The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 19, 1904, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1904 SUPREME COURT HOLDS THAT CORPORATION FRANCHISES SHOULD BE ASSESSED, AND APPLIES RULE IN BANK CASE Decision One of Most Important Ever Rendered Regarding Revenues in Cali ion of the State for any business is & cording to a de-| upreme Court orated fake Pacific impossible to | of the amount | this State, county | ts during the | con- oil “corporate fran- fixed by deducting the | ible property from the of the stock in each When realized that \cerns have little other tan- roperty t office furniture r market value jerable e subtra rt has b will be left sc Assessor th more this city banks in ese will be | the other e State is not par- the bank Asses- | At- s decision e taxpay- rendered beer he loss ex- om of stock | Thus one of the great te wealth will no »aying taxes. i | market value of the shares of stock at | Into the law books and raised an army | Court agrees that fornia. The case was brought as a test, and the leading spirits in all of the State’s big corporations have watched for the decision with the utmost interest. As- sessor Dodge has maintained that all incorporated concerns possess a fran- chise. He has made essments which the Board of Supervisors, sit-| ting as & board of equalization, has re- jected. It was finally determined to let the matter be settled by the courts. Dodge found the aggregate value of the tangible property of the Bank of California to be $5,156,903 08. The the time of assessment was $8,100,000. The difference between these two | amounts—$§2,943,096 92—was held to be the value of the franchise. Dodge | then assessed the franchise at $750,- | 000. The Board of Supervisors al- | lowed the assessment to stand. This | occurred during the year 1901. The | bank brought sult in the Superior Court to have the assessment declared void. The taxes were paid under pro- test. CORPORATION FIGHTS HARD. The bank was prepared to put up a hard fight. The attorneys delved deep of authorities. The arguments that they brought before the Supreme Court were so numerous that the Justices in their long opinion handed down yes- terday could answer only a few of | them. The City Attorney’s office was | also Kept busy on the case, and its full list of citations from the author- | ities was imposing. The Superior Court | rendered a decision in favor of the city, and the whole matter was then lrans-‘ ferred to the State’s highest tribunal. | The bank’s attorneys claimed that | their client had been incorporated in 1864 and had never bebn possessed of any kind of a franchise. The Supreme | the right to do a banking business is not a franchise. | Such right, however, can only be ex- ercised by permission of the State. This grant by the sovereign power is vir- | tually a franchise and affects all con- | cerns which take advantage of the benefits to be derived from incorpora- tion. The bank’s lawyers argued that such a franchise exists in the case of | corporations, it is not of the taxable variety. The court says that it is somewhat in the nature of a special| ] ® ll'} ASSESSOR years. laws of thi State such objections by the court. A e e e ML S s el privilege and should be taxed in con- saquence. SHOWS GRANT IS FRANCHISE. The court explains in the following words how the permission to incorpo- rate is the donation of a franchise: The corporate franchise, viz: the franchise to be and exist as a corporation for the purposes | specified {n the articles of incorporation, ap- | pertains to every corporation, for whatever | arpose it may be formed, and there is no dis- | tinction in this regard between the banking or grocery corporation the railroad, water or & corporation. The right to engage in every ch business is open to all citizens independ- v of any grant from the sovereign, but it 10 _no one to conduct any such gh the agency of a corporation | grant claims that street railways, L 2 PEACE BRINGS PROSPERITY Minister Bowen Reports That | -Venezuela Is - Recovering From Effects of Revolution e O WASHINGTON, Feb. 18.—From Minister Bowen's reports it apears that conditions in Venezuela are reaching a most satisfactory basis. He cables that by a decree just is- the Government has opened the of Guant Sucre and Guiria have been closed for many as a result of the revolution rbances. Minister Bower zuelan Gov- paid the overdue Venezuelan mixed on of 1890. | £ue po s allment amounts to $77,000 | 1 is overdue between two and three Of the ious arbitration sions, which have been in ses- for the past six | all have completed | and it will be possible for | ezuelan Government to begin | of the claims allowed | , the announcement of the e Hague arbitration, which order in which the paid, whether on a | a division between all the pow- ers concerned or with a preference to the blockading powers. —_—— CHICAGO ELEVATOR COMPANY IS IN HANDS OF RECEIVER More Than a Million and a Quarter of | First