an administration owing to the relation the in- coming administration will have to the beginning of the extensive public improvements for which the people have just voted. The Republican party presents to the voters of the city a ticket that has been carefully made up of men fitted to perform the duties of the offices to which they have been nominated. It is therefore essentially | a business as well as a Republican ticket. It asks for | support on something more than partisan grounds |and can reasonably expect to have the co-operation { of all citizens who in municipal contests break away | from party ties and vote solely for those candidates who can be safely counted on to serve their party by serving the city honestly, faithfully and efficiently. Experience has shown that in American politics it |is generally safe to estimate an entire ticket by the | character of the candidate chosen to lead it. If the {leader be the representative of a faction, or the tool | of a boss, it is almost sure to be the case that other | candidates on the ticket will be subject to similar ob- | jections; but if the leader be a strong, independent and thoroughly reliable man one may be reasonably | sure that his colleagues will be worthy of the support The Republican ticket in no exception to that rule. Henry J. Crocker needs no indorsement to the people of San Francisco. He has been a business man prominent among business men for many years. His name, his work, his record and his character are familiar to all. He stands as a representative of the best type of our youriger business men and has been rightly chosen to lead a ticket that appeals to the intelligence of the people by reason of the sterling quality of the men who make it up. | his leadership commands. | this case is The meeting at Union Square Hall this evening will probably be the most significant single meeting of the campaign and should be largely attended. The interests at stake in the contest are the most im- portant from a financial point of view that have been mitted to the voters of San Francisco for many | years, and as many citizens as possible should make it a point to hear what Mr. Crocker has to say about them, for all signs point to the conclusion that he will | be the next Mayor of San Francisco. e — After a vacation of thirteen weeks President Roosevelt, active, eager and more strenuous than ever, has returned to Washington, as he, says, for thirteen months of hard work. Perhaps some of our superstitious Democratic friends may find in this recurrence of thirteen some wee small hope for the unfortunate man whom they will elect to battle next fyear against the President. THE GEARY-STREET ROAD. HE argument for and against the acquisition by T the city of the street railroad on Geary street and the issue of bonds to the amount of $710,000 for that purpose has resolved itself down to the fol- lowing issues: First—Should the bonds be based upon the plant alone, as is the case with all enterprises that are con- | ducted by private capital, or should the bonds be based upon the entire city for a local improvement not strictly within the purposes of municipal govern- ment? Second—Can the city construct and operate this road without imposing an additional taxation upon ! the whole body of taxpayers? Third—Should the city undertake this additional labor in view of ail its present duties? We have shown by conclusive reasoning in discuss- |ing the first proposition that as the city, in conduct- ing a railroad, is conducting a business and not a gov- | ernmental enterprise, it should conduct it on business | principles only, and therefore all bonds issued in or- der to construct this road should be based upon the {road alone and not upon the entire property of the | city. This argument has not been answered by the ad- | vocates of municipal ewnership. | We have shown from the figifres of the City En- | gineer that the road will cost the city $20,550 a year ii" excess of its income to operate it, and that in addi- tion to these figures the city will have to pay dam- ages for the injuries inflicted by the carelessness and | negligence of its employes and will also have to pay ifor keeping in repair that portion of the street which lis always kept in repair by the owners of street rail- | roads. These last two items will more than offset | any decrease in the annual payment of interest. The | only answer made to this statement is that the fig- :ure: of the City Engineer are wrong; that he has esti- “ mated the earnings too low and the expense too high {and that his figures should be amended. But the | charter provides that the Board of Supervisors in taking proceedings to acquire