The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 30, 1903, Page 8

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, V DNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1903. l s z | — Clef Sign in Music.: r of Music in Baptist, 3. Bowles.) clef it will bfll well to hgve the pupil draw a “staff” | with the bass clef sign (see illustration) of the lines and spaces, | s beén accustomed to place e upper clef. yw place a note on the sec- ounting up from the bot- d explain to him that ond space tom as Yhis n an octave below- middle C him put a note d space, climbing grad- | NE. { il + to the performer (who should inter- pret this message to his audience) through these “sentences” or phrases, | and it is just as important to under- stand the meaning of what goes to make up the phrases as it is to un- derstand punctuation, in order to read book aloud intelligently. Phrasing is, in fact, the punctuation of music and as such demands a proper amount of attention from us. ‘Hitherto we have spoken only of legato (smooth, connected) playing, and a line placed over a measure or measures is intended to bind the notes therein contained into a whole, com- plete, legato sentence. Frequently, however, the last nofte of a musical | sentence, or phrase, has, a slight dot | placed directly over it. This means | that the hand must leave the keys as on as this note is struck. It is there- | fore a staccato note, the opposite of | + BOTH CLEFS TOGETHER. k. 2| | - el S | BASS CLEF SIGN. | ‘ * ¥ *| ually up the scale, until he reaches the | - first ledger line above the staff. He will find that the note to be: placed on | this line is C—none other, in fact, than | the middle C a different fcrm. | It may be difficuit for him at first to realize that the note on the first ledger line ‘below the staff in the uvpper clef is the same mote as that on the first ledger line above the staff in the. bass clef, but if he looks through the first | pa of his “Practical Mecthod” he will find examples there given which will assist him in comprehending the matter The bass clef is always a sticking | t witly little pupils, and it will be | well to give the child plenty of exer- cise in writing the mnotes l"‘l)lalf‘.ed‘ therein, that he may become perfectly | familar with them at once, and S0 aviid confusing the two clefs. write the notes backward and forward, ekipping around, and in every way | imaginable, until he cannot miss them. Then let him turn to his iustruction book and name any note you 11ay point to at random, first in one clef and then | in the other, until you are satisfied that he holds both clearly and disunctly in his mind. When this is accomplished he has passed a very important mile- stone on his journey. Now, taking it for granted that the pupil has studied faithfully all the ex- ercises and themes in his book written in the upper clef he must take up the | first exercise in which the two clefs are united. This ke must practice in exactly the same inanner that he did the exercises written for the single clef —that is, very slowly =nd carefuliy, measure by mea: correcting each NOTES ASCENDING FROM LOWER C TO MIDDLE C. s 3 fault as it occurs. He must practice with each hand separately, then put the parts together. This is a good rule to observe in the future, as welt as at the present time. When learning a (nlece of music the pupil should first read it through as it is written with both hands to get a sort of synopsis of the whole thing, as it were; then, icking it to pieces, practice the two parts separately, working out the most difficult spots first before the more simple ones. As time goes on the studies and pleces steadily increase in difficulty, until, by the time he turns to the last page of the book, he will have passed far beyond the point where he can be classed as a “beginner” and will have become an intelligent little musician. In the next lesson I shall plan out an extensive course of music for our pupil to take up in conjunction with the latter half of his instruction book and by means of which he may con- tinue his study of music after the book shall have become of no further use to him. With such a course before him he will be able to do very credit- able work by himself for a number of years if it is impossible for him to study with & teacher. In any case, with or without a teacher, the course which I shall prescribe can do him nothing but good, if he takes it up in the same spirit in which these lessons are written. o B, Before turning to the course of study which is to leave the instruction book behind, however, I wish to speak a little of phrasing. As the advances he will notice occa- Let him | - | o+ the smooth notes, that have preceded it. Now is the time to make use of the “technique” so faithfully practiced during the first lessons, and