Mortgage Bonds Reported Outstanding. CHICAGO, Feb. 18—The Chicago Rafiway Elevator Company of New | which ten years ago issued bonds younting to $2,500,000, was placed in hands of a receiver this afternoon petition of a judgment creditor. | More than §1 000 in first mortgage | nds of the elevator company are said outstanding. ght elevators in Chicago and three able sites for elevators are sched- wled as having been named in the trust deed given to secure the bonds when they were issued on March 1, 1804, | Two of the elevators have been de- | stroyed by fire since the bonds were | tesued and the control of the Fulton| t. Paul elevators passed from the y in 1898. The other properties , the management of a trustee ¥ 2 t or ; t E be v {EMPTION OF CRTY NOT CONTRABAND Feb. 18.—The House jttee on Foreign Affairs to-day d a favorabie report on the Jution authorizing the Presi- pond with the govern- e principal maritime pow- view of incorporating into ent law of civilized nations rinciple of the exemption of all private property at sea, not contraband from capture or destruction by rent powers. Goldfogie solution declaring it nse of the American people that ia should not restrict the privileges merican citizens beeause they were Jews, was taken up by the cammutee.' but no action was taken. Representa- tive Goldfogle and Representative Har-\ rison of New York were heard in favor{ e resolution, as also was Simon I, representing the B'mal Brith. } ] to corre nents of th h a he w ————————— Suffers Attack of Heart Failure. Frederick J. Richards was found an insensible condition on the cor-' ner of Franklin :nd Eddy streets last night and taken to the Emergency Hvepital, where he now lies in a pre- carious condition. He is apparently suffering from heart disease. He re- | sides at 1905 Fillmore street | rellable sources that a bill will be re-| | tirely | estimated, will take at least two years. | the ’Deedn Business Blocks to University. + | PLAN 10 FORM A NEW STATE | Predictions in Washington Are! That Oklahoma and Indian | Territories Are to Be Merged | LR WASHINGTON, Feb. 18.—As the re- | sult of the Territorial hearings for statehood, predictions are made from | ported in the near future from the | House Committee on Territories joining Oklahoma and Indian Territory into a ingle State under the name of Okla homa. This State will not be admitted, how- | ever, until after the allotment of lands by the Dawes Commission has been en- completed and the school land question has been settled. This, it is The State when admitted, it is ex- pected, will have a population of about 800,000 persons and will be divided int four Congressional Districts. | Later a bill will be reported admitting | Arizona and New Mexico as a single State, but this latter proposition will not be pressed for some time. —_——— CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE IN RUSSIA'S ARMY IN MANCHURIA ST. PETERSBURG. Feb. 18.—The general staff announced fo-day that the War Office was willing to accept volun- teers for service in the Far East. They must be under 40 years of age and have had military training. The volunteers will be enrolied in the reserve bat- | talions under Viceroy Alexieff. No official announcement of the dis- aster off Chemulpo, Korea, has yet been made here, although the papers are printing storjes of the loss of the Variag and Koreitz. The St. Petersburg Gazette asks: “What are we going to do with the mil- lions subscribed for the navy?” and continues: “We cannot patch up a useless gar- ment. Let us start afresh. Let the people decide how the money is to be spent. The ministries are too busy to give the matter dye attention.” Count Orloff, the 'philanthropist and close friend of the late Czar Alexander 111, has given $500,000 to the Red Cross Society—$100,000 for the immediate use of the society, $200,000 for a hospital | for wounded sailors and soldiers and | $200,000 for a school for orphans of the. war. The Korean Minister announces that. although 36,000 Korean troops are sta- tioned about Seoul, his Government preferred not to take up arms against Japan, because Korea is neutral and has felt certain Russia would soon drive out the Japanese. It was an- nounced from Seoul February 16 that the Korean Government has granted Japan the right to send her troops through Korea. M. Pleske has been relieved from his temporary post of Minister of Fi- nance and transferred to the Council of the Empire. S e Gives Lands to Armour Insfitute. CHICAGO, Feb. 18.—J. Ogden Armour has given lands valued at $250,000 to Armour Institute of Technology. Almost a square block north of and adjoining the present college building j¢ included in the tract, upon which an athletic field will be constructed before the opening of the next college year in September. —_—— OMAHA, Neb, Feb. 18.