The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 13, 1904, Page 32

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 1904 [NSTRUCTIVE STUDIEAS NOZL ] { mouths for such a long voyage de- mands the laying in of immense quan- | tities of stores, perishable and other- ! wise. Certain of these, as for !nstance, | frozen Leef and mutton, can be replen- | |ished at Manila, but in the case of | imany articiex. the return voyage must also be provided for. Fifty thousand pounds of fresh beef, | {2000 pounds of fresk pork, a ton of vezl and mutton and 2500 pounds of miscelisaneous fresk fish are among the food items loaded at San Fran- |clsco. Twenty thousand pounds of {mess pork will be baked with 5000 | pounds of Leans for consumption be- fore ths return voyage Is completed. | Thres thousand pounds of bacon, 2000 pounds of corned beef and 2500 | pounds of rice are among the smaller | . o— Army Transports. i BY EDWARD M. LEWIS, [Captain Twentieth Infantry, U. £ A { Copyright. 1904, by Joseph 8. Bow For the service of transporting troops and the supplies to maintain them be- tween San Francisco and Manile the War Department maintains a fleet of eight transports, of which tbe Logan The maintenance of ic is a good example. such a fleet has been attacked by rep- of shipping interests to business would fa!l if the transports were abolished, but a carsfal investigation has clearly shown that the transport service mot only moves | troops and supplies at much less cost | it by merchant marine, but | nd men are infinitely bet- | resentatives which the than if the | ter provided for. } Brigadier Charles Humphrey, quar-| ral of the army, in his| »rt presents comprehen- comparing the cost of the service during the year with t the cost would have been had the | n performed by private car- | companies, and showing that the ! 1 saving amounted to $2,245,439. It | nusual for a transport on a sin- | gle round trip to thus effect a saving of | termaster gene service be is not $180,000. They are the best transports| in the world and a gratifying contrast | 1o the ised ones that proved so | costly during the war with Spain. | All of the transports now sent across ' the Pac are twin screw ships, all| single screw ships being sent via the| Suez canal to New York. The reason for this is that the course followed by transports is one not usually used by trans-Pacific vessels. A serious acci- dent to the engine, the breaking of a shaft or other such serious misadven- ture would leave a single screw vessel with its human load helpless in a situ- ation where no aid would reach them. The transport referred t8 above is a| steel vessel 450 feet long, or, to express it in other terms, a block and a half in length. She draws twenty-six feet of water, and a crew of 185 men is neces- sary to run her and look after her va- rious departments. Forty-six steam en- gines form her equipment, divided as| follows: Two main engines that propel her through the water at a speed of from twelve to sixteen knots an hour, twenty-five steam pumps to keep her bilge clear and furnish water pressure on board, six hoists, two capstan en- gines, three dynamos, five ventilating engines and two to furnish power for the ice machines. To provide steam for and operate these various engines a force sof sixty-two men is required. Sixty-eight tons of coal are fed into her furnaces daily, and twelve gallons of oil are necessary each day to lubri- cate her bearings. This ship, like her sisters, has been fitted up with great care and skill to | meet the many demands made upon a troopship. Cabins for officers and other cabin passengers are provided | and resemble these on a second class liner. They are small, but fairly com- fortable, substantial, but not elegant, and they provide accommodations for a maximum of 143 passengers. It is in the provisions made for the enlisted soldiers that these ships espe- cially excel those of other nations. The lower decks, divided into water-tight compartments, are devoted to their use. Each compartment is fitted up with irom, canvas bottomed bunks arranged in three tiers, and with passageways between. Admiral ventilating arrange- ments keep the air cool and fresh. Six- teen hundred soldiers can be cared for, though the number actually on board is mot often so large. Near the sleep- ing quarters are washrooms and‘lava- tories and bathrooms with running wa- ter. A hospital with all of the latest im- provements is provided for the sick, with a surgeon and proper attendants | to look after them. An isolation hos- pital for contagious and infectious dis- | eases is also provided. A competent embalmer is always carried on board and the bodies of soldiers dying en route are plaeed in metallic caskets, twenty-five of which are kept on hand, and taken to the United States. On the mess deck is the messroom, where the soldiers are provided with three hot meals each day. Their fare is plain but abundant, wholesome and well cooked in large steam galleys pro- vided for that purpose, The proper feeding of the