The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 10, 1904, Page 8

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY MARCH 10, 1 904, T~—— we will take e top has wess, ta ation and If and his work. ( It rtant and I If he can ha to be earn- es 0 young man is spe It will help him but if is made of the right ma hout it. siness in bonds has " n common with a siness, perhaps more th eral banking. Two pri- are no- immediately ~the buying and the In a general way that promise success in wij give success in the foundation thorough knowl- of the busin a- portunities. that a man larly good buyer the qualifications g him success in selling. of a beginner in the 1l probably be the rs, delivery of mail and s as can be his inexperienc € 1 have an oppor- ty of proving his value and fitness the work that he may never get however, not have ntelligent application to hand, even if it be seem- the most insignificant in the en- bus . will bring an emplc s commendation. By at-| even in running errands, an learn a great deal of value to him. He will become ac- quainted, superficial way, of course, with and things. He will about the forms of doing 1d acquaint himself with 1 details of commercial life. young man who succeeds here not be long in attracting the at- of his superiors to his earnest « and he may soon be put upon mechanic A the record books, which are in the nature of memoranda of facts regard- ing public and private corporations that bout to issue bonds, records of detail in conpgction with previous and prospective and issues and sales and other matters of a like nature. | From these he will probably be ad-| vanced to bookkeeping, in which he has ag wide a range as he would have in the bookkeeping department of any mercantile institution. During all of | these experiences he will make a se- rious mistake if he does any part of his work flippantly 2nd Tails to under- stand anything he does, and he will| make another serious mistake if he fails to grasp the significance of Hhis work as a whole, for many a young | man in his intense application to the | work in hand sees only the words| He knows the | but he does | that flow from his pen. details of the I asiness, not know it as a whole. By this time an employer will have | formed a pretty good idea of the | voung man’s application, honesty and | ability along certain lines. The real test will come to him when he is sent out to look for business, relying large- | Iy upon his own resources. Perhabs | he will be asked to interest purchas- | ers in the bonds of certain municipal- ities. This Will put to the test the thoroughness of his education during | his earlier work in the office. A man who sells bonds should know abso- lutely what he is talking about; he‘wK must be familiar with the matter in hand to the last detail; he must kno what to say and how much to say Very often he can say too much. H should be ready to answer every ques- tion concerning the investment with- out hesitation and without error. He | must be able to explain and convince directly from his own knowledge. If the young man has done nothing | but attend strictly to the duties as- signed him in the office he may find | something lacking in his presentation of the subject to a prospective in- vestor. His office work must have | been supplemented by study and thoughtful investigation of the whole | question of values, securities, interest rates, commercial conditions and a vast number of similar subjects, for the matters that affect the desirabil- ity of a bond as an investment are le- gion. Municipal bonds of perhaps a score or more of cities may be submit- ted in one offering, and the young man must be able to speak accurately | about many points in connection with | each of these cities—their population, valuation, the amount and nature of their various items of public debt, the value of the cities’ public property, the revenues of their water works and other propriet.ry institutions, the character of their industries, the | amount of business done by their banks, whether they depend upon ag- ricuiture or manufacturing or mining | for their prosperity, what their trans- portation facilities are, of what class of people their population is com- posed, whether the purpose of the issuc is some needed public improve- ' ment | ests of their own. | instinet, | the movement of the cilia is too feebie | |amount or the irritating properties of | the foreign maitter drawn into the nose. | protectors are unable to cope, in the | to relleve the slight congestion which | be wise enough to afford his body the | or a measure of questionable soundness adopted by a party of en- thusiasts to advance personal inter-| In selling the bonds of a private cor- | poeration one,must know thoroughly the | history of the company, its earnings, its fixed charges, its prospects—in gen- | T eral all the items which go to make up a statement of its financial condition. In railroad bonds the features to be! noted are the amount of business done, | the mileage, the expense of operation, gross and net profits and indebtedness. Of great importance to the seller of bonds is what we may term the trading | which is to a large extent a nateral gift, although it can be devel- | oped and even in a measure created.