—John A. Creighton to-day deeded to Creighton Catholic University down-town busi- ness block® valued at a quarter of a million dollars. In all Creighton has given to the institution in cash and wroperty about $750,000. | anese fortresses and military and na- | ard | nated in the very center of the prob- | been now | which has value. DO are without merit. As these assessments of franchises were made by me four years ago on my own initiative after care- fully studying the revenue laws of this State, and as I have been at times violently criticized on account of such action, I cannot help having a strong feeling of gratification that my view of the law has been upheld This decision will enable the Assessors of the State to add millions of dollars of taxable property to the assessment rolls. The assessment of the franchise involved in this case, that of the Bank of California, was three-quarters of a million dollars. On last year’s roll in this city four million dollars of such fran- chises were assessed. The validity of these assessments is now established. These assessments will alone bring in taxes of six hundred thousand dollars. This amount will undoubtedly be very much increased this year, now that the court has upheld the legality of such assessment. P I am most gratified, however, at the statement in the decision to the effect that the “court could not say that the amount at which the franchise was assessed was either unjust or excessive.” The court recog- nizes the justice as well as the legal authority in taking the full cash value of the shares of stock of a cor~ poration into consideration as somewhat of a guide in arriving at the value of a franchise. This decision places great power in the hands of an Assessor. might result in injury to the community. In this decision the Supreme Court DGE STATES HIS CASE SAN FRANCISCO, February 18, 1904. This decision is one of the most important relating to taxation rendered in California in the last twenty I have awaited this decision anxiously since the first assessment of the franchise of a corporation other than a quasi-public corporation was made by me four years ago. takes up one by one the various arguments and objections that have been advanced during the last four years opposing the assessment of the franchises. The court decides that in view of the constitution and Were such power unreasonably used it Excessive taxation of personal property is unwise. Many modern authorities are opposed to any taxation of personal property, believing it to be a tax on business and en- terprise which will retard the growth of the community. With this question, however, as an officer of the law I am not supposed to deal, it being my duty to carry out the law of the Stute relative to assessment. It shall be my endeavor to act with discretion and fairness, and to ‘impose on invested capital no burdens which in my judgment they would be justified in resisting. The dissenting opinions are based on the supposition that the franchise assessed by me was the fran- chise “to be.” It is not this franchise which I had in mind, but the franchise “to do” as distinguished by the United States Supreme Court. I understood the decisions of ouur Supreme Courts to be to the effect that any assessment of any kind of personal property was not invalidated by insufficient description. WASHINGTON DODGE. _-_— telegraph lines and the like have fran- chises which constitute separate and distinct property, and these may be taxed, but plaintiff cannot dispose of this alleged special privilege, as it is neither vendible nor in any way trans- ferrable. The court avers that a corporation consists of Its stockholders and mem- bers transformed into one legal being. They have no other right in the cor- porate franchise than can be exercised through the corporation. Concerns of the kind mentioned may have special privileges which are transferrable, but it does not follow that the transferrable and vendible franchise is the only kind Numerous decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States and from various State Supreme Courts are cited to show that a spe- cial privilege which i{s of value must necessarily be construed as property and therefore taxable. EXPLAINS METHOD. The court takes pains to explain that Assessor Dodge pursued the right course in attempting to discover the value of a corporate franchise. The method of procedure is laid down plain- ly. First find the value of the tan- gible property. Next discover the mar- ket value of stock. From the second amount subtract the first and the re- mainder is the value of the franchise. The bank claims that if Dodge hap- pens to be right in his contention he Expresses Opinion That Three-Quarter ~ Million Valuation in Cause at Bar Is Just. is grievously mistaken as to the amount which plaintiff should be assessed. The court says that when -the Assessor makes an assessment which is approved by the Board of Supervisors, sitting as a board of equalization, the matter s not subject to judicial review. If the Assessor makes a fraudulent as- segsment or one that is manifestly