large num- ber of people of different classes on board a transport is one of the mat- ters requiring the most careful atten- tion of skilled officers and stewards. For this purpose all persons are placed in varjous classes and assigned to ap- propriate “messes,” of which there are five. The saloon mess is for all officers, their families and other cabin passen- gers. A charge of $1 a day is made to all members of thi: mess, and the regulations provide that the purchase of supplies shall be so regulated that such charge shall meet their cost. The ship's officers’ mess provides for the officers of the ship. The food for this mess is cooked in the same galleys and served in the same room as for the saloon mess, but without charge to its members. The petty officers’ mess and the crew mess are served both from the same galleys, but in different dizing-rooms. The troop mess provides for all of the soldiers except | small measure to Casi {and economist, inventor of the Alad- | to the Bertillon system. {tems of staplas. Forty-five thousand pounds of potatoes and 10,000 pounds | of onfons form the fresh vegetable part of the soldier’s rations. Three- quarters of a ton of tea is carried on| bo: d the coffee weighs more than th tons. Seventy-five thousand ! pounde of sugar, 1809 sacks of flour, 7000 pounds of cabbage and 3800 cans of tomatoes complete the list of ar- ticles from which the food of the! larger meeses ls prepared. For the saloon and ship’s officers’ ses some fner stores are laid in. these the following may be men- tioned: ghteen hundred dozen eggs, 2069 pounds cf butter, 1500 pounds | of sausage, 2800 pounds of poultry, 600 pounds of game, 200 boxes of ap- ples, two ba = of cranberries, 300 cans of cach of fruit and vege- table, 2000 pounds cach of carrots and turnips, 1000 pounds of sweet po- | tatoes, 500 pounds of pumpkins and | 200 bunches of celery. One hundred zallons of fresh milk and thirty gal-| lons of cream, carried frozen in ten- gallon cans, is used between San Fran- cisco and Manila. To care for this large amount of | perishable stores four large cold- storage rooms are kept in constant operation. The meats of all kinds and | fish are kepot solidly frozen. The po- tatoes and onions are kept at a tem- perature of 48 degrees, other fresh vegetables at 36 degrees, and fruit at 40 degrees. Once a day the cold-{ storage rooms are opened and a day’s | supply, as called for by the stewards’ | requisitions, is taken out. Though each transport has an ice machine, 2500 | tons of ice are loaded before sailing, and ice is manufactured only when that supply is exhausted. The voyage to Manila is a long one, | lasting from twenty-five to thirty days, and it would prove more tedious than | it does if employment of some kind | were not provided for the soldiers. As far as possible the same routine is| followed on board ship as in garrison. | The usual roll-ca beginning with | reveille, are held, twice each day the men are put through gymnastic exer- | cises on deck and athletic sports are | encouraged. The regular sessions of | the *“post school” for young officers are held morning and afternoon. Each | afternoon, when the weather is fine, | the band plays a concert programme, and every morning a thorough in- spection of the troops, the sleeping | quarters and messes is made by the commanding officer and the quarter- master of the ship. | The most interesting ceremony of the day occurs at sunset. The troops ‘are | drawn up in line more or less steady, depending upon the roughness of the sea—the band plays the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and, while all officers and men not in ranks stand uncovered and | facing aft toward the flagstaff, a detail | from the guard slowly lowers the flag | and stows it away until it shall again | be given to the breeze at the dawn of a new day. Life on board ship for the cabin pas- sengers is largely one of findolence.q Days are spent lounging en deck read- ing or conversing, and they slip gently by with nothing to mark one from its predecessor or successor, the dally bul- letin showing each successive day the =hip about three hundred miles farther along on the voyage until finally she drops ancher in Manila Bay and, the troope are taken ashore to begin a new life under a tropic sun and surrounded by new conditions. Nemests. A few years ago the name of Gen- eral de Boisdeffre was on every lip. He was persona gratissima at St. Pet- ersburg, the object of many atten- tions on the part of Emperor William. In France his position as chief of the general staff was equivalent to that of generalissimo, while his power and influence were to such an extent su- perior to those of the President of the republic that they contributed in no r Perrier's eudden resignation of the office of Chief Magistrate of France. Six years ago the general resigned—not of his own accord, but compelled to do so by the force of public opinion in France—in connection with the dis- covery of the Colonel Henry forgeries in the Dreyfus affair. Since then he