public utilities must | rely upon the estimates furnished by the City En- | gineer. The claim is made by the advocates of municipal ownership that there should be eliminated from his estimates the item of $17,750 provided for a sinking | fund required by law to be paid on the bonds. This |item cannot be omitted because the charter provides | that at the time of levying the municipal tax the Supervisors shall levy and collect annually a tax suf- ficient to pay the annual interest on such bonds and | also the proper aliquot part of the aggregate amount | of such indebtedness so incurred and that such tax shall be in addition to all other taxes levied for municipal purposes. Under this provision the amount required to raise | the sinking fund and interest must be raised by taxa- tion every year whether the road is leased or sold or | operated by the city. The bonds will remain the lia- | bility of the city and the law requires that the princi- {pal and interest shall be raised in the above men- tioned way. We have also shown that the city cannot under the | | of its burden or leage it with the same end in view. It can only grant a franchise under the charter and receive in compensation a percentage of the gross re- ceipts. This would not be enough to pay the annual amount of interest. We have also shown that if the city would grant this franchise to a private individual or corporation it would make a certain annual profit of $18,850. In view of the fact that the city has just voted to bond itsel{ to an amount of $18,000,000, with a consequent interest fund of $13,000,000, we submit that it is timely and opportune for the taxpayer to regard as of some importance the giving up of an annual profit of over $18,000 in order to undertake an enterprise that may involve the loss of $40,000. The duties of running this municipal government already overtax the officials elected for that purpose. The voting of the recent bond issue will impose ex- tensive additional burdens upon them. The building of schoolhouses and sewers and the laying out of parks will require all of the time and attention pos@- ble to be given to them by the municipal govern- ment, These officials have no time to enter upon a new undertaking expensive and admittedly experi- mental. If the money recently voted is to be ex- pended wisely and economically it would be folly to impose upon the city officials who are to expend it a_ single burden not absolutely necessary for the exist- ence of the city government. — In the pursuit of a career it is always well to be tireless in effort and persistent in concentrated en- |deavor. The bell-boy who robbed a guest a few days ago fought with a policeman, tried to murder a bank attache and otherwise conducted himself in a villainous manner, demonstrated his complete fit- ness for a long residence in a penitentiary. W campaign has outwardly a close resemblance to that of two years ago, when through de- fections from the ranks of both the Republican and Democratic parties the Labor Union candidate for Mayor was elected. The seeming resemblance of the two contests is, however, deceptive and vanishes when the essential elements of the two situations are care- fully noted. Two years ago the Republican party was torn by dissensions, the Democratic party was demoralized almost to the point of complete disor- ganization, while the Labor party, untried by experi- Ecnce and animated by hope, attracted to its candidate |not only the full labor vote, but the whole discon- | tented vote of the city. Very different is the situation to-day. The posses- | sion of power has split the Labor party into factions | fighting over the spoils of office; Democracy has made |2 strong effort to pull itself tegether, while the Re- | publican party, profiting by the experience of the past, {ridding itself of bosses and of factiens and reviving | the spirit of harmony, enters the campaign more | thoroughly organized and better led than has been the | case for many a year. In the campaign of two years THE CITY CAMPAIGN. ITH three parties in the field the municipal }ngo the party of unity and vigor won and Schmitz | | was elected. If history repeat itself and unity and | vigor once more triumph over dissension and indii- | ference, the next Mayor of San Francisco will be | Henry J. Crocker. When studied dispassionately it will be seen that Mr. Lane’s chances are not much better than were those of Mr, Tobin last year and that the real crux of the campaign lies in the contest between Mayor | Schmitz and Mr. Crocker. When the somewhat similar situation presented itself two years ago there was a large discontented element among the people, and that element almost