un- just, the Board of Supervisors has the power to correct the wrong. After ex- plaining that it could not interfere in any event, the court furnishes the in- formation that it considers the assess- ment in question to be liberal to the corporation. The objections by the bank’s attorneys to the legal points of the City Attorney’s office are given some consideration in the opinion, al- th::ugh they are not answered in de- tail. SAYS BUSINESS IS COMMON. The corporation lays particular stress on the legal fact that banking is a ‘common” business; that is, one which any one may conduct without let or hindrance. It is asserted that to tax a franchise of this particular charac- ter is in violation of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States. The court declares that thé tax im- posed in the case at bar is not upon the business, but upon the property of the corporation. The right to do a banking business is common within the meaning of the law, but the exercise of that right has given the privilege a taxable value. It is stated that an attempt will be made to carry the mat- ter to the United States Supreme Court on the ground that this alleged viola- tion of the fourteenth amendment is a Federal matter. The Supreme Court concluded its de- cision with the remark that persons or partnerships in the same business would not be subject to this tax, which is applicable only to those having a corporate franchise. The opinion is written by Justice An- gellotti, with whom Justices Shaw, Van Dyke and Lorigan directly concur. Jus- tice McFarland writes a dissenting opinion. He claims that this “fran- chise” as defined by Assessor Dodge is not sufficiently definite. The partic- ular property, he holds, should be iden- tified. He maintains, secondly, that such a franchise is not assessable be- cause the State constitution does not | provide any method of ascertaining the value of the property involved. Chief Justice Beatty also writes a short dissenting opinion, in which he agrees with Justice McFarland in all essential particulars. Thirty days must elapse before the Judgment becomes final. If the court grants the petition for a rehearing the Wwhole matter will again be taken un- der consideration and the present de- cision will be declared void. If the four Justices who are agreed at pres- ent maintain their stand the result will unchanged. o SRR IS MEANS MUCH TO CALIFORNIA. Assistant City Attorney Brobeck Dis- cusses Supreme Court Decision. When the City Attorney’s office was apprised by The Call yesterday after- noon of the decision of the Supreme Court in the suit brought by the Bank of California against the city W. I Brobeck made the following state- ment: The decision of the Suprems Court in this case Is of greater importance to the in- tegrity of the tax system of California, relat- Ing to the assessment of corporatioms, than a other case that has been decided in recent years. Aside from the franchise taxes imme- diutely involved in this and kindred cases now pending, of which it was a test case, a con- trary decision would have meant the releass from taxation of one of the greatest sources of corporate wealth. Under our system no direct tax is levied upon the shares of stoek of California corporations, the taxation of the stock of such corporatious being accompiished through the taxation of the property of the corporation. Inasmuch as the tangible property of a core poration is generally much less than the aggre- gate market value of its stock, it would nec- essarily result, if po franchise taxes were pos- sible, that the stock of the corporation could be indirectly taxed only in_that proportion which the tangible property of the corporation bore to the aggregate market value of its e#tock. This would result in the exemption from taxation, in the cases of most corpora- tions, of a very considerable stock value. t only would that be true of the stock of lifornia_corporations, but by reason of the partial exemption of such stock from taxation it would be Impossible to assess the stock of national banks. the assessment of which, under the act of 1899, has been sustained by the Cir- cuit Court of 'Appeals for this circuit, and will undotbtedly be sustained by the United States Supreme Court. It i my opinion that 10 decision ir recent years has approached in importance the decision in this case in its tearing upon the taxation of corporate propar- ties. The State is to be congratulated upon the issue. Ante-Bellum News and Comment Gleaned From English Papers Publ Japanese newspapers which have just reached this city publish an ac- count of the arrest,in Yokohama of Takahashi Monsaku, an interpreter to the Russian naval attache. It is al- leged that this man has been in receipt of very high rewards for collecting and supplying information about Jap- val affai in general. One Tokio journal puts his property at a million yen, and says that he would have ef- fected his retreat to Russia long