has been living on half pay in the strictest retirement, ignored by all those members of the imperial family of Russia who until the scandal in which he bgcame involved overwhelm- ed him with attentions. And now he has just reached the age limit and has passed out of the service into civil, life, without any of the customary tokens of appreciation on the part of the French War Department or of the Government. His Mark. The Boston papers say that one of the infirmities of age from which Ed- ward Atkinson, the anti-imperialist din oven, suffers is such unsteadiness that he no longer uses a pen, but em- ploys a rubber stamp in signing his name. This is done even on checks of small or large amount. As such a signature is not legal, Mr. Atkinson renders it so by attesting it according He inks the ball of his thumb on a pad and leaves the imprint on the check, as much as {10 say “Bdward Atkinson, his thumb.” Back cashiers in Boston and else- ecrtain of the senior non-commissioned officers, .who are served in the petty officers’ mess. To furnish food for so many hungry where haye become familiar with the hair lines of the Atkinsonian thumb, arnd a piece of paper beariug it is as good as legal tender. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Proprietor . ... ... ... Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager. Pablication Ofico ........oorurnnennneen . RS tetteeeeeseesn....Third and Market Streets, S. F. KEEP COOL. SUNDAY.. PHILOSOPHER, sitting in the gallery of the A House of Representatives at Washington, during the sessions of the last three days, could have made good use of a megaphone by aiming it at the floor below and calling upon the members to keep cool. The torrid conditions that appeared were due to a report made under authority of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, Mr. Bristow, in which free use was made of the names of Senators and Representatives of both parties, connecting them with the names of Machen, Beavers and other grafters and budders in the Postoffice Department. Be it known that every postmaster, and the commun- ity in which he sells stamps and money orders and han- dles mail, wish to raise the grade of the office. It means for the incumbent more salary and enables the citizen to say to the visitor, “Yes, sir, no town in the State more prosperous. Our postoffice gained oge grade in the last year, sir.” The influence used to increase the grade and and such economic questions as irrigation, forestry, the trusts and labor, he has furnished a complete and co- pious literature, every line of which bears scanning and every principle stated goes to judgment fearlessly. The example set by Kansas Republicans can be safely followed by all the States, and even more use may be made of the sayings of the President. When this is done men will’realize in what a high sense he has been Presi- dent of the whole people. To test this let his utterances be read to any intelligent American, disconnected from his name, and they will be indorsed as great and clear statements of our proper national policy and conduct. In these utterances the President has made himself the platiorm, and it will be found very difficult to misrep- resent them to the peopl The emergency drills that are now agitating Uncle Sam’s soldiers day ‘and night at the Presidio recommend themselves as excellent to everybody except those that are called to duty by sudden alarms. It is always well sllowance of a postoffice is naturally the member of Con- | to know that our defenders are ready for any call at any gress for the district. The postmaster gets the people to write to him, and he goes to the department in Wash- ington with these letters, and usually gets what he prays for, whether it be advance in the grade of the office, more clerks or more clerk hire. If the Congressman do not go on thie errand when the people ask him, it goes hard with him at the next election. It is regarded as business io the interest of his constituents, and if he be inatten- tive to it woe be unto him. The report attributed to General Bristow is a catalogue of the instances in which members of Congress have done these things, and when the granting of the prayer lay with Machen or Beavers that fact is stated in the re- port. When this was made public the face of luna be- came gory. In the House members of both parties broke out in oratory more or less impassioned. The men whose names were not in the report sympathized with those who were in it, and these uttered themselves | in the language of indignation, anger and defiance. When a highly excited member uttered some especially scorn- ful and denunciatory sentiment both sides applauded. The gale gathered strength as it blew, and when one gentleman, who felt more aggrieved than the others, de- nounced Bristow as a liar and a scoundrel the applause rocked the marble effigies in Statuary Hall. The whole demonstration is as regrettable as its cause. It is probable that General Bristow never saw the re- port. The secret service agents of the