The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 21, 1904, Page 30

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL _SUNDA\’. FEBRUARY 21, 1904. Russtan Names. University of Cali The most puzzling feature about the present war in the Far East would ap- pear to be the difficulty of spelling ahd pronouncing the Russian names. f the vessels engaged in the naval battle at Port Arthur, as contained in list Viceroy Alexe s officiz] report, looks like a mass of ingenious typographical errors, or the disastrous mixup of a runaway linotype. As a matter of fact, however, the difficulty which Russian names present to the American reader greatly enhanced by the fact that most of them, in the forms in which | see them, do not come to us directly - Russians, but suffer from a passage through the French or the German before reaching us, and most of the names involved in reports of the present war are the wild guesses of the correspondents, who for the most part inted with no language save acqua are their o Rus n fan names best by mno eans simple, because the Russian makes fine distinctions of sound which ly perceptible to the ears of but there is no reason why still further compli- at are French and German writers employ in r own languages , sound. As a matter of fact which flow from the facile- the Tsar find a tongued subjects of 1 : simpler and truer representation in our own forms of spelling than in cither of the other languages men- tioned. It is out of the question to attempt | here to give the Russian characters 1d their English equivalent, but it is entirely possible to sketch the lines of a simple, natural and uniform system | of transliteration which, by a compari son of the French and German forms | equently met with, will enable the casual reader to recognize Russian | names under their various forms, their correct spelling and their approximate pronunciation. Some words, to be sure, have become conventignal in a form which does not correspond at all to the Russian spelling or pronunciation and these can very well be left alone. Moscow,” for example, the Russians sp and pronounce “Moskva.” The name of the Viceroy ncw in charge of Russian affairs in the Far East is cor- rectly spelled “Alexeiev,” but we are already so familiar with the popular form “Adexieff” that it is probably best not to tamper with it. On the other hand, if you notice that a writer upon Russian affairs calls the autocrat of all the Russias “Czar” instead of ‘Tsar” you can make up your mind that he is ignorant of the Russian lan- guage and gets his information at secd ond hand. It is possible without any reference to the Russian characters, but simply by a comparison of French and Ger- man forms, to formulate a useful and fairly simple if not complete system of transliteration and preonunciation. As to accent, the majority of Russian names, especially tHose ending in ‘ov,” “ski” and “vich,” take the stress upon the next to the last syllable, for example, “Romanov,” “Alexeiev,” “Ma- karov” and “Turgene The ending “vich” means “son of,” and “ski” is simply an adjective ending similar to the German “isch.” One of the difficul- ties of Russian proper names will be simplified if it is borne in mind that the Russian zlways has three names— first, his given name; second, the given name of his father with “vich” at the end of it, and third, his family or sur- pame. Sc, for example, the name of the present Tsar is Nikolai Alexandro- vich Romanov, or Nicholas Romanov, son of Alexander Romanov. For a system of transliteration it will, perhaps, be simplest to mention various English letters or combinations of letters and the French and German forms which should be replaced by them. The changes chiefly to be ob- scrved are as follows: “Ch" should always replace the Ger- man “tsch” and the French “tch,” as Gorchakov. “G” is always hard; where the French are obliged to write “gu” on this ac- count they should not be copied, as Turgenev. For “kh” German writers use *“ch,” which is much too guttural to represent correctly the Russian, writing Astra- chan for Astrakhan. “8§"” and "'z” have their exact equiv- alents in Russian, but German and French scholars frequently use *s” for the latter and “ss” for the former, writ- ing Wassili for Vasili, and Rasumewski or Rasoumoffsky for Razumovski. “Sh” should be used for the German “sch” and the French “ch,” as Dash- kov. 4 For “ts” the Germans write “z.” “¥V” correctly transliterates the third letter of the Russian alphabet, which French and German writers have vari- ously represented by “w” and “f,” e. 2., Vorentsov. To be sure “ff” at the end of a word more correctly approx- imates the Russian pronunciation, but for the sake of uniformity it is much better to use v in all cases, and this usage has been adonted by the authori- ties of the British Museum. The Rus- sian character for this letter is “B,” and to this was due the mistake by which Sevastonol was formerly writ- ten Sebastopol. . “Zh” should be used where the French use “§,” so Nizhni Novgorod. The