which I| hope has peen kept up until the pres- ent time with no cessation of enthus- | iasm. | The beginning of a phrase is invari- | ably attacked with the “down-arm motion.” Now, however, all the mo- tions are to be ken in a less exag- gerated form than they were in the | xercises; and while the pupil is, in reality, using exactly the same mo- tions that he was while practicing the exercises, he must gradually tone down the sweep of his arm (whether up or down, as the case may be) until it sug- gests no exaggerated motion to the ob- server. The deeper a chord is intend- ed to be, the higher the arm must be raised, preparatory to falling in the “down-arm motion.” The same rule appli inversely, to the chord (or note, the e may be) at the end.| of the phrase. The more importance there is to be given to the final chord the higher must the arm rise, as the fingers leave the keys in the “up-arm motion.” The notes intervening be- tween thé beginning and end of a| phrase are presumably legato notes, to be played as are the notes in scale practice, i. e., with a smooth, singing, connected tone, whether fast or slow. After the next to the last note is| struck, the hand (while the finger is still on the note) drops to allow full | swing when it rises again in obedience | to the “up-arm motion.” } . | . - | It will be found of great benefit to | the pupil if at this point he takes up | an exercise which is intended to facili- tate this. Let him strike C with his second finger with the “down-arm mo- ilion," but instead of allowing his arm | t0 remain down, he must start it up- | ward again, at the same time striking D with his third finger in the manner | demanded by the “up-arm motion.” | | He thus combines the two motions in | | one exercise, in which is contained the | | principle of attacking and leaving a | phrase. There may be two notes or ! | twenty in a phrase. It makes no dif- | ference with regard to a principle. | The intervening notes call forth simple finger motions only, with no complica- | tion of arm or wrist. When this is once understood the pupil cannot go wrong in the matter, and with a little practice it will become instinct with him to attack and leave a | phrase in the proper way without hav- ing to give the matter a conscious thought. “'Very staceato notes are indicated by | large, pear-shaped dots, and mean that | the finger must be withdrawn entirely | from the key, as soon as possible, after | | the note is struck. The other simpler marks of phrasing, ! such, for example, as the opening an- | gle, intended to denote an increase in | volume, and the closing angle, denoting a diminution of sound, are all fully ex- | plained in the instruction book, and need no further notice from me. Also, the meanings of the Italian words scattered through al ost -any piece of music are to be found in any dictionary of musical terms. It would | be impossible to explain them all here, and it is quite unnecessary, as it is a simple matter for any student to look them up, as he has need.for them. See that he does look them up, however. . As the pupil’'s musical horizon en- larges he will have more and more oc- casion to use the whole of the keyboard | (instead of being confined to a few notes above and below middle C as at first), consequently it will often happen that his music will require him to carry his hands and arms quickly from one end of the piano to the other. When this occurs he must not fail to facilitate matters by the use of the “water mo- tion,” whether the space to be trav- ersed be three octaves or one only. This motion, like all the others, must no longer” be exaggerated, but must be “toned down,” and must merge into the “down-arm” motion if it occurs in go- ing from one phrase to another. It serves, as it were, the purpose of a bridge to connect two phrases or to connect two notes that are far removed from each other. The wrist! motion, too, must come into constant use in ordinary chords, in very staccato notes and in all places that do not call for arm motions. It is all much more simple than it sounds, and the pupil will fall into the ‘| habit of using the motions at the proper time without the slightest ef- fort, after a very little practice; and finding the great variation of tone to.be brought out by this means, he will soon unconsciously call to his aid what- ever motion will best interpret the | message of the composer is conveyed ! musio , | pelled the Czar to inflict such punishment as was visited | upon the bloody wretches who committed the crime | With that experience fresh in his memory, it may be that | be equally impervious to. influence affecting her domestic | tial and most respected citizens. | enemy of the President, and the adviser of assassination THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOMD.SPRE@&WM......,...M&&M Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager Publication O™Ce. - ..cviersserssrsasssscrtences = veseessessasesess.Third and Market Streets, S. F. e Bt oes bes This s berbases sh s W DECEMBER: 30, ige3 RUSSIA AND THE JEWS. | WEDNESDAY ..coceeoscoccccsssssseccncascsssscos sanas T reports from Southeastern Russia are not exagger- | l ated, more massacres of the Jews are due about old Christmas. The selection of the Christmas day of the | Greek church as an occasion for murder makes it clear that the anti-Semite agitators depend upon the religious fanaticism of the pzople as the motive for the abhorrent crimes which they incite. % In past ages other branches of the Christiafi church have depended upon the same motive for bloody assaults upon each other, and in the result every instinct of humanity and every precept of Christianity were out- raged. But we live now in a different world. Even at Rome the Ghetto is no more, and at Frankfort the Jews, once the slaves of the city, are now its masters. Only in Russia is it possible, by official connivance and ap-| proval, to indulge in wholesale murder with difference of faith as its excuse. Even in Turkey the quarrels which | embroil Christians and Mahometans have a distinctly | political origin, and are merely embittered by religious differences as a secondary influence. Christendom owes a duty to the Russian Jews. The question is, how shall it be discharged? No doubt the widespread protest against the massacre of last year im- the protesting sentiment of the world, which has been evoked by the current threat of more murders, will cause such precautions as will prevent another outbreak. But Russia, in her operations in Eastern Asia, has shown such disregard for the opinions of mankind that she may policy and disorders. One thing Should be sure. If she press her Eastern conflict to a war with Japan, there may be furnished the interesting situation that history has ever re- In such a war not the nations as governments, but Christendom as one of the moral grand divisions of | mankind, would be on the side of Japan, a Buddhist power, because of sympathy for the Jews. Out of great evil great good is possible, and the mind cannot imagine | anything that would so much glorify the brotherhood of | man as that spectacle. | There is one element of safety for the Russian Jews | that has not been taken into sufficient account. Russia! cannot carry out her vast policy of aggression in the| East without borrowing great sums of money, and she| cannot borrow without the consent of the Jews, who con- | trol the floating capital of Europe. The man who cal]vd“ Rothschild “the Jew of the kings” uttered something | more than a witticism. The Rothschilds and the great | Jew bankers of Europe are a more potent influence for | peace than the Hague court. Tt is the fact that no nation can float its war bonds in Europe unless the Jews un-| derwrite the loan. In such a situation Russia may be compelled to elect between the luxury of murdering Jews on the day of the nativity, of the Prince of Pecace and her ambitious schemes of aggression and expansion | in Eastern Asia. The calls upon the Government of the United States for interference have been renewed. In considering them it is well to have an eye to past precedents. The opinion is propagated that the action of the President is necesary to make any protest effective.. In the case of the Hungarians, and in other instances, the action ex- pressive of sympathy has been taken by Congress, and | the Executive has been left free for obvious reasons. If we are prepared to make the abuse of her Jews a casus belli against Russia, and our people desire a declaration of war'to follow rejection of our demand for mercy, the case is different. If that is the wish of the American people, it must be considered, also, that such a declara- tion of war would be instantly followed by the murder of every Jew in Russia. J Would that result bring continental Europe into alli- | ance against Russia? With another Bonaparte in lead, this might be the result, for Napoleon would have in- | stantly seen the vast political advantage of such a situa- tion. Had it occurred in his day the French would not | have been alone at Moscow, and his dream of breaking Muscovite power and confining Russia beyond the | Dneiper would have become actuality. In view of these considerations it may well be that the_safety of the Rus- sian Jews is best assured by exceeding diplomatic action. The obvious purpose of American politicians to make domestic politics out of it should be looked upon with suspicion. American Jews are among our most influen- They know that Amer- ican sympathy does not depend upon the pyrotechnic pretense of American politicians. If these American Jews consult together and, acting as