| Some meneare very shrewd at bar- gains and can decide instantly whether | there is advantage in a contemplated | transaction. Such an instinet is of im- mense value to a man who embarks in this business. A shrewd trader will be- come familiar with the personality of his customers. He will_seek to know their peculiarities, their prejudices con- cerning kinds securities and the train of reasoning that they invariably | call up when attempting to decide an ! investment proposition. He should at-! tempt to conduct his dealings| according to' his customers’ ideas and methods, and not try to make a customer conform to his own. His posi- tion in the transaction is to accommo- date the purchaser and give him what ! he wants unless he clearly sees tbat his client is making a grave mistake. | A complete and minute acquaintance | with a score of investors is of more value to a bond man than casual rela- | tions with 500 whom he cannot ap- proach with the same confidence and personal understanding. The young man’s first work outside | of the office may be in the other line, however—the buying department. Here | again the trader's instinct is of thel highest importance, for the purchaser | must be able to recognize good bar- | gains and take immediate advantage of‘ them. Success as a buyer demands an | elaborate knowledge of all the condi- | tions that go to make up a successful | seller's equipment. Of course, a deci-| sion upon purchases of bonds is left to the heads of the concern, who are in possession of an accumulation of in-| formation covering years of research gathered from every possible source| and supplemented from time to time| by personal investjgations and reports | of special representatives of the ‘com- | pany. Nothing less than an accurale‘ knowledge of conditions affecting the| stability of an investment covering nA period of many years and brought up | to date will suffice for the safe pur- chase of either municipal or corporation | securities, and it is impossible to place | any limits upon the degree of ability in | this work that can be acquired by a young man who is determined to reachl the top. Why You Do It. BY W. R. C. LATSON, M. D. (Editor Health Culture Magazine, New York.) | (Copyright, 1904, by, Joseph B. Bowles.) Sneezing is very common and per- haps few people realize how impor- tant it is. In reality a sneeze is one of the body's great protective devices The air passages of the nose are lined by a very delicate and sensitive mem- brane. This membrane is formed of ciliated epithelialf cells, whose millions | of tiny arms, or cilia, always move with | peculiar stroke in the direction of the | nostrils any small quantity of dust or other foreign matter which is thrown upon the surface. If, however, the foreign matter be of greater magnitude than dust, or if it be very irritant (as snuff, for instance). to remove it. Then a message is sent | to headquarters (the spinal cord) of the condition of things and the body pro- ceeds to more drastic measures. A powerful message is sent to the muscles | | Whieh control the breathing—a message | S0 peremptory as sometimes to momen- tarily confuse them. After a few spas- | modic movements due to this confusion | | the muscles which expand the chest and | | those which increase its depth contract firmly, causing a great inrush of air— that is, a deep breath—which is at once expelled in a violent rush through the nost, clearing out the offending par- ticles which were beyond the powers of the industrious but not very powerful ciliated cells. Sometimes the sneeze is due rather to ar increased sensitiveness of the nerves going from the nasal membrane to the spinal cord than to an increase in the In either of these cases the sneeze ig an effort of the body toward self-pres- ervation—in the latter to eject an in vading substance with which the local ormer to secure for the body an in- creased supply of oxygen, and thereby while present in the nasal membrane is not comfined thereto, but is general throughout the mucous membrane of the body. If this hint is taken—if the sneezer oxygen demanded—the congestion is re- lieved. But if he close the window, move out 6f the “draft,” and thus de- prive himself of the oxygen needed to work off the irritability of the mucous surfaces producing the sneeze, the con- gestion is aggravated. The blood re- mains unregenerated and a “cold” may be the resuit. A cough corresponds exactly to a sneeze, save that the foreign matter or the mucous irritablity is on the membranes of the throat or “wind- pipe” instead of in the upper air pas- sages, and a cough, like a sneeze, is one of the body's many beautiful de- vices to preserve its life activities in- tact. The cough may be “cured” by some nostrum, but such “cures” pro- duce a condition far less desirable than the cough. “Cough cures” act as a rule by reducing the sensibility of the nerves which carry the alarm to headquarters (the spinal cord). The cough stops and the matter, instead of belng coughed away as before, is allowed to accumulate, producing complicatigns often of a grave ture. The best cure for a cough is to cough as long as there is anything to cough away. 3 THE BAN FREANRCIECO CALL JOHN D. .P'RECKFJ.S l’mpnctor weeeueeo.. Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Minager Publication Ofl(z @ L0 i L7 S aniia and Miarket Strew, & % = vesessattesssarhnesFarsnesnane THLR:D AY S LSR8 S o v MR G Y0 1004 ool RS TR Pty Bk N s THE STATE IN 1903. HE annual reports of General Chipman, president of the State Board of Trade, have become the re- liable year books of California. They present the only statistics of the entire range of our production and export, and are of the highest value. The State Board of Trade has been in existence seven- tecn years, and has been an urgent force in the symmet- rical development of California. When the timid have fiinched at the next step forward, the Board's reports have overcome doubts of the future by proving the ab- sorbing capacity of the market. Under its encourage- ment we are now finding an outside market for products that were not thought of as exports before it encour- aged planters, by showing a demand and a market. Last year our exports of fruits and fruit products and vegetables were 88,084 carloads of 19 tons each. That was a shipment of 73,404 tons per month, 18351 per week, 2621 tons per day, and nearly 110 tons per hour through the whole year, of these products of the soil. The gain over 190z was 10,546 carloads, of which 7395 were citrus fruits. The citrus export from Northern Cal- ifornia was 2246 carloads, a gain of 598 over 1902. The repprt notes the fact of the earlier ripening of Northern California oranges, which extends the orange scason of the State by over two months. The progress of the fruit to maturity depends upon the degree and daily number of hours of heat which induce it. The carlier ripening in the Northern California citrus belt is not accidental or sporadic, but is caused by fixed physi- cal conditions. That belt is on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The records of temperature show that the heat is present more hours in a day than in Southern California, because the Coast Range shuts out the cold winds from the ocean, excluding both cold and moiflure, and the heat lasts from sunrise to sunset. A given number of hours of heat being required to ma- ture the orange, if the temperature fall at 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon when the trade winds begin blowing, the thermal day is shortened by an average of four hours in the afternoon and by at least two hours in the morning, spent in overcoming the chill of the night. This loss in heat amounts, then, to three months in a year, which is near the difference between maturity of the orange in our two citrus belts. The northern belt gets more hours of heat per day. This difference is fortunate for both belts and for the State. Were the temperatures the same in degree and in hours per day, both crops would be in the market to- gether and we would be deprived of the advantage of our long season, the longest in any citrus producing | country in the world. It benefits us not only in the market but in transportation to market. If both belts came in at once there would be greater difficulty in get- ting cars to take the crop away to the consumer. The possibilities of the northern citrus belt are great. Oranges grow in perfection in the canyon of the Merced River on the Ward ranch, in the Yosemite National Park, in sight from Sentinel Dome above the Yosemite Valiey, and on the Loomis ranch in the horseshoe bend of the Merced, away up in the mountains. General Chipman’s report shows that our wine export has doubled since 1891, and is steadily increasing. One subject of great interest is our increasing export of vege- tables. The frosts of Florida have made uncertain a winter supply from that source. Last year we increased our vegetable shipment 1705 carloads. This consists of rhubarb, celery, asparagus, artichokes, green peas, string beans and salad plants, all of which reach the Atlantic seaboard in the winter in prime condition and find a ready market. This trade is capable of indefinite ex: pansion. Our gardens and truck lands in this State pr? duce crops every day in the year, and the excellence of cur vegetables is well known. Improvements in trans- portation are constant and we expect to see the export of vegetables equal that of fruits. The report brings the dairy industry into focus as a leading interest. The product ‘increased last year $2,212,- 306. The total value of dairy products was $20,436,152, or greater than the value of wheat. This is due to the expansion of alfalfa planting. Alfalfa is taking the | piace of wheat and is a factor in the production 6f beef, mutton, pork, poultry, and .milk, cheese and butter. Large as the dairy product was it hardly supplied do- mestic consumptjon. There is room for improvement in the manufacture of cheese. American cheese lost its foreign market when the dairymen of New York learned to make butter and cheese out of the same milk. They put the cream into butter and put lard in its place in the skim milk. Our lost market was soon taken by Canada, and the Dominion has not only held it but has come into our own market, and Canada cheese is sold in California. This State seems to have, in alfalfa and other forage plants, the ideal conditions fer fine cheese production. The way to get a market and hold it is by making full cream and well ripened cheese, and nothing else. We have often preached the gospel of commercial honor. The increasing acreage of alfalfa will soon over- supply our home market for dairy products and we will export. Cheese is the least perishable form in which to export milk. A scientific study of methods will re- veal the fact that we can produce here most of the high cheese that is now imported from Europe. Wherever that production is a question of fermentation only we can duplicate it. Some imported cheese, as Roquefort, gets its quality from a special herbage on which the cows feed, and that grows in a restricted district. But experiment may prove that we have special plants here that will produce special types of cheese. The State Board may be depended upon to take up cheese pro- duction with the same vigor that characterized it in stimulating fruit planting. Tt is probable that this report answers more questions about California than any other publication, and it should get wide circulation as the Year Book of 1903. Notwithstanding her ostensible desire for peace, nc.u‘ trality and the integrity of her empire, China insists upon plaguing the bear and coquetting with the Japan- ese. We will probably hear shortly that the Russians are firing their fighting blood by a few practice ‘mas- sacres of the idiotic Mongols. BILL POSTER REFORM. / A some time both in this country and Great . Britain an earnest campaign. of education against the hideous evil of bill poster advertising whi ”f; all of our cities and much of our finest neen&ry Con- siderable progress toward reform has been made in some of our States, but it appears the British have done better than even the best that has been done here. Thev S is well known there has been going on for . tinct disappointment. | assaults ~upon our nmmt&:eu s have not only diminished the evil so that some of its worst phases are no longer tolerated in the kingdom, but they have even educated the bill postgrs themselves into a respect for beauty, and induced them to take steps to put a stop to the posting 6f ugly and unseemly bills. A recent report from London says that owing to com- plaints on the part of the public, the Bill Posters’ Asso- ciation has appointed a committee to examine theatrical and other advertising posters, and to order the removal of any detail deemed offefisive to the eye or calculated to have an immoral influence. Any poster deemed im- proper by the committee is photographed@nd a copy sent to every bill poster, so that he may be on his guard and decline to post it. The movement has been met with approval from the public generally, but there is a good deal of opposition. The London Mail says: “Some theatrical managers, especially thqse whose bookings include melodramas, express indignation at the bill posters constituting them- selves censors in this matter. ‘We want the great situ- ations in the dramas illustrated,’ yesterday, ‘anfl the way in which this is to be done should t depend on the whim of a committee meeting once a month.” The suggestion that startling posters are in- centives to crime is ridiculed, and it is urged that they simply induce people to go to the theater.” The significant feature in the new movement of the Bill Posters’ Association_ is that it was virtually forced | upon them by the growing strength of public sentiment against the frequent abuses of that form of advertising. The more intelligent bill posters in Great Britain have evidently come to ‘the conclusion that they must either reform their methods or else popular indignation will ‘ered with foam. Meeting a brother of- put them under stringent governmental supervision such as prevails in France. Our own country, will sooner or later have to follow the example set in Europe. In no part of the world is the bill-posting nuisance carned‘ to a greater excess than with us. Fortunately, popular | tell youswhatever it was it went in the sentiment on the subject is already aroused and it is not | improbable that within the