vowgls “e” and “i” must be re- tained a& in French and German with Thp' srotesque spelling which | > .. & 5 their continental pronunciation (e—a and i—e); but “i” (German “J” and French in some cases) standing be- fore a vowel has its force as a conso- nant. In Russian these combinations are expressed by single characters and | we take our translation from tie Pol- ish: thus Diebich has two syfubles and Paskievich has three. “Y,” however, mdy be used at the beginning of a word instead of “L"” as in Yermolov. For “u,” pronounced “00” when not preceded by “i,” the French use ‘“ou,” writing Zouboff for Zubov. Perhaps the most confusing Russian | names in connection with the conflict | | in the Orient are those of the vessels ' of the Russian fleet. ' These are, to be sure, in many cases long and difficult, | but a number of them can be simplified | by applying the above rules. The names given the Russian battleships and | cruisers are usually taken from Rus- | | sian history and mythology, while the | gnames applied to torpedo-boats and | torpedo-boat destroyers express quali- | | ties and remind one of the names of the ma English war vessels. \ It may not be amiss to mention the' Efiglish equivalents of the names of | some of the vessels which occur in the dispatches concerning events in the | Far East. Among these, for example, | are the “Cesarevitch,” which means ; “‘Son of the Tsar,” or “Crown Prince”; | | the “Bolarin,” or “Boyar,” the title of | the Russian noble in early times; | “Pobieda,” or “Victory”; the “Petro- paviovsk” and the “Sevastopol,” named | | after two -Russian cities; the “Per- | esviet,” or *Around-the-World”; the| “Varia or “Varangian”; and the “Askold,” named after the legendary founder of Kiev. Among the torpedo | boats and destroyers are to be noted such names as “Vnimatelni,” or “At-| tentive”; “Bezstrashni,” or “Fear-| the “Vnushitelni,” or “In- spiring”; the “Rasyashchi,” or the “Elucidator’ the “Silni,”” or the “Grozovoi,” the “Thunder- | Serditi,” or the “Angry”; the | | “Steregushchi,” or “Picket,” and the! “Smieli,” or the “Bold.” It is hardly to be expected that the average reader will pronounce correctly | the difficult combinations of letters and | | sound which the Russians employ, for there is no royal road to tne learning of the ‘Russian language, but the above | suggestions and explanations may be of some assistance to him. And where | | these fail to help, one can only add to | the advice which the distinguished English diplomat gave to his secretary when he said “If you wish to pronounce | a Russian name, sneeze twice and sny‘ kit Land o’ Storks. i { | | The Dutch and the leading natives | in Java are of the opinion that the! popuiation is increasing too rapidly for the good of the island. The census, taken every five years, has long shown | an increase of over 2,000,000 for each census period, and the rate of growth ! has constantly accelerated. The in- | crease of population from the census | of 1895 to that of 1900 was over | 2,000,000. Java is only a little larger than New York State and the central regions are too mountainous for a very | dense population. The fact that the last census showed a total population of 28,745,698 indicates a frightful con- gestion of humanity over all the coastal | and interior plains and valleys. The | density of population is 568 persons for | every sqyare mile of surface, which is | greater than in any province of China, excepting in Shantung. If France had | the same density of population its in- | habitants would number 120,000,000; the | United States at the same rate would have 1,688,000.000 inhabitants, which is about 100,000,000 more than the esti- mated population of the world. Such packing of humanity as this at least illustrates the fact that when every acre of tillable land is stimulated to its highest productivity it will give sus- tenance to several times the number of persons who are now supplied with food from an acre of land in most countries. The Javanese are still able to raise all their raa food and to export the pro- | ducts of their plantations and forests to the amount of millions of dollars a | year. But they ate already talking about a time to come when they will no longer be able to produce on their island all the food they require. New York “Newsices.” After he has sold out to the morn- ing crowds going to their daily work, as they leave the street cars, ferries and bridge and pour into the down- town streets, the night newsboy goes to bed. It is estimated that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 boys who sell newspapers in the streets of New York. Hundreds of these have no homes in the city. They have run away from parents in other cities, or their parents are dead, or-frequently these boys of the street are the chil- drea of irresponsible or criminal men and women. So the night newsboy when his work is done goes to some lodging-house on or near the Bowery not far from Newspaper Row and gets a bed for a dime or 15 cents. And he sleeps in the