to a man voted for Schmitz. This year there is but little discontent. On the con- trary the sense of satisfaction among the people over | the prevailing prosperity is so great that there has “just been an overwhelming vote in favor of bonding | the city for many millions and largely increasing the iburden of taxation for the purpose of effecting ex- Itensive municipal improvements. As the discontented vote went to the extreme radical party of the cam- paign it is reasonable to suppose that the contented prosperity and swell the majority to be given to Mr. Crocker and his colleagues on the Republican ticket. From whatever standpoint the situation be studied it winner. His candidacy is an important factor in the }contest only because it will endanger and may possi- bly prevent the election of Mr. Crocker. Such being the situation it is clear that the duty of all independent voters is to unite in support of the rRepublican ticket. The vote on the bond election renders it absolutely necessary that the next Mayor of San Francisco be a man of first-class business capacity and experience. Neither Mr. Lane nor Mr. Schmitz meets those requirements. Mr. Crocker on the other hand is one of the foremost business men of California. In the emergency that now confronts the municipality he is indeed an ideal man for Mayor. That fact will of course count for much with all voters who have the welfare of the city at heart, and when the better elements of the people get a clear conception of the real issue at stake it is quite probable we shall see a grand rally regardless of party ties to the support of the Republican ticket in order to put an end to the period of faction fights over the spoils of public office by electing men of known business capacity to give the city a sound business administra- tion. e m——————— In the New York penitentiary there is a life pris- oner who possesses one hundred thousand dollars. His relatives, who are out of jail, with a knowledge that he cannot enjoy his money and inspired by a very natural desire to do so for him, have asked the courts to give them the cash. This criminal will probably be mean enough to bestow his fortune upon some society for the prevention of crime, Oakland is to be praised and encouraged for the consistency with which she is making persistent ef- forts to rid herself of the dive evil. If she needs any more evidence to convince decent citizens of the harm these deadfalls work let her send a committee to San Francisco and see how we operate our dives in contempt of law on Market street. The Chinese who were subjected to gross indigni- ties and outrages by the lawless element of Tonopah intend to demand indemnity from the Federal Gov- ernment. It is remarkable with what success we have taught natives and foreigners alike that money in America is a balm for all wounds, mental no less than physical. Spirits as revealed by the mysterious manipulations of mediums are responsible for a divorce suit in this city. One would think from the records of the di- vorce court that mismated couples had troubles enough in this world without seeking to peep into piciously like that which comes from the Old World. | charter sell this franchise in order to relieve itself : another to find more. vote of this year will go to the party of business and | will be seen that Mr. Lane is not at all a probable | 1903. CALIFORNIA’S EDUCATIONAL DISPLAY AT WORLD’S EXPOSITION AT ST. LOUIS for the educational display that California will make at the St. Louis Exposition. will repres-nt hundreds of thousands of California children. Consequently it will | | be of leading interest in the minds of all parents of children of school age. For the first time in the history of ex- positions, the St. Louis show will have a large bullding devoted exclusively to education. This huge structure wiil cover seven acres of land. Side by side the handiwork and the evidences of education | in all lands on which the sun shines will | be displayed. The reputation of Califor- nia for edueational advancement given it the sixth place in the building, as indieated by the space allotted to the several States of the Union. It has been determined by Robert Fur- long, the chief of the department of edu- cation for California at St. Louis, that California shall display such material as may best {llustrate the different phases of educational effort in the schools. The material must come chiefly from the scheols. Historical monographs and offi- cial records will show the development of the school system of this State, but it is belleved, so says Mr. Furlong, that the work of pupils will best represent edu- | cation in California at the present