Government are responsible for, this and a great many other offenses, which should secure the vigorous overhauling of that bureau. They are supposed to be detectives, and being backed by the Federal Government they have the power, | and have used it, to destroy the reputation of honorable men and to send the innocent to prison and disgrace. When their services are invoked Cabinet officers are powerless. The Bristow report bears the marks of their work. It is characteristic of them to assume that every man who came in contact with Machen and Beavers, dur- ing their sixteen years’ service in the department, was doing something wrong and must be exposed. In that spirit, inquiry has been made by them into the advances in grade and clerk hire and/other matters to which mem- bers of Congress attend for their constituents, and the whole has been published on Bristow’s authority, to cast discredit upon 191 members of the House and Senate who have done no wrong, but on the contrary have done | exactly right in behalf of the communities they represent. The report covers another class of cases, in which members of the House and the Senate have owned buildings that were rented to the Government for postal purposes. These rent contracts run ten years. When the report appeared these cases were at once assumed to be on all fours with that of the Brooklyn Congressman who was interested in a supply contract, and the mem- bers involved were supposed to be under the shadow of an indictment. But upon examination it was found that such rent contracts had been made before the owners of the property became members of Congress, and that upon abandonment of the contracts being notified to the department the Attorney General had decided that elec- tion to Congress subsequently to the making of such a contract did not nullify it, and that the Government in- sisted upon compliance. This is good law and as good sense. If a contracting party be competent when the contract is made, subsequent incompetency would affect only a new contract and would not nullify the old one. While we admit that the insinuations of the report were infuriating and that rage was natural, yet it was quite unparliamentary, and the dignity of the House would have been sustained and the judgment of the country convinced by calm statements, in judicial tone, putting the facts without any dressing of epithet and in- vective. There had been no impropriety of conduct on the part of any of the 191 members found in the drag net of the dummy Vidocqs of the secret service, and that could have been made plain without impropriety of speech. At a recent election in New Jersey the interesting dis- covery was made that voting machines, newly acquired, had been tampered with and made useless to the extent of invalidating the entire count. It will probably be re- called that several counties in California are discussing the purchase of voting machines. It would be well to bear in mind the New Jersey brand. KANSAS IN LINE. HE Republican convention of Kansas not only in- Tdursed President Roosevelt, but proceeded to ap- ply his sayings, his declarations of duty and his in- terpretation of citizenship to practical politics as a sub- stitute for the sort of “practical politics” which is found too often in the ascendant. The application was made in the opening speech by the chairman of the body, and from that time on became the motive of the convention. While jindorsement of the President is gratifying, a far more enduring thing is the indorsement of his decla- rations, which will live after the voice that uttered them is silent. No President has furnished livelier encourage- ment to good citizenship and right conduct than he. It may be granted that at no time in our history has the need of such encouragement been greater. The minor- ity party, having lost its hold upon public confidence, said its adieus to principle and picked up expediency and opportunism, there is a decline of the right public spirit in many whom it still influences. The situation naturally breeds moral carelessness in the majority party, makes it more lax and less mindful of its greater duty. Both parties, therefore, require a stern admonition, and the whole people 2 a bugle-call to their civic duty. The next national platform of the party could be written wholly out of the President’s public speeches and documents. On finance, revenue, international duty, essentials of American character, equality before the law time. It encourages us and maintains ‘martial blood at the necessary temperature. COOLIE LABOR IN AFRICA. — HE recent authorization of Chinese labor in the T Rand mines of South Africa, forced through Par- liament by the powerful and wealthy clique of Transvaal mine-owners, has called forth a storm of pro- test from almost every part of the British Empire, which has a deeper significance, perhaps, than any other issue ever taken by the colonies with the Home Government. Not only do the colonials feel that the step has ruined the prospects of a strong crown colony in