The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 11, 1903, Page 30

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1903. L approAca oves - 11 THE SAN PEANCISCARE AL L. | " SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM IN | |08 b SFREGEELS, Propic - - - - - - A A Gmkcatins 1o JOBN MeNUGAT, Hanager j BR[DGE CONSTRUCTION SUND:A-Y,. S e R R OCTOBER 11, 1903 LIGHTS AND BUOYS NEEDED. RECKS will occur as long as men go down to the sea in ships. But the liability of wrecks along a coast is reducible to a minimum by proper lights, buoys, fog signals and light- ships. The sea-going commerce of California requires for its safety that the Federal Government pay more attention to these precautions for the safetg of ships on our coast. San Francisco is especially interested in this. We have powerful and highly enterprising OACH WHICH GAVE MINN., WHERE N BOLUTION + 1 TO KNOTTY PROBLEM | i | across the Mis Hastings, Minne- ow been in use £ high bridge ear ved Its a success way cost was is the only free r the Mississippi be- and Dubuque, bridge and approaches are E and extend 75 feet Its length is 1970 aches, and it has approach end in d along the river and ght of the plane made the ques- very troublesome one. was solved by John C. Me- who conceived and sug- al approach, at the same ing the ground upon which it The object in view was to build would not necessitate pying of some of the ts of the city, and 1ld be long enough grade. mplete success in every is an approach that built the crossing or o Just as easy to ascend or descend as the straight approach on the opposite end of the bridge. The ground inclosed within the spiral has been converted into a park. Newton's law of gravitation, which states that two bodies attract each other with a force inversely proportional to the ! square of the distance between them, has been made the subject of an exhaustive | investigation by Professor E. W. Brown of Haverford College. announces that his calculations show that Newton's laws represent the motion of our moon to within one-millionth of one with anything like s simple statement. The investigations concerning the longi- tude difference between Greenwich and Paris have now b completed. The work has been of rticularly arduous and , necessitating enormous Altogether the English and have carried out 230 ob- alent to eighty nights’ work each English and two French ers have been engaged upon the he observations were made at d Paris simuitaneously, and in order to obtain absolutely similar results the instruments were frequanfly interchanged. The resuits of these ob- the calculations finally working t between the two. The discrep- however, is very minute, being only second.—Sclentific ancy a small fraction of a American. . . Andrews (Chicago Medical Recorder) mentions the usefulness of the tuning fork in the diagnosis of fractures, espe- clally of the long bomes. The test is made by placing the bell of a stethoscope over the bone near the supposed fraciure, | ihe soft tissues are as thin as pos- where sible, and the handle of a tuning fork as close to the bone as possible beyond the supposed seat of fracture. The sound will be transmitted through the shaft of the | to the stethoscope and through the stethoscope io the ears of the examiner. When the bone is inta the test is properly made, thesound of the fork will be heard with great distinctness, but if there is a lack of continuity the sound will eith will be heard By compar- ing the intensity of the sound on the sus- pected side with the sound heard under similar conditions on the normal side, the guestion of continuity of bone can be de- termined. The test for fractures is based upon the fact that bone is an excellent conductor of sound waves, while the soft tissue of the body conducts sound waves very poorly. The bell of the stethoscope should fit tightly to the skin and when eompering the sound and injured sides bone foot walk, which | structure | ¢ laden teams find it | Professor Brown | and that no other physical law | on have proved both the Greenwich | aris existent meridians to be erro- | iments should be placed in the ative positions. The sound waves transmitted through a fracture if » ends are ¢ ded together; also through a joint, espectally if the articular surfaces are forced together. S S For many months the ofl consumption of the world has exceeded the production, | for which reason financiers and merchants have feared a possible exhaustion of the fields. Reports pu of Statistics, however, show an ex- {ve decrease in the stock of crude petroleum in the greatest of all Ameri- can fields, Pennsylvania, within the last | two years and figures of equal authority indicate that for months the consumption of ofl from Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia wells has been very largely in ex- cess of production. The stock of crude Pennsylvania petroleum above ground in December, 1900 was 13,174717 barrels, while in December, 1%2, the amount thus stored was only 569,127 barrels.