The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 31, 1904, Page 8

———— Books and Readers. The venerable Thomas Wentworth jigginson’s rhapsody in the Atlantic n “Books Unread” must have at least melancholy interest for all who love ooks. He mentions an acquaintance, ww aged 83, who began to read seri- aly in 1837, and who is still devouring 0 literature. Four times has this in- atiate reader perused the whole of yibbon's mighty “Decline and Fall of he Roman Empire.” He balks at noth- ng, and has conquered all those monu- nental books which “no gentleman's ibrary should be without.” It is evi- lent that this sort of regimen is not or the busy workers of the earth, but or the lotos eaters who have infinite eisure, and who might have been hristened in accordance with Charles .amb's plans for the son who existed his day dreams, “little nothing- For the most of us—even those vho love to read, and do read wisely rd well—there usually remadin a large mwmber of books which we are ever danning to read. Year after year men ay to themselves that at the first op- sortunity Goethe’s “Faust” shall be in- uired into. What manner of wonder- ul book was it that Bishop Butler srote—“The Analogy of Religion”— vhich has held master minds captive or generations? What is the perennial harm of Marcus Aureliug, of Thom: vKempis, Malory’s “Morte d'Arthur”? Why is it that ten thousand books and nonographs—a formidable library in tself—have clustered about Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy” in the form of mere omment and exegesis? Wherein are he virtues of Plato and Socrates that hey still hold sway over thinkers, ‘and emper the conclusions of modern sthical and philosophical writers? Frederic Harrison, the English ritic, gives the useful advice that a wise education, which, in fact, de- e? reading, should eavé mno gredt of thought, no jominant phase of human nature, y a blank. He savs: hether our reading be great or small, so far as it goes, it should be general. If our lives admit of but a short space for reading, all the more season that, so far as may be, it thould remind us of the vast expanse »f human thought and the wonderful variety of human nature.” The besetting sin, however, is the lissipation of time and the attention n waste pl on the ephemeral, he flats and deserts of literature. We aang around the back door when the palace gate stands wide open, admit- ing to the wonders of the world, with glimpses of heaven. It is vain to urge the ordinary modern, looking for dis- sipation, to read the best books. “They are such hard reading,” is the an- swer. Emerson said that the library is the true university and that there should be professors of books. It was a wise word. A professor of books would point out to the most careless of mortals that there are examples of literature which are as light and as absorbing, as full of gayety and gen- wine fun as Falstaff. There are books which require no greater effort of at- tention than a “turn” on the vaude- ville stage, and they are classics. Don Quixote has more fun, more jokes, more quips and cranks than all the minstrel shows on earth; they are good ones told with infinite zest and charm; it has more philosophy than aces, 8 meeting of the Metaphysical Soci- | ety, with a good deal more sense and wisdom; it has more interesting and stirring adventure than a modern his- torical novel, and more genuine hu- mor in its first chapter than was ever comprehended in the philospohy of the association of “Jokesmiths” re- cently formed in Baltimore. $ e H. B. Marriott-Watson, literary critic for the London Mail, has a few re- marks to say about the alleged “de- cadence” of fiction. Says he: “In the National Review Miss Jane Findlater, herself a novelist of note, raises the old question, Is fiction deteriorating? “Nothing and nobody, I am sure, will lay that troublesome specter. It will =till haunt the minds of the critic and the censor of morals, and the admirer # rake. But are they? ‘We need,’ =he thinks, ‘a return to mature.’ But iz not that precisely what the school of writers she finds fault with is aim- ing at? “Miss Findlater, no doubt, would say that this class of fiction only represents one side of nature. Well, it is possible 3 does. But there are many other izinds of fiction to represent other sides: ‘Was Miss Charlotte Yonge more truth- ful to nature than Mr. Maugham, whose remarkable study of a feminine temperament, Findlater quotes with evident disap- proval? There was plenty of ‘goodness’ in the pages of Miss Yonge and Miss Alulock, and, at a later date, of Edna Lyall, but the fiction by these ladies does not precisely palpitate with life, f old times. Miss Findlater suggests -3 depict human character in its trllltyl ! and its strength, and failure, than this | tailor’s block or that jointed automa- | ton. | *‘If Miss Yonge and her generation | avoided the realities of life our authors | of to-day emphasize them in a, quite | unnecessary manner, and the one pic- ture is fully more untrue than the 1uthnr.' One can only rub one's eyes | and wonder if this is the twentieth cen- | tury. Is fiction deteriorating?’ It be- | gan with “Tom Jones,” let us say. Are | we neéver to extricate ourselves from | the netof mid-Victorian anti-macassars ‘and prudery? We have no master- | pieces to place beside ‘Esmond’— | which, by the way, was highly im- | proper; and ‘Pickwick,” which treated ! drunkenness’ much too lightly—but, the level of English fiction to-day is far higher, and, on the whole, it is healthier than fifty years ago.” | it g Ly Two of the new books of the spring season relate to Matthew Arnold and his influence in letters, thus indicat- ing the belief of experienced publish- ers that Arnold's influence is not only still potent, but is likely to grow with the increase of literary culture. “Mat- thew Arnold and His Relation to the Thought of Our Time; An Apprecia- tion and A Criticism,” was written by William Harbutt Dawson, who asserts that the “cult of Matthew Arnold” is growing and must grow. This cult, Mr. Dawson explains, is the cult of “idealism,” using that word to indi- cate “the pursuit of perfection as the worthiest working principle of life.” The book is in three parts, entitled | “Culture,” “Religion” and *Politics,” | and there are chapters on “Arnold’s Philosophy of Life,” “Hellenism and Hebraism,” ‘{f’he Three Estates,” | “The Critic of Dogma,” “The State and | the Church,” “The Science of Govern- | ment” and “The Party System.” Mr. Dawson holds that “than Matthew | Arnold no man more ardently preach- | ed the duty of opening the mind to the free play of ideas as the first step | to clear and independent thought, and | no man justified the precept morei completely in himself.” W. E. Rus- sell's “Matthew Arnold” is the first volume of a new series of “Literary Lives,” edited by Dr. Robinson .\'icoll.' Mr. Russell edited two volumes of | Arnold’s letters for publication in 1895. His new book is not nearly so long or so formidable in apppearance as Mr. Dawson's. It is divided into six | chapters. It ought te serve admir- ably as an introduction to the sys- tematic reading of Arnold. >R e ‘While the public has grown thorough- {1y tired of the Carlyle-Froude dispute, and while it is undoubtedly true that | Carlyle himself is not read as he was | a_ generation ago, it would be exceed- | | ingly rash to .assume that the reading | world has lost interest in the phllnx-| opher of Chelsea. A new volume of his letters, dating from 1836, where the | second volume of the correspondence | edited by Professor Charles Eliot Nor- ton ends, is about to be published by John Lane, and will be a literary event of moment. The letters are edited by Alexander Carlyle, and bring the cor- respondence up to Carlyle's death in 1881. Here is an amusing example from | these new letters of Carlyle's, one to his brother John abcut a new hat: “Why do I babble all these things to a judicious doctor? Let me add, how- ever, that 1 have got my white hat! | A most noble broad-brim; price 6s 6d; | of great comfort to me, and this not by the brim alone, I find, but alsc by | the size, which lets in the air about | me and prevents the intrusion of head- ache. I find my last three or four hats have been far too little. Jane shrieked, | nay, almost literally grat (wept) when ishe first saw me in such headgear. However, I persisted (resolute against headache), and she now says I do very well in it. Cockneydom happily does not seem to mind me at all, tho' prob- ably there is not such another beaver within the four parts of London.” + e . Rudyard Kipling’s most famous and characteristic sentence, “But that is another story,” has now been traced | to Sterne’s “Tristram Shandy,” and all the writers who have found it impos- | sible’ to resist the temptation to pla- giarize will no doubt rejoice.” It is hard to say just how much of the fascina- | tion of Mr. Kipling’s tales must be at- tributed precisely to those “other stor- | fes"—the glimpses he gives us of a whole world of glamour which he might | reveal if he chose. The cynical may | call it a “bluff”—despite Mr. Chamber- lain’s aversion to the word and thing— | but it really is a legitimate part of Kipling’s trade. The fdfce of literature | depends as much upon what is sug- gested as upon what is revealed, and | in the matter of stimulating hints the | author of “Plain Tales From the Hills" is almost unrivaled. .