the Trans- vaal and stultified any growing loyalty which might have been finding place in the hearts of the recently con- quered Boers, but the cry is general that the admission of Chinese into the labor field of South Africa is a blow at the well being of the whole empire. “The vote is a calamity to the empire,” comments the London Daily News the morning after the passage of the bill through Parliament. “It exposes South Africa to the most appalling dangers and complicates the prob- lem of that country by a new and perplexing race diffi- culty. It plants an apple of division between the north- ern and southern colonies. It will probably prevent fed- eration and may lead to war or separation in the future.” Though this last prophecy of the News may be con- sidered to be inspired more by partisan rancor than calm judgment, it is doubtless true that the introduction of Chinese labor into the Rand will serve to stir up more labor difficulties and result in greater political troubles than the mine-owners and their party have been able to foresee. The anti-Chinese feeling which disturbed poli- tics in California during the ’70’s and after will be du- plicated in the Transvaal with the added thorn of an un- certain Boer sentiment. Since the close of hostilities down in South Africa everything has not gone as smoothly for the sturdy Afri- kanders as their conquerors would have desired. The readjustment of a free state into the status of a crow: colony has been attended with not a few worrying com plications which have not had the tendency to make the Boers wildly enthusiastic for the British system. When now they see the labor market cheapened and the possi- bilities of a further depreciation of this very element which has. made for the building up of their state, the old spirit of independence in them is not likely to give way to British influence any the easier. Another and perhaps a more grave outcome of the | Chinese labor legalization is hinted at by many of the Australian papers—colonial distrust of the Home Goyern- ment and a tendency to more liberal asseveration of inde- pendence. When New Zealand’s Premier sent a circular appeal to all of the colonies to unite in opposition to the Chinese labor propaganda before the matter came: to a vote in Parliament, he called for the assertion of a spirit of union among all of the seli-governing dependencies in matters concerning the empire at large; especially did he urge a system of brotherly co-operation in behal: of the crown colonies. By the passage of this measure in behalf of the rich mine-owners of the Rand the Im- périal Parliament has asserted, against the face of all colonial opposition, its right to deal as it sees fit with its own, willy-nilly, and thereby it has put upon the colonial federation idea a most emphatic seal of disapproval. This may not pass unchallenged. | The police are convinced that another highbinder war is imminent in the Chinese quarter. While there is al- ways an element of danger in these feuds to white way- farers in the district, there is still the highly redeeming feature that involves the death of coolies obnoxious to themselves and a source of expense and trouble to the municipality. The Chinese seldom carry their murders beyond their own race, and generally the community can well afford to.lose those that are killed. CALL’S CORRESPONDENT AT FRONT. TOKIO dispatch of Friday, the 1rth, announced A that Oscar King Davis, the special correspondent of The Call from the seat of war in the East, was one of the five American newspaper representatives who had been given the privilege of attending the first Jap- anese invading column in Korea. Of the seventy odd correspondents from Ameérican and foreign papers who have been waiting at the capital for permission to at- tach themselves to the general corps of the invading army but fifteen were selected to be the first in the field of active campaigning; of the five representatives of the American ‘press among this number Mr. Davis is the only correspondent of a paper west of Chicago. This signal indication of the enterprise and influence of The Call's special representative at the front confirms the record Mr. Davis has already made as one of the tried members of his profession. Besides that the news of his selection to be with the first army of invasion comes as a guarantee that while the other ninety and nine war correspondents are cooling their heels at Tokio, The Call's special writer will be sending The Call the news from the battle line on the Yalu. This will be no more than a continuation of the success which this paper has had with war news since it printed ex- clusively the news of the attack which opened the con- flict in the East. It is difficult to understand what the United States of Colombia means in wasting eloquence, time and money in the French courts trying to maintain that the Panama canal cannot be alienated from her. Our southern neigh- bor should accept conditions as she finds them. When her flag went down and another took its