near future there will be a marked diminution of the extent to Whlch the abuse is | practiced and tolerated. With a courtesy delicately phrased and evidently ap- preciated, the Macedonian leaders have solemnly prom- ised the powers of Europe that they will not raise their annual spring row this season. The, announcement must be accepted by every well meaning person with d:s We have come to look upon Macedonian rumpus as a contribution to civilization in the removal of a few more Macedonians. T powers, complaining of the conduct of Japan and charging specific acts, is a model of conciseness in statement. The Mikado’s men are of the direct schdol of diplomats, and don’t use two words to say a thing when one will do. It must be conceded that on the sea of diplomacy, as on the high seas, the Japanese statesmen outclass the Russians. The reply to Russia is a complete traverse and disproof of every charge made. In some cases, as in the case of the retreat of the Russian Minis- ter from Seoul, documentary evidence proves Russia guilty of flat lying. Affairs between the two nations are in the open now. During the long march of conquest by Russia over the khanates and Northern Mongolia, the outside world was not advised of events. It is a conquest without a history. The Cossack left there the same red path that his cruelty and savagery have left everywhere in the country of friend and foe, but the Tartars were without means of telling the world what happened and Russia dare not. She was meeting a nomadic foe, without forts, arsenals or arms, but with the spirit of resistance and lacking the means to make it effective. It is only known that whole masses df the people disappeared. By what method may be surmised when we remember the stam-. peding of 5000 Chinese, men, women and children, into the turbid Amur, to drown while an army of Cossacks lined the bank and shot or sabered all who tried to es- cape. From that long march Russia has now emerged into the light of publicity. She can no longer conceal her operations from the world. She ‘is not strangling the khanates on the steppes, but is in conflict with a power more civilized than she. But her statesmen seem to think that she can overcome publicity by diplomatic mis- representation. In this she is mistaken, for the most in- telligent nations take the word of Japan in preference. The Japanese note follows closely another event, and both impress the world. The Russian man-of-war that lay overtime in a Chinese neutral port. and refused to leave has been disarmed and dismantled rather than go’ out and fight! This nauseating exhibition provokes the contempt of all naval officers. If the Russian ship had belonged to any other nation, under the same circum- stances, she would have steamed out with her flags fly- ing and fought a whole fleet, though it meant sure de- struction. So gallant old Cervera steamed out of Santi- ago with his inefficient ships and gunnegs, to sure de- struction, but met it like a brave man and honorable soldier of the sea. The advantage of this sheep-seaman- ship is with Japan, as she puts that ship out of action without costing her a pound of powder. Russia may re- tain the respect of the world and yet be denied its friend- ship in her Eastern aggressions. But this act goes far to sacrificing respect. d JAPAN'S REPLY. HE reply of Japan to Russia’s latest note to the Our Police Judges interrupted their very vigorous routine for a few moments the other day to ask if the police of this city have any serious purpose to close the hundreds of poolrooms that are now operating under the mask of cigar stores. The police have already an- swered the inquiry. They insist they are not stupid and resent an insinuation that they are corrupt. Either horn of the dilemma is a reply to the Police Judges. Uncle Sam may rest at last in peace. He may dis- miss from his brain phantoms of war and its alarms. He may tone his shattered nerves to the certainty that strife will not rend the Western Hemisphere nor shatter the Eastern in cries of unrest. The danger line has been crossed and no note of evil meaning has disturbed the calm of mtu-nahqml harmony. Siam has recognized Panama. : e The mysunous stranger that found refuge in the Emergenty Hospital and enlisted marked public sym- pathy by a plea that he did not know:who he is or whence he came is reasonably ceflam of knowing where he is going. ' He has proved to be a clever forger, and the courts and a jury will do the rest. Theu repeated said an irate manager | i | | | | driver to do his best. Down to the ferry An Ancient Courser. A number of coursing men were to- gether one night recently talking of dogs and their running qualities when the subject drifted to the effects of “dope” on a hound. “It's no use denying,” one man said, “these speed capsules that the trainers give to the coursers nowadays start the slowest of them on a hike that would make Barney Oldfield in his best auto look