time. This statement will appeal to thousands of ambitious boys and girls throughout the State. They will see in The Call this | morning a picture of the splendid struc- | elementary R ture at St. Louis in which their work will be placed. DESIRED MATERIAL. What is suitable material for a display of California’s school output? Mr. Fur- long answers in this manner: Al work from schools, whether of pupils in classes or of students I: higher grades or institutions, should be a faithful Tepresentation of the curriculum. It should comprise a series of lessons, extending, if pos- | sible, through a month, a ferm, or a year, In E 2 e e b e e ] @ il DEFINITE plan has been adopted This exhibit T ST t & D | i1l |1 ARy | \ () e r————————— | ¥ 2 | | STRUCTURE TO CONTAIN | SPECIMENS OF CALIFORNIA | STUDENTS SKILL. g s > any study pursued, and should show purpose. method and results, Such work of puplls may be literary, scientific, mechanjcal 4nd artistic. | | When honestly ;prepared and intelligently | 1abeled it may he made to represent the work | | of a school with considerable clearness and fidelity. Graphic charts, maps of school models of school buildings in paper, card- board. papier mache or other material, pho- | tographs of interiors and of exteriors of school houses, of classes at work, ehand drawing, color work, map drawing, ‘chanical drawing, {llustrations, nature study outlines, listribution charts, etc.. are all suitable maferial for an edurational exhibit. Spécimens nf students’ work in physics, chemistry, biology and the higher mathematics, of laboratory experiments, of art work, etc. are valuable as material from secondary schools and academies The resuits of manual training are appro- priate in an exhibit of pupils’ work. Other material will suggest itself to schools. grounds, | | be well represented. has | It is not Intended to restrict originality in exhibitors as to material. Those thi are distinctive of education in should be emphasized. With all material mere quantity should be subordinated to variety and excellence of work. Two forms of exhibit are included in the plan adopted. One will include a gen- eral exhibit of the State public schools at large and of the public school system. and the other will take in individual ex- hibits of cities, eounties, private school systems, even a single educational insti- tution. LIMIT IS PLACED. All applications for space must be made not later than October 10. Mr. Futlun_‘ says that the amount of space that will be assigned to any one exhibit cannot be determined until all the applications are in. He hopes that the rural schools, as well as the town and village schools, wiil The exhibits will be dlvided into eight groups. These are di- vided as follows: Elementary education. ten, elementary grades, tion of teachers and including kindergar- training and certifiea- ‘continuagion of scheols as evening schools, vacation scheols and schools for special training Secondary education, including high schools and academies, manual training high schools and commercial high schoois. Higher education, including colleges and uni wversities, scientific. technical and engineering schools, professional schools, libraries and mu seums. : Special ®ducation in the fine arts, mdud.n'g art schools and institutes, schools and depart- ments of music, conservatories of musie. Special education in agriculture, Including agricultural colleges and depmrtments, experi- ment stations and imstruction in forestry. ecial education in commerce and industry. L& r this head are grouped industrial and trade schools, business and commercial schools. evening industrial schools and higher instruc tien in commerce. ‘Education of defectives, which takes in in: tutions for the blind, for the deaf and & and for the feeble minded There is also a class for summer schools, extensfon courses, scientific societies and associations, educational publications, school furniture and appliances, ete. Mr. Furlong, with the sanction of the advisory committee, has sent out 2000 coples of a pamphlet in which educators will find instructions to guide them in preparing exhibits to be sent to St. Louis b SQUADRON PRACTICE FIRING IN ORIENT SHOWS THAT YANKEE GUNNERY EXCELS HE London Chronicle of September Tu publishes an elaborate and Inter- esting table of prize firing of the twenty-three ships comprising the Brit- ish China squadron in 1802, of which the following condensation gives the aggre- gate resuits: Hits per Gu a0 e CALIB! | - OF G ] F ssunp 30 oN | 2176 | 033 26 | 1] “ The best results with the several caliber of guns were as follows: Battleship, Ocean, 12-inch B. L. VIII, .71 | hits per gun per minute. Arn'mred eruiser, Cressy, 9.2-inch B. L. VIII Cruiser, Talbot, 4.7-inch Q. F., 3.83 hits per ‘ugllfiel:w;;‘_‘mgr:mbler_ 4-inch Q. F.. 3.00 hits er gun per minute. P e percentage of hits to roun S8. guns was 42.88. Conecerning results of gun practice in the United States navy, some of the high officials in Washington and commanders ot fleets are disinclined to let the public know anything, while the Secretary be- lieves in publicity. In England the of- ds of all the | ficers favor non-secrecy and the Admir- alty wants results to be kept secret. The public has a right to know the state of efficiency of the navy, and official reports are better than incomplete and mislead- ing accounts from ifresponsible sources. 