ago had he not been asked by his employ- e to remain a little longer. The po- lice are said to have been on Taka- hashi's tracks for a considerable time, his treacherous doings were known in Yokosuka. Rut the difficulty was to lay hands on proofs, and that has only just been accomplished. Speaking of the exodus of Japanese from the islands in the straits of Ko- rea, the Japan Mail says: “The people of Tsushima are said to be making arrangements for the trans- er of their old folks and children to 1oji, Hakata and Shimonoseki in the event of an outbreak of hostilities. Tsushima, if it possesses great natural beauties, has the misfortune to be sit- able field of operations, or, at least, one of the probable fields. Its position inflicted great suffering on its inhab- itants in the days of the Mongol in- vasions. “The Wakamatsu foundry is report- ed to be working day and night man- vfacturing rails for the Seoul-Fusan lin. It appears, further, that whereas officers on the seconded list had been largely employed there they have all withdrawn. “From Bakan it is stated that the passage of ships has become remark- ably infrequent. There are now, how- ever, fourteen steamers in the strait all loading coal to fill Russian orders. “The Japanese residents of Fusan are making arrangements to organize a corps of volunteers in the event of an outbreak of hostilities. Their spirit is said to be very high. They are tak- ing various measures to assist the op- erations of Japanese warships, and many of them have offered to con- tribute money.” KOREA AS A BATTLEGROUND. If Russia and Japan come to blows over their present differences, writes R. J. Macmasters in the Manila Cable- news, they are likely to find in Korea a field of battle in which the desper- ate deeds of valor of the ancient Greeks will be repeated. for Korea is a land of rocks, mountains, ravines and riv- ers. Its roads are always suggesting to the traveler Macaulay's words, “In | yon straight path a thousand may well be stopped by three.” The Spartan band business could be done here in a thousand places even better than it was done in the ‘“glorious days of old.” CALL'S SUMMARY OF THE WAR NEWS. From Tokio comes the report that the advance guard of the Russian army has taken up a strong position at Pingyang in its march toward Seoul, but it is added that an immediate advance upon the Korean capital is considered unlikely. The reports that the Russians have occupled Wiju are confirmed and it is believed that the first actual land ‘battle is more than likely to take place near that town. St. Petersburg reports that General Kuropatkin will go to the front and take command of all the lanfl forces. The dispatches add thar by a careful time calculation it has been discovered that the tor- pedo attack at Port Arthur took place one hour before Japanese Minister Kurino called at the | tile, her task demands ished In fact, on one occasion Marathon was completely outdone. It was in the six- teenth century, on the highroad be- tween Fusan and Seoul, a Chinese army met a Japanese force on this thor- oughfare near the frontier. A dozen men or so were killed on each side, and their bodies so blocked the road that . further fighting was impossible. The armies then sat down and tried to tire each other out. At the end of two weeks both grew so weary that they retired to their respective head- quarters and reported that the war would better be given up. One who passes through these inhospitable gorges cannot but commend the wis- dom of the two commanders. RUSSIA’S STUPENDOUS TASK. A warning is said to have been fur- nished of the dangers Russia would have to apprehend in connection with her single line of railway did war break out. At twelve places in the line be- tween Dalny and Tashikiao bombs are said to have been placed. Fortunately they were discovered before any cas- ualties ensued. The outrage is attrib- uted to Chinese coolies who have fallen into great distress owing to a sudden lowering of wages by the Russian au- thorities. Great numbers of these cool- ies were employed transporting goods between Newchwang and Port Arthur. But many of them have been thrown out of employment and the others find it difficult to support life on the pit- tance they are earning. If the greater part of the inhabitants of Manchuria were bent upon doing an injury to the rallway it would become a very pre- carious asset. Over and above the duties of actual combat Russia has an immensely diffi- cult task to perform in guarding the Integrity of that single thread upon which her military potentiality in Man- churia depends, the long line of rail- way. war, no asset more vulnerable. She knows well what risks that line of rail- way involves, and she will try to keep even the strictly neutral Chinese as far away from dangerous temptation as possible. Perhaps it is to that one desire that we should attribute move- ments described in the telegrams of the Nichi Nichi Shimbun; namely, the