slower than a Supreme Court de- ciston.” “That reminds me,” said another of the group, “of a good story. When I was handling dogs L always had a cap- sule or two on m¢. One night I was behind the bar, @nd in shambles a| booze fiend who tries to bum me for a drink. He had a broomstick for a cane and he looked footsore and weary. Just for fun I emptied the contents of a| capsule into a glass, filled it to the brim with whisky and handed it to the Weary Willie. In one gulp the liquid was beyond recall. “While he was thanking me he sud- denly started a cakewalk and cavorted up and down the floor like a two-year- | old until the place got too small for him. Out the door he shot. A police- man at the corner gave chase, but there was nothing to it. The officer hailed a passing buggy and ordered the | they went at top speed, the horse cov- ficer the pursuer asked, ‘Did you see | an old man doing a hot foot along | here? “ ‘Well," he replied, ‘T am easier now: I thought it was a ghost. But let me direction of the seawall. Now, take my | hunch—if you want that man ring up | | the Cliff House and put them on, and | | hurry up, too, or he’ll beat you to it, for when he glided by me he was cer- tainly going some.”” A False Pucker. “Have you heard the story of how a | | ~ | tary of the Musicians’ Union of this small boy vigorously sucking on a lime | broke up the: playing of a brass band | | by interfering with the delicate pucker | of the lips necessary to blow a wind | instrument ?”” asked Jock Keogh, secre- | into the suburbs and thence into the smaller villages beyond. Probably none has been made anywhere within the last twenty years, and nearly all still in existence are much older. This is curious, because the wooden Indians were far more distinctive as signs than any others to be seen; their Introduction and use by the tobacconist were coinci- dent with the introduction of the weed itself to civilization and they were to be seen everywhere, in Europe as well as in America. There were other fig- ures besides those of Indlans, such as sailors, dudes, black boys and Punches, but in this country the Indian was by far the most numerous, especially for the retail tobacconist, who dealt in all sorts of smokers’ goods. Effigies | of- black boys were perhaps preferred by wholesale sellers of leaf tobacco, but beyond that there was apparently no distinetion. In England the signs were frequently so chosen that a Dutchman smoking a pipe indicated the sale of | smoking tobacco; a Sectchman in kilts of snuff, and a sailor with his quid of chewing tobacco.—Philadelphia Record. Looking Backward. So far as the question of time is con- cerned, it deserves notice that not merely geology but almest every form of inquiry into the past throws further back the limits usually assigned. Egypt, for instartce, is continually fur- nishing fresh proofs of the antiquity of civilization. Professor. Flinders Pe- trie expounded at Owens College, Man- city. get nothing but ‘goose notes.” “Without a proper pucker you Schu- | ! mann was a great admirer of the clari- | | onet and wroteé for it a celebrated num- | house. ber, to play which a young lady| pianiste recently asked me to her She invited several friends as well. “Unknown to her, some wag in the | fagnlly supplied each guest with a lime which to experiment upon me. 1 never dreamed of the sour mine which was laid, and had just got well into the beautiful solo.when I noticed each one of the guests take out of his pocket a lime and begin to suck it. If I had not| heard the small boy story I don’t know what the effect on me would have been, | but having heard it, I started to laugh. Laughter is about as dangerous to a correct ‘lip’ as a lime is, so of course 1 broke down. They coaxed me to go on, but not knowing how they might apply the ammunition to me in case their ex- periment failed, I decided not to per- form further as a human target, and refused to play. The company missed the Schumdnn number, but probably had as much pleasure out of their joke, 80 things were about even.” Motherhood. Come to my arms, my darling, Come for the nightfall is near, Come, and thy mother shall send thee To dreamland with never a fear. Come and thy mother shall sing thee A lullaby softly and low— Sing thee to rest and to dreamland Ere darker the day doth grow. And as thou sleepest, my dear-one, Visions will come to her eyves— Visions of thee, strong in manhood, Noble and gentle and wise. Her heart will glow at the picture, Thrilling with joy and with pride, Yet the tears sadly fall as she presses \Thee close, little one, to her side. And she knows that always at twilight, ‘Wherever, whatever thou art, The same little lullaby, darling. She'll sing to thee down in her heart. ° —Boston Transcript. Remarkable. President Loubet has begun the sixth year of his administrationg and bids fair to complete the full constitu- tiopal term of seven years. Omy one French President, MacMahon, endured