place on the isthmus her rights in the canal had no more force than neglected opportunities. Sam Wouldn't Get Up. Sam Pruitt made his debut in the boxing game several years ago. He was a big colored fellow of the heavy- weight division and many shrewd judges of boxing pronounced Sant a second Peter Jackson and placed him as a likely candidate for the heavy- weight championship. Sam made his first- appearance as an amateur and won several bouts, which boomed his stock. Then he became a professional. One night at the San Francisco Club he was boxing a big fellow of the op- posite color. During the first tweo rounds Sam showed to advantage by pegging and jabbing his opponent without a return. During a mix-up in the third round the white man caught Sam with a sweeping swing and sent him to the floor. stood over the fallen boxer and com- menced counting off the seconds. Whea he reached eight Greggains said, “Sam, I have counted eight, you had better get up.” “Mr. Greggains,” replied Sam, “you} can count a thousand and I ain’t never going to get up. You get that white man there out of the ring if you want me to get up.” Treadwell's Wisdom. Several attorneys were talking, the Referee Greggains | lines of the human form. And Indiax women, whether of high or low class, have jewels everywhere; have sleeping gems and day gems, as we have day and night shirts.—Everybody's Mag- azine. Millions in Roses. In the growing of cut flowers the greatest advances have been made with roses, carnations and violets. There are now annually sold in this country $6,000,000 to $7,000,000 worth of other day, about amusing ,incidents that happened in the criminal courts, | and one of them remarked that ex-| Judge Treadwell could be credited with | causing as many as any practitioner. | He told of one occasion when Tread- | well represented a defendant in Judse| Lawlor’s court who was charged with | burglary. Treadwell was examining | the talesmen, and when it came to the turn of one who was looked upon as a | professional juror—in other words, one who was anxious to serve more for the | reason that he got $2 per day than| anything else—Treadwell, in his quiet | way, asked: ‘“Do you know the mean- | ing of a reasonable doubt?” “I do,” replied the talesman. “Would you give the defendant the benefit of a reasonable doubt?” was/ the next question, and the talesman | promptly replied, “I would.” “Well now,” said Treadwell, “do you know the difference between a reason- able doubt and $2 a day?” This unexpected sally caused a titter throughout the courtroom and rendered the talesman speechless. The Judge | came to his rescue by telling him he need not answer the question, The Inevitable. During the trial of a suit to enforce the payment of alimony recently, in Judge Troutt's court, a witness in the case gave the most damaging evidence against the defendant in the suit, once | the husband of a very prepossessing blonde. With very great frankness he told how the defendant had mistreated his wife In almost every imaginable way, and how on one occasion he (the witness) had interfered to save the poor woman from a beating. “Oh, you acted the part of a peace- maker, did you?” said the defendant's attorney when the voluble witness was turned over to him for cross-examina- tion. “You rushed to the rescue of a fair damsel in distress.” “I d@id,” said the witness, proudly, “and I succeeded in saving her.” “Well, well,” sarcastically returned the lawyer, “then you did not meet the fate commonly acctedited to the peace- maker?” “Not just then,” said the witness. “I did later. I married the fair damsel after she got her divorce.” Substitute for Engines. The recent completion of a powerful pumping plant and a system of inde- pendent high pressure fire mains In the city of Philadelphia to take the place of horse or motor-driven steam fire engines is noteworthy as indicating the tendency toward centralization in modern mechanical engineering prac- tice. While it may be too much to say that it marks the beginning of the disappearance of the fire engine in large cities, nevertheless, it seems quite clear that such a plant can furnish more effective protection to a given area and that, aside from its initial cost, it is less expensive to maintain. The advantage to the citizens is shown by the fact that for the district in Philadelphia protected by the new 1 and the richest end, if embroidered or plant insurance rates have been de- creased 15 cents per $100 and with the increased efficiency of the system a further decrease of 10 cents Is prom- ised. In outlize the new pumping system may be described briefly as follows: It consists of a number of powerful pumps driven by gas engines and lo- cated in a single building 72 by 140 feet and using an independent and never-failing supply of water derived from the Delaware River. This is dis- tributed under high pressure through a network of specially constructed mains, aggregating - nine miles in length, over the selected territory, which includes 425 acres. The hose is attached directly to hydrants of a spe- cial pattern and it is possible to send four streams to the top of the highest : skyscraper in Philadelphia, The plant is said to take the place of more than forty fire engines and the pressure fur- nished and consequent efficiency is far beyond that of ordinary fire engines.