Ameridhns, advise a policy to be followed by the United States, it will be sure to be wise, prudent and effective, and American public opinion will instantly back it up and enforce it. Such Jews are perfectly well aware that the artificial | sympathy pretended by an enemy of law and order, an most corded. in his own country, has a purpose which uses the Rus- sian situation as a pretext only. In the matter of the Jewish petition to Russia the President was guided by the wisdom of Jews who were not infatuated by praise of themselves, and that he and the country will heed such wisdom again there is no doubt. — e The Carlisle Tndians have come and gone and the scalps of the pick of Californian pigskin experts are at the belts of the victorious redskins. Poor Lo has taught | us 2 lesson we shouid not forget. Conditions, not the | man, most frequently determine gradations in success. | With an even chance our Indian friends seem able enough to work out a laudable purpose in most things that we do. T months ago were suspected of capacity and in- tention to own the earth. Thanks to the sturdy hammering of President Roosevelt, the law has woven its net around several of the strongest and the instinct of self-preservation has led others to follow in the line marked out by the President, until a trust is now the least feared and most distrusted of all things. Natural law has overcome artifice, when assisted by application of the statutes of Congress. The railroad merger is making a losing fight in the Supreme Court. The shipbuilding trust is on its beam ends, wallowing in the trough of the sea of justice, and soon to go down to the locker of Mr. Davy Jones. It came by water and it goes by water. The asphalt trust, one of the mightiest, that attr?ed millionaires as honey does flies, is riven completely, and those who got in on the ground floor | will never see an asphalt pavement again without a| 'S THE BROKEN TRUSTS. HE year closes cloudy for the trusts, that twelve twinge in their pockets, for they are called on by the courts to pay in $24,000,000, so as to equalize matters with the dupes of lesser fortune who paid high prices for the stock because these millionaires were in the com- bination, and their presence was a lure to bona fide in- vestors. The lesson has been so sharp and the publicity of it so widespread that the career of the Napoleon of finance is over in this country. Such Napoleons will not con- quer again on any financial Austerlitz or Marengo, and those who have been operating in promotion of the schemes that are now like spilled milk may count them- selves lucky if they escape prison and a striped suit. Of course their temper is up against the President and every trust tooth is gnashed when his name is men- tioned, and they turn to the Democracy for hope and comfort in their purpose to defeat him. It is amusing to watch the wind blow, just now, in politics. As the trust rage rises, Mr. William Rapdolph Hearst makes his bow to an audience that is in dreadful fear of the penitentiary, and says, “Gentlemen, my own wealth should assure you that when I am President money will talk to a friend in the White House.” A goat on a picket fence could not balance more evenly between blue grass on one side and a mess of tomato cans on the other than he does between labor and capital. But the people are not panting for an equilibrist. They want a man of direction and not indirection, and looking upon the work of the President they find there firmness of purpose and frankmess of expression, and they will get their vaudeville from Mr. Hearst and their valor from Roosevelt. The B_enne.!t legatees have petitioned the court under whose direction their affairs are at present to William Jennings Bryan as an executor. This seems par- ticularly unfortunate at this time, when princes and po- tentates of Europe are saying and doing nice things for Bryan. It is always embarrassing when abroad to have one’s neighbors displaying excited distrust of one at home. INTERSTATE COMMERCE. NCE more the Interstate Commerce Commission O submits to Congress report dealing more with the difficulties in the way of enforcing the law than with the successes attained under it. The com- mis. a enforce the law the railway companies find always some means of evading it. It appears that nothing lesz than power to deal summarily with guilty parties will ever enable the commission to put a stop to the practice of the companies of giving special privileges to certain ship- pers at the expense of others. The commission says: “Tariffs as published and filed are now generally observed, but in some cases the | tariffs themselves are so framed and contain such pm-: visions as to permit preferences without departing from their terms.” continuing the evil practice of granting discriminating rates, the