“Kim,” for in- | stance, is throughout a suggestion of adventures that are about to happen, | but are always postponed. > R | Richard Whiteing’s “The Yellow | Van” is listed among the books in steady and popular demand at public libraries and in the book stores and | the author’s views on the province of | the novel take on fresh interest. At :a recent English literary club dinner | Mr. Whiteing is quoted a8 having said: “The novel perfcrms a service to so- ciety analogous to that of light cav- alry. It goes forward, sees everything, does not probe all, but shows how a [thing is affecting the hearts and minds of simple men and women and what they are thinking about. Once this ‘is put before the people, they are on their way to reform.” { And the author of “The Yellow Van” and “No. § John " went on to say that he doubted much whether the - The “Magpie Club” in London, whose members are clever young English writers sworn to criticize one another's -quest. THE SAN FRANCISCO C THURSDAY. MARCH 31, 1904, THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL JOHN D. SPRECKELS, Propriefor « « . + « « - » . . Address All Communications to JOHN McNAUGHT, Manager PADRPUEIN B . oo s-fecieriorconbitotn-ta @ leuererreeent....Third and Market Streets, S. F. VENEZUELA AGAIN. THURSDAY. S a result of the blockade of Venezuelan ports treaties were made under which the claims for A money and property stdlen from fqreigners by that Government were to be arbitrated by special inter- national commissioners, and the question of preferen- tial treatment of the blockading powers was sent to the Hague. The international commissioners have finished their work and made their awards, and, at the Hague it was decided that the blockading powers had preferential rights. To all this Venezuelr was bound by treaty. She had no right to expect other results than those thatl were reached by arbitration. She cannot claim that racial pre- judice affected the result, for the Latin races were repre- sented in the arbitration commissions. The Spanish Minister to Caracas was chosen to consider the Mexican claims, and when he made a proper award he was as- sailed by personal abuse in the newspapers and was in- sulted in the street. The time has come now for Castro to observe his international obligations, and begin pay- ing the awards in the order detided upon at the Hague. Of course he is not doing it. Pay day is abhorred by Latin-America, with some exceptions.. “The Monkey of the Andes” makes treaties only to violate them. His disregard of his obligations raises again the question of the sufficiency of arbitration if there be no means of en- forcing its payments. The Hague is a court without a sheriff. Tts findings are the highest judicial decrees known to the world, but they are worthless if they cannot become judicial finali- ties by enforcement. The Hague convention needs re- | vision in this respect. It should be made to provide that when a nation, found in default by the court’s decree, re- fuses or neglects to keep faith, it shall be the lawful right of the nation suffering by that breach of faith to take entire possession of the revenue external and internal of the defaulter and administer it until the collections pay the claim and the cost of administration. That will give the court actual power and vitality and will at the same time lessen the number of cases that go to it. As long as the convention has no provision for en- forcing a decree nations like Venezuela are very willing to go to it. All international courts are a projection of the principle of our ordinary judicial courts into the af- fairs of nations. But our judicial courts cemmand re- spect because their judgments can be enforced. If it were otherwise their dockets would be overcrowded, for every litigant would be entirely willing to get into a court that could not enforce its judgments. Otherwise many litigants are willing to settle ont of court and save the costiof trial. In the situation created by Castro's disregard of the awards and of the Hague decision it is said that Ger- many proposes another naval demonstration and she will doubtless be joined by the other preferential powers. This means more turmcil in the Monroe hemisphere and another strain in our relations with Europe. Castro is entirely capable of causing a most serious condition, that will go far beyond a blockade, for his conduct may com- pel the landing of a military force and the occupation of his capital as well as the blockading of his seaports. His conduct may be such that we will have to interfere to prevent the conflict taking on the natuyre of a con- The fellow is entirely capable of going to such lengths as to put the United States in a véry difficult position. Were he capable of reasoning, or had he any genuine patriotism and sense of responsibility, he would keep his treaty pledges:and extricate his country from the serious position in which it has been placed by his blunders and crimes. One recent occurrence has disclosed his recklessness and ingratitude. The American Minister, Bowen, went to the verge of diplomatic propriety in standing by Ven- ezuela. When he appeared at the Hague as a representa- tive of