in the Japan crossing of the Liao by a force of 200 | Russians, the occupation of a place on the western side of the river, and the deflection of a considerable force toward the line. If she has to guard the west- ern, southern and eastern frontiers of an immense region, and at the same time to sustain herself and protect a single line of communication through a country where the population is hos- an immense army. FIGHTING FOR JAPAN ALONE. . In an editorial captioned *“The Real Casus Belli,” the Kobe Herald, an Eng- lish journal, said on January 25: Foreign Office to announce the severance of diplomatic relations. Viceroy Alexieff’s official report of the first attack at Port Arthur has been received in St. Peters- It described the defense and adds that decorations had been awarded to burg. gallantry in the battle. i No asset is more valuable in' Shanhaikwan-Kinchow | ese Empire. ‘“As will be seen from another col- umn, the latest cables from England tate that the universal opinion there s that, if Japan goes to war, she will be defending the world’s cause and pro- tecting the interests of progress and civilization. This is quite in harmony with the article in the Times, on which we recently commented, which stated that Japan was upholding the ideals ot the Anglo-Saxon race. Now we should be the last to deprecate the publica- tion of friendly sentiments of this kind. They encourage the Japanese Gov- ernment to persevere in the adoption of a firm and self-respecting attitude, and they are undoubtedly true as far as they go. But it is well, in a grave na- tional crisis like the present, to hold fast to actual facts, and to put aside merely sentimental considesations. We thoroughly believe in the righteousness of Japan's cause against Russia, and we also consider that, in making her present stand against the aggressions of the latter country, she is indirectly serving the interests of the rest of the civilized world. But it would be an entire misconcention to suppose that, if Japan takes the field against her for- midable antagonist, she will do so, pri- marily, in order to fight ‘the world's cause’ or to uphold Anglo-Saxon ideals.” BRITISH STEAMSHIP REPORTS HAVING BEEN UNDER RUSSIAN FIRE SHANGHAI, Feb. 18.—The British steamship Hsiping, which arrived here to-day from Chinwangtao, reports that she was fired upon by the Rus- sian ships and forts when seeking shel- ter iIn the outer roadstead of Port Ar- thur, and that she was then ordered | to Dalny, where she was detained four | days in spite of the captain’s protest. The Russian gunboat Mandjur has not gone up the river to be dismantled, as reported. She remains at Shanghai in defiance of the orders of the Chinese officials to leave this port. Previous advices from Port Arthur | have explained that the firing on the | Hsiping was due to a mistake, for which the Russian officials expressed regret. The vessel was detained at Dalny, according to the Russian ex- 1plan:n,non. for the reason that she had many Japanese aboard, who would have been able to supply their Govern- | ment with information concerning the | Russian fleet and forts if they were permitted to go direct from Port Ar- thur. —_—————————— Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent of railway employes in the United Kingdom get more than $14 60 a week. Russian ‘those who had displayed Japan will issue paper currency, redeemable n“‘lnld, for the usc of her troops in Korea. This is said to be in effect a forced loan. Japan has accented Secmry Hay's plan to limit the area of hostilities Russia’s acceptance will be received in a few days. Hay's note, according to a Berlin journal, did not ex- clusively deal with Chinese neutrality, but proposed to limit Russia’s action in the event defeated. .nnl it is expected that of Japan being 1 3 i PROTECTION OF RAILWAY A STUPENDOUS TASK FOR RUSSIANS REGRETS LOSS [SANTO DOMINGO OF ARMY CHIEF \ King FEdward Issues Special Order Bidding Farewell to Field Marshal Earl Roberts LONDON, Feb, 18.—A special army order was issued to-night iIn which King Edward takes leave of Lord Roberts as commander in chief of the army. The order is dated Buckingham Palace, and in it his Majesty says: “I desire, on behalf of my army, to express my deep regret at bidding fare- well to Field Marshal Earl Roberts, who retires from active employment upon relinquishing the high office of commander in chief, which will not { again be filled. I am unable to part with my commander in chief without returning to him publicly my thanks and those of the army he commanded for the invaluable services he has ren- dered the empire. “I ask all ranks to profit by the ex- ample of his illustrious career and his single-minded devotion to his sovereign and country.” e HOUSE COMMITTEE TO HEAR PHILIPPINE SHIPPING BILL Secretary of War Taft Opposes Proposition to Confer With Ship Owners Who Favor Measure. WASHINGTON, Feb. 18.