lodging-house until af- ternoon. Then he goes out into the streets again, taking a bite at one of the many cheap restaurants which newsboys frequent; and pretty soon his hoarse and resonant “fog-horn” voiee is telling again the startling tales of a day in the world. The “‘real” newsboy works at night because he can make more money then. A “kid” told me that he made $3 50 in one night; and that was his record, his earnings being smaller usu- ally than a dollar. The boys who have homes and parents and who attend school sell their papers in the day- time and these boys are under a reg- ulation which has recently been en- forced hy the co-operation of -the school and municival governments. The schoolboy who wants to sell pa- pers must take a certificate from the principal of his school to the Board of Health and the latter gives him badge.—Leslie’'s Weekly. & Two thousand automobile chairs, with seats for two persons, will be for hire with or without chauffeur in the World’s Fair grounds at St. Louis. | the children of light, by showing the desire to beautify THE SAN FRANCISCO CAI.Li. JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor - - « « « - . . . . Address Ali Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager Publication Office ++....Third and Market Streets, S. F. +Zisesidii s s FEBRUARY 21, 1904 OAKLAND RESPONDS. SUNDAY HE CALL has been very ecarnest in urging the T cities of Northern California to use the climate to their advantage, by plamin'g palms as street trees, instead of using elms, ash, sycamore and other decidu- cus trees. It goes without saying that trees which cast a gense shade are not desirable. The evergreens, like cypress and acacias, have that fault and their lateral roots interfere with the sidewalks. But the palms have a tap root, do not throw out laterals and do not make a thick shade. The palm is always and everywhere a tropi- cal feature in the landscape, and no other plant excels it for indoor decoration. The hotels in this city that have the space required use boxed or potted palms with splendid effect, for dec- oration. If they adopted the idea held by some who are insensible to climatic advantages, they would put in de- ciduous trees, to lift their bare branches before the eyes of Eastern tourists. If palms are used only indoors and deciduous trees are put on the streets, the impres- sion made upon travelers is that palms grow here only indoors. This does rank injustice to California. If we | are to use only the trees that are bare of foliage for half ! the year, we might as well all wear wool caps with ear | flaps, put on arctic overshoes and thrummed mittens and assume the same wintry aspect as people who live in the zero-minus belt. We have endeavored to enforce the utility of palms in all our cities where street planting is possible. They may be used clsewhere witli fine advantage. Our Cali- fornia railroads spend a large amount of money in pub- lishing magazines and in other means of advertising the State. If they would spend some in planting palms on both sides of the tracks, using the date and fan varieties, they would get the most satisfactory results. Imagine the effect upon Eastern travelers at this season, if they could ride through a splendid palm avenue upon enter- ing California, after a journey of 2000 miles through frost and snow and bleak winter. In so parts of Southern Europe, not favored as much by €imate as we are, the railroads have roses planted along their tracks, which in_their season of bloom make a charming im- preision upon passengers. Our roads can have the roses too, but they should use the palms as well. The Out- | door League of California is interested in this subject and can do a great work for the State by preaching the | gospel of the palm for streets. s The attention that we have given to the matter has stirred a responsive chord in Oakland. The Real Es- tate Association of that cityehas passed resolutions de- precating the use of deciduous trees on the streets, on the ground of the litter made by the fallen leaves, the interference of the lateral roots with sidewalks and ewers, and the wintry aspect of the bare branches in the season when the most Eastern visitors come here. Now, real estate men are sometimes considered to be the séns of Belial, but those of Oakland cnroll themselves among their city by making the best use of its splendid situa- tion and clement climate. They resolve in favor of the palm, and we strike palms with them with sincere pleas- ure. They are promoting the construction of a scenic boulevard in the mountains, leading to the highway tun- nel which connects their city with the rich valleys of Contra Costa County. They know the value of an appeal to the eye, and ap- preciate the importance of garniture when it comes to selling real estate. In fact, they are important allies of the Outdoor League. It seems, by the text of their resolutions, that the City Council has become deciduous and proposes to make the town melancholy during the winter months by lining its