Castro his statements in favor of Venezuela were irritating to the European powers concerned, and we commented on them at the time as being far more ex- treme than his position and duty required. Not only in Europe but in Washington Mr. Bowen pursued this course, causing considerable embarrassment to our State Department. If Castro were a normal person and Ven- ezuela a civilized country the friendly attitude of Minis- ter Bowen would be requited at least by decent personal treatment. But instead of this Castro’s official organ has vilely lampooned and libeled him and his Govern- ment. It has slandered MacVeagh and Penfield, the eminent American counsel who appeared for Venezuela at the Hague, and has incited hatred of them and their Government by sheer lying. There is no doubt that this course was taken by Cas- tro’s orders, for when Bowen appealed against these calumnies to him and the Minister of Foreign Affairs he refused to compel a correction of the falsehoods, de- claring that he would not limit the freedom ot the press. At the same time he suppressed and confiscated a news- paper that had told only the truth about his own con- duct. This conduct is exasperating to the highest de- gree. But it will have one good effect. The fate of Bowen will admonish other American diplomats that his course gets no favors in return for friendship, and they will not repeat his acts and expressions of sympathy. — oot 2 s Russians resident in New York and prominent in their identification with the affairs of the home country declare | that the war now smoldering in the Far East is, on the part of Russia, primarily a conflict for self-defense. To an outsider it seems a calamity that some genius has not taught the Czar and his people the art of self-defense, but perhaps they have one of their owd and some day may reveal it to an admiring world. D — TRIBUTE TO VIRTUE. NE of the salient features of almost every issue O of the organs of the yellow candidate for the Presidency in thesg days is the number of ap- peals made therein for what they call “a decent respect for private life.” The organs urge that there should be no scandals tolerated in the discussion of Presidential politics, no studies made of the private life of any can- didate. They take the lofty ground that any man who aspires to the office of President of the United States should be assumed to be of virtuous life and pure mind. That assumption, they argue, is essential not only to the dignity but to the decency of politics, and they lament sorely because some people show signs of a desire to make the private life of one of the candidates a subject of inquiry and investigation. . 1 The plea thus made will on the whole find a favorable response in the minds of the people. Even if the animus of the plea be no more than hypocrisy it is none the less a tribute to virtue. It is gratifying to know there is at least one scandalous life which yellow journalism is not willing to exploit; one political campaign in which it is eager to have at least the appearance of a respect for decency. The gain thus made may not amount to much in the way of a public benefit, but it is at least _some- thing. It is a demonstration that yellow journalists know what decency is, and that they are willing to ap- peal to it when they hope to profit by it. - Just how far they are willing to practice what they preach remains to be seen. light in clean politics and face the coming Presidentidl campaign with the expectation that it will be clean. Up to this time there is no suggestion of indecency other than that found in the protests of the yellow journals themselves. That is the weak point of all their frequent pleas and arguments on the subj‘eq. They protest so much that even the most indifferent reader will be some day prompted to inquire whether 'there is in the Presi- dential race a candidate whose private life is of such a nature that the publication of it would be'a scandal. In other words, the yellow organs in their unwonted insist- ence upon clean politics may overdo the thing and de- feat their own desires by their very eagerness to appear virtuous. E b e e President Roosevelt has been presented with a hyena and a cub lion, two odd friendship offerings from King Menelik. The black King, however inspired by good will, might have reflected that not only has our strenu- ous President proved his desire and ability to capture | his own prizes of the chase, but that he is now hunting for the biggest game it may be the fortune of an Ameri- can to take. S Slough is be filled by the Southern Pacific Com- pany and that the reclamation will be followed by the creation of a fine public park upon its southern mar- gin. For some years this work has been in view. When the park is in actual existence it will first greet the eyes of travelers as they enter the city. First impressions of cities as of