—The House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries to-day set February 26 and 27 as dates for hearing on the Philip- pine shipping bill. On February 25 Secretary of War Taft, who is reported to be against this proposition, is to hold a confer- ence with representatives of the ship- ping interests throughout the country who favor the proposition and who de- sire a hearing before the House com- mittee and these dates were set for their accommodation. Chairman Grosvenor expressed his opinion that it would he much better for the committee to delay all actioa until the Senate had taken action. However, no opposition developed :o the hearings and the dates were fixed. e e— Medical Corps to Be Increased. WASHINGTON, Feb. 18.—Secretary Taft' has sent to Congress for intro- duction a bill providing for an in- crease and reorganization of the medi- cal corps of the army. There has been some differences of opinion be- tween the surgeon general and the general staff as to the increase to be allowed and Secretary Taft has fram- ed a compromised bill providing for 16 surgeons with the rank of Colonel, 24 with the rank of Lieutenant Colon- el, 120 Majors and 300 Captains and Lieutenants. —————— Petitions in Insolvency. The creditors of M. L. Blum & Co., commission merchants, 210 Davis street, have filed a petition asking that the firm be declared insolvent. Various irregular acts are charged against Blum. The Coos Bay Mill and Lumber Company, an involuntary insolvent, has filed its schedule of liabilities. The total liabilities are $35,767, of which $28,000 is unsecured. The as- sets reach $47,619. — e Will Give Hayseed Party. The third of the series of entertain- ments given by the Willing Workers of the Bush-street Synagogue for the benefit of the cemetery will take place at Golden Gate Hall on Thursday evening, February 25. It will be a ha; arty. e committee in o of'nlll.rt Leon Den- MIST BEHAVE United States Sees. Evident Plan of Morales Govern- ment to Foree Annexation R WASHINGTON, Feb. 18.—No news was received at the State or Navy departments over night regarding the reported landing in Santo Domingo of marines. It is the earnest wish of the administration that forcible interven- tion in Santo Domingo may be post- poned until after the ratification of the Panama treaty. If the outrages on American inter- ests continue, however, it will be nee- essary to put in force at once the dras- tic scheme of operations that has been agreed on. The United States, it is emphatically stated, does not want Santo Do- mingo as a gift or a pur- chase, and the officlals do not pro- pose to permit the Morales government to force annexation upon this country by continuing a scheme of attacks upon our interests. It will not surprise the officials to know that the reported at- tacks of the “revolutionists”” have been inspired by the Government. —_———————— NEW YORK BUSINESS MAN IS KILLED IN HIS OFFICE NEW YORK, Feb 18.—George B. Jennings, president of the Jennings Ad- justable Shade Company, was shot and killed to-day in his office in Brooklyn by Frank McNamara, foreman of the joint room of the Illinois Watch Case Company’s factory at Elgin, Il McNamara refuses to say why he shot Jennings. He came here a week ago from Elgin, where it is saild his wife and eight children live.. Jennings served as captain in the Fourteenth Brooklyn Regiment in the Spanish war. He leaves a wife and three children. McNamara was formerly employed in a watch factory at Sag Harbor, L. 1. It is surmised that jealousy was the cause of the murder. Jennings is said to have exclaimed, “Frank, you're wrong,” a moment before the fatal shot was fired. —_—————— Robbed by a Negro. Andrew Hunker, a mining man, while coming down Washington street near Benham place last night was held up by a negro, who robbed him of a diamond ring valued at $925, a key to safe deposit vault 3288 in Crocker- ‘Woolworth Bank and $3. Mr. Hunker gave his residence as 1695 Pacific avenue. ADVERTISEMENTS. Your Nerves Are the life, the vitality, the energy of your body. It is the nerves that cause the heart to pulsate, the lungs to inhale the oxyge: the brain to direct the motion of every organ of the body. the stomach to digest food, tha liver to secrete the bile, the kidneys to filter the blood and the bowels to carry off the waste. When the nerves of the st come Wi or exhausted, Indige: tion, Constipation and Inflammation re- sult. because the stomach is inactive. This is true of all the organs of the body. and proves that to cure disease you must strengthen the nerves. “ Dr. Mllfl"N.hrvln. v Is the great specific for the nerves, an in brln‘:mx them back to health never fails lto cure -uNeu::l .::. Nervousness, essness, eu eadache, m“fl’m‘. Backache, Muscular Twitchings, St. Vitus’ Dance. Epilepsy, Stomach, Liver and Kidney troubles. “For 2 years physicians and health re- sorts failed to hnlli‘eve me of a lica- tion of stomach, liver, kidney and Six bottles of Dr. Miles’ Ner- Grocer, Decatur, Ind. benefit, money