—Scien- tific American, According to Professor Richards of Le- high University, the waste gases from a modern blast furnace are capable of de-| veloping 10,000 horsepower if utilized in | suitable gas engines. It is interesting to note in this connection that the great Niagara Falls Power Company up to a | few months ago was only developing some | 50,000 horsepower by its turbines, and even | now, the power available at three modern | blast furnaces would be capable of pump- | ing back again all the water they use. | The principal outstanding difficuity in utilizing these waste gases lies in the size of the scrubbers necessary gases before passing them into the en- gines. | free from tar trouble arises from the gumming up of the valves. e Favors Geary Street for Boulevard. Editor The Call: Permit me | feated, and am vleased that it was and hope that the city officials will see fit to make the street into a boulevard, as the city is amply supplied with street car service and very deficlent in driveways for the coming automobile. The same runs right through the center of the city in an almost direct line to the Cliff | House. In my humble opinion it would be a credit to our city to have such a highway established. Having such an object in view my vote was cast against the bond proposition. AUGUSTUS JOHNSON. City, October 9. | — | Music at the Park. The following programme will be ren- dered by the Golden Gate Park band this | afternoon: PART 1L ‘Star Spangled Banner,” National anthem | U B A The audience i§ requested to arise and re- | main standing during the rendition of this | nuniber. | March, “‘Alagazam’” Hoitzman | Overture, *Merry W Nicolai | Waltz, “Recitis D' Amou: Waldteufel Solo for Saxophone...... L. Mundwyler | Grand selection, ** .Verdi Overture, Rossini -Gotischalk | Spanish baliet music, ‘“Divertisement Espag- . Desormes Missud (b) Serenade . LTitl Benediction of Meyerbeer **America."” e | Gebriel Dumont, who was Louis Riel's | right-hand man in the rebellion in north- | west Canada eighteen years ago, has re- | turned to the territory from this coun- | try, where he has been living since his 1‘ chief was executed after the suppression of the trouble. e Townsend's California glace fruits and | candies, §0c a pound, in artistic fire- | etched boxes. A nice present for Eastern friends. 715 Market st., above Call bldg. * —_—ee————— Special Information supplied daily to business houses and public men by th Press Clipping Bureau (Allen's), 230 Cal fornia street. Telephone Main 102 * I rivals for the deep sea trade, which has heretofore been attracted to us by the ample harbor and rail | shipping facilities which we enjoy. Any lack of coast lights and other means of guiding mariners | to our port begins to work against us. It is the opinion of shipmasters that, as compared with the | mistaken for another, and sailors are left to the mercies of dead reckoning at a time when they most . | | the ship, and instead of being sixty miles off the coast as the lookout thinks, a ship may be near the | | | together in the matter. — | lished in the Man- | to clean the | If they are not washed thoroughly | at this | time to address you on the Geary-street | matter, as the bond issue has been de- | lighting of the ports of New York, Boston and other Atlantic coast points ouf coast and harbor |lighting is very deficient. In such equipment our coast has had but little improvement in the last |twenty-five years. There is a lack of means of identification of our coast lights, so that one is often need guidance. These matters have been in the hands of the Treasury Department until recently. The crea- tion of the new Department of Commerce has transferred them from the treasury to the new de- | partment, and they are now in charge of Secretary Cortelyou. Our mariners and commercial bodies will find this a, favorable time to secure attention to these needs. They should see to it that the atten- | tion of our members of Congress is called to the matter, and should seek. to directly reach Secre- |tary Cortelyou. We have here only one lightship. When she needs repairs she is withdrawn from her station for that purpose and no substitute is provided. The loeation of this lightship is given on| all the official charts issued to the mariners of the world. Many ships are at sea, en route to San | Francisco, and cannot be notified when the single lightship is. off station for repairs. In the night.or fog they near our coast, on the lookout for the lightship. A stationary light is mistaken for that of | rocks and in danger of wreck. There should be two lightships here, so that when one is brought in for any cause the relief | ship may take her place. Much is said in Congress and throughout the country about the increase in our Pacific trade. It has increased and is increasing, constantly requiring more bottoms and more sailors and greater 'tonnage. But in all deep sea trade is the element of risk as the coast is approached. If