individuals are strong. Appreciation of this fact was a large factor in the crea- tion of the ferry depot at the foot of Market street in this city. The taxpayers when they were called upon to vote on that issue had only to view the old and tumble- down sheds that preceded the present building to arrive at a conclusion that the State could better afford to spend its money than to go on with shacks only at the iront door of its chief city. There afe three principal objects that Sacramento a% a municipality has long believed to be advisable. These are to have the Southern Pacific freight and passen- ger depots continued in their present close connection with the commercial districts of the city; the reclama- tion of the China Slough; the raising of the grade of the district north of I street to the thirty-foot level in con- formity with the downtown sections of J and K streets. These aims are all secured by the China Slough filling. In addition to these advantages other benefits are as- sured. A permanent station for passengers will be con- structed south of the present one. A district which ac- cording to the Sacramento Union “has long been aban- doned to the most unsavory element of population” will be changed for the better. Chinatown will be driven away to some less conspicuous neighborhood. The Sacramento Chamber of Commerce is entitled to the credit of the new mave in behalf of Sacramento. A committee of that body 'has just reported progress in accordance with the facts that are summed up in the foregoing. The conditions attached to the promises of the railroad company to fill the China Slough are that the people of Sacramento shall—as the railroad gives to the city its holdings in the blocks bounded by Third and Fifth and H and I streets for park purposes—buy the private holdings to fill out these blocks. The cost to the city will be something like $33,000. The Chamber of Commerce committee, prior to making its report, se- cured for $23,000 options on all the private holdings ex- cept one lot. The City Trustees of Sacramento have adopted a resolution of intention to buy the property in consideration of the carrying out by the railroad com- pany of its part of the agreement, Sacramento is clearly in the line of improvement. It is the capital city of the State and all citizens of Califor- nia are interested in having it made as attractive as pos- sible. In a lesser way public interest is concerned in the appearance of Sacramento as Americans generally are interested in having the city of Washington, D. C., as handsome as it can be made. - The women of Sacramento have already organized ‘thoroughly to attend to improv- ing the city. With a new park, with, the removal of a noisome feature of city life to the background, and with the promotion of improvements of all sorts, Sacramento is on ‘the up grade. IMPROVEMENT OF SACRAMENTO. ACRAMENTO is__rejoicfng because the China There is an impression, rapidly-gaining currency and fortified by some faithful investigation, that Tibet in, its deposits of gold is a second California. What a flood of light this throws upon the British military expeditions into this Far Eastern and mysterious land. When Eng- land sees a chance to civilize anything or anybody it is time to look for the joker in the game. > China has seen fit to commission a naval squadron to hover on her coasts and guard her seaboard interests. Unquestionably this is not an overt act in violation of neutrality. It is simply a shining example of oriental idiocy. Even China should be convinced in the bitter school of experience that while she i} an adept in play- ing with firecrackers she should eschew firearms. < — Queen Alexandra ate a nine-cent dinner the other day to show her sympathy and her active support in the great cause that labors for the well-being of London’s poor. And it is safe to say that the good lady accepted the humble meal with as good relish and better digestion than many a feast u(heré the motives of men and women of high degree ruled in vanity and ambition. Chief Wittman has announced to the Board of Super- visors that our police force is too small. We have all known for some time that something is seriously and radically wrong with the department, but the estimable Chief is the first to suggest this specific reason. Isn't it strange that the rest of us never thought of it before, and are incredulous enough now to ask for an argument? Daniel Sully, the' New York cotton king, who crashed recently into bankruptcy with liabilities aggregating five milli.nn dollars, has supplemented the affair with the entertaining announcement that he has nothing to say in the nature of a formal statement. Mr. Sully evidently believes that five miflions in debts are loud enough to talk to anybody and thunder in the ears of the victims, s e The American people de-. The Midnight Alarm. The tale about