— Harper's Weekly. No Buttons. There has been no change in Indian women's dress for 4000 years. All wear the sari, a single piece of stuff a yarad and a quarter wide, ten, twenty, thirty yards long. It is arranged on the body and forms skirt, garment, veil. First pleated with thes hand in accordion folds in front, wound round and rouna, woven with gold, finally brought over the head. It may.be of simple cotton | cloth; of silk, plain in design, woven vith golden threads; solid with em- broidery; strung with pearls: or of Kincob, the royal cloth of gold. Some cost thousands of rupees. No pin, hook, button or string. The garment is formed on the architecture of the body, and takes its expression and nobility from its peffect harmony with the cut roses. This represents something like = 100,000.000 or 125,000,000 flowers. The growing of roses an industry has developed especially in the vicinity of our largest cities, such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.—The World’s Work. i New Use for Piano. Pointing to the plano that was standing in the locomotive roundhouse of the Missouri Pacific Railroad near Kansas City. an English visitor re- marked: “Ah, I see your road sup- plies you with musical entertainment.” “Guess pot,” replied the foreman. “That piano is for testing the engines.™ The Englishman thought it a joke, but when a uniformed pianist struck a rote which harmonized with the noice of vibration in each part of the loco- motive as it was tested, he understood that there could be no flaws or cracks In the engine. He was informed that if the noise of the locomotive made a discord with the musical note the loco- motive would be thus proved defectiva. The method has been discovered to be more accurate than the old way of hammering each part.—The World's Work. Answers to Queries. LEGAL TENDER—Subscriber, City. In the United States the silver dollars thereof are legal tender in any amount unless otherwise expressed in the con~ tract. SAMOA DISASTER—P. D. M., City. The storm at Samoa, during which several United States and foreign men of war were destroyed, was on March 15 and 16. 1889. ICE AND WATER — Subscriber, Alameda, Cal. The specific gravity of water {s 100 and that of ice 92. One cubic foot of water weighs 1000 ounces and one cubic foot of ice 920 ounces. NEGRO COLONY—A. C., Kelsey« ville, Cal. There is no negro colony in the southern part of California. An attempt was made some time ago ta establish such, but it was not a suce cess. PENSIONERS — Subscriber, City, The greatest number of pensioners imy the United States reside in Ohlo, be~ ing 102,318; next in order is Pennsyl- vania with 101,164. The number of pensioners in California is 21,9732, MARRIAGE—A. O. S, Oakland, Cal. Marriage between step relatives is forbidden in all the States and Ter- ritories except Florida, Hawalian Islands, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin, FARMS—Subscriber, City. The lat< est official figures as to the number of farms in the United States and Terri« torles are those of the census of 1900, From these it appears that the nume ber was 5,739,667. The value of such is given as $20,514,001,838. MINER'S INCH—M., Santa Rosa, Cal. A miner’s inch is the amount of water that will flow through an open- ing one inch square under a pressure of six inches. The discharge from such an opening is 0.01995 of a cubic foot per second, equal to 1197 cubic feet per minute, or 8.954 gallons per min- ute. POPULAR VOTE—A Reader, City. In the United States there is, properly speaking, no such thing as a popular vote for President and Vice President of the country. The people vote for electors and those chosen in each State meet therein and vote for the candi- dates for President and Vice Presi- dent. A candidate may receive the majority of the popular vote yet not receive the electoral vote necessary to choice, as was the case in the election of 1876, when Tilden received of the popular vote 4,284,885 and Hayes but 4,033,035 OCEAN CABLES—E. M. and T. G. C., Oakland, Cal. In the insulation of wire for ocean cables the wire is wound with thread and.then put in an oven to get rid of any moisture, be- ing exposed to a heat of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. It is then put in a bath of paraffin, after which it goes to a hot air bath and is then run through a lead pipe, when it is tested for leaks. It is then covered with a“solution of guttapercha and Stockholm tar, and the sheath is of wire, covered with tarred manila yarn. G s— Townsend's California candles. [0¢ a pound, I‘:.?nm“n.: etched boxes. A nice present for East. friends. 715 Market st. above Call hidg o —_——— Mm information supplied dafly to Bhouses and public men the Press w Bureau (Allen’s), a}!c:..