that risk is not provided against and reduced, shipowners and shippers will avoid the ports that are less protected for | those that are more protected. When the isthmian canal is finished we are to have south of us the| ! stiff rivalry of San Pedro and north of us that of the Puget Sound ports. In a fight for trade every-| | thing counts, and when it is sea-going commerce the safety of ships is far from being the least of | the makeweights. | The pilots and the Pilot Commissioners and the association of shipmasters and the marine | underwriters located here can give our Merchants’ Exchange and Chamber of Commerce and our | members of Congress much information on this interesting subject, and all concerned should move The betterment of our coast lights, fog signals and buoying is not alone necessary for San| Francisco, but may apply to the whole coast, and the matter needs an expert examination from Alaska south to Mexico. It is probable that the recharting of part of the coast waters, and especially of the sound waters of Alaska, will be found necessary. \When these conditions between us and rival ports| are equalized, and all have the best provisions for the safety of navigafion, commercial rivalry will be upon a basis of equality in that respect and primacy will depend upon enterprise alone. NATIONAL IRRIGATION. i HE magnitude of the irrigation work undertaken by the Federal Government is just begin- [ ning to appear. Five great projects are under way, one in Nevada, one in Montana, one in Wyoming, one in Arizona and one in Colorado. In California the Government has just with- | drawn from entry in the Colorado Desert 760,000 acres, and last week filed on four million | inches of water in the Colorado River, to irrigate. The importance of this is at once seen when it is | known that this filing takes all the water of the Colorado not heretofore appropriated, and leaves none for future private enterprise. This makes it supremely important for the interests of the State that this large amount of water be as soon as possible applied to the reserved land, that it may be opened to the settlement provided for in the irrigation law. | Senator Newlands, the author of the law, says that the Nevada project is farther advanced | than the others. It takes water from the Truckee River in a canal thirty-two miles long, fifty-three | feet wide at the top and twenty-one feet wide at the bottom and fourteen feet deep. It is intended to carry 1400 cubic feet of water per second, and wiil irrigate 344,000 acres. The fund to complete all these works is derived from the sale of public lands, and amounts now to $16,197,836. o There has been much discussion about abandoning all State control of water and of irrigation | to the Federal Government. The consensus of opinion on that subject seems to be that such course is not wise. The example of Nevada is likely to be followed. That State has a greater percentage of { public land than any other, as only about 3 per cent of its lands have passed into private ownership. It would seem that there the Federal Government has a freer hand than in any other part of the arid region. Yet Nevada has passed a code of State irrigation laws, supplementing the Federal statute, and providing for the co-ordination of the two jurisdictions. This is a subject of great importance to California, where but little land, comparatively, re- mains in the public domain. Under the law the Federal Government can file on the unappropriated water of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, as it has on that of the Colorado. But the land that can be irrigated by the water in those streams so filed is in private ownership. Taking away the water makes its use for irrigation, by private enterprise, impossible. If the- landowners want the water | they must deal with the Federal Government. It will be seen that such a situation requires the inter- vention of the State, and we can well afford to follow the example of Nevada in that respect. The irrigation of the Colorado Desert is of very great importance, since it promises to bring into action land that will add new products to the iist of California crops. The Agricultural Depart- ment has conducted a long series of observations on that desert, covering the chemistry of soils, tem- perature, air dryness and all the physical conditions which affect production. These observations prove positively that the region will produce in perfection the most valuable date of commerce, the deglet noor, the date of light, which is now grown only on the oases of the Sahara in Northern Africa. The only requisite is water. When this is supplied the department is prepared to facilitate the supply of a stock of date palms. At present this greatest of the dates is transported by camel caravans across the desert to Mediterranean ports and is eagerly sought in Europe at a high price. But little of the fruit reaches this country, as the nearer demand exhausts the supply. If it is