the Stanford fresh= man who passed the “prof” the high sign, which appeared in these columns yesterday, isn't a marker, according to some Berkeley men, to the rich yarn they have to tell about a certain fra- ternity over at the University of Cali- fornia. It seems that cae night when all of the members save one had long. been in bed, that single exception to the peace and sobriety of the fraternity wandered homeward about 2 o’clock in the dawn- ing with his head filled with a wicked scheme. Once in the house he filled a coalscuttle with rags and paper and, lighting the mass,- carried it on tiptoe through the halls upstairs until the atmosphere was blue with smoke. Then | he slipped down to the front door, | yelled “fire!” in his most terrifying | tones and went across the street to lie down in a vacant i and watch the; fun. It came. There was a flashing of lights from room to room, calls and hurried orders. ‘Windows were thrown up and wild ap- peals were sent out into the night. Then down the front steps, arrayed only in a scanty “nighty” and a silk opera hat, came one of the senior memni- bers, carrying a dress suit and a sack of tobacco in his hands. Hardly had he | deposited his treasures on the fence! than a window was sent hurtling up and a fearsome stream of coats, socks, tennis racquets, pipes and dress shirts gushed forth. Another college youth appeared in fine negligee to drag the garden hose into the parlor. A third hunted for the garden spade with which to dig up the hall carpet. Then, to mark the climax, the foot- ball hero” of the house, in crushed strawberry pajamas and a sombrero, heaved his huge bulk out on the eaves of the house from a third-story window and began gravely to feel of the shingles as he scuttered along the roof drain. That was too much. There came a wild yell of demoniac laughter from the lot across the street, a rush of phantom figures in the direction of the fellow rolling there in paroxysms and then—the accounting. , Misplaced Advice. Bob Duke, deputy clerk of the Su- preme Court, was coming downtown Sunday on the big blue car that runs through from the Cliff House to Ellis and Market. At Devisadero street two women and three children got on with a big basket of what appeared to be picnic lunch. As the car started Bob overheard one of the women ask the other: “Are you perfectly sure this car goes to the ClLff?” “Oh, yes, 1 am positive, swer. “Well, we must not make any mis- take or the children will be terribly dis- appointed,” said the first. Then they sat complacently; while the car speeded onward to town. Here was Bob's chance. He hated to “butt in,” but the thought of those poor, innocent children being carried to the ferry instead of to their picnic grounds or the beach was too much, so he gallantly said: “Mad- am, excuse me, but you are on the| was the an- wrong car; this car is not going to the CHff.” “Oh, yes, I know!” she answered somewhat stiffly. “We are not going to the Cliff until next Sunday.” Then it is reported that the phil- anthropist apologized for his existence and went away back on the car and sat himself down to ponder on the | curious ways of woman—of which he knows so little. The “Trimmin’s.” Attorney Matt Sullivan is famed for his method of handling witnesses. /He does mot waste much breath in pro- pounding long, complicated questions. On the contrary his questions are short and sharp, and in consequence their meaning is usually grasped by even the dullest witnesses. It was therefore a great surprise to the attorney when a few days ago a witness in a damage suit in Judge Graham’s court appeared nenplused when Sullivan said to him: “Mr. Kelly, were you in a position to observe the position of the left hind hub of the vehicle at the time the car and the dray collided?” “Answer the question,” said Judge Graham, when he saw the witness mak- ing no effort to respond. “I will, Judge,” said Kelly, “if Mr. Sullivan will take the college trim- min’s off it and give it to me in good United States.” An Aprit Morn. Slow to the wanton sun's desire The vestal-bosomed buds unfold, Till poppies flaunt a silken fire And buttercups a glassy gold. How gently fare the cloudy flocks To tures girdled by the sea! The llp:;l'd! twitch along the rocks, And subtle odors lure the bee. There broods a peace upon the hills, Too vast for mfl:-ning “hvln;u ’:o m;m.: Though murmurs throng the broken :ng voices of the woodland wake, Till half T turn to hear again ‘The flutes of Arcady at dawn, And rout of hurrying nymphs that feign To dread the kisses of the faun. GEORGE STERLING in Impressions Quarterly. The Morgan of Japan. Baron Shibuzawa is called the J. P. Morgan of Japan, says the April ‘World's Work. But he is more im- portant to Japan’'s industry than Mr. Morgan is to the United tes, for the industry of the United States can in a sense get along without J. P. Mor- gan, but