streets with elms and ma- ples, and they pray the city government to retreat from this position and take refuge under the palm. Their action is part of the great awakening that has been caused by the appeals of The Call. In California north of the Tehachapi we have been a matter-of-fact folk, going at a jog trot, content with our mines and mills, our orchards and vineyards, and looking upon the adornment of our ranch house surroundings and the or- [ namentation of our cities as a rather secondary matter, not having in it dollars and cents. But now we are learning that climate is an asset, out of which we get dividends not only in crops and manufactures, but also in using it for the purposes of ornamentation in outdoor beauty, to catch the eye, allure the fancy and open the | purse of visitors and investors. The people of Clover- dale are doing this with their citrus fair. If they were-of the deciduous school, they would avoid showing the orange, lemon, pomelo and olive, and instead would invite the Eastern tourist to view an exhibit-of corn and wheat and oats, turnips, beets, the pungent onion and well-baled hay, pickled pork and hams. We may well go to Cloverdalers, study their ways and be wise. McKowen must serve four years and nine months’ im- prisonment in the State’s penitentiary for a theft of fifty thousand dollars of public funds. 'I"he majesty of the law- in California is easily appeased. McKowen has hardly been given time enough in which seriously to re-’ flect upon his crime. Many men in the world, other- wise honestly intentioned, would be tempted to earn the same sum of money in the same way under any con- dition except disgrace. LET THE. SPARROW FALL. T into this country has produced evils that were not foreseen. The bird was originally brought with the expectation that it would prey upon the insects which , attack our trees. This was done in ignorance. All insect feeding birds have long, slim and pointed beaks. The sced eaters have the short pyramidal beak. The English sparrov; advertises itself as_of the latter class, Professor Dyche, an Arctic explorer and naturalist, who lives in Lawrence, Kansas, has been studying this HE mistaken importation of the English spar‘row ) dines on field "seeds and tops off on fruit, and makes i mo return by destroying insect®or b{n song. . Within the last two years the English sparrows in California have discovered that figs are good to eat. Many instances are known in which they have destroyed the whole crop in an orchard. They find the seeds and pulp to be just what they require, and as fast as the fruit ripens they peck into it and destroy it. It seems like fighting the sands of the sca, or the motes that shimmer in the sunbeams, to fight the myriads of these undesirable birds, but we have no doubt that unless something is done to reduce their numbers they will be found a,formidable pest in the orchards. We have just begun the shipment of Smyrna figs. Last year our export amounted to 680 tons, and California will soon supply the American market with the best variety of dried figs. But if the sparrows continue to spread from the towns into the country, the Smyrna fig orchards wilt he in danger. One efficient means of fighting them is by destruction of their nests and eggs. They are as keen witted as they are destructive, and soon retreat from any place where their nests are disturbed. In the cities they have wmet that sort of campaign and that is probably one reason why they are going into the country, where the facilities for nesting are better and they can brood un- disturbed. The horticulturists of this State should take measures to meet this invasion, and if necessary public of this scolding, chattering pest. The birds may easily become in this country the equal of the rabbits of Aus- tralia as destroyers and require equal attention to their destruction. It is noted that as they retire from towns the robin, grackle and oriole return and take up the campaign fruit trees. We are not aware that the sparrow is a nuisance where it is a native, in England. But here .it is an immigrant ungrateful for its asylum in the land of the free. E'ngland, inspired by that keen sense of precaution that distinguishes her when she sees herself drifting into trouble and wants others to share her burden of consequences, is scouring through Europe for friends who do - not like Russia. Thus far in her search Britannia has discovered the chilling fact that all of those that do not like Russia have an equally emphatic dislike of England. W a court in this country, in a case of homicide, was made for the benefit of Daniel E. Sickles after the shooting of Key. Its advantages were at once seen by practitioners of criminal law, and we have built up an elaborate system of inquiry into the mental state of ancestors, near and remote, of persons accused of murder. In a majority of such cases the plea of in- sanity is entered and experts and family history are used by the defense. as it-is here.' When a man kills another there, unless he is actually