1t is impossible to keep such matters se- cret. Every man on board the several ships knows the facts and it soon becomes common talk how one particular ship excelled another In gun practice. Rear ‘Admiral Evans does not appear to be averse to publicity and his report on the firing practice of the Amerlcan ships on | the Chira station is satisfactory, as it indicates a better general average of ef- ficlency than that of the British squad- ron. The Oregon's 13-inch guns scored 68 per cent of hits and 55 per cent hits per minute; the Wisconsin made 75 per cent hits and the Kentucky made nearly as good a showing. With the $-inch guns the Oregon made 63 per cent hits per minute and 67 per cent of the shots were hits. ' With her 6-inch guns the Wis- consin scoyed 60 per cent hits, which considerably lower than that of the Brit- ish squadron. A new naval base and dockyard is likely to be established at Berehaven, Bantry Bay, in the south of Ireland. The cholce was between Berehaven and Cork har- bor, but the former possesses many nat- ural strategic advantages over Cork. A vpowerful base on - the south- west coast of Ireland would con- trol and protect St. George's Chan- nel and the Irish Sea. Bantry Bay is an ideal locality for a dockyard with a great expanse and depth of waterway. It is now rather isolated, but there will be no difficulty in placing it in communi- cation with Cork by means of a rallway. Incidentally the building up of a naval establishment would be of great benefit to the population of that section in that it would give employment to thousands of mechanics and laborers. Tt is also con- fidently expected that in the unexplored mountainous districts iron ore and coal might be found and thus add to the com- mercial industries of the country. The British battieship Inflexible, which was taken off the effective list a year ago, was sold at auction September 15 at the Chatham dockyard for $100,500. This ship made quite a stir in naval cir- cles twenty years ago, embodying as it dld several novel features, chief of which being her turrets placed en echelon: that is to say, not as now on a line with the | keel, but toward each side of the vessel. The armor ranged from 24 inches to 16‘ inches on the side, and the turrets were | 16 inches in thickness. The vessel was of 11,400 tons displacement with engines of 8000 horsepower, giving a speed of about 14 knots. The Inflexible was laid down at Portsmouth in February, 1574, and launched in April, 1576, but was not completed until 1879. Her cost was $4,757,- 030, and the repairs up to date of retire- ment amounted to $§702,170. The only war service this ship ever rendered was atl| the bombardment of Alexandria, in 1882, where her four S0-ton muzzle-loading | rifies fired 1700-pound shells with great effect against the fortifications. There has been a wonderful change since the Inflexible was launched. Ships of her class have increased 30 per cent in size; the engine power has been more than doubled, and the speed raised from 14 to 19 knots. The thickness and weight of the In- | flexible’s compound armor would, if made | of Krupp steel, wouid be impenetrable by | any ordnance built to date. The 80-ton | muzzle-loading rifle had a penetration of 21 | inches of iron at 2000 yards, while the lat- est 12-inch gun, weighing 50 tons, will plerce nearly 32 inches of iron with a pro- jectile weighing oniy 80 pounds, at a range of 2000 yards. . The French armored cruiser Jules Fer- Ty, 12550 tons and 26,000 horsepower, was | launched at Cherbourg last month in an | advanced state of completion. Her armor | below the water line was In place, as well | as electriec motors, condensers, vrorellerv shafts and the four funnels. Considerable work is being done in the French navy in modernizing the coast defence ships. The Indomptable, Caiman, Reguin and Terrible built between 1381 and 1885, have had all their woodwork removed where practicable and steel or| linoleum substituted: the heavy guns of 1875 models