new Elkins law, which was designed to put an end to such favoritism, has had the effect of increasing railway charges, and thus, as the report says, “has oper- ated to intensify whatever was wrong in the tariffs themselves.” Thus while the law has been beneficial in some respects, it is still far short of what is required. As an illustration of the methods by which the rail- roads continue to grant rebates to favored parties with- out violating the law, the report gives the following case: “The salt industry in Kansas is carried on by the Hutch- inson-Kansas Salt Company, popularly known as the combine or trust, and by independent operators. It was indicated by testimony that salt rates from Hutch- inson, Kans., and similar territory to the Missouri River were not generally maintained previous to the spring of 1002, but since that time the rates named in the tariffs have been charged. The Santa Fe, Missouri Pacific and Rock Island systems, all having lines leading from Hutchinson, made joint tariffs with the Hutchinson and Arkansas River Railroad Company covering the trans- portation of salt to Missouri River points, and some of the tariffs applied to other points as well. This Hutch- inson and Arkansas River Railroad Company, while in- corporated, does not operate any railroad or own any | equipment, but it does own some switch tracks or sid- ings adjacent to what is known as the Morton Mill,-owned by the Kansas Salt Company. but not exceeding 50 cents per ton. The persons who control this railway company are those in control of the so-called salt trust, and they receive the benefit of the division accorded to the Hutchinson and Arkansas River Railroad Company. It was testified that 50 cents a ton represented a fair profit to the producer, and that the trust was seiling salt under contract at the Missouri River at a price with which the independent operators could not compete. This price drove the independent operator out of that business, and it would not have been | made had not this division been given to the Hutchinson and Arkansas River Railroad Company.” Fhe report goes on to say, “There is reason to be- lieve that devices of this nature are frequently resorted to.” An amendment to the law is therefore imperative unless it be the intention of Congress to leave the com- mission powerless against unscrupulous corporations. The issue is to be met by Congress, for, as the commis- sion says, “Inprevious reports the comrr‘ission has care- fully pointed out the amendments deemed essential and explained in detail the reason for its recommendations, and it is unable to add anything of value to the presen- tation heretofore made> Its duty in this regard has been performed.” In defending Legarda, a Filipino lawmaker ac;:used‘ of grave immoralities, General Smith, a member of the Philippine Commission, says that in morals Legarda compares favorably with the American statesmen, al- though the Filipino conception of morals is admittedly’ inferior to the American standard. All of which indi- cates that the Smith opinion of the morals of American statesmen is that they certainly are no better than those of the Filipino, and may be worse. S L, The Supervisors of Alameda County have decided, after much perturbation, to select and use voting ma- chines. The decision is expected to be a measure of ma- terial economy to the county. As two prominent State officers are financially interested in the selection we may calm ourselves in expectation of explosive developments. It is said that Tolstoy was much pleased the. other day upon meeting William Jennings Bryan to learn that the American is not a socialist. Tolstoy probably does not know that it was for what he is and not for what he is not that Bryan was not chosen to be President of the United States. E . remove | ion finds that no matter how earnestly it seeks to | In addition to the chances thus afforded of | This railroad company | received under the joint tariffs 25 per cent of the rates, | TALK F THE The Fall. He was a new reporter on the police assignment. He was fresh from an eastern metropolis, full of brave ideas about the way news should be gath- ered, a bit bumptious and a trifle con- ceited. He grated on the old stagers, so they decided to inmitiate hiri. This is the way they told the story at the Press Club: “One of the gang received a cooked- up message over the 'phone in the re- porters’ room: ‘Riot in the Presidio. Dozen soldiers killed. Big story; get out on it.’ “And ‘out on it’ rushed the gang, our friend from the East following, pop-eyed with excitement. We ran | one way. He jumped across the street | for the nearest hack. It was then 11:30 'p. m. | “At 8 o'clock the ‘late watch’ man on | | a certain morning newspaper answered a telephone call: “*This is Blank at the Presidio. I've been hiking since midnight on that riot story, but not a soldier nor an officer, from the commandant down, knows anything. What shall I do? “‘Do? Do nothing. You've been jobbed. Paper's gone to press long ago,’ was the cold-blooded reply. “Blank found his way back to town. The next night there was an air of subdued quiet about the new man. He hasn't offered any more suggestions about eastern newspaper methods. And it is said he didn’t turn in an $8 hack bill in his expense account that week.” Backsliders. The agents of a Kentucky distillery in this city have been forwarding to | srocers throughcut the State printed | forms to be filed up with the names | of customers who might be induced to purchase a supply of the whisky at re- | duced rates. They promise a commis- sion on all sales effected in that way. A story is going the rounds that a | grocer in a town in the interior where | a gcod number of prohibitionists live | | thought it would be a good joke to fill |in the names of as many prohibition- lists as he could remember. He did so | ! and thought no more about the matter. That was about four months ago, and the groger was staggered the other day when He received a draft for $35 as | commission on the sales effected | through his.recommendation. The joke | was too good to keep, and when the story got talked abcut in the town there was great consternation among | the prohibitionists. All attempts to dis- | cover the backsliders have, it is sald, failed, the grocer refusing to throw any ‘ligh! on the subject. McEnerny's Attorney Garrett McEnerny believes | in calling a spade a spade and it is| just possible that his bluntress of | speech in conjunction with his knowl- | edge of law has had mot a little to do| | with his success. A few days ago he | was befcre the Superior Court settling | | a bill of exceptions to a motion for a| | new trial. He surprised the counsel | for the other side by calling counsel’s | client to the stand. | “If the court please,” objected the op- | posing counsel, “this is an unprece- | dented proceeding. Might I ask you. | Mr. McEnerny,.what is your object in | examining my client at this time?"” | “Certainly you can ask,” said McEn- | | erny, “and I will cheerfully answer. 1 am going to prove that you stole this judgment. luntness. | | % Rosemary and Rue. | Within the leaves of Memory's book 1 see, through blur of tears, Your gage—a little withered spray, Brown with the stain of years. Yet subtly sweet as breath of spring, When 18ve to youth appears. O friend, if time and place must hold A bar between us two, If you may never see my face, Nor I touch hand of you, Besidé your sprig of rosemary 1 lay my sprig of rue. —Rosalie Arthur in Smart Set. Curson’s Reply. Lord Curzon has been long noted for his cutting and cold remarks. Some | years ago, says the railway official who tells the story, Lord Curzon came down from London by what was then the London, Chatham and Dover Rail- way, to address a political meeting at one of the Kent coast resorts. Lord Curzon was in a hurry. The train made its twenty miles an hour all right, but | the future Viceroy thought it the slow- est train on earth. He said so to the guard. That dignitary, as usual, took the remark as a person insult. | “If you don't like the speed of this | train, mister,” he said, “you can get out and walk!” Lord Curzon was not crushed. | as vinegar came the reply: “I would, only they don’t expect me till this train gets in!" The Russian Soldier. “The Russian soldier, as I saw him during the Boxer campaign, impressed me as being a fatalist of a very prac- tical order,” writes O. K. Davis in Everybody’s Magazine. “If it is his time to lose his life he will Jose it, and Tart { He might as well go to one place as TOWN to the Japanese, SO tl;at the required speed could be made. The Russians halted and formed bestde the road, while the Japanese infantry went by them on the double and the battery on a trot. From that time until the day's distance had begn made thers was no more trouble about the, rail@re of the advance guard to maintain contact with the enemy.” Gla The French Alpine Club appointed a committee of scientific men two yea¥s ago to collect annually the results of all the studies of glaciers made in every part of the world and to prepare a yearly report. Thé second report, covering 1902, just issued, presents a large amount of evidence to show that throughout the world the great ma- jority of glaclers are manifesting a constant tendency to diminish in area. Their lower ends are slowly retreat- ing farther up the mountains. There are exceptions to this rule in small dis- tricts, but these exceptions only em- phasize the prevailing tendency every- where, from the Arctic to the Antarctic zones. J In the Alps, for example, the diminu- tion of glaciation Is everywhere