domesticated on the Colorado Desert it will add several millions a year to our fruit export and will further notify the world of the wonderful resources of California. German warships are again hovering near Venezuelan waters in consequence of new and aggravated outrages perpetrated upon German subjects by Castro. The Dbandit President of the southern republic has evidently convinced himself that insult, robbery and murder from him must be accepted by the nations as compliments.. He is rapidly forcing the world to believe that with him there can be nothing to arb,itrate. PR W General Hunter, the gallant soldier who provoked an uproar of protest in British army and naval circles by declaring that the fire of the naval guns at Ladysmith was atrociously bad, says he is sorry he spoke, but his remarks still indicate his opinion. Everybody is consequently happy, the incident is closed and General Hunter, forgiven, has shown us how to re-express an opinion with- out changing it. ; bt el AR The Colorado national guard is accused of the very serious offense.of having employed a gang of superfluous and bogus generals and colonels during the Cripple Creek disturbances and of having sought to pay the supernumeraries out of the State treasury. There is always two sides to a story, however, and it is more than likely that the Colorado national guard will be able to prove that it could not detect any difference between the bogus and the genuine generals. \ i o e g, 5w The revelation that California fruit-growers are being robbed of the prefit which belongs to them by scheming, dishonest middlemen of the Eastern States and of Europe suggests a congratula- tion and a plan of action. It is good to know that we have something worth stealing and wise to take immediate steps to guard what is legitimately our own. SHEmte e e SR i LETTERS OF STEVENSON'S MOTHER TO HOME TO BE PUBLISHED FRIENDS AT Y —— s — — GREAT MASTER OF ENGLISH, INTEREST IN WHOSE LIFE WILL DI- RECT ATTENTION TO A SERIES OF LETTERS BY HIS MOTHER, SOON TO BE PUBLISHED. + S, ONDON, Oct. 10.—We are now beginning to learn what the publishers intend issuing durlng the season. Messrs. Isbister & Co. are bringing out an unusual number of novels, a department in which this firm is making great strides. Among these are “The Ad- venturer in Spain,” by Crockett, which, however, is not quite a novel; “Over the Border,” by Robert Barr; “The Wisdom of Folly,” being a tale founded on Cos- mo Hamilton's play of the same name; “Wolfville Folk,” by A. H. Lewis, author of that well received book ‘““Wolfville Days,” that book which, I believe, has already created a great stir in America, “The Kempton-Wace Letters,” and also “People of the Abyss,” by that rising nov- elist, Jack London. The first of Lord Ellesmere’s personal reminiscences of the Duke of Wellington, which Murray is to publish, promise to make an interesting book. Lord Elles- mere was one of the Iron Duke's most | intimate friends, and he kept a record of | their association. These reminiscences | have not seen the light till now, when they have been edited by Lord Ellesmere’s | only surviving child, Alice, Countess of Strafford. They rank in a way with the Croker memoirs and with Lord Stanhope's “Conversations,” but cover different ground. Mrs. Elinor Glyn, who wrote “The Vis- its of Elizabeth” and “The Reflections of Ambrosine,” has finished a new book, en- +* titled “The Damsel and the Sage.” It will be published by Messrs Duckworth. As most readers of Robert Louls Stev- enson know, his mother spent the years 1857-58 abroad with him. She then began to write an interesting series of letters to her friends at home. A first selection of these, entitled “From Saranac to Mar- quesas,” appears shortly from Messrs. Methuen. Necessarily they have much to say of the novelist, of whom English readers never seem to tire. The practice of publishing limited edi- tions seems to be becoming quite an insti- tution if one is to judge from the an- nouncements this week. Willlam Turner's work on “Willlam Adams,” an old English painter and fa- vorite pupil of Wedgwood, a great book for connolsseurs, is to be published in two small editions, one of only thirty coples, at 2 guineas, and one of 800 coples, at 30 shillings. Messrs, Methuen also say they have already disposed of the full edition of thirty coples, at 5 guineas each, before publication and of 200 coples, at 25 shile lings of Kipling’s “Five Nations.” In some cases the booksellers make a kind of limited edition by buying sheets from the publishers and preparing elab- orate bindings. Cedric Chivers of Bath pursues this course with Newnes' Cax- ton series, fifty coples of which appear on Japanese vellum. The covers are hand painted from designs by that master, Granville Fell, who is now the greatest English decorative artist. Over the de- signs Is spread transparent vellum, which protects the colors, rendering them per= fect. ADVERTISEMENTS. 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