removed for new, lighter and equally powerful ordnance, and the com- | pound engines have been replaced with triple-expansion machinery. As a result| the horsepower has been increased from 6000 to 7000, giving the ships a speed of over fifteen knots, against the former thir- teen knots, and increased the cruising radius by 1200 to 1700 miles, according to the character of the ships, which range from 7000 to 7575 tons. M. Camille Pelletan, the French Minis- ter of Marine, is untiring in his efforts to effect changes In the navy. His idea is to simplify the former complex system afloat and ashore, with a view of locating responsibility. He Is, of course, popular with the crew, younger officers and ‘workmen in the dockyards, while the high rank officers and bureau officials enter- tain different feelings towards this man who Is wiping out all the old fogy tradi- tions of the navy. He has done much to elevate the personnel as a whole In de- stroying the superiority idea of caste, so dear to the line officers of the old school, and all branches of the service are now open to meritorious persons, regardless of birth and previous conditions. As an in- dication of M. Pelletan’s minute scrutiny of details, he has even gone so far as to modify the manner of concluding official reports by eliminating “I have the honor to be”” and substituting “Respectfully.” wHAE . The gun foundry at the W navy yard is reported to be unable to fur- nish the ordnance required for the ships under construction, and that the ships launched during the next four years will be without the of guns for months. A board of naval offi- cers composed of Captain , Com- mander Bowyer and Com- mander Fletcher recommend an appro- priation of $2,464,3588 towards expansion and improvement of present facilities or a recourse to contracts with private firms. The gist of the report is that the 12-inch and 10-inch guns may be completed in time, but those of $-inch and smaller cali- ber will be delayed for about eight years beyond 1907. There are tem battleships, eight armored cruisers and three protected cruisers under construction which wera authorized between March 3, 1389, and last March. The delivery of these ships is due tetween February, 194, and March, 1907, and they will require 430 guns of the fol- lowing calibers: Forty 12-inch, 8 10-inch, 104 $-inch, 60 7-inch and 218 6-inch. These constitute the main batteries for the twenty-one ships referred to, and in addi- tion twelve 4-inch for two gunboats and 386 3-inch are needed for the mew ships. The small caliber guns need not neces- sarily be made at the Washington gun foundry, and the remainder could have been manufactured at the Government shops in due time for delivery if there had not been unnecessary delay in placing contracts for forgings. PERSONAL MENTION. C. B. Jeffries, a fruit man of Fresno, is at the Grand. H. T. Bures, 2 mining engineer of Lon- don, registered at the Palace last night. H Mulloch, superintendent of the wool- en mills at Marysville, is at the Grand. Captain John Cross, the well known rail- road promoter of Los Angeles, is at the Palace. George S. Nixon, the banker of Winne- muceca, Nev., is among the latest arrivals at the Palace. United States Senator Clark, who ar- rived here two days ago, departed for Southern California last evening. Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Flint of San Juan, who have been visiting the East, returned by way of the northern route yesterday. and are registered at the Palace. Cornelius E. Nestor, who holds a high position with the Bell Telephone Com- pany, returned yesterday from Chicago, to which city he went with President Sabin three years ago, and will again be con- nected with the company here. —_—————— Minister Von Plehwe in a Collision. ST. PETERSBURG, Oct. 4—A dispatch from Ufa, caoital of the Government of that name, says a train in which Interior Minister von Plehwe was traveling went | oft the track near Smolino September 33 as a result of a collision with a herd of cattle which was being driven across the line. There was no loss of life, and Min- ister von Plehwe, who was not injured, proceeded after repairs had been made to the line. —————— Allan Line Orders New Mail Steamer. LONDON, Oct. 4—The Allan line has. ordered at Belfast a 12.000-ton turbine steamer, the first of this kind to be used on the Atlantic. The new steamer is des- tined for the mail service between Liver- pool and Canada. She will have a speed of seventeen knots. —_— Fountain Pen News. Let us fit your hand to a good fountain e The "v:uem‘ an,” “Swan” or “Mar. shall”_are the only ones worth consider ing. Prices, $1M to 50 Sanborn, Vail & Co., 71 Market s‘-nch. .