notice- able, excepting in the Oriental Alps, where the glaciers are mnow a little longer and thicker than they were at the beginning of the century. Through- out the Cordilleras of the Andes the glaciers are retreating. St. Louis Notes. ers Fading. Mrs. Noble Prentis of Newton, Kan., has been appointed hostess of the Kan- sas building at the World's Fair. The building is within a few days of com- pletion. All the steel for Belgium's building at the World's Fair has arrived from Ant- | werp and the structure will be rushed to completipn. It has a lofty arch roof with high central feature. In addition to the four acres of ex- hibit space in the Forestry, Fish and Game building at the World's Fair, there will be twenty-five acres of out- side exhibits in the Department of For- estry. Among the many new hotels under construction in St. Louis is a new one at Fourth street and Lucas avenue, with a capacity for 500 guests. This hotel has not yet been named. It is being built by the Belcher Water Com-~ pany. The Belcher baths will be a fea- ture of the new hotel. The tower of the German building at the World's Fair will be equipped with cast steel bell chimes, comsisting of three bells. They have been completed at Bochum and tested by Professor Theodore Krause, the royal musical di- rector. - The largest photograph ever made will be exhibited in Germany’s display at the World's Fair. It is twelve yards long and a yard and a half wide, all in one piece. It is a view of the Gulf of Naples, Answers to Queries. BACK DATE—Subscriber, City. The 25th of November, 1875, fell on a Thurs- day. LOUISIANA EXPOSITION—P. &, City. The opening of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition has been fixed for May 1, 1904. FORCE OF WAVES—T. M., City. It is stated that a rolling wave twenty feet high exerts a force of about one ton per square foot. PATTI-S. C., City. Adelina Pattl made her first appearance in San Fran- cisco March 10, 1884, She was here again in 1887 and in 1890. POKER PLAYING — Player, City. The playing of the game of poker has been prohibited by law. The playing of that game was prohibited in Austria by the Government November 23, 1886. HORSEHAIR — E., Eureka, Cal. A horsehair placed in water will net. in time, develop into a snake. If such a hair is placed in water and the water becomes stagnant, a number of ani- malculae will attach themselves to the hair and the life of these cause the hair to move. From that has arisen the story that the dead hair is turned into a live snake. A WIDOW'S 'RIGHT—Stranger, Suisun, .Cal. Under the United States laws the widow or children of a home- steader are not required to reside on their homestead after his death, but must continue-cultivation by agent or otherwise. The widow can enter a homestead in her own tight while cul- there is little use in trying to save it.] tivating that of her deceased husband, in which event she must actually re- whether he goes into a fight or keeps out of it. He travels the line of least resistance, and from this develops a | blind but often unintelligent obedience. | That sort of man makes a dangerous | fighting machine. “With all these good quaiities, how- ever, there are others not so attractive. Big, strong, patient of toil and hard- ship, he is also clumsy, stupid and very | slow—a serious fault in fighting men. | There was a good exhibition of the Russian lack of speed the day the | Peking relief column marched from Mahto to Chang-chia-wan. For that | morning it had been arranged that a Russian battery and battalion of in- | fantry should form part of the ad- vance guard with the Japanese, whom the regular formation of the column placed in the lead. The Japanese were doing their full share, but the Russians could not or would not keep the pace. fter reneated attempts to get them | to do so Japan was obliged to ask Rus- aia to withdraw its men and give room another, and it makes no difference | side on the land entered in her own name. CIVIL SERVICE—E. W. S, City. Under the United States civil service rules applicants for positions must ob- tain an average of 70 per cent in order to be eligible for appointment, exeept that applicants entitled to preference, because of honorable discharge from the military or naval service of the United States for disabdility resulting from wounds received or sickness in- curred in the line of duty, need obtain but 65 per cent. - —————— Our frame department is showing a new line of frames in gilt, oak and art nouvean finishes. Good for New Year's. Sanbarn, Vall & Co . ————————— Townsend's California glace fruits and candies, #®e a pound, in artistic fire- siehed h,:‘u A nice present for ncflwn Market st.. above e e _ Special ‘nmw-na- supplied daily to bu.-.s ouses and public men by the Press 1 Bureas llen’ - fornia street.” Telophone Main io@ 1