the industry of Japan cannot do without Baron Y. Shibuzawa. The Baron was a farmer’s son. Me served the Shogun, and went abroad with one of the Shogun's relatives. After his return he was called by the Mikado's Government to serve in the Finance Department. In 1873 he resigned his office in order to enter the business world. He advocated the combina- tion of capital not only in the banking buginess, but also in all other busi- ness, such as railroading, manufac- cated scientific and systematic business ! dealings, because otherwise the wealth - of the nation would not be developed. Thus he established a paper mill in Aji, in the suburb of Toklo, and con- ducted the industry according to his ideas. In 1876 he was of the opinion that the railroad business could not be perfected by the Government's efforts alone. He has favored the private own- ership of railroads. He has been for twenty years one of the trustees of the Nihon Railroad Company. He effected the merging of the Chikubu line, the largest for the transportation of coal, with the Kiushiu line. He should not, however, be count- ed upon as a railroad king, as Jay Gould was in the United States; for the idea of the Government control of industry, largely borrowed from Ger- man state socialism, gained its adher- ents among younger men than Baron Shibuzawa, and they came into power. Paraguayan Minister. L Dr. Cecilio Baez, the newly appointed Paraguayan Minister to the United States, will arrive in New York this week or next. For the last fifteen years the republic of Paraguay has discon- tinued her diplomatic representation at ‘Washington and has maintained there only a Consul General, the Hon. John Stewart, but has also maintained Con- suls General at New York and other large American cities. The interna- tional influence of the United States having grown up recently, and com- mercial and industrial developments having considerably increased in Para- guay, the Government at Ascunsion has considered it necessary to send again a Minister to Washington. Its choice fell upon Dr. Cecillo Baez, who was well known and appreciated in that capital, where he sojourned some days, as well as in New York, three years ago, when he made a tour of the United States after having been an ac- tive and eloquent member of the Pan- American conference in Mexico. Dr. Baez is one of the most influential poli- ticians and statesmen in his owncoun- try, and is besides a journalist, littera- teur and lawyer of prominence. He is, like all Paraguayans, a sineere admirer of the United States. He comes here accompanied by his wife, two daugh- ters and three sons. Before his de- parture from Asuncion a banquet was given him by North American residents in Paraguay, at whose head was the American Consul General, J. N. Ruffin, who is almost As popular among the Paraguayans 23 Is Dr. Baez himseif. Answers to Queries. FRENCH QUOTATION — 8., City. “Il ny a guere d'homme assez habile pour connaitre tout le mal qu'il fait,” is from the French of La Roche- foucauld, and means: “Few men are so clever as to know all the mischief they do.” A PAINTING—W. A. R, City. A painting may be copyrighted by send- ing to the Librarian of Congress a full description of the same. The fee is 30 cents for copyrighting and 50 cents ex- tra for a certificate of the copyright. A photographic copy of the painting will add to the deseription. NATIONAL GUARD-O. 8, City. There are two States in the Union, ac- cording to the reports up to December 1 of last year, that have more officers, generals and general staff in the Na- tional Guard than California. These are Pennsylvania, with 169, and Tllinois, with 154. California has only 153. OLD SOLDIERS—A. D. L, City. There is no law in San Francisco that says that old soldiers who served in the Civil War may peddle articles without a license. The Board of Super- visors on petition usually grants a free license, the Police Commissioners grant a permit and the Tax Collector issues the license. LENGTH OF DAY — Subseriber City. In asking about the longest day in the year it is important to desig- nate the part of the world where such day occurs. Generally the longest day of the year is June 21 In Northern Cali- fornia it is a little more than 14 hours; in Montreal, Canada, 16 hours; Lon- don and Bremen, 16% hours; Ham- burg, 17 hours; Stockholm, Sweden, 181 hours; St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tobolosk, Siberia, 19 hours; Tor- nea, Finland, 22 hours. At Wardbury, Norwav, the longest day lasts {rom May 21 to July 22, and at Spitzbergen the duration of the longest day is 3% months, while at the pole it is of six months’ duration. NEIGHBORHOOD—Subseriber, City. Neighborhood is a word used only to designate place. It is proper to say or ‘write that the houses immediately ad- joining a square are in the neighbor- hood of that square, while those which