for an entire septennate, and in his case the fear of what might befall if the then rather unstable equilibrium should be disturbed was more influen- tial to maintain him in power than was his administrative l.bfllty. M. Loubet owes, his lease of power solely to his personal qualifies. Curiously enough, though the most democratic of all Presidents of the third republic, M. Loubet has been entertained by and has in his turn entertained more high potentates than any previous chief of state in France, monarchial or repub- lican. Lo, the Poor Indian. If through the mutations of modern business or for any other of a large variety of reasons that might arise one were to want a wooden Indian the problem of acquiring it in a hurry—if | it were of the kind that is sometimes used as a sign for tobacco shops—would be found beset with difficulties. This is not because such figures are so very hard to find, nor yet because they are still so popular as to be in great de- mand, but those id existence are not only in use by their owners, but, in the general case, they are greatly cher- ished, no matter what their state of decay, and the business of making them of woogd has been given up. One might, by a chance, be found in some out of the way auction room, but at other times it might not. One might, indeed, be made to order, but it would take quite a hunt to find the man to make it. The wooden Indian, which used to be one of the imperative necessities of every well equipped tobacco shop. chester, England, a few days ago the results of recent explorations at Aby- dos, in Upper Egypt, from which it appears that the ruins at that one spot teli a continuous story that carries us back to 5000 B. C. Abydos was the first capital of Egypt, and remained for | forty-five centuries the religious cen- ter. the Canterbury of the land, and there the Egyptian exploration fund has unearthed the remains of *ten suc- cessive temples, ome over the other.” From the age of the first temple a group- of about 200 objects has been found, which throw - surprising lght on the civilization of the First Dynasty. A part of a large glazed pottery vase of Mena, the first king of the First Dynasty, about 4700 B. C., showed “that even then they were making glaze on a considerable scale, and also inlaying it with a second color. The ivory carv- ing was astonishingly fine, a figure of a King showing a subtlety and power of expression as good as any work of later ages.” At about 4000 B. C. an ivery statuette of Cheops, the builder of the great pyramid, was found, the only portrait known to him. Making every possible allowance for the mar- velous rapidity of art development, must not many thousands of years have rolled over between the pristine dwellers in the Nile Valley and the men who carved ivory statuettes and manufactured glazed work inlald with second colors? It is a long, long march from flint implements to the solemn temple, ivbry statuettes and human portraits.—London Telegraph. ‘Answers to Queries. —a CABLE CUTTING—M. D,, City. The cable in Manila Bay was cut by order of Dewey, but he held both ends after the cutting. BRAZILIAN NOTE—A Ploneer Sub- scriber, City. To ascertain the value of a Brazilian note, if it has any value, present the same to any of the many brokers doing business on Montgomery street in this city. CITIZENSHIP—P. F., City. Whether a citizen of the United States loses his citizenship by enlisting in a foreign army depends upon circumstances. A decision in such a case can be given only upon the presentation of the facts in connection with the enlistment, pre- vious residence and so forth. IN JAPAN'S ARMY—-M. R, City. There is no record in this city show- ing how many Japanese officers, now in the service, acquired a military edu- cation, -if any such officers did so, at West Point. Such information mighs be obtained from the War Department in Japan if there was not a war on. SURPRISE PARTIES—Call Reader, Salinas, Cal. The character of souv- enirs for a surprise party depends upen the condition of the persons who are to receive them and the desire of the person or persons who wish to give such. Without knowing the conditions it is impossible to suggest what would be appropriate. O'REILLY—H. R., Novato, Cal. John Boyle O'Reilly was born in Ireland in 1844 and died in 13%0. He was a journal-. ist and poet. He took part in the early Fenian movements, was arrested for high treason, sentenced to be shot, but the sentence was commuted to impris- onment for life, afterward to twenty years’ imprisonment, and after being confined in several prisons was sent to an Australian penal colony. from which he escaped in 1869. Landing in the United States, he delivered lectures in Philadelphia, after which he became part owner of the Boston Pilot. —_— Townsend's California glace frults and candies, §0c a pound. in artistic fire- etched boxes. A nice present for Eastern friends. 715 Market st.. above Call hldg.* i