in a madhouse at the time, it is concluded that he was morally responsible for his act, and homi- cide gets whatever restraint there is in prompt punish- ment. crease of murder in this country, and it would seem as if the legal profession ought to consider its responsi bility in the matter, and that legislatures and courts EMOTIONAL INSANITY. E believe the first plea of emotional insanity in ing in proporiion to the amount of murder. In a noted case some testimony was offered that is a rare contribution to medical jurisprudence. A medical expert testified that the accused came to him for an operation for appendicitis, and upon the statement .of the pati only he operated and found no indication of of health. This testimony was held to be evidence that the man was insane. If there can be fun in such a grew- some affair as a murder case, this is funny. The doctor depended upon the patient’s diagnosis of his case and trustfully explored his interior with the knife, not on his owh judgment as a doctor and surgeon, but on the non- professional statement of the explored individual. Things are reciprocal. If that doctor should have the misfortune in hot or cold blood to kill some one, unpro- fessionally, his attorney could plead insanity and offer this incident in proof of it, arguing that no sane physi- cian would resort to laparotomy on a patient’s mere say- so, without satisfying himself that disease existed war- ranting that extreme resort to the knife. To accept such expert testimony is to open the way to immunity from punishment for murder, since an intending murderer will only need to have himself operated on for a disease that does not exist to establish his insanity, and then can bring down his enemy with a pot shot and throw him- self with confidence upon the mercy of the experts. We believe that here, as in Europe, the rope will prove quite an exterminator of emotional insanity. gt “If they send-us to the bottom say a good word for us.” What cry of patriot and hero could be more elo- quent than that, uttered by the commander of a Rus- sian cryiser who went bravely out at Chemulpo to fight against overwhelming odds an® went down to death in the sea with his expiring ship? The sailors of other nations cheered him on his way and the world applauds him for his heroism and his devotion to duty. Sede b omegy cero In his defense against a serijus accusation in connec- tion with alleged postal frauds} United States Senator Burton of Kansas declares that he accepted a certain sum qf money as a fee of an attorney, not as a bribe for a Federal Senator. If a jury should get his dual capac- ity muddled and punish him as ‘a Senator, forgetting him as an attorney, wouldn’t he hzve himself to blame for bird in that locality. He finds that it is spreading into the country, and everywhere drives away the birds of song that fced on insects. It is becoming a fruit'ea!':r,‘ and mixes its diet by attacking field crops also. Profes- sor Dyche says that he had to plant a field of turnips three times before he got a stand. The sparrows- scratched out the seed and consumed them, taking even the sprouted plants, when they had developed two leaves. They attack all fruits, spoiling more than they =onsume, by pecking it, and by knocking off a great deal of it. S . These findings against this noxious imn'xigrant‘vare of importance tc California. The sparrow returns nothing to the fruit grower for his board and lodging, for he eats none of the predatory insects. A robin and black- bird will take a little fruit dessert, but they carn it by making their main meal on moths, larva and insects that injure the orchatfiist. On the other hand, the sparrow trying to be too much? e America is now the happy possessor by purchase of a Greek chariot long held sacied in Italy as one of the greatest of its ‘relics of ancient civilization. Our smile of triumph is suspended in agitated doubt, however, un- til we have positive assurance that J. Pierpont Morgan had nothing to do in the buying. We do not take to the antique gold brick with any more grace than we do to the modern specimen. x s : AR S TR e * Judging frém the acrimony. with which political par- ties in the leading countries of Euro e are using the Japanese-Russian war as a weapon with which to as- sault the domestig policy of their oppongats, one is led to suspect that for these nations the Eastern row has almost the serious aspect of internal trouble. Most of Europe appears to be secretly fighting Russia over the shoulders of Japas 5 N authority should be invoked to secure the extermination against destructive insects, with benefit to the shade and | In Europe this plea is not as common | Perhaps this has something to do with the in- | should apply the brakes, and permit a little more hang~I that disease, as his vermiform appendix was the picture | TALK OF — THE TOWN e The, Meanest Man. “Heretofore the man regarded as the meanest in the world,” said a member of the Press Club, “was a man who buttoned his collar to a wen on the back of his neck to save buy- ing a collar button. But he is so no {longér. The meanest man is in San | Francisco. I had occasion recently to | ivite him to dine with me at a down- | town restaurant. We happened to get {a little French waiter who had pre- | viously waited ®n me and who had . been so over-zealous to earn a tip that . he had not permitted me to eat in | peace. I mentioned the incident to my guest, who said he would cure the garcon. { The latter recognized me and a !prospecu\'e tip at the same moment yand began over-earning his money. "l noticed my guest quietly put a quar- ter- alongsidé of his plate, just in | sight but not far enough out to jus- | | tify its belng taken. The waiter saw | the bait and began to speed up. As ! the dinner progressed the quarter was | replaced with fifty cents. The garcon saw it and renewed his efforts to please. The guest smiled benignantiy on the biscuit mercury and later ra- placed the half with a dollar. Then extras from the kitchen began coming our way and we were all but swamped | with attention. Finally the black cof- fee arrived and as it was being drunk my guest reached over, took up the dollar, and calmly putting in its place a nickel, walked out. The waiter !stood aghast and speechless while I, | hesitating to spoil my brutal guest's joke, paid the bill at the counter and followed him to the street.” Cable's En?r/)ri.rc. Judge Melvin of Oakland is author- ity for a story illustrating the irre- pressible wit of the late Bill Nye. The Judge was one of a committee of citi- {zens who went across the bay to meet iand welcome the humorist upon his last visit to this city, which occurred i shortly before his death. As thé party | were returning with their illustrious :xues(, seated upon the upper deck of | the ferry-boat, they passed the im- mense round sign upon Goat Island | bearing the single word “Cable,” in- | tended to denote the location of the cable crossing. Nye happened to look toward the sign and immediately said | with inimitable dryness: “Well! It ! beats everything what means these | Southern novelists take to advertise themselves!” Two Singers. | | A poet wrote a wondrous song. | So_liquid-like it flowed along | . From brain to pen refined; | The bard a seholar was and rare, | Who smoothed each thought, in utmost care, And made his lines as softly fair | _ As sighs of Elysian wind; | Yet lived they only on the page; They held no cry, nor moan, nor rage, Nor grip of human kind. | A singer made a rough-garbed song That pulsed with life, and throbbed among The working. heart-stirred crowd; | 'Twas w;ld and sweet, yet tinged with i pain; ! It mouthed the sorrows, loss and gain, | Of harassed souls who strive in vain To 'scape life’s awful cloud; It spoke the woes of fate-crushed men; It breathed of times when joy again ‘Would lighten hearts care-bowed. | New years went by; great changes came; | The poet fine was lost to fame, And e'en his memory cold: | His works lay moldering. ail unread; Save by the few who prize the dead. And starve the bard who asks for bread; But o'er the land that bold True song of rude-tongued bard was | It seemed as though to, Time it clung And ne’er would lose its hold. —J. E. Patterson in London News. ‘A Record Break. Not since Hugo's famous Thenardier, leader of the rogues in ‘“Les Miser- ables,” has there been such a remark- able prison breaker as that de- scribed by the Matin. Says this paper: “Extraordinary ingenuity was shown by a burglar named Vandenwegacte, who, escaped recently from the under- noun\‘condemned cell in Lille jail, in the morth of France, where he had been specially confined on account of his notorious cunning and his open beast that he would find,a way out before long. “The cell is furnished with a single massive door opéhing on a corridor {at the end of which is another door, provided with a ‘safety lock.” One evening the vrisoner was locked up for the night; the next morning his cell was empty. The bird had flown, and two false keys made of tin found out- | side the door of the corridor told their | own tale., # A “A search in the cell has enabled the prigon officials to piece together the his- tory of-this daring deed. - With part of the bread supplied to him Vandenwe- gaete took the impression of the lock of his cell. With Some more bread he made a mold, in which he cast a key out of a tin cup, the nietal béing melted on his stove. s “The same night he opened his door, took a bread crumb impression of the corridor lock, made another key and scon found himself outside the corridor. From a cupboard he abstracted a sheet and a broom handle, which he tied to- gether and made his way into the prison yard, which is surrounded by a wall, topped with broken glass. Fixing the broom handle between two bottle ends he threw the knotted sheet over the wall and slid down it inte the street. His next move was to break into a house and exchange his prison costume for ordinary attirg. For the present all trace of this resourceful criminal has beea lost.” = ' * Eduéation in Sweden. Sweden seldom attracts (lit'nlentl‘on of the sverage the world. The standard education in Sweden has oty : : ' point to even greater efficiency ahead. It shoul ::-:M --f:.r,tn m‘ bt been adapted most closely. to agricul- “of popular been steadily the Reforma- 0} ?Rgli 1L 2 tural needs. The first beginnings of the national school system were made in 1686. In that year a law was enact- ed to insure for all children a sound re- ligious education, so far as reading and knowledge of the Lutheran catchism were concerned. In 1842 the national compulsory law of education was intro- duced. Modifying acts have appeared since, but the present system comes from that date. As a result of its ex- cellence, practically every one in the country can read and write. Law of “Ancient Lights.” ! Englishmen, at least the more pro- gressive among them, are finally awak- ening to the absurdity of an old law which establishes what are known as “ancient lights.” Under this law win- dows which have been in existence for nineteen years or more cannot be de- prived of light by the construction of neighbering buildings without due compensation having been made to the owner. In other words, an owner of lard cannot erect a building which will shut in gny of the windows of neigh- boring buildings, providing the latter have been in existence for nineteen or more years, without making himself liable to extensive damages. Moreover, the damaged owner can prevent the erection of any ‘such building which will take away his light if he wishes to do so. The light, by virtue of the time he has enjoyed it, has become a part of his preperty. Efforts are now being made to have this relic of past ages repealed. It is this more than any- thing else that has prevented the erec- tion of high buildings in London. Answers to Queges. ERNE-McGOVERN—A. P.. Citns | Frank Erne was defeated by Terry | McGovern in three rounds, New York, July 16, 1900. TAMALPAIS—Citizen, City. The ‘Weather Bureau on ton of Mount Ta- malpais is{at an elevation of 2373 feet. The elevation of the west peak is 2604, middle peak 2520 and the east peak 2592, SUMMER FOC A. O. S., City. The summer fogs of San Franciseo result from a chilling of the upper Warm air, descending to the ocean surface, and particularly the cold current close to | the shore. POLICE PENSION—A. E. W., City. Unde - the provisions of the charter the San Francisco Board of Police Pension Fund Commissioners must meet on the first Monday in January, April, July and October, and upon the call of the president. SAN FRANCISCO WEATHER—Sub- scriber, Oakland, Cal. The mean an- nual temperature of San Francisco as determined from the records of the ‘Weather Bureau for twenty-eight years is 56 degrees. May and November have practically the same temperature. The warmest menth is September, 60; the coldest January, 50. The mean temper- ature of the other months is: February 52, March 54, April 55, May 57, June 59, July 58, August 59, September 60, Octo- ber 60, November 36 and December 52. The highest temperature ever recorded was 100 degrees, June 29, 1891, and the lowest 29, on January 15, 1888. MASTER ELECTRICIAN—Subscri- ber, City. The following from a recent order from the War Department, U. A., is a cemplete answer to your question as to master electriclan in the United States army and electrician ser- geant: A master electrician is an en- listed man in the United States army. His pay is $75 per month, with the same allowances as an electrician sergeant. His duties are similar to those of an electrician sergeant, though of @ higher nature, and his station will be at the mere important posts. Applicants from civil life for appointment as master electrician must be under 33 years of age and unmarried. They will apply direct in writing to the commandant of the School of Submarine Defense, Fort Totten, New York, for examination. Théir applications must be accompanied by certificates from responsible parties showing that the applicant has received i a thorough course of study, embracing mathematics to include geometry and trigonometry, physics, electricity and mechanical drawing, and three years of practical training in the use and care of steam and oil engines, of machines and machinists’ tools, and of electric appliances and apparatus, and a that his moral character is good. These certificates should preferably be from principals of schools and former em- ployers and should clearly show the amount and scope of theoretical in- struction the applicant has received, his practical experience and skill in work' of the kind designated and his habits of industry and sobriety. Upon receipt Of an application from a civilian, accompanied by satisfactory certifi- cates, the applicant will be directed (o report at his own expense to the com- manding officer of the nearest military pest for physical and preliminary men- tal examipation. pay of an elec- $34 per month, with for rations, clothing